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pretty-little-mind33 · 8 months

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Mastermind

Tangerine x fem!reader

Summary: Since the mission in Tokyo, you wanted Tangerine out of your life as soon as possible. Instead, he stormed back in to save you from yourself.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: excessive amount of swearing, sexual themes, canon like violence, mentions of violence, blood, career sexism, Enemies To Lovers <3

You were only supposed to snatch a stupid briefcase for your friend, Carver. Instead, your trip ended with a crushed up train, three concussions, one broken arm, multiple bruised egos, and a whole lot of unrequested fun facts about Thomas The Tank Engine.

Oh, and a man you were convinced wanted to become your mortal enemy.

You had heard about the infamous Twins in passing — the Bolivia case mostly — and you never questioned anyone when they assured you they were professionals. At least not until you saw them fuck up more than once in one evening.

You liked Lemon. He was a decent guy, a smart assassin, and he made you laugh with his corny obsession with a children's show.

His brother however — what a fucking asshole!

Tangerine had came in strong with an attitude. He was just eye roll here, sucker punch there, and whine, whine, whine. He also had the worst timing, somehow always running into you whenever you were trying (and failing) to do your fucking job.

He seemed just as irritated by you as you were by him, however it was obvious he loved having you at his mercy: wether that was stuck pressed between the train and his arms, with his gun lodged into your throat, or hearing you say "please" and "thank you" when he swooped in like a devilish knight and saved you from a deadly bullet to the stomach.

Still, you couldn't leave Tangerine's deranged ass quicker once the nightmare that had been that mission was finally over.

You really didn't think you'd see the twins again — certainly not at the same club where you were supposed to carry out your, rather simple, information extraction mission but when you do, your eyes narrow.

Lemon looks mostly casual. His dyed platinum hair is curled around his face as he leans his arm around the booth he's sitting in, casually conversing with another man you don't know.

Standing next to the booth, Tangerine looks even less casual. He's wearing his all too familiar dark blue blazer. His hair and mustache are just as neat as they had been on the train that evening and you smirk. He has a lit cigarette dangling from his lips as he occasionally takes it out and obnoxiously blows smoke into the air.

He looks infuriatingly good.

You cross your arms, watching them from across the room. You look around. Your target hadn't made an appearance yet and in the meantime you'd had to turn down many desperate and drunk men swarming you for your attention.

"Fancy seeing you here, luv." You smirk, hearing his voice, hoarse and velvety, near your ear. He'd found you quickly. Seems like he has a talent for that and you wonder if he'd somehow planted a tracker on you.

"Stalking me now, Orange?" You ask, not even bothering to turn around as you lean on the bar counter and start to intentionally swirl your drink around the glass.

"Tangerine." He corrects.

You turn this time. Your eyes meet his chest and they start to slowly move up until you can look at him in his annoyingly beautiful blue eyes, "Potayto, potahto." You say, shrugging your shoulders.

"Well, aren't ya as chirpy as ever, Poppy." Tangerine snarls. Your lips curl hearing the code name you'd used on that train. You've been using it ever since.

You look around seeing your target walk into a small room in the corner of the club. You run a hand in your hair, smack your lips together, and glance nonchalantly at Tangerine. You send him a sweet smile, "Well, Clementine, I always enjoy our little chats but I'm quite busy and don't have time for your potty-mouth right now." You turn away from him.

He catches your arm, "I really wouldn't follow im in there if I were ya, darlin" He warns seriously. You turn around, skeptical, but listen to him anyway.

"Why is that?" You ask, crossing your arms.

"Because, luv," Tangerine smirks as he firmly holds your shoulders and turns you both around. Nonchalantly, he gestures towards the door to the little room the man walked into, "That bastard hired Lemon and I to kill ya."

You tense, "What?" You spin around, heart pounding.

"Ya seriously din't think you'd been asked to be a fucking honeypot without any exterior motives?" You feel insulted until Tangerine continues, “You're an assassin, darlin', and a pretty damn fucking good one. Having you as a honeypot is a crime in itself." You realize it's the first time Tangerine has complimented you and he's looking at you with an unusually concerned expression.

"So, what are you waiting for?" You blink, completely serious.

"Excuse me?"

"Kill me." You say calmly, "Since when do you and Lemon not finish a job?"

The brunet looks at you like you've gone completely insane (which maybe you have) and then laughs, "Ya want me to kill ya, doll?" Tangerine genuinely looks like he's just heard the funniest thing in his life. However, his eyes narrow darkly and his hands curl harshly around your arm, "Fine."

Sure, you know Tangerine had been ruthless on that train but you'd also been extremely aware that he'd intentionally missed opportunities he had to kill or badly wound you. So, when he yanks you into the men's bathroom, you panic.

You pull against his arm and push against chest as you try to take out the small knife you always cram inside your boot, but Tangerine is too quick. Your body is suddenly thrown across the bathroom like you're nothing and you crash into the mirror, ribs hitting the sink. You stare at him, eyes fluttering from the pain as you sway on your feet and clutch your side.

Tangerine looks completely unfazed as he struts over to you and then grabs your chin between his fingers so forcefully you unintentionally whimper, "Where's the assassin I met on the train, huh?" He asks, his voice smooth, "Haven't given up so easily, have ya, darlin'?"

You stare at him. He's taunting you. He wants you to fight him. Quickly, you knee him in the groin and side kick him to the ground. He stumbles a little but recovers from the hit. A sensible voice in your head screams at you to run but instead you pull Tangerine up by the collar of his expensive suit and body slam him against the wall, your forearm crushing his throat.

When you look at him, Tangerine is smirking cockily, "Atta' girl." He croaks.

You realize a little too late that the only reason you managed to pin Tangerine to the wall was because he was letting you. The moment he resists, you're the one easily pinned as one of his hands presses your wrists above your head.

Time suddenly feels unimportant as you look into his eyes. “Am I in danger?" You whisper, breathlessly.

Tangerine's stoic expression falters a little and he drops your arms and looks around the bathroom. He turns back to you, running a hand in his hair. “Yes." Your heart leaps, “Lemon and I mean you no harm, but someone else wants you dead, Poppy."

His hand slides down your back as he leads you outside of the bathroom and back into the busy noise of the club. You catch his arm as he walks in front of you, "Tangerine, wait," You say, voice raspy. You watch him turn around. His hair is messy from his hand and he's looking at you like he's never heard you say his name before.

Your heart is beating out of your chest and you want to ask him to stay. A little part of you wants him to stay so he can take care of you. Only, you can't ask him that. You've looked after yourself and you've long accepted that that's how it would always be.

"What?" Tangerine frowns, wearing an irritatingly handsome expression for someone that looks so confused and, frankly, a little annoyed.

You frown and, as hard as you can, slap him across the face. From his profile, you can see a dark glimmer appear in his eyes and his jaw tightens. He doesn't react as he slowly looks at you again, and then he can't because you're kissing him.

You bury your nails into his cheeks as he wastes no time to grip your hips with his hands. You kiss him passionately and clumsily — like you've never kissed anyone before but somehow when his lips move against yours it still feels flawless.

"Fuck," Tangerine groans when you bite his lower lip and smile proudly.

He pulls you closer to him and his hand comes up to hold your neck as his fingers bury themselves in your hair. He jerks your head backwards painfully but you groan in approval. Tangerine begins to suck on the skin of your neck like he's been starved of you for years.

You don't want him to pull away when you feel him move so you chase his lips. He chuckles, his voice low, and cups your cheeks in his hands as he looks at you. His eyes are weirdly affectionate for a man who's a cold blooded killer.

"Are you going to turn me in?" You ask him, your face still in his hands.

"What didn't ya understand when I told ya Lemon and I won't cause you any harm?" He rolls his eyes, gently patting your cheek. Slowly, as if savoring the touch of your skin, he slides his hands down your arms and then intertwines your fingers with his, "Come on, we're leaving."

You let him lead you through the sweaty bodies of the dancing crowd until you reach the booth where Lemon sits. He sees his brother and then his eyes flicker to your hands and the corner of his lips curl, "I see you found er," Lemon waves at you.

"Bugger off," Tangerine snarls, hearing something in Lemon's voice that you hadn't, "And get off your fucking arse, Lemon," He adds, "I don't wanna deal with that bloody bastard when he realizes we aren't killing er. I don't want his filth on my suit. I like this suit."

Tangerine lets your hand go to adjust his collar. You cross your arms and look around the club. Accidentally, you make eye contact with someone and your entire body freezes.

He sees you before you can look away. Quickly, you turn to Lemon and Tangerine, who haven't stopped bickering, and slap Tangerine's chest to get his attention. He looks at you, eyebrow raised, "Hate to break up the love-fest boys, but I think our little friend just realized you lads plan on keeping me fucking breathing." You hiss.

"Bloody fucker." Tangerine whispers, his eyes glued on the man approaching you all as Lemon stands. Lemon pulls out his gun and unlocks it with a click. You bend over to take the knife from inside your boot but the moment you have it in your hands, Tangerine snatches it from you and replaces it with his gun.

"I don't want this," You deadpan.

"Don't argue." He squints at you and twirls your knife in his hand.

Ignoring him, you reach for your weapon anyway, "I like my knife, thanks."

Tangerine tuts and holds it above his head, smirking, "Guns are safer, luv." He patronizes.

"Misogynist asshole." You grumble, earning a frown from him.

"Mates, now ain't the time." Lemon interrupts sternly. You look behind him and see that the man who'd hired you to kill him, just for him to kill you, has a few other bulky looking buddies with him and they're much closer than they were earlier.

Without hesitation and because Tangerine is distracted, you manage to jump up and take the knife from his hand. You then proceed to meticulously launch it past the swarm of dancing bodies. With a smoosh it lands smack in the middle of one the men's head and the sound of his body hitting the ground causes a mass panic.

"Fucking brilliant," Tangerine scolds, looking annoyed, "Now ya lost the fucking knife." His hand wraps around your forearm and he whispers in your ear, "And I ain't misogynistic, sweetheart, I just don’t wanna see ya hurt," He admits.

He starts to pull you away but you wiggle out of his grip, "Poppy!" He shouts as you sprint towards the men.

Fuck this, you think, if those motherfuckers want you dead then you won't wait around for them to kill you – you'll kill them first.

You take the man closest to you in a scissor leg takedown, slamming him onto the ground. You snatch your knife from the dead man's head as he lays not far from you and slit the throat of the man you're pinning to the ground. You spin your head around and throw Tangerine his gun. Quickly, he unlocks it and, with Lemon, starts shooting past the innocent civilians and manages to fatally hit a few of the men.

You make your way to the leader and front kick him in the hand so he drops his gun. When he does, you try and bend over to retrieve it from where it fell only the man manages to punch you in the jaw. You stumble over, tears pricking your eyes from the pain, but stand up anyways. "Who the fuck are you?" You demand, returning a punch that the man easily avoids. He backhand slaps you so hard you groan. You fall onto your knees and your knife slides out your hands and across the floor.

"You don't remember me?" The man asks with a snarl, his Irish accent thick.

"No." You hiss, crawling to reach your knife. Only, the man kicks you in the stomach and you can't help the scream that leaves your lips.

You blink, cheeks and palms pressed to the floor as you helplessly watch Tangerine and Lemon in action. There had been more men then you'd anticipated and while the Twins can certainly assert themselves in combat, they're far too concerned with defending themselves to help you.

You feel a hand grip your hair and the man harshly turns you around so he's straddling your hips. He presses your knife against your neck and smiles at you. He's young, clean-shaven, and has moles sprinkled across his cheeks like small freckles. You stare at him only to have him spit in your face. Shutting your eyes, you snap, "What the fuck?" and struggle against him.

"You took everything from me, Y/n." He growls and your heart leaps. He knows your name.

"I don't even know who you are!" You try to buck your hips so he falls but he's too strong.

"You stole my job. The hit on the Senator and his family a few months ago, remember them?" You nod, "Well it was mine and you swooped in and took it from me. My reputation, gone in seconds because of some inexperienced, useless, brat." He rants like a madman and presses the knife harder until it strains crimson.

"Everyone steals jobs, it happens." You explain, voice hoarse.

"And yet you couldn't even finish it."

You can barely breathe anymore. "I couldn't kill the child." You explain.

"I know. I did, and yet you still took all the fucking credit," He smirks and lifts his arm. "You ruined my reputation – everyone said I was beaten to the task by a fucking girl – and now you're gonna pay." You squeeze your eyes shut.

Instead of the pain from the knife you hear one gunshot and suddenly the man collapses onto you. Instantly, you sit up and shove him away. Your head snaps up, eyes wide, to see whoever just shot him.

Tangerine stands over you, tucking his gun back into his pants behind him. There's blood splattered across his cheeks but you don't think it's his. He grins, "Now he's a fucking misogynistic bastard." He holds out his hand and helps you stand, "Ya ok, luv?"

You nod slowly and look around the club. There are bodies everywhere. Lemon stands in the center, cleaning his gun and he tilts his head at you, "We should skedaddle before the coppers come." He points out.

You nod again and let Tangerine and Lemon walk you out and into their car.

* * *

The Twins house is as you would have imagined. It's basically a mansion and just as polarized as they are. All the rooms Tangerine touches are neat and fancy, while whatever is Lemons has more of a messy, boyish, charm.

You're sitting on the kitchen counter as Tangerine presses alcohol to your neck as he cleans your wound. He's uncharacteristically gentle with you,

"So, what did that wanker want with you anyway?" He asks, not looking into your eyes.

You grimace, "I stole his hit, apparently."

Tangerine raises his brow, "And he wanted to kill you because of it?"

"I also took his credit for killing the Senator's four year old son," You sigh, "When in reality, I couldn't bring myself to harm the little boy." You feel pathetic in front of Tangerine, who is silent for a moment until he says,

"I wouldn't have killed him either."

You look up at him, "Really?"

He looks you in the eyes, "Really. I don't harm kids." He pauses and then moves some hair away from your face so he can clean some more scratches you have on your skin, "Why'd ya take credit for the kill?"

