[IC] The Three Kings (High Casual)

[Cherry_Shield]

The van screamed to a halt, nearly tipping in the process. As the girls poured out of the van, Lyn shot a annoyed glance up at the rear view mirror. Aria returned it with a smirk. With a chucking sigh, The Thinker raced from the van, rounding its panels to view the battlefield.

Lets see... Twenty two? Oops, twenty one now. This isn't as heavy of a convoy as I expected. I wonder where the rest of the guards are? Probably couldn't a lot a big patrol this far out in the city with the recent patrol step ups. Even with such a simple set up, we still need to clean this up fast.

Lyn reached up to her digitizer mask and pressed one of the soft keys on the mask before darting into the battlefield. While Lyn wasn't exceptionally fast, she did move with a quick pace and an astonishing grace, like every move had been planned five steps ahead. Her hand reached into the back of her skirt brim, withdrawing her MSS VUL and stiletto knife as she approached the first group of enemies in cover.

♪How lucky can one guy be... Lyn slid over the barrier, I kissed her an she kissed me, she remained unnoticed, Like that fella once said, aint that a- stiletto to the neck. The room was completely black... the guard fell lifeless to the ground, I hugged her and she hugged back, the two adjacent guards heard the commotion and began to turn, Like the sailor said, quote, two silent shots placed between the eyes, "Aint that a hole in the boat♪"

The melody continued to ring through Lyn's ears as the encampment of guards she had tangoed with left the dance floor. The door to the back of the transport container was in sight. Lyn dashed along, silently, across the battlefield to the door, and began to work on the keypad as the dwindling guards focused on staying alive amongst the chaos. The Thinker hooked up her mobile-decryption device and began to work away at the keypad.

Five... Four... Three... Two...

Lyn grinned.

"♪Aint that a hole in the-"

The door on the transport vehicle sheered open with enormous force, bending the door slightly to the side and striking Lyn, sending her hurdling feet away from transport, rolling to a stop on the ground. Coughing as dust filled her lungs, her eyes turned to the sky just in time to see the hulking Seeker's red, beady eyes staring down at her. Before Lyn could move, the beast was on top of her. As it reached down, She fired several rounds from her VUL into it's chest, each ricocheting off like a piece of paper. The hulking machine took hold of her neck, lifting her high into the air, well over the heads of the girls and men still fighting across the battlefield.

"LYN!" Aria shouted as the beast lifted her harder, it's mawing grip constricting tighter and tighter. Her vision blurred, her vocalizer sparked as it was crushed against her neck, her vision grew dark as her eyes grew bloodshot, her entire body flailing and kicking to no avail. Desperately, Lyn's hand rushed toward the small of her back, retrieving her stiletto knife. She trust the knife wildly at the creatures neck with every last ounce of energy in her. As she was certain her life was coming to a close, she made contact between the creatures armor plates on its neck.

The seeker released Lyn, rearing back as purple fluid sprayed from it's neck. Lyn lied motionless on the ground, blood pouring from her mouth, eyes and nose. Aria charged forth. "LIGHT THAT FUCKER UP!'

[AtomicNut]

The second trooper reeled, stunned by the impacts of the assault rifle in the exchange of bullets. With a swift kick, miro dropped the improptu shield from his grasp, and producing the icepick from the waist, moved in for the kill. These guys were rather well armored, and well trained, so he couldn't waste a single nanosecond on the offensive. If he ever became a still target, he would be swiss cheese, despite the fierce cover the girls were offering.

The icepick penetrated the back of the neck of the soldier beneath the helmet, dropping dead even before he could register he was. His entire body went limp...

And then, it happened. Miro watched, almost as if in slow motion. The van doors knocking Lyn. The creature lunging, and pinning the girl. The desperate struggler for her life. How she laid broken and bleeding, on the ground.

Just like Olga.

The world went gray, as the adrenalin took over his senses. He didn't know what he said exactly, but he roared something. "It's a TRAP!" The last renmant of his sanity managed to muster. The rescue... made no sense anymore. The bullets? They were annoyances, even though a single one could easily bring him down. He just didn't care. In a blur, he moved forward. Shooting with the rifle. When that was empty, breaking someone's nose by swinging it as a club. Unloading his backup gun at point black, shattering someone's helmet and face.

It went fast, too fast. His body moved way faster than his mind. A series of thudding noises in his limbs announced he probably had been shot aswell. But he didn't even feel it, nor noticed the bleeding. He reached for the rear vehicle's door, yanking the driver with enormous force out of the seat.

Deep down, Miro knew what to do. All of the reason, morale and human feelings were cast away. Only survival mattered. But not survival of the self, but survival of the group. It was simple sense, that even an ant would understand. Viable reproductive females who were scarce nowadays would be more valuable than an adult male.

He clasped the belt. Revved up the engine. And set his sights on the Seeker.

"RAAAAAAAAHHH!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, accelerating a couple of tons of metal against the armored trooper, the car becoming a deadly ram, narrowly missing some of the girls and Lyn. "EAT THIS YOU MISHAPPEN BEGET!"

[Kokushi]

Nodding her head, Joslyn went to the room he had mentioned to her and began to look around his clothing, attempting to find something she could wear that would not fall off her body. Moving to a chest off in a corner, she opened it up to see an array of what looked like string, some skirts, and odd shirts that reminded her of corsets. "I guess these would work? Or maybe..." she murmured to herself as she grabbed one of the skirts and went over to his personal dresser. Rummaging through that, she found a button up shirt that was folded relatively neatly and decided to wear that in place if the shirts in the chest.

Content with what she had chosen, she delt with her underthings still being a little damp and changed into the clothing she had chosen. The skirt itself was insanely short, but she was able to make do as she situated the shirt so it was more or less a dress like thing on her, only a little shorter than the skirt she was wearing. "This will have to do, I can't think of anything else," she grumbled as she left his room, still wearing her black sneakers, "Hey Adrian, is this ok?"

