"I'm not particular," Mina said. She hadn't even really intended to advocate for a return to the wet market, having abandoned it in the first place for a reason, though the events that had transpired since left her more aware of the value of a place where nobody was hostile, even one that stank of the ocean and was filled with hooks and dampness. If she had to pick a place to die, well, she'd take the nicer houses any day. But if the choice was between dying in comfort or living a little longer under a booth... she vacillated on that one.
"I left KeKe Baker at the market," Mina added. "She wasn't hostile but I don't think she really grasped the situation."
Did KeKe mean anything to these two? Mina wasn't sure, though she wouldn't have been surprised; all the girls Mina had encountered shared a certain rebellious edge. So far, everyone she'd met had been someone she liked but someone who she wasn't super close to—okay, whatever their relationship had been before this, she no longer liked whoever had tried to murder her, but she also didn't know who that was, so she wasn't quite counting it as a meeting. It was, if anything, a one-sided conversation. And now that she considered what had actually happened, just what she had seen and heard and felt instead of what she had filled in through fear and inference, she was left with another thought.
Had whoever shot at her actually been trying to kill her? It was a single shot, well wide of her, and she knew that aiming was a whole lot harder than it was cracked up to be, but still the lack of follow-up had been notable. No further fire had manifested. Nobody had seemed to come around to check. The shot could have been the result of a miss somewhere else, someone trying to ward off an attacker who beat them to death. It could've been a misfire from poor trigger discipline. It could, of course, also have been an opportunistic potshot by someone lacking the dedication or rashness to try to seal the deal without the element of surprise. That was still the safest assumption.
Mina now massaged her legs a little, squeezing the fronts of her thighs through her skirt. The tension and the immediacy of the situation were fading away. She was coming down to a place more on level with Kassandra and Marion, a place where she could look around the alley and think it uncomfortably tight without also assessing for the best cover and musing how much trouble they'd be in if someone with a gun rounded the corner and used it as a shooting range. That awareness was still there—and she had no intention of trying to chase it off—but it was a resource she could tap rather than a roaring load enough to drown out all else.
Exploring
Phase 1 (0-12 Hours)
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MurderWeasel
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KeKe? Now that was a name Kassandra knew. Real combative personality. Not in the literal way like Kass herself, but still someone who definitely gave off the vibe that they didn't want to be messed with. But the way that Mina described meeting her left her raising an eyebrow. Had she really lost her head under pressure, or was she mishearing Mina's words? True, Kass didn't really know MIna well at all, but she would hope that people weren't just losing their minds as soon as they were dropped into the Program.
But then again, the scene down at the pool could be used as an argument for exactly that.
"So what was up with KeKe?" She inquired. "Was she freaking out, or was she totally out of it?"
But then again, the scene down at the pool could be used as an argument for exactly that.
"So what was up with KeKe?" She inquired. "Was she freaking out, or was she totally out of it?"
KeKe Baker. That was a name Marion recognized. While Marion didn't know her personally, she knew of her. She was infamous for her temper, but Marion could hardly blame her for it. In fact, she respected her willingness to stand up for herself in the face of oppression.
In any case, Marion didn't have anything to add to the conversation at the time, so she stayed quiet while Mina responded to Kass.
In any case, Marion didn't have anything to add to the conversation at the time, so she stayed quiet while Mina responded to Kass.
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MurderWeasel
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"She wasn't freaking out," Mina said. "She asked if I was looking for anyone. I said no. She said she wasn't either, and that maybe we should just hang out and talk. I don't like hiding from reality, so I left."
After a second's further consideration, Mina said, "I could show you, if you want."
She reached into the inner pocket of her army shirt, still unbuttoned over her tank top, and withdrew her voice recorder. It was still rolling from her initial approach to the building they'd now fled, capturing everything that had transpired between the three of them as they made good their escape. She'd caught much of her conversation with KeKe just the same, and while she hadn't held any specific plan in mind when doing so, she now found herself benefiting from that decision.
"This is my assigned weapon," she added. "It's a recorder. You're on tape. Hope you don't mind."
She raised her eyebrows at the girls again. She doubted they'd have any reason to take issue with her taping, given the vast range of more horrible things people could do to each other here and the fact that they were all being recorded by the government anyways, in video as well as audio, so they really had no privacy for Mina to violate to begin with.
After a second's further consideration, Mina said, "I could show you, if you want."
