Track Ops: Reflection

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:03 am

As soon as she closed her eyes, Ace was basically asleep. She was too exhausted to follow what was going on around her. So, when Marce suddenly turned and threw her behind him, she was barely able to yelp before tumbling to the ground in shock. She laid there on her back and looked up, watching as Marce fought the Merenzo. Seriously? Even after all of that, he hadn't believed them? How was that even possible? Why would she kiss Marce Jove if not because she was his lover? Well, other than the obvious reason of conning a con.

She heard Marce yelling at her to run and reacted without thought. Scrambling to her feet, she started running away from the shore. Her steps were leading her in a somewhat straight path back to the sidewalk, but she had to dodge a few benches and tables, along with overturned canoes that were drying out for the night. Looping around a large group of those, she looked back at Marce, then looked forward. A movement caught her eye and she faltered, staring at the moving shadow until she realized it was a person.

Another Merenzo. Shit.

She turned and started running off to the side instead, reaching behind her. Her gun was gone. Had she lost it? No, wait, Marce had taken it from her. She'd have to slap him later for that. A glance behind her told her that the man was heading for the one already fighting with Marce and hadn't seen her, so she looped back up toward the sidewalk and finally came to a rest beside a large tree that sat behind a streetlight.

Sitting there in the shadows, she leaned her head back against the tree. Assessment time. Now that her leg was too numb to feel, her arm was aching pretty badly. It had stopped bleeding, but was sore enough when she poked around it that she was fairly certain it needed to be cleaned out. Her leg was much worse off. Somehow it was still trickling blood, and it was swollen and numb to the point where she couldn't even feel herself pinching her knee. She knew for a fact that it was infected, given that she had fallen down a flight of stairs with it, sat in a boat, gone swimming, been pushed on the ground, and was now sitting on the ground again. However, she was still conscious, though barely, and had no other injuries.

Maybe Daddy should have named me Miracle instead of Grace..

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:59 am

Marce was having a very difficult time with his current mission. The status of both him and his enemy was close to a stalemate, and one he would have been willing to accept. He was all too happy to accept the fact that the Merenzo had a lethal weapon in his possession while Marce had nothing but his fists...which he assumed could be used as a lethal weapon, but there were already two murders he had on his hands already. The Merenzo swung the electrical blue current his way, nearly zapping the bristled brown hairs on his arms before Marce managed to slug him across the forehead with his elbow. The force hurt both him and the Merenzo when the man let out an enraged gutter of pain. Every so often Marce would look behind him to see if he could follow the path that Ace took away from the current situation. If he made it out of the fight, which he planned on doing smoothly, he had to have some sort of idea where she could have gone. He put her in the category of a smart woman. Ace didn't seem like the type to go rushing back to where they had just came from, her apartments.

A blast of white lights were brutally knocked in the back of his head out all of a sudden, mouth opening unconsciously as a few strays of spit and some other fluid flew forth. There was a loud crack across the back of his head that snaked its way into his ears, vibrating his eardrums violently until all he heard was the ringing throughout his cerebrum. the blow had come as quick as his head had whipped forward giving him no room to find the host of the attack. The taser was the only sound in his ears, the blow across the head the only pain he felt. All of Marce's sense had been skewed to many different directions, multiplying and bouncing off of one another like molecules in an atom. Thoughts became disoriented and his mobility had been depleted to a high extent. Smells were beginning to mingle with sights and the only thing he could taste was a hot, sour blood that dripped on his tongue after his teeth clamped hard down on it.

The Merenzo beneath him somehow managed to escape Marce's grappling jabs and elbows, struggling to crawl from beneath him. The street light above them gave a faint light as to where the sudden attacker had come from. Marce had enough sense in him to notice that he came from the direction Ace ran. Apart from the irritation of being beaten in the back of the head, Ace's disappearance made him feel a little more than uncomfortable. He was the one who ordered her to flee and didn't think twice about it in the least. Now she was lost somewhere with Merenzo's sprawling around from each and every angle. If he head Bryson and Alex with him, the current scenario would have been ended in a breeze. Alex would not have hesitated to shoot them both in the corners of their asses if it was to save her leader. With the light still blinding his eyes as he blinked repeatedly, wiggling his body to the right to avoid the sheer sound of the taser, he thought back to when Ace shot the other two without even batting an eye. The only top he had was now running somewhere else, while he still held the--

BRAAAAAAAAAAAACK.

Nothingness.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 4:03 am

Ace sat there against the tree, unable to see what was going on, even though she could hear sounds of the scuffle. With that other Merenzo running down there, Marce was going to be outnumbered and she had no doubts that he would have lost the gun in the water. So he was unarmed, against a pair with guns and tazers and who knew what else. Fantastic. Government trained, maybe, but Marce was no ninja. She frowned and tried to think of something to do, taking in to consideration that she couldn't get up and run in to help him like she might have normally if she hadn't run away by now. Her thoughts kept wandering in useless circles until the answer fell from the sky.

Literally. Well, sort of.

