[Junk XIII] Get the Gang Back Together? (K 8-3)

Rich

Kiddo,

It's late afternoon at a Roadhouse just a few hours north of Walmart. You, Svenja and your Ma just walked in to find Kit Kat and Mallowcup playing pool with a couple locals. They told you to grab a booth while they finished off their game. Svenja got waters for the both of you and a beer for herself, and you waited around. What's the music playing over the ancient jukebox?

Kit Kat and Mallowcup take a few crushed cans off the guys after the game and mosey over. Kit Kat shoves Svenja over and sits beside her after chuckling when she almost spills her beer. Mallowcup grabs a chair from a nearby table, turns it around and sits backwards on it, elbows on the backrest.

"Good to see you bitches," Kit Kat says with a sneer. "What brings you this far south?"

You Ma starts off, "Trouble up north, Kitty. Some frakking Water Cult. The North Candies are running security..."

"Whoah! Hold the frak up!" Mallowcup cuts in, "Who the frak are the North Candies? We only got ONE chapter, last I frakkin checked..."

Your Ma cuts her off with a raised hand, "Hey, Mallow. Chill, alright? They're decent enough. Starburst is leadin' them, an..."

"Kiddo," Kit Kat interrupts. "Just at Reunion, you were calling those girls a bunch of no accounts, said they were frakkin up left and right. What's the deal?"

Adam

Achy breaky heart... Which is coincidentally hurting my achy breaky ears. Leah is either dancing fervently, or intentionally kicking my bladder to get me out of here – but either way, she's got an opinion about this place, and she's making herself heard. As Ma' used to tell me when I'd wake her up at the crack of dawn the day we'd be leaving for a long ride: "your opinion is duly noted, now go back to frakking sleep."

I watch as Ma' and Mallow have it out over whether or not the north Candies are candies, and single take when Kitty asks me what I think of 'em. "They ate lunch for a few days straight, and I put someone who isn't raising twins in charge... Now they're better than the folks the Ascendant has on staff. Still a few too many straight chicks, gotta fix the ratio, but otherwise they've really shaped up."

I lean in close and whisper, "forget 'em for a minute. They're busy doing their own thing. You girls feel like blowing something the frak up?"

Rich

Mallowcup grins and nods her head. She's in.

Kit Kat purses her lips and asks, "Who's fronting us for gas n guns, Kiddo?" Zero and Svenja turn to you, since you're making the most successful pitch so far.

Adam

I nod, "me. In fact, outside of Ma' and Sky here, and VB back home, I don't want anyone else from the Ascendant knowing about this. I don't know who I can trust – so it's need to know only."

I lean back in my chair and look to Mallow and Kitty each in turn, inviting input. "I wanna bury an underground lake. How much do you think you'll need?"

Rich

Mallowcup starts giggling when you ask that. She brings her fingers to her mouth, eyes wide with anticipation. "We need to get the nuke from Poddby!"

Zero and Kit Kat both say, "NO!"

Mallowcup throws her palms down on the table, "C'mon! We can carve it up, just a controlled blast, it will be SUPREME!"

"No frakkin way. No, that place isn't too far from the Ascendant." Your Ma seems pretty definite on that.

Then Svenja says, "I could take a look. I've been trained on that shit, actually."

Kit Kat and Mallowcup glare at Svenja like she's an alien or something.

Adam

Urgh... This feud is getting frakking stupid. I look to Kitty and Mallow with a calm look, and whisper, "Her dad was one of Knight's men." Then I look to Svenja and ask, "You've been to the lake, you know how close it is to the Ascendant... I know those bombs are frakking dangerous, and I don't wanna put the Ascendant at risk."

Rich

Svenja raises an eyebrow, "Tell you what. Take me to the nuke, and I'll see what I can do. We should pick up Cee, too. Any rad suits would be smart, of course."

Mallowcup giggles again, "Oh, I've got a few of those."

Adam

My jaw drops, and I raise an eyebrow to Mallowcup, "are you serious?"

Rich

Mallowcup nods vigorously, like a doll collector who suddenly was asked if they knew what style of dress a Barbie wore in 1965. "They're not all whole, but I have a few of them. Traded for some, killed for others..."

"Yeah," Kit Kat agrees, "She shot a spacefolk over them a few Junkfalls ago."

