Night 59: Main Hallway 2-West
[from here]The upper hallway was empty, at least at this end, though Lana could hear something skittering around. She checked her pocket -- ran her fingertips along the grip of the gun in the breast pocket of her jacket, but she didn't take it out. It hadn't done them much good last night, had it
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Ah... That was better.
"I'm Maya. Pleasure to meet you." And while they were at it, maybe she could explain to Maya what the plan was; Maya was still in the dark about that. "I don't think I received an answer to my question. Where are we going?"
... If her companion hadn't followed, Maya would look very silly, talking to herself.
To that end, why was it so prudent to stay together...? Maya was doing it because she was hoping their shared experience might incline them more favorably to exterminate anything that might jump out at Maya tonight. Whoever had left this bloody mess, for instance.
But really, they hadn't seemed to learn anything of importance aside from Thayer's name and Harrington's apparent betrayal. Doubtless, if all the patients' 'abilities' had been restored (as was the implication), the other patients would be attempting escape, as well. Adding their own efforts, perhaps...?
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But the entire plan, if it could even be called that, still seemed a little rushed to her, and that was saying something. "Even so, we can already guess from the intercom that steps are being taken to restore the power limitations. Given that possibility, I'm not sure if I want to entrust my well-being to Castiel entirely. I don't even know him, and if his powers suddenly vanish, I want to be able to defend myself without his help."
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She could ask him when he joined them, as seemed his intent. As for the other, it appeared her conjecture had been confirmed. Although... "There is the other matter of whether we can trust each other," Maya said cheerfully. There had been a number of betrayals tonight.
Not that Maya wanted Soma to suspect her. But someone coming out of nowhere to talk to Castiel alone after they had left the meeting room...? If Maya had not wanted to leave the bloody hall, she might have asked Castiel's friend who he was and whether their apparent need for secrecy was so urgent.
But enough of that. "Regarding escape, is there anywhere you had in mind? After we retrieve your weapon, that is."
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It was probably best to ignore the remaining kernel of doubt in her mind, the one that said but they were doing this to defend their world. An unfortunate byproduct of her upbringing, she told herself, and by all rights it shouldn't even be a question ( ... )
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"I, as well," Maya answered sincerely. Not to the first part, though. "Though, Landel and Aguilar seem equally terrible choices. Best to depose of them both, yes?"
Depose... Elimination was an option if for some reason escape occupied a lower priority. And there was no reason to believe others wouldn't step in as replacements-the so-called rebels, for instance. "Neither Thayer nor Prescott seem enthused to have us, though," Maya replied.
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Not that she wouldn't kill him if she had the chance. If he'd wanted her assistance, he should have asked for it to begin with, and he might have gotten more help than a ragtag bunch of patients kidnapped from their homeworlds. He might have gotten an army. A trained one. Chobu could have reformed with the Lieutenant Colonel at their head, she could have had her mobile suit back...
She dismissed the thought. It wasn't as if it mattered any more.
"They weren't working with the radio people, though." Soma frowned a little as the thought struck her. "And if the radio people were working with Landel, that brings us one step closer to taking him out of the picture."
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Meanwhile, there was something else Maya wanted to ask. "Who is Jill?"
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"Jill..." Soma paused, collecting what little she could remember from hearsay and the occasional bulletin post. "There used to be a man on the radio named Jack who would give clues to where he'd hidden useful things. Small weapons. Cigarettes. That kind of thing, I think. It turned out he was a former associate of Landel who ended up betraying him.
"Then about a week before I arrived here, he was killed by Landel, and a woman who called Jill replaced him on the radio. I never followed any of the clues--I had other things to do--but from what I heard later, it sounded like her clues all led people into ambushes and traps. I guess that was what Thayer meant when she said she'd been brainwashed. Landel must have planted her there."
Soma frowned a little. "That's all I know. I never really concerned myself with the radio. I suppose now I wish I'd paid more attention."
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No loss to Maya, she supposed. Or to Soma, from the sounds of it. What must it have been like, to have followed the clues...?
No sense dwelling on it. "But Landel is working with the current Radio Man now," Maya mused. "I don't suppose you know what Jack was like?"
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Castiel made his way through the gore-covered hallways like it was nothing. If anything, it almost seemed that he was comfortable in this sort of environment. He clearly found no pleasure in the sight, but he also wasn't disturbed by it. This sort of setting was more familiar to him than that Game Room, for instance.
The two female patients had waited for him. That in itself showed that they either trusted him or thought that they needed him. It didn't really matter which.
He glanced over his shoulder at Gabriel before taking in the two strangers, nodding to them in turn. "While I currently don't have the ability for instantaneous transport, my brother does. He's agreed to take us outside. Is that acceptable?" He was offering them a chance they wouldn't have otherwise, and so he would be surprised if they didn't accept.
Then again, humans tended to have that ability to do the exact opposite of what he expected from them.
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The sound of approaching footsteps heralded Castiel's arrival, and Soma glanced back at him. So the man was Castiel's brother--not that that meant much to Soma. "I'm fine with that. How far can he take us?"
Hopefully, far enough that they'd be outside the Institute's influence by morning. Still, she supposed he wouldn't have had much time to test that theory thus far.
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Whatever the case may have been concerning the radio personnel, here was Castiel to break up Maya's train of thought. Ah- Hadn't they planned to retrieve Soma's weapon first? Well, it was her decision, so Maya wouldn't interfere with it.
"Lead the way," Maya added agreeably. "By the way, I'm Maya." She may as well get the introductions over with, and if she was to meet this brother of his, this was the perfect time. "Pleasure to meet you."
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Gabriel just rolled his eyes to himself. Desperate times shouldn't have to call for measures this freaking desperate.
He gave a little wave for the introduction. "Call me whatever. Now, where do you want to go? I don't really have limits, s'far as I know. I've got places to be, though, so make it quick." He wasn't planning on standing around long enough for the whole meet and greet shtick, and if jumped onboard his Glenn train, Castiel would inevitably send it crashing and burning because the kid couldn't keep a secret to save his freaking life.
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He didn't know where his brother needed to be so urgently, but Castiel thought it was strange for him to act as if he was in a rush when he'd taken the time to come speak with him.
Still, he realized that he needed to tread carefully if he wanted Gabriel's help, and so he decided to keep to the point. "As far away from this place's walls as you can take us," he replied. "I'll take it from there."
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"Whenever you're ready," she said simply, and waited. It wasn't as if there was much else to say.
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"Do we need to hold hands or somesuch?" she asked teasingly, not altogether joking.
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