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[latino_menace]

It's been a miserable few days and that's an understatement. Worse than that, it's been boring. He doesn't know whether they've lost the Americans or if they've just missed them by chance but there hasn't been a single attack since that first night. The jungle is disgustingly hot and just when it almost becomes unbearable, it starts to rain and keeps going for hours - which makes the place hot and wet. The heat never eases; it's exactly like walking through a sauna set to maximum heat. And the terrain makes things worse, if that's possible. It's slow going while half of them hack the foliage away and the rest of them struggle over rocks and crevices and through mud and scrub and tree stumps. The insects are constantly attacking them and there are any number of deadly species around here - he's also noticed jaguar tracks in places (the only tracks he can identify, for obvious reasons) and the mosquitos are starting to drive him insane.

Ramon is sick to fucking death of military rations, being sticky and filthy and bored. But these aren't the only problems he's noticing. Every night when they make camp, the men in his crew are quite obviously becoming more relaxed with the situation - the less danger the Americans seem to pose, the more they start not being afraid and their thoughts are turning to matters closer to home. Namely, the foreigners in their midst.

He's caught all of them, save Esteban, staring at Mary Anne in ways he imagines she probably doesn't like - the expressions range from lustful to mutinous depending on whether she's telling them what to do or doing something less intrusive, like coming back from changing clothes or cleaning up or anything similar. He's sure she's noticed herself so hasn't said anything since his original warning but it seems clear that things are going to come to a head at some point.

With Roxas, it's more like hate. He's not around so often and they don't know where he goes or what he's doing there. The kid is so impervious to anything around him and can't really be passed off as human by any stretch of anyone's imagination. The heat doesn't affect him, he doesn't sleep or eat or get uncomfortable in the conditions. He's also dressed differently and is impossible to insult. Ramon can virtually see their fists itching whenever the guy comes into camp but he doesn't know if it's registered with Roxas at all.

He doesn't do anything. He brought those two because they know how to handle themselves, not because he wanted to babysit. And because he's tired and in a bad mood, he doesn't think anything of leaving camp at night when he wants to think things over without being surrounded by people. Tonight, he takes Esteban with him because they have things to talk about.

Perhaps, in hindsight, this isn't a good idea. After all, they need some people left to carry the stuff.

Comments

[latino_menace]

Said some people may have been having more than just mutinous thoughts. We might go as far as to say there was planning involved, done out of earshot of the boss. They all know that Ramon's distracted by this situation and even when he's not, he's not omnipotent. When he's off talking to Esteban or the foreigners, there's plenty of time for them to talk amongst themselves.

And now they have their chance. The cover story is all in place. There are seven of them left - three for the girl, they'd decided, and four for the boy because he's creepy.

Rico heads outside the light of the camp on the pretext of taking a piss. Juan is getting up to look for something in his pack; he's behind Mary Anne and when he's got his hand on the knife hidden in his stuff, he nods to Luiz. Cue given, Luiz gets up and walks over to her.

'You got a light? Rain got into mine.'

He looks harmless enough.

[song_tra_bong]

So did she, once upon a time.

"Sure."

She slips a matchbook from her back pocket and holds it out to him.

[latino_menace]

He takes them without removing his eyes from her, lights his cigarette casually.

'You like this, don't you? Your kind of place.'

Juan's moving in. He's quick and quiet.

[song_tra_bong]

She nods.

"I like it just fine."

[latino_menace]

'Really?' comes the question, only it's not from Luiz, it's from Juan as he presses the sharp balde of his knife to her neck.

'How about now?'

Beat.

'Get up.'

[song_tra_bong]

"I like it a bit less."

She stands slowly, hands out at her sides.

(goddammit she told him she would be careful, but she wanted to believe they were smarter than this)

"Where are we going, boys?"

[latino_menace]

'Somewhere a bit less...obvious.'

Juan turns her round and walks her out of the light of the camp. Rico isn't far away and has lit a flashlight so they can see where he is. It's clear they've planned this.

[song_tra_bong]

Maybe, but they can't have planned for everything.

"So what's the story going to be? I tripped and fell on somebody's knife?"

[latino_menace]

It's more than likely they haven't prepared anything like as well as they think they have.

'Nah,' drawls Luiz, winking at Juan. 'I think we can do better than that.'

