Episode 2 Aside 4: The Exit

[The Gypsy Traveler]

Darren, Reno and Ari came from here.

From Darren's post:

Darren followed Reno out of the bank and towards the emergency rendezvous point, while carrying Ariel in his arms. Every now and then he would catch a whiff of the shampoo she used in her hair and it would cause the butterflies in his stomach to ruffle their wings a bit. Darren could also feel the warmth coming from Ariel's body while he held her in his arms as all three of them exited the town's limits.

He couldn't deny that it didn't feel good holding her in his arms and having her head resting on his shoulders, as he followed Reno's snaking path into the woods. It had to have been a few miles trek from the bank in the town to the foot of the woods, and despite his feet and leg muscles burning with aching protest, Darren trudged onward as he continued to carry Ariel. It wasn't until they came to the mouth of a cave that Reno stopped and held up his hand.

Had Darren not been paying attention, he would've kept on walking into the Captain's hand. Luckily he was, so he managed to stop before embarrassing himself and dropping Ariel. Watching as the Captain took out a small flashlight and entered the cave, Darren quickly followed when it was assured that nothing predatory was living inside.

Kneeling down in the moonlight that wafted in through the cave's entrance and from a hole somewhere up above, Darren placed Ari against a cavern wall and found a decent sized boulder nearby to sit on. As he sat down, he watched Reno stand near the entrance with the flashlight in his hand turned off. The mechanic could only assume that Reno was going to use it to signal the others once he got a visual on them. Turning back to Ariel, Darren watched over her as she continued to sleep and wondered how long it'd take until she woke up.

[The Gypsy Traveler]

A quick message was received from those on the docks (Louisa and Hicks). It basically stated that the docks were too hot and they couldn't make the rendezvous point. They would continue on to one of the fall back points and meet up later.

OOC: When Louisa and Hicks are ready to come back, we can have them rejoin, just drop me and Pain a PM for directions.

[Ariel Duquesne]

The cave wall was cool against her back, but she was unaware of where she was. Her much needed sleep was turning into a nightmare as the coolness brought her back to the cool prep table in the kitchen of the Double Trouble.

"No..." she murmured as her hands balled into fists. "No... Don't..."

He head limply moved from side to side as her face morphed into one of pain and defeat.

"Get off... Get off..."

Tears ran down her face and her movements became more jerky and disturbing.

With each comment she began getting more agitated and her utterances louder.

"Please don't!"

[Darren Roberts]

She was dreaming and from the looks and sounds of it, whatever she was dreaming about wasn't something peaceful. Getting up off the boulder he was sitting on, Darren trekked the short distance to Ari and knelt down beside her.

"No..." "No... Don't..."

"Wake up, Ari. You're havin' a bad dream.." replied Darren, as he tried gently rousing her awake. "Ari? Wake up.."

"Get off... Get off..."

Seeing that the gentle approach hadn't worked and that she was still dreaming, Darren upped his efforts and began to poke and shake her a bit as he stated in a firm manner, "Ari. Wake. Up. You are havin' a bad dream.."

"Please don't!"

Sighing and muttering a curse, Darren gave a quick glance over to Reno's position to see if he had heard Ari talking in her sleep. Seeing that he hadn't, Darren then turned his attention back to Ari.

"Forgive me, Ari.." he whispered, before gripping Ari's shoulders and shaking them vigorously while yelling right in her face, "WAKE UP GORRAMMIT! YOU'RE HAVIN' A BAD DREAM!"

[Ariel Duquesne]

"WAKE UP GORRAMMIT! YOU'RE HAVIN' A BAD DREAM!"

His screaming and the vigorous shaking brought Ari out of her nightmare. But his face was so close to hers, it startled her. With a foot and both arms, she pushed him back before scrambling backwards until she hit the rock that Darren had been sitting on.

She pulled something out of her boot and adeptly flipped it open as she stood up, ready to defend herself. It was a switchblade and she was sizing him up.

"Whoa! Ari! I ain't gonna hurt you!"

But she thought he was one of her attackers.

"Don't touch me," she growled at him.

He did something strange though. He put his hands up. A non-aggressive stance.

She blinked several times and then realized it was Darren.

"Darren?" she asked as she dropped the blade and sunk to her knees. She began to sob, her body shuddering with the let out of emotion. "Oh God... Darren... I'm sorry..."

He had come closer and she basically fell against him, her body slack as she cried.

[The Gypsy Traveler]

Another quick message was sent from Louisa. They had an opportunity to rectify the problem they had with their location.

There was a slim chance that they could double back and hopefully be able to rejoin the group at the cave.

A few minutes later...

Louisa reported that they had half succeeded. Hicks would be able to make it back if he doesn't run into any major trouble. She, on the other hand, would have to continue to one of the other fall back locations as previously mentioned.

