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Music: Into Hostile Ship from Gradius II Arcade
In the depths of Seattle, Washington (okay, maybe not really "depths"), a helicopter (yes, the helicopter from earlier) flies in front of a station for the Northern Pacific Railroad. It parks right in plain sight (dumb idea, if you ask me) and the passengers of the helicopter pop out. These include the Black Shadow, Rupert, Brielle, and Alexys Barnes. Neither of the two men are armed, but they've made it clear to both Brielle and Alexys that there will be trouble if either of them say anything.
The group of four quietly walks inside the station. Black Shadow then scans the area for a particular acquaintance of his. He grins when he spots him: A man wearing a white tank top with facial hair that's around a day old. Black Shadow practically shoves Brielle forward, and yells out, "Yo, Srout!"
Whoever this "Srout" is, he turns in the direction of the Black Shadow and sighs. "Oh. It's you again."
"Listen, I need a favor from you, old pal," the Black Shadow whispers. Rupert and Alexys (the latter by force) stand in such a way that the conversation is blocked to any casual civilians walking by.
"Well, make it quick. I've gotta join the rest of the crew here in a couple minutes," Srout hisses.
"Okay, so, I need you to keep this girl with you guys for me, just for a little while," the Black Shadow explains, continuing to keep his voice at a low whisper. Brielle just stares at the man, fearful for what kind of person he could be.
Srout looks at Brielle, puzzled. "Okay, dude, hold up. First you ask me to keep your guns safe, now you want me to keep a HOSTAGE? Are you insane?"
The Black Shadow shuts his eyes, using his willpower to keep from killing Srout right here and now (which would obviously mean trouble for him). Instead, he keeps his voice low, digs around in his pocket for a few seconds, and pulls out a five-hundred dollar bill. "Here's five hundred dollars. That a good enough deal for you?"
"I don't think I'm going to get anything better," Srout mumbles, taking the money from Black Shadow. "I've been having trouble paying the clowns recently, so this will help, I guess."
A look of horror crosses Brielle's face. "Hold on. Did you say clowns!?" she exclaims.
"Yeah. I run a circus. You got a problem with clowns?" Srout asks, irritated. Brielle just nods slowly, her eyes wide open as she stares at a man who works with the one kind of people she's scared of most.
"They're not gonna hurt ya, sunshine," Rupert sighs.
"Yeah, he better not if he doesn't want to risk the life of himself, his family, and everyone ever associated with him," Black Shadow adds, giving Srout a look that says, "Don't fuck this one up, pal." Srout gets the message and grabs Brielle by the arm. Brielle gulps and begins walking inside the train with Srout.
"Why does she get to go with him?" Alexys whines. Rupert shushes her and Black Shadow gives her a deadly glare.
"Because unlike you, she actually behaves and does what she's told when she's told," Black Shadow hisses. Then he turns to Rupert and tells him, "Let's get out of here before we get spotted. I wanna talk about those kids we ran into last night on the way back, and what to do about them."
"You got it, sir." The pack of three takes their leave.
MIA
Music: Devil's Dice and Fireflower Fields from Super Mario 74 Extreme Edition
YOU ARE READING
Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)
ActionA huge human trafficking center is at the works. Their mascot, Alexys Barnes, has been theirs for 10 years... and is also a subject of interest to Sam, who wants to try rescuing her. The rest of the group is against the idea, as school is starting u...
