Chapter 5 - Trouble in Paradise (Alice)

[dakota]

" My place, we can take the train." Jason replied, his balance steadyied by alice's support. " I'll explain things a little better when we get there."

Without any interference except some odd looks by a transit authority guard, they made it to Jason's place, a less than stellar bungalow on the north side of the city, fairly quickly. As they entered, Jason motioned Alice towards the living room. " Make yourself at home, I have to change." With a quick glance around, Alice took notice that everything was laid out oddly.

After about ten minutes, Jason returned to the living room, the damaged suit laying acrossed his lap as he rolled his wheelchair in. " Now you understand why I needed your help. Thank you."

tag

[Mierin]

Seated on the end of a sofa, Alice blinks in surprise. All of a sudden, all the little things that her mind had not understood, but had stored away in all the excitement made sense. Exoskeleton. The way Jason had been wobbling when he walked. Alice nods and replies "You're welcome" in a quiet voice.

After a minute or two of silence, Alice asks "What happens now?"
(tag)

[dakota]

Jason got an embittered look on his face at her surprise, but dropped it quickly. " Now I fix my suit and wait for company to arrive. You can do whatever you want now, you should be in the clear."

He plugged his computer into the suit and turned it on, chuckling as a window popped up, telling him he had 62 unread new messages, which he promptly deleted and then began running a diagnostic. He asked over his shoulder. " I take it you're a closent monster?" She could easily picture his grin.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice flinches, a hurt feeling coming over her. The only thing Jason could have done to hurt her more at that moment would have been to go over to her and punch her in the face. After a minute, she starts to get angry. 'What the hell does he know?'she thinks angrily, glaring at the back of his head. 'He knows nothing about me at all! How dare he call me a monster?'

"I can do whatever I want now?" she asks, her voice hardening. "Fine. I'm leaving. Sorry to be such a bother. Goodbye." She grabs her purse and heads towards the door.

(OOC: Will be away 'til Monday)
(tag)

[dakota]

" It's only an expression. A friend used to say it to describe metas who tried to pretend to be normal and hide their talents." Jason explained, looking back as she started to depart. He shook his head. " Touchy one, aren't you? Fine, go. See if I care." He turned back to the computer screen grumbling. " I should have walked away and let those cops have their way with you and saved the ..." He spun around, annoyed and raising his voice," I take it you didn't know that those three have been investigated for rape twice and gotten away with it? No, I guess you wouldn't know anything like that." He turned back to his monitor.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice pauses at the door, her hand on the doorknob. Not looking at Jason, she spits "Given the way the cops acted, I can't honestly say I'm surprised to hear that. Besides, no one asked you to do anything. I can take care of myself!" She wrenches the door open and glares at Jason "Since you know NOTHING about me, I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself!" She then leaves the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

(tag)

[dakota]

"I was only.....Good riddance, you ungrateful ..." Jason shouts from inside , easily heard through the open windows as she starts away from the house. She can hear the door lock behind her.

As she makes her retreat, she passes a street dweller seated on a bench and overhears him mumbling to himself. It catches her slightly by surprise when she relizes the mumbling isn't coming from the man himself, but the paper bag in his hands, the voice low and controlled. " All units, be advised subject has been confirmed and is alone. Prepare to move in on my mark.

The man locks eyes with Alice, knowing full well his cover was blown as he began to raise his radio.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice freezes, her body tensing. ’Surely he wasn’t talking about her’ she thinks. Her mind screams at her to run away, but she resists for the moment. ’If they’re not talking about me,’ she thinks ’then running away will only make things worse. If that was about me…' her thought trails off, not wanting to continue.

For a split second, she considers going back to Jason’s apartment, but rejects the idea almost as quickly. Even if she did think he was a jerk, she didn’t feel right about leading the police to him. Besides, she figures that she’s the last person he’d want to see after her dramatic exit.

Alice starts to walks quickly towards the transit station. Once she rounds the corner, she starts to run towards the station as fast as she can. She thinks aobut how she wishes she could change the way she looks so that the cops won’t recognize her. ’Blonde hair, blue eyes, with a tan and being about 3 inches taller would fool them, I bet’ she thinks as she runs into the crowd at the transit station.

(tag)

[dakota]

Without any pursuit, Alice easily caught a train headed towards home. As she sat alone, she could overhear a pair of gossipers in the seat behind her.

" Did you see all them cops?"
" Yeah. Can't beleive that guy in the wheelchair was one of those freaks."
" Umm Hmm, to think my kids used to play in front of his house."
" I heard he even shot at the cops with some kind of ray gun."
" Someone was just pulling your leg."
"Maybe. At least they caught him."
" Oh no, he slipped away somehow. They aren't even sure how he did it."
"Well we won't ever see him again. He'd have to be crazy to go back with all those cops waiting for him."
" Umm Hmmm. Say, did you..." The conversation changed to something about a sale at Macy's that didn't hold Alice's attention near as well.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice's face freezes in shock. She quickly grabs a textbook and pretends to read it, while her mind races. One thing was for sure, the cops hadn't been after her. They'd been after Jason. A feeling of guilt grows, and she hopes that the gossipers are right and that Jason got away and was ok.

Alice gets off the train and walks quietly back to her apartment. Once she gets there, she throws her purse down and gets herself a drink from the fridge. She sits in the living room, trying to absorb everything that had happened. She realizes that she can no longer lie to herself and she needed to find out how it had happened.

(tag)

[dakota]

After a few minutes of reflection, the phone rings, startling her. It turns out to only be a wrong number, but something didn't seem right about the call.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice frowns, feeling worried as she hangs up the phone. She admits to herself that she's worried that the police will storm her apartment and, unlike Jason, she probably wouldn't be able to get away from them.

She walks towards the window and takes a peek outside, trying to see if anything suspicious is going on.

[dakota]

Outside, everything appears to be normal down on the street. At least as normal as it ever was. As she stood focused out the window, a loud wrapping came at the door.

[tag]

[Mierin]

Alice jumps in surprise at the knocking at the door. She looks around nervously for something she can use to defend herself with, if needed. Realizing she doesn't have anything, Alice resolves that if it's the cops from earlier, a good kick to the groin would help give her time to get away.

Taking a deep breath, Alice walks up to the door quietly, and looks through the peephole to see who is at the door.

(tag)

[dakota]

Peeking through, Alice is releived it is her former room mate, Jane. She knocks again, trying to look in the peephole back . " C'mon Alley, lemme in, I can see you right there."

[tag]