- you should see the view -

Lincoln Cole || 31 || Delivery Worker || Electromagentic Vision

[lincoln-cole]

atreus-trower‌:

Atreus definitely blamed himself for making things weird since he’d been the one on the brink of begging Lincoln to smuggle him out of this place. He wasn’t going to argue it though, knowing from experience that it would only make things less comfortable. 

“Yeah?” In spite of having an entire pharmacy list of things he’d love to have smuggled in to him, Atreus was currently more distracted by the fact that Lincoln was extending the offer to him. “What’re your rates like?” He asked with a faint grin, jumping off the stair and stepping into the growing daylight.

Lincoln smiled when the man seemed to perk back up, breathing easier when the topic of conversation shifted away from something that could potentially get him thrown in here alongside Atreus.

As he hopped off the stair and stepped into the rising sun, Lincoln shook his head at the man’s question. “No, no,” he waved a hand. “No rates. It’s just...my way of helping, I guess. This place isn’t exactly home sweet home and I’d hope someone would offer the same to me if, you know, I was in here. So, if you needed anything...” he trailed off, extending the offer again.

[lincoln-cole]

lelandplz‌:

Leland made a face as Lincoln’s words sounded very final, as if all hope for him had passed awhile back. It was ridiculous considering the guy didn’t look a day over thirty-five. 

“Yet. Give yourself time.” He encouraged. “It took me a long time to find my Mildred, And let me tell you, there was no shortage of dolls along the way.” It was impossible to guess it now from Leland’s baby-face and weirdly high-waisted pants, but back in his day he’d been the ‘bad boy’ of every parent’s nightmares. He’d also been an incredible douchebag, but Leland was old (and possibly senile) enough to have a solid pair of rose-tinted glasses when it came to the past. “Give it time, but don’t cheat yourself along the way. With a face like that I’m sure you clean up.”

Lincoln, for what it was worth, hung off of every word out of Leland’s mouth. He wasn’t one to miss on wisdom, no matter who it was coming from. The last thing he expected to do today was strike up a conversation with someone so interesting and even if he was still trying to figure the other man out, he took the words to heart. 

The compliment made him duck his head a little in embarrassment, not one to gracefully accept them. He was shy when it came to attention like that, no matter the intention behind the words. “Well, thank you,” he told Leland and then paused, looking at the other man curiously. The temptation finally got the better of him. “I’m sorry if it’s rude to ask, you can tell me to screw off, but...how old are you?” 

[lincoln-cole]

go-monroe‌:

Jack had found Belmont to be an absolute maze, but maybe that was because his orientation had seemed to fall directly after the place had been in some sort of crisis. Staff and detainees alike seemed frazzled, but nobody would talk to him about what had happened.

Standing at a fork in the sidewalk for several moments, he finally decided to do the unthinkable and turned to someone to ask for directions. 

“Hey,” He started, his frustration tinted with apology. “Do you know which direction the Rec Center is in?”

Things seemed much different inside the facility now than the last time he’d been here. Calmer than the chaos that had erupted, but there was a new tension humming in the air that Lincoln wasn’t really a fan of. Like a wrong word or look could set someone off. And he was still waiting for any consequences of what he’d done during that day to come back and bite him, but so far, no one had given him any indication that he wasn’t in the clear. 

The voice caught him off guard, lost in thought as he carried a few packages on a dolly he wheeled along the floor. Ah, new employee. Lincoln gave the man a half smile. 

“Sure, I’m headed that way. I’ll walk you there.” He motioned for the man to follow him. “First day?” 

[lincoln-cole]

electricxatkinson‌:

There was the box containing a small pile of  parts from various old pieces of equipment that sat in a box at her feet. She’d been tasked with either bringing them back to life or re-purposing what was broken beyond repair into something else useful for the facility. She’d been on a roll; cameras fixed, wiring repaired for control panels, the box was almost empty. 

That is, til a guard passed by and tossed an overflowing box onto her desk…right onto her latest project. “More work, Atkinson.” 

“Well gee, thanks asshole! Wasn’t like I was halfway through fixing that or anything!” 

Lincoln caught the tail end of a very disgruntled call from inside an office, just as a guard was coming out with a very pleased looking grin on his face. Shaking his head, he stepped inside Marissa’s office. They didn’t know each other well, but Lincoln usually had a delivery or two for her when he showed up. 

Today was no different, a padded envelope beneath his arm that he took out and placed on her desk, an amused look on his face as he looked at the box of parts in front of her. 

