Mirror's Edge RP with Jisu and the guys.

One of the four guards put his hand up to his ear, muttered something under his breath, and then motioned for the guard on the far left to push a button next to him. All at once, a monitor descended from the ceiling slowly and turned on. An all too familiar face illuminated onto the screen, which made Nolan's stomach churn.

"Why, it seems you have awaken. I'm so glad you were able to test out my babies." Scarsworth smiled through the TV monitor. "I would love to meet you face to face, but you know how it is, such security measures need to be taken against low-life criminals such as yourself."

Nolan scoffed as he readjusted slightly.

"You can see that you are confined to a gurney, in a room with no windows, and no vents, with those four gentlemen in front of you. So, please, be respectable to your lovely hosts, as you cannot escape from here." Scarsworth continued. "As you may have also deduced, I have shown pity on you and have healed your pitiful arm."

Nolan grudgingly lifted his head up, and spat "Whaddya want?"

"What I want is for you to quiet down and sit still, you plague rodent. What I want is this City to be purged of the filth brought on by you and the rest of the filth contaminating the rooftops. And with Icarus, I now have the tools necessary to accomplish my dream of a pure City!"

"But most importantly, What I want is to know what in all of Pi's digits were you doing at my speech in Town Hall?"

(lil help, guys? I seriously have no clue where I'm going. And yes, Tina. You are getting me monologue-ing. No throwing a rock in my face plz xDDDDD)

Unlike the previous mission, the conclusion of this mission did not end in all runners being welcomed back 'home' with smiles and open arms. Instead, Rachel, Chris, and Jen dejectedly entered the safehouse, the full weight of Nolan's capture on each of their shoulders.

Immediately Chris launched herself verbally at the group as a whole. "What the hell was that!?" she spat. Jen mentally braced herself, knowing first hand how rough Chris could be when she was upset, and also knowing that, in this agitated state, she rarely listened to reason. The best option was to let the anger run it's course.

Rachel too seemed to understand that, in this argument, discretion was indeed the better part of valor, her knowledge coming from the fact that she was often picked as the third member of the team when Chris and Jen filled the first two slots. The three worked well together and had done so often enough to have a certain level of unspoken communication, one that was being used currently. Looks were exchanged between Rachel and Jen. Glances and subtle expressions that indicated the desire to remain out of Chris' line of fire.

Other members of the group, however, were not so keen on the inner workings of the young brunette. Rob, although he was a great asset and handler, and all the runners trusted him implicitly while in the field, was not so adept at handling his runners on a personal level, a fact that was made painfully clear as he opened his mouth and precoded to insert his foot. "That was Scarsworth getting one of our own. None of us like it but at least these two," he jabbed his thumb in the direction of Rachel and Jen, both of whom did their best to shrink away from Chris' attention, "have enough brains in their head to not go charging in to a situation that could have gotten you capture or killed! Dammit Christy! What the hell were you thinking? Were you thinking?"

"Yes -"

"You've been a runner for how many years now? You know that what we do - there are risks to it. They're out to get us every day. Every damned day! I do all I can to help you, to keep you safe and away from the blues, but sometimes, shit just hits the fan! When that happens, all I can do - all any of us can do - is count our losses and get out before that number grows."

"So that's it then!" Chris layed into him, closing the gap between them in several large steps and hovering over him as he remained seated in his chair. All others in the room did their best to sink back into safety, as if the argument might literally explode at any given moment. "That's all we are to you? Just fucking numbers!?"

"NO!"

"Why the hell should I believe you? Where the fuck were you during all that? What did you do for Nolan?"

"You think I like having to sit here and just listen to you all put your lives on the line day in and day out? You think I like not being able to ever fucking do anything to help you all? YOU THINK I LIKE BEING STUCK IN THIS GOD DAMNED CHAIR!?" Rob bellowed, slamming his fists down on the arm rests of his wheelchair.

Everyone in the room grew even more silent. Chris' eyes traveled from Rob's face down his body to his mismatched legs, one regular, one a stump, cut off just above the knee.

Everyone knew the story. A Run. A blue. One lucky bullet. And one amputated leg. Since then, Rob had done what he could to continue to help his fellow runners, taking to intel gathering, watching over his people as best he could, hoping against hope he could save them all from his fate. The truth was, he couldn't. Nolan's capture had just proved it. Rob still held himself responsible, regardless.

After several moments of silence, Jen stepped up behind her lover. She slipped a hand under Chris' arm, gently drawing her back.

"I - I'm sorry Rob," Chris muttered, allowing herself to be pulled back by Jen. "I'm sorry. I shouldn'tve -" Rob said nothing, his eyes steadfastly avoiding Chris as Jen lightly tugged at her arm, pulling her outside of the safehouse and back onto the rooftop. The irony that the rooftops seemed safer at the moment than the safehouse was lost on the couple as rage, guilt, sadness, and love swirled into one overwhelming emotion.

All the buildings glowed a warm orangey pink, the usual stark while sterility of New Eden turning it into the perfect canvas to reflect the setting sun's colors. Again, Jen tugged at Chris' arm, this time drawing Chris into her.

Chris surrendered to the pull, moving into Jen's strong protective embrace. She felt safe there. She knew she always would. That no matter what happened, Jen would be there for her, just as she would be there for Jen. "I love you," Chirs whispered.

