"Oh, Alex," Melissa Mao sounded disgusted as the half Asian woman moved a bit to shield Tessa with her body. "Sorry about this, Mel," Alexandria Kinnaid said calmly, holding a pistol on them both from where she stood at the other side of the circular table. The blonde haired beauty was stunning, in a California girl sort of way, and it made the cruel glint in her eyes even more startling in comparison. "Let me guess," Mao kept her hands up, the black haired woman deceptively calm, "you're working for Amalgam?" Alex nodded, the café around them deserted as her armed companions finished driving out the customers into the snow outside, "They contacted me after I left the Marines, much like I've heard you were scouted by Mithril." A smile, "Ironic, no?" "Hilarious," Mao said dryly. "How can you do this?" Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa asked, the smaller woman peering from behind Mao, "I thought the two of you were..." Alex laughed, "Spare me." A cruel smile, "Mel here was a good fuck back when we were Marines, nothing more. And now you're going to make me a great deal of money, when Amalgam squeezes Mao dry and I hand you over to Mr. Silver, Tessa." "No way in hell," Mao said, kicking out at the table where they had begun this meeting so innocently. It slammed into Alex, stunning her as Mao lunged forward to grab at the other woman's gun. Tessa drew her pistol a bit clumsily from beneath her casual clothes and turned to the startled Amalgam foot soldiers and fired, sending the men diving for cover. Speaking into a button on her shirt collar she shouted, "Go!" From a sniper position across the street Kurtz Weber grinned, the blonde haired man pulling the trigger on his rifle. "Yes ma'am," he murmured as he pulled the trigger, dropping a soldier foolish enough to be out behind cover. "Shit," Alex cursed as she fought for the gun, "you knew it was a trap?" Mao punched her, sending blood splattering as she ripped the gun from Alex's hands, "No, but I'm not taking someone as important to me as Tessa along without a few precautions." Bursting through a café window Sosuke Sagara dove in amid the Amalgam troops, his knife flashing as the combat suited teen went to work. His dark brown hair fell into his eyes as he ducked beneath desperate blows and lashed out with deadly efficiency, blood splattering the tile on the floor. "Is that everyone?" Tessa asked, trying to keep any quiver from her voice. From outside Kurtz swept the snowy streets, her eyes narrowed beneath the civilian clothes he wore for disguise. Not to mention the winter gear keeping him warm in his snow covered perch. "A few stragglers," he reported, "but I think Amalgam's calling it a night." "So," Alex asked as she wiped blood from her face, standing with her few surviving troops, "what now?" "I should kill you," Mao said dryly as she held her gun on them steadily, "we certainly can't hand you over to the police or the US military." "Ready," Sosuke said calmly, his rifle freed from his back pack and ready to go. "But it's nearly Christmas," Mao said after a moment, "so I think mercy is possible." She nodded to the door, "Get out of here while you can." "You're kidding me," Alex blinked even as her and her men slowly began to edge towards the doors. "Mao?" Tessa looked up at her in alarm as Alex and her surviving team bolted. Mao gestured her to silence even as she used her radio, "Kurtz, you see them?" "We're moving out," Kurtz agreed as he packed up his sniper gear, his teammates already prepared, "we'll follow them back to their hidey-holes and capture them there. Hopefully we'll get some additional leads on Amalgam this way." "Don't do anything stupid," Mao added. "I didn't know you cared," Kurtz said as he and his team raced across the rooftops. "I don't," Mao shot back, "but filling out all the forms if you get yourself killed would be a pain in the ass." "And here I was worried that you were being soft on a old friend," Tessa shook her head, smiling slightly. "Nah, I'm just a evil old lady," Mao grinned back. "Ma'am," Sosuke saluted, "request permission to join them?" "Granted," Mao nodded, "and watch yourself. I'm pretty sure Chidori would be annoyed if you got yourself killed." "Thank you," Sosuke said, moving off into the night. Finally relaxing a bit Mao turned to Tessa, "Are you all right?" "Yes," Tessa puffed out a sigh at Sosuke leaving her without a word. Of course that was to be expected from the all business soldier, but it still hurt. "Want me to talk to that blockhead?" Mao offered as they left the café, both women grabbing their thankfully undamaged coats before leaving. "It's fine," Tessa shook her head. She smiled a bit sadly, "I understand that I can't change what sort of man Sosuke is." The snow crunched beneath their boots as they walked down the street, away from the café and the violence that had happened there. "Are you in any hurry to go back to the TDD?" Mao asked, her breath showing in the winter air. "Not really," Tessa smiled, "I received my family letter earlier this week. We rarely do more than that." "Yeah, my family and I don't do much either," Mao understated. She looked down at Tessa, "How about you and I do our own, private celebration then?" Tessa gave her a searching gaze then smiled once more, "I think I'd like that." "Good, we'll go get dinner," Mao waved grandly, "get drunk and do kareoke." "Gee, I almost wish I had been kidnaped," Tessa groaned. "Don't be a stick in the mud," Mao laughed. "I am not," Tessa stomped her foot. "Ha, I bet you couldn't even keep up with me," Mao grinned. "Oh really?" Tessa gave her a look, "we'll see about that." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 "Welcome back, Captain," Commander Mardukas said, the older man smiling as Tessa climbed out of the copter. "Oooh," Tessa winced, "quiet, please." "She's a little hung over," Mao said as she assisted Tessa down the steps to the deck. "What happened?" Richard Mardukas demanded. "I think it was the vodka shooters," Mao mused, "or maybe the Long Island ice teas that did it, I'm not sure." "Why did you let...?" Mardukas started. "Shhh," Tessa waved them to silence, her expression pained, "fight LATER." "Sorry," Mao sighed. "Oh, Richard?" Tessa said as they walked. "Yes?" he asked. "Melissa Mao's room assignment is being changed," Tessa revealed, "she's moving in with me." "What?" Mardukas blurted, stopping in surprise. Hurrying to catch up he demanded, "What happened?" "Do you really want the details?" Mao smirked even as she took Tessa's hand. "Ah, never mind," Mardukas blushed. "Were you intending to seduce me last night?" Tessa asked softly as they walked on. "I'd thought about it," Mao admitted, "as far back as that damned paint ball fight." "Really?" Tessa looked surprised. Mao smirked, "You're sexy when you're victorious." Tessa blushed. End Notes: This is based on mostly my imagination, as well as the close friendship between the characters in FMP. The Wikipedia articles on FMP were also used for reference, as well as to refresh my memory on plot points. I may or may not go into detail on their night out later, as I'm pretty sure it would end up as a lemon-fic.
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