Quote:
Originally Posted by Vael
[House - Inside]
And so Charlie unwittingly gives Soldier Girl the piece of information she needed to know so her plan could be put into action.
Finding the nearest object to do the job, and remaining in the van so she can't be seen by anyone in the house, she'll gag him with a piece of cloth, then retrieve a splinter from the wood and rope bonds he had around him. With practiced precision and efficiency, she dips it into a vial from her medical kit, and then will jam it completely into Charlie's arm, where it will dissolve with strange rapidity, until there is nothing left but the hole it entered in.
"You were right, Charlie. It's time to go. Your friend bargained for your release, and so I'm letting you go together. But I've poisoned you- I won't say with what, but I find it quite unlikely that anyone else will be able to give you the antidote in time.
"You have a few hours at most- enough time to get to Remnant, or to turn yourself over to me. Do so within that time, and I'll be able to administer the antidote. Otherwise, you'll die."
This accomplished, Soldier Girl will relieve Charlie of his cellphone, then leave him bound and gagged in the back seat of the van. She shuts the door behind her, then head back inside to begin searching for the grandmother- presumably the remaining cult member has seen her take Charlie to the van, if the message was true, and has started out to join him.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by happyturtle
Charlie's Plot
Linda edges near the van door, still holding Grandmother. She fishes the keys out of her pocket, leans in and starts the van with one hand. Then she eases into the seat. At the last minute, she shoves Grandmother hard, towards Latas, and tries to speed off.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vael
[House - Outside]
Latas will allow them to leave, keeping the grandmother as her priority at the moment. She'd risked enough by poisoning Charlie, after all, and wasn't sure she should have even attempted that. That said, she managed to pull it off, so hopefully things would go well from here.
"Don't move any more. I'm going to take care of this." Latas says as she tries to gently assist the grandmother in sitting or laying down. No more movement than that until she figures out where she is wounded. Latas gets out her medical kit and begins inspecting the injury, though she'll call out to the others inside the house while she does so.
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Linda drove away, in high speed, knowing they'd be tracked and pursued. She had to get Charlie to safety. What had they done to him?!
She adjusted her mirror and saw him in the back, bound and gagged. She couldn't afford to stop yet, but once she got into the heavily urban part of the city. She called ahead, and when she pulled into a parking garage, there was another cult member ready to swap vehicles with her. Linda pulled her beloved Charlie out of the van, and the other driver jumped in and drove off, to try and draw off the pursuit.
Jan was already behind the wheel of a rather plain looking hatchback - the kind that was common enough in the city to avoid notice. Linda untied Charlie and removed his gag.
"You're injured?"
Charlie pulled Linda into a deep kiss and looked into her eyes. "Nothing serious. But it's time to go."
They climbed in the back seat, while Jan drove, according to Charlie's instructions. Elsewhere, Remnant was pursuing the van, and the little blue hatchback escaped notice at first. By the time they reached the cliffs over the harbour, the switch had been discovered. The satellite feed was studied, the backtrail of the van scoured. There were several places where the swap could have been made, and many vehicles to investigate.
Charlie made it easy for them. He got out of the car and stood on the cliff's edge, looking to the sky. He wanted them to see him - if not live, at least in their recordings.
And he also wanted his Family to see it. He ordered Jan to record on her phone as he made his last sermon to his followers.
To most people, it was barely coherent hate-speech, blaming all of the world's ills on the mixing of races. His true believers heard it as an inspirational call for humans to take their rightful place as leaders and caretakers of the Nexus.
"My children - I will always love you. I will always watch out for you and guide your hands."
He threw himself backwards off the cliff, his arms outstretched in crucifix style. But before he reached the water, he vanished.
Linda and Jan escaped before Remnant was able to track them. The recording of Charlie's last words and his miraculous escape from death circulated among his followers. There was treachery. One of their members who had been captured during the robbery expressed remorse for the extremes they had gone to. She claimed that she believed in human
noblesse oblige and racial purity, but not in murder. She was given a lenient sentence in exchange for the information she was able to provide about the Family. They lost some of their safehouses and some of their members. But the Family grew.
They had a new leader named Brian. He wasn't as charismatic as Charlie, but he was more focused. He was respected, rather than loved. He organized the tenement fire, disgusted by the mixing of races - so many in one building. The death of Remnant's fire chief was hailed as a victory.
Linda felt Charlie's presence in her heart, but she ached for him. When Brian came up with his plan to assassinate Magtok during his live broadcast, she volunteered at once.
Maybe she could be a martyr for Charlie.
Maybe she could join him.