OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
This was why he didn't do patrol. This is EXACTLY why he hated doing patrol. How in the world does a grown man hurt himself to the point of needing medical attention while riding around in a patrol vehicle? Stupidity was how. He still hasn't even gotten the full story on what happened because the others were just as lost as William was. He was above doing patrol, and this was going to be case in point the next time they ask him. Truly, he only even agreed to do it because they were somehow short handed for this ride.
His specialty and training normally left him to guiding classes or being sent into the hot zone. He was used to being in the way of danger. But not today. And for trusting the team he was put with, after that incident, he should have not been surprised to see that they didn't have a stocked medical kit inside of the vehicle either. Which was why he was entering the pharmacy to see if he could stock up on some basic first aide kit items. He barked the order for the others to remain in the marked military vehicle, he didn't want them all going into the place. And judging that he was probably the only competent one of the bunch, he wasn't sending on of them in to get the basics.
He grabbed a small hand basket and made his way towards the aisle that looked like it had bandaids. Dressed in his combat uniform, he took up much of the aisle as he turned down it. It was not stocked fully, which made a small grunt of frustration sound in his throat. He squatted down to look over the few options left. Some gauze, basic bandaids. They would have to do. He put the last two of each inside the hand basket as he stood back up to his full six foot height as he moved down the aisle. Where was the damn hydrogen peroxide? He found a package of butterfly closures which were added to his basket.
He turned around when he reached the end of the aisle to stare back down it. Had he passed it? William's blue eyes looked over the pharmacy as he looked for someone working there. No one to spot initially, he walked over to the counter where one would pick up a prescription. "Excuse me, ma'am or sir? Is anyone back here?" He said as he looked back and forth, peering over the counter. Perhaps they stepped out? Or were using the bathroom? Whatever the case, he stepped back from the counter just in time to hear the door open from the front.
Was it one of the idiots he left to man the vehicle? The missing pharmacist or sale clerk? A civilian? He moved around a fixture that was blocking his few so he could lock on to whoever just walked in.
Ruby found herself outside the city today. It wasn't very uncommon, at least not as of late. Most of the zone that she was currently in housed a lot of the residential areas of town. Places where the virus wasn't spreading as quickly. At least that was what the mayor was telling everyone. Though it wasn't as quarantined and restrictive as the more inner-city areas were, the effects were still chilling. The parking lots were mostly empty. There weren't too many cars going down the road. At least not many that weren't being patrolled by the military. She didn't like their presence. Most of her cases she found herself involved in dealt with the government over-reaching. Most of them acted as if they were judge and jury, especially to those affected by the virus. It didn't sit well with her.
She had spent most of the morning with her newest client. He was a dad of two kids, and currently all but a single dad because their mother had been placed in isolation quarantine in the Lethford City hospital. She hadn't even contracted the virus but she had been in very close contact with someone who was and that doomed her as well. At least for the next two weeks until she either showed symptoms or didn't. In the meantime, the man was dealing with a job and two kids who needed care near constantly. That on top of bills piling up and food running short pushed him to seek legal action. It wasn't pretty. None of the cases were anymore.
She had left his home and decided to stop into the local pharmacy to get a few things she was low on. She didn't like going to the stores in the city. People tended to fall into two categories there: those who were wide-eyed and scared, and those who were deadly and dangerous. Sure a handful fell into the category of those in-betweeners like herself, but for the most part, people were one or the other. One gave off chaotic energy that made her want to stay the hell away from them and the other tended to snarl words and threats as they checked off the things on their list. She didn't know which was worse, they could be equally as dangerous under the right conditions. No thank you. She would rather take her odds at the smaller stores on the outside of town.
She walked into the pharmacy, the little bell announcing her arrival. She grabbed a small cart and made her way to the shampoo and conditioner, placing them in after momentarily scanning the shelves. She then made it to where cell chargers were, her hand grabbing the one she needed and tossing it in as well. She rounded the corner and grabbed a small bottle of headache medicine before making her way to the counter.
She didn't see anyone working there today. In fact, the only person who she did see was a guy in full military garb which was really just her luck of course. She made sure to keep a good distance between herself and the soldier. After a few moments of silence she shifted the basket to her other arm and glanced around. The place looked empty, excluding the two of them. "Do you know if the lady working is on break?" She had spoken a handful of times to the owners of the small pharmacy. They were a very sweet elderly couple who had been married 40 years. Unfortunately, they also had a bad habit of sometimes leaving the shop open without closing up or posting a note.
photo cred: Amanda | tag: ruby | OOC: he's a polite man lol
Well, it looked to be a civilian. She looked to be a civilian, which was only confirmed to him as she started walking around, starting the shopping of her own. So she wasn't going to be much help in the "where are the people who work here" department. He went back to the first aide section and did another once over for hydrogen peroxide, as if some would have restocked itself magically while he was away from it. Yeah, that didn't happen, so he was still out of luck there. He grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer and was somewhat shocked it was even in stock. Though it was travel sized, people had gone rampant and bought a ton if it leaving the shelves empty in every store.
The hand sanitizer would have to do for sterilizing an area. Though he imagined that it wasn't going to be a trip to Disneyland when applied. William did a quick trip over to where there were a few office supplies and found super glue. That wonderful invention was great and was something that could be used for tons of different things. He has been super glued back together in the field a few times while being deployed and he sure as hell preferred it to the other option of stitches. No one had time to sit down and get those during missions.
"Do you know if the lady working is on break?"
Had it been one of the goons from the vehicle, he would have bitten out a sarcastic answer. Something along the lines of 'Do I look like I work here?'. But this wasn't one of the goons. And his mother raised him to be polite, and use his yes ma'am's and no sir's. To chew with his mouth closed and listen when people talked. The latter helped him a lot in his current job and he would tell his mother that all the time, that he was glad that she raised him right. "No ma'am. You are the first person besides my reflection that I've seen since I've entered the pharmacy."
