Part 4
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Masha's head jerks up and she realizes suddenly that the room had cleared while she'd been busy with the two and she turns to stare at Elise. "What happened?"
Leynai gave a small nod, and a partial attempt to blink away the blurry form that was now doing something with her eyes as she mumbled "Rest... k.."
Elise watches Jan, Bodi, and Rena go, and scowls. She looks back down at Eamon and his very-dilated eyes. "Guin isn't out yet--they've gone back for her," she says to him and Masha both. She briefly untangles her hand from Eamon's, and tugs her helmet off, letting her ears flick free.
Masha takes a cleansing breath against the cramp that wants to form in her gut as she realizes they've all gone back in. She speaks into the COM, "Keep me informed."
Masha blinks and says into the com, "What? Guin cher?" Frustration covers her face but she doesn't leave the two, jaw flexing.
Eamon stares blearily at Elise. Moon on fire, her mouth is ribble-ti-tibble and the fur-thing beneath him kisses the stun baton's burn on his thigh. He lifts a hand to his face, feels a mask, rasps in breath that tastes of ash and whispers. "Need to help her..." he croaks, rusty as Lenore. He tries to lever himself off the bed; the room explodes in a sheen of greasy light.
Masha hears no response and turns as eamon struggles, appearing next to Elise in his field of vision. In her low voice she against soothes, "Non cher, just stay calm, they have her, Jan, Rena, Bodi, they are going to get her. All is well."
Elise places a gentle hand on Eamon's chest, and would press him back down to the mattress. "I think not," she says and makes sure his mask doesn't budge, either. She would catch his hand and draw it to her cheek. "They'll get her." She looks to Masha, knowing neither one of them can walk in there and get her.
Eamon sees brown-gold-white-red... Masha, beside Elise. He'd know that smoky voice anywhere. Chocolate and vanilla, you could swirl them, aye, and make a cone. Her voice tastes cold and it drips across his face... "Fecking hell," he rasps, closing his eyes. "I think I'm stoned..." Soft velvet beneath his fingertips. Warmth. Moon on fire.
Elise rubs her cheek against Eamon's fingertips and checks the drip of his IV. "More fluids, Masha?" she asks. "How long until this runs its course?"
Masha smiles at Eamon's comment. "The antidote has some other qualities, but it will wear off, l'ami." At Elise's question she checks the rate, 125/hour and it was an 1000 ml bag with a good 800 and then some left. "He'll be fine, cher. Just let it run." She checks Leynai who's seems to have blessedly gone to sleep.
Elise exhales and nods at Masha, thankful they hadn't needed the blood or the crash cart. She moves to put the blood back in the fridge, then comes back to Eamon's side, wrapping both her hands around his one. More waiting. She hates waiting and looks to the curtains, wondering where the hell Guin and the others are.
Leynai would softy mumble in her sleep, fingers curling into her palms a bit as she gave a slight shift and a whispered curse... something about soldiers and such large egos to go with such small packages before falling silent again, breathing even and a bit more steady now.
Masha takes a moment to carefully cork the antidote and wrap it back up in the many clothes, one color at a time, before tucking it into her pouch.
Eamon opens his eyes again. It's easier this time, burns less, and while his head still pounds with a rotten throb, and the room is a smear of melting bricks... it frames a face that comes into sharp, sweet focus. He watches her from above the mask, then slowly lifts his free hand to skate light fingers over its surface. "When can I take this off?" he whispers hoarsely.
Elise kisses Eamon's fingers, then looks over to the girl, and the drip of her IV; it looks okay from here, but that may not be saying much, given she has but one eye. Still, she is resting, and that is only good. She looks back down at Eamon, not quite believing he was back here and cranky over his oxygen mask. "You keep that on as long as Masha says," she murmurs and wonders what happened to his glasses.
Masha turns at the question, and wishes for about the millionth time she had proper equipment here. She has no way to monitor their oxygen saturation. "You can take it off, cher, but if you feel even the tiniest bit short of breath, I want you to be honest and say."
Masha grows impatient and once again says into the COM, "Update?"
Eamon manages a chuckle. "Aye, mum," he whispers, a tired smile in his eyes as he looks up at Elise. He hears Masha's warm voice from somewhere in the shadows behind the cat, and nods slowly, lifting his hand once more to draw the mask down to his chest. He draws a slow breath of damp air, tastes shadows... then his fingers uncurl as if beckoning Elise down for a whispered word.
Elise leans closer, brushing the hair away from his cheek as he draws the mask down. The orange isn't so bad on him now, she thinks; he is like a bright piece of citrus in the gloom of the room. "You're okay," she whispers again, and can't help but rub her nose against his. She wonders who she's trying to convince, him or her.
Masha breathes a relieved sigh as she gets word. "They say, 'everyone is home' which I hope means they are safe."
Eamon closes his eyes as she moves over him. His fingers sink into her hair, cradling her head, and when her nose brushes his, he leans up a fraction and kisses her mouth. "I am now," he says softly, and settles back again, opening his eyes on a wry, faint smile.
Jan puffed out his lips, as he took Guin's hand back behind the office, and then let go, once he was sure she'd follow down the way. He exhales a long held breath, and looks to Masha, "Guin's in. I don't know what happened. But I need to head back, and now, if we're going to start frying the security tape."
Elise smiles under Eamon's soft kiss and returns it in kind. He was back and that was something. Her thanks is silent for now, and heartfelt. She looks up to Masha, then Jan, and wonders about the long trip back to Midian. Could they make it this night? "Is Guin all right?" she asks.
Masha checks again on both patients then hurries over to Guin, eyes moving over her, checking her eyes, her skin tone, reaching for her wrist with one hand, her forehead with the other. "What *happened*?"
Eamon blinks at Jan's voice and tries to lever himself upright again. The room shifts in and out of focus again. Sandpaper licks his eyes. "Is she -here?"-
Guin is slow moving, saying nothing as she follows Jan, each step an effort. She bites her cheek, until she tastes blood, mingling with what was already there. She steps through the curtain, lingering at the edge. Her eyes fall immediately on Eamon, Elise above him, and exhales. Something like a sob and a laugh catches in her throat. She tries to shake her head at Masha's question, then thinks better of it. "Crazy Marine," she whispers.
Jan , seeing Guin in hand, nodded, and brushed back the curtain, running back with alacrity towards the Basement proper.
Elise would help Eamon sit up if he really wanted to, keeping a hand braced at his back. "She's here," she says, hearing Guin's soft voice. She looks over, then back to Eamon, hoping he doesn't feel like throwing up. She looks around for a basin, just in case.
Masha frowns and guides Guin to the mattress to sit next to the sleeping girl. "What happened?" she repeats, growing alarmed.
Eamon grunts and clutches at the side of the mattress--fur again, undulating against his palm--and struggles into a sitting position with Elise's help. He doesn't feel like sicking up; he feels like all his senses have somehow switched places without informing him first. "Guin?"
Masha touches the swollen jaw lightly, then frowns at what she sees of guin's pupils. "Elise cher, I need an ice pack please? And if you would start an IV on Guin, just in case, that would be good. She has been beat up some and I suspect head trauma somewhere." She pulls out her penlight and shines in Guin's ears, then moves it slowly across the woman's eyes, testing for reactivity.
Rena moved through the curtain and growled out. "Surpised cargo....She saw too much. She goes back with us or she dies. You all decide."
Jesma is carried and out of it thankfully to avoid the smell of the rang blindfold.
Guin lets Masha guide her, glancing briefly at the quiet woman on the mattress. No one else seems alarmed, though, so she lets it go. Her eyes fall on Eamon, being propped up by Elise, and smiles faintly. "Hope I wasn't too mean," she tries to joke. Wincing as Masha touches her jaw, she instinctively jerks away. "No needles," she hisses.
