Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

What Rinaa had left out of the story was just how much persuading it had taken her to convince her mother and Quin that having alternate Fia take part in the heist was a good idea. Both women were incredibly stubborn and very protective over Rinaa (Quin had become Rinaa's second mother in all but name), and so the girl had had to pull out all the stops to explain why it was logically a good idea (a number of the points she made were the same ones 'Max' had used to convince her that it was a good idea). Rinaa also left out the various threats made should Fia screw it up. Once her mothers had been persuaded the conversation had turned to updates on what Rinaa had missed and then to lighter anecdotes, most notably the story which had made Rinaa laugh which involved one of Jay's colleagues and a comedic fall.

Hearing the new voice coming from Fia's mouth was nowhere near as jarring as she expected it to be. This she presumed was because Fia's appearance was so radically different to her usual look that it made more sense for a different voice to be coming out of her lips. "He's good at what he does" she replied with a nod. "It doesn't surprise me that he let you keep it. It makes NO practical sense to have the suit couriered separately to the airfield when we're both heading there directly. And that's the other bit of good news, transport has been sorted and by 'sheer coincidence' " her use of airquotes made it clear this was anything but a coincidence "the garage in question is further up along this canal, we should be there in a few minutes. I say we head up on deck so we can be in place to jump off and I can say my goodbyes- the chances of me seeing him again after the heist are slim to none."

 

[MzHyde]

If Fia knew about the threats that were made if she should scarew up, she would have wished that she didn't know. She already had it in her head that Jay particularly wouldn't be happy about her being around (again) and knew she easily had it in her to kill her if she got on the woman's wrong side even the minutest way possible. So for Rinaa to keep it from her, it was by far the best choice the girl could have chosen. Fia wouldn't want to know such information as it would only hinder her on the op and put more mental pressure on her shoulders. She already felt an immense amount of pressure to not screw up and prove herself more than worthy of joining this heist and being of use to Rinaa, she didn't need it heightened for the sake of Jay and Quin as well. All she needed to now was that Rinaa's mothers agreed in the end and saw the logic in it, that was more than enough for her.

At her next words in reply to herself, she listened to what Rinaa said. She smirked as she saw the airquotes around the mention of it being a coincidence, something that honestly reminded her of John and his very well known opinion on there being absolutely no such thing as coincidences. "Sounds good to me. Make the most of every moment you can in your case." She replied, getting back up onto her feet and slinging the backpack onto her back properly and tightening the straps so she wouldn't have to worry about it falling off her arms when she did the jump, once at their destination. She waited for Rinaa then headed up to the deck level with her so she could have time to say goodbye the person she knew, fully udnerstanding why her cousin would want to make the most of saying goodbye to whoever she could, while she could. She also knew if it was the other way round, she would want to do the same thing. Unknowing that if what Kay once saw in the MindWalk that one time of Fia dead on top of a car came true, she wouldn't even have a chance to say goodbye to anyone she would possibly know. Once on the top deck, she kept out of the way so Rinaa could say and do what she needed to gain some kind of closure/farewell with the guy that helped them out at a last minute moment, whilst she kept a look out at where they were heading.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Back in the control room of the boat, Rinaa wasted no time in wrapping her friend in a tight one-armed hug (it had to be a one armed one otherwise his skill steering the boat would be compromised). Although she'd only known the boat guy for less than a year, he'd been a good friend to her and once he'd learned about her engineering skills, Rinaa had ended up being his go-to girl for any repairs the boat needed- be it the engine malfunctioning or one of the vigilante 'wardrobe' mechanisms needing some fine tuning. He hugged her back tightly, understanding that this was the end. If Rinaa succeeded, it wold be an entirely different timeline, one where he mightn't even have emigrated to the UK and they may never meet again on the other side. If she failed... well, she wasn't coming back. So the two made the most of the moment, spending it mostly in silence. The few words that were said at their parting were whispered too softly for Fia to hear from her position outside.

Heading back outside, with the words of 'give 'em hell and make it right' looping around in her head, Rinaa made a point of not looking at her 'cousin', not wanting Fia to see how close she was to crying. Instead she made her way back onto the roof of the boat, wordlessly gesturing for Fia to follow her. The houseboat was now in the industrial sector of the city- various factories, warehouses and long, corrugated roofed buildings could be seen on either side of the canal. In Fia's timeline this was no an industrial region, it was a sort of parkland area. The houseboat drew close to the left bank and wasting not time, Rinaa jumped off it, landing in a sprinters crouch on the tarmac. Normally she would have done a tuck and roll, but she didn't want to risk breaking the contents of her backpack.

After glancing back to check Fia was with her she made her way over to the garage. A sign over the main door proclaimed it was runs by Nick and Phil and dealt in repairs, renovations and custom vehicles. Rinaa made her way to the far side of the premises. The back wall was high, but for Rinaa and Fia who were both in possession of well honed parkour skills, it was simple to get over. Rinaa chose to take a run up and do a chimney run- taking advantage of the 90 degree corner where the back wall of the garage met that of another property- then vaulted over the top landing softly on the other side. Pulling out her phone Rinaa brought up the message with the security code and tapped into the alarm system. "This is the outbuilding where all the finished vehicles are kept safe, awaiting collection from their owners. Our one is in space 7 apparently." The side door unlocked with a clunk and Rinaa slipped inside, letting out an appreciative whistle at the sight of one particular vehicle. "Looks like they finally finished that Chevy Impala restoration."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just seemed to somehow know that no matter how long or short Rinaa had known this guy, he was clearly a close friend in some ways, judging by the they were previously talking with each other when they boarded, thus knowing that she needed to give Rinaa the time she had to say goodbye without anyone such as herself hovering around and being in the way. So she did the honourable and polite thing to do of waiting outside the wheel room, not looking in to give them both proper privacy. She only turned around when she heard Rinaa step outside and head up to the roof, with the wordless gesture to follow. She silently nodded and followed her up onto the roof, making note of the area they were coming into which looked so incredibly different to what she knew of this same area. She almost had to mentally question herself that yes, it was the same area and they weren't somewhere else entirely. At the cue of Rinaa doing the jump off, she followed on, leaping off the boat and landing similar but not quite the same as she did when she jumped onto the boat earlier, as well as landing behind Rinaa.

