Log/Thread: Jail Break Characters: The A-Team (Amadeus, Bobby, Doug, Remy, John, Pietro) and the Rescued (Dominik and Petra) NPCs: The Warden, Correctional Officers Location: Mutant Detention Center and Home Base, hotel room in NYC, plugged in. Timeline: 9/21/13 Just before midnight Description: Breakout plan is underway and something goes awry. Scramble to compensate and get out with who they could grab. The escape and arrival at the pre-established sanctuary. Rating: PG-13
Bobby couldn’t sit still. He stood pacing back and forth in tight tracks behind Amadeus and Doug’s seats, eyes glued to the screens that showed John and Remy’s progress via the tiny camera uplink on their clothes. He wanted to be there with them, but John had managed to convince him that it would be a bad idea, especially if things went wrong and they got caught. All of Tony’s hard work, his bail money, his lawyer, all of it would be for nothing if he got caught helping with an escape plan for the other captive mutants at the MDC. So, reluctantly, Bobby stayed back with the “Home Base” crew, watching and ready to provide insights he had gleaned from his own experience on the inside as well as from what Dominik had picked up on as far as guard patterns and habits.
“That’s him, that’s the one,” he pointed at the screen when John’s camera came close to a guard he knew to have a habit of regularly leaving his post to visit the facilities at exactly 11:45 every night. Dominik had shared with Bobby that he’d overheard the guard tell another guard about a bladder problem and the need to go, how the doctors were looking into it, and then Bobby had made a face and not wanted to know more. But it was a window for the two mutants inside to make their move.
Like Bobby had promised, the guard nodded to the two others who approached and left his post, using his keycard to leave the holding cell area. As soon as the door was closed, Remy glanced at John. Except it wasn’t John, it was the face of one of the men they had made a drop on that morning and stolen his uniform, badge, wallet, car, everything. The man had been left tied and gagged in his apartment, secure while they used his identity for the breakout. The illusion cube held the imprint of the man’s appearance, provided by Quentin Beck, and was perfect in every noticeable detail. The surveillance and recon work Remy and John had done on selecting their targets had gotten pictures and footage for Quentin to use to make the illusions realistic. The source of the cubes, however, had been kept a secret, just ‘a friend’ who had been sympathetic and willing to help their cause. Remy’s cube similarly held the resemblance of another guard they had taken out. The cubes themselves were small, fit in the palm of the hand, and kept in the pocket while projecting the illusions masterfully.
---
John didn't ask where Remy got the cube, and if he wasn't telling then John really didn't want to know. They'd gone through the blueprints so many times that sometimes John dreamed he was walking the halls himself. He already had a strong idea of what everything looked like and since arriving it was like walking into one of those dreams. Heading into the security room and placing the necessary file into the system proved to work well and now Doug could see exactly where they were and Amadeus had access into the security systems. John could hear Bobby in his ear but said nothing and simply kept his calm. Which, oddly enough, was easier than he thought it would be. Everything was going smoothly so far and if it kept up, they'd all be heading out of here and the guards would find nothing but empty cells the next day.
With the other guard gone now, John turned to Remy and knew it was time. "Time for rounds," he said with a shockingly good American accent that he purposely made sound a little lower to mimic the guard he'd taken the place of. A regarding nod he made his way toward the main part of the jail and casually walked. The first cell was empty and as he came to the next he paused in front of it.
Petra and Dominik.
---
“Bobby, I don’t mean to be rude but can you please stop pacing behind me? It’s making me nervous…”
The operation was going smoothly, Doug had to admit, but it didn’t mean that it was any easier on him. It was nothing like a video game mission. There was no Continue? if they screwed up. But he was doing it for Cessily and the others because it was the right thing to do. Even if it felt super duper wrong.
He flinched and chewed into his lip a little when Bobby leaped in his space and pointed at the screen. He held his breath and waited for the guard’s next move. A sigh of relief escaped him when the guard left without any red exclamation point above his head. But he knew better than to relax completely, especially not when he saw Petra and Dominik via John’s camera and hissed in a terse gasp.
The easy part was over. The fun was just starting. He stole a glance at Amadeus to see what he was doing before he turned back to the screen and said to John and Remy, “Stay frosty, guys. Give us a sec.”
---
Amadeus was busy looking at a different display. He glanced over, checking the remote cam display, then turned his attention back to a different monitor. The entire computer set up was a mass of screens, laptops and various other computer equipment. It looked nothing like the fancy control rooms that Hollywood seemed to be so fond of.
