Plotlogs
Seeking The Source Sr Elias 240921
In Haven, under the guise of bizarre weather that left the town submerged and a curious crate washing up at Victoria's flood-barricaded home, a conflict unfolds. The crate, upon opening, reveals an ancient and valuable religious artifact, an Egyptian Ankh adorned with jewels. Victoria's recognition of its worth is soon overshadowed by the unwelcome arrival of armed mercenaries outside her door. Led by a salt-and-pepper-haired commander, these mercenaries, identifiable by their uniformed black combat gear, demand the Ankh, insinuating their affiliation with the dangerous group known as the Golden Shadow.
Undeterred by their menacing approach, Victoria attempts diplomacy, albeit with a preparedness that belies her outward calm. An offer of negotiation from the invaders is thinly veiled with threats, leading to a tense standoff on Victoria's doorstep. With the arrival of Ash and Juniper, her allies, the dynamics shift. Juniper’s lethal efficiency and Ash's mysterious actions create confusion and fear among the mercenaries, exploiting their readiness to violence and distrust.
The mercenary leader, cornered and wounded within Victoria's home, finds himself at the mercy of Victoria and her friends. Despite his position, he desperately clings to a facade of negotiation, even as his men fall outside. The standoff culminates in Victoria asserting her dominance, sparing the leader but marking him with a warning.
The aftermath leaves Victoria's home marked by the conflict but stands as a testament to her resourcefulness and strength. The defeated mercenaries, a warning sent back to the Golden Shadow, depict the dangerous balance between power and restraint Found in Haven. The story concludes with Victoria and her allies standing united, their resolve unbroken despite the chaos that had sought to invade their lives.
(Seeking the Source(SRElias):SRElias)
[Fri Sep 20 2024]
In a dockside receiving area
A large roll-up steel door dominates one end of this room, which is more warehouse-esque than anything else. Bollards stop rogue vehicles from going too far, and there are oil slicks and stains where any such might've idled or been parked for a while. A double door faces the roll-up, allowing access deeper into the facility. What looks like showers have been set up near it, though without even curtains for a basic guarantee of privacy.
It is about 65F(18C) degrees.
With a sigh, Victoria has been peering out from the foyer to check the state of the roads, in preparation to head into town a while. She had avid hopes of the rain being gone, but it's Haven, and luck is fickle. Seems no matter what she does, she's going to end up soaked.
For the last few days, the weather in Haven has been odd. While there has been clear skies and beautiful weather, the whole town has been submerged in roughly a foot of water with little explanation beyond 'bizarre weather phenomenon' which the the norm for this town. It has made travel difficulty and has destroyed unknown amounts of property. It is likely that the damage even to Victoria's own yard is a mystery until after the water clears up. When Victoria peers out of the window, it is like her house is a ship going down a river as the water flows slowly along, carrying floating debris along. Sticks, leaves, and pieces of trash which have been washed out of Haven proper. If this wasn't strange enough in the oddity of it, there is a heavy thud at Victoria's door. Her gaze out the window, there is a crate that slammed in the door possibly even scuffing the door. It is a wooden crate stamped red letters on the side reading FRAGILE. It is possible it fell off a truck or maybe just floated out of some warehouse. Isn't there a warehouse just down the road?
Startled by the sudden noise at the door, Victoria takes a quick step back, eyes widening and quickly scanning over what she can see as her lips curve downward into the faintest hints of a frown. "Wonder if that's something of Elias's," she murmurs to herself with a soft sigh, reaching her fingertips somewhat reluctantly to open the door. She's clearly not the biggest fan of wading about in cold water, but she's also too curious for her own good. As soon as the door is pulled open, she's reaching for the crate, moving to pull it to her as fast as possible.
It must be due to the damage from the mishandling due to banging around on things while floating around or perhaps it was never properly sealed, but whatever the case is, the bottom panel gives away and the crate opens up. There is soggy packing materials which is largely bits of straw and foam which just get sprinkled into the water and start floating away with the current. What falls out seems to be some kind of religious artifact made of gold with embedded jewels. It is a cross with a teardrop-shaped loop at the top. Along the top loop it is studded with various colored jewels, likely diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. It doesn't take an Indiana Jones to recognize what this is. It is an Eqyptian ankh, that symbolizes life, and can also represent eternal life, immortality, reincarnation, or the afterlife. It is possible it is from Elias' warehouse down the road, but there is no tell tale signs or packing slips that prove that.
Victoria's eyebrows raise silently, and her hand plucks the jeweled item from the current, turning it over in her hands to inspect it carefully. She studies the gold for several moments, the shape and color of every gem, and her eyes narrow thoughtfully. Teeth chew on the corner of her lower lip, and a moment later she shakes her head in a silent decision. This isn't something of Elias's.
She leans out the door, turning each way to give a careful gaze about, a long sigh creeping from her lips once she realizes the owner of this object seems nowhere to be found. She shrugs a shoulder, moves herself back to the foyer with a grimace to her sopping wet boots, and pushes the heavy door closed, object still within her hand.
Before Victoria gets the door entirely closed, she spots a black van rolling down the road with its side sliding door wide open and a man hanging out of it with what appears to be an MP5 submachine gun in his hand. The van is going slow and they seem to be looking for something, it can't seem to be too much of a coincidence that Victoria found something valuable and at the same time, a van comings down the road with heavily armed me. The men inside the van seem to be mercenary types, wearing combat fatigues, tactical vests, and armed. All of it is uniform black. Bad news as well, but when they spot the house, they stop the van out front. Did they just make visual contact with the empty crate still sitting on the porch? Most likely, since the men splash into the water making their way towards the door. At this point, Victoria has had the door long closed, so what kind if plan is she going to devise to figure this one out? The Ankh itself seems to be valuable just from the gold and gems alone, perhaps even holding magical properties. Perhaps that is more reason to get rid of it too?
"Shit," Victoria mutters under her breath, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She leaves her back against the door for only a moment before spinning on a heel, turning toward her bedroom. Without much time for decisions, she grabs the oversized mattress and lifts, tossing the golden object underneath with only enough care to keep it intact. She brings the mattress back atop it, letting the comforter and fur drape back toward the floor.
It's then that she turns her attention back to the foyer, and likely to the men coming toward her door. As she takes the few steps back through the doorway, she reaches up without turning her head, grabbing a pair of knives that she slips into a boot as she goes. Folding her arms in front of her, she waits with a pointed stare to her door.
Making her way into the bedroom and tossing the golden ankh under the bed with a thud and clunk, it seems like the artifact is more sturdy than its base components might suggest. The sound of cursing can be heard as the sound of the wood crate smashing against a tree can be heard from outside, "Fuck! Where did it go?!" The yelling can be heard outside. Then there is pounding on the door with a heavy fist, THUD THUD THUD, "Open the door!" It doesn't seem like they are making any immediate effort to breach the house for now, but it does suggest they are upset and probably not the most friendly individuals. The sounds of splashing around is really telling to Victoria's supernatural senses, they are positioning themselves around the yard. Is there only three of them? It is hard to tell, but they are not being very sneaky, most likely because of the water prevents them from being it or the are just discount mercenaries.