She stood up straight then continued to follow her cousin over to the garage, taking a glance at the signage as well as the gate and fencing that surrounded the area as she walked round to the far side with Rinaa. Taking one look at the high wall, she knew instantly it would require some parkour moves to get over, which was confirmed when Rinaa stepped back a little bit and did a running jump, but going via the chimney and over. Calculating the options quickly in her head, she knew what her cousin did was the best course action as she couldn't be bothered to just do a running jump and climb over the wall. So she took advantage of the angle like Rinaa did and leapt over, using the walls as a springboard to leap over and land safely on the ground. She listened to what Rinaa explained to her as she looked elsewhere whilst Rinaa tapped in the code to gain access to the building they were clearly needing. "Okay, I'll look out for it" she replied, mentally repeating the number they needed to look for in her head as she heard the side door open loudly, walking inside with Rinaa.

The impala was the first thing she noticed and she couldn't resist whistling out being impressed. "Damn...didn't think in any timeline these cars would still be a thing." she commented, stepping a little closer to try and figure out what year the chevy impala was. For the most part, Chevy impalas always seem to be stand out cars to her, and depending on the year their engines had some seriously satisfying purrs when they got started. "They're such awesome cars" she remarked more to herself than to Rinaa, but not in a way that she didn't mind if she was replied to. Peeling her eyes off the impala, she looked at Rinaa, "Anyway... we got our own ride to find" she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"That they bloody well are." Rinaa agreed, before giving a slight smirk, evidently amused by her 'cousin's' interest in the car. It was beautiful, she had to admit, the refurbishing of the '67 Chevy had been carried out to a high degree and the car seemed to gleam, even under the lowish lights of the garage. "They're not a thing for the ordinary plebs sure and Chevy certainly don't make this make and model any more. But even in this time there's a hell of a lot of rich people who can afford to buy and maintain a vintage car like this one. It's a massive status symbol really- you know somebody's got money when they can afford to spend it on cars they drive maximum TWICE a year. This one's life is destined for a life as an Instagram background I'm afraid." Rinaa had to resist rubbing a hand over it to feel the smoothness of the bodywork as she passed by, heading for bay seven. "But the mechanics don't complain too much, they get paid extremely well and get up close and personal with a bit of motoring history."

The car in bay seven was not nearly as exciting or distinctive as the Impala. If Fia had been expecting another standout classic car she was wrong. Sitting in the bay was a Mini Cooper in the classic red colour. It had been built from the same plans as the original model, just at a later date, the registration plate marked it as being six years old. Unlike the other cars, it hadn't been recently washed and there was a light coating of city dirt around the wheels. Rinaa gave a grin at the sight "aw yes!", the reached behind the left hand front tyre, feeling around for a few seconds then her hand re-emerged with her keys triumphantly between her fingers. She unlocked the boot manually, putting in her own back-pack, gesturing for Fia to do the same. "I'm driving, get in." She told her 'cousin' as the garage door in front of them began whirring upwards.

 

[MzHyde]

As Fia looked around the car she started to recognise the year of the car and seemed to feel more jealous of the owner, especially when Rinaa explained it would be a glorified instagram background and not actually used. "A shame is a understatement" she replied, making her way back to the front of the car again. She couldn't help but think 'the Winchesters would be disappointed at this baby not being used'. She could only imagine how much someone would pay to restore such a beast of a machine. "I can imagine how much they must enjoy these kind of projects" she added before walking to bay 7 with her. Reaching the bay in question, she noticed it was a mini cooper and smirked, having not taken Rinaa for the type to drive such a vechile or being so happy to drive such a vechile. She noticed the fresh dirt marks on the tires and how Rinaa knew exactly where to get the keys from, which she had to admit, was a clever hiding spot.

As the boot was unlocked, she walked round and chucked her bag inside before Rinaa closed it up and walked round the driver's side. FIa went round to the passenger side and opened the door, getting inside deciding someone like her who was quite 'leggy' a mini cooper wasn't the best car to be in but it wasn't so bad that it would be uncomfortable. "Didn't take you for the mini cooper type of girl" she pointed out to Rinaa after she got into the car as well. "Seems...I dunno, not your type for some reason to me. Thought you'd be more a sports car type of chick or something more on parr with the impala back there" she shrugged with a smile that showed she meant her words light heartedly. It wasn't that the car wasn't a nice one, of course it was it just seemed so vastly different to what she had seen Rinaa drift to in various kinds of vechiles. "So how long is the journey to our next destination?" she then asked, deciding she would change the subject before she went and dug herself a big old hole.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa gave an amused smile as Fia confessed she wouldn't have taken her 'cousin' for a mini cooper type of girl. Rinaa also had long legs and fitting herself into the car so she could comfortably drive without them bunching up in her face involved quite a bit of adjusting of the drivers seat. There was nobody in the back seat, which meant Rinaa was able to push the chair further back. "Believe it or not, you're far from the first to have said that." she replied, turning the key in the ignition. A small, satisfied smile coming onto her face at the purr of the engine. "And for the record, yes I do love fast sports cars and classic American muscle cars. And yes, I conform COMPLETELY to the stereotype of chick with fast convertible screaming down roads at ridiculous speeds. Hells I'd love own a DeLorean, despite how utterly impractical it is. I have this mate, the one I mentioned earlier with the boyfriend who works in a cinema and we used to talk about buying one and kitting it out to be a replica of the one from Back to The Future. Or the current Batmobile. What I would do to get a chance to drive that thing..." Rinaa grinned, clearly imagining the scene."The current one is SO badass looking, not to mention the sheer suite of gadgets in it. I have it from a reliable source that it can do crazy speeds AND can drive on walls and tunnel roofs."