She reached into the inner pocket of her army shirt, still unbuttoned over her tank top, and withdrew her voice recorder. It was still rolling from her initial approach to the building they'd now fled, capturing everything that had transpired between the three of them as they made good their escape. She'd caught much of her conversation with KeKe just the same, and while she hadn't held any specific plan in mind when doing so, she now found herself benefiting from that decision.
"This is my assigned weapon," she added. "It's a recorder. You're on tape. Hope you don't mind."
She raised her eyebrows at the girls again. She doubted they'd have any reason to take issue with her taping, given the vast range of more horrible things people could do to each other here and the fact that they were all being recorded by the government anyways, in video as well as audio, so they really had no privacy for Mina to violate to begin with.
Oh shit, how long had Mina been taping them? It wasn't like it really meant anything in the long run, since there wasn't anything that she could really do with the tape, but it still caught Kassandra off guard. The girl was stealthy, she had to give her that.
So her weapon was the recorder? Kass had to admit, it was pretty cool. She could imagine sneaking around, recording conversations that no one was supposed to hear and broadcasting them to the masses, like some kind of badass truth vigilante. Unfortunately, it wasn't so useful in their current situation. It wasn't like they could record General Adams laughing about sending teenagers to their deaths for fun and play it on air, so she couldn't see it doing a whole lot of good.
But since Mina had been nice enough to show off her assigned weapon, it only seemed fair for Kassandra to show off her own. Besides, it wasn't like she expected her to be intimidated by the outright crap she had gotten. She unzipped her bag and pulled out her chain, holding it so that the padlock dangled at the bottom right between their faces.
"Yeah, I haven't found my key yet, so I guess this is it." She tilted her head towards Marion. "And I think you've already seen what Marion got."
So her weapon was the recorder? Kass had to admit, it was pretty cool. She could imagine sneaking around, recording conversations that no one was supposed to hear and broadcasting them to the masses, like some kind of badass truth vigilante. Unfortunately, it wasn't so useful in their current situation. It wasn't like they could record General Adams laughing about sending teenagers to their deaths for fun and play it on air, so she couldn't see it doing a whole lot of good.
But since Mina had been nice enough to show off her assigned weapon, it only seemed fair for Kassandra to show off her own. Besides, it wasn't like she expected her to be intimidated by the outright crap she had gotten. She unzipped her bag and pulled out her chain, holding it so that the padlock dangled at the bottom right between their faces.
"Yeah, I haven't found my key yet, so I guess this is it." She tilted her head towards Marion. "And I think you've already seen what Marion got."
"She hasn't seen all of my weapon," Marion pointed out. She then opened up her daypack, reached in, and pulled out the other half of her weapon, the ball gag, and held it up for Mina to see. The handcuffs made this somewhat difficult, but there was enough chain between the cuffs of her handcuffs for her to do it. "Mine's a set of handcuffs and a ball gag. And like I mentioned before, there's also a key to the handcuffs, but Brittany Chesterton stole it."
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MurderWeasel
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"Lovely," Mina said, sarcasm clear in her voice as she took a look at the dirty ball gag dangling from Marion's fingers. Mina was neither sheltered nor naive; she was sure her list would be barely a footnote compared to Marion's, but she'd gotten herself into trouble here and there in the past few years. She knew what BDSM was. Handcuffs she could see the appeal of, sort of, but gags seemed more or less disgusting for the sheer sake of it. It certainly didn't help just how visually unappealing they were. Maybe that was the poin of it, to be degrading. Maybe she shouldn't judge what other people got off on, especially if it was sort of subversive, but she wrinkled her nose nonetheless. She wondered for a split second just what had happened to this one so far, then decided ignorance was actually quite nice from time to time.
"At least you could use that lock and chain to hit people with," she added to Kassandra, tearing her gaze away from the gag, "like a flail or something."
That would be way harder to manage than the pipe the other girl had scrounged, but Mina was trying out a touch of optimism here. Really, none of them was well-equipped for combat; their armament, such as it was, consisted of an assortment of discarded household objects and furnishings from a fish stand. That didn't bother Mina too much, though. She wasn't planning to start murdering, and wasn't at all unhappy to find Kassandra and Marion apparently equally cool on that idea. They all seemed roughly on the same page: their priority was surviving, and aggression wasn't a major part of that.
"So," Mina continued, "what's the verdict? Want to hear KeKe in her own words? Oh, and Marion, want me to take a look at those cuffs and see what I can do?"
