Chapter 9: Drubman Drama
The drive to Dutch's bunker was uneventful. Faith had said that things were a little bit chaotic so the patrols were non-existent. Kyle still had his mind on their previous discussion. But he realized it was useless to dwell on it. He had to be patient, no matter how much he disliked waiting. It was back to his original goal, finding Jess. If anyone could help him put pressure on the cult, it was Jess. Kyle only hoped that she was unharmed and that Dutch maybe had gotten word of her whereabouts.
Kyle parked the car outside the bunker and spoke into the intercom. "Hey Dutch, its me. Sorry for the long absence."
"No problem kid. Let me get the door for you." As soon as the door was unlocked, he headed straight in. He made his way directly to Dutch who was waiting for him with a grin on his face.
"Whitehorse radioed on ahead saying that you were coming back. He was disappointed that he couldn't talk to you before you left but he knows you had your reasons."
"Yeah, I needed to get back right away. Jess and I got separated on that little trip into Jacob's territory. Turns out the whole thing was a trap. She came up with a plan to draw the majority of the cult toward her so I could escape east than south. So that's when were separated. I lost my radio during the ambush so I managed to secure transport to the jail where I figured they would have some spare radios. Long story short, had to run a few errands in order to get one. So now I'm here. Do you have any idea where Jess could me, if she's in danger?"
Dutch frowned. "My niece is tough as nails. She's been doing this for years now. I think she can handle herself."
"I know she's tough but who knows what Jacob will throw at her! He might throw everything he has to capture her so he can get to me and I can't let that happen! We gotta find out where she is!"
Dutch motioned over to the doorway behind Kyle. He turned around to see what he was trying to show and there standing the doorway was the huntress. She had a big grin on her face, like she had pulled the biggest prank off and gotten away with it.
"Geez Kyle, I didn't know you cared so much." She started laughing.
Kyle had mixed emotions. On one hand, he was overjoyed the Jess was alive and well and even better, she had made it back to the bunker. On the other hand, he was little miffed about Jess and Dutch pulling this on him."
"How long have you been fucking standing there?"
"Long enough." She moved into the room to a spot between Kyle and Dutch. "Long enough to hear you voice your concerns about me."
'Its only because I care! Shit, you're the best damn archer in the world! I could use a bit of help sticking it to the cult."
Kyle's flattery and admission of caring did not escape Jess' notice. She grew a bit red but managed to hide it with the hood. "Your damn right I'm the best. But Dutch's right. I can take care of myself. I'm definitely not opposed going out with you to kick the peggies' ass. Its usually fun, especially with you.
Kyle's slight anger dissipated and he smiled "Well then lets…"
"Hello? Dutch are you there?" A voice came from Dutch's console.
Dutch walked over to it. "I'm here Adelaide. What do you need?"
"I know you usually know about everything that's going on nowadays so I had a question. There was this guy who I gave a ride to the jail after he helped me get Tulip back. Do you know anything about him?"
"His name's Kyle."
"Oh! So you DO know him. By any chance can you find out if he's still at the jail? I kinda need to ask about his help for something.
"Actually Adelaide, he's right here."
"Hello again Adelaide."
"Dammit darling! You could have said something earlier! You forgot top give me your name too!"
Kyle ignored her protests. "What did you need help with?"
"Well since you helped me get Tulip back, I thought you might be able to help me recover another piece of property. I'm owed an SUV and it hasn't been returned to me yet. I was hoping you can go and get it for me. I'll definitely compensate you for your time."
Kyle thought for a minute. He really wanted to get to what he was planning. On the other hand, Adelaide's compensation might help him down the line. Pus she would owe him two favors. "Alright I'll be right over. You still at the marina?"
"Yeah honey. I'll tell you everything when you get here. See you soon."
As soon as Adelaide got off the line, Jess came up to Kyle with a frown on her face. "I see you've met one of the Drubmans"
"Why do you say it like that?"
"Just a piece of advice, that family is nothing but trouble. Definitely not as bad as the Seeds but still full of drama."