Bodi dumped the unconscious girl on the floor unceremoniously, her eyes cold and irritated
Elise makes sure Eamon is sitting well, and stands, crossing to the freezer to get an ice pack for Guin. She means to get her an IV too, but stops when Guin says no needles. She brings only the ice pack back, sitting back by Eamon once she's given it over to Guin. She looks up at Rena, not understanding what they need to decide. Then she sees the other girl and her ears flatten.
Jesma dumped. So loved.
Jan grunted, and took up the laptop, holding it slightly open, as the tracebreaker began to run, hoping that the wifi would carry out to the Underground. Sitting quietly amid all the computer hardware, in various states of completion, he set to work, fingers mousing and flying across the keyboard, as, through trial and error, he stalked the labrynthine network of the LDC, parsing the semi-random bits that flew across the screen as his teeth grit, looking for that holy pattern which would give him the fulcrum to make the system scream, and yield to his will.
Masha frowns as she probes the back of Guin's head, finding the significant lump there. She tries to look directly into Guin's eyes, speaking slowly and clearly. "You have a head injury. Your pupils are the wrong size. I want an IV in case you start to have swelling and I need to do an emergency procedure. You will let Elise put in the IV cher, or I will ask Rena to have someone hold you down whie she does it." Her voice is firm.
Bodi: Stretching the strained muscles, Bodi pushed at her with one booted foot
Eamon runs a shaking hand through his hair; the wig sloughs off, surprising him. When did a weasel crawl on his head and die? He eyes it a moment, uncomprehending, then looks across the room to Guin--now a blur with a brown wisp of coyote fluff crouching before her. Then ah, sensory overload, with yet another coming in. Rena? With a package. Wait, they had the package. "Who is it?" he croaks.
Rena looked at Elise...the ears. She knew that look. "It was unavoidable. She saw them coming out of the LCD. Saw us bring them in here." she looked at Eamon, relief flooding her features to see him and the girl doing ok. "I don't know. I think we just take her with us. New life in Midian...."
Guin holds still under Masha's touch, hissing low in pain as she touches the painful parts. Which at the moment, felt like everything. She accepts the ice pack from Elise, not sure where to put it. She can't look up, so she waits until she's seated again to give her a faint smile. "Promised," she whispers. Her eyes shift to Eamon as she listens like a sullen child to Masha. "Fine," she mutters. "But I don't want to see it."
Jesma pushed at. She sharply inhales and spasms in fully body twitch and then settles back to motionless for a little longer.
Rena quietly watched the little group on the matresses. Three women....so different from her. Calm, quiet. Not like her with her volitile nature and tendancy to fuck up constantly. She looked away and waited for calmer heads to decide this one.
Elise listens to Masha chide Guin, and she gets back up, getting the IV and tubing after all. She comes back to the mattresses and crouches by Guin's side. She doesn't think about that girl on the floor, only Guin right now. "Promised," she repeats back and says, "This won't hurt--I promise that, too. Bianca taught me." With that, she sets to working as she did on the girl and Eamon, prepping the IV, then rolling up Guin's sleeve. Hopefully there is barely a pinch when she seats the IV in the crook of her elbow. The tourniquet...that might have hurt more, but it was fleeting.
Bodi slip the fake dogtags over her head, depositing them in a pocket in her fatigues. Her fingers drifted to the other set that hung there, tracing the name stamp like she had a hundred times before, her eyes unfocused and full of sorrow.
Eamon fights to focus his damned eyes. He stares hard across the room. "Is she fecking Legion? She looks like a child."
Masha smiles suddenly, sweetly at the dazed Guin, and holds her hand while Elise works, turning to look at the unconscious woman. She sighs. "There's drugs we can give her... mess up her memory?"
Guin probably shouldn't care about the needle--it felt like a marching band lived in her skull, and now that the adrenaline is starting to fade she can feel the more specific pain, along her jaw and ribs. More pretty bruises. She extends her arm, allows Elise to do her work... she focuses still on Eamon, as if at any moment he might disappear. Her free hand curls around Masha's. "What did she see?" she whispers, not turning. She doesn't remember anyone else. "Are you all right?" she asks Eamon finally. He must be, logically, but he still doesn't seem himself.
Rena knelt next to the girl and sighed. "No...I don't think so. She's just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time." she reached out to sooth a hand over the girl's hair...oddly gentle. "Some of them do deserve to be saved. Maybe she's one." god she hoped so.
Jesma has a smelly bar rag blindfold on and at the soothing touch she stirs and nose wrinkles with a sniff.
Bodi silently agreed with Rena, the girl was just nosy and in the wrong place.."So, we let her go? or take her to Midian?"
Jan found himself restricted by the laptop, grumbling as he found it took far too long for it to communicate the long list of commands to the highly encrypted LDC server. His jaw worked, as he regarded it carefully. node#uac//ldc.secure.cgi[cctv].... fuck it. He searched the system, but the back door didn't seem to show up... until... Ah. Back doors. The vent. The morgue. Quiet as a fox stalking prey, he browsed through funeral records. Grinning, he sees the entrance. A guestbook. A backdoor.
Masha nods. She'd much rather trust that the girl wouldn't say a word then do something drastic. She goes over to the counter and withdraws a syringe and draws up some pain medicine for Guin and goes back over to her, injecting some into the IV. Guin would feel a mild rush of warmth, then a distance from the pain. Some sleepiness too, and a bit of a fuzzy feeling, but it wasn't as strong as morphine - she'd be able to think.
Eamon is silent for a moment, watching the shadow of Rena descending. "I say ye wait until she wakes, and talk to her, and make your decision then." He turns at Guin's voice, and smiles--tired, half-cocked, but real nonetheless. "I am," he says softly, then he shifts on the mattress, to better see her face and bring it into focus. "Fookin hell, lass..." he whispers. "What happened to ye?" Anger washes his words.
Elise tapes Guin's IV line in place and rocks back a little to look at her. She holds the IV bag, not having found another pole, and looks to Masha, thinking this facility might be a good one to give an anonymous donation to. They needed medical supplies at the least, and Cata had given her that money for a good cause. This could be it. She shifts when Eamon does, to be sure he isn't about to topple over, placing her free hand on his boot.
Rena's hand stilled when the girl moved and she whispered. "Stay still and you stay safe. No one will hurt you if you don't see anything. Take the blindfold off and you limit our options here." her voice was a soothing purr, like warm honey being poured into the girl's ears.
Bodi: "I agree with Father Eamon..."Bodi eyed Rena askance, not sure if her advice was something the other woman wanted to hearl.
Jesma: "The blindfold stinks." Squirms in place a little, offended by the smell of sour rag and more than a little worried.
Masha turns finally to take in the scene, content that there were no immediate after effects from the poison. Still. She checks the sleeping girl once more, then Eamon, monitoring heart rate, rhythm, strenght, listening to lungs yet again. "Eamon cher, you may not remember but I'll remind you. I will want to follow up with you both after this at the MCMC, make sure there is no lasting harm done."
