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

[Terratina.]

"Well I hear the girls love the dark and tortured type."

Astor took another chug from the... What number can was this? He didn't know. It hardly mattered anyway. The constant swinging and missing with Gale was bothering the self-assumed casanova to say the least. Well, time to show her dark and tortured if she really wanted it.

"Chewing me up and spitting me out again, is it?" 'Jesse' half-muttered as he took a sip from can, "...Very well."

"Aw don't get all moody on me now." Gale rolled her eyes. Honestly, it was like dealing with the teenage boys back in the caravan... which, in a way, she kinda was. "How bout you try that act out on the Austin gals? I bet they'd love that shit."

Astor chuckled, "I doubt it, with my current track record."

"Oooh nooo" Gale droned. "Been stuck a ship with a crew of hot babes for a couple days and he ain't even got laid yet, what'cha gunna do nooooo." She didn't even bother to try and hide the sarcasm. Subtlety was not Gale's way after all. "You ever consider that maybe these ladies aren't ones for the flowery words and chocolates routine, hotshot?"

"Save the sarcasm." 'Jesse' sighed, "And... just what other routine is there?"

He furrowed his brow, genuinely confused.

Gale let out an exasperated grunt. "Just look at the guys around here, the kind of guys all these ladies are going for. Ax an Brock'd be happy to let their dicks do the talking if it could, tal and the chief barely say a word to the folks past what they have to - usually - but they've all got people making a dash to jump'em. This crowd don't care one bit for fancy poetry, they like a man who lets his actions do it for him. Since we all got here all the new bloods have been markin' out their own turf an' leaving you high an dry. You wanna step up, Jess, show 'em you belong here, can hold your own an all." She raised her beer can in a rowdy kinda manner. "Step up like a badass and you'll have girls throwin' themselves at your dick, you mark my words."

'Jesse' mulled it over for a bit... If he had to act the brute, fine; he wasn't in any of the Ivory Towers any more and it would add to the disguise. What did he expect? Acting like a noble in a bandits' world? There was a grunt of agreement from him. Yeah, he'd prove everyone during the airship raid! And stick his middle finger to dear daddy in the process!

Nothing like covering up insecurities with silence and badassery - like a real man would!

"I'll try." Astor said meekly. Nah, that wouldn't do. He cleared his throat and roared, "Yeah, I'll show 'em!"

"Yeah, believe it!" Gale cheered a little, tapping her can against his. Only time would tell what she'd created here.

And then the triumphant mood was naught.

?I FUCKED UP!? Sprout shouted as he suddenly and violently kicked open Gale?s door. In his arms lay a semi-conscious little redhead. ?Allie?s super drunk an? I don? know what the fuck ta? do! She gone barfed all over the hanger! HELP!? Stumbling into the room, the drunk boy dropped Allie into a pile of pillows near Gale.

"He... done... fucked up." Allie mumbled as she writhed clumsily on the pillows, draping her arms over Gale's lap. "I think I'm b-blind." The half chuckled and half coughed. "And everythin' is o-o-orange." She burped, ruffling the curls that masked her face.

"Ooooh, little marmalade." Gale cooed over her like a young girl over a tired baby animal as she gently stroked Allie's mass of hair out of her eyes. Her motherly instincts kicking in like a battering ram. Inwardly though, she was fuming. This little chicken shit got Allie drunk for the first time without her!? She wanted to see that!

Astor had no idea what to do. While not as drunk as Allie, his brain was still a mess.

"The captain's son, the captain's son, he got Allie drunk on rum!" He sang.

"The c-captain's s-s-son, the capn's s-son, he got m-me all d-drunk on r-rum!" Allie repeated in lilted drunken tones. "He-he lik-likes to make the ladies cum!" She giggled like a child as she sprawled over backwards, far enough for her head to touch Jesse's lap. "He-hey, a-asshole." She tried winking at the boy, but merely blinked.

Captain?s son?

Sprout was not in any state to really question it, but for some reason that phrase lingered in his mind for far longer than he was comfortable with. ?I do like makin? them cum alright,? he said with a shrug. ?Though, well, I dunno when that actually happens.? He scratched his cheek sheepishly. ?I mean, it?s obvious fer guys right? Fer girls... it ain?t so clear.?

"Mmmaybe in a few years, baby." 'Jesse sniggered as he lightly pushed the drunk red-head away. He then turned to Sprout, "Why not ask that whore of yours? She knows eeeverything, ahahaha."

"Uuurrggghhh." Gale let out a gutteral sigh as she scooped up Allie and cradled her closer to the bed getting her out of the line of fire. No big prizes for guess what would follow here.

Sprout?s eyes narrowed. ?You wanna say that again, Jesse?? he asked. ?Somethin? about a ?whore???

"You didn't hear it the first time? Oh my." Astor replied, "I said: why not ask that whore of yours because she obviously knows eeeverything?"

Was someone getting a little uptight about somebody else calling a spade a spade?

Were people arguing? It sounded like people were arguing, why did people have to ruin Allie's special night of inebreation? This was a big deal. "G-g-guys, guys." The girl mumbled as she fumbled for a hand hold, deciding on Gale's collar, pulling her face closer to her's. "Why's p-people gotta be so serious all the time? I di-dinnae understand."

"Me neither, babe." Gale sighed, holding Allie closer so she didn't fall and smack her head open.

Ignoring Allie, Sprout got to his feet and stood in front of Jesse. ?Get up,? he commanded. ?On yer feet, *****.?

Although the ascent was a bit wobbly, 'Jesse' did so and put out his dukes.

"*****?" Pleeeeaaaase." He scoffed, "I'm not the one wraaapped about her little finger."

"No one else remembers the talk in the car do they?" Gale narrowed her eyes. Didn't seem like the two of them were listening though.

?Stay out of this, Gale,? Sprout snarled. Putting his hands on his hips, he grinned at the pretty boy and shook his head. ?You really wanna do this? I ain?t gonna lie, I?ve been itchin? to knock yer fuckin? teeth in.?

"Yeah, this is buuusiness between men." Astor added. He was just following her advice! Be the badass who doesn't take anyone's shit and, er, stuff. That was it. Time to rip off the gentlmanly mask and unleash the beast! Well, as best as a drunk person could. 'Jesse' answered Sprout's question - and challenge - with a grunt and a fist to the cocky hick's face.

No, no, no, no! "Not in my, fucking, room!" Gale yelled at the two knuckle heads. Too late.

Sprout grinned wildly as he watched the fist come his way. At least he wasn?t the only one making shit decisions tonight.

Jesse was a dumbass too, apparently.

?Idiot,? he muttered as he brought his hand up and batted away Jesse?s blow almost casually. When the second fist came Sprout side-stepped it and clutched Jesse?s wrist tight. Stepping forward, the scruffy teen pulled Jesse forward like a rag doll and delivered a savage elbow to the ribs. Releasing his arm, Sprout towered over Jesse as he doubled over in pain. ?Come on, *****. Try again. See what happens.?

"Glaaadly, Mr. Whore Fucker." 'Jesse replied as he laughed through the pain. This time, however, as he got up he tried to pin down the bastard.

Gale growled under her breath as she watched the two of them go at it. 'Jesse, you idiot, just stay down.' She looked back to Allie, safe but not happy about things. Or maybe she was just about to vomit. This wasn't good. There was a look in Axel's eyes Gale had seen too many times before on others. This wasn't like his usual bullshit or at their sparing match. This was putting the dread up Gale's spine now, this was going to get serious.

Sprout fell under Jesse?s weight, but the struggle for dominance didn?t last long. After one swift sucker punch to the gut, Sprout had gotten on-top. With one hand he held Jesse?s arm behind his back and with the other he clutched Jesse hair and pinned his face against the floor. Using his superior leverage he began pulling on Jesse?s arm. ?You don? wan? me ta? pull much more than this,? Sprout advised. He pushed his face harder against the floor and buried his knee deep into his spine. ?Call her a whore one more time you piece of shit. I fuckin? dare you!?

"H-hey, hey youuu." Allie wrapped her arms around Gale's neck as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Glancing at Gale, her eyes half open, the girl pouted her lips drunkenly. "Foxy's g-got this." She tapped her friend on the cheek before grunting with exertion as she got to her feet. "F-fuckin' boys!" She spat as she kicked Sprout in the leg. "Wha-what's your fuckin' damage lad?" She held her arms out wide. "Your lassie is a whore!" She shook her head incredulously. "O-or she was, w-whatever, that don't make her a bad p-person."

Side-stepping clumsily, she placed her foot on the side of Jesse's head. "And youuuuuu." Allie started, her accent getting even thicker. "Stop being a ****." She said simply, her arms falling limply to her sides. "No-now where's my rum." A squeaky burp passed her lips as she looked around lazily.

Sprout grit his teeth and looked between Jesse and Allie. He didn?t release his grip, but he didn?t tighten it either.

He really wanted to mess Jesse up, but he knew he shouldn?t.

"Wha-what the fuck did I just s-say?" Allie pursed her lips as she placed her hands on her hips, leering at Sprout. "W-we fuckin' g-get it, you're the biiiiiig st-strong man, w-well guess what?" She pointed a finger at the boy, using all the focus she could muster to gently touch the tip of his nose instead of poking out his eye. "You-your mammy and s-sister left, b-big fucking whoop." The girl blew the hair that had fallen into her eyes. "You th-think we're here 'cos we have ot-ther people to go to?" She motioned at herself and Jesse. "Fu-fuckin' no!" She glanced over her shoulder at Gale. "S'okay sexy, I know you have your g-gypsy pilgrimage mumbo jumbo crap, I still love you all t-the same. BUT YOUUUU!" Allie spun her head around in a flurry of wild curls as she returned her attention back to Sprout, poking his nose. "F-f-fuckin' grow up!"

Gale had been steps away from leaping to her feet and getting into the middle of the fray and knocking their heads together, or smacking them in the junk, whichever was easier. Until, well... that happened. Apparently there was even more wisdom in Allie than she first thought. Gale could only look at their firey little sage with pride as she dropped knowledge bombs all over the place.

'Jesse' had suppressed the tempting urge just to scream "WHORE WHORE WHORE" - it was a different choice to make, after all: either rile up Sprout even further or not get his head caved in. Of course, the runaway noble didn't count on Allie playing peacekeeper. He could take being called a **** if most of her fiery lecture was directed at Sprout. Nevertheless, the possibility of Astor having his head caved in remained. Well, best to go out with a quip.

"Well, what are you gonna do?" He said to Sprout through gritted teeth.

Sprout held Jesse down a few seconds longer before finally releasing the boy. ?Fuck this,? he muttered as he got to his feet. He grimaced at Allie. She had balls, he?d give her that.

?Look after her,? Sprout told Gale before stepping out into the hall. He needed to get out of there and clear his head.

"Hmm." Gale kept her eyes on Sprout as he left, keeping herself ready to go if he and Jesse decided to make for a round two. A tricky thing to do while also trying to keep Allie from face planting into the floor. There was some serious tension in this room right and she was not caring for it.

'Jesse' breathed a sigh of relief as he got himself back up. However, he quickly collapsed into a pile of pillows afterwards and turned to Gale, "Gimme another beer."

"I think you reached your limit, Slugger." She helped Allie steady herself.

Allie turned to wrap her arms around Gale, her eyes not leaving the door. "But S-sproot..." She whimpered. Just because she told him off didn't mean she wanted him to go away.

"It's okay, Al, it's okay." Gale cooed softly, hushing her like her own little kiddy. "Everybody just needs to cool off is all."

"...Fine." Astor grumbled, as he reached out to the pack of beer cans while grimacing, "I'll juuust get it myself."

Allie pulled away from Gale, swaying gently as the adrenaline of the situation faded, to be replaced by sleepiness. "I sh-should go s-see if he's okay." She mumbled as she stepped towards the door, staggering slightly.

"No. No you don't." Gale moved after her and easily wrapped her arm around Allie's middle and steered her back towards the bed. "Al, you're drunk but you need to listen to. He's gunna be okay, cus he's drunk too. You just need to have a lie down and you'll be a lot calmer in the morning. Just need a little time, hun." What Gale was going to do with their gentleman caller though she wasn't sure.

"Okay." Allie purred as she wrapped her arms around Gale's neck, standing on her tiptoes. "W-what you gonna do, J-j-jess?"

While the two ladies in the room were having a little chat, Astor managed to snatch a beer can. However, instead of drinking it right away, he held it to his cheek, letting the can's coldness offer some relief from the pain. The so-called party hadn't gone well for him at all. 'Jesse' shrugged as he opened the can and began chugging.

"You okay to get back to your room?" Asked Gale.

After he finished, he gave Gale a thumbs up, "As - er, um - Jesse is alwaaays okay."

"Le-let him stay here." Allie mumbled. "W-we can can keep an eye on him, m-make sure he dinnae cause no t-t-rou..." Allie trailed off, he breath slowing as she dozed on Gale's shoulder.

Gale didn't even have the energy to sigh any more. She gently heaved Allie off of her and lowered her little cohort onto the bottom bunk, tucking her away under the covers.

"Just... try to go outside if you need to hurl." She said to Jesse, throwing the cover of the top bunk at him. No way was this one sleeping over them tonight.

'This is my night. Everybody else gettin' laid and this is what I get.'

"I wouldn't daaare spoil this saaacred spaaace." Was the last thing they got out of the drunk boy before he collapsed into dreamland.

"Better not." Gale grumbled as clambered down and perched on the edge of the bed next to Allie who was already sprawling out, taking up more space than her tiny frame had any right to be. "Kick your ass." What a fun night this turned out to be.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith's face softened as she quickly cottoned on as to who Petrov was, a sad smile curling her lips. Holding her hands behind her back, the girl rocked back and forth on her heels. "He's right you know." She glanced at Florian. "You look like shit in blue." She chuckled.

