Fixers (Beautiful_Disgrace and I)

"Tch," she muttered. "Fine, I'll load up some Simtech rounds, worse than a wife, I swear." Ah, Simtech...the joy of all Corporate police forces. Simulated every little ounce of pain without any of the drawbacks of actually getting shot. There was quite a competitive sport for it, too. It was something that Luce did when she was low on work, people said it desensitized people to violence and blah blah blah...but it was a good way of making money if you were good.

"But if they start attacking me with fireballs or whatever, real bullets start getting used," she groused. "I am not going to be her precious little maid, she wants this life, she faces the consequences."

"Fireballs? I doubt her parents are mages themselves. The mission will be a little easier when we get to Ashlotte, anyway. We can just have her escort us out of there with her fireballs." If she had any. He wasn't too sure how the magic thing worked. No one really did unless they were a mage, or someone with far too much time on their hands. "You got the blueprints on her home, right? I wanna see where we're going, what's the easiest way in and out." Aernir was this time speaking to Wizard as he scratched his chin.

"I'm working on it," Wizard murmured, his fingers moving through windows on the holo-screens. "The main problem is the fact you're going into a gated community...that presents it's own problems, any trip of the alarms is going to be a problem, and me hacking them would produce even bigger problems."

"So," Luce said, rubbing her chin in thought. "We make an entrance."

Oh that's right. Gated communities were like that, huh? Aernir scratched the back of his head. He wasn't good with this type of stuff. It was one thing dealing with a handful of security in the Van Agteren estate. Another when he had to deal with a gated communities task force. These weren't thugs waving around their guns..these were militia type forces...the best money could buy.

"I agree with Luce. We don't really have much of a choice if that's how it's going to be."

"Do you know what you're suggesting-" Luce waved him off before they got another speech.

"Look, just slow down the response, we'll do the rest." Luce said easily. "We got paid to get her out, so we get her out. I've got a plan." That made Wizard feel even worse. "I know someone who can trick out a ride for us, something that's a little more...resilient. Think you can do your ninja tricks while I play the big bad target?" Luce said, glancing at Aernir. "And keeping it in your pants long enough to save her?"

Be a wonder how fucking useful he'd be if he carried a goddamn gun.

Yeah, Luce's plans weren't always the best but..they had worked more or less in the past. If they were in danger of failing. Aernir would usually pull something out of his ass in order for them to succeed. He trusted Luce enough to throw together a semi decent plan, even if it was usually in her favor of causing chaos and killing everyone she could...

"Of course I can." He responded as he reached into his pocket and lit up another cigarette. Oh damn, he needed to pick up another carton on his way home or something. He was really going through them lately. "You seem to always love playing the target, Luce. You make things so easy for me."

"That's because you're too stupid to carry a gun and you're dead weight in a gunfight," Luce muttered. "Leave the real fights to the women, apparently...while you go play prince charming and be a dashing hero, I'm doing the real work." she said, shouldering the bag she was carrying. It was easily as long as she was...hard to say what was in it. "So let's get going, my friend doesn't wait around without payment. Hope this is worth it," she muttered. "Otherwise, someone is getting shot."

"Trying new ways of socializing, are we?" Wizard murmured. "You guys be careful, alright?"

"Damn, Luce." Aernir whined, giving her a pout as he continued to puff on his cigarette. "Is that how you really feel about me? It's not like I make you do everything when there are guns involved." He started to follow her and then turned around and smirked at Wizard. "Careful? That's Luce's middle name." He didn't even know her real one. Well, he didn't know either of theirs, and they didn't know his. There was no point. The past was the past, and the only people they every associated themselves with were in the Fixer business and only needed their Fixer names.

He followed Luce out, his red eyes fixated on her bag. He couldn't imagine what instruments of death were sitting in there.

"Except you usually do," Luce replied dryly, dropping the bag in the back seat of their shitty little four door. Who said Fixing had a glamorous lifestyle? Well, when you started getting a lot of cash, you could be spoiled. Luce usually didn't care and spent it on guns and ammo. "Now shut up and let me at least have the ride in peace, I'm sure you're just more than happy to gloat about what a good thing we're doing," she muttered, starting the car.

She knew a guy who could get them exactly what they needed, it'd be expensive...but worth it. It usually was. Thankfully, Luce was cheap on everything except her toys.

