it's in my nature {Tangerine | Bullet Train}

six. tangerine. refusing to be fooled twice.

They are fucked. Three words on repeat, or six if he was feeling especially passionate; one hundred percent absolutely goddamn fucked.

With no briefcase, and a dead Son, Tangerine's imagination is treating him to a clip show of graphic and painful suggestions for how The White Death might have he and his brother killed. It kind of reminds him of those Saw movies, but less gratuitous. Hopefully. No wonder Lemon had been foolishly optimistic about the mission even before their charge had been murdered, he hadn't even so much as glanced at the briefing, the history Tangerine had forwarded him on their client and his family history. Of course Tangerine feels like it's been burned into his brain.  At least now, fully aware of the almost mythic reputation their boss had, and how he'd already lost the woman he loved, father to the son who, unbeknownst to them, had been murdered some time during that conversation, Lemon seemed to operating under an arguably healthy level of fear. At the very least, the fear would spur them both into action, trying to find  both the money, and whoever had killed their charge, hoping the culprit would act as a lightning rod for the White Death's surely impending fury. 

"You think it's The Scorpion," Lemon had muttered less than a moment after hearing Tangerine's plan. 

"Of course I think it's Clementine," he scrubbed his hand over his face, frustrated with a lead he would rather not follow, "but I think we would have seen if she tried to get back past us to have a go at him."

"So you think she was working with someone?"

"Wouldn't put it past her."

"Wouldn't put anything past her now," Lemon agrees. Then, there'd been another silence as Tangerine had glowered in the direction Clementine had disappeared, towards car four. It'd been Lemon who suggested Tangerine go after her, while he would head in the other direction, also looking for whoever had their case. Just five minutes ago, however, Tangerine had watched his brother roll his eyes and accuse him of being predictably soft enough to let Clementine talk her way out of explaining her miraculous reappearance.

"'s extenuating circumstances, isn't it?" Lemon's tone wasn't exactly what Tangerine would call apologetic, but he'd take it, "we didn't know she was The Scorpion then, did we? 's not shocking The Scorpion could talk her way out of explaining herself, 'specially when you don't know she's The Scorpion; 's her job. But she's lost the element of surprise now," he went on, adding pointedly, "and I saw how she looked at you." 

"How's that?" For all his brother's earlier judgement had seemingly vanished, Tangerine was wary of it coming back in full force if Lemon were to discover his relationship with Clementine was far less than platonic, so he's curious about what it may be that his brother observed, considering The Son had figured them out from observing one short conversation.

"Same way she did the entire time we were in New York;" he explains easily, tone far lighter than the situation probably warranted, "she might have been setting us up, but you know that whole saying, the best lies have elements of the truth?" Lemon shakes his head, breezing right past the fact that he'd seemingly made peace with the realisation Tangerine was still half-denying, "she was putting on that whole schoolgirl crush act before, but she obviously still listens to you; use that, turn it back on her. She deserves a taste of her own medicine." It's almost vitriolic; his brother is more than capable of spite and ire, but in this moment it surprises Tangerine; it must show on his face, since betrayal momentarily darkens across Lemon's features, "you know she was my friend too." 

Which is how Tangerine ends up in carriage seven, still also keeping his eye out for the briefcase and whoever took it if it wasn't Clementine, who he really has to stop thinking of as Clementine, and not just because she clearly hates the name. Except why should that even be a factor to consider? What Clementine does or does not like shouldn't factor into any thought he has or decision he makes because she's the goddamn Scorpion; the vicious, untrustworthy lapdog of the man whose son she may or may not have helped murder, thereby definitely condemning The Twins to some form of unspeakable death, if what The Son had said was true. The only thing he needs to consider about her is figuring out what she'd said in New York that was based on the truth, so he can use it against her. Lemon was right; it couldn't all be an act, nobody, not even The Scorpion, was that good.