[IC] Rescue and Revenge (Katherin and Raptra)

[KatherinWinter]

"Sure." Roxy agreed as she got out of the car. "I'll get gas and then grab snacks. What you do is up to you." She climbed out of the car and went to the pump. While she waited for the tank to fill she looked around. Stopping was risky but as she told Wyn they didn't have much choice. They were almost out of gas. She had no idea what to do. She had no plan. The only thing she could think of get out of the city. The further she got the less influence her father would have and the more area they had to search.

Once the car was full, she headed inside to pay. She had cash put it wouldn't last forever. She would have to figure something out. But first they needed to get somewhere safe.

[Raptra]

"Cool, I guess..." came the somewhat demoralized reply from Wyn as Roxy left the vehicle.

He should have expected her lack of reaction to him opening up like that, considering most of his interactions with her up till now. However, he still somehow hoped that she would reciprocate it, at least a little, at some point. It would most certainly help to have someone he could easily communicate with in such a situation, but she did not seem to see it that way. Her behavior was surely quite bizarre to him, but he figured that was understandable after some thought. The environment she had been raised in had been nowhere close to 'normal'. She did not appear to have the slightest fear of danger despite being fully aware that she was currently facing it, and a whole lot of it, he would add.

He was eager to leave the city for the time being, and would urge Roxy to get them out of there once she returned, considering that her father and his associates might still be hot on their trail. Hopefully they were going to find a time and place to check that disc out.

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy ignored her hostage. Although she supposed he wasn't much of a hostage anymore. She didn't know what to call him now. She supposed it didn't matter. He was a complication. She didn't know how to handle him. She didn't have much experience with people. She hadn't interacted with many people the last few years. She would figure it out she had always been good at adapting.

When she finished filling the van, Roxy headed inside. She roamed through the aimless looking at the options. They should get real food rather than junk food. She'd ask Wyn what he wanted she decided as she headed to the bathroom. She took care of her business before washing her hands. She ran her fingers through her short black hair. Then she took a deep breath and headed back to the store.

[Raptra]

If it had been in some other case, he would have been a little frustrated, maybe even embarrassed at his failure to figure Roxy out. He was practically the total opposite of her. He had surrounded himself with people, initially as one of the coping mechanisms for his trauma, but had grown to enjoy the attention. He was a performer and a social butterfly, and he had been certain that this made him good with people, until now. He was used to more outgoing girls flocking to him, and he rarely had problems conversing with the reserved ones too. Even the occasional one who would be repulsed by him would clearly get her message across.

However, Roxy fell into none of those categories. If not for their lives being in actual danger and the crime mystery he was keen on solving, he would have taken getting her to open up to him as somewhat of a challenge, but who knew? That might unexpectedly happen somewhere along the way without him even trying. Not every challenge had a clear-cut solution, after all, and this would probably apply to what they would have to do to gain some sort of advantage over this crime organization pursuing them.

"Something that's a real meal, but also convenient to have along the way?" He would suggest when she asked him, playfully pointing with a tongue click. "I'd say sandwiches are the way to go. Thanks hun!."

[KatherinWinter]

"To go would probably be best." Roxy acknowledged. It would be easier. The sooner they left the better. It wouldn't take her father's men long to figure out where they went. The city was a good place to lose them. If they could make it out of town without a tail they might have a chance. She wished she had a destination but right now getting out of town was her current goal. After that she could figure things out.

"Let's grab a sandwich and a something to drink." Rocy started looking at the sandwiches. She settled on a roast beef sandwich. She grabbed a grape soda out of the cooler and a bag of chips. Then headed for the register to wait Wyn.

[Raptra]

"I see we have some snacks too," he observed as they were just about to leave. "Awesome."

At this point, he knew better than to expect anything but silence in response to his small talk, but he would continue anyway. It would just be way too awkward to drive the entire remaining distance to their next stop, wherever that might be, without either of them saying a word. On the surface, she seemed like the type who would have snapped at him to shut up much earlier on, but she was not a bad or even unpleasant person, just hardened by the circumstances that had be forced on her, and apparently for most of her life, one might add. He wanted to help her on in any way he could, but they were stuck until they found out what was on that disc, and even then, there was no guarantee that they would know how to proceed.

