"We can't stay here" Jonah warned, crouching behind the stone flower garden that acted as an impromptu barricade. It was built for decoration, not for blocking bullets. The increasing amount of dust and flecks of gravel served as a warning to its failing durability. In spite of the situation, Koko merely smiled.
"Don't worry, they'll be here soon" she said. He looked around to Valmet to see how she was holding up. She noticed and flashed a thumbs up.
On the other side of the garden, Orchestra's gun clicked empty.
"Out of ammo?" Chinatsu asked bemusedly.
"Yeah, but I think its time to switch to a new instrument anyway" he answered. Even without looking, Jonah could tell he was grinning. Reluctantly he peeked over the top.
"What do you see?" Koko asked insistently.
"He has a rifle" he answered blandly.
"What kind?" she pressed. Valmet inched around the pillar to see. She quickly turned back around and blanched.
"AK. Or something like it" he answered. He watched as the hitman hefted the weapon and chuckled.
"Fun times ahead" he said gleefully. Before he could fire, he was (from his point of view) rudely interrupted.
"Freeze! Put the weapon down!" shouted a voice in accented but still excellent english.
Jonah and Koko looked at the source of the voice at the same time, despite both of them knowing better. Dubai police, a dozen that he saw, swarmed around the entrance of the bazaar. A cop car rolled to a stop several feet behind them. Several had handguns, several more had thickly armored riot shields. The latter ones advanced cautiously. On an impulse the boy looked to the tops of the buildings, noting in elation the telltale glint of a sniper scope. Chinatsu creeped closer to Orchestra, fortunately taking her attention off of her targets. Though he did note she now had a new gun, a small thick barreled thing he didn't recognize in her free hand. He turned back to Koko to spread the good news, but stopped when he saw her frown.
"This is bad" she murmured.
"How? We have help" he balked.
"Our 'help' are simple men who write up parking tickets, enforce Sharia laws, and occasionally bust some rioter skulls. These are professional bad guys with god knows how many kills to their name. Best they're going to do is but us a few minutes until Lehm and the others arrive" Koko explained. Disbelieving, Jonah looked to Valmet for assurance. She had the same expression.
Chinatsu ended up by Orchestra, eyeing the cops warily.
"Why are they speaking english?" the latter asked "Huh?" she went at the odd question.
"This is the middle east. Shouldn't they be speaking arabic?" he continued. She shot him a dirty look.
"Dubai sees business from all over the globe. Arabic is the primary language here, but English is a strong secondary" she explained. In return he gave her a weird look.
"How do you know that?" he asked bemusedly.
"Travel brochure. Don't tell me you didn't read it?" she chided.
"Weapons down!" a megaphoned officer shouted. A shielded cop crept to Valmet, intent on helping her.
"Leave that crap to game shows. I have better things to do" Orchestra hefted the rifle and took aim.
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In fifteen minutes the area around the quiet bazaar turned into a field camp. Police were filtering around, establishing a perimeter to keep any civilians out of the literal crossfire that was raging just beyond eyesight. Already dozens of bystanders were directed away, or in several cases shuffled into awaiting vehicles, handcuffed by on-edge officers. A number of the cops were (quietly) voicing disgust at the situation. It called for experienced soldiers, not under equipped and badly outgunned law enforcers. Any dunce could see the facts.
When two outwardly normal vehicles containing five of such such soldiers quietly pulled up to the erupting chaos, they were almost turned away.
"Anyone hoping the locals can take care of it?" Ugo asked from behind the wheel of a silver SUV, relayed via a small headset. He already knew the answer.
"Not a chance in hell" Lehm answered beside him, enjoying the outside air and its lack of no smoking signs.
"If only" Wiley said wistfully from the driver's seat of the second car, a grey sedan. Between the two were seven bodyguards, a 'teenage' girl, and a large quantity of weapons illegal in the United Arab Emirates.
"So what exactly are we waiting for?" R asked dully. The radio gave his voice a staticky quality.
"We're waisting time while Koko's in trouble" Lutz added urgently.
