"Ryan I have an important job for you. It requires a lot of stealth, perfect timing, and a good knowledge for killing people." Geoff tells Ryan over the phone, the latter relaxing on his sofa, Vagabond with his head in his human's lap, and the hawk Edgar XVII on Ryan's shoulder.
"That sounds like fun. Solo or with a team?" He asks, petting Vagabond, already planning what to do. Then he looks at the big cat on his legs and he bites his lip. Can he risk Vagabond like that? Then again he's been training him... but still.
"I'm gonna ask Jack to go with you. You'll need a quick extraction. Not to mention she's the most stealthy out of anyone in the group besides yourself... when you want to be." Geoff snorts. "Never seen a man who loves explosions so much be so quiet."
"Just one of my many talents. So when is this going to be?" Ryan apologizes softly to both animals on him as he sits up to grab a pencil and paper to write the details down.
"The target is coming into town Thursday afternoon. He's the second in command of one of our client's, as well as our own, biggest rivals. If we take him down that's just one more chink until we can topple the group, which means more clients for us. Anyway, I have intel that he'll be alone in a secure facility after 10:00pm. That's when you two go in and take him out. But you cannot be seen. Otherwise we'll be in deep shit. You got that?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. You'll be meeting Jack at the airfield at 9:30 that night. She'll drop you off a little bit away from the building so you can make your move. She'll then land the chopper and meet you inside. Once inside, I don't care what you do to kill him but as long as he dies I'll be happy. Not to mention you'll get a hefty sum of money for this too. I'll take my usual twenty percent, but even with that it'll be about a hundred twenty grand each."
Ryan lets out a low whistle. "Holy shit... our client clearly wants this guy dead... then again it benefits us really well too if that gang falls. Which one is it?" He writes down the amount of cash he could get and circles it.
"They call themselves "Screw Attack" or some dumb shit like that. They look like a bunch of idiots but they're good at what they do. Our client, by the way, is Miles Luna. He and his boss Burnie want Screw Attack gone."
"Gotcha. Was wondering when I'd see Luna again. It's been a while since we've had a job with him. He still asking to go out for drinks?"
"After he gave me the job. I have to keep reminding him I don't drink with clients. Once he's off the roster I'll go, but he gives his usual laugh and assures me he'll keep coming to us for work for a long time." Geoff laughs and Ryan shakes his head. "And this happens about every time he calls. Then again, he only calls about once a month. Last time I gave it to the B-Team with Ray in charge. Surprisingly they did well. It was just a simple heist. Then the time before that was when all five of you went out."
"Yes I recall. You're rambling a bit Geoff. I think you're showing your age." Ryan laughs.
"Hey I'm not that much older than you! Fuck you man!" Geoff says indignantly, but Ryan can hear the smile. "So yeah, be where you need to be on Thursday with whatever weapons you need and it should go fine."
"I will be. Don't worry." Ryan checks his notes. Everything looks fine.
"Good. Don't forget to check up with me once your done. By then I should have the cash. Have a good murder spree." Geoff chuckles then he hangs up.
Ryan sits back then looks at Vagabond. "Hey bud how do you feel about going on a mission?"
The tiger gives a low growl and headbutts Ryan gently.
"Seems like a yes to me. I made you some armor so you should be safe." He pats his head. "So the heist is in a couple days so that means some training and preparation." He goes to his weapons cache in the basement of his house.
He really thinks about what he needs, knowing it can't be anything noisy. He takes his silenced pistol and a hunting knife, as well as a couple throwing knives. After a moment of thinking he grabs his crossbow and quiver of bolts. There. Completely stealthy. Sure the weapons are more… old fashioned, but most guns these days are too noisy for a covert mission. He's taking the stuff upstairs when he bites his lip and grabs a garrote as well. He winds the wire into a coil then adds that to the pile. He heads up and sets the weapons on the kitchen table.
"Alright so I need Vagabond Jacket 2.0." He murmurs to himself, writing it on a sticky note and sticking it to the table. He has no issue leaving it there until heist day. No one visits and the animals know not to mess with it.
"Vagabond Jacket 2.0" looks exactly like his usual black and blue one, save there's about four extra pockets on the inside, one on each sleeve, and another on the outside. Each pocket is spacious enough to hide his garrote and knives, the pistol fitting in the inner pocket. Only the crossbow and quiver can't fit in it.
