A Friend in Need or How NOT to Represent Your Country[M]

[Tammika]

The best way to get into someplace you weren't supposed to be, was to make it look like you were supposed to be there. At least it was a plan of action that had never failed Pim. Being the same height as your average fifteen year old hume, twenty-two year old Pim blended in well, no one paid attention to kids, especially not in the busy port city of Huevendo. Pim wove between the strolling crowd down the side walk of the main road. It was a busy time of day, mothers and children walking about, passengers hurrying to their ship and laborers hurrying about their work or wherever they had planned for the day. Everything from steamer cab, horse drawn carriages and the occasional bicycle like Pim's was out and about.

Pim recognized the small gap in between the massive buildings and store fronts and quickened his step. If an onlooker had blinked they would have missed him slip into the darkened opening. Ditching his borrowed bike in the alley he traded his dira goggles and street clothes for the brown cap and breeches worn by the local delivery boys, stuffing them in the messenger sack draped across his shoulders. Like many mass producers of engine parts in south Jaekar, the factory was a towering presence in the gritty town. It had several similar buildings on factory row a few miles from the port. Every other large city had factories that cranked out Limshar's chief means of profit, dira engine parts. Making his way side ways down the narrow stretched he arrived at the back of the building, small scrap foreman's office jutting away from the main structure. Shimming through an open window he quickly maneuvered into the side stairwell with being spotted.

Pim walked down he corridors of the upper hall of the Grotbora Steamworks Engine factory like he did this everyday of his life. Common laborers were not allowed on the second floor but today Pim was 'delivering' an important package or at least he made it look that way. With the honest expression of a young boy looking for the right office door, he was in and out without so much as a glance from the few people he passed by, unless you consider the wink one of the secretaries gave him. Acquired good stashed in his bag

Hands now free of their fake delivery, the empty box tossed in a storage closet, he took the stairs two at a time when no one was watching. Effortlessly he made it out of the building though a side door and into the crowd. His next stop, the airship docks, specifically ramp six, the royal hold. They were always busiest and with a bunch of bigwigs parading around the city today he could slip onto the ship of his choice. He had done it plenty of times, even bragging to friends about riding with the Shar and his daughter. If he could steal aboard the guarded ship of the Limshar royalty, surely he could slip onto some visiting Reshirian ambassador's. His confidence wavered but thoughts of the profit fueled his actions. The job was too easy and he knew it. There was bound to be someone following him or watching him or... something. He could feel it, an annoying premonition that had saved his life countless times.

Even though the dock was busy as expected, it surprised him when he made it onto the ship with no trouble. Grabbing a large bag from a stack of other cargo being loaded onto the airship he fell in line behind other workers. Simply by untucking his shirt he went from messenger boy to loading hand in seconds.

The ambassador's fleet was only three ships strong. Pim had chosen one at random based on activity level. Looking around for someplace to hide he realized he had chosen the main ship. A small grin spread across his dirty face, carrying the boxes and his jaunt through the alley ways had left its mark on his cheeks and nose. His love of danger was going to kill him one day, but he couldn't think of a better way to go. He found a chest that had a simple lock on it. Taking a few seconds to pop it without damaging it he slid the cover back only to be met by a strong odor. Pim cursed under his breath and covered his nose. Someone had used strong spices to cover up the putrid smell of whatever was bound in canvas at the bottom of the chest. There was no way he would make it the whole two hours it would take to get to the next Limshar port city, but he had no choice. His opportunity passed to find a new hideaway. With voices drawing closer Pim decided to climb in the chest hoping to find a better spot when whoever they were was gone. The chance never came.

"...take the chest to the room as soon as wet set off, but be discrete and stay with it. If that gets discovered too soon we may have more work on our hands and we aren't getting paid enough to make anyone else disappear."

The language wasn't of Limshar, but that was not surprising. It was distinctly Silesian, not one of Reshir Proper as it should be, but Pim understood enough to know he was in way over his head now. The language was a Kimeian dialect. Kimieians on a Reshirian airship did not sound good. Pim had a feeling he was going to be very late meeting up with Raa...

***
Reshir ambassador's airship sabotaged! Charred remains of ambassador pulled from the wreckage. Limshar stowaway held in Serendi for questioning.

