Chapter XXVI: With Gasolene - Saturday

AN:

Hey there, Fan-fic-folks!

So, I just fuckin' realised that after doing the whole "Knockout Gas ain't a thing", uh, thing, that I actually had the group use knockout gas earlier on in the story, to get Pompidou. I really need to reread the story before I write.

Oh, and I have a question for y'all. If you had a time machine about the size of an Iphone that could take you 30,000 years into the past or future, where would you go? I've got a time travel story planned, and I'm curious if there's anything in particular y'all would want from it.

Today's Title comes from watch?v=-3UkgRHIJpk

(David Bowie - Cat People (Putting out Fire) (Atomic Blonde Soundtrack))

Thanks for reading and, as always, please review.

Jim89 Chapter 24 Comment:

Oh gods, Canada does the weird month-day-year format too? That's so fucking bizarre.

And I'd imagine they were. My School was not a good place.

I do have to disagree on the martial art note. It's often remarked in teaching that dealing with a blank canvas is easier than trying to teach someone different to what they already think they know. That's definitely moreso in physical activities, because you've got to unlearn or learn around muscle memories in order to adjust to the new techniques.

Heh. Totally agreed, on my part. Unfortunately for the group, Jimmy is their boss, and it's not a good idea to argue with your psychopathic, stabby boss. Writing/Narrative-wise, I was trying to show how good Max has been for the organisation, and how different her way of doing things is from Jimmy's violent, chaotic approach to everything. I don't think that quite came across right though, but that's good to know, I can try something different next time.

No comment on Nathan... #Spoilers

And you're right about the cops. If the news coming out of the US over the last few years is any indication, small town cops aren't the most thorough of folks.

You mean Brock and Roark at Gym Poke are a Pokemon reference? That can't be right. No comment on the flash, though. Gonna be going into that in the next chapter, or maybe the one after, I forget. Same with the rest of your gym comment. Gonna be going through most of that later. I will say that you're on a pretty interesting thought track though.

That's good to hear. That was part of the Leverage vibe I was trying to go for. There was always an air of "We do this for kicks, as well as a living" with the team from the show, so I've been trying to have this team have that as well.

Because Chloe totally is. Trying for kind of a synergistic social-personality feedback thing with those two. The 'ole Person-A makes Person-B more responsible, and Person-B teaches Person-A how to have fun with life trope. Both characters seem like the type to do that sort of thing, while getting sickeningly close in the finishing each other's sandwiches kind of way.

Oh, I totally agree on that as well. That pattern applies to most things though. Taste is relative. It's like Reggae. Bob Marley was really good at Reggae. I just don't particularly like that style of music. My not liking him doesn't make him bad, it just makes him not my thing. And when you take that down into more focused genres (eg. Cowpunk, or Baroque Classical) it doesn't change. Some people like Bach, others like Metallica. They're both good at what they do, they're just not both to everyone's taste.

VampireNinjaz Chapter 24 Comment:

Same here. They're an awesome group. Glad you're liking the music aspect. I have a tiny obsession with sharing my media interests, so it's cool to see people appreciating them. I'm actually considering starting a spotify playlist for this story, but I've not gotten around to doing it yet. I'll let y'all know if/when I do.

MaxNeverMaxine Chapter 24 Comment:

Heh. Yeah, she's hella cute, isn't she? Really trying to amp up the 'Kate turns into a giddy 6-year-old when drunk' thing.

Hmm. Interesting observation. I don't think I'll be going into that any time soon, I'm afraid. Max has gotta ease up and start trusting a little more before she bares that much of her soul.

Jim89 Chapter 25 Comment:

Thank you. Victoria is a really interesting character to write, so I'm glad folks are liking my portrayal of her. I still think you can't beat Jarofbees' version of her in 32 Rejection Letters though. She was perfect in that story. And I completely and utterly agree with you on the note about balance. Balance is utterly vital to everything, in my opinion.

It is indeed a TNG quote, and another excellent life lesson. A hard one to learn, but one everyone is far happier once they do.

True. It's going to be fun to resolve that situation. Depends on how far she develops, character-wise, by the time we get to that point. I do have some less-than-vague inclinations as to how I want that to happen, so I'll leave it at that in order to avoid spoilers.