Ryan heads up and checks on his usual black skull mask and nods in approval. The cranium part is more of a helmet, and the face part is more breathable so his face with the paint doesn't get too hot. He sets it down and goes to see his paint supply. Almost out of red, damn. And he doesn't really have time to get more before the raid… he looks at the black and while and considers just using that instead. "Would certainly be cooler." He comments to himself. "The full harlequin can get pretty hot." He stretches and goes to his laptop, looking up designs. He eventually finds one he likes. Perfect. Now it's a waiting game.
††††††††††††
It's the night of the mission and Ryan is waiting at the airport for Jack, Vagabond pacing around his feet. Ryan gives him an affectionate pat whenever he can. In the few days before the mission he trained a bit with Vagabond, making sure the tiger wasn't jumpy around gunshots or helicopters and also that he could move well with his armor, which he now wears. He keeps an eye out for that chopper. He checks his watch: 9:29 PM.
As soon as the minute ticks to 9:30 the sound of rotors is audible and Jack approaches. She lands and then sighs as she sees Vagabond. "Really?! You're bringing him?!"
"You brought Pat to pick me and Jeremy up a couple months ago!" Ryan retorts, getting into the chopper, Vagabond lightly jumping in behind him.
"That wasn't into combat!" Jack exclaims, pulling up and flying over to the drop off point. "Pat wasn't in danger. Vagabond could be killed, Ryan!"
"I know that but I've trained him. Just watch." Ryan shakes his head and he gets out of the chopper after it lands, Vagabond doing the same. Ryan checks his watch: 9:56. Four minutes until the target is alone. He quietly makes his way to the facility with Vagabond stalking behind him.
Once they're close, he gives a small signal and the tiger slinks away into the shadows. Ryan then approaches a window and glances into the building. There's a guard a little further down. He takes out the crossbow and stealthily opens the window and climbs in. The guard turns to face him, probably hearing the noise of the window, but is greeted by a bolt to the eye. The man dies almost immediately, and Ryan goes over and pulls the man aside, going into a nearby supply closet and dumping him there. "I'm in." Ryan says into the communicator.
"I'm almost there." Jack says, having landed the chopper at the extraction spot and she makes it to the house. She sees a shape and in a band of light it shows to be Vagabond, stalking a guard. The man doesn't hear, and he doesn't even know what hits him as the 400-pound cat pounces on him, killing him swiftly with teeth sinking into the back of his neck, jerking his head and snapping his neck with a sickening crack, before moving on. "What the fuck Ryan?" Jack says softly to herself as she watches the cat move away from the kill, the man's had at an odd angle. She shakes her head and enters through a window as well, after making sure there's no cameras. She lands lightly and then moves to a more hidden location to look for guards. "Alright I'm in too."
"Okay. We know which room he'll be in. I'll meet you there." Ryan responds, before he moves on. The place is full of guards, but they don't expect a thing. Rounding a corner he finds one on patrol, and waits a moment before a crossbow bolt is fired. Blood splatters the wall and the floor in front of him as the man falls, and Ryan moves on. He checks for any cameras and he shoots a bolt at any he finds, shattering them. He turns around after shooting a camera to be standing face to face with a guard, a gun barrel to his chest.
"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" The guard demands, and Ryan does that, his blood running a little cold. He'd contact Jack but he knows if he even moves to put two fingers to his ear he'll get a 9mm bullet to the chest. Sure he's in body armor but it's light for more mobility and at point blank range it could still kill him. But then he gets an idea. He whistles a little melody, causing the guard's eyes to narrow.
"The fuck are you doing, you freak?" The guard asks, taking a step back. Is this man really so cocky that he can be so casual at a time like this? They take in the skull mask and jacket before their blood runs cold. The Vagabond. The FAHC's hitman and power player. "Shit…"
"Oh goody! You know who I am then!" Ryan says cheerily, but also with a frosty edge. The chuckle that follows makes the guard wonder how insane this criminal is. "Let's see if you know him." Ryan jerks his chin behind the guard and they turn, letting out half a strangled cry as Vagabond pounces on the guard. Ryan takes a step back as blood splatters across the floor as their throat is ripped out, and he makes a face as he gets blood on his shoes. "Awww I just cleaned those…" Ryan pouts a little. "Nice work bud." He pats the head of the tiger, who gives a happy growl. With that the pair moves on.
