We do what we must, because we can.

Mission Goals: - Find the NSF's secret generator. Paul's team will raid the warehouse when the generator is destroyed and the EMP field goes down. -- Talk to the locals in the bar or the clinic for clues to the location of the generator.

Red lights faintly illuminated the bar as JC entered, moving past the exit sign and stopping at the opening. To his left was a booth and a few tables, alongside Eva - whom he had met faintly before while at UNATCO during the training exercises - and an unkempt businessman in a brown suit was talking with her while sitting down in the booth. To his right was the bar area, a bartender who had bottles of wine shelved behind her, two people near the end of the bar, a greying man observing the others as he waited to order a beer and Lovelace, who was seated in the middle chair of the bar.

Moving past the pillar in the room towards the bar, he stood next to Lovelace, who had her elbow propped up and her chin in her palm while at the bar, keeping to herself. He spoke with barkeep first.

"What can I get ya?" "You work here, you must know the area; heard of an old warehouse with an illegal power generator?" "Not exactly, but if you're looking for a warehouse, you should probably start in the warehouse district." "Where's that?" "A few blocks south, not a bad walk, but the riot police have blocked the roads because of the NSF." "I'd like to check it out. " "Well, you may be out of luck. Even though one of the old warehouses faces onto the park, I don't know how you'd get inside." "Sounds like a good place to start" "Something to drink? Everything in the bar, snacks too, just 10 credits." "No, thanks."

The barkeep moved to the side after speaking, going to clean some glasses. JC turned to Lovelace, speaking to her now.

"I didn't take you for a drinker." "I-" "HEY, JC!"

A piercing voice interrupted Lovelace, calling out to man, causing his and Lovelaces heads to snap towards the source of it. Eva waved him over, a wide grin on her face as she spotted the rookie. He took a glimpse over at the woman besides him, who gave him a 'go head' nod towards Eva. Given he was about to question her, his body gave a smidgen of hesitation before walking over.

Lovelace went back to her thoughts, fingers taut against her cheek whilst she hoped nothing bad happened from them speaking together. She still couldn't get a read on JC, but she held faith that what Paul said about him was true.

"Didn't expect to see you here!" Eva walked up to JC, arm going around his shoulders after sauntering towards him, directing him towards the other occupant at the booth; Charles Sunderland, who only seemed to be perturbed by the appearance of another agent and glanced down to the floor to avoid his obscured gaze. "I knew you were going to take me up on that beer offer!"

JC detached himself from Eva, not yet calling out the violation of his personal space and focusing on business first. "Why aren't you helping us deal with the terrorists?"

"Nnnnot my problem this time, Denton. I'm not assigned to this mission." Eva sat back down, putting her arms behind her head as a cushion, laying back against the booth seat. "It's not like you need me, you have a whole armada out there."

"And? Just because you're not assigned to a mission, doesn't mean you should sit on your ass and do nothing while we get shot at."

Arms moved from her head to being crossed in front of her, contempt over her actions being called out abundant in her tone. "Dude, I'm sent on missions specifically involving mass casualties, my augments will set the surrounding area on fire."

The small glimmer of his perception of her began to deteriorate as they spoke, her attitude only serving to irritate him. "It wouldn't hurt for you to be careful then, unless you're adamant on using them sloppily. It's always possible to use a firearm."

"I'm not getting my ass up. If you have a problem with it, talk with our boss about it." Eva sneered up at JC, his indignation onto serving to piss her off more. "Fuck off and go do your mission."

Bothered, he opted to let the conversation go. He couldn't do anything right now, and he couldn't afford to waste time on distractions. He'll just have to bring it up to Manderley later.

He took a mental note of Charles, who had still yet to meet his eyes, before going back to the bar next to Lovelace. "As you were saying?"

Lovelace focused back onto JC after a side-glance towards the people he just left, adjusting her seating to where she and him could look face to face. "I'm not a drinker, I have to get some socialization in somehow outside of work."

A pause from JC. "…I haven't seen you talk with anyone besides me."

She pointed her index finger up, "It's still talking outside of work. Well, talking outside of it for me, not so much for you." Lovelaces eyes went to the opening he came from. "If any injured come in there's at least a doctor on the scene in here. I know we're right next to the Free Clinic, but with all the shooting outside, it's hard to move between the two safely."

"You're lucky it hasn't spilled into here." JC's eyes followed hers towards the exit, hearing the faint sounds of gunshots from outside before going back to her.

"Shit, do you think he heard of anything before you called him over?" Charles anxiously whispered over to Eva, sweat practically pouring off of him as he brought it up.

Lovelace shook her head. "I know. I'm not a drinker, but even if I was, I don't think I would considering. Better safe and sober, than drunk and sorry."

" Smart - " As he spoke, Charles and Eva continued to speak, assuming their voices were obscured by the conversation going on.

"Nah, if he did, his brown-nosing ass would have said something." Eva shook her head.