Shaking her head, Victoria puts on a very innocent, yet very fake smile as she pulls the door open in response. Appearing surprised, her smile fades into a look of puzzled shock, brows knitting together and lips pursing briefly.
"Hello," she says, voice soft and measured. "Something I can help you with?" Her eyes flit between the figures outside her home, taking in each, as well as the water they're wading through so far out in the forest. Nobody comes out here on purpose, after all.
Perhaps one might expect this whole knocking could have just been a trap and maybe it is. But Victoria ventures forth none the less. With the door opening, she finds that there are guns aimed at her from various locations, but there only seems to be four of them, one more than she had seen before, but not by much. One of the men that was closest to the door, the one likely responsible for the banging on the door. An middle-age man with a close cut styling of graying hair, his build and stature is reflective up him being seasoned, but the others seem much more ify. He smiles in such a way that it feels icy cold, a fake smile hiding something dark. He speaks up, "Good evening ma'am. It seems something has gone missing and I am tasked to recover it. There is a reward for returning it to its rightful owners." And it is questionable whether they are the rightful owners to begin with. This team isn't the little girl walking the neighborhood putting up missing dog posters, this is a trained tactical team.
Drawing a careful, slow eye across the barrels of guns aimed at her, Victoria swallows once as she forces her expression to remain neutral. "Good evening," she smiles, turning to the middle-aged man. "I do hate to hear that something has been lost. Afraid I haven't been out of the house in days really, with the flooding and all. It's been uncharacteristic, for this time of year." Her expression turns almost apologetic, and she avoids sudden movements, opting to simply stand within the threshold of her doorway.
She does, however, draw a very, very careful breath inward as she addresses that man. So slow that one almost wouldn't even pick it up, she makes every effort to memorize his face, to catch even part of his scent. The faintest hints of annoyance show in her widened eyes as she continues to level her stare at who appears to be leading this operation, clearly not the most pleased at the surprise to her door.
"How unfortunate." The salt and pepper haired man states with, but with a touch of distain in his voice he continues, "Corporate office will be very disappointed in us. How about inviting us in out of the cold. That is only good hospitality and my men are cold and hungry." And when he says hungry, there is indeed hunger in his eyes as he looks Victoria over slowly with his eyes in a very lecherous stare. The men keeping their weapons aimed slowly start approaching the door and indeed the older man lets his hand fall on the hilt of the knife on his belt, "So what about it? Just let them rest for a moment and then we will be gone." Everything about this scenario at this point starts triggering alarm bells with Victoria's wolfish instincts, these men are predators in many definitions of the word.
"Oh, afraid it's not heated in here, and there's not much in the way of food," Victoria replies, setting her jaw with a stubborn, pleasant smile. "Besides, my neighbors should be by at any moment. They've been putting out sandbags for the flood, and all." She subtly shifts her position within the doorway, blocking most of it, though she realizes she's clearly smaller and outnumbered.
An intense, narrow-eyed stare meets the advancing men heading for her door and through gritted teeth she comments, "If all you'd like is rest and food, perhaps we can put the weapons away, yeah?" There's a low growl in her throat that she barely manages to surpress, the stare from the older man seeming to repulse her.
The salt and pepper haired man raises a hand, and the he brings it downward slowly, gesturing a downward movement, "It is okay boys, she is willing to be hospitable, so please, lead the way." He says gesturing behind Victoria and through the doorway, "I hope we aren't imposing too much here." He says, but there is a coldness in his voice and the politeness is superficial at best. But at the man's gesture, indeed the others do lower the rifles and start to cautiously approach, but they still keep their weapons at the ready and scan their surroundings, slowly sloshing through the water approaching the door. Whatever Victoria is planning, it is obvious the mercenaries do believe they are coming into her home.
"I'm happy to perhaps bring you some provisions to take with you, food or something," Victoria muses carefully, looking grateful for the lowering of the weapons, but clicking her tongue as she notes they're still too close for comfort. "You'll have to forgive me, I'm not really up for company this evening. However, if you'd like to leave a number, if I find anything I'd be happy to contact you, of course."
She draws a hand through her hair , then clasp both hands carefully behind her back. Once out of sight, her fingers curl into her palms, nails digging into the skin. Perhaps one she could handle. Four alone in the woods? She has her doubts.
"Oh, a woman in your condition carrying all those things? Poor girl, what you have, is it terminal?" The middle-aged mercenary asks, bluntly with a layer of feign concern that wouldn't even fool a child. His hand falls back to the hilt of his knife once more, "Lets stop playing games now. You are either going to let us come in or I will flay you alive and leave your remains dangling for all to see what happens to those that cross the Golden Shadow." The entire facade falls at this point and it is clear who these mercenaries are working for now. The men that were starting to stand down to a degree, shift to cover fire positions and their weapons go back to aiming at Victoria, "So, dear girl. Do you want to live another day and let us just take what is rightfully ours, or do you want to do this the hard way? Me and the boys like the hard way, I am actually hoping you do pick the hard way." The obvious in charge mercenary declares, his act long gone at this point and only hard and cold remain.
"There's no need for that," Victoria says with a few quick blinks of her eyes. "I'm sure you can see where that'd make a girl uncomfortable though, yeah? I hear the Golden Shadow can negotiate," she pauses to fold her arms over her chest, though it's only briefly before she continues, "So, just you. You can come in, hmm? I'm sure you'd be okay with that, after all," she reasons with an arched eyebrow and an inviting expression.
"Yes. I tried offering a reward straight at the bat. But I am glad the acts are being dropped at this point and we can get right to business. I know you have the Ankh, so lets make a deal." And the salt and pepper haired mercenary gestures onward into the house, "Lead the way." And he turns waving his men to stay put, "Hold a perimeter. If something goes sideways, you know what to do." He says ominously before turning back to Victoria, giving her a firm nod, "I am ready, Ma'am."
Victoria pushes from the doorframe, extending an arm inward. "After you," she states, moving aside to allow the man entrance into the foyer. "What the hell in an Ankh?" her puzzled voice wonders as she regards the rest of the men, each in turn with a mixed expression and an almost smirk. "Come on, I've even got alcohol," she states.
"I am an old combat veteran, so please forgive me, I insist you go first. I don't care for entering into places with people at my back. Just call it an old nervous habit, one I am not ready to give up yet." The middle-aged mercenary explains, not willing to possibly make the same mistake an unseasoned mercenary would make. The mercenary's eyes flicker to Victoria's ring on her finger and mentions, "Mercenary to mercenary, give me a bit more credit than that. You know how these things turn out in these scenarios." Obviously he recognizes the symbol engraved there.
