Motel 6, Room 12, Denver, Colorado, February 4th, 8:22:16 pm
Ro's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the light. She closed them again, her body still sluggish with sleep. Ro buried her head down into the sort white covers that were pulled tightly up to her chin. She couldn't remember how she got wherever she was- the last thing she could recall was Zee lifting her up, and just resting her head on his chest for a second. She must have fallen asleep, and he had brought her here. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes again, pulling herself upright and yawning. Sitting up brought a throb of pain to her temple, but she ignored it.
"Hello."
"Oh, morning," Ro said, a little shocked at first when she realized that Zee was sitting on the end of her bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, the tips of his fingers brushing her forehead, which was- she realized for the first time- bandaged. He must have done that, too.
"I've got a horrible headache, but I'm okay. How long have you been there?"
"Since we arrived. I wanted to watch you tonight. You hit your head very hard."
Ro grinned, feeling another throb in her temple. "Don't I know it. Where are we?"
"A motel near the airport. We should catch a plane as soon as you feel ready. I doubt Eta will be offline for long." He purposely avoided her eyes when Eta was mentioned, making it obvious to Ro that something wasn't quite right.
"You okay, tin man?"
"Yes. I suffered some damage last night, but after we brought you here, Bucky finished repairing me," he smiled at her, again a fake smile but this time Ro knew it was fake with good reason.
"No, Zee, I mean you look sad."
He paused in thought before answering. "It's nothing, Ro. . .except. . .if he had taken a few seconds longer-"
Ro didn't take long to figure out what that was all about. Zee had been just in the nick of time to stop Eta from killing her, only due to the lucky fact that Bucky repaired him quickly. It had been a very close call, and she knew from previous experiences that Zee felt a bit guilty about letting her put herself in danger.
"But he didn't, and I'm fine, Zee."
"Eta will return, and I might not be able to protect you next time. If anything should happen to you, Ro. . ." He sighed. "I don't like any of this. My sensors couldn't detect that it wasn't human, and it is very powerful. More so than IU7 was."
"Hey, we'll manage. We always do." she said, smiling reassuringly and brushing the hair out of his face, something she enjoyed doing even though it wasn't real. She wanted to think of something to say to assure Zee that nothing was going to happen to her. But truthfully, Ro knew it was only luck that had kept them both going thus far. Oh, they had had terrible luck most of the time- fission reactions, tornadoes, twelve year old brats, but in the end they always managed to scrape through by nothing other than dumb luck.
"As long as the Eta is looking for me, anyone in its path is in danger. Even you. Hurting you is the last thing I want."
She frowned at him, annoyed. "Zee, stop it. Whatever the Eta does isn't your fault. Don't even try to blame that on yourself! And you'd really better not try to leave me again. That's the last thing that I want. Promise me you won't try anything stupid?"
He smiled. "I promise I won't leave, but it isn't a necessary promise. I would miss you too much. I'm very lucky to have you," he said almost shyly. She frowned and almost made a sarcastic remark about his sudden sentimentality, but thought better of it. "Will you make me a promise too, Ro? Promise to be careful."
"Me? Careful?" she grinned, but noticed his expression. "Alright, alright. . .I suppose you've got yourself a promise, tin man." She grinned and he put his arm around her shoulder. Ro thought about last night, how good it was to be able to count on him to take care of her, and she lay her head against him again, enjoying the feeling of security he provided. Although she had faith in her ability to take care of herself, Ro had never felt truly safe before Zee came along. She smiled affectionately at him, but gradually, she pulled away.
"We should really get outta here. We don't want the NSA to find us, on top of everything else."
"If you're feeling well enough to travel, then we should leave right away. Where do you suggest we go next?" Ro thought for a moment, but a knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.
"Not again! Zee, it's not the Eta?"
"Unlikely. But I'm not sure. Bucky, perhaps?" Zeta did not look convinced. "He said he was going to leave town. Ro, maybe you should hide and let me see who it is."
