Arsenal Who: Res and Keane When: Through-out the day, early evening Where: All over the place
Keane was a man with a mission. He'd done a lot of asking around, and had finally gotten someone to admit something. They couldn't find Nina. That was a fucking bombshell. Now, he had to enlist Res. Which was a bit of a daunting task, considering she'd been in a bit of a Mood for a while now. He wasn't quite sure why either, she wasn't talking about it. Nevertheless, armed with new information, he tracked her down.
Res was in a mood, a highly unpleasant one, and had been ever since talking to Nik. Fucker. Fuck him and his fucking... fucker-ness. Why did she even bother? Oh yeah, because he'd completely freaking blindsided her. That wasn't supposed to happen! Having been an absolute bitch to anyone who so much as looked at her all day, Res had found a shady corner on one of the decks and had plunked there with her guitar. She saw Keane coming but kept strumming away, hoping he wouldn't press her again.
"Still Little Miss Sunshine, I see." Keane commented, taking his shades off and slipping them in his pocket. He pulled up a deck chair and sat down across from her, giving her a look to make sure she knew that no, he wasn't going to leave her alone this time. The girl needed something else to do but brood, if that was what she was doing.
Res pretended not to be looking at him, though she definitely was through the dark lenses of her aviator frames. She rolled her eyes and kept playing. "That's me, alright. Little ray of fucking sunshine. Ready to burn the shit out of anyone who looks at me too long." she added, giving him a pointed look.
"Subtle." Keane replied, not bothered. "You can't burn me, Res. Why don't you tell me what's got you in such a mood?" he asked, leaning forward against his knees. He was pretty sure this would just get him yelled at -- again -- but she probably needed to get some of that out of her system, anyway. He didn't mind being her whipping boy. Pathetic as it was, he'd just line up for more.
Res stopped playing and glared at him. "You think you're so fucking smart. What's got me in a mood? Oh, gee, let's fucking think for a second! We're lost at sea with a bunch of fucking morons, no one's found us, no one's going to find us, because we're in an episode of the fucking twilight zone! Do I really need more of a reason than that?!"
"No." Keane answered, unfazed. "But I know that's not why you're acting this way." he added, staring right back at her. He couldn't see her eyes, but he knew he had them.
Fucker! She hated when he got like this. So sure and steady and acting like he was right. Even worse when he fucking was right, there was no living with him when he was right. Fucker knew her too well. How had that happened? "Well thanks a hell of a lot!" she snapped, snarling at him. "What do I owe you for the session, doctor?"
Keane smiled, and wondered if he'd get hit for this. "You know, you look a bit like a baby lion when you snarl at me like that?"
Res' jaw dropped. He was not supposed to be amused. She was angry! He was supposed to cower in fear or leave her the fuck alone! She sputtered for a response, and found that one wasn't actually coming out. Fuck. At a complete loss for anything else, she shifted a bit to kick him in the shin.
Keane had been ready. He had, after all, assumed he'd get some sort of physical retaliation, so when her foot flew towards him, he was ready for it. He grabbed her ankle with both hands, and tugged her a little closer. "Now that I have your attention..."
I'm in hell. That was not how this was supposed to work. Res was now in quite the awkward position. She'd dropped her guitar to lean back on her elbows when he tugged at her, and now she was lying on the ground while Keane held on to her leg. She was going to throw such an epic shitfit. When she got her foot back. She could have fought him off and kicked him away, but that might have actually involved really hurting him, which wasn't actually something she was willing to do. Fucker. Res sighed heavily and dropped fully to the ground, abandoning the fight for now as she stared up at the sky. "Cockmongering pigfucking asshole." she mumbled. "I could kick your ass if I really wanted to, you know."
Keane only grinned wider. "Probably." he agreed. "But you don't look so tough right now." Because he knew she would hate hearing that, he didn't give her time to respond. He hurried on to the next subject. "Nina is missing."
He was right, she did not like hearing that. It only made her rethink whether or not she wanted to kick him in the face. Luckily, his tactic worked. She didn't bother getting up, but she turned her head a bit to see his face. "What do you mean, missing?"