"Gloat? Why would I gloat? I'm getting paid to be a good guy for once. It's nice but...I'm not going to get used to it." Even now, Aernir wasn't really being a good guy. People who were doing their jobs would die tonight for Ashlotte's freedom. Good and bad didn't exist. The world was more colorful than black and white.

"That sounded almost practical," Luce muttered, pulling out of the parking lot. "I must be catching a fever, you sound like you realize your job is bad." Sarcasm carried well with Luce's voice, but sometimes...she really did wonder if Aernir knew what being a Fixer really meant, or why he was even bothering in the first place. "At any rate, this guy I know...he makes these vans, they're good for what we need...and we could probably use one for our work anyway."

Aernir pulled out one of his knives and ran his finger over the blade gently. Even though he was barely putting any pressure on it, he felt his skin break. He kept his knives real sharp. "I am doing this job because it's bad, Luce. I've always known that this job is bad." He told her before he listened to her next comment. "Knowing you, they're armored vans with flamethrowers and bazookas attached to them or something."

"Bingo," Luce smirked. "Well, maybe not the flamethrowers and bazookas, but that's something to put into a potential blueprint...point is, we're not going to be able to sneak our way in. The security is going to get us right at the gate, unless we go in unarmed...and I question if that's even worth it," she murmured. "Since we'd be at the mercy of just about everyone in that place. Either way, if you can sneak in...we'll do that, but I'll be nearby in case something goes wrong." She did possess an understanding of tactics, she just wasn't sure if it'd be worth the trouble.

"I can sneak in. That's what I do, Luce. And you give me the opportunities I need to do so. That's always been how we worked, for the most part. Don't worry about me on my end." Was she really thinking about putting his strange idea into a blue print? Knowing Luce, she was completely serious. Either way...she'd create a diversion. One large enough to draw attention away from him when he found his way through.

"..This isn't going to be cheap, is it?" Aernir asked, referring to the cost of their new vehicle that probably wouldn't last very long for what they planned on using it for.

"Gotta spend money to earn money," Luce mumbled. "Don't worry, I got it." If there were shadier places to go than Hell's Kitchen to get anything, Luce wasn't quite sure where. But Seaboard City -as people called it- was a huge place. She had spent most of her time around New York, but she knew a little bit further south and north. "Besides, I know the guy...he's reliable, or as reliable as someone can be with a steady payment." she said, pulling into a parking lot.

There were vans, cars and everything else in the parking lot. It was quite obviously a chop-shop, but stuff like that didn't really matter down here. As long as you didn't steal some rich asshole's car, anyway.

Aernir got out of their car and looked around the place. "This definitely looks like the type of place one of your "friends" would hang out." She was crazy about guns, so maybe this guy was crazy about vehicles, just like Aernir loved his blades. Everyone had something they loved, something that made them happy. Sometimes being in the criminal life style was..lonely. Inanimate objects tended to be the closest thing to a lover most Fixers had...

"I'm sure we can find somewhere to talk about our feelings later, Aernir," she said dryly, shouldering her large bag as she shut the door. "Maybe sit on our knees and drink tea out of very small cups, would that be better?" she added in sarcastically, moving to the garage. From the sounds of the inside, plenty of working going on. As well as the rumble of some music, Death Kill...great band, if all you liked was growling, guitar riffs and an overextended use of drums.

"I thought you'd never ask, Luce. I have a very wide selection of teas. Jasmine, Oolong, Green..." Aernir began to go on and on, just to annoy her. She really loved poking at his culture..and his supposed feelings. He wasn't sure what that had to do with what he said last, but whatever. He settled down with they went inside. He was talkative around Luce and Wizard..that was about it. Generally he enjoyed just standing there and looking..crazy with the amount of blades holstered to his chest. He may not have been the biggest, but he was tall and looked relatively intimidating with the tattoos. If anyone knew what they meant, they'd probably know not to fuck with him.

"Hey, Wrench." Luce said, over the pounding repetition of Death Kill. She had no honest idea how anyone could even remotely enjoy it...but it wasn't her garage. "Wrench!"

"I heard y'the first time!" The dwarf muttered in annoyance, rolling out from under a tricked out muscle car. "Gods above, woman." he sighed, rubbing his ear. "You screech louder than Death Kill." Wrench was a Dwarf, if it wasn't obvious. Short, stocking, ripped with muscle. His beard went right to his stomach, and his entire upper half was a monument of tattoo art. He had a nasty scar that dug deep into his right eyesocket, it looked like a rather nasty claw mark. You didn't ask how he got it, he never said. But a bionic eye fixed it well enough, even if it was a little creepy to see almost all of the eye. Thankfully, it was a polished gunmetal black, with red lines to form a pupil.