He had been poking through the file system, checking to make sure there weren't any other programs running that might surprise them when Doug spoke. He looked up then quickly switched applications, first to circumvent the data being set to the prison control room, then again to loop the internal cameras, before finally switching over to access the cell block control. And just like that, Petra and Dominik's cell door started to open and no one else in the prison was the wiser.
Amadeus watched the doors open via Remy and John's pin cams and grinned.
"Did someone say the magic words?"
---
It was a well known fact both inside and outside of jail that Domink didn't sleep well so when he wasn't sleeping he was talking to Petra, doing push ups or pacing, expending restless energy. On this particular night he was in the middle of a set of push ups when his ears picked up on the sound of footsteps and he frowned, especially as he had over time learned the sounds the guards made when they moved. It was probably sad and utterly pointless, but Dominik had made a habit of observing everything and everyone.
And then the weirdest thing happened, their cell door and Dominik' eyebrow arched, senses going on high alert before he was rocking back onto his haunches.
What the hell?
He glanced at Petra before he rose to his full height, shifting his weight as he moved closer to the blonde on the bunk and his shoulders tensed as if he was expecting something possibly a confrontation of sorts.
"Bit late for searching our cell, isn't it?"
--
Petra lifted her shoulders in a shrug when the doors clicked, though the sound had made her jump. Her brows knit in confusion and she got to her feet, fingers curling around Dominik’s wrist almost pre-emptively, silently telling him not to do anything stupid. The guards here didn’t pull their punches, the scar on his lower lip was a testament to that. They didn’t hesitate in making sure that the prisoners knew their place, after all.
She, too, had taken great pains to learn the sounds of the guard footsteps for the times when she was alone; she needed to make sure that she didn’t do anything that would draw the attention of some of the guards that were less professional than the others and she hated it when they spoke to her, down to her like she was nothing. Some were worse than others. Some made threats that caused her skin to crawl and a swift smack when she was talking back had sometimes almost gotten Dominik into more trouble.
Her fingers tightened around his wrist again as she moved to stand behind him and slightly to the side.
“Just- whatever the want, don’t argue, okay?” she muttered to him, moving out of his protective space and a little closer to the door, curiosity getting the better of her. Maybe this was some sort of new rule, late night room searches?
---
"Sorry," Bobby stopped his pacing and settled for standing behind Doug where he could still see the screens, trying to make sense of all the angles. It was like an expensive video game with multiple viewpoints, except real life, and his friends were in there and possibly going to be in a lot of trouble, even danger, if they got caught.
When the cell door started to open with Amadeus' skilled touch, he grinned and glanced at his friend, "Open sesame!" Someone had to say it! "One down."
Remy, or the illusion that was Remy, fixed his gaze on the two mutant prisoners inside the cell that had opened and he couldn't help the smirk that touched his lips, even in the face of the guard he was disguised as. It was good to see them without the glass separating them, but there was no time for pleasantries. They had a whole floor of mutants to break out of dodge. Mutants who would have probably appreciated a little warning before hand.
"This is no cell search," he said in a gruff voice, his own accent skillfully masked as he stepped closer, looking from Dominik to Petra, "and it sure isn't a pizza delivery." Then he let his normal voice show to give them a clue as to who (if not how) they had at their cell door. "But if you'd like a slice, mes amis, I'm sure dat ken be arranged once we far enough out. Grab what you taking wit you and let's go."
From the hotel room that was set up as Home Base, Bobby leaned in closer on one of the camera displays that was showing movement of the guards somewhere. A pattern that was out of the ordinary that caught his attention. He frowned, "Uh... guys..." As he watched, one of the guards spoke with another and and they changed positions, moving down a hallway. When they passed by another camera angle, Bobby was able to see their faces, one face in particular, and his eyes widened.
"Sshhhhhh---shit! It's the Warden! Get out! John! Abort! Get out now!"
----
John smirked and on the guard it looked like he was amused. But given that Remy had started speaking in that distinctly Cajun accent of his, the gig was up. "Don't waste any time, mates," John said, allowing his actual voice and accent to show, "The sooner we leave, the sooner I can stop hearing Bobby talking in my ear." He pressed a finger to the earpiece he wore where he'd been given information. He began wandering to the next cell to get it open when Bobby's warning came bursting into his ear loudly.
"Bollocks," John said, "are you bloody kidding me?" Though it was clear he was talking not to Remy, Petra, and Dominik, but someone else. He looked at Remy, "We need to move, now, Warden is heading this way—" then he looked to Dom and Petra, "Move it, mates, we gotta get outta here right now or we're all going to be stuck here for a long long time." The door to Dominik and Petra's cell was the only one open and with the Warden coming that meant…
That meant the others were stuck. John frowned and then asked Doug and Bobby, "How much time we got? Can we at least grab Cessily too?" Though he didn't know which cell she was in. But still, if he had time, he was going to at least try. He knew that Amadeus and Doug wanted to spring her too.