"Do you have a screw loose?" Ro snapped. "There is no way this is going to turn into The Hotel Incident part 2! Is there a back way out of this place?"
"Not that I know of. There seems to be a hallway behind the plaster in the closet, but it hasn't been accessed in years. I'm reluctant to try it, as I don't know where it leads. Perhaps-" At that, the door opened, revealing a young woman probably 5-10 years older than Ro. Shiny auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached her shoulders, her face was slightly flushed with sweat, and she stood, staring impatiently.
"Are you Zeta?" she asked of Zee, who was now scanning her curiously.
"Yes, who exactly are you?"
"Eve Jones. I'm a tech operative for the NSA."
Zee looked nervous, and grabbed on to Ro to prepare for a getaway.
"If you go outside, you'll both be shot. You're completely surrounded. If you don't believe me, look for yourself."
He actually did believe her, but nevertheless he looked outside. His temperature sensors detected several warm bodies crouched in the parking lot surrounding the motel.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want to help you. I know you're telling the truth- well, at least that you might be. I was one of the scientists on the Eta Project- I programmed its knowledge of you for the mission. I realized that if you're telling the truth, there may be a way to prove you're innocent."
He looked blankly for a moment. Here was the chance that he had been waiting for, the inkling of hope that he had lost after Dr. Selig's death. "How?"
"We're running out of time. Bennett' agents will be here shortly. Do you trust me?"
Ro frowned. "We know absolutely nothing about you! How are we supposed to trust you?" Zeta silenced her with a look.
"Ro, she may be our only chance. We have no choice."
"Okay, then, what's the big plan?" Ro said, more edge to her voice than usual.
"There's an old abandoned stairwell that will lead around to the other side. I don't think Bennett's there. We can get to it through the old hallway that was blocked off when the closets were remodeled"
"Oh, yes, I wondered where that hallway went," Zee remarked more to himself than to Eve. They walked to the back closet, and with a quick slice from his laser-cutter, Zeta created a hole in the plaster large enough for the three of them to crawl through. Everything in the hallway was nearly pitch black, and Ro kept brushing against cobwebs.
"Ergh," she muttered quietly, pulling one off from her that felt as though it contained a live spider. She was shushed harshly by Eve. Ro made a rude gesture, but the only one who could see in the dim light was Zeta. He catalogued it away, intending to inquire as to its meaning later. Finally, they reached a large white door, surprisingly unlocked, which led to an old, rickety staircase. The three began to make their way down, when a voice rang from below.
"Zeta! Freeze!" the sound of a laser shot accompanying. Zee stepped back, unsure of what to do. A very smug Agent West was fast approaching.
"Rush! I've found them! They're on the stairs!" he shouted down to the lot below. Eve grabbed Zeta's arm and pulled him onto a landing. Another door was there, leading to the hallway on the first floor.
"We could go this way, but it's locked!" Eve said in a panic. "Can you open it?" Zeta swung a fist and the hinges collapsed against the force. Ro chuckled in admiration, but West started running.
"Don't try to get away, Zeta!" he shouted and fired, knocking himself over the edge of the staircase, the shot missing but hitting the landing that Eve was balanced against. She stumbled over the side, but was quickly grabbed by Zeta's arm and pulled onto solid ground. She looked at Zee for a minute, blankly.
"You're not at all like I expected."
Zeta opened his mouth to respond, but Ro interrupted. "Hello? Let's get to know each other later!" she screamed, exasperated, tugging them both off the landing and into the hallway. They reached a window and Zee pulled it open, first lowering Ro and Eve to the ground then jumping down himself.
"The navy blue one's mine!" said Eve, pointing to a navy sports hovercar. She opened the doors and hopped behind the wheel, Zeta climbing in beside her and Ro, feeling rather ignored, pulling herself into the back. The car took off, leaving the agents to frantically pile into the NSA van. But by the time Rush retrieved a no longer smug West from falling off the edge of the stairwell, and the keys that West had somehow lost in the process were found, the three fugitives were gone.
