She woke up to the smell of cigarettes.
Reaching around her, V let her hands drift for a bit, expecting to find a warm body nearby, only to feel the torn edges of the carpet under her. Swallowing hard as her vision cleared, she let her eyes dart around the small room until she found MacCready perched by the only entrance to it.
The cigarette dangled from his fingertips as he rested there, his shoulders set and his rifle close. His attention was focused on a fixed point beyond what she could see, the cigarette almost an afterthought, but he slowly raised it back to his lips as the seconds ticked by.
The minute he caught her staring at him, however, he quickly stubbed it out on the floorboards. "Boss. You're up early."
Her throat closed up, making her sound hoarse. "I can do that. Get up early. Function. Whatever."
The scent threatened to throw her off. It was a harmless thing, reminding her of mornings where she'd find Troy with the paper in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Having a small moment to himself before coming back to wake her-
She pressed a hand to her eyes as she tried like hell to slow her heart rate down. MacCready also didn't need to see the wild look she wore any more than he already had. She was grateful he didn't call her on it.
The old house they were holed up in had seen far better days. Boards were slapped up over select spaces, and there was a crack running through the roof that gave them all access to the sky, but it held. It wasn't the most fortified, but up on the second floor there were fewer entry points, and MacCready currently had a clear line on both of them. Just the stairs to the first floor, and the fire escape waiting outside of the blown out window across from them. The crude traps she'd set last night were their final defense, but she was glad to see hadn't come into play just yet.
"Anything off?" she asked. Other than me?
He shifted up the wall, scanning the window further down, and angled his head back towards her. "Heard voices about ten minutes back. Could've been traders on the move, Other than that, no rasps, roars, or growls, though, so…eh?"
"Eh?"
Her expression changed to mirror his, and he shrugged. "Eh. We're not dead or dying yet, so I think we can call it clear."
She sighed deeply. "It's going to be one of those days, isn't it?"
V sat up and immediately groped for her hat. The sleeping bag twisted around her as she dragged the none-too-gently used hat onto her head, and she kicked the bag away as soon once she was able to free herself from it. Folding her legs under her, she yawned, grateful that the muscles in her face no longer screamed whenever she tried such a maneuver, and pulled out her pistol to give it a once-over. It didn't take long. Just a few seconds to work the slides and get the dust off until she was able to settle down and clean it properly, and she slipped it into her holster while giving her rifle the same once-over.
"You said you were interested in factories, right? Heavy machinery, and all the junk that goes with it?"
She paused, suddenly very aware of MacCready's eyes on her, and nodded. "Something like that. Batteries, wiring, circuitry. I've got a few things back home that I'm looking to soup up. Why? Bored already?"
He opened his mouth to keep on going, but let out a short laugh first. "We've got bars and breweries galore around here too. Just in case you want some variety."
"Oh, my," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him. "Thought we were angling more for business than pleasure?"
"We take what hasn't already been picked over. It's going to be rough sailing no matter where we go. But even if we try those places, there's always something that slips through the cracks, and I know at least two guys that would kill to have a reliable ice box, fridge, whatever, for their stock. Steal a few cold ones on top of that, and they'll be willing to talk extra." He rubbed the back of his neck for a few seconds, and let his eyes slip shut. "Besides, if we're stuck doing this, we might as well find some way to turn it into a good time."
A part of her couldn't argue with that. The other, more responsible parts of her reminded her that caps weren't the only thing on the line here. That made her sober up quickly as she drew her Pip-Boy close. "What's closest to us?"
"All sorts of stuff. You throw a dart at the mini-map you've got on that thing, and chances are good you'll get a hit."
"Just gotta pick my poison, eh?" V clicked her tongue against her teeth as she tapped her nails along the edges of the large screen. "This is going to take a while."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," MacCready muttered, and got up to stretch his legs. "We're good here for another hour or two, but that doesn't mean we should use it."
She ticked another day off on their contract, and had to admit that so far the caps had been well-spent.
While she'd assumed that MacCready had been puffing himself up a bit during his pitch, he seemed set on living up to the rep put forward. Not only did he know the surrounding area like the back of his hand, it seemed like all she had to do was snap her fingers, and he'd make a potential problem disappear.