---
Doug grinned too when the cell door opened without a hitch, and Dominik and Petra were one step closer to freedom. But in his experience, escort missions were always more difficult than the stealth ones; more people meant more liability and more room for error. Getting his nerves back together, he said into his mic., “Great job, guys! Amadeus is getting the other doors open. Let’s see… Who’s next?”
He was glancing down at the cell assignment when Bobby’s warning came. He snapped his head to look at the monitor and bit into his lip as a sense of dread seized him. It would be tonight that the guards would switch patterns. Just their luck. “You guys gotta move quick.”
He stiffened at John’s voice drumming in his ear. “What do you mean --- Of course we’re getting her too!” Cessily was the whole reason why he was here tonight. He was not aborting the mission unless/until they had her. He scanned the multiple feeds then nodded more to himself than anyone in the proximity. It was fine. They had time; if not, he was sure Amadeus could buy them time.
“John? Listen, Cessily’s cell is just across the way past the central control. She’s right there! Amadeus will do something to stall the warden.” He looked to Bobby, then to Amadeus, and finally down to the monitor and said to everyone present, “Please don’t leave without her. Please, guys, please.”
---
"Shit, shit, shit."
Doug was pleading his case to Amadeus started recalculating on the fly. Cess's cell was close and the Warden was still a bit away. They had time. Amadeus reached over to grab the Gameboy that'd been lying beside him. He quickly navigated through the programs until he found the one he was looking for. Cracking RFID systems for fun and profit. The device was already wirelessly connected to their rig and he started to access the prison's RFID readers.
One day people would wise up and stop networking everything, but today was not that day.
He couldn't shut down the entire system, not without leaving John and Remy stranded but it wasn't that difficult to recode the readers to only accept certain 'tag IDs', like the ones John and Remy just happened to be carrying. He glanced quickly up, looking at the layout. No. He could actually go one better. He could corral the guy wherever he wanted to. Provided the Warden kept moving and didn't throw an epic shit fit at a piece of 'malfunctioning' electronic equipment.
"Okay, I've got the Warden taking the long way around. Doug'll direct you to where you need to go."
And, hopefully, never the twain shall meet.
---
Suspicion soon faded to surprise and just plain disbelief the moment one guard started speaking with a rather distinct accent and then the other did the same. “Remy?” Dominik questioned before his attention turned to the other guard, an Australian accent clear as anything and he figured that must be John. Petra had mentioned him a couple times.
And then they mentioned moving and everything just sort of fell into place. “Alright,” he said with a nod not thinking about how easy it was, especially as they would be in effect breaking the law and becoming fugitives. Dominik didn’t much care truth be told, not now they had an opportunity to get out. He’d worry about the consequences later, time to take a leap of faith rather than having things planned out to the smallest of details.
“C’mon,” he said to Petra, offering her his hand, especially as he knew what this place had done to her and how for a large part she had thought this place was where she should be. For crimes they had yet to prove. “The sooner we move the sooner we can get out of here and the less chance our friends have of getting caught.”
Pietro was positioned, waiting as patiently as he could, or not as the case may be. Believe it or not the speedster appreciated the need for everything to run at the exact times as quoted in the plan, but it didn’t mean he was any less restless. Getting a hold on the vehicle was easy, easier than he thought it would, but it was the waiting that was the real killer.
A glance at his watch before Pietro drummed his fingers against the steering wheel.
---
Petra was surprised to her Remy’s accent coming from the guard, and even moreso to hear John’s voice, though the surprise was quickly beaten down by concern and a little anger at her friend doing something so stupid and brazen that might get them into more trouble and end up with them all being stuck in here. She wanted out, sure, but at the same time if they didn’t do this the right way? Wouldn’t that make everything so much worse?
She took the outstretched hand, lacing their fingers together as she nodded her head. “What about the others?” she asked, because could they leave them behind? The people who were just as innocent as Dominik was?
---
"I'm not kidding you. Definitely not," Bobby responded to John, eyes locked on the form of the Warden as he made his way to the first door he discovered to be locked thanks to Amadeus and his quick work. Bobby folded his arms, hugging himself as the man tried his ID badge again, then a third time, then got on his phone, calling a code to the control room to unlock the door. He waited a pause, but no response came.
Smartly turned on his heel, the man marched back the way they had come, calling another code, and then broke into a jog.
