In the end everything collides

Marines. That made sense, he'd been too hardened when she'd fought him, too calm under fire. Sure the guy might be resistant to damage, but he'd done his best to avoid being shot in the first place. Special operations also made sense, he'd killed a number of the chinpira in the warehouse without a second thought. Sonnet was no expert on the military, but she was pretty sure that most of them weren't capable of the kind of things he'd pulled off, metahuman or not.

"So am I supposed to be patriotic and pay for your drinks now? Cause you still owe me for the ride here."

She snorted at the comment about tights, the thought of him dressed up like superman would be one she returned to when she needed cheering up. "Trust me, underwear on the outside is not a good look, not even for someone like you."

She was well into her second bottle now, without really feeling a buzz yet. Unlike Aaron, she tended to drink past the point of a buzz, partially because it required so much to get there. And also because of a heap of other unidentified and denied personal issues that led to her trying to drink her own sorrows.

His personal question was… well, personal. If Sonnet had any real ability to deal with that kind of thing she'd probably be a lot better off personally. "Ha, a lot of history…"

She poured another glass, mulling over the question. "My father."

There didn't seem to be any more to say. It was the only reason really, that she was where she was. She'd watched him slowly degrade over a period of years, watched her father forget who he was and slowly lose control until nothing of the man he had once been remained. To say there were unresolved issues present would be an understatement. He'd been one of the most influential men on the East Coast, the Yakuza's boss in New York and that side of America. By the end even her and her mother's efforts hadn't been enough to conceal his failing faculties. He'd been removed from his position three years before he'd finally died. Occasionally he would become lucid enough to realise what he had lost, and the humiliation that had come with that loss. It had broken her heart.

"My late father."

She wouldn't explain any more than that. This man hadn't earned that, would never earn the right to hear about her father's slow decline. He would probably draw his own conclusions from her answer. But in all honesty, she didn't much care.

She ate another wing.

"Fries for me too."

Another gulp. "Anyway, I'm more than just an enforcer."

It was a sore point. Most people found it hard to believe that she worked for the Yakuza in the first place. Including members of the criminal syndicate. Her height and build did not help her, but the crucial part was her gender. Female members of the Yakuza were exceedingly rare, and usually took power when their influential husband died. She'd had to work her way up. Proving herself every step of the way in a way that no man would have had to do.

"I make fun of you being a Hero, but at least I don't call you a cop."

Maybe irrelevant, he seemed the type to respect law enforcement, but it was the closest comparison she could think of.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

Sonnet watched as the girl blatantly defied her. This was growing rapidly more irritating, and had already taken far longer than it should have done. It was tempting to simply pull out her gun and have done with it here and now, but it would have solved nothing apart from this immediate annoyance. Honestly, she didn't care if this girl splinted the man's finger or not. She didn't care if she reported her to the police. She was here for her money, and she would not, could not back down.

Her attempt to appear innocent was not endearing. "Look, you've got some stupid thought in your head that you can defuse this situation. What you're doing right now is pissing me off. I don't particularly want this to get any dirtier, but it will if you continue to be an idiot. Give me the money I am owed, then you can deal with him."

She really didn't want to hurt this girl, clearly she was trying to do what she thought was the right thing, and in her naivety was only escalating a situation that could have been resolved minutes ago. She wouldn't have had to hurt the old man if she hadn't interfered. Sonnet wondered briefly if the girl might be a new Hero on the stage, which would be an annoyance, but not all that much of a challenge. She was more cautious now around Heroes since she had encountered and lost to Tank, but she had dealt with others in the town, and put one of them into hospital, this girl would be unlikely to pose a threat. Even so, Sonnet adjusted her stance.

She could not leave without the money, her superior might have forgiven her failure with Tank, but if she failed in such a simple task as this she would lose a finger.

"Give me the money, before I do something I will regret."

Her shift in stance allowed her jacket to fall open, revealing the gun holstered at her waist.

The old man hissed at the young woman, "Are you stupid? Just hand it over."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

Sonnet was a little surprised at the ferocity of the hug that was returned. She and Coraline had been pretty close friends for a long time, and she had missed Coraline somewhat, but her life had moved on a lot since they had parted. She was older now, a senior member of the Yamaguchi-Gumi in New York City. There were a lot more responsibilities associated with it, although she had taken on more while her father had been ill. That kind of work changed a person, aged them, matured them perhaps faster than they deserved.

She patted Coraline's back gently, trying to comfort the younger girl. "Hey, maybe you just miss it cause you're back here for a bit. Once you're back in the sun of the West Coast I bet you'll stop missing this ^&*%hole."

It was sort of cute that Coraline still thought of Sonnet's job as something that could still be a little morally redeemable. The Yakuza made sure to pass on some of their wealth to people who needed it, but Sonnet was under no illusions as to the reprehensible nature of her chosen profession. She was glad Coraline had never been pulled into it.

