Film Noir: Enter the Shadow

[labcoatgirl]

Betty Ross walked a determined pace along the sidewalk, holding her notes and purse snugly under her arm. The weather looked about to turn inclement so she wanted to get home as soon as possible. There was an uneasy feeling carried on the wind, a typical California phenomenon called a Santa Ana. Betty was a little more uneasy as she walked, distracted by her thoughts of work.

She was so distracted in fact, that when she saw an opportunity to hail a cab, she ran right into a man exiting one of the many clubs on the strip. Her papers all went to the sidewalk. "Oh no!" Betty scrambled on her knees to try and collect them before the wind could take them too far to catch.

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[labcoatgirl]

Betty's heart thumps in her chest as she moves where prompted, her hands still up as she walks. At least the thugs were still looking for Mr. Cranston's 'friend' which meant he hadn't been captured yet.

Once they got to the Captain's cabin, they restrained Lamont to a chair but the boss kept his gun trained on Betty. Banking on the fact that the man wouldn't do anything while the woman was in shooting distance. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're on a tight schedule." Betty is sat down forceibly at the desk, a piece of paper and pen put in front of her. "I want the new polymer you've been working on."

Betty knew she couldn't give it to him. But as she's pausing for a suitable answer, the man points his gun at Mr. Cranston. "You start writing or in five seconds, I'll be putting a bullet into your friend here. And every five seconds after that." Betty wasn't willing to give up someone's life for a scientific discovery. She clutched the pen worriedly before starting to scribble something as slowly as she dared.

[sable_cloak]

Indeed, Lamont wasn't about to risk Betty's life so long as the weapon was pointed at her. He grudgingly allowed them to strap him to the chair. The demand made it only too obvious, her being addressed as "Doctor" was a well-deserved title, if they knew she had the information they wanted. It helped him to know she was not only sharp, but intelligent.

Finally the weapon is pointed at him, and he keeps that impassive expression on his face as he eyes up the gun, the hand holding it, and then the boss. A glance over to Betty tells him she's stalling for time, but it won't work for long, which is why he's working his hands free again. He's trying to work quickly, because Betty's tactic is working, but it won't stay that way for very long.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty is doing her best to stay calm, writing out a variant of the polymer but not the exact formula. She was hoping he wouldn't know the difference either way. But she was still writing slowly, trying to think of a way out of this.

"Faster, please," the boss sets the barrel his gun against her head to motivate her. Betty can't help the pen wavering as she tries to accommodate.

[sable_cloak]

Lamont scowls as the threats begin to escalate, and realizes he has to create another diversion, something to buy both of them time. The other thug who had met up with the boss was still in the room, so Lamont closes his eyes. He doesn't want them to betray his identity, but not seeing Betty at gunpoint also helps him focus a bit better. He can feel the thug's mind, and the weak will there is precisely what Lamont was hoping to find. He opens his eyes slightly with his chin lowered, the effect looking more like a resentful glare than the concentrated focus it really is. With his eyes shrouded, the wouldn't reflect what little light there was in the room.

He willed the underling to bend to his command, but it wasn't an easy task. Precious moments were wasted, but if that gun wasn't turned away from Betty, Lamont couldn't make a move without threatening her life. Slowly he could feel the thug's mind bend, but it was requiring intense concentration. He had to hold off on giving the command to attack the boss until he could be certain the thug would follow through, but it would only be a moment more until he could start the cascade of events.

[labcoatgirl]

"Okay, okay! It's done, here." Betty giving over the scribbled papers to the boss as he backed off with the gun still pointed at her to glance at them. A smirk flickering on his face. "Nice try. This is useless and you know it." He crumples the paper in his hand and tosses it at her sharply. "I've had enough of your stalling." He nods at the henchman, "Shoot him."

[sable_cloak]

Well, that worked too. In fact, it serves as a premature trigger, and the thug dumbly turns, raising his gun at his boss and pulling the trigger. Lamont loses his concentration, a bit surprised, and perhaps disappointed at the results because the thug, in his incomplete state of hypnosis, has missed.

The boss is staring dumbly for a moment at the thug before raising his gun at the man as the fog lifts, and he realizes what he's just done. He makes panicked motions, begging for his life as the boss snarls and fires.

That, is Lamont's cue as he frees his hands at last, and makes a desperate dive at the boss, both men dropping to the floor and getting into a grapple for the gun in hand. Lamont could have gone for the other weapon, but he's more concerned that the boss would start shooting wildly in the room, endangering Betty. At least this way, he can work to control where the gun is pointed, even if it occasionally wavers dangerously toward himself.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty's not sure what went wrong, but she is moving the moment the thug is dropped by the boss's bullet. At first diving for the floor but when she sees where Lamont has gone for, she quickly gets up to try and help. The only weapon is the thug's gun which she retrieves and points at the struggling men. Lamont was too close though, she couldn't fire it off without hitting him.

[sable_cloak]

Lamont is managing to stay on top of the boss, holding the advantage to some degree. The gun wavers again, but it's not pointing toward Betty, so when the weapon fires, Lamont doesn't pay it much mind. He knows he's been hit, the arm stinging, but his adrenaline helps him to ignore the pain as he finally wrestles the weapon back around. With the muzzle pointed at the boss, the trigger is pulled. It's not a kill shot, but the man is more severely wounded. The gun clatters to the floor and Lamont rolls off. He's breathing heavily, tired and sore as he looks up at Betty, a hand idly wandering up to cover the oozing wound.

[labcoatgirl]

The boss crumples to the floor next to his thug. Betty scrambles to get the other gun, knowing the shots had made quite a lot of noise. They wouldn't be alone for long. She quickly hurries to Lamont's side, "You're hurt, here..." Betty quickly pulls off her neck scarf to push into the wound. Helping him was a priority but really they needed to get out of here before they were discovered. "How bad is it?"

[sable_cloak]

"It's not bad. Thank you." He takes the scarf gratefully, tying it up around the arm. He takes her second gun, wincing, but holding it with his wounded arm as he gets up.

"I'm much better off than they are." He nods with a wane smile at the thug and the boss who lay on the floor. "We need to move." He is well aware of the urgency, thugs down below would be expecting shots, but might still come to see a grisly scene, or to help with the cleanup. Transitioning the weapon to his good arm, he leads the way for the door.

[labcoatgirl]

"That was a foolhardy chance you took," Betty says, but she really doesn't mean it. She's just all worried that he's shot worse than he's telling. She stays at his wounded arm in case he needs help getting out the door. Her own gun in hand, one that she's prepared to use too. Her dad was an army general, she definitely knew her way around handguns.

It was still a moonlit night outside the door but the guards were coming back towards the Captain's cabin. Betty ducked down slightly, not sure which way to run. The moment they got up the stairs, they would be seen.