"What's say we convert our sexual frustration into violence?"
"I've been waiting so long to do just that!" Florian called back over the din as he leaned out of cover and peppered the side of the nearest pillar just to give their targets something to think about.
As wrecked as he was right now thanks to that lovely rifle butt to the back (thing still smarted like hell) but he was out and free to let out all that bitterness. He didn't have to go full on bloody Bejic but he could show some of the punks that were dragging his family name through the dirt how utterly outclassed they were.
'Just think back to all those old maiden jobs, all the nasty complications or spitting, asshole, security guards that you've had to smile and turn the other cheek to. Those guys. Now is a good time to let that out!'
"You want to pincer move? We seem to have good luck with that one." He leaned over to Lilith, smiling a little bit as the adrenaline started to really kick in. Florian didn't get to try and be quirky for long though as a fresh burst of bullets smashed into their pillar. "Or just move maybe!" He blurted out in a terribly undignified manner before springing off in a direction that didn't have bullets in it. It was going well so far.
He managed to get an opening and leveled some shots into the exposed body parts of the men shooting at him. Florian wasn't bothering to try anything fancy, with the gear he'd been given he just had to plant a shot in them and be done with it. Dead or alive they were going down and getting out of his way. He managed to down two of them (maybe winged a third it was hard to tell in here) before the small clip forced him to reload.
["You know, Flory boy."] Sergei called across the room. ["Back when you died I really hoping that meant you'd stop being a pain in my ass!"]
"Language, Sergei, we have guests!" Florian yelled back, firing some blind shots.
"Oh fuck you!" Sergei moaned, standing up to spray a clip in Florian's direction.
"Bringing a machine gun to pistol fight! Oh you have no honour sir!" Lilith's snark may have been rubbing off on him. It didn't help that Florian had been wanting to kick this tool's ass for a long time coming.
===========================================================
"Alright kids, move out."
Gale nodded and gulped down any leftover nerves that were making a knot in her throat. Their little group of four walked out of the hangar like they owned the place and breezed right on by some guards along the way. Well, at least the chief looked like he owned the place. That was probably easy when you were a big giant man. For her part Gale couldn't help but think how you she and the other two new bloods looked. And how tiny she was next to everyone.
But this was it, this was her hitting the big time. The big leagues. becoming a real merc warrior of the ash. All she had to do was calm down and- get rid of that damn strand of hair that kept getting in her face! Still she did her best to walk tall and straight, like she belonged. She'd tangled with her share of bruisers, she just had to look out for her own for now.
"Jake, be ready to hit the engine room. We're almost in position." The chief said into his comm. This was it. Way past the point of no return now.
Blazing past the last checkpoint, Bennie led his crew to a spot near the control room door that was outside of the security camera's view and whispered into his comm, "Now, Jake."
Bennie waiting for his cue. "Shit, we've got a live one!" a man shouted from behind the door. The big man grinned.
"Gale, Jonah, you're with me," Bennie instructed. "Follow my lead. Marcus, you're on look out."
"Gotcha." Gale nodded as she braced her rifle to herself, the same way she'd been told soldiers did it when they were on parade and conjured as grim a scowl as her soft features could muster.
Bennie slammed his fist against the door frantically. "Let us in!" he shouted. "Lord Talbot's in danger!"
"Open the door!" a voice on the other side commanded.
The door slid open to reveal a timid young man on the other side. "What's happening in---" his words were violently muffled by Bennie's fist. Staggering backwards and onto the floor, Bennie stepped into the room with a pistol pointed at the man's head. Gale and Jonah moved up to either side of him.
"No one move a goddamn muscle!" Bennie shouted. There were three other men in the room. Two of them had been too shocked to react while a third was frozen, with his hand on his belt holster. "You cooperate and no one, including Talbot, gets hurt." He nodded in their direction and looked to his subordinates. "Disarm them. Use the zip-ties to pin them to something sturdy.
"Right." Gale grumbled, sounding all stern like.
She stomped on up to the guy who had been closer to drawing his gun, he looked like the one to watch. She snatched the gun out of his holster, still keeping her rifle pointed in his general direction just to keep him on his toes before shouldering the thing and turning his own, smaller, weapon on him.
