SHOO.

[wrecking_yard]

I’d been having a nice day bringing lunch to the kids that roamed part of the city and finding bugs and birds with them. It was a day off, and I enjoyed getting time to go looking for the life that most people ignored in Graywater, especially in the company of others who appreciated it.

Then there was a combination of the kids freezing and scattering away from one end of the open alley, large-pawed footsteps, and a distinct smell of wolf and expensive scented shampoo.

“Huh. If it isn’t Triki’s pet twink-bitch.”

Fenris Wolf, and his amazing and famous winning personality. I’ve never actually met him before; mostly luck, since I’ve heard about him turning up occasionally at restaurants and salons in the city, and he’s about as subtle as a full major Miracle.

I stand up from where I’d been crouched, dusting off my pants and turning my attention regretfully away from the ant’s nest. There’s a faint sound I can’t make out, and one of his ears flicks, drawing attention to the thin wire looped around it.

Earpiece. His partner’s around and not with him, which means he’s not off duty, and they haven’t said anything to us about their operatives being active in our city. Especially not operatives who are only dispatched when they want someone - or several someones - very dead.

“Freddy, I presume? You’re every bit as charming as the rumors say.” I smile brightly at him. There’s another faint sound and his ear twitches again - I’d bet a few good bounties his partner is telling him to stop talking and leave. Sure enough, there’s a flicker of movement above - just a glimpse of white along the edge of one of the taller rooftops behind him.

If I were the target, Leon would’ve already taken the shot, and Freddy wouldn’t be stopping to chat.

Freddy just gives me a half wolf-smile, a few teeth showing. “So what’re you doing out here? Babysitting?”

“Oh you know, just enjoying a day off.” Or I was, at least, but I’m still smiling brightly. “What brings you to our fair city?”

Little extra emphasis on “our”, which he either didn’t notice or ignored.

“Reasons.” He grins, intentionally showing all his teeth, tail waving lazily. There’s another faint buzz from his earpiece, and another flicker of movement from the rooftop.

He thinks he’s being clever, and it’s adorable. The kids that he spooked are better at OpSec; no wonder they only deploy him to kill things.

“You truly are blessed to have such good looks and sharp claws.” Making up for such an empty head.

He puffs up smugly, and there’s another, fainter buzz; this time he actually side-grumbles, “You’re just jealous.”

One of these days, his partner is going to have an “accident” with high power rounds, I’m sure of it, and if he’s this bad at OpSec when he’s off duty, Leon might not even get in trouble for it. His reputation for destruction must be accurate, to outweigh the liability he could be.

I glance down at my wrist, then fold my hands behind my back, fast enough to hopefully cover that I’m not wearing a watch. “Well, I certainly have no reason to keep you, and I’ve got a dinner appointment, so I’ll be on my way and leave you to whatever it is you’re doing!” I bow deeply and turn on one heel to leave; there’s another growl at his earpiece I don’t quite catch as I’m rounding the corner.

As soon as I’ve broken line of sight, I go invisible and start up the fire escape at the side of the building. If Leon’s already in position on a rooftop, then I need to make sure they call off their mission before we have a dead body in our territory - and someone else angry about the failure in the neutrality rules; Freddy was probably just a backup plan and diversion to keep threats away from the sniper.

My dumb luck, then, that he didn’t see me as a threat; there’s no sign of pursuit from him.

By the time I get up to where I saw glimpses of movement, Leon’s definitely moved - not stupid enough to risk staying where he might’ve been seen. He hasn’t gone far - I can smell gunmetal, powder, traces of soaps and human.

Even invisible, I stick to cover as I get closer to where his roost must be; his powers aren’t as obvious as Fenris Wolf’s, but we know he has heightened senses at least as strong, and not enough intel to know if he can see through illusions.

He’s in the center of one of the taller rooftops - off-white cloak that’d blend in with concrete and city haze, mirrors set up around the rifle so he can see behind him even with the hood up, black cloth mask over the lower part of his face; he isn’t taking a shot, but he’s definitely lining one up. He doesn’t move when I creep out of cover straight behind him; either he can’t see through illusions or it doesn’t work through mirrors.

