Up In Arms

Chapter 11

I loathe today. Not because it is an arbitrary day of the week, not because of some kind of weather, not because of an event occurring on this day any previous years. I loathe today because we need to go out and gather more leads, which means getting dressed up, drinking, and having endless men trying to flirt with me and more than a few calling me a 'Tsundere'.

I'm not the only one.

Winterfall was sitting with her face on the dining table, hair splaying out all around her as she undoubtedly internally cursed her youth. Thunderclap was sorting through the missions we had received while Lockheed and Tenpin carefully avoided the rest of the base outside of the wing of 'dorm' rooms. Thanatos was with us in the kitchen, cooking a chicken broccoli alfredo for the group and trying to cheer Winterfall up.

"Your smoky-eye was flawless last time you went out." He said with a look of focus as he strained the boiled broccoli and stirred it into the sauce.

"If you don't want questions asked, go for a sexy look. A dress that's modest in the front with a low back and some heeled boots. Bring your hair all to one side and keep its natural curl, some sort of subtle gold hair glitter could help, but that's just my opinion."

"You're a diva." She stated flatly, to which he responded by pointing at her with the handheld strainer.

"I know how to make a good disguise, there's a difference."

Thunderclap entered the room at this point, bee-lining for the stove to peek at what he was making. The food had started emitting an enticing aroma, drawing her in. Thanatos attempted to fend her off with one arm while the other was making sure the pasta sauce didn't burn.

"Come on, Thanatos!" Thunderclap tried to juke around him, but the kitchen was too small, and she bumped into the counter opposite the island. "The hair dye's smell kills my appetite!"

"What kind of product do you use?" He asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.

I tuned out when they started throwing around brand names and techniques, wondering if there was any way I could sit out for a second time in a row.

While we all put on disguises, four of us go out and grab the contacts in the clubs while the fifth stays behind in the appropriate temporary meeting room. I had gone with no disguise the night Thanatos contacted us – except for a change out of my mission outfit, as I have difficulties dying my hair and I needed different sets of colored contact lenses.

If I used my current sets, I would appear to have heterochromia iridium, which tends to attract tipsy men and deter customers. How Thanatos got his unique hazel-flecked contacts so quickly is a mystery to me.

"Silvershot, what're you going to do?" Thanatos suddenly asked, redirecting his attention to me after he finished planning out something for Thunderclap's hair.

"I don't dye my hair." I replied, spinning a discarded magazine around with my finger to read the headlines. It was Guns & Ammo, most likely left behind by one of the boys, and there was an article about new technology implemented into rifle scopes, further increasing their ever-increasing accurate range.

Winterfall confirmed my statement with a hum and Thanatos grew quiet, barring any noise he made while finishing the Alfredo and serving all three of us bowls of creamy pasta. I glanced upwards from the article to see him regarding me, and he smiled when we locked eyes, shooting me a wink.

After we ate, the other two girls practically dragged him to the disguise rooms.

One was filled with key pieces of clothing we didn't keep in our own closets. Trench coats and pieces of uniforms, accessories, suits, and dresses we wouldn't wear on a day-to-day basis. The other had a few pieces of modified equipment from a hair and nail salon, as well as cupboards filled with dyes, wigs, contacts, and other types of makeup.

I, on the other hand, relocated to the living room, taking the magazine with me and casually flipping through it while he undoubtedly helped Winterfall pick out her outfit and Thunderclap dye her hair. Scanning the articles without absorbing the words, I rolled around different ideas as towards how and where to start sharing information with Thanatos.

He had shared his scars with me, and I needed to return the action somehow, share more information about myself than he had shared with me. If I wanted to continue using him as bait, I needed him to be willing to work with me.

Thanatos had informally joined our group for two reasons, to offload his guns, and learn more about me. He was making good headway on his first task, so I needed to get going on that second one.

"Silvershot and gentlemen!"

I looked up at Thanatos' voice, glancing momentarily at the Twins who had joined me in the living room ten minutes ago. Our arms dealer was standing in one of the doorways, looking mighty proud of himself.

"I present to you, Thunderclap and Winterfall!" He stepped aside, and our two teammates entered the living room, both of them looking ready to hit the town.

Thunderclap wore a simple little black dress and appropriate heels, but her hair was down and transformed into a star-speckled gradient, fading from light blue at her waist level up to a white that then faded into a deep purple at the top, mimicking the fade from where the earth's atmosphere turned into space.

Winterfall had followed Thanatos' advice from earlier, a deep red backless halter top dress coming down to her mid-thigh, a small black belt matching her heeled mid-calf boots. She did a small twirl, my eyes catching a flash of color below her left shoulder blade, and I wasn't the only one.

"Winterfall, is that a tattoo?" Tenpin asked, eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise.

The redhead smirked confidently before turning to let us get a better view of the design. "What, this thing? I've had it for years. Got it when I was fifteen."

It was a downwards-pointing sword, with a gust of silver wind emerging from the handle and wrapping around the blade once before fading away at her spine, carrying small black-lined snowflakes within the breeze. It was faded with age, backing up Winterfall's claim, but I doubted that only three years would fade the tattoo that heavily.

Lockheed got out of his seat when Winterfall turned back around, and he opened his arms to Thunderclap who immediately accepted the hug. "You look amazing."

"It was all Thanatos. Did you know he worked in a hair salon?" Thunderclap answered, motioning to the man in question who shrugged and shook his head.

"You came up with the design. I just made it happen." He looked towards me and smiled, offering a hand with a wink. "Come on, Silvershot. Your turn."

I rolled my eyes but tossed the magazine aside, ignoring his offered hand and making my way towards the disguise room.

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