While Chloe was waiting for the brownies to bake - all the while grumbling about how much it sucked she couldn't bake them later that night - Max came up with a basic plan: They'd dress in dark, non-descript clothing, so that they'd blend in, but not stick out by the fact that they were trying to blend in.
"Okay, I know you're going to hate this, but we're gonna need to hike it a bit. There's a little rest stop area about a half-mile away from the campus...right there." Max pointed to the Google-provided satellite map pulled up on Chloe's laptop. "The woods'll give us some cover, right up to where it abuts the dorm quadrangle. Then we just walk over to the main school building. We go in, we get out. Under an hour."
"Seems too easy." Chloe couldn't help but tease.
Max shrugged. "It usually is. In any op, the best you can do is plan ahead, and be ready to shift on the fly based on what you come across. Anyhow, let's get going. I totally need to pick some shit up for tonight...and...uh...when I hit the road tomorrow."
They both gave each other the same lingering look; the bittersweet expression. They'd only just started to get into the swing of things, hanging out, and now it was coming to an end in less than twenty-four hours
"Yeah, let's not linger around...we are gonna have a hella awesome night tonight. I mean...this is just the warm up act, yeah?" Chloe asked.
The pair of them went out, and stopped by the local Goodwill and the drug store next to it. Max purchased, or rather, gave Chloe the cash to purchase for her an old military duffle bag, along with a few changes of utilitarian clothing: jeans, flannels, a coat. Everything else, save for the firearms, she was going to have to leave behind with Chloe; it was far too easy to identify her by, otherwise. A few changes of underwear, some toiletries, a flashlight, and they were set.
Forty-five minutes later, they were most of the way through their trek through the woods, nearing Blackwell Academy.
"You're right, Max." Chloe whispered. "I really do hate this bit. Hella creepy, here in the dark. Cold. Alone. And there are wolves after us, I just know it!"
Max rolled her eyes heavily. "First off, you aren't alone. Second off, this is a piece of cake compared to the survival shit they put me through. Or rather, put me and Nic...fuck it, doesn't matter. As for wolves, I'm pretty sure I read they're really rare in Oregon. But I'm sure they get a lot nicer after you take down the alpha with a killing shot between the eyes."
"Hah! Yeah, only if you brought a gun." Chloe snickered.
"Gee, if only." Max quietly replied, a tiny smirk on her face.
Chloe paused. "Wait, whoa. Did you really? Damn, that's hardcore, Max. You aren't seriously thinking we need to go into this armed, do you?"
"Force of habit." Max shrugged. "Uh. I mean, not that I've gone around a lot, armed, but...okay, shhhh...we're just about to pop out of the treeline."
They did their best to quickly make their way through the campus, keeping their head down, and blending in otherwise with the throngs of students still milling about in the aftermath of the earlier events of the day.
Damn, if anything it's easier to sneak through than I would have thought. Glad I put on a hat and changed hoodies though. The last thing I need is for someone to think they've spotted The Blackwell Ninja.
As the pair of them strode up to the front door of the main building, Max thought she heard an odd humming noise. It took her a few seconds for her to realize...
"Chloe...?"
"Duh de duh duh duh dah! DUh duh...oh...yeah?"
"Seriously, are you humming the theme to Mission: Impossible?"
Chloe snarfled back a laugh. "Kinda? Ha, didn't even realize I was doing it. Besides, it's not so impossible, not when you have...Chloe the Keymistress, by your side!" With that, she pulled out the keyring, unlocked the door, allowing the pair of them to slip inside. Max pulled out the tiny LED-backed flashlight, allowing them just enough light to navigate down the dark corridors as they made their way over to the Principal's Office.
"Hey, I have a question." the blunette continued. "Is it still breaking and entering if we've got the key, and I'm related to the head of Blackwell security?"
"Yeah, still counts."
"Eh, no worries. Stepshit doesn't want me in the hands of the local cops. Hell, it makes him look hella bad if it gets out I had his keys. Besides, you can always rewind us back if we get caught, right?"
