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“So like, you’re a real actual criminal? ”
“Well uh, ‘s a bit harsh when ya put it that way, but sure, kid!”
It’d been about five minutes since Sylvester left to go pick up his daughter, and already this pink-haired kid had started firing off with questions. Zora was supposed to be keeping an eye on him so he didn’t run off (which he’d already almost done, but she wasn’t gonna mention it,) and honestly, he was proving to be quite the handful. He was a friend of the sheep detective’s kid or something, she thought. If she remembered correctly, his name was… Giovanni?
“That. Is So. Cool! ” Giovanni said, hands clenched excitedly. He had this glitter to his eyes that never really seemed to fade. Where did he get all this energy?
“I mean, if ya say so. ‘S not like I go ‘round robbin’ banks or anythin’, just a lil embezzling here ‘n there. Occasional antique forgery. Y’know, for posterity.” Zora said with a shrug. She hung upside-down in a nearby tree, watching as Giovanni tried to climb up after her. Emphasis on tried. It kept him busy, at least.
“Ooo, sounds evil! ” He said, sliding down the trunk again. There weren’t any small branches close to him to hang on to, but he had nothing if not determination. “Have you ever been part of a heist? Oh, oh, or what about a shootout? Or a high speed chase! ” He got more and more excited with every suggestion, that sharp grin of his not leaving his face for a moment. It… was obvious he had no idea what any of what she said really meant.
“Mmm well, can’t say I’ve experienced stakes that high before…” She hummed. Immediately, Giovanni deflated a bit and… oh, damn it, he wouldn’t know, she could stretch the truth a little. Give him something to be excited for. “... but, I have been in a bit of a chase before, if I’m rememberin’ right.” Now this got his attention.
“Really!? ” He gasped. “What happened!?”
“Well, let’s just say one of my… clients… caught on a bit too early to my deal and well…” Zora sucked some air through her teeth. “He wasn’t exactly happy ‘bout it. ” At this point, Giovanni had given up completely at climbing up the tree and settled for sitting cross-legged where she was hanging. Watching his awed expression was priceless- especially upside-down. She wasn’t hard to please.
“Woah…! ” He gasped, clasping his hands in his lap like an excited first grader. “What happened next!?” Zora thought for a moment.
“Hrmm… I’d love t’ tell ya, kid, but…” She put on a shifty expression. “Ya gotta promise to tell no one. Our little secret, y’know?” Giovanni’s eyes widened.
“I promise, I promise!” He said, practically bouncing with excitement. Zora chuckled. Man, this was more fun than she thought it would be. “Alright, I’ll believe you. You seem cool.”
“Okay, the place was swarmin’ with the guy’s lackeys, ‘n I had to get outta there fast. And--” She paused. “Say, why dont’cha come up here? I’ll give ya a boost.” Zora reached out her hands, grabbing hold as Giovanni held his arms out. She wasn’t exactly the strongest person physically, but well. Giovanni was like, twelve. He didn’t weigh much more than a potato sack. With some effort, she lifted him up onto the branch next to her, which was (very thankfully) thick enough to handle both of their weights. “So: I was runnin’ as fast as my legs could carry me, jus’ barely dodgin’ by the gunfire-- ‘n at one point I almost got myself cornered.” She chuckled. “That was a sticky situation if I've ever seen one. But y’know, that sorta thing just happens in this line o’ work.”
Giovanni leaned in intently as she spoke, absorbing her every word. She wasn’t exactly sure how morally acceptable it was to be preaching about her crime days to a twelve year old, but hey. It kept him entertained. Hell, kids played pretend heists all the time anyways, didn’t they? This couldn’t be much different.
“Hah, I’m honestly glad I brought my ol’ gun with me just in case. Can never be too careful with stuff like that, y’know.” She said with a shrug. Immediately, Giovanni perked up.
“You can shoot a gun!? ” He squeaked, nearly losing balance in his enthusiasm. “Can you do that now!? ” Zora raised her eyebrows.
“Woah, hang on there. You’re a bit quick to the draw arent’cha?” She paused. “Erm, no pun intended. ‘Sides, bringin’ a gun to a babysittin’ ain’t exactly customary.” Shepherd probably wouldn’t be too happy if she let this kid get his hands on a gun, anyways. Not that she really trusted him with one to begin with. Now that was a wild thought.