"Missing. As in, not found. Not here." Keane answered. "I thought maybe she would tell us the real story if I agreed to lie for her and try to help boost morale. But after calling around I got someone from guest services to admit that no one's seen her in a few days. They checked her room and she hasn't been there. So either she's hiding somewhere -- which I'm not sure I'd blame her for, or something very fucked up is happening."
Okay. Yeah. So. That did it. Keane now had her full attention - not that he was ever far away from it, anyway. Res sat up, and had to shake his grip off her leg since that made her face level with her own damn knee. "That's fucked." she said. Not 'maybe' something very fucked up is happening, that was quite within the realm of completely, thoroughly fucked. Even if the bitch was just hiding... well, that only made Res want to find her and kick her cowardly ass.
"I thought you'd see it my way." Keane responded, having released her ankle. She wasn't going anywhere. "Which is why I'm putting you to work. I need your help. You in?" He knew he didn't really have to ask. They'd always had each other's backs. But she was having a bad day, so he gave her the option anyway.
Res took off her glasses and rolled her eyes at him again. "Give me a break." she said. "What's the plan?"
Hm, maybe he shouldn't have let her go. This might get him kicked again. "I think you need to make friends with a crew member. They're not talking otherwise, so I think it's time to play dirty."
Make friends? He was kidding, right? Res stared at him like he had completely lost his mind. "And I need to do this... why? You're better at that shit than I am, charismatic and shit. I don't have the patience for people. Why me?" Obviously.
Keane sighed. "All of the higher ranking crew and security are male, Res." Asking her to do this was physically painful, and it kind of made him want to kick his own ass, but he knew she could do it. "You're better suited to charm it out of them."
...Oh. Now Res got it. She made a face and slumped forward a bit. She didn't feel like playing nice or charming anybody. "Can't I just beat someone up?" she asked, whined was more like it.
Keane snorted. "Trust me, if he touches you I'll beat him up. I'm not asking you to anything more than charm him a little. As soon as he spills it you can do whatever you want."
Res pouted as she put her sunglasses back on and lay back down again. "Why don't you do it? I'm sure we can find a gay guy. You can take one for the team."
Keane smirked a bit. "You and I both know you're better at this. You're good with men." He would fucking know, that was for sure. "You could charm the pants off of any man here if you really wanted to." And just in case applying to her ego didn't work... "Maybe you can make him cry."
Res blinked. ...Cry? That would do wonders for her mood. She sat up again and pushed her shades to the top of her head. "Next time, save us both a couple of minutes start with that."
An hour later, Res had herself a target. She felt a little ridiculous, but... hell, it was better than what she had been doing. She'd chosen a security guard she remembered seeing at one of the Tumbler Renegade shows, and after watching him for a while, she finally saw him getting on one of the elevators, and she made her mark. "Hold the doors!" she said, picking her pace up to a run. She made it just in time, and flashed a small smile at him as the doors closed behind her. "Thanks."
He offered a small, awkward smile back and looked away. He looked like a lot of other security guards and crew members did right now, tense and uneasy. "What floor?"
Res' eyes flickered to the console and she smiled again. "Same as you." she said, leaning back against the wall. "Hey... what's your name?"
He looked over out of the corner of his eye and then back at the doors. "Mark."
"Mark," Res repeated, finding that ridiculously appropriate. "I recognize you." she said. "I saw you at the show we did. I guess you were off-duty, huh?" When he didn't say anything, she went on. "I'm trying to figure out if you look better off-duty or not. The uniform really works for you." God, I am so gross. If I ever really said anything like that I'd bash my face in.
Mark looked over at her, actually turning his head to do so this time. He stared at her for a second, like he was trying to figure out if he was being flirted with or not. After a moment he smiled back. "You guys were good."
"Aren't you sweet." Res replied, grinning at him. She held the eye contact for a few seconds, just long enough, before sighing and looking away. "I guess they must be working you guys pretty hard right now." she said, shaking her head. "That's a shame."
"They tend to." Mark agreed, playing it up a little bit. "But I can take it. Whatever needs to be done, you know?"
