FicWad

Someone to Live For
Use Alternate Route

------
In which Benny locks the loft residents out of the building. After Fighting With Microphones; approximately concurrent to musical timeline.

DISCLAIMER: Not mine; just borrowing. Will return when finished.
------

"Are we packed?"

"We are, but I really hope you weren't planning on putting all that stuff back in the building. Benny padlocked the door after we ran him out."

Roger looks up, smirk sliding off his face. "He didn't."

"He did. Good news is, those cops he brought with him haven't managed to clear the lot."

Maureen shrugs. "Small victories, I guess. But still, why'd the fucker lock the door?"

"I don't know," Joanne says. "Maybe he thinks it's the only way to win this one."

"He's really underestimating our resourcefulness, from the sound of it," Angel says. "And if he really thinks it's gonna be that easy to keep me away from my skirts, he'd so better think again."

When they all get chased out of the Life for the night, they head for the building almost by default; the police seem to have given up on uprooting the tent city, at least for the time being. Angel scowls at the padlock, then eyes the fire escape speculatively, and Mark goes for his camera.

"What's going on in that brain of yours now, Angel?" Collins asks.

"If the window to the loft was good enough for Mimi, we may not have a problem." With that, she starts climbing. Mark films, trying not to be too anxious - Angel does know what she's doing, after all. Still, that'd be an awfully long way to fall...

"It's open!" Angel calls down, a few minutes later. "Come on up, we might as well get out of the weather."

"Not that it's any warmer inside," Roger calls back, and the rest of them head up. Their stuff's still there, at least, and when Mark tries a light switch it works - he figures Benny wasn't thinking anyone would be up here to use the power when he turned it back on.

Mimi sits down on one of the couches. "What do we do now?"

"I'm just fine staying here," Roger says, picking up his Fender and sitting down next to Mimi.

Angel rolls her eyes. "We know." She sits down on the other couch and starts taking off her shoes.

Maureen's getting that manic gleam in her eyes again, which makes Mark automatically dread whatever she's going to say or do next.

"I vote we break the front door down."

Mark just stares at Maureen for a moment. "First of all, you don't even live here anymore. I think this should fall to those of us who do. Second, what good would that do?"

"It'd be fun! Don't you people have any sense of drama?"

"I have plenty of sense of drama," Angel says. "I sense we've had more than enough of it tonight to last us for a while yet. We don't need to go making things worse for ourselves."

"Girl's got a point," Collins says, sitting on the other end of Angel's couch.

"Technically, you're squatters," Joanne says. "Benny's out of line here, but I'll have to do some research to figure out by how much. Maureen, we should go get your equipment out of the lot and go home. I'll call you guys when I have more information."

Maureen pouts, but follows Joanne back out the window. "Thanks, Joanne," Mark calls out the window after them, before closing it and sitting down between Angel and Collins.

"So," Collins says, "anyone know how to take a padlock off a door from the inside?"

Angel grins. "I'm sure you could think of something. But really, why bother when we've got a perfectly good way in?"

"It's not breaking and entering if we don't break anything to get in," Mark points out.

"Anyway, I'm wondering how long it'd take Benny to notice we're up here if we just left it there."

"Few weeks, probably," Roger says. "Not like he's been very observant lately."

"He may not catch on until he gets a utility bill and realizes people have actually been using the electricity," Mark says. "I'd love to see the look on his face when he does."

"I don't really care what he does. I just want people to leave me alone."

Mimi raises an eyebrow at Roger, and Collins shakes his head. "Looks like someone's got his inertia back."

"Shut up," Roger says, before eyeing Mimi in turn. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. Just making plans to drag you out of here every now and then."

Angel and Collins burst out laughing, and Mark gets his camera going again, just in time to catch one of the first genuine smiles he's seen on Roger's face in months.

"Congratulations, Mimi. You've done more in one night than any of the rest of us have managed in nearly a year."

Roger snorts. "Like being bothered by the two people in the world's most stable relationship was really going to help me."

"You needed it," Angel says. "What else would you call sitting around up here for months on end?"

"Withdrawal."

"After that."

"Inertia," Collins suggests. "A body at rest stays at rest."

"Until a pretty girl pokes it into motion again?"

Roger rolls his eyes. "Remind me why I put up with you people? I seem to have forgotten."

"Because you love us, despite the teasing. Even if you'll never admit it."

Mark sets his camera on the coffee table between the two couches. "Might as well stop trying to get him to admit it, Angel. He never will."

"Didn't I just say as much?"

"...Right. Just... forget I said anything."

"Like that's difficult," Roger says.

Angel leans over and kisses Mark. "Actually, I think he's damned hard to ignore."

"Well, you're biased."

Mimi giggles. "You two are just too cute, you know."

"Which?" Collins says. "Mark and Angel, or Mark and Roger?"

"Hey!"

"Well, I'd hope not Mark and Roger. Otherwise I just wasted my entire evening, more or less."

Angel bursts out laughing. "Oh, you're gonna fit right in, honey."

Even Roger's smirking, a little. "Won't mind having you around."

"Good," Mimi says, grinning. "If you did, I'd... wait, I'd bother you anyway. So it wouldn't really matter."

"...Whatever. I need some air." Roger gets up, still carrying his Fender, and heads for the roof access.

Collins shakes his head. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking someone needs to go and pump Benny for information."

"Good luck," Angel says. "Couldn't even get him to tell me what crawled up his ass and died, earlier. Clearly something did, though."

Mimi stares at Angel. "You didn't ask him that."

"I did. Can't think of any other reason why he's acting so... well. Hardly have to tell you."

Mark shakes his head. "Good luck, man. May the Force be with you, and all that. We'll leave the window unlocked."

Collins grins, tossing off a mock salute. "Thanks, resident geek. Don't worry, Angel, I'll get some kind of answer out of him." With that, he heads out the window.

"I don't know," Mimi says. "I was just trying to chase down a cute guy, and I've practically gotten a surrogate family out of the deal. Think it's worked out well, despite Benny being an ass."

Mark raises an eyebrow. "Only practically? My dear, I think it's safe to say you have. We like you, and if I was following right, Roger more than likes you."

"I'd keep you around even if he didn't," Angel says. "You know how to have fun."

Mimi grins. "Thanks. Nice to know I haven't lost my touch." A pause for thought, then: "You know, he might be bored up there. That'd be tragic. I'll have to go make sure he's not." Still grinning, she heads for the roof access herself, and Angel leans back against Mark.

"Alone at last."

"Oh, they'll be back, I'm sure."

"So? They're not here now. This has been one positively insane day."

"No kidding. I mean, first the dog thing, then Collins, and then the whole rest of it... I don't even know where to start."

"Then don't try." Angel reaches back and takes one of Mark's hands, lacing her fingers with his.