"But those kinds of cars are hella expensive, I simply can't afford that kind of vehicle. Not to mention the maintenance costs, particularly genuine classics they require a LOT of maintenance as parts are hard to get- some aren't even made any more. In fast cars things just have a habit of wearing out. And then there's the fact that I live in London. Driving one of those swish babies around London? It's just asking for it to get scratched up, there's NO WAY you could find a park space it if it's an oversized vehicle. Not to mention that you can't do 90 miles per hour in central London, so what's the point of even having a fast car? And with all the rain we get- classic cars will rust like Hells- that's why so many classic cars are in the States- the climate much better for preserving them."

"Long story short, this car is more practical for everything. And it is technically a classic car- there's some wonderful design features in this." she explained, "Also they lowered the driving age in this timeline, so I've actually been able to drive this cutie out in public legally as opposed to illegally in car parks and back plots. And I HAVE customised the hell out of this car. That's not the original engine, this little car can do some serious speed should I want it to." By now Rinaa had exited the garage complex and was heading for one of the feeder roads that lead onto the M25 motorway. She didn't look at Fia as she drove, keeping her eyes firmly on the road, even as she talked passionately about cars. She was a good driver, handling the car with the quiet confidence of somebody who'd been driving for years. (Which she had, she'd learned to drive cars well before she was legal, on Earth it had been Chas who taught her both regular driving and the kinds of advanced driving he'd learned from being John's personal get away vehicle). "As for how long? Two hours maybe longer, it depends on the traffic, it isn't rush hour, but you can never be sure on the motorway. The airfield is right outside of the city."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't doubt that she wasn't the first person to make such a remark on Rinaa's choice of car for the London roads. She listened completely as Rinaa explained that whilst yes, she did love her fast cars and bikes, there was a reason for owning a mini cooper, whilst also talkiong about the time her and her friends were tempted to buy a delorean just to kit out and make into the film replica for movie nights. It honestly made sense why she would go with a car that was more standard and smaller for getting round to London. She knew just as well as Rinaa did how the roads of london could be and how tempting a big classic or muscle car would be to either steal or raid for certain parts. There was as she mentioned, the whole thing about the upkeep as well, and although the older the car the less initial expenses you actually had to pay out for, there was th eupkleep costs which soon wracked up if one didn't put their all into looking after it.

She smiled and nodded as her cousin then explained that even though on the outside this was pretty much your standard looking mini cooper it was kitted out and personalised in other ways on the inside which didn't surprise Fia nearly as much as it may have done when she first met Rinaa. "Don't think you'd be you if you didn't make some kind of changes to it to your liking" she smirked and chuckled. At the mention of how long it would take to get to their destination, she looked out the window as she saw exactly where they were, instantly recognising it as the lead up to the M25. "Ah yeah, always hit or miss with the motorway, may not end up being traffic but then there could some idiot crashing or something. This is London after all" she smirked, knowing that if this timeline was anything like hers, there would always be some idiot drivers that should have their license revoked but somehow get away with remaining on the road. As the drive continued, Fia got comfortable in her seat, leaning back into her seat and putting her hands behind her head for a bit. If she was still looking like her and not her current disguised look she would have looked the spit of her father in this moment.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa gave a delighted smile when her 'cousin' (correctly) declared that it wouldn't be like Rinaa to make no modifications whatsoever to her car. She was proud of the little car, as unassuming as it was on the outside. She gave a slight laugh at Fia's comment on the potential of a motorway crash, following it up with a grumble (though a good-natured kind of one). "Knowing my luck, there probably WILL be some crash. It feels like EVERY SINGLE time I go on the M25 there's some kind of traffic accident. I mean really, learn to drive people! Or just do a John and not bother, but get somebody else who IS a safe driver chauffeur you around. Either way the end result is the same- less crashes." John's refusal to learn to drive was something he got ribbed about on a semi-regular basis. He'd never bothered to learn as Chas had started driving a cab when they were both teenagers, so he'd never felt the need to know and besides, a motorbike worked much better with his punk image and lifestyle. The few times John had driven he'd crashed the car and Chas refused to let John drive his cab, even if Chas was temporarily dead- he'd lost too many cabs at the hands of John, and that was without the men getting in the driver's seat). John had agreed it was safer all around if he didn't learn, though he didn't let on the new reason for his refusal to drive- he didn't trust that he'd be a safe driver and feared that with his luck and lack of skill he'd end up killing himself, Fia and Kay in some grisly traffic accident, something he knew he wouldn't be able to live with.

She then gave a slightly sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'm one of those drivers who spends far too much time complaining about other people and how they should never have been given licenses. You can tell it was Chas who taught me how to drive." Now that they were stopped at a traffic light with no sign of moving any time soon, Rinaa pulled out her phone, unlocked it, then docked it in the driver's console. While outwardly the music/radio set-up looked like the original technology that had been used in the original model, it had actually been replaced with a modern sound system designed to hook up to a phone. "I'd get comfortable if I were you" Rinaa told Fia. "feel free to put the chair right back, we've got no backseat passengers. I was considering trying to get more space into the footwells, but that would have involved cutting into engine space, which is one of those things you just don't do. I'm gonna put on a random selection of rock/punk- feel free to recommend something, just know that artist or song, if they're modern, mightn't exist."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smirked at Rinaa's reply yet also feeling some kind of sympathy for the girl who felt like she always ended up being behind some kind fo traffic incident, yet it was mostly the comment about her dad that made her smirk and nod the most. She knew just as well as Rinaa did that John's inability to drive was down to his own decision and Chas' recommendation. She herself was in the learning stage, she already knew how to ride a bike, which Rinaa already knew about and her family thanks to the MindWalk, but she was also learning how to drive a car as well. Or at least, was in the planning stages of learning aka reading very book she could about it and bugging Chas to teach her, but neither had quite got round to starting the lessons. She also agreed that either other scenario did mean a lot less crashes on the road. "I agree with you there, life would be so much less stressful for those competant in driving if people took those two options instead of risking lives on the road. But sadly I think whatever the timeline, there will always be utter idiots that make us question the world and our own sanity when it comes to dealing with them" she replied with her smirk not leaving her lips.