He turned to make his way towards her. He knew that military presence was something intimidating to most, so he made sure to be a bit slower in his movements, so he wouldn't startle her. He stopped when he was about six feet away from her. Giving her space, but also keeping his body language open so she would perhaps talk to him to pass the time. "By any chance ma'am, did you get a look at the soldiers in the vehicle out front? Did they seem to be behaving?" He was sure that she probably saw it. But he was more concerned about what they were doing while their officer was away.
Ruby did not like being around this guy. It wasn't against him particularly. She was sure that he might have some good qualities somewhere deep inside of him, but she couldn't see anything past his career choice. She couldn't imagine any reason in the world why anyone would want to join the military. Why someone would sign on the dotted line of a contract and commit their lives to something that only ordered them around and controlled every aspect of their life. It was beyond her why anyone would choose that path other than those people who enjoyed control. The kind of people who liked being in charge and having the weight of a government with all of its weaponry backing you up. The kind of people who usually made life harder for the kind of people she helped.
She had asked him if he knew where the lady was who worked there and he answered her question with a ma'am. She internally cringed at the word. Ma'am. It was so clinical. It was a word that people tried covering up as respectful when it was really and truly condescending. Doctors who thought they knew better called you ma'am. Men who used words to make people around them less valid called women ma'am. And of course, soldiers who thought they knew better called you ma'am. No, she was not a fan. She gave him a tight smile in return, "Gotcha."
She glanced at her watch. It was nearing 1:00. She figured the woman, Mrs.Ruiz if she remembered correctly, would be back by 1:30. She debated on putting the cart down but she needed her cell charger and she figured it was better to wait for 30 minutes practically alone with her things instead of going to the city and fighting the crowd there. Dealing with one soldier was better than dealing with a handful mixed in with the rowdy crowd that could be found at the larger stores.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the soldier calling her ma'am again and asking about the men in the vehicle out front. She almost laughed when he asked if they were behaving. Her eyebrow raised slightly, a sarcastic grin coming to her face and the words tumbling out before she could think about the repercussions, "Behaving? What does behaving look like to a soldier? Rounding up anyone they deem suspicious? Indoctrinating the local youth to bleed red, white and blue?" She glanced a moment towards the windows of the pharmacy. She couldn't see anyone loitering about and truthfully she hadn't paid their vehicle any attention anyway so she couldn't have given him any updates on his friends even if she had been inclined to do so.
Moving her eyes back to him she held his gaze, the slight grin still on her face. "I know the lady who owns the shop. How about you just take whatever you and your buddies need and send her the money later. I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around here and wait...sir."
She really hoped he would take her up on that offer. She was actually half-surprised he had waited around this long. If she would have had to bet on what a soldier would do when there was no one around to check him out, her money would have been to take the stuff and worry about the bill later. Chalk it up to Uncle Sam's fee or something. She didn't think Mrs. Ruiz would mind. In fact, the last time she had talked to her the couple had mentioned something about their grandson getting picked up by the soldiers for breaking curfew so she doubted they'd want a military presence hanging around anyway. And if she was wrong she'd cover whatever this guy's bill was. Whatever it took to get him away from her and this little meeting over with.
William should know by now that anyone in the military was looked at in a different life than it was just a year ago. He used to hear 'Thanks for your service' when he was in his combat uniform, or people asking way too many questions about what he did and what missions he had been on. Most of which he would talk politely until he couldn't answer their questions because of it being 'top secret' as he'd say to them. People used to laugh at that joke or at least give him a smile and thank him again. Sure he had served time overseas and not to mention the lives he had saved. But damn did it still sting when he was met with distaste, especially when he was trying to be polite and nonthreatening.
As the brunette went into this little frustration filled rant about behaving, he realized that she was not a fan of anything wearing camouflage with a name printed on the front. Her little grin that was not genuine at all, was meant to be almost like a slap to his face but he had dealt with worse. Being in the military for what was it, almost 14 years now? He has dealt with some bitter sarcasm. "I do believe that your definition of behaving wouldn't be found in Webster's dictionary." He mused at her, his lips twitching up at the corners, humor in his deep voice. Though he was sure that would probably be taken the wrong way as well.
Something happened to her, or perhaps someone close to her with this new patrol. He had heard about some of the things happening. And while he didn't quite agree with some other officers ways of handling things, he also knew the whole curfew and isolation ideas were not a bad one.
"I know the lady who owns the shop. How about you just take whatever you and your buddies need and send her the money later. I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around here and wait...sir."
The sir was forced, mocking to his ma'am. The ma'am that he had intended to sound like one from a gentleman but clearly wasn't taken that way. She wanted him gone. And he had a feeling that if he left, she would be the one to wait until the owner came back from where ever she had gone off to. He shifted the basket in his hand to the other hand as he raised a hand to run through his pushed back blonde hair. His blue eyes glancing back towards the door. Of course they had some rounds to make. But with an injured solider on his hands, he knew that they were already potentially re-routing their task to another team until they checked back in.
Without saying anything, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. He stopped only long enough to place the hand basket down with all his supplies just inside the door, a small smirk on his face that he knew she couldn't see. He pushed open the door and immediately a window rolled down to reveal a face staring back at him. "Tell Grant to get out. I'll patch him up here. You three will continue to finish the rounds. Come back to get us when you are done," His voice had a tone of 'don't question me' as one of the others helped Grant out the back of the car. William walked met them halfway between the pharmacy and the vehicle before he felt Grant throw his arm over the older man's shoulder and Will accepted the transfer of weight easily.
He helped the boy, because Grant couldn't be older than nineteen, back into the store. He pulled open the door and shuffled them inside. Looking up only briefly to look over at the female he left behind. "I'll keep track of what we use. When she's back from her break, I will make sure we pay for our items. Until then, I have to patch this kid up." He was saying it more as a way to let Grant know they were not alone, and to hopefully shock the civilian female. He helped the younger man down to rest on the floor, his back against the wall and out of the way of the door in case anyone came in. William pulled the basket he set down closer to him as he nodded towards the kid in front of him, "Alright kid, let me see how bad it is." He could see blood already staining the shoulder of his combat uniform.
