The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Fappy]

Bennie scanned the crowd, carefully noting their reactions. Most of them were enthusiastic, but some others looked concerned. Jesse especially. Sprout noticed it too.

There was something going on between him and Amy. At least, that's what his gut was telling him.

It can wait.

"One last thing before we head out," the big man said. "The staff dossiers. One of the was a fake." He removed the polaroid photo paper-clipped to the dossier and showed the crew. It was a middle-aged white man with dark hair and a rather severe frown on his face. "Talbot's Chief of Security, Toman Shostakovitch, is actually an alias for a renowned ex-Beijic spy named Boris Vanco. He's older than he appears in the photo and some of Cranston's old contacts seem to think he's taken this cushy Talbot job as a light form of retirement. He's apparently an extremely hard man to kill and has survived a few encounters in which his adversaries swear they confirmed his corpse. No one's quite sure how he does it."

Bennie put the dossier away and threw on his coat. "If there are going to be any rogue elements today, it's him," he explained. "Watch each other's backs out there, everyone."

Several hours later...

They were in the warehouse now, waiting for Brock to bring the truck around the building. In order to blend in during the early stages of the attack, everyone was given uniforms that looked similar to those of the ship's security staff. Amy, Brock, Sprout and Ruffles were the exception to this; the former two wearing deliveryman uniforms while the latter two wore plain, grey jumpsuits. Amy also had a change of cloths hidden under the front seat of the truck.

His hands on his hips, Bennie inspected his crew with a cryptic expression on his face. Gale, Jesse and Marcus looked nervous, as was expected of rookies, but the rest looked right at home. Amy was clearly concerned about something, but it wasn't fear of the mission. Sprout on the other hand actually looked excited.

The boy's seen a lot of shit.

"What's takin' Brock so long?" Sprout asked.

Bennie shrugged. "He's been gone only a few minutes," he said. "Besides, I don't reckon anyone here's looking forward to being cramped together in a tight space and smelling each other's farts for the next few hours. Savor your last few minutes of fresh air."

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

Tsubaki had a slow start the next morning. Normally she'd have gone through her entire morning routine by now, but Dio didn't require her presence until later that afternoon and she still felt utterly depressed about the whole Asad thing. She knew she'd forgive him, but she'd need time to sort it all out in her head. It's not everyday you find out your boss is forcing your lover to torture innocents, after all.

Some fresh air would do me some good.

After washing her face off in the bathroom sink, Tsubaki put on black nylon shorts, a red tanktop, sneakers and put her hair up in a ponytail. She stepped into the living room to see Bryan and Jun were already up and about. Probably for a few hours already, from the looks of it. Tsubaki poured herself a glass of OJ and downed it in one go. "The new battalion is being integrated today," she mentioned to her two guests as she went looking for her small sweat towel. "Could make yourselves useful and scope out the new recruits. See if they're as green as we've been told."

Tsubaki reached into the fridge and retrieved a bottle of water. "I am going for a jog. You two need anything?" she asked them.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

I suck, I suck, I suck, I SUCK!

Reassembling firearms was more complicated than Elizabeth had anticipated. When Eddie showed her how to do it a month ago it seemed so simple. Apparently she hadn't retained that knowledge very well, however. Asad was busy in the kitchen when she began her little project and was likely making the two of them breakfast.

There wasn't enough time!

And the spring goes in like... this? FUCK!

Elizabeth had to finish it before Asad returned or she'd never live down the embarrassment of failing such an apparently simple task.

Plus, I doubt he'd appreciate me taking his weapon apart without asking...

As a familiar shadow engulfed her and her work, Elizabeth panicked and attempted to hide her travesty. "A-ASAD?!" she blurted, turning around to see him. "Ha-hi!"

SHIT!

 

[Dogmatic99]

"I don't think you're going to like this - you seem like the kind of woman who doesn't like the man to decide things for her - but really you have to get the steak. I insist. This place, it is easily their best dish. Two medium rares!" vasa called out from their table in unusually high spirits. He was easily heard though as the restaurant, which wasn't that crowded to begin with, quickly cleared out when Vasa and his crew stepped in. "Do you want wine? We'll have the red wine."

And more bandits were arriving by the hour, giving a half-nod half-bow to their boss as they took up their positions. It didn't take a genius to guess what they were all gathering here for. Vasa himself kept up his polite, inane, conversation with Lilith. "So did you two meet in Sherwood?"

Lilith got a little distracted from their conversation though as a shadow fell across the two of them and she looked up to see Erik looming in the doorway. His footsteps smacked loudly against the creaking floorboards as he approached their table. Looking just as grim as the day Lilith had first met him. He barely looked at her. Giving a nod to Vasa as the two of them exchanged a few words in their mother language. It was during this exchange that Vasa motioned to her. Erik simply sneered at her and took up a position near the back of the room, arms crossed and a big 'Fuck Off' expression written all over his face.
========================================================

"What's takin' Brock so long?"

Gale was only half paying attention to anything people were saying, mostly cus she couldn't help but overhear it. She was cleaning her gun for maybe the fiftieth time. She was gunna look like the spiffiest security guard ever now as Barker the gun was fuckin' sparkling. Gale was sat on a short stack of crates, rifle and gun in hand as she tried to make herself busy because... it beat sitting around not doing anything she guessed.

She looked up to Marcus and gave him a nervous, cheesy, little grin. the kind that said: 'What are two regular folks like us doing here, eh?' He shot it right back. Weird enough, seeing that she wasn't the only one bricking it a little made Gale feel that little bit better. Not guns blazing better but she'd take what she could get when it came to peace of mind.
===========================================================

["You can't seriously be considering going alone? At least let me take up a spot across the street or something!"]

["You know they'll be watching the whole area like hawks, Lexei."] Florian sighed as he strapped his holster back across his torso.

Erik had sent them the call about an hour ago, asking them to wait. Just as all their people had been spreading the word that Florian was back from the dead and giving the call to action, a counter call had gone out, saying that The Hussars had captured his friend and were calling him out for a parlay. By now half the city (and all its criminal underworld) would know.

The Red Wolf was back, and he'd brought a fresh war with him. Time would tell if it was short lived.

["They said come alone. So I'm going alone."] 'Just like I shouldn't have let Lil.'

Alexei placed a hand on his shoulder and Florian reluctantly turned to face him. It was weird seeing the guy looking so plain, let alone showing the creases of worry lines. How old even was Alexei? Now that he thought about it.

