9. Guardian
"I'm sure they already have a plan. This is really more in their wheelhouse than ours."
Five's eyes flashed at One. Speak for yourself. She didn't have to say it out loud.
It was true, Five's gift for tech probably would be an asset during an escape. But the others were just going to have to figure it out for themselves. He wasn't going to let Five risk her safety to return to prison when she didn't even know if she would be helpful. They may have had equal vote on the Raza, but here he was her legal guardian.
10. Confined
I'm part of the crew. I should be there.
At first Five had been happy to be relieved of the tedium of the guest quarters on Hyperion-8, but now she was growing restless. She couldn't just sit here in One's fancy hotel while the rest of the crew was in prison. The hotel room had become its own prison. Especially since One was currently obsessed with reconstructing his old life.
Six should have let her stay with the others. Prison was bad, but being kicked to the curb was worse.
At least her current prison would be easy to escape.
11. Together
"You're not leaving." One blocked the elevator doorway.
He was bigger than her, but she was pretty sure she could take him. She'd been training with Four; One was no fighter.
"I know you want to help them. I do too. I just don't know how. And you running off and getting yourself arrested, or killed, isn't going to help anyone."
"I'm done sitting here doing nothing! Maybe you can just forget about your friends, but I can't."
"We'll do something. But we're going to do it together. And we're going to think about it first. What do they need?"
12. Bad Idea
One's palms were sweaty as he looked around the metallic meeting room. Five sat beside him. Maybe she shouldn't be here, but he knew he couldn't keep her away, so he hadn't even tried.
This was a bad idea. He didn't see any way for it to end well. Just better than Five running off by herself and trying to break into a maximum security prison, just so she could try to break out again.
"Derrick Moss. CEO of CoreLactic Industries. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
One took a deep breath. He hadn't expected Truffault herself to show.
13. Talk Your Way Out
"I think you need to help my friends escape from prison."
"Is that so? After they've each already rejected my very generous offer of immunity?"
"They're a team, they won't turn on each other. But it's in your best interest for them to be out. There's never going to be a trial, so they won't be able to point the finger at Traugott for you. However, if they're free, there's at least a chance for them to tell their side of the story."
Commander Truffault regarded him silently. One glanced to Five and she smiled and nodded encouragingly. One continued.
14. Last Chance
"They're the best at what they do. It's an asset, having them around to do your dirty work. Why else would you offer them immunity? You help them out, and they'll owe you."
"Mikkei has vast resources. We do not need the assistance of miscreants. My offer was made purely for the sake of seeing justice done against at least some of those responsible for Iriden."
"Right…" One slid the datachip of information Five had collected across the table. "Then maybe you should make your offer to them one more time. Face-to-face, so they really have to think about it."
15. Beauty
One laid two photos out on the table. Five fiddled with a gadget across from him.
"What do you think?" One finally asked.
"What do you mean?"
One slid a photo towards her. "About this guy. Is he, you know… just… how does he look, aesthetically…?"
"Are you asking your daughter if she finds you attractive?"
One cringed and swiped the photo back. "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked."
"I was just teasing."
One nodded glumly.
Alarmed, Five asked, "You aren't seriously considering plastic surgery, are you?"
One shrugged. "This is who I am. Maybe I should look like him."
16. Beast
"I like the way you look now."
One gestured to the other photo. "Like this lowlife?"
"No." Five picked up the photo of Jace Corso. "You don't look that much like him."
"I look exactly like him. I went to great lengths to look exactly like him. I fooled a lot of people into thinking I was him. Even heacknowledged it."
"I could tell you apart. It's the eyes. I don't mean the color or anything. Just the look. The… the essence or something. You can't change that."
"You really think so?"
Five nodded. "Plus, you don't wear eyeliner."
17. Stasis
It did seem practical, to make it so his mere existence was not a constant annoyance a vicious mercenary. Yet a second round of elective facial surgery wasn't very appealing. And, well, it was a little strange, to change your features to look… less attractive. Especially since Derrick Moss's features meant nothing to him. He had no memory of seeing that face in the mirror. He just couldn't make sense of changing his face to look like a homely guy he didn't even know.
So what? Was he just supposed to tell a plastic surgeon to go wild? No way.