by Adriana Scaletti
Disclaimer first: characters are Marvel's, story and spelling mistakes are mine. No money here, so don't sue. Credit -for the story, not the mistakes!- also has to go towards linguistic-exceptional Jeff ('everybody-should-try-Japanese-and-I'll-do-all-the-proof-read!' :) and Alicia (archivist, writing-sensei and personal inspiration). Thanks, guys! Have feedback? Great, bring some at any time. Flames? Well, you can give those to Marvel. Trust me-- they *like* them...that's why they treat the characters so badly of late. (While you're at it, try and bring me a copy of Cable #75. Otherwise, that issue will never arrive to where I live. And I'll be pissed. You don't want that to happen. ;) Oh, and if you enjoy the story, thank morrighan (sorry, I don't know her real name): the idea came from a beautiful paragraph about the meaning of home in chapter 2 of 'Decisions'. Again, words between # # are telephatic 'speech', and between ~ ~ are thoughts.
-Six Pack headquarters, May 13th, 7:30
am.-
Domino woke up with a killer headache and very few hours of sleep. Her eyes remained stubbornly closed, even when she knew there was no way she could get any decent rest lying on her bedroom's floor. Plus, there was the fact that her head hurt. ~Damn headache...shouldn't have drunk *that* last one-- ~ she thought, yet half-sleep. Nonetheless, cursing Nathan and his eight o'clock morning sessions, she dragged herself blindly to the shower and stiffened her body against the cold hit of the water. Then she got into her workout clothes ~...have to remember clean up these pants... okay, scratch that, maybe I'll just buy another pair...~ and decided to make a brief stop at the kitchen. As always this early in the morning, most of her thoughts included inordinate images from the previous night and a nonsensical rambling. One thing, though, was pretty much clear: she needed coffee.
Lots of it.
Now.
The Six Pack was having a slow week. Mostly because they were being picky about the jobs: they were good and they knew it...so why not choose only the best? Meaning the highest paid, that is. Nevertheless, Cable insisted in daily briefings, and soon she found out that it was easier to play along and bitch and complain afterwards. ~Funnier, also~ Domino thought wickedly, remembering last night events. They involved Grizzly, Kane, a pool table and nine bottles of rum. Each. ~Mutant metabolism my ass. I'll bet Grizz won't even show signs of conscious thought today 'till way after noon-- ~ Thanks heaven for coffee...--hey, why wasn't it ready yet? Oh. Right. ~Next time, turn on the stove first...~ she grimaced, letting herself plop on one of the chairs, her head resting in her arms.
Domino didn't even turn at the sudden noise of the door opening. It was only Nathan, she knew, returning from his daily run. Otherwise, the alarms would be all but deafening them right then. The security system of the Six Pack current headquarters was one of the best around, second only to some of the most advanced models SHIELD had. G.W. felt outraged by that 'second' thing, and worked constantly to surpass them. Then again, he was also impressed.
"Morning, Dom," Cable greeted while heading for the fridge, being unusually civil for his 'before breakfast' standards. "Shit...still no orange juice? Oh well..." he mumbled in mock-deception, and she smiled against her arms at the thought of Nathan, of all people, actually trying anything but coffee first thing in the morning. The world wasn't ready for that yet.
"Everything went fine last night?" he asked, clearly sensing her broadcasted 'ouches' even with his low-level telepathy. She remembered pretty clearly their little talk about 'persons-who-think-too-loud-and-how-that-gives-telepaths-nasty-headaches'... He allowed himself a chuckle -okay, it was more like a laugh- at her sudden stern look.
"Yeah." she let out, her head collapsing again on her arms. ~That's fine, girl, just don't move...~ her mind advised.
"No biggie, just relaxing and such. Not that you know about that--" she didn't finish the phrase, remembering now his refusal to join them for a night out. Last time she checked, 'some work to do' wasn't much of an excuse, but then again, this was Nate, wasn't it?
"Where is everybody, anyway? We weren't *that* drunk..."
Picturing Kane stomping his way to his room last night, in a pitiful effort to be silent and making noises that could be easily confused with those of a rhino stampede was enough to made the truth of that statement doubtful even for her.
"Don't know, don't care." Cable said, keeping an eye on the coffee maker and sitting across of her. "--Listen, there's this new job we'll be taking...Mind coming with me for the op preliminaries?"
Domino was immediately up. "S--Sure." Then a sudden suspicion hit her- "Why?" Nate and Bridge always negotiated the jobs together, and none of the others were ever asked -or needed, for that matter- along. "It's anything wrong?"