"I didn't want to seem weak in front of my employer. He already trusts men more than women." Your sentence dies and you look away, "This is a male dominated business, you know? Like most careers, us women have to survive somehow." You bury your head in your hands, "I know it's dishonest but the only reason I got that job on the bullet train was because I earned a little reputation from the Senator hit."

Tangerine suddenly laughs and it makes you turn your head towards him again, "What?"

"I understand, luv. Ya don't need to explain yourself."

"You do?"

He kisses your forehead quickly, "Mmhm."

You feel weirdly fuzzy with his lips on your skin and you remember your previous kiss. You aren't sure if you should mention it, or simply pretend it had never happened. Tangerine pulls away from your skin, but his finger slips under your chin and tilts your head to look at him. His eyes jump from yours, then down to your lips, and you hold your breath.

When he kisses you, you know there is no need for talk anymore.

"Should have known you had a soft spot for me." You say anyway, smirking into his lips.

Tangerine frowns, "What's that, sugar?"

"You're secretly a softie, aren't you?" You tease him with a smile.

Unsurprisingly, his frown deepens and he warns, "You're startin' to get on my nerves, sweetheart. Continue like this and next time, I'll leave ya to defend yourself from that arsehole."

You fake hurt, dramatically crossing your hands over your heart, and flutter your eyelashes at him, "You wouldn't, Tan."

"Nah," Lemon interrupts the banter, entering the kitchen with his pink boxers and his mouth full of mint toothpaste, "He couldn't leave ya, Poppy. You're all he ever talks about."

"Shove one up your arse, Lemon." Tangerine hisses, eyes narrowing at his brother.

"You dug your own grave, mate, lay in it." Lemon dismisses him with his hand, "G'night." He smiles at you and spits in the skin. Tangerine watches Lemon walk out of the room. His face is deformed into an annoyed expression,and the moment Lemon shuts the door behind him, Tangerine looks at you.

"Zip it." He demands. He taps your upper thigh as an indication for you to jump off the counter. When you do, his hands linger on your waist, "Come on, you're up way past your bedtime, luv." He smirks at his own joke as he leads you out the kitchen and down the hallway.

Tangerine's room smells like him and is cleaner than your entire apartment. You walk to the queen-sized bed and marvel at how comfortable it is when you sit on it. "Here," Tangerine says nonchalantly and hands you one of his shirts. He turns around, making sure you have your privacy, as he starts to unravel his blue-tie.

You don't protest as you step out of your dress and throw his shirt over your head. You feel out of place when Tangerine turns back around and looks you up and down. He raises one eyebrow, "Well?"

"Well what?" You ask, confused.

"Get into the bloody bed, Poppy." He says harshly.

"What? Where are you sleeping?"

Tangerine runs a hand in his hair, "In the living room."

"Bullshit. You can sleep in your own bed, I’ll sleep on the couch." You pause, eyes scrunching, "Or I- I'll juts go home."

Tangerine smirks, "In my shirt?" He motions to your dress on the ground and you feel your cheeks burn with embarrassment, "Just shut up and listen to me for once." He says.

"Then you stay too. There is enough room," You reason as you walk to one side and dramatically pull down the covers. You stare at him with wide eyes and pat the mattress, "You aren't afraid to sleep with a woman, are you now?" You tease.

Tangerine's cheeks flame and he grumbles something under his breath but he’s shedding his blazer. You avert your gaze and climb under the covers.

Your back is turned to Tangerine as you hold your breath, eyes bouncing around the room. Then, the light switches off, the bed dips and suddenly you feel warmth next to you.

"Tan?" You whisper into the darkness after a moment.

You hear him shift in the bed and then a small hum to tell you he' listening, "Poppet," He mutters and your lips curl upwards.

"Thank you.”

Silence.

"While I do appreciate the gratitude, why ya thanking me?" He asks, his voice low.

"Thank you for not killing me, and saving my ass, and of course letting me stay here — with you and your brother — " Your chest feels lighter and your eyelids start to feel sleepy. You feel Tangerine shift in the bed again and suddenly his arm is around your waist.

Your skin prickles with goosebumps and you shiver as Tangerine pulls you into him until you're curled up against his chest. You let out a shaky breath when you feel his cheek rest near yours, "Shhh, sleep now, luv. We'll leave the thank yous for tomorrow, hmm?" His voice is uncharacteristically sweet.

You hum in approval and let your eyes flutter shut. You start to drift in and out of sleep but you're almost certain you hear Tangerine mutter, "I'd never let anything bad happen to ya, Poppy. I promise, you're safe with me," just before you fall into the most relaxing sleep you know you'll ever have.

#bullet train #tangerine fanfiction #tangerine oneshot #tangerine x reader #tangerine bullet train #tangerine smut #tangerine x y/n #lemon and tangerine #tangerine x you #tangerine imagine #tangerine imagines #tangerine fic #tangerine angst #bullet train fanfic

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sebsbarnes · 2 months

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scarlet flags || tangerine

tangerine x f!reader

summary: you called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me

warnings: suggestive- minimal descriptions, toxic situationship

word count: 860+

masterlist

"you don't get to call me every time you get lonely, then pretend you don't know who i am when i'm not hidden behind the walls of your room" you spit, the venom in your tone nearly lethal.

he tutted as you turned away, "don't be ridiculous, angel."

you snapped your head to him, jabbing your pointer finger into his chest, face mere millimeters from his, "you!- you don't get to call me that. don't you fuckin' call me that.

tangerine lazily intertwined his fingers in yours as he hovered above your body. his lips moved soft yet feverishly against your own, it was bliss. you felt intoxicated and you silently prayed the high wouldn't come down. tangerine pulled away and started peppering kisses across your cheek until he reached the skin below your ear. with his teeth he nipped at the flesh pulling it into his mouth, surely to leave a purple splotch on your skin, his mark as if he were an artist. tangerine slid down your body, his lips ghosting down your chest and stomach until he got to your underwear, and through his dark lashes, he looked at you.

"is this okay, angel?" he whispered, his fingers wrapping around the waistband.

angel. this was the first time he called you that. it made your stomach flip, angel. you loved the inflection in his accent when he spoke the nickname. the nickname for you. you felt like you were his. it made your heart leap and you swore a piece of itself landed in tangerine.

"okay, okay! i won't call you angel," tangerine said defensively.

you rolled your eyes in disgust, racking a hand through your hair. he was agitating, this conversation was agitating. tangerine was a smart man so it was surprising when he seemed to act dense to avoid conflict.

"besides, i don't know where you got the idea that i ignore you in public love, i don't," he said crossing his arms.

"oh really? so last week at the gathering? or the gathering before that? you looked through me, like a window, pretended i was nonexistent. do you not realize how that feels?" you spewed.

a silent nod was all he gave you when you greeted tangerine at the work event. perplexed, you raised an eyebrow at his retreating figure but didn’t dwell on it too long now being sidetracked by ladybug. these work gatherings were really an excuse to drink and boast about whatever successful mission you had just come back from. truthfully, they were boring, but it was an unspoken rule that it was mandatory.

ladybug chatted about his healing foot from a gunshot wound but your eyes and mind were elsewhere. across the dimly lit room, tangerine stood with a puffed-out chest talking about the recent bolivia job. his eyes would wander across those listening, soaking in the praise before looking at you. it was quick and not like he had been caught, but as though it was an accident.

watching as his eyes looked up and down at one of the women standing beside him, he smoothed out his mustache before placing a hand on her waist. she threw her head back in laughter and her lips forming the word 'please' as she toyed with his collar.

you hate how you felt. you weren't his, you knew that, but you spent countless hours underneath his sheets and on top of his body and to sit here and be nonexistent made you mad, made you feel little. unfortunately, tangerine had a way of still making you want him and you know you shouldn't. it's funny, really, how his true colors shine in darkness and secrecy.

"c'mon, it wasn't like that, love," he tsked, uncrossing his arms and taking a step forward.

"but it was," you said pointedly.

tangerine sighed, running a hand through his curly hair, "y'know i'm no good at this stuff."

"i don't care if you don't want a serious relationship, tangerine. what i care about is having some respect and not being some disposable body. and what i hate the most is you keep drawing me in and you aren't even doing anything," you spoke.

it was the truth. you'd text each other how you miss the other, saying you wish you could feel him in you, or he'd say he misses your skin and you'd find your way over to his apartment. he'd greet you at the door with strong arms around your waist. most times few words were spoken before you'd find yourself in his bed with his head between your legs crying out to some foreign god.

what you hated most was standing before him now, his eyebrows pulled together and his tongue sucking at his teeth you still felt the unseen magnetic pull to him. you knew that eventually the piece of your heart that leapt into his the first time he called you angel would be broken. though, in this moment you knew after a few more bitter words and rolling eyes you'd find yourself in his arms again, and again. somehow tangerine's scarlet flags would always be washed out in the light of his room.

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aangelinakii · 10 months

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PICTURES OF US

in which you and tangerine share a kiss without an umbrella

character : tangerine

song : pictures of us , beabadoobee

date : 17th june 2023

warnings : swearing

note : again,, so sorry for my hiatus !! 😭😭 but here i am <3<3

red flames flickered in the soft, chilling breeze, as your thumb clicked the flint of your lighter, setting the end of tangerine's cigarette ablaze.

smoke billowed around the two of you, its expensive scent filling your lungs, a cloak keeping you warm from the nipping chill of an autumn night in london.

for the past two weeks, your fiancé had been on a mission in paris, and you'd been left in your apartment to fend for yourself. i mean, of course you had visited friends and focused on your own job and hobbies, but whenever tangerine went on longer missions it was difficult to cope. that's why tonight, with him being back from paris for only a day, he'd treated you to dinner as a way to make up for his long absence.

now, bellies filled with the warm food from your favourite restaurant, the two of you walked arm in arm down the pavement, sky pitch, street dim.

cigarette settled between the index and middle fingers of his free hand, tangerine looked down at you, his piercing blue eyes darkened in the low lighting, turned into crescents with admiration.

"i don't know how many times i've told you tonight, but you look amazing," he smiled down at you, the arm linked with yours flexing to squeeze it. "no idea how i can stay so long away from you sometimes."

a soft laugh brushed past your lips, and you used your free hand to squeeze tangerine's bicep in return, muttering a small thank you.

for a moment you were quiet, taking in tangerine's musky cologne. "yeah," you began slowly, "it's difficult when it's just a couple days, but two weeks? you're kidding."

now it was tangerine's turn to laugh, taking another toke of his cigarette.

"i know, it's insane. i missed you like crazy this time. 'specially in paris, city of love and all. i should take you one time, when i don't have a job coming up."

your lips pulled up into a wistful grin. "paris? i'd love that."

just the thought of the couple of you strolling through the heart of paris at night, the dazzling eiffel tower peeking at you through a break between two townhouses, made you nostalgic of something that hadn't even happened yet. perhaps for your honeymoon?

"do you know where you're off to next?"

tangerine shrugged in response, exhaling more rich smoke. "lemon's handling it this time. he mentioned it on our way back, but i don't know much yet. i think somewhere in south america — bolivia? argentina? don't remember."

you only hummed back, acknowledging his response, but not asking any more as it was clear not even he knew that much.

as the two of you continued to stroll down the dark pavement, the few orange street lanterns highlighting your faces. matching in sync with your footsteps, raindrops pierced the grey concrete.

a drop landed square on tangerine's forehead, causing him to abruptly stop in his tracks. "shit!" he groaned. "if it starts shitting it down i'm gonna ruin this suit."

"hey, hey, don't worry about your suit," you spoke up, laughing all the while, the rain around you beginning to pick up in power and speed.

you removed your arm from out of tangerine's link, and moved to stand opposite him, placing your hands on each shoulder. "it's just rain, yeah? we can take it to the dry cleaner's tomorrow."

as he looked down at you, albeit droplets of rain rolling down his face, his expression softened. "i really don't wanna ruin my suit, love," he spoke, softer this time.

"dry cleaner's," you repeated, leaning closer, hands on his shoulders pressing down tighter.

opposite you, tangerine's face scrunched up, a mixture of defeat and exasperation. "god, you're impossible." with this, he inhaled from his cigarette and tried to push down his smile.

above you, dark clouds darkened the sky, if that were even possible, and the rain picked up pace. needless to say, tangerine's suit, and your overcoat, were going to the dry cleaner's tomorrow. tangerine's brown locks, which had previously been gelled back, were now spilling down his temples, weighed down by the rain.

the cigarette in his hand was of no use at this point, and he flicked it away.

"alright, love, d'you think we can keep walking now?" he asked, eyes squinting as he tried to see through the rain.

grin on your face, although rain-stricken, you shook your head. "no, let's stay for a bit. you're not in a rush, are you?"

"to get dry? yeah, kinda."

your hands on tangerine's shoulders moved up to his neck, pulling him towards yourself even more. the distance between you was closed, lips against lips.

warmth spread between the two of you, a high contrast to the striking rain falling down from the clouds above.

tangerine's larger hands took in your waist, pulling you further into him, trying to keep himself warm.

the kiss lasted a few moments, and when you pulled away, your eyes lingered closed, and your arms wrapped around tangerine's broad frame, encapsulating the two of you into the odd sensation of a warm embrace and a cold atmosphere.

your fiancé was back. in your arms. in the rain.

"my love?" his voice a ghost in your ear. you hummed in return. "paris isn't as cold as london, d'you think we can head home now?"

eyes halved into crescents as you pull out of your embrace, you looked up at tangerine with a half-laugh. "yes, oh my god, i'm so cold."

#matchajhoney #bullet train #bullet train imagines #tangerine #bullet train tangerine #bullet train x reader #tangerine imagines #tangerine x reader #tangerine bullet train

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mutant-distraction · 5 months

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𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 ( 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 )

📷 @alisaforestasila

“ Ananas bracteatus (common name, red pineapple) is a short lived perennial terrestrial plant related to the pineapple. It is native to South America (Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador). Is grown as an ornamental plants for its decorative red fruit. The leaves are long with sharp spines, so it can be used as a protective hedge for home security. In colder places they can be grown indoors as a houseplant. It grows throughout Brazil at elevations of 140 to 320 metres (450–1,050 ft).