Unwrapping his own sandwich, he looked out the window, watching the scenery zoom past as the vehicle made its way out of town. Well, he did just only mention about being open to an adventure. He just hoped that it was all going to be worth it. If this would give him closure, then he would not have to hide anything anymore.

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy ignored Wyn's comment. For her chips aren't really a snack. Especially when all they were eating was a sandwich. She paid cash for their food before heading to the van. She got into the driver's seat. She put her seat belt on then opened her pop. She set it in the pop holder than started the van.

Once he was in she headed towards the edge of town. "Make yourself useful and pull up Google maps. We need a way our of town and we can't take any of the major roads." Her father would have people there before long. He knew she would try to get out of his area of influence. His influence here wasn't as strong but he had enough connections to find them given time.

[Raptra]

Choosing not to acknowledge the antagonistic manner in which she had just requested for his assistance, Wyn smirked as he grabbed the mobile device from its holder and spun it once in his hand before opening the mentioned application. "Trust me this much already, sunshine? I'm touched."

"None of the major roads eh...?" He muttered to himself, casually swiping around the map with his thumb and eventually finding a couple of options.

"Alright, so from where we are, we can do two things," he then continued out loud after downing another bite of his sandwich. "We can take the next left turn, drive through the neighborhood along the outskirts, and then it'll be the open road to the next town."

"Or," he added. "Going on straight ahead is going to get us out too, but we'll be in the middle of nowhere for around twice as long. If you're not the type who needs the bathroom every two hours, I'd say this second choice is the way to go."

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy watched for signs that they were being followed. Luckily she didn't see anyone tailing them. She hoped they had been able to get enough of a lead to get out of town without being see they might be able to figure out the next step. She honestly didn't think going to the police would do any good. Maybe someone higher but she didn't know who she could trust. Her father had connection everywhere. Maybe there wasn't a way to guarantee her freedom. Maybe she would have to look over her shoulder forever. But she had to try. She could allow him to force her back into his world. She had earned her freedom and she was going to keep it.

"We'll try the second on. It wouldn't be the first time I went to the bathroom outdoors." She told him as she changed lanes. The second was risky. They would be a lot easier to see but it would also be easier to spot someone trailing them. They wouldn't stop at the first place they came to. They needed a big city so they could ble d into the crowd.

[Raptra]

They had not spent even twenty-four hours together yet, but Wyn was already getting used to Roxy either ignoring his dry quips or taking them too seriously. In truth, it was actually quite amusing, and he chuckled a little at her response to his bathroom comment. After she had shared her choice out of the two given, he adjusted the settings so that the application would direct them to the next town via the decided route, and then placed it back into the holder.

"I sure hope you have a power bank or something..." he muttered.

The ride was going to be a long one, but what mattered was that they stayed safe throughout it. There had been no sightings of anyone or any vehicles belonging to the criminal organization so far, and as they resumed their journey, the gravity of the whole situation began to fade again. The drive was starting to seem almost... peaceful, especially with his only companion being the brooding, silent mob princess. He even considered napping for a bit, but they should be staying alert, just in case anything should happen. That would prove difficult to do, however.

"I'll check Google maps for an internet cafe or something when we're nearing civilization again," he spoke up after a while, and continued with a suggestion. "Is this thing's radio working? Maybe we can get some useful information if we have it on."

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy raised an eyebrow at his comment about the power bank. "What part of not planned did you not understand." She asked him. She hadn't packed much. She was used to not needing much. She tended to improvise as she went. She hadn't given phones much thought. Until she asked Wyn to look for a way out of town. She hadn't brought hers since she knew they could be tracked. She hadn't known about the one in the van. Maybe they should ditch it.

"Maybe we should ditch the phone. It can be tracked." She pointed out. They wouldn't need it once they got out of the city. It didn't matter where they ended up. A big city would be best. The bigger the place the easier it would be to blend in. Road signs would Gove them enough direction.

