The second duffel bag was slammed down onto Hamilton's desk, with a bit of a thud, followed by one of Becky's giggles as she stepped back and allowed the Slaver to take a look inside.
"M16s... Grenades... M4s and a Chinese Assault rifle..." Hamilton sighed, quickly unzipping the second bag as he scanned inside.
"Shotguns... Handguns..." He paused again, heading over to the third bag and finding a large stash of ammo.
"Yep, it's all here. Untouched by time..." He looked back over his shoulder, where he saw Becky, Neil and two Slavers stood behind him, ready to take orders.
"Right, Neil, Janet, Kieran. Put these guns back together and get them loaded, we're going to need them tomorrow morning."
"Hey, what about me!?" Becky pouted, resting her baseball bat on her shoulder as she placed a hand on her hip.
"What am I, chopped liver!?"
"You will be, next time you interrupt me..." Hamilton replied, sternly, glaring at her. The Slavers who knew Hamilton a little better weren't sure if he was joking...
"I want you guarding the perimeter. Report into Sarchez and see where he needs you. Everyone else has their work cut out for them, so get to it."
Hamilton stepped on over towards the door, wondering if Denis' pipboy had finished uploading. Not that he was in a hurry, he wouldn't need it for at least a few days...
Jynx remained silent in Irving Cheng's old room, hands bound by old world police handcuffs. She had long since given up, trying to break free of them, after her wrists began to grow inflamed. She sighed heavily and hung her head, trying not to make eye contact with the creepy guard ahead of her, who seemed to stare at her intently.
The Lamplighter could feel herself welling up a little, she wouldn't bullshit anyone, not even her captors. She was afraid and who could blame her? She was either going to be murdered or enslaved, there wasn't exactly a happy ending to this...
Strangely enough, the thing that she felt most was thirsty... Her mouth was so dry that she could feel her tongue sticking to the roof of it. She sighed heavily, shuddering a little as she did so. Was she allowed to ask for water? The words were in her mouth ready but fear kept them in check, she paused and took a deep breath, sighing heavily.
C'mon... What's the worst they can do? They aren't going to beat you up for politely asking for water, that would be stupid...
Though somehow, she hadn't convinced herself, most of these guys looked like they'd beat you up for looking at them the wrong way...
She weighed up the risks and cleared her throat before looking up to the guard ahead of her, ready to make her request.
"I... C-Can I have something to drink?" She asked, she didn't need to get his attention as she already had it.
A small smile crept across his lips as he relaxed a little more.
"Well, that depends... Only good, well behaved prisoners get treats." He said, giving her a smile that made her skin crawl.
"I... I haven't tried to escape or anything, you've been watching me this whole time!" Jynx protested. It was true, she hadn't said or done anything since she was placed here. Unless you count tugging at her restraints but that would be incredibly petty of them.
"I have..." The Guard replied, slowly rising up to his feet as he slowly approached her.
"And I can see that you're very special."
Jynx stiffened in response to that, not only was this guy, with his rotten teeth, porno tache and thinning greasy hair the most revolting thing she'd ever seen but he was also about as subtle as a clown, running through a minefield.
The question was, how was she going to play this? She saw a chance to escape here... Only, if she didn't escape, she'd probably end up regretting enticing him for the rest of her days... as few or unbearable as they would be.
No, it was all or nothing, she had the advantage as she had half a brain. She just needed this guy to get a little closer...
"I... I'm not special..." She mumbled, doing her best to seem embarrassed by his 'flattery.' It took a lot of effort not to cringe or dry heave.
"Sure you are..." The Guard said, giving her a rotten smile as he took a seat beside her, gently placing his hand around her waist. His breath stank like death, good god, he could kill with that!
"You've gotten yourself a nice pair of tits for a girl your age."
Charming...
"You're..." She stopped herself from saying anything that could be taken as sarcasm as much as she wanted to say it, she didn't want to provoke him.
"I... Didn't think that there was much to me..." She 'admitted' with a sigh, in truth, she didn't get it either. She was unhealthily skinny and nearly flat chested, was he high or was he just that desperate?
"Don't say that honey..." He said, gently running his fingers through her hair as he proceeded to gently caress her neck. She could feel his tache tickling it, her fingers curled as she did everything in her power to prevent herself from shuddering in fear and disgust...
She wasn't exactly successful, however, he took that to mean that she was in a state of arousal and proceeded to wrap her arms around her and slowly pull her down onto her back as he continued to kiss her neck. This was the worst, the absolute fucking worst. Why did she think that this was a good idea again?
Jynx swallowed the small pool of vomit that had accumulated in the back of her mouth as she began to feel around his waist, just hoping that she wouldn't accidentally touch anything small, shrivelled and disease riddled in the process.
He has to have a knife, surely...
The Slaver then pulled back and looked down on her with a smile, one that she managed to force back as he went in for a kiss, hoping to lock lips and have a round of tonsil tennis.
