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

[Fappy]

"An-an-an then I said, 'Ye cannae put a decryption code on that thing! It's a cabbage!'" Allie burst out laughing, tipping over onto her side as she struggled to catch her breath. Her and Sprout hadn't been at it very long, but the alcohol was already affecting the small girl.

Sprout pretended he knew what the fuck she was talking about and laughed a long with her. He was a bit tipsy, but not quite drunk yet. "So, I take it you an' Ruffles 'ave been gettin' along mighty fine so far, eh?" he asked her. "Sounds like 'is sense'a humor's rubbin' off on ya'."

Still snickering to herself on the floor, her curls covering her face, Allie took a few moments to catch her breath. "Oh aye, R-Roofles is a great teacher, I'm learnin' ab-about... stuff a-an'... things." The girl couldn't recall it ever being this difficult to construct basic sentence before. "H-he-he's... er." The girl trailed off as she reached for the bottle near her feet, failing miserably.

"Here you go, Drunk-o," Sprout chuckled as he handed her the bottle. "You gonna be sad when he's gone?"

"Course I w-will." Allie whimpered, pouting as she finally managed to push herself back into a sitting position. Taking the bottle from Sprout, she took a small swig, scrunching her face as she shooked her head slightly. "Th-this tastes so bad, b-but I can't stop!" She snickered to herself, mumbling something inaudible. "If-if somethin' goes wrong with the ship, I gotta fix it, and with no R-Roofles around, I'mma probably mess it up, and then there will be explosions, and then we all die."

Sprout shoved her lightly. "Fuck that," he told her. "Yer a smart lil' lday, you'll figure it out. Before long you'll be the new Ruffles. Everyone will be lookin' to you ta' solve all the Maiden's mechanical issues. It's a tall order, sure, but I reckon you still gotta few inches ta' grow yet." He laughed and took a liberal swig.

Being the 'grown-up' was actually kind of fun.

"Explosions!" Allie cried, waving her arms out as she mimicked the noise of said explosion. "It'll be awesome." She brushed her hair from her face as she looked at Sprout, a drunken smile curling her lips. "Yo-you'll see, I'll b-I'll be the tallest and m-most pretty girl on the ship, but one with a brain." She nodded solemnly as she tapped the side of her head with her knuckles.

"I don' reckon it'll be too hard ta' outsmart most the other ladies on this ship," he admitted. "Most of 'em tend ta' think with their ovaries rather than their brains, but I think there's hope fer you yet, kid."

"Flatterer." Allie cooed, nudging Sprout's leg. "T-that might work on Amy and the o-others, but not on me, laddie." She tapped the side of her nose, squinting slightly. "I am immune to your charms."

Sprout scoffed. "Yeah right, *****. If I wanted to I could sweep you off yer feet like it was nothin'," he boasted. "You'd be all weak in the knees and chirpin' my name!"

"That's d-d-disgusting." Allie sneered slightly. "I'm th-thirteen, the fuck is wrong with you?" She chuckled as she took another swig from the bottle. "Redneck bastard."

"I never said I'd act on it!" Sprout panicked. "I ain't into chicks with flat racks anyhow!"

"Flat?" Allie pouted as she raised her hands to her chest. "No, I'm just..." She pouted even more "Nan said I'mma slow starter, but I've seen pictures of my mam, she's tall, and leggy, and... ample." She smiled as she glanced down at herself. "You'll see." She stuck her tongue out at the boy.

Sprout cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe, maybe," he said. "You know, we're only two years apart. That shit won't be weird in like... four or five years. Maybe you'll 'ave boobs by then an' you can try ta' court my fine ass."

"M-maybe I won't want to." Allie turned up her nose. "Maybe I'll stay s-single, and unaffiliated, and focus on building my robot army of death machines, who's to say."

"Trust me Allie, you stay on the Maiden long enough an' you'll turn into a proper slut," he explained with a firm nod. "It happens to the best of us."

"You r-really know how to talk to a girl, don't you?" Allie scoffed as she stretched her arms out in front of her. "No wonder blondie left." She chuckled to herself.

Sprout pouted. "I--I...." his words failed him. "Maybe. Maybe she was jus' tired'a babysittin' me all the time. I dunno..."

"Naaaah, that's not it." Allie waved her hand dismissively, blowing a raspberry. "I've seen you t-two together." She smiled warmly. "I hope me an' Gale are l-like you two someday." She nodded her head solemly. "But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, ain't no stoppin' someone like her once her mind's set on somethin'." She crossed her arms as she puffed out her chest proudly. "Like me!"

Sprout rolled his eyes. "Why does every woman in my life 'ave ta' be a badass?" he whined. "Is it so much to ask fer a damsel in distress every now an' again? Fuckin' ovaries, man."

"Well someone had ta step up." Allie grinned. "It ain't gonna be you, is it?" The girl chuckled as she nudged his leg with her foot. "You're already whipped by your lady love."

"You don' know shit," Sprout claimed. "I reckon you don' even know how sex even works."

"Eh, how complicated can it be?" Allie smiled smugly. "Laddie, I've dismantled the engine of the ship and put it back together again, I think I can figure out how 'slot A fits into slot B'"

Sprout took another swig of his bottle before wiping his lips with his sleeve. He was starting to really feel it now. "Ah, you don' know fuckin' dick," he repeated. "There's way more to it than that!"

Allie wobbled slightly. She was really dizzy, it was all she could do to not tip onto her side. "I'm learnin' about 'em, I'm talking to a dick right now." She giggled, taking another swig.

"Smartass!" Sprout spat as he snatched her bottle out of her hand. "Yer drinkin' too much. The booze is gettin' to yer head. Makin' you talk crazy!"

"Nooooooo." The girl whined, leaning forward with outstretched hands as she tried to take back the bottle. "Gimme!" Her enthusiasm quickly waned however, falling on her side next to the boy, she looked up at him pouting. "You're a monster."

Sprout's grin was smug and cruel. "I know," he agreed. "I'm the big meanie who wouldn' let you get alcohol poisonin' the first time you got drunk!"

"Your concern for me tastes like b-betrayal." Allie mumbled as she pushed herself up, lying her her head in the boy's lap. Smiling tiredly, the girl yawn slightly. "T-this was fun, Sproot." She cooed gently. "Thanks for hangin' out with me."

"Yeah, it was fun," he replied with a wry smirk. "Yer alright, Allie. A lil' loud an' annoyin', but purdy cool too."

"An' you're a crass hick with a speech impediment." She mumbled sleepily. "I guess you're 'purdy' cool too."

"I reckon I should get yer pale ass back to Gale, huh," Sprout muttered to himself. "Fuck it, I'm lazy. Gale can wait."

Sprout took another swig. He was hellbent on getting drunker than ever this night.

With Pixie's booze at his disposal, that would be a simple task.

"Screw Gale." The girl pursed her lips. "She bailed on me to screw Jesse." She scrunched her face in distaste. "Fuck that guy."

"Cheers ta' that."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Bennie, I could use a breather. Do you mind walking with me for a few minutes?"

The big man knew what this was about. Though he'd have prefered to keep drinking with Whiskey, he figured it was best to tackle this issue now rather than let it fester for too long.

"Sure," Bennie replied simply, putting his cup down on the table nearby. He wasn't even remotely drunk yet.

"I'll just go put this one to bed... Be back in a flash."

Bennie grinned. "Don't fall asleep while you're putting her down now," he warned her. "I need someone to get drunk with tonight, remember." With that said, Bennie gestured for Amy to follow him down the hall, towards the bridge. Once they'd made it halfway down the hall, well out of earshot of everyone else, Bennie looked to Amy in the corner of his eye. "What's on your mind, Amy?"

"You know damn well what it is!" Amy hissed, her polite demeanour gone in a flash. "Sandra has just lost her best friend, she was held captive for days by a maniac. Now, she's having to adjust to a whole new life among a bunch of strangers, because I'm trying to protect her, and you just take her out to flash her in front of Payton's men without me? What the fuck?!"

The height and bulk difference between them in no way discouraged Amy from getting right up in Bennie's face.

Bennie's expression remained unchanged as the smaller woman lambasted him. He looked right into her eyes with an apathetic frown. "She's a Maiden now, Amy," he reminded her, "she follows her Captain's orders. All things considered, she did pretty well today. She kept a level head in a trying situation. You should be proud of her." Looking back down the hall, he continued towards the bridge. "You think I was sending a message when I took her down there without you? Well, maybe I was, but that wasn't the main reason I did it."

"I don't know who the fuck you think you are, or what message you think you need to send!" Amy spat back. "Yeah, she has to learn, she has to pull her weight, but she's my responsibility! You want this..." she gestured between them "to work? You want us to tolerate each-other? You don't piss on that. Not now, not ever."

