“Yep it’s a ‘curse’, you had it right babe...” Vin’s nonchalant manner ceased as his eyes widened for a moment, surprising even himself. “Eh...I mean not ‘babe’, wow, where did that come from…?” He whispered, a sheepish smile spreading across his face which quickly faded.

Vincent leaned against the bars that separated both he and Jennifer, and found himself watching her pace back and forth in the cell, wishing he could be in there with her. His own desires aside, he saw a woman who didn’t deserve any of this, no matter how fucked up a lifestyle she may have lead. The mention of Nate also made him realize that the poor bastard was still out there, probably waiting for them both, or worse...dead.

“No one deserves this shit. No one…” He mumbled to himself, looking up at Jennifer with a grim expression. “I wish I knew what was going on here, and honestly, I don’t even know why my…curse...hasn’t lashed out at anything, especially when it really needed to back in the parking garage.”

Vincent didn't notice just how tightly he was gripping the bars as he spoke, causing his knuckles to whiten. “I wanted to kill that asshole who attacked us, to see the fear in his eyes as these things did their worst, to see his body torn to shreds. All I could fucking think about was him hurting you, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it…”

He closed his eyes for a moment to refocus, and leaned back against the wall again, taking a few deep breaths.

“Well, I suppose one of us could fake an emergency?” Vin said, folding his arms across his chest and nodding in approval of his own plan.

“So JJ, how’s your acting skills?”

@Xandrya

Eric ran out of the cave looking for Christi, though he wasn't familiar with the woods here. No... He'd get lost looking. He did how ever know how to get back to the mine shaft. Eric ran for all hell chocking on his poor breathing patterns until he got back to the shaft. When he got there he figured out what the gun shots were... he counted three bodies, chances are Danny's friend. They were all burned, shot up, one looked like he had a whole clip filled into his back at close range. His leg was shot out too. The smell of burnt flesh almost made him throw up. Violently.

Eli did this. He talked about the burned man he had seen earlier. Had he done this? He did didn't he?! Eric saw the 20 gauge pump action still intact. Looked like it was dropped before it was burned. Eric grabbed it and grabbed the box of shells for it. While doing so he saw what he presumed to be a .44 magnum crammed in the belt loop of one of the other people's pants. The gun looked intact so he grabbed it, not finding more bullets for it though. He opened it up and checked the bullets, all six were accounted for. He closed the gun and tucked it in his own belt. He soon grabbed the shotgun and ran back to the cave. If Christi went back there Eli was still there, and armed. "CHRISTI!" He screamed, hoping she wasn't there.

Jennifer

"Faking it isn't going to get us anywhere, Vin," Jennifer said, dismissive of his idea at first, but then actually considering it. "Well, I suppose it could work, but we need to plan every single little detail. I could pretend to faint, faking some medical condition that requires immediate attention, but then, where does that leave you? Obviously we both can't be experiencing health issues at the same time...WAIT! I got it."

Jennifer rushed to the wall diving their cells, her sudden idea giving her some hope. "You'll call one of the guards to ask them permission to use the restroom. I'm pretty sure they stand by the door to keep watch. Anyway, while you're gone, I'll pretend to have a seizure or something, making it as legitimate as I can. When you two come back, he'll be caught off guard by the situation and that's when you attack him from behind. You only get one shot at this, so make sure you don't screw it up. You'll hide his body somewhere and you quickly take his clothes and equipment. All you have to do then is unlock my door and get me out. Don't look, but there's a camera facing this row of cells. In order for us to buy as much time as possible, you have to attack the guard out of frame. We make our exit by pretending you're escorting me to another block or something, then when we're outside we'll make a run for it. What do you say?"

@Rawk

“You want me to do what now to the guard?” Vin stood there in awe, only previously excited about the plan up until the part where he had to “attack the guard”. He didn’t know the first thing about taking down an opponent, let alone a trained police officer, and yet all he could think about in that moment was the fact that he had no defense mechanism in the event the plan did go awry. Him and Jennifer could both end up dead.