Jynx stiffened from under him and quickly brought her knee up, it wasn't even intentional but it went straight up, between his legs and crushed his testicles, causing him to emit a high pitched squeak as he fell off of her and desperately nursed them with his hands.
"S-Sorry!" Jynx gasped, taken by surprise herself, though on reflection, she wasn't at all sorry, this is exactly what she wanted. She quickly jumped up and put the steel, linked chains around the Slaver's throat and began to pull back with as much force as her arms and back could muster, crushing his larynx.
She could hear him choking and spluttering as she tightened her hold on his neck. Jynx could feel her arms being furiously tugged to the breaking point as she winced in agony, feeling like her elbows were going to give way and snap.
After a long struggle, she felt the Slaver go limp in her arms, hanging his head as a small trail of spit leaked from his lips, hovering just above the ground. The Lamplighter swiftly pulled the chains of her cufffs up his face, dragging them over his nose and letting his head slump down to the floor as she gasped, stepping back and panting heavily as she stared down at him, sighing heavily.
The elevator doors opened to the lobby, slowly opening before the front desk and out stepped a rather short, Slaver, who wore a scarf around her mouth and nose. She marched, straight backed, brandishing an American Assault rifle, hoping that she wasn't shot wearing this paper thin, poly-fibre armour.
She missed her metal armour but knew that stepping out of that door wearing them was suicide. Thankfully the guy behind the desk wasn't paying her much mind as he was studying an issue of the Cat's Paw, rather intently, trying to see past the semen stains to see the model's sultry bits. Judging from his mumblings, he wasn't having much success...
Now, she just had to look for Denis, not having a clue where the Regulator was being held...
But how would she find out? They probably didn't write this stuff down... Not so much because they were smart but because none of their peers would be able to read it...
It then occurred to her, could she... Ask them? It sounded insane but they must be able to answer her, even if they insulted her immediately after... The only thing she'd have to do was come up with a reason as to why she was asking...
Swallowing her hesitation, in the form of bile, the Lamplighter stopped, where she was walking and turned back towards the desk. She needed a lie, she needed one fast...
Used it.
Nope.
Won't work...
Ah!
By this point, she had reached the desk, where she had came to a standstill, staring down at the man as he flicked through his magazine, unintentionally skimming through it as 3 out of five pages ended up being flicked in the process.
"Ex- Excuse me." She said, adopting a more assertive tone but it was too late, what kind of Slaver says 'Excuse me?' anyway?
"What?" The Slaver asked, impatiently, flicking through his magazine, not having the patience to even look her in the eyes.
"I... I need to take something to the prisoner, that guy in the black suit asked me to bring him a fuse." The Lamplighter said, holding her hand in the other to stop them from shaking.
"A fuse?" The Slaver asked, tossing his magazine to one side.
"The fuck does Hamilton want a fuse for!?"
"I don't know, I didn't ask him! I just do what he tells me!" Jynx pointed out, seeming a little irate by the man's stalling.
"Alright, fuck. Was only askin'... He's in the... Room. You know..."
"No, I don't..."
"Erm... Well, that new room, where the ferals came from? There's some sorta... observation room, that looks into that one? Leave it there."
"R-Right." The disguised Slaver murmured, taking a step back.
"Thanks."
"Whatever..." The Slaver grunted, placing his boots on the table as he picked up where he left off on his 'reading.'
Jynx slowly crept away, panting heavily as she did so, she felt like she was close to hyperventilating. Jesus Christ, did she get away with it? Was the Slaver pushing a button under his desk? Or did she happen to catch him during his... frivolous time, getting the aid of his blueballs? She had no idea but whatever deflected his suspicion, she was thankful for it.
She stepped outside of the building, wandering over to the shack in question, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. She just needed to get into that basement, she just needed to keep her head down, not draw attention to herself and focus on the task at hand. The Lamplighter pushed the door open, frantically looking around as she stared into the darkness of the stairway but finding that no eyes had fallen on her. Not yet anyway...
She really must look the part...
Jynx began her descent, automatically wincing and shuddering as she heard the heavy beatings going on below. The fact that it was happening to a man that she considered to be her friend did not make it easy on her. She bit her lip, under her scarf, hoping to keep it at bay as she prepared herself for what she would see next.
The basement door slowly opened as the Slaver guard stepped inside, trying not to look as Clover 'worked' on her Prisoner. She kicked him, repeatedly, whilst he was down, repaying the kindness that he showed her when she was at her most vulnerable.
At this point, Denis' body wasn't able to put up much resistance. It was starting to hurt a great deal as he had some severe bruising below his ribs on his left side and some swelling around his eye. The talking had long since stopped on both sides as Clover continued to stomp on the Regulator, driving the heel of her boot down, unknowingly onto his gunshot wound, causing him to cry out in pain.
"D'aww... Here I thought you were a tough guy..." Clover mocked, taking a step back to take a breather as Denis rolled from side to side on his back, clutching at the wound.
