Rescues and Reversals - pt 4

Lowering the pack to the floor with one hand, Cody reached up with the other and pulled Bryn's gag down to dangle loosely around his neck. She was pleased - as Bryn was himself - to find that the black-hearted fiends had at least had the decency to remove the packing from Bryn's mouth somewhere along the way. That kind of thing could be dangerous over a long captivity, she knew...

"Cody!" Bryn gasped as soon as his mouth was clear, his voice sounding grateful...but also strangely exasperated as well. "What're you doin' here?! You were out...you were safe!"

"Yeah...and you weren't," she shot back drily. And then, more gently, "I heard what that big goon said after they let me go..."

Bryn's ears fell back a bit, and his face darkened, as if she'd overheard him say something he'd prefer she hadn't heard, "Yeah, well...I could'a handled it..."

She smirked again, eyes glittering in long-suffering mirth, "Oh yeah...looks like ya had them right where ya want 'em, big bro..." She winked with the good-natured jibe, and immediately started digging in the backpack, clearly in every bit of the hurry which both twins knew was of the essence. Bryn grinned back ruefully, nodding his thanks.

"Well, I brought you your sneakers - oh, and your jacket too, if ya decide you want it - and..." With that, Cody finally fished out the small selection of thin metal implements which she'd gathered up against the possibility of needing to pick a lock or two along the way. They were makeshift implements at best, and Cody was far from a master at such things, but she had practiced against some locks in her spare time, for just such emergencies... Handcuff locks, particularly. And so, she felt more a sense of "challenge" than of unease as she picked out one of the metal prods, put the rest away, and got to work on the cuff around Bryn's right wrist.

"Thanks, sis," Bryn chuckled, smiling at her in warm gratitude. "Always thinkin' of me..." Then his voice turned serious and soft, and he nodded again. "Really, Cody...thanks."

She looked down from her work for a moment and nodded back, with an equally-serious expression on her face. "Didn't think I was just gonna leave you here, did ya, big bro?"

"'Course not!" he smiled back. "You? Do what you're told? That'll be the day..." His smirk was infectious, and Cody found herself giggling as she worked harder on the lock. Until finally, long minutes of grumbling and cursing later, it clocked open, and the cuff fell away from Bryn's wrist. He shook his arm out with a grateful, hissing sigh, and the twins shared a truly triumphant smile.

"One down, three to go!" Cody whispered cheerily, holding her improvised lock-pick up with a mischievous flick of her ears...


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On to "Rescues and Reversals", pt5