AFTER SETTING UP THEIR THINGS AT THE CRAPPY HQ THAT WALLER GAVE THEM, the group walked into Fennel Fields, grabbing a booth as they waited for Smith to show up. As they waited, Economos told them a story to pass the time since Smith was considerably late.

"So I forgot to close the balcony door, and when I came home, my living room was full of pigeons," Economos finished, causing Adebayo to start laughing.

Jada didn't even crack a grin as she stabbed at her pasta aggressively, not in the mood. "Are you kidding me?" Harcourt questioned from beside her.

"No, there was, like, ten of 'em, and they shit all over my couch," Economos told her.

"No, this guy," Harcourt pointed out, causing all of them too look out the window.

That's when they all saw Smith, wearing his stupid ass costume, getting out of his American flag colored car.

"What. The. Fuck," Jada said slowly in disbelief. How the fuck did this guy kill Rick?

Economos started to laugh out loud. "Did this dipshit really show up in full cosplay mode?" Economos asked, his eyes wide.

"This is the guy Waller's giving us? I told you she's fucking us," Harcourt told them.

"She's not fucking us," Murn assured them and Jada gave him a look.

"Is that an eagle in his back seat?" Adebayo pointed out in awe, making Jada scoff.

"She's fucking us," Murn changed his mind just before the bell chimed at the door, signaling Smith walking in.

He grabbed a menu from the hostess and walked over to their table. "Hey! Scooch," he directed Adebayo before he squeezed in next to her at the end of the booth. Jada glared at him from across the table, stabbing her pasta even harder than before.

"Why are you in your costume?" Harcourt immediately asked.

Smith scoffed. "Costume!? This is a uniform. And it's brand new, so I gotta stretch it out, make it more comfortable before I go on a mission," he told them.

"Maybe I'm stupid, but why would you even want wear that on a mission?" Economos questioned. "A bright red shirt and white pants aren't exactly conducive to lurking in the shadows."

"Yeah, it's like you're asking to be shot at. And if you are, I'll gladly do the honors," Jada said, feeling her holstered gun rub against her hip from underneath the table.

Smith looked at her before he picked up his menu. "People see this uniform, it strikes fear in their hearts," Smith relayed darkly.

"What people? The other people at the Village People tryouts?" Harcourt teased, causing Economos to laugh.

"Why is there a bald eagle in your car?" Murn asked, changing the subject.

"That's Eagly," Smith answered like it was obvious. "You guys ordered without me?"

"'Eagly' is your pet eagle?" Economos said in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"Is your dog named Doggy?" Harcourt joked, making Economos laugh again.

"Alright," Murn started to say, wanting all of them to be more professional.

"Do you have a daughter named Daughtery?" Economos then quipped, making all of them laugh besides Jada, Murn, and Smith.

"Jealous of a guy's pet eagle much?" Smith muttered, but it was loud enough for all of them to hear. "Hey, sweet cheeks!" Smith then called the waitress over, making Jada scoff quietly to herself at the nickname he gave her. "Can you take my order real quick?"

"Hi. Sure thing. What can I get ya?" the waitress asked nicely.

"Uh, mixed green salad, and we'll do the garlic zoodles," Smith told her before he handed her the menu.

"Zoodles. Good choice."

"Thank you," he replied before she walked away "'Good choice'," he repeated to himself, seeming to be proud of himself before he noticed all of their faces. "Zoodles are zucchini noodles," he explained, thinking that that was the reason why they were giving him looks of judgment.

"'Sweet cheeks'? Seriously, dude?" Adebayo questioned.

"She had cherubic cheeks. It's a compliment," he argued.

"'Sweet cheeks' is your butt," Economos told him.

"No, it's not."

"It is! It's like calling somebody, I don't know, 'sugar tits'," Adebayo said, using an example to show him how bad it was.

