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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,820 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“One second,” Emmett replied into the radio.

He leaned back, and then shuffled sideways until he was out of the car. The two men from the casino – Roy, and somebody else – were laying prone on the ground. Antonio stood above one of them, Connor was the other. They both gave him subtle nods to indicate that the men were weapon-less, as far as they could tell from their pat downs.

Emmett approached, then carefully placed the radio on the ground by the one he believed to be Roy.

Now you can answer,” he said.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Kelsey quietly listened to Eli explain himself, nodding slightly as he did. At the same time, she poked the coyote meat with a wooden stick she found on the ground. Still too squishy. Not ready yet.

"Why didn't they want you in charge anymore?" She asked.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“I don’t know,” Eli said.

Eli looked at Kelsey without moving his head, found her staring back, and he frowned. He shut his eyes tight, trying to will away the bad aftertaste of the lie he just told. He couldn’t do it. Goddamnit, he thought. For some reason, at that moment, talking to Kelsey right then, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Or his eyes – he opened them and looked anywhere but at Kelsey. They settled back on the fire.

“They said they didn’t know me anymore,” he said, his voice was even more quiet. “They thought we could do better. I don’t just mean better than me. I mean… better.

That’s what Willow said, exactly. Better. That they had done bad things, but could do it different. Brandon said it was only kill or be killed if they made it that way. Eli remembered the argument vividly. He remembered thinking that they were wrong. That their wrongness would get them killed. He still didn’t think they were right, just that it no longer mattered, and maybe it never should have. No matter what, it wasn’t worth what happened next.

“I killed people,” Eli said. “I know you know that. I know we all have. But maybe I didn’t have to.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Tony stared at Emmett hard. He only looked away after a moment to pick up the radio. Roy wasn't great in high pressure situations, something he needed to work on if he was ever going to be of more help. If it were up to Tony he'd just have him stay back at the hotel cleaning or cooking or something so he at least didn't get in the way of the useful people.

"We're both here, sir. We're unharmed." he said into the radio.

...

Saxon recieved the news with a small sigh of relief but also a furrowed brow. On the one hand his people were still alive but on the other Brandon wasn't bluffing. Brandon also heard the news with an inward sigh of relief. He didn't know for a fact they were watching or that they were where he thought, or that the others had gotten them alive. All he had to go on was a hunch backed up by one tiny sign of life that could have been imagined and a lot of faith in his own people. The whole thing had been a gamble and the truth was Brandon, for all he'd himself known, had been bluffing.

"So. You've been watching us. We've had almost nothing but bad experiences, we just wanted information. I think you can appreciate that." Brandon explained.

"I'm having a hard time with that right now, I think you can appreciate. I don't see how that's relevant anymore you've turned a misunderstanding into a hostage situation." Saxon responded.

"I've had a little experience with it. You have more people and you know the area so I don't think you're setting up the meet. I'll contact you with the location when we're ready. If I even suspect you're watching us I'll let you hear me cut something off one of your people, though without a doctor on hand... could be dangerous. There's a lot of bodies going back east who didn't listen to us." Brandon said as he limped back away from the hotel.

...

Saxon made his way back inside. If he could have he would have stormed back in. If he were in a better mood he may have recognized that Brandon just saved him the trouble of deciding what to do about Emily, but being challenged and threatened by a boy in front of the people he was supposed to be leading had a way of ruining it. There was also the looming threat of doubt within the ranks so to speak. He wasn't a physically capable man, or a tactician in the traditional sense, he certainly wasn't a builder or somebody with an organisational mindset, he had people to do that for him. All he had was his people's faith and trust. What would this situation mean for all of them when it was done? What if one of his own plotted there own revenge while he was trying to keep everyone alive?

Byron opened the door to the small room where Annie and Emily were being kept. He didn't try to enter, there was no room anyway, he simple sat a few feet away from the door and stared straight ahead.

"The radio. Now." he demanded.

...

Everytime Brandon thought he couldn't be any more tired he proved himself wrong. He thought he'd hit the wall earlier that day but he always seemed to find some more to keep himself going. He arrived back at town hall feeling older than when he left. The others were keeping an eye out, he couldn't see them from outside but he knew they'd be watching. He gave a weak smile. One more hurdle behind him, that seemed to be enough for today, like any other day it seemed like thisone was longer than the one before.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie was staring at the ground when Saxon entered, her arms folded and her eyebrows furrowed. Since signing off with Brandon, she had spent her time considering the myriad ways this situation could play out. Many of her imagined scenarios ended badly, which didn’t do much to brighten her dark mood. It didn’t help that she had so little impact on any of them, imprisoned as she was, for the second time in as many days.