***

[TruthSayer]

The air shaft was just large enough for a grown man to pass through without flaying the skin right off his back. As it was, Raakaa Hakesh was just a smidgen shorter than the average man, leaving him enough room to at least lift his head to avoid dragging his nose though the dust that coated the floor of the shaft like the thick matting on a wolderbeast.

It stunk like a wolderbeast, too.

Raa cursed, voice a whisper that made no echo down the narrow shaft as the leather just above his knee caught on a stray bolt and ripped, scratching the flesh beneath just enough to make it bleed. If he got lock-jaw, he was going to kill Pim.

By the goddess, the mission should have been a simple one, one that Pim said he’d pulled off without a hitch a hundred times before. Raa had believed him, of course, because Raa had become one of Pim’s greatest employers when it came to stealing rare and beautiful things that fetched rare and beautiful coin. The plans they had made for this mission had been cut-and-dry, simple and clean down to the last detail. They were supposed to meet three days ago. They were supposed to have exchanged the goods for the cash by now, meaning the buyer would cut the agreed-on price by half, as was her right per the contract between them.

And Pim was always freakishly on time. It was one of the things Raakaa so loved to tease him about, even if the only reaction he received from the thief was the soft blush of indignation coloring his pretty cheeks.

It had taken no more than one hour after their meeting time for Raa to know something was very wrong. No more than half-an-hour after that to discover the Reshirian ambassador that was visiting southern Jaekar had found a stowaway… It had taken every favor Raa had owed to him to get enough supplies and men together to pull this little rescue operation off.

Raakaa grunted and squeezed his shoulders passed a narrower section of the shaft, feeling a heavy scrap and telltale sting on his right arm, and thought for a fleeting moment that if he just fucked his tattoo, he was going to nail Pim to the wall, and not in the rather physical the way Raakaa had been wanting to for quite some time; the little sky rat was dead.

Voices caused Raa’s steady crawl to slow, head cocked to the side as he tried to discern what was being said, but could make out nothing past the echo they created and the steady hum of turbine fans that moved fresh air throughout the Parliament.

He grunted, shifted his shoulders enough to get his arms out from beneath him, and pressed the tiny dial on his watch. Mechanisms clicked and whirled, pouring out a soft blue light that illuminated the otherwise dim duct that coalesced into a holographic map of the facility. On the second basement level where the holding cells were located shone a red dot, indicating Raa’s position in the blueprints; three more red dots on the other side of the building showed the location of a small contingent of Raa’s men, waiting until the specified time to make their move to retrieve the goods Pim was supposed to deliver. Quickly, he tracked how much farther he would have to go before he reached the cell his contact within the Parliament believed the guards to be holding Pim and found he was closer than he thought, ahead of schedule; another thirty clicks, and he’d be above the holding cell.

With a smile that had more to do with the idea of victory over a government he didn’t believe in, Raakaa depressed the button on his watch again, blinked in the following darkness, and began crawling through the air duct again, continuing straight forward.

OOC: I wasn’t sure what to call it, but I think a wolderbeast would looks something like this. Big, stupid, smelly, maybe good for meat, I dunno. There weren’t any animals listed yet that fit what I was trying to describe. I hope you don’t mind me adding one. Please rename to something far better than ‘wolderbeast’, though, lol!

And it looks like I tried to insert an older character in a few places, lol. "Rass" had been one of my favorites, once upon a time ^^

[Tammika]

Retriever, his mini clockwork doll, an aether gun, candy... A shuffling sound made him pause.

Pim kicked back with his left foot as hard as he could without removing his chin from its resting place between the bars. Coming into contact with a firm surface his lips twisted into a satisfied smirk.

...iron knuckles and of course the papers that got him in this mess to begin with. Thankfully they were religious morons and didn't mess with the valician crystal that hung around his neck. It was easy to assume it was your average amber stone instead of a pure crystal shard.

A muffled groan and gasping filled the room as the victim on the receiving end of Pim's kick refilled his lungs with air.

"How many times must I knock you unconscious before you learn? Huh?! Don't touch me!" The Reshirian thug they had locked hm up with was nearly twice his size, but malnutrition had taken it's toll making him easier for Pim to handle. For the past three days Pim had barely slept for fear of his life and his... health. The guy looked like he had been there for a few years, so Pim was bound to look like a nice piece. It was most likely their intention for him to disappear down in this pit of a prison.

