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“So, are you guys going to tell us what the fuck you want?” Adebayo doesn’t sound scared, just angry. Adrian isn’t scared either, of course, but he really hates being tied up, and he wishes he had his mask on.
“We heard Peacemaker was alive. So, we’re here to kill him.” Bloodsport says before clearing his throat. Adrian absently thinks that the others would call this an awkward silence. Or, maybe they would, if they didn’t all have guns pointed at their heads. Bloodsport shifts his eyes over to Peacemaker. “Obviously.”
“If it was that obvious, you would have done it already.” Peacemaker retorts, like he isn’t even worried. Adrian shoots him a thumbs up, but the girl with the rat on her shoulder shoves the barrel of her gun deeper into his personal space. Rude.
“Jesus Christ,” Harcourt mutters under her breath. Adrian isn’t sure how much help he’s gonna be in this situation.
“We helped you assholes!” Economos suddenly shouts. The guy in the polka-dot pajamas and the flight helmet jumps a little. “We were assigned to your task force; we’re the ones who knocked Waller out so you could fight Project Starfish!”
“Begging, John? Really?” Harcourt says in a deadpan voice, cutting her eyes in his direction with a raised brow.
“Fuck off,” Economos retorts immediately, as if he’s driving the van and Chris and Adrian got too loud. “Besides, I prefer bargaining.”
“Wait, you did?“ Harley Quinn starts - she’s the only one Adrian recognizes aside from Bloodsport - whirling around with her own dual pistols. Bloodsport makes a funny noise - sleepy? maybe annoyed - when she takes her gun off of Adebayo, and points his other wrist-thingy in her direction.
Adrian decides that if all this blows over, he’ll ask Bloodsport where to get them. Wrist guns are so cool. They could really cut down on his reload speed, and the reduced weight would be a good way to- His train of thought is interrupted as Economos starts talking again.
“Yeah, we did! We saved your asses! Well… just me and Harcourt.”
“Gee, thanks, John.” Ads rolls her eyes.
“I’m being honest!”
“Shut up!” Dubois roars, breaking the side conversation in half. “We’re only here for him. I don’t care what you did or didn’t do.”
“Cool, cool,” Economos says quickly. “Sorry, Chris. Shutting up.”
“Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t blow you away right now, Pissmaker,” he snarls from beneath his mask. Adrian thinks it might be cool if it didn’t look like such an Alien rip-off.
“I get it, okay? He’s a dick; I know that. That doesn’t mean he’s the same guy you fought in Corto Maltese.” Harcourt sighs, although Adrian can tell that she’s trying to figure out a way to take them all out, just like he is. The shark - the shark that’s been quiet so far, but that’s wearing a tiny felt mustache that Adrian is dying to ask about - is kinda throwing a wrench in every plan he’s thought of so far. He really wishes he had a chainsaw.
Bloodsport practically barks at her. “I didn’t ask you, Blondie! And it sure looks like the same fucking asshole to me.” He steps closer to Chris, and Adrian feels himself pulling at his restraints without ever deciding to. Bloodsport is in Peacemaker’s face now, his voice almost at a whisper. “You killed Rick Flag. Killed him for being a good man.”
The way Chris’s head drops, the way his jaw clenches, makes Adrian feel nauseous for a moment. He forgets that he promised Ads he’d stay quiet almost instantaneously. He pulls forward against his restraints and yells at Bloodsport. “Probably because he sucked! Or he was a criminal like you guys! What kind of name is that, anyway? Rick Flag. Sounds like a fucking loser!”
Suddenly, there’s a glowing ball in his face and little tiny hands all over him. The girl with the rat on her shoulder has more rats, apparently, and they’re all over him in moments, covering almost every bit of his body. He looks down and is immediately disappointed.
“Aw, why don’t they have vests?” He looks back up at Rat Girl. Her eyebrows are tight, which usually means anger, but sometimes it means he needs to explain more. “That one has a vest, and it’s so cute. I bet these ones are jealous. Maybe you could get more.”
Everyone’s staring at him for a moment before Chris speaks to Bloodsport again. “Look, Dubois, he doesn’t know anything. Don’t listen to him.” Bloodsport - Dubois, Adrian self-corrects - scoffs, but Chris turns to look at Adrian. “He wasn’t a criminal, dude. And he didn’t suck. I shouldn’t have killed him, I mean-… Dubois’s right. It seemed like the right thing at the time, but he was just trying to be a good man.”
