OPEN SEASON 2.

[crawly]

1. pick a character.

☛ optional.
☛ character list here.
☛ full list.
☛ specify in the subject line if you want one character in particular.

2. provide a prompt.

☛ image, words, music, whatever you want.
☛ i like to think at least one of my three tumblrs has something interesting. (be warned that all three blogs contain nsfw material, including porn.)

3. gotta go fast.

☛ not actually. this is a permanently open post! tag at your own speed.

previous post here.

Comments

[canicide]

[ Heine grunts in agreement, leaning slightly out the side window so he can get a better look at the car. He fires off another shot, clipping the side mirror. ]

Or we could just convince her.

[ Through violence, is the implication. ]

[embellishing]

Torture doesn't have a high success rate for honest answers.

[Not to mention Eames didn't really have the stomach to do so to an old comrade when that person could have a perfectly good reason for tossing them both to the wolves. He tried to follow closer to Elena, but she fired a few shots too close to home, and he increased the distance between them.]

Let's focus on capturing her first, shall we? We could let it seem like we lost her then see where exactly she was trying to go?

[canicide]

[ But it'll still get answers, Heine thinks. He doesn't press it, though, and stays leaning against the dashboard with his gun up as they continue to trail him. ]

Fine. [ He watches the back of the car intensely, trying to memorize every detail of it. ]

[embellishing]

[How surprisingly sensible. Still, Eames wasn't going to fight a man who was smart enough not to argue, and instead made sure to keep a good distance between them and Elena as he followed her all throughout town. She kept crossing paths and back tracking, so it took awhile for them to finally arrive at the destination.

It looked like an old run down apartment complex, but Eames wasn't going to take any chances.]

Hand me the gun in the glove compartment, would you?

[canicide]

[ Heine's not sure he wants to trust Eames with a gun, not after he'd already been betrayed by Elena, but they've gotten this far. Giving Eames a look to show his reluctance, he opens the glovebox and takes out the handgun. He hands it over, grip first. ]

[embellishing]

[He can't fault Heine for his reluctance, which is why he'd asked for the other man to hand him the gun. No point in getting shot by a trigger happy man he barely knew when he could just politely make the request.

He gave the other man a small, quick smile, taking the gun from him with a small nod of thanks.]

Right. So I can follow her in, if you want to go around the back just in case our favorite lady isn't alone.

[canicide]

Fine. [ To the idea of going around back. Heine looks out to check the door and windows, but he doesn't see much to give him a hint. Waiting for any longer also increases the window of time for Elena to escape out the back.

So without much further ado, Heine gets out of the car and jogs around to the back. ]

[embellishing]

[After Eames saw Heine off, he crept quietly to the front of the building, the coast seemingly clear. The inside looked just as dilapidated and unkept as the outside, though the lack of dirt and dust made it seem that it had been inhabited for quite some time. There was a marked trail of cleanliness that lead up the stairs, and he could hear Elena's footsteps as she ascended.

His heartbeat thudding in his ears, Eames followed her up, waiting at the top of the second staircase, debating on whether he should wait for Heine or continue forward. There was safety in numbers, and he would hate to confront Elena only to be cornered by Heine, in case the man turned out to be a turncoat.]

[canicide]

[ Heine makes sure to check through the windows in the back of the house before going in, but it seems to be empty. Going through the lower floor to get to the staircase results in no other encounters, but he does spot Eames at the top of the stairs within a few minutes.

He's careful not to say anything, and walk quietly, just nods slightly. ]

[embellishing]

[Heine's appearance took a small bit of tension out of Eames' shoulders, and he returned the nod. It seemed like Elena was alone, making a quiet phone call a few rooms down. She was speaking so softly it was difficult to make out more words than 'buyer' and a few noises of confirmation or negation.

Since it seemed to be going nowhere, Eames jerked his chin up towards the room, taking point as he started forward, gun trained on Elena as soon as he was in the doorway. She had the decency to look surprised, hands going up immediately, the light of her ear piece blinking rhythmically.]

Heine?

[He called, just to make note of where he was without taking his eyes off of Elena, whose surprise had melted and given way to... pride? While her hands were still above her head, she gave a small, polite clap. Now he was starting to feel a bit silly, like he was missing out on some big joke that should have been obvious.]

[canicide]

Behind you.

[ Heine has his gun up, too, standing a few paces behind and to the right of Eames. ]

Why the fuck is she clapping.

[ Is it a signal? Is she just being weird? Who knows. Heine is just listening for anything that might come from the outside or the lower levels. ]

[embellishing]

Not sure. Keep your wits about you.