"Ain't so fun being the victim for once, is it!?"
Jynx, against all of her instincts, remained silent. That Slaver bitch was one to talk... Didn't she go around killing people? Bringing misery to their lives and she was whining because someone took it upon themselves to shoot at her?
Hypocrite...
Denis had no response for her, probably because he didn't want to waste what little air he had on antagonising her. He slowly pulled himself up a little, doing his best to keep his head off of the ground as he sat on his hip, panting heavily as he put all of his weight on his right arm.
Clover knew that she wasn't going to get a response out of him if she did talk to him, she looked over to her left, over to the terminal, which was apparently on 95%. It looked like she had another ten minutes or so before it was done...
Ten minutes of pain...
The former slave smirked before lifting her boot up, smashing her toe, straight into Denis' face and knocking him on his back before she continued to beat on him. Jynx winced as she watched the barbaric tenderising of her friend, wondering what she could do...
She could shoot clover in the back but her assault rifle would surely make a noise and he'd have to escape from a dozen, hostile Slavers. She'd have to play it cool, figure this out... Only she had no idea how. When was the time to strike? RJ taught her about handling a giant, green monster, running towards you and screaming but... This?
As if it was an answered prayer, the door to the cellar opened, almost silently as 'Black Suit Guy' entered the room. Jynx stiffened her back as their eyes locked and she could feel herself involuntarily shaking out of fear.
He glared at her intently, almost hungrily as he slowly pulled his hand up to his lips and pressed his finger against them, quickly glancing over to Clover as she continued to beat on her prisoner.
The Slaver slowly stepped on over to her, drawing his Colt 1911 pistol from his suit pocket as he slowly held it up, doing his best to match his footsteps with the sounds of Denis' beatings. With two quick strides, he pulled the hammer back on his gun, pressing it against the back of Clover's neck.
"Stop. Now."
She shot up, almost like she had a collar on again, that had hijacked her posteriority and forced her to straighten her back. Jynx couldn't see her face but she looked just as scared as she did...
"L-Lover..." She stammered, slowly turning around to face him, feeling some relief as he lowered his gun.
"No need for the gun, I... You just had to say the wo-" The Forme Slave's lies were cut off as she received a kiss on the cheek from Marcia, a pretty hard one as well as Hamilton whacked the Colt 1911 pistol straight into her left cheekbone. She let out a yell in pain as she stumbled off to the side, reaching up for her cheek.
"I said... Nobody was the lay a finger on him. If he had died, the download would've gone to shit and we would've been fucked!" The Wastelander growled, glaring down at her before sighing, glancing down to the floor.
"Next time I say something, open your fucking ears." He sighed, getting a compliant nod in response as Clover gently rubbed her cheek, slowly stepping around him and heading towards the stairway. Hamilton stepped on over to the terminal and ejected the holotape from inside it, containing precious data that Denis' pipboy contained.
He pocketed it and began his ascent up the stairs, leaving Jynx and another Slaver to watch over Denis' unconscious form. The Lamplighter stiffened as Hamilton walked past, feeling like she was mere inches away from death itself. Her fingers curled in recognition as he did so and she felt every muscle in her body relax upon hearing the large door, up above, slam shut.
Now was the time to strike.
The Lamplighter took a deep breath before glancing at the guard to her left, she swiftly marched over to the guard, knowing that she was going to regret this but she couldn't leave Denis to die. She'd rather die in a rescue attempt than have to live with the guild of leaving him behind.
The guard quickly caught on but not quick enough as Jynx's gun butt hit him square in the face, knocking him straight to the floor with an 'oof!' as the Lamplighter pulled her scarf down, she was desperate to not waist any time as she rushed on over to her companion and got to work, undoing his restraints.
"Heh... You're full of surprises..." Denis wheezed as the Lamplighter furiously tugged at his restraints, undoing them as quickly, yet clumsily as possible.
"So are you... Getting yourself captured." She grumbled as she made some progress.
"Remind me to beat you up myself once we get out of here."
"Heh, get me out of here and I'll even let you use a baseball bat..."
With a click and a clatter, Denis' restraints rolled off, leaving him panting on all fours as he hung his head, giving a heavy sigh. Jynx quickly threw herself into him, forgetting about the bruising around his chest and above his waist as she embraced him.
"G-God dammit Denis, we were 'this' close to getting killed!" She mumbled into his chest, getting a heavy sigh from him as he gently wrapped his arm around her back.
"Hey... It's okay... Nothing bad happened, did it?" He whispered, slowly prying her off and looking her in the face, seeing that she was welling up.
The Lamplighter shook her head, gasping and sniffing.
"One of the guards... Tried to erm... Have his way with me but he ended up regretting it." She murmured, glancing off to the side.
"I... Kind of encouraged him, so that I could escape..."
"You were smart... He probably wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer anyway." The Regulator whispered, slowly rising to his feet.
"C'mon... We need to get out of here.
Now."