"Alpha two, come in" Rook's voice croaked from the walkie talkie.
"I hear you, Watchtower" a shaky voice said, the tired prison denizen, shook uncontrollably, trapped by fear.
He knew this was a mistake the second he boarded Deputy Rook's stolen peggie truck, but if He didn't eat soon, He'd die, so push came to shove and reluctantly joined up, after which He repeatedly begged the Junior Deputy to explain whatever cockamamie plan he had made to get them the sustenance everyone so badly need, but just as many times as He asked, the Junior Deputy rebuffed him, blowing him off and ordered Him to march outside and clamber into the truck and wait for further instructions. With no other choice then continue to let his stomach eat itself, He unhappily agreed and did what he was told, and once everyone was packed uncomfortably in the truck, the Junior Deputy, without ceremony drove off into the unknown.
No one knew where the Junior Deputy was taking them, and as time went on, it wore away at everyone's mentality, the real deep down, I'm going to die started to bubble to the top, no one in the large cargo bed of the truck could cope with just what they got themselves into, and what made everything that much worse, the Junior Deputy didn't seem to care about the general state of everyone who was willing to risk their lives for this, even the woman who followed the Deputy everywhere seemed to be enjoying the misery and fear He and everyone else who reluctantly joined felt, she giggled and snickered the whole way, and once they arrived at who knows where, The Junior Deputy forced them all out and began barking out orders, dividing them up into groups and sending them off in different directions with no further orders, but He was different, for some reason Rook gave him a different order and He did as he was told; He walked off in the direction he was told until he found a Peggie encampment and fire off his gun a bunch of times into the air to attract their attention and lure them away.
And sure enough, as soon as He shot off like it was the fourth of July, the whole encampment lit up before coming out to investigate, and that was good enough for him to start running, firing every now and again to keep them on the chase. And eventually, given enough running, as hard as it was, He was about to keep decent distance from them, not once did they get close enough to see him. He was pretty sure he had lost them, He hoped to God he did, after firing his gun off as much as he did, his feeble legs couldn't go much further, he was low on ammo and was given no extra clips, it didn't help that as he ran, he heard a few gunshots in the distance, he could only assume that was his friends getting killed, but he tired hard not to think about it, it was just going to bring him down even more, he was already beaten down enough from the lack of nourishment and prolonged exercise.
Running out energy to carry on, He had to come to a complete stop, his lungs ached, he needed a break, so he stopped to catch his breath before anyone showed up, but as he rested, he could start to hear a rumbling noise from behind, and it grew louder with each passing second, fearing the worst, he spun around, expecting something horrible to come charging at him, and to his despair, it was a large truck marked with Peggie logos, for a second his heart skipped a beat, thinking this was the end for him, but to his reprieve, he quickly realized that the truck was the truck He arrived on prior. Seeing it made him feel like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders, God knows how far back those peggies he startled are, but he was glad to board the truck in a minute, but what struck hi as odd was as the truck got exceedingly close, it did not slow down, confused, He started waving his arms in the air, hoping maybe Rook just didn't see him.
And yet the truck refused to slow down, which made him even more nervous, and before he knew it, the truck was about to hit him at top speed, to avoid getting hit, He was forced to take a couple steps back as the truck blew right passed him and kept barreling right on by him, the air force coming of it threatened to knock him over.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Wait for me!" He cried as he regained his balance and began running after the truck for a few seconds to no avail, it was six wheels of diesel-powered horsepower, and with no sign of stopping much less slowing down, he might as well walk home.
"Fuuuuck!" He groaned in tired anguish dropping his gun and pressed his hands into his knees and started panting heavily, completely winded.
He knew this was bullshit, the Junior Deputy fucked him on this, perhaps it was recompense for repeatedly bothering him about the plan, but He knew he was going to tear the Junior Deputy out for this once he somehow made it back to the prison, so he better have a damn good explanation for this.
With one final groan of frustration, he began dragging his feet back to the prison, stewing in his anger and exhaustion, all sorts of scenarios ran through his head, all kinds of things he'd do and say, a part of him even felt maybe those three who took hostages to set the prison right were on to something, and maybe he wasn't the only one to think so, and one thing led to another and the next thing he knew, he was concocting something to expose the Deputy's true nature, it almost brought a smile to his face, it felt like he was actually doing something worth doing, more then whatever Rook had them doing out here.
It took him about five minutes to think up something actually worth while, anger was a powerful motivator, and towards the end of said plotting his ears perked at a growing disturbance far behind him, it almost sounded like... People?
Curious yet again, he turned around yet again, he hoped it would be any ally again, but to his horror what pursued him was a handful of peggies, and much like Rook's truck, they came barreling at him, on feet rather then wheel, it was obvious they were the cultists they lured out of the encampment, he had forgotten all about them, much like him, exhaustion raked them, though very tired, they're commitment was unrelenting.
Seeing the coming threat, adrenaline kicked in within him like a tidal wave and suddenly found the energy to start running again.