“That looks daunting,” he commented dryly, trying to lighten the mood. 

[lincoln-cole]

pinotromeo‌:

Romeo forced himself not to panic when Lincoln reached for him, his rapid pulse slowing only once he realized the other wasn’t trying to hurt him. It was hard not to turn skittish and paranoid anytime his powers got involved, but he’d been caught in far too many precarious situations to let his guard down– especially now, around so many people with abilities of their own.

Carefully extricating himself from Lincoln’s grasp however reluctantly, he shook his head at the questions. “I have no idea what’s going on. If you mean Belmont, I doubt they’re behind it. Mutants aren’t supposed to be able to use their powers here.” It was one of the chief reasons why he’d chosen to work as such a godforsaken place (in addition to the fact that he needed to rebuild the rubble of his reputation somewhere out of the public eye). “The whole staff is scrambling.” The fact that a lockdown order still hadn’t been announced was concerning for a facility that tended to shut down if a student so much as missed curfew. 

Lincoln ground his teeth together in an effort to calm himself down, the muscles of his jaw tightening. He looked away from Romeo and back towards the flurry of activity behind them. The man in front of him didn’t know any more than he did, apparently and that was just as concerning as what was going on. If no one knew what was happening and this place was somehow failing in what it had set out to do, Lincoln didn’t know what to do. Maybe Romeo was right. Maybe he should get in his truck and go. 

Taking a deep breath, trying to quell the waves of anger and just unusual levels of his own thoughts and emotions washing over him, he looked back to Romeo. They were both staff here and while Romeo had a more permanent position that was here more often, Lincoln spent a lot of time in his truck, out on the road. He didn’t know much of the staff all that well except for when he made his deliveries and tried to socialize. “Do you need help?” he asked, frowning and once again taking in the man’s disheveled look and out of the ordinary wide eyes. 

[lincoln-cole]

sirenxvoice‌:

Morgan just stared at him and then at her hand. The key of his truck was there as well as her salvation. He gave her everything she needed to get out of Belmont, there was no turning back, but something in the back of her head began to bother her when Lincoln dissapeared in the opposite direction to help whoever was in need of help. She bit her lip and ran a hand thorugh her hair.

There was a time when she wouldn’t have hessitated to help people but after her first and last experience with someone “normal,” she didn’t want to do anything with them, not when she had seen what they did to her kind. They ysed them, say them as nothing more than animals and wanted their powers for their own selfish needs. Mutants were not saints either but they didn’t deserve to be treated like the worst scum of the earth just because they were different.

“Fucking hell,” she cursed and then ran in the same direction to follow him and make sure he didn’t get killed. The sirens and the flashing lights were making her head spin but she still managed to foudn the source of the screams. It seemed like there was a battle going on, guards and mutants were fighting and they were using whatever they had to submit the other.

“Damn it!” She turned around to see a guard coming towards her. “Stop,” she said and the man froze. “Drop your gun to the floor, walk away and go back to your room.” The man quickly left the place and she collided when someone else. “Shit!” She pushed everyone aside, looking for Lincoln when she finally found him helping a guard from the floor who had a bleeding wound on his head. She was going to go to him when she was knocked on the floor, hitting her head in the process.

Lincoln tried not to think too much on what he was doing. Tried not to feel fear that he’d just helped someone escape, that he’d just handed his only weapon over to a woman he barely knew and rushed head first into a room full of battle and unruliness. The guards seemed to be getting things under control. Lincoln wasn’t about to help fight anyone, but there were people on the ground, injured, and that was something he’d have no problem helping with. 

He helped a mutant first, helping them sit up from their prone place on the ground, a wound from one of the guard’s batons on their head. He grabbed the closest thing he could find to help staunch the bleeding of the head wound and advised the mutant, “Put pressure on that.” He made his way one by one, trying to help best he could until he finally came upon a guard with a similar wound. 

Just as he got the man to his feet, he heard a commotion behind him and turned to see the same woman whose hands he’d shoved his car keys and taser into get knocked to the floor. “Hey!” Lincoln bellowed, moving closer to the guard and putting a hand on his arm. The guard turned on him, like he was going to swing, but stopped when he saw it was another staff employee. “She’s not doing anything, there’s no need for that,” he scolded the man and if it was going to get him in trouble, he was beyond caring at the moment. 

