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Post by Steinerman on May 17, 2011 14:42:05 GMT -5
"Um," Joe began hesitantly, "Do you know what a top floor of a tunnel system looks like? Because I don't. The way we entered from is caved in, but I think there's a few more tunnels that lead back to that area, where your car exploded. I think that'll be the quickest way."
He continued on, noticing how extremely quiet the entire complex seemed to be. He had expected the bandits to group up and mount some sort of attack, but they hadn't appeared. His ears picked up on a few sounds every now-and-then, and he was sure he heard a feint scream and a gunshot at one point. But unless the bandits were shooting each other, it didn't make much sense.
Dara and Laramie were very quiet as well, Dara was most likely saving her strength for walking, and now wasn't exactly the time for a joyous reunion in any case. No, he was more worried about Laramie, she wasn't being quiet just to be quiet, he could tell she wasn't exactly focused on the present at the moment. Her eyes had a far-off look to them, as though she were reliving some event. And judging by the blood she was covered in and the room they'd taken her from, he doubted it was good memory.
Finally, he saw a glimmer of daylight coming from a branching side-passage and pointed it out, "looks like that might be a way out." He said hopefully.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on May 17, 2011 15:14:46 GMT -5
So Joey had jokes afterall... Although what part of all that constituted as a joke only Krystal could tell you. As they ventured, and the glimmer of light was discovered, Krys finally felt the strength of her magic return to her. Huh, just in time. "I smell a rat." she whispered. But the funny thing was, she smelt one literally, too. "Might be a trap, be careful."
As such, the armored woman slowed her step a little bit. If the bandits had infact set up an ambush, things were about to get very ugly, especially since she had these three to worry about. Normally, this type of thing wouldn't phase her too much.
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Post by Steinerman on May 17, 2011 23:34:11 GMT -5
Surprisingly, Krystal would find no ambush waiting for the band of weary travelers as they made their way out of the tunnels and into the sunlight.
Though admittedly if she looked at the ground near their exit she might notice three pairs of charred boots and the still-smoking remains of their bandit owners.
What She, Joe, Dara and Laramie would encounter, however, was a handsome Elf clad all in grey, a pair of designer sunglasses covering his eyes.
He was sitting on a rock a little ways away, one arm supporting his chin in a thoughtful pose. The Elf smiled coldly as the band made their way out of the tunnel, as though he had been expecting them. He opened his mouth to speak, but a muttered curse from Joe silenced him.
Joe couldn't believe what he was seeing, he maneuvered his body so as to put himself between Dara, Laramie and the Elf, and then raised his bladerifle and pointed it at the newcomer, who still hadn't made any move.
"Larent." Joe greeted, his voice edged with a vicious undertone. "I recall promising to shoot you if I ever saw you again. You'd better have a blasted good reason for risking that promise."
It was obvious that Joe knew the Elf, who seemed almost oblivious to the gun pointed at him. But whoever the Elf was, he merely shrugged amiably and replied, "Hello to you too, I'm here to help you, Nim, so kindly put the gun down. Maybe even introduce your friends to me?"
Joe didn't respond besides pointedly checking the chamber of his weapon and sighting down it towards the Elf.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on May 18, 2011 11:35:45 GMT -5
"Friend of yours?" the warriors asked, deepening her voice a bit. Still, it was a little surprising. Joe hadn't had a reaction like this even when confronting the bandit leader, and judging by the corpses around the clearing, just what had become of him and some others anyway? "Let's keep it simple, stretch. Who, what, where, when, why, and how?"
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Post by Steinerman on May 18, 2011 13:37:51 GMT -5
"This . . . Monster and his partner, " Joe practically hissed, "blew up a train full of civilians. They went against direct orders from our commanding officer."
The Elf interjected politely, "Well, firstly, we technically don't answer to General Winter, we're attached to your task force, not beholden to it." He then raised a single digit from his left hand in the air and waggled it, "And secondly, would you have preferred we wait until the train reached that settlement?"
"You murdered eighty-three civilians, nine of them were children!" Joe shouted angrily. "We were going to assault the train and kill the terrorists."
The Elf snorted and shook his head, "And you would have died in doing so, Nim. We did you a favor. The thing was rigged to blow with a deadman's switch, all you would have succeeded in doing was kill yourself and your men. We minimized casualties and got the ones responsible for it."
Joe's eyes were full of fury, his trigger finger kept squeezing slightly as he decided whether or not to pull the trigger and kill the Elf.
The Elf, on the other hand, ignored Joe and smiled politely in Krystal's direction, "Agent Sharidan?" He questioned, "I'm Agent Francis Larent, Valtheran Dark Ops. My partner and I were supposed to meet up with Nim and Wish anyways, so we were tasked to be your back-up if you needed any. My partner will be along shortly, he's down in the mine taking care of the bandits."
He nodded towards Joe's weapon, "I'd stand and bow, but I'm afraid Nim would put a shot through me."
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on May 18, 2011 14:56:52 GMT -5
So this man knew who she was? Well there went plan A. Needless to say, she already didn't like this guy, whoever he was. And then a thought registered in her head. "Call your partner off. I got them all out so there's no need to keep fighting!" The horror story Joe told certainly hadn't helped things any. And infact, why were these two sent after her anyway?
Everyone back home surely knew that she could handle this herself, and with that she could guarantee there wouldn't be any unnecessary bloodshed. If this man was who he said he was, then could Joe really fight him? Even if he would, he wasn't in any shape to. No, Krystal didn't like this sudden turn of events one bit.
