FicWad

Mission 09: Double or Nothin'
He opened his eyes slightly, sighing to himself. /To think it had to come to this/. He brought his face up to the face the monitor before himself, on the other side of which he could see four crowded people: one man and three women. He took a deep breath, trying to push emotions aside for only a few minutes. /Hold it together Kei, you can do this/, he told himself mentally.
"Well?" the blonde-haired woman, whom he presumed was Armada, on the other side of the screen asked impatiently.
"I have a...proposition for you," he continued, still struggling with the emotions hidden under his apparently calm face. He had practiced for most of his life at hiding beneath a deadpan exterior, but now what he felt was swirling around inside of him, burning from the inside out. In short, he felt utterly exposed to these people.
"Go on," Armada urged, seated directly in front of the communications window this time. The man who'd contacted them was an oddity-he had almost wild bangs but long straight black hair. His face was fair, but he certainly didn't look like a weakling. And he wore some sort of olive green jacket...or maybe uniform? It didn't matter.
He took a long pause before continuing. Is he...afraid? Trunks thought he saw what looked like a great sadness in the man's eyes. When he looked to his comrades though, they either didn't notice anything or seemed unfazed by it. He turned his attention back to the man in question once he began to speak.
"Six months ago, the Tyrian general Chiro resigned," he continued, speaking with a voice that commanded authority. The signal faded for a moment and snowed over. The crew watched as he kept speaking but words couldn't be heard.
An annoyed sigh came forth from Armada at the sight of the transmission fading out. She leaned forward and adjusted the dials on the console, and after a few seconds, the signal came back in full force.
"...he'll be in Ute in two days' time, staying at a local casino by the name of Lind's Hammer," the man finished. "Your job is to track down Chiro and keep the general in custody. Once you have Chiro in custody, you'll contact me for further orders.
"I'm offering a substantial amount of money-anything you want. But you must comply with the given orders. Understood?"
"Deal," Armada agreed. The man nodded and cut off the transmission.
"Do you think we missed anything important when the sound cut out?" Marice questioned her leader.
"Doesn't seem like a tough job," Laiserta commented with a laugh.
"Wait a second; a casino? Don't they have extremely high security due to the amount of money being exchanged on the floor?" Trunks asked. He was correct; anywhere money was moving there was bound to be extra security.
"Yep," Armada responded, rising from her seat. She looked to her comrades while continuing. "Which is why we can't screw this one up."
***
A young couple casually strolled through two huge glass doors and into Lind's Hammer, without a care in the world. The dark-haired woman seemed to be leading her significant other around, as if she knew exactly what she was doing and he didn't have a clue. Not only did the young man have no clue as to what exactly was going on, he stuck out rather sorely-especially with lavender hair. The young woman continued dragging the man along, her right arm linked with his left, albeit forcefully. Once they reached the front counter inside the casino, the woman stopped before the clerk and released the vice-grip she had upon her partner. She stood resting both arms upon the countertop while talking to the older man behind it.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where to find tricolore?" she asked in a fairly innocent tone while the man next to her rubbed his arm gingerly where she'd held onto it.
"Yes ma'am. Head straight back past Jukun Hollow," the older man started, pointing around the counter and wall behind himself, and down the corridor leading into the heart of the casino, "then take a right. Keep going until you see it; tricolore is the most popular game so it shouldn't be hard to find." He gave her a smile and nod.
The raven-haired woman raised up her irregular yellow sunglasses. "Thanks," she responded simply, taking back the arm of the young man she'd held only moments ago and smiling all the while.
After out of the greeter's earshot, the young man finally spoke. "Geez Lai, you don't have to squeeze so hard," he said in almost a whisper.
"Better to look plastered, Trunks. That way, they won't expect us," Laiserta laughed slightly. "Drunks get all the attention, but are always considered harmless in the way of methodically planning a break-in-or something along those lines."
"Well at least you could tone it down a bit. We're not supposed to be distracting security yet," Trunks reminded her with a semi-condescending look.
"Gotta make an entrance," Laiserta smirked to her comrade.
If this is just the entrance/, Trunks thought, /then I don't want to see what comes later. He outwardly shook his head.
