The Fallout (DrTrollinski and Mitheral)

[Mitheral]

Mook made no comment on where he and his friends were from. It was unlikely Brad had even heard of Horn. Horn was … insulated. That was as good a word for it as any. The barony was surrounded by “impassable” barriers on all four sides all filled with hostile mutant life. If not for Sly it was doubtful they could have made it through without serious trouble. The only human Mook knew of that had managed to successfully travel alone in such areas had been Alex. Alex had very nearly forged a peace that would have allowed trade beyond the borders.


As it was there were no roads in and out of the barony of Horn. The west border was sharp craggy mildly mountains. Range Guides had been known to make it through with a horse, but even they claimed that it was dangerous even for them. Wagons couldn’t make the journey. To the North and South were swamps. And to the west was the Great Lake, filled with dangerously mutated life, beyond which was yet another mountain range much taller than the ones to the west.


The insulated region had allowed previous barrens to reclaim thousands of acres of farmland and ultimated build over a dozen villages, producing a population in the thousands. Technologically they could now produce muskets and cannons as a standard, as well as reload some pre-Skydark weapons. They were also just beginning to develop steam technology - but on a very experimental basis. Their pride and joy was going to be a new Steamboat. But that was burned and destroyed during the recent military coup. (It was destroyed by none other than baron Alex himself.)


Most of the population was now educated enough to do simple math farmers needed to understand. Up until a decade ago most males were conscripted for mandatory terms of military service. These days, though the required service was reserve training on an annual basis. The largest inducement was citizenship status and education.


********


Mook thought about explaining Sly’s behavior but decided to avoid going down that road. Odds were she’d take offense at being defended. Instead he stuck to business first, flagging down the Kid when he went to get his winnings. There was a large fistfull of markers to turn in. Mook had the winning split into three bags. 10% he handed to the Kid. That bag was over half the size of Brad’s bag. The remainder was split in half. One bag he handed to Elissa.


Sly sulked a little.


Mook looked sternly at Sly. “If you want something, say so. But you are our scout. I was assuming you didn’t want to shake, rattle and get rolled. A third is yours.”


Sly frowned. “Yeah, but you’ll try to talk me out of anything I want to buy.”


Mook grinned. “I’m not THAT bad.” He looked at Elissa. Both girls nodded. “Ouch. Fine, well do you want …”


“No … no. It’s fine this way.” Sly was just making a point.


Mook looked hard at her. “I’m right though.” Sly didn’t look back. Mook huffed ever so slightly, then shook his head. There was no point in repeating himself.


He turned to the Kid and the rickshaw driver. “We could use a second driver - unless you want to haul around 6 people … Then I was going to take us all out for an upscale dinner. Someone mentioned a really nice place in town - one that served a multi course meal, has a dress code, and a maitre de. I never thought I’d get to use that word.”


“What word?” Sly asked.


“Maitre de.” He saw the blank look in Sly’s eyes. “It is a French word, though used in many countries. It literally means Head of Hotel. But the word was also used to refer to the host of a formal restaurant. I figured a city this big might have such a place. The tough part is getting in … and these are going to be some of the people we just took a lot of money from. Brad here is probably on their good side. He made them money if I understood right. I’ll ride with him and Luca. Kid can ride with you.”


Mook grinned, then became a little more serious and glanced at Brad. “Do I need to get us a third rickshaw? I do need to spread the wealth a little - unless you know someone that wants to sell a car - preferably a jeep - rather cheap.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

Brad laughed momentarily at the question. "Car? Cheap? Working? Here? I don't think so." He shook his head. ".. This is Vegas, nothing's cheap." He added. "Make it a Rickshaw, yeah... I don't like cars, anyway. They're not a good method of travel, would you believe it. Any money you spend on it's going to go to waste, trust me." He said. "I know a nice little place where we can get some clothes that are a little more fancy - The woman in there, pretty little young thing, she is. I used to shop in there before I left last year - We'll get a discount, I assure you." He smiled and gave a somewhat sly wink. Now it was time to play the waiting game. He waited for Mook to hire another Rickshaw, and then he and Luca squeezed into it - Luca was sat between them both. For the driver, Brad had two words: Elle's Elegance. The store sounded feminine, yes, but it was a good place that he use to visit regularly to buy silk and things like that - silk could be sold for big in other places back then, but now it wasn't worth all that much. Elle's Elegance was possibly one of the most renowned stores in the whole of Luvee - this store had served everyone from the casino high-rollers, the casino owners, and even some of the more important figures that lived on the wasteland. Everything there was hand-crafted by the woman that worked there, and the poor girl had a lot of trouble from locals who decided to go in and harass her. They lost a few fingers, and one man ended up with a eight-inch hole blasted in his stomach - this 'pretty little young thing' that Brad spoke of knew how to handle herself. You needed to be able to if you worked retail in Luvee.


".. Where are we goin', Brad?" Luca asked. He was a bit squeezed between the two, but he was comfortable enough.


"We are going to Elle's Elegance, my little friend. She's the one who's going to give us the clothes we need to get into this fancy place Mook here was talkin' about."


".. But why? Why do we need clothes? Can't they just let us in now?"


Brad sighed and shook his head. ".. The world doesn't work like that, kiddo. And from my understanding, it never did - Business owners around here want their business to look as good as they do."


"Oh... So--.. What kinda' clothes?"


"Fancy ones. Elle's a good friend of mine. Sort of." He reached up and scratched the back of his head. ".. I mean, I ain't seen her for a couple of years, but... I'm sure things will be fine." He gave an unsure chuckle as he looked around and took a deep breath. "So. Mook. What do you do with your time in this wonderful world we live in? Aside from bet on easy fights, of course." He nudged his shoulder at the last part to show that it was a joke.

 

[Mitheral]

“Clothes?” Sly gave Mook a look of distaste.


Mook was going to answer Brad’s question, but as usual Sly’s manners weren’t the best. He held up a finger to Brad signalling to give him a moment, that he wasn’t trying to ignore the question. “Yes, they call it a dress code for a reason. And yes, you have to actually WEAR them.” Mook grinned as he saw his clarification make Sly close her mouth for a moment to think up some other objection.”


“No shoes; no shirt, no service,” the Kid piped up. They made Mook and Elissa chuckle. “And you should see the shoes for ladies. At least if you are old enough … and you are I’m sure.”


Sly glared at Mook now. “Shoes … those spiky ones like Amanda made me wear? and you are making ME pay for this.”


Mook gave a look of mock innocence. “Not at all. I am going to pay for yours myself. It’ll be well worth it.” He felt Elissa shaking with silent laughter.”


“I hope you like eating stringy snake for the next month,” Sly sulked.


“Wooorrrth it,” Mook laughed.


Sly lept into the air and flipped around with acrobatic ease to sit on the far side of Luca. Then she folded her arms and tried to sulk lower.


***********


“Well, as you suggested, we are not from this area. Not likely you have heard of where we are from. It isn’t called by any pre Skydark name. Things went bad there - political coup, assassinations, stuff like that. We got out while we could. Now we mostly just explore and try to survive. What about you? What do you do when you are trying to be a punching bag?”

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Me? Oh, the usual. Badass. Lady-killer." He gave Mook a look for a moment and then shook his head with a grin. "Just kidding. I was, and still am, a wanderer. There's a lot of stuff you can find out there, and you'd be surprised - surviving in the wasteland is a lot easier than you'd think. As long as you don't eat the wrong plants or sleep atop a Radscorpion nest, you'll be just fine." He shrugged. They were nearing the store now. The general area picked up a lot in the quality and class of the city - it was quite a fancy area, without a doubt. They got some funny looks from bystanders, but no one said or did anything.