"Godspeed to you all."

[Darren Roberts]

"Oh God... Darren... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, Ari. It's alright." replied Darren in a soothing tone while doing his best to calm Ari down. He reached into a pocket and produced another clean shop rag. He handed it to her to wipe her tears away and blow her nose if need be. As he did so, he continued, "I apologize for scarin' you, but it was the only way to get you to wake up. I'm sorry."

[Reno Carson]

Strangely Reno hadn't heard what was going on behind him, but he did hear Louisa's voice come over the comm. He listened to her report as he waited for the others from the Jail to make it to the cave. He silently nodded as she continued to fill him in until she was done.

"Godspeed to you all."

"Godspeed to you too, mei mei." replied Reno over the comm. He then turned and spotted Darren with Ari on the cave ground near a boulder. Ari looked distraught and the mechanic appeared to be helping her to calm down. He cleared his throat a little and said to them, "Just got word from Louisa. They hit a little snag with their plan to meet us here. Hicks will be meeting us here provided he doesn't get caught, while Louisa will meet us at one of the other fall back points."

[Sergei Romanov]

Tweetie tweetie caw caw!

Sergei's bird call floated into the cave from a short distance away.

It was their signal to see if it was all clear before he, Amber and Skyelar could approach.

Now someone just had to answer.

OOC: Imagine the call being very good, m'kay?

[Ariel Duquesne]

Ari became suddenly and acutely aware that she was much, much too close to Darren. Any more and she would have been in a majorly intimate embrace. Darren must have noticed too, because he made no effort to be overly comforting. He handed her a clean shop rag and spoke to her in a soothing voice. One that seemed to make her feel better.

"It's alright, Ari. It's alright." "I apologize for scarin' you, but it was the only way to get you to wake up. I'm sorry."

"S'Ok," she answered as she wiped her tears away. Then she noticed she hadn't backed away from him yet and she quickly recoiled, scrambling until her back was against the wall.

I'm strong, she thought as her mantra began again. I'm strong. I'm strong. I'm strong.

She put on her indifferent face.

"I was just practicing my acting skills," she lied. She crossed her arms over her chest and pulled herself into a ball. "I think I did a pretty good job."

Anyone with a brain could tell it was no acting job. Ari was broken. More broken than normal and she was unsuccessfully trying to cover it up.

I'm strong. I'm strong. I'm strong. I'm strong.

"You just must not be a fan," she scoffed, feigning umbrage. "Anyone else would have thought it was a good act. I cried and everything."

She had a death grip on the shop rag though. She wasn't going to let it go. She laid her head on her knees, facing away from the rest of the group. No need to say anything else. She didn't need any sympathy. She thought of Reno. She knew that he knew. And he must've told the whole crew. She clenched her jaw in anger.

She didn't care what they knew. She wasn't ever gonna speak about it again. What was done was done and no need to wallow in it.

I'm strong. I'm strong. I'm strong. I'm strong.

Then she heard the call from outside.

Tweetie tweetie caw caw!

She waited for a moment for Reno to answer, but he seemed to not notice.

"Reno!" she said to him crossly. "We got a little bird. You gonna answer it or not?"

[Darren Roberts]

"I was just practicing my acting skills," "I think I did a pretty good job." "You just must not be a fan," "Anyone else would have thought it was a good act. I cried and everything."

"Yeah.. Good act." replied Darren, raising an eyebrow. "You should probably be in movies."

He didn't buy Ari's act one bit, but he also didn't feel like fighting with her again and winding up on the business end of her switchblade once more. Shrugging as she turned away from him, Darren simply walked over to one of the cave walls and leaned up against it.

Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, he waited for the others and looked out through the cave mouth as he did so. He didn't know how long the wait was going to be, so his mind drifted towards what he'd do if and when they got the Gypsy back from the Feds. He'd most likely occupy himself in the engine room, doing his usual of running diagnostics or tinkering with some part of the engine.

Tweetie tweetie caw caw!

Darren cocked his head slightly at the odd sound of what he guessed was supposed to be a bird call. Ari must've heard it too as he heard her shout at Reno.

"Reno!" "We got a little bird. You gonna answer it or not?"

He wondered if the Captain had ever considered getting a hearing aide or two if he was that hard of hearing, as Darren waited to see what Reno would do next.

[Reno Carson]

Tweetie tweetie caw caw!

"Reno!" "We got a little bird. You gonna answer it or not?"

Reno shot Ari a look from across the cave. Of course he had heard it. Well maybe part of it and he was going to answer, but someone decided to interrupt him before he did.

Turning back to the entrance of the cave, Reno cupped his hands over his mouth and replied, "Coo coo! Coo coo!"