Bennie offered a condescending laugh. "And what is 'this'?" he asked, mimicking her gesture. "In order for there to be some kind of deal between two parties you generally have to give the other person something. What can you offer me outside of a massive headache?"

"Well, Pixie always seemed to find a use for my talents..." Amy goaded him, a cruel smile on her face. "Besides, that do you think the party is all about, dumbass! I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to make the Maiden's feel like a family again, while you're off being all distant and stoic, trying to make up for the fact that everybody knows you're Payton's ***** until he says otherwise; and that, even if you weren't, you wouldn't have a fucking clue where to take us next! But know, please, carry on about how I'm the problem!"

That had to sting, but Amy wasn't quite done yet.

"I told you before that I care about this place, so I'm trying to help you get it back on its feet, despite the fact that you've never done a single fucking thing to make me feel at home here. Now though, I'm drawing a line. You've already taken one person I care about away from me. God help you if you even think about driving Sandra off as well!"

Bennie shook his head, clearly irritated, and groaned. "I'm not trying to drive Sandra off, Amy," he told her. "I don't play games with people like you do. You want full disclosure? Fine. I'll recount the whole conversation we had about you if you want. I'll tell you about my history with Wilkes-Vines. Hell, I'll even tell you what happened that night at Carlos' place." He ignored Amy's shocked expression and continued. "You're right about one thing here, Amy. I have not made you feel at home. I tried to offer an olive branch and I failed."

Stepping onto the bridge, he scanned the dark room before gliding across it, towards the window. "This is all because of Pixie," he said, his voice much calmer now. "If there wasn't this fucked up shit between the three of us I don't imagine there would be any issue at all. Well you know what? Pixie ain't here right now, so fuck it. You want this all to work? Okay, so do I, so let's make it work."

Amy was ready to scoff at Bennie's proposed innocence. 'Don't play games'? Fuck that! Everyone with power was always using it to squeeze the people beneath them for all they were worth; and here was this hypocritical bastard, trying to trick her into thinking that he was this one-in-a-million, straight-up and simple guy? Not likely.

His mentioning of that night, however, threw her off guard. When she'd interrogated Bennie about it before, she'd got nothing but awkward evasions and deflecting accusations. Now he was ready to talk? It made no sense. This was him playing games, it had to be...

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened." she replied, though not sounding on as sure a footing as she did before. "You come back into her life, dragging all this fucking 'history' that you're both still so hung up on with you, that I had to sit and listen to like it justified anything. She was vulnerable because of Axel and Lilith being in danger, and all that shit with Austin; and you took advantage to get your end away. It's hardly an original story!"

She turned away from him, not really wanting to hear what he had to say for himself. Storming through a door behind her in order to get away, she found herself staring at the close, claustrophobic walls of a supply closet. Wheeling back around, Amy tried to get out and storm off back down the hall, but now Bennie was in the way.

"Move." she growled, biting her lip and shaking all over.

Bennie clenched his jaw. "I'm finally willing to give you what you want and you run away?" he asked in a harsh tone. "You two are a lot a like, you know that? Neither of you are willing to accept the ugliness you've brought upon yourselves. You're always running away. Well, you know what? I'm fucking tired of dealing with this shit. Grow a goddamn spine and listen to what I have to say or continue to gorge on that self-serving bullshit you feed yourself; it makes no difference to me."

"Shut up!" she snarled "Don't..." she turned away from him "Don't you dare lie to me."

"Like I said, Amy... Pixie isn't here," he repeated. "I'm not keeping her secrets any more. You want the truth? Swallow that knot in your throat and look me in the eye."

It took a couple of seconds, but eventually, Amy looked up, half defiant, half pleading.

Bennie sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before beginning his tale. It was difficult, but he saw no other option. He had to tell her. "I didn't tell you before because... well, I still love her obviously and I wanted to protect her," he explained. "You already know how fucked up she was, so I won't waste your time explaining that, but I will tell you that she's... when she sees a loved one in pain, she has a habit of forgetting everything else. She saw the way I looked at you two. She saw what it was doing to me and it hurt her. So that night, when we took the crawler out, just the two of us, we had a conversation."

He chuckled sadly. "To be honest, I barely remember what we talked about now," he admitted. "I know what I told her in the end though. I told her I loved her, and I gave her all the reasons why. She'd been hesitant to address the issue until then, of course. She didn't want to ruin what she had with you. But you know, like I said before, when she sees someone she loves suffering like that, she tends to forget everything else." He sighed again, deeper this time. "She told me she couldn't be with me and begged for my forgiveness. She kept begging and pleading and then, in some desperate, final gambit, she thought fucking me would make up for it. I slapped her and brought her back to her senses before anything could happen, but had I not done that it... it would have happened." He relaxed his shoulders as if a huge burden had been suddenly lifted off them. "We didn't talk about it again after that."

Amy wanted to reject it, to spit everything Bennie had had just said back in his face, to call him a pig and a liar. Her hands shook as she ran them through her hair, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

The thought that it had been Pixie, the same Pixie she promised so much to, who'd held and comforted her that very same night, had been trying to force herself on somebody else while Amy had been back in their bed trying to think of what she would say to reconcile their differences upon her return... Amy was full to bursting, and something had to give.

With a roar, she turned and slammed her fist fight into the middle of Bennie's face. The impact went all the way up her arm, likely hurting her just as much as it hurt Bennie. Still, it was probably no fun for him either.

"WHY?!" she screeched at him, tears cascading in rivulets down her face. "WHY DID YOU DEFEND HER?! SHE LEFT BOTH OF US! SHE SCREWED US OVER, AND YOU LET ME HATE YOU ALL THIS TIME FOR HER MISTAKE?! WHY?! WHY DID YOU... WHY DID SHE DO IT?! WHY DID SHE DO THAT TO ME?!"

She came as him again. Only, instead of an outburst of violence, she fell against him, crying her eyes out at, or for, Pixie. It was several minutes before she calmed down, slumped on her knees in the closet.

"Did I really make her hate me so much?" she asked quietly, her head hung down and her face a mess. "Is this all my fault?"

His face still stinging, Bennie wiped the blood from his nose with his bare forearm and patted the small woman on her back. "No, it's absolutely not your fault," he told her in a sympathetic tone. "Pixie's... she's fucked up. She's really fucked up, Amy. I--I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." The big man rested his forehead on her shoulder. "I am not going to begin to guess what her thought process was when it came to your relationship, but there was something there. Trust me, I saw it and it hurt me. What she did, it may hurt to hear this, but it had nothing to do with you. Pixie is selfish and short-sighted. That's all it was."

Pulling away from her slightly, he searched her eyes. "But listen, she ain't here. She doesn't matter right now," Bennie said. "This party of yours? It's proof of that. There are people here that care about each other. They care about you. Screw Pixie, you don't need her, and neither do I."

Bennie only half-registered what he had just said. Surely that was hyperbole, wasn't it?

"It broke her heart to leave." Amy continued "To leave the Maiden, Axel, Lilith, her family... God, this is going to sound so bad, but I got so fucking sick of hearing how important and magical her family was to her, when I was the one sharing her nights, keeping her secrets, only ever asking in return to be loved like that by her. Me though, me personally? I honestly can't tell if she's thought about me at all since then. I obviously didn't satisfy her fully, did I?" she laughed bitterly. "The last time we talked, she made out like she was doing me a favour!"

Shakily, Amy got to her feet, using Bennie's arm for support.

"Thanks; and... sorry about the face." she murmured, sniffing "I, I need to go and get cleaned up."

Exiting the closet, she turned back to face Bennie.

"Captain..." It was the first time she'd called him that without mocking him. "Please don't tell Axel about any of this. I need to think."

"Of course not," Bennie promised her. Then he grinned. "Anything that's said in the closet stays in the closet."

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

Sandra was giggling at a joke Talahassee had just made, as they half-tumbled through the door into his room. They were both getting rather hands-on with each-other at this point, but nothing lewd had happened yet.

"So, where's all the hooch you promised me?" She asked, breaking away from him and going to sit down on the small, threadbare couch at the corner of the room (not the bed just yet). She stroked the space next to her with her hand as she sat there, legs crossed, checking out her pull from afar. She didn't mind how much of a tease she was being. Tal would get more than enough for his trouble if he could keep the charm coming, but she didn't want to put out too soon. After all, the night was still young. They had plenty of time to play games.

Walking over to his night stand, Tallahassee crouched down and swung open the cabinet. "What are you in the mood for?" he asked as he got to his feet holding an assorted collection of bottles. Placing them on the night stand, he glanced over his shoulder at his guest. "I can mix something for ya'."