Ananas bracteatus is a large terrestrial species of bromeliad that grows 100 centimetres (40 in) dark green leaves that fade red to pink when exposed to sunlight. The long spiny leaves are characterized by "broad, cream and green, longitudinal stripes that are suffused with pink when grown in good light." When it flowers it blossoms typical pineapple fruit; it is similar to Ananas comosus but far more prolific.

This plant is monocarpic (it bears flowers only one time in its life). Usually the plant will bear one flower stalk at a time though there may be 2 or 3 heads. The small, violet-purple flowers emerge from between spiny, red or pink bracts on egg-shaped inflorescences.

The fruit is a small to medium, syncarp (leafy-topped, compound pineapple fruit), formed by the fusion of the ripe ovaries with the base of the sepals and the bracts and with the bark of the floral axis. The skin is tough and waxy, brownish pink to scarlet in colour. The flesh is pink-yellow in colour. The ripe fruit is more or less palatable, but it is smaller (less than one kilo), usually full of seeds, fibrous, lacking in juice and less fleshy than commercial pineapples, but very attractive. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its conspicuous red inflorescences than harvesting for its fruits. “ Wikipedia

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗶 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂!

⍗ www.plantsnap.com ⍗

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mercerislandbooks · 6 months

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Book Notes: Fantasy Roundup

Or, some ideas for what to read when you have a book hangover from Iron Flame:

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle

When Emory is the sole survivor of a secret ritual in the caves below Aldryn College, her healer powers, given to those born during the new moon on a rising tide, begin to shift into something strange and uncontrollable. Will her estranged friend Baz, brother to one of the students who died, help Emory figure out her new powers and what really happened that night? This debut fantasy has it all — dark academia, an upper YA that crosses over beautifully into adult, a murder mystery, secret societies, forbidden magic, a pining romance and the most gorgeous book design I’ve seen in a while. The magic system is built around the moon phases and the tides. Curious Tides is book one of a planned duology.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

What happens when Talasyn and Alaric, two soldiers from opposite sides of an entrenched war meet on the battlefield and discover their opposing powers combine to create something entirely new and unexpected? They continue to absolutely hate each other while having to work together to save their people from an even worse fate. Of course. And we all know what happens when two attractive people hate each other. Drawing inspiration from Southeast Asia, debut Filipino author Thea Guanzon has penned a fun, fresh fantasy that balances an authentic depiction of the toll of conflict on a population with a strong cast of characters and all the political machinations of Machiavelli. The Hurricane Wars is book one of a planned trilogy.

Godkiller by Hannah Kane

In a world where gods, fed by the attention, prayers, and offerings of humans, can also be destroyed by them, three disparate people come together to travel to the ruined city that was the last stand in the wars between gods and people. Kissen, a godkiller for hire. Elo, a former knight turned baker. And Inara, a young girl whose life has become intertwined with a god of white lies, Skedi. The four travel together to Blenraden, hopeful that they will find a way to untangle Skedi from Inara. All the feels of quest fantasy with characters that are delightfully flawed and human. The world building was immersive and queer normative with a host of diverse characters. The religious and magic system was at once familiar but with enough twists to make it unexpected. Godkiller is book one of a planned trilogy.

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

From page one of The Fragile Threads of Power, I was invested all over again in the world of the four Londons, seven years after the events from The Shades of Magic trilogy (also excellent, if you want to start there). The plot works together like interchanging gears, or a chess game, the movement of each character affecting the others, often unknowingly. There are characters from the original trilogy, new additions, and Tes, the one who, unconsciously, holds the key to everything. Schwab investigates power in this novel -- who has it and who controls it, and by whose standards its morality is judged. Schwab puts a lot of things in motion in this book, and only a few are resolved by the end. The Fragile Threads of Power is book one of planned trilogy. You can always go back and read The Shades of Magic series in the meantime!

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

I can’t think of a more fun combination than 1880’s Egyptian archeological digs, a feisty heroine determined to find out what happened to her explorer parents, and a current of magic running through it all. When Inez Olivera hears that her parents, on a dig in Egypt, are presumed dead, she takes matters into her own hands. Inez books passage from Bolivia to Egypt, intent on discovering the truth. What she finds in Egypt is an infuriatingly handsome young man, assisting her guardian in carrying on her parents discoveries, and men thwarting her inquiries at every turn. Add to this a mysterious ring that connects Inez to the magic of the past and the questions continue to pile up. It will take a trip up the Nile and many near escapes just to get Inez closer to any answers. Packed with action, a slow burn romance, and a huge twist kept me enthralled to the very last page. What the River Knows is book one of a planned YA duology.

Hopefully you find one, or many, of these titles to be a satisfying read!

— Lori

#island books #lori robinson #book notes #fantasy reads #ya fantasy #curious tides #pascale lacelle #hurricane wars #godkiller #hannah kaner #v. e. schwab #fragile threads of power #isabel ibanez #what the river knows #thea guanzon

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revnah1406 · 11 months

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Operation Kingslayer: 2/?

Warning!: This chapter contains specific violence, and a detailed description of torture methods.

(All locations and places that appear in this Fic are fictitious and based on the Ghost Recon Wildlands video game)

OCs:

Hannah "Sparrow" Clayton - @revnah1406

Alyssa "Aly" M. - @alypink

Captain Arjun - @welldonekhushi

Mandy Macfie - @alidravana

Charlotte "Jade" le Jardin - @sleepyconfusedpotato

(I'll bring more OCs soon!)

- Operation Kingslayer's playlist here! 👀✨

<- Previous chapter Next CHapter ->

___________________

Ch: 2/?

The sound of the helicopter's blades was the only thing that could be heard in the dark Bolivian sky. Inside the chopper, Jade observed the landscape that was presented below her feet, several meters below. Dark mountains full of forest and jungle, deep valleys, and huge swamps.

"Bolivia is a country with a great diversity of landscapes. Surely we will have to visit many of them during our stay here" Aly's voice was heard through Jade's headphones.

She looked at her partner who was sitting next to her and nodded. "I have a feeling we won't just have to fight the cartel" Jade commented looking into the deep forests of huge trees.

"Wolves, jaguars, piranhas, giant snakes and a huge number of alligators…" Sparrow who was sitting in front of Jade sighed also looking in the same direction as her. "Let's just say it's not going to be a walk in the park"

"Have you been to the Bolivian Andes, Sparrow?" Aly asked.

"No... I don't know this region of the Andes... But I was in Chile with my older brother and in Argentina by myself, where I climbed Aconcagua a few years ago..." answered Hannah.

"We're getting closer, the meeting point is a few clicks away" Mandy's voice came over the radio. She was flying the helicopter at a low altitude, avoiding the skyward glances of hostile onlookers.

"Copy that, Macfie," Arjun replied.

As everyone left that bar ready to take down a second drug cartel, Laswell made one last call to Canada. They were going to need a reliable pilot, Nikolai and Isobel Williams were too busy working with Farah and 141. So their only option was Mandy Macfie. They had worked with her on many occasions. Mandy had saved the team's lives on more than one occasion, always arriving at the most opportune moment to perform an emergency extraction.

"Prepare your belongings. Bowman will be waiting for us at the indicated safe house, but we better not trust ourselves, we don't know what we'll find, so keep your weapons up and the trigger ready. We will enter through different points, Sparrow and I will enter through the main entrance announcing our arrival. Jade and Aly, you'll be in the back in case the situation becomes compromised."

Everyone nodded to Captain Arjun's instructions. They began to organize and load all the belongings. They were going to be alone in Bolivia against an entire cartel. The only thing they could take was what would fit in their backpacks and tactical vests. Ammunition, provisions, first-aid kit, weapons... Everyone carried at least two long weapons that they carried on both sides of the backpack, a sniper rifle and an assault rifle. In addition to their pistols and the knives of preference for each one.

What would define their life, their home and their survival would be carried on their back or in their vests. Unlike the Las Almas Cartel whose headquarters were in Las Almas city, the Santa Blanca Cartel was spread throughout Bolivia. Having bases and headquarters in various regions and provinces of the country. They didn’t have external support for the moment either, it was the five of them against an empire. So they would have to move fast and carry light luggage.

"I have visual on the landing zone," Mandy announced.

"Copy! We'll get off the chopper in two" said Arjun.

Jade nodded as she finished packing her Karambits into the small of her back, Sparrow screwed the silencer onto the barrel of her sniper rifle, and Aly finished checking that the mini surveillance drone's hardware was in good order.

"We're ready," Hannah said determinedly.

Arjun nodded "Okay, get ready to act. Keep your radios on at all times."

Mandy landed the chopper in a clearing on top of a hill a few hundred yards from the safe house, everyone waiting for the chopper's engine to go silent, watching outside for any possible threats. The forest was quiet, the night was dark, only the silhouettes and shadows of the trees could be seen.

"Come on." Arjun ordered getting out of the helicopter followed by Aly.

Before leaving, Sparrow stuck her head in through the cockpit door.

"Thanks for the ride." Sparrow bumped fists with Mandy.

Macfie smiled and nodded again. "Always a pleasure, Sergeant."

Jade also appeared who offered Mandy a pistol.

"Stand by until we make sure everything is calm. If you hear shots, prepare the engines"

Mandy nodded and accepted the gun. She checked the bullet cabin, making sure it was loaded.

"You have to be alert, for the moment the entire territory of Bolivia is considered hostile. If you hear something or see something that we haven't reported, shoot" Jade advised.

"Copy that, be careful out there."

They both went outside, Arjun and Aly standing guard, pointing their rifles at the tree line and the house.

"Ready to board," Sparrow announced, grabbing her weapon as well and touching her captain's shoulder indicating that she was right behind him.

The moment Jade's boots came down from the helicopter and touched the ground, they all started moving towards the safe house. It looked like a hunting cabin in the middle of the woods. It was made of logs and stone, had a front porch, and small windows. There seemed to be a dim light inside.

They all moved in formation, muffling their footsteps on the ground. When they got to a close distance Arjun waved for Aly and Jade to part ways. Both women surrounded the house, avoiding the windows and watching the corners, always with their weapons raised. They reached the back door and waited for the other two members of the team.

Arjun and Sparrow approached the porch. Hannah peeked out of one of the windows, looking inside. It looked like a hunting cabin inside too, everything had a very rustic feel to it. It was in the dark, the only source of light was a lamp on the table, it seemed to illuminate some documents and plans.

"There's no one… but I have visuals of possible useful intel" she said through the radio attached to her vest.

"Get ready, on my signal we board" Arjun ordered, moving to the side of the door. "Sparrow, do the honors."

Hannah returned to her captain, stood in front of the door, waiting for the order.

Arjun pushed the button of his radio. “now”

Hannah kicked the door hard, Arjun came in raising his rifle pointing in all directions.

By the second team. Jade slowly opened the door, signaling for Aly to wait and watch her back. Aly nodded and stood in the doorway, eyeing potential blind spots in the cabin's interior layout.

Arjun was the first to enter, pointing in all directions, watching his steps. Sparrow followed, gun raised. They found no one in the room.

"Hall clear" Arjun reported

"Captain." Sparrow called to him.

Arjun turned to the sergeant. Sparrow was looking at a huge proofing board on the wall just above the fireplace. There were photographs, maps with marked places, transcripts of telephone conversations, coordinates, newspaper clippings…

"Looks like Bowman has been doing her job…" Sparrow muttered.

"This will make things easier." He answered.

Arjun walked over to the table where a study lamp illuminated some plans for unfamiliar installations. He was going to comment something else but a slight sound was heard, perhaps it would have gone unnoticed by someone normal. But as soon as he heard it, he raised his rifle in that direction.

Sparrow was quick to react when she saw her captain raise his weapon.

A woman was at the door leading to the corridor. She appeared to be in her forties, with blue eyes and blond hair. She was pointing a pistol at both soldiers.

"I suggest you get out of here or the consequences will be fatal." The woman threatened.

"You are in no position to make demands, ma’am. Put the gun down." Hannah ordered.

Arjun aimed between the woman's eyes, he discovered the small detonator that she was hiding in the other hand.

"You underestimate me" The woman smiled confidently.

A karambit poked out from behind the woman and rested its curved point on her throat.

"You underestimate us" Arjun replied as Jade slowly pushed the knife towards the woman's throat, without saying a single word.

There was the sound of a loaded rifle, behind Jade and the Woman. Aly was taking aim from a distance, in the darkness of the hallway.

The woman smiled wryly and raised her hands slowly in surrender.

"Alright, you got me. We don't have to figure out how this situation will be resolved."

"Are you Karen Bowman?" Arjun asked without lowering the gun.

The woman looked at him, studied his stoic expression, and finished by nodding slowly.

"You must be the ones Kate sent me."

Arjun gave a slight nod, ordering Sparrow to lower her weapon. Hannah compiled but the guard kept her up. Jade put the knife away and Aly stopped aiming, moving closer until she was next to her partner.

"I didn't expect you so early." Bowman commented, putting the gun in the waistband of her jeans.

Arjun bowed his head "We go where we are called"

Bowman nodded "is it just you four?"

"For now...we have a pilot too." Arjun mentioned.

Aly switched on her comlink "Mandy, it's all clear, we've found Bowman."

"Roger, I'm on my way." Mandy replied.

"So…" Bowman paced the room, examining each of the members. "Laswell believes that you can take down the Santa Blanca cartel…"

"That's why we're here, right?" Sparrow raised her chin but kept a serious expression.

Karen raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. "It remains to be seen what you are capable of"

Jade started flipping through the evidence board.

"This is from the previous task force?" She asked, looking at all the information.

"That's right. Months of research." Bowman sighed "I'd better bring you guys up to speed. The sooner we start, the sooner we can take down these sons of bitches."

"Entering the house" Mandy's voice came over the comms.

"Copy, Macfie. You may proceed inside" Arjun replied.

The pilot entered the safehouse. Sparrow gave her a slight nod in greeting. Mandy moved closer to her, scanning Bowman and the situation with her eyes.

"I have a feeling it wasn't the best welcome." she whispered.

"You have a good feeling" Hannah replied.

They both returned their concentration to the CIA agent. The team surrounded the table while Bowman went to the proofing board and tore off a few photos.

"The Santa Blanca empire is supported by four main pillars."

