#i think this is a migraine actually but. wugh.

[basilpaste]

i have art thoughts but if i try to do art rn my headache will explode me.

[swooncraft]

Write Weds - Cordate Pt 3

Chapter four here, is where everything started falling into place. I had found a clear understanding of our protagonist, Cordate, and found the rapid fire voice and style that was needed for this novel of action.

Tongue and cheek~

But hey, I had a blast writing this.

[Ch. 04]

As I raced over the blocks to circle around I updated Tourn through texts. We were use to having the disadvantage and working around using the team channel in case our opponents could listen in.

The buzz of the wine was wearing off. A headache seeped back into my head. I waited at the edge of the alley that lead back to our objective.

I stopped a woman strolling on her merry way, “'Scuse me, coul' I buy your hat? Sunligh's given me a migraine.”

The lady stopped and gawked at my bandages. “W-well.. I supp-” Before her words finished I shoved a bank note in her hands and took the sun hat from her head. She fumbled for words as I walked down the ally towards the lion's den.

“'Ere we go,” I said to the team channel while tossing my file into a dumpster. As I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my dress shirt someone stepped into the end of the alley. It wasn't a member of 9's team, 13 Hiro. “We s'uck in crossfire?”

Regency responded, “Yah. Our mission is smack in the center of the Hiro's and Lambda's game of capture the flag.”

“Opportunity shines, Quarda!”

I smiled gripping my crowbar, “Someone's en my way. Any 'ssist'nce?”

“We're pinned down pretty tight, Cord.” Right as Regency bluffed, Tourn shot me a text confirming he'd be there in a few moments.

“Shit,” I scowled as I pulled my ear bud out. The act was very necessary. “You're from Lambda, right?”

His grin was almost audible, “Tag's Lucite.” I liked the radiant way his blond hair nearly glowed in the sunlight, and his vivid green eyes. Lucite was tall and well dressed. “Heard you keep taking hits. You can walk away.”

Sometimes, being an adult can be worse than being a high schooler. Gossip is an incurable plague, but something you can fight. So I began pacing forward.

He responded by pulling out a quarterstaff. “I really don't wanna hurt a cripple. Go on home. Your team will understand.”

Like the meme goes, 'obvious troll is obvious.' Fuck him and his third rate compassion. At least it fueled me to strike with more force when I was in range. Lucite parried with his quarter staff. I cursed and attacked again. All of my rage and frustration wouldn't put Darth Maul in his place though. I changed tactics to put a little distance between us and nearly took one to the chin as I tried shifting gears.

“It's not gonna work,” Lucite huffed through grit teeth as he advanced his attack. The assholes in Sand who knew their way with a weapon were all arrogant. “We know you can't win with force, but whatever you're trying to come up wUGH-” A blur of black and leather dropped him to the ground.

I began to snort, thinking Tourn had arrived. But Tourniquet doesn't wear tight leather or weigh roughly a hundred pounds.

9 sat on her haunches over my opponent. “Don't espect uh thax,” crooked crowbar at the ready, I braced myself for her action.

For a long moment she only sat there staring at our common enemy. Then I saw it. Something clicked in her that turned her into a monster before she even moved.

9 leaned down and bit the bastard's ear off. I gawked as she spit it out and put it in a pouch on her belt. Very slowly and deliberately she turned her head up towards me. “That's the consequence. Right?” she wiped her mouth keeping her nearly black eyes on my sunshine irises.

I had seen a lot of things since joining Sand, but that was the single scariest thing. 9 was a psychopath. The question was obviously in her if she should or should not take that man's ear. There was a reason she was after me, but I didn't know why. All I could rationalize in those brief moments was that she was still upset about loosing her teammate, 7, when Vizy and Ani retaliated.

I steeled my resolve as best as I could. My fingers regripped the crowbar. I think the cold sweat gave me away because 9 smiled, “You should go home and rest, Doki.”

Who the fuck she thought she was, I had no clue. But her taunt caused a chemical reaction in my brain that made my blood pump. As I moved to act on my impulses two bursts smacked against the leather of her outfit. A disgruntled noise escaped her lips as I barely caught a glimpse of the two rubber bullets that ricocheted off of her shoulder and back. The next instant 9 rolled to her feet and withdrew. No matter how crazy she may have been, she knew her chances when she saw Tourn. Her exit was topped with a bow before she left our sight.

“Uhhgg, God, what happened?” Tourn stared at the victim.

“Crazy bi'ch,” I breathed, wiping my brow. The sunlight was burning a larger migraine straight into the center of my head. I didn't even notice my hat had fallen off. “Sta's?”