"Hmmm..." Sandra pondered, a finger twisting in her hair. "You think you can mix me up a Martini?"

"Comin' right up," he announced. After mixing their drinks, the cowboy joined Sandra on the couch and offered her the Martini. "Bottom's up." He chirped as he tilted his head back and downed his drink in one go. Thankfully he'd made himself two. "I'm sure you're no stranger to it, but we take booze very seriously on the Maiden. Drinkin' Pixie under the table used ta' be one of my favourite pastimes."

"Ha! You're not getting me flat on my back that easily." Sandra japed, taking a moderate sip of her Martini. "I'll take you word for it. Myself, I prefer to... savour, the experience."

The look in her eye was positively devilish.

"So," she said, leaning forwards and brushing the edge of Tal's knee lightly with three fingers. "I'm dealing with a Champion huh, capable of felling the mighty Meredith Monroe herself?"

Tallahassee chuckled. "Yeah, once 'er twice," he offered with a shrug. "To be honest though, I got lucky. That ***** 'as a mean gut." He began sipping his second drink. "Brock's a good opponent too. Not as tough as Pixie, but he's a big fella. We used ta' get rowdy like those typical bandit, macho types. Arm wrestlin', drinkin' contests, really stupid knife stuff... we did it all. Think we've mellowed out quite a bit since then... either that 'ar we ain't as stupid as we used to be. Well, Brock might still be."

"Thank God you didn't know each-other when you were teenagers." Sandra teased. "I can just see you two in the sowers together, comparing who's is bigger."

Yes, that was where her mind was going. What of it?

"You don' 'ave ta' be a teenager to get up to stuff like that," he suggested with a wry grin. "But yeah, technically we were teenagers. Well, most of us anyway. Cranston and his sister were the only two 'real' adults in the beginning."

Sandra stopped in the middle of her drink, her eyebrows raised in genuine surprise.

"The Cook had a sister?" she asked "Really?"

"Had? More like 'has'. She ain't dead so far as I know." he told her. "Fuck, I'm not even drunk yet an' you already 'ave me runnin' my mouth." He shrugged. "People 'round here don' talk about her much. In fact, I reckon myself, Pixie and Ruffles are the only three left who were around back then. I'm not even sure Bennie knows about her."

Sandra got the feeling this was a sensitive topic, and tried to backtrack.

"I'm sorry." She said "I don't want to go poking my nose into private business, especially if it's stuff that's better left in the past."

Tallahassee shook his head before taking another sip of his drink. "Nah, it's no big deal," he assured her. "Her and Pixie had a... nasty fallin' out. Cranston was forced to pick sides an' he chose Pixie. It's ancient history now, but I wouldn' recommend bringin' it up in front of Pixie... assumin' she ever comes back."

"What happened?" Sandra asked, slightly more inquisitive. She was aware of Pixie's reputation for ensnaring people, but for The Cook to have chosen her over his own flesh and blood... That must have been some drama.

"Pixie was as much his family 'as his sister by that point," he explained. "Chromey lost his daughter a year or so prior to the start of all this. Pixie was there to help pick up the pieces. She kind of... well, she was basically his new daughter at that point. He was a lot easier on her back then than he was later on. Overlooked a lot of bullshit that he didn' start crackin' down on until later."

Slouching forward, the cowboy rested his elbows on his knees and looked into his palms. It wasn't often he spoke of the past like this. Not this far back, anyway. "Cranston's sister was ex-Lombardi navy. One of the best ship captains that ever lived," he said. "Piper 'Beatrix' Russo. I am sure you've heard of her. Most people don' know the two are related, but they definitely are. No one else on the Rock can stare you down the same way those two can. She was technically the Maiden's original Captain, but that didn' last long."

"Well, I suppose I should have figured Pixie didn't learn how to pilot this ship through trial and error." Sandra replied. Tal obviously had a lot of stories to tell. However, she wasn't sure if this particular one went down a path that would make her night more fun.

"Yeah, well that's not really my story to tell. I've probably said way too much already," he admitted. "I guess I've just had my mind on the past lately. Fuck, listen to me... you don't want to hear me mope." He chuckled sadly. "Tell me about yourself, Sandy. How'd such a fine lil' lady like yerself end up flyin' around the ashlands in this rusty crate?"

Now they were back in business. Sandra smiled as she resumed drinking.

"I didn't always look so fine." she told him. "I grew up in this little Hick dome that'd make Boomhower look like high society. Youngest of..." She took a moment to count on her fingers "Seven siblings, think there was only about five years between us in age though. My mom was one of those ladies. She treated us alright though, with what she had, unlike my Dad. He was a piece of trash if you ever saw one; and, when money got so bad, it became a choice of another round at the bar, or putting enough food on the table for his kids? Well, he decided he didn't really need all of us."

Despite it not being a particularly nice story, Sandra didn't seem all that put out by it. As far as she was concerned, it was ancient history that she was glad to have left behind.

"Lucky for him. The local bandit group who pretty much ran things there started taking an interest in me when I was about twelve. They offered good money for me, and then when they were done with me for themselves, they got their money back by renting me out to others‏. Things stayed that way until I was sixteen, when the bandits ran afoul of The Gentleman. I don't know the fine points of it, but it didn't work out well for them. Never really does, it seems. When he was the only one left standing, he offered all the girl they'd been keeping a choice. He could set us free to make our own way from scratch, or we could come work for him. He told us that he only catered for a higher class of clientèle than what we were used to, that nobody would get to treat us like dirt again. It might not seem like much of an improvement to someone who doesn't already live that kind of life, but most of us, Me and Georgia included, ended up taking his offer. That was how I first met Amy; and pretty much since then I've been living the high life, so to speak. You know, once I'd learned how to talk so you'd never guess I'd grown up poor. A lot of nobles like playing dirty, but only when they think it's all a million miles away from the sort of place where I actually came from."

Tallahassee nodded along as if he'd heard this same tale a dozen times. When she was done, he shook his head and scoffed in disgust. "Pampered fuckin' cunts, all of 'em," he muttered. "I'm sure you're grateful to be away from that crowd now, yeah?"

"Eh, they weren't all bad." Sandra remarked. "Besides, it's not like the bandits or the people they sold me to were any better. At least I got my money's worth with the rich pricks."

Leaning over towards Tal, Sandra placed her now empty glass on the side table just beyond him.

"I like where I am right now though." she said, one hand now firmly on his thigh, and the other playing with the collar of his shirt. "In fact, I like it quite a bit."

Her eyes seemed very big as she smiled at him, their faces now no more than a couple of inches apart.

Tallahassee grinned almost sweetly. This woman worked fast. "I'd like it more if you came just a little bit closer," he cooed. The cowboy traced his fingers up Sandra's spine. "You know what my favourite Maiden tradition is?"

"Why?" she replied, shifting her body upwards until her eye height was just above his, and their lips were almost touching. "Am I about to find out?"

The smooth talking cowboy smirked, and without another word, he leaned for a kiss. Holding her waiste in one hand, he cupped her face with the other and pulled her in closer. She tasted so sweet.

The make-out session lasted a long time, as both parties eased into it, taking all the time in the world to explore the choice parts of one another's bodies with their hands, accompanied by playful and encouraging noises from Sandra whenever she same up for air. Eventually Sandra shifted to bring her legs over, so she was now sitting across Tal's lap. Picking up on the cue without needing to be told twice, the veteran Maiden, stood up, taking the younger girl with him, and carried her the short distance to the bed, where clothes started shedding at intervals.

"Don't get too excited now." Sandra teased him, during a brief lull in the action. Nevertheless, she wriggled her hips seductively beneath him. "I don't think I want this night to end for a while."

"That's the thing about fuckin' in the Maiden," he told her between excited breaths. "Sound travels like a ***** in here. Even if it's short lived fer us, everyone else'll be experiencin' it fer the rest of the night." After kissing her neck a few times he chuckled and added, "Not that it'll end fer us anytime soon."

"Well, the music was playing pretty loud back there..." Sandra said, As Tal's head began retreating back under the sheets, kissing her all the way down. "If you want them to hear us, you're gonna have to do something sp-" Sandra gasped, followed by a long, shuddering exhale.

Who the hell needed words anyway?

Tallahassee took his time. Love making was delicate work, after all. He'd learned a long time ago how important proper pacing was for a woman. First he'd tease her and get her flustered, then he'd bring it in all close and personal, kissing and nibbling, appealing to her emotionally, and then, once he had her heart, he'd go in hard. He'd go slow and steady at first, only speeding up when her moans suggested it.

It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman as fine as Sandra. He hadn't slept with Pixie or Cam in months, and none of the call girls he'd seen in that time had really done it for him. Suddenly he was feeling a whole lot better about having new Maidens around.