["hey, I'll be alright."] He patted the spy turned barkeep's hand in an effort to be reassuring. ["Gotta roll with the changes, you know that. Who knows, maybe this'll all be sorted before supper time."] He gave a weak smile.

Neither of them believed it of course, but Florian stepped out into the cold anyway. He didn't bother to pull his hood up.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Like a fox inside a den of wolves, Lilith was understandably terrified of her situation. In fact the only thing that even matched that level was her distrust of Vasa's intentions.

The woman half expected him to string her up at any given moment. Every time a new face entered the restaurant, the girl took a moment to glance around. Surely there had to be some way she could get out of there?

'Yeah, in a body bag.'

"So did you two meet in Sherwood?"

Lilith had largely let the man's words wash over her up until that point, she thought for a moment, opening her mouth to respond but was interrupted as a huge man approached the table.

'Oh thank god, they don't know about him yet.' The woman fought the urge to smirk at the big man, who was trying his very best to give her the stink eye. He was really good at it too.

'I hope that's fake, Erik, or you're gonna hurt my feelings.'

Returning her attention to Vasa, Lilith folded her arms over her chest as she crossed one leg over her other, a weary look creasing her brow. "So what exactly is happening right now?" The girl furrowed her brow. "I'm sure it's not just to make pleasant conversation."

----------------------------------------------

"Ha-hi!"

Asad towered over the girl, a plate in each hand. He had made omelettes for both of them. Not to brag, but Asad was pretty damn good at cooking eggs.

"I didn't know you wanted me dead so badly." The man smirked as he handed the girl a plate. "'Cos if I fire that thing, judging by how you've put it back together, it's going to explode in my face."

The man sat on the couch, taking a sip from his coffee before tucking into his meal. "There's another gun in my jacket, go get, but this time actually pay attention when you're dismantling it, it'll make figuring out where everything goes a lot easier."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Around two hours ago...

Amy caught up with Astor in the final minutes before everyone was to head to the hangar before disembarking on their mission. Fortunately, the troubled young noble was seeking solitude, so it was relatively easy for her to get him away from the prying eyes and ears of others.

"We should talk." she said, as he past her down a hallway, having been trying very hard to appear to not take notice of her. Without waiting for confirmation, she steered him by the arm round into an occupied room, checking the hallway in both directions, before following him in and locking the door behind them.

Oh, this was just great! Astor sighed, as if he needed anything more to add to his pile of troubles! He folded his arms and spoke bluntly for once, "And just what do you want?"

"Wow. Not even any preliminary creeping while you've got me all to yourself? Something really must be up." Amy replied sardonically. However, her tone became softer as she sank back against the wall with her arms folded.

"First, I wanted to apologise." she said "I've been a total ***** to you, and you didn't-well, you didn't deserve all of it. Suffice to say, I wasn't in a way good place, and among other things, I took it out on you. That wasn't fair, so I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, her brow slightly creased with genuine concern.

"Secondly... how are you holding up? I know this can't be easy for you."

Astor looked over the side. First she had hit him in the balls and now she was apologising? This was the very definition of too little too late, provided it wasn't fake.

"I'm fine." He insisted, "Father was always a distant sort anyway. No bridge to burn there."

"Oh yeah." Amy replied "I'm sure you spent your childhood dreaming of the day you'd get to tie him naked to a bad before robbing him blind."

If crickets lived on the Ashlands, they might have filled the awkward silence that followed with their chirping. Unfortunately, Amy was denied even that small consolation.

"Okay. Not keen on the jokes now. Got it." she sighed. "Look, this has got to be hard for you, even if you think it won't be. You don't have to pretend to me. In any case, that's not the only issue. It's going to be pretty hard for the others to not find out who you really are before the end of today. We both know that."


Astor didn't need the mental image of his father naked, let alone tied with rope as well. He looked down, at least Amy was getting to the point. Another sigh, "Indeed. Just my luck to be assigned to noble-capturing duty. They'll find two there instead of one, lucky them. Well, we'll see if dear Father does recognise me after all this time, I guess..."‏

"You know, despite what I said before, nobody on this ship would kick you out just for being a noble's son." Amy replied. "Hell, I've given them far more reason than that and I'm still here. Lying to them about it all this time, that's another matter..."

She walked towards him, and tentatively put her hand on his shoulder.

"What'll happen today will happen. Not much we can do about it now. Just do a good job today, keep your eyes open and don't hesitate. If it comes down to it, I'll handle the others. You're not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it. That is... if you're sure this is really where you want to be?"

"Very well. If it is to happen..." Astor muttered, "And I am sure, it's either this or 'enjoying' being the third son of a noble family. Believe me, I would take anything over being put in a neat little corner and ignored for the rest of my life."

He then let out a short chuckle. What was he saying?

"I'm sure I could think of worse things, but it's your choice." Amy replied, chuckling along with him.

"I get the feeling you're not as much of a prick as you pretend to be." she continued "Just, do me a favour... Stop trying so hard to fit in, and maybe you'll find that you've ended up where you were meant to be all along."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek, before smiling and walking away.

"I also told Axel to play nice, by the way..." she added as she reached the door. "But, try to use my profession to get under my boyfriend's skin one more time, and I will hurt you in places you haven't even discovered yet."

Back to the present...

Amy busied herself with tying her hair back in a high ponytail, leaving only two, wavy bangs framing her face and falling down over the front of her shoulders. Stretching her legs, she nodded subtly to Astor as she passed on her way to Axel.

"Hey, got a minute?" she said, linking her arm around his as the stood side by side. She didn't want to distract him from the matter at hand, but neither did she want the two of them to depart on the mission before having a moment alone.

 

[Terratina.]

'Jesse' looked more like someone waiting for their execution than a bandit just about to go on a raid.

Amy's words had changed being found to from a dangerous possibility to a startling eventuality; not a manner of if, but a manner of when. For all her kind words and assurances and apologies, Astor still felt like he was going to be burnt at the sake for his deception. Even that subtle nod didn't do anything for the runaway noble. The landslide of fear had already started. First, Astor was simply afraid of getting shot and now he would have to face being discovered as well as his stern father (who was stern only when trying to be a father, the ladies always had it easy with him). Taking in big breaths of fresh air, he looked over to Gale, who was looking at Marcus.

Well, that was just great!

 

[Fappy]

"Seriously, what do you think?" Pixie asked with a suspicious look in her eye. Cranston had been far too agreeable about the whole 'sending the kids away' thing and his silence was beginning to get on her nerves. There was certainly something on his mind.

