Chapter 4, Stockholm Stillness Part 1
"Do you think the girls are A-OK?" Zack pondered, voice wavering in fear.
"For the fourth time, I don't know." Player said in frustration, tugging at one of his sticks of hair. "I still have both their positions, and while they've both moved a tiny bit–" he paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's just… focus at the mission on hand, okay?"
"'kay." Zack agreed sullenly, falling back into his pit of silence.
Not speaking was, honestly, rare for Zack. Player wondered if the absence of his sister was what was making him extra quite; for as long as he'd known the siblings, they hadn't been apart for longer than a couple hours. And even then, they had always known where the other was, and whether or not the other was okay.
Player…was used to losing contact with Carmen. He hated it, he absolutely despised it, but…well, it was part of the job. This was… maybe the seventh time it had happened since she started going on capers. (And before that, there had been six longs months of silence when Carmen's phone had been confiscated back when she was Black Sheep. Those were the loneliest months of both their lives.)
Player sympathized with Zack's fear, and while he wanted to assure the older boy that everything would be alright, he really couldn't. Because Player didn't know, either. It was times like this that Player realized just how little he really knew. He wished there were some kind of eye-contacts that Carmen could wear that would allow Player to see what she saw. Things might be easier if that were the case, though more dangerous, because the next EMP that shocked the contacts might also damage her eyes. So that couldn't work.
"Playah?"
"What." Player sighed, clenching his eyes shut.
"How lon' 'til I'm there?"
"Ten more minutes." Player said, relaxing that Zack wasn't asking about the girls' condition again. "Ivy's moved quite a bit in the last five minutes." He noted in surprise. "She's probably fine."
"Hope so." Zack whispered. "Hey, Playah?"
"Yeah?"
"I've been on the road chasing Ive for the last three hours."
"That's right."
"After I get 'er, I have to go three and a'half or four 'ours 'ack to 'et Carm'."
"Uh-huh."
"That's abou' seven 'ours that Carm's been out, or 'ill be out, in the sno'. Are…are ya sure we made the right choice?"
"No second-guessing now." Player growled, clenching his hands. He could just hear Zack's quiet 'are you sure you made the right choice?' Zack would never think that, of course, but Player knew that was the real question. And really, Player wasn't sure at all. If he had sent Zack after Carmen first, she only would be out in the snow for half an hour, but Ivy needed to have an EVAC as soon as possible, which meant that extra half-hour could put her life on the line.
It…Player didn't know anymore what he should've done. Due to his tracker, Carmen hadn't moved in over half an hour, and Player…was terrified. He didn't know what to do, yet while Carmen and Shadowsan were gone, Zack was looking up to him, and it was up to him to handle this. He hated every second of this.
"Playah?"
Player glanced up and found that Zack's tracker had stopped at an intersection. "Left."
Zack's tracker continued moving, swerving to the left.
Silence reigned between the two boys for all of six minutes, except for the occasional direction that Player gave Zack.
Zack was the one who broke it, murmuring suddenly, "'m scared."
"Me too, Zack." Player admitted.
"Playa-" Zack cut off suddenly, voice freezing up.
"Zack?" Player asked, checking to make sure he hadn't lost connection with the redhead.
"Ivy!" Zack cried, and Player's gaze snapped to his trackers. He watched Zack's orange bowler hat blend in the red fedora that currently was serving as Ivy's icon, the two siblings reuniting. Now that Zack was out of the van, he couldn't hear what was happening between the siblings, and he really hoped Ivy was okay. He hadn't been checking her tracker to see how she ended up where Zack found her; last Player had checked she had been in the large area on the opposite side of the street.
He could hear Zack scamper back inside, yet held his tongue, busy calculating the fastest route to Carmen and a hospital. If Ivy was injured in any way, she'd need a hospital, and doubtless Carmen would, too, when they found her.
"Who were those bozos?" Zack inquired, and Player guessed that the Boston-boy was not talking to the hacker.
"I can tell ya one thing, bro." Ivy assured, and Player relaxed at how healthy she sounded. "They are not VILE's newest Faculty members."
"Playah," Zack said, snapping to business and forgoing small talk with his sister. "I got Ivy. Now, where can we find Carm?"
"Head south." Player said, tapping at his keyboard again. "I'll upload coordinates."