Three days later...
Tuesday, June 24th
The day was strange one, a very strange one.
Chloe and Mindy were held hostage with interesting results. Results, which the pair had to thank Marty for!
They were out in Chicago with the intention to go shopping. Due to some recent security concerns, Mindy had insisted that all Fusion members should always carry some form of basic communications equipment with them, either a cell or a radio as a minimum. Now, carrying their normal tactical radios as a civilian would attract attention as it was not easy to conceal and were not technically available to civilians. Marty, though, had found a compromise where so long as they were within a couple of miles of a main radio, i.e. SPEEDY, BEAST, the SUV, or a safehouse, they could carry a much smaller radio and use concealed communications headsets. That was what they were doing that day, to test the system. They had parked the SUV in the centre of the city and were walking about a half-mile away. Marty and Abby were at the safehouse from where they were monitoring the test. Dave was at home, with Sophia, Curtis, and Kyle.
The first stop was to be the bank so they could get some cash. They generally hated using cards as they tended to leave an electronic trail. Mindy also wanted to treat Chloe to a girls' day out. They were chatting happily as they entered the bank, so Mindy did not notice anything immediately wrong. They queued up as usual and had been there for only about eight minutes while Marty was telling them jokes over the communications which the pair had to try and ignore, so they did not give the game away. They each had a small transceiver which was hidden under their clothing, never mind where exactly. In their left ears they each had a small ear bud which contained a built-in microphone and a very thin wire that ran down under their clothing to the transceiver. Their hair, especially Mindy's, covered the ear bud and wire. Mindy had suggested to Chloe that she let her hair grow a little.
Suddenly they heard a commotion behind them and turned around to see three security guards being clubbed to the ground by masked men who were using what looked like leather billy clubs or saps. Then AR-15 rifles appeared in the hands of three of the men. Another two men were busy securing the security guards' hands.
"Don't move! Don't fuckin' move! Put your hands in the air! Put your hands in the air! Put 'em up!" one man with a gravelly voice yelled.
"Get on your knees! Get on your knees!" another man, this one with a British accent, shouted.
"We want to hurt no one! We're here for the bank's money, not your money. Your money is insured by the federal government; you're not gonna lose a dime. Think of your families, don't risk your life. Don't try and be a hero!" Gravelly Voice said loudly.
"Get down and stay down! Hey, you, get over here and get down!" British Accent yelled at several bank workers.
Mindy grimaced. They were idiots, not just for quoting from 'Heat' but following the whole fucking script.
..._...
"Battle Guy, the bank has just been seized!" Mindy whispered, somewhat dejectedly.
"Copy that, Hit Girl!" Battle Guy replied.
"Five men, AR-15s. They think they're following the fucking script of 'Heat'," Mindy hissed as she got down onto the floor, facing Chloe.
"Cool! Copy five, plus AR-15s and they like movies," Battle Guy replied, with a snigger.
"Funny cunt!"
Mindy heard one of the men speaking on a cell. He was reading out his demands to the cops and Mindy caught the second demand which made her laugh.
"Like that's gonna happen," Mindy said quietly, looking at Chloe, who had heard the same thing and looked back with a smirk.
"Repeat that, Hit Girl," Battle Guy called.
"The idiots have just announced their demands. Demand number two: they want Hit Girl down here," Mindy growled.
"You what? Now that is funny!" Battle Guy said and Mindy could hear laughter from Hal in the background.
"Better call Jack Bay. He knows who I am; he can cover," Mindy said to Battle Guy.
"Doing it now," Battle Guy replied.
'Oh, this was fucking brilliant!', Mindy thought to herself. 'Here I am, a hostage and one of the hostage takers' demands is me! Dave is gonna fucking love this and milk it for all its fucking worth!'
"Does Kick-Ass know?" Mindy asked, tentatively.
"He's inbound to suit up, right now," Battle Guy replied.
'Oh fuck!' Mindy told herself. 'Okay, think! These guys are complete idiots.'
"Battle Guy, Shadow and I are gonna wind these fuckers up," Mindy said as she came to a decision.
"Copy that!"
..._...
"Hey, asshole! How long are we gonna be lying here?" Mindy said, as she sat up.
"Get down, bitch!" Gravelly Voice said as he aimed his AR-15 at Mindy who did not flinch.
"Big gun, huh. Compensating, are we?" Mindy responded as she tried to ignore Battle Guy and Hal laughing in her ear.
"What!?" Gravelly Voice shouted.
"That big?" Mindy said as she held her thumb and forefinger about three inches apart and looked at Chloe who giggled and held up her own thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.
That seemed to annoy Gravelly Voice.
"You fucking bitch...!" Gravelly Voice started before British Accent told him to 'shut the fuck up'.
Mindy could hear some sniggering from other hostages and at least one of the hostage takers. Gravelly Voice and British Accent were arguing but they had left her sitting up which allowed her to look around. There were approximately sixteen bank customers and about twelve bank workers lying on the floor which included her and Chloe. Mindy had started to lose track of time when she heard another voice in her ear bud; the one she had been dreading.
