Summary:Another trip down memory lane between two soldiers. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Ava moves through the teardown procedure for her carbine with the half-focus of having done it far, far too many times while a speaker by the wall plays metal on a medium volume. The cyborg's already pulled over the tools she'll need to give the weapon a proper cleaning and she's even been bold enough to leave a tall can of CLP in plain view at her side. It's close enough to be within reach if the albino needs it, but so far she hasn't made the offer explicit. Dressed down in her black stimsuit and pants the same desert tan as her shemagh, the cyborg's being casual today.
"You ever run a rifle-caliber subsonic off the range?" she asks idly.
*
Such casual form is similarly represented on the albino today. Figure-hugging black jeans are tucked into ankle height combat boots with a long sleeved black shirt tucked into the waistline to provide uninterrupted access to a heavier web belt. Sitting across from the cyborg she's got a pair of HK VP9 sidearms field-stripped and laid out in a way which screams OCD. Not only is the layout perfectly mirrored between the two but it's downright photogenic, like the thumbnail image for an instructional video. The only piece which is ever not in its place is the one which she's working on.
"Sure have," Neena confirms while peering through one of the polygonally rifled barrels. "Ran three hundred plenty. Got to play with a nine by thirty-nine a few times. Couple three oh eight bolt guns with sub loads, too. They all get the job done."
So does CLP, which she's now reaching for.
*
"Yeah I kinda laugh a lil at the gun shop talk when people get to arguing lethality. Humane game kills are one thing but self-defense? I'll take a hit in 9x19 over a miss in .30-06." Ava purses her lips as she swabs a cleaning rod. "Make that .308. Indoor .30-06 is an SD king; even if you miss it's a free flashbang."
The cyborg raises a snowy brow as she looks across the table. Her own disassembly is loosely sorted by where the parts came from but not nearly so picturesque; she made piles not a display. "Jesus Spot, are you posing that for Guns and Ammo?" she snickers.
*
"Speaking of flashbangs, how about a five fifty-six out of an eight inch barrel," Neena chuckles. "That's how you make -everyone- jump out of their skin. Sometimes it can be a valid strategy, especially when the other guys don't know what the hell you're touching off."
The next comment causes the pale merc to pause from swabbing the bore to look down at her 'ordnance display' with an innocent "What? I'm not going to apologize for taking pride in my work." … "Okay, yeah, so maybe I'm a -teensy- bit particular but I also don't want to mess up the parts between the two. Bite me."
*
Ava laughs and returns her attention to her own gun work, leaving Neena alone with her neat array of parts. "Unsuppressed? I bet that rings. I've run my blackout can free with a super load just to see what it would do. You ain't lyin, but if I was still Big Army when they trialed 7.62 CQB I would have tinnitus like a mike foxtrot."
*
"Ear pro's a thing" Domino replies with a toothy grin. "Don't get me wrong, cans have their uses and all but I don't like getting gassed out every time I shoot and those bitches get hotter than the magma cave in the Abyss."
"There was this one guy, hah!" she pauses to collect herself with forehead coming to rest atop the backs of her hands.
"Carried an SBR with a suppressor, right? Single point sling. Went to transition to his sidearm after a mag dump and burned himself square in the crotch. Went from being an ally to a rolling speedbump in a flat second, think I doubled my profanity vocab that night!"
*
Ava laughs along with the albino and shakes her head. "Who'd he think he was, John Rambo? Did he make sure the op-for knew he called time out until the camera man moved around to the other side? Why the heck was he clogging a funnel, and dumping a mag, and doing a standing transition?"
*
Rubbing at an eye with the back of a wrist, Neena suggests "This wasn't the military, Av. We play by our own rules. Most people have it together enough to function but often there isn't a lot of specific training to back up some maneuvers. The guy dumped the mag to suppress a room full of hostiles, ran for cover while switching to a more useful weapon in cramped spaces, and — whoopsie, something was being toasted. It's easy to forget details when there's a lot of lead being slung. Still, guy was a fucking idiot," she concludes with another grin. "Though if he wasn't running a can I would have had my eardrums shot out."