Max took a deep breath. She had some of her power restored to her but... "Best not to chance it, alright?"
"Yeah. Good point. Don't worry. Between your sick spy skills, and my having the building key, this'll be a breeze. One more door, and we're in."
Max paused for a moment, resisting the urge to shine the flashlight this way and that. Her eyes feasted upon what little she could make of the school, as they passed through the front hallway, making their way to the Principal's Office.
"C'mon, you with me?" Chloe asked.
Nodding halfheartedly, she followed along. Chloe started to unlock the door to the office. Or tried to. When that key didn't work, she tried another, and then another after that. Soon, the ring was exhausted. Chloe gripped it tight in her hands, looking ready to toss it against the wall in frustration.
"What the fuck? The security officer should have the key to the Principal's Office!"
"Well well well." Max mused. "Seems like I was totally right: they're trying to hide things in this school. Bet you it's mostly shit about Nathan, and even what the hell was going on with Kate."
Still, locked door. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to...
Chloe interrupted her train of thought, "Now we really have to get this door open." She then thumped her chest gently and announced with a hint of pride, "Believe it or not, I know a little bit about lock picking, thanks to Frank. I might as well test out my thief skill."
Max started to protest, but Chloe stopped her shot. Glancing over her shoulder, she said. "I know you probably could do this like...in your sleep? But c'mon...let me just show you how useful I can be."
Max laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Chloe, you don't have to..."
C'mon...give her a chance. You're this super-powered super-spy and she...
She was her best friend in the whole wide world. Max didn't want to make her feel less than adequate. She wanted to give her a chance to shine.
Smiling softly, she nodded. "Sure Chloe. Go for it. Uh...just in case though, I'm going to scout around. Maybe I can find a key for the door."
Chloe smiled, immediately pouncing on the lock after fashioning a crude torsion wrench and feeler pick from a pair of large paperclips. "Awesome. And if that doesn't work?"
Max shrugged. "If absolutely everything else fails? It's a high school, with a chem lab. Easy enough to fashion a low-grade IED from whatever's around."
"Geezus, no need to get that intense, Max! Just...uh...give me another minute here." Chloe continued to fiddle with the strips of metal jutting out of the doorknob.
Max poked around the office, hoping that her luck would hold out. After a couple of minutes, she was forced to concede that if there was a key to be found, it wasn't in the secretary's office.
Geeze Principal Wells, fucking paranoid much? I mean, do you really think people are that desperate to break into your off - uh. Never mind.
"Fuck, I guess I wasn't paying attention when Frank was teaching me this shit. We might need to go with your bang-bang, boom-boom plan."
"Keep at it, Blue Jay! It's time for me to become one with the night, and slink through the shadows!"
Chloe struggled fiercely to keep from laughing out too loudly. "Blue Jay? What the fuck, Max? Where the hell did that come from?"
"Oh, you know. Because I'm BatMax, and you're my sidekick. But Robin doesn't work, obviously."?
Chloe shook her head as she continued with her current struggle. "Fuck, that's a lame name. I mean, I'm clearly more of a Blue Canary. Because that comes with fishnets and kung fu."
Max laughed as she strode off into the rest of the school. She made her way, briskly at first, but then slowed as she gazed over the inside of the school. She was gripped by a curious sensation, a gnawing longing right in the center of her chest. It was powerful enough to stop her in her tracks, as she aimlessly wandered about.
She smiled to herself, poking and peering at various posters lining the walls.
Here's one for the swim team. Here's one for tutoring. Hey! Some guys got a Dungeons and Dragons group together. And this is some sort of book club...anime and manga. Wow!
She pressed herself back against the cool, slick metal of the lockers, and breathed in the scent of dust and chemical floor cleaner. Sighed heavily as she swept her hungry gaze over the soda machine, the classroom doors, and the poster, advertising some sort of "End Of The World" dance later this week.
