{"id":4415,"date":"2019-10-15T23:57:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T05:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/djangodurango.com\/?p=4415"},"modified":"2023-02-01T00:00:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T06:00:11","slug":"first-impression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/djangodurango.com\/?p=4415","title":{"rendered":"First Impression"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo Dixie? That\u2019s a pretty\u2026\u201d Cleo twirled her hand around, pretending to think of the right word, \u201cConfederate codename.\u201d. She was curious to know if Dixie was aware of or oblivious to the implications behind it. She knew it might be unwise to start this conversation in the van on the way to a robbery, but if Dixie\u2019s codename implied what she thought it might, then she\u2019d probably never work with Dixie again. It\u2019d be better to know if she should be watching her back now than be betrayed later.<\/p>\n

Their crewmates on this job, a man called Savoy and a woman named Chartreuse, looked upon this disaster in the making silently. Savoy had a look of deep \u201coh no\u201d on his face, but Chartreuse looked like she had a ringside seat to a sold-out fight.<\/p>\n

Dixie raised an eyebrow at the question. \u201cAre we really gonna talk about this now<\/i>?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, well, my controller wanted to call me Plantation Slavery but it got cut off in the computer,\u201d she said. Chartreuse snorted at this snide remark, but then stifled herself quickly when she saw no one else laughed. Dixie shrugged, spread her hands, and gave Cleo a what-do-you-expect-me-to-do-about-it look. Savoy\u2019s eyes darted between Dixie and Cleo, waiting to see where this was going to go. No one said anything.
\n
\nDixie was<\/i> aware of what her codename suggested, but thought it was rude to be asked about it by someone she\u2019d only just met. Especially someone who knew Syndicate agents didn\u2019t pick their own codenames. Obviously, the appropriate response to such a lapse in manners was to be equally rude back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I saw on your profile that you\u2019re kinda new to the game, Cleo. The phone psychic thing not workin\u2019 out?\u201d<\/p>\n

To Dixie\u2019s surprise, Cleo actually snickered. Dixie stood down, shifting into an affable smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know controllers ain\u2019t got no imagination,\u201d she said. Savoy and Chartreuse visibly relaxed at the situation\u2019s defusing.<\/p>\n

Cleo nodded. \u201cMine called me Cleo because I said I studied Egypt in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep. And even the most urban Texan accent sounds like \u2018dumb hick\u2019 anywhere else. Thus \u2018Dixie\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cThere must be, like, fifty pigs out there,\u201d Savoy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate when they just sit there like that,\u201d Chartreuse said. \u201cLike they plannin\u2019 somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely they wouldn\u2019t move in on us when we have ten<\/i> hostages,\u201d Cleo reasoned. \u201cIt\u2019s too dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think staying here any longer is getting dangerous,\u201d Savoy said. \u201cThere\u2019s more cops showing up by the second. Maybe we should leave right now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the score? I don\u2019t think so,\u201d Cleo scoffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDixie\u2019s takin\u2019 her sweet-ass time,\u201d Chartreuse noted, checking her watch. \u201cBut it ain\u2019t even hot yet. Calm down, Savoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we need to leave,\u201d Savoy said. \u201cA fucking SWAT van just pulled up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not leaving yet. Dixie isn\u2019t finished,\u201d Cleo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck it, leave her then. We\u2019re all gonna get pinched if we stay here any longer!\u201d Savoy said. He started to walk to the side door, but Cleo grabbed his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one is going anywhere yet,\u201d Cleo barked. \u201cIf you go out there by yourself, they will catch or kill you. We stay together and we leave as a group like planned. Both of you wait here and guard the hostages while I see what\u2019s keeping Dixie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savoy didn\u2019t appear completely convinced, but he was cowed enough to stay put. Chartreuse nodded and swept her gun across the array of zip-tied civilians on the floor to remind them to remain still.<\/p>\n