“Oh! Hold on, I’ve got just the thing!” Giovanni said quickly, swinging his backpack into his lap before rummaging through it excitedly. Zora frowned suddenly.
“I-- what? ” She laughed nervously. “I-I-I’m sorry, sayin’ it like that made it seem like you’re implyin’ you got a gun in your backpack.” And just like that, Giovanni pulled out a brightly colored pistol. Zora sputtered. “Oh my god you have a gun in your backpack-- where did-- who gave you this, kid!? Guns ain’t exactly customary weapons for children!” Giovanni looked side to side shiftily, almost as if looking for any eavesdroppers before leaning in close to whisper to Zora.
“I’m best friends with a Banzai Captain! That makes me an honorary Banzai Blaster! That means I get to have a weapon and a cool name!” He said proudly. “But don’t tell anyone. I can let you in on this information because you’re cool. ” Zora blinked slowly, registering this new information. What the hell was up with this kid? And more importantly, how did he not only brush up with, but BEFRIEND a Banzai Captain? Wasn’t there some sort of age limit? ...wasn’t there? But, regardless, she wasn’t a narc. And well, it was a peashooter. You couldn’t do much with that.
“Uh. Alright, I suppose.” She said, nodding slowly. “I guess… if ya got somethin’ to shoot, I could give it a go if ya want.” Giovanni grinned.
“Awesome! I think I’ve got a baseball in here somewhere…” He continued rummaging around in his backpack-- how much did he have in there?-- and pulled out, wouldn’t you know it, a baseball. “C’mon, I’m gonna go throw it into the air and you can shoot it! Like they do on TV!” Zora smiled as Giovanni clambored off the branch clumsily with the baseball. Man, as much as she probably shouldn’t be encouraging him, it was hard not to get kind of riled up too. Damn, this kid was infectious. Well, she couldn’t keep him waiting, now could she? She hopped off of the branch, landing solidly on her feet. Giovanni gave her an applause. Or well, as much as an applause as you can give with a baseball in your hands.
“How ‘bout twenty paces to start us off?” Zora suggested, taking the peashooter from Giovanni and weighing it in her hands. It was shockingly light-- more like a toy gun than anything of use. Definitely unfamiliar. She’d have to get used to that.
“Uhh, sure!” Giovanni chirped, running off some distance away. He… probably didn’t know what a pace was. Eh, what difference did it make? “On the count of three!” Oh, already? She took up a level stance, keeping the peashooter at her side. She was nothing if not cautious about gun etiquette, after all. Besides, she was more used to firing from the draw anyways.
“Ready when you are, kid!” She called out to him. He gave her a thumbs up.
“Okay! Readyyyy…” He wound up a throw. “FIRE!”
Giovanni tossed the ball into the air-- way farther than Zora anticipated, actually. That was fine-- she was better at thinking on her toes. With a quick click, she whipped out the peashooter, keeping her eyes on the ball as it reached its arc-- calculating, just a bit further to the left, aim… trigger!
BANG!
Instantly, the ball was knocked out of its path and off into the bushes. Giovanni’s eyes widened as he watched it fall, further and further, until it fell out of sight. He turned to Zora in awe, and… well, damn it, she was smiling like an idiot too.
“Well I’ll be! Not too bad for a first shot! Ya got a good throwin’ arm there, kid.” She said, giving the gun a handy spin. “Could prolly do better, if I’m bein’ honest.”
“Are you kidding!? That was AWESOME! ” Giovanni squealed, hands practically vibrating with excitement. “Here, I’ve got another one, do it again!”
“Again? If ya say so, Ace.” Zora chuckled, and she readied the peashooter again.
-----
“Is everyone all right? I heard gunfire! ”
Sylvie ran back to where he left Zora and Giovanni and-- dang it, he should’ve known something would’ve gone wrong…! He held his yo-yo at the ready, anticipating any threat he may come across. Who knows what sort of criminals lurked around the area? But as he reached the spot he left them…
“FIRE!! ”
BANG!
Sylvie flinched as another gunshot went off, but… he didn’t see any signs of a fight. Just Giovanni, watching the sky intently and Zora… was that a Banzai Blaster peashooter?
“Dang, coulda sworn I had that one!” She said, rubbing the back of her head.
“I’ll find another rock!” Giovanni responded.
“...I see you two are having fun.”
