Permission to Rebel

by ShiningAngelEyes

Garland pulls innocent rebels into her net of loco movie crewmembers. Contents flammable. But anything for Rico I guess.

Mira looked up from the map she had spread out on the table in front of her when her attention got caught by a white van with a grenade logo that was pulling up from the lively crossroad which split Puesto Guardia Batalla into four outposts. A blonde woman with glasses, an olive green jacket with a dozen and a half badges and a Brooklyn cap stepped out and walked up the stairs to join Mira and her friends under the metal canopy. Her confident strides gave the impression that meeting with the rebels had become a matter of habit for her. Mira had never seen her before.

"Guys, who the hell is she?"

Luis followed her gaze. "Quién? Oh. She's that movie producer, no, director, who wanted to talk to Rico. I think he's helping her shoot a movie or something. No idea what she's doing here though."

Mira turned and walked a few steps in her direction before drawing her weapon and positioning herself in front of the newcomer with a scowl. "Oye, this is a rebel outpost, not a movie set."

"Which means you're just the people I'm looking for," the woman said with far too much enthusiasm in her voice to be appropriate and extended her hand. Mira just looked at it briefly but instead of shaking it she just narrowed her eyes. She didn't have the time or energy to put up with nosy civilians right now. "Mira, right? Name's Garland King. You've probably heard of me. And I heard my star's in trouble?"

"Your star?" Mira asked as Luis joined them.

"Rico Rodriguez? Tall, dark and handsome. Sports a grappling hook." She raised her left arm and gave it a shake, then spread both arms to the sides before gesturing towards her back with her thumbs. "Wingsuit, parachute, come on, work with me here-"

"How do you know he's in trouble?"

"Word gets around in my line of business, hotshot. Good thing I'm on your side, eh?" Garland said, then pointed at Luis with her index and middle finger, leaning forward as her playful smile turned into an intense stare. "So, what's the battle plan?"

Mira answered before Luis could think of anything, "Escuche, señora, just because you're making a movie about our leader doesn't mean you're qualified to rush into rescue missions. You can join the Army of Chaos but this kind of operation requires special training first and-"

"Yeah, no, I don't think there's time for that, and besides, I don't intend to be a full-time rebel. Sorry, my schedule's jammed."

"Mira's right," Luis agreed. "You have no idea what you're up against. Y por cierto, we don't need cameras here, we're doing real work. There's no story for you to tell-"

Garland raised a hand to stop him. "Okay, first of all, I'm not a reporter, Sarg, I'm a movie director. And I'm not here to shoot a movie, I'm here to make sure I won't have to reshoot my partials. Among other things…"

"Hrmh… How did you find us anyway?" Mira asked, slightly distraught at the thought of the Black Hand just breezing in at any moment.

"I was prepping a movie scene nearby." She gestured in the direction of Vista Pampas, the nearest town in the west. "You guys are hard to miss. Ah, how I love the sound of gunshots and the smell of explosions in the morning." Mira and Luis exchanged questioning looks. "Anyhow, the important thing is, I'm here. So let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

Mira sighed. She had a feeling there was no use in trying to argue with this woman. "... Alright, fine. What-"

"Perfect!" Garland almost yelled in ecstasy, a renewed sparkle in her eyes. "So, once again, what's your plan?"

Luis motioned towards the table. "Well, we were just in the process of trying to figure-"

"Good! Good. Then we're gonna go with mine."

"Actually, we do have a plan already," Mira interjected impatiently.

"Oh?"

"Sí, we're waiting for backup to arrive and then we'll storm the base. Most of our people are currently fighting at the frontline and we have no squad reserves, so it'll take the reinforcements about one or two hours to get here but we can use that time to-"

"Hours?" Garland raised a hand and waved it around while shaking her head. "Eh, negatory, sis. I want my star back in one piece, if you don't mind. And the reinforcements? How many of them aren't going to walk out of there alive?"

Mira sighed. She hated to think about that aspect of their newfound profession. "Unfortunately, that's an occupational hazard. But these people know what path they've chosen, they chose to fight – and they know what they're fighting for. We cannot win this war without Rico and we need to win it. For all our sakes. To them – and to us as well - it's worth giving our-"

"No no no no! None of you need to do that today. I have-"

"Academia Qacha is one of the Black Hand's best secured and most fortified military bases," Mira kept on lecturing, "We simply cannot get in without those reinforcements, it's too heavily guarded. We don't stand a chance. Only... Only Rico could do that without casualties."

"That's why I'm here. I-"

"Adding to that he usually comes up with the best ideas when we hit a dead end," Luis continued Mira's train of thought, ignoring Garland while he stared off into the distance.

"Oh, I'm sure he makes great contributions," Garland said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course he does," Mira said with a confused and defensive frown.

Luis continued, "Not to mention that his jokes are true morale boosters."

"Boosters are my métier...," Garland mumbled. Then she suddenly looked surprised. "Wait, he does that? Cracking jokes?"

Luis nodded matter-of-factly. "Pero honestamente, the greatest feeling in the world? Is when he lets you know he appreciates your work and that you did good. Always motivates me to work even harder."

"Really...," Garland drawled, making a pensive face and Mira almost felt smug about their achievement of stopping her cocky flood of words, whatever the reason was. Come to think of it, she actually had a pretty good idea though.

"Maybe he's not as good a friend of yours as you thought he was."

Garland's expression turned into something akin to a pout. "Well... I bet he didn't wink at your camera."

"Wink?"

"Nevermind." She turned to Luis. "Would you stop talking about him like he's already dead? I said. I have a plan." She proceeded to tug a bunch of stapled slips of paper out of one of her chest pockets and unfolded them, so that the two rebels could see the front page, and pointed at various spots while she explained, "You see, these right here are permits from the Solino Film Association. Authorizing me and my crew to film at Academia Qacha for Espinosa Telecom-"

At the name drop Mira couldn't help but raise her weapon, Luis following her lead shortly after. "You work for Espinosa?" she asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Garland held up her free hand in defense, looking mildly confused. "Whoa whoa relax, guys, holster your gats! It's forged, alright? Geez, you have some serious trust issues."

Luis looked at Mira questioningly and she gave him a curt nod. They lowered their weapons. "We're in the middle of a rebellion and our leading commander, secret weapon and friend got captured by the enemy. Disculpanos if we're a little on edge right now. We don't know you, so we don't trust you. You're not exactly making this easy for us either."

During Mira's explanation Garland furrowed her brow and her eyes focused on something behind the rebel. Towards the end she started nodding slowly as if she was making a mental note. "That's good," she said with a raised index finger, briefly moving it back and forth before her focus returned to the permits. "Anyway, these? Great quality. Highly professional work. Should buy us a few minutes, at least, which will be all the time we need to get him out if I am to believe what's being said about you."

"Said by-"

"How were you able to forge those permits so quickly? Rico hasn't even been gone for half an hour," Mira asked, checking her watch.

"I've got some bright and skilled PAs who are very eager to keep working for me once their internships are over. So, a while ago I asked them to try their hands on those pesky permits for... other instances. I mean, faking my death wasn't gonna hold off the Black Hand forever, was it? Always gotta leave the door open."

"Faking your wha-"

"Is anything real with you?" Mira asked with a wary look at her.

Garland gave her a smug smile. "My awards." Then she fell silent for a second before raising her index finger and saying in a solemn tone, "My passion for movie making. My... need for Rico to be my stuntman? Uh, you can count on that. Actually pretty much everything. But I gotta have some aces up my sleeve when it comes to the Black Hand getting between me and my visions. Oh, right, fun fact, this jacket I'm wearing is-"

"Está bien," Mira interrupted her in order to avoid wasting any more time with mindless chatter. "We'll see if we try it your way if, if you present us a fully-polished plan that we all agree with. And if it backfires you're the one in trouble."

Garland waved her hand dismissively. "It won't. Eh, I hope. Just, play along. What we're doing is we're gonna go in there as a film crew, my film crew. So we'll use my van." She pointed at the white van she had parked by the street earlier. "It's got nitrous. But I can't fit more than six people in there. Which means I'm gonna need three of your best. And another American, if you got one... Just so the Black Hand doesn't suspect we have any personal ties with Solís. And sadly my crew's lacking in the shooting real weapons department, you know. Not to mention set safety guidelines, ugh..."

"As you're aware, there aren't a lot of people to choose from here… I'm definitely coming though," Mira said and Luis nodded.

"Yo también. Rico may have told me to stay behind the lines but this is something I just have to do for him. I can't sit idly by, especially now that we're short on combat power."

"Great, that makes two. Alright, I got helmets and stuntsuits in the back. Put them on." She pointed at the two of them. "You're my stuntpeople. That way they won't recognize you. They may not know you yet but I'm not taking any chances. Odds are they know you, Mira. As for me? I think it's better for all of us if they do recognize me."