Victoria shrugs a shoulder, relenting a bit at that. "Yeah, alright," she says, though she doesn't turn around either. She simply takes steps backwards, keeping her eye on the man as he follows until they're both within the foyer, and he obviously has to move ahead of her so that she can close the door. As she does, her fingers fly to send a text quick enough to be a blur before she shoves her phone into her pocket. "So. This thing you're looking for."
Ash receives a text from Victoria stating that there are armed men outside her house trying to hurt her. And when Ash arrives, that very much seems like the scene. There are three mercenary types all dressed in black with MP5 submachine guns pointing towards her, even though one shifts this stance to aim at Ash. Victoria herself seems to be standing in the doorway with her, a large grizzled looking military type with salt and pepper hair. He clearly stands out as the man in charge, but tensions seem to be very high like they could explode at any moment. Fortunately, with Ash arriving, she has reinforcements! The grizzled mercenary grumbles, "Just give us what is ours and this is not going to end badly for you." And the tone of his voice, it isn't confident that it won't end badly regardless of what happens.
Ash receives a text from Victoria stating that there are armed men outside her house trying to hurt her. And when Ash arrives, that very much seems like the scene. There are FOUR mercenary types all dressed in black with MP5 submachine guns pointing towards her, even though one shifts this stance to aim at Ash. Victoria herself seems to be standing in the doorway with her, a large grizzled looking military type with salt and pepper hair. He clearly stands out as the man in charge, but tensions seem to be very high like they could explode at any moment. Fortunately, with Ash arriving, she has reinforcements! The grizzled mercenary grumbles, "Just give us what is ours and this is not going to end badly for you." And the tone of his voice, it isn't confident that it won't end badly regardless of what happens. THERE ARE FOUR MERCENARIES TOTAL.(fix)
Ash rides up on their rusty, painted scooter, swinging off a leg without approaching. A glance goes to Victoria, though with their sunglasses on, she can only *assume* that it's a look of support. "Woah, woah, what's this?" Ash raises their hands as the man points a gun at them. "What's happening? I don't think we want any trouble!" They look afraid, glancing between the various men with a fearful expression.
The man in charge, the mercenary with the salt and pepper buzz cut turns to face Ash, making a few steps towards them, "This woman is just going to return some missing property. She has been very helpful with us in locating it. She is about to hand it over, right?" And the mercenary leader turns back to Victoria with a cold expression on his face, "Because we wouldn't want some bad men to come and do some bad things to get it, would we? So, lets just agree it is better in our possession."
"I believe," Victoria states with the same leveled stare to the middle-aged man, "We were going to discuss. Like I said, I'm not really sure what you're even looking for. You all came knocking, well pounding really on my door." The innocent, polite smile of hers returns, arm still held out in a gesture that invites that man inside. "I've stated he can come in, but only him," Victoria says to Ash in a low tone, and then she's addressing the man again. "No guns on them either, please. Seriously, you all jump to such extremes."
Ash asks innocently, their drawl shortening as they affect fear and concern, "I'm so confused... are you sure you have the right house? She doesn't go outside - why would she have your things?" Behinds their sunglasses, they watch the men's expressions, stances, observing to gauge when and how they should step in.
"Alright, that is fucking it. This situation is starting to get out of control. Lets clean up the scene and we can torture there two for the information if they live." The lead mercenary pulls his knife from his belt, "I will take care of this one, you boys take care of that new arrival." And the salt and pepper mercenary turns to Victoria with a growing grin across his face, like a serial killer getting to the best part of the day. The other mercenaries, their faces covered, whether they are nearly as giddy as their leader is, it is uncertain. What is certain however is that several submachineguns are aimed in their direction. This is about to get real messy reach quick here.
"Or, you could tell me what you're looking for. You realize you gave some vague name, yeah? No description, no nothing? How the hell would I know if I've seen it?" Victoria shrugs, remaining strangely calm but at the same time holding her hands up. "Such impatience. There's some saying...catching flies with honey? So yeah. Describe this object you lost and calm down a bit, and maybe nobody has to get hurt."
Ash is standing by their scooter, hands held high, watching the four armed men outside of Victoria's doorway with the growing hint of a smile on their face. A mischievous smile. They may be about to do something.
And some of the other people that Victoria texted was Elias and Juniper, which they both arrive since after all they are neighbors. When they arrive though, it is clear that there are four mercenary types in Victoria's flooded yard. One is standing at the door brandishing a knife. The other three are pointing their submachine guns at Ash. The one by Victoria is an older, middle aged mercenary, likely the leader, yelling at the tale end with Juniper catches, " you boys take care of that new arrival."
Once the two new arrivals on top of Ash, then counting Victoria, the odds are even up and the mercenary commander holds his knife out to the side, "You know, ma'am, it is just one of those days where you have to have a good sense of humor right? So lets talk this out." His tune changes pretty quick, holding a hand out to his men so they stand down, "Just give us the Anhk. You don't want to make enemies of the Golden Shadow do you? It is much more profitable just to play ball and we can all have a good business relationship." NOW it is back to negotiation apparently.
"A good business relationship?" Victoria says thoughtfully, flicking her eyes up and down the man in front of her. "You have yet to answer the most basic of questions." She pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger in momentary frustration. "What is it? Why do you want it?" Once her hand is removed from her face, she's glaring at him, her eyes narrowing as she grows impatient. "Assuming I have seen it, and that's a wild assumption, what are you offering even?"
Juniper is apparently just strolling on up to this scene, without fanfare of course, but without stealth either. The blonde appears entirely nonplussed by it, however, particularly given the odds against these men right now. She was looking to Victoria however for /her/ thoughts on the matter, which are made pretty clear in the next moment. Obviously biting back some choice words of her own, the woman just wanders up the front yard, getting perhaps uncomfortably close to the other three. Uncomfortable for whom exactly? Not her, by the looks of it. She's just a basic white girl in her pumpkin spice coloured sweater and looking unmenacing though pretty nosey and unusually relaxed.
Ash sighs, and get to work. They were already starting when the man changes his mind, then decides to go with inertia. They move to reach into their sloth bag with their left hand, big enough to hold a weapon. Their right hand goes behind to support the bag, all the while drawling, "You know that Bo Burnham song? 'Have you felt sad and lonely? Have you ever felt two feet tall? Have you ever thought, 'Man if only I was anybody else at all?'' That song? The chorus goes something like, 'Kill yourself!'" And they grin and grin, moving forward aggressively.
