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 Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 2:26 pm
The Lightfoot minimum security penitentiary is the fourth largest minimum security prison in the country and second in the state. Not every bad guy that heroes catch actually deserve to be locked up indefinitely: for every Titan there were thirty or so glue gunners, or shock hoppers, or other badly named wannabes who thought they could earn a quick buck only be captured by one of the numerous vigilantes that patrol the streets.
The Warden, George Barbeck, had a genius solution to the perpetual growth of the prison population which was to sell off inmates to the highest bidder. While highly illegal, extremely morally questionable, it could be kept off the books by exploiting some very small loopholes and bribing a few dozen members of the board it could be kept off the books.
Sasha Thompson, High Priestess of the Children of Fire is currently visiting the prison in order to bolster her ranks and Tigress, a former vigilante, is the next prisoner she is scheduled to visit.
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 2:47 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 09:58"And this," He spoke with a great deal of pride for something Sasha considered to be huge waste of money. She failed to understand why there were so many bad villains nor why anyone would insist they be punished for their petty crimes. "Is the female cells." She had been given the grand tour, from the men's side in all it's dull grey glory to the yard, a thoroughly brown patch of ground that denied life. Then through into the women's laundry room, which was almost as bad as the men's side except contained the a considerable amount of awful orange clothes that were being hung out to dry. And finally as the warden had pointed out prematurely the cells. Their party, consisting of Sasha, the warden, and a single guard, slowed as they passed through the final checkpoint, which they were swiftly allowed through. The warden leered at her as they stopped to take in the ugly sights, his eyes wandered down her spotted white blouse, past the pin that marked her faith, her boring yet practical skirt and finally stopping at the sandals that he had insisted she wear. She was not one for footwear but they were a gift and since wearing them created a rapport, she had forced herself to wear them in the hope that she got a discount. She tapped her foot, watching his eyes move then coughed politely to move the tour on wards. They walked through the cells together, Sasha followed along, never one to back down in the face of confrontation, she made sure to stare down any prisoners who thought themselves tough. Finally they reached the rec room, it was the place where the interviews were to be held. She had spoken to several of the prisoners in the men's section, most of them dull and didn't fit the criteria for her inner circle. Despite that, nearly all would make excellent soldiers given the right motivation. She was planning to make an offer on the lot however she hadn't made her feeling known to the warden, deciding instead to play it coy instead. A desk had been set up near the middle of the room, identical to how it had been in the men's side. "George, could you wait outside again? I don't want them..." She paused to think of something other than 'put off by your creepiness' before settling on "Intimidated by you." She touched the warden's arm and he nodded, the guard, however, stayed. Sasha walked over to the desk, assessed it as unstable and then sat on the plastic chair they had provided. "Bring them in." She raised her voice enough to be heard by the guards outside and played with her bangles as she waited for the prisoner to be led in. The bangles shifted in shape as she watched the guards lead a girl across the room and stand her in front of the table. She knew from the warden's boasts that the girl was a vigilante, or had been. She wasn't up to date on the laws that defined vigilantes and what they could and couldn't do, but if she had wound up in prison then she probably crossed some sort line. "Key." He tapped the table and the guard in charge nodded to the men who had just brought her in before they dropped the key to Tigress's cuffs on the makeshift desk. "Thank you. Now, I think we'll only need one of you." She pointed to the guard who had entered with her and the others left to stand the outside of the door. Sasha smiled at Tigresses as she waited for the door to close, the set up was important, some things couldn't be rushed. She could have introduced herself wearing full ceremonial garb, drenched in blood and spout religious rhetoric to everyone she met, but that wouldn't get her what she wanted. "Thank you for meeting me, Miss..." She found it was better to let them tell her their name. One of the male prisoners had insisted on being called Red Rocket, apparently he had some sort of flight power, and she felt there was no reason to call him anything else. "I was wondering if you could tell me a little about yourself before I get into why I'm here." She had a rough idea about what she wanted in a real member; someone creative, unorthodox and able to follow through on their ideas. So far she hadn't come close.
