hadriel_logs | "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Though he does note how ill-prepared for a fight she seems, Nick knows better than to doubt Rey's combat prowess. She can be a real firecracker when it comes to a brawl, after all. While she's openly armed, he has his pistol tucked away, the sword hanging from his belt hidden beneath his coat. He's hoping things don't come to blows, but fortune favors the prepared, especially when someone decides they want to stir up trouble. It's one thing for the gods to manipulate them; it's another beast entirely for someone as trapped as the rest of them to do the same, using people and giving the gods a free meal at the same time.

A whole lot of senseless violence, all because someone got bored. And people wonder why the Guard can't get a damn thing done.

"You headed my way?" Nick asks, knowing good and well what she might be doing, but not sure of where she'll be doing it. He's read the reports on this guy, and while Rey might not be the most proactive member of the Guard, she is more reliable than she'd give herself credit for. If there's a fight, she'll be there.

Headed his way. That sounds about as good an idea as Rey could expect.

Her attention cracks to Nick, just staring at him for the initial seconds. Of course he isn't going to just sit this out. And neither is she, insomnia be damned.

"No," she then says curtly. "Going a different way."

The way her abilities work, she doesn't function well as a group like she does when flying solo.

Nick sees the way she stares him down; he gets the feeling he knows what that look is about, too.

"Yeah? And which way is that?"

He trusts she can take care of herself, but it never hurts to know where she's going, just in case she doesn't come back.

"Outside. Keeping a lookout for something. From a distance."

She is being curt and precise for a reason, though irritability and impatience sure doesn't help matters.

He's sure she's in no mood for explaining herself -- even less than usual -- so he takes a stab at it.

"For his 'help.'"

Rey nods.

"Seen what it can do. That thing could tear into people like they're made of guacamole."

If it could rip apart the Working Joes as easy as it had in the tunnels, no doubt it would be a threat to those on the Guard. Especially if they can't see it coming.

His immediate instinct is to worry; he swallows that down without a word. She can take care of herself, but knowing she's going up against something that can 'tear into people like they're made of guacamole' isn't comforting in the least. She's got experience with it though, so she's the best candidate to handle it. He's got plenty of other things to worry about.

"All right," he says finally. "Just be careful."

And with that, he heads for the door himself.

If one good thing has come out of Rey being what she is, she was built to last. She was also tailored to take on things bigger and supposedly stronger than herself. That's just who and what she is.

Nick is different. Just from the look of him alone, he's got an expiration date that he is sometimes too quick to expedite. When he makes for the door, Rey throws her arm out between him and the way out.

"You're not putting yourself in the middle of a firefight, just so we're clear." And it isn't a request that she is making to Nick now.

Edited 2016-12-20 14:31 (UTC)

While he can't say he hadn't expected some resistance to his participation in this, Nick is surprised Rey is outright stopping him. That wasn't a suggestion she offered, or a remark laced with worry; that was an order.

He raises an eyebrow as he glances her way, leaning on his cane as he returns Rey's statement with one of his own. "Really."

She eyes him, first looking down at his bum leg before meeting Nick in the eye again with an expression that screams 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

"This guy doesn't die. Rather, all killing him would do is help him spring back to life. I've seen it." Rey lowers her arm to her side. "That isn't someone you just go at, guns blazing."

How you're supposed to approach this situation, even she isn't sure. Her experience doesn't exactly involve dealing with people who just don't die.

Still, she's had plenty of time to mull over her options.

Nick sees that look; his brow knits together.

"I can't just let the others go this alone, Rey. Not when someone is trying to tear down all we've built up. He might not be alone, and if there's any chance we can convince some of the others to just turn around and walk away..."

It's hard to argue, because in a way Rey gets where Nick is coming from. He can't sit this out any more than she can.

"Fine, if you think you can try and talk any of his backup out of this mess." If anyone can handle the diplomatic part of things, it's Nick. "Just try to avoid Sato directly. Okay? You won't be any good to anyone if you're... gone."

She doesn't want to say 'dead' -- not because she doesn't think it's possible for a synthetic, but the worst case scenario is too much to think about.

He sighs, his eyes flicking away from Rey for a moment. If he's gone, he'll be doing about as well as if he stood by and did nothing at all.

No, it's actually worse if he's gone, especially when they don't know if Hope could even bring him back in one piece. The god managed it with IV, but she was a lot more human than Nick... well, in appearances, maybe. The point is that the Guard aren't the only ones who depend on him -- Rey might have other friends around the city, but the two of them are family. They're in this together.

And he can't be there for her if he's not there at all. The creases of his worn face knit together as he brings his gaze back to Rey and lets her make the call.

"And if there's no other way to do this?"

"That isn't an option," she retorts. "Find a way to neutralize someone in a way that won't kill them, like nerve gas or..."

Rey stops, blinking at empty space for a few seconds. She recalls hearing about what happened during the riots back in her world. How crowd control was maintained efficiently without any lethal effects. It was still cruel, inhumane, and resulted in permanent damage to the senses, but at least they were alive.

Of course, it would take time. More than what they have now. And there might not be the proper ingredients in the shops in the right amounts... They'd have to go to the gods then, wouldn't they?

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighs. "If nothing else, I'll need to make arrangements for some... insurance, in the future. After all this shit is said and done."

Nick knows what she means by that -- most insurance these days has to come from whatever the gods will provide them with, and everything comes with a price.

"There's no talking Sato out of this, is there?"

Because all his responses on the network absolutely pointed to 'no.' He's not interested in anything but his own agenda, no matter who gets hurt -- and if Nick is at the headquarters, that might be an inevitability.

Edited 2016-12-22 04:31 (UTC)

Price isn't a concern. Depending on the god in question, Rey is fairly certain that she can handle the price in the end.

She scoffs at Nick's question.

"Not a chance. He thinks this is fun."

And she highly doubts he'd appreciate anyone meddling with that so-called 'fun'.

"I had a feeling." He's only spoken to the guy once before all this came up, and he was putting on this nice-old-man act at the time. His gut usually tells him when something seems off, but Nick had been busy with all the new arrivals and IV; he hadn't suspected a thing from the old man sitting near the Guard headquarters. He can kick himself for his misjudgment later.

He looks to Rey's arm, still blocking his way to the door, his glowing eyes laden with conflict. The Guard has been a big part of his life in Hadriel: they've given him something to build on, an outlet for making the city a better place. People knock them for having no real authority, but the good they do is evident with every new batch of arrivals, with every time the town goes into chaos because the gods got hungry. It might not be much, but it's something.

And then there's Rey, someone he cares about more than anyone in the entire city. She's his family, someone who understands more about what he is than even he does sometimes. They've been good for one another, with her keeping him in one piece, while he does the same for her -- even if it's literal in his sense and figurative in hers. They both know the other can take care of themselves, but... this is different. She wouldn't stop him if this was just business as usual.

His mouth pulls into a thin line as he sighs again, and puts his trust in her judgment. "All right. What do you want me to do?"

It means a lot that Nick is asking her that, and Rey knows how much it means to the both of them. Means that they trust each other. That he's putting faith in her judgment by not throwing himself into a fray that he may or may not come out of.

She thinks a moment, and then nods -- more to herself this time.

"You might not be able to talk Sato out of it, but if there's a chance you can talk to any of his 'help', if they're reasonable... I'm sure you have a better chance with them than with him."

After all, it isn't like the Guard are as much of a threat as his dramatic speech declared. But not everyone would see it that way, because authority is still authority no matter how it's dressed up. Nick ought to get that.

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject