Boomerangs and Butterflies

The Wait

Charlotte smiled secretly to herself, watching the soldier opposite her as he wiped his clammy forehead with his sleeve. The Penguins coming for me, I'm getting out of this hell. Turbulence shook the plane, O'Brian screamed, grabbing on to the people either side of her for support.

"Calm down gorgeous, I need to get ta know ya first, eh?" Boomerang cheekily exclaimed, gesturing to Charlottes hand clasped firmly on his muscular thigh. O'Brian composed herself, letting go of Diggers leg like Diablo had burned her. Rolling her eyes, charlotte turned away from the annoying thief, apologising profusely to Harley, whom she'd managed to scratch deeply along the female's bare leg. "Don't worry about it sugar, ya barely touched me!"

During the rest of the journey, Digger made sure to keep his leg firmly against Charlottes, giving her infuriating, sly smirks whenever their eyes met. Charlotte growled under her breath, this guy really wasn't getting the hint, the last thing she needed at the moment was an overly interested villain watching her every move. Especially if she was planning to escape.

As the plane descended, Flag began speaking, raising his voice over the roar of the engines, "Now listen up, the time upon landing will be four o'clock. We will be entering the town by nightfall, under the cover of darkness, which means that you'll all have a few hours to kill. I suggest getting all the rest you can. You won't be getting any for a long time after this."

"You sure are great at pep talks!" Charlotte called out to her captain, to the amusement of the rest of the team. Flag didn't look amused. Floyd however, did, as he slapped his knees good naturedly, smiling at the Scarlett Ghost, "Now girl, that's exactly what I said!"

The Squad walked off the plane with aching, stiff legs. The soldiers followed and, Charlotte noticed, her little soldier friend avoiding her religiously. Pity. The place they had landed was barren, dry mud caked the floor, a few leave less trees and abandoned buildings littered the landscape. A modern ghost town.

El Diablo walked over to where Charlotte was standing, "I heard stories about you, ya know?" he began, "you killed a guy with a sheet of paper once, that's twisted." El Diablo said, in a voice that sounded like a strange mix of disgust and grudging respect. Charlotte smiled and shrugged, she understood that some people weren't as accepting of her profession as others. "What can I say, I have quite the talent for origami," Charlotte paused as she took note of Diablos facial expression, and tried to calm the man down, "If makes you sleep better at night, he wasn't a very nice person."

Croc nodded in agreement to what O'Brian said, and Harley was quick to involve herself in the conversation, "Ohh, are we talking best kills? I bet a can beat cha!" she exclaimed, and launched herself into a detailed description of the time she and her puddin' had killed a mob boss with a grand piano.

Charlotte noticed Boomerang, who was constantly capturing her attention for reasons unknown, sauntering over to the small group. "I think youse all are missin' somethin' don't cha think?" his eyes widened as he whistled, wildly gesturing to himself with his hands, "Helloooo? Captain Boomerang? Don' cha think I win hands down, who else can say they've offed a bloke with a bloody boomerang?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes at the mad man's antics, smiling slightly only when she was sure he wasn't looking in her direction. As the sky slowly got darker, the group dissipated into smaller groups, resting before the chaos that was surely to await them in the town north of them. Charlotte had left Harley with in irritated Deadshot, and tiptoed over to Digger, kicking up clouds of dirt with each step, who was cleaning his weapons in silence, his bushy brow crinkled in concentration. His boomerangs spread around him in a semi-circle as he sat cross-legged in the dirt. A position which left the muscular man looking absurdly childlike. She took a seat next to the thief, mimicking his posture exactly, reaching gingerly for one of the silver weapons. He looked over to her from where she was sitting and for the first time that day, offered a genuine, friendly smile. Not a smirk, or a cheeky grin, a smile, with one eyebrow raised expectantly.

Charlotte picked up the boomerang curiously, testing its weight between her fingers and mimicking throwing it. Digger chuckled deeply in his throat at Charlotte's weak attempt, "You're holdin' it wrong, ya know, if ya wan', I can give ya a few pointers, eh?" the female next to him nodded and smiled, ready for the impromptu lesson before they went into the no-mans-land.