Cranston chuckled sadly. "Pixie, you've never listened to a single piece of advice I've given you," he pointed out. "This old man learned to stop fighting you a long time ago."

Pixie was not satisfied. "This is important," she said stubbornly.

"I tried the same thing with my daughter, you know that," he told her.

"And?"

Cranston pursed his lips. "We both know how that ended," he muttered bitterly.

"They're different," Pixie argued. "They know how to defend themselves. They've seen the cruel world she never knew."

"I'll keep an eye on them," he assured her.

Pixie frowned. "You still think I'm wrong, don' you?" she accused.

"I don't know that," Cranston admitted. "But I'd feel a lot more comfortable with the whole thing if there was someone around to actively protect them."

"Oh," Pixie muttered, suddenly understanding his intent. "W-would ya' really wanna do that?"

Spoiler: Old Pals

The old man shot her a rare smile. "They're practically my grandkids, aren't they?" he said.

"Chromey..."

"Maybe it's time I finally retire from all this," he said, gesturing to the room. "Assassinations, train robberies... all of it."

Pixie chuckled. "I can' imagine the Cook livin' out the rest of 'is days fallin' asleep in a rockin' chair while Sprout an' Lily wreak havoc all over," she admitted. "Would ya' really do that fer me?"

"Not just for you, Meredith," he told her. "For them mostly, but also myself. I think I've earned a long retirement. I've managed to keep you from getting yourself killed all these years, so I think I can manage keeping two-bit thugs away from the twisted twins between afternoon naps."

"They're like seven years apart," she reminded him. "Hardly twins."

Cranston laughed. "I'm old," he retorted. "They look pretty much the same age to me."

Pixie shared in the laugh and slapped her old friend on the knee. "What the fuck would I do without ya'?" she asked rhetorically.

"You'd be dead," the old man replied. She always appreciated his deadpan humor.

Once the laughter died down Pixie furrowed her brow and searched her surrogate father's eyes. "I'm gonna miss you," she whispered.

"Shave your head and it'll be like I was never gone," he joked.

Pixie thought for a moment. "If I do it I'm gonna blame you if it looks stupid," she warned.

"Oh, it'll look stupid."

Pixie rolled her eye and shoved his shoulder. "Fuck you old man," she whined.


"Hey, wake up," someone said, rousing Pixie from her slumber. It was Carlos. "Sorry, but we're running behind schedule. We've gotta be out of here in two hours minimum."

Rubbing her eyes, Pixie let out a loud yawn and stretched her back. "Make me some eggs an' I may consider gettin' up," she whimpered before rolling over onto her other side.

Carlos simply facepalmed.

Today's the day...

Pixie would finally kill him. She'd finally get revenge on the man that had ruined her life.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"So what exactly is happening right now? I'm sure it's not just to make pleasant conversation."

Vasa ushered an anxious looking waiter who was clearly regretting coming into work today. "Isn't it obvious? You wanted to send out a message, well, it's been received. So here's ours." He casually started cutting into his meal. "And if what you say is true, then Florian and I need to talk." He took a sip of wine. "Word should be out by now."

No one else in the room was talking, they were all either staring at the mismatched couple of Vasa and Lilith or at the front door. Their cold stares didn't help the frigid atmosphere much. This, and the inane small talk, carried on for a while.

Until they heard a trio of voices talking outside. Vasa snapped to attention as his eyes glued themselves to the entrance. Through the windows they could see the guards outside warily back away and hesitate as to whether they should raise their weapons or not. They were quickly forgotten though as the bell above the front door tinkled lightly and the door slammed itself shut again. Leaving Florian standing there alone and facing a room of armed men, his father and the lover he'd taken hostage. He looked calm considering all that.

Actually, that would be a lie, he looked like someone who'd arrived at a friends very important dinner party. And as far as Florian could tell at a glance he might have been.

["Hi..."] He said softly. To no one and everyone in particular.

The others gawped in disbelief while Erik appeared to be staring daggers at the boy. Vasa didn't say anything, he looked like he really had seen a ghost as he slowly rose from his chair and limped towards Florian, having forgotten about his cane. After a few steps Florian quickly stepped forward to meet him half way and catching his father as he almost slipped on the tiled floor. The two of them just looked at each other, like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Deep down a little, Vasa still felt uncertain.

But standing there, actually holding his child again, he found the doubt melting away. Maybe this was just a brilliant trick, but right here and now, he found himself just wanting to believe. Running a hand over Florian's jaw, seeing those same blue eyes they shared and facing the pieces of Anna he could still see in his features. He caved. Pulling Florian into a sudden hug and thanking god that no one could see his face right now. Though Lilith and the others got a front row view of Florian's face over Vasa's shoulder.

He tried to be stoic, meeting Lilith's eyes and doing his best to seem sure and supportive, as if he could send out the mental message that it'd all be okay, that he'd get her out of this. That's what he was thinking at first but it all caught up with him soon enough. How could he even put this into words? As the weight of the moment and all the little realisations that came with it pressed down on him.

Father and son both quietly broke in their own little ways. ["I'm sorry."] Was all Florian could bring himself to say, his voice a hoarse whisper.

While Vasa had countless things he wanted to say. And no idea how to do it.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"He touched down less than an hour ago. They won't be staying for much longer, so we need to strike fast. We've got no chance of getting at him inside Parasido."

"Gotta say, I don't like the look of the company he's keeping."

"Well, whoever it is, they split up after landing. If we get get him while he's alone, all the better. If not, then we'll just have to deal with it. We all knew just how dangerous this guy is when we teamed up. We're all aware of the risks, and nobody's backing out now."

The were murmurs of ascent from the other men, as the group congregated in a deserted service hallway. Behind them, round the corner, The Gentleman eavesdropped on their conversation. Despite being over a hundred yards away, he heard every word with clarity, due to the fountain pen the he currently held delicately between his fingers. The nib was pointed around the corner, the microphone inside picking up their hushed voices, and relaying them to The Gentleman through the speaker at the other end. What he heard intrigued him more than it frightened him. He didn't recognise any of these men, though their speech seemed to mark them as being from all over the continent. They were all armed, but lightly, and with no amour. It might have been prudent to kill them all now, away from prying eyes or innocent bystanders. The may have outnumbered him, but in a tight space and with no cover, all The Gentleman needed was the element of surprise to make clean work of it.

Something stayed his hand, however, from this course of action. It was more curiosity than mercy. Just who were these men, to come together from all across the Ashlands at this point, to intercept him at a time his whereabouts should have been even more illusive than usual? As many adversaries and rivals as The Gentleman had, he didn't like having enemies who'd motives and capabilities he could not account for.