Somebody fell right beside her, and it took her a moment to work out what had happened. A Merenzo, one that she faintly recognized, had apparently been looking for her. He didn't see a root from the tree and had sprawled thanks to being less than graceful. In less than a second, Ace had snapped up the gun that he dropped. Game on. She shot him in the side of the head and took a couple of deep breaths. Okay, think, Ace. Steady hand. She forced herself to stand and peered around the side of the tree, all of her weight on her uninjured leg since she couldn't feel the other. After a moment, she realized she could make out the Merenzo pair carrying Marce's unmoving body between them. Time to play heroine.

She took aim and killed them both, then checked the rounds. She only had one bullet left, and there was bound to be a driver waiting in the car. Already she had killed four Merenzos. She was dead. Sighing, she went to walk over to Marce and collapsed. It was the end of the line, she just couldn't do it anymore. She hurt too badly. Laying there, she didn't even hear somebody walk by and start yelling for the cops to be called, or the screech of tires that could mark the driver escaping before authorities showed up. All she heard were her own thoughts, pulling her into her own mind with an icy grip.

Seconds later, she passed out.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 4:08 am

"I have to get in there to ask some questions, that's all."

"Sir, the two of them are under a very distinct amount of care, and..."

"We know Marce Jove. We're with the BAD. I'm pretty sure there would be no problem with you letting us seem him for a minute."

"No, mam, you misunderstand me..."

"Sir, please. The two of us know Jove like the back of our hands. If we are causing him any real physical damage by asking him a question or two, he'd tell us to shove off. It's a government thing."Alex's last sentence hit the nail directly on the head by the way the balding doctor slumped his eyes in fatigue. The poor old man looked like he was ready to kick the bucket any second then, staggering and swaying here and there while trying to put up a fair a debate with Alex and Bryson who were standing beside him, peering through the poor excuse of a cleaned window. Bryson scrunched a nose at the foul odor that seemed to be secreting off of the old doctor's aura. If it were him in that bed other than Marce, Bryson would not have felt very secured knowing that his life was in that arthritis filled hands.

Not that Marce was in a life or death tangle. He was sitting promptly in the hospital bed, fully dressed in the same lake drenched clothes he had on an hour or so ago, hair now having dried out from the quick ride to the hospital. He hadn't remembered much about that ride at all, having regained consciousness when he was getting wheeled into ICU. Apparently, one of the clerks in the Main Lobby of Decatur Elm General noticed that he was Marce Jove and quickly began panicking at the thought of something going horribly wrong within him. The paranoia swept through the ears of the hospital quick, and if it wasn't for him barking at them to take care of Ace more than himself, they may have put him in a cryo-chamber to keep him from being hurt any longer.

He was an Op. Not a God.

The old doctor gave one more look at both Bryson and Alex before letting out a sigh through a couple of hacked coughs. Bryson made sure to steer clear from the germs that were spewing from the man's mouth. If he were back in Tennessee, he'd definitely have better hospital service than they all were receiving. The doctor had clearly given up the argument, making room enough for the two agents to enter into Marce's room at there well. They both arrived in Georgia approximately 9 minutes ago and were anxious to hear the stories he had to tell them. Marce Jove being hurt by trying to protect a female? That was likely. But being tased and knocked out in less than a minute? Now that had to have some weight behind it.

Once the door opened, Marce nearly popped out of his lounged position in his bed, swinging his full and entire head towards the entrance of the door hoping to see his enemy alive and well...but not expecting to see Bryson and Alex in their casual clothes of tees and blue jeans. After fighting hard not to show the look of disappointment on hi face, Marce managed a small smile, scratching at nothing in the back of his head but nervousness filled the gesture. Bryson and Alex exchanged puzzled looks before choosing their seats on the chairs beside his bed.

"One day back and you're already in the old ice box, huh?" Alex began, trying to sooth the awkward knowingness over.

"More like one hour back. Didn't even get to change my boxers." Marce replied. It was nice to have the two of them there, even though he was expecting someone else. Someone with an hell of a lot of answers. Bryson nudged the edge of the bed Marce was on, a smile tugging on his lips.

"Heard you got knocked up."

"You heard right."

"Care to explain what tactic you failed to use so I can know what not to do the next time I'm in an easy scuffle?"

"Bryson." Alex snapped but Marce simply waved it away. The kid was young and looked up to Jove in a way. He expected the kid wanted some answers as to why his idol was in a hospital.

"Mind just wasn't in it. It was on another potential victim I had to protect." He disregarded telling them she was a female. They already knew. "Better me than her. Anybody."he added quickly. Alex lifted her brow and smoothed her fingers through her short crop of hair. Her face drew up in a motherly kind of fear than a friendly 'are you okay' expression. Marce cringed at it.

"Do you know her?"

"Are we supposed to?" Bryson interjected, eyes shooting straight through Marce's blue one's. He's like a damn Sherlock.

"No and Yes. It's Reflection."

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 4:48 am

Waking up in a hospital is never a pleasant experience. It was one that Ace hadn't experienced in a very long time. She slowly opened her eyes and just stared at the ceiling for a little while, listening to the bleeps and faint hisses that told her where she was. So, she wasn't dead yet. Maybe Marce wasn't either. She was hooked up to oxygen, which she immediately pulled off in an irritated gesture. What was she, eighty? She threw the mask on the floor and half sat up, looking over herself. Well, her skin looked snow white in these lovely lights and the johnny made her look like she weighed as much as a rhino, but that was beside the point. A slender bandage was wrapped around her upper right arm, and she knew the cut had been cleaned and stitched. Her leg was in a thicker wrap with more padding, but all she could see along the edges were a bit of redness. No doubt the edges of a rash from infecting it so badly.