Lehm took a spare few seconds to see how Black Rock Shooter was doing in the backseat immediately behind him. To his annoyance she was upside down, her boots idly tapping on the ceiling while her head was either touching the floor or close to it. She knew how to properly sit in a seat, but did that anyway. Despite all the (admittedly brief) lessons on human etiquette, she seemed to enjoy misbehaving for the sole reason of seeing it get on their nerves. A week among humans and she already understood how to troll people. It was astonishing in a way.
"Not yet. Just need to have a quick chat" he replied. An officer finally noticed their stationary car and trotted up to give the same message as the rest. Lehm rolled the window down and pushed the matter out of his mind.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around, its not safe" the cop said to him in excellent english. Either he guessed Lehm was american or he used it for all non arabs that came by. No matter the cause, he smiled back.
"I can see that. The thing is my boss and two of my co-workers are right in the middle of that mess, so I'm here to get them" he explained. He didn't expect the cop to accept his words, and by the dusky skinned man's hardening expression he didn't.
"Commendable, but we have situation well in hand" he replied matter of factly.
No sooner did he say that a sound not unlike a large package of firecrackers going off at once echo dangerously close. The officer visibly flinched, his façade of control breaking in seconds. Ever the seasoned veteran, Lehm stared at him with a mixture of bemusement and boredom. Anger flashed across the man's features at him before he reigned his control back in. When a powerful blast boomed he flinched again but kept his composure. Only then did he notice both Lehm and the driver's reactions, or lack thereof.
"You see, my associates and I happened to be well versed in stuff like this. If you were to, say, look away for two or three minutes, we could go in and take care of those gunmen for you guys" he suggested. The cop looked back at the bazaar nervously before turning back to the leathery soldier.
"You can?" he said hopefully. Lehm smirked.
"Of course, this barely counts as a wednesday. Now before you go" he paused. The officer stopped himself from running.
"How many are there?" he questioned. The man debated with himself for a moment before answering.
"Two. Just two. They're heavily armed though, so be careful" the cop warned. His piece spoken, he sprinted off. Whether he went to keep others away or get away himself was irrelevant.
"Are we good?" Wiley asked.
Mmm-hmm, Ugo grunted.
"Lets get started" Lehm ordered.
At once six car doors opened. Instead of moving ahead to scope out the area, Lehm twirled around and walked to the passenger side door of the SUV and pulled it open. He thought that she would right herself when they exited. What she actually did was half fall, half slide to her feet in one smooth motion. He snorted at that; she was obviously showing off. After a moment of thought he remembered what she had done for them since arriving.
"So Rock, feel like making yourself useful?" he asked mischievously. She gave him a questioning glance.
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I don't know why I hoped, Jonah thought cynically.
A total of eight cops, six of them with riot shields, entered the Bazaar, while a sniper team attempted to eliminate the assassins. In under thirty seconds all but two of them were dead, and the last two were bleeding out on the pavement. Chinatsu killed all but one of the ground police, shooting their feet first and going for the subsequent exposed body part of choice. Orchestra not only killed the snipers with one well aimed burst, but proceeded to mock their shooting skills. The claim was more than a little ironic considering the hundred plus gunshots they fired at three people that were hardly armed themselves.
"These guys are real amateurs aren't they?" Chinatsu taunted, ending one of the injured men's lives. Orchestra laughed.
"Of course! Its like a chihuahua versus a doberman! Or a wolf" he laughed. Two more cops took cover nearby, but he gunned them down regardless.
Jonah scowled. As much as he didn't like it, there wasn't many options available. He had one magazine left for his sidearm. His travel bag had a MP5, but in his haste to leave he left it behind. Valmet was likely almost out as well. He entertained the idea of grabbing some of the fallen cops' weapons, but dismissed it once he mentally checked his odds of actually succeeding. If he tried, he would not only expose himself, but would leave Koko undefended. Once they were out of bullets, there would be nothing left to stop the assassins.
Then there was an explosion.
He ducked in alarm, sheltering his head. Hesitantly he rose back up and peeked over the barricade. The burning cop car was neatly flipped over to its side, ending up upside down. Black smoke roiled into the sky, and he could hear the pitter patter of falling debris. Jonah traced his gaze back to the duo to see the oversized weapon Chinatsu had smoking from the barrel. She popped the gun open, ejecting a comically large shell casing. He recognized it as a twenty millimeter grenade. Something meant for blowing holes in walls or ending unarmored vehicles, as she had aptly done.
