Two for the Lion's Den

Participants:

elle_icon.gif niki_icon.gif

Scene Title Two for the Lion's Den
Synopsis A rather unexpected visitor sneaks a visit to Elle, promising to try righting wrongs she had helped to cause.
Date September 25, 2008

???


One day is just like all the others in here. When Elle isn't being made to feel pain, she's bored, and when she's bored that problem is usually fixed sooner or later by the addition of more pain. Life with the Level Five Three is truly wonderful. The agent had been left alone for the past couple hours, a period of time she'd been trying to take advantage of by attempting to sleep.

It isn't working out so well. Every time a part of her clothing sags beneath the water, it resurfaces only to instant and miserably cold air; the solution would be holding her body as motionless as possible, but that's been impossible for Elle. She's restless. More than that, her ropes have started to chafe and cut at her wrists again, drawing tiny, frustrated gasps out of her every once in a while.

Niki Sanders finds herself in the lion's den, as it were. Trying to pretend to be Jessica, trying to dodge Adam and Huruma. Thankfully, Adam is mustering their resources, and Huruma can't be awake nonstop. The taller blonde finally gets the opportunity she wants, slipping into Elle's room.

Even as Niki enters the room, it takes a second for Elle to stop her micro-struggles. All sounds of splashing cease entirely as she finally looks up at the intruding woman, unable to make out a precise expression in the dark. Needless to say, the reception is not a friendly one; her heart dips inside her chest. "…come to gloat more? Go away. At least wait until the sun /comes up/."

Niki makes sure that the door is closed, and then she moves over towards her. She crouches low near the tub once she's near and can look to the other woman. "Elle, are you okay?" There's a genuine look and tone of concern to her.

Does Elle look okay? She resists the urge to draw back against the side of the tub once Niki's at her level, though she actually does this just a little— unconsciously. "What kind of question is /that/?" The response is almost a spit, her eyes flickering to Niki's and back again in a dark dart. It's not as though Jessica shouldn't know exactly what she's inflicted.

Except it's not Jessica. "There's two of them down there. The last thing I know, we were coming back from the weight training, and then there was gunfire…" And then Jessica took over. "What's happened?"

That's not something that had been obvious to Elle; her eyes narrow a little when Niki asks. She's completely still now, tone icy and breathy. "A. Um. /Lot/ happened, as you might be able to tell." In front of you, Elle bound in a washtub and dripping wet, for instance.

Niki nods. "I don't know if I can get you out without them noticing…" she says, looking agitated. She tries tugging at the ropes, but wet ropes sans super-strength don't make for much budging.

This aside, the only other result Niki gets is a harsh but soft cry from Elle as ropes are pulled against aggravated flesh. “Don’t. Not like that. You’d…be better off finding something to dry me off with.” Elle does not need her hands to use her electricity. There’s a question still unspoken on her lips, she lets it rest just for the moment.

Niki looks over. "I can try to get the water out…but if they catch me, I won't get another chance. Is…there someone I can call? To bring help?"

"Fine then, don't—just don't wait around for Jess to come back." There is a moment of fleeting (resurfacing, to be more accurate) hope in Elle when Niki mentions calling for help, and it comes with a sharp jab of a glance upwards.

"The Company." This might or might not be a welcome thought to Niki, who, after all, is a wanted escapee.

No…JESS is a wanted escapee. At least that's how she sees it. "You guys aren't exactly in the phone book. I'm going to need a contact number, or place, or something.

Quickly, Elle racks her brains as to which number would be most appropriate to give. “Call Bryan,” she answers finally, rattling off his cell number with a faint nod. She doesn’t know for sure who else is safe. Claudine had been down there with her, and Bob—well, who knows what had happened to Bob. “You’d know him better as ‘Kyle.’ Tell him to /get me out of here/.”

It doesn’t take long for her to give Niki a faintly pained expression. “You /do/ know what’ll happen if you’re caught.”

Niki repeats it once, trying to drum it into her brain. "All right…I'll see if I can get out of this place long enough to make a phone call. I'll do what I can to help. But I'm not sure what I can do."

“What you can do—” A splishing comes from the tub as Elle’s shoulder dips a little. “If you can’t get these ropes off-” It’s subtly disparaging, the way she says it. “-At least try and loosen them? Something? It. Freaking. Hurts.” The bloated discolorations wrapped in circles just below her palms should speak for themselves.

Niki considers. "The rope's wet. I'm not sure I'll be able to…" But she does try that, as she moves to get the ropes at least a little looser at Elle's wrists and ankles. "I'm so sorry. I hope…I hope she didn't hurt you."

It doesn't help. At all, actually. As pointed out, the rope is heavy with tubwater and quite well-tied; whoever tied it knew what they were doing. Elle keeps her gaze on her wrists as Niki attempts to work, the shadow of a bitter smirk quirking onto her lips. "Should I tell you everything she's done to me, Niki?"

Niki winces. "I'm sorry, Elle. I really am. I never intended for any of this to happen." She tugs at the ropes in frustration. "They're saturated…I can't get it loose."

And a cranky wince slips further into Elle’s face at every tug. “Okay. /Stop/. You’re just making it worse.” If she could reach to rub her eyes, she would. Instead, she shuts them very briefly. “…do you really not remember anything at /all/?”

Niki shakes her head. "No. Sometimes I know what Jessica's doing, and sometimes she blocks it." She slides her hands away from the ropes. "You and I were going down the hallway, there were gunshots…I turned to look, saw Jessica in one of the windows…and then I was downstairs with those two."

"You kidnapped me." Elle's tone sinks to the level of a growl. "You and Huruma and Adam. You want to know what you did?" Maybe, maybe not, it doesn't matter; Niki'll hear it anyway.

"This was your dollhouse, Niki. You know how kids rip heads off Barbies for fun? Throw them across the room, tear out hair? Parts?" Something that's almost a laugh, but is a little too strangled, is heard from her. It doesn't matter whether it was Jessica or not; the deed was committed by the same woman, two minds or not.

Niki winces. She looks back at Elle, and pain is in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'll find a way to fix this, Elle. I promise." She looks to the other woman. "When I come back, I'll try to sneak in a knife to cut the ropes." She moves towards the door. "I'm sorry." she repeats.

When Niki is gone, Elle gently lays her head back so it’s resting on the metallic edge and she’s staring up at the ceiling. “’Sorry’ isn’t enough,” she tells herself softly, crooking her fingers in a familiar, wistful motion. Nothing drips from their silhouettes but water. “Hope you know that, Niki.” At this point, though? She’ll take what she can get.


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September 24th: Dodging the Bullet

Previously in this storyline…


Next in this storyline…

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September 25th: Fists of Determination
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