The Case of the Lost Child 01

Lisa's revolver wasn't exactly pointed ahead of them as the duo walked into the lion's den, but she'd be damned if she kept it holstered. Constant vigilance. Living with Dinah and Taylor had taught her that much - even if she had been just a tiny bit paranoid beforehand. Fontaine had to be the reason that they hadn't been attacked by splicers yet. It was the only thing that made sense; the bastards should have been swarming down here. The lack of any splicer attack was stressful in it's own way. Fontaine had pull down here, sure, but did he really have that much pull? At this point she almost preferred a straight up fight, the constant edge-of-your-seat worry with no payoff was starting to grate.

She almost wished something would just happen already. Ah, she really was far too accustomed to the Cape scene on Bet. Even six months in this dying 'utopia' hadn't taken her edge away. It had only led her into alcoholism.

"I still do not believe this is a smart idea," Elizabeth murmured beside her. The woman scowled at a masked shadow that dipped away just out of view. Lisa's hand twitched, but she didn't raise her gun.

"No clues back at Toys. We know she ran off; we don't know where. She's a Little Sister now, Liz. Frank's gonna know where all the Little Sisters are."

"Your prior descriptions of the man have not filled me with confidence."

A deep, belly-laugh echoed across the department store's aisles. Lisa winced at the theater. Of course Fontaine was listening to them. Asshole. She almost preferred Ryan. Fontaine was basically a less pervy Coil, whereas Ryan was at least just a more insane Tagg. Neither could really be reasoned with, but Ryan was decidedly more pleasant - right up until he decided you didn't fit into his vision of perfection.

Fontaine was just a lying, manipulative, fucking bastard.

"Lisa! My dear, you've been sent to join us! Oh Raven, whatever have you been telling this beautiful, young mistress?" The lights flipped on, and there he was, basking like a king on one of the couches in a sectioned off corner of the store, an entire little retinue around him. Some masked and clearly splicers, others only in the early stages of Adam withdrawal judging from the twitchy nature and minor scarring.

"Just the truth, Frank," Lisa replied, forcing Vulpine Grin Number 3 to the forefront as she strutted forward to stand in front of him. She made sure that Elizabeth was firmly centered behind her, just visible enough to not be clearly blocking her, but still broadcasting her protection. "That you're an asshole, but we've worked together well enough in the past."

He chuckled. Leaning forward, he flicked his fingers, sending two of the splicers walking to opposite sides of the little square they were all set up in. Fuck. She'd only be able to get one of them if it came to a shootout and she still had no idea how good Elizabeth was in a straight up fight.

"I've found a use for your particular skills, sure." His smile never left his face, but his gaze was like a shark. Shivers ran down Lisa's spine and her skin lifted in goosebumps. Every, damn, time. They'd shot Coil ten years ago now and she still got clammy when confronted with his ghost!

Fontaine didn't care about her age-old trauma, though. He just continued monologuing, blithely unaware. "But you see, little Raven, you're no use to me down here. Tell me, why would I care to leave an annoying little bitch, like you, alive when you're just as trapped as me? When you're so. God. Damned. Useless!"

She had to work very hard not to scowl at that. She wasn't useless. She wasn't.

Hssss. Hss. Hhhhhhsssss. Hs.

As the mental static from her power died down, she heaved a silent sigh and gave a mental pat towards wherever her alien partner was. She hadn't even heard the static in months. It must be feeling better after hearing Elizabeth's little revelation. Lisa always felt better after she knew why she had had a conniption, maybe alien parasite powers were the same way? Not that that really helped, but it was the thought that counted.

"Franky, baby, you know me," Lisa laughed, sliding into Vulpine Grin Number 1. Dinah had always called this one her 'I have a secret, and I know that you know, that I know' smile. She wasn't wrong. Lisa had practiced hard to fine-tune that look. "You know there is just, no. Possible. Way. That I'm staying trapped down here."

