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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 1:11:51 GMT -7
Valkyrie jerks her chin slightly in Evie's direction as those words fall from her lips, the surprise of it catching her off guard, a feeling she's not used to, a feeling she doesn't like. But it's more than that. More than just the familial drama suddenly making this mission more complicated than it had been. More than just the realization that this is Evie's mother behind the bullshit, behind the kidnapping, behind all of it.
It's familiar. Too familiar.
She looks at the woman before them, and for a moment all she sees is an old man, smiling as he bleeds, the mask falling off his face.
Valkyrie pulls in a deep breath through her nostrils suddenly, bile rising at the back of her throat. The skull hides her sudden break in composure, her sudden anger and disgust and anxiety. But her fists don't. They clench tightly at her sides, the armor flexing. She swallows down the lump in her throat, trying to think past the memories threatening to bubble up.
"This...complicates things." She says. The words are meant for Evie, but her eyes never break once from the mother's face. If it was her call, solely her call, it wouldn't change a damn thing. Simon paid Val to get Evie back and kill whoever took her, and this woman did it. If it was her call, the bullet would already be lodged in her brain, and they'd be on their way back to the States. But it's not her call. Not really. Not with Evie standing right beside her looking her estranged mother right in the face.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 7:22:07 GMT -7
Michelle looked over at Valkyrie when they spoke and thought that the words were for her. "Not really, I still have the money for you and I will be on my way with my daughter" she said and then turned slightly and waved one of the guards up, he would take a little bit before he would reach them so she turned and looked at Evie once more and gave her a soft smile.
Evie huffed out a breath and knew that Valkyrie was really talking to her but she gave a slight nod when Michelle's back was turned. It complicated things a hell of a lot because her father paid Valkyrie to get rid of her kidnappers but when it turns out to be her mother. No, that woman didn't deserve to be called mother, she was the one that left her when she was only a couple of months old. She didn't even remember her but her father would make sure that she knew she had a mother and not push it off by saying that she had died or anything like that but now Evie was starting to wish that she had.
"So what is this? You wanted some mother daughter time and decided you wanted to kidnap me from Rio? Or did you just get bored? I'm starting think it's the latter one"
"I am your mother and I am saving you from your father"
Evie managed to bring her had up and even pointed a finger at Michelle. "You don't deserve to even be called mother because you weren't there for every minute of my life and my father was so I'm sorry if I'm not happy to see you in fact all of this is just bull"
"Well we will catch up when we get you out of here" she said and nodded once.
Evie wanted to laugh and in fact might've in her brain but she had that disgusted look back on her face and she looked away once more. Staying quiet, but that didn't mean she was going to be giving in to this. Evie wasn't going anywhere with this woman.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 13:44:38 GMT -7
"Alright, I'm done with this charade." Valkyrie comments after the back-and-forth between Evie and her mother. She pulls her pistol from the holster on her thigh and fires off two rounds, one for each of the guards. The closest one clatters to the ground with the briefcase right at the older woman's side, while the other one just falls backwards into the shadows soundlessly. She shifts her gun to point straight at the mother. "You know I'm a little disappointed." She says, finger trained on the trigger. "I was hoping there would be more of a fucking fight. But..." she shrugs with one shoulder, inclining her head to the side, "what can you expect from a woman who thinks kidnapping her own daughter is the right way to bond."
Taskmaster flashes across her vision once more, lying upon the ground, smiling like he's won something.
Her jaw tightens.
"Evie. I can end this now. But it's up to you." She says, but her gaze never wavers from the woman's face.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 14:37:30 GMT -7
Evie jumps a little when Valkyrie shoots the guards and then puts their gun on her mother. Valkyrie might be disappointed but she was disgusted and knew that once Michelle is dead it means that she could go home. Her grey-blue eyes stays looking away even when Valkyrie says that they could end it but it was really up to her.
It meant that she had her mother's life in her hands, it meant that she could be the one to finish it but she never wanted this woman's death on her hands, she never wanted to keep that secret from her father.
