Daycycle 16 [JAN 11-15]

[computerized]

DAYCYCLE 16

[ JAN 11 - 15 ]

MORNING

Troubleshooter Team: G. Maecenas and T. Stark

Mission:  Apprehend the rogue scientist Naldo Daly and bring him into custody to stand trial for his crimes against Alpha Complex.

All other Troubleshooters:  You are to report to your Service Firm positions for the day, until called on for Troubleshooter duty.

Specials will remain in their temporary quarters until repairs are completed on their RED quarters.

1202 - S. Rogers - G. Maecenas

1203 - A. Hardison  - Parker

1204 - R.Palmer - B. Allen

1205 - D.Grayson - T. Stark

1206 - J.Wilcox - M. Farrell

1207 - S.Groves - L. Martin

1208 - P. Carter

Intel: Rumor has it that the Illuminati will be meeting at an unknown location tonight.

AFTERNOON

At noon a hate demonstration will be held in the commissary against the Specials.  Any Specials present will be called out for being traitors who think they’re better than everyone else.  The hate demonstration will be met with some pushback from those Alpha Troubleshooters who were affected by Steve Roger’s speech.  The demonstration clearly dwindles into a fist fight that has to be pulled apart by a squad of Internal Security guards.

EVENING

At 1930 Alpha Complex will be rocked by an explosion from the Power Services sector followed by a blackout that will last approximately two hours.  During that time only devices with independent battery sources will be available for use.

There is no sleep aid gas expelled tonight..

Comments

it's beauteous yo no worries!

[shrinkage]

He'd been wandering-- not quite aimlessly, considering moving around in the dark does require some semblance of purposeful direction, but Ray had no real destination in mind. That is, until glass shatters and makes him jump. The door opens silently (gosh those complex maintenance guys are fantastic at their jobs, huh?).

"Hello?" His voice carries through the room despite the quiet tone he uses. It'll be just his luck to get booted for treason, but his curiosity gets the best of him. Ray further into the room, one careful foot in front of the next.

"Is ... everything OK in here?" He sighs, mumbling to himself: "And now I'm talking to possibly empty rooms. This is my life."

[sanguinescry]

Lydia has clamped both hands over her mouth, hard, and is taking shaky breaths through her nose trying to stay quiet when she hears the voice initially. One word isn't nearly enough to recognize someone's voice, and Lydia doesn't, at first, squeezing her eyes shut when she hears the man entering the room.

It's when he continues on, first asking if everything is okay and then muttering something to himself when the recognition finally clicks. Lydia's only about ninety percent sure and she still has the darkness and familiarity with the lab on her side, so if she's wrong, she still might be able to escape.

"Ray...?" she asks, her voice still watery with fear, and she's already on her hands and knees, feeling around with one hand and propelling herself forward with the other slowly and carefully in case she needs to hide again or slip around him once he's further inside, if it isn't Ray.

She has a pretty good hunch that if it is, he'll sound confused and surprised and maybe even guess who she is because there aren't an awful lot of female Specials to choose from, whereas her name could be anyone's guess if they were trying to pick her voice out of the rest of the Alphas. On the other hand, if it isn't, she thinks the person will just respond affirmatively and try to lure her out.

[shrinkage]

"Yeah..."

His tone shifts as he registers what he assumes is uncertainty behind the speaking of his name. His first conclusion is that maybe he'd startled someone else doing something the Computer wouldn't approve of. That it's most like his position as Troubleshooter is the problem.

"It's just me. Whatever you were doing, it's OK. I get it. I'm not supposed to be here either so we'll just pretend this never happened." He doesn't move-- part of the unspoken agreement here is that he gets a name as well. "Deal?"

[sanguinescry]

Lydia lets out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and she grabs the corner of the nearest counter, dragging herself up to her feet and using it as a crutch to follow the sound of his voice. The more he talks, the more she's sure it's him and this is safe.

"I thought you were—" she stops short, her voice much closer to him than it had been when she'd started by calling out his name. Lydia's hands grope through the darkness at her own eye level because that's where she thinks Ray's shoulders should approximately be, so she won't be poking him in the eye or grabbing him somewhere inappropriate. It doesn't occur to her that he's fishing for a reciprocal name because she's still wrapped up in the emotional whiplash of being terrified of another attack and the relief that crashed over her like a tidal wave upon realizing that it wasn't a regular Alpha, it's a Special — one of the two she happens to trust.

Instead, her hand finally hits something solid and she throws her arms around him, pushing her face against the stiff fabric of the jumpsuit covering his chest. "I thought it was a— I thought you were one of the—" she shakes her head against him and stops, forcing herself to take a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I thought you were one of the Anti-Specials...and I haven't finished learning to fight. I'm so glad it's you, you scared the shit out of me, but I'm so glad it's you."