He rubbed his bald head a moment, glancing at the tall guy in the corner. "...What's up?"

"I need one of your vans, special order...immediately." Luce said.

"That right," Wrench grunted, stroking his beard as Luce's eye dilated a moment. "Look, Luce..a lot of people want my vans, and..-there was a pause, before his brows furrowed. Son of a bitch, she really just...

"Immediately," she repeated. "As in, right now."

"...Well, shit," Wrench grinned widely, showing off a surprisingly white line of teeth. "Can't say no to that!"

"Better," Luce purred. "Where is it?"

"In the back," he said, thick thumb pointing further into the darkness of his garage. "The green one." Ugh, green...she hated green.

Aernir wouldn't have even guessed anyone was in here. He winced the second time Luce screamed his name. Her voice carried better than this dreadful noise that was considered music to some people. Whatever happened to good old, relaxing techno music? Or even some Korean or Japanese Pop. Anything other than this death metal scraping noise.

Finally, a voice answered her. Ah, so that was "Wrench". If he didn't know any better she was screaming for him to get a wrench. But he assumed it someones alias, so he didn't budge. He just watched them exchange words with some amusement. Finally he told Luce he had a van for her, in green. Well, at least it didn't stand out?

"C'mon," Luce grumbled, heading further into the spacious garage. "Guy has a backlog a mile wide...but money talks, you know?" she shrugged. Most of the cars he had were tricked out hotrods, no doubt street racers for the fast and the stupid. The van however, it didn't look like anything special...it was a four door, built like a rectangle and low to the ground. It was not a car designed for speed, or precision.

"Plasteel front, sides and back..." she purred, hand running across the side. "Bulletproof glass, take up to a fifty cal without a crack. Costs more than a month of prostitution...and absolutely worth it...except needing a new paint scheme."

"If it lasts longer than tonight, we'll have it painted black." The best color to not stand out. This green wouldn't either but...Luce was not the only one who found the color unappealing. He wouldn't be caught dead in it, if it hadn't been customized to be useful. He always let Luce drive. Aernir had never felt right doing it after he lost his legs. It was always just weird to him. Though if Luce got injured or something, he was fine with driving.

Not to mention..she was a good getaway driver. Much better than him.

"We good?" He asked her after she inspected the vehicle.

"Perfect," Luce smirked, opening the doors and tossing her bag of treats into the back before slipping in the drivers seat. Breathable seats, too...and a steering wheel built to take a beating. She turned the key with a satisfied purr, and the van rumbled to life. It wouldn't dance around corners, but it'd take a beating...sometimes, the work they did required a decent getaway. The only reason they could afford Daniels is because Princess's parents skimped for it.

"So, the plan is easy," Luce said, glancing back behind her as her eye dilated and opened up the back garage doors. The age of wireless interaction, the moment the payment went through...she got access to the gate. Wrench trusted her so much, he supposed he had good reason...not like Luce has any reason to get over. "Chances are that gate is wired to just about everything, so we'll have to do this loud...what you do in that house to get her is your deal, I'll just keep them occupied." She had a few ideas...jilted lover, crazy prostitute...the list went on. Wizard could dig up dirt if she needed it.

"Yeah, no problem." At least he didn't have to worry about Luce wasting Ashlotte's parents. Aernir could work alone, and so could Luce. That's what made them a great team. They were deadly on their own, and even more deadly together. Ashlotte would get a lot of bang for her buck...Aernir would make sure of it.

"Can I smoke in here? You did buy this vehicle." She knew his habits...but he wasn't disrespectful about it. He'd ask if he felt like it was appropriate. For some reason...Aernir just didn't seem to be nervous or focused about this mission, even though it was very risky and dangerous. Though that was just the way he was...

"Ugh," Luce grimaced. "Fine, but you're paying for the air fresheners...the good ones. Not those shitty ones you hang on the mirror, the ones that suck up the smoke." Strange how it bothered her, but there was a lot of things about Luce that were strange. She didn't really care, though...she just hated the smell.

"By the way," she mumbled, reaching into her pocket to toss him a device. It was about as big as a personal razor, with a single button. The front had a razor sharp tip, and four little claws around it. "You know how to get the chip out? Sooner you do it, the better."