[fic] It's bad to be crazy when your job is this delicate

[apiphile]

Title: Once in a lifetime
Fandom: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) / some book canon
Length: 9,800
Pairing: Ricki/Peter
Warnings: Oh, you know. Shooting and stuff.
Disclaimer: LeCarre's characters.
Notes: Fight Bingo [Sexual, Just Doing My Job, Public, Subtle - not quite a full row]. Thanks to inappropriately for help with translation (Ukrainian), to howifall for help

Comments

[wolfy_writing]

He would probably have tried at least a little to keep the whole show under wraps. Going by the location and severity of the bruising, his follower fought back competently and with force. The spy-taker probably thumped him in the ribs with the butt of the Makarov, which would explain why Tarr has a bruise gradually darkening to the colour of stormy skies over his lower intercostals. There is a strong likelihood that Tarr smashed his diminutive attacker's head into a wall with a shove that made it look as if the man had lost his footing on the pavement; it's a favourite trick of his.

But there's no way to be sure, because the moments between the pressure of Makarov against his ribcage and slowing from a run to a panting trot, his legs tense and his heart pounding, some eight streets away from the confrontation, have snipped themselves from his mind almost immediately. The memory of what is happening erases itself as it is formed.

I had something a bit like that happen once (er, only a bit - there was no espionage or shooting involved), and you described it really well.

I would quote the bit about him thinking he's going to lose his hand, but the bit I like is far too long. You do an amazing job with the complexity and vulnerability there.

[apiphile]

Aaaaaaaah my ego my eggooooooooo.

(er, only a bit - there was no espionage or shooting involved)

Well I'm glad of the no shooting but JESUS CHRIST all the same... (the fugue/gap in memory is from personal experience, I've had several fights where I was operating largely on autopilot/felt like someone else was using my body to fight WITH, it appears to be a feature of the adrenaline).

[wolfy_writing]

*pets the ego and feeds it compliments*

It wasn't a particularly epic story. There were these two teenage girls arguing and one of them had grabbed a meat cleaver. I jumped in between them, and had the worst "No, I don't actually remember the bare-handed knife disarms from jeet kune do*" moment of my entire life, then it was a couple of seconds later, I was facing the other way, and a security guard had tackled the girl with the knife. No one was actually injured.

*The teacher was very big on "Don't do barehanded knife disarms if you have any chance of getting an object in your hand, or you can run away", but I didn't think to grab something.

[apiphile]

*chinhands* You do REALISE you're a badass, right? I wouldn't even have thought of getting involved.

[wolfy_writing]

To be fair, I didn't actually do anything badass. I just ran out there and froze like a stunned bunny.