As he waited for either the sounds of approaching footsteps and the resulting appearance of those of his crew or another bird call, Reno knew that Ari had to know that he knew what had happened to her. There wasn't really much he could do about it. All he knew was that it'd take time for her to fully heal from it, if she ever did.

[Brandon Hicks]

Hicks was just within earshot when he heard the screaming. His ears perked and glanced around. "Ari," he whispered just as the sound died off.

He broke into a run.

It was easier to move now that his costume was off and he was back in some proper clothe, but being drenched from head to toe in sweat gave little comfort. All that running just showed he wasn't in as good as shape as he might've wished.

Before long he found his way to the mouth of the cave. His clothes a filthy mess and his hair matted with sweat, Hicks stood with his hands to his knees panting lightly, relieved to notice nobody seemed to be in any immediate danger.

[Sergei Romanov]

"Coo coo! Coo coo!"

Sergei smiled and stepped forward, guiding Skyelar and Amber along. As they approached, Sergei looked at Reno.

"You sounded like a bird with pneumonia," he jabbed. He knew that wasn't true. Really? Could a bird get pneumonia? "Just teasin', Reno."

And he was. Reno could fool even the birds with his calls. It's why they used them.

He pointed at Skyelar.

"This here is Skyelar," he said. "Course you can see he's not a purple belly."

Unless the Alliance was drafting young unwordly boys from Angel.

"Helped us a bunch in gettin' away and seems to be looking for work and a place to lay his head," Sergei continued. "Not that we can do either of them in the short term, but you know..."

Not having a ship was a slight problem.

"He's a seamstress..."

Er... That's not right. Seamstresses are women.

"I mean a tailor..."

That didn't seem to fit either...

"He could design costumes for us. He's good. Can't be bad if you carry around a sewin' machine with you right?" I think he's a righteous guy, don't you Amber?" Sergei went on. He gently nudged Skyelar forward. "Introduce yourself to the Captain. Don't worry, he don't bite... much."

He looked into the cave and noticed Ari sitting all curled up and away from the group. He frowned. Something had gone on somewhere and he was going to find out what it was. He looked at Amber because he was suddenly sure that she had more to tell.

"You know more about what went on with her, don't you Amber?" he whispered into her ear. He wasn't menacing in any way, but he didn't like what he was seeing. And he didn't like secrets. Secrets in their line of work had the tendency to get folks killed. "Let's talk about this later."

Then he saw Darren leaning against one of the walls, looking a bit tense. He attributed it to the job itself. Darren hadn't been there long and he hoped the job didn't freak him out too much.

"Hey Darren," he said. "Glad Reno didn't get you pinched or dead. How'd you like the thievin'?"

He hoped the thievin' was good. After all, it would be bad if they lost the ship and got nothing to show for it.

Then he heard the sound of footsteps running towards them. It wasn't the Alliance, it was far too direct and well... loud. Sergei pulled a gun and pointed it at the incoming form. It was Hicks. Sergei sighed and lowered the gun.

"Jesus Christ, Hicks!" he exclaimed. "A horse could have been more stealthy that you. What's the hurry?"

Hurry. That was almost too funny. Hurry where? They had no ship and they were essentially trapped. He couldn't wait to see what hairbrained plan Reno would come up with next. They couldn't stay there for long. They needed to get a plan, get the rutting ship back and lay low for a while.

But for now, they needed to wait. Wait for anyone else who might arrive. He wondered how the others fared.

[Amber Kynes]

Amber nodded at the introduction of Skyelar. "Yeah. He helped me and Louisa out a bit, running messages and whatnot to Sierra and Raph before they got pinched. Helped me out a bit in busting Sergei out, too." In actuality, Skyelar had been there mainly to boost her cover as a representative of someone else by acting as her lackey. It still counted as far as Amber was concerned though. She shrugged slightly. "He seems a reliable sort, near as I can tell."

Her eyes fell on Ari, and a look of concern flitted across her face for a moment. She turned and met Sergei's eyes when he whispered his question to her. "I don't know anything concrete. I didn't actually witness anything. I have theories though, and Louisa let a few things slip." Louisa had also made her promise not to tell anyone, but how long could the secrets realistically be kept from the others? They were bound to find out sooner or later. Well, those as remained of them anyway.

Amber nodded once at the suggestion to talk later. "Later is good. We can decide on the where of it later, too." Her room or his, probably. It didn't matter to her either way. So long as it wasn't in a public spot. She wasn't sure she could outright spill the information...Amber kept her word when she gave it, and she had with Louisa. That Louisa was having trouble getting back to them didn't change that. That was a problem to solve later, though. Right now, they had to worry about getting their ship back.

The crashing in the underbrush had Amber moving to block Ari from the immediate line of sight of whoever was running towards them. She relaxed when she saw it was Hicks. "Glad you could rejoin us" she said...and hoped he hadn't been followed.