Ruby hadn't really known what to expect after she had mouthed off at the soldier. She hadn't broken the law of course, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get cocky and arrogant about making her mind her manners. She couldn't count the number of court cases that involved officers of the law overreaching their authority. However, when the guy made a small joke about her definition not being in the dictionary, the corners of her mouth pulled slightly into a small grin. She had to admit, that was a little unexpected.
She watched him as he seemed to be debating on whether or not to heed her suggestion. Pulling her attention away from the soldier she glanced at the time again, noting with disdain that barely five minutes had passed. She regretted not eating anything before coming. There was a place that made an amazing lasagna, not even two blocks away from where she was. She supposed she could leave her things where they were and come back later. That risked the chance that the store could close for some random reason or another though and she didn't want to miss out on a chance at buying the things she needed.
Her thoughts of cheesy lasagna were interrupted by the man turning abruptly and leaving. Good, she thought. That at least was some sort of blessing. She set her basket down on the counter and leaned her weight against it, hopping up onto it. She sat atop the, mostly, cleared surface, her legs dangling off the side. She looked around for a magazine to read nearby but the only ones she could see were on the other side of the checkout counter. She scooted carefully towards the end of the counter, her upper body leaning across the gap to the other side. A normal person might have just hopped down and grabbed the magazine then climbed back onto the counter, but no, not her. She leaned over further, trying to keep her balance steady. Her fingers were just about to graze the magazine when the door unexpectedly opened, startling her from her concentration.
Ruby lost her balance, her hands uselessly tried finding something to grab onto with no avail. Her body fell onto the hard floor, a sharp pain shooting up her left arm as it made contact. She could hear someone talking but couldn't hear what they were saying, she couldn't focus on anything but the pain in her arm. She shifted, angling her arm slowly to get a better look. "That's not good" She murmured to herself. Her arm was bleeding and she couldn't tell how bad it was exactly, too much blood and tiny glimmers of something she hoped wasn't glass littered the area. She glanced around and realized that the little glimmers were in fact broken glass as she suspected. The small sharp pieces lying around her like confetti, the remnants of a half-shattered glass "coin" jar at her feet.
She put her right hand down to see if she could stand up but her hand landed on a piece of glass, her voice hissing with pain, "Ow. Dammit." Trying again, she cleared the area before setting her hand down and getting up slowly. Her leg was sore but it didn't appear to be worth worrying about, at least there wasn't any apparent wounds that required attention. The arm was a little more worrisome.
photo cred: Amanda | tag: ruby | OOC: Fair warning, will is prepared to scoop her and manhandle her a bit if she fights him on it hehe.
He almost missed the small quirk of her lips at his dictionary comment. But he caught it. He felt a ping of pride hit his chest at the fact that at least he amused her, even if just for a few seconds. William noted that it lifted her eyes just lightly when she smiled as well. Which gave her just a flash of something... cute? Sure. That seemed to be a good word for it.
As the crashing happened behind him, he couldn't help but think that perhaps he was in a nightmare. That had to be it. Because as he hovered over young Grant, the noises he heard couldn't mean anything good. Damn that woman. He gritted his teeth and when he heard a soft noise, which he assumed was an "ow" he knew she had at least not broken her neck and died. He quickly moved the hand basket towards the other male and looked down at him. "Start cleaning yourself up. I'll be right back. Let me go check on the woman," It was funny how his voice was one that was just perfect for his life in camo. He had a sense of authority to his voice that not a lot of people challenged now that he got to wear the medals that he had earned over the years.
As he retreated back to where he had left the woman in the first place, he didn't immediately spot her. His pace picked up a little and he could feel his brows knitting together as he leaned into the counter. Catching a shot of her brunette head, he did a quick scan of the area. Broken glass, blood. Great. This was a nightmare, it had to be. Or perhaps he was the stupid one, for even daring to be slightly stubborn and not just leave like the woman had suggested. Not that he would even dare voice that thought to her.
Feeling a tinge of guilt run through him, he got over the counter with ease, boots crunching glass beneath them. William immediately went to help her up, but as his hand neared her he paused. After her reaction to him just being in the same shop as him, he didn't want to go about grabbing her in a way that she'd turn into a feral animal. He didn't need to deal with that kind of head ache in reports. Nor the questions from upper management so to speak. "Will you let me me help you up," he offered as he squatted down to get into a better position to scoop her up if she agreed. She was in the middle of glass and the less she moved, the less chance she had of glass hitting other spots of her body.
"And before you fight me on it, you have glass all around you and I'd hate for you to cause yourself more pain." William gave her a small teasing smirk, "Besides, ma'am, I happen to know some basic first aide to at least help that arm of yours. Unless you rather wait until the lady you know here comes back from her break or, better yet, I can call my squad back take you to a hospital," He had a feeling this feisty woman couldn't be bothered with a hospital trip.
Ruby considered herself a tough person. She liked kickboxing and martial arts. When she had taken her LOA she spent almost the entire time in the gym training. She had pushed herself to go from skinny and fit to what she deemed as bad-ass. She learned how to properly defend herself and where to place kicks and jabs so that they maximized their damage. She had used those particular skills in rendering justice when the justice wasn't properly dealt in the courtroom. She had come a long way from where she was a year ago. Yet when it came to the soft area of her arm and irritating pieces of glass, she found herself having a hard time focusing on anything else but the pain. A punch she could take, a kick? Sure, why not. But the soft places in her arm shredded? No. No thank you. Her attention was taken off of her arm quickly though as a figured appeared in front of her. The soldier. Lovely, she thought sarcastically to herself.
Pieces of glass crunched under his boot and before she could move or speak he was near her, very near her. His hand reached out towards her but thankfully paused midair. Her body was instantly rigid, her heartbeat a pulsating rush in her ears. She hated this. She hated every aspect of what was happening. It was the same thing that happened anytime a guy pushed himself into her space. Her pulse raced, her muscles tightened, her fight or flight instincts muscled their way into her system and usually, she opted towards the fight option. That wouldn't be possible in this case. She knew his intention was good. She knew in the back of her mind that he wasn't trying to move into her space on purpose, but it was hard telling that to her body.