She had to chuckle at Rinaa's sheepsh admittance, pulled out one hand from behind her head and waved off her comment, "No judgement here, even as a passenger I can be the same with some drivers on the road. Pretty sure Chas in my timeline said he never gets to road rage when I'm in the car because I have enough judgement for the both of us. I'm trying to get Chas to teach me in my timeline, but we just never seem to get the time to do anything about it. Hopefully that'll change soon. I just feel like it'd be a useful skill to have." she laughed. As they had to stop at the a traffic light, she glanced down at Rinaa plugging in her phone to get some music on whilst also listening to her about making herself comfortable. At the permission to pull her chair back more, she nodded and did that to make her legs get more room at least. "I'm not fussy with the music, anything goes with me" she told her, but was quite chuffed that if she did suggest or recommend something, it would be welcomed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa gave a smirk at the road rage comment. In her experience Chas usually was the most level headed of them all, but when it came to bad drivers he had no patience, nor time for them. With so many years of taxi-driving experience under his belt he wasn't afraid to open his window and yell obscenities at the offending driver. "It's true when they say that nothing teaches you to swear quite like learning to drive. particularly parallel parking. That was a nightmare of epic proportions." She shook her head in faux distaste at the memory. "But with hard graft and stubbornness which your family has tonnes of, as we both well know.. you'll get the hang of it. It's really not rocket science- I would know on that. Hells they lowered the driving age in this timeline and it's not all the newly qualified teenagers who are breaking the traffic laws, they're actually some of the safest drivers as one slip up and minor crash will cause your insurance to go through the bloody roof! And yes, it's a useful skill to have. A bike just doesn't cut it when you have a massive load of baggage, need a quick get-away or are going somewhere with a group. Road trips by bike don't allow for the same banter as when you're all stuck in one confined vehicle."

As both suspected they did end up stuck in traffic, though it wasn't due to a crash, it was due to roadworks on the motorway access road that meant only one lane of traffic could get through. Initially Rinaa swore at the sight "Ah dammit! Bloody roadworks!" She had known about the roadworks (they were to a bomb crater on the road) but she'd been gone so long from home she'd forgotten about it. They were boxed in by other vehicles so there was no chance to turn back either. After her initial outburst Rinaa calmed down, changing the background music to orchestral soundtrack and making use of the lull to check her business phone and see what the others involved in the nights mission were doing. The thing she found most note-worthy, which she passed on to Fia was that Jay was currently having special prosthetics put on her back to hide her scars so that she could wear a partially backless dress to the fancy gala later.

Once on the motorway however, they flew along. Rinaa made sure to keep herself just under speed limit and the little car showing no problems maintaining that speed. Now that they were at speed Rinaa switched back to the rock/punk playlist. She tended not to listen to music when driving around the hectic city centre and suburbs, preferring to have her wits about her, but the motorway she felt was fair game, cars and pedestrians weren't going to randomly pull out of nowhere. She didn't sing along as she drove, but she did tap her fingers and head in time if something had a particularly good beat and occasionally hummed along to a chorus line.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to what Rinaa was saying and when the brief mention of how stubborn her side of the family was she had to hald snort her snigger whilst nodding because it was beyond true. Her side of the family was incredibly stubborn, so much so that it could be a real hindrance at times and it was certainly one of the worst personality traits that she picked up from them all. She had full faith that she could learn to drive easily enough, she could ride a motorbike easily enough after all, so how much more awkward could it be with a car? She already had it in her head that if Chas couldn't get the time to teach her she would then turn to her Aunt Sam to teach her. She was after all her home teacher, so in her eyes teaching her to drive was just an extra life/school lesson. "agree with you there. I've done the whole trudging a bag of stuff on the back of a bike more times than I'm comfortable with and it's an utter pain in the arse. I've decided that if Chas can't reach me for whatever reason, I'll turn to my Aunt as she drives too. She also has a slightly bigger car than Chas' cab, so would in some ways be a better option." she replied to her.

The moment they came across the traffic because of roadworks, Fia also sighed knowing that for a good chunk of the road it would be a long old slog to get passed it, so she remained comfortable in the chair, listening to the calming music Rinaa out on as they did so. When Rinaa showed her what Jay was doing due to choice of clothing, she smiled and nodded approvingly even though seeing this Jay wasn't the most pleasant person to see before giving the phone back to her cousin.

To say that she was relieved when they reached the motorway and got moving at a much better speed, was an understatement to Fia. She was always impatient and fidgety (though this time she was far less so) when it was a case of constant stop start motions. At the sound of the more edgier music going on, she tapped her foot to the beat as she listened, smiling. If they weren't heading to an air field to do a heist she could have convinced herself this was some chilled out road trip with Rinaa, but it wasn't and she had to keep telling herself such.

