state of decay ch ? Fun and Games ( smiling kate )

The sun was just beginning to set over the tall, patchwork walls of bunker hill as a small crowd of roughneck raiders congregated around Svaldi's street side bar on the north side of the sloping settlement. The nervous bartender- a short, stocky Bostonian named Joe Svaldi - relinquished a bottle of plain beer to each man upon arrival, knowing it was best to accommodate the inconvenient rabble quickly to avoid inviting any unwanted acts of violence that could damage his venue- In Bunker Hill, it was best to just give the goons what they wanted until they continued on their way.

Careful not to show even a shadow of interest, he listened intently as their leader- a small, psychotic slip of a girl nicknamed Smiling Kate- spoke up above the sound of their raucous conversation, commanding immediate attention from the swarm. Falling silent, all eyes turned toward the dirty, clown faced brunette with respect, and something akin to fear.

"Hey everybody, I'm so glad you could all come out and play!" She greeted the goons neurotically in a shrill, petulant voice. " And boy, don't we just have the best little chew toy to sink our teeth into...the legendary Silver shroud!"

At the mention of their latest mark, a nervous energy moved through the gang, and they shot each other similar looks of apprehension.

" Sure," She continued, unbothered. " The Shroud's already knocked off some of our best men- but that just makes the bounty even juicer..."

A few long moments of silence punctuated her revelation, until one man got up the nerve to speak, singling himself out among the crowd to voice what his peers were all thinking. Pausing, Svaldi cringed inwardly as he anticipated Kate's reaction, finally looking up from the counter to watch the scene unfold.

"Wait a minute- what's Sinjin playing at?" The man chanced asking incredulously, despite the girls unpredictable nature. " The Shroud got Delancey and Kendra- Even Northy's runnin' scared...What makes anyone think that we can do anything about him?"

A quiet murmur of agreement rippled through the group as they nodded to each other in agreement.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Smiling Kate whipped around to face him then, sticking out her bottom lip in a mocking pout as she stalked slowly in his direction, causing the men around him to back away as the atmosphere thickened.

"...What's the matter? You a fraidy cat?" She asked in a voice filled with mock concern. Growing pale, the mans eyes darted to the blood stained slugger gripped tightly in her hand, swallowing hard against the lump forming in his throat.

"What? N-no..." He denied, shaking his head profusely as he registered the subtle threat behind her words.

"Good- cos I like to kill fraidy cats!" She declared aggressively, dim grey eyes sparkling through the black makeup that smeared her face. Deadly serious, Kate looked around her then, silently challenging anyone else to speak up. "Any of you other pussies got something to say?"

Resigned, the men shook their heads slowly at the provocative question, knowing any further protests would be met with swift, and violent action.

" ...That's what I thought." She stated after a few long moments, before taking a deep breath and breaking into a wide, yellow toothed smile. "Pack your gear then boys- we're goin a murderin' soon!"

As the men around the bar gave a half hearted cheer, Joe Svaldi began to scour the counter before him, relieved that the rabble would be departing soon.

. . .

. . .

Later that day, after much planning, Audrey and MacCready found themselves lying in wait for their next target- the ill-reputed Smiling Kate. For this challenge, they had decided it was best to split up, and to come at the enemy from different directions- so, guessing the opposition would take the most direct route from Bunker Hill into Charles town, MacCready had taken position atop an abandoned apartment building, aiming his scope at the main road as Audrey stood patiently in a shadowed alleyway below. Once their target moved into position, they would wait for Hancock's own insurgents within Kate's team to break away from the group, before opening fire- then, it was up to Audrey and the insurgents to dispatch the rest of them quickly, and as efficient as possible...

To the young mercs annoyance, it was well into the afternoon before he finally spotted movement down the road. Taking a deep breath, MacCready leaned into his scope and squinted through the lens, first making sure his partner was in position before training his eye on the approaching enemies at the end of the block- When they were close enough, he waved down to her, giving her the signal to ready herself.

Nodding a curt acknowledgment, Audrey hugged the wall then, brandishing Nate's freshly sharpened combat knife as she prepared for action- when the rabble got to the designated area, as planned, Hancock's men lagged behind, breaking off from the group to disappear unnoticed into the debris strewn alleys on either side of the narrow road.

Counting down from ten, MacCready steadied himself, taking another deep breath to clear his mind as he set his sights on the man at the head of the procession- Behind him, a clown faced girl he assumed was Smiling Kate skipped merrily along, shielded partially from his view by her subordinate's bulky frame...

10...9...8...

his finger edged on the trigger.

5...4...3..

He held his breath.

2...1-

POW!

The sound of a single shot broke the silence, and almost instantly the man at the head of the procession crumpled to the pavement at their feet in a wash of blood, alerting the rest of the raiders to his presence. Systematically, he aimed for the next body and fired again.