“Are you out of your fucking mind, lady?” He suddenly blurted slightly above a whisper, noticing then that Jennifer’s sullen expression said it all. We didn’t really have any alternatives and were probably going to die either way…

“Shit...well, your wonderful plan is plausible I suppose, however the guard outside the door - if he’s the same one that brought us in - is a black dude...and, I’m not. So, if I’m going to pretend to be him, then-” He cut himself off, and shook his head. “Ah fuck it, let’s just go crazy.”

Vincent proceeded to crack his knuckles and clear his throat, then stroll up to the cell door and take a deep breath.

“GUAAAARD!” His booming voice echoed off the walls and down the walkway, making him cringe even at his own voice. “I NEED TO TAKE A LEAK! NOW!”

After a few seconds, the door opened and the on-duty officer walked in, slowly shaking his head. “Really man, you're going to pull that classic stunt? You've only been here for, what, five minutes? I think you can wait sport.”

“But I'm pretty sure I've haven't gone since yesterday, sir” He said in a normal tone of voice as the uniformed cop stepped closer to the cell. “And I know you don't want to clean up the mess I could make.” Vin cracked a half-smile.

The officer cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, staring at his prisoner for a second before pulling out the keys. “Okay tough guy, but you know if you try anything stupid, I'm going to have to shoot you and your girlfriend over there.”

Vincent snorted, causing the guard to take notice. "And what the hell is so funny?"

"You called her my girlfriend, that's priceless." Vincent said, glancing over at Jennifer and giving her a quick wink.

"Just shut up, turn around, and put your hands behind your back, Prince Charming." The guard retorted.

“Understood” Vin mocked a salute, as the door opened and the officer pulled out a pair of cuffs, slapping them on the prisoner's wrists and clamping down until they were tighter than usual, causing Vincent to hiss.

“Dammit, you like it rough, don’t you?” He said between clenched teeth, as the officer grabbed him by the arm and lead him down the hallway toward the door. “You know you’ll have to hold it for me, right? I mean, it might be a bit much for you but-”

“Shut up smart ass and keep moving.” The guard exclaimed, closing and locking the door behind them as they exited the room.

@Xandrya

Jennifer

She watched in silence as the guard took Vin away. Jennifer hoped to whatever deity was on her side that Vin could pull this off. Like she had mentioned a few moments ago, they only had one shot...

Jennifer didn't have to wait long to act her way to freedom. A sudden and sharp headache hit her like a thousand bricks, sending the girl to her knees as she pressed her hands against both sides of her head. The involuntary scream she let out echoed through the hall much like Vin's voice had a minute ago. Regardless of her actions, the pain didn't ease for Jennifer as wave after wave pushed her further into her own personal hell. Unaware of anything else around her, Jennifer tried as hard as she could to focus on the floor which was not too far from her face. A single tear fell down her cheek, her vision blurring as she gave in to whatever was making her lose her mind. She lay on her side, borderline unconscious as her labored breathing and shaking body helped her maintain whatever sense of reality she could.

"Vin..."

She didn't say anything else, not that she could anyway. Instead, she waited for whatever help would eventually arrive, friend or foe. She didn't care about anyone or anything else at this moment but her own relief from whatever was happening to her.

@Rawk

The pain in his head had lowered to a dull throb throb thanks to the medication they had pumped into him at the hospital. His mind was swimming from a mix of the medication and the possible concussion he was suffering from and he was only half paying attention to the words being thrown at him but he was more than aware of the bile that accompanied them. It was almost like being chastised by his mother or an ex but with added handcuffs and bad cologne.

Detective Michaels stood practically face to face with Nate in the cramped hallway and was clearly annoyed. He was saying something that was probably important but all Nate could focus on was his eyebrows. He had no idea why but he was absolutely mesmerized by them. He knew staring at the man's eyebrows was weird but he just couldn't look away.

"Do you even know how much trouble I could get into for this?" was the first thing Michaels said in a while that Nate actually acknowledged. He snapped out of his thoughts on Michaels' eyebrows and his eyes widened when he realized he hadn't really been paying attention and probably should have been. There was a quiet moment while Nate opened his mouth and closed it again, trying to think of how to respond to that. "The last thing I want to do is get you into trouble." he told Michaels, giving him a smile.

