Stone's fragmented reply was enough of an indicator that either his inspection of her was unwelcome, or that she thought he was unforgivably brain damaged. "Got it, Tarzan," he said with a sheepish, but partially amused, grin. Her turnout, even the way her hands gripped her hips in slight challenge, was more teenager than it was adult woman. Even though she didn't look like Francis, Stone's expectant expression reminded him of her. She'd been enthusiastically edging at the full throes of teenagerdom before she died. Francis seemed to realize all at once that she was incredibly intelligent and that her dad was an idiot. For the first time in her life, she had realized that she could cross the boundaries set for her and redraw them on her own.
"Relax," Jude looked at her face, having seen all he needed from her bare arms. "You just looked like someone, I'm not nearly half that paranoid." The thing was, he probably should have been that paranoid by now. He chided himself for not considering the worst about her, because humans, outside of safehouses, had a habit of turning on one another. He'd had possessions stolen before, because he was immune. Some people considered that enough of a leg up in the world-- why the hell would he need a weapon (or a coat, or a pair of gloves, or a...) too?
Her face flashed with something only to be secured away. If he hadn't been looking, he would have missed everything and seen only the severe set of her mouth. He didn't understand what he missed, only that she felt the need to hide whatever it was. Jude shrugged gingerly, in a way he hoped communicated that he was a pleasant person and not a rampaging lunatic.
When she confided her weight, he nodded. It was hard not to be pleased; 126 was pretty close. The ladder would easily hold her. It might sway, but it would hold. With his weight, he'd manage too- and if he was lucky, he wouldn't do permanent damage to the ladder. If he did, the damage would be to the lower half, where joint met slider hinge. They could still get down in an emergency, but there would be a bit of a drop.
"We're going on the second floor," Jude said into the radio. "Stone's heading up the fire escape and if she doesn't break her neck, I'll be following. We'll let you know once the second floor is clear, otherwise we're going silent."
"Understood," one immune said, starting off a chain reaction of three men communicating their entry point and radio silence. Two were entering by way of the main entrance on the first floor, one, Tom- the biggest fucking immune Jude had ever seen- was heading in from the fire escape door, which for reasons unknown had been propped open. From an investigative standpoint, it was the best explanation for the zombies' infestation of the area.
Jude laughed when he stepped closer, prepared to give her the boost she asked for. He offered her his short range radio instead. "If things go south, the first preset is the Public Library. It's out of range, but not by much. If you book it to the pharmacy, you'll be able to reach them. They aren't willing to send more people out for the kid, but chances are they'll come for you."
He wanted to say, 'Book it if things go south, I won't be offended', but he didn't. She had no particular attachment to him, and he assumed it was the sort of thing that didn't need to be said between them. If something went wrong, he had no doubt that Stone would take care of herself first. As it should be.
"Jackass or Jude, whichever you prefer. I'm not about to get picky on you." With one foot, he braced the bottom rung of the ladder. Once he was sure that movement would be minimal, he offered two palms hands for her boost.
"This is a pretty old building, I dunno what changes they made to the guts of the place, but we'll take a look from the window before climbing inside. Chances are that there's going to be an office up here somewhere. Also, buildings used to take deliveries into their basements through grates in the sidewalks. This one is old enough, so it might have some kind of dumb waiter. It'll be along the left wall somewhere. Kids have a knack for finding places like that so we should keep an eye out for it."