"The Ankh is just a family heirloom.." Which the mercenary commander barely gets out everything just goes into pandemonium and he is winged by a bullet from one of his own men, slumping against the door frame, leaving a trail of blood there, "Fuck, stand down!" But it is not heard. There is spraying of bullets from the the mercenaries as they are engaging individuals that are either invisible or don't really exist at all. One of the mercenaries goes down as he peppered with bullets from friendly fire. It doesn't take long however for them to start realizing what is going on and start to recover to engage the obvious targets in front of them. The commander himself pushes himself off the door frame and turns to Victoria, "You bitch!" He says as he starts at her with his knife, blood trickling down his fatigues.
bending halfway, Victoria draws a blade of her own from a boot, with a thankful look to Ash, a grin to Juniper, and finally, a smirk to that middle-aged man advancing at her. She moves to step to the side and behind him, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You're getting blood on my floor." Then, he's calling her a bitch, and she grins unsettlingly. "I can be," she says softly, tone low and a mixture of firm and pleasant mingled together. "So maybe it's time to get the fuck out of my house." There's a pause, a quirk upwards of her lips and she smiles, "Please."
Bending halfway, Victoria draws a blade of her own from a boot, with a thankful look to Ash, a grin to Juniper, and finally, a smirk to that middle-aged man advancing at her. She moves to step to the side and behind him, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You're getting blood on my floor." Then, he's calling her a bitch, and she grins unsettlingly. "I can be," she says softly, tone low and a mixture of firm and pleasant mingled together. "So maybe it's time to get the fuck out of my house." There's a pause, a quirk upwards of her lips and she smiles, "Please." (fixed)
Ash grins, laughing, as they get to have some fun. "Back up, Vic!" They call out in a pleasant drawl, as their bracelet glows again. And so does their hair bead, though it being behind them makes it easier to miss as well. They wave their fingers like an orchestrator, as they shift their position and moves to use Juniper like cover - perhaps a bit rudely. "It goes, 'Kill yourself! It's over, mull it! There's a trigger, pull it! Get it through your head, 'it' being a bullet!'"
Speaking of blades, Juniper's trusty knife is out of her boot sheathe in a fluid and quick motion as she continues her closing in on the two remaining mercenaries on the front lawn who were momentarily distracted otherwise. This pumpkin spice bitch is fast and within moments she is upon a man and with zero hesitation has plunged her knife through the side of his neck. Any resistance to a regular hand plunging that knife is ignored by this one. There are no songs from her, no flashy magic. Just murderous intent for the guns that were trained on her pack.
Victoria glances curiously to Ash, eyebrows lifting in a mixture of surprise and a hint of amusement as she takes a couple steps backwards, though she does call to them, "Leave just one?". Her eyes glance for just that, turning momentarily to Juniper with a relieved exhale before she finds her target, reaching to grab one of the remaining mercenaries from behind by the hair and draw her blade to his neck. "Drop the gun," she hisses in his ear, nails scraping against scalp.
The salt and pepper haired mercenary starts to turn to get a good piece of Victoria with his knife and then it goes all black for him as he reaches up to cover his eyes in pain with his free arm, "Damnit!" He says, flailing his knife at Victoria, but to no luck. Splashing water flying through the air as Juniper advances on one of the mercenaries with supernatural speed. He raises his submachine gun to get Juniper in his sights, but it is too late, the knife sinks deeply into his neck providing a very fatal hit. A gout of blood spraying all over, covering the blond haired woman. And then finally, the remaining mercenary's expression goes blank and he eats his gun barrel with a BOOM and his body landing into the water with a kersplash!
The last mercenary leader though, a knife to his throat, very familiar with that feeling drops his knife. His pistol is still hanging from his belt, "Alright... I yield."
"My floor. My lawn!" Victoria frowns as she glances around.
Quite irate it seems with the amount of blood and annoyance caused to herself and her pack, Victoria yanks on that hair within her grasp, pulling the man's head back until he can hear her quiet whisper to him. "I'm going to leave you alive," she hisses, though the knife in her hand presses against flesh firmly. "You're going to go back and make sure that I don't get any more visits. That none of us do, yeah? If we see your trinket, I'll let you know." She frowns, clearly waiting for an answer, and then turns to Juniper and Ash as well to invite their input.
Juniper is flicking blood from herself where it gathers in thicker rivulets while she sloshes through water towards where Victoria has the older merc by the hair and throat. "I'll be taking that," she announces with a saccharine voice as she takes that pistol sighted on his belt. While she's there, however, for good measure, the blonde she-wolf takes the mercenary's dominant hand and... breaks it. Ignoring any inevitable shouts of pain from the man, she flicks her intense hazel gaze to Victoria next. "You don't have to let him know," she says with a slightly crooked grin.
"Yeah. I get it. I will accept that deal." The mercenary leader says, "No more trouble. I know when a shit show of a mission is not worth getting myself killed over, so I will just call it a wash, good?" And Elias walks out sloshing through the water from the back lines where Juniper ran off from, he notes, "You guys work fast. I didn't even have time to think about all that." He says with a grin creeping across his face, "Mercy hrmm? Alright, I guess that works I guess." The mercenary leader waits for Victoria to make the final decision. There is no resistance when Juniper takes his pistol though.
Ash giggles, kicking the bodies with the heel of their bare feet to ensure that they're dead, then checking their bodies for goodies. "You know, that song's actually about how it's hard to fight depression when songs encourage you to just 'be brave' or 'roar'. When you should actually just seek professional help and support. Because if you just do it alone, relying on song lyrics like those, you may end up killing youself. Don't do what the songs say, get help." They get up, chuckling, saying, "Too bad this guy didn't hear the full lyrics." There's also a bit of glee when Juniper gives him something to remember them by. "Mercy, or a warning?"
"I'm working on my overuse of niceness," Victoria grins to Juniper. There is a very slow withdraw of the knife from the mercenary's throat, though she does draw a line of blood from clavicle to shoulder for good measure. "A warning," she smiles, hand still firmly gripped in strands of hair. "You said to me, something about one in my 'condition'," she pauses, eyes narrowed and lips set in a grin. "I'm not always going to be this way," she leans forward to tell the man, and there's another sniff- she definitely has his scent. With that, she lets go of his hair, shoving him forward.
The mercenary rolls his shoulder with a wince, more from the bullet holes in it than Victoria's cut, but none the less he is creating a mess as he puts his hand there to stem some of the bleeding. No argument, no threats, just a somber realization that it is time to leave. He climbs into the van he arrived in, driving off back the way he came, back to the north. Ash searching through the mercenary's belongings, there is no personal items or any identification at all. They just have their weapons and tactical gear. Looking around those, there is blood splatters on the wall of Victoria's house, which will wash off easily enough, but the spray of bullets into the siding give it a rather lived in look, but the kind of that might appear living in a rough neighborhood. Either way, the threat is now gone. Hopefully Victoria will hear no more of the Golden Shadow.