"That's totally inappropriate," Smith said before he scoffed. "Her tits are way too big to be sugar tits. Sugar tits are, like, smaller, perkier tits. Like...yours." He gestured and looked at Harcourt's breasts before he looked over at Jada and continued, "Yours are a little bigger, but could still be considered 'sugar tits'." Jada dropped her fork in her bowl, causing it to clatter, because of how disgusted she was by him. If she wasn't in a restaurant full of people, she would have grabbed his head and smashed it against the table repeatedly.

Smith then gestured at Economos. "Uh, technically, I think you may have sugar tits, too..."

"Oh, yeah?" Economos replied in annoyance at Smith's comment.

"...but somehow that also feels inappropriate."

"Alright, Peacemaker. That's enough. You don't have to be happy with this detail, but you do have to treat your fellow soldiers with respect," Murn explained as Jada slowly grabbed her fork once again, resisting the urge to stab his hand with it.

"Yeah? Heard plenty of stories about how you treat people with respect, Murn. Plenty," Smith responded.

"Why is that busboy staring at you?" Harcourt asked, making them all look over to see one of the busboys just staring right at Peacemaker. He then brought his hand up, waving at Smith.

"I think that's my friend Gut Chase's younger brother," Smith spoke slowly. "He has mental issues," he then whispered to them. He then looked back over and the busboy held both of his arms up happily. Smith sent a peace sign back, making the busboy noticeably more excited. Jada gave the busboy a weird look before she looked back down at her pasta.

The waitress then came over with Smith's food. "Thank you. Just the old shell game."

Murn handed a large file to Smith. "Take this home. Study it," he told him.

"What is it?" Smith asked.

"It's the dossier on the first target."

Smith opened it up and said aloud, "US Senator?"

"Don't look at it here," Murn immediately scolded. "Take our word for it, the man's a serious threat to the safety of American citizens."

Smith then began to shove down his food, ignoring Murn. "Oh, my God. Could you at least take your helmet off? You're gonna get dressing all over it," Economos commented.

"Dressing is easier to get off this helmet than a human lip. That's a fuckin' fact," Smith said, getting pissed.

"Wanna prove it?" Jada mumbled under her breath, quiet enough so only Harcourt could hear.

"You want to have a dressing-getting-off contest right now, Dye-Beard?"

"Okay, I don't dye my beard. I've always had unusually colored hair," Economos announced, wanting to get the point across.

"Smith, just..." Murn trailed off, gesturing to Smith's helmet.

Smith sighed, "Fine. Fuck." He then took his helmet off, placing it down on the table.

"Are you always gonna be this difficult?" Murn questioned.

"Yep!" Smith answered right away.

"I need a drink," Jada muttered, audibly sighing.

-♡-

"You guys can get out of here. I'll pick up the check," Jada told them before she took a sip of her beer.

"Ah, great, thanks!" Smith said happily, immediately getting up and leaving with his helmet in his hand.

Jada pursed her lips together as she got up out of her seat, letting Harcourt and Economos slide out of their seats. "You sure?" Economos asked her.

"Yeah. I think I need a few more drinks," Jada told them, using it as an excuse to have some time for herself for once.

"Make sure you get home safe," Adebayo said to her, getting up from the booth followed by Murn.

Jada scoffed, "I will." She didn't not like Adebayo, but she seemed too soft for this type of business. Jada wondered how she even got this job when Waller was in charge of it all. "I'll see you guys later."

As they all left, Jada sat back down in the booth with a sigh. She grabbed her beer, taking another sip of it. A few more minutes went by, and she ordered another one.

She had a pretty good tolerance of alcohol, so two wouldn't really do a lot for her. She just needed that placebo feeling in her brain to calm herself down.

A million thoughts were racing through her mind and she just wanted them all to shut the hell up. She was tired, pissed off, sad; there were too many to count. But she all knew where they spouted from: Peacemaker.

She didn't know how she was going to spend this time with him without killing him. But she guessed that she was going to have to practice self control.

