Her Gun to His Head || Jinx x Garou

"This thing'a yours they took — what's so special 'bout it, anyway?" Garou prodded.

Jinx only managed a murmur in response. She was curled up in Silco's chair, with her arms wrapped around her legs, her face pressed into her knees. It was beginning to feel like a long night…

Garou appeared to let his head roll back in his chair after her non-reply, perhaps to rest his eyes. Though, he arguably had the least reason to be feeling worn after the night's events — none of it was really any of his problem.

'He is still here, though…' she thought to herself.

The sound of footsteps ascending the staircase outside had her perk up. It sounded like several people, however it was only Silco and Sevika who entered once they'd reached the door.

Jinx hurriedly hopped up and slunk over to the side of the room, planting herself against the wall.

Garou and Sevika seemed to share some sort of knowing look, as they had previously, however the attention of the room was soon directed at Silco, once he'd taken his seat.

He ran a hand through his now disheveled hair, however he remained silent as his eyes seemed to slowly drift between Garou and her, and back again. She found it difficult to meet his gaze.

"While it may come as unfortunate news for those being woken in the night," he finally began, "now that the gemstone has been taken, there truly is no time to lose — interrogation of our second Firelight prisoner has us confident that we haven't been fed a false location for their base of operations. We plan to have it taken before dawn breaks…"

Silco turned to address her specifically, as he continued to explain the plan.

"They've been using the old, underground ducting system to access the place, however both descriptions seem to account for a large, biological tree at its centre, implying direct access to sunlight… we believe it to be some type of overwrought, glass dome of Piltovan build, which I've been told there is indeed some record of — a type of atrium structure between the older apartment blocks in the Southern District."

Jinx searched her memories, on the off chance that she'd unknowingly stumbled upon such a place in the past.

"What this means," he continued, "is that we have the ability to approach from both angles — the ducts, and from above…"

She was almost certain they'd both arrived at the same plan.

"So, we blow the glass — rain it down on them…" she said, gritting her teeth a little.

Silco hummed in agreement, though he didn't elaborate any further. Instead, he turned to Garou, who'd been laying back in his chair, examining his fingernails.

Silco took a measured breath before speaking again.

"There's a nice, soft bed waiting for you in a hotel across the street from the bar," said Silco. "I've told them to expect you. I'm sure you'll be welcoming of a place to lay your head after all of your… troubles over the past week."

"But w—" Jinx began to protest, but Silco held up a hand directing her to remain silent.

Garou casually raised an eyebrow, seemingly perplexed by the offer. He glanced briefly over at Jinx, then back at Silco again.

"Eh, don't bother," he said darkly, rising and strolling out of the room.

Jinx stood uncomfortably in silence, while Silco murmured something to Sevika, who also proceeded to take her leave.

Her father turned to her after a moment, with his usual perceptive gaze.

"What'd you do that for…?" she pouted.

"I offered him a choice, just now — whether he'd realized it or not," he replied plainly. "You'll find little loyalty in a character like that, Jinx…"

She looked at the floor despondently. "He coulda helped… or, whatever…"

"…Come," he ushered, rolling up a paper map he'd just finished notating.

He placed it in her hands, after she'd trudged over to him. After a moment, she sighed and hopped up onto his desk to sit across from him.

"I know that it's been a long night…" he commiserated.

"Lotta that going 'round lately…" she sulked.

He hesitated for a moment, before reaching for one of his cigar boxes. It was the one on which she'd doodled all of those purple animal faces, when she was younger, the one in which he kept his—

"I offer this only as a last resort..." he warned, holding his small Shimmer injector. "For if you find yourself fading— in the shoulder, or the thigh should do."

Jinx looked at him, unsure what to say.

He slowly held it toward her. "Not more than a single dose, though…"

"Uh, okay…" she agreed, letting him place it in her other hand.

"You'll have roughly three hours," he explained. "I'd like you to take a boat — they'll ferry you around Wharf District and through the southern shipping lanes, where you'll get off, and then the map will show you where to get into position. Sevika will be doing the same for the ground crew."

She nodded along, absent-mindedly spinning the Shimmer injector on her finger.

