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[FURY] Clear Water to My Place (August 1.5, Dog 1.6, SeaTac 1.2)
SeaTac,
"I made a deal," Kitsap says as her left hand reaches to brush your forearm in that familiar way she did before. "And I don't have any WD or hooch on me." She glances past you to the guards and the door back to the Yacht Club. "Take me... along the clear water, SeaTac."
She follows you back to your room, walking beside you this time, close enough for her shoulder to brush yours from time to time. Once you reach the door and open it, she strolls in, her nimble fingers working at the buttons on her flannel shirt with each step.
What do you do?
Comments
There are a few things that a soldier never passes up, when there's a chance. Sleep, grub, good water... and sex. I keep my eyes on her as I remove my weapons and put them on the table, drinkin in the sight of her flesh like hooch. Of course, I don't intend on watchin for long.
I wonder what her lips'll taste like, then decide to find out. A quick step and I cross the space between us, take the back of her head in my hand, and turn her face up for a kiss.
SeaTac,
Kitsap lets the flannel shirt fall over her shoulders to the floor. Freckles run the length of her shoulders, down her back as well. She hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her shorts and shucks them down, underwear and all, standing back up to step out of them, now nude, her back to you.
She turns her head to watch you move up to her, her dark eyes alight with interest as you approach. She turns to you, looking up at you, hair hanging over her left eye, her upper chest covered with even more freckles. She moves to her tippy-toes when you pull her in for a kiss. Her lips taste like bourbon, well aged and recently drunk.
We kiss deeply for a long moment before I sweep her up into my arms and deposit her on my neatly made bed. It's bigger than the cot I slept on all those years in the Unit, but I still keep the sheets tucked tight and the corners straight. Kitsap is so slight, she barely dents the covers.
My eyes stay on her, tracin the star-map of her freckles, as I take my clothes off and fold them on my footlocker. I have a map of my own. Scars from knives and bullets and all manner of attempts to kill, maim or stop me over a lot of years. I'm not shy about them. I survived every last one, didn't I?
I slip next to Kitsap on the bed and take her in my arms. I'm a rough man by trade, don't need to prove anything in times like this. I prefer gentle and sweet. Ain't much of that in the world.
Kitsap is surprised by your gentle attention, surrenders to it with a delighted giggle. she follows your lead, offering kisses and encouragements along with quiet moans.
Later, after you are both spent, Kitsap lies in your arms, her cheek agaonst your chest, her breath slowly calming. "Thank you, SeaTac. I hoped you wouldn't hurt me. I'm glad you didn't disappoint."
I kiss her again. "I don't hurt unless it's a job, Kit. Or a necessity. Never you, I hope."
Don't forget you've used your Gunlugger special now.
She raises her head to look at you. Her hair hangs over both eyes, but you catch glimpses of them between the dark locks. "Don't tell Admiral I offered myself as part of the deal. It... it wasn't authorized" Her tone is serious, not urgent, but not playful.
I catch those eyes, even behind the dark curtains of hair, and make certain that she's paying attention. "The last time I kissed and told was near twenty years gone, and I wound up on the wrong end of a blanket party for it." I take a moment to brush the hair away from her face, refocus down. "You done me a favor you didn't need to, Kit, as I told you. And you done it with grace and class and a certain degree of enthusiasm that I could never have demanded."
I take a minute to form my next thought. "You deserve better than lapdoggin, don't you? Specially for a worn-out puddle-splasher like Admiral. I mean, I enjoyed this, but you're too smart to be peddlin your sweet for hard, aren't you? You got somethin else goin, I guess?"
Kitsap's fingers lightly scratch at your chest as you talk, her warmth against you. "I don't lie with Admiral," she explains in a simple way, not angry or defensive. She tilts her head to the left, hair slipping to the side to show her left eye more clearly, as well as half of her smirk. "I dunno... do I got somethin' else goin?"
