wickedchouette | (no subject)

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[When the car radiator overheats for the third time in a week, Alfie takes it as a sign that it's finally time for more than just another quick tune-up.

They're in a deserted area, which is both good and bad. On the one hand, most of the dangerous gangs are still in urban areas, the way they had been before the world had gone to shit. Out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by miles and miles of fields with only the occasional small copse of trees, they're not likely to run into anyone at all, much less anyone dangerous. But on the other hand, if they do come across anyone, there won't be anywhere to run to or hide. Alfie, as always, has his pistol tucked into his coat pocket, and they have more weapons stashed away in the trunk. But they're a small group - no match for the bigger gangs with armored trucks and heavy artillery. If they meet one of those, they'll be slaughtered.

With his sleeves rolled up and the hood of the car open, he leans in with his tools, carefully tinkering away. He can't afford to make a mistake here - replacement parts are rare and precious. When he hears footsteps behind him, he doesn't dare look away from his work as he says sharply:]

Stay back. You don't want hot steam to the face.

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[Alfie stops immediately, going stock-still.]

Which way do we go?

[She's the one with the good hearing; the good eyesight. He'll follow her lead, here.

With one hand grabbing onto hers again, the other snakes into his pocket, taking hold of the gun.]

Edited 2016-06-24 15:28 (UTC)

[ She takes his hand tightly, yanking him back. Something is coming towards them, from the direction they've been driving. Mercy isn't sure what it is, but it sounds bigger than an animal, and she's not going to risk it.

Of course, the noise gets louder, the rustling in the grass, and now Mercy is certain that Alfie can hear it. She looks frightened - mostly because the footsteps coming from different directions.

Mercy grips the little pocket knife she has, keeping it hidden. ]

I think we're surrounded. [ Mercy whispers, upset and pressing close to Alfie. ] I'm sorry, I should've been paying more attention.

It's not your fault.

[She might have the eyes and ears, but he's the adult. He pulls out the gun, flicking off the safety.]

I want all of you to stay back.

[He's raising his voice partly so whoever is approaching them can hear, and partly so Royce can hear and know that Alfie is aware of the situation. They're still pretty close to the car, so he's sure Royce has sensed the potential danger now too.]

I've got a gun that I have used many, many times, and you do not wanna push this with me. Turn around and go.

[ Royce is listening, waiting, trying to find the men so he can get rid of them before they even crawl out. He's found one, by the time Alfie speaks up, and he doesn't hesitate to slit the man's throat, dropping him down into the grass before moving to the next one.

Thing is, there's a lot of them. And the others are not stupid enough to go alone - they're in pairs, inching in. It happens fast.

A woman and a man come out from hiding, both holding guns. To the left and right of them, the other pairs come out - obviously not important enough to hold guns, but fairly armed with baseball bats and crowbars. The women aims her gun at Alfie, and the man aims his at Mercy. ]

I think you're a little outnumbered. [ The woman says. ] You're with the car we couldn't find last night, aren't you?

[The only comfort here, to Alfie, is that they probably just want supplies - and that if they're actually here to take someone, it'll most likely be him. There are plenty of reasons to kidnap people with the world the way it is, and some are worse than others. The most common reason is for slave labor, and a full-grown, mostly able-bodied (though he knows they'll have noticed his cane) man is a better bet for that than a little girl.

Time to break out his negotiation skills. He looks at both of them levelly.]

Let's talk about what you're after here.

[ Mercy curls against Alfie, watching from behind his leg. She hasn't given up on her knife quite yet - she's scared, but she's going to fight if she has to. ]

The car, mostly. [ The man says, shrugging. He glances at the woman. She's got her eyes on Mercy, now, who scowls at the woman with all the venom she can muster. ] How old is the girl?

[It's a tough question, because he doesn't know if younger or older makes her more appealing to them. But he can't hesitate, because then they'll assume he's lying no matter what he says.]

Seven.

[Young enough to be mostly useless for labor, old enough that she couldn't be made to forget her real family and old life so easily.]

The car, now - the car's a valuable commodity.

I don't think you're really in any position to negotiate at all. [ The woman says, gesturing. One of the pairs of men on the right scoot forward, weapons at the ready. ] But I'll make you a deal.

[ The man raises his eyebrows. The woman ignores him. ] Give us the girl and you can keep your car and supplies. And your lives, as well.

