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[DVFP] Riding East to Junk (C 3.2, G 3.5)
After chatting with Esco, you head out to swagman, which is parked in the open space near the north gate, where folks don't pay the garage to watch their shite. You're Gigg, they won't mess with your car, right?
You head past a few United Front gangers who have a truck parked right beside swamag, looks like this:
One's sitting in the passnger side huffing on a bong while another is under the hood. A third's going through some of their stuff stowed on top of the roof. They give you a side-eye, but don't say anything. The Union Jack's painted all over their ride and their gear. There's some punk music blaring from their ride.
Mimi isn't around, not where you can see her, at least. Probably saw this and decided to hide out. Or maybe they already got her? What do you do?
Comments
I'm more concerned with how I can get these gang bangers to clear outta here, paving the way for Mimi to get to the swagman. And maybe just maybe if I'm really lucky, a chance for a quick rhyme and steal off their truck -- if they're stupid enough to leave it unattended. These UF'ers have gotten really cocky of late, thinking they run the Depot and all that. If Mimi's right, they got a major burn-on to hunt her down. So, maybe I can get 'em to bite on a little outdated information...
Just gotta figure out which one of these blazebrains looks like the biggest idiot... and anything else I can tell about their situation.
OOC: Read a Sitch, roll+sharp
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 1, 3. Total: 4)
Passenger side UFer is the chump, obviously the most vulnerable. However, the one under the hood has a shotgun strapped to the hood, easy reach, and the one on the roof is strapped, too.
You do spot Mimi, though. She's hiding behind some Skorpion bikes, and the bikers are making their way towards them now.
What do you do?
Skorps to the left, UF'ers to the right. What I need right now is a good old fashioned turf war... and there's already a good healthy rivalry between these two groups. But what could set 'em off at each others throats? Do I dare ask Pops? Running outta time. Don't think I have any choice.
Whipping my little mirror out of momma's purse, "Pops, I need a diversion about right now, drawing off both these UF'ers and Skorps. What do you think?"
OOC: Norman, roll+weird
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 3, 6. Total: 10)
"Skorpions hate UFers, specially right now," Pops says in your ear, the grit in his voice seems warmer than last time. "Enemy o' yer enemy, son. Aint nobody gonna blink if ya wipe out these UFers in Depot."
If I'm quick enough this'll be over with in 10 seconds. Just gonna step over and cave in the skull of that fugger under the hood, draw his shotgun and blow away the motherfugger on the roof, and then smash through the windshield and drag that bonghead through before he can even exhale. "Easy easy," says Chaz again in my ear.
Just before putting the mirror away, I turn and find Mimi again hiding among the bikes and I catch the sun with the mirror, signaling to her. Hopefully, when she sees me unload on these fuggers, she'll understand to high tail it to swagman.
Putting away the mirror shard in momma's purse, I drop it in the front seat of swagman, lean my hockey stick against the roll cage, and turn and walk the few steps to the truck's hood, coming all scary as fuck, my wrench now unclipped and swinging in my hand at this fugger's head...
OOC: The move Rasputin should trigger I believe.
Also, when I consulted Pops using the move Norman and rolled a 10, I get to mark XP and take +1 forward if I do as the mask wishes. This marks my 5th XP and my Advance will be to take the Gunlugger move NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH, which means I now count as a small gang in battle.
Not sure if this is Sucker Someone, Go Aggro on Someone, or some battle move. Let me know what you think and I'll roll accordingly.
The wrench cracks at the back of her head. You see blood squirt up onto the inside of the hood. Her body jerks once, and she drops to a knee, then falls to the ground, she curls into a fetal position and she's probably done.
Now, you enter battle. Pops is screaming in your ear, anticipating the slaughter. You catch Mimi moving from her hiding spot, drawing out a knife and heading around towards the back of the truck. She's not going to sit there idly while you muderlize these cowboys. Let's see you Seize this truck By Force.