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Post by Steinerman on May 18, 2011 15:10:47 GMT -5
Francis eyed Krystal, an amused smile ghosting across his lips. "Call him off? He's already done, agent Sharidan. He's on his way up as we speak."
He nodded towards Joe, "frankly, dear boy, I'm surprised you let them live, that's almost too nice for even you. Would you like to know how many ambushes Bob saved your little group from down there? He radioed that he gutted at least three different groups of men lying in wait to do you and your female companions serious bodily harm."
It was now that he finally caught sight of Laramie, hiding behind Joe. His smile turned to a concerned look. "And for heaven's sake, why is the child covered in blood?" He questioned curiously.
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on May 18, 2011 15:22:34 GMT -5
There was no response. Nothing but rage filled the woman at this moment in time, running forward a bit and reeling her arm back, she was ready to rend this man in half, so to speak. An expected hand held her back though.
It was Joe. "Trust me, now isn't the time."
"But he just-"
"Look, if he's telling the truth and his partner is infact on his way up here, then our best option right now is to just ignore them for now and get going."
The armored guard couldn't really think of a reply at the moment with the emotions running through her head. "Then let's just go." She knew one thing though, later, there would be Hell to pay, and she had no intent on letting these two strangers anywhere near the other three people she'd just met and helped save.
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Post by Steinerman on May 18, 2011 15:38:23 GMT -5
Joe had seen the rage building in Krystal, and had easily realized that she was going to try and attack Francis. He'd stopped her because he knew how dangerous the tag-team of Francis and his monstrous partner was. And he knew he'd only seen a fraction of what they could do.
For those two, the idea of fair-play, or of any sort of restraint was generally lost on them. If Krystal had attacked the Elf, he would have replied by lighting the entire clearing on fire. Joe wasn't sure how strong Krystal was, but he knew Francis was a devastatingly powerful mage in his own right, not even including the whirlwind of death that was Bob Rasven. In a fight at the moment, Joe was almost positive their small band would lose to the pair of Valtheran commandos.
He nodded in agreement with Krystal, it would be best to move. But a sinking feeling in his heart told him that probably wouldn't happen. Francis and Bob weren't sent out as merely back-up. Especially when their idea of backing someone up generally included firestorms and explosions. The Elf had mentioned they were there for another reason, and Joe was sure he wouldn't like that reason.
A moment later, Francis confirmed his fears. The Elf stood and nodded politely, "Of course you should be going, Nim. General Winter is waiting at the evac point to debrief you personally. But Agent Wish is coming with us."
Joe froze, his eyes wide in surprise. Laramie being sent with those two? He shook his head in disbelief. "Winter would never sign off on that." He said, still in shock.
The Elf shrugged, "he did. Didn't she tell you? She confirmed the order several days ago."
Joe turned to stare incredulously at Laramie, his eyes asking the question. She had come out of her trance-like state by now, and was staring back up at him with frighteningly cold eyes. She nodded once, "Sorry," she mumbled, the icy look melting away slowly and her old, more gentle expression replacing it. "I got the message right before we met up and all the stuff happened. Didn't get a chance to tell you."
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Post by Evil McBadGuy on May 19, 2011 13:48:27 GMT -5
So that was it then, there was nothing that could be done. "If you should really be with them, get going." The woman now almost sounded cold in her demeanor. She knew she was in no position to start a brawlfest, and that if the higher-ups were really so concerned, her 'time limit' of sorts of about to be done. "But I suppose I should leaving the thinking up to you, Joe."
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Post by Steinerman on May 23, 2011 21:50:29 GMT -5
From the tunnel entrance came a rasping, gravely chortle of a laugh as a small, furry creature in grey cargo-pants (severely cut down to accommodate his small three-and-a-half foot frame) and a matching vest come waltzing out of the darkness.
"Well, she wasn't slow to let the child come with us, I like this lady." He said, referring to Krystal. The small creature then glared up at Joe, who'd turned to stare worriedly at him. "Hiya, boyscout, wazzup?" The creature asked lightly.
"They had to send you," Joe lamented, his voice fully of tense worry.
The creature nodded happily, "I know, so exciting," he said, shaking his body like a dog shakes off water. "I'm finally let out of Valtheran to do some damage."
"Anyways," the creature continued, "You'd better get going. We're almost done here, we'll light this camp up and burn out the evidence, then be on our merry way with our new partner."
Joe knew he couldn't stop them, Francis and Bob would gladly kill them all to get to Laramie if they had too. But still, there was a . . . gleam, in Laramie's eyes. He didn't know what had happened to her, but he didn't want her hanging around a pair of crazy murderers either.
She seemed to sense his thoughts, and smiled up at him. "Don't worry, Joe." She said, her voice a mask of warmth he knew she was only putting on for his sake. "I'll be fine. Take Dara and Krystal and get going. Maybe we'll meet up again someday."
He opened his mouth to say something, a little shocked that was all she had to say to him after being his partner and friend for almost a year. But then thought better of it, "Right," he finally managed, "take care of yourself, Laramie. Stay safe."
He glared furiously at the small creature, "Bob," he hissed, "keep her safe or so help me, I'll hunt you down and hurt you."
Bob shrugged his shoulders, "Promises, promises." He said with amusement before waving Joe off, "get going, Boyscout. The kid will be fine."
Laramie went to stand by Francis, and was joined a moment later by the small badger-like creature. Joe frowned darkly, but turned and rejoined Dara and Krystal, heading down the road and towards the evac point.
Behind them, there was a "whoosh" and a "Whump" as a streak of fire leapt from Francis into the tunnels, igniting the entire complex, undoubtedly Bob had spread fuel and other flammable materials as he'd gone, prep-ing the mine for destruction.
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