"This is so stupid."
"I know but-"
"I'm going. There can't be that many right?"
"Kelpie- wait!"
Kand-Lei yanked open the door and made a beeline for the stairs. He had a bucket hat on and large sunglasses that basically covered half his face.
Darcy rushed after him, pulling a mask up over his nose. "Lei-di. This is crazy, you've seen the news, they're crazy, camping outside the hotel!"
"You're right. It is crazy that everything fell apart because of them! I can't spend another day in that room, I'll go mad."
He yanked open the door to the stairwell, taking them two at a time as Darcy scrambled to keep up.
When they reached the bottom Kand-Lei opened the door without ceremony, he almost tripped over his own feet when he saw the sheer number of reporters and journalists hovering just beyond the hotel doors.
He hesitated for a moment before stalking over to the front desk. "How do we get out?"
The man behind the desk looked exhausted, he was surrounded by faxes and printouts of emails. When he heard Kand-Lei's voice he didn't even try to smile, he just glanced up blankly. "I'm sorry sir, we are currently experiencing difficulties as you can see. The hotel will bear all the costs so allow me to extend your booking for now."
Kand-Lei slammed his hand down on the desk, his normally calm demeanour cracking as he glared fiercly at the ceiling.
"I didn't request an extention of my booking, I asked how to get out of here." His tone was icy as he made an effort not to take out his rage on the poor admin worker.
"I'm sorry sir, there..." He paused for a moment then typed something into the computer, "...actually there might be a way."
He glanced up at the two omegas hovering at the counter. "Follow me."
They both nodded following the man that Kand-Lei was affectionately dubbing Eyebags.
Eyebags led them into a back room and then down a flight of stairs to the underground employee parking lot.
Darcy wrinkled his nose when the stale air hit them full in the face.
Eyebags walked across the medium sized lot to a tall red door that said in big friendly white letters 'Employees only'. He pushed it opened and gestured to a long hallway, "This is where we normally receive deliveries, it leads directly outside, just follow the hallway to the end." He turned around to leave, "Don't do anything suspicious or illegal, there are cameras everywhere so don't think I'm being careless or anything."
Kand-Lei breathed a slight sigh of relief, "Thank you Eyeba- AHEM, uhh sir. We really appreciate it."
The man nodded and dragged his feet back to his post, still looking half alive.
Kand-Lei dragged Darcy down the hallway, passing several firmly shut doors that he didn't even try to open.
They both squinted when the sunlight struck them, momentarially dazzling them as they stepped outside.
The place they exited into was quiet, a short driveway just big enough for a delivery truck to be guided in, opening out onto a little used road that ran past the hotel, joining up with the main road a little distance off.
They began walking, meandering down the road towards the sounds of traffic, avoiding where the reporters were gathered.
"Qin-ge, try calling your parents and see if they can send a car over, taking a taxi or public transportation seems risky right now."
Darcy quickly pulled his phone out, tugging the mask higher on his face as he murmured into the speaker.
While he was talking, they leaned against the wall of an alley, just off the main street.
Kand-Lei fiddled with his hat repeatedly, glancing back and forth down the street. It was because of this attentiveness that he noticed the journalist that was making their way towards their location. He tensed up immediately, watching closely as the journalist approached.
It didn't seem like he had noticed them yet. Kand-Lei pressed Darcy against the wall of the alley further with one arm, keeping his own body flat as well.
The journalist was muttering as he approached, some of the words carried to the alley they were hiding in.
"...Damn boss.... hiding for days... sick of beans... damn cold too..."
He tsked loudly, turning his head to the side for emphasis as he casually flicked through the photos on the camera that was hanging around his neck.
He paused at what he thought was a good shot, his steps slowing just as he passed in front of the alley where they were hiding.
He gave a low whistle, appreciating the quality of his own work. Then he sheepishly looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his self indulgent moment.
His eyes locked with Darcy's.
"This is why I hate narcissists. Run!"
Recognition dawned on the journalist's face just as they ran out of the alleyway. He raised a hand and pointed, slightly dumbfounded.
"They... THEY'RE GETTING AWAY! SHIT!" His shout attracted the attention of other reporters and journalists, when they saw him running towards two people it created a ripple effect, everyone was suddenly running after Darcy and Kand-Lei who had the advantage of not being burdened by bags or equipment during their mad dash.
They ducked through alleys and across streets, dodging traffic and garbage bags left out for pick up. Darcy grabbed Kand-Lei's hand and pulled him in a different direction, glancing up at street signs as they made their way to some destination memorised in his mind.
He suddenly came to a stop in front of a sleek black car, the door opened from the inside and a hand quickly beckoned them.
Darcy quickly identified the driver before hurrying Kand-Lei into the back seat. He climbed in as well and slammed the door before the reporters that were close on their trail could pry open the door to get the exclusive shot.
The car swiftly made it's way out of the city, outstripping most of the reporters in mere moments. The ones who had had the foresight to have vechicles at the ready for the chase took a little longer, but those too were soon lost to the inner city traffic.