"Oh, good, so you are capable of speech. That's slightly reassuring." It wasn't, really, and her tone clearly indicated that she was less than happy to be paired with someone who could be so easily distracted. Had she known that the man was mentally comparing her to a teenager, Leah would've been even less amused by the situation.
Jackass Jude told her to relax, which basically ensured that she would be doing nothing of the sort from now until after they'd seen to the person they were here to rescue. "Paranoia could save your life," she responded, not bothering to acknowledge what he'd said about her looking like someone. From the way he reacted, it was safest to assume her appearance reminded him of someone he'd lost. A wife, maybe. Or a sister, judging by the sandy-blond of his hair. Dead sister. Dead wife. Didn't matter. She wasn't either of those to him.
Even though he seemed to have recovered from his brief bout of catatonia, Leah was still inclined to be watchful of his actions. As she'd said, a certain degree of paranoia was a lifesaver. Jackass Jude was nearly twice her size. If she didn't keep her guard up, it would be easy enough for him to overpower her. She wasn't easily swayed by his whole 'I'm a nice guy, trust me' act.
Leah studied his reaction after she told him her weight, noting the dimples that peeked out at her from both cheeks. He was amused about something. Before she could ask, Jackass Jude was speaking into his radio again, conveying the plan to his team. So he was the appointed leader here, huh? Leah felt her eyebrows lift in surprise.
"I hope you have a Plan B if I do fall and break my neck." At least he was realistic about what might happen. No use sugar-coating it.
Leah took the offered shortwave and secured it to her belt, listening as he rattled off suggested instructions for what she should do in case things didn't go well. The route to the pharmacy and the library safehouse were imbedded in her mind, as well as alternate routes. When Jackass Jude remarked that backup would be more likely to come after her instead of the kid, Leah gave a hollow laugh. "Not likely," she stated, and left it at that. Miss Popular was not one of her aliases.
Nor did Leah take the time to ask whether he had an alternate plan for himself, if things went bad. That was for him to worry about. She was willing to help him investigate the warehouse and look for the boy, but if Jackass Jude wanted to be the hero and put himself at risk, who was she to stop him? No one, that's who.
"I prefer Jackass," the woman answered airily, placing her boot in the man's palms and hoisting herself up.
The ladder groaned in protest to her weight, but it held. Leah clambered up quickly, thankful for her gift of balance. Adrenaline had her heart pounding already. Jackass Jude was detailing a general outline of what she could expect once inside, and she paused on the first floor landing under pretense of listening while she caught her breath. "What, did you used to work in a warehouse or something?"
She didn't wait for him to answer. "Dumb waiter, gotcha," she said, before resting her hands on the railing and testing her weight on the steps. A few of them creaked and rocked with her as she climbed, but none gave way. She let out a deep breath when she finally reached the top.
"Watch out; a few of the steps are loose," she warned him, crouching at the top of the fire escape.