Three Strikes [✓]

Long Day

"Bastard..." Naomi muttered under her breath as the guards took up the rear to make sure that all of them proceeded to the hangars like they were told. Nobody put up a fight as they exited the main building and hurried over to the hangars. Everyone seemed almost excited, and she could easily understand why. For the first time Naomi had heard of, they were being allowed to leave the base and get a change of scenery. They were all chomping at the bit with the idea of blowing up an enemy base, after all, their excess energy had to have some sort of outlet.

All the hangars had been opened prior to their arrival, their planes not spotless but far cleaner than they'd been in a while. Dust and a marred paint job, coupled with the sin lines on their tail made it clear that they weren't an actual squadron. Naomi entered the hangar that held her plane, and was surprised to see that the others hadn't done the same. Instead, she spotted Count talking with Champ and High Roller and Tabloid and Full Band talking about something close by. It wasn't long before the group of convicts noticed her watching them and decided they'd bring the conversation her way.

High Roller led the way, a grin on his face and the first to speak up, "Heya, Trigger. Some mission we got ahead of us, eh?"

Naomi looked at them. "Uhh, I guess so?" High Roller seemed to be holding a piece of paper with something scribbled onto it. She tried to get a good look at it, but it was too messy and she couldn't make out any of the writing. "What's that you've got there, High Roller?"

He held up the paper, still smiling. "What, this?" High Roller asked nonchalantly, waving the paper around for a moment. "These are just the bets on who's gonna be surviving today's mission. I don't like to waste any time gettin' everyone's slots down, y'know?" He skimmed over most of his writing before he folded it up and stuffed it in his flight suit's pocket. "The smart money's on you, Count, and Tabloid, it would seem. Gotta say, I'm a bit impressed. You interested in earning some extra cash, eh, Trigger?"

"Sorry," Naomi said flatly, glaring at the odd look she was getting from Count and Champ. "I don't gamble with someone's life, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't let me bet on myself." No surprise that they were betting on people's lives here, but did they actually think that it was amusing? She looked outside at the guards and their dogs, nodding towards them. "Shouldn't you guys get to work? I'm pretty sure they're just looking for a reason to throw you into solitary again."

Count glanced over at them and then rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "You serious? They're in on it, too. They've even worked out a system with one another for the entire purpose of betting on us. Trust me, if they want the money then they leave us alone until High Roller pays up." He was in a much better mood than he had been the previous night, perhaps over his defeat by now.

"So they let you get away with anything until High Roller pays them?" Naomi asked, not entirely believing him. "That seems awfully irresponsible of them as guards, y'know. What happens if High Roller doesn't decide to pay up, huh? What happens then?"

"Then they throw us into solitary," Tabloid replied. "After which they search High Roller's cell and take most of the money for themselves. It happened a few times before, so we've gotten pretty quick about handing over any money." Naomi studied him for a moment. He was the most trustworthy person here, in her eyes. She wondered if he placed a bet, too. Something about his carefree attitude and the smile he gave her after he answered didn't strike her as coming from someone who was so greedy for money that he'd bet on his squadron's life.

"Yeah, but they always throw us in regardless. Y'all know that well as I do," Champ added in annoyance.

Full Band nodded in agreement. He put on a sad, tired look and hunched his shoulders, making him look a lot older than he was. "There's always the off chance they'll let us off easy, but that's only if the betting goes the way they want it to."