The flashbacks are more of a progressing storyline running alongside the present day. Sometimes they don't say anything on their own, but they add up to give the impressions of where Max has come from and how she got to where she is in the present.

They certainly were, and they certainly did. I actually took that bit from your last comment, about smart people having blind spots. Max and co were getting a little too OP/Mary-Sue-ish for my taste, so I needed to bring them down a notch or two, and Leverage never did bringing-down better than when Nate got overconfident and missed something.

It would be an interesting twist. No comment, though. Just #Spoilers, yet again.

VampireNinjaz Chapter 25 Comment:

Ah, you know what I'm going to say to that, Ninjaz. Spoilers... ;)

You'll definitely find out though. I've gotten that whole timeline worked out, including all the little side missions and events Max offhandedly mentions during this story. I like to plan out the pasts of my characters in pretty high detail; I took that Shakespeare quote about past being prologue to heart very quickly after I first heard it.

MaxNeverMaxine Chapter 25 Comment:

She certainly is. :) It is what Max does for a living, after all.

The casual alcoholism is something I sort of adapted from Nate Ford, one of the characters I tried to base this Max on, then promptly changed to try make it fit when I realised it wasn't quite right. You will find out what drove her to it though, I have that whole encounter written out already. It's just waiting for me to find a place to put it. :)

Southern Links Guest:

No sweat, pal. I've been pretty much the same. Jeez, uni work takes so long. :D And cool, I'll have to try doing that. Thank you!

Guest:

Me either, Guest, me either. It's going to be obnoxiously fluffy. :)

"No way, dude. You're hella crazy."

Victoria bristled. "I am not crazy! You just have no taste!"

I roll my eyes and fix her with my best big sister glare. It was hella shitty since I was never a big sister and couldn't glare at Max before she left without breaking her heart or after she left without her rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Vicky. There's no way Picard is the best Captain. Kirk, all the fucking way, man."

She scoffs. "You mean Captain can't TALK like a REGular huMAN being Kirk? Yeah, 'cause he's better than Picard." She rolled her eyes back at me. "Stewart was a Shakespearean actor. Went on stage with..."

Her mouth creased as she tried to remember the name. I fixed her with another glare. "The Royal Shakespeare Company, dumbass. And so what? Kirk's a badass." I start counting off on my fingers. "He beat a Gorn, he captured a Klingon wessel, fuck, he beat the Kobayashi Maru. Picard got his ass kicked by everyone in space!"

Victoria scoffs. "He only had to fight all those things because he was a temperamental, hotheaded idiot who couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag!"

"At least he could fight! Picard's crew spent half their time getting his dumb-fuck ass out of trouble!"

We both finally stop talking, just glaring at each other. That's when I finally notice that Katie's been sat there for an hour looking at both of us with a hella confused expression.

I grin sheepishly. "Sorry, Katie. "

She shakes her head. "No, no, I... learnt a lot?" Her face creases up in a frown and it's hella freaking cute. "Kirk and Picard are both captains of the... Enterprise, right?"

I nod and look over at Victoria. "Dude, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

She snorted. "I don't want to even guess at what you're thinking, Price."

I let it slide.

"A Trek Marathon! Pretty sure I've still got all my boxsets somewhere."

Katie frowns again. "A... 'trek marathon'?"

I grin. "Trust me Katie kat. You're gonna love it. My TV is kinda shitty, but it'll have to do."

Victoria leans forward, tapping on the table. "Jesus, Price, are you forgetting who you're talking to? We're using my flatscreen, not your shitty antique whatever."

I blink in shock. Still hella weird when Icky Vicky does something nice. She jabs a finger at me. "And if you think I'm going to let you get away with only showing her the Original Series, you're fucking delusional."

I shrug. "Whatever. That's fine by me. We'll let her decide which captain she thinks is the best. Katie kat, you in?"

She smiles. "Sure. Sounds like fun. When shall we do it?"

I shrug. "How 'bout tomorrow? We can see if Max wants to come along too." I resist the urge to grin when Victoria visibly perks up at the mention of Max's name.

