Urban Dead: The Price of the Oath

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:06 am

He was silent for a moment. "What do you propose?"

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:08 am

"Like I said, you hunt with the 1st. Be part of the team. They watch out for you, you watch out for them. That's how you become part of this community. People see and hear about it, they'll learn to accept you. Same way I did."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:14 am

"I will hunt with you."

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:21 am

"Sherry," he said. "The woman. She's in charge of the 1st. Will you take her orders?"

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:23 am

He considered carefully. "Yes," he lied.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:26 am

"Serious business," he admonished. "The Irregulars work like a machine. Everyone works together, everyone comes back alive. She's over in the office there, you can talk to her about what you'll be doing now."

He pointed.

"Glad to have you."

Wonder of wonders, he meant it.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:42 am

Some time later, Mike rounded the corner and hailed Petro.

"Hey, Glorious Leader." He said, grinning. A kitten peered down at Petro from Mike's head with babylike interest. "Have you seen my other half?" He continued, not caring if he sounded sappy.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:43 am

"She's in the office over there, working on the memorial service," he said, pointing. He reached up and let the kitten sniff his fingers, then nuzzle them with its cheek. "Which little furry monster is this?"

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:48 am

"This is June. You can tell because one of her feet is white, see?" He said, reaching up and hoisting the limb delicately. The kitten looked at its own paw with amazement, as though viewing one of the Wonders of the World.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:49 am

"Remind me not to ask you for advice on naming the kid, okay?" he said with a grin, then he got serious. "Sherry said you asked about going back to field duty."

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:51 am

"You're turning me down." He said neutrally. He'd been expecting it, really.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:54 am

He shook his head. "No, we have a surplus in medical staff here. But where I'll need you is with the 2nd. They're going to have to be rebuilt pretty much from scratch, and you're going to have to help Decimus and Punt break in the new guys."

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:00 am

"The most I've ever broken in was a pair of shoes." Mike said. "No, I've been thinking about it. I can do more here, talking to the NecroTech people. I have some ideas about stuff to do." He said vaguely.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:02 am

"Irregulars are the best, Mike, and you're one of them. We'll need a new medico for the 2nd. You don't have to train them, but just be an example. You're a legend around here too, y'know." He clapped the younger man on the shoulder.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:07 am

He sighed. "Can I think on it?" He asked, fully prepared for the answer to be 'no'. Then, bluntly: "Besides, you know as well as I do that I asked to go back on duty so I could be with her. And I'm not a fool, you don't think I should be." He shrugged. "You're probably right, but I worry."

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:14 am

"Think on it," he said. "The fact that it's not good for either of you to be in the same unit did cross my mind, yeah. But also, I need a good cadre to rebuild the 2nd around. Walk with me a minute, Mike."

He started for the old water fountain, lighting a cigarette.

"Back when we were dealing with Jaycee... remember the throwdown that came where Mel got stabbed in the back?" He propped his leg up on the fountain.

"Started with the fucker the next building over taking a shot at us. Taking a shot at Mel. I lost it. Completely. Didn't give a fuck for backup, for who was in the area, anything. All I cared about was that some asshole just tried to kill the woman I loved. So I grabbed my shotgun, went across the street and through the door without backup, because I was going to kill every motherfucker in the building. And I nearly lost her because of it. Could've fucked over the Blackcaps too, because they were coming in blind and instead of talking them in, I was playing Rambo. There's a good reason why you shouldn't go out with her, and it's not that I don't trust either of you specifically. It's just bad to mix this shit with work. What happens if it comes to leaving her behind or saving the unit? Either call you make, you're fucked for the rest of your life. You want it to come down to that?"

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:48 am

"I'd save her every time, and fuck the consequences." He answered truthfully, not caring that it was a rhetorical question. "So, yeah. You're right." He sighed again. "I'll get back to you on the Second thing soon."

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:50 am

He nodded. That's why Mike would never lead anything. "Okay. I need you out there, Mike." He clapped him on the shoulder again and limped away.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:51 am

Mike shook his head a little, the kitten 'meep'ing indignantly and hanging on for dear life. His stomach rumbled, so he set out to look in on Sherry and grab a bite to eat.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:07 am

He took another drag on his cigarette, heading for his office. Frank was out in his front office as usual, but instead of a notebook, he was actually working with a laptop and printer powered by the genset that Necrotech had dropped in.

"Morning Frank," Petro said, heading straight for the coffee pot.

"Ten a.m. is generally considered late morning," Frank pointed out, tapping on the laptop.

Petro took a sip of the coffee, then grimaced and dumped it into the sink. "How old is this pot? When was the last time you slept?"

"Yesterday."

"You're off duty for the afternoon. We can handle patrol assignments without you for a day, believe it or not. Don't let me see your face outside of the memorial until tomorrow."

He grabbed a can of coffee, opening it up and savoring the smell. "Fuck yes, I'd forgotten what the fresh shit smelled like." Scooping out some coffee, he looked back at Frank. "Why are you still here?"

The other man stared at him with a frosty gaze, then closed the tasks on the laptop, powered it down and closed the top. "Very well."

As he walked out the door, Petro got a jug of water and poured it into the coffee pot. "Hey Frank," he said. The other man turned to look at him. "Try jerking off. It's great for stress relief."

"Grow the fuck up, Szuhonkobeker," Frank shot back, closing the door behind him.

Capping the jug, Petro grinned and lifted it in mock salute, then ambled over to look at the status sheet for afternoon and evening patrols.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:44 pm

Mike knocked on the office door, then cautiously opened the door and peered around the frame, the googly-eyed kitten bringing the total of eyes trained on Sherry to six.

Caz · Post by **Caz** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:46 pm

The girl was busy tacking a few more photos onto the largest of the memorial columns, as well as pasting a few greetings cards and other written messages that people had given her. It was quite the collage--the others weren't quite so crowded, but overall it had the effect of literally just taking a scrap book and winding it around something in some sort of parody of a photo album.

But it mattered to them, so she didn't give a shit how it looked.

As he entered, she glanced up.

"Well hello there," she said, looking more to the kitten than to Mike.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:52 pm

"What can I say? She just wouldn't let go." He chuckled as the kitten's eyes contrived to become even larger. So many new things to take in!

"I just thought I'd pop in." He said, sidling up behind her and putting his arms around her. "See how you were going, offer to help or something."

Caz · Post by **Caz** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:00 pm

"Really, what I'm doing doesn't require much. Just use the rubber cement and help me stick stuff in spots where the white shows through." She chuckled a bit, then wandered over and scratched the kitten under the chin. It purred loudly.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:02 pm

"Oh, fine. Give the cat all the attention." He faux-grumbled with a grin, beginning to paste the photos in place.

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Urban Dead: The Price of the Oath

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