Marvelling at the helmet and the technology inside it, the sudden sound of Nova's voice, unmuffled as she had expected it to be, came clearly through the speakers embedded in the helmet and nearly startled her. Catching her calm she took a moment to think of the fastest route, considering whether Nova would follow normal driving rules now that their mission was over.
"It's actually near the bar, two down from the hotel I was nesting in. You'll know the beauty when you see her." She tapped on Nova's helmet. "Nice kit. If we're on missions a lot can I get a purple one? I like to mimic the Queen."
A few minutes later, after an 'interesting journey' that had reaffirmed Alexis' suspicions that motorbikes were screaming metal death traps, the sniper was stowing the case containing her rifle into the boot of her deep blue BMW M5 Series. Upon arrival she had gestured to her pride and joy, largely to rid herself of the recent motoring experience, with a wide grin.
"See? Told you she was beaut. NAIL sure didn't hold back when I demanded more than they were offering." Truth be told, she would have taken the job even if they had refused her demands as it promised to give her some closure from her experience in the SAS; however, there was no harm in getting some extra perks.
The dive bar itself was quieter than it had been the first time she had caught sight of it, probably people either running away from the nearby combat or towards it. What a perfect example of human nature: curiosity or caution, fight or flight. It was still busy enough inside to not feel like they were being watched as they walked in, others readily stuck into their drinking even at that time of the day. Alexis was about to make a joke to Nova about Americans and then remembered some of the pub crawls she had been on back in Britain, starting before the crack of dawn and going on unto that of the next day. One had been done on cycles, she vaguely remembered. Although the bike she ended up with was different to the one she had set off on.
There were two bar stools next to one another, a rare occurrence as regulars usually fought to claim their favourite spot; arriving at ridiculous hours of the morning to ensure they could drink themselves into oblivion with the comfort of familiarity. Gesturing to the two stools, Alexis took the lead and swung up onto the bar stool before doing that bar-wave, somewhere between a wave and a jock's faux-salute in a cheesy teenage romantic comedy, to get the barman's attention.
"What've you got in the way of whiskey?" She asked, the man raising his eyebrows but not commenting on her taste, stepping to one side and gesturing at the semi-impressive array behind him. "Hmm, you're missing some of the greats, but I'll take two fingers of the Glenfiddich, on the rocks." She gazed at the half-frosted glass in front of her, admiring the gentle yellow tinge of the drink before taking a sip and sighing with relief, relaxation flooding her veins for the first time after the earlier events.
"So, Nova, let's jump straight into it. Robin Hood - snog, marry or avoid?" She had a wide grin on her face, the cold facade of the sniper had fallen away completely; an amused, sly twinkle shining in her eyes instead.