Jen smiled if a little sadly. "I love you too," there was a pause before she continued. "You know it wasn't Rob's fault," she sad softly. She felt Chris nod but remained silent, waiting for her to explain her words.

"I know...I guess I just...how could we lose him?"

Jen pulled back from the hug to inspect Chris. As she suspected, tears had begun to roll down her tanned face. Jen cupped Chris' cheeks in her hands, using her thumbs lovingly to brush away the tears. "Hey. It's not your fault either. There was nothing you could have done - nothing anyone could have done," she soothed. Again Chris nodded but said nothing. Jen snuck her head forward, planting a lingering kiss on Chris' lips. "It'll be alright. We'll get him back."

Suddenly Rachel stuck her head out of the door, knocking lightly on it to gain the two lovers' attention. "Hey, lovebirds," she called. Both Chris and Jen looked toward the door. "We've got a plan," she smirked.

((A-booya! I don't know how long that was except for frak long! That was one of those scenes that's just emotionally draining to write...whew. Sorry if the beginning was kinda funky. Took me a bit to get warmed up. I think may have pulled something writing that 3500 worder for CW. XDDDDD Anyway...uhm....I hope I didn't make a continuity error by sticking Rob in a wheelchair. I don't think we've had any instances of him being up and about. *is too lazy to check*))

At Scarsworth's question, Nolan could only snicker never think that a man like him who had words and speeches for everything against runners but could figure something so simply out. He rested his head back looking at the bright lights on the cieling hoping that if he stared long enough he wouldn't have to see that bastard's face again. Unfortunately, Nolan would need his eye to look for an chance at escaping this prison. He couldn't find one now but sooner or later these men before him would let down their guard. And when that time came, he would be there to exploit it. Till then he would have to play Scarsworth's game.

"I'll say this. Runner were never meant for the hustle and bustle of crowded streets. It congests the best of 'us.' I'm just like anyone in my situation: I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yeah, Scarsworth, we are human too. So sorry to ruin your 'rodent' speeches." A proud smile graced his face as he spoke to the image of Scarsworth.

"Oh," he added, "And those runners that you love so much. They suck. Sure they kept pace with me. Right after a job. I wasn't at my full capability and you sent how many... Four, five of them to get one tired runner and I killed one. If I mess up, I believe I would have bested those copycats. I'm sorry, you Ica-whatevers couldn't stand up to another runner. And trust me, there are better runners than me. So that leaves you, a runner short with a system for making copycats that doesn't work. Congratulations. I'd clap but I'm kind of strapped down."

Even though Nolan talked tough, he realized the poor position he was in. He was an imprisoned man speaking to a man with more status, power, and public appeal than Nolan ever would. It was up to him to remain quiet about anything that could endanger other runners. But it did concern him that what Scarsworth said was true. There was no way out of this room. This was to be a problem if they were going to hold Nolan here for prolong periods of time.

((No worries, Jess, Rob can be in a wheelchair. No continuity issues since you didn't describe Rob at ALL other than him having his eyes glued to the T.V. for MYYYYYY speech. *gloat*))

"Well, you seem to be quite arrogant about your abilities," Scarsworth said glaring through the monitor of the television. "But try as you might, you will not be able to talk your way out of this situation. And if my creations, as you said so nonchalantly and rudely, "suck" so much, I think you will be glad to know we will be making modifications and adjustments to them based off of your very generous contributions." Scarsworth suddenly had a devilish grin on his pale face.

"What the fuck are you talkin about, contributions?" Nolan said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, I guess I should have added, before you were so ignorant like your kind are." Victor continued, "that your capture was caught on tape for re-evaluation of my pretties, and you are personally going to help out with the modifications being applied to them as well, once your wound heals up more. So, you better start healing up fast... you have a lot of experiments to do."

Nolan suddenly realized the situation he was truly in. They had only kept him alive so that he would be pushed to his limits while a bunch of scientists in white cloaks and Scarsworth would get data from it. That was the reason he kept calling him a rat. He was going to be his personal lab rat if he didn't get out of there.

"Oh. And just so you know. We have found the rest of the vermin. They will soon be taken care of. Have a good... looong sleep, Ethan Lanon." The cold green eyes of the old man were the last thing he saw before one of the guards approached him, pulling out a rag, and held it to Nolan's face.

((Ok. Sorry this has been such a long time coming. I pretty much every class is to blame but anthro more than the others. I love it and hate it o much...*sigh*. Aaaaanyway, here all y'all go and again...sorry bout the delay. More post will be following tomorrow if not tonight.))

"Once you've got him, bring him back to the beta safehouse. I've been in touch with our sympathetic doctor and she's agreed to be waiting there for you. Everyone understand?" Rob scanned the runners standing and sitting all around the room, his eyes skipping awkwardly over Chris. Everyone nodded their understanding. "All right. So one last time: you all know what you're signing up for, right? I wont ask any of you to do this if you don't want to. You can leave now and no one will think the worse of you," he continued, gesturing toward the door.

One couple slowly stood from their seat on the couch. The woman hung her head as they made their way to the door. "Sorry, Rob," the man spoke, "we all love Nolan - he's one of us - but no one's worth a suicide mission."

