Metallic Oblivion: Touching The Untouchables

As they cruised along the barren desert, Cirilla sat sulking in the driver's seat while Lex was grooving next to her. It was only four days ago when they fixed the radio in the truck, but apparently, that’s all Lex needed to drive her crazy. He’d been collecting CD’s for years before the two met, digging discs out of scrap heaps and old cars, but only now did he have the means to use them again. His first pick was Business As Usual by Men At Work, an album known as a classic in a time long past. It’s the only thing he’s listened to since the radio started working, much to Cirilla’s dismay. Now, when they went out, all she ever heard was…

“Do you come from a land down under! Where women glow and men slumber! Can’t you hear, can’t you hear that-” Cirilla hit the eject button on the CD player, her finger shaking with anger. In an instant Lex had stopped dancing, and was looking at the hanging disc confused.

“Hey what gives?” Lex asked.

“My sanity that’s what’s giving,” Cirilla remarked. Lex sat up and tried to put the disc back in, but it refused.

“Great now it won’t even go in. Nice one Cirilla,” Lex sat back in his seat and sang the song in his head while he tried to figure out what had crawled up Cirilla’s ass. 

“Give me a damn break Lex, we’re here to do a job not rock out,” she snapped back.

“Jesus Ciri we’re looking for one guy, I think if my music is really that distracting then I’m not the problem here,” Lex smirked in false triumph. He always took her silence as submission. In reality, it was her way of being nice.

“Maybe next time I’ll leave the truck at home. You can sit on your ass and enjoy your music while I’m working,” 

“Like you could survive a day without me,” Lex rebutted, even though it did sound like a good way to spend a day.

“I don’t need you or anyone else you jackass! I’d be just as well off without you!” Cirilla snapped again. Out in the distance, there was a small brick building, half of it destroyed and exposed. As he left the building, Cirilla could see their target struggling to stuff items inside a bag. The building was on top of a hill too steep for the truck to get up.

“Eyes up we can fix the radio later,” Cirilla told Lex.

“Fine, alright,” Lex got his revolver out and gripped the door handle. In his head, he made a note to pick up the talk later.

“Wait, you stay back. I wanna try out the rifle,”

“Cirilla don’t be petty,”

“I’m not being anything, just hang back, I’ll be fine” Cirilla told him. Lex seceded, but he stayed ready to jump out the truck.

As they pulled up to the hill, the man heard the sound of wheels on sand. He whipped around, and saw the black pick up stop a few feet away. In an instant, Cirilla jumped out the car and ran to the back of the truck.

“Oh fuck!” he shouted. He dropped his bag and ran away, figuring the few items left to his name were less important than his life. As he reached the edge of the hill, he hit the ground and slid down the side.
“Fuck!” Cirilla shouted, thinking she would have more time. As she came to the pickup bed, Cirilla jumped up and grabbed a scoped rifle. She marched back to the front of the truck, and spotted their target again. His clothes were torn to shreds and stained with blood; Cirilla figured whatever corpse he stole them from must’ve been one hell of a bastard. She brought the scope up to her right eye and set the crosshair on his head. From the car, Lex watched her work, ready to jump in if he needed her.

“You’re welcome Cassie,” she whispered to herself. She took a deep breath in, and steadied her aim She followed his path with the rifle, and as she pulled the trigger… 

“What the fuck?” She looked at the rifle and tried the trigger a few more times, but nothing happened. 

“Godammit Cassie!” Cirilla lowered the gun and tried to open the chamber, but the lever was stuck. 

“You’ve gotta be goddamn kidding me!” she kept trying to force the lever up but it wouldn’t budge. In an instant, Lex leaped out the car and ran after the target. He tried to hit him, but he was too far to land a good shot. “Come on you lousy piece of shit!” Cirilla jerked the lever, and finally got it up. But as she pulled on it again it refused to go back.

“Oh come the fuck on you rickety goddamn-” The chamber moved back, shooting out an empty shell. From the inside pocket of her long coat, she took a long bullet and slid it in the chamber. Cirilla pushed the lever forward and threw it down, ready to take the shot. She put her index over the trigger, her heart racing and her mind clear. As she looked through the scope, she lined up the crosshair with the back of the target's head once more. Cirilla took a deep breath in, and…

“Bullseye,” 

The echo of the shot rang through the air as he fell to the ground. Cirilla lowered the gun and looked at his limp body, satisfied with herself.

“We good?” she shouted. Lex approached the body, walking now rather than running. He stopped a few feet away and looked into the relatively large red hole in his head. Lex gave her a thumbs-up and bent down to grab his feet. Cirilla threw the rifle back into the truck, and after a minute she made her way over to him. She grabbed their target by the arms and the two carried him back to the truck.

“Ok, on three,” Lex said as they stood next to the pickup bed. He counted up, swinging the body with Cirilla as he did, and on three they threw the body onto the truck.

“Thank God for Cass. Easy work is getting harder and harder to come by these days,” Lex said as he walked back to the passenger's side of the car.

“Yeah, good guns must be in short supply too,” Cirilla complained.

“The damn rifle jammed on me, I’m gonna have to check it out when we finish,” she continued as she got back in the car.

“We can talk to Cassie about it, he’ll probably be willing to fix it,” Lex responded while he peered into the DVD slot. 

“And let him dock it from our pay? We have our own tools for a reason, I’ll be alright fixing it myself,” Cirilla made a u-turn as they went to meet their employer.

“You know,” Lex started as he opened the glove box, “One of these days you’re gonna need to realize that giving you help is not the worst thing someone can do.” He pushed past the guns and loose bullets to find a worn screwdriver.