"Will you let me help you up,"
She loosened a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Her initial response was to say no of course. She didn't need his help. She wasn't a child. She wasn't a damsel in distress. As he stood there though, willing to help, she begrudgingly nodded to him, offering him her right hand to pull her up.
She looked up in time to catch his smirk, the small gesture slightly easing the apprehension she had been feeling. "No. No hospitals. I'm not about to go in for a simple cut and leave with a virus. No thank you." The hospitals were always backed up nowadays. There were the usual needs of course, but more than that, the number of people infected climbed day after day. She wasn't about to risk it for something like this. Pending, of course, she could get the bleeding to stop.
He had offered to assist again and she bit her lip a moment weighing her options. As much as she hated it, she couldn't get a good sight on the wound, and she had a pretty good guess that there were at least a few shards of glass in there. If she didn't want to seek medical treatment, he was her best option.
She met his eyes, sighing in resolve, "Alright Jason Bourne, can you get the bleeding to stop?" She glanced towards the store door at the soldier leaning against the wall. She couldn't see a whole lot of him, but she could see medical supplies lying near his boots. It looked like perhaps she wasn't the only one having a bad day.
The sting in her arm was intensifying bit by bit. She figured the adrenaline was slowing down, her body registering more on the damage. She looked over at him, reading the name McCabe on his uniform a second before speaking up. She gave a half-smile, "I bet you're really regretting not leaving when you had the chance huh?"
If he wasn't trained to be in control of the situation (it's literately in his job title), then he wouldn't have seen the way she tensed up at him. He almost wanted to retract his hand from her and step away. Did she really hate the uniform that much that it disgusted her that he was that close to her? Or was it him in general, a male? He didn't want to think too much on that one. Because then he would just get pissed off that some pathetic excuse of a man felt the need to not have control over himself. He half expected her to tell him to bug off, or perhaps say it a bit harsher. But instead, he took the small nod and her next words as it being okay for him to move forward with helping her.
"No. No hospitals. I'm not about to go in for a simple cut and leave with a virus. No thank you."
Yeah he couldn't blame her there. He hated being in one of them as it was, way before this who crazy situation started. Too many things to stick him with. And after being shot a time or two, and in tons of fights, he knew that after being in pain the last thing you wanted was to be poked and prodded at for hours on end. And now with the hospitals and clinics being exposed to something that no one had a clue on how to survive or a cure for? Yeah he was with her on that one.
As he got confirmation again that he could help her up, he stepped a bit closer to her and slowly leaned over her to scoop her into his arms. His right arm going under her knees and left arm bracing her back, being mindful of her arm that was injured the best he could. He straightened up and lifted her, using his chest as a prop before he started to walk around the glass and thankfully, saw a door he could walk through. He knew physically he could handle crawling back over the counter with her held to his chest but why work harder when you could work smarter?
"Alright Jason Bourne, can you get the bleeding to stop?"
He let out a small chuckle as he kept a firm hold on her, in case she had the idea to try and flail out of his arms. He didn't need her pushing away and not catching herself before she hit the tile floor. He started walking them towards Grant, at least with them side by side he could easily walk Grant through anything he might have left to do. "Well lets hope so," he told her without looking down at her. "Or else I will have to write a longer report and I am just not a fan," Will meant it as a joke of course, but he was serious as well. He truly hated reports sometimes. Useless in his opinion but he understood why they were needed. Document the tasks and missions at hand. But on uneventful rounds? Get out of here. Not that this one has proven to be uneventful.
"I bet you're really regretting not leaving when you had the chance huh?"
He let a small smile dance across his lips. He turned his blue eyes down to her at that point and he quirked an eyebrow up at that. "Definitely would have saved me some trouble," he teased as he eased her down a few feet away from Grant. "Grant, how're you holding up?" He asked, as he looked over at him. The kid was handy, stripped to his undershirt and he was covering the injury with butterfly bandaids. "Nothing deep sir, just bleed a lot. Ankle's just twisted." Will gave a nod before he turned back to the brunette. He heard a Grant ask if he would need a hand with her injuries and he just shook his head. "Nah, you rest up kid," he said before reaching over and grabbing a few items from the hand basket, and made sure to pull the super glue over.
He stood up and muttered a quick 'be right back' as he jogged over to the beauty isle. He would need some tweezers to get out any glass in her arm, and as he was walking past, he spotted a washcloth in a package. He snagged that just in case, as well as some water wipes, and made his way back over to her. "Alright, fair warning, this isn't going to feel like rainbows and sunshine. But I'll be as gentle as I can." He told her, as he sat down next to her injured arm and looked back at her face. He offered her the wash cloth just in case she wanted to bite down on something. "I'm William by the way, and if it becomes too much and you'd rather go to a doc, just let me know." He wasn't going to make a move towards her until she gave him the green light to proceed.
Ruby had her hand outstretched to him, waiting for him to pull her up onto her feet. Instead, he put his arms around her, lifting her into the air like a literal damsel in distress would be, like in the movies. What was worse, was that the only place she could easily put her arm that wasn't injured was draped around his neck, her hand resting on his shoulder, her fingertips lightly touching the skin where his neck and uniform met. He held her firmly against him and she was quite irritated to find that he smelled really good.
She didn't protest as he walked with her in tow over to the door where the other soldier was. She sent a small silent thanks in her head that there wasn't anyone else to witness this. The people who she represented wouldn't be very happy to see her carried around like the girls on romance covers by a soldier. When he mentioned the report he'd have to write she was very thankful she hadn't given him her name.
"Well, lucky for you, I'm great at reports. Let's see ... went into the store to get medical supplies, no cashier to be found. A beautiful girl comes in. We together asses the cashier is on break. Beautiful girl advises to leave and come back later. You do not take the beautiful girl's advice. The girl does something dumb and falls, wounding herself and murdering a coin jar. You patch up the beautiful girl and leave on your merry way. The end." She looked up at him, a grin on her face, "It's so good you might even get a medal for bravery."
He set her down next to the other guy, Grant, teasing about being trouble. She smirked, he had no idea how true that statement was. When he asked Grant how he was doing she looked over at the guy. He was younger than the soldier who carried her. He was in his undershirt with some dried blood on his shoulder, bandages covering the wound. She wondered briefly what had happened.