As she spoke, Mina unzipped her bag again. She had a pretty good idea how she'd approach the handcuffs problem.
"At least you could use that lock and chain to hit people with," she added to Kassandra, tearing her gaze away from the gag, "like a flail or something."
That would be way harder to manage than the pipe the other girl had scrounged, but Mina was trying out a touch of optimism here. Really, none of them was well-equipped for combat; their armament, such as it was, consisted of an assortment of discarded household objects and furnishings from a fish stand. That didn't bother Mina too much, though. She wasn't planning to start murdering, and wasn't at all unhappy to find Kassandra and Marion apparently equally cool on that idea. They all seemed roughly on the same page: their priority was surviving, and aggression wasn't a major part of that.
"So," Mina continued, "what's the verdict? Want to hear KeKe in her own words? Oh, and Marion, want me to take a look at those cuffs and see what I can do?"
As she spoke, Mina unzipped her bag again. She had a pretty good idea how she'd approach the handcuffs problem.
Kass twirled her chain. Yeah, she had thought about using it like a flail, but the problem was that it was super-short range and unwieldy, not to mention how it might as well be useless against anyone who had an actual weapon on their hands. Yeah, it felt like it could crack some skulls, but probably wouldn't be able to do so in any sort of serious self-defense situation, at least not reliably.
But once Mina mentioned the possibility of getting Marion's cuffs off, everything else about the conversation dropped away. If Marion's hands were free, then the problem of the cuffs would be dealt with once and for all. Kass wouldn't have to see those damn things around her wrists, a constant reminder of her entrapment, as well as Kass' earlier failure to protect her. If Mina had a solution, then she saw no reason why they shouldn't consider it.
"Wait, you can get Marion's cuffs off? For real?" She was visibly more interested in the conversation. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
But once Mina mentioned the possibility of getting Marion's cuffs off, everything else about the conversation dropped away. If Marion's hands were free, then the problem of the cuffs would be dealt with once and for all. Kass wouldn't have to see those damn things around her wrists, a constant reminder of her entrapment, as well as Kass' earlier failure to protect her. If Mina had a solution, then she saw no reason why they shouldn't consider it.
"Wait, you can get Marion's cuffs off? For real?" She was visibly more interested in the conversation. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"Oh yeah, you were gonna try and see if you could pick my cuffs! I forgot about that," Marion admitted. She put the ball gag back in her daypack, then went on over to Mina and held her handcuffed wrists out. "Let's see what you can do."
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MurderWeasel
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"Alright," Mina said, tucking her recorder back in her pocket. Their focus was mostly on her second offer. Well, she couldn't blame them for that. Even observing Marion's predicament left Mina feeling a claustrophobic and restrained. She dug into her bag and withdrew the first aid kit, opened it up and rummaged through until she found what she needed: an EpiPen. She wasn't deathly allergic to anything—too many peanuts gave her zits but that wasn't really going to matter ever again—so she wouldn't miss the device, and she knew enough about them to know they were basically just big syringes with some bells and whistles to hike up the price. She fiddled around until she got the needle exposed, then leaned in closer to Marion, examining the girls hands and the cuffs that bound them.
They looked more or less like every set of handcuffs she'd ever seen. Just looking at them sent Mina back to times she'd been picked up for spray-painting a wall or tossing a brick through a window, so many times in the last four years she'd stopped counting after half a dozen. It was always the same routine: the cops took a long look at her, ran her info, found out about her record, then gave her some lecture about how she wasting her potential and hurting herself in the long run. They had her sit in the car in cuffs, like she'd realize she'd done wrong and change her ways. Mina had often wanted to do something really crazy in those moments, to break free and grab a gun and... and do something. She'd never really figured out what came next; the barrier between the front and back of the car and the presence of the cops made sure her fantasy remained nothing more. Soon enough, her mother (and never her father) at the start and then her aunt or uncle after the move would come down and get her from the station, and then it'd be more lectures and tears and some big screaming argument. She'd go to the hearing and feign remorse and keep her head down for a few weeks or months and then the whole thing would repeat.
Now, she took a good look at the cuffs and the keyhole. It was small. She thought that handcuff keys only usually had a couple prongs, and she remembered hearing they were actually alarmingly easy to pick. She'd read all about locks once, harboring some design to break into the school and smash all the computers or something, though eventually she'd decided it'd just be easier to steal the keys and ultimately she'd put the plan on the back burner, a thing she always meant to get around to but knew she probably never actually would. But she had read up. She knew the theory. All she had to do was apply her knowledge, and Marion would be in way better position to take care of herself, and maybe Kassandra would let the leaving-Marion-in-the-dust incident go.
