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Kay'ari/Kayli's POV
Location: Undisclosed Hospital, Nevada
Date: Night of The Escape
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"Someone was creeping around the hallway outside Cyan's hospital room earlier." Leninora's voice penetrates my dozing state, and I jerk to attention.
I blink hard, and look over at Len, where she's seated at the desk with the computer.
The woman who introduced herself as Loretta Lockheart is standing behind her, and running a thin-toothed comb through Len's hair.
It really doesn't seem like the time for pampering, but I assume there is another reason for it. In fact, something about it resonates with me.
"Was it a reporter? Or someone more suspicious? I ask.
"It was a young guy, in jeans and a hoodie; he didn't look like a reporter. Too young to be given a lead this big, and he didn't have a camera. He looked like he recognized me, but he also looked like he wanted to beat the shit out of me. Not exactly the type of reaction I'm use to getting from paparazzi or reporters." Len shrugs.
I sigh and crack my neck. The weird position left a kink.
"So someone more suspicious. It could have just been a curious patient or something? You told us you weren't too popular with the public. Maybe he just isn't a fan?"
Leninora shakes her head, "Kid wasn't wearing a hospital band, and I'm basically irrelevant now. Someone his age wouldn't know who I am." Len focuses back on the computer, and goes back to typing.
She seems so intense, and it's so different then what I'm used to. She's usually so fucking relaxed. This is so weird.
"This kid looked like he had a legitimate reason for hating me though. Something personal." She sighs and waves her hand in the air, cutting off that part of the conversation.
"Either way, I went to go and confront him but the doctor that was looking over Cyan came out. It was so weird, they just glanced at each other, and the boy walked away like he wasn't just prowling around like an angry bear, and the Doctor walked off." Leninora flares her hand, and mimes them walking away with her fingers.
"Was the doctor the older one? White hair, glasses... Dr. Robert or whatever?" I ask
Leninora nods slowly and I grimace.
"He came and did my examination too. He kept asking a lot of weird questions though, like if I was sure my name was Kay'ari and if Savage was a gang name. Things like that. I told him it was just what I was called, but he just wouldn't let up. He asked about my scars, my connection to the Lockheart family."
I look down at Cyan, and the anger that had rose up earlier during his questioning makes a reappearance.
"I stopped answering questions when he asked about Cyan, and if I knew her real name. I refused to speak at all when he started to talk and ask about the kids."
I glance up at Leninora and meet her eyes.
I try to convey the emotions that rage inside of me.
I don't like that the doctor already knew my kids names, and about their home-life situations'.
He had been so nonchalant about what he knew. It was clear that he was fishing about what I knew, but it makes me sick to think that someone would know that information and not be disgusted.
I can't understand how someone could know what these children have been through, and bring it up so casually.
I had to shut down, or that old man was going to get hit.
Leninora had warned me that many people will try to dig information out of us, and that we need to remember our goals.
The information I have needs to be saved for the courts.
Until then, I need to keep cool, and collected. Giving out any information to the wrong person now will only exacerbate the situation, and it'll give the offending parties time to hide their crimes.
It might have been years since they've been in those situations, but I know from Leninora and my own connections that the evidence we need is still out there, even today.
The boarding school that Maria went to still has hidden records about what they did to her, and Vivienne's old social worker has records too.
It's going to be harder to get Lucy justice, as the Cult she was taken from is incredibly secretive and secluded but I've found someone there who is willing to testify about the abuse that the kids there still endure daily.
The triplet's mother is already dead, and they aren't sure who their dad is, so the only people I need to worry about for them is the Foster Care System.
I'm going to adopt them.
Unfortunately, without financial stability, or a stable home enviornment, I'm not exactly a prime applicant so Lorraine Lockheart is the one who's going to apply through CPS to take in my little cubs.
I fought so hard, on letting CPS take them in until we can ensure that where we're taking them is safe and secure.
Cyan finally talked me into it, reminding me that we'll be making the kids a target if we act too quickly.
Lorraine is going to wait a week, then make a big debacle of hearing about the kids through me and stepping in to give them a good home.
I'll eventually take over guardianship, after a year or so has passed and the media moves on to a bigger story.
Every move we make at this point is crucial.
"Don't worry about the kids. I asked a very good friend from CPS to make sure they're taken care of. It's someone I trust completely, so worry about yourself and Cyan right now. You and especially Cyan aren't in the clear just yet." Leninora ranted.
I clench my jaw to keep myself from firing back.
Leninora has a son, Benny, but I haven't once seen her show any maternal attention toward him. Yet, she babies Cyan and treats me like a guard dog for her.
It's not like I mind, I just don't understand how she can be so protective of Cyan and yet so dismissive of her own blood.
It's one of the many things about Leninora Lockheart that I can't seem to wrap my head around.
I can't imagine carrying a child inside my own body and not being protective of it.
Hell, I feel like the kid is more mine than he is hers. How fucked up is that?
Lorraine must have walked in while I was snoozing, and her voice fills the room as she cuts in.
