Priority Target (aka the Snatch)

[amaia]

Amaia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The features on her face softened as her spirit calmed for a moment. She then opened them, her eyebrows furled, and an angry scowl took precedence on her features.

"Listen to me you gorram idiot, you said to me in orbit that you had these supplies for two thousand, with delivery. And now you tell me it's six?"

"Things change, missy," the shop owner said with a smirk.

"Not that much. Sounds to me like fraud. Maybe I should call in some Alliance brass to check it out?"

"I'm not scared of the purple-bellies," the owner said matter-of-factly. Amaia growled, both at the inefficiency of her threat and at the slang. "I can part with the boxes for five, but no less."

"You said two."

"And now I said five."

"Three," Amaia said, "And I don't burn your shop down in anger."

"Four," the owner said sternly, "And you never come back."

"Deal," Amaia said as she pulled out the cash and plopped it on the counter. "I'd be glad to never come back here."

The owner laughed. "So where am I sending this stuff?" he asked.

"The Horizon. You can't miss it - Dragonfly class, over by the docks. The name's plastered on the bow." She turned to leave but stopped when her eyes were caught by an old Alliance combat shotgun.

"That safetied?" she asked the owner as she walked to the weapon.

"Nah, fully functional. You wanna add that to the tab? Five hundred."

Amaia grinned. "Alliance judicial code section," she stopped herself, "something or another - in any case, this hardware is highly illegal." She turned. "I'm not an expert, and the threat before was a joke, but I'm pretty sure equipment like this the Alliance would like to hear about." The owner shuffled nervously. "Tell ya what," Amaia continued, "Give it to me for two hundred and I'll forget where I got it from."

"Deal," the owner said. Amaia handed over the rest of the money and then walked over to the shotgun. She folded the stock of the weapon and stowed it in her bag, said goodbye to the owner, and headed outside.

The sun was bright and warm. People shuffled about on the planet, and according to her watch, she had a few minutes. She started to head down the street when her eye was caught by a particularly beautiful gown. She stopped for a second; the craftsmanship was definitely surprising for Persephone. For a split second, she thought about getting it, but her better judgment stopped her - she had no use for such things, and even if she did, she would never hear the end of it from the crew.

She turned to walk, and then her eye was struck by something else. A woman in the crowd, a stranger, who looked more familiar than that. Amaia squinted her eyes, trying to identify from where she had seen her.

"Granddaughter of one of the Londinium upperclass," she could hear Miller's voice in her head. "One Arabella Hart. The Alliance would like the political goodwill for bringing her back. Consider her class-one."

Amaia quickly turned away before Arabella noticed her. She reached into her pocket and, after a moment to make sure the woman was out of earshot, took off for the docks, triggering the communication device.

"Sang to Horizon. I think we may have something. Tell the captain and Mr. Miller that we have one of his gems on-planet. The prodigal granddaughter."

[arabella]

Arballea took some things Faye said confidently. Today, on Persephone, she was walking around with carefree. Of course, she was scared. Rade was somewhere not far, just in case they need to hightail it back. But in general, she felt at ease. Her hair was shining in the sun, half pulled up in a miniature ponytail so most of her hair hung down, but wasn’t right in her face. She wore a flowing baby blue top over one of her tank tops and a peasant like skirt that fell just below her knees. Her flats clung around her feet, dusted over from wear and tear over the past year or so. All in all, aside from the nagging fear in the pit of her stomach and the back of her mind, she felt safe right now.

There was a produce stand that caught her eye. It was an older man, that many customers were passing by for the larger stands. Arabella walked right up to him and inspected his fruits and vegetables. She gently squeezed them for bruises, smelt them and looked over for mold and brown spots. They were all fresh. She spoke in fluent and musical Cantonese about haggling a price. He had had these for a few days now, was worried no one would buy them. For 300, she could have everything. Arabella was good at haggling though. She got him down to 200. As she loaded everything up onto a separate dolly cart, they exchanged the money. She slipped him a little extra. She felt bad for the poor man. Wishing him good luck, she leaned on the cart and went on her way. She needed some meats. Canned items were already in the cart, enough for atleast a month. There were canned meats and vegetables, plus broths and rices. Arabella had used some of her money along with what Ari had given her. There were still 389 left for her to use towards other things. Breads, meats and maybe some snacks to grab quickly. Arabella hadn’t disclosed how much she had. Actually, she had been in touch with Bettie a couple days prior and some money had been sent along to Arabella. So they were all set.