Boldly, he broke from his cover and strode towards the group of men. He did not draw a weapon, and his posture was relaxed, but he remained, as ever, on alert. Upon spotting his advance, the men cut off their conversation, and wheeled to face him. While they looked threatening, neither did they expose any weapons. Interesting...

"No need to stand on ceremony chaps." The Gentleman greeted them, a cautious smile on his face.

The man who appeared to be their ringleader, or at least their spokesman, crinkled up his face in a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"What's your business here?" he asked curtly.

"I don't like people talking about me behind my back." The Gentleman replied "It's impolite, you see."

This answer only seemed to make the other party even more confused.

"Listen, mate." Another with a Sherwood accent piped up "Just who the fuck are you?"

Now, this was interesting. Unusually, it took a couple of seconds for the cogs in The Gentleman's mind to fall in to place. When they did, his smile grew broader.

"Ah, now I see..." he said. "Have the boy's bad habits finally caught up to him?"

"That noble prick's left bodies behind in almost every dome he's ever passed through!" The Sherwood man replied hotly. "We're their family, and friends, and all we want is one body in return. We reckon that's a bargain."

"Darren..." The rumbling tones of a Frostfall man behind him interrupted "Shut the fuck up."

"Open your fucking eyes, Vlad!" Darren retorted over his shoulder "Does it look like we're dealing with a fucking amateur here?" He turned back towards The Gentleman. "He already knows the score; and the fact that he hasn't tried to kill us already, or run off to warn the Lombardi ****, makes me think there's a deal to be struck..."

"I like this one. He'll go far." The Gentleman added.

"How about you tell us who you are first?" The first man said.

"Never to a living soul..." came the answer "but you can call me The Gentleman."

If they didn't recognise the face, then the name got there attention. Hands went to holsters in a flash, but it was The Gentleman who had his gun up first. The Gentleman was now smiling more than he had in days.

This was turning into his kind of afternoon.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Despite the pit in her stomach, despite the situation they now found themselves in, Lilith couldn't help but let a small smile curl her lips as Florian embraced his father.

Things were gonna go to shit real quick, but in this small moment, she felt happy for both of them. It was fleeting however, as Florian's eyes locked onto her's, her face softening as she bowed her head slightly.

'This isn't your fault.' Lilith wanted to speak those words to him, tell him that they'd get out of this safely, but not even she could smother this situation in optimism. Pulling her eyes away from the father and son, Lilith casually looked around the room, her gaze falling on Erik for a few moments.

The huge man didn't look happy, not one bit. Somehow, she didn't think he was acting. Silently she reached for her cigarettes, which had been frisked from her person and placed on the table. Lighting a smoke, the girl took a long drag as she placed an elbow on the table and rested her cheek in her palm.

Forcing her casual persona back to the surface, a sly smirk curled Lilith's mouth as she winked at Florian. He needed to think she was in control of her situations, that she wasn't terrified. All lies of course, but the truth didn't help anyone.

 

[Fappy]

"Hey, got a minute?"

Sprout perked up at the sight of his lover. "Yeah sure, what's up?" he asked as he took her by the arm. She'd been acting a tad strange this morning, but then so was everyone else. It was probably just nerves.

Bennie thought the same thing.

"Relax," the big man told Gale out of the blue. "I can practically hear your teeth chattering." He offered her a warm grin. "I got your back, girl."

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"There's another gun in my jacket, go get, but this time actually pay attention when you're dismantling it, it'll make figuring out where everything goes a lot easier."

"Uh, okay," Elizabeth muttered. Getting to her feet, the young noble made her way over to Asad's jacket and began rummaging around in it. "This small thing?" she asked, holding the low-caliber sidearm in the air. "Guess this one's for concealing?"

Elizabeth walked back over to the coffee table, knelt down and laid the weapon down on the table. "Okay, now tell me what every part is as I take it apart," she instructed.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Yeah sure, what's up?"

Arm in arm, Amy led Axel over to a quieter corner of the depot.

"I wanted to check you were okay." She said, resting her head on his shoulder "That you were feeling good, about the mission, I mean."

"'I'm pretty pumped, actually," Sprout told her. "I used ta' get really nervous before a score, but I'm used to it now. I reckon gettin' shot in the chest puts thin's in perspective. What about you?"

Me? I'm fine. I was just..." Axel's casual mention of his near-death experience threw her off-balance somewhat. She had seen his scars, of course, but it wasn't something they had really discussed yet. Amy caressed his chest with her other hand, just over the old wounds, as if to shield them.

"This isn't your first score, I know... but, are you okay with what I'm doing? I mean, I guess I never really cleared it with you, and if you'd rather not talk about it that's fine I was just..."

Just in time, Amy shut up while she was still able to stop herself from rambling.

Sprout shrugged. "Well I mean... Bennie didn' really imply you'd be doin' any of that business," he explained, struggling to find the words a bit. "Yer jus' pretendin' ta' be an escort."

"Maybe? I dunno..." Amy replied sheepishly. "I mean, we're supposed to be subduing him. He's not gonna be in a false sense of security of nothing happens. Even if I don't have to cross that line today, next time might be different. I... how do you feel about that?"

"Um," Sprout broke eye contact and thought on it for awhile. "I dunno. I--what about you? Does it make you feel uncomfortable at all ta' do it now?"

Amy was deep in thought for several seconds before replying.

"I'm not going to tell you that what I do is just sex." She told him "That it's cold, hand heartless, and that it doesn't mean anything. That would be a lie. The people I... attend to, are looking for more than just physical release. The power they have buys that for them in many places far cheaper than anything they get from me. They come to me because they're looking for something more, that even a lifetime of free and endless pleasure can't provide. It's my job to see explore the depths of their soul, find the thing that's missing, and become it. Every detail, every moment I spend in their company, has to be a fantasy so real they can't help but believe it. The idea that I could achieve that without any intimacy on my part would be ridiculous..."

Turning to face him, Amy brushed a few stray hairs over Axel's brow, and looked deeply into his eyes.

"But a fantasy is still a fantasy Ax, no matter how real it looks. When I'm in that place with them, everyone is pretending. So, no matter what I do, and no matter how it makes me feel in that moment, the real me, the one standing here right now, is only ever yours. I want you to understand that."

Sprout pursed his lips, searching Amy's eyes as he let her words stew in his mind. Hadn't she said she was done doing this? Maybe she was just referring to work on the side. Would Bennie really order her to do such a thing in light of their relationship?

