Steve dropped the little act for now, and nodded as she told him to lead the way out, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders. They had a long journey ahead of them, and he wasn't always the best conversationalist. Then again, she was probably used to long, awkward stretches of silence while sitting next to a stranger.
After they were a good distance away, he gestured ahead. "There's a village over the hill. I can find us a car there."
Mina didn't mind the silence so much. Not this particular kind, anyway. There were other silences that bothered her more. And one in particular started to nibble at the back of her mind as they made their way along the side of the road.
The silence that would come from the sunrise.
She reckoned it was about five or six hours off. She couldn't exactly tell him that she would be of even less use to him than a corpse, one that happened. The Masquerade was there for a reason.
But how the hell did the VA expect her to get around that little tidbit? Did he know? It was possible. Some humans did. But she very much doubted this one. It was going to be a delicate little dance.
"Save the car for tomorrow night. We should hunker down for the day. Rest up as much as possible."
Her instincts were right. Steve really had no idea, so far as he was aware she was a perfectly normal, perfectly human woman, and so far nothing had tipped him off to thinking otherwise.
Her comment, however, brought a confused frown to his face. He usually went along with orders, but this didn't seem like an order. Sure didn't seem like a logical order, at least.
"And lose all the sunlight hours? No way. We'll be able to travel faster and cover more distance. Traveling during the night might've been safer if we had the time to spare, but we don't. We have to travel as fast and as far as we can."
Mina could, of course, have resorted to mind control. But that was really messy, when it came to a cooperation. So she'd have to try the old-fashioned approach.
"The funny thing about daylight," she said, "is that people can see you in it." Especially if your traveling companion burst into flames. That wasn't something easily missed. Not even in a backwater as dreadful as this. "And I'm not sure a wealthy businessman and his heiress wife should really be seen driving a hot car, darling."
"You have a point. Or you would, if we could afford to waste time, but we can't. Besides, a car driving in the middle of the night is bound to gather far more attention."
Cars driving down a road in daylight would be a lot less conspicuous than a pair of headlights shining in the darkness, particularly to anyone that might be watching anywhere.
"Besides, we don't have to be a wealthy couple until we get there. Plenty other roles to choose from," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. Her insistence on driving through the night just didn't make sense at all to him. "What's the real reason why you don't want to move during the day?"
A half-truth, she found, was sometimes more of a nuisance than a lie. But seeing as the Masquerade was paramount to the VA, she would have to work within it as much as possible. Although, frankly, it would be a hell of a lot easier just to bypass the whole, messy thing.
"I have my orders," she replied. "I'm not keen on questioning them. And my organization demands nighttime stealth. I'd offer to let you take it up with them, but it seems to me that that would be wasting more time."
Not to mention any conversation they had over the telephone would probably be overheard by people who were better off not hearing anything at all.
Still. She sighed heavily, reaching into her pocket to pull out a slip of paper. "My commanding officer is actually in the states. Somewhere called...Milwaukee?" She made a face. Probably stolen land.
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no subject
After they were a good distance away, he gestured ahead. "There's a village over the hill. I can find us a car there."
no subject
The silence that would come from the sunrise.
She reckoned it was about five or six hours off. She couldn't exactly tell him that she would be of even less use to him than a corpse, one that happened. The Masquerade was there for a reason.
But how the hell did the VA expect her to get around that little tidbit? Did he know? It was possible. Some humans did. But she very much doubted this one. It was going to be a delicate little dance.
"Save the car for tomorrow night. We should hunker down for the day. Rest up as much as possible."
no subject
Her comment, however, brought a confused frown to his face. He usually went along with orders, but this didn't seem like an order. Sure didn't seem like a logical order, at least.
"And lose all the sunlight hours? No way. We'll be able to travel faster and cover more distance. Traveling during the night might've been safer if we had the time to spare, but we don't. We have to travel as fast and as far as we can."
no subject
Mina could, of course, have resorted to mind control. But that was really messy, when it came to a cooperation. So she'd have to try the old-fashioned approach.
"The funny thing about daylight," she said, "is that people can see you in it." Especially if your traveling companion burst into flames. That wasn't something easily missed. Not even in a backwater as dreadful as this. "And I'm not sure a wealthy businessman and his heiress wife should really be seen driving a hot car, darling."
no subject
Cars driving down a road in daylight would be a lot less conspicuous than a pair of headlights shining in the darkness, particularly to anyone that might be watching anywhere.
"Besides, we don't have to be a wealthy couple until we get there. Plenty other roles to choose from," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. Her insistence on driving through the night just didn't make sense at all to him. "What's the real reason why you don't want to move during the day?"
no subject
"I have my orders," she replied. "I'm not keen on questioning them. And my organization demands nighttime stealth. I'd offer to let you take it up with them, but it seems to me that that would be wasting more time."
Not to mention any conversation they had over the telephone would probably be overheard by people who were better off not hearing anything at all.
Still. She sighed heavily, reaching into her pocket to pull out a slip of paper. "My commanding officer is actually in the states. Somewhere called...Milwaukee?" She made a face. Probably stolen land.