Hello! I know it's been a while since I've updated, sorry there. But I'm back home now and hopefully will have more time on my hands, eh? 'Course, I'm going to be at my dads the rest of the summer and I don't have quite the internet access there... But, I'll figure something out! Chapter 10, read and enjoy!
The COG base was bigger than Nicola had initially thought. There was the main building of course, where Chairman Prescott and other high-ranking officials could be found throughout the day. There was a gym, Communications building, several scattered apartment areas where the Gears slept, a small area for women and children, the warehouse division which included several garages and developmental labs, some fields that seemed to be used for Thrashball, a communal mess hall, medical facilities and a couple of run-down bars.
At each place, Marcus paused to give a brief description about what all went on, but other than that was brutally quiet during the tour. Nicola would try to initiate conversation with him, but Marcus would either give her one word answers, or simply ignore what she was saying. While Nicola was walking, she noticed some of the men had trouble keeping their eyes to themselves.
"I knew a girl back home with a shirt that said, 'Keep looking at me. I might do a trick.' These guys think I'm going to pull out some knives and start juggling or something?"
Marcus looked Nicola in the eyes for just a moment then looked away. "Hate to tell you this, we're fighting a war here, and men are known to think with their dicks rather than heads."
Nicola huffed. "Great." She muttered so low Marcus could barely hear her. "Bad enough Sean was always trying to get into my pants back home."
Marcus chose to ignore her comment, figuring he wasn't really meant to hear it anyway.
"Once your COG tags come in though, you shouldn't have to worry. Having a set of tags brings some respect. Especially if they say you're running with a team as respected as Delta."
Nicola rolled her eyes. "Remind me to invest in an ass guard."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Awfully sick sense of humor there." He stated calmly.
Nicola didn't reply.
Marcus glanced at an old, cracked watch on his wrist. "Half an hour till the main lights go off... Time to head back."
"Main lights?" Nicola asked and turned to follow Marcus.
"Yeah. Main lights keep the streets and stuff lit to keep any Kryll that might be in the area at bay. Secondary lights are shone just on and around buildings and residential areas. Secondary lights turn on about five minutes before the Main lights turn off. That way the base is never in total darkness."
Nicola nodded in understanding. "We had a similar system back home," She began. "Except most of our buildings were underground so the Kryll wouldn't be able to find them anyway."
By this time Marcus and Nicola were only about a block from the apartment and Nicola was kinda glad. Although Marcus did do a decent job as tour guide, she didn't feel comfortable with all the silence.
Back at the apartment, Baird was sitting on the floor with various wires and pieces of machine littered about him. In the middle was what looked like some sort of game console husk.
"Marcus. Amazon." He greeted without looking up.
Footsteps could be heard on the stairs and moments later Dom came downstairs carrying a DVD player.
"If you kill my DVD player, I will set your Atari on fire." He said coldly and handed it to Baird.
"Technically, It's Anthony's, not mine." Baird replied as Marcus carefully stepped past him and into the kitchen. Nicola walked over to one of the sagging couches and sat down.
"Who's Anthony?" She asked.
The sound of the fridge could be heard opening and closing from the kitchen. Marcus walked back into the living room with a beer in his hand.
"Anthony was one of the Carmine brothers. He was killed in action a while back." Marcus sat on the couch next to Nicola and opened bottle.
"Oh... How many Carmine's are there?"
Marcus took a swig of his beer.
"Three. Anthony, K.I.A. Benjamin, K.I.A. And Clay, still alive."
Baird chose that moment to chime in. "Like GLaDOS, except he's not as much of a bitch."
Dom rolled his eyes. "Dude, Portal was a crap game. No one except you would make a reference to it."
Nicola felt the mature half of her brain fighting and losing to her immature half.
"Spaaaaaaaaaaace..." She said just loud enough Dom could hear her.
"Ugh... I stand corrected." He sighed. Baird laughed until his hands were shaking to the point he knocked over the Atari he was working on.
"Oh! Damn..." He muttered and began to hastily put the components back in their proper order. Dom smiled and walked off. While Dom's back was turned, Baird flipped him a quick bird before returning to his work.
"Baird, what are you doing with the Atari and DVD player anyway?" Marcus asked and sat his beer on a coffee table.
"Well," Baird started as he dismantled the DVD player. "I am combining the Atari and DVD player."
Marcus gave a short laugh. "Are you sure that will work?"
Baird huffed in annoyance. "Of course it will work, Marcus. Just wait, by morning we'll be watching movies, listening to music, and playing video games from the same console."
Nicola raised her hand in the air slightly. "Wouldn't is just be easier to unplug them when you want to switch?"
Baird stood up and stretched. "Yeah, but the DVD player isn't compaaaaaa-"
Baird yawned at this point and placed a hand over his mouth to stifle the yawn.
"Atable with the T.V." Nicola nodded and glanced over at Marcus.
"Ya know, I was planning on stretching out on the couch." Marcus jerked his thumb to the opposite couch. "Plenty of room over there. Besides, this is my couch, move your ass."
