twiststheblade

And for a while, nothing happens. Then, there is a sharp bark, and a snapped command. Silence. Then, a man comes into view, suited, armed with a sub-machine gun, dog at his heels. the dog is not leashed, and after a few moments, if gives another sharp bark, and dashes towards the bushes concealing the girls.

The man does not follow the dog, but trains his gun on the bushes.

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Miho snaps out an equally sharp command, and the dog stops in confusion, lookng from the bushes to the guard and back again. The guard's bead on the bushes wavers for a moment as he attempts to regain control of his animal.

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While the guard's gun seeks a target, Goldy's Beretta does not. For it is sighted directly at the man's forehead.

Her aim is settled and unwavering. She's in her element. An unblinking statue in the shadows of the foliage. Unmindful of the tears of rain coursing down her face. Unflinching at the cold droplets that somehow find a way through the maze of gold and touch the back of her neck. Drenched almost to the skin, but still wearing a deadly cloak of poise and focus.

( breathe in, steady hand, exhale )

She's always been a shoot first-ask questions later kind of girl. That's how it has to be in her line of work.

( breathe in, steady hand, exhale )

There is an unrelenting spat-spat-spat of water hitting a leaf just inches from her steely gaze. She hears it and thinks it sounds almost like the ticking of a big clock. Nothing changes. There are no doubts, and there will be no remorse.

( breathe in, steady hand, exhale... and squeeze )

The drip holds, missing a beat. Then it falls, larger and different of tone.

—tock—

Miho's word...

...And the shot is postponed.

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the_lioness

Both girls very obviously know what they're doing. Alanna isn't overly concerned just yet. It's a man and his dog, and all three of them have handled much worse. Goldy has him in her sights, so Alanna shifts her attention to the dog, prepared to throw a magical wall between the animal and his target.

In the meantime, she takes careful aim at the man's ass.

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The dogs confusion is momentary, and another sharp command sends it into the bushes, heading for the three concealed women with a bark and a snarl. Thoroughly trained and large though the alsatian is, the main aim of these particular dogs has always been intimidation. Scare the opponents, throw them off guard. No silent, stealthy incapacitation.

At the frantic barking the guard lets off a burst of gunfire into the bush.

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Miho is not only short, but crouched, and the gunfire goes over her head. She takes advantage of the dogs second spate of confusion to lash a neat foot at the side of it's head. The least neccessary amount of force, and the dog is unconscious. Miho likes dogs.

Not so her father's guards, and she has a shuriken out and whirling to his gun arm almost before the dog impacts the ground.

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That solitary shot sealed the deal for the hapless guard, poorly aimed as it was. As the shuriken flies, there's a soft whump from the right side of the thicket.

Whatever crippling damage Miho's star inflicts, there is no scream of pain to accompany it. Just a body, now useless, crumpling into the wet earth. Rain mixes with blood, forming a delicate river of pink trickling away from a small hole—center of the forehead, just above the bridge of the nose.

Goldy berates herself for hesitating and lunges for Alanna's arm to ensure that she doesn't shoot as well. Her revolver is unsilenced.

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the_lioness

Luckily, Alanna had shifted her entire focus to the dog as soon as he charged, Gift at the ready. Now, however, she's feeling rather useless and scowls at the wet earth squishing beneath her toes as she regains her balance.

Gruffly, "let's go before they are missed."

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Miho nods at Alanna.

"We've got about two minutes before he's supposed to call back, I think. Stick to the edges of the bushes, we should be fine."

She looks over her shoulder at Goldy as she begins to walk off. "And shoot first next time, love." Her smile takes any sting out of the words - it's just advice, tailored specifically to this location, these enemies.

She ducks under the low, dripping branches, moving swiftly but neatly, boots almost silent on the damp ground. Behind them, the man is still and the dog almost as still, only the gently rise and fall of it's ribcage testifying to the fact that it lives.

In front of them is a low building, to the side of a wide set of gates. A few men are visible, but the majority are escaping the rain somewhere, less dligent than they would have bveen in good weather. This can only be to the little party's advantage.

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Goldy did not need telling. She has no excuse, and she's giving herself a hard time over the inaction already. It's a dark expression that meets Miho's smile.

She follows behind as silently as she is able, keeping to Miho's path and remaining vigilant as they approach the entrance.

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the_lioness

Ignoring the byplay between her companions, Alanna follows Miho's lead exactly, expression hardening when she sees the men ahead. She is all business now, aware that things could get very sticky in the next few minutes.

Rain drips down her cheeks like tears, like sweat, like blood. It gets in her eyes, but she dares not wipe it away.

The dagger is back in her hand.

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Miho stops, within earshot of the men, if they were to raise their voices and the rain were to let up for a moment. There is a screen of foliage in front of them, thick and green, moving slightly in the gentle wind.

"If we can take them by thurprithe," she says quietly - the letter 's' carries further than any other sound - 'we can avoid having them trigger the alarm. The we can get tranthport and get out of here without any other trouble. I only thee three. . . You?"