Michaels raised an eyebrow at Nate and stared at him for a moment with his hands on his hips. "You don't even care, do you?" said Michaels, looking disgusted.

Nate tried to look as friendly as possible as he put both hands on Michaels' chest and said "I mean it, Freddy. I don't want to see anything happen to you."

Michaels closed his eyes, turned his head to the ceiling and sighed. He was already exhasperated by this. "First of all..." he said, pushing Nate's hands back to his own chest. "Don't ever touch me again. And second, you have to deal with the others. It has to be quiet and it has to be quick. Got it?"

"Got it." replied Nate with a nod. He was somewhat surprised when Michaels suddenly stuck his hand in his pants pocket. He reacted entirely on instinct by grabbing hold of Michaels' arm before he realized what was actually happening. He tried to joke about the situation by saying with a smirk "Playing a little fast and easy with the whole no touching rule there, Fred."

Michaels looked even more angry after that statement and he shifted his hand in Nate's pocket and squeezed, causing Nate to make a sound he didn't even know he was capable of making. "I get that you enjoy messing with people, Nate. But I swear to god, if you fuck with me, I will make your life a living hell." Nate knew he was serious. Michaels was one of the few people around here that could actually accomplish that and Nate genuinely didn't want to get on his bad side. Especially when Michaels literally had him by the balls. He simply nodded in compliance and Michaels removed his hand. Nate let out a heavy breath and bent forward with his hands on his crotch, wincing in pain. While he recovered, Michaels looked around to make sure no had stumbled onto this little scene. Nate pushed himself back upright and put his back against the wall. Michaels was quickly right beside him again, their faces mere inches apart, which cause Nate to raise an eyebrow. "Listen to me." Michaels told him. "When this is done, we're done. Okay? Don't call me. Don't come to my house. I don't want to ever, ever ever, see you again."

Nate looked sad about that but couldn't help being a smartass one last time as he said "Not even when you're lonely?" He smiled again at the Michaels. Michaels only stared back at him, looking annoyed.

After a brief pause, Michaels asked Nate "You know I'm carrying a gun, right?"

Nate looked at Michaels and then down at his belt. Then back at Michaels and down again. When he looked back again, he asked "So you're not just pleased to see me?"

Michaels wasn't even going to respond to that and instead grabbed Nate by the arm and the back of the neck, shoving him down the hallway.

It didn't take them long to reach the holding cells and Michaels uncuffed Nate and quickly shoved him into the cell next to JJ, resisting the urge to smile when Nate fell onto the ground in the middle of the cell. Nate lay there with his face pressed against the stone as Michaels closed the door behind him and turned to JJ. Seeing the state she was in, he grew concerned and said "What's wrong with..." He trailed off when he looked to the next cell down and realized Vin was no longer there. "Where the hell is the other one?" he asked no one in particular. This wasn't good. The plan had already gone sideways. He took another look at JJ, torn between checking on her and finding Vin. Eventually he turned and shot out the door.

After he was gone, Nate opened his eyes and saw JJ in the cell next to him. The side of his head still pressed against the ground, he smiled at her and said "Hi buddy. I'm here to rescue you."

@Xandrya

Jennifer turned her head to the side as the pain had eased a little bit, although the pressure right behind her eyes remained. "Where have you been?"

Nate lay on the floor in the cell next to her, his happy-go-lucky expression annoying her. "Vin's in the restroom. He's with a guard but we had a plan to break out. If he goes through with it, he's as good as dead...dammit, he wasn't supposed to be handcuffed!"

She grew concerned by her own words. With somewhat of a struggle, Jennifer rolled on her side and pushed herself up using her arms. "Nate, we need to stop him from doing something stupid. What's your plan to get us out of here?"

“Please,” Christi’s voice, muffled and seemingly disembodied to Eli, was little more than a whimper, “just let him go.”

As dangerous as she knew her brother to be, as much as she knew that he wasn’t going to stop coming after her, for nobody could quite hold a grudge like Danny, Christi couldn’t bring herself to let Eli hurt him more. Her father’s murder had been quick, panicked, she’d hardly known she’d done it until it was too late.

She sniffled, clutching her legs tighter to herself. “He’s the only thing I have. Please.” She just wanted him away.

@AcerRo

Wow JJ, that’s one hell of a set of lungs you have. Definitely almost a turn on...

Vin mused, as the escorting officer finished re-cuffing Vin’s wrists in front of him to use the restroom, and suddenly stopped short of opening the door. Jennifer’s part was played perfectly, albeit, a bit too perfectly, as her agonizing shriek travelled down the corridor that lead to the restroom, alerting a few of the officers that were travelling through the crossing hallways.

“Yo, Jenson, was that coming from the holding area?” One of the passing officers asked the cop escorting Vincent.

“Yeah, I’ll go check it out, don’t worry about it. She’s not going anywhere…” Jenson said in a nonchalant manner, inciting a nasty facial response from Vin.

“Do you treat every inmate with such a level of disregard?” Vin asked matter-of-factly.

“Nah, just scumbag murder suspects, and just for that…” He started walking back toward the holding cell. “...your restroom break is over, buddy.”

“What?...we didn’t even make it into the restroom yet?” He said, as the escorting officer pulled him along by the arm.

Both men were heading back toward the holding area, when a man who looked like he could have been a detective from a bad episode of some second-rate primetime cop show came barrelling around the corner, and then slowed to a stop, holding his badge out.

“Officer…” The detective squinted as he looked at the uniform cop’s name badge. “...Jenson. Detective Michaels good to meet you. This man is under my custody at the moment so I’ll take it from here. Great. Thanks.”

Both Vin and the officer had a rather perplexed look on their faces, and most likely were thinking the same things. It was as though this sharply dressed guy came right out of nowhere and suddenly had jurisdiction just for waving a badge around that may or may not have even been real.

“Um, yeah, I don’t think so buddy, no matter who you think you are.” The officer scoffed, trying to maneuver around the detective, pulling Vin in tow.

”Officer Jenson, this is Brandt, come in please.” A voice came over the officer’s radio, causing him to stop and open the channel.

“Yeah boss, go ahead.” Jenson responded, a bit confused by the sudden call.

”A Detective Michaels should be on his way to the holding area, and will need to interrogate the prisoners. Please cooperate with him until this blows over. Brandt out.”

Jenson let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in irritating. “Copy that, sir” He said hesitantly and let go of Vincent’s arm.

“Okay then Detective, he’s all yours. Good luck, because this one is a total pain in the ass.” The officer turned and started walking back down the corridor.

“Trust me officer, he’s not the pain in the ass I’m worried about.” Michaels retorted, half-smiling.

Vincent gave the detective a stern look and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “So...what is this all about? Because I’m not cool being passed around from cop to cop like a two dollar whore.”

Michaels shook his head. “Look, I was never here, first of all. Second, we have a mutual pain in the ass who’s going to do his damndest to help you and the young lady.”

“Nate?” Vin’s eyes became wide.

“Yeah, unfortunately for you two, he’s about the only friend you guys have at the moment.”

“He’s not that ba-”

“Yes, he is. He is that bad and more.” The detective cut him off and leaned in close for a moment. “And if I were you, I’d get yourself and that girl as far away from him as possible when you’re out of this shit storm. He’s bad news, and you don’t want any part of his life.”

Michaels turned to head toward the holding room doors. “Let’s go.”

Vincent kept in step with the detective, mulling over what he’s just laid on him about Nate. He didn’t know Nate that well, but at the same time, he had no reason not to trust the kid yet. And besides, he was basically in the same boat as Vin & Jennifer, and needed to find answers to everything that’s transpired. But what if this Michaels character was right. What if there was a lot more to Nate than either one of them knew about...

Both men slipped through the holding area doors and were inside. The detective briskly walked over toward the empty cell and pushed the door open, and Vincent hustled over toward Jennifer’s cell door. Vin had a renewed smile across his face, extending his hand out toward her through the bars. “Jennifer…”

“Whoa, chief, where are you going? You need to be back in a cell for this to work.” Michaels scolded.