Raiders? Sure. The odd feral? No problem. Super mutants? Those worked on a case by case basis, since neither of them were particularly thrilled by the idea of crashing one of their nests, but he refused to drop his boast that he could ping a helmet off of one of them, and she wasn't about to push him to prove it.
The one time V actually did try to jokingly snap her fingers at him to get moving earned her a withering look, but within minutes he was in position and picking off targets as quick as she could point them out.
It hadn't been long, but she was starting to get a loose idea of how this particular merc operated. Enough of one to see that this short-term arrangement might actually keep on working if she decided to extend it. Not that she was going to cut him loose after heading back to home base, but that was where their established 'contract' was supposed to end, with his pay coming out of whatever they were able to dig up.
With her other companions already spoken for in terms of day-to-day commitments, an extra gun that seemed damn near willing to go anywhere at the drop of a hat – at least going by his pitch – was invaluable. Sanctuary would be the final test, but that was further down the line. For now, all he had to do was keep on, keeping on, even if his only orders for the day were to grab anything that wasn't nailed down.
Today's orders were shaping up to be similar. Minus one potentially large issue that needed cracking.
Haymarket Mall. The so-called place to be for any happening Bostonian back in the day, it was now one promising place to hole up for a bunch of enterprising raiders. Large barriers made of metal and garbage kept the front of the place obscured, and she shuffled in place anxiously while MacCready climbed to a higher point to check it out.
"You sure about this?" He held up his binoculars, and frowned the longer he stared through them. "The mall's a good spot, but we could always drop by the Bugle."
"Nope. I've got a friend that would skin me alive if I tried heading there without her." And will likely do that on principle once we meet up again, so… "So, we're going with that."
"That."
"Yep. It'll probably be a mess, but we can weave our way through that no problem, right? Lack of avid shoppers, notwithstanding?"
He lowered the binoculars and hopped down from the now-empty guard post. "I'm starting to think we've got two very different ways of looking at the same problem, boss."
"Is that a no?"
"No, it's…" His fingers tapped away at the stock of his rifle, as he looked over at the walls keeping them hidden, and let out a breath. "Definitely doable. Just a lot more excitement than I thought we'd have today. We're talking five or six Gunners floating around outside, at least one turret, and there's no telling how many others are in there."
"Probably wouldn't be great to wait for nightfall, eh?"
He gave his watch a once-over and shook his head. "No, they'll have the spotlights up by then. How do you want to do this?"
"Carefully. Very carefully." She gestured towards his binoculars. "Do you mind if I…?" He slowly handed them over, and she hoisted herself up to the same position he'd taken a few minutes ago.
MacCready hadn't undersold it. From her spot, crouched low, she could make out three people in twisted, metal armor pacing around the area. The turret up above them swept the grounds for any movement, and if they were half as organized as they seemed to be, their defenses would hold up inside.
Chewing on her lip hard, she made sure to be careful with the binoculars as she jumped back down, and promptly handed them back. "Okay, so…definitely still going with the careful angle."
"No kidding," MacCready replied. "Unless you've got a rocket launcher stashed around here that I don't know about, starting things off with a bang's out."
"You're a decent climber, right?"
He gave her a curious look, but didn't shake his head. "I'm not allergic to it, but I'd cross scaling ludicrously high objects off of the list of things I'm okay with."
"It wouldn't be that damn high, but fine. Scratch that." Another idea hit, one that didn't put either of them in as perilous a spot. "I need a rock."
"And?" he asked, now wary.
"You need to head to the other side of this encampment. With your rifle raised and ready to fire at a second's notice."
"Okay… Why?"
"Because," V said, picking up a choice rock, "plan B involves me chucking these at people, and for every person that comes calling, you're going to punch their ticket. Sound good?"
"That's careful?"
Her sheepish grin was not in the least bit reassuring, and she knew it. "Uh, no. Not really."
"Jesus," MacCready breathed, "it is busted." Swiping a hand across his forehead, he tugged on the brim of his hat to readjust it and faced her directly. "All right, level with me, boss. Is that how you want to play it? Distract, divide, and so on?"
"Yeah. I tag 'em, you bag 'em. Pretty cut and dry, at least until the shit starts hitting the fan. If that happens, dive for the nearest cover and pray I haven't gone for the grenades."
"I'll give you a whole unabridged version of a Hail Mary if we manage to pull this off."
