Tony's Famous Pizzaria [DC]

[Nox]

He thought the baby was cover. And maybe it was in a way, but Nox would never put the child in danger. He nodded for them to sit down. She slide into the booth first and she pulled what Nox could only imagine was a gun and pointed it at him. "Ya think?"

Your baby... well that was hard to explain. Nox pulled Lily up to his shoulder and sat like a normal person in the booth. Nox waved his hand "You're thinking I used the kid as a shield. I'm not. There are about ten other things around me that did that." As he wove another air shield between him and Ayden's gun he gave her sweet smile. "You won't want to fire that at me, it'll backfire and be worse for you. So you might wanna just put it away. If I wanted you dead you'd be dead."

He turned to look at Connor with a smile. "Lily is mine on paper. The progeny of rape by rougarou. I saved her mother and several others from their nest. And they all currently live with me, Lily connected with me. And since she was born at my house it was easier to not include the original parentage."

Nox took a sip of his water and rubbed his cheek against Lily's head before asking "You didn't come here to talk about Lily, what did you want?"

[Ayden]

Ayden couldn't believe he'd bring a baby to a meeting like this. But if he was naive enough to think this was just a casual meeting then he was stupid. And Ayden didn't think he was stupid. And from the words he started with made him smarter than what she thought. He waved his hand like anyone could see what he'd done. But he spoke of her gun. What did he do? She hated that he knew when she could wield her power but she could know nothing about what he was doing. But she didn't put her gun away. There was no fucking way.

He claimed the baby was his on paper. What the hell was a rougarou? He sounded crazy, yet he seemed totally sane and sure of himself. He cared for the baby like he knew what he was doing. She seemed happy for what a baby at that age could. Couldn't be more than a few days old. So tiny and fragile.

And he was direct and to the point. Ayden blurted out "We know why you are here!"

[Connor Kent]

Connor's heart leapt into his  throat when Ayden pulled the gun under the table. He froze, not wanting to give what she had done away. 

Part of him was upset at her. She hadn't mentioned doing this. It totally threw him off. Emotions were high, now. This didn't seem like the right way to do things.

Nox didn't seem concerned. No, he dismissed the gun as if it were nothing. He did it in such a casual way that Connor believed him. 

He put a gentle hand on Ayden's thigh, just to calm her. He'd not seen her mother bear side before, not really. "Let's be calm" he said gently.

Nox explained the baby and Connor tried to guess at what he was talking about. He had no idea what a rougarou nest was, but it didn't sound good.

In the end, after all of the momentary drama, nothing had changed. Ayden borached the subject. Connor added "We do know. And that's why we're here." He looked at Ayden for a moment, before he plunged in.

"We'd been off happily living our lives in a small mountain town. Different names and lives. But they found us. Whoever they are, said they'd not leave us alone until Ayden took care of you."

He looked at the baby in Nox's arms. That was what it really was about, for him. Because it would be Ayden and him holding their baby. He leaned forward, forearms on the table. Any trace of concern or nervousness was gone. He was in protector mode. His head tilted slighty, staring at Nox in the eyes, he said "I don't like being blackmailed. Especially when it's my family's safety at risk."

He looked back at Ayden, then Nox. "These people will not leave us alone. Ever. We can't have that. I won't tolerate it. And since you are their target- enough to pull Ayden out of retirement, well....we thought it would be better to be upfront with you about everything."

He leaned back, feeling Ayden's firm warmth next to him.

[Ayden]

Nox laughed at them. It wasn't a loud haha this is funny laugh it was a condescending you're an idiot laugh. Ayden growled but it was Connor's hand on her thigh that kept her from slapping his fucking smirk off his face. "So do tell me why I'm here." His voice was grating. She hated that he was so full of himself. Fucking kid.

Ayden gave him a level look and whispered. "To take out the #1 and #2 of this grand nation."

He scoffed. Ayden interrupted before he could say anything else and pulled out a folder of things she wanted to show him as proof. "I have proof." She didn't know why she was proving it too him. He was just going to deny it anyway.

[Nox]

Nox shook his head. "Let me guess this mysterious they told you that." And she had proof. He really wanted to see that.

