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"Shut the ******** up!" The metal object was shoved further into Candace, forcing her head up. "Don't make me pull the trigger. I swear I will. Besides," the object bit into her skin as she was forced to look up higher, into the shadowed face. "You're a real cutie. Maybe when this is all over we can have a bit of -"

He stopped, looking away from her and up before he began to drag her back into the alley she just left. "Don't you dare say another ******** word," he hissed, "It'd be a shame to blow your pretty little face off."

The object was jabbed forcefully into her chin. "What the ******** so funny, b***h?!"

"Oi! Shut the ******** up!" A voice forced the man holding her to drag her around, spinning towards another. The other man wasted no time in drawing a gun and pointing it at them. "********! I knew you'd be here."

"Don't make me pull the trigger!"

"b***h, I don't give a <********> about the c**t. I know you made a deal earlier. Pass it over here and I won't ******** shoot you."

The hand holding onto Candace released her to move behind her, the hand rubbing against her back and --

Oh. No, he was just pulling something out of the pocket on the front of his hoodie. The object was tossed to the other who caught it, glanced at it, then shoved it into his pocket. "Thanks," the gun didn't waver as the trigger was pulled, the muzzle of it flashing a bright light once with a silenced phew!.

The man holding onto Candace collapsed, something warming her back as his heavy dead weight slid down her. The gunman leveled his weapon at Candace. "Don't take it personal," he began, "But I can't have any witnesses. Jake already dealt with the cop back there, so don't think about cryin' for help."

The gun was moved to one side as he gave her a wide shrug. "It was supposed to be a quick meet. Come here once the deal was down, swoop in after to take them both out. It's too bad that cop had to show up and make us move early. After all, the dear officer was only reporting to a break-in. I wonder if you're hiding anything in that pretty little basket of your's...?"

The man quirked a grin, hidden by the shadows. "My, my, aren't you a spunky little one? I think I might want you for myself." He pointed the gun towards her, snorting dismissively at the threat. "Oh no, sneakers. I'm ********' trembling. Use those pretty little shoes to kick the basket over here."

As Candace talked back to him, the man tightened his grip on the gun. "My, what a big mouth. I wouldn't mind fi-- what the ********>" His eyes went wide as she summoned her weapon, unable to recover as she kicked the weapon from his unresisting fingers. He went down easily, arms around his gut on reflex. He lay winded on the ground.

"You ******** slut," he wheezed as he shifted, then stopped as he held himself still. ******** s**t! This b***h was crazy. Or, ********, maybe he was the one going crazy.

The package was easy to take. It was a package of some sort. Candace opened it to peek inside.

Ah. Drugs. How... typical.

"Heh. Stupid broad, that s**t's worth more than your ********' hide," he rumbled, staying down and keeping his hands where she could see them. But the package was tossed back at him. Behind her, she could hear him get up and run. Nothing came up behind her, the footsteps fading into nothing.



Back in the house, Lance was alone. The tools he had brought with him were packed up, already delivered back to Deus long before she returned. He looked at her shirt as it was tossed onto the table, his eyes flickering to her before moving up to meet her in the eyes. "Looks like you had some fun. Got my knife?"

Lance pocketed the knife, then gestured towards the back of the house. "Let's go. I saw what went down, and I don't want to be around when the cops come sniffing. We need to pull out and get this portal shut down. The last thing we need are civvies discovering us, y'know?"

He began to move off in the direction he indicated. "Otherwise... By the looks of things you tripped a silent alarm. If that didn't happen, you probably could've snuck by them without being seen. Otherwise? I would've had you gone back in there to pay for these things." Lance gave her a stern look. "Think about it. Flowers like those cost... what, fifty? One hundred or so? The florist's a hard working miss, just like us. And with what went down? She's probably going to close shop and move in order to keep her business open while the investigation goes on. Not to mention you're going to be a suspect for a bit."

He paused, taking a moment to activate the portal to take them back. "Even if you avoided the cameras, the florist did see you. And with those flowers gone, the cops'll probably get your description from her. You're going to be a wanted woman for a bit. Otherwise..."

Lance gestured towards the basket. "While I don't mind you topless, roll your shirt up and hide them in that basket. The less people see the blood on you, the better. Even if you didn't cause it, that blood'll raise too many questions. Otherwise... in all honesty? I don't know. You've left evidence, you've left a description, you've gotten blood on your shirt somehow... I'm not a good judge, but in my opinion you could use a lot of work. Let's go back and get out of here."