 

[_gallifrog_]

After driving for an hour and a half on the motorway, Spotify having cycled through a number of songs including a surprising number of piece by Queen (something which made Rinaa smirk in amusement) the mini left the motorway in favour of a regional road. If she was to relax fully Rinaa, like her 'cousin', would have been able to convince herself with little effort that this was just a fun day-trip. It was a trip with potential, potential for bonding with a sibling or relative close to her own age, the kind of trip she'd imagined herself doing countless times when pondering on how her life could should have been different. But she never quite let her guard drop during teh drive, and certainly didn't drop it enough to succumb to the urge to sing. That was a step too far

Not once did Rinaa confer with a map, she'd only been at the airfield twice before- both times in the dead of night- but she'd memorised the route earlier, back in the past. The further they got from the motorway, the less traffic they encountered until they were driving down a long, straight, tree-lined road and there wasn't a single other car in sight. Rinaa had wound the windows down to let air flow through the car, allowing the sound of rustling trees into the car, as well as cleaner air. it wasn't as clean as the country air in Fia's timeline, nor the super scrubbed Attilian air, but compared to the dust and dirt filled city it might as well have been Attilian air. Without warning Rinaa took her left hand off the steering wheel and paused her music. Tipping her head to one side, her ears physically pricking up she asked "I don't suppose you can see a helicopter anywhere above or behind us? Because I can damn well hear one."

 

[MzHyde]

Like Rinaa, Fia didn't sing out loud during the trip but there were the odd times when a song would make her mime along to the words as she listened to tracks. She had to give Rinaa credit for having a good taste in music which just helped her to relax during the drive. She always found that if music wasn't to her taste she would sit in said car always being slightly on guard, but it was easy for her to relax with Rinaa, despite their recent history with one another. At one point during the drive she had to smirk to herself as the thought of John's (and everyone's really) reaction of they ever found out what she was currently doing, but she knew they could never know which was fine by her. But it was an amusing mental image to imagine anyway. She could easily see them accusing her of lying, that the two of them hadn't made such incredible strides to patching things up between them, before finally accepting that she wasn't lying to them and it did really happen.

As they got off the motorway and was getting into more rural areas, she sat up more and looked out the window as she smelled the fresher air compared to the main city. She could tell the differences between her country air in her timeline, just like she could pinpoint all the previous differences but compared to the London they had just driven away from, it smelled like roses. She looked over at Rinaa when her ears pricked up from the faint sound of a helicopter around and at her question, she looked around them out every window, before winding down her window and leaning out slightly, squinting up at the sky, her black hair catching in the breeze behind her slightly "yeah, one is above us just about tailing behind" she confirmed, leaning back into the car and winding the window back up as it then went right over them. "guess we're nearby then" she assumed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Although Fia was far from Rinaa's first choice for a road trip partner, it was useful to have a second body in the car. As the mini didn't have any form of roof skylight, and the helicopter was approaching from the left, Rinaa couldn't see it without having to contort her body into some awkward position that was in no way safe to drive from. Having a passenger was very advantageous at this moment. Rinaa kept her eyes firmly on the road as her 'cousin' wound down the window and stuck her head out to get a better look. "Yeah, we're not more than a couple of minutes away. It was originally a private airfield, the kind where people rich enough to own private jets would land. That still happens these days, but it's currently more than part owned by the military. We'll be going in the civilian side, but let me do the talking anyway."

At Fia's confirmation that it was indeed a helicopter she gave a single solemn nod, her suspicions confirmed. "Is it a regular one or a military one can you tell? Military ones general have more than one top rotor and are much larger, for carrying troops and supplies and whatnot. If it's a regular heli that will be the two others making the jump with us, if it's not, then they're late, which is NEVER a good sign." As she spoke Rinaa pulled off her blond wig and beanie disguise stowing it in the glove compartment while at the same time pulling out a plastic wallet containing some kind of paper documents. Up ahead the turn-of for the base could be seen. The sign gave no name for the airfield, but did make it abundantly clear that this was MoD property and trespassing of any kind would not be taken lightly. Even though they were entering from the civilian side they would still had to go through a military style checkpoint, manned by armed soldiers.

 

[MzHyde]

At the explanation of how far they were from the airfield, Fia nodded at what she heard, finding it made some sort of sense judging by how Rinaa's timeline ended up happening. She could understand how in this kind of world the military would want to use whatever space they could procure for themselves and make the most of the space. When Rinaa said to let her do the talking despite the side they would be entering from, she gave a curt nod "sure thing, fine by me" she replied. Something had already told her in her mind that Rinaa would need to do most of the talking when they got here, so it really wasn't an issue for Fia, even with all the disguise levels she was currently sporting. As knowledgeable as Fia was, she knew this was most definitely Rinaa's area of expertise and it was more than fair enough that Rinaa would be the one to take the lead and do the talking to get them through any checkpoints.

With Rinaa's next question on whether it was a military helicopter or a general one, she couldn't help but give her the slight raised eyebrow and look as she thought to herself 'I know the difference between the helicopters' and looked out the window again after Rinaa was done explaining who it would be in either helicopter. Though despite the look she didn't take offence to what Rinaa was saying, especially when she explained who it should be in the general helicopter. Taking a moment to properly check the helicopter out to make sure she identified it correctly, then leaned back inside again. "it's a general one, so seems the others are arriving as well and we don't have to worry just yet" she replied to her, glad that things weren't already going wrong for this heist. Last thing they needed was for something to already go wrong when they weren't properly starting the heist yet and just in the gathering all together beginning stage. "I'm guessing these are the two I need to use my codename for, right?" she double checked with her cousin. Luckily during the time between getting to this timeline, getting lunch and the gear she needed and arriving here she had picked one of her fake names she liked using when it was required (though it was rarely needed), for this particular heist.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The over describing of the differences between the two classes of helicopter, which Fia saw as unnecessary, Rinaa saw as very important. Both on-world and off-world the military had been a background presence in Rinaa's life growing up. Her 'cousin' didn't live on an Earth that was heading towards inter-planetary war where seeing military vehicles pass by becoming a more and more common experience, so she had no idea what, if any, knowledge of the military Fia possessed. She gave a shrug in response to her cousin's look, a 'better to over-explain than under-explain' kind of expression on her face. She was tempted to respond with "you don't have to worry, but I do, my ex is onboard that helicopter and that's a re-union I am NOT looking forwards to", but instead focused on the codename-related query. "That's exactly what you'll have to do, both with the two doing the jump and the person who'll pilot the plane we're jumping from. According to a message I got earlier the male operative goes by 'Zion'. I've heard of him before, his reputation for this kind of thing is solid, but never worked with him. Cass has two official codenames, and she's chosen to go by the one of 'Ryker' today."