”Rade? Do you remember if anyone has any allergies?’ She swore profusely under her breath. She couldn’t remember if any crew members had allergies. Hence, she had picked up both peanut and vegetable oil. The fruits vegetables she could put in the fridge to keep them fresh longer. For at least two weeks, at most three. The meats would be in the small chest freezer. To spread out over time. She thought well about these things. Breads could last up to three weeks in the fridge, plus she could put a back stock in the freezer to thaw out later. While some people thought about this, she knew which breads froze bread versus others. Plus which produce would last longer. The lettuce would have to be eaten sooner rather then later. The carrots, tomatoes, apples, zucchini, strawberries, cherries, oranges, and one watermelon would last a little bit longer.

She turned to look for Rade. All she saw was a head bobbing in the distance. She pushed closer to him and tapped him on the shoulder. ”Did you find anyplace with cheeses?” She couldn’t tell what he had been looking at. There were so man carts around. One with meats were off in the distance and she left the dolly-cart with Rade while she talked to the owner. She was able to get four pounds of beef, four pounds of pork, and two pounds of lamb. That took another 227, leaving a total of 162 left for bread and some snacks. Plus cheese. Oh, was Ari going to be surprised with the cart of food Arbaella and Rade brought back. She set the wrapped packs on the cart, in a crate that was lined with ice she had made sure to bring with her. Hopefully Daye didn’t show up. Speaking of which…

”You know Faye went into a fit when you left? Took it out on everyone. I’ve never seen the Irish anger before. But that, that was something else. She was still angry when I stepped away, taking it out on Brian and Delilah. When I got back after meeting you at your dad’s place, I got a good verbal lashing. She thought she knew I had seen you-which technically I had-and interrogated me about it. Then continued to scream through the Riley about it. You leaving, me knowing where you were but not telling her, Delilah and Brian not doing enough to make sure you didn’t leave…Took me a couple hours before I could leave today.” At first it had been annoying, but now she found it slightly amusing to think about.

[radegrasan]

Rade was hot. He curled up the sleeves on his beige shirt and just walked behind Bella, watching how she got all of the supplies they needed for the Lenore. He had no idea how to cook, let alone what ingredients one would need to make a meal. But as long as it tasted good, Bella could put whatever she wanted in it. It's not like he was allergic to any of it, which appeared that was something Bella was worried about. She asked him if he knew if someone had allergies, but he had no idea.

"I've got no idea about who's got allergies." Rade responded. "But if one of them's got one they'll know themselves what they can or cannot eat, right?"

As they walked further, Rade noticed a kid who he recognized as a pickpocket. He had caught the kid once before, and gave him a beating after Rade caught him redhanded with his hand in his pocket. Unfortunately for the kid, that pocket was empty. Rade stretched his arm and pointed at the kid. With a scared look on his face, the pickpocket neatly walked around Bella and Rade in a circle while looking at Rade's guns, that appeared to frighten him.

"Gorram pickpocket." Rade thought. "You'd think he'd a learned by now."

”Did you find anyplace with cheeses?”

"Nope." Rade answered. "But I'm sure that if we follow the scent of sweaty feet, I'm sure we'll find it."

Bella then told him about what happened after he had left the Riley. How Faye took it out on both her and the rest of the crew. But Rade knew that if he told Faye he was leaving, he just would've been a part of that himself, that he'd get yelled at just like the others. But he found it admirable that Bella didn't tell her where he was, even though she knew.

"Well that was exactly what I expected ol' Red would do." Rade responded. "Sorry that you had go through all of that. And I appreciate you not telling her where I went, even though you knew."

Rade smiled at Bella. It sure felt great to know he had a friend who had his back, despite anything.

"But all that's in the past now." He continued. "I'm certain things are going to be a helluva lot better on the Lenore, for both of us."

[gordonmiller]

Gordon sat in the cockpit, scouring frequencies, listening in on the traffic hoping something useful would turn up. With him was Arianna, but he didn't have any attention for her, so he didn't know what she was doing.

He had been there all morning, and the longer he was there, the warmer it became. He had already removed his jacket and tie, but he certainly wouldn't remove anything more. He made a mental note to buy some other, lighter clothes for the summer at the first opportunity he got. Maybe later that afternoon he'd fly the skiff over to the better part of Persephone and buy some clothes.