Bowman posted a photo of a man who looked like a Christian bishop, with a huge golden Cross hanging from his neck and a serious expression, then a second photo of a somewhat ostentatious-looking young man smirking into the camera.

"The First Pillar: Influence." Bowman began to explain "Santa Blanca’s trying to win the love of the Bolivian people, they fill their brains with false promises and lies." She pointed to the man dressed as a bishop promising the locals the entrance to paradise and the eternal and divine forgiveness of God if they collaborated with the Cartel. The drug traffickers are great devout Christians, but above all they have a special fondness reserved for "La Niña Blanca."

"La Santa Muerte…" Aly murmured.

Bowman agreed.

"This is one of the first ways they have to win over their followers. The other is by following in the footsteps of Pablo Escobar, building houses for the poorest neighborhoods, giving aid to families... in short... creating a good image of the cartel. Everything to sweep the shit under the rug and avoid prying eyes."

The CIA agent put another photo on the table. It showed El Sueño shaking hands with a man who was dressed as a military general.

"The second pillar is Security. El Sueño has been in charge of reducing the military and police forces of all Bolivia based on bribery. So do not expect support from the government or the army."

"What about the rebels?" Arjun asked.

"The rebels are a large group of Bolivian guerrillas who have been fighting the cartel for years. Pac Katari is their leader, I know him well, but you will need a good victory if you want to earn his respect and trust. He will not welcome you with open arms at first. I advise you to make yourselves heard, that the voice spread among the Bolivian people, and that your deeds reach their ears. Only then may you get rebel support."

"So…if we do their job, we will get their attention?" Sparrow rested both hands on the straps of her vest.

"The rebels are also in charge of helping those most in need in Bolivia. If you locate stores of supplies, weapons, ammunition, fuel... mark them with location beacons. So that the rebels can find them, it is also a good way to announce that you are their allies." Bowman replied.

"And the other two pillars?" Jade asked.

Karen nodded and placed another photo on the table, this one showing a very beautiful woman with a little girl by her side. The photo appeared to be taken from inside a car. The woman and the girl were walking through a wealthy neighborhood surrounded by bodyguards.

"The third pillar: Smuggling. This woman is the mastermind of all smuggling operations. You could not imagine what she is capable of inventing to be able to get cocaine across the borders. She manages to send and export to more than sixty percent of the entire globe. They didn't earn the title of one of the biggest cartels in the world just like that."

Bowman took two more photos. It showed a very old man, wrinkled, graying hair, brown skin, and sun-spotted. And in the other, a young man in his early thirties with features similar to those of the older man.

"And finally, the fourth pillar and the base of the entire Cartel: Production. Bolivia has been a great producer of the coca plant, for cultural and medicinal uses, but it was illegal. Although with the arrival of Santa Blanca it has become massive The cultivated fields are full of forced laborers."

"Labor slaves." Mandy gritted her teeth.

Bowman nodded again.

"The trafficking and kidnapping of people is an open secret. Santa Blanca claims to ensure jobs for all Bolivians but they only force them to work until they die. The cartel blames the rebels for the Bolivian deaths, trying to give them a bad name."

Bowman put her fists on the table.

"If we can knock down one of these pillars, we can shake the cartel and make Santa Blanca weaker."

Arjun looked at his team for a few seconds, then looked back at the CIA agent.

"Where do we start?" Arjun asked decisively.

Bowman dragged two photos to the center of the table with her fingers.

"We'll start with Production." Bowman began to explain.

Aly took the photograph of the older man and looked at it carefully.

"He is Rodolfo Yana. But everyone knows him as "El Yayo", unlike the rest, he is Bolivian, he is about seventy-three years old, but don't let his age confuse you. He is the main cocaine producer for Santa Blanca. Before El Yayo was a coca union leader but his ambition brought him to work with Santa Blanca. He is willing to work with the Cartel in order to protect his people and their customs. Thanks to Santa Blanca, Coca crops are legal and they are protected. Many say that he is a traitor, others define him as a true survivor."

Aly passed the photo to Jade, who stared at it for a while.

"This is our first objective?" Jade seemed somewhat confused, she didn't expect to have to go after someone so old.

Bowman agreed.

"El Yayo is a great defender of culture and traditions. At first, El Yayo got stable and well-paid work for many cocaleros in Bolivia. People treated him as a savior for giving work to so many people. But the demand for Cocaine for part of Santa Blanca just grew and grew. Good paying jobs turned into forced labor." Bowman sighed "El Yayo is a man who prefers to make agreements than use violence. So maybe we can negotiate with him…"

"How did we get to him?" Arjun asked.

Bowman put the second photograph next to the one of El Yayo.

"This is his grandson, Gonzalo Yana, he is about 25 years old, they call him El Emissario. He is the manager and head of production of cocaine. His grandfather knows how to grow coca, and he knows how to process it. He is actually a spoiled child. He is arrogant, carefree and does whatever he wants, hoping that his grandfather or other underbosses will bail him out. Don't be distracted by his behavior, Gonzalo is a genius when it comes to processing coke. With the knowledge inherited from El Yayo and his master's degree in chemistry is capable of processing the purest cocaine on the entire market."

"How did we find him?" Jade crossed her arms.

"To get to El Yayo, you first have to find his grandson. It will be our trick to find him." Karen explained, "We had Gonzalo caught by the balls a few months ago, but he fled the country like the coward that he is. Luckily we know that he returned to Bolivia a few days ago, knowing that the old task force has been taken off the game board." and taking into account that he cannot leave the production of Cocaine unattended. El Emisario or The Emissary believes that he is now safe and that he can return to business without problem." Bowman paused. "Now we just have to find it. We know it's in Ocoro, but going door to door into every cocaine lab in the region would be a waste of time. The cat would never catch the mouse."

"I can check all the radio and phone stations and channels in the area. Maybe I can intercept something." Aly suggested.

"That's why I love you, Aly." Sparrow joked.

"Might be a good start. Let's get to work then" Arjun said, beginning Operation Kingslayer.

"Let's go for that bastard"

___________

The helicopter was flying over the Ocoro region. The night was moonless, it was the perfect time to act. Sparrow loaded her assault rifle. Arjun was at her side readying his gun as well.

"Okay, let's go over the plan. Aly, you're going to overwatch from a high point with the help of the surveillance drone. Keep the sniper rifle ready, I'm sure we'll need it. You'll be the one preparing our entrance."

"Got it" Aly was sitting in the cockpit together with Mandy. She had the exact coordinates on her laptop. Thanks to hacking and intercepting the radio channels in the Ocoro area, she was able to listen to a conversation with Gonzalo Yana and was able to triangulate his exact location.

"Sparrow and I will board through the first floor, while Jade will enter through the roof. We will take Gonzalo Yana out through the roof"

"Roger." Jade responded by assuring that the blade of her knives was properly sharpened.

"Okay, we'll look for Gonzalo Yana, remember that we need him alive. If the rest show resistance, you have full permission to shoot."

"We are arriving." Mandy's voice blared over everyone's comms.

"Understood! Everyone get ready"

When they reached the agreed point, they all prepared to slide down the rope. Sparrow leaned back into the cockpit.

"We are ready."

Mandy nodded. "Go carefully."

Sparrow gave Mandy a fist bump and patted Aly on the shoulder.

"Be our eyes, Aly." Sparrow smiled confidently.

Aly smiled and nodded.

"I'll watch your back"

"Sparrow let's go!" Arjun was ready to go down the rope.

"Copy, Captain!" She turned to her two companions "take care of yourselves, my ladies." the sergeant said goodbye.

Jade, Arjun and Sparrow slid down the rope.

When they all reached the ground Mandy piloted the helicopter to get Aly into the most suitable position to observe the facility from a distance but also to be close enough for her to connect to the main network and work her magic.

The team wasted no time, and began moving in formation. Taking care not to make noise.

The Ocoro region was a rural area. Mountainous, with small forests and numerous cultivated fields. The team walked a little further until there was an old industrial warehouse between the trees. There were huge outdoor spotlights illuminating the darkness of the night and a wall enclosing the restricted area.

They reached a high position to be able to observe the facilities well. The darkness covered them and prevented them from being seen.

"What do we have here…" Sparrow muttered, taking out the binoculars. "There are few entrances. Four floors, I suspect they will have a few more floors in the basement." The sergeant began to explain "Small windows and concrete walls… it's like a fucking fortress."

"Containment measures? Guards?" Jade asked. Who began to enlist her gear to be able to make her entrance. Putting the silencer on her pistol and securing her bulletproof vest.

"There are a couple of machine guns stationed at the main entrance, snipers on the roof and in the watchtowers. Heavy armored guards at each corner, they wear ballistic helmets, we won't be able to take them out with one shot."

"leave them to me"

"Alyssa what is your status?" Arjun spoke into the comm.

There were a few seconds of silence.

"In position and waiting."

Aly was about 300m away, in an elevated position and perfect for providing overwatch. She was lying on the grass with the sniper rifle slung over her shoulder, peering through the rifle's telescopic sight. Next to her was the drone ready to be sent and the laptop that showed on the screen the synchronization with the central electrical system had been completed.

"Do you have visual on the target?" Arjun asked.

Aly looked through the windows of the building. Until she finally found a lighted window on the top floor.

"I have visual on Gonzalo Yana. Fourth floor, last room on the right."

Sparrow pointed the binoculars in the same direction.

"Affirmative. I see that bastard." Sparrow confirmed.

"Alright. Whenever you want Alyssa." The captain spoke.

Aly looked away from the scope for a moment and focused on her laptop, typing for a couple of minutes.

"Starting attack in three, two, one…" Aly hit the button "Lights off. All security systems disabled"

And suddenly, all the lights that illuminated the facilities went out. Everything was left in complete darkness. The guards outside were confused and kept alert for a long time. Until one of them mentioned that it was a simple blackout, and that it was normal in this region.

The team waited until the guards calmed down and went about their business, waiting for someone to fix the electrical system.

"Jade." Arjun whispered.

The named one nodded, clutching her pistol with the silencer attached in one hand and a karambit in the other.

"Good luck" Sparrow spoke "We'll be waiting"

Jade smiled and patted Hannah's shoulder before walking off down the hill. Stealthily approaching the entrance of the facility.

When she reached it, she put her back to the wall and waited silently for the guard to get close enough. She adjusted her grip on the handle of the knife, and when the guard was at appropriate distance, Jade clamped a hand over his mouth and buried the knife in his neck, between his shoulder pads and helmet. Carefully she dragged the body to a safe place so they wouldn't find it. But as soon as she put the body on the ground, another guard appeared walking casually without noticing what was happening around him. But he would end up noticing if he kept advancing in the direction of Jade. She wasted no time, grabbing one of the knives from the dead guard's tactical vest and throwing it with such precision at the guard that the knife sliced through the air to slam into the second guard's face. The man fell backwards like a sack full of stones.

Jade sighed quietly in relief. Wasting no more time, she hid the second body next to the other and continued advancing. Jade melted into the shadows, using only her knife.

She would stab a guard in the neck and with two silent shots finish off the second. The bullets were always perfectly accurate, one in the bulletproof vest and one in the face. It ended with the vast majority of narcos who were standing guard abroad. She took care of those who were positioned behind the fixed machine guns and those who guarded all the entrances. And nobody noticed what was happening.

Jade was cleaning the blade of her knife on the clothes of the corpse of one of the guards, when she spoke through the comms.

"Aly, the sniper on the watchtower could compromise my position. To the east."

It didn't take long for Aly to aim the sniper rifle where Jade indicated.

"Got him"

As soon as he was in her sights, she held her breath, made some final calculations, and pulled the trigger. The enemy sniper disappeared into the darkness after being shot in the chest.

"Enemy sniper is down." Aly reported on the radio

Jade was able to continue creeping through the darkness around that drug lab until she found an emergency ladder that led to the roof. She climbed them carefully so that her boots did not make noise against the metal of theladder, she knew perfectly well that company would be waiting for her up on the roof.

When she got to the top, she saw two snipers walking around on the roof. Light-footed and keeping low, she took down the first sniper without a problem, but the second one apparently turned around ahead of schedule. Jade had to react quickly, with the pistol pointed at his chest and fired a couple of times. The sniper's bulletproof vest retained both bullets even though both shots nearly sent him to the ground.

The MI6 agent pounced on him when she saw that he was trying to communicate by threadbare. Jade wasted no time in pulling out her knife and making two quick slashes, the guard was able to defend himself by covering his face with both arms. Jade took the opportunity to kick his stomach hard, making him lose his balance and make him drop the sniper rifle to the ground.

The angry guard lunged at her, but Jade was faster and dodged without a problem. They kept up close combat for a while, the sniper throwing hard, heavy blows, while Jade moved nimbly, brandishing her knife, slashing across his arms. She would shift the knife from one hand to the other, changing the position of the curved blade, and every time she found a gap to get through his guard, she would not miss the opportunity to try and stab in the neck. In the end she managed to slip over the side and quickly rolled across the ground and made a quick, deep gash behind the knee. The man fell to his knees because the tendons could no longer support his leg.

Jade wasted no more time, she was tired of playing. With her other hand she drew a second karambit and using all her strength stabbed just below his jaw. The curved blade of the knife pierced the roof of the mouth while the first knife slashed across the throat.

When Jade pulled out the knife the soldier fell to the ground bleeding to death. She wiped at the blood splattered on her face, then hit the button on her communicator.

"I'm in position." He announced looking at the corpse of the guard.

"Roger that, I'll let Macfie know so she can have the helicopter ready for extraction" Aly replied.

While Jade dealt with the guards outside, Sparrow and Arjun moved through the compound, ready to enter through a back door that led to the facility's warehouse.

Arjun cleaned the blade of his knife on the dead guard's clothing while Sparrow stood guard, making sure no one approached them unnoticed. The captain managed to pick the lock on the door and opened it carefully.

"Come on, Sergeant." Arjun whispered.

Sparrow followed him into the facility.

The building was dark as expected. Both soldiers moved through the corridors in silence, Arjun taking the lead while Sparrow brought up the rear. Thanks to the silencers they eliminated any hostile people they encountered.

"Shoot carefully, there are civilians in the laboratories" Arjun said.

