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"Latter," He said, drawing his gun.

He started to move quickly, through the cover of darkness towards the ship. He kept his sidearm at the ready as he moved along stealthily. From point to point, shipping crate to shipping crate, he went, occasionally stopping to gesture for Archer to follow, or stay in place and out of sight.

Then, they reached the ramp.

Sadly, there was only one entrance to the boat. One way to get on. Ashton gestured for her to follow. Then, he moved upwards and rampwards, forward, into the ship.

She was 16 again. No, this hadn't been meant as a test of her driving capabilities, and no, it wasn't, but that didn't stop Ashton from having eyes. She ran no red lights. She stopped at all stop signs. For all intents and purposes, she obeyed the law. As an officer of the law, that was good. Very good. Admirable. He couldn't help but take note of how boring the drive was. It might have been better if there had been banter while they drove their 'by the book' route back. Might have been better if she'd known some shortcuts, too. She would learn.

Why she was so damn careful, he didn't know. Maybe she was scared of him? Tough. She'd practically been bouncing on his heels to do the job. Would have been nice if she'd had some of that enthusiasm again. It was adorable.

They finally got back to the station. His migraine abated. Ashton managed his way out of his seat. As Archer addressed him, he looked at her, and to his vest, like it might jump out and bite him. His version of that look was a bit different than how another person's look might be. It wasn't a scared look. Not mortified. Serious. Like telling a yipping dog 'no'. The look softened, just as easily as it had appeared.

She did her thing.

For a moment, Ashton considered her. Took the vest, and considered it in his hands. Then, his eyes rose to focus on her face.

"You don't have to be afraid of me," Ashton said sternly, but softly. "You know. The hardass thing is mainly an act."

"But." All gentleness vanished from tone and face. Ashton composed himself, donning his serious-face once more. "That doesn't mean you get a free pass to make rookie mistakes. Don't let it happen again." He folded the vest. "Good work." He tossed it into the car, and slammed the door. When he turned back to her, he was smiling. "Now, about that tea..."

No tossing, unfortunately. She actually helped him out. Hm... Ashton made a note of that, for future reference.

He stretched out his arms behind his head and yawned while she was gone. The migraine was still there, but... maybe a strong cup of coffee could punch it out. Or maybe he could kill it with tea. Tea killed things, right? Because you had to have dead taste buds to like the bland stuff? He was certain of it, now. Yeah. He'd have to kill it with tea. Death by... he shuddered... tea. His plan was foolproof. Made by a fool.

A glance towards the mirror told him she was on the way back. He turned, and watched her move around the car to take the front seat. He had to smile at her comment. It took guts.

"That's good." He noted jovially. "Don't let people boss you around. You're a cop after all, right?" Right. He pressed the keys into her hand, satisfied with his retort.

>>”So tell me again. An entire squad couldn’t take this guy on while we went and looked for the victim? And how do we know she’s even still alive?”

Ashton shivered. He looked at her bleakly. "If she's dead, we look bad for sitting around here, waiting. If she dies while we're waiting, we look bad for letting it happen. You know what?" He glanced towards the ship, impatiently. "You can handle guns, right? I'll humor you. Let's just bust in there without a plan."

He wasn't trying to be a jerk. Nope. He was actually serious. "Just don't get my jacket shot." He added as he unlocked his door and popped it open, moving to get out. "I like it."

And she looked good enough wearing it right now to need any accessory additions, like bullet holes.

Ashton's my fourth. He's the detective for MRC. Mutant Related Crimes. If something was reported as a mutant related crime, he'd go investigate.

Or, Shin could be in the area. I'm game for whatever.

What was different? Pft. Did she even have to ask?

"I don't usually take as much weight with me. I'm not used to teleporting with people." He sighed, bowing his head. It was still heavy. His whole body? Still heavy. But at least the being helped around was nice.

There's a drastic difference between using excessive force, and showing off.

The dangerous smirk stayed plastered to Ashton's face. He never lowered the shotgun, even though it suddenly felt like it weighed twelve hundred pounds.

"She does." He agreed. "Ripped my vest clean in two."

Would they believe that? Getting into a fire fight here was not something he wanted to do. He'd been stupid, carrying her with him. He should have left the rookie back there. ... She wasn't doing too badly, though, all things considered. They'd have to talk about that.

Scared swearing drifted to him, like music to his ears. Their numbers pared, until one was left. He didn't resist. Guy was actually smart. Still an idiot, though. Archer booked him, and Ashton was glad.

The rest of the police handled the dirty details, gathering evidence, taking statements, and handling witnesses with care. All that left for Ashton and Quin to do was go back to the station.

Ashton grimaced, approaching Quin. "Hey..." He said. "Good work. Now--." Unintentionally, he stumbled.