The Gun For Hire's Bounty

Chapter Fifteen ◬ Ataraxia [Three]

TEMPEST

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It's been five hours, and Syrene hasn't given me my gun back. I throw my head back in boredom as everyone makes conversation about their job. About the crime in their cities.

And about how a lot of Night City civilians are psychos and how people have stolen from Olivia's overpriced pharmacies and bla bla bla. And something about HCQ being a breeding ground for crime and bla bla bla.

I am tired of hearing this bullshit. I just want to get this over with and get high.

It's getting to the point where I want to lunge over this table and not only strangle Static Volt but also Olivia and London- everyone! Or at least try to. Phoenix would most likely use his feathers to restrain me before I can even lay a finger on SV or his precious girlfriend.

I inhale and exhale. Bored. Bored. Bored, and restless. I am so fucking bored and restless.

"How about you, Fleur? When did you know you would marry Syrin?" Pheonix asked me, snapping me out of my bored and restless trance.

I look at him and at the others. They actually look interested to hear my answer. "When he proposed to me."

London snorts.

"What?" I ask, sounding confused. Why is she laughing? "I'm not even being sarcastic. I'm being serious."

"What he meant was before we even talked about marriage. When did you know you would marry me?"

"Oh... That makes more sense." I snicker. "Well. I guess when he..." I grin and lean against the table with my arms on the table. "Ok, so when we were dating, he'd leave me different flowers in the shape of a heart every day, right? And, the first time he left me the flowers, they were Zinnas, and during that time, I was having a wicked stomach ache. He told me that the Zinnas would help it, so I popped one into my mouth, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe. Turns out, I'm allergic. To soothe my reaction, Syrin has me swallow garlic powder. It worked, but because of what happened, he had me take an allergy test to make sure the next flowers he'd use weren't lethal to me. But yeah. When he used FUCKING GARLIC to save me, I knew he was the man I wanted to marry." I nod. "His extensive knowledge of flowers and plants in general is one of his many traits that make him so attractive."

"When you love. You love deeply. Don't you?" Olivia reminisces. "That is admirable."

I mean, I was fucking lying, but yeah, sure, ok.

A phone rings.

They all look to me. I guess because I made them uncomfortable they think I don't have manners. "Don't look at me. I don't even have a phone."

"My apologies. It's mine." Static Volt announces.

"It must be something important. You should answer," Olivia says. London and Phoenix all nod in agreement.

If it were me, they would have been talking about how disrespectful I am and how we shouldn't have our phones at the table. Since it's a hero, etiquette is bendable, right?

"Excuse me, I'm going to answer."

We all nod.

Just as I'm gonna take a bite out of my mashed potatoes, I pause. Syrene just slipped my gun back in its place. He's giving me the go-ahead.

"You ok?" Olivia asked me.

I gag and drop the spoon. "Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick." With my hand covering my mouth, I get up and frantically head towards the bathroom, dropping the chair while I'm at it.