"Excuse me? Do you, uh, need the rest of your glasses cleared?" someone asked and Jada looked over, noticing it was the busboy from before. He had glasses on and a stupid looking hat plopped on his head, a bucket in his arms. Under her stare, the busboy had noticeably gotten nervous, causing her to smirk lightly.

"Yes, I would. Thank you...Adrian," she said, looking at his name tag.

"You're welc — Hey, how do you know my name?" he questioned, his eyes going wide as he placed one of the cups in his bin. Jada scoffed in enjoyment at his stupidity, gesturing to the name tag on his shirt. "Oh — oh, right, yeah. That was a—"

"Stupid question? Yes, it was," she finished for him, causing him to clear his throat in embarrassment. She grinned to herself, liking the affect that she had on some, if not all, men.

"Yeah...anyway, uh, are you friends with the Peacemaker?" he asked eagerly, changing the subject.

"I would hardly even call us acquaintances," she answered monotonously, taking a quick sip of her beer.

"Really? 'Cause you were sittin' with him and talkin' to him and—"

"You say that like it's a good thing," she cut him off, glancing over at him with her eyes slightly narrowed since she noticed his excitement.

"Well, of course it's a good thing! He's who I aspire to be!" Adrian exclaimed with a lighthearted smile.

Jada tilted her head at him, feeling offended. "You know, he's killed innocent people before, right? For the hell of it?"

"Who hasn't?" Adrian rebutted, causing Jada to furrow her brows. "Joking. Just joking," he quickly said, making Jada nod slowly in confusion. "No, but, I'm sure he's had a reason for all of his kills."

"Are you one of those obsessed fanboys that blindly follows their 'idol' no matter what they've done?" Jada queried, licking her lips at she stared at him from where she sat.

"Psh, I wouldn't call myself a fanboy. More like..." he trailed off, his nose scrunched as he tried to find the correct word for it. Jada watched him fail at it, a faint amused grin on her face. "Well, I-I guess fanboy could work in this situation.

"Uh-huh," she hummed, taking another sip of her beer. "You should reconsider who your idol is, though. You have no idea about what kind of man he is."

"Do you? I mean, you just said that you guys were barely even acquaintances," Adrian refuted, causing Jada to arch a brow at him. "I mean..."

"No, no, you're right. I did say that. Obviously, I was being dramatic. I know who he is and trust me, I know what I'm talking about," she assured him darkly, not wanting to go too much into detail since she wasn't allowed to talk about the Project Starfish mission at all to people who weren't involved. "And honestly, you should probably get out of here while you can. You seem like a...tonto guy," she continued, using the Spanish word of 'dumb' so he wouldn't know what she meant, "and it would be better for you to leave."

Adrian laughed. "I can't leave. This place needs me," he told her.

She scoffed. "This place? This rundown Italian restaurant needs you?" she questioned, her brows furrowed.

"Oh, yeah, that's, uh, totally what I meant by 'this place', yeah. Yeah...yeah...this place," Adrian stammered awkwardly, clearing his throat once again.

She bit her lip for a second before letting it go, not knowing how to respond to that. "Okay, then. I'll see you around, I guess," she replied, standing up to leave since she already paid for everything after she had gotten her last beer.

"You say like that you're gonna come here again," Adrian pointed out as she walked past him.

She stopped, turning around to face him. "I like this place," she revealed. Even though it was kind of a shabby place, it had kind of a comforting vibe to it that she liked.

"Well, I like you," Adrian responded, a goofy grin on his face. "Like, in — in a nice way. You're, like, scary hot, but cool."

She chuckled softly, surprisingly taking the compliment since she knew he meant no harm by it. "What times do you work?" she asked. After he proceeded to tell her, she continued with, "I guess I'll come at every other time, then," she teased, but her tone sounded serious.

Adrian scoffed at her comment, his mouth dropping slightly. She sent him one last look before she turned around, walking out of the place to stumble on home to the temporary apartment she had — and to her cats that she had brought with her.

Looks like Adrian has already taking a liking to our famous Jada heheh...but will Jada return the favor? Who knows (I definitely know)