forum Traitors Never Win // Closed// O/O

Started October 08, 2020 by @gracehustle

tune

(Perfectttt)
Timeskip: Less than 48 hours until SHTF

The past few days had been sadly, uneventful for Nym. Most passed in a blur of talking to Rael, figuring out plans, and getting whatever minutes of sleep she could. True to his words, her food had improved slightly, but only in the sense that she was given things that didn't smell like they had been rotting for weeks. It was much better than nothing though.

Nym sighed as she laid on the cold floor, one hand propped beneath her head as she stared at the ceiling. Rael had to be late today, there wasn't a doubt in her mind. Late and no closer to bringing her the chair to sit on. And no closer to going over the final layout of their escape plan. She squinted at a crack in the top of her cell as she thought, tracing the path it made towards the wall before watching it disappear into nothingness. No hope of escape through the crack.

"C'mon Rael…I'm going to go crazy if I'm alone with my thoughts anymore," She muttered, closing her eyes, "I need some good ol' bickering for distraction."

Bickering was something that she and he surprisingly didn't do much of unless it was in front of the glazed over guards that stood at her door. But today she was itching to argue since she couldn't actively go punch something to get her restlessness out. Technically, she could…but giving the only person she trusted a black eye didn't seem like the best way to start off their cross-country road trip together.

Being put under close watch feels like having a huge target on your back while fifty men are waiting to shoot. The days leading up to now have been getting both better and worse at the same time. Good since him and Nym are able to discuss plans. Bad because the lack of information for the superiors has resulted in having to come in an hour early only to be almost an hour late to the session. Somehow going through a lot of patting down and paperwork will help get any useful tips. As if they're that desperate for it.

Rael managed to pass through everything regardless of how dangerously repetitive it's becoming. Before finishing up, he couldn't help but notice the one security camera in the corner of the office. Those things placed in most areas of the prison right where you can see them perfectly. Although the one in the office wasn't blinking red. When he headed over to the cell, he carefully looked around at the other cameras trying to see if they weren't working too. Could be that they don't need the light flash or at least that's what the military hopes for. Well that just might be another helpful bit for them.

Still, almost a whole hour late. Previously it might've only been ten minutes at the least, but then the time began to drag out. Nothing he can do about it except going with it. Stopping in front of the cell, he motioned for one of the guards to open the door. Rael wouldn't be very surprised if Nym gets ticked at him. There's no time to mess around giving the little time they have.

"Good morning.", he said listlessly as the door closed behind him, "I'm sorry about the delay."

“You should be sorry, do you know how long I’ve waited to call you some amazing form or an insult?” Nym called as he came in, barely glancing back at the door, “Now that you’re finally here, good morning you lazy demanding snail.”

His presence was nothing new to her and it was only her dignity that forced her to sit up and then stand to face him. If she cared an ounce less about her dignity, she would’ve stayed laying on the floor. But yet getting up meant the possibility of getting her chair back. And so she crossed her arms and scowled at him for being late, finally speaking again as well. “We have too much to do and too little time to sit and wait for you to finally show your face. We still have to go over the entirety of the plan again, make sure everything is set, and also make sure that we’re not going to be found out talking about it. But first. My chair.”

She knew it was pointless to get mad at him about being late, but what else was she supposed to do with her anger? Not only was she grumpy, but there was a sinking feeling in her gut that refused to leave. Normally she got the feeling when something was going to go wrong, but she hoped that her senses were wrong. They couldn’t afford to have anything go wrong.

Rael rolled his eyes at her question. She probably can write a whole book of insults to call him and he still wouldn't be surprised. Somehow these insults and nicknames cause him to laugh or at least try to. He turned off to the side biting down on his lip. How strangely difficult it is to keep up his emotionless image these recent sessions. Almost less than twenty-four hours away from one of the biggest things he's ever done in his entire life, and yet here he is trying not to smile or giggle.