"Aw fuck please, come back!" He wailed as he forced himself to run as fast as he could after the truck far in the distance now, it was just about to disappear over the hill, gone into the horizon.
But as the truck got ever further away, the Peggie voices got louder and louder, it wasn't long until gunshots could be heard, He wished he didn't drop his gun back there, he could have defended himself, but before he could consider and alternatives, a bullet piercing his back and tunneled its way into his stomach and out his torso.
It caused him to bark in pain before falling forward, the speed in which he ran in made him hit the ground that much harder, his head bouncing off the ground, the second he hit the ground he knew he wasn't going to get back up, this was it, his final moments were going to be laying on the ground, coughing, choking, sputtering on his own blood as life leaked from his being, He could hear the peggies coming closer, they were hooting and hollering, just like a bunch of rednecks after successful hunting a deer, it would have disgusted and infuriated him to hear it if he could muster such emotion.
Once last thought spiraled around in his head before evaporating into oblivion.
God damn Benjamin Rook.
The truck came to a loud halt in the prison parking lot, narrowly avoiding Nick's plane and Addie's helicopter, as soon as he stomped on the brakes everyone and everything thing in the back of the truck lurched forward, a collection of discontent groans came from the back as the engine clicked off and Rook jumped out with a swagger in his step and a smile on his face.
His plan worked perfectly, he got what he wanted, he couldn't wait to show everyone what was possible once they started working as a team, sure the majority of everyone who went with him died but acceptable losses were only acceptable if there was an acceptable gain, and as far as he was concerned, he had procured an acceptable gain.
With the truck dead and not in motion, the few remaining people came waddling out of the back of the truck, still a little razzed at Rook's erratic driving and eventually stop, they lowered the rear flap to get out as Rook quickly ordered them to haul out the few crates they had stolen and bring it inside, but he couldn't help but roll their eyes at their efforts, they were so skinny and weak it was such a struggle to move large cargo crated full of stuff, it was almost embarrassing, he had half a mind to show them how it's done but he had better things to do as he could see the Sheriff stride out of the prison's front doors and approached Rook's little entourage of potentially car sick civilians.
He marched right up to Rook and admonished him for his recklessness before getting waved off, once Whitehorse got it out of his system, he, Rook, Jess and everyone else carefully and collectively picked up the large, heavy cargo boxes and meticulously carried them inside a placed in the main holding cell before popping open the lids, and just as Rook promised, it was packed with rations.
"See? what did I tell you, food a plenty! Come on hard workers, dinner time!" Rook cheered for all to hear, standing up on a nearby prison table so he could project his voice even further.
And his voice was like a dinner bell for not just those who help procure it all, but everyone else came hither, stomachs growling and eyes as wide as saucers, none of them had seen that much food in so long, they gathered around hoping to get some as they waited for the chosen few to take their share, and as they looked for the most appetizing ration tins, one of the prison dwellers who stayed behind came up and plucked a ration from the crate and stared at it, examining the contents and decided if he wanted what was inside.
"Easy there, Bud" Rook ordered sternly, pointing a finger at the citizen, towering over him since he still stood on the table.
"What? what's up?" he asked, halting in his effort and stood there with the ration in his hands.
"What's your name, Bud?" Rook asked, his voice dropping in pitch as he looked down his nose at the man.
"It's Greg, what's it to you?" Greg questioned.
"Well tell you what, Greg" Rook said lackadaisically as he reached behind his back.
"Why don't you put that back?" Rook then said casually as he then brandished his handgun, pointing it at Greg's head.
The whole atmosphere of the room suddenly shifted like a fault line the second Rook pulled the gun, just like Greg, everyone froze as if time had stopped, everyone was paralyzed as they watched what Rook intended to do, the only sound that could be heard was the ration tin Greg clung to clattered to the floor as it slipped from his grip.
"What the fuck, man!" Greg exclaimed as he backed up a few steps backwards and holding his hands up, properly encased in fear.
"I said! You help, you eat!" Rook ordered, his voice diving into proper anger.
"What the fuck, man!?" Greg cried again, unsure of what else to do or say.
"Listen Fella, I'll be real with you" Rook sighed, quickly losing interest, Greg's reaction was… boring.
"It's clear that y'all won't and can't do anything without me, so I think it's fair that I have the power to make some calls, so I say let the guys who brought this bounty eat, and then the rest of you guys can work hard and then y'all can eat" Rook explained, as he did he felt a little funny, it was like he was beside himself, he wasn't sure if he wanted to get angry, or simply laugh.
And before he could make up his mind, his and Greg's conversation was cut short.
"Benjamin!" Whitehorse voice bellowed through the now silent hall.
It was like Whitehorse's voice broke the spell Rook had casted over everyone, unanimously they all turned to its source and stared at the Sheriff hoping he would stop Rook.
"What the hell is your problem, boy!?" Whitehorse barked, stomping away from what he was handling and kept him distracted from Rook's actions.
"What?" Rook shrugged with a smirk as if he were a caricature of himself.