"Speaking of a lack of specific training," she sets the barrel aside and picks up the two polymer pistol lowers to spin around her index fingers. "Have you ever tried working both hemispheres of the ol' gray matter at once? I bet your hardwired ass could have a good go at it."
*
Ava's silent just long enough that it's clear she has more to say about the man's tactical choices but instead what comes out is, "Small miracle you didn't get shot up partnering with people like that." Having only one weapon to clean and an AR at that, it isn't taking the cyborg long to get through what she needs done. A black hand reaches over to swipe the CLP can and spray a few puffs while Neena's twirling.
"I tried a little bit - for fun. Target ack and follow-up kind of sucked," she admits vaguely.
*
"I picked the spot beside him just to make sure that he -didn't- get any of us killed," Domino replies while catching the two disassembled sidearms in her palms. "Couldn't have cared less if he got himself iced but he managed to survive. Afterward I bought him a bag of toasted peanuts from the first vending machine I could find. He didn't find it quite so funny."
Regarding the pistols themselves, she suggests "Lots of point shooting and guesswork. No time to line up the sights. When you're engaging two targets at once there's another element of prioritizing. Do you look at the guy on your left, the guy on your right, or what's right in front of you?"
"Keep moving" is her advice, "always seek out your next exit point and never stop pushing for it. If you hit, you hit. If you miss it's suppressive fire. Akimbo fighting's kind of an interesting space. Kinda like how no one wants to put themselves anywhere near a blender with the lid off, no one wants to risk getting too close. Use that to your advantage and wreck some shit."
*
Ava listens thoughtfully with half an eye towards Neena as she continues her gun work then finally looks back up with a thoroughly quirked brow. "That lucky streak runs deeper than you realize, Spot. We've got to run a sim so you can show me how that works."
"Your shots weren't that wide of mark in the shoot house either. What you're describing sounds more like spray-and-pray."
*
The albino scrunches up her face slightly, "The shoot house was all real close range. But you have a point."
The two receivers are set down and swapped out with an already wet cleaning patch and one of the slides, her black-smeared hands automatically getting back to work.
"But none of that can happen until you've all invented the proper creds. I get it, you guys can't take anywhere near the risks that I can. Even if I could help from a power standpoint this place would melt down due to the collective stress of uncertainty," she thinks with a smirk.
*
"Proper creds also let you in the /base/ armory and the /base/ shooting range," Ava points out. "You've seen the kind of stuff Toni comes up with."
"And I'll level with ya, you're the first person I've seen make akimbo work in live fire. That's cool to me but that's cool to RESCUE too. If we can get you cleared I think Roni could cut you a check just for teaching me that stuff," she adds while slotting the charging handle back into place and following it with the bolt carrier. A sharp eye might notice more gasket on the handle than typical from factory. One of the cyborg's smaller modifications no doubt.
*
"Always knew this place had more to it than met the eye" Neena says in a more muted tone. Though what Ava says next is taken as a compliment if the albino's sly little smile is any indication. "Be happy to show " she heistates, eyes narrowing slightly as she leans to one side to look at the charging handle in question " what I know. Seems you don't enjoy getting gassed out, either. I'm shocked. Truly."
She also may be falling behind, a hand darting out for the gun grease and a pair of fresh patches.
"You know, creating all of this background noise for my ID affects the team more than the individual. Cover your bases as necessary and I'll make it work on my end. I don't want my crazy existence to mess with what you've all built up."
*
"I like the smell of gun smoke in the morning, I don't like smellin it for half a week because it went straight up my nose," Ava grins back. "'Course the gas block does most of the work."
"Have you given more thought to who and where you want to be?"
*
Neena grins, "Fastest way to make your snot black."
To the question, "This might sound crazy but I've considered just going with my actual name. The Project shouldn't know about the marriage or surname. If we're going with a domestic address then Chicago isn't a bad choice -if- Io can wipe out that one shoplifting record under the one alias. I spent years growing up around that city which is more than could be said for anywhere else in the country. I mean, technically my life didn't start until landing in the Windy City. It sure didn't begin in some bunker beneath a marsh."
"There are some risks involved but there would be regardless," she suggests while plunking the barrels one after the other into their respective slides. "This option would be as close to being truthful as possible and that might be helpful to RESCUE down the road."