[ A different man, one with a baseball bat, speaks up: ] But the car was what we came out here for! Mr. Adams don't need more girls --

[ The man with the gun barely even hesitates, just reaches to whip the other across the face. Baseball bat guy yelps, holding his face, but goes quiet. Gun Man gestures at Gun Woman. ] We do what the Boss says. She knows what Mr. Adams is looking for.

Edited 2016-06-24 16:30 (UTC)

[Alfie forces his face to stay straight, and hopes that they aren't close enough to see the horror in his eyes.]

No deal. What do you want her for? Look at her, yeah? She's valuable to us because she's ours, but she's a slip of a thing.

[He gives Mercy's hand a squeeze, and makes sure to address the woman with the gun. He knows someone in charge when he sees them.]

But you're in luck, right, because I would be willing to negotiate for the car.

[ Mercy doesn't have any idea what they could want her for. They don't know she's half-elven, that can't be it. She's too weak to really do a lot of hard labor, even if she tries, so she's not sure what else.

Royce, in the grass, knows. He knows, and he's furious.

The woman sighs, almost like she's annoyed. ] We don't need your car. We have enough, and the price we'd get for selling it is nothing in comparison to her.

[ The men around her nod, like they get it, and the woman gestures in Mercy's direction. ] Mr. Adams knows some sick fucks who like them young, and they pay a hell of a lot more for it, so. Sorry, I --

[ And that's about the moment that Royce has had enough. He comes out of the grass silently and slits the throat of one of the men with crowbars - the man drops, and everybody bursts into action. ]

[Alfie feels his blood go cold at her words, and he desperately hopes that Mercy has no idea what they're referring to. They've tried to keep her from hearing the worst of the stories - cannibalism, captured women being used as breeding stock, captured children being used as... god.

And then there's Royce, and Alfie wastes no time. Still clutching Mercy tightly to his side, he takes aim at the woman's head and fires.]

[ Mercy doesn't understand what they're referring to, thankfully - but she can't help but scream at the sound of the gun. It startles her, and she hides her face, not sure what to do in the chaos.

Royce normally isn't terrible at handling one or two people, but he's tired. He's not at his best. The gunshot fires, and the woman tries to move, but it doesn't make any difference. The bullet goes right through her skull and she drops like a rock. The man with the gun doesn't hesitate in shooting at Alfie's hand to get the weapon away - and with two other men, rushes Alfie and Mercy.

Mercy screams, and Royce is distracted from the fight with the remaining pair, which means he catches a crowbar across the jaw. He drops, which Mercy sees, and she can't help it, lets go of Alfie and tries to get to her father. It's easy for one of the men to scoop her up, and for the man with the gun to press the gun right to Alfie's temple. ]

Don't move, now. Don't move, or she gets to see your brains blown out all over the floor. [ The man with the gun says casually. ]

[Alfie's gun falls. Royce is down. Mercy is with them.

Alfie goes still.]

She's part elf.

[It's a last-ditch, desperate move, but maybe - just maybe - it'll make them decide she's worth keeping, and keeping alive. Being used as a scout is better than the fate that will await her if she's sold.]

She can see in the dark; she can hear three times as well as you and me. She's invaluable.

[ The man raises his eyebrows as Mercy struggles to get away from the man that's holding her. She's not making it easy, making angry noises and trying to bite and scratch her way out of the hold. One of the other men grabs her legs to stop her from kicking and she makes a screechy sound before grabbing her pocket knife and stabbing it right into the arm of the guy who grabbed her legs. He yelps and drops back, but the first guy still has a firm hold.

Gun man glances at Alfie. ] Feisty, too.

[ Mercy starts yelling, still struggling. ] No! No, don't, let me go! Let him go, I'll kill you!

[ The man with the gun digs the barrel into Alfie's head, snapping his fingers to get Mercy's attention. ] Stop struggling or I'll shoot him. [ She pauses, eyes big and wet and frightened - and then stops completely, biting her lip. ] Good girl.

Well. Pleasure doing business with you. [ The man with the gun says happily. And he punches Alfie, gun in hand, directly to knock him out. He takes Alfie's gun, too. Just for good measure. ]

[Alfie doesn't know how much time passes before he wakes up. The first thing he's aware of is his hand throbbing painfully, but that quickly fades into the background once everything else comes flooding to the forefront. He jumps to his feet, stumbles, and catches himself.]

Duster!

[They have to go, they have to find her, they have to get her. They have to fucking murder all the people who dared think they could do this to her.]