"There they are," Laiserta piped up upon seeing a large crowd around a good-sized table. Trunks mentally compared it to a craps table, being slightly larger and in the same shape, but left the thought to himself as Lai would have no idea what he meant. Laiserta took off at an exponentially faster pace, Trunks in tow the entire time.
"Two; four; eight," the dealer spoke to an older woman at the table. "Cube of two; free turn," he spoke, returning three discs to the woman's hand. Laiserta and Trunks found an empty spot at the table to park at; Laiserta being on the end and standing while Trunks sat next to her, watching the game and (hopefully) learning.
The old woman had a fair face for her age, probably including a few cosmetic surgeries. She had pure white hair, wore a sparkling sapphire dress with a large, white fur boa and a bulky diamond necklace. If she wasn't wealthy, she fooled everyone in the room. She held the three discs in her hand, each about the size of a crushed pop can. One was red, another blue, and the third green. She juggled the discs in her hand for a few moments before speaking. "Acquittal," she called out, placing the three discs back on the board-which looked like a multicolored disco ball. She didn't appear too happy about her earnings-she probably dropped a few hundred thousand beta on this game alone.
Laiserta seized the opportunity and reached, snatching up the three discs and holding them in her hands with quite a smirk on her face.
"New shooter," the dealer announced fairly loudly. At this, the faces of some of the more bored people gathered around the table lightened as they glanced over to whom had taken over the board.
"But Lai," Trunks started in a whisper, "we didn't-"
"I got it covered," the Taydran answered, reaching into the small, dressy jacket she wore over her dress and pulling out a stack of beta. She placed the cash on the table, and announced to all how much she'd placed down-"Five thousand beta."
The high rollers surrounding the table laughed, and Trunks felt slightly embarrassed. In front of people who could drop five hundred thousand beta on the first round, Lai uses...five?! It was ludicrous, yes.
"What are you doing?" Trunks asked annoyedly while the wealthy around them laughed.
"Relax. I've got it under control," Laiserta reassured him.
The snooty woman from earlier snorted. "Infants are not permitted to gamble." At her comment, the gathering of well-to-do people around her laughed in an echoing unison.
"You don't have to put it all on the line to win big," Laiserta retaliated, raising an eyebrow from behind her trademark sunglasses.
"Talk is cheap," another young man with an almost angry expression spoke. "Show us action."
"You got it," Laiserta answered. She sniffed slightly, standing upright while dropping the three discs into one hand, then the other. After a few seconds of this juggling act, she reached back with her right hand and flung the discs upon the table, at the same time calling out "Double."
Laiserta smirked while the others around the table leaned in to watch more closely the events taking place. The table lit up with lights and numbers, flashing across at an insane pace. The three discs bounced around the table for several moments, causing the board to light up over every area they touched. Once the three discs stopped moving, the board's number slowly quit scrawling every direction. Upon the red disc, a "2" appeared, followed by a "2" on the blue, and finally a "4" on the green.
At the sight of the 'roll,' the entire table was in uproar-save Laiserta and Trunks, the former still smirking and the latter rather confused. Through the roar, Trunks was able to hear the casino attendant say "Double of two; winner." With that, the dealer pushed a stack of betas towards Laiserta that made her five thousand look like lunch money.
"Hmph. Luck," one of the younger women said aloud at the results of Laiserta's first 'roll.'
"Luck?" Laiserta questioned with a smirk. "I'm just getting started."

At another entrance to Lind's Hammer, a young blonde woman walked in, wearing a white dress and dark square sunglasses. She nodded to several attendants and bellhops as she passed them, and finally stopped at the reception center.
"Name," the middle-aged female clerk asked.
"Sol," the woman replied with a slight accent. She placed her right hand upon the counter while she waited.
"Sol..." the clerk mumbled slightly to herself to remember the name. "Ah! Of course!" she spoke up suddenly while turning her attention from the computer in which she scoured for the name only moments ago to the woman before her. "Y-your suite is ready anytime; I can send for someone to take your things-"
Lady Sol cut off the clerk with a wave of her hand. "That's okay. I think I'll try my hand at a few rounds before heading upstairs. Thank you anyway," the foreigner responded politely, heading off entirely on her own.