“In your eyes maybe,” Cirilla leaned back in her seat, focusing on driving instead of whatever point Lex was trying to make.

Lex stuck the screwdriver in the CD slot and held down the bit of plastic keeping the disc from going in. He took the CD and watched it slide back in with joy. The disc started from track six, but Lex skipped forward to track eight; Touching The Untouchables. He leaned back in his seat, watching the hills of grey sand roll by as he took in the cool sounds of guitar riffs and drum fills.

The sun came over the horizon, its gaze beaming down on the world with intensity. Sweat ran from their browns, trickling down their face at an aggravatingly slow pace. Cirilla scratched her thick curls, desperate for a moment of relief from the heat, while Lex was sitting under the cover of sun visor in a relative calm. As they passed over the dead terrain, in the distance they could see a small settlement starting to take shape. It wasn’t a large town; the population was only two hundred people, but they were far more fortunate than most others. The town was a small web of one and two-story buildings, with a large brick apartment building sitting in the middle of it all; this building was where Cassanova and his lackeys worked, known simply as Cassie’s Complex. On the roads, one could see the metal posts and faded yellow lines that represent a time far gone. The town was very pompously named Cassopolis, after its much more pompous ruler Cassanova.

“I hate coming to this shit hole,” Cirilla exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her face again. 

“I can’t stand it either. It’s like there’s always a horde coming through here,” Lex agreed, “Not to mention these God awful people. But we don’t have to waste any time getting the bounty.” Surrounding the city was a thin crowd of stalkers, their bodies rusting and their metal limbs practically hanging from the rest of them. Lex felt his heart tighten as they drove, his mind still lingering on Trixie’s death. Among them were a few brave, stony faced guards wearing overalls and dingy t-shirts. They worked away at the horde with worn iron axes that were almost too sharp to look at. As they noticed Cirilla and Lex return, a few of them gathered ahead of the truck and cleared a path into the city, hacking machines as flashy as you could with a heavy metal object.

“Thank you!” Lex shouted out the window as they passed. They continued their work in silence, not bothering to acknowledge him. 

Inside Cassopolis, the people lived in a bubble and were for the most part satisfied with the life Cassanova provided them. He was a notorious arms dealer, his supply coming from an old government storage facility, of which only he and his men knew the location. Coupled with his touch for engineering and gunsmithing, he has made a name as the leading supplier of weaponry in the desert. Besides his notoriety and skill, is known for being a charmer of many, earning him his name. It was common to see women at his door begging to talk with him at night, and to see those same people stumbling home the next morning. Go anywhere in the desert, and you're sure to run into someone with a story about one of his long, amorous nights.

As they drove through the town, Cirilla and Lex couldn’t help but be jealous of how well off the people were. The buildings were repaired with old rusted metal which could barely hold together, but everything only had a light film of dust on it, as opposed to the sand-ridden towns Lex frequented, and their own home which was in constant need of repair. As the people going about their day peered into the pickup bed, Cirilla and Lex noticed the tears in their clothes were minor, and that their faces had few scratches and wounds on them.

“This place has always been so… I don’t know. They think they’re so much better than us, I’m sick of it. These walls, this road, it doesn’t put them above us. None of it does,” Cirilla said as they rolled down the street. One of the citizens turned toward the truck and gave Cirilla a dirty look.

“You’re not shit you fucking coward!” she shouted out the window.

“Hey can you not!” Lex reprimanded. He smiled and waved at the person before they were out of sight.

“Sorry!” he called out behind them. They spent the rest of the ride in silence, Cirilla too upset and Lex too embarrassed to speak. They restarted the album, all while Cirilla held back the urge to rip out the stereo. It wasn’t long before they arrived at Cassie’s Complex, and parked next to the small fleet of armored trucks parked in front. They got out of their pickup and started unloading their bounty, dragging him by the legs past stacks of crates and boxes sitting out front. As they brought the corpse to the door, a pale, lanky white guy wearing a dark green jacket a size too big came through the old, creaky double doors of the building. His blonde hair was dirty and messy, and it looked as though it had never been cut once in his life. This, of course, was the esteemed douchebag that ran all of Cassopolis, Casanova himself.

“Ciri! Lex! How are you two?” he yelled as if they were truly friends.

“It’s Cirilla. We got the guy now where's our payment?” Cirilla asked, not wanting to spend another moment standing in a cesspool of pretentiousness.

“Hey c'mon now, you have time to spare. It’s inside, just give me a second. I wanna see how he looks,” Cassie walked around to the back of the truck, his face full of sinister glee. As he met the corpse, his face lit up with content.

“Good, good. Cirilla hit the shot I presume?” he asked as he peered into the wound, which had gotten dirty and grotesque during the drive.

"Yeah. Yeah I did," 

"Great work as usual. Anyways, bring him in, there’s a lot we need to discuss," Cassie led them into the building as they dragged the corpse behind them. Inside, it was loud with the sound of tools and machinery. There were people walking around in grey shirts and brown overalls, carrying crates, tools, and guns all over the place. They all dipped in and out of the dozens of halls and rooms, picking up and putting down things like a colony of ants. Anyone inside the complex was either working or fucking; with the former group giving their lives to keep Cassanova’s operation running. He relied on them to scavenge parts, make deliveries and act as muscle when needed. The trade off was first pick of food and a soft mattress to sleep on at night. 

The workers were all busy with a thousand different tasks, but were able to expend enough attention to side-eye Cirilla and Lex.

“Your workers never seen anyone collect a bounty?” Cirilla asked.

“No they have, they just don’t like either of you,” Cassanova responded. Lex and Cirilla both shrugged it off, neither of them having much respect for arms dealers and weapon manufacturers either. As they came toward the stairs, Cassie walked up to two of his bigger guards and motioned toward the body.