"Over there, move it!" She barked in a way less scary voice than the dudes she was working with, luckily her gun was pulling the strong silent type act and staring the poor guard down. She gave him a light shove and the guy reluctantly wandered over to the security desk. "Down, on the ground." Gale pointed with the gun and sat her hostage down on his ass, forcing his hands around the leg of the desk and rummaging around for the zip-tie before sticking him in place.
It took a lot less time than she thought it did. All the while Gale had been nervously going over what to do like a list in her head. After the first guy though the rest was easy as everyone did their part. It gave Gale time to pat each one down for hidden weapons and find a little side carbon. Every bit helps.
Bennie watched over his Maidens as they worked. He was impressed.
Gale isn't missing a beat.
Leaning over the main console, Bennie flicked the switches until he got a good view of the hangar. "Control room's secured," he said into his comm. "Amy and Jessie, y'all need to move." After flipping through some of the other camera feeds, Bennie was content.
"Alright," he announced to the room. Turning around to see his hostages, Bennie crossed his arms over his chest and groaned. "Where's Shostakovitch? I figured he'd be here, but I don't see him."
None of the hostages made a peep.
Bennie scowled. "Knock them around a bit," he told Gale and Jonah. "We need to make sure none of our people run into him without knowing it."
Gale hesitated. Why wouldn't she? Sure she could kick or punch a guy if she had to, hell, she'd done just that before. But they'd started it! Comin' at her at jerks for some nasty reasons. These guys were all tied up... that'd make her the jerk. Gale didn't wanna be a jerk, did she? No. But there was that Shoot-em-up-a-***** guy running around the place. And the chief seemed to think he was pretty tough, enough to take down some of their own.
And if this was her caravan for now, then Gale had to step up and look after her own. She knew this wouldn't be pretty all the time. And who were these guys to her?
"You heard the man." Gale glowered and gave a swift kick to a sitting man's ribs. "Where's your head man?" They didn't say anything. It took Gale a moment to build up the guts before she stomped on his leg. She should have done it to his knee or ankle but she held back at the last minute and went for his calf.
"F-fuck, the old man?" he asked, wincing in pain. "I don't know, what the fuck do you want with him?"
"We wanna know where he is, numb nuts!" Gale yelled, properly this time. She readied her rifle and held it like a spear, letting them all see she was ready to bring the hammer down if need be. 'Don't make me do this guy. Please.'
The man stared up at the rifle, wide-eyed. Clearly he hadn't been trained for this. "I-I don't fuckin' know!" he cried. "I-I-I saw him earlier this morning. Like, an hour ago maybe? I don't know where he's at now."
Gale glanced over at Bennie anxiously. What did they do now? She couldn't look weak in front of them, then they wouldn't tell her anything. The others weren't doing anything. Was it all on her now? "Well who here does know?!" She turned on the other tied up guards.
Jonah grabbed one of the men by the collar and slammed him up against the steel bulkhead. "The lady asked you a question!" he shouted. "Spill it mother fucker!"
Looking over his shoulder, Bennie sighed. "Give it a rest," he told them. "These guys are green-as-fuck. If they knew anything they'd spill it after the first slap."
Gale looked over to Jonah for a second as the two of them floundered a little for what to do. Their first time out and they were already finding problems... and she wasn't even sure what the problem was. There were a bunch of people on the ship they didn't know the location of probably.
She stepped closer to Bennie, trying to keep up the tough act. "Is this old guy really that big a deal, Chief?"
Bennie nodded. "Yeah, probably," he told her. "Cranston's old intel is spotty at best, but if he really is here then he's going to be a problem." Bennie tapped his fingers on the control panel as he thought of a plan. "Gale, I need you to go to the bridge. I've got eyes on it from here, but I could use a pair of the real thing down there. Report to me if you see anything out of the ordinary. We can't make any bold moves until we've got Talbot hostage."
"Okay, sure." She hissed, the proper bandit.
In her head it was more like this: 'Me? Why am I going alone? I'm freakin' teeny next to half these guys! How am I a good solo person?!'
The fact that she'd been travelling alone for several months didn't matter at all right now! All that experience she'd got for herself went out the window as the nerves of her first day got their second wind. "No problem, I can do that." Gale patted herself down one more time, just to make sure she looked the part before going to the door. Looking one more time to Jonah and Marcus in a silent plea for luck. Man she wished she had her little fox right now, stupid disguises.
"Good luck," Bennie told the girl before she left the room.
