amber hues peered behind dark, thick lashes. rory swallows, visibly annoyed. when he speaks her nose wrinkles, the smell of nicotine coming off immediately. "take a mint or something next time," rory said reactively, falling into the cushion of her seat. he looked like the same mess of a man she'd seen last time they got together. why the organization paired her with this mess, she didn't know.

his stoic attitude did little to appease her sour mood. "of course I've bee-" her words were razor sharp, but loud. looking around, she met the eyes of curious patrons. lowering her voice, she restarted. "I've been here thirty minutes. you know, when we agreed to meet?" rory had few doubts that that gray would actually show remorse. at this point, she didn't need or want it.

"we're on probation, remember? so when we agree to be here at a certain time, at least try to make it, okay?" huffing, small hands reached for the mug. they were shaking a bit. not cold, nor afraid, but rather rushed with adrenaline. confronting others always did this to her. of course, the coffee wasn't helping. anxiety wasn't something she could just shake off, though. no matter how much she wanted too.

sighing, she tried to release the irritation from her voice. rory wasn't confident it would work. "did you bring it?" it being the localized EMP burst. gray said he knew a guy, and while rory wasn't sure he was telling the truth, she had little options but to believe him. if they wanted to take out the security cameras discreetly — they needed it.

like a damn littered with cracks, rory struggles to hold in her flame licked words. as if to mock her, his words slight the importance of showing up on time — of his word. a quiet overtakes the table as the waitresses stops by. like a thick syrup, tension hangs in the air. for a moment rory wonders if the woman is going to say something. relief floods her when she simply walks away, a look of regret plaguing her middle-aged visage. 'we're being too obvious', she tells herself. easily a person of interest should someone here be questioned tomorrow about the turn of events.

he continues deflecting the task at hand. instead, he hones in on the small tremor of her hands. instinctively she pulls it away and beneath the view of the table, resting comfortably finally in her lap. "it doesn't matter," she said, tone hushed. it bleeds an anger that is just narrowly quelled. looking up, her eyes meet his. behind rory's gaze is steel and determination. "you want to ask questions about me? then show up when you say you will next time." her words bring an end to the discussion. she bites the insides of her cheeks before continuing.

"now did you bring it, or not?"

rory scoffs at his comment. the man had the audacity to sit here, and expect her to believe the words that came out his mouth. he was an enigma that thrived on manipulating others, if tonight was proof enough. perhaps she'd inclined to believe him, hadn't he not only been on time, but if their prior engagement had gone as planned. "maybe when you earn it," she says straight, setting her jaw. rory sighs. knowing a conflicting personality wouldn't help either of them, she did her best to push the irritation that rattled her every nerve, down once more.

"of course i'm anxious you oaf," her words aren't as sharp this time. blunted; retired. pointless questions seemed to be gray's forte. she would have little use of them as time went on. rory looked at the simple leather watch on her wrist. '9 pm, huh?' she told herself mentally. they'd be closing up shop about now. securing it with metal chains and locks. plenty of time, but, she didn't want to waste precious minutes conversating about the weather. not with gray at least.

rory rubbed her forehead. she felt a tension migraine coming on. something gray would poke at excessively. she wouldn't be able to hold in the tongue lashing then. "i'm fine, anyways." she says, tacking on further to her admission of anxiousness. "the sooner we end this — the sooner you stop talking — the easier this'll be." anybody else and she'd have felt like she was being unfair, or cruel. but no, not gray. she knew that he viewed her as someone he could press down with the weight of his thumb and crush her. like a defense zubat.

well fuck that. and fuck him.

"same plan?" she asks, throat dry. rory reaches for the cup of water and stares at gray through the blurry, hazed plastic. eager to go home. eager to be done.

rory fiddles with the fingers in her lap as he speaks. stopping, absent-minded, she raises a brow. "somehow i don't think it's the plan that failed us last time," she says sourly. "never the less, if you wish to want to take point — i won't stop you." in truth, she was relieved. the burden fell from her shoulders like an arbok shedding it's skin. rory was always the type to own up to something, even if it meant consequences. it crossed her mind quickly that with him in charge, maybe failing wouldn't hurt her near as badly as it would him. shame took over, and she cast the idea from her mind.

standing, her fingers meddled with the ends of her sleeves. the jacket was slightly big on her, and only a few fingers poked out of the ends of the sleeve at full length. couple anxiety with a fear of shopping alone and this is what you get — the curse of online shopping. not even bothering to say thank you, she embraced the cool, dusk air. taking the beanie from her pocket, she put it over the mop of black and green locks. nestled comfortably, she wrapped thin arms around herself.

already the street was thinning. the night life, and soon to be drunks, blocks away. for now, at least, it seemed luck was on their side. she turned to the man beside her, eyes looking for a sign of... something. confidence seemed to ooze from him like pus from a fresh wound. it was arrogant and unattractive. still, if he had a plan, she wanted to hear it.

"well?"

blinking dryly, she continued staring at gray. his idea of a joke fell on deaf— no, not deaf— uncooperative ears. she waits a moment. two. finally, he speaks once more. "that sounds... ordinarily simple." in truth, it sounded easy. solid. still, she couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness. anything could go wrong. at anytime. that was the harsh reality of it. nervously, her hands played with the ends of her sleeves some more.

"yeah," she said, swallowing saliva she didn't realize she was holding. "i got your back." looking about, the street was even emptier than before. she leaned against a light post, throwing fiddling hands into her pockets. an attempt at blending in. it probably didn't look very well. "where do you want me?" she poised the question. the pokeballs at her hip felt heavy. they would be... difficult to use in the mission. she'd have to find a way.

she follows him, close to the hip. not opposed to diving into a 'cover persona' to put those around her at ease, she certainly rejected that this time. she'd rather rot in prison than to anything of the sort with gray. the idea made her skin crawl. eyes flew upwards, watching the camera as gray spoke. she ducked her head as instructed, and in seconds, they were clear— if being in the middle of a sketchy alleyway, feet outside an expensive jewelry store and in the middle of the night, could be considered clear.

reaching out, small hands wrap around the object. if she placed her bets correctly, she'd have guessed it was the EMP device she mentioned earlier. careful not to set it off accidentally, she was determined to keep her fickle fingers still. amber shaded irises were flighty. up, down, left, and right. she watched every available corner as much as she could. uneasily, her leg tapped. so lost in her nerves, she nearly didn't hear the question. "huh?" that's right. the question. "yeah, it's my first heist." an odd question. never one she thought she'd hear in her life.

"what about you? fourth? fifth?" she breathed out a chuckle. steam rose in her face.

fuck it was cold.

@gray