Katie shakes her head. "She can't do tomorrow. She's running a martial arts class."

I blink. "She's what?"

"A martial arts class." She repeats. "Apparently some people from our year wanted to learn, and she said yes to teaching them."

I was kinda pissed that she hadn't told me, but seeing Victoria shocked too made me feel hella better about it. I grin. "Screw the Trek Marathon, I wanna go to that!"

Katie gives me a hesitant look, but I don't let up. "Come on, Katie. Wouldn't you feel safer if you knew how to defend yourself? I know the Bible says life is suffering or whatever, but there's nothing good about getting your ass kicked, trust me."

After a second, she just says "That's the Sutras."

I frown. "What?"

"The Bible doesn't say that. That's the Sutras. They're the Buddhist Bible. Sort of."

Huh. You learn something new every day. "Oh, okay. Well, then the Buddha is hella wrong too. You've got the right to kick someone's ass if they try to kick yours."

I can she's trying to hide a smile, so I know I'm getting through to her. "Look, Katie. If we go, and you don't wanna stay, we can go and watch Star Trek, no problem." I grin. "You'll be missing out though. Max is hella fucking cool when she's all kung-fu and shit."

The smile finally breaks onto her face and she leans into me. "Okay."

"Awesomesauce." I lean my head on top of hers and smile. I love having a short-ass girlfriend.

I turn back to Victoria, who's giving us a hella disgusted expression. "Jesus, you too are so sickeningly cute. It's gross."

Katie giggles.

"Yes, I'm aware of the situation in Malta. Give the team what support they ask for." I swallow a growl as Dr McIntyre continues protesting. "Hester! They're competent people who know their jobs. Let them get on with them."

I stop listening as she blathers on about her dozen degrees. The woman was an insufferably arrogant Ivory-Tower Intellectual. Couldn't stop pushing others to follow her 'expert suggestions'. Always believed she knew best.

I'd given her a division to try satisfy her authoritative side, but apparently that wasn't working. We might have to... revisit this relationship soon.

For now, I just wanted her to shut the hell up. "Listen to me, Hester? The Second Floor exists to support the First, not obstruct it. Understood? Do you want to keep pushing, or would you prefer to keep working?"

She sighed. "I'll drop it. For now, but-"

Excellent.

I hung up, tossing the phone down onto the desk.

Sometimes I envied my old self. She never had any HR-bullshit to deal with. I stood up, pacing around the room. Another habit I'd picked up from Jimmy. Whenever I was irritated, I'd wear the hell out of the carpets.

I'd just started to drift into possible replacements when my phone rang again. I answer, recognising the number. "Yes Nate?"

I can hear the faint sound of waves in the background as he talks. "Hey Boss, just wanted to let you know that we've got a new contract and..."

"And you wanted to leave the kids with one of our minders again?" I finish.

"Nah, I left 'em with Chloe."

My mouth drops open. "You left your children with Frazer? Seriously?"

I can almost hear the confused frown. "Yeah..? What's the problem?"

I snort. Elena was so going to kill him. "It's your funeral, Nate. What's the contract?"

"Some Australians want us to go check out a wreck near Rhode Island. They think it's the HMS Endeavour. It was Captain Cook's ship back in the 1700s, but the British sold it off to a private investor. When the American Revolution broke out, they took it back and sent it to Rhode Island. It got sunk to make a barricade against a French fleet."

"Okay..." I rub my temple, trying to stave off the impending headache. "If you don't want a minder, why are you telling me this? Do you need something from the Syndicate?"

"Oh, no, no. Well, yeah, kinda."

"Nate..."

The headache wasn't impending anymore.

"I've had a look at their equipment, and they're missing a few things we really should have so-"

I cut him off. "Are they necessary?"

"Yes."

Wowzers. A short answer from Nathan Drake. Miracles never cease. "Okay, send the list in. We'll get what you need."

"Thanks, I..." Someone says something to him. It's muffled, and I can't make out any words. "I have to go, Boss. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Nate."