On the ground, Audrey pulled the pin on a smoke grenade, tossing it into the fray of frantic, unorganized foes before they could recover. Quickly, she adopted a sturdy gas mask, and snuck into the cloud of acrid smoke and dust with her knife ready- From the rear, Hancock's men did the same as their surprised opponents dodged behind dumpsters and rusted out vehicle frames, seeking cover in their unexpected blindness...

Coming upon her first Victim, Audrey grabbed him by the hair from behind, yanking his head back and slicing his throat in silence- he gurgled unintelligibly as she held him, before letting him down easily upon the broken asphalt at her feet. Somewhere nearby, she heard another man cry out as he was also dispatched- then another soon after. By then, Kate's men were quickly dissenting into chaos.

from her hiding spot in the miasma, the unhinged raider giggled manically, eyes narrowing into slits as she spun slowly around to peer into the stinging smoke cloud surrounding them. Then, moving away from the shelter of the van she had been hiding behind, she called out to her hidden enemy, hoping to provoke her into revealing herself.

Eager for blood, Kate flourished her nail studded slugger antagonistically as she spoke.

"...You've been really naughty Mr. Shroud- making all my friends so nervous with your silly calling cards- But that's all over with. Your days of playing dress up are done! Now, it's time to rip off that fancy costume and end you!"

Ignoring the taunting declaration, Audrey crept carefully- slowly- toward the voice of her quarry. At first, the other woman was just a faint shadow a few feet ahead of her, then as the wind blew, the air began to clear, allowing them to see each other clearly for the first time...Upon closer observation, she realized with some discomfort that the short, skinny girl in front of her couldn't have been more than twenty. Beneath the makeup smearing her mousey face, Dirt clung to her pale flesh like a second skin.

"Y-you..." Audrey stammered incredulously, hesitating in her attack. "Your just a little girl!"

Lips curling into an almost demonic smile, Kate sneered haughtily in response.

"Oh yeah? I hope your ready then." She hissed through her teeth, readying her weapon. " Cos' This little girls gonna fucking kill you!"

Then, quick as a snake, her tiny assailant lunged forward, swinging her spiked bat left and right furiously, narrowly missing Audrey each time as she bobbed and wove, ducking to avoid each swipe and blow, and to her dismay, Kate left no openings for her to strike back. Instead, she found herself being pushed steadily backward along the road...

With a thrill, Audrey suddenly remembered the feeling of panic she had felt when Kendra had bested her only days ago, and as she dodged a particularly long, hard swipe of her opponent's weapon, her breath caught in her throat- unexpectedly, she tripped over one of Kate's fallen comrades behind her, sending her sprawling to the blood-spattered ground.

'Fuck!' She thought desperately, too shocked to scream...

Coming to stand before her, the clown faced girl cackled, lifting her bat high above her head in preparation to deal a head splitting blow.

"Now its time to rip your god damned heart out, dumb asshole!" She shrieked with blood thirsty glee- only to be cut off as Audrey kicked her legs out from under her, forcing her to relinquish the upper hand. Without thinking, the frantic vault dweller dove for the other woman as she landed heavily on the ground, scrambling to wrap her fingers around her opponent's slender neck...

Desperately, Kate grabbed at the collar of Audrey's shroud, starring up at her with unsuppressed rage while her air supply was cut off. As she struggled, she pulled at the older womans clothing. After a few seconds, she began to flail- kicking, Eyes beginning to bulge...Indifferently, Audrey watched as the girls dirt-stricken, makeup obscured features began to purple, choking pathetically beneath her.

1...2...3...She began to count as a strange calm enveloped her mind.

6...7...8..

10...15...20

30...60...70

A few counts later, her black smudged gaze rolled... and soon after that smiling Kate lay still upon the pavement, bloodshot eyes starring sightlessly toward the sky.

Relaxing, Audrey released her grip then, realizing suddenly the silence that surrounded her. taking stock of her surroundings, the exhausted vault dweller realized with a start that MacCready and Hancock's men had taken care of the rest of the opposition and were now watching her with various levels of admiration and approval.

letting her breath out in a whoosh, she lifted her mask and gave her partner a wan smile of victory- this time she had held her own... Returning her grin proudly, MacCready took a step forward and offered her a hand up- which she took gratefully.

"Good job...only one thing left to do now." He informed her suggestively. Smile broadening, Audrey reached into her pocket and picked out one of the now infamous calling cards, before tossing it at Kate's now lifeless body.

"Well, I'll be God damned." One of the mayor's insurgents exclaimed beside them, breathless with the relief of their unlikely victory- beside him, the other man nodded wordlessly, nursing a minor wound on his left shoulder.

"No kiddin'." he shot back in agreement.

. . .