Mira rolled her eyes at that.

"We'll go in there and I'm gonna convince them that they want to be in my next big picture."

"How's that going to help Rico?"

"All in due time, Sarg."

"What if you can't convince them?"

"Leave that to me, sunshine. I'm a famous movie director with a near flawless permit who works for their boss. They are going to listen to me. And if not – big if - we're gonna jump to plan B. Who's your hacker?"

Izzy, who was sitting at the table and typing intently on her notebook, raised her hand and said in a less than energetic voice, "I'm Izzy. Don't gimme any of that nickname crap, pseudo-software."

Garland briefly raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Izzy. Rico had only the greatest things to say about ya."

That made her perk up. "De verdad?"

"Nope, he hasn't mentioned you once, actually. Any of you guys. Looks like the fame's getting to his head already. After all, we never did have that prima donna talk. But hey, at least you can say you knew him before he was cool."

Izzy just grumbled while Luis replied, "Well, he's never talked about you either, so…"

"Ouch. Hopefully the after party will change that." She wiggled her eyebrows at Luis before turning back to Izzy. "Izzy, if plan A fails, I need you to discreetly hack a prison cell. You can do that, right?"

"Sí. I can hack anything if given enough time. All I need is a diversion."

"Gotcha. No matter how this plays out, we're gonna need weapons. We'll smuggle them in under your jackets. They're really large, so no one will notice. If they don't frisk you very, very thoroughly. Don't worry though, I'm an expert at eluding laws," she said with a conspiratorial wink.

Mira, Luis and Izzy exchanged looks, wondering if Garland even knew they were all more or less former criminals. Let alone the fact that besides Rico they were the ones who started this rebellion in the first place.

"All you need to do is act your parts, be on alert and leave the rest to me. I'm going to have to trust you on that. Just like you have to trust me."

"We'll see about that. But remember, Rico is our priority in there, not you. And we can't guarantee that nothing will happen to you," Mira told her, hoping in the back of her mind that maybe that would scare her off and another opportunity would present itself to them somehow, although the odds of that happening were less than slim.

Garland looked completely unfazed by that information. "Sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure you know what-"

"It all worked out in my head at least. If the movie business has taught me anything it's-"

"I'll be damned! Garland King?"

Mira rolled her eyes when she saw Tom Sheldon approach. She still wasn't sure if they could trust him. Rico himself had said they couldn't. Although his Thunderbarge plan had worked quite well and Rico and Sheldon seemed to have bonded a little during that time. Yet there was still so much she didn't know about him and their history.

"What's he doing here?"

Garland turned around and smiled at the Texan. "In the flesh."

Luis leaned towards Mira and whispered, "Uh, that's on my head… I thought the more the merrier. And he is Rico's friend, no?"

Mira sighed and went to stand next to Sheldon as he and Garland shook hands. "Tom Sheldon. I- I just wanna say," He took a step back, lifted his hands and then gestured towards himself, "big fan of your movies right here. Space Station Zero? An evergreen at my place. Proud owner of the limited collector's edition."

"Hehey! A man of taste, I see. You know, you should do a movie night with your protégé sometime, I don't think he's ever even heard of me."

Mira's eyes fell on the collection of badges on Garland's jacket and she inspected them more thoroughly. There were a lot of colorful ones with messages about peace.

"Rico? Oh, I think he ain't watchin' a whole lotta movies in general. The only ones he quotes are big franchises. He likes to make up his own witty one-liners though."

Peace signs. 'Power to the People'. Peace. 'I'm already against the next war'. 'Peace now'. 'Make love not war'. Twice. Peace. Rainbow colors. Love. Peace. 'Flower Power'. All the colors. Peace. Peace... Just a lot of hippie stuff. She was probably a fan of The Beatles too. Mira briefly looked her in the eyes again. What if her intentions were pure? She didn't quite dress like a hippie but that didn't mean she couldn't believe in their values and act in their spirit.

"Oh, I bet. He was made to be in the spotlight. Although he could be a little more..." Garland scrunched up her nose, "uh, self-confident. He almost seems shy at times."

"Uhm, guys?" Luis interjected.

Mira took another look at the less colorful badges. 'The Man for the 60's'. JFK? That would fit the hippie theme. 'I heart LA'. And some with titles of her movies, presumably. Road Rage. Space Station Zero... Wait, Space Station Zero? That, coupled with the little picture, did ring a bell.

"Well, he's hardly shy when I'm around, lemme tell you that. But uh, I reckon he just doesn't know how to handle," Sheldon paused briefly and shrugged, "y'know, some women-"

"Hold up guys, Space Station Zero?" Mira joined their conversation. "A friend and old co-worker of mine is obsessed with that movie. I always have to see that ugly poster when I visit him. He also believes that it's much more than just fiction… Calls it a 'leak of governmental secrets and actual proof of alien life disguised as a movie'. He's… a little peculiar. Now we know who your movies appeal to." She raised an eyebrow and couldn't suppress a smug smirk as her eyes flicked from Garland to Sheldon and back. Garland answered her with a laugh.

"I mean, my movies are meant to make people forget about their lives for a moment but I think he's taking it a little too far."

"Hm… you know, maybe I should introduce you two. You could try to convince him that it's not real. He's been on this trip for far too long."

"You betcha! I can show him all the behind the scenes footage and the green screens and, hey! Did you know the Xenobaum monster is actually just a really spooky-looking tree? Henry discovered it when scouting locations for K4. Oh, also, I still have one of those reptile-"

"Dios mío! Continue your chit-chat later. We have a base to infiltrate!" Izzy interrupted them, giving Mira a particularly affronted look.

"Right!" Garland lightly slapped Sheldon's chest with the back of her hand. "You joining in, Tom? Part of the set, part of the crew!"

"Course. But please," He raised a hand, "don't call me Tom. Not that I don't wanna be on a first name basis with Garland dad gum King - it's just weird. Nobody calls me that."

"Whatever you say, cowboy. How's your persuasiveness?"

"Good enough, I s'pose. Wait, what's the plan?"

"I'll brief you in a sec."

"You're in no matter what though, right? For Rico?" Mira asked, narrowing her eyes at Sheldon to test his loyalty.

"Come hell or high water. Kid's my responsibility," he said somewhat nonchalantly but it did sound sincere.

Garland put a hand on his shoulder and stared up in his eyes. "Lovely. Listen, I need you to ride shotgun and be a convincing American movie producer. Can you do that?"

"Hell yeah I can."

"We got an enormous ego and lots of attitude and we would never take no for an answer."

"Copy that."

"Entonces, we're really doing this, huh?" Luis asked, looking at Mira.

"Lo parece."

"Ay carajo…"

"I'll take that as a yes," Garland said with a smile, turning to Mira." Mira, you got a map of Gran Batalla for me?"

"Right here," Mira said and walked behind the table. The others joined her and Izzy closed her notebook in order to focus on the briefing.

"Perfect. So. There are three prison buildings in Academia Qacha. Here, here and here." She pointed at the respective spots on the map.

Mira was all business now. "I think we can rule out the eastern one. It's rather secluded and poses a far easier target for rebels. And the western one is too close to the south entrance, so my guess is he's being held in the northern one."

"My thoughts exactly, sunshine, but we need to make sure. Here are the deets: We'll drive around this lake and arrive at Academia Qacha at the east entrance. They'll most likely search the van and if we don't screw up they're gonna allow us passage. Remember, we're not sneaking in there on a secret rescue mission, we're here to shoot a movie because Espinosa wants Gabriela's place of graduation featured in-"

Mira's eyes widened. "Wait, how do you-"

"Research. I know a thing or two about you… Nothing private though, just general info. Scout's honor." She held up her hand and made the respective sign.

"Uh-huh..."

"I'll distract the captain while you set up the filming equipment under Sheldon's command. Make it look professional. You all know what you're doing. Izzy will try to find a way to get to the consoles in the meantime. Then comes the complicated part."

"Uhm, none of that was complicated yet?"

"Not as complicated. No sugarcoating. This is going to end in a crossfire. Be prepared. Make it quick, try not to miss. Sheldon and I will get Rico out while you cover us and you," she pointed at Luis, "will drive the getaway car A.K.A. my van. We're gonna retreat to it ASAP and the second we're in you floor it, all right, Sarg?"

"Listo."

"Take the fastest route, short cuts, jumps, do what you must-"

"Wait, for real?"

"Yeah. It'll make it easier for us to lose them."

"But isn't that, like, really risky?"

"Well, I know that it's efficient, Sarg. Trust me, my van can take a hit."

"I'm not worried about your van..."

