river_meimei | (no subject)

Entry tags:

duo,
field trips

(no subject)

Moon Base Station is, apart from certain restricted-access sectors, built for tourism. Some tourists, like Duo, are just killing time during a layover; others come here, to the cheap hotels or the expensive ones with a real-time video view of Earth, to spend their whole vacation within the base's walls.

There's a casino area somewhere not too far away, but River and Duo have opted for one of the more family-friendly bits instead. It's a shopping area, full of glittering storefronts and small food-court nooks, with an intricately tiled floor and fountains every few dozen meters. Tiny potted trees show off the station's opulence -- this is space, after all, where trees are hard to come by.

River's already found herself cotton candy somewhere.

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"You're monitoring," River says, halfway between question and statement, and just as calm. Her eyes flick between Duo's face and her cards, and back to him.

"Forgot the ante," she adds, and pushes in hers.

"Yeah," Duo says, matching River's ante without even looking at his cards.

"Okay, here's the deal. There's a seriously wanted criminal a couple tables away from us. We need to finish this hand, turn in our cards, and get out of Dodge without looking suspicious. No problem, right?"

"No problem," River echoes.

She doesn't sound worried. Cheerful's not the word, but it's close -- her tone is light, everyday, untroubled.

"Plan goes smooth."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Duo mutters. He is dubious about the power of positive thinking.

Their last hand passes quickly, and they promptly hand in the cards and make for the door.

River follows Duo's lead. She doesn't look in Dario Nove's direction, and her expression is, if not entirely normal, at least a combination of preoccupied thought and curious crowd-gazing that shouldn't look out of place in a tourist destination like this.

But she also manages to keep herself between Duo and the smuggler until they've stepped through the casino door.

Duo moves away at a nice clip as soon as they're outside. He's already tapping at his phone as he looks for a corner to duck into. He wants to keep an eye on the door.

Hopefully there isn't a back door.

"Stay put. I'm calling this in."

"I'm staying," River agrees amiably, and studies the wall with some interest while he ducks into said corner.

Fortunately, she's picked a wall with a subdued light show rippling under the translucent wallpaper. (River would probably find tastefully neutral paint just as intriguing, but passersby might find it a little odd.)

Duo's half of the conversation, once he has gotten onto a secure channel, goes something like this:

"Yeah, Captain Maxwell here. Listen, I need to talk to the Commander-"

"What? Maneuvers? On the-"

"You don't get it. I'm on your station and I was just staring at Dario Nove."

"Yes, the guy from the-"

"Look, just get me in touch with your Commander pronto, okay? I'm not on duty, I don't have any back-up, and I've got a civilian with me."

"Yeah, I'll hold."

He puts a hand over the voice pickup and rolls his eyes at River. "Not to disparage my fellow Preventers, but I see why they put this girl on the Moon."

River makes a face behind his back at the word civilian.

"Try a reassignment of specialties," she suggests, a little drily.

"Yeah, maybe she ought to try- hello?"

"Commander," Duo says with some relief. "Yes, I'm absolutely sure it was him. I couldn't have been ten meters away." He listens, with a look of careful concentration on his face. The connection isn't all that good, even considering how many receivers it's bouncing off of.

"Two hours? Sir, didn't your Agent tell you I have-"

"But-"

"No, sir, I'm not questioning your order," Duo says through gritted teeth. "But your office will have to contact my Commander on L2, because I'll miss my connecting flight. And if you can arrange putting all take-offs on standby at a moment's notice..."

"Yes, just in case. I'll be in touch." He snaps the phone off with a grimace.

River studies him.

(This is one way in which it's much easier to be a space pirate.

Or a self-directed gunslinger.)

"Interdepartmental cooperation can be a bitch," he says with a sigh. "I just keep telling myself it's worth it. They want me to keep an eye on him while they cut their EVA maneuvers short and catch up with me here."

Duo shrugs. "Sorry we have to cut our trip short. Let's find you a door."

Blankly, "Skirt's okay."

She can still kick people in the head if she needs to. She's wearing good boots!

He blinks at her. Time's wasting, River! Why are you talking about-

No.

Oh, no no no.

"You're kidding, right? Please tell me that you're kidding and you do not seriously want to stay."

River returns his look blankly. The general effect is, ...Yes?

"You need backup," she says, very patiently.

"Sometimes the plans don't go smooth."

Duo would really like to throw his hands up in the air and swear a lot, but that would attract more attention than he wants.

"This plan is already not going smooth. We were just supposed to have a few hours of fun before I caught the red-eye back home!"

Insert more stifled gesticulating here.

"River, I know you're awesome. But this is my world! I brought you here, and I'm responsible for getting you back safe!"

"No," River says, gently. "I am."

Beat.

"You're my friend. It's in the reciprocities."

They do not have time to stand here and argue about this. She's not going to go of her own free will. And if he ditched her, she'd either get lost, or follow him without him knowing. Neither of those options appeal.

"All right. Fine. But if you stay, you do exactly like I tell you, okay? I have to play this by the book, as much as I can."

"Got paperwork."

River's still steadier and more serious than her usual wont. But this comment is, if anything, faintly sympathetic.

"Okay. He's on point and intel."

"Good. Okay." Maybe something will go right tonight, then. "I need to get back to the counter I left my case at. Wait here, and if he leaves, don't follow. Wait until I get back and tell me which way he went. I'll be right back."

Duo starts off at a quick trot down the hall, looking purposeful but unconcerned. It's a good act.

He doesn't look behind him.

River watches him go for a moment, her face still and listening.

Then she turns back to the holographic wall, tracing a finger slowly along one light display. When the touch yields only wallpaper, she drifts across the hallway to the other wall, where a series of photos of the Earth from space is more traditionally framed.

River can occupy herself for quite a while, looking at things like this. (Looking at anything, really. But with some things, she can be pretty sure other people will find them plausibly distracting.)

It isn't very long after that Duo returns, up some weaponry, zip ties, and other such useful gear. Or at least, useful when you want to apprehend someone. The cut of his suit thankfully hides his shoulder holster, even though he is pretty skinny.

"He still there?"

As soon as he asks, Dario Nove steps out of the casino and heads down the hall. Duo slants River a dry look.

"Yes," says River peacefully, overlapping Nove's exit, and returns Duo's glance in kind. Delicately, she touches the frame of the picture she's looking at.

Are you going to share any of that gear when Nove's not looking, Duo, or does she get to stick to punching people out?

He might, when they are not standing in the hall. Tipping his head at River, he also offers her his arm again. A couple wandering down the hall is much less suspicious than two people following you.

"I want to see where he's going," Duo says, not quite whispering in her ear.

River cocks her head as if listening to the air around them (but then, there's discreet music piped into these hallways, after all), while she lets Duo steer them down the hall. Her hand rests comfortably and absentmindedly inside his elbow.

"Got an appointment," she says, just a little dreamy. Her eyes slide to Duo, though her head doesn't turn. "He's not fashed."