I ponder that a sec. "Seems like you're in the middle of a lot, and that means you know a lot." Thinkin about Radar, now. "Not sayin you should risk whatever work you do for Admiral, but you got a lot of what Sarge used to call Humint. You get the people, what drives em, I think. Should be able to parlay that into a promotion, at least?" Not tryin to convince her, not tryin to drive her, not askin for favors. Just sayin what I see.
Kitsap blows out a breath to move some more hair from in front of her eyes, "A promotion puts me in front of people. I don't like being in front of people. You know?" She studies you for a little bit. "I would like it if we worked together, SeaTac. We can be good for each other... right?" She bends her head and slowly licks at your nipple, sending shivers down your spine.
I shudder and just enjoy for a second, pondering what Kitsap says. "Not opposed to the idea of workin together, necessarily. Don't much like the idea of startin a fight with the old man, though."
Kitsap looks up at you, eyes mirthful, "Me either. The old man is one hardass rotter. But he isn't all there is. And he has some sodden folks working for him. Buck's fair, Valentine's good, in the Yacht Club. Bon's a great doc. But then there are the no-account growers, the clueless fixits, the go betweens, the merchants, all a bunch of ninnies. Someone smart, and tough, could carve out a niche."
"You might be smart, and I'm sure tough. Think that's enough, Kit?"
"Of course not," Kitsap answers simply. "But it's a start." She shifts slightly, which just so happens to rub her body smoothly against your chest, right hip, and right leg. "Do you know anyone who might help us... help Admiral keep things running smooth?"
My hand traces down her flank, rests on her hip. "Truth is, I don't have much sense for people, Kitsap. I watch, and I see what they do, and most often it just confounds me. I'll think on it, though."
She hums quietly, enjoying the touch. "What about Vignette? She's an outsider, bet she'd be an... interesting ally."
I think about Vignette for a moment. It's more than a little scary to me, the rumors and hints I've heard about what she does, what she can do. Hand still on Kitsap's smooth hip, I say, "Puttin together a team means knowin the mission, Kit. What's the goal here? Workin for Admiral? Strikin out alone? Somethin else?"
Kitsap shifts slightly, preening for the hand you have on her body. "Valentine and Harbormaster are already carving their little slices of the hold. The growers and the fixits don't have anyone in charge. It's an opportunity. We could make sure they're represented."
She smiles a wan smile, "If Vignette is there to see who is weakest, we can convince them that we can get them more barter for their efforts, and skim off the top. A win all around."
I reach a hand around to tweak Kitsap's nipple. "Lady, you've got big plans, but I'm a foot soldier. Not a politician." Another word Sarge always spit out like a curse. "I'm here if you ever need a gun or a fist, and I do enjoy the payment plan, but... you're workin above my pay grade, alright?" Still thinkin about Vignette, though. I may be a bullet, but she seems like a knife. A sharp one.
Kitsap's smile slips and she huffs a slightly disappointed breath. "Alright." She relaxes, laying her head back down on your chest. In a few moments, she slips into sleep, leaving you alone with your thoughts.
How long do you lie there, SeaTac? Do you leave her be or kick her out?
I let her sleep for a little while, thinkin what it might be like to start up trainin that kid Joey. Maybe I'll set about that soon. One thing my dead friends were right about - best to have someone on your six, even if it is a kid.
Kitsap sleeps for a while, relishing the comfort of someone to watch her back. She eventually wakes, dresses, then offers you a goodbye kiss before she slips out with promises to bring the rest of the trade offered.
As for Joey, you know he hangs around Mox all the time, they're best friends. He's Laika's kid, and I'm guessing you know generally where the Arrows' stay at night, so you could maybe find him there. The few little ones around make it their beeswax to know who's where, for running messages, so there's that.
What do you do?
I get dressed and strap back on my "walkin around" kit. Just the machete and the magnum. I suppose it makes most sense to look for Laika, as a start. The Arrows' hangout, then.