"It'll be fine. Just drive through here and straight to Vista Pampas. There's a church near my movie set we can hide in. Got medics there already. Hopefully your rebel outpost will keep them off our backs..."

"And if not I'll just keep driving."

"Right. And use that nitrous like there's no tomorrow. Oh, but, mind the turns - let's just say we won't be breaking any drift records with that baby. Shouldn't be too much of a handicap though. My vans did well in previous chases. With nitrous they can accelerate up to 97.5 miles per hour."

They all looked at her questioningly.

Sheldon translated, "That's about 160 kph. Almost. Eh, not too shabby. This might actually work. Just the right amount of insanity to make it a worthy rescue mission for Rico."

Garland looked visibly satisfied with his approval. "So, all clear?" She hardly waited a second for them to react before clapping her hands together and continuing, "Great! Hop in. Let's roll. Break a leg, everyone." She made a wide gesture with her arm to signal they should follow her.

Mira, Izzy and Luis shared a last look before reluctantly following her. Garland entered the back of her van and rummaged around the stuff that appeared to have been carelessly thrown in there in great haste.

"Alright children. Here's your gear. Get dressed on the way," she announced as she hurled stunt jackets and helmets at them which they barely caught.

"Won't be needing this… or this… or this," she continued, throwing all kinds of junk onto the sidewalk. Mira used that time to radio the other rebels in the outpost and tell them to make preparations - of the explosive kind - for their hasty retreat. Izzy put on her helmet in order to have a free hand to pick up one of the items while Luis crouched down to inspect a puddle of bright blue liquid and the associated ornate but broken glass bottle on the ground.

"Oye, is this holy water?"

"What were you going to do with the chainsaw, PS?"

Sheldon risked a peek inside the van. "Hey, ya got some kind o' disguise in there by any chance? Let's just say this ain't my first rodeo with the Black Hand."

"Oh?" Garland turned to look at him with a frown and then tilted her head. "Hm…" She reached for some cupboards under the ceiling and browsed through them. When she was done she handed him one of her 'Space Station Zero' shirts, sunglasses and a fedora. Sheldon put on the latter two items and Garland nodded with a pleased smile.

"Yeah, that should do the trick."

"You sure?"

"The best disguise is one that doesn't look like a disguise, cowboy." She hopped out of the van and kicked some of her littered stuff out of the way before addressing Mira, "So, what're the smallest weapons you got?"

"Uh." Mira briefly looked down at the SMG-2 she was holding and then back at Garland, giving her a shrug.

Garland's eyebrows shot up. "Are you kidding me? Ugh, well, I got two CS Spectre Mark 5's for you but that's all…," she said, extracting them from the inside pockets of her jacket and handing them to Mira who had trouble balancing all three weapons and her stunt gear in her hands simultaneously.

"If it's any help I brought my CS44 Peacebringer, just in case," Sheldon announced, lifting the hem of his shirt to reveal the weapon. Garland crossed her arms and seemed instantly more relaxed when she smiled at him.

"Sweet! That should be enough. Not ideal but you guys can make it work, surely."

Mira quickly raised her hand which was covered by her stunt helmet, one of the Spectres sticking out of its visor, and accidentally dropped her SMG-2 in the process. "Dibs on the Peacebringer!"

"Espere, you're a movie maker, why do you have real weapons?" Luis asked.

Before Garland could answer, Izzy did it for her. "They're Americans. What do you expect?"

Garland snorted in amusement. "Cut me some slack. I only got my arsenal when you guys started turning Solís into a war zone."

"Sí, to be honest, I had pegged you as more of a pacifist," Mira said, gesturing towards her badges.

Garland briefly looked down at them. "Oh yeah, I am. Usually. But some situations can only get resolved through violence!" She clenched one hand and punched the palm of her other one with it, a manic look on her face. "And now, vámonos amigos!" She walked around the van to enter it on the driver's side while Sheldon took the passenger seat after quickly swapping his hula shirt for the Space Station Zero one. The others climbed into the back. There was still lots of filming equipment scattered inside. The van started moving and Mira handed the two Spectres to her friends. Through one of the back windows she watched the chaotic heap of junk grow smaller in the distance while Garland opened the little window that linked the front seats with the back and Sheldon handed his Peacebringer to Mira before switching through the radio stations and stopping at El Escorpión.

"Are you crazy? You turn on the station that was literally named after Rico?" Garland said, giving him an indignant look.

Sheldon just shrugged with one shoulder and leaned back in his seat. "I like it."

"Well, the Black Hand doesn't. Switch to one of the Espinosa channels, at least when we get closer." She aimlessly flailed her hand but made no move to change the station herself. "Reflexiones or Suave. Or Solís Hoy if you're into getting your ears chewed off all day. Not my cup of tea to be honest."

Mira, Luis and Izzy exchanged incredulous looks at that.

"Just stay in character, Sheldon. We're playing in the big league. It's all about presentation." Then she raised her voice, "And you back there on the peanut gallery, shush! At least I have meaningful things to say…" She trailed off and then cleared her throat.

"Wait, are you that movie director who films illegal stunts in Solís they're talking about sometimes?" Izzy asked.

Garland glanced at her in the rear view mirror. "Huh, guess I am. Oh, regarding that… In case you didn't catch it earlier, they might think I'm dead. I had Rico fake my death the day we met. Ah, you should've seen it. It was bombastic! Lots of explosions. Just the way I always wanted to go."

"Hey, maybe you actually get that wish granted today," Sheldon said jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a priority, I know. But I can fend for myself, just you wait and see."

Sheldon directed a raised eyebrow at her before straining to regard Mira through the little window. His questioning look turned into a stern one when it was met by her frown and uncertain shrug. Right, she had said that. To be fair, she'd been easily irritable ever since Rico had been taken, for good reason, and Garland was just… not sensitive at all. But, they were a unit now and an army stuck together. There was no reason not to watch out for every single one of them. Rico would probably appreciate that, she thought, slipping into her stunt jacket and securing the Peacebringer in one of its inside pockets.

"Hey, Miss King, uhm, I was wondering… What if they don't believe you're, you know, you?" Luis asked to break the silence.

Garland shrugged nonchalantly and jerked her head in Sheldon's direction. "Well, Texas here recognized me."

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Uhm, actually, I saw the company name on the van and put two and two together because I know all o' these punks," he said, gesturing at the back with his thumb.

Garland turned to stare at him blankly for a few seconds but remained silent and Mira wondered how she managed not to crash.

"I mean, you're not an actress or anything," Sheldon added, a little unsure.

"Well," Garland said after a brief pause with nothing but indifference in her voice. "There are always IDs." Then she shook her head and continued, her voice a little softer than usual, "Apropos things that could go wrong. Besides me being officially dead, they could still simply not let us in, find the weapons or call the higher ups immediately, maybe even Espinosa. Or they might know that I'm working with Rico, that Sheldon works with Rico, hell, that we all work with Rico! Or realize the permits are forged, check all of your IDs, we could obviously get killed-"

"If this is s'posed to be a pep talk, you're doing it wrong," Sheldon said, looking at her over lowered sunglasses.

She shot him a quick glance before clearing her throat. "Uhm, what I'm saying is, yes, it's risky but we don't have any other options, okay? If you wait a few hours and storm the base then, he might already be dead and there will be casualties. Once they know the rebels are after them it's only a matter of time before they deem the intel he can give them less valuable than his death. When that happens we need to be as close to him as possible. Or surprise them before they've even made up their minds..."

Mira looked at Izzy and Luis who gave her somewhat unsure looks. She drew her eyebrows together and gave a determined nod. "Got it. We'll make it work."

"Wait, no objections?" Garland said, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Like Rico told me, a plan is a list of things that go wrong. But at least we have a plan and crazy is better than nothing. Y además, it's not like all of this hasn't popped up in my head already while you were explaining your plan earlier. How do you know so much about the methods of the Black Hand though?"

"Research for my movie. Personal interest. And experience with directing fascist characters."

That made Mira smile a little. "Hm. You know, you may be annoyingly, and I mean annoyingly self-assured and maybe even a little insane but..." She gave a little side nod. "You know what you're doing. I'll give you that."

Garland chuckled lightly. "Mira, that's more of a compliment than Rico has ever attempted. I appreciate it. Alright, now here are some pro-tips to avoid this whole thing going sideways: Act natural- I mean, just- just lie low, okay? Be as inconspicuous as possible."

"Covert op. Listo," Luis said in acknowledgement, excitement evident in his voice.

"Think of yourselves as extras. Don't let them provoke you and-" Garland cut herself off. "Uh, on that note, don't let me provoke you either. Look like you belong. And act a little like you don't wanna be there. Like you've had a long day and are a bit tired of your job and me commanding you around when you'd much rather be, I don't know, sitting at home, playing some action video game or something."