“Then put me in here with her, what’s the fucking difference?” Vin snapped back.

“Are we really going to have this conversation, tough guy? Because I can definitely call this whole thing off and all your sorry asses can burn in hell. How’s that sound?”

“Fuck...” Vincent pulled his arm out from between the bars and walked into the neighboring cell, the door slamming behind him.

“Besides chief, I don’t need you two getting any inappropriate ideas that are going to jeopardize this shit operation any more than it already is...”

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero

Nate held his eyes shut tight as JJ spoke to him. The knowledge that Vin was up to something potentially stupid made his head hurt more. He was confident Michaels would find him though. There was little he could do right now anyway. Instead, he struggled to push himself up off the ground. His body ached and he winced in pain at the effort, only managing to get to a sitting position. He wrapped an arm around his ribs and informed JJ "Don't worry about Vincent. He'll be back in a minute...So how's your day going?" His tone was casual and friendly as though he were having a conversation over the kitchen table with an old friend rather than in a jail cell.

He didn't have time to hear JJ's likely scathing response as Michaels was quickly back, shoving Vin towards a cell. As they talked, Nate pulled himself up and strolled towards the cell door. With Vin back in his cell, Michaels made his way back over towards Nate. He stopped in front of the cell in said in a hushed tone "The bag's under the desk in the next room. My guys will look the other way but not everyone. I don't have that much pull around here so make it quick. You'll have five minutes at most."

Nate bobbed his head up and down and said "I can deal with that."

"I expect that file as soon as possible, Hunter." Michaels informed Nate. "Or I swear to god, I will hunt you down myself and there will be no getting out next time."

Nate made a "psshhh" sound with his teeth and responded "I get it Michaels...Kiss goodbye?"

Michaels only reached through the bars and grabbed Nate by the shirt before yanking him forwards, causing his face to slam into a bar. "Don't forget what I said, asshole." Nate stumbled backwards, holding his nose as Michaels headed for the door, yelling over his shoulder "I'll be back to question you clowns in a minute. Don't go anywhere."

Nate ran his tongue along his teeth to make sure they were all still there. Satisfied that his smile was still intact, he flashed it at JJ and Vin and informed them "He loves me really. He's just gotta make it look good for the camera." He then reached into his pocket where Michaels had fondled him a moment ago and pulled out a key, holding it up to chest height to show the others. "So, who's for a jailbreak?"

Reaching through the bars, he stuck the key in the cell lock and unlocked the door with an ease that suggested he had done it before. He quickly stepped out and had JJ's cell open just as easily. He didn't go in to check on the obviously in pain JJ. Instead he moved down the row of cells and unlocked Vin's door, saying to the other man with a smile "Admit it. You missed me."

@Xandrya
@Rawk

“Wow.” Vin mumbled under his breath, watching the maniac Detective go off on Nate as though he were reprimanding a small child. Apparently Nate and Michaels had more of a past than he thought, and what the Detective said earlier about him started to make more sense. But it didn’t matter, since Nate was needed regardless, and the Detective was out the door before anymore could be said. Nate, not wasting any time, was out of his cage and standing in front of Vin’s unlocked cell door with his typical “look at me suckas!” grin across his face.

“Yeah, yeah...you’re missed, but no kisses right now, bro.” Vincent said, patting him on the shoulder as he hurried by and slipped into the cell where Jennifer was, kneeling down at her side to help her sit up.

“Are you okay? I swear I thought you were a hell of an actor back there…” He said, trying to fake a smile. “But it turns out something did happen, didn’t it? Was it the headaches again?”

Vin remembered the first time Jennifer had helped him, and she paid a heavy price in the form of terrible
migraines that probably felt just as bad as when they’d manifested through his curse. Every violent action that those damned things take feels like it takes a piece of him with it.

“Some powers, eh?” He said with a grin, looking into her weary, yet beautifully perfected eyes.

