Disclaimer: If you recognize the characters, they aren't mine. Just playing in the sandbox so graciously provided by JMS and the Wachowskis.
Reminder: I'm also on Twitter as "avidbeader" if you're reading here as a guest and would still like a way to get story updates.
Feedback is always welcome!
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Nomi put the finishing touches on the BOLO, opting in the end for Singapore, and sent it out. Amanita was researching flights. They planned to rent a car and drive north to Portland, where they could fly in either direction and eventually get to Europe. They had to wait on Bug for the fake passports and a driver's license for Amanita.
Feeling able to sit down and have room to think for the first time in days, Nomi was a bit surprised when she felt a deep, crushing grief coming from somewhere. Someone was mourning for a father and she knew it was not her. For one thing her father was alive and well. For another, the only reason she might go to his funeral would be to spit on his corpse.
Too bad you didn't keep your original equipment. Easier to piss on him that way.
Nomi stuck a mental tongue out at Wolfgang and felt him chuckle a little in return. So he was in a better mood.
And then she was in a prison cell, sitting across from Sun.
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Sun was a little surprised to find herself sitting at a table in a flat. Though it had plenty of windows, it felt dark compared to her own flat in Seoul. A dark woman with streaked braids was sitting at a computer while Nomi walked around, keeping an eye on several others. She took the opportunity to look around more closely.
The place looked half-finished and Sun realized through Nomi's memories that the authorities had ransacked it once already. What was left looked at once cozy but highly individual, with unusual splashes of color and odd trinkets collected for their sentimental value rather than any attempt at a décor.
Compared to this, her own flat suddenly felt like she had been living in an ice cube.
"Sun, what is it?" Nomi paused from her pacing and sat next to her.
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Sun leaned back against the rough brick wall. "I was thinking about my mother, how desperately I missed her for so much of my life. And then it hit me, both my parents are gone." She swiped at the tears forming in her eyes. "I mean, I know he considered me second best. I know that. But now…now I have no parents at all."
Nomi reached over and took her hand. "I can understand. The day I left my parents for good, my sister tried to talk me out of it. My mother just yelled, saying I'd be back once I realized how big a mistake I was making. But my father…he didn't say anything at all. Not one word. In his mind, I was already dead to him. So I decided he was dead to me as well. And as much as we had fought, as much as I hated some of the things he tried to do to make me into the son he wanted…it still hurt a lot to know that our relationship was over." She reached over and grasped Sun's hand. "But you're not alone. We're here for you."
She glanced around. "Is this a normal cell? I thought I'd seen other women, books and things."
"This is solitary confinement. I defended myself from a group of bullies. Then I attacked my brother when I realized he arranged my father's murder."
"How can we help? We need to get you out of here—the longer you're confined to one place, the easier it will be for BPO to find you. If Metzger's travel record is any indication, Seoul is one of their bases."
"I don't know. I don't know what's happening, whether my lawyer is still pursuing my case now that my father is dead."
"How about the evidence of the embezzlement? If you retract your confession, is what's there enough to get your brother arrested?"
"It's possible. But to get access to the records now would be very difficult."
Nomi grinned. "Maybe not."
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Wolfgang checked the map on the car's GPS. They were far enough out from Leipzig for a change of driver. Riley had been able to borrow Capheus for a bit of confidence during one leg of the journey south of Hamburg before passing through Berlin. They would spell him again until they approached Dresden and possibly once more after crossing the border. He would have to see how difficult the driving might be; the roads in the Czech Republic had a poor reputation. By doing this they had made good time, only stopping for fuel, food and restrooms. Capheus' sheer delight in driving a fast car on the famed Autobahn had been infectious and they were all feeling more cheerful.
He spotted a convenient Aral. "This should be our last stop for fuel before crossing the border."
"Will there be an issue with that?"
"No. Travel between a lot of Eastern Europe is pretty unrestricted. The car already has the pass in its windscreen. You stay in the car, I'll get some food and drinks and fill the tank. Any requests?"