A young casino attendant wiped at the sweat on her forehead. /These uniforms are too hot! /she thought while pushing back a bit of her reddish-orange hair from her eyes. She looked up towards the entrance to this floor and saw a lone, blonde-haired woman coming in. After pulling her hat down over her eyes even more, the young girl nodded to no one but herself and headed off calmly to greet the woman she'd seen enter.
The attendant didn't hurry, yet she didn't dawdle either. She took an easily accessible route, yet not so out-of-the-way as to attract attention. After making her way through the rows of slot machines, she met with the foreign woman on the midway.
"May I be of service ma'am?" the teenage worker asked politely.
"In fact, you may," the older woman replied. "I am looking for a private room," she elaborated, even though the employee of Lind's Hammer knew all too well what she really meant.
"Certainly. Please follow me," the girl answered with a slight bow. She casually yet cautiously ventured forth with the woman in white following behind.

"Winner," the dealer announced yet again. The table cheered-or at least a part of them did-as Laiserta scraped up her earnings once again. Through the cheering, Laiserta looked to her left and through her peripheral vision saw a young redheaded Euphorian leading a taller woman along the other end of the casino. At this, Laiserta beamed and grabbed Trunks around the neck with her right arm.
"Look how much I've won dear!" Laiserta exclaimed with a giant grin while wringing the neck of her faux-significant other. Trunks would have responded, had he been able to breathe.
"Showoff," another young rich girl snapped, obviously annoyed at Laiserta's outburst.
Laiserta grinned inwardly at the girl's response, as well as at the fact that security was slowly heading her way. She then decided to up the stakes, and slightly released her grasp around Trunks's neck. The demi-Saiyan turned towards Laiserta at the change of events only to see her fly up on the table.
"Isn't this great dear?!" Laiserta nearly yelled out at Trunks while she literally danced on the tricolore board.
Trunks wanted to sink away to the floor. Kami! This is insane!

The Euphorian casino employee glanced to her right and saw security in all nearby areas tearing after a dark-haired woman dancing on a tricolore table...and her lavender-haired date who was mortified at the scene. The teenager slightly chuckled to herself as she stopped at a door.
She turned to face the woman behind her. "In here ma'am."
"Please," the foreigner started, "after you."
"But I must insist ma'am-"
"I would never go before youth."
"As you wish," the Euphorian slightly bowed and turned her attention to the door where she swiftly unlocked it. Everything was going as planned, and the two would never be noticed. She opened the door and entered, the woman behind her following.
Armada grabbed the outside door handle behind Marice and took one last quick glance around the room to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that their endeavor was unseen, she deftly entered the room and closed the door behind herself. She didn't look forward yet, as her attention was focused on locking the door behind herself. As soon as she'd finished locking it, she turned around as she spoke.
"So Chiro..." Armada turned and looked to the figure behind her. "...!" She was cut off mid-sentence as she looked to the figure seated at the only table in the small room. Soft yet sharp brown eyes, long brunette hair tied back in a bun, full figure-
"...a woman?!" Marice croaked out.
Chiro stood quickly, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the two women standing before her. "What do you want?!" she near-shouted, half-ordered at the two.
Marice was struck speechless by Chiro's (British) accent. Armada was dumbfounded still by the fact that Chiro was a woman-she'd thought for certain that she knew whom Chiro was when assigned the mission.
Chiro gave the two an incredulous look, as if they were morons. At that moment, a loud knock was heard on the door to the tiny room. "Open up! We know you're in there Chiro!" a loud male voice commanded.
"You..." Chiro started, looking towards Marice with a menacing gaze.
"Whoa!" Armada broke in. "They're not ours!" she cried out with a wave of her hand.
Chiro looked between the two suspiciously for a moment. "All right," she finally spoke, "we'll have to work together then."

"HEY!" Laiserta yelled out as her left wrist was being yanked in one direction and her right ankle in another by casino security.
"Get OFF of the table ma'am!" one of the guards sternly commanded while reaching for her flailing right upper limb from the floor.
Laiserta growled and then swung around with her left foot and planted a decent kick on the man's forehead. With her metal-soled shoe hitting him, the young man collapsed backwards. At the sight of their comrade, the other guards on the floor instantly dove after Laiserta, breaking the table and sending all down in the process.