"You really think I was going to start killing losers over food, pffft" Rook smirked, putting away his gun and hopped off the table.
"I was going to give one share to everyone and two to those who actually helped" he said, rolling his eyes.
"Everyone who he-! Rook there's barely anyone left, like eighty percent of the guys you out there didn't come back!" Whitehorse shouted in disbelief and anger.
"Yeah well, sacrifices needed to be made, you give a little to get a little" Rook replied, losing interest in the Sheriff and decided to walk past him, Jess slinked off somewhere, he wanted to find her.
As he passed his boss, he could hear him stutter and cut himself off, yet again he was lost in his anger and tried to get himself back in control, it made Rook pick up the pace a little bit as he rolled his eyes, he knew why Whitehorse did this, he was about to explode and yell and reprimand him for what he just said, if he wasn't careful he was going to have another heart attack, and besides, he wasn't wrong, sacrifices needed to be made, the malnourished twerps made pretty good pawns, decent teamwork skills, order taking, and silent, it was a shame Whitehorse didn't see it that way.
"Fifteen lives is not a little!" Whitehorse exclaimed at Rook's back, he was at a total loss at Rook's lack of care for the dead.
"Listen Earle, relax first off, don't have another heart attack" Rook said lackadaisically, barely giving Whitehorse the time of day as he still walked away.
"We need a little humor here and there "he said, before stopping, not turning around and kept talking.
"The outside world has different rules then in here, and those outside rules are not human" he said, his voice dropping into something dark.
"And the only thing dying out there are humans" Rook finished before moving again, journeying deeper into the prison, leaving Whitehorse in the dust, in awe of what continuously came from Rook's mouth, while behind him, all the prison residence swarmed the boxes of food like a school of piranhas.
Whitehorse didn't chase his Deputy, how fast the food was disappearing was much too important to let it slip by, as he tended to that, Rook sauntered away, he considered going to what was considered the more residential areas of the prison, he turned his head to look down another hall, he looked down the hall and stared at the set of doors at the far end, the doors to the infirmary. As much as he wished to find Jess, another idea entered his head, Burke. Changing his mind, he changed his direction and hurried down the hall and entered the infirmary.
As he pushed through the doors, he saw Burke standing over an unconscious woman in a cot, he had just finished bandaging her knee and put down the roll of bandages before rubbing his hands vigorously, wringing his fingers prolonged operating in less then ideal conditions was leaving his digits sore.
And with every step he took no matter how small, he made a rattling sound could be heard, the sound was undoubtedly from the restraints, a heavy looking manacle was clamped to his ankle, a thick and lengthy chain ran from that to a nearby gas pipe that was firmly bolted to the wall at many points, he wasn't going anywhere.
"Oh uh, Ben, what can I do for you?" Burke called from across the room, surprised at Rook's appearance.
"Yeah, I wanna talk" Rook said dryly as he crossed the room and walked right up the restrained man.
"You make me fucking nervous, Dude" he slurred as he stared at Burke indifferently.
"Um... I'm sorry?" Burke apologized, unsure of what else to say.
"You're in here all by yourself doing God knows what to these defenseless people, you have a lot of opportunity" Rook inferred.
"I would never do such a thing! I will do whatever I can to gain your trust!" Burke swore.
"I don't want to trust you though, I want something specific, very specific" Rook responded, and Burke couldn't help but find his words to be sinister.
"W-What do you want from me?" Burke muttered as he pulled his arms tightly across his chest, taking a step back from the deputy.
"Give me something that will give me the leverage to keep you alive" Rook demanded.
"Just in case everyone decides to kill you" he finished.
"Wait people are planning to kill me, after everything I've done?" Burke questioned anxiously, worry and fear etched upon his face, taken aback by these developments.
By his reaction, it just hit Rook that Burke was not aware of the three people a little while ago, and if that was the case, he also didn't know anything going on outside this room, for better or for worse.
Then an idea popped into his head.
"Oh yeah man, heavy consideration is going on out there, we can't trust you, the enemy" Rook could help but smirk, a light wave of enthusiasm and inspiration washing over him.
"B-but l-look around, all these people are healing! I'm useful!" Burke cried.
"Come on Burke, give me some variety here, or your useless" Rook groaned, slapping his own hand.
To which Burke then responded with a series of stammering's as he scoured his mind for something that could save his sorry hide.
"I have an idea but, you're not going to like it, it has to do with Faith" Burke almost stammered, his expression screamed of desperation.
Before responding, Rook looked around to see who was in the room, Grace was no longer here and everyone else was unconscious, for the most part, it was just him and Burke.
"Alright fine" Rook sighed deeply, bringing his hands together.
"What's the deal with Faith, why does she need me so bad?" he asked.
"Like I said before, someone is trying to usurp her under the guise of her colluding with you, the man is brash and off base, executing the unnecessary few who did nothing special and followed Lady Faith, he's moving to kill her outright and fully take over and throw the Project off course!" Burke pleaded.
"So why should I care what happens to y'all, hell, call Joseph, let him sort this bullshit out" Rook groaned.