[Raptra]

Wyn scoffed defensively, yet still with a slight air of playfulness, at her retort. "Well, our lack of a plan still granted us this smartphone, didn't it? Ain't too far fetched to expect a power bank somewhere around here, but if we don't, I'll just turn it off for the few hours we'll be on the road."

He was about to fiddle with the radio when she mentioned the risk of the phone being tracked, and he glanced at the bag of chips she had bought from the store at the gas station, a fun idea popping into his head. "If you're done with that chip bag, we could chuck the phone in it. The foil should block the phone's GPS signal. Got that one from Terminator: Dark Fate. I... guess you haven't seen that movie."

He chuckled at that, and then leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "I don't know how well that'll actually work, though, so not saying you should take my word for it. I just think that a phone would be useful if we can figure out a safe way to hang on to it. Anyway, deciding that we're immediately going to look for a place to check that disc out once we're in a city sounds like a plan."

[KatherinWinter]

"Most people don't keep powerbanks in their cars since they can just plug a cable into the cigarette lighter." She had seen the round car cable charger things at the gas station. She should have thought to cable one but her mind hard be on other things. Usually her pack had a couple of boxes and cables but she hadn't grabbed her gear. Probably because she didn't think of it was hers. Her father had given it to her so it was his. Even the knives she had treasured technically belonged to her father.

"Check the glove box and pockets. That's where I've seen people keep those kind of things." Although she had seen many leave them in the cigarette lighter but it was empty so many the person who left the phone kept the charging stuff elsewhere. If it had been with the phone Wyn should have seen it but maybe he'd missed it because he hadn't been looking for it.

"I think you've been watching too many movies. I'm almost positive foil won't keep us from being pinged." She didn't know much about technology that wasn't her area of expertise. She know locating a person wasn't as easy as the TV shows made it seem but it wasn't impossible either. Especially with the right resources. Resources her father had access to.

[Raptra]

"Right, might as well poke around everywhere to see what else we can find," he muttered, proceeding to open and reach into the glove compartment before first tossing out an empty plastic bottle and a couple of crumpled wipes, with a slight expression of disgust. "Ugh, trash... gross."

He started rummaging through the other items in there - some kind of instruction manual, a screwdriver, a small flashlight, some unused zip ties, a roll of duct tape, and... what actually looked like a power bank. There was no cable with it, however, and he figured that he would probably have to looking around a little more for it, if there was even one in the vehicle. Not that it mattered for the time being, since the danger of the phone being tracked had already been mentioned and Roxy had made clear that she was more than doubtful that his 'movie solution' was going to work.

"I mean, sort of feels that we're in some movie anyway," he commented, and then glanced up at her from his digging and sighed. "I know... this has pretty much been your life, so do excuse the guy who's forgotten what it's like. You know, I'm sort of glad to have forgotten, it must be exhausting to have been living in a 'movie' for years. I feel for you, sunshine, I really do. Well, we have a power bank right here, but I'll turn the phone off anyway. We won't need it for a while."

He decided that he would not longer bother with the car radio either. Anyone who could track a phone might be able to hack into a radio, after all. One might wish to be a character in an action film while watching it, but living that dream sure was a vastly different experience.

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy rolled her eyes. "I guarantee that this isn't a movie." It would be so much easier if it was. But as crazy as it was this was her life. It hadn't ever been normal. She started her training at five. She had been proud of her roll as her father's heir. That had been the worst. She had taken pride in accomplishing ever goal he had set for her. Than her brother had been born and everything changed. Drake had been named as heir.

"I'd like to forget it but not all of us are that lucky." She had left home and tried to put it behind her. She had almost built herself a normal life before her father had come back into her life. She couldn't go back. She refused to give up what she built because her father had need of her. She wasn't going to let him destroy her. Her life wasn't perfect. But it was hers.

She drove without a word for awhile. By her estimate they had a couple hours before they reached a decent size city. Hopefully they would be out of her father's reach. Maybe she could figure out how to protect herself and Wynn.

[Raptra]

He shrugged at her response. "Not that movie characters ever know that they're in a movie anyway."