Cleo made for the back office. When she turned the corner and looked in, she found a security guard had Dixie pinned to the floor, knee in her back and hand over her mouth to keep her from calling for help while he called his catch in over his walkie-talkie. The guard\u2019s back was to the door, but Dixie saw Cleo and her eyes went wide in friendly recognition that lacked concern with her present predicament, as if she\u2019d only been waiting for someone to come check on her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019ve subdued one of them. There\u2019s three more in the front,\u201d the guard said into his radio. He didn\u2019t hear Cleo creep up behind him and raise her shotgun. She slammed the stock into the side of his head and he went limp and fell over.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hero!\u201d Dixie said from the floor. \u201cDid you get a psychic vision that I was in trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we all thought you were taking too long.\u201d Cleo smirked down at her. \u201cThe others wanted to leave without you.\u201d Cleo helped Dixie to sit upright. She saw then that the guard had tied Dixie\u2019s hands behind her back with his tie.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow resourceful,\u201d she commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he\u2019s a real MacGuyver,\u201d Dixie said. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand though-\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? Is it not what it looks like?\u201d Cleo guessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s exactly what it looks like,\u201d Dixie admitted. \u201cBut this fuckin\u2019 guy, man! He hid behind that door and fuckin\u2019 watched me crack this safe for like ten whole minutes. Had the drop on me that whole time and I never even knew he was there. He waited until I had the safe open and was pulling the gold out and then he grabbed me. Like he was lettin\u2019 me build up charges or something.\u201d Cleo moved to untie her, but Dixie pulled away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa! Aren\u2019t you gonna take a picture first?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf you? Tied up like this?\u201d Cleo asked to confirm. \u201cIsn\u2019t that really embarrassing for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTotally, but that\u2019s part of the fun. Everybody does it. When you save someone from a shameful situation like this, you get to take a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never done that,\u201d Cleo argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, today\u2019s your lucky day too then! Come on, we ain\u2019t got time to fuck around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleo was going to argue that taking photos during a robbery was fucking around, but then realized that it would be quicker to just take the damn picture. She pulled out her phone, opened the camera app, and said, \u201cSay cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dixie put on her most winning smile. Cleo couldn\u2019t help but laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d she said as her giggles trailed off. \u201cLet me untie you now.\u201d She put her phone back in her breast pocket and knelt down to untie Dixie\u2019s wrists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the point of taking a picture like that?\u201d Cleo asked. The knot was really tight so she reached up to the bank manager\u2019s desk to grab a pen to work under the loop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for one, they\u2019re just funny,\u201d Dixie explained. \u201cAlso, if you roll with someone on the regular, you can bring it up all the time and embarrass each other by showing them to people. But mostly, it\u2019s nice to have a collection so that when it happens to youuuu,\u201d Dixie frowned sheepishly over her shoulder for emphasis, \u201cyou can go back through them and be like, \u2018Aww, well, it happens to everybody at least once.’\u201d Truth told, it happened to Dixie quite a few times, but Cleo didn\u2019t need to know that.<\/p>\n

Cleo finally got the knot loose and the tie fell away. Dixie shook her arms out and rolled her shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s my gun?\u201d she asked. The two of them glanced around.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d Cleo said, reaching under the desk to grab the pearl handle she saw peeking out. She handed the hefty revolver over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks. And thanks for coming to get me.\u201d Dixie raised her voice so her crewmates in the front could hear her. \u201cInstead of leaving me to rot like some other chickenshit motherfuckers I know!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still here, ain\u2019t we?\u201d Chartreuse called back. \u201cYou get that fuckin\u2019 safe open yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Thanks to some social engineering and grand theft auto on the part of their driver, they were now making a chill, unnoticed escape in the police SWAT van instead of the white van they arrived in.<\/p>\n

\u201cHa! You got arrested? By an unarmed rent-a-cop?\u201d Chartreuse cackled. \u201cDid you get a picture?\u201d she asked Cleo.<\/p>\n

Dixie gave Cleo a didn\u2019t-I-tell-ya look and Cleo snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on then,\u201d Dixie said. \u201cShow \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleo got out her phone and showed Chartreuse and Savoy the photo Dixie made her take. They laughed at Dixie\u2019s silly face.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I got toooons of those of Savoy,\u201d Chartreuse said, getting her own phone out. Savoy blushed hard, but he chuckled along with the rest of the group as Chartreuse showed everyone her collection.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

This story was part of my 2019 TRL event.<\/p>\n

How did Sable and Cairo meet?<\/p>\n

\u2013 CunningValentine<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo Dixie? That\u2019s a pretty\u2026\u201d Cleo twirled her hand around, pretending to think of the right word, \u201cConfederate codename.\u201d. She was curious to know if Dixie was aware of or oblivious to the implications behind it. She knew it might be unwise to start this conversation in the van on the way to a robbery, but if Dixie\u2019s codename implied what she thought it might, then she\u2019d probably never work with Dixie again. It\u2019d be better to know if she should be watching her back now than be betrayed later. Their crewmates on this job, a man called Savoy and a woman named Chartreuse, looked upon this disaster in the making silently. Savoy had a look of deep \u201coh no\u201d on his face, but Chartreuse looked like she had a ringside seat to a sold-out fight. Dixie raised an eyebrow at the question. \u201cAre we really gonna talk about this […]<\/p>\n

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