Victoria wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tattered handkerchief. Even with the sleeves of her loose cotton shirt rolled up, the late July heat was still nearly making her pant for relief. She stuffed her handkerchief back into her slacks pocket with a guilty glance over to the perfectly-coiffured woman standing next to her.

Karina, Telkin had called her. When Victoria tried to introduce herself, she was met with a frosty “Pleasure to meet you,” but her hand had remained hanging in the air, unshaken. Telkin hadn’t paid much mind to the lack of cordiality in the introduction, instead simply shoving a map toward them. A local gas station, it seemed, had been horning in on his business—selling hooch out the back door. The offense may have been forgivable in the country, but the station was well within their family’s territory. Thankfully, they didn’t seem incredibly well-established or well-armed. “I’m sure you’ll just have to rough ‘em up a little,” he assured them, but gave an odd, pointed glance to Karina. Victoria saw the brunette nod curtly, her hand resting on the revolver at her hip.

So Victoria was feeling, understandably, on-edge. Besides the threat that loomed within the gas station—as well as the out-buildings that clearly held the distillery and stored the moonshine—she was forcing herself not to stare at Karina. The woman had a strange, icy beauty to her, with her high cheekbones, glittering pale eyes, and shining brown curls that tumbled over her shoulder. Victoria couldn’t help but want to impress Karina. While her wildest dreams included romantic candlelit dinners, she doubted that the woman would be interested in anything more than a stable working relationship. Well, they were working together now, so what better time to start that relationship? She sighed and closed the door to her dusty Model-T, then hitched her usual bright smile to her face.

“C’mon, Miss Karina. Let’s finish this lickety-split, all right?”

Karina squinted as she swung her legs out of the car. Goddamn, it was hot. She didn't sweat much, which came in handy at times. Wordlessly, she removed her long, brown jacket and tossed it back into the car. It's nearly knee-level length came in handy when disguising her holster, but there was no need for concealment now. Her white button down shirt hung loosely on her as she stretched out her hands and tucked them into the gunbelt slung diagonally across her waist. The revolver hung low on her right thigh and she rested her right hand on the ivory handle for a moment before drawing out her gun: a long barrel Colt Single Action Army. Karina seemed to shine when she was looking at that gun; her grey eyes seemed to reflect the sunshine even more than the metal. She clicked the cylinder open and slid another round into the empty chamber, locking it back into place and carefully putting it back in the holster. Karina stretched her arms behind her head, lacing her fingers together and shifting her arms to work out any kinks. She didn't have much muscle on her, but her lean, wiry limbs looked like they possessed great dexterity, if not strength.

Karina had almost forgotten that she wasn't alone, but didn't let that show as she dropped her hands to her side again. Victoria. Who the hell said "lickety split"? Karina sighed.

"Just Karina is fine."

Tapping her toes forward in her boots, Karina leaned against the car- she hadn't stopped staring in the direction of the gas station.

"Better get your gun out. Might not need it. Then again, we might."

Victoria chuckled, shaking her head as she strode away from the car, pulling her arm up to flex her bicep.

“I’ve always got my guns out, Karina.” She paused for a moment, grinning and waiting to see if she would elicit a smile from her pan-faced companion. Not even a twitch. Victoria shrugged and cleared her throat, then nodded toward the gas station. “Anyway, it seems like I should probably do the talking. You…seem more comfortable as the strong, silent type.”

Victoria straightened her shoulders and strolled in a practiced swagger toward the gas station, her head held high. She was still smiling as she and Karina approached the front counter. The man behind the counter looked over them with a raised eyebrow before wiping his oily hand off on his oily denim overalls.

“Hi there! We’re going to be having some friends over from out of town, and we were hoping you might have something to entertain them.” She flashed him a wink and a few bills. He glanced between Victoria and Karina, then shrugged and reached beneath the counter to pull out a small bottle of murky moonshine. He was opening his mouth to name the price when his eyes caught on something behind Victoria. She followed his line of sight—he’d finally realized that Karina was packing. He was beginning to get to his feet, but Victoria swiftly reached across the counter, grasping the front of his overalls and hauling him over the counter. A storm had covered her face—her pink lips had thinned into a grimace, and her usually warm brown eyes had become flat and cold.

“I guess you’ve figured out that you aren’t gonna be selling hooch anymore, then?” she growled. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before he suddenly screamed, high and piercing, for help.

