Living the life of a gangster was... exciting. Everyday was always something different. And there was always - ALWAYS - money to be made. Just gotta think smart. Nikki Osavkovska was pretty good at that sort of thing. But somehow she would always find herself in a shit show. Like now. In the quiet of the night, Nikki stood between two of her guy 'friends', who she'd rather call acquantainces because she didn't even know them that well to consider them in her friend group. But these two seemed to always argue. Nikki hated going on OC's with these guys. They would just spit out random shit to each other, a competition of who gets to insult the other one more. It was pathetic. But it did keep Nikki entertained while she was doing drug deliveries and simple tasks with them.

It kept her on her toes. Still, it was annoying as hell and in that very moment where she stood, she wished that she had brought some ear muffs. Anything to shut the voices out. She just wanted to do her job without any hassle. But that wasn't going to happen tonight. It took a few minutes for the guys to settle down. Nikki followed them into the van and she was sitting in between the both of them. Lucky me, she thought to herself sarcastically. There was a taste of disgust in her mouth as she watched the guy to her left - his name was Mike - talk some shit about the other guy who was named James.  And finally, when Mike started to drive, Nikki had enough and she ordered both of them to "fucking stop". Of course they didn't listen. Nikki blew out a breath of frustration. This is going to be a long night. 

Nikki was satisfied with their findings. A box of expensive jewellery hidden in the now unlocked safe which they broke into, plus a few grand in cash. She could just sense the smirk that was plastered on Mike and James' face. It didn't show on her face, but Nikki was feeling accomplished. It was also like a compensation gift too. Here - cash and jewelery for having to suffer with those two guys. She said a silent prayer of thanks in her head before turning to Mike with a scrunched up nose. "So, are we just going to stand here and gawk at this?" She waved her hands in the direction of the safe with a raised eyebrow trying to indirectly tell them that - hey, we should probably hurry up before the security guards come to make their usual rounds. Nikki already went ahead and started putting everything into the empty sacks they brought along with them.

Nikki was a damn savage and she knew that the boss was going to like this. That jewellery could easily be sold for more than what it's worth. The result of some people's stupidity these days. While Mike took some of the bags back to the van, Nikki and James were left to clean up the evidence they made in the scene. Their current location was a small bank that just recently opened by some russian guy. Nikki was the one to suggest they rob this particular bank. There was no special reason. Not long after, Nikki and James went back to the van and hopped inside, both feeling relieved to be out of plain sight. 

The next day was definitely much better than yesterday. Nikki was pleased to know that she wouldn't have to see Mike and James for another week. That's exactly what she needed - a week long break from those two crazies. And she was glad to be on a plane back to her home city. She was lucky this time. The seat closest to the window. She peered through the rectangle framed window and watched the fluffy clouds beside her. There was a crying baby somewhere behind her and Nikki knew from the first cry that she was going to have a painfully long flight. She tried to give something her mouth to do by raising her hand for one of the hostesses to come to her. Nikki looked up and smiled as she asked for a drink of orange juice. The air hostess who seemed to be in a rush looked down at Nikki wide eyed and smiley.

Of course she got the job. She's approachable, attractive and seemingly well spoken. With a friendly nod, the hostess bent down slightly to reach for the jug of orange juice under her cart. Picking up a plastic cup with her other hand, she majestically poured the liquid goodness in and handed it over to Nikki with another perfect smile showing off her white teeth. There wasn't much to do on the plane. Nikki forgot the novel she usually read in her free time back in her apartment. The sip calmed her down and distracted her only for a second from the crying baby. Just a few hours more until she reachds home. And suddenly as she raised her chin, she sensed a presence drawing closer and closer to her.

He knew something like this was almost out of his norm, he needed it most likely. His eyes roamed over the seats, looking down at his ticket for a second and sighed, knowing that he was a bit further down. He believed that he had paid some good cash for his seats, now he doubted it. With the sudden wails of a crying baby, he gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes, drowning out the sound and remembering the moments when Zeldris was just a baby. Oh, those days were torture but he was well enough now to drown it out, noticing a woman sitting in the seat that was just next to his. 

"Hello there, are you to be my flight companion?"

He joked with a smile, the look in his eyes filled with humour and a glint of curiosity. He should have expected to have someone sit in the seat adjacent to his. He faulted himself for being that idiotic at that moment before he stood there twiddling with his thumbs. Seemingly noticing how she raised her chin at him as if already noticing him moments before he had spoken with her. There was something about her, that look, he had seen it before on someone but he shrugged it away. 