“They’ll take it from here, you two follow me upstairs,” Cass instructed. They let go of their bounty, and nodded to the guards as they took up his legs and arms.

“Up to your stash room then?” Lex asked as they approached the stairwell 

“No, we’re going to my office. There’s something we need to discuss,” Immediately, Lex looked at Cirilla with concern. Even with as open as he was, he still knew better than to trust someone like Cassanova. In a land of war, and hatred, he had based his entire life around making a profit from continuous bloodshed. Cirilla herself looked at his treatment of society with disgust; even by her standards, he was a jackass among jackasses. Making sure people die was a passion of his, and seeing bodies gave him a kind of ill joy that would make any sane person sick. Whatever he wanted from them was definitely gonna be bad, and it was definitely gonna be messy. But neither of them could afford morality at the moment; ammo was tight and supplies were running low. Their stock of food and weapons was running lower daily, and without a lucrative job, they’d be shit out of luck within days. So without a word, they followed Cassie up the stairs, selling themselves just to stay alive.

As the three of them went up the stairs, they passed small groups talking amongst themselves about recent gossip, and developments made in their work. They paid no mind to Cirilla and Lex, who were themselves too wrapped up in their thoughts to be bothered with whatever bullshit about new machines and men in dust storms was being spread. The second and third floors were filled sounds of heavy machinery, while all that could be heard on the fourth floor were squeaks and soft moans, with the occasional shout arising further off.

“Don’t worry about them, the girls like to entertain themselves while I’m busy. They know I like it when I come back to-”

“Stop. I don’t wanna hear another word, please,” Cirilla interrupted. Lex threw up a little in his mouth as images of what Cassanova did in his free time filled his mind involuntarily. As the trio came up the last flight of stairs, Cirilla threw up a little as well and spit over the banister.

The fifth floor, Cassie’s office, was more open compared to the other floors. There was a desk littered with parts, bullets, and guns on the far side of the room. To their left were a series of work benches and tables sitting next to the window, and to the right were two women sleeping on a mattress on the floor surrounded by clothes and blankets. Dead in the middle of the room was a round table with chairs scattered around it rather than placed by it, and there were boxes, crates and spare parts left all over the floor.

“Ladies, you’ve gotta go, I’m doing business!” Cass yelled as he came into the room. The women were slow to get up, but eventually they dragged themselves out of bed, picked up their clothes and left.

“You two have a seat, this is going to take me a while to get through,” Casanova said, sitting on the table as he waited for them. The two grabbed a chair and sat down. Lex scanned the room while Cirilla kept her hand near her revolver.

“I assume by the gaping hole in his head that the bounty gave you no trouble?” Cassie asked playfully. Cirilla only nodded, but Lex had much more to say on the matter.

“It would’ve went a lot smoother if the rifle you sold us worked better,”

“Oh faulty is it? That’s a shame, really. It's gonna run you a bit to fix it but I’ll sort that out later. Anyways-”

“It’s gonna run me a bit? You sell us a broken gun and you expect me to pay for the repair? And you want a favor from us too?” Cirilla asked, suddenly enraged by his mockery of an offer.

“The gun worked when I sold it to you sunshine. Whatever you did to it since then isn’t on me. And second, I’m not asking you for a favor. I’m giving you another job. A more complicated job, but with a lot more benefits too. So if you keep your goddamn mouths shut, maybe that rifle you broke is about to become a lot more irrelevant Ciri,” Cass explained.

“It’s Cirilla,” Lex said before she could say anything in response. she looks at him for a moment, stunned by his tone. She always appreciated when Lex showed a little backbone, but that he’s never done that before.

“Look, do you two want the job or did you come here just to waste my time?” Casanova asked.

“Why did you bring us here is the real question?” Lex asked. Cass gave a frustrated sigh, and tried to stay focused on the task at hand.

“You two are so difficult. If you weren’t so useful I wouldn’t let you set foot in this town. But then, I guess you don’t like me much either,” Casanova said, his voice much lower now. He brushed the hair out of his face, then began the briefing.

“In the past few days, at least five of my convoys have been robbed. Not only was it a blow to my inventory, it’s practically a declaration of war. Since then business has been slower than usual, and soon I’m going to start losing profit,” Cassie began.

“The jackasses that did it were the Tan Hat Mercenaries. I’m sure you’ve heard of them,”

“Heard of them? I’ve seen them with my own two eyes, those aren’t people you want to cross without good reason. I once saw two of them blow away a heracles with nothing but grit and their magnums,” Lex interrupted.

“Exactly!” Cass continued, “And as long as they have my crates they’ll not only be deadlier, if my assumptions are correct, they mean become my rival in business. With the kind of muscle they have… well they could ruin me. And I cannot have that.”

“Losing to the Tan Hats means losing everything. My weapons, my town, my lovers, my way of life. You two understand right?” Cass asked.

“Your bullshit power struggle means fuck all to us. What do you need and what are we gonna earn?” Cirilla responded. Cassie smirked. 

“Right, sympathizing with hired guns is pointless. Well, what I’ve managed to find out is where they’ve got my crates at. It’s an old mansion a few miles north of here. Inside there’s at least a dozen of them setting up shop. Simply put, I need you two to go in, clear the building and get my crates back, but there is one issue,” Cass stood up, and walked to the other side of the room. Under one of the tables, he grabbed a heavy black vest. He brought it back to where Cirilla and Lex were sitting and placed it on the table.

“Cirilla, go ahead and shoot this vest for me. Lex you too, both of you try and make a dent in this,” Cass said. Cirilla moved to draw her revolver, but Lex stopped her.