Karina waited as Victoria made what must have been a familiar muscle joke. In the pause, she evaluated her "partner" for this trip. She was certainly a physical specimen. Well trained. In a fight, she could probably pick up Karina and break her in half... if she got close enough. God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal. She'd read that, somewhere. She lightly drummed a couple fingers on the side of her holster. 

"You seem more comfortable as the strong, silent type."

Karina raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Entering the gas station, Karina smiled for the first time as the man recognized her gun. It was gripped in her holster, ready to draw. This guy wasn't going to be any trouble, though. Victoria seemed to have the situation well in hand. She quickly pulled the gun as the man screamed for help, but nothing happened at first. She spoke quietly to Victoria.

"You stay here. I'll check out the back."

Gun in hand, Karina had only barely left the room before a man's fist connected with a temple and her world exploded into bright lights. 

Victoria nodded brusquely without looking to Karina as the slight woman crept out of the building. Victoria was just shaking the man in her hands to shut him up when she heard the distinct smack and thud of a fist connecting with a body. Not her fist, and certainly not the cashier’s body. She quickly dropped him and twisted around to see Karina slumping to the ground, her gray eyes wide with surprise. The man who’d laid her out cracked his knuckles, advancing on Victoria with a grin.

Victoria grinned back. She may have only just cleared 5’5”, but she was no stranger to fighting. And she knew how to go up against someone overly tall and confident. The man tried to land a right hook, but she swiftly ducked and surged forward, throwing her shoulder into his stomach. He went sprawling backward—he was off-balance! Once he had stumbled into the doorjamb, Victoria began to pummel into his ribs and stomach. He coughed—the wind was knocked out of him. She swung a final time, into his jaw, and his eyes rolled back into his head.

As he hit the floor, Victoria quickly stooped down to check on Karina. She seemed to be coming out of her daze—just as a shotgun cocked behind them.

Time seemed to be moving very slowly for Karina. She felt horrible. She winced as she clenched her eyes closed. Someone had gotten the drop on her. Didn't happen often. Looks like Victoria had taken care of the problem, though, since assailant was laid out across the floor. She must be pretty handy. Although perhaps not the best tactical thinker, thought Karina, as she looked up into Victoria's brown eyes and heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun cocking. In her haste to intervene, Victoria had left the original guy behind when she should have killed him. Or at least incapacitated him. Time to return the favor.

Victoria was leaning over her, so Karina was screened as she raised her gun and yelled out "We surrender! Oh God, please don't shoot us!". Her voice drowned out the slow clicking of the hammer as she cocked it. She held the gun right at Victoria with her right hand, while gesturing to the side with her left hand- then counting down with her fingers. After 1, Victoria threw herself to the side as Karina pointed at shot. Lying on the floor and shooting upward was hardly ideal, but the man was close enough that it didn't matter. The cracking boom of the first shot took him in the chest and the second and third followed close behind. He wildly fired his shotgun into the ceiling and collapsed.

Still on the floor, Karina closed her eyes. She smelled sulfur and tasted the metal in her blood from where she'd taken the punch. Sighing, still on the floor, she looked around to make sure there weren't any other surprises.

Victoria’s ears rang as the shots zipped past her. She swallowed and turned—they had all clearly found their marks, judging by the rapidly spreading pool of blood beneath him. Her mouth twisted downward, but she knew that she couldn’t dwell on the man’s death right now. Quickly, she heaved herself to her feet, immediately crouching in a defensive position. As she turned, she peered out the windows—no one else was approaching from the outbuildings. She could, however, see several civilians darting down the street. The police would be here before too long—although, in this neighborhood, who really knew? She held her hand out to Karina. “Come on, we gotta get outta here!”

Karina nodded- slowly, to avoid any more pain blossoming through her head. She raised herself to one knee and steadied herself, ignoring or not seeing Victoria's outstretched hand. They needed to move. Standing, Karina took a deep breath. She'd be fine. Just needed some ice. There'd be a nasty bruise for a few days, though. Turning, she saw the man on the floor that Victoria had beaten down. Karina calmly put three shots into him, one in the head and two in the heart, before turning toward the door. As she walked, she smoothly unloaded her spent rounds, pocketed them, and replaced them with five new ones. Briskly, she walked to the car and slid into the passenger seat.

