A/N: Sorry about the long wait for an update everyone. I just sort of ended up hitting a giant wall of writer's block, and then all of a sudden last night the rest of this chapter began to flow. I've been on a roll today, in between shopping and class, and I've finished not only this chapter, but chapter three as well, which I will be getting up whenever I finish typing and coding it.
Chapter Two – Bombs
It had taken her days to turn up any leads on her 'employer', and after digging up some information on a location and a schedule, she had made her way to where his office supposedly was. It hadn't been a difficult task to sneak into the building and avoid security. She was good at being inconspicuous and remaining undetected, but somehow it seemed too easy to get inside. From her previous experience in the park, she feared that this too could be some sort of set up, but when she opened the door to 'Vincent Burch's office there was nothing and no one inside.
Chinara frowned a little as she closed the door behind her silently. She left the lights off, not wanting to be spotted, and crept over to the large oak desk-there was enough natural light coming in through the windows for her to see despite the fact that it was night. She felt more secure this time; she'd come prepared, dressed in her Onyxlock outfit and with a knife at her hip.
Her 'Onyxlock' outfit was what she typically wore on her assassination jobs and it consisted of a few special parts. There was the black sleeveless shirt and matching shorts, paired with knee high boots and metal shin guards. The most important part of her outfit though, in her opinion at least, was the gauntlet and pauldron she wore on her right arm. The colors-burnt orange and silver-and engravings on the metal matched those of her shin guards. True that it was limited protection but she'd always found it suitable in the past-to each their own, after all.
Pulling open the drawers in the desk as quietly as possible she began sifting through the papers there. Lifting them up into the light she frowned at them. They were…not what she was expecting. They seemed to be random, nonsense, not actual documents but fakes. Her feeling of unease returned as she put the papers back in the drawer and shut it quietly.
She still hoped to find something useful and went over to one of the filing cabinets. She was just reaching out for the handle of the first drawer when the door to the office swung open and someone walked in.
She flinched in surprise, backing away swiftly, and turned towards the door. She cursed herself for not hearing the sound of approaching footsteps-even without her sensitive hearing, which she actually had to focus on for it to be truly affective (which she was also grateful for because otherwise hearing every little sound all of the time would drive her insane), she should have noticed someone out in the hallway.
However, much to her continued surprise, it wasn't security or anyone else who worked in the building. Considering who it turned out to be though she wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
"You!" she said in a hushed voice, the one word sounding more accusing than she meant it to.
"Me," Deadpool echoed, seeming equally surprised to see her, "Well, well, we meet again. How's it hanging, Nancy Drew? Find any clues?"
Chinara simply looked at him for a moment before sighing a little and shaking her head. "No," she replied flatly, running a hand through her bangs, "So far it seems like this whole office could be a rouse." She wasn't going to ask what he was doing here; he probably got a lead just like she did. It was just a coincidence that they ended up here at the same time.
"Maybe it's fate. Or maybe there's stalking involved," Deadpool mused aloud.
She raised a brow, staring at him. "Pardon?"
"You wouldn't understand. No one does. You should really try opening your mind more though, sometimes it gets really boring being the only one who sees the bigger picture," he said, heading over to the filing cabinets next to where she stood.
Chinara stepped out of the way, moving over by the windows. "Right…" she said, not sure what to think of him or what he was saying.
She crossed her arms and turned slightly to gaze out the window, silent for the moment as she listened to him going through the drawers of the filing cabinets. From the way he was muttering to himself he didn't seem to be finding anything either.
"Jinkies."
Or maybe not. Right now was a moment she would actually like to be proven wrong-she needed more leads and information to go off of. She wanted to find out why she'd been set up to be killed. She turned back towards him, about to ask if he'd found something, but never got the chance to.
"Bomb!" he said, dashing towards her, "And not like 'you're the bomb', but the kind that explodes."
She barely had time to register what was going on before she'd been lifted off her feet and there was the sound of breaking glass. It was when she found herself tumbling through the air next to him that she realized he'd pushed her out the window. What was that he'd said? Bomb? She wasn't inclined to believe him until she saw the explosion, flames spitting out the window of the office where they'd been just a few seconds ago.
She hit the ground awkwardly, feeling a rib or two snap from the impact. Considering that it'd been the fourth floor window though, she was glad those were all the injuries she sustained. Didn't make it any less painful though or make it any easier for her to breathe. Wincing she shifted over to lie flat on her back to take unneeded painful pressure off of her ribs.
"The window?" Chinara asked once she managed to gasp in a breath.
