Warnings : mentions of human trafficking
Genji climbed up to one of the numerous balconies of a Victorian mansion. Being the sneakiest and most agile of the agents, he had to go first to meet up with Mockingbird, who decided to go in as a persona to be sure that Blackwatch wouldn't be noticed.
He was impatient, and missed getting caught numerous times.
King has been very mysterious and quiet as to how he looked, only giving small information tidbits that weren't enough for the ninja to get a proper picture.
After six months of knowing one another, he could say that it was getting tiring.
He knocked softly on the glass, trying to spot what he now could consider his friend. After the mission at Hanamura, Genji felt like they were closer than ever. He was more relaxed and trusted the bird deeply.
Enough for him to talk about his story, bit by bit. He knocked again, harder this time.
Soon, he saw a silhouette approaching, and the glass door opened up to him. He looked up - of course, he had to, he was 10 centimetres taller than him - and was surprised to be met with a mask.
It was hard for him to hide his disappointment.
"Hey there, pretty boy," King said with his modified voice.
Ah yes, that nickname. Mockingbird didn't use it a lot, but when he did, the cyborg always had to do a double-take. He should've gotten used to it, but not.
"Hello." He replied softly, inspecting the man before him.
The mask was bird-like, almost like an owl, and seemed to be made out of light metal. Under it was a voice modifier of the colour of gold, right up for his reach. He felt his fingers twitch.
Mockingbird was caped with a deep red tissue, wrapping around his head and his shoulders, before coming down to his back. He noticed that it was old, seeing the numerous holes. Under it, he could decipher a shirt white shirt, and was that…
"Is that a corset ?" The person before him chuckled.
"Yep, I like wearing them. They make me feel pretty fancy~" He answered, amused.
He was also wearing some black slim pants, accentuating his long legs, with knee armor the same gold as the modifier. High heels and red boots. It suited him.
"Enjoying what you see ?" Mockingbird teased. Genji looked back up, shrugging, feeling a smile on his face.
The informant took a step back, letting the ninja enter the room. It was spacious but felt personal. He noticed the bed sheets weren't folded.
"What is this room for ?"
"It's uh, my room."
Huh ?
He turned to observe King.
"When I infiltrated the mansion, I didn't do it sneaky like you did. I did it more officially, and he gave me this room."
He had the feeling this wasn't a great idea. The informant walked up to him, handing out a tablet.
"Here, the plan of the mansion. I marked down the rooms where the info had the highest chance of being, as well as the well-guarded ones." He looked at the map he was given. He had to be sneaky.
"How's the situation ?" Asked Cassidy through the comms.
"I'm giving him the info, cherry." Mockingbird mused, a smile in his voice. "I don't have much time, though." He continued, looking at Genji. "Cole, do you think you can enter the room right under this one ? I'll make sure there aren't any guards."
"Duly noted."
"I'll see you there." And he muted the commlink. Now talking to the cyborg, he softly asked, "May I hug you, kitten ?"
He was taken aback by the request itself. He assumed the informant would've done it without asking. Now that he thought about it, it made sense. He nodded, opening his arms slowly.
Despite the frail frame of Mockingbird, Genji almost fell on his back with the sheer force the hug was initiated with. It was tight, like the informant wanted to do that for ages, and could barely retain himself. He felt the cool metal of the mask on his shoulder. With a bit of hesitation, he returned the hug awkwardly.
He didn't know how long the hug was, but he heard someone calling out to another. Mockingbird swore (as much as the informant swore ; he always censored himself), and pulled away from the hug.
"I gotta go." He knew that.
King didn't budge for a moment, then turned away and went out of the room. He heard some voices, but couldn't decipher what they talked about. Genji waited patiently for the voices to go, before he too, went outside of the room.
The mission was simple ; find some concrete proof of the wrongdoing of a CEO, and go out. Agents were needed because apparently, said CEO was very wary, as well as being able to not let any trace of his actions once he's done. The intel provider was on his case for months before being able to go physically there, and only because he was invited personally.
