Futuristic Reptiles (In the city under a radiation storm)

[Joyeful]

In the meanwhile, Jax was doing as she'd promised herself- going off-grid. She'd been to Machinetown once or twice, and knew one or two people as a result.

So she did what she always did in these cities- went out to a warehouse, one that probably looked pretty abandoned to an outsider. But walking inside, it was furnished with the general necessities and a few nicer chairs.
In which someone was sitting.
"Okay, who the fuck are you, first of all, and second, what the hell do you want me to do."

The person stood, walking around, and in the light, had a smile on her face. "Jax, I was wondering when you'd get here. Bailed you out, but you turned tail and bailed the prison!"

Aliya Wynd. The only person who had ever cared, and the only person Jax never talked to- avoided, really.

 

[Jodyguru]

For awhile, Reggie was staggering through the streets completely blown out of his mind on Orange Blast. it was like being on marijuana, cocaine, and heroin at the same time, while tasting like a tasty orange soda. He was in a haze for awhile, just staring at the buildings and faces passing by.

 

[Joyeful]

Jax, on the other hand, was caught up defending herself against Wynd.
"What the fuck do you want from me?!"
Oh, god, now she sounded like one of those old soap operas. Damn it.

"Hey, I want to be more than friends! Is that what you want me to say? Jesus, Jax, I've been after you for so long-"
"And if I say no."
Aliya looked almost pitiful. "Then Talon will have a pretty good idea as to where to find you."
Jax glared, turning away- then turning back quick enough to dodge a punch, and get Aliya onto the floor. "You forget what you mentored me out of."

Tying her up with some metal cord, difficult as it was, made Jax feel the slightest bit better. "I'm sorry."
"No, you aren't."
And it was true. Jax just sighed, giving Aliya a pill. "If you don't want to starve, just take that."
They both knew that the second she walked out the door, Aliya would take it- and that would be the end of that. Still, Talon already knew something, especially if Aliya knew where to find them. Without a goodbye, Jax left the building, looking for Reggie. Hopefully, he hadn't already slunk back to one of his friends, gone until he was next needed.

 

[Jodyguru]

Walking back into the street, Jax heard a commotion and saw a crowd gathered around a couple men. Getting closer, she'd see a man in a black bomber jacket and an orange stain around his mouth and under his nose. He was tweaking hard and holding a man by his shirt.

"I know you have them! Where's my fucking wife you bastard" He hollered in the man's face. The other guy was a butcher in a dirty apron who was confused and annoyed.
"Get off of me you stupid junkie, I don't even know what you're talking about!" The butcher pulled himself off of Reggie and quickly ran inside. Reggie just stood there a moment, feeling lost and numb. He felt everyone's eyes on him and hid his face, muttering swears under his breath. The crowd dispersed, and he bumped into Jax.

"Wh- what the hell are you anyways? A giant reptile, Godzilla's kid, or what?" Reggie seemed not to recognize Jax at all. His eyes were blinking rapidly, and his heart was beating excessively.

 

[Joyeful]

"You're wasted, dammit," she sighed, "C'mon. I might be a reptile bitch, but I'm not cold-blooded."

Slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, she began half-dragging him back to the warehouse, hoping Aliya had either escaped or was dead. "It's only a couple blocks. Get your ass moving before Talon gets it."

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie sighed and took quick breaths. "I just need to find my wife. She's tall, brunette, and pretty as a doll. A little on the chunky side but it doesn't bother me. I tell her its just baby weight, but she was big when we met. Our baby, she.... she's....." He went quiet for awhile after that. He knew he had a child, but for some reason he couldn't picture her in his mind.

"Jax... where am I?" He asked once they got closer to the warehouse.

 

[Joyeful]

"Great. You remember me. We're at a warehouse, and I've either signed for my death warrant or freedom."
They finally reached it, and she shoved open the door- Aliya's still body wrapped in cords, pill nowhere to be seen.

"Stay in here. Look around, if you must. I have something to do."

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie looked around only at a glance. The woman on the ground was what really interested him.

“Whoa, I didn’t know you partied this hard. We holding her ransom, or are we just doing her right here?” He sniffed and rubbed his nose with his arm.

 

[Joyeful]

Jax cringed. "The pill just knocks her out, then fucks her memory over. I'm getting her out of here. So, get yourself clean, for the love of god, and let me do what I need to to keep my freedom."

With a small grunt, she picked up the girl's body, seeming to have very little trouble with it, despite Aliya being a bit heftier than the wiry thief. "Bathroom is up those stairs, door at the end wall."

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie sniffed and shrugged it off. "Nah nah I'm fine. I've run jobs on this shit before. I can..." He felt his stomach churn, and a terrible feeling made him hold his stomach.

"Oh fuck.... why did I get the super meal?" He groaned and started running for the bathroom.

 

[Joyeful]

Jax chuckled a bit, before sighing, looking at Aliya's face.
"Well this is just great... a guest, and a body that needs to disappear."

 

[Jodyguru]

The toilet flushed and Reggie stood in front of the mirror. He took a hard look at the burn mark on his face, the orange stain on his mouth, and the dark circles under his eyes. He thought how he looked like a mess, but better than he's been before. He splashed some water on himself and slapped himself around a bit before leaving the restroom to find Jax again.

