the two of them have been in the same circle for a long time now. but that doesn't mean parker knows jayden's favorite color. or his favorite food. she knows all she needs to know about him - and it ain't much. 

but that's the case with most people she knows. it's not personal. 

"yeah," she says. she hasn't seen him in a while, but that's not abnormal either. lots of rockets have been going missing these days. or have been put six feet under. she suppresses a shudder. 

"remus has," she says and nods toward the lucario. "but we don't gotta worry. their ragtag group leader's a dumbass. 've kicked 'im around a few times."

jayden cross

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she shrugs. "look, the kid can't catch a break." medical bills add up. and after bax's tough break losing his mom, he's in a hell of a lot of debt. she tries not to get close, especially in cases like this, but she's had to shake him down for change so many times she's seen the signs around him. 

all that blood in the water, drawing the sharks out to him. and he knows it. hence his stupid fucking gang. if he wasn't such a knucklehead, he might've actually been able to chip away at the debt. 

"i'll make sure his face don't come back pretty after this," she says with a roll of her eyes. she has warned him in the past. not her fault he hasn't listened. 

"remus says there's only three of 'em. think they're holding a 'team meeting' or some shit. you wanna interrupt calmly or...boldly?" she says, wicked grin dancing on her lips.

jayden cross

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no more need for talk. he'd given her all the permission she didn't need. so she snubs her nose and jerks her chin to amulius. the blaziken kicks the door in. wood blasts out, singeing at the edges. parker goes in first, with amulius and remus shoulders in behind her. 

there are some donuts on a table. a bowl of punch. the two men and one woman before them look startled and for one long second, nothing happens. baxter is standing, donut halfway to his mouth, but it's frozen in time. recognition flickers and then time starts moving again. 

"fuck." the donut falls to the ground and he scrambles for the pokeballs at his side. 

amulius is there instantly, knocking them aside and into remus' waiting arms. the other two manage to draw out a shelgon and a banette. parker looks over her shoulder. 

"you got them?"

jayden cross

☉

dispatched of his pokemon, baxter turns to the only logical thing. parker nears and he goes to slug her. he's a big guy and if he does manage to hit, he'll do some damage. but this ain't parker's first rodeo and she'd seen that fist the minute they started this fight. 

she dodges to the side; hands come up and his elbow catches in the curve between her thumb and index finger. there's a horrible crack, followed by an angry bellow. 

to give him credit, she'd expected him to drop like the baby he is, but instead another fist comes towards her. she tenses reflexively and grunts as his knuckles connect with the side of her ribs. other than that, she doesn't flinch. 

"ehh, park, park, park. c'monnn."

she straightens, but her shoulders stay tensed, waiting for a strike that (probably) won't come. 

"you done?" she says, arching a brow.

the crackle-pop of fire interrupts them and bax looks past her, face paling. parker thinks he's scared enough, but then remembers her promise to jayden. she sighs, flexes her hand, and slams a clenched fist into his nose. 

blood sprays and he wheels backwards, falling onto his ass and wailing like a baby. 

parker sighs and looks back at jayden, expecting he'd have finished the two pokemon with ease. 

jayden cross

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the hand wraps spread over her knuckles had cushioned the blow for herself, but damn if her hand doesn't ache. she wants to give it a shake and probably would've if jayden weren't there, but instead she clenches her teeth past the pain and swallows it. 

bax instantly stops his swearing over his broken body parts and clams up, realizing that might be the least of his worries here. he looks past the blade at his throat, past jayden, and at parker, eyes wide and pleading. 

stop making me look bad, fucker. 

"b-b-bills. i-i meand do pay, i swear. dat's why i started th-dis side hustle. parkher, tell him. dell him i'm good for it!" 

his broken nose isn't helping his 'not sound like a baby' act. she crouches down to his level, knees bent, balancing on her toes. contemplates with her hand on her chin - his blood a brilliant spray of white on her arm. 

"think he'll be more manageable without a tongue."

if he could whiten even more, he would have. he shudders back. tears stream down his cheeks. "got anudder loan. shit. in da lockbox. all dere."

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this is the cold calculation of a beast. this is something not-quite-human. someone parker could have been, could still be. she toes that line sometimes, when the blood is roaring in her ears and the sound of sallow flesh - loosening under each blow - the sound of being unmade makes her dizzy. drunk. blissful. 

it's awful, watching it, and she's glad jayden's so focused on the task at hand that he can't see the look in her eyes. 

she rocks back on her heels and springs up. dips a hand in the open donut box and grabs one while she fiddles with the lockbox on the table. it's locked, clearly, but remus is quick to take care of it. 

"everything we need's in here," she says around a bite of a glazed donut. 

"he'll keep his word," she says as she thumbs the bills. just in case. over her shoulder, she locks eyes with him. stay. quiet. and says, "'cause he knows you actually have the balls to finish the job."

bax looks back up at jayden and nods as best he can against the knife on his throat. 

jayden cross

☉