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:44 pm
The warden hadn't told the prisoners much other than someone was looking to 'buy' some of them. The thought of being boughten made Abigail's hackles rise. As if this was the 1800s and people were just things to be bought, sold and traded. But with her particular skill set, escaping wouldn't be too difficult, would it? At least easier from escaping from the prison, especially since if she escaped from her 'buyer' they could hardly report it. That would open up a can of worms the warden would much rather not open. However, when she stepped into the rec room behind the guard, she found herself shocked for several reasons. First was the fact that it was a woman sitting behind the desk. Perhaps it was a bit sexist and judgemental of her, but she had expected some dirty old man to be the one looking to buy prisoners. The second was that she actually recognized the woman. Pamphlets had been circulating around the homeless community. The ring of fire on the front had become easily recognizable, though Abby had to wonder if the woman knew how many of them were being used as insulation in cardboard boxes. Inside had the woman's likeness as well as some information about some new religion. It was more than that though. She had seen the woman in person, handing out food. Naturally, she was skeptical, but she wasn't about to tell her friends to turn down free food. "Abby" She finished the implied question well rubbing her wrists a bit. If only the guard knew she could still kick his a** with them on. Tell a little about herself? Swapping tragic life stories was a hobby on the streets, but no one asked so directly. Still, she gave a nonchalant shrug. "Not much to tell. Lived on the streets my whole life. Some pyro thought it would be fun to burn down a building a bunch of my friends were staying in and one of the so-called heroes took exception to my methods, so I ended up here." She decided to wait and see how Sasha responded before revealing she recognized the woman.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:28 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:00Sasha placed her hands in front of her, fingers together as she listened to Abby. She made a mental note of her name, immediately deciding that she liked the girl for not insisting to be called her hero name. People who did that deserved what they got coming, but that was neither her not there. She watched movements, from the way she held herself to the way she played with her cuffs, everything said she was strong, confident and intelligent. No visible wounds indicated that she either held her own or didn't get into fights, either would be a good quality. Sasha smiled as Abby professed there wasn't much to tell, she new a great many people who made that claim only to have lived full lives. A life on the street, resourceful, another good trait. Sasha suspected from that alone she was aware of the children, they did so much campaigning with the homeless that it would be improbable that she she wasn't aware of her. "I remember the incident." She did, it was genuinely heartbreaking, of course by her groups teaching the person responsible should be cast into the same pit as those who failed to stop him. "So you were the agent of justice? I have to thank you and apologise, by the time news reached me it was already too late. I'm trying to fix that, but there just isn't enough of us yet." She shook her head, honestly upset that she couldn't do anything at that time. Sasha pulled her hands apart and clapped suddenly, changing the subject of discussion and changing the tone of the meeting in the same action. "Let's not dwell on the past, we have to move forwards otherwise we'll end up stagnating." She paused for a moment, thinking about what to say next, it was the phasing, she knew what she wanted to say, it was trying to get away from the idea of slavery. The children weren't slaves, but she would expect a certain level of professionalism in any prisoner she purchased today. "I expect the warden has told you what my purpose is here today. He makes it sound so black and white." She rolled her eyes as she mentioned the warden, how she detested him so, the guard made no comment on the matter and was all the wise for it. "I find myself in a difficult situation, I want to help people, I have the resources and know how it needs to be done, except there are so many obstacles in my way. Regulations, heroes, gangs. I feel like Sisyphus, stuck pushing a rock up a hill only for it to roll back down every time I make any progress." She gestured to the side as if to dismiss that, she started again with a question. "Are you interested in helping your friends? Not getting some hot blooded revenge and being punished, but helping improve their situation?"
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 2:20 pm
Now that surprised Abby, and she didn't put any effort into hiding that surprise. "You know what happened?" She asked, wondering if Sasha would be able to offer up any details. There was a spark of hope there, that this new religion was looking to do more than just pay lip service and make themselves feel good without truly caring about the troubles of the streets. She wasn't quite ready to believe, but the spark was there. The sudden change in tone caught her off guard. Not dwelling on the past would be a tough sell. It was practically a sport. "I suppose it would depend on how you plan to help. Lots of people offer to improve the lives of the homeless. Few ever do." Mostly because few ever took the time to speak to the homeless and find out what the problems really were. There was a tax on being poor. Overdraft fees, late fees, and compound interest that keep increasing what you owed until there was no hope of digging yourself out. More often than not, they were people who had a medical emergency, got scammed or simply fell behind. Some had been kicked out of the house as teens and never had a chance at a normal life to start with. There were hundreds of different stories, but one thing was true. People who lost their homes to drugs and alcohol was a lot less common than the rich and middle class told themselves, and people who were simply too lazy to get a job simply didn't exist. Living on the streets was hard work. But all of that involved reform politicians weren't willing to make, so their solution to the homeless was to break up the tent cities as if the homeless had anywhere else to go but another park, or put them on buses to other places. To hide and oppress the people of the streets, not help them. What solutions could this church possibly offer? The spark was there. Abby sincerely wanted to believe this Sasha and her church could change things, but she had heard too many promises of change only to find out those rich politicians didn't have a plan in place.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:27 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:02"Yes. I've pieced together most of it, I think." She smiled softly. She wasn't there to set Abby on some sort of revenge quest, if needs must at a later date but for now she was just interested in recruiting her. "I will offer them the same thing that I offer you... A cause." She slid the key to the front of the desk and spun it so that it was parallel to the edge. "In this city power is currency, the strong dominate the weak, people who don't match up get cast aside. And then they get together and try to do something but garbage-" She held up her hand to stop her reacting violently, she was just paraphrasing her thoughts for the sake of time. "Will always be less than human in the eyes of those with power. A hero will save a dog from a river but not look twice if there is a man without shoes begging in front of that tower of theirs." She motioned towards the key, the test was to take it, it was just something to see if she could, the guard already knew he was not to interfere. "I want to change that, I have power, information and plans, but alone they mean nothing. I want to help people, I want to change the status quo and fix this broken world." She smiled. "The children preach unity and equality, but I want to take it further." She moved in her seat, she had wanted to avoid religious rhetoric as she was aware it made some people uncomfortable. "I am unable to go into the specifics though, the walls have ears." She nodded to the guard who just sat stoic at his post. "Let us just say it would shake things up. Now, a question for you." She paused for effect. "Are you curious?"