Izzy rolled her eyes, momentarily interrupting the inspection of her weapon. "At least one of those I don't have to act…" It wasn't hard to guess which part she was referring to.

Garland chuckled. "Hmhm, yeah, who doesn't love a good action game? Although the real deal is much more fun if you ask me." Either she was incredibly oblivious or simply chose to ignore any jabs at her ego. Or she just wanted to tease them. Mira had no idea but she wasn't going to let that unnerve her.

Garland hummed somewhat absent-mindedly before abruptly tugging the crumpled permits out of her pocket and shoving them against Sheldon's chest without taking her eyes off the road. "Here, take these."

Sheldon made a surprised noise and tried to get a hold of the rustling pieces of paper. "Uhm."

"It feels odd not handing you guys call sheets but all we need is a shot list and that's easy to remember this time: Any Black Hand member you see, hehe."

"Okay…," Luis said after a brief silence, a little unsure about the movie lingo pun.

The silence continued, so they were able to hear what the radio host said after Añoranzas stopped playing. "I call this station El Escorpión. The nickname for a great man who brings freedom wherever he goes. Solís will be no exception."

Some grim expressions were being exchanged before Garland sped up a little and said, "Well… let's not disappoint mister radio guy."

"Sí, let's not," Mira agreed, putting on her helmet and feeling quite vulnerable without a weapon in her hand, now that they were nearing their destination.

"Alright guys, almost there," Garland announced and Sheldon switched the radio station to Suave. Then her voice turned cheery. "Ooh, they look young. Probably not very experienced. Let's go for making them uncomfortable. Oh, oh, oh! Cue for attack is 'cut'. Important. When I say 'cut' you shoot! Something's probably gonna explode. Shh, everyone quiet now! Get ready. Scene one, take one. Aaaaand… action!" Her voice became progressively lower until the last part was merely above a whisper. Mira wondered why she had said that in the first place - there were no cameras rolling as far as she knew. Or were there?

They quickly approached the east entrance where one of the Black Hand soldiers proceeded to block their path and motioned for them to stop.

"Ugh, for real?" All of a sudden, Garland sounded like a completely different person. Mira found herself asking if she had slipped into some sort of hidden camera show while Garland winded down her window and yelled, "Yo, soldier, what's the matter with you? Didn't you get the memo? God, would I love to work with pros just once!"

Sheldon lowered his window as well after lighting a cigar and casually puffed the smoke outside. "Ah, what else wouldcha expect from a rebel-infested country, huh?"

Mira didn't know if she was going to be able to contain herself completely and she was glad she didn't have either of their jobs.

The van came to a halt and the soldier walked up to Garland's window, looking visibly displeased and rather hostile. "Oye, this area is restricted. What the hell do you think you're doing here, lady?"

"What I-? Uh, Thomas, what are we doing here again, dear?" Garland asked, tilting her head and directing a disgruntled look at Sheldon.

"Well, I was under the impression that Oscar Espinosa wanted us to shoot the next scenes of his movie here. I could be mistaken though. Oh wait, only fools or traitors to his authority would mix something like that up." He gave them a sharp look before adding a little hastily and distractedly with the wave of a hand, "Oh yeah, and we got it in writing."

"Oscar Espinosa?" the soldier repeated, now a little surprised. He was indeed rather young, maybe one of the cadets they were training at the base. Chances were high that the more experienced ones were dealing with Rico at the moment.

"Oh, for God's- you do know who Oscar Espinosa is, right?"

"Sí! Yes, of course. But-"

"Great, then where the hell is the problem?"

"Well, I'll have to see that writing first."

Garland let out an overly exasperated sigh and held out her hand to Sheldon. "Thomas, permits?" He handed them to her with his gaze fixed on the soldier and Garland passed them to him.

"Since you got so much time to spare, how about you go read them in peace while we set up our equipment?"

The soldier started flipping through the sheets of paper with a confused look on his face. "Uhm, we don't usually give permits to film cr-"

"We? So that's your job too? Gee, no wonder you're so unsure about how to do your other one."

The soldier ignored her latest criticism, his gaze suddenly fixated on something in the permits. Then his head shot up and he inspected the van with narrowed eyes. Mira tensed up and grasped the zipper of her jacket.

"Wait, you're… you're Garland King?" the soldier asked, looking up at her with a frown.

"That's what my driver's license says."

"Aren't you, uh... supposed to be dead?"

Mira shot her friends a wide-eyed look but Garland didn't bat an eye. "Excuse me? Dead? Outrageous. Preposterous! I've been in this business for a while but I'm not that old yet. What insolence, young man!"

"No, I mean-"

Garland waved him off. "Look, whatever, I'm on a schedule, so I'm willing to ignore that little faux-pas of yours. That is if you can get me through this goddamn barrier already. Pronto. That possible?"

"No, I'm- sorry, señora, I- uh, we, we'll have to search your van first. If you don't mind."

"Oh, I don't mind. Why would I mind needlessly burning the daylight I depend on to be able to shoot useable scenes? Nobody said I was supposed to bring HMI lights today. But if you wanna fill out the paper work and pay the bills to rent them, then hey, be my guest."

"It's not going to take long," the soldier assured, beckoning two of his comrades over. "We'll just have to make sure you're not smuggling any weapons in here."

"Only movie props. You know, fake weapons? Made to look like real weapons on film. Smoke and mirrors. Movie magic."

"Yeah, sure. We'll have to check those out." He conversed with the other two in hushed voices while their eyes kept flicking towards the van. Garland and Sheldon put on their best no-bullshit, annoyed pokerfaces. Then the first one gave the permits to another one who started reading them more thoroughly.

"Open the back of the van, por favor." The two remaining soldiers moved to the back. Garland stopped the engine and stepped outside.

"How long's this gonna take?" Sheldon asked loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ask the sticklers," Garland replied on her way to the back. She opened the doors and addressed everyone in the van, "Alright guys, get out. These gentlemen need to make sure we're not smuggling anything."

"And who are these people?"

"My stuntcrew," Garland said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Or did you think I was going to direct the stunts and perform them?"

"Of course not. Well, step out then," the soldier said, indicating some random spot to his right. Mira, Luis and Izzy followed his direction.

"Take your time. I get paid by the hour," Izzy said with a gleeful chuckle.

"Well, you ain't gonna get paid if you're fired," sounded Sheldon's voice from the front. "So watch yer mouth."

"Ooh! Are those what real weapons look like?" Luis asked excitedly, pointing at the rifles the two Black Hand soldiers were holding.

"Hey, maybe they can teach you how to properly hold one, knucklehead," Izzy told him. Mira wondered if she was really just acting or if she simply used this opportunity to vent her pent up anger.

Garland sighed and gestured towards the interior of the van. "Prop weapons under the seats, everything else… well, everywhere you see it. Lights, cameras, slates… Expensive stuff. Don't break anything or I'll sue you," she said with a threatening look while pointing at them with her index and middle finger.

The soldiers exchanged uncertain looks before one of them proceeded to climb into the van to carefully inspect the equipment. The remaining one didn't even dare to look Garland in the eyes and instead went back to help the other one check the permits.

"I don't even know why I agreed to doing this…," Izzy said, crossing her arms and turning away from the others.

Luis cleared his throat. "Same reason we're all here… Good money."

Mira turned from observing the van to her friends. "Well, I for one am in it for the art."

From the corner of her eye she noticed Garland turning her head and did the same to meet her gaze, smiling under her helmet when she saw Garland smirking at her in a weirdly affectionate way.

Luis continued, "You can't tell me that's the only reason, Mir-" He interrupted himself and his eyes went wide. Mira shot him a scowl. "Ah… mira a tu amiga. At least she's… uh, honest abou-"

"Well!" Garland almost shouted, trying to drown out Luis' voice while directing her attention back to the soldier in the van. "Found any incriminating evidence? Guns? Knives? Coke? In fact, if you do find coke just keep it quiet and you'll get some."

"Uh… no. No coke. Or, or anything else that shouldn't be on a movie set," the soldier said as he stepped back out, glancing briefly in the fake stuntcrew's direction. The others joined him.

"The permits look legit. I just didn't think Espinosa-"

"You don't get paid to think about stuff like that, do ya? Yeah, so leave that to the important people. We good to go?"

"I guess… But I'll have to call the colonel to get confirmation."

"Peachy. Get back in, people. Maybe we can actually start shooting these scenes today."

They all reentered the van while the first soldier took a walkie-talkie from his belt and faced away from them, looking at the permits in his hand when he said, "Colonel? Uh, we- we've got a movie crew here. … They want to film something. … Sí, aquí. … Espinosa Telecom. … They have permits. Look legitimate. … Yo sé, pero- … Pienso que sí. Uh, her name's Garland King? … Sí, sí. … Copy." He lowered the walkie-talkie and turned around.