She raises an eyebrow, looking sideways at them, keeping the building and it's complement of guards in her peripheral vision.

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Still looking dreadfully grim, Goldy shades her eyes with a flat hand, then raises her thumb and first two fingers. She sees three as well.

Wiithout waiting for further instruction, she drops to one knee and takes aim on the closest guard. She isn't going to make the same mistake twice. Her gun sounds its low wmmmp three times in a row.

Two men silently fall.

The third grunts and stumbles, clutching his neck and vanishing from sight behind a crop of tall rose bushes.

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They saw three.

There were four.

Luckily, he's on the far side of the building, and hasn't seen the fallen men, nor did he hear anything out of the ordinary.

This is a state of affairs that may not last, however.

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the_lioness

Slipping through the foliage, Alanna silently stalks the third man. He hadn't looked nearly injured enough for her peace of mind. Fingers closing tightly around her knife, she sticks to the shadows, nimbly leaping over puddles, and doesn't show the slightest surprise when the man reemerges with murder in his eyes.

The bullet had only scraped his neck, and once the initial shock passed, he had regrouped easily enough. Gun in hand, he shakes his pants leg free of clinging thorns and charges their hiding place.

Alanna is behind him, two knives in hand now. Her gun, after all, has no silencer.

Thump. Thump.

One on the shoulder, one in the ass. She's running as soon as the second one leaves her hand, quickly retrieving both.

It's a pity he cries out in pain.

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A pity, but a stroke of luck for them in the end.

It means that the fourth man comes around the corner of the building at a run, rather than sneaking, or, worse, raising the alarm.

He gives a surprised shout, and draws his gun.

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A surprised shout that is rather rapidly cut off when one of Miho's shuriken embeds itself in his throat. His hands fly to his neck as his eyes bug out of his face, desperately trying to keep the blood from pouring out of the gash.

Miho hadn't been trying to kill him, just to silence him, but it rather looks as if he'll die anyway. No real need to make it quick, is there? So after a glance to make sure he's not going to pose further threat, she gestures towards the far end of the building.

"Garage. I hope one of you knows how to ride a motorcycle. We could take a car, I suppose."

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Goldy is feeling much better already. She's not actually smiling yet, but it's amazing what a few dutiful kills can do for an assassin's psyche.

"Very funny, hot stuff. I thought you knew me better than that."

She slaps her hands onto her hips, somewhat indignantly, still keeping one eye on the guard house.

"Just show me where the bikes are."

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the_lioness

Ride a motorcycle?

She hasn't yet connected the word with the remarkable machine that nearly clobbered Thom in Piccadilly Circus.

Although the look on her face when she sees it will probably be remarkably similar to the one he wore just after.

"I don't suppose it's anything like riding a horse?" she asks hopefully.

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"Not quite," she chuckles, and sidles along the side of the building, pausing at the end to look very carefully around. Nothing in sight, so far. The gates are still closed, the garage door is open. This is good - it sometimes creaks when it goes up.

Again, a careful approach to the garage doors, although faster this time. Don't want to get spotted. She slips inside, doesn't turn on the lights. It's dim inside, bu the shapes of several cars - an imported Rolls Royce, a Mazda MX-03, a purposely anonymous sedan, it's status as an armoured car given away by it's bulkiness- and four or five motorcycles -every last one a Kawasaki GPZ900R- can dimly be seen.

"Goldy, you take Alanna pillion, would you? You've got longer legs and more weight than I have and these are a bit big for me anyway." She keeps her voice low, and snags a helmet from the table, passing it over. A quick glance at Alanna, and another one is headed her way.

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Advancing into the garage, Goldy nods and stows the helmet under her arm. Her face lights up as she surveys the pristine collection of Japanese superbikes.

"Ooh! Ninjas. Excellent!"

Grinning wildly now, she picks one out, flips the kick stand up and starts to wheel it towards the entrance.

"Come on, Alanna. On you get," she orders excitedly. "This baby's got a top speed of 155 and a standing quarter mile time of 10.55 seconds. We're gonna fly!"

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the_lioness

Catching the helmet easily, Alanna gapes at the bikes, fighting off a dozen questions.

Where do your feet go? How do you balance?

Does it like sugar cubes?

A small, nervous laugh, and she climbs on, overbalancing slightly for a moment.

"I've always wanted to fly," she says in a brave sort of voice. "But shouldn't there be more between your legs?"

As soon as it's out, she turns bright red and jams the helmet down on her head.

Grumbling, "I only meant it feels like the skinniest horse known to man."

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Miho has her own helmet on her head, and has wheeled her bike out next to Goldy's - it really is a bit big for her. She'll manage.

"A couple of hundred skinny horses," she giggles. "Grab on behind you rather than to Goldy, she'll need to twist about. And just - let it move. Don't try and control anything."

Her toes barely touch the ground, but her balance is good enough that it's not a huge issue.

She turns the key.

Turns to Goldy.

Waits.

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