Lightning Only Strikes Once - Clexa

Chapter 90: Blind Date

"Ready?" Lexa asks softly.

Octavia nods, face determined. Despite her Skaikru clothes, she has never looked more like Trikru to Lexa than she does now. It's in her eyes, the curl of her lips, even in her stance. In the knife she's carefully hiding.

Lexa hopes that Octavia is correct, that the Maunon weapons are in the radio room. Otherwise this will be considerably more difficult. Anya and the others are due to be here in roughly an hour – she gave the signal to Malus earlier today – but knowing Anya, Lexa suspects they may arrive early just in case. They want to take out the men in the radio building first as they will take the longest to be found, followed by removing the sentries around the village so that the others can enter safely. Then they will wedge shut any doors they can and deal with the missile.

"Okay," Raven says. She takes a deep breath. "All right. We'll see you soon, then. Uh... break a leg?"

Lexa blinks, puzzled. "I will aim higher," she says slowly.

"Right. Right. Good idea. It's an expression. I was trying to wish you luck."

"We will be back as soon as we can," Lexa promises. Sky People and their strange phrases. "And if we do not return soon, set fire to several houses and flee in the confusion."

"We will," John says, a little too promptly. He seems to like the idea of burning down his father's house. Lexa wonders briefly if his account of the illegal act he did to be thrown in the Skybox in the first place was incomplete, then dismisses it as irrelevant.

She and Octavia go out into the dark night. Octavia follows behind Lexa willingly, merging with shadow after shadow. They press against a wall, barely breathing, as one of the sentries walks past. He looks around lazily, moonlight gleaming off his gun as he fiddles with it, then walks on unaware. They make it to the radio building quickly – it's a small village, after all.

"Hey," Octavia says quietly, knocking on the door. "Hey, hot stuff, it's me."

Lexa realises that Octavia never uses the name of the guard she has been playing for information. Perhaps so it is easier to kill him.

"Occy? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Octavia says throatily. "I... I know you said you were busy tonight, but I just had to see you. I missed you, babe. Come on. Just for a minute."

There's the sound of quiet argument from inside, and then there's a click as the lock is undone, and the door slides open. The guard's smirking face shows in the door. "Come on in – hey, wait, who's this?"

"My friend Saska," Octavia says brightly, pushing past him. Lexa follows. Octavia winks at the guard. "I thought she could keep your friend company while you and I... you know... talk somewhere. Privately."

The guard's face brightens even more. The other one, at least five years older, lets out a groan. "We shouldn't be letting people in here," he snaps at the other one. "Get laid on your own time."

"It'll only be a minute," Octavia says persuasively. "You can hang out with Saska." She grabs the younger guard's hand and tows him into the nearest room. Lexa can hear her exaggerated giggle at something he says.

The other guard and Lexa glare at each other in mutual disdain. "You're not my type," he informs her brusquely.

"I am distraught," Lexa says politely. She glances at the radio behind him and does a double-take. "Should... should all those red lights be flashing like that?" she asks, sounding confused.

He whirls around to look at it and Lexa darts forward, grabbing his hair with one hand and slicing his throat swiftly with the knife she holds in the other. He lets out a dismal gurgling noise and collapses to the ground, blood forming a swift pool beneath him. Lexa has gotten a few flecks of it on her hands, and needs to clean her knife on his clothing, but otherwise still appears as harmless as she wishes to. She hopes Octavia remembers they need to stay clean of blood just in case.