OOC: I posted the wrong pic for their vehicle earlier. It's fixed now, so check out the top of the thread for that.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 1, 2. Total: 6)
I inflict terrible harm (+1 harm)
Bonghit grabs an SMG from the glove compartment and climbs up on the hood, spraying and praying as he screams bloody murder for the girl you just ka-thunked. You feel the pitter patter of bullets raining down (2-Harm, but you take 0-Harm, please roll the Harm move) as you sweep the wrench around and take out his knees. He doesn't have time to yelp before you bring the hockey stick down like a sword and crack his neck.
The guy up on the roof digs out what looks like a mortar and a big shell, Gigg. He's going to try and slam it home and drop it in your damn lap. You see Mimi clambering up from behind, but she's not going to be fast enough.
What do you do?
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 6, 6. Total: 12)
I'm ticked at myself, too, for underestimating the blazebrain with the bong. Didn't expect him to come out spraying machine gun fire at me, and that gave the fugger on the roof time to bring out a BFG and now I'm up shite's creek. Who even knew the UF'ers had hardware like this anyway?
Well, the plan all along was to use the shotgun strapped to the hood to take out this roof rat, and that still seems like my best option at this point. I think I'm too late to wrench that mortar away before he fires off that big momma, but maybe I'm quick enough at least to get ahead of the game... scramble past it or dodge my way around and maybe just get the blowback from behind -- stick a shotgun in this fugger's face and end this quick enough to get the blazes outta here before this place gets locked down.
You see your momma's eyes, trusting and worried.
You see Lala's eyes looking up at you right before you gun her down.
You see the eyes of your own killer, his slavering mouth right before he rains hell down on you.
CRACK
His head snaps to the right at an odd angle, and his eyes roll. Blood sprays out of the side of his neck, and he tries to focus his eyes on you before he falls. He tries to make fingers work, but the spinal cord's severed and all that's left to do is die. Mimi slams into him from behind, a feral snarl and then she's stabbing him with all the fury of three days starving and scared and hurt and lonely.
You glance over to movement to the left and right. To your left is Cinch, her pistol still smoking. To the right is a UF biker, who sure as shite saw this, and he takes off, the loud whine of his engine burbling as he chews up dirt and zips through the open gate.
I see Gig's masked visage look my way and nod, a grimace on my face ad Mimi stabs and stabs that guy...
I follow the biker with my pistol, but there's no way I'm shootin' either way. I curse to myself and let him go. "Damn... fuggin..."
"Y'all in one piece?" I call out to Gigg and Mimi. Still tryin' to sort out who's with who here. But if I gotta choose sides in this thing, I hope 'I'm comin' out on the right side.
The UF'er speeding off on the bike calls me back to the task at hand. Time is scarce and I hope Cinch will let me make it up to her next time we cross paths. I owe her everything now...
I look up on the truck roof at Mimi, lost in frenzied bloodlust, "Mimi, swagman. Now! Let's go! I jerk my head toward swagman parked next to the truck. I know what's she feeling when you finally have a chance to get back at everything that's been robbed from you. "Follow me to the Junkyard, I'm driving this truck outta here! C'mon, we gotta be gettin' now." I grab the bonghead's SMG off the hood and that rat's mortar from the roof, and throw them both into the front seat of the truck, and climb behind the wheel with the shotgun in my lap. I'm tryin' not to salivate at what other heavies might be stowed up on the roof. Like Mimi with that roofer, my time's coming with the Fat Man.
As I fire the engine on this semi, I give Cinch a salute and another thumbs up.
Oh, and Cinch, she hasn't seen you, or she's ignoring you, hard to tell.
Finally I lower my weapon as Gigg starts talking. I figure his danger sense, or whatever, is probably keener than mine.
I whistle, one of those loud ones you do with a couple'a fingers. Give it a second silence, then, "I don't wanna keep y'all from your important business but maybe have a mind to fill me in here? Like just the headlines?"
