Markus pulled out a seat for Achilles, then pulled out his own. Nora came out of her office and made her way down the stairs.
"We should start getting these programmes downstairs," she said as she walked towards them. "A… contact of mine has agreed to send a few trucks so we can transport them."
Cor leaned forward, running his fingers through his naturally messy hair. But he smiled softly when he saw Nora coming back down. “Great. How soon do you think they'll get here?” he asked though he was also wondering how they were going to corral all these programs into the trucks. And what would happen with Nora and End of Line after tonight.
"My contact said two microcycles," Nora said, looking around at the programmes. "We should send them down in the service elevator. There's more room, and the tunnel leads to the base of the Silver Tower."
Cor nodded and stood up, stretching out as he did. “Alright. We’ll have to keep them from wandering off when we get them to street level.” he pointed out, already thinking about how to get everyone into the elevator.
"I could get the driver to back up right against the tunnel entrance," Nora suggested, trying not to be distracted by Cor stretching, his lithe muscularity… "That way, they'll have nowhere else to go."
Markus stood up as well. "That's a great idea! I can go down and wait for the trucks."
"All right," Nora said. "You can do that." Turning to Achilles and Cor, she said, "Let's start rounding them up."
“You’re the boss.” Cor smirked, glad to have a clear plan in this. There had been plenty of times when he didn't, of course, and had managed but this seemed better than not. “I think at least one of us should accompany them down. Go down in shifts.” he suggested.
Nora nodded; Markus started heading for the elevator. "Let's start rounding them up. Achilles, could you notify the other medics? They can help, as well."
"Sure." Achilles walked off, leaving Nora and Cor alone.
"I can take the first group down," Nora said.
“Be careful.” Cor said gently, holding her hand for a brief moment. He wasn't trying to stop her, just reassure her and himself. “I’ll take the next group.”
Nora's light lines flashed the softest, lightest pink when Cor touched her. She smiled at him. Part of her didn't want to let him go; she wanted to curl up in his arms and forget about this, all of this, forever…
No, there were things to do. Letting her hand drop back to her side, she slipped into the crowd, where Achilles and the other medics had already started corralling the various programmes. Nora started herding some towards the elevator, which had already departed with Markus in it.
Cor smirked a little at Nora’s reaction and fought an impulse to hold her close to him and stay that way all night. He sighed softly and shook his head. Right now, he needed to focus and help get these programs to the elevator.
The elevator returned shortly; Nora began herding her group of programmes into it, helped by one of the medics. Achilles, meanwhile, had decided to assist Cor with his group.
"You say energy did this?" he asked, gently prodding a green-haired program into their little group.
“That’s what we think did it.” Cor admitted as he guided another program back to the group. “The bartenders and the DJs don't drink when they're working and Nora opened a bottle from her office for me and her.” he explained, trying to ignore the pink flicker of his lines. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Achilles nodded understandingly. "That makes sense. Well, it doesn't make sense, but it does, if you see what I mean." A program started to wander off from their group, and Achilles caught him by the arm, dragging him back to their little crowd. "It's very odd, drugging programmes…"
Nora, meanwhile, had managed to get all of her wards into the elevator with the help of one of the bouncers. She pressed the button, and they began to drift downwards in eerie silence, the wide-eyed programmes staring around blankly. Skye was in their group. Nora was trying her best not to look at her.
“Don’t worry. I know what you mean.” Cor nodded with a chuckle. “Hey, you get back here!” he called, grabbing a program’s arm and pulling them back into the group. “Yeah, it is weird. But that is what this guy is known for. Having plans that don't make sense.”
The elevator reached the bottom of the Silver Tower, and Nora and the bouncer started herding the programmes into the waiting truck. Markus was there, talking with the driver.
"Here's the first group," Nora said, walking over to Markus. "There should be three or four more. Cor will be down with his soon. When the truck is full, take them to the Games arena."