She'll be fine...
"I've been waiting so long to do just that!" Florian called back over the din as he leaned out of cover and peppered the side of the nearest pillar just to give their targets something to think about.
As wrecked as he was right now thanks to that lovely rifle butt to the back (thing still smarted like hell) but he was out and free to let out all that bitterness. He didn't have to go full on bloody Bejic but he could show some of the punks that were dragging his family name through the dirt how utterly outclassed they were.
'Just think back to all those old maiden jobs, all the nasty complications or spitting, asshole, security guards that you've had to smile and turn the other cheek to. Those guys. Now is a good time to let that out!'
"You want to pincer move? We seem to have good luck with that one." He leaned over to Lilith, smiling a little bit as the adrenaline started to really kick in. Florian didn't get to try and be quirky for long though as a fresh burst of bullets smashed into their pillar. "Or just move maybe!" He blurted out in a terribly undignified manner before springing off in a direction that didn't have bullets in it. It was going well so far.
He managed to get an opening and leveled some shots into the exposed body parts of the men shooting at him. Florian wasn't bothering to try anything fancy, with the gear he'd been given he just had to plant a shot in them and be done with it. Dead or alive they were going down and getting out of his way. He managed to down two of them (maybe winged a third it was hard to tell in here) before the small clip forced him to reload.
["You know, Flory boy."] Sergei called across the room. ["Back when you died I really hoping that meant you'd stop being a pain in my ass!"]
"Language, Sergei, we have guests!" Florian yelled back, firing some blind shots.
"Oh fuck you!" Sergei moaned, standing up to spray a clip in Florian's direction.
"Bringing a machine gun to pistol fight! Oh you have no honour sir!" Lilith's snark may have been rubbing off on him. It didn't help that Florian had been wanting to kick this tool's ass for a long time coming.
===========================================================
"Alright kids, move out."
Gale nodded and gulped down any leftover nerves that were making a knot in her throat. Their little group of four walked out of the hangar like they owned the place and breezed right on by some guards along the way. Well, at least the chief looked like he owned the place. That was probably easy when you were a big giant man. For her part Gale couldn't help but think how you she and the other two new bloods looked. And how tiny she was next to everyone.
But this was it, this was her hitting the big time. The big leagues. becoming a real merc warrior of the ash. All she had to do was calm down and- get rid of that damn strand of hair that kept getting in her face! Still she did her best to walk tall and straight, like she belonged. She'd tangled with her share of bruisers, she just had to look out for her own for now.
"Jake, be ready to hit the engine room. We're almost in position." The chief said into his comm. This was it. Way past the point of no return now.
Blazing past the last checkpoint, Bennie led his crew to a spot near the control room door that was outside of the security camera's view and whispered into his comm, "Now, Jake."
Bennie waiting for his cue. "Shit, we've got a live one!" a man shouted from behind the door. The big man grinned.
"Gale, Jonah, you're with me," Bennie instructed. "Follow my lead. Marcus, you're on look out."
"Gotcha." Gale nodded as she braced her rifle to herself, the same way she'd been told soldiers did it when they were on parade and conjured as grim a scowl as her soft features could muster.
Bennie slammed his fist against the door frantically. "Let us in!" he shouted. "Lord Talbot's in danger!"
"Open the door!" a voice on the other side commanded.
The door slid open to reveal a timid young man on the other side. "What's happening in---" his words were violently muffled by Bennie's fist. Staggering backwards and onto the floor, Bennie stepped into the room with a pistol pointed at the man's head. Gale and Jonah moved up to either side of him.
"No one move a goddamn muscle!" Bennie shouted. There were three other men in the room. Two of them had been too shocked to react while a third was frozen, with his hand on his belt holster. "You cooperate and no one, including Talbot, gets hurt." He nodded in their direction and looked to his subordinates. "Disarm them. Use the zip-ties to pin them to something sturdy.
"Right." Gale grumbled, sounding all stern like.
She stomped on up to the guy who had been closer to drawing his gun, he looked like the one to watch. She snatched the gun out of his holster, still keeping her rifle pointed in his general direction just to keep him on his toes before shouldering the thing and turning his own, smaller, weapon on him.