Suddenly it struck her: this was the life she never had, and never would.
This should have been mine! All of it. I should be walking down these halls to class! I should be doing homework, and going to club meetings, and swim tryouts. And...and someone could be talking me to school dance and...
Max nearly slammed her fist into the lockers out of frustration; only years of training kept her from making such a rookie mistake.
These kids. All this school shit going on in their lives right now. Seems so big, and overwhelming, and important. And they've got no idea what the hell is going on out in the real world.
Oh how she hated and loved what they had. Desperately jealous. The beautiful banality of it. It was like she couldn't help but feel the nearby presence of some other timeline, one where she lived a perfectly normal life, and spent years of of it wrapped up in this place.
She shut her eyes tight, letting a couple of tears suddenly roll down her face. Reached up and angrily wiped them away.
Fucking Damocles. Fucking government! Hate you all. You stole everything from me. My whole life! I can rewind time, but I can never get my past back.
It was yet another painful reminder, but one that also spurred her on.
I'm never going back. Not ever. And if they capture me again, I'm never gonna stop trying to escape. I fucking swear it!
Huffing out a hard breath, she turned and headed down the hallway, stopping just long enough to get a closer look at the poster for the dance. Given by some social group called The Vortex Club, which according to Chloe, was just the rich and popular kids clique; an excuse for people like Nathan Prescott to show off his money, and how it made him untouchable.
Fucking asshole.
At the same time, Max couldn't help but hug herself. Closed her eyes, and smiled as she imagined what it would be like. She'd only been to a couple of middle school dances in the past, so she didn't have a lot to go by. But hanging out with kids her age, for the first time in years. Music, dancing, having fun. Boy, she and Chloe could...
She paused, not entirely certain where she was going with that line of thought, only that it made her feel curiously weak inside, but...happy too. Warm and eager. Like waiting for Christmas Day to arrive, only different. She couldn't describe it any better than that.
She continued only, easily location and then drifting through the science classroom. It took her all of thirty seconds to track down the simple chemicals she could combine to create a crude explosive; just enough to blow open the lock. Really though, it was the last thing she wanted to employ. It'd be noisy as hell, and completely violated all SOP for a mission like this. She could probably slip inside the office afterwards, rewind back, and then unlock the door from the other side, but she didn't want to risk her power suddenly giving out at an inopportune time.
No sweat, I'll just pick the lock for real when Chloe gives up.
Passing by the teachers desk on the way out, Max paused, noting that a bunch of graded papers were left out in a folder. Curious, she started to riffle through some of them, stopping when she came across one belonging to a student named Warren Graham.
Hey...I know that name! Yeah...I went to school with him. Hah, he was a science geek back then too.
She glanced over the quiz and realized
Wait, question three was totally right! I should know, Cammie drilled this shit into me all the time. The hell, man, teachers don't even know what they're teaching? This should be a higher grade. I mean, it'll still be a B...
...but now it was a B-plus, thanks to a brief application of red marker.
Every little grade counts. Too bad Warren won't appreciate how I'm still looking out for him, all these years later.
Max decided on one more detour before making her way back to check on Chloe's progress. Picking one of the smaller classrooms, she was surprised, as well as pleased, to discover it was set up specifically for the photography arts course.
Huh. Look at this - all the high end gear, and photos and...
For the briefest of moments, Max swore she was in that other life, the path not taken, some other existence without government training, or being made a prisoner. One where she was happy and free, with little more to weigh down her mind than figuring out what clothes to wear, how to fit in with the rest of the kids, or what she was going to do for her next school assignment.
As she wandered back and forth through the small, darkened classroom, she took note that most of the work hanging on the walls belonged to one person in particular. Combined with the class photos hanging on the wall, Max quickly discovered...
...Mark Jefferson is teaching photography at Blackwell? No fucking way...THE Mark Jefferson?!