"He looked like he was my size!!!" Mallowcup argues.

Adam

"You shot a spacefolk?!?!" I ask incredulously... Gods, I can't imagine doing something so stupid, over a frakking rad-suit. So you can go visit the Temple of Death in the valley — whoop-dee-frakkin'-doo. I shake my head and let it slide. "Whatever. There are some big frakkers with crazy big guns that have been snooping around the Valley lately. If we're going to ride in there, we should be ready for them."

Rich

Out of nowhere, Kit Kat puts a finger up in your face, then waggles it over at Zero, "No."

Zero gives her a WTF face reaction. Kit Kat says, "No way you two bitches are going into the frakkin Valley like you are. No. Way."

Adam

I almost gave Kitty that same reaction — almost.

You know, Ma' can act all tough and stuff — and a part of me definitely knows where she's coming from — but every bone, muscle, and instinct I have is telling me Kitty's right... I mean, if it came to it, I could probably ride in there and wreak havoc — but right now I'm barely good to stand on my feet for more than a few minutes at a time. I've been shot at, and almost blown up, too many times in this pregnancy... I owe it to Leah to slow the frak down, and that's exactly what I'm gunna do.

I look over to Ma' and shake my head, "she's right y'know... I could barely breathe in the Valley when I went looking for you two. If I could have done all this on my own, I wouldn't have come down here for the Candies... We gotta sit this one out."

Rich

Wow, telling your Ma what to do right in front of the other Candies?

Let's see you Act Under Fire here, Kiddo. Unless you're trying to Manipulate her by banking on the relationship you've been cultivating (and possibly any baggage she might have about pregnancy).

Adam

I think it's more the latter... It's been a long time since I've seen my Ma' around Candies that weren't Zagnut.

OOC: Manipulating Zero to sit this one out. Roll+Cool* (Easy to trust). +1XP.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 2, 2. Total: 7)

Rich

Zero glares at you, just for a moment, like this primal dominance thing flares in her brain and you just told her what to do right in front of Kitty and Mallow. She swallows it down, though. Most of it.

Your Ma answers, "We can ride in with them, then split off and see Simon. That'll keep us safe, and I haven't been there in over a year.."

Adam

That's not much better, but at least Simon's grave is further south... We can bolt if need be. I'd sort of forgotten how Ma' can be around the Candies... I don't miss it.

"Ok," I answer calmly, "We meet up back at Salt after the fact?"

Rich

Mallowcup squeals and slaps the table again, "This is so flash! I'll go get my drek. When do we meet up and where?"

Kit Kat shakes her head at Mallow's excitement. "I'll head to Walmart an pick up S'Mores and a couple others. Tell us where to be." She's looking at you, Kiddo.

It's your show, your jingle.

What do you do?

Adam

I drop a bag of jingle on the table — it should be enough for this whole job, let alone enough to convince the girls to mount up again — and rise from my chair, "Salt. We'll meet at Jemma's old place before riding in, then regroup there before heading north for the Ascendant proper."

Rich

Kit Kat and Mallowcup agree and after some catching up, they head on with promises to meet back up at Salt in a couple days.

On the way out to your bikes and the truck, Kitty stops your Ma and they chat for a bit off to the side. Then she joins you and you head out. No, she won't talk about what they discussed, saying "Between her an' Kitty" and claiming its "Candy Bar bidness." But she's in a much better mood, so there's that at least.

Where to next?

Adam

Why do I have a sudden feeling I'm going to regret bringing Ma' along on this? Call it intuition, or jealousy, or whatever the frak you want — but "Candy Bar bidness" means "ultra-mega-femi-nazi bidness" with a dash of "Kiddo's not worthy", and a heaping helping of "bitches first". I like what Ma' and I were starting to get going... I was starting to feel like I could frakking relate to her a little bit... Unless "Candy Bar bidness" is code for "party up at the Ascendant", I'm not sure I really wanna know.

I sigh, and hop into the truck... I don't feel like frakking riding that frakking bike right now. I guess we should grab some food at Boomtown, and hit the road for Salt. Who knows... Maybe Kodak will be back so I can tell him to go keep Star from diving headlong into "Candy Bar bidness".

... And yes, I may be a little frakking bitter...

Rich

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