"Sang to Horizon. I think we may have something. Tell the captain and Mr. Miller that we have one of his gems on-planet. The prodigal granddaughter."

Gordon jumped up. He had a grin on his face. He knew that if they waited some time, one of the fugitives would feel comfortable enough to show themselves in public.

Frankie wanted to reach for the comms, but Gordon beat her to it.

"I got this, miss Arianna. Thank you." Gordon said.

"Miller to Sang." Gordon responded. "Don't lose her and make sure she doesn't see you! I'll be right there."

He put down the horn and turned toward Frankie.

"Inform the captain." Gordon ordered. "Tell him one of the fugitives is planetside and that Sang and myself are already on route to capture her."

Gordon then grabbed one of the communicators and his jacket, and put on his jacket and the communicator on his ear. He then ran out of the cockpit, and toward his own quarters. He opened one of the cabinets and grabbed a pair of blue gloves and put them on. He then took a syringe that was filled with anesthetics and put it in his pocket. Normally he'd be more careful with something like that, but Gordon knew he had to make haste. After he grabbed everything he needed, he left his quarters and ran toward the cargobay where the skiff was.

"Raxo! Let's go boy!" Gordon ordered his dog as he jumped into the skiff.

His dog lay down panting at the cargobay doors in the wind that was coming from outside. The poor creature was hot, and immediately reacted when his master ordered him to come. The dog knew they were going outside and jumped into the skiff's passenger seat.

Gordon then started the skiff and flew out of the ship, ready to go find Sang and capture Arabella Hart.

"Miller to Sang." Gordon said. "I'm on the way, what's your position?"

[amaia]

Amaia looked around for any markers of her location. "A bit east of the docks," she told Miller, "And heading into the market area." She watched as Arabella talked to some other male, and added into the comm, "We have two targets - I say again, we have the objective and an acquaintance, male, bit over six feet, slight build."

She pulled the radio away and looked into a window of a nearby shop. The display showed various kinds of decorations and furniture. It was mostly gaudy; the kind of faux-rich that was popular among those who couldn't afford to deck their home in furniture from Londonium.

She glanced back and didn't see the two looking at her; Amaia was playing this carefully, and didn't want to be the one to lose the mark. She quickly flowed back into the crowd, staying a good distance behind her prey. She looked them over again, and added to Miller: "I don't see any weapons on either, but I can't get a good visual." A thought suddenly overcame her. "All I have is my sidearm," she told Miller. "I hope you brought some non-lethals, or this may get ugly, especially with her friend there."

Amaia knew that the brass would frown on the death of Arabella, but then again, she wasn't worried about the rich kid pulling a gun on her. It was the man with her that worried the Alliance agent. Amaia could see the guy trying some kind of heroic scenario, and if that were the case, Amaia thought on the issue long enough to decide that sending the man to an early grave was acceptable if it meant getting Arabella.

[gordonmiller]

"I don't see any weapons on either, but I can't get a good visual. I hope you brought some non-lethals, or this may get ugly, especially with her friend there."

"I've got everything we need with me." Gordon responded as he took a turn. "Just stay on them."

His dog was glad that his master took him for a drive. Like all dogs do, he hung his head out of the passenger's side to catch some wind. Gordon drove fast though. He knew every second counted, and they had to catch Arabella Hart before she would head back to wherever it was she was hiding.

The male that was with her didn't bother Gordon that much. If they played it right they could take him down at the same time they grabbed Arabella Hart.

It didn't take Gordon long to catch up with Sang. He stopped the skiff a little ways from her, and got out. His dog wanted to get out too, but knew he couldn't unless his master told him to.

"Stay in the skiff, Raxo." Gordon ordered his dog. "I'll be right back."

Gordon never left without Raxo. He knew that if things would get ugly here, the dog would just be a whistle away. Carefully he approached Sang, making sure both Arabella and the unidentified male wouldn't see him.

"Alright Sang." Gordon said. "Talk to me."