You head out for the Arrows' hangout, moving through the hold. The people give you wide berth, of course, even the inside gang knows better than to splash around you. When you reach the hangout, you know coming closer that it's empty. No noise, no bikes outside.
Shigusa is there. Mox's older sister. She's sitting on the ground, her back against a wall, quietly working on a multi-colored cube, twisting it in weird directions, lots of smaller cubes. She looks like she's been here a little while. There's a single streetlamp buzzing and shining nearby, casting long shadows.
What do you do?
I nod to the girl. "Evening, Shy. Any idea where I can find Laika?" Don't mind a wait. It's half a soldier's job, after all. But not if there's no point in it.
She looks up, not surprised you're here, but maybe a little that you talked to her. She knows about your history, and has seen the cold war Bon's fought with you. "They went Piking, drinking up. They'll come back. Why?"
"Lookin to talk with her about a thing. What you got there?" I nod my chin toward the toy, or whatever.
Shy tosses it up to you. It's small, about as wide as three fingers. The cube has little squares on it, some have colored and weathered stickers and it squeaks when you turn it.
"Puzzle cube." Shy answers. "Pretty man traded it to me. Said if I solve it, I unlock the world. I think he just wanted to get off easy on the bill."
I fiddle with the thing for a minute, fascinated despite myself.
When you try to solve the puzzle cube...
(Rolled: 2d6+0. Rolls: 6, 4. Total: 10)
When you try to solve the puzzle cube, roll+Weird. On a 7-9, you line up a couple sides and gain some insight. The MC will share with you the results of a Brain Opening mixed success.
On a 10+, you line up all the colored sides and you're a genius! Choose two options:
* Take one experience point, you learned something new about the universe
* You've opened your brain to the psychic maelstrom as if you've rolled a 10+
* Reassign your stat highlights for the rest of the session
On a miss, take 0-Harm, it just doesn’t make sense to you. You can’t solve it. Ever.
I'll take the first and second options.
SeaTac,
When you open your brain, what is that like for you? Any imagery that persists? How does it feel?
Crosshairs. Targets. Not ones I need to take out, necessarily, but that narrow focus that comes from scannin the field for a thing to pay attention to. Sometimes it's a for sure target, sometimes it's a somethin fuzy that's coming down the road, can't nail it down yet, sometimes it's a bunch of tadpole poop floatin in a puddle. Always somethin, though. Feel like if I could play the Kim game with it, it would always make sense.
SeaTac,
When you look up, there are no crosshairs on Shy. No other people around, not for a few moments. But there's an itch at the base of your skull, and your eyes feel dry.
You see the cube, in daylight. Your hands are smaller, or the cube is bigger. No, definitely the former. The cube is different, all the squares have colors. You're working it, like you just did, but slower. There are sounds, all around, a low hum of the crowd, like earlier today but less frenzied, without the thirst for blood. Then music, loud and clear, a series of notes that rise quickly, followed by a throng of people shouting "Charge!"
A larger man nudges you, gently but insistently, "Tommy, pay attention to the game, not your silly Rubik's Cube."
That's when you look up to see this:
The crowd of people, more than you've ever seen. The grass, where you saw the motor duel earlier, so green. The sky, a brilliant blue. Everyone. Every single one, clean.
"SeaTac..." a small voice calls.
There are smells, too. Popped corn. Mustard. Ketchup and hotdogs. Peanuts. You know the words for these things as well as you know the names of the Unit.
Another shake of your shoulder, harder now. It isn't your dad, though. Not Mr. Wilson. You are not Tommy Wilson.
"Mister SeaTac!" the hand, the shake, your shoulder. And it's gone. You're in the coppery smells and the dark and the dim light of a streetlight. Joey is standing near you, Shy behind him. They look a bit freaked out. Your legs are sore, like you've been standing in a fixed position for too long. Even your neck, like you've been scoping for an hour maybe. Surely not an hour.