[It doesn't seem to be a signal, but instead just some good old fashioned mockery.

Probably because two guns are trained on her, she started talking, quickly and coolly. Apparently this was supposed to be a job interview, and they managed to pass. Well, if they could tell her the code word that was hidden in the paperwork, anyway.

Eames wasn't sure he bought all of this, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at Heine.]

What do you think?

[canicide]

[ Interview, code word, whatever. Heine doesn't trust her or anyone who acts like this. Though Eames asks, almost as soon as he does Heine pulls the trigger, shooting Elena in the leg and then the arm when she doesn't go down. ]

Bullshit. Find out who she's talking to. They might be coming here.

[embellishing]

[Eames flinched away when the gun went off, scowling over at the other man.]

A bit of warning, if you please.

[He walked over to Elena, tucking his gun away as he crouched down next to her, tearing off sections of her shirt to help her tie a tourniquet. She was swearing freely and didn't seem keen to fight, her eyes trained on Heine, and she made no move to resist when Eames plucked the headset off of her.

There was a bit of shouting on the other line, and Eames made sure to identify himself, politely asking they do the same.]

She might have been telling the truth. They're talking about hiring us for a job.

[canicide]

Sorry.

[ If his tone weren't so flat, it would sound a little more sarcastic. As it is, Heine concentrates instead on circling around Elena on the ground to get a look out the window. No one is out there that he can see. ]

They could have heard her talking. If they wanted to hire us they could've just called.

[ Heine just still isn't buying it. ]

[embellishing]

Here. Hear for yourself.

[Eames tossed the ear piece to Heine, kneeling back beside Elena who was looking very pale and close to losing her composure.]

Hopefully they have good medical, whoever they are.

[canicide]

[ Heine catches the ear piece and slides it in. ]

Hi. Who are you?

[ The response from the other end of the earpiece is something about being a corporation that needs people for a job. It doesn't sound too far-fetched, but it also doesn't sound fully legitimate. ]

You can reach us through normal channels instead of trying this bullshit.

[ Heine tosses the earpiece aside. ]

What are we going to do with her?

[embellishing]

[Despite the situation, Eames couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Heine's blunt responses to whatever answers they were trying to feed him. Ignoring Elena's glare and scowl, he glanced back up at Heine when addressed.]

The usual. Anonymous tip to 911. I can drop you off to where you want to go, in the mean time.

[He was already fetching the discarded ear piece to do just that.]

[canicide]

I'm not sure she'll be discouraged if we help her out that much.

[ Heine crosses his arms, though his gun is still in hand, as he looks down at Elena on the ground. ]

We haven't even gotten paid yet, you know.

[embellishing]

You're fine with just leaving her here like this? Wouldn't that give her more reason to come after us?

[Eames raised an eyebrow at that, but he would admit to himself at least his judgement might be slightly biased. He had known and admired Elena for a while, and if he had gotten angry at everyone in this business who lied to him or tried to kill him, he wouldn't have any business partners left.

Still, the payment part was important. He pulled out his phone, opening up a webpage and helpfully kneeling down next to Elena.]

Transfer the funds to us, please. You already know my associate has a hair trigger temper.

[canicide]

I meant we could just kill her.

[ #sorrynotsorry. Heine doesn't press it too hard, though, going along with Eames for now. As for having a hair trigger temper, he doesn't bother denying it.

Fortunately for all of them, Elena does transfer the money. After Heine confirms it, he nods to Eames and starts moving away. ]

Fine, call an ambulance.

[embellishing]

[Wow Heine, wow. Still, at least Elena had some self preservation, and after Eames called for the ambulance, he was heading down the stairs, glancing behind him to make sure Heine was following and not making good on his idea.]

So, where can I drop you off?

[canicide]

Airport.

[ Heine just wants to get out of town now. Buying a ticket on such short notice will be difficult, but not impossible, depending on the destination. ]

[embellishing]

Of course.

[Eames headed quickly back out to the car, passing the ambulance along the way. He watched it idly in the rear view mirror until it disappeared, one hand propping up his cheek as he drove.]

I appreciate your help back there.

[Well 'help' was a pretty polite word, but the fact that despite his better judgement, Heine hadn't killed Elena had earned him some points in Eames' book. He may be quick with the trigger, but at least he could be reasoned with, which was more than he could say for most.]

[canicide]

[ Heine sits in the passenger seat, slouched back and looking outside the car window at the scenery passing by. He doesn't even look over when Eames talks again. ]

I wasn't going to let her screw me over.

[ That's his explanation for why he didn't just cut and run, anyway. ]

Are you leaving town?