Taking the chair, he kicked it making sure it was still good. It was somewhat strange to him how the guards would take away the stupid thing every time. It's not like he gave her a weapon or something. He picked it up then sat it down next to her. "Here you go, my Bella. Better?", he questioned while putting his hands on his hips.

His eyes were glued to the door. While right now he felt perfectly calm, there was just a bit of worry lingering in his mind. Every battle he'd gone through before, something had to go wrong beforehand. Whether it was a shortage of supplies, someone getting shot, or even a mistake in location, something would mess up that almost could've costed them a victory. Now, things are going relatively smooth which he does thank the gods for. But, how unsettling that fact is. Anxiety and paranoia might just be messing with him, who knows?

He walked over to his regular spot, just in case. Worst comes to worst, they'd either have to escape right away or they're doomed. None of that matters now. Just worrying about what could be will only take away the drive from what they are expecting from each other and their plan. "Should we go over everything now?", Rael asked turning back to her.

Nym watched as he brought her chair over, a hint of a smile barely pulling onto her face. "My Bella? Haven't heard that one before," She questioned, sitting down with a satisfied nod. Much better than sitting on the floor. Settling down against it, she waited patiently for his answer, glancing at the door every time she heard a noise outside the door.

She wasn't sure if his name was accidental, or just something new, but she found herself almost liking the name. Yes, it wasn't close to her name, but it didn't sound bad, and if she was honest, she liked the idea of a nickname. Not that she would mention that though.

This wasn't the place she would usually discuss a plan, but it was the safest…and only, place that they could do so anyway. Ignoring the still off feeling in her gut, she nodded once more, closing her eyes and only saying, "Let's get this over with. We need to go over the entirety of the plan before you leave, and we don't have much time." It felt wrong to go over the plan, but she figured whatever was making her uneasy was nothing. After all, nothing bad had happened so far, and she didn't want to bank on that streak being broken.

"Bella means beautiful, people in Logaria use it as a nickname for their partners.", Rael explained, "They use Bello too which means handsome. It's more unique compared to Sunshine."

Come to think of it, he does not have a firm idea on why he called her that. The name just sort of rolled off the tip of his tongue on its own. You would not use that sort of thing in a sarcastic tone, would you? Sunshine could go both ways, but it just does not seem to be fitting anymore. He bit the inside of his cheek. Whether or not she questions why he called her that is something for later. It is not a matter to ponder about right now.

Quickly, he went back to thinking about the whole plan. The times, the routes, the backups; all of it. A slight creak sound came from outside. His head instantly jerked to see if the door was opening. Thankfully, it wasn't. Rael managed to catch Nym looking at it too. Guess they're both a little anxious about whatever can happen.

"Hey, don't look over there. Stare straight into my eyes.", he commanded, "Nym, the more you look at that damn door, the more you're going to focus on your worry. Don't think about those guards or anyone else, just think about getting out and getting home. Now, are you ready for me to go over it?"

Nym could feel the faintest of blushes fall onto her cheeks at the explanation, and she for once was glad that the colder cell would help get rid of the heat in her cheeks. She didn't have time to dwell on nickname choices, or why in particular this new nickname felt different than his usual Sunshine.

All her thoughts were torn away at the noise at the door and she tried to be discreet about her focus on it, but like usual, Rael saw right what she was doing. She wrinkled her nose when she was called out, but did reluctantly follow his directions. After all, he was right, she couldn't focus on the worries, only on the end goal. She had to ignore the thought of being caught or spied on and roll with the luck that they were going to be left alone like every other day.

"I'm ready," She replied in a calm manner, staring into his brown eyes, "From the top, we can't forget any detail." Nym found it easy to forget her worries the longer she looked into his eyes. He gave off the feeling of safety or at least the calm she needed at the moment. Even if it was a false sense of calm. After all, he couldn't do jack squat to prove that nothing was going to go wrong, that was a fool's mission.

He tried to take a deep breath only to hold it. At that moment, Rael both regretted and liked how he asked for her to look at him. It was like he got lost gazing back into hers. Only the single thought about the plan and the bleakness of the cell brought him back into reality. Exhaling, he averted is eyes away for just a second. Giving a nod as reply, he started to delineate.