He took a cautious step forward, intent on helping her, but more guards were filtering into the room and two grabbed her by either hand, shoving away her taser and his keys. He squared his jaw and wondered how long before someone realized whose they were. He watched her, silently and wondered why she’d missed her opportunity. Wondered what had made her turn back. 

[lincoln-cole]

lelandplz‌:

Leland’s smile in return was half-hearted, the mention of a decent sandwich reminding him of his late wife. It probably wasn’t that the sandwiches themselves had been so outstanding as to make him nostalgic and homesick as much as it was the way it’d made him feel to have someone looking after him the same as he’d looked after them. He missed Mildred. And he missed that feeling. 

“You married, Lincoln?” He asked intrusively, with a disregard that age and a strong sense of entitlement afforded him.

The question caught him somewhat off guard. He looked over at Leland for a moment, wondering once again if his assumption was correct. There were a lot of comments about age and wisdom coming out of Leland’s mouth that he was still on the fence with whether he should take it seriously or not. There were a lot of possibilities...body swap, anti-aging, insanity...he didn’t know which one he was actually dealing with here, but he decided to play along with whatever it was.

“I’m not,” he revealed, giving a shake of his head. “Wasn’t ever in the cards for me. You?”

[lincoln-cole]

atreus-trower‌:

Atreus was oblivious to a lot of things, but the reluctance radiating off of Lincoln was impossible to miss. 

“Yeah,” He halted, forcing a laugh and reaching to rub the back of his neck with a sheepish half-smile. “I mean, that makes sense. Sorry.” He confessed, feeling guilty for even thinking about asking anyone to take that kind of risk on his behalf. “I didn’t mean to make things weird. I know you have like, a job to do and stuff.”

The mood had changed and Lincoln couldn’t help but feel it was his fault. Some days, like today, he wished he was more in tune with himself and what it was he desired out of life. Wished he could take more of a stance against what he saw go on in this facility. Wished he could help people like Atreus, who upon first meeting, Lincoln didn’t believe for a second belonged in here. 

“No, it’s...it’s alright,” he shook his head, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. He gave the man a half smile, words playful to try and cheer the other man up. “I’m really good at making things weird.” 

An awkward silence fell for a moment before Lincoln cleared his throat. “Hey, you know if you ever...I don’t know, needed or wanted something from the outside...” he trailed off, giving another slight shrug. “I could bring you something.” 

[lincoln-cole]

sirenxvoice‌:

“Don’t!” Morgan hissed and grabbed him by the hand when he tried to geto out of the locker. She had seen enouhg scary movies and played too many horror games to know that when there was a creepy doctor involved, there was bound to be some failed experiment out of control and she was not ready to become dinner of some monster. “There’s something out there.”

A scream made her cover her mouth and press herself closer to Lincoln. Maybe this wa a bad idea after all. No, she couldnt’ think like this, not now when she was so close to get out of Belmont. The growls stopped and whatever was there left. Morgan swallowed and took a deep breath before slowly opening the locker and getting out, looking both sides if that thing decided to come that way again.

“We have to keep moving,” she said. Sirens began to make that horrible sound and she covered her ears for a moment. Screams of someone pleading for her made her bit her lip and look at him. “Should we go and help? I mean, what if it’s a mutant? Or it would even be a trap.”

The fog and the haze in front of his eyes was starting to clear a little. Especially when she grabbed him by the hand, hissing at him that there was something out there. He tried to ask her what was happening again, but a scream came from somewhere on the other side of the locker and if she hadn’t have pressed herself closer to him, he would have gone rushing out to see if he could help. 

The sound of the growls finally reached him and he licked his lips, ducking his head closer to hers and his fingers curled around hers in the smallest of comforting motions because he didn’t know what was out there, but she seemed frightened by it. When it stopped, she finally opened the locker and he was quick to step out behind her, eyes wide as they searched for any sign of danger. He wasn’t a fighter, lived a pretty safe life, this was something altogether new for him and his heart was pounding in his chest.

Sirens suddenly rang and he had to duck his head again, one hand lifting to his ear. A scream followed it and that did more to clear up his mind than anything else so far. They were begging for help. Her question of whether they should help had him pausing for a moment, something in his chest hardening and he’d never been a man of action, but that didn’t seem good enough in the moment. 

Turning to her, he grabbed her hand, shoving the taser into her fingers. “You follow this corridor, there’s a door on the right that’s marked private. It needs a passcode, put in 743902. Follow it to the exit. Remember what I said about my truck.” Then he let go of her hand and turned around to face where someone was yelling for help. His hands furled and unfurled into fists, like he was gathering the courage, before he started in the opposite direction, heading towards the pleas for help. 

