ZRP-2: Chapter Two, Paradise in Hell

(James)
=Arching a brow, I looked up at Hibiki=
"What does it matter, the size of the windows?"

"Clarissa, how bad is Slate's libidio?" Hibiki asked bluntly.

*Clarissa*
=She had an idea of what Hibiki was getting at=
"He's......not had a chance to really bed anyone his type. Why?"

(James)
=I suddenly did not like where this was going=
"Uh, Hibiki. You're not thinking, what I think you're thinking, are you?"

"Using my gender and body to gain access and kicm him out a window? Yes, yes that is exactly what I am thinking."

(James)
"No. No. No. Fucking hell no."
=There was no way, I was going to let her be bait...for Slate=

"You already had a near miss with Jonah, now you want to try again with Slate? Are you fucking serious?"

"Jonah was a freak occurance. Here, we can control the entire thing. I can easily sneak a knife or smallgun in. Cooper can get a men ready to assault in case of emergency. We have frie ds here James. We can do it."

(James)
"Hibiki, please....no."
=Even in front of Clarissa and Cooper, I wasn't shy about reaching a hand out for Hibiki's=

"There's too much at risk."

Hibiki took his hand. "I have a promise to keep. I can do it. You know I can."

*Clarissa*
"In all honesty, there's no reason to suggest that Slate will go for you Hibiki. It seemed clear that he has no love for you."

"So. Slate won't go for unconditional surrender?" She paused. "If you got a tank, could just blast his room to hell."

*Clarissa*
=Again, hey eyes twinkled=
"Well, we don't have a tank......but we do have some rockets. Believe me, we've managed to claim a large number of weapons over the years."

(James)
"That works. Besides, there are other buildings of sufficient height we can fire them from."

"There goes my promise. And you would never be able to repair that floor." She shrugged. "Your call."

*Clarissa*
"He's four floors above, on the South East wing. We wouldn't lose much, but there's still the risk of debris."

(James)
"Then we go with that, and have your people stay clear of the ground."

"Least my way guarantees he won't live by hiding in the bathtub."

*Clarissa*
"Well, there is at least, one advantage: they only have a small number of people guarding the elevator. If we go with her idea, Cooper can take them out and let our own people up to the floor."

(James)
"Except we aren't going with that plan, are we?"

"I am not a child James. I love you...but you can't stop me from doing anything. Much like I can't stop you. You can damn well try, like I can, but in the end, we do whatever we feel is right. Isn't that right...mister handcuff my daughter to a bench and play decoy without consulting me?"

(James)
=I bristled at the remark, but before I could say a thing Clarissa cleared her throat=

*Clarissa*
"Both of you, stop it now. We won't get that far, until you deal with the Shepherds in the city. So I suggest you deal with them, then we can discuss how better to deal with Slate."

"Which way to my surprise then?" Hibiki asked.

*Clarissa*
"Cooper will lead you to it, it's back in the garage with the weapons. If nothing else, good day."

(James)
"Fine, have a nice day."
=In a hushed tone to Hibiki, as I turned to wheel myself back into the hotel room=

"We'll talk later."

"I know. God. We had less problems when Sam and Eve became a couple..." she sighed, heading out to follow Cooper.

Eve yawned, getting the sleep out. "What do you want to do today?"

(Sam)
"Well, I was under the impression we were grabbing some dinner. Care to join me?"

(James)
"Hibiki, this plan is just so....so...."
=I said one of the curse words she taught me in Japanese, followed by stupid=

"Only if you're buying." She delivered, deadpan. But she then smiled.

Hibiki rolled her eyes. "No more stupid then what you and Eve have done."

(Sam)
"Come on, I'm sure we can find something."
=I held my hand out for her=

(James)
"Hibiki....when Jonah took you, and had me tied up, I wasn't scared I was going to die. I was scared for you, and the thought of you being even remotely close to that situation terrifies me."
=We reached the elevator, entering moments later=

"Jonah had me tied up. Slate won't get me tied up because the only man who can do so and not get mauled is you. Are you seriously scared for me, or for Slate?" She added teasingly.

Eve took Sam's hand, her cheeks a bit pink.

(Sam)
=Leading her out of the room, we walked down the hall for the dining room=

(James)
"This is serious Hibiki.....and it's not just you I'm scared for."
=Without getting to into it in front of Cooper, I shot a glance at her stomach, hoping she got what I was talking about=

Eve leaned her head against Sam's arm, just smiling as they went.

Hibiki scowled. "The rocket idea has so many flaws it's not funny. My idea at least makes sure he doesn't somehow survive."

(Sam)
=We reached the cafeteria, walking inside and grabbing some food trays=

(James)
=The elevator reached the ground floor, Cooper leading us out again=
"There has to be a better way, than you hanging yourself out there like a piece of meat just so you can kill this man."

"Wait. So you can be live bait for zobies, Sam and Eve can, but I can't be bait for some idiot when we have an army ready to charge in to save me?" She said harshly.

Eve grabbed her tray, following Sam.