She sat up fully and looked around a bit more, slightly surprised that there was nobody else in the room with her. Did that mean that they had no idea who she was? The government wasn't waiting to ambush her and drag her off to the slaughterhouse? No victory jig from Marce at watching her hang? She frowned a bit and pressed the nurse call button, sick of having to draw her own conclusions.

"Can I help you?" the thin woman asked as she walked in, clearly moody and nearing the end of her shift. It was obvious she'd rather be anywhere else than helping a patient.

"As a matter of fact, you can. I was wondering if I'm free to leave now, and where the bag that I had when I showed up here is," Ace replied, purposely being sweet. The nurse didn't even bat an eye before pulling the bag from the closet and dropping it carelessly on the nightstand, then she stopped and turned to Ace with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, you aren't permitted to leave yet. The doctor needs to check your bandages."

Ace's reaction obviously wasn't what the nurse expected. When she ran out about a minute later after getting everything from the television remote to a vase of flowers thrown at her, she was loudly cursing the 'damned woman' who was apparently the 'worst patient she had ever had'. In her own defense, Ace was mostly angry about the fact that her things had been soaked through, and not about not being able to leave. Oh well. She sighed and opened the bag, trying to decide what was worth keeping and what would need repair immediately.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 5:20 am

It did not take Marce long at all to realize that what he had done was horribly and irrefutably wrong. Alex and Bryson made it hard for him to come to that conclusion with their questions. He had been friends, partners, and comrades with them working around a good 11 years. This was even before they all met up in the last fringes of their college careers. They all majored in Criminal Justice, graduating from Auburn State University while they were living in a small town by the name of Florence. Bryson was a freshman at the time, exceptionally promoted from high school after his Junior year. His intelligent was unmatched and definitely uninterpreted by the board and other members of AU. Marce and Bryson had known one another since High School, picking up Alex along the way in CJ classes. Years passed, degrees came, and the trio found themselves in basic training, waving their arms like maniacal herons once departing the Gas Mask training. It was a long ways coming, but they made it through every single enduring project on the way. The one thing that Marce knew about his two comrades, was that they refused to be left behind on anything that could potentially be dangerous.

He spent his time sitting listlessly in the hospital bed explaining all that had happened after Bob contacted him and told him about Reflection's whereabouts. He was careful to use the name 'Reflection' and not 'Ace' only because he didn't quite believe that was her real name. She knew of all the trouble she was in with the government, and even if she was at an odd ends with the whole drowning facade, for what reason would she blurt out her name with a man that worked for the BAD? And not just any man, at that. If it were Bryson, it wouldn't have been as serious as Marce Jove made it out to be. He had taken the Kelly kidnapping more than personal, and to be honest, saving Ace from those Merenzos did not save her from his wrath.

"Where is she now?"Alex asked with little to no concern in her voice for Ace's state. One way or another, the woman was going to pay for what she had put the BAD through. A little wound here or there didn't matter to Alex in the slightest.

"4 rooms over by what I heard. She had to have the wounds cleaned and decontaminated." Marce said, scratching at the prickled stubble on his chin. The small hairs grew faster than he planned them to on doing. He hated the full beard look. He, along with a couple of other Ops, thought it made him look like some Brad Pitt wannabe, not the vision he was aiming for. He enjoyed the clean shaven look and didn't mind the stubble he wore at the time. He was a man and facial hair was going to catch up to him sooner or later. Besides, he had no one to impress.

"She being watched?"Bryson asked, shattering Marce's thoughts.

"By nurses."

"...Nurses?" That is when it hit Marce. He had left Reflection alone in the care of a nurse. He had left the woman who held the key to his mind's dungeon in her very tongue. He had left Ace and her sly mind alone without his keen eyes. Bryson's almond eyes and Alex's identical colored one's flicked to Marce's before the three of them leaped into a sprint, pushing their way out of the hospital room. The door cracked against the wall, alerting a nurse, a clerk, and some other person who was possibly a family member of a nearby patient. Regardless, Marce swore inside his head when he reached Ace's room, 343. The door was wide open. Not a good sign.

"Dammit!"he swore again, wheeling off to run down the hallway. Both Alex and Bryson exchanged glances before a doctor barked at the two, demanding to know why they were causing so much ruckus in the hospital wings. Marce was already long gone before the doctor to catch him as well. He passed the elevator, swinging open the stairwell door and skipping down the stairs with ease. For an Op, he put little to know thought about Ace's guarding. She was probably a shy away from the city by all he knew! Still, Marce broke through the bottom door of the stairwell, legs pumping passed the Main Lobby, passed the gasps of the late night clerks, and passed the entrance door to a cramped parking lot.

He stopped in his tracks, making not the slightest sound and glancing around for any sign of movement.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 7:55 pm

"I'm offended."