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero

"Yeah, it was one of those headaches...but I'm not sure what happened. I haven't come into contact with anyone, much less absorb their injuries..." Jennifer trailed off, sighing at the possibilities of what it all meant for her. "I don't want to get these headaches for the rest of my life, Vin, I'm scared. I really am."

She gave him a helpless look before dusting off her hands, walking out of the cell with Vin following closely behind her. "So, pretty boy," she turned to Nate, that smirk of his still present on his face, "care to guide us out of this hellhole? Oh, and remind me to buy your cop friend a drink for busting us out one of the nights."

Jennifer turned to Vin, extending her hand out for him to grab while motioning towards the door.

@Rawk
@Subject Zero

Nate rolled his eyes while watching Vin and JJ. Leaning a shoulder against the cell door, he watched Vin fawn over JJ and wondered if she knew how smitten the poor schmuck was with her. It would almost be adorable if they weren't under a time constraint. He was glad when JJ turned to him and asked to be led out. He brightened up then, standing up straight and rubbing his hands together. "Not only do I care to," he replied to her question. "It would be my honor."

His smile only grew as he headed for the door, as though breaking out of police custody with the threat of violence and possible death looming over his shoulder was somehow fun. To a normal person, it wouldn't be. But Nate was far from normal and he seemed to thrive on adrenaline. It probably wasn't a healthy way to live but neither was eating bacon double cheeseburgers and millions of people did that every day.

Poking his head through the door to make sure there was no one around, Nate ushered the others into the next room while the coast was clear. He ducked behind a desk and quickly reappeared, dumping a large duffel bag on top of the desk. The bag contained their belongings, minus Nate's small arsenal of handguns and explosives. Apparently Michaels didn't like the idea of a maniac like Nate running around with a bag full of guns. Also in the bag were some police uniforms, one of which Nate pulled out and tossed to Vin. "Put this on." he informed him. He shifted his attention then to JJ and said "Now, Jennifer. There's a uniform in here for you too. But, personally, I think you'd be more suited to the role of trashy call girl." He pulled a set of cuffs from the bag and dangled them on his finger. "I mean you pulled it off so well the last time."

@Rawk
@Xandrya

There it was. Jennifer’s hand reaching out for Vincent to grab it, and yet for a split second there was hesitation. He was afraid of touching her, considering the havoc she had to endure the last time their hands met, but maybe this was different. His powers, or whatever they were, seemed to be in some kind of hibernation and what was replaced was more a calmness of mind. The creatures within weren’t restless, trying to break themselves free of their host, nor were the nightmarish visions filling his head with nonsense. For all intends and purposes, he felt normal for the first time in the last couple of days, and for once he had hoped there was an end to all of this madness.

Vin smiled as he took hold of Jennifer’s hand, which felt cold to the touch, and he wrapped his hand tighter hoping to take away the chill. He looked over at Nate, who was leading them all into another room, and Vin couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive for allowing their lives to be in this kid’s charge. Nate seemed to live his life as though he had an infinite number, and maybe in a way he did, but why did he feel the need to put others in the same line of fire that he unquestionably dives head first into? Michaels words resonated with Vin stronger than he thought they would, and he hoped that the detective was wrong about their mutual acquaintance.

“Really? We’re supposed to play dress up now?”

Vincent scoffed at the idea as he held the bundle of clothes that would be used as his disguise, but shrugged, realizing that these were in fact desperate times. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt, and replaced it with the standard black ATL PD uniform top, which was a terrible fit, and continued on with the remaining clothes.

“Nate, c’mon bro...enough with the handcuffs.” He scolded Nate for even entertaining the idea of Jennifer posing as a prostitute. “Give her a break, alright?”

@Subject Zero
@Xandrya

"Hmm..." Jennifer grabbed the handcuffs Nate had taken out of the bag, seemingly contemplating his offer before shaking her head. "Nah, I've retired that role. I know, you're heart-broken." She turned away from Nate, giving Vin a quick wink before searching the bag for the gear she'd need to impersonate an officer. She pulled out the only uniform shirt and matching pair of pants left.