Luca was just watching the discussion go on. He put on a smile at some parts of it as it was quite amusing during some highlights. At the end of it when Brad stopped speaking, he spoke out as well.


".. I can't remember what town I was from--.. I know that Brad saved me, though, 'cause I was real sick, and he took me to a doctor." He said, he looked up at Brad and smiled, whom of which smiled back and patted him on the head.


".. I sure did. I hate to ask, Luca, but... Do you know what happened to your parents? Or do you know somewhere close to where you came from?" He asked, Luca frowned for a moment and shook his head after a while.


"Nuh-uh... I do remember somethin', though... There were these big robot guys... They had guns, and stuff... I ran from them." He said. Brad thought for a moment but then froze up. He was talking about The Enclave. Brad knew that The Brotherhood of Steel wouldn't walk through any old civilian town - everyone knew that TBoS were a friendly force. The Enclave, however, weren't so casual. Wherever they went, someone died.


"That's--.. Pretty scary, pal." He said, gulping. He didn't expect the others to know that he was talking about The Enclave, mostly because these guys hardly even existed. The whole idea of The Enclave was that if someone ran into them, they didn't live to tell the tale. If Luca really had had a run-in with these guys, he was incredibly lucky to be alive.


(You can keep the next post short, if you like. I plan to RP this 'Elle' girl, as I have something lined up for her )

 

[Mitheral]

Mook frowned. “Horn had some robot guys. Were these men in armor? Or robots being guided by some program?” His face looked a little haunted. Ours were the robot kind. We got lucky. I don’t think these were either of the groups you mentioned - but something left over from Skydark that got woke up. I think they were just security drones. If they had been any sort of military assault bots we probably couldn’t have touched them. I miss the grens we got off those. Used the last of them long ago. Anyways, I think I’ll avoid those Enclave guys.”


“Only an idiot would sleep on top of a radscorpion nest - unless they were me.” Sly smiled. “It can be done. We, we used to just walk over them. Regular phase of my training. A passing grade meant they didn’t bother you.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

That's No Way to Treat a Customer.


"Of course. Walking right over a Radscorpion nest has never been difficult to those who know how to do it. It's when you start to piss 'em off that you should be worried. If you're careful, you pass over a whole field of nests if you wanted to - as long as none of 'em came out of the nest while you were doing it, you'd have no problem." He said, shrugging. Luca was oblivious to everything they were talking about. He'd never seen a creature that was the result of a mutation. ".. Radscorpions are the least of your worries out there - not only that, Radscorpion meat's pretty tasty if you cut into the right part." He smiled simply at Sly and then looked around again. They finally came to a stop outside Elle's Elegance. This was going to be a fun little adventure, no doubt.


"Okay... Here we are. I'll warn you now, Elle's a little..." He ran one finger up to the side of his head and rotated it. "Crazy." He said as he hopped out and then helped Luca out as well. He offered help to anyone else that wanted it as well, but he doubted any of them would accept. Regardless, it was nice to show some manners here and there. ".. I mean, wouldn't you be a little bit 'out of it' if you had men coming in and harassing you constantly? Heh, I don't know how she'll react to seeing me. Probably badly." He said.


"What will she do?" Luca asked in worry - he walked between Brad and Mook as they approached the little store. The sign above it said 'Elle's Elegance', obviously, but the sign was made out of purple lights and scrap metal - it had all been polished up, though, so it looked half-decent at least. The paint used for the outside was a water-based product made up of powders and toxic chemicals. Providing you didn't lick the wall, you'd be fine.


"I don't know. She'll either hug me or hit me. Or both." He said, Luca gulped. This woman didn't sound very nice at all.


When they pushed in through the store they were surrounded by suits and other fine clothing items like shoes, shirts, belts, and ties. They all came with quite hefty price tags, but the quality of them equaled that. Brad already spotted the one he wanted. A night-blue suit with close-quartered, light-grey pinstripes. That was just his style. It came with a hat as well, but he doubted that he'd be wearing that. There were some polished black leather loafers that came with that - all of it was handcrafted, but it certainly was the work of a professional. A woman was sat behind the counter at the center-right of the store - in the glass displays that were shielded by metal cages were pieces of jewelry and pendants - it was a necessary defense to have in this city. She was indeed a 'pretty young thing' like Brad had described, but she had a fire in her eyes. Her crystal-green eyes sparkled at the site of Brad. And the kid. The kid was certainly new - she wouldn't be surprised if it actually was his son. Regardless, this sweet girl with long blonde hair certainly wasn't going to be holding back.


"Hey, Elle! Long time no see!" Brad said cheerfully and almost sarcastically as he walked into the store. He stepped ahead of everyone else, just in case. Elle sprung up from her seat and glared at him as she charged towards him.


"Brad! You son of a bitch!" She shrieked - she ran at him and tried to punch him right in the jaw. You can imagine how that ended up - Brad moved and her punch completely bypassed him and she almost spun off of her feet until Brad caught her - he crossed both of her arms over at her chest and then pulled her hands behind her back. She couldn't move. He leaned over and looked down at her face. In the mist of all this, Luca had resorted to hugging Mook's leg when he saw how aggressive this woman was.


"Now... That's no way to treat a customer, is it?" He smirked. Elle squirmed and kicked, but to no avail.


"Three years. Three years, Brad! I thought you were dead!"


"If you'd seen my fight today you'd know that I'm far from dead." He snickered and then pushed her away. She stumbled but then turned to face him - behind the counter where the cash register was, she had a double-barreled shotgun sitting right there, fully loaded and ready to fire.


"Don't play the tough guy act. I remember when my father used to run this place - You used to come in here with your own. I remember the days when you weren't old enough to wipe your own ass, Brad." She huffed at him and then went back behind the counter. She hadn't acknowledged the others just yet.


"Oh, come on. Don't be like that, Elle. We all remember those days - You were terrified of me. Hell, I had just as much muscle back then." He jokingly flexed his arm.


"Yeah, in your lucid dreams." She frowned. "Are you here to buy something, or are you here to bother me?"


"A bit of both. Me and my friends here are looking to buy some suits, or dresses, whichever, really. Nice shoes, and all that." He grinned. "What's the usual price in here?"


"Four-hundred for a suit. Two-fifty for dresses. That includes the hats, shirts, ties, and shoes."


"And what's the price for me and my friends here? We go back some time, Elle. Do it for me." He winked at her. She glared into his eyes but then her frown loosened once she saw the child hugging Mook's leg. She looked back to Brad and forced a smile.


"For you. Three-hundred four a suit, one-fifty for the dresses. Enjoy. And help yourself." She said. She instantly stood up and disappeared into the back room behind the counter - presumably to continue making clothes. Brad turned to everyone else and then grinned.


"Shop's open, my friends. Let's get the stuff, and then Mook, you shall lead us to the restaurant." He smiled and then instantly went to the pinstripe suit at the back. It was shopping time.

 

[Mitheral]

Mook didn’t blame Luca one bit for wanting to hide. And he slumped his shoulders a little to let his cloak hang a little lower to hide the kid. Elissa winced slightly at the shrill yell of Elle.


Mook checked to make sure he could pay in chips. He had to bite his tongue as he worked up the math in his head. And this was at discount. Things were a lot cheaper in Horn. Of course there they didn’t use caps really. Instead it was flats and rounds - of different calibers - spent brass. They also had a minted coinage system. And they had inflation control. Luvee wasn’t so lucky on that last score.


Mook stepped to the door and gestured for the Kid and two rickshaw drivers. “Six suits, 2 dresses. 2100 caps. I wonder just what the meal is going to be like. Probably about the same again.” He gave a pained smile. “We’ll also need a means of carrying the clothing when we travel that isn’t bulky to keep dust off and minimize wrinkling. And if you can actually get HER to wear the ensemble,” he jerked a thumb at Sly, “I’ll gladly pay full price for her dress - although you may end up deciding you should be charging me double. What you see her wearing now is about all she ever wears.”