Max only started getting serious about studying photography a few months before her life was changed forever, but she damn well knew the name. He was one of the hottest photographers in the Northwestern grunge scene, way back in the Nineties; Max counted him as one of her personal heroes.
And he's here, now. Teaching. No fucking fair, life! Ah..God...I would kill, like literally, to be a student of his. I bet he's just the best teacher now!
Her hands gripped the edge of the desk at the front of the room, the one he sat at. The one he gave lessons from. For a minute, she closed her eyes, and desperately willed, hope against hope, that her life would change, and her wish would come true...
...but wishes don't. Life's not fucking fair, that's just the way it is. Time to shake it off, Max. Stop acting like a...a teenager!
Hands in her pockets, and slowly shuffling back towards the Principal's Office, Max smirked lightly to herself as she saw Chloe still desperately fiddling with the lock, a rising tide of bitter swears burbling up under her breath.
"Time's up, Grasshopper. Did you master your rage, or did your rage master you?"
Without moving her head away, Chloe stuck out a hand in Max's direction, and jammed up a huge middle finger. But she was smiling, just a bit, when she turned to look at her.
"Yeah yeah yeah. I get it. I hella suck at crime. So please, oh great spymistress, show your unworthy Padawan how it's done." Chloe said, while rising up and sweeping her arm towards the door with a dramatic flourish. "So, you gonna make the door go boom with some homemade dynamite?"
"Well, I found everything I need in the chemistry lab, but you see those sensors, here, and over there?" she pointed out a few unobtrusive looking vents. " Most folks don't even know to look for those things, which is by design. They'll go off almost immediately from the smoke, and then I imagine we'll have an alarm or worse to deal with. So yeah, let me try picking the lock first."
Grabbing the crude tools left in the keyhole, Max evaluated what she was working with, and muttered, as much for Chloe's benefit as her own.
"Huh. Looks like a Yale model A-N23. Not the cheapest lock you can get, not the best, either. But it uses this weird euro profile cylinder type, makes it a little tricky if you're trying to work with shit picks like this."
This was really her forte, or one of them at any rate. The amount of information she'd been made to memorize about different lock types, the number of times she'd practice and practice until she could do it in her sleep. Trained to be good on her own, so that if she lost access to her powers, she could still function with a high degree of skill.
It took her barely ninety seconds to pop the last tumbler and open the door.
"Not my best work, but hey, not gonna argue with results." Max remarked, removing the pick and torsion wrench before dusting off her hands.
Chloe gave her a few affectionate punches to the shoulder and side, "Ye-hah! Max Bond, supah-spy!"
"Yeah yeah, I'm fucking awesome. Now let's find what we're after and beat it. I'm still not in a mood to test my powers." Walking over to polish off the doorknob, Max instructed, "This is the part of the show where we put on the double layers of surgical gloves. I'm sure this isn't going to turn into a big police investigation, especially if we've done our work right, but the fewer clues we leave, the better."
Chloe reached into her pocket and pulled the latex gloves onto her hands. "Man...this is cool. I never realized how much shit went into pulling off the perfect crime." She glanced around, pulling out her cell phone, and activating the flashlight app. Glancing around with some appreciation, she remarked, "I can see why the Principal locks this room up. Fancy faux art crap. He must want everyone to know he has money. But noooo taste."
Max glanced around the office, keeping an eye on Chloe as she made her way over to the large desk that dominated the back half of the room. Turning on a single lamp, she gazed down at a large, tacky object d'art perched near the edge.
"How can you trust somebody who had a fucking bronze bird in his office?" she asked. "I'm glad I was expelled."
"Yes! If only he had a Monet or a Picasso, you'd still be in Blackwell." Max teased in a breathy voice.
"Eat me." Chloe drawled. "Okay, I'm gonna pilfer the papers on this ugly ass desk." Max started to head over to the filing cabinet, figuring that Chloe would keep herself busy as she plopped down into the large chair.