"Trunks!" Laiserta called out as five guards pounced upon her once the tricolore board hit the floor.
The demi-Saiyan's head snapped at Laiserta's cry and he clearly saw that she was being overpowered. Trunks himself, however, wasn't really having much of a problem dealing with 'security'-it was just a matter of keeping the men away from him without hurting them too badly. But at this point, mercy went out the window.
Trunks almost effortlessly flung the two men clinging to his arms away from his sides, one landing flat against the side of a slot machine and the other crashing into another tricolore table. He cleared the small gap that was created in the rush after Laiserta jumped the table and started prying the guards away from her. He lifted one by the back of his uniform and the employee was sent reeling into the still scrambling crowd. Another guard went flying before Trunks could reach him due to a low blow from Laiserta. Trunks smirked and shook his head at his comrade's tactics. He then reasserted himself and sent another security guard flying with a mean roundhouse from his right hand. With only two guards left on her right side, Laiserta nailed one in the side of the head with her left foot and the other with her left fist in the face.
Free from security, Laiserta quickly rose to her feet and reached behind her head, pulling her rod out from her back beneath her jacket. The two had no time to share words for as soon as they looked to one another; both could see another round of security headed their way-this time, with weapons in hand.

"What are we going to do?" Marice pleaded outwardly to the two older women whom she occupied the small round room with.
"If we can get past the men on the other side of the door, I can lead us out through another passage," Chiro answered.
"Are you sure about this?" Armada asked while the men pounded on the door.
"I didn't exactly come in through the front door, you know," Chiro smirked with a slight laugh.
"I guess anything's worth a shot at this point," Armada basically agreed, not having thought of a better idea-or anything else, for that matter.
"So how do we get past /them/?" Marice questioned, pointing towards her left with a thumb. At that moment, the pounding stopped. The three looked to one another in curiosity...and a slight confusion. Suddenly, a huge thump was heard on the door, shaking the room and those within it. After another large hit, the wood began to splinter on the inside of the door.
"Battering ram," Armada narrowed her eyes at the door as she spoke.
"I've got an idea," Chiro spoke up, moving to the hinged side of the door and standing back against the wall.
Armada's eyes widened at Chiro for a moment, before returning to normal as she spoke. "But how will you know when-"
"Just stand on the other side of the door, and when I tell you, open it," Chiro commanded, motioning to the opposite side of the deep crimson door. Armada nodded, and pushed Marice behind her while moving to stand where Chiro had indicated. All fell silent for a moment, and Chiro closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Armada stood ready at the door handle, but both her and Marice couldn't take their eyes away from the former general. The few seconds that passed seemed much longer to those who stood in the room. And Chiro then broke the silence. "Now!"
Armada flung the door open in milliseconds, removing her arm from harm's way as soon as possible. On cue, several strong men and their metal battering ram came tumbling through the door, flying atop one another in their charge. Chiro leapt over the bodies and ran out the door, Armada and Marice following.
Chiro ran along the back wall of the casino, looking for some sort of door.
"You do know where we're going, right?" Armada inquired while running.
"No, of course not," Chiro responded sarcastically over her left shoulder. The three ran for only a few more meters before Chiro stopped before an out-of-place door. Her right hand ran over the surface of the door until she found a small indentation and pressed it. The result was that a small square piece of the wall to the right of the door slid up and away to reveal a pass code keypad.
Chiro began punching button combinations into the door in haphazard fashion. "Uh...you do know what you're doing, right?" Chiro was doubted for a second time, this time by Marice.
"There are certain combinations this door will open to," Chiro elaborated while entering another combination. "I know them all; it's only a matter of time until one of the comb-"
Chiro was cut off as the code she'd just finished entering had worked. The three hurried inside, Chiro the last through. She stopped and turned to close the door just before their pursuers had arrived. From the inside panel, she overrode all pass codes to keep the men from following them.
"How...do you do that?" Armada questioned after watching Chiro's display. How does she know /exactly what to do?/ Chiro turned to face her, but didn't respond.
"Whoa," Marice drew the other two women's attention towards her. She glanced around the long, silver-metal plated corridor they currently occupied. Marice ran her fingers over one of the walls, feeling the almost random looking armor plating pattern that ran through the hall.