As the door shut behind them Chris muttered, "Cowards," under her breath. Jen eased her hand over to her lover's which were balled into fists in her lap.

Rob took one more look around the room, his eyes pausing on Chris for a moment before he blurted out, "You all know what to do. Everyone be careful, be safe. Let's bring our boy home."

The remaining runners all filed out the door with the exception of Chris and Jen. Rachel hesitated, but upon receiving a reassuring nod from Jen, joined the others outside the safehouse. "Rob," she began but he held up his hand.

"I know, Chrisy," he said, nodding. "You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do. I shouldn't have said what I did back there. It's not your fault I was just-"

"upset," they both said in unison.

"I know," Rob said again.

"We shouldn't have lost him. I should of been there. I could have done something..."

"Like get yourself shot? Or captured too?" Jen interjected, a hint of fear audible in her voice.

For several awkward moments nothing was said. Then Rob spoke, "Look, there was nothing you could have done. The whole situation was FUBAR. No sense in beating yourself up over it. What you can do, is go out there now and get him back. But Chrisy, be smart about it. You've got to have a clear head or you're putting yourself and your other runners all in danger." Chris nodded her understanding. "Good. No go get Nolan. I've got your six," he said with a smile.

"You always do, Rob. Thanks," Chris said, bending down and giving Rob a swift hug before turning and joining the gathered runners outside. Jen shot a smile and a quick wave over her shoulder at Rob before joining her lover outside. Chris and Rachel stood waiting for her, all the other runners already having taken off. "Ready?" Chris asked, looking from Jen to Rachel. Rachel nodded but Jen simply wore an odd smile on her face as she seemed to study Chris for a moment. Chris' brow furrowed slightly. "What?"

Jen's smile broadened. "Nothing. Ask me again once we've got Nolan back," Jen said, unable to keep a slight impish smile from her lips as she spoke.

Rachel grinned slyly as if she knew something Chris did not. Chris caught the look and glared at her friend. "What aren't you telling me, Rach?"

"Nothing," Rachel mimicked Jen's words.

"Sure..." Chris said, jumping off the roof, shaking her head. Jen and Rachel exchanged knowing glances before bounding after Chris, all headed toward the hospital where Rob's intel had placed Nolan.

His heart and head-strong attitude soon disperse with the knowledge of becoming some science tool for the rest of his life. No more air to breath that wasn't regulated by Scarworth. No more family to write, even though he had literally cut ties with them already. (He hadn't a clue where they might be besides a random barcode he could put on a letter to send to them.) No more light that wasn't spouting from a glass cylinder. No more face to look upon that didn't hate him unconditionally. Maybe he could kill himself before they got a chance to use him. Wait... Scarworth probably had that covered too. Escape was the only thing that he could do. But he had to wait for the oppurtune moment. But the men walking over to him were going to take that away from him too.

As the rag came up, he took a deep breath before hand with the intention of making these guard realize what runners could do, firsthand. The rag pressed against his face, but it effects did not take hold yet. In this time window, Nolan brought his knee to the man's crouch, having an adequte range of motion to do so. Apparently Scarworth didn't see him as much of a threat if he could run away. Unfortunately, the bars on the side of hospital bed allow the restrains to move up and down. The guard recoiled, and dragged the rag against his face and to the floor, but shortly after was replaced by another, more violent, man who thrusted the butt of his SMG into his gut. It a repeat of last time, the fumes were finally allowed to fill his lungs and slow his heart to a crawl. The world became a liquid slush and the pain from his stomach faded away as his head slumped to one side and that was that.

His arm guard began to ready him for transportation to another the more secure ICARUS facility where Nolan's days as the facility's new test subject would begin. The bed tilted backward and the soldiers began to move the package out in accordance to the plan Scarworth had laid out. A secured, armored truck was to meet them at the front of this facility and transport the runner to the new facility, however the time that they were to meet at the front was a few minutes away. But like most soldiers in a government that controls everything, they didn't realize the dangers of moving the package to the target zone early. Besides they had enough firepower and authority to hold off whatever came their way. And so they checked their clips, flipped the safety off, and started off down the halls walking slow to make sure they could arrive at the extraction zone closer towards the schedule time.

As Nolan was being carried out of the small room, the unfortunate guard readjusted his pants armor, saying

"God damn stupid son of a bitch fucking nutted me!" The leaner guard next to him chuckled as she watched him struggle to get his gears in place.

"Hey, Ramirez, you gonna stop playing with your balls for a minute and get on with the relocation of the prisoner?" She said with a smirk through her visor.

"Shut the fuck up! You wouldn't be so snarky if someone kicked you in the cunt!" Ramirez snarled.

"At least I wouldn't be crying like a little bitch if that happened!"

"RAMIREZ! DAVIS!" A speaker above them boomed. "Need I remind you WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING? Or do I have to cut more than your salary this time for your incompetence?" Scarsworth yelled at the two peons.

Both guards snapped at attention, shocked at the sudden barking of commands. They had forgotten about the computer surveillance system around the complex, which was of course all thanks to Kruger. Scarsworth had his eyes and ears all around the building, and his ears were burning very much at this moment.

"We're sorry, Sir. We'll get the Runner into the lab immediately. No more delays will occur." Davis said with a slight stammer.

"That's good to hear. If this distraction occurs again, however, I will not be as kind as I am being now." Scarsworth said in a low menacing voice.

