“I wonder,” Lucky held the little box in front of their eyes. “You say most people find this smell off putting. Do you think we can use this as a distraction when we infiltrate the facility where Skylar is being held?” Their bed squeaked as they lay back, holding the box a little farther from their face.
“Mothballs?” He called from the bathroom, door partially open as he was only washing his hands. Ray’s nose had pretty much stayed scrunched up as soon as Lucky had tossed the box into their shopping basket earlier. “I mean, they do smell, but, these are trained government officials.”
“And?”
“I’m not sure they would be distracted much by it. Or, they may assume that’s what it is and thus become even more alert.”
“You shut down all my ideas.”
“Not the impersonation plan.” Ray grumbled while his stomach did the same. “Even though I hate it.”
“Why do you hate that idea? Almost all your movies and books which include breakouts or spies, include at least one moment where someone impersonates someone else.”
“And about half of those show something going wrong. Horribly wrong.”
“But none of them have the Qwortarian shapeshifting ability.”
“Some of them used some sort of technological equivalent and things still went sideways.” Ray stepped into the bedroom and threw his arms to the side. “You get to leave, and likely not have to deal with any consequences. I might!”
“Your ship may not be ready for flight, but you can always come to Qwortar with us.” Raymundo blinked. One arm slowly dropped back down to his side, while the other scratched the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t have to worry about consequences, about anyone besides those you’ve trusted to find out, and you’d find your roots as one of your idioms say.”
He dropped his gaze, looking down at the worn carpet, dark he hoped from the start, and not from years of dirt and grime getting carried from the outside world.
“You don’t have to decide now.” Lucky tossed the box across the room. It hit the wall, bounced off the rim of the trash and then hit the floor. “But could you pick up the box and throw it away. I guess my aim was just a tad off.”
“I thought you’d have better depth perception now than you’re used too.” Ray chuckled as he picked up the box of mothballs. He tossed it, and it bounced off the wall and landed not far from where it had just been.
“I thought you’d be able to make that shot.” Lucky chuckled. “You’re a lot closer than me.”
“Yeah yeah. I thought I’d make the shot too.” He just dropped the box into the trash. “So, in terms of distraction, we’d need something big I think.”
Lucky nodded, glancing at the clock. “We could brainstorm over food.”
“Agreed.” He grabbed the brochures about nearby places from the nightstand drawer. “Let’s find some dinner.”
Word count: 497
HAPPY 4TH!
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