If the muscular woman had any less of a murderous, overwhelming aura, Bernadette would not think twice about leaving this all behind and booking out out of there. In defeat, she kept her mouth shut. Walking out into the humid evening, the clothes she wore caused her to feel like her skin was ought to peel along with the fabric when they return (if they do, she shook her head to get the thought out).
As light as the hoodie and sweatpants seemed at first, the blazing heat of New York did not care, plastering them to the skin of the two women.
Trailing behind the other as close as she could, Bernadette struggled to keep up with Nadra down the busy streets of East Harlem. Her neck felt uneasy with any gust of wind blowing into her hooded figure, cooling the sweat on her neck. She doubted she'd look any less suspicious like this, but Nadra'd talked her ear off about if anyone matched up with the girl plastered all over the news, she'd be the one to snap her neck in the nearest alleyway.
Speaking of Nadra, a surgical mask covered her from the nose down, much to Bernadette's envy. Her eyes squinted under the sharp sunrays, not paying much mind to the other, instead opting to move through the passerby with as little touch as possible. The sight of a crowded street served as a breather to Bernadette (not to her lungs, though), as from the windows of her and Melina's shared room the single sight visible was a skinny alleyway.
Bernadette hurried her step to walk by the other’s side, fearing that she will dwindle into the crowd. The other shot a glare at her but persisted walking.
“How exactly are we going to do this?” she prepared for a lecture and smack from the other, but unexpectedly neither happened.
The other talked in a drawn, tired voice, “We're on lookout duty, I think it explains itself.”
The lankier woman nodded, continuing to walk alongside the other who traded a few more words before falling silent, “’cuz I can’t go straight into the nest with ya, we're gonna try to sneak in on some deals and listen in. Hope it’s the boys we after.”
At some point, the two started shifting through smaller alleys on their way. The mass of people faded; ruin starting to become more prevalent under their feet. As they advanced, the alleys started to thin more, and disorganized. The buildings around them in disarray, windows broken and concrete chipped. The sight seemed more of a postapocalyptic landscape than modern New York.
Aside from the distant chatter of long-passed crowded streets, Bernadette could hear her own breaths grow winded under the hoodie. The garment became heavier on her body the more she walked. Sweat ran down her entire body in fat droplets, making the experience even more uncomfortable than it already was with how loud her breathing could be heard in the silence between them.
The other navigated the alleys as if she’d been in them time and time again. Bernadette noticed her starting to grow careful of turns after the crowd chatter became even more faint. With each turn, Nadra would look at her with a scalding glare and stop her in her tracks before looking over the edge. They’d stand in silence before turning, she guessed as to listen in on any movement.
As Bernadette prepared to break the uneasy silence, the other grabbed her and dragged her back from the corner they were about to turn. A calloused hand pressed against her lips to the point Bernadette's teeth hurt and her heart skip quite a few beats.
Calming the beating inside her ears, the pale ravenette grew acquainted with the reason for their rough stop. A faint voice talking on the side of the wall. Bernadette held her breath to listen in.
“‒we got Georgie on tow, can’t get hold of others,” the unknown voice talked into the silence. Bernadette's back unconsciously pressed to the concrete wall, Nadra pulling her hand off of the shorter’s mouth. Checking behind them, both strained their ears to listen to what followed.
“Fucking pussies! As soon as shit gets tight, they hurry out like roaches!” a can fell over as a different voice raged. The clatter rattled Bernadette’s ears, causing her to peer around for the source of the noise. Her anxiety settled after the other woman pointed at the alley the voices came from; the man must’ve kicked over a can in his hissy fit.
“We got thirty on tow, though. I think that’s gonna be ‘nuff boss,” a third voice sounded. It sounded nasal, stuffier than the other two.
“No! We need as many as we can gather. If we want to get even closer to any other cappies we gotta hit up ANY contact at this point- Ya’ll don’t understand we’re on the road to dyin’ here?” the voice left heaving after the passionate speech, a gaggle of cheers sounded. Although three voices spoke, there seemed to be a whole crowd in the alley with them who listened to their meeting like jury inside of a courthouse.
She heard a sigh before the other party gave in, “We’ll search for new associates and hand them in.”
Nadra’s eyebrows pinched together as she waited for any more input, but silence followed.
That is, until the sound of glass crunching vibrated their ears. Bernadette’s legs felt light, adrenaline rushing, chaining her in place for a second before her brain caught up. She yanked Nadra’s arm, digging her nubby nails in before dashing. A flock of yells behind them after they knocked over a beer can resting on a nearby trash bin propelled them further.
“For fucks sake,” Nadra groaned, speeding up and grabbing the arm digging into her forearm. Panic rose up in the back of Bernadette’s head after she noticed they lost themselves because of her aimless sprint. The buildings around looked far different than the ones she encountered when entering.