"What is this?" Armada questioned, becoming just as bedazzled with the room as Marice.
"A secret entrance and exit. It also serves as a place for the high-rollers to hide due to the extra defenses and fortification the corridors provide," Chiro answered all-knowingly.
"Corridors? As in several?" Marice turned to Chiro.
Chiro nodded. "They form a spiraling, intertwining network so as to confuse those who do not belong here."
"Well they're doing a good job," Armada added while staring down the corridor. "Wait...!" Armada's eyes widened as she noticed that at the end of the long hall, the walls were moving-to close them in. She took off flying at an exponential rate towards the door, but to no avail. She reached the wall just as the hall became a dead-end. She rested her fists on the wall, giving it a punch born from frustration with her right hand. "Damn."
Chiro and Marice came running. "The wall...closed?" Chiro said aloud in shock. "I had no idea..."
Marice looked to her commander. "So there's no way out? What do we do now?"
Armada sighed, turning to face the other two. "We wait."

"Hyah!" Laiserta shouted while nailing another security guard across the face with her weapon-much like she had done to Armada previously. Another came charging her way, and she backed up slightly. Until he came in close, that is-then she gave him an unfriendly kick to the midsection, sending him flying backwards with her superior strength.
Two guards charged towards Trunks, and reaching forward with both hands, he deftly slammed their heads into one another once they were within reach. The larger guard stumbled backwards, slowly and faultily walking away, while the small guard simply fell down.
In the mass disarray casino security was facing, a hole had finally opened up, one in which the two mercenaries could escape. By this time, they had made their way near the door but not yet out, and the sudden gap was needed. "Now's our chance!" Laiserta called out to him, sprinting for the door.
Trunks's head snapped her direction and he followed, shouting out at the same time. "What about the others?"
"They'll have to fend for themselves! There's no way we're getting back in there!" Laiserta shot behind her as the two burst through the doors leading outside of the casino, and finally to freedom-until they were stopped dead in their tracks staring down the barrels of several rifles.

Marice tugged at the high collar of her recently acquired burgundy and charcoal uniform. Not that she wasn't used to a high collar-in fact; she wore one most of the time. It was just that the uniform itself was thick, and warm. Too warm.
Chiro laughed. "I'll admit; it is a bit hot in here."
She caught Marice's attention with her comment. Marice's head snapped up, and she looked to Chiro who sat, as she did, across the hall-separating the two by only a meter or so. Chiro smiled at the teenager, and Marice returned the gesture. "So, uh..." Marice started, "what's your name?" She stopped as she realized the idiocy in her question. "I mean, we know you're Chiro; but what about your first name? You do have one, right?" The nervous Euphorian rambled.
The general laughed. "Yes, I do have a first name. It's Naixame."
"Well, Naixame," Marice replied, "I'm Marie Celta. Well, really just Marice."
"Nice to meet you, Marice," Chiro nodded politely, "though I wish it were under better circumstances." At that, she motioned towards the sealed off end of the corridor.
"Yeah," Marice laughed, "although I don't get why Armada doesn't just blast us out of here."
"I /could/, unless you want to be fried in the process," Armada retaliated, standing a few feet down the hall from Chiro, leaning against a wall.
Chiro sighed...before a sudden realization hit her. She stood immediately and looked to Armada. "You're a ki-fighter...aren't you?"
Armada opened her eyes and turned her gaze to Chiro. "Yeah. And?"
Chiro's eyes narrowed slightly and she paused for a moment. "You could easily blast the wall down there, couldn't you?"
"Yes, I can," Armada replied, becoming slightly annoyed. "but if I do, you and Marice will be in pieces because of the shrapnel-not to mention what will happen to /me/."
"Don't worry about that," Chiro quickly responded, "just get us out of here. I guarantee that everything will be okay."
"I don't think you understand," Armada countered, "this room has reflective armor plating-ideal for spaceships that wish to reflect high-energy blasts. So," she continued, "if I blast it, my shot will be partially reflected back at us along with flying shrapnel-impossible to avoid in such a narrow space."
"Just trust me," Naixame pleaded.
Marice stood and took a few steps toward the two while Armada contemplated the decision. Chiro, however, stood her ground and waited on a 'yes' answer-she wasn't going to accept 'no.'
