[ Home. That Kasumi might even be part of that equation fills her heart with a warmth she's been estranged from, for some time. Her shoulders relax (and wow, did she not even realize she'd been tensed up all this time?) and she lets out another little sigh. ]
Oh, good. I was worried I'd have to slip you something in your drink if you kept fighting.
[ Kasumi's eyes wander over to the Ravagers' table. The woman from earlier is now decidedly sitting on one of the men's laps, and they don't seem very bothered at Peter's absence, at all, especially now that they have their next round of drinks. Still, there's no way they'll let him slip out that easily, so when she looks back at him, her brow is quirked. ]
So. How shall we play this escape game, cowboy? Should I pretend to be a random lady that you charm into taking you home?
Pretty sure they've been told to be on the lookout for ladies wearing hoods, actually. Especially the super hot ones that I end up leaving with, arm-in-arm.
It does. [ But even as he's saying it, he's frowning. ] But I hope you have a shitton of units, if you really wanna go that route.
[ He starts to think, Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all? before he smothers that voice with a grimace.
Taking a look around the bar, Peter tries to take stock of what's available. It's not overly busy, with maybe a handful of guests aside from the Ravagers and Kasumi, and it's your usual hodgepodge of alien species. Farther down the bar, a big, burly alien with sharp spikes protruding form his spine sits, nursing a drink and slightly swaying in his seat. ]
I think-- [ He's saying it as he's looking at the big alien in the bar stool ] --I have a very bad idea.
[ She tries to follow his gaze when she sees he's looking around the bar, and when he speaks up while looking at someone with spikes growing out of his back, Kasumi can't help but be a little concerned. She glances back at him as he continues to look at the big guy. ]
Um. Yeah, it sure looks like you do. And what exactly is this idea? We're not still trying to fool them into thinking someone's taking you home, right? Because if so, that asari over there might be a better choice.
[ Her tone is one that basically says, don't do anything crazy, Peter. ]
Edited (getting all my codes confused) 2014-12-07 05:24 (UTC)
[ She purses her lips when she catches on to his plan and lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief. ]
Tough one, buuut I'm gonna go with Option A. Should be enough to get you in a fight without possibly also getting killed in the process, unlike that second option.
I don't need luck when I've got my wit, charm, and good-- [ He was going to say looks, here, but considering he's looked like he got run over by a cavalcade of semi-trucks for the past several months, he just stops himself. ]
Just-- get ready to haul ass, okay?
[ He pushes off from the counter, and when he's sure the Ravagers are distracted with their drinks and their conversation, Peter saunters over to Spikey.
He leans against the counter, arms crossed over his chest as he looks down the bridge of his nose at him. He ducks his head, says something in Spike's ear, then--
"What the fuck did you just say to me, you little piece of shit?!"
Spikey grabs Peter around the throat -- which was definitely not part of his plan, Peter laments, as his hands scramble to grip the alien's wrist -- and flings him straight into the table of Ravagers. The Krylorian woman screams in shock and darts away as the other Ravagers surge to their feet.
The bastards don't even bother checking on Peter before charging at the alien, and chaos, predictably, ensues. ]
[ Kasumi's eyes go wide, a bit, when Spikey grabs Peter by the throat, wondering if she should intervene somehow, but then he's being thrown at the Ravagers' table before she can even complete that thought. She rolls her eyes at the way the Ravagers completely ignore Peter in favor of jumping into the fray, but she lets the chaos ensue just long enough to be sure the Ravagers are truly preoccupied with the brawl before quickly making her way over to Peter's side. ]
Are you alright, Peter? That got a little scary for a second, there.
[ Her gaze flicks back and forth between Peter and the Ravagers, who are now in the thick of the fight. This is their chance. ]
[ He sits up, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning as he does so. Broken glass falls from his coat -- and it's a damn good thing Ravagers insisted on good quality for their uniforms, otherwise that really could've been nasty. As it is, the crash into the table and the ensuing topple to the hard floor has reopened a cut on his lip, and he's thankful that's the only wound that was inflicted.