“Don’t bother, you can’t,” Lex said.

“I can’t?” she asked in disbelief.

“The vests, they all wear them. They’re too thick to break through with anything we have,” he informed her. Cirilla looked at him, waiting for the punchline. When he didn’t say anything more, she stood up and drew her revolver anyways. Cassanova leapt back as she blasted the vest.

“What the hell!” As she lowered her gun, she saw all her bullets had been flattened against the fabric.

“I told you. With that armor, they’re practically untouchable,” Lex told her, smiling to himself as he did.

“Shut up,” she grumbled back. She put her revolver away, feeling embarrassed.

“They would be invincible, if it weren’t for my ace in the hole,” Casanova said, motioning for them to follow him. Lex stood up and crossed the room with them. On the way, they stepped on a few loose bullets, Lex almost tripped over a pistol, and a pair of panties got caught on Cirilla’s boot. As they got to the workstations, the two were intrigued by what was sitting on top of them. On the tables, a few of their parts still scattered, were two double barrel shotguns.

“Lo and behold. They’re break actions, top quality. I’ve modified them to be powerful enough to blow right through their vests. And if you’d just give me a second,” Casanova said, picking up parts and too, as he finished one of the guns. After a minute, it was fully assembled. 

“Here,” he said as he handed it to Lex, “And here are some shells,” he continued as he pulled two shotgun shells from his jacket pocket. Lex threw the gun open, slid the shells in, and threw the barrel back up. He took a few steps forward, then without hesitation, he shot at the vest and blew it off the table. At the same time, the recoil hit him, nearly sending him into Cassie’s table. The vest sat on the other side of the room, having suffered a sizable hole in its center. 

“Holy shit this thing has some bite!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah it does. Here’s hoping it’s enough to get me my merchandise back,” Cassie said as he went to work on the other gun.

“So that’s it? You want us to go, shoot up the place and drag your crates out?”

“Well if you want to disregard the drama of it all, then yes, that’s all I’m really asking,” Casanova responded.

“Ok. Make an offer,”

“My offer, Cirilla, is that you each get your pick of three things out of my crates once they’re secure, plus a couple of rations. And I guess I can fix that rifle while you’re gone to sweeten the deal,” She stood there for a moment, thinking about what type of guns the crates could hold. She’s seen Cassie’s inventory before, and by her standards they were worth having. Worst case scenario, the branding alone would sell the guns if they turned out to be bad. But regardless, they needed to eat today. Cirilla looked up at Lex. He nodded as he tried to ignore his hunger.

“Alright, we’ll do it,” Cirilla announced.

“Great. Here’s your gun Cirilla. I expect these back after the job,” Cassie said as he handed her the other shotgun.

“I’m also giving you both a vest. Their magnums won’t be able to break through, so don’t worry. Clearly it only covers your chest, so you should still watch your heads. You’re gonna feel the bullets too, so don’t think wearing one of these makes you bulletproof,” Cassie continued.

“How you two get it done is up to you really, so long as no Tan Hat makes it out that building alive. I’m trying to send a message here, so don’t be afraid to lash out. I’ll meet you two outside when it’s done,” And with that, Cirilla and Lex had their next job. After clearing up the details, and putting on the vests, Casanova wished them luck and sent them away. The two came back down the stairs brandishing the guns, looking much deadlier. All the workers looked at the guns in awe; they had heard whispers of a new project from those close to Cassie, but to see his craftsmanship at its finest, it left their jaws gaping. Later on, when they heard of what had happened to the Tan Hat Mercs, they wished they could have been there to see the shotguns at work for themselves.

Outside, Cirilla and Lex put the guns in the pickup bed, and handed the rifle off to one of Cassanova’s workers. They got back in their truck, wanting to be done before sundown.

“Hey,” Cirilla said as she got in the car, ”Thanks for having my back up there,”

“Yeah of course. The last person I’m gonna let insult you is that jackass. I think you forget sometimes that we’re partners Cirilla, not strangers,” Lex told her as she started the car. His heart sank a little when she said nothing back.

"So you're not gonna… I don't know, try and explain to me why the Tan Hats deserve business too or that I should have some sympathy for Cass or some other moral bullshit?" Cirilla asked.

"Nope, today a job is just a job. Cassie isn't worth the sympathy and the Tan Hats are better off dead anyway," Lex leaned forward and hit play on the radio. Cirilla gave a sigh of relief as she turned the truck around.

"Great. Let's go get paid," Helpless Automaton came on the truck speakers, prompting Lex to start bobbing his head around. The song played as they left the town, and headed back into the endless expanse of the desert.

“Hey Lex…” Cirilla started “Turn on that other one. The ummmm, touch something. The one we listened to earlier,” Lex stopped what he was doing and laughed.

“What happened to fuck me and my music? Your sanity not giving anymore?” Lex asked.

“You want the truth?” Cirilla asked in return. Lex nodded.

“It’s the only one I can stand. THe rest are fine I guess but that one is just… I don’t know, better. I don’t care all that much, but if I’m gonna be forced to listen to anything, I'd rather listen to… the untouchable whatever,” she explained. Lex stared at her for a second, trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. He thought of the hours they had spent in the car, listening to that same album over and over. He could remember small, agitated looks, but it wasn’t until today that Cirilla finally snapped. After a moment, Lex skipped forward to the song and turned up the volume. As the sound kicked in, and the intro started playing, he sat back and smiled. Cirilla tapped her finger along to the drum beat, giving her own small smile as the main rhythm of the song came in.

“Hey Cirilla,” Lex said, prompting her to turn toward him, “Thanks,” She cleared her throat, and didn’t say a word back. They spent the rest of the ride in silent, humming and tapping along to the steady melody.