Holding the back of her head firmly, he buried his face into the side of her neck and sped up his tempo. She was louder than he'd anticipated.

Not that that was a bad thing.

They certainly made a night of it. By the end of it all, clothes were strewn both on and off the bed, and several more drinks glasses either stood or lay on their side, all empty, on the night stand. At the centre of it all, Sandra and Tal had got all tangled up in the sheets. Sandra's tone and pitch increased higher and higher, as she wrapped her legs around her lover's waist, while he held her hands down behind her head, their fingers interlocking, while he nuzzled her neck and chest all the while, where they stayed until the finish.

For a while, neither of them said anything as they cooled down, Tal having practically collapsed on top of Sandra, sweat shining of both of them in the half-light, as they both, slowly, got their breath back.

"Was that... as good for you as it was for me?" Sandra joked, rolling the man over and smiling a very satisfied smile at him, as she gently stroked his chest with her fingers.

"Better, I reckon," he replied with a smug grin on his face. "Yer a whole lot of woman, Sandy." Shimmying his arm under her neck and around her shoulders, the cowboy brought her in close. "Give me twenty minutes an' a white russian an' we can go again." He chuckled.

"Just make sure to keep fixing me up as well, big guy." she said, taking a moment to properly give him the once over (at the risk of sounding like a schoolgirl, he really was an impressive specimen), before nuzzling into his chest.

This was nice. Not that what had just happened wasn't extremely welcome, but... lying here, in a good man's arms, this was the stuff. Sandra felt safe. She felt at home.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Oh come now, Gale. Ease all pity you have for me. I'm supposed to be an easy going playboy. Dancing through life without a care in the world!"

"Aint no shame in havin' a care now, Jess." Gale smiled sadly, looking at her muddy haired cohort out of the corner of her eye as she got comfy. Martin the Guitar was good and ready to pull his weight and gale started opened up their chilled little set with 'Send yourself Away' a nice easy ditty for when you were feeling tipsy. One of the first songs she learned actually, the first she liked proper anyway.

"Y'know, more than often, it's people without any care that do the most harm. Since they don't care enough not to. That's just what I seen anyway." Gale shrugged.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Florian dragged himself back into the living room, still rubbing at his face a little and joined Lilith on the couch. He wasn't sure how he felt about her being dressed down in just a pair of towels out in the open like this. Erik had already shown that he wasn't going to make this easy on anyone.

["Oh great. And now she's rubbing her cooch all over my furniture."] And he still wasn't!

["Erik, come on man, don't talk about her like that- especially not while she's right in front of you."] Florian chided him sternly. He had just confessed his love for her after all. not that Erik needed to know that, he already had enough ammunition.

["You're doing it."] Erik had never sounded more immature as he blew on his fancy coffee. The little espresso cup looking even small in his bulky hands.

["Be mad at me, fine, but-"] Florian cut himself off with a grunt. "Erik is being a grumpy old man." He turned to Lilith, switching languages so that she could join in and so he could give Erik a taste of his own medicine. "He doesn't like sharing his space and wants to turn us out into the cold."

He took on a somewhat mocking tone as he sent his jibes Erik's way. As annoyed as he might have been at his old mentor's comments though, it quickly evaporated as he looked at Lilith's bright blue eyes as she smiled back at him. Florian put his arm around her shoulder and placed his other hand on her knee, fighting the temptation to try anything more frisky right there in front of their unwilling audience. It felt like being a teenager again.

Erik just growled to himself from his chair, shooting daggers at Florian all the while.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith maintained the stupid smile she had on her face even when she could clearly tell Erik was mad about... something. She was warm, comfortable, still slightly tipsy, and sexually satisfied, there wasn't much that could wipe the look from her face right now.

The woman managed to pick out a few words from the argument, but nothing that could tell her what it was about. Sitting next to her, Florian switched languages, a wry smile on his face as he looked at Erik from the corner of his eye.

"He doesn't like sharing his space and wants to turn us out into the cold."

The man wrapped his arm around, pulling her close. Lilith's smile grew as she rested her head against Florian's shoulder. "I'm sorry Erik." The girl mock pouted as she made her best sad puppy eyes. "It's my fault, there was some gambling, then accusations got tossed around, then there was a duel, then free booze, then the sprinklers went off for some reason." She shook her head slightly. "It was all very exciting." Turning her head, she quickly kissed Florian on the cheek. "Does he know..." She nodded inconspicuously towards the bathroom. The look Florian gave her said everything she needed to know. "Ohhhhhh." Her eyes widened slightly as a nervous chuckle escaped her lips.

Clearing her throat, Lilith looked up at Erik with a cheeky grin. "That was my fault too." Without looking away from Erik, she patted Florian on the lap. "He's not very strong-willed." She shook her head disappointedly.

 

[Fappy]

Spoiler: More Memories

It was done.

Pixie stood there with her rifle slung over her shoulder, smoking a cigarette as she watched the flames spread from afar. They were getting larger now and the building they engulfed was but a shade trapped within its terrible power. They were all dead. Every last one of them.

The fire would erase their remains. It would remove any trace that they had ever existed.

The fire was judgement.

It was beautiful.

Dried blood caked her trembling hands and a distant, cruel grin creased her face. Pixie had laughed and cheered through the entire fight. Before now she had always contained her rage; hidden her bloodlust. She'd greet her enemies with a cold, one-eyed stare before she delivered their sentence. She had been methodical in her vengeance.

Now she was anything but.

Cranston was there too. He stood by her side, gripping his bloody, leather gloves in one hand and watched the flames lick the empty, black sky above. He showed no signs of emotion whatsoever. Despite his outward indifference, Pixie knew better. She understood intimately just how twisted his heart had become.

After a deep, calming drag, Pixie patted Cranston on the shoulder. "It's over," she told him, stating the obvious.

"It is," he agreed.

"What do ya' reckon it's like?" Pixie started. "What's it like ta' 'ave vengeance brought upon you? Ta' think yer king'a the world, only ta' have a ghost show up at yer doorstep an' take everythin' away from you in the blink of an eye."

His eyes fixed on the roaring flames, Cranston's expression remained unchanged. "I doubt it's all that special," he told her. "When you're on the receiving end of hatred... when you're in that moment, begging for your life or another's; it's really all the same. To the victim, it doesn't matter what's inspiring the violence."

"Kind of makes revenge bittersweet then, doesn' it?"

"There's nothing sweet about this, Meredith," Cranston told her. "She's still dead. That will never change."

Pixie furrowed her brow. "Cranston..." she muttered, reaching out to touch his shoulder once more.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" he snapped, slapping her hand away. For the first time in weeks, the wary assassin had shown emotion.

"I-I jus' thought--"

"Thought what?!" he shouted. "You think anything you say can make this better?! That anything you do will make this right?! She's dead, Meredith! She will never come back! I will never see her again! Never hold her again! It doesn't matter how many people we kill or kingdoms we burn to the ground!" Looking back towards the flames, he grimaced painfully. "You and I... we only have the power to destroy. People like us, we can't protect anyone! We can't save anyone! All we can do is keep burning... everything and everyone around us."

On the verge of tears, Pixie bit her bottom lip and threw herself at her mentor. He did not resist as she wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face in his chest. "I-I-I'm s-so sorry," she whimpered. It was all she could say. She'd never seen him like this before.

And she knew all too well what he was feeling at that moment.

Hesitantly, the assassin wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek atop her head. His eyes remained fixed on the inferno. "I don't know what to do now," he whispered in a helpless tone. "I don't know what's left for me. My purpose in life died with those men in there. My reason for continuing ends the moment those flames do."

Pixie looked to the fire as well. "It jus' has ta' keep burnin' then," she whispered. "We jus' keep burnin' everythin' in our path. Anythin' an' anyone that tries ta' keep us down. We burn them all down."

Pixie grinned sadly.

"We jus' keep burnin' until ar' flame goes out."

Another memory. Why couldn't Pixie just have trippy, weird dreams like everyone else?

Her hair a frizzy, tangled mess, Pixie rolled over to the edge of the bed and stretched her spine. She was sore all over. After spending the last six days running drills with Carlos, she figured she'd take it easy today. It was the final day before the attack, after all.

Getting over her fear of Carlos' touch had been a struggle, but after days of training she'd finally gotten accustomed to it. It was a good thing too. If they were to pull this off right there would be a lot of touching. It had been far too long since she'd done a proper infiltration job.

After a quick shower to wash off the sweat, Pixie threw on some casual cloths and her blond wig, and left for some breakfast. She'd ran Carlos ragged the day before and didn't expect him to wake up anytime soon. Pixie figured the walking breakfast machine could use a break every now and then.