When the guy asked McCabe if he needed help with 'her' She spoke up, locking eyes with the young guy, "She is right here and she does not need more than one soldier to clean up a cut arm thanks." She briefly felt like she was in some sort of weird joke, how many soldiers does it take to cover up a civilian's cut?
When he left to go get supplies she angled her arm again trying to see how badly it was cut. She hoped it wasn't deep enough to make a scar. She didn't care for vanity sake of course, but scars were an easy way to identify a person. There was only so much you could do to hide who you were. She could maybe use concealer, but cosmetics couldn't change physical marks on your skin and running tended to make a person sweat. A defining scar could make the difference in life or death.
He came back and held a rag to her. She took it firmly in her hands, taking a deep breath as he mentioned it wasn't going to feel good. "I'll be fine, I'm tougher than I look." She nodded for him to go on with the first aid, taking one more steadying breath before looking away. She tried to focus on things around her, trying to get her mind off of what was going on with her arm, but the only other thing she had to look at was product labels and Grant watching McCabe work on her arm. After the kid made a face a second before whatever McCabe was doing that caused a hiss in pain, she decided she needed a new distraction.
Turning her attention to William, she studied his face as he continued working, "Alright McCabe, I need a distraction here. What do you do for the military? Where are you from? What's your favorite movie?" She watched his blue eyes concentrating a moment before closing hers tightly as a pain in her arm made her body tense "Ow, ow." she whined before taking a deep breath. One steady breath after another. The pain went back to a tolerable level again and she looked over at Grant, "Can you be a doll and get me a bottle of whatever alcohol they have in here please?"
He wouldn't ever mention how it was a nice feeling of her hand curled against his neck. Nope, he chalked that right up to the fact that it had been a while since he had any interaction outside of barking orders to a female in class or the training field. The only other consistent woman in his like was one who wasn't a woman yet, and always stared back at him with the same blue eyes as himself. And that was really only over video calls now that he got sent near areas where a lot of people were getting infected.
As she started on about how his report should go, he couldn't help but let out a laugh. A good natured, amused laugh as she called herself the beautiful woman for the third time for his so called report. Well, he couldn't say she was wrong about herself. She obviously was confident in herself without seeming cocky. And she clearly had a good sense of humor about her, even when she was injured and having to accept help from someone who she nearly bit his head off upon first meeting.
"It's so good you might even get a medal for bravery."
Will glanced at her with a small smile. "But I already have one of those," He wasn't lying about that. He did have a medal because of his bravery on a few missions actually. But ht wasn't about to go into detail on that. "I'm working on my medical patch though. Might even get it after I patch you up," He was tempted to do the scouts honor hand sign, but decided against it last minute. No need to drop into too much of an idiot in front of someone he was going to have to go back to ordering around soon. Even though clearly the air of authority was a bit different in this empty pharmacy.
He watched Grant practically shrink away from her when she barked about her being right there when they were talking about her. "Easy there kitten, the boy was just trying to help," Yeah she wasn't quite a tiger. Too cute when she got all worked up to be a tiger. At least in this situation. And as she gave him the go ahead, he set to work on her arm. Thankfully, everything so far didn't seem too deep and the glass shards were coming out slowly, but surely. Thank God he had some damn good eye sight, because a few of the shards were smaller. He kept his eyes on his work as he moved through her open wounds on her arm.
"Alright McCabe, I need a distraction here. What do you do for the military? Where are you from? What's your favorite movie?" Her quick ow's afterwards had him hushing her in a comforting way.
He could feel her eyes on his face, and spared her a quick glance up, briefly making eye contact before she shut her eyes. So last name basis it would be, though he realized for a moment that he had no idea what her name was. "I am a combat control special tactics officer." he started, knowing that more than likely that would be a follow up question as to what the hell that was. He was used to it, it was something that you didn't hear often but damn was it a fun job. "I am from all over, military brat myself," his father served twenty years, which was what William was hoping to do as well. Retire Air Force, be set for the rest of his life. "And I'd like to think of myself as a Marvel fan, so probably one of those movies," He finished.
He felt Grant's eyes hit him as she asked for a bottle of alcohol, which he gave him a nod, feeling him slowly lip off to find something. "Now that you know something about me, what about you? What is your name, or should I continue calling you kitten? And what makes you hate this uniform so much?" He dared another look up at her as he asked that last question, his eyes unwavering as he pulled what he could last see of the glass. He gave her arm a slow turn as he looked it over. "Thankfully nothing looks deep, but you should get a few stitches. But I can offer you the next best option which is me super gluing the cuts closed." He held up the super glue tube, shaking it between his thumb and pointer finger as he got the okay.
Ruby found herself grinning in return at his laughter. It was nice to see he wasn't a full patriotic robot. There maybe were still some parts that could register human things like humor. Perhaps she was being a little hard on the guy, when he technically hadn't done anything wrong to her other than call her ma'am. She was a product of her environment though. The big guys, especially when the big guys also were in fact male, tended to get whatever they wanted. Corporate fraud, tax evasion, money laundering right down to ripping families apart to cover shady activity. There was nothing good that came from the confines of the government, not a single damn thing. When he mentioned he already had a medal for bravery though she cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "So you're more of a professional hero huh? Here I was thinking we had something special."
As he put her down he made a joke about getting his medical badge and she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips. She'd chalk it up to dealing with the pain in her arm. She figured while she was wounded she might as well give herself some slack, seemed like a good a time as any. It wasn't every day she was cut open and bleeding in a random soldier's arms. This was certainly one hell of a Tuesday.
As he told her to ease up on the kid and called her kitten, Ruby raised an eyebrow, her chin tilting in his direction. "Kitten?" She asked indignantly. She found herself mildly offended at the name. She wasn't a kitten. Kittens were cute, soft and helpless. She was no kitten. Maybe a wolf, she could have maybe even tolerated tiger, but kitten? "I resent that. I could make the case that if I'm a kitten, you sir are most definitely a puppy dog." She felt she could back that thesis up, a whole hell of a lot easier than he could with her being a kitten. Her lawyer side was already hedging up arguments against his case. It got her mind off of what he was doing for a few seconds at least.
