June 25, 2012

Safe Haven - Full Attention


[...Posted by Ted H]

[Safe Haven - Full Attention]

“The General is definitely gonna want you in person to explain this one,” Kendall said to Nick as another ResE finished wrapping up his chest. The riot was over, but not before a nice body count was racked up. Many ResEs ranged from small to serious injuries, mostly from the Molotovs, but that made up most of the casualties for the ResEs. The citizens didn’t fare much better, then again, they weren’t equipped with bulletproof vests of automatic weapons either.

The large amount of injured ResEs had short staffed the emergency personnel back at the Hub, so any ResEs with medical backgrounds were given permission to help out the less serious injuries. One of which was dealing with Nick while his partner was with the regular doctors. “Korrgan, what would I do without you?” Nick asked the female ResE as she handed Nick back his shirt. “Dead, probably,” she said “No one else wants to help you out it seems.”

“That’s an understatement,” Kendall said as Nick threw his shirt back on and stood up. “Why does she help him?” Jezus asked. “We have history,” Nick said as he examined his vest to see where the multiple bullets had struck. “Sexual history?” Jezus asked with an arched eyebrow. “No,” Korrgan said “And if you insinuate something like that again, I’ll be sure to inject you with potassium chloride in your sleep.”

“What does that do?” Jezus asked as Korrgan smiled. “Beats me,” Kendall said “She used to be a nurse, so I suggest you stop fucking with her.” Nick, Kendall and Jezus stuck around as Korrgan worked on a couple more injured ResEs until they were notified that Kyle was out of surgery. Kendall and Jezus left as Nick and Korrgan went to visit.

“How could you let him get hurt like that?” Korrgan asked. “Hey, it’s not like I gave that bitch permission to shoot him,” Nick responded. Korrgan shook her head. “Brad knows, right?” she asked as Nick shrugged. They reached Kyle’s room and a doctor nodded them in.

Kyle laid in a bed with an IV drip in his arm and his torso wrapped up tight. “What’s the damage?” Nick asked as he took a seat in a chair next to the bed. “Bullet missed anything vital,” Kyle said “Would’ve died otherwise. Lost a ton of blood though. Another hour would’ve been a different story.” Nick laughed as he said “Should probably get a refund on your vest.”

Korrgan shot Nick a look as she sat down on the bed near Kyle. “Almost done in by a hooker,” she said “Gotta admit, I’d be severely disappointed if that’s how the great Rotting Cure finally died.” Kyle smiled and shook his head. “Gotta admit, that shit hurt, but what hurt more was when some fucker on the street shot me in the back. Thankfully these vests cover the back more effectively than the front.”

“Thankfully the Rogues don’t arm the civilians very well,” Korrgan said, “They don’t pass out good weapons like that.”

“So how did a hooker have a high caliber gun?” Kyle asked.

“Obviously your…uh, naked dude as you call him, is more than a fleeing citizen with a weapon.”

“What is he?”

“Probably a Rogue.”

“I fucking told you!” Nick shouted.

“A Rogue would have good weapons like that.” Korrgan continued “He probably dumped the gun off at the whore house and one of those woman decided to use it.”

“So we caught a Rogue when he just wasn’t dressed for the part?” Kyle asked.

“Well we don’t exactly know where they go. We know a number of them somehow get out of the city, but there’s always the possibility that many of them operate within the city. Naked boy might be one of those types.”

“They travel in packs though, like wolves.”

“Maybe we ran into a lone wolf then?” Nick said with a smile on his face “Anyone? Anyone? Whatever. I hated that guy.”

“Don’t concern yourself with it,” Korrgan said as she patted Kyle’s shoulder and stood up “Just rest up and you’ll figure things out after.”

After Korrgan left, Kyle turned to look at Nick. “Here,” he said as he tossed him something. “What the fuck is this?” Nick asked. “It’s what they pulled out of me, the bullet,” Kyle said.

“And why do I have it?”

“I know Kendall went all forensics over that Juan guy. See if that’s the same type of bullet that killed Juan, or Double-D.”

“And if everything matches?”

“Then the plot will thicken.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Shit, man, just do what I ask. I’m unable to do shit as it is. At least allow me to pretend my partner can run an investigation on his own.”

“Whatever,” Nick said as he pocketed the bullet. “Knock knock,” Brad said as he entered. “What the fuck have you been?” Nick barked as Brad threw his arms in the air. “Jeeze,” Brad said “I’m in charge of collected contraband. And in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve recovered a shit load of weapons after that little riot that apparently you two started.”