Ma' did it a few times when she and Bennie were still together...

"Do you wanna do it?" he suddenly blurted. "I mean, given the choice... would you rather do somethin' else fer the Maiden?"

Again, Amy paused in thought.

"I'd rather be where I'm needed." she replied "I'd rather do whatever it takes to help The Maiden. Or, I don't know, maybe it's more than that? Maybe I no longer want to brush the pieces of me that aren't pretty under a rug where no-one I care about will notice. What I do is a part of what I am. For years it kept me alive, and for years after that it kept me fed, put a roof over my head, and gave me a name. Hell, it even gave me my place on The Maiden, at least at first. Are people supposed to just... walk away from something that integral, even if they'd like to sometimes?"

Sprout shrugged. He really didn't know how to answer that. "I guess not," he admitted.

Suddenly there was a very deep pit in his stomach. There was something about this conversation that was really getting to him, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Hey." Amy said, cupping his cheek with her hand "I'm not asking for your blessing, at least, not right now. It's perfectly normal if you need time to think, and even then we'll probably have a lot to talk about. I just want you to know that this..." she wove her fingers through his, their hands coming to rest just above her heart "is what I really want, more than anything, no matter what else happens."

Sprout nodded somewhat confidently and squeezed her hand. "Okay," was all he could say.

Then Brock finally showed up.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Okay, now tell me what every part is as I take it apart,"

Nodding his head once, Asad took a bite of his omelette as he leaned forward in his seat to get a better view of what Elizabeth was doing.

Over the next several minutes the Major described every removable part of the gun and its purpose, repeating the process several times until she could describe each part without his help. Taking the gun from Elizabeth's hand, Asad nodded towards a the far wall of the apartment. "Look away and don't turn around until I tell you."

As Elizabeth obliged, Asad dismantled the pistol, spreading the parts across the coffee table in random positions. Glancing at the girl's back, Asad smirked as he pocketed a the pistol's firing pin.

"Okay, go for it." Asad crossed his arms over his chest as he stood over Elizabeth.

 

[Dogmatic99]

The quiet didn't lift quickly. Everyone looked on at the 'happy' pair as they were reunited, all of them trying to make sense of things in their head before they were forced to take some kind of action. If Erik's brow furrowed any more it would have threatened to wear a trench into his face. Sergei was far from pleased as well by the looks of things. It was easy to see why. His competition had just come back and was worming his way back into the spot he'd clawed over countless dead to get. At least that was how it seemed to him. He kept looking back and forth between Florian and the blonde ***** he'd dragged in here with him. She looked way too young to be the bandit everyone was saying she was.

She had some good curves on her though, that was plain to see as he looked her up and down another time. He'd be having some fun with her smug ass before this was done, he'd make sure of that.

Eventually Florian and Vasa drew apart, forced to look each other in the eye again and realise the gravity of the situation weighed down on them all over again. How could either of them even begin?

["You have so much explaining to do..."] Vasa said softly. Not angrily, more sad and tired.

"I know...but this isn't the way to make it happen." Florian said.

["Why are you talking that way?"]

"Because we have a guest, Father, and you taught me better manners than that." Florian did his best to keep level. His mind was racing with every plate he had to keep spinning. How he'd handle this, what he'd say to his dad now they were here, how he'd make the plan work now that things'd gone wrong. And how he'd get Lilith out of this.

Vasa looked back over his shoulder at the blonde girl, she was lounging like she was at a cafe on a lazy afternoon. He was finding her more insufferable by the minute. But he'd be nice for now. "Alright." He snorted. "I suppose we can move this somewhere more fitting. You'll like the tower, it's even better than we thought it would be." He seemed so pleased.

"And the hits." Florian added anxiously. "You have to call them off."

"You know I can't do that."

"This was to get me out and you've done that, people don't need to die."

"It's not about killing, Florian." Vasa patted his son on the shoulder. "It's about making a point. Whatever you were trying to do that is over. I don't know why you did this but we can move past it."

"Not if you keep this up." Florian was putting his foot down. "Things can't carry on this way. If you want things to change then we have to be change with them. The way things are, this, it can't work you have to see that!"

"I do." Vasa agreed easily. "And things have changed now. Now you're back, we can do this together."

"Not like this we're not." Florian took a step back and every man in the room tensed up.

Vasa was still wrapping his head around this. He hadn't expected Florian to act like his usual self, not after this strange little war he'd tried to wage, but he still couldn't understand the reasoning. Well that didn't matter now. They could work that out later, that was important now was that he was back and that Vasa could bring him home. Whatever was going on just needed a lighter touch, Florian was in a stubborn mood, clearly.

Vasa calmly raised a hand and his men backed down uncertainly. "Alright... alright... let's just talk for now. Erik, Sergei." He called out to his chiefs. "Tell them the open hits are off. time to calm down." He tilted his head to Florian. 'See? I'm playing ball.' "Now I just gave you a lot there. You're doing very well in these negotiations but it's time to meet me half way... time to come home."

"And Irena?" Florian stood his ground. "You think I don't know about her?" He shot daggers into Sergei who smugly smirked back.

"You aren't in charge here, Florian." Vasa chided him. "You're pushing your luck here, boy."

"Then her." Florian nodded to Lilith, not letting anything slow him down. "We trade. You let her go and I'll come quietly."

The lover girl, of course he was opting for her. She'd worked well enough as bait, there was obviously something between them. Whatever it was she was a bad influence and something that had to be dealt with, especially after all she'd done. He could hardly be seen to just let her go with no consequences. "You're making this very hard for me, Florian." Vasa smiled sadly.

"No I'm not. You know how hard I can make this." Florian matched his father in tone perfectly as they stared each other down. Lilith had gotten an increasingly surreal show as she was shown where the family resemblances was strongest. Forget the eyes and bone structure. It was all in their voices. It was almost like hearing the same person talking at times.

Florian reached to his side, making his point clear. Even with his speed he knew he couldn't beat everyone in the room to the draw. He'll he was still sure his dad could have planted one in his hand if he had that damn cane on him. But he didn't need to beat them all, just to hold it on himself. The look he gave Vasa made it clear he was up to something. Enough to make him take pause.

The tension grew thicker and everyone's trigger fingers got itchier by the second.

"Let her go." Vasa said.

=========================================

"Relax, I can practically hear your teeth chattering."

Gale jerked her head up from her obsessive gun cleaning to look at the chief, feeling a stupid, stupid blush start to make her cheeks glow as realised how antsy she'd been acting. Her restless foot was still tapping a little jig even now. Didn't help that she felt like an idiot now for acting like such a kid among all the old hands.