"Roger"

They found the stairs and went up to the second and then the third floor, leaving not a single living guard behind. They entered a room that appeared to be a communications room. There were computers, shelves full of documents, and radios with different comms channels. Some guards could be heard talking on the radio.

"First and second floors are the laboratories… The third is the offices?" asked Sparrow, puzzled. "This is not a normal cocaine lab…"

Arjun returned to her when he was sure the room was clear.

"This is a gold mine, we could get information from here." Arjun commented. "Sparrow, make a Backup copy of all the files on the mainframe. Alyssa can process the data later."

"Ok."

"Arjun, Sparrow! The guards have found one of the corpses." Aly announced agitated. "They're starting to go up the stairs!"

"Bloody hell… we should have hidden the corpses better." Sparrow cursed.

"We didn't have time for that, our priority is Gonzalo Yana…" Arjun leaned his back against the wall right next to the window and leaned out slightly to see what was happening outside. The guards seemed to be flustered, looking out the windows of the building and running all in one direction.

"Jade, what's the situation outside?" Arjun asked.

"Everyone is very nervous, they are entering the building." Charlotte replied.

"Understood. Aly, how much time do we have?"

"A minute at most." she answered.

"Fuck…"

"Sir, Gonzalo Yana will escape if we don't hurry." Sparrow nervously said, shifting her weight from her leg.

"I know." Arjun closed his eyes and pondered for a few seconds what to do. They couldn't leave without the information from the central computer, and neither could they leave without Gonzalo Yana. So he only had one option left. Trust his teammate. Arjun knew full well what Sparrow was capable of. It was not their first mission together, he was aware of the skills of the sergeant and that he could entrust the fate of the mission to her.

"Captain." Sparrow eagerly awaited further orders.

Arjun took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Focus on the computer and make sure you extract all the useful data. Client lists, contraband, locations of other labs…everything." Arjun walked towards the door. "Make sure they don't kill you, sergeant."

"And what are you going to do, sir?" Sparrow asked.

"Jade, get ready." Arjun ordered over the comms and then looked at his sergeant "I'm going to get that rat out of his hole." Arjun left the room and without wasting any time ran towards the stairs leading to the top floor.

Sparrow wasted no time too, pulling out an external battery to power the computer and a flash drive from one of her vest pockets, and began backing up all the files.

Gunshots could be heard inside the building, surely Arjun had engaged in combat with the remaining guards on the upper floor. Sparrow ignored her desire to go help her captain and watched as little by little the percentage bar on the computer screen filled up.

"Sparrow on your six!" Aly's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Hannah spun around as she saw a huge soldier lunge at her with a knife. Sparrow had to drop her weapon to use both hands to prevent the knife from plunging into her face.

Sparrow was between the table and the attacker. She used all her strength to get that guy off her. She pushed him away from her and punched him in the nose. The guard swayed slightly, holding the bridge of his now bleeding nose.

"Puta zorra…"

Sparrow wasted no time, as the man lunged at her again, Sparrow raised her fists, punching him again in the face and then in the ribs. She moved swiftly across the room, dodging the knife that the man swung dangerously from side to side. Sparrow had to admit that this man was tough to beat, no matter how hard she hit him, it seemed as if he wasn't affected. Even though his face was covered in blood.

Sparrow took a quick look at the computer, five percent left for the backup to finish. She had to hurry, she had to finish this jerk and get back to Arjun as soon as possible.

"Come on… I can last all day." Sparrow waved a hand, signaling for him to come closer to continue the fight and further anger the guard.

She was walking slowly back towards the window. As the guard ran towards her to punch her in the face, Sparrow dodged quickly, managing to get behind him. As the guard turned back to her, Hannah kicked him in the chest. Causing him to stagger a couple of meters away from her.

The man was ready to attack again, but suddenly, a sniper bullet broke the window glass and went through the guard's head. The man collapsed on the ground lifeless and staining the ground with his own blood.

Sparrow smiled at the corpse at her feet, then looked at the hole in the window.

"What would I be if it wasn't for you Aly?"

Aly watched through the scope of her sniper rifle as Sparrow waved to her from across the room. She smiled, happy to see her friend safe.

"You know it's always a pleasure to watch your back, hermosa"

Sparrow looked away from the window when she heard the notification that the backup had finished. She rushed to grab the flash drive and the battery, then grabbed her weapon and ran to the top floor.

Along the way, she encountered several enemies and didn’t hesitate to shoot. She finished with any obstacle that was found along the way. When it came to dealing with firefights, there was no better soldier than her. She eliminated all the guards until she went up to the fourth floor.

Suddenly Sparrow, between the shots, saw Gonzalo Yana being thrown into the air, out of a room. Arjun came out soon after, his expression completely serious. For a moment Hannah felt sorry for that Narco, when Captain Arjun was angry, he was a scary man.

Gonzalo Yana began to flee in the direction of the stairs that led to the roof. But it seemed like Arjun didn't care, in fact he cared more about taking down the remaining guards in the corridor. Using only his pistol, a knife and a perfect aim, he finished off all the guards. When silence finally reigned in the place again, Sparrow was finally able to get out from behind the wall that she used as cover.

"Are you okay sergeant?" Arjun asked, although he didn't physically show it, he was worried about Sparrow.

"Affirmative sir." Hannah hurried over to him. "What's with that asshole?"

Sparrow was still confused, Arjun had let Gonzalo Yana run away.

"The Rat is cornered. Let's go for him"

Arjun walked up the stairs leading to the roof in no hurry. While they watched the Narco run up them so fast that he almost tripped more than once. Arjun didn't need to chase him, he knew exactly how this was going to end. It was like when a murderer knows that he doesn't have to waste energy running, he knows perfectly well that he will find you, no matter where you hide.

Gonzalo Yana banged open the door leading to the roof, but as soon as he stepped outside. The point of a karambit landed on his neck, so stealthily that the man seemed to him that he had been cornered by a ghost. He was petrified with fear.

Jade held the knife to the target's throat when Arjun and Sparrow appeared on the rooftop shortly after.

"We have the target." Arjun announced through the comms.

"Roger, Macfie is on her way." Aly replied.

"Who are you?!"

"You're not the one asking the questions here, kid" Arjun replied with a sinister tone.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into! Do you have any idea who I am?!" Gonzalo Yana seemed to be on the verge of hysteria.

"Oh, we know that very well… Sparrow, knock him out."

"It will be a pleasure"

___________

When Gonzalo Yana woke up. He found himself tied to a chair in a small room with no windows, just a light bulb hanging from the ceiling above him.

There was a red-haired woman sitting in a chair similar to his. But she wasn't tied down, in fact, she had a grim look on her face, kept silent, deep in her own thoughts.

"We don't have to make this any more complicated than it already is." Arjun's voice was heard behind Gonzalo.

The captain had his back against the wall and his arms folded.

"Don't waste time lying or hiding information from us. It will only make it worse."

"I would rather die than tell you!" Gonzalo Yana seemed to want to hide his fear behind his anger "You are naive! You don't know what you are getting into…"

Arjun ignored the Narco's words, kept calm and kept talking.

"Rodolfo Yana." Arjun mentioned the name of El Yayo. "Where is he?"

It took Gonzalo a few seconds to understand what they were asking of him.

"The old?" He laughed "No, you'll never find him. Listen amigo…you're not aware of how deep this shit hole is. You're just foreigners who think you can come here and remove all the shit and get out of it unscathed. The simple fact: If you touch a single hair on my head, you’ll mark a cross on your back. La Santa Muerte will come for you and will hunt you until the end of your days."

Suddenly Arjun grabbed Gonzalo Yana's hair and pulled his head back, forcing him to look into his eyes. The light from the ceiling made Gonzalo only see a dark silhouette of a man.

"I think you already disappointed me. You already were, not to me but for everybody. Because of your "pathetic" self.. decided to choose this path with your family who had nothing to do but to cause suffering." Said Arjun, in a tone capable of making anyone's skin crawl "we are not what you see... we are not what you think. I could snap your neck right now and end your poor, pathetic life. But no, you have a much bigger purpose.." Arjun brought his face close to Gonzalo's "when we're done with you… you'll wish I'd snapped your neck."

Gonzalo Yana had not realized that he was sweating and trembling the moment Arjun let go of his head.

Arjun walked towards the door, but before leaving, he patted Jade on the shoulder.

"It's all yours" and left the room.

When he stepped outside the safe house, he found Sparrow, Aly, and Mandy waiting outside. Crickets could be heard in the bushes and a cool breeze blew gently.

"There is no turning back." Arjun mentioned. "Jade will get us the information we want."

Aly sighed in concern. "Jade is good at what she does, she's an MI6 agent after all but…this will affect her."

Sparrow nodded, agreeing with her.

"If we hurt Gonzalo Yana…" Mandy had a serious expression like everyone else. "We will send a clear message to El Sueño."

"Sir…I understand this is a covert mission. But we really don't know where we're going. We don't know what El Sueño is capable of." Sparrow spoke. "You saw how many guards there were in just a cocaine lab in the middle of nowhere."

Arjun nodded understandingly. "I'm aware, Sergeant. I'll talk to Laswell, maybe he can pull more strings. But for now, we're the only ones who can stop this madness."

"And what about the Rebel forces?" Aly asked.

"They will be considered hostile until proven otherwise. Although Bowman is an old friend of Laswell's, I don't trust her." Arjun crossed his arms and looked at his boots "We'll figure something out. But for now, we're dealing with this jerk."

Meanwhile, inside the Safe house, Jade and Gonzalo Yana were left alone in the room.

Jade was silent, she was terrifyingly calm. There was no emotion on her face.

"We can do this by hook or by crook." She began to explain. "I just need you to tell me a place and a time."

"If you think I'm going to tell you where my grandfather is. You're so wrong, puta."

Jade spent some time studying the man's body language. He was scared, but he hid it well. His hands were restless despite being tied. He kept his head up and still but his eyes were unable to maintain eye contact with Jade.

"We know that you recently returned to Bolivia, and we know that you have conversations with your grandfather. He is always the one who has to save you, right? You always end up in trouble and make El Sueño angry. But Rodolfo Yana is always there to protect you." Jade explained.

"That doesn't matter…you're not going to get me to talk. It doesn't matter what you do." Gonzalo Yana smiled sideways.

Jade nodded a few times and sighed. She got up from her chair and walked over to him.

"I see you made up your mind."

She rested her hand on Gonzalo's temple and looked at him for a few seconds.

"I will ask you a question. And you must answer honestly." Jade spoke again "Where is Rodolfo Yana?"

"Fuck you, pendeja."

"Wrong answer"

Jade pressed into the space between the eyebrow and the eyeball.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Jade closed her eyes and continued pressing on one of the most painful points in the body, there are many nerves in that area and it causes great pain and discomfort when pressing on it.

The screams echoed through the room, so loud that surely the people outside could hear them.

"Let's try one more time." Jade eased the pressure but didn't pull her hand away. "Where is Rodolfo Yana?"

Gonzalo was breathing heavily, he looked like an animal. But still he said nothing. He kept silent.

Jade, getting no response, pressed again. The screams resounded throughout the place.

The interrogation began to be a game of tug of war, Jade asked questions, and Gonzalo did not answer what she wanted. It seemed a bit like a game of cat and mouse. But this time the Cat played with the mouse until he died from exhaustion.

"Please! I don't know! I don't know!"

"No I don't know's. Just answer my question. It's easy, come on."

The game continued, gradually escalating until Jade decided to use more effective methods. She didn't want to come to this, but he gave her no choice. It was time to pull out nails, Jade started with the toes. She wrapped the toe with a rubber band to reduce the flow of blood, neither too tight nor too loose, she wanted Gonzalo Yana to see the blood but not bleed to death. Then with a toothpick she inserted it between the nail and the finger.

Gonzalo Yana screamed in pain. The nail was separated from the toe. Jade looked at the Narco once more waiting for an answer but he just whimpered. So she ended up ripping it off.

Gonzalo was dying, tossing and turning in his chair. He seemed like an animal dominated by hysteria and fear.

"Please, please! I already told you I don't know!"

"If you so much as breathe another 'I don't know’, I will rip another one of your nails. Think. Remember. We could do this all night." Jade stayed calm.

The hours passed, until finally the cat caught the mouse. The screams stopped instantly.

Everyone waited outside. Sparrow paced back and forth like a caged lion. Arjun was thoughtful with his arms folded. Aly was trying to clear her mind and ignore what she had been hearing for hours trying to decipher the information Sparrow got from the lab's central computer. And Mandy going through the topographic maps of the area.

The door to the Safe House opened. Jade came out wiping her hands on a bloody rag. She approached Arjun without saying a single word and handed him a piece of paper with the exact location and time where Rodolfo Yana could be.

Then she left, without saying a single word. She entered the forest and disappeared into the darkness and the undergrowth.

"Jade…!" Aly tried to follow her but Mandy stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Sparrow walked over and shook her head. She knew that Jade needed to be alone. She had to collect her thoughts and deal with her internal struggle.

An internal struggle that the whole team had.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #Operation Kingslayer #ocs' crossover #friend's ocs #alyssa m #charlotte jade le jardin #Mandy Mcfie #Captain Arjun #hannah sparrow clayton #ghost recon wildlands #game crossover #my fic <3 #I hope you like it!#💕✨

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fatehbaz · 2 years

Text

me: in the break room on phone, smiling widely, nodding with satisfaction, sighing

coworker: “what are you looking at???”

me:

They thought they might get stuck in the mud, but there was no thought of turning back. It would take another hour and a half to get to their destination. Giving up was not an option. They were after a holy grail of conservationists — a live sighting and registration of one of the rarest of the rare armadillos in the world, the elusive Chacoan fairy armadillo (Calyptophractus retusus), also known as the greater fairy armadillo, the mythical culotapado of local lore, or tatujeikurajoyava to the Guaranis of the Bolivian Chaco. Alternatively called tatu or coseberu by those in the cities, or “the cryer” by its 18th-century discoverers, it is also known to science as Burmeister’s armadillo. There was a lot of excitement. [...] Hearts were pounding with anticipation. [...] [T]he team was headed east, up Bolivia’s Highway 7, Doble Via La Guardia, toward the mining town of Camiri in the transition area between Amazonia and the Chaco dry forest. [...]