*
"You could say you're from nearby and moved their later," the white-haired bionic vet reminds. "Easy to land in Chicago from anywhere in the Midwest…" Ava goes silent for a moment as she puts her upper back on and aligns the pins to tap it back together, then asks, "What was it like?"
*
"Mmh. Not a bad idea to start with some rural township" Neena agrees while replacing the first slide back onto its frame.
Soon following is a questioning glance to the cyborg. "That's kind of a broad question. Which part? Growing up in Chicago or in a militarized lab?"
*
Ava looks back across the table, meeting Neena's eyes for a moment. "If you want to talk about Florida I'm all ears but I meant Chicago. I never visited growing up - couldn't scrape the money for a field trip." The cyborg shrugs though her lips remain a bit pursed as she taps her rifle back together then lifts it to make sure everything is firmly reattached. "Props for getting all the way from Florida swamps to the Canadian border as a runaway. That ain't easy."
*
"Another time," Neena offers as the takedown lever gets flicked back into position.
"Chicago… The only reason I had made it that far north, hell the only reason I got out of the Everglades -at all- was because of my mother but that's another matter. I grew up at the 'Church of the Sacred Heart.' Total ghetto. That part of town wasn't safe to live in but by virtue that made it a better place to hide."
"It may have provided the basics but I hated it there, got out as much as I could and learned as much of the city as possible. It was only a couple weeks in before 'Jessica' got picked up for shoplifting. Just once," she promises with a 'don't go there' glance.
"Not long after I came to discover that mother dearest had dropped me right into the maw of a cult who wanted to use the power of mutants to further their goals. I got away from them and went dark. Dug deep into the city until I was able to leave town, then the country."
*
Ava lifts one hand in a warding gesture at Neena's look. "Hey I keep telling you I'm no %*@$ing cop. You do what you have to do. You're not the only one who's tucked something in their jacket while browsing an aisle, I'm only surprised you got caught."
Then the cyborg freezes where she's sitting and furrows her brow as her rifle thumps back against the table and she looks across at the albino, now giving Neena her full attention. "Wait say again, the ''Church of the Sacred Heart''? You mean the Sacred Heart Catholic Church?"
*
"-That's- what I'm giving you the look for," Neena corrects. "Because my luck slipped. C'mon, Av. There is no concern -at all- that you'd jump my case over the incident itself. Just..figured you'd give me more shit for it."
When Ava's demeanor completely changes the albino makes an 'eeeh' expression, "Not quite the same, no. That title had been used in more than one location. This place was rebuilt in the early sixties, out in the South Deering neighborhood. I couldn't tell you if they had any ties back to the rest of the network..or if they all went bonkers due to runoff from Slag Valley, or what the hell."
*
That seems to relax the cyborg who leans back again in her chair. "Okay. Sacred Heart's in Indianapolis too, nicer side of town. I think they're all over the place. They seemed pretty plain there." The explanation also restores some of Ava's snark and she grins a bit before adding, "Yeah well, I know your luck can slip now. That cat's out of the bag."
"You find any good sights to loiter around or was it all suck all the time?" she asks next, turning the conversation back somewhere lighter.
*
Domino hangs her head to the pun, emphasizing her feelings on the matter with a slow and meaningful *cha-CHAK* of the second pistol's reassembly. "That's my girl. Never one to miss an easy target."
"Mmh, there was the railyard and the old steel mills in Irondale, great places to play around so long as you could avoid Tetanus around every corner," she recalls while gently 'nesting' the two HKs next to each other on the table. "Sometimes served as a place to sleep, too. The area called Jeffery Manor was interesting but a bit closer guarded. The Valley was bad enough to avoid most of the time, not that there was a whole lot going on there to begin with."
"That's just in Deering. There's all sorts of places to nose around and potentially get yourself killed when you're trying to avoid going back 'home'" she says with a smile. The description may not be rosy but she doesn't seem to have been scarred by her time there.
*
Ava's smile is unapologetic. That pun was worth it. "Ever brave the more touristy things or get near the malls? There's good eats hanging around those," she suggests before standing up and shoulder her rifle to walk it back to its spot in the display.