Rinaa fell silent as she turned the car towards the checkpoint. The exchange with the guards was brief and impersonal, and consisted mainly of the guards scrutinising the documents and the car, checking that all matched up with the details they'd be sent on earlier. Rinaa let some nervous ticks show, tapping her fingers against the side of the car as she waited. To show no outwards fear or worry around armed guards wasn't normal behaviour in this timeline and Rinaa was determined for this mission to be a success. Her body didn't have enough time left to wait and re-do it. For her it was now or nothing. With the papers verified the barrier was lifted and the mini left in. Parking the mini Rinaa let out a sigh, running her hands over the steering wheel fondly. If all went to plan she wouldn't be returning to this airfield, somebody else would pick the car up and return it to the garage. She sat there for a couple of moments longer than was necessary, with a spaced-out look on her face before the drone of rotor blades cut through everything and caught her attention. The helicopter from earlier was circling with the intention to land.

"Right let's do this thing" she declared, snapping out of her nostalgic/melancholy haze, exiting the car before Fia could have any chance to question her on why she'd spaced-out. She took the two gearbags from the boot and passed one to her cousin. After locking the car she stored the keys back in their hidey-hole under behind the front wheel. Straightening up she leaned against the car, watching the heli land. As it touched down she landed over to Fia, voice raised just enough to be heard over the thunderous noise of the rotors. "This is the point where I ask you not to freak out at how completely out of my league my ex is." The passenger door opened first and a guy with red hair jumped out, dressed in plain jeans and a baggy knitted jumper with a kitbag similar to Fia's slung over one shoulder. Rinaa paid him little attention, her focus on the pilot's side door. The woman who stepped out was tall, with the build of an acrobat- lean and muscular, with barely an ounce of wasted fat. One hand ran through short, choppy black and purple-streaked hair in an effort to get rid of the pressure line from the pilot headset she'd been wearing. Her skin tone suggested Thai or similar Asian heritage and her face was striking (beautiful wasn't quite the right word to describe her, her attractiveness wasn't the typical feminine beauty, it was something more rugged, one might even say more dangerous). Her fingernails were painted black, there were two diagonal lines shaved through her left eyebrow and several cartilage piercings in her right ear. Her clothes (plain trousers, dark polo neck-sleeves pushed halfway up her forearms), although showing no visible branding, were clearly expensive and she swung herself out of the helicopter with practiced ease. Brown eyes met with Rinaa's fake green. "Artemis."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia got why Rinaa was explaining the differences and so didn't take any offence to it, and she knew deep down that it was highly possible that she would have preferred to over explain than not explain enough if she was in Rinaa's position. She listened to the explanation about the code names just before they reached the check point, nodding as she logged the code names of the others and which codename went to who. "okay, got it. I'll be using mine which is Storm. Don't ask, one of those I thought it was a good idea at the time. I thought it was funny to myself as one of my surnames is Hale, and put together it makes the band name Halestorm" she explained. She still remembered her Leah finding it hysterically bad because not only was it a link to a band Fia liked, it was also the codename of the famous x-men. Leah ripped the utter crap out of her for it for a while but she just shrugged it off every single time. So she figured she would explain it to Rinaa incase she got the same teasing out of her also.

As they reached the checkpoint and the papers to be checked, she glanced over at the solider checking the papers then looked on ahead, deciding to just try and remain as calm as she could but did notice that even Rinaa was nervously tapping her steering wheel. It was a nerve wracking situation to be in and reminded her of the many border control scenes in films and TV series, now knowing why characters always felt nervous when they needed id's and such checked before letting through. Being let through, she looked out as Rinaa found a place to park and got out when Rinaa did, closing her door behind her and walking to the boot of the car as well, taking her backpack from her and slinging it over one shoulder. She smirked at what Rinaa said to her about her ex, "you got it!" she said back as she looked forward at the others arriving. When her ex did indeed come out of the helicopter, she instantly saw why Rinaa dated the woman and why she told her that Cass could have been seen as totally out of her league.

There was no denying that the woman was attractive, but she didn't see any attraction toward the woman herself. So she knew that Rinaa wouldn't have to worry about her even thinking about flirting with the woman as she wasn't quite her type at all. As promised and as she had been doing all along so far, she kept quiet initially, deciding it was best for her to just wait for a subtle cue from Rinaa before she began talking. Even though she had the voice changer and the different face and hair going on, she didn't want to risk overstepping her mark as she was considered 'the newbie' in this group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Ryker" Rinaa's voice was ice-cold, even in two syllables her annoyance at the other woman sharing the same air as her was obvious. It was Cass who had dumped her, not the other way around and Rinaa was far from over it. Cass had been forced to make a choice- between her and the family business. She'd chosen the business and in the process smashed Rinaa's heart into fragments. Getting over Cass had taken Rinaa months, out of all her girlfriends, Cass had been the one she'd fallen hardest for. She could behave professionally later (her and Cass would be on different teams just in case), but now was the time for making it quite clear that she wasn't just going to greet the woman with open arms, even if the fact she was now a qualified helicopter pilot made her more attractive in Rinaa's eyes- what could she say, she liked people with badass skills.

A 'yeah, I deserved that greeting' expression flickered across Cass's face, before she indicated with a tip of her head the guy who'd flown with her on the helicopter "that's Zion, I'm told his reputation precedes him?" Surprisingly she spoke with a strong Russian accent (Fia would remember from when she was trying to convince Rinaa to throw caution to the wind and go on a date with Moya, that one of the things Rinaa had admitted she found attractive was an accent). "It does" she confirmed, before indicating with one hand in Fia's direction. "She goes by Storm, and won't be on the files, she's not from around here. But she's got all the qualifications we need and owes me a favour." Zion offered a hand to Fia while Rinaa glared dagger eyes at Cass. (Again far from the most constructive use of her time, but it did make her cracked heart feel a little better).

