Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 80
Won threw back the blankets and slipped out of bed. Out of habit, she checked the CCTV. It was off.
She calmly began to prepare for the escape. Moving her hands with machine-like precision and speed, she simulated in her mind what she would do.
On this night, everything would be decided. The fate of Target, herself, and the fate of Top Dog and Black Cat, if they joined.
Her mind became still.
Her blood ran cold and her mind was frozen.
She didn’t like this feeling, not when she was about to embark on a mission. If she had to use an analogy, it was like being in a sedan at high speed. The car is traveling at a frighteningly high rate of speed, but the body is weighted down, making it feel more stable than it would at a slower speed. But she doesn’t let her guard down. If you crash while traveling at high speed, you’ll have to give up on your life.
She gathered her things and went down to the first floor, where she met the two men in the hallway.
“I am…”
Black Cat started, looking at Won with a determined face.
“If you open the safe, we’ll continue to act together. But if you don’t, I’ll stay in this hospital until I figure out the combination. I need what’s inside.”
It was a well-thought-out decision by a grown man, not a child. Even if a m*mber of the general public tried to talk him out of it, reminding him how dangerous it is to be alone in this hospital, he wouldn’t change his mind.
Won nodded in understanding. Then, she announces her plan.
“Two times. The model beeps after the third incorrect entry, so I’ll try twice. If it doesn’t open, I’ll give up on the safe and go to the religious room to rescue Jin. If that happens, you need to go back to your room because you’ll need to plan for your future.”
Having stated their positions, their gazes turned to Top Dog.
In some ways, he was the most questionable of the three. Black Cat had no idea what he was thinking, and neither did Won, so neither could guess what would come out of Top Dog’s mouth.
“Well, I suppose it would be nice to get my hands on the contents of the vault if we’re going to mess with these bastards… but that’s not really necessary, so why don’t I follow my pretty girl?”
Top Dog had a smirk on his face and Black Cat looked relieved.
“That’s good. I don’t feel comfortable sending Won off on her own.”
She didn’t know who should be worried about whom. Won is a professional. She’s probably ten times more dangerous than Black Cat, who will be alone in the hospital if the safe doesn’t open.
“Let’s go to the nurses’ station.”
Won announces her destination and takes the lead. There’s no time to waste.
“What’s there?”
“To get a cellphone. The nurses must have left their phones behind, and I want to see if we can find something that doesn’t have some kind of lock on it that we can use, even if we don’t own it.”
Having a way to communicate with the outside world is a basic necessity.
Won also gave Black Cat a job.
“You find a key card. The one that opens the double doors we went through when we first got here. There should be one among the nurses’ belongings.”
“And what are you going to do with that?”
Top Dog gestured to the small, plastic containers Won was holding in her arms.
“Assemble.”
Won glared back.
“Assemble? Aren’t those just cosmetics containers?”
“Not when it shows its true purpose.”
“True purpose? Shouldn’t they have been pre-assembled back in your room then, pretty?”
“Do you happen to need the water dispenser at the nurses’ station?”
Black Cat interrupted their conversation. Won looked back at him. Even though she was maintaining a poker face, she was surprised.
“That’s right.”
“A water dispenser? That’s not a cup of ramen, right?”
Top Dog was puzzled.
“Is it made of Shape Memory Polymer (SMP)?” Black Cat asked.
Correct.
Won stuck her tongue out at Black Cat’s intelligence. It’s the first time she has ever been spotted by a regular person.
“Yes. It would have been better if it was a shape memory alloy…”
“Alloys don’t pass through metal detectors, so plastic?”
“Yes.”
Meekly affirming, Won pushed the door to the nurses’ station with her foot. As expected, it wasn’t locked. Though if it had been, she would have picked the lock anyway.
“Let’s do our thing.”
It wasn’t like she was trying to act cool.
Won walked over to the water dispenser and pressed the hot water button.
The water dispersers with hot water are maintained at the nurses’ station. It’s not a unique feature, but a common practice in other asylums. Mentally unstable patients can scald themselves or others with hot water.
