"so you're going to poison yourself to get out? hardcore. wonder what i should do. maybe act like i poisoned you." he tilted his head, smiling false-sweetly.
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She pointed at him. "I could do that. And I'm not even poisoning myself, just filling my mouth with gross fake blood. So how we want to set up this wonderful act? You offer a pill to help me 'relax' that ends up as poison? I scream and whatnot to get people's attention?"
"wonderful. start when you need to, i'm already in character." he sat back, staring at the ceiling. "wonder what i'd even have to give you for you to cough up blood."
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"Who the hell knows," she mumbled, then bit down on the capsule. The fake blood immediately started gushing into her mouth, and she tilted her head back to coat the back of her throat. After thoroughly satisfied that it was believable enough, she started coughing and clutching at her throat, screaming for help and cursing Nik.
nik stared at her act for a moment, took a deep breath, and let out a high pitched, rough laugh. he ended it as soon as he heard running, giving a quiet "gotcha bitch." just as the door opened and a guard burst into the room to see tessa on the floor bleeding from the mouth, nik wearing a smug smirk, and an empty pill bottle in his hand.
(where he got the bottle? we don't know. its best not to ask.)
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Tessa didn't give the guard much time to reach, lashing out with her legs while still pretending to choke on some made-up poison. She struck the guard's knees, causing him to double over, and she hooked her legs around his ankles and knocked his feet out from beneath him. She didn't waste any time and spun so that she could cover his mouth, preventing him from calling out for backup. "Works every time."
nik gave her a thumbs up. "backup's still on the way, sister. especially if he doesn't come back. goddamn i wish i had my chloroform. take him out, will you?"
he leapt off the bed, peeking around the opened door to check the hallway.
"they probably have our stuff locked somewhere, and they took my map. we'll have to sneak around until we find it, and then just make a break for it. sound good?"
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Tessa casually choked the guard out as she responded, spitting the red liquid from her mouth. "I have this place memorized for the most part, just need to get my bearings. Besides that, all sounds good to me." The guard lost consciousness, and she let go, wiping her mouth and getting up to join Nik.
"convenient. how bad did that shit taste?" he slipped out of the cell, gesturing for her to follow.
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She spat some more out of her mouth, making a face. "Awful. Leaves a horrible aftertaste as well," she said, trailing after Nik and looking around to try and figure out where they were.
"what's it even made out of?" he stopped, waiting for her to navigate.
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"I didn't ask," she said, scrunching her nose slightly as she crouched and looked around. "Probably should've, now that I think about it. Might actually drop dead at some point." She got her bearings and moved ahead, motioning for him to follow. She was willing to bet that they had stored their stuff in the nearby closet.
he mimicked her crouch, staying low as he followed. he honestly had no idea where he was going, and was trying not to show the pure anxiety of putting his life in some stranger's hands.
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It didn't take them long to find the closet, and Tessa tested the handle. Unlocked. Idiots. She opened the door and slipped inside. Sure enough, it wasn't a typical storage closet with brooms and such—it had containers filled with gear and weapons, likely from other prisoners. "Merry Christmas," she said cheerily, then started looking through the stuff. She just might take some other stuff as well while she was at it.
"d'ya think we should let some other people out?" nik asked, moving immediately to the large, strappy… camera bag? he hefted it off the shelf and secured it over his torso. once it was on, he grabbed a butterfly knife that lay behind it and shoved it into a sheath in his boot.
"alright, i think i'm good to go. i can't carry other people's shit as well, plus i'm a terrible shot. you good?"
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"Maybe once we've got an actual plan of escape and a perfectly executed rescue," Tessa said, grabbing her knives and drug-filled trenchcoat. The drugs weren't for her—they were for taking down enemies. She then wiggled her fingers with a little "Ooo" and snatched some brass knuckles. "Don't mind if I do," she said as she slipped them on. "A die-hard fan for rock and metal must-have."
he snorted, craning his neck to see if there were any more lightweight weapons.
"some bitch came in here with blowdarts? brave." after he scanned the closet one last time, he turned around. "let's ride. any idea where we're going after we get out?"
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"Brave indeed," she said, then raked her fingers through her hair as she tilted her head to the side, thinking over the memorized map in her head. While she did that, she pulled up her hair and tied it with the rubberband she had found. "Uhh, I might have an idea," she said.
"shoot." he began to unbutton the hawaiian shirt he wore, yanking it off and rolling it to fit in his bag. underneath was a simple spanx tank top, which he tucked into his pants.
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"So, I have this hideout that may or may not have other people in it, not sure, depending on whoever the fuck decides now is a perfect time to show up, but yeah," she said peeking out the door, "It has yet to be discovered, and it's pretty inconspicuous—just a run-down and supposedly abandoned apartment building."
"perfect. i would offer mine, but it's uh. underground, a hassle to get to, and in the sewers. this definitely sounds better." he dusted himself off and stood up straight.
"lead the way, captain. i've got your back."
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She visibly shivered at the mention of an underground hideout but recovered quickly as she darted out of the closet and to the left. If she remembered correctly, there was an emergency exit down this hall to the right, then to the right again, and then another left.
he seemed surprised for just a moment, but raced to catch up and the kept pace with her pretty easily as she turned down the winding halls.
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"Y'know," she said quietly as they went through the halls, "We never really took into account wandering guards—or just people in general."
he glanced over. "not properly, no. i figure if they attack us we can just take them out, yeah? quick and quiet. if it fails, it fails."
his expression hardened a bit, and he looked forward again.
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"Like I said—improv," Tessa said, seemingly unruffled by the idea of getting caught again. They reached the next turn, and Tessa gestured for him to follow as she went right.
nik continued to follow her, but briefly swatted her hand after a while.
"footsteps, 12 o' clock. get ready." he reached down to get his knife, flipping it open.
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She was about to protest at being hit, but shut up and was on full alert when he brought her attention to the approaching guard. She flexed her fingers, ready to test out her new snazzy pair of brass knuckles. She really liked punching things, so these had to be the best fit for her.
"make sure those fit, hoss. don't break your own knuckles. on three?" he drew the blunt edge of the blade across his palm, deciding if drawing blood was entirely necessary.
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"On three," she agreed, eyeing the approaching man as she practically hugged the wall. Should I break his jaw or just leave a nasty bruise on his stomach? Decisions decisions.
