"Jay…. you do realize how insane that sounds, right?" Tim said, leaning forward on his elbows. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing Jay who sat just a few feet away in the ever present hotel armchair. "But it could work, right?" Jay prompted, shifting nervously. He had a good feeling about this plan. But the look of apprehension on Tim's face made it clear that he did not share the same feelings. "Do you even realize how much could go wrong?" Tim sputtered, sitting up, "There's so much room for error!" Jay frowned, shifting once more. He had come up with the plan rather quickly, and it had seemed foolproof in his mind. The hooded man had appeared when Tim had tried to get rid of his mask, and Jay had a vague idea of where he was. He was on foot, and Jay doubted he would be far from the Rosswood area. If Tim could make it seem like he was trying to dispose of his mask again, perhaps that could lure the hooded man out. Jay himself would wait in hiding somewhere, and attack the hooded man when he least expected it. He wouldn't be expecting both of them, and the fight would be two against one. Jay was certain that they could unmask him, perhaps even interrogate him. One of the biggest mysteries would be solved, and maybe, just maybe, it would be useful.
"Jay? Are you listening?" Tim shouted, sounding irritated. "Are you?!" Jay retorted, "This is the only plan we have right now, and if it works, we'll know who he is! We'll know! Don't you want to know, Tim?" Tim frowned again, "Of course I want to know. But there's a pretty big 'if' involved with this plan." "Do you have a better one? Because I would love to hear it." Jay spat, sitting up, his whole body language screaming for a fight. "No.." Tim mumbled, looking down. The tension in the room dissipated quickly. "I just….there's a lot of risk on my part, you know? I have to leave my mask…" Tim said quietly, watching the floor with a pained expression. Jay was still searching for the appropriate response when Tim spoke. "What if I leave it and that….that thing shows up?" Tim said, a little more loudly than before. "I'll be there." Jay said confidently, "You're not doing it alone. I'll be there. Two against one." Tim looked up at Jay skeptically, unsure of what to do. But there was something in the way that Jay looked when he spoke that made Tim sure that he wasn't lying. There were several moments of silence, in which Jay picked nervously at the empty chip bag in his lap. He was desperate for Tim to back him up in the plan. He was sure it was the right thing, the only thing, to do at this point. "Alright." Tim said suddenly, making Jay jump. "Alright, I'll do it. But if I die, you'll be there too, so..." Tim's tone was light hearted, and Jay snorted at the comment, "Don't worry, we'll go out swinging together."
It was 4 in the morning by the time the pair went to sleep, but neither of them stayed that way for very long. Jay awoke at eight, too full of nervous energy to sleep any longer. They had agreed on following through with the plan as soon as possible. That evening. In the soft light of the hotel room, Jay could see Tim stirring in the bed beside him. Certain that he had gone longer periods of time with less sleep, Jay sat up, swinging himself out of bed and collecting his laptop. "Jay?" Tim whispered, sounding sleepy. Maybe he hadn't been stirring after all…. "Go back to sleep." Jay said, waving at Tim dismissively with his free hand. "You too." Tim muttered, turning away from him. Jay climbed as quietly as he could back into his bed, arranging the pillows into a comfortable enough position to sit against. Turning the laptop on, Jay resisted the urge to tap his fingers on the keyboard. He was beginning to feel a little guilty for asking so much of Tim, and he felt the least he could do was let him sleep. After connecting to the hotel wifi once more, Jay found himself suddenly at a loss for why he had even turned his laptop on in the first place. After checking his email, which had received nothing from anyone he actually knew in almost a year, Jay found himself staring at a blank Google search bar. Deciding to make the most of his time, Jay went to Youtube, rewatching every totheark and entry that contained the hooded man. Jay looked for anything that could be of use to them later that evening. How he acted, how he moved… Jay replayed several of the videos, all on mute. Not that he needed the sound, the hooded man never talked. Could he talk? That thought crossed Jay's mind. Surely he could, and only elected to stay silent. Jay hoped so, anyway. Interrogating someone who could not speak would provide a challenge that Jay wasn't sure he was up to yet.
Tim awoke a little over an hour later, making a show of stretching and yawning. "Morning." Jay said simply, not looking up from his laptop. "What are you doing…?" Tim asked cautiously, already halfway through with making his bed. That was something that Jay had never really understood. Tim always made his own bed. "Do you think the hooded man can talk?" Jay asked, ignoring Tim's question. That one in particular had been bothering him, and he wanted to know Tim's opinion. "Yeah, I think he can." Tim said after a few moments, sitting down on his newly made bed. "I think that not speaking helps protect his identity, like the mask does." Jay took a few moments to process that. "He really is going to great lengths to hide who he is…" he said, closing his laptop. "Well, wouldn't you? Being hidden means you're safe." Tim said, looking pointedly at Jay. "Yeah, well….Alex knows who he is." Jay said, shrugging his shoulders, "He's as safe as we are from Alex. And I don't think even he is safe from the Operator." Tim frowned, running a hand through his hair, "Maybe not, but still. He doesn't speak and he wears the mask to protect himself. From us, apparently. But not for long." Jay nodded, smiling a little to himself, "I guess nobody can hide forever."
