“Vassili they're coming back...” Paul says as he crouches down next to the corner of the dumpster his rifle shouldered and ready.

Letting his hand away from the young woman's mouth Vassili whispered “Stay down and cover up with this...” Sliding out of his coat and handing it over to the girl as he loaded the rest of the supplies into the bed of the truck.

“They're stopping at the end of the alley...just one truck. If you can take a good vantage cover me and I'll do the talking...” Paul said as he kept his AR trained on the cab of the truck as a man slowly got out of the passenger side, his hat featuring a prominent rainbow bill, along with a blue spiral on the left breast of his windbreaker as he stepped forward mascara and fire engine red lipstick painted over his lips as he adjust a pair of red thick framed glasses.

Moving back down the alley the truck had been parked in until he got the remains of a car wreck, as he deftly climbed into the back of a wrecked F-150 his rifle was out and brazed through the snow on a pile of bricks that had caved in the truck's cab. Slowly pulling his scarf down Vassili placed a small handful of snow into his mouth as he stayed as crouched as he could behind the pile of rubble. His lens slowly un-fogging as he tried to slow his breathing, his eyes focusing down the sights as he aimed just at the eyes of the approaching man.

“Don't blink...” Vassili whispered as he stared down the sights the truck in view as Paul rose up still holding his AR at the ready.

“H-hello there...I'm looking for a kitty...have you seen her anywhere?” The man in lipstick said his voice fainter from Vassili's vantage.

“Don't know....don't care...I'm not here for anyone's troubles...” Paul says as he keeps his aim on the man, in the truck the man came from a few more men get out each armed with a long gun most of them painted pink camo or painted with neon rainbows.

“You don't have to be an asshole about it big boy...tell you what....you see our little kitty running around you honk your horn and turn her over to us...and we'll forget we saw you out here...we won't follow you back to wherever it is you're going....” The Lipstick Man said as he crossed his arms.

“I don't have anywhere that I'm going....” Paul says as he glances to the other men seeing their weapons training on him, stepping to the side keeping himself behind the Lipstick man while trying to inch closer to the dumpster.

“That's not true honey...you got that family man look about you, and no wanderer would have clothes in the condition yours are in. You tell us when you find our kitty and me and the boys won't play with your kids...” The Lipstick Man said as he stepped closer.

“If I see something I'll say something....” Paul says as he looks that the man the AR still trained on him.

“That's all you had to say honey....” The Lipstick Man said as he turned his eyes slowly glancing over into the courtyard seeing the tracks, his eyes growing wide his effeminate voice almost in a shriek as Paul fired at the man as he tried to move back behind the dumpster in the snow slipping and landing on his ass as Semi-automatic fire from his AR ripped through the man's yellow windbreaker as the Lipstick Man twisted in agony and shock his hand attempting to reach for a pistol at his side only for the .223 rounds to sending him down to his knees and into the snow as the other men began to open fire towards the dumpster and ground where Paul had stood.

Vassili's hands shook slightly for a moment, he aimed for one of the gun men. Not blinking as he breathed in the frigid winter air before his K98 cracked out with a violent boom blowing snow away from it as the round ripped through the air passed the truck and over the dumpster and into the forehead just over the left eye of one of the gun men sending his body crumpling back the back of his head smearing the rainbow roundel on the truck's side as the others attempted a break for cover. Hot brass clinked over to the side sizzling in the snow as Vassili chambered a fresh round. The tell tale pap-pap-pap-pap of Paul's AR had joined the chorus as another round of percussion came from the back as Vassili sent death whistling through the light snowfall and front windows of the truck shattering them as his round grazed the shoulder of one of the assailants causing him to yelp in hot pain as hot brass clinked out again with the machined snap and locking of Vassili's bolt. Leaving his mouth open to spill the melted snow from his lips, Vassili takes aim again a few rounds coming his way none landing within three feet of him as he acquires a fresh target, firing again the powerful shot seemingly shaking entirely through Vassili's increasingly chilling body as he watches the man's throat spurt blood just after the sound had managed to echo out.

“Get in the truck! I'll cover your advance!” Paul shouted as he continued firing round after round as another truck pulled up to the men beginning to fire towards them. Diving down into the snow Vassili reached to his pocket taking a stripper clip of ammunition opening the K98's bolt as he pressed the rounds down before locking his bolt into place and taking aim towards the blood smeared truck's gas tank and firing a single round puncturing it's gas tank before ejecting the spent shell as Paul shouted “Get moving!”

Aiming again this time at one of the reinforcing gunmen, taking a deep breath before firing again the rifle kicking into his shoulder as he watched the man's head snap back as he crumbled to the ground his body limp. “Shoot at the truck!” Vassili shouted as he aimed again firing towards the second truck causing the reinforcements to duck down as Paul fired on the first truck. After a few shots had sent sparks to the ground below the leaking gasoline caught fire with a whoosh before the tank on the truck exploded with a thundering boom that rattled and shattered windows on the street near the explosion as the reinforcements scrambled as flame and shrapnel blew out in all directions sizzling in snow and the buildings around. Climbing into the driver's seat as he swiped the keys from beneath the seat. Paul slid into the passenger seat beginning to roll his window down his AR bracing on the closed truck door. Starting the engine Vassili spun the tires through the snow before going through the six inches of snow in the courtyard ahead almost getting stuck and sliding in the old truck, cutting hard to the right as they sped away from the now burning apartment building. “We fucked torched that place.” Vassili says as he looks in the rearview mirror. Turning off of the block with Paul leaning out of the window aiming down the sights of his AR he popped off a few successions of fire at the men as they attempted to put out a fire that had spread onto their second truck.

“Fuckers...Mark wasn't kidding...” Paul said as he sat back in his seat breathing heavily as he rubbed his gloved hands together saying “Can't wait to get home...I'm fucking soaked now...”

Deep chills had set in for Vassili his clothing soaked with melted snow as he kept his eyes on the road saying “Ch-check on the g-girl....”

Sliding the middle window open on the truck's back windshield Paul says “H-hey you alright back there?”

A few moments later in a nervous squeak a voice responds “I-I'm okay....” The truck rolled along the snow covered road with Vassili slowly relaxing while constantly checking their rear view mirror. “We're going to have to stop taking the trucks out....their tracks are too easy to spot...that's how they must have found us...” Vassili said as he turned onto a back road. The rest of the trip seemed to drag as they went slow to and drifted forward where they could to save fuel. With the smoke behind them barely a very distant memory, they breathed a few sighs of relief as they shivered in the cold the heater left off to conserve as much fuel as possible.