Rhaef watched the guards. How much longer would they stay. How much longer could Wei-Li's luck hold and a load of clothes not be dumped down the chutes. Rhaef was resigning himself to a potentially bloody shoot out, and moved the guard gun into his left hand, and flipped the safety off. Choosing to wait a few beats more to see if this confrontation was going to be avoidable.

Wei-Li let her legs drop, so that she was hanging by her arms, letting the laundry land in a pile below.  As the last of it passed she once again braced her feet agains the sides, praying she could hold on.  So far it looked like the stitches were holding, but the strain was really starting to take it's toll.

She forced herself to breath calmly, realizing only now that she couldn't see what the guards were doing.

The guards reported back, calling for security to review the camera feeds as they split up, the guards who went through the window continuing to look for tracks outside, while the other two headed back up to the control room.

Rhaef sighed as soon as the guards were gone, and exited the room, gun still raised. It was then he saw Wei-Li, hanging from the laundry chute. He ran quickly to her and grabbed her around the waist, and said, "Wei-Li, its Rhaef, the guards are gone, you can let go."

Wei-Li relaxed when she heard Rhaef's voice and did as he said.  It took everything she had not to curl up in a fetal ball.  Finally her breath evened out.

"That hurt..." she admitted in a soft tone.  "Won't take them long to realize what we've done.  We need to get as far from here as possible... Or... stay hidden."

She gives him an appologetic look.  "Sorry, I'm a lot more used to breaking into a place, than getting out..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:27, Wed 01 Mar 2006.

"We go now, we don't really have a choice anymore." Rhaef said as he made his way toward the door. Unlocking it, he could see it led into an alley. This well could be a trap, but they had little choice. "Wei-Li, come on, it seems clear, this might be our last chance."

Wei-Li nodded and moved as quickly as she could, taking Rhaef's leg into consideration.  It was clear from the way she moved and her breathing that she was on edge and yet... enjoyed the exhileration of the chase.

Rhaef kept his eyes peeled as they exited the building. He walked calmly, and at a reasonable pace. He could tell Wei-Li was laboring a bit, he turned to her, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Wei-Li smiled at him, her expression slightly guilty.  There's a spark in her eyes.  If anything she looks more alive than anything.

"I'm fine." she answered, and it was clear she was.

With the guards either searching the grounds on the opposite side of the building or going back to review the latest set of tapes, it seemed that no-one had thought to cut off escape from the alleyway.

Rhaef could find no sign of others in the alley, or at its end.

Rhaef smiled as Wei-Li said she was okay. This was encouraging. They walked out of the alley and moved into the mild pedistrian traffic, his alert for a pawn shop. He turned to Wei-Li and asked, "So what's our story? Siblings looking for work? Married couple on their honeymoon? Business folks working a big sale? Lovers having a clandestine meeting?"

Wei-Li gives Rhaef a puzzled look, then, finally catching on smiles.  She looks at him, and then at herself and laughs.  "I think our best bet is going to be tourists right now..."

"Works for me," Rhaef replies as they continue to walk further from the hospital. His mind was already spinning out what their future moves would be.

Wei-Li looks around, and then looks back at Rhaef.  "One problem... this doesn't look like the touristy part of the city..."

She said nodding towards the poeople around them.

As they continued to walk down the street, Rhaef's continued to dart around, ever watchful for different things - pawn shops, news reports of the breakout and other Alliance officials looking for them. He heard Wei-Li's comment and laughed lightly. "One thing is pretty much an absolute, Wei-Li, tourists almost always end up where they're not supposed to be."

"Not on Paquin..."  Wei-Li laughs and shakes her head.  "I can tell you that we're not going to find what we're looking for here... "

She sighs, thinking for a minute.  "We need to get further out from the center of the city... somewhere... less reputable... "

Rhaef shakes his slightly, trying to not think about where they were going. "I know, Wei-Li and I have a place in mind. I just need to ditch this first." Spying a pawn located off a back alley, he walks toward it. As they are about to walk in, he turned to her, "How do you feel about guns? I am not excited about walking into the place we're going underarmed but if you don't use them, we will."

Wei-Li smiled wryly and shook her head.  "Well, the last time I tried using one... I got shot..." she answered.

"I can use one... just rather not.  If you say we need them... She paused and pursed her lips.  "Then I'll take your word for it."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:29, Fri 03 Mar 2006.

"I understand, Wei-Li, I'd just feel better if you were armed." They entered the pawn shop, and almost immediately elements of Rhaef's life came flooding back to him. There was something both foreign and familar about this place. He knew hed chosen the right shop. It had the feel of a man desperate enough to take risks on items, and more importantly desperate enough to make fair deals. Rhaef paused to look over the guns, the selection of blasters was fair. He saw what he thought would and be a fair trade. He walked to the counter and said, "Hello, anyone around?"

Wei-Li came in and looked at a few of the odds and ends for sale.  As she walked, she noted the cameras and security systems in use.  This was not an intentional casing of the place, but rather a regular exercize, something so ingraned that she simply does it.

She notices the cameras that are hidden in certain objects-- object no-one in their right mind would buy, like the bloody hand holding a rattler as it battles a stuffed mongoose.

She remanined silent, watching Rhaef and their surroundings.

Rhaef too noticed the security cameras, but knew at this point it could not be avoided. He walked to counter and waited for the shop-owner to appear. "Hey man, there are other joints in the city, so if you don't want our business, we can move along."

"Yeah yeah, hold  your horses..." came the answer from the back.  "Be with you as soon as I finish with this..."

There was a slight shuffling sound from the back, but no sign of the owner.

Rhaef waited as the shuffling down in the back finished. His instincts sharpened since their adventure in the hospital, he stood in such was the product and boxes throughout the store obscured his face on the security feeds. Out the corner of his eye, he observed Wei-li wandering the store. He motioned to her to come and join him.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Mon 06 Mar 2006.

It takes a few moments for Wei-Li to catch on and then she moves up next to Rhaef.  "What's up?" she asked quietly as she continued to note their surroundings.

"Can you cry on demand? I have a story for how we came into possession of the weapon, if there's any push back, but it might require you to shed some tears over a lost brother." Rhaef replied quietly, setting the pieces in place for this new game.