"May I?"

Once more, Estarossa smiled, gesturing with his hand to the seat that was to be his. Politeness, whether he meant it or not, he didn't really know at that moment. He was simply tired, wishing to sit down and have a nice flight. Still, he couldn't exactly do that if the woman did not wish for him to disturb her peace at this moment. 

"If not, I am sure I can persuade the fine air hostess to assist me in finding another seat."

Nikki adjusted to reality almost immediately, frantically removing a chocolate bar wrapper from his seat, embarrassed that the first thing he probably saw was the mess she was making on his reserved chair.  He was kind of... awkward too. In a cute way. Nikki was trying not to giggle.

 “Hi. No, I don’t mind! Sorry about the mess. Go ahead...” She cleared her throat and smiled at him once he finally got settled. Nikki looked away and directed her attention back to the clouds outside the plane window. The guy seemed harmless. And at least she got him as a flight companion than the crying baby. The wah’ing sounds were becoming unbearable.

She felt a tiny bit of awkwardness in the air as she sat next to him, but she thought – why not introduce herself? What else was she going to do on this hour flight? Nikki turned her head slowly back to him wondering if he was aware that her eyes were on him. She gently spoke to get his attention, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to see him in full view.

“Hey, um,” Nikki pursed her lips. “I’m Nikki. And you are?”

He raised his eyebrow, a small smile twitching at his lips as she seemingly smoothly removed the chocolate bar wrapper from his seat. His eyes holding slight mirth but never the less smiled. He sat down, his eyes roaming over the plane once more, checking for little things it seemed. He smiled as the baby had calmed down, Estarossa was rather grateful that the parents had been able to get that baby to quieten down. He found a memory surfacing before squashing it down, he would not need that now. 

He turned his head, noticing how she seemed to be a bit odd. She seemed hesitant, a smirk twitched at the corner of his lips. Maybe it was just an odd affliction of social cues, she didn't know how to start a conversation and maybe wanted him to. Still, he did find it rather different and he enjoyed that. So he was taken by surprise once she started it with a rather soft voice, parting a single strand of hair to study him better seemingly. 

"Hello there Companion, apologies, I mean...Nikki. I've been reading too much it seems, I find it rather interesting to view world's in the eyes of the characters that we see developing before our very eyes."

He turned away, a furious embarrassing red hue tinted his cheek, realizing in his odd introduction that he had not told her his name. Instead rambling about what he liked, he sighed to himself, believing that he had messed up once again. He shook his head, turning to face her as he stuck his hand out. 

"Sorry about that, my name is Estarossa. Its a pleasure to meet you, Nikki."

With her eyes now properly set on his face, she noticed how sincere he was when he spoke. There seemed to be no fakeness nor judgement. Nikki appreciated it. She smiled, tilting her head, finding herself amused by his deep world views. “That’s pretty damn cool to me,” she said in response. 

And then when his head turned so suddenly, Nikki got confused as to why he did that. His face was going red too.. Oh no.. Did she do something bad? Did she have a booger up her nose? When the realization came up, she fought the urge to smile sheepishly. “S’alright. You got caught in the moment. Hi Estarossa, and please... the pleasure is mine. So why exactly are you on a plane to Detroit right now?” 

The crying sounds that could be heard earlier were pretty much silenced now. Nikki was relieved. Maybe she’d be able to take an actual nap soon. She yawned quietly, using her hand to cover her mouth, feeling the weight of the events that day which finally caught up to her.

"Heh, some people wouldn't think so but never the less, I still find it interesting. It's a joy to find people who would find the same thing interesting."

Bowing his head, he could see that she had a slightly worried look dawning over her features. He would have smiled but instead, he allowed a sly smile to twitch at his lips, his eyebrows raising in a clear sign of amusement. 

"Oh, there's something about getting caught up in the moment about me. I do it a lot, get lost in stories."

He smiled, listening to her as she asked him what he was doing on the flight to Detroit. Hm, so that was where he was going..in his tiredness he must have forgotten. He chuckled to himself, forgetfulness was not something that would do him well. 

"I have some business that needs to be taken care of, Nikki. Something that I can't send someone else to do, I'd rather have it done myself. Otherwise, I don't know if the person got the job done the way I wanted them to do it and I can't leave that to chance, to many risks."