[arabella]

Arabella wrinkled her nose. No one had told her if anyone had had any allergies. Bah, this was going to be an interesting first couple weeks until they got some money to get food to meet everyone's needs next time around. She sighed with a shrug of her shoulder. "I suppose, I just want to be cautious. Sometimes I cook very close to other items which may contain something someone is allergic to so I just want to know." It was a cooks way. Making sure the food was perfect for everyone else-but herself. She shook his head and chuckled at his next comment. "For your information, not all cheeses smell like feet. Just your sweaty feet smell like cheese."

As far as she knew, he hadn't really had much to drink since that night. Arabella hadn't seen a man so vulnerable-or willing to tell his story. It was nice he was able to trust her. And she hadn't told a soul. Not even to write it down in one of her journals. That had been something she kept private. It was a thing with Rade-something he obviously had felt guilty about close to his heart. Arabella had her own things like that. The rape was one. Then there were memories from home as well.

Well, it hadn't exactly been home to her, but something of the sorts. Arabella supposed she could call it though because Bettie as well as the other cooks were always like family to her, plus a few of the servants. Then there had been Kyle, who she supposed was like family. Either way, it was different from the streets she was walking through now. Her grandmother would scoff at Arabella shopping for meat and now bread without a care in the world. And in such plain clothes! With a Browncoat! Oh the immoralities of it! But Arabella wouldn't care if her grandmother were here at the moment and said something to her. She had a real friend she could talk to often and who she trusted. That was more then the foundation she had with her grandmother.

She bit at her lips as her thoughts mulled over and she reached for a couple loafs of bread. The outside was nice and crunch, but fell through easily. Soft center. The perfect kind of bread. Rade's voice broke over her testing of the breads. "No big deal. If Brian had asked me anything, it might have been a different story. But, I think he knew it was time for you to go. And maybe me too." She paid for three loafs. One to leave out and two to freeze. "I simply left the rest of my fare on the bed for her and left." A chuckle escaped her lips as she turned to focus on Rade. If only she could see her face now. The thought of Faye finding a neatly cleaned room and a note with her remaining fare must have sent her for a spell. Enough meals to last you wo days in teh fridge, plus leftovers. Here's the rest of my fare. Have a good day.

Maybe they didn't need cheese after all. They could wait on that right? Arabella could leave the last bit of money for herself. Her charm bracelet sent a tingling noise as she paused at a cart with stained glass figurines. Little cats, horses, swans, stars, moons and other things, all pieced together with bits of stained glass. What caught her eye was the little charms. She could use a new one for her bracelet. The one shaped like a butterfly caught her eye. It was all blue and purple bits of stained glass. She haggled to use 10 of the 98 she had left of her money for it. The woman wrapped it carefully before she handed it to Arabella.

She turned to Rade with a grin on her face. "Yes I think it will be. And this shows how I feel about it." Arabella unwrapped a corner to show Rade the charm. Not like he was really interested, but she would show him either way. "I'm finally free and prospects are looking better. Just like a butterfly." She wrapped it back up, setting the tape securely in place before she handed it to Rade. "Can you hold onto it? I don't have any pockets and don't want to mix it with the food."

With that, she gazed at everything she had purchased. Satisfied with the abundance of produce, meats, breads and canned products, she felt ready to head back. "Anything else you need before we head back?"

[radegrasan]

"Myself no, I'm good." Rade responded as he put the charm in his chest pocket. "But I promised Ari to go see if my dad had a... erm..."

Rade reached for a paper in his other chest pocket and unraveled it. Ari had written down what it was. It wasn't urgent, but the engine would do better with it.

"Ah here we go." Rade said. "A harmonic damper, whatever that may be."

Rade raveled the paper back up and put it in his chest pocket. He had to make sure he wouldn't lose it. Mechanics and their parts, at least flying was easy.

He walked with Arabella a couple of blocks until they reached his father's repairshop, not knowing both Sang and Miller followed them from a distance.

"Wait here and stay with the cart." Rade said while going in. "Dad's shop is pretty small, I doubt it if it would fit in. I'll be right back."

Rade walked in and the bell that was placed above the door made a sound. Behind the counter of the shop was a door, and a few seconds later Rade's dad Kyle Grasan appeared in it.

"Hey dad." Rade said.

"Hello son." Kyle responded. "Back already?"

"Yeah, I'm doing some last minute supply shopping with a friend." Rade answered.

"Oh, and you thought you came to see your old man before you left huh?" Kyle asked.

"Well that, and our mechanic needs a part. I've got it written down here." Rade said while handing the paper over to his dad.