"Howdy, gorgeous!" Dave called. "Hit Girl rescued you yet?"
Mindy whispered something vile and obscene as a response.
"You foul mouthed little bitch!" Dave retorted with a laugh.
"Hiya, Shadow!" Curtis added in the most annoying way possible.
"Talk about little dicks!" Chloe muttered and Mindy laughed.
"Be nice!" Curtis responded. "Does Hit Girl know about your 'My Little Pony' panties?"
"Fucking little...! I'm gonna cut his fucking balls off when I get outta here!" Chloe seethed, her face turning bright red.
Mindy hated to admit it, but she laughed and the look she received from Chloe was anything but friendly and the laughter from the safehouse did not help, one bit.
..._...
"Fuck this!" Chloe said as she jumped up and turned to British Accent. "Hey, wanker! I need a piss and right the fuck now!" Chloe said without fear or shame, it appeared.
Mindy had to admit that it did not even sound like Chloe or Shadow, for that matter. By the chatter over the comms, even Curtis sounded shocked. Chloe was wearing shorts which showed off her long legs and she was flaunting these, and Gravelly Voice was looking. Chloe did in fact look older than thirteen and she actually could have easily passed for a fifteen-year-old which, Mindy considered, really fucking sucked because at thirteen, she barely looked thirteen. Mindy checked Chloe up and down; Mindy knew that she was carrying a weapon somewhere but could not for the life of her see where.
"Well, I'm waiting, limp dick!" Chloe said angrily.
"Take the slut to the fucking bathroom!" British Accent ordered one of the other men.
"Go suck a cock!" Chloe retorted as she was led to the bathroom.
Mindy was trying her utmost to keep a straight face but failing and she could hear hysterical laughter at the safehouse.
"Hey, gorgeous, I'm on my way while Curtis is speechless and has gone very red," Dave commented, and Mindy could hear BEAST starting up. "I have your combat suit with me."
"Hey, boss! Bay has been on the phone and he's heading onsite to co-ordinate. He knows you and Chloe are in there and unmasked," Battle Guy reported.
Chloe came back from the bathroom a few minutes later, smirking, and sat down beside Mindy.
"The bathroom has a window. Not big enough to get out of but big enough to get a combat suit in," Chloe muttered, having overheard the conversation with Dave.
"Nice idea." Kick-Ass confirmed, and Mindy could hear a siren in the background. "I'm ten minutes out; Murphy is providing escort."
..._...
First things first, Mindy thought.
"You carrying?" she whispered.
"Stupid fucking question!" Chloe snapped back and Mindy had a feeling she had not forgiven her for laughing at her underwear.
Chloe stood up again.
"Now what, slut?" British Accent asked and received a vicious glare in return.
"Let's just pretend, for a moment that I'm Hit Girl," Chloe started.
"In your fucking dreams!" Mindy muttered.
Chloe must have heard the comment as she hesitated but otherwise ignored Mindy.
"Why would you want her?" Chloe continued.
"That bitch killed my brother and I'm gonna kill her," Gravelly Voice said.
"You. You are gonna kill the most vindictive the most sadistic and most violent assassin out there? In your fucking dreams!" Chloe retorted and several murmurs of agreement were heard from the hostages.
Mindy groaned as she realised what was happening. Chloe was trying to apologise for getting angry with her and she was killing time while distracting the idiots too. The girl could really think on her fucking feet, Mindy considered.
After what felt like only a few minutes, Mindy heard her saviour's voice.
..._...
It was time.
"Time to use the bathroom, Hit Girl," Kick-Ass suggested.
Mindy took a deep breath and stood up which had British Accent striding over and looking pissed.
"What the fuck now!?" British Accent yelled. "This is turning into a fucking nightmare!"
"I need to use the bathroom."
"No!"
"I'm on my period," Mindy stated as she stared directly at the man who seemed to wilt.
"Do you have no fucking shame?" Kick-Ass asked with a laugh.
"Look, I'm not fucking bleeding all over the damn floor, cunt!" Mindy continued.
"No!"
"Come on! All I need to do is stick a fucking tampon in, for fuck's sake!" Mindy pointed out with a grimace, and it did not help that she could hear Kick-Ass, Hal, and Battle Guy all laughing.
"Need a hand, love?" British Accent asked with a smirk.
"Need help getting it up or does your pal, there, help you?" Mindy retorted.
"Go. Jesus Christ! Go hold up a fucking bank, he said, it'll be easy..." British Accent shouted and continued ranting.
..._...
Mindy went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
She went over to the window and found Kick-Ass standing outside and below the window. Standing behind him was a cop; it was Fellowes. Kick-Ass passed in Hit Girl's complete combat suit, plus her pistols and the bō-staff which was a tight fit and had to come in broken down into two sections. Mindy kicked off her clothing and pulled on the combat suit, shoving her clothes out of the window to Kick-Ass who passed them to Fellowes. Hit Girl checked that her pistols were loaded and that the bō-staff was ready before she unlocked the door and stepped out.