Guin is quiet as the others talk about the girl--she doesn't turn to look yet, keeping her head steady, but is reassured by the calm reactions. Her eyes close, briefly, as Masha injects something that washes warm through her, like a blanket in winter, and she takes a deep breath. Her eyes find Eamon's again. "The Marine. With the baton. He panicked, about the virus." She pauses to turn slightly, fixing Elise with a smile. "Thank you," she whispers. Still, doesn't look at the needle. "He blamed me for bringing it to the base. When I tried to leave, he was in full hazard gear, with an assult rifle... wanted to erase all evidence of what had happened." She's quiet a moment. Still hurts to take a deep breath. "The other one... the woman. She helped get me out. I hope she's okay... "
Jan's long fingers worked tirelessly, almost with the same rhythmic thrum that he would use, playing the piano. His eyes fixed on the screen, as he spewed raw code, exploiting the back door, sliding tendrils of control into the monolithic system. Tongue lapped over his teeth, unconciously, as he found the security files. People in. People out. The whole day's footage. The whole week. He checked the .ini. And it hadn't been backed up to command. Well, in that case, simple. Carefully, he went into the system registry, and worked out his own write-read privileges, and implanted a shell script. A tiny, ticking bomb, waiting, begging for his command. The keys were tapped in meaningful sequence //run. //quit. He stood, and exhaled, before walking up, to the group standing in the medical bay. "It's done."
Rena's hand moved on her hair. "I know, I'm sorry. You just wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. We don't want to hurt you." they didn't want to...but they would was the implication. "I'm going to give you a choice. An option. Take it and we'll help you. You'll get a new life...a job. People who'll watch out for you. In a new city." she didn't give a second option, hand hovering over her hair as she spoke.
Eamon shoots a quick glance at the green-eyed lass. Bodi? Had he heard her name aright? He nods once, grim gratitude in his eyes that she agreed with him over the girl. His gaze lingers on Rena and her captive while Masha checks him over again, then he smiles wanly and touches the coyote's hand in answer. "I will. Elise will get after me too, make sure I go." But his smile fades as he listens and turns back to Guin. He has no words.
Bodi hopped down off the counter, feeling suddenly tired and weak, the adrenaline rush long gone. Her gaze freezes on Jan, searching his face, waiting.
Masha nods up at Jan, gives Bodi a curious look - she's heard the yelling only vaguely but suddenly now the content filtered in through memory - then over at Rena and the slight girl. She smiles at Eamon's response, then watches, holding her breath as she waits to hear the girl's answer.
Eamon looks steadily at Guin. "We need to get ye home." Turning to Masha, he adds, "How soon 'til we can move them? The lass too?" He nods toward the girl sprawled on the dingy mattress.
Elise wonders if Eamon is kindly trying to say she's a nag about certain things. She looks back at him, dark mouth lifting in a smile, before she looks back to Guin and the steady drip of her IV, waiting to hear the girl on the floor answer Rena.
Jesma: "I have a job here." Of course doesn't jump at the prospect. Not many would, but she does detect the no highway option there. She pauses, trying to think. "I'd...have to get my pet, "Buttons..., guinea pig" Her tone fluctuates between rapid fast talk and hesitating pauses as though thinking.
Guin swallows, mouth still a little dry. She holds Eamon's eyes, not sure what he's thinking. With her free hand she reaches up to tuck wayward strands behind her ear. She feels wet and sticky at her temple, and frowns. "Doesn't matter," she whispers. "Everyone's safe, right? We actually pulled it off." She smiles, wearily, but it's still a smile.
Masha checks the drips, then looks at Guin, seeing the ease in the woman with the pain medication. Another half hour maybe?" she says quietly after the girl speaks. She looks over at Jan, wondering if he could would feel up to fetching Buttons the Guinea Pig. She certainly couldn't with her huge coyote tail.
Rena hmmed softly. "I'll get it for you and bring it to you. And I'll get you a better job. What do you make?"
Jan stared back down at Masha. He had already gone to fetch Guinie the Buttons Pig. He already made techno-magic happen with a pisspot laptop downstairs, and he got socked by a mortician. He took Bodi by the waste, and frowned. "I'll get the pet, if you need someone to run out. Just let me change."
Bodi walked over to Jan, coming to a stop right infront of him. Emerald eyes met his dark ones for an instant, leaning into his touch.
Masha meets Jan's gaze, wondering what on earth was going on in there but she smiles at the offer. Her smiles broadens at his expression - he just looks so *disgruntled*. It was cute.
Jesma: "You don't even know where I live and, umm, Buttons is tempermental about travel. Preparations have to be made...." Paws at her blindfold irritatedly nervous. "I'm in robotics. I can't dance." Why she even brings up what she can't do is anyone's guess, but the hasty way she says it seems to suggest its a sort spot.
Eamon nods at Masha's reply. Thirty minutes suited him fine; he could rest up a bit himself, without looking like he -needed- to rest up a bit himself. He sits back slowly, listening to Rena's interaction with the blindfolded lass, and in silence, takes Elise's hand, cradling it between his own.
Rena bllinked. Wow...so helpfull all of a sudden. "Tell us where you live. WeYour pet...hell, we'll get all your things later. A new job...." she leaned over the girl and whispered.
Elise carefully shifts Guin's IV bag, keeping it elevated, and hoping she's feeling some relief from the pain meds Masha added. They were talking about tempermental pets? Her ears flick and she shivers, starting to feel cold in this place again, now that everyone was back and safe. When Eamon takes her hand, she smiles soft; there was warmth, and she curls her fingers around his.
Guin's smile fades, and her eyes fall briefly to Eamon and Elise's joined hands before dropping to her own lap. "How long do I have to keep the IV in?" she asks quietly. She is feeling better. Alive, anyway, and for a moment she hadn't been sure of that. "Did everything go smoothly on this end?"
Masha checks the time on her phone and does another round of checking heart and lungs on her patients, then checks Guin's eyes again. She seems to be happier with the pupillary response. "Just until we leave, okay cher? Just humor me."
Jesma jerkingly flinched and pulled her knees in at the whispered remark.
Jesma: "I like my job." whispers, choked. Not an idiot, cooperating, because she can tell she is in a precarious position.
Rena's hand soothed through her hair again. "It's a good deal." she murmured. "Better than the only alternative I have to offer at the moment." she sighed and closed her eyes. This was what the monsters were for, right. "You come quietly...or we put a bullet in your head." she knew they'd never allow it, but didn't let that creep into her voice. It was cold as ice now.
Guin wrinkles her nose, but she looks about as forward to having it out as she did having it put in. "Just for you," she teases. Shifting carefully on the floor, she reaches over with her free hand to offer to take the bag from Elise. "You don't have to keep holding that," she says with a grin.
Elise tilts her head at Guin. "Told you we'd be cranky if we had to come in there," she says softly, trying to keep her tone light. She hands over the bag carefully. "Just keep it elevated, hmm?"
Leynai gave a small groan as she shifted, eyes blinking a few times before gaining enough focus to make out the lines on the fabric of the mattress, hands moved to press and lift to sit only to see a lovely explosion of rainbow colours swirl before her, eyes clamping closed as teeth bit her bottom lip for a moment.. felt like she'd had a very large glass of sand poured down her throat.. had to wonder if it was possable to sleep this whatever it was they gave her off as she gave a broken, sandy incoherent whisper into the mattress.
Jan just held Bodi, whether or not he'd allow it was up to debate, really. He wasn't much of the type to say no. He merely curled his arm around Bodi, and watched the pair. "Well, do we have an address, or can I go home and pop open the bubbly?"
Eamon hears the lass' broken whisper, and he turns away. His gaze lingers on Guin, on Elise and Masha beside him, and his jaw tightens. The girl should never have seen them. But his own words to those of the parish who knew come back to haunt him. Too many lives were at stake to trust a stranger blindly.
Masha grins suddenly at Guin's comment, observing, "We are a bit short on equipment, eh?" She shoots Elise a thankful look - having someone to assist was appreciated more than she could express, but her smile dims at Rena's threat. She knows the necessity of it, but it was hard to hear. She looks away then to Leynai as the girl stirs, instantly at her side. "Shh, cher, you are safe and it will wear off soon," she soothes. "You want water?"
