Standard Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
This update was a long time coming, so here you go!
Four figures sat at a small table in a small saloon known simply as "Honey of Roses." The accommodations were less than comfortable and Jet found himself in another one of his foul moods. He hated these so called discussions, all they were an excuse to annoy him. He rather liked Virginia… and Clive and Gallows for that matter, but with each passing day he found himself believing his theory more and more. These people were out to get him, in way or another.
"Hey Jet, what do you think?" questioned Virginia, snapping her head towards the silent boy.
Jet winced upon hearing his own name. The first blow had come sooner than he had expected. It was… a knife to the lung… he decided after a brief moment. Unable to answer he shook his head hoping that Virginia would interpret the gesture as whatever in the hell would make her leave him alone.
"Yes," murmured Clive suddenly, "We'd really love to hear your opinion on the matter."
Clive Winslett had just launched attack number two. Well, it wasn't really much of an attack… he just twisted the knife a bit. It was still painful though, and Jet could feel life itself slipping from his fingers….
"Come on punk," added Gallows mockingly, "Don't tell me you can't even think one measly idea?"
Jet couldn't breathe... this attack was too brutal. He felt a terrible pain well up inside of him. This was the final blow. Death was imminent; Jet could feel death's icy fingers clawing at him, beckoning him to the cruelest fate of all… he couldn't escape…
Virginia, Clive and Gallows all stared at Jet with concern. His face seemed to be turning blue. Virginia shot Clive a questioning glance and the sniper shrugged. The strange turn of events confused even him. However, it didn't seem as if Jet was truly endangering himself, so Clive decided to let their companion solve his problem by himself.
Virginia, however, had no such wisdom. She leaned closer to her disgruntled teammate. She gave him a look of pure concern, which though unnoticed by her, seemed to make the angry look on his face even more menacing. "Umm… Jet," she began softly, "You're okay right?"
"Fine!!!" exclaimed Jet suddenly. "You evil conniving sadists win! I'll tell you what you wanna hear!"
Clive grimaced slightly at being called an 'evil conniving sadist' but nodded just the same. "Please take your time…" he suggested gently.
Jet's expression softened slightly. "Damn right I will." He paused thoughtfully. "I think we should run against the Schrodinger Gang, and win." There was a moment of silence and Jet was certain that his idea would meet opposition. Oh, well at least now they would leave him alone.
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea!" exclaimed Gallows, breaking the silence with his loud remark. Clive and Virginia nodded simultaneously.
"Yeah, whatever."
"No really punk, you did good. Better than good…"
"Shut up, you big oaf," mumbled Jet despite the grin plastered to his face.
"Let's not bicker now," advised Clive in attempt to prevent any fights that would break out between the large Baskar and his smaller rival. Both men seemed placated and Clive smiled in relief. "Good, now let's expand on Jet's idea."
"I call president!" exclaimed Virginia happily.
Clive was terribly surprised but he managed to blurt out, "Vice-president."
Gallows frowned. "Okay, so that leaves me and the punk with nothing." Jet nodded in agreement.
"That's not true" mumbled Virginia. "Gallows you can be our body guard and Jet can be the campaign manager!"
Jet scoffed. "That won't work! What do I put on the posters? Vote for a girl and her middle aged friend? I'm not good at making anything seem good." He paused thoughtfully. "I'm a pessimist and that's not gonna change."
"Well, that's too bad. You'll have to do your best," commanded Virginia.
"Well, I still think it's a dumb idea," mumbled Jet.
Virginia seemed confused. "But Jet, it was your idea…"
"All I'm saying is that it won't work."
"Why not?" questioned Virginia.
"Because you guys won't get any votes! I'd vote for Maya before I'd vote for us!"
Virginia looked a bit crestfallen. "Well the odds are against us… but we could still do it." Her demeanor brightened considerably and she smiled. "Really we could…! We'd just have to work together that's all!"
She glanced about with such naïve happiness that Jet faltered in his rebuttal of her claim. Gallows cast him a warning look and despite his rebellious streak, Jet managed to keep his mouth shut.
Virginia glanced at the three men at the table, in no way discouraged by their silence. "Ah, so we'll start soon enough." She paused shyly looking at her companions in slight embarrassment. "In the meantime, I'd like to go use the bathroom. Excuse me." She sprung to her feet before, hastily making her way into the restroom.
A moment or two passed before Jet broke the silence. "That's our candidate for president: a girl who sprints to bathroom and doesn't let you get a word in edge-wise." There was a mockery in his voice that struck a chord in Gallows.
"Shut up punk" scolded Gallows, glaring at Jet. "Try and be supportive for once. Quit being such a kill joy."