"Uh, you may pass. The colonel asked you to come to him directly, he's in the northern area. Take a left turn after the barrier, follow the street and turn right before the building, then left again. The colonel will expect you." He gave Garland her permits and motioned for one of the other soldiers who was on his way back to the cabin to raise the barrier.

"That easy, huh? Oh, don't worry, this only cost me a few grands of my budget."

The soldier almost looked like he was about to apologize but he didn't. Garland and Sheldon rolled their windows back up while shaking their heads and Garland drove forward before turning left like they said. Once they were out of hearing range she said, "Welp, that was the easy part."

"This could be a trap," Mira said in a hushed tone.

"Maybe but let's just stay optimistic here. Sheldon? Nice work but now we gotta cut down on the cockiness."

"Not gonna lie, I liked the first part better," the Texan answered, longingly looking at his cigar but refraining from smoking it while the windows were closed.

"Haha. Oh, I agree."

"I have to admit, this plan is quite ingenious," Izzy chimed in. "I'm really enjoying the acting part too."

The van took a right turn before the western prison building.

"It's like hacking your way into people's minds this time, correcto, Izzy?" Luis asked her.

Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't have to make everything I do about hacking, Luis. That's not my whole identity. I have other facets as well, sabes?"

"Por supuesto, Izzy, lo siento, I just thought…,"

"Marital quarrel later, people," came Garland's voice from the front. "Here comes the main gig."

Their conversation faded as they drew near a group of Black Hand soldiers. There was the colonel with his full body armor and ski mask and a few of his privates, men and women, who Mira had encountered many times all over Solís. They were pointing their rifles at them in greeting.

"Well shit… Looks like we're in the lion's den now, folks," Sheldon murmured.

Garland remained calm, didn't say anything and steered her van in a way that only her side was facing the Black Hand members before winding down her window again and casually leaning her arm out of it.

"I suppose you're our reception committee?"

"You suppose correctly."

Her eyes wandered over the raised weapons before returning to the colonel. "Do you know who I am?"

"Your van kind of gives it away, señora."

"That's right. I'm Garland King, of Garland King Studios. That ring a bell? I'm quite renowned in Highland Park. Let's just say that Oscar Espinosa won't be the only displeased person if you don't let me do my job. And I don't think I need to tell you what's gonna go down if anything happens to me or my crew, so I suggest you put down those rifles already."

"Permits," was all the colonel replied to that. Garland picked them up from the dashboard and handed them to him. He flipped through them, his expression not betraying any of his thoughts.

When his curiosity was satisfied he looked up. His subordinates still had their guns pointed at the van. "These do look authentic. You don't mind if I have an expert take a more thorough look at them, do you?"

"Not at all, sir."

He gave them to one of his people who departed the area on the double.

"So," the colonel said, taking off his ski mask and revealing a self-satisfied expression, "what are we going to do in the meantime?"

"Well, we could start setting up the equipment."

"Oh, I'm sure you have minions for that. Why don't you and I have a little talk about that movie of yours? Or should I say Oscar Espinosa's movie."

"Sure. Uhm, I'm just the director though, you might wanna talk to Thomas here, he's the produ-"

The colonel took one quick glance at Sheldon before his eyes returned to her. "No, I want to talk to you," he said and made it sound like an order. Mira sighed a quiet breath of relief, wondering why Garland had even suggested that discrepancy from their plan in the first place. Then again, she could see how someone like the colonel would want to think he was in control all the time. And who to better extract the truth from than some short, geeky woman he could intimidate with his sheer presence?

"Alright, that's fine by me. I'll just park my van over there and we're good to go."

The colonel gave his subordinates affirmative nods, they lowered their weapons and Garland parked the van on a nearby parking lot. They got out and she clapped her hands twice before telling them, "You heard what he said. Chop chop! Thomas, keep an eye on them, dear. This is a nice setting." She made a wide gesture at the surrounding area. "I want everything up and running when I get back. Use the wide angle lens, sombre lights, backgrounds, you got it," she said, pointing and looking at them while walking backwards in the direction of the colonel. "Remember, low-angle shots. Formidable. Power. Wait with scene seven, I wanna be there for the stunts." She narrowed her eyes at Luis and pointed at him with her index and middle finger. "And you, check the gates this time! I don't wanna have to deal with the same fiasco as last Thursday during the dailies."

Sheldon did his best to look like he knew what she was talking about. Smoking his cigar was probably helping him remain relaxed. "Alright guys. Get in position. Uh, let's start with the backgrounds… Go fetch the… wide angle lens. Let's get some light over here. Set up the cameras there, there and there…" Sheldon's voice faded as Garland approached the colonel.

"So, fellow cineaste, you wanna be in my movie or what? Don't worry, I get asked that a lot. And in your case I can actually arrange it."

"No, I don't."

"Oh, come on, a war hero like you! Annihilator of the rebels. Don't worry about the script. You got any experience with method acting? Whatever doesn't fit we work out in ADR later. Just be yourself and we'll work around-"

"What dispute do you have with the rebels?"

"Well, Oscar Espinosa signs my paychecks and I hate looking for new employers."

"I see." The colonel fell silent and started circulating the area. Garland joined him.

"So… I gather you don't have a lot of film crews here?"

"Zero so far, to be exact."

"Well, they only send their best people to do the important jobs, right, colonel?" That earned her a scowl from him and she pretended that it affected her in any way. "Right… what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Garland King…," he drawled. "I've heard of you. You're the real deal on the mainland, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm moderately famous, I'd say. I've had a couple of hits. Space Station Zero, Road Rage, my own version of MacBeth. The first Koreatown is considered to be a cult classic-"

"You got an ID?"

"Uh, sure." Garland tugged a wallet out of one of her chest pockets, slid out her ID and handed it to him. He studied it for a few seconds before giving it back to her.

"Well, Miss King, I hope you know what kind of trouble you're in if it turns out those permits are faked."

"Faked?!" Garland retorted with as much indignation as she could muster. "I mean I get where you're coming from, being all overcautious and everything right now, but why would I fake something like that and march into a highly-secured military base?"

"Maybe you have a death wish."

"Oh, believe me, I don't. I have a blossoming career ahead of me. And just between you and me? This movie I'm filming right here, it's going to be my magnum opus, my Ninth Symphony, my-"

He waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. So, can you tell me anything about it?"

"That depends. No spoilers!" She couldn't help the grin that spread over her face as she stretched out her arms behind her back, hands joined together.

"Can I see the script?"

"Oh, we didn't bring it because we only planned on shooting scenery and stunts today. Not to mention that it's not even finished yet. And top secret of course. Do you even know to what lengths filmmakers go to-"

"Scenery and stunts, huh?" the colonel interrupted her after a moment's contemplation. "What about scene seven?"

"Scene seven: Small shootout inside the base. Fake projectiles and explosions tossing people around. Couple of deaths. Lots of fake blood." She emphasized her list with flailing arms before shrugging nonchalantly. "That's about it. Oh, and we need some on-location background shots for the green screens. We're gonna shoot most of the plot in a backlot due to the unfinished scripts. Which means I can still hire people. Espinosa basically handed me a carte blanche and I'm sure he won't mind a bit of Neorealism."

He looked unimpressed for the most part but Garland could detect a hint of confusion as well as too much pride to ask what all that even meant. Then he raised a disdaining eyebrow at her. "Green screens, huh?"

Despite everything, Garland had to agree with him on that. She'd choose practical effects over green screens and CGI any day. "Hey, I just do what I'm told, okay?"

"I find that hard to believe… Is there anything you can say about the movie's contents?"

"You mean the plot? Well, what I can tell you is that it'll be a biopic, or docudrama if you will, about the Black Hand." She raised both of her hands, palms facing forward, and moved them to the sides. "The movement behind the mask!" Then she formed two L's with her thumbs and index fingers and framed the colonel's head with it, squeezing one eyes shut as she looked at him through the square. "Urgh, I know exactly which lights and angles to use to visualize the juxtaposition between the Black Hand and those rebels. I'm also thinking about doing a bit of cross-cutting between all the Academias." For emphasis she formed a pair of scissors with her fingers and moved them around wildly.

The colonel nodded towards her crew in the background. "You sure you got enough people for that?"

"Ah, I was told my film crew was supposed to be as small as possible, so as not to interfere with your work." She dropped her arms and shrugged. "Frankly, these shots are quite basic. And I can't do stunts without stuntpeople. The camera operators are under my supervision anyway, so really, I have enough savoir-faire to do this on my own. And stuntpeople who are simultaneously responsible for the cameras and lighting are less costly. It's a win-win."