 

[Joyeful]

She came back in from a squeaky door within ten minutes, hoping Reggie wasn't so out of it he'd go out into the streets again.
Aliya was safe- ish. She could handle herself when she woke up.
If she did within the day...

It wasn't Jax's problem. "Stopped being completely out of your mind yet?" she called, into the echoing warehouse, walking up the steps slowly. Who knew what could happen- some asshole might show up brandishing a knife, if Aliya had brought backup.

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie rubbed his eyes and coughed. "Yeah, just really tired now." He looked around, seeing no body with Jax. "So you, uh, took care of it already? What do you need me to do?"

He was still in a haze, but was clear enough to know that something was obviously wrong. It took Jax no time at all to find more trouble for herself, and it was obvious that there was more to this than she was leading on. All he could do right now was follow instructions.

 

[Joyeful]

"Long story short, Aliya is enough of a bitch that I can't disappear. And I need a shower, so excuse me for a couple minutes," she grimaced, looking at her dirt-and-slime covered skin before walking up the rest of the steps, proceeding to head to the bathroom.

"Do me a slight favor and don't burn this place to the ground."

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie kicked a rock and swayed his arms around. "Wasn't thinking about it till you said it."

 

[Joyeful]

Jax sighed in exasperation, before taking a pair of dish washing gloves from within the bathroom, and ducking into another room. She stayed there for a couple seconds, and emerged holding what seemed to be clean clothes.

Then she stepped into the bathroom again, shutting the door and locking it with a snick.

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie sighed and stood around bored while Jax was in the bathroom. He was just about to wander off, when the back door slowly opened, and a man in black combat gear entered with a rifle aiming into the room, right on Reggie.

"Eyes on a target! Adult male, five foot ten. Its him, sir." the man entered, keeping his weapon trained on Reggie. "Make a move, scumfuck. Give me a reason to put you down!"

Reggie put his hands up. He had no tricks up his sleeve. He was caught with his pants down. Another Talon soldier entered with a rifle, and another dressed like a commander.

"He's not the primary target. Bravo, find the girl."

"Yes sir"

"There's nobody here. I'm alone." Reggie needed to find a way to wriggle out of this. "What's this all about?"

"We got a tip that you jail breakers were hiding out here. The girl tried to slip them a mickey, but our insider is smart enough not to fall for that trick."

"So what happens now? If you were here to kill us, you would've done it by now."

"You're wanted at HQ. Someone higher up wants to handle you two personally."

"Great. A couple hours out of jail and I'm already making new friends." Reggie flashed a toothy smile at the Talon Commander. Meanwhile, the other soldier was making his way cautiously up the stairs to look for Jax.

 

[Joyeful]

The girl had finished her shower, always quick. Clean clothes on, slime all but gone- that only showed after a couple hours, usually, like sweat that refused to leave- she exited the bathroom, before catching sight of the guards.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" she smiled, a secretive one, as if she knew something, anything, they didn't.
But oh, she did. And she was so ready for this. Her stance was loose, casual, as if nothing disturbed her, but completely balanced. "A slight bit rude to go barging into people's residences."

 

[Jodyguru]

"Get on the floor, now!" Bravo had his rifle pointed directly at Jax. The other soldier had his trained on Reggie.

"Do what he says, Octo! It's not worth getting shot over!" Reggie called up to her. In honesty, he wanted to get the guy pointing a gun at him to lower his guard just a bit by assuming his compliance.

 

[Joyeful]

She laughed. Outright.
"Snake, you have no idea the shit I've pulled myself out of. Now, soldier boy, what's your name, and what's the deal?"

Jax was a completely different person than at the prison. This was her territory, and it seemed as though everyone knew it, but no one was going to do a damn thing. She sighed. Always up to her, wasn't it?

 

[Jodyguru]

"On the floor, I won't say it again!" Bravo ordered her to the ground while stepping closer towards her. Reggie cringed a bit, worried that they'd both just get shot right now. Jax had a wild hair up her ass right now, and he was worried.

 

[Joyeful]

"That last step closer is probably going to be your last mistake," Jax smirked, lazily. "Trust me, Snake, for once? We broke out of prison. Not that big of a deal."

Well, clearly it was a pretty big deal, but it didn't seem like anyone was taking any note of what was about to happen. Bravo didn't have to say anything. He was going down, whatever happened. So maybe I'm a selfish bitch who enjoys my freedom- who isn't? Aliya is so, so dead when I get back to her...

 

[Jodyguru]

Snake groaned. This was a good a time as any. He reached out and grabbed the soldier's gun. The guy was startled and reached to grab his arm. Snake beat him in the head with his forearm and wrestled him for the gun. The commander drew a pistol and aimed it at them, waiting for an opportunity to shoot Reggie.

 

[Joyeful]

Jax reveled in the moment of distraction, taking a leisurely step forward, and yanking Bravo's gun from him. "Have fun in hell, fucker," she grinned, shooting. the guy fell to the floor. Great, haven't lost all my skills... yet...

It was interesting, how the pieces of Aliya's treachery were falling both into and out of place. Sure, Talon now knew one of her places, but hey, burning it to the ground wouldn't change the fact that she had more than a few others.