"Application"

38. Defeated .38

Day 24 - Saturday

A bead of sweat rolled down your forehead.

Your left eye twitched, anxiety coiling tightly in your gut.

Andy's soft breathing was much too close for comfort, sending shivers of discomfort down your spine as you gently opened her bedside drawer.

There.

You were right.

This was one of her money stashes.

A rustling sound came from beside you, causing you to freeze and cautiously turn your eyes to Andy's form.

She was out cold.

She must have moved in her sleep.

You forced your arm to reach forward, gently picking out one of the neatly stacked piles of one-hundred-dollar bills from within the nightstand.

Maybe a few more wouldn't hurt...

Andy owed it to you, after all.

Not that any amount of money could make up for what Andy had put you through, but if you were only going to have one week maximum of freedom...

You'd better make it count, right?

Right.

The door slowly creaked open just as you were painstakingly scooping a third stack of money into your arms.

Your heart dropped.

Andy stirred.

There was a silhouette in the doorway.

...and it was Key Coalla.

She took in your appearance in the darkness, sneaking money out of her employer's nightstand like a mouse raiding the cupboards.

And she grinned.

___

"Hey there, pretty girl."

The child froze, hands clenching around the crumbling cookie in her palm.

"Bia--"

The teenage girl smiled, but it held no warmth. "Surely, you aren't taking food to that rat in the basement, now, are you?"

The child's eyes grew comically wide, quite literally like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar. "No, no! I, uh, I wanted cookies for myself!" She shoved a cookie in her mouth for emphasis, smearing melty chocolate over her chubby cheeks.

The older girl's eyes softened in mock sympathy. "Oh, Darling, were you hungry? You should have told me!"

The child huffed with relief wiping a mix of sweat and chocolate onto her skirt. "I'm...I'm very sorry, B--"

"But you do know what the consequences for feeding that boy are, don't you? Just to be careful, I think you'd better eat those cookies in front of me."

The child flinched. She had been lying when she claimed to be hungry. In reality, she had eaten dinner and was already very full. "Bi--Bianca...I, um, I don't think I'm very hungry after all..."

Bianca laughed softly. "I don't think hunger can go away that quickly. Go on, eat."

The child stared at the half-full cookie jar with trepidation, a wave of nausea crashing over her.

Then she looked at Bianca's menacing grin, and she hesitantly plucked out another of the cookies.

And she took a bite.

___

Okay.

So, you were in a compromising position right now...

One enemy asleep next to you, the other enemy blocking your only means of escape,

and you were caught red-handed with a pile of stolen cash.

In other words? You were screwed.

You felt sweat building up on the back of your neck.

Key was impossible to read. All you could see was that usual flat look of amusement.

It never seemed to change.

She beckoned you closer and, having run out of any other options, you hesitantly approached the doorway.

But you didn't put down your stolen money. You would die holding the money if need be.

Once you were close enough, Key pulled you out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind you.

Key looked at you searchingly.

You gave her the dead stare you had been perfecting for years. "Are you going to tell Andy?"

Unfortunately, that seemed to be exactly the question that Key had hoped to hear. Her face split into a wide Cheshire grin and she mockingly pretended to think for a moment. "Should I?"

You didn't reply.

Key leaned against the wall, languidly shrugging her shoulders. "Hmm...I don't think I will," She met your eyes and smirked. "If I can come with you when you escape."

Your eyes widened. "Why would you--"

"--risk my job to help you escape?" Key guessed.

You nodded slowly.

"What matters isn't why I want to help you, but how I could help you. Alone, you won't get far. If it were only Andy that you had to worry about...maybe a week or two. But with the others..."  You shot her a confused look, which she ignored. "I'd say a day. If you truly have luck on your side, two. But considering the fact that you're even in this situation to begin with... I'd go with a day."

"And you can help me how, exactly...?"

To your dismay, you seemed to have once again said exactly what Key was hoping to hear. "All I can tell you is that you won't be needing any of Andy's money if I'm with you." She smiled innocently. "...oh, and the alternative would be me waking Andy up and you being put under tighter security. So, what do you say?"

You deadpanned. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really, no."

You rolled your eyes, defeated.

"Alright, you can come with me."