“We've gotta get the team out. Even with our noob, that's only enough leverage to get out safe.”

“Nah. No, no. We're gonna take e'rything.”

“Cord,” Tourn was a little more worried than frustrated, “We only need to-”

“Viz 'ould take it all! We're doing 'is.”

“You can't even talk straight, Cord!” Frustration won over the worry. Or so I thought, “Fuck's sake. How is your head doing?”

I grabbed my hat off the ground and shoved it on my head. Right in Tourn's face I stared hard. I wanted him to know this was happening. We hadn't had an upper hand in a long time. I wasn't giving it up, and the team shouldn't either. No matter how small the advantage, in my aching mind it just meant we had a level playing field.

Tourn threw his hands up. “Fine. Fine!”

Good. I stomped off in the direction of our teammates.

Neverland, California is filled with blocks, and entire neighborhoods in a couple places, of empty buildings. It segregates us from the citizens most of the time. Though, when we do cross the boundaries, like I mentioned before, they pretend not to notice. It's a perfect sandbox for our big game of cops and robbers.

Upon arriving to the store room of an abandoned market, Regency and Elbo told us they had taken out a stray Lambda trying to pass through. That was convenient. It made our odds even better. But something about a decent team like Lambda being spread out and unorganized bothered me.

Regency also added that he was sure both of our opponents were using Perks. “It was easy to tell Lambda used one. They ran smack into us expecting someone else, bugged out and retreated. Our objective's right next to the base they're defending. Can't say what the Hiro's got, but it's making Lambda crazy.”

His statement made me glad I wasn't the only one to notice the oddity.

My skull felt like it was splitting in half, but I bobbed a nod. They were in a bind. Given the same stacked odds, I'd be freaking out as well.

“You know,” Tourn broke the pause, “There's probly vigilantes on the way. Fucking Lambda's aren't great at playing quiet. When we f-” his words cut off when we heard someone moving up to the door.

“Could be the noob,” Regency hissed as Elbo got in position.

As soon as the footsteps neared the door sounds of a fight broke out. Elbo exploded through the door. Three men were in a tousle. Fear sparked in their eyes as Elbo charged them.

Mars made the best move, by shoving one to Elbo, followed by smacking the other with what looked like a tricycle tire. The absurdity reached all of us in Royal We. Regency barked a laugh and jumped out to make the fight end sooner.

“Must have been desperate to come for you guys,” Mars mused as he twirled the tire on a finger. “With the one I took down on my way here, that makes three?”

“You took one out by yourself?” Blame Regency's Britishness for not believing him.

Mars arched an eyebrow, “Yeah.”

“Four,” Tourn nodded adding Lucite to the count. Shaking Mars's hand he asked, “You're the noob?”

“Yeah, it's ah-” he glanced to me, “Mars. And I think I've proven myself to not be called a noob.”

Regency shook his head, “Beginner's luck. Wait 'til shit really starts happening.”

Mars rolled his eyes as Tourn addressed Regency's and my concern, “Desperate. Seems that way. We haven't seen them lately. Could be poor tactical adjustment when we appeared.”

I thought it'd been less than a month since we were up against Lambda, but regardless, Tourn's thought was realistic.

“Quarda, I like your hat!” I smiled and tipped the brim to Elbo. “Looks bad on you, but still nice hat.” He gave me a thumbs up as I sighed.

Back to business, “Ther's leas' three lef'. Elbo, Regens' an' me take th' base. Chourn, Mars, do our mission.”

The others looked to each other. Regency started to say something but Tourn cut him off, “I think we can do this.”

“Fast to get out before Vigilantes come,” Elbo nodded.

Regency added something with his British accent and Mars picked a few items from the downed opponents.

My head was going to explode if we didn't finish soon. Walking took most of my focus. The guys agreed that I would stay back and keep communication open in the chance our team channel was actually tapped.

If you asked me a year ago if I'd be able to run around town three days after a concussion I'd have laughed at you and told you how I'd do everything possible to stay off my feet, and help myself recover faster. There I was though, Doing everything possible to stay on my feet. To contribute.

Before parting, Tourn gave me a pill. He's good at reading people even if he's terrible at talking to them. We both knew that by the time it would kick in the dust would probably be settling, but it was still worth it either way.

With there being little I could do, I did what I knew. I found a security camera, pulled my hat off and bowed gracefully to the Voyeurs. None of us knew how many eyes were around the city until we raided the Scorekeepers. That's what those first dozen rooms were, just walls of monitors and recording equipment. They didn't miss a street, and it proved to be beneficial. The Voyeurs love it or else Sand wouldn't gain two new teams each year.