It was midday by the time they arrived at the mansion. The sun hung high in the sky, looking down at the two as they arrived on the scene. As they came over a small hill they could see the house start to take shape in the distance. In a time too far off to be real, it could have been considered a great palace, but now it was more akin to a pile of dry bones. The old wood was rotting and weathered, and the stone would’ve crumbled with a touch; it was a miracle that a dust storm hadn’t toppled over the entire building yet. The windows were all shattered, and from them hung torn curtains. Inside, the wallpaper was peeling and flaky, and the carpet was dark with decades of dirt. As Cirilla and Lex examined the landscape, what struck them most was the operation taking place. 

They could see Tan Hats moving crates from Cassie’s convoys, their faces dripping in sweat while they heaved boxes into the house. Their hats which gave them their name barely moved as the wind blew dust across their faces. Their boots made deep prints in the sand, and their magnum revolvers swung back and forth in their holsters. Cirilla thought they looked dumb in their brown leather jackets, while Lex was trying to calm his anxious thoughts.

“So you’ve seen these guys before?” Cirilla asked.

“Yeah, a while ago. Back when I-” he stopped for a moment as if a thought had suddenly attacked him.

“Before we met. I've only fought a few of them, but it was one hell of a shootout. Almost took a bullet to the chest that day,” Lex gave a quick laugh as he thought back on the memory.

“Well, I’ve only ever heard stories. But they don’t look like anything but dickheads in jackets. Their iron looks serious though,” Cirilla said, watching them take more crates inside.

“You never wanna be on the bad end of one of their magnums. Those things could shoot the blade off a mincer if they wanted it too,”

"What's our plan then, since you’re the expert today?" Cirilla asked as she turned the car off.

“We’re outgunned, outmanned, and I’ve never been inside one of these big houses before. I think our best bet is to get the drop on them,” Lex explained.

“Stealth with shotguns. All those books you read are doing you wonders,” Cirilla remarked.

“Well at least I can read,” he replied. She gave him an irritated side eye, then went back to surveying. 

“We’re only getting in with stealth,” he continued, “Once we’re inside it’ll be an all out fight, so we’ll have to be smart,”

“That still doesn’t explain how we get inside. I don’t imagine they keep the back door unlocked,”

“Well…” Lex muttered as he looked around for an idea.

“If you can’t think of anything, we can always ram them with the truck. It’ll have to eat a few bullets but-”

“The crates! Look, down there!” Lex leaned over to the middle of the car and pointed down at one of the armored trucks. In its bed were a couple of crates with their lids removed.

“You’re joking”

“I kinda wish I was. But there’s no way they suspect us to stow away with their merchandise, and our weight shouldn't be much more than the guns,” Cirilla weighed the options in her head. Of all the goofy things they’d done, this was sure to top the list. Sneaking in like that would be silly, weak, and for her degrading. But beating the Tan Hat Mercs meant outwitting them, and as much as she hated the idea, she knew no sane person would ever think of it, let alone put it into practice

“Ok, I’ll hide the truck behind the hill. You get the guns and wait for me,” Cirilla said. Lex got out of the truck, and took the shotguns from the back. Once he was ready, Cirilla backed up and parked behind the hill they were on.

Lex gave Cirilla her gun, and the two made their way toward the trucks. They stayed low and moved slow, being careful not to draw attention to themselves. Once they were close, Cirilla grabbed Lex’s shoulder and motioned toward the armored truck. She made a series of hand gestures, while Lex watched intently. Once she was done she took her hand off his shoulder, and the two moved immediately. Lex looked under the car, and watched as two Tan Hats walked toward the bed of the truck. They climbed onto the truck bed, and after a minute, walked away carrying a crate together. Once they were far enough, Lex gave Cirilla a thumbs up, and started climbing onto the front of the truck. He slowly crept over the hood, staying low as he made his way to the back. Once he was standing over the truck bed, he put the shotgun into the crate, then climbed in himself. He pulled the lid over his head, then hoped for the best. Cirilla lay under the truck, waiting for the Mercs to come back for another crate. After about four minutes, once the Mercs had come and gone, Cirilla followed his lead. As she climbed into one of the crates herself, she covered the box with a lid. As she waited to be moved, her mind raced with a thousand different thoughts. If she couldn’t find Lex, there was no way anyone else could. But if they took them, and placed them in different rooms, dropped one of them, stacked them on top of another crate, or simply lifted the lid, they’d both be screwed. Though, seeing as the plan was already in motion, she told herself there was no point in worrying. So as Cirilla felt herself being lifted up, she wrote off her thoughts and sat as still as possible. While they walked back to the mansion, the two Mercs bickered back and forth.

“Jesus Christ these crates are heavy,”

“It’s a big wooden box, what did you expect?”

“Yeah I know what it is, the others one were lighter is all I’m saying,”

“Well I’m holding most of the weight anyways. Just shut up and lift with your back more. Or your legs, however the saying goes. Whatever you aren’t using use it,”

“Alright jeez, you don’t have to be an asshole about it,”

Cirilla breathed slowly as the crate rocked back and forth. 

“We must be going in” she thought, which was confirmed by the sound of chatter and boots on hardwood. They click clacked for a while, all around the mansion. They took tens of little twists and turns, making the mansion feel huge and dense. Even though she was relatively safe in the box, Cirilla couldn’t help but hold onto her shotgun. Something felt amiss, or rather out of place. Then again, when was the last time she hid in a box with a shotgun? For Lex a stunt like this might be a safe bet, but for her nothing was more certain than a head on fight. With an assault she knew how the Tan Hats would react, what they would do first, how she could gain the advantage. Combat was a challenge of power, of brute force. But this was a game of wit, the one thing she was never entirely confident in. So for her to be playing the long game, it was agony. Maybe that’s what was wrong. Maybe.

