Vertigo stared at Commander in disbelief, certain he'd heard wrong. He drew a deep breath, but before he could bellow his outrage, Commander pushed him up against the alley wall, forcing all the air out of him, and held him there.
“Shut up and listen,” Commander said, low and intense. Held by the chest, Vertigo rolled his eyes downward as a movement caught his attention. Commander's free hand twitched as though nervous, his fingers moving. “I said listen!” He brought his attention back up to the other man's face. “I'm giving you to Yolanda, but not permanently. I got enough from her to fill in the piece of this plan she's got to discredit me. I want you to play along, be good, watch everything you can. Meanwhile we're gonna finish business and move out, but not far. Bliss is going to sneak in and destroy the evidence. Once you get the word, burn everything to the ground.”
Vertigo huffed, his angry shout dying in his throat. “Now that's more like it.” He shoved Commander off him. “You couldn't have fucking led with that part?”
The taller man grinned. “Nice to keep you on your toes once in a while.” A sort of tension seemed to leave him as he clapped Vertigo on the back hard enough to nearly make him lose his balance.
Rolling his eyes, Vertigo stepped into place at Commander's shoulder. “Let me guess, I have just long enough to go back and get my stuff.” An exasperated grunt escaped him at the affirmative nod. “You couldn't have given me at least the rest of the day to work shit out?”
“The longer you have to think about it, the longer you have to screw yourself up. Just go in there and play the obedient.” Commander winked. “I know it'll be tough acting but hang in there.”
Vertigo rolled his eyes again, refraining from further commentary.
As they reached the inn, Vertigo stalked inside, not bothering to hide his foul temper. His cloak streamed behind him, threatening to knock over stray items. Upstairs in his room he began to shove things into his duffel bag without regard for crumpled clothing. Midway through he sensed a presence at the open door. He didn't turn around, instead struggling to zip the carelessly stuffed bag.
“You're going to rip it.” Nathan's hands reached from behind him and somehow got the bag shut. A small sigh, just a puff of air, ruffled Vertigo's hair. “He's sending you off alone on some damn fool crazy-ass job again, isn't he?”
Vertigo just stared straight ahead, not seeing the wooden walls or the sunlight streaming through the window. “Yeah.” He exhaled hard through his nose. “I don't mind it, it's just I wish he'd quit jerking me around for once, y'know?”
“Yeah.” Nathan rested a hand on his shoulder. “Just... be careful, ok? Don't get yourself killed doing some idiot stunt.”
He turned to flash a cocky, confident grin over his shoulder. “Me? Pull stunts? Since when?”
Nathan raised an eyebrow, unable to stop a smirk. “That time you got yourself and Bliss kicked out of the bar for that drinking contest just last month, that gambling ring business at Sol Merino, Etienne...”
Vertigo trudged down the stairs, bag over his shoulder, Nathan following and continuing to narrate his exploits. Despite himself, a real smile quirked at the corner of his mouth.
