>>5315873 “Nice to meet you, Plastique. Not to be rude or anything, but you seemed pretty interested in getting my attention; is there something in particular you want?
“What, is it so weird that I’d like to be polite and welcome the new guy?” She says, visibly offended.
Shit. That didn’t come out as you intended.
Time to play a bit of damage control.
> “Look, I’m not looking to pick a fight or get on anyone’s bad side. I just - I haven’t been in the Squad for all that long, and I guess I’m just getting a bit paranoid. This place gets to you after a while.” You say, trying to keep a conciliatory tone.Plastique takes a moment to process your words, and her combative attitude fades away as you offers you a small, genuine smile.
“Apology accepted. I can’t really blame you for being on edge. Especially because I did have a reason for calling you over.”
> “Do you mind sharing?”“Let’s just say that I’ve had a peek at your file, and I liked what I saw. Maybe I wanted to see how the real deal compares.”
> “And? How do I stack up?”“So far, so good. Definitely not as crazy as your eval paints you as.
> “Well, since you’ve already had the chance to skim my permanent record, how about we level the playing field a bit?”“But where’s the fun in that?” She lightly teases, before conceding the point.
“Just kidding, go right ahead.”
> “What’s your role on the team?”“I’m our team’s demolition expert. Safes, buildings, vehicles, people, you name it. If you need them blown apart, I’m the woman for you.” Plastique gives you a wink after finishing her sales pitch.
> “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with all that stuff in your pack? I don’t want to call it junk, but…”“You’d be surprised at how easy it is to rig up something as an explosive. Some of it I use as spare parts, other stuff I use as camouflage.
You’d be surprised how effective it is. One time, I was after this politician who had survived a handful of assassination attempts before mine.
He had gotten real paranoid, and had his entire estate put under the hardest lockdown I’ve ever seen. So I got creative; broke into his summer home and swapped out all of his small appliances with exact (and functional) copies filled with homemade explosives.
A few weeks later, when no attacks were forthcoming, he decided it was safe to relocate and celebrate with a crowd of his favorite cronies. Soon as they were all clumped together…”
She clicks her tongue and makes an explosion noise.