“Wait, we’re getting blamed?” Kyle asked as he sat up in his bed. Brad nodded. “You two shot up a whore house and the masses snapped,” Brad said “At least that’s what’s going around.” Nick rubbed his chest where he had been shot earlier “Those bitches shot us first,” he said as Brad rolled his eye. “I bet,” he said. “No, he’s right,” Kyle said “Woman had a gun we didn’t know about. Probably a gun that the fucking runner had when he ditched his clothes.”

“That sucks, but The General might buy that,” Brad said as he turned to leave. “Leaving already?” Kyle asked as Brad shrugged. “I’m fucking swamped as it is with all the work that was dumped in my lap. I managed to break away from it for a bit just to visit you, but I’m pushing it as it is on time.” Brad left without another word, leaving Kyle and Nick alone.

“Well, I should probably go home and sleep all this off,” Nick said as he stood up and made for the exit. “Yes, because clearly you took the most damage today,” Kyle said as Nick smiled. “I’ll track down Slain and all that shit tomorrow,” he said as he opened the door to leave. “Thanks, for what it’s worth,” Kyle said “For pulling my bleeding ass out of there.”

Nick hesitated at first, but then stuck his head back through the doorway. “I didn’t have much choice,” he said “Since you’re the only person who’d do the same for me.” Kyle smiled. “Awe, is the Mean Guy showing a soft side?” he said with a laugh. Nick flipped him off and left.

********************

“I need answers, gentlemen,” Joseph said as he paced around the conference table. The conference room itself wasn’t very big, but since there were only three men for the meetings, it was sufficient. This is where the Three Kings would meet to discuss items of the utmost importance for Safe Haven.

“I told you my men could handle things,” Thomas said, sitting comfortably in his chair “This little uprising can be used as an example. The Enforcers are not pushovers. If anything, we’ve recovered a multitude of weapons that have been making their way into the city.”

“And used against us,” Chase said as he hunched over the table, sitting on the edge of his seat “The weapons were smuggled in for the sole purpose of being used against the Enforcers. The fact that so many were used simultaneously could only be the beginning.” Thomas shook his head. “The Rogues can only get so many in at a time,” he said “To resupply the citizens after today will prove too difficult. The casualties they suffered were devastating as well. It was a massacre at the end.”

“What were the casualties for the Enforcers?” Joseph asked. “If early reports can be trusted,” Thomas said before stopping to think about it “We’re looking at maybe fifteen dead at the most.”

“Nineteen,” Joseph added “If you count the four that were killed recently. I refuse to discount those as isolated incidents. I’m more concerned with what caused this?”

“This was probably building up for some time.” Chase said “The constant presence and attitudes at this, ah, brothel, most likely pushed some too far. And when the few took action, many more decided to join in, a snowball effect if you will. A problem that won’t go away if citizens become inspired by the effort.”

“You’re saying that these little uprisings are just the beginning?” Thomas asked. Chase nodded “We need to figure a way to stop this becomes it becomes a bigger issue.”

“We need to kill the head of this snake,” Joseph said “Take out their supply.” Joseph wasn’t comfortable with what he was about to suggest, since it would mean he was wrong in his previous assumptions. “We need to deal with the Rogues.” Thomas finally sat up in his chair “My people work regularly to deal with the Rogues. We’re not just letting them run around freely out there.”

Joseph shook his head. “I’ve ignored them for far too long. They are corrupting and harming my citizens. We need to take proactive steps to deal with them once and for all.” Thomas dropped his hands on the table with a noticeable thud “And what would you suggest that my people don’t already do?”

Joseph stared out the window. It didn’t offer quite the same view as his office, but he noted that the view here was almost as good. “I’ll worry about that,” he said “You just worry about replacing the people you’ve lost. I feel our police force is a little short handed at the moment with all the dead and wounded. As always, gentlemen, the discussions brought up in this meeting are on a need to know basis, but mark my words, we will promptly deal with this Rogue problem. They now have my full attention.”

June 17, 2012

Safe Haven - Rescue!


[...Posted by Ted H]

[Safe Haven - Rescue!]

Just as John had hoped, the alleyway behind Perry’s brothel was free of any ResEs or fighting. “We enter through the back and we head out the same way,” he said as he led Anderson and Kate to the door. The back room was empty, but the trio kept quiet as they made their way for the front lobby. John’s plan was to check every possible room starting with Perry’s office. Alive or dead, he doubted the ResEs would take him out into the streets, especially with a firefight going on.