Juniper palms the pistol with a little look of interest briefly before she checks in with Victoria. "You good?" she asks simply, an easy smile for the brunette given there. "I mean, at least the flood will help clean this all up, right?"
"Yeah I'm good. Their little trinket is in the house," Victoria grins. "They were assholes so...couldn't really justify just handing it over." She exhales softly. "Thank you both," she beams.
Undeterred by their menacing approach, Victoria attempts diplomacy, albeit with a preparedness that belies her outward calm. An offer of negotiation from the invaders is thinly veiled with threats, leading to a tense standoff on Victoria's doorstep. With the arrival of Ash and Juniper, her allies, the dynamics shift. Juniper’s lethal efficiency and Ash's mysterious actions create confusion and fear among the mercenaries, exploiting their readiness to violence and distrust.
The mercenary leader, cornered and wounded within Victoria's home, finds himself at the mercy of Victoria and her friends. Despite his position, he desperately clings to a facade of negotiation, even as his men fall outside. The standoff culminates in Victoria asserting her dominance, sparing the leader but marking him with a warning.
The aftermath leaves Victoria's home marked by the conflict but stands as a testament to her resourcefulness and strength. The defeated mercenaries, a warning sent back to the Golden Shadow, depict the dangerous balance between power and restraint Found in Haven. The story concludes with Victoria and her allies standing united, their resolve unbroken despite the chaos that had sought to invade their lives.
(Seeking the Source(SRElias):SRElias)
[Fri Sep 20 2024]
In a dockside receiving area
A large roll-up steel door dominates one end of this room, which is more warehouse-esque than anything else. Bollards stop rogue vehicles from going too far, and there are oil slicks and stains where any such might've idled or been parked for a while. A double door faces the roll-up, allowing access deeper into the facility. What looks like showers have been set up near it, though without even curtains for a basic guarantee of privacy.
It is about 65F(18C) degrees.
With a sigh, Victoria has been peering out from the foyer to check the state of the roads, in preparation to head into town a while. She had avid hopes of the rain being gone, but it's Haven, and luck is fickle. Seems no matter what she does, she's going to end up soaked.
For the last few days, the weather in Haven has been odd. While there has been clear skies and beautiful weather, the whole town has been submerged in roughly a foot of water with little explanation beyond 'bizarre weather phenomenon' which the the norm for this town. It has made travel difficulty and has destroyed unknown amounts of property. It is likely that the damage even to Victoria's own yard is a mystery until after the water clears up. When Victoria peers out of the window, it is like her house is a ship going down a river as the water flows slowly along, carrying floating debris along. Sticks, leaves, and pieces of trash which have been washed out of Haven proper. If this wasn't strange enough in the oddity of it, there is a heavy thud at Victoria's door. Her gaze out the window, there is a crate that slammed in the door possibly even scuffing the door. It is a wooden crate stamped red letters on the side reading FRAGILE. It is possible it fell off a truck or maybe just floated out of some warehouse. Isn't there a warehouse just down the road?
Startled by the sudden noise at the door, Victoria takes a quick step back, eyes widening and quickly scanning over what she can see as her lips curve downward into the faintest hints of a frown. "Wonder if that's something of Elias's," she murmurs to herself with a soft sigh, reaching her fingertips somewhat reluctantly to open the door. She's clearly not the biggest fan of wading about in cold water, but she's also too curious for her own good. As soon as the door is pulled open, she's reaching for the crate, moving to pull it to her as fast as possible.
It must be due to the damage from the mishandling due to banging around on things while floating around or perhaps it was never properly sealed, but whatever the case is, the bottom panel gives away and the crate opens up. There is soggy packing materials which is largely bits of straw and foam which just get sprinkled into the water and start floating away with the current. What falls out seems to be some kind of religious artifact made of gold with embedded jewels. It is a cross with a teardrop-shaped loop at the top. Along the top loop it is studded with various colored jewels, likely diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. It doesn't take an Indiana Jones to recognize what this is. It is an Eqyptian ankh, that symbolizes life, and can also represent eternal life, immortality, reincarnation, or the afterlife. It is possible it is from Elias' warehouse down the road, but there is no tell tale signs or packing slips that prove that.
Victoria's eyebrows raise silently, and her hand plucks the jeweled item from the current, turning it over in her hands to inspect it carefully. She studies the gold for several moments, the shape and color of every gem, and her eyes narrow thoughtfully. Teeth chew on the corner of her lower lip, and a moment later she shakes her head in a silent decision. This isn't something of Elias's.
She leans out the door, turning each way to give a careful gaze about, a long sigh creeping from her lips once she realizes the owner of this object seems nowhere to be found. She shrugs a shoulder, moves herself back to the foyer with a grimace to her sopping wet boots, and pushes the heavy door closed, object still within her hand.
Before Victoria gets the door entirely closed, she spots a black van rolling down the road with its side sliding door wide open and a man hanging out of it with what appears to be an MP5 submachine gun in his hand. The van is going slow and they seem to be looking for something, it can't seem to be too much of a coincidence that Victoria found something valuable and at the same time, a van comings down the road with heavily armed me. The men inside the van seem to be mercenary types, wearing combat fatigues, tactical vests, and armed. All of it is uniform black. Bad news as well, but when they spot the house, they stop the van out front. Did they just make visual contact with the empty crate still sitting on the porch? Most likely, since the men splash into the water making their way towards the door. At this point, Victoria has had the door long closed, so what kind if plan is she going to devise to figure this one out? The Ankh itself seems to be valuable just from the gold and gems alone, perhaps even holding magical properties. Perhaps that is more reason to get rid of it too?
"Shit," Victoria mutters under her breath, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She leaves her back against the door for only a moment before spinning on a heel, turning toward her bedroom. Without much time for decisions, she grabs the oversized mattress and lifts, tossing the golden object underneath with only enough care to keep it intact. She brings the mattress back atop it, letting the comforter and fur drape back toward the floor.
It's then that she turns her attention back to the foyer, and likely to the men coming toward her door. As she takes the few steps back through the doorway, she reaches up without turning her head, grabbing a pair of knives that she slips into a boot as she goes. Folding her arms in front of her, she waits with a pointed stare to her door.
Making her way into the bedroom and tossing the golden ankh under the bed with a thud and clunk, it seems like the artifact is more sturdy than its base components might suggest. The sound of cursing can be heard as the sound of the wood crate smashing against a tree can be heard from outside, "Fuck! Where did it go?!" The yelling can be heard outside. Then there is pounding on the door with a heavy fist, THUD THUD THUD, "Open the door!" It doesn't seem like they are making any immediate effort to breach the house for now, but it does suggest they are upset and probably not the most friendly individuals. The sounds of splashing around is really telling to Victoria's supernatural senses, they are positioning themselves around the yard. Is there only three of them? It is hard to tell, but they are not being very sneaky, most likely because of the water prevents them from being it or the are just discount mercenaries.
