When Caelius tumbles out from beneath the canopy, she’s constantly reaching for a weapon that’s not there. Neither of them prefer fistfights-- for Kiana, it’s a relic of a bygone era-- but that doesn’t mean they’re not well equipped for one at all times.

Kiana only gets a second of rest between her assault on Nikos and the group of well-dressed men that come cascading onto the floor to apprehend her. She dodges a grab at the arm and jams her metal elbow into his ribs. Cutthroat cage fights have taught her exactly how hard she needs to throw a punch to make it hurt, but not bleed. It’d be easy to break a few bones, but far from ideal-- especially in this setting and in such a nice dress. Even if she looks like a 10, the inability to fight properly makes her feel like a solid 6. That’ll have to do, she mutters to herself.

Caelius manages to swindle a pistol from the man in front of her. She feels the weight of the weapon in her hand and gives a baffled look to her companion. “Live rounds? Really?” she says, turning back to him. “You must be awfully afraid if you’re carrying live rounds at a party of a bunch of civilians.”

“Is that what you are? A civilian?”

She grabs him by the collar and knees him in the groin. He shrivels against the column holding up the row of canopies beside the dance floor. Caelius shrugs and notices the gun against his other hip. The weight is much lighter, to her relief. “Well, I was until your head honcho made a mess of things.”

Without as much as a glance, she tosses the pistol in the air and lets Kiana catch it. Her finger rests comfortably over the trigger when the barrel points at another henchman. A whirring shot dissolves into an ashy paste against his chest, knocking him unconscious against the dance floor. She catches half a glance at her mother and father, holding tight to one another from across the courtyard. Both of them look utterly mortified; but between them, Vivian almost looks intrigued. Kiana manages a smile, but has to throw herself back into the fight before she can see her sister’s returning grin.

Kiana finds a familiar face making a beeline for her; the same young man from the alley the other night. She’s merciful enough not to kick him between his legs again, as much of a cop-out as it may be, but he doesn’t last long in combat. She throws herself over his back when he ducks down, grabs his shoulder, and throws him over her own. He hacks up a lung and grasps at his chest. 

Nursing his aching, bleeding nose, Nikos stumbles out onto the dance floor. Kiana presses her back against Caelius’s and hands her the pistol. It suits her much better.

“This man has been mugging people, and that doesn’t bother any of you?” Kiana yells into the crowd. The dance floor has been cleaned of guests, save for herself and her companion. They’ve far worn out their welcome to still be considered ‘guests’, though. “He goes after people and robs them of their bionics so he can resell them for a profit!”

“You think these people will believe the word of a girl with a pretty arm over the person who funds their research? Not likely, my dear,” he utters. Kiana can’t even try to look afraid when he stares her down. A long while of fighting and he hasn’t thrown a single punch himself. The only looming fear is that every eye in the room hones in on her-- the USC grad turned party crasher. So much for not causing a scene.

Her gaze lands on her mother and father again, now joined by her two brothers. More than anything, they just look confused. As if the arm wasn’t enough to bewilder them about how much they truly know about their sister. 

“You have a lot of nerve coming into my event unprompted and making a mess. But I want you to understand this: people like you are the exact reason I do what I do. Using your bionics to torment, trouble, destroy-- you’re a threat. Who would I be if I didn’t use my influence to neutralize threats?” Nikos grabs her arm and looks her up and down. His piercing gaze is more like a spoon than a knife. “Tell me what you really are, Miss Lennox. I don’t think they teach people to fight like that at USC. They certainly don’t build arms like that in California, either. Not legally, anyway.”

It seems like he’ll never stop talking. Kiana peers over Nikos’s shoulder and watches the doors that open to the courtyard fly open, producing two dozen slender bodies in black uniforms. Those carrying pistols crouch down at the edge of the dance floor, while the rest form a barricade around the group in the center. Nikos whips his head around. His eyes almost burst out of his head. A taller woman in the center announces his arrest; unlawful searches & seizures of civilians with the intent of repossessing American Cybernetics Association property and reselling it, she says. A mouthful, but it’s music to Kiana’s ears. She almost can’t believe it, but snaps her head around to Caelius with a knowing glance.

“Called in a favor from LA,” Caelius mutters with half a grin. “We had the evidence, they had the manpower. All I needed to do was tell them when and where.”

“You ratted him out? That seems unlike you.”

They clasp the handcuffs around his wrists and lead him out of the courtyard. He screams a flurry of expletives, but they all fall on deaf ears. “You said it yourself. This guy goes after vulnerable people to turn a profit. That’s low, even for me. I can’t stand the ACA, but they pardoned me. The least I can do is give them a real criminal in return.”