He was slightly amused at the unlikely topic they were conversing about at such a time, but anything to keep the awkwardness at bay, he figured. It was clear that Roxy had come from a whole different world as compared to the one where he had been placed into after the death of his biological parents, the 'normal' world where one got to grow up experiencing regular things like movies. He could not assume that she would be able to relate to everything he said, and he had accepted that it was going to be a hit or miss thing with any new topic he brought up. Still, he was going to keep trying. She was still human, after all, and they only had each other to rely on at the moment.

"Yeah well, I'd say my luck's run out as of last night," he pointed out, and then slowly turned to her with a smirk. "But who knows? Maybe there's something totally awesome waiting for us at the end of all this, something better than what either of us have had so far. Boy, now I really want to know what's in that chip. I hope it's good."

Silence fell over the pair for a bit, and after some time, he found himself instinctively humming to the tune of Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill. "You uh... listen to music where you come from, sunshine? Kind of wish I had something to play right now. To be honest, I already miss playing for the peeps back at Bayshore."

[KatherinWinter]

"I suppose you have a point." The characters in the movies didn't know they were in a movie. Still the comparison bothered her. This was her life not fiction. It was very serious but she suppose to him it wasn't. It wasn't his life. He'd be able to go home now that she had the chip. She had no idea what was on the chip or if it would do her any good but she knew it was important. It had to be for her father to be looking for it after so many years.

Roxy rolled her eyes at the question. She reached for the radio and started scanning for a decent station. "Yes music exists where I come from." She stopped the radio at an alternative rock station. "What kind of music do you play?" She hadn't really thought about the life he left behind. She couldn't do anything about what he lost so she pushed it to the back of her mind.

[Raptra]

Wyn raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise at her question. As far as he could recall, this was the first about him that was not rhetorical, sarcastic, or absolutely necessary for them to continue on with their day. It seemed to be a genuine question about him as a... companion? Friend? Something a little more? Well, he still was not quite sure of what she truly thought of him, but that display of curiosity was a likely sign that he was finally getting through in terms of breaking the ice with her, and he was going to attempt to keep the ball rolling. They currently had the time, after all.

"Mainly country and soft rock," he replied casually. "But I've performed the acoustic versions of songs of many different genres. The acoustic guitar is a convenient and versatile instrument, once one is proficient in it. It's how my performances appeal to so many kinds of people. Everyone has a preference for some type of music, and that's a good conversation starter when nothing else can be, just like what's happening right now, with us, even as... cryptic, as you've been so far."

He gave a wink as he finished off, and then commented on what the radio was playing. "As for you, you've got pretty good taste from what I can tell."

[KatherinWinter]

Roxy didn't know how to categorize Wynn. She wasn't used to caring about caring about people. She rarely interacted with people. She was a loner. "Interesting. I've never cared for country music." The songs always seemed to involved things she never experienced. She couldn't connect to it. Soft rock wasn't as bad but she still couldn't really connect to it. "It must be nice to have a skill that you can share with others." Her skills weren't exactly socially acceptable.

She shrugged. She wasn't really trying to be cryptic but she could see why he said that. There was so much she hadn't told him. Mostly because she wasn't sure how much she could trust him. Just because he was cooperating now doesn't mean that he would continue to do so. "Thanks I think."

[Raptra]

Wyn's eyes lit up slightly at her remark about his music skill, finding the somewhat compliment to be yet another genuine display towards him. "Oh, you have no idea- Well... maybe you do, but yeah, it really does help in networking and forming relationships. I'd suggest for anyone to pick up a skill like that, even someone like you. Surely building a network would also benefit those in your umm... field of work. You know, I could teach you how to play after all this blows over, or if all this blows over with us still being alive and not in prison or anything, and if we can still like, hang out and stuff."

He realized that he was babbling on again, but the current vibe between them seemed... comfortable. He just had to be content with the fact that Roxy was more of a listener than a talker, if she was even listening. He could not blame her for being aloof, considering the overall situation, but they had a plan once they reached the next city, well, kind of, and they should really take the time they had to calm their minds. Perhaps she knew that too, and it was why she was finally opening up.

He smirked at her hesitant expression of gratitude at his own compliment. "You're welcome regardless, sunshine."