He had only spoken to a few people when they "interviewed" him the first day. He lied through his teeth not knowing who the real murderers were. He only heard voices. No faces. The less they thought he knew the better, if he wanted a chance of survival. His only hope was Raa wanting his pay bad enough to get him out.

Pim slid away from the bars and growled."I'm so hungry!"

"I got somethin' for ya sweets."

Pim spun around suddenly and kicked him in the head, again rendering him unconscious. "Shut up ya freak!"

Come on Raa!

[TruthSayer]

If there was one thing Raa hated more than anything else in this world, it was rats. Furry, nasty, disease-ridden pests that enjoyed defecating in one’s hard earned food stores and underwear drawers, and impossible to wipe off the face of the planet, no matter how hard one tried.

And Raakaa Hakesh had been trying. Oh, how he had been trying…

But now, laying nearly immobile over the shaft that overlooked Pim’s cell from thirty feet above its floor with a set of beady little black eyes and whiskers a mere four feet from his nose, Raa was very certain he had not tried hard enough.

“Just stay there, now… That’s right… Don’t come any closer to my face, you furry little- AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!”

The good thing about the grates in Reshir’s holding cells beneath their Parliament were that they were unaccountably thin and easy to break through, something that Raa had been counting on to make this rescue attempt work. In a more lucid moment, Raa would have taken the time to appreciate that this was obviously due to the fact that the morons in Parliament believed their building to be nigh impregnable, and the great sky pirate Raakaa Hakesh had managed to shove that rather stupid sentiment right up their assess. In a more lucid moment, Raa would have been slightly more afraid of falling thirty feet through the grate he’d managed to break through to the holding cell’s floor thirty feet below. But now was not a lucid moment.

In the future, Raa would be unbelievably thankful that he had had the time to tie the rope he’d been lugging around his neck to a crossbar in the shaft, securing the other around his waist in preparation of lowering himself neatly and gallantly to the ground before the rodent had appeared. Now, however, Raa was merely immensely glad to have not broken his neck.

“Nasty little- So disgusting!” he muttered to himself, and slipped out of the rope, rubbing his underarms where the rope had bit into his skin. “Did you see the fangs on that thing?!” he asked, turning on Pim, dust flying off him like dander. “Dripping with saliva- I probably have rabies now, thanks to you! I-

"What happened to him?" Raa knelt next to the unconscious man, poking him cautiously.

OOC: So sorry this wasn’t here this morning! Power outage. Again. I think I live in the power outage capital of the world.

Anyway! This was a bit more lighthearted than I had originally thought it would be, lol! I normally suck at humor, but just couldn't get the thought of Raa being terrified of rats out of my head ^^

[Tammika]

Pim watched for a moment as the ceiling groaned, screamed and then spewed Raa to the ground just between him and mister touchy feely. Just a few more feet to the right and Raa would have landed his cellmate. Pim didn't hide his disappointment, nor did he hide his annoyance.

"Rats? Rats?!" To say Pim was relieved to see Raa at that moment would have been a grievous understatement but his comment made him want to kick him in the head too. He stepped close to Raa, pointing a finger at the taller man allowing his fear to vent by yelling at him. "You're whining about rats and I'm trying to save my ass, literally from... from.." He couldn't even allow his brain to mentally follow the possible scenario if Raa had been any later. "What the hell do you think happen to him? I introduced his head to my boot! Now please tell me you have something to open this cell with, because they took all my stuff before my lovely chat." With all the noise Raa's grand entrance made, guards would be here soon, probably hoping the commotion was Pim meeting his untimely death at the hands of freak of the year. "I'd say we have about a minute, five at the most, to get moving before the guards come or Dr. Love wakes up. Please tell me you have some sort of plan?"

[TruthSayer]

Raa’s expression froze for a moment at Pim’s words as he watched the unconscious form of the man on the floor of the cell, looking innocent enough to be a child asleep in his bed. Sounds of approaching boots resonating off metal rang out through the corridor outside the cell as two men shouted back and forth to each other about the bad timing prisoners had for making a nuisance of themselves, and wondering if ‘Tsuchiq Mallory had managed to pin the sweet young thing yet’… but the bulk of Raa’s mind keep revolving around the word ‘literally’.

