[attr="class","dibody3"]
Aaron didn’t have a great first encounter with Dakota, to begin with, but now that she was standing there, in the same room as him, surrounded by highly dangerous criminals, all he could think was what a dumb woman she was. He wasn’t sure why she would be there or how she got there but one thing was for sure: it was sheer stupidity that led her into this room. Part of him didn’t care about it, about how and why, but part of him was curious. Either way, that was something he just needed to save for later - if there was a later for her. He was certain he would make it out in one piece… he wasn’t so sure about Dakota.

'Well, if you don't know her and she isn't one of ours, then maybe Sergei here can take her...for questioning.'

Emerald eyes stared at the leader, the one he shouldn’t lose focus on. He tried to ignore whatever was going on behind me. He heard the shuffling of feet, the scrunching of fabric against fabric, and the breathing of some guy. But once the leader suggested Sergei to take her he shifted his gaze into their direction, his eyes resting on Sergei for a moment. “Hold on a minute.” he let out, holding up a hand to signal them all to shut up but before he could say more, their leader proposed yet another great idea.

'Or maybe we'll just put her down now!'

There was a loud cheer roaring through the room as his henchmen got excited about putting her down. Aaron fought the urge to roll his eyes at the blunt stupidity. Apes. Animals. That’s what those guys were. Without functioning brains that is. He swallowed hard before deciding to turn around, taking in the sight of Dakota falling to the floor and some other dude pulling the gun on her and aiming it at her head. For a hot second, Aaron considered not doing anything, to not interfere with this mess. It was her own fault after all. And he still wanted to get some sort of revenge for her shooting him at the hospital during the riots. But then again… this wasn’t how he wanted to get revenge.

Clearing his throat, he grabbed the edges of the small table beside him and flipped it over. The sudden, loud noise it made caught the attention of everyone in the room. “Finally.” Aaron sighed, his arms moving up to his chest as he crossed them over, eyes narrowing at the leader. “Now isn’t that kind of unfair? I didn’t say I won’t take her. I just said you can’t negotiate the price with her. I know you folks aren’t really educated but you should have understood the difference without me needing to point it out.”

The leader hesitated and grumbled loudly in response and maybe because of Aarons‘ remark. He didn‘t care either way. ‘Enjoy yourself but be sure to add another grand.‘

Another grand, Aaron thought, almost spitting out a laugh at this comment. First of all, he would never pay money for a woman. Second, he would never pay that much money. And third, he wouldn’t even think about paying that much for someone like Dakota. It was ridiculous but unfortunately necessary. Aaron glanced over to Sergei, giving him a simple shrug. “Sorry, Sergei. Didn’t mean to take away your fun playtime. I’m sure your boss will gladly get you another one. Perhaps even a pretty one.” he told him, clicking his tongue and giving him a small wink.


He walked over to her, looking at the guy pointing the gun at her head dead in the eyes. “Get lost before I put that bullet through your head.” Aaron growled at him and watched as the guy moved away from Dakota - a little reluctant and not without baring his yellow teeth at Aaron. There was just a very brief moment of relief he felt as the situation didn’t appear to be as dangerous as it was. But unfortunately, Aaron knew exactly that he couldn’t just let her go and let her off the hook just like that.

Waiting until the distance between them seemed safe he approached Dakota with a frown, resisting the urge to curse her out and call her stupid, although he found a way to actually let out some of that anger. He dropped down into a crouch in front of her, lifting a hand to brush away stray strands of hair out of her face. After tucking it behind her ear, he cupped her chin and moved her face from one side to the other, pretending to closely inspect it. “Stupid whore. So you thought it would be a good idea to barge into our business just because you want some dope?“ he began, spitting out the words as if he meant it.

The soldier stood up, glowering at her as he looked down before reaching for her arm and yanking her up to a standing position. “You‘re lucky I‘m in a good mood today. While I might not feel the need to interrogate you like our boy Sergei over there… I have some other plans. I was told to enjoy myself so I will. I really need to relieve some stress. Had quite a few annoyances in my life recently.” he announced, making sure to lock his eyes with hers at the word annoyances.

‘Why don’t you prove to us that you don’t know her? You know… just to make sure.’ The leader said, followed by an approving grunt made my Sergei.


He looked over his shoulder, pausing for a moment to think. Prove it. It wasn’t really a lie that he didn’t know her. You couldn’t say you knew someone after running into them for twenty minutes or less. Aaron looked at her, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something but he couldn’t. Not in front of those thugs. He was trying to figure out how this would go down. There weren‘t many options left for them to take… and there weren‘t any left on how to get her out without being marked by these idiots.