"Okay, sure, it's ugly, but damn is it a cozy chair!" she exclaimed, kicking up her feet onto the desk. Max just shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling lightly.
"Right, well you have fun pretending to be a respected authority figure. It's time for the actual spy to get to work."
Chloe flipped her the middle finger of her other hand this time, and went back to poking around the desk.
As luck would have it, Max didn't have to do much to find something of interest: Kate's file was already out and laid open across one of the smaller tables next to the filing cabinet. She glanced through it:
3.9 GPA...consistently outstanding...Meals on Wheels work, mentioned on the local news, best attendance record in school history. Jesus fuck, Kate! You rock. You are clearly too pure to live in this shitty ass world.
Unsurprisingly, there were extra notes attached: one from the school nurse indicating recent changes in her behavior after attending a Vortex Club party, and another, probably from Principal Wells himself, about an ongoing investigation into the video of Kate, being all drugged and making out with people at the party, that was then uploaded to the Internet.
Huh. Some investigation. School did a lousy job trying to keep her safe. Damnit Max, this is a dead end. I feel like I'm looking at the shadow of something deeper. Gotta find dirt, and given that Nathan both probably drugged Kate, definitely drugged Chloe and almost killed her...that's the prime target I need to go for.
She quickly located Nathan's file, and found much to her dismay, though not to her surprise, that it was spotless. A 3.7 GPA, Nathan was obviously one of the Precious Golden Children of Blackwell. Over the next few minutes, Max poked around a few more entries, including and especially Chloe's.
Damn...1.7 GPA. Suspended for spraypainting graffiti in the parking lot, belligerent. Squandered potential...
Max sighed. She couldn't help but feel, in some strange, torturous way, she bore responsibility.
Like...if only I'd been around. If I could have stayed in contact with her. Given her moral support. And the occasional kick in the ass? I bet she could have been so great. Right on top, with Nathan and Kate. Once again, fuck you so much Damocles, for not only ruining my life, but the lives of the people I love the most.
"Hey Max, you better come check out these files." Chloe called out, tapping away at the keyboard hooked up to the computer on the desk.
"Hopefully it's better than what I found on Nathan, which has to be total fake shit." Max groaned.
"Oh yeah. Mr. Nathan Prescott the Third. I just found a letter in a file on the desk here. His Daddy is dropping threats and major bank to bury the real dirt, but if I were Ray Wells, I'd keep it somewhere I thought was safe, just in case I needed it for some reason."
Max started to glance over what was displayed on the computer screen.
"Shit. This reads like a rap sheet. Bad grades. Teachers complaining about his disruptive behavior..."
"Double secret probation!" Chloe semi-joked. She then frowned, shaking her head. "And *I* was the one that got expelled? Gezus fuck, the Prescotts should die in a fire."
"Wow, well at least it looks like Nathan got suspended, pending further investigation. I suppose contributing to Kate almost committing suicide was too hot for even Blackwell to just ignore." Pointing over to part of the screen, Max quickly asked, "Hey...open that note up? I want to get a better look at it."
Chloe shrugged. "Big deal. It's just some crazy drawing."
Max gave closer study of the image that was pulled up, shaking her head.
"It's not a drawing. Well, not just a drawing. Look..."
It was hard to describe exactly what she was seeing. Black scribbling lines, tortured words. Mental darkness, twisted sickness given form. The same words etched into the paper, over and over again, wrapped around in a dark spiral...
"Stella in the dark room. Stella in the dark room...what the hell does that even mean?"
Chloe went white as a sheet. Blinked, clearly dumbstruck.
"Chloe?" Max asked. "Hey...you there? Talk to me. You look like you know something about this?"