“Well, we were going to go up,” Raa said somewhat absently, expression turning thoughtful as he tilted his head to one side, eyes raking the limp form between his and Pim’s feet. “But like hell I’m going back up there. So now, we’re going out.” Raa knelt and pulled two knives, each four inches, from his right boot, and a small palm-sized revolver from his left, and thrust them at Pim. “Try to get the guards in the cell, and pray one of their uniforms fits.”

Raa turned to the rope again and climbed it, stopping only when he was ten feet from the open vent above, and wound the rest of the rope around his legs, hoping the guards wouldn’t look up.

[Tammika]

"Hey wait-" At the sound of the guards drawing very close he cut his whispered plea to Raa short.

"Hey! Hey!" he snapped his fingers with a hand outstretched through the bar. "Hey sunshine, over here. Are you gonna get rid of this dead guy or what? He gonna start stinking soon." With another kick to make sure he stayed still, Pim thought he made pretty good dead guy bait.

"What dead guy?" the guards looked doubtful at Pim until they saw him slumped on the floor. Apparently old Mallory wasn't your average prisoner the way they quickly open the door and came rushing in. If Pim had to guess it was a paid prisoner planted in with him to either get him to talk or just get him. Either way he didn't really care. He was tired of guards, people in general, under estimating him because of his height. A fact he over compensated for since he was a kid by getting into fights.

"He's not dead he's just.." Before he could finish Pim signed his name on the back of the guy's head with his foot and waited for the other one to charge at him. The other guard lunged up at him drawing an Aether gun at the same time.

"Fuck! Any time now, Raa!" Pim dodged to the side and swung the large door as he went. The gun fired and nicked his arm just before the metal door connected with the second guard. It didn't knock him out but sent him sprawling on the floor in one direction the gun in the other.

[TruthSayer]

"I gave you a gun for a reason, you idiot!" Raa hissed, slipping the excess rope from around his ankles with a jerk of his legs, and dropped, landing in a crouch to absorb the shock, and rolled, using his forward momentum to slam squarely into the second guard's chest.

The guard "Oomph'ed!", coughed, snarled, and wrapped his arms around Raa's neck from behind in a choke hold, his legs tangling around Raa's in a tight embrace that somehow managed to resemble a very intimate position Raa preferred while having sex, and squeezed, compressing Raa's torso until it was nearly impossible to breathe.

Raa choked, gasped, clawed at the guard's forearms and kicked his legs, attempting to roll to dislodge the hold, but wasn't even able to move an inch.

[Tammika]

Letting go of his bleeding arm Pim pushed off from the wall drew the gun and casually approached the fighting pair. Carefully crouching behind the both of them he pointed the gun at the guards head and allowed the action to engage close to his ear. This made it extremely close to Raa's head as well and the guard froze. The only sound was the soft hum of the Aether gun, and the guards heavy breathing. Pim was still and cold.

Pim leaned close and whispered in the guards ear. "I think you should let go of my precious Raa, he's much to valuable to die in this little cesspit by the likes of you." His words were petty, childish and some what possessive, but carried a hard edge to them. "Let...go." Pim snarled through gritted teeth.

The guard slowly released Raa. As soon as he was clear, Pim stood keeping the gun trained on the guard. "Very good. Now strip." At the guards knowing glare he repeated it with an assisting kick in the side. "Strip!"

"You know Raa, these were brand new boots. I've only had them for a week. Now they're covered in so much shit I can't remember whether they were actually black or were they brown." He glanced at Raa. "You ok? And I'm not an idiot by the way. I just had to rush and shove your arsenal down my pants and the gun went a little too far down to be handy , okay?" He reached up to adjust goggles that weren't there. "Dammit! I feel naked without my specs!" The guard rolled his eyes as he tossed his dark blue uniform to the side.

[TruthSayer]

Raa coughed, rolled to his feet, and massaged his throat with one hand, and his sides with the other. It was a bitch nearly being knocked out, and the head rush from standing so quickly nearly sent him right back this ass, but he managed to catch a shoulder against the wall, and leaned on it gratefully.

