First GunSmith Cat's Fanfic. I hope this is enjoyable to anyone who is a fan, or even if you are not one. R&R Loved. Thank you for reading.
All was quiet for the little shop in Chicago. GunSmith Cat's was having a lull in the afternoon, though it was welcome to the few workers that had been there. With Rally out, Misty and May had not much to do besides take orders and work on the ones they knew how to without the main gunsmith there to supervise. Standing about a foot shorter out of the two, Minnie May Hopkins was more skilled at smithing then her taller, reddish haired younger assistant Misty Brown. Between the two of them, they were about to please the customers enough. Then again those who regularly shopped at the store knew well that it was worth the wait.
But as lunch time rolled around, the customers dwindled off leaving the two ladies some much deserved sitting time. Lounging in chairs behind the counter, they enjoyed the much needed rest off their feet. Sadly, the stillness in the shop would not last long.
SCREEEEECH!
SLAM!
Squealing tires and the rough banging of a door signaled the return of someone to the shop. A few loud obscenities seemed to echo from the garage before it died down to a very annoyed mutter. Blinking in surprise, the two ladies stared at the door, pensive of what might be coming out.
"Why I aughta… they wouldn't even… argh! If I was…" With the grace of a herd of elephants, Rally Vincent, the owner of GunSmith Cat's, tromped into the main area of the Gun shop. She breathed in deep, but even the smell of gunpowder and oil from the guns could not sooth her sour mood. A scowl on her face, she set her sights on May and Misty sitting around. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at the un-active two giving off the aura that she was about to get upset at them for lying about on the job. Sensing this, May was quick to her feet and waving her hands in defense against the upset owner.
"Whoa whoa whoa… I know that look. Down girl!" May tried to calm the annoyed Rally down. Turning to Misty, she pointed at her and then to the break room that sat behind them.
"Coffee! Black! Stat!"
Scrambling to her feet to obey the order, Misty tripped over her chair on the way into the back room. With the chair clattering to the floor, the younger girl vanished to get the much needed caffeine ready. With Misty at work, May went to coral Rally to calm down and sit. Like a flustering mother, she took the risk of annoying Rally more and shoo'ed her to sit down. Almost vaulting over the counter, Misty landed softly and skidded to a halt with the coffee extended. Once sitting, the tense Rally softened, especially at the offered coffee. Taking an experimental sip, the dark skinned woman seemed satisfied with the taste and temperature enough to chug the rest of the dark brew like one might take a shot. With drink gone, she slammed down the cup with a bang.
"STUPID KIDS!"
She shouted again, annoyed but more venting then true anger. She was getting it out of her system, in oddly a less violent method then she might normally use. The most preferred way being a Bounty to hunt, but with it being a slow week and her favorite gun in the shop for some minor repairs that was not possible. May was relieved, since the exclamation was nothing to worry about. Knowing it was not serious; she leaned forward and got a smug grin on her face, with an almost cat like air to her.
"Some kids call you an old lady again?"
May commented, picking on her one year older friend. While May looked as if she was still in her teens, Rally had often been called an old lady or old hag by kids before, upsetting the younger woman. Picking up her cup, she tried to take another swig of it only to find she had drained it previous. Shoving the cup out, she held it in Misty's direction. Not wanting to anger Rally any more, the youngest member took the cup and disappeared to get a refill for her boss. Having to wait for the new cup, Rally leaned back on the chair picking it off two legs and sighing. Placing an arm over her face in frustration, she shielded her eyes from the fluorescents of the shop before she spoke again.
"It started off well enough; just a simple delivery and a few errands, nothing all that out of the ordinary or out of the norm. I even stopped to have some coffee with Roy."
"Seems normal enough to me?" Misty added, returning with another hot cup of coffee. Nodding thanks, Rally set all legs of the chair on the ground and took a sip of the dark blend. She made sure not to drink to fast, making it last longer as she talked. With the warmth seeping though her, she was calming down.
"It was." Rally continued, "Until I made a simple stop at a gas station to get some more oil for my baby." Her baby being the GT500 Shelby Cobra sitting in the garage she came in on. The baby blue and white muscle car being her favorite mode of transportation she had ever found. Both girls were paying full attention, curious what some kids had done to warrant her grumpy manner she came home with.
"I bought the oil with no problems, but on my way out I heard some noise from outside. Hoping it wasn't something bad; I quickly paid for the oil and made way outside. There is where there was a bunch of snot nosed punks picking on a small little old lady." A quick chug of the last bits of coffee seemed to hearty her for the next part. "Apparently the old lady had used the handicapped parking. The bunch of kids had decided to park in the other one and were blocking her way to get in."
"That poor lady." Misty said horrified. It was a little old lady for goodness sake.
"Yeah." Rally's eyebrows furrowed as she remembered. "It took a bit of creative persuading…"
"Rally!" May looked over at the other girl a bit shocked. Assuming she did something before the other girl even had finished her sentence. Rally really didn't have a good track record for these kinds of things. Shaking her head, the older woman waved her hands in defense.
