ZRP-2: Chapter 3, The Coming Storm

Eve looked up at Sam. "I like your hair...it's pretty."

Hibimi nodded. "I say the closest one. We want to be able to retreat quickly."

=I just smile a bit, turning back to the hotel=

Yaknow...maybe I could pull a bit of a trick on them. A little theater never hurt anyone...

=I wheeled back to the hotel, knowing that some sleep would do me some good, especially with what happened recently=

And besides...the look on their faces will be totally worth it

=I chuckle at my own joke, humming a tune as I went along=

*Marcus*
"Agreed. That and the proximity would mean that if we have any injuries, we can get them to safety sooner."

*Cooper*
"So, where do we attack first?"

(James)
=I unfolded the map, finding a location nearby=
"Well, there's this place over here. Not sure what it is though. Looks like it's in an industrial zone, south west of here."

(Sam)
"Thanks Eve."

She smiles brightly before she started to scrub her arms. "Do you miss anything?" She asked suddenly.

Hibiki looked at the map. "Lotsa places to set up an amhush..."

(Allie)

I was sitting outside, smoking a cig while watching the world through my tinted aviators. I sit silently and think, while taking my sniper apart and cleaning it.

(Sam)
"From?"

(James)
"True. We'll have to be careful on how we proceed then."

*Cooper*
"It's just the one industrial factory there. Not much else around it."

Eve sighed. "Before the outbreak."

Hibiki sighed. "Plan for the worst."

*Cooper*
"Of course. But there won't be much they can do on the outside."

(James)
"Still, we need more info. What kind of factory was this place?"

*Cooper*
"I think it was an old slaughterhouse actually. Lots of animal pens. Chances are they use them for housing prisoners, or walkers."

(Sam)
"My life.....was not the greatest, but I survived. Moved from foster home to foster home."

"We should free the prisoners first...how many medics do we have?" Hibiki asked.

Eve splashed around a bit, acting like a kid. Ohwait. She was a kid. "I miss my real mom..." she said quietly.

=I wheel on into the hotel, my mood improved=

Oh the looks on their faces...it'll be perfect...

=I head to the room, wheeling myself to the bed. I take a whiff, I crinkled my nose=

Good grief...I need a shower...

=I head to the bathroom and take my clothes off, turning on the shower and letting the water run over my body=

Lord knows I need it...

=I sigh, the day's events leaving me a bit drained=

*Marcus*
"That's assuming there are any prisoners inside."


(James)
"If there are, then we save them. If not, then we deal with the Shepherds."

Hibiki sighed. "Pray there are people to save."

Eve used that hand trick to squirt some wster into Sam's hair, giggling.

*Cooper*
"Look, our main goal needs to be taking out the Shepherds. Any prisoners are secondary."

(James)
"Seems a bit cold..."

(Sam)
=I ducked, splashing some water on Eve=
"Hey, don't do that!"

Eve fired again.
"Come make me." She challenged, hiding in the far corner across the water.

Hibiki scowled. "Cooper." She said, her voice low and dangerous. "Those people could help. We save them, we got the startings of an army. We dont, then we can only come up with death. Life before death now."

*Cooper*
"Hibiki, I know that. But if our goal is to destroy a Shepherd base, then that needs to be the priority. Saving the prisoners, can also be one of them, but not the main one."

(James)
"Ohhkay, how about I diffuse this little fight here. We save the prisoners if we can, but while we're at it we take down the Shepherds."

(Sam)
"Nope. I'm staying right here."

"No fun." She smiled though, scooting back and presenting her back to Sam to preserve her modesty. She didn't know what to say.
She just didn't.

Hibiki fell silent.

*Marcus*
"Look, we'll split into two groups. Group one, will deal with the Shepherds. Group Two gets the prisoners to safety."

(James)
"That works. We still need to know where they are though."

(Sam)
=It was awkward, the silence between us. I didn't know how to end it though=

"Follow the screams of help." Hibiki said bluntly.

Eve looked at Sam. "One day, do you think you'd come into the bath and chase me?" She asked.

(Sam)
=I blushed=
"Not sure....."

*Cooper*
"That's assuming they can scream."