They gape at you. Joey asks quietly, about to flinch, "You.. you okay?"
What do you do?
SeaTac,
As you're coming to, you hear the rumble of a few bikes and the whine of several hover-bikes coming your way. The Arrows are coming, which means Laika's coming.
August and Dog,
When the Arrows come to your hideout, you see three people standing by the one light nearby. You recognize Joey right off, of course. Laika speeds up when she sees her son. The other two are Shy and SeaTac.
Cujo's peering ahead, looking for someone who isn't there.
What do you do?
::Three Arrows Circle:: I sign out to the gang at large. It's a nightly order so it's gotten real short. Hopefully the most sober girls will volunteer themselves to check around the hideout before we settle in.
I pull up towards SeaTac and the kids, taking it slow. I pull in so Laika's got room to pull up to Joey. The kids look...worried? For SeaTac. Oh wait. Shy's grown now.
"Shy, what's the what?" I ask her in grown woman-type tones.
Shy turns away from SeaTac, looks to you, Dog. "SeaTac worked my puzzle cube. Nobody's ever done it before. Then he just stood there, all frozen. I think he's out of it now. Or, like, not out of it." She looks back at you, SeaTac.
I snap back to now as suddenly and completely as I wake up from sleep. I don't knock Joey's hand off my shoulder or draw a weapon, but I do take a quick step away and my body moves into a ready position.
"Back now. Sorry if I gave you a start." I turn to the newly-arrived with a nod. "Had a moment." I hand the puzzle cube back to Shy.
I glance at the puzzle cube. It doesn't look like too much, but these old things surprise you. I once had the displeasure of being giving a similar 'toy' called a bopit. It made noises for hours before HM smashed it into pieces.
I acknowledge Joey with a nod, watch SeaTac warily as I settle my bike with the others. I will need to fetch my satchel from the Yacht Club later. Or perhaps tomorrow.
"What brings you round a-calling?" I ask Seatac when he comes to. Was odd to see him in the flesh after practically feeling the burn of his crosshairs earlier.
I almost jump off my bike. Instead I lean back away from my handlebars, give SeaTac a nod. Joey, too. I listen for SeaTac's response, try to keep aware of where my Arrows are at. Maybe he got a lead-in on that casino thing.
Boy, that puzzle cube. Shy yelled at me for trying to peel the color bits off once.
I like playing catch, so I've got a couple different balls packed in with my stuff. The baseballs you can get around here are good when they're dry. AND I got a mitt around here somewhere but it's sort of everybody's.
"Might have somethin like business." I look at Laika, but include Dog and August both. Joey, too. "Been thinkin it's time for me to train up someone. I got skills beyond just the obvious, be a shame for them to die with me, someday."
Dog,
Chance scampers up the building to watch out for thugs and problems, while Rainey and Ace head around the sides, weapons out, checking close. Cujo charges in your building first, nobody enters the building before her. Zeus follows her, a shotty out and ready. The coast is clear for the night.
When you pull out the mitt, Hachiko takes a ball and heads out a dozen paces, starts tossing it with you. Tin-Girl makes sure the h-bikes are in good order, eager to make sure it's all perfect before she thinks about bedding down.
"That sounds kind of you. Business is an exchange, no?" I ask mildly. I coax Drumma off my bike, watch her take to the air in search of her nightly meal. "What do you get out of training someone?"
I stand next to Laika, weight resting on my right hip. Glance at her quick, make sure I'm not overstepping my bounds too much. Then back to SeaTac to catch his response.
Laika looks closely at you, SeaTac, waiting for the exchange. She's waiting on talking to Joey to hear this out. August, it doesn't seem like you're out of bounds, she stands near.
"Dog," Hachiko says casual as she catches a toss barehanded. "You alright? You look like something's up."
