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“Cool. I was so ready to go, but there’s one thought lingering in my mind…” You keep it vague for the reveal.
“What is it?” Crossbill doesn’t respond with animosity but seems confused.
“The Jaylene you mentioned, I know her, not personally, but she’s related to one of my teammates.” You say, then put your hand over your ear to signal you’re talking to HQ. “Bubbles, you there? Can you connect me with Spooky if you can?”
“Sure! It’s going to take a bit. She’s the hardest one to get a hold of.” Bubbles explains. “Cheese-on-Wheels has been notified.”
“Thank you.” You put your hand away. “Sorry, I’m acting a little scatterbrained.” You apologize to Crossbill. “Can you tell me about your encounter with Jaylene?”
“Did you figure out she’s in here or something?” Crossbill crosses her arms.
“Is she?!” You act surprised.
“Sorry, Knockout. I’m guessing where your mind is heading, I don’t have an answer. I’ve never seen her again after our encounter.” Crossbill crosses her arms.
“What happened between you two?” You wonder.
“It’s not much to delve into. She snuck in here to try to bust out whoever used to be in the cell I was in before this one.” Crossbill chuckles. “I noticed her little buddy hanging above her elbow, and we talked. Clueless, that girl, like a lost puppy. I had to help her find a way out. Ended up taking the fall to distract security. But that wasn’t the end of it, my situation was reassessed — they found out who I was enemies with— and they threw me in this dump.”
“Weird. Did she find whoever she was looking for? Do you even know who that was for that matter?” You ask.
“I’d say her lips were shut tight but she couldn’t stop stuttering. I never found out. I made her promise to tell me once we were out of here, but only one of us made it.” Crossbill said it was a funny thing, but she sounds more frustrated than anything.
“Damn. When was this?” You wonder.
“Can’t tell night from day anymore. Feels like a couple of months ago.” Crossbill shrugs. If Jaylene had her flame, it should’ve been before she tried to kidnap Constance, so the math checks out…
“I can’t believe that idiot went through the trouble…” That’s Spooky’s voice! It’s coming from your phone. The Odetta Virus is back...
“Is this where that noise is coming from?” Crossbill snatched your phone from your pocket before you could pull it out.
“Don’t do that.” You grab your phone back. “Spooky, is that you? Did you hear us talk?”
“That I did, Noon.” Odetta grins.