"Precious?" he croaked, cleared his throat, and tried again. "You think I'm precious?" Gaze locked on Pim, Raa's eyes glowed from more than just the rush of oxygen to his system. A feeling Raa was not quite familiar with to name right away stole over his body, starting as a tingle in his toes and fingers, stealing up his body, across his stomach in such a fashion that the pain of nearly being cut in half vanished, leaving butterflies in its wake, to settle in his chest. It was an uncomfortable feeling that made his heart thrum faster and his breath hitch. For a moment, Raa thought he may be suffering from internal bleeding, but pushed the thought aside as he realized he was feeling...

Giddy... By the goddess' tits, I'm feeling giddy!

And quite a bit more lustful than he normally did when faced with Pim. Precious... Maybe that meant he could finally bed Pim?

Raa actually took a step forward, gaze burning with just that intent as he ran it over Pim's body, but halted himself with a mental jerk. Now was not the time. Now, they were smack dab in the middle of a Parliament stronghold, and when these guards didn't report back that nothing was amiss, they would be in real trouble; he could contemplate fucking Pim later.

That didn't mean he couldn't flirt for all he was worth, though.

"Poor baby, missing your goggles," Raa whispered, voice husky, as he walked up to Pim, careful to keep to the side so as to not obscure Pim's shot at the guard, and slipped his own goggles off his head, placing them on Pim's. "You can borrow mine until we can get yours back." And then leaned in to do something he hadn't yet dared to do: he ran soft lips over Pim's cheek from the corner of his mouth to just below his hear, not quite a kiss, but a damn good variation of it, and blew a hot, slow breath into his ear as he whispered, "And now that the guard is naked, I believe it's your turn."

[Tammika]

Pim rolled his eyes at Raa. "Valuable I said, as in necessary to get me out of here. Don't get all freaky on me again. I said no such thing." But Raa seemed all glazed over and made Pim flinch a little bit as he moved in close to place the goggles on his head. He would have said something smart but he did feel better with the goggles on his head. Now to get his stuff back and get out of here.

Pim had been brushing off Raa's suggestive words since the day they met practically so this was no surprise. But his close proximity made him a little nervous and he reddened as the pirate spoke of getting naked directly in his ear. Even the guard on the floor laughed at his now trembling gun hand. Annoyed Pim kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious as well. Kicking was becoming a habit today. "Focus, Raa. And not on me."

"Oh this will be real convincing. Neither one of those uniforms are going to exactly fit me, you know? And I can put that on over my clothes with no problem thank you." He turned to grin at him forgetting how close he was still standing. He jumped back as his face touched Raa's. "You will have to strip though."

[TruthSayer]

"Hm, is that in invitation? Naked me? Naked you? Because you will have to get naked, you know." Raa purred, licked Pim on the nose, and stepped away, shoulders rolling as he slipped the jerkin he wore from his shoulders, and tossed it at Pim, moving to the leathers straps that held his pants together. "No wrinkles in the uniform allowed."

Grinning and feeling a little flushed, Raa dropped his pants, baring himself to goddess and country.

[Tammika]

Pim tried to act casual, unnerved, but at the same time it took considerable effort to turn away.

"Are you shitting me? Just get the uniform on and lets get out of here!" He had tucked the gun away and was removing the other guards clothes. He was shorter and his would most likely fit better. The whole time he was trying not to watch Raa prance around even though he kept glancing back at him...constantly. The man was built, lean muscles with the scars of the trade here and there, not that Pim was paying any attention or anything.

"I'm not getting naked. Like I said it will fit better over my clothes anyway." Pim easily slid on the uniform over his clothes. It wasn't too bulky on him but it would have been without something underneath. He walked over to the door and put on the hat that had rolled in the corner. From there he could hear another guard coming.

Turning to Raa he put a finger to his lips and motioned towards the hall.

[TruthSayer]

"Ha!" Raa laughed, and reached down to pull his pants up, fastening them with a quick knot, "I'm not a guard; I'm your prisoner. I just wanted to get naked."