" - Are you familiar with the warehouses here? There's one that contains a generator we need to knock out."

"He still makes me nervous. What if he gets in the way of me and.. Charles eyes looked back to JC, not moving his head so Lovelace didn't see him.

" Hrm.. I don't know if it's the right one... but.." Lovelace hummed. "I know there's this one warehouse that has a hidden window you could break open near the tail end of the fighting. I think .. soooouth of here? I'm sure you'll find it, I think the garage door for it is partially open."

Deadpan expression broken, JC's eyebrows furrowed as he listened in. What were they planning? "Even if it's not, it - "

"Maybe, we shouldn't, not while he's here." Charles groaned, putting his face into his hands. "If she was easier about this, it wouldn't have to come to this. Why does she have to be so dif-

" It-"

"Relax, man. Once she orders, I'll get you her." A grin rose on Evas face. "It'll be easy. It's not the first time I've done it before."

"JC?" Lovelace watched as JC walked over to Charles. He ripped him away from his seat by his collar, causing the the lady at the bar and Jock to break their conversation, looking over.

"What the hell are you two talking about?"

"N-Nothing! We're talking about nothing!" He struggled against JC's grasp, collar moderately ripping, yet, not giving away enough to where he could run.

Eva got up, the coils on her augments beginning to heat up, "Fuck. Off. You're wasting time by being in the bar."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you. Whatever you two were planning, knock it off before I tell Manderley that he needs to hire another flamethrower specialist." A pointed threat he intended on taking if need be. They didn't state what they planned to do, but one could make assumptions.

JC positioned Charles away to his side as Eva stood inches away from him, scowling as she brought up her heated augmented arm in an attempted intimidation tactic. "You wanna fight, don't you? 'Gotta say, you have more balls compared to your brother."

"You should leave before you set the place on fire."

" I-" Eva looked down to her now red hot arm, huffing and pushing him away. She didn't care that she was leaving Charles behind, he could flounder by himself. She knew Manderley would end up taking her side, he always did even if she was in the wrong, though right now the thoughts of beating JC's face in only grew.

JC's lip curled as he brought Charles closer to his face. "If I see you around here or her again, the only thing you'll have to worry about is what color suit the mortician chooses for your funeral. Go." He proceeded to throw him towards the exit, Charles stumbling to get his footing before running out as fast he could away from JC.

The ones at the bar watched as JC came back to Lovelace, turning his head back to her. "They were talking about you."

"I know." She rubbed the back of her neck, sighing.

"You know?"

She frowned, nodding. "I've been overhearing it this entire time. Don't worry about me."

"You sure?"

"This isn't the first time she's tried to barter me with someone. Go on with your mission, I'll give you a check-up once we're back." Lovelace glanced over to Jock before peering back to JC. She slipped down from her seat, JC grabbing and giving her her cane.

"I'm going to stick near Jock on the off-chance she comes back, he may not be augmented like you or her, but I know he can throw down in a fight. You should have seen the last bar fight we were in, the other side needed more than just a couple of stitches." Lovelace smiled up to JC, "Try not to worry about me, yea? Get back to your mission. If it was anything like your last, I know you'll do well."

He was confident in her being able to handle herself. She gave him 0 indication she was incapable of defending herself even with her ailments, and so, his mind tempered.

"Wait --" She turns her head to Jock again, pointing her index finger up to keep his attention. "Right, hey Jock, mind helping him out a little? He's looking for information that could help him on his mission. I'll buy you a beer."

Red optics stared up at the light on the ceiling, tone pointed with irritation as he responded to the woman repairing his legs. The conversation, one that was like many of the others they'd had, had been going back and forth between the two of them for as long as he had been on the operating table. 

"I am not some delicate flower zat needs zuperfision, I get ze job done undt zat is all zat should matter." 

"I'm not saying you're delicate, I'm saying you need to be more careful with your augments. You've been coming back with increasingly more damage, it's — it's getting concerning, Hermann. " 

Click! 

Replacement parts firmly in place and ready to move again.

A sharp, petulant scoff came from Gunther.  She was the one to talk to him about being careful? She's never been out on the field, she didn't know how it was like.  "Keep your concerns to yourzelf. I am more zen capable of doing my job without zomeone in my ears telling me how to proceed with my work." 

Trying to talk him out of doing anything was difficult. It was like trying to tear into metal with her bare hands; impossible to get through with a chance of causing her fingertips to bleed. "As your doctor and mechanic, it's my job to be concerned." Sighing, Lovelace moved over to the other side of the room.  "I know how .. adept you are in operations, you've made it abundantly clear. I just wouldn't want you to get damaged to the point of no return. " 

Gunther leaned up on the table, swinging his legs over and standing up. " As long as I am able to be repaired, zen zere is no reason to worry. You schould stick your nose out of my business." Sentiments repeated with with the logistics she gave, conversation thinning his nerves the longer it went. It was tiresome whenever he was locked in these talks with her, it was something she persistently brought up — Did she think he was incapable of handling himself, that he needed to be babied? Nothing he ever said stopped the dribble of questions and requests.  Yes, he came back with heavy injuries, but, that was a price of the job he had to do. She knew that.  She wasn't like this with Anna, Eva or even ... that one. 