"Yes sir!"

Both guards followed the rest of the guards taking off Nolan to his fate.

"Dumbass.." Davis shot under her breath.
"Stupid Cunt..." Ramirez shot back.

((Again, sorry bout the long post time. Essay after fraking essay...really I am sorry.))

Within a a few minutes, the small group of runners was assembled on top of the hospital roof, Rachel already working the roof access door with her lock pick. No one talked and everyone was hugging a wall or AC unit. With a soft click, the lock was picked and Rachel silently pulled the door open. The group was about to move in when they all heard Rob's voice in their ears.

"Everyone hold on. I just got some new intel. Hang on it's still coming in." There was a pregnant pause. Everyone was eager to get off the open
roof. Unlike most roofs which proved to be a runners haven, the hospital roof had a helicopter landing pad which made it a very disliked place by the runners. They glanced at each other, waiting for Rob's explanation. "Ok it's been confirmed. The blues are about to transport someone out of the hospital. Dunno who for sure but they're using an armored transport vehicle and a full escort. If I was a betting man, I'd say it was our boy. So new plan. I want you all scattered. Some street level," a comment to which several runners groaned, "some rooftops. I want everyone within eye-shot of the patient loading zone, and those of you on the roof, you know the closest stash spots. Got get snipes and provide support," he paused and all the assembled runners exchanged worried glances, realizing just what Rob was proposing. "This is gonna get ugly people. So one last time, anyone who wants to walk, do it now. Other than that, split yourself up and get into positions. I want more people on the roofs than on ground level. Anyone on the ground is to hold position until the all clear is given, then you move in and get Nolan outta there! They should be loading him onto the vehicle in no more than five minute so everyone hustle!"

And with that, the group scattered, already having wordlessly determined who was going where while Rob was instructing. Three of their number headed toward the adjacent building, knowing it's stairwells safe to go down while the rest of the group fractured in three different directions, heading for sniper rifle stashes.

Within three minutes they were all back and set up on various rooftops, all with a clear line of sight at the armored vehicle that now sat in the patient loading dock, waiting to receive it's runner cargo.

Being knocked out, Nolan's head slumped to one side, droll leaking from the corner of his mouth. Thankfully he didn't have to ear the guards banter for the remained of his trip, though he did miss the ability to talk. The conversation might have been filled with harsh language and he might have been punched a few times but the guy he kicked in the groin but other than that it would have been nice to talk to normal people. Runners were people too, having maded some friends among the few that existed, most only turning up dead or imprisoned, but having become a Runner, Nolan had become rather isolated, taking not chances with anyone. He never walked about without being paranoid of cameras, always walked around with a hood covering his head like some sort of crook, taking detours to avoid Blues, never making a real friend. Even that girl at the cafe who smiled at him every time he went and got a cup of coffee after a night job. He never talked to her or got her number. Maybe he could become a cop... It wasn't a bad idea. Decent wage, sucky hours, not to mention holding a respectable position in a corrupted society. Then he would have to hunt down the very people he once was. Wouldn't be hard... Already knew where they were, how to out run them. What was he thinking!? Not only was it morally wrong but Scarsworth wasn't going to let him have a life again, even working for him. There was too much on the line having caught a Runner. It wouldn't hurt to make it his campaign though. Maybe he could have a life again... Maybe. But could he really go through with such betrayal. Perhaps it would have been better to just slept peacefully.

But what about Rob and the other Runners. They must have been doing something behind the scenes to get him back. He wished they hadn't. Before blacking out, he took notice to the type of forces they would be up against if they attempted to retrieve him. Heavily armed, in numbers, probably with special training funded by Scarsworth, no doubt. Hell, Nolan wouldn't want to go against them and he was used to facing armed Blues. Not knowing where he was exactly, Nolan could feel in his gut his former life about to end. They would soon be placing him into a armored car, dragging him across the city, and he would be breeding the next set of those Blue Runners that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

"Hey hey hey, watch his legs!" Ramirez barked as he struggled with an incapacitated Nolan in a gurney.

"Watch your own damn side, asshole!" Davis shot back at him. "Your grip on the guy is so low it's like you don't have any balls... oh wait my bad." She grinned slightly as Ramirez shot back with a bunch of Hispanic panic.

The truck doors of the armored car opened up, showing the contents inside. The back portion of the armored vehicle looked almost like a giant metal box, although it had straps on the floor that would be attached to the gurney so it wouldn't move during the ride to the laboratory.

"Davis, you have 10 minutes to transfer the patient over. Do I make myself clear?" Victor's voice buzzed over the radio.

"Perfectly clear, sir!" Davis said obediently to the man signing her paychecks, not to mention her security. She knew as much as anybody else on the squad that she could be easily replaced by another hopeful young cadet with glory and honor in his eyes, and Scarsworth wouldn't let her go too easily with the amount of knowledge she has about his 'operations'.

The truck driver yelled to the squad in the back, "Oy! Are we ready to go yet or what?"

"Yes, we're strapped in and secure. Start the car!" Davis told the somewhat impatient driver.

"Damn... I really don't get paid enough for this..." Ramirez said under his breath. "I hope I'm not bruised or some shit like that.."