Mimi's got it together at the moment. "Thanks, Mims. Let's just get out while the gettin's still good. Hate to leave all that scrounge up top, but I'm really buggin' about right now..." I look out the truck window past Mimi, "And Cinch ain't shootin' and shufflin'. She might not be a fipper no more, but it feels weird just rhymin' and stealin' in front of her like this."
I grab the SMG, shotgun, and mortar and bail out of the truck for swagman, calling out to Cinch, "Yo Cinch, nice shootin'! Gotta get my friend outta The Depot 'fore more of them cowboys show up. We owe you a night a'drinkin'. Catch ya at the Irons soon, yeah?".
Hate it when people mention that, gets a little frustrated breath outta me. But I try not to call attention to it.
"Sure. Gtfo while the gettin's good huh?" I comment while walking a bit nearer.
I try to catch Mimi's eye. "Mimi!" I gesture at her and at me, "we gotta have words. I ain't your enemy." Try to sound as sincere as possible. I'm still confused and a bit riled up about the match. I say with finality, "Irons."
Will see her there.
Since when are they friends? I shake my head and nod before quickly heading for the garage.
Yes, Gigg, you totally saw that.
I turn and join Mimi at swagman, tossing all the new guns into the hold. "Careful reaching back there, I got a blazin' mad rattler tied up in a sack." It's good to have a real live, breathing girl in swagman's passenger seat, even if she is missin' an arm. This must be what it feels like to be Esco, I think to myself (having no inkling what it's like to be Esco at all) and I fire up swagman's engine and goose the gas. A black Megahol plume erupts from swagman's baja stinger tailpipe. Turning to Mimi, "I guess you got some bad histry with Cinch, huh? But that was rude. She saved us by the bell back there, 'specially me. Next time we cross her shade, you need to appreciate on her some. Me 'an you ain't got many friends, ya know. "
I shove swagman in gear, and as soon as I clear the open gate, I look over at Mims and shout above the whine of the supercharger, "Watch what swagman can do, Mims...." And I crack open the nitrous valve and smile a big grin behind my mask.
I don't react to Mimi's gesture. As a courier you know I get flipped my fair share of fingers. She has no idea, though, that I don't hate her.
To Gigg, "yeah, seems like, huh? Pretty sure her rough days started when she ran into me... I jus'wanna set things straight."
I nod in acceptance of his offer, "will do. Ride hard'n keep 'em on your six."
But they're gone before I can do much more talkin... what is it about today?
I take a second. Look at the truck and the carnage... if this was open road I'd be all over scavenging what I could use. But here in Depot? Naw... gonna get my ass outta here and find Esco... high rent or not.
And she starts giggling with the thrill of it all.
You get to junkyard quick quick and she piles out, looking around curiously at all of it. What do you do?
I grab the mortar and unload the shell, and look over at Mimi who's stretching her limbs, and looking to be taking in some big drinks of freedom. "I know its far from High Rent, but you want the Grand Tour? It's your lucky day, it's Open House so free admission!"
"That's where I sleep, there. In that hole. The bus keeps it shady and even a few feet underground keeps it cooler. There's a big water bladder hidden under the bus where the transmission used to be. Got some canned food down there, too. Help yourself. Your welcome to sleep down there, if you want. I'll let you get some water and some food. There's an opener in that glove box I ripped out of an old Super Beetle. Spoons and forks in there, too. Maybe a cup. There's some old shop rags in that pasteboard box in the corner you can use to freshen up a little if you like. I need to stow this big fuggin gun away in a safe place and get some scrounge together. I'll let you have some time to chill. Just come find me when you are ready to see the rest of the palace grounds."
Once Mimi and I finish chatting, I wanna store that mortar in that old Caddy car trunk that locks and I have a key for -- the one that I have Esco's fancy tableware in that now needs to get moved to swagman as barter to get that 50-cal fixed.
I got few other things to keep me busy while Mimi gets settled -- setting up a natural habitat for Sammie in the trunk of that Caddy, making sure there's no way he can escape, maybe some rocks and sand and such Then set some rat traps, and find where Last planted Lala. Figure out a good hidey-hole in swagman to stash the SMG in case a fella, a quick fella might need a hidden weapon some time.
