Delayed Reaction
His plan to watch the cellphone video is derailed that day by impromptu training sessions.
It's held off the next day by punishment training sessions.
By the time he finally gets to watch it, go through the information provided, Mikey is exhausted. Limp red bangs are pushed back from his face, poking unevenly through the spaces between his fingers as he cradles his forehead. "Jesus."
A few more minutes just to get ahold of himself; this is not the time to run through the hallways to cry to Matthew and then he's popping the SD card out of his cellphone and dropping it to the bed. From there it's a simple matter of slipping the tiny thing into his pocket and heading right back out the door, grinning at the uniformed man who turns at the sound of his door opening.
"Gunna go hug Matthew before I waste all this moist goodness." That's that; it's all it takes. Mikey continues on his way to Trish's lab and gets down to work. He smiles and deflects at anyone who drops by to check on him -- it's the easiest bit of hacking he's ever done. Mostly because there's no hacking whatsoever.
Four hours later sees the card being copied, then removed once more, the copy of both the cellphone info and what Mikey's managed to pull up left of Elita's mattress. Four minutes after that, Mikey's removed himself.
***
"Hey, mom."
"Michael--!" Everything wrong about the world is righted for the few minutes Isabel's hands cup his face, pushing the bangs back from his face just the same way he himself had done hours before. Mikey's breath hitches, his face screws up and then he's burrowing into his mom's arms. "Mikey, what are you doing home, Gumby?"
"Mom, I lied about some stuff. And now I need your help."
It's held off the next day by punishment training sessions.
By the time he finally gets to watch it, go through the information provided, Mikey is exhausted. Limp red bangs are pushed back from his face, poking unevenly through the spaces between his fingers as he cradles his forehead. "Jesus."
A few more minutes just to get ahold of himself; this is not the time to run through the hallways to cry to Matthew and then he's popping the SD card out of his cellphone and dropping it to the bed. From there it's a simple matter of slipping the tiny thing into his pocket and heading right back out the door, grinning at the uniformed man who turns at the sound of his door opening.
"Gunna go hug Matthew before I waste all this moist goodness." That's that; it's all it takes. Mikey continues on his way to Trish's lab and gets down to work. He smiles and deflects at anyone who drops by to check on him -- it's the easiest bit of hacking he's ever done. Mostly because there's no hacking whatsoever.
Four hours later sees the card being copied, then removed once more, the copy of both the cellphone info and what Mikey's managed to pull up left of Elita's mattress. Four minutes after that, Mikey's removed himself.
***
"Hey, mom."
"Michael--!" Everything wrong about the world is righted for the few minutes Isabel's hands cup his face, pushing the bangs back from his face just the same way he himself had done hours before. Mikey's breath hitches, his face screws up and then he's burrowing into his mom's arms. "Mikey, what are you doing home, Gumby?"
"Mom, I lied about some stuff. And now I need your help."