*
"Not so much, given the whole 'easy to spot' situation," Neena says with a motion to the mark upon her face. Following suit she caps the various cleaners and greasers then stands with a pistol filling each hand. "Especially during that period the fear of being discovered and hauled back to the Project was running high. I didn't start getting adventurous until three weeks after the ship came to port. But who knows, maybe I'll take a roadtrip out that way for some nostalgic kicks."
*
"You ever want to go back I'll ride with," the white-haired vet offers as she sets her rifle neatly in its place then shuts the display door. "Maybe this time take in the better side of the city. We'd pass through my old stomping grounds on the way there."
*
"Yeah?" the albino responds with a little surprise..and more than a little smile. "Sounds like a roadtrip waiting to happen. Hey — wait. Hold up now. Which 'old stomping grounds' might these be and why is this starting to sound like an -awesome- roadtrip waiting to happen?"
*
"Because we can hit Pittsburg, Columbus, and Indianapolis on the way out and Cleveland on the way back?" Ava suggests before fixing the albino with a deadpan stare that's disrupted just slightly by her faint grin. "And how, oh observant expert merc, did you think I knew about a fire at the Indianapolis City-County Building?"
*
Neena gives Ava a flat look back, "The same way that I know what really goes into a hot dog. But thank you for the new nickname opportunity, Indiana Drones. Do feel free to tell me more!"
*
Ava matches the stare down for a few seconds more but not without a noticeable *twitch* of her left eye. When she does break her gaze the cyborg drops her head and sighs heavily. "I suppose I walked into that… Christ, Indiana Drones? /Really/, Spot?" she pleads as a smile threatens to crack through her composure. It's a nickname so bad it circled back around to funny. "Call me that and I'll have to start calling you some kind of gator."
"But yeah, I'm from Indianapolis, a little place north of downtown called Coburn Place. That's why my last name used to be Coburn before I changed it to Posey."
*
The stare is met right up until Ava sighs, prompting Neena to break into a grin then start laughing. "I don't play fair, remember? But don't worry, I'll stick to the traditional 'Indie' form." Sure it was cheesy as hell but it was so worth it!
Coburn and Posey, huh. The twin HKs slide back into thigh holsters before the pale merc holds up a single finger, head bowed as if in thought before she turns to look at the cyborg and asks "What -is- your full name?"
*
"What I told you before," Ava reminds, "Marie Ava Posey - I used to be Marie Ava Coburn."
"And I swear if you start calling me 'Mary' I will shove an entire Hi-Point up your ass," the cyborg preempts sternly.
*
Yet again Neena can't help but grin, holding a palm up in protest. "No need to get chunky. Also, totally not the purpose of a Yeet Cannon. Though as much as you love your alphabet soup 'Map' just doesn't have the same ring to it."
That same hand turns to point at the wall of photos. "Any of these from your hometown?"
*
Ava shakes her head as the topic changes and walks over to give an introduction. The photos show the white-haired vet at multiple stages of life but none look younger than the one of what's clearly a formation of freshly graduated privates in nearly empty dress uniforms and patrol caps. Ava's in there somewhere no doubt, if the albino squints, but searching for white hair won't help her.
"Nah these are the happy memories. I don't think a photo of me that young exists, 'cept maybe a yearbook and government papers," she remarks as she comes around the side then gestures from the first picture and down the wall. "Here's me when I graduated BCT and they're more or less in order afterward." And sure enough a much younger, smaller, and black-haired woman can be picked out across photos of military deployments, cook outs, and shooting ranges as a common thread. There are no tattoos to rely on at first until with almost a snap, one photo down the line suddenly has a close-shaved white-haired Ava with a half-sleeve up one arm … being held overhead like a barbell among a crowd of very muscular young men. Pictures further down the wall continue the trend showing more tattoos spreading out in a familiar fashion down her right arm and in an unfamiliar fashion down her left.
*
Domino grabs a shop rag from the table and idly scrubs at her hands as the focal point shifts toward the wall of photos. It isn't long at all before she's giving Ava a peculiar look. "Your hair used to be black. What the hell happened? You aren't -that- old."
