Court

Court restlessly paced. It had been two days since Lucy went back. She hadn't called. She hadn't texted. She hadn't even posted an anonymous message on any of the forums they frequented. She was so silent, he was about to go crazy.

"I'm back," came a most welcome carol.

Court paused and slowly turned. San was staring at Lucy blankly before shaking his head and returning to the video game Court had set up in one corner of their hideout. Don had procured the games from somewhere. Court hadn't bothered to ask where.

"Oh, Luce," Dawnie's soft exclamation was all that Court needed before he was charging towards her.

"Hey! Hands off the merchandise," Lucy said with a small smile, jerking away from Court.

"Lucy!" Court felt the anger start to bubble.

Despite her attempt at nonchalance, she was sporting an obvious black eye, and he bet that her arms under the jacket she was wearing also had bruises. She'd tried to cover it with makeup, but it was raining outside and the humidity was clumping up the concealer.

"It's no big deal. It'll heal in a few hours anyways," Lucy said, pushing past Court to sit on the sofa next to San.

"Yeah, Lucy always heals," Dawnie remarked as she pulled out another IWA bar, this one wrapped in colorful pink and red. "Mmm, they've almost got the taste of strawberries right with this one."

"I should—" Court began.

"You should nothing," Lucy broke in. "My father would kill you, skin you and hang you on my bedroom wall to prove that there are some things I shouldn't be doing…ever." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not ten anymore."

Court stomped away. He slid into the chair in front of his rig, still fuming. The rig was simple, much more so than the usual hacker setup. There were four screens set up in a square in front of him and a keyboard underneath. Assorted drinks and snacks were piled up in a corner of the desk, threatening to fall over with every keystroke. The snacks weren't the same ones that had been there earlier; Don had a habit of filching them and then replacing them with whatever he came across. Don could never remember what he ate, only whether it was good or not.

Court tried to focus on the Ella problem. While he'd been interested to know that the parties involved had also been in the process of scooping him up as well, he didn't take it that seriously. Ella had been in their hands for years, and the fact that she wasn't in a maximum security facility or worse showed that they had no clue what she was capable of.

It was a fact that some of the children in the creches had been destined for containerhood. They were mixed in with the other children and treated no differently. Finding out that they were planning on tagging Lucy in that manner was what had inspired Court to plant the idea of escape in Aarti's head. Aarti, because of her unique constitution, was less constrained than the others. Quell simply didn't work on her as well as it did the rest.

Court glanced at Lucy who was laughing at something Dawnie said. It wasn't hard to guess that they were talking about makeup as a veritable whirlwind of lipstick and used cotton applicators were wreaking havoc in that part of the hideout. San ducked away and strode off, avoiding lipstick and what looked like the bronzer that Lucy had acquired before her trip home.

That thought threatened his equilibrium. He forcefully shoved it away as he concentrated on Ella and the facility that housed her. The computers underneath the desk started to hum, and the screens filled with information, both video and text.

"See, he's forgot already," Dawnie said next to his ear.

Court's eyes flew open. Lucy was waving a hand in front of his face, smiling. She was now sporting a weird shade of dark purple lipstick that somehow suited her. He caught her hand, mustering up a smile for her.

"Forgot, huh?" Lucy said, plopping in his lap. "I have this great idea right now."

"No," Court said automatically. The last time she'd had a 'great idea,' two city blocks had gone up in flames. They were lucky he'd been able to erase the surveillance in time. "Why don't we get ice cream instead?"

"But my idea is really, really great!" Lucy protested. She leaned into him, drawing little circles on his chest.

Court went blank. He could vaguely recall a long ago conversation between his parents about adolescence and hormones and lack of control. Lucy's lips were still moving, but he couldn't quite understand what she was saying. His whole brain seemed unable to focus on anything other than that light, teasing pressure on his chest.

"So, doesn't that sound awesome?" Lucy finished. She blinked those brilliant blue eyes at him.

"Awesome," Court nodded. He scrambled to remember just what he was complimenting. He caught a glimpse of Dawnie's amused expression. "What?" He mouthed at her who slowly shook her head.

"I so agree! So, let's go rob a museum!" Lucy stood up, brushing off her pants.

"A museum?" Court finally caught up. He frowned.

"You need to develop some immunity or she's going to lead you around by the nose until the day one of you dies," Dawnie said. She took a bite of the bar in her hand. "The one who dies is probably going to be you because Lucy seems to be indestructible."

"I'm not indestructible," Lucy protested. She glanced at the screens and frowned. "Are they discussing moving Ella?"

"What? No, the bigwigs all think the kids are safe and harmless. They want to start giving them back in a few months," Court started paying attention to the screens of information he'd just pulled up.

"That's not what this email says," Dawnie said, leaning forward. "Isn't this weird? This isn't like the other addresses."

"That's because it isn't one of the government's. Hang on." Court's fingers flew over the keyboard, refining the search.

"This one mentions overlords," Dawnie said, easily keeping up with the shifting information onscreen.

"Seriously? I was just going to go have fun," Lucy complained.

"No, this what's worse," Court cut in.

One of the screens suddenly enlarged and transferred to the television. In stark black letters against a white background were two questions.

"Just who is Sphinxie? And where do we find her?"