Ace was leaning back against the building, her right foot pressed back against the wall while her left supported her weight. She had her arms crossed over her belly and her bag slung over her shoulder. As soon as she had inspected her belongings, she had dressed. A pair of formfitting jeans, a plain white tank top, and an army green cargo jacket. Add some clean undergarments and a pair of shoes, and she was done. She had made it past the nurses station without even a blink. Apparently they expected her to be unable to move. It was obvious that the nurse she had hurled everything in the room at hadn't spread the story of the dangerous patient.

"After all we've been together, you think that I would just book ass at the first golden opportunity. It's hurtful, Marce. I thought we had something special. In love and all that," she remarked with a faint smirk, emerging from the shadows and meandering over to Marce as she tossed an empty gum wrapper aside. Mmm, mint. "Actually, I was going to leave, but you don't seem like the type of person to just let a girl get out after working so hard to save her ass, so.. Here I am. Also, I decided that I would rather lead you around a little more," she continued on, then paused and looked up at him seriously.

"There are a lot more Kelly's out there, Marce.."

She sighed and stepped back, then turned and looked at the door as it opened again and a man and woman stepped out. Judging by their expressions and how worked up they seemed to be, she immediately assumed that they were buddies of Marce. Just fantastic. She eyed them both, trying to decide which one was likely to snap on her first.

"Good evening."

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 7:56 pm

Marce held his hand up before Bryson and Alex could bombard the female with questions. They were with the government, so they would be all too quick to ask Ace every question in the book, from full name to shoe size. Marce had trouble enough getting a name out of her alone. He doubted seriously that Ace would be open to any and every question the other two had to ask. Besides, this was his show. He had successfully caught Ace (if one could call it 'caught') and had already found out her name and a few attributes she held. There wasn't much Bryson and Alex could do for him except help piss her off.

"You say you're offended in my thought of you escaping and you were going to escape regardless? How strong were those drugs they gave you?" His eyebrow lifted up to spell out his confusion. Alex was the first to take a towards Marce, giving her his all famous "you sure you know what you're doing?" looks. He was accustomed to them and didn't see why the look would help him in a time like this. They were all in a tentative situation seeing as though Ace was not prone to being questioned. Her identity was sealed for a good amount of time before she slipped and got pinpointed by Bob. No one ever evaded Bob for long.

Her words had Marce worried for a second. There were a lot more Kellys...

"And you would know?"he replied, raising his black eyebrow even higher upon his head. Bryson and Alex remained quietly, letting Marce do all of the work. From here on out, his plan was to sweet talk her enough to getting her to agree to reside with him for a while. Either that, or she would be residing in a prison. Any one would have worked. He just preferred for her to be near and under a watchful eye.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 7:57 pm

Ace rolled her eyes but said nothing as he questioned her at first, not caring if he understood or not. She could easily be across the state line by now, and he should know that. In her opinion, he really should just be grateful that she decided to stick around. Of course, she'd likely come to regret that decision, but oh well. Her gaze drifted to the other female in the party and noted her expression. Oh, this was good. Clearly miss secret agent man didn't trust the criminal. Well, that made sense, but it was irritating. It wasn't like she was going to explode into a fit of psychotic rage and strangle Marce before the other two could move.

It was a pleasing fantasy, though.

His next question caught her attention more than the first ones had, because this one was serious. He didn't really doubt her. There was no way that he could, not after he had seen the state of Kelly. Besides, he, of all people, should know just what the Merenzos were capable of. She wasn't going to go about this the wrong way. Baiting BAD had turned out alright but it was useless unless she was in hiding. Now she needed a more direct approach. More importantly, she needed a guaranteed escape route.

"I'll make you a deal, Marce. Are you a gambling man?"

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 7:58 pm

"Depends on what the stakes are."

Actually, Marce was not much of a gambler at all. He couldn't really pick up the past time in his young years. It just didn't appeal to him like holding a gun waist high and firing into a human body did. To bet and put something on the line was not the thrill he needed, yet people of his generation loved doing it. The Merenzo's, for a very prime example, were gambling with their own lives. The BAD was sure that the Merenzos knew good and well that the government were on their trail, even if that trail was a cold one. The moment any sort of hideout or main leader was found, they could consider the group null and void. If Marce worked with a secret evil organization he would not be putting his life on the line just to obey the rules of some stupid boss.

However, Ace didn't seem the type to put his life on the line, but he was all too sure that her freedom and identity were on it. She only cared about herself as far as he knew. All she had done up to that point was things to save her own ass. Even that disturbing (he used the word lightly) kissed they shared in the bed of that lake, she only did it so the Merenzo wouldn't kill her. He didn't believe she gave two shits about him. As a matter of fact, when he was sluggishly yanked to the ground by the Merenzo, telling her to run, she didn't hesitate at all to peel off. Marce eyed the woman with wary eyes, still ignoring the presence of his friends.

"I wouldn't play games with three BAD that aren't more than 15 feet away from you, A...Reflection."he warned, catching himself before he slipped her name from his lips.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:00 pm

"The stakes? How about the lives of forty-seven little girls, some of whom have been missing for over three years?" Ace offered, falling silent for a few moments after that. If she could have, she would have put a stop to the Merenzos a long time ago. Those girls didn't deserve the horrid things that they were put through every waking moment, but Ace was in no position to help them. She could free maybe one, perhaps two, but then she'd be killed and no help to anybody. So she had worked, tracking them all down and keeping up with where they were moved to. Now, there wasn't a single girl that wasn't pinpointed, and she knew all of their identities. The local police would have fudged it up, but BAD? They had the power to really take down the baddies.