-- Well, that, and the fall might've jostled some old injuries along his side, and the sharp bolts of pain are warning him against any sudden movements; he's also pretty sure the room shouldn't be spinning the way it is, but--
No. Suck it up, he commands himself. It was his idea, after all, so-- act cool, Quill. Walk it off. ]
I'm fine. [ He breathes in sharply through his teeth as he gets himself ready to move. A trickle of blood falls into his mouth, and he turns to spit it out immediately. ]
[ Kasumi watches him; he's in pain and she knows it, and she makes a mental note to herself to Medi-Gel the hell out of his injuries as soon as they're able. For now, though, she'll nod and give him a reassuring and extremely carefully gentle pat on the shoulder when he gets up. ]
Let's blow this popsicle stand.
[ In her head, she's already trying to plan the next steps. Getting out of the bar is going to be easy, but where do they go from there? She came in with Feron, and--Kasumi can't help but really think, you could have given me some advanced warning so I could plan, Liara, but the Shadow Broker knows that Kasumi's as good at thinking on her feet as she is planning things out for weeks in advance, so she lets the thought slide. This is, however, vastly different from spontaneous escapes from run-ins with slighted mercs or nosy skilled Spectres. All she knows is that they'll have to lay low, for some time, wherever they end up, and given Peter's condition (which has been newly aggravated by his being thrown around just now), Kasumi's perfectly fine with that. They have to make up for lost time, but more importantly, Kasumi has to make sure that she's there for him. The last few months have been hard on her, but harder still on him, and she'll take that to heart. ]
[ He's in a crouching position by now, having shaken off most of the glass, but as an afterthought, he grabs up bottle that went miraculously unbroken, turns to find someone who currently isn't enthralled by the current fight, and chucks it at them.
Just, you know, to add more fuel to the flames.
When the alien turns to look at him, Peter points at the brawling group near the bar and feigns the sort of wide-eyed, gaping mouth appearance of a fish out of water, as if to say, "I can't believe I just saw that happen."
The alien seems to buy it and-- he's much bigger than Peter had originally thought, once he stands and sends his chair clattering to the floor. All the better when he, too, charges into the fray, sending bodies flying. ]
[ She can't quite hide the entertained look on her face as she watches on, all the while moving to follow Peter's lead; this is pretty much how she also imagined Shepard would try to sneak out of a bar. In any case, she gives him an affirmative nod and a smile. ]
Try not to get your ass kicked one more time on the way out, love. I've only got so much Medi-Gel.
[ Peter pauses when he notices the "love" again, though any mentions he might have made of it go interrupted when glass shatters on the floor just a foot away.
Instead, he grabs her hand and hastens his way over to the door while the Ravagers are busy Spikey and Tiny. He gives the horrified bartender a pitying glance, and as an afterthought, chucks over a data chip with all the units he has on hand.
It's not much, but it's the very least he can do for inciting a small riot.
Once they're out of the seedy little bar, though, Peter doesn't relax. There's still the chance one of those idiots could notice he's not where they left him, so the faster they're off-planet, the better their chances will be. ]
[ By the time they've even stepped out of the bar, Kasumi's already on her omni-tool. Almost as if on cue, she'd received a short, but incredibly helpful message from Feron:
Meet me at our initial rendezvous spot.
And since they're short on time, Kasumi doesn't bother explaining the situation before she grabs Peter by the hand and begins to lead him away, mentally making a note to herself to send flowers and chocolates to Liara and maybe get Feron a new gun because, holy hell, they're seriously spoiling me with this. ]
I've got a contact waiting for us. Well, more like a friend by now, I suppose. I owe them like crazy for this.
[ He blinks in surprise at that -- he had assumed that Kasumi had tracked him down again, had brought in the cavalry in the form of the Milano and his loveable band of misfits.
(He'd never admit it, but he misses those fuckers like crazy. He's looking forward to seeing them again.)
But the mention of a "contact" makes him a little nervous, seeing as how some prior "contact" must have tipped Yondu off about Kasumi. Who's to say it wouldn't happen again? It definitely wouldn't do to put their trust in this person, only to have them turn around and drop them right back in the Ravagers' laps.
And Peter has no idea how kindly Yondu would take to an escape attempt. Probably not very kindly at all. ]
[ She knows the brief pause before her response probably isn't the most reassuring thing, but Kasumi's still trying to wrap her head around how much Liara and Feron are helping her on such a personal endeavor, all the while moving quickly through the crowds to make their way to the rendezvous point.