"Will you shut up about your nuts for 5 minutes, Ramirez? Jesus christ let it go!" Davis started.

"Man, /I/ don't get paid enough for this." the truck driver thought.

Silently, a dozen sniper rifles tracked the movement of one unconscious Nolan from the docking bay into the back of the armored transport, watching as the doors closed and the small protective caravan prepared to move out.

"Alright, Rachel. You've got eyes on the ground and I don't so you're in command of this one. As soon as you all are ready, open fire and get our boy back." Rob's voice cracked over the group's comm devices.

"Roger. Alright," Rachel began, her voice changing noticeably into a more commanding tone, "You two on the west roof, I want you to each take out a tire of the main transport vehicle. Chris, you and I have the tires on this side. All the rest of you are giving support fire; they're sure to have a few heavy guns of their own that I'm sure they'll open up on us. That brings up another point: if you're position becomes compromised, MOVE. Getting off that one last perfect shot is not worth getting a bullet in your ass."

Down below the last few guards pilled into various vehicles as multiple engines roared to life.

"Snipers, take out those tires, now!" Rachel called, bringing up her own rifle and taking careful aim at the forward tire on her side of the transport vehicle. A second later it was flat, along with the three other tires. Several of the vehicles that had already began driving screeched to a halt as, all around, security swarmed out of cars and SUVs, training their heavy machine guns in all directions, looking for the perpetrators but finding none.

"Alright, let's pick them off!" Rachel ordered, and, from all the surrounding rooftops, the deafening sound of high powered snipe after snipe echoed throughout the canyon of the city bellow. "Ground team, remember, you are staying well hidden till I give the all clear. Then and only then will you move in and get Nolan out. Have a knife handy, I'd imagine he'll be restrained."

((Ok, so, at this point I can keep my assault going and finish off the extraction, or I could give you two a chance to respond. I don't know if there's much either of you could really do so...you might just wanna let me finish so you have something to play off of. If that's the case, lemme know and I can just continue this post. If either of you wants to respond to the assault, just go ahead and do it.))

((I'm up for responding against the assault, seeing as my men are pretty much sitting ducks... and well. I'll just wait for Tina's go ahead cause he's kinda knocked out. xD;;;; ))

His life had been in a haze for so long that it was hard to tell that he was actually waking up from his chemically induced slumber into a nice relaxing yet rocky truck ride, still strapped snuggly to the hospital bed enjoying the sound of bullets ping and bounce off the metal of the armor... Wait a minute. Bullets... And gunshots? Those weren't exactly normal things to hear why being escorted... Or was it? This was difficult to answer as Nolan wasn't experience in being taken prisoner, drugged, and transported. But nothing was going to be discovered simply by lying about. Still drowsy, Nolan weakly lifted his head and moved his gaze about to see the guards peering out of the window, attempting to establish just what in the world was going on outside. Looks like they were as confused as he was though they weren't just waking up from being drugged. He took this time to test his limitations. He relied mostly on his sense of touch as his sight was still rather fuzzy. One leg. The cold sting of his cuffs against his exposed ankles. The other leg yield similar results, as well as his arms. He was still trapped but relieved that he was inside the indestructible metal box on wheels while the people were being shot outside. So, Nolan threw his head back onto the cushion and staring lazily at the ceiling, waiting for something to happen although not truly knowing what.

"What the fuck is going on outside!?" Ramirez shouted, looking at Davis as if she knew the answer. "How the fuck do you think I know? We're being attacked for this fucker right here!" Davis shot back at him, unlocking the safety on her assault rifle. "You better be ready for anything, who knows how many people are out there." She signaled to the truck driver to get down, unfortunately for her he had already passed out from the stress of almost being shot. "Fucking hell. Now how are we supposed to get the truck moving?" She said frustratingly as another bullet clanged on the side of the hulking scrap of iron and steel they were being protected by.

"Well, I ain't going to sit here and wait for them to spray bullets in our asses!" Ramirez said, grabbing towards the door.

"STOP RIGHT THERE! You know our orders are to protect this asshole until he gets to the facility across town. I don't need you getting your ass shot down because of your carelessness!" Davis said with a certain tone in her voice. "I... I need you here." Her voice faltered a little.

"Well. Shit. That means I have to stay here then, don't I? Especially since it's an order from a higher up." Ramirez said, slightly grinning and slightly hunching his shoulders lower than before. "So, what's the big plan?"

"To pray that the guys outside of this vehicle take care of the people shooting at us, and if they don't, and they get past here.... well. We have to protect this guy until he gets to the facility, so If we are able to move out, we should." Davis had gone through scenarios in her head before the assignment took place, but she didn't really expect for the truck to be taken out so early in the ride.

"Well, you stick to the praying." Ramirez scoffed. "I'm gonna get ready to take on these sonsofbitches."

All around the armored transport, guards continued to fall, punctured most often in the head, the easiest spot in their armor to penetrate. Several of the runner snipers had been spotted and had to relocate and one was sporting a bleeding through and through on his right shoulder, but on the whole, they had faired quite well compared to the guards who now lay scattered dead around the vehicle.

"Alright, anyone see any more sown there?" Rachel called. All posts sounded off with a no and so Rachel gave the word to move on the transport. "Just be careful, there could be a few men inside the vehicle. Don't relax just yet. Don't get sloppy."