“There was no doubt, we had a culotapado,” said Bustillos, using the local name for the Chaco fairy armadillo, grateful to observe one of the rarest species in the world, alive. He explained how its back end appears to be sealed with a shield that keeps soil from sliding back as it digs down, and permits it to move and “swim” down at a 45-degree angle. [...] Bustillos said those were important observations of this unique animal, just fractions of an inch to an inch longer than its smaller cousin, the pink fairy armadillo of Argentina. It acts like a mole in its adaptations to subterranean life, said Bustillos, but instead of caving in search of food or escape, it submerges itself — swimming in the sand — and there it lives unnoticed. It is a species of armadillo in the family Chlamyphoridae. “It has a unique tail which he can use as a tripod,” Bustillos told Mongabay. No other armadillo has that use of its tail, he said. [...] What distinguishes the Chacoan fairy armadillo from other armadillos is that all others have a hard shell, Bustillos explained. This one has a soft shell, like skin [...]. “It was just a shock seeing such a strange naked pink-looking animal,” he added. “Huge claws for its size. Delicate looking. It makes a noise like a baby.” [...]

That noise was heard, by many of the first to see the peculiar little animal, as a cry of the [...] “duende,” the ghost-like pixie humanoid of South American myth, and so it is also called, “el lloron,” the crier. [...]

Closely related to anteaters and sloths, but not to the similar-in-appearance pangolins, armadillos range in color from the baby pink in Bustillos’s hands to the dark brown of the ‘tatou,’ as the giant armadillo is also known. [...] [T]here is a subtle but significant difference in the hue of the pink in this armadillo versus those of the same species found in the Gran Chaco itself [...]. The ones found in the Amazonian region are a baby pink color, like a pale salmon, he notes, while in the dry forest of the Chaco the same species is a darker, stronger, more vivid pink. [...] Encounters with the lighter-hued fairy armadillos in this area are still fewer -- just 12 registrations in the 161 years since 1859, making it the rarest of the rare. Underscoring the rarity of this find and the difference in appearance, Bustillos noted that after a 10-year intensive effort by the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, Bolivia’s largest national park, the result was just 12 official registrations between 2000 and 2010. Only three have ever been registered in Argentina, and Paraguay registered eight in the period of 1959 to 2020 [...].

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Headline, images, captions, and text published by: Milan Sime Martinic. “Sighting of super rare Chacoan fairy armadillo in Bolivia ‘a dream come true’”. Mongabay. 21 December 2020. [Includes photos by Ivan Gutierrez Lemaitre, and commentary by field researcher Huascar Bustillos Cayoja.]

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Bonus round, involving the other species of fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus, the pichiciego or pink fairy armadillo of Argentina):

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andydrysdalerogers · 2 months

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Undercover - One - Jake

Pairings: Jake Jensen and OFC Samantha Matthews

The Losers have made it back to their families and are out. Well, almost. A threat against the British crown needs to be handled and the CIA has tapped the Losers for one final mission. And they are sending in Jensen.

Jake Jensen hasn't been a civilian in years but now he's undercover to find out why his target is where he is and who he's after.

Enter Sam, someone who Jake doesn't expect and well, he didn't know he was looking for.

Can Jake handle his mission and falling in love? Especially when the truth leads to a bigger mission than expected?

*~* A Jake Jensen Story *~*

Author's note: this story continues after the events of the Losers. I may weave other characters into it but they are all minor.

The playlist is available on Spotify.

cover photo by me! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Warnings: angst, death, smut, and a bunch of stuff a can’t say because it gives away the plot!

"Alight Losers, focus up.”

Colonel Franklin Clay looked at his exhausted team. It had been a long, few months, getting back from Bolivia, getting to Max and Roque’s betrayal of the team. They had just received their pardons, visiting the families that thought them dead and were now back together for their final debrief.

Or so they thought.

“We got tapped for an undercover ops,” Clay explained. “It’s going to be a long one but the request is coming from an outside source.”

“So not your typical ops.” Sgt. Linwood ‘Pooch’ Porteous commented while kicking his feet onto the desk in front.

“Not this time. One will be in deep cover at a company where the target works. The mission is to recon and discovery of the target’s mission.”

“Who’s asking?” Pooch flipped a pen in the air. Sgt. Carlos ‘Cougar’ Alvarez caught it and put it down shaking his head.

“Dunno. Our handler should be coming in…”

“Right now.” A tall, dark hair individual came in, suit, no tie, followed by another man. “Nick Fowler, CIA director of Foreign Affairs.”

“Clay. That’s Pooch, Cougar, Aisha and… Jensen!”

A blonde stood up from the snack table, licorice in his mouth. He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked over. “Hi!”

“Great. This is Inspector Harry Hart, British Intelligence.”

“How do you do?” He shook everyone’s hand before clearing his throat. “We would normally send in our own man but since our target is based in the US, we need an American to blend in. We need someone who can also blend in seamlessly and get close to the target.”

“That would be me,” Clay said.

“Excellent. And this is our target.” He flashed a picture. “John Fitzgerald. He is a former MI6, turned mercenary. He has been keeping low until just a few days ago when we intercepted intelligence that he is a threat to the crown. The King has been informed of the situation but is obviously not involved for his safety and the safety of his family.”

“Shit,” Clay mumbled. He picked up the photo of the target. “I know him. We worked together 20 years ago. I can’t go in.”

“Who can?” Fowler asked.

Clay furrowed his brow. “What company?”

“It is,” Hart shuffled his papers, “ADR Diagnostics. A tech company.”

The Losers all swiveled their heads and looked at Jensen, who looked back with wide eyes. “What?”

“Jensen can go in,” Clay said.

Hart stepped forward. “Name, rank and qualifications?”

Jensen stood up straighter. “Captain Jake Jensen, masters in computer science and Data Analytics.” Jake started to sweat a little as Fowler and Hart inspected him.

“Well, he does have the look of an IT guy,” Fowler commented. “What do you think, Inspector?”

“Captain, you understand that you will essential be a civilian working undercover to find out what is going on with Fitzgerald? There is not a timetable. The faster you discover his motives, the faster you are out.”

“Colonel,” Jake turned to Clay, “I thought we were out?”

“They haven’t given us our papers yet Jake. This would be our last mission.” Clay turned to the team. “It’s up to you.”

“I’m in,” Pooch said. Cougar tilted his trademark hat. Aisha shrugged. Clay turned back to Jensen. “The company is based near your family’s hometown. You can stay near them and visit like normal since you do have to keep up appearances.”

Home. Something that Jake had longed for. His reunion with his parents has been joyful. Especially since his cousin Savannah and niece Grace had been visiting. Her husband and two other children had stayed home with the flu, which was a bummer but still.

“Alright,” Jensen clapped his hands together. “I’m in.”

“Excellent. We will get you planted as a manager of an IT group. You start a week from Monday to allow you time to get settled. The apartment we have procured for you is in the town center and you should be able to walk to the office,” Hart explained.

Civilian life.

Not something he was expecting. But here he was, Captain Jake Jensen, IT guy. He stood in front of ADR Diagnostics and looked up. The weekend had been interesting. His parents had been thrilled that he was going to be closer to home.  He settled into his loft apartment and set up his reconnaissance equipment to maintain contact with the team. He was to check in every Friday, under the guise of drinks with old friends. He had studied his target.

Fitzgerald was a handsome man, loyal to the crown, until an accident killed his partner, and he went sideways. He left the service, went underground. The threat that brought him back into radar was interesting. Fitzgerald was looking for leverage against the old King of England. His Majesty, King Harold had just stepped down to his son, Anthony, his only child, in a swirl of worry as Anthony had not had any children of his own.

Jake found it curious on the line of succession the next person would be Anthony’s cousin, Lewis, to inherit. From what Jake found online, the people of England despised Lewis for his snotty attitude to the common people and his utter disdain for his uncle and cousin, so much as speaking out against them. What could Fitzgerald be looking for to hold over the old King? He must be connected to Prince Lewis in some way, Jake noted to himself.

Walking in, he was greeted by his new supervisor. “Jake?”

“Yeah, Jake Jensen.” He offered his hand. 

“Michael Anderson.  Follow me.” 

Jake internally snorted remembering his break into the last company.  He followed the man to the bank of elevators and went up. 

“So, Jake, you’ll be heading a team of techs checking for security for our clients. Your team is four plus you and you will be reporting to me.  We do a daily report due at the end of the day before you leave. You have to send that to Sam, my assistant.” 

Jake nodded along. “Cool. No problem.” 

Michael looked over Jake. “I know it’s your first day but lose the tie. We’re pretty casual here. Polo and jeans will do.  Fridays can be a t shirt.” 

“Sure.” Jake pulled off his tie and stuffed it into his backpack. Getting off on the 14th floor, Michael directed him to an air where five desks were situated.  “Guys, focus up.” Four heads popped up.  “This is your new team leader Jake Jensen. This is Fred, Dave, Rob and Pete, your team. Make him feel welcome and shit. I’ll check in with you guys later.” 

“Uh, Mr. Anderson?”

“Mike, please.”

“Right Mike. Uh computer?”

“Right.” He pulled a laptop out of his own bag. “Email is set up and will have all your system logins. Sam should have emailed you your report instructions and everything you need. Have any questions, ask your team or send a message to Sam. Otherwise, own your team, Jake.” 

“Thanks.” Mike walked away and Jake turned back to the guys. “Hi.” He awkwardly waved his hand.

“Sup, boss man, I’m Fred. De facto mouth of the team.  That Dave, Rob and Peter,” pointing to each guy. “Uh I’ll let you set up.” 

“Thanks. Just set up and you guys can tell me where you are.” Jake moved to his new desk and took out a frame. Pictured was his niece Grace with his cousin Savannah. They had lost touch for a few years when his asshole aunt and uncle cut Savvy off. Now she was married and happy and Jake got back in touch with her. A perk of no longer being dead. 

As he set his desk up, he looked up to see a beautiful brunette walk across the floor. Her long dark hair with blonde tip bounced with her curls in a sleek ponytail.  She wore an emerald-green blouse with dark jeans and heels. Jensen couldn’t help but stare. And then she looked up. Cupid lips, soft pink cheeks, cat eyeglasses framing big eyes with lashes. Her smile made Jake swoon. When she looked in his direction he ducked and moved to open his email. “Stupid,” he muttered to himself. No way a girl that gorgeous is single. He concentrated on the task at hand, reading the first email in his new inbox.

From: Sam Matthews To: Jake Jensen Hi! Below are your logins for the system. I’ve attached a sample excel sheet to use for your daily reports. Any questions, you can email or instant message me.  Welcome to the team Jake!  Sincerely, Sam Matthews Assistant to Michael Anderson 

Jake reviewed all the info given and then sat with his team.  But his mind never left the beautiful brunette. I wonder where she works, he thought to himself.

Closer than you think, Jake.

The day went smoother than he thought, ADR’s systems sophisticated but simple. He was able to catch up to where his team was at and log in the progress. He caught glimpses of his dream girl as she walked around the office. Lunch time with the team was easy, the guys were really nice about inviting Jake and keeping him in the conversation. But it was around three that Jake got his break. He was headed into the break room for a much needed pick me up in the way of coffee. Making sure that he didn’t get lost, his eyes wandered around the floor before his reflexes caused him to dodge someone.

“Excuse me, sorry,” he heard and looked to see a flounce of curls walk away. It was dream girl. He was about to say something when someone else caught his attention.

“Pardon me, I just… you’re new.” A British accent hit Jake’s ears and he looked to find himself face to face with John Fitzgerald.

“Yeah, hi. I’m Jake, IT.”

“John, accounting. Sorry, did you see a brunette pass by?”

Jake stared a second too long at Fitzgerald and shook himself back to the present. “Uh, yeah, she went into the elevator.”

“Sly minx, she is. You must know how that is,” Fitzgerald flashed Jake a rouge smile. Jake swallowed and nodded unsure what to say. “Well, I’ll see you around Jake.”

“Likewise.”

This guy? Jake shook his head as he poured himself a cup. Dammit. Now I have to be all douchebag around this guy, he thought to himself as he took a sip. Another voice startled him that he spilled his coffee a bit.

“Is he gone?”

Jake turned to see his dream girl in front of him. Her glasses were pushed up into her hair, showing off her big eyes that he now knew were brown with flecks of green and gold in them. She was chewing on her bottom lip, making it fuller. Jake was memorized. “Uh, yeah. I told him that you went up the elevator.”

“Thank you. God, he just won’t take no for an answer.”

Jake was captivated by her voice. It had a slight accent to it but barely noticeable. “Sorry for my species.” He wrinkled his nose at the comment and went to leave, knowing he had just made a fool of himself.

But then he heard it: her giggle. “Thank you for apologizing. I’m Sam, by the way. Sam Matthews.”

Holy. Shit.

His new boss’s assistant is his dream girl.

And suddenly, being undercover was not so bad.

Taglist:

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@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

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@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

@kandis-mom

@lokislady82

#andy's shenanigans #andy's hea #chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #Jake jensen #jake jensen smut #jake jensen fic #the losers #the losers au #chris evans fic #ofc Samantha matthews #British royalty au #Jake jensen au #Jake jensen x Samantha matthews #undercover

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beardedmrbean · 4 months

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So apparently there is a thing called a Heavenly Llama.

It's a creature in Aymara Mythology.

Tennesseans have a similar thing, but they borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism for naming theirs, there's a great land where they all meet to praise and sing songs to their local mystical being who resides within that land, in her own little world.

I saw the opening and I had to take it and I will not apologize for that.

_____________________

Did not recognize the name Aymara, Pre-Inca folks that the Inca subjugated. Still around too, very cool.

Both Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia took up the style of wearing bowler hats in the 1920s. According to legend, a shipment of bowler hats was sent from Europe to Bolivia via Peru for use by Europeans working on railroad construction. When the hats were found to be too small, they were given to the indigenous peoples.

I'm gonna go ahead and not even consider questioning that.

It might be good that the lads at Film Cow never learned about this one, sounds loads better than Ragnarok though.