She barely stifled a snort. "Hey, we're talking worst case scenario here. I wouldn't suggest any of this if I didn't think we could pull it off. So, what do you say, ace? Ready to show me more of your moves?"
It took a moment, but the smirk he gave her was nothing but sure. "Aren't I always? Just waiting on you to return the favor, boss."
"In due time, in due time." V winked at him, and crouched down to grab a few more rocks. "Can't just rush a girl, you know."
The first guy they targeted she ended up smacking right in the nose. Mouthing 'two points' to herself, she crept back into her hiding place as the others started, and then burst into laughter. Pride demanded he go check things out, so he did. MacCready's bullet found him shortly after. The shot rang through the air, and the entire mood of the camp shifted.
The next person she managed to tag on the shoulder. Two went this time – both of them armed – and she hoped the line of nervous jargon running through her head wasn't escaping her as she worked to lure them away. Mac's bullet found one, and her switchblade found the other.
"Who's there?"
Pressing her back against the wall of scrap, V stashed the blade after wiping it off, and tried to keep her breathing steady. Three of them were gone. Of course they were on edge now.
MacCready poked his head out from his position on the opposite side, and made a few hand motions before ducking back into cover. She recognized most of what he relayed; keep quiet, and hold position, but the one after that wasn't clear. Leaning forward, she tried to see where the ragged tail of his duster disappeared to only to throw herself back into hiding just as fast.
The raider came out of the corner of her vision, shotgun raised, only to drop a fraction of a second later. Moving around the barrier, she raised her head only to drop back into the place as the turret whirred into motion. Yelling was coming from all sides now, and she hurriedly dug through the pouches at her side. The throw was sloppy, sending the grenade in an arc that she couldn't watch for as she dove for the next barrier.
The explosion that followed she was pleased with. The furious woman waiting on the other side, not so much.
Metal whistled through the air as the woman swiped at her, bringing her tire iron down as she snarled. Moving to the right of her, V shoulder-checked her into the brick wall, scrambling to keep her feet from skidding back. She ducked fast, dodging the tire iron by the skin of her teeth, and shot back up. Her knee came up once, then twice into the woman's midsection, but she didn't fall to the ground until V brought her 10 mm down onto the back of the Gunner's skull. The two shots that followed the blow were a guarantee that she'd stay there.
A loud whistle made V whip around, her finger still on the trigger, and MacCready quickly raised his hands. "Whoa, hey!"
"Fucking A," she said, angling her gun away from him, "you can't just pop out like that! I was that close to firing on you!"
He didn't look any worse for wear, but the wide-eyed 'Jesus, she might actually fucking shoot me' look lingered a beat longer than she hoped it would. "…I was going to let you know that we've wrecked a whole lot of people's days, but yeah. Trigger discipline, boss. You do not want to fumble that."
When he was well out of the way of her crosshairs, he dropped his hands and walked over to the woman she'd dropped. He pulled the camouflage bandana off of her, and eyed it with disgust before tossing it aside.
V found her attention drawn to the bold B+ tattooed on her forehead, but MacCready didn't even give it a second glance. What he seemed to be focused on was the sawed-off shotgun by her side.
"Gunners, right?"
He craned his head her way until he noticed her eyes on him. "Yeah."
"Don't think I've seen one up close like this yet."
"Well, they're ugly at any distance, so keep clear if you can. Or just keep your gun ready. Both'll work wonders. Anyway, that was only round one. Ready for round two?" he asked, lifting the weapon up to give it a better look.
"Give me a sec. Just gotta check to see that any and all bleeding's being kept to a minimum." Her hands went to her gear, checking for the essentials, and rapped her knuckles against the metal plate of her chest piece. Still solid. Still strong. Good. "How're you holding up? Any questions, comments, or complaints?"
"Your follow-through's in need of some serious polish, boss. Might want to add some oomph to your throws next time." The corners of his mouth twitched up, but when she turned on her heel to face him fully, he snickered. "Hey, you asked."
"Yes. Yes, I did," she groused.
Unloading the last couple of shells from the shotgun, he popped them into the pouch on his thigh, and went back to searching the Gunner. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…"
V's eyes widened as he withdrew the walkie-talkie, and dropped her hands from her hips. Static went off, followed by voices. It wasn't clear, but he fiddled with it for a few seconds, and she moved closer to join him.