"At nineteen hundred hours sharp, I am right in front of that door. The guards and staff are on break till twenty hundred hours, so we roughly have an hour or more to get out and drive as far away as we can. Replacements don't get here till twenty minutes after. I'll open the door, give you clothes and shoes, then you quickly get dressed. Don't leave that cell uniform here, take it with us and we'll deal with it later. We are going to speed-walk taking a right then staying in that hallway till we have to make a left. There is an emergency staircase that goes directly outside. It's hard to open unless something is wrong, so the passcode is eight eight three seven. Once we get out, you will hide beside the tall bush while I go to my car. It shouldn't take no longer than two minutes or less. Next, I am going to park it then I am going to signal by whistling. Get in the passenger seat, right away. Entrance gates are going to be automatic, all I need to do is to have my pass scanned then we're out on the road. Is that everything? Any last minute questions?"

Pulling his uniform shirt, he moved it trying to get some heat gone. Trying not to catch a glimpse at that door is difficult as hell. Rael just kept his focus towards Nym. The plan has to go well, he just knows that they can and will do it. Still, even though they have been planning this for a while now, it's still unimaginable.

Even if she had been the one to ask to go over the plan, Nym was sure she had memorized the plan. "My jacket and knife are going to be in your car, right? Or back at your place if we have time for a quick stop." She couldn't help but look at the door as she asked her question, tearing her eyes away from it to look back at him, "I assume this place is infested with cameras, make sure to have something to hide your face. And also, our first stop is..how far away?"

Everything from the code, to how long to wait by the bush, everything was drilled into her head. Every possible outcome flew through her head as well and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop spouting out the what-ifs. This had to go right, thinking it was going to go wrong was just an incentive for it to do so.

Nym waited silently for his response, this time almost bolting upright as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. It could easily be an interrogator strolling to their victim, but it didn't stop her from standing slowly, once again focusing square on the door. Every other day, all the interrogators got to their cells well before Rael, and something told her that this pair of late footsteps wasn't one of them. No one seemed to be as late as Rael usually was.

"Yes. Everything is pack for you, your backpack is going to be hidden behind-" Rael stopped talking as he watched her standing up. An eyebrow shot up in confusion for a second till he began to hear footsteps coming over to the cell.

He leaned to the side trying to pick up any other sound. A low mumble or anything. Nothing more scarier than footsteps followed by pure silence. Rael's eyes slowly trailed back to Nym. The chances of them being screwed right now is high. Anybody could be on the other side of that door. Another prison staffer, general…. He would curse himself right then and there if the admiral was there. On the other hand, it can be anybody coming over or maybe a guard is just walking around fighting boredom.

Staying in their current positions is too risky given he has no concrete idea who is there. Anxiously, he ran over picking up the chair setting it on his side. Chains cause too much noise which will draw more suspicion; not like anyone is going to be too worried about them anyways. Rael sat down crossing his legs with the notebook open on his lap. Now all he can hear is his heartbeat and this odd ringing sound in his ears.

What else could they do to cover this up? Hiding their worries is going to be difficult, but it must be done. They have to make it work. Even if it's just some random person out there. He sighed before tensing up his body. "My Bella…", he whispered, "Don't be scared. We'll improvise if we have to."

(Gosh honestly I love Rael’s nickname for Nym…much better than her poor excuses for nicknames)

Nym was unusually stiff as she stepped away from the chair, arms held close to her sides. Her eyes stayed trained on the door even as she walked to the opposite side of the cell from the chair, silently listening for any sign that the door was going to open. And like the sinking feeling in her stomach told, the door opened seconds after Rael spoke.

She refused to look at whoever entered, holding her head high and relaxing as best she could against the wall. This could be the end of everything they had put together, this could be it.