The knife tightens on her throat as they join Rico. He has a rope and one end is already secured around a stout tree, similar to the way owners allow their dogs a long chain to have some freedom.

Given that there's three of them, the chances of much freedom are low.

'Maybe you just disappeared. Got bored and left - maybe you work for the Americanos. Fuck, you are American. The boss has been betrayed before, you know?'

[song_tra_bong]

She almost says 'not by me,' but that would be a lie.

(Betrayal is an important part of their relationship, after all.)

What she does say is this:

"You think he's dumb enough to believe any of that?"

[latino_menace]

Rico speaks for the first time. He's worked for Ramon for years and has seen him do many terrible things. He was there when he murdered his brother in cold blood and is sure of one thing;

'Are you dumb enough to think he cares?'

He walks towards her with the end of the rope in his hands.

'He'll find his way out without you.'

[song_tra_bong]

She can't let them bind her.

Which means she's pretty sure she can't get out of this without killing all of them.

She'll apologize to Ramon later.


She snaps her head back hard, aiming for Juan's face, and hopes for the best.

[latino_menace]

She connects but probably not as well as she'd like to. Still, it's enough to dislodge the knife at her throat; it's still close but it's off her jugular.

Rico and Luiz look surprised but it's only a heartbeat or two before they're moving in to grab her. Rico has to drop the rope as he comes forward, his hands reaching to take her shoulders.

'Bitch!'

That's from Juan who, perhaps unsurprisingly, looks furious.

[latino_menace]

As soon as Mary Anne's been taken out, the four remaining men stand in silence and leave the camp too. They know where Roxas is standing guard; they saw the woman decide on this place to camp as it had such a defendable way in. There's a good vantage point a little way up the hill above them.

They spread out, meaning to come at him from three different points. As with Mary Anne, one person goes to approach him on some casual pretext in the hope of distracting him while the others move in.

No one ever accused Ramon's employees of subtlety.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

The blank expression of the young Nobody doesn't change in the slightest as he looks at the guy coming close to him.

He's not blinking.

[latino_menace]

The not blinking was one of the first things that unnerved these men but they soon got used to it, lost among all the other things wrong with him.

Carlos is the one who drew the short straw for this one. He's nervous but he only needs to hold the thing's attention for a minute or so, while the others close in.

'Hey, amigo. You see anything out there?'

He resists the urge to pass his hand in front of Roxas's eyes to see if he can get any movement.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

"No. Somebodies should stay where it's safe." He practically disappears in his uniform coat. Even the pale blond of his hair seems murky and faded. "Go back to camp."

[latino_menace]

He's confused but it just makes his expression look belliegerent.

'What's a Somebody?'

It sounds like an insult and he's damned if he's going to take that off this piece of shit. Plus, the fading is creeping him out and he hopes the others won't be long.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

"Anyone who isn't Nobody. Real people." his voice is flat and empty and so are his eyes. "You. You are real. Somebody. A person. I am not."

[latino_menace]

'You got that right,' he mutters under his breath, glad to hear the sound of a stone rolling down the slope behind Roxas. They're close.

'How the fuck'd you get here, man? You're not real.'

He's really curious.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

"I'm very stubborn." Roxas says while calling his Keyblades into his hands and starting to lay into the people coming after him.

He's fast. He's really fast. He also has no mercy. He doesn't understand what that means.

[latino_menace]

Carlos...stands and stares, with his mouth literally hanging open. He wasn't prepared for that and...fuck, how can anything move that fast?

'...shit.'

He does the sensible thing after the first unmistakable noise of someone dying...he turns and runs, back towards the camp where it should be safe.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

Roxas doesn't make any more noise than an asp. He herds the remaining Somebodies back towards Ramon with the same single-minded annoyance.

"Here. Deal with them."

[latino_menace]

Ramon had returned to the camp a few minutes before to find it deserted. He and Esteban were just in a heated discussion about what the fuck was going on, when Roxas shows up with two of them, both of whom look terrified.

'...what happened?'

Though, y'know. He can guess.

[lockitwithkeys.livejournal.com]

"They tried to jump me. I only killed one."

This could change at any second. For all that they are giant fuckin keys the Keyblades are very sharp and very dangerous.