Kyle looked at the paper, and then at his son again.

"I think I might have one of those in the back. Let me check." He said. "In the meantime, why don't you ask your friend in? You're not ashamed of your old man, are you?"

"No dad." Rade responded. "But we've got a cart with supplies outside that wouldn't fit in here."

Kyle then went in the back of the shop to see if he had the part. It didn't take too long before he came back with the part in hand.

"There we go." Kyle said while he put the part in a box. "Hope it'll do."

"I'm sure it will dad." Rade answered. "And if not, our mechanic's an ace in what she does, I'm sure she'll make it fit somehow."

Kyle then took a look outside through the shop window at Arabella. Seemed his son sure knew how to pick a friend.

"That your friend?" Kyle asked. "She sure is pretty. Reminds me of your old friend Katie. God rest her soul."

Rade sighed. He didn't want to think about Katie. At least not now.

"Yeah..." Rade responded.

For a few moments it was quiet. Until Kyle interrupted the silence again.

"So, I got another letter from your sister." Kyle said. "Said she misses you. She's still torn up about the two of you not talking anymore though. Maybe you should write her a letter."

Rade looked up at his dad. He sure was glad Bella wasn't there to hear it. He hadn't told anyone yet that he had sister. Especially not one who was an officer in the Alliance Navy.

"Look dad, I really gotta go or my captain's gonna have my ass. And I want to start with a good clean slate on the new ship." Rade said. "I'll be back in a couple of days, we'll talk about it then."

"Okay, but I'll hold you to that son." Kyle responded. "Just remember that your sister loves you."

"And I love her too dad. It's just that..." Rade said. "Just never mind it now. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Can I tell her that in my next letter?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah... okay dad." Rade answered.

"Alright then I will." Kyle said. "Safe travels, son."

"Bye dad." Rade said as he left the shop.

"Alright." Rade said to Arabella. "Guess that's all. Let's head home. We can cut through this alley over here."

Rade took the cart and started pushing it in the alley. Maybe his dad was right, maybe the time had come to start having contact with his sister again. After all, Kylie would be coming home one day. Real question remained was how he was going to tell that he had a sister, who was an Alliance officer, to a ship filled with Browncoats?

[amaia]

Amaia glanced over her shoulder to see Miller standing there. "Good time, Miller," she said. "Like I said, two contacts, unknown armament. They have a cart with supplies in it, but it seems to be just food. I'm thinking a ship - we should figure out where all those goods are going."

They continued to follow, weaving in and out of the crowds. Arabella turned to a small shop with charms and the like, and Amaia was afraid for a second that they had seen her. She quickly grabbed Miller's hand, entwined her fingers with his and whispered to him, "Play along," before changing her stride some to give the appearance that the two were together.

They continued following, Amaia watching intently for opportunities to take their target. "If this happens in the street, we need to avoid violence as much as possible," she said, half to herself and half to Miller. The two marks stopped at some other mechanics shop, and Amaia dragged Miller by the hand into a nearby general store to watch through the window. "This isn't it," Amaia said. "Too visible."

The two started to move again after a few minutes, and Amaia was in quick pursuit, still keeping up the act for the sake of deceiving the marks and the people on the street. Arabella and the man cut into an alley to try and shortcut their journey.

"How fortunate!" Amaia said. "I'll head around and catch them from the front side of the alley. You come up behind and we'll have them!" She patted Miller on the shoulder and then sprinted at full speed up the street to get to an opening to the alley that would cut them off. She kept looking in the alley entryways - nothing, nothing, and then she caught a glimpse of the two moving at a languid pace. She went ahead another block and quickly cut in. She caught her breath and composed herself. She walked into the alley and turned left, and found herself looking a way down the alley at Arabella and the man.

Amaia kept walking calmly, as though she were simply using the alley as a shortcut herself. She stood ready to go for her gun, and knew the second Miller started the abduction that she would need to arm herself. She smiled slightly - how she loved this job.

[gordonmiller]

Gordon wanted to object to the first mate's plan, telling her they should both go from the back, but it was too late. Sang had already taken off, leaving Gordon no choice but to follow. He knew that if the man that was accompanying Arabella saw either of their faces they had to kill him, and that was something Gordon wanted to avoid.