... and then there's the business of this bullet buried in my left pect. It's hurtin' like a motherfugger now, and seeping blood and mucus. One arm or not, Mimi's gonna have to dig this fugger out. I think I got a jar of 'shine in the shed... I'll get that, too!
How do you ask her to pull that bullet, Gigg?
Speaking of fuel... Chaz always took care of Megahol, and I ain't got no idea where to get more gas and even how much it cost. Maybe something Mims can help me with...
After pittlin' around for an hour or so, I go out to the shed where I keep some of the more interesting scrounge. There's an old arc wielder in there with 10kW gas-powered generator. It barely gets used. I use it ever now and then when I get crafty, and Cinch and few others have been know to do quick fix spot welds once a blue moon. There's a bunch of old tools and ropes and chains in there, and an old tube TV and VCR. That's mostly why I go out to the shed. But hidden under some old wooden crates is a flat of 12 mason jars of Woleski Death Valley Moonshine. Accordin' to Chaz it's the best shine ever made in the DV and he swiped this flat and stashed it here in case he got raided. Neither Woleski or Chaz is still alive, which is both sad and ironic. But I have what might the only 12 jars left. I don't really care for it. Tastes like firewater to me, and when Chaz made me drink with him it was non-stop Pops for days it seemed. I grab a jar -- this should kill all the germs on the stuff Mims is gonna use to dig out this bullet.
I wander back to my hidey-hole with a jar of Woleski's finest and see what Mims is up to...
No way I'm waking up Mimi. She looks like one of them barbie dolls I find in the junk from time-to-time, missing an arm, but a big ole' exposed socket looking all kinds of wrong. I know all about that, don't I, momma? Even still, she's pretty in the junkyard.
I drop down into my bunker under the bus, stow the Wolenksi shine in the pantry, and curl up on my re-purposed bus seat. I reach for the photo in the frame with the cracked glass, and I stare silently into the faded and ancient picture for a few minutes and then hold it close to my body -- and just let go, hunting for the comfort of momma's heartbeat out in the psychic maelstrom.
OOC: The Mother's Heartbeat, roll+weird
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 3, 2. Total: 6)
You're woken by the sound of dozens of cans clanging together, Gigg. Someone's hit your tripwires on the north of the yard. You hear Mimi moving in the bus, but then she's quiet. Probably heard it, too.
When you move to get a vantage point, you see them. Sand Snakes. The Obsidians. They're is about a dozen of them, you think, hard to tell without moving higher. They've fanned out, and they're picking through the junk carefully while watching out. Mimi creeps closer to you, she's grabbed one of your weapons (which one?).
What went wrong with you and the Obsidians last time you met? Who's fault was it?
And, of course, what do you do?
I see Mimi drawing near. She still has that pistol she scrounged off the dead UF mortar dude, and I'm hoping she doesn't do something stupid. There's a lot of 'em out there. I'm content to try to stay hidden and let them pick through the junk until they finally leave. Deal with them another time when I have the advantage, but that may or may not work out, and Mimi is the big X factor here.
I motion to Mimi to stay put and stay hidden. I've got my wrench clipped to my belt and my hockey stick in the hole with me. I've also got a holstered sawed-off shotgun, and the rifle I scrounged from the gunner of the box truck we heisted from Ziggy. With any luck, they won't see me in the hole under the school bus, and I have a pretty good shielded place to snipe from if a shite-storm goes down.
It don't feel right lettin' 'em have their way with the 'Yard, and it sure ain't gonna make Mimi feel safe here. Maybe I can snipe their leader, or figure something out. I'm prolly gonna have to do somethin', but for now I take a few minutes to watch them and survey this developing situation.
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 2, 5. Total: 7)
Biggest threat? This guy:
His name is Tusk. He is the brother of the Obsidian's leader, a crack shot with his rifle, and a veteran of many battles. He's been shot dozens of times, but he's still alive and kicking.
