Nina Clarke: ᴍᴀʏᴏʀ, ᴀᴜsᴛɪɴ ᴛx & sʜʏ ʙʟᴏʙ (commonlaw) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-06-08 20:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [06] june, nina clarke, npc: angelica hemings |
Who: Nina Clarke, with a cameo from President Hemings.
Where: The Department of Justice at the Capitol
When: June 3, after the President's address.
What: Moving forward.
Though seeing Kitty Gilmore’s name flash on her phone proved a temporary distraction, the blaring alarms forced Nina Clarke out of the Capitol after only a few minutes. They could still be heard out on the lawn, where she stood with her co-workers and others who’d left rather than stay indoors and suffer the noise of it, but at least this way, she could hear herself think. She glanced around the small crowd, looking for the Commissioner of her Department, and came up emptyhanded. She found this odd — Sebastian Frost was typically the first to remove himself from an uncomfortable situation — but it didn’t give her pause. She was too busy responding to Kitty’s text, grateful to hear that she’d finally returned and suggesting the woman meet her out on the lawn with the children. Normally good at keeping track of time, Nina ceased looking at her phone once she was joined by Kitty, Gigi and Miah. Zach and Kate, both of whom she’d gotten to know during Kitty’s disappearance, followed soonafter and they all fell into conversation, grateful to have Kitty back. She wasn’t sure how long they remained out there, but once the alarms stopped and people began to file back into the building, Nina made her way back to the Department of Justice, filled with a new resolve to get through the day’s work now that Kitty and the others were home. After all, the sooner she finished her duties for the day the sooner she could see them all again. Perhaps she’d see if Joel was back, too — he must be, unless whoever’d taken them become selective about who they returned? Savannah, too. Nina didn’t even know where to begin when it came to unraveling the truth of what they’d been through. And then it happened — the post on the Freenet. Nina wasn’t the first in her Department to see it; that honor belonged to Steven Cross two desks down from her, who’d skimmed the post’s contents and yelped out his surprise. Once others started to check, too, Nina reached for her phone and, thumbing through the posts, found the thing everyone was talking about. She read through it three times before the meaning of it all began to sink in. Testing Prax on zombies? I never heard of such a thing happening here. I suppose that explains why the Prax had been produced in Illinois in 2016, but how long have they been aware that things weren’t right in Austin? Nina put her phone’s display to sleep and set it face-down on her desk, then steepled her fingers together to effectively create the illusion of calm as her mind continued to whirl. A ‘city-wide hostage situation’? It doesn’t make sense, none of it does. How could this have happened? She glanced sideways, towards the Commissioner’s now-empty office, and frowned. People were beginning to file out of the workplace, likely to look for their families and go through the news with them, but Nina remained seated all the while. A few minutes later, she looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat — a woman she’d never seen before, standing in front of her desk. “Ms. Clarke.” It wasn’t a question, either. This woman knew her name. “A moment of your time, if I may?” Though she hadn’t received verification, Nina somehow knew instinctively with whom she was speaking. “Yes,” she said, standing up, then added, “Madam President.” — Afterwards, once President Hemings had said her part and implored Nina to consider the offer before her, she sat down at her desk again. She lay her hands down on it as she looked through her belongings on its surface, attempting to memorize every detail of this moment while the world turned upside down. Austin — her birthplace, the only place that had ever felt like home — needed a mayor. She’d been recommended for the position by Savannah Posey, a woman she trusted beyond a doubt. Things were changing. There was no doubting that. The last three years had been a living nightmare — Nina couldn’t even pinpoint what had been more horrible, the zombies or the people left standing — but it finally felt like dawn was on the horizon. Already she felt lighter, as though the walls weren’t about to close in on her at any moment. Nina reached for her phone, turned it face-side up. She tapped out a single word — Yes. — and sent it on to President Hemings. And then, with another glance behind her, towards Frost’s empty office, she began to type out another message. Isaac, I suspect that by now you’ve already read what’s been posted. President Hemings has put forth the position of Mayor and the opportunity to rebuild my cabinet. The position of Department of Justice Commissioner is open. Do you accept? |