Jack, meanwhile, has gone a side route, less guarded meaning less problems. She wonders how Ryan is doing, same with Vagabond. She certainly hopes nothing happens to the big cat. Ryan at least has body armor. Vagabond, if he got shot, would be in a lot of pain, and Jack doesn't want to think about what Ryan would do if Vagabond got shot. It'd be a bloodbath. She sighs and turns a corner, finding a guard. She pulls the pin on a smoke grenade and tosses it down the hallway, slipping on a small air filter over her nose and mouth. She goes into the smoke, the guard's coughs masking her footsteps and the small click as she snaps open her knife with the flick of her wrist. She slits the man's throat and moves on. "Ryan I'm approaching the target."
"Copy that. We're nearly there as well." Ryan replies, and Jack raises an eyebrow as she hears a growl in the background. Seems like the two met up. Ryan moves forward and then curses as he sees five guards around the door of the target, all ready to fight. "They know we're here." Ryan says after ducking back into cover.
"Alright I see them. I have an idea… make sure you've got cover." Jack warns. Once she gets an affirmative from Ryan she tosses a flash bang into the room. As a couple of the guards are dazed she rolls in and fires two shots with a silenced pistol. She dives out of the way of a shot, aiming at her attacker. There's a soft whoosh then the man's head jerks back as blood dribbles from the knife now protruding from his forehead like a unicorn horn. "Thanks!" She says, shooting a guard in the leg. As he falls she shoots his head.
"No problem." Ryan holds out a hand and helps her to her feet. "Well, they definitely know we're here now." He says, throwing a knife and hitting a guard in the back of the neck as she was going to trigger the alarm.
"Not if there's no one left to tell. Isn't that how you usually do it?" Jack quips, chuckling. She looks for the last guard but can't find them. Next thing the pair knows there's a whirring noise and bullets start shredding down the hall.
"Fuck!" Ryan curses as he dives for cover, Jack going the other way. He lands on his side and then groans and grips his leg, blood coming from where some of the bullets got him. They all grazed by but it's pretty deep.
"Ryan!" Jack cries out, before she chances a look around the corner, before quickly pulling back. "Do you trust me?" She asks, sliding a medkit over to him.
Ryan quickly pulls it to safety and starts tending to his leg. "I trust you with my life, Jack. You know that. But if you're going to go out and do something heroic and stupid… aren't you forgetting someone?" He asks.
Jack jolts and looks around, but sees no sign of the tiger. He must have slipped away at the flash bang. "That sly bastard."
"Of course he is! I trained him myself." Ryan grins, looking quite proud, before it turns into a wince as he touches a sensitive point as he's cleaning the wound. He then bandages it, mostly wanting a temporary fix. He tucks in the corner. "He should be in position now… Jack get ready to go through that door."
"Roger." Jack checks her ammo and shrugs. Three bullets should be enough. She nods to Ryan, who puts two fingers at the corner of his mouth, before giving a shrill whistle.
Jack sits back and waits, and it's not long until she hears a growl, a scream, then a crack. She winces at the crack. "He's fucking brutal."
"Well, I don't let him hunt so this the best alternative." Ryan shrugs, smiling as the tiger, his mouth and paws stained with blood, both fresh and dried, comes over. "Now you go handle the target."
"Right." She nods. She gets up and bursts through the door, gun at the ready. Their target, a nerdy looking fellow with fairly long, red hair, sitting in front of a computer. He raises his hands and swallows.
"Look I don't know… wait… you're from the FAHC." He narrows his eyes. Naturally he'd recognize her. They're big competitors. Of course she now recognizes him, she just never cared too much to learn his name.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." She shrugs and approaches him, cocking the pistol and pointing it between his eyes. "All you need to know is that your life ends now."
The man laughs. "Ha! You'll never get out of here! The place is crawling with guards!"
"It was." Jack chuckles. "My partners and I took care of them. Now it's just you."
"Hey! Quit dicking around and fucking shoot him already!" Ryan says from the other room. He's wrapped, but the wound still hurts like a bitch and really needs proper medical attention. He'll have to text Caleb or Trevor about that. Both are pretty good medics.
"Almost done!" Jack replies. "Anyway… see you in hell." She says as she shoots, their target's head jerking back as blood splatters across the computer screen, which displays columns of different transactions and some screens on lists of clients and then targets. She scrolls through the targets list and stops as she sees the group of "FAHC". Under that are the names of the main crew as well as the B-Team. She bites her lip, then with a few clicks of the keys she sends everything to Geoff, then takes the flash drive in the computer before she wipes the computer and heads out. "Sorry, found some intel." She holds up the flash drive.