When the door opened, and Saxon appeared, she looked up. His sudden command indicated that he had spoken to Brandon. His demeanour indicated it hadn’t gone well.

She didn’t see a point in concealing it, and didn’t much feel like getting searched, so she produced the radio from her pocket and held it out for him to take. As she did, she met his gaze.

“This is ridiculous, you know,” she said. “Emily didn’t do what you’ve accused, and keeping us locked up, or escalating the situation with our people – it’s only going to make matters worse. Pointlessly worse. We can still just go our separate ways.”

* * *

Connor was amped by the time Brandon came back. He had spent the last few minutes pacing some more, clenching and unclenching his fists, and staring daggers into the backs of the two men they had subdued. Every minute his mom spent locked up – again, after everything they went through, she was imprisoned again – made him more anxious and upset.

If this had happened a couple weeks ago, he might have felt helpless and curled up into a ball. But he wasn’t helpless. Not anymore.

When Brandon returned, he hopped to attention.

“Well?” he asked – insisted, more like. “Did they accept your apology? Are they giving mom and Emily back?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Apology turned into an ultimatum, they responded better to that. They want their people back, they'll trade. We'll set up the hand over for early tomorrow, we'll want the light. We just need to figure out a place." Brandon confirmed assuredly.

...

Saxon took the radio from Annie wordlessly and pocketed it. Rather than respond to Annie he turned his attention to the guards standing nearby.

"We're burying Mitch. You two should be there. Don't worry them, they know better than to try their luck right now. I have some things I need to discuss with Byron first and then we'll join you." he said to them.

If they were unsure about it they didn't show it, quickly following Saxon's direction, leaving just himself and Byron with the prisoners.

"Byron I need you to organize two guards for them tonight, ones who weren't with Mitch." Saxon said quietly aside to him.

"Short list." Byron remarked.

"I know." Saxon lamented.

"You think there's a credible threat?" Byron asked.

"Not really, but it'd be kinder on our own people right now." he explained.

Byron nodded his agreement and moved to open the door for Saxon, who remained where he was. He gave Byron a small wave of his hand which was understood. The door closed again and Saxon was left alone there.

"I don't think she did it. The evidence didn't add up, and given a little time people would have seen that, I could have worked this out. I couldn't just let her go straight away though, for her own safety and because I had to be seen to be doing something. I could have even overlooked the trespass but that boy has tied my hands again and now you're both hostages. Whatever happens next is on him."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Connor wasn’t actually positive what the word ultimatum meant, but the context gave him a good idea. And Brandon’s confidence made him feel a bit better. He didn’t like waiting out the rest of the night, but if that’s what it was going to take, he could live with it.

“They know this area a lot better than us,” Emmett spoke up.

The big man was speaking from his nearby seated position, where he was resting after his recent burst of activity. It had been his first taste of action since he had gotten back on his feet, and even though it didn’t seem like he had too much to do, he seemed winded.

“And are you sure they want to deal?” he asked. “That’s what we told Wendy, remember.”

* * *

Annie narrowed her eyes. She was unhappy that Saxon had ordered guards for the night, first of all. Once they were alone, his explanation might have helped matters, but then he ended it the way he did.

“Whatever happens next? What does that mean?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"We're going to make the trade right here in town, on the north side where they haven't cleared it out. We'll be surrounded by rotters, that should make sure everyone's on their best behavior even after the trade is done." Brandon explained.

...

"What it means is that I can promise you that nothing will happen to you on my orders, but my authority isn't complete. I can't fight, or scavenge or build, the only thing I could do before all this was shake hands and talk. The only reason these people follow me is because they trust me. If you knew how much Mitch meant to people here you'd understand just how uncertain I am that I have that trust anymore. I can't be sure any of you are safe." Saxon clarified, his anger somewhat diminished.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Oh,” Annie said.

She was prepared for a threat, but that’s not what she received. Not quite, at least. Their lives were still in danger, Saxon has admitted as much. If he was to be believed, however, the danger wasn’t from him, but from his people. Annie could understand that. There was a time not long ago when she couldn’t trust a member of her own group to keep from spilling blood in a time like this.

But that was if Saxon could be trusted. She hoped he could. His words now seemed genuine, just as they did over dinner, but Annie couldn’t allow herself any faith. The best she could do was calm down, and try to understand exactly what was going on.