"'Gee, thanks for saving my life, Deadpool, I owe you' 'No need to thank me, little lady. How about we go somewhere private and you can repay me?'," Deadpool said.
"…The window though?" she repeated, blinking up at the night sky. She chose to simply ignore the fact that he seemed to be hitting on her again.
"Could've just let you get blown up. There are plenty of other pretty faces out there, you know. See if I care about saving your hide next time there's a bomb," he said sulkily.
Frowning a bit at his words she sat up, one hand pressed carefully over her side, feeling the broken ribs there. "I don't get you…" she said honestly.
"No one does. That's part of my charm though," he said, getting to his feet and brushing shards of glass from his clothes.
Chinara didn't respond to that, she was just quiet for a moment. "Thanks…" she said at last, knowing she should be grateful despite her now broken ribs which would take hours to a day or so to heal.
"So, you got a name short stuff or should I just keep calling you whatever I want?" Deadpool inquired.
She hesitated for a moment as she climbed to her feet, wincing a little. "It's Chinara," she replied, "I also go by Onyxlock, though only when I'm on a job." She liked things that way, going by an alias instead of her real name when she had an assignment or was talking to possible employers.
"Onyxlock," he repeated thoughtfully, "Nope, never heard of you."
"Good," she said, not bothered in the least, "I expend a lot of effort to be sure I stay off the grid."
"Obviously someone's heard of you though if they want you dead," he pointed out.
"Obviously," she repeated with a sigh. "Someone doesn't seem to like you very much either though," she added.
"Or they just knew the right man to go to to get the job done," he said.
She arched a brow. "Says the guy who didn't complete the job and just nearly got blown up," she said.
"Would you rather I just finish it here and now?" Deadpool asked.
She couldn't smell his emotions, couldn't read his expression-couldn't even see his face-so she couldn't tell if he was serious or not. She really had to move past those hang ups. "Of course not," she said with a forced roll of her eyes to give the impression that she wasn't intimidated by him at all.
"It'd be a waste anyway, especially if I ain't getting paid for it," he said with a shrug, "Besides, I'm sure you're much more fun alive."
Chinara rolled her eyes for real this time. She was beginning to wonder why she'd ever been curious to meet him. "Look, if all you're going to do is flirt with me-and badly, may I add-then I need to cut this conversation short because I have more important things to do."
"More important things to do than me?" Deadpool said.
Her palm was almost introduced to her forehead, but she settled for sighing and shaking her head instead. She turned and began to walk away.
"Hey, I can't help it if you leave yourself open for these things," he called after her.
"Goodbye, Deadpool," she said simply.
He gazed after her, trying to think of something to say that would make her stay. Lots of options came to mind, but even he could tell that most of them would get him slapped-or worse.
"Wait! What if we work together?"
She stopped at that, turning back to face him. "Why would you want to do that? Why would I want to do that?" she inquired with a frown.
You're hot; do I need any further reasons? Holy shit, I have inner monologue now, it's about time, chick with the pen and notebook and later a keyboard, only took you a chapter and a half.
Shut up and let's move on with what's left of this chapter.
So when do I get laid?
Never, if the storyline doesn't progress.
He pouted a little but finally took to answering Chinara's question. "Because we were both set up, right? And two heads are better than one and all that jazz," he said.
She hesitated. Was he really someone she could use to help with the intellectual side of all this? Sure, if she wanted to kill some people he'd be perfect, but otherwise she just wasn't sure. "Well…"
"I know what you're thinking," Deadpool said, "And contrary to popular belief, I'm not stupid. I'm an idiot, and I'm insane, but I'm not stupid."
She just stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out where in the world he'd pulled that logic from. "Isn't…stupid and being an idiot the same thing?" she asked.
"Actually, no," he said.
"Alright then." She continued to stare at him, one brow raised.
"So whadda say? Don't make me have to beg," he added.
"Fine, fine," she relented, if only to maybe get him to stop talking.
I never stop talking, doesn't she know that?
Obviously not, or she wouldn't be wishing you'd shut up.
"So we're working together now? For real? Cool. So now we're like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Daphne and Fred-"
"I'd peg you as Shaggy instead of Fred," she interrupted him, crossing her arms, "If Shaggy packed Uzi's and katanas."
"Speaking of pegging," he started.
Chinara rolled her eyes, not needing to be a mind reader to be able to tell where this conversation was heading again. "Give it a rest, would you?" she said, turning to leave.
"I didn't even get to finish," he complained.
"You didn't have to," she replied over her shoulder, "The answer's no."
"Alright, play hard to get. I don't give up that easy," he said.
At last, her palm was finally formally introduced to her forehead.