Elissa looked like she was in heaven. Mook really hadn’t meant a restaurant THIS upscale. He hadn’t even expected suits to be necessary. But the money had come easy enough. May as well enjoy it now while he could. And it was going to be interesting to see how much everyone remembered of their lessons in haut cusine.


Sly, for the most part just stood there and stared distastefully at everything. She was really not enjoying this. No meal was worth this. Finally she blurted out. “Mook, what about those invisible clothes you mentioned. Are those too expensive?”


Mook looked at Sly in disbelief, then coughed a laugh out. He was fighting tears of laughter as he responded. “They were made for an Emperor - one of a kind set. And that was pre-skydark. I doubt she has the material for those.” By the time he was done answering he had managed to regain his composure.


Not Elissa. “Sly … just try something on. It’s only for one evening.”


“But I can’t breathe in those things,” she complained.

 

[DrTrollinski]

The True High-Rollers


".. If you struggle to wear dresses, I recommend you try one of my looser ranged dresses." She walked over and pulled several dresses from the hooks they were hung on. There were different colors - white, blue, red, green, purple, grey, and black. They came with heeled shoes or just flat shoes - it was purely for preference. It became evident why it was so expensive to shop here - the variety was right. The dresses Elle had brought over were looser than the other ones and mostly relied on the shoulders to keep them in place - of course they had a part that clung to the body, but that was a flexible bit of material that was put in place for comfort. "These are pretty light and won't squeeze you like a Luvee drunkard in a back alley." She gave a half-smile and then put the dresses down on the counter for her to look at, then she went off and found Brad, whom of which was going through some suits with Luca.


".. So. You had a son all this time?" She asked. Brad looked at her and chuckled.


"This guy here..." He pulled him close with one arm. "This guy's my little buddy. I saved him a few days back." He smiled. Elle smiled back and looked down at Luca, who was shyly looking up at her - he couldn't deny that he was nervous, and still quite scared of her.


"That's wonderful... Do you know what I think he'd look good in?" She asked. Brad looked at her and shook his head. She went forward and went through some of the suits that were hung up - but then she ducked down and started patting his body. ".. Size five." She muttered to herself. Luca didn't like that one bit, so he literally clung to Brad after that. She pulled out a black suit and a black tie - it was pinstripe, though.

​

"This would look perfect. He'd look like you, Brad. Especially with that damn waistcoat." She snickered. Brad rolled his eyes and was about to speak but was instantly cut off by Luca.


"I want it." He said. Brad laughed and shrugged.


"The black suit it is, then." He laughed. Elle nodded.


"This range has zippers on the front. Usually I charge more for that because they're so rare, but I'm feeling nice today." She smiled and handed it to Brad. Brad nodded in thanks and then escorted Luca into one of the dressing rooms - he helped him get changed from the old leather clothing and into the new fancy suit - he showed him how the zipper worked, and so on, and he also grabbed him a black belt - it'd cost more, but he didn't care. He talked him through how to unbuckle the belt so he could get the pants down or off, and then showed him briefly how to tie the the tie. He had time to practice that, so for now Brad did it for him. Once he was all dressed up in everything, Brad walked him out and took him to a body-sized mirror. He could tell that mirror had been hand-made and then restored in quality, but that didn't matter that much.


Luca inspected himself. He looked amazing. He grinned and then turned to Brad.


"Good?" Brad asked. He nodded frantically.


"It's great!"


"Good... Now it's time for me to freshen up a bit as well. Wait here, okay?" He said. Brad took the suit of his choice and went into one of the dressing rooms to get changed into it. He loved the suit. The jacket, the pants, the shoes, the shirt, tie, and most importantly - the waistcoat.

(This image doesn't have a waistcoat, but he has this suit with a satin-style waist coat of a slightly darker blue)

​

"Looking fresh, eh, Luca?" He grinned at him as he stepped out. Luca nodded wildly and smiled.


"You look awesome, Brad..." He said, Brad went up and patted him on the head. Those were the sort of style of compliments that he liked. He walked Luca to the counter and looked at Elle.


"My friend Mook there said something about bags to carry all of this in. We need something compact, something that'll protect them." He said, Elle nodded and disappeared into the back room before bringing back eight bags. She opened one of them up and started touring them all of it. It was a stitched leather carry-bag with a reinforced leather handle - it was also double-stitched. Leather belts went around the outside of them. Two on each one.


"You can see here that the bags have two designated areas for the suit and the shoes. The hats are on you - You won't get them in here without crushing them." He said as she opened up the biggest pouch. "This area here is for the suit or dress themselves. You can fold up the clothing and slot them in here where, eventually, they'll be protected from crinkling and from any dust. These bags will also fit in most large backpacks, if you have room." She opened up the second pouch. "This is for shoes. Has more 'flap' to it, but it helps keep the shoes from getting damaged." She said. "Seeing as you're all buying in bulk, you'll each get one of these for free." She said, she gave a genuine smile around the group for a moment then.


"Oh, come on. You know you're only doing that because I'm here." Brad winked at her, and he promptly got slapped on his shoulder.


"I suggest you shut up before I retract my offer." She laughed quaintly.


"Yes, ma'am." He said, but sarcastically once again. Elle rolled her eyes and walked off into the back room to take stock and continue working on her next bulks of suits and dresses. She paid a hefty amount to get these materials brought to her - that's half the reason why the dresses were so expensive. Brad and Luca sat back and waited for the others to get themselves sorted out with the clothes they wanted. They just stood there like the true high-rollers.

 

[Mitheral]

Sly’s nose just wrinkled up at the sight of the dresses. Elissa had had a good bit more of an upscale education. The Baroness of Horn had all but adopted her as a daughter. Indeed, Elissa often wondered if the woman had been grooming her for her son as a future wife. and that thought had not been unpleasing. She had always been torn between Mook and Alex. She had feared that division of loyalty might prove the undoing of friendships. But Alex had met another woman - one whose heart was likewise captured by both men. Things sort of sorted themselves out.


Elissa realized that Elle had misunderstood Sly’s issue with clothing. Sly … you need to relax - really relax. Let her see your real hair color.” Mook looked sharply at Elissa but the girl explained. “She needs to expose as much skin as possible without looking …. well…. I saw a picture once. It was from some movie… No, it was some film star at an awards event. The dress had one shoulder, and an exposed midrift, and exposed legs.”


Now THAT was a style Elle could recognize.

Spoiler

Sly looked nervously at Mook, who slowly nodded and kept his eyes on Brad and Elle. His hands drifted ever so slightly toward his weapon. Sly allowed her hair to resume its coppery tint. But it remained plastered against her neck. Then her whole body began to take on the colors of the multi colored background of the dresses.


Elissa looked at Elle. “Sly grew up in the wilderness. She’s a trained huntress. The bow isn’t just for show. It isn’t that the clothing is too tight. It is that it covers her skin. She can’t hide in a dress.”


They ended up locating a long chiffon one arm empire dress - crimson. Sly actually gave a slight smile. Elissa considered that an amazing success. And with the reasons for her discomfort explained better it didn’t take long to find the right shoes.. (See the image for the style.)


Sly still looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded. “Not so bad. I think I can manage a few hours in this.”


Elissa chose something a little more regal looking. She, too, was a little out of her element. The dress didn’t go well with her weapons. She kept seesawing between the high neck style that reminded her so much of the Baroness - and a more practical one strap with an open bottom that had more leg exposure. But she ended up going formal.

Mook really never saw the point of dressing up until he saw Elissa dressed up formally. He found himself staring. Glancing a little embarrassed at Elee. “I can see why you stay in business so well.” For himself he had chosen an almost James Bond look, but a little darker. He also spent a little time looking at gunslinger outfits.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Luvee Never Changes, Does It?


