Participants:
| Scene Title | Chin Up, Soldier |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Helena warns Alex of what might be done to him, and begs that he pass on a message to Peter. |
| Date | February 18, 2009 |
Moab Prison Facility -
Helena's gotten the whole story, in hastily whispered bits, about that odd interrogation scene in the basement with Peter. "Tryin' to divide us," he hisses, voice ragged and low, as he finishes. "Whatever mah problems with Pete, they'll keep until we all outta here. S'far's I'm concerned, unless someone proves otherwise, anyone in an orange jumpsuit is my ally," He's leaning on the chainlink fence, idly tossing a little stone from hand to hand.
Helena looks tired. That's about the gist of it, she looks like someone beat her with the tired stick. She's worn down, but they haven't hit her core yet, and it's evident from the way she clenches her fists as she sits on the basketball court bench. "Are you able to talk to him?" she asks. "Can you get a message to him?" She doesn't go into what they did to her, but it's evident that they did…something.
"Same way's you can. I only see him when I'm out here, unless they try and pull that trick again," Al says, softly. "I don't trust 'em not to have a telepath listening if they put us together in a room. I could try and pass a message privately, but I'm persona non grata with the other prisoners right now. We'd likely get ratted out, and Pete'd never get the message."
Helena slumps a little. "It's not relevant to…it's not you know, anything secret. I think he's in Red Level, and I don't know if we'll ever see him again. Can you try, if you have the opportunity?" She worries her lip, looks up at the sky.
Alexander lifts his hands, palming the stone like a magician. "Will do. What shall I say?" Once upon a time, he'd've teased her, suggesting sappy love notes. Not so much any more.
"Tell him I didn't mean it. Not a word of it. Tell him they made me think he was in my head, and they made me say those things." She reaches out, curls her hand on the fence. "Will you tell him if you can?"
Alexander reaches up to link fingers with her, as best he can with the steel wire between. "I will," he says, solemnly. "Hon,what'd they DO to you? You look like twenty miles of bad road."
Helena gives a shrug. "They have a telepath." she says. "He tried to get me to give people up. I don't know when they took me, but he was Peter, he was Eileen, god, he was even Abby." And since it's clear they know about these people, she figures it's safe for her to mention them. "He made a mistake, though."
Alexander shudders at that. 'I haven't had that happen to me, yet," he says, curling his fingers tightly in the chain, knuckles going white. "What? What mistake?"
"He was pretending to be Peter, and he mentioned Cameron in context with fighting Kazimir at the bridge." Helena says. "I almost wanted to accept what he was doing, but when he mentioned Cam, I figured it out." Her fingers tighten into his, though she glances around to see if any of the guards have noticed.
Alexander scowls. "Factual errors, huh? He didn't just scrape the truth out of you?" he murmurs, also casting a weary glance around. Glares from some of the other prisoners, but nothing more.
"I don't know if it works like that." Helena confesses. "For him, anyway. He got…some things, but he missed others. You might not even realize he's in there, while it's happening. Except things are off."
"Sounds like a bad dream," Al opines, stroking her fingers with his, as much as he can. A touch he'd not dare, were they out in the real world.
"That's exactly what it is. I think he got bored with it after I just refused. Look, Alex - what he can do, if you can manage to realize he's playing around in your head? Stick to the fact that it's your head, no matter what he makes you think he can do to you. It's the best advice I can give without any real time or privacy."
Alexander takes a slow breath. "I'll try. I…I've never been clever. Maybe that leaves me with less for him to mess with, huh?" His smile is sickly, wavering like a candleflame in a breeze.
Helena gives him a darted, sidelong look. "It's not about being clever. It's about being stubborn." Her own smile is weak. "Chin up, soldier. Courage."
The grin firms, and turns wry. He kisses his fingertips, then touches them to hers, gently. "Yes'm," he says, obediently.
 February 18th: Getting Dangerous |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
 February 18th: Chow |