He smiled, noticing how she seemed a bit tired, maybe she had been having something of a long business day. He leaned back into his seat, looking to rest and allow her to do so as well. He rarely slept on flights but these were one of those moments. 

"Why are you exactly on this plane? Is this something of the business variety or pleasure variety?" 

Estarossa smiled with a tone of humor in his voice, his eyes narrowing dramatically, trying to see if she would answer the question. 

The chuckle he let out caused more tension in the air to disappear. It was soothing to her ears and she found herself wanting more of it. So, he was on his way to Detroit for something business-related. “Well what a coincidence Estarossa, I’m also on this plane to attend business matters.”

She smiled warily and addressed one more thing. “And, well... I also have a booking at a fancy restaurant somewhere. Meeting up with some guy one of my girlfriends hooked me up with. I’m being forced to go, but maybe something good will come out of it. Like a relationship? God I can’t even believe I’m saying that right now...”

Finding a boyfriend was probably the least of her priorities... but she had been nagged by one of her best friends for so long that Nikki finally had enough and gave in.

"Hmm, indeed? Well then, I hope your business proves to be rather fruitful and turns out good for you. I hope mine will be as fruitful in the near future."

Estarossa smiled, soon calling the air hostess for a glass of juice. He smiled, just about to relax and simply enjoy the flight before her melodic voice was heard once more. His eyes opened, looking at her with someone close to annoyed amusement, believing that she still seemed to be a bit nervous. Considering that they had just met and he was nothing but a stranger at this point in time, it did strike him as rather odd but nevertheless, he paid her attention. 

"Truly? I'll say that it is a rather good thing, your friends would rather you have some form of companionship. You never know who could be the next for you I say, some people are passing fancies or roads to the one who you will meet and spend some time with, enjoying it for a while. Others? Well, they are the ones that can be there for a long time, remaining by your side until you no longer need them or you are no longer on this place we call earth."

During his statement, Estarossa had closed his eyes once more and opened them to find most of the people in his row looking at him oddly. Some of the women smiled at his statement, the men simply ignored him save for a few who gave him looks of annoyance, believing him to be disturbing what was meant to be a peaceful plane ride. 

"I went on a rant again didn't I? Apologies...sorry...what I meant to say is that you could enjoy yourself. Don't think about relationships, I say have fun and enjoy what you get from being around this guy who you will meet, it could be one of the better things to do after your business is taken care of, obviously."

Estarossa smiled, his eyes closing once more, still paying attention to Nikki as he sighed and heard the air hostess soon coming back with his drink. Taking it from her with a pleased smile as he took a casual sip.

Nikki felt some form of validation as she listened to Estarossa go on about her possible fate. For a second she thought she was becoming teary eyed. It had been so long since she had gotten affection. But work was work and she didn’t want anything to get in the way of it. Dilemma of a business woman, indeed.

She watched him weirdly. She wasn’t smiling but she also wasn’t frowning. A train of thought had crossed her mind but she brushed it away. Nikki felt relief rush over her as an air hostess appeared at his side, giving her enough time to think of what to say next. Planes made her jittery.

“No, not at all. It’s okay. I’m a good listener. You can rant all da-“

A husky voiced roared throughout the atmosphere. It was yelling something, but she didn’t quite catch it. Nikki immediately poked her head out as her eyes went searching down the isle, looking left and right. She looked back at Estarossa as her eyes widened.

"Oh, this is that motherfuckin' bullshit...I can't have some single piece of rest, can I!? If it's not..."

He cut himself off, looking at Nikki with a plastered smile that she would have been able to tell was fake, his eyes held a fake kind of reassurance that everything would be fine. The same look that a father would give to his son, that was something, considering that his father had never given him that kind of look ever. He was always expected to clean shit up and he knew that this was just the beginning, he peaked over from his seat, noticing the growing ruckus. 

"Oh, how lovely...they must be here for that resource that Phillipe is carrying. How lovely..."

Esta whispered that last part to himself, deciding to keep some parts of this a nice little secret. He could not let anyone know about what he was carrying , that would cut into his profits and would limit his business dealings in Detroit. This was definitely going to be needing a delicate hand..he turned back, facing Nikki with that fake smile in place...

"Well...good news first...the baby is asleep and not crying. That's a plus in my book, bad news, it seems that we have would-be robbers on the plane looking for some goods....so...fifty-fifty?"