Feron and Kasumi had worked together on a number of jobs, especially recently. He's Liara's most trusted agent, and despite being the Shadow Broker, Kasumi knows Liara was someone who could be trusted, and Feron would never double-cross Liara. Not again, at least. He's been through too much, and Kasumi knows. Plus, she'd like to think that she and Feron had achieved something of a friendship by now, on top of that. ]
Feron's a good guy. I don't really know why he and his boss are doing so much for me, but I'll sort that out another time. Just--trust me on this one, alright?
[ She's absolutely right on that count -- Peter does not like that pause, nor does he like the sound of-- any of this, really. But he's also not stupid enough to just stop in his tracks so they can argue this out.
He is stupid enough to keep moving and arguing this out, though, because he's surprisingly good at multi-tasking. ]
Look-- we've been burned at least once. I just-- wanna make sure we're making the right decision, here, okay? That we're not bein' too hasty.
[ He may be saying "we," but he really means her. He doesn't want Kasumi risking herself on his behalf, is what he's trying to get at, though not in so many words. Peter may seem so self-involved sometimes that he wouldn't notice a spaceship until it hit him in the face, but he's also practical, knows the worth of things. And by his reckoning, Kasumi's life (and the lives of his team, for that matter) is far more valuable than his own. ]
[ She pulls him into an alleyway, then--it's almost eerily similar to the one she found him in a few months ago, and she keeps moving because there are a million thoughts running through her head and her feet can't help but emulate. She knows the situation isn't ideal; she knows he'd be much more comfortable if there weren't a third party involved, or if they were meeting up with the other Guardians, but there's not much Kasumi can do without risking they get caught. If she had tried to contact them when she found out, how long would she have had between finding him and them arriving? How would they get away without setting off all of Yondu's radars? Why didn't Liara and Feron tell her in advance about this--were they not sure, themselves, and this whole thing was set up so that Feron could confirm before telling Kasumi?
She doesn't have answers to any of these questions, really, but at some point she just takes in a sharp breath to try and explain. ]
I promise you that they're not going to burn us. I've worked with them before on some risky jobs, especially lately. Feron's boss is one of Shepard's closest confidants, and helped me find you the first time around. And then there's the fact that Feron's gone through too much to ever want to double cross anyone ever again.
I don't know why they're doing all this for me, but at the very least I know that they don't mean any harm by it.
[ She squeezes his hand, and perhaps a little more tightly than she really intends to. Part of her's afraid that if she lets go, he'll change his mind, decide it really is best if she leaves, without him, once again. Or worse, maybe he'll just--tell her things will be better off for the both of them if they just stopped being involved with one another--or something. ]
[ ... Well, okay, namedropping Shepard does make him feel a little better about this. He knows from what little he's heard from Kasumi and from the news reports -- the flattering ones, anyway, not the ones that had painted her as insane, raving about a mysterious, ancient race of monsters -- that Shepard is a good judge of character; or at least, she surrounds herself with capable people.
A part of him still wants to argue that they shouldn't take this risk, but he's just-- really sick of not being among people he can trust. He's sick of not being around Kasumi.
Five months and some change is a long fucking time.
So the fight goes out of him after a moment (and he lets himself feel guilty about that for about two seconds -- now's not the time, he thinks). ]
[ Kasumi doesn't really want to argue about the merits of trusting the Shadow Broker and one of her agents, not at the moment. She's basing all of her trust on them on a few successful jobs, the good will of Shepard (which counts for a lot, in and of itself), and the fact that Liara has plainly and unquestionably been the lynchpin to the Crucible project.
The most important thing to her, right now, is getting Peter the hell out of here and away from the Ravagers.
A turn or two down more alleyways later, and she's pulling up her omni-tool and hastily speaking into it. ]
Feron, it's me. We're approaching the LZ. What's your status?
[ Feron's voice comes through on the other end with, "I'm good. Not being followed, if that's what you were really wondering. You've got your friend?"
Kasumi glances over at Peter and manages a smile. ]
Yeah, thanks. See you soon.
[ They're in a rather nondescript part of the town now, away from the bustle of the bars and nightlife, and almost as soon as they step out of the alleyway, there's a familiar whirring in the air from skycars zipping about above them. ]
[ Even so, Peter still doesn't relax. He probably won't let himself take it easy until he's back on the Milano, and even then, knowing that Yondu was serious about being paid his dues--
-- that'll be a thought for another time, he tells himself. He's always been about the here and now, after all.
