Tony's Famous Pizzaria [DC]

[Nox]

[[ coming from Setting up, Round and Round we Go, and They Found me ]]

Sage's Pizza place wasn't exactly around the corner, it was across the Potomac River in DC proper. It literally was the best place to be for what was about to go down. Walking distance from the spots we knew our assassins were about to take their shots. Or at least where Sage and the other intel pointed them to. It was perfect for it. And the timing was down right near impossible.

Sage sat in a booth in the far corner with an entire plain pie on a stand and the empty baby carrier for Lily when Nox dropped her off. Hopefully it wasn't in the middle of his conversation with Connor but you never know. Connor and his wife weren't exactly privy to his schedule, though they were here to kill him for some reason, he just wasn't sure why.  There was no other reason for out of the blue for Connor to contact him. Sage had been digging deep all night, though he suspected he had his own things on his mind too.

Ryker was at another table, while Nox sat in a window booth with his back to the window, and Lily propped in his lap while his legs feet were on the seat by the aisle holding the child firmly in the light coming through the window.  He wove a four inch thick wall of air as hard as steel and hopefully strong enough to stop whatever caliber bullet she might use to take him out.  A secondary weave of shattered glass floated invisibly through the air by the window to eliminate the use of a laser sight.  Probably not enough to deter a power augmented sniper, but enough for her to not use that pesky laser that would get a clean shot.

Sage had several stealthy drones flying through the air around the buildings in question and Nox had the feeds on the hud on the warrior lens he now wore. He hated contact lenses, but Sage insisted that it was better for this mission and for the future augmentation of his new arm.  Whatever he had planned Nox wasn't sure but having a functioning hand would be nice.  But it was still days or even weeks away if he had to wait on his body to heal naturally.

Nox ordered a couple of slices of pizza heavily loaded with meat and vegetables, probably more than the people wanted but pizza was so not a thing he wanted to eat, but a good pie was hard to come by and he did enjoy one now and then.  He also just a plain slice of cheese, a simple slice but the one he'd actually indulge in.  He had a glass of water with lemon and waited for Connor to show up. He imagined Ayden was about to set up her rifle on the building adjacent them and he'd be in shortly there after.

[Connor Kent]

The morning of, after a shower, Connor put on a t shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans. And then, socks forgotten in his hand, sat on the bed.

He felt sick to his stomach. He'd already hit the can 3 times. He knew this was a stress ache. Unease. He looked at Ayden, herself already dressed and going over her gear. Absorbed in that, she didn't notice him looking at her.

He ached for her. She was right therr, but given what theh were about to do- attempt to do- he already felt like he was losing her. Had lost her.

He'd lost Hayden. And now, losing Ayden was a not trivial possibility. They had talked, especially as the time grew closer, of maybe just going on the run. Starting over somewhere else. But a world where people could disappear off the grid had already been fading when he was a kid. Now, it was all but impossible.

Besides, within the next 8 months, their flixibiility and perceived invisibility would change drastically. Being on the run with an infant wasn't ideal.

Besides, they'd need money, housing, medical care. Which meant they needed work. 

This seemed like their only way out.

And yet it felt wrong. Not morally. Just.....incorrect. Ayden was willing to just pop the kid. And you know what? At this point, feeling how he did at that moment, sitting on the bed, guts churning and fearing for his wife and child, he was fucking ok with it. Hard choices, right? Us or him? 

He couldn't lose his familiy again. He just....couldn't.

"If you really want to do this, I can skip meeting him. Maybe you get him as he waits. Seems almost too easy, right? What do YOU want to do."

[Ayden]

Connor was nervous. And rightfully so, but this was just another job. She checked and rechecked her gear and made sure everything was in order. "You aren't getting cold feet are you?" She teased as she stood in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I want to get this over with. I want him out of our life and dead if necessary. I can go without you, put a bullet in his head and we'll be done." Though Ayden wasn't sure it was as simple as that. She doubted they'd stop at just one, they'd have to go off the grid again, drop off the face of the planet, change their names and all before the baby was born, because once that happened shit would hit the fan and there would be far more paperwork to handle. It would suck. And Ayden didn't want that life for them.