Riley brightened a little. "Some chocolate? Anything dark and plain. And water, of course." She had been able to keep Will somewhat hydrated, letting the sedative almost wear off in order to tip water into his mouth, a capful at a time, before putting him under again. Wolfgang had already bought protein drinks and such at their previous stop to ease Will back onto solid foods after days without.
She sat patiently, laying her head back and pretending to be asleep in case anyone glanced in the car. Wolfgang returned with several bags that he dumped in the front passenger seat, then he turned to her. "Ready for another leg?"
Capheus rubbed his hands together vigorously. "Most definitely."
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Riley was impressed with the place. It had three floors, three bedrooms and two baths, including a garage on the ground floor with yet another spare room and bath. Wolfgang's cousin had clearly allowed friends to stay – the room with a tiny row of windows at the ceiling was furnished with a bed, nightstand, wardrobe, and a wide chest of drawers.
Wolfgang managed to move Will to the bed in a fireman's hold, dumping him as gently as he could. "Damn, he's one heavy bastard." He looked around. "We can do better than this. Some weights, a treadmill, some videogames…we need to make it as hospitable as possible. I can pick up some things when I get Felix. Will you be all right here by yourselves?"
Riley nodded. "I think so. Enough food for a week, a few clothes."
"There's a stack of board games in the sitting room upstairs you can bring down if you get desperate."
She smiled. "We'll manage." As he left to unload the rest of the car, she ran a hand across the white-painted walls that helped to keep the place from looking like a cave. Nomi, can you come?
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Nomi made a sweep of her current tasks. The scripts were running to work her way into the Korean firm that was auditing Sun's father's company. She had scrubbed Will's information from the red Porsche rental in Iceland and replaced it with a random address under the Ellison alias Whispers had used. She wanted to try and do something about Capheus' mother to guarantee a supply of her medications but needed more time to figure out how.
Amanita was keeping an eye on the activity in Chicago and could shout for her if anything happened.
"Neets, I'm going to try to grab a nap, but wake me if you need anything."
"Nap or commune with someone?"
"Okay, yes, Riley's asking for me for some reason, but I am going to sleep when I get back."
"Riley…the deejay, right? Taking care of Cop Guy?"
"Yeah."
"Tell them I said hello."
Nomi grinned and planted a kiss on her partner's forehead before lying down on the couch.
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"Okay, what did you need?" Nomi glanced around the unfamiliar room then stilled, seeing Will sprawled in the bed and Riley sitting beside him.
"I wanted to know, since you are also American, if anything in this room tells you where we are."
"Um, okay." Nomi scanned the room, automatically looking for electric outlets. "I'm not sure how helpful this is. I know you're in Germany—"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Riley wagged a finger at her.
"Oh!" Nomi pursed her lips and took a closer look. "Well, it's definitely not the U.S., the plugs are different. There's only the door out and the bathroom door, no closet of any kind for hanging clothes."
Riley pointed to the wardrobe, then got up and began pulling at the chest of drawers to hide the outlet in the wall.
"Huh, okay. Should have remembered that from Narnia." She put a foot on the side of the bed to boost herself up and look out the windows. "Nothing out there but concrete and brick. If you can keep it empty of cars, that will help."
Riley nodded.
Nomi stuck her head in the bathroom. "Okay, this is good. I was afraid there'd be weird letters for 'hot' and 'cold' on the faucets, but these are unmarked. Toilet looks the same, too."
Wolfgang entered, carrying a holdall. "Here's the clothes for Will. All that's left is bringing the food in."
"I'll help. Will should wake in about an hour. Thank you, Nomi."
"No problem. This looks like a good temporary place. Don't tell me where you are yet, just in case."
The others nodded and she disappeared.
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His awareness picked up sound first. A sweet voice, humming a song. Footsteps and shuffling as things were moved.
Riley...
The sound of a gasp and something dropping. "Will?"
Riley?
He could feel his body now, stretched out on something soft and still. It was bliss after the vague awareness of rocking and moving that had lasted for so long. A hand touched his face, caressing it.
"I'm here, Will. We're safe for now. I'll take care of you."
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In his jail cell, Whispers suddenly jerked up. "There you are! Now open your eyes!"
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Author's Note: Thank you for reading! And yay for a second season of "Sense8".