"Yeah, you could totally cut it as spy. You're just waiting for the right moment I swear."

She grinned, "Oh man, you have no idea, I am literally always hungry, we might need to order two plates."

She stepped into the diner behind Coraline, and the two of them moved into a booth. It only took a moment before a waitress showed up with two coffee cups held expectantly. Sonnet nodded and received a cup which a moment later was filled with steaming hot liquid. She took a sip. "So how is Grad School going?"

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

"I don't know, but some people say I am, maybe this would just be easier if you paid up like you were asked. That was me asking nicely."

Her voice was harsh, clipped, with the mechanical tone that betrayed English as her second language. The shopkeeper was still angry however, and showed no sign of paying up. Obviously simply breaking his wares would not be enough to get through to him. The problem was clearly that he wasn't afraid of her. He might have been more afraid had he realised how she had entered the shop. People were very edgy around metahumans in NYC, thanks to the Central Station attack. That or outright hostile to them, although usually in larger groups. Evidently she'd have to make him afraid of her. It wasn't honourable, to intimidate an old man, but he had been given his warning, he had been given plenty of chances.

She was distracted when she heard the voice of another, a customer who must have been browsing in the back of the shop. She rolled her eyes; this just kept getting better and better. Things would have been much more simple if it had just been her and the old man, now she was faced with a wannabe Hero as well.

"This is an antiques shop. And this man is refusing to pay what he owes. Now buy what you're here to buy and leave before you get involved in something that doesn't concern you."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

Sonnet didn't even look up, "In my line of work, yes."

It wasn't unknown for the Yakuza to cultivate relationships with members of law enforcement wherever they went, in fact it was practically tradition. Those relationships rarely, if ever, extended to actual friendship though. The Yakuza might have their own moral code and pretend to be real life Robin Hood, but they were ultimately still criminals, and most law enforcement officials drew the line at friendship with their members. There were several on the payroll, but that was different, that was business.

She glanced up at his slight movement, away from the glass that she was refilling. It had been the glint of light on metal that had caught her eye, and it was now drawn to the cross. It was a religious symbol that still had some meaning, few people wore one without having faith of some kind. She nodded towards it when he finished speaking.

"You say you're a pragmatist, that you can fight someone and then drink with them. But you wear a cross. How do you deal with that? Your faith and someone like me?"

It was a question with a deeper meaning, and one she constantly asked herself. She could go out and rob and steal and drink and generally sin, and then she would beg God for forgiveness. It was a strange quirk of her upbringing that she could be both so dedicated to her criminal career, and unable to leave her faith behind. Aaron was an ex-soldier, perhaps he had more experience in bringing those two dissonant parts of his life into a truce.

She began to eat the wings that had been placed in front of her, noting that they had remembered her normal order and doubled the size of the portion, as well as provided copious amounts of dipping sauces. She waved at Alex behind the bar, he was serving, but he caught her eye and nodded. Another bottle would be out in a moment to replace the one she had already finished, and he took note of the state of Aaron's as well.

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

In the end everything collides

She refrained from snapping back to his clear taunt, knowing it was what he wanted. The man had a better read on her than she would have liked, Sonnet didn't pretend to be a particularly complex individual, but this man's ability to irritate made her wish that she was. At least he was honest enough to accept that he'd probably be much the same if in her position, although Sonnet doubted it would have been quite the same if that had been the case. She probably wouldn't have killed him, the Yakuza didn't want to bring the full fury of the Federal government down on them for killing one of their Heroes. That said, he wouldn't have been the first one she had put in the hospital, that didn't seem to produce quite the same reaction. Although it had produced him, so perhaps that was something to do with it.

She was also more than aware of the fact that she hadn't actually saved his life, she'd simply taken him away from a situation faster than he would have escaped without her. His saying they were even annoyed her more than it would have done if he'd simply not mentioned it. They weren't even, not even close.

"Don't worry Hero, I've not taken you to another country, just a bar I like. No chinpira here."

The bar was not quite a hole in the same way that the burger joint had been, but it wasn't the kind of place that would immediately draw the casual observer in. The front was darkened with age, faint light glimmering through frosted glass. Inside music was playing behind a hum of conversation. Nobody looked up as the two entered, except the bartender who smiled broadly as he spotted Sonnet's diminutive figure.

"Ah Shortcut! My favourite customer."

He came around from behind the bar, enveloping the small women in a bear hug, before turning his substantial six foot six form to her companion.

"And this one. A drinking buddy? Does he still think he can keep up with you or will I be saved from carrying him out at the end of the night?"

Sonnet smiled, "I make no promises"

She pointed at a bottle behind the bar, then clapped Aaron on the shoulder.

"It's on him tonight Alex, and I'll have a bowl of wings too."

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see