“What did Brandon say?”

* * *

Connor watched for Emmett’s reaction. It was nothing more than a simple nod.

“So what now?” Connor asked, turning to face Brandon once again. “And what do we with the guys we grabbed?”
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Strompy
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"He made threats. Colorful ones involving dismemberment which I hope was just embellishment. He's determined to have things his way and said he'd be contact us with the particulars of a hostage exchange." Saxon relayed with a pensive expression.

"Not that I'm taking any of this lightly but should I be worried about him?" he asked.

...

"We'll have to relocate. Tonight, just to be safe. So long as we have the hostages I don't think they'll move on us, but I don't want them to know where we are. You've seen more of the town than I have, did you see anywhere that looked defensible?" Brandon asked the others.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio exhaled sharply and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Brandon was asking for a place to lay low, but that was slightly problematic.

"All I can suggest is the convention center next door. Though there is also an inn and a museum around the corner that I saw. I haven't explored much of the city. Most of what we have seen is between here and where Saxon's people are. And given the current tension between our groups, I don't think moving closer to them would be wise."

Meanwhile, Willow silently in the corner. Her eyes were cast toward the ground and her hands were resting on her forehead. She clearly was not a fan of the situation; but Antonio could not fault her for that. He did not like it either, but they had already played their hand. There wasn't any going back now.

"There are plenty of houses here as well." He followed up with after a moment. "We could just pick one at random. It would be hard for anyone to find us in one night without searching every house."

* * * * *

Kelsey tilted her head to the side. It was true that Eli had killed people. But she always thought that it was necessary to kill them. She had always assumed that when Eli or anybody else pulled the trigger and gunned someone down, it was because they had to. That was what Brandon always said about pulling the trigger. What was he trying to tell her?

"But... they were bad people." She told him slowly.

"Like the people that killed Nolan. We need to kill them, don't we?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie sighed. This information about a hostage exchange was news to her, and it explained Saxon’s attitude. And yeah, that did sound like Brandon, and Saxon probably should be worried. A lot could go wrong in a situation like that. Brandon himself had been part of one that ended with a street-full of dead bodies. He’d apologized for it later, and Annie believed him, but that didn’t change the past.

Annie didn’t tell Saxon any of that, though. Instead, she composed herself and tried to sound convincing.

“He’ll do the right thing,” she promised. “He doesn’t want to hurt anybody, not if he doesn’t have to. You can trust him to make a deal.”

* * *

“I’ll tell the Kelly’s to get ready,” Emmett volunteered.

Connor looked over as the big man rose from his seat, watched him cringe as he did. As he started shuffling away, Connor expressed his own input with a shrug.

“Wherever, I don’t know,” he said. “I just hope Eli and Kelsey don’t show up here after we leave.”

* * *

Eli let out the first breath of a dark chuckle, but couldn’t bring himself to keep it up. He was too tired, and it wasn’t really funny. It was more surprising. Was Kelsey finally showing doubt? And was that what it took for that to happen, him admitting his shame?

“I might have thought so,” Eli spoke up, answering her question honestly. “Now I don’t know. I just know it’s not about we. You know what I want to do. It’s about what you need.”

He finally turned to face her, studying her face.

“Do you need to kill them?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Selfishly Brandon was glad Emmett was going to inform the Kelly's. It should be him telling them they'd have to move again, the situation being of his own making. He still didn't think he'd been wrong to do it as such, or to take steps to get Annie and Emily back, but he was already one of their least favorite people. Even if they weren't staying on with them much longer, and he couldn't see that as being likely, the people at the casino might not care about the distinction. Brandon had to remind himself that though having Emily dig around was a mistake in hindsight, she hadn't killed anybody here or stolen anything.

"It could be a serious problem depending on how this goes down." Brandon concurred with Connor.

He considered their options. Anyone of the houses would serve their purposes for the night at least. He naturally wanted somewhere defensible, with open surroundings that made approaching undetected more difficult, but they didn't have the luxury of shopping around. They could ask theirhostages where they might find that but he didn't trust them not to try and mislead them.

"We'll find a house to lay low in tonight. Better to be discreet." Brandon agreed with Antonio's suggestion.

...

"That's reasuring." Saxon said though his expression was anything but.

"I suppose there's nothing to do now but wait for contact." he said resignedly.
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Strompy
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It only took a couple moments to pack up, it was such a practiced routine now. The Kelly's, if they had any complaints about the situation which Brandon was sure they would, went about it quietly perhaps just to avoid having to speak with him again. As the others loaded up the cars with their modest supplies Brandon took a moment to pay his respects at Andy's meager resting place. It seemed unfitting for anyone to have to bury a loved one in such an unworthy place, the back yard of a civic building in a place that meant nothing to them.

As far as goodbyes went it was about all you could hope for. His own family were rotting in the basement of their old home in the same podunk town they lived, and that was glamorous by comparison to what befell the friends he'd made on the road. Mac dead in the street in Buffalo, Glenda burned without ceremony in Flint, Julie buried outside a motel in Chicago, Randall incinerated in whatever was left of that lab, Jen who's fine resting place was trampled by a horde of rotters only hours after she was laid to rest, and finally Nolan possibly still wandering the streets of Salt Lake City. The ultimate inadequacy was Brandon himself. The very least he could do to repay Andy for saving his life was to protect the people he loved, and so far every decision he'd made just seemed to make that more difficult, and he couldn't see them even staying on for much longer. That would probably be for the best, certainly San Francisco wasn't going to be a safe place.

"Thanks again, Andy." he said simply before joining the others.

With one of their cars parked somewhere else in town things would be cramped, but they wouldn't have to worry about that for long anyway. That did leave them with a space issue concerning their new additions though. He hadn't even bothered to ask their names, it didn't seem important, they'd just make their trade and never see them again anyway. They seemed well behaved but even so Brandon didn't want to leave anything to chance. He approached the two of them with a roll of duct tape in hand and gestured for them to turn around. They understood the order and put their hands behind their back, the younger more worried looking one following the stern one's lead. Brandon opened the trunk of the car he'd be in and gestured for the stern one to climb in. He recognized his lack of choice and complied without a word. The other one, when faced with the trunk of the Kelly's car wasn't so restrained as he climbed in.

"Come on, man, it stinks back here." he objected.

Andy's body had been in there for the better part of a day, Brandon had to wonder about what kind of experience this man had had that he wasn't more used to that smell by now. Brandon's displeasure at the reminder was evident as he scowled down at the man, half-way into the trunk already.

"Breathe through your mouth." he advised him before forcing him the rest of the way and closing the trunk.

...

It took a while to find what they were looking for. They had two cars which were known to the people at the casino and so needed to be hidden and they needed to be a sufficient distance away. After a while of random searching they found a house with a two car garage that could serve their purposes. It had been searched clearly as the door stood open like the other searched buildings in town. 625 West Birch Street. It'd do for the night.

The rotters were thin in this part of town, so when they came to a stop there were no more than three in sight. Brandon opened the driver's side door and got out with a weary sigh. He made his way calmly toward the nearest with his ditch blade in hand. It was fortunate the blade had weight and leverage going for it, in his current state he doubted he'd have the strength to finish even one rotter with his usual knife. He let the blade do the work as he swung the blade overhead like he was chopping firewood, its weight easily splitting the rotter's skull. He grabbed the rotter by the leg once it hit the ground and began dragging it off the street, these people kept a tidy town and bodies in the street would have been like a neon sign advertising their whereabouts.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Wait here,” Hank instructed his family.

He mirrored Brandon, popping out from the driver’s side and sighing. He readied his hatchet, and while Brandon dealt with the first rotter up, Hank dealt with the second. His blade struck true, and when the rotter collapsed, Hank continued to follow Brandon’s lead, dragging it away.

Wait here were the first words he had said in a while. No one in his car had really spoken since Emmett approached them back at town hall, informing them of the situation. As they were preparing to leave, Riley had expressed some words of frustration. She mentioned what happened the last time they were supposed to make a trade:

“Leonora for us, remember? Wasn’t that supposed to be the plan? Now look what he’s gotten us into.”

Hank didn’t really know how to respond to that, so he deflected.

“We’re staying out of it,” he said. “Let’s just get somewhere safe and get through the night.”

“If his trade goes wrong…” Riley started to say.

Please,” Hank interrupted. He really didn’t have the energy for this argument. “Where else are we supposed to go?”

Riley was silent after that. Maybe the desperation of his plea had quieted her, or maybe she just didn’t have an answer to his question. Either way, she had put her head down, packed, and led CJ and Ruby to the car. Now she watched him from the passenger’s seat, as he grimaced from the effort of dragging his fallen rotter out of sight.
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