"Well I'm going there anyway. I'd feel better if you went along with me."
Jess sighed. "Oh I guess. At least to help you keep out of trouble." Jess acted like she was reluctant but deep down she was excited to be heading out with Kyle again.
Kyle turned to Dutch. "Alright Dutch, we're heading out. We'll take care of this and then we'll be back to make some plans."
"Got it. Good luck kid. You two be careful."
Jess went and grabbed her bow and met Kyle at his vehicle. He turned it on and started the long drive towards the marina.
"So I've been meaning to ask you Jess. How did you manage to get back to Dutch's bunker?"
Jess gave a sly smile. "Those peggies have been here for years but they still don't know how to navigate the county after all this time. Once I lost them in the woods, they mostly stuck to the roads hoping they would catch me crossing. Of course, they never did. Waited until I had a clear opening then crossed over to the west. As luck would have it, I ran into a couple of Eli's boys who were out patrolling. Jacob going after us allowed the Whitetails to get out some. Anyways, they escorted me to Eli. He wanted me to stay and help but I told him that I had to get back down south to meet you. I talked you up a great deal so you can thank me later. But I was able to convince him to assist me so I could cross south. We had no issues. Made it back to Dutch, and was going to go out looking for you when you showed up."
Jess yawned and stretched a bit. "So you were at the jail huh? How are they doing over there? Did you run into any of Faith's people?"
Kyle glanced at her but otherwise kept his eyes on the road. "People at the jail were fine. The sheriff was there. It seemed like everyone was relieved that the jail was under threat. Almost did have a run in with this Tracey girl but that got smoothed over…"
"Tracey, Tracey Lader?" Jess interrupted
Kyle shrugged "Don't know her last name. She kinda had a temper like you but she had valuable information."
"Bleh, if you think I'm anti-social, than Tracey was the queen of awkwardness. Never hung out with any of us. Always had this attitude that she didn't want to talk to anyone. Fine by me, probably a bitch anyways." Jess turned to look out of the window.
Kyle glanced again to see what Jess was feeling but her face was turned away so he couldn't detect anything. "Anyways, they wanted me to clear a hotel for them in exchange for a radio. Turns out that the hotel was deserted. We did find a couple of them in a nearby cave though."
"They have it easy. Faith Seed may be sly lying bitch but she definitely doesn't use her soldiers lake Jacob or John. She should be easy to take down when we get to her."
Kyle was silent. There might eventually come a time where he would have to tell Jess about his dealings with Faith. He would rather leave her out of this but sooner or later she would get involved. Kyle had grown to really like Jess. He didn't want to have to choose between the two. From the outside, the choice should be easy but for Kyle, the road would be difficult. It would be dealt with when the time came.
"Why are you so quiet out of a sudden?" Jess interrupted Kyle's thoughts and he turned his head to see that she was studying him.
"Even though we were only separated for a bit, I'm really glad we're back together again. You and me, we get shit done. The peggies know how much of a threat we are, that's why they tried to trap us. But now we're back with a vengeance. Going to be really nice to kick some ass again."
"Oh, it will be Jess." Kyle said simply. They were just about at the marina. Kyle parked and got out. The first thing he saw was the pink helicopter on the helipad. Tulip was still safe and sound. Then he turned to see Adelaide coming toward them waving her hand.
"Hey darling! Glad you could make it." When she got closer to them, she noticed Jess. I see you brought a friend along. A girl too. Is that? Its Jess Black! I didn't know you were friends with her. That's quite an accomplishment darling."
"Hello to you too Mrs. Drubman" Jess said not hiding her annoyance.
Adelaide ignored her. "So honey, the reason why I called you here is because I need you to get my SUV back. From my Ex-husband. He lives a little north of here.
Jess emitted a groan which caused Kyle to look back at her before turning your attention back to Adelaide. "Your ex-husband?"
Adelaide smiled. "Yeah, he was really neglectful, so I filed for divorce. The oaf thought he wouldn't have to give anything but my lawyers killed that dream. I've gotten almost everything from him but that SUV. I'm going to go with you so he knows why you're getting it but I need you and your intimidating presence to make sure that jackass hands it over."