The colonel hummed thoughtfully. "How come I haven't heard of this production yet?"

"Mmh, I can imagine that's because it's only been greenlit a couple days ago and I'm sure you have far more important things to deal with. So, how about that bit part now? If we're lucky I can even smuggle your name into the opening credits. How does that sound, huh?"

He ignored her and instead came to a halt after a moment of silence, narrowed his eyes and turned to look down at her, snarling, "What were you alluding to when you said we were being… 'overcautious' right now?"

Garland bit her lip when she met his gaze as he towered over her. "Uh, I- I'm not sure- I mean, in war times you have to be cautious all the time, don't you?"

"You said 'right now'. Don't play me for a fool, Miss King. You must know better than that."

"Of course, sir, I apologize. It's just… You know, when we talked to your cadets down there, uh, they hinted at something and, well, I'm always looking for a suspenseful story, so... But I- I didn't want to bring it up because it sounded like classified information and-"

"Spit it out!" the colonel barked, sounding more menacing than ever before.

"Well, I'm not sure I got it right but... is it possible you have a rebel soldier here somewhere? They said something about a prisoner and intel…"

The grip on his gun tightened and he moved his finger towards the trigger.

"Did they now?" He shot a scowl in their direction. "Ugh, I knew they couldn't be trusted with that kind of sensitive information. Looks like we need to make their disciplinary training even stricter." His gaze snapped back towards Garland. "So. What are we going to do with you now?"

"With me? I was thinking… I mean, I know that I shouldn't even know about this in the first place but, well, it would make for some truly exciting substance if we could perhaps… get some of that intel for the movie? Or better yet, film the interrogation! To set a warning example. Any rebel scum who watches it would get scared off for good."

The colonel's eyebrows shot up before his frown returned. "We can make our own… dissuasive media."

"Sure, sure, but a movie by a famous director? A world-famous director. Let's face it, colonel, I simply have more range than you do. Let's work together on this one. It's gonna be a blockbuster!"

The colonel looked back at the van. Two of his men were searching it again while the stuntpeople set up the equipment and discussed the stunts. Then he radioed his permit guy who told him that they hadn't found any indications of a forgery yet. He ended the conversation, tucked the walkie-talkie back on his belt and turned his attention to Garland.

"Muy bien. But I swear, if any of you so much as breathe in the wrong direction, I don't care how famous you are. You're all going down."

"That won't be an issue, sir."

"Good, come with me then." The colonel turned and walked towards the northern prison building.

"Can I take my crew?"

"Do they know about the rebel too?"

"I don't think so."

"Then we're gonna go alone first."

"Fine." Garland risked a glance in Sheldon's direction and when he met her eyes, she gave a tiny nod and hoped he understood.

They arrived in front of the building. The colonel punched a code into the console on the right and with a loud mechanical wheeze the gate opened. Garland's eyes first landed on a handful of soldiers, standing or sitting in various places strewn across the room. Further in the back there was a metal chair but other than a large amount of splattered blood surrounding it, it was unoccupied.

Garland gasped slightly when she spotted two soldiers dragging an unconscious, roughed up Rico to one of the prison cells. Her fists clenched at her sides.

The tense silence was torn apart by a sudden outburst from one of the soldiers in the building. "What the hell is she doing here?"

In an instant, all eyes were on her.

"What?" the colonel asked sharply.

"I saw her work with Rodriguez. She's a rebel ally!"

The colonel raised his weapon and turned his very displeased, very menacing glare towards Garland.

"No! No no no." Garland waved her arms around before making a timeout sign and yelling, "Cut, CUT! This is terrible!"

Maybe the colonel didn't view her and her crew as an immediate threat, or he thought of the inevitable negative headlines, or maybe he did secretly want to be in her movie. Either way, he hesitated and Garland used that precious moment to grab his SW9 Assault Rifle, elbow him in the nose and throw herself against him to tackle him to the ground while tearing the rifle from his loosened grip and hurling it in the direction of the rebels, who she hoped would come running towards the building as soon as they were done dealing with the reception committee. They were definitely aware that their cover had been blown, judging by the familiar sound of her Spectres.

"You really shouldn't have hurt him," Garland snarled, rolling off of the colonel and getting on her hands and knees behind him to take cover while he covered his broken nose with his hand and tried to shake off his dizziness.

At the same time dozens of gunshots were fired. The soldier who had recognized Garland reacted immediately, drew his gun and shot at her right before Mira's first bullet hit him in the shoulder. Thanks to her human shield, the soldier didn't dare to take a direct shot at her head, so one of his bullets only grazed her upper arm. She gasped and lied down flat on her stomach while covering the wound with her other hand, able to yell, "Hey, that was my favorite jacket, asshole!" at him right before Mira riddled him with bullets from the colonel's rifle and he went down while Luis and Izzy were handling the rest. The soldiers were barely able to draw their guns and fire a few shots before Luis and Izzy took them out, safely hidden behind the edges of the building. The two soldiers who had been dragging Rico dropped him on the floor to be able to join the shootout but Mira took the chance of Rico being out of the line of fire to unleash her wrath on them.

"Go get the van, we'll handle it from here," Sheldon told Luis while putting a hand on his shoulder in passing, one of Garland's now bloodied light stands in his hand.

"Listo. Wait, take this," Luis said, offering his gun.

Sheldon stopped, took a quick glance at the weapon and made a face. "Nah, keep it."

"What about you?"

"I got everything I need." He waved with the light stand and dashed off.

Luis chuckled briefly and gave a nod. "Muy bien." Then he hurried towards the van.

While Garland was preoccupied struggling out of her jacket to keep the ever-growing bloodstain on it as small as possible, the colonel watched his privates go down one after the other. He shot her a death glare that looked even more dangerous with the blood from his broken nose smeared all over his face.

"Puta! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" he shouted as he got on his knees and reached out to Garland who scrambled backwards as fast as she could, a wide-eyed expression on her face. Mira swiftly planted a few bullets in his skull. He crumpled to the floor and Garland came to an abrupt halt. Then she snapped her head around to look at Mira.

"Phew, thanks! Nice shooting, hotshot."

Mira flashed her a brief smile. "You're welcome." Then her features turned serious again. "Head in the game." She gave a nod in Rico's direction and turned around, the colonel's rifle at the ready while her eyes scanned the area for enemies, allies and cover.

Garland got up, quickly fixed her jacket around her waist and joined Sheldon as he ran towards where Rico was lying on the floor. She fell down on her knees next to him and turned him on his back while Sheldon kept a lookout.

"Rico? Rico, darling, can you hear me?" she asked, giving his injuries a quick once-over before her head shot up to see what had caused the dull thud that had come from Sheldon's direction. He was standing over one of the Black Hand soldiers and holding the light stand in a way that indicated he had just taken a swing.

"Sheesh! Did he wake up again?"

Sheldon turned to frown at her. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not," she said, turning her attention back to Rico and this time Sheldon joined her, his voice infinitely softer when he said, "Hey, kiddo, your friends are here to take you home."

He dropped the light stand and lost no time lifting Rico's upper body and slipping underneath his right arm. Garland did the same on the other side. Sheldon counted and on three they stood up and began their wobbly walk towards the exit.

"Oof, he's as heavy as he looks," Garland groaned.

"Yah, 'kid' may not be the most fitting term anymore."

Garland readjusted Rico's arm over her shoulder with a grunt. "Hm. It's cute though."

Sheldon gave her a doubtful sideways look. "Eh, whatever..."

"You should be in our movie. As a sort of counterpart to Rico's… bona fides. I like your dynamic already," she said over the sound of rapid gunfire that came from who knows where.

"You have no idea..."

"Actually..." She gave him a somewhat apologetic but cheeky smile. "I do."

"Oh." He hesitated. "It's complicated."

"A lot of things are...," she said with a thoughtful glance at Rico. "I'm guessing this is more than his usual daily dose of pain."

"He'll be fine."

Garland hummed in agreement before shouting in Mira's direction, "Are we clear?"

"For now, yeah!" the rebel yelled back.

"Well, here goes nothing."

The van was parked right in front of the building now, engine running, back doors open and blasting 'Sambop'. Garland climbed in and helped Sheldon heave Rico up before getting in as well. Mira followed them, still on high alert with a raised rifle. Izzy scurried onto the passenger seat while shooting at enemies that were approaching them from the south, slammed the door shut and slid down on her seat, shooting blindly out of the little gap above the window.

"Go go go!" Garland screamed and the van started moving.

"Mierda, they blocked the road!" Luis announced with a panicked voice, slowing down a little.

In an instant, Garland was on the cupboard to look through the little window at the front while she held on to the left handle. "Dammit! Hate when they do that..." Her gaze quickly scanned the area and her finger shot out before she said, "Wait, see that trailer over there? Make the jump!"

