Angels with Newfound Hope
Act 2 Chapter 1: Spite
Medical Plaza - Day 1, 11:01AM
The late morning sun slowly fried Alex's bare skin as he sat outside. A few wandering dragons stuck around to enjoy such a peaceful atmosphere. It was times like this where he would think. Think about- currently- what he was to do now. He just attacked a police officer in a fit of rage, despite nearly being murdered by him the night prior.
Aside from the rhyme and reason, how did that make him any different from Reza? Maverick was probably already looking for him. Not like he'd have a chance in hell. He was currently without gear, weapons, and intact dignity. It seemed some of the others in the garden took to staring as well. Whether it be his current state or all his scars, he may never-
"There you are. What the heck made you run out like that?" The worried voice of Sebastian cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.
"What is it?" The human questioned numbly. He really just wanted some time alone, not everyone on the planet bothering him.
"I just asked you. All I know is that something happened between you and Maverick, and you just bolted out." The officer addressed with much concern.
"That's probably all you need to know. It was... a rather complicated discussion I don't want to relive right now." Alex explained, much to his escort's chagrin.
"Fine. If you don't want to talk right now, I won't make you. But I do expect some sort of explanation sometime." Sebastian grumbled. What was with this human? And what happened between him and Maverick to cause this?
"Much appreciated. So what's on the agenda again? I remember being informed of a trade or something." The brunette thanked before hopping down, his shirtless body glistening with fresh sweat.
"Well first things first: I need to get your things. People are staring..." The runner trailed off as he met the others' gazes.
"I hardly mind, except for the air conditioning. Are Reza and Maverick still inside?" Alex questioned further.
"No, they already left for the production facility. We'd better hurry up if we want to catch up to them." The smaller dragon pressured, walking off with his company in tow...
Everything Alex had when he went through was thankfully in the tub he was given: pistol and all. He didn't know what he'd do without his favorite crime stopper. Once dressed, he double checked everything just in case.
"Good, still in order. I wonder if what Maverick said was true..." He thought aloud as he adjusted the holster on his thigh. The one thing that could help him now was his gear, and the Administrator may have stolen it again.
Not like there was anything he could do now except try to survive. Heh, survive. Fat chance of that happening. That bitch who stole his stuff the first time just did it again. And it's most likely she'll be coming after him nightly with everything she's got. The human looked to his gun once more, patting it before heading out with a hardened look.
"Ah good. Glad you're dressed, ambassador Alex. I just got a call from the production facility. They said they're waiting for us before they start the trade." Sebastian greeted him as soon as he walked out.
"Understood. We should make haste, then. We don't want to keep them waiting." Alex started off, with his escort in tow.
"Right." The runner glanced to his escortee's throat. "You know, you look a lot like someone I know with those scars..."
Production Facility - Day 1, 11:29AM
The two managed to catch up to their partners at the front entrance, overhearing Reza complaining about the wait.
"Ugh, did they decide to ditch us or something?" The smaller male grumbled loudly, catching the attention of his escort.
"Unlikely. Your little friend had to play dress-up after he slapped me." Great, Maverick was already squealing.
"He- he did what?" Reza blurted, holding back laughter.
"Laugh, and I'll give you an all-expense-paid trip to the hospital." The dragon growled, shooting his typical glare at the man.
"I'm not, I- There you guys are! What the hell took you so long?" An annoyed Reza fired off the moment they were spotted.
"We had a delay. That's all I'm going to say." Alex was the first to speak up, regaining his glower from earlier.
"Whatever, man. At least you're here now. We should get inside before they start thinking we're dead." If only the brunette could make that a reality for his adversary...
The soothing cool of the halls from last time was replaced with a biting chill. Thankfully for Alex, it seemed they wouldn't be there long. Anna was already waiting for them with a generator sitting at her feet.
"There you are. What took you guys so- oh." The scientist cut herself off the moment her eyes fell upon Alex. "My apologies, Ambassador."
"Never mind him. What are you doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet with the guys from production." Sebastian interjected.
"They're actually coming in later today. Looks like little, old me will have to do for right now." The female snarkily replied. How he once thought that was endearing.
"I see... Well Alex, this is-"
"Anna, right? I've heard about you." The brunette's response seemed to get the runner's attention at least.
"Have you now? Where from?" But not the best kind. Instead of being flattered, Anna grew suspicious. The stormy-eyed human jabbed a thumb back at Reza.
"You were mentioned. So what about this trade? I know we're getting a generator, but what about your end?" Alex feigned ignorance. Better he play dumb than attract more suspicion.