Still no reaction as I get right behind him and call my sword, angling it alongside his neck just short of touching the hood. He does twitch when I start gathering other power, but between the movement brushing him against my sword and the speed of the root tendrils, I have his rifle broken into pieces before he can do anything, and he freezes.

“God-fucking-damned dog,” he spits, not moving, and I can hear a faint offended buzz from his earpiece.

“Maybe I missed something, but I don’t recall any requests for permission to go hunting in our territory, Vali.” I lean a little closer, purring.

He doesn’t react to me, but does give a smooth order to the wolf below somewhere. “Fall back. We’re compromised.” Then, after a beat, a hissed, “Next time I say keep your mouth shut and keep walking, you do it, dog.”

“Shouldn’t thst be ‘Mission abort’?” I put a little pressure on the sword, fraying through the threads of the hood.

He doesn’t shift away from it, but does wilt slightly. “You want him throwing a tantrum and tearing up here?”

“I think I could handle him, but I would prefer he not damage the landscape - or our citizens.” If he did come charging, Leon would be dead and I’d be positioned for ambush by the time he could climb up here, and they’d have a major Incident with Graywater to deal with. I lean in just enough to rest a knee against his back, winding my tail around his ankle. He raises both hands empty on either side, stiff.

The foot traffic on the wide street below has died down a little in noontime heat, but there’s people scattered around the various cafes and restaurants. The first thing that sticks out is someone being a little too tense and a faint sense of power recognition - an Esper, in a turtleneck and jeans, hands shoved in his pockets, on edge and scanning the area; there’s someone else with him who doesn’t have that hum of power, dress shirt ratty, following close.

Bodyguard and what was probably the target. Escorting someone through Graywater is not a treaty violation, even without notifying us that there’s an on-duty Esper in town that isn’t ours; a courtesy maybe, but not a necessary one.

Waiting for them with a sniper rifle and a living wrecking ball IS.

“I’m sure you understand how serious this is considering the political situation, yes?”

Leon gives a short, curt nod.

“Do you want to bet on whether or not your masters would claim ignorance and let you hang if we called them in this?”

There’s a quiet “tch”. They would ditch him in a heartbeat if it inconvenienced them.

“I didn’t think so.” I angle the sword a little closer. “Lucky for you, I’m feeling merciful today. If you and your partner pack up and get out of town without starting any trouble, I’ll allow you to do so in one piece.”

It’s tempting to put them down - they’re probably going to be a problem down the line - but it’d be another entire political headache the Boss doesn’t want, and I’d need to alert him before going after the wolf anyway to make sure there were people prepared to help contain the damage if I didn’t manage to get enough of a drop on him.

“Fine.”

The fire escape is rattling, and I can smell the wolf coming. I tighten my tail around Leon’s ankle in warning, keeping the sword poised and watching the top of the ladder. He’s not charging; apparently Leon’s mic isn’t open the way his is.

“Okay, seriously, what the F-“

It drops as he tops out, spotting me. His ears flatten back, hackles go up, and he snarls, claws gouging into the concrete as there’s a fast power thrum around him.

I keep my sword where it is and level a glare at him. “Leave.”

Then, I let go of Leon and step away, turning invisible as soon as I’m out of contact - which is a gamble in and of itself.

Fenris launches at the spot I had been standing in, tearing up the concrete, claws flashing around as he’s trying to catch me, and Leon stands up fast, backing up and scanning the rooftop frantically. The wolf growls, turning to look behind him.

So neither of them can sense through illusions - useful to know.

I reach my sword out and nick off the fur from the tip of Fenris’s tail, dancing back; there’s another loud snarl as he’s just short of hitting me, flexing his claws in the concrete with a frustrated howl.

Leon hisses at him to shut up, and he just growls, snarling over his shoulder with a snap.

I go a couple buildings over, then down, and into the street before I turn visible, keeping a weather eye on the rooftop I just left; not much is visible from the ground, but I can make out a couple curled tendrils of my conjured plants crumbling away.

The bodyguard Esper has zeroed in on me with a fierce frown before I’ve gotten close - or made myself visible. Union Chief, dressed down and avoiding attention, even if he’s awkward about it and looks like he went from tense to high alert around when Fenris howled.

