Re: Special Delivery or The Newspaper Boy Massacre of Team Lumos (Hoss/Lumi) (Solstice Delivery)

by **Lumine** Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:14 pm

"Don't ever do that. I'll punch you in the mouth myself if I find out you're covering up your ability by being annoying."

Lumine didn't really have anything against whistling, but at a certain point, it could actually become the most annoying thing imaginable. More than one person had received a nasty glare from the woman for whistling absently. Hoss had some leeway now that Lumi knew it was his restitution, but there was a point. And if he ever reached that point, his face would turn concave quite quickly. And it would not be coming back. On a better note, at least his song was tolerable. If he started to whistle Gangnam Style, they wouldn't even be on the mission anymore.

It wasn't horribly long before the pair managed to board the bus, but they had used more than an hour of the original four given to them, and who knew how long this bus would take going across the city, and then actually managing to find the place they were supposed to deliver the box to. The situation had almost turned into a nightmare scenario. Lumine sat her head against the window for a moment and closed her eyes, only to be woken up several minutes later by Hoss asking about a hypothetical scenario.

"Alright, so mundane object or not. What do you think? Honestly, if you had to put fifty credits down on this thing what would you guess what it was? Think of it like an office pool or something."

"That would be useful if we had an office. Okay, let me see it."

Nobody had an office. But Lumine DID have a red Swingline stapler.

Lumine picked up the package and shook it once. Still heavy, still probably some sort of metal.

"Probably sawn-off Remington or something. Or hell, could certainly be a stainless steel pizza cutter in a second box. Wouldn't that be a twist?"

The wrong kind of one.

by **Hoss** Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:05 am

"Don't ever do that. I'll punch you in the mouth myself if I find out you're covering up your ability by being annoying."

"Alright, alright." He held his hands up slightly in surrender to signal that he wouldn't do that. At least, he wouldn't do it around her. Still, it seemed like an easy enough way to cover up his ability use if he ever needed to for one reason or another. Even if it meant getting punched in the mouth because that was preferable to death by all means.

Then again a punch in the mouth from this girlie might just kill me.

"That would be useful if we had an office. Okay, let me see it." He handed the package over and watched with a bit of pain in his face as she gave it a shake. He wasn't really wanting to injure whatever they were transporting and the thing wasn't quite a christmas present. He didn't really understand what was inside but he hoped there wasn't anything fragile packaged with the metal. Wouldn't that be a bitch? Oh fuck that's what it was, wasn't it? Son of a fucking bitch. "Probably sawn off Remington or something. Or hell, could certainly be a stainless steel pizza cutter in a second box. Wouldn't that be a twist?"

"Some twist alright but nah, I think I figured it out. Check it," Hoss took the package and gave it a slight shake. It was hard to tell but it carried metal. He thought it carried something else which told him he was probably right. He couldn't hear any rattling broken pieces though which was very much in their favor. "You take something metal because it's heavy, right? It can break shit. Then, stick with me here, you put in something that with some force can break. Maybe it's thicker glass or even just something as simple as styrofoam where you can measure how much the metal pole did some damage to it over time. You send it and then when it gets there you inspect it. The amount of damage tells you how gingerly the package was handled by the carriers. So you can see how well they did."

He set the package down between them. "Give them a time limit to try and stress them out a little, four hours is nothing by subway but generally speaking if you aren't stressed you might be more lax with the package care itself. So the only thing that doesn't fit with my guess, would be the interception we had."

He lifted his head up to look at the ceiling of the bus as they were heading into Western District territory. There would be a number of stops along the way but Northern District was getting closer and closer. "So the question is, why the hell were there axes waiting for us. They weren't Solstice. So maybe my theory is wrong. But hey, worst case scenario, if this goes south, let's try to figure out who got closer."

by **Lumine** Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:47 pm

"I'm glad that's clear to you."

Despite a calm demeanour most of the time, Lumine could be a hothead when it came to those things that annoyed her. Annoy her, and walls tended to come crashing down. She was admittingly working on the problem, but having not quite conquered it, felt it best to issue a warning to Hoss before something happened. Something like the train for example. After handing over the package, Lumine got a rather reasonable explanation for their involvement in this little mission.

