The man didn't look aggressive at all. Maybe a little annoyed, but that could be chalked down to having to repeat himself.
Her heart still hammered painfully her in her chest and escalated its pace when she noticed her bag in his hand. She’d forgotten that she had dropped it because it had begun to make her shoulder hurt. The weight was considerable and it looked like he had some difficulty holding it out to her with only one hand. That alone was likely to generate some degree of suspicion.
He merely laughed and shook his head. The concern she knew was probably evident in her face seemed to go unnoticed, however. Security tended to get that kind of reaction from people in Sanctuary and generally tried to appear as understanding as possible unless the situation called for a harsher response.
It was like he said—the people in the hangar were the first line of defense against intruders to the bunker. There was really no point in antagonizing them.
"You forgot your bag, kid," the guard said and chuckled again as Jessica13 moved casually to take the bag in question from his hands. "What the hell do you have in here, anyway? Steel chunks?"
"Parts I might need," she said. "And the tools I'll need to install them with. I'd go over the details with you but you didn't like it when I did it the last time."
"Oh….right." He tilted his head, his expression a little dubious, and glanced dismissively at the bag.
It seemed he wouldn’t question what she was doing. People in a position of power didn't want to look stupid in front of the people they had power over, she supposed. It seemed a fairly logical assumption given his lack of real curiosity.
Jessica13 hefted it carefully with both hands and gave him a sheepish grin. "Thanks. I don't think I would have been able to do much without my tools."
"How do you work on the suit when you're up top?" he asked.
She shrugged, a little more comfortable now as she was close enough to freedom that she could almost taste it. "It's mostly software and processors that I'll stress-test and I can access those from inside the cockpit, but I need to be able to peel the inner skin off. I have to have my tools to do it, though."
He nodded, quickly lost interest in the conversation, and inched away from her as she continued to talk until it was clear the conversation was over. She turned away, still clutching her bag with both hands as she headed toward the Minato.
There wasn’t far to go. She only needed to keep her cool and reach the elevator. Once she was there, nothing would be able to stop her.
A clatter ended the positive thoughts abruptly. She spun, horrified to see that the over-filled pack had split a little. While she had attempted to make the packing too tight for much to fall out, one of her actualizers now lay on the ground, as well as a can of pea stew and a couple of protein patties that had been protected in a vacuum-sealed bag.
The guards wouldn't know that she needed an actualizer to help maintain her suit for longer travel time, but the food would be quickly identified as suspicious. Stealing food already came with a massive penalty, but her heading toward a mech with the intention to head Topside as well would trigger additional alarms in their heads.
It wouldn't take much for them to put it together. Jessica13 ducked quickly and picked the food up, but she hadn't been fast enough. They'd seen it and now moved toward her.
She'd wasted too much time and delayed her escape. If she wanted to make it, she needed to get moving.
With everything retrieved, Jessica13 began to run.
"Hey, hold up!" the guard behind her called.
There was absolutely no way she could comply with the order. By this point, if he was suspicious, there wasn't much she could do. No sweet-talking, quick-talking, or sneaky maneuvering would keep him from searching her bag, which would reveal that she was trying to make a break for it.
"I said hold up, damn it!"
She ran faster, her focus on Mini. A couple of the pilots in the area heard the commotion and stepped down from where they worked on their mechs. They seemed unsure as to what they were supposed to do. Something was happening and they knew they should intercede, but they didn't know on whose behalf. While most knew they were supposed to comply with security commands, it looked like they were interfering with the business of one of their own.
Her silent pleas for them to not get involved went unheeded as three pilots abandoned their work to come over and see what was happening. One of them was Becker3, who placed his hand on her shoulder and brought her to a sudden halt. The other two moved between her and the guards to try to determine why one of their mechanics was being harassed.
"What's the problem here?" one of the pilots asked.
Jessica13’s heart plunged into her stomach and panic began to take hold as she looked around to try to find a way out of this mess. All she needed was some kind of believable explanation that would enable her to continue.
"We'll need to search her bag," the guard said and attempted to skirt the two pilots in their path.
"Why?" the pilot asked and made no effort to move.
"We saw something spill out," the man replied, clearly frustrated. "It looked like food. As you all know, stealing food comes with a three-month stay in the Hole. We'll need to search her bag."
"There’s no need," Becker3 said, pushed Jessica13 back, and took the bag from her hands.
It would be a simple matter to peek under the top flap to find the food
