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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,917 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Pablo lowered his hands and covered his face with his palm. Fine, he was an asshole. Whatever. If they had tried dealing with Travis for as long as he had, they would be singing a different tune. But it wasn't like he had time to argue his case right now. And even if he did, he doubted that they wanted to hear it.

"Green River, huh?" Pablo started with a sigh. "A lot to say."

"Don't tell them about the food!"

"God dammit, Travis! Just work on the fucking car! I'll handle this!"

Travis looked a little surprised at Pablo snapping at him like that, but he eventually disappeared back underneath the hood. He was finally going back to work. Maybe now he could talk without that asshole's constant commentary. He could only hope.

"As I was saying... Green River. It's a small community centered at the Oak Tree Inn. About 200 people or so. Four days ago, we were just a group of guys trying to get by and helping out anyone we could -- we saw a good deal of traffic cause of Salt Lake City. But we were struggling and moving the community to Salt Lake City was on the discussion table. But then some scary ass fucker comes riding in on his motorcycle. Calls himself Cory. He stays with us, and then two days later, old man Duke is missing and Cory is putting himself in charge. And he changes everything. Instead of helping people, we start killing them. Or taking them prisoner and torturing them. And taking all their supplies. But after a few good hauls, people start going along with it!"

Pablo paused and shrugged.

"Rock Springs, Purple Sage, James Town... those were the only places I knew we had any presence, and they are far away from us now. Travis may be an asshole, but he's a predictable asshole and a good guy at heart. But Cory... he acts like this is all some sort of game. He's unpredictable and heartless. I can't answer your questions cause I don't know what he is capable of."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Your people are easily lead astray. You were right to get out, if this is the same Cory I'm thinking of." Brandon commented, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully.

This was bad news. A group of very hostile bandits operating within a huge radius. Sounded like they had the manpower to pull it off. If this was the same Cory from before they also had a veteran marauding psycho at the helm. They were going to need more information.

"Alright. One of our guys is good with cars, he could probably have a look at this for you. In the meantime what else can you tell us? How many combatants have they got all up? What kind of firepower?" he asked, slinging his carbine.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
As soon as Brandon suggested some help, Travis jumped into the front seat of the car and it boomed back to life.

"Got it!" He yelled out the window from the driver's seat. "All I had to do was put oil in it!"

Seriously? I asked you if that was the problem five times!

Pablo brushed off his annoyance and turned to finish his 'conversation' with these strangers.

"Those guys are hours behind us at this point. There is no reason they would be this far out." Pablo explained to the two men. "I mean, okay. They got plenty of guns. Duke kept a pretty well stocked armory that was historically just for self-defense. Not anymore, obviously. And they got cars too. They got a big rig with a plow on the front of it and a hummer with a mounted machine gun. Of the 200-ish people they got, only a fraction of them are actually capable combatants, the rest are just civilians trying to get by."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli listened to Pablo’s story with a frown. That frown amplified when he heard the name ‘Cory.’ That was the same name Marcus and Candice had given to them when they found them at the border. He was the guy that had insisted on stripping them and sending them on their way, because apparently he thought that was funny.

That made him one of the men that attacked Flint. Eli wasn’t positive at the time, but it also seemed like Cory was the one who had knee-capped Maxwell and fled before the defenders turned the tide completely. He was sure now, at least, that he had escaped, and he was pretty sure it was the same guy.

“’Fore you take off – what do you mean by presence?” he asked. “’Cause for what it’s worth, we were just at Rock Springs. Looked pretty empty, but some of the interstate had been blown away. Got a bad feeling, so we took the long way ‘round.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
The engine of the sedan was rumbling anew. Pablo really wanted to get back in the car and leave. But, for obvious reasons, that was an impossibility right now. He needed to give these guys all the information they wanted before they could go their own way again. For all their bickering, he was relatively sure Travis wouldn't leave him behind. In fact, he was sure he could hear the guy debating that very point with his 'wife'.

"I just mean like... for supply running." He continued to explain to them. "Historically, at least. Cause it's Wyoming. Nothing else is nearby. I don't know anything about the bridge being blown out though, but you guys probably made a good choice with that. There was talk that Cory was sending a small team to set up camp in the city so he could have a heads up on incoming travelers. We didn't want to risk that."

Their fascination with their encampment was kind of off putting. For a second, he thought they might be planning some sort of assault. Not that he was going to try and convince them otherwise. He would rather they go try to tackle Cory and his militia rather than the two of them.

"So is there, uhh... anything else I can do for you? Or...?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s frown lessened as he considered the question. It was a good one. He didn’t think so, was the answer. It seemed like Pablo had given up all he knew, and most of it was chilling to consider.

The part about Green River’s people just going along with Cory’s rule was particularly upsetting. It wasn’t shocking, however. Eli wished he could be shocked about it. It was the same story up at Fort Erie, after all. That’s what drove Emmett away originally, and that’s how Mac and Emmett’s brother ended up dead – along with however many other raiders from the fort that they had to put down during the ambush.

Maybe that’s how Flint and Mount Kisco might have ended up too, given some more time, or some slightly weaker leadership. As much as Eli hated to think it, maybe they could still go that way. Maybe all it took was a couple more desperate weeks.

After taking a few moments, Eli shook his head. His fingers also inched away from his holster. He was relatively confident these two didn’t pose a threat. He’d still feel better when they were gone. More than ever, he wasn’t feeling much good will towards strangers.

“You’re free to go,” he said. “Good luck with your friend.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
When he seemed certain that the blonde kid had nothing more to add, Pablo nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah, uh, I'll probably need it." He added hesitantly as he started to make his way towards the car.

He wasn't entirely sure they weren't just going to shoot him as he left,so he moved slowly and kept one eye on them at all time. They seemed a little relaxed, but it was hard to get a read on them. These people... they had seen some shit. That much was obvious. But who hadn't.

"Good luck out there too." He gave one final farewell.

* * * * *

"Well, that was awkward." Willow sighed as she lowered her sniper rifle and tucked it back into the van.

"They bickered like an old married couple though." Jen added from the motorcycle.

Willow had done exactly as Eli had asked. She kept her rifle aimed on them; and it was clear they knew that they were under that kind of scrutiny. The Hispanic guy, Pablo he had been called, would occasionally glance in her direction and then pretend like he hadn't been looking. He was pretty tightly wound, but that wasn't entirely a surprise. If everything he said was true, Willow would be too.

"I'm just glad they're gone." Willow said. "Looks like taking the detour was the right idea at the end of the day."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon breathed a sigh of partial relief. The immediate threat of those two was gone for the time being, and now they had some information about a big threat within the area. Knowing was helpful and a little reassuring but it didn't change the fact there was a huge threat in the area. That made him nervous.

"Okay then. Let's use what light we've got left, find somewhere to hole up for the night." Brandon said as he made his way back to the van.

Once inside he sat down with a heavy sigh. Thank God that went down friendly. He didn't have it in him to deal with any more hostiles.

"I'm really glad that went well. Today has been good. I could stand a few more days like this. You guys up for a little training once we stop?" he asked those in the back, holding up two clenched fists in a boxing stance.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli watched as the pair disappeared into the distance. When he was satisfied they weren’t coming back, he headed back for the minivan with Brandon.

“Well damn,” he said.

Personally, he wasn’t sure what to do with his new information. From a practical perspective, he knew it should mean another city to steer clear of. But when he thought about Cory, he thought about Maxwell and what he did to Glenda, and the chaos that was unleashed in Flint that night. So much needless suffering and death. He despised the thought of that going unanswered.

He had to kill Wendy, he remembered. She had done injury to their group, and she was going to be a threat to the rest of the world. The same could be said of Cory – and so could a lot worse. Maybe they had to kill him too.

He got in the driver's seat next, but didn't turn the keys. His thoughts were conflicted. He looked back to Brandon.

“So what do you think?” he asked him before anyone behind him could answer -- he hoped he knew what he meant.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"I want to ambush one of their parties, take them prisoner and wait for the search party then do the same to them. Eventually Cory is going to come himself to check it out. Once that happens, we keep an eye on them, wait till we get a clean shot and then blow Cory's psychotic brains out. Cut off the snake's head, remind the folk at Green River that there are consequences for banditry. Hopefully they'd take that to heart and without that scumbag at the helm they'd go back to not being assholes." Brandon explained.