"You can tell them my name. It's only fair since I know all of yours," she commented offhandedly, giving a half smile to the two that were silent so far. "Hi, I'm Ace. And, no, that's not my real name, but it sounds a lot more realistic than Reflection does since we're not in the hippie era anymore," she said, not offering a hand to shake since she thought that they'd just ignore it.

"Here's my offer, Marce. I will tell you anything that you need to know or even want to know. I'll explain any detail that you desire and hand you the Merenzos on a shining silver platter that no judge could question. I will also tell you the location of every girl that I mentioned. I just have two conditions. One, that I tell only you. No recording, nobody else sitting by listening, no testifying in court.. No other witnesses to who gave it up to you," she said, pausing to let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"My only other condition is that I don't want a publicized execution," she added quietly. She didn't say that she wanted a deal for no jail time, or that she didn't want to be put to death for what she had done. There was no hope for her to go free after this and she wasn't going to force Marce to swear to it. No more hiding away in some free apartment. Time to face the music and go down in flames.

"So, are you in or out?"

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:02 pm

"No."

"Marce!"

"What!? I'm not dealing with a criminal who sets those kinds of terms!"

"Listen, man, she just said they had 47 girls. You really gonna let them die like that when you have all the answers you want right in front of your face?"

Marce didn't like the way Bryson emphasized the word 'girls' at all. He knew exactly what he was doing to Marce when he said that. An entire can of memories opened up along with some fresh wounds. Ace's words rung in his head like church bells on a wedding day. She knew the location of all of the 47 girls she mentioned were kidnapped, some even up to 3 years. And there he was, thinking they only wanted to hurt the government by stealing the Senator's daughter. Little did they all know....

Ace still held her hand out that Alex took gracefully. The woman was quick to assume someone was dangerous, but her job required a level head and a clear mind. Ace had given that to her by telling her real name. Alex heard Marce's slip before so she was sure Ace was telling the true. Real or not, it was what she was addressed by and that was good enough for her. The handshake was over by the time Alex managed to look back at Bryson and Marce who were talking lowly among themselves.

"Fraternizing with the enemy..."Marce said, darting looks to Ace. He saw no enemy when he looked at her, but knew one dwelt in the inside. Behind those pretty little eyes and those vivacious curves that he swore to keep his gaze off of, Ace was something far more dangerous than he imagined her to be at first sight.

"It's not technically the enemy here. She isn't Merenzo."

"She knows as much as one."

"Which is good."Bryson was to right for his own good and for Marce's will as well. Her deal did not sound half bad. Keeping it a secret among himself was the only difficult part. He worked with the BAD for Christ's sake! Who's to say they wouldn't find out regardless! Still, he had nothing else to go for. Living on a prayer was still not an option. Marce exchanged looks with both Alex and Bryson who only gave him confirmed nods. Marce took out the exhale that seemed to have been waiting in his throat for quite some time, placing a hand around Ace's waist.

"Fine. Let's gamble."

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:03 pm

Marce's immediate rejection was not what Ace expected, but she simply cocked an eyebrow as Bryson attempted to reason with him. She knew that eventually he would cave. There was no way that he couldn't, not with how personally he had taken the Kelly case. It was still a mystery to her why it struck him so soundly, but she didn't care. The bottom line was that he did care, and he would do something about the rest of the girls. That was all she needed from him. A desire to set them free, and he had it. Now she just had to sit back and let Bryson get Marce to realize that he didn't have the option of backing out. She knew that he viewed her as worthless trash, but this wasn't about how much they hated each other.

Though, she didn't hate him.

"Alright. Consider it a deal, then," she said, looking up at Marce for a moment before looking at the other two. They had all left the hospital in a rather large hurry and she could only imagine the fits that the nurses were throwing at losing two patients in under an hour. Undoubtedly they were searching. She sighed at the thought and wondered how much time she had before Marce cornered her alone somewhere and began the interrogation.

"So, are we going to go back inside or leave? I'm starving."

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:04 pm

Marce had just made a very tough decision of agreeing to work with Ace about the whole entire kidnapping case, even after he swore to kill her on sight when he would encounter her. She was the reason he had lost so much sleep in the past few months along with some other things he was not yet ready to describe aloud. And yet the minute he agreed to help her, she didn't bat so much as a single eyelash in though about the entire thing. Bryson must have have been thinking the same way for he laughed aloud while he stepped up to Alex.

"You two go. We have to give some sort of explanation to the doctors." He said while sending a pinch to Alex's forearm. The woman neither hissed, nor blinked, sending her foot slamming down on his toe instead. Bryson knew she was not too fond of leaving Ace in the care of Marce, and only in the care of Marce, at that. The deal did require for the two of them to be the only ones to know about the Merenzo information. As infuriating as it was, Marce agreed to it so Alex had no say so on the matter. She blew out an annoyed breath into the darkening parking lot before turning on her heel and towards the hospital entrance.

"Don't touch me anymore."