Placing the hat back on my head I realized how right Elbo may have been. People would love an underdog, and Royal We could be a hell of a team to root for. The viewers just needed to see we still had the spirit of the champions we once were.

The guys were already inside the warehouse. When I got through the door there were only two Lambdas, both had their hands up and were arguing to each other. Regency shut them up with a chunk of rubber to each man's thigh, “Christ, shut up. Where's your last mate?” I expected more elegance from the Brit, but I do suppose we were very likely strapped for time.

“Our.. Our last 'mate'?” Leader of Lambda shook his head, “You-They took us all out!” Leader was a well built man. His height was deliciously accented by athletic muscles, pretty brown eyes and a type of bedhead I had grown to like.

“So it's only the two of you?”

“You really don't understand the situation!” Leader was nearly panicked beyond reason.

I stepped forward, “We do. You los' uh roun'.”

“No. Look!” he reached for his pocket and nearly lost his arm as Elbo restrained him. A Navipalm fell from his hand.

I picked it up. Before needing to ask he told me the code to unlock it. The map was already opened on it. What was being displayed took me a moment to comprehend.

“See?! See!? They're everywhere! Then we charged into you guys! GG well played!”

The map showed a few dozen copies of the six 13 Hiros all around the area. The majority scattered around the warehouse, a dozen played strategically through the alleys, and a good number around their own base.

Regency looked over my shoulder and whistled.

As surprising as it was, it didn't seem like that big of a deal compared to being down three players for the past few months. It did get me to thinking about how many different types of Perks there were that I didn't know of.

Elbo took a little longer than he should have to take the queue to let the guy go, but he did at last.

My eyes flicked to Regency. He was an accountant in his old life. He fell just a little short in situations like this. What it was he fell short in was assertiveness-no. Confidence? No, no.. Strategy? As he inhaled to say something it hit me. His approach to people was terrible.

To quell a ramble of accented syllables from wasting our time I slunk past Elbo. Concentrating on each step, and the decisiveness of each sway of my hip. I poked at Leader's phone. Looked up, tipping the hat to reveal a sultry smile. Hiding the face splitting pain behind my eyes. Speak smooth, I screamed in my mind. “So raise your white flag,” I purred holding his phone up with the surrender page open. He swallowed and shifted on his feet as I moved closer. From my peripheral vision I saw his his teammate calm down as their nervousness evolved in unison.

Large yellow eyes looked up to his as I pressed our bodies together. “Go gather your team and take a week off,” the cell passed between our hands. I breathed him in, reaching up to whisper into his ear, “It's obvious you need the R 'n R.”

Don't mistake the act, the situation simply called for quick convincing. And I couldn't think of anything else that would get through to scared men as quick. It helped that he was handsome, but anything more than acting wouldn't have gone so smooth.

We are all lonely creatures in Sand. Relationships are hard to handle. I've heard stories of civilians dating burglars and the suspicion of what we do for a living being too much for the relationship. Some of the guys get hookers, I've heard that some of the female players don't mind being casual with their teammates. There's a couple teams that have working relationships between two teammates, but that can be a tricky.

Vizy and I had had a solid relationship. He was my first and only.

The seasons that passed since the last time I was with Vizy was too vast. So, maybe I played it too well with a hot breath in Leader's ear. And a gentle grip on his shirt. And with the flush that was spreading through my cheeks. Because he went rigid in more than one way. Just possibly I played it too well because Tourn cleared his throat as I slid down from my tip-toes.

I pulled the brim of my hat down, daring a glance at Tourn. We had a thing between us, but I couldn't follow through to be more than friends because I was still hurting over loosing Vizy. At least, that was the excuse each time we had moments that could have crossed the line. But there, in that moment, I crossed a different line, and it was obvious that Tourn wasn't happy with my act.

Everyone was frozen in the room except for Mars who had missed the event by a second. He caught on to the atmosphere in a moment, but must have not cared, “So, what's the deal?”

The Lambdas moved, “We're going...”

Regency stepped in their path, “Hold on, where's your flag?”

Leader pointed to what looked like a management office at the end of a simple set of stairs overlooking the floor of the warehouse. Tourn didn't let his eyes off of Leader as he left. The other Lambda mumbled a good luck as he opened his phone, likely to find his downed teammates.

After the door closed Tourniquet looked to me, “What the fuck was that?”

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow, “Was called for.”

“Right, Cord. That's exactly what we needed.”

“No'h now, Chourn!” I expected the pulsing in my head to grow, but the Oxy seemed to be kicking in.