Shaking her head, Victoria puts on a very innocent, yet very fake smile as she pulls the door open in response. Appearing surprised, her smile fades into a look of puzzled shock, brows knitting together and lips pursing briefly.
"Hello," she says, voice soft and measured. "Something I can help you with?" Her eyes flit between the figures outside her home, taking in each, as well as the water they're wading through so far out in the forest. Nobody comes out here on purpose, after all.
Perhaps one might expect this whole knocking could have just been a trap and maybe it is. But Victoria ventures forth none the less. With the door opening, she finds that there are guns aimed at her from various locations, but there only seems to be four of them, one more than she had seen before, but not by much. One of the men that was closest to the door, the one likely responsible for the banging on the door. An middle-age man with a close cut styling of graying hair, his build and stature is reflective up him being seasoned, but the others seem much more ify. He smiles in such a way that it feels icy cold, a fake smile hiding something dark. He speaks up, "Good evening ma'am. It seems something has gone missing and I am tasked to recover it. There is a reward for returning it to its rightful owners." And it is questionable whether they are the rightful owners to begin with. This team isn't the little girl walking the neighborhood putting up missing dog posters, this is a trained tactical team.
Drawing a careful, slow eye across the barrels of guns aimed at her, Victoria swallows once as she forces her expression to remain neutral. "Good evening," she smiles, turning to the middle-aged man. "I do hate to hear that something has been lost. Afraid I haven't been out of the house in days really, with the flooding and all. It's been uncharacteristic, for this time of year." Her expression turns almost apologetic, and she avoids sudden movements, opting to simply stand within the threshold of her doorway.
She does, however, draw a very, very careful breath inward as she addresses that man. So slow that one almost wouldn't even pick it up, she makes every effort to memorize his face, to catch even part of his scent. The faintest hints of annoyance show in her widened eyes as she continues to level her stare at who appears to be leading this operation, clearly not the most pleased at the surprise to her door.
"How unfortunate." The salt and pepper haired man states with, but with a touch of distain in his voice he continues, "Corporate office will be very disappointed in us. How about inviting us in out of the cold. That is only good hospitality and my men are cold and hungry." And when he says hungry, there is indeed hunger in his eyes as he looks Victoria over slowly with his eyes in a very lecherous stare. The men keeping their weapons aimed slowly start approaching the door and indeed the older man lets his hand fall on the hilt of the knife on his belt, "So what about it? Just let them rest for a moment and then we will be gone." Everything about this scenario at this point starts triggering alarm bells with Victoria's wolfish instincts, these men are predators in many definitions of the word.
"Oh, afraid it's not heated in here, and there's not much in the way of food," Victoria replies, setting her jaw with a stubborn, pleasant smile. "Besides, my neighbors should be by at any moment. They've been putting out sandbags for the flood, and all." She subtly shifts her position within the doorway, blocking most of it, though she realizes she's clearly smaller and outnumbered.
An intense, narrow-eyed stare meets the advancing men heading for her door and through gritted teeth she comments, "If all you'd like is rest and food, perhaps we can put the weapons away, yeah?" There's a low growl in her throat that she barely manages to surpress, the stare from the older man seeming to repulse her.
The salt and pepper haired man raises a hand, and the he brings it downward slowly, gesturing a downward movement, "It is okay boys, she is willing to be hospitable, so please, lead the way." He says gesturing behind Victoria and through the doorway, "I hope we aren't imposing too much here." He says, but there is a coldness in his voice and the politeness is superficial at best. But at the man's gesture, indeed the others do lower the rifles and start to cautiously approach, but they still keep their weapons at the ready and scan their surroundings, slowly sloshing through the water approaching the door. Whatever Victoria is planning, it is obvious the mercenaries do believe they are coming into her home.
"I'm happy to perhaps bring you some provisions to take with you, food or something," Victoria muses carefully, looking grateful for the lowering of the weapons, but clicking her tongue as she notes they're still too close for comfort. "You'll have to forgive me, I'm not really up for company this evening. However, if you'd like to leave a number, if I find anything I'd be happy to contact you, of course."
She draws a hand through her hair , then clasp both hands carefully behind her back. Once out of sight, her fingers curl into her palms, nails digging into the skin. Perhaps one she could handle. Four alone in the woods? She has her doubts.
"Oh, a woman in your condition carrying all those things? Poor girl, what you have, is it terminal?" The middle-aged mercenary asks, bluntly with a layer of feign concern that wouldn't even fool a child. His hand falls back to the hilt of his knife once more, "Lets stop playing games now. You are either going to let us come in or I will flay you alive and leave your remains dangling for all to see what happens to those that cross the Golden Shadow." The entire facade falls at this point and it is clear who these mercenaries are working for now. The men that were starting to stand down to a degree, shift to cover fire positions and their weapons go back to aiming at Victoria, "So, dear girl. Do you want to live another day and let us just take what is rightfully ours, or do you want to do this the hard way? Me and the boys like the hard way, I am actually hoping you do pick the hard way." The obvious in charge mercenary declares, his act long gone at this point and only hard and cold remain.
"There's no need for that," Victoria says with a few quick blinks of her eyes. "I'm sure you can see where that'd make a girl uncomfortable though, yeah? I hear the Golden Shadow can negotiate," she pauses to fold her arms over her chest, though it's only briefly before she continues, "So, just you. You can come in, hmm? I'm sure you'd be okay with that, after all," she reasons with an arched eyebrow and an inviting expression.
"Yes. I tried offering a reward straight at the bat. But I am glad the acts are being dropped at this point and we can get right to business. I know you have the Ankh, so lets make a deal." And the salt and pepper haired mercenary gestures onward into the house, "Lead the way." And he turns waving his men to stay put, "Hold a perimeter. If something goes sideways, you know what to do." He says ominously before turning back to Victoria, giving her a firm nod, "I am ready, Ma'am."
Victoria pushes from the doorframe, extending an arm inward. "After you," she states, moving aside to allow the man entrance into the foyer. "What the hell in an Ankh?" her puzzled voice wonders as she regards the rest of the men, each in turn with a mixed expression and an almost smirk. "Come on, I've even got alcohol," she states.
"I am an old combat veteran, so please forgive me, I insist you go first. I don't care for entering into places with people at my back. Just call it an old nervous habit, one I am not ready to give up yet." The middle-aged mercenary explains, not willing to possibly make the same mistake an unseasoned mercenary would make. The mercenary's eyes flicker to Victoria's ring on her finger and mentions, "Mercenary to mercenary, give me a bit more credit than that. You know how these things turn out in these scenarios." Obviously he recognizes the symbol engraved there.
