Pale blinds drawn (Ch. 5: Day 4)

Greens · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:54 pm

The serval offered little more than a mutely perplexed examination of his roommate's form. Hopefully, his silence, and a glance in Ace's direction would reveal that, no, he had little on him but a pair of patched up pants and a set of handcuffs. It seemed he opted to ignore this stranger's outburst in favor of something that would at least make some small semblance of progression.

"...Where did you come from, anyway?"

psikeout · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:49 pm

Meanwhile, above and outside the subway, there was more trouble afoot.

The early morning hours tinted the sky a soft, hazy, dim purple, leaving the ground pitched steep in shadow. Sleepless and ever-present though the city lights may have been, their fierce shine did not reach so intrusively here, in the grassy park between government buildings above the station. There was a distinctly westernized flavor to the structures in contrast to the very feng shui grove they encircled. A small clock tower overlooked the park, with its stream, somewhat overgrown bamboo, and unkempt flowers and bushes, all surrounded by a sharp-topped iron fence, braced with shrubs. The place hadn't had much oversight since Eggman's reign, though it did have watchmen.

As the newly-arriving intruders took cover behind one of the shrub rows just outside the fence, Casey, the unwilling leader of the group (which he completely did not authorize), silently explained the situation and lay of the land to his crew.

"There's a big, round skylight embedded in the ground smack in the middle of this park," he whispered. "Leads right into the section of subway Li Fang's using for his hideout. But intel says he keeps two men covering this area from the rooftops. Thing is, I can't see anybody."

And it wasn't for a want of trying. Squinting into the night, he had continuously been scouring the skyline to no avail.

"I can see the three guys he's got on the ground out here, but not the shooters. That's where my backup's supposed to come in, though," he further explained, plucking a radio from his belt and illustratively (needlessly) twiddling it back and forth. "As soon as we're clear, we bum rush the three guys in the park, and blow the skylight open, and whoosh, I'm in."

The boar raised his gunarm with a jangling noise.

On that note, he looked more... prepared than usual. That is to say, he looked gratuitously overarmed. He had stopped by his luggage pile in the hospital and collected some things—a tremendous backpack loaded to the brim with munitions, an ammunition feed chute curling around his side and into his gun, a ridiculously thick- and heavy-looking bullet-resistant vest with more grenades than looked safe hanging from it, and... yeah, he was ready for all-out war, and alarmingly equipped for it.

Who was this guy supposed to be, again?

Zaka51 · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:30 pm

"You mean we're in," was the first whisper out of Tyra's mouth in response to the plan. Those were likely the first words she'd spoken in quite a while. She was being just as vigilant as Casey: crouched down, peering over the shrubs and staring constantly at every individual wandering around the park on their guard duty, occasionally ducking her head whenever a pair of eyes passed over their direction; though in the dark, hazy hours of the extremely early day, it was unlikely that they'd spot her. After she spoke, she glanced over at the pig, eying his equipment for what was probably the umpteenth time with a skeptical glint. "Is all of that for you? I mean, you have, like, a... dozen grenades... on your chest alone."

Tyra wasn't hiding her jealousy very well. A weatherproof track jacket and her bare hands didn't compare to a ballistic vest and the contents of a small armory, after all. Oddly, she didn't seem all that concerned as to why Casey had such abundant amounts of weaponry. She herself didn't, and that's what bothered her.

psikeout · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:42 pm

Casey's mouth clapped shut, tight-lipped as he looked at Tyra with beady, conflicted eyes, one of the grenades now in his hand. "It ain't that I don't wanna share none," he croaked after a moment's deliberation. "I just don't want anybody to blow'emselves up. Things're dangerous!"

Nonetheless, he somewhat rigidly offered her one, but didn't actually let go of it until he got to add: "Just don't use it unless you gotta, and throw it way, way away as soon as you pull the pin, a'right?"

He leered for confirmation. (He would likely willingly engage in a small-scale game of tug of war for it until he was affirmed and reasonably set at ease.)

ObnoxiousOwl · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:54 pm

Wyatt looked back at Ace through weary, brown eyes. Part of him was happy that he finally had something comparible to a friend after all this time in captivity, while the other half was partially annoyed by his prescence. Oh well, something was better than nothing.

"D'you mean originally, or where I was before I was brought here?" he asked in response.

Zaka51 · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:56 pm

The wolverine's petty glare persisted until Casey actually offered her the dangerous explosive, at which point her eyes lit up like he was offering her a candy bar. She eagerly grabbed for the little bomb, and tried to tug it away. Her eerily happy expression faded quickly when she noticed she wasn't immediately holding a dangerous weapon in her hands, and dissipated further when he started laying out the "conditions."

Tyra did try to tug it out of his hands anyway, to no avail. She peered back with irritation plain on her face. When it was obvious that Casey wasn't going to budge on his terms, she grumbled and nodded her head. "Fine, fine, I won't use it unless I really need to... and I know how to use a dang grenade, geez," she agreed through grit teeth.

Sheff · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:04 pm

"Just give her it, Case," whispered Geoff almost harshly as his eyes darted between dog and boar. "Not the smartest move to tag along with us, but I doubt she's the sort to let that blow up in our faces."