"We can't The Defiler is constantly guarding the only way to contact the Father, he guards it while he converts Lad Faith's flock against her, convincing them she has abandoned the Project and works against us, it's only a matter of time until she is assassinated… Perhaps if you deal with The Defiler, she will reward you with food and other resources?" Burke hastily explained.
"The Defiler huh...? well that may solve a few problems, but it doesn't solve your problem" Rook challenged, taking a step closer and getting really into Burke's personal space and staring him down.
"I need more from you if you don't want to get killed by everyone here" Rook threatened a dry grit in his voice.
"I'll do whatever you, just please! Don't let me die! I'm sorry for everything I ever did to you!" Burke exclaimed as he looked like he was just about to cry.
And to Rook, said reaction was pitiful, embarrassing, shameful even, once upon a time, he was once an overbearing asshole, an alpha, a man in charge, but now he was weak, a tool, a puppet.
"Good" Rook smirked, sticking his leg out and hooking his heel around the chain that kept Burke in the room and quickly retracted his leg, making the chain pull on Burke's leg, making him lose balance for a few seconds.
"Then you work for me know, just go along with the Sheriff, Virgil and everyone else until I say so, you do otherwise, and I'll have no choice but to throw you to the wolves" Rook threatened, a faint smile upon his face.
"Yes Sir" Burke replied meekly, trying to stand tall again.
"Good, now I need you to help me and Jess to track down a particular rat, Pratt, the scumbag might still be alive out there" Rook explained with a scowl.
"What would you like me to do?" Burke asked nervously as he anxiously wrung his fingers again.
"Well seeing as John kept Hudson and Jacob, him, I bet you heard a thing or two about them from your Lady Faith" Rook said with an eyeroll, the name was just too cheesy for him.
"Yes sir, actually I have" Burke admitted.
"All of the Seed family have a couple hideouts in case something goes wrong while they are far way from their Gate, all of Lady Faith's are compromised to her, but I bet he can walk right on in if there is no order to kill him" Burke explained.
"That's good enough for me, tell me where they are" Rook demanded.
"I don't think verbal directions will suffice Sir, give me some time and I will draw a map" Burke offered.
"Ugh, fine, to it soon and call for me once your done" Rook ordered.
"I need the walkie talkie that was confiscated from me" Burke admitted.
"Yeah, no way" Rook almost laughed off.
"Then I can't verify anything, and any effort will be pointless" Burke believed.
With another aggravated groan, Rook weighed the pros and cons of meeting his demands, before making a decision.
"OK, fine tell the next person who comes in her its cool, but if I find out you're using it for other reasons I'll fucking shoot you got that?" Rook stated with a groan before walking away, he had enough of this, he got what he wanted.
It was time to leave, if he hung around any longer, Whitehorse was likely to barge in and wring him out again, it was time to find Jess, but as he walked away, Burke spoke once more.
"Um, Rook, Sir?" he called out, earning Rook's attention once more, causing him to stop and turn around.
"When it comes down to it, are you going to kill Lady Faith?" He asked.
When he asked his question, the usual fear, or nervousness or what have you was gone from his face, but instead was replaced with what only can be described as determination, he truly cared for the woman who instilled Stockholm Syndrome within him, it was most likely the most aggressive he had ever looked since the Joseph arrest, perhaps there was more to Burke then Rook cared to admit.
"We'll see" Rook scowled before turning around again and promptly marched out the doors, back into the halls.
As Rook stalked the halls, everything that had happened compiled in his head, from right now to him killing those three people, all of it made his head feel swimmy, it felt like a variety of emotions ran through him every few minutes, like everything was swirling around in some big blender within him before it all melted together in some kind of hodgepodge, it felt weird, it was hot, gooey, cold, uncomfortable, ticklish prickly, and just about every other synonym he could think of, he wasn't sure how to explain it. He couldn't help but coldly giggle to himself as he went, it just felt right for whatever reason, it was the best and only way to express what he felt, and he had no problem doing so, he was in charge, he will whatever he please, no one would stop him, not even Whitehorse could. He went on like this for minutes, wandering the halls, giggling with such thoughts and feelings brewing within him, and when the giggle fit finally faded away, suddenly felt extremely exhausted, like he had stayed awake all night, trying to shake it off with a yawn he readjusted his shoulders, and pushed himself forward, moving with the authority and gait as if he would have if he were fully of energy, he tried to hold this up until he eventually he stumbled across a rather unhappy Jess sitting in an chair, an empty ration tin at her feet, it made him become more lackadaisical around her, it was almost funny.
"Do I dare ask what's up?" Rook questioned.
"God! I fucking hate it here, everyone here is so creepy and dull, like God damn zombies" she whined angrily.
"It was so fuckin' hard to get some food from those vultures, just give me one fucking ration thing already!" she groaned.
"Can you really blame them?" Rook shrugged.
"I don't know, at least these fuckers aren't as weird as your Rookists, these people here ain't trying to suck your dick all day" Jess sighed, deflating in her anger, growing bored now.