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:20 pm
Abigail certainly liked the sound of everything she heard. Even if her eyes narrowed slightly at being called garbage, she couldn't deny it was true. Most animals were treated better than they were. Olympia with all her fame and money sat high in her ivory tower, loved by all. And for what? Because she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and powers that made her invincible. She never had to struggle a day in her life, but couldn't be bothered to use all of the things she'd been handed in life to open a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. Another thought popped up in the back of Abby's mind. One born from a hard life. Was it all too good to be true? She had to fight for every meal. Things like socks were hard-won and even when Abby tried to do the right thing, it often had bad consequences. She had never been handed a thing in her life, yet here this woman was, offering her almost everything she ever wanted. A world with true equality. Where you rose and fell based on your own merit and hard work, not what you were born with. Then again, even if it was too good to be true, what did she have to lose? Really? She was already in prison. All of her worldly possessions could be easily scavaged off the streets and the closest thing she had to family was the other homeless. Worst case nothing would change, just like all of the empty promises that had come before. Best case, this was an opportunity to change the world for the better. Green eyes travelled down to the key Sasha gestured at. She was obviously meant to take it, though Abby wouldn't say why exactly. Perhaps some kind of symbolism of seizing power. It seemed obvious that Sasha was into that sort of thing, with her pamphlets and pins. She glanced at the guard, somewhat doubtful he was even listening. Likely he had already heard this pitch over a dozen times today. "Alright, I'll bite." She said with a bit of smile, reaching for the key while watching Sasha.
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Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 3:17 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:04Sasha slipped off her bangle, that it didn't react to her touch was more an effort of concentration on her part. Her fingers reworked the smooth edges as she watched her. She played with it as she watched Abby make up her mind. They had all day, of the people she had interviewed already two had gone for the key. The first had taken the key at the beginning but not unlocked his cuffs. It was probably an attempt to gain an upper hand in some mental game he had been playing, the game had bored her and she had decided to end negotiations early. He had returned the key in an effort to change her mind but it only changed the rules for the test. The second one was so vile that she had been forced to terminate the interview at that point and the man was escorted swiftly out of the room before Sasha could take his other arm. "Excellent." She said in response, reaching forwards and slipping her bracelet on the woman as she took the key, she shifted the size slightly to make it more comfortable. "A gift, a threat and a promise. So long as you wear that I shall be your master. Together we'll do great things. But cross me or the children and I'll come for you personally." She was being a little theatrical, she knew, but things like this needed a certain amount of flair. She had etched Abby's name into the inside and carved a cat into the outside, something about the girls mannerisms made her think of it. She grinned at her. "One last thing, before I call back the warden and we finalise the deal, did you have any questions for me about me? It's not fair that you work for me without knowing anything about who I am." Sasha had few secrets, but they weren't the sort of thing someone could just guess and were more for the sake of appearance. Religions needed secrets.
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:52 pm
Abigail studied the bracelet while Sasha spoke. An unexpected gift. She couldn't help but wonder if it had some sort of tracking device embedded in it, or would somehow kill her if she betrayed Sasha. Anything was possible in a world where superpowers existed. Master. That word rankled, even if she had technically just agreed to be bought by the woman. Then her eyes returned to Sasha as she let her arm fall with her new piece of jewelry. "What put you on this crusade? A lot of people either ignore the problems or acknowledge them with token gestures to earn political points. Most worship the likes of Olympia. What made you decide to take action?" It seemed like as good of a question as any. If she was going to join this woman in tipping the balance between the super powerful and the normal, she best know what drove Sasha.
