Dickory

Twenty Count

Phck! Gavin thought as he hung up the phone. His hands shook with adrenaline as he looked at Sandy sitting huddled on the edge of the wooden table. Her chest was wide open, the black rectangular box clearly out of place with the thirium blue and silver of her circuitry. Her blue eyes were filled with anxious tears as she looked up at him. Connor and Nines had done their best, but when it came down to it, he was the one who was going to have to choose. Blue, brown or green...It could be any of them, but Nines was so phcking sure about green...Should he do it? Should he blindly put his faith in Nines? What made his partner more reliable than Connor? He'd known Connor a lot longer. Surely he should trust him more, but every time he thought about Nines, he just had the urge to do whatever he said. He hadn't steered him wrong so far.

Now he had a new problem. Protocol. They were down to the five-minute mark. It was time for him to hand over the wire cutters, tell Sandy what to do, and get the fuck out of there. There was just one big problem with that. She was looking at him like he was her anchor, and fuck if he could walk out on her when she looked like that. She's just a kid anyway. What are the chances of her actually going through with it alone? With his decision made and justified, he huffed out a breath and walked to the thick vault door. If he was wrong, there was going to be one hell of a fucking explosion. It may not do much, but the thick walls of the vault would at least absorb a little of the blast.

He grunted with the effort of actually getting the gigantic piece of metal to move. It had clearly been stood open for some time, probably a couple of years at least. It took almost everything he had to pull the heavy door inwards with a loud clang and turn the old handle to seal the vault. Guess if we don't blow up, I could always suffocate...He turned away from the large door and walked back to Sandy, breathing out an anxious sigh as he lifted the wire cutters. He trusted Nines. Nines agreed that he was the key. He was sure it had to be green.

"Alright...I spoke to my friends outside. They couldn't agree on which colour, but I have to choose one. We're dead if I don't." He wasn't sure whether he was trying to comfort Sandy or convince himself at this point. Sandy nodded miserably. She was just a kid, but she could follow the conversation well enough to know that they were royally fucked. She was shaking fearfully, her eyes dropping to the open cavity in her chest. To the thing that wrapped around and clutched her thirium pump. Gavin was glad that she at least couldn't feel the pain as a human would. "My partner thinks I should cut the green wire...I trust him with my life, but...what do you think? He's never been wrong before, but I don't...I can't promise we're going to walk out of here," he added apologetically as he kept her gaze on him.

"G-green...green sounds good," Sandy's small voice murmured miserably. Gavin's mouth went dry as he eyed the box. The decision was made. They didn't have time for him to continue inwardly debating. They were rapidly working down to the one minute mark. It had to be now. Gavin huffed a couple of breaths as he steadied his hand, holding his free one out to Sandy. She didn't have to think twice. She grabbed his hand and gripped it for all she was worth. It almost fucking hurt.

"That's it. Just hold my hand and look at me...Look at me...Don't look down..." Gavin soothed as he held the clippers up to the green wire. Sandy was trembling so badly he was worried about her jerking the wire loose. A small sob broke free as she tried her best to sit still and do as he said. His gaze was steady as he held the green wire with the cutters, making sure Sandy was definitely looking at him before squeezing his hand shut with a click. Green eyes squeezed shut for a few seconds. When he opened them, he saw that Sandy had done the same. Both of them braced for a blast that didn't come. Gavin breathed out in relief as he checked his watch. "Alright...alright, we'll wait here just a few more minutes." He barely dared to trust the excitement welling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't dare believe it yet.