Bodi wrapped one of her own arms around Jan, burying her face in his neck. She was past the point of caring now, she just wanted to curl up next to Jan and relax, forget the evening ever occured.
Leynai gave a small nod.. "Wa.. water, yes.." then added an uncustomary and polite "Please.." as she hugged the mattress like it was her best friend.
Jesma gasps and whimpers, lip quivering and trembling. Naturally scared out of her mind. She starts feeling a little desperate and it shows as she looks around without looking, because she can't see, but the gesture of looking around denotes thoughts of flight.
Masha rises and gets three cups, carrying over one which she sets beside Guin, then the other two, offering one to Eamon before sitting on the mattress besides the girl. "Let me help you up, eh?" she's offer, and slip one arm underneath the girl's shoulders, supporting her. "Move slow," she cautions.
Guin nods as she takes the bag from Elise, leaning back so her elbow stays propped on the mattress behind her. She works her jaw, testing it carefully, then stops. Ow. She laughs quietly at Elise's comment, then her eyes shift briefly to Eamon's again. She can scarely believe they actually did it... not that she doubted, of course. "You have to tell me what you were saying," she says quietly, lips quirking. "I didn't understand a word of it." Rena's words finally sink in, and she carefully turns her head so she can at least see the girl in question, and Rena over her. Her instinct is to reassure, but she can't.
Elise's ears flatten again, still aching a bit from being trapped under her helmet for so long. She eyes Rena and the girl and thinks she catches the word "bullet," but she's not sure. "Drink slow," she murmurs. No throwing up, thank you very much.
Rena was suddenly grateful when no one argued. Hell, she wasn't sure she COULd go through with that threat. The girl looked so fucking innocent. Still, her hand moved to lock on the girl's hair if she could get a good hold and the other swiftly drew the gun she wore at her side. She didn't point it at the girl, but she'd definitely hear the motion as she flicked her thumb over the safty, causing an audible click. "Choose now." she growled.
Eamon takes the water gratefully. He murmurs thanks, and lifts the cup, flicking dark eyes toward Guin at her query and pausing before a drink. He grins, faint but good-humored all the same. "'Twas pure Dublin," he says softly.
Leynai gave as much of nod as she could without feeling to dizzy, arm slipping to move and brace against the one offering "Slow,.. helps.." one hand trying tp help lift herself into as much of a sitting position as she could manage "Thank you.."
Jesma whines panicked and covers her ears a moment, hiding from the scary sound of the gun. She kicks her legs in panicked, pumped thrusts and then tries to crawl around Rena blindly to get behind her, away from the gun, which doesn't make a lot of sense, but made some sense in her panicked mind when she initially started to do it. At the same time, she is rattling off her address in frantic, lip quivering mumbles.
Guin arches a brow at that, looking up only to murmur thanks to Masha. She'd drink it in a moment. "Just want to make sure you weren't cursing me out," she says, smile deepening. "Sorry that idiot was so... enthusiastic." She wrinkles her nose again, then shifts slightly toward Rena. She can see what she's doing, and hear the conflict in her voice. Or the conflict she knows is there, regardless. Her heart clenches again.
Jan gets the address, and looks to Rena. "Got it. I'll grab it, and have it at the boat. Then, I'm going to be a good Catholic, pray my rosary, and get blitzed. Any objections?"
Rena nodded and let her go, whispering, "Good girl." before rising and announcing. "She's coming with me. Make sure both girls are blindfolded till they get to the boats." she suddenly put her hand over her mouth, feeling ill over what she'd just done. She turned away from them all.
Masha helps the girl. "You are welcome, cher," she says, watching the tableu across the room. Better this than the alternative, she tells herself. Getting the girl settled, she stands and gets some alcohol swabs and some gloves. Squatting before Eamon, she'd turn off the pump, untape the stick, press down with the little square and slide out the needle. "Thank you for all your help cher," she says quietly to Elise before moving over to Leynai to repeat the process. She'd wind up in front of Guin, asking, "Are you ready?"
Elise watches Rena with the girl, wanting to say something, but not; she understood the need for the threat here, lest all of this fall apart. She thinks of the things she saw tonight, of the trust Rena showed her, and exhales, leaning back into the mattress. Her hand tightens in Eamon's. The night was catching up with her quick. She nods to Masha and smiles soft. "Thank -you-," she says, and it's not enough. For getting Eamon back on -this- side of life...not nearly enough.
Bodi laughed softly, "Only if you don't share the champagne..." Her eyes moved to Rena, curious as to why she was having a problem. Bodi knew she would not have done it. She sighed and looked down. There was gonna be fallout from tonight, from more than one direction. She pressed her face into Jan's shoulder...one thing at a time.
Eamon looks up at Masha, nods his thanks, and slowly gets to his feet. He stills for a moment, waiting for his head to stop its sway, then he starts quietly toward Rena.
Jesma sits up in a ball trembling a little in waves, but refrains from the temptation to rock.
Guin tries to watch Masha take the other IVs out, but can't. She focuses on the scratchy uniform fabric, plucking it idly as she waits her turn. She feels all of eight years old at Masha's question, but dammit, she can't help. Scrunching up her eyes, she holds out her arm. Still, she sees Eamon walk past, and has a feeling where he's headed. The thought makes her smile, a little, and takes her mind off the needle jabbed in her poor delicate vein.
Leynai actually managed some restraint as she held the glass of water.. eyes moving to take in the room as best she could and avoid looking at the I.V., she would slowly sip the water, just content now to be able to move though things still seemed a bit loopy..
Rena glanced down at the trembling girl at her feet and a little wave of self loathing coursed through her for being the one to do that to her.
Elise moves back to let Masha tend Guin's IV. She picks up her helmet from the floor but doesn't put it back on; not yet.
Masha smiles at Guin's expression. Taking out the IV doesn't hurt. If anything, tape could pull but otherwise... but Guin was fighting a fear, not the pain. She does it swiftly as possible, then takes Guin hand to press it down on the square, letting her hold it in place. "Done cher," she says quietly then stands to get one last cup of water, bring it over to Rena. She offers it to the cat, expecting a certain dose of medication to be taken now that the night was closing.
Eamon leaves the soft voices and med work behind him, that cluster of lasses, both strange and familiar, on the mattresses near the wall. He quietly closes the distance between himself and Rena. At Masha's approach, he stills, and waits, not wanting to interfere.
Rena reached in her pocket at the sight of the glass and palmed the drugs, showing them to Masha before dumping them in her mouth and taking the glass. She needed drugs now. She took a drink and even showed her tongue to prove they were gone.
Masha grins and winks at the cat before moving back to the rescued girl on the mattress.
Eamon waits until Masha moves back to her other patients, her tail like a flag behind her. Then he moves up behind Rena, and speak softly where only she can hear.
Rena felt him at her back and stilled, head tilted to listen.
Jesma hears 'sppspsspsssppsss' sound, but can't make out what is said. Still, it makes her shoulders shudder, as it's just another unknown to add to the pile.
Guin doesn't look around until Masha is pressing her hand to her arm. The blood doesn't bother her, never had. It's just the needle. She dutifully holds it in place, looking up at the others. Her mind is clearer, but still not clear. What feels like a migraine still lurks at the edges, and she's sure it will feel lovely tomorrow. Bending her arm to drap the square, she reaches at last for her water, taking a grateful sip.
Rena's eyes fluttered closed and she took a ragged breath before nodding. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, at a loss for words.
Eamon watches her profile for a moment, then he gently clasps her arm and turns away.here.ere.