Adrian slowly nursed his way through his pint as he waited, expecting her to be upset with his lack of variety and overly-loose fit of his spare wardrobe. This expectation however was quickly shattered as he saw a girl in a miniskirt walk over to his booth and ask if she looked alright, a voice in the back of his head told him to just smile and nod while another figured-out the person was Joslyn just as she slid into the booth. It was then he noticed just how oversize the shirt was for her, and made a mental note to help shop for her new clothes.

"You've cleaned-up nicely." He stated, raising his pint in start of a toast; "To new oprotunities."

Their fried eggs and cheese-curds, almost on cue of the lovely lady's entrance, arrived to their table not long afterwards. The waiter pausing to enjoy some of the local scenery before departing to take the orders of another conveniently nearby table.

Joslyn had simply opted to stare at the Waiter for a few moments before she turned her attention back to Adrian,"There wasn't really much for me to choose from so I went into the dresser," she said with a shrug, "What was with all the string in that chest? Are you planning on making something with it?" As she asked, she took to starting to eat her food, a happy look on her face after her first bite as it was the first time she had anything of decent substance in a long time.

"So, what was with the waiter, do they always stare?" she asked him and she glanced up from her plate, then proceeded to down at least half of what was in her pint. She knew she should slow down, but she really couldn't bring herself to do so with how hungry and thirst she always seemed to be.

Adrian shrugged at the mention of strings in a box, hoping he could figure that puzzle out later as he saw Joslyn and the waiter just stare at each other for a moment before she asked a slightly easier to answer question.

"Oh, Jimmy? No... He just hasn't seem a woman his entire life." He answered, just as he figured out what 'all that string' was for. "Clothes." He cleared his throat, "We should probably find you some clothes that fit you better after dinner. Perhaps you can show me those strings you found so I can answer your question better." Adrian offered, to Joslyn's assistance.

"Yeah," she said with a shrug, "And why hasn't he seen a woman? I mean, I've noticed there are not many of us, actually... the only females I have seen are the ones I was in the facility with." Frowning, Joslyn looked around the bar and realized that Jimmy wasn't the only one who was staring, which started to put her on edge far more than she was willing to admit. "So where do I start working?" Distraction, that's what she needed, something to distract her from all the prying eyes that followed her every move.

"Nearly all of them died ten years ago, during the plague. Very few even remember the last time they've seen a woman even if they had." Adrian answered, as he leaned into his arms towards Joslyn, "This place used to be constantly full, especially during the die-off. But after stage-performers became hard to come-by, the population started to drop and business went down to the few you see now. That's where you come-in."

He paused, considering what sort of position gave her the most visibility with the least scrutiny. "As soon as I can acquire the right credentials, I was planning on having you mixing drinks from behind the bar. Until then do you think you could handle orders at the tables?" He asked, trying to gauge how comfortable she'd be working around strangers.

"I can serve people," she said, "Do you think it would pull in more customers? To have me serving food and drink with the waiters? Is there anything I should wear? Well, I mean, I need new clothing anyway so I guess what I wear is going to be dependant on what can be bought?" She tilted her head to the side as she watched him, then turned her attention to what was going on on the floor. She was excited about getting the chance to work, though she had no idea how her sporadic twitching was going to effect her abilities to do what he needed of her.

Nodding, Adrian answered, "I'm sure of it."

He then considered the issue of buying clothes for her, not many places actually sold women's fashion anymore, as the market had dried up more than five years ago. He had clothes stored-away, which some of it would do alright for serving at the bar, provided she could remain confident while wearing those outfits.

"Not many places sell women's clothing anymore, but coats, jackets, and boots can still be bought. The rest will have to be scavenged from old theater-supplies usually stored upstairs." He answered, while he finished eating as he tried not to look a bit shamefully crazy-overprepared for the return of showgirls to the marketplace. Despite his stash had obviously overflowed to one of the downstairs changing-rooms.

"Since most of the clothes is just upstairs, I could help you sort through it if you'd like." He offered.

"Yeah... sure we can do that," she replied, "Would be nice to have different clothes to wear. The only question I have now is, what are we going to do about my eyes? I don't know of anyone else who has HeteroChromia... let alone boobs." By this point, Joslyn had finished her beer and was done eating, pleased that she wasn't hungry anymore, though now she was starting to feel rather restless. She wanted to start working if she could, and she wanted to try to do the best she could so he would have a reason to keep her around.

[Cherry_Shield]

The Seeker reeled back in pain, grabbing at it's neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It stumbled repeatedly as Aria's cry for cover fire was met. Though only a few rounds slipped between the hulking beasts' armored plates, it was enough to continue its stumble. Slowly the fire ceased as the girls stopped to reload. The Seeker roared back, hulking over the girls with a mighty roar, towering at nearly twice their size. The Seeker lowered its' head just in time to see it's next target- a van speeding out of control towards it.

The Miro-guided missile made contact, the excruciating sound of metal on metal screaming through the street before coming to a crashing halt. Even the force of a fully loaded assault vehicle was not enough to stop the beast. Pinned from the waist down, the Seeker ripped at the windshield with a carnal force, trying with all its' might to reach into the cab and decapitate Miro. It inched closer and closer, backing the truck away from the wall that had mangled its' lower half, trying with all it's might to reach it's target. The monster's eyes locked onto the unconscious man as it reached out with one final swoop-

-Before realizing it's grave mistake. In the distraction, Aria snuck around the corner of the pivoted van at the Seeker's blindspot. She lunged forth, blade drawn, widening the wound left by the unconscious think tank. Dropping the contaminated tool, Aria reached for her side pouch, withdrawing a fragmentation grenade and priming it in one fell swoop. With a twisted expression of disgust and rage, the battle-clad girl shoved the grenade into the exposed wound of the Seeker's neck, before darting back into cover. The beast stole one last look at Miro before its' mind vanished into a thin mist.

Aria winced as pieces of the nightmare flew over the battlefield. She stood up, wiping herself from the mysterious liquid. The battlefield was now eerily silent, the girls standing there in awe. It wasn't every day a Seeker was spotted, much less that one was killed. They stood motionless, taking in what had just occurred. Even Aria gazed at the remains of the beast, soaking in what she had accomplished before snapping out of it.