The two froze as he interjected. They were obviously too preoccupied to notice him come back, and they looked like two deer in headlights as he put his yo-yo back into his coat pocket. He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m pretty sure that’s contraband, Ms. Salazar.” He said, looking at the peashooter. “Where did you find that?” The two looked at each other.
“UH…” Giovanni started, looking a bit nervous, but--
“Sorry, Shepherd, that’s my bad.” Zora spoke up, immediately changing her stance to a more relaxed one. “Found this out in the woods while playin’. Prolly shoulda left it alone, but what’s a lil fun first? I am quite skilled at wielding a firearm, after all.” Sylvie took a long look at Zora, before shifting his gaze to Giovanni. They both looked appropriately guilty, but he had to admit… neither were really doing anything wrong. Other than being a vague public disturbance. It wasn’t like anyone was around, either way… Not to mention, despite Zora’s earlier hesitance to be left with him, she and Giovanni seemed to be getting along. He hummed. Just this once…
“...Alright, that tracks.” He said, walking over to join them. “Though, I am going to need that gun. Could be evidence.”
“‘Course, detective! Here ya go.” Zora said pleasantly, handing it to him. Sylvie nodded, placing it safely into his coat.
“Thank you.” He said. “Though, you two should really be a bit more mindful with your pastimes. For a moment, I thought a fight had broken out.” Zora blinked, her pleasant front faltering for a moment.
“Oh, uh-- Sorry ‘bout that. I uh… didn’t think of that.” She said with a frown.
“It’s quite alright. Though, I should probably tell Percy it’s okay to join us now...” Sylvie hummed, but as he looked down, he noticed someone else standing there that he didn’t notice before-- and for good reason. “I-- Percy! I thought I told you to stay back in the car! It could have been dangerous!” He said with a start. Percy, a blond-haired child a bit older than Giovanni was, looked up at him with a genuine expression.
“But it wasn’t.” She said, with a tilt of her head. “Besides, what if you needed help?” Sure enough, she did have her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. He thought for a long moment. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with the thought of her following him into danger like that, but… they could talk about it later. He let out a sigh.
“I appreciate it, Percy. But your safety comes first.” He said, pushing his glasses back onto his face. Percy pouted a bit, but didn’t have much time to argue before Giovanni ran back up to the group.
“Sooo are we not allowed to shoot targets anymore? Because I found a really cool rock we can use next.” He said, holding up a disk-shaped rock. Percy blinked.
“You have a gun? ” She asked.
“Had a gun.” Sylvie corrected. “It’s all taken care of. Now, we should probably get going. No need going on about something that’s no longer an issue.” He gave Percy a pat on the shoulder, and motioned for them to go on ahead.
“I bet I can get there first!” Giovanni said quickly, nudging Percy in the arm.
“You don’t even know where we’re going.” Percy said, immediately forgetting about the gun debacle.
“Maybe, but if I run fast enough, I’ll get there eventually!”
“That’s not--”
“3-2-1-GO!” Giovanni immediately began running off ahead of the group, obviously with no heed to direction. Percy sputtered.
“Giovanni, that’s the wrong way- ” She shouted, and began running after him. Zora watched the two of them run off as Sylvie let out a sigh.
“...She can probably catch him.” She said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. Sylvie hummed exhaustedly in response. There was a bit of a pause, but then Zora sighed. “I’ll go after em.”
“Wait.” Sylvie put a hand on Zora’s shoulder, who looked towards him confusedly. He looked her in the eye, unwavering, then, “...That stuff about the gun was a lie, wasn’t it.” She blinked, caught off guard for a moment, but she grinned.
“Maybe so. What’s it to ya?” She said, holding her hands behind her back innocently. Sylvie shook his head with a chuckle. “Thought so.” He said. “Where’d you really get it?”
“Sorry, Shepherd, my lips are sealed! Snitches get stitches, y’know.” Zora said playfully, beginning to walk off after the kids. Sylvie rolled his eyes.
“Fine. Keep your secrets.” He said. Zora stuck out her tongue. He had a feeling that was the most he was going to get out of her. He sighed. He’ll let her get away with that. Once. As of that moment, two things were clear. One: she was going to try to get the peashooter back. And two: he might just let her. It was probably in good hands with her if anyone, after all. Hm…
“...We should probably go now.” Sylvie suggested. Zora made a face.
“Mmmmmyeah. Probably.” She said. She took a deep breath. “Hey, Ace, wait up! ”