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:41 am
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:06Sasha listened to the question in it's entirety before formulating an answer. "That's quite a question, I thought you might want to know about my powers or something simple." She smiled and looked at the guard. He was there for the prisoner's safety more than hers but she was not one of her following and so she needed to phrase herself carefully. Especially when it came to her feelings on Olympia. She turned her attention back to Abby, it had only been a quick glance but she hoped that her new ally would be able to understand that this wasn't the best place for this talk but she would answer as best she could. "Crusade is a good term. I think I'll use it more. It is certainly apt." She breathed in, ready to answer. "I've always known that I wanted to better the world, or at least live in a better world. My mom she was a..." She paused for a moment then shook her head. "Well, I was going to do social work but after school I didn't feel like studying any more so I left to travel the world instead. I convinced myself I was happy for a time but the further I went the more I came to realise that there were people much worse off than me, and so I decided to come back and fix it." It was a condensed version of the story but for a true retelling they would be there all night. "I couldn't ignore it, it's against my nature, and I care little for a society that has allowed this to happen in the first place. Olympia, her hero companions and villain rivals are two sides of the same coin." She paused before answering the final question. "As to what exactly made me decide to take action, that's a secret. Perhaps I'll let you in one day but for now let's just say I saw something that opened my eyes." There was a knock at the door and a muffled 'two minutes' from the other side. "Are you ready to leave right away? Does the prison have any of your stuff you want to take with you?" She was intending to leave with Abby that day.
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 2:10 pm
"Your powers don't tell me what kind of person you are." Abby followed Sasha's eyes to the guard in the room. So not her goon than. She had the sudden feeling that if she had gone for the key, she would have gotten tased and tackled to the ground by the said guard. Abigail sat back in her chair and listened with interest while Sasha explained, in fairly vague terms, how she got started. Abby wished Sasha would tell her what exactly made Sasha decide to do this. A person's motivation was important to Abby. Wishes didn't make a poor man rich, so Abby would need to move forward with cautious optimism. "Social workers usually work hard, but they are only a bandaid. The problems are so much larger than they can solve. I'm glad you didn't stick with it." Usually being the operative word. Not all social workers were there to help but were predators using the position to take advantage of the poor and helpless. "Does the prison have any of your stuff you want to take with yo u?" She was homeless. Most people would assume Abby didn't have anything of worth. Yet, Sasha thought to ask. Maybe Sasha really did care, and this wasn't about using the homeless as her personal army to gain power. Maybe. "I'm fine with leaving today, but I do have a couple of things I want to grab from my cell." Well, mostly she wanted to hand out a few of her possession to those she was leaving behind.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:57 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:08Sasha smiled slightly but didn't agree with her, there was much about someone you could learn by knowing their power. There was a great number of fliers that looked down on people and she was known to smoulder. She didn't press it though, she doubted it would take too long for it to come out. "They are just stretched thin, if someone came along who was willing to put a little more time and effort into it, inject the right amount of funds and dish out the right kind of power it would be a little more effective than a bandaid... But thank you. I'm glad I didn't too." She gave her a wink. "I'm sure it won't be an issue to swing by on the way out." She looked at the guard. "We're ready. Let him in." She looked back at Abby as the guard made to open the door. "Stick by me, no matter what happens." She smiled at her and then led the way to the door, it had just swung open to reveal the warden's pasty face peering in. He was looking considerably worse for wear and was dabbing his forehead with a piece of paper. His eyes lingered on her sandle'd feet before snapping up to look her in the eyes, which he couldn't quite meet. He repulsed her. "You need to leave. Take that one back to her cell, we're going to have to call this off for today. A suit from City Hall is here, they want to do a full inspection." Sasha's eyes narrowed. "We had a deal, Mister Barbeck. Either you fulfill your end to the best of your ability or I'll call it off."While the warden was having a very visible internal debate about how he wanted to handle the situation he found himself in, Sasha was contemplating the very same thing. Although she managed to keep a cool head. The room they found themselves in was less than ideal, the floor was laminate probably to make it easier to clean, the door ahead of them led to the administration part of the prison while the one behind led to the cell blocks and had been the where Abby had been brought in from. While there was windows, the bars on them made it quite difficult to actually use them as an escape route. She recalled the route they had taken through the men's wing and guessed that this wing was pretty similar. The man was still struggling. "Abby, would you be opposed to being kidnapped?" She looked hard at the warden then turned to speak to Abby and explain her thoughts. "If City Hall are here today then they are most likely here to put an end to the warden's operation, I'm sure they would deny it if questioned but nevertheless I'm not willing to wait until you are released. If however, you are broken out the warden can find someone else to blame for our escape and likely keep his pension at the end of this." She also liked the idea of having the warden in her pocket, but that didn't need to be said.