"I'm not killing anyone's joy! I'm just saying, Maya may be a crazy witch but she's still better suited than our fearless leader here," clarified Jet sullenly. "And Clive is a little too know-it-all-ish to be a vice president. We're better off giving up now. Let Maya run the country."
"And what about our principles?" demanded Gallows, visibly annoyed. "Do we just throw those to the wind?"
Jet scowled and wormed deeper down into his scarves. "I never agreed with Virginia's stupid values anyway," he murmured.
The moment Jet uttered that phrase, Clive could sense something terrible was about to happen. With almost lightning fast reflexes he threw his right arm out, slamming it into the well toned chest of Gallows Caradine.
Clive's arm caught Gallows mid-lunge in an agonizing collision. As a result, Gallows' leap fell a bit short of its target. Instead, his large body hit the table with a loud thud crushing Clive's arm in the process. Though Clive had taken the brunt of the impact Gallows was also a bit battered. Yet pain was not enough to damper Gallows' anger.
Grunting, Gallows shifted his weight ever so slightly, allowing Clive a bit of relief. Then, with out a moment's hesitation, Gallows reached over and grabbed Jet by the front of his shirt, managing to hoist the surprised teen off the ground a couple inches.
"Listen here punk," growled Gallows leaning close to Jet. "I don't know who you think you are, labeling our leaders or anyone's principles as stupid. You better apologize for that right now." Instead of replying, Jet squirmed out of Gallows's half hearted grasp and glared daggers at the man.
Clive clutched his arm to his chest, massaging it in an attempt to soothe the pain. "Please refrain from any sort of violence…" he pleaded, his wounded arm making him sound a bit more pathetic than he would have liked. Peace between those two was merely wishful thinking.
Giving his arm a few last rubs, Clive halfheartedly rose from his seat, watching Jet and Gallows square off. The determination in both contenders' eyes spelled trouble and he moved to put himself between the arguing duo.
Now positioned in between Gallows and Jet, Clive used his body as sort of barrier between both of his teammates. He stood a bit closer to Gallows; the barrier was more to keep the larger man at bay. Jet wouldn't attack unless provoked. Gallows had already been provoked.
For a moment, Gallows seemed calmed by the turn of events. Clive was not facing Gallows and therefore could not make a definite assessment but judging from the rate of Gallows's breathing it was safe to say that the man was soothed. Sighing in relief, Clive allowed his arms to fall slack, and the stiff posture he had assumed throughout the ordeal was gradually relaxed into a slight slouch.
Abruptly, Gallows once again sprung into action, this time slamming the whole of his rather hefty body into Clive's, in an attempt to breach the human blockade. Clive skidded a few feet but amazingly managed to remain standing. From then on the simple goal of peace became a struggle between Clive and Gallows, with Clive on the losing end.
"Gallows, please calm down," mumbled Clive with some difficultly. "Jet has his own manner of saying things. He doesn't mean things quite as harshly as he says them."
Jet vaguely considered correcting Clive; he meant a lot of what he said. However, Jet decided against it because really, a thirty something year old married man and father having to stop a fight between him and that big lug: that was just sad.
"Fine. I guess people are entitled to their own opinions on stuff," mumbled Jet; his voice just barely audible above Clive and Gallows' banter. His comment seemed to go unnoticed by Gallows for the large man did not react. Clive however, seemed to have a knack for hearing things that others wished he didn't, and his expression soon took a drastic turn.
Flashing a small triumphant smile, Clive nodded. "Yes! That's what Gallows was trying to tell you," he urged gently.
Gallows ceased his angry stampede and frowned. "What?" he questioned.
"Oh, Jet just apologized," replied Clive, waving his hand joyfully. Jet growled. It wasn't quite an apology.
Gallows seemed placated. "Well I'm glad. Though the sulky punk shouldn't have said it in the first place." His expression softened a little. "Get thinking about our campaign angle."
Jet scowled. "Yeah, I got our angle alright; I travel with a bunch of self-righteous pricks." Clive opened his mouth to protest but Jet didn't seem ready to listen. Instead, he turned on heel and moved to exit through the swinging doors of the saloon.
Clive sighed. "Ah, well we have yet another disagreement…" He pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "A nice start to a nice day, don't you think?" He flashed a feeble smile. Gallows was not amused.
"This campaign is gonna be hell…"
Clive nodded slowly. "Yes, but we've been through worse." He paused pensively. "Jet doesn't like Virginia's naivety but truly she does tend to be right about such things." He smiled again this time more warmly. "Things will work out. Rest assured."
Gallows nodded reluctantly. "If you say so. Anyway, right now, I just need a cold stiff drink."
Clive frowned but despite it all; he could relate to the sentiment.