The plastic container began to change shape under the heat.
It’s a special plastic polymer that can change shape when heated, so Won morphed it into the shape of a plastic container for cosmetics and brought it to the hospital.
When reheated, the material returns to its original shape. Specific reshaping temperatures range from 50 to 90 degrees. Hot water from a water dispenser is typically between 80 and 90 degrees. The material was chosen from the outset with the assumption that it would be restored by hot water from the dispenser. Even in an asylum, there will be at least one with hot water, and the original shape of the containers can be restored as…
Won wiped the water off with a tissue she had and quickly assembled them. It took less than 30 seconds, even with her eyes closed. Her fingers moved at a fast speed.
“I think I found a phone we can use.”
“I think I found a key card, too.”
Top Dog and Black Cat said in turn. As if on cue, Won finished her assembly. She stuffed the most important things into the finished product and looked back at them.
“This is done.”
“That’s…”
Black Cat’s voice trailed off in disbelief as he recognized the object in her hand. Top Dog looked dumbfounded as well.
“That’s it?”
In a world where guns were made at home with 3D printers, is it really that surprising?
Won brushed past them and approached the computer. Finding an attached power cord, she made more demands to the men.
“Find me a pair of scissors or a knife or something and give it to me.”
“Ah! Here, here.”
Black Cat handed over a pair of scissors. Won instructed the two men as they cut wires so that the electronics wouldn’t work when plugged back in.
“Make all the phones, tablets, and laptops unusable except for ours. Take them to the bathroom and flush them down the toilet, or hide them somewhere that they will never find them. Just don’t smash them because they make a lot of noise.”
Won could hear the men bustling about, not taking a moment to watch what she was doing. Won unplugged and cut all the wires from several computers, scoured the back of the drawer for the phone line, and only put the scissors down when she had cut it.
She cut off as much outside communication as possible. Some of the security devices on the outside of the prison-like setting, linked to the computers, would not work.
“When you’re done, let’s go to the office.”
At her words, Top Dog coldly snatched the cell phone from the charger. He let it charge while he was gone. It wasn’t a bad judgment for the situation.
“How much battery does it have?”
“Uh, 52%.”
Won thought that was enough, but Black Cat’s complexion turned dour.
“That’s an old model and it drains quickly. It’s better to save it.”
“Then you can have it. Since you know that, you’ll know how to use it.”
Top Dog handed the phone to Black Cat. Black Cat took it without a word to indicate his agreement. In the heat of the moment, where every second counts, someone with experience will be better. Even if it’s from the same company, it’s easy to fumble with different phone models.
“But does that even work?”
“That’s what I’m wondering, too.”
As the two men glanced at the object in her hands and exchanged a few words, Won interjected.
“It’s not for decoration.”
But it’s also not something that can be used indefinitely.
To be precise, it’s disposable.
It’s unavoidable. Plastic is inherently less resistant to heat than metal.
“I remember your offer to put a hole in my head. Now I’m wondering how my pretty girl was going to go about it?”
Top Dog chuckled and teased Won.
‘Just once.’
Won repeated in her mind.
‘Only once, at the most crucial moment.’
They don’t make guns out of metal for no reason; it’s the only way they can withstand the heat. So even though the body is made of plastic, the core components inside are still metal.
This was a necessary choice to avoid triggering the metal detectors. Once fired, the inside of the barrel wouldn’t be able to withstand the friction and would melt. Her test gun broke after one shot. It’s a ridiculously expensive and ineffective device considering the cost of making one.
The only consolation is that it’s stronger than the ABS material that couldn’t withstand a .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) round and shattered, so user safety is not compromised.
Anyway, it was all replaced with specialty plastics, but one part couldn’t be made from plastic. To prevent it from setting off the metal detector, Won had to go through the wringer from her first day in the ward.
Even now, the memory of that day made her feverish, so she tightened her drip on her pistol. The rounds she managed to smuggle into this facility in disgrace were now loaded inside.
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