Jove didn't have a reason beyond his gut instinct to lie to Victor, but that was enough. He remembered once, years earlier, when he and Andre had told a few other people about an untended house they'd snuck into and come back the next weekend to find it looted.
He could just as easily imagine Victor, with bodyguards and salary doubled employees, making some type of play for what amounted to a near self-sustaining Antarctic refuge. No, the last thing he needed to be doing was talking about their situation.
"Hmm," said Victor, looking at Jove and Eve seriously. "How about the two of you come up to join me in my office? I have more questions for you."
"Questions about what?" asked Jove.
"Just some questions," said Victor. "Worry not?"
"We should go get the others, first," said Eve. "We split up to check the buildings. We should let them know we've found help."
Jove nodded, appreciating how quick Eve was on the uptake. Victor's bodyguards had moved to stand on either side of them and he felt a growing suspicion that his caution was warranted.
"I'll send one of my men out to let them know," said Victor. "Now, as I'm sure you must realize, everyone here has to earn their keep. I would just like to discuss with the two of you what that's going to look like, yes? It's really no different than it's ever. We all must provide value to the… greater community."
"We are not part of your greater community," said Jove. "I don't see why we couldn't have our discussion right down here."
Victor let out a laugh, and the presence of the bodyguards seemed even more ominous. Jove still held his crowbar, but something told him it would be of limited value against two bulky men well over six feet tall.
"You are just as protective and territorial as your father," said Victor. "I still remember how it was when it came to investing in that research project. He was so cautious about ever letting me discuss business with your mother alone. I think he had some valid concerns about just how far the power and influence of a billionaire like myself extended."
Victor's eyes settled on Eve with unnerving intensity.
"You seriously expect us to go with you after quoting a line from the creeper's guide to the galaxy?" asked Eve.
"I don't just expect anything," said Victor. "Garth. Julio. Why don't you escort my guests up to my office?"
Jove felt a surge of horror and frustration as a strong hand closed on his arm. He looked toward Eve and did a double take.
She had a pistol in her hand - the same on their mother had tested Andromeda with - and it was pointed right in Victor's face. Jove yanked his arm free and spun to face the nearest bodyguard, heart racing.
"You little bitch!" snarled Victor.
"Careful," said Eve, letting the barrel brush the man's mustache. "I have the safety off and it's hard not to pull trigger with the gloves on."
"I'll be taking your gun," Jove said, to his bodyguard.
The bodyguard made to draw it.
"Eve," he said, in a louder voice. "Suggest to Victor that he should tell his bodyguard to allow me to take his gun."
"Both of you," snapped Eve. "Guns. Now. Then I want to you walk over to the fire chimney and hold hands in front of it."
The men stayed where they were.
"Do what she says for now," said Victor. "Your name is Eve, which I believe would make you Turner's daughter? Your father mentioned you to me so many times, Eve. I'm glad, at the very least, that he won't be alive to see what I'm going to do to you."
Jove tensed, half-expecting Eve to shoot him in the face. She looked firmly in control of her emotions, however. The body guards set their pistols on the ground. Jove took both, stuffing one into his jacket while the other he kept in the hand that wasn't carrying the crowbar.
Most of the other survivors were remarkably nonplussed by the exchange as Jove and Eve hurried to the exit. They broke into a sprint as soon as they were out on the snow, and he put voice to a question he'd held back in the moment.
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that Mom gave you her gun?" he snapped.
"She told me to only use it if it was absolutely neccesary," said Eve. "I thought it might bruise your ego if I told you she'd given it to me and not you."
"I'm not that petty!" he snapped. He was doubly annoyed by how spot on Eve's assessment was. It chafed him to know that his mother held Eve in such high regard, but it seemed as though her trust had been well placed this time.
They reached the snowmobiles in good time. Jove looked over his shoulder. He didn't see anyone giving pursuit, but that wasn't overly surprising, given the nature of Antarctica's unforgiving climate and the fact that he and Eve had disarmed the bodyguards.
"What do we do now?" muttered Eve. "We still need gas for the snowmobiles and fuel for Termina station."
It started snowing, and the wind was picking up. The conditions reminded Jove of that first night when most of the power had gone out and he and Aster had ventured out amidst whiteout conditions.
"We act like we're running away," he said. "Hide for a while. Double back when the snow picks up enough to make it impossible to see."
"That sounds like a good plan, except for the fact that we'll then be trapped out here in potentially life threatening weather."
"If we don't bring fuel to resupply Termina Station, we'll be burning stuff for fuel just like they are in no time," said Jove. "We have to make the attempt."