Guns & Roses

Chapter 10: Technician's Concern

                                  [Deimos]

"I know you don't like needing help, but stop trying to act like you aren't hurt." Deimos snapped at Hank, who had been refusing to let Deimos patch him up since they'd moved both him and Sanford into the warehouse. Hank pushed himself up on the sandbags that Deimos had given them to use as a make-shift bed.
"It's not that bad, I'll get better while we're walking." Deimos would've slapped him if he wasn't already hurt enough, but he instead let out a long sigh, trying to figure out how to explain to Hank that just because he somehow had the energy to pop his shoulder back in place after getting thrown at a building twice, doesn't mean he's fine to keep travelling.

"You've taken the biggest ass kicking out of all of us. You need the rest." Sanford chimed in from their own pile of sandbags,
'Thank fuck, someone with sense.'
This somehow only motivated Hank, who managed to stand, though very shakily.

"Hank, what the fuck?! Get back on the bed!" Deimos practically yelled, panicking over the fact that Hank would only manage to open the few wounds Deimos had managed to close before Hank started making helping them a near impossible task.
"I'm fine." Hank replied simply, managing to take a few steps until their ankle gave out under them, to which Deimos had to catch them to keep them from falling.
"Stop being an ass and let me help." He managed to choke out, putting all his strength into dragging them back to the sandbags.
'My god, he's heavy.'
He thought, finally managing to lay them back down onto their make-shift bed.

He managed to get Hank fixed up, though he knew they didn't approve, they weren't putting up a fight anymore. He finally finished closing the last wound, a nasty cut on their calf, which from the looks of things had gone pretty deep. He stood back, inspecting them for anyone wounds which they hadn't told him about, though it seemed he'd gotten all of them.

"I don't want you opening any of those, got it?" He told them grumpily, turning to go work on Sanford,
"I swear, you're gonna be the death of me." He said under his breath. Sanford was a nice change of pace for him, even while fixing up the leg which they later found had been broke, they didn't make a fuss over getting help, even trying their best to stay still to make Deimos's work easier. He actually felt bad for the two, he couldn't imagine how much pain they were both in, not to say he didn't feel bad for Sheriff at all either, though a bullet in the shoulder was miles better than what happen to the other two. He got somewhat used to the process of stitching up the wounds, zoning out and letting himself think while closing one of the hundreds of cuts present on Sanford. His mind wandered, he didn't pay attention to his thoughts, letting them come and go as he worked, barely registering when he'd finished. He zoned himself back in, what was he doing again?

He snapped out of his confusion, remembering what he'd been wanting to do. He walked over to the bag, opening it and digging around its contents until he felt his fingers brush past cardboard, he gripped it, freeing it from the bag. He opened it, taking out a cigarette and placing in his mouth, putting down the box and digging through the front pocket, pulling out the lighter. He got it to light after spinning the flint wheel once, twice, the fire sparking to life. He placed it just under his unlit cigarette, eventually getting the familiar feeling of breathing in smoke. Deimos felt a strange relief after letting himself exhale, a familiar stream of smoke following his breath.

"Deimos, cut that shit out!" Sanford's voice cried out from somewhere behind him, he stood, turning back to the two,
'He's getting that good at figuring it out by sound?'
He replied without thinking too hard about what to say,
"Hey, if I have to take care of you two I should get to have a smoke." Deimos felt guilty for how harsh it came across, especially since it must only be making them worry.
"Deimos, that stuff is gonna get you killed some day." Sanford said, his voice full of concern. He didn't bother replying, he knew how bad it was for him, but god knew how hard it was to break an addiction. He sighed, walking over to Sheriff, who'd been sitting patiently on a barrel a small distance from the other two.
"Alright, let me take a look at it" Deimos said, taking his time to look over the wound. The Sheriff didn't reply, probably still shaken up by the events taken place. The bullet had gone straight through.
'Thank god, I don't have to poke around trying to get the bullet out.'
He thought, walking over to the small bench he'd been using to keep all his tools in order, taking the last of the bandages and a safety pin. He walked back over to them, wrapping the last of the bandages around the wound, proceeding to keep them in place by poking the safety pin through the end of the roll, careful to not push too far and poke the wound, and closing it after managing to push it back out of the bandages, making sure it was firm before finally walking back to keep an eye on Hank and Sanford.
'Today's gotta be the worst we've had in a long time.'

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                                [The Auditor]

A soldier approached him in the halls, carrying the blueprints they'd been assigned with bringing to him. Once he grabbed onto it, he folded it to see the contents of the blueprint. The design of the trap was perfect, simple yet effective, and sure to keep the trio trapped. He briefly wondered the progress gained by his scapegoat, before shaking the thought from his mind,
'He isn't dead and neither has he returned, he's made progress.'
He unfolded the blueprint, letting it return to its former state of seemingly meaningless strings of words and shapes, passing it back. "Good. Give it to the engineers." He told them, watching them nod, not daring to talk without direct permission from him, and rushing back the other way to fill out his command. The Auditor continued on his original path, feeling an undertone of delight rise, knowing with a little patience he wouldn't have to deal with Hank messing things up anymore.