The same bloodstained nightmares that had been haunting her for the past few weeks drenched her in sweat every night since she'd come to stay at Musichetta's. The night she spent with Enjolras was dreamless and deep, despite sleeping on his saggy couch. Now she found herself startled awake, screaming, around three am every morning. Tonight though, she was not alone.
While she sat panting, trying to get a grasp on reality, Enjolras and Musichetta were watching her. She saw their shadows move, and screamed again, before falling off her bare mattress. Musichetta went to help her up.
"Sorry. I heard you weren't supposed to wake someone if they were having a nightmare." Enjolras stayed in his spot in front of the window, turning himself into nothing more than a silhouette.
"That's sleepwalkers, dipshit," Eponine grunted. Gavroche used to sleepwalk. They had to tape all of the light switches down so that he wouldn't turn them on when he made his rounds. For a while, they even had to go so far as to hide the knives. "What do you guys want?"
"Not me. Just him. I'm here to convince you to tell him, 'no'."
Enjolras shot her a dirty look. "Honestly, Musichetta? I'm sure she can think for herself."
"The sun's not even up, you guys."
"I know, we need to leave now if we want to make it to the Capitol by tomorrow morning."
"We're in the capital."
"Not this one."
"The- the CAPITOL-CAPITOL? As in Washington D.C.?"
"That's the one." Musichetta tried to cover Eponine with blankets so that she would get back into bed.
"Why are we going there?"
"Not we. You and him. Or just him if you want. You don't have to say yes. Lord knows I didn't. This lunatic wants to assassinate the president. Blow up the White House and Treasury while he's at it."
Eponine was reeling. "When did you decide this?"
"We've been planning it for months. The time is right. The president will be meeting with congress within the next few days over some crucial legislature. If we don't do it now, I don't know when our next chance will be."
"You're talking about killing the fucking president of the United States. What do you want to do next, steal the Declaration of Independence?"
"Musichetta was right. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I need to know now though."
Eponine shook her blankets off and leaned against the wall. She was still disoriented from her nightmares, but the sleep was wearing off. She pinched herself to make sure she was actually awake.
"Just say no." Musichetta tried to take Eponine's hand, but she pulled away.
"No."
Disappointed, Enjolras turned to leave.
"No, I mean no to Musichetta. Yes to you. I'm coming. Just let me put on a sweater or something."
Musichetta gasped. "Ponine, please."
Enjolras pulled the brown carpet-sweater his mother had given him out of his satchel. "I came prepared." He tossed it to her. "Let's go then."
"No, wait," Musichetta made a grab for her. "You don't have to, you don't owe him anything."
"I'm not doing this for him."
"You two have been inseparable ever since-"
"Ever since the accident? I don't help murder people because my friends ask me to. I'm not doing this for him."
"Come along, Eponine," Enjolras readjusted his bag and started down the stairs.
"Be safe."
"You know I don't keep my promises," she kissed Musichetta on the cheek. "Thank you for everything."
"If you get the chance. You run. You run so far."
Eponine saluted her before running after Enjolras.
For one intense moment, sunlight blazed against the windshield the traffic streaming ahead on I-75. Enjolras kept the accelerator floored; he could only hope he didn't plow into another vehicle. At the top of the on-ramp, the sedan took flight. Enjolras and his passengers smacked their heads against the roof, then the car crashed down in an explosion of sparks. Its back bumper crumpling against the concrete. He nearly hit another car before his frantic overcorrection slammed them into the guardrail.
"You're going to get us killed!" Eponine screamed, straining to be heard over Courfeyrac praying at the top of his lungs.
The police were gaining, their siren almost louder than Courfeyrac. Eponine struggled to get her seatbelt undone, both Courf and Jehan laying on her, making it almost impossible. She pushed her way to the front seat roughly, sparing only a moments glance to see the police cruiser disappear behind a semitrailer, and then reappear in the breakdown lane.
"You're blocking my view!" Enjolras shouted. "SIT DOWN!"
A glint of sunlight flashed off a car in the breakdown lane a half mile ahead. At eighty miles per hour, the distance would evaporate in less than twenty seconds. Traffic was lighter here; he could swerve into the lane on his left at anytime. She looked back once more, the cruiser was almost on top of them. A figure armed with a shotgun jutted up from the passenger-side window. If he waited until the last moment to swerve, the police would crash into the stalled car. Enjolras would never do it though. There could be innocent people in there.
Eponine climbed over the center console and into his lap, everyone started screaming louder than before. While he was trying to shove her off, she took control of the wheel and changed lanes for him. Too soon. The police swerved to follow them, pursuing them into the middle lane, and in a burst of speed edging ever closer.
"Get off getoffgetoff!"
She elbowed him in the stomach and tried to take control over the accelerator as well. A blast hit their door, sending thousands of tiny crystals sailing across the car's interior. Everyone screamed and ducked except for Eponine. Enjolras grabbed her tightly around the midsection and held her to his chest to keep her from being thrown, as she wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
Boom! Combeferre's window disintegrated. This time, she ducked, blind to the road ahead, letting the small collisions with the guardrail guide her along the left lane of the highway.
"There!" Enjolras released his grip on her for a moment to point at the next exit.
"Got it." When she was parallel to the exit, she tapped the brake, letting the police shoot ahead of them. Across four lanes of traffic, she cut, nearly being crushed by two semis in the process. She didn't slow on the off ramp, instead running a red light and shooting into the main stream of traffic that led into a metropolitan area. She wove in and out of traffic until she found a used car lot and pulling into the back.
The all sat breathing heavily for a moment.
"You can let go now."
Enjolras dropped his hands self consciously. "What now?"
She unbuckled him before climbing out of the car and dusting the glass off of her clothes. "Come on, there's probably cameras on us right now. Jehan I need your ribbon." He passed it up to her. She quickly tied a loop on the end of it and approached a 70's Mercury. Within seconds she had the car unlocked and was ushering the group and their guns in.
"We don't have the keys," Enjolras pointed out, sitting dumbly in the used car's driver's seat.
"Silly boy." she tapped her nose before shoving his legs aside and squeezing herself beneath the dashboard. "Hotwire. If you're going to be a criminal, you've gotta act like one. You don't happen to have any tools in those cases, do you?"
"What do you need?"
"What do you have?"
"Crowbar, pliers, superglue-"
"Pliers. Now." She got the engine started and climbed into the passenger seat. "Think you can avoid getting notice by the po-po this time?"
"I don't know how they knew who we were."
"They might not have."
"We're terrorists." He revved the engine and pulled out back onto the main road. They were still hundreds of miles from the Capitol, but ahead of schedule.
"Not yet. We haven't done anything yet."
Combeferre leaned his head against the window, his glasses were still askew from being jostled around so much. "We're going to have to be more careful. We should stay in separate motels tonight. Call Joly's group. Let them know about what happened and why we need to split up."
Enjolras passed his phone to Eponine. "Tell them not to wait for us."
She passed it over to Jehan. "You do it. You'll swear less."
"Don't leave anything out," Enjolras warned. "I want to make sure they know exactly what we're up against." His hands were shaking.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly so that the rest of the car wouldn't be alerted if he wasn't.
"It's just the adrenaline."
She touched his elbow. "You sure?"
"You're really reckless sometimes, you know that?"
"Everyone knows that."
"I'm glad you're here."
"Sure."