"How am I going to get in?" the driver asked.
Nora had thought of that. "I'm going with you. I'm still in the system as a registered Siren, so I should have access." And once Cor got down here, she was going to invite him too, just in case she needed his skills as well. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself; his presence was comforting - that was the real reason.
Meanwhile, in the club, the elevator had returned, the doors whooshing open softly.
"I think that's us," Achilles said, starting to prod the programmes towards the doors.
Cor nodded and walked toward the elevator with his group, doing his best to make sure the programs all stayed together before he pushed the button. “See you at the trucks.” he smirked, giving Achilles a small salute as the doors closed.
Being surrounded by so many programs made Cor very uncomfortable. Not to mention that those programs weren't even completely functional right now. And their silence was just plain eerie. It made his code crawl as he tried to avoid making eye contact with any of them.
Nora was waiting at the bottom of the elevator, Bit bobbing near her head. When the elevator opened, she started helping Cor herd the programmes.
"How many more groups would you say are coming?" Nora asked Cor.
Cor had to control himself to keep from leaping out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, though he did take a couple deep calming breaths once he was out. “Two or three, I think. Achilles has the next group.” he answered as he got back to work, guiding the programs into the trucks.
Nora nodded, keeping close to him. She could tell he was nervous, and Bit could too; it was bobbing by Cor's shoulder.
Cor smiled softly when Nora stayed nearby and chuckled a little when Bit bumped against his shoulder. “I’m alright.” he assured them. “I just needed to catch my breath.”
Nora paused for a moment, weighing choices in her mind, and then slipped her fingers against Cor's hand, holding it gently. Her light lines pulsed pink for the briefest moment; if you weren't looking closely, you would miss it.
"I'm taking them to the Games arena," she said. "They'll be safe there. Will you come with me?"
Cor froze for a moment when he felt her take his hand before he gently squeezed her hand. “Sure.” he smiled softly as his lines flickered briefly. “I’ll go with you.”
Nora smiled back at him.
Before long, the rest of the programmes had been retrieved and loaded into the trucks; Nora headed for one of them. "Markus, are you staying here?"
"I'm going home," Markus said, with a nervous little smile. "I guess I don't need to work next shift, right?"
Nora shook her head. "End of Line will be closed until we've deemed all the energy safe."
"I'll see you, then," Markus said, waving goodbye to Nora and Cor before walking out to the street, rezzing in his cycle, and leaving.
Cor let out a breath of relief when the trucks were all loaded and followed Nora. “All ready?” he smiled a little before noticing Markus. “See you, Markus!” he waved when the other program left. “You nervous? About going back to the arena?” he asked softly, reaching to hold her hand again.
Nora's mouth tensed slightly. She had been trying not to think about that.
"I'll be fine," she said, but it was more to convince herself than Cor. Still holding his hand, she made her way for one of the trucks, opening the door.
Cor frowned slightly when he noticed Nora’s reaction. “It’ll be ok.” he whispered firmly, assuringly as he gently squeezed her hand. Once the door was open, he stood beside her and silently offered to help her in.
Nora clambered gracefully into the truck, scooting over so Cor could get in as well. She took a deep breath. A nearby streetlight flickered over her face, throwing her features into sharp relief. She looked beautiful - and terrifying. "Let's go."
Cor hummed softly and climbed in after her. He let the door close as he noticed the light and shadows on her and gently took her hand again, relaxing in his seat as the driver started the transport.
Bit snuck behind Nora's bun, hiding in the shadows, prompting Nora to laugh softly. "Bit doesn't like truck rides."
No, Bit beeped defiantly, peeping out from behind Nora's bun. Nora, against her will, smiled.
Cor laughed at Bit’s position, nodding a little at the explanation. “I can see that. Guess it makes sense that Bit doesn't like being closed in in anything.” he reasoned, thinking about how much Bit hated its cage too. “I noticed that Bit’s also able to keep up with lightcycles too.”