[lincoln-cole]

sirenxvoice‌:

Morgan followed him, occationaly looking behind her to make sure they were not being followed. That was the last thing she wanted. If she got her powers back then it was a matter of time before the other mutants realized that they got theirs back as well and try to make a run for it. It owuld be very strange that one of them decided to remain there, but they got their reasons. She turned around a corner when she froze. “Stop!” She said to him and stared at the blood on the walls.

The screams coming from the end of the hall made her skin crawl and she pulled him to some lockers that were there and pushed him inside before she walked inside the narrow space and closed the door behind her. There were some growls that sounded animal like and Morgan wondered what kinds of things, besides mutants, they had in here.

Once she heard that the experiments sometimes failed or that they were so twisted that they had to be terminated before they could hurt the doctors, but she never believed it until now. Morgan clsoed her eyes and hoped that whatever was there went in the opposite direction.

Lincoln’s head was cloudy, fuzzy as he walked. He was intent on leading them out of here, to his truck. He barely even noticed anything was wrong until she suddenly told him to stop, grabbing the back of his shirt and shoving him into a locker. It was all happening so fast, in a blur that he didn’t question it. Even as she stepped inside, he was reaching a hand up to his head, trying to clear some of the fog and fuzziness. 

When he opened his eyes, there were bright colored waves in front of him, muffled and spiking in odd places, like a staticy radio station making a light show. He shook his head, pressing his eyes shut again to try and get rid of it. From outside the lockers, he heard someone’s radio crackling, a voice coming over the line yelling for backup, for help and it just made Lincoln’s ears ring, his head hurt in the process.

Focused so much on the lights dancing in front of his eyes, he couldn’t hear the growls, nor see the blood on the walls. His voice was low when he spoke. “What’s happening?” he asked, trying to reach for the door of the locker, intent on getting her to the exit she’d asked him to take her to. 

[lincoln-cole]

atreus-trower‌:

Atreus’ features twisted momentarily before settling into a neutral expression again. “I would leave while you still can. This hasn’t happened before, I don’t think. I’ve talked to people who have been here for years and I think they would have mentioned it.” He wanted Lincoln to leave before things could escalate, concerned for a stranger’s safety in the way that Atreus always had been. At the same time, his selfishness flared and he wanted to know that he could be taken away from this place too. He’d been waiting for his Prince Charming for years, and he wasn’t too proud to believe that they might come in the form of a foxy delivery guy. 

He paused, sending up a hail-Mary in the hopes that his mother’s ghost could vouch for him. “Do you have a way out of here? Like, if you wanted to leave right now, you could…” He guessed, praying that Lincoln was only staying put for curiosity.

Lincoln grew curious at the words, unsure what it meant at all. He’d worked here for two years and he, like Atreus, had never been told of an incident like this before. It was true, a part of him was curious, but it was also true that his own powers had been acting screwy all morning. In a way he’d come out to Alaska to try and get away from. Right now, in the early morning, he was finding some solace. “Yeah...” he said simply at the man’s suggestion that he get out while he still can. 

Though the next question had him lifting a brow at Atreus. He studied him for a moment because if he had to take a guess where the next question would lead, it wouldn’t be the first time someone had asked him for help. He helped in his own way, bringing in contraband, but never had he tried to smuggle a person out of this place. 

“Uh, yeah. I could,” he told him hesitantly, waiting for the follow up he felt coming. 

[lincoln-cole]

pinotromeo‌:

Romeo kept a close eye on Lincoln, ready to book it at the first sign of any unchecked impulses (also, he was just nice to look at). So far, the man seemed normal– or at least, by comparison. Some people had more inhibitions than others (or had better control over them).

Releasing the other’s wrist to glance warily around a corner, he answered distractedly, “I don’t know, but it looks like some of the mutants have gotten their powers back.” He intentionally avoided placing himself in that same category, still reluctant to admit his own status. He was more worried about a mutiny anyway, concerned that all the staff members had a veritable target on their backs. “Don’t you have a truck? What are you still doing here?” Before Lincoln could respond, Romeo grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hauled him out of the building, hopefully away from the chaos. 

