InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm a Kraken from the sea!"

The Heads (the_heads) wrote in indarkness_logs,
@ 2010-08-11 13:25:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2032 08, jason, katie, spike spiegel

RP: Stocking
Characters: Jason, Spike, Katie
Time/Date: just before midnight, August 11
Location: outside/stores/mall/etc
Warnings/Rating: Language, tasers, guns. it's a party :)
Summary: Jason is stocking because he drew the short straw
Status: Complete

"So, great, now that you've got the dogs all riled up, you send some fresh meat out into the thick of them?" Jason arched a brow. "Why don't you send Katie? They wouldn't attack a girl."

"Think at this point they'll attack anything that moves that isn't one of them." Matt thrust the handle of the wagon toward Jason, a grin on his lips as he arched his brows. "Sam and I have a pool going ... whether or not you'll make it back alive from this one." He clapped Jason on the shoulder. "I win if you don't."

"Thanks, that's ... awesome, Matt, thanks." Jason had known things were going to get touchy once they started in on the more ... disturbing aspects of prisoner torture, but it hadn't really occurred to him to think that he was going to have to go out and stock the damn stores ... and that someone might be watching for one of them to make an appearance. After the videos Matt had just flashed around, Jason could only imagine some of the things the more violent residents would want to do to them.

He swiped the handgun from where it was resting on the table as he started to haul the wagon toward the surface. He glanced toward the hotel as he passed, trying to notice if any of the windows were lit up or not. More than that, he was looking to see if anyone was looking out. He wasn't supposed to shoot to kill, but he knew some of the prisoners had guns. And magic. And one was a trained assassin who had been documented taking out a small army of berserkers on her own. But that was fine. He knew how to use a gun. More than that, he knew how to abandon the cart and run like hell if he had to.

Jason knew they were supposedly keeping everyone in check, but they couldn't disable guns the way they could disable the magic. Well, he supposed they could, but no one had mentioned any tampering of the guns, so Jason was going to assume the guns could fire just fine. He was glad that Kevlar was part of his attire for these outings, but it didn't do much to protect his head if someone decided to hit him with a head-shot.

Very carefully, Jason started toward the store behind the gas station to begin the restocking there. He knew there was ammunition to be put out on the next stocking trip ... just to give everyone a fair shot at what they were going to unload.

He was also supposed to be stashing weapons in a few days for people to find and get some warning that they might need things like that.

Jason was making his own bets as to how many were going to survive if they let the berserkers - reavers, whatever - get into the building. It wasn't like the doors to the rooms were going to stop them. And there weren't exactly a lot of people who had any wide-range attacks.

It was going to be interesting, he thought. Very interesting. Matt, he knew, was very eagerly looking forward to some injuries. Maybe even some full-on carnage. Jason was wondering, now, if people were going to band together for it or not. He was betting not, at this point, but he'd been wrong before.

Humming a little, but still trying to keep an ear out for footsteps, Jason pushed open the door to the convenience store behind the gas station.

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lunkhead
2010-08-15 04:03 am UTC (link)

Spike knew that the chances were fifty-fifty as to whether the nod was a distraction or a genuine warning that there was something - or someone - to see. He took his chances and zeroed his aim on the stocker's chest instead of looking behind him. Even if there was something back there, he'd just be doubly screwed over if he took his focus off the initial target. This was basic common sense as far as he was concerned...

The female voice came mere seconds after he pulled the hammer back - an unnecessary move turned into a gesture of assurance that he'd not fall for the 'look behind you' trick. Too bad it wasn't much of a trick. His expression darkened in response to her words, becoming less borderline-playful and much more antagonistic.

Spike stood his ground silently, staring down the male as if daring him to move. He didn't speak his refusal to surrender, as it was obvious enough without ruining the moment - or his own concentration. But he also didn't shoot just yet. It was nearly like a twisted game in his mind, the way he allowed a clash of wills to develop. A challenge to try stopping him...

What did he care if everyone died from lack of supplies? What did he care if he had to fight off an entire pseudo-colony of angry people? He could handle it. He'd handled worse before. Or maybe he was just too stubborn to think rationally in regards to the plethora of possible consequences. After all, when he'd handled worse, it had been with much more than a single, 9mm pistol... and with a lot more ammo.

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the_heads
2010-08-15 04:12 am UTC (link)

Jason did flinch a little at the sound of the hammer clicking. It was turning into a really interesting stand-off, and he wondered if Katie had any balls and could do what she had to do to save his ass. Or at least prevent some very serious injury. Or severe bruising. He did have the vest on, after all, but he'd never actually been shot at while wearing it. It was still going to hurt, right?

