Savannah Posey (jurisdoctor) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2015-12-31 22:44:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | # 2018 [12] december, pete whelan, savannah posey |
Who: Pete and Savannah
Where: Savannah's office
What: a long overdue conversation
When: December 9
The toxic snow falling down over Austin had made things pretty interesting the last few days. Having Teagan and Pete trapped there, unable to go out in the dangerous conditions, was right there at the top of the list. Though she’d spent time with and chatted with Pete a few times in the past few days, he made the deliberate effort in asking if they could talk, and that’s how they found themselves sitting in her office. As she’d done with Demi, Savannah sat on the couch, leaving the other end free for Pete to occupy. After knowing him for so long, it would have felt far too formal to have a desk separating them. “So what did you want to talk about?” she asked, once they were both settled in. Pete leaned against the armrest of the couch, turning sideways to better face her. The last few days had been nothing short of surreal, and he hoped the snow would stop falling soon so he could get out of the LBJ and get back home. It wasn't even like this was just a one night stand that lasted for more than he'd bargained for, too, even if the last time he'd seen Savannah before Christmas Eve had been when they'd had sex before his trip to Luckenbach. There was all that other shit to contend with, all the stuff he'd been pushing away on purpose ever since he had seen her at the Dog Park the day that it had been bombed. "I don't even know where to begin." He studied her face as he talked, trying to see if he could pick up on anything different about her, something that could explain why she'd made the choices she had, and came up empty-handed. "I guess we could start with just how long your shelter's been allied with the Hellhounds?" Letting out a sigh, Savannah reached up to run her fingers through her hair, cradling her head a moment before looking back up at Pete. “Officially, not that long. But--Rodeo was the one who found Gray after he’d been bitten back in August. That’s when I went there for the first time.” It was hard to believe that four months had already passed since that terrible day. So much had happened in such a relatively short time, but now that Savannah saw the Mayor for what he really was, there was no way she could go back. "I wondered how he ended up in a crossfire between raiders and the Capitol." He'd heard about Gray disappearing, of course, and though he still couldn't help the annoyance he still felt whenever he thought of Savannah's then-boyfriend, remembering what had happened to him in the end did temper that. Pete watched her carefully as he added: "How do you know that they had his best interests in mind when they found him?" Savannah figured if she was going to tell Pete the truth, she’d have to go all the way, no matter how painful it was to relive these memories. “Gray and Rodeo both told me how some Patrolmen surrounded them and like all idiot villains, revealed their plan of how they were going to kill Gray and tell Olinger that the Dog King did it. So it’s might’ve been that the only reason Rodeo saved Gray was to save his own reputation,” Savannah shrugged lightly. “But they let him stay there while he went through Quarantine and they let me, Maizie and Day into the Dog Park to see him. Gray trusted them. Even after Gray was shot by Patrolmen, Rodeo--” Savannah paused and took a breath, thinking of those days following Gray’s death… of his body being delivered to the library and the memorial they held for him. “They’ve helped us ever since then when they didn’t have to. After Gray died, they could’ve gone back to the Dog Park and never contacted me again. But that ain’t what happened.” "Maybe he's trying to keep up his reputation around you." Pete wasn't totally heartless; he had never liked Gray all that much, but he knew Savannah had and after they'd stopped dating each other, it wasn't his business who she was with as long as she seemed happy. And it was a nice story, kind of, if you were into that whole outlaw with a heart of gold kind of thing. He wasn't. "So now you're in this kind of… Alliance, thing? What exactly does that mean for your shelter?" Savannah had to believe that she could trust Pete. Even after everything they’d been through over the years and the fact that they clearly didn’t see eye-to-eye about the Capitol’s intentions with Austin. But despite that, she had no reason to withhold information. “They’ve been helpful. That other gang in the city has threatened my scouts and the Hellhounds have gotten them out of more than one sticky situation. And we don’t have to trade supplies with the Capitol anymore for water now that we have our own water source. Also means we don’t have so send as many supply scouts out into the city and expose them to those risks.” What had happened to Olivia and Nadia had really shaken her, especially having to live with Olivia and see the harm Los Nahuales had done to her every day. Of course there were other advantages, like having a common enemy, but Savannah knew Pete wouldn’t be interested in hearing something like that. These were reasonable arguments. If Pete hadn't been predispositioned to trust the Hellhounds as far as he could throw them, even after the help he'd lent them back in October, he would've accepted them at face value. Before he could even start to consider them in depth, though, something she'd said was sticking with him. "So where did the water come from?" Pete had never had reason to question why the Capitol was the source of the UMCB's water, after all. To him, it made perfect sense, and he'd never lacked it. "I'm guessing the Hellhounds?" Savannah nodded, confirming what Pete already knew. “Yeah, they helped us find a clean water source. It’s a bit of work to go and collect the water ourselves but it beats the alternative of having to trade the majority of our supplies away to get water from the Capitol.” "And you really believe they're in this with the best of intentions? You trust that water's safe?" He knew that Savannah was more or less humoring him by even taking all these