(James)
"Then we grab someone and force them to tell us. Simple as that."

Eve started playing with the water, obviouy done with washing. "Better then a no." She admited. Eve then looked at Sam.
"Do you wear the pants in this relationship?" She asked curiously.

Hibiki sighed. "What James said. Two minutes with me and we'll have our answer."

(Sam)
"Heh, maybe."

(James)
"Look, none of this is perfect. But it's the best we've got. Marcus, Cooper, can you get the right people for this?"
=They both nodded the affirmative=

"Alright. We have a plan, even if it is a crude one. Look, we meet here tomorrow, with the SWAT tank and battlebus loaded up. Marcus, Cooper, get fighters from your own groups, and people you trust to get the job done right."

Eve splashed around for a few minutes.
"I'm ready to get out..." she blushed. "Can you hand me a towel?"

Hibiki nodded. "I drive the tank. We can have Sam drive the bus."

(James)
"Good. We only get one shot at this people, so lets make it count."
=Folding up the map, I walked away from Marcus and Cooper, headed back to the hotel=

(Sam)
"Sure."
=Grabbing a towel, I handed it to her, then walked out of the bathroom=

=I get out of the shower; I then turn off the water and shakily get out, putting my hand on the wall to support myself=

Goddamnit...even now, my sister's taken me down a peg...

=I towel myself off, getting a glimpse at the full extent of my injuries. slam my fist against a wall=

The Shepherds wanted it to get personal...it just got really personal

=I dry myself off and get into some fresh clothes, getting back into the wheelchair, wheeling myself back into the room=

Hibiki follows James.
"Guess round two must wait until we save the dah."

Eve got out and dried off, then slipped back into the room once she was msoy dressed.
Silly girl forgot her shirt.
She bent over to rummage through her pack, then started to extract another black Halo 3 Tshirt.

(James)
"Well, we do have until tomorrow...."


(Sam)
=I sat on the bed, waiting for her to get out=

Hibiki smiled.
"You get top. Only fair."

Eve finally got her shirt on, then walked over to stand in front of Sam.
"Thank you." She said, kissing Sam's forehead. "And you do wear the pants. I always liked dresses more."

(Sam)
"Uh, that's not what it means, to wear the pants Eve."

(James)
=There wasn't much to say to that. So I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against me as i chuckled=

=I wheel out of the room, heading to where the pharmacy would be in the compound=

I'm sick and tired of sitting on my ass and being told to stand by and watch...

=I head into the pharmacy, going straight to the front desk, the doctor giving me a look that said he hadn't had any activity in days=

Let's help each other out a bit, my friend...

=I ask for a few bottles of aspirin and the man happily obliges, the fact me being in a wheelchair meant I must've been in quite a bit of pain=

He doesn't know the half of it...

=I take two of the bottles and pocket them, thanking him for his business. I wave back to him and wheel myself out, heading back to the room=

If the Shepherds want a fight...I'll give them one...

=I smile, already feeling my pride surging again=

Eve's eyes widened.
"It doesn't?" She asked with full seriousness.

Hibiki chuckled back, gladly going into the hug.

(Allie)

Satisfied, I quickly pull back the bolt and push it back in fluently. I sit my cig aside and look through the scope, making a few adjustments until its clear.

"There we go..."

Cleaning my gun always left me with a urge to shoot something, there wasn't a point in clean gun if you weren't going to use it.

Maybe she isn't here? Like, maybe in the car? Or maybe she walked off?

I keep looking through the crowd though, just incase she is and I'm not looking in the right spots.

(James)
=We got back to hotel, but then my stomach grumbled again. Oh right, I was hungry about an hour ago. Whoops=
"Uh, maybe we can get something to eat first instead?"

(Sam)
=Grinning, I stood up from the bed=
"Nope. Wearing the pants means who's in charge."

Hibiki grinned. "Sounds good."

Eve blushed. "That's still you then..." she said, looking at her lap."

(James)
=I let out a sigh of relief, and steered us for the cafeteria. God I was starving, especially after earlier. Grabbing a tray, I grabbed a few things, and then sat down at a table, digging in=

(Sam)
"Maybe one day that can be you as well."