"Oh, now it's a problem?"

"Since when was it not a problem?" The two stayed on that subject while the walked away back through the double doors, leaving both Marce and Ace alone in the parking lot. The instant the door closed, Marce snatched his arm away from her waist and clamped down on her elbow instead, pulling her into a brisk stride. Unfortunately, his car was no where near the hospital, but Alex told him that he could borrow her black Crown Victoria for the time being while she hitched a ride with Bryson. It did not take him long to find the car at all but he was stalling by slowing his steps up. He did is best to keep his eyes out for the car and away from her face, because at that moment, he was absolutely livid at her.

"Look. I don't care how much you know. When you're in my house, you will do as I say when i say it. You can cut the sneaky bullshit too. Nothing will be hidden under my roof. Got it?"he snapped, hoping his harsh words would snap into her head before they wheeled off.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:06 pm

Ace didn't react to Alex and Bryson fighting, or to Marce shifting his hold on her to one that she expected more than the other. She followed his lead with no hesitations. Once they were in the car, she merely glanced at him while he snapped at her. It was actually rather irritating that he was just now deciding to treat her this way, and she decided to let him know right then that if he was going to act like a prick, he wasn't going to get anywhere.

"Stop acting like a hardass, Marce. You're a liar and I know that you do care how much I know, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have made a deal with me. If you want to take a swing, pull over and we can get out and fight until you're satisfied. I seriously don't give a shit. But don't you just sit there and say I'm being sneaky when I just offered you more than you could ever discover on your own," she snapped back at him, crossing her arms over her belly after she tossed her bag on the floor by her feet.

She knew he'd probably explode on her for snapping back at him, but he was going to burst sooner or later. Running away from the Merenzos almost seemed like a pleasant experience in comparison to this. She almost regretted stepping in and killing the pair who had been about to cart him off to their headquarters. Not that he'd remember that, of course, since he had been unconscious and useless to everybody.

"I'm here because I want to help you. I could have run. Just keep that in mind," she murmured after a little while, looking out the car window to watch the scenery pass by.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:07 pm

He hated her being right. Oh, how he hated her being so prissy and perfect and right all the damned time. It seemed as if Marce had forgotten how stubborn and naive women could be apart from vulnerable. he spent most of his time trying to save them than he did trying to get to know them. That was still a dangerous thing to do. Getting close to a woman who was potentially dangerous? Marce had kept his distance, though some managed to sneak there way into his personal thoughts and love life, despite all of his inner warnings, Marce Jove was still a man. He was capable of loving, affection, and other things he could have given to those women. The world. Everything they ever wanted. Marce took one look at Ace and gripped the wheel while taking a sharp left turn

"You don't have to offer anything to me to say you're not being sneaky. You won't even tell me your real name! How am I supposed to know that everything you tell me about...about that would be true? You could be leaving some parts out for all I know."he said, not trying at all to keep the anger out of his mouth. Ace was provoking him in more ways than one. She was still being right but she was being right in his car on the way to his house. Marce kept his white knuckled grip on the wheel and managed to bite his tongue for a few minutes. The two of them had successfully passed the hospital and a string of restaurants and fast food business as well. He didn't look at them at all, keeping his eyes steadily on the road ahead of him.

"There's food at the house. I usually don't cook this late at night, but since we have a lot of discussing to do, I don't see why not." His voice was softer than it was before and also wasn't forced to be that way. He was done with the arguments and the bickering for the time being. His silence was his unintentional way of apologizing for being...what did she call it?

"A hardass, huh?"he chuckled, wheeling the beautiful Crown Vic into the Decatur Elms subdivision, only a few blocks away from, where he had first found Ace laying at the bottom of the staircase. His house didn't stick out as much as the others did. It was a simple double floored house with a garden that wasn't anything fantastic. He pressed a button above his head that activated the loud, roaring opening of his garage door. The sound seemed to have awaken the entire neighborhood. Marce flinched, just knowing he was being paranoid.

Marce Jove. Paranoid. So, pigs did fly.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:09 pm

Silent for a few minutes, she actually considered what he said. Of course he was right. He couldn't just say something that was completely stupid and wrong, oh no. Instead, he had to go and point out something obvious and right that she hadn't really considered because she didn't care how he viewed things. She sighed, wondering why her real name was so damned important to him. If she wanted to leave things out, then she wouldn't have offered to tell him every little detail. Apparently he thought she was far sneakier than she even gave herself credit for - and that was a lot. She frowned a bit and chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, watching businesses flash by as he spoke of discussing and cooking. He didn't sound as righteous anymore, which was nice.

"Yeah, a hardass. A pretend hardass, might I add," she retorted, though she was smiling a little bit. She watched the door go up, silent as they pulled in until the engine was cut. Pulling her bag up into her lap, she paused for a moment instead of getting out.