"Hey Orchestra, check it out. Blew that fucker sky high" she laughed. The older man took his eyes off his targets and looked over.
"Damn. Talk about overkill" he replied in astonishment.
Jonah looked back to check on Valmet, discovering a factor he had entirely overlooked. The cop that tried to get to her died on the pavement, but his riot shield was left intact. While the two were distracted by the wanton destruction, she grabbed it and proceeded to make her way over to Koko and he, with the former gesturing furiously for her to come over. Although she wasn't trying to be sneaky, it took the pair a few seconds to realize their quarry was on the move.
"The hell do you think you're going?" Orchestra snarled.
He hefted the rifle, but she wasn't about to let the favor go unreturned. Valmet stuck her gun out to the side and shot at the same time as him, giving a single bullet for every three or four of his. Fortunately the shield was made of stern stuff, so the rifle fire simply bounced off. He wasn't so lucky. Standing only some thirty feet away, making no attempt to take cover or dodge, it was utterly amazing the first shot didn't put him down.
Chinatsu could see the situation and tried to take advantage of it. Her intended move was to flank the one eyed Fin, but when she tried to move more gunfire rang out, forcing her to take cover behind an upturned table. She decided to even the odds by grabbing a riot shield of her own and positioning it and herself between Orchestra and the bodyguards. Jonah's fire kept her from shooting herself. "Nicely done" Koko praised. Jonah didn't acknowledge her, instead he focused on making his last few rounds count.
A single bullet grazed Orchestra's shoulder. He looked angrily at the wound before turning back to them, his features contorting.
"You shot me!" he shouted while he reloaded. He sounded more insulted than pained.
He and Chinatsu fired. Valmet jerked over, a body length away. Though the shield blocked most of the incoming fire, it wasn't entirely bulletproof. One shot got through, getting her in the thigh. It was a testament to her skills that she kept the barrier facing them, rather than letting it drop and exposing herself. Regardless she was vulnerable now. She and Jonah were down to a few rounds of ammo apiece, out of maneuvering room, and injured. Both the assassins felt it.
"Paybacks a bitch" Chinatsu growled viciously.
Thin whistling echoed out. At once the mood was broken. The assassins kept their weapons trained on the targets while they looked behind them, where the sound echoed from. Cautiously Jonah peeked over to the source of the sound, with Koko pressing against his shoulder. He felt her grin widen.
A blank faced girl walked slowly into the bazaar. Her long pigtailed hair was glossy black in the bright sunlight. Her skin was deathly pale, contrasting with her strange black outfit. On her left side was a long black object, resembling a cannon. On her right was a short sword. She stopped in the center of the area, staring impassively.
"The fuck?" Orchestra said aloud. A quiet chuckle from Koko grabbed his attention.
"Oh you're in for it now" she taunted. Chinatsu snorted.
"Yeah right" she muttered sarcastically. She hefted the handgun sized grenade launcher and took aim.
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Thirty seconds earlier...
"Engage the targets. Keep them busy. While you do that, we'll sneak in and get Koko, Jonah, and Valmet out. If you can, kill them. If not, than back off and we'll take them out. Understand?" Lehm instructed carefully. The two were just outside the entrance; the others had already taken off for their own idiosyncratic jobs.
Black Rock Shooter nodded.
"You sure? We can't afford a screw up here" he stressed.
Black Rock Shooter nodded again.
"Alright, I'm trusting you on this. Give em hell" he said, jabbing his thumb up.
She walked at a leisurely pace away from him, towards the wide stone entrance. For a moment she was out of sight of the accursed sun. The shade it provided was pleasant, but she couldn't stay to enjoy it. As she crossed the threshold, the man had one last trick to play. He quickly peeked around the corner and...did something. She paused. It was a high pitched sound, similar to a bird. She sent a glance his way, but he already moved on. She shook her head and continued walking, summoning a weapon for each hand.
The two assassins had their attentions focused on her as she approached. As they gawked she examined them, or rather their equipment. In the beginning she had underestimated human weapons, but after getting injured by light versions (and after seeing an enthusiastic demonstration of the more powerful examples at their disposal, courtesy of Koko) she was intent on not making that mistake again. She recognized a type called an 'assault rifle' in the hands of the man, and a 'pistol' type in the girl's. Her eyes lingered on it for several seconds, noting the close resemblance it had to her cannon.
