A wild one. Lex laughed. Poor man had no idea . . . well, guess he was getting a bit of a taste now. The support of the car and actually being on her feet cleared her head a bit. A dull dizziness remained but nothing she couldn’t work through.

She frowned through tight lips, eyes warily fixated on the passenger seat. Doubt remained, but she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, “He’ll follow us,” she said plainly, referring to the Braviary. Insurance, maybe? Aubie could at least spot Kaito from a mile away. Her suspicions remained; she was too paranoid for it to dissipate that easily.

Lex moved towards the other side of the vehicle with more stability than before. She slid into the passenger seat without a word and pulled the door shut behind her. The silence settled, she obviously wasn’t going to speak on the subject any further unless prodded. Now that she was seated, she could feel the aftershock of the adrenaline pulsing through her. Her hands trembled, and she couldn’t stop it.

“Ya got anything to drink in here?” she growled, flicking open the glove box in search of a familiar cure to calm her nerves.

virgil roach

The sudden outburst and Roach snapping shut the glove box made her jump – but only for a moment. With an icy, side-eyed glare she judged him. He’d shown her his secrets, his underground, a part of him he no doubt reluctantly shared. What else could he possibly have to hide?

Lex crossed her arms, sinking back into the seat. She let the silence and the sound of the engine fill the void between them. The air was so thick with tension she could taste it. He doubted her – she doubted him. The weight of it was as palpable as the weight of the Manidbuzz as it took off from the roof of the sedan. Something between them would have to give if this was going to work.

The cold glare that had quickly fixated back on the dark tunnel turned back to Roach when he spoke again. He asked a deeply personal question. One that gave her pause and visible cringe at the thought, “A Johto scumbag,” she spat, as if the words were poison. There was no use trying to hide it. There was a minor relief in finally saying it out loud, something that had only plagued her thoughts since she found out her head had a price. Her shoulders remained tense, but the chill in her glare softened, turning away to look down the tunnel once more.

virgil roach

A set of softer eyes looked over towards Roach as the tension in her shoulders melted into the torn fabric of the old sedan. A part of her . . . kind of believed him.

Lex shifted in the seat, crossed arms falling to her lap. Her finger delicately grasped the flask. A shaky finger unscrewed the cap while he was lost in thought, taking a healthy swig from the flask of mediocre whiskey. It burned a bit but hit the spot. It wasn’t quite the immediate relief she was looking for but hopefully it would set in sooner rather than later.

“Hospital!?” she choked as she laughed at the word, shaking her head, “Hell nah. Beach,” she pointed ahead down the dark tunnel.

virgil roach

”Fuck” was right. This night had taken a turn down a road she had certainly not expected. For better or for worse had yet to be decided.

The Braviary remained closer to the sedan than the Mandibuzz, just behind it. The strong beat of his wings was lost in the rumble of the old sedan but Lex could spot tailfeathers in the rearview every now and then which gave a sense of comfort.

The anxious beat of fingers against the steering wheel called to her. A familiar, hesitant twitch, “My shit is my shit and your shit is yours,” she frowned, attempting to find eyes that avoided hers, “I don’t see why it has to leech into our business,” Another swig of whiskey burned down her throat before she offered it out to Roach, “I’m not hiding behind anyone,” Quite literally – she was utterly alone. There was a bitterness in her tone, she took mild offense to being accused of hiding. Well, one may consider joining Rocket was an attempt. Even with them she wasn’t hiding, just trying to put herself in a position of enough power that Kaito would think twice about crossing the organization, “And what makes you think I’m trying to hide behind you?” A hint of a tease behind genuine curiosity. What made him think this was about anything more than just money? A pokemon black market dealer versus a Johto mobster? That would be a terrible choice on her part (although she wasn’t quite sure what Roach was capable of), “And, look, if you don’t wanna make a deal just tell me to fuck off.”

virgil roach

“Good,” she lips curled into a smile when he confirmed the deal was still on, “Yea, I got it. He won’t be a problem,” she hoped, at least. If anyone found her, they’d likely make it quiet rather than cause a scene. Less likely to spook her into running again that way.

Lex leaned forward as they approached another stone wall. The Braviary swooped over the roof of the car and joined the Mandibuzz on her perch, just far enough away to not be threatening. As far as Lex could see, it was another dead end. However, she doubted that it would be, considering her experience thus far.

“So this is the end of the line, huh?” she glanced back towards virgil roach with a curious grin.

virgil roach