Hibiki followed suit, digging in as she sat down.

Eve shook her head. "I don't know how to be in charge." She said quietly. "I only know how to follow orders..."

(Sam)
"Well, maybe it's time for that to change. I mean, take what happened a few days ago as an example. You went out on your own to find me, leaving the room."
=A fact that still annoyed the hell out of me, even if it was, at its core, cute=

(James)
=I took a moment to breathe, then decided to ask Hibiki something=
"Which team do you want to be on? Hostage rescue or Shepherd take down?"

Eve continued to look at her lap. "You didn't like it though. You yelled at me to go back." She said shamefully, thinking she had done something wrong.

Hibiki didn't even pause.
"Hostage rescue."

(James)
"I figured. You're time as a SWAT officer will help in that."
=As for me....I was on Shepherd hunting detail. There was a lot of blood on their hands, and I was going to make sure they paid for it=

(Sam)
"Sometimes, you have to do things people won't approve of. Not all the time, and definitely nothing extreme. But being compliant isn't always a good thing."

"Being compliant kept me safe. It's all I know." She shamefully admitted, turning so her back was facing Sam.

Hibiki sighed. "Yeah. Blame my training. Life before vengeance."

(James)
=Okay, I knew she wasn't psychic (at least as far as I knew) but that still felt like it was being directed at me=
"Well, I'm better at killing nowadays than anything else. Not much skill in rescuing people."

(Sam)
"Yeah, it may have kept you safe when you were younger. But Eve, you're getting older now. You need to think for yourself, without someone telling you to do it. But that also means being smart."

=I wheel back into the room, still fuming that I was going to be forced to sit here on my ass. I wasn't used to being the rear party, I was more used to being out in the action and doing something, I wasn't used to doing nothing=

Goddamnit...I want to help, but they're all to concerned about my safety...

=I look at myself in a mirror=

Screw it...I'm going to fight, even if it kills me...

=I wheel up to a chair, taking a seat and sighing in annoyance=

Mira groaned. "Why are you sighing in annoyance and destroying my nap..."

Hibiki sighed. "And when its all done? When we win, when everything finally settles?" She looking a bit miffed. "Our child doesn't need to know killing."

Eve looked up at Sam. "Every time I tried I just make you mad...I don't want you mad...I want you happy..."

(James)
=I looked down at my food=
"I'm not planning on raising a killer Hibiki. But right now....for this assault, I'm a better soldier than a father right now."

(Sam)
"Don't stop trying though. And as for then.....you being safe, was what made me happy. Or at least gave me peace of mind."

=I give Mira an apologetic look=

Sorry, just being injured enough to the point where I'm being told to sit here and do nothing as if I'm just a child annoys me.

=I lean back in the chair and close my eyes, savoring a bit of rest, knowing I needed as much time off of my feet as possible=

Well, welcome to the married life Andrew...thirty minutes in and I'm blowing it...good work

Hibiki. Sighed. "Kay."

Mira groaned. "If you try and leave I will tie you down. I will then leave you and go have lunch. If you don't wait like James did you won't get better. Sit down. Shut up. Stop driving me crazy."

Eve sighed. "I'm afraid of pushing you away...IlEverything I seem to do makes you either uncomfortable or annoyed. So what can I do when I'll push you away before I make any progress?" She sniffed. "I'd rather be compliant and do as you say then risk pushing away the one person I love kore then anything."

(Sam)
"If you start being compliant, then there's nothing to love. No spirit. Trust me, you'll get better."

(James)
"Besides.....if the walkers are till around by the time our kid gets old enough to walk, he'll need to learn how to kill them."
=Then again, it brought up the age old question: can you kill that which is dead?=

"Then how am I suppose to do anything when I'm afraid to make you mad?" She demanded.

Hibiki sighed. "Don't get smart with me."

=I nod, silently admitting defeat=

When you put it that way...yeah, I'll get some rest.

=I once again lean my head back and try to get some rest=

But I'll be ready when they call...

=I smile at the thought as I close my eyes, feeling calm for the first time in hours=

(James)
=I smiled=
"What? I thought you liked it when I was smart with you."

(Sam)
"Sometimes, it's better to take a risk Eve."