So while Kasumi might step out of the alleyway, Peter hovers at its mouth, quiet and tense and ready to grab Kasumi's hand and run, if the situation calls for it. If nothing else, these past few months with the Ravagers have certainly heightened his reflexes in that regard.
He trusts Kasumi, trusts her judgement, and he knows he's being supremely paranoid right now. Still, it pays to be cautious. He only wishes he remembered that lesson earlier, so they could've avoided this whole mess. ]
[ She looks back, noticing his preference for staying half-in the alleyway, but within moments she hears the sound of a shuttle descending upon them, and she steps back into the alleyway too, just to be completely sure. This time, it's her turn to outstretch an arm to keep Peter behind, as if to protect him. And in spite of her Trust Talk, her other arm tentatively skirts the pistol holstered at her hip, just to be extra completely sure.
When the shuttle lands, there's a brief pause until the doors open, but when they do, Feron steps out. He doesn't seem to know where they are, at first, but Kasumi pointedly makes eye contact with him for a moment before she starts looking around to confirm he wasn't tailed here or anything.
"Goto," he speaks lowly in the direction of the alleyway, "we should go. I've been tracking the activity on their ship, and it's pretty quiet, but who knows for how long?"
When he sees Peter, he gives him a silent, polite nod. And Kasumi looks back at Peter now, her arm still stretched out in front of him, with a look that's begging him not to have second thoughts now. ]
[ Peter's keeping his eyes peeled for unwanted company, too, even in light of what the drell says. By his reckoning, the Ravagers at the bar would probably be starting the long process of licking their wounds, gathering up their injured. If he and Kasumi are very lucky, they won't even notice he's gone until Yondu does a headcount and comes up one short.
But Peter doesn't trust his luck. Not anymore.
He's glancing behind them, peering down the alley in case they might've missed someone following them, when Kasumi asks her question. His tongue runs over the back of his teeth thoughtfully. Maybe-- he should go back. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe if he hurries, he can return to the bar in time to join the others back to the Eclector. Maybe--
Maybe he should go back.
Yeah. He should go back.
Peter turns back to say as much. He's going to say, "This was a mistake," but that look on Kasumi's face makes the words die on his lips.
So in the end he just-- nods, edging forward out of the cover of the alley. ]
[ She only responds with a nod and a decisive glance at Feron before she moves out of cover, as well, with Feron taking point back towards the shuttle. He swiftly hops in and only waits for the two to get in before beginning to drive up, again. It's a bit of a bumpy ride from there, since Feron's not exactly bothering with traffic rules in the interest of time, but before long they're out of the colony and then out of orbit, out of sight, hopefully for a long while yet.
Kasumi spent most of the ride back to Feron's ship trying to hail the Milano, to give them an update. After all, they had no idea this kind of rescue effort would be mounted. Hell, Kasumi didn't even know. She wanted to confront Feron about it, but figured it's probably best not to do so in front of Peter. And then Peter's injuries--god, he's hurt, so hurt ran through Kasumi's mind more times than she could be bothered to count as she tried her best to tend to his wounds with Medi-Gel. That, however, couldn't heal the other wounds he has, the ones he got from going through hell again. Wounds from trying to protect his friends, and trying to protect her. It took every fiber of Kasumi's being not to start crying in front of him when she saw just how badly he'd been beaten, not just tonight, but every night he's been gone, it seemed. But she did, at one point, keel over next to him and just--took his one of his hands into hers, held it to her face, and let out a long, long sigh.
And then they're finally back on the Milano, after what seems now like a long and arduous process of trying to rendezvous in the shadows, full of trickery, sabotage, and a little help still from the Shadow Broker.
With Peter back on the ship, Kasumi had wondered at first if maybe it would be a good time to leave and let him recover with his friends, and figure out what all happened, but as soon as she even had the thought and made the slightest move to turn around, Gamora took hold of her arm, and gave her a stern look.
"You shouldn't leave now, Goto," she had said, "Quill needs you. Probably."