"If you keep yourself oriented in the direction of the sea, you'll see the flare signal when it's time to pop the lid — planted explosives would be preferable. Use… Pow-Pow to pick off any who may try to escape on their boards."

She was kinda pleasantly surprised he bothered to remember the name she'd given to her gatling gun… though probably only to salvage her mood, if anything, she figured.

He paused, as though in thought.

"…Can I count on you, Jinx?" he finally asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

She leaned forward, nodding her head.

"I can do it," she assured, desperately hoping he believed her. "Don't worry— y'know, no more pesky Firelights after this…"

Their eyes met for a moment, and part of her was terrified of seeing doubt in them, as she often did…

Not this time.

The feeling of relief might've at least been enough to lift her spirits for the moment. It would've, if not for, well…

It didn't matter. It's not like he'd owed her anything…

Silco briefly raised his finger to her chin, gaining her attention.

"He won't be the last, Jinx…" he assured her, reading her mind as always.

"Wh— no, it's not that…" she lied.

He patted her on the shoulder.

"If you should need an extra pair of hands for carrying your gear, we have people to spare—"

"God, no," she recoiled, "rather have a bit of a sore shoulder than deal with some bore's idle chit-chat…"

"Very well… go on, then," he kindly urged, "they'll be waiting for you at the north-most Wharf dock."

She closed her eyes briefly, nodding her head at him.

"Okay," she replied.

They shared one last look of goodbye, as she shuffled out of the room.

~~~~~

~~~~~

Jinx occupied her short walk back down with making a mental checklist for all of the gear she'd need to bring — she figured that a damned helper would be needed after all, to her dismay.

Coming up to the entrance to her workshop, she examined, with disappointment, the exploding nail trap she'd taken the time to re-arm earlier.

'Not deadly enough to kill a stupid Firelight — you're on the chopping block, buddy,' she thought to herself as she looked upon the dried blood spatters on the ground.

Careful not to trigger it nonetheless, she shut the door behind her, preparing to embark down the steps to her workshop.

She slouched over for a moment, feeling a wave of exhaustion come over her.

The device Silco had placed in her hand before suddenly looked awfully tempting…

It'd wear off by the time the action started, though, she thought.

She stood up, and attempted to pull her eyelids open with her fingers, as wide as they'd go. It gave her a dizzy feeling, as they relaxed back into place.

'Well, here goes nothing,' she figured, hopping down the steps until she reached the edge of the turbine blade.

Yet, again, something felt off…

'Oh…' she thought, seeing her loveseat occupied by somebody other than Mylo…

He casually looked up at her, once he'd noticed her presence.

"Tell me this ain't a doll o' me…" Garou commented from across the cavern, at the apparent similarity in both of their hairstyles.

"You— how'd you get past the booby-trap on the door?" she demanded.

He merely cocked an eyebrow in response.

She shook her head, and approached her armory.

"No, it's not a doll of you," she said as she walked, "moron…"

He was silent, for a moment.

"Rather I'd have gone 'cross the street, like your old man wanted…?" he prodded.

"I've got no preference…" she replied, attempting to mask a bitter tone.

"Well, anyway," he went on, "you got some pretty weird stuff layin' 'round here…"

She ignored him, causing him to hop up and saunter toward her.

"What's that needle thing you got in your hand…?" he asked.

She desired to focus the conversation.

"I assume you're down here 'cause you do wanna come with on this thing, but you didn't want Silco to know, because god forbid he thinks you're anything other than what he already thinks of you… have I got that right…?"

He shrugged.

"Ain't like he thinks you need help, or anythin'…" he retorted.

"I don't…" she responded.

He reached for one of her bombs, but she slapped his hand away.

"Not that one," she insisted.

He raised an eyebrow again.

"You're mad…" he guessed.

"Just—" she huffed, "tell me why you're actually down here…"

"Y'know… get your thing back," he shrugged.

She looked at him trepidatiously.

"What…?" he said.

"…Why do you care?" she wondered.

"Didn't say I did," he replied, "I just, y'know— why's it gotta be a big deal…?"

He seemed to shy from her gaze a little.

"What— you feel sorry for me, or something…?" she prodded.