To Gordon, a kill would only be legit if there was an order to kill that person. Killing people with no reason however was just cold blooded murder to him. Gordon may have been a killer but a murderer he was not.

It was with some preservations about Sang's MO that he started prepping himself. He took the syringe from his pocket and took the cap off. He made sure there wasn't any air left in it, and tapped the needle to make sure the anesthetic would come out. He then took a deep breath and started sneaking toward Arabella and the man, with his back just bend a little and his feet barely touching the ground, until he was within reach of the young girl.

He then grabbed Arabella, holding his hand in front of her mouth, pulled her head to the left side and injected the anesthetic in her neck. She practically didn't have any time to resist, and Gordon felt how her body became totally limb. He then put her down on the ground gently and slowly reached for his silenced pistol, with his eyes on both the man and Sang. The man hadn't noticed a thing yet. He was hoping he didn't have to kill anyone that day, yet Sang's way of operating probably would make him do otherwise.

[amaia]

Amaia kept walking towards the two, waiting as Gordon pounced on the first of their two targets. Arabella dropped silently and limply; a testament to Miller's skill.

Miller brought Arabella's body down without a sound and then drew his weapon. He was definitely prepared, and Amaia appreciated it, but now it was her turn. She glanced up and caught the male's eyes, and with a quick smile and 'innocent' glance away, made sure his attention was focused on her. Amaia silently praised the companion training from a previous mission, throwing on just enough mystery to steal the man's attention without a word.

As they came closer, she gave a coy smile, looked away. A few steps, they'd pass, and she'd be able to get the jump on him. Plan B was that the man noticed Arabella's absence and turned, and Amaia got the jump that way, or Miller discharged his weapon and it didn't matter - although Miller looked frustrated enough without having to deal with a fatality, so Amaia hoped that they could get the man.

On top of it, she was curious who she was, and figured that answers could come as readily from him as they could from Arabella.

There were only a handful of steps. Amaia pushed her pace as much as she could...maybe five steps. Four. Three...

She glanced up at the man before she finally looked away shyly, trying to avoid his eye at the last second. It worked. He glanced up - predictable reaction - as they passed, and before he could turn to glance at the girl who had passed him, Amaia had drawn her gun and swung with more than a bit of force, connecting with the base of the man's neck. His body went limp and collapsed on itself with a muffled thud.

Amaia took a breath and looked at the two unconscious bodies. "Well that's done. Very good job with Arabella," she said. She grabbed some twine and burlap from the produce in the cart and began to bound the man before he woke up - she figured Arabella would be unconscious for long enough that such measures would be unnecessary.

"So, you want to grab the skiff or babysit our guests here?" she asked Gordon as she holstered her gun.

[gordonmiller]

"I'll get the skiff." Gordon answered as he holstered his gun. "I left my dog in there and I'm not sure how he may react to you yet."

He looked around to make sure no one had seen him and his shipmate. The alley was still empty. He dragged Arabella's unconscious body between two dumpsters so it would be more out of sight.

"Nice job on the boy." Gordon said as he walked over to the bound unconscious Rade. He squatted near him and started searching him. It seemed like they were lucky, the boy was carrying three guns on him, from which one of them was concealed on his back. Gordon didn't take them from him, he was in no position to use them anyway.

Apart from guns, Gordon also found a pilot's license, which troubled him. If this kid was a pilot, there was a high probability that he was on a crew, and that Arabella was on that crew as well. And the supplies they were getting only backed up that assumption. It was likely they were returning to their ship and crew. So if they didn't return, someone was going to look for them.

"Rut!" Gordon cursed. "This one's a pilot. And where there's a pilot, there's a crew."

Gordon put the pilot's license back on the kid. He didn't look at his name, just in case they needed to kill him. It was easier to kill someone for Gordon if he didn't know his name. But Gordon was a soldier too, and he knew that the boy was a prisoner too now, and there would be no killing prisoners.

"We'll have to take them both." Gordon said. "We can use him as leverage if princess decides to get rebellious."

Gordon stood up from his squatting position and straightened out his jacket.

"I'll get the skiff." He said to Sang. "Keep an eye out. I'll be right back."

Gordon then ran out of the alley, and started running back to the place where he left the skiff.