With Aesop and Cameron leaving for the Maiden tonight, Pixie reminded herself of her curfew. She wanted to say goodbye before they left, after all. It had been hard enough to convince them to skip town as it was, and they certainly wouldn't go through with it if she didn't see them off.

Today would be a simple day. A day of relaxation and reflection before everything went to hell.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"He's not very strong-willed."

"I can't be trusted anymore." Florian bowed his head as if ashamed.

Erik was not amused. He'd been in fresh relationships too, he'd experienced the heady high of the honeymoon period and his relationships had been far more stable and loving than any of Florian's had ever been. Why, compared to Erik, that little boy slut knew nothing of true romance. This old bandit was experienced in courting both the fine ass sexes. After all, Erik had been young once, fresh faced, super handsome and confused as to the epic emotions that had been brewing inside him. He'd taken far fewer women than he could have- and a good thing too, even now! His burning love for his fellow man was a kindness, it meant there were more women left free for the breeder boys. Heartbroken though they may be.

Wait. What were they talking about again? A duel was mentioned, that was for sure (He may have gone on a tangent there).

"Who was puny blonde girl fighting?" Erik asked.

"She beat White eye."

"White eye Hansel?"

"You know any other White eyes?"

"Fucking daaaamn." Erik's tone lightened a little as he looked over at Lilith. "How he doing these days?"

"Little cut up, but he's okay with it." Florian didn't miss a beat, the two of them leaving no kind of pause between their responses. The two of them ended up sounding like a pair of gossiping old women as they overlapped each other, or possibly a well rehearsed comedy act. "Bleach was with him."

"Mad-as-bleach? I know she did not fight Mad-as-Bleach."

"You know she didn't."

"She fight Mad-as-Bleach she would not be pretty no more."

"And you're so pretty!" Florian turned and gave Lilith a quick peck on the cheek of her pretty face. His accent was thickening as he matched Erik for stereotype points. "And then she got the girl with the big boobies!"

"Well that is why men fight." Erik calmly conceded with sagely wisdom, sipping his fancy coffee. "She will be making herself named woman in no time!"

"This is true." Florian nodded along. "We must be making her the good name."

"We not tell her though."

"No." Florian shook his head. This was another clear fact. "Pretty blonde girls cannot be choosing their own name."

"No one can! Is rules! There is a proper way to do these things."

"Mmmhhmm."

Lilith was free to catch up if she was able.

 

[Terratina.]

"Y'know, more than often, it's people without any care that do the most harm. Since they don't care enough not to. That's just what I seen anyway."

'Jesse' nodded and took another swig of the flat beer, however, he was more focused on the little tune Gale was playing. He hummed along with it for a little while, though a bit half-heartedly as the runaway noble didn't know the song all that well. Beer, a lovely women strumming a guitar... All they needed was a campfire, some s'mores and a good view of the stars and they would be camping like people used to back in the old times. Though inside the Iron Maiden wasn't a bad substitute.

Suddenly breaking the lull, he leaned closer to Gale and spoke, "Well, a man can never care too much about a woman, and Gale, you are the centre of my cares. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith blinked a few times as her eyes darted between Florian and Erik as neither one of them faltered in their fast paced conversation.

Was this is another one of their macho games? Trying to make the other stumble? She couldn't tell, either way, it was amusing enough trying to keep up.

"Look at you two." Lilith grinned as she hooked both her arms around Florian's. "Being all mates and shit." She chuckled. "You don't have to give me a name, I already have one." She paused for a second, furrowing her brow. "Unless it's something awesome, then I may reconsider." She nodded her head. "In the mean time..." She glanced at Erik. "Am I gonna sit here scantily clad all day, or are you gonna lend me shirt or something?"

 

[The Funslinger]

Tucking Millie into bed, Whiskey stroked back her daughter's hair and kissed her on the forehead.

"Night, baby."

"Night, mom. I love you."

Whiskey smiled. "I love you too, Mil. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Straightening up, she turned for the door, but then Millie spoke out. "Mom?" Turning back, Whiskey crouched back beside her daughter. "What's up, honey?"

"When's daddy coming back?"

Whiskey felt like her heart had skipped a beat. "I..." she began. "I don't know, baby..." she was about to continue when she noticed something alarming. There were tears running down Millie's face. Whiskey couldn't even remember the last time Millie had cried.

"Oh baby, come here!" she said, sweeping her daughter into an embrace. "Shhhh, shhhhhh."

"Mommy, I want daddy! Why did the man take him away?"

"I don't know, Millie. It'll be okay. He'll be okay."

"HE DIDN'T LOOK OKAY!" Millie yelled. Whiskey had to reach around her daughter's head to knuckle the tears in her own eyes. Of course Eddie wouldn't be okay. Even a god damn five year old knew that. And she'd put him there. It was her fault.

 

[Fappy]

"While altruism and honesty are virtues in their own right, a small measure of subterfuge may be necessary for this ambition to bare fruit. We will always have enemies. This will never change. Whether they share our bed, serve a foreign power or simply oppose our political platforms, all opposition should be considered respectfully and seriously.

The age-old proverb, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' is an invaluable concept.

Sometimes an enemy can be felled before they realize we oppose them. Sometimes it is necessary to make them believe we are compliant with their designs; that we are either too weak to fight them or too stupid to outwit them.

The most effective way to accomplish this is to make them believe our plan is theirs. A false sense of security is the greatest weakness we can hope to exploit. If they think we're under their control, they will never see us coming..."

Elizabeth closed the diary and rested it on her lap. Taking a deep breath, she straightened out her back and looked out the window. It was early morning and every building in the city glowed with a warm, orange hue. After leaving the medical ward a few days ago, Asad had taken her back to her suite to rest up. Since then, she'd read Margaret's diary front-to-back a half dozen times, hoping to commit every word to memory before she and Asad escaped the tower.

She had eased up on the pain medication as it was making her drowsy while reading. Consequently, the pain in her side had intensified, but it was still manageable. Apparently it would leave pretty nasty scar once it healed up, but she didn't really mind. She liked the poetry it invoked. 'A frail, naive girl who grew into something much more.' A nasty scar across her abdomen was the perfect was to get that message across.

Or at least, she told herself that.

Someone had to look on the bright-side, after all.

Predictably restless, Elizabeth fell back across the sofa and began chewing the inside of her lip. The Major was supposedly getting closer to tracking down Meredith. Hopefully he'd make contact before everything went to hell.

She sighed.

Where was Asad anyway?

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

"A-a-a-asad," Tsubaki wimpered amongst a chorus of howls and moans. Tugging his dark hair with one hand and raking his back with the other, the small woman writhed and twisted under Asad's superior bulk. "J-just like that. F-f-f-fuuuck!"

She'd been rather timid the first few nights together, especially when she was sober, but as time went on she grew more bold. Asad just made her feel so good. He was so gentle and kind. It had taken a lot for her to let down her defenses the way she had, but now, when they were together like this, the anxiety that had always held her back all her life was absent.

He made her feel liberated. Free.

"H-harder," she moaned.

Asad grunted breathlessly before kissing Tsubaki' deeply, grabbing her thighs he hitched them further up his hips before pinning the woman's hands to the bed as he worked harder to please her.

These moments with Tsubaki were the only time he could forget about everything else, no matter how temporary, he at least had this soft, delicate creature to ease his mind and body, and he loved her for it. Pulling his lips away from her's, the Asad began kissing Tsubaki's neck, the muscles in his back tensing as he work faster still. "What ever happened to 'nice and slow'" The man chuckled breathlessly into her ear.

"Less talk-y," she commanded through ragged breaths. "More pound-y."

"Sorry what? Didn't catch that." Asad slowed to a halt, writhing his hips gently as he teased.

Tsubaki moaned. "Come oooon," she pleaded. There was a helpless, almost desperate look on her face as she wiggled restlessly under his weight.

Mimicking the woman's pleas as he pouted, Asad rubbed his nose against Tsubaki's before kissing her deeply and quickly resuming his pre-teasing pace.

Tsubaki tried to say 'much better', but found that her words didn't work any longer. It took all she had to keep from screaming loud enough for the entire tower to hear. Grabbing the back of his neck with both hands, she buried her forehead against his shoulder and wrapped her legs around his rear.

All she could do was hold on at this point.

Clasping the back of the woman's head, Asad worked vigorously, his other hand grabbing her rear as the bed made it quite clear how opposed to the current usage it was. Releasing her grip on his shoulders, Tsubaki sprawled back on the mattress, moaning loudly. Placing a hand on her belly, he slowly moved upwards, cupping her breast before brushing his fingers across her neck and grabbing her gently.