Contrary to what she had seen so far, Hoss was surprisingly insightful. They had discussed what was in the box before, but the deductive reasoning was quite impressive. The only problem now was actually using that reasoning in the field for something useful. You know, like guys with axes, and not sitting next to them. There was a reason Lumine didn't go out on leisure too often, and so far, Hoss had proven to only reinforce the lifestyle choice she had made for herself. There was more than enough food and fun at home thank you very much.

"The interception fits. There is no indication that they couldn't have simply been Solstice that we hadn't met. The only reason I make that argument is because we're harbingers, and what better way to test someone's abilities than with a live fire...or live axe exercise. If I'm wrong on the other hand, we have a bigger problem than just a little test."

Like someone in Solstice being really close to the guys giving out missions.

"You know, maybe not surprisingly, I think I'd prefer your idea that they weren't Solstice, at least then I wouldn't feel TOO bad in roughing them up some. And we...I might not get yelled at so much about destroying a train, and possibly killing a few people. Heh, I wonder if this is the bus that drops by close to my house."

If so, she had good mind to pick a few things, but with time running short, it may not be a possibility. The Western District was also quite large, as were the other three, but as this was where most middle to high-class families lived, it tended to be much busier, and as such, felt larger. Lumine leaned against the window. There was no one else on the bus, yet.

"If someone gets on the bus and sits close, you know what to do this time right?"

by **Hoss** Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:12 am

It seemed most of the theory fit with this, but that would mean that they had effectively messed up some people. Hoss was pretty certain the guy he stabbed multiple times was a goner unless they got him treated right away. It was one thing to get stabbed once by a throwing knife when it was tossed at you, only able to get so deep on it's own momentum. It was another thing entirely to have it driven into you a number of times in an attempt to purposefully mutilate someone's body and cause massive damage. He sincerely hoped that they were not in all actuality Solstice. He didn't want to get in trouble and this was going to be his money source for a long while. He didn't have any plan B as far as taking care of himself, not even a rival gang.

"If someone gets on the bus and sits close, you know what to do this time right?"

"Not stab them," Hoss said with a grin. He jokingly nudged the girl with his finger as if demonstrating a possible stabbing before grinning and letting out a small laugh. He relaxed a bit, putting his arm around her shoulders. He looked over and said, "Just keeping up appearances, undercover and whatnot." He really hoped she went for it.

Something told him this was a very bad idea and he wasn't sure how this would turn out for him but at the very least he wouldn't get killed. He did have the package in his other arm at the very least, and it was more of a comfort thing than anything else. Maybe it was habit but whenever he drove he had a habit of putting his arm up on the other seat even when nobody was sitting next to him. It was a habit he had tried to break, but one that was just tough to. Here though it was partially that and also just some sense that they had just been through something. They had earned the chance to be comfortable around each other. At least, Hoss saw it that way.

Play it smooth, Hossy. Maybe just maybe we can get ourselves a second date with Lumine here.

Hoss' eyes would watch her to see if he needed to abort. If he needed to abort, he would definitely do so before his arm was torn off.

by **Lumine** Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:49 am

"Atta boy."

Well good, Hoss was learning when, and when not to get into a fight. Not that it would likely stop him, but it was progress when the two were working together at the very least. She understood fully why Solstice had picked the two together. Hoss was like an unlimited source of ammunition for her. If she wanted, he could just spawn knives, hammers, whatever, with Lumine just hurling each bit at an enemy. She'd never run out. Barring that, there were probably other sources of untapped potential between the two as well. Maybe it was time to revisit her own abilities. She'd always considered herself a master, but there was something still missing.

Meanwhile, Hoss casually decided to put an arm around her shoulders, and at the first touch, spooked her just a little. That sly motherfucker, reaching into her pocket, she fetched a piece of paper, wrote on it, and pushed it into Hoss' hand. She then gently removed said arm around her, and gave it back to him like it had gone missing. Which is exactly what would have happened should he have continued.

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. Unfortunately, late, Lumine and Hoss got the business. It was only five minutes, but late was late. On a good note, they were not dead, nor being kicked out. Their deliveree (ha ha) gracefully accepted the package, and went on his way. Neither party was the wiser.

They still didn't know what was in the box as Lumine left on the bus without another word.

____

"I was going to break your arm, but since you've been nice, and rather charming, I'll give you another chance. Here's my number. If by any chance you have the munchies, call me sometime."

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