She slowly moved her eyes over and looked at Michelle, she was quiet and that made Evie wonder for a moment if there was another plan that her mother had in motion. This can't be down to just her, no there had to be someone else behind this but she was tired and there was a big part of her that really didn't care anymore. Sure it was up to Evie if she wanted her mother dead but she wasn't the one who was holding the gun. If she told Valkyrie to pull the trigger then she probably wouldn't be any different from the people who kill their parents for fun but if she didn't then Michelle would probably come back to get her.
"Do what you want" she said to Valkyrie and shrugged up a shoulder.
"Wait... wait" Michelle held her hand up, "I'm saving you from your father and the life he wants you to lead, and the deals that will get you killed in the end"
Evie shook her head and turned away from her mother, honestly she really didn't care for what she had to say.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 14:57:36 GMT -7
Evie turns away, and Val pulls the trigger.
The single blast echoes across the hilltop, and then there's nothing. The mother drops to lifelessly to the ground. Valkyrie holsters her gun. She steps forward to pick up the briefcase now splattered in blood, and uses her fist to smear off the red. Inside, stacks of bills look up at her, fresh and new and still smelling like the press. She frowns beneath her mask, closes the case, and chucks it into the darkness. Distantly, it clatters as it tumbles down the side of the cliff, hitting every rock on its way down. Val turns on a heel and walks back towards the statue where her motorcycle sits idle.
"Let's get you home." She mutters.
Once at the bike, she tugs free a knife from her belt, and slices off the black zip-ties holding Evie's wrists together. She settles down onto the seat and revs the engine, ready to get the fuck away from this city. It's about damn time. The ride back to the jet feels shorter than it had before, and nothing but the crunch of gravel and rumble of the bike breaks the silence. Val begins unloading her weapons as soon as they get back, shoving the RPG back into a storage container and tossing her M16 in along with it.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 15:09:40 GMT -7
With her back to the other two she winces as the gun goes off and then there is a silence.
While she had sort of made the decision she never wanted to be the one to actually pull the trigger, she never would have anyway, but she had left the decision on whether to pull the trigger to Valkyrie and pull it they did.
When the ties are cut off she moves her wrists, the ties weren't tight but they did restrict the movement and everytime she wanted to use her hands, like when she pointed at her mother, she had to lift both hands just to do something. It felt good to be able to move them. It took a moment to realise that Valkyrie had said and she was glad to be going home. It would mean that she would probably be in the States within the next twenty four hours or so but she was going home.
Evie didn't even want to get her stuff from the hotel, she would ring up and ask them to send it to them or even get someone else to come get it but for now she wanted to get home and be in her own bed, have a shower and get the dirt and memories off her.
The ride back to the jet was quiet but she couldn't help the feeling that this really wasn't over, that there was someone working with her mother to pull at her father's strings but her mother had turned up. It was strange and a feeling that she wasn't sure if she would get rid of. They got back to the jet and she takes a drink of water and can't wait to be drinking something stronger when she gets home.
"Do you honestly think that my mother was the only person behind all of this?" she asked Valkyrie after a moment.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 15:22:45 GMT -7
Valkyrie glances towards Evie when she finally speaks, breaking the silence that had grown thickly between them. "Honestly?" She repeats, not having heard anyone ask her for her honest opinion in years. She untangles herself from the sheath strapped to her back. "Honestly, I've seen parents do worse things all on their own." She admits, lowering her eyes away once more. Setting her sword down, she turns away towards the open door of the cargo bay where her bike waits. She kicks the stand up, and pushes the motorcycle up the ramp. There's a small space in the jet where it fits, a few heavy-duty straps bolted to the floor to hold it tight upon take-off. She crouches to work on these, keeping her hands busy to stop from thinking about her own shit. It's been years since then. It shouldn't still affect her this badly.