"I got your back, girl."

The chief smiled at her and Gale got her first look at that girl winning charm she'd heard so much about. It got her blushing a little more bashfully that was for sure. A traveler girl, being bashful! What was this noise?

"You know it." Gale raised her rifle like she was offering a cheers as she smiled back at him.

'What was that? What was that supposed to be? Oh just shut up, Gale.'

Could they just rob someone already?!

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith had caught eyes with the man called Sergei, she could tell just by looking at him what type of man he was. Unnecessarily cruel, narcissistic, and if the looks he was giving her were any indication, a pig.

'Yeah keep looking ****, after what you've done to Renny, you're lucky I don't put a fucking bullet in your face.'

Watching Bejic junior and senior come to verbal blows was strange to say the least, she didn't really see it at first, but now Florian resembled his father more than ever. Her mind racing as her lover negotiated the terms of his surrender.

Was he really giving up? Was it because he had no choice? Was it her fault for getting caught?

"We trade. You let her go and I'll come quietly."

Eyes widening, Lilith quickly stubbed out her cigarette as she almost got to her feet, but the look Erik gave her made her reconsider that action. 'What the fuck are you doing, Florian?!'

Lilith knew it made sense, it was a simple matter of worth, and in this situation, she was worth nothing to anyone but Florian. Vasa gets his son back and kills this little rebellion all in one move. Impressive, but it didn't make her feel any better about the situation. Glancing around, Lilith clenched her jaw as her heart thumped in her chest. There had to be another way, some other way they could both get out of there. Could they feasibly take on this many of Vasa's men? Could they count on Erik to help when the shit hit the fan?

'You're not Pixie, and you don't have a gun, this isn't going to end the way you want it.' So what if she didn't have a gun, she could get one. She casually glanced at the bodyguard nearest her, his weapon held loosely by his side, if she could just...

'You're being a fucking moron, you can't win this one, the best you can hope for is...'

"Let her go."

And there it was, her little glimmer of hope.

Slowly getting to her feet, Lilith's eyes met Florian's, her expression told him everything, she wasn't happy with this arrangement and he'd better damn know it. Now she was on her feet, the girl was unsure what to do, should she just walk out? Should she try and talk to Florian? Resisting the urge to glance at Erik, she felt naked as she walked across the room, she could feel their eyes on her. At least with her weapons she'd hold some element of threat, but right now, stripped of everything but her clothes, she was a useless princess who was being saved by her man.

Fuck them for making her feel this way, and fuck them for making Florian do this, and fuck her for being stupid enough to get caught.

Stopping a few feet away from Florian and Vasa, Lilith set her back straight, raising her head slightly as she looked at Vasa. It couldn't be unseen now, the resemblance was just uncanny. As the old man almost sneered at her, she felt a knot in her throat. Were these Florian's eyes when she wasn't looking at her? When he was looking at someone he hated? She didn't like it, she hoped he'd never look at her that way. Shifting her gaze to Florian, the knot in her throat tightened further as he looked back at her, the same eyes, but filled with adoration.

'I swear if you ever look at me like that bitter old bastard, I'm gonna kick your arse.'

 

[Dogmatic99]

The look Lil was shooting him right now left little room for interpenetration. If he survived this (which he was pretty sure he would) Florian would be getting an earful later.

'Hm, maybe I should just die in the attempt like I thought I would.'

Somehow he doubted anyone else was in the mood for gallows humor though. Still, someone had to put a brave face on this. He gave a reluctant smile to Lilith.

'I know, I'm in trouble.' He'd make it up to her. Well, he'd try.

Florian set about his end of the bargain, stripping himself of his one and only gun. He'd had more before but knew how this was going to go down, there was no point in bringing his little armoury in with him but he had to bring at least one weapon for appearances sake, it would just make things even more tense if he shook the boat and rocked up to a prisoner exchange like a priest. So he undid his holster, drew the pistol and laid them both out on the nearest table before opening himself to getting a pat down. Of course he had to give a flirty smirk Lilith's way as this happened, just to help battle the awkwardness.

"That's everything." He said to the room in general as the guard started getting a little too handsy and the others started to close in.

"You can go." Vasa nodded to Lilith. "We are keeping your things, of course." He said matter of factly.

"You should really get going." Florian said to her, quietly. Looking at Lilith out of the corner of his eye, his hands still up on the back of his head. "Am I getting bound?" He asked, turning back to his father.

"For goodness sake, Florian, you're not some criminal. You're one of us! Besides... would anything actually hold you?"

"Maybe. Not much point in me trying anyway." Florian shrugged as this turned more and more civil.

"No." Vasa smiled sadly. His sad smile wasn't as inviting as Florian's. "You know what I have to do though."

"I know. I know how this works." Florian grimaced. "So!" He perked up. "Who gets to slow me down?!"

Erik stepped forward, his form looming over all three of the other key players.

"Hi, Erik." Florian smiled. "Wanna get some hits in?"

"You know I could never hurt you boy." Erik tried to force a small smile. He just looked tired.

Then, as if from nowhere, Sergei appeard at Florian's side. "Me on the other hand." He said, chirpily and in perfectly good common tongue just before he rammed the butt of his rifle into Florian's stomach. The young Bejic let out a let out a wheezing gasp as the breath was knocked clean out of him and he fell to his knees. He stayed down for a moment, coughing and retching as he clutched at his guts.

Vasa placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. Looking down on him like a small child who'd cut his knee. ["Good lad. It's all over now."] He cooed softly. "take her out." He barked sternly, looking up at a pair of his men who brushed Lilith on and forced her outside. One of them looked back at him as they left.

The two of them kept following Lilith down the street, herding her into the back alleys, their hands on their rifles.

 

[Terratina.]

"Could make yourselves useful and scope out the new recruits. See if they're as green as we've been told."

"Might as well." Jun muttered as he folded his arms and lean against the wall. Well, it was something to do. Didn't exactly help that it was coming from her of all people but at least he wasn't being dragged into a club. Again.

 

[The Funslinger]

"Might as well.

"Oh aye, Bryan said. "Fucking with newbies oughta be a laugh."

 

[Fappy]

"Okay, go for it."

Elizabeth nodded firmly, a look of determination on her face. She could do this. He had just shown her the entire process. It would be easy!

After a deep breath the young noble went to work, assembling the weapon bit-by-bit, just how he showed her. There were a few times here and there that she got stumped on what to do next--even instances where she had to completely redo a step--but she never gave up.

