Solace & Taproots

Part 2 - A rescue mission, some new friends, a new spark, and a new threat.

Rhonda sauntered over to their side of the room soon after, fulfilling Seb's request with a none-too-gentle swat on the Velcro patch. Bex gratefully accepted some "Vitamin I" to try to evict the headache setting up camp between her temples (nothing like a flashbang to resurrect a hangover), while Ronnie explained she'd doped the other guy up on a Ketamine shot when they'd really gotten to talking. Apparently, Sleeping Beauty would be out for hours, so Seb could turn his coat (back) freely. Now mutually known, rank rapidly filled the interpersonal gap between them as habits re-established themselves.

"Filled", not "bridged", was definitely the right image, Bex had decided. They could probably use Seb's automatic deference to Ronnie to their advantage, but any "warm fuzzies" angles were clearly going to remain her domain. Gunnery Sergeant Ellis' inquiries started in the "know your enemy's capabilities" department as she led with local force disposition, how much they knew about Broadway and the area — to Bex's relief, the old construction site seemed to still be unknown to them — and eventually, equipment.

Seb's estimate was that there were another ten or so Black Tusk operatives in the area, with a handful of aerial recon drones and at least two of some kind of quadrupedal weapons platform.

It sounded like their main immediate objective was researching viable routes through the city for large convoys, local resources that could be commandeered, and the competitors for those resources. They'd tracked a few of the military remnant convoys and had aerial footage of Broadway, plus a few days of comms traffic from the radios. Seb said he'd seen a handful of locations marked on a map where Bex and Rhonda knew of smaller independent survivor groups. Bex sincerely hoped the residents remained unmolested, and the best Seb had to offer was an apologetic shrug.

Their missing couple was almost definitely at the encampment the PMC had established in the basement and mechanical rooms of another office building just inside of a mile away.

Around then, he asked for another drink. Bex was uncomfortable with the intimacy of holding the cup to his mouth again, so they loosened his cuffs enough for him to rotate his wrists and slip the cuffs and his still-attached hands under his feet to his front again. After allowing his refreshment, their attention pivoted to their pillaged equipment. Much of it was fairly standard other than its surprisingly fresh condition, but when they came to the load carrying gear and armor, Bex noticed Seb looking at her appraisingly from across the room.

She sighed, her eyes half-closed with irritation. "What? I was under the impression you already decided earlier that you like what you see."

"Ah, no, I mean, your armor." She thought she spotted another blush in the mediocre (hangover-friendly before someone threw a pair of goddamned flash grenades into it...) lighting.

"Yes, it's armor. It tends to help protect me from people who try to shoot me. Or kidnap me."

Seb winced a little at the jab, an important reminder that this frail little flower has thorns. "But you're obviously not comfortable in it, even when some dumbass isn't roughing you up." He was clearly trying to work in a little self-deprecating apology, so she made the concession of silencing another barbed retort. "It looks civilian or law enforcement. What's it rated for?"

Ronnie stepped in to rescue Bex in a couple of different ways. "It's Threat Level II, with Level IV strike plates. What's your point, Corporal?"

Seb gestured towards his discarded equipment. "If you're going after your people, which doesn't seem to be up for debate, maybe you should take ours. It's Level III most of the way around, and IV in a much larger area front and rear, compared to those strike plates. Plus, it's partially articulated, so not only is it pretty adjustable, but it's surprisingly easy to move in. Really, I think you should try it on." His attention returned to Bex, who looked to Rhonda, who again replied with a shrug.