He smiled once more, checking his sleeve and the inside pocket of his leather jacket....good. He was packing heat, he looked at Nikki wondering if she was the same, he had a feeling that she should have been. He was making assumptions and he knew that was never good in his line of work...

It was a bad situation, maybe even worse than the horrifying serial killer stories that get spread around in the streets. But as all this chaos went on, Nikki felt oddly safe. Was it because she was with Estarossa? Somehow he had - unintentionally - proved himself to her as someone she could trust with her life. But still, she was paranoid. The feeling of paranoia only got amplified through this plane hostage or whatever it was that got everyone up out of their seats and screaming for dear life even though no one out of the plane would be able to hear. As Nikki was still busy trying to figure out what the fuck was happening, she swore she heard Esta say something but it was hard to decipher over the alarming plane announcements to "please stay seated". 

"Huh?" Nikki looked back at Esta with a frown on her face that didn't exactly mirror the mischievous smile he had on. 

She decided to admit some truths to Esta and felt no shame in doing so, maybe it would help them get to know each other more. "Goods? Well geezus, I'm surprised they aren't checking my bags right now..." 

Now to say that this was not a situation he had never been in before would have been a lie, many planes he had been on had the occasional brazen passenger looking to make a quick score. Now to say that he had always been calm in the situations would have been a lie, he had someone with him to keep him calm, now that was not really possible...cause it seemed that Nikki found this a bit exciting, he raised his eyebrow in odd confusion. 

"Well....they're a couple of people who wish to become richer...how exactly they intend to get off the plane and past airport security is anyone's guess. This is the part where this gets a little exciting....and wait a minute!"

He turned around...he studied her once more tilting his head, Nikki did seem a bit too calm about this. Almost like she had faced this type of situation on a daily basis, now he would have crossed that off as a simple misread. Only he could see the frown on her face, the way it seemed all too genuine....a little too genuine. 

"Did you just say that you're surprised they're not checking your bags? Just what do you deal in Nikki?"

His eyes narrowed, the slight suspicion in his eyes was clear before he turned his head once more, finding the men still there, seemingly trying to shake down some people. Now if he were one of the local heroes, he would have shot out of his seat and then done something to help...only considering his reputation and who he was truly....he would do that, he just wanted to see if they would go beyond the pale of the usually armed burglar. 

"I am just going to pretend like you didn't say that and I am asking you, what do you think we should do about our hijackers?"

An old lady that sat in the same row as Nikki and Estarossa but only a few chairs apart had a look of terror on her face. Nikki hadn't noticed her before. They made eye contact and Nikki frowned. She'd feel terrible and regretful if something bad ended up happening to the old lady, well to ANYONE on this plane. She looked back at Estarossa and took a deep breath, exhaling doubt.

"I-I think... We should do something," she said in an almost hesitant tone.

Then she thought of all these people's friends and family and she shook her head.

"Disregard my previous statement. We will do something. I just... can't bear to sit here knowing that someone on this plane will get hurt if someone doesn't do something quick. Are you armed?" She hoped that Esta was or at least equipped with some form of weapon. 

Nikki had been in a similar situation before. The only exception was that she was on land, and not in the air. It wasn't long before she was up out of her seat and heading for the hijackers' direction. One step closer to hell. 

"We should....are you sure of that? We need to be sure that you're ready...I mean I am but this is what really determines whether we come out as heroes or body bags..."

A nervous smiled had twitched up at his lips, his eyes giving off some kind of rushful feeling as he was looking over everyone. A woman was cowering and then he had heard Nikki once more, her voice full of determination to the highest degree. 

"Well look at you now...then let's do something about our hijackers. I do have a couple of weapons, something that I was not hoping to use on a plane. We can get this done with though, you do need to get for that...what was it again? Date."

Estarossa smiled, not even noticing how Nikki had already bolted out of her seat and was preparing to handle the hijackers. Rossa turned his head, expecting to find Nikki sitting there, only to then drop his smile and notice that Nikki was out of the seat, heading towards the hijackers.

"Oh so much for a plan! Fuck sake!"

Estarossa rushed out, his hand on his gun for a moment before pulling it out slowly. His eyes on the hijackers and Nikki, making sure that the woman he just met was okay. He smiled, deciding that he might as well enjoy himself. 

And just like that - Nikki's gun blasted throughout the plane's atmosphere. Shots were fired from her direction and the hijackers were lucky the first couple of times but one of them got a bullet in the leg. Two against four. Could Nikki and Esta pull it off? She thought that maybe making a plan might have made everything go quicker. And maybe Esta liked plans. But Nikki was always wanting to just let the dice decide. Let the dice decide. 