"Not really. Turns out this guy knows you. I mean, your 'work'. He'd even asked around for you, believe it or not." His frown told her he'd given the issue a lot of thought. "Ever heard the name Quinland?--I've only talked with him on the phone, so I can't give you any descriptions..."
Domino frowned, unconsciously mimicking his expression and concentrating for a minute.
"Well?"
"Nope. That an alias?"
"Probably. I did some-- research, but he came clean. Now I'm curious."
"And we don't like that, do we?" She wore an amused smirk, then quickly sobered. "What did he say?" In a job where information meant everything, t was bad enough that someone asked for her specifically...and now she couldn't even remember the bastard. ~Getting old, Dom...~ Damn.
"Not much, that's why we're not moving. Something about Madripoor's combat pits... We're meeting him on the island." He tried to quickly skip the details, but his tone wasn't as firm as it should have been. At times like this, after nearly seven years she could understand his 'signals' easily.
Something was worrying him-- something which was escaping his control.
"I was trained there, remember?" she said, maybe too quickly, trying to drive away his mind from that particular issue while struggling to contain a shiver. Some of the memories the name brought were not very nice ones, and they came in full force increasing the already-established headache. "You know about it."
Of course he knew. All of them knew about it in general, right from the first time they went out to celebrate a successful job. She had even told them some stories; but then again, she knew that Nate ~...mutant 'gift' or not~ sometimes was too perceptive for anyone's good, and could read her reactions better than anyone. Any other time, that wasn't THAT bad, but...
She tried to look at it from an objective perspective, different situations coming to mind. "Hell, that's more or less public knowledge anyway...Could be nothing." she said.
He just nodded warily.
It wasn't time to get worried -not yet-, Domino decided. Still, a little hacker's work would likely be in order. Not a very nice image there, to start the morning...
"When are we leaving?" she asked then, settling for the routine questions. Her thoughts, however, drifted brusquely to a different topic ~...and let's hope it's just the two of us...now THAT will be fun...~ and she tried to hide a sudden, completely inappropriate grin behind a yawn. Thankfully, Nathan didn't seem to have caught that specific trail of thought.
"Noon will do. G.W. was supposed to tell the others this morning, but..." he looked around the room, expressively. "Guess it's you, me, and breakfast." He gave her a quick attempt at a smile...
...which she answered with a raised eyebrow. ~God...is he actually in enough of a good mood *this early* to try being nice? This has to be a strange, strange dream...OR last night 'work' went really good for him. Hmmm. I wonder-- ~
"Coffee is ready."
"About time."
-Madripoor's Hightown, May 14th, 10:15
am.-
~Almost a day and a ton of painkillers later, here we are.~ Domino thought, sighing and squirming in an effort to get comfortable in her seat at a table in the south-Asian version of a sidewalk 'café'. ~Should I feel at home or something?~
The street was crowded at this time of the morning. Then again, Madripoor -as almost every commercial city in that side of the South Pacific- lived in a perpetual 'rush hour', with thousands of visitors and citizen alike, mixing and coexisting in very few square miles. It wasn't summer anymore, but the sun was biting her skin merciless and she was suddenly glad to have brought the wide-brim hat she was wearing, no matter how much Nate had teased her about it. He was seated beside her and ordered drinks for the both of them, while still scanning the crowd.
Domino had made sure to call Logan before getting on to the plane. The man was connected to anyone doing 'business' on the island like no one else she had ever seen. Plus, it was just about time to make sure he remembered her so-called birthday, anyway. ~Boy, do I miss him...~ she thought with a grimace, wallowing in the memories.
Logan had --rescued her all those years ago, from those very streets and the dark, filthy world that lurked under. He had cared for her at a time when not even she could find a reason to do so, and protected her at first. He then taught her how to fight past the clumsy moves inspired mostly by fear and rage that she'd used until that moment. He'd been her friend when she most needed one and her 'father' when she was too scared and lonely and couldn't seem to stop crying. He had taught her how to trust herself again, and patched at best he could her broken will to live. It hadn't been easy, but in the end it had paid off.
She was still alive.
She was thankful for that, at least.
#Dom? I think he's here--#
Cable's 'voice' distracted her from the reverie ~Doing way too many of those lately...~ She was suddenly tense at the prospect of the meeting, and she looked around the street in search for any familiar face, forgetting to scold Nathan for his uninvited mental-intrusion.
A completely stranger approached them. He was a short bald man, clearly occidental, with a cane in his left hand ~...which he doesn't seem to need, really~ and a couple of well-built men walking behind him, who Domino classified automatically as 'hired muscle'. Glancing briefly at her partner, she saw him studying the trio intently, looking for weak and strong points, just as she was.
"Mr. Cable?" said the short man, smiling a little crookedly. "And miss...Winters, is that it?"