"And the abuse starts again!" Florian gave them both a look he assumed a bitchy schoolgirl would as he pulled his coat collar up and snagged himself a red scarf of his own. "I shouldn't be too long. Rena probably just wants to check in and sure up some plans for the next day or two." He moved to Lilith, giving a light kiss before going to the front door. He paused a moment before opening it. "Wont be long now." He said, looking over his shoulder to Erik. Then he was gone.

Erik gave his own silent nod as he let out a heavy breath. He looked to Lilith... what the hell was he supposed to do with her?

"Sooo." Lilith's voice cracked as she turned to face Erik, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "You, er, got a washing machine?" She grinned cheekily.

"Eh... y- yes." He mumbled. "It's in there." He waved his hand in the direction of the kitchen as he continued to look at Lilith like some thing that he just did not know how to deal with right now.

"Thanks for the shirt, by the way." Lilith glanced down at herself. "And, um, sorry about earlier." She rubbed the back of her head. "I was really drunk." Right on cue, Lilith's neuroticism for politeness began to kick in.

"Umm... good?" Erik cocked an eyebrow. What was he supposed to do with that information? Hopefully his place wouldn't get turned into a total sex den before she found a place of her own. "I get it now though." He leaned against the counter as Lilith went about loading her rags into the machine. "Why you stayed. You two are big friends." He looked at her knowingly.

'Priest my ass.

"Yeah." Lilith mumbled happily before actually realising what the old man meant. "Huh? No, I mean, not we weren't... like that before." Her cheeks reddened as she stuffed her scarf into the machine last. "You don't believe that do you?" She looked up at Erik, smiling bashfully.

"Mhmm. A girl comes all the way up here from her fancy crew, just to help a regular friend. Nothing else." He smirked at her as she blushed. When was the last time he actually met someone who could still blush? "It's good though. Good to be on the ground floor when he makes his comeback, yes?"

"I'm not lying." Lilith mumbled as she averted her eyes to the ground. Oh god, if she couldn't this kind of teasing, she was going to get slaughtered back on the Maiden. Crossing her arms over her chest, she finally gained the courage to meet Erik's eyes once more. "Fuck you old man." She smirked.

"You should be so lucky." Erik's voice rumbled low in his throat.

The machine started up with a metallic rattle and he stretched himself out, cricking his neck. He carried on examining Lilith from under his heavy eyelids. He wasn't on the backfoot this time, now he could get a real handle on her.

"You're taking a big risk doing this." He said simply. "And now you've been busy, maybe you can even get your own name soon. Could be a pretty good deal." He shrugged.

'That's my line.' The woman smirked as the huge man sized her up. "I'm not interested in anything like that." Lilith shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here for Florian, that's all, and I'll help him any way I can."

Erik gave a slow nod as he measured her response. It wasn't clear if he was satisfied or not, he just went through to the main room, away from the drone of the washing machine.

Following Erik, Lilith plopped herself down on the couch, suddenly very aware that she wasn't wearing any underwear, she squeezed her thighs together even though Erik's shirt came down to her knees. "So, now that you two have made up and everything." Lilith started, placing her hands in her lap. "How glad are you to see him again?" She grinned.

"Meh. He got fat and soft." Erik patted at his stomach. "What did you people do to that boy down there? If Maidens are as crazy as people say you should have been throwing him at everything, keep him lean that way." Erik hadn't taken a seat yet. "Florian is like dog, he needs things to keep him busy or he gets all..." He searched for the word and failed to find it. It'd been too long since he'd had to keep up real conversation in the common language. "Something." He conceded.

"Restless?" Lilith smiled softly, tilting her head. "Not all dogs are like that." The woman cooed as she leaned back into the sofa. "Some dogs just need some love and patience." She chuckled. "I'm sure Florian would just love being compared to a dog."

"Is his place in life." Erik waved her off, happily enjoying the joke. "He doesn't want to be called a dog he should have gotten new name. You have young one's in your crew, yes? So they get kid names, they never get to shake those." Erik smirked.

"Oh?" Lilith's curiosity piqued. "Florian has a nickname?" Her face lit up. "Tell me!"

"Everyone who rises high get's their name." Erik nodded, honestly, this girl knew nothing of the culture she was fighting. Still, he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to embarrass Florian a little.

"And he was the boss' kid, so he starts high. And Vasa, he gives Florian a present of his own, I think vas still has it now. A tooth - no fang - from a wolf. A big dog thing from time before." He explained. "And he wears it everywhere, so that is what we call him. "Malen'kaya Vohlk. Little Wolf. Our little wolf cub." The nostalgia was coming home now, sentimental old fool that he was.

"Little Wolf..." Lilith said the words softly, a warm smile curling her lips. "That is fucking adorable." She chuckled. "What's yours?"

"No one calls me mine." Erik said bluntly, cutting that question dead where it stood. "Shame he outgrew it. Would have been funnier if he still had that." He said after a pause, looking wistful as he remembered what were now classic times. At least they were simpler.

"You're no fun." Lilith pouted as Erik changed the subject. "Big Cat?" She chuckled. "Huge Horse?" She pursed her lips. "I'm only gonna keep guessing."

"I am Erik. That is all any of them need to know me." He said it like it was a fact.

"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of mine either, I guess." Lilith shrugged her shoulders. "'Casino' is okay I guess, I just wish it was a little more, I dunno." She smiled. "Poetic."

"Wait - wait! you're Casino? You are that Casino?" Erik bubbled over into laughter and then into his first language. Lilith didn't quite catch all of it but there was some profanity thrown in there. "Of course you are." His laughter slowed to a halt. "Of course we have the Casino here now."

"What?" Lilith asked, her voice squeaking slightly. Was she missing a joke? "Erik, what?!" she laughed, leaning forward.

"You think Monroe is only famous Maiden woman? People here, they know the name, Casino. They have heard stories of Valentine. Argh." Erik could have kicked himself, how did he not peg it sooner? He let himself get all emotional and wrapped up in his own shit, he let himself slip and forget.

"Casino and The Wolf." If ever there was a strange pair. Erik shook his head, laughing. Bloody kids.

"Really?" Lilith blushed slightly. Everyone knew who Pixie was, the idea that someone this far North even had an inkling of Lilith was something she couldn't believe. "Nooooo." She averted her eyes.

"You're skinnier than I thought you were." Erik said, ruining any nice moment that might have been brewing.

Looking up at the man, Lilith blinked a few times. "I..." Her words caught in her throat. "You..." The woman gasped slightly as she laughed incredulously. "You wanker!"

"Okay." He shrugged smuggly. 'Jokes on her, I don't even know what that word means!'

"Bastard." Lilith stuck her tongue out at the man as she crossed her arms over her chest sulkily. "Now I know where Florian got his charms from."

Erik laughed heartily, this one was still fun, he could give her that. Even if she may have been a plant sent by The Maidens, assuming they were ambitious enough to try and get a real foothold in a dome. You never could be sure these days.

"He should have got them from me! Look at him now, boy needs all the help he can get. He could learn so much from me. I know all about these things. Like real expert."

"Mhmm." Lilith grunted, unconvinced as a small smile curled her lips. "Well he knows what he's doing at least." She chuckled "Now I know he didn't get that from you."

"Do not be so sure, girl." Erik looked at her slyly. "I was not always this man. Frostfall... she was always as kind to my kind once - and she is not kind now! I had to find my way like him, I tried to be like other men. And the women did not complain!" He chuckled a seriously filthy oldman laugh. "For them it was perfect night!" He cheered. "-For me it was enough." Erik cut himself off abruptly, pulling a very serious face.

"That sucks." Lilith frowned. Homosexuality never really seemed like an issue back South, she was surrounded by enough of it growing up, and nobody batted an eyelid. Suddenly she found herself respecting the large man a little bit more. "Probably for the best." She nodded her head sagely. "Give all the other blokes a look in, eh?"

"Yes, it is fun to look at them." Erik smiled, not entirely getting Lilith's own local phrases.

"That's not what I..." Trailing off, Lilith shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She looked down at her hands as a small silence fell over the room. "I know Florian's missed... this." She motioned around her. "Frostfall I mean, and doing what he used to do." Her face softened sadly. "He might not want to admit it, but he's slipping into old habits." Looking up at Erik, her smile had vanished. "There's not really anything I can do to stop it."

Erik's own mood dampened a little bit and he leaned forward in his chair, furrowing his brow. This one cared for him at least, Erik couldn't doubt that. He didn't say anything for a moment as he formed the words he needed, this felt important, he needed to make sure he said it right.

"When we talked at Irena's the other night. I did not recognise him." No that wasn't right. "I mean... I did not know him. The way he talked, the way he was. This was not the cub I raised, the man I saw like in the old days. This was someone different, like you said." Erik sighed, he didn't care for where this was going. "Maybe he's not your priest any more, but he's not our Red Wolf any more too. So maybe he is something different. That could be too much for some."

He looked at Lilith, nudging her on. There was no judgement in his voice but he wasn't going to coddle her either. Erik knew first hand the strain this life could put on lovers, young and old.

"That's..." Lilith furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "That's good to know." She nodded her head once. "It was naive of me to think he'd stay the same man he was on the Maiden." She smiled sadly. "I just want him to be happy."

"Hm." Erik didn't have much else to say to that. Nothing that wasn't just some bitter warning. He'd seen enough in his time to know to be careful of what you wanted. Aiming to give another person happiness was an admirable and seemingly simple enough goal. But things rarely went according to plan in these times and even the best of intentions could turn on you. Time would tell how things would go for these two. Who was he to judge?

"Anyway!" Lilith clapped her hands together. "Who wants tea? I want tea! Do you want tea?" The girl had already gotten to her feet and was heading to the kitchen. "Don't you move a muscle." She pointed a finger at Erik. "You're doing me a favour by letting me stay here, it's the least I can do after what we did to your bathroom." She winced as she immediately regretted mentioning it again.

 

[Fappy]

Fuck that piece of shit. Should?a knocked that **** out!

Storming off in a huff down the hall, Sprout managed to distance himself from his thoughts just long enough to register Brock?s hardy laugh. I sounded like it was coming from Tallahassee?s room. He remembered seeing the cowboy and Amy?s friend Sandra leaving the party together, but it sounded like they were just shooting the shit now. Sprout followed the voices and almost entered Tallahassee?s room.

He stopped himself when he heard what they were actually talking about.

?... yeah man, Merry?s a fuckin? trooper,? Brock chortled. Sprawled out across Tallahassee?s sofa with rosey cheeks and a stupid grin, he was clearly fairly drunk. ?She could go all night. She was a fuckin? animal!?

Tallahassee was sitting up in bed with an arm wrapped around Sandra?s shoulder and a beer in his other hand. ?I?m sure Amy told you all ?bout it,? he told Sandra with a snarky grin on his face.

"Amy and I don't kiss and tell. We're too civilised." Sandra teased. Even with Brock having crashed their party, Sandra was still having a lot of fun, the highlight of the evening being seeing Tal try and hold a conversation with his friend while she had been torturing him (in the nicest way) beneath the sheets. Right now though, she was content with lazily caressing his chest with one hand.

'If you could just, you know, never put on a shirt again? That'd be alright with me."

"To tell you the truth though, she didn't need to. I think Meredith Monroe's reputation precedes her, maybe even as much as ours do."

?Precedes the fuck outta her, let me tell ya?,? Tal replied. ?Like Brock said, she?s a fuckin? solid lay, but she ain?t the kinda girl you take back to yer ma?. She?ll chew you up an? spit you out in a good way, but I dunno, I never felt all that... intimate with her, if ya? know what I mean.?

Brock laughed. ?Yeah, she?s a good cuddler, but only for herself,? he agreed. ?She?s the type to fuck you an? forget about you... with a few exceptions. Personally, I have no issue with that mentality.?

Sprout knew he should have left right then and there, but despite his better nature, he stayed and listened in.

"I saw it the first time Amy introduced me to her..." Sandra chimed in "She was a woman you could all too easily fall for. It's a rare thing to see Amy hurting, and that's saying something when you consider all the reasons she's got, but it hurt her to love that woman."

?Pixie?s a mean *****,? Tallahassee agreed. ?There?s no two-ways about it. Her love?s like a poison you can get enough of. I wouldn? ?ave it any other way though.? He took a swig to that.

Brock sat up and grinned at the pair. ?Amy?s fine now though, right?? he asked Sandra. ?I mean, she?s fuckin? Merry?s son. That kid?s got a way of perking people up.?

"Well, I don't think even I should be considered an authority as to what goes on in Amy's head." Said Sandra, more seriously now. "But I'll say this... She's a good actress, so good that maybe she fool's herself sometimes. Making you believe you're the most seductive son of a ***** who's ever lived fifteen minutes after you just handed over your wallet is kind of her forte. Still, watch her long enough and you can still tell the difference; and the way she smiles when she looks at that boy. There's nothing fake about that."

Sh-she... really?

Sprout was about to dismiss the gossip altogether in light of that ego boosting insight, but then Tallahassee had to go and ruin it.

?Well, let?s hope the boy?s good at romancin?, ?cause there ain?t no way in hell he?s as good in the sack as ?is ma?,? he remarked with a chuckle.

Brock shrugged. "The boy sure does have some big shoes to fit," he laughed. "Kinda fucked up though. Banging your mom's ex. I'm a fuckin' horn dog, but I don't think I could ever do that."

"Maybe Amy jus' has a soft spot fer Monroes," the cowboy replied. "Hopefuly she doesn' put much stock into layin' though. I reckon Pixie could keep up, but it's gonna take her boy a looooong time to get anywhere close to satisfyin' that woman completely."

That was it. That was going too far. Sprout couldn't help himself. He had to tell them off or beat the fuck out of them... or something!

