Eris, not in the good mood she was before, pulled up to the diner. No one sat in the windows and there were one to many waitresses on duty. They were huddled around the kitchen door, laughing and giggling. She spotted a solitary man, sitting in the back corner booth. Eris felt her tense body loosen almost instantly.
Eris gave a smile to the waitresses who didn't seem to notice her entry. She didn't mind, the less people who noticed, the better. She made a B line to the lone man, two steaming cups of coffee sitting upon the table. He didn't raise his eyes to her; they simply existed in the same space. Eris sighed.
"You've looked like you've gained some weight from when I last saw your ass on the news, M." Eris chuckled and M rolled his eyes.
"I've been getting that a lot lately. You're late." The older man, whose real name Eris didn't know, smirked.
"I woulda been early, but some asshole tried to jack my car when I was fucking sitting in it." She sat, lifting her legs to sit cross-legged in the booth. M slid a cup of coffee in her direction, and she accepted, pouring sugar and cream into the dark liquid.
"Holy shit, you were still in the car?" He seemed to laugh at that.
"Yeah," Eris lifted her left arm, bruises already forming form when that piece of shit grabbed her ", manhandled me right into next week. But what kind of criminal would I be without war wounds. Kicked his ass, though." M grimaced; clearly feeling phantom pains as he shook his own left arm.
"I need a name to call you, my dear stranger." M took a sip of his coffee, clearly wanting to do business and no pleasure.
"Not my real name, I assume." Eris raised her eyebrows.
"You assume correctly."
"Baby Firefly, Baby on a job."
"Huh," M smirked again, a small snort escaping him ", that's different. Call me Mike, but if we're on a job, call me M." Eris gave a thumbs up, mug against her lips.
Eris grinned, taking a large gulp of her drink. She grabbed a piece of paper from her back pocket, which was folded over and stained from the dark denim of her shorts. She flicked it Mike's way and watched him read.
"I can see you're a jack of all trades, master of a handful. Interesting skill set, especially that old school shit. Glass cutting, alarm disabling, lock picking? I can definitely find room for you on my team." He seemed genuinely impressed. Eris figured he'd been working with the same team for years before going into hiding; she must be refreshing.
"So when do I get to meet the rest of the team?" Eris grinned, finishing her coffee in a few short swigs. A moment of silence passed as a pretty blonde waitress refilled her cup. They watched her retreat to her flock of waitresses before speaking again.
"Should be here any moment. F should be, anyway. Not sure about the other guy, T. He's a fucking psychotic asshole. Is probably just finishing burying a prostitute." Mike sighed, his eyes rolling just enough to be noticeable. Eris laughed at that.
"And who does what?" Eris divulged in her curiosity. She missed the planning of a job, being close with your team mates that have no idea who you really are. She wanted to get man-handled back into the business.
"Well, you and F and I are the brains with separate but equal skillsets. T is just a tank," Mike laughed a short, abrasive laugh ", oh, speaking of the damn devil."
Eris turned around, the bright sun casting a silhouette of two men, one leaning on the other. The door flung opened, the little bell above the door nearly flying off.
"Hey," the large black man yelled to the waitresses ", y'all have a first aid kit? My friend needs help!" One of the waitresses nodded and scurried off, coming back quick with a white case.
Mike lifted his head and walked to the pair and Eris followed suit. She stopped dead in her tracks just a few feet from the boys, her mouth hanging open with just a hint of a smirk. There he stood, bloodied and propped up by his friend; the asshole who tried to steal her truck.
"I found him like this in the alley a block away, he's been talking about a bitch or somethin'." The man supporting him spilled to Mike as he walked towards them.
"The fuck happened, Trev?" Mike called, arms out and brows furrowed.
"Well, it's kind of an interesting story. There I was, minding my own damn business, when I get a call from you to meet you at the diner in twenty minutes," The dirty man lifted his head, his pained face still somehow falling into an intimidating expression ", and so I grab a car. But I happened to… underestimate the ability of the little girl in the driver's seat." T coughed, some blood sputtering out mixed with saliva.
"Little girl who seemed to whoop your ass." Eris snickered and Trevor noticed. They met eyes and Eris let her smirk grow into a great big smile.
"That little bitch right there! She kicked the shit out of me, she fuckin' stabbed me in the god damn leg." Trevor's anger grew, and despite his state, went to lunge for her. Eris was ready for round two, walking forward with a certain strut that seemed to anger Trevor even more.
"Yeah, I did. How 'bout I aim a little higher than mid-thigh this time?"
The large black man, which Eris assumed to be F, held back Trevor. Mike held out his arm and stopped Eris.
"Calm the fuck down, Trev. You two have to fuckin' work together." Mike held a hand on Trevor's chest, but the grimy man couldn't take his eyes off the girl.
"Don't you tell me to calm the fuck down! Let her stab you in the fucking leg and see how you like it!" Eris wondered how he wasn't losing his voice.
"Jesus Christ, fuckin' relax. If we have to work together, we might as well bury the hatchet." Eris shrugged, ready to move on. She had made her point, he would never try to steal her shit ever again.
"After a fuckin' kill you with said hatchet."
"I'll buy you a beer."
Everyone stopped, even the waitresses, to stare at Trevor. His eyes refused to leave her face, unimpressed pursed lips growing more and more pursed with each passing second.
"I accept your apology."