Mimi's near you now, that pistol held at the ready. She's whisper quiet, the food, water, and sleep have done her a world of good, and she's ready to defend this place with you.
What do you do?
These Obsidians are not to be trifled with, and Tusk looks formidible. For the first time since Chaz rolled into the Junkyard on that fateful day, I'm not sure that I'm coming out on the winning side of this one. I open mama's purse and pull out my shard of glass, barely able to make out my reflection in the waning light. I need to see what Pops thinks I should do, but Mimi's gonna think I'm asking her -- which is fine too. I'd like to hear what her take is. "What do you think? Sit tight and hope they don't find us? Surprise ambush while we have the drop on them? Try to negotiate with their leader, maybe offer them a gift? Or try to make a run for swagman and get the fug outta here? There's a lot of 'em, they appear to be armored and well-armed, and one thing's clear, if we make a stand and fight it ain't gonna be pretty."
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 6, 1. Total: 8)
"Fuggin' Tusk! That sunnuvabitch needs to be put down. Do it, son. Get up there are mash his head in!"
I quickly lay out my plan to Mimi, "I'm gonna take aim and drop that fugger Tusk with this rifle. Then I'm gonna make a run for swagman, while you lay down fire with that pistol. Once I get to swagman, I got a SMG hidden there, and I'll start her up and lay down fire so you can make a run for the buggy. Then we'll get the fug outta here.
I doubt the Obsids wanna move into the Junkyard and make this Sand Snake Resort, so we'll just come back later and get some things I've got hidden away that these snakes won't find. We ain't gonna Butch-n-Sundance it here the 'Yard, but we'll bloody their nose, make 'em think twice, and live to fight another day. Whaddya think? Can ya get behind that?"
Why? Whaddya thinking?"
"Any fuggin' day now, sunshine! Stop jawing at Slot Machine and get Tusk while the gettin's good!"
Let's see you Go Aggro on Tusk here, Gigg. You've got that +1 from Pops/
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 5, 3. Total: 11)
"Go finish him off, son! Get in tight and rip off his damn head!""
What do you do?
"I shot him up, Pops, and he's hurtin' but he ain't down." The time I bought shootin' up Tusk might be just what I need to get to swagman and get Mimi outta here.
For a moment everything fades to black and I just see an old refrigerator flinging into several pieces and me on top of a surprised Tusk shoving a sawed-off shotgun down his throat and pulling the trigger... standing up mask and torso covered in bits of a brain bone and tusk.
I don't remember what happened next or how long everything was black, but I wake up in a full run towards that fridge Tusk is behind and yelling at the top of my lungs, "GET YO UGLY ASS OUTTA MY JUNKYARD, YOU MUTHAFUGGIN SANDSNAKE!!!!"
OOC: Intent to trigger Rasputin and Oh Yeah!, and use my +1 from acting on answers from Read a Sitch for the Oh Yeah roll.
(Rolled: 2d6+3. Rolls: 5, 6. Total: 14)
Mimi's firing fast and sure, pinging Obsidians and ducking back down before they can return fire. You're still charging, and you see Tusk as he scoots back, trying to bring his AK up to bear, but you charge over the entire fuggin refrigerator, knocking it into him, crashing it down on him. He lies there stunned with the fridge over his legs, the door broken beside him.
You've got him dead to rights. The rest of the Obsidians are coming back towards you, firing and screaming in panic like "oh gods please kill it dead, don't let it come after me!"
What do you do?
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 2, 1. Total: 3)
A wave of sound rolls through me like a sandstorm, the mayhem of the sandsnakes everywhere. There's a smoking shotgun laying in the dirt next to the fridge door amid splatter of chunks of red and white and gray. I'm screaming something at the top of my lungs, something about stayin' and dyin'. I've now got Tusk's AK brandished in my right hand, and I'm holding Tusk's headless body up in front of me with my left hand, like some a full-body meat shield between me and their frenzied rain of bullets. The AK in my right hand fires a burst into the air, and I start walking slowly back towards the mob, singing the words to Stairway to Heaven softly and calmly.