Then she began running into issues more frequently. What was it? She thought she'd paid close enough attention.

It's like there's something...

Frowning, Elizabeth stared down at the disassembled weapon, confirming her suspicions.

Son of a *****.

"Hand it over," she commanded with an open palm, her eyes still glued to her work.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

"You know it."

Bennie chuckled. Gale was a cute kid.

We were like that also not too long ago. These kids won't be 'cute' for long.

"Brock's here," Sprout called out to Bennie before hopping to his feet. "Y'all ready?"

They better be, Bennie thought.

Twenty Minutes Later...

Amy was up in the cab with Brock while the others were crammed away in a collection of large crates. Bennie had been stuffed away with Jesse and Marcus in one crate while Sprout, Gale, Jonah and Ruffles were getting cozy in another.

Even in that cramped, dark space Bennie could tell something was bothering the young Casanova. "Hey Jesse, you doing alright?" the big man asked. "You know, besides being horribly uncomfortable." He chuckled.

The mood in the second crate was a bit more tense. After a long period of silence Sprout nudged Gale. "Can I trust you ta' watch Bennie's back?" he asked. "You too Jonah, can I trust y'all to keep yer nerves if shit hits the fan?"

Jonah exchanged nervous glances with Gale and nodded. "Y-yeah man, don't worry about us," he stammered.

He was scared out of his wits.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Lilith lifted her hand, almost lurching forward as the Pig gut punched Florian, but was immediately confronted by the two body guards tasked with escorting her from the premises. She didn't even have time to say her goodbyes before she was pushed out onto the street.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm bloody going." Lilith lit a cigarette before turning to walk down the street. "Cunts." She muttered to herself, blowing smoke from the corner of her mouth as she angrily stuffed her hands into her pockets.

The two of them led her on for a while down the narrow streets and spooking any curious bystanders by just looking at them. The two of them muttered to each other and offered some glib remarks that they were certain she couldn't understand. Until they found a quiet spot, one piled high with odds and ends that people had thrown away and dumped.

["Here's good."] One of them said spitting out his cigarette.

["Seems a shame."] The other one commented. ["We don't have to do this do we? "]

["What, you wanna take her back to your place? Yeah that'll go well with her and the boss."] His friend sneered. ["Come on. let's get this over with and we get to be the guys who offed Valentine."] He pulled back the bolt on his rifle with a sharp metallic snap. Apparently they weren't going to ask for her last words.

As she was led deeper and deeper into areas of ill repute, Lilith had an inkling that she wasn't going to be allowed to simply walk away, maybe they'd try and rough her up, or worse? They clearly knew who she was, as her surname was uttered on several occasions, albeit pronounced in a strange fashion.

This all seemed to come to a worrisome head as Lilith found herself facing a dead end alley.

"Well chaps." Lilith inhaled through gritted teeth as she heard the telltale sound of shit about to go down. Turning around slowly to find one of the men aiming his rifle at her, the young woman tilted her head, "Don't I at least get one more smoke?" Oh sure, she was calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside she was planning on how to kill these guys without getting perforated.

["What do you think?"]

["Fuck it, fine! Play at being the cool guy see if I care."] The two of them went on bickering. Let it be a cool part of the story they'll tell later or something. Besides, couldn't blame the girl for wanting to cling on to a little bit of dignity before she got thrown in with the the trash.

The more 'romantic' of the two fumbled for his smokes and a light as he made his way to the far end of the alley to offer it to her.

'Oh you stupid, stupid boy.' It was all Lilith could do to keep a smirk from curling her lips. The man motioned for her to put her hands in the air, the woman happily obliging as he got closer. Holding out the cigarette, Lilith bowed her head forward, slowly taking a long drag, still held between his fingers before plucking it from his grasp with her teeth, her eyes not leaving his. "Spasibo." Lilith cooed. Was she trying to seduce him? 'You can't seduce shit, Lily, break his face instead.'

"I could use a drink too, don't wanna be stone cold sober for this, you know?" The wounded puppy dog eyes came into play, she just need him to drop his guard for one second, just one moment.

["Hey! Fuckwits."] Came a call from behind her would be executioner. Just over his shoulder she spied Erik, keeping up his old habit of appearing out of nowhere like annoying house cat. He must have been tailing them. Either way, it distracted both bandits long enough to give a window.

Lilith's knight in hairy armour distracted the two men just long enough for her to quickly step forward, kicking a leg from beneath the man, pulling the knife from the bodyguard's belt, she twisted one of his arms behind his back as she wrapped her other arm around his throat, holding the point of the knfe uncomfortably close to his jugular. "Shhhhh, I really don't want to kill you, you're the nice one." Lilith grunted as she held her captive steady.

["Oh shit!"] The bandit yelped, turning back to Lilith and his idiot of a friend. he didn't have a chance to raise his weapon properly though as Erik smacked it back down. he was too surprised to struggle properly as the big man nearly knocked him off his feet with a right hook. It was over quickly after that as Erik pulled his victim close, drawing a knife from his vest and driving it into the bandits neck.

He didn't break stride as he let the body fall and drew his pistol with his free hand, aiming it straight at Lilith's struggling new friend. "Finish it!" He barked at her.

Lilith hesitated for a moment as her captive froze in her grip. "He hasn't done anything, Erik." She muttered assertively as her eyes locked on his. Of course this man had to die, they couldn't let him go now, not now that Erik had revealed himself. And why not? This man was still going to have a hand in murdering her, he only gave her cigarette for fucks sake, so why was she finding this so hard?

Her captive started frantically begging for his life at five hundred words a minute in his mother tongue as Erik slowly closed the gap on them, keeping his sights trained on the man's head. "He can't get away girl..." He said the words slow and low, not looking away from his target.

"There has to be another way!" Lilith said quietly shaking her head. Averting her eyes, the woman was reluctantly glad she couldn't understand what the man was pleading. After a few more moments of begging, Lilith's eyes met Erik's once again. "Painless, do it."

Erik just zoned out the lad's ramblings, heard one man beg for his life, heard them all. He was so close now he didn't even need to think about aiming just to put one inbetween his eyes. So of course he had time to look at Lilith and her scared up little puppy dog eyes.

There has to be another way. Just like Florian kept rambling on. 'Oh god damnit...' Not now. now was not the time to be getting soft on people! Who cared if they were technically part of the family. 'We don't kill our own.' That was the shit he was trying to fight against here. Now look at him, about to gun down some poor shit as he pissed his pants and got held down by a little girl in a trash alley. Who wanted to go that way? 'If Petrov could see you now.'