Ro's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the light. She closed them again, her body still sluggish with sleep. Ro buried her head down into the sort white covers that were pulled tightly up to her chin. She couldn't remember how she got wherever she was- the last thing she could recall was Zee lifting her up, and just resting her head on his chest for a second. She must have fallen asleep, and he had brought her here. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes again, pulling herself upright and yawning. Sitting up brought a throb of pain to her temple, but she ignored it.
"Hello."
"Oh, morning," Ro said, a little shocked at first when she realized that Zee was sitting on the end of her bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, the tips of his fingers brushing her forehead, which was- she realized for the first time- bandaged. He must have done that, too.
"I've got a horrible headache, but I'm okay. How long have you been there?"
"Since we arrived. I wanted to watch you tonight. You hit your head very hard."
Ro grinned, feeling another throb in her temple. "Don't I know it. Where are we?"
"A motel near the airport. We should catch a plane as soon as you feel ready. I doubt Eta will be offline for long." He purposely avoided her eyes when Eta was mentioned, making it obvious to Ro that something wasn't quite right.
"You okay, tin man?"
"Yes. I suffered some damage last night, but after we brought you here, Bucky finished repairing me," he smiled at her, again a fake smile but this time Ro knew it was fake with good reason.
"No, Zee, I mean you look sad."
He paused in thought before answering. "It's nothing, Ro. . .except. . .if he had taken a few seconds longer-"
Ro didn't take long to figure out what that was all about. Zee had been just in the nick of time to stop Eta from killing her, only due to the lucky fact that Bucky repaired him quickly. It had been a very close call, and she knew from previous experiences that Zee felt a bit guilty about letting her put herself in danger.
"But he didn't, and I'm fine, Zee."
"Eta will return, and I might not be able to protect you next time. If anything should happen to you, Ro. . ." He sighed. "I don't like any of this. My sensors couldn't detect that it wasn't human, and it is very powerful. More so than IU7 was."
"Hey, we'll manage. We always do." she said, smiling reassuringly and brushing the hair out of his face, something she enjoyed doing even though it wasn't real. She wanted to think of something to say to assure Zee that nothing was going to happen to her. But truthfully, Ro knew it was only luck that had kept them both going thus far. Oh, they had had terrible luck most of the time- fission reactions, tornadoes, twelve year old brats, but in the end they always managed to scrape through by nothing other than dumb luck.
"As long as the Eta is looking for me, anyone in its path is in danger. Even you. Hurting you is the last thing I want."
She frowned at him, annoyed. "Zee, stop it. Whatever the Eta does isn't your fault. Don't even try to blame that on yourself! And you'd really better not try to leave me again. That's the last thing that I want. Promise me you won't try anything stupid?"
He smiled. "I promise I won't leave, but it isn't a necessary promise. I would miss you too much. I'm very lucky to have you," he said almost shyly. She frowned and almost made a sarcastic remark about his sudden sentimentality, but thought better of it. "Will you make me a promise too, Ro? Promise to be careful."
"Me? Careful?" she grinned, but noticed his expression. "Alright, alright. . .I suppose you've got yourself a promise, tin man." She grinned and he put his arm around her shoulder. Ro thought about last night, how good it was to be able to count on him to take care of her, and she lay her head against him again, enjoying the feeling of security he provided. Although she had faith in her ability to take care of herself, Ro had never felt truly safe before Zee came along. She smiled affectionately at him, but gradually, she pulled away.
"We should really get outta here. We don't want the NSA to find us, on top of everything else."
"If you're feeling well enough to travel, then we should leave right away. Where do you suggest we go next?" Ro thought for a moment, but a knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.
"Not again! Zee, it's not the Eta?"
"Unlikely. But I'm not sure. Bucky, perhaps?" Zeta did not look convinced. "He said he was going to leave town. Ro, maybe you should hide and let me see who it is."