"I tell you man, trying to get a ration was like crawling through glass while on fire" Jess said, completely unhappy with what she had to do.
For some reason Jess's horrible analogue made Rook laugh, he just couldn't but fail to suppress the hearty chuckle.
"Then you should have crawled faster" Rook laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too" Jess replied, giving Rook an unamused look.
"So, what's fuckin' up?" She asked.
"I uh, talked to Burke, he's going to help us track down Pratt again" Rook said.
"Who the fucks Pratt again and why should I care?" Jess scowled.
"One of my fellow deputies, the one Jacob had for a while, we're going to find him and kill him" Rook answered.
"Listen Dude, I'm always down for that sweet, sweet revenge an' all but with everything going on, I really don't think he's that important, I mean, you saw how we was, he's a fucking pansy, I bet he got himself killed by now" Jess shrugged, her response was a surprising one, Rook expected her to take the bait with ease.
"Come on" Rook groaned in annoyance.
"You, of all people doesn't want to kill a guy that betrayed us, the guy that killed all of our Rookists, he's out there, alone defenceless, and you don't want to do anything about it" Rook scowled.
"Yes, I rather kill Faith and all that!" Jess snarked, not liking his attitude.
"We can still do that, just after we find and kill Pratt!" Rook argued.
"Dude, if we keep straying from the plan or whatever, I don't think we'll be able to do both" Jess supposed.
"What are you talking about? We got all the time in the world, we can do anything when we try" Rook boasted.
"You keep pissing off the Sheriff, as much as I'm not down with authority and all, I'm starting to feel like we really need him on our side if we're going to win this, after the shit you pulled again and again, nobody is really down to follow you" Jess believed.
"Of course people will follow me if I told them to, I'm the Junior Deputy, I've done so much for this place, I brought them all food, I dealt with the angel and bliss problems to a degree, got Rye, Hurk and his family, Rye and Armstrong out here soon to be doing some real wet work, Faith will be dealt with in no time" Rook boasted again, he found it so hard to believe Jess was struggling to get on board with all this.
"It's shit like that man, you shouldn't have to tell them to, they should want to or whatever, mean fuck man, you gunned down three people a few hours ago, shot them in the back, you took care of the problem, that was just overkill" Jess said, straining her words as it was hard to express herself.
"Like you give a shit about overkill, I've seen what you've done to peggie, we're no different" Rook spat indigently.
"Yeah, sure but those are peggies, you gunned down people, our own people in front of everyone, would you follow someone who did that?" Jess scowled, not liking his tone.
"If the person pulling the trigger knew what he was doing then fuck yeah, just tell me what to do and I'll do it, I'd trust him" Rook preached, he truly held firm on his beliefs.
"Fuck Boy Scout, you changed man, you were never like this, a fucking eon ago, you were on the verge of exploding at the idea of not being able to save everyone, now look at you, killing everyone who doesn't march to the beat of your drum, even with the Rookists you were pretty hard up" Jess retorted, she also holding firm on her beliefs.
"That's different, this is more important" Rook scoffed, trying to wave off what she said, for whatever reason, thinking about made his head hurt.
"How Dude, like actually, how?" Jess questioned again, narrowing her eyes at him as she came across sterner, like a mother trying to drag out info from her child who had done something they should not have.
"It's because, I, when it happens out on the field, the peggies like to" Rook began to say, stopping every few seconds to begin a new sentence, everything he tried felt all to peculiar to him and not quiet right, with every word his head hurt more and more.
Then as if to break all tension and save the Junior Deputy, Rook's walkie crackled.
"Ben uh, Sir, come in, I think I have completed my job already" Burke's voice came.
"See look at that, Burke has done what I told him too, you give him some motivation and he'll produce" Rook practically almost beamed to the point of taunting, he truly was surprised at how fast Burke had pulled this off, and even more happy to have something to change the subject on.
"What's up Dude lay it on me" Rook said, turning away from Jess as he spoke into the walkie he quickly pulled from his hip.
"I think I found him, some Eden's Gate guys have spotted him a bit ago, please come back to the infirmary to get the full report" Burke reported in.
"I'll be there in a minute" Rook said quickly before turned back to Jess just as quickly.
"See things are going just as I expected, so tell you what Babe, I'll go down get the lowdown on what's what, then you and me, run out like a pair of thieves, find it, take him out for gassing all our Rookists with Bliss may I remind you, kill him, laugh it off, possible fuck again and get back to business, sound good?" Rook grinned smugly, trying to turn up the charisma, broadcasting the very body and verbal language he had picked up from the many car salesmen he had come across in life.
But all he got was Jess conferring with herself, she thought on what she heard, she didn't like it but who was she to push against the wheels of progress.
"Your lucky I think it's hot when you take charge like this" Jess sighed before standing up from her chair and picked up her bow and quiver.
"See! I knew you were smart" Rook grinned, but Jess didn't like how he said it, it sounded like he was talking down to her.