A wry little grin appeared on her lips before she reached for his wrist. Raising her chin slightly, she pushed against his back with her other hand.

The message was clear.

The Major's eyes widened as an image flashed through his mind. "FUCK!" Asad swore loudly, as he pushed himself away from Tsubaki. "Shit!" The man quickly raised a hand to his forehead as he pinched his temples, squinting his eyes closed as he turned to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning forward. "Fuck... Sorry Tsu, I..." Opening his eyes, the man stared into the middle distance. Apparently he couldn't escape everything.

Shocked and confused by what had just happened, Tsubaki blinked stupidly and rolled onto her side. Being torn for the moment like that so suddenly was jarring in both body and mind, and it took her a moment to acclimate to the shift. "A-asad?" she asked in a soft, wary voice. "Is e-everything okay? Did I do something wrong?" Hesitantly, she reached out to touch his shoulder.

"No, no, of course it wasn't you." The man clenched his jaw as he placed his hand over her's. Asad had not told Tsubaki why Elizabeth was in the hospital, he wasn't even sure she knew the girl was even there. "Not your fault at all, sweetheart." The man mumbled as he squeezed her hand. Running his other hand slowly through his hair, he forced a smile as he turned to look Tsubaki, but he couldn't hide the haunted look in his eyes.

He thought about lying to her, about putting on a brave face and brushing it away so they could continue making love, but he really didn't feel up to the task at the moment, especially since he couldn't get Elizabeth's terrified expression from out of his mind. "I'm sorry." The man mumbled sadly as he kissed the back of Tsubaki's hand before lifting his legs back on the bed. Lying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling, one arm draped across his forehead. "I... did something." He pursed his lips as he looked at Tsubaki from the corner of his eye.

Unsure of what to do, Tsubaki looked down at him for a moment before lying beside him. She draped one arm across his chest and snuggled up close. "What happened?" she asked.

"Well, it's a funny story really." The man chuckled sardonically. "The evening of the ball, Dio invited me for dinner, I joined him, with Elizabeth, and some doctor called Pym." He furrowed his brow, stroking the back of Tsubaki's head "Anyway, the topic turns to the Lombardi plot to kill Basilio, he calls my loyalty into question, and apparently the only way I can prove that I'm not a traitor is by, er..." Asad paused for a moment, his expression softening as his eyes lost focus.

"He made me stab Elizabeth." He mumbled, blinking a few times like he was still struggling to believe it himself.

Tsubaki propped herself up on her elbow. "Um, what?" she muttered. She looked at his incredulously. "I-I don't know... what are you saying?"

Looking up at the woman, Asad clenched his jaw. "Basilio, he, er..." Asad swallowed averting his eyes. "He put a knife in my hands, and made me stab Elizabeth." He furrowed his brow as he looked up at her again. "It's why she was in the hospital."

"He-he, he what?!" she stammered. Clutching his wrist, she grimaced in confused rage. "I-I-I don't understand wh-what you're saying, Asad... he made you stab his betrothed... a-a-and you did it?!" She was trembling now.

It really did sound as bad as he thought it did. "Yes." Asad simply as he turned onto his side. Maybe this was a mistake, he already didn't like the look she was giving him. "Better than being dead."

Tsubaki withdrew her hand as he rolled over. She had no clue what to do or say. It was a struggle to even process what it was he was telling her. It was... madness. After a long silence, Tsubaki spoke. Her tone was cautious. "What do you mean 'dead'?" she asked.

"As in not alive." Asad mumbled. "What do you think Basilio does with unloyal soldiers?" The man scoffed. "Especially as high up as I am." This was really a mistake.

Tsubaki stared down at his back. "I-I don't believe that," she said defiantly. "H-he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't."

"Oh, trust me, he would." The man grunted as he pushed himself off the bed and walked into the en suite bathroom. Turning on the faucet, the Major splashed water on his face.

The young woman watched him as he disappeared into the bathroom. A maelstrom of conflicting emotions welled up inside her. Feelings of betrayal and uncertainty chief among them.

Sitting up in bed, Tsubaki leaned her back up against the headboard and pulled her knees up, under her chin. She squeezed her legs tight and buried her head behind her knees.

She didn't want to know any of this. She didn't want to deal with any of this.

She just wanted to disappear.

Stopping in the doorframe, his face softened sadly as he looked at Tsubaki. "I'm sorry, Tsu." Asad said as he walked across the bedroom in search of his clothes. "I shouldn't have said anything." He had found his underwear and was now slipping into his jeans. "I'll...leave you alone." He picked up the rest of his things before heading out into the living room and sitting on the couch as he pulled on his socks and shirt. Juncat sleepily made his way over to Asad, wrapping himself around the Major's ankles as he purred loudly. "I fucked everything up little buddy." The man chuckled sadly. He wasn't sure how he expected Tsubaki to react.

Once he was safely out of earshot Tsubaki dropped her face into her open palms and began sobbing softly. Everything had been getting better. Everything was supposed to be better. What the fuck was this?! Where the fuck did this come from?!

What the fuck is going on?

Just when she thought she had some control over her own life, it was ruthlessly pried from her grasp.

Suddenly she didn't feel all that 'free' anymore.

As soon as he had stepped out of Tsubaki's apartment, closing the door gently behind him, Asad's mood soured quickly. Stepping into the elevator, he restlessly tensed and untensed his hands a few times before suddenly burying his fist into the metal sliding doors. His fist lingered there, anger quietly smouldered as he grit his teeth. 'Fuck Basilio, fuck Lombardi, fuck all these noble cunts and their fucking bullshit.'

Slowly letting out a ragged breath, Asad lowered his fist from the doors, slowly uncurling his fingers before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Fuck all of this." He grunted quietly as the elevator reached the ground floor.

Stepping out into the street, Asad lit a cigarette, flicking his lighter closed as he took a long drag. Since his date with Tsubaki had finished a lot earlier than he had intended, he still had the rest of the afternoon to burn. 'Might as well follow up on that Monroe lead.'

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Well, a man can never care too much about a woman, and Gale, you are the centre of my cares. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

It took more than Gale had to hold in the foamy beer in her mouth. It was too much! Way too much, man! The cheesy one liners, the shmoozey look, right down to the suggestively raised eyebrow. If Jesse had been any more of a crooner he'd have turned into a cartoon coyote in spatz suit. Gale sputtered out a stuttering burst of laughter as she fought to hold it back and failed as she sprayed Jesse right in the face with foam. Luckily Gale managed to reign it in and compose herself. Jesse wasn't getting too wet tonight.

"Oh shit! Sorry about that, Smooth Mover!" Gale said though laughter until she died down. "Aw you crack me up sometimes, Jess!" She sighed, slapping his thy.
=============================================================

The two of them went on a little longer, doing their best to run verbal rings around Lilith until one of them tripped up, or maybe they both did. They ended up overlapping so much it was hard to tell between all the unnecessary 'V' sounds and hard consonants. Florian and Erik chuckled among themselves as Lilith politely put a stop to them.

"Okay, okay, but be grownups now." Florian grinned, his accent returning to normal.

"Am I gonna sit here scantily clad all day, or are you gonna lend me shirt or something?"

Erik groaned loudly as he put his cup down and heaved himself out of his chair. He wasn't getting rid of these two easily. What ever happened to the days of cold, detached, professionalism; was no one choosing to emotionally deaden themselves for the job any more?

"I think I have some old things that wont be too big." He said simply, leaving for his bedroom. Florian, of course, took the opportunity to quickly lock lips with Lilith and go at it like a teenager making the most of any time he could get as the two of them laughed under their breath with each other between kisses. Truly they the image of cold blooded killers. Stopping suddenly as Erik appeared again, like butter wouldn't melt.

"These should do okay, right?"

Erik tossed Lilith a pair of shirts. One, a red plaid button-up affair that was plenty of sizes too big for her and the other, a black T-shirt with the words 'Where's the beef?' written across the chest. At a guess it was supposed to be an undershirt but given Erik's size both of them could hang off her like mini dresses.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The way-station was barely even worthy of being called a dome. Certainly, no town or city accommodated it, and no ivory tower watched of it. Beneath that thin, transparent shell, was little more than a small heli-station, surrounded by a smattering of workshops, storehouses, and sleepy 'entertainment' venues. It was the sort of place that nobody noticed unless they had direct need of it; and the handful of people who needed to live there full time took little interest in outside affairs until it arrived at their door. Nevertheless, an aircraft flying the Lombardi colours was received in sombre, respectful silence, even more so when the infamous figure of The Gentleman departed from the ramp.

"Good man." he offered up to the small, sallow figure in a blue jumpsuit that greeted them on their landing pad. "How long before we can expect to depart.