"C'mon," Katie repeated as she stepped a little closer, assessing the situation. "I really, really don't want to shoot you, because then there's that whole messy clean-up issue, and they'd be pissed if we wasted one of their guests. But if you don't stop pointing your gun at him, I'm just ... going to have to.

"We're not the ones you're after. Hurting us won't mean anything to them, I promise you that. Especially him. He's just a stock boy. So, point your gun down, head out, and we'll call it a night, all right?"

She didn't really think he'd listen, and she probably shouldn't have bothered talking, but if they could get through this without anyone getting hurt, that'd be great.

Jason was ... somewhat less than thrilled with Katie's not incapacitating the guy with the gun pointed at him, but he didn't think saying anything just now was going to help that.

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lunkhead
2010-08-15 04:24 am UTC (link)

Great. The girl was waxing poetic about why he shouldn't kill the bastard. Somehow, that didn't persuade Spike. In fact, if anything, he took it as a challenge. He had the gut feeling that someone who would admit to not wanting to hurt him wasn't that high on the list of people he should be afraid of, anyway.

While she did have a point that the Heads likely wouldn't care if he killed or injured either of them... Well, he didn't particularly care. He wanted to make a statement, perhaps even coax the sadistic jerks out of hiding. And he was in a bad enough mood lately that death and destruction in any form was more than welcome.

Again, Spike remained silent. There were no witty remarks or faux surrenders. Instead, he just pulled the trigger...

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the_heads
2010-08-15 04:40 am UTC (link)

Katie flinched at the sound of the shot, but stepped forward anyway and aimed the taser at the center of the shooter's back. She couldn't recall his name, if she'd even known it. She really wasn't much for the observing; she was generally the field worker. That was her job, and that was what she did.

Jason's eyes widened as he felt the impact kind of spread all over his upper body as he staggered backward, crashing in a very non-graceful manner over the wagon. He thought he saw Katie moving, but it was kind all a blur and he'd fucking been shot, and was on the ground. Definitely going to bruise, and maybe something like a rib was broken, and Matt? Was probably laughing his ass off right now.

He half-hoped someone else would come up to try to diffuse the situation if Katie hadn't managed to.

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lunkhead
2010-08-15 05:05 am UTC (link)

Spike smirked - a deranged, nearly-sinister sort of expression. There was something about the moment someone realized they'd been shot that amused him in all the wrong ways. He watched the stocker's eyes widen, watched the fall, and allowed himself a low chuckle. Well, that was relatively easy. And he wasn't dead himself, so clearly he hadn't underestimated the girl. Or so it seemed, anyway.

Rather than turning to face the girl, he moved his aim to her colleague's head. The lack of blood was something of an easy clue that some sort of armor was involved, but still... the reaction alone was enough to stop him from being completely distracted by the lacking fatality.

"One's enough," he said in a clearly-taunting tone. The kind one might expect from a serial killer with a horribly dark sense of humor. "Run away now, and I won't kill you." Of course, it was clear that the same courtesy was in no way going to be extended to the male half of the minion team.

Little did Spike know that she was aiming straight for him... with something he'd least expect. If anything at all, he half-expected to be shot if she found her strength. But to be tased? That was an entirely different ball game.

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the_heads
2010-08-15 05:28 am UTC (link)

Katie's finger slipped slightly on the grip when the man had fired, but as he started to speak, her finger found the trigger again, the taser pointed closer to the small of his back rather than higher up where she'd aimed before. She hissed a little and tried to see past him to make sure Jason was all right, and oh man did she ever hope the gun didn't go off again with an unprotected part of Jason in the bullet's path.

His words registered only after she'd fired, and she pulled a little face. Well, she wouldn't have minded taking off, honestly, but they couldn't really afford to bring new people into employment this late in the game. So it was better that Jason live, lest the rest of them be relegated to stocking duties.

Watching the guy to make sure it had worked, she glanced over to Jason to see if he was moving yet.

He'd laid there for a few seconds, wheezing and gasping, mouth gaping like a fish out of water before he managed to push himself up. He felt a little nauseated, and he hunched over slightly as he started to make his way toward the nearest exit, bumping into shelves and the fridge compartments as he went.

Well, that had gone well, hadn't it?

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lunkhead
2010-08-15 06:03 am UTC (link)

Spike had honestly expected the girl to run... or even run a bit then turn around and decide to shoot him. He was prepared to pull the trigger the second he felt the bullet, or perhaps even sooner - when he heard her run away. But neither circumstance arose.