“Will you two just have angry sex and shut the fuck up,” Regency exclaimed as he made his way to the stairs. “This whole team does nothing but argue and it's all cause of little miss bandages. Half of the time one of us wants to take her side, then the other doesn't, and vice versa. It's a fat lot of-” the door to the office slammed behind him, but we could still hear his muffled ranting.

“Okay, I don't get it,” Mars held up his hands holding in chuckles, “but that was damned funny.”

Elbo stomped over to our newbie, “It was! Lots of stupid like this all the time. I am Elbo. Is good to have you!”

Tourn and I exchanged a look as Mars found one of Elbo's massive hands to shake, “Pleasure's mine, Heavy!” After realizing his mistake of shaking hands with Elbo, Mars shook out his nearly broken hand, “So, Tourn and I got that bag from the other warehouse.” We all glanced to the duffel bag Tourn was carrying, “What's in it?”

“A lot of bullshit. Some codes that can get us different goodies. And cash,” Tourn replied.

“Then it's like Christmas. Instead of socks we get... Codes?”

“These codes are way better to get than socks,” Tourn smiled, “You ever buy a digital copy of a game, or expansion?”

Mars nodded with a shrug.

“It's no different. The codes are single use and will get us stuff like Perks, and weapons.”

I had taken a seat on some boxes while Tourn explained what capturing objectives can do for a team. Elbo felt the need to start doing pull ups on an exposed pipe.

Regency emerged from the office with a coal gray folder in hand and a shit eating grin, “What's that saying? 'If I were a betting man'?”

Mars nodded, a smile growing on his face, “What would you bet?”

The Brit waved the folder, “I'd bet this is as far as we get without any trouble.”

He was right. There was no doubt the Hiro's were still ready to put up a fight. And they were a high caliber team because they knew how to fight and work together. Don't get me wrong, Royal We can throw down, especially Elbo, but we were not only out skilled, we were out numbered. Five to six.

We didn't even get the chance to head to an exit. An Asian accent spoke through the door after a light rapping. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Elbo pulled a plank off of a pallet and moved towards the door. Regency finished stuffing the folder in our new duffel bag and zipped it up. Tourn grimaced an held his hand over his pistol's holster like a cowboy at high noon. Mars grinned, ready for more action.

We all waited.

The pounding on the door made my subsiding headache flare. I was done. Come hell or high water, shit was going to happen since they came to us. And after, either way the spat could go, I'd get some peace and quiet.

Tourn and Mars moved to stop me until we heard the muffled accent from behind the steel door, “I only want to talk. I am alone and unarmed.”

We all paused. It could have been a bait, trickery to get us into a trap. But the consequences were a drop in the bucket to the tsunami that my new headache was raging.

Tourn read me and simply said, “Don't.”

Mars looked between us.

Regency cursed under his breath.

Elbo was ready to bash skulls.

Not only did I open the door, but I flailed my crowbar at the fucking Hiro. It did nothing, I missed the first hit, and he caught it on my second swing. Rather then disarming me he just held it as I struggled to take it back. That was 13, strong in all senses; physically, in resolve, spirit, and mind. The fine lines of his angular Asian face placed him around his late 40s. 13's deep brown eyes carried a wisdom within them that was rare to a game filled mostly with 20somethings. The only hair on his head was his eyebrows and a short goatee.

13 stared each one of us down, “Let me speak.” He was as unarmed as we could see. The nun-chucks he keept at the hip of his martial arts garb were missing, but the naked eye is easily deceived. Same went for his solo status. The fishy part, the truth in his words, was the coal gray folder in his other hand.

Elbo was the first to say anything as everyone stood tense, “Allow China man to speak.”

The Hiro's eyes narrowed, “Not that it matters to you, but again, I am Japanese. I thank you, though.” His gaze turned to me, “Can I let your weapon go and simply talk?”

I said nothing. Visibly relaxing were words enough.

13 nodded his head and released his grip on my crowbar. He shoved the folder at my breast. I gripped it haphazardly as I walked backwards, not letting a single breath of his go unnoticed.

“I give this to you. As... Insurance.” I disliked how 'insurance' sounded in his accent. “Let us begin anew. We hope this marks your comeback, and will be ready for your rise.” His words were directed at me, but I didn't know what he meant.

Tourn stepped  between me and 13, “I don't trust this. It's been a long time now, she-”

The Nippon raised a hand, “You don't have to. You already won,” 13 motioned a hand to the folder I was given. Then his expression grew thoughtful, “I do have words of caution, Royals. Some of the burglars will not play like we will.”

Without another word he turned and walked off. 9 stepped out of the alley he paced down and watched us carefully. One by one the four other Hiros emerged from the landscape and followed their leader.

Our victory was bittersweet.