[ Royce startles into awareness, gasping as he drags himself up. His head throbs, and he's dizzy, but he ignores it. He pulls himself to his feet, staring down at the dead. The woman, the man he'd killed - and no Mercy. ]

They took - they took her. [ Royce says, breathing picking up. Don't panic. Don't. He makes his way to Alfie, reaching to steady both of them. ]

Mercy, they -- [ Royce says, and he's already shifting his demeanor, he won't panic - so he flattens out instead, struggling. ]

The car.

[Without their boss, they might have panicked; the might have not thought to steal the car, too. It's their best chance to catch up to them.

Snatching his cane up off the ground, he turns and runs to where they'd left it, moving as fast as he can.]

[ Royce nods, and takes off as well. He's faster than Alfie, but not by much, and they reach the car at around the same time. It's there, thankfully - Alfie was right, they panicked. Royce gets into the driver's seat, and then has to pause for a second as his head spins. ]

How well can you drive? [ Royce asks him sharply, already moving into the passenger's seat. ] Dizzy. Can't risk crashing but I can do it if you can't.

[Alfie's also dizzy. He thinks he might have a concussion. And there's his hand to worry about, too; he's vaguely aware that adrenaline is the only thing from keeping it from hurting more than it does.]

Trade off; I'll go first. Duster--

[He doesn't know how to finish that. He can stave off panic enough to function, but it's harder now than it used to be - before society collapsed, before he lost his family. Before he lost everything.]

Yeah. [ Royce agrees sharply. Both of them aren't exactly in the best shape to do this, but Royce doesn't care. Mercy is more important. There's nothing else he can even think of - his thoughts are a mile a minute, save her, save her, save her.

Royce is decently sure they both have concussions - Alfie's hand, too. But Royce has already gone dead, in the way that he does when the stress mounts too high, when he has to save someone he loves. His eyes are cold and furious - he's breathing hard, but everything else about him is still, held tense. He's burning with how fucking angry he is, feels it sticking in his throat. ]

Don't, Solomons. It's fine. She'll be fine, I - we won't let anything happen. [ Royce says, staring at him. ] Need to wrap your hand. I'll get the kit. Start driving.

[He throws the car in gear and takes off, following the tire tracks on the dirt road. Luckily, they're still fresh and visible - no other vehicles have come by and obscured them, and it hasn't been long enough for the wind to start blowing them away.

Alfie studiously ignores his hand. Right now, it just doesn't matter.]

[ The drive doesn't take long. They go until Royce can see straight enough, and then he nudges Alfie out of the way. Snaps at him a fair amount of times - wrap your hand, I'll drive, don't argue.

Quietly, he's scared. He can't lose her. Not like he lost Gwen.

They end up not far from a gas station, which is connected to a convenience store. Across the street is the garage and autoparts store they'd been planning on going through. This is apparently the pickup area. Royce hides the car the best he's able and gestures. ]

No guns. Not yet. [ Royce says. He hands Alfie a knife, as well as the gun Alfie had given him earlier. ] You're a better shot but it's loud. Let me go first. Scout.

Stay in my sight for as long as you can. Signal what you see.

[The pain in his hand has faded to a dull ache, now that he's dug the bullet out and wrapped it. It's in danger of infection, and his and Royce's potential concussions both still worry him, but all of that takes a backseat to Mercy.]

Take a gun. You'll need one on you.

[ Royce nods. He digs in the back for another one - all they have left is the small one they'd been using to train Mercy, but it'll have to do. He takes that and his favorite knife - dagger, really, and moves out.

True to his word, he stays in sight. Hides and counts the guards. One, two, three, four, Royce counts and signals back. There are four in the convenience store. Two more behind the counter, in the gas station part of the building. Royce vanishes for a moment so he can get close, and when he moves back into sight, he signals "two" and the sign for M. Mercy.

His blood is boiling. She's terrified, sitting near the back as two men discuss her fate. They, unfortunately, are not kind about what they figure she'll end up as - Royce's quick view gives him the idea that Mercy is trying not to cry, and while he's so, so proud of her, he also can barely breathe from the ache. His little girl. He won't let this happen.

Royce makes eye contact with Alfie. Signs in short, choppy sentences that he knows Alfie will understand: will kill the four silently, back me up once they're dead. ]

[Back by the car, Alfie is tense. He wishes he could see, or hear, or have any clue as to what's going on inside. Royce's signed updates are a help, but they aren't enough to calm him.

He tightens his grip on the gun, giving Royce a sharp nod and a quick sign back. Understood. Go.]