Then her eyes were closed, her fist clenching the rag as she listened to him speak about his job. What he said, however, caused her to open them, the shadow of dismay flashing across her face quickly before she relaxed again, forcing her face to remain neutral. She looked down at what he was doing, trying to keep her voice level as she spoke, "So you're the guy they call in to do the really messy work then? Get control of a crowd, maintain order?" She didn't know a whole lot about the military, just what she had to learn about their basic chain of command, but she was pretty confident that someone whose job title was combat control special tactics officer wasn't a friend of the people. In fact, to her it sounded like this guy could very well possibly be one of her direct enemies.
She hadn't quite been listening to what he said after that, her mind racing through the details she had told him. She didn't think she had given him much, but he did know her face. Him and his partner both did. She ran through the list of court cases in her head, but the damn pain in her arm was distracting her. She couldn't remember if any of the soldiers listed in any of the depositions were named McCabe.
She caught the Marvel movie comment and she forced herself to focus. "Probably? Where's the conviction? You're stuck on a deserted island, and you pick a Marvel movie...maybe? C'mon McCabe, you've got to do better than that." She gave a grin between the pursing of her lips as the pain came and slowly ebbed again. She had asked for the wine and then closed her eyes again, her voice tense as she felt a sting. "Mine is Tombstone. Hands-down." No debating on that one.
She opened her eyes in time to see Grant leave, hopefully, to get her some wine. Between finding out this guy's job description and her arm she figured it was damn well about time for her to have a drink. She decided to focus her attention on the color of his eyes as he worked. They were a sharp blue, reminding her of the ocean. However, she found herself looking away as the conversation turned to her. She knew it was coming. She could only evade his attention for so long.
When he asked why she hated his uniform her eyes locked with his. He was staring and she doubted he would miss anything that she tried to get past him. Still, she wasn't about to give him any information that she didn't have to. "I'm R...Rebecca." She knew that wasn't the smoothest lie she had ever told but it was all she could muster at the moment. He was very close, his cologne was mixing with the rubbing alcohol and she had almost blurted her real name. Rebecca had been her roommate in college and the first name that started with an R that had jumped into her head. It would have to do.
She nodded to his offer of super-gluing her arm. She wasn't quite able to speak after the question. It was a very long story, one she sure as hell wasn't going to share. She glanced from his eyes to where Grant had walked off to, thankful that he hadn't returned yet. She took a steadying breath and met his inquiring stare, "I don't like it because I've seen it used time and time again as a penalty-free, get out of jail card. Because the people who wear it tend to think they can do whatever they want, that because they were taught how to shoot a rifle they get to be policeman, judge and jury. Is that enough of an explanation for you?"
"So you're more of a professional hero huh? Here I was thinking we had something special."
Professional hero. Yeah in a way, he could be called that by the person that didn't know anything about what he did. Though a lot of people called what he did heroic, or protest it until they are blue in the face because they don't agree on what the military does. "Just because I have one, doesn't make this less special. Nor that I would deny another one to hang on my chest gallery," His dress uniform held his medals and he wore them proudly, some more than others. He had a few that he didn't think he deserved. Missions that lost more people than he wanted (which was always 0) or ones that the measures he had to take to get back in control cost him way too much time off his feet recovering. But some of the other ones, those were the ones he puffed his chest out as he told them. Typical macho man style.
"Kitten? I resent that. I could make the case that if I'm a kitten, you sir are most definitely a puppy dog."
She was not amused. And he knew she wouldn't be. He liked getting a rise out of her, in a playful way. It was better than the anger being hostile, this was an annoyed anger. And it made him less tense and able to breathe a bit easier as he worked on her arm. He let out a small grunt at being called a puppy dog. And reminded him the last time he heard it come from his daughters mouth. "Well considering puppy dog is what a lot of children refer to all dogs, I could agree with that. I'd say I was more like a pit bull, bad reputation because of others because of their ability to be fierce," he plucked another piece of glass from her arm, "but really just a big push over at home who loves kids." William finished. "Where as you, you are a kitten. You hiss and poof yourself up to seem bigger and scarier than you are. Sure, a swat from one would leave one wounded. But the act is out of fear or past bad experiences." Blue eyes flashed up to her again, "At least that's this dumb soldiers thoughts."
As he answered her questions, he glanced at her with her eyes closed. And he could see a flicker of something cross her face before she seemed to process what he did professionally.
"So you're the guy they call in to do the really messy work then? Get control of a crowd, maintain order?"
Is that what she thought? He was the enforcer? He went to open his mouth to defend himself when he reminded himself, why? He was damn good at his job, he has protected people like her who got to stay safely within the states and continue their lives because people like him went to defend them. Neutralize the threat without her having to worry about how or what he did to get it taken care of. "I am the one they send first to battle," he started. "I am sent to the remote, hostile areas on the difficult missions. I am normally partnered up with special forces team," he lowered his voice so Grant wouldn't hear him, "Though I somehow got set up with a bunch of fresh kids because their CO didn't make it for his shift," His voice went back to his deep, steady volume. "I help establish air control and provide combat support, kind of a jack of all trades in a way. I am there to keep my team safe."
But he knew what her question was, whether she meant it or said it much without thinking. She wanted to know if he was there to spray down the protesting and silence the crowd that sometimes grew in areas. He paused a moment in his movements to look at her in the eye while he said, "I am there to protect, though some people don't see it that way. What's good for one isn't good for all. Not saying I don't fu... screw things up, or agree with all orders. But I am sure everyone does things they don't want because of a job." He was really grateful for the change in pace as she seemed to remember his thoughts on the movie thing.
""Probably? Where's the conviction? You're stuck on a deserted island, and you pick a Marvel movie...maybe? C'mon McCabe, you've got to do better than that. Mine is Tombstone. Hands-down."