With an acknowledgment, the ground runners moved toward the doors of the transport vehicle, swiftly pulling them open and standing behind the bullet-proof doors as they peaked inside for their companion.

((POSTING FOR TYNAN BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS NOW~))

"Grawhghhhhhahwghrhghrhaghaghjsdhaghjhhghgaheagghahhghghragragagghahgrhgrhgh"

*end of autopilot seizure*

The back doors of the tiny armored vehicle started to slowly open. Davis cocked her assault rifle and pointed towards the back of the vehicle, ready to give Ramirez any back up he needed.

"Nolan! We're here to get yo-" A guy in a hoodie and cargo pants said as he opened the door only to receive the business end of Ramirez's shotgun. "Shit!" another voice from outside yelled as she kicked down the door, knocking Ramirez on his ass. His shotgun clattered to the floor, and Davis shot towards the new intruder, hitting her straight through the head. "We have to move the car, Ramirez!" Davis yelled, holding the back doors closed with frustration. "Go up to the driver's seat and see if you can start her up! And keep clear of the windows!"

"Got it!" Ramirez said as he started the truck while staying as low and out of sight from the windows as possible. Even if they had shot the tires out, we still got rims. he thought. There! In that alley!

"Hurry up, Ramirez! I can't hold this door much longer!" Davis yelled with strain in her voice.

The truck slowly pulled into the alleyway, out of sight from the snipers on the rooftops.

"FUCK-" Davis yelled as the door was shoved open and three new invaders shoved themselves in. Davis received a quick kick to her sternum, hitting the side of the vehicle with a sickening thud.

"Shit!" Ramirez said as he turned around with his shotgun in hand, pointed, and clicked.

"Stay back! We only need him, and then we're out of your hair." He said as he pointed an assault rifle he most likely acquired from the squad outside at Davis. "Nobody else needs to die."

"You motherfuckers aren't going to get away with this." Ramirez said with scorn while putting his hands up. There was no way for him to reach the pistol on his ankle in time to neutralize the threat, and he was not going to sacrifice Davis for this punk Runner.

"Alright then, Newt, grab Nolan. Diana, you signal the rooftops to watch out for any more security on the move."

The guy that the other runner called Newt untied Nolan from the gurney, and with help from the woman named Diana, they carried Nolan out of the truck. The moment that they stepped beyond the truck doors, the armed Runner pointed the gun towards Ramirez and grabbed Davis' radio.

"You won't need this anymore. Now turn around." He said as he raised his weapon to Ramirez's face.

Ramirez stared at him for a bit, and turned around seeing no other options at his disposal. He knew what was coming. He knew that he had failed in his mission. He knew that he was about to get his ass knocked out.

The strike fell down hard, and suddenly he only saw darkness.

He was hoping he was executed. He really did not want to face Scarsworth after this. If he came to, he was a dead man.

"Bekki? Bekki! Report!" Rachel called into her comm, a worried tone creeping into her voice. With the truck pulled into the ally she had lost all visual contact with her people and was growing more and more anxious by the second.

"Bekki's gone, Rach. But we got Nolan," Another runner responded as the remaining three appeared from the alleyway. Diana and Newt carrying the unconscious form of Nolan between them.

"Aaron, what the hell happened?" Rachel demanded.

"There were two guards inside the truck -"

"Dammit! I TOLD you to be careful! I told you -"

"Can we get chewed out AFTER we're back at the safehouse please?" Aaron snarled.

"Fine." Was Rachel's curt answer.

Cautiously the runners made their way back to Rob's safehouse, gently setting Nolan down on the couch once they arrived. The three runners from the ground team were escorted outside by Rachel, no doubt a lecture was impending. The rest of the runners, meanwhile, clustered around Nolan, trying to asses their comrade's situation.

It was an odd sensation being half awake and partial aware of your surroundings. Sure he wouldn't do it again if he had the chance to but then again it wasn't his idea to get caught in the first place. It was more accident imprisonment. If he wasn't supposed to hate his captors with every fiber of his being he would have thanked them for bandaging up his arm, the free truck right and, the nice cozy bed to be strapped down to. As he faded in an out though he caught wind of some interesting things. Voices exclaiming, gunshots going off, the sound of the armored car moving grudgingly away from the area. Finally, he vaguely remembered the feeling of people grabbing him, pulling him off the cozy bed and off to somewhere. He didn't much care to know where he was going as long as he was getting away from those people in the truck, the one's he knew worked for that bastard Scarsworth, the one person he knew he really didn't like him. Though, he struck him as the sort that actually liked to be hated by his sort of people (runners). As his body moved about, being wafted away by his comrades, the effects of the meds came back and the world slowly grew dark again as his eye closed and his head slumped.

By the time his mind woke up again, he felt the drugs were all spend feeling less drowsy than his last attempted to stir. His eyes openly sluggishly as garage doors, one after the other to look upon the faces of some concerned friends. He felt one corner of his mouth lift upwards as he spoke in a tired voice, "That run really sucked didn't it?" There was a small bit of giggling within the sighs and smiles of relief. Nolan was alive and back with them. Nolan's arm was still very sore from being injured but the bandages had made it easier to deal with, yet he still required some help to lift himself up off the couch. With a fellow runner under his arm as support he began to move around the room trying to regain his step while checking on the others. His eyes fell on Rob. Nolan had an obligation as a runner to warn them of Scarsworth's ICARUS project and just what they were doing. "Rob. I guess I owe you for getting me out of there. But about those blue runners, I-" But he was stopped short.