As Karina shot the prone man, Victoria took a step backwards in shock. For a moment, she just watched as Karina walked off calmly. Coldly. Vic shivered and hopped over the body, careful not to get blood on her shoes as she kept on Karina’s heels. Once they had both slid into the front seat, she paused before flipping on the ignition.

“You didn’t have to kill that guy, you know.” She met eyes with Karina, who was holding her temple gingerly. The woman’s gray eyes widened slightly. Victoria opened her mouth to speak again, but stopped as the faint noise of sirens began in the distance. Cops must have been bored today. Swiftly, she turned the ignition switch and the car roared to life. She wrenched the driving lever as far forward as it would go, and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving a spray of gravel and dust behind them.

They left the sound of sirens behind them easily. Once they had slipped fully into the midday stream of traffic, Victoria sighed, her fingers squeezing the steering wheel.

“I mean it, you know—you didn’t have to kill him. The second guy. I mean, the one with the shotgun, sure, it was him or us, but—” she took a deep breath before continuing, “—it actually would have been nice to leave someone alive there—someone who knew the business already. He could’ve continued it, but under Telkin—could have made all of us some money, you know?”

Karina listened as Victoria gave her expected protest. She closed her eyes and leaned back. Her jaw was sore and her head was killing her. Figuratively. The sirens didn't help. As they roared away, Victoria continued to question her. Karina opened her eyes and spoke without emotion. None was needed.

"They would have killed you, if they could. Dumped us in a trashcan out back. Or worse, if they'd taken us alive. Those guys were scumbags. And you're the one who told them they weren't selling hooch anymore. If we were negotiating with them, we should have negotiated. But we were sent to shut them down- which we did. And I don't want some gas station fuckwad bragging about how he took me down. We're new here. Need to make sure no one knows to fuck with us. We tell the Don that they pulled a shotgun on us and try to take us down, and he'll understand. There's lots of idiots who can sell alcohol. He'll find some more."

It was a long speech and it was delivered slowly, in between winces. When it was finished, Karina considered advising Victoria that she should have taken down the first target when she had the chance. But since she'd rushed off to help her... well, she'd have to think about that during the rest of the ride. Better not to say anything now.

Victoria was silent as Karina spoke. She was no longer quite as enchanted by her slightly husky voice or the mysteries that her stoic face hid. Some of the veil that surrounded the silent woman had been drawn back, and Victoria didn’t like everything she saw. There was plenty to admire—elegance, efficiency, bravery, an attractive pride in herself and her work—but her calm demeanor in a crisis was not born from determination so much as it seemed to be a default factory setting.

“Well…you make some mighty fine points,” she muttered before feeling her familiar smile creep up onto her face. “But there’s no need to assume the worst. I would’ve taken ‘em down if they tried any other funny stuff. Ain’t no one who’s overpowered me yet. And look at us! Only a little the worse for wear.” She glanced a little guiltily at Karina, who was still holding a hand up to her head. “And don’t tell me that we only survived ‘cause you killed ‘em, or that our reputation would’ve been damaged if you’d let him go. Trust me, no guy wants to admit that he got beat up by a girl. Your secret would’ve been safe, and he’d have run off with his tail between his legs. And the dead body you left behind would’ve done wonders for telling folks not to mess with us.”

She sighed and pulled into the small parking lot outside of their headquarters.

“Oh well—there isn’t much point in discussing it anymore, is there? It’s in the past, and we’ve got a whole big future to look forward to.” She stuck out her hand toward Karina, her usual broad grin a little tempered by the day’s events. “Right, partner?”

Karina looked at the muscular arm extended in her direction and let it hang there as she spoke. She didn't make eye contact as she scanned a couple people walking out of the HQ.

"I did want to... thank you. For saving me. Not everyone would have done that...

She reached up and gripped Victoria's hand.

... partner."

She didn't match Victoria's beaming smile- not many people could. But the small catlike grin and a gleam in her eyes seemed a radical change from her earlier demeanor. As they stepped out of the car and walked toward the HQ she studied the shorter, but more powerfully built woman. Although Karina was too stunned to witness how, precisely, she'd done it, she'd heard Victoria take that guy down fast. She hadn't met that many women good with her fists. And Victoria walked like a fighter. Something in her hips. Her shoulders. Karin studied the way the muscles in her back shifted.

Blinking, she looked up at the sky. Hopefully no one had caught her staring. 

Back to business. Time to talk to the boss. And maybe he'd have more work for her... and her partner.