Her hands shook as she finally turned and scowled at their new guests, crossing her arms to hide the fact as best she could. She couldn’t quite hide the way her eyes flicked to Rael for silent assurance that she knew wouldn’t come. This was where her training kicked in. Almost instantly, a look of pure annoyance mixed with frustration washed over her face and no trace of the nerves from earlier was visible.

(I love the dynamic contrast between the nicknames. I don't know if this makes sense, but think it's cute how he goes with "my Bella" or "Sunshine" and Nym calls him "scrawny" or "worm".)

Rael stayed put in the chair keeping his eyes looking down at the floor. The sound of the door creaking and the footsteps as they walked in sounded much more worse than all the noises of explosives and cries of men. He did his best to remain bleak and stoic despite the color draining from his face.

By textbook, when a superior or another officer walks in, you have to stand and salute no questions asked. And by common sense, you still have to do it despite acting against them. Giving in is all he can do. Taking the notepad, he threw it on the ground as he stood up. He faced the men, holding his arm up at attention keeping his eyes glued to the wall. Rael didn't need to steal a glimpse to know that it was General Alders along with Colonel Lee and some random assistant. Oh he can only imagine the reasons why they are here.

Whatever light that was in his eyes dimmed. It was as if a spirit sucked his soul right out of him. He did all he can not showing any signs of fear or anger. What if they attacked them right then and there? Would it be worth the extra work to do so? If these bastards break his arm, he is still going to show up tomorrow. And if they kill him, he defiantly will be showing up even as a spirit himself. Although, it does not seem likely they will kill him over this, but they are going to do something that might set him and Nym back a bit.

"And I thought there was no one uglier than you Agent," Nym snorted as the men stopped inside of her cell, playing the same card as she normally did when faced with the situation of powerful males. Knocking their dignity down a few notches was a surefire way to piss them off, and in turn, generally get the situation over. She just hoped that Rael wouldn't take her words seriously. She didn't think that would help their situation.

The General turned his head to look at her and calmly spat back, "Watch your words, Agent Pialla. I may not be here to make your life misery, but I can easily come back to do so." He turned back to Rael as he finished speaking, looking around the room with a distasteful frown, "Interrogator Han, are you even doing your job? No wonder your reports are coming back with no results, you're not even using the methods I approved for you to use."

He glared right at Rael, linking his hands behind his back before turning to look at the men accompanying him, "Colonel, would you and your assistant like to show the interrogator here what needs to be done? Maybe going through the motions on him will help drill the steps into his skull." Even if he phrased the words like a request, it was clearly far from that.

Nym glared daggers at the male who spoke to her, real anger visible in her eyes now. Really? They were going to punish Rael for her lack of compliance? "I hate to burst all of your dumb little bubbles, but that's the person that is on your side." She knew speaking wasn't going to stop their plans, but she had to try. If not for Rael's sake, for her own. He didn't deserve whatever was coming his way.

If he could, he would have laughed along with her words. Even the younger assistant looks like one of those demons you would see in the windows of temples. Sadly, even ignoring these men can lead them to worse fates. Rael broke his focus for a second to look over at Nym. Keeping his hand up, he hid his eyes before looking back over at the general. After a couple of seconds, he decided to let his arm drop to his side even though he was not given the order.

"Would it be better to get information out of a corpse then, Sir?", he asked in response. He could care less about the methods he used or the ones he was supposed to use. Both sides are seen as crazy by the other. All the other tortured 'enemy' soldiers are practically gone; the look in their eyes are horrifically lifeless. Doing the same things to Nym would be unimaginable. Rael just cannot do that, he barely made it through the waterboarding which still makes him feel terrible. And especially now too, his feelings tell him to not do so.

The Colonel nudged the assistant then tilted his head in Rael's direction. The assistant took Rael by the arms holding him back. He had to get up on his feet to be able to look over at the General and Colonel. "Ready whenever you are.", he said. Colonel chuckled to himself as he took Rael's beret throwing down to the floor. He glanced at the General waiting for the go-ahead.