Behind the assassins, practically unnoticed, she saw Wiley and Mao stealthily making their way closer. Peeking over a rocky outcropping she saw Jonah, and Koko behind him. The man said something, adopting a puzzled expression in the process. The girl said something as well before bringing her mock cannon to bear, pointing it at her. Black Rock Shooter had no idea what the weapon actually fired, if she did she would've exercised more caution. The girl pulled the trigger.
But Black Rock Shooter was already moving.
In the blink of an eye she darted to the left, covering fifteen feet in half as many milliseconds. The deafening explosion behind her caught her off guard however. The concussive wave of force nearly knocked her off her feet, making her throw her arms out to balance herself. Her ears were ringing, so she missed the girl's incredulous curse. Pinpricks of hot shrapnel peppered her back and legs, tearing tiny holes in her jacket. Finally she caught herself, stomping a foot into the hard ground. She leveled a dangerous glare at the stunned pair.
"How the hell did you survive that?!" the man shouted angrily.
It's called a serpentine pattern. Basically weaving side to side really fast so you don't get shot. You seem to already get the gist, but remember that guns like these crap out a ton of bullets, so be careful. Works best on snipers, but with you its doable on anyone who doesn't know what you're capable of, Lehm's advice echoed in her mind.
She moved again, moving a small distance one direction before suddenly turning and going the other way. The man fired, liberally spewing bullets at her. Her speed was too great, and he kept missing. He tried to keep the gun's barrel on her, instead of where she was going. The girl dropped her weapon and drew another pistol which barked at her as well. Despite the high rate of fire not one shot even came close. It didn't occur to him that she was not only dodging but getting closer. The girl on the other hand did.
Black Rock Shooter leapt. She jumped high enough to clear both of the assassins' heads with plenty of room. But that wasn't her sole objective. When she first left the ground she put enough weight forward so that she would spin, performing a world class front flip. The end of her cannon began to glow. At the apex of the move she had her head, and her cannon, pointed downwards to the face of the awestruck man. With one shot she would blow his head off, ending one threat. He could only stare, astonished at what he was seeing even as death struck.
The girl however was not just standing by. Her instincts must've been especially sharp, since she figured out what the attacker was going to do seconds before it happened. As fast as humanly possible she brought the clunky shield up, jostling the man out of the way and putting it between him and the airborne girl. Too late, she fired the charged shot. Until she was flipped around the girl watched the shot race to them, splashing harmlessly against the armor. The blast, sounding nothing like a conventional gun, boomed as she completed the move and her boots slammed into the ground.
Strange. I've checked and rechecked, but the results are the same. That cannon of hers doesn't seem to have much penetration power. Get your head out of the gutter Lutz, you know what I mean. Anyway, the quick shot thing has a nasty effect on fleshy targets, but basic body armor lowers the damage considerably. A military grade flak jacket can probably shrug it off completely. Same for vehicles. Hell, a simple car can block the worst of it. The higher the 'charge' is, the greater the damage though. Haven't tested it all out yet, but the results here speak for themselves, Wiley's studious voice came back to her.
Her knees bent with the impact, absorbing her momentum. A twitch of her legs and she twisted around, sweeping the sword out while bringing the cannon into position. Since she was facing away from the imperiled trio they couldn't see her frown. The shot was supposed to kill the man, allowing her to close in and decapitate the girl. Instead she failed, and they were still alive and unharmed. Though she couldn't see them the others were close by, ready to assist. The very thought of needing help to kill such meager enemies was enough to elicit a snarl.
After a couple seconds of observation however she found her initial evaluation was slightly off. They were uninjured (at least from her, she recognized a gunshot would on the man's shoulder) but they were also stunned by her attack. The girl staggered from the attack as well as the sudden action. The man wasn't much better. He coughed in pain, waving the rifle around and spraying curses and spittle. For several seconds they would be disoriented, with their guards down.
The corners of Black Rock Shooter's mouth twitched up. She launched herself forward, not bothering with evasive maneuvers this time. The man only realized the danger when it was too late. He brought the weapon up, first to shoot the charging girl, but switched to using it as a shield. She raised the sword up high and brought it down, neatly bisecting the gun in half as well as drawing a long red line down his chest. His patterned shirt flapped open with the cut. With a flick of her wrist she twisted the blade around and swept it out wide, kicking the ground to fly past him.