"You can tell me later. Get yourself cleaned up and rested. Plus a bunch of us were worried about you. So take it easy." Rob stated before turning away to fiddle with something else. Come to think of it, Nolan had been wearing the same blood stained jacket this entire time. Using his good arm and that of another, the jacket came off and a grey t-shirt took its place, only the corner of the sleeve was dabbed with dried blood. As for his pants... Well, he couldn't do much to mend that problem. After a minute or two of thanking the runners individual for getting him out, Nolan finally approached Chris and Jen to do the same. "So the job got done then." He started sternly but eventually eased up and began to grin weakly. "Guess I should be thanking you, yeah? Would've been screwed without you guys."

"WHAAT!? YOU DID WHAT!?" an irritated voice called out from behind two sturdy wooden doors. Their rattling shook the very frame of the doors enough to cause a continuous thud to come from contact between the wood frame and the doors.

"BRING THOSE IDIOTS IN!"

"Ohh crap. He's totally pissed." One guard standing outside said to the man on the other side of the disturbed door frame.

"Yeah. I haven't heard him yell this bad in a while. Wonder what the hell happened. You know anything about it?" the second guard replied.

"Nah. Only some shit about Ramirez letting go of something too soon, and Davis being in the middle of it."

At this statement, the second guard started laughing, and upon the first guard's confusion, said "Man, say that again and tell me it doesn't say something about Ramirez and Davis." A moment after this was stated by the second guard, the first guard joined in on the laughter, adding in his own "Oh DAAA-UM!" to the mix. "Seems like something the bitch would do!"

"What the fuck do you think it says about us, Miller?" a very aggressive voice grunted out from in front of them. Standing there was a not-so complacent Ramirez holding up Davis while she held her arm in a sling.

"Oh, uh, sir!" The laughing had stopped, and both of the tactless guards stood at attention. "I, uh.. that's to say-"

"Can it, shithead! I don't care what kind of bullshit you pull out of your ass, it's not worth hearing!" Ramirez barked at his incompetent ramblings.

Ramirez grabbed the guard and pinned him to the wall with his free hand.

"You can talk shit about me behind my back, Hell, you can talk about Scarsworth for all I care. But you fucking talk about Davis here after all she's done for scum like you, you can just go to hell. And rank and society be damned, you can be damn fucking sure that it'll be by my hands you'll go to hell by if you continue your bullshit."

Ramirez released his grip of the guard, and he continued to collapse to the floor. He then left the two guards dumbfounded and scared out of their minds in that hallway while carrying Davis in.

"Thanks, Ramirez." Davis whispered towards him.

"Don't mention it."

"If I wasn't still a little woozy, you wouldn't have had to-"

"They're scum. You don't have to defend your reputation or mine from them." Ramirez cut her off. "It is time to defend yourself from our very pissed off boss, however." Ramirez lifted her up slightly more, letting her have more free reign of her legs. "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'm going to be." Davis replied, taking Ramirez's arm out from under her arms. She started to walk forward, hiding her weakness rather well.


This is gonna be one long post-op summary. Both Davis and Ramirez thought at the same time.

((Tynan, I'm gonna hijack Nolan for a line or two just so I can get an important plot point to happen w/o having to wait through another round of posting. If he doesn't speak or behave quite how he would, lemme know and I can retcon it.))

Chris and Jen both grinned broadly as Nolan approached them. He spoke of the completion of the mission, and offered words of thanks for his rescue.

"We don't leave our own behind," Jen deadpanned.

"At least not you," Chris added with a jovial grin on her face. "Some of the other's I'm not so sure about." A joke that got her a swift elbow in the ribs from Jen. "Ow! Sorry," she mumbled.

"Good to see you back on your feet already. Glad that bastard didn't fuck you up too bad," Jen said, to which Chris nodded her agreement.

From outside the saferoom, Rachel's voice could be heard, chastising Aaron, Diana, and Newt for their careless behavior during the mission. "I'd better go save those three," Chris said, excusing herself. "Glad you're back home, Nolan," she said as she slipped out the door.

Once Chris was outside, Jen looked back to Nolan, anxiety etched on her usually calm and collected features. "Hey, Nolan. I wanna ask you something." She Reached down to one of the zipper compartments of her cargo capris and produced a small box. She opened it, revealing a small but elaborate diamond ring. "I'm gonna ask Chris to marry me. I - I was hoping you'd be my best man? We've known each other for...geeze years, I don't even know. It'd make me so happy."

Nolan faltered for a moment, the question had come so completely out of the blue. "Uh...yeah. I mean, yes! I'd be honored. Just uh...lemme heal up before you go getting hitched, yeah?" By now a wide grin could be seen on both faces.

"Thank you! And yes - of course - after you're better. Oh, thank you, Nolan!" Jen moved to hug him but thought better of it. "Uhm, can you not tell anyone else just yet? I'm gonna go ask Chris now. Then we'll announce it." Nolan nodded gleefully. "Thanks!" Jen bubbled as she slipped the box back in her pocket and headed out the door.