questions. Still, providing medical assistance when none was available was completely different than actually allying with people whose very existence brought disorder and chaos to the city. "A gang of drug dealers isn't exactly where I'd want to get my water from." Ignoring the drug dealer comment, because she couldn’t even disagree with him (though in the Hellhounds’ defense, that was a part of their past), she said, “They get their water from the same place. Would be pretty stupid to contaminate their own water just to sabotage us.” "Are they the ones who bring it over here or do your people retrieve it?" This was an important point, Pete felt, one that needed careful scrutiny. "They could always do something to it on the way here, you know." “We go and get the water ourselves. Most of the supply scouts work in water transport now since we don’t have to collect so many supplies for tradin’ anymore. So, no, they don’t do somethin’ to it on the way here.” Savannah paused, frowning slightly, wondering how much longer this was going to go on. “Any more questions?” "A lot more, actually." He was curious about what the alliance meant for her shelter, yes, but this was also more information about the Hellhounds than he'd ever get any other time. And if he was going to continue to be in the business of providing Teagan or anyone else with medical care, he needed to know who exactly he was keeping alive and what, exactly, they'd be doing once they were back on their feet. "How do you know it was the Patrolmen who killed him?" Savannah felt her stomach plummet, but of course this was what Pete would care about. It was the foundation of everything, wasn’t it? She looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers, before saying, “I don’t. Okay? I wasn’t there. Gray’s dead so he can’t tell me who shot him,” her voice cracking. “And I’m never gonna know. So maybe Rodeo killed him. But if I start doubtin’ what I know, then I’m really gonna go crazy. So I just can’t go there, okay?” It was a dick question, and anyone else besides Pete would know to just leave it at that. But now that he'd broken through the ice, so to speak, he couldn't stop there. The look he gave her was obviously guilty, though, even as he opened his mouth to speak again. "So you're trusting them with all the people who live in your shelter just because you don't want to think about the possibility that this is all one big play for the LBJ? I mean, these people are willingly dealing one of the most addictive drugs in this city. The shit they do to the people they sell to -- didn't you see that post from Clover a few months ago? And they're just as bad to our scouts as the guys who rolled yours." There was so much more he wanted to say -- like, how could someone who'd previously fought for the law willingly choose to ally herself with those who lived outside it? How could she support a community that survived by attacking the government? Sure, he had friends who were sympathetic to the Hellhounds -- okay, just the one -- but he didn't have the weight of an entire shelter on his shoulders. Savannah let out a sigh of frustration and moved her eyes up to look back at him. “I’m not just deludin’ myself into thinkin’ they’re law abidin’ people, Pete. I see who they are. I’ve taken the time to get to know them so I know they’re not lyin’ to me. Before Gray died he told me how Patrolmen tried to kill him. He got kidnapped by some Ghouls livin’ in the tunnels and the sickos who had him held him down and let a zombie bite him. Then they threw him back out into the city. Gray was wanderin’ around the city when Patrolmen found him and decided that since they had LBJ’s infamous Grayson Wolfe that they’d kill him and be able to take control of the our shelter. The Hellhounds aren’t perfect but there’s no way in hell I’m trustin’ Olinger and anyone else who is supposed to be in charge of protectin’ us.” "Right, and we all know now, thanks to those documentaries, that the Ghouls got the prax in the first place thanks to the Hellhounds." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands tight. "Look, don't get any of this twisted, okay? I'm not saying what happened to Gray is right. And even though I know Teagan deserves to go to jail for the crimes she's committed with that gang of hers, I don't think it's okay that she can't even get care for her or her unborn child without doing some kind of seedy, underground thing." As much as Pete had always supported the Capitol, he couldn't overlook the fact that a government was supposed to provide basic human rights to its people -- even those who broke the law. He felt exhausted, suddenly, all the fight and irritation suddenly drained from him. "Shit was easier when we just had zombies to deal with." Savannah let out a long sigh, watching Pete out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah,” she agreed quietly. She’d always wanted to make a difference and leave her mark, but she never imagined in a million years that she would be responsible for a shelter of over a thousand people after the end of the world. Taking another deep inhale, she said, “Thanks, though, for coming to see her. I know this isn’t easy for you.” "It's not." It was said without malice, though, nor irritation, and when he looked back over at her he offered a small smile. A call for a truce, maybe. "But I couldn't do anything else once I heard about it." Pete paused then, mulling things over in his head, before he added: "You're doing a good job. I mean, this place is still standing, isn't it? That alone's worth something." “It’ll take more than politics to take this place down,” a humorless laugh escaping Savannah before she could control it. It wasn’t even that anything was funny. It was just that she was so exhausted, worn down by life from the past several months. Wouldn’t that just be something if the fighting between factions in the city was the demise of humanity in a zombie apocalypse? Leaning over, she let her head rest against Pete’s arm and said with a weak smile, “But thanks, Pete. You’re a good person, you know, once you get past the whole frat boy exterior.” He returned the smile as best as he could. There were still questions left unasked and unanswered, but for now he was satisfied. "You, too." |