"Hello?"
MacCready climbed to his feet, and the two of them listened for another sound.
"Dammit, anyone below that has an idea of how to operate these damn things needs to get up here. Now! They're just-" A crash came through, followed by more swearing. "Just come on up. Before Rian gets it in his head to find another solution."
"Huh. This could work out well for us." V rubbed her chin, and waited for another call.
It came through, the signal breaking up along the way, but after the repeated call for help, MacCready switched it off. "If they're all upstairs messing around with whatever equipment's gone off, yeah. Still want to play this carefully?"
She pursed her lips. "Mostly."
"Then how about we follow my lead this time around?" He readied his rifle, and started walking backwards towards the doors, all the while keeping his eyes on her. "Simple in and out to clear out the rest, just to show you how it's done."
"Oh?" She didn't let him get too far ahead of her, and stayed behind just enough to see eye-to-eye with him. "You've got some lessons to impart?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
"Or are you gunning for a bonus?"
That left a glint in his eye. "Depends on what you might be talking, boss. I mean, I'm always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, but if you want to make it worth my while..."
She pushed at his shoulder. "Keep walking, pal. One thing at the time."
The first thing that hit V was the light. Warm and bright, the small bonfire lit up the room and threatened to blind her if she stared at it any longer.
Creaking the doors open slowly, they crossed the open room, favoring the right side - MacCready in front, with her bringing up the rear. Judging from her quick sweep, it was empty, or at least seemed to be until she spotted someone in the room ahead of them. Their back was turned, and she mentally crossed her fingers that it would stay that way.
The only way up appeared to be the staircase in the center, and from where they were standing they couldn't see a single soul on the upper level.
MacCready held up a finger to his lips, and flicked his eyebrows up at her before moving forward. Crossing the distance in no-time flat, she watched him slip into the small room, and didn't waste a second before slamming the butt of his rifle into the helmet of the raider. They went down with a muffled yell, but he got to them before they could shout again.
He looked her way, and motioned for a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Shrugging slightly, she gave him part of a thumbs up. The flat look she received in response had her shrugging back at him, but when the soft thud of footfalls started echoing overhead, both immediately went for their weapons.
Taking the lead this time, V kept her rifle up as she moved towards the stairs. The fire by the foot of them roared, and she tried not to let it play tricks on her eyes.
"Hey, Jonesy! Seems like they're still fucking around on the third floor."
The footsteps came closer and V waited for the first hint of motion, her finger itching to pull the trigger.
"Jones?"
The first shot was a hair higher than she hoped, but the second hit the raider right between the eyes. Exhaling slowly through her nose, V held her position until she saw MacCready's signal – a blasé half-thumbs up – and moved further up the staircase.
Motioning to take one while she covered the other, she moved through the upper level in record time, giving each room a quick sweep for any stragglers until they found themselves parked in front of the elevator again.
Once it was deemed clear, the two grabbed any and all discarded weapons and meds they could find and stashed them in the backpack V carried with her. It wouldn't go upstairs with them, but on the way out they could simply grab it and run.
She had her eye on the batteries hooked up to the nearby spotlights, but put off her efforts to disconnect them in favor of waiting by the elevator. It wasn't a job she could rush, and with her adrenaline running high, her odds of getting a nasty jolt were way too high to risk.
When MacCready joined her, he had another discarded walkie-talkie in hand. It crackled as they sat there listening to it, but when no more warnings came, he shut it off.
"Anything?"
"Nope," he said, punching the call button to summon the elevator. "Nothing but static."
"So, we've got a fifty-fifty shot here. Either the rest of the crew's fucking around with the tech upstairs, or the tech's flipped it and started fucking with them. Lovely odds to walk into." The doors slid open, and he swept a hand towards them. "And you'll let me go in first? Why, MacCready, you shouldn't have."
"You say that like I won't have your back the entire time, boss. Ladies first."
They walked in, standing side-by-side, and V shook her head before pressing the button for the second floor. Crouching down, she switched to her pistol and counted down the seconds until the elevator opened.
One, one-thousand. Two, one-thousand. Three, one-thousand. Four, one-thousand…
Ding.
V swallowed the growing lump in her throat and pressed herself against the side of the elevator.