Eventually, her trip drew to a close. The two stopped for a moment, and had an exchange with someone near them. Then Cirilla heard a door open. They walked inside the room, traveling down for a while, then they set the crate down on the floor with a thud.

“Alright, only a couple more to go now. We should be done before sunfall,”

“Yeah, as long as you stop bitching this’ll be easy,”

“Alright man, fuck you too,” The two went back up stairs, the sound of their boots echoing in the dead air of the basement. Once the door slammed shut, Cirilla pushed on the crate lid and stood up

There was no light in the room, save for what came through the gaps in the door. She held on to the side of the crate, slowly climbing out of the box.

“Lex,” she whispered as she felt around the room. Any noise would alert the guard at the door, so rather than go stumbling around like an idiot, Cirilla stood next to one of the walls. She waited for a moment, and after a while, she heard a crate on the other side of the room start to open.

“I’m over here,” Lex whispered back. Cirilla felt her way toward him, and let the sound of his footsteps take her to the crate he was exiting.

“Plan worked didn’t it?” he said smugly.

“Gloat about it later, the hard part’s still coming,” Cirilla replied.

“Let’s go then,” THey traced the wall to find the stairwell. Cirilla followed him, holding her gun tight. Once they reached the stairs, they used the light coming through the cracks in the door to see. They crept up the stairs slowly, hoping that the creeks were too quiet to be noticed.

“Those two morons will be coming back any minute. It’s now or never,” Cirilla said.

“You ready to touch the untouchables?” Lex asked in response. Cirilla looked at him and rolled her eyes.

“Joke’s tired Lex, put it to rest,”

“Alright fine,” Cirilla came up the last few steps with no regard and knocked on the basement door.

“What the hell?” she heard a muffled voice say on the other side. In an instant, the guard threw open the door, and in that same moment, Cirilla aimed her gun, pulled the trigger, and blasted him away. Before he could say a word his body flew back; parts of his chest flew onto the walls, while the rest of him was blasted a couple of feet away from the door. Cirilla was kicked back by the recoil, and would’ve fell down the stairs if it weren’t for Lex. He propped her back up, and the two came out into the hall. A swarm of Mercs came from around the mansion, their magnums drawn and their hats placed firmly on their heads.

“What the hell did you do to Willy!” one of them shouted.

“We spun his ass, and we’ll do the same to you if you don’t hand over the crates,” Cirilla announced. They tried to hold back, but a few of them couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so fuckin funny!” Cirilla yelled.

“The fact that you’re about to die for nothing bitch,” one of the Tan Hats said. They all raised their guns with swift finesse and didn’t hesitate to start unloading on Cirilla and Lex. The two dove toward cover, Cirilla going forward and flipping over a table in the hall, while Lex went right and ducked behind a pillar. As the bullets rained, Cirilla made a series of frantic hand movements, all of which Lex understood.

“Alright, alright I got this,” he muttered to himself, and after a moment he sprang forward from cover. There were two Mercs coming down the hall, and two more running behind him from the opposite side of the house. With deadly speed, Lex shot one of the Tan Hats in front of him, leaving two gaping holes in his chest.

“How the hell is he getting through our vests!” the other Merc yelled, giving Lex a chance to reload. Shot Lex in the chest twice, before having his shoulder and neck blown away. He crumpled to the floor, gasping for air while he leaked red. As the other two Tan Hats came down the hall, Lex moved to the other side of the pillar, staying low. As they crossed the main hall, in the midst of all the gunfire Lex heard two distinct shots. Peaking over the pillar, he saw the two Mercs laying on the ground, their stomachs open and bleeding all over the floor. Their cries were ugly, and the sight of them made Lex gag. But he barely had a moment to process it before he heard more footsteps. Right behind him one of the doors burst open, and from it came three more Tan Hats with their revolvers drawn. Lex let the surprise hit him for a moment before he sprung into action. Before they could notice him, he shot off two of their legs with one blast, sending what was left of them crashing to the floor. The last one left looked down and blasted at Lex, who rolled out of the way as he took a few more rounds in the chest. Lex brought himself up in a crouched position, and aimed up at the Merc. With one pull of the trigger he blasted him away, sending half of his head up onto the ceiling in a mess of red and pink.

“Fuck!” Lex yelled, his breathing speeding up.

In the main hall, Cirilla was taking cover behind a flipped-over table, pushing more rounds into her shotgun.

“What the fuck, she hasn’t dropped yet!”

“Is she wearing one of our vests?”

“This bitch is crazy!”

The Tan Hats kept trying to move up, though anyone who got close enough was greeted with two rounds in their body, and a manic scream of fury. Though she was hanging in for the time being, her table was riddled with holes and reaching its breaking point.

“Fuck fuck think,” she growled to herself. As the table began to come apart, she looked around the room for anything she could use as a shield. On either side of the hall, there were much longer tables, and while they were built better, they weren’t big enough to hide behind. The constant sound of gunfire made it hard to focus, and Cirilla was already too stressed to think. Looking down at her shotgun there seemed only one clear option; moving back would only put her in a tighter spot, while pushing forward might give her the opening she needs.

“Alright, it’s all or nothing. All or nothing. All or nothing,” Cirilla stood up and started blasting at the crowd of Tan Hats, sending their hats flying and blood everywhere.

Lex ran around the corner, and rolled as he saw two more Mercs coming down the hall. He didn’t hesitate to shoot, though the lack of cover made the spot impossible to defend. As Lex rounded another corner, he saw all the Tan Hats shooting at Cirilla, who was sending sprays of red back at them. Three of the Mercs were down the hallway in front of him, who hadn’t realized where he had gone. He pulled out all the rounds left and reloaded his gun, realizing that if he didn’t jump in the fight they were both doomed.