"It'll be fine. If it'll help you feel less frustrated about this, I can hire a team to watch over them. We can even move up the adoption, if you're worried," Lorraine sits in a chair off to the right of me, and I smile at her in relief.
"It would help ease my mind, if you wouldn't mind hiring a team." I tighten my ponytail and bump Cy when she nudges me.
"I can pay you back later, I just want to make sure that after everything they've been through,they're taken care of. I don't want to turn my back and have more shit happenthat I could have prevented by being a little more careful. Those kids are mylife."
I try to convey to her how much this means to me, how grateful to her I am for doing this for virtual strangers.
She doesn't even know us, and she's taking care of us.
Lorraine's smile reflects just how much she understands my appreciation, "Consider it taken care of, but just so you know, you don't ever have to worry aboutpaying me back. We're family now. I got the gist of what you did for Cyan andthose kids. Leninora might have planned it all, but it never would have workedif you hadn't been willing to help. My daughter's alive right now, thanks toyou and Cyan."
I don't agree with that, Cyan was the one who got....well, the one who did just about everything for us, but I just smile and agree.
Loretta puts down the comb, clearly done with whatever she was doing to Leninora's hair, and speaks up.
"I'll look into the Doctor and the boy. Lorraine will hire a team to shadow the kids until we can be sure it's safe to move them into our care," The older woman squares her shoulders and meets my eyes, "I have a business proposition for you."
I square my shoulders too, and intrigued in what she's talking about, I ask, "What type of business proposition? I'm not exactly skilled in anything?"
A hand drops onto my knee and squeezes.
Cy gives me a disapproving frown and reaches up to my shoulders to shake me.
"Don't sell yourself short, " She mouths at me.
I make a face at her and look back at Loretta with a roll to my eyes, "I'm great at fighting, I'm positively nifty with guns and knives, and I'm a fucking fantastic thief. Does any of that meet your application criteria?"
Lorraine smiles mischievously at me, and goes to say something, but her grand-daughter cuts her off.
"We've got a fucking problem," Leninora booms, as she scrambles up and yanks up her mother's purse.
Cyan and I jump up, and quickly make our way to the computer as Leninora also swipes up a backpack near the door.
The computer has a collection of windows open, but the largest has a running commentary of emails open.
Most are from Rhonda, reporting on the coming and goings of her station at the Staughterhouse...but the emails stopped hours ago, with no confirmation about her making it to her designated safehouse...
Same for Roman, I note on closer inspection. Then I remember, Roman's probably sitting in jail. It was a possibility that he might be charged, even if he was only luring the police to the Dollhouse.
I don't see anything that warrants Leninora's reaction though.
"Sonny never checked in. He was waiting for me to call in the go-ahead and I figured that he'd just set off the detonation when I didn't." Len's voice shakes as she pokes at a cell phone she pulled from the backpack.
"He knew how important time was on the private estate, I made sure he knew when he needed to set it off.But he never sent in his confirmation for the explosion going off, or one for making it to a safe house."
Cyan plops down in the chair in front of the computer and opens a new window. I don't even try to keep up with her, I just leave her to whatever she's suddenly so interested in.
"What do we do now?" I ask Len. Fear starts to set in. The private estates are a major part of Dontavion's shit.
"Did they get away?" The realization of what that might mean sets in. Panic starts to take over.
If the Mav family got away, even one or two of them, they can come back after us. They have so many people on their side, and the world is a big place.
The Mav family can hide for years, and then hunt us down.
We could end up right back where we started.
I almost gag at that thought.
"Leninora, tell me they didn't get away," I plead, but when Leninora looks up from her phone with stricken eyes, I nearly lose it.
"The tracker in Sonny's phone has him moving into Mexico. His designated safe house is in Canada...I'm so sorry Kay," Len shakes her head, and sets down the phone to wrap her arms around her waist.
She edges closer to me.
"Sonny's gone, Kay. Tough break."
Somehow, I find myself barreling into Leninora and grabbing her throat in a death grip.
Her head makes a satisfying thud against the wall and her breath makes a whooshing sound as it leaves her lungs.
A red haze clouds my vision, and I can't catch my own breath as rage builds up into a fiery pit inside my core; My temper is a living entity, a beast curled up in my stomach and occasionally it rises to the surface of my chest and takes a hold of my actions.
This is one of those times.
"What the actual fuck, Leninora?" I hiss into Leninora's face. She looks unaffected and it pisses me off.
Arms pull at me, and if it was anyone other than Cyan, I would knock them on their ass.
I glare at Leniniora as Cyan signs something at in front of my face, but I ignore her as I toss accusations at Leninora.
"You promised. You said the police would be on the scene, that there wouldn't be any risk of them getting away. You SWORE that you'd make sure they didn't walk away!" I shout the last part.
A knock at the door has me turning away to look at the wall so I can compose myself.
Cyan puts herself between me and the door, as Lorraine walks over to answer it.
"Is everything alright in here?" A deep voice asks, and I feel compelled to twist around to look at the taller, dark-haired hospital security guard.