"We don't have fucking time to fucking around with your relationship drama. If you haven't noticed, we're kick the peggies out."
Adelaide continued to ignore Jess but Kyle knew he heard her. "So in return for helping me, not only will you have me and Tulip's help when you need it, but I can give you some of the money I got from the jackass if that works."
Kyle thought about it. He was in the same boat as Jess but if he could get something out of it then he might as well while he was here. "The money would be good. Then we wouldn't have to scavenge for guns to trade in order to buy new ones. But we don't come cheap I'm afraid. We're going to need a pretty hefty amount."
Adelaide's smile grew wider. "Whatever you want darling. I have plenty. Now lets get going!"
The ride was a fairly quiet one besides Adelaide providing directions on where to go. She knew that Jess was in no mood to talk to her and Kyle was focused on driving. When they arrived, they were greeted by a large estate. There was a big house on the left with a large garage further down the driveway. Upon parking, Kyle looked for Mr. Drubman. He saw the man sitting on the porch in a rocking chair. He had a rifle in his lap. But before Kyle could make a move, Adelaide was already stomping towards him.
"Oh this is fucking great. I don't have time for this shit. What the fuck do you want woman?"
Adelaide stopped a few feet in front of him, clearly unafraid with hands on her hips. "You know exactly why I'm here. That fucking SUV is mine and you know it!"
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. That car is my campaign vehicle! Its mine!"
The two argued back and forth. Kyle turned to Jess who had her head buried in one hand. "I fucking knew this was going to happen…."
Kyle decided to stay by Jess and let the two Drubmans argue. Finally, Mr. Drubman shouted "Jr, get your ass over here!"
A middle age man then appeared from an area across from the house. He seemed eager to answer the summon but as soon he saw Adelaide, he slowed down considerably.
"Jr, what did you do with my campaign vehicle?" The older Drubman asked.
"Well I….the cult has is dad." He said nervously.
"What the fuck? Why do they fucking have it? What did you do?!"
"You were right, he definitely came from your loins" Adelaide added
"Oh come on mama! That ain't fair. The cult was promising all this stuff. But then I found out they had all these rules and stuff so I tried to leave. They let me leave but they said that they were keeping the car. They all had guns so I didn't have much of a choice!"
"Well then! I guess you're going back to get the fucking car then!" Mr. Drubman commanded.
"All by myself?"
"You're lucky Hurky. I just happened to bring some help that will go with you." Adelaide waved Kyle over who was followed by Jess. "This here is Kyle. Probably the best damn shooter I've ever seen. You are going to help him get my car back. Is that understood?"
"Yes mama." Hurk then looked sheepishly at Kyle and put out his hand. "Nice to meet you dude!"
After shaking his hand, he noticed Jess. "Jess Black! Its been such a long time! How've you been?"
All he received was a mean glare from Jess which caused him to put his head down. Kyle smiled a bit. "So where did you leave the car?"
"Don't worry about that dude! I know exactly where it is!"
"Alright then you can guide us." Kyle said before heading toward the car. Jess silently followed him, getting away from the Drubmans.
"Now you be good Hurky. You do everything that Kyle tells you to do." Adelaide reminded him.
"And try not to shit yourself." Mr. Drubman added, giving Hurk his gun.
Jess took the passenger seat next to Kyle which left Hurk in the back. The trip was not as long as Kyle had expected. Hurk's directions were on point thankfully. He always looked like he wanted to talk about other things but then he would look at Jess and clam up before he needed to give the next set of directions. Before too long, they made it to their destination. The crew stopped some distance away to survey the place. It seemed to be a simple cabin with cult members patrolling all around it. The SUV they were looking for was parked outside right out in front.
"So how we going to do this amigo?' Hurk asked.
"Jess and I will handle this. You stay here with the car."
"Aww come on man! I wanna help too."
"Drubman, shut the fuck up, stay put, and let us do our thing." Jess growled.