Cirilla was covered in blood, and had resorted to using a body as a shield. She had taken so many bullets that her vest was less effective, and the force of taking a hundred little hits had become too much to bear. The Tan Hats were horrified watching their friends be paraded around and used like meat shields, though out of spite continued to press forward, further forcing Cirilla’s hand. 

“Who the fuck!”

“I thought we got the other one!” 

From the right corridor, Lex peaked around the corner and started unloading on the Tan Hats. In a matter of seconds their brown jackets were covered in red from the blood of their fellow members, and as bits of body hit their face and stuck on their sleeve, they were too horrified to react properly. With the support, Cirilla dropped the body she was holding, and let loose on the mercenaries. The way they reloaded was swift, almost inhuman, and they shot without regard for what part of who they were hitting, leaving mangled gross corpses on the floor in a growing pool of red. It was very much a massacre, one that anyone else wouldn’t have been able to bear the sight of.

“Fuck, not like this not-”

“You fucking maniacs!”

“Fall back to the-”

As the last of them fell to the floor, Lex lowered his gun and looked at Cirilla. She was turning over bodies with her barrel, and hitting anyone who still looked conscious. The two waited for a moment, and when no one came, they decided to catch their breath. Lex sat away from the bodies, while Cirilla stood in the middle of the hall, the soles of her boots drenched with blood.

“I… I… I can’t stay here. We have to get this over with I… the smell. I can’t stand this smell,” Lex said, his face getting more green with every word.

“Keep your head Lex. We’ll be done soon, but I need your head in this still,” Cirilla told him. He flinched at the word head, but after a few breaths, Lex had somewhat composed himself again.

“Here, I’m sure you’re out,” Cirilla handed him ten more shells as he stood up. He took two and slid them in his gun, and tucked the rest into one of his pockets.

“And, thanks,” she added before the two started going down the hall. Even though it was just one word, it was comforting to hear in the middle of all the mess they were enduring. 

They wandered around the mansion for a bit, following the maze of doors and halls until they found the stairs. They deduced that their leader must be hiding out upstairs, waiting for them to either die or leave. Along the way they ran into a few pairs of Mercs, who were quickly dispatched with a shot to the stomach Cirilla entered a couple rooms, taking sapre magnums and any revolver ammo she could find. Lex kept himself calm with thoughts of the house, and what the people who lived in it might have been like. After walking and looting for a while, the two drew near one of the last corridors they hadn’t followed. Up ahead, they could see that the room it led to was spacious, and housed the staircase they had been looking for, it being perpendicular to the hall. 

“Hold it right there!” As they passed through the threshold, From his left, Lex heard a revolver click. As he turned, he saw three of the Mercs aiming at him, one of them smiling as they tilted their hat toward him. Cirilla saw two more Mercs approach her on the right and one more come down the stairs.

“You two fucks thought you could take on all of us and win? Who the hell do you think you are?” the Merc on the stairs asked.

“I’m the bitch that’s about to blow your head off!” Cirilla yelled. She looked at Lex, with her eyes rather than her head, and gave him a quick look. He responded with a wink and put his finger over the trigger of his gun. 

“Cassanova sent you, didn’t he? That fucking slut pig. Piggy wants his guns back doesn’t he?”

“He also wants you all dead for crossing him. And as you can see, we weren’t hesitant to satisfy,” Cirilla responded as she wiped the blood from her boots onto the floor.

“You idiots are fighting for nothing. And you’re gonna die for nothing. It’s a damn shame you didn’t know before. But I guess business is business. Fellas, let em have it,” and as the words came out his mouth, Lex snapped to his left and grabbed one of the Tan Hats by the neck, while Cirilla fired off both shells immediately. He held him close as the other Mercs shot him to hell, before realizing what had happened. Lex let his body hit the floor and raised his shotgun, but as he moved to shoot…

Cirilla was on the floor, beating one Mercs with the butt of ehr gun while the other was sliding down the wall bleeding when a sharp scream and a shot broke her rageful trance. Lex has fallen to the floor, his shotgun sliding across the ground as he bled from his arm. Without a thought, Cirilla drew her revolver, and killed the last Merc with a shot to the head.

“Oh… oh fuck,” the Merc on the stairs muttered as he ran up to the second floor.

“Lex!”

“Don’t let him get away, go!” Lex shouted as he brought himself to sit up. The bullets in his arm were sizable, and they had left two large gaping wounds. Cirilla stared at him for a moment, trying to weigh the options. She thought hard, and turned cold as she considered which was worse; losing Lex or failing the job. In a moment of remembrance, she dug into her pocket and set a roll of bandages next to him before dashing upstairs.

On the second floor, she ran after the Tan Hat, dodging chairs and pushing past random bits of old furniture he threw to keep her back. He turned left and disappeared around a corner, seemingly vanishing. But as Cirilla approached, she realized she couldn’t hear his frantic footsteps anymore.

“Conniving bastard,” she thought. Before she turned the corner, Cirilla dropped her gun, and slowly drew the combat knife from her boot. She pressed herself against the left wall, inching toward the corner. As she came to the bend, she listened for a moment. Once she heard a shaky breath, she swung the knife around and cut down

“Fuck!” the Merc yelled as she sliced open his leg. He crumpled to the ground, and started writhing in pain. Cirilla came around the corner, her eyes bloodshot and rabid. She bent down and climbed on top of the Merc as he tried to fight back. Cirilla punched him in the face then put her knife up to his throat, ending his struggle.

