At the angry outburst, a handful of the officers responded immediately by running towards the group with guns at the ready. The rest were still struggling slowly to their feet, ears ringing from the blast as several sported new cuts and gashes. Those who were not so lucky remained on the ground, some groaning and others deathly silent.<br/><br/>As Alice looked around, desperately racking her mind for answers, Natalie, who had been farthest from the blasts, stood rooted to the spot like a startled deer. As the police approached, she suddenly spun on her heel and dashed towards the back of the library and into the shadows even as Ness began his casual chat with the gun toting officers.<br/><br/>With the police's attention focused on Ness, the rest of the criminals were beginning to stir as they too began to rise to a crouch. The dizzy ringing of ears didn't fade even with a firm shaking of the head, replaced only by the shrill shrieking of the fire alarm and the silent roar of flames spewing from the broken library window. One by one, the same thought seemed to flicker past their minds.<em>Escape.</em>Whether it was from pure instinct, or a simple reasoning of what would happen after being caught was hard to say. Maybe it was a mix of both.<br/><br/>Phaedra sprang to action immediately. Urging those nearby her, a quick jerk of the offending board that had attached itself to Tim's buttocks and she was off racing in the same direction that Natalie had sprinted to. Drake and Sarah followed with little hesitation, Drake quickly catching up to Phaedra with long strides even as Sarah lagged behind slightly. Detrius, clutching his injured arm, scurried after them with wide eyes, events occurring far too quickly for him to fully register upon waking.<br/><br/>Laying flat on the ground with hands over her head, police had taken this is a sign of surrender and were focusing on the remainder of the group. Though seeing how one by one, people were flitting off into the night, Brazil decided to try her luck as well after seeing Tim shuffling towards escape awkwardly as fast as his cuffs would allow him. Pushing up to her feet, her legs carried her past Tim as she slipped into the closest alleyway and ran blindly ahead.<br/><br/>Having run several blocks, winding in and out of alleys, Phaedra suddenly spots Natalie's hunched figure squatting between garbage cans up ahead. Further down a few feet, the back door to a deli can be seen. Although locked, the door looks old. Old enough that enough pressure placed in certain spots might just tease it open.<br/><br/>Back two blocks from where Natalie, Phaedra, Drake, and Sarah are, a hand suddenly shoots out to grab Brazil's arm from one of the alleys. "This way!" The hoarse hiss belongs to Detrius as he motions in the direction that the others had gone. Tim, who had just barely kept Brazil in sight, rounded the corner as the two continued following Phaedra. It may have simply been instinct that kept everyone together as they followed each other, or sheer adrenaline hadn't left them enough time to make a rational decision. With the threat of police following on their heels at the front of their minds, the comfort of being in a group helped to ease some anxieties.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Back at the side of the library, smoke continued to billow ferociously out of windows even as the raging inferno lit the hazy sky a ruddy red the color of rust. A handful of police surrounded Ness as he paced and spoke as if still in court. Some looked uncertain, others glared at him with hardened eyes. "What the hell's he doing?" One murmured whisper to another. "He thinks he's in court or something..."<br/><br/>A sharp bark from the megaphone snapped everyone to attention. "What're you just standing around there for? Arrest them already goddammit!" Backs straightened and guns were trained on the pacing lunatic even as they exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another. Excluding the abnormal behavior, the lawyer seemed harmless. "Someone shut him up already."<br/><br/>The muscle in Detective Connell's jaw worked as he watched the pacing lawyer. Soot covered, scratched, and bleeding from the mouth, his now wrinkled suit seemed laughable to the detective as he compared him to the overly confident and perfectly dressed sleazeball from memory. Connell had worked with Ness plenty of times and he'd always felt greasy afterwards. Now, he strode forward and with a swift crack, brought the butt of his gun down against the side of Ness's head. A sense of satisfaction brought a grim smile to his lips even as he watched the smug grin leave Ness's face as he sunk down to the snow covered pavement, momentarily stunned with a new bloody gash on his forehead.<br/><br/>During that time, Kenzie had taken off, ducking behind parked cars before sprinting across the four lane street and to the safety of the plaza on the other side. Despite her sorry lack of clothing, adrenaline kept her going even as the cold nipped along bare skin and threatened to take it through frost bite. Alice, emboldened by Kenzie's brief encouragement, pulled the dazed Winter's arm over her shoulders and hurriedly guided them behind the nearest car in the parking lot. Ness, stunned and bordering on unconsciousness, felt a sharp pain to his sides as one of the officers decided to test his resistance with a kick. Satisfied that the lawyer was down, they flipped him onto his stomach and wrenched his arms back and the click of cool metal wrapped around his wrists as they tightened his cuffs.<br/><br/>Having reached the edge of the parking lot, it was pure luck that saw Alice and Winter across the wide street and duck behind the nearest building without drawing the police's attention. Kenzie, hearing Alice's soft cries for help, doubled back to help her carry Winter. By now, the number of criminals left had dwindled drastically. One of the officers in Ness's group glanced around, only to see the injured Jung still on the ground nearby gazing up at them with terrified eyes and Isaac still wheezing and stunned to the side. Bright orange slipped past his periphery and his head snapped in that direction to see the hunched figure of Sam hurrying through the parking lot. Cursing loudly, he pointed at Sam. "They're getting away! Over there!"<br/><br/>Immediately, they followed, only two officers left behind to drag Ness into one of the squad cars. Gunshots rang out into the night, one of them clipped Sam's thigh, slowing him enough for one of the officers to catch up and tackle him from behind. After a short struggle -- during that time others had past them having spotted Alice and Kenzie struggling with Winter between them -- Sam found himself with his wrists cuffed as he was led back towards the library.<br/><br/>Seeing Jung being led to the squad car with Ness inside, Isaac's eyes widened as he caught Detective Fernis's eye. Yet his reaction came too late, as he pivoted and sprinted blindly ahead...straight into the waiting arms of the officers bringing Sam back. Behind them, the three ladies found themselves in a similar situation as they made the trek of shame across the street.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Minutes passed as the chaos finally seemed to melt into some semblance of order. The officer with the megaphone was presumably in charge as he continually cursed about the loss of the rest of the criminals. Half of the squad broke away to comb through the streets for the missing fugitives as the other half, having secured the criminals with cuffs and pushed them into squad cars, broke away from the library and headed towards the station.<br/><br/>Soon, the area around the library was eerily quiet as only the crackling of fire snapped in the darkness. Later, the fire department would arrive to put out the library ruins. The surrounding area continued to crawl with officers as they searched the streets and alleys in pairs.<br/><br/>In the meantime, those who had been captured eventually found themselves within a familiar room. Having filed through the police station, an exchange of a few curt nods between officers and a sliding door made of cold steel hissed open quietly to greet them. The room beyond was small and cramped, judging from the number of cots available it was only meant for four people. A quick glance and it was easy to see that they were in one of the high security rooms that had been recently built. The door slid shut behind them with a loud click and a gentle whir of mechanisms. Through the wall of reinforced glass, the prisoners within watched hopelessly as the officers retreated down the hall. It was only a matter of time until their next judgement came...and this time it was guaranteed that they wouldn't have to suffer through any therapy sessions.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Library Area Map</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div align="center"><br/>Just to give everyone an idea of where they're at during certain parts of the post.<br/><br/>(http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy305/EsotericMyobi/RPs/LibraryAreaMap.png)</div></div></div>