There's another milestone worth pointing out. Where the hair goes short and the ink appears out of nowhere. She idly taps a fingertip at that picture and again looks to Ava, this time with a smirk. "And this would be your rebellious phase. Even then you didn't half-ass it. Most people get a purple streak in their hair and something simple like a feather or a ladybug on an ankle."
*
The white-haired vet shrugs helplessly in response. "What can I say, I went white fast. It started on my first deployment and within about four years, *poof*! Personally I blame getting mortared, or the combat dancing… or driving in a convoy," Ava considers, tapping her metal finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I think it was the mortars."
"And hey I used to put a purple extension in when I was back on the block. Had to keep it removable to pass formation on Monday," she defends. "Same reason my first tattoos were under the shirt. I didn't go for sleeves until I went white but that first photo of me in formation? I got my first tribal two days later."
*
"Stress related?" Neena suggests about turning full white so quickly. "Wait. -Combat- dancing? I mean, not that I'm minding" is added with a smile as she reaches over to ruffle the cyborg's short locks. "But seriously. Combat dancing. I am unfamiliar, yet intrigued."
Mention of the purple hair brings another toothy grin from the Hellbino. It isn't until Ava describes her first tattoo that she breaks out laughing! "See, THIS is EXACTLY why I need to follow my instinct. I -was- gonna call out tribal tats as a first choice, hah! Oh Ava, I've got your number."
"But, more importantly," she sobers up to face Posse as directly as possible. It's complete with a hand upon the 'borg's shoulder. "Any consideration to putting the purple back?"
It's hard to tell if that's a teasing smile or a hopeful one!
*
Ava can't help smirking back enough to show teeth. It's a smile but one she's not quite fully committed to. It is at her expense after all. "Yeah and I think I've got yours too," she retorts as the attention to her hair is repaid by a playful swat to albino's figure-hugging jeans. The abrupt shift of tone catches the cyborg by surprise and, for a moment, she sobers up as well and grants Domino her full focus.
Until she mentions the extension. Then the white-haired vet snickers. "Yeah, yeah, I've still got it. It just doesn't go with 'shaved mouse'. But I do have something a little different you might like," she trails off with a mischievous glint in her eye and a tight-lipped smile.
*
"Feel free to call it anytime" Neena teases a bit further, taking the slap without protest.
There's something about the 'shaved mouse' description which brings a chuckle from the mercenary but before she can go into any detail Ava's gone and gotten her curiosity back into gear. "Oh -do- you now? Sounds to me like it's time we took this field trip somewhere else," she suggests then leans over to kiss the side of Ava's stubbly head.
*
The cyborg smiles and chuckles as she dips her head in to return the favor along Neena's neck. "Not that kind of something. You'll find out later," she assures as both hands come around to grab the albino by the rump.
*
"Yeah, I've seen your caliber of surprises," Neena reminds the other lady with a grin as her arms go high to Ava's shoulders. "Don't keep me waiting -too- long. There's only so much patience to go around."
*
The white-haired vet teases the albino a little more before letting go and pushing back against Neena's hips as she ducks under her arms, putting a conversational distance between them once again. A coy smile plays on her lips as she resumes, "You asked about combat dancing too. That's up your alley. I learned it from some Brits I shared a base with. You wait until prayer time and climb up on a HESCO barrier then start blasting music and dance around there while getting shot at. Winner is the one who stays up dancing the longest before ducking for cover."
*
There's still no complaining from the albino, she makes the most of the moment before releasing Ava back into the wild. Idle amusement remains upon her face as she looks back to the wall of pictures during the description. "Oh, you aren't kidding. I would have won -so many bets- doing that" she chuckles while going backward in Ava's timeline to the earlier photos. "Something to keep in mind for the next birthday bash. Also, these boys were the luckiest kids in the barracks," is suggested while motioning to the photo of the bunch of guys all holding up Posse. "It still throws me seeing people in camo smiling so much."
*
Ava's smile widens as she looks at the photograph with wistful fondness then glances back to Neena. "Those 'boys' are every one of 'em special ops. That's why we're all shaved clean and if you look close my arm's all chewed to heck. Florida swamp phase has some nasty critters. I still don't know what got me but it burned like fresh-spent brass all up my arm."