“Where the hell are the guns!” Cirilla shouted.

“You… you’re crazy,” he said weakly.

“You’re gonna die choking on your own blood if you don’t answer the question,” Cirilla told him.

“Bait… they used us as bait… they used us…” he looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then down at Cirilla. In a burst of energy, he drew his magnum and shot Cirilla in the chest four times. She could still feel the sting from being shot point blank, but she didn’t flinch. As he stared at her, fear sitting in his eyes, she stabbed him in the hand, forcing him to drop his gun.

“Answer me motherfucker, or I will carve out your eyes and stab you in the fucking brain!” Cirilla yelled with sincerity.

“Talk!” she punched him in the face.

“Talk!” she punched him again, square in the nose.

“Talk dammit talk!” she wailed on his face, turning him another shade red with each hit. Even as he tried to speak, she kept hitting him, her rage unfocused. It wasn’t until her hands were shaking and dripping red that she allowed him to confess.

“There… there are no guns. It’s… a staging ground, to… throw off Cassanova. We never had… the arms…” As he coughed up blood from his disfigured mouth, he tried to say something else, but Cirilla had gotten everything she needed. She stood up, soaked in red, and took a deep breath in. She was still for a moment, and suddenly let out a sharp, passionate scream of fury. With tears streaming down her face, she left the man to die, and went back down stairs.

Back on the first floor, Lex was sitting against a wall, his trench coat off, and his arm messy but bandaged. Next to him was his shotgun, and further off was a pile of vomit. As she came back down, he noticed Cirilla’s face, and stood to check on her.

“Good, you can walk. C'mon, we’re leaving,” Cirilla commanded.

“Leaving? What the hell happened up there? Are you okay I mean-”

“It’s a fucking sham. There are no guns here. It’s a staging ground, whatever that means,” Cirilla explained.

“Holy fuck,” he held head in his hand, “It means that this isn’t where they’re distributing from, it’s where they set up distribution. Like practice. They probably have a real arms center somewhere or multiple small ones where the crates are being hidden. These assholes never had anything,” Lex explained. His mind reeled, thinking of all the people he killed, the people he mutilated, the bullets he took, the pain Cirilla went through. All their effort, gone to shit.

“What the fuck do we do now?” Cirilla asked, her head throbbing.

“There’s nothing left for us here. We might as well meet Cassie outside, cut our losses,” Lex said as he turned to get his things. Cirilla went to help him, stifling another scream as she picked up his trench coat.

Outside, the sun hung low as the sky faded from pink to black. In front of the mansion, leaning on a grey van was Cassanova, waiting patiently for his hired muscle. He was holding a pistol, and whistling as his hair blew in the evening wind. As Lex came out leaning on Cirilla, his trench coat across her shoulder, he quickly snapped to attention.

“What the hell happened, where are my crates!” Cassie shouted, walking briskly toward them as he waited for an answer.

“What happened is you set us the fuck up! This whole operation was bullshit!” Cirilla yelled as he drew near.

“What the hell are you-”

“It’s a staging ground. They never had shit, not here at least. It was a trap for you and whoever you sent in there,” Lex explained more calmly.

“Oh… oh fuck. This is getting serious. Goddamn. I… ok. Ok here’s what I’ll do,” Cassanova said. He turned around and motioned for Cirilla and Lex to follow.

“If I had known it was a trap I wouldn't have put you up to it. You two are valuable assets, There are plenty other iron slingers to expend on something like this. But now that I know the Tan Hats mean business, I’m going to need help,” Cassie explained. As they got to the van, he lead them to the back and opened the door. Inside was a small stockpile of guns and ammo, and a dirty cot in the corner.

“You two technically did complete the job, so I’ll compensate you. But for his arm,” he continued, pointing at Lex’s bullet wounds “I’ll take him back to Cassopolis to patch him up, but you have to promise me that when I need your help again, you’ll do it. For free,” Instinctively, Cirilla fixed her tongue to refuse, but before she could, Lex agreed.

“Yes? What the hell do you mean yes?” Cirilla asked.

“Cirilla I’m gonna die if we don’t go. I don’t wanna be under his thumb either but we don’t have a choice. Look, I know I didn’t do much for us today but I’d like to live to do more. I mean I… I know you’re itching to get rid of me, I get it. But I can do more, I can make up for this. Next job I do the heavy lifting, and I won’t get fucking shot. I promise. Just follow us with the truck, it’ll be ok,” Lex whispered to her. Cirilla stood there for a moment, not sure what to say. She thought about the day; the empty crates, the Tan Hats, the rifle, the vests. She considered how much they had lost, and she tried to imagine how she would’ve handled this job alone. As much as she hated it, every scenario ended with her dead. 

After a moment, she looked up at Lex and patted him on the shoulder.

“We… we did good today. Both of us. I don’t owe you anything, and you don’t owe me anything. Like you said, we’re partners,” and with that, she walked back toward the truck. As Lex climbed into the van, he tried to decide where the two of them stood. Today was a mess, and what was supposed to be one quick job became a pointless massacre. But as he turned it over in his mind, he realized what was most important about that day. He realized that for everything lost, there was something gained, something he’d been holding out for. As the van door shut, Lex allowed himself to relax. The images of guts and plasma flying through the air would haunt him that night, but he would be comforted by the fact that, even if it were temporary, he and Cirilla had grown closer. As the sun disappeared over the horizon, and the two cars crossed the empty grey dunes, their bond grew, and ever so slightly, and they lived easier. 

In the truck, in solitude, Cirilla pressed play on the stereo, and after a few seconds, the car came to life with the sound of music.

Next time, one man’s trash will become another man’s treasure.