"Uh...um." Chloe licked her lips, swallowed. "Stella...Stella Hill. She's a student here. Was. A few months ago, late April, not long after that bitch Rachel skipped out of town, Stella went missing too. A few days after, her body washed up on the beach. Coroner took a look, and she had serious drugs in her system. Everyone just decided right then and there that she partied too hard, took a walk on the beach high out of her mind, went for a midnight swim. People knew she was into shit, mostly Adderall to study, but that doesn't mean her tastes didn't grow. Didn't give it much thought at the time, I was going so crazy with worry over..." she frowned, hurt and frustration smoldering corrosively in her eyes, arms crossing over her chest. Then shook her head as it hit her full on. "Holy shit! Does this mean that Nathan killed Stella? I mean, he seems like he's totally freaking out about it though, in this drawing. Like maybe he can't help himself. Geezus, maybe he almost killed Kate too! Or he wanted to drive her into doing the deed herself. Man, this is hella fucked up! Seriously psychopathic shit! No wonder this asshole pulled a gun on me!"
"Huh...there's something else about David, but it looks like the file got corrupted. Talk about bad luck." Max grumped.
"Big fucking deal, stepdouche probably just looked the other way. Maybe even covered for him. Wouldn't surprise me if Wells and Nathan and David were all part of some Super He-Bros asshole club. Probably worth poking around the files he keeps in his garage sometime, just to see if there are any extra pieces of the puzzle."
"Still, you realize what this means? You got serious dirt on Nathan. I mean, you will once I print a copy." She paused, waiting a few seconds before she had Chloe print up every incriminating tidbit from Nathan's files. Then was pleased to note she didn't run into any issues as she wiped the last few seconds out with a rewind.
"-f just to see if there are any extra pieces of the puzzle" Chloe repeated.
"And now you have crazy dirt on Sir Psycho." Max smirked, holding out the file for Chloe to take.
"Yes! Booya!" Chloe hissed, making a fist of triumph in the air. "I can use this to blackmail the fuck out of Nathan. Get him to settle up the rest of my debt. Probably can't force him to confess to what he did to Stella and Kate but maybe...try and make it right somehow? Make it rain bank, pay for her college, and also pay out something to the Hills...I...don't know." She bowed her head in shame, and softly added, "Shit, anything other than getting him to own up to his crimes sounds fucking lame, doesn't it?"
Max squeezed Chloe's shoulder. "It's alright. You'll do fine. I know this must seem crazy scary, but you're gonna do the right thing. Just...it's too bad..."
Chloe nodded once. "Yeah...god damnit Max, this sucks! I know you gotta run tomorrow, I know you have to hit the road, but this...it doesn't seem right. We're a team! We should be taking Nathan down together. You and me, Maxaroni and Che, BatMax and Blue Canary." She shook her head bitterly, and Max felt her resolve waver, her instinct for self-preservation melt under Chloe's emotional intensity.
"I got bigger villains than the Prescotts in my life, Che. If you somehow get dragged into this government shit I'd just..." she swallowed against the hard knot in her throat. "Never forgive myself. Never..."
Chloe gave her a smile, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Well, we wanted to find blackmail material, and we got it. No point in wasting any more time around here." She glanced down at herself, then smiled. "Although...I feel like we shouldn't leave without a parting gift."
Max shot her down immediately. "No, bad Chloe. Leave the cozy chair behind."
"Max, did you..uh...rewind because I just tried to steal the chair or...damnit, now I'm confused."
"Nope. Five years later, and I still know how you think, Chloe." Max tossed her a wink. "Still, maybe you're on to something." With that, Max rifled through the top drawer of the Principal's desk, stopping as she immediately hit paydirt.
It was an envelope marked "Handicapped Fund", stuffed with cash. Mostly hundreds.
Oh...oh bullshit! Riiiiight. You just happen to have, let's see...um...oh holy fuck! Five grand? You have five grand in cash just sitting in your desk? Wowser. Holy Embezzlement, Batman. God, are there any good people running this school?!
Chloe tried to peer at what she held in her hands. "Hey...hey Max. Don't keep me in suspense, what did you find?"
It hit her in an instant.
Five years. Five grand.