Jess' anger was enough to make Hurk obey. As he stood back by the car, Kyle and Jess crept forward.
"Let's just go in hard and fast. If we try to shoot from range, they might try to take cover behind the car which would be a pain." Kyle suggested.
"Sounds good to me."
"Ladies first." Kyle did a mock bow.
"Ha, anyone but you and I would be insulted."
Jess readied her first arrow and took aim at the Peggie who was closest to the car. As soon as she let loose, Kyle immediately moved forward on the right side. The arrow hit its target right in the upper chest dropping him. One or two of the patrols saw their comrade drop but they were immediately gunned down by accurate bursts from Kyle. Now the whole place was alerted as more cult members burst from the cabin to investigate the gunfire. The peggies under Jacob were the most disciplined as they tried to take cover and return fire. But it was no substitute for being completely surprised by two experienced sharpshooters. Kyle and Jess split up, the former going right and the latter going left. They soon met at the rear of the building after clearing the cult members on their respective sides.
"Well that was fun." Jess remarked with a grin.
"You think there are any more inside?"
"I doubt it. Jacob's people usually stand and fight."
"I'll go in and check just in case."
"Alright, I'm gonna scavenge the bodies outside. I need to find a new lighter."
They boteh made their way back toward the front. Kyle slowly made his way inside while Jess searched the bodies. Meanwhile Hurk approached, wide eyed like he had seen aliens.
"Man! You guys are a unstoppable team! So when did you guys hook up?"
Jess stopped her search and went up to Hurk with an angry look on her face. "We met a few days ago. We didn't fucking 'hook up.'"
Hurk was usually cowed by Jess but this time he seemed to shrug it off. "Ah I see. So are you guys dating or something?"
"Drubman…." Jess warned.
"What? I think you guys make a great team. Who doesn't like a badass couple?"
Jess' face was going red which would make you think it was from anger but it was actually from Hurk saying that they were a couple. Before Jess could give Hurk a beating, Kyle came outside.
"Place is clear like you said. Nothing of note." He saw Jess about to smack Hurk. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything is fine." Jess quickly moved away and went back to her search. Kyle watched her for a few moments then went up to Hurk.
"You think you'll be ok to drive the SUV back and follow us back?"
"Yea man! No problem!' Hurk grinned.
Kyle nodded and tossed him the keys that he found inside the cabin. He then went over to Jess who was still searching the bodies.
"Find what you're looking for?"
'Nah, none of these bums had any. Its fine. Let's get going." Jess' tone seemed tense which made Kyle wonder what was going on between her and Hurk before he came outside. He got in the car with Jess, made sure Hurk was following them and started the trek back.
Kyle decided now was the best time to ask. "So what was going on between you and Hurk outside?"
Jess turned to look out the window but still spoke so Kyle could hear her. "Just that idiot spouting off nonsense as usual."
"You know him?"
"I know him well enough to know that he's moron."
"I guess that makes sense. So what he'd say to rile you up?"
"Nothing Kyle! Just drop it!" Jess snapped. This was the first time she really snapped at him but Kyle could understand her mood. He was being a bit too nosy.
"Fine, I'll drop it."
There was some silence for a few moments before Jess seemed to regret what she did. She turned her heard toward Kyle with a sly grin on her face.
"We do make a badass team though huh?"
"Hell yeah we do."
When the trio returned, both Drubmans were in the same exact place they had left them. Like before the two were arguing with each other. Thankfully it stopped when Mr. Drubman looked back Adelaide and saw Hurk walking towards them.
"Oh thank fucking God that Jr is back. Take the fucking vehicle and get the hell out of here!"
Adelaide crossed her arms. "When all this cult business is over, expect a visit from my lawyer."
"Yeah, yeah. Get the fuck off my property."
Adelaide turned around and her expression immediately lit up upon seeing the crew.
"Kyle! Thank you so much for getting that back for me! Without you, the cult might have done something with the vehicle and I would have never gotten it back. Sooo like I said before, if you ever need some funds for guns, I can take care of you. You ever need anything honey, I'll be at the marina."