"But if she wasn't alone, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Valkyrie adds on, pulling the rigging tight to make sure it's secure. As soon as it is, she slams her fist against the switch to lift the bay door, and turns towards the cockpit. "You might want to sit up front. No seat-belts back here."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 15:31:39 GMT -7
Evie listens to what Valkyrie says but she doesn't ask what they meant about that because it would open up things that she probably didn't want to know and lead to questions that she didn't want to know the answers too. So she nods before biting on her lip. The amount of times she had thought about her mother when she was younger, always wanting to know where she was and now that she did know she didn't actually feel anything other than tiredness but she would probably feel like crap when she got back to the States though. Once she was away from all of this then maybe things wouldn't be so bad.
"Yeah, I guess" she admitted before she looks at the front of the jet. This was the first time that she had even looked at the front of the thing. Evie moved from her spot and then up to the front, making sure that she was strapped into the seat.
Maybe she could put this down to very bad dream and leave it at that. But if there was someone else then no doubt they will show their face later on but this time it would be for her father to deal with.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 20:36:10 GMT -7
Valkyrie is already settled into the pilot's seat by the time Evie makes her way in, taking the seat beside her. Her fingers move methodically across the controls, flipping the necessary switches and checking the necessary gauges to ensure they'd make it back to the US just fine. The one good thing about SHIELD, they know how to make a plane that's efficient. It carries nearly twice the amount of fuel as a normal jet the same size, and somehow manages to still make room for cargo.
The engines, louder and less clever than Stark's new designs, make the floor rumble beneath their feet. Val switches off the light in the cargo bay, takes hold of the controls, and lifts off from the hilltop without any need for a runway. In only a matter of minutes, Rio is a distant shimmering light behind them.
Silence falls again.
Normally it's comfortable for her, the quiet. Helps her think, helps her plan, helps her settle. But with someone riding shotgun, it just feels strange. Even Valkyrie, the lone wolf, suddenly feels the need to fill it with something, anything. "I'm sorry." She says after a long time, the seconds ticking slowly by. "For everything that's happened."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 20:57:05 GMT -7
Evie watches as the hilltop falls away and then Rio and before long she's actually looking forward to going home. Even if to just get a strong drink and a warm bath.
The silence falls between the two of them but really what was there to say? She would be back in the States long before her mother was found and then she could pretend that none of this actually happened and then Valkyrie would be rid of her once and for all. Just as she thought nothing would be said the whole way back she heard Valkyrie apologise to her and she pushed her eyebrows together before looking over the side at the pilot.
In honesty she wasn't sure what to really say, thank you seemed a little cold but saying nothing really didn't seem like an option right now. She slowly moved her eyes away from Valkyrie and looked out the window to her right and watched the darkness around her. She couldn't really understand how her mother was allowed to get that close to her but that was something she really didn't have to worry about.
"I know that you will be seeing my father to hand me back over but please don't tell him that it was my mother, I don't want to put that on him" she admitted and bit down on her lip. Even though he would probably find out in the end, she didn't want it to be right now. "And there's no need to apologise, it wasn't like it was your idea" she said and looked over at Valkyrie and gave a slight smile even though they weren't looking at her. It was the only thing she could really manage right now. She moved her eyes away once more and looked back out the window.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 21:08:13 GMT -7
Val nods slightly at her request, having not planned on mentioning it anyway. Her only intention is to deliver Evie, get the rest of her money, and move on. It's the only thing she's ever done. The details, the fine print...none of that is important when the job has already been completed. Evie can tell her father herself when she wants to, far down the line. If she ever wants to.
But the request isn't the only thing Evie says, giving her a slight smile and a kind way of getting out of apologizing should Valkyrie want to take it. And she's right. Val doesn't need to apologize. None of this has anything to do with her. But even so, there were moments that felt like punches in the gut to her. Moments that brought back memories and felt far too familiar for comfort. Moments Val has tried very hard for a very long time to distance herself from, with no success.
