InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "teh love owns me!"

Dr. Archer | The Invisible Man (sneakingaround) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-06-24 17:13:00

Entry tags:

invisible man, plot: delta, plot: tempus, van helsing

Who: Aiden and Archer
What: Escaped convicts chillin' out
Where: Outside the jail and into Chicago
When: Day 3 - After the Jailbreak
Warnings: ~~Well they're both crotchety jerks, so I doubt that this log will be full of fuzzy feelings.~~ I lied, the nerds are being totally civil. It's crazy.

After shooting out of the jail and into the morning air, Archer realized that he needed a plan. Initially, he had been thinking in the short term. Basic survival. But both he and Griffin had decided that thinking for the long term wouldn't be remiss. After all, they had no means of knowing when they would return to Bellum Letale, and he was an escaped prisoner. Would it be safe to return to his hotel room? Most likely not. Luckily he was paying on a day-by-day basis, so no money was lost there. But he was now down eight dollars, and he needed to procure more.

If his arrest had taught him anything, it was that being invisible and alone was hard. He couldn't just run out of the shop he had robbed, after all. He needed to put on his clothing lest he freeze to death. It might have been possible to hide his clothing somewhere, but that was no guarantee. And given the fact that he had to leave his money with his clothing, he could be gaining ten dollars only to lose twenty. It wasn't worth it.

"We need Thomas Marvel," Griffin remarked irritably. "I tried to function on my own, and it was ineffective. There are things we must do that cannot be achieved while invisible. Find a man that we can use, Archer."

Now the question was should it be a local or another resident of Bellum? It was difficult to think as he ran through the snow, clutching his coat around his wiry frame, but something jumped to mind. The man that had carried his clothing. He had remembered to hand over his glasses, which was reassuring. It meant that he paid attention to detail. He also hadn't struck Archer as particularly dense or idiotic, which was clearly a point in his favor. Perhaps he would be amenable to such an arrangement.

Glancing about, he managed to spy the man escaping in the opposite direction. Turning sharply, Archer ran after him. "Wait!" he called, falling into stride behind him and giving the other man a clear look at his face. "We need to talk," he wheezed, already getting tired from running. "I have a proposition."

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arcere
2010-06-24 09:39 pm UTC (link)

A curfew. No, probably not, but who knew, what with the situation around this time ... still, Archer was definitely leaving something out. Aiden really wanted to know what, but Helsing reminded him that if he wanted to keep up this partnership (as much as the man himself seemed to disapprove of it), he probably shouldn't ask questions that clearly irritated people. For once, Aiden was reluctantly inclined to agree; he shifted his coat up higher, the collar covering more of his face, and followed Archer.

"Yes. Unfortunately. We were just about to leave when the riot started. Going out the front door was ... a bad idea." If he'd gone out the back, well, who knew what would have happened. History was history, he supposed, and it wasn't like he was still in jail.

Well. For the moment. If he was recognized, or if anybody caught them in the act, it was right back to jail, and he doubted Archer's invisible shenanigans would save them a second time.

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sneakingaround
2010-06-24 10:23 pm UTC (link)

Archer nodded as he mentioned the riot. "Yes, I believe I witnessed your arrest. You and a girl with red hair." He recalled it because her hair had been so incredibly vivid that it stuck out in his memory. "When I saw that the police were arresting people a the front door, I slipped out the back. There was chaos there as well, an armored car pulled up for a man to enter." He recalled it because the car had looked so unusual.

As they walked along, they passed a few shops. One of them was a clothing store that was booming, another was a butcher's shop. Archer noted them all casually, especially how many people were there buying things. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing towards a shoe store with expensive wares and many customers.

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arcere
2010-06-24 10:41 pm UTC (link)

Anya. He wondered for a moment how she was - if she'd found someone else to stay with after running out of the jail, or if something else had happened, if she'd gotten recaptured. He hadn't stopped to see where she went after they all got out, so desperate to get away as he'd been.

Perhaps you should have helped her, chided Van Helsing, but Aiden refused to listen to him and focused on the buildings around him, the people passing by - in case any were police officers - and what Archer eventually said. He looked at the store with his head slightly tilted, unable to really comprehend the power of shoes, but certainly able to comprehend the prices therein. Inflation notwithstanding.