Yeah, we're all floating aimlessly in the devil's triangle, and you're really gonna be the rent-a-cop that makes a difference. Res kept her thoughts to herself and smiled back at him again. "How does it work?" she asked. "Are you like... worked into exhaustion, or do you still get time off?"
"Oh, no, we still work in shifts. We can be called in for emergencies, though." Like this morning. He didn't mention that, though. She was definitely flirting with him, but he still had to keep his mouth shut.
"Yeah?" Res asked, looking interested. After a moment she bit her bottom lip through a grin, and cast her eyes to the floor. She toed lightly at the ground, still leaning heavily on her arms, before looking up at him again. "What time do you get off tonight?"
Mark was feeling like a kid on Christmas. He smiled back, watching her move before bringing his eyes up to hers again. "Six."
"Excellent." Res replied. "Why don't you meet me at the Cult at seven." she added. "Things have been kind of... heavy, here. I could really use a chance to lighten up. I'm sure you could too." she added, just suggestive enough to be alluring and not hate herself for it at the same time.
Mark's entire face lit up and he nodded. "I'll be there. Res, right?"
Res grinned again as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "That's right." she said. "I'll see you tonight." She stepped off the elevator and parted ways from him, making a grossed out face as soon as she headed away. Beating him up would have been a lot easier.
Keane had insisted on going to the Cult of Dionysus with Res, though he was sure he'd hate himself for it later. He hated watching Res flirt with guys, but he was too much of an overprotective bastard to let her go alone. So he followed her to the bar for her 'date', and had made sure she bloody well knew that he'd be waiting in the Oceanview if she had any problems. "Did you have to wear something so revealing?" he found himself asking, as they were in the elevator together.
Res, who had been adjusting her complete lack of cleavage, raised an eyebrow at the question. She hated having the body of a little boy, but implants would make her hate herself. "If something's worth doing, it's worth doing right." she said, shrugging. "What's it matter? I wear shit worse than this on stage. You've never said anything about it before." It wasn't that bad. Well, okay, it was, but she figured anything she could do to hurt Mark's IQ could only help make this go quicker. She wore a sleeveless little black dress with the neckline slit down to her navel, along with her ever-present combat boots.
Keane smirked a bit as he determinedly did not look at her. His IQ was taking a bit of a beating itself. "You really are going to make this guy cry." he said, shaking his head. God knows I would. This had seemed like a much better idea a few hours ago. How did he always get himself in these situations? Because you're an idiot. Oh, right. That'd be it. The elevator doors open and he gave her a joking salute. "Good luck."
Res had been giving him a weird look, but when the doors open she shrugged and stretched, as if preparing for a work-out or a fight. "Let's get this shit over with."
It wasn't hard to find Mark, and she spent the next forty-five minutes dancing, and doing her best to pour drinks down the fucker. After a while she insisted that he was tiring her out, and she dragged him over to a little table in the corner. She flagged down a server and had her bring them a couple of shots, one of which she handed to Mark.
"I shouldn't." he said, grinning at her. "I really shouldn't. Are you trying to get me drunk?"
That was the general idea, yes. Res grinned as she put it in his hand. "You're off-duty." she reminded him. "And you need to relax. That's why we're here, remember?"
Still grinning at her, he sighed and threw back the shot. Res was a hard person to say no to, and he didn't particularly want to, anyway. This was working out quite well for him.
Res did her own shot, really glad she had such a high tolerance right about now. She grinned again and leaned forward against the table. "You don't know how bad I needed this." she said, pouting briefly. "People have been driving me crazy."
Mark cocked his head to the side, and his posture mirrored hers as he leaned forward. "What's wrong? Who's been botherin' you?" he asked, nearly slurring some of his words. He was definitely buzzed.
"Oh... no one specific. You've been getting the same thing, I'm sure. Worse, probably. I don't envy you at all." Res said, shaking her head. "People assume that just because I'm technically staff that I have some sort of information. I bet you get that pretty bad, huh?" She looked up, holding Mark's eyes for a moment, but she didn't really give him a lot of time to respond. "I tell people I don't know anything, and I don't care to. Everyone's doing their job. All anyone can do is support them, and trust them, to get us through this. People like you." she added, smiling softly.