"Don't just stand there! Liria, Kristen, grab the man! We need to move now!"

As the girls moved towards Miro, Aria bolted towards Lyn. Sliding on her knees to her fallen comrade, Aria whipped an adrenal-injector from her satchel, jamming it into Lyn's outer-thigh. "Come on Lyn, hang with me girl, you can't leave us now, we need you, I need you!" Lyn managed to give Aria a faint, pained look as her labored breathing continued. "You're going to be fine, we're going to get you back to base, get those airways open, and stabilize you, then you'll be back on your feet in no time. I know you will, right Lyn? Right?"

Tears streamed from her eyes as Aria lifted Lyn, sprinting back to the van, speeding off from the warzone...


New York Midtown: POLTAVA Forward Base: Medical Tent
Time since unsuccessful raid: 27 hours


Lyn watched from her drab, patch-work hospital gown as Miro awoke. Her neck was a deep purple, black and blue, almost as if someone had tripped with a pallet of paints and smacked them on a canvas. She opened her mouth to speak, when Aria halted her. "Lyn, I don't really think it's wise for you to speak right now. You need to rest." Lyn shook her hand dismissively. She opened her mouth, a raspy, pained voice emerging.

"It's been long enough Aria, you know the medicine we have here is good." She sighed lightly, before making another pained breath, "You know Miro, you might just be the kind of crazy we need here. Anyone willing to get shot in the arm and give themselves a concussion, just to help a little girl might be the kind of guy I would be willing to work with."

[AtomicNut]

...Unknown Alpha has taken the rear vehicle!

That's a guy... right? That's not...

What's he do...FUCK!

Unit S57 HAS SUFFERED A MAJOR HIT!UNKNOWN ALPHA RAN IT WITH OUR VAN! I REPEAT...

The transmissions throbbed into blackness. Miro was numb. Every part. Arms. Body. Chest. Legs. The smell of blood. A metallic heavy breathing. Inching closer, and closer.

...I didn't kill it. I failed.

He was rocked. Everything trembled. Suddenly light. His pupils contracted vigorously. Sounds and voices, at first going painfully slow like an old tape player losing its batteries, then quickening up to a normal pace. He flexed his palm in front of his eyes, several times. He felt like if he had been beaten up. A sharp sting announced he had a bullet wound in his arm.

Dressed in bandages, he was back in the Poltava Base. His eyes quickly darted to the source of the voice. Lyn. The same Lyn he had been tossed aside like a ragdoll, probably with multiple fractures in the head, bleeding in the ground in a precarious state. She was alive, it seemed, and so was he. The impact had knocked him out cold, because he didn't remember how he got back to the base.

"...thank God, you're alive." Miro breathed in relief. "It almost seemed like a repeat of Olga's death." The young man tried to incorporate himself. His eyes darted from Lyn to Aria, and then back to himself. "I thought this timer I was a goner too... and I think that thing was still alive when i passed out." He added before sighing and looking at the two, interiorizing the words she had said.

"Don't mention it. I just can't stand these guys with their power armors and strange screeches." Miro said in return, before crossing his arms. "One of the things one learns in martials arts is to not be afraid to get hurt when unleashing an attack, anyway. But I need to polish the method. Concussions and dying are not fun." He added, his sights now set in Aria. "Are the other girls okay?"

I could really use some rest and a drink right now. He added mentally.

[Foster]

Adrian held his chin between his thumb and forefinger, thinking about Joslyn's concerns about standing-out just a little too much, about what he'd have to work with -sizing her up- and still being able to keep a steady draw on his customers. He also noticed that Joslyn had finished eating before him.

"I've got just the idea." He exclaimed, as he snapped his fingers out from under his chin before getting excitedly to his feet; leaving a third of his food uneaten. "If you'll follow me to the back-room I think I may be able to work something out to keep them from noticing your eyes." He said, before taking-off to his studio.

Once there, Adrian shut the door behind Joslyn and took off his shirt. "Take off that shirt, we're trading." he requested as he ripped-off the sleeves of his own shirt.

"Wait... what?" Joslyn questioned, staring rather openly at Adrian's bare chest before she finally just looked up at him, "Um... why are we trading shirts?" As she asked, she brought her hands up and started to undo the buttons, confused but clearly trusting him, though she was surprised that he was ripping of the sleeves of his shirt. "You are destroying your shirt? That seems counter-productive doesn't it?" Tilting her head to the side, she held out the shirt, one arm currently covering her bare breasts as she had found her damp bra highly uncomfortable.

Adrian sighed quietly, his plan was being questioned. "These are long sleeve shirts, that's a miniskirt." He said, pointing at Joslyn's attire for emphasis, "It's out of proportion, and I can't make miniskirts grow an extra eighteen inches of hem at the snap of a finger; I'm not a magician. So I have to make the shirt look smaller for you."

He took the still long-sleeved shirt and put it on as he gave the new short-sleeved shirt to Joslyn to try-on, although he quickly stopped her from buttoning it up. "It's too tall, tie the ends together to make it shorter.... no... here, like this..." He tried to explain, only moments before losing patience and tying the ends of the shirt together just below her bust-line.

"As for your eyes, so long as you can keep one covered they shouldn't be too suspicious. If they do happen to catch a glimpse of both, just apologize for losing one of your contact-lenses.... Oh right, and one more thing..."

Adrian leaned in close to Joslyn, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"A kiss for good luck on your first night. You'll need it."

Joslyn's cheeks flared up a deep red and she bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before she managed a soft 'oh' and hurried off to the bar floor to help the waiters. She had not expected the action from him, but she also wasn't about to complain as she thought it was a normal thing.

Letting out a slow breath, she went over to one of the waiters to ask them what it was she was supposed to do before being handed a pad and pen and shooed off. Chewing her bottom lip, she approached the first table nervously before offering them a rather shy smile. "W-what can I get f-for you today?" she asked softly.

