Playtronics

[dontlooklisten]

This hasn't exactly been the most fruitful of nights, but so far nobody's been shot, which Bishop is counting as a net plus. He and Liz and Carl have managed to make it to the roof. As they dash in and out of the range of the spotlights, heading for the fire escape, he pulls out his walkie-talkie. "Crease," he says urgently, ducking, "we're on the

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[dontlooklisten]

Something's going on outside the van that Whistler can't quite hear. He's too busy ignoring the pounding in his ears as he does his best to creep unnoticed into the driver's (OH GOD WHAT AM I DOING) seat of the van. "Okay, Bish," he finally manages.

The headset crackles. "Now, there's a gate about thirty yards behind you. Put it in reverse and floor it."

Outside he can just about hear Crease muttering, probably to Mother. "Um, what's reverse?" he asks, hands fumbling over the steering wheel and its surroundings until he reaches a lever.

"Uh- one down."

Whistler pulls the lever down one notch and stomps on the first pedal to present itself. The van jerks backward sharply, its engine roaring; it's everything he can do not to squeak in terror. "Uh, Bish?"

("Uh, Crease?" says Mother. "Where's Whistler going?")

"I'm going backwards-"

"You're doing fine. You're doing fine-"

Something smacks against the back of the van. "AAGH!" Whistler yells reflexively. "Now!" comes Bishop's voice. "Hit the brakes, now!" There's another pedal- he stomps on it as hard as he can, and the van stops. "Okay, Whistler, put the gear shift down two notches, turn left, and floor it-""

[abar_starclog]

Carl's soundly confused, for a second or two, when the van takes off despite the commotion in front of it - and then what must have happened hits him, and he starts laughing.

"How on Earth did they--"

"Whoever got sent to check the van forgot the back," Carl explains, as best as the borderline hysteria (brought to you by copious amounts of adrenaline) allows. "They must have, there was still a crowd in front, but it's going, so--"

"So Whistler's driving," Liz finishes, and after a few seconds' gaping, starts laughing herself.

This is gonna be one hell of a show.

[dontlooklisten]

"Straighten out! Straighten out!" shouts Bishop as the van hits the parking lot and speeds their way with all the implacability of an oncoming battering ram. He winces as Whistler's voice asks, "What- what was that?", licks his lips, and just says, "Okay, keep coming."

"Oh God," says Whistler's voice over the radio, "I'm driving. I'm driving- augh! Don't do that, I'm driving-"

It's coming up on some cars now. Bishop's whole body tenses. "Whoa whoa whoa, go left! Um. My left, your right- right, right-"

CRUNCH goes one of the cars in the parking lot, audible even at this distance. Bishop winces, biting his bottom lip. "It's... it's okay. Beautiful. Now just keep coming, okay? Great. You're going to go down a very... gentle slope."

It's more the sort of thing that's built into parking lots with the assumption that whoever tries to take such a slope at any kind of speed no longer really wants their car, but.

"Whoooa! Hooboy!"

"Okay," says Bishop. "Five more seconds, and then stop."

There's a softer crunch from down below- but the van does stop.

[abar_starclog]

Hey, for Whistler to manage all of that and only leave one car and one tree as casualties? That's not bad at all.
There are footsteps coming from the same direction the van did, but for the moment Carl's just going to hope it's Crease and Mother catching up, and make a break for the van.

"Whistler, that was great!" Liz says from behind him, still laughing a bit.

"Whistler!"

[dontlooklisten]

Whistler grins. It's one of those wobbly grins that you get on people after the first time they donate blood. "Where to?" he asks, ever so casually.

[abar_starclog]

"Oh no, I'm taking the wheel! In the back," Carl says, as he and Liz help Whistler out of the driver's seat. Yes, he's still a bit hyped up on adrenaline himself, but they probably all are, and they'll get home a lot faster with someone who can see where they're going at the wheel.

Crease and Mother reach the van not long after, which at least settles the 'mystery footsteps' problem. "Where's Martin?"

"On his way down, hopefully. He stayed up there to give Whistler directions."

[dontlooklisten]

A minute or two later, one last shape makes its way down the ladder. Bishop has a hell of a scowl on his face, but it fades rapidly as he opens the door. "Okay," he says, "we're done here. Let's go."

"What happened?" says Mother, leaning forward.

"Cosmo hasn't changed a bit," says Bishop, with that tone of voice that usually means he's not going to talk any more. "Let's go. Crease, can I have the box, please?"

Crease nods and hands over a suspiciously familiar-looking box. Bishop knows full well what he's going to find, but it's still reassuring to crack it open and see that they did, in fact, keep the codebreaker chip safe and sound.