He barked out a short laugh to that. "Kitten, I've been on a deserted island. And the last thing on my mind was what movie I wanted to watch." No he was more focused on having to find cover and food. And focused on scanning the area so he wouldn't get taken out by someone that was hidden amongst the brush or trees. If anything, at one point he felt like maybe he should make a Wilson but that was a fleeting thought. "Tombstone?" He had a fleeting moment of the cover of the movie. "Can't say I've seen it." Maybe that would get her to talk some more about something that she enjoyed. He'd like to hear how her voice sounded when it was about something she was passionate about or liked.
"I'm R...Rebecca."
For some reason, it didn't fit her. And the stutter made him wonder if for a moment her arm pain was bothering her more than she was letting on. He eased up a bit to try and not put too much pressure on her. "I think I prefer Kitten." he joked. Though he quickly fell silent and serious as she went about explaining why she looked like she wanted to light that uniform of his on fire. Hopefully not with him inside of it.
"I don't like it because I've seen it used time and time again as a penalty-free, get out of jail card. Because the people who wear it tend to think they can do whatever they want, that because they were taught how to shoot a rifle they get to be policeman, judge and jury. Is that enough of an explanation for you?"
He gave her a small nod as he unscrewed the lid to the super glue after pealing the packaging apart. He pulled out a knife from his thigh cargo pocket and cut the tip off of it so he could get access to the sticky substance. He shut the knife with one hand before slipping it back into his pocket. "This is going to sting," he told her as he took hold of her forearm to hold her still, as well to help him turn her arm as he started his work sealing her up. Grant took that time to pull up from his scavenger hunt for alcohol. He came up close to her side that wasn't currently blocked by the mountain of McCabe. "This was all I could find left on the shelves. Hopefully its not as bad as it looks." The younger man held out a box of red wine to her. Once he released it, he looked over to William and stood as best as he could at attention. "Sir, I will go stand out front and alert you when the squad returns from the rest of the patrol route." And even though it was a statement, he was wanting for the go ahead. "Go ahead Grant, but rest that ankle. I don't need you to make it worse by hobbling around on it."
Once the dark haired boy escaped the pharmacy and sat outside, William had finished up his patch work on her arm. "I know you don't want to go to a hospital Rebecca, but if that starts showing signs of infection, for the love of God, at least go to a clinic." He sat back and collected the supplies that were across the floor. The glass shards he pulled from her skin in the package of bandaids that Grant had opened, keeping them contained and out of a spot where they could be a risk.
Ruby's eyebrows furrowed slightly when he mentioned this wasn't any less special. She thought it was an odd thing to say. This wasn't anything. This was, by all accounts, nothing but a frustration and a weird way to spend an afternoon. There wasn't anything particularly good or special about this. Her brain did a double-take. Did he think there was something between them? Did he think they had some sort of connection that was going to lead to more? Did he truly see her as a viable candidate for a date or was he just a nice guy? Was he just taking his job way too seriously, his role of being a hero going to his head? She didn't know the answer to that, but as he continued speaking, bringing up adding another medal to his achievements she worried about it less and less.
When he said he was a pitt-bull she laughed, letting him continue before interrupting, "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you're not a pit bull. You're a golden retriever. A blonde-haired all-american good-boy seeking approval from his master." She felt him extract a piece of glass, the action causing a sharp pain but mercifully passing quick. "Kids huh? Please don't tell me you have a white-picked fence daydream. The whole wife with dinner ready, three kids and dog kind of thing. That seems a little too cliche, even for you."
She listened to his argument for calling her kitten and didn't retort. Let him think she was all talk, that was only better for her. She supposed it was good that she was under-estimated. That way she could do what needed to be done without anyone seeing it coming. Let people look her over, they'd only see what they wanted to see anyway and if it fell nicely into her plan then the more the merrier. She didn't need him to think she was a badass, his nor any one else's opinions made a difference in what she knew she could do. She very much doubted he was dumb though. It wasn't like the military promoted idiots. He was probably very good at his job and very intelligent which made her wonder exactly why he might be playing himself down.
She listened quietly, her eyes studying him as he explained his job. She hadn't been totally correct. It sounded like he wasn't the guy who was physically taking out the civilians who got rowdy, nor the one who was on the roof with a sniper rifle. It sounded to her like he was the guy who kept those teams informed. The guy who controlled those guys which really made things a whole lot worse for her.
It would have been easier to evade a simple ground soldier, but the guy who was essentially running the soldiers was a whole hell of a lot harder to get by. "Your team? You mean the soldiers rounding up family members and quarantining them for weeks at a time with no regard for the rest of their family? That team? Or is it the team putting medical supply restrictions in place? Oh I know. The team forcing curfews." She met his eyes again, challenging him, the sarcasm all but dripping from her words, "I imagine it's a full-time job keeping them safe, you know from all of those deadly unarmed civilians we have running around."
He met her eyes and spoke about everyone doing things they don't enjoy for their job and she kept her eyes on his, unwavering. "The difference is, you keep doing it. You keep waving that all-american flag and hiding behind the guise of it being patriotic while some of us actually do something about it. Some of us actually correct wrongs and injustices instead of letting people like you get away with horrible things simply because they're wearing a uniform." She felt her breathing quicken, her lips pursed. She said too much. She hadn't meant to let it get personal, she hadn't meant to let so much slip. What had happened to her wasn't worth bringing up and certainly didn't deserve a place in her head. She liked to think she was over it, but it seemed that maybe that was wishful thinking. She had to do better in the future.
She pushed her mind away from that, shoved all thoughts away, locked and closed. Now wasn't the time. She could deal with past demons alone some other time. Right now she needed to get through the afternoon. When he mentioned he had been on a desert island she sighed, of course he had. "Come on McCabe. Pretend you're normal for a second. One movie for the rest of your life, what is it?" When he mentioned he had never seen Tombstone she gave him a quizzical look,"What? It's a classic.There's cowboys, gunslingers, vigilante justice. It's great." She grinned. It was all about a man who had left the life of law behind to get revenge on some bad guys who had killed his family. There was no better movie out there as far as she was concerned. "They aren't on the right side of the law, but they get the job done, settle scores. I don't think Capatain America would approve though." She didn't know much about Marvel, had never read a comic book in her whole life but she knew enough to know he was Mr.All-American and if this guy was any hero, he'd be that one.