(Taking suggestions from @AtomicNut as to how the first customer responds [Ebonsquire too, I see you lurking dere 'bro])

[Cherry_Shield]

Aria let out a heavy sigh before speaking "Yeah, they're OK, but this whole situation has me worried." Reaching to her utility belt, Aria withdrew a small, puck shaped object, tossing it onto the floor. After spinning several times, it came to a rest, the small lens projecting a graphics-field into the room. "Here you can see an overview of the 76 convoy hits we've conducted in this sector over the past year. Notice anything?" She allowed Miro to ponder for a moment before continuing. "Even in the heaviest convoy we took on, there was never a single Seeker encountered. They don't just send Seekers out to follow normal girls, they are the most elite of the military. To be honest, on your opinion on powered suit,"

Aria paused, trying to think of a way to make this sound as believable as possible, "We're not quite sure if they're even human. Some are theorizing genetic modification like us, others think they may be some new monster that the government boogyman cooked up. But that's besides the point. The point is, there was something special about that convoy. Either we captured a high-value target with some information the guys upstairs don't want us to know about." Aria paused, glancing to Lyn nervously before looking back at Miro, "Or they knew we were coming. I don't necessarily think we have a mole on that possibility. These girls hate those bastards more than any person you'll ever meet. And our decryption is nearly uncrackable. If they're sending out Seekers in convoys, they're planning something big."

"Either way, it's something that can wait." Lyn chided in from the corner, slipping on the last of her clothing while Miro was distracted. "I just nearly died along with my buddy here, we're going to get a drink." The Thinker coughed violently, a little bit of blood trickling from her mouth. "Besides, I need something to kill the pain from these bruises. You in?"

[AtomicNut]

"Mmm..." Miro pondered, trying to strain the gears on his mind hard. In the end, maybe it was because of the pain, the tiredness or the concussion he partially gave up on thinking too hard about the fact. "Well, for all I know it could've been a lure. Set up a fake girl disposal operation and treat it like if it was the real thing for the most part, and see what comes out from beating out the bushes." The young man sighed, tilting his head so slightly. His hands then nursed his head so slightly, as he heard Lyn talking somewhat again, before getting a fit of coughing.

"Actually, you really shouldn't do it, with such throat wounds. I hate to be the nagging responsible older brother...oh who I am kidding. I nearly died today too. I could use a drink aswell." Miro sighed, as he got up from the bed. "Just don't push yourself too much." The martial artist then snapped his fingers.

"I know of a place. Guy's a bit shady, but he's trustworthy. He actually has more than a few things he rather won't declare, so, if a bunch of underage girls went there, I doubt he would make much of a fuss about it." He smirked. "Let me grab my keys and wallet, and I'll guide you there."

It was then when Miro realized something, as he tilted his head. "It might get a little cramped, even if my motorbike is big. So, get um, some helmets and don't think of it too hard." The young man said as he got ready in his usual gear, having secured a rather private corner to change aswell. Who said that only girls needed privacy?

---

The travel back was certainly rather tedious. Dodging the same streets as he deftly picked up the pace, being careful not to make very sudden turns as Lyn had damaged her neck, he made his way into his destination. He tried not to think too hard of the implications of what was pressing against him in the back. He stopped in the same parking lot as he found the ruinous car of Adrian's.

Jesus, man, get a new one. He pondered, indicating both girls to climb down the bike as he did the same.

"Well, here we are. Let me get in first." Miro said, removing his helmet. "Hey, Adrian, you got some cold beer for three people?" Miro said without paying much attention. It was then when he noticed that 'Adrian' had some waitress clothes, long hair... and had magically grown breasts and an hourglass figure.

"Woah...I think I hit my head harder than I thought." Miro said, fully realizing the implications now. "Where's the...uh...boss...Joslyn???" Miro finally gasped.

[Cherry_Shield]

Lyn smiled as Miro gave in with little retaliation. Truly at the moment she had no will to fight, and would've passed without further discussion if he continued his protest. But I need to see if I can get some information from the surface. As Miro ran off to change, so did she. A low key profile was needed. She needed to look like someone who didn't belong, but in all the right ways. Lyn clothed herself in long, dirty rags. Brown cargos, ripped and tattered with old arm-sling bandages covering the holes. Several battered t-shirts, a tattered jacket and a long, moth-bitten cloak. Pretty convincing, if I didn't know any better, I'd say your homeless. The Thinker glanced around, taking in the sewer-base. Wait a second.

The ride to the aforementioned bar was uneventful. For some reason the streets were awfully quite tonight. Even as they sped down one of the main roads she could see the helicopters several miles off, surveying the destruction they had caused earlier, searching for any clues. I'm just glad we didn't loose any girls that day... As the bike slid softly to a halt, Lyn reached up and around her neck, adjusting the scrap-cloth bandanna that concealed everything sub her eyes.

The bar stunk, but that's what bars do right? You could almost cut the smoke in the air with a knife. Various crumbs of food littered the floor, making it obvious that it was a high-trafficked establishment. This was exactly the type of establishment she needed. Slowly and carefully, the hooded person made their way up to the bar, their sex well disguised. Lyn carefully avoided the prying glances of patrons, pondering to themselves what the homeless man wanted.

The robbed figure hopped onto the bar stool, locking eyes with the bar-keep. Her deathly blue orbs glaring him down, attempting to read him as a man. It was quite obvious she was not a normal patron. The Thinker pulled her hand towards her side, revealing plainly to the man the handgun she was reaching for, "If the spooks show up..." her hand continued past the gun-metal, instead opting for the wallet placed strategically behind it. Lyn withdrew a sizeable amount of cash, in the neighborhood of the low thousands, and pushed it towards the barkeep, "... I'm re-decorating your bar, if you get where I'm coming from." Lyn coughed violently, grasping her throat in pain before continuing. Though her voice was very raspy from her injuries, the feminine undertones were still there. "Now please, four shots of whiskey. I don't have a preference, just give me the rough stuff."

[Foster]

Adrian sighed, it wasn't even his turn to serve drinks and this one person orders not one drink, but four, all at once... on top of that, they threatened his establishment... He didn't even know where to start with how rude this person was as he looked over his shoulder to see Miro's familiar if baffled facial-expression on the other side of the bar with Jossie. Perfect.