Cass was the first to relent (unsurprisingly). Reaching into her kitbag she pulled out a thermos. "I bring a peace offering.... Penny had to guess on the caffeine levels but.." she was cut off by Rinaa. "What?!" she very nearly yelled. "He knows I'm still here?" Cass gave a nod. "Da, he knows pretty much everything, as you well know." A slight nod of Rinaa head indicated that she accepted that point. It was however followed up by another angry question and furious look. "Does your 'uncle' know?" The airquotes around 'uncle' blatantly were audible as was the threatening undertone of violence in Rinaa's voice. Before Cass could answer "Actually" she held up a hand in a shushing motion "hold that answer, let's talk away from prying ears." By which she clearly meant Fia and Zion, the latter's eyes had been flicking between the two women with an expression of both curiosity and 'what the fuck is going on here?' all over his face.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia heard and saw the hurt and almost malice in Rinaa's tone as she greeted back to Cass and instantly saw and felt the extent of how bad the breakup truly was. She could tell that there was some part of Rinaa that still wasn't fully over the breakup and if they were in a normal social setting she would have loved nothing more than to chew the woman out for hurting her, even if she had no place to do so. For now though, she felt thankful for being here in a professional level which meant she couldn't let any personal biases or need to have Rinaa's back come out. She listened as Cass introduced the guy as Zion and got a confirmation from Rinaa that his reputation did indeed hold weight. The accent was instantly picked up on as Cass spoke, internally smiling to herself as she remembered how accents wa some of Rinaa's things that attracted her and could see how it would be yet another factor for why she fell so hard for Cass at the time.

At herself being introduced, she shook Zion's hand "hi" she simply greeted back before taking her hand back and overheard everything that was being spoken to between Rinaa and Cass/Ryker. With Rinaa clearly making it known soon after that the topic she brought up after getting the coffee from her ex, she looked at Rinaa as if to say 'go, I'm here if needed' even though she knew she wouldn't be, but she gave the look nonetheless. She may not know the full story of what was going on and why Cass' uncle was being brought up with malice but she knew if it was warranting a private chat then it was clearly a big deal between them. She glanced at Zion and saw the look on his face, deciding she wasn't going to say anything until after the two women walked away a little bit out of earshot, then she turned to them. "they're exes. But ya didn't hear that from me" she said simply. She knew Rinaa was capable of being utterly professional when on the job but she also knew she clearly needed to know whatever it was she was asking for so she could just move on and focus on the job without any outside distractions being in her head.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa didn't catch her 'cousin's' look of 'go, I'm here if needed', all her focus was on glaring angrily at interrogating her ex. The last time they'd spoken little more than six sentences had been exchanged between them, one of which was 'fuck off, it's none of your business!' and two of which were actually the same remark repeated twice. Cass' response was a nod, she'd underestimated just how angry her ex would be and had no desire to be chewed out in front of a complete stranger she'd only just met (even if she did feel that Rinaa's anger was warranted. "Da, you lead the way." Rinaa pushed off from her earlier position of learning against the mini, and stalked towards the helicopter (whose blades had now fully powered down). One hand reached out and yanked the thermos from Cass' hands, making sure that at no point their skin touched. Rinaa led Cass around the side of one of the hanger buildings, only stopping when she was certain Zion and Fia were out of earshot. "Okay, talk" she told practically ordered the other girl, er fangs flashing.

Zion watched the women walk off then slumped against the car bonnet, letting out a slow breath as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd just seen. When Fia spoke up, he turned to face her, clearly intrigued as to how exactly she knew knew this. "That makes.... a hell of a lot of sense actually. They're not any kind of siblings, that much I knew before, so I figured maybe some kind of bad blood between their families going back generations? But exes?... yeah, that explains it. Here's hoping they can keep it professional, if they decide to murder each other then I'm certainly not standing in Ryker's way, or Artemis' for that matter." From the end pocket of his bag he pulled out a packet of crisps. "Want one? Judging by that earlier display... we could be here a while."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just hoped that Rinaa would be okay as she watched her 'cousin' walk off, even though technically right in this moment she wasn't in any related to her under the guise she was in. The look Zion gave her of 'how do you know that' didn't go amiss on her as she watched him lean against the bonnet of Rinaa's car. "I got the warning she would be on the mission as well, I asked the same question you're thinking about being professional, but she assured me it would remain professional. I have no reason to not believe that." she replied to him, making her reply sound like to him that it was just given to her as chit chat on the way to this place, whilst also being given the lowdown on the heist. Which wasn't entirely a full lie either, which is how she knew she could be believed when explaining it. "As for the crisp, sure. I think you could be right about that assumption. There's clearly something that needs to be said before they can act professional and compromise the mission at hand. i'm like you, definitely don't wanna be in either of their ways if something major goes down between them" she smiled leaning against the car next to him and taking a crisp or two out of the packet, putting them in her mouth to eat. She hated in some ways having to act like someone who just knew 'Artemis' through work contacts, but was also happy to do so for the sake of this heist not going utterly tits up.

