Hybridization - for makingitworse

[musicdied]

There's something off about the facility set in what Yelena suspects was at one point an old mine - there are the bones of what might once have been a town along the overgrown track she'd used as an approach. As important as it's apparently supposed to be, it's sparsely guarded, and that's not just her training as a Widow colouring her judgment. Sparsely guarded, but not entirely unguarded - by the time she gets through the secure door to the facility's server room, she has maybe forty-five minutes before someone realizes the guard she'd had to incapacitate has missed check-in.

It takes her ten of those minutes to interface and get the download set up, and a bit of effort splices her into the security feeds so she can keep an eye on any unusual movement on her tablet. The feeds are conveniently labelled by floor and sector and - there are too many. A subfloor that hadn't been on the schematics lurks on one of the cameras.

"If I was hiding something really nasty..." she murmurs to herself. Still, she wrestles with her options for a long moment, weighing the possibility of valuable information against the sense behind sticking to the plan.

She won't get another shot at this place. Possibility wins out.

She slips her exploits in, system failure to kill cameras and communications and mimic the atmospheric interference she'd heard the guards bitching about, and sets them on a timer, then slips down the hall to the elevator shaft. The elevator's already locked up on the top level; it's a long climb down a narrow ladder that reeks of rust, but she's handled far worse.

She hadn't been able to see much with the angle of the one camera on this level, and what she does find is disappointing. Crates, all numerically labelled, nothing clearly showing what may or may not be important. She winds her way carefully through the metal maze until she finds - another box. This one, though, is white and sleek, with controls attached. There's a screen that appears to be intended to monitor something, but it's blank, and poking carefully at the buttons doesn't bring up a display. Eventually, though, she finds the sequence to unlock the box, and there's a dull thunk, followed by a hiss as it depressurizes. She steps back carefully as the low hum of hydraulics lifts the lid up and back, a small amber warning light blinking beneath the blank screen display.

Comments

[musicdied]

Yelena gives her head a quick shake, and offers him a crooked little smile. "You were right - we are the only ones down here."

She comes up beside him, reaching up to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze, concern a sharp swirl in the air around her, though her expression remains calm. "Ready to get out of here?"

[makingitworse]

"Very," he says, and steps away from the box, ready to follow her. It can't be worse than staying here, and she feels-- like she isn't trying to trick him.

The cement floor is cold, but he's handled worse. He thinks. It feels like he can feel every pore in the concrete itself, and he knows his feet are calloused all to hell after the life he's led. It's so weird and disturbing. Maybe he really is high on something from the box.

He hopes there won't be any broken glass on their way out. "Will it be a problem that I'm barefoot?"

[musicdied]

She glances down at his feet and frowns slightly. "Not while we are inside. It will just be unpleasant. But we will need to get you some shoes on the way out. And a coat."

She closes her eyes for a moment, visualizing the facility's layout, then nods. "There is a bunkroom on the top floor. We can find something there. Or I will just knock someone out and steal their shit."

[makingitworse]

"Normally I'd say that's rude, but, uh, they locked me in a box first, so... I think shoes are they least they can give me, at this point," Bob says. He's really not liking the box situation.

He lets her lead the way out, asking after a few steps, "What's your name?"

[musicdied]

"You ask dangerous questions," she deadpans, though there's no sense of actual threat, just a decidedly dark strain of humour. "My name is Yelena. What's yours?"

[makingitworse]

He makes a soft, amused sound, as much in response to her sense of humor radiating from her as for the joke itself. "Bob," he answers, still with a little smile. It's not nearly as cool as her name, but then, he expects he's not nearly as cool as she is.

They're at the door out of the main room, and he peers anxiously ahead. "Are there, um, a lot of guards we'll have to avoid? Should I keep quiet?"

[musicdied]

"Hi, Bob," she says. "There should not be any guards on this level - there is just this room, and the hall to the elevator. But there are some up above. So yes, stay quiet, and stay close behind me."

She pauses, glancing back at him. "How are you at climbing?"

[makingitworse]

"Uh." He hesitates. He's actually pretty terrible at it. If there's a ladder, though, maybe he'll be okay? And really, isn't it worth it to get out of here? "I can do it if I have to. I just need to not look down."

[musicdied]

"If you need a harness, I can rig one for you," she says. "There is a ladder - you will not have to free climb - but it is a long way up." Relatively trivial for her, but she's well aware that she's both in better shape and more accustomed to that sort of exercise than most people.

[makingitworse]

"A ladder will help," he says, trying to sound like it's no big deal, even though it kind of is. It'll be worth it. He wants out of here, even if it's with someone he doesn't know and doesn't know if he should trust. (She seems okay. He doesn't know why she seems okay, but she does.)

He does admit, though, "I really don't think I could do it if there wasn't a ladder. But I just won't look down. It'll be fine." It probably won't be, but he'll manage anyway.