"Yeah, this'll be fun..."

Jennifer took off her shoes, but kept the rest of her clothes on as she put the uniform over them. Luckily, everything fit her okay. She buttoned up the shirt and tucked it into her pants before grabbing the pair of black boots. "I've always wondered what it's like having this much power. I guess we'll find out."

Once she was set, Jennifer put her shoes in the bag and zipped it shut.

"Alright, let's see how far we can get before we're caught."

She wasn't being completely serious, but Jennifer knew that this was a very risky move, even for the trio that always managed to get out of a sticky situation.

@Rawk
@Subject Zero

It was hard to say what gave Eli more if a jolt. Eric Miller's shouting or the voice of Christi coming from seemingly no where.  Either way Eli flinched and fell backwards. A slight look of fear crossed his face. If it had been anything else, Eli could have sprang into action but he damned if he wasn't scared right now.

"What the hell man, you scared the shit out of me!" Eli said looking at Eric Miller. "Did you hear Christi? I swear I heard her tell me to let ass hole go." Eli could hear heavy breathing and the sound of something scraping against the save floor. Did she turn invisible? Of that is the case, it wasn't even the craziest thing that happened today.

He reached out gently and his hand was stopped by what felt like a leg. She was there. She was there and asked for Danny to go free.

Eli got to his feet and walked over to his bag. He pulled out a small jar of honey and tossed it to Danny. Eli knew the smart thing was to kill him and be done with it. Letting him go just meant he could come back with more people but if that's what Christi wanted Eli wasn't going to go against it.

"Rub this in, it'll kill whatever infection might there. Go past the river about a two miles, you'll see some odd looking flowers. Rub those in with the honey and you'll be fine." Eli got close to Danny and whispered to him. "Nine times out of ten, I'dve killed you by now. You had your one."

Eli stood up and got a good look at Eric Miller. "You alright kid?"

@Thundercrash @Remipa Awesome

When Jennifer elected not to play the hooker, Nate made a show of frowning and put a hand to his chest as though she had wounded him deeply but then remembered that they had little time and he couldn't afford to joke around here. He would have to save his jokes for later. He was quickly pulling on his own uniform over the top of his clothes and shoving his jacket and Vin's shirt into the bag. After they were all dressed, he ducked under the desk again where he picked up three police hats to complete the disguise. He threw two of them to JJ and Vin and placed the third on top of his head, wishing there was a mirror in here so he could see how good he looked.

He didn't waste time with anymore words directed at the others, much to their relief, and instead headed to the door. When he peeked out, he saw an officer at the end of the hallway reading a file but he wasn't paying attention to them and soon turned around the corner. Nate stepped out and motioned for the others to follow.

Heading towards the back of the station, they passed through booking where one officer was sitting behind a desk but didn't even bother to look up at them as they passed. Nate walked with a confidence that suggested he belonged here rather than was trying to escape. Another uniformed officer stepped out of a door right in front of them and Nate felt his heart skip a beat.

"Hey." said the officer with a perfunctory chin jut of acknowledgment as he passed and kept moving down the hallway. Nate could barely believe their luck and echoed the greeting before continuing towards the rear door where they encountered a keypad. Luckily Michaels had anticipated this and told him the code. Unluckily, however, Nate hadn't been paying attention at the time and had instead been more focussed on Michaels' eyebrows. "Damn it!" he muttered under his breath.

But then, in a moment that Nate saw as divine providence and proof that the world wanted them to succeed, the door opened from the other side and two officers began shoving a large bald man inside. Nate instinctively reached behind him and pushed JJ towards the wall, so she didn't get knocked down as the massive man jostled with the officers and swore at them, declaring that he'd "Get them for this". Nate held his arm and shoulder in front of JJ in an almost protective manner until the three men had passed and then quickly grabbed for the door before it closed. The commotion that the obviously angry man was now causing was enough of a distraction for them to slip out unnoticed.