It opened up into a dark room, leaving the two squinting to spot anything. But the minute V started sneaking ahead to gauge what was waiting, she came to a dead stop.
"Stop fucking with it!"
Her hair stood on end, but no one burst through the closed door ahead. Glancing back towards MacCready, she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned that he seemed just as on edge as she was. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he kept a tight grip on his rifle, and he took a few careful steps forward until he came up beside her.
"You're the one that wanted it on! Doing anything and everything to jigger with it until I was able to finally unlock and activate it."
"Because now we're stuck with a robot that doesn't even fucking work!"
"Well, shit," V muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
If they got the Protectron to obey them – and she was pretty certain that was what they were messing with – that would give them some serious firepower as back up.
"This workspace has been deemed unsafe," the electronic voice droned. "All workers should be wearing their designated safety equipment. Correct the violation in question, or measures will be taken."
"Respond! Respond, you piece of shit! Dammit, I thought you fixed it!"
"I did!" another voice replied. "Don't blame me for this two-ton hunk of junk blowing a gasket! Probably needs a good smack to get it running right."
"Oh, man." MacCready chuckled nervously as the voices kept on rising in volume. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Don't. Get away from the damn thing."
"You are in violation of the proper safety measures. All workers should be wearing their designated safety equipment. "Correct the violation in question, or measures will be-"
"Let me just-"
A shot went off, and the entire room erupted into a hail of noise.
They ran for the elevator, ready to close the doors and go, but whatever hell was being unleashed on the other side of that door stayed contained. Or did as much as the rotting wood allowed. Bullets ricocheted, making both of them flinch when more than one came dangerously close to the elevator itself, but just as suddenly as it started, the noises came to a complete stop.
She drew in a shuddering breath, and clapped a hand over her mouth.
The faint sound of heavy steps could be heard. There was a delay between them, but they seemed to be moving further away.
"Protect and…serve. Pro-tect…and serve."
"Great," MacCready muttered. "Of all the things to miraculously make it, it would be that effing thing."
"It sounds pretty fucking damaged, though." V kept her eyes wide as she continued adjusting to the low light, and steeled herself. "…I think I can work with that."
She left the elevator and moved right up to the door. Pressing her ear against it, she couldn't hear much beyond it, and backed away far enough to slowly turn the doorknob. The long creak made her screw her eyes shut in frustration, but once it was open she forced her rifle up and slipped inside.
The Protectron couldn't be seen from her spot by the door. This was both a blessing and a curse, because for all she knew, it could see her perfectly. Directly in front of her, however, was a path up to the next floor. The ceiling had caved in, the tiles forming a solid enough platform that could hold her, and she gave it a try.
She reached the upper level without a problem, looking back to see where MacCready was. He lingered by the door, his eyebrows raised, but didn't move to join her.
Crouching low, she peered through the gap between the floors.
"…And serve. P-protect and…"
Sparks lit up in the distance, and she quickly gestured for him to stay in place. He pointed to his right, making another sign after that that she couldn't recognize, and she made an 'X' in the air with her hands. Do not pass 'Go'. Do not collect two-hundred dollars.
MacCready readied his rifle, and sidled up to the corner to take aim, steadying his arms on the remains of a nearby desk.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Good. From that spot, he'd be able to draw a decent bead on it if it decided to swing back this way. That still didn't eliminate it as a potential problem, however.
But if she could plant a mine and lure it this way…
The idea clicked, and she started sifting through her pouches again. She only had two mines on her, both of them frag, but they'd get the job done.
Creeping down the pathway, she held up the mine when MacCready looked her way and she jerked her head in the direction of the Protectron. He seemed far from pleased, but gave her a tight nod as he returned to his position.
The ruined desks were the only source of cover she could work with, and made sure to keep every part of her – hat included – below that point. That left her close to crawling across the floor, and she moved at a snail's pace until she could peek around the corner. The footsteps on the other side of the room remained slow and heavy, but she couldn't see a damn thing from there.
Fuck it. This'll have to do. She set the mine, and tested the arc of the throw. Just imagine it's a Frisbee. A very dense Frisbee. Same principle, different weight.
After one more try, she let it fly. It hit the ground with an ungraceful flop.