Lincoln barely had time to process what Romeo was saying before the man was grabbing at his shirt and pulling him out of the building they’d been in. It was a little less restless now that they weren’t in the confined hallways, but the words were echoing in his ears. Some of the mutants have gotten their powers back. It occurred to him that it might explain why his own seemed to be going haywire that morning. 

“Wait, wait,” Lincoln demanded, reaching up to gently take hold of the man’s wrist, ignoring another wave of relaxation that washed over him. There were more important things to focus on. “Do they know what’s causing it?” His mind was in a tumultuous state of confusion. “Are they causing it?” A wave of anger washed over him and the next words were spoken with a threat to the words, completely out of character for the normally stoic and reserved man. “Because if they’re the ones messing with mine, I will fucking have words.” 

[lincoln-cole]

lelandplz‌:

Leland huffed a laugh, understanding exactly what Lincoln was talking about. As someone who was too old to even remember how old they were, he could testify to the fact that time and complacency did nothing to keep you flexible. 

“I’m just here because it’s cheaper than the retirement homes that Medicare won’t pay for.” He joked, forever oblivious to how absurd his words sounded coming from his face. “I practically had to beg them to take me in.”

Lincoln paused at the words, a slight, confused smile on his face as he tried to process them. This place held an assortment of different people and it was entirely possible he had heard him correctly, that the guy in front of him was older than his baby face would let on. He decided not to ask or call him on it. 

“I’m sure,” he said instead, corner of his mouth turning up in a smile. “If nothing else, at least they serve a decent ham sandwich,” he patted his stomach, trying to make light of the idea that the guy in front of him probably did not have a choice. That it was in all certainty a lie about why he was here. There were probably very few silver linings in here for people who didn’t have the ability to simply leave when they wanted to. 

[lincoln-cole]

bash-alvarez‌:

The sound of the fire alarm was like music to Bash’s ears. It definitely wasn’t the first one he’d set off and it wouldn’t be the last, unless he rotted away and died in this fucking place but he had no intention of doing that. There was less of a chance of that happening if he burned the whole place to the ground right now, though he knew he shouldn’t stay at the site of a fire for too long since it was bound to attract the attention of guards and officials and employees and shit. On that note, the driver happened to be there, wrestling with an extinguisher and looking like he wanted to put the fire out, which kind of pissed Bash off, honestly. Bash had low opinions of all members of the staff here simply because they worked for the damn place, though he did wish that they would stop being hot. First Romeo, now Lincoln. Not that Bash had a hard time hating guys he found attractive but it seemed like more of a waste than usual. 

“Too bad. It’s gonna happen. Don’t try to put the fire out.” It was the closest Bash would come to a warning, which he normally didn’t do anyway. He wanted this place to burn and badly. 

The warning sounded like he shouldn’t question it and for a moment, Lincoln floundered with the fire extinguisher in his hands. Smoke was filling the hallway, making his eyes water and he ducked his head, stepping slightly away from the fire to try and see the man better. He couldn’t claim to understand first hand what any of them went through in here. He brought in things for certain detainees from time to time, helped them in little ways when he could. But this was something different and there was a increasingly growing part of him that was sympathetic to anyone being held against their will. That didn’t mean he wanted to see chaos and destruction. Reform, maybe. Shut this place down, give people their lives back. Escaping would just mean they were running for the rest of their days. 

“If you do that, people will get hurt,” he tried to reason with the man. “And not the right ones.” The real words went unsaid. What did the man expect would happen burning down a place that could potentially be locking people into places they couldn’t escape from? Innocent people would die. Innocent people like the man standing in front of him. 

He took a deep breath and then another step next to the fire. “I’m putting this out.” 

[lincoln-cole]

sirenxvoice‌:

“If you’re not like them, prove it,” Morgan said, crossing her arms over her chest. It was clear that her words affected him greatly and that there was conflict in his eyes. Maybe he was here on his own free will, but that didn’t mean he had no knowledge of what was going on inside this place. She was already decided to scape alone. If she found a mutant on the way and wanted to follow her then so be it, but she had not heard anything so far and since everyone was still sleeping, they probably didn’t know about their powers coming back. It wasn’t like they were full restored but she wasn’t going to miss the chance of leaving Belmont for good.

Morgan was going to keep walking when he spoke and then did something that she never thought he would do. He threw her his keys. When hse caught them in her hands, she stared at them for a few seconds and then looked back at him.

“Oh, so you’re giving me a choice, that’s easy. I’ll go with option number one,” she said shrugging and then slapped him as hard has she could, hising and knowing that her hand was going to hurt after. Then she moved closer to him and looked into his eyes. “You know this place, all the exits, so you’l take me to the one you use, now.”

Lincoln had braced himself, not sure what to expect, but his head still snapped to the side when she slapped him. He felt copper in his mouth, his face stinging, but he just lifted a hand to put his knuckles to his cheek. She’d done exactly what he’d told her to do, so he couldn’t blame her, though he would have liked to have at least a black eye or something to show for this when it was all over. It would make it more believable if he got caught. 

He was just about to tell her that she needed to do it again when he caught her gaze. Her voice came like from a distance, etching it’s way across his brain and he didn’t have the words or the thought to question her. Didn’t take more than a second, like a hand guiding his thoughts and his motions. He nodded, unable and unwilling to do anything but obey. 

“Okay,” he told her, reaching forward and gently taking her by the wrist, turning down a hallway to the side. He knew these paths like the back of his own hand, walked them enough of his own free will. It wouldn’t take long to guide her out of this place. 

[lincoln-cole]

atreus-trower‌:

Atreus nodded, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips in spite of the fact that they were in the middle of a situation that could accelerate or implode at any moment.

“Yeah, it’s been a lot.” He didn’t know for certain if Lincoln knew what was going on, but he could only assume that he must at least have guessed at it. “They aren’t keeping you here, are they?”

Lincoln nodded. None of the officials told the delivery driver anything. He’d shown up and had been told to go about his business carefully, but that’d really been the only instruction he’d been given. He hadn’t questioned it, because that’s what he always did. 

At the question, Lincoln shakes his head. “Ah, no,” he told him, feeling a pang of sympathy because he could go home whenever he liked, but not Atreus. “Not yet, anyway,” he tried to make light of it. “Just, uh...I don’t know.” He eyed the other man for a moment before admitting, “Just kind of want to see what happens, I guess.” 

[lincoln-cole]

sirenxvoice‌:

“How dissapointing,” Morgan said. “You are just like them.” she added and then began to walk backwards. She didn’t want to be near this man anymore. He was a mutant, the same as she was, but they probably the people at Belmont didn’t know or they actually did but didn’t concider him a danger or his power that special to keep him here. She had felt so betrayed by a previous man when he revealed her pwoers to him, only to be taken from her bed the next day. She thought she was doing something good, helping him with a case of missing girls and it was the only time she realized she could probably trust someone outside the mutant comunity, but she was wrong. Apparently it was the same with other mutants, you couldn’t even trust your own kind.

She was locked inside a place she did not want to be and freaky doctors did all sort of strange things to her because of her powers and he didn’t want to help her. He was too scared or too much of a coward to do it. It was the only explication she could think about now. Even a normal human would try to get them to safety but someone like him, with skills beyond regular humans didn’t want to get in trouble.

“You don’t want to help, that’s fine,” Morgan glared at him. “Now get out of my way before I force you to bang your head against the wall over and over until I’m satisfied,” she said to him, looking into his eyes.

The words were like a slap in the face as soon as they were off her tongue and Lincoln felt like he’d been punched in the gut. You are just like them. It had him steeling his jaw and what had he really expected her to say or act when he refused to help her? She started moving away from him, like he was an enemy, like he was somehow going to hurt her. He didn’t think she’d believe him if he told her that he had no intention of hurting her, even if there was still a taser in his hand. Again, he felt himself torn between two loyalties. Sympathetic to those trapped in this place, but employed by the people running it. These people were here for a reason, right? 

It felt stupid even when he thought it. He’d had enough run ins and conversations with the supposedly dangerous people trapped in here to make his own conclusions and the fact that she was looking at him with such disdain in her eyes -- maybe she was right. He was no better than the people who’d put her here. 

“Okay, wait,” he said, shaking his head and a part of him already knew he’d come to regret this later. But, the truer part of him knew he’d regret it more if he didn’t take action right now. His hand shook slightly as he dug in his pockets, pulling out a key ring and regardless if there were more keys on there than just the one he was looking for, he held them up, jangling one in particular. 

“I’m not like them,” he said with more confidence than anything else he’d said to her today. “This is the key to my truck. If you make it to the administration building, it’s parked near the loading dock. Careful with her on sharp turns, she’s top heavy.” He hesitated for only a moment before tossing the keys in her direction. 

He stood there for another moment before bracing himself. “So you can either hit me or do your...mojo thing. Just make it look real.”