Outside, Nate looked around for the car Michaels had told him would be waiting for them. He eventually spotted the blue four door halfway across the parking lot and hurriedly walked towards it. He found the doors unlocked and slipped into the driver's seat and flipped down the sun visor to find the keys dropping into his hands. "I need to buy Michaels a beer myself." he said with a smile to no one in particular before starting the car and turning to the others. "How on earth do you two survive without me?".

The car was quickly moving, but not too quickly. Nate didn't want to get arrested for speeding. That would make this whole escape pointless.

@Xandrya
@Rawk

"Sir they made their escape. A Detective Micheles was their avenue."

"Excellent, I was hoping they were resourceful. Contact them and send them to Harlan. Tell them, there's more like them. Also, get me a phone. It's time to talk to Elijah." The elderly man, the genesis of this maddness order his second in command.

"Sir surely there isn't a need for personal contact."

The Elderly man waved off his second in command. "Nathan Hunter is a smart resourceful young man. Jennifer is also rather clever in many aspects. However, Elijah Craigh, he is an extremely dangerous man. He is a mad dog waiting for a reason to attack. I remember once, when his daughter passed. He... Went on a rampage that would have made Fyodor Dostoyevsky proud."

"Crime and Punishment?" The Second asked.

"Indeed. Before Elijah, please take care of our friends in Atlanta." The Genesis asked.

"Yes sir."

The newest generation of cars were amazing. Computers controled everything now thing now. Information and entertainment were everywhere. However, like anything connected to Internet, they are hackable.

It seemed like all at once nothing worked anymore. The vehicle went on cruise control, steering, breaks and fule were now in the control of someone other than the driver. The Info center in the center of the dash flashed a message. "There are others in Harlan, Kentucky. Find Elijah Craigh."

The whole the matter didn't last but a few moments. As control of the vehicle was returned to the driver, the message lingered a while longer. When the message passed, the GPS came up with directions to Harlan County.

"Hey, Nate..." Jennifer tapped him a few times on the arm, even though he was driving and her actions were distracting him. "Did Michaels put you up to this?" She pointed to the center console screen where the message was being displayed.

Who the hell is Elijah Craigh?

"Do you know this guy--oh, that's convenient," she added, looking at the map that had suddenly appeared on the screen. It's only a 5 and a half hour drive to meet up with him."

Jennifer shook her head. It was already later in the evening and she was still hungry, but now that they had received the cryptic message, her night was just about to get longer. Nathan did want to find answers, and she knew he wasn't the type to back down, not from something like this.

"Can we at least get some food before we go? I'm sure we all need it..."

@Subject Zero
@Rawk

“Oh shit pipes...five and half hours of driving?”

Vincent complained in the back seat as he laid against the headrest and fiddled with the window control. He was surprised that had made it out of the precinct as quickly and efficiently as they had, but part of him wasn’t so surprised considering they’ve had a stretch of some fucked up luck ever since they all met. He also didn’t like all the cloak and dagger that seemed to be happening around him, even though, in a way, it was thrilling to feel like he was in an espionage movie. He grinned to himself, as he stared at Jennifer up in the passenger’s seat, imagining her as a “Bond girl” and wishing he were 007 himself. Of course then the question still remained...shaken or stirred?

He was about to say something until Jennifer spoke first, addressing Nate on this mysterious fellow named “Elijah”. Nate seemed to know a lot of people, and Vin wondered if this was the guy who would help sort all the mess out. In the back of his, however, Detective Michaels warnings rang loud and clear, but Vincent hoped he was wrong about the kid. For all of our sakes.

“Oh yeah, I definitely could go for some grub right about now.” He said chimed in excitedly, responding to Jennifer’s suggestion to get some food, as he leaned up directly behind her seat. “And wherever we end up going, let’s make sure they have a full fuckin’ stock of top shelf booze, because I know we could all use a hard drink right about now.”

The thought made him perk up, that, or perhaps it was the fragrant conditioner Jennifer used in her hair, but either way Vincent needed to decompress or fear losing his mind.

“Your hair smells awesome by the way.” He said, grinning from ear to ear as he poked his head over Jennifer’s seat. “I probably should have joined you earlier...ya know, to save water and all.”

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero