The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles, Saturday Afternoon

With Freedom in charge of the Mount's police force - such as it was - he took it upon himself to patrol the inside of the Wall several times a day. Now that basic survival was no longer an issue and the population of the Mount so so large that it was impossible to recognize every person within the walls, petty crime was on the rise. It had increased over ten percent in the past few months alone.

He looked down at the kids in from of him. Two boys and a girl, barely in their teens. All three of them sat on the curb with their hands zip-tied together behind their backs. They'd been trying to steal a car for a quick joyride when he'd found them. They'd been cowed by his appearance and surrendered without a fuss. He was in the process of giving them a stern lecture when he heard a faint noise over the echo of teeth. He'd heard it before, in Afghanistan. A series of sharp pops echoing back and forth between the buildings. ( The sound of gunfire in a quiet city. There was nothing quite like it. )

[Preplayed with with magnificent tigerundercover/vdistinctive and adapted from Chapter Twenty of Ex-Communication by Peter Clines. NFI, NFB, you know the drill. Previous post Next post]

Stealth's Office, Rodenberry Building, The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles, Saturday Afternoon

In the wake of Josh's escape, the Mount looked like an anthill that had been kicked over. More soldiers were called to the top of the Big Wall, trying to keep a lookout in case he came back, or get a sense of which direction he ran in, or just to feel like they were doing something. The civilians weren't much different, trying to stare past the exes to see what the Thing in the Cellar had been. Everywhere there was a hubbub of noise and movement and confusion--except around each of the Heroes. They were still, calm, quiet--but then, they knew exactly what the Thing had been. Instead, their eyes were all on Stealth as she laid a hand on Captain Freedom's forearm and murmured something, her head giving a minute nod towards the Rodenberry Building.

So, a meeting then.

Kathy didn't know whether she had been intended to be included of if Stealth just didn't think it was worth kicking anybody out for. Either way, ten minutes after Stealth had left the Big Wall, she was ensconced in a chair high up on in the penthouse, with Raven as a big, black bird perching docilely on her shoulder. Kathy didn't realize it, but this was the same room her friends had gathered twenty-one months ago when Stealth had recruited them into the war against Rodney.

( In the room where it happens )

[Preplayed with the amazing-as-always tigerundercover and adapted from Chapter of Ex-Communication by Peter Clines. NFB, NFI, OOC welcomed. Previous post Next post]

Stealth's Office, Rodenberry Building, The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles, Saturday Afternoon

Max had waited until all of Kathy's friends had been tracked down and brought to the war council chamber. His nominal reason was because he figured they'd have a vested interest in knowing the timetable had moved up a lot, since they were the ones with a way out. Kathy was pretty sure that both he and Stealth were coming up with ways to convince the Fandom contingent to stay and help out.

Kathy wasn't sure how either of them hoped to pull that off. Neither Stealth nor Max had made a great impression the last time they'd dealt with anyone in Fandom.

Once everyone had been fetched and gathered, Max stood up again to explain why their situation had grown so much more dire with Josh's escape. For once, he didn't seem to be putting on a show for those benighted souls less educated in the ways of sorcery than he was; he seemed geuinely concerned about them understanding what was going on. Honestly, that worried Kathy a lot more than even the things he was saying. Max Hale hadn't done solemn even in the midst of the zombie outbreak. For him to do it now was chilling.

( What do you do with a problem like a Cairax )

[Many thanks to all my beloved preplayers! NFI, NFB. Adapted and improved from Chapter Twenty-Three of Ex-Communication by Peter Clines. Previous post, Next post]