Again her boots slammed into the pavement. Absently she noted a small splatter of blood on her sword hand. She frowned as the man collapsed behind her. Dismissing the problem, she swept around and brought her cannon around to the girl. In the past few seconds she recovered, keeping both her mock cannon and the riot shield facing her. However, she seemed to have undergone a peculiar change. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, with the weapon especially jerking. Ragged breathing escaped her. Black Rock Shooter had seen reactions like that after severe injury, but she looked to be unharmed. Most unusually, her features had contorted into a mix of anger and pain.
"Y-y-yo-o-ou" she stuttered. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of clear fluid seeping from her eyes. Finally she clenched her eyes shut, looking down in the process. When she looked up her features were hard. She was looking at her only.
"You killed him" she forced out, much more concise than before.
Not knowing what to do, Black Rock Shooter fell back on her short behavior lessons; she nodded in agreement. That was a mistake. The girl's face contorted into pure unbridled fury. The shield that blocked her attack was thrown aside. The large pistol, the one that fired the explosive rounds, was brought up. Reflexively Black Rock Shooter brought her own cannon up and began charging.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed. She had seconds to dodge before the weapon fired.
Two shots rang out.
As quickly as it appeared her expression vanished, changing into something akin to puzzlement. She pitched forward to the ground, the weapon slipping from her suddenly limp grasp. With an air of finality she fell. Only a thud sound came from her when she hit. Her hat fell from her head and flopped on the pavement, much like she did. She was confused at what happened until she saw two red circles on her mack, staining the white shirt. Slowly Black Rock Shooter raised her gaze to the one standing behind her, the line with a smoking submachine gun.
"Sorry 'bout that. Couldnt take the chance" Lehm apologized. He lowered the weapon, noting the displeased expression on the girl's features.
"Don't tell me your pouting" he chuckled. A scowl replaced the look. It only made him laugh.
Behind him the unit assembled. Wiley had one of Valmet's arms over his shoulder while R had the other, helping her walk. The latter was doing his best to keep his grin concealed, to poor effect. Koko made a show of brushing the dust off, looking tired but pleased. Each of them had a relieved expression on, evidently glad to see her unhurt, not to say alive. There were two exceptions though. One was as stone faced as always. The other was quietly fuming. He plated himself in front of Jonah.
"Jonah" Tojo said angrily.
"Hey Tojo" Jonah replied blankly.
"The next time you skip out on your lesson again I'm going to kick your ass" he threatened.
"Lay off him Tojo. If he hadn't shown up I'd be dead" Valmet protested. He scowled.
"Speaking of that" Koko moved herself over to examine the woman's injuries. Unnoticed Lutz gave the dead girl an uncertain look.
"Looks like a flesh wound. Hurts like a bitch but you'll be fine. Just gotta get to a doctor to clean it up" R chimed in.
"Really, I'm fine. Are you alright though?" Valmet worried.
While they fussed, Black Rock Shooter dismissed her weapons. They vanished into multicolored lights, to the curious gazes of Jonah and Lehm. She suddenly picked up her head and listened. After a moment she waved a hand to Lehm to grab his attention, pointing to the entrance of the bazaar once she had it. He understood.
"Alright, more police are here. Everyone, put your weapons down and cooperate. Koko, I hope you got a story for them" he called out. A chorus of 'kays echoed.
Black Rock Shooter let her eyes wander. When they landed on the boy she stopped, leveling a stare at him. It took him a second to notice.
"What?" he asked. She gestured to his arm. Puzzled, he complied. It was then he realized a bullet had grazed him, breaking the smin and leaking some blood.
"Thanks" he said. She nodded.
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Two hours later...
The police captain was as stoic as could be under the circumstances, something Koko could appreciate.
"Ms Hekmatyr" he began in excellent english "I hope you realize this is a rather...complex situation."
"I understand entirely captain. Gun battles are unpleasant things under any circumstances, exponentially more so when inside a city" she replied easily. Apart from a swapped shirt she hadn't done any changing. Despite what happened her ever present smile was the same as usual. In the rather spartan office the AC quietly droned. His desk was the closest thing to decorative she saw, and it wasn't even that extravagant, being simple lacquered pine.
