Here's another chaper for ya.
"Ugh, gnnn, woah, hey!"
"Relax, Ron. I'm just giving you a thorough checkup before you get out of here."
"Well your hands don't have to be so cold, or find all those…ha ha ha ha ha, that tickles!"
Doctor Hammel just rolled his eyes and continued with the checkup. Ron had woken up just a little while ago. After checking Ron once, Doctor Hammel put him through a series of range-of-motion exercises, before checking Ron over one more time, as he was doing now. Luckily, it looked as though Ron made a full recovery, save for some lingering stiffness from being cooped up so long. He'd leave Kenu to work with Ron on that part, as no doubt the team leader would be anxious to do his own once-over on his new Runner. Doctor Hammel had to give the guy a grudging respect, he was nothing if not thorough when it came to his team's health and well-being. Ceasing his prodding and poking of a squirming Ron, Doctor Hammel checked off the last of his sheets on the medical chart.
"Well Ron, you're free to go. You've healed up marvelously, and fortunately no scarring from those lacerations. Just watch those muscles until they get nice and loose, and maybe continue with a hot and cold treatment for the next twenty-four hours."
"A-Booyah, Doc. Thanks for your help and all the mad medical mojo!"
Doctor Hammel stifled a chuckle at that, "No problem, Ron. You just take care of yourself. And if you need any help in the future, just let me know." He reached out and shook Ron's hand.
"You got it, Doc. See you around." Ron pushed open the door, his ruined clothing in his semi-torched and hastily stitched bag, and his prototype shoes on his feet. He still wore the plain gray track bottoms and top, as his original clothing was mostly in tatters, and of course un-washed since the incident. How he was going to pay for a new set of gear, he had no idea. The Naco money was still safely tucked away in his trust account until much, much later in life, and his meager savings probably wouldn't cut it. Maybe he had built up enough in the job payments to pay it off. He would have to check with Penney…PENNEY!
"Awww man, I knew I forgot something!" Ron sat on his haunches as he rummaged through his charred patchwork bag for his earpiece.
'Why do these things always have to be at the bottom of the bag? Keys, rings, money, always at the bottom. Gah!'
Finally, after strewing his flame-broiled garments across the floor in from of him, Ron procured his earpiece and fitted it to his ear. Somehow, either through design or some miraculous act of grace, the earpiece had been spared from all save one or two scratches.
Keying up the earpiece's power and volume controls, Ron pressed the call button and waited for Penney to pick up.
Blip "RON! OHMYGODAREYOUOKAYWHEREHAVEYOUBEENHOWAREYOUD…"
Ron winced and pulled the earpiece away from his ear until he figured it was safe enough to put back in. That whole rambling uncontrollably must be some female trait they all had in common. She must have been tweaked…make that, majorly tweaked, as she used his real name on a supposedly secure channel.
"Uh, hi Pence. What's up?"
Blip "What's up, WHAT'S UP? You're what's up! I've been worried about what's happened to you, Kenu hasn't stopped crashing around in his training room for the last forty-eight hours, and of course I've been running interference with Wade on Kim from coming down and finding out that we got her BFBF beat up and put in the CAN for nearly two days."
"Uh huh, well I can see how that would be…"
Blip "Stressful? Oh you better believe it, Ro…Rook." Heavy breathing came over the earpiece, slowing with each inhale and exhale, "Alright, sorry about that Rook. Listen, get your butt back here and see if you can get Wingnut to calm down long enough to talk."
"Yeah, what's wrong with him anyways. He's usually not one to get agitated no matter what's gone on. Is he okay?"
Blip "Hard to say, but you definitely need to get here and talk to him. I've made it clear there are some things that you need to now, and he's the only one who can tell you."
"Uh, Pence, you're kinda freaking me out here. What's all this about 'something to talk to me about' and 'stuff I don't know'. It was just an accident. I stepped into a brawl at the wrong time and got hurt, it happens all the time."
Blip "Ron…take my word for it. Get back here, and you'll find out what's going on…if you can get Wingnut to stop freaking out up there." A muffled thump came over the earpiece, followed what sounded like to be a cry of anger.
"Alright, Pence. I'm headed back now. If this turns out to be some prank or something though…"
Blip "Just get back here, Ron. You'll be updated when you get back. Pence, out!"
Ron frowned with the news he was just given. Not ten minutes out of the medical wing in the ARC, after being blown up and knocked out and generally messed up bad, now Ron had an irate Kenu to deal with…and of course then there was Kim. Oh boy, this was going to be a long day.