[amaia]

Amaia went through the pilot's effects after Miller, taking the time to remove the weapons from him, throwing them into her bag. She then pulled the wallet from the guy, and looked at the ID card. Rade Grasan, a certified pilot for commercial and private spacecraft. She looked at the picture on the card, a meager smile on Rade's face, and then looked at the unconscious man leaning against the wall beside a dumpster.

He'd have to answer some questions. So would Arabella. Amaia wanted to know who the crew was. What ship they flew, the designation, the registration, the captain. Who might be coming after them.

Amaia pulled her pistol out from its holster and laid it on the ground, easily in reach and quite visible just in case Rade were to wake up. And she sat, and waited for Miller to bring the skiff around. This was the moment she hated, waiting to get out of town, feeling vulnerable and exposed in the meantime.

[arabella]

Arabella nodded in understanding. Ari had them all out and running things. But it was worth it really. They had a place as long as they wanted-or they didn’t get kicked off. Plus, she didn’t mind standing out with the cart. Gave her time to thing over plenty of things. ”I’ll be here. Why I brought ice. For errands.” If they didn’t have the ice, it wouldn’t have been worth it to buy the meat for the crew this early. As she stood in the sun, she watched Rade and his dad. He looked like his father and she smiled before she leaned against the outside wall. She could fell her hair as it brushed along the tops of her shoulders.

She didn’t fit in with this world. Arabella knew that. Her life previous has been completely different from the street she stood one. It had been one filled with glamour-ball gowns, late nights, precious gems, and the finer things. Here, those were things only seen in society pages or on the screens. Arabella missed some of the people she was surrounded by. But those things…they felt hollow to the love she could have had if her father hadn’t sent her away. But things here fit for her as well as that life did. While she was on the run, she had a friend. She knew how to do something which could keep people going. She wasn’t judge about her looks or her mannerisms. Arabella Hart could just be herself.

Kyle had been her pull from that world. He was looked down upon-he was the lowly stable boy. But Arabella fell into the whirlwind. It was very much a no-no that some society ladies did it, but not like she did. She had fell in love, while the others used their male family hands for lust. It was many late nights, early mornings and stolen afternoons. Sometimes, they felt like an actual couple-out in the open. Everyone who loved Arabella helped her escape to their quarters-to cook and just spend time together. They even kept to ones who whispered things to her grandmother away. So she wouldn’t find things out. Until the day the note was passed during a ball. And they had been seen. Everything was ruined and a marriage arranged within the next two months. She hadn’t even been able to see him aside from the few times when she went riding. And it had been heart breaking at that point for her.

Rade came out into the sunlight with the part in his hands. She turned her head before she used her body to stand up straight. Before she could grab the cart he had it. ”Home sounds good.” It rolled off the tongue. The Lenora was their home now. With Ari, Olympia, Connor, Leighton and Haven. She decided to sneak a treat. Haven dug through some of the vegetation as they went through the ally and grabbed herself a strawberry and took a bite out of it. Juicy and sweet. ”I’m thinking of making home made potatoes tonight. I know a recipe that is to die for. Just don’t know which meat to cook.” Normal conversation. Without stuttering or nerves. It felt nice to have that with someone.

They weren’t alone.

Two others had suddenly appeared out of no where. Arabella froze instantly, before she could udnerstnad if they were to be trusted or not. Apparently not. They were literally right there when she saw them. In her and Rade’s faces. She didn’t have time to scream. Arabella screamed and bit against the blue glove as she flailed her legs, to keep whatever fate came her way. The needle hit her neck like a cold prick fo reality. She was going back to Londinium. Alone. And her only worry was Rade and the rest of the crew. ‘Lenora’ being the last, whispered word from her mouth before the darkness took over. Before the world fell silent and went black. Before she knew Rade’s fate.

[radegrasan]

Rade could feel someone touching him. The girl, did she knock him out? She must have. They were getting mugged. His hands were on his back, he felt cold steel on his wrist. No, this was no ordinary robbery. He opened his eyes, if only slightly to see the girl that took him out sitting there. Next to her lay a gun. He couldn't see Bella. Rade knew he had to do something.

He extended his leg and kicked away the woman's gun. In the blink of an eye he jumped up and knocked her off her feet. He sat on top of her and began to smash her face with his head. He headbutted her once, twice, and with the third Rade could hear a crunching sound, hoping it was the woman's nose that broke and not his skull. He headbutted her a fourth time to make sure she was unconscious, and he could feel something wet on his face. Her blood. She wouldn't be getting up in the next few minutes, and Rade knew he had to be fast because she looked like she was waiting for someone.