"Okay. I'll tell you part of my real name. I'm not going to tell you the whole thing, and not just because I don't want you digging around. There's more to it than that," she said, eying him a bit as she wondered what he'd say. There was no doubt he was going to try and dig stuff up on her anyway, but she knew that without her full name he'd have nowhere to go. She wasn't in any sort of system and she looked completely different than any picture taken of her since she hadn't been in front of a camera for over ten years.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:10 pm

You act as if I am going to turn you into the authorities with a click of my ruby red slippers. If giving me your full name is such a problem then I am wasting my time with you. Marce Bernard Jove. Born on July 28th, 1986. I don't know tall I am or how much I way because it keeps changing constantly. I work for the Bureau of American Defense, as you would probably know, and my job is to take down any threats in or outside the States. But you can relax your little head. I don't consider you as a threat. Just a problem."

The entire while, he didn't bother to help her lug her bag into the door to his house which they had gotten to from the garage. Out of the darkness and into the darkness, Marce fumbled around on the left wall for the light switch. He had done this many times before to the point where he wondered if he would never know the position of that thing. His fingers eventually flew over a smooth plate, eventually finding the tiny rectangular prism like switch, before turning the light on. Apparently he was in the dark for too long. The light blasted in his eyes much like the taser had in the hands of that Merenzo, so much so, that his muscles had suddenly gotten tense. He dashed one look at Ace's calm expression before his shoulders finally hunched down to their normal length.

"Kitchen. Dining room is straight ahead. Living room is to the right. Bathrooms down the hall. Don't worry about upstairs yet. I'll have your room prepared after we eat. So make yourself at...." He hesitated before walking away from her, going straight to the cabinets. "Go in the Living Room." Marce was so used to being kind, polite, and decent when he had a girl in his home. Women didn't like snarky men who didn't offer them anything, especially if they made the women feel like an uncomfortable guess. Bryson called it being a sap. Marce called it manners and being a gentleman. He just didn't know if Ace, or whatever the fuck her name was, deserved it.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:11 pm

Ace said nothing at first, not mentioning that she already knew his first name and his birthday. There was no point in saying it. She knew that it was only fair play that she told him her name and maybe even her birthday too, but it wasn't the fear of him turning her in that was keeping her quiet right now. Frowning to herself, she followed him inside and glanced around as he pointed out the different rooms. It was a pretty nice place - better than the bachelor pad full of roomies that she had half been expecting. She rolled her eyes at his command to go in the living room but obeyed anyway since she didn't have anywhere else she'd rather go yet.

"My birthday is August 17th, 1989. I am 5'6" tall and the last time I weighed myself I was hovering around 135, but that was quite a while ago and I like to munch on peanut butter so it's probably gone up by now," she said after a few minutes, kneeling on the couch with her arms resting on the back as she watched him in the kitchen, her chin cradled in one palm. Tapping her cheek for a moment, she finally sighed and continued.

"My name is Grace. So, I didn't really lie. Ace has been my nickname for over ten years and I don't answer to Grace. If you want more than that, you're either going to have to get me drunk or start begging on your knees."

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:12 pm

Marce took in everything she said while she made her way to the living room. He had told himself to follow her and make sure she didn't take too much of an interest in the things he had in his living room. Of course, he wasn't one of those men that hung baby pictures of himself everywhere, family portraits, or old relationship relics around so people could poke and prod and ask uncomfortable questions. In a way, he was kind of like Ace. Or Grace now, he assumed.

"I have water."he said before wheeling himself away from her and to his kitchen instead. She found the living room okay and didnt look like she needed any help picking a seat or anything. Marce stood true to his words, making his way to the refrigerator. The moment he opened it, a cold blast of air tickled the hairs on his forearms. Everything in the kitchen turned into snow in seconds flat, the hum of a helicopter clearly audible in his ears. Marce knew he was hallucinating, going deep into his memory of Kelly's rescue. They came here in there in bits and pieces, even when he was in mid conversation. Strange enough, the thought of rescuing her was not reliving him...

It was haunting him.

"So...You like sandwiches?" he called out from the base of the kitchen, staring into his refrigerator blankly. As much as he didn't want to admit, and he really didn't want to admit it, Ace's company was helping him in a way. Her being there was giving him something to look forward to. It gave him the sense that he didn't fail. Actually he achieved more than he set out to! Not only did he bring back the Senator's daughter (nearing death or not), but he had also caught the person that was...calling the shots? Is that what she was doing. Marce's blue eyes darted towards the empty space leading off to the opposite room, waiting for her response.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:13 pm

"So does that mean you're going to start begging on your knees now?" she quipped as he mentioned that he had water. She had a teasing smile on her lips that she kept to herself, knowing that he wouldn't bother to look at her. Her mind started to wander to everything that had happened in the past two days. She lost most of her equipment because she chose to burn it herself, the Merenzos had found her and tried to kill her to keep her quiet, and she had landed herself in the hands of Marce Jove. Not only that, but she had spent almost an entire day that she couldn't remember in a hospital and had likely saved Marce's life from what she could remember.

How messed up.