As they approached the lobby, John could hear talking. He wasn’t sure who it was, but it was a man and it wasn’t Perry, so he readied his gun. He peeked around the doorframe and noticed it was a ResE, talking to another ResE who was laying on the ground. A few other men laid on the ground scattered about, but none of them were moving. “Just two,” John whispered as he faced Anderson and Kate. “I’ll head for the office. Cover me while I run in. Hopefully he’s in there.” The others nodded as John peered back at the ResEs. One was talking into his radio while the other was getting up.

John aimed and landed a headshot just before he took off for Perry’s office. The other ResE swore before shooting at John as he ran, but Anderson and Kate firing forced him to take cover and forget about John. “Perry?” John called out as he turned the corner to enter Perry’s office, almost tripping over a dead woman in the process.

Perry laid in the middle of the office, a small pool of blood by his head. John slowly approached him, hoping that things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Nearby was another woman, but the bullet wounds in her and the amount of blood surrounding her suggested that she was long dead. John took note that the woman was clutching his magnum as he shook Perry’s shoulder. “No…” Perry mumbled as he shifted himself. “Perry? Perry, we need to go,” John said as he attempted to help Perry up.

Perry attempted to get up on his own, giving John some time to collect his magnum and the handgun from the dead women. He still had no clue to where his pants from yesterday, or the knife they contained were, but he didn’t have time to look around. “Let’s go!” John said as he pocketed the weapons and picked Perry up and hoisted him over his shoulder.

John jogged back to the lobby to find that Anderson, Kate and the ResE had all made no progress during their firefight. The ResE had taken cover behind a couple of stacked dead bodies and an overturned table, while Anderson and Kate remained where they were before, only concerned with cover fire to keep the ResE pinned.

“Got him!” John called as he ran back to the others and they all made for the back exit. At this point the ResEs had swarmed the streets, but the back alleys were relatively safe. It was once again only a matter of how much time you spent out in the open between alleys that dictated your chances of getting caught. The farther away from the riot they got however, the less chances were that they’d even see another ResE.

Kate was leading the way, Anderson was watching the back as they walked. Perry was groaning, but showed no signs that he even knew what was happening. “I’m so sorry,” John kept saying anyway. “Almost there,” Kate said as she stuck her head out and noted that there weren’t any ResEs. “I don’t think we need to sneak,” Anderson said as he concealed his weapons. John currently had four guns on his person, only two of which were hidden, but with the lack of ResEs, there wasn’t much need for secrecy.

Kate ran off ahead when Laura’s townhouse came into view. Anderson helped John carry Perry the rest of the way as Laura and Kate came out to help them navigate Perry up the steps. “Put him on the couch,” Laura said as they entered the house and Kate shut the door. “How bad is it out there?” Laura asked Anderson while John sat down on the floor next to the couch Perry was on.

“It’s probably over now,” Anderson said as he pulled out his guns and walked over to the staircase. “I’m going back to bed,” he said as he left. “I think I’ll head back home, too,” Kate said as she waved goodbye and left. Laura walked over to Perry with a cloth and tried to clean up Perry’s face as Cayra entered from the kitchen.

“I just want you to know, Cayra,” John said “Even though this is all your fault, I’m not too mad at you.” Cayra stopped short as a look of disgust spread over her face. “My fault?” she blurted out as she balled her hands into fists. “Yeah,” John said “You don’t kill that ResE, and a lot of people wouldn’t have died today.” Cayra sneered, walked over and slapped John across the face before storming off back.

“All this was bound to happen,” Laura said as she finished with Perry’s face “You running afoul of the ResEs? I’m surprised it even too this long. Don’t try to hide behind Cayra on that one.” John waved Laura’s comment off. He ran his hand over his head as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall behind him. “Laura, you have a cig I can bum?” he asked, to which Laura responded by throwing the bloody cloth at him. “I take it that’s a “no” then.”

June 10, 2012

Safe Haven - End This


[...Posted by Ted H]

*Insert witty banter here*

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[Safe Haven - End This]

Someone said all the ResEs were gone, too busy with a sudden large scale firefight to patrol anywhere else near Perry’s brothel. This suited John just fine as he immediately ran out to the middle of a gossiping group and dumped the contents of his box onto the ground. “Arm up and join the fight!” John shouted and ran off to grab the box Kate was carrying. Half of his weapons shipment was about to go away when it was suppose to last him for however long the Rogues were gone. There was probably a couple more hidden caches of weapons, but two whole boxes in one day probably was a bad idea to dump at one time. Perry was in trouble though, or already dead, so John felt no remorse if he could hurt the ResEs right away.