With a grin, he picked his jerkin up, slipped it on, and grabbed the handcuffs the second guard carried on the belt around his waist. Slapping those loosely on his wrists, Raa stepped up to the door, gave Pim a leer, and walked forth into the corridor as though he were the best behaved prisoner Reshir had ever seen.

[Tammika]

"You are insane, you know that? Insane!" He whispered behind Raa as he moved his prisoner along. It was better this way since Pim had memorized the path to the closest exit and the room where his stuff was kept. Before he whispered any more insults the guard he heard coming appeared from around the next corner. In perfect hanir, the dialect he had heard them speaking, he spoke to the other guard sharply.

"Go notify the warden this end is clear will you? I'm not sure where that sound came from." He kept pushing Raa along, not even acknowledging the guard more than those few words. It was one of his best skills. Act confident enough and people won't give it a second thought.

"Yes, sir." The guard immediately turned around and retreated the way he came. After a few more steps he nudged Raa into a small room to the side. Thankfully the door was unlocked and he shoved him into the small room.

"My bag is in here somewhere! Help me find it or all this would have been for nothing!"

[TruthSayer]

"Do you have any idea how absolutely fuckable you are when you take charge?" Raa asked conversationally, though he was careful to keep his voice low. Slipping his wrists out of the handcuffs, Raa browsed the room with a thief's critical eye, gauging how much worth stood stacked on the shelves crammed into the tiny room before him now, and judged the room to be full of trash the same quality no-account thieves normally carried around with them; mostly clothes, wallets full of close to no cash, and a few weapons locked behind a locked glass cabinet door.

Weapons could wait, and Pim really was right, though Raa would probably never admit it to him; time was short, and the goods were the main reason Raa was here in the first place.

Quiet, and with his mind for once completely focused on his task, Raa began emptying rucksacks, turning over bins, and scouring-

Heh... Found it.

Simple brown leather, scarred from use, Pim's bag was small enough to be a messenger's bag, and inconspicuous enough to pass for that of a school boy's if that should be one of Pim's chosen disguises. Opening the flap, Raa glanced inside, noted that the contents were in place, and turned to say that it was time to leave, but seeing Pim's slim back presented to him in the forbidden navy blue uniform of Reshir's Parliament Guard as he knelt over a pile of his own parched his mouth.

One day very soon, Raa thought, licking his lips, I am really going to have to satisfy this lust.

Raa reached out and snapped the lock on the door, silently jiggling the knob to ensure it would not open, and stalked forward on a thieve's silent feet until he stood just in front of Pim. Kneeling down to bring their faces level, he reached out a hand and ran careful, grease stained fingers down Pim's cheek, whispered, "You really should learn to relax, you know. You'll get wrinkles," and leaned forward, kissing him gently on the mouth.

[Tammika]

"Raa..." Growling the man's name was the only response he gave to his more than suggestive comment as he searched his side of the room. He found his retriever and his own Aether gun, that was specially modified for his hand. The guard had it stashed away to keep for himself.

He kept looking but he was not dim. His own thief's instincts noted Raa's pause in movement and the click of the lock. Instantly he knew what was up but didn't show any sign. He waited guessing that Raa was creeping closer. A smirk twitched the corner of his mouth and disappeared just as Raa appeared inches from his face. His statement was unusually affectionate, but Pim was ready for it. When Raa leaned in to steal a kiss, Pim crawled forward suddenly knocking Raa on his ass. He straddled the man planted his hand on either side of his face and kissed him hard raking his teeth across his bottom lip as he pulled away just as suddenly and stood.

"Oh I see you found my bag. Sweet." He took it from him threw it over his shoulder and walked to the door.

"Ready?"

[TruthSayer]

In the near year Raa had been panting after Pim like a dog in heat, slipping from slight innuendo to blatant invitations as time went on, Pim had not once answered in kind, though Raa was certain he'd caught glimpses and . Professional, get-the-job-done Pim had forever been the hardest egg for Raa to crack, much of the reason why Raa felt he had become to smitten with him; there were not many Raa came across that did not welcome a tussle in his bed, given the reputation he had.

And now, laying on the floor, ass slightly sore, crotch slightly swollen, lips red and plump as blood rushed into them, Raa's head spun, innuendo crashing into innuendo, sparks flying, thoughts swirling, each slamming with equal force into his cock, Raa was very much unsure as to how he was expected to move right away, let alone walk normally in a pair of very tight leather pants.

