The explosion has West’s head ringing long after the first boom hits. Gunfire and smaller explosions echo off the large cavern roofs, making it sound like every inch of the cave is under attack. It is an awful, the ricocheting noise, and it reminds West of an awful situation during his four months spent in North Korea. His body switches into fight mode without any conscious thought, ready to gun down the first enemy tango that approaches him, and that immediate flip is something for West to unpack later. In the safety of his own apartment, far away from everyone else. Once everyone is safe.
For right now, the ruined stitches in his arm throb, his hands feel sticky with the blood of agents he has successfully evacuated, and his eyes scan for another face. Agent Gaksi isn’t something that West has worked with personally, but he recognizes her face as a Godsend crew member immediately.
“Nothin’ good. Are you injured?” His normal, goofy nature has been completely overridden, and the West in the cave right now would be unrecognizable to a lot of Sainthood. There is no mirth in his eyes or smile on his face. He is in soldier mode, a relic from the past that has no business here, and he moves on autopilot. West does a quick assessment of her, not seeing any critical wounds that would stop her from moving. Even if she is injured worse than West can tell, she won’t be the first agent he has had to carry away from the caves today. “Let’s get you outta here.”
she's used to danger. they all are, she thinks [ ... ] it comes with the territory of their chosen line of work. you never know who is going to want to get their hands on whatever it is pantheon has their eye on ----- who will do anything to keep an artifact in their possession. this is different, however. this is not a small number of snipers on a roof or a group of guys firing pistols or revolvers [ ... ] in times like that she has backup, she has people whose primary objective is to make sure they all get out safe if possible && even then, a group of six at most has an easier time during extraction that this many crews all at once.
he's recognized through basic knowledge, not personal. it is mutual, she's sure. with such a large operation, it is not unusual to know others by their face && crew && not much more, if at all. he's not one of hers && that's all that matters even at a time like this. something inside of her, a sweet little girl whisper presses against inner curve of her skull. ' go back ' it says. ' make sure your own is safe. ' but it is not what she is to do, not what has been pounded into her during training && life before that. she does not go back for stragglers, to search for potential survivors. it is not the apollo way.
" i'm fine. " take a step to the side just in case he's the sort to physically check && plays off the shift of her weight when booted foot lands on a chunk of rock && slides off with a jostle with features refusing to give so much as a twitch. " how many people have gotten out? " fingers shift, trimmed nail of her middle finger absently tapping against nail of her thumb in a motion that would almost seem anxious if she allowed herself to think about it too long. " hard to tell with everything going on. "