'Probably,' huh? is Kasumi's thought when she remembers the brief exchange, now, as she sits by the kitchenette with her omni-tool's screen pulled up. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Oh, good. I was worried I'd have to slip you something in your drink if you kept fighting.
[ Kasumi's eyes wander over to the Ravagers' table. The woman from earlier is now decidedly sitting on one of the men's laps, and they don't seem very bothered at Peter's absence, at all, especially now that they have their next round of drinks. Still, there's no way they'll let him slip out that easily, so when she looks back at him, her brow is quirked. ]
So. How shall we play this escape game, cowboy? Should I pretend to be a random lady that you charm into taking you home?
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Pretty sure they've been told to be on the lookout for ladies wearing hoods, actually. Especially the super hot ones that I end up leaving with, arm-in-arm.
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They said all that about me? Aw, shucks.
[ She drops the act almost immediately, though, her hand falling back onto the surface of the counter. ]
Alright, then. How much do they have to drink until they get to black-out levels? Does that even happen for them...?
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[ He starts to think, Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all? before he smothers that voice with a grimace.
Taking a look around the bar, Peter tries to take stock of what's available. It's not overly busy, with maybe a handful of guests aside from the Ravagers and Kasumi, and it's your usual hodgepodge of alien species. Farther down the bar, a big, burly alien with sharp spikes protruding form his spine sits, nursing a drink and slightly swaying in his seat. ]
I think-- [ He's saying it as he's looking at the big alien in the bar stool ] --I have a very bad idea.
no subject
Um. Yeah, it sure looks like you do. And what exactly is this idea? We're not still trying to fool them into thinking someone's taking you home, right? Because if so, that asari over there might be a better choice.
[ Her tone is one that basically says, don't do anything crazy, Peter. ]
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[ He slides off his bar stool, hands splayed on the the counter. ]
What do you think,: make fun of his weight or claim I slept with his mom?
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Tough one, buuut I'm gonna go with Option A. Should be enough to get you in a fight without possibly also getting killed in the process, unlike that second option.
Good luck, Quill.
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Just-- get ready to haul ass, okay?
[ He pushes off from the counter, and when he's sure the Ravagers are distracted with their drinks and their conversation, Peter saunters over to Spikey.
He leans against the counter, arms crossed over his chest as he looks down the bridge of his nose at him. He ducks his head, says something in Spike's ear, then--
"What the fuck did you just say to me, you little piece of shit?!"
Spikey grabs Peter around the throat -- which was definitely not part of his plan, Peter laments, as his hands scramble to grip the alien's wrist -- and flings him straight into the table of Ravagers. The Krylorian woman screams in shock and darts away as the other Ravagers surge to their feet.
The bastards don't even bother checking on Peter before charging at the alien, and chaos, predictably, ensues. ]
no subject
Are you alright, Peter? That got a little scary for a second, there.
[ Her gaze flicks back and forth between Peter and the Ravagers, who are now in the thick of the fight. This is their chance. ]
no subject
-- Well, that, and the fall might've jostled some old injuries along his side, and the sharp bolts of pain are warning him against any sudden movements; he's also pretty sure the room shouldn't be spinning the way it is, but--
No. Suck it up, he commands himself. It was his idea, after all, so-- act cool, Quill. Walk it off. ]
I'm fine. [ He breathes in sharply through his teeth as he gets himself ready to move. A trickle of blood falls into his mouth, and he turns to spit it out immediately. ]
We gotta go. Now.
no subject
Let's blow this popsicle stand.
[ In her head, she's already trying to plan the next steps. Getting out of the bar is going to be easy, but where do they go from there? She came in with Feron, and--Kasumi can't help but really think, you could have given me some advanced warning so I could plan, Liara, but the Shadow Broker knows that Kasumi's as good at thinking on her feet as she is planning things out for weeks in advance, so she lets the thought slide. This is, however, vastly different from spontaneous escapes from run-ins with slighted mercs or nosy skilled Spectres. All she knows is that they'll have to lay low, for some time, wherever they end up, and given Peter's condition (which has been newly aggravated by his being thrown around just now), Kasumi's perfectly fine with that. They have to make up for lost time, but more importantly, Kasumi has to make sure that she's there for him. The last few months have been hard on her, but harder still on him, and she'll take that to heart. ]
no subject
Just, you know, to add more fuel to the flames.