"Fine," Armada agreed, "but this had better work-or we'll be dead before we realize it didn't."
The three moved to the far end of the hall, only a few feet from the door they entered. Marice and Chiro crouched, with Chiro wrapping an arm around Marice's shoulders. Armada hovered in the air, inches above the ground, a yard or so in front of the other two, a calculating look on her face. Damn...why do I keep finding myself holding other people's lives in my hands? /she thought. /Lex, Tren...why does this remind me so much of you?
Armada took a deep breath and charged a ki-blast in her right hand. /I hope to Hell this works. /She placed more power behind the blast and raised her hand up, pointing it towards the sealed end of the corridor, not more than fifty feet away. She narrowed her eyes, quickly gained power and fired.
The blast did as she said it would, and reflected a portion of the energy back at them, along with many small, sharp pieces of shrapnel. Armada stopped firing just before the shrapnel came within inches of herself and brought her arms up into a defensive position. However, nothing ever made it close enough to touch her.
Wh-what?! She gazed in shock as the dangers headed their way seemed deflected by some invisible barrier, only inches in front of herself.
Naixame held Marice close, as she protected her head with her arms, and stared forward with a distant gaze. Almost as if she was...concentrating on something. At that moment, everything flashed a bright light...
Armada opened her eyes. The end of the hallway was blasted open, thankfully, and pieces of said wall were everywhere around them, most black from being burned. She turned and saw Chiro getting up, and helping Marice rise from her position on the ground as well. Armada moved her gaze forward again and looked at the ground-the pieces of metal scattered before her stopped before an eerie, crescent shaped line before ever touching any of the three of them. Before she could comment on the sight though, the door behind the three was being forced open.
"Time to go!" Chiro shouted out while making a run for the open end of the hallway. Marice paused only for a moment to look at Armada, and then took off as well. Armada glanced at the door, only about eight inches open at that point, with hands and tools reaching in to pull it open farther, and flew after the Tyrian and Euphorian.
Once the three reached the end of the hallway, Chiro stopped, letting Marice pass but stopping Armada. "Stop them!" she pointed towards the now open door on the other end of the corridor from which thugs of all kinds poured. Armada nodded and Chiro moved on. She turned and raised her left hand towards the men on their heels and fired a lovely gift their way-probably killing a few in the process. With that, she turned and followed Chiro through the next corridor.
After running the course of twisting and turning halls, Chiro led the two mercenaries to a door leading out. She ran forward, pushing it open and breathing in the fresh air on the outside. Marice followed next, moving to Chiro's right and Armada last, moving to Chiro's left. However, as soon as their eyes had adjusted to the light outside, they saw the montage of rifles pointed at their faces.
"Freeze!" one of the armor-clad officers yelled in their direction. Armada and Marice froze, but Chiro nonchalantly walked through the crowd and up the man whom yelled at the trio.
"Chiro!" the lieutenant exclaimed. "We came to give you back-up once we heard that you were discovered. You're okay?" he spoke fast, almost relieved to find that the general was indeed fine.
"Yes; now release them," the general started, pointing towards the two women she'd left just outside the backdoor of Lind's Hammer.
"They're with you?" the officer questioned in confusion.
"They are now. They helped me escape," Chiro elaborated.
"All right. Lower your weapons men," the lieutenant called out to the fellow officers in the area. They did as told. Armada and Marice looked to one another, then approached Chiro.
"Nice work in there, general," the lieutenant spoke to Chiro once again. "We got enough to finally warrant an arrest."
"Arrest?" Armada questioned, looking towards the general.
Naixame turned to face the mercenaries. "I was hired by the Utian police to spy on this casino and give them enough incriminating information to arrest the casino's operators." Naixame stopped and looked around before turning to face the Utian lieutenant once more. "Did you get them all?"
"Yep," the young officer replied with a smile, "all thanks to you. Of course, you'll have to wait until we get everything back to the station before you'll receive your pay-"
"They paid you?" Marice questioned in amazement.
"Well of course," Chiro responded, almost with an air of superiority over Marice. "I don't do these things for free, you know."
Armada laughed, a smirk appearing across her features. "Makes perfect sense."
"Hey," Marice started, looking towards her leader. "Where are Trunks and Lai?"