Peacemaker looks like he’s about to cry, or do face muscle exercises, and his voice cracks at the end, but Adrian tells himself that Chris just needs to cough.
Rat Girl and Dubois look at each other for a minute before everyone drops their weapons. “We’re gonna go have a meeting. Nanaue?”
The shark looks over. “Nom nom now?” Adrian laughs. He wasn’t expecting the shark to talk. Harley Quinn gives him a look that’s either amused or confused, but he can't tell which. Maybe he should let Ads make him those flashcards.
“No, not yet. If any of them tries to leave, then you nom nom,” Dubois answers. Nanaue nods, which is interesting to watch.
“Can I ask a question first?” Economos says as they start for the door. Dubois stops and turns around.
“I suppose you can ask. No guarantee you’ll get an answer.”
Economos nods at Pajama Guy. “You’re dead.”
Pajama Guy blinks. “Is that… is that a question?”
Adrian sighs. “No, it wasn’t. Sorry, he’s not always good with people.”
“Excuse me?!” Economos says in that tone he uses a lot with Adrian.
“Economos.” Adrian says calmly. He’s been getting a lot better at patience. “You said you had a question. You were probably going to ask about the shark’s mustache.”
John groans. “I was absolutely not going to ask about the goddamn mustache, no. I’m just wondering, uh… how Polka Dot Man is here.”
Rat Girl looks over at Pajama Guy, or Polka Dot Man; Adrian self-corrects again. He wasn’t too far off. Rat Girl gives her friend a small smile. “We got lucky.”
Polka Dot Guy nods. “My dots came back together.”
Economos nods, apparently willing to accept that as an answer that makes sense. “Well, congrats, man.”
The criminals leave them alone in the dark, cramped room, with the shark, although Adrian can still hear them arguing behind the door. His stomach feels a little funny. He’s not scared, he doesn’t even get scared, but he’s pretty sure that Dubois is the one who shot Peacemaker in the throat in Corto Maltese. Part of him wants to rip Bloodsport apart, and the rest of him just wants to get his friends away from these people.
Except maybe Rat Girl. She seems kind of cool, and he’d be happy to help her make more rat vests if she asks. He sewed his Vigilante costume himself, but the sewing skills he learned doing it haven’t really come in handy again since.
“Nanaue, can you just let my friends go? They’re not part of any of this shit.” Chris is talking to the shark. It seems like they’ve met before, so Adrian guesses Nanaue was part of the “super secret Corto Maltese stuff” that he’s not allowed to ask about.
Nanaue shakes his head, which isn’t quite as interesting to watch as the nod was. “Look tasty.”
“Well, that sucks, ‘cause you can’t eat them.” Chris sniffs, his head high. “Besides, you promised you don’t eat friends. They’re my friends, which makes them yours by proxy. So there.”
The shark shakes his head again. “You not friend. You try kill friends.” he pauses for a moment, then shrugs. Adrian thinks it’s the most interesting gesture so far. “You do kill one.”
Peacemaker’s head hangs low, and Adrian can’t look at him anymore, for some reason. He tries to focus on the conversation happening in the next room. He couldn’t hear them at first, but it’s now clear that discussing things has quickly become arguing about things.
Adrian still can’t make out any words, and it’s kind of frustrating to listen and only hear a syllable every now and then, so he gets bored of that pretty quickly.
“They’re wavering,” Harcourt says, breaking the silence they’d kept since Nanaue’s accusation. “My guess is they’ll come back in here in about ten minutes with the decision to give Chris another shot, and then they’ll add some shitty little stipulation to it, and we’ll all walk.”
Adebayo stares at Harcourt for a moment. “Isn’t that man in there a world-class assassin? You really think he’s gonna just… let us all leave?”
“If it was just Bloodsport, then yes,” Harcourt sighed. “But he’s soft for Ratcatcher 2, and maybe Krill and Quinn.”
“And Nanaue,” adds the shark.
“Besides,” Adrian cuts in, to make sure everyone knows who’s in charge when Peacemaker is indisposed - he risks a glance in Chris’s direction, but he’s still staring at the same spot in the floor, and his eyes are kinda wet. “Peacemaker and I could take Bloodsport easy if we were working together. It’s Harley Quinn I think we should be worried about. I hear she’s very unpredictable.”