"Over there, move it!" She barked in a way less scary voice than the dudes she was working with, luckily her gun was pulling the strong silent type act and staring the poor guard down. She gave him a light shove and the guy reluctantly wandered over to the security desk. "Down, on the ground." Gale pointed with the gun and sat her hostage down on his ass, forcing his hands around the leg of the desk and rummaging around for the zip-tie before sticking him in place.
It took a lot less time than she thought it did. All the while Gale had been nervously going over what to do like a list in her head. After the first guy though the rest was easy as everyone did their part. It gave Gale time to pat each one down for hidden weapons and find a little side carbon. Every bit helps.
Bennie watched over his Maidens as they worked. He was impressed.
Gale isn't missing a beat.
Leaning over the main console, Bennie flicked the switches until he got a good view of the hangar. "Control room's secured," he said into his comm. "Amy and Jessie, y'all need to move." After flipping through some of the other camera feeds, Bennie was content.
"Alright," he announced to the room. Turning around to see his hostages, Bennie crossed his arms over his chest and groaned. "Where's Shostakovitch? I figured he'd be here, but I don't see him."
None of the hostages made a peep.
Bennie scowled. "Knock them around a bit," he told Gale and Jonah. "We need to make sure none of our people run into him without knowing it."
Gale hesitated. Why wouldn't she? Sure she could kick or punch a guy if she had to, hell, she'd done just that before. But they'd started it! Comin' at her at jerks for some nasty reasons. These guys were all tied up... that'd make her the jerk. Gale didn't wanna be a jerk, did she? No. But there was that Shoot-em-up-a-***** guy running around the place. And the chief seemed to think he was pretty tough, enough to take down some of their own.
And if this was her caravan for now, then Gale had to step up and look after her own. She knew this wouldn't be pretty all the time. And who were these guys to her?
"You heard the man." Gale glowered and gave a swift kick to a sitting man's ribs. "Where's your head man?" They didn't say anything. It took Gale a moment to build up the guts before she stomped on his leg. She should have done it to his knee or ankle but she held back at the last minute and went for his calf.
"F-fuck, the old man?" he asked, wincing in pain. "I don't know, what the fuck do you want with him?"
"We wanna know where he is, numb nuts!" Gale yelled, properly this time. She readied her rifle and held it like a spear, letting them all see she was ready to bring the hammer down if need be. 'Don't make me do this guy. Please.'
The man stared up at the rifle, wide-eyed. Clearly he hadn't been trained for this. "I-I don't fuckin' know!" he cried. "I-I-I saw him earlier this morning. Like, an hour ago maybe? I don't know where he's at now."
Gale glanced over at Bennie anxiously. What did they do now? She couldn't look weak in front of them, then they wouldn't tell her anything. The others weren't doing anything. Was it all on her now? "Well who here does know?!" She turned on the other tied up guards.
Jonah grabbed one of the men by the collar and slammed him up against the steel bulkhead. "The lady asked you a question!" he shouted. "Spill it mother fucker!"
Looking over his shoulder, Bennie sighed. "Give it a rest," he told them. "These guys are green-as-fuck. If they knew anything they'd spill it after the first slap."
Gale looked over to Jonah for a second as the two of them floundered a little for what to do. Their first time out and they were already finding problems... and she wasn't even sure what the problem was. There were a bunch of people on the ship they didn't know the location of probably.
She stepped closer to Bennie, trying to keep up the tough act. "Is this old guy really that big a deal, Chief?"
Bennie nodded. "Yeah, probably," he told her. "Cranston's old intel is spotty at best, but if he really is here then he's going to be a problem." Bennie tapped his fingers on the control panel as he thought of a plan. "Gale, I need you to go to the bridge. I've got eyes on it from here, but I could use a pair of the real thing down there. Report to me if you see anything out of the ordinary. We can't make any bold moves until we've got Talbot hostage."
"Okay, sure." She hissed, the proper bandit.
In her head it was more like this: 'Me? Why am I going alone? I'm freakin' teeny next to half these guys! How am I a good solo person?!'
The fact that she'd been travelling alone for several months didn't matter at all right now! All that experience she'd got for herself went out the window as the nerves of her first day got their second wind. "No problem, I can do that." Gale patted herself down one more time, just to make sure she looked the part before going to the door. Looking one more time to Jonah and Marcus in a silent plea for luck. Man she wished she had her little fox right now, stupid disguises.
"Good luck," Bennie told the girl before she left the room.
She'll be fine...