When the alien turns to look at him, Peter points at the brawling group near the bar and feigns the sort of wide-eyed, gaping mouth appearance of a fish out of water, as if to say, "I can't believe I just saw that happen."
The alien seems to buy it and-- he's much bigger than Peter had originally thought, once he stands and sends his chair clattering to the floor. All the better when he, too, charges into the fray, sending bodies flying. ]
Now we can go.
no subject
Try not to get your ass kicked one more time on the way out, love. I've only got so much Medi-Gel.
no subject
Instead, he grabs her hand and hastens his way over to the door while the Ravagers are busy Spikey and Tiny. He gives the horrified bartender a pitying glance, and as an afterthought, chucks over a data chip with all the units he has on hand.
It's not much, but it's the very least he can do for inciting a small riot.
Once they're out of the seedy little bar, though, Peter doesn't relax. There's still the chance one of those idiots could notice he's not where they left him, so the faster they're off-planet, the better their chances will be. ]
Which way?
no subject
Meet me at our initial rendezvous spot.
And since they're short on time, Kasumi doesn't bother explaining the situation before she grabs Peter by the hand and begins to lead him away, mentally making a note to herself to send flowers and chocolates to Liara and maybe get Feron a new gun because, holy hell, they're seriously spoiling me with this. ]
I've got a contact waiting for us. Well, more like a friend by now, I suppose. I owe them like crazy for this.
no subject
(He'd never admit it, but he misses those fuckers like crazy. He's looking forward to seeing them again.)
But the mention of a "contact" makes him a little nervous, seeing as how some prior "contact" must have tipped Yondu off about Kasumi. Who's to say it wouldn't happen again? It definitely wouldn't do to put their trust in this person, only to have them turn around and drop them right back in the Ravagers' laps.
And Peter has no idea how kindly Yondu would take to an escape attempt. Probably not very kindly at all. ]
You sure we can trust them?
no subject
[ She knows the brief pause before her response probably isn't the most reassuring thing, but Kasumi's still trying to wrap her head around how much Liara and Feron are helping her on such a personal endeavor, all the while moving quickly through the crowds to make their way to the rendezvous point.
Feron and Kasumi had worked together on a number of jobs, especially recently. He's Liara's most trusted agent, and despite being the Shadow Broker, Kasumi knows Liara was someone who could be trusted, and Feron would never double-cross Liara. Not again, at least. He's been through too much, and Kasumi knows. Plus, she'd like to think that she and Feron had achieved something of a friendship by now, on top of that. ]
Feron's a good guy. I don't really know why he and his boss are doing so much for me, but I'll sort that out another time. Just--trust me on this one, alright?
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He is stupid enough to keep moving and arguing this out, though, because he's surprisingly good at multi-tasking. ]
Look-- we've been burned at least once. I just-- wanna make sure we're making the right decision, here, okay? That we're not bein' too hasty.
[ He may be saying "we," but he really means her. He doesn't want Kasumi risking herself on his behalf, is what he's trying to get at, though not in so many words. Peter may seem so self-involved sometimes that he wouldn't notice a spaceship until it hit him in the face, but he's also practical, knows the worth of things. And by his reckoning, Kasumi's life (and the lives of his team, for that matter) is far more valuable than his own. ]
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She doesn't have answers to any of these questions, really, but at some point she just takes in a sharp breath to try and explain. ]
I promise you that they're not going to burn us. I've worked with them before on some risky jobs, especially lately. Feron's boss is one of Shepard's closest confidants, and helped me find you the first time around. And then there's the fact that Feron's gone through too much to ever want to double cross anyone ever again.
I don't know why they're doing all this for me, but at the very least I know that they don't mean any harm by it.
[ She squeezes his hand, and perhaps a little more tightly than she really intends to. Part of her's afraid that if she lets go, he'll change his mind, decide it really is best if she leaves, without him, once again. Or worse, maybe he'll just--tell her things will be better off for the both of them if they just stopped being involved with one another--or something. ]
no subject
A part of him still wants to argue that they shouldn't take this risk, but he's just-- really sick of not being among people he can trust. He's sick of not being around Kasumi.
Five months and some change is a long fucking time.
So the fight goes out of him after a moment (and he lets himself feel guilty about that for about two seconds -- now's not the time, he thinks). ]
... Alright. I trust you.