"Oh." Armada's visage became much more serious. "Well..." she glanced around the area, looking over police cars and other officers. "There!" she shouted out to Marice, pointing towards the front of the building. From their vantage point, Marice and Armada could see Trunks and Laiserta being...detained? Whoa, that was new.
The two wasted no time separating from Chiro to meet up with their comrades. When Armada and Marice finally made it over to the other half of the crew, they were surprised with what they saw.
"Spider-head! Kid!" Laiserta yelled out with a smile upon seeing the two arrive. She held out her hands, which were handcuffed together in a large pair of almost gauntlet-like metal bands. "We've been had. But they won't listen when we try to explain..."
"It's about time you two got here," Trunks jumped in, moving closer to the two.
"Didn't think you'd be detained so easily," Armada mocked him, pointing towards the metal handcuffs he wore, identical to those of Laiserta.
"They're not exactly detaining me," Trunks explained with a slight laugh, "but if I put up a struggle, they've still got Lai to abuse."
"In case you didn't know, I do resent that," the dark Taydran commented sarcastically.
"You know these two?" The four mercenaries turned to see the lieutenant apparently in charge of the operation, who spoke to them, and the former Tyrian general with him.
"Yeah, they're with us," Marice reassured the officer.
"Release these two!" the lieutenant called out to nearby officers, whom presently came over and relieved Laiserta and Trunks of their small imprisonment. "Chiro," he started, looking to the general, "I'll see you back at the station." With that, he gave the general an Utian salute and walked off to tackle other police endeavors, such as the arrest of the owners and operators of Lind's Hammer.
Both of the recently released rubbed their wrists gingerly while Trunks spoke. "So...you're Chiro?" he directed towards the uniformed woman in his midst.
"Indeed," the general responded with a smirk.
"Huh? But I thought-" the confused demi-Saiyan was interrupted.
"A man? Hah," Chiro laughed scornfully, "no man could fill my shoes."
"Huh," Laiserta commented in wonderment. "Never would've guessed."
"Neither did we," Armada added.
"Well," Naixame started once more, "before I depart, I'm quite curious to learn who all of you people /are/."
Armada took the initiative and pointed to the two crew members not yet introduced. "Trunks. Laiserta." She paused when turning to face Chiro once more. "I'm Armada."
"Oh," Chiro commented with slight surprise, "the infamous mercenary. However...I thought you worked alone?"
"I did, until recently. Figured it couldn't hurt to have a few extra hands around," Armada joked sarcastically. She acted as if the others weren't a necessity, when in reality the opposite was true-she needed them.
"Well, good luck in...whatever it is you do." With that, the former general and commander of all armed forces of Tyron, Naixame Chiro, turned to depart, taking her leave of the mercenaries, who were hired to catch her...weren't they?
"Chiro, wait!"
The general turned to see that Armada had taken several steps her direction, indicating that she was the one to call out Chiro's name. Chiro raised her eyebrows in curiosity, as well as a signal that she was listening.
Armada smirked. "What are these guys paying you?"
Chiro returned the gesture she'd given her. "Enough."
"Guarantee we could pay you more."
At this, Chiro realized that the mercenary wasn't joking. Her smirk dissipated from her visage and she thought seriously for a moment. She knew that this group was coming for her, but what reason, she didn't know-although she could take a wild guess. Now, their demeanor had changed, and she no longer felt that the mercenaries were coming after her for the money on her head. Rather, they wanted the general for her tactical prowess and understanding of warfare-abilities she was renowned for. Naixame took another moment to analyze the situation for what it was worth before announcing her decision. Keiya...did you send them after me? Chiro took a deep breath and approached the group. "You know," she started with a sarcastic tone, "if my wages don't increase by at least two hundred percent, then I'm leaving."
The general had stopped before the now smiling group of four. Armada reached forward and shook hands with the former general, confirming the pact. "Welcome aboard, Naixame."
"Actually," Chiro started with a smile, "I prefer Naya."




A.N:: Just for reference, 'Naixame' is pronounced 'ni-zuh-may'. And Naya, as she will called henceforth, is thirty-five (years of age, that is). And Keiya, is, well...I'll just have to save that for another day. ^_^