"Of course. Someone in your occupation understands that well" he discreetly barbed. Her smile didn't change, nonreactive to the insult. She'd been called worse by far more unpleasant men, and unlike them he was remaining civil.
"Thats a given. Now, if I may be so bold, what exactly are you going to do about this?" she asked. Outwardly it was a casual question. He groaned and leaned back in his chair, screwing his eyes shut.
"There was approximately thirty thousand euros worth of property damage. Twenty police officers were injured, and nine lost their lives, one of them happened to be my nephew in law. Four civilians were injured in the crossfire. And there is now two bodies in the morgue. One is awaiting identification. The other has a rather upset foreign group that wants an explanation. The blame for this rests on you" he explained.
She sensed he wasn't finished speaking, so she kept silent.
"On the other hand, those two were a bomb waiting to go off. A short time ago my department contacted Interpol. They gave a rather disturbing dossier on those hitmen. Public attacks, extreme collateral damage, civilian casualties, et cetera. The damage could've been much worse. In addition, they were wanted in several countries. The man especially was an escape artist. I don't think he could've stayed in prison long enough for justice to be served" he went on.
"I feel I should point out that one of my men was injured in their attack, so we didn't escape unscathed either" Koko added. The dusky skinned man leaned forward and opened his eyes.
"Theres that. But back to the negative side, they were specifically targeting you. Your decision to be there may have been the perfect opportunity to them. As well, all of your men were armed. The weapons they had were the kind that only the military is allowed to carry in this country. The public is, frankly, riled. They need a scapegoat" he explained sourly.
"They want blood. You want to give them mine" she explained sweetly.
"Not necessarily. While I admit there is plenty in my department that believe so, I personally do not. You're not entirely innocent in this matter, but neither are you to blame. So, I'm willing to make you an offer" he finished.
"Oh?" was Koko's reply.
"You and your men have until midnight to leave Dubai. In addition, the cost of damages falls to you" he offered.
"Good, but I'd like to make a counter offer" she turned around. His features hardened.
"And that would be?" he asked sternly.
"On top of that, I'll send an expert from my company for your department. Your special unit, while brave, was woefully unprepared to the situation. These professionals can train your men to insure this incident never occurs again. All at a significant discount" Koko offered. The man blinked in surprise.
"I...see" he said uncertainly.
"I cam assure you that we have some of the finest instructors out there. And as I said, at a much lower price than normal. Sound like a deal?" she asked. He looked to be debating the offer for a moment before coming to a decision.
"That is acceptable. We have a deal" he said. Unexpectedly he stood up reached over the desk with an open hand. Koko stood as well and took the proffered hand, giving a firm handshake.
"Thank you sir. Rest assured by midnight I'll be out of your hair for good" she smoothly lied. It was a given she'd return to Dubai in the future, but by then HCLI's legal team would take care of any lingering issues. He had no way of knowing that, so he released her hand with disguised relief. Her brow furrowed in thought.
"Before I leave, you mentioned something about an upset foreign group?" she asked. Immediately his features fell.
"Yes, that. Understand that this is strictly confidential" he began carefully.
She mimed zipping her lips.
"The girl that was with the man, witness testimony said her name was 'Chinatsu', you remember her?" he asked.
"Its hard to forget someone who tried to kill you" she replied.
'Her real name was Alicia Meson. Born Canadian, part of a wealthy socialite family. Two years ago her parents were vacationing in Paris. That man attacked and killed dozens of people, her parents included. Since her body wasn't found it was assumed he kidnapped her. Her surviving family had a sizable reward for her safe return" he explained unhappily. It was Koko's turn to blink in surprise.
"Now, I will have to inform them that their missing daughter was an active participant of an assassination" he finished. By the way he clenched his fists she could tell he was upset.
"I'm...sorry to hear that. Though it's irrelevant at this point, from what you've told me and her behavior I saw, I believe she had Stockholm Syndrome. Even if she could've been taken alive, she was too far gone" she hesitantly explained.
"The criminal psychologist on my staff said as much. Evidenced by the fact that she was not wearing underwear" he dropped. Despite herself Koko did a double take.