Victoria shrugs a shoulder, relenting a bit at that. "Yeah, alright," she says, though she doesn't turn around either. She simply takes steps backwards, keeping her eye on the man as he follows until they're both within the foyer, and he obviously has to move ahead of her so that she can close the door. As she does, her fingers fly to send a text quick enough to be a blur before she shoves her phone into her pocket. "So. This thing you're looking for."
Ash receives a text from Victoria stating that there are armed men outside her house trying to hurt her. And when Ash arrives, that very much seems like the scene. There are three mercenary types all dressed in black with MP5 submachine guns pointing towards her, even though one shifts this stance to aim at Ash. Victoria herself seems to be standing in the doorway with her, a large grizzled looking military type with salt and pepper hair. He clearly stands out as the man in charge, but tensions seem to be very high like they could explode at any moment. Fortunately, with Ash arriving, she has reinforcements! The grizzled mercenary grumbles, "Just give us what is ours and this is not going to end badly for you." And the tone of his voice, it isn't confident that it won't end badly regardless of what happens.
Ash receives a text from Victoria stating that there are armed men outside her house trying to hurt her. And when Ash arrives, that very much seems like the scene. There are FOUR mercenary types all dressed in black with MP5 submachine guns pointing towards her, even though one shifts this stance to aim at Ash. Victoria herself seems to be standing in the doorway with her, a large grizzled looking military type with salt and pepper hair. He clearly stands out as the man in charge, but tensions seem to be very high like they could explode at any moment. Fortunately, with Ash arriving, she has reinforcements! The grizzled mercenary grumbles, "Just give us what is ours and this is not going to end badly for you." And the tone of his voice, it isn't confident that it won't end badly regardless of what happens. THERE ARE FOUR MERCENARIES TOTAL.(fix)
Ash rides up on their rusty, painted scooter, swinging off a leg without approaching. A glance goes to Victoria, though with their sunglasses on, she can only *assume* that it's a look of support. "Woah, woah, what's this?" Ash raises their hands as the man points a gun at them. "What's happening? I don't think we want any trouble!" They look afraid, glancing between the various men with a fearful expression.
The man in charge, the mercenary with the salt and pepper buzz cut turns to face Ash, making a few steps towards them, "This woman is just going to return some missing property. She has been very helpful with us in locating it. She is about to hand it over, right?" And the mercenary leader turns back to Victoria with a cold expression on his face, "Because we wouldn't want some bad men to come and do some bad things to get it, would we? So, lets just agree it is better in our possession."
"I believe," Victoria states with the same leveled stare to the middle-aged man, "We were going to discuss. Like I said, I'm not really sure what you're even looking for. You all came knocking, well pounding really on my door." The innocent, polite smile of hers returns, arm still held out in a gesture that invites that man inside. "I've stated he can come in, but only him," Victoria says to Ash in a low tone, and then she's addressing the man again. "No guns on them either, please. Seriously, you all jump to such extremes."
Ash asks innocently, their drawl shortening as they affect fear and concern, "I'm so confused... are you sure you have the right house? She doesn't go outside - why would she have your things?" Behinds their sunglasses, they watch the men's expressions, stances, observing to gauge when and how they should step in.
"Alright, that is fucking it. This situation is starting to get out of control. Lets clean up the scene and we can torture there two for the information if they live." The lead mercenary pulls his knife from his belt, "I will take care of this one, you boys take care of that new arrival." And the salt and pepper mercenary turns to Victoria with a growing grin across his face, like a serial killer getting to the best part of the day. The other mercenaries, their faces covered, whether they are nearly as giddy as their leader is, it is uncertain. What is certain however is that several submachineguns are aimed in their direction. This is about to get real messy reach quick here.
"Or, you could tell me what you're looking for. You realize you gave some vague name, yeah? No description, no nothing? How the hell would I know if I've seen it?" Victoria shrugs, remaining strangely calm but at the same time holding her hands up. "Such impatience. There's some saying...catching flies with honey? So yeah. Describe this object you lost and calm down a bit, and maybe nobody has to get hurt."
Ash is standing by their scooter, hands held high, watching the four armed men outside of Victoria's doorway with the growing hint of a smile on their face. A mischievous smile. They may be about to do something.
And some of the other people that Victoria texted was Elias and Juniper, which they both arrive since after all they are neighbors. When they arrive though, it is clear that there are four mercenary types in Victoria's flooded yard. One is standing at the door brandishing a knife. The other three are pointing their submachine guns at Ash. The one by Victoria is an older, middle aged mercenary, likely the leader, yelling at the tale end with Juniper catches, " you boys take care of that new arrival."
Once the two new arrivals on top of Ash, then counting Victoria, the odds are even up and the mercenary commander holds his knife out to the side, "You know, ma'am, it is just one of those days where you have to have a good sense of humor right? So lets talk this out." His tune changes pretty quick, holding a hand out to his men so they stand down, "Just give us the Anhk. You don't want to make enemies of the Golden Shadow do you? It is much more profitable just to play ball and we can all have a good business relationship." NOW it is back to negotiation apparently.
"A good business relationship?" Victoria says thoughtfully, flicking her eyes up and down the man in front of her. "You have yet to answer the most basic of questions." She pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger in momentary frustration. "What is it? Why do you want it?" Once her hand is removed from her face, she's glaring at him, her eyes narrowing as she grows impatient. "Assuming I have seen it, and that's a wild assumption, what are you offering even?"
Juniper is apparently just strolling on up to this scene, without fanfare of course, but without stealth either. The blonde appears entirely nonplussed by it, however, particularly given the odds against these men right now. She was looking to Victoria however for /her/ thoughts on the matter, which are made pretty clear in the next moment. Obviously biting back some choice words of her own, the woman just wanders up the front yard, getting perhaps uncomfortably close to the other three. Uncomfortable for whom exactly? Not her, by the looks of it. She's just a basic white girl in her pumpkin spice coloured sweater and looking unmenacing though pretty nosey and unusually relaxed.
Ash sighs, and get to work. They were already starting when the man changes his mind, then decides to go with inertia. They move to reach into their sloth bag with their left hand, big enough to hold a weapon. Their right hand goes behind to support the bag, all the while drawling, "You know that Bo Burnham song? 'Have you felt sad and lonely? Have you ever felt two feet tall? Have you ever thought, 'Man if only I was anybody else at all?'' That song? The chorus goes something like, 'Kill yourself!'" And they grin and grin, moving forward aggressively.