In fact, Spike wasn't prepared at all for what happened. There was just a sharp sting and... well, all he knew was that it wasn't a bullet. The pain came first, strong enough to send him to his knees with a rather loud, pained 'growl'... and then, before he'd fully hit the floor, came the worst part. Pain he could handle but... there was no way to handle this. No way to push past it, no way to do anything but allow whatever it was (for he wasn't familiar with tasers) to run its course. His muscles trembled, his sense of balance faltered... and somehow he ended up face-down on the floor while intending to reach for the gun which had fallen from his hand. But his body didn't quite wish to cooperate with that command. Which was all for the better, since he'd have likely shot himself in the haze of pain and lost control.

Though it was over quickly, Spike felt as if it had taken minutes. He pushed himself up, leaving his palms flat on the floor, and struggled for a moment to regain his equilibrium. The room seemed to be moving, though not completely spinning, and he had to stare at his gun for a long moment before becoming certain of just where it was in relation to his body. He moved to reach for it, but was stopped by the feeling of something sharp; so instead of immediately turning around to kill the girl, he pulled the probes from his back. (Not that he knew what they were.)

"Fucking bitch," was the first thing he said - in a venomous sort of tone that was better suited for his psychopathic ex-best friend than himself. But... Well, he wasn't exactly in a pleasant mood to begin with. Now, he was in an even worse mood. Whatever she'd done, he wasn't amused by it. Slowly - not out of carefulness but out of uncertainty as to whether quick movements would be disastrous - he reached forward to grab his gun. Though he'd never admit such a thing, he really hoped the girl wouldn't be able to do that again.

[Ooc: I know nothing about tasers, so I did a couple of Google searches and ran with what they seemed to agree on. My apologies if it's not completely accurate/realistic.]

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the_heads
2010-08-15 06:16 am UTC (link)

"Yeah," she agreed as she watched him, and she popped in another cartridge. They really needed to invest in some damn multi-fire ones or something, because she was sure there was going to come a time when she wouldn't have time to reload, and would either have to reach for her gun or ... well, be shot in the meantime.

"That's what we do instead of shooting. Not as messy. I'll do it again," she informed him. It wasn't an empty threat, either, and she glanced over very briefly to make sure Jason was well on his way out if not out already. He could use the backdoor - the one she'd come up through - instead of having to go all the way around the way he'd come down, so she wasn't worried about having to detain the shooter for long.

"The more I do it, the longer it takes to recover," she explained as she started to back up toward the door, having little desire to hang out here longer than necessary. Honestly, she wasn't sure if that was true or not, but it sounded good. She wasn't inclined to be shot, and while she was counting on him to assume she had armor too, that didn't mean he wouldn't try to aim for her head.

She really thought about making a grab for his gun, but he'd just get it back in a couple of days anyway ... and she smirked a little at that thought. She knew what was coming, because she'd done half the arrangements for the berserkers. Reavers. Whatever.

"So next time, think twice before going after the stockboys," she suggested as she pushed open the door and slid into the back room before pivoting to dart toward the one-way trap door, which Jason was oh so kindly holding open for her, and which she'd propped open on her way up, because wow, would it have sucked for her to have to go out the long way.

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lunkhead
2010-08-15 06:30 am UTC (link)

Spike wasn't one to let the threat of harm stop him, but something about the warning that it would take longer to recover made what little self-preservation instinct he had left take charge. He placed his hand over the Jericho possessively, but made no move to pick it up. Whether he planned to shoot her or not - and really, he would have if he'd picked it up - he had a feeling she'd shoot first and... That wasn't something he wanted to do again.

'I will,' he thought, finally moving to sit properly on the floor after he was certain she'd started walking away. 'Unfortunately for you.' Why go after the stockboy when he'd just found a very good reason to kill the female counterpart thereof? He didn't see a very good glimpse of her, just enough to note that she seemed to be a brunette or perhaps a dark-blond; but he figured it didn't matter in the long run. His ultimate goal was to kill them all, anyway. He just... needed to figure out a way to either obtain more fire power or protect himself from the electricity-gun... thing.

Spike reholstered his Jericho and lit a cigarette, moving to stand only once the flame had taken. So maybe things hadn't quite gone according to plan. And maybe his 'message' had been lost somewhere along the way. But at least he could hope he'd scared the hell out of the stockboy. Perhaps even busted a rib or two, depending on how strong the armor was.

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