"I'll be outside, let me know when your ready to go" she groaned, trying not to roll her eyes at him as she headed for the door to the outdoors.
With Jess of the way, Rook rushed back to the infirmary, as giddy as could be, he couldn't wait to catch up to Pratt and pay him back in kind for everything he had done, sure he had gotten the thorn in his side that was Tammy taken care of, but it wasn't worth the cost of his Rookists, and he planned to let Pratt know.
As soon as Rook arrived at his destination, he quickly pushed through the Infirmary doors and began talking ad nauseam.
"Alright, Burke, Baby, what you go for me?" Rook asked enthusiastically as he strode up to the nervous looking man, his leg bounced as he stood by a counter lined with empty pill bottles and papers, the chain attached to said leg, jingled lightly in turn.
"Well you see, it turns out he's not as subtle as I though he would be, the opposite in face, he's been running from location to location, anywhere were us Eden Gate members are in the Mountains, looking for safety, but since Sir Jacob is gone, no one wants him, and no one dares kill him in case he is needed otherwise, and since no one in The mountains, he fled here to the Henbane to try with Lady Faith's flock, and again he's failing, failing so blatantly I could draw is exact trajectories, hence the quick response time on finding him" Burke explained quickly, anxious to rally the information to Rook, he was rather impressed with himself and his efficiency.
"But do you know here he is right now?" Rook asked, rolling his eyes, enthusiasm almost evaporating in an instant, he cared not for the specifics of it all, he just wanted results, that's all he cared about.
"Yes, he's currently in this general area, desperate to find viable refuge, if you don't intercept him soon, he will vanish for a few hours" Burke relayed, retrieving a page of paper from the many behind him on the counter and held it out to Rook.
The paper was a hastily drawn map, the edges were frayed and gnarled with rough, quick lines depicting everything, a few locations were drawn with their names attached to them, as crude as it was, Rook could read it.
"Excellent, good job, Bud, we're all proud of you, keep up the good work" Rook smiled as he said smugly before quickly snatching that map from his grasp and eyed it up a second time before stuffing it into his back pocket before quickly departing from the man and hurried to the door, enthusiasm picking up again at high speeds.
"But this will keep the people from killing me, right?" Burke's nervous voice chirped, hopping for a response that would secure his safety.
"Oh uh, right, that yeah it's all good, that will hold back the lions for a bit, don't worry" Rook nearly stuttered while he waved an uncaring hand as he had already forgotten what lies he had sown to get the former warrant officer under his thumb and on his payroll.
As Rook's palm pressed against the infirmary door, before he could push it open, Burke spoke up once more, his voice carrying less fear, but instead was doused in uncertainty.
"Before you go, there's more Sir" he added.
"What's happening now?" Rook questioned, the Peggie's voice had sparked some sort of interest within him.
and when he turned around, he was Burke staring back at him, the uncertainty had now been replaced with a soft determination, it was like he was conjuring some semblance of his warrant officer self as he held out a walkie to Rook.
"I need you to speak with Lady Faith... Sir" he said.
"Burke come on Bud, you were doing so good!" Rook groused as his shoulders went limp and head tilted up, the image of disappointment.
"I'm sorry, but I really need you to speak with her, she really needs to speak to you" Burke replied, unfazed by Rook's ever shifting character, still the visage of determination.
"Dude, this isn't helping your case" Rook groaned, uninterested.
"I'm not asking you to make a deal with the devil, I'm asking you to talk to a woman who wishes to merely speak to you" Burke put it gently.
But all Burke was met with a silent, glaring stare, in which made him uncomfortable, he expected Rook to get more annoyed or just groan some more, but he just stood there, menacingly, it was unsettling, but on Rook's end he didn't mean to come off so hostile, in reality it was just a façade to hide the fact he was in deep contemplation, he knew, much like the guy causing Faith so many problems, he was also eventually going to have to confront her as well, and of course it was going to be unpleasant. He was expecting her to be passive aggressive or rude, but with her current situation those emotions might be belayed until the problem was solved and then, who knows, maybe if he left it until they met face to face once and for all, she could let all kinds of skeletons out, presumably in front of Jess.
With yet another groan Rook began dragging his feet back to the Peggie and unenthusiastically snatched the walkie with a sneer before staring down at it, just looking at the device made home feel like a jilted teenager, being forced to converse with and ex girlfriend, he rolled the walkie around in his hand, trying to think of something to say, he and Faith left on less then ideal terms.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Rook put together a rough sentence worth saying, and then a shaking thumb extended and pressed the speak button.
"Ya' there Faith?" Rook asked tentatively he didn't know how go about this.
And after two whole beats, he got his response.
"I am Benjamin, are you well?" Faith's voice came, she sounded uncomfortable yet forced, just as he sounded,
"Things could be better here" Rook replied, his voice falling flat, he couldn't bring himself to say anymore.
"The feeling is mutual, I fear I face many challenges here" Faith offered, sounding deflated, like she couldn't conjure anything beyond that.