"Very nice… now help me get up." Ryan says through gritted teeth. Jack kneels and puts Ryan's arm around her shoulders and helps him stand, grunting with the weight. She feels herself losing her balance when suddenly something warm and furry is helping her get her balance. She smiles as she sees Vagabond against the back of her legs, keeping her upright. "Thanks Vaga." She nods, and the tiger lets out a meow. She chuckles again. "Alright Ryan, time to get you to the hospital. Get that leg looked at."
"Just ask Caleb or Trevor to care for it. No need to take me somewhere where we could be found." Ryan shakes his head. "And Vagabond wouldn't be able to come in either. And I'm not gonna leave him alone by the chopper."
"Fine, fine…" Jack reaches for her pocket, but instead she stealthily pickpockets Ryan's phone off him, him too focused on walking and also the pain letting it go unnoticed. She pulls up the phone and calls Caleb. "Hey Caleb, I got a nasty leg wound and need patching." She says, Ryan looking at her with shock and horror. Her voice is almost a perfect imitation of his own.
"Sure thing! Just come on by. I'll be waiting for ya at the drop off point." Caleb replies, none the wiser.
"Thanks bud. I'll be there in fifteen." Jack then hangs up and tucks Ryan's phone back in his pocket. "Thought you should make the call."
"You… but you're… how?" Ryan stammers, very confused as to why Jack, the lone female of the main group, can mimic his voice so well.
"Dunno, just found out I could one day while I was bored and then practiced it. Is it weird?" She asks, shifting her voice to his.
"Fucking Christ yes!" Ryan nods his head. "How long have you been able to do this?"
"A few months? Also… Geoff might also possibly have the idea we might be be fucking… maybe."
"What the fuck Jack?!" Ryan looks at her incredulously. "Why?"
"He's called my place early in the morning before and I tested my imitation on him then just went with it. So… yeah." Jack gives a little awkward smile. "Sorry?"
"Jackeline Shannon Pattillo if I wasn't injured right now I'd kill you." Ryan says, shaking his head, but Jack picks up on the smile in his voice. "You need to tell Geoff about this though… like I really don't want them thinking we're fucking… I respect you too much… also after this I don't think I ever could." He chuckles. "Don't really want to hear my own voice during that. At all."
Jack laughs as they near the front doors. "That would be hysterical." She is about to do an impersonation but she's laughing too hard.
"You're an asshole." Ryan laughs with her.
"Oh please… give me more… Ah.. ah!" Jack says, using Ryan's voice.
"Dammit Jack stop!" Ryan shakes his head. It's definitely unnerving, that's for sure. "Fucking creepy."
"It's just a bit of fun, Ryebread. Maybe I can get Caleb to remove the stick up your ass too." She snorts.
"Just get me to the chopper so I can jump out." He grumbles, glad the mask hides how red his face is.
"Now what kind of attitude is that?" She laughs and helps him to the chopper, which isn't too far from the base. "How's the leg?" She asks.
"Hurts like a bitch but at least I won't need an amputation." He shakes his head. "I'll be fine."
"You will be fine since I'm taking you to Caleb." She responds. "If I wasn't it'd get a little dicey. You need help as soon as possible." With that, she picks up the pace a little as she takes him to the helicopter. He stumbles a little, but then he gets his footing.
It's another ten minutes of slow going until they reach the helicopter. By then Ryan's really shakes on his feet, the blood loss starting to get to him, as well as the daze of pain he's in. "Fuck…" he grits his teeth as his foot catches a patch of uneven asphalt and jerks his bad leg, causing pain to shoot through it.
"We're here Ry. Stay with me." Jack says, pulling him into the helicopter, Vagabond helping push his human up a little, and she sits him in a seat, strapping him in. Vagabond jumps in and growls, staying by Ryan. "I'll get him to safety." Jack promises, patting the tiger's head before she moves to the cockpit and takes off, going straight to their private "hospital", essentially a sterilized safe house full of medical supplies and tech. She lands on the helipad and gets Ryan from the helicopter, Caleb coming up to the pad and helping her carry him.
"Jack you should rest. You look exhausted." The medic says, taking Ryan's full weight. "I'll get it from here."