"Qué? I can't, the canopy-" Luis said as he drove through a chain-wire fence.

"That's as good a ramp as any, Sarg. Jump! Now! Or we're all gonna die!" The bullets kept raining down on the van, supporting her statement.

"Gee, someone's being a real optimist here," Sheldon said while taking a seat on one bench and pulling Rico up next to him, trying to make his position as comfortable as possible. He put one arm around Rico and the other on a handle for support during the bumpy ride that was about to start. Garland winced slightly when Luis hit some of the filming equipment they had set up.

"Just drive, Luis!" Mira ordered.

"Your funeral, compadres..." Luis said but changed directions and sped up. Mira pulled the back doors shut while Garland threw a last glance at her lost equipment behind them, discarded stunt helmets included, an increasingly pained expression on her face.

"Blast..."

"Oh, dios mío..."

"Hold on tight, everyone!" Izzy yelled, her hands clenching the seat.

Garland shook off her sorrow and focused on the upcoming action.

The van reached the end of the trailer and soared through the air.

"Waaaah-"

"Mierdamierdamierda-"

"Woohoooo!"

It hit the canopy and completely tore it apart in a song of noisy clattering before landing on the remaining edge, as well as some sand sacks and a stack of rockets that exploded under them, and eventually hopped further down onto the road.

"Whoa, that was crazy!" Luis said once the van had stopped skidding on the sandy ground.

"Keep it together, Sarg, we're not done yet," Garland said and added in an urgent tone that was a complete 180, "To the right! Speed up!"

"Enemies ahead!" Izzy shouted in an urgent tone and resumed shooting out of her window while Mira did the same with the broken ones in the back.

"Road block is coming after us as well."

"Now turn left! LEFT! Down the slope! Through the guardrail, go!" Garland said, flailing her arms.

"Ohh, not again..." Despite his complaints, Luis did as Garland said.

"Woooo! Now this is a chase sequence!"

They landed on the street below and a harsh jolt went through the van. Garland, more focused on directing Luis than making use of common sense and holding on to something, got flung against the front and fell backwards on the floor with an "oof". She moved the screen of her cap out of her field of view to find Mira's worried face hovering above her.

"You alright?"

"Are you kidding? This is amazing! I'm so inspired! Wish there was space for a DP in here…"

Mira couldn't help but crack a small smile when she shook her head.

"At least one of us is having fun." She extended a hand to help her up. Garland took it and hauled herself up with a groan, covering her wound again as inertia pushed her onto the seat next to Mira when Luis did the right turn at Puesto Guardia Batalla. A bunch of explosions erupted behind them, indicating that the rebels who were left at the outpost were dealing with their Black Hand pursuers. Mira was a steady tower of strength when Luis used the nitrous to regain speed faster and caused Garland to accidentally hit her with her shoulder as there were no handles on their side to hold on to. Mira pushed her back upright when Luis asked, "You guys doing okay back there?"

Mira glanced around and pointed out the most glaring damage. "We lost the windows."

"Qué? Cuándo?"

"When we hit whatever exploded on that ledge."

"What the hell? How does that work?" Izzy asked with heavy confusion as her head appeared behind the little window, so she could examine the damage herself.

Garland looked up to do the same with a raised eyebrow. "No idea, but it's not my van's fault!"

"No," Luis agreed. "Everything else works just fine, even the wheels."

"Huh... Nobody tell César," Mira said before turning to Sheldon, giving a nod in Rico's direction and asking with a concerned voice, "How is he?"

"Ah, he'll live. Kid's tough."

Mira nodded with a grim smile on her face and leaned back. "He is."

"Oh, he definitely is. He once fell down a really high cliff after a helicopter stunt and was basically completely fine-"

"He what?! Garland, I swear-"

"Guys, guys, we're almost there! And I think we got rid of them, woohoo!" Luis announced triumphantly, taking a left turn towards Vista Pampas.

"Gracias a Dios," Mira sighed, her previous irritation forgotten at the prospect of finally getting to safety.

"Now just follow the street and pull up by the big church at the other end of the town."

"Once we're out, keep driving for a bit to make sure they're not on our tail anymore and to lure them away if they are," Mira added.

"Sí, I'll do that," Luis agreed.

"Good thinking, sis."

"Well, I'm not second-in-command because of my looks," Mira said with a smirk.

Garland chuckled and shot her a flirtatious look. "Clever and pretty."

Mira's smile grew. Then the song was over and the woman on the radio said, "Find someone you want to be close to and put on Suave."

It seemed almost reflexive when Garland's head snapped towards Rico and she gazed at him for a few moments with an unreadable expression on her face before averting her eyes and letting them wander aimlessly around the van.

Mira sighed as Luis pulled up on a parking lot near the church. As soon as the van stopped moving she was on her feet, stowed away her weapons, pushed the back doors open and put a hand on Rico's shoulder.

"Come on, Sheldon, let's get him inside."

He nodded in agreement and together they quickly carried him out of the van and towards the church with coordinated movements while Garland watched them with a tilted head and a hand on her still bleeding wound.

"You should get out too, Izzy," came Luis' voice from the front.

Izzy lifted her feet onto the dashboard in response. "I don't think so, parcero. Someone needs to look out for you. Not to mention that this makes a nice change from hacking. I'm coming with you."

"Bueno," he said with a smile, then turned his head, so that Garland could hear him more clearly through the window. "We'll make sure they stay away from you. Be back in a bit. You still going to be here?"

"Unlikely. Might wait for the dust to settle before I come back for the next shoot. First I'll be needing new equipment anyway."

"What about the stuff in the van?"

She glanced around and grimaced. "I don't think a lot of it survived the ride."

"Probably not… Where do you want me to park the van?"

Garland's eyes landed on the spots that were smeared with Rico's and her blood and internally declared the van a total loss. "Uh, I don't really care. Keep it, salvage it, crash it, whatever. I got a hundred of 'em."

"Okay then…," Luis said, a little unsure. "Well, it was cool working with you, Miss King. Hope we meet again. Adiós."

"Likewise. Have a good one, guys," Garland said, hopped out of the van and closed the doors.

"Don't be a stranger, pseudo-software!" Izzy yelled as they drove off and Garland saluted them. Then her eyes drifted towards the church. She sighed, feeling a pang of jealousy and a hint of wistfulness now that the rush of the chase was over and she was alone with her thoughts. She remembered what Luis and Mira had said about Rico. Maybe she was overthinking this – which was not her style at all – but it was really starting to bother her that she was apparently the only person Rico fobbed off with monosyllabic replies and from what she could tell he was also more, for lack of a better word, gentle with them. She had stopped cutting him short and gave him enough time to actually say something other than the bare minimum. Obviously, he was able to do that, so why didn't he?

Lost in thought she walked over to the fountain and sat down on the steps that faced the church, out of the way of the couple that was splashing water at one another. It wasn't long before Mira walked out and approached her with a small smile on her face. Garland gave her a thin-lipped one in return as Mira sat down next to her and gave a nod towards her arm.

"You should get that checked out."

"It's fine."

Mira huffed in amusement. "You sound like Rico."

Garland turned to give her a somewhat dejected look. "Oh yeah? Thought he was more talkative…"

Mira sighed. "Hey, what I said earlier, about Rico not being your friend - that was uncalled for and I'm sure-"

"Don't worry about it, Mira. You've got a point, actually. We're only spending time together when we're working, so I guess that makes us... colleagues."

"I have a different impression," Mira said with an encouraging smile.

When Garland just hummed pensively in response she decided to change the topic. "I probably don't have to tell you this but the Black Hand certainly knows you and your vans now and it's very likely that they're going to make your work a lot harder in the future."

Garland shrugged and gazed at the church. "Eh, it was worth it." Then she gave Mira a grumpy look. "And it's not like they haven't done that before. They keep confiscating my vehicles and gear…"

"Well, I hope you're as good at avoiding them as you are at acting. Maybe try being… less intrusive."

"It wasn't modesty that got me this far, sunshine."

That made Mira chuckle. "Hmhm. You know, I actually think you'd make a pretty good rebel. We could use someone like you."

Garland's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then a smile spread over her face. "Really? I'm flattered." Then she shook her head. "But no, I'm afraid I have to politely decline. I'm already living my dream. You know how hard it was to get here? Being a female action film director and all. The movie industry is a battlefield. It was war. A different kind but one war is enough for a lifetime if you ask me. I want all my future wars to take place in front of the camera. My place is behind it." She squinted her eyes. "I'm open for snowball fights though…" Then she put a hand on Mira's shoulder. "You liberate your home and I show the world."

"Alright." Mira said nonchalantly and then smirked at her. "I just thought it would be fitting if you won an Oscar by helping defeat one."