[ You. Not them. ]
no subject
[ Kasumi doesn't really want to argue about the merits of trusting the Shadow Broker and one of her agents, not at the moment. She's basing all of her trust on them on a few successful jobs, the good will of Shepard (which counts for a lot, in and of itself), and the fact that Liara has plainly and unquestionably been the lynchpin to the Crucible project.
The most important thing to her, right now, is getting Peter the hell out of here and away from the Ravagers.
A turn or two down more alleyways later, and she's pulling up her omni-tool and hastily speaking into it. ]
Feron, it's me. We're approaching the LZ. What's your status?
[ Feron's voice comes through on the other end with, "I'm good. Not being followed, if that's what you were really wondering. You've got your friend?"
Kasumi glances over at Peter and manages a smile. ]
Yeah, thanks. See you soon.
[ They're in a rather nondescript part of the town now, away from the bustle of the bars and nightlife, and almost as soon as they step out of the alleyway, there's a familiar whirring in the air from skycars zipping about above them. ]
no subject
-- that'll be a thought for another time, he tells himself. He's always been about the here and now, after all.
So while Kasumi might step out of the alleyway, Peter hovers at its mouth, quiet and tense and ready to grab Kasumi's hand and run, if the situation calls for it. If nothing else, these past few months with the Ravagers have certainly heightened his reflexes in that regard.
He trusts Kasumi, trusts her judgement, and he knows he's being supremely paranoid right now. Still, it pays to be cautious. He only wishes he remembered that lesson earlier, so they could've avoided this whole mess. ]
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When the shuttle lands, there's a brief pause until the doors open, but when they do, Feron steps out. He doesn't seem to know where they are, at first, but Kasumi pointedly makes eye contact with him for a moment before she starts looking around to confirm he wasn't tailed here or anything.
"Goto," he speaks lowly in the direction of the alleyway, "we should go. I've been tracking the activity on their ship, and it's pretty quiet, but who knows for how long?"
When he sees Peter, he gives him a silent, polite nod. And Kasumi looks back at Peter now, her arm still stretched out in front of him, with a look that's begging him not to have second thoughts now. ]
Shall we?
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But Peter doesn't trust his luck. Not anymore.
He's glancing behind them, peering down the alley in case they might've missed someone following them, when Kasumi asks her question. His tongue runs over the back of his teeth thoughtfully. Maybe-- he should go back. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe if he hurries, he can return to the bar in time to join the others back to the Eclector. Maybe--
Maybe he should go back.
Yeah. He should go back.
Peter turns back to say as much. He's going to say, "This was a mistake," but that look on Kasumi's face makes the words die on his lips.
So in the end he just-- nods, edging forward out of the cover of the alley. ]
We'd better hurry.
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Kasumi spent most of the ride back to Feron's ship trying to hail the Milano, to give them an update. After all, they had no idea this kind of rescue effort would be mounted. Hell, Kasumi didn't even know. She wanted to confront Feron about it, but figured it's probably best not to do so in front of Peter. And then Peter's injuries--god, he's hurt, so hurt ran through Kasumi's mind more times than she could be bothered to count as she tried her best to tend to his wounds with Medi-Gel. That, however, couldn't heal the other wounds he has, the ones he got from going through hell again. Wounds from trying to protect his friends, and trying to protect her. It took every fiber of Kasumi's being not to start crying in front of him when she saw just how badly he'd been beaten, not just tonight, but every night he's been gone, it seemed. But she did, at one point, keel over next to him and just--took his one of his hands into hers, held it to her face, and let out a long, long sigh.
And then they're finally back on the Milano, after what seems now like a long and arduous process of trying to rendezvous in the shadows, full of trickery, sabotage, and a little help still from the Shadow Broker.
With Peter back on the ship, Kasumi had wondered at first if maybe it would be a good time to leave and let him recover with his friends, and figure out what all happened, but as soon as she even had the thought and made the slightest move to turn around, Gamora took hold of her arm, and gave her a stern look.
"You shouldn't leave now, Goto," she had said, "Quill needs you. Probably."
'Probably,' huh? is Kasumi's thought when she remembers the brief exchange, now, as she sits by the kitchenette with her omni-tool's screen pulled up. ]
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