".. It doesn't matter who you are. In Luvee, you make an effort to stand out - If you're hiding from something here, people are going to assume that you're hiding something illegal. In Luvee, people have a habit of finding you regardless of where you are. The city's a dangerous place... Brad knows that from experience." Elle muttered, Brad chuckled a little and shook his head.


".. Yeah. I got a beating here once." He laughed. Luca looked up at him with a frown.


"In the arena?" He asked. Brad shook his head and patted Luca on top of his, smiling.


"Nah, pal. I gave a beating in the arena, but there happened to be some angry Russians who didn't like my showmanship... I was chased down by a group of four or five - and Elle's right. It doesn't matter what you do to hide, you'll get found eventually. Hell, I hid in the most darkest corner you'd find in the city - it was among some plants that were for sale. Seriously, they bypassed me six or seven times, and they hunted me for around six hours at a shot. As soon as they found me, I made a break for it and they chased me around the whole city. Some big guy, shit, I think his name was... Krasnastov, or something. He couldn't keep up, but his little henchman were on top of it - they tracked me down, I beat down three of them, but when it came down to the last guy, the big one showed up and completely whooped my ass." He laughed. "Hey, it happens here. Nothing you can do about it - I'm praying that that Krasnostov guy wasn't watching the fight today - he's a bit slow and doesn't seem to understand tactic." He added with a chuckle. Everyone else may have been listening, but Luca was busy gazing in at some of the jewelry Elle had on display.


Elle looked around them all. ".. You've chosen some good styles. You're going to fit in well with the high-rollers. A friendly word of advice, if someone in a suit, hat, and tie offers you a drink - accept it. They're not flirting or anything like that - it's almost a trick to check if you are who you say you are, or if you're someone that doesn't have a clue and just looted to get that money."


".. Ugh--.. Luvee never changes, does it?" Brad said. Elle grinned and slowly shook her head.


"What about me?" Luca squeaked, Brad went up and crouched down beside him and put a hand atop his head.


".. I don't think you're old enough to drink just yet, buddy... I think people will only offer drinks to us grown ups, alright?" He smiled and ruffled his hair, and then looked towards the display cabinet that Luca had his eyes locked on. ".. What are you looking at?"


"That." He said, he pointed towards a Saint Christopher pendant that was attached to a fine silver chain. It had been polished, obviously. ".. Can I have that, Brad? I know it--.. It looks like somethin' I know." He smiled, Brad sighed and nodded, and then looked at Elle and nodded to her as well. She instantly went into the cabinet and carefully removed the said chain and pendant and handed it to Brad. Brad took it and then carefully put it around Luca's neck, let him look at it for a minute, and then tucked it underneath his shirt.


"How's that?" Brad asked.


"Good," Luca grinned - he hugged Brad tight. ".. Thanks for buyin' it for me, Brad..." He said - Brad was in shock again. He wasn't good with affection, mostly because he hadn't felt it for so many years until he met Luca. There seemed to be a brief silence where everyone had the chance to observe what level of shock he was in from it. Eventually, he slowly hugged him as well and gave a half-smile.


"You're welcome, buddy... Let's pay." He said, patting Luca's back. He went into his backpack and pulled out his bag of chips - he started to dig through it, and then flicked several '100' chips onto the counter. Elle took them and changed it all up, and then gave his change to him in chips of '50', '10', and '1'. Brad put whatever he had back in the small bag, and then buried the bag of chips back at the bottom of his backpack - Luca was pretty much glowing with happiness after that, and that made Brad feel good about himself. He figured now that they could just kick it back and wait for the others. After all, it was Mook choosing their venue tonight.

 

[Mitheral]

”What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mook demanded when Brad started to pull out the money. “My fault, I suppose. I wasn’t clear enough. My treat. If the restaurant requires a dress code like this, then it is on me. You don’t think I was going to make the drivers and the Kid pay for theirs do you? I need to spend some of this money anyways. I have too much. Brad, I wagered 1000 on your fight alone. And those was the worst odds I gambled on and only a fraction of my winnings. THAT is why I am tipping the Kid so well. His guild has a very good rep. The Kid may not be able to stop an attack, but anyone dumb enough to try to go through him will have bullseyes painted on their backs. He’s a form of insurance.”


Mook counted out not 21 chips, but 24 adding in the promised 100 caps for getting Sly into a dress and something extra for the bags to carry the clothes in. “Elle, quite a place you have. And don’t you dare say no to the extra. Getting Sly into a dress - with a smile even - is a miracle.”


Elissa smiled. “And now he knows a good place for another kind of dress….” Mook coughed and fought back a grin, blushing a little.Then Elissa added. “You should see what he laid on me in one of those little velvet covered hinged boxes.” She tapped on her ring finger to make certain Elle knew what kind of box she meant.


Mook looked like he was starting to get a headache. “I am never going to live that down.” He looked at Elle with eyes that pleaded for mercy. “I had no idea what the box used to be used for.”


****************


With the clothing paid for Mook turned to the Kid. “Okay, where are we dining tonight?” He had chosen to leave this up to the Kid to decide, allowing plenty of time for the kid to get advice from older members of the Guild. Now the possibility had always existed that the Guild might steal him blind. But Mook had it from pretty reliable sources that anyone who paid their graft need not fear. And Mook had paid well above the standard rates.


“Hakassan’s.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

Elle simply laughed. "We all make mistakes. Your man Brad can tell you a few stories of that." She said, followed by giving a sly smirk to Brad while he was tucking his money away again.


".. Hilarious." He huffed.


".. It's been a wonderful treat to have people such as yourselves shop in here for once. You're definitely a cut of a different cloth, I can assure you." She smiled and walked to the door to hold it open for them - As Brad was about to walk out with Luca, Elle grabbed his shoulder. ".. Brad. If you disappear for three years and then pop up out of the blue, I'm going to shoot you." She said. Brad laughed and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek alongside a friendly hug. The whole friendship between the two seemed a little insecure.


"I'll visit you more often if you keep up your father's work. You're doing a fine job so far." He smiled at her and then gently rubbed her shoulder as he walked out of the store with the others. Elle's eyes seemed to glisten at that moment as she waved them all a goodbye. After the little bonding moment between her and Brad, she looked more sad than anything. She hadn't seen one of her closest childhood friends for more than three years, and now he'd popped up out of the blue with a child, two young women, and a pretty cool-looking guy-friend as well. It upset her, in a way. She was the same age as Brad, but her and Brad lived so far apart when they were younger that it was almost impossible for the relationship to go anywhere further than distant friends, especially during their teenage years.

**

​

"Hakassan's? Christ. There's a place I haven't heard of in a while." He smiled as he helped Luca into the Rickshaw and then climbed in as well. ".. I remember, I went crazy after I won my third fight in a row one time. I ate there with some friends I made here - they were all fighters as well, but they're probably all dead now seeing as I haven't seen them." He gave a lighthearted sigh and looked around the streets.


".. Why would they be dead, Brad?" Luca squeaked as he leaned up against him and looked up at him. Brad faintly hugged him with one arm and sighed.


"Because they weren't smart people, Luca. They weren't good ones, either... They didn't fight for the reason I did. They fought because--.. Because it was their life and passion. They loved fighting, even if they got beaten in the process. It almost kept them alive." He explained, Luca thought for a moment.


".. So--.. They died 'cause they liked fighting too much?"


"Yeah, kiddo... Sometimes you need to fight, not just in an arena, but everywhere. That's what I do, you see... I only fight when I need to. Not because I enjoy it. I mean, don't get me wrong, sometimes the fighting in the arena is a good sport, and you get matched with good people that'll play fair... then other times, you'll get the guys that aren't so nice." He sighed.


".. Well--.. You're nice, so it's okay." Luca grinned. Brad chuckled and looked at the child whilst ruffling his hair.


"I certainly try, buddy." He said. So. They were on the way to Hakassan's. They were in for a night of luxury, it seemed.

 

[Mitheral]

Hakassan’s. It was the original name of the restaurant from pre Skydark days. In those days the chain had specialized in 5 star service in serving Chinese cuisine. These days the restaurant had extended its menu to include Brazilian and Middle Eastern dishes. This had become necessary when importing many of the seafoods ceased to be an option. The quality had dwindled. many foods once prepared from fresh ingredients now used frozen counterparts.


The meal was served in courses, starting with appetizers, then salad, and so on. With each course several different trays were brought out and samples sliced of in the tradition of Brazilian buffet. However, in the traditions of Hibachi and Sushi, many dishes were prepared right in front of them. Only a few of the dishes were available in extremely limited quantity - that it one serving per customer. Among those were dishes like abalone, which had to be imported and were hard to keep. They cost a small fortune. Mook hadn’t been cheap, so this was made available.


Mook insisted on herb tea as did Elissa. They seemed very comfortable in this sort of environment. Both knew proper forks, the use of chopsticks. Sly on the other hand was nervous as she could be. She opted for a fruit juice. She kept her eyes glued on Elissa for cues.


Among the many dishes was a signature dish - giant frog legs prepared with special sauce. The legs were the size of an ostrich drumstick. And to avoid stuffing someone of a single hunk of meat, pieces were carved off and served with a choice of sauces for dipping. There was the traditional Peking duck.


Sly really dug into the eel and had enjoyed the frog. She looked disappointed when these were carted off.


Only the main courses had been served and they were on the latter half of the meal, the theater show began. Live entertainment.

 

[DrTrollinski]

As soon as they arrived at Hakassan's and got seated at a table, Luca decided that he needed to use the bathroom - Brad separated themselves from the group so that he could take him. For some reason Luca didn't want to go alone, which was understandable, but in a place like this, it was highly unlikely that anything bad would happen in the public restroom. Regardless, once that was done, Brad came back with him and ordered. Yes, some of the food may have been swapped up for some stuff that was a little more... Post-holocaust, but that certainly didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy it. One of the main meals on the menu was the seasoned steak. The Brahmin steak. Luca wasn't sure on any of the seafood dishes, but he'd tried this steak before in a restaurant Brad took him to on the previous night - the only difference was that this was seasoned with different types of spices and ingredients that were now either the friendly kind that evolved to survive radiation, or a mix of dried plants and sticks of herb, all chopped up and used to season the said food. The meal went down a treat, without a doubt.


Luca looked around in amazement. This place certainly was a lot nicer compared to some of the things he'd seen before in the wasteland, and so far, he was enjoying the show. Brad wanted something alcoholic, but he didn't want to cut out on what the others were doing, and he certainly didn't want to make an idiot of himself by getting drunk in front of them all - he and Luca had some herbal tea as well, and honestly, it wasn't all that bad. The live show was pretty good so far - Brad was enjoying some of the acts they had. It wasn't very often that he got to see something like this.


Brad looked off to one side of the restaurant, mostly because a behemoth of a man had caught his eye. Mono-brow, pale skin, built like an oak tree, and almost as tall as one as well. He seemed to have come far since Brad last saw him - he was sitting at one of the VIP tables. You know the kind, the ones that get reserved for the richest people in town or the suspicious gang lords. This man was both of these things. Brad was praying he hadn't seen him yet, because this was the Russian man he spoke to the others about earlier. You know, the one that hated his tactical attitude and ended up beating him half to death because of it.


While the show was on-going, and at a rather quiet part where eyesight was required more than ears, Brad turned to Mook and patted him once on the shoulder. ".. Mook..." He occasionally darted his eyes off towards the large man in the corner. ".. How long are you planning to stay in Luvee?" He asked softly.

 

[Mitheral]

Mook raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses, half forgetting they were there. “I hadn’t really decided yet. I wasn’t staying long.” He glanced over to see whatever it was that was bothering Brad. If the troubles were personal, it wasn’t really his problem. And Mook wasn’t about to risk his life or those of the girls for what really amounted to a stranger. It wasn’t his fight.


(Sorry ... really really short. Just your idea of Vegas and mine don't sync well.))

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I see... It's the same story for me and Luca. We only got here a couple of days ago. I didn't plan on keeping us here long, but I don't have a clue where we're going after this. Long story short, I'm not sure what I'm going to do... I found him crawling though the dirt, a hundred-and-ninety miles from here. Honestly, I just don't know what I'm going to do now - you know, the money's nice, the places are... Decent. But I'm not used to having someone to--.. you know... Take care of like that. I've been a lone wandered most my life, and now that I'm not, I don't even know what to do with myself." He sighed and sipped on his drink. ".. Other than that, I'd like to say thank you." He said. "You've been good to me and Luca, and we've pretty much only just met you. It gives me hope to know that there's people out there that aren't like..." He paused and sighed. ".. Like everyone else, I guess. You've been generous, to say the least."


Luca was completely mesmerized in watching the performances of the night. Luca had never been near Vegas before, so all of this was quite new to him, and that was evident. He'd gradually shuffled his chair over and closer towards the two girls to try and get a better angle on what was going on. He was loving every minute of this - the food, the shows, and the suit.

 

[Mitheral]

Mook considered discussing his next destination, but he didn't care for the surroundings. It was simply too public. And as nice as they were, he still didn't consider Brad or Luca his to protect. There was also the fact that Brad's question had come out of nowhere. His eyes shot over to Sly who had not missed Brad's question. Neither had Elissa, though she was giving the impression of ignoring the conversation in favor of watching the show. What she was really doing was reading the room.


Elissa had already spotted the Russian. Horn didn't have many thugs like this. But they had encountered such men in their travels. Mook had left more than one village in ruins because of such men. And none of them had been left alive to tell the tale.


Mook kept his face impassive. He was getting annoyed with Brad. Luca wasn’t their problem. And it almost sounded as though Brad was trying to pawn the kid off on them. But then Brad WAS a skilled fighter and there was safety in numbers. It might not hurt to escort the pair of them at least part of the way to their next destination and drop them off somewhere safer.


Mook nodded. “You sound and look as though you are ready to bolt out of here. Understand, even if I had decided where I was going, I wouldn’t discuss it here - nor with you. And I suspect you are looking for people to travel with - but that is a conversation I’d need to discuss with the girls privately first.”


Elissa nodded at Mook. She could read people better than anyone. And she had sensed the change in disposition instantly. “Why don’t we get out of here? Kid should ride with Brad and Luca this time. Sly with us.”


Mook nodded. He reached into an interior pocket and pulled out the tip for the restaurant - a generous one.

 

[DrTrollinski]

At first Brad was worried, but now he was offended. He was just made to look like some sort of lazy freeloader. In fact, after that, he felt exactly like that. He said nothing and looked away while stooping down in his chair a little. He thought of tonight, and then of Elle, and then finally he looked at Luca. Luca saw the look on his face and frowned - Brad had gone from being the cheerful and humorous guy he was used to, to being someone who looked rather stern and angry.


".. Brad... Are you okay...?" He asked. Brad gave a half smile and single chuckle under his breath.


"Yeah. Peachy." He said as he sat up fully and slowly rose to his feet. He looked down at Luca and sighed. "In fact, I'm so peachy, that I'm going to go and get a drink at the bar before any of us disappear anywhere." He added, he patted Luca on the head and then turned around to walk to the bar that wasn't too much of a distance away from where they were sitting. Brad wasn't good with people, and he knew that - A starter for just a simple conversation ended up with a lot of finger-pointing on ways Brad wanted to leech more. At least it sounded like that to him - whatever. He didn't want to think about it. He knew that there was obviously something wrong for them with him in particular when the seating plans for the ride home had change. Or at least that's how he viewed it.


Someone to travel with would have been nice, yeah, but it wasn't what he was asking for. Hell, he wasn't used to social interactions - he didn't know if it sounded that way, and his lack of social activity was probably why. With a sigh he placed himself down on a bar stool and took a glance up at the bartender, but he was trying not to let his head just drop down onto the wooden surface.


"Give me whatever's your strongest. Preferably something with whiskey." He muttered - the bartender was about to speak beforehand, but he didn't, and instead he went and poured Brad the drink - Before he knew it, he had his drink in front of him in a crystal glass.


".. Shall I add this to your bill, sir?"


"No. I'll pay separate." He said. He pulled out a handful of caps from his inner pocket and dropped them down onto the bar. ".. Keep the change." He said as he drank down half of his drink. Hell, what a day this had been - knowing his luck, in three years time he'd probably be doing the exact same thing all over again. If he was lucky enough to live that long. 'I wouldn't discuss it here - nor with you.' Those words looped in his mind like a broken record. For some reason it felt so aggressive, and he felt like it was carrying the message of 'Just fuck off back where you came from' with it. Of course that was suspicion, and it wasn't confirmed, but when you spend enough time alone, you start to believe that the suspicion's the truth.

**

​

".. Foxtrot One here. We've arrived outside the building of the target's known location. Please advise."


".. Foxtrot One. It's been confirmed that Krasnostov Voika is inside the building, I repeat, he is inside the building. We're waiting further word from ECHO-Six for your extraction. In the meantime, stand guard outside the main door and ensure that no one leaves. You know the drill..."


"No witnesses. Got it, we'll await a word from ECHO-Six before we engage. Foxtrot One out."


One of the elite teams of The Enclave had finally reared its ugly head. A lot had changed with the Russian in the time Brad had been gone, blatantly. If he was big enough to have The Enclave crawling out of whatever slimy hole they stayed in, that meant that he was a lot more dangerous, and a lot more influential. No one inside was none the wiser to what was going on, and those who tried to leave were sent back inside and told to return to their seats due to an 'emergency'. They were apparently meant to 'await further orders' - A lot of people didn't recognize them, but judging by the power-armor and the fancy toys these guys were sporting, they didn't even attempt to argue with them.


Brad had just seen one couple leave, but then walk straight back in after fifteen seconds. He watched them with one eyebrow raised and then shook his head. People seemed to be getting worse than he remembered. He finished off his drink and then set the glass down on the bar. The bartender smiled at him and then took the glass again.


"Another one, sir? The change I owe you covers for it." He said. An honest bartender in Luvee, and in a fine place like this. Suddenly people didn't seem so bad.


"Yeah." He mumbled. He waited for it to be poured and then went onto sipping it. He was in no hurry to leave, and with The Enclave waiting outside, it didn't look like anyone was.


Luca looked at Brad from the table and tilted his head a little. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him so suddenly. He frowned and then looked around everyone else who was at the table with him - Luca was tired, there was no doubt about that - it was shown in his eyes and face, but at this rate, it was going to be even later when they got out of here. It was even more unfortunate for Luca, seeing as before his night was up, he was going to have a run-in with the people from his nightmares.


".. Guys--.. What's wrong with Brad?" He asked with a confused frown.


 



(You can keep your next post short if you need to. I don't want to speed too far into things during this entry, or it's just going to be me writing a mini novel in one post )


There was a small crackle of a radio as a voice faded in.


"ECHO-Six to Foxtrot One, how copy?"


"Foxtrot One, go ahead."


"ECHO-Six has touchdown outside the southern entrance LV and is ready for extraction, over."


"Copy that, ECHO-Six, Foxtrot One proceeding with mission. Over and out." The radio went quiet. The Enclave were in the city, and as time was really starting to tick on, they were lucky that they wouldn't have quite as much competition to get what they wanted - Luvee, it was a place that they commonly made an effort to avoid visiting, not because they were scared, but because they didn't want too many witnesses of their presence. Sure, the word would go around town anyway, but The Enclave cared not for word of mouth. If you saw a government force using an assassination squad, wouldn't you want to tell the world? Most probably, but as it's The Enclave, anyone who has seen it is usually decides against the risk of getting hunted down due to them leaking information.


"Jackson. Hold position here - if anyone tries to leave, neutralize immediately." One man grumbled. His voice was near robotic due to the power-armor. He readied the weapon he had with him - a scoped assault rifle. The Enclave were big on fancy toys - they had a veteran arsenal and they didn't mind using it. They'd found ways to weaponize radiation, and that was one of the guns that one of the men was carrying. Anyone who was hit by it would be dead within fifteen to twenty minutes unless immediate treatment was applied. After five minutes, radiation levels in the body start to rocket upwards which therefore weakens the victim insanely, most often to the point where they can hardly stand on their own two feet, which then leaves them easily picked off by the bullet-based weapons.

**

​

Without a word, Luca got up from the table and walked over to Brad. He tugged on his sleeve while standing beside his stool and looked up at him.


"Brad...?"


Brad was silent for a moment. ".. What."


".. Are you alright?"


Brad sighed and shook his head. ".. I'm tired, Luca... You know what people see me as whenever I come near them?" He asked. Luca shook his head and Brad leaned over with clenched fists, his bruise and scar-ridden knuckles near enough turning white. ".. They see me as this. A brute. A brute who doesn't care about those around him and would rather get into a fight or steal anything valuable from you, rather than just talk to you like a normal... fuckin' person." He slid the glass along the bar and sighed.


".. I don't." Luca squeaked. Brad was silent for a long while - with a sigh he patted Luca on the head.


"Respect... That's a good trait to have, kid. Don't let that go, eh? You're a good kid, and you're good enough to deserve to be traveling with someone a lot better than me." He turned back to the bar and took a deep breath. He felt so incapable. What sort of life could he provide this child as a fighter? One where he'd probably end up being alone in the streets of Luvee, or being abducted and used for some other horrible act. Brad may not have known him that well, but he didn't want to be the one that ruined his life.


Before Luca could respond, the doors of the restaurant flew open and four men rushed in through the door. Luca's face flushed of color as soon as he saw their alien-like armor. He turned to Brad and promptly burst into tears while hugging his leg.


".. It's the robot men! It's the robot men and they're gonna' hurt me..." He sobbed, followed by breaking out into a loud cry. Brad didn't know what he meant until he'd also turned around to see members of The Enclave walking right towards him. He was certain that he and Luca were both dead right there and then - he picked the child up and held him close on his lap. Within another moment he was looking down the barrel of a gun.


"Return to your seat. Sir." The soldier demanded. Brad gave a slow nod, and, without words, slowly carried Luca back to the table with the others and hesitantly sat down. He was gritting his teeth in fear - if someone did so much as stand up now, the chances of them being gunned down just multiplied. Sure, they could make a run for it, but they'd just be gunned down by the one soldier who was stationed outside. Brad was instantly looking around for a plausible escape route that these said soldiers couldn't see, but for now, they didn't have an option but to wait. He looked towards the kitchen - there had to be a fire exit there, but right now, they didn't have a choice but to wait. The soldiers were moving slowly, scanning every single face on every single table.


Brad looked around everyone else and gulped as he leaned forward to the center of the table, where his whispers would be in earshot for anyone there. He waited for The Enclave to pass by - for the first time in an intense situation, Brad looked and felt genuinely scared. They continued moving, ever so slowly.


".. Whatever any of you do... Do not. Move. A muscle." Brad gulped and continued watching them. They were so intimidating in the way they looked and how they walked so slowly. There were a few other people in the restaurant that looked terrified, and some of those people were crying children, just like Luca. Luca was still sobbing his heart out, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind - Brad was shakily rubbing his back.


The Enclave shouldn't have been there. They were going out of their comfort zone by going into Luvee. They were here for something big, but it was going to be a while before they actually realized what that was. Brad didn't say anything about the previous conversation or walking away, nor did he talk of how he just publicly vented his feeling of 'his portrayal', but that wasn't exactly the matter at hand now.

 

[DrTrollinski]

(This'll be the last part of this whole scene where things are fast-moving, I promise you that. This particular event needs everyone together, preferably. It won't play out right if it isn't like that. It'll give you the chance to write out the way the characters get involved and so on, and, I'll have another part that I'll mention in my next post)


"Target identified." One muttered as they turned the corner to the end of the restaurant where Krasnostov was sat. Brad watched in panic. He didn't want anyone to move, because he knew - or assumed - that if they tried to take on any of these, they'd be dead before they got the chance. Brad had once taken down two of The Enclave members, and they were alone, and he was at a distance and had plenty of time to line up the shots. The visors were the weakness. All of their bodies were covered in steel power-armor, all of which was molded to look quite alien-like - it had a green tinge to it as well, which made them blatantly stand out from TBoS. The only weakness they had, seeing as all of the joint areas of their body as well as their neck was covered by armor, was their visors. The visors were small bars made of reinforced glass - this only offered protection from melee. Knifes, machetes, axes, baseball bats - they'd take a few hits from those before they fully shattered. They could mist up easily, and a bullet would go straight through them. It was a matter of being able to hit it that was most important.


Their guns were a different story. Heavy assault rifles with scopes, heavy combat shotguns, and one man had a strange looking weapon that couldn't be identfied as a gun - it had an oval-shaped thing loaded into the back of it, it was made of steel and had warning signs pasted onto the back of it like a bad work of graffiti - it was toxic, or something. Hard to tell from the distance they were at.


Brad looked over everyone at the table again and then sat Luca down beside him - it was on the side not visible to The Enclave. He slowly reached down to his backpack and pulled out his eight-bullet revolver, .475 caliber. Strong, but recoil stronger than sin. He hid it in his lap and then looked over everyone once more, thinking once again. He had his rifle stored in a locker, so there was no getting to that.


".. Okay... They're here to kill someone, evidently..." He said, Luca sobbed loudly and clung to his side. ".. But... We're not going to be some of those people... I've only ever seen squads of five in my travels, which means that the fourth man is outside somewhere. Probably the main door. Now... As soon as that target's down, we head through the kitchen over there." He nodded to the kitchen area that was several feet away from them. ".. And we make our way out through the back. As I'm the one who has the gun here, I'll hang back and make sure you get out okay. Mook, I've never worked with you before, but it looks like now's the time we need to make some sort of move. I ain't tryin' to give you orders here, but if you've ever seen these guys in action, you'll know they're smart, and they don't tend to miss their shots. Their visors are their weakest point. If you can either distract them or hinder their sight, that'll give me a window to cover everyone else, alright? Chances are, as soon as we make a dash for the kitchen, they're going to see us - We'll be under fire, which is where I and Mook come in to make sure they don't hit anyone with us - I hate to sound ignorant right now, but I think most of us have been pretty good at doing that tonight. No denial." He said, not naming names. "Ignorance right here, I don't care what skills any of us have, and I quite frankly, I couldn't give a shit if you can dance around and hypnotize these guys, but me and Mook distract at the back, Sly, Elissa, take Luca and the--.." He looked at the kids from the guild and nodded at them. ".. Them. Take the three of them and get out back - I'm not gonna' be the reason a kid gets shot, and I doubt you want to be either." He said, followed by going back to watching The Enclave members. He waited in pure silence. Everyone else on the other tables did as well.


Then came the gunshots.


The gunshots rained down on the target and completely obliterated him. Then came something that I think no one in the restaurant was expecting. As soon as the target was dead, The Enclave turned the guns on the innocent people sitting at the tables - the first thing Brad saw was a family of four get gunned down. Luca had already retreated to Sly's side and pretty much cowered beside her. Yeah, Mook and Brad may have had the first part of the plan, but he didn't say anything about not having them jump in to assist once the kids were in safety. Judging by what they were up against, a revolver wasn't going to do squat unless he hit them in the visor. He didn't know if any of the others carried guns, but he just assumed that they didn't.


As soon as the gunshots went off, Luca was trembling like crazy and gripping Sly's hand like there was no tomorrow. And to be honest, if they waited around, there probably wouldn't be. Brad was furious at the fact that they were murdering innocents, but he couldn't do anything now. Once he saw the first bullet hit the family's table, he jumped up.


"Get your asses in gear!" He said - he'd be able to provide some cover if they made a dash for it, and he could trail behind, and if they stuck to the plan and it all went well, they'd be able to get one or two of the bastards and would also get out alive. "Once we get out, we go to the building next door." He added.


(Tried to leave you as big of a window as I could there. As this is a major event on Brad's side, I tried to make it as dynamic as possible without saying 'they all got up and sprinted to the kitchen and Brad watched the girls take the kids out back' - That's a mistake I'm going to avoid making, I assure you.)

 

[Mitheral]

While the men had been talking Mook had been switching clips. Elissa lacked that option. While she had specialty ammo, swapping out a revolver - even with a speed loader was difficult at best under these circumstances. If there had been the slightest chink in their armor that a rapier could have made it through, the tactics might have gone very differently. She made it a point to stick her earplugs in rather than wasting time on ammo swapping. As it was Mook knew exactly what needed doing. Doing it, of course, would be a differentmatter altogether.


The Enclave were clearly overconfident despite being a little out of their element. They were evading as cautious gunfighters would have. They expected their targets to flee, or sit there and scream. They revealed their trump card. One man - the one with the fancy weapon - they kept covered. So clearly they weren’t taking chances. But the process of keeping such a tight formation had its own drawback. It took little time for their enemies to swap targets when returning fire.


There were three visible targets with one covered.


Mook’s orders were short and to the point. He paid Brad a minimum of attention. This simply wasn’t the time to be learning new tactics. Let Brad run - preferably with Luca in tow. That was pretty much what Mook hoped for.


Best laid plans….


“Fall back. Cover fire, Sly center.” Mook’s voice was calm and clear. He snapped out and started squeezing off shots at the faceplate of the man on the left while keeping his body sideways low to reduce his target size cross section low. He wasn’t missing, but he hoped the shots would get through or be disconcerting enough to force the man to seek cover.


Now Mook had once discovered a cinnabar deposit sweating mercury in the summer. Having read about mercury tipped bullets, he had tried to make some. Lo and behold he had created an explosive bullet - just like the history books. Only they weren’t history books. They were all works of fiction - a fact that hadn’t been lost on him. Knowing a little about chemistry and metallurgy he stored some rounds … and they became useless. The mercury amalgamated with the lead.


Next he had tried mercury fulminate. Now making the stuff was pretty dangerous. It wasn’t exactly a stable compound, but he would later play with far worse in his studies. This time he was cautious enough to use a zip gun - a cheap tube with a draw pin and spring system. The weapon exploded - a dozen times in a row. He reluctantly abandoned the project.


Now plastique worked great. But it did make for less accurate rounds. So for this his choice was the tracer rounds. They were just smaller versions of the 50 caliber versions used in the M2. He had made them for sending signals or igniting fuel. Here he had decided his 9mm ammo would have a tough time getting through. He prayed for someone to throw something flammable at the guy. But the real intended effect was to dazzle the man’s eyes a bit to cover their escape.


