[ the door doesn't open the way it should — or at all, really. whoops, guess that first wire had been important after all. vortala levels him with a look that's equal parts annoyed and concerned, and maine shrugs, wiggling the knife into the crease between door and frame and pushing until he has an inch to work his fingers into the empty space.
one tug later and everything's fine again, metal creaking quietly as the door slides away from the frame. he glances at vortala, lifting his brows. see? easy peasy.
vortala switches places with him, hefting his back against the door to hold it open for maine and lakshmi as they slip inside the compartment. he's about to step back to presumably leave them to their work when lakshmi goes tense, dropping low on her haunches. maine follows her eyes, out into the cold snowy yard, to the lone cetagandan soldier wandering closer. his eyes are downcast, chin tucked toward his chest to guard his face from the biting wind; he hasn't noticed them yet.
maine flips the knife still in his hand, all too ready to give it a toss into the man's chest and pierce a lung before he can call for help. lakshmi has other ideas, slinking past him and blending back into the shadows like she's a lioness on a hunt, stalking ever close to sink teeth and claw into her prey.
distract him. sure. he can do distractions.
he crouches to dig a pebble out from under the snow, standing and stepping forward to heft it directly at the soldier's face. half a second for him to look, another five to six seconds for him to realize what the fuck he's looking at, hopefully giving lakshmi the time she needs to reach him. maine leans into the wall, greeting the soldier's bewildered stare with two fingers to his temple in a mock salute. ]
no subject
one tug later and everything's fine again, metal creaking quietly as the door slides away from the frame. he glances at vortala, lifting his brows. see? easy peasy.
vortala switches places with him, hefting his back against the door to hold it open for maine and lakshmi as they slip inside the compartment. he's about to step back to presumably leave them to their work when lakshmi goes tense, dropping low on her haunches. maine follows her eyes, out into the cold snowy yard, to the lone cetagandan soldier wandering closer. his eyes are downcast, chin tucked toward his chest to guard his face from the biting wind; he hasn't noticed them yet.
maine flips the knife still in his hand, all too ready to give it a toss into the man's chest and pierce a lung before he can call for help. lakshmi has other ideas, slinking past him and blending back into the shadows like she's a lioness on a hunt, stalking ever close to sink teeth and claw into her prey.
distract him. sure. he can do distractions.
he crouches to dig a pebble out from under the snow, standing and stepping forward to heft it directly at the soldier's face. half a second for him to look, another five to six seconds for him to realize what the fuck he's looking at, hopefully giving lakshmi the time she needs to reach him. maine leans into the wall, greeting the soldier's bewildered stare with two fingers to his temple in a mock salute. ]