The glance he offered the two said differently, though, as if he were not just uncomfortable to give this newcomer an explosive, but just watching two people messing with it at once with all of them in such close proximity probably was forcing him to try to solve the situation quickly. Better one hand than two grasping at the weapon. Other than that, he was feeling a churning impatience starting to grow, fully willing to get this job done quick. A piece of rugged crystal flung between his hands in an absentminded motion as if to cement this fact, still in his crouched position with his elbows on his knees.

"Besides," he said, looking pointedly at the canine now. "You don't even look prepared for this. Not regrettin' taggin' along yet, are ya?"

psikeout · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:07 pm

"Nobody done asked you, hedgehog!" hissed Casey in what was probably purely mock-animosity as he nonetheless relented and allowed the wolverine-girl her grenade.

Zaka51 · Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:26 pm

Cheer returned as soon as she had the grenade in both her hands, excitedly turning it over and examining the weapon in her hands with a smile, like it was a shiny new toy, before stuffing it in one of her jacket's pockets. With a bit more life in her voice, she replied to Geoff, "Nope, I'm totally ready for this. 'Sides, I'm not just taggin' along for the fun of it. These guys got a friend of mine too." Again, she was looking over the bushes for a moment, staring at the guards lingering about as she spoke. "Been chasin' these Li Fang chumps around for a couple of weeks. Got word they were after your cat buddy, figured I'd find you all and take out whoever was after ya, so they'd tell me where my friend is. But if I'm lucky at all, I'll find my pal while we're gettin' yours." With that, she sat back down to face the two again.

"So yeah, I'm ready. Been ready. Don't always need a gun to take down a buncha losers like these... Wouldn't mind havin' one though..."

Greens · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:12 pm

Ace shook his head with a barely audible groan, and pushed himself up with a strain of effort. "Forget it," he said simply. "It looks like we're in a maintenance closet for the subway. Try and look around for some tools or something they might've missed. If we can... find a way to, get me outta these 'cuffs," he said in the midst of his struggle with said 'cuffs, "...then there's half a chance we won't have to eat eachother for nourishment."

And with that lovely mental imagine hanging in the air, he began to exercise his detective skills, and search.

NPC · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:43 pm

The room was not only empty, but also dark, to boot. There wasn't even a light fixture inside, though this one seemed to be getting a lot more light from outside than the previous room Ace had enjoyed, owing to a sort of feeding slot that had been cut into the door.

Apart from that, there wasn't really anything worth mentioning, aside from a chipped old bowl that had probably contained something remotely edible at some point. The closet had indeed been emptied. As for the outside of the door? The slot was big enough to fit a hand through, and feeling around would reveal that there was a crossbar keeping the door shut. However, it seemed impossible to budge from that angle. It may have been padlocked in place.

ObnoxiousOwl · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 7:05 pm

Wyatt sighed and laid heavily against the wall. What little shred of hope he had left was all but gone. He looked over at the general spot where Ace was, his huge brown eyes reflecting depression.

"Just give up, we're done. If I wasn't so f*cked up at the moment and had a full charge, I could blow off the door. They even took my bat!" he said sadly and let his hands fall to his sides.

Greens · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:11 pm

Ace wheeled around in a sudden blur of aggression. "I'm NOT giving up!" he spat viciously, his 'cool' long since past. To punctuate this, he heaved his leg up and slammed his bare foot against the door, consequences be damned. The awkward balance almost made him push himself onto his own rear-end, but he didn't, so he continued. When that proved fruitless, he moved on to ramming it with his shoulder.

"I'm not--"

*slam*

"--giving up...!"

*slam*

This went on for about twenty seconds, until he had exhausted himself, and the only sound in the room was his heavy breathing.

"..."

Until he kicked it again.

"DAMN IT!"

ObnoxiousOwl · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:29 pm

Wyatt visibly recoiled at the outburst, and gazed at Ace with a bewildered expression. It slowly faded, and he crossed his arms. He too was just as angered at their predicament. The hunger pangs and the thirst, as well as his weak condition felt even worse now.

"What'd I tell you? We're dead! You hear me? D-E-A-D. Dead!" he cried out weakly. He sighed and stared at the floor. His eyes started to moisten, and he felt a lump in his throat. However, his massive ego wouldn't allow him to cry openly. Children cried, not heroes. At least, he thought of himself as a hero. Though anyone else with any sense would've easily labeled him as what he was. A kid. He barely whispered the one thing on his mind.

"I-I wanna go h-home..." he whimpered, his voice squeaking out the last word and making it audible to everyone nearby. In the silence that followed, his breathing became choked, and a solitary tear slowly rolled down his cheek. It created a moist trail down his fur until it dangled from his jaw, then dropped to the floor. The splash it created let out a hollow echoe in the darkness.

NPC · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:42 pm

The door gave quite a bit with Ace's barrage; had he not been in shackles, he could have probably easily knocked it square off its hinges, but those chains really hindered his kicks. Still, it got them some attention, wanted or not.

*BANG BANG BANG* went that familiar lug wrench against the door.

"Hey! Hey you! Shut up!" barked thick-accented thug in the tacky jacket (Ace's best friend from before, of course), once again expressing what was likely his fullest understanding of the English language.

"Ass pole!" added the thug in belated (attempted) insult. He was trying.

Pale blinds drawn (Ch. 5: Day 4)

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