"Shadow, Hit Girl is about to attack. Stand to!" Hit Girl directed.
It felt strange not to be wearing the throat mike when in the combat suit but that wasn't really a problem, Hit Girl thought as she slipped through the open door into the main area of the bank.
..._...
It was time to meet her adoring public.
"Okay you cunts!" Hit Girl growled loudly, attracting everybody's attention. "Let's see what you can do now!"
Hit Girl swung her two swords in menacing circles before she nodded at Chloe and threw herself towards the hostage takers. Before said hostage takers had had a chance to even raise their weapons, Mindy had stabbed the first two men through the chest and was moving onto the next pair, flipping onto and over a desk and landing behind the two men then ramming her swords home into their backs. The last man fell, as Chloe rammed her balisong into his stomach and almost lifted the much larger man off his feet.
"I am not a fucking slut, bastard!" Chloe snarled as the man died.
Hit Girl had to admit as she reconnected her swords and slung the assembled bō-staff over her back that Chloe's behaviour that day had been rather surprising.
"Kick-Ass, get us outta here!" she growled.
The main door of the bank burst open at that moment and police officers threw blankets over all of the hostages and took them outside, including Chloe, who was grabbed by Murphy. When Hit Girl stepped outside the bank, she found that the hostages were being shepherded to one side and into police vans so hopefully nobody would notice that Chloe and Mindy were not there. Hit Girl noticed Murphy slamming the back of BEAST shut before he wandered away, smiling. Hit Girl saw Jack Bay and nodded in his direction, receiving a nod and a smile in return. She pulled off the bō-staff, placed it on the back seat and then climbed into BEAST, to find Kick-Ass staring at her.
"Back to headquarters, Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl growled she and could not resist grinning till it hurt as Kick-Ass accelerated away.
"Welcome back, Hit Girl and Shadow," Hal called.
"Thanks, Hal!" Mindy replied.
"Yeah, thanks, Hal," Chloe said as she popped her head up from behind the rear seats.
They decided to retrieve the SUV later but for the moment, they just wanted to get back to the safehouse.
The Safehouse
When they pulled into the safehouse, everybody was there awaiting their arrival, and all started applauding as they climbed out of BEAST.
"That had to be the most entertaining morning that I have had in a long time," Marty exclaimed with his huge dorky grin.
"Glad we could be so entertaining," Mindy offered, somewhat dryly as she pulled off her mask.
"Honestly that was way cool!" Abby said as she gave Chloe a hug. "Marty almost died!"
"You really have a foul mouth, Chloe," Curtis commented. "And I'm sorry about the panties. You really were cool and scary today, but I did find you a bit embarrassing."
Curtis ran over and gave Chloe a big hug. Chloe was a bit confused.
"I'm glad you're safe," the boy said.
"Okay, I won't cut your balls off," Chloe replied, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"My Little Pony?" Mindy asked.
"I'll say nothing about your pyjamas if you say nothing about my panties," Chloe growled, with an embarrassed grin.
"Deal," Mindy replied as she felt her face warming up and Dave laughed.
..._...
After they had returned their comms to Marty and Mindy had dropped off her weapons in the armoury, they went upstairs with Chloe so they could both get changed as Chloe had blood on her clothes from 'British Accent' at the bank and she was shaking a bit.
"You okay?" Mindy asked as Chloe paused outside her room.
"Not really," Chloe replied, looking pale.
"Come on, into our room," Mindy said, pulling Chloe into the bedroom before closing and locking the door.
Chloe broke down onto the bed and started sobbing. Mindy left her there while she dragged off her combat suit. Mindy knew what it was about; Chloe had killed before, several times, in fact, but always at a distance or in the dark. That morning at the bank was the first time that Chloe had killed so intimately while staring into her mark's eyes. It was also the first time that she had got blood on her hands, literally. Mindy knew the reaction; she had been there, years ago, but at half her age.
Chloe looked up from the bed.
"I was scared today, but being scared gave me the courage to stand up to those men. But that asshole who called me a slut... That hurt and I felt that I had to do something about it... But...," Chloe ran out of steam.
"I know, but you weren't expecting that rage to build up and allow you to ram that balisong into that bastard and almost lift him off the ground. You weren't expecting to see what you saw in his eyes as he died. I've been there; I know exactly what was going through your mind and it is entirely normal. Killing from a distance is very different to killing face-to-face. You can see a lot of things go through somebody's emotions as they die, and you remember them all. You just learn to push those feelings and memories down deep and bury them. It's not easy and it takes time to learn how to do it properly, but I'll help you get through this, okay?"
"Thanks, Mindy. I'm glad I did it and the bastard deserved it, but I still feel bad about it," Chloe said.
"You will, but you will also learn to bury those feelings," Mindy said, and she felt very sorry for Chloe. "You did very well today, and I will admit you surprised me with your actions which were bang on."
"Can I come back to your place?" Chloe asked. "I don't want to go home tonight... I... I might need to talk..."
Chloe sounded a bit insecure, but I said okay and I knew Dave would understand.
Updated: May 2024