Masha's head jerks up and she realizes suddenly that the room had cleared while she'd been busy with the two and she turns to stare at Elise. "What happened?"
Leynai gave a small nod, and a partial attempt to blink away the blurry form that was now doing something with her eyes as she mumbled "Rest... k.."
Elise watches Jan, Bodi, and Rena go, and scowls. She looks back down at Eamon and his very-dilated eyes. "Guin isn't out yet--they've gone back for her," she says to him and Masha both. She briefly untangles her hand from Eamon's, and tugs her helmet off, letting her ears flick free.
Masha takes a cleansing breath against the cramp that wants to form in her gut as she realizes they've all gone back in. She speaks into the COM, "Keep me informed."
Masha blinks and says into the com, "What? Guin cher?" Frustration covers her face but she doesn't leave the two, jaw flexing.
Eamon stares blearily at Elise. Moon on fire, her mouth is ribble-ti-tibble and the fur-thing beneath him kisses the stun baton's burn on his thigh. He lifts a hand to his face, feels a mask, rasps in breath that tastes of ash and whispers. "Need to help her..." he croaks, rusty as Lenore. He tries to lever himself off the bed; the room explodes in a sheen of greasy light.
Masha hears no response and turns as eamon struggles, appearing next to Elise in his field of vision. In her low voice she against soothes, "Non cher, just stay calm, they have her, Jan, Rena, Bodi, they are going to get her. All is well."
Elise places a gentle hand on Eamon's chest, and would press him back down to the mattress. "I think not," she says and makes sure his mask doesn't budge, either. She would catch his hand and draw it to her cheek. "They'll get her." She looks to Masha, knowing neither one of them can walk in there and get her.
Eamon sees brown-gold-white-red... Masha, beside Elise. He'd know that smoky voice anywhere. Chocolate and vanilla, you could swirl them, aye, and make a cone. Her voice tastes cold and it drips across his face... "Fecking hell," he rasps, closing his eyes. "I think I'm stoned..." Soft velvet beneath his fingertips. Warmth. Moon on fire.
Elise rubs her cheek against Eamon's fingertips and checks the drip of his IV. "More fluids, Masha?" she asks. "How long until this runs its course?"
Masha smiles at Eamon's comment. "The antidote has some other qualities, but it will wear off, l'ami." At Elise's question she checks the rate, 125/hour and it was an 1000 ml bag with a good 800 and then some left. "He'll be fine, cher. Just let it run." She checks Leynai who's seems to have blessedly gone to sleep.
Elise exhales and nods at Masha, thankful they hadn't needed the blood or the crash cart. She moves to put the blood back in the fridge, then comes back to Eamon's side, wrapping both her hands around his one. More waiting. She hates waiting and looks to the curtains, wondering where the hell Guin and the others are.
Leynai would softy mumble in her sleep, fingers curling into her palms a bit as she gave a slight shift and a whispered curse... something about soldiers and such large egos to go with such small packages before falling silent again, breathing even and a bit more steady now.
Masha takes a moment to carefully cork the antidote and wrap it back up in the many clothes, one color at a time, before tucking it into her pouch.
Eamon opens his eyes again. It's easier this time, burns less, and while his head still pounds with a rotten throb, and the room is a smear of melting bricks... it frames a face that comes into sharp, sweet focus. He watches her from above the mask, then slowly lifts his free hand to skate light fingers over its surface. "When can I take this off?" he whispers hoarsely.
Elise kisses Eamon's fingers, then looks over to the girl, and the drip of her IV; it looks okay from here, but that may not be saying much, given she has but one eye. Still, she is resting, and that is only good. She looks back down at Eamon, not quite believing he was back here and cranky over his oxygen mask. "You keep that on as long as Masha says," she murmurs and wonders what happened to his glasses.
Masha turns at the question, and wishes for about the millionth time she had proper equipment here. She has no way to monitor their oxygen saturation. "You can take it off, cher, but if you feel even the tiniest bit short of breath, I want you to be honest and say."
Masha grows impatient and once again says into the COM, "Update?"
Eamon manages a chuckle. "Aye, mum," he whispers, a tired smile in his eyes as he looks up at Elise. He hears Masha's warm voice from somewhere in the shadows behind the cat, and nods slowly, lifting his hand once more to draw the mask down to his chest. He draws a slow breath of damp air, tastes shadows... then his fingers uncurl as if beckoning Elise down for a whispered word.
Elise leans closer, brushing the hair away from his cheek as he draws the mask down. The orange isn't so bad on him now, she thinks; he is like a bright piece of citrus in the gloom of the room. "You're okay," she whispers again, and can't help but rub her nose against his. She wonders who she's trying to convince, him or her.
Masha breathes a relieved sigh as she gets word. "They say, 'everyone is home' which I hope means they are safe."
Eamon closes his eyes as she moves over him. His fingers sink into her hair, cradling her head, and when her nose brushes his, he leans up a fraction and kisses her mouth. "I am now," he says softly, and settles back again, opening his eyes on a wry, faint smile.
Jan puffed out his lips, as he took Guin's hand back behind the office, and then let go, once he was sure she'd follow down the way. He exhales a long held breath, and looks to Masha, "Guin's in. I don't know what happened. But I need to head back, and now, if we're going to start frying the security tape."
Elise smiles under Eamon's soft kiss and returns it in kind. He was back and that was something. Her thanks is silent for now, and heartfelt. She looks up to Masha, then Jan, and wonders about the long trip back to Midian. Could they make it this night? "Is Guin all right?" she asks.
Masha checks again on both patients then hurries over to Guin, eyes moving over her, checking her eyes, her skin tone, reaching for her wrist with one hand, her forehead with the other. "What *happened*?"
Eamon blinks at Jan's voice and tries to lever himself upright again. The room shifts in and out of focus again. Sandpaper licks his eyes. "Is she -here?"-
Guin is slow moving, saying nothing as she follows Jan, each step an effort. She bites her cheek, until she tastes blood, mingling with what was already there. She steps through the curtain, lingering at the edge. Her eyes fall immediately on Eamon, Elise above him, and exhales. Something like a sob and a laugh catches in her throat. She tries to shake her head at Masha's question, then thinks better of it. "Crazy Marine," she whispers.
Jan , seeing Guin in hand, nodded, and brushed back the curtain, running back with alacrity towards the Basement proper.
Elise would help Eamon sit up if he really wanted to, keeping a hand braced at his back. "She's here," she says, hearing Guin's soft voice. She looks over, then back to Eamon, hoping he doesn't feel like throwing up. She looks around for a basin, just in case.
Masha frowns and guides Guin to the mattress to sit next to the sleeping girl. "What happened?" she repeats, growing alarmed.
Eamon grunts and clutches at the side of the mattress--fur again, undulating against his palm--and struggles into a sitting position with Elise's help. He doesn't feel like sicking up; he feels like all his senses have somehow switched places without informing him first. "Guin?"
Masha touches the swollen jaw lightly, then frowns at what she sees of guin's pupils. "Elise cher, I need an ice pack please? And if you would start an IV on Guin, just in case, that would be good. She has been beat up some and I suspect head trauma somewhere." She pulls out her penlight and shines in Guin's ears, then moves it slowly across the woman's eyes, testing for reactivity.
Rena moved through the curtain and growled out. "Surpised cargo....She saw too much. She goes back with us or she dies. You all decide."
Jesma is carried and out of it thankfully to avoid the smell of the rang blindfold.
Guin lets Masha guide her, glancing briefly at the quiet woman on the mattress. No one else seems alarmed, though, so she lets it go. Her eyes fall on Eamon, being propped up by Elise, and smiles faintly. "Hope I wasn't too mean," she tries to joke. Wincing as Masha touches her jaw, she instinctively jerks away. "No needles," she hisses.