I drop the invisibility, startling the guy he’s escorting.

“Horus! What a pleasure to see you! You should’ve told us you were coming to Graywater.” I flounce over, cheerfully; I already knew Horus could see through illusions.

“We didn’t want to trouble you.” He’s wary, shifting weight.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all. Are you and your friend staying long?” I’m standing so I can see back toward that building, head tilted, and his attention flickers there at movement, his frown deepening.

“Just overnight. We were going to get food and a little rest before we headed to base.” He’s not offering further explanation, but he’s noticeably more wary of the rooftop than me.

“Well, then, allow me the honor of escorting you through our fair city.” I would not put it past the Shadow Decree to have a backup plan if Leon and Freddy failed, or for them to try again at their mission after my back was turned - so the easiest way to make sure there isn’t an assassination is to stay close to the target. Falken’s definitely unnerved but nods; he’s not going to ask anything in the middle of the street.

“Thank you. I apologize for the imposition.” He bows his head and the target is just looking between us, rattled.

“It is absolutely no imposition.” I motion for them to follow, sweeping off down the street, phone in one hand.

[Interrupted someone else’s assassination. Staying close to the target just in case - will give a full report when it’s clear. Tracking permissions on. Fenris and Vali are supposed to leave town, do not expect them to comply. They can’t see through illusions].

I have it on an angle to avoid Falken looking over my shoulder, but I can see him make a half-hearted attempt.

[Good work. I’ll send someone to keep an eye on them. Alert if anything goes wrong.]

I drop the phone back in its holster in an inside pocket.

The entire way to the restaurant, I keep up a steady stream of inane chatter and tour guide commentary; Falken mostly just nods, still on edge and keeping an eye on our surroundings, while his ward sticks to occasional awkward questions and mostly staying quiet. A few people do look over, but go back to their business as soon as they see me; it may not be what Falken was hoping for, but nobody resident in Graywater is going to ask too many questions.

The place is very much upscale - gold leaf baroque architecture and crimson carpets; the maitre d at the door almost opens his mouth to challenge us and then recognizes me and straightens up, offering “the usual room”.

It’s an upstairs room, no windows, just big enough for a middling group, velvet covered walls and thick carpet with low lighting; none of us are dressed for it and we all look very much out of place as we’re seated and given menus.

I’m still on small talk until a few seconds after the door has closed. “-and we often use this room for business deals - you can order as you please and we’ll cover it, you’re my guest for the night.”

Falken …. doesn’t so much relax as shift and let a little tension out at the reference to this being a secure room. “So, what happened back there.”

“I interrupted an assassination attempt.” I give a hazy wave. “I can’t say by who with the current state of our treaties, but I made it clear they were no longer welcome here, and I thought this would be the best way to make sure no-one got any other bright ideas.”

Falken closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge if his nose with a faint noise. “I can probably guess.” He at least doesn’t press it; Fenris was not subtle. “Thank you for the interference.”

“And your friend here?” I tilt my head toward the other man, who shrinks at the table a little, staring dazed at the menu.

“Physicist, fired from his old company. Requested protection.” He’s not explaining further, and it’d be politically rude to pry beyond that.

Directly, to him.

(Not much important, some flirting attempts that fall very flat)


(Triki has a recording from the two assassins who “missed a bug” - “Why did you think it was a good idea to get his attention?!”
“He was gawking at ants with a bunch of kids! How was I supposed to take that seriously?”
“Because you know he’s Loki's right hand, that’s how!”
“Psssh. He was acting like an idiot, let me get away with insulting him, and I figured he was being kept around as a piece of ass - they’re sleeping together, this nose doesn’t lie.”
“…. You know that’s worse, right? Please tell me you understand how that’s worse, especially after you tried to kill him.”
(Uncaring wolf noises)
“If we’d hit him, we wouldn’t have just been tagged for breaking treaty, it’d be personal. Business, Loki might be bought off of, personal he won’t let go of.”
“Whatever. Like it’d matter.”
/muttering curse words and “flea bag”
“I can hear you. You wanna go?”