"I know." She replies, her voice even and monotone. "But I also know what it's like to be in your shoes right now." It's more truth than Valkyrie has ever divulged to a client before, but a part of her isn't upset by that. Maybe she needs to say it, as much as Evie might need to hear it. "Being torn away from your home is one thing. Discovering your family isn't what it seems..." she pauses for a moment, her mouth clenching closed as she debates even continuing on, "Well, families are fucking awful."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 21:22:43 GMT -7
Evie listened to what Valkyrie was saying and she slowly moved her eyes away from the glass once more to look over at Valkyrie. That definitely was something she hadn't ever thought she would hear from them but then again she never did know what had caused Valkyrie to go down this path for their life but what made them choose this was up for them to keep and Evie wasn't sure if she would want to know and she wasn't sure if Valkyrie would tell if she even did ask.
She scoffed softly when they said about the fact that families were awful. Evie hesitated for a moment but decided she was going to say what was on her mind. "For a long time I wondered what my mother would've been like, always wondering why she had left in the first place" she admitted. "But my father said to me one day that I shouldn't hate her for leaving because not everyone was built for family life and I never did and I still can't hate her because I never really knew her and that is on her so I won't feel bad for what happened but I won't have my father feeling bad either" she said and nodded before looking out the window once more.
"But yes sometimes families are awful"
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 21:38:40 GMT -7
Valkyrie remembers her mother saying something similar, a long long time ago. She'd stroke her hair, sliding the long unruly locks back into place, and swear on her god that Val's father loved her. Of all things on this planet, only her. Valkyrie believed it for much of her childhood, always looking out the windows of their rotating homes for him on her birthdays, on holidays, on days when she longed to even know what his face looked like. She'd imagined someone tall, strong, but kind, with black curly hair and the same green eyes.
But then the explosion happened, and time passed, and Val learned that the man she imagined never existed. He was always just a fairy tale, a facade, a pretty mask to cover the man he really was. And her mother had only been trying to save her from a lifetime of anguish.
It didn't work.
"At least you still have your father." Valkyrie murmurs, her eyes fixed ahead upon the dark skies surrounding them. Distantly, she can see the first glimmer of light on the horizon.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Jun 26, 2017 21:57:35 GMT -7
"Yes, at least I still have him" she admitted and bit down on her lip.
Evie actually couldn't wait to see him in person, he might over worry but that was nothing, if it kept her safe then he could worry all he wanted but just as long as it didn't stress him out. She guessed that she would be staying close to home for a while as she doesn't think that she could go through another kidnapping because she was sure that she wouldn't survive the next one.
She settled, as much as she could, in the seat and wondered what it was going to be like when she and her father came face to face again, she knew it would probably be a tad emotional and she would probably sob ugly tears but it would be worth it as long she she got to see her father again.
Evie leaned her head against the back of the seat and let the silence fill the front once more. She was pretty much a mess right now, she had the same clothes on that she did three or four days ago, her hair was a little greasy and she was definitely smelly but that won't matter to her father because he would be glad that she was back and he would no doubt ask who had taken her and she would make up a lie and pretend for the rest of her days that was what really happened.
No one else needed to know what had happened in Brazil.
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Post by Ray on Jun 26, 2017 22:10:20 GMT -7
They arrive back in the states in the early hours of the next morning, the glittering neon lights of Rio and the bodies left behind far gone. Switching on the camouflage, they sail unnoticed through the city, before making a spiraling descent down onto the patch of gravel and dirt sitting beside the abandoned warehouse. It's only been three days since she met with Simon last, a significantly less amount of time than she initially gave him, but this job was significantly less difficult than she had first imagined. Easy, almost. If not for the drama.
Valkyrie unbuckles herself from her seat, and stretches out the kinks eight hours in a plane left in her legs. Rolling her neck and getting feeling back into her, she glances momentarily towards the woman sitting beside her. "We're here," she says, and exits the cockpit.
The cargo bay doors lower into the dirt, facing the wall rather than out towards the open street where someone might notice. The cloaking device isn't as advanced as the new models, but with the glaring sunlight and the hidden patch of land, the plane is almost indistinguishable from its surroundings. Val steps down and out, her green eyes scanning the area around them for any watching eyes.
If there are any, she can't tell.
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