His smile finally vanished and his eyes narrowed. He finally actually looked at her. Standing, Fontaine paced forward, one of his guards following right behind. "Your vaunted home is that important to you, Hebert?"

"I have always been very clear about that, Frank. I'm getting out of here - today. You're free to follow in my wake."

"Never that easy, Hebert." He shook his head, glancing to the side and running his gaze over Elizabeth. "The broad's part of your plan or a tagalong?"

"That's for me to know."

"Excuse me!"

Oh how she missed Taylor's Hive. Then she wouldn't have to hope Elizabeth took the hint and stayed quiet. Liz could've just seen the full plan in as she thought of it and gone along with her role.

"Grown ups are talking, pretty." Fontaine snapped, before looking back to Lisa, tapping his chin. "I'm listening. You have thirty seconds, Hebert."

"You can't expect me to spill everything, 'cause then I'd just die, because we both know you don't exactly like me. Here's what I propose. Give me free-reign for 24 hours. I'll have this whole store either rising to Ryan's level or show you how to get up there with just your people."

"I know you, girl, you're not just looking for passage in my turf. You're greedy."

"I'm here tracking a girl. A Little Sister. Used to respond to Sally. Elizabeth, show him the picture."

Her partner frowned, but followed the instruction, handing over a photo of the child from before she had been converted.

Frank snorted, shaking his head. "You expect me to hand over an ADAM factory to you?"

Lisa nodded. "Even trade, Frank. You and your people get back up and can take your revenge on Ryan. I get my bounty and one step closer to getting the fuck out of this place. Plus, let's not fool ourselves; you're going to lose the kid to one of your pet splicers in a few days anyway."

"Ah, but it would satisfy them for a time now wouldn't it?" The grin that sent shivers down her back was present in full force. "Tell you what, Hebert. I'll agree to your terms, but I'm tacking on one of mine. I want something from Suchong's lab. He was supposed to get it to me, but the idiot got himself killed first. You get that for me - the Ace in the Hole - and I'll tell you where you can find your wayward ADAM."

Lisa frowned. "Tell us where Sally is first."

"You don't trust me?" He asked, a hand over his heart, far too many teeth showing in his smirk.

"I wouldn't trust you if you said water was wet, Frank."

He snapped his fingers, the smirk never once dropping. The guard behind him handed over a map and a second later, he circled a spot before throwing it to Lisa. "Housewares. Don't forget, Hebert, I want that Ace. You come back without that, whether you have a way up or not, it won't matter. Are we of one mind here?"

It took everything in her not to scoff at that. If her wife had been here…then they really would have been of one mind. She'd already have known exactly where Sally was, and she would have been able to get rid of Fontaine without a care in the world.

God she missed the Hive.

"Crystal clear, Frank. Be seeing you in a few hours. Toodles Frankie!" She waggled her fingers at him as she twisted on her heel to swagger away. Was it smart? Probably not, but if she didn't piss him off at least a little bit, he'd think she'd lost her edge and he'd probably just kill her anyway.

Plus it felt good. Fucking asshole giving her flashbacks to a decade ago.

As Lisa stalked forward, Elizabeth fell into her wake. Lisa bit her tongue as she modified her plans. Suchong wasn't even supposed to be down here. He must have pissed Ryan off badly to get his lab knocked down with Fontaine. She and Elizabeth would grab Sally, maybe swing by the mad scientist's lab to figure out just what the hell Fontaine was so desperate for and see if they could use it themselves…and then figure out just how to bullshit their way back to Rapture proper.

"Lisa," Elizabeth murmured as they started to leave Fontaine's court behind. "We don't exactly know how to get back up. Do we?"

"Sure we do," Lisa replied back, her voice just as soft, yet laced with confidence she certainly didn't feel.

"And…What is your plan? Precisely?"

"Step one, let the idiots here fight their war themselves. Step 2, I told you before: I'm going to jailbreak you again."

Now, she just had to figure out how to do that…