He turned his nose up at that idea, at least…

"Nah, it ain't like that," he said. "Listen— when I, uh… when I was little, these three losers used 'ta always take my stuff, y'know… no matter how well I'd hide it, they'd always find it…"

"Oh…" she said quietly.

"Back then, I always wished I was strong…" he continued. "But, I never did anything 'bout it…"

She couldn't help but search his face for a sign of insincerity, but she found none.

"…Anyway," he grunted, "you really draggin' that thing halfway 'cross town?"

He was motioning to Pow-Pow.

"Nope, you are," she said, shoving it into his chest, with some satisfaction.

She wandered over to the other side of the turbine to try to find her pink and purple duffel bag.

"So… this is really where you sleep, eh…?" Garou wondered.

She popped her head out from the other side of the steel pillar, a crinkle in her brow.

"Uh, yeah… why…?" she wondered.

"…Just seems, distractin' I guess…" he replied, "colorful lights an' everythin'…"

She laughed.

"That's what some people say 'bout me…" she said.

He stared around a little more, making her a bit anxious.

"What is the doll for, anyway…?" he asked. "Punchin' bag?"

She looked over at Mylo.

"On worse days, sure…" she sighed.

She'd finished packing everything, but she figured she had room to fit just a little more. She hopped over to her painting bench and pocketed a couple of green and pink rattle cans.

"For the finale," she said as she passed Garou, with a wink. "You're not gonna like how we're gettin' there, by the way…"

"Eh…?" he grumbled, following her out of the cave.

~~~~~

~~~~~

The air was still, and quite warm.

As nice a night as it was, Jinx was finding herself agitated waiting for the night's events to play out.

She turned to Garou, who lounged beside her, with his feet dangling off the edge of the open balcony. The wide, glass dome lay just below them, though little could be made out below its surface — decades of oxidation from the sun had seemingly turned the material opaque.

She supposed it was a lucky break that she hadn't had to worry about being seen as she'd laid a ring of packed charges around the circumference of the dome. Garou had helped… she had found it difficult to resist giggling at the squelching sound his wet shoes had made beneath him as he walked, though — they'd met some ocean spray on the boat ride over.

"Your feet all dry yet?" she pestered.

"Yeah, yeah…" he sniffed. "Lucky you were standin' behind me, eh?"

She let out a giggle.

"…You two're real cute," said a sarcastic voice from behind them.

"Quiet, Bangs," Jinx said to the woman, turning her neck to look at her. "What is it you do again—? Chaperone?"

The woman temporarily lifted a lock of dark hair from one side of her face to give a half-hearted 'got my eyes on you' gesture.

"What're we waitin' on, anyway?" Garou contributed. "A signal…?"

"Red flare," the woman answered, "from where we docked."

Garou peered out into the night, struggling to locate the spot she was referring to.

"…Not from around here, are you, kid?" the woman asked.

"Eh…?" Garou responded, unpleasantly.

"Challenge him to an arm wrestle or something, sheesh…" Jinx chimed in.

The woman scoffed, pulling her rifle toward her and beginning to clean the inside of the barrel to occupy herself.

"Least we're all still awake, huh?" she continued, removing the clip from the rifle for a quick inspection.

Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Gets harder as ya get older, don't it?" she mocked.

"Not wh— wait, what's he doing…?" the woman urged.

Jinx barely turned in time to see Garou's entire body drop down from the balcony, landing on the glass below with a thud.

"Hey…!" she called. As she spoke, she noticed the small plume of red smoke in the distance, by the shoreline.

She looked down again. He appeared to have landed on his feet.

"The hell's he on—?!" the woman said, from her side.

"Uh…" Jinx sounded, noticing that her remote detonator was no longer in her bag.

Garou had almost marched up to the apex of the dome, and he held the device in his hand.

"He wanted to be the first in that bad, huh?" the woman concluded.

Jinx let out a flustered sigh, reaching for Pow-Pow's ammo belt and feeding it into the weapon.

"I'd cover your ears for this one, toots," Jinxed warned.

Garou was standing on the top of the dome, seemingly giving them both a moment to prepare themselves.

Jinx began to grin a little.

She gave the woman to her side a little look over, and then held her thumb out to the sky, for Garou to see.

~

BOOM.