That was how he felt.

"I think eventually those people are going to kill Cory, or Cory is going to kill them. Either way, they've got a lot of pain coming their way and they're going to deserve every bit of it. I'm only worried about who else is going to get hurt in the meantime, I'd rather it wasn't us. I say we just avoid them, maybe post some warnings along the way. If we get to Salt Lake City, maybe the people there will feel as strongly about it as we do, maybe posse up and push the Green River bandits out, scatter them, absorb the civilian population. Lot of maybes. I just really want to avoid another fight." he said.

He meant avoiding a fight in two ways. They were only just recovering from the damage of the last in more than one way. Rushing into another conflict, even if they had good reason to.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli listened to Brandon’s reasoning. It was all sound. His thoughts pretty much reflected his own exactly.

Except for the part about avoiding another fight, Eli realized. He thought they should do that, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Cory’s head.

“Right…” he said slowly, acknowledging Brandon. Then he turned to Willow. “Willow, do me a favour. Find me Green River on the map. An’ while you’re at it, find Purple Sage and James Town.”

While he waited for her to do that, he thought about one of Brandon’s suggestions – going to Salt Lake City, looking for help there. That was the other part that Eli hadn’t come up with. Until now, he had intended to avoid the city entirely. He realized he should have asked Pablo about it, maybe he would have had some insight.

Too late now, he chastised himself. His anxiety when it came to dealing with strangers hadn’t done them any favours there. He refocused on Willow.

“Well?”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"It's just down the road from Rock Springs." Willow reported her findings to Eli. "If we'd gone another 15 or 20 miles down I-80, we would have passed right through it. James Town is right after it and Purple Sage is probably too small to be labelled on this map."

Willow lifted her eyes from the map and back to Eli.

"You guys aren't seriously considering this though, are you? I thought the cure was the most important thing here."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“It is,” Eli affirmed quickly and decisively.

He truly believed that. This group’s safety and the cure. Those two things were more important than anything else. And Willow was right that they were obstacles to going after Cory, if that’s what he decided to do.

Any course of action would mean going forward, however, so he finally turned the keys. Just as the engine roared to life, however, there was a knock on the window on Emmett’s side. He turned to see Jimmy standing there, leaning lazily on his spear.

Eli turned off the engine and rolled down the window. He looked past Emmett – who also looked like he was lost in conflicting thoughts – at Jimmy.

“That looked like a scintillating conversation,” the redhead said immediately. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"We need to know where a place is to avoid it. Doesn't mean we're planning anything." Brandon pointed out to Willow when Jimmy knocked.

"Hostile community out at Green River. They frequent some surrounding towns. The guy they're following was at Flint. We're just deciding what to do with the info. We want to get everybody in on this? Take a vote?" Brandon asked.

He knew what that vote would end up being. Nobody wanted a fight, as much as they might want Cory dead or the roads safe. There'd be time for justice once the cure was delivered.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“This guy in charge was at Flint?” Jimmy said, arching an eyebrow. “Well then. I have him to thank for fucking up a pretty good thing I had going.”

Eli ignored him and focused on Brandon’s question. His real answer was a resounding no. This wasn’t the kind of matter you left up to a vote. If he had to run his plan for dealing with Wendy by a committee, for example, it probably wouldn’t have been so effective.

He knew he had to be decisive. But at the same time, he hadn’t made a decision. Cory deserved to die – deserved to die painful – and Eli was willing to take on the burden of making it happen. The way his fingers tightened on the steering wheel at the thought of it made him realize he was more than willing. But he wasn’t going to do anything at the expense of the cure, or the group’s safety.

This is tricky.

“You said it was going to be dark soon and you were right,” Eli said, dodging the question somewhat. “So we stay on track for now. We get on the 40 like we planned, and we start going west again until we find a spot to settle in. Once we’re settled in south of Green River, we’ll figure it out.”

He stole a glance in the rear view mirror at Annie. She looked troubled, but she didn’t seem to object. Neither did Emmett in the passenger’s, or Jimmy outside.

“Whatever you say, amigo,” Jimmy said, leaning away. “But when we get there, I have some thoughts.”

Eli turned the keys in the ignition again.
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