Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Tin Man 'verse. Nothing and no one. Because (at the moment) I'm playing only with the Sci-Fi original characters.
After being waved through the Longcoats' line without being stopped, they rolled into the city. When they finally came to a halt they all came out of their hiding spots, Cain waiting a second longer until he was sure the coast was clear outside.
DG asked politely, but Demilo decided to be rude to her. And found himself hauled up by his coat. He was considerably politer after the implied threat of force.
As disrespectful as he was to DG, the level of rudeness in his voice when he spoke of the Mystic Man was even more unacceptable. And so, with the tiniest extra force, Cain lifted him up to smack his head into the ceiling. And then dropped him like a rock, allowing him to crack his kneecaps on the floor.
Demilo was real helpful after that.
Offering tickets to DG with a leer in his voice and a sleazy wink on his face, he suggested his mistresses find her an 'acceptable' outfit. It was entirely unrelated that Cain grabbed him and threw him to the side like so much refuse.
He tried to wave off DG as if they were passing strangers, determined as he was to get to Zero unhindered. But she challenged him, again.
"You're not a killer. You're a tin man."
The belief in him he heard in her soft voice struck a chord he thought long dead. A chord attached to a heart he'd purposefully hardened. So he became defensive, lashing out hurtfully at her. Better to hurt her then than later when she and possibly he might be more attached.
The hurt clear on her face made it nearly impossible to look her in the eye. So he'd gentled his voice and told her to take care before ducking out of the truck in search of vengeance. Standing outside for a full moment, he looked around while trying to swallow the creeping dread easing itself up his spine. And then he was off.
But despite that niggling little voice in the back of his mind, he hadn't fled. Damn it, he hadn't.