"Jossie! Six shots shots of whiskey!" He shouted over the din of the bar, loud enough even for Miro to hear.

Joslyn looked up and around for a moment after getting over the fact that Miro was in Adrian's bar. She had not seen the male since the last time she had needed identification and had told him that she would be fine on her own. "As you can see, the Boss is over at the bar," she said, "Take a minute to collect yourself while I go get him and take care of the whiskey order he just shouted my way." With a smile, she trotted off to the bar and hip checked Adrian on her way, stopping long enough to whisper in his ear that Miro was looking for him.

In the mean time, she made quick work of the whiskey shots and set them down in front of the person she assume ordered them. "Hey Adrian, is it common for so many people to come in during the afternoon? I thought bars were more of a night establishment." As she spoke, she trained her eyes on the robed figure and squinted into the folds, a small smile gracing her lips when she caught a bit of their features. To a normal person, nothing would have been distinguishable, but she wasn't exactly normal was she?

Adrian kept out of Jossie's way, but did not move to avoid her obviously placing a hand around his hip as she glided a few quick words past his ear and finished making-up his order. He took one shot for himself and quickly downed it as he slid four of them Lyn's way and held the last one all to itself for Miro as he watched Jossie give a faint smile in recognition of both her guests.

"I think we're just about on the same page now. Do try not to raise a fuss." He said to the rude patron as he smiled broadly and stood up to walk away, taking the money and the last shot with him over to Miro. Nodding to Jossie that afternoons were often busy enough to stay open for.

"I see you have met our newest staff-member, Miro." He boomed, as he sat-down and slid the whiskey towards his old friend. "I may have a little job for you, I'm fixing-up one of the nearby apartment-complexes and could use some retired muscle with anger-issues to help with remodeling."

He pulled a small wad of twenties out and slid them across the table, "As usual, the pay is reasonable."

[Kokushi]

It took Jossie a moment before she finally decided to actually try to talk to the female in front of her. The only reason she could give to the girl covering herself so thoroughly was because she was like Jossie and Joy. "Why so much whiskey when it's only mid-day?" she questioned, setting down the final shot and glancing over at where Adrian was, "And are you ok? Shouldn't you be drinking water instead? I heard you coughing earlier."

"Whiskey has a way of numbing the pain. Temporarily. Atleast I tell myself that." Lyn reached down towards the scarf around her neck, pulling it down slightly to reveal her hellaciously damaged throat. "And I have alot of pain to numb." The Thinker gingerly replaced the scarf to it's original position, her hand shifting up to pull down her bandana, downing the first shot. Then the next. Then the next. She alowed a brief pause after the third, looking up towards the bar attendant. "... Wait, water? Do bars even serve water?" Lyn let out a chuckle that quickly turned into a violent caugh, resulting in a fine mist of blood on the bar and around her mouth. She quickly cleaned the mess with her bandana.

"Give me a second," Jossie said before searching around behind the bar. After crouching down for some time, she came up with a towel wrapped around ice and a cup of both ice and water in it. "I can't find vinegar, but put this cloth against your neck to help with the bruising and drink this water. If you are coughing up blood, that whiskey has got to burn far worse than it would if you were in tip-top shape." Once those were set in front of Lyn, Jossie frowned and seemed to be lost in through for a few moments before snapping back to reality. "There may be a cold compress around here, I usually have one in my kit, but I don't have my kit with me here today. What's your name?"

"Lyn." The girl jawed. "Just Lyn." Lyn glanced towards the towel, smirking. "I'm on more steroids than there are patrons in this bar. The bruising will go away on it's own, but thank you for the offer. I will take you up on the water though." The damaged girl took up the glass, gently tipping it up against her lips, a bit of water running down her chin from her inability to tilt her head back. "The whisky doesn't burn. I have alot more things in my life that hurt besides whiskey. Things whiskey can fix," Lyn knocked back the last shot, "And things it can't."

"Boss calls me Jossie," the girl replied as she simply dumped the ice into the water glass, "Short for Joslyn... no idea why he took to calling me Jossie though. He's strange but he's been really kind so far. Is there anything else that I can get you to help with the pain that won't react badly with the steroids they decided to pump you up with? I won't ask what happened to you, but I'm assuming whoever got the drop on you is hopefully worse off." Seeing the damage done to the female before her, and not exactly putting two and two together with the name, Jossie was itching to get a hold of her sniper rifle and go hunt down whoever had hurt one of her own.

"Don't really know if that thing could really be 'better' or 'worse' off, but it doesn't have a head anymore, so I assume that's a worse." Lyn glanced across the bar at her ride, talking to the owner of the bar. "Seems like a decent enough fellow for the 'I run a slummy bar that employs and serves girls under the age of 18' type guy I suppose." Lyn smirked, the sarcasm seething out of the coy look she shot Jossie. "But if Miro likes him, that's good enough reason for me. And don't worry about me dear, the only thing that's going to take this pain away is time or a .45 caliber asprin."

Jossie offered Lyn a small smirk, "I think we've all been there at one point or another in our lives. I've been lucky enough to stay off the radar, last time I dealt with any severe injuries was about a half month ago. Someone finds out you're a chick and they automatically assume you are one of... Jossie trailed off, even with her speaking as softly as she was, she was pretty sure Lyn got the idea, "Anyway, I'm pretty sure he knows about you too, which is the only reason why he gave you what you wanted... that and the metal you are carrying around." Propping herself up on the bar, Jossie sighed and rubbed her face, Miro had been the last male she had thought she would see come to the bar, she rarely saw him, but she guessed it was a good thing he popped up now when she needed new identification anyway.

"Hey," Lyn scoffed, patting her side, "He should have some respect. This gun is probably older than he is." The girl kicked her feet up against the wood grain of the bar front, tipping her stool back a bit, balancing it on too feet. "Besides, do you know how hard it is to find SP4 around here? Trust me, the hassle it would take to replace one of those rounds isn't worth it, tell him he's safe." Lyn's chair returned to the ground as she leaned forward, peering at Jossie's face. "Enough about me. Let's talk about the young girl, working in a trashy bar..." Lyn leaned a little lower, peering under her bangs, "With two different colored eyes."