With one of four hijackers wounded, hopefully they would be less equipped and confident. Where was Esta...? Nikki turned her head and saw him taking his gun out. The smile he had on his face told her that he was okay. Everything was going to be okay. She gave a nod in his direction, and hoped that both of them would come out of this alive.

A little girl getting held back by her mother was screaming for something. It appeared as though her teddy bear had fallen into the hands of one of the hijackers. Nikki secured her gun back into its holster and released all the power in her fist straight to the hijacker's cheek. She had only taken one defence class in her whole life but she was grateful for it. Without wasting any time, Nikki took the chance to knee the hijacker in the balls before taking another swing at his face with her fist.

He bent forward slightly and hugged his balls. The man groaned, eyed Nikki and had on the meanest glare she had ever seen. "Fuck you," he spat before lunging towards her. 

Estarossa dove behind one of the Ailes, deciding that he best bide his time and calculate his shots..only then he heard the screams of a little girl. He bowed his head out of the Aile to see that Nikki was swinging at the Hijacker...damn that girl had some power, Esta shivered for a moment and decided then to quickly fire two rapid shots, instantly killing two of the hijackers as everyone turned to him, wondering what the fuck he had just done. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please calm down! All I-"

That was all he got out before he was punched by one of the hijackers, what the fuck!? He looked up, noticing how he could see a tall bulky giant of a man. He wondered for a moment how he even got on the plane, he was gripped by the neck and his vision was darkening as he was repeatedly punched in the gut. His breath shortening greatly, trying to regain some bearings before he felt his switchblade...thank the fucking lord for that. 

"Get the fuck off me, Goliath!"

Of course, that wasn't going to work and all that happened was Estarossa being tossed into the seats, causing some of the passengers to shriek. Oh yeah, like that was going to help him right now, these idiots were just going to watch him get fucked up after he was saving them? Oh, he had enjoyed the times where Nikki had sat down and not tried to get him killed by this giant!

"Okay...let's play rough then!"

And that was all he said, Esta had got out his switchblade, shoving it deep into the hijacker's arm before he moved back. Noticing how he seemed more stunned than anything else, he tried to rush Esta again, only to find that he was once again stabbed. Cursing with a bellowing roar before he toppled over, bleeding out on the floor of the plane...

Esta looked up at Nikki with an odd gleam in his eyes, wondering if she had this or if he was going to have to step in again.

When Esta looked back at her, Nikki had a hopeful glint in her eyes. She did need his help. Badly. Even with defense training, she was still tiny in comparison to the enemies. In contrast, they were way bigger and probably stronger than her. Luckily, Nikki was able to dodge the punch of the guy from earlier who lunged at her. But he was still alive and well. Nikki was thinking about blasting her gun again but she didn't want to make more mess on the plane. The blood that spilled as a result of Esta stabbing one of the hijackers was more than enough to cause a scene. Passengers were running around screaming. 

The hijackers were badly wounded now. Nikki didn't need her gun for this. She just looked at Esta thinking that he would put the switchblade to good use again. She'd back him up.

"Send it. Just fucking... send it. Right in his stomach." She pointed to the last hijacker while smirking. 

"Nikki.....while I admire your clear confidence in the fact that I am somehow supposed to stab this cunt in the guts.....telling him that plan might have been the...well....less tactical of both options."

Esta frowned, his eyes narrowing on the man before rushing him, kicking him in the kneecap and sending him sprawling on the ground with a huge right hook. Thank fucking god that they were....well on land, he lifted his switchblade high in the sky before SENDING it deep into his stomach. Causing the man to bellow as well, Esta frowned, backing up against one of the seats, hanging his head as his heavy breaths echoed throughout the screaming cabin. 

"Well...this was a fucking brilliant time...let's just hope they didn't get my....medicinal stock."

He smiled nervously, standing to his feet as he looked her over. He could see that she seemed a bit dishevelled but overall, she was better than him in terms of health. He shrugged his shoulders, walking down to the front of the plane. He really needed to collect his bloody gear, he wasn't going to be kept out of this now.

"You coming or just going to stand there and wait for a few of them to stand up again? Which I doubt they're going to do anytime soon..."

Estarossa asked looking over his shoulder at her with a small smile, motioning with his head for her to get a move on. So they could get off this deathtrap of an aeroplane...