Bodi dumped the unconscious girl on the floor unceremoniously, her eyes cold and irritated
Elise makes sure Eamon is sitting well, and stands, crossing to the freezer to get an ice pack for Guin. She means to get her an IV too, but stops when Guin says no needles. She brings only the ice pack back, sitting back by Eamon once she's given it over to Guin. She looks up at Rena, not understanding what they need to decide. Then she sees the other girl and her ears flatten.
Jesma dumped. So loved.
Jan grunted, and took up the laptop, holding it slightly open, as the tracebreaker began to run, hoping that the wifi would carry out to the Underground. Sitting quietly amid all the computer hardware, in various states of completion, he set to work, fingers mousing and flying across the keyboard, as, through trial and error, he stalked the labrynthine network of the LDC, parsing the semi-random bits that flew across the screen as his teeth grit, looking for that holy pattern which would give him the fulcrum to make the system scream, and yield to his will.
Masha frowns as she probes the back of Guin's head, finding the significant lump there. She tries to look directly into Guin's eyes, speaking slowly and clearly. "You have a head injury. Your pupils are the wrong size. I want an IV in case you start to have swelling and I need to do an emergency procedure. You will let Elise put in the IV cher, or I will ask Rena to have someone hold you down whie she does it." Her voice is firm.
Bodi: Stretching the strained muscles, Bodi pushed at her with one booted foot
Eamon runs a shaking hand through his hair; the wig sloughs off, surprising him. When did a weasel crawl on his head and die? He eyes it a moment, uncomprehending, then looks across the room to Guin--now a blur with a brown wisp of coyote fluff crouching before her. Then ah, sensory overload, with yet another coming in. Rena? With a package. Wait, they had the package. "Who is it?" he croaks.
Rena looked at Elise...the ears. She knew that look. "It was unavoidable. She saw them coming out of the LCD. Saw us bring them in here." she looked at Eamon, relief flooding her features to see him and the girl doing ok. "I don't know. I think we just take her with us. New life in Midian...."
Guin holds still under Masha's touch, hissing low in pain as she touches the painful parts. Which at the moment, felt like everything. She accepts the ice pack from Elise, not sure where to put it. She can't look up, so she waits until she's seated again to give her a faint smile. "Promised," she whispers. Her eyes shift to Eamon as she listens like a sullen child to Masha. "Fine," she mutters. "But I don't want to see it."
Jesma pushed at. She sharply inhales and spasms in fully body twitch and then settles back to motionless for a little longer.
Rena quietly watched the little group on the matresses. Three women....so different from her. Calm, quiet. Not like her with her volitile nature and tendancy to fuck up constantly. She looked away and waited for calmer heads to decide this one.
Elise listens to Masha chide Guin, and she gets back up, getting the IV and tubing after all. She comes back to the mattresses and crouches by Guin's side. She doesn't think about that girl on the floor, only Guin right now. "Promised," she repeats back and says, "This won't hurt--I promise that, too. Bianca taught me." With that, she sets to working as she did on the girl and Eamon, prepping the IV, then rolling up Guin's sleeve. Hopefully there is barely a pinch when she seats the IV in the crook of her elbow. The tourniquet...that might have hurt more, but it was fleeting.
Bodi slip the fake dogtags over her head, depositing them in a pocket in her fatigues. Her fingers drifted to the other set that hung there, tracing the name stamp like she had a hundred times before, her eyes unfocused and full of sorrow.
Eamon fights to focus his damned eyes. He stares hard across the room. "Is she fecking Legion? She looks like a child."
Masha smiles suddenly, sweetly at the dazed Guin, and holds her hand while Elise works, turning to look at the unconscious woman. She sighs. "There's drugs we can give her... mess up her memory?"
Guin probably shouldn't care about the needle--it felt like a marching band lived in her skull, and now that the adrenaline is starting to fade she can feel the more specific pain, along her jaw and ribs. More pretty bruises. She extends her arm, allows Elise to do her work... she focuses still on Eamon, as if at any moment he might disappear. Her free hand curls around Masha's. "What did she see?" she whispers, not turning. She doesn't remember anyone else. "Are you all right?" she asks Eamon finally. He must be, logically, but he still doesn't seem himself.
Rena knelt next to the girl and sighed. "No...I don't think so. She's just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time." she reached out to sooth a hand over the girl's hair...oddly gentle. "Some of them do deserve to be saved. Maybe she's one." god she hoped so.
Jesma has a smelly bar rag blindfold on and at the soothing touch she stirs and nose wrinkles with a sniff.
Bodi silently agreed with Rena, the girl was just nosy and in the wrong place.."So, we let her go? or take her to Midian?"
Jan found himself restricted by the laptop, grumbling as he found it took far too long for it to communicate the long list of commands to the highly encrypted LDC server. His jaw worked, as he regarded it carefully. node#uac//ldc.secure.cgi[cctv].... fuck it. He searched the system, but the back door didn't seem to show up... until... Ah. Back doors. The vent. The morgue. Quiet as a fox stalking prey, he browsed through funeral records. Grinning, he sees the entrance. A guestbook. A backdoor.
Masha nods. She'd much rather trust that the girl wouldn't say a word then do something drastic. She goes over to the counter and withdraws a syringe and draws up some pain medicine for Guin and goes back over to her, injecting some into the IV. Guin would feel a mild rush of warmth, then a distance from the pain. Some sleepiness too, and a bit of a fuzzy feeling, but it wasn't as strong as morphine - she'd be able to think.
Eamon is silent for a moment, watching the shadow of Rena descending. "I say ye wait until she wakes, and talk to her, and make your decision then." He turns at Guin's voice, and smiles--tired, half-cocked, but real nonetheless. "I am," he says softly, then he shifts on the mattress, to better see her face and bring it into focus. "Fookin hell, lass..." he whispers. "What happened to ye?" Anger washes his words.
Elise tapes Guin's IV line in place and rocks back a little to look at her. She holds the IV bag, not having found another pole, and looks to Masha, thinking this facility might be a good one to give an anonymous donation to. They needed medical supplies at the least, and Cata had given her that money for a good cause. This could be it. She shifts when Eamon does, to be sure he isn't about to topple over, placing her free hand on his boot.
Rena's hand stilled when the girl moved and she whispered. "Stay still and you stay safe. No one will hurt you if you don't see anything. Take the blindfold off and you limit our options here." her voice was a soothing purr, like warm honey being poured into the girl's ears.
Bodi: "I agree with Father Eamon..."Bodi eyed Rena askance, not sure if her advice was something the other woman wanted to hearl.
Jesma: "The blindfold stinks." Squirms in place a little, offended by the smell of sour rag and more than a little worried.
Masha turns finally to take in the scene, content that there were no immediate after effects from the poison. Still. She checks the sleeping girl once more, then Eamon, monitoring heart rate, rhythm, strenght, listening to lungs yet again. "Eamon cher, you may not remember but I'll remind you. I will want to follow up with you both after this at the MCMC, make sure there is no lasting harm done."
