She stood and took the guns, strapping them to her waist–just in case. "Yup, right behind you."
She stepped into the room. It was a large and fancy office, filled with a huge desk, multiple filing cabinets, and a computer sitting on the desk as well as stacks of papers. It was empty, and no cameras were installed in it–Tess knew this was to keep whatever illegal things they did under wraps.
"Well, do your thing," she said to Nik as she threw herself in the chair at the desk and started snooping on the computer.
"nice. keep me updated on what you find on the computer." he unstrapped the camera bag from his side, gently setting it down and getting the camera and a lockpick.
nik began to fiddle with the locks on the filing cabinets, keeping a close eye on the clock. when he got one open, he shuffled through the files until he found one labeled "experiements", filled with reports.
"jackpot, tess. should we take the file or just get photo evidence?"
"Take the file." She poked out her tongue as she cracked the passcode, then searched through recent files. She, too found the jackpot. Photo and video evidence of their experiments, as well as lab reports and records of the illegal drugs–and lab-developed drugs that have yet to be revealed to the public–used on the "patients." She scowled at the computer as she dug out a chip and inserted it into the computer.
"This'll need a few minutes to download," she muttered, then proceeded to pace the room.
"we've got a good 6 minutes left."
he brought the file to his camera bag, tucking it in as well as everything else he pulled except the chloroform. he prepped it, pulling his shirt over his nose and mouth before wetting a rag with it, folding it and placing it in an easily-accessible side pocket.
"what are they even experimenting on the kids for? what information do they need?"
"They're not just kids–they're people like me." Tess said emotionlessly, her face blank as she continued pacing. "You know how the government is–or the entire world, for that matter–when it comes to things they don't understand. They experiment, poke, prod, slice, drug, and God knows what else to understand the impossible. To harness it for themselves and use it as a weapon."
"jesus christ. that's fucking horrible. let's take this whole shebang down, then. and… may i ask you a loaded question?"
he began to fiddle with his fingers, twining and untwining them as he nervously watched the clock.
"Shoot." She walked over to the computer to check the progress. 90%
"did they do that to you? i understand if you don't want to share." he went and searched his camera bag, checking that he had everything and strapping it back on.
She snorted. "They strapped me down and gutted me like an animal, digging around inside of me to see what made me tick. No anesthesia, no nothing. Just chains and straps to keep me 'contained.' My foster families weren't any better. They locked me in closets and basements. I remember going weeks without seeing the sun. It's why I turned to the streets, and then drugs and alcohol. And it's why I do what I do."
"mother of god. mine seems a lot more pathetic, now. i'm assuming you don't want pity, so i'll just say that you've recovered beautifully, and i'll fucking kill them."
he fiddled with the straps for a moment longer, and turned to her. "two minutes left."
"I'm long past pity," she muttered, choosing to ignore his other comments. The computer dinged, indicating the completed download. She quickly pulled out the chip and stashed it. "Let's go. Same way we used to get here."
"nice."
he followed her, jumping when the alarms started to blare, but taking solace in the fact that they were nearly out. the trapdoor was in sight, and nobody had figured out where they were yet.
"Freeze!" Multiple men with guns swarmed the hallway, all aiming at them.
Tessa swore in Italian and pushed Nik in front of her. "Go! I'll cover you!"
he nodded, shooting off down the hallway and hanging on the ladder. he was positive tessa could take care of herself, but he still figured it'd be… rude to go off without her. he swung the door down in front of him, curling behind it so all shots aimed at him ricocheted off. if she needed backup she'd call, right?
The men trained all of their weapons on Tessa. "Theresa Hunt. You are under arrest for–"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the drill." She held up her hands and faced them–with tiny balls between her fingers, so small they couldn't see them. "No need to repeat yourself, Sergeant."
oh, she definitely has a plan.
he made it sound like he had climbed up, tossing his bag onto the ground to simulate him getting up and running.
nik knew she could probably tell the difference, and just prayed that the men could not.
"Alright then, Miss Hunt. Then you know that my men are authorized to shoot should you prove to be unwilling to play nice."
