| Subject: The counter move. |
Author:
Polly
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Date Posted: 10/22/13 5:40:19am
In reply to:
Ruger Moss
's message, "/|\Kick It In the Sticks|\" on 10/21/13 10:28:20pm
Polly beamed as Ruger burst out into his throaty laughter. Her eyes flickered now and again to catch the clearly amused look lighting his eyes and the way the laughter carved his face into an almost completely different Ruger. She had managed to keep control of her own amusement until the words "panty-droppin" crossed his lips. She immediately snorted and let out a stifled little giggle which was muffled by her left hand as she brought it up to cover her mouth. She tried really hard to listen to what he said after that, but it took her a moment to recover and she was driving after all.
Ruger had her attention as soon as he referenced the promise. When her eyes flickered to him she was perceptive enough to catch exactly what he was throwing. He didn't want her blood on his hands and he felt that was likely because of association. Those were things she understood, it wasn't a complex situation at the heart of things. And because he begged her with those almost fragile blue eyes, to not press him on it...she didn't. There wasn't a part of that man that seemed vulnerable, but it was clear that this situation, with her, was what had him feeling so strongly. She remembered his words, about having had someone depend on him and how it didn't work out. It didn't take a rocket scientist to get the gist of the situation and Polly had no intention to press him for all the little nuances that would serve no other purpose than to cause him pain.
She was quiet as he spoke. There was a gruff little growl of energy that held the same persistent chord of protection she'd felt when he'd held her gaze and they'd exchanged those impromptu vows in the eye of a storm. It only served to further strengthen her resolve. Eventually he relaxed as he spoke about roughing it in her neck of the woods and as if in his element once more, that smirk returned to his face and the moment passed. "Well, I get the feeling I'm getting the better end of the deal here, but you're not going to hear me complaining about it. We can have this chat again in the future if the situation changes. Polly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear after turning once more. 'Til the end of the goddamn earth, she remembered his voice, like a lick of flame down her spine.
"I meant what I said, Ruger Moss; I have no reason to go looking for your mark without you. I don't even know what sort of demon that was and even Sister Eve isn't going to be able to learn much from whatever might be left in that building." Polly hoped it would ease his mind a bit, knowing her own trail was quite cold without him. "And should he start chasing, when I'm out and about, I'll run in your direction, 'cause I can't promise not to piss him off if he tries to get handsy with me like he did with you," Polly wasn't stupid. Demons were a whole different level than other supernaturals. Even with Ruger her tactics had been to punch hard and run the fuck away in the resulting confusion.
"If that's all you're asking for...then it's an easy thing to give." She shrugged and smirked, "But you're right, I do want to show you a bit of hospitality, especially if you're going to have me crowned a fishin' queen." She gave a little laugh, not even sure what that quite entailed. "So consider my territory open season. I know these instances are normally followed by a tour, but I think we've established I'd make a shitty guide and that you'd be better off leading beyond the forest line."
It was amazing, really, how quickly their moods changed after that flash of realization. Gone was the easy laughter and the teasing nature. Polly's mind whirred a mile a second and she barely noticed the changes in Ruger or Blue as she whipped around corners and dodged around branches. She only noticed that the lethality contained in the truck had risen by several degrees. The road was getting noticeably less maintained and they'd long left the part of the road anyone cared to put street lights on. The steady incline was becoming more noticeable as well.
She had met his eyes in the darkness when Jewels had spazzed out over the idea of a puppy. She saw the steel and determination in his gaze and it was all she needed to know her instincts had served her well in bringing him along. However he wanted to look at things, Polly had a feeling that before the night was over she was going to feel like she was in his debt too.
After coming around another turn she swerved into the empty oncoming lane to avoid a boulder that had broken off and tumbled down to it's final resting place in a pretty dangerous blind spot. Polly edged back into their lane and made a mental note to make sure her build site wasn't in an area prone to rock slides.
