[Plot] Bears and Bodyguards

[Nika Novak]

For the second time in too short a time, Nika finds herself coming out of a painkiller-induced haze, staring up at the white ceiling of a hospital room and the irregular flicker of a fluorescent tube. After a couple moments of groaning memories begin to filter in and she suddenly bolts upright, pulling at her various bandages from the sudden movement and finding herself tangled in tubes and cables. Yanking them off, much to the electronic protest of the attached machines, she slides out of bed. Her leg gives out from under her and she narrowly manages to catch herself on the side of the bed before remembering to put her weight on the non-injured side.

She recognizes the medical center, which is a bit sad in it's own way, but more than that, she notices the person lieing on the other bed in the room, both hands handcuffed to the bed. She recognizes the hair and more than that, the familiar voice she couldn't quite place during the fighting now has a face. One she's seen before at this very school.

"You..." she hisses under her breath.

[Byrna Cooper]

The unmistakable visage of Byrna Cooper lay prone, similarly entangled in a variety of tubes and electrodes and bandages.

Her eyes opened, and she slowly turned her head to face Nika.

“Oh. You’re here too.”

She weakly struggled against the restraints a moment, before ceding she was out of options for the time being.

[Nika Novak]

"How did I miss this? Who are you? How long have you been plotting to kill Katarina?" Nika immediately launches into questions, though she refrains from advancing on Byrna. Mainly because she's still holding on to her own bed frame for support.

[Byrna Cooper]

“My name is Perlot Steeloux, the Ghost Hawk. You’ve earned that by sending me here, mutant.”

She closed her eyes.

“And I believe I’ll wait for a contact from the Symkarian embassy now.”

[Nika Novak]

That makes Nika pale for a moment because it implies whatever plan there was succeeded. And just because she's back in England doesn't mean Katarina and Jez made it.

"To extradite and execute you, presumably." she says simply because she doesn't want to face the possibility of a successful coup, but it's a weak bluff.

[Byrna Cooper]

“Presumably. But there are dozens of steps between here and there. And whatever happens, I much prefer it to occur in my homeland, rather than this damp island of misfit Brits.”

She tested the restraints briefly, finding little give. The bluff hadn’t been called. Yet.

[Nika Novak]

"Homeland. Really. Because the background check I ran on you last year said otherwise."

[Byrna Cooper]

“Well in that case, I guess you’re incompetent at both protection AND information gathering. I’m as much a child of Symkaria as you are, Nika Novak.”

[Nika Novak]

"If you had succeeded we'd still be in Symkaria and it'd be me handcuffed to the bed, not you. There's something you're not telling me."

[Byrna Cooper]

“There’s plenty I’m not telling you! It comes with the profession. And when it comes to mutants, complications are endless. One of your friends I’m sure could have teleported us here in the confusion. Either I succeeded, or you did. The fact I am restrained in your child soldier factory doesn’t change that calculation.”

[Nika Novak]

Nika laughs out loud at that.

"This place? Please. I haven't seen a single person do 200 push-ups in the rain or scrub fishes by hand for stepping out of line. And you better hope Katarina is still alive or you won't be for much longer." she says and starts hobbling towards the door. "Hey! I need a phone or something!" she shouts into the hallway, steadying herself against the door while holding it open.

[Narrator]

A doctor, in an official Doctoring Coat, started pushing Nika back into the room.

"Ms. Novak, please, you're injured. You need to lie back down."

[Byrna Cooper]

‘Perlot’ snickered at that.

“It’s not so difficult to keep you constrained after all!”

[Nika Novak]

"I need a phone, now!" she says and rather than budge she reaches for the most likely places the doctor would keep his own phone. Lab coat pockets, belt clip and such, until she finds it and swiftly dials Katarina's number while letting herself be corralled back towards her bed.

[Katarina Karkov]

The phone rings and rings and rings and rings and rings.

And then, there's a voice on the other line. "Yes, Doctor?"

[Nika Novak]

Nika let's out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Oh thank god! Are you okay? Are you safe?" she starts before it even registers how Katarina answered the phone. "It's me, I... borrowed his phone." she adds a bit awkwardly.

[Katarina Karkov]

A long, awkward pause, that seemed to stretch out longer and longer.

"Please give the doctor back his phone, Ms. Novak. I'm sure he has important things to do with it," Katarina eventually replied, with a hitch in her voice.

[Nika Novak]

Nika might have 'won' but Ghost Hawk still gets the satisfaction to see Nika defeated. With a shaking lower lip she manages a "Of course, your Highness." before handing the phone back to the doctor and letting herself collapse to the floor, back against the bed.

[Byrna Cooper]

The Ghost Hawk was strangely silent, upon the confirmation that Katarina was still alive and safe.

Other than tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

She likewise collapsed into her bed, ceasing to probe the restraints for weaknesses.

“Eh bien, putain. Merde.”