I hang up the phone, resisting the urge to throw it at the wall. Bloody employees. Feels like I'm constantly putting out fires. Using freaking Gasoline. I force my scowl to relax. Then, I take a deep breath and rub at my temples again.

Goddamn, I really need a drink.

Right now though, I didn't have time. I put my phone in my jacket pocket and left my office. The main room was empty, everyone out on the assignments I'd given. Except one person. She was still in, on the assignment I'd given.

I poke my head into the computer room. "Tish, anything on who owns that house?"

Files and code fly across the huge screens on the wall. Tish herself is hunched over her keyboard. She's typing on it with one hand, and doing something on a tablet with the other. She neither stops nor looks up when I speak. "Not yet, boss. Just hacking the mortgage company server now. Should have something in forty..." Her computer beeps and she grins. "Twenty minutes."

I nod, and leave.

It's mid-afternoon when I get back to Blackwell. The place is understandably deserted. Not even the teachers want to be stuck there on a Saturday afternoon.

I head past the main building, nodding politely to the few people I pass. None of them stop, and neither do I. I'd never seen any of them with Stella, so they'd be useless to talk to. Stella wasn't part of the Vortex crowd, so they were out too. Kate was probably busy with Chloe. Maybe that girl I'd met outside the Two Whales? Alyssa didn't seem the most useful person for this contract, so I hadn't spoken to her much. She might not be willing to help me. I had also had no idea where she spent her Saturday afternoons.

For now, I'd just have to check Stella's room. The police wouldn't have checked it yet, since she'd only been missing a few hours. Idiots hadn't had the opportunity to mess it all up yet.

Stella's room was 217. First door on the right. That was unfortunate. I'd have to be very... huh. I wince slightly at the volume of the synthy-orchestral music coming from Tori's room. I shudder. I forgot how terrible her taste in music was. And how bad her hearing was, jeez. She played her music so loud, the floor shook with the beat.

I slipped into Stella's room, easing the door shut behind me. After a moment to listen for pursuit, I took a look at the room. Wow. This place was... spartan. And untidy. No decoration at all, the bedsheets were rumpled, papers and books were everywhere, and...

Huh.

I finally understand why Travis keeps criticising my apartment.

I shook my head. Mind on the job, Max. I'm here to investigate, not criticise the decor.

A quick surface check reveals nothing interesting, so I start checking the usual hiding places. Nothing in the vents, or under the carpets. The space under her bottom drawer was empty too. Even the papers on her desk were useless.

I sat down in her desk chair with a huff. Goddamnit. There had to be something. This was the only place Stella had to hide things. A scholarship girl from out of town isn't likely to have a stash elsewhere. I lean back in the chair with a sigh and...

Wait.

Is that..?

Something glinted on the inside of the lampshade. I tilted my head, focused on it. Not a bug. Or if it was, it wasn't any of the main commercial models. And no telltale camera lens, either. So, it was probably safe to interfere with. I hopped up on the chair and reached in to the lampshade.

Huh.

A thumbdrive. Interesting. What did a girl like Stella have to hide? Certainly an interesting talent for concealment. I'd have to remember the lampshade trick. I took another quick look over the rest of the room, then left. I'd gotten three steps down the corridor when another door opened. "Maximus!" A familiar head of blue hair pokes out of the door.

I smile. "Hi Chloe."

A voice calls out from the room she... Tori's room... and Tori's voice... what the hell? "Is that Max? Tell her to get her ass in here already!"

Chloe looks back in the room as Tori yells, then back to me when she's done. "Well? Come on Maxie, you heard the Queen Bitch, get that ass in here!" She disappears back into the room.

After a second of hesitation, I get my ass in there.

Tori and Kate were both perched daintily on either end of the couch. Chloe, on the other hand, had sprawled over the middle of it. One arm was slung around Kate's shoulders. I tilt my head and frown when I notice what's on the TV. "Star Trek..?"

Chloe grins. "Yeah! We're introducing Katie here" She taps Katie on the shoulder. "to the best show ever, The Original Series!"

Tori harrumphs. "Only for now. We're going to show her the real best series, Next Generation, after this."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "More like the..." Her face scrunches up in concentration. "shittiest generation..." She trails off lamely. When she sees us smirk, she bristles. "Hey, it's hella hard, being all witty and shit all the time."