Nox flicked his eyes to the left, tossing Sage a predefined text message telling him to pay attention to the warrior lens feed he was about to look at. The folder was filled with grainy photos of him in locations where some people were dead. He recognized them all and he had killed them, but there was no proof of either of those things, only that he'd been nearby at some time. He didn't get the connection of them until he saw the heavily redacted text message chain, that no longer existed on the internet in any capacity, and it wasn't even Sage's doing. They'd been part of his orders to come to the US and stop the assassins from killing the president and vice president. But he had no proof.

But he laughed anyway. Sage was send the warrior lens huge ha ha ha emojis that were really distracting. Nox actually voiced the words. "Alright, Wicked that's making me sick, stop."

There was a frowny face but the images stopped and he scrolled the original messages across his HUD and a final text.

"Restored messages."

It was good to have a hacker friend. Nox pulled out his wallet and turned it around to face them. The original messages."

[Connor Kent]

Connor felt Ayden's muscle tense and Nox's laughter. Truth was, he wanted belt the punk across the face. But this was about deescalation. Last he'd heard, slapping the shit out of someone wasn't in the approved toolbox.

Ayden had come prepared and Nox took the files, reading quickly. At times, he almost seemed to be murmuring or reacting to voices in his head.

Jesus, that's all they needed. They kid turning out to be crazy. Out of the frying pan into the fire. And then, a satisfied look on his face, Nox turned his phone to them. The original messages.

For a moment, Connor just looked at the text. He saw words here and there. But he also felt frustrated at being yanked around. Nox seemed to be saying that they had been lied to about his mission. Which he didn't find shocking.

He waved at the text. "So what's the tl;dr? That you aren't here to... he looked around and amended his intended words, "to do what Ayden said?

He looked at Ayden, interested in her interpretation of what they'd been shown.

[Nox]

Nox shrugged. "My mission is to put down the assassins doing the job. One of the two brothers is a channeler who crafts magical bullets that can't be traced or even found after exploding. I suspect they are made from mostly air and spirt and shred the organs on impact. But I've not seen one yet. I intend to though."

Nox tapped the folder and pushed it across the table. "All of them were channelers. They used their power to corrupt their way to capital gains and power. All of them were marked by the Atharim. All of them would still be dead even if they weren't part of some dumb ass Free America ploy. I don't really give a flying fuck about politics. They were guilty of their crimes. They hurt innocent people. They died for it. That simple."

Sage sent a text that went both to him and Ryker.

Bogies on the move. 10 min to ETA. Good hunting.

Nox slide out of the booth with Lily in his arm. "You can believe me or you don't. Don't really give a fuck. But since you're here, neck deep in shit. Wicked can get you out of the jam." Nox had intended to just give Lily to Sage but instead he grabbed the baby carrier from its resting spot next to him and he put it in the booth and carefully laid Lily down. He gave her a soft smile and tapped her nose. "You be good for Wicked."

Sage just looked at him and frowned. [color=#00722bb]"Shit deep."[/color]

Sage sighed. "I'll see what I can do. Can't do shit here though."

Nox grinned. "Take em back to Moscow with us if we have to to get them out. And don't forget to change Lily."

Sage groaned. "Maybe you'll be done with your shit before she shits." He said sitting down in the booth. Nox didn't wait around for things to settle as he rushed out the door and towards his mark. Ryker would be doing the same.

[Ayden]

He talked too much!

And she wasn't really sure she believed any of it. He could have faked that just as easily as they could have faked theirs. The only things to his credit -- his wasn't redacted. Fuckers!

But it wasn't long before he was tossing the baby into a strangers baby carrier and vaulting through the door after some bullshit about some one helping them.

Connor sat on the outside, and Ayden's gun was pushed into her pocket before she pushed Connor out. "Move love." There was little room for argument as she pushed a little harder and Connor slid out of the booth and she raced after the fucking kid!

Ayden caught up to him across the street. She grabbed his good elbow and he rounded on her with a look of anger on his face until he saw who it was and then he smirked. "Can't wait for me, Duckling?" He pulled from her grip and started down the sidewalk again.

Where the fuck are you going?" She said reaching into the light and opening her heart to it.

Before she could start the first pull of air, the light winked out, and he stared at her with a fucking smirk. "Bet ya don't know that one."

She pounded on the way to the light but it was just out of reach.

Nox didn't wait around and she moved one foot in front of the other and her knee hit a barrier she couldn't not see. Ayden put her hands on the wall in front of her, and to the side, and behind her. A fucking invisible wall all around her. She pounded on it. "You fucking coward get back here."