Setting off at a light jog to loosen everything up, Ron reached in his bag for his communicator, as it survived the bombing without so much as a scratch save a bit of charcoal coloring that wiped off easily enough. Ron keyed the menu for Kim's number and waited for her to pick up. It wasn't long, 'She must have had it on her.' Ron mused as him girlfriend's gorgeous green eyes and flame-hued hair appeared on the viewscreen.
"RON!"
"Hi KP, what's u…"
"OHMYGODICOULDN'TGETINTOUCHANDIHADTHISBADFEELINGANDWADEWOULDN'TGETMEARIDEAND…"
'Yep' Ron mused, 'Definitely a female thing.' He waited for Kim to take a breath and then cut in before she could keep going.
"I'm okay, KP. Nothing major. I just got tied up with a few things around the shop with Kenu. Nothing major." He put on his best goofy grin to prove he was all right. Kim noticeably relaxed after getting her dose of Ronshine.
"Ron, are you sure? They couldn't tell me much about what you were doing and that made me worried." The puppy dog pout was hiding just below the surface of Kim's face. Ron knew that he'd spill it all if he didn't act fast.
"Uh, yeah, you know how it is, all that confetti-dental stuff with businesses and all that."
"You mean confidential, Ron?"
"Yeah, that too. Enough with the freakage, okay?"
Kim smiled and shook her head at her BFBF's antics. "Alright, Ron, I'll stop freaking out now. I gotta go too, Mom's calling for supper. I love you, Ron."
"Love you too, KP." Ron winked as Kim kissed the screen, leaving a set of lip prints on the screen before it shut off. 'Damn, do I ever miss those lips.'
Ron stuffed the communicator back in his pocket and set off for the exit, to find a cab, and get his butt back to Kenu's. Something was seriously messed up and he was going to find out what…whether he wanted to or now, apparently. Fortunately, this took his mind off of having to lie to Kim for the time being. The same as monkey kung-fu, he's tell her eventually, just not right now. He definitely didn't want to have to deal with Kim and Kenu at the same time. That would just be death ordered up with a side of eternal pain and suffering…and a hell of a lot of butt-kissing later on.
Ron eventually made it back to Kenu's base. Signing off on the cab-driver's charge sheet for the ARC Medical Bay's Expenses, Ron pushed open the door to the office and strode in…
"Hey, Pen…GAH!"
…Only to be met with a flying naked mole rat to the face. His chattering little buddy was excited, worried, and above all, relieved his master and best friend was back in safe doors.
"RUFUS, BUDDY!" Ron gave the mole rat a little hug against his cheek. It was good to have Rufus back in contact again. Sometimes he didn't know how much he missed the little guy until he was away for a while. "Did ya miss me?"
"Hnk, uh huh, uh huh!" The little mole rat nodded his head enthusiastically as he perched himself on Ron's outstretched palm.
"Awww, thanks little dude. I don't have any cheese, or even any pockets for that matter, but would you mind staying down here with Penney for now?" The disappointed groan that came from Rufus' tiny body let Ron know what he ready thought of that idea, but the little guy still hopped over to Penney's desk.
"Hey Penney, wish me luck?"
"You're going to need it Ron. Kenu sounds majorly messed up, even after a few days of cooling off…" THUNK! The noise coming from the floor upstairs rattled the lights, accentuating Penney's words like a lightning-bolt.
"Ah, heh, right. Well, catcha in a few…" 'If I make it out alive…' Ron added under his breath as he turned and headed up the stairs to Kenu's training area. Taking the steps one at a tie, various thumps, thunks, groans, and crying out in effort…or maybe even anguish…could be heard more clearly. Ron's discomfort only increased as he stepped around a 45lb barbell embedded in the wall at the bottom of the staircase like a lance. Of course, the various shards of metal, ketllebell-sized craters, and other unidentifiable metallic items he had to sidestep on his way up the stairs did little to allay his growing trepidation.
Poking his head above the railings along the staircase entrance, Ron had to blink a few times to truly grasp the amount of carnage he was looking at. The exercise room Kenu had normally kept so immaculately tidy and clean was now the site of a war. More craters lined the walls, and even some pieces of the flooring looked indented and split underneath the thick rubber mats Kenu had put down. The lights flickered off and on, and not one piece of equipment was undamaged in some way. Wooden splinters stuck off in the punching bag like a porcupine had been embedded into it. Sparks caused a burst of light as something impacted another light, driving the room further into shadow. Even the much-prized audio system was cracked, the blue lights flickering on and off. Needless to say, whoever had done this was pissed, very pissed, and bleeding…such was the case when Ron looked at the cracked mirrors and the red stains they held.