Aww.

Tori snorts. "Clearly something you suffer with often."

Chloe grins. "Thank you, Vicky. Always hella nice to be appreciated." When Tori rolls her eyes, Chloe turns back to me. "You agree with me, right Maxie? Original Series is the fuckin' best!"

I shrug, nonchalantly offering an "Actually, I preferred Voyager." [AN1]

Both of them stop and stare at me, mouths open. After a few beats, I smirk. "Joking."

They both shudder. "Don't even, Max... Don't even."

My back stiffens for a moment as a voice in my ear suddenly yells "Save, damnit, Save! Pusa chigwishu che dhodhi! Pamhata! Hindava akunda't iwe fucking ita chii Ndi..? Oh fuck ini ne hungura chipanera adana Dave!"

I force myself to relax as I catch Chloe staring at me suspiciously. I wink at her, then walk over to sit on Tori's desk chair. I use the movement to disguise a mutter "Tish? What's wrong?"

Chloe and Victoria start talking over the show again. Their running commentary reminds me of a class-divide version of those two muppets. The ones in the balcony seats? Shit, what were they called? Fuck it. I'll google it later. Either way, I tune them out and focus on Tish. "I got kicked from the system. Some idiot put a faulty clause in the code. And I found nothing."

"Nothing?" I murmur.

"Not a damn thing. The house is owned by an ex-Marine, for fuck's sake. Uh, Captain... Renko? His records are mostly classified, but he's real, and looks like a regular career soldier." She taps a few keys. "I can look into him if you want, but..."

I'm about to mutter a response when I'm suddenly asked a direct question. "Hey Maxie, Katie kat says you're doing some kind of fight club thing tomorrow for the reporter and the cheerleader?"

I raise an eyebrow and look over, taking note of Chloe's interested grin. Ah. She wants to try out some more training.

I click my tongue twice, pretending to mull it over. Tish immediately recognises the signal. Yes.

"Right, boss. I'll try see what I can find on the company." I hear her tapping on keys again. "Maybe the Prescotts are in with it through them. Enjoy your movie whatever." The sudden click lets me know she's gone.

I nod. "Something Dana asked for. Why, are you interested?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Fucking duh, Max. You're running a fight club, I hella want in!"

"Not a fight club," I correct. "A martial arts lesson."

She shrugs. "Whatever. I still want in."

I look to Tori and Kate. "I assume she's 'encouraged' you two to go too."

It's not a question.

Both of them nod. Kate's a little more bashful about it than Tori. Tori just looks obligingly irritated. "Okay, then. You're all invited, if you'd like to come."

They all nod, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Now satisfied, Chloe goes back to the show. She very visibly, but very unconsciously snuggles up to Kate. Kate flushes, but snuggles back. The two of them fit together like puzzle pieces on the couch. Tori sits primly on the end, but she still seems comfortable. She's smiling, and riffing on the show in front of them.

I sit back, watching them all interact.

It's somehow relaxing, despite the volume. Chloe and Victoria bitch back and forth, but there's no venom there. It's a conflict of defence, not attack.

Somehow, we end up spending the rest of the evening like that. When the rest of them fall asleep, I slip out.

I had some calls to make.

AN1 - Personally, I'm with Victoria on this one. TNG was easily my favourite trek. DS9 and Voyager had some great episodes, but were mostly just... okay, but nothing special. Same with Enterprise. TOS was great, but not quite on the level of TNG. Picard's speeches alone made it the best Trek for me. And I actually still haven't seen any of the new ones yet, movies or TV, but I hear Discovery is trying too hard to be 'edgy'.

AN2 - ... don't ask, 'cause I don't know either. I think I must've blacked out for that whole bit, because I don't remember writing any of it.

Shoni Translations -

Pusa chigwishu che dhodhi - Useless piece of shit

Pamhata - Cunt

Hindava akunda't iwe fucking ita chii Ndi..? - Why won't you fucking do what I..?

Oh fuck ini ne hungura chipanera adana Dave! - Oh, fuck me with a rusty spoon called Dave! [an2]