[shrinkage]

For Ray, it's a completely natural reaction to hug back when he feels arms wrap around him. By now Lydia's identity's crystal clear, and he's already chastising himself for yet again causing her some level of distress. Where before she'd been able to pile the walls up around herself, he'd clearly caught her off guard this time.

"I'm so sorry, Lydia. I had no idea. I was just wandering..." I haven't finished learning to fight? Oh, dear. "To be frank it sounds like I dodged a bullet, here. I never even started learning to fight."

Both humor and truth, Ray's hoping that one lightens the mood a bit. But yeah he's also maybe bracing for a slap, here.

[sanguinescry]

His response surprises a sound out of Lydia, something caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob before the laughter takes over. She's crying and she doesn't realize it, but she's laughing, too, because he's so stupid and she loves him and she knows she's safe with Ray.

"Shut up," she half laughs, half sobs, shaking her head against his chest.

Belatedly, she realizes that she's literally clinging to the poor man like her life depends on it and she lets out a shaking huff of a sigh before finally letting go. "I was wandering too, because I'm the stupidest genius," she admits, sniffing a little as she wipes her face with her palms. Lydia finally turns the screen of her device back on, then, illuminating the space between them and leaving her squinting as her eyes adjusted.

[shrinkage]

He laughs back, happy to hear that she's coming back from the scare.

"Hey, can I join your club? That's right up my alley." He doesn't have tissues or handkerchiefs to offer, but Ray can at least just be still and let Lydia work herself out in this moment. If nothing else, talking with her makes it easier to get back to himself, too. Yesterday's random drugging had restructured his thought process enough that he still isn't sure which way is up.

Realizing he still cares about a friend is a pretty good salve for that kind of illness, at least.

[sanguinescry]

Shaking her head, Lydia laughs again. "God..." she mutters, amused, as she's wiping her eyes again with the heels of her palms. "You can join the club if you promise you won't ever leave me here, huh? Sometimes I think you and Barry are the only reason I haven't gone completely bonkers from the stress," she said.

[shrinkage]

"Deal. Well, as much as I can guarantee something I barely understand." He chuckles again, and moves around Lydia to one of the work tables. There's got to be some version of a tissue box around here, right?

"Full disclosure: I was wandering around trying to see if I could access some unused sub-sectors I found in some blueprints." He turns his PDC on, using the ambient light from the screen to try to get a better look around the room. The light turns toward his face, which sports a mischievous grin. "Figure you should know, since you'd probably be suspected as an accomplice, now."

Only half-successful, Ray breathes an a-ha! and holds out a box of lab tissues toward Lydia.

[sanguinescry]

Running her hand through her hair, Lydia watches Ray move and presses her lips together. Of course he's been wandering to get himself into trouble, that's just what Ray does.

"Great, thanks for that, sweetie," she sighs with playful dramatics.

She smiles a little and takes the box with a whispered, "thank you." Lydia clears her throat as she takes a tissue and dabs at her eyes and then her nose. "What do you want them for?" she asks, "the sub-sectors? What are you up to...?"

[shrinkage]

Ray barks out a slightly too-loud laugh at Lydia's dramatics. He'll never get tired of her generous use of terms of endearment. He does catch himself, hushing his voice to a whisper and closing the space between them again to keep the quiet intact.

"Well-- don't you think it'd be nice for the Specials to have somewhere to gather?"

[sanguinescry]

Still looking amused, Lydia quickly holds a finger up to her lips at his slightly too-loud laugh, because the last thing either of them needs is to be caught in the forensics lab in the middle of a blackout with no explanation beyond "we were just wandering around in the dark, no big deal."

Ray moves closer so that he can keep his voice low but now that she's not afraid for her safety, that closeness is more distracting than it is comforting. Lydia chews on her bottom lip and looks back up at him.

"Do you think that would be safe...?"

[shrinkage]

"We have to start trusting each other. Otherwise, we're never going to find any answers."

He shrugs; the idea of personal safety has never stopped Ray from doing what he believes is right. Unfortunately that sometimes coincides with doing what's stupid.

"If that just means someone has to take the risk first, then that's what I'll do."

[sanguinescry]

Lydia shakes her head a little. "No, that's not what I mean. I'm not worried so much about the other Specials as I am getting found and reported as a secret society," she admits. "We have to think bigger picture perspective, is it worth the risk, you know what I mean?"

Which is not to say that she's counting herself out, because she isn't. Lydia steps back from Ray and starts toward the door leading out of the forensics lab, her hand covering the screen of her PDC to stifle the bright light. "Well, are you coming or not? Let's go before I change my mind," she whispers to him, a little grin on her face as she nods out toward the hall.