"Uh, Kenu? You there buddy?" Silence, punctuated with heavy breathing came back to Ron's ears. "I'm okay now, Kenu. The guys at the ARC fixed me up real good and stuff." The breathing got louder as Ron moved towards the darkest part of the room. "Say, why don't we go cook up some Naco's? I figure I'll try some Marscapone cheese in them this time and…"
"I…I'm…cough…" A voice lined with gravel interrupted Ron's hesitant one.
"Kenu? That you buddy?" Ron squinted at the dark corner where he thought he heard the voice coming from. It came again, stronger this time.
"I'm sorry…Ron…cough cough…"
"Uh, yeah, right on. Listen, Kenu, whatever you're sorry for, we can talk it out later. Just come on over here and we'll chat once we get some snackage, hey?"
A shuffling and groaning stopped Ron from advancing any further. He stood on the edge of a flickering beam of light, listening…waiting. The shuffling sounded like footsteps, getting closer each time. A ragged breathing hitched and coughed as it neared the edge of the lighted area. Ron's own breath was coming faster now too, fueled by concern for his friend, and now fear for his condition and state of mind.
A leg moved into the light, bringing along with it a staggering, stopping and hunching Kenu Runn. Blood ran down one side of his face, staining his torn and tattered clothing. The man looked like he was about to fall over. Luckily, Ron somehow didn't run away screaming at his friends condition and was there to catch him as Kenu did exactly that, right into Ron's arms, taking them both to the floor.
"Hey, Kenu…Kenu! Come on buddy, let's get you patched up…wah!" One of Kenu's bruised hands fisted Ron's grey shirt like a vice. Ron kept still as Kenu's battered and exhausted visage looked up into his own face.
"Ron…I'm sorry…I never thought that you'd get involved so soon. Cough…I wanted to tell you, but I thought you might be able to…stay away from it all…"
Some sort of instinct kicked in for Ron. Maybe because he was on his own and couldn't rely on Kim or other professionals, but whatever it was Ron was thankful for the forcefulness it gave him at this point. "Kenu, I don't know what you're talking about. But right now, you've got to get some sleep. You look like a Zombie right now." Ron plucked Kenu's hand from his shirt and moved him into a recovery position he had learned from Sensei at Yamanouchi. Taking his bag off his shoulders, Ron stuffed it under Kenu's head as a makeshift pillow. He also took a first-aid kit from a surprisingly untouched section of wall and cleaned and bandaged the small wound on Kenu's head and torn knuckles. It was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a day or two of rest.
"Ron, I…"
"Listen, you can be sorry later. Get some sleep, then we'll grab some Naco's and talk about it. Cool?" Ron noted Kenu's dropping eyelids as a signal to move away and maybe get some real clothes on. The poor guy was too exhausted to even stay awake at this point.
After Ron let Penney know that Kenu would be okay and that he would be upstairs for a bit getting cleaned up. Rufus now on his shoulder, Ron stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and a single thought running through his head like a freight-train out of control.
'What could be so bad that Kenu would go that crazy?'
"Grnnnnnn, ugh, felt like a mob just trampled me."
Kenu came to. Wincing at the glaring light in his eyes, the mentally and physically exhausted Runner cursed his own temper. Granted, while it was hard for Kenu to lose his temper these days, when he did…it was better to just let him work it out himself than try and stop him. Unfortunately, Kenu's conditioning and strength was to his disadvantage once his temper reached the breaking point.
His temper was such that if he was not totally exhausted that he would not calm down. Some medical specialists said it had something to do with an abundance of endorphin glands running through his system, and psychologists thought it had to do with his psychological state of mind…total bullshit if he said so himself.
Frankly, he didn't really care what it exactly was that caused the outbursts, so long as no one got hurt when he went off other than himself. It was one of his personal demons, and buy was he cursing that demon right about now.
"Sonofa…GAH…cough, cough, well at least it's not the worst I've had. Now if I someone would just turn off those cursed lights if could…"
"Get back to thrashing your own gym like a man possessed? Yeah, so not going to happen bro. You need to chill out!"
He recognized that voice, "Ron? Where are you bro?" Kenu attempted to roll over and look around, but with every muscle and tendon screaming at him, that effort ended rather abruptly with a long groan.
"Hey buddy, to your left. Just cleaning up a little of what you created. Ya know, if you wanted to redecorate you could have just hired someone to do so."
"Ha ha ha, OW! Ron please don't make me laugh right now." Kenu shifted his head to look at his impromptu janitorial service who was now pulling another piece of twisted steel out of another crater.
"No problem Kenu. The Ron-man's lips are sealed…but only if I get to ask one question."
Kenu figured this would be coming sooner rather than later, so now was as good a time as any. "Sigh. Well, I guess I owe ya that much. And as I'm now incapacitated until you decide to give me a hand, I guess I have no choice now do I?" Kenu felt a small weight run up and perch on his chest. He nearly had to go cross-eyed to see that it was Rufus standing there.
"Yep, uh huh!" The little mole-rat nodded his head with tiny paws crossed, one 'foot' tapping impatiently.
"All right, well, I guess I'll start with the obvious question, as to what happened here. Let's just leave it at, I have a very long fuse, but it's attached to a nuclear weapon surrounded by C4. Does that about cover it?"
"Yeah, uh, kinda on the vague side there, but basically we get the idea."
"All right, grn, now if I figure you're next question it would be why I flipped in the first place."
"Weeeeelllllll…"
"I'll get to the rest of it, just let me finish, Ron." Ron grunted a response, as he was busy cleaning up a few more pieces of now unusable drywall. Kenu continued his explanation after a few measured breaths, and a sip from a cold drink Rufus had somehow placed next to his head with a straw.
"Well, I guess I should begin with the basics. The ARC, or the Allied Runner's Co-operative, is exactly what it seems. It's a place for Runner's who can't completely support themselves, or have small or non-existent teams, to go and get access to facilities they would not normally have."
Ron saw fit to pause in his work of hauling mats up to interrupt, "yeah, uh, the Doc already gave me the rundown on that sitch."
"Good, but did the Doc also tell you that everything I just said was only one half of what the ARC does?"
"Uh, that'd be a no!"
"Uh huh, nope!" The weight of Rufus shifted itself on Kenu's chest. Apparently he had been filled in by Ron or Penney while Kenu was out of it.
"Well, that's because the ARC also serves as a safe zone during the War."
"Uh, dude, last time I checked, World War Two was over a long time…"
"Not that kind of War, Ron. I mean a War among teams."
"Uh, ya lost me right when you came to War again."
'Grrrrrrnn' "Alright, listen up Ron. You know that at this day and age communication around that side of the world needs Runners, people like us to get information from point A to point B. There are also Rival Runners, you remember that, right?" Ron nodded his acquiescence.
"Right then, now I need to throw a darker side on things. These Rival Runners have formed crew, groups, bands, whatever. They're also looking to take over our turf, and also the information network. They're here to terrorize the other teams of Runners by any means necessary, and they're also after something."
"What could they be after that's so important?"
"That, Ron, is a damn good question. The only true piece of intel we have at this point is that RAWK is behind all of this, which means I'm part of all this too."
"Rock? What does guitars, drums, and bass have to do with all this?"
"Not the music genre, Ron. RAWK, or rather Reig N. Roch. We called him RAWK for short. He got out of hand and so I had to put him away." Kenu paused as if he was remembering something painful, "Ron…he was my first teammate."
"Wha?" Ron and Rufus' jaws dropped. How could someone associated with Kenu start a War?
"Yeah, he was the guy I formalized this Running business with. We were only small time then, just running for ourselves, helping small groups get started, training, you know the stuff. Everything was all guts and glory, parties, women, and good money coming in. Unfortunately, Rawk got out of hand after that." Kenu paused for a drink of water.
"He got too cocky, because he was the best. Even I couldn't keep up. He started charging more money for his jobs, and when they refused to pay or went to someone else, he'd sabotage the job and charge double to get the information back. He even started terrorizing groups, taking on full teams of individuals all by himself…and winning. These 'challenges', he called them, were supposed to weed out the weak Runners out of the game, claiming they weren't fit to be called Runners. Frankly, Ron, he was becoming a fanatic elitist, driven by the draw of being the best, the most powerful, the best. That was three years ago, when I put him away in a holding cell."
"You had him arrested?"
"Yeah, well, sort of. I had him held for his crimes by a freelance group, as no agency could find proof of what he was doing. But now he's out. Either the Mercs let him out, or well…this room would be a Martha Stewart decorating dream compared to what he would have left in his wake."
"So what happens now?" Ron had most of the slag picked up, now he was sitting on a pile of twisted metal and mats.
"Now? Well, we try to stay one step ahead, and hope that we don't get drawn into a challenge until you're ready."
"Ah, right, gotcha…I was getting worried there because I thought you said that we'd be going into these challenges voluntarily. Kinda had me worried there buddy." Ron rubbed the back of his head in his usual nervous habit.
"Ron, I did say that." Ron's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the look on Kenu's face. Fortunately, his lungs did not fail him.
"WHAT?"