I've had this bookmarked forever meant to pull out some of the stuff from it for Llama Day 2023, but blanked on it that day, all kinds of neat stuff in there too.

The Heavenly Llama

The history behind the heavenly llama is steeped in mystery because there are no written records to go by. However, it is believed that llamas were first thought of as heavenly animals when the Incas saw them silhouetted against the sky at night!

Llamas also had other connections with stars and constellations throughout their history like how people used to think that llama hair showed the dark spots of constellations.

People also believed that llamas were placed in the sky by Viracocha – creator god- to symbolize his creation! The Milky Way was thought to be a path made by these heavenly animals so they could cross into heaven, which is why there are many myths about how it came to be.

In one myth, a llama was tired of carrying its load and stopped to rest on the Milky Way. Viracocha saw this as an opportunity to test his creation by seeing if they could get past without having the animal move! When he found out that people were trying to make it easier for them, he became angry with them and sent down a llama to earth as punishment!

Another myth says that two children were playing by the Milky Way when their ball fell into it. They tried to get it back but couldn’t, so they asked Viracocha for help because he was known for being helpful in these kinds of situations. He told them that if they got a llama to cross the Milky Way then he would give them their ball back. They did, and once they got it back Viracocha turned all three of them into stars! ____________________

I'm continually amazed at how much crossover there is in stories like this between cultures that had zero chance to ever encounter each other.

Plenty of crossover between Rome and Greece, Rome got that sex thing confused and the men started having it with women but close enough, but seeing where these line up with other stories from that area and other places round the world too.

Flood stories pop up everywhere too.

This was a neat rabbit hole you tossed a laughing cow cheese thingy down for me to chase, I'm probably gonna be continuing the journey into it later on.

#novas grimoire

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babygirltangerine · 7 months

Text

Tangerine is one of the two deuteragonists (along with Lemon) of the 2022 action comedy film Bullet Train, based on Kōtarō Isaka's 2010 dark comedic thriller novel Maria Beetle.

He and his brother Lemon are a famous assassin duo called The Twins. By the time of the film, Tangerine and Lemon are hired by the White Death to escort his son and his briefcase to him on a bullet train.

He was portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who also played William Rollins in Chatroom, Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ray Marcus in Nocturnal Animals. As a child, he was portrayed by Miles Marz.

History

In the past, Tangerine and his brother Lemon completed a job in Bolivia and kill an entire camp of guerillas. Unbeknownst to them, the guerillas were men of the White Death, causing him to travel to Bolivia and leave his wife's side. After the wife is murdered in an assassination attempt, the White Death hires Lemon and Tangerine for a mission on a bullet train in the hopes that they are killed by other assassins he hired.

Lemon and Tangerine are first seen on board of the bullet train in a compartment with the White Death's son. They banter for a short while until getting a call from one of the White Death's goons telling them to make sure the briefcase is still in their possession. Lemon tells Tangerine that he safely stashed the briefcase but upon checking the place where it should be, they realise it has been stolen. When they return to their seats the White Death's son has been poisoned and killed by an assassin named The Hornet.

Soon after they arrive at a train station, where goons sent by the White Death are waiting. Tangerine tells them that everything is under control outside, while Lemon puppeteers the son's corpse inside the train. The goons believe them and Tangerine returns inside.

After that the pair comes up with a plan to retrieve the briefcase from the thief. Tangerine finds another assassin called Ladybug on the train. He realizes that Ladybug stole the briefcase and chases him down the train. The chase ends, however, when Ladybug pays another passenger to wear his hat and glasses and uses firecrackers in a train car to distract Tangerine. Upon returning to his original seat, Tangerine finds an unconscious Lemon, who has been knocked out by Ladybug and wakes him up. They both come up with a new plan to catch Ladybug and head off into different directions.

After tracking Lemon's phone that Ladybug stole Tangerine finds his thief hiding inside a toilet. They both get into a fight across the train that ends with Tangerine being about stab Ladybug in the eyes with chopsticks. Their fight is interrupted by another call from one of the White Death's goons. He demands that both Tangerine and Lemon are present in the meeting at the next train station. Ladybug offers to step in for Lemon as they don't know what he looks like and Tangerine accepts. Ladybug wants to get the briefcase for the meeting but realizes it has been stolen by the Prince and Kimura.

They decide to take a fake briefcase and the meeting goes well until Ladybug accidentally opens it and reveals the clothes inside. They escape back to the train and try to come up with back-up plan until Ladybug pushes Tangerine out the train at the next station just as the doors are about to close. Tangerine jumps back onto the train and breaks through a window to get back inside.

Not long after Tangerine finds the unconscious body of Lemon, who he assumes is dead due to the shots in his chest, inflicted by The Prince. He gets a call from the White Death, who announces that he's going to kill everyone on the train to which a depressed Tangerine expressses indifference. He searches the train for the alleged killer and runs into Prince, who attempts to convince him that Ladybug killed Lemon. Tangerine sees through her deception due to finding train stickers that Lemon stuck on her. Before Tangerine can shoot the Prince, Ladybug enters and the Prince pretends that she is an innocent girl that Tangerine is attacking, and Ladybug fights Tangerine to defend her. In their fight, Tangerine accidentally shoots himself in the throat and bleeds to death on the floor. His corpse likely remained in the wagons and was presumably damaged when the bullet train gets wrecked at the end.

Trivia

Unintentionally, Aaron-Taylor Johnson's performance as Tangerine was decisive in his casting as Kraven the Hunter in his upcoming eponymous film, as the Sony Pictures executives quickly cast him in that role due to being "blown away" by early Bullet Train footage of him as Tangerine.

Aaron-Taylor Johnson was cast as Tangerine due to David Leitch's desire to work with him. Leitch had previously offered Johnson a role in Deadpool 2, but he declined the unknown role.

The fruit truck Lemon uses towards the end of the film to run over the Prince is one filled of tangerines. This was evidently done as a reference to Tangerine, symbolizing that even from beyond the grave, he still assisted his brother in carrying out a pivotal assassination.

Tangerine's actor: Aaron Taylor Johnson had starred in the Monsterverse along with Lemon's actor: Brian Tyree Henry.

#negativity in the tag? spam with tangerine villains wiki text #seriously seriously seriously. being upset at a microfandom for a lack of diversity is insane especially when this nitpicking is coming from #people who dont even participate #the hypocrisy stinks. but keep making demands while you do nothing to make this a better environment for yourself #it just makes me want to post about tangerine more. sorry you hate fun for real #i'm going to start blocking #as i recommend everyone else who's tired of a certain type of content should do as well #bullet train #tangerine

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v-era-18 · 8 months

Text

HoneyBee

(Bumblebee x Black Reader)

Prologue: Bittersweet

‘The driver doesn't pick the car, the car picks the driver’-Bobby Bolivia

“Please! Please! Please tell me the story again! I even brushed my teeth without you asking!” The young girl hopped on her bed, the bedsheets were a print of stars while the soft blankets were black in contrast to the white. Her smile showed the missing tooth in the top front, hair styled in twists with barrettes adorning the ends. “You promised if I was good you’d tell me again!”

An older dark skinned man walked in, his hair gray with strays of white. His smile was straight and genuine, pulling up at the corners of his eyes. He seemed to have come home from work, tie undone with brown slacks and suspenders over his dressed shirt.

The room itself was something to behold, a treasure chest filled with teddy bears were at the foot of the queen bed , the frame was metal, old style in white. By the window in place was an old bronze telescope, the girl had a habit of staying up at night looking at the night sky. Not only was she able to identify all the constellations, she was able to tell you how far each one was. The room was decorated in astronomy paraphernalia, for a moment you’d think all of this was for a teens room at first glance. However one look to the left and you would see the array of child drawings that belongs to the ten year old.

“Hold on, I’m coming hold your horses,” the man went to the bookshelf by the other window and pulled out an old notebook, withered and torn. “I’ve told you this story so many times, I’m sure you could tell the story to yourself in order to fall asleep.” He teased.

(Y/n) stuck out her tongue at the man playfully, letting out a yelp when he casted her a warning glare before sitting at the side of the bed. She made herself quick to be situated under the covers, her lamp illuminating her brown skin in honey hues as her smile never left. These were the nights she looked up to the most. After a long day at school annoying the english teacher about the galaxy, she'd eat dinner and listen to her favorite story.

She glanced down at the leather ripped book, “Can I have it?,” Her question was a bit hesitant, afterall her grandfather told her the notebook had been with him since he was eighteen.

Each time he pulled the book from the high shelf she felt a bit of jealousy yet curious as to why he always had it out of her reach; It wasn’t like she hadn’t glanced in the book before. There had been many times where she sat back and looked at the side notes outside of the lined margins. It was a shame it wasn’t in english. The letters-or what she assumed were letters-look weird from what she was used to.

She guessed it was either French or Japanese, since her grandmother spoke fluently in both. Nana taught her the basics of the languages with writing and speaking, but not reading, it would take her a while to learn. So for now, she'd have to leave those notes unread.

Her grandfather looked at the girl, a soft look taking on his features, “(Y/n), there's so much I will leave you besides this dear book,” He took his time to run his thumb through the pages with a quick move of the wrist, “It holds a lot of history. Stories have history that must be told so that they are never lost, and the life lessons that it brings along with it.” The smile was gone, instead replaced with a grime expression as he looked down at a certain page he never read from, it was at the very end.

“It’s best to never read an ending. After all you can determine your own ending if you so desire.” He said that so many times to her when reading this story, not only did he do this with this one, but the larger notebook as well. The larger book was one for occasions when she felt down or out of place at school.

It was hard being different at her school. Not only was she not interested in certain aspects girls liked most of the time, but she was outcasted after expressing her love for robots. The teacher was even a bit concerned, calling her Nana after noticing she started to show ‘boyish’ tendencies instead of hanging around the girls. It wasn’t like she didn’t try , she was only expressing her love for the unknown. Not only that but the stories she would tell had the kids on the edge of their seat-that was the time her classmates loved her; The stories stopped abruptly the teacher said they were too violent and stopped the evening story times she had with the class. Talking about war in a story wasn’t something a kid should be telling, especially when it came down to a planet possibly dying due to destruction.

Her grandparents didn’t yell at her, in fact when they left the office they took her out for a nice dinner; and instead of her grandfather telling her a story, for the first time her Nana did. Instead of the book she was used to, her Nana held a larger thicker leather bound book with weird lettering on the cover.

The story was different hearing it from her Nana, it was empowering to say the least. It was at that time she wondered how her parents might have read to her if they were still alive.

“History is boring!” The childish demeanor was back again, a frown placed at how serious everything seemed, “Especially since it happened in the past, how could it really impact our future?”

“It can in many ways. I hated studying history growing up, but over time you realize how important it really is in everyday life.”

He grabbed her nose, cutting off her full exhale of attitude. She giggled and tried to swat the hand away at the teased punishment. Once she settled down the book was placed in her lap for the first time. She gasped in excitement, hesitant to place her hands on the worn leather, she looked back up at him in surprise.

“Let's try something different tonight sweetpea,” he scooted her over a bit in the bed and sat right beside her, gesturing to the book. “I've read this book to you enough times by now for you to read it back to me with no problem-hell you even-”

“You said a bad word-!”

“I did?! PopPop is sorry.”

She bubbled a laugh as he looked at the door hoping his wife didn't hear.

“As I was saying, this story is your favorite amongst the others I've told you. And I'm glad as this story is very important to this family,” He rubbed her head with endearment before gazing back down at the book, “It's time for you to be the next storyteller, let's start practicing now.”

With an encouraging smile from her pops (Y/n) placed her hands on the book, it felt wonderful against her small hands that would soon grow accustomed to the feel as if it was second nature. At last she opened it, the words of the first page were unreadable, all scripted in a different language, she took notice of the letter-like sleeve on the left side against the book's backing. Ignoring it for now she turned the page finally seeing the fist of letters that she could read. She looked back up in excitement, her grandfather matched her smile, a look saying ‘go on’.

She did, saying the first lines of the book that would change her life forever.

“There once was a planet by the name of Cybertron-”

~✯~

The class was silent for a moment, listening ast the girl finished her story with great suspense. It was one of the stories about a knight falling in love with a woman who resembled his late wife, the time period was one that resembled King Arthur. Since it was fantasy and only gave off an allegorical narrative she really couldn’t provide an actual period of when it took place.

The tone was filled with sorrow and despair as she read the final lines. After all, she wanted this A. They asked for a geology report of her family, and so she gave it with pride.

“His breath was taken with the wisp of the cold cold air, as Anna's cries could be heard on the battlefield. The cries were short, a man who dealt the blade within her lover's chest would soon succumb to the same fate. A butterfly landed on the decapitated head of the red haired girl, the soldier muttering one thing , ‘pretty’” (Y/n) looked up, closing the brown leather storybook with the letters ‘(L/N)’ engraved. “This concludes my report on my grandfathers-”

“You can’t end it like that!”

Her head shot up at a girl's statement in the back, she wanted to shrink under the popular girl's stare. She clearly enjoyed the story, but did not like the ending. The girl had her arms on the desk, long hair cascading down her shoulders with a tank that showed off a bit more than what (Y/n) was confident enough to show in a school setting.

Ah, Mikaela. The girl everyone found to be a mystery.

“You killed both of them-!”

“It's based on historic events,” Y/n got down from the desk she sat on top of, adjusting her lowrise jeans and harley davidson shirt she thrifted not too long ago, it was cut into a crop top that rested right along the waist, “Not everything back then was fine and dandy. Many people-including lovers-died horrendous deaths due to suspicion and fear. When me and Pops decided on the plot it started to make more sense to end with the lovers in a tragedy, after all-,” she looked the girl in the eyes, gaze never wavering, “the best stories are ones to learn from.”

Mikaela sat back in her seat, a bit of a pout laying her lips, “You do have a point, if Layton never told his friend about Anna they both would have never been followed by the groundskeeper-”

A cough cut off their conversation, (Y/n) looked back at her teacher who was clearly trying to get the last presentation over and done with.