Bobby swallowed hard and looked at Doug, then to Amadeus. There was no time. No time. "Guys..."
A moment later, the alarm sounded, blaring loudly throughout the whole detention center and manual overrides started to go into effect all over, playing catch up with Amadeus' work.
Remy had paused on his way to the cell beside Dom and Petra's, which housed two mutants he could see now was Tabitha Smith and Monet St. Croix. Doug was pleading with them to go get Cess, who was across from the control center, but he didn't like leaving these two when they were right there, so close. They would have been next. But now wasn't the time to argue with Home Base, especially when the loud piercing sounds of the alarm started to sound and every nerve in the thief told him to get the hell out, not keep making the grab.
"Fucking hell..." Remy shot a look at John, then to the cell of Tabs and Monet, and swore again and motioned Dominik and Petra to follow as they bypassed those two mutants to go to Cess' cell, which was between two others on the other side, following Doug's instructions. He had to trust these guys. They had the eagle eyes where they were sitting.
Even as they moved away he could hear someone's voice, "Oh my god, you guys! Tryin’ to sleep here!" It had to be Tabitha.
A flood of backup was on its way to their location in response to the raised alarm, visible on the cameras and the manual overrides were starting to do the trick, letting correctional officers in riot gear through.
Bobby pointed at the closest group on the screen, "Look! They're almost right on top of them! They're not going to make it! Doug, get them outta there. Please! Cho!” Turning to Amadeus, Bobby pleaded with him, too. “They can come back later for Cess and the others. But if they get caught now, then no one gets out. Come on… the guards are armed.” And Remy and John were full powered, not inhibited like Petra and Avalanche, but it would go from bad to worse with a mutant breakout turning into a battle between human weapons and mutant firepower.
---
Maybe there was time to get Cessily at least. "We gotta take who we can for now, Petra," John said, "and then come back for the others. We got in here once, we can do it again." There were just unforeseen circumstances and in the future they would account for them. Because right now, John was already deciding that they were going to go back. They would have to. John didn't like leaving a job incomplete and this was going to be half done. It wasn't about being a hero though, this was about taking their own and leaving this place behind.
"I'll grab Cessily and you two follow—" he was cut off by the sound of the alarm. Time they thought they had was now cut even shorter. He realized what was going to have to happen. "We have to go, now. Otherwise we'll all be sitting behind bars. We'll come back for the others, but for now, move! " He wasn't just saying it to Dom and Petra, but to the people that could hear him.
He was hurrying around to see if they could at least see Cessily, "I'm sorry, but we have to go. This isn't over, mates." He wasn't talking to Dom, Petra, Remy, or anyone else that was there, but to Doug and Amadeus. Cessily was essential to the plan but if they tried now, everything would fall apart. John frowned and then said, "What's our fastest exit and is it clear?"
---
They were leaving Cessily behind.
Doug practically froze in his spot when Bobby suggested and John agreed that they couldn’t get Cess. Not on this run. He shot a pleading look at Amadeus, as if the other boy could somehow convince the team otherwise. “But… Cess, she’s right there,” came his quiet protest as his eyes frantically scanned the monitors to find a miracle. But all he saw were the waves of guards pouring in from different directions, about to trap the team and laugh at their hard effort in the face.
So yeah, even though he really didn’t want to believe it, they had to go. A couple rapid blinks to clear away the uncertainty he felt, he studied the guards’ position, calculated their movement, and mapped out the quickest escape route for the team.
“You’re gonna go about 50 yards,” he instructed with a noticeable quiver in his voice, “turn left when you see a corridor. We’ll get you out through the loading dock at the back of the kitchen. Your path is clear… for now. Hurry, okay? Someone get Pietro. Make sure he’s ready.”
---
Amadeus was listening to the conversation just enough to pull out the important bits. Happy reunions quickly transitioned into all hands abandon ship. He looked up for a moment, focusing on the camera that had a view of Cessily's cell and tried to ignore the sharp flare of guilt that surged up. Later, he promised. There'd be time later. They'd got in once. They could do it again.
He was typing away at his laptop, quickly switching through systems to see what was still accessible remotely and what had had its strings cut. The only good thing about manual control was the fact that it took longer. It was obvious just watching the responding guards move through the series of door locks. They might have done training drills but it was hardly second nature.
The team still had a head start.
He grinned suddenly. It was always the little things people always overlooked. And it was nice to see that the MDC had really efficient electrical circuits. With a few quick commands, the entire South side of the complex was plunged into darkness. The area where John and Remy were were standing stayed lit. A glance at the camera screens showed a few of the guards pausing in confusion. That should buy their group a little bit more time.