Jossie stared at Lyn for some time before the corner of her mouth twitched up, the nagging feeling in the back of her head coming full force after hearing the girl who was clearly the same age as her, or pretty damn close, calling her 'young girl'. "Now I am curious to know what a thinker like you is doing in the same bar as a girl like me, walking around with the man who supplies me my IDs? Adrian found me when he was scoping out the condemed apartment I had been using as my home. Hasn't tried to do anything and has offered me a job under the understanding that I get to keep living in the apartment and he feeds me. Pretty good trade off if you ask me.

"You know what I'm doing here. The same thing you are. Hiding, running. Running from the men that made you. Hidding from the ones that are coming to take you back. From the ones that did this to me." Lyn pulled a small PDA-like device from under the edge of the bar that she had been concealing, showing it to the bar girl. On it was an ASC II type terminal, along with a long cross-referncing sheet of data. On one side was records from the oh-so familiar government test programs. On the other side was POLTAVA personel files. "Please Ms. Vulcas, don't play dumb with me. I'm much more of... 'a thinker' than you'd like to believe."

Jossie made a face, "Would you rather me just say your title outloud for everyone and their mother to hear? Or lack there of considering the circumstances of it all. I'm not daft, but I'm also not entirely happy with the fact that I've been found by you guys, I've stayed away from the larger groups for a reason. I still do my missions when I am told and I am not breaking any rules." In truth, she had never been one for staying within confined areas with a large amount of people after being set free from the lab, mainly because the areas were always so bright and she couldn't deal with not being able to see.

"To be honest, we didn't come here to find you. I came here to get drunk. Something about almost dying makes you want to do that. I'm not here to rain you in, or do anything. You have superiors for that.", Lyn extended her hand, gently brushing it against Jossie's arm in a caring way. "It's just nice to know where my girls are. Especially after recent events. Plus, we technically didn't 'find' you. Trust me, there is no finding to be done. We will just go where you are. Even when I can't find you, I have others that can."

Jossie made a face before letting out a sigh, "As long as I can keep to where I am I'm fine with that," she murmured, "If you need a place to crash for a little bit, I know where there is a bed in the building so you can rest while Miro and Adrian hash out whatever they are talking about. With injuries like that it is best if you get as much rest as you can while you can." With that said, she slipped off the bar and walked around it to help Lyn to the room she had found, pretty intent on not taking no for an answer considering how banged up the female was. "Guarantee some of your bandages will need to be changed if you have any, and on top of that, coughing up blood is never a good sign. Rest and water until they are done Boss."

With that said, Jossie gently grabbed Lyn and led her out of the bar, deciding that it was a better idea to just bring the female to her home instead. "Adrian I will be back in five, she needs to rest so I am bringing her to my home," she said, "Miro you don't need to worry abou ther, say a single thing against my Boss gettinng rest and I will punch you in the face." While her tone was hushed, that was not enought to diminish the clear threat that was there as she brought Lyn out of the bar and down the street to her apartment only about a quarter mile down.

"So ignore the naked chick, her clothes are probably dry now but at the time they were soaked. I have no idea if she is still asleep or not... but no funny business in my bed please, I don't want to have to replace the mattress with money I don't have." With that said, she opened her door and led the other female straight to her room where Joy seemed to still be passed out. "Rest up, water still runs and its clean so help herself to all the water you can stand. I have to get back to work."

"No funny business? How do you even know I swing that way?" A sly grin spread across her face "Rather, how would you ever find out?" After a small chuckle, Lyn assured Jossie it was a jest before waving her off back to work. Not that I really need the rest. I guess I forgot that low-tier operatives like her really don't know what kind of drugs we have access too. But it is good to see how my girls are living...

Lyn drifted over towards the bed, plopping down next to the naked female. She attacked her with a gentle poke to the ribs. "Hey. Hey. You awake?"

[Massasauga]

Joy had been snoozing gently for the last few hours. A night owl by anyone's standards so she was in her sleep cycle very deeply. With all the things that happened, the most awkward thing was being in a bed. She hadn't been used to it in a while, so even though she was asleep it was light. The incessant poking drew her to the surface of consciousness just barely. She moaned and groaned in protest, mumbling incoherent things and very lazily swatting at the culprit's hand. Of all times, why now? She was tired as hell. Course she then thought it was number twenty trying to bug her so she didn't think much of it at the time.

[AtomicNut]

"huh...okay." Miro just uttered a very basic reply on Joslyn's answer. Still unsure wether this was the effect of the shock of finding a female bartender or the fact he had suffered a concussion. And, well, this is kind of ...lovely, is that the word? Maybe something that hasn't been seen in nearly two decades. Waitresses.

He somehow managed to drag himself towards Adrian, his stance well-measured, but giving clear hints of extreme tiredness. He was a wreck and he just needed somewhere to rest and relax. But then Adrian made a generous offer in his usual way, without asking, straightforward. Eyeing the wad of cash, he just slid it back to Adrian.

"Not today, I am afraid." He curtly said. "Had a nasty traffic accident, so I'll be resting for some time." He said back to Adrian. Technically it is true. As provoked as it was to kill a certain unsavoury bastard. He cradled the whiskey shot on his hand, and he chugged all of it down in one go. "Eeeugh, whiskey. I prefer Vodka." He nonchanlantly protested. "And about the retired muscle part, you know... you might want to reconsider that. Some bastards have been around, busting my balls." He eyed the glass. "I was thinking of answering in kind, you know. When I get a little better. Oh, and I'll need a new chain for one of the sandbags."

It was then when he caught the riffraff of Lyn and Joslyn, trading barbs back and forth, before coming to an agreement, and why not, gratuosly belittling Miroslav like if he was some sort of evil corrupter of a man. He wasn't the one hiring underage waitresses, for hell's sake. "I am not her mom, whatever." Miro just grunted back to Joslyn in annoyance, before cradling his face, and eyeing Adrian he let out a pained smile.

"Heh, I almost had forgotten how nagging women can be sometimes." And with a small chuckle slumped his face on the table.