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:00 pm
"Stick by me, no matter what happens." Abby wasn't sure she had that level of commitment yet. She wasn't about to follow the woman off of the edge of a building, or something equally stupid, though she did wonder if she was about to face another test of some kind. Sharp green eyes fell on the warden when the door swung open. Naturally, Abby had a dislike for the male, though she knew it wasn't entirely fair. After all, he didn't have a hand in her being here. He was merely a minion, doing as he had been ordered to. Just as he had no control in her being put here, he could not release her either. Legally that was since it seemed he had agreed to sell her. Nonetheless, he was still her jailer and she hadn't found her time in a cage enjoyable. Abigail hadn't been informed of the situation before being brought in this room. She assumed she was chosen because she was a homeless street rat with no family to speak of. She was a pretty low risk when it came to going public about human trafficking that was happening. Still, she was smart enough to piece together what was going on. A surprise inspection, where the Warden was up s**t creek without a paddle. "I'm not sure it is kidnapping if I am willing, but I doubt anyone is going to look too hard for me." The prisons in Chicago seemed to have a revolving door on them, frequently leading to the escape of way more dangerous people than herself. With the man-hunt still going on for a recent mass breakout of the high-security prison, no one was going to waste time looking for her. Yet, somehow, the people still thought Olympia was the saviour of the city.
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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 1:25 pm
Sasha Thompson September 12th, 10:10Sasha's eyes burned bright for a moment as she calculated their escape. "Excellent. Then you know what to tell the suit." She gave the warden a fraction of a second to register what was happening, before grabbing the door and slamming it shut in his face. She looked at the guard who was still inside with them. "Keys." It was a demand spoken by someone who didn't like to be messed with. She found that the easiest way to get what you want out of someone was to ask sternly after giving an example of power. It was most certainly effective against people with sense, heroes not so much. The guard was more than privy to her ability and after handing over the keys on his belt, he moved to sit in a chair where she knew he wouldn't be a bother. She locked the door and fused it shut, smoke rose from the key hole as she turned back to Abby but there was no obvious signs of how she had done it. "That should give us time. I think the warden will object to me rampaging around his facility." She gave her a wink and passed her the key ring, before taking a seat to remove the sandals. "Check that the cost is clear, we'll go by your cell first, then head to the yard via the cafeteria." She paused for confirmation that the wings were identical, if not either Abby could lead her outside or they could create a distraction. Although she suspected that they might have to do that anyway, the warden would need to put on a show if he was to convince the suit that he was serious about his job. "There." She tossed the shoes aside and proceeded to join Abby by the door. "Let's go."
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Deadly_Tiger Vice Captain
Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 1:11 pm
Abby grinned at Sasha slamming the door in the Warden's face. Granted, it would have been better if she had gotten to do it herself, but the momentary glips of his stunned expression before the door closed was plenty satisfying. Abigail was equally impressed that the guard meekly handed over the keys, before sitting down. Maybe she should try forcefully ordering someone around in the future. It seemed pretty effective. Abigail wrinkled her nose in disgust as acrid smoke rose from the metal door. There were definite downsides to having an overly sensitive nose. Especially in prison, where shower time was limited and many of the homeless seemed to have better personal hygiene. That or being outside, where the wind carried away the B.O. instead of being trapped in cramped quarters made a bigger difference than one would think. The sudden smell of burnt metal caused Abby to choke though before she took to breathing through her mouth. "You gotta warn a girl next time." She commented, blinking back tears. Thoughts about what Sasha's power was were lost to her suffering and burning nose. "I feel bad for the guards in the women's wing already." She grinned, though it probably looked odd with the tears in her eyes. Keys in hand, she paused on her way to the non-melted door. "We are still stopping at my cell?" She had figured with the Warden showing up and operation kidnap, getting her things had gone out the window. Even if it was on the way it didn't seem like there was time to stop. More so, a mad dash to freedom. "Are we going to pop a few cells open along the way?" Certainly freeing her fellow inmates and starting a riot was a good way to keep the warden busy. Unlocking the door, she popped her head into the hall. "There's a guard at the other end of the hall." She pulled her head back in and looked at Sasha curiously. "I wouldn't recommend walking around this place bare foot."
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