An invisible light bulb appeared above his head, the faintest hint of a smirk playing around his lips as he moved his gaze back to her, once again his eyes locking with hers. All signs of concern, kindness, and pretty much life disappeared from the two emerald orbs replaced by a shadow, his lips thinning down into a harsh, tense line. Part of him hoped she would get it and understand, another part didn’t care. He couldn’t really make up his mind about her just yet and getting them both - or at least him - out of this situation was his first priority. If she hated him after this, that is… if she didn’t already hate him, he couldn’t blame her.

“Sure.” Aaron said right before he drew his right arm back and swung it back at Dakota, hands balled into a fist, hard knuckles hitting her face as he punched her.

[attr="class","dibody3"]
11PM. A look at his watch told him he was on time as he exited his car. He walked around it to the trunk and opened it, making sure he brought everything he needed. He took out his phone, dialing the unknown number he was called with earlier after tracing it back. Footsteps approached from behind him and the clearing of a throat let him know there was no need to call. Adjusting his cap before he turned around, slipping his phone back into the pocket it came from.

Aaron followed a group of men down the corridor of an abandoned office building. He made sure to keep his distance but they escorted him, guarding him against all sides. There was no way out once he had stepped through the doors. They had searched him for weapons and wires before they entered and he had to give up both his guns. Explanations about not being wired or rigged because he wasn’t a cop didn’t seem to convince them entirely. It was the truth, for once.

Both his hands were tucked away inside the pockets of his pants and he started whistling a random tune before being told to shut up. He put on a fake pout before nodding in agreement, quietly observing their reactions and behavior. They didn’t seem like the stupid and dumb kind of thugs but they didn’t appear that smart either. He could easily outsmart them if nothing too troublesome were to happen.

“Where’s the money?” The man on the other side of the room asked, rubbings his hands eagerly. He looked at Aaron with a grim expression, no emotions in his eyes whatsoever, as he moved to grab the edges of the table, his arms supporting his body as he leaned into Aaron’s direction. Once again he spat out the same words, eyes scanning Aaron who wasn’t carrying anything with him.

Pretending to wipe off some spit of his face a chuckle escaped his lips. He casually pointing over his shoulder. “Oh, I have the money. It’s in my car but I need to get what I want first. No names, no money.” he told them, emerald eyes staring right into the leader’s eyes as he leaned forward, resting his hands on the table and mimicking the other man on the opposite side. Aaron smirked, snickering as he removed himself from the table and stepped back. “Look, you should know how this works. You don’t look like an amateur, do you?” he continued, taking a look around the room.

“You made sure to search me, you removed all cameras from the building, your men are probably carrying more weapons than they should, you have a driver in your car waiting for you in case something doesn’t go as planned.” he started, and nodded towards the guy standing on his left. “And this one right here is ready to put a bullet through my head if I make one false move.” he shrugged, looking and blinking innocently at the leader as a little boy would. "So you should know exchanging at least half of each of our demands first is a given."

He slowly reached for his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and opened it, taking out a couple of hundred dollar bills and throwing it on the table. “Should be around two grand?” he offered, spreading the money on the table and putting back his wallet. The moment the other man tried to take it Aaron shot forward, his hand on top of the others. “Names. First.” he demanded, locking eyes with the guy as he buried his knuckles into the other’s hand.

His cap was thrown off of his head. The click of the gun being loaded beside his head didn’t bother him. He could see the barrel facing his temple in the corner of his eye. Aaron already risked one sudden movement too much and was pretty sure that another move would grant him the bullet in the head but a deal was a deal and he wasn’t the type to break his promises.

[attr="class","dibody3"]
His phone was quiet again, not a single message popping up on the screen. Aaron let out a slightly annoyed sigh before reaching for a pair of binoculars to get a better look at the dude standing over at the street. He didn’t seem too suspicious, though, his fidgeting and moving around was a little off. He opened the compartment on the passenger seat side, revealing not only a pair of binoculars but also a gun. Grabbing just the binoculars and then closing the compartment again he held it in front of his eyes, adjusting the radius.

There was yet no sight of another person and Aaron started believing there was no one joining the other guy. Maybe it was just another false tip anyway and the guy was just some random person out for a walk and maybe Aaron was just wasting his time. Nevertheless, the was just this small tug inside his gut telling him there might be more. A feeling which wouldn’t make him leave, so he continued his observations.

The air conditioning inside the car was running on the highest mode, and even though the sun had set it was still hot and humid outside and inside the car. It was going to be a long night he assumed, pulling on the side of his seat to lean back slightly, arms crossing over his chest, fingers tapping the bare skin on his right biceps restlessly and to no set rhythm.