She knew the stakes at hand and what could come of this heist if all went horribly wrong, which just Rinaa she was so desperate not to have happen, which meant she felt more determined than even Rinaa probably even realised. She also figured that whilst Rinaa and Cass were dealing whatever it was they needed to, she could get a jist of the kind of person Zion was whilst not going too personal, which she wondered or more to the point, assumed, he would probably would want to do with her also. Knowing the personality of the person she was working with was important to her to some degree as she needed to know for herself that those she worked with were trustworthy. Sure, she did trust Rinaa's words and if she said the team was trustworthy for such a mission then she would go by it, yet that didn't mean she wasn't going to subtly see it for herself as well and she wasn't naiive to think that everyone else would be thinking along similar lines about her as she really was someone they didn't know.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Zion gave a slow nod in response in response to Fia's conviction about the two women being able to keep it civil during the heist. He was still sceptical, to him Fia was a complete stranger and while he had been no reason to doubt her, he'd also been given no reason to believe her. This was a world of shadows, secrets and masks- being a vigilante in this timeline meant one could never truly let their guard down. Fia was right to think that he was trying to get a read on her, Zion most definitely was, even though they weren't going to be on the same team during the raid, he wanted to be sure that she was trustworthy enough that he could turn his back without fearing Fia would stick a dagger in it. Artemis he knew by reputation, she was solid both as a team player and as the person behind the comms doing the guiding. Fia was a rogue element, a wildcard. "Ryker... she can keep things professional. But if whatever is causing the rift between them is personal and linked to the reason behind this mission, then we might as well not have a SWAT distraction, those two tearing out each other's throats will be enough to keep the police busy."

As they talked, the crisp packet passing back and forth between them Zion gave away very little about himself. He considered each answer, often pausing in the middle of a sentence to collect his thoughts fully. The way he answered questions evasively, suggested some form of training, as well as him being just as uncertain about Fia as she was about him. Personality wise he came off as slightly introverted and discreet giving nothing away about how he knew Cass or why he'd chosen a path as a vigilante. He did have a quick mind and it wasn't long before he'd steered the conversation away from the real reason they were standing in this airfield and towards more normal themes- the kind of stuff two teenagers would normally talk about. It would be a good quarter of an hour before Cass and Rinaa re-emerged, the latter looking less angry and Cass looking more at ease than she had earlier. Zion made no remark on the matter instead asking what he believed was the more neutral (and more mission-important) questions of "So when does the pilot get here, and when's the briefing?" Cass and Rinaa both opened their mouths to answer, and then seeing what the other was doing shut theirs again. Cass made a gesture indicating that her ex should be the one to speak. "The briefing starts in less than ten minutes, the pilot won't get here until after the briefing is over. The briefing will take place in that building over there- team 1 and the other halves of our teams are at the cortex having the briefing in person, we're essentially attending by Skype."

 

[MzHyde]

As Fia spoke with Zion, she too kept things vague, acted like someone who didn't know anyone personally (which lucky for her wasn't hard to do as she only knew Rinaa personally), and kept up the ruse of being someone who just did this as a job and nothing more. She let her appearance mentally lead her mind on how to be and what to say with ease but also cautiously. She knew just as well as everyone else that she was considered the wildcard in this mission and thus meaning she had a lot to prove to the lot of them. She didn't care if they didn't trust her, she was there on a favour for Rinaa to help save her half brother as well as everything else. As long as this went right and it meant things could succeed in not destroying her family, she was happy. Everyone else was just extra hands on deck in her mind. At Zion's comment about him knowing Ryker being able to keep things professional but if they didn't, they wouldn't need SWAT, she had to smirk and scoff a snigger at the words. She couldn't deny that Rinaa knew how to make a decent distraction and when she lost her shit at someone, it certainly created a lot of prying eyes.

She took note of the sort of person Zion came across as as they talked, shared the crisps and got a read on each other. She kept herself from being the usual bubbly self she was, keeping up the character she was being. She wasn't bubbly but she wasn't completely stoic or introverted either. She was just somewhere in between to make herself trustworthy enough to not bring any suspicions against her, so he wouldn't question whether her being there was a good idea or not. After a while she looked up to see that Ryker and Artemis were coming back from their chat and seemed to look a lot calmer with each other which she was taking as a good sign. Rinaa/Artemis might not still particularly like Cass still but at least they seemed to look like they cleared enough of the air of what Rinaa wanted answers for. She listened to the question and the following answer that Rinaa gave, after she and Cass silently debated between them who should be the one to talk. "Fair enough, I guess we should be looking at heading over to the building then" she replied professionally.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Seems like the logical place to be" Zion agreed, shoving the now empty crisp packets into the end pocket of his kitbag. "You can go ahead, I've got to get the remaining gear out of my 'copter as well as check in the keys at the main building and make sure this baby is properly registered with the relevant airfield authorities. I suspect they might want me to move it to a hanger or something for refuelling and a check-over as it's not been flown again until tomorrow as far as I'm aware." The almost possessive way in which Cass spoke about the helicopter didn't phase either Rinaa or Zion, both knew she came from serious money, though only her ex knew what family she came from. "You deal with the bureaucracy, I'll get out the tech cases and set things up in the building." Rinaa's tone still contained an icy edge, but it was a much more impersonal kind of ice. She was giving Cass an order, which she expected to be obeyed.

Cass unlocked the helicopter's cargo bay, revealing some more kitbags and a set of hard case boxes all neatly strapped against the walls to prevent anything getting thrown around and broken during the flight. Only two of the boxes were marked- both had the logo of S.T.A.R. Labs embossed into them as well as the word 'prototype' embossed in block capitals. These were also the only two with the highest security, the other boxes simply had flip-locks. The prototype boxes were considerably longer than Rinaa's forearm and were heavier than she expected.

The inside of the building was pretty basic, it was clearly intended for pilots of private jets to crash in, the main space was a sort of lounge with a selection of couches and a well stocked (but basic) kitchen down one end with an impressive selection of coffee and tea options. A door to the side led to set of sparsely furnished bedrooms and down at the end of the corridor, bathrooms and shower rooms. "Kitbags in the kitchen, tech things on the coffee table. Did Ryker say whether it was a projector set up or an each person watches from their own device set-up?" "Projector, it works better with the space here." Zion replied, indicating with one hand at the main wall of the lounge "Take the hideous cheap wall art, and the pinboard off, pull the blinds at either end and we'll have a big enough wall." "You two do that, I'll set up the camera and projector."