It was the least life could do. This fucked up world owed her, and owed her bigtime. She was torn, naturally. There was the good girl in her, the self-styled hero, that balked what she was doing; bad enough to break into the school, rifle through private records, steal confidential material. But there was the angry teen, the one with the stolen childhood. And her best friend, who desperately needed cash, after she got herself into debt apparently trying to find some trollip fake friend who didn't deserve someone as awesome and cool as Chloe.
She made her mind up right then and there, falling away at last from the angels of her better nature.
Stealing money from some petty crook? Watch me not lose any fucking sleep.
"Here you go, Chloe. Take this." Max said, as she removed the cash from the envelope and handed it over. She then stuffed some paper back in, to give it a bit of weight and volume. With luck, it might be days, or even weeks before Wells noticed the theft. "There's a grand in here for each of your birthdays I missed when the government was keeping me prisoner. So, you know, Happy Birthday. Now you don't even have to worry about blackmailing Nathan for money."
Chloe shot straight up to her feet and stared hard at Max. Absolutely unbelieving, until she flipped through the bills with her thumb, and then gave a hoot. "Jackpot! Oh god! I can pay back Frank tonight even! Oh...oh God. Max! Max you are just so..."
Suddenly Chloe hugged her tightly, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm gonna make it worth it, Max. Everything here. I promise, you'll see. I'm...I'm gonna pay Frank, and then I'm gonna use this file to make Nathan pay for his crimes, and whatever money is left? I'll leave Arcadia Bay at last. Start a new life, do something with it, make something of myself. All..all because of you, all because you..." She blinked her eyes, reaching up to wipe them.
"Thank you, Max. Thank you. I don't deserve any of this. Any of...you."
She took her hand and practically skipped out of the office. Max slowed her down, making sure to tidy up and cover their tracks as best as possible before departing.
Chloe was humming tunelessly to herself, grinning like a maniac.
"I know that impish look." Max laughed.
"Yeeeeah. You know, we just scored. Scored hella big. And now we're free to start our crazy last night before you go on the run. So why don't we kick things off with a swim. Because you knoooow." She held up the keyring. "The Blackwell pool? It's ours!"
Max paused. "Wait. Really? We broke into this place, stole money and files, and you want to hang around to swim?"
"Yeah! Double fuck yeah! We are untouchable, Ms. Thang! Killer blackmail material, tons and tons of money in my pocket thanks to you?Life clearly loves us right now, and wants us to celebrate! So c'mon! I totally wanna get my swim on right now!"
Max thought it over. Tactically, it was a terrible idea. An operation should be as simple as possible. You achieve the objective with a minimum of fuss and required effort, and then you get the hell out once you've done it. Lingering around, especially just to swim in the pool, something Max used to do all the time at Zion, was stupid beyond belief.
On the other hand...
Fuck it, Chloe's right. I'm starting to think the universe does want us to celebrate. I mean, this is my last crazy night of fun before I have to run for the rest of my life. Why should I play it safe?
Squeezing Chloe's hand in return, Max nodded once. "Let's do this, Chloe. It's party time."
"Yes!" Chloe cheered in triumph. "I am turning into such a good bad influence on you."
They tried their best to stifle the giggles as they ran towards the gymnasium, the whole night waiting just for the two of them.
A/N: Hey hey hey kids! It's Cory and Lyta's Black Swan-themed Saturnalian Phatasmagorical Epic Revelation Time, brought to you in the spelndiferous magic of Text-o-Vision!
It's funny, the things I originally plan for, and how they change. Originally, I was going to have Max grab a special electronic lock pick kit from Cammie's apartment, and then show it off to Chloe, before giving it to her as a gift. That just seemed like too much set up for not a lot of return, and god knows I've scattered too many Chekov Guns in this work as it is. Some of which I sadly know are probably not going to get fired off, because in the time since I laid them down, I completely changed the story around and obviated the need for them. Luckily, it's not big stuff, probably things you wouldn't have even noticed in the long run.
Anyhow, have a wonderful weekend!