Then you start walking towards them, singing and walking, and that spooks a couple of them, they turn and flee into the desert. Let's see you Go Aggro on the others, keep up this terror to drive them off.
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 6, 2. Total: 10)
Yeah, that's good enough. The Obsidians see their heavy hitter blown to bits and you're Rasputing the hell out of things and they cut and run. Mimi wastes the rest of her clip tagging a few of them in the back, and in a minute or so, they're all gone. Leaving you huffing with adrenaline, a number of aches and pains.
What do you do?
I stop when I get close to her, mask and torso splattered with Tusk's blood, and bits of bone and brain matter. Out of breath, I bend and rest by hands on my knees, and look up at her, chuckling and laughing. "We feckin' did it, Mims. You were muthafuggin Doc Holiday, girl. A regular fuggin' gunslinger. No way I do that with you. Seems like we make a pretty good team, huh?" I drop to the sandy ground and roll over onto my back, arms and legs spread, still laughing out loud with the joy and the relief of living through something you expected would kill ya. I'm staring up at the desert night sky, electric with thousands of stars and Mimi standing over me.
"Shall we scrounge the dead for weapons, ammo, and supplies?"
What do you do?
As Mimi and I turn these dead Obsidians into shish kebobs and mount them outside the Junkyard fence, I talk to her about my concerns with sticking around much longer. "Listen, Mimi, I know I said you'd be safe here at the Junkyard, and that's what I really thought. I mean, no one has bothered me here in years. This sandsnake attack has got me really spooked, and after that shite that went down with those UF'ers, I'm afraid they might be the next to show up here looking for blood. I know they are huntin' you, and I'm pretty sure they made us both yesterday, so I'm thinking first light we gotta cook this place and let it cool down. Disappear a while, you know?"
OOC: Rich, what was our scrounge on barter and gear?
Then she asks, "Where the fug would we go?"
After gigging all those Obsids, I start loading up swagman with all the gear and barter we scrounged, along with the mortar, the bagged rattlesnake, Esco's tablewear, and the rest of my gear and guns, including the busted 50-cal.
"I just got a feeling the UF'ers are gonna show up here sooner rather than later. These snakes we staked up will make the Obsidians think twice, and maybe other wastelanders, but they won't scare off the UF with their heavies. You should know that more'n me, right?"
I stop dead in my tracks while loading swagman. "Shite! I almost forgot. I'm bound to Last from the Zons to help her with a thing. If she can still get out of the Depot after that ruckus we caused, she'll probably be here by morning to collect me." I stop and move closer to see her better in the starlight, leaning on my hockey stick like it was a rake or a hoe. "So I ain't gonna be here to help protect ya. Like I said before, you're welcome to stay here as long as ya like. I'll leave ya some guns and food. But I think ya should ride with me. Maybe even drive... I'm better riding shotgun anyways."
I motion towards the bunker under the bus. "If ya need to wink on it and tell me in the morning, that's fine. But I hope you think it through clear. In the meantime, how you feel 'bout digging a bullet outta my chest? I got some of Wolenski's 'shine in the sleeping hole that oughta sanitize whatever tools you need to use..."
"Sure, Gigg." Mimi answers, tone flat, hiding any worry. "You got tweezers or tongs? Or do I take a knife to you?" No matter what tool, she'll do you that favor without shirking.
Not sure if some cowboy left it here years ago when they regularly used this place for gal parties, or if it just showed up in the junk that gets dropped off here from time to time. Either way, I fetch it from a brown paper sack stacked on top of the cardboard box with the shop rags in the corner of my sleeping bunker. Mimi uses a combination of tools to dig out that bullet including the tweezers, pliers and file.
As she concentrates on her impromptu surgery by the light of a camp lantern that I brought out of the shed and almost never use, I stare at Mimi for a long time, having the chance for the first time to really study who she is and what she wants and needs.