"I do." She said simply, then threw the balls towards them and amplified their blast radius as they exploded. The flames didn't affect her, and she took that moment to take off towards Nik. "Go go go go!"
he scrambled up, snatching his bag and booking it towards the dark alleyways of the city. he could hear tessa right behind him, she must've caught up in the 100-yard sprint.
nik kept going, leaping onto some building's fire escape and racing to the top to stand, breathing deeply on the roof.
"tessa, you okay?"
She nearly collided into him, and she caught herself before she did. "…Yeah…" she panted, pulling the scarf back down to her neck so she could get more of that sweet, sweet oxygen. "That download took longer than I thought. I miscalculated." She sounded upset.
"hey, it's alright. we're both in one piece, and we have everything we need. just another successful takeout by theresa hunt. deserves some celebration, eh?"
he pulled out his phone and the files, taking a quick picture of the cover.
"this exposure could make both of us rich, if that's something you're interested in."
"I'm already rich, but this shit does need to be exposed." She came up behind Nik so that she was peering over his shoulder to read the file. "I got a stash of the good booze in my hideout if you're interested."
"interested indeed. here, we can read this over when we get there."
when they reached her hideout, he looked quickly around.
"you are finding new ways to impress me every hour, hunt."
She grinned as she strode in. On the outside, it was an abandoned rundown building with no windows. The bricks were cracked, and vines and dirt attempted to claim the building as theirs.
On the inside?
It was decked out in expensive, fluffy comfort. Wrap-around sofa with loads of blankets and pillows, a computer station with bulletin boards littered with files and newspaper clippings, and a fully stocked kitchen on the far side of the first floor. A spiral staircase led up to the second floor, which was opened up so that you could see the first floor. A decorative railing kept you from falling to your death, and a bedroom and bathroom made up that floor. A gym, as well as a dance/music studio, was downstairs.
"Welcome to my humble abode."
"much more than humble, mein lieber freund. i'm even more anxious to see what qualifies as the good booze, now." he walked just inside, waiting to see which way she would go.
nik was definitely not accustomed to expensive decoration. he did spend nights with rich politicians, but he never got the chance to actually sleep there. he was always gone in the morning, one painful bruise left on their neck.
he looked at tessa sheepishly, unsure of what to do.
Tessa waved a lazy hand. "Make yourself at home. Booze is at the bar." She pointed to a section in the kitchen that looked as if a bar had been raided and then shipped over to her place. "I'm going upstairs to change into something comfier." She hopped up the stairs two at a time and headed to one of the two doors on the second floor.
"…okay?" he watched her go, and then hesitantly made his way over. he looked around, not having very much knowledge of alcohol.
the only time he'd had a drink other than cheap beer and a bottle of vodka he stole was when some girl bought him some expensive ass drink called ambrosia. claims to improve your cognitive skills, but he didnt believe it for a moment.
nik eventually picked up a short glass, looking at the labels of the bottles until he found something that looked promising.
when he had poured a glass and put the bottle back in its place, he went to the door to kick off his boots before settling on the couch with the glass and the files.
Tessa came back down in no time, her long and wavy hair spilling over her shoulders without any hair tie to hold it back. She wore a loose knitted sweater that just brushed her navel and leggings, and her feet were bare.
She smiled at Nik as she headed over to the bar and grabbed a random bottle, then came over to the couch and sat down next to him with one leg tucked beneath her. "So what do we have here?" She asked, leaning over to read the top file.
he watched her come down, (he was only admiring her hair a little, shut up) and tilted the files so she could see better.
"uhh… shiloh jones, shown to be immune to freezing cold temperatures. showed no response to cold water when initially dunked, only mild signs of hypothermia after an hour. many blood samples taken, nothing is shown to be different. they're going after his brain next."
nik pulled a face, sighing and taking a sip of his drink.
"this is gonna be a hard night.
Tess held up the bottle. "Prepare for a drunken mess tonight."
She flipped to the next page. "Milo Green. Spontaneous growth of plant life when emotions are running high. No soil seems to be needed. Plants vary in size and seem to have a mind of their own. Blood samples taken, nothing out of the ordinary. Brain scans show nothing abnormal…. Died on operating table. Fucking hell, the kid was only 11."
nik winced, taking another drink.
"athena collins. whenever she spoke, doctors would feel a gust of wind. reportedly one of the most confusing cases. everything was normal, her red blood cell count was a little low, and she died of suffocation in an airlock. age 15."
