I do not own any characters. Requested pairing, will be a short story. M rating for sexual situations.
Seriously, fuck Cass. Some best friend, getting her 6 months - 6 months!- transport call. One step above latrine duty.
Only Cassie could arrange a 'girls night out' that involved starting a massive fight at a biker bar. And of course the SWAT team had to show up and of course the bar ended up exploding. It didn't matter that she wasn't part of any of it, opting to try and get their group out when it looked like trouble was about to hit. She was military and she was there so she shared in the blame and the punishment in the Services collectives eyes.
All thanks to Cassie. No other explanation was needed, just 'because Cassie'; all she had to say was the blond woman's name and her parents understood. They'd been pissed but they understood. Takeda had alternated between finding it hilarious and then angry with her, too. Aunt Sonya shook her head, used to her daughter's occassional outlandish stunts. Mr. Cage, her trainer, had wanted to hear the details, over and over, laughing every time. The military had upbraided her and then sent her on her way. To this.
Jacqui sighed and stared out the window. This was her job for the next 6 months, doing the mountain of paperwork required to move a prisoner out of detention, sitting on her ass for the long trip delivering said prisoner to wherever they were being charged, the massive intake paperwork turning them over to the other officials, and finally, the miserable long ride home, having done her task.
At least this one didn't want to chat. Most were nervous or thought they could work into her good graces with charm and conversation. Jacqui kept her forehead pressed to the window but let her eyes fall back over the suspect sitting across from her.
The gunslinger. Laugh lines crinkled the skin beside his eyes, indicated her was likely grinning at her under that creepy ass mask. His hands were crossed over his lap, secured with mechanized cuffs. A small blue LED light on one of the restraints flickered steadily, monitoring his heartbeat. Every two minutes a small screen on both bands flashed numbers -his pulse, respirations, blood pressure. If not for that, the large robotic manacles, he might be just a guy enjoying a relaxing drive out in the country.
Jacqui looked back out the window. Her best guess put them at 2 more hours until she handed him off to the Feds.
"Miss Briggs." he drawled. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
If he was expecting her to answer, he was going to spend the next 2 hours waiting. Jacqui had no intention of playing nice with this dirty mercenary.
"It was the blond girl, wasn't it? Sonya's daughter." When she only glared at him, he chuckled. "Word gets around, even in holding. Did she really let all the critters outta that kiddie zoo?"
Oh Christ. Well, that explained all the cadets making goat noises at her yesterday...
"You gotta stop running with bad company, princess. You're letting 'em drag you down."
That got her to react. Her lip curled but she wouldn't face him or engage with him, still watching the horizon pass by them. " Last I heard, you weren't exactly running with Girl Scouts yourself, Black."
To that, he laughed. "I run with scum but I'm getting something out of it. I'm paid for my discomfort. Same can't be said in your case, princess."
Being called princess was all ready pissing her off but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of taking the bait. "Whatever you say, Buffalo Bill." She could still feel him watching her after several minutes. "Something funny?"
"Enjoying the view."
She let that slide. Ignoring him seemed the best way to shut him up. A plexiglass panel separated the driver and passenger seats of the van from the back where she sat with Erron. The driver was laughing and arguing with his compantion about where they were going to eat. She pressed her cheek to the cool glass window and tried to get lost in the white noise surrounding her. In the window's reflection, the steady blue light from the cuffs began to flicker faster.
Jacqui lurched upright, "Hey, are you all-"
"Brace yourself." All traces of that lazy humor were gone from his voice now.
She hadn't even been able to form a reply when the sound of glass and metal erupted and the front of the van imploded. The impact was sudden and forceful enough to throw the vehicle over, onto its side where it skidded to a halt. From somewhere behind her, there was a popping and hissing, metallic bangs...and then...silence.