The Watchwomen

Chapter 22 (Act II): Our Next Contact

We last read Chapter 21, in which Voltara confronts Coldsnap about her recent actions at the Utah State Correctional Facility which resulted in the incapacitation or deaths of several inmates and security staff at the establishment, all in the name of supposedly "covering" the heroines' escape. Coldsnap defends her position, citing the apathy of the guards and the depravity of the prisoners, combined with the fact that the Diamond Legion was also present and were also gunning for them. She also brings up her past experiences with other people who often "pushed her around" and "manipulated" her to do things, such as Frost King Alpin. Moving past the matter, she and Voltara then decide to call the phone number that Gill had provided to them in his last message, hoping that it will give the Watchwomen an idea of where to go next. 

Meanwhile, The Viper asks Nightclaw why her obsession with blood, torture, pain, and death is such a prominent part of her character, to which the female werewolf opens up a little and reveals just how much the events in her life have impacted her even to this day, while adding that although she's a fan of The Viper---and still is---she's realized that she doesn't have to emulate her in every single way. Ultimately, she ends it by officially pledging to The Viper that her wrath will be restrained to the bad guys only, to which The Viper agrees and also promises in turn to find that "one person" for Nightclaw to dispose of, as per Voltara's deal with her near the start of the case. 

However, both conversations are inadvertently recorded by none other than B.B., the infant son of Bryan Birchwood who had been turned into a cybernetic Terminator-like monstrosity thanks to Allie Bannister's machinations, and the resulting video feed from his eye cameras is remotely broadcast back to the Diamond Legion skybase on Allie's desktop. Upon seeing that only the female Paragons are currently on their tail, Allie adjusts her plan; instead of killing them, she decides to try and turn them to her side, ordering her bodyguards George and Ringo to prepare their "brainwashing protocol" in the event that Allie herself can't convince them. 

This time, we listen in as Voltara and Coldsnap call Gill's number, and converse with the contact who happens to be on the other end.....

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Voltara and Coldsnap sat in the pilot's cabin of Dr. Duncan Drevis's airship, idling in the pilot's and co-pilot's seat, respectively, while waiting for anyone to pick up on the other end of the phone line which Gill had posthumously divulged to the Watchwomen. It already ended up taking longer than usual, and the two girls practically did nothing but listen to a standard repeating ringtone for upwards of about a minute and a half. Thankfully, Voltara had set her device to its speaker phone setting, so she and Coldsnap would be able to respond quickly when---or if---someone ever got back to them. 

Soon, though, Coldsnap was on the verge of giving up. "Okay, I honestly think we got hoodwinked," she suggested. "This 'Gill' person clearly wasn't right in the head ever since Allie....supposedly.....ruined his life. .....Maybe he was high as fuck?" 

"His note seemed pretty coherent to me," Voltara countered, with the conversation continuing while the ringtone kept repeating in the background. "Like he knew what he was talking about." 

"Hmph....." 

"Look, I really hope he wasn't debilitated when he wrote the letter, because if he was, that would call literally everything in it into question. And if no one answers here.....I don't know where we'll go." 

Just then, to Voltara and Coldsnap's relief, someone picked up on the other side. 

"H.....hello?" a third female voice spoke. "Hello? Hello? Is someone there?! Did Gill's message get through?!"