"There's a red box about the size of your palm in the pouch on the left. The black marble looking things are our friend. You need to keep one on you. That will make sure you don't get hit by friendly fire from anything's targeting system. Toss me one..." Polly didn't have time to give him a rundown on why such a thing would be necessary, instead she went on, "There's also leather case in the bag, my tablet is inside. I need you to power it on so it'll be ready when we get to the trail up here." Polly knew they were getting close, but it was hard for her to remember exactly where the entrance was. "We need to switch places when we get there. I left little markers on the trail that will show up on the map here cause it's gonna be impossible to see, but I've really only driven on pavement and we can't afford to lose time getting stuck in the mud." She hated feeling out of her element, but in this case she had a lot she needed to do before they go to the ridge and Ruger driving would give her a chance.
After Ruger had fished her case of of the bag and switched it on, Polly's hand flashed over and she pressed her fingers to the screen briefly and once her identity was recognized the modified little machine began booting up. It wasn't another two minutes before they'd reached the little trail, at least according to the map on her phone. Polly didn't even bother to find it with her eyes before bringing them to a sliding stop. She moved into Blue's space in the back, trusting the dog wouldn't harm her even in his agitated state with the tense atmosphere, so that Ruger could scoot over and take the driver's seat. As soon as there was room for her to sit without having to climb over him she crawled back into the passenger seat and promptly buckled her seat-belt.
Her fingers were flying over the tablet as soon as she was safely locked into place. First thing was first, Leroy had been sent an audio copy of her call with Jewels and he was currently awaiting orders. Second, she pulled up the data she needed for for Jewels. Ruger had barely driven twenty feet down the path before the little girl's call came ringing. "Answer call" Polly commanded.
"Okay, I'm ready! The raptor's ready. I checked my kit," Jewels was thrilled and anxious all in one. Polly could hear the young girl bouncing on the concrete floor of the garage with her hiking boots.
With a few more taps of her fingers, she sent some information to Jewels. "Get that?" At the young girls affirmation Polly went on, "Consider this a pop quiz. Follow the route, there's a timer for each area. You should already be running..."
Polly balanced the screen on her knees and switched the view so she could see a split screen, the left half was what Jewels could see through her goggles as she jogged along, the right was the feedback from the Raptor, which hovered in the air above the girl. "Stick to the route, I don't want you falling in a river. Those goggles are good, but you shouldn't get cocky. As you can see, I've marked some moving sentries. You lose the game if they get within 600 yards of you, so stay well ahead."
Jewels squawked somewhat indignantly at the huge range of detection, but Polly shushed her with a chiding little cluck of her teeth, "Tch, do you wanna argue about fairness or do you wanna argue about responsibility?"
"The second one!"
With one hand the woman started digging around in her bag, pulling a few more things out and trying to get ready. There was a harness that she slipped her legs through and started adjusting. "Then come get me and you'll have your chance. You'll come to a clearing and when you get there you should have just enough time to haul ass across it. I'll meet you at the base of the ridge and tell you what you need to do from there."
"I'm so excited, Polly! I wanted a puppy so bad. I'm glad you changed your mind."
"I didn't yet, kiddo. You gotta make it to the end of this for that to happen. I wanna hear you ask me in person."
"I'll be there, I promise! Eeeep!"
Polly let out an exasperated sigh as she watched Jewels, who was watching her feet, get stuck in the mud and tumble into it with a very wet plop. "Do I really need to tell you to watch where you're going..." her tone was low and steady, "You're twenty seconds behind now..." Jewels laughed and pulled herself free from the mud before sprinting down the trail as fast as she could in the weather. Polly watched her for a few more seconds before speaking again, "Alright, I've got my eyes on you. I'm ending the call, but the comms are live."
"Okay, Polly-wolly," Jewels grunted as she climbed over a fallen tree. "See you in a bit."
"Don't be late," Polly instructed one final time.
She finished with the straps on her harness before she started fitting the black gloves over her hands again. It took her another minute or so before all the fittings were adjusted right and she had full function of her newly clawed hands again.
As Ruger blasted through the trail in the truck, Polly tried to recall just what the ridge looked like. "I think the ridge is about fifty or so feet high. The clearing is about 300 years long, tall grass. The tree line is sparse at the edge, but super thick beyond that. There are caves all over that area. The other's won't be too far behind us, but if all goes to plan they aren't gonna make it before the party starts." And if it didn't they'd get there in just enough time to get Jewels the hell out of there before things got out of control.
Polly's eyes flickered to Ruger. She trusted he could get them there the quickest and the safest. And now all she could do was watch and wait.
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