Mina inserted the tip of the needle into the keyhole, feeling around with it. Tumblers. That's what she was looking for. What did a tumbler feel like? She scooted closer to Marion, gently tugging the girl's hands almost into her lap as she leaned down, bringing her head closer to the other girl's chest. Why was Marion wearing a crop top anyways? Mina tried not to stare at her navel ring. She squinted at the cuffs but couldn't see anything in the keyhole; it was small and dark and the needle was in the way. It felt like there was some sort of mechanism in there, and she could sort of picture it in her mind, more or less like what she'd imagined before starting, but was that just confirmation bias? She poked around with the needle, hearing it scrape against the metal inside, feeling for points of resistance and points with give.
"Tell me if anyone's coming," she called to Kassandra, without turning her gaze away from her work. "This could take a sec."
They looked more or less like every set of handcuffs she'd ever seen. Just looking at them sent Mina back to times she'd been picked up for spray-painting a wall or tossing a brick through a window, so many times in the last four years she'd stopped counting after half a dozen. It was always the same routine: the cops took a long look at her, ran her info, found out about her record, then gave her some lecture about how she wasting her potential and hurting herself in the long run. They had her sit in the car in cuffs, like she'd realize she'd done wrong and change her ways. Mina had often wanted to do something really crazy in those moments, to break free and grab a gun and... and do something. She'd never really figured out what came next; the barrier between the front and back of the car and the presence of the cops made sure her fantasy remained nothing more. Soon enough, her mother (and never her father) at the start and then her aunt or uncle after the move would come down and get her from the station, and then it'd be more lectures and tears and some big screaming argument. She'd go to the hearing and feign remorse and keep her head down for a few weeks or months and then the whole thing would repeat.
Now, she took a good look at the cuffs and the keyhole. It was small. She thought that handcuff keys only usually had a couple prongs, and she remembered hearing they were actually alarmingly easy to pick. She'd read all about locks once, harboring some design to break into the school and smash all the computers or something, though eventually she'd decided it'd just be easier to steal the keys and ultimately she'd put the plan on the back burner, a thing she always meant to get around to but knew she probably never actually would. But she had read up. She knew the theory. All she had to do was apply her knowledge, and Marion would be in way better position to take care of herself, and maybe Kassandra would let the leaving-Marion-in-the-dust incident go.
Mina inserted the tip of the needle into the keyhole, feeling around with it. Tumblers. That's what she was looking for. What did a tumbler feel like? She scooted closer to Marion, gently tugging the girl's hands almost into her lap as she leaned down, bringing her head closer to the other girl's chest. Why was Marion wearing a crop top anyways? Mina tried not to stare at her navel ring. She squinted at the cuffs but couldn't see anything in the keyhole; it was small and dark and the needle was in the way. It felt like there was some sort of mechanism in there, and she could sort of picture it in her mind, more or less like what she'd imagined before starting, but was that just confirmation bias? She poked around with the needle, hearing it scrape against the metal inside, feeling for points of resistance and points with give.
"Tell me if anyone's coming," she called to Kassandra, without turning her gaze away from her work. "This could take a sec."
Holy crap, she actually had a plan. Mina had gotten straight to work on trying to pick Marion's cuffs, and Kassandra just watched in awe. She might have been a little skeptical at the first mention of the concept, but now she was realizing that this could actually work. They could totally spring Marion free right now.
Kassandra wished that she could keep observing the work, but once again, she had a job to do. Mina was distracted with her own work, and Marion was still helpless, so it was still up to her to keep away anyone that might be dangerous. She dropped her chain back into the bag and prepared her pipe, twirling it once before letting it rest against her shoulder. She stood by the dumpster and looked both ways down the alley, expecting something or someone to appear from either end. She tried to remain composed, but she couldn't hide her leg shaking from anticipation, both from excitement and potential disaster.
Come on. Come on.
Kassandra wished that she could keep observing the work, but once again, she had a job to do. Mina was distracted with her own work, and Marion was still helpless, so it was still up to her to keep away anyone that might be dangerous. She dropped her chain back into the bag and prepared her pipe, twirling it once before letting it rest against her shoulder. She stood by the dumpster and looked both ways down the alley, expecting something or someone to appear from either end. She tried to remain composed, but she couldn't hide her leg shaking from anticipation, both from excitement and potential disaster.