Rade turned around and tried looking over his shoulder. Almost blindly he went through her pockets, and it took him a few seconds before he could find a key to his cuffs.

After he freed himself, he looked for Bella. She was laying in between two dumpsters. Rade took her in his hands and felt her neck to make sure she had a pulse. Luckily she did. But she was unconscious.

"Gorrammit!" Rade said. "Wake up Bella, come on wake up! We gotta go!"

It was then Rade noticed a dot in her neck, that looked a bit bloody. It looked as if she was injected with something. Rade realized he needed more than his voice to get her awake. This would require Leighton's attention.

Rade put her down gently and then collected his stuff again. Placing his guns back in their holsters and the rest of the stuff just loosely in his pockets.

He then grabbed Bella and lifted her up so she would lay in his arms. Rade couldn't move very fast this way, but he started walking out of the alley with Bella in his arms anyway.



Gordon had collected the skiff fast enough and was speeding to get back to Sang in the alley. He was glad the snatching had gone without any trouble, yet he wondered how the captain would react if they brought in Arabella and a second prisoner.

He took the last turn and parked the skiff right outside of the alley. He jumped out, his dog got out too, and had a big surprise coming his way.

The man somehow had managed to free himself, knocked out Sang and grabbed Arabella.

Even though in the back of his head Gordon found this admirable, he wasn't going to let anyone get in between the Alliance performing their task of bringing home a runaway.
He grabbed his silenced pistol and pointed it at the man, knowing he'd kill him if he'd tried anything stupid. His dog Raxo stood by him growling, yet he wouldn't move unless his master told him to.

"Stop!" Gordon yelled. "That's far enough! Now put down the girl gently and keep your hands where I can see them!"

Rade knew the game was up. He had no idea or plan to get out of this one. So he complied. He put down Bella and stood over her, looking at the man. He knew what was going on. These guys were either Alliance or bounty hunters, and they were going to take Bella back to Londinium. Take her back to her grandmother's, and make her live a miserable life, a life she didn't wanted for herself. Rade looked down at his friend, who was luckily unconscious so she couldn't see all of this. He was going to lose her. The only friend he had in years.

No. He wasn't going to stand for it. They had no right to take her back. They had no right to make her live a life she didn't wanted! Life was good now. For both of them. And he wouldn't allow anyone to take that away.

Rade reached for his revolver. In less than a second the revolver was drawn and fired. It hit Gordon in the left shoulder. As he fell down, Gordon fired his silenced pistol. It grazed Rade in his left upperarm, yet due to the adrenaline he barely felt it.

As Gordon fell down, Rade, grabbed Bella and started dragging her while keeping aim at Gordon, who was crawling behind a dumpster for cover. Rade fired a couple of shots, making sure Gordon would remain where he was. Rade then holstered his revolver, grabbed Bella with both hands and started dragging her away from Gordon.

However, Rade had totally forgotten about the attack dog that was present as well. Gordon didn't.

"Raxo, attack!" Gordon yelled.

As he saw the dog coming toward him, Rade knew he had to make a choice.
Keep dragging Bella, and get eaten alive by that vicious attack dog, or leave Bella and live to fight another day. After all, he knew where they would be taking her.

Reluctantly and with pain in his heart Rade let go of Bella.

"I'll find you! I promise I'll find you!" Rade yelled as he started running from the dog.

Rade started sprinting. He took a right and came out in another alley, where there was a wall he could jump over and get rid of the dog. He just hoped he would reach it in time before the damned mutt would bite a chunk out of his ass.

Rade reached the wall before the dog was able to catch up with him. He put his foot in a hole in the wall and grabbed the ledge. As he put his body over it, the dog reached the wall as well and almost bit Rade in the foot.

Rade let himself fall down on the other side of the wall. He quickly got up again and ran toward the docks. Back to the Lenore, hoping he could get help in time.

Meanwhile, back in the alley Gordon had came out of cover and was dragging Arabella to the skiff. He put her inside before heading back to see if Sang was still alive. The gunshot wound ached, but Gordon didn't have time for it now.

He kneeled down near Sang's body and felt her pulse. Luckily she was still alive.

"Sang!" Gordon said. "Sang, you're still in one piece. Come on wake up!"