“I’m sure your friend back home will appreciate it.”

She elbows Kiana's metal shoulder. “I will never be friends with an ACA agent. Ever.”

“You know, you used to say that about other bounty hunters. Yet, here we are.” Thousands of miles across the country, crashing a party we weren’t even invited to. Now that the stress has started to lift, she laughs at the thought. 

The remaining security (that’s unaffiliated with Nikos’s personal posse) begins ushering guests out of the yard. Kiana looks up at her family one more time. I’ll tell you everything in the morning, her glance says before she breaks away. Her father nods.

Caelius tosses the pistol onto the floor and offers her companion an elbow. Kiana smiles, and suddenly, they’re back in LA, chasing a bounty through a nightclub like they always do. Trouble follows them like a shadow, but they wouldn’t ask for it any other way. She accepts Caelius’s offer and loops her arm through.

Sunrise comes after a semi-sleepless night. The car keys spin around Caelius’s finger, dancing with the idea of flying off but never committing. She perks up at the sound of the front door creaking shut and the sight of Kiana carefully wandering down the porch steps.

“How’d it go?” she asks.

Kiana exhales and offers a quiet smile. “As good as it could have, I think,” she answers. “Spent a lot of time gawking at my arm. My mom was more worried than anything when I told her about the cage fighting. I expected them to hear ‘I never actually got a college education’ and freak out, but it was mostly just silent disappointment. Better than a screaming match, I guess.” She laughs and adds, “At least Vivi still thinks I’m cool. Might take a little longer for Hen and Isaac to hop in the same boat.”

“And being a mercenary?”

“Physical contract work was a good enough explanation for them. I can only be so honest without incriminating myself.” Kiana climbs into the passenger seat and straps in. Her head presses against the headrest before it turns to the left. “Thank you for coming with me. I don’t think I could’ve done this alone.”

“Well, once you’ve fought one white guy, you’ve fought them all. I told you I’d be able to take them all in twenty minutes--”

“I’m talking about seeing my family again. Your support has been nice, Cae. I’m glad you let me drag you all the way out here.”

Caelius scoffs and backs out of the driveway. “Alright, don’t go soft on me. Just give me the directions for this place you told me about.”

Beaufort is a bayside town, but if you know where to look, there’s a few pieces of land that almost qualify for beaches. It’s still a far cry from the sandy shores of California, but Kiana holds it close to her heart. Maybe growing up in a small town of rich people isn’t all bad.

She laughs and stumbles through the wet sand, kicking up moisture in her wake. “Easy!” Caelius yells from behind her. “Careful with the merchandise.”

The sneakers dangle from Kiana’s grip, shoelaces tied together and hung over her index finger. “Come on, tin can, I thought your body was watertight.”

“It is! I’m talking about my jacket. I just bought this, like, two weeks ago.”

Kiana can’t deny that she likes the blue bomber jacket, adorned with all sorts of patches. It’s obnoxious and chaotic, just like her. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“You better, now that I know you have no excuse to not pay me back for shit.”

She wades out calf-deep in the bay, reaches her hands in, and throws as much water as she can at Caelius. The taunting face only challenges her harder.

Even in between the moments of chasing a bounty or making a getaway before the feds show up, they can’t avoid getting into trouble. But the quiet, isolated chaos-- the one with no gunshots or civilian casualties or close calls-- that’s their favorite part of this life. Sparring matches in the living room. Reassembling Kiana’s arm in the middle of the night like a piece of IKEA furniture. Caelius concocting mixed drinks, despite lacking any ability to actually get buzzed off of them. Being three thousand miles from home doesn’t change anything; there’s no one else that she would rather live in these little vignettes of mayhem with.

Of course, Caelius would never tell Kiana that.

“My mom doesn’t need us back at the house until noon,” Kiana begins, “so you’re fresh out of excuses.”

Caelius tosses her boots and jacket into the gravel. She doesn’t even bother with rolling up her pants before she stumbles into the water, almost taking Kiana down with her. The two shriek out in laughter and barely even notice the dampness of their clothes climbing higher and higher.

The feeling of the water against Kiana’s metal hand is there, but somewhat dull. She wishes she could truly feel with her right arm as she can with her left. The same goes for Caelius. But a bionic arm-- and a bionic body-- is a small price for the two of them to pay when they have exactly the life they want. Not the one that the Lennoxes want out of Kiana, not the one that the ACA wants out of Caelius, but the one they chose. Living hand-to-mouth can feel like having all the money in the world if you spend it with the right person.

But of course, Kiana would never tell Caelius that.