Gripping the door knob tight and balling his other hand into a fist, Sprout grit his teeth and made ready to swing open the door in a theatrical fashion. Then suddenly, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. "You need to calm down, kid," Bennie advised in a quiet voice. It wasn't until now that Sprout realized he'd be hyperventilating. "Come on, let's go back to my room. Cool off a bit."

"B-but Bennie," he pleaded, "those guys, th-they... god dammit Bennie, I---"

The big man shushed him. "Keep your voice down," Bennie replied. "Come on."

Fuck!

"Fine," Sprout croaked, his face flushed with a mix of rage and embarrassment. How many times was he going to make an ass out of himself in one day?

Amy had finally left her room and gone in search of some company. She didn't particularly mind who's, though she knew of one who she'd really appreciate.

It had not been an easy thing to reconcile, and even now, Amy wasn't sure how long it would take before she was entirely over it. However, the realisation that she needed, and more importantly wanted to close the book on her and Pixie, had taken a surprising amount of weight off her shoulders. For the first time in weeks, she felt like she could breathe again.

"That was when she spied Axel and Bennie down the hall, one leading the other somewhat forcefully away. Neither of them noticed her, but she saw that they didn't look very happy.

'Oh, what now?!'

Back inside the room, Sandra slapped Tal's shoulder with the back of her hand.

"Is this the part where you boys tell me how you were both God's among men your first time?" She half-scolded. "I bet even Pixie needed a few tries before she learned the ropes. The boy'll be just fine. In fact, after a year with Amy, I bet he'll even be able to teach you stallions a thing or two!" She smiled at Tal "Not that I'm complaining, of course..."

She began to kiss her way down Tal's abs, pulling the sheet over her head.

"Take five Brock." The mound of linen where Sandra had just been said. "Unless you're man enough to want to try the cool kind of threesome for a change."

Tal leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Forget it, Brock's a pussy 'bout that sorta thing," he said with a hardy laugh. "He always whines when he crosses swords."

Brock stroked his chin and watched the mound wiggle around a bit. Sandra was pretty damn fine and he wouldn't be getting anything more out of the other two women tonight. "Fuck it, I'm drunk," he said as he got to his feet and whipped off his belt. "Make some room, ******."

"Better not be too drunk to keep up. This ride isn't stopping no matter how much you scream." Sandra warned from beneath the covers. She poked her head out Just to see what Brock looked like in the light when he'd stripped off. Nodding appreciatively, she lifted up the sheets so he could stop using his imagination. "Hurry up and get in here!"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"That was good." Erik stepped back, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "You've had more than one teacher."

Lilith's clothes had dried out a while ago and the two of them had grown antsy in each other's quiet company. She was too annoying to stay quiet for a while and apparently didn't care for Erik's taste in music. After some frustrating bickering they'd finally found something they could agree on as shared fun. But it was too early to drunk, so they went for another shared love, fighting. She had experience, this one. She had a strange little hybrid technique, not something self taught, more likely she'd been shown a good few different ways to brutalize things.

Lilith chuckled breathlessly. "How'd you tell?" The woman was down to her vest and jeans, nothing like a little sparring to get the blood flowing, it kept the cold at bay at least. "Pixie taught me for a long time, her style is very..." Lilith wavered her hand as she stuck her tongue in her cheek. "Aggressive, should we say?" She shook her hands by her sides loosely. "My other teacher was Bennie Carmine, although the style he taught me is different than the one he uses himself. Don't know if you've heard of him, huge man, a little smaller than you maybe? I dunno, I'd have to see you side by side." She giggled as she closed an eye, holding her fingers apart as she brought them to her other eye, focusing Erik in the space between them.

"That style is based more on staying loose and fluid, using your opponents strength against them." She shrugged her shoulders. "I kinda use a bit from both I guess."

"It's nice." Erik nodded appreciatively. He could admire a good style when he saw it after all. "This Bennie Carmine. Your big guy. He's a black guy? Is he Bennie of the Carmine family, 'Rocksteady'?" It was the job of major syndicate players to know about others of the same caliber. Besides, Mr Carmine had built himself a serious reputation, even after his fall.

"Yeah, that's him." The girl nodded proudly. "I've managed to lay a hand on him once." She chuckled. "The day I set off for Frostfall in fact."

"Only once?" Erik asked as he moved in, absentmindedly starting a fresh assualt. nothing too intense, just going through the motions as he warmed up and got a feel for her.

"So either he is a bad teacher. OR are you a bad learner?" he threw a few open palmed hits in there for flavor.

Lilith dodged several of the blows easily enough, the rest she brushed aside. "It's not as simple as that." the girl frowned. "Bennie knows how to fight Pixie, so it only makes sense that he can easily counter me, since I'm nowhere near as good as she is." Lilith hopped back, chuckling as she avoided another blow. "You're spry for an older gentleman, aren't ya?" Lilith winked. "Bennie always says I think too much." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what that means."

"Means you think too much, stupid!" Erik scoffed, backing off and pacing back and fourth a few steps, loosening himself up for Lilith's turn. "No one is untouchable, your Pixie and Bennie break same as anyone. but you're too busy fighting you in here..." He tapped at his temple. "To break them."

"See you say that!" The girl shook her head incredulously. "I still don't know what that means!" She stepped forward beginning a rhythmic assault as she threw several punched and kicks at the man. "How can I do anything if I don't think?" Stupid pseudo philosophical crap, making her feel dumb.

The old bandit grunted as he went about guarding and twisting against the attacks. She got herself stuck in a rythm and with it a pattern. Low, then high and high again and - open. Just a little one but it would fit the purpose. Erik jabbed out, pushing Lilith back with his palm ans stumbling her back.

"See that? I just decide to do that." He chirped cheekily. He wanted to try and explain it but between the language barrier and the nature of the conversation he knew his best bet was to try showing before telling.

"Pfft, I let you." Lilith lied as she looked out the corner of her eye. Maybe they were right, maybe she did think too much, but she still had no idea how one was supposed to simply 'stop' thinking. "I don't attack very well, I know that, I'm in my element when I'm defending, I dunno why, I just... am." She looked up at Erik, raising an eyebrow. "Does that make sense?"

He nodded along and gave a few mumbling noises of understanding. Patient hunter. Draw them in, trap themselves. All perfectly respectable, sure, sure.

"Doesn't help when you keep fighting me like a normal guy though."

"I know how to fight big guys." The girl pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Mostly." She mumbled.

"You need more than mostly. We have a lot of big guys here. I can teach you if you want." Smirked Erik, crossing his arms as he mimicked her.

"Really?" Lilith grinned before she caught herself. Quickly relaxing her posture, she put on an air of aloofness. "Sure, why not, got nothing else better to do anyway." She glanced up at Erik unconvincingly.

"Let's do it."

*A short training montage later*

Erik let out an undignified bark as he was brought down to one knee and quickly fighting to keep himself properly upright. Lilith was quickly there to catch him, pulling his arm back and a bad angle and leaving the back of his head vulnerable to a fresh strike. Her grapple was off and pretty rushed but damnit, the girl was good. Maybe even great. 'Well let's not go crazy now, don't want to swell her head too much.'

"Now she's getting it." He wrestled his arm free and Lilith quickly let him go. "And fast too." It was fun to have a skilled student again.

Helping Erik to his feet, Lilith brushed him down a little. "Was that okay?" She looked up at the man, a nervous look in her eyes. "I didn't get that good a grip." She chuckled. "You have such huge arms." it had felt like forever since she sparred with someone, even longer since anyone who wasn't Bennie or Pixie. It was good to get a different perspective. "Did you teach Florian how to fight?"

"I did." He nodded, panting a little. "Since he was little - a little wolf!" Aaaah it was funny all over again! "He had to learn like you, because he is tiny and think too much. So me and Vasa, we take him out into the ash, we bring some guys. And we beat the shit out of him until he cries." He just listed it off, like he was talking about what he got down at the store. "Had to do that until he stopped crying when he bled and wanting for his mother." He may as well have added an, 'Ugh, kids, am I right?'

"That's terrible..." Lilith sneered. "How could you do that to someone you love?" Maybe it hit a little too close to home for Lilith, but she didn't care. "Why would you do that? It doesn't teach anyone anything, it's just cruel."

"It was nothing to what other families would have done. It made him strong. Taught him a lot, about pain, and men, and world he lived in." Erik didn't rise to her contempt like he did at the bar, he'd had this talk with other before, with himself as well. he was more than calm about it now. "It was hard. But it worked. If I did not, he would be able to fight like he did and he would not have lived to be with you now." He looked at her a little more intensely there.

'Yeah, yeah I went there.' Pity he couldn't articulate properly, then it would have been a real burner.

"Kill your heart or kill what it loves. This is the choice we have to make."

"There's no way you can know that for sure." Lilith was unconvinced. "But whatever, I'm not gonna change your mind." She chuckled as she reached into her back pocket for a cigarette. "Kill your heart of kill what it loves." Lilith shook her head incredulously as she lit her cigarette, taking a deep drag. Putting on a thick Frostfall accent, Lilith puffed out her chest. "Emotions are for ze veak!"

"Some say." He said, shrugging. "I think they are for the strong. I was not strong enough to let him stay a child. In bandit life, no child can stay innocent. So much blood and hate. So much of it for him. So we make him cold, before they can hurt him... but I try to make him a man to be proud of." Erik went over to his jacket that was hung on the wall and fished around for his own cigarettes.

"Hey." Lilith cooed, stepping closer to the man as she offered her own pack of cigarettes. "You did a good job." She smiled as she looked up at him, her eyes glistening with affection just thinking about Florian. "Really, you did."

Jury was still out on that. But he tried, that was all Erik could keep to comfort himself on that note now. He'd never known how to treat children, let alone raise one - which he did - hell if anyone was going to argue that one on him. He just tried his best. Trying to help a young boy grow into a man, all at the same time trying to keep his distance, trying to remember that Florian was still another man's son. Still, he was the closest Erik would ever have to one.

"I haven't talked about this in a long time. You get him talking like this too? Learning all the secrets."

"I have a habit of making people want to pour their guts out." She nodded her head solemnly, a shy grin curling her lips. "I have no idea why." She chuckled as she handed Erik her lighter.

"I know why he tells you things." Erik took the lighter and lit up, taking a few puffs before noticing that Lilith was waiting for a reason. "Because of the tits!"

Lilith raised an eyebrow before looking down at her chest. "I think you're right." She tilted her head as she cupped herself. "They are pretty amazing." She gripped her cigarette between her teeth as she looked back up at Erik, a huge grin on her face.

 

[Dogmatic99]

The Dome's Edge - 53.

That was the only information Irena had given him for where they were supposed to meet. It had been nagging Florian since he set off as to why it sounded so familiar though. It was a hotel by the sounds of it, he must have been there before, that was the only reason he could think of. Or maybe he'd passed it a few times on a regular route way back when. Either way he had plenty of time to think about it as having to travel incognito meant that it took him twice as long to get anywhere. Then, when he finally got there, he saw the once impressive front.

Yeah, he'd been there before and it was a hotel alright. It was that hotel, the same one he'd been bound and bled in for a week or more. Why did it have to be here?

'Calm down. It's just a building, it's not like it can bite.'

It might have been better if it had. The dust had hardly shifted since the fight in the lobby and even the wind drifted through those abandoned halls with a mournful lethargy. If the place was dead before then now it was decaying.

So why couldn't he shake this feeling of dread? Florian seemed to creep through the each floor like some beaten stray, fearing a second helping. His head low, his shoulders hunched, his heart giving the odd skip. What made it even worse was that he knew it, he could feel it. Yet another hit to the pride he was supposed to have left behind. Maybe he just didn't learn.

A few floors up and he reached it. Just another crossroads of hallways, almost identical to all the others he'd passed on his way up to the fifth floor. Except this one was riddled with a liberal scattering of bullet holes all over the walls. 'Just keep going up, just pass it by.' Florian kept telling himself. He couldn't take his own advice though as he turned off course and further down the hall. He just had to see it, just to prove that he could, then he could leave it. Forget it all.

The room was just like everything else in this blasted building. Untouched. At least since they'd been there. The chairs were still up turned, the doors still flung open. Dried blood - his blood - caked the carpet. As Florian stepped through the doorway his skin crawled as the stale air coated him and he took in the foul smell it carried. The smell of him, of the remains of all the life that'd been cut away from him. Why was he doing this? It wouldn't accomplish anything, not that he could see. he was just torturing himself. Again.

Well he'd looked at the place. What now? That was when he heard something crunch under his foot. Just a piece of paper. Still, he picked it up, it looked like there was writing on it. It was when Florian uncrumpled it and actually read the contents that a fresh batch of unpleasant memories came rushing back.

'To think I almost forgot about this.' The first and only poem anyone had ever written him. Well he'd left his ill fitting collar behind just like she said. Though Severa hadn't held up her end and built him a throne yet. Not that he'd want one. What would Florian even do with a throne, physical or otherwise? he didn't have time to ponder though as a creaking in the ceiling caught his attention and the sound of someone coughing above him. Didn't sound like Irena either.

That would have been the other reason for why he was so on edge. This whole meeting reeked of a trap. Florian absentmindedly shoved the tattered poem in his coat pocket and grounded himself back in the present. There was no room for self made distractions.

'Time to stretch my legs then.'

 

[The Funslinger]

"Let's try not to have too much fun."

"Oh yes," Owain replied. "A bar with a whopping six drinks on the menu, and a refueling station with a broken Pacman game, I'm liable to die of excitement."

Looking around the small stretch of buildings, he said, "well, I suppose if there's somewhere around here with a decent long range transmission signal, I can send my dear aunt the equipment order for those mercenaries."

'Perhaps I can find out if Severa has woken up, as well,' he thought.

 

[Fappy]

They were close now. Pixie could practically taste the sweat trickling down their foreheards as they approached. The hunters were confident in their numbers, sure, but they had heard enough stories about this woman to know what she was capable of. Despite their advantage, they were terrified.

That wasn?t necessarily a good thing either. Fear implies wisdom and a wise foe was the deadliest you could hope to fight.

Ajax planted a hand on the counter next to hers and leaned over her shoulder. ?Well, how do you want this to go down?? he asked confidently.

Not yet...

?Me walkin? outta?a waffle shop with eleven dead bodies in my wake, I reckon,? Pixie replied with a shrug.

?I was afraid you?d say something like that,? Ajax sighed. ?Alright men, lets---? Before he could finish the front door swung open. All of his men turned to see who it was.

Pixie cocked an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder.

The plan was simple, just walk into the coffee shop, sit down, order a drink, scope out the joint and figure out how to approach Monroe.

Blinking a few times as he took in the scene before him, Asad quickly realised he'd have to adjust his plan. Without a second thought, he quickly counted 10 men, none of them friendly looking. And in the back, one lone, blonde woman.

"Gentlemen." Asad said friendly enough, nodding his head gently as he casually closed the door behind himself. Walking to the closest chair nearest the door, Asad sat down at a table. "People really do love the waffles here." He chuckled to himself as he glanced around the room.

Ajax put his hands on his hips and turned to face their univited guest. ?We?re closed for the day,? he told him. The rest of his men simply stared down Asad with their hands close to their weapons.

"Are you sure?" Asad titled his head, furrowing his brow as he glanced back at the door, the 'closed' sign very much facing the inside of the room. "But I came all the way across town." He turned back towards the thugs, looking past them as he locked eyes with the blonde woman. "I've been looking for this place for quite some time."

A Basilio agent? Maybe, but why would he come alone? He could have just as easily been working for Contessa also, but there was no way Pixie would figure that out before the shooting started.

At least it looked like he was willing to help her out. And even if he wasn?t, he?d given her the perfect opening.

Glancing up at Ajax, Pixie smirked.

Never turn yer back on me, idiot.

Spoiler: Shooting Up a Waffle House

Swiping her pistol off the counter in a flash, Pixie blew two holes through the back of his skull before anyone in the room even knew what was happening. All eyes turned to the blonde with the sunglasses as she lept from her stool and crashed into the mass of men between her and the door. ?Y?all wanted ta? party?! LET?S PARTY MOTHER FUCKERS!? she shrieked in joy.

Seeing what was about to happen before it did, Asad had used the distraction to whip out his handgun and put a bullet in three men who were currently not about to get their collective shit wrecked by Monroe. Contrasting the woman's recklessness, Asad was quiet and precise as he dispatched another man with a bullet between the eyes.

Pixie burst through the center of the group like an erupting volcano, leaving one dead from a point-blank gunshot wound to the chest and two more crippled by the knife she drew from her boot. The frenzied pirate ignored the two men writhing on the ground and made for one of the two left standing. While the other saw fit to tackle her friend to the ground, the man Pixie had her sights on had drawn his weapon and was firing wildly in hopes he?d at least slow her approach.

He did not.

Swaying to the left, she narrowly dodged two shots and brought her own weapon to bare. One shot and he was disarmed; two more shots and he was clutching his knees on the ground. She approached the crippled man, but before she could finish him off another had appeared behind her, catching her in a headlock. Apparently she hadn't cut deep enough.

Baring his teeth as he clenched his jaw, Asad's pistol was knocked from his hands. As the man tried to plunge a knife into Asad's face, the Major had firmly grasped the thugs wrists. "FUCK YOU!" The man spat at the soldier, the veins in his neck bulging from the exertion.

Asad's eyes bore into his attacker's as the fight already began to lean in his favour. Pushing away the knife a comfortable amount of distance from his face, Asad quickly slammed his fist into the side of the thug's face, shifting his weight to the side as he released the man's wrist and let the knife fall into the empty space his head used to occupy. Rolling to his feet, Asad swept up his stray gun and buried a single round into the back of the downed man's head. Before bring it to aim at the grappling man and woman.

"You two." Asad stated calmly, raising his head slightly. "How about we calm down?" The threat in his voice was clear as day.

Tugging at the man?s arm to keep it from squeezing her throat, Pixie glanced over at Asad in the corner of her eye and chuckled. ?F-f-finish the others,? she croaked. ?I?ve got this one.?

?You ain?t got shit *****!? the man countered. ?Imma---?

The man?s voice died in his throat when the back of Pixie?s head suddenly collided with his face, crushing his nose and sending him staggering backwards. Catching himself on the edge of the counter, he tried to push off to put some distance between them, but was too slow. Pixie was on him immediately. Disarmed due to the grapple, Pixie grabbed her coffee cup off the counter and bashed it over the man?s head, knocking him to the floor. ?EAT SHIT, *****!? she taunted as she kicked him sharply in the ribs several times.

She wouldn?t prolong his suffering, however. She wasn?t one to play with her food unless they had really deserved it. Lifting her boot up in the air, she stomped down hard, crushing the man?s windpipe. He didn't last much longer after that.

Narrowing his eyes as Monroe got control of her situation, Asad grunted as she glanced around the shop. Quickly marking out the wounded from the dead, the Major put a round in each of their brains, his look of stoicism unflinching as he turned to face the finished fight. He decided against holstering his weapon for the moment, this woman was too unpredictable.

With a hand on her hip, Pixie rested her elbow on the counter and bounced the toe of her boot against the bloody floor. A quick glance around the room told her the fun was over. Still unarmed, Pixie looked to Asad. Her sunglasses had fallen off during the excitement revealing her eyepatch now, but her blonde wig was still intact. ?Who the fuck ar? you?? she cut right to the chase.

"Ms. Monroe." Asad nodded his head slightly. "It appears we have a mutual interest." He holstered his weapon, patting the dust from his jacket. "My name is Asad Harel." A small smile curled his lips. "Lady Maribel sends her regards."

Did he jus? say ?Asad??!

Doing her best to hide her rage, Pixie faked a smile and went to gather her weapons off the floor. ?Lady Maribel?? she asked. ?How?s lil? Ms. Boomhower doin? these days??

Asad's expression softened slightly. "She's just been released from hospital." The man crossed his arms over his chest. "Basilio isn't a particularly pleasant person, as I'm sure you're very well aware." Asad looked at the woman.

He was expecting someone... taller.

Hospital?

After slipping her knife into her boot, Pixie held her pistol limp at her side. ?The fuck ar? you talkin? about?? she replied. ?Did somethin? happen to ?er??

Still regretting divulging that little tit bit of information to Tsubaki earlier that morning, there was no way Asad was going to go into details with this psycho. "She was stabbed." He said simply as he reached into his jacket, pulling out his cigarettes. "She's fine now, don't worry, making a full recovery." He plucked a cigarette from the pack with his lips before holding them out to Monroe. "Smoke?"

Dio, you fuckin? animal!

?Sure,? she whispered through her teeth. She approached him casually, her gun still at her side, and when he reached for his cigarettes she suddenly lashed out. Grabbing him by the collar, she pinned him against the wall forcefully and buried the barrel of her pistol under his jaw. ?Yer the same ?Asad? that captured Cranston, right?! Talk fast mother fucker! I?m still a bit twitchy from earlier!?

Her one good eye was burning with malice as it bore into his.

Staying his hand, Asad let Monroe do her thing, the unlit cigarette hanging loosely from his lips as he locked eyes with the woman, seemingly unphased. "She told me you might get a bit rough." The man chuckled, thinking for a moment as Monroe glared at him. "Yes, I am." He said, unapologetically. "Things change, however. Certain... issues have come to light." Slowly raising his hand, he flicked open his lighter and awkwardly ignited his smoke. "Now." He started, the cigarette mumbling his words as he blew smoke from a crack in his mouth. "I know why you're here, hell Basilio knows what's coming, it's not a very well kept secret apparently." The Major chuckled. "What he doesn't know, is that me and Elizabeth have our own plans."

Pixie searched his unafraid eyes incredulously. Her face softened, but her grip did not. ?And what plan would that be?? she asked in a slightly less bitter tone.

"You should know." Asad chuckled. "She hasn't stopped reading it." The man looked at the woman knowingly. "You really care about her, don't you?" His face softened.

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

"What's going on?" Bennie said as he took his seat across from Sprout. "Talk to me, kid." They were in the Captain's quarters now, and though he'd been in the room a thousand times, Sprout had never once been in the 'hot seat'. Pixie had always disciplined him differently than she had with the others. It was understandable considering their relationship.

The big man's sincerity was annoying for some reason. "Ain't nothin' goin' on, Bennie," he replied.

"Like hell there isn't."

"Okay, yeah, I fucked up," Sprout stammered. "I lost my shit on that Wilkes-Vines prick! What of it? You heard the shit he was slingin'. If you were in my place you'd 'ave done the same damn thin'!"

Bennie pursed his lips. "And I'd have been wrong," he said.

"Great."

Leaning back in his seat, Bennie crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. "What about Jesse?" he asked.

"What about 'im?"

"You two have been measuring your dicks since he came aboard," Bennie remarked. "Now I hear you're getting into drunken brawls with each other..."

Sprout cocked an eyebrow. "How'd you hear about that?"

"The whole ship could hear you two."

Sprout shrunk in his seat, blushing slightly. Eventually, he spoke up. "Jesse's a dick," he whined.

"Suck it up," Bennie offered. The flustered boy simply stared back at him in silence. "You're nearly a grown man now, Axel. You turn sixteen in what, two months? You really think this kind of shit is acceptable at your age?"

Sprout rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he replied. "I see bandits twice my age gettin' into this kinda shit all the time! Fuck, even Ma' gets caught up in petty bullshit sometimes. It's jus' the way we are."

Bennie shook his head. "No. We're better than that Sprout. You're better than that," he told the boy firmly.

"I grew up surrounded by that shit, Bennie!" Sprout countered. "I've seen it a hundred times! If I don' show them whose boss they're gonna walk all over me!"

"You can show the others what your worth through your accomplishments," Bennie explained. "No one cares if you can act tough, kid. At the end of the day, your ability to take down scores is all they'll care about. You think people fear your mother because she can act tough? No, they fear her resume more than anything else."

Sprout scowled. "This is bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"Shouldn' you 'ave Jesse in here too?" he pointed out. "Shouldn' you be disciplinin' the both of us?"

Bennie frowned. "I'm not 'disciplining' you right now, Sprout," he said. "I'm just trying to talk to you."

"Well maybe you should do some disciplinin'," Sprout scoffed. "I swear, if it was anyone else you'd be kickin' their head in right now."

"I'm not going to hit you, Sprout."

Gritting his teeth, Sprout got to his feet and stared his captain down. "And why the fuck not?!" he spat. "I'm outta line. I've been fuckin' yer shit up all day an' all you can think ta' do is sit me down an' lecture me?! If it were anyone else Ma' would 'ave beat the fuck outta them! Why are you goin' so fuckin' easy on me?!"

"She wouldn't have beat you though."

"That's because I'm her son!"

Bennie's expression softened. "Sprout, I--"

"Oh, I see what's goin' on here," Sprout interrupted him. There was a cruel, cynical grin on his flushed face. "Y-you think we... you think you can jus'... no. No, Bennie. That ain't fuckin' 'appening. You ain't Ma'. Yer my Captain, I accept that, but you sure as hell ain't my dad, so stop pretendin' you are!"

"Axel--"

"No, Bennie," Sprout interrupted again. "Either treat me like yer subordinate an' show me what's up or let me go. I ain't playin' this fuckin' game."

Clenching his jaw tight, the big man clutched his armrests and buried his heels into the iron paneled floor. "I'm not going to hit you, Sprout," he told the boy firmly.

Sprout's grin warped into a frown. "Great," he said before turning on his heel swiftly and retreating into the hallway.

As soon as the door closed behind the boy, Bennie turned to the filing cabinet beside him and dented it severely with his fist. "FUCK!" he shouted.

"Fuck..." he repeated softly, his voice wary.

That had not gone well.

 

[Dogmatic99]

["Shouldn't he be here by now?"]

["I dunno. Just keep an eye out, the boss' set everything up so we just need to sit tight- oh shit!"]

That conversation didn't last long as Florian rounded the corner, lower half of his face concealed by his scarf, and kicked that poor working, low level fellow right in the gut. Knocking all the wind out of him and crumpling the chatty bastard over. His friend on the other hand, he had some good reflexes on him and managed to leap backwards and compose himself just enough to reach for his own gun. He didn't dare risk firing it though as Florian, upon seeing the weapon get pulled on him, quickly grabbed their new gasping friend and used him as a shield and battering ram. Luckily he was the heavier of the two and the pair of bandits fell to the floor in a flailing pile. Giving Florian just enough time to stamp on the bottom boy's face and put him down for the count. A quick hit to the back of the other guy's head and he was ready to loot. No sense in letting them keep their shiny guns and radios.

After that the rest came pretty easily. His enemies were pretty spread out, having cast a wide net and mostly travelling in pairs. Not a bad plan all in all, but now he could listen in on them, making the hunt that little bit easier.

One thing was still bothering him though. How had they gotten Irena's pager? These weren't her people, they didn't operate like this and besides, she always made sure they met alone. And in more secure locations than this. Going by what they were carrying he'd say they were Sergei's people. That landed a feeling of dread into his stomach. How'd they get to her? She was always so careful, this had to be planned. So how much did they know?

He'd have to find that out later though, right now he had to get out of here before he got bogged down or they managed to call reinforcements. The radio chatter was getting weird now as they started to guess exactly why their friends weren't answering their radios. Now everyone was on edge and this whole hotel was turning into their little maze for cat and mouse. Well Florian was getting out of here, no way was he getting stuck in this place again!

["You still looking for her?"] A voice crackled over the radio at Florian's waist. He froze for a moment, he knew that voice, it was Sergei himself. Florian didn't answer him, he just measured his options. If he could get to him, take him out now, it could be a great hit for them. For the plan.

["Pretty sure you should have guessed by now but... she's not here."] Sergei was speaking so calmly, smugly enjoying himself. He always did like the sound of his own voice. ["Come on, you don't need baiting that badly."] Florian could practically hear his insufferable smirk. ["You get out of shit pretty well, I'll give you that, but if you don't just keep falling back into it."]

Florian wasn't falling now though. He was back on the hunt, letting Sergei gloat to his heart's content as he searched him out. These were only short range radios, he had to be close. ["Not in the mood for banter? Or are you one of her outside helpers? Some little piece of ass Irena brought in to help her backstab her way to the top."]

'Keep trying, shit face, the more you talk the easier it is for me to find you.' Then he could drag some painful information out of the torturer himself. However, looked like fate was not on Florian's side yet again as he crossed paths with a patrol that'd slipped by him.

["We got him! Fifth floor east!"] One of them screamed into his radio as the nearby area exploded into a frenzy.

Florian lunged for them, grabbing the barrel of one's rifle and pushing it off to the side but their friends were on the ball this time and were quick to pile in. With so many bodies crowding him, and more on the way, the most Florian could do was defend himself and stay close and loose on his feet. These guys weren't stupid, they wouldn't risk taking a shot if it went through their friends. At least he hoped. He had to get out of here, it was the only option now. He had to calm down, take control.

'Take a breath. Place of ash. Come on.

One went down after some quick body shots and his head getting elbowed into the wall. Done. Next one took a knee to the crotch and then a follow up to the face, not proud but it worked. Down. Another two were left, trying to grapple him as he heard shouting and footsteps. He had to hurry. If he twisted his body, shifted his weight, he could throw one of them off. He was big one but it kind of worked, sending hims stumbling. Good, some distance. Except the one that was left, he was recovering and trying to get his grip back. Poorly though, he could let it happen, focus on neutralizing him, he was wide open.

Except that he got a grip on the scarf! 'NO!' Florian sent the thug back with a swift kick and held his breath as he felt the scarf being dragged away from his face. His opponent turned to face him again and for a moment their expressions matched completely. He didn't know who this boy was, but by the look on his face he recognized Florian. Only one option.

["I'm sorry."] Florian said. And in a heartbeat his pistol was out, putting a bullet into the man's forehead. His whole head violently jerked back and a cloud of red burst out behind him. Then he just fell, like a sack of bricks.

The others were stirring and backup was rushing down the hallway, Sergei was near their head, rifle primed and ready to go. No need to hold back now. Florian fired a few shots in their direction as he turned and sprinted full pelt in the opposite direction, throwing himself around each turn until - bingo! A fire escape! With a total lack of grace and dignity he scrambled through the opening and rapidly climbed down the ladder just far enough to be sure he wouldn't break a leg when he dropped. Unceremoniously landing in a pile of week old garbage.
============================================================================

"-so I stole her wallet for train carbon and creeped out while she was asleep! Didn't even leave her anything to remember me by." Erik laughed. "And that was the last woman I was ever with." Ah the folly of youth.

He and Lilith had been chilling out since their combat training in his little exercise room, enjoying some of his eclectic music collection and sharing stories. Not the glory of battle or reputation forging kind. The bullshit kind. That was when Erik's phone went off and he had to drag himself up to answer it as quickly as possible. That thing's shrill ringing was just so annoying!

["Ablev residence, Erik speaking."]

["It's me."] Came Florian's crackling, out of breath, voice from the other side. ["They got to Irena. Sergei was there, I think I got made."]

Erik's expression went stone cold. Any perkiness that'd been in his voice before immediately faded away as his tone dropped to a terse whisper. ["What's your condition?"] He asked, not missing a beat. The boy must have lost them or he wouldn't have risked this call.

["I'm okay, nothing serious. I need to lie low though. I need you to-"]

["I'll find out what happened with Ren."] Erik finished for him. ["What about your girl?"]

There was a pause for a few seconds as Florian weighed his choices. ["Our rifle range. She'll know where I mean."]

["Done. Regroup come nightfall."] Erik stated, hanging up before Florian could respond.

He turned to Lilith who clearly knew that something was up. He quickly listed off the situation as he understood it, Florian could provide the details. To her credit she didn't stumble or ask too many questions. This wasn't her first shit storm either by the looks of it. The two of them quickly gathered themselves and a few minutes later Erik was ready to go, geared up and ready for business.

"Wait here a little while after I go. Keep us apart." He said to her before making for the front door. "Be safe." He nodded to her. Then he stepped out, taking long strides and looking like he aimed to bust a few heads.

Someone was going to answer for this.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

As soon as Erik had left, Lilith worryingly ran her hands through her hair as she began to pace around the apartment. Things had gone to shit quickly, and here she was chatting shit with Erik. Did Irena squeal? No, there's no way, they must have forced her to talk. 'Ffffuck, how did Sergei catch on to what we were doing?'

Now pacing in a small circle around the kitchen, Lilith smoked a couple of cigarettes before deciding it had been long enough since Erik had left. Grabbing her scarf from off the back of the sofa, she quickly wrapped it around her shoulders before pulling on her coat and leaving the apartment.


'I'll never get used to this cold.' The girl winced as the frigidness of the city bit her face. Hunkering into her coat, Lilith nestled her lower face deeper into her scarf, flicking up her collar before stuffing her hands into her pockets and briskly walking down the street towards the edge of town. 'Florian can take care of himself, there's no way he'd fall into a trap, not this easily.' Feeling queasy from worry and fighting the urge to break into run, she maintained a brisk pace.

'What if he doesn't show up? What if he never shows up?' Lilith almost whimpered as she pulled a cigarette from the pack with her teeth, shakily lighting it before taking a long drag. She was close now, and no sign of trouble, so either Florian managed to escape, or...

Quickening her pace, she finally made it to the abandoned building, glancing around her, she took one last drag of her cigarette before flicking it over her shoulder and entering the building, preparing herself for what she might see. Or not see.

"Oh thank god." Lilith whispered the words, her voice cracking as her eyes fell on Florian, looking a little worse for wear, but very much alive. Running across the room, she almost leapt on the man as she wrapped her arms around him. "I should have gone with you." She mumbled as she kissed him deeply for a few moments before managing to pull herself away, her arms still wrapped around him. "What the fuck happened? Where's Irena?"

 

[The Funslinger]

Whiskey wandered through the corridor, feeling distinctly put out. All the guilt she'd repressed for the past couple of months had come pouring back. But what could she do?

Well, she could go after Eddie. Run in, guns blazing, and try to save him. But it would mean abandoning Millie, and it was Millie she had done all of this for. It was a hopeless situation.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps and conversation. Hurriedly wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked up to see Sprout and Amy coming around the corner. She let them pass without a word, before heading up the way he'd come until she reached the door of the captain's quarters, and knocked.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Florian had been pacing around each floor of the old gunsmith. Anxiously checking every window for signs of suspicious hangers on and listening for any sign of scouts. Nothing yet. Though he might have preferred it, the silence seemed to drag everything out. Each little noise putting him right back on edge. A straight fight could have at least given him a real adrenaline burst and the chance to work of some steam. Of course then there would have been consequences, and he cared about those these days.

Eventually he heard movement downstairs, close enough to mean someone was coming inside. Florian crept down the stairs, gun at the ready. Only to practically deflate with relief the moment he saw it was Lilith.

"Oh thank god." Florian stumbled back a little as she wrapped her arms around him with a force and kissed him harder than he'd have thought her capable. "I should have gone with you."

"It's okay, I'm okay." Florian said softly, stroking a stray strand of hair from Lilith's face as did his best sooth her worries. Or maybe his own.

"What the fuck happened? Where's Irena?"

"I don't know." Which didn't do much for his state of mind. "There were a group of them waiting for me. Sergei was with them but I got swamped before I could get to him." Now for the worst part. "Lil, I think they saw my face. I can't be sure but... if they did. It changes everything."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Eavesdropping on other people's conversations hadn't exactly yielded great results for Amy so far. Nevertheless, she couldn't resist as she followed Axel and Bennie back to the Captain' quarters. What she heard was another uncomfortable reminder of just how much she'd been messing up lately. Sure, Axel had plenty of other reasons in his life to be angry before she even came into the picture, and she was at that age anyway. Still, she knew that she was partly responsible for this.

Luckily, she anticipated the end of the conversation enough to get well clear of the door before Axel barged through it, not even seeing her at first.

"Hey." She called out softly, as she leaned against the wall, her arms folded. "Walk with me a second."

"Oh!" Sprout blurted as he caught Amy in his periphery. He wouldn't have even noticed her had she not spoken up. "I-uh... d-did you hear all that?" Their eyes met for a short moment before he looked away sheepishly.

"More or less." she replied, her tone neither judging or affirming, before stepping forward and taking his hand. "Now are you coming or not?"

"Y-yeah, sure," he said. He squeezed her hand. "Sorry you had ta' hear all that..."

"Don't mention it." she said, smiling back at him, before leading him back towards the mess hall. This late, everyone had cleared out, and the thumping bass that had been playing before was now ticking over on the turntable. Leading Axel into the middle of the hall, she let go of him before striding up to the machine, and selecting a new record. This music was slower, and quieter.

Spoiler

"We didn't get a lot of time to dance before..." Amy told him from across the room "And, if you don't mind me saying so, you were kinda awful."

She made her way back to him, before putting her hands on his shoulders, and his on her waist, pulling them close. Slowly, they began to turn and sway in time to the music.

"So, what did Jesse say exactly?" she asked, looking up at him reassuringly. "I'm not going to chew you out. Bennie's better than me at that anyway. I'm asking for your side of the story."

Sprout wasn't sure what Amy's angle was exactly, but went along with it regardless. He was really bad at dancing. "I, uh... he said some shit 'bout you," Sprout eventually admitted. "I told 'im ta' shut up. He didn'. Then thin's kinda escalated from there..."

"That your definition of 'exactly'?" she asked rhetorically. "Let me guess... the word 'whore' was used?"

"Yeah," Sprout said, averting his gaze. "It wasn't really the word itself... I reckon it was the way he said it."

Amy exhaled deeply, resting her head against Axel's chest as they continued to dance.

"Not that I don't appreciate you standing up for my honour," she told him "but if you slug every guy that ever calls me a whore, you're gonna end up breaking both your hands. Look at us..." She reached up and stroked Axel's chin, bringing his gaze back onto her. "A whore and a bandit, and both of us killers in the bargain. I'm not ashamed of who you are, Ax. Are you ashamed of me?"

Dammit...

He'd fucked up. He'd known it since the start of the conversation.

Frowning, Sprout clutched her shoulders and shook his head. "Of course not, Amy!" he told her. "I-I'm sorry, I was bein' an' idiot. I didn' mean ta' make you feel that way..."

"Hey." she whispered, kissing him. "It's okay. I know."

She held him close, one hand stroking the back of his head.

"Jesse's might have earned a swollen jaw, but it's not our place to give him one, not yet." She told him. "He's out of his depth, trying to figure out which direction to take. If you want him, or any of the others for that matter, to fall in behind you, then the first thing you've got to do is show them all that you know where we're going, and that you've got their backs. I may not have made the greatest first impression with him myself, and I'll talk to him about that, in my own time. As for you, you've got to show him that he can trust you, before you start putting him in his place...

Now what about the rest of it?" she asked "Bennie didn't catch you outside Jesse's room, after all."

Sprout winced. "I was tryin' ta' forget that," he said with a sigh. "Brock an' Tal were talkin' shit. Nothin' new there. Not sure if it's even worth gettin' worked up over to be honest. It don' really mean nothin'."

"Axel..." Amy's tone was slightly sterner now. "You were ready to kick the door in. It obviously meant something to you."

"I dunno, it's jus'... it's complicated shit, ya' know?" Sprout stammered. "They were sayin' shit about you an' Ma'... an' me. I dunno, it ain't nothin', don' worry about it."

"And what were they saying, exactly?" Amy pressed him. "Come on Ax, I've had enough with people leaving important things unsaid. This is clearly and issue, and I want to resolve it."

Sprout sighed heavily and rested his forehead against Amy's collar. "They were talkin' shit about, you know... ar' unique circumstances," he said. "Said you were jus' into 'Monroes', though this one don' fuck as well as the other."

"I... I see." Amy said, before biting her lip and remaining silent for several seconds.

"This is my fault." she admitted eventually "When I first started, well... pursuing you, I didn't want to talk about Meredith, partly because I figured details of your mother's sex life probably wouldn't be a great turn-on for you." Amy chuckled awkwardly, before clearing her throat and continuing. "But you were owed a better explanation than the ones I gave you. I see that now."

She pulled away from him, holding their hands in the space between them.

"If I can be honest?" she began. "It's a learning curve, for everyone, and of course there's room for improvement; but Ax... You do realise, it's not particularly difficult for someone like me to get sex. I'm not here right now because I'm desperate and need a rebound. I'm here because I want to be.

Now, I'm not gonna lie. It was... good, with Meredith, but thinking about it now, in hindsight, I was looking for something that was never there. All my weaknesses were her strengths, and I wanted to be a part of the woman she was so badly, that I ignored the bits that didn't match, only hearing what I wanted to hear, until all the friction blew up in our faces. There was no intimacy there, not really. Any that I imagined at the time was just that, make-believe.

My point is, it's not an exact science. It's not simply a question of who knows how to do what, and how long they can keep it up for. You and me, we're more than good, we're right. When I'm with you, in those moments, everything falls into place, and I feel like I'm where I belong. Meredith never made me feel like that, no matter what we did."

Sprout jaw hung agape as he listened to Amy. He hadn't blushed so hard in all his life. She was truly too good for him. "I feel the same way, Amy," he said softly. "The whole thin' with Ma' bothered me at first... maybe it still does a little, but that don' matter. I won' let it matter. I know what I feel an' I'm pretty sure I know how you feel. That's what I'm gonna focus on." He grinned. "I love you, Amy."

Amy could help but blush and smile back, yet she also forced herself to avert her eyes.

"Love's a big word, and fragile." she told him. "I should have told you that this morning, I'm sorry. I'm just realising it now myself. There are gaps in my experience too.

I know what I want to say back, but I just..." she paused, struggling with her words "I don't know if it's the right time yet. Truth is, despite how we make each-other feel, there's still a lot you don't know about me, and I don't want to go off half-cocked and mess things up again. You don't know where I came from, the things that I've done, what I can offer you and what... what I can't. You should know all that, before you make any kind of commitment to me, because I don't think loving me is gonna be as easy as you think it is."

She pulled him into an embrace, her head buried once more in his chest, her arms around him. Breathing deeply, Amy took in the smell of him, and held him tighter.

"The next time we stop somewhere and get some downtime, we should go on an actual date." she suggested. "Maybe catch a movie? Go for ice-cream after? We might not ever be a normal couple exactly, but that doesn't mean we can't inject some normality wherever possible. I... I want to be with you Ax, and you make me want to be the best of myself. I just think that it's a good idea to keep declarations and grand gestures out of it for now, you understand?"

The scruffy boy blinked stupidly, unsure of how to react exactly. He really was no good at this sort of thing.

Stop thinkin' so much.

She liked that he was genuine... maybe honesty that's all that she needed from him right now. Holding her tight, Sprout nuzzled the top of her head and smiled. "That sounds nice," he whispered. "Don' reckon I know the first thin' 'bout datin', but movies an' icecream don' sound so hard." Taking her face in his hand, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Yer cute when you get all serious and sentimental."

His stupid smile was contagious.

Okay, now she really did have to blush.

"Oh, shut up." she said, her voice muffled coming out of his chest. "Guys don't normally want to talk about movies and ice-cream with me, okay."

She lifted her head up and kissed him, more passionately than she had before.

"Why don't we go back to your room and find out more about how 'cute' I am, huh?" she whispered in his ear.

Sprout perked up in more ways than one. "Lead the way!" he cheered.

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

"I can send my dear aunt the equipment order for those mercenaries."

The Gentleman looked at Owain silently for a moment, before turning and setting off in the other direction. He had his own arrangements to make.

From the observation platform of the control tower, far and away the tallest structure in the complex, a man with binoculars took a special interest in the movements of the men below, his mouth twitching which what looked like suppressed rage.

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

Sandra lay sprawled out in the middle of the bed, panting heavily and running her hands through her hair.

"Oh yeah." she said, a broad smile on her face. "That's how it's done. Go team!"

She put her arms out, bringing the boys in closer as they lay either side of her.

"Alright..." she told them "Brock, that was... intense. In a good way. Tal, you've got the stamina. Between the two of you, you make a half-decent lay."

She laughed, as much as she could given how out of breath she was. It was the first night since she boarded the Maiden where she hadn't gone to bed afraid.

"I think I'm just gonna slip into a sex coma now, if that's cool with everyone." she said.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"You really care about her, don't you?"

Pixie tightened her grip around Asad's collar and shoved him against the wall once more. "Fuck you!" she spat. "You don' know a god damn thin'!" Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

Asad chuckled as he took a long drag of his cigarette. "I know enough, Meredith." The man narrowed his eyes slightly. "I know you taught your kid well." A small smile curled his lips. "Manage to hit me in the shoulder with a shotgun, out the back of a moving van no less, impressive."

"Didn' teach 'im well enough if yer still breathin'!" Pixie growled. "Sure, you know some shit, but what the fuck does that mean? Why the fuck should I trust you, exactly?"

Asad raised his eyebrows, smirking slightly. "Elizabeth actually gave me something to say for just such an occassion, I have no idea what it means." he chuckled. "I was hoping you could shed some light on that, actually." He blew smoke from his nostrils. "She told me to tell you that she was jealous of Lilith."

Pixie searched his eyes for a moment, probing for the truth. Either he was a well informed liar or he was legit. She wasn't quite sure which, but pinning him against the wall clearly wasn't intimidating the man so she released him. Keeping her gun trained on him, she stepped back a few paces and sat down on the edge of one of the nearby tables. "What do you want?" she asked bluntly.

Adjusting his shirt collar, Asad thanked the woman with a nod before crossing his arms over his chest. "Well that's an interesting question." The man smiled wryly. "I don't want anything, but apparently I'm being dragged into something a lot bigger than me and I don't have much of a choice in the matter." Furrowing his brow, the Major took a deep drag of his cigarette. "Elizabeth wants to know that you're not going to do something stupid, Margaret is dead, Meredith, and throwing your life away for revenge isn't going to help anyone." He gave woman a look. "Yes, I know about Margaret, I know everything."

"Don' speak her name, mother fucker," she spat. "You don' get ta' talk about her to me, got that?"

Talking to Pixie was like navigating a minefield sometimes.

"Cut the wounded warrior bullshit, Monroe." The man's playful expression disappeared. "That girl has gone through hell the last few weeks, more than you know, so why don't you stop and think for a fucking second before shooting off your mouth." Asad locked his eyes with her's. "Your dead friend is going to be a topic of conversation, whether you like it or not, otherwise you wouldn't have given Elizabeth the diary."

Pixie pursed her lips and looked away from Asad. She sighed. "What's she plan ta' do?" she asked, her voice much softer now.

'Well that worked better than expected.' Apparently the woman wasn't as stubborn as he was led to believe. "Lombardi thinks Elizabeth and myself are on her side, that we see her as the girl's salvation, and that we would be indebted to her." A small smile curled his lips. "This is not going to be the case."

Pixie couldn't help but snicker quietly. "Cherry was a lot more devious than I ever thought," she remarked cryptically. "Kid's got guts, I'll give 'er that. I reckon y'all know my part in thin's?"

"Lombardi wasn't too forthcoming with her plans." Asad shrugged his shoulders before leaning against the wall. "I assume it has something to do with Basilio?"


"I'm the one whose s'posed ta' put a bullet between 'is eyes," she explained. "It's gonna be a two-man team: myself an' an infamous thief you may know named Carlos Santiago."

"The best thieves typically aren't infamous." Asad smirked. "But whatever, I doubt Lombardi would put an amateur on this." Why, of all people, would Lombardi put a woman like Monroe on assassin duty? Especially for a man she's clearly emotionally invested against, it didn't make any sense.

Pixie cocked an eyebrow. "You don' look convinced," he pointed out. "Spit it out."

Asad looked at the woman silently for a few moments, smoke crawling slowly from his nostrils. "No offence Monroe, but I'm not entirely sure why you're here, do you owe Lombardi a favour or something? Seems odd you'd be working with a snake like her, or is this an example of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?"

"It's extortion I s'pose you could say," she offered with a shrug. Her posture was far more relaxed now. "Though I'd normally jump at the chance ta' kill Dio, yer right to think I'd avoid gettin' into bed with Contessa. She's got my balls in a vice however, so I don' really got any options. Besides that... I've got other reasons fer takin' this job..."

"I thought as much, your kids just out of this city, can't say I wasn't surprised to find you had come here." Asad made his way over to a separate table across from Meredith, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray before taking a seat. 'Other reasons, huh? The Cook maybe?' Asad's expression hardened. He couldn't tell her, not that, not with everything riding on the line. 'Sorry kid, but this one's on you.'

"I actually really wanted some waffles..." Asad glanced around, his expression softening sadly.

The bloodied bandit laughed sadly. "Yeah, they were some damn fine waffles," she mused. "Too bad I had ta' put down that old fucker. Always liked him."

Asad crossed his arms on the table. "So, the Bandit Queen, Meredith Monroe likes waffles." Asad smirked. "I would have took you more for a pancake girl."

"I swing both ways," she said with a wink. After finally holstering her weapon, Pixie stretched her back and walked over to the counter to finish her meal amongst the mound of corpses. Thankfully no blood had got on her precious waffles. "So, what now?"

"Honestly?" Asad chuckled sardonically. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I thought it would take me a lot longer than this to find you." He looked at the woman from the corner of his eye. "Did you tell anyone you were here?"

"Nope," she said simply. "Reckon Contessa's people 'ave been keepin' tabs on me though. I spot their spies every now an' then. Been mostly keepin' to the safehouse. We've been trainin' non-stop fer the past week or so."

"I thought so." Asad nodded his head. "One of Lombardi's women told me where you were." He chuckled. "Someone named Bonnie. I don't think that's her real name somehow."

Pixie laughed. "It ain't," she confirmed. "She tried ta' get in my pants awhile ago. It didn' work."

"Seems like the type." The man mumbled. "You should probably get out of here soon, I doubt that little firefight went unnoticed." He casually looked the woman up and down.

"Yeah, reckon I should," she replied. She finished her meal promptly and located her sunglasses on the floor nearby. Once she was ready to depart, she looked to Asad. "So, yer gonna get Liz out of the tower, eh?"

"I will try." Asad nodded sagely. "But listen, this whole thing is going to be a complete clusterfuck, I'm prepared to shoot whoever I need to to get Elizabeth out of there, but it's gonna be a mess, I wouldn't stick around if I were you."

Resting her hand on the doorframe, Pixie looked at the soldier from over her shoulder. "There's someone else I need ta' get outta there before I'm done," she said with a shrug. "I'd 'ave skipped town already if not fer him."

'Shit'

Asad clenched his jaw. "Monroe..." He looked up at the woman. He was really not looking forward to having this conversation.

"Yes?"

Staring at her for a few moments, Asad's face softened slightly. "Good luck." He nodded his head sincerely. At the moment, this was a job for the woman, nothing more, last thing he needed to do was add another chaotic element to the mix.

"You too," she said without a hint of irony. "If you let Elizabeth die, I'll kill you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Asad smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Take care of yourself."

Pixie simply grunted in response as she slipped on her sunglasses. Then, she was gone.

As the door closed, casting its shadow over Asad once more, the man sat there in silence. He wasn't particularly pleased with keeping what he knew about Cranston from her, but his loyalty was to Elizabeth, first and foremost, he would not jeopardise her escape with a wildcard.

Tiredly, the man ran a hand through his hair as he leaned forward in his chair, a tired look in his eyes. Lighting up a cigarette, the man took a deep drag before pushing himself to his feet and quietly left the building without looking back.

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


"Lil, I think they saw my face. I can't be sure but... if they did. It changes everything."

"Shit." Lilith mumbled, reaching for Florian's hands and holding them between her own. "Do you think he'd tell Vasa?" She looked up at the man. "I mean, even if Sergei knows who you are, there's not much he can do with that info that wouldn't hurt him too, right?" Lilith bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "What do you need me to do?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Do you think he'd tell Vasa? I mean, even if Sergei knows who you are, there's not much he can do with that info that wouldn't hurt him too, right?"

"Right now, I don't know what we can do." Florian let go of Lilith, backing up just a little to nervously scratch at his neck. "I don't even know if they saw me yet. Or if that matters, if he has Irena he could already know" He couldn't know. No way would Sergei have missed the chance to rub that knowledge in his face and use it against him first chance he got. At least, that was his current theory. "He might tell him though. He could gain from this maybe, or risk not being the one to tell him or..." He was spinning himself round in circles. "I don't know." Florian stopped himself and spoke calmly.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Right now we need information. We can't risk going in blind." How they got that information was another matter though.

Lilith crossed her arms over her chest as she thought for a moment. "What if we take him out now? Are we in a position where we can do that? I mean come on, they couldn't even catch you in a trap, his men can't be that coordinated." Evidently the girl was itching for a fight.

It was tempting, Florian couldn't deny that. But it was easier said than done. For however much Florian may have looked down on him he couldn't deny that Sergei himself was no push over and his crews - though certainly lacking the same cold expertise of Irena or Erik's people - outnumbered them like crazy. Were they even prepared for something like that?

"If he dies then I can't be sure what'll happen to Irena." They must have had her, there was no other way.

Lilith pursed her lips sadly. "How did Sergei get his hands on her? I thought Renny was supposed to be the cautious one?" The girl pulled out her cigarettes, grabbing two with her teeth, she lit them both before offering one to Florian. "Where were her guys?"

"I don't know!" Florian growled, out of frustration more than anything. "I haven't heard from her since last night. And now who knows if that was even her." Florian absent-mindedly started to toy with his gun, placing his hand over the grip and honestly thinking about just bursting out and going on a hunt. "Shit!"

"Erik is looking into it, but we can't be certain that Renny hasn't told Sergei about him." Lilith furrowed her brow as she stepped towards Florian, cupping his cheek as she gently placed the cigarette between his lips. "As much as I'd love to go running in there, guns blazing, we don't know what we're dealing with right now, and at the moment, we're treading water." She smiled warmly as she dragged his eyes onto her's. "It'll be okay, he won't kill her, he'd be completely shooting himself in the foot, it would mean war, and I think he knows that everyone's eyes would turn to him almost instantly as soon as accusations started getting tossed around."

Killing her wasn't the worst he could do.

"You're right, I... I know." He took his hand off the gun and gently placed it over hers. There wasn't anything big they could do, not yet. Florian knew that, that was why Erik was doing his thing. It didn't help much though. He closed his eyes for a second and pressed Lilith's hand against his face more firmly. "We might be able to get in touch with some of Rena's people, try and find out what they know."

"That would be a start." Lilith nodded sagely, gently brushing her thumb underneath Florian's eye. "We're not done yet, not by a long shot." She raised her head slightly. "Look at me." There was a glint in her eye as a small smirk curled her lips.

He opened his eyes, plans mostly covered, and nodded at Lilith as Florian did his best to assure her he was fine.

'I should have been there. He took her and what was I doing? Acting like a horny teenager.' No, he had to stop doing this! Weighing himself down with angst wouldn't help Irena and it wouldn't get them out of this. He had to focus on the real problem.

"Okay. We need to gear up." He knew there was a reason he asked her to meet him at the gunsmith's. The gloves were coming off now!

"Now you're talkin' my language." The woman grinned.

Lilith was worried, of course she was worried, Florian was taking all this responsibility on his shoulders and convincing him to share the burden was a fight in itself, but she refused to let it show, he needed someone to tell him everything would be fine, for someone to believe in him, even if he didn't believe in himself.

"What's the plan?" She chirped as she pulled off her coat.

"Well my no killing people rule has officially... been killed? They'll be coming after me even harder now, they weren't already. Lucky for us, this means I have more options now... along with my ace in the whole." He looked to Lilith as he went about grabbing his own bag and rummaging for the set of keys for the small stockpile of weapons he kept hidden here. Just in case.

Lilith froze in the middle of removing her sweater, pulling it back down as she looked at the man. "You killed someone?" Her face softened as a sad sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry, Florian, really... that just... sucks." She looked down at the ground, grabbing her cigarette from an ashtray on the nearby table. "Do you... do you wanna talk about it?"

Lilith knew Florian wouldn't be able to keep blood off his hands forever, but that still didn't mean she wouldn't be there to comfort him when the time came.

Florian stood up for a moment. He hadn't really thought about it before now. He'd just acted and kept on acting. Compared to everything that was at stake the life of a single low level henchman, one he didn't even know the name of, didn't seem very important. Wasn't that the kind of thinking he wanted to get away from? Did he even have time to think on it? He had a friend to save.

"Sucks more for him." He almost shrugged. "I didn't-" He cut himself off again. "It had to be done." He said plainly. "I apologised to him and everything."

"I know you wouldn't have unless you needed too, but still, Florian..." She stepped towards him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Any time you want to talk about it, we'll talk about it, okay?" She smiled warmly. "And if your idea of talking about it is sitting around and not saying anything while we get drunk and fuck?" She shrugged her shoulders. "We can do that too." She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his before stepping away. "Okay?"

"O... okay?" Florian stuttered, kind of taken aback. This was not the reaction he was expecting. This time was obviously different to the duel out behind the warehouse, this was a sad necessity. Not the bloody indulgence it was before.

Damnit, this whole thing was still throwing him so much, this wasn't just him having been out of the romance and criminal game for a long time and getting back into the swing of things. This was having a loved one standing beside him as a comrade in arms. Just another thing he'd have to get used to. Later. Right now they had more pressing issues.

"Yeah, better than okay." He found himself smiling, despite what he'd been thinking. Right now he was just glad to have made it out of there, to be alive and seeing Lilith again. Every time she looked at him like this she made him feel as if he could do anything. And with her by his side, maybe he just would. "Come on, Lil. Time to go shopping for some real guns."


Lilith tapped the revolver by her side. "Shhh, don't listen to him, you are a real gun." Glancing up at Florian, the woman pouted. "*****."

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler: music

Bennie had already cracked open a bottle of bourbon and was in the midst of a liberal swig when the knock came to his door.

What now?

"Come in," he groaned in an exhausted tone.

Whiskey winced at the irritation in his voice, and opened the door. "Hey," she said. "Rough night?"


Thank god it was Whiskey. He wasn't sure if he could handle anyone else right now.

"You know it," he replied with a sad chuckle. "You don't look too happy yourself. Sit down. Drink." Putting the bottle on the table, he pushed it across to her side.


Catching the bottle as it skidded towards her, she knocked back a large swig. "Yeah," she replied. "It's uh... Millie..."

"Oh, what's up?"

"Well I'd call it a tantrum," she said, taking another hit from the bottle and sliding it back. "But she ain't exactly off base. It's ah... about her dad."

Bennie took the bottle and drank from it. "What about him?" he asked.

"She misses him," Whiskey replied. "She doesn't know what happened exactly, but she gets it more than I thought she did." She buried her head in her hands. "What I did was fuckin' evil, Bennie."

"You were protecting your daughter," he told her. "Can't say I wouldn't make the same call in your shoes. Hell, if it was between me and Sprout, Pixie'd screw me over without a second thought." The big man pursed his lips. "It was a decision you should have never had to make."

"You say that," Whiskey replied. "But I still feel like a sack of shit. I've just been sitting on my ass, dicking around with your new recruits while Eddie gets put through who knows what."

Bennie slid the bottle back over to her. "His sacrifice means your daughter's future," he pointed out. "Don't feel guilty for doing what you need to do. Had your positions been reversed I am sure he'd be doing the same thing you are."

Catching the bottle, Whiskey looked at it for a while before speaking. "I ain't so sure," she replied. "He'd have thought of something. He'd have saved us both." Taking a swig, she slammed the bottle down. "There was a part of me that was just... convinced that it wouldn't be him. He was supposed to be dead. I thought, 'oh, there's no way. It'll just be some schlock bounty hunter with the same hand. He ain't the only one in the world to get patched up like that.' But... there he was."

"You can't always have it both ways," Bennie remarked quietly. "There's always a sacrifice to be made. You've been in the game long enough to know that. I know that's not what you want to hear, but honestly Whiskey, there probably wasn't any other way... at least, no way that didn't involve risking Millie's life unnecessarily."

"Either way," she said. "I can't just sit on my ass." Pulling the tin from the pocket of her jeans, she started rolling a cigarette. "I know Payton's compound like the back of my hand. I have enough independent contacts to get some serious gear together without tipping him off. I have to help Eddie."

Bennie cocked an eyebrow. "You can't be serious," he said.

"And why the fuck not?" Whiskey asked. "Don't tell me you wouldn't be thinking the same if it were Pixie in there."

"Of course I would be, but 'doing' and 'thinking' are two completely different things," Bennie explained. "What about Millie? What if you failed? She'd be without both of her parents."

Whiskey opened her mouth to reply, but no speech came out. Her hands were trembling, and they weren't doing what she wanted. Letting the incomplete roll up spill back into the tin, she pushed it away and lay her head on her arms, saying nothing.

Bennie watched her in silence for awhile before taking another large swig from the bourbon. Reaching forward, he put his hand on hers. This was not the easy conversation he was hoping she would offer. "Hey," he whispered, "for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I can't tell you what to do, but if you choose to stay I'll do whatever I can to make yours and Millie's lives happy. Not sure how easily that'll be considering our line of work, but it's all I got."

Looking up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a smile. "I'll think about it," she said. "So what's eating you?"

"You don't want to hear about it," he said with a bitter chuckle. "It's just stupid bullshit compared to what you're dealing with."

"Which makes it lighter conversation by comparison," she pointed out. "Come on, help me out here. I wanna be the wise advisor for once."

Bennie leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "It's Sprout," he said, "he's... not taking to the current situation particularly well among other things..."

"Yeah, I heard," Whiskey said, taking another slug from the bottle. "What was that about, anyway, the fighting?"

"He's pissed off that I'm not treating him like a normal member of the crew... that I'm treating him like a son..."

"And he punched... somebody for that?" Whiskey asked. "If it was you, I reckon he'd have been limping when I passed him by, and there ain't a mark on you."

"Oh," Bennie blurted, suddenly realizing what she had meant. "That fight? I don't know, that was some dick swagger bullshit between him and Jesse. It's becoming a real problem. Anyway, I figured you overheard the yelling earlier. Guess it's good you didn't."

"Guess it all stems from the same shit in the end, huh?" she said. "You ever figure... he kinda has a point, though, about how you handle him?"

Bennie scratched his goatee and nodded. "Yeah, I was a fool to expect him to welcome me back in open arms after all this time," he admitted. "I was like a dad to him back then. It's been years though... for some reason I let myself believe we could pick up where we left off."

"Yeah, I get it," Whiskey replied. "And I see why you don't wanna dole out the corporal punishment. Kid grows up like this, you gotta do all you can to push 'em away from that line of thinking."

"That kind of discipline comes with the territory," Bennie said. "It's the way Pixie did things and it worked out pretty well... usually. I can't do that with Sprout though. Never, even if he isn't my son I couldn't do that to him. After what he's already been through, I can't imagine what kind of shit that'd dredge up for the kid."

Whiskey shrugged, looking more like her old self. Listening to other people's problems made her feel useful, and that was hella therapeutic.

"Why don't you let me handle Sprout?" she asked. "I have experience punishing kids. Believe it or not, Millie's been a handful on occasion."

Bennie laughed. "I can't imagine Millie as anything other than the perfect angel," he told her. "I'll trade you for Sprout."

Whiskey laughed. "Nah, I think I'd get tired of having my ass grabbed." She stuck her tongue out. "You can only fix broken fingers so many times."

Taking another crack at rolling her cigarette, she licked it, stuck it and lit it. "But seriously, I'll talk to him. Reckon if you shifted gears, he'd just see it like you trying to handle him by coming from another angle. But from the sounds of it, maybe you oughta talk to the other resident horndog. I don't doubt Sprout was provoked, y'know."

"Jesse could use a spanking or two," Bennie suggested with a shrug. "Thanks, Whiskey. It's been a rocky road so far, but I am glad I can count on you."

"Maybe you could give him a few pointers on fighting. Sprout looked way too fresh walking away from that one. We're gonna be putting the poncy little bastard out in the field, remember?"

Taking a drag on her cigarette, she imagined Bennie flinging Jesse around the room, and chuckled.

"I can't imagine what that little prick will fuck up when we put live rounds in his gun," Bennie joked. Shaking the bottle, the big man laughed. "Neither of us is nearly drunk enough yet. What do you say to blacking out tonight?"

Whiskey raised an eyebrow, and looked pointedly at Bennie's hands, their dark skin contrasting with the desk beneath.

"That ain't a euphemism, is it?" she joked.

"Only if you want it to be," Bennie replied with a wink.

They did indeed black out that night.

In the alcoholic sense, of course.

 

[Dogmatic99]

["And you're sure about this?"]

Vasa's eyes were half open as he held the head of his cane with both hands, leaning right back into the chair. He seemed so peaceful, but then, he usually did. seeming and being are different things though and he'd spent a good amount of effort growing a reputation that made sure to have people around him be more on edge the more serene he seemed. A tactic every family head and their dog had been using since the beginning of time but there was a reason it was popular. Though it had made the family meetings infuriating back when there was a need for such things, as everyone tried to out calm each other. It was insufferable. And one of the reasons he's enjoyed Erik's company for so long. The old brute tended to wear his passions on his sleeve, sure it made him easy as hell to read but his positive energy (when it was there) could rub off on you. And sometimes it was handy to have someone who'd just shout the house down and glower at a man until he regretted every life decision that had brought him there.

Something he was told Erik was doing right now.

["It looked just like him, sir."] The solider in front of him said again, eyes on the floor.

Looks could be deceiving of course and going by this story he didn't get a great look. But if he was right, if it was Florian.

'It's impossible. It couldn't be. I saw him burned.' And yet Vasa couldn't help but find himself hoping that this mad little chance could be true.

Irena's moves against the family with her shadowy enforcer, one of the iron maidens appearing in town and kicking up her own storm, the attacks from WV as they stepped up their offensive. All these things happening at once, could any of them be connected? This could have just been a coincidental resemblance. So many unanswered questions, he'd just have to ask them all.
=================================================================

Vasa found Erik in the lower levels of the tower. His hand was wrapped around someone's throat, naturally.

["You are going to tell me where she is or I am going to break you in ways that will make it impossible for even your own hand to offer you comfort come the long nights."] Erik snarled at his victim who'd feet were busily flailing above the ground as they squeaked and choked up something close to a response. ["That is not a language I am familiar with. How 'bout you rethink that answer before I start losing my patience!"]

Then his other hand found the bandit's arm and started twisting it in ways it probably wasn't supposed to go in.

["I'm actually on my way to see her now."] Vasa chimed in like a pleasant old soul as he walked by. He didn't need to ask who Erik was talking about. ["If you'd care to act like you're house trained for a moment maybe you'd like to join me?"]

Erik quickly dropped his catch in a heap and fell in line next to Vasa. ["What the hell is going on here, Vas? I have to hear from some shmuck with a chip on his shoulder that this is going on? And to Irena of all people?! Someone of her rank does not get hauled in like some punk, Vas! There is a proper way of doing things, if we have a problem we talk about it, that's the system at our level!"] He did his best not to loom over Vasa and failed.

["Not where treason's involved, Erik."] Vasa said plainly, not looking Erik's way.

That caught him off foot. ["Tr... treason?"] Erik's blood ran cold. ["What the hell are you talking about?"] And how much did he know?

["Come with me and let's find out."] Vasa ushered him on.

Once again the two of them made their way into the depths of the tower. Erik hadn't been here before. Just how big was this place? Eventually they made it to the floor they wanted. It wasn't even close to the bottom yet and still it felt like a cellar. The level had full electricity and still it felt like there was little light. Nothing good was happening here, Erik could feel it in the air. Vasa arrived at the right room without any need of a guide and pressed a button to open the doors. The two of them went on in silence. They went though a few more rooms and past some guards who held the door open for them.

And Erik's heart almost stopped.

The entered a white tiled room with drains in the floor, flecks of red were scattered nearby. Sergei was already there, standing nonchalantly off to the side as he puffed away at a cigarette, like it was just another day at the office. And for him it was. That wasn't what Erik cared about though. His eyes wouldn't leave Irena, huddled at the far end of the room, arms cuffed to the wall and left with little more than a blanket they'd thrown over her for Vasa's arrival. She was shivering, battered, bruised but only a little bloody. Sergei hadn't gotten the knives out in force yet, he was being more creative first.

Irena looked up at the two of them as they arrived. her eyes wild and desperate, her face blotched like mad. She let out a tiny whimper and seemed to back away, pressing herself against the wall more tightly. They could hear her breathing heavily from across the room as she tried manically to calm herself. Erik could only look on in horror until he composed himself.

'No... Renny, what have they done to you?'

Vasa gave a nod to Sergei and moved kneel at Irena's side with a grunt, his cane tapping against the floor as he went. He forced Irena to meet his eye as he looked her over, examining her flesh as casual as can be. "I don't know what to say." He said to her, his voice soft and sad. He reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "I expected so much more from you." He sounded disappointed more than anything.

Erik couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything had changed now. How could his plans for peace and reconciliation survive this? Maybe they shouldn't, maybe they shouldn't deserve to, he didn't care. Right now all he could think was that this would not stand!
===========================================================================
"Shhh, don't listen to him, you are a real gun. *****."

"She's too good a gun for you." Florian carried on. "but don't worry, I will save you from her." That last part was whispered. To the gun. He looked back to Lilith, smiling just a little. The world was going to hell around them but she could still manage to lift his spirits. Even if it was just enough to keep him going on, he knew she'd be there with him at the end. And that was an end he'd fight to see.

"Seriously though, we should at least help ourselves to the fancier stuff." He started, dropping the joker attitude for now. "We may need to split up for this job. The ones that were looking for me will still be licking their wounds but if they did see my face then I'll have to move a lot more carefully so soon. But they still don't know you. It'll be easier for you to get around on your own, Lil."

Florian shrugged off his coat and threw it over one of the counters. Then he went back to his bag and went rumaging until he found an old map of the dome and a pen a few minutes later. He and Lilith formed a plan together as they stocked up on ammunition and extra firearms. Florian marked out some places where Lilith could find some possible contacts and their info. Along with where and when they'd try to meet up when they were done.

"It's not much but it should help us through while we wait to hear from Erik." Florian nodded. It still didn't feel like enough though. Things were coming to a head now, that was plain to see and Florian did not like facing it while being caught off balance. Still, this could help them get the upper hand back. He hoped.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"It's not much but it should help us through while we wait to hear from Erik."

Tucking one pistol into the back of her jeans waistband, Lilith proceeded to tuck another into an ankle holster she had found before concealing it under her jeans leg. "I ain't carrying mags for all this shit." The woman chuckled as she got to her feet. "Soon as I run out of bullets, I'll just bludgeon 'em to death or something." She tapped the revolver by her hip. "My girl here has all the ammo she wants."

Walking over to the other side of the room, Lilith's rifle was propped against the wall. She had been keeping it there since their first training day instead of at Renny's, which probably worked out for the best in hindsight. Last thing she'd want is one of Sergei's men getting their mitts on it, ruining the loading bolt with their potato hands and smudging up her scope. Walking back over to the Florian, the girl made a curious noise as she felt something crunch underfoot. Looking down, she was standing next to Florian's jacket, raising her boot she discovered the source of the noise. A piece of paper. "Hmm?" Lilith tilted her head as she bent over to pick it up, unfolding what appeared to be a crumpled note.


'I can touch and see you,
I know that you are real,
I can taste and smell you,
I know you too, can feel,

Your heart beats fast,
In tandem with my own,
Two souls of a kind,
Oh, how close we have grown,

Underneath this facade,
Exists a man I can love,
The little poor priest,
Is but a loose-fitting glove,

I pledge to you now,
I will do what I must,
I will guide your heart thusly,
For that, I need your trust,

Open your heart to me, O' Father,
Don't leave me alone,
If you open yourself to me,
I'll build you a throne'

"Florian." Lilith mumbled as she looked up from the paper, a look of confusion furrowing her brow. "What's this?" What kind of note was this? Why would he keep something like this, and who the hell was it from? Was it a love letter? It was really fucking creepy for a love letter.

 

[Fappy]

Sprout had slept remarkably well the past few nights. His and Amy's 'adventures' had wound down significantly since the first night as the novelty of sex diminished. Besides that, with all the prep work they'd been doing for the score, neither of them had the energy at the end of the day to do anything other than collapse into each other's arms. He may not have been able to compete with his predecessor when it came to doing the deed, but she'd done a remarkable job teaching him to be a lover in other respects.

It made Sprout wonder if his mother had actively stamped out any reputation she may have had for her cuddling prowess. It didn't seem like something a feared bandit should be good at, really.

Meredith 'Pixie' Monroe, the most feared cuddler in the ashlands.

The boy couldn't help but grin at the thought.

His enthusiasm died quickly when he rolled over to find the a vacant space on the bed beside him. He had only been half awake when Amy got out of bed and got ready. She was likely on the bridge already.

Goddammit, it's so fuckin' early.

Looking out the viewing port by his bed, Sprout noted tragically that the sun hadn't even risen yet.

Forcing himself to wake up, he hopped out of bed, took a lightning fast shower and got dressed. With a black t-shirt underneath, Sprout threw on a button up grey shirt, buttoning it one button below the collar, and put on a brown duster Tallahassee had given him a few days prior. His revolver was holstered on his hip and he wore tattered jeans and red and white sneakers. After slinging his shotgun over his shoulder, he picked up his cap off the edge of the bed and walked over to the bathroom mirror.

He was looking older and older every day.

With a cocky grin he slipped the cap on backwards and started down the hall, towards the bridge.

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

The day had finally arrived. Though he didn't look it, Bennie was incredibly nervous. It had been a long time since he was in charge of an operation like this and he was hoping he hadn't over-planned it... if that was even possible.

Pixie'd be laughing at me right now. What was it she always said...?

'No matter how much you plan ain't everythin' ever gonna go down without'a hitch. Always expect the unexpected.'

It was early still, so he didn't expect everyone to be ready to report in just yet, but a little part of him was far too anxious to wait around any longer. Just then, Amy arrived on the bridge with two servings of bacon and eggs.

Thank God.

"Thanks Amy," Bennie said as he took one of the plates that was offered and began eating in it in the captain's chair. He checked his watch and grunted. "We'll give the others another half hour before I start barking over the intercom."

Amy had been far more agreeable since he'd told her the truth about Pixie. It was a good thing too, because it seemed like she was the only one that could rein in Sprout if he'd need it.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

While she didn't sow any outward sign of it, Amy was really beginning to dislike the bridge as a place to be. She had hoped that, after clearing the air with Bennie and letting go of her past with Pixie, she would be able to sleep easier. However, her nightmares set in this place had continued night after night, and more than once she had been forced to awkwardly deflect Axel's queries, after having jolted him awake in her panic.

Something still wasn't sitting right.

"Thanks Amy,"

"Your welcome." she replied, smiling at her captain, before taking a seat at one of the axillary consoles and tucking in to her own breakfast.

"Oh my God!" she moaned in delight, her mouth full of bacon and eggs "Why can't anything healthy ever taste this good?!"

"We'll give the others another half hour before I start barking over the intercom."

"Reckon they'll need it." she told him. "If I hadn't already been awake... no self-respecting creature should be woken at this hour."

As they continued eating, Amy keenly sensed what conversation they were going to end up having, and elected to be the one to start it.

"Axel was doing better yesterday." she began "I don't think the thing with Talahassee and Brock bothers him at all any more. Jesse... maybe needs a bit more time, but those two coming to blows was always going to happen sooner or later. At least it was sooner, and now we can make sure it doesn't happen again."

She swivelled round in her chair to fix him with a knowing stare.

"I know it can't be fun being the bad guy, but don't be too disheartened by it. Ax being mad at you just proves that he cares about what you think. He'll come around... eventually."

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Florian. What's this?"

Florian turned round from what he was doing, giving a little hum of curiosity. Then he saw it. 'Oh crap.'

He'd kept that didn't he? Why did he keep that? This was going to be awkward.

"That? Oh, that's, nothing." He waved it off. "Just something I picked up at the hotel, I must have forgotten to trash it." He stepped closer, trying to take the crumpled paper out of her hand and end the conversation right there.

"Really?" Lilith raised an eyebrow disapprovingly as she looked at the man. "You're gonna go with that?" Pulling the note from Florian's grasping fingers, the girl chuckled slightly as she read an excerpt. "Open your heart to me, O' Father." She read in overly dramatic tones. "Seems very specific for something you just 'picked up'." She air quoted, tilting her head before locking eyes with the man. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Well I did." Florian snapped, snatching the poem from Lilith's hand and tearing it in half and scrunching it up into a tight ball.

He shouldn't have let it get to him. Lil didn't know, it wasn't her fault. That didn't stop that little recital getting under his skin though. It was a stupid line anyway, in her position he wouldn't have taken it seriously either. But he wasn't in her position, he was the idiot who was foolish enough to get caught and have that piece of drek written for him. He had to push that aside though, he had work to do.

"Florian..." Lilith cooed teasingly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's no big deal, I'm not mad or anything, Jesus." She chuckled. As ridiculously curious as she was of where the note came from, she wasn't willing to upset Florian to know it.

"I know you're not." He growled. Why would she be mad? She had no right to be mad about this. He started absentmindedly scratching at the scars on his neck. It was starting to be a habit of his. 'She might be mad, if she found out.' God, he could handle a fallout like that right now, not with all their plans at stake.

Maybe he should tell her though? They'd just confessed their love for one another the previous day, if he meant it shouldn't he be honest with her? Even as a priest he'd always tell people it was good to talk about things. Not that he ever followed his own advice anyway. So Florian went about angrily gathering up guns more loudly than he needed to.

["Should have burned the whole fucking room down."] He muttered under his breath.

Had she made him angry? Lilith frowned, her eyes on Florian's back as he mumbled to himself over a pile of guns on the table. This wasn't fair, it's not like she went rummaging through his pockets or anything, and as far as reactions go, she thought her's was pretty casual.

"That's a woman's handwriting." She said matter of factly as she shrugged her shoulders. "It's not Renny's, so..." She pursed her lips slightly. "Another woman you used to see?" Did he think she'd overreact? Why would she overreact? People kept stuff from their ex's all the time.

"No! No I did not. I did not see her." 'If I never see her again it'll be too soon.' "I just found it and forgot to drop it because of course they try and ambush me in that hotel, so of course I-" He was rambling again. So once again Florian cut himself off and took a deep breath. That was starting to become a habit as well. Well he'd foolishly let the cat out of the bag now with his little temper tantrum. May as well bite the bullet and get this out of the way.

"She's the ***** that bled me." He said bitterly, turning to Lilith, hand still rubbing the deepest scar on his neck. "The day I got out she wrote me a poem." And he should have just left it.

"But why would she write you a poem?" Lilith shook her head incredulously. He never did talk about the torture after she asked him the other night. "I don't understand." She walked towards Florian, hands stuffed in her jeans pockets as she looked up at the man. 'Maybe this was why he didn't want to talk about it?' Just looking at him now, he resembled the man she had found when she first got into Frostfall, it's like he'd aged ten years in a matter of moments. "I'm sorry Florian, I didn't mean..." She averted her eyes sheepishly. "I'm sorry." She mumbled into her scarf.

"No... I'm sorry." Florian rubbed at the back of his neck as he cast his eyes downwards, feeling ashamed of the way he'd acted. As was his custom. "You couldn't know. I just- I'm not good at this, Lil." 'Please, be patient with me.' "I'm sorry." Not very good at it at all.

Lilith smiled meekly as she looked back up at Florian. "You're really scratching at that scar, you know." She moved closer to him, draping her arms over his shoulders before gently pulling down his offending hand and placing it on her hip. "Stop it." She pouted as she used her other hand to gently stroke her fingers where'd he been scratching.

Lilith had no idea what Florian had been through, she had grown intimately familiar with the physical damage, but the mental scars were far harder to discern. What he certainly didn't need right now was someone judging him for the ravings of a madwoman. "We don't have to talk about it." She gently rubbed her nose against his.

"I kissed her" Florian blurted out. He wasn't sure why. Guilt, maybe? This felt almost like the warehouse all over again. In a way it felt better, he'd let it go and its power over him had lessened. On the other hand, he now felt an overwhelming sense of dread. This was a bad idea. He had to explain, context would make it better.

"I went a little crazy, towards the end, and I'd lost a lot of blood and... and I kissed her and some things happened." Context was not making things better. "And then I smashed her in the face and ran away."

Lilith didn't pull away, instead she searched his face, his murky blue eyes. They were so full of shame, he couldn't even look at her. Biting her bottom lip, Lilith thought for a moment. She had no right to feel betrayed in any way, they were nothing more than friends at that point, he owed her no loyalty in that regard even if he did want to kiss this woman.

Although being a bit crazy made her feel a little better about the whole thing, she'd have to admit.

Narrowing her eyes, she moved her head to catch his gaze. "How hard?" She asked simply.

"Uummm, I think I broke something." Florian said, a little taken aback. "I'm not sure. Most of my blood was outside of my body at the time." Should he have mentioned thinking about during the- the deed? No, maybe not. It would have made him sound desperate. Granted, he was! But he didn't need to sound it.

A small smirk curled Lilith's lips as she nodded her head. "Then it's okay." She wrapped her arms around Florian in a close embrace, kissing his neck gently as she nuzzled him. "I love you, ya daft ****." She sighed as she continued to stroke the back of his neck.

"I love you too." Florian's head dropped into the crook of Lilith's shoulder for a moment as he let out a tired laugh. He took a second to recover himself. Not fully, that was a long way off but enough to keep going for another day. Something that became infinitely easier with her by his side.

He gathered a sudden burst of energy, pulling Lilith close and giving her an obnoxiously loud kiss on the cheek before stepping away and dusting himself off. "Come on! We have a friends to help, a city to save, my father to retire, gangsters to kill- and it's not even lunch time." It was time to go to work! Good thing he didn't have to do all this in one day.

"Time to be big damn heroes." Lilith puffed out her chest as smug smile curled her lips. "I feel sorry for these guys, I really do."