Come on. Come on.
Like Kassandra, Marion's leg was shaking in anticipation as Mina fiddled with her cuffs. She couldn't wait to finally be free of them. Her wrists were chafed and aching at this point. Why couldn't they have been the fuzzy kind? Marion imagined those would feel much better on the wrists. "You almost done yet?"
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MurderWeasel
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"Hang on," Mina said. "I'm getting there."
That was an optimistic assessment of the situation. Nothing in here felt like a tumbler. More than that, Mina was pretty sure you were supposed to push against the edge of the lock to create tension and nothing really felt like that sort of solid edge; there was just a lot of open space inside the keyhole. She could feel herself heating up, face flushing, frustration starting to bubble. This was supposed to be easy. She'd read about it and people said it was easy. There were all these complaints, how handcuffs weren't secure at all if you had half a clue, how law enforcement needed better gear to protect them. So why wasn't she finding any success?
The needle scraped and scraped along the inside of the cuffs, and Mina started jabbing it with a little more force, bracing Marion's hand with her own, the links of chain connecting the cuffs jingling. Mina's shoulders were tensing up again. The EpiPen was a horrible tool for this, big and clunky and difficult to maneuver, the needle less than an inch long. A hairpin would be worlds easier to work with, or a sewing needle, but Mina didn't have a hairpin or a sewing needle, and she didn't want to put everything on hold to query the other girls. She didn't want to admit that her implements might not be up to the task—especially as the realization set in that her equipment really might not be the biggest problem here.
But she'd said she do this, so she was going to give it her best shot. She just needed to find the right place, do the right thing, get lucky.
"Come on," she muttered under her breath. "Come on. Almost there."
That was an optimistic assessment of the situation. Nothing in here felt like a tumbler. More than that, Mina was pretty sure you were supposed to push against the edge of the lock to create tension and nothing really felt like that sort of solid edge; there was just a lot of open space inside the keyhole. She could feel herself heating up, face flushing, frustration starting to bubble. This was supposed to be easy. She'd read about it and people said it was easy. There were all these complaints, how handcuffs weren't secure at all if you had half a clue, how law enforcement needed better gear to protect them. So why wasn't she finding any success?
The needle scraped and scraped along the inside of the cuffs, and Mina started jabbing it with a little more force, bracing Marion's hand with her own, the links of chain connecting the cuffs jingling. Mina's shoulders were tensing up again. The EpiPen was a horrible tool for this, big and clunky and difficult to maneuver, the needle less than an inch long. A hairpin would be worlds easier to work with, or a sewing needle, but Mina didn't have a hairpin or a sewing needle, and she didn't want to put everything on hold to query the other girls. She didn't want to admit that her implements might not be up to the task—especially as the realization set in that her equipment really might not be the biggest problem here.
But she'd said she do this, so she was going to give it her best shot. She just needed to find the right place, do the right thing, get lucky.
"Come on," she muttered under her breath. "Come on. Almost there."
Even standing about a foot away from the work area, Kassandra could still hear the faint sound of metal on metal as Mina kept working with the cuffs. She knew that she was supposed to be watching the alley openings, but her eyes kept pausing on Mina and Marion, still sitting there with a needle sticking out of the cuffs. Kass really had no idea how long it was supposed to take to pick a lock. She imagined that it couldn't be too long since she had the idea of lockpicks being quick, sneaky types, but then she remembered that locks were deceptively complicated mechanisms, hence why they were so tough to crack in the first place.
So she waited. Her skin felt like it was being pricked with the needle that Mina was handling. She could see Marion's cuffs coming off in her mind. They just needed a couple more minutes. Yeah, that was what they needed.
... Man, Kass sure hoped that was all they needed.
So she waited. Her skin felt like it was being pricked with the needle that Mina was handling. She could see Marion's cuffs coming off in her mind. They just needed a couple more minutes. Yeah, that was what they needed.
... Man, Kass sure hoped that was all they needed.
"Are you really?" Marion said, skeptical of Mina's claim that she was almost done picking the lock. She was getting really impatient at this point. She could see that Mina was struggling, and she knew that a needle wasn't exactly a good lockpicking tool. Most people used bobby pins, from what she'd heard. "Maybe we should just give up for now, unless someone has a bobby pin or something?"