Attentive eyes were glued to the dubious stranger. As another man seemed to be approaching him Aaron moved back forward in an instant but it was, again, just someone passing by. Feeling even more restless and impatient he slapped his steering wheel with both palms of his hands before a knock on the passenger's window grabbed his attention.

Aaron turned his head to the side at the sudden knock on his car window, eyebrows raised questioningly as to who it would be. The sight of a brunette he did not recognize came into view and he rolled down the window. "Sorry, I’m in no need of a hooker." he told her, giving her a dismissive wave with his hand, before pushing the button to roll the window back up.

[attr="class","dibody3"]
Aaron bit his lower lip as he tried to stand without support. He grimaced, sucking in some air through his teeth and the pain spread through his shoulder and the area around it. „Yeah, but you should have kinda avoid me?! Shoot AROUND me not into me. You were lucky it passed through me and didn‘t get stuck. Hell, I wasn‘t going to go down as your personal shield.“ he scoffed, his breath shaky, voice rough. He cleared his throat, pushing himself up from the wall.

„What?“ he replied in disbelief, stuttering slightly as he tried to breathe. „No way, you‘re not.“ he continued, gesturing at her to give it to him. When he realized she really wasn‘t going to give it up he sighed, pressing his lips together, and threw his good arm up. „Fine. Keep it. But if I see one more bullet being aimed in my direction I will-„ Aaron took another breath, „kill you myself. That‘s not a threat, it‘s a promise.“ he finished his sentence, nostrils flaring, shooting her a deadly glare. He was being serious about it. He didn‘t really care who she was, but he needed to make her aware that she would be a dead woman if she tried to pull one more funny thing.

Aaron met her gaze as she told him about the OR down the hall. His eyes were burning with rage, but he just rolled them at her and tried turning. His hand was still pressed against the exit wound. He lifted his hand for a moment to check. The bleeding hadn‘t stopped and his shirt was soaked, both the front and the back, giving it this sticky, icky feeling as it stuck to his skin. His hand had turned completely dark red, the scent of iron stinging his nose. Slow steps moved him forward, pausing as he neared the two rebels on the ground. Giving them a not so gently kick against their abdomen to make sure they were down - they were.

He twisted slightly, gaze dropped to the floor as he looked for his rifle. It was moved to the side but he reached for it, groaning as he bent down and picked it up with his injured arm. He snatched it up from the ground, struggling ever so slightly to get the strap around his head. Once he made it through, he let it dangle in front of him, taking yet another shaky breath before he swung it to the side. Unfortunately, he had to rest it on his bad shoulder, trying not to press it against the skin too strong.

A wince escaped his lips as he steadied the rifle, holding it as best as he could with his right arm. It wasn‘t going to be the greatest in case had to actually use it but it would work… somehow. He glanced over his shoulder to Dakota, checking up on her if she‘s following as he walked down the hall, slow and careful. „Our medics are spread around the city to help your lack of medical personnel. They are currently not just ours.“ he replied to her question, letting out a small shaky, airy, laugh. „I don‘t care if I break orders. Don‘t know if you‘ve realized that yet. And-„ he said, stopping and turning around, rifle aimed at her. His hold was quite shaky but he managed to keep it up. „No one will know I went against orders if there are no witnesses.“ he added, a mischievous smirk playing around his lips.

Somewhere in the back of his head he was wishing for her just shut up and patch him up so he could go. He rolled his eyes at her and turned back around, he was about to loosen the grip on the rifle when someone turned around the corner, a mask covering all of his face except for holes for the eyes and nose. Aaron reacted almost immediately and pulled the trigger, the rifle pressing itself against his shoulder hysterically, each bullet leaving the barrel feeling as if he shot himself. The guy dropped to the ground, joining the mess, and Aaron groaned in pain. This was not how he expected his day to go. There was a bag of money waiting for him secured by his team, ready to be spent. „Fuck.“ he yelped, catching his breath, bending over. He kept the rifle on his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he looked up. Clear.

As he continued walking he muttered some curses directed at Dakota under his breath until they stood in front of a door, the sign on the wall saying OR 2. He glanced at her, nodding at the door. „This one?“ he asked, not really having the patience for an answer though, as he kicked in the door. Did he think about turning the door knob to see if it was locked? Maybe. Did he just wanted to let out some rage by using force? Maybe.

His eyes scanned the room, it was empty but someone had already looted half of it. Groaning once again he stepped inside, letting the rifle dangle against his upper body as he took a seat on the operation table. He had his head dropped, eyes closed, his face a distorted mess. „You better hurry up.“