"Do you have a screw loose?" Ro snapped. "There is no way this is going to turn into The Hotel Incident part 2! Is there a back way out of this place?"
"Not that I know of. There seems to be a hallway behind the plaster in the closet, but it hasn't been accessed in years. I'm reluctant to try it, as I don't know where it leads. Perhaps-" At that, the door opened, revealing a young woman probably 5-10 years older than Ro. Shiny auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached her shoulders, her face was slightly flushed with sweat, and she stood, staring impatiently.
"Are you Zeta?" she asked of Zee, who was now scanning her curiously.
"Yes, who exactly are you?"
"Eve Jones. I'm a tech operative for the NSA."
Zee looked nervous, and grabbed on to Ro to prepare for a getaway.
"If you go outside, you'll both be shot. You're completely surrounded. If you don't believe me, look for yourself."
He actually did believe her, but nevertheless he looked outside. His temperature sensors detected several warm bodies crouched in the parking lot surrounding the motel.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want to help you. I know you're telling the truth- well, at least that you might be. I was one of the scientists on the Eta Project- I programmed its knowledge of you for the mission. I realized that if you're telling the truth, there may be a way to prove you're innocent."
He looked blankly for a moment. Here was the chance that he had been waiting for, the inkling of hope that he had lost after Dr. Selig's death. "How?"
"We're running out of time. Bennett' agents will be here shortly. Do you trust me?"
Ro frowned. "We know absolutely nothing about you! How are we supposed to trust you?" Zeta silenced her with a look.
"Ro, she may be our only chance. We have no choice."
"Okay, then, what's the big plan?" Ro said, more edge to her voice than usual.
"There's an old abandoned stairwell that will lead around to the other side. I don't think Bennett's there. We can get to it through the old hallway that was blocked off when the closets were remodeled"
"Oh, yes, I wondered where that hallway went," Zee remarked more to himself than to Eve. They walked to the back closet, and with a quick slice from his laser-cutter, Zeta created a hole in the plaster large enough for the three of them to crawl through. Everything in the hallway was nearly pitch black, and Ro kept brushing against cobwebs.
"Ergh," she muttered quietly, pulling one off from her that felt as though it contained a live spider. She was shushed harshly by Eve. Ro made a rude gesture, but the only one who could see in the dim light was Zeta. He catalogued it away, intending to inquire as to its meaning later. Finally, they reached a large white door, surprisingly unlocked, which led to an old, rickety staircase. The three began to make their way down, when a voice rang from below.
"Zeta! Freeze!" the sound of a laser shot accompanying. Zee stepped back, unsure of what to do. A very smug Agent West was fast approaching.
"Rush! I've found them! They're on the stairs!" he shouted down to the lot below. Eve grabbed Zeta's arm and pulled him onto a landing. Another door was there, leading to the hallway on the first floor.
"We could go this way, but it's locked!" Eve said in a panic. "Can you open it?" Zeta swung a fist and the hinges collapsed against the force. Ro chuckled in admiration, but West started running.
"Don't try to get away, Zeta!" he shouted and fired, knocking himself over the edge of the staircase, the shot missing but hitting the landing that Eve was balanced against. She stumbled over the side, but was quickly grabbed by Zeta's arm and pulled onto solid ground. She looked at Zee for a minute, blankly.
"You're not at all like I expected."
Zeta opened his mouth to respond, but Ro interrupted. "Hello? Let's get to know each other later!" she screamed, exasperated, tugging them both off the landing and into the hallway. They reached a window and Zee pulled it open, first lowering Ro and Eve to the ground then jumping down himself.
"The navy blue one's mine!" said Eve, pointing to a navy sports hovercar. She opened the doors and hopped behind the wheel, Zeta climbing in beside her and Ro, feeling rather ignored, pulling herself into the back. The car took off, leaving the agents to frantically pile into the NSA van. But by the time Rush retrieved a no longer smug West from falling off the edge of the stairwell, and the keys that West had somehow lost in the process were found, the three fugitives were gone.