"Right. So we'll be getting one of your PDAs in return. The knowledge on that thing alone could help us more than anything. I've got one of our generators here for you. It'll take a while to make the rest, so feel free to send that one home and give it a whirl." The scientist offered like last time. And just like last time: Reza went to grab it, his PDA falling from his wrist as he steadied the box.
"That's great. I'll take it." This entire scene may as well have been a flashback for the brunette. The only difference between the two was that he could influence this one.
"Be careful not to drop it. Those aren't the most stable things in the world." The female warned, incurring yet more flashbacks within the mind of Alex.
"Right. I'll wait outside while you do your thing, Alex." Reza addressed his companion before whirling around and taking off with Maverick.
"I suppose I'll be waiting outside as well. Try not to keep us waiting." With that, Sebastian left the two alone to finish the trade.
Alone. That was the very last thing Alex wanted to be right now. He already missed his dragon, and now he was essentially with nothing more than a stranger. A stabbing ache tore through his heart as his world faded, leaving behind nothing but a blurred void.
"Ambassador!" The smooth irritation of Anna's voice grounded him back in reality. How long had he been out for her to yell like that?
"Huh? Oh, my apologies. Guess I got lost in thought." The human managed to snap himself out of it before he became an end-stage dementia patient.
"Geez, you were deep in it. Anyway, we still need the PDA to complete this trade. I hope you didn't lose it or anything." The runner chastised as if he were a child doing something.
"I doubt- oh for fuck's sake. It's in my bag that the police took!" He groaned angrily, eyes connecting with the floor. "Though maybe there's a silver lining here. Looks like Reza so generously decided to donate his. Wasn't that nice of him?" He grinned evilly as he handed the now stolen device over.
"I didn't peg you for a thief, naughty boy." The scientist shared the smile and sentiment. She more carefully took it and tossed it on, navigating the UI with some ease.
"I'm naughtier when you get to know me." He stated in his gravelly tone, prompting her to cock a brow flirtatiously.
"Hot. Anyway, I've got one more thing for you. Would you mind letting me run some tests on you? It would only take a drop of blood." Anna requested without skipping a beat. Alex clutched his hand in rememberance of last time.
"How come?" The man asked simply.
"I work in biology, so this kind of thing would be quite interesting to us. I'd even share the results with you." The raptor explained with some enthusiasm. What made it worse was that it was the exact same as last time: word for word.
"Fine. Just do it before I change my mind." He held out his open palm with a stern expression.
"You sure you want me to jab your hand like that?" Anna took it right as it snapped shut.
"Who said I was offering you my hand?" Alex deadpanned as the needle was pressed into his wrist rather painfully.
"Touche. Alright, so I should have the results in a couple days. You want them mailed to you, or do you want to meet up and discuss it?" The scientist questioned with a similar tone.
"I wouldn't mind a meetup. Let me get your number so we can schedule it." The human pulled out his phone, which Anna took immediate interest in... again.
"Is that seriously one of your phones? Please tell me I can see it." She went to snatch it, only to fall empty-handed.
"Not so fast. I need to delete something before you go scrolling through it." The brunette unlocked it and deleted that damned dating app as he spoke. Like hell if he was going to let himself get teased about it twice. Once done, he handed the tiny machine over.
"This is amazing. You must be some sort of high-class person to have something like this. Reza certainly didn't make them out to be commonplace." Anna tapped away, now scrolling through his photo album like the nosy bitch she is.
"I advise that you don't scroll any further." Alex warned simply.
"Why not? You have something you don't want me finding out about? Maybe a secret lover I could steal from-" She was cut off by one that came up. It was a photo of Zoe. She was in military fatigues, saluting with her engagement band fully visible. There was a caption in cursive that read 'I'll see you soon'. Under it was another reading 'It should've been me'. The man's face went grim as he stole his phone back. His company didn't even react besides looking up.
"I warned you." He stated in a grave tone. "I'll be expecting that letter." And with that, he padded off to his escorts...
Reza glared impatiently at the door as the other two joined. Or rather, Sebastian joined as Alex stormed past.
"Alex, where are you going?" The hispanic called to him without much response. Only a simple 'I'm starving' was uttered. The trio could only shrug as they were led by one very unresponsive man.
They all arrived at the cafe from last time: Uncle Mugen's. Being welcomed by the quaint atmosphere once again, they took their seats, the humans taking a corner table this time.