Elissa took the man on the right. Her 44 magnum was a man stopper. While not as useful at longer langer, in these close quarters it had real penetration power. Like Mook she was well trained for head shots - that being the best way to kill some of the swamp mutants in the region of Horn. And she knew to keep her body turned to make herself a little harder to hit. As they retreated she emptied half her revolver into the faceplate of her man.


Mook made note of the effects on the balance of the men under the impact of the ammunition.


Sly’s face was angry. THIS was why she hated villes. As Luca soon found out Sly lacked maternal instincts - especially with a city boy - a whiny, sniffly, smelly city boy. Gawd, she was glad he wasn’t HER problem. Her response to people blasting away and ruining her meal - the ONE FREAKING TIME SHE HAD FOUND A DRESS SHE LIKED! - was … explosive. If this dress got ruined …


Mook had designed arrows for her - always used with wooden shafts - designed to kill engine giant mutant crocs, engine blocks, large padlocks they didn’t have time to open another way, or in this case the faceplate of a man in powered armor. Well, it had been designed for a slightly different target. But the principle was the same. Oh it wouldn’t blow up a SU-24 like Rambo did in Rambo III.


Her accuracy was far better than either Mook or Elissa. And by the time it struck its target she was already knocking her next arrow.

 

[DrTrollinski]

As soon as the first bullets came in, The Enclave instantly split up, but the one man with the fancy gun stayed with one other. They ran behind cover, either flipping tables and hiding behind them or jumping behind pillars. This is where their tactics became a little more relevant - they laid down suppressing fire, shooting around the corners in the exact direction of the group - Brad was near enough pinned down, but thankfully, when they managed to fall back into the kitchen they had cover - Out in the main room of the restaurant, there wasn't anything that could even serve as appropriate cover. The sound of raining gunshots were heard from near the entrance of the restaurant, and that was only after people started making a run for it. They were gunned down as soon as they stepped foot outside the restaurant - whatever was going on for, they had a lot to answer for.


Brad was furious. He was sick of being ignored and just blocked out - This was getting ridiculous. He'd have to say something, surely? But right now, he was completely enraged by what was going on. The murders, the arrogance, the adrenaline, the pace. The deaths. The deaths got him most - He didn't want to kill. He didn't want others to kill. He didn't like killing, but these ones deserved it - the thing that got him most was the faces of the family that were shot at first. The faces of the two children, and the way their desperate parents tried to dive in front of the line of fire to shield them. It didn't work.


The gunfire was just exchanged, but the automatic rifles with extended magazines and armor-piercing rounds could easily overwhelm a couple of pistols and a bow.


In the time that Sly used the bow, Luca was panicking. He ran straight to Mook's side instead and hid behind him. He didn't go to Brad, because it looked like he was busy trying to get himself shot. Brad was right up front. He had a plan of his own, and he was sticking to it - He didn't need these people to completely ignore him and then try to take control of things. He had this, he knew what he was doing.


That was until there was the smoke. When Brad had no more than one bullet left in his chamber, smoke popped right across the face of the restaurant. It all seemed to fall silent right there. There wasn't even the sound of footsteps. Brad kept his eyes locked on the smoke but nodded backwards towards the exit of the kitchen - this was helping The Enclave just as much as it was helping them. This was their chance to finally make a break for it - the safest place was the building next door. The post office, the courier station - whatever you wanted to call it. They could sneak out the back and get there without trouble. Luca tried to be quiet, but he was still in a state and seemed to be clutching Mook in a death grip. As Brad moved backwards - presumably with everyone else - the smoke stayed heavy. Brad was looking out of the kitchen door as he walked backwards.


A glowing green light, slowly getting brighter and brighter. It was a lime-green color, though, not pure green. He squinted to look at it, but then he realized exactly what it was.


"Heh. Fucker..." He muttered. He couldn't help but laugh; he saw an orb of some sort fly forward and it was too late to even move. It hit him right in the chest and blasted him back - he felt his ribs crack, and he ended right outside the back door in the alleyway. He coughed - something didn't feel right. His rad-counter went mad for a moment, but then ceased down to nothing. What the fuck did they just shoot him with?


He heard it ticking, gradually, gradually getting faster, a slow pace, but with the time they had, it felt like it was all going too fast for him.


Behind the smoke, they heard footsteps. Metal footsteps. They'd either retreated or going out for reinforcements, but regardless, they could hear them running out of the building from the main entrance. Brad pulled himself to his feet and called out to them, wherever they may have been, whether they were in the alley, or still in the kitchen, or on their way out.


".. Next building..." He choked. "Next building." He repeated, slowly clambering to his feet.


(Now things will start to go a bit slower. I was a bit confused by your post to whether or not they went into the kitchen, and seeing as there wasn't really much cover at their angle in the restaurant area, I assumed they would have done at least that.)

 

[Mitheral]

Sly let her arrow fly as the man with the fancy rifle fired. He’d been faster than expected. But his hesitation to flee cost him an arrow in the face. Mook and Elissa never slowed down their shooting. But the evasive actions of the remaining Enclave personnel made face shots problematic. That didn’t mean they didn’t feel bullets hitting their helmets. Mook tried to switch to shooting a rifle, but he ended up hitting the man in the groin area - ineffective and accidental - but Mook would never admit that. If both he and the other man hadn’t been moving… Well, ifs didn’t win or lose battles. They were the subjects for debate.


Smoke began to billow. Instinctively everyone held their breaths. Sly seemed to want to keep fighting. She and Elissa were at an advantage in smoke and fog. But Mook tagged her and shook his head. She looked angry for a moment, an almost feral look in her eyes. Then she turned to leave.


++++++++


As soon as they exited the rear of the building, Elissa quickly reloaded. Sly began shedding her dress and shoes, handing them to Mook. Then she took off running. Sly showed up by the time the group had entered the next building at its far side. She had in tow one of the rickshaws.


Mook nodded at Sly. “Everyone in that’s coming. Sly can you handle a double load like this?”


“If the rickshaw can, I can,” she smiled grimly.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. For Christ sakes..." Brad murmured. He looked at Luca who was still clung to Mook's side and made a dash for the Rickshaw. He scrambled into it without hesitation, but he could feel himself getting weaker. He didn't know what he was going to do here, but he knew he had a Radpak in his bag. He was scared, and he wouldn't deny that, because by the time he'd reached the Rickshaw, the rad-counter in his bag was going absolutely crazy; he went into his bag and pulled out one of the said Radpaks. These weren't cheap, but it was sometimes a small price to pay to cheat death. He got the IV from it and harshly shoved it into the vein in his arm, and then weakly held the bag out towards them all.


"Fuck my life--.. Jesus Christ, someone hold that up for me?" He said as he waved it around in front of those in the Rickshaw with him. Luca certainly wasn't going to be doing that - he was glued to Mook's side; he was hugging him in a strong grip and burying his face within his jacket. He was terrified. It wasn't so much the shooting that scared him, it was The Enclave. He knew them from... somewhere. He didn't know where, but he'd seen them before, and he knew they were bad news. ".. We can't--.." He coughed and gagged. ".. We can't split up--.. Those fuckers are going to be around somewhere, I know that much... It ain't..." He took a wheezy deep breath as the fluid made its way into his bloodstream - it was slowly making things better, but he felt dreadful. ".. It ain't like The Enclave to run... Not in a million years." He weakly looked over his shoulder. ".. Sly, take us to Bellagio--.. I've got a place there. We'll be safe. Even if we ain't stayin' there, I've got food, water, a lot of Luca's stuff, and some Radecko leaves for anyone caught in that blast. I don't know what the fuck that thing was, but that was radiation, quite literally, in a nutshell." He sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes.


(Relatively short. Not much else I can add to that right now)

 

[DrTrollinski]

(So, are we continuing things here?)