"A-Around two hours Sir." the engineer replied, not making eye contact.

"Jolly good!" The Gentleman smiled and clapped the man on his oil-stained shoulder, just as Owain was departing, before turning round and calling back "Pilot! Be ready to leave in 80 minutes."

"Let's try not to have too much fun." He said to Owain, as they crossed the flat tarmac and turned down the steps into the main terminal.

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

Amy sat alone, on the edge of the bed, after having finished up crying, followed by cleaning the smudged and running make-up off her face. Once more, she found herself staring down at her Maiden scarf, and it's emblem. Two roses entwined, gold and red.

She wanted to be a Maiden. For better or worse, she truly did. However, there was no way around the fact that she had pinned all of her status here, all her identity and all her hope, on a woman who had set her side. She couldn't destroy it, tear it up, burn it and walk away, severing her connection with everything else it stood for. But to display it? To walk around in public wearing the quickly souring memories of their time together like a noose around her neck? That was equally abhorrent to Amy. She couldn't be defined by what someone else had chosen to discard.

'I was such and idiot!'

It took her back to when the pair had first met, to plan the biggest score of a lifetime. Amy had seen a woman so... present, vibrant and real, who met her challenges head on with strength enough for all of them, defined by nothing but her own desires that she wore so unashamedly. There was no two ways about it, Pixie was more than just everything Amy wanted, she was everything she had wanted to be; and at first, being with her had been so electric. With all of her previous suitors, no matter how interesting or otherwise they might have been, and no matter how hard they worked to please her, it had always been an elaborate and immaculate production, with players, roles, and a stated objective. If her relationship with Pixie had only ever been another type of farce, it had been abstract, and improvised; a field in which Amy was out of her depth.

"there was something there. Trust me, I saw it and it hurt me."

Bennie's words still echoed in her mind.

'If it wasn't all a lie, then maybe if things hadn't got so complicated? If Carlos, Austin, and everything like that hadn't happened...'

She didn't suppose that road held any solace for her. What was done was done. For Pixie and Amy, there was no putting the pieces back together, if either of them still wanted to; and no revenge would taste sweet this time, if it ever had.

What was Amy supposed to do now?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"These should do okay, right?"

Lilith raised an eyebrow as she held one of the t-shirts out in front of her. It was fucking huge.

"Where's the beef, huh?" The girl smirked. Tossing the other shirt back to Erik, Lilith got to her feet, removing the towel from her hair before pulling the shirt over her head. It buried her.

"I feel so sexy." She chuckled, as she let the towel wrapped around her body fall from beneath the t-shirt. Glancing over her shoulder, Lilith placed a hand behind her head as she posed dramatically, pouting her lips into a kissy face before winking at him.

 

[Terratina.]

"Aw you crack me up sometimes, Jess!"

It was the alcohol, right?

It had be the alcohol?

Making an effort not to seem dejected, 'Jesse' casually wiped off the foam and tried to join in with the laughter. After all, every smooth mover had a way of bouncing back from a rejection right?

So much for being the carefree playboy.

Anyway, how could she toy with his feelings like that?

Astor set his beer can down and over-theatrically collapsed as if shot, "Oh Gale, how could you reject me so? That bullet has pierced my heart. I am now dead the world! Forever a husk of what I once was!"

 

[The Funslinger]

"Just look at the state you're in!"

Ruffles grinned. "That's why there's coffee! Gimme like... ten minutes!"

Looking at the untouched coffee pot on the table, he realized he didn't quite have the faculties to handle it.

"You might have to make it for me..." he admitted.

 

[Fappy]

"*****, we're gonna have to talk about these outbursts of yours," Bennie groaned to himself. With one hand planted firmly on the edge of the sink, the big man stood slouched in front of the mirror, dabbing his nose with a wet towel. The bleeding was mostly over with.

The stinging wasn't though.

All things considered, it went rather well. Amy was upset naturally, but she'd get over it. The important thing was that, as far as he could tell, Amy wouldn't be a problem anymore.

Unless Sprout screws her over too.

Sprout was another problem altogether. Amy must have been too generous to him the night before, because Bennie had never seen the boy's head so big. He'd have never thought Sprout would inherit his mother's... lack of discretion. Then again, maybe this was just a puberty thing. A boy gets abandoned by the important women in his life, loses his virginity to a sex goddess and is suddenly expected to be an adult and teach kids how to kill... yeah, that was a lot for one boy to handle.

Bennie washed his face off in the sink and sighed.

Maybe you're expecting too much. He's just a fucking kid, Bennie.

Pushing himself away from the sink, Bennie started for the door. He still needed to get drunk with Whiskey and the night wasn't getting any younger.

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

The 'Sleepy Sheep' was a hole in the wall, but it was homely and had the best waffles in town. Pixie had been frequenting the inn since the beginning of her career and it was still the same old shitty place it had always been. The owner, Dawkins, was an old friend of Cranston's, so it was as safe a place as Pixie could hope to find in Feroxi.

That was assuming there was anywhere safe for her in Feroxi now. Though their attack in the Barrens had been a failure, Pixie had no doubt that Dio knew she was in his city. Dio knew she'd come to finish the job.

And she never stopped imagining what she'd do when she finally had her hands around his throat.

'Never make killing personal.'

That was a bit of sagely advice that Pixie had never truly been able to follow. Killing was such an intimate part of her identity now. Every kill affected her in some way. Every kill changed her.

She had seen how little revenge had benefited Cranston. The momentary catharsis he experienced once he killed those men was but a distant, bitter memory now. His daughter was still dead, so what difference did it make? Killing Dio wouldn't bring Margaret back either, nor would it undo all the pain and suffering Pixie and Sprout had experienced since that awful night. In the end, it would just be another corpse added to the pile.

Margaret would still be dead, Pixie would still be carrying countless scars on her mind and body, and Sprout would still become the disturbed and dysfunctional man Pixie feared he'd grow up to be.

Still, Pixie couldn't stop imagining all the different ways she could end his miserable life.

"Hey Merry, you awake in there?" a raspy voice suddenly said.

Snapping back to reality, Pixie blinked stupidly and smiled at the old man behind the counter. "Oh, sorry," she stammered. "I was jus' daydreamin'. The waffles ar' as good as ever."

"Good," Dawkins replied. "It's been way too long since you've been in here. I had to give you a good reason to come back."

With a cheerful grin on her face, Pixie took a sip of her coffee. The rich taste turned sour the moment it hit her palette, however. "No need ta' be disingenuous Dawkins," Pixie told him coldly. "We're old friends, aren't we?"

Dawkins went pale. "What do you mean, Merry?" he asked.

"Why'd you sell me out old man?" she replied flatly.

She had a dead look in her eye.

"M-merry," he muttered, backing up instinctively as her evil eye bore into him. "I-I-I don't know what you're on about!" His hand began fumbling for something under the bar. "Merry, I---"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting gunshot rang out through the bar.

As the old man dropped to the ground dead, Pixie placed her pistol on the counter and sipped her coffee casually. Without turning around in her stool, she called out to her guests. "The fuck do y'all want?" she asked.

Three sets of footsteps closed in from behind her. Though she knew there were more where that came from. "Meredith 'Pixie' Monroe," one gruff voice replied. "My name's 'Ajax'. Your ***** Casino killed Gorgon in this city not too long ago. He was my brother."

'What's it like ta' 'ave vengeance brought upon you?'

Pixie laughed. "So you ain't with Dio?" she concluded. She kept her back to them still. "An' I was hopin' this was gonna be a challenge. I don' remember orderin' a side of pussy-ass bandit wannabes with my waffles an' coffee. Go suck each other off in a gutter somewhere; I'm busy."

"Funny," Ajax said with a fake chuckle, "you think this is gonna be a fight." More footsteps began echoing through the small inn. "My boys an' I were actually wonderin' if you'd be down for a little fun. Word on the street's that you look good on your knees. Banditos can' 'ave all the fun now, am I right?"

"You gone an' poked the badger, boy," Pixie remarked, her laughter bitter now. "Why'd you 'ave ta' go an' do such a stupid thin' like that?"

Glancing up at their reflection in a placard above the bar, Pixie counted about ten of them. She didn't like those odds. At this range they could gun her down as soon as she lashed out against them. No, she'd have to wait for them to close in. Once they were within arm's reach they were as good as dead.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"I feel so sexy."

Erik offered up a nonplussed wolf whistle as he snatched his flailing clump of shirt out of the air. He quickly went back to his room to put it back before the thing got crumpled. Yes, he may have treated his friends' homes and establishments like potential battlefields but this was his place. A man's home was his castle and Erik would treat his own den with the respect it deserved.