(James)
=Honestly, I didn't have an answer for that one. Hell, I knew she was more than capable of defending herself, but I guess deep down.....I was jealous. Oh come on, it's not that hard to imagine, I mean she was talking about seducing the guy. My inner neanderthal started beating his chest, making shouts of challenge=
"......fine. Just, be careful okay?"

=Cooper led us out of the hotel, and back towards the stadium=

(Sam)
=Once we both had some dinner, we found ourselves a vacant table, sitting down to eat=

"And give you an excuse to say I told you so?" She said teasingly, trying to make up for her harshness.

Eve scooted her chair closer to Sam, then began to eat.

(James)
"Please, just don't even tempt fate on that one Hibiki. Please."
=That was all I had to say, as we finally reached the stadium. Cooper led us inside, the same route as before, as we arrived in the same armory, only he led us further back, towards the vehicles. One of them had a large, massive black tarp over it=

*Cooper*
"We salvaged this bad boy from a police station, SWAT division."
=He pulled away the tarp, and beneath was a large.....tank, was the best word I could think of. Six giant wheels, a turret on the top, and the word SWAT plastered on the side of the vehicle=

(James)
"Jesus.....is it Christmas again?"

=I had, of course, tailed them unobtrusively, taking everything in=

I'd say so, James.

=I nod to Cooper=

Pardon the intrusion.

"Oh dear God. Cooper you bastard. How could you keep this a secret from me? You know I got certified to drive this thing a long time ago."
Her entire face was lit up. "Two rolls of ammo and I can solo that entire camp of religious bastards."

=He watched the large, open field, amazed that one could find peace in such chaos. He sighed, stalking along the upper rows of seating and finding a place to sit, then pulling out a granola bar and very slowly eating it, each bite full of contemplation.=

(James)
"Dammit Andrew, would you stop sneaking up on us like that? It gets creepy. And Hibiki, should I be jealous of the truck now? You're giving it the same look you tend to give me...."

*Cooper*
=He snorted=

(Sam)
=The two of us ate in silence, for the most part. Hey this was technically supposed to be the first date, not like I had material for this=

=I smile=

Sorry...old habits die hard.

=I feel my face redden briefly=

"This is a different look." She said.

Eve finished her food. "What do we do after dinner?" She asked softly.

=Marcus finished his granola bar and went through his ammunition, sitting up high, then started on what was left of his box of cheerios, his gaze scanning.=

(James)
"Okay, had me worried for a moment there."
=I wheeled around to check a different side=

"I guess I'll leave it to the lady that's certified to drive one of these. Hibiki, what do you know about these things?"

(Sam)
"I don't know. Walk around maybe? Talk. This my first date.....ever, so I'm not really sure what to do."

"Everything. I wasn't certified to drive one for nothing." She grinned.

Eve rested her hands on her thighs, looking at her lap.
"This is my first date too." She said.

=Marcus still sat, watching the well-armed men go about their business, hoping they didn't think much of another person breaking through one of their sealed entrances. It was only sealed with wood, after all. Maybe they wouldn't see him, so high up.=

(James)
"Okay, we have a driver. Does this thing have any armaments?"
=Granted, the turret on the top was a giveaway, but I wanted to know what this thing fired, if it fired at all. Before I could get an answer though, I thought I heard something down at the other end of the storage bay=

(Sam)
"Well then, may as well talk for a bit. What's been on your mind lately?"

"I'm scared of losing you and the brainwashing to come back." She said.

Hibiki climbed onto the vehicle. "Cooper? Yaknow if it works?"

*Cooper*
"So long as there's fuel, she'll still be able to drive. Though the damn thing's a gas guzzler, so we don't use her that much, not even for these Shepherds. As for weapons, we have machine guns that can be mounted on the turret, and she seats around maybe six people. Not comfortably mind you, just enough to ram through a wall and insert them."

(James)
=Even I whistled at that one=
"Damn, this will really help. How much gas do we have for this?"

*Cooper*
"To get there and back? Enough."


(Sam)
=Well, that was certainly a buzzkill on the mood=
"Uh, anything happy?"

=I turn my head in the direction of the noise=

I could of sworn I heard something...

=I dismiss the sound, looking to the vehicle that I would be riding in, knowing full well Mira would be livid for me ditching her=

I wake up abruptly and reach for my gun. The one I keep forgetting isn't there. Wait, no. There is a gun here!
Same as my old one just newer. Forgot I went to the armory. Waitwaitwait. Where am I?

=Marcus heard the engine start, and smiled, knowing that if he could get in with these Elites, he'd be really set. Now, how to get to know them without getting shot 200+ times...=

"When do we leave?" Hibiki said happily.

Eve smiled.
"That I love you and with you and mommy and James everything will be ok."

(James)
"Wow first we massacre zombies and now you want to take out a Shepherd encampment? Busy day huh?"

*Cooper*
"I'd go at night, since the dark paint of this thing will make it harder to see."

(Sam)
"Well, that's good. Focus more on that and less on the bad stuff."

"Still loud as hell." She said. "But true." Hibiki wore a silly grin.
She was looming forward to driving.

Eve smiled, leaning her head on Sam's shoulder. "Was there a park around here?"