He looked at the map. One of the most guarded rooms was right next to the informant's, which made the Shimada wonder why. He didn't have a good feeling about this. He saw some guards already in front of the only door leading to it. He decided to knock them out, and enter the room.
Genji looked around. This was a normal room- Wait. He looked more closely. There was a silhouette on the bed, frail and small. Slowly, he walked up to it, hesitant. The figure moved, sitting up, and scrambled back into the headrest, acting scared.
It stung, but he was used to it.
He was pretty scary to see.
He put his hand in the air, as a sign of non-aggression.
"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Who are you ?" The person asked softly, sounding terrified. It was a woman, he could now see her better.
"Not an enemy." He looked around the room again. There was no moonlight, and he could've heard the tinkle of metal when the women moved.
Human trafficking.
He still needed to confirm it, though.
"Are you held captive here ?" He asked with a soft voice. The woman nodded. "Do you know if you're the only one here ?"
"In this room, yes," she answered softly. "I heard other people too, but I don't know how many." She sounded more confident like she was reassured that Genji didn't come closer, and didn't show any signs of wanting to hurt her.
That made him sick.
"I found something." He said over the commlink.
"I found somethin', too." Replied Cassidy, sounding very angry.
"Human trafficking." He announced, and from Cole's reply, he found out the same thing.
"Yup. And pretty massive, too." A pause in the conversation. They found the dirt, now it was time to go, but… "I don't really wanna leave 'em hanging."
"We'll come back." The Shimada reasoned.
"And if it's too late ?"
"Then he'll pay double the price." Answered the cyborg coldly.
There was a silence in the conversation, like the cowboy was considering doing something very risky. He was, too.
"Ok, let's go. Birdie ?" They waited for an answer. Maybe he couldn't communicate as of now. "Find a way out ASAP. Go to the rendezvous point, if you encounter a problem, give us a sign." Cole communicated, before ending the comm.
Genji looked at the frail woman. She heard the entire conversation - his side, at least - and she had an unreadable look on her face.
"We'll come back soon." He promised, going for the door. She didn't answer.
He had to go.
Genji left the room, closing it behind him. He didn't have much time remaining, the guards would wake up soon and send the alarm.
He left swiftly and quietly.
The ninja and the cowboy were waiting for maybe fifteen minutes before Mockingbird showed up again. Something was off. The demeanour wasn't light and graceful, but heavy and stiff, as if the informant was just waiting to throw a hissy fit.
That wasn't normal.
"Sorry, I'm here." He tried saying in a light tone, but he wasn't fooling anyone.
"What's wrong ?" Asked Cole before he could say anything.
"This whole situation is what's wrong !" King shouted, surprising both agents. "Human trafficking, for fuck's sake. I had to retain myself from strangling him - I don't want any more problems than I already do." He vented, pacing in circles.
The cyborg didn't know what to do - he was bad at reassuring people. He took a step forward, opening his mouth, but once again, his colleague was quicker.
"Hey, darlin', we'll come back and make him pay. And save the victims. No casualties, I promise."
"They need help now, cherry."
"We can't do anything."
"I-" A scream of frustration - and something else. What, the Shimada couldn't pinpoint. "This situation is excruciating, killing me inside. How can people be so cruel-"
Cole took the informant in his arms, hugging him tightly, softly.
The sight was like a gut punch.
It was probably for the best. Genji wasn't the best at helping people - he could barely help himself, after all.
Soon enough, they separated, and Mockingbird didn't turn to Genji, and instead just stared at Cassidy, still close to him.
Genji cleared his throat.
They both turned to him, and his words got caught in his throat. After a moment, he tried to talk.
"Let's… Get back to base. We did what we had to."
"Are you going with us ?" Questioned the cowboy. King seemed to think.
"I… Why not ? Not for long though, maybe a day, not more."
"That's already more than enough." He smiled, in a bit too suave voice for Genji's tastes. He glared at the man.
"Let's go." He said coldly, turning his back from the duo.