"It - I just said why I can't." Exasperated, Lovelace pushed her bangs back and looked up to the super soldier only steps away from her. "There comes to a point where something has to give, Hermann. I know you're encouraged to fight with 100% efficiency, but so does Navarre, so does Nadezhda, but they never come back with this amount of - "

"So, you are saying zat I'm reckless?" 

"No, that's not what I'm saying! Please, don't twist my words, I'm just trying to look out for you." Blush red eyes pleaded with him to listen, hoping it'd get through to him rather than this perpetual impasse between the two. Stubbornly, she kept trying again and again to try to talk to him about this. She had no other choice than to to try considering how the last email with Manderley went, otherwise she doubted anything would change. " I just worry that - "

Cutting her off once again. He sneered, well past the window of taking her words for what they are. The more she pushed, the more he pushed back.  "- Vell, I do naut need your misplaced sympathy undt needling about vhat I need to do! You do what you have do undt so vill I. I do nout tell you how to work, and I vould like the courtesy to be extended vithout you talking to me like a nagging mother."

"You know that's not what I'm doing. I'm only bringing up concerns before they get even worse, Hermann. For the last couple of missions, even with your competence on the field, you come back worse for wear. I quite literally just had to replace your left leg because it became riddled with bullet holes." Eyebrows knitted together as she spoke, motioning her hand down to the aforementioned augment. "One of us always has to be here after you've gotten back from missions to make sure you haven't turned into swiss cheese. It's becoming a problem." 

She rubbed her temple. It was so simple, why couldn't he get her logic? Was he so far gone that not being a potential martyr is a problem for him? Surely, that wasn't the case, right?  "If your augments were as easy to repair as nano-" 

SLAM! 

Gunthers fist crashed into the side of her desk, making her flinch and back into the wall as he took a step forward, practically cornering her. She felt the muscles in her throat tighten as he shouted, loud enough to where any passerby could hear. "Is zat vhat zis is? Zat because I have mechanical augmentation, zat means that I cannot do vhat I need to do properly? What I need to be treated like a supervised child because I get more 'booboos' zen the rest?! I vill have you know that despite vhat you may think, I am more than capable and vill continue exactly how I have been! You may see me as just another outdated model, but zey do not! You are merely one of zere doktors, I am one of their zere most respected soldiers."

As he yelled, his index finder had been brought up quickly to point at her accusingly, causing her to instinctively put up her arm as her body assumed he was about to hit her. "I vill speak to Manderley about zis! Zis behavior from you is unprofessional, you should know zis already."  Words not entirely made from a coherent mindset, yet stated regardless as he tried to grasp mentally over his emotions, having noticed how quickly her body reacted to him. 

Before he could say another word, the door to the Medical Bay opened, revealing a tall man in a black trench coat and goatee; Paul Denton. 

"What's going on in here?"  

Paul took a step in, staring at the situation going on in front of him.  It wasn't a common sight, normally, Gunther attempted to talk to her casually in a manner he couldn't see as uncomfortable for her, despite how obvious it was to everyone else. That amount of aggression was reserved for him and enemies. 

Gunther withdrew from Lovelace, "Ah, it looks like your knight in nano-augmented-armor has came to save you. Vell, you two can talk amongst yourselves."  He stepped away and stomped out of the medical bay, not attempting to avoid butting into Pauls shoulder as he walked out.

Paul didn't react, going to check on the doctor after making sure the door was closed.  "How are you holding up? I could hear him from the hallway. " His eyes followed her, her body shaking off the adrenaline from the others intimidation. Paul walked forward, bringing a chair over to her. 

"I'm fine, I'm used to him acting like that.... mostly.  He's never gotten that angry at me, though." An exhausted sigh as she sunk down in the chair given, "I don't know how he can just ignore what I'm trying to say, I've been trying to tell him for months that if he keeps this up he might not be here much longer to continue his work. " 

"Some men want to die for a cause even if living would do them much better, best to not think about it." He shook his head, "I stopped questioning why he thinks the way he does ages ago, he's content to just be a gun for UNATCO to wield." 

"Maybe, I'm just holding out hope for the wrong person. Especially with that group of mech soldiers he's involved himself in. All of them want a piece of the glory pie."  A thoughtful hum before leaning back. "I'll never understand wanting that much carnage."

Paul went to the other side of the room, now dragging what was normally Reyes chair over so he could sit aswell,  "I can't either.    Want me to stay for a few minutes? Just incase he gets the idea to come back for a second wind now that I'm here."