What the hell is she doing? Rael will give her credit for being to change course so quickly and for being bold, but it can only change so much. He tried to fight back making it a challenge for the private to handle him. "NYM!", he shouted, "Just stay silent, it'd be best if you weren't dragged into this."

"Bold of you to even speak again, woman," The General said, an unnaturally calm edge coming to his voice. He nodded to the Colonel, then strode over to her, laughing as he watched her stand up straight and glare at him. It didn't stop him from using a similar move to what Rael used the first day they met. He grabbed her jaw and growled, "Listen to Interrogator Han over there, or tomorrow you'll be facing the same fate."

That was enough to get Nym to scowl at the male, hissing out one more defiant sentence, "I dare you to try. I may leave here in a body bag, but you'll be left running for the door with your tail between your legs." His grip was much stronger than Rael's and she had to grit her teeth to stop from hissing in pain. But as soon as she felt like she was going to relent and make noise, he shoved her back against the wall and walked back to the three others.

"Now, back to the event at hand." He straightened out his suit, then watched as the Colonel did his work, speaking once more, "Interrogator Han, corpses are what we're aiming for. Do you plan on letting the enemy live after squeezing all possible information out of them?"

Nym hit the wall hard when he shoved her against it but she didn't make a noise. All she did was growl under her breath and watch Rael take the punishment meant for her. It hurt to watch, to say the least. She wanted to jump in the path of the attack, or even just shout at them, maybe get them riled up enough to turn on her. Anything to keep him out of their way. Her feelings shocked her as she watched him. She truly cared for Rael as a friend or at least an ally, and she was finding herself ready to take on the punishment for him.

Never in his life, would he expect to be a literal punching bag. Rael gave up giving the assistant a hard time, it only caused the private to hold on tighter. He mumbled a curse trying to look over his shoulder but immediately got his first punch from the Colonel right in the middle of his face. In an instant he could already smell the iron coming from the blood pouring down his nose. Perfect, just absolutely perfect.

Blow after blow, it just got worse every punch. Not only were the punches terrible but the dizziness and the tears that just streamed down with no resistance. His breathing was all over the place as the assistant tried to keep holding him up. Colonel waved his hand to the other making him let go of Rael. Rael constantly shifted his weight between his feet trying to stand as still as possible.

The little break was not enough for what happened next. Colonel took a step back then went forward throwing a punch knocking the air out of Rael's lungs. The man sighed as he shook his hand watching as Rael dropped to the ground. "Sir, there's no point in asking him anything. It's hopeless.", the colonel chided. Right after he said that, the assistant forced the interrogator into a kneeling position.

Rael panted weakly as he was set on his knees. He kept his eyes to the ground with his head hanging in shame. Being beaten up in front of Nym and even the bastard of a general is probably one of the most embarrassing things he has ever gone through. All of his focus was thinned out as his brain tried to patch together what was going on.

(I hope what Im going to add in here soon is alright…just wanted to spice their escape up a little)

“I’ll make him a deal then. If he can understand a word I say,” The general replied, seemingly unaffected by the state of Rael’s face, “If you answer my previous question, you can take a break from your sorry excuse of interrogating and clean up after we finish here.” He crouched down next to the male as he spoke, grabbing the discarded beret and making a show of dusting it off. “What’ll it be, Han?”

“Hey rat face,” Nym called over, forcing a bored expressing into her face instead of the visible pain she felt for Rael, “I would highly suggest leaving him alone. He looks on the verge of passing out, and I’m not dealing with that.” Gods above she wondered why it hurt to talk about Rael like any other interrogator and why insulting the General felt like a task instead of fun. “But don’t listen to me, I’m just a little old spy.”

She held up her hands in mocking surrender, forcing herself not to look at the blood splattered onto the floor or anywhere else for that matter. Instead she met the Generals eyes again with determination, not faltering for a moment as he stood back up.

“Colonel, continue what you were doing. Don’t stop until I’m back, and don’t listen to her,” He stated, “If he ever answers, he can have a break when I do return…if not…you have the decision.” The male tossed the beret back on the floor in front of Rael, then turned out of the room.