"Yeah, Burke here tells me you're on the brink of a civil war or a revolt, a whole lot of people are unhappy with you running around with me" Rook muttered.
"Well, that's one day to put it, and since you are aware of my situation, will you help me?" Faith asked, jumping right to the point.
"Christ Faith, right to the point, huh" Rook noted, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Regardless of the nature, the point still stands, we both of much to gain from this" Faith offered.
"Like what do you actually want me to do, I mean really, you just going to open the big ol' bunker door and let me waltz right on in, mowing down anyone who comes to get me while you order all your guys to hang back for no particular reason?" Rook argued, and by the way Burke moved in the corner of his eye, it proved he might be on to something.
"I… I will admit, I haven't thought about it with such detail, I am unsure of how you will enter and do what needs to be done, I've been more scared than I care to admit, and I only thought of you coming to save me, so I must apologize, I cannot expect you to do everything while wait for you to finish, I'm sorry Ben" Faith said softly, her words genuine.
But her apology left Rook in silence, after everything the two of them had been through, the last thing he expected was for her to apologize, he was already having a tough time with this, and now it got a hell of lot harder.
"Why does it have to be me Faith, why do you need me specifically, isn't their anyone else who can help you without so many complications" Rook pondered.
"I believe you already know the answer to that" Faith replied, not missing a beat.
"I'm aware you and your ilk are in a bad way, I'm willing to trade resources for safety, I am not unpersuasive, you know this better then anyone else" she persisted.
Hearing her words, Rook tongue silently rolled around his mouth like a writhing serpent, he felt like they were going around in circles, again, and it made everything feel so futile.
"I can't accept that, it will raise to many questions, I'm already on thin ice as is, a lot of eyes are on me and if I get found out, I'm fucked, hell, when we were running around together out there, it was super fucking dangerous six ways from Sunday for the both of us, and regardless of what we did or said to each other, I feel that... We put preconceived notions of each other in the others head and that's why we keep going in circles like a broken record, we need to break this cycle, something must be done" Rook explained the best we could, it felt weird to say, it strangely... Hurt?
"I mean it wasn't all bad, was it? The time we spent together, in person and over the airwaves? Are we really that far off?" Faith asked, sounding more hurt than before.
"No... it wasn't, and you're not bad either, o can tell that much, your just... Fallen in with a bad crowd... How about instead of me coming to you... You come to me, I can protect you better here, now and once everything is put to bed" Rook offered, unsure of how he should go about it, he knew Faith wasn't going to play ball just like that, but he had to try.
"I mean come on, look around, Jacob and John are gone, Joseph only shows his face when one of his siblings die, do you really think things are going to magically change, for better or for worse, Joseph's not going to make everything ok, he's going to expect you to do everything" Rook began to rant.
"And that is make chosen task, I will work with you and fix everything before the great collapse, so God and The Father wills it" Faith tried to preach before being cut off.
"But how do you know? How do you know? What proof do you have other then believing in what some charismatic stranger tells you? Don't you think for yourself?" Demanded.
"I can't, not yet, I must repay the Father for everything he has done for me, then after the great collapse I will live by my own stricture" Faith supposed.
"Then perhaps it's time to stop drinking the Kool aid and think for yourself, look at what's going on around you and decide if this is worth the risk of being killed by your own guys, you got to make some important calls, no matter how much they helped you, your still your own woman, do something for yourself! Fight!" Rook exclaimed, begging for the woman to take action.
"Ben..." Faith signed, sorrow etched into her voice as this conversation began to pain her.
"I wish it were that simple but I can not simply absconded with you just like that, I truly care for those who are still aligned with me, just as you can't leave your friends, because you feel something for them beyond basic allegiance or morality, your human after all, a caring, loving, compassionate human who wishes to see the best in people, even in me, but sometimes we can't have what we want, sometimes the only or best option is to sit back and let someone dictate aspects of your life, when the crushing weight of reality comes down on you, it's sometimes easier to let it push you under the water rather then be flattened by it, and sometimes the only or best option is to stick out your hand and hope to God someone will grab you and pull you out of the water before you drown, so I'll ask you again, will you help me, Benjamin?" she asked again.
This time, Rook was at a lose for words, he couldn't fully bring himself to say no to her, there was something in her words that hit him so much, there was a pain, a longing, a depression in her words, to him it screamed I'm not a villain, and he believed it, she wasn't a bad person, she was just in a bad place.
"Give me time to think about it ok, I mean, I feel no matter what I'm going to have to deal with this whole thing" Rook sighed, he sighed to cover how close his voice was to breaking.
He didn't like that, still to this day, she was very good at she knew just what to say to him, tugging on his heart strings like this, if he wasn't careful, he would find himself doing just as she asks.
"Please hurry, I don't have much time" Faith almost begged.
"So I'm told" Rook muttered before handing the walkie back to Burke, for a time he had forgotten all about him, he was even a little caught off guard when he looked over at Burke as he stared back at him with wide eyes.