“Thank you so much Miss (L/n) for the amazing presentation as always, I would prefer however that you try to keep the stories to the very end of class to avoid so many questions about the characters you've created,” He was giving her that look again, scanning over her posture before landing direct eye contact with a smirk. She instead looked away and tried to focus on the applause she received for her presentation, “Not that I mind them though, I encourage you to bring them and read to me-me and the class more often when your not as busy-”

“Well sir that would be possible if this wasn’t my last class with you since we’re graduating this year-”

“Ah yes, I forgot for a moment,” The class erupted to a fit of whispers and giggles, it was no secret, this man had no shame. He had a habit of flirting with the girls in the class and unfortunately she was one of them. She hurriedly grabbed her notebook and beat up sling bag before heading to her seat.

“Witwicky! You're up!”

(Y/n) smiled as her childhood friend walked passed in order to get in front of the class. She took the time to adjust her scarf on her head positioning the high afro puff to sit nicely. It took most of the morning to look this good, sometimes she'd just let the afro be and cover half of her face, but since today was the last presentation before graduation she had to look as good as possible. Although she did get some unwanted attention, Trent was basically gesturing to his friends about her the whole time she was speaking.

Usually she wouldn’t care, however the way his girlfriend and the class took notice had her on edge. To be honest (Y/n) hadn’t expected Mikaela to even acknowledge her existence after gaining her boyfriend's attention, but instead she seemed genuinely interested in her story.

Maybe Sam was right to like her a bit, she was being too overprotective of her friend, afterall out of the two of them; (Y/n) was always the responsible one to her dismay.

(Y/n) watched as Sam dumped the contents on the desk in front, “Sorry I have a lot of stuff…” she sighed a bit anxious as she watched Trent whisper something to Mikaela before flicking Sam in the face with a rubber band. A scowl made its way on her face, leaning back in the seat.

‘How old are we?! Six?!’

“Who did-who did that?! People. Responsibility.”

Sam took a breath, looking around the class before landing his eyes on his friend, “Um-so for my family's geology report I decided to do it on my great-great-grandfather-” a few chuckles could be heard as he looked around again, hands sweaty and all, “He was a famous man-Captain Archibald Witwicky. Very famous explorer-in fact he was one of the first to explore the arctic circle, along with a young man by the name of (GG/n) (L/n)-which is a big deal!”

Many people including Trent and Mikaela looked at her in shock. (Y/n) simply stared back with a coy smile edging it’s way on her face. It was no surprise that Sam included both of their grandparents in the report, after all that’s how their friendship began, through family relationships.

Sam shot her a smile as he grabbed the map and showed it to the class, “In 1897, he took forty-two brave sailors to the arctic shelf,” (Y/n) remembered when she was eleven-Sam twelve- as her grandfather told them about how both their great grandparents tried to get through the ice. The way he put it about hers is that he simply hated being in the cold ,but since Archibald treated him so well as his assistant he managed even in the worst times, “That’s the story right?”

(Y/n) nodded her head, internearly pleased that Sam summed it up pretty well from what they practiced. “-And here we have basic instruments and tools used by nineteenth century seamen-“ the class broke out into laughter, even though she tried her best not to indulge in the immature nature of her classmates-a hit of a smile wobbled on her lips.

The teacher flashed a ‘stop’ sign silencing them, “- And this here is the quadrant which you can get for eighty bucks-this is all for sale by the way! L-like the sextant here-“ another round of laughter, this time she let out a giggle, “-this is a bargain, everything is pretty cool. These are my grandfather's glasses, I haven’t quite got them appraised yet-but they’ve seen many cool things-“

“Are you going to sell me his liver? Mr Witwicky, this isn’t ‘show and sell’ in the 12th grade. I don’t think your grandfather would be particularly proud of what you’re doing-“

“I know I’m sorry-you know this is all towards my car fund. You can tell your folks it’s on ebay! I take PayPal, hard cash works too-a-and it makes a g-great gift for Columbus Day-“

“Sam!”

(Y/n) held her hand over her mouth, trying so hard to stop the eruption of laughter to spill from her throat.

‘He can’t be serious right now! This wasn’t the plan!’

“-S-sorry um, unfortunately my great grandfather-the genius that he was- winded up going blind and crazy. He ended up in the psych ward saying he saw strange symbols, and going on about some giant ice man that he thought he saw-,” The bell cut him off before he could finish much to her dismay.

Her grandfather never told her that part, he always told them about the travel through the arctic, but not Witwicky seeing a ‘giant ice man’. She’d have to ask more later about that and the symbols on the papers he held up that she was all too familiar with.

“Okay! There might be a pop quiz tomorrow! Might not! Sleep in fear tonight!”

The class started to clear out, she got a few murmurs of compliments about her family’s history as she packed at her desk, throwing the bag on her shoulder as she watched Sam still trying to sell those damn glasses.

‘Give it up Samuel, you know no one is going to want that damn thing.’

To be honest she found it disrespectful, especially since he knew she basically incorporated most of her grandfather's clothes into her everyday life. She even made her own quilt out of his shirts for her Nana not so long ago. The patches on her old bag were one of his dress shirts.

Sam stood in front of his teacher, an awkward smile playing on his face, “Okay? Pretty good right?” (Y/n) slowly came back up to the front, but not too close to give them enough space with their conversation.

“Uhhh, I’d say a solid B minus.”

Sam dropped the act, “A B minus?!”

“You were hocking your great-grandfather's crap in my class-“

“Kids enjoy-look could you do me a favor please?! Look out the window for a second and see my father. He’s the guy in the green car,” The brown skinned girl followed the teacher's gaze outside where Mr. Witwicky was waiting for them, “okay-let me tell you about a dream. A boy's dream, and a man’s promise to that boy. He looked him in the eyes and said ‘son imma buy you a car, and I want you to bring me two thousand dollars in three days’. Okay? I had two thousand in two days.”

“Now here’s that two thousand and here’s that B minus-“ Sam made an explosion with his hands, (Y/n) trying her best not to clown him and decided to leave . “Dream gone.” The teacher looked back at Sam after he watched Y/n close the door behind her.

“Sir, just ask yourself. What would Jesus do?”

(Y/n) made her way towards the green car outside, her notebook in hand ready to jot down the new symbols she saw from Sam's report today. She looked up and saw her friend's dad, arms crossed as he sat in the driver's seat. “Afternoon, Mr Witwicky!”

Ron let out a sigh at (Y/n)’s greeting, “ (Y/n) how many times have I told you? Please call me Ron?”

“Sorry sir-Ron, how was work?”

“It was alright, not too busy today, I’m ready to go home and lay around on the couch. Unfortunately for me if my boy comes out with an A my bank account is gonna bleed.”

The girl laughed lightly before shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the entrance where Sam came bounding out with a big smile.

“Looks like it’s gonna need stitches”

“ Yes!” Sam hoped in the car, (Y/n) following suit in the backseat, she made sure to put her pencil and book away. Last time she let her pen out she accidentally scratched the leather seat, Ron said it was okay but she felt like he was only trying to be nice since he saw how much it scared her.

“I got an A minus!” He showed his dad the paper as he looked at it in confirmation, “good?”

“You’re good.”

Sam pumped his fist into the air in triumph, he looked back and flashed her a smile. She gave an encouraging thumbs up. “Finally, you can drive me around, so I won’t bother your dad anymore-“

“How many times have I told you, you’re not bothering me young lady!” Ron glared at her through the rearview mirror.

“Right, sorry!”

“Didn’t you say you’re looking for a car with me?” Sam questioned.

It was true she saved up eight thousand dollars for a car so far. She was really proud of herself and the amount of discipline she had to endure. However she was hesitant due to Nana growing older, she wanted a form of comfort for her grandmother while she was away. She thought of getting her a service dog with a low temperament, and not too big. But they always seemed so expensive, especially to get them trained. So she wanted to work some more, but if she saw her dream car today? She’d drop the check on the salesman’s desk.

“I am. I’m just thinking about saving a bit more, but if I find one today that’s good too.”

The drive wasn’t that far, in fact (Y/n ) wanted to exhale the moment they didn’t stay at the expensive dealership. The joke Ron pulled earlier was hard not to laugh at, she knew first cars weren’t supposed to be a luxury. However, taking a look at the car's disheveled appearances at the one they pulled up at, she understood Sam's frustration.

“Here?! No no no, what is this? You said half a car not half a piece of crap dad!”

“When I was your age I’d be happy with four wheels and an engine.”

(Y/n) looked around, spotting a black and yellow camaro pulling into one of the parking spaces. She looked on in envy, whoever had that one was so lucky.

“Okay let me say something to you. Have you seen a forty year old virgin?”

“Yeah.”

“That-that’s what this is,” he gestured over to one car, “and that’s fifty year old virgin”

“Okay.”

“You want me to live that life? Hm?”

“To be honest Sam these cars are not that bad,” (Y/n) spoke up, he looked at her in frustration, “They just need a bit of tlc. Plus if the girl doesnt even have her own car, what right does she have to complain about yours?”

“You're supposed to be on my side! None of these are going to get me any girls-“

“Look at all of them before drawing that conclusion. No sacrifice, no victory. ” Ron cut in.

“Yeah yeah, the old Witwicky motto.” Sam waved him off.

“Gentlemen and my dear sister! Bobby Bolivia, like the country except without the runs!” The African American male laughed upon his greeting shaking Ron’s hand, “How may I help ya?”

“Looking to buy his first car, and she’s looking around as well.”

Bobby turned his attention to Sam, “You came to see me?”

“Had too-“ He jerked his leg back after (Y/n) kicked his ankle, a silent ‘don’t be rude’.

“That there makes us family. Uncle Bobby B baby! Uncle Bobby B!,” he held out his hand, Sam took it and told his name.

Bobby looked at her , “And you sister?” She took his hand in a firm handshake, “(Y/n)”

“Aight, let me talk to ya! Sam, (Y/n), your first day of freedom is right there underneath,” the girl focused on the cute yellow beetle in front, missing the black and yellow camaro pulling in right beside it , “Let me tell you something son-sister; the driver doesn’t pick the car ,the car picks the driver. It’s a mystical bond between man and machine.”

‘Can I befriend a robot PopPop?!’

‘You can, there’ll always be a bond between man and machine’

“Son-sister, I’m a lot of things, but liars aren’t one of them.”

“I believe you.” The three men looked at the girl, her gaze excited from the words he’d spoken. How could she forget something her grandfather expressed frequently when she was younger? She was practically waiting for this moment.

She looked from the beetle as she saw Sam head towards the black striped car with a yellow base. (Y/n) left the beetle, the adventure she once pictured long forgotten, and a new picture emerged with her reading and writing in the black leather seated vehicle.

“This one got racing stripes.”

Bobby sounded confused at Sam's words as the two of them examined the car. The boy looked over at her, cocking a brow. “What do you think?”

“I love it.” She whispered, peering her head through the open window. The interior was a bit dirty, but she knew how to get stains out and a good day of washing will do them good.

(Y/n) opened the car door and got in, ignoring how Sam listened in on Bobby’s and Mannys conversation about it. She gripped the handles of the car, running her hands up and down, getting a good feel. Looking up, a signature disco ball and bumblebee hung over the rearview. It was fitting for the car, the colors were practically the colors of the insect adding character. She paused looking at the logo in the middle, rubbing her thumb over the horn she gasped.

(Y/n) shot out of the car as if it was hell itself, her breathing was labored, eyes frantic as she stared at the wheel through the car door. She’s seen that symbol so many times, her lips wobbled as if she wanted to cry. It was a wave of nostalgia that scared her to hop out of the car. There was no way the old owner had heard the story before, unless they had and wanted the car to remind them of it each day.

‘the driver doesn't pick the car, the car picks the driver’

Sam looked at her for a moment, before getting in himself , getting a feel before asking the winning question, “How much?”

Bobby put his hands up on the roof in thought, “Well considering the semi classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and the custom paint job-“

“But the paints faded.” (Y/n) interrupted.

“Y-yeah but it’s custom.”

“It’s custom faded?” Sam questioned backing her up.

“Well this is your first car so I don’t expect you two to understand.” Bobby looked at Ron then (Y/n), “Five grand.”

“Naw I’m not paying above four sorry.” Ron responded.

(Y/n)’s heart soars, sure she’d want a smaller price ,but she had the money. She dove in for her checkbook in her backpack .

“Kid, comm’ on get out the car.”

“No no no, you said the car picks the driver!”

“Well sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap ass father out the car.” Bobby went over to the beetle she was looking at earlier. “Now this one here for four gs is a beauty!”

She felt a little bad after seeing Sam's dejected expression. He saved up and tried so hard for a car and the one he liked she might take home. She eased her hand from her bag, there had to be another shop that could customize her steering wheel the same way.

‘No. It’s not fair to leave with it, especially if he clearly wanted it first. Let’s look at the cute beetle again.’

Sam angrily got out of the car.

“There’s that fiasco with racing stripes over there?” Ron tried to joke.

“No I don’t want a fiasco racing stripes”

“This is a classic engine right here. I sold a car the other day-“

(Y/n) shot back in shock as the camaros car door hit the beetle a second after she came over to look at it. She looked at Sam and Ron seeing them hold the same expression.

“Jesus! Holy cow, are you alright?”

“No no no worries! I’ll have Manny bang this right out! H-hey Manny! Get your clown cousin and get your hammers and bang this stuff out baby!” Bobby laughed it off.

Walking back over to the camaros window she watched as the radio started to change between stations. She watched in fascination, her lips curving up to a dorky smile.

“Whoa-“

“Now this one’s my favorite! Drove all the way from Alabammy-!”

None of them could’ve prepared themselves for what happened next. An ear piercing sound erupted from the car, glass shards from windows blasted everywhere as they got down to take cover. (Y/n) was the most unlucky as she was right by it, ducking right against the car door trying her best to block out the sound with her hands.

The sound stopped, all of them got up looking at one another. Bobby was the most devastated, she was pretty sure they’d be banned from coming back however the next words that flew through his mouth left her stomach twisting.

“Four thousand!”

‘I guess the car really does choose the driver after all’ She looked back at the camaro, it seemed to be staring back at her, ‘and I guess I’m not that driver’

It was bittersweet.

#bumblebee x Black reader #bumblebee x reader #transformers #honeybee #sam witwicky #mikaela banes #storyteller #transformers x reader #Spotify

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