The cyborg raises her left, prosthetic limb to illustrate. "Believe it or not that's what pushed me into being serious about tattoos. I was looking to pretty up the scars and by then the tattoo policy was relaxing."
*
Oh, now this is interesting. Neena slowly pivots about and rests hands upon hips, eyeing up the chief of security. "You spent time in a Florida swamp? What could you have -possibly- been doing down there unless you were fishing for rejects?" she kids. Still, mention of the scars has her peering closer still at the picture.
"Some pretty nasty spiders down there but it's unusual to see that amount of damage unless you passed the hell out in a nest of 'em. I'd guess bacterial, never see it coming and never know it's there until it's too late." She pauses then dips her head slightly. "I may have had a session or two about weaponizing natural resources. Both are easier to manipulate than gators."
*
"Training course," Ava shrugs. "Nine weeks of good training around base, up a mountain, then parachuting into a Florida swamp so the boys could get their dicks wet. I definitely knew /something/ was there but medical care wasn't exactly ready on hand. Took a few days… maybe a week? Lots of educational suck."
*
"That's some pretty harsh shit," Neena sympathizes in a gentler tone. "I've heard stories but lucked out on living the experience. Being all super secret squirrel they simulated a lot of the conditions within the facility. The heat and cold, insomnia, starvation, all the usual suspects. Got to avoid situations like that," she again taps the picture with Ava's scar. "Knew you were a tough bitch from the start. No wonder you wore that ink with pride."
"Heh. Look at us. The difference between home-brewed and lab-grown."
*
"Honestly it ain't so bad once you get used to it. You learn to embrace the suck," the white-haired vet replies. "I don't ever want to do it again but I'd never take it back. Real great motivation when that happened within a week of the finish line. I'm pretty sure my arm could have fallen off and I'd have just tied it in place to avoid redoing the course," she admits with a laugh.
"We do have that going between us don't we?" Ava considers in amusement before reaching over to play with the long side of Neena's hair. "I wasn't always a tough bitch. Army helped me do that, unscrewed my head, shit down my neck, then screwed it back on facing straight. I was a useless little puke growing up."
*
"Yeah, yeah," Neena drawls a little. "Embrace the suck. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Failure is death. Right there with you on the motivational speeches." All the same she does give Ava something of an appraising look, thoughtful for a moment.
The moment passes when Posse reaches out, prompting the albino to brush fingertips along the cyborg's outstretched arm. "Not a big fan of Ava one point oh, huh," she suggests with a humorless smirk. "Hey, it still gave you the opportunity to learn. Looking back, what was your favorite part of training?"
*
Ava smiles warmly back, meeting Neena's eyes as her fingers play just a little longer before dropping away again. "Family," she answers without needing a moment's thought and nods back towards the photo wall. "The brothers I had back at base waiting for me and the new ones I made out in the suck. I had sisters too but not so many. That swamp phase was in a leadership course, small unit tactics and stuff like that, it wasn't snake-eating Army of One sierra. Half of the training from Basic up is on looking out for your buddy, that's where the creatine-fueled Rambos wash out."
*
It isn't the answer which Neena is expecting but in all fairness it should have been. While Ava speaks she's looking back to the pictures, reading closer into them one at a time. Food for thought, no doubt.
"Not to get all deep on you or anything but the part that you liked the most is the one thing which I never had. So," she pauses while stepping toward the cyborg to stand beside her with an arm draped across her shoulders so they can both still look at the wall.
"Let's work through this 'proper ID' security clearance thing. Then maybe we can work on this together. I can help give you some of that feeling back and you can show me what I've been missing out on."
*
An arm reaches around Neena's waist and draws her in against the vet's side while Ava's eyes pass slowly from picture to picture on a journey through time. The metal of her far shoulder is cool and hard but the black suit around it is reassuringly soft and yielding. Now if only it didn't cover all those tattoos.
"That's been my objective from day one. You're in my squad now, Spot. You don't get to fall out," she replies as she tilts her head just enough to rest against the short side of Neena's hair.
*