Nathan rose calmly and gestured, inviting him to sit. Domino simply nodded, not liking either the smile or the man. ~That voice...I can't place it.~
"I don't suppose you remember me, dear lady." The man said with a gesture that was meant to be friendly, yet didn't come out entirely right. "I did, however...invest a little sum on you, quite a while ago. It paid off pretty well, if I recall correctly." She keep staring at him, but it was all she could do not to shiver, finally recognizing him. However, her grim 'business mask' didn't flinch when she glanced again at Cable, who was supposed to do the talking. ~I'm NOT giving this little rat ANYTHING! Not a look, not a wince, not even the sound of my voice. He's just a pitiful old bastard...Just stay calm.~
Cable took the cue for what it was. "Is that relevant, Quinland?" At the startled surprise of the smaller man -and the worried glances of both the body-guards- he leaned forward, dwarfing their potential 'employer' and wearing one of his patented 'almost-smiles' that showed a lot of teeth and very little friendliness. "If you don't mind, I would rather discuss right away the contract conditions and the exact details of what you want. I'm sure you realize, we are very busy people."
There was an extremely short list of individuals that could stand impassive at this sight. The bald man seated across the table wasn't one of them. He quickly obliged, signaling one of his men, who approached the table and laid on it a manila envelope. Domino opened it and found a couple of disks, and a small, folded blueprint.
What Quinland wanted was quite simple: the destruction of a group of warehouses that were currently used as the headquarters of another local crime-lord. The payment was right, and the op pretty much easy. Since the rest of the 'Pack were already in the country, everything could be done by that same night.
The job was accepted.
But what Quinland wasn't saying was exactly what freaked out Domino, in a reaction almost involuntary which roots sank deep in her fragmented childhood memories. ~ He's talking about Geouwo's place! Man, I *don't* need this shit, not now...~
She knew Nate could see her mumbling and cursing under her breath the minute Quinland and his 'boys' were out of earshot.
-Madripoor's Hightown, May 14th, 8:20
pm.-
The night was cold for Madripoor's standards, but just the same it felt good to be in the open balcony, looking at the bay and the multi-national group of ships docked in it. Nathan stretched his arms and performed a last scan of the surroundings before strolling back inside the hotel room and open the briefcase hidden inside the closet. It contained a transmitter, the best way to contact the rest of the 'Pack on a clear, secure line without unwanted eavesdroppers. He turned it on with a few vocal commands, and coordinated the group's next moves with Grizzly, half a country away.
A couple of minutes later, he found himself knocking on Domino's door.
"Yeah?"
#It's me.#
"C'mon in."
The room was identical to his own, but yet Cable always had to marvel at how she could make even hotel furniture look comfortable ~...almost familiar~ with only a few touches. It was something he'd never quite managed, not even in the distant future that was now his past. Actually, the first couple of times it gave him a weird sensation, reminding him of-- what he'd lost. He'd just thought he'd get used to it eventually.
After a while, though, this *gift* of hers became something at which he seized at every chance he could get, drinking at the sight of it like it'll fill somehow the void inside him, creating something new around the emptiness of mercenary daily life. To some extent, it did, which was odd. So Domino could be irritating as hell sometimes, but she could also give him peace. A couple of years ago, he'd decided that the strange dichotomy was okay.
It was even nice.
Unsettling, but nice.
When he opened the door, she was standing on the balcony, staring at the ocean, her back at him, the moonlight smoothly grazing over her pale skin. He let his gaze wander for a second on her before speaking out loud, his hand still on the doorknob.
"Just called the others. They're going to meet us at the rendezvous point around two. That should give us enough time to..." He frowned when she didn't move. Something wasn't right. "...Domino?" He closed the door, and walked a couple of steps in her direction, before her voice stopped him.
"I'm listening. Don't worry, I'll be ready."
Somehow, that wasn't as reassuring as it surely was meant to. "Is anything wrong? This should be easy, you know, but if..."
"Don't mother me, Nate." she growled, turning to face him. "I'm a grown woman, and a pro. I know what I'm doing."
Her eyes were haunted, and Nathan could almost feel the pain behind them. ~...Being here is really hurting you, Dom.~ The realization made him more worried that it should. It also made him more daring than usual.
#You're scared, I can tell that much. Why?#
Her eyes narrowed and a flash of anger stab him, so he knew that stating the obvious wasn't going to lead him anywhere. ~Bad time for empathy, there.~
"Want to kindly mind your own *FUCKING* business, Cable?" she spat at him. A minute later, she turned again, facing the bay, and sighed, apparently not really wanting to fight over it. "Look...it's just-- personal, okay?"
Briefly, he contemplated the possibility of probing her mind, but decided against it. ~No. She's your friend, and she's got her own flonqing secrets, just as you do. So *stop* being an idiot and respect that, Dayspring.~
"Okay," he said in a sigh, raising both hands and 'surrending' as the ultimate apology he was willing to make. A few more steps and he leaned over the balcony, beside her, feeling the mild breeze on his face and looking out of the corner of his eye at the way it played with her hair. "Wanna come with me and grab some dinner?"
Domino bowed her head tiredly, rubbing her temples. "I think I'll pass. There're...issues I wanna work on first." Even without telephaty, the hidden 'Please don't ask' was obvious.
He didn't ask.
But still, a smirk and a comment were in order-- "And *I'm* supposed to be the cryptic one?"
Strangely enough, this time Domino seemed to find that statement as amusing as he did, and grimaced as a little smile of her own forced its way in.
He *did* have a sense of humor, after all.
And she was downright cute with that expression on; he couldn't help but notice.
-Somewhere outside Madripoor's
central town. May 15th, 5:30 am.-
The humidity in the forest was almost a tangible thing. The roots and leaves of enormous trees filled every spot of the ground, and a think, knee-deep cloak of mud was the only available walking path. The sight of a man-made structure four stories high, standing over the wilderness was almost surreal.
The Six Pack had found its target.
Whispers--
"...so Kane, you're with G.W. Right down there, you should..."
"...seems pretty easy from here..."
"...Yeah, famous last words..."
"We're going in."
Cable and Domino were operating as usual as a separate unit, approaching the building's equivalent to a back entrance and found themselves at one end of a dark corridor which apparently continued his way underground. It was just as Domino remembered it, and the recognition only made the anger carefully buried inside her surface again, and increase to the next level.
Nathan glanced at her, and the stern look in his eyes told her she'd just earned a 'you're letting your feelings get in the way' speech. This time, she couldn't care less.
~I was right. This IS Geouwo's old 'caged-matches' locale. Damn, how I hope the sonuvabitch is rotting in hell...~
She felt her cheeks burning hot and her fist clenched, the knuckles white and aching at the mere sight of the dark rooms at both sides of the corridor. Because of *this* and the memories it brang, she wouldn't -couldn't- allow herself to open completely-- or to trust...or love-- or call anyplace 'home' ever again, without fear...So she'd just didn't do it anymore. It had hurt too much.
The year spent here had burned her very core and left it bleeding, wanting to die. This place, and the people that used to hang around had once destroyed what little was left of her naive, innocent old self, to the point when it was nothing more than a vague memory today. Even if she have had Logan's trademark healing factor, some wounds just wouldn't heal, ever.
A cold, white blaze of pure hate and fury suddenly rocked through her, and she embraced it, wanting to wash over the dark stains on her soul. ~I wasn't even *thirteen*, you assholes! I hadn't even begun to live, DAMN IT! You had no right...!~
Clenching her teeth, Domino stopped her reverie, unable to translate into words her pain when the ghosts who'd caused it were long gone. She had to-- let go.
*They* weren't there anymore. The job had nothing to do with *them*. They were already dead.
Cursing her weakness, utterly frustrated, she could feel a tear escape the tight grip she struggled to keep on her now misty eyes. To have to live through this again--to feel so helpless...it just wasn't fair! She was supposed to be over it by now! Why the hell did *she* have to feel like that? So cold inside and so empty and so utterly...lost? Like a little, scared girl...~*Think*, you idiot! Use your head!~
Whit a snort, she realized that she'd stop moving, and that her partner's gaze was fixed on her. ~Damn, this is just *great*! Now that I'm turning into a useless, whining baby, he chooses to notice...and I'll bet it's with the fucking 'get a grip!-look' on, of all things...~ She faced him and nearly gasped at the complete change in Nathan's eyes. Now they were...almost gentle.
Without warning, he raised his flesh hand and with a single finger traced carefully the wet path left by the tear from her left eye to her jaw, his eyes never leaving hers.
Softly, he whispered--"...Dom...don't cry."
So softly.
Time stopped, if only to allow the moment to freeze in her mind and the lone tear to quietly splat against the floor.
And for a brief -too brief- instant, she didn't feel alone anymore.
A second later Domino blinked, and her steely gaze was back in place, matching the one showing on Cable's eyes. Not needing words -not knowing of any that could fit- she just glanced at the mini-radar on her wrist and checked her gun and the ammo waistband. Nate's hand was already reaching for his own weapon and his voice was harsh again, with the usual cold, dangerous glimpse in it.
"Let's end this quickly."
Domino nodded and ran down the corridor, at his side. Feeling at home with him.
She wouldn't have had it any other
way.
~owari
(~end)