When he said he was going to keep calling her kitten, her lips pursed. She did not like that idea. Sure it was better than him knowing her true name, but a pet name was almost just as bad. "Alright, but if you keep calling me that I'm going to come up with one for you and it's not going to be as charming as yours is for me, I promise." She smirked. She had watched him nod to her words, no replies needed and when he told her the act of gluing her arm would sting she nodded in return, gripping the small towel. She had only hissed in pain, with surprisingly zero curse words uttered as he finished up.
It was then that the other guy had brought her a box of wine and she gave a soft laugh, "Nah, reminds me of my broke college days." She took it from him and as the two began chatting about alerts and squads she turned and reached over behind her on the shelf for a sleeve of plastic cups. The other guy then walked outside and she nodded to McCabe as he warned her about infection, "Yes sir. You have my word." She gave him a sarcastic salute before getting two cups out of the sleeve.
"Now, I think it's time to have a drink." She poured two cups half-full of the wine and held one out to him with her good arm, "You can't let me drink alone, that's rude and the least I can do for patching me up is offer you a toast." She didn't know if he'd take her up on it or not though she doubted very strongly that he would. He didn't seem like the type to break rules. Curiosity danced in her mind. She leaned forward, angling closer to him so their faces were nearer, an alluring smile on her lips, "I won't tell if you don't."
photo cred: Amanda | tag: Ruby Torres | OOC: eventually these will be shorter-ish.
Her bark of laughter at his pit bull reference made his eyebrows shoot up for a moment. It wasn't that funny was it?
"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you're not a pit bull. You're a golden retriever. A blonde-haired all-american good-boy seeking approval from his master. Kids huh? Please don't tell me you have a white-picked fence daydream. The whole wife with dinner ready, three kids and dog kind of thing. That seems a little too cliche, even for you."
He did the briefest of eye rolls, which sort of shocked him for a second. A damn golden retriever. "Golden retriever, loyal as hell. Though I feel like you are just saying that because I am willingly helping you and I've got a head full of blonde luscious locks." And being called a 'good boy'? Well he certainly has gotten his fair amount of praise. But doesn't everyone want that praise? To be told that what they are doing is good? As for her latter comment he let out a deep breath. "There is nothing wrong with wanting someone to come home to, who is just as happy to see you as you are to see them. But I've never liked the idea of a white fence. Sounds like a pain to keep up with. Besides, I am totally fine with take out or cooking myself. I make a mean lasagna."
Keeping the conversation light was his way of trying to get her through the pain of what he was actually doing. And she probably didn't really care what his dreams were. He already had the kid part, dogs made a mess so he wasn't big on the idea of having one. A wife? Yeah, he would like that but damn would it take someone special to deal with his long departures. Lord knows the one and only one he tried to lock down, even having his daughter, she didn't want to be stuck on the waiting end for him to be sent home. But that was not the conversation he was having here, nor did it matter. That was 9 years ago and dating life since hadn't been the best.
And that damn conversation was not keeping light. She went on about what wrong he was doing, or at least the uniform and his teams. And a small fire lit under his skin. Annoyance. That's exactly what he was feeling as she went on about how his team was ripping people from their family. But what truly flipped his switch from annoyed to anger was the words 'people like you'. "You don't know me." He bit out, probably letting out a bit more anger than he intended. "Because of people like me, you are able to try and make a difference, because that's what it sounds like you want and do. All those innocent civilians? Give me a break. You can't believe that. Not when they are looting and robbing and murdering the real innocent people. For what? Because they disagree with a curfew that was placed to try and keep them safe? Because they don't understand the magnitude of what is happening? People are getting sick and dying. Because people won't listen and just stay home safely with their family to try and let this storm pass." He shook his head as he wiped a hand over his pant leg. "I want to go home safe, I want to be able to wake up tomorrow just like you and others. But when you have murders out on the lose, and other innocents walking around, how do you tell the difference? A murder isn't going to tell you they are a murder. I am one of the ones between you and those people. And I don't claim we are all great and perfect. But damn stop acting like you know me and that I am your enemy."
William took a deep breath as the movie topic continued on. "Come on McCabe. Pretend you're normal for a second. One movie for the rest of your life, what is it? What? It's a classic.There's cowboys, gunslingers, vigilante justice. It's great. They aren't on the right side of the law, but they get the job done, settle scores. I don't think Capatain America would approve though." Funny that was her favorite movie, considering it sounds like they were going about doing some questionable things. Though the movie he thought of would probably make her think the same thing. "I could probably watch V for Vendetta on repeat."
"Alright, but if you keep calling me that I'm going to come up with one for you and it's not going to be as charming as yours is for me, I promise."
He let out a soft chuckle at that. This, this he liked. The easy conversation where she wasn't pissed off at him for what he did. "Do your worst Kitten, you already think I am a monster so I can't wait to see what you come up with." Even though those words could have sounded harsh, he laughed through the last part of it. As he was nearing the end of his work on her arm, he had it in the back of his mind that she would start back up that argument of 'you can leave now'. Because with her patched up, he was again just a bother to her. But a small part of him hoped not. As infuriating as she was proving herself to be, he wanted to know more. About her.
After Grant left, and he started his clean up. He listened to her opening her box of wine and the smell of it came over the scent of everything else. Though he wasn't sure what was going on till the cup was in his face and she was asking him to drink with her. William started shaking his head, because he already knew that was a mix for trouble. But suddenly she was close, really close and he immediately started down at her. His eyes scanned her face and for the first time since meeting her, really took in the blue of her eyes. Oh she was trouble, beautiful and sinful trouble. She knew what she was doing too. She had to. "You're like a goddamn beautiful siren trying to lead me to my death," He breathed out, and before he could do anything stupid more stupid than drinking while on patrol, at least for the moment, he reached out and took one of the plastic cups. He never broke his eye contact as he leaned back just enough to lift the cup to his mouth and take a larger swallow than he should have.