The enviorment around them hadn't changed, pebbles and crunching glass under their feet. Bernadette’s mind strayed elsewhere at this point, chest growing cold after overheating for so long. She didn’t register a hand dragging into the tight alley to the right until the position forced her to acknowledge the unpleasant stick of her back up to someone’s flat chest, Nadra nowhere in front.
As she opened her mouth to call out, a gaggle of yells approached the main street off the alley. She bit her tongue (tears coming to her eyes from the sensation) to stifle any sound her traitor body could make. Lucky for the two, the gaggle seemed to run past. A whisper made her skin shudder, “Ya are a fucking pain in the ass, flaky. Just shut the fuck up ‘n follow my lead now.”
Bernadette struggled to nod before the pair of hands that held her pushed her away and into the wall in front. The contact her nose made with the wall made her supress a groan, pushing herself off and pinching the pained bridge of it. When she took a few steps back, her back met the concrete wall.
Nadra stood beside the alley and watched the other shift out before turning back to the way they came from, “They gonna reach a dead end soon ‘nuff, we gotta hurry,” she looked Bernadette in the eye this time, “Don’t start shit.”
The other nodded again, trailing behind her until they crossed into familiar streets. Bernadette caught up to Nadra as soon as the crowd began to appear but felt no ease until they turned for the location of the hideout. When they entered the decrepit concrete building, Bernadette yanked off the hoodie for a breath of fresh air. Her fringe plastered to her forehead with sweat, she guessed the same condition stood with the state of her entire body.
Silence stretched on while the two ascended flights of stairs. Nadra stopped Bernadette at the top, looking over her face, her brows furrowed.
“Ya collided with the wall yourself, if I hear ya mention me in the ordeal I’m stranglin’ ya like a chicken,” the glare made Bernadette flush in embarassment, shifting from foot to foot, “I really, really fuckin’ don’t see what Boss sees with you," Nadra pushed an accusing finger against the other's chest, "Be honored, baby. I’m doing this ‘cuz she woulda snapped my nipples off. My advice for ya, good for nothin’, is to get outta here as soon as you fuckin’ can. Friend-to-friend advice, jackass.”
She seemed to harbor no conscience of doing this on the top of the stairs, in possible earshot of her boss. The taller didn’t wait on Bernadette as she stormed into the apartment.
Rushing toward her room, she bore no care of Melina who quirked an eyebrow at her, spread out on the couch. Bernadette followed in with a slower step, panting both because of the unbearable heat and exhaustion catching up on her.
“Ya both are back quick,” Melina uttered, a pile of papers strewn around her, “I’ll get intel from her, get to the shower. Wanna see ya sis earlier, get done wit’ the shit early?”
Bernadette nodded with an 'uh-huh', before turning the direction of the bathroom. That is, until she heard the floor squeak when Melina shot up from the couch.
“Whoa! Hold the fuck up,” the shorter yelled and within seconds stood in front of the ravenette, touching along the purple blotch on her nose. She squinted, touches staying feather light against the darkened skin. Realizing the other leaned a little too close for comfort, Bernadette backed up.
“Did she fuck wit’ ya or somethin’?” Melina talked low, looking about ready to claw the throat off the only person who brought intel into the house.
Bernadette shook her head as quick as she could, “No, no! I ran into a dead end, people chased us.”
The edges of Melina's lips quirked up, she let go of the ravenette and let her pass, “There’s some balm in the cabinet, put it over the bruise. We’ll be headin’ out as soon as ya’re dry.”
With that, Bernadette walked past, skin prickling under shame.
Melina turned over to Nadra’s bedroom, hurried step taking her to the door in moments time. Not bothering to knock, she opened the door with such vigor it almost fell down from its frame.
In the middle of the room, Nadra stood with her hoodie halfway up her torso, sweat beading over piles of ashen scars and bruises over her stomach. She probably hurried inside to wipe the scars down, the sweat making them sting no matter how old they were.
“The fuck you want? I’ll tell ya when I change‒” the muscular didn’t get to finish her sentence as Melina closed the door behind her and crossed her arms, “Tell me, now.”
"Voyeur, still," a sigh escaped the other as she shrugged the rest of her hoodie off. Grabbing for the tank top strewn on the bed beside her, she talked whilst her eyes wandered elsewhere, “We ran into ‘em, got back fast ‘cuz we got a lead. Also, Bernie over there kinda busted us anyway.”
At the mention of Bernadette’s nickname Melina’s eyebrows knitted together, “Didn’t I tell ya to make sure she’s safe at all times?”
The two stared into the other's eyes for a good while before the ginger looked away and fixed her glare into a less intimidating one, although lacking any concrete emotion.
“Alright, ‘side from that, what did ya two get?”
Pulling the top over her head, Nadra recollected the events prior to coming back. Of course, she jumped over the topic of Bernadette’s bruised nose.