“Nah,” Adebayo shakes her head. “I’m from Gotham. Harley’s actually pretty chill, like, as a person. She might be-” she cuts herself off and glances briefly at Adrian for some reason. He can’t figure that one out. “Y’know, but I think she’ll see reason. Chris has changed.”
Adrian wants to respond, but as if she’s been summoned, Harley Quinn is flouncing into the room, a smile on her face. She sits cross-legged in the middle of them, craning her neck to look around.
“Sorry about the wait. I figured we needed to chat, y’know? Clear the air,” Harley smiles at each of them in turn, giving Adebayo a little wave as she passes over her. Adrian wonders if maybe they’ve met before. Maybe that’s why Ads knew she could be trusted.
When she gets to Chris, the smile abruptly slides into a frown. He meets her gaze, and then breaks it. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
Harley nods, the frown softening a little bit. “Rick Flag was my best friend,” she says softly.
Her best friend.
Adrian inhales sharply at the words. He was her best friend? Adrian knew that if someone killed Peacemaker - his mind nearly trips over the idea - he’d seek revenge in a heartbeat. He’d cut a thousand throats to avenge Chris.
Harley’s looking at him now, and he looks away before she can. He hopes she doesn’t kill Peacemaker. Maybe she’ll decide to kill Adrian, instead. It would be more fair that way, since Rick was her best friend. He looks back when Harley is addressing Chris again and he’s safe from her gaze.
“He was my friend, and I miss him, and I’m angry that you killed him.” she sighs. “But I’m also tryin’ to be a better person. And after today, I think you might be too.”
Chris looks at her for a long time, and Adrian is just about to remind him to answer her when he speaks. “I really am.”
She finally smiles at him, and nods again. “Cool!” she says brightly, before yelling in the direction of the door. “Told you guys!”
Dubois grumbles a bit as he opens the door, but he still trudges over and loosens the ropes around Chris’s arms and ankles.
The 11th Street Kids are untied too, and suddenly, Adrian has hands all over him again. This time they’re Peacemaker’s hands, and they’re gently ghosting along his arms and chest, almost like he’s looking for something. Adrian isn’t sure what’s going on, but he can’t make any noise for some reason, and he’s still being examined. Chris lifts Adrian’s shirt, and he finally remembers to speak.
“Dude? Uh… What are you doing, exactly?” Chris moves his hands away immediately, and Adrian feels their absence more than he was prepared to.
“Nothing. Checking for rat bites.”
“Oh, they didn’t bite me. And if they did, I’d be fine. Rats have little mouths,” Adrian smiles, but he wishes Peacemaker wouldn’t make him look so weak in front of all these criminals. Chris just looks at him for a moment.
“Yeah. Yeah, makes sense. Just checking.” He clears his throat, his face a little pink, and Adrian is suddenly aware that everyone’s looking at them. He tries to figure out why for a moment before deciding to just go with his gut.
“No rat bites,” he assures them. “And they wouldn’t even bite that hard, anyway.”
But the attention is already off of him again, as Bloodsport grabs Peacemaker by the collar and shoves him against the nearest wall, probably to yell at him again. Vigilante sprints forward, but stops when Chris gives him a look over his assailant’s shoulder. He remains battle-ready, but it doesn’t actually seem like Dubois is trying to hurt Chris.
“I’m letting you off here, you understand that? Out of the goodness of my fucking heart. But if you fuck up again, I will know.” He reaches up and wrenches his own helmet off. “Look at me in the goddamn eye, Peacemaker. Fuck up again, and I’ll know, and trust that I’ll be right there to kill you. Understood?”
Adrian feels himself tense, but Chris meets Dubois’s gaze and nods solemnly. “Understood.”
Bloodsport finally lets him go with a sharp nod. The farewells prove to be a bit awkward, but Harley Quinn gives Adrian her number - in case he ever wants to talk about anything, and he has no clue what that's supposed to mean. He still makes note to tell Chris later. Maybe he'll think it's cool.
In fact, it's the first thing he brings up on the van ride home, when everyone's being weird and quiet again. "Well. It's good to know those guys are ready to help us out the next time we get into trouble."
Adebayo looks up at him. "That is completely not what happened in there, dude."
Adrian just shrugs. It's not his fault if he's the only one who likes making new friends.