He silently accepted the walkie and gently placed it on a near by cart. If Burke wanted to say something, he had lost his chance as soon as it came, in that time Rook had stormed out of the infirmary, a million thoughts flew through his head, to many possibilities and outcomes presented themselves to him, he also didn't like the idea of Faith getting to close to home again, regardless how he felt, it felt like the closer she got to him, the tighter the noose got around his throat, and Jess maned the trapdoor lever. Maybe he cared for her more then he'd like to admit.
Who knows? but that was a problem for another day, now, Jess awaited him.
"So I'm told" Rook muttered with a sigh before the walkie clicked off, leaving Faith alone in that little empty room she and Amanda used to conspire in.
She sat slumped over in a chair that was brought in, the walkie held between her knees and golden hair cascading down all around the edges of her vision as she stared down at the communication device. If she was standing, she may have fallen over her legs felt so weak, a single tear drop dripped from her face and landed upon the walkie and slid off the side of the plastic, then a second followed seconds after.
With a sniffle, she looked up at the only door to the room she was in, it was sealed up tight and beyond it, Amanda stood, stalwart as ever, keeping guard so she could speak to Rook in peace, and yet again she failed to convince Ben. And with a sigh, she wiped her face before rising from her seat and opened the door, Amanda moving aside at the sound of it opening, she turned to address Faith but as soon as she did, her face changed to a concerned expression, maybe she knew she had failed because her head hung lower, maybe her shoulders were slacker, maybe she just looked miserable.
"I take it you were unsuccessful?" the High Priestess asked.
But Faith didn't answer, an unconscious hand went up, clutching the other arm as she looked away, though the question was asked gently enough, it still stung like a scolding, she could practically feel the again? That Amanda forced herself to cut off the end of her question.
"Then perhaps you should let me try my hand at this, I can be very… persuasive when I need too" Amanda offered.
"No!" Faith accidently cried louder then she would have liked, with a quick clearing of her throat, she tried again.
"What I mean is, I need to do this, I need him to trust me wholeheartedly, or else everything would fall apart, I need him" Faith tried to say, it was difficult to put into words.
"Then possibly confer those Emily and Frank characters, they have seen much under the guidance or you and your brothers, and had many confrontations with the man, perhaps that is best" Amanda mussed.
"Maybe… d-do you think what we're doing is just?" Faith asked, her voice a hair above a whisper.
"I'm sorry?" Amanda asked, caught off guard by the question and now paying full attention.
The chance to say it a second time made Faith hesitate, maybe she shouldn't have said it at all, but the questioned burned on her mind and she had to say something, she pushed herself anyways.
"I understand that what we do is for the benefit of mankind and it's preservation, we sacrifice the few for the many, I make angels to keep away the sinners and reassured the scared, Jacob made the soldiers for the trials after the collapse and kept us safe in the now, John made sure those we let in were worthy and clean of all sin, but… we have all done something that would be considered less than… necessary, by our own volition or by the Father's word, what I'm trying to say is how far can we go before it is to much? how many bodies must we burn until we realize we are actually stoking the fires of hell? I'm not suggesting my resolve in the Father is being shaken… I feel that, we have grown to large, there is too much to maintain safely, what if we are not as pure as we believe?" Faith explained thoroughly.
Amanda was silent for a few moments, each second scared her, her words could be interpreted in so many ways, more negative then positive.
"You are right to a degree, not all of us are still worthy, Gordon is a prime example, and the weak needs to be culled, we need to take care of those who stray, gently or harshly, now I can't speak on what we do is just or not, I am not capable of judging our actions as a collective, but what I can say is no, Faith you are not a monster, you have done nothing wrong, you just did what you did for the betterment of humanity, you've always cared deeply for those around you, be it friend, foe, or other, and you will never stop looking for the best in everyone, and we need that, now and after the collapse" Amanda stated.
"Thank you" Faith squeaked as she turned her head away.
For someone to say what she said, it felt like the weight of the world came off her.
"Did you have any troubles while you guarded me?" Faith asked, clearing her throat, and looking at her again.
"None at all, but while you worked away, I could hear a few gunshots echo from somewhere, I fear you lose your flock by the hour, by one way or another" Amanda supposed.
"What should we do?" Faith murmured, suddenly feeling cold, pulling her arms across her chest as her shoulders hiked up.
"What if you were to use Bliss on the Junior Deputy and then work your magic on him, make him suggestable, make him pliable, you need to use every tool in your workshop" Amanda said.
But that idea caused a ball of ice the size of a baseball to form instantaneously within her chest, she couldn't bring herself to subject Rook to such radical tactics, it wasn't fair, it, it was right, sure she had exposed countless, unwilling others to such copious amounts of Bliss among other things, but Rook was different, he was… Special, but as soon as that very word entered her head, she shook her head as if it would free the word from her skull, she didn't know why she conjured such a descriptor, maybe she still cared about him more then she'd care to admit.
Who knows? But that was a problem for another day, now, something had developed while she talked to Rook, and she had to deal with it now.
Thank you Hyperlightflux for the help.