((Ok, sorry to do this guys but I can't finish this post now...I'm not in the proper mindset to write a proposal. I'd frak it up, and it's a very important moment. I'll finish the post tomorrow, you have my word!))

((Don't worry, when I was bitching at you, I didn't expect you to write your post THAT second! D: Take a break for a bit... just not too long. xD))

Jen passed three very shameful looking runners heading back into the safehouse as she exited. She just managed to hide an impish smile that came from knowing exactly the type of earful the three just got; a smile that quickly faded when she recalled the cause of the lecture. As she approached Chris and Rachel, she caught the tail end of their discussion, waiting patiently for the two to finish.

"You can't make excuses for them, Christy. They didn't just make a silly mistake that knocked some time off a route. They fucked up bad. They got careless. And now Bekki's dead. Do you get that? Dead," Rachel fumed.

"I know what dead is, Rachel. Just because I haven't been running as long as you have, doesn't mean I don't get what it is to be a runner, what it means, what we all risk every damn day. But now isn't the time to jump down their throats about it. They feel Beks' loss same as all of us, maybe even more acutely. There will be a time for lectures and discipline, but not right now. Let them mourn," Chris said, firmly but gently. She knew Rachel was upset but she also knew her friend was just as mad at herself as she was at the other three and she needed to vent at someone.

Rachel opened her mouth to respond but clamped it shut again when she caught sight of Jen. "Hey, Jen," she said in a tight voice.

"Hey," Jen replied. Her eyes darted to Chris and a sheepish grin crossed her face before she looked back to Rachel. "Mind if the two of us have a minute alone?" she said inclining her head toward Chris.

Rachel puffed out an exasperated breath. "Sure," she said pivoting on her heels and heading back inside.

Once the door closed Chris turned to her lover, concern briefly visible on her features. "You okay?" she asked, her mind already racing through the numerous horrible possibilities.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, Christy," she soothed, closing the distance between the women and taking Chris' hands in her own to reassure her.

A lightbulb suddenly seemed to go off in Chris' head. "Oh! Hey you said, once we got Nolan back, to ask you why you were so smiley before..."

Jen chuckled. "Perfect segue, actually." By now, Jen was ALL smiles. She couldn't have kept the grin off her face to save her life. "Christina, we've known each other for so long now, and loved each other for a good long time too. I know we live dangerous lives, today proved that. I know," her smile faded for a moment, "something could happen to either one of us at any time. But that," gradually her smile returned to it's former full blown status, "is exactly why I feel it's so important for us to be together, to be there for each other, for as much time as we have left together. To make the most of it, while it lasts." By now, Chris had an inclination of what was going on and slowly, cautiously, a smile was beginning to form on her face that rivaled Jen's. "Christina Forrest," Jen lowered herself onto one knee, withdrawing the ring box from her pocket and holding it before Chris, "will you make me the happiest woman in the world?" Jen opened the box revealing the ring. Chris, who was already on the verge of tears, gasped and bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep from crying. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" she finished, her extreme nervousness still being masked by a huge grin.

"Oh, Jen. Yes!" Chris threw her arms around Jen, nearly knocking the kneeling woman over. Luckily, Jen recovered in time and rose to her feet, holding Chris tight in her arms. "Yes! Yes! YES, I'll marry you!"

"I love you." Jen croaked, her voice barely working due to the multitude of emotions running rampant in her at the moment.

"I love you, too!" Chris said, her eyes brmming with tears that, no longer checked, were now free to run down her face and into the corners of her broad smile. She inched her head forward until her lips met Jen's, her hand snaking behind Jen's head to run fingers through her hair and pull her deeper into the kiss before finally parting to allow the couple to fully breath and look into each other's eyes.

Without loosing eye contact, Jen reached into the box and withdrew the ring. She took hold of Chris' left hand and, with love and pride, gently slid the ring onto her beloved's ring finger.

"It's beautiful," Chris purred, admiring the ring as she flexed her wrist side to side so the diamond caught the light.

"It is," Jen agreed in a tranquil voice, "because it's on you." She gazed lazily at Chris for anther moment or two before speaking again. "We should go tell the others," she said pulling Chris gently by both hands toward the door.

"Right now?" Chris whined, giving some resistance to Jen's pull. "I can think of something I'd rather do...or someone," she added with a wicked, hungry grin on her face.

Jen exhaled. "Shit, how can I say no to that?" Chris giggled triumphantly and tried to pull in the other direction but Jen persisted. "We should at least go make an appearance, make sure Nolan's still alright, that Rach isn't chewing anyone out too bad, let everyone know we're headed home for the night."

Now it was Chris' turn to sigh. "Fine. I'm hiding the ring though. They'll know when we tell them."

Jen made a sound that was something between a laugh and a snort. "Alright then. But Nolan and Rachel both already know. I asked Nolan to be my best man; he accepted," Jen smiled.

"That's great! I know you two go way back," Chris said, slipping her left hand inside the clasp of her right, effectively hiding the ring as the two entered the saferoom, both trying desperately to conceal their bubbly dispositions.

((LOLOLOLOL victory sex is in the future! xDDDD))

((Psssst. Tina? You're turn, dude. Just wanted to make sure you weren't getting thrown off by the fact that Ismael said something last. It wasn't a post. It's all you.))