greatoldjohn | TLV Inbox

[Continued from here!]

"Fuck--"

He keeps his voice low, but the sound of combat is sharp in his ears as he darts low across the hall: he thinks of his gun and immediately dismisses it. Not him, not with an ally, he'll just make things worse.

"We can't help right now, let's just-- grab her and run," he mutters quickly. "Where is Nat?"

[On the ground, thirty feet away, half that from the fighting. I don't see any blood but her neck is-

Fucker.]

"Focus, John," he warns, "I need you."

He keeps his hand on the wall as he moves swiftly closer, trying to gauge his steps so he doesn't overshoot.

Edited 2022-12-11 20:53 (UTC)

[Stay to the right. They're close in with one another- we're passing them now. Go low to stay out of their way. We're almost there now; two feet to the left and another five- here. We're here. She's-

She's here, Arthur.

If we can grab her and get her to the stairs, we can be completely clear. The stairs aren't ideal but it's better than trying to get past the fight.]

"Okay." The logistics of this are a fucking nightmare, as he crunches the numbers quickly. "Let's-- over my shoulder, my right. Best not to drag her upstairs."

It's going to be a fucking miserable time for John, either way, but it's not like they have a choice, as he reaches to grab Nat's arm.

Aaaaaand here comes Misty, rounding the corner and zeroing in on the body on the floor.

"Oh, god--" she breathes, dropping to check her pulse. She looks very, very dead, but the impulse is automatic.

[Misty just came down the stairs and skidded in. She's checking Natalie's pulse-

Ask her to help you get Natalie on your shoulder. We need to go. Now.]

"Oh, fucking perfect." It's a muttered hiss that Misty won't miss whatsoever, but he lifts his head towards her voice regardless. "Miss Quigley, do be so kind as to help me get Nat on my shoulder. Now."

He's not going to bother waiting for her, instead just reaching down to grab Natalie's forearm to try and hitch her up.

"This was fast," she murmurs as they talk to each other, running a thumb over the break. "Instantaneous."

The idea of trying to document the scene the way she had with Tim crosses her mind: taking notes, taking pictures, solving the exciting murder mystery. But Taylor, ultimately, hadn't been entirely wrong back then. There aren't any clues here. John and Arthur have already contaminated the scene. Nothing and no one will be able to give them better information than Natalie herself, and for that to happen--

"No, not like that; be careful," she snaps, moving to cradle Natalie's neck when Arthur makes a grab for her arm. "One holds her legs, and the other holds her shoulders."

[Tell her we'll know how she died and who did it once we're clear!]

He does not want to bring Misty's attention to the fight going on or the fact that one of the combatants is the killer. That is not a distraction they need right now.

[Okay, Arthur, we're going to shift and just slide under her arms; our chest will hold up her head. Misty can take the legs; she's shorter and she can face forward with one leg in either arm. That way she can lead. ]

Edited 2022-12-12 00:03 (UTC)

"She is already dead, Misty, how the fuck can I make it worse?"

He is in no mood to acquiesce to her on the best of days, least of all when they are very much under threat, but he'll follow John's direction, and both arms get underneath Natalie's to cradle her with surprising delicacy to his chest.

"Face forward, Misty, take her legs and help me get her upstairs. We'll take the elevator there."

"Misty does as instructed, shooting a quick glance over her shoulder before facing fully forward. Her eyes are hard when she looks at Arthur's face, but she still says, "A little more to the right," trying to make sure that he doesn't bump into the wall as he walks.

[...she's right, a little more to the right. Not too much and you can use the wall to guide your shoulder. I'll tell you when the landing's coming up.]

He doesn't shift when Misty advises; only when John does, making a point to try and keep his shoulder close to the wall so he can feel it brushing on his sleeve.

"Miss Quigley, we can explain what happened to her," he says, his tone short and clipped. "But we need to get her and ourselves to safety. The infirmary."

"I didn't ask you what happened to her," she says, biting back the urge to point out that jumping on the defense makes people look suspicious. "And in case you haven't noticed, I am helping you get her to safety. Concentrate on walking, not talking. Left this time."

[She's guiding you correctly. I'll help as well, but you can follow her lead. I don't think she wants to drop Natalie.]

He doesn't hide the grimace of open displeasure, at having to follow Misty's directions; he just makes sure his grip is secure, over Nat's chest to give John the extra support.

"Elevator doors behind you." As they stop, she takes the opportunity to glance over her shoulder again. "The call panel's to the right of that. Hit the button with your elbow."

[...are you fucking kidding me, Misty?]

There's a huff inside of him. Don't worry, Arthur, he's also annoyed.

[Fighting her will just take more time. I'll guide you back.

Once we get in the elevator, Misty should put Natalie's legs down and tell someone what's happening. We'll be clear and protected by then, but whoever's fighting the killer might need help.]

Edited 2022-12-12 01:15 (UTC)

Arthur pointedly does not press the button, and it's only a little bit because he's rankling at Misty's orders.

"Miss Quigley, we can get Nat to the infirmary ourselves. Go back and call someone, find another warden to stop the fighting now."

"What are you-- I have her legs, I can't just drop her." Shifting around herself, she carefully turns until she's parallel to the elevator, awkwardly using her elbow to hit the button to ding the doors open. "My communicator's in my pocket. Where's yours?"

Ugggggh. No noise, but he's just a little frustrated. His voice holds a bit of that.

[Guide her to the idea, Arthur, just as you did for me early on. The sooner we're through with this, the sooner we can help Natalie and young Mandrake.]

He's not sure the effect of mentioning Arthur's ward to him right now might be but he has to hope that it reminds Arthur of what's important here.

[The legs can be put down for a moment; feet go on the ground anyway and we're holding her top half.]

"Misty, I can carry her on my own," he says, and it's not a snap but it is unbelievably tense. "What I can't do is use any sort of communications device to make the call myself, mine is in my jacket-" the one he is conspicuously not wearing "-and John is attending to his inmate. That bastard downstairs also killed mine, and is no doubt going to kill whoever he's fighting, whom we don't know to be able to identify."

He is trying very hard not to loose his patience but this is so fucking trying. "Please, Misty, call someone. We're not going to let anything happen to Natalie, and we are wasting time arguing."

Edited 2022-12-12 02:07 (UTC)

"Her neck is broken; you're not carrying her over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Whatever happens to her body while she's dead comes back to her during the death toll. We can't let her head flop around."

As she relays this not-entirely-correct assessment of how death tolls work, she wiggles one of Natalie's legs under her arm, pinning it there as she pulls out her communicator.

"Take her head in first; I need to be near the doors so I can press the button." Into her communicator, she adds, "Level [X], hallway. Two, maybe three down."

The message is then sent off to Dracula, who she hopes to god is not alone on infirmary duty today.

[That does not match with what I was told, not that it's worth the argument. She's probably being overly protective.]

He knows he would be. He knows he is. The fact that they got Nate to the infirmary before coming to get Nat is something he's just going to have to live with, even if he stands by that choice. Even if it was the smart call.

[If you turn your head, Arthur, I can guide you backwards. As I recall, there's a slight lip between the door and the floor, so lift your feet a little higher than you would normally on the way out.]

...does he want to argue about whether they should be going backwards? Is Arthur still blind, Misty? For fuck's sake? Yes. Does he think it will do anything more than make them carry Nat for longer? No.

On my way. comes from Dracula's communicator.

During Murdertimes

Re: During Murdertimes

Re: During Murdertimes

Re: During Murdertimes

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject