gunsforhire | The Ai, the Thief and Recovery

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The Ai, the Thief and Recovery

Who: Agent Washington (Native), Agent York (Native) and Sigma Ai
What: First meet, coffee and trickery
Where: The Green Fairy
When: Midday
Warnings: Tricks and lies and the possible exposure of both

York is well aware of his habit of being late for things, so he sets in his mind that he's meeting Sigma and Wash at ten to twelve and is rather pleased when he makes it there at five to. He's the first one there so he leans back against the wall and waits for his friend and boyfriend to show up.

This is going to be fun. Ever since Sigma agreed to the facade, he's been grinning every time he thinks about it. That's going to have to stop. If they're going to fool Wash, Sigma's not the only who's going to have to pretend. Fortunately, being caring and protective over him isn't going to be hard to do. It's keeping a straight face that will be the hard part, but he'll give it his best shot.

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Why did they always run?

It only made this a bigger mess for them. The wait for her DNA results brought her to pick up a last minute job for this morning that's quickly running into the afternoon. It should have been a simple exchange, her client having requested a bodyguard and insurance that a promised deal went through without trouble.

And yet the assholes were trying to take the goods and run. Even after being introduced to her. Things would have been easier on them if they hadn't taken to the streets. The idiots were running past the Green Fairy with her hot on their tail. She has her rifle out, but the problem with public streets are too many extra targets. Not that the brazen dumbasses are having that dilemma, but she wants a clean shot lest she endanger an entire crowd.

The opposing mercenaries dash to take cover, finally halting in their escape near the entrance to the cafe allowing her to do the same nearby.

"You're wasting both of our time," she calls out. Taunts are the fastest way to get them to peep out for a good shot. "Hurry up so I can get you in shallow graves before sun down."

One of the goons peers out and tests her cover with a spray from his auto rifle. A stupid move, one that alerts everyone inside to the conflict outside.

At the sound of gunfire, chaos erupts in the cafe. People scream and dive for cover even though none of the bullets break into the shop, the sound of breaking crockery ringing out as mugs, plates and glasses are dropped or knocked off tables. York doesn't think, he just grabs Sigma and pulls him down under the table, wrapping himself around him to try and shield him. Fuck! What now?!

Really? Now? They have to run into surprise merc bullshit now, when they're trying to keep it a secret from York's 'delicate flame,' who's hopefully not as delicate as York says he is. But at this point, it's more important to keep everyone safe than keep a secret. Wash pulls on his helmet and draws a pistol from the inside of his jacket. He's always prepared, he has to be, but he wishes he had something a little bigger.

Under no circumstances is Wash going to let those goons get inside the shop. It's too small, the people inside are too easy targets. Wash moves toward the airlock, but his head is turned towards York and Sigma when he says, "I'm gonna go outside, hold 'em off, get them the fuck out of here. You coming? Or are you staying with Sigma?" Wash doesn't wait for an answer. There's no time.

He's out of the airlock now, and he can't believe who he sees.

"Tex? The fuck are you doing here?"

She rolls her eyes at the sound of gunfire. Damn amateurs trying to make a mess out in public. A familiar voice draws her attention, but only for a moment. Wash isn't a threat.

"Working. What the hell does it look like? Make space so I have a clear shot," she orders.

Sigma wants to tell York that he's fine, but that wouldn't exactly be true. The sound of gunfire paralyzed him, and if not for York's quick thinking, he would probably still be sitting in his chair, possibly even in the line of fire. He isn't shaking, though, which is a step up from last time.

---

"Recovery's here too? See if you can grab a hostage!"

Getting the goods is no use if they can't get out alive, and if they can get hold of one of the cafe patrons, Recovery is usually pretty soft. He might even talk the Soldier into letting them go.

He has to get out there and help. But god dammit, this is not how he wanted Sigma to fine out about what his real job is. But he doesn't have much choice.

'Stay here and stay down,' he tells Sigma, grabbing his helmet. Just before he gets up, he grips Sigma tightly for a single moment. 'I'm sorry.'

Then he's up and running, fitting his helmet on as the airlock lets him on. Before he can grab his pistol, one of the goons tries to push past him to get into the cafe. Not happening. York grabs his arm as he runs past, twisting it behind him until he drops the gun. He kicks the man in the back of the leg, grabs his own pistol with the other hand and knocks him out by hitting him in the back of the head with it. The guy drops and York turns back to the main fight.

'They're trying to get into the shops,' he yells to the others. 'I'll keep them out.'

"You got it!"

Wash isn't sure who he's yelling to, nor does he care. York's joined the fight which is good, it'll be easier to keep those goons from getting into enclosed areas with lots of civilians if there's more people on Wash (and maybe Tex's, Wash still isn't sure what she's doing here) side.

Wash is in full-on Recovery mode now, taking in so many images and sounds quickly, and reacting even faster. He hears something about a hostage, and that's simply unacceptable. There's not gonna be any hostages, not today, especially when York's boyfriend has a chance of becoming one. Whichever asshole said that is going down first.

"Hey, asswipes! Sorry to let you know that you're not gonna be taking any hostages today. Instead, I think you'll be getting the fuck out of here? Doesn't that sound good?" Wash aims his gun at the closest goon and shoots him in the leg. Not enough to kill him--Wash won't kill if he can't help it--but enough to slow him down, and hopefully, more than enough to scare him.

Wash moves to the side, both to give Tex the room she wanted and also to get a better view of exactly how many people she brought with her. Too many. This should be interesting.

She rolls her eyes at the mention of hostages. Damn wimps if they feel like they need to hide behind unarmed civilians.

York's got the shops covered, so at least there's that and Wash is coming in hot. Extra eyes will help now that the assholes have decided to bring this out into the open. Wash serves as a perfect distraction for her to charge to new cover for a better angle. She fires in quick, controlled bursts at the thugs and pulls back before they can get their bearings and return fire. Unlike Wash, she's not shooting to wound. They forfeited that privilege when they chose to bring the fight out in the open.

"Take them out before they get someone killed in the cross fire," she barks in the general direction of Wash and York. It might not be their style, but she's not dragging unconscious bodies around the city.

There's so much York didn't tell him. He watches his b--York's retreating back and feels anger flaring in his chest. Why not say anything? Why, when it grew so increasingly obvious?

Why couldn't he know?

---

One of the thugs grabs the package and sprints into the alley beyond the cafe. Several people parked motorcycles there; she hopes the rest of the crew will distract the mercs long enough for her to jump a free ride.

"Nobody's getting killed, not if I can help it," Wash shouts back. He didn't sign up for this to become a killer, and he's not about to become one now. Not unless it's absolutely necessary, and Wash doesn't think it's necessary. Not yet. He'll deal with the unconscious bodies if he has to. Better that than taking lives. It may be a naive way to operate, but Wash doesn't care.

One thug is fleeing, and that catches Wash's eye. Looks like she's holding something. "Tex! I think your objective went that way." He cocks his head in the direction of the fleeing thug. He and York can hold the rest of these assholes--if Tex has a job to do, then she better go do it. "York and I got this, right, man?"

'I second that!' York yells as he knocks out another thug trying to get into the shop next door and shoots a third in the side. If things get any worse or if any of them start to make it past him, he might stop holding back if there's no way he can knock them out in time. His mind keeps going to Sigma and how their next conversation is going to be very awkward and possibly relationship threatening.

That thought almost costs him his pistol as one of the thugs jumps him and tries to grab it. He deliberately falls onto his back, crashing the goon between him and the side walk. While the creep is still stunned, York rolls off and knocks him unconscious. Asshole.

Getting up, he hears Wash's warning and looks up to see the target disappear into the alley. 'Yeah, we've got this,' he shouts, shooting a nearby goon in the leg. 'Go get the sucker!'

She doesn't need their prompting. Her eyes are on the package from the moment it's picked up. That's her target and it doesn't matter how she gets to it as long as she does. If the boys want to handle cleaning up the riffraff, they are free to. She'll be sure to double back when she finishes.

"Handle it then!" she calls out and she's running right down that alley after the merc. The woman isn't going to make it to a get-away bike, not unless she can outrun the bullets that are now heading towards her legs.

"You have something of mine."

The robber jumps behind a kiosk for cover, but not before a bullet pierces the back of her leg. Crying out in pain, she falls into cover, but not without dropping the package.

Wash hisses under his breath as York goes down, then gets up again. "Focus, York."

Wash moves closer into where the remaining thugs are crowded, trying to stop this batch before they get any closer to York. He's easier to hit from this position, but he can also finish off this group quicker and far more efficiently. This has gone on for too long.

He opens fire on the thugs again, and as expected, several more go down, faster this time. But it's getting harder to avoid the enemy fire; two bullets graze Wash's left shoulder and one nearly missed his head. That's gonna hurt later, when all the adrenaline's worn off.

Focus, right. Worry about Sigma later. He shoots another few times and then he's out of bullets. The next thug to get too close gets pistols whipped in the helmet. It doesn't take him down and York quickly engages in hand to hand, where it's clear the thug hasn't had much training. York takes him down quickly and knocks him out with a kick to the head.

'I'll take this,' he says, taking up the fallen merc's weapon and tuning it on the guy's companions. He swears when two bullets clip Wash and quickly takes out the aggressor. They can do this. The two of them can do this.

A bullet pings off his helmet and he ducks into the indent leading to an airlock, then peeks out and shoots at the asshole, one of the bullets catching her in the hip.

Tex kicks the weapon away from the mercenary on the ground before approaching the package to snatch it up. Her eyes never leave the other woman as she tucks her prize under her arm and keeps her gun trained on the fallen woman should she try anything.

Situation taken care of, she opens a comm channel with the other two. She hasn't heard anything alarming from them and they're still marked on her motion trackers, but better to check in than dash off and be labeled the villain.

"I need to get this package back to the client. Got things covered over there?"

The mercenaries scramble once they realize the package is gone. Inside the cafe, Sigma peeks toward the door, though not enough to see anyone.

"We're golden, Tex. You do what you need to do." Wash turns to face York, surveying the damage as he does so. That's a lot of cleanup to do.

"So. What are you gonna do about Sigma?"

'Yep, we're all good,' York agrees, watching the remaining thugs run. He doesn't go after them and neither does Wash. They've got enough to handle here without making things worse.

...Sigma.

York sighs heavily and wishes he didn't have his helmet on so he could run his hand through his hair.

'I... I'll need to talk to him.' This is likely going to go badly.

The gunshots have quieted. Sigma sits back on his haunches and listens, just to be sure. This is a mess enough already without him getting knifed again.

"Yeah. Hate to say it, but, uh, I think the jig is up." Wash gives York a little pat on the back. "Do you want me to come in there with you or do you wanna go at it alone?" He's going to apologize to Sigma anyway, even if York doesn't want him there right now, but he'll talk to Sigma with York if that's what his friend needs.

'Really? I was thinking I could pass this off as a flash mob.' He shakes his head and is silently grateful for Wash's reassuring pat. 'You can come in initially if you want, if only to help me tell everyone that it's safe to come out. But I'll need to talk to Sigma alone. Probably.'

York and his friend are coming back toward the airlock. Sigma gives an exasperated sigh. He should have slipped out while he had a chance. It would serve York right.

Instead, he gets to tell York exactly how much he knows.

Once inside the cafe, Wash gives Sigma a little nod of apology before addressing the rest of the customers.

"Sorry about that, guys. But it's all clear now. Anybody who's especially freaked out gets a cup of coffee on me."

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