That made Garland laugh. "Sheesh, I wonder how long you've been keeping that one back."

Mira shrugged and smiled. "It's the best I could come up with under the circumstances."

"Oh, hey, mind if I mention you guys in the 'special thanks' section of the credits? After all, I couldn't have gotten my lead actor back without you."

"I'd be honored. And if you ever do change your mind about the rebel thing or simply want to hang out, just barge in. We've heard of you now."

Garland's face lit up. Then she tilted her head. "Do interviews count as hanging out?"

Mira chuckled lightly. "Sí, I suppose so." Then she stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go check if Rico is awake now. Don't leave. I'll send a medic to patch you up."

"Yeah, I think I should get going actually…"

"Rico probably wants to talk to you too."

"You think?"

"Oh, I'm sure." Mira smiled at her.

"Fine." She turned to her film crew and shouted, "Hey! Pack everything up. We're leaving in a few minutes." Mira watched the crew drop everything and start packing up the leftover equipment with lightning speed. She furrowed her brow, wondering if the Army of Chaos was ever going to follow her commands that diligently. Perhaps she should take a page from Garland's book. But then again, maybe what she had just witnessed was some form of tyranny.

Suddenly one of the crewmembers stopped fussing, turned around and yelled, "But, Garland, we have no van!"

Her eyes widened. "Right. Shit." Then she regained her composure. "Uh, just put the cases in my Eco, further down the road. The orange one. License plate is G-4-R K-1-N-6." She tugged the keys from one of her pockets and hurled them in their direction. Unsurprisingly, one of them had to pick them up from the sidewalk.

"Just gotta rev up, so that the Black Hand can't read it…," she murmured, turning back to Mira who shook her head. "Ah, well… So long, Mira Morales. Buena suerte with your revolution." She extended her hand and this time Mira happily shook it.

"Gracias. Good luck with your movie, Garland King. And with Rico." She gave a nod in acknowledgement and a reassuring smile before she turned to leave.

Entering the church she saw that Rico was indeed awake, sitting on the cot they had set him down on earlier and talking to Sheldon. Before she went to them though she approached one of the medics and told him to see to Garland and keep her there until Rico had talked to her. He packed up a small supply kit and hurried outside.

When Mira walked over to Rico Sheldon came towards her on his way to the exit. She wondered where he was heading. Didn't he want to stay with Rico for a little longer? Judging by Rico's look he also seemed a little confused.

"Hey, Sheldon, what's that shirt you're wearing?" Rico called after him.

"Hopefully one I get to keep!" Sheldon shouted cheerfully and punched the air above him.

Rico just raised an eyebrow but winced when it turned out to not be a good idea with the gash on his forehead. Mira wondered how many of his wounds that were partly covered by band-aids and bandages would leave scars. But seeing him awake and safe was all that was needed to make her happy at the moment. When Rico spotted her he looked equally relieved. But the confusion quickly returned when his eyes fell on her stunt jacket.

"And what are you wearing?"

Mira chuckled briefly. "First things first. Welcome back in the land of the living, Rico. How do you feel?"

"Ah, been better. Been worse."

Mira gave him a look and he sighed. No use playing it cool. Mira knew he wasn't invincible.

"The drugs are starting to kick in but I still feel a little dizzy. And sore. Don't worry though, I didn't tell them anything. Pretty sure they were only getting started, so… Thank you guys. You arrived just in time. No idea how you did it so fast in light of our recruit shortage but I knew I could count on you."

"De nada. But you know... we can't claim all the glory. I don't know if Sheldon told you this already but your movie director helped us out. She came up with the plan, got us in there and you out. I'll tell you the whole story later but what you need to know is that she put herself in harm's way to save you and we wouldn't have been able to do this without her."

Rico looked utterly confused as he drew his eyebrows together and tilted his head. "My movie director? Garland? I find that hard to believe. Doesn't sound like her at all."

"Maybe not but here she is." Mira gestured towards Garland whose arm was being treated by the medic in front of the church while it appeared that she was rinsing the sleeve of her jacket in the fountain. They seemed to be deep in conversation, probably about how to get the blood stain out. Medics had to know stuff like that, right? Sheldon was there too, sitting on the fountain's brim with a big smile on his face. Apparently he had gotten his wish granted.

Rico observed the scene in stunned silence for a few moments. Then he asked, "Did she get hurt?"

"A bullet grazed her arm but she's fine. She did good work. And I don't think she did it just for the money she's gonna make with you."

"Hmm…"

"She's not so bad. I must say I'm looking forward to seeing your movie. If she wasn't a director already I think she'd be a great actress. Uhm, and a pretty good rebel too, actually."

Rico looked at her with a mixture of confusion and doubt. "Hm. She won't want to give up her directing career for that though."

"No, she won't. And she shouldn't. Man, does that woman love action."

"Tell me about it..."

"Maybe even more than you. I mean, more than you love action, not…" She trailed off and Rico looked almost offended but not in a way that would indicate he had noticed her slip-up.

"I'm not sure that's possible."

"If it's any consolation, she's definitely no more insane than you are. I bet you two make a great team," Mira said with a teasing smirk.

"I'm not insane."

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Lightning Rod… Either way, you should go talk to her."

"I'll do that. Thanks. And thanks for putting up with her, I know she can be quite a handful."

"Gotta admit, in the beginning I wasn't too thrilled to have her here but underneath all that commanding nature and… larger than life ego complex I think she's a genuinely good person. And not a coward either."

"Careful, Mira, you almost sound like you like her."

Mira's gaze drifted to Garland. "Huh. I think I do actually," she said with a smile and then shrugged. "She's kinda fun to have around."

Rico's eyebrows shot up and something akin to realization dawned on his face which Mira couldn't quite interpret. Then he smiled, a little wider than usual. "I'm glad to hear that." Without further ado he got up from the cot, gently touched her shoulder and made his way outside. Garland had stopped soiling the fountain water and the medic was in the process of bandaging her arm.

Rico addressed her as soon as he set foot outside the church. "Garland? I-"

"Ohhh, hey honey!" Her gaze immediately snapped towards him and her eyes lit up when they met his. "How's it going? It's so good to see you! You know, even though you look awful. Ah, who am I kidding, you're still hot as hell, babe."

"Uh… I guess imma head back inside. Thanks for the free merch," Sheldon said, getting up and patting Garland's unscathed shoulder in passing.

"Sure thing, cowboy," Garland answered with a smile.

"Are you alright? I heard you got wounded," Rico asked after watching Sheldon leave.

"Ah, it's just a scratch, no biggie. I'm more pissed about my jacket to be honest. Hope I can get the blood out... Bit different than maple syrup. Carlos here was just sharing some of his insider tips with me. Hey, did you know that even bullet grazes require stitches in some cases? Live and learn."

"Garland, I…" He trailed off.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him expectantly.

"I heard what you did. And I wanted to thank you. That was very brave of you."

"Ah, don't mention it, darling. You do stuff like this all the time," Garland said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"And people still thank me. It's different too. I have the equipment, experience and the resilience. You're just... you."

"I don't know whether that's supposed to be a compliment or not."

Rico chuckled. "Oh, it is."

Garland hummed and shook her head with a lopsided smile. "Well, what can I say. I learned from the best." Rico wasn't sure if she meant him or herself. Or someone else entirely. So he decided to just keep quiet and was glad when she continued.

"So. Not that I'm going to join your army or anything but am I officially considered a rebel now?"

"I guess so."

Garland waited a few seconds in which her expression fell a little. Rico wondered what was so bad about that when she apparently explained it with her next sentence. "Yikes, that means half of Solís is my enemy now, huh..." She shrugged with one shoulder and averted her gaze.

"I'll tell my army to look out for you."

That made her look back at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes as usual.

The medic finished his work, Garland thanked him and he bid her farewell. Then she turned to Rico and cleared her throat.

"So… back to work, I guess. Me, not you, buster." She briefly patted his upper arm. "Don't worry, I won't bother you the next few days. Just gimme a call when you're up for stunts again. Or- no, I'll tell my people to call you. Just to make sure... Next scene is called 'Jewel in the Sun'. It'll bring tears to your eyes, I guarantee. Got lots of new material. You're gonna love it..." For some reason her enthusiasm sounded slightly... off. Insincere even. So much for 'great actress'.

When Rico just hummed in response she sighed, bumped her fist against his shoulder and said, "Well, see ya, honey. Gotta go scrub out some blood. Vive la revolución and all that." She punched the air lazily, turned and waved once, abruptly, without looking at him while walking towards the rest of her crew who had just gotten done loading everything into her car.

As the setting sun shone on Garland's retreating back Rico looked after her with a frown. Then he shook his head. "Garland King... Just what the hell am I supposed to do with you?"

Fin