OOC: Read a Person, and I'm going to stack the Lala move, and give her another hold in order to ask an extra question about Mimi (or one that isn't listed).
It doesn't take long, but the feeling of someone jabbing something inside your shoulder is not something you'd wish to repeat.
And yes, go ahead and Read Mimi here, Gigg.
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 3, 6. Total: 9)
What does Mimi wish I’d do?
How could I get Mimi to trust me?
Mimi doesn't trust easy. Lala shows you how Mimi was snatched as a kid by the United Front and kept as a slave until she learned how to ride. Once she had her own bike, she tried to flee, but they caught her, tore off her arm, then bolted on a new one. Everyone she's known has tried to use her. You'll have to show her all you want is a partnership, and over time, she'll figure out you mean it.
I try to grunt-talk through the extraction, partly to distract myself, and partly to come clean on some things with Mimi. "Listen, at first when I found you skulking June outside Tum's tent, I saw myself years ago as a little teeter. Here, mostly all alone, in the junkyard fending for myself. Huntin' rats to eat, steering clear of drunk and ragin' cowboys, just tryin' to stay alive. And I just wanted to help you get a new start. But after that run-in with the UF'ers and them sandsnakes, and how fun that ride out here to the 'yard in swagman was with you, I've been thinking we can be good for each other, ya know for a while at least -- while we're both transitionin'."
I wince again and take a big breath and hold it as the pain shoots to 9. I forget to breath, holding my breath until Mimi backhands the side my head lightly and says, "Breathe, asshole.
"You gotta see how quickly you went off the cliff when you had to go it alone, right? It's tough to stay alive all by yourself. Trust me I know. Good thing is you don't belong to them gangbangers no more, and you're more than capable of survivin' and thrivin' without 'em. Trust me, I look at you and can see that. You prolly be running you own gang one day, Mims."
I cock up my mask just enough to get the 'shine jar to my lips and I take a sheetfire gulp, careful not to let Mimi get a clean look at my face. "As for me, I'm tryin' to make good on some bad things I've done. Not bein' such a loner helps me make better choices, I think. So, that's what I'm tryin' to do now. Help out Last and June and Esco. And now Cinch... she saved my life and she barely knows me, Mims. That ain't something I'm used to, but after losing Chaz in the flash of a ride home... it's precious."
I pause, not because of any pain in my chest from Mimi's probings, I'm kinda numb to that pain now. I mean it hurts. I know it's there, but it's like in battle, I just don't care about it anymore. I pause because I'm overwhelmed by the sudden preciousness of someone else. I didn't even know how to say it until this moment. But for all his scamming and conning and rhymin and stealin, Chaz was precious to me. ... And Lala... and my momma... and I think others maybe too.
"There's part of me I know ain't never gonna change at this point, but maybe I can use that to do just this one good thing I know I can do before last shade, ya know? Somebody made me into something they "grunt "Ayeee! dammit Mims... use for their own purposes, but but I can turn it around for something better. But I can't do it by myself. I just can't...." The pain will no longer be ignored I lean my head back now, full mind on staying conscience with the pain starting to peg 10. Just letting Mimi finish up now... Grunting out the last part, "I ain't tryin' ta put all that on you, Mimi... just tellin' ya straight up where I'm at..."
"What do ya know, Gigg?" Mimi says as she looks at the bullet. "Says right here - G I G G." She huffs a laugh, then hands it to you. Her fingers are covered in your blood.
You ask what she wants or needs and she says, "Right now, Gigg? Just a place to sleep safe for the night. Down the road, I want this bolt outta my shoulder, it hurts. But tonight? Just some sleep." She grunts, sits up and replaces the stopper on the bottle. "Guess we oughta trade off keepin' watch. You took a bullet, so you sleep first. You'd prolly pass out on me anyways. Once you rested up, I get to sleep for a while, yeah?"
Once the adrenaline crash comes after the sandsnake ambush and the bunker surgery is over, I sleep like the dead.
End Scene