[Cherry_Shield]

"Just because you protest with a groan doesn't mean I'm going to give up."

Lyn hopped to her feet from the bed, surveying the room. It was... drab to say the least. Even though it had free standing walls, it still wasn't much better than the hide-aways standard to POLTAVA bases. If she doesn't like living on base, she doesn't have to. But it worries me having girls out here in the fray like this. At least in the base there is security in numbers. This... Lyn turned back to the naked girl on the bed, sighing as she stirred, ... Is as little unconventional.

Pulling out her PDA, The Thinker snapped a quick picture of the sleep-stricken girls face. A search query ran through the screen, coming back with a null-match with the immediate POLTAVA database. An inquisitive smirk grew across Lyn's face, leading her to plop back down onto the bed.

"I'm Lyn by the way. Considering the nature of your friend, I'm sure you're not just a normal teenage girl. But it seems like you haven't chosen to stick to a group to survive. But the question is, why?"

[Massasauga]

"Hrrmmusserraannnuuhhh" Joy replied, not even making a conscious effort to try to form words.

This, was annoying. She was nocturnal, and here was this other girl trying to play twenty questions with her. No. She'd had a day and a half, and no one, no one, was going to get in the middle of her and her love affair with Jossie's bed and sheets. So, mustering up all her strength to one limb, Joy grabbed Lyn around the neck and flung her over herself. That took a lot of effort, and if the girl was so insistent with this questioning, then Joy may as well get out of her what she could.

"Fug off..." She added, giving mixed signals as she cuddled up to the would-be detective now laying next to her.

[Cherry_Shield]

Lyn's eyes grew wide in astonishment as she found herself suddenly straddling the naked girl. Instinctively, while she was in the air, her hand shot towards her waist, retrieving the concealed handgun. As the Think Tank's butt came to a rest on the mystery girl's stomach, the stranger found herself with the barrel of a old world piece of soviet technology pressed up against her lips.

"Pardon my manors..." she mused with a touch of pain in her voice. Lyn's free hand reached towards her neck, pulling off her hood and scarf with one swift motion. The ghastly black and blue bruises ran across her throat like patches of lava dotting a otherwise smooth plane. "But me and my neighbors had a dispute a few days ago, so I would appreciate if you would be a bit more gentle with my neck." A light press to kiss the barrel of the gun to the girls nose later and it had vanished back into it's holster.

Lyn flew gently to the side as the girl tossed her around yet again, with the Thinker now finding herself next to her new acquaintance , getting surprise snuggles and the whole nine yards. Lyn's cheeks flared up with the slightest hint of blush before she simmered them back down, shaking her head. Her lily-white hair cast over her pale face, her ethereal blue eyes gazing into Joy's sightline. "Now that you seem to have me where you want me, can I at least get a name?"

[Massasauga]

If Joy hadn't been so damn tired, then she probably would've reacted very rashly to having a gun shoved to her mouth like an offensive body part. She didn't bother much with it, knowing that she had her 1911 under her pillow just in case. For now, she just tried to sleep. Her dog tag fell out from between her chest as she entwined one of her legs in between Lyn's, securing her hold by wrapping both arms around her waist. Joy couldn't really explain why she was doing this, but she was probably seeking out warmth due to the bed being rather cold. She just dozed, only the sound of her breathing greeted the Thinker.

[Foster]

"I am not her mom, whatever." Miro just grunted back to Joslyn in annoyance, before cradling his face, and eyeing Adrian he let out a pained smile. "Heh, I almost had forgotten how nagging women can be sometimes." And with a small chuckle slumped his face on the table.

@AtomicNut

"Okaay, I think you've had enough booze and painkillers for one night." He said, making sure his face was tipped to the side so he wouldn't drown on any vomit or spilled fluids before continuing. "You may not be their mom, but you're probably the closest thing they'll ever have to a step-father, and the nagging and complaining that comes with it."

He then saw Lyn and Jossie leave, with the promise that she'd be back in five minutes. He'd make sure she wasn't being paid for this lost-time incident, especially if it took longer than just five minutes.

In the meantime, that meant he had to make sure his best friend the ex-boxer didn't drown on his own saliva while tending the crowd of thirsty and curious customers. He sighed at what was perhaps the fourth enquiry whether either of them would return, "... this is why I can't bring nice things to this bar."

[Kokushi]

Having left the girls alone as soon as she dropped Lyn off, Joslyn headed right back to the bar and immedietly went to Adrian to let him know she was back. Noticing that there were a lot of people asking where she had gone, she couldn't help but frown and even had to bat at a few hands. "Hey boss, I'm back," she said with a smile on her face, "Just tell me what to do and I will do it!" In truth, after talking to The Thinker, she needed to get busy, the female made her nervous and put her on edge. She needed something to do, and she needed to tell Adrian what the hell was up as soon as she was able.

Adrian looked up as he heard Jossie walk back into the bar, then looking at his watch to determine whether or not she was on-time or late... or early? Somehow she was more-than punctual in her return, but did not appear to be winded in the slightest; this did not require a detective to figure-out.

"You've done enough for your first night." He observed, getting up from his chair as he saw that Miro was in no danger of killing himself in he sleep, "You're not in any trouble, but we need to talk." He paused as he moved over to her and parted the crowd to clear a way to the back-room, knowing he promised her a full night of work and a full night of pay. "You can help clean-up the bar after everyone else has left."

There were of course bemused groans from the crowd as they alternately realizd that Jossie would not be serving them for the rest of the evening, and that the bar would be closing soon; particularily a trio of young men who just came back into the bar after dissappearing shortly before Jossie left.

"Oh.... alright..." Jossie murmured, letting out a sigh as she followed close behind Adrian. She couldn't understand why he seemed on edge, she didn't do anything wrong, or at least she thought she hadn't done anything wrong. "Are you sure you aren't mad at me? I mean... you didn't seem exactly pleased with my prompt arrival. I told you that I would be back in 5 minutes, I came back in five minutes."