Erik sighed. Bloody kids! He yanked the bandit out of Lilith's grip and pulled him so close he could feel Erik's breath on his face. ["You're not gunna tell anyone about this, are you?!"] Erik didn't bother to listen to his stream of desperate promises. ["Because if you do, I swear on your mother's grave, I will shoot you straight in the dick... and then there will be killing."] Yeah, he was bored of making threats these days.

He whipped his arms around the guy's neck and clamped him into a sleeper hold, waiting until he fell unconscious and let the bandit's limp body half fall to the floor. Erik looked up from his handiwork and back to Lilith.

"Shut up." He grunted. "We need to move, now."

Lilith looked down at the unconscious man and then back up at Erik, a small smile curling her lips. "Thank you." She said sincerely, holding out her arms and flexing her fingers. "Wanna hug?"

"Later." Erik rolled his eyes. "Wait- shit..." He pulled his knife again and started digging it back into the man who hadn't gotten a dose of Erik's arbitrary mercy. "I need your scarf." He held out his hand expectantly from his kneeling position on the floor. "Need to make you dead for the others."

She didn't seem very forthcoming with the fabrics. He knew she heard him but the girl still hesitated. After a pause Erik grunted flapping his hand around for her to hurry the hell up.

"This was a gift." Lilith mumbled as she pawed at her scarf. "I can't..." She bowed her head as she looked down at Erik. "What about Florian, what if they... tell him. I can't do that to him." Just thinking about how he'd react was starting to break her heart.

"It will clean ooofff!" Erik droned. "Thing is red anyway, you wont even see it. Besides, Florian can get a taste of his own medicine for a second." He snatched the thing from her and started to wide blood stains on the little white heart in its middle, making sure to scratch it up a little too. "This will be over very soon anyway." He added quietly.

"You... you have to tell him." Lilith squirmed in place as Erik desecrated her most prized possession. "He can't think I'm dead, he can't, it'll..." The girl almost whimpered. "Please."

Everything had happened so fast, she still had no idea how she was going to get them out of this mess.

"Sure." She'd gotten moody pretty fast. Maybe this one put on the happy go lucky act more often than just in a crisis. "You need to get low for a while. You find Alexei, he will keep you safe." He lead her along the little maze they'd gone through to get here. She really was upset.

"You don't worry." he patted Lilith on the shoulder. "This is me, Florian and Vasa all in a room together now. We'll talk this out with no more fighting. I can fix this."

Eyeing up her ruined scarf sadly for a few moments, she looked up at Erik. "What if you don't." She said simply. "This is my fault, what are they going to do to Florian? Be straight with me, how much trouble is he in right now? I don't know how you guys work, is he..." The girl let out a long breath. "Is Vasa gonna hurt him?"

"No." Erik said plainly, without hesitation. "No more than he has. I'm sure. I don't know what he'll do, but I know he will not hurt Florian." They carried on their way for a second. "This is not your fault girl. Whatever happened, I know you can do good, so I know it's not your fault. We're on a bad road but this could help us later. This might be lucky." He mused. "A lot less fighting this way maybe."

Stuffing he hands in her pockets, she kept pace next to Erik, her eyes on the ground as she thought for a moment. "I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing, you know that right?" The girl mumbled. "What's the plan? What happens now?"

"YOU, sit and do nothing." Erik turned to her. "This is down to the chiefs now. We still have my people, noble people and now they ease up the hits for a while, Irena's people. We still have control of most of the crews and Vas has opened the front door for us. It's two against one now. Those two talk, I calm them down, we can win this. Vas just needs to feel safe for now." He brandished the scarf in front of her. "You just give me time, Girl."

"Okay, okay." Lilith held up hands in defeat, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. "I'm just..." The girl looked down at the ground. "I'm scared Erik, I can deal with all the shit the world throws at me until the day I die, but when it's someone I... Someone I love." She mumbled the words as she brushed her hair from her eyes. "I don't deal with that very well, and I hate that I can't do something about it, you saw them back there, you could cut the tension with a knife, and Sergei..." She looked up at Erik, a face hardening. "He's gonna try and fuck this up Erik, he's not gonna take Florian's return lying down."

Well Erik could relate to that, hell, he'd lived that a thousand times over and dealt with the consequences. It was rough on her, he knew but sometimes you had to sit back and tense up when the life hands you a crappy hand.

"He will when we take him down." And they'd save him for Irena after. One last bit of Hussar style justice before their promised change came.

"We'll make him pay for what he's done to Renny." The girl nodded, anger burning in her eyes. "How is she, we haven't had chance to talk since you left. Is she okay?"

Erik just looked at her. For once he'd be tactful. "You need to get going. I will be in touch soon."

Searching the old man's face for a few moments, Lilith quickly stepped forward, placing her hands gently on his shoulder as she reached up to brush her lips against his cheek. "Be safe." She mumbled, before pulling away quickly and making her way down the street towards Alexei's place.

=========================================================================

Gale had always assumed bandits were a stinky bunch. That how all the stories seemed to describe them and how most of them looked when she'd seen them in the past. That or they were dashing as balls - either way they didn't do middle grounds. Right now though Gale was getting a steaming great dose of the stinky kind. Crammed in their big ol' can like sardines. Yeah... this was the stuff daring raids and adventures were made of.

The waiting was still gnawing at Gale's state of mind but at least the jostling elbows and bumping shoulders were giving her an unpleasant distraction. The others still looked pretty tense though. She could practically feel Jonah shaking in his boots. It didn't help that Axel was still being the little big man and acting like the boss of the crate.

"Y-yeah man, don't worry about us." Real convincing there. Ugh and he looked at her so pleadingly too. Well, this was her third chance to try and step up and show the vets she could handle herself.

Well she could be brave for two, she guessed, Gale had been in the past anyways. Besides, with The Cap at their side what could really go wrong?

"Damn right he doesn't." Gale nudged Jonah with her elbow along with everyone else by extension. "We got this down."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Asad watched patiently, smiling slightly as the young woman hit the predictable hurdle. The Major wasn't exactly sure why Elizabeth seemed so interested in reassembling the weapon, but given their circumstances he supposed teaching her how to use one was out of the question, so she might as well learn how it all worked.

"Hand it over"

"Very good." Asad nodded his head with approval, reaching into his pocket, he removed the pilfered firing pin and placed in in her palm. "Teacher is very proud." The man smiled smugly as he leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.