Florian, for his part, was still just smiling with stupid contentment. If only he'd had one of his own shirts to offer up. The beeper he'd placed on the table buzzed for attention. It was Irena, looked like she'd dealt with whatever had taken her attention and wanted to meet. Looked like the fun had to be put on hold for a while. 'Time to get back to work.'

"Time for me to get back out there." He said to Lilith, rising from his place on the couch and moving closer to give her a light kiss on the cheek. "You can stay here if you like."
==========================================================================
"Oh Gale, how could you reject me so? That bullet has pierced my heart. I am now dead the world! Forever a husk of what I once was!"

"Well I hear the girls love the dark and tortured type." Gale shrugged him off.

To think that anyone could actually talk like that. He sounded like one of those dandy pants nobles from one of the stories Gale'd been told as a kid or something. How this helped him as a travelling merchant, she had no idea. Different strokes of the sale she guessed.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Time for me to get back out there."

Lilith smiled as she wrapped her arms around Florian, returning his kiss with one of her own. "No rest for the wicked." She chuckled as she nuzzled his cheek.

"You can stay here if you like."

"I think I will." Lilith pulled herself away from Florian. "It's warm here, and I'm sure Erik has some food I can totally not steal." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "I'll hang around until my clothes are a little less sodden anyway, then head back to Renny's later."

Cupping a hand around the side of her mouth, she shouted out towards where Erik had left the room. "You hear that big guy? Looks like we're gonna be hanging out for a while, ain't you a lucky wanker?" Grinning, she wrapped her arms around Florian once more, her mouth next to his ear. "You should probably have a shower later." She paused for a moment. "A real one, I mean."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spoiler

Asad sighed through his nose as he lit a cigarette, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans as he walked down a backstreet. He had had just paid a visit to some bar, apparently there was a shootout there the other day, couple of dead Basilio agents, but reports noted a woman with red hair on the scene. Said woman doing most of the killing of said agents. No way it wasn't Monroe, it was just too coincidental.

Taking a deep drag, Asad gripped the cigarette in his teeth as he furrowed his brow, smoke crawling from his mouth. According to one of his contacts, some guy who owed him a favour, it wasn't uncommon for Lombardi affiliates to frequent the joint. If that was the case, then he could guess as to why Monroe would be there.

The agents could just have been a case of running into the wrong fox at the wrong time, or they had their own suspicions that he wasn't privy to.

A small smile curled the man's mouth as he surmised that he was onto something. Why else would someone be following him?

Bonnie had been following the rogue soldier around town all morning, taking special care not to follow too closely. Contessa ordered her to keep tabs on him while the rest of her spies inside the tower watched his charge.

Asad had been a busy man.

Contessa wasn't all that concerned about him making contact with Pixie. In fact, she welcomed it... so long as she had some measure of control over the situation.

Asad walked a couple of blocked, taking a few turns just to make sure. He was definitely being followed. He hadn't been able to get a good enough look at them without raising suspicion, but he was pretty sure it was a woman.

Could it be one of Basilio's agents keeping an eye on him? Since their little incident the other night he hadn't given the man any more reasons to not trust him, and as far as him searching for Monroe was concerned, he'd just taken a little visit to a bar. He had even had a drink there, just to make sure it didn't look too suspicious.

Rounding another corner, this time into a narrow backalley, Asad flicked his cigarette to the ground, quickly pulling out the handgun from its holster under his jacket, he turned off the safety before hiding it in his pocket, keeping his hand on the weapon as he leaned casually against the wall.

A few moments later, a woman turned the corner, To her credit, she didn't react to his presence, she merely continued walking, even with the man's eyes following her every step of the way. Just as she was about to turn out of the small alley, Asad coughed once. "Excuse me, miss?" A small smile curled his lips. "I seem to be lost, I was wondering if you could help me?"

'Game on.'

Bonnie grinned cruelly and looked at the Major from over her shoulder. "You can put your piece away, Harel," she told him in a condescending tone. "We're on the same side."

Chuckling, Asad removed the gun from his pocket, holding it limply by his side as he pushed away from the wall. "Forgive me, but I'm afraid you've caught me at a disadvantage, Miss...?"

"Just call me Bonnie," the little blonde replied as she sauntered over to him. "You've been wandering around Feroxi for days like a chicken with its head cut off. I imagine you'd want to keep a closer eye on Elizabeth after what happened the other night.?

Asad narrowed his eyes. How much did this 'Bonnie' know exactly? "Lady Maribel is fine, she doesn't need me around the clock." A wry smile curled his lips. "A lady needs her space after all."

Bonnie nodded. ?Very true,? she agreed. ?So, what are you doing anyway??

"A man can't take a walk around the city without arousing suspicion?" Asad shrugged his shoulders. Bonnie didn't seem convinced. "Why don't you tell me what you think I'm doing?" The Major holstered his weapon before crossing his arms over his chest. "Or better yet, tell me why you're following me around."

The little blonde smirked. ?You won?t find someone like Pixie just by walking the beat,? she advised. ?If you?re really intent on talking to her I can point you in the right direction.?

Asad's smile vanished as he stepped towards the woman. "You work for Lombardi?" She raised his head slightly as he looked down at her. Just how compromised was the Basilio information network?

?Naturally,? she said simply. Stepping away from him, she flicked her hair from one shoulder to the other and looked back at him. ?She?s getting waffles. Turns out she?s got a soft spot for that sort of thing. If you hurry you may catch her before she leaves. She?s wearing a blonde wig.?

Was this a setup? No, what reason would Lombardi have to kill him? "I think I know the place." An amused expression furrowed Asad's brow. After a few moments, the man raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

?My Lady is relying on you to get Maribel out of the tower safely,? she told him. ?If talking to Monroe will ease your anxiety, then I won?t stand in your way.? She giggled and then winked at him. ?Just be sure to survive the encounter. You?re no good to us dead.?

"Oh?" Asad stepped towards Bonnie, leaning against the wall as he leaned over her. "What did you need me for?" He could play this game too, anything to get more information. A sly smile curled the man's lips.

Bonnie cocked an eyebrow. ??Things?,? she said cryptically. Walking back over to him, she drew a line down his chest with her pointer finger. ?Though I doubt Commander Saburo will care much for it.? Her playful expression suddenly evaporated. ?No, but seriously, we know about Saburo. She won?t be a problem, will she??

Asad's face softened at the mention of his lover's name. "I don't know how she'll react when everything goes down. But if I know her, she'll die to defend Dio." He pursed his lips. "In that regard, I can't convince her otherwise, she's fiercely loyal to him, piece of shit that he is." The Major clenched his jaw as he locked eyes with Bonnie. "Lombardi promised me she'd put something in place to pull Tsubaki away from the main event, but if she can't..." The man averted his eyes. "Just get the info to me and I'll make sure she's out of the way." He glanced at the woman. "I'll tie her up if I have to." Asad smiled sadly.

Bonnie shrugged. ?So long as Maribel makes it out unharmed,? she said. ?We?ll differ to your judgement on how best to handle her. Anyway, you should hurry. If our intel is correct Pixie?s walking into a trap as we speak.?

"Of course she is." Asad sighed in exasperation, pushing himself away from the wall. "Well thank you for the information, Ms. Bonnie." The Major nodded his head, turning to walk out of the alley, he raised his hand, waving it lazily over his shoulder. "Feel free to follow me again some time, I could do with some pleasant company after the time I've been having lately." The man chuckled sardonically as he hurried his pace.

'Godammit Monroe, fucking redheads, I swear.'

 

[Dogmatic99]

"You hear that big guy? Looks like we're gonna be hanging out for a while, ain't you a lucky wanker?"

"There is so much joy in my life right now." Erik called through in a dull, flat, tone.

"I'm still a little damp, could you spare any coats while we're at it?"

"Wait for it." It only took a moment and Erik came back through, holding a navy blue long coat that he passed to Florian. Much more gently than he did with the shirts he gave Lilith. "You and Petrov were about the same size, right?"

"Uuh, yeah." Florian took the coat, a little taken aback. He quickly snapped himself out of it but he couldn't resist going a step further. "I didn't think you'd have kept his things."

Erik seemed to catch himself for a second as well, Florian answered his question before he'd even uttered it.

"Irena told me."

"Of course she did." Erik let out a quiet breath of a laugh and shook his head. "No, most of it is gone I just... I just kept forgetting this one."

"It's a good coat." Florian offered, not really sure what to say. Awkwardly, he turned it in his hands and slipped it on.

"You look shit in blue." Erik just said. It was only around that time that the two of them seemed to remember that they were speaking Common around Lilith. Irena had them well trained.

'Damnit.' Erik sighed.