Mark stared into her eyes, and after a moment, smiled back. "I wish everyone on this ship was like you." he said. "Most people couldn't imagine how hard my job is right now. And nobody appreciates it."
"I do." Res replied, trying her best to sound earnest and encouraging. "I can't imagine what you're going through." She reached across the table and took one of his hands in both of hers, squeezing it softly. "I know it's not easy. You'll get through this." I am going to have to take eight showers before I sleep tonight. Yuuuuuck.
Mark looked down at their hands and then back to Res' eyes, before squeezing back. "You're a really sweet girl, Res. Things have been... rough."
Jesus, that's a first. Time to get this shit over with. "Do you..." She hesitated, and squirmed a bit in her chair, before inching a bit closer and lowering her voice. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "Anything. It's not good to carry that kind of stuff around. And I can see that you are. Your shoulders are heavy with it. It's not good for you."
Mark hesitated, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't look at her. But he didn't say no, either, although he most certainly would have if he'd been sober. She was so tempting...
"We're on the same side, Mark." Res added, voice still hushed. "You don't have to hide anything from me."
Mark stared at their hands for another long moment, before sitting up and flagging a waitress down. He ordered a couple more shots, and was quiet until after he and Res took them. "We got called in early today. Put on high alert."
Oh shit, here we go. Res frowned and leaned closer. "High alert? Why?"
"We had to search for people, again. We been searching every day, we haven't found anything. There is nothing to be found."
"You're still searching the ship for people who went missing the other night?" Res asked.
Mark chuckled lightly, but it was not a happy sound. "I wish." he said, shaking his head. "No. Other people. People that should be there. That cruise director lady, a few passengers, some staff... even security. People that were there on January first. They're gone. A movie star, she and her assistant are gone. It's only a matter of time before that gets out. People are gonna wanna crucify us."
Res was starting to feel a little sick. Was he talking about Sophie? She'd met her, their first day onboard. "Well where are they going?" she blurted out.
"I don't know! No one does." Mark answered, now too busy wallowing in his own misery to realize Res was starting to get upset. "Nina's room, it hadn't been touched in at least a day. It's like this people disappeared. The only place they could have gone is overboard, and none of these people knew each other. It's not like they'd all jump together. Someone's gotta be... gotta be..."
"Gotta be what?" Res asked. Her voice was hushed, but she wasn't doing it on purpose this time.
"Someone's gotta be doing it." Mark said. "Throwing them off or something. But we can't find any sign of a struggle or anything, or anyone that's seen any of these people in days..." He sighed and looked up at her again. "I'm glad I can talk to you."
Res stared at him, and sat a little straighter. "...Are you out of your fucking mind?" she screamed at him. People around the room turned to look in their direction, as Res let go of his hands and stood up. "What the fuck are you doing here? What the fuck is wrong with you!? Get out there and do something, you pansy assed little momma's boy! Search rooms, interrogate people, tell everyone..." she paused, and for a moment looked like she wanted to tear her hair out. "Why the hell am I telling you this? You should know this shit! God, you fail, dude. What the fuck? What the fuck?"
Mark, for his part, looked suitably horrified, and confused as any human could be. He looked seconds away from actually flailing as he looked around the room, as he tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened. He jumped to his feet and reached for Res, knowing if nothing else he needed to get her to quiet down.
Big mistake. When he reached out to touch her, Res hauled off and punched him in the mouth. Maybe she didn't look like much, but she knew how to fight, and how to make one hit count. She'd had to fight for her life before, after all. Not expecting that, Mark flew back, and he tripped backwards over his chair. "Sober up, dipshit." Res spat at him, before heading for the door.
Keane heard some commotion, and had been running from the door when Res stepped into the hall. "What happened?" he demanded. Res didn't look good.
Res looked up at him, a little wide-eyed, and feeling a bit like she wanted to go door-to-door herself and knock some sense into people. "We're fucked. That's what happened."