Work Text:
“I don’t think you should go to town for a while.”
“What? Why not? You said the coast was clear.”
“It is. Or at least I think it is. But that’s what I thought last week, too.”
“That was a fluke. And besides, we got away, didn’t we? That other deposit is two miles from the library, tops.”
“You got lucky. Maybe next time you won’t.”
Kid, you don’t even know how long it’s been since I got lucky . “If I just stop writing without letting her know why, she’s gonna think they got me.”
“Better than them actually getting you. Or Michael, or me. We’re all at risk, you know.”
“Well what do you want me to do, Gibson? I can’t just… look, if they knew where we were, they’d be camped just out of range of the ore, right? And you’d be able to sense them. But they’re not, so that means whoever happened to find us last week never managed to tell anyone before they got… neutralized, or whatever.”
“That doesn’t mean more won’t find us. I’m telling you, we need to lay low for a while and make sure.”
“And I’m telling you I need to at least tell her I’ll be out of contact for a while.” For god’s sake, I owe her that much. “Please. Michael doesn’t even have to take me. I’ll go on my own, and neither of you has to be in any danger.”
“You know he’ll never let you take his bike.”
“Damnit, then I’ll walk if I have to! But I’m going.”
“It’s fifteen miles. You’re crazy.”
“No, crazy is hiding out here and hoping they’ll just forget about us. Crazy is doing nothing while my family, the only family I have left in this world, is waiting for me to come home. Look, I’ll do what you ask, and I’ll lay low, but not before I write to her one more time and not without starting to look for a way to beat these assholes. Really beat them, not just hide from them.”
“There’s no way--”
“We know their weakness. We just have to figure out how to use it against them. I don’t know what the answer is yet, but I have to believe that we can find one if we work together.”
“...Okay. If you promise you’ll be careful--”
“Of course I’ll be careful.”
“ And you promise if anyone finds you, you’ll run, whether or not you’ve finished your letter. And after this, you’ll stay out of town for a while. Maybe we can make them think we left, found a different place to hide.”
“Sure, Gibson, I promise. But you have to promise to help me figure out how to beat them. I know you know more than you’ve told me. We need to work together.”
“I’ve told you everything. Well, almost. But fine. I can’t promise it’ll actually help, but come back alive, and I’ll do my best.”
“Deal.”