Talk about a buzz kill.

Remi sits in silence, absorbing his every word with some degree of horror.

"Who did?"

Did she want to know the answer to that?

"No wonder your cheekbones are so sharp."

mission: recruitment act. 1

THEO BECKETT

☉

"rocket."

a glimpse into the sacrifices she'd have to make. but would she see it as such? would she realize or understand?

he finally reaches for his drink.

"i've been told they're sharp enough to cut."

Remi Cassel
mission!

☉

Hold the phone.

"Rocket?"

She can't help but feel just the slightest bit of hilarity and disbelief. But the severity of his tone and his cheekbones, even outside of his maybe attempt at a joke leaves her drink untouched and her face blank.

"So what I'm hearing is Rocket is genuinely worse than our current government, but they're still running anyway. At least the League has the decency to lie about the shady shit they do."

Remi purses her lips and finally lifts her drink to her lips.

"Is that what you want me to be? A killer?"

mission: recruitment act. 1

THEO BECKETT

☉

"depends what perspective you're looking from, i suppose."

rocket, league, the differences become miniscule in the grand scheme of things. it's in the minute where things get complicated; where one small action could change everything.

it's why he chooses not to dwell on loyalties, but rather on the intentions. what drives remi beyond money, revenge, and the need to survive?

"i want you to be whatever i need you to be. a killer is one of them."

Remi Cassel
mission!

☉

"Hm."

Honestly, she isn't sure what to make of it and everything that he's saying. It's why her drink remains untouched, because she can't afford to be unfocused while deliberating such a sensitive topic. His severity is nothing like what she's used to. Past partners of hers had been temporary and ultimately irrelevant. They asked no questions, and only expected her to perform.

But here he was, sitting across from her with an orange peel in his drink, asking her to be a killer.

"Whatever you need me to be."

She taps her fingertips against the counter, considering his words.

"That's a first."

Hoenn had, at first, been temporary. A pit stop in her tumultuous life full of non-commitments. Always on the go, never sticking to one place for too long. A life of loyalty to herself, and only herself, until right now. He was asking her for more, now, more than she's ever been asked of before.

"But I'll see what I can do."

mission: recruitment act. 1

THEO BECKETT

☉

that's that. a dip of his head allows the conversation to move along, and though the path forward is clear, he chooses to revisit something.

"you never told me about your first kill."

the orange peel is tipped up and into the glass.

Remi Cassel
mission!

☉

Remi hesitates, having conveniently forgot their story trade deal. The glass hovers just past her lips and she twists it to catch the light. She ruminates on the memory, on the cold trickle down her spine.

"I promised him I would protect him. And I did."

She glances at Theo, though her eyes drift back down to the wood grain in the bar.

"He ran into trouble, got into something he shouldn't have. Buried himself too deep and he wanted out-- so I got him out. I would do whatever it took to keep him safe, anything at all."

So when his life had been threatened by a gang that had sunk their claws into him, she hadn't hesitated. Not only had she replaced him and took his burden for her own, but she had severed the head that had kept him trapped there.

mission: recruitment act. 1

THEO BECKETT

☉

"i don't doubt it."

anyone would be a fool to. her loyalties are clear to him now, and though she may hold none towards him, that could very well change in the near future.

he raises his glass towards her.

"welcome to rocket."

Remi Cassel
mission!

☉

Bitterness rises. It makes her sick, makes her angry. She swirls the drink in her glass, then in her cheek, before swallowing its burn.

She'd promised to protect him-- but he had died anyway.

Remi glances back at him and his raised glass. She doesn't argue with him because she can't afford to. She needs him just as much, if not more, than he needs her. She was replaceable, but he was not.

"Glad to be here."

Their glasses clink together and she offers a smirk.

mission: recruitment act. 1

THEO BECKETT

☉