"But this isn't my decision. It's ours. Do you want his death on your conscious? It won't bother me either way."

[Sage]

Nox was putting himself in harms way for no real reason. Except curiosity, Sage supposed. They both were wondering why Ayden and Connor had approached him after disappearing. Nox was paranoid, so Sage was extra paranoid. He didn't like him sitting by the window in plain view with a target on his head. But he was doing all that he could to keep Nox safe. It wasn't hard and the drones were busy out flying with a little stealth tech he'd applied to them after purchasing them in Alexandria. It wasn't hard to reconnect with his old people, he hadn't been gone that long. And he didn't even need Phaser to do most of it.

Lily's carry sat empty on the floor next to him, he'd be babysitting when Nox left to go do his job. But for now he was using Lily as a shield as much as he was cuddling and oogling her. He really was in love with that little girl and she had captured more than his heart. Sage knew the kid was not in any danger, Nox would never put an innocent in the line of fire. He probably had her wrapped in shield of air so thick and hard that nothing could penetrate it. He was that anal about protecting the innocent.

Sage poked at the pizza at his table. He was enjoying it but he was also distracted with the things going on around him. He had many feeds streaming through his algorithms looking for movement on the targets -- all of them. And he was still watching out for Elyse and Bode and tracking the man called Cade who claimed to be Nox's brother. There was a lot going on right now. And Sage was immersed in all of it.

[Connor Kent]

Connor felt her against his body, firm and solid. Real. More than real. His wife. She wasn't showing, not yet. Soon, though, he wouldn't be able to hold her this way, at least not without the baby bump between them. 

A new life they had made together. Not in-between them. [I]Of]/i] both of them. From them. A daughter or son. A brother or sister to Hayden.

His boy. His son, gone. But still alive, somewhere. He knew it. He couldn't explain it. Just knew. Those dreams came to him often, the certainty that Hayden watched over him.

Over them, now.

His heart ached. It felt like tearing. He was supposed to protect his family. But could he do this? Her sharp eyes peered into him and he realized she had said something. Asked him a question. It was their call. Together.

There had to be a way. He was furious. Rage at those who threaten them, blazed.

His jaw clenched, deciding. She was right. It was their choice. "I will meet with him, he said. His voice was quiet but firm. He looked at her for a moment more, the rage forming into an idea.

His wife was strong. She would try to kill Nox. But they'd be fools not to think Nox didn't think something was funny. Connor calling him out of the blue wasn't exactly normal.

Risk on both sides. But one threatened him. The other hadn't done anything. In the end, Nox wasn't his family. Connor had felt a bit of fatherly affection for the kid. But not enough to risk her life, his child"s life. If it was either or, he'd not balk at the choice.

But a niggling feeling refused to go away. If they- whoever they was- had found them once, they'd do it again. At least in America. They wouldn't leave them alone. Their would be one more job. Then another. And another. 

That wasn't the life they were going to live.

His breathing firmed as he solidified. It was their choice. Hers and his. He looked at her searchingly. "This won't end, Ayden. They will keep finding us. They will use you until the dice finally go against us. Ayden was a hard woman. And she had no love for Nox.

But this wasn't about Nox. "If i believed this was one and done, if I knew you would be completely safe, I'd say Fuck it and do it. But it isnt and I don't. Nox isn't stupid. I can't lose you." Finally, he said it. "So let's decide together. I say we both meet with Nox and tell him exactly what's up. What we've been ordered to do. He seems to be able to come and go despite being what he is. The group he belongs to have been outted. So let's see if Nox will help us. Avoid the people who want him dead. If he has pull, maybe he can help us find a permanent home.

He pressed his lips together, smilling, worry still in his eyes. "I don't care where we live. Wherever you and the baby are, that is home to me. The Russia, China, Africa, Australia, wherever. Fuck whoever these people are. If Nox scares them, then let's use that.

He searched her eyes with hope. It was a way.