Noting that people were closing in on her, she reached out and grabbed Adrian by the back of his shirt so they didn't seperate from each other. She didn't like the feel of people pressing in around her, it bothered her greatly actually, so much so she was about to freak out. Pushing through them, she pressed herself against Adrian's back and hid her face in his back.

Adrian walked slower as he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, thinking it was an indication to slow down, this was followed almost immediately by Jossie's face bumping into his backside; it did not take long before he realized that she was clutching onto his back, a very strong indication of 'get me out of here' as the crowd steadily tried to fill the gap he'd made moments ago but with a single gesture.

Pressing on with delibate pacing, he and Jossie managed to escape the crowd through the double-hung french doors to the back-halls, and took her back to the studio where the noise from the bar could barely even faintly be heard. He gave the girl a moment to realize they were in the clear so she could let-go on her own. "Please, have a seat." He said, offering the chair in front of the dressing-room mirror as he quickly found a spare stool for himself amidst the clutter.

"It's a fifteen minute walk back to your apartment from here. You claim you went there and came back in five.... less than five minutes.." He carefully observed, noting how she kept shifting her wieght, "I'm just glad you didn't get stopped by the police, in a car that wasn't yours, drunk." He paused, knowing that wasn't what he was worried about.

"When you left, I half-expected you to pick up all your things and run, never to be seen again."

"What made you think I would leave," she said calmly, knowing that he took notice in her taking the car, "I mean, at least leave and not come back... I do not believe I gave any indication that I planned to bolt at the first chance. I wanted to work, and you gave me work... but now you aren't letting me work? I don't get you..."

Adrian closed his eyes, trying not to picture her in her current attire, more as when he found her in the apartments, "You volunteered to work tonight because you did not trust me alone not to tell on you to the authorities. When you left I wasn't sure if I'd gained your trust yet... Something important must be going-on for you to make such a sudden decision.... Who was that girl?" He finally asked as he fetched a flask of brandy and took a sip, not sure if the concern Jossie had for her was out of respect, or something else.

"She's.... um... she's my other boss. she admitted, glancing off to the side, "I am not at liberty to say much more, but she is staying in my home so she may rest up and heal. It's not like I am going to be sleeping there anyway... actually... where will I be sleeping?" She let out a small yawn and stretched, not at all bothered by the fact that she was essentially half dressed thanks to what he had given her. Actually... I wonder.... Letting out a small giggle, she jumped up and tackled Adrian, throwing her arms around him.

Before he could answer, Adrian was knocked over, but years of experiance prevented him from spilling his drink as he fell onto the clothes-stewn floor, with Jossie landing right on top of him. Gently reaching up to set the drink down on the dressing-room table, he then tickled the waitress until she'd let go. "There should be a fold-out bed in one of these rooms, then there's the storage-loft upstairs, all sorts of old furniture and owner-less clothes up there you could use."

Jossie squealed and squirmed over Adrian as he tickled her, however, she did not let up with her hold of him. "Nu-uh, don't think for a minute I'm letting you out of my sight...well... you know... accept when I left... but that was different ok?" she squeaked out, sitting up so she was now straddling the man, and giggling like a school girl still from him tickling her. "I said I was going to keep an eye on you and that's what imma dooooooooo." She looked down at him and booped his nose, a lopsided grin on her face, that is, before a dawn of realization crossed over her features. "Heeeeey, you dooo look better on the floor.... does that mean I get to kiss you then? Is that a thing? I heard today that was a thing."

The bar-owner wasn't sure where the waitress was going with her train of thought as she toyed with him; she was the one that left him, not the other way around. Then she made a bit of a non-sequirter observation that he looked somehow more adorable to her sprawled-out on the floor, and she saw that as some sort of invitation or reason for them to kiss.

"It can be a thing." He stated, humoring her as he rolled her beside him and pulled the girls lips to his, kissing her. [color=9w0b0f]"You look better down here, too."[/color]

Joslyn's face turned beat red when he kissed her, even drunk she was pretty sure that wasn't something that she should have expected from a man she had only met hours before. "Clearly drinking is dangerous," she muttered, "It was nice though... is it supposed to be that nice? Is it cuz I drank tuh much? This is a bad thing isn't it? You are mah bosss... sooo... I'm pretty sure... I don't know... It was nice thoooo...."

"The kissing or the drinking?" He asked, trying not to answer the wrong question, buth then deciding to answer both, "Probably and maybe. So try not to worry about it unless you think this'll affect your ability to work..." He re-assured her, stroking her hair away from her eyes as he looked around for where that fold-out bed wandered off to before giving up and kissinng her a second time, "you'd have to do quite a lot of kissing for that to get in the way of working..."

Joslyn's blush only seemed to darken when he kissed her again, leaving her momentarily speechless. Here she was, another kiss from she had only mean hours before, alcohol really did do crazy things to a person's mind. "Uh... right... lots of it... still sounds nice... bed... bed is a thing I should get too," she replied, clearing her throat in a nervous manner as she got to her feet, looking around a bit to see if she could find a bed. If she couldn't, she would just have to crash on his and he would have to deal with it.

[Cherry_Shield]

Lyn sighed as she continued to be entrapped by the girl. Her eyes glanced towards the girls breasts as a small refraction of light shot through Lyn's inquisitive blue eyes. Now we're getting somewhere, thought Lyn as she twiddled the battered piece of tin between her forefingers. Knox, Joy. Well, her attitude at the moment sure doesn't fit her name. She couldn't help but break a smirk across her face as her gaze glid over the test-girls body.

It always puzzled Lyn why some girls chose to remain out on their own after the escape. Sure, some had their reasons like The Messenger had their reasons. Compartmentalization of course, but also some girls just operated well from the shadows. Others, they just never came home. Why not seek out comfort and compassion, and above else safety little girl? Why stay out here and risk life and limb?

Sighing, Lyn re-adjusted before her eyes began to grow heavier and heavier. Truly she didn't want to fall asleep, but it looked like the side effects of her medicine were getting the better of her. As her eyes slowly shut, her lips managed to slide out a sleep-drunk question. "Most girls remember nothing from before the lab... What about you? Do you remember your family?"