The Man in Burgundy
Chapter 3: Man and Machine
Time to reply to the review of one chiufan95:
David hasn't even been in a combat situation yet. He hasn't shown how good of a fighter he is, merely that he A) knows how to fire a gun and B) is of adequate intelligence. David Walker is a fusion of myself, Caleb Walker, and my best friend, David Booker. David is in the military, and I am an intelligent human being. Together, we are David Walker, whom you are reading about.
David Walker is a competent human being in the Red vs Blue universe, a universe where the differences in capability and power are as radical as the difference between Joe Schmo and Batman. David is a middleman, someone who isn't as powerful as , say, Carolina, but is more intelligent/capable than the Reds and Blues.
Anyhow, that aside, let's go!
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"What did you do to him?" Sarge asked, looking at the cobalt armoured ex-Freelancer.
"I beg your pardon?" Washington replied, looking at the red armoured soldier.
"What did you do to Walker?" Sarge repeated. "He's been all moody ever since he came back from his visit to Blue base."
"I will have you know I did absolutely nothing." Washington answered, stepping towards the old man. "Walker, or Utah, as he should be known by, is very, VERY confused, messed up and just plain scared right now."
"Exactly. Because you did something to him… wait, what was that about Utah?" Sarge asked, tilting his head sideways slightly.
"David Walker was a Freelancer, known as Agent Utah. He was a half decent one too, if my memory serves correctly." Washington said. "Not as good as a certain red-head, but he knew what he was doing and could fight just fine."
"So Walkers one of them Freelancers?" Sarge said, sounding confused. "I suppose that explains why he keeps muttering about states in his sleep."
Wash looked up at that. "He does what?"
"When he's asleep, he keeps muttering about states. Colorado, Rhode Island, Texas… I thought they were all Freelancers." Sarge explained.
"Yeah, Rado and Rho were his best friends. Hell, Colorado and he were practically dating by the time she…" Wash trailed off, realizing he was supplying personal information to Sarge.
"By the time she what? Ran off? Proclaimed her love for another man?" Sarge asked, almost bouncing up and down.
"No, before she died." Wash snapped, surprising Sarge with the anger in his voice. "She got killed, and Utah went freaking nuts. Signed up for an AI, got assigned one called Iota after Carolina…" He trailed off again.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Sarge asked.
"Doing what?" Washington replied.
"Cutting yourself off in the middle of sentences." Sarge explained, as though repeating the concept to a small child.
"Because you don't need to know half the stuff I've nearly told you." Wash replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a radio tower to work on."
And with that he walked away, leaving Sarge standing in the middle of the canyon, with a puzzled look on his face and a furrowed brow.
"Sometimes I worry about that boy…" He muttered, walking back to base.
()()()
"Rado, you've got to be kidding me." I exclaimed, even as the excited girl led me through the decks of the Mother of Invention.
"Nope, I'm completely serious! You NEED to see this!" She said, a massive grin on her face. "I know you and Rhode were busy flirting…"
I started sputtering at that. "We were not flirting!" I said, throwing the arm Colorado didn't have in her hand into the air. "We were just… talking." I finished lamely.
"Whatever you say." Rado replied, rolling her eyes. "But you need to see this!"
"Fine, I'll come." I said, pulling my arm from her surprisingly strong grip. "But stop dragging me around like a reluctant four-year old."
"Okay." Rado said, sounding almost disappointed.
I followed her through what felt like miles of corridors and buildings, before we finally reached the place she had been so excited over. She barely paused to tap in the entry code, before jogging through the door. I walked in after her, and paused for a moment, taking in my surroundings.
Stars. There were lots and lots of stars. We were in some sort of observation deck, mounted on the outer hull, and I was currently facing a massive wall of glass that seemed to loom over me, the entire thing filled with stars. Colorado was already sitting in front of the enormous window, and I gently sat down beside her, awestruck by the view in front of me.
"It's… it's beautiful." I said simply, unable to say anything more.
"I told you so." Rado replied, giving me a cheeky grin.
I didn't reply, and she turned back to the window. We sat for a few seconds before gently, almost gingerly, she leaned onto me, placing her head onto my shoulder. I hesitated before looping my arm around her shoulder, and she leaned even further into the embrace, sighing contentedly.
"I love you." She sighed, the sound almost like a whisper.
"I love you too." I replied.
()()()
I jolted awake, noting that I; A) was in the corner again, B) was holding Super Good Advice like a teddy bear and C) my face was covered in dried tears. I sighed and stood up, pulling on my helmet, concealing any emotion.
"Hey, Walker." Simmons said, walking into the room. "I thought I should tell you, Sarge has claimed half the base for himself."
"Wonderful." I sighed, leaning back. "So we're stuck living with Grif?"
"Yep." Simmons replied.
"Well, I'm going to go outside." I paused. "And probably stay there until the end of time."
"Listen, just don't walk into the room without knocking. Ever." Simmons shivered, the tiny motion visible through his armour, and I couldn't help but sympathize. I had only known Grif for a few days, but his living habits were disgusting. And Simmons had been stuck with him for years! It was a miracle the maroon-armoured man hadn't committed suicide yet.
"Point taken." I replied, before holstering Super Good Advice on my back. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"
Simmons didn't reply, merely nodding as he tilted his head upwards slightly, obviously reminiscing about… something. I wasn't sure what, but he was remembering something.
I stepped out of the door, into the canyon, and pulled of my helmet again, revealing my face to the world. I took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh jungle air, before exhaling in a sigh, looking up to the sky.
"I have no idea what I did out there," I began, whispering to myself. "But I will find out."
I closed my eyes, smiling simply. I would know. I would know, because I was David Walker, also known as Agent Utah, and I was stronger than some bullshit amnesia. I would do this, I would accomplish this goal, and I would find out what the fuck was going on with my life.
()()()
"How many of these fuckers are there?!" Rhode screamed, firing his battle rifle wildly at the entrenched insurgents.
"I don't know, but their Human Resources department has been working overtime!" I replied, firing Super Good Advice in a long spray of bullets stitching across the far wall.
"Very funny, Utah!" Colorado called, kicking one rebel in the stomach while firing her two magnums at his buddies.
Bullets flew over my head as I sprinted towards their lines, low to the ground, firing Super Good Advice from the hip. I reached them just as one man started to reload. I brought the LMG around in a vicious arcing swing, cracking the butt of the weapon across his jaw, denting his helmet and sending him spinning away.
Colorado rolled beneath the punch of one rebel, rising to a kneeling position and firing rapidly into a cluster of white-armoured enemies, before turning with a sweeping kick at the first man's legs, dropping him to the floor, where she put a bullet in his head.
I tackled another rebel to the ground as he aimed at her, rising to my knees and bringing my fist down on his head once, twice, three times, each punch punctuated by a satisfying 'WHAM!' and his head ricocheting off the steel floor. I fired Super Good Advice one handed into another man's torso, spraying blood and bits of organs across the wall behind him.
Two more rebels fell away, each ones collapse marked by the 'DRRT' of Rhodes battle rifle, the man calling out a number for each kill. He was around seven, and I called back.
"Ten!" I yelled, as I broke a rebel's neck, before Colorado was yelling at us both to shut up with the games and keep fighting.
After we finished off the few remaining insurgents, I pulled off my helmet along with Rhode, both of us fist bumping, before I dropped the bomb.
"Seventeen." I whispered into his ear, his face morphing into a frown.
"Twenty-three." A different voice answered, and I looked to see Colorado leaning in my face. "And three assists."
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Hello there, folks! Thanks for reading again, and I will see you later!