Guin is quiet as the others talk about the girl--she doesn't turn to look yet, keeping her head steady, but is reassured by the calm reactions. Her eyes close, briefly, as Masha injects something that washes warm through her, like a blanket in winter, and she takes a deep breath. Her eyes find Eamon's again. "The Marine. With the baton. He panicked, about the virus." She pauses to turn slightly, fixing Elise with a smile. "Thank you," she whispers. Still, doesn't look at the needle. "He blamed me for bringing it to the base. When I tried to leave, he was in full hazard gear, with an assult rifle... wanted to erase all evidence of what had happened." She's quiet a moment. Still hurts to take a deep breath. "The other one... the woman. She helped get me out. I hope she's okay... "
Jan's long fingers worked tirelessly, almost with the same rhythmic thrum that he would use, playing the piano. His eyes fixed on the screen, as he spewed raw code, exploiting the back door, sliding tendrils of control into the monolithic system. Tongue lapped over his teeth, unconciously, as he found the security files. People in. People out. The whole day's footage. The whole week. He checked the .ini. And it hadn't been backed up to command. Well, in that case, simple. Carefully, he went into the system registry, and worked out his own write-read privileges, and implanted a shell script. A tiny, ticking bomb, waiting, begging for his command. The keys were tapped in meaningful sequence //run. //quit. He stood, and exhaled, before walking up, to the group standing in the medical bay. "It's done."
Rena's hand moved on her hair. "I know, I'm sorry. You just wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. We don't want to hurt you." they didn't want to...but they would was the implication. "I'm going to give you a choice. An option. Take it and we'll help you. You'll get a new life...a job. People who'll watch out for you. In a new city." she didn't give a second option, hand hovering over her hair as she spoke.
Eamon shoots a quick glance at the green-eyed lass. Bodi? Had he heard her name aright? He nods once, grim gratitude in his eyes that she agreed with him over the girl. His gaze lingers on Rena and her captive while Masha checks him over again, then he smiles wanly and touches the coyote's hand in answer. "I will. Elise will get after me too, make sure I go." But his smile fades as he listens and turns back to Guin. He has no words.
Bodi hopped down off the counter, feeling suddenly tired and weak, the adrenaline rush long gone. Her gaze freezes on Jan, searching his face, waiting.
Masha nods up at Jan, gives Bodi a curious look - she's heard the yelling only vaguely but suddenly now the content filtered in through memory - then over at Rena and the slight girl. She smiles at Eamon's response, then watches, holding her breath as she waits to hear the girl's answer.
Eamon looks steadily at Guin. "We need to get ye home." Turning to Masha, he adds, "How soon 'til we can move them? The lass too?" He nods toward the girl sprawled on the dingy mattress.
Elise wonders if Eamon is kindly trying to say she's a nag about certain things. She looks back at him, dark mouth lifting in a smile, before she looks back to Guin and the steady drip of her IV, waiting to hear the girl on the floor answer Rena.
Jesma: "I have a job here." Of course doesn't jump at the prospect. Not many would, but she does detect the no highway option there. She pauses, trying to think. "I'd...have to get my pet, "Buttons..., guinea pig" Her tone fluctuates between rapid fast talk and hesitating pauses as though thinking.
Guin swallows, mouth still a little dry. She holds Eamon's eyes, not sure what he's thinking. With her free hand she reaches up to tuck wayward strands behind her ear. She feels wet and sticky at her temple, and frowns. "Doesn't matter," she whispers. "Everyone's safe, right? We actually pulled it off." She smiles, wearily, but it's still a smile.
Masha checks the drips, then looks at Guin, seeing the ease in the woman with the pain medication. Another half hour maybe?" she says quietly after the girl speaks. She looks over at Jan, wondering if he could would feel up to fetching Buttons the Guinea Pig. She certainly couldn't with her huge coyote tail.
Rena hmmed softly. "I'll get it for you and bring it to you. And I'll get you a better job. What do you make?"
Jan stared back down at Masha. He had already gone to fetch Guinie the Buttons Pig. He already made techno-magic happen with a pisspot laptop downstairs, and he got socked by a mortician. He took Bodi by the waste, and frowned. "I'll get the pet, if you need someone to run out. Just let me change."
Bodi walked over to Jan, coming to a stop right infront of him. Emerald eyes met his dark ones for an instant, leaning into his touch.
Masha meets Jan's gaze, wondering what on earth was going on in there but she smiles at the offer. Her smiles broadens at his expression - he just looks so *disgruntled*. It was cute.
Jesma: "You don't even know where I live and, umm, Buttons is tempermental about travel. Preparations have to be made...." Paws at her blindfold irritatedly nervous. "I'm in robotics. I can't dance." Why she even brings up what she can't do is anyone's guess, but the hasty way she says it seems to suggest its a sort spot.
Eamon nods at Masha's reply. Thirty minutes suited him fine; he could rest up a bit himself, without looking like he -needed- to rest up a bit himself. He sits back slowly, listening to Rena's interaction with the blindfolded lass, and in silence, takes Elise's hand, cradling it between his own.
Rena bllinked. Wow...so helpfull all of a sudden. "Tell us where you live. WeYour pet...hell, we'll get all your things later. A new job...." she leaned over the girl and whispered.
Elise carefully shifts Guin's IV bag, keeping it elevated, and hoping she's feeling some relief from the pain meds Masha added. They were talking about tempermental pets? Her ears flick and she shivers, starting to feel cold in this place again, now that everyone was back and safe. When Eamon takes her hand, she smiles soft; there was warmth, and she curls her fingers around his.
Guin's smile fades, and her eyes fall briefly to Eamon and Elise's joined hands before dropping to her own lap. "How long do I have to keep the IV in?" she asks quietly. She is feeling better. Alive, anyway, and for a moment she hadn't been sure of that. "Did everything go smoothly on this end?"
Masha checks the time on her phone and does another round of checking heart and lungs on her patients, then checks Guin's eyes again. She seems to be happier with the pupillary response. "Just until we leave, okay cher? Just humor me."
Jesma jerkingly flinched and pulled her knees in at the whispered remark.
Jesma: "I like my job." whispers, choked. Not an idiot, cooperating, because she can tell she is in a precarious position.
Rena's hand soothed through her hair again. "It's a good deal." she murmured. "Better than the only alternative I have to offer at the moment." she sighed and closed her eyes. This was what the monsters were for, right. "You come quietly...or we put a bullet in your head." she knew they'd never allow it, but didn't let that creep into her voice. It was cold as ice now.
Guin wrinkles her nose, but she looks about as forward to having it out as she did having it put in. "Just for you," she teases. Shifting carefully on the floor, she reaches over with her free hand to offer to take the bag from Elise. "You don't have to keep holding that," she says with a grin.
Elise tilts her head at Guin. "Told you we'd be cranky if we had to come in there," she says softly, trying to keep her tone light. She hands over the bag carefully. "Just keep it elevated, hmm?"
Leynai gave a small groan as she shifted, eyes blinking a few times before gaining enough focus to make out the lines on the fabric of the mattress, hands moved to press and lift to sit only to see a lovely explosion of rainbow colours swirl before her, eyes clamping closed as teeth bit her bottom lip for a moment.. felt like she'd had a very large glass of sand poured down her throat.. had to wonder if it was possable to sleep this whatever it was they gave her off as she gave a broken, sandy incoherent whisper into the mattress.
Jan just held Bodi, whether or not he'd allow it was up to debate, really. He wasn't much of the type to say no. He merely curled his arm around Bodi, and watched the pair. "Well, do we have an address, or can I go home and pop open the bubbly?"
Eamon hears the lass' broken whisper, and he turns away. His gaze lingers on Guin, on Elise and Masha beside him, and his jaw tightens. The girl should never have seen them. But his own words to those of the parish who knew come back to haunt him. Too many lives were at stake to trust a stranger blindly.
Masha grins suddenly at Guin's comment, observing, "We are a bit short on equipment, eh?" She shoots Elise a thankful look - having someone to assist was appreciated more than she could express, but her smile dims at Rena's threat. She knows the necessity of it, but it was hard to hear. She looks away then to Leynai as the girl stirs, instantly at her side. "Shh, cher, you are safe and it will wear off soon," she soothes. "You want water?"
