Niko didn’t stay in her room long enough for Ari or Malik or anyone else to try to talk to her she simply changed clothes, something with long sleeves and heavier, durable fabrics. She didn’t know how long she’d be looking for Jared and it was better to be prepared.
She stuffed a pocketknife into her jeans along with Jared’s photo. It wasn’t her first choice of weapon but it was better than carrying nothing. She walked purposely down the stairs until she reached the ground floor and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed three energy bars, they wouldn’t last her long but taking any more would look suspicious. She wanted to get out without having them wonder why she was so hungry all of a sudden.
As she moved around she tried not to think about what she saw in the breakfast room but her mind insisted on replaying it in an endless loop highlighting things like Malik’s hands on Ari’s bare back and the way they had looked at her with those Slither eyes.
Niko wiped at her own eyes. They kept leaking. She had to bury the images along with the questions that accompanied them. Where she was going they’d only weigh her down until she finally toppled to the ground where the acid would quickly strip her skin as raw as she felt on the inside.
She sucked in a deep breath. She was almost ready, there was only one more thing she needed and she wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to get.
She went to the lab. Ben was sitting on a stool with his back toward her. He looked busy and didn’t lift his head when she entered the room. But he did glance up when she parked herself by his side.
She tried to smile, and when that didn’t work she tried not to look as nervous as she felt. She pressed her hip against the counter. “I need your help.”
He swiveled around on the stool until he faced her. The corner of his mouth lifted in a hopeful grin. “Really? I mean---” He coughed before knitting his fingers together and adopting a serious expression. “What can I do?”
Niko wanted her plan to work and she tried to remember what she had seen the other girls do, twisting at the waist and fluttering their lashes. It had all looked so silly to her even though it somehow seemed to work for them. It had worked for Ari.
“Can you teach me how to fly the helicopter?” She was about to slip her hands into her pockets until she remembered all the things she had stuffed inside. She hoped they didn’t look bulky, once she was beyond the city walls, overstuffed pockets would mark her as a target.
For a brief moment he looked disappointed, but he quickly recovered. “I don’t know, Niko that might not be possible. We’re still charging it up for the... you know. A flight lesson might drain it.” His eyebrows bunched together. “Do you have something in your eye?”
She stopped trying to flutter her lashes. She hadn’t thought of that possibility. All she wanted was someone she could influence to take her out of the city, someone she wouldn’t feel too guilty about knocking unconscious. Currently all the members of the Rose Circle fit the bill, but Ben was the only one she was willing to talk to at the moment.
She needed to get out. She gnawed at her lower lip trying to think of an alternative method.
“Tell you what,” Ben said, taking her hands. She tried not to flinch away. “We haven’t done surveillance in a while. I think we could manage a short one. It won’t really be much of a lesson though.” His thumbs brushed back and forth across her knuckles.
The last time someone had mentioned surveillance Slithers had been included in that sentence. As much as she appreciated Ben’s offer she didn’t want to make her escape in some isolated neighborhood where she’d immediately have to battle hordes of Slithers. It would also be cruel to leave Ben so vulnerable in a place like that.
“How about we hand people water and medical supplies instead.” She suggested. “It might be the last time you’re able to do that before… you know.” It would also provide the perfect excuse to carry water. “It shouldn’t take long either. You could teach me on the way back to the city.”
They grinned at each other, both for entirely different reasons.