"There were several things I WANTED to do, but Roy had showed up and scared them away with a quick siren. Apparently I had left something and he had followed me to give it back. But really… Those kids had no respect for their elders. A lot of kids do such stupid things no a days and have no respect for people. More and more kids really are stupid now." Rally finished with another sigh, really wishing she could have done the few ideas she had in mind at the time before Roy had showed up. Though it was probably for the better, since she really didn't need to get in any more trouble then she had reputation for.
"If I was there, I would have... WAH!"
As Misty was about to tell them all about what she would have done in that same situation, it seemed like she had burst into flight in the middle of the shop. Her legs kicked feet above the air before she seemed to settle at a height of almost six feet. As she was settled, it seemed that she was now sitting up top a leather covered shoulder. Grinning beside her hip, a rough looking man was smiling down at the all, teeth looking almost fang like in a sweet expression.
"What are you doing here Bean?" May asked as she craned her neck to look up at the huge frame that was Bean Bandit. Known as well as 'Road Buster' and a few other names, the famous lead foot driver slash delivery boy was not a unfamiliar sight to them all, but uncommon to be out among normal people; specifically in their shop.
"Aww…" He whined, not dropping the smirk that was on his scarred, dark toned face. "Can't I just come and visit you guys without you thinking there was something wrong?"
"I would believe you had your track record been better Bean." Rally commented dryly, which earned a laugh from the large man.
"I shouldn't thought better then try to mess with the famous Rally Vincent and Crew." May shot the man a raspberry as he only referred to the rest of them as 'crew', though she held no real grudge against the guy as long as he wasn't against them. He had saved her a few times, so she did owe him a bit over the years. Patting May on the head, he gave her a wink before responding to Rally.
"I just came to see if I could borrow this." With a strong grip upon Misty, he bumped up the shoulder she was sitting on which earned a squeak from the young girl. Rally raised an eyebrow at his request, though it was Misty herself who voiced her curiosity.
"Um… Why do you need me?"
"Well…" He looked up from Rally and May to look at Misty as he was talking to her, being more respectful then one might assume of a man of his air and appearance. "..Like Rally here, I too had a run in with a few stupid kids today. There was like three runts who thought it would be fun to take on The Buff and try to vandalize it."
"The Buff, that's your baby that makes a tank look wimpy, right?" May questioned, remembering Bean's love for muscle cars similar to Rally ended up him saving up enough to build his own car from the ground up. It made a armored car look like a cardboard box on wheels. Bean grinned like a kid in a candy store.
"Yeah. The Buff could eat a frag grenade for breakfast and still be hungry, so the things these kids were doing was childish in comparison. But what got me worried was the fact after they couldn't break into her, they started seeing if they could crack my lock. Now the body she has is solid, but a lock is only so strong to the right person. I did hire a serious locksmith for her inner workings, but it got me thinking. That's why I need to borrow this."
Another shake of his shoulder sent Misty into the air and landing hard on the thick armor plated shoulder of his jacket. Misty had prior experience with this jacket previous, as the Moose leather, Kevlar, ceramic plates and chain mail construction and probably more had landed once on her foot when she broke into his house to find half of a dollar bill. Bean was smart in his choice, since Misty was still working off her debt to society for the many break in's and other trespassing she was known for doing, being self proclaimed queen of cat-burglars. Her skills were definitely worth boasting about if even Bean Bandit wanted her to test his car with her help.
"I'm more then a 'this'." Misty remarked, scoffing at his term for her. If he needed her so badly, he could at least be a bit kinder. Bean's attention seemed to have switched to Rally in the span of the conversation, his eyes big and puppy like as he tried to cute his way into borrowing Misty. Rally laughed, amused at Bean's antics for the request, being cute definitely not his strong point.
"Alright! Alright!" She waved her hands at him. "Just stop with the face, your creepy when you're trying to be cute. Make sure you bring her back in one piece though!" She lectured the much taller and more massive man. He cut the look and saluted, beaming in appreciation to borrow the lock picker. Turning, he slung Misty now over one shoulder in a fireman's carry position, having her point behind him. With shock eyes, she flailed in Rally and May's direction.
"Waaaaaaaaaait…. Rally!" With a Cheshire like grin, May and Rally wiggled their fingers at the helpless borrowed girl.
"Have fun!" They said in chorus, watching the girl and the man disappear though the door and into the bright afternoon. They waved for a bit until Misty was gone from the front store window and off to where ever Bean had The Buff for her to try to crack into. Peering into her still empty cup, Rally got an idea.
"How about we go somewhere for lunch? All this frustration, I think I earned a meal!" Not willing to skimp on a free meal, May was quick to agree.
"Out Fishing?" May suggested, Rally smiled and nodded.
"Yep, Gone Fishing, be back later."