Up at the the h-bikes, Tin-Girl's gotten everything stored and she's back to working on her bike. She's got a wind-up flashlight to give her a view of the foil, and she's trying to straighten it again.
"I get a lot from it. It means, someday, someone to watch my back, to share the load and take a shift at watch. Means knowin what I spent all them years learnin hasn't gone if I take a bullet to the brainpan." I pause. "Truth is, it's not exactly the safest line of work, but learnin about bein hard when called for is a bit of an umbrella when it's other people rainin on you, at least."
Laika peers close at you, SeaTac, asking, "Life isn't safe. You give me your word you'll make him strong? Watch him till he can take care of himself?"
"I'll make him strong, ma'am. That is, if he wants it." I need to hear Joey say yes, first, so I look at him then. "And I'm not intendin to take him away from you, not yet, anyway. But I'll watch him when he's with me, protect him best I can."
SeaTac,
Joey has been listening. He looks to his mother, then you. "I want it. I want to learn to do, ah, what you can do. Mr. SeaTac."
I realize that there are other voices to be heard, so I nod to Joey and wait. I'm sure Dog and August won't interfere with Laika's decision, but they might have something to say.
I catch the ball from Hachiko. "S'a lot on my mind tonight." I tell her.
I turn to SeaTac, give Joey a look. "You're gonna do good. Keep your eyes up and listen good when you're gettin' taught. An' be honest. That's my advice."
I take a knife out of my boot and start cleaning my nails, which are already dirty again from the bar and h-bike grease, while watching SeaTac and Joey through half-hooded eyes. Seems sorta like giving a mouse to a tiger. But it isn't really my call. And maybe it'll turn the mouse into a man. Which ain't as good as a woman, but it'll do.
"Just don't be holding hands and doing party tricks for HM during this training of yours, okay?" I ask. "That man is trouble. You've got enough of your own, I reckon."
I don't say that we're the ones who are gonna be bringing the trouble. SeaTac doesn't need to know that. He's still Admiral's man, far as I can tell.
I give August a flat look. Not dangerous like a gun pointed at your head, but dangerous like a gun lyin on a table, in reach of someone that knows how to use it. "August, I reckon you don't know me well, so I'm assumin you didn't intentionally insult me. I'd as soon that smiley rotter was takin a swim in the red, and I don't pull no party tricks for anyone. I hire out, to make a livin, but I got a special list of people I'd give discounts for, and them that think they own people are high on it." And it's true, I'da given Admiral a cut rate if the job today had been for sure to put a bullet in Harbormaster's head.
The dead eyes slide off me like nothing. Been a long time since a physical threat, or the ghost of one, really worked on me. Me and death, we been so close I've reached out, grateful-like. Never did take me up on it though.
I don't know SeaTac enough to take him at his word, either, but that's a decent answer. I just nod, satisfied enough. "Glad to hear it." Then I shut my mouth, so I don't say something that might ruin this for Joey.
I nod to August, then look to Laika. "Settled, then? If so, I'll expect Joey's knock half-hour past sunup. We'll start a few hours a day, at first, see how he takes to it. Good with you, kid?"
I toss the ball back to Hachiko, work to keep it smooth. Breathe steady. It's real easy to just say you don't like someone, but that's a lotta words to pull from SeaTac. Not the way he'd lie. I don't think.
Ball comes back to me, I catch it, seat it in the mitt.
I wait for Laika's final word, then call out to SeaTac.
"How 'bout you come back with him tomorrow? We'll talk more."
Laika nods her approval, then pulls Joey aside to talk, promising to send him your way tomorrow, SeaTac.
The Arrows are headed fro the pile now, it's late, some are drunk, others tired. Cujo's standing by the doorway, watching SafeCo, looking for something, but staying where she is.
Dog and me do have the business of the casino to talk about, but it's late for sure. "Tomorrow sounds good, Dog." Headin back to SafeCo, get some real sleep, I figure.
END SCENE