"Looks fancy. I'd say it'd be a good one." He glanced over to the store two doors down, one doing a busy trade in yet more clothing. Specially tailored or something, he supposed. "What stores wouldn't expect this kind of thing? Obviously I'd say avoid anything expensive." Jewelery stores. Watchmakers. Really high class stuff. They were likely to hire cops or muscle to protect their goods. But clothes? Shoes? Even food? Who would want to steal the cashboxes from those?

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sneakingaround
2010-06-24 10:49 pm UTC (link)

At Aiden's input, Archer nodded. "I agree completely," he said, walking past the shop so as to not look suspicious. "Smaller places that are prosperous would be much more advantageous than any shop that deals with expensive goods. And as I said, we only need take a little. Hotel rooms are four dollars a night, and food is equally inexpensive. We simply need to build a nest egg so that we are not worried or wanting." Also, they needed new clothes and a razor. Archer had yet to buy one, and his jaw was beginning to grow a bit of light stubble that looked hilariously out of place on him. He disliked it.

They rounded a corner, finding a quiet place without much foot traffic. Breathing into his hands, Archer glanced up at Aiden. "We can operate this way," he said, gesturing to where they stood. "I can get undressed here, and you hold my clothing while I go and get what we need. You wait a few minutes, then go to meet me so that the money cleanly changes hands. Then accompany me here so that I can get dressed."

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arcere
2010-06-24 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Aiden shifted his foot along the snowy ground as Archer spoke, imagining what people would say if they ever saw two pairs of footsteps but only one man. It was enough to make him crack a faint grin, glancing up at the doctor and then back out at the street. It was as solid a plan as any, and if it meant he didn't have to be furtive and hide himself any more, then all the better. Theft or not. It wasn't as if they were going into a bank to clean out people's accounts.

And yet you don't know what your own consequences will be.

"All right. Tonight, then?" Hidden in the dark, he might still be easy to see, but it wouldn't be as easy. Aiden wasn't overly good at hiding perfectly in the darkness but he had, in the past, been able to go unnoticed in certain dark places. Museums, mostly. Libraries. Occasional ruins.

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sneakingaround
2010-06-24 11:29 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, tonight," Archer said with a nod. "For now, I need to rest to ensure that I'm sharp. So I will go back to the room for now. Would you like to accompany me back so that you may possess the key and venture out on your own for a few hours?" This was before multiple keys for one room, especially one room with a singular bed. And he wouldn't want to leave his new accomplice out in the cold without access to their mutual room.

"You're doing well, boy," Griffin said. "But don't forget that you'll have to cover your tracks. And if the police arrive, ensure that they find him so that they're deterred."

"We'll see," Archer replied aloofly.

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arcere
2010-06-25 05:29 am UTC (link)

"Why not." It wasn't as if he was going anywhere else, for the time being; spending too much time outside raised the potential chance of getting noticed, but it was still fresh air, and it helped to clear his head. The biting cold did that to him. Straight into his lungs, he could breathe clearer; straight into his brain, he could think properly. "I'll see if there's anywhere else on the other side of the street that might be useful." But he'd stick to the area. He'd keep low.

For a man with so little criminal expertise, you certainly seem to know what to do with a situation like this.

Blame the internet, he thought as they made their way back down the street. And everybody he'd ever spoken to in the past with an even slightly mutable criminal record.

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sneakingaround
2010-06-25 05:52 pm UTC (link)

"Alright," Archer said, inclining his head. "Let's be off then." They made it back to the hotel, and the moment they reached the room, Archer handed the key over to Aiden. "Please return at nightfall," he said, removing his jacket. "Wake me and we will get to work." He paused, a hand on his tie. "Have a pleasant afternoon," he said.

After Aiden left, Archer laid down, closing his eyes and letting the tension sink from his body. It was surprising how easy it was to calm his racing brain as he sank into the bed, feeling as if he were falling in slow motion. In the back of his mind, he worried about Isobel, where she had gotten to. But he couldn't worry now.

"Good," Griffin said quietly. "Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot. Go to sleep, boy."

He wanted to say something in return. He wanted to retaliate. Instead, he simply eased off into sleep.

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