"The Ankh is just a family heirloom.." Which the mercenary commander barely gets out everything just goes into pandemonium and he is winged by a bullet from one of his own men, slumping against the door frame, leaving a trail of blood there, "Fuck, stand down!" But it is not heard. There is spraying of bullets from the the mercenaries as they are engaging individuals that are either invisible or don't really exist at all. One of the mercenaries goes down as he peppered with bullets from friendly fire. It doesn't take long however for them to start realizing what is going on and start to recover to engage the obvious targets in front of them. The commander himself pushes himself off the door frame and turns to Victoria, "You bitch!" He says as he starts at her with his knife, blood trickling down his fatigues.
bending halfway, Victoria draws a blade of her own from a boot, with a thankful look to Ash, a grin to Juniper, and finally, a smirk to that middle-aged man advancing at her. She moves to step to the side and behind him, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You're getting blood on my floor." Then, he's calling her a bitch, and she grins unsettlingly. "I can be," she says softly, tone low and a mixture of firm and pleasant mingled together. "So maybe it's time to get the fuck out of my house." There's a pause, a quirk upwards of her lips and she smiles, "Please."
Bending halfway, Victoria draws a blade of her own from a boot, with a thankful look to Ash, a grin to Juniper, and finally, a smirk to that middle-aged man advancing at her. She moves to step to the side and behind him, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You're getting blood on my floor." Then, he's calling her a bitch, and she grins unsettlingly. "I can be," she says softly, tone low and a mixture of firm and pleasant mingled together. "So maybe it's time to get the fuck out of my house." There's a pause, a quirk upwards of her lips and she smiles, "Please." (fixed)
Ash grins, laughing, as they get to have some fun. "Back up, Vic!" They call out in a pleasant drawl, as their bracelet glows again. And so does their hair bead, though it being behind them makes it easier to miss as well. They wave their fingers like an orchestrator, as they shift their position and moves to use Juniper like cover - perhaps a bit rudely. "It goes, 'Kill yourself! It's over, mull it! There's a trigger, pull it! Get it through your head, 'it' being a bullet!'"
Speaking of blades, Juniper's trusty knife is out of her boot sheathe in a fluid and quick motion as she continues her closing in on the two remaining mercenaries on the front lawn who were momentarily distracted otherwise. This pumpkin spice bitch is fast and within moments she is upon a man and with zero hesitation has plunged her knife through the side of his neck. Any resistance to a regular hand plunging that knife is ignored by this one. There are no songs from her, no flashy magic. Just murderous intent for the guns that were trained on her pack.
Victoria glances curiously to Ash, eyebrows lifting in a mixture of surprise and a hint of amusement as she takes a couple steps backwards, though she does call to them, "Leave just one?". Her eyes glance for just that, turning momentarily to Juniper with a relieved exhale before she finds her target, reaching to grab one of the remaining mercenaries from behind by the hair and draw her blade to his neck. "Drop the gun," she hisses in his ear, nails scraping against scalp.
The salt and pepper haired mercenary starts to turn to get a good piece of Victoria with his knife and then it goes all black for him as he reaches up to cover his eyes in pain with his free arm, "Damnit!" He says, flailing his knife at Victoria, but to no luck. Splashing water flying through the air as Juniper advances on one of the mercenaries with supernatural speed. He raises his submachine gun to get Juniper in his sights, but it is too late, the knife sinks deeply into his neck providing a very fatal hit. A gout of blood spraying all over, covering the blond haired woman. And then finally, the remaining mercenary's expression goes blank and he eats his gun barrel with a BOOM and his body landing into the water with a kersplash!
The last mercenary leader though, a knife to his throat, very familiar with that feeling drops his knife. His pistol is still hanging from his belt, "Alright... I yield."
"My floor. My lawn!" Victoria frowns as she glances around.
Quite irate it seems with the amount of blood and annoyance caused to herself and her pack, Victoria yanks on that hair within her grasp, pulling the man's head back until he can hear her quiet whisper to him. "I'm going to leave you alive," she hisses, though the knife in her hand presses against flesh firmly. "You're going to go back and make sure that I don't get any more visits. That none of us do, yeah? If we see your trinket, I'll let you know." She frowns, clearly waiting for an answer, and then turns to Juniper and Ash as well to invite their input.
Juniper is flicking blood from herself where it gathers in thicker rivulets while she sloshes through water towards where Victoria has the older merc by the hair and throat. "I'll be taking that," she announces with a saccharine voice as she takes that pistol sighted on his belt. While she's there, however, for good measure, the blonde she-wolf takes the mercenary's dominant hand and... breaks it. Ignoring any inevitable shouts of pain from the man, she flicks her intense hazel gaze to Victoria next. "You don't have to let him know," she says with a slightly crooked grin.
"Yeah. I get it. I will accept that deal." The mercenary leader says, "No more trouble. I know when a shit show of a mission is not worth getting myself killed over, so I will just call it a wash, good?" And Elias walks out sloshing through the water from the back lines where Juniper ran off from, he notes, "You guys work fast. I didn't even have time to think about all that." He says with a grin creeping across his face, "Mercy hrmm? Alright, I guess that works I guess." The mercenary leader waits for Victoria to make the final decision. There is no resistance when Juniper takes his pistol though.
Ash giggles, kicking the bodies with the heel of their bare feet to ensure that they're dead, then checking their bodies for goodies. "You know, that song's actually about how it's hard to fight depression when songs encourage you to just 'be brave' or 'roar'. When you should actually just seek professional help and support. Because if you just do it alone, relying on song lyrics like those, you may end up killing youself. Don't do what the songs say, get help." They get up, chuckling, saying, "Too bad this guy didn't hear the full lyrics." There's also a bit of glee when Juniper gives him something to remember them by. "Mercy, or a warning?"
"I'm working on my overuse of niceness," Victoria grins to Juniper. There is a very slow withdraw of the knife from the mercenary's throat, though she does draw a line of blood from clavicle to shoulder for good measure. "A warning," she smiles, hand still firmly gripped in strands of hair. "You said to me, something about one in my 'condition'," she pauses, eyes narrowed and lips set in a grin. "I'm not always going to be this way," she leans forward to tell the man, and there's another sniff- she definitely has his scent. With that, she lets go of his hair, shoving him forward.
The mercenary rolls his shoulder with a wince, more from the bullet holes in it than Victoria's cut, but none the less he is creating a mess as he puts his hand there to stem some of the bleeding. No argument, no threats, just a somber realization that it is time to leave. He climbs into the van he arrived in, driving off back the way he came, back to the north. Ash searching through the mercenary's belongings, there is no personal items or any identification at all. They just have their weapons and tactical gear. Looking around those, there is blood splatters on the wall of Victoria's house, which will wash off easily enough, but the spray of bullets into the siding give it a rather lived in look, but the kind of that might appear living in a rough neighborhood. Either way, the threat is now gone. Hopefully Victoria will hear no more of the Golden Shadow.
Juniper palms the pistol with a little look of interest briefly before she checks in with Victoria. "You good?" she asks simply, an easy smile for the brunette given there. "I mean, at least the flood will help clean this all up, right?"
"Yeah I'm good. Their little trinket is in the house," Victoria grins. "They were assholes so...couldn't really justify just handing it over." She exhales softly. "Thank you both," she beams.