She turned to Hurk and she frowned a bit. "Hurk, are you coming back with me?"
Hurk looked a little nervous. "No mama. I think I'm going to go with them."
"Suit yourself." Adelaide then made her way to the SUV and drove off.
"Well I guess we can head back now." Kyle surmised.
"Wait guys! I have an idea! We should go recruit my cousin Sharky. He's good with fire!"
Jess facepalmed. "You mean he's a fucking arsonist! That guy has more issues than you do and that's saying something.
"Aww come on Jess, that stings you know? Sharky's a bit crazy like me sure, but he's also a good guy like me. Me and him would definitely be able to help you guys out. How about it Kyle?"
Kyle looked at Jess who was mouthing him to say no. Then he looked at Hurk who was giving him the puppy dog look. "I guess one more body can't hurt. Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah! I actually heard from him not too long ago. He said he was going to lure angels with some loud music and then set them all on fire. He's in the middle of the Henbene region but off the road. I can guide you."
Kyle immediately regretted his decision. He was not looking to go back to the Henbene just yet. But he had to go stop this guy before he did something that might affect Faith. He sighed. "Alright let's get there fast."
Jess sighed as well. "You're too nice sometimes Kyle."
The three made their way back to the car and started making their way towards the Henebene. This time Hurk was not as sure on the directions he gave but luckily, they turned out to be correct. Upon reaching the Henbene, Kyle noticed that the cult vehicles were back. He saw some that were carrying what looked to be the bliss while others were big moving trucks. Kyle made sure he didn't drive aggressively to provoke a response but he did speed by them when he had the chance. Fortunately, it seemed that all the cult vehicles were more focused on getting their goods to their destination than picking a random fight. Upon reaching their destination, they saw a bunch of trailers. 'Disco Inferno" was playing loudly while a man with a flamethrower was spewing flames into the air. Upon coming to a stop, Hurk rushed out towards Sharky.
"Sharky! Its Hurk! We're here to recruit you!"
Sharky didn't hear him due to the loud music but he did see Hurk. He came down to greet him. "Hey, it's the Hurkster! So you've decided to come join the fun huh?"
While the two were talking, Kyle and Jess were making their way towards the duo.
"This fucking shitty ass music is gonna attract angels all over the place. Unless you wanna kill them all, I suggest we get the fuck out of here."
Kyle nodded and they finally caught up to Hurk and Sharky. "Sharky, we gotta get going, now."
"Who the hell are you man?"
"He's my friend I was tellin you about" Hurk answered. "We came here to recruit you."
"Well I'm not leaving until I barbecue some angels."
"Fuck it." Jess aimed her bow at Sharky. "You either come with us or a put an arrow in you and leave your ass for the angels to tear apart!"
Sharky put up his hands. "Oh shit! Its Jess Black! Well, when you put it that way, I don't have much choice do I? Lead the way."
They started making their way back to the car. "Thanks Jess." Kyle said with a smile.
Jess gave a small smile back. "Kindness and threats have their place."
Just as they entered the car a whole swarm of angels arrived on the scene. This was Kyle's first look at what they were. They all appeared to be wearing white with their heads shaven. They seemed to move like zombies.
"Kyle! They've lost their minds! They won't care about throwing themselves at the car if it means to stop us!"
Kyle heard her loud and clear and floored on the gas to speed out of the area. The angels heard the noise and rushed towards the car but they were too late. Kyle sped back north.
"Uh so where we headed?" Sharky asked.
"I'm taking you guys back to Adelaide's marina. When we need you guys, we're get a hold of you. You're going to be some of the people we have out east."
"But…." Hurk protested.
Jess turned around and gave him a threatening glare. That was enough to keep the two quiet for the rest of the trip.
Author's note: Sorry for the delay, work was busy this week. Anyway most of this is filler besides a few obvious points. I never really used these guys in game so it was a bit harder to write. I will say that the next part will be getting back to some heavy action and story. Thanks for reading.