"Okay Alex. Tell me what's going-"
"It's none of your business." The brunette stonewalled his enemy without hesitation.
"It is when it interferes with our work." Reza fired back angrily.
"My work is making sure you don't do anything stupid while we're here. Now. Sit. Down." Alex parried with the most threatening glower he could muster.
"Your work is to oversee this trade, and keep a level head while you're at it. Now what-"
"You ever wonder what a 5.7 millimeter bullet does to a human skull?" The short-tempered male was finally silenced by the alarming question. "No? Then sit down and shut up before you find out." His stormy-eyed company forced him back into his seat.
"Oh, it's the humans." Adine swooped in to save the day with her cheery attitude. Or in the very least, keep them from killing each other.
"That's us." Alex's glare softened as he looked at her. "You must be our waitress. I'm glad you swooped in. Saved me a lot of headache just now." His unintentional pun got a little giggle out of her.
"That was cute. Anyway, welcome to Mugen's. I am your humble waitress: Adine. What can I get you guys?" The wyvern asked with that ever cheery smile. The brunette glazed over the menu once again whilst his 'partner' didn't hesitate to order a single black coffee.
"You know what? Could I get two orders of today's special... and a beer?" He ordered with a strained air in his voice.
"Laying it on already, eh?" The waitress joked with a deadpan look coming from her target. Seems he didn't appreciate it much.
"It's five o' clock somewhere." Alex stated simply, handing off his menu.
"O-kay... we'll have that right out." With that, she scurried over to take their escorts' orders.
"Listen here, you son of a bitch." Reza started as soon as she was out of earshot. "You have no right to threaten me like that. You can guarantee I'll be going to the overseers for this the instant we're out. Do you understand me?" The threat was finished with him placing his revolver on the table.
"Oh I understand. And I also understand that if you try, you'll see the thing you wanted to talk to me about first-hand." Alex's promise seemed to scare his company quite a bit, judging from the look and pulling back he did.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" The darker man questioned with abject fear.
"As I said: it's none of your business. Now see to it that you stay silent. Or are you curious as to what that really looked like?" The spite-filled man across from him flashed a sinister grin. His voice remained quiet for their likely prying 'friend'.
"You know what, fuck you!" Reza snapped up from the table with his gun in Alex's face. The brunette did the same, the compensator-style silencer making eye contact with its target.
"Whoa whoa, hey! Let's calm down here. There's no need to-"
"Don't get involved, Sebastian. I don't want you getting a bullet wound if this goes sour." The brunette commanded, his eyes never leaving his adversary's.
"Then I will. Both of you had better drop your weapons before I start breaking bones." Maverick finally decided to intervene with a vicious snarl plastered on his muzzle. He flashed his tail to Alex, causing a flashback of that incident.
"What's it going to be, Reza?" The paler man passed the ultimatum on. Reza squeezed the gun tightly out of anger before relenting. He sat back down as his own company smoothly holstered his own weapon.
"Don't think I won't shoot next time. You're pushing your luck, Alex." The emerald-eyed male growled.
"As are you." The paler man shot back without hesitation. In that same moment, Adine carefully padded up with their meals.
"Uh... Hate to do this, but could you two please not fight here?" She set the drinks down first. The brunette on her left immediately took a deep gulp before speaking.
"My apologies. He was getting out of hand." He brushed the confrontation off like it was nothing.
"Well let him get 'out of hand' again, and I'll have to ask both of you to leave. I won't have customers fighting." The wyvern chastised the both of them before leaving. Reza was about to say something until Alex flashed his knife.
"I'd better get going. Expect a letter later, Alex." With that, he finished his coffee in one fell swoop and left. Maverick ended up having to follow him without even a single nibble. The remaining human would've felt sorry if he hadn't done what he did.
"Fuck him." Was all he said, digging in with no regards to taste or smell...
Both plates were somehow finished in around ten minutes: a record for Alex. Every patron's jaw was on the floor as they gawked at him. Nobody could finish two plates of that fish that easily. Not without having eaten it for a long time, yet here this random human was, polishing it off like it was nothing.
"Damn, kid, are you alright?" Sebastian mumbled in shock. The brunette got up with some effort and matched his gaze with one more sorrowful.
"Guess I'm worse off than I thought. I usually don't stress-eat like that." A pit formed in his stomach as his eyes met with the spotless plates.
"Well either way, you made me lose a bet with Maverick big time." The runner cringed slightly at what was left. That was going to cost him so badly.
"Definitely don't make any more for the week. That's my bit of advice." His company grumbled as they paid off and left...