"Wait, so the entire time she was trying to kill me..." she trailed off.
"She had no panties on. Allah knows what that bastard did to her to create such a monster" he said through clenched teeth.
"If I can offer some advice, don't dwell on it. I've seen many careers end because of such regrets" she consoled. He took a deep breath, looking to calm down some.
"Yes, you're right" he said deflated.
"Thank you for your time captain" Koko said carefully, making her exit.
Five minutes and one polite escort later, she found herself back outside in the hot sun. To her hidden immeasurable relief all of her men were waiting for her. Even Valmet, though she was obviously still in pain, along with a large quantity of bandaging. She figured they were questioned about the entire affair like she was. Since they were all in one spot the police were evidently satisfied with whatever answers they gave. She briefly imagined Jonah or Rock being questioned and had to stifle a laugh.
Before she was home free however, one last individual arrived to make her day worse.
"Outta the way, outta the way!" brandished a loud male voice in english from behind her. By the way he spoke she realized that he was an american. She turned around, noting her men raising their guard against the newcomer.
"Koko Hekmatyr! We meet at last" exclaimed a white man that marched to her. By his tone alone she could tell he was dripping with arrogance. The way he walked, the expression he wore, and the smile on his face confirmed it.
"You have me at a disadvantage mister..." she trailed off, adopting her charming smile.
Douchbag, she thought. Medium height, light complexion, and blonde hair described him. He wore a black business suit that was missing a tie, though his jacket was draped over his shoulder. With no undue sense of alarm she realized what he was.
"Jerry Schatzberg. Call me Scarecrow" he announced self assertively. Her eyes narrowed a minute degree.
"So Mr. Scarecrow, what brings the CIA here?" Koko questioned. To her delight he was caught off guard by that; it was if he didn't expect her to figure it out by herself. To her disappointment his obviously inflated ego quickly swelled back up.
"They said you were smart" he said obnoxiously.
Jackass, she mentally decided on an appropriate description.
"I'm here" he leaned in close, invading her personal space "to shut down that gun dealing operation of yours and to steal every last penny of yours" he whispered loudly, his foul breath clogging up her nostrils. She tried not to gag. At once her rating of the puffed up man in front of her dropped several levels.
"Oh really?" Koko countered, her own smile widening. Before she could knock his lights out he leaned back, taking his greasy breath with him.
"Thats right. Uncle Sam is onto you" he chuckled. She chuckled with him, to his confusion.
"Uncle Sam may be on to me, but as long as you're on the case I can rest easy at night" she casually mocked.
The astonished look on his face was something she loved to see. Especially when the thinly veiled insult finally dawned on him. She let out a quiet laugh as she spun her heels and walked away, her ten bodyguards falling in around her. She hoped two opposing things would happen in equal measure: he would quip out some insult or threat, or he would be dumb enough to try to lay a hand on her in front of multiple trained veterans, all of whom would love to harm him in some graphic yet amusing fashion. To her glee, he was far stupider than she could've imagined.
"Hey whitewash, don't think you can just walk away from me!" Scarecrow shouted, quickly jogging up to her and roughly grabbing her shoulder. The frightening grins surrounding him flew over his head entirely.
"He touched me" Koko said through her grin. Lehm, Wiley, Lutz, and Ugo roughly grabbed him and pulled him away kicking and screaming. While turning to watch the spectacle, her gaze caught Jonah, and the bandage around his arm.
"Jonah? You were hurt?" she asked concernedly. Somehow the buffoon was both cursing and yelping in pain at the same time.
"Just broke the skin. Not a big deal" he explained with a shrug.
Black Rock Shooter tilted her head at the event, looking to R for answers. He noticed and offered a shrug.
"Just the way to do things. Besides, he had it coming" he answered. Inside dark thoughts churned. He wondered if she could read minds, and shuddered at the possibility.
"You'll pay for-ohhf!"
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And theres another one down. Review if you don't mind?
While I remember, there's a little thing I want to try. Basically assigning a song to every character. I don't know how to do a poll, but this is too minor to bother with anyway. Whatever you think, be site to leave it in a review or a PM. One restriction: no dubstep. Everything else is good to go. Have fun and gracias if you read this far.