V slapped her forehead, and nearly yelped when she heard the electronic voice of the Protectron respond.
"This w-workplace has been deemed-workers should be wearing…safety equipment."
Scrambling back, she tried to keep her steps quiet as she retreated. MacCready was covering her, but not even that fact seemed to slow her pulse as she shuffled past him.
Once she was safely up the path to the next floor, he fired. She couldn't tell if the first shot hit, but the second cut off the Protectron's stuttered statement.
The beam cut into the space roughly midway between their positions, leaving nothing behind but a smoking hole in the wood. It blasted off two more - one swinging close to MacCready – but after her potshot, one nearly grazed her.
How far was it from the mine? Did she…was it not far back enough?
V grit her teeth, and leaned out again. "Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you! We're talking a serious break in protocol this way!"
"Pro-pro-pro-"
The beam hit the wall giving her cover, and she poked her head out. "What do you think we should do about that?"
She almost lost her hat with that stunt, and MacCready whistled loudly. "Hey, trash heap! Could you get a freaking move on already! We're burning daylight over here!"
Damn fool idiot. He was just as bad as she was.
"Ser-ser-ser-and…"
Beep, beep, beep-
The room shook as the explosion went off, making her knees wobble as she braced herself. Smoke followed soon after, rushing into any space it could occupy. Mac didn't move an inch, staying frozen in place as the smoke started to obscure him from her, and she crept back down to join him.
"We left the shotguns downstairs, didn't we?"
"Didn't want to lug that crap around with us if there wasn't a point to it," he hissed back. "Might want to check that guy, though." He jerked his chin towards the body crumpled just to the right of the pathway. "One in five chance's better than nothing."
She stayed by his shoulder, squinting at the figure to see if she could pick anything out. "One in five?"
"Hey, I can be generous. Sometimes." He gestured towards it again, this time making sure to catch her eye first. "Any day now, boss."
Staying low, she quickly patted down the Gunner for his weapon. The harness he wore did little to protect him, judging from the charred burns marking him, and she looked away once her stomach began to twist. Within a few inches of his left hand, however, was a what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun. She groped for it, feeling her arm strain as she reached for it, and quickly pulled it over once she was able to grab the stock.
One shell left. It would have to do.
V raised the shotgun and walked towards what remained of the Protectron. Its exposed wires sparked as its arms wound up and down in place, working on pure reflex now, rather than actual commands.
Taking aim, she inhaled and exhaled slowly, curling her finger around the trigger, only to hesitate when the Protectron's motions began to slow. Within seconds, the lights died, and she lowered her weapon.
"Jesus. That was…" - incredibly ill-advised and poorly planned - "really tense, huh?"
MacCready lifted his rifle up and let out a long breath. "Tense. Yeah, we'll go with that."
"Looks like there's only one floor left to go, though." She jabbed a thumb towards the path she used for cover. Lucky for her the motion only wobbled a fraction, but she quickly set her hand back on her hip. Damn adrenaline. "One last mystery door. What do you say we clear that, and then enjoy the spoils?"
"Fine. Not like there's much else that can top whatever this mess was," he muttered, kicking the boot of the downed Gunner. "You want point?"
"I think I want point."
She needed some way to burn this off, and moving seemed to be the only outlet available right now. Keeping her newly acquired shotgun close, she started heading for the door, only for MacCready to speak up.
"Hey, boss? Before you go…"
She turned just in time to catch what appeared to be an ammo pouch, one conveniently filled with shotgun shells. Just what the doctor ordered.
"You might want to adjust it after you slip it on since it used to belong to our buddy over here, but extra ammo never hurt anyone."
"Is that your way of telling me I'm going to need it?" she teased, before bending over to strap it on.
"Hey, you want to press your luck, fine by me. I'm just saying, keep yourself covered, so I won't have to work double-time to pick up your slack."
"Are you calling me sloppy?"
"No…" he drawled, and when V stood up straight to eye him, he followed it up with a grin. "But while I don't mind the exercise, I'm only one guy. I can only work so many miracles."
He absolutely was.
She stood up, and pinched her lips together. Then jabbed her finger at him before turning on her heel. It was a pitiful reaction, but she doubted that calling him an aggravating little jerkface would've done much better.
So, she did what she intended to do to begin with. Take point, and figure out what the hell might be waiting for them.
