Art of Kathrine by the spectacular _sleepy.moth on instagram!
The two stayed at the warehouse for a few hours to treat the cut on Yancy's side, change their clothes, and eat.
Illinois didn't want to sit around for too long, but he was starting to see the dangers in just pushing through exhaustion and pain.
Luckily the chances of this car drawing suspicion were low, and they had plenty of supplies both in the car with them now, and at the safe house, he had put together.
Before long, they were back on the road and Illinois was driving again.
"We should probably start planning our attack..." Illinois said with a breath "Pitch knows I'm the one behind a lot of this now. If he wasn't on a warpath before, he sure is now"
"Right... I've been thinkin about that... there's more facilities like that place, right?"
"Yeah. A few dozen across the country with a pretty wide variety of experiments. I haven't done a deep dive into too many of them, but they all seem to be pretty gruesome, and it looks like hardly any of them are on a volunteer basis..."
"And youses goal is just to take down the one I was at, right?"
"Yeah... As much as I'd love to take all of them down, we have to be somewhat realistic"
"Ideally, how do youse think is the best way to get that place out of operation for a long while?"
Illinois' eyebrows furrowed. It sounded like Yancy was trying to point out something, but decided to follow Yancy's train of thought until they got there.
"I was thinking we get in there, make them think there's some sort of emergency, get the building evacuated, then try to blow up the place. Hopefully, with the loss of information and everything inside, it'll take them a long time to get back up and functioning"
"And once they rebuild, the cycle will start all over again. And nothin will ever stop."
"But it's something. Yancy, if you don't wanna do it, you can tell me. I won't get upset. I can keep trying to keep you safe and try to take it down myself. I understand it feels pointless, and I'd never ask you to risk your life over something you don't feel is worth it." Illinois said gently.
As hard as it would be to do alone, he couldn't truly blame Yancy if this was his way of trying to back out. It really did feel like a dead end sometimes.
"Nonono, youse not gettin it. I want that place gone just as bad as you. But I think I may have figured out a way to take em all down. Maybe even revive the Bionic Prosthetic Project." Yancy said, seeming a bit excited.
Illinois knew letting your hopes get too high could cause immeasurable disappointment, but Illinois would be lying if he said the excitement about such a possibility wasn't contagious. Could his good intentions somehow still be salvaged? Could he fix not only his own mistakes but the mistakes of thousands like him?
"I'm all ears, Yance"
-
"Doctor Pitch, perhaps it's time for you to take a step back from the search"
It was right after yet another meeting, this time about some of the most recent events on the search for Daniel Jones. Ever since the escape, people had been questioning Pitch's capabilities, and Pitch was reaching the end of his rope on the topic.
However this was the first time the head of the facility, his boss, had brought it up.
"Director Wilson, with all due respect," Pitch said, setting down his pen and giving her his full attention as he spoke "It's more essential than ever for me to be involved in all this. I worked closer with Illinois Arch than anyone here has. And now we know he's the ring leader of all this"
Director Wilson sat back in her chair and watched Pitch closely "Alright, then tell me Pitch. Why is he doing this?"
"Because the project's objectives changed, and he's disgruntled about that"
"And... Do you think it's impossible that he may be disgruntled towards you?"
"Director Wilson, I'd rather keep middle school-level thinking and drama out of this. I have no doubt he strongly dislikes me, but I see no reason why that should affect my involvement in the search."
"Because I believe this has gotten far too personal. As soon as Mister Arch was confirmed to be involved with the situation, you've become even more... strained than usual." She said, obviously choosing her words carefully.
"During the whole meeting, you were very eager to point out everything the guards did wrong, and you ignored all the very valid reasons as to why things happened the way they did, instead of focusing on a way forward."
"They could have just shot the two, and we wouldn't be here right now. This whole thing could be over" Pitch insisted.
"And then we'd never find out if Mr. Arch is part of something bigger until it's too late. Due to the possibility of him having sold information, or working with anyone else, we have to have him alive for questioning. Daniel Jones being alive for questioning could also be very beneficial." Director Wilson responded. She was infuriatingly calm, in a way that made Pitch feel as though she was speaking down to him.
"Illinois never cared about a bigger picture, just his own idea of what a better world is. He doesn't think big enough to start or join any underground organization against us. And he babies those limbs too much to sell information about them to anyone who doesn't think exactly like him" Pitch explained, struggling to keep his tone level.
Why couldn't they see what he could see? Once these two were out of the picture, everything would be fine. Sure, he'd prefer them alive as well. It would be great to see their demise himself. For it to be far slower and excruciating than a simple bullet wound. But at the end of the day, with them gone, everything could get right on track. Nothing more to it.
"You say you want to keep this away from childish thinking and drama, but I feel as though you're more set on getting back at two people who wronged you, rather than fixing the damage done by all this," Wilson said, shaking her head softly.
"You could be focusing on finding out what went wrong so you could fix this in the future. Or you could be working on safety procedures. Maybe a more secure way to interact with subjects. But instead, you're hell-bent on a past co-worker and an escaped convict. You may be the head of this project, but you're still just a doctor. I am not the one who's brought middle school behavior into this, Doctor. You are"
The words filled Pitch with anger, but he knew he had to play his cards right, here. If he showed just how much rage he felt, she would only use that to justify her argument. Arguing was getting him nowhere. He took a breath and nodded.
"I see your point, Director Wilson. Perhaps a compromise would be beneficial? I'll work on safety precautions for guards who are handling subjects of the project, and I'll work with our mechanics to find better ways to restrain them. But I still feel my assistance, organization, and knowledge of Illinois' character can be beneficial in the search"
The director tapped her pen on the table, staring at Pitch for a moment before saying "Fine. Please don't let this situation spiral out of control due to a personal agenda, Xander. I know how you can get. This is not a situation where you can afford to get too hyper-fixated on your personal feelings. I'll be keeping a close eye on you. You're dismissed"
Pitch nodded and got up, collecting his papers. He had dodged a bullet for now, but how she spoke angered him. As if she was reprimanding a child for playing dirty during soccer. What did it matter if it was personal? This could turn into a matter of national security, and his anger toward the criminals was the thing she felt needed to be addressed?
"One more thing, Xander," She said, causing Pitch to pause and look at her again.
"Yes?" He asked, trying to keep his annoyance out of his tone.
"You're not as young as you used to be. You've done a lot of good in your career. Both in combat, and here. Maybe it's a good time to start considering retirement."
He clenched his jaw and picked up the stack of papers "I'm quite alright to keep working. Thank you for your concern" He said stiffly, before leaving the room.
This was ridiculous. He may be older, but he was perfectly capable of assisting in this search. Without his determination, they wouldn't have even found the MIC chip. Illinois would still be hiding out with the murderer in that stupid little house right under their noses, and they wouldn't have any sort of lead.
Granted, he could only do so much when everyone else was so incompetent. The group he hired should have stuck around and stopped them when they got out of the river. The guards that cornered them should have shot them on sight. Especially Illinois. Pitch was sure Daniel Jones wouldn't survive a day without him.
Two close encounters, and yet the criminals were still free.
He dropped the papers on his desk and paced, shaking his head. He would have to work on safety procedures as he promised, but he had no intention of relaxing his role in the search as he had implied. After the blows this had caused to his reputation and credibility, he wanted them found more than ever.
Director Wilson would indeed keep a close eye on him, Pitch had no doubt. Maybe it was time to rely a bit heavier on the group he had hired, and perhaps other resources like it.
If they didn't want his help in more... conventional ways, so be it.
Authors note: I hope you guys had a great Holliday! Don't forget to vote, if you liked it!