Bodi wrapped one of her own arms around Jan, burying her face in his neck. She was past the point of caring now, she just wanted to curl up next to Jan and relax, forget the evening ever occured.
Leynai gave a small nod.. "Wa.. water, yes.." then added an uncustomary and polite "Please.." as she hugged the mattress like it was her best friend.
Jesma gasps and whimpers, lip quivering and trembling. Naturally scared out of her mind. She starts feeling a little desperate and it shows as she looks around without looking, because she can't see, but the gesture of looking around denotes thoughts of flight.
Masha rises and gets three cups, carrying over one which she sets beside Guin, then the other two, offering one to Eamon before sitting on the mattress besides the girl. "Let me help you up, eh?" she's offer, and slip one arm underneath the girl's shoulders, supporting her. "Move slow," she cautions.
Guin nods as she takes the bag from Elise, leaning back so her elbow stays propped on the mattress behind her. She works her jaw, testing it carefully, then stops. Ow. She laughs quietly at Elise's comment, then her eyes shift briefly to Eamon's again. She can scarely believe they actually did it... not that she doubted, of course. "You have to tell me what you were saying," she says quietly, lips quirking. "I didn't understand a word of it." Rena's words finally sink in, and she carefully turns her head so she can at least see the girl in question, and Rena over her. Her instinct is to reassure, but she can't.
Elise's ears flatten again, still aching a bit from being trapped under her helmet for so long. She eyes Rena and the girl and thinks she catches the word "bullet," but she's not sure. "Drink slow," she murmurs. No throwing up, thank you very much.
Rena was suddenly grateful when no one argued. Hell, she wasn't sure she COULd go through with that threat. The girl looked so fucking innocent. Still, her hand moved to lock on the girl's hair if she could get a good hold and the other swiftly drew the gun she wore at her side. She didn't point it at the girl, but she'd definitely hear the motion as she flicked her thumb over the safty, causing an audible click. "Choose now." she growled.
Eamon takes the water gratefully. He murmurs thanks, and lifts the cup, flicking dark eyes toward Guin at her query and pausing before a drink. He grins, faint but good-humored all the same. "'Twas pure Dublin," he says softly.
Leynai gave as much of nod as she could without feeling to dizzy, arm slipping to move and brace against the one offering "Slow,.. helps.." one hand trying tp help lift herself into as much of a sitting position as she could manage "Thank you.."
Jesma whines panicked and covers her ears a moment, hiding from the scary sound of the gun. She kicks her legs in panicked, pumped thrusts and then tries to crawl around Rena blindly to get behind her, away from the gun, which doesn't make a lot of sense, but made some sense in her panicked mind when she initially started to do it. At the same time, she is rattling off her address in frantic, lip quivering mumbles.
Guin arches a brow at that, looking up only to murmur thanks to Masha. She'd drink it in a moment. "Just want to make sure you weren't cursing me out," she says, smile deepening. "Sorry that idiot was so... enthusiastic." She wrinkles her nose again, then shifts slightly toward Rena. She can see what she's doing, and hear the conflict in her voice. Or the conflict she knows is there, regardless. Her heart clenches again.
Jan gets the address, and looks to Rena. "Got it. I'll grab it, and have it at the boat. Then, I'm going to be a good Catholic, pray my rosary, and get blitzed. Any objections?"
Rena nodded and let her go, whispering, "Good girl." before rising and announcing. "She's coming with me. Make sure both girls are blindfolded till they get to the boats." she suddenly put her hand over her mouth, feeling ill over what she'd just done. She turned away from them all.
Masha helps the girl. "You are welcome, cher," she says, watching the tableu across the room. Better this than the alternative, she tells herself. Getting the girl settled, she stands and gets some alcohol swabs and some gloves. Squatting before Eamon, she'd turn off the pump, untape the stick, press down with the little square and slide out the needle. "Thank you for all your help cher," she says quietly to Elise before moving over to Leynai to repeat the process. She'd wind up in front of Guin, asking, "Are you ready?"
Elise watches Rena with the girl, wanting to say something, but not; she understood the need for the threat here, lest all of this fall apart. She thinks of the things she saw tonight, of the trust Rena showed her, and exhales, leaning back into the mattress. Her hand tightens in Eamon's. The night was catching up with her quick. She nods to Masha and smiles soft. "Thank -you-," she says, and it's not enough. For getting Eamon back on -this- side of life...not nearly enough.
Bodi laughed softly, "Only if you don't share the champagne..." Her eyes moved to Rena, curious as to why she was having a problem. Bodi knew she would not have done it. She sighed and looked down. There was gonna be fallout from tonight, from more than one direction. She pressed her face into Jan's shoulder...one thing at a time.
Eamon looks up at Masha, nods his thanks, and slowly gets to his feet. He stills for a moment, waiting for his head to stop its sway, then he starts quietly toward Rena.
Jesma sits up in a ball trembling a little in waves, but refrains from the temptation to rock.
Guin tries to watch Masha take the other IVs out, but can't. She focuses on the scratchy uniform fabric, plucking it idly as she waits her turn. She feels all of eight years old at Masha's question, but dammit, she can't help. Scrunching up her eyes, she holds out her arm. Still, she sees Eamon walk past, and has a feeling where he's headed. The thought makes her smile, a little, and takes her mind off the needle jabbed in her poor delicate vein.
Leynai actually managed some restraint as she held the glass of water.. eyes moving to take in the room as best she could and avoid looking at the I.V., she would slowly sip the water, just content now to be able to move though things still seemed a bit loopy..
Rena glanced down at the trembling girl at her feet and a little wave of self loathing coursed through her for being the one to do that to her.
Elise moves back to let Masha tend Guin's IV. She picks up her helmet from the floor but doesn't put it back on; not yet.
Masha smiles at Guin's expression. Taking out the IV doesn't hurt. If anything, tape could pull but otherwise... but Guin was fighting a fear, not the pain. She does it swiftly as possible, then takes Guin hand to press it down on the square, letting her hold it in place. "Done cher," she says quietly then stands to get one last cup of water, bring it over to Rena. She offers it to the cat, expecting a certain dose of medication to be taken now that the night was closing.
Eamon leaves the soft voices and med work behind him, that cluster of lasses, both strange and familiar, on the mattresses near the wall. He quietly closes the distance between himself and Rena. At Masha's approach, he stills, and waits, not wanting to interfere.
Rena reached in her pocket at the sight of the glass and palmed the drugs, showing them to Masha before dumping them in her mouth and taking the glass. She needed drugs now. She took a drink and even showed her tongue to prove they were gone.
Masha grins and winks at the cat before moving back to the rescued girl on the mattress.
Eamon waits until Masha moves back to her other patients, her tail like a flag behind her. Then he moves up behind Rena, and speak softly where only she can hear.
Rena felt him at her back and stilled, head tilted to listen.
Jesma hears 'sppspsspsssppsss' sound, but can't make out what is said. Still, it makes her shoulders shudder, as it's just another unknown to add to the pile.
Guin doesn't look around until Masha is pressing her hand to her arm. The blood doesn't bother her, never had. It's just the needle. She dutifully holds it in place, looking up at the others. Her mind is clearer, but still not clear. What feels like a migraine still lurks at the edges, and she's sure it will feel lovely tomorrow. Bending her arm to drap the square, she reaches at last for her water, taking a grateful sip.
Rena's eyes fluttered closed and she took a ragged breath before nodding. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, at a loss for words.
Eamon watches her profile for a moment, then he gently clasps her arm and turns away.here.ere.