"Sandwiches are fine. I'll eat anything at this point, I'm not picky," she said, turning to sit correctly on the couch. She glanced around, noticing that there didn't seem to be any overly personal items laying around. No surprise there. She pulled her bag between her feet on the floor and opened it up, rummaging around inside until she found what she wanted. After a moment she withdrew a tablet computer and flicked it on, setting it beside her on the couch as she closed her bag up and set it aside. She tapped the screen a few times until she had what she wanted to show him, then just sat and waited for him to come in.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:15 pm

"I don't do peanut butter, so you'll just have to deal with a ham and cheese sub."he called back out, returning his blue eyed gaze back onto the cutting board and half a pound of ham he purchased last week at Wal-Mart. It was still good. Marce rummaged through the tiny cabinet beside him, fingering around for a knife until he grabbed one that was familiar to him by its wooden handle. He grabbed it and began to cut semi-thin pieces of ham onto the cutting board. Marce winced as he looked down at the slivers of meat falling from the pound and laying listlessly against the cutting board. The whole scene felt too...homey to him. A woman waiting for him in the next room over while he prepared a meal and a drink of sorts. He said water, but Marce had no intentions of drinking that at all. He had a bottle of Malibu Rum, Kaluha, Vodka awaiting him: A Mudslide, his favorite drink. After all that he had been through in the past 2 weeks, he deserved it and some.

When the ham was neatly stacked against the side of the cutting board, Marce proceeded to wheel himself to the refrigerator to take out the other necessities: cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, that kind of thing. For the most part, he liked his sandwich with no condiments. Bread, meat cheese, and a few vegetables would do, but the only one's he had was half a cucumber and a tomato. Those would have to do. He was slowly beginning to notice that she got a little quieter than normal. not sure if that was a good or a bad thing yet, Marce took a breather and decided to force a conversation out of her, and not the one he was awaiting.

"What do you want on it? Cucumbers? Tomatoes? Condiments of some sort? Or, you can just come in here and make it yourself. This isn't Subway."he joked with a chuckle.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:15 pm

Ace nodded to herself, then remembered that he couldn't see the movement and just stood up instead. She carried the small tablet with her into the kitchen and flicked out a piece on the back that let her stand it up like an easel. Facing the screen toward Marce, she picked up a plate and started constructing her own sandwich from the ingredients he had laid out.

"As you can see, it's a map of the US. The little red flags are current locations of girls being held against their will. Of course, for some of them, they've been brainwashed for so long that it's not against their will anymore," she said, then tapped the screen so that it expanded to a world view. Little red flags dotted all over Europe and Asia as well, and there were even a couple in Australia. "This is what you've just bought into, Mr. Jove," she murmured, finishing off her sandwich construction and taking a seat at the bar to begin munching.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:17 pm

The sandwhich worked so many wonders on both his mood and energy that he was tempted to check it for some type of drug. He looked into the oval shaped bite mark that he made into the sub, looking through the ham, cheese, and cucumbers, but finding nothing out of the ordinary. His paranoia was soothed over as he finally realized that he just hadn't had such a good meal in a long while. Airplane food was not his idea of a good meal; first class or not, and he damn sure didn't enjoy the packed food on the c-130 through every one of his drop missions. Just to be home and taste the savory lean ham on white bread was enough for him. The tiniest of moans escaped him, almost forgetting that Ace was in the room.

He eyed her as she walked...no...strode into the kitchen. Marce was halfway through a bite of his sub when he saw her come into the room. Her hips seemed to be doing more movement than her legs were, swinging left and right with the momentum of her steps. Lips sunk into the bred, Marce's gaze landed on her lower body, eyeing her all the way up. He had denied it so many times before, but Ace was a woman if there ever was one, and a damn good looking one at that. For starters, her body was perfect. Not good looking. Not decent. Perfect. Slender waist, nice sized bust, and legs that were in shape. He cursed his manly perceptions of her, biting through the water filled cucumber while she set up the computer. Better remember who she is than what she looks like.

"47 flags all over the world, each for a girl that had been captured. Are you telling me the Mernezo's are the ones who have them?"he asked, setting his sandwich down while he wheeled his way to her side. The computer was a small, intricate looking thing. Expensive, too. That was an eye opener but he decided to save the nit-picking inquires for later.

"Scratch that. Let's start off with how you know all of this stuff." Marce positioned himself on the counter in front of her, leaning on his side and grabbing for his sandwich. He kept eye contact with her, refusing to look at anything else. Marce Jove was in business mode.

Subject: Re: Track Ops: Reflection Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:18 pm

Eying Marce as he perched himself on the counter in front of her, she set her plate on his lap since he had taken the space and continued to munch on her sandwich as if using a BAD operative for a table was an everyday occurance. Ace was still adjusting to thinking of Marce as a bad guy, really. She had never had an issue with him before she met him, which was the opposite of how it probably should have been. In all of her contacts to him, however, she had viewed him as an ally. Now they were working together, but it was far from a partnership and she was certain that as soon as Marce got every little piece of information that he wanted, she'd be dead.

"Well ye-" she started to reply, then paused and considered what he chose to ask instead. It wasn't really a specific question, and she knew that he'd know that. 'How do you know all of this?' wasn't the same as 'Who told you where they were?' or 'When did you find out?' She sighed and leaned back a bit, taking another bite of her sandwich and swallowing before she bothered to speak to him again.

"I know because it's my business to know, just like how it was my business to know who you were and how to get in touch with you when you needed to find Kelly," she said, looking at him steadily without so much as a blink. "There are answers here that you aren't going to like if you dig too deeply, Marce, and we should probably avoid that for now until we get the more urgent matters out of the way. Most of these girls are not in good health," she added, hoping to redirect his attention off of herself.