"Thanks…" Jack backs off and bites her lip. "He's lost a lot of blood… I don't think he has any bullets in him but it got him pretty bad."
"'M fine…" Ryan groans, mostly conscious. "Just… a flesh wound."
"Ryan it's worse than that and you know it." Caleb says with a sterner tone that's rare for the gangly man. "So just shut up and stop putting on a brave face. You're around friends now. We don't give a fuck if you show weakness."
Jack raises an eyebrow, a little impressed by the strength and conviction in Caleb's voice. She never expected that from him. Then again he's in business mode. She turns as she hears a soft mewl behind her and Vagabond is bounding over. She pats his head and follows Caleb inside. "It'll be okay Vaga." She assures the beast.
Caleb takes Ryan to the main infirmary room and takes off the bandaging, already soaked with blood. "Fucking hell…" he grumbles as he sees it and then he starts cleaning the wound a little better with some disinfectant. "Jack can you hold him steady so he doesn't end up kicking me?" He asks.
Jack nods and goes over to Ryan, putting a hand on his thigh and holding it down as Caleb cuts the jean fabric away, then he starts cleaning the wound. Ryan grits his teeth and reflexively kicks out, but Jack keeps that from happening. She does take his hand, though, which is immediately almost crushed in his grip. "We'll be okay Ryan!" She assures him, then she looks up at the door as the rest of the Crew comes in, going over and standing by Ryan.
"Bloody 'ell… wot 'append?" Gavin asks Jack, putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder to help hold him back.
"A bitch with a minigun. Shredded the side of his leg. It's not bad enough to amputate. Right?" Jack asks Caleb for confirmation, who pauses the cleaning to inspect the wound better.
"Nope. It all grazed by. There's going to be a few weeks recovery where he's not allowed to walk to keep the stitches from breaking, but after that he'll be good to go." He continues disinfecting, leaning back at the reflexive kick.
"Damn Ryan…" Michael whistles and he kneels and holds down the leg Caleb's working on. "So I'm guessing you barely missed getting hit too?"
"Yeah." Jack nods. "Luckily Vagabond was there to help." She nods to the tiger, who's laying on the ground, watching the people around Ryan.
"Shit I didn't even notice him!" Geoff lets out a yelp and moves away from the bloodstained tiger. Then he frowns and kneels beside the big cat. "Hey… I think he got hit…" he reaches over and pulls a bullet from the armor, which barely broke and left just a wide but shallow scratch on his left haunch. "Damn this armor is badass."
"Thanks." Ryan says, pain filling his voice. He has a moment of clarity as Caleb puts the disinfectant away.
"Alright… I'm going to sew it shut." He says, injecting a numbing serum into the area. Ryan relaxes as he can't feel the pain anymore. "Here's the kinda gross part." Caleb warns as he gets the needle and thread.
"Dude you look high as fuck." Ray comments to Ryan's relaxed expression, the break from the pain a relief.
"Didn't you know…? I get high… off the smell… of blood…" Ryan jokes breathlessly.
"At this point I could actually believe that." Michael snorts. "You're already a creepy motherfucker. It wouldn't be too far fetched."
"Jublu!" Ray adds, pulling a breathless laugh from Ryan.
"Guess pain.. and blood loss.. makes you a little… little loopy." He rests his head back, close his eyes. "This sucks.. Agh!" He grits his teeth as the needle catches a more sensitive part of the wound, the numbing agent not as effective there.
"Sorry!" Caleb apologizes and is more careful. "It's a little more sensitive here. So it'll hurt more. I'd give you more of the numbing agent but I don't want to overload your system."
"Eugh that's nasty." Geoff comments, watching Caleb work with morbid curiosity. The needle and thread passes through flesh so easily, pulling it together.
"Then why are you watching it?" Ray asks, raising an eyebrow.
"It's like a car crash: you can't really look away." He shakes his head.
Jack stays quiet, more just there, humming softly to comfort Ryan as he grips her hand in pain again. She sees the look Geoff gives her out of the corner of her eye, knowing he probably believes they're in a relationship even more from this. Jack honestly doesn't care. She's going to help her friend while he's in a lot of pain.
"Done!" Caleb pipes up a little bit later, binding off the thread and cutting the tail off the knot.
"F… finally… thanks…" Ryan says, eyes still closed. "Just gonna… take a nap." His breathing steadies and deepens as he falls asleep, Vagabond going over and curling by his feet.