"That..." Raa panted, staring in shock at the ceiling, "was very mean." With a groan and what Raa felt was a gallant effort, he rolled on his hands and knees, waited a moment, and stood, adjusting himself though his pants. He grabbed the handcuffs from the shelf he had left them on, slipped them over his wrists, and nodded.

"Let's go so I can get you home and kiss you properly."

[Tammika]

Pim actually chuckled to himself as he heard Raa struggled to his feet. He even thought about offering to help, but held back. He raised an eyebrow at the kiss comment and then gave him one of his most charming yet evil grins. He'd let Raa try and figure out if he was laughing at him or pleased with his hope for the events following this job.

"Let's just work on getting out of here."

The spot on his arm was still bleeding. As he lifted it to grab the door he felt how soaked his sleeve was. It didn't hurt too bad so he continued to ignore it. He reached for the door again and then stopped. He couldn't hear anything but knew someone was headed towards the door. He put a hand to his mouth again and froze in place. Soon the faint steps of someone approaching the room could be heard.

Pim held up one, two then four fingers all without opening the door. He pulled Aether gun and stepped back beside the door. His position would be hidden when the door was opened and he knew Raa would take the cue from him. Soon casual chatting could be heard as they stopped just in front of the door.

"No, haven't heard from Jahara nor Nareal. wait for me and I'll join you. Need to check on our special guest anyway. Hope Mallory is having fun with him. Maybe I'll ask the Warden for a go at him..."

Pim's anger could almost be felt in the room as his face grew red with rage. "What is wrong with these people? I must seriously attract the most desperate freaks in all of Altheria!" Pim whispered.

The first man that stepped through the door opened received a bullet in his kneecap as Pim fired and followed through with kicking him out of the way. Maybe Raa could without trouble but Pim had never killed a man and hoped he never would. The faint odor of concentrated Aether filled the room. The three in the hall now alarmed drew weapons of their own and began shouting.

[TruthSayer]

Raa uttered a near silent curse and pressed his back against the wall on the opposite side of the door. Slipping out of the cuffs and setting them silently on the ground in one fluid movement, he drew his own aether gun in the other, and waited, breathing even, mind clear. The room faded, contents faded, everything disappeared from Raa's focus except for Pim and the dark black stain on his upper arm as blood seeped through the thick material, the door, and the sound of approaching voices.

For a clinical moment, Raa wondered whether or not that cut would hinder Pim's ability to fight and get them out alive, but the words, now clear through the door, caused that train of thought to ground to a resounding halt.

...A few more minutes. A scant turn of the second hand, and he could have been too late. The realization soured in his gut.

Raakaa Hakesh knew thieves. He often rubbed elbows with the scum of Altherian society to get his job done, and had heard the stories, seen the scars, watched once vibrant men fade to black beneath the memory of what had happened to them in dark alleyways, prison cells, and their own poorly protected beds. The underbelly of society was a lusty bitch, and those that trolled through her days and nights lived in constant fear of many things, not the least of which was being found weaker than your opponent.

"I resemble that remark you know," Raa said, voice quite a bit more subdued than it normally would have been, even under these circumstances, and flashed Pim the same grin Pim had favored him with a moment before. The grin grew wider as the door opened, and mayhem exploded.

Raa was never one to fight alongside anyone. He was not used to protecting anyone else's back; it was not the Sky Pirate's way, and so stepped out into the hall without regard as to where Pim stood, or even if he followed him. Gun raised, eyes narrow, grin wide, Raa squeezed the delicate trigger of his aether gun, forearm expertly absorbing the shock as a bullet landed in square in the middle of the eyes of the stupid guard who stood gaping idiotically at his already fallen comrade instead of running for his life.

One down, two quick tugs on the trigger, and the last two fell. Neat and clean. And through it all, despite the fact that Pim was currently one of the last things on his mind, Raa sincerely hoped with a viciousness he rarely felt that he was the one to put the bullet into the man who spoke of rape.

Voices shot through Raa's conscious thought- shouted orders muffled by clanging boots, too much interference to know how many, but that didn't matter, because Raa was not going to die in prison-

Raa ran straight at them.