He is ruggedly handsome, with nice skin and gorgeous hair. Something about him rings familiar but I'm too upset to guesstimate where I've seen him before.
The way he's looking at me has my skin tingling in a weird way, like goosebumps and sunshine mixed together.
Cyan is the one that answers, and she tugs at my arm to get me walking toward the door.
"We are fine, but I think we need to visit the bathroom for a moment," She says, at almost a normal pitch. I can't even imagine how much that must hurt for her.
Cy tugs harder on my arm, and manhandles me past the Lockheart women, and Loretta.
We skirt around the men in the doorway, though the bulkier of the two looks like he might reach out and grab Cy.
At the last minute it looks like he thinks better of it, which is good, because I would have ripped off his arms and beat him with them if he'd so much as touched her.
Cyan starts us off at a leisurely pace, but once we're out of sight she pulls her grip from my arm to my hand and pulls me into a jog.
People watch us with interest as we hurry down the hallway, some with too much for comfort, but I'm pulled from the odd sense of feeling exposed when Cy shoves me hard to the side.
I let out a startled yelp as her full weight presses into me.
We fall through an open door, and Cyan slams the door shut behind us. She grabs a chair from a desk and jams the door, before grabbing me and pulling me into a crouch.
She presses a single finger against her lips.
We stay absolutely still and we wait.
I notice she grabbed the black backpack Len had earlier, and it's now resting against her back.
Something's going on.
After a while, we hear someone's heavy booted feet echo down the hallway.
A deep, accented voice meets my eyes, "Where are the bathrooms?" He asks.
A soft voice answers back, and the man mutters a brief thanks before his footsteps continue toward the designated direction.
Cy waves her arms to get my attention.
"Did you see the message Leninora left open on the cellphone? When she set it down?" Cyan signs. I shake my head and Cyan huffs and gestures for us to scoot into the hospital room's tiny shower area.
I shut the screen door behind us and leave the light off so if anyone looks in, we just look like weird shadows.
"What message?" I ask, as quietly as I can.
Cyan shoves her hands into my own and rapidly signs.
"She had screenshots of someone else's messages. It was between someone here at the hospital reporting about a 'bird one' and 'bird two.' The one's I saw were about our scars. I think that Doctor, Dr. Roberts was the one sending them. The last bit had someone labeled B demanding an extraction of said 'birds'. Len had a map open on the computer and a sticky note under the keyboard. It had coordinates on it. I think Len started the fight on purpose to give us a reason to walk out. She knew the Doctor was planning something from the start."
It's so hard to follow her when she's signing this fast, but I get the gist of what she's saying:
Len wants us to make it to the safe house, without her. We are being hunted, and the doctor is in on it. The security guards are probably in on it too.
We've been compromised.
"Let's go then. Did you grab a pair of keys?" I ask, cooling down now that we have a new target in mind.
I need to get Cyan to the safe house, especially now that we have someone after us.
Staying for the kids will only make them a target. Worrying about finding Sonny will have to happen later, I can't save him if I'm getting us both kidnapped by flying off the gun.
Cyan jingles a set of keys in my ear and it makes me smile.
That's the sound of a gloating Cy. It's her lightening the mood.
Just like that, I'm back to being calm as a cucumber.
I grab the keys from her, and stride out of the bathroom with a cautionary look at the door.
We don't go for the door though. We go to the window.
This is an old hospital, with old windows, and we're on the first floor anyways. Cy picked up the right room too, the parking lot is right across from us.
I'm helping Cy hop out into the sunshine when loud banging at the door nearly gives me a heart attack.
"Chair," Cyan yelps, and I whip back to the window and nearly fly out of it.
The chair will hold for a few more seconds, giving us just enough time to get to the car.
I press the lock button, and a car makes a beep noise.
We sprint for it.
Shouting from behind us gets louder, and far off on the other side of the parking lot, a small group is running toward us.
A car roars to life behind them, but someone pulls out in front of them.
I get a good look at the group and scoff at the pretty faces.
"Who the fuck did we piss off?" I quip as I reach the adorable green 4 door truck, "A modeling agency?"
Cyan sticks her tongue out at them, and clicks her seat belt on. I do too, and we peal out of out spot.
Just as a fancy grey car comes squealing down the parking lot toward us, I get through a stop light, and the car just barely stops to avoid hitting a group of pedestrians.
I drive at a calm pace, hoping to blend into the early morning traffic, but Cyan smacks my arm.
"It's 4am, we aren't going to be able to blend into traffic once we get away from the hospital. We got luckythat the shift's were changing at the hospital, and that this area is busy, butwe need to hit the highway and make some tracks." She whispers.
She's right, I realize. I can see ahead, to the main road, and traffic is nonexistent up there.
I speed up and weave through the cars that are on the road.
"Where are we going, oh master of directions?" I ask after I pull onto the conveniently placed turn off for the highway. I glance over at her and lift my eyebrows.
She's rummaging through the backpack now and pulling out a bunch of weird equipment.
Cyan smirks at me.
"How do you feel about the mountains?"
I groan.
"I hate hiking."