He took weapons out of Kate’s box and passed them out by hand, telling people to join in the fight. He knew it was already the biggest uprising against the ResEs since Safe Haven was erected, and he knew that whoever was fighting the ResEs now would get slaughtered without backup. Time to send that backup.

The people who snatched up the weapons John dumped left immediately. The second wave of reinforcements would be whoever took the guns from the second box. They were unintentionally organized this way, but since the ResEs probably didn’t even expect an organized assault in the first place, it provided the perfect tactic.

The first wave hit already, attacking some ResEs with riot gear, but when the second wave hit, the ResEs actually retreated back. John couldn’t help but smile, but he knew he had to find Perry. “John!” someone called over. John looked to see Anderson run up to him, guns in each hand. “Did you start this?” John asked as Anderson nodded.

“There was shooting inside when I arrived,” Anderson said “And when I saw the ResEs exit, I figured they killed Perry so I just started shooting. Next thing I know other people join in and now there’s this.” John nodded. “But what about Perry? Are you sure he’s dead?” Anderson shook his head. “I was gonna check,” he said “But things got out of hand in a hurry. There’s no way we can get to the door without getting shot.”

“Anyone try the back entry?” John asked as Anderson smiled, apparently not knowing about the back door. “No one’s trying to get in,” Anderson said “They’re just fighting.” John nodded as he looked over to Kate and motioned her to follow. “Let’s go get Perry,” he said as they made for the back alleys.

*********************************

“Every Enforcer, report to the site of the uprising. End this NOW!” The General screamed over the radio to the point that Nick wanted to tear the earpiece away from him. Things were getting hectic outside and Nick couldn’t get a good look out the door without a bullet flying over his head. Kyle had stopped talking and slumped over, his shirt still well pressed into his bullet wound. He was still breathing and occasionally said something to prove how awake he still was, as if anyone cared, but he was clearly no longer paying attention to the chaos. Nick wasn’t no doctor, but he knew Kyle wouldn’t last forever like this.

He pressed to talk into his radio. “We’re still waiting on evac from this fucking whore house!” he yelled. He wasn’t that good at officially talking over the radio beyond insults and unwanted comments, he always let Kyle do that, but that wasn’t a luxury at the moment. “We’re trying, dude, hold on!” someone responded. “If he dies…” Nick started but stopped. There was no threat he could think of that could help Kyle, so he gave up. It wasn’t like the ResEs weren’t trying; Kyle was the one hurt, not him, they would help Kyle.

Another idiot citizen dove into the whore house, taking cover from the firefight. “Wrong move, bitch,” Nick said as he shot the man down, next to the bodies of other people who thought it was safe inside. He got a kick out of it the first three times he did it, but that was back when Kyle could comment as well. Now Nick was just talking to himself.

The sound of around a hundred more automatic rifles filled the air, and Nick knew that more ResEs had arrived. “Keep pushing!” he heard someone screaming from the outside. Apparently enough ResEs had finally shown as one to outnumber the citizens and send them running. The streets were emptying, but the people shooting from the windows still presented enough of a problem.

“Still kicking up in the whore house?” someone radioed in. “What took you?” Nick asked as someone, a ResE finally, entered through the main door. “He dead?” he asked as he looked down at Kyle. “He breathin, ain’t he?” Nick said as he attempted to finally stand up. His chest still hurt, but it wasn’t anything that would kill him. “Alright, let’s move him,” the ResE said as he spoke into his radio “I’m gonna need some-” he got out before his head jerked back and he fell backwards, a trail of blood following the newly planted bullet hole in his forehead.

June 3, 2012

Safe Haven - Firefight

[...Posted by Ted H]

Google Chrome...I may have been lied to about it's speed...

Ugh...SH is gonna need some serious editing when I finally get the time...enjoy the raw version for now...

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[Safe Haven - Firefight]

“The promised land!” Tucker shouted as he fell to his knees. The Rogues had managed to find a track of road with a road marker that told them they were on  Interstate-15, meaning they were finally on the right track. “Didn’t you come down this way?” Cooper asked Jordan when he walked over “You’re from Vegas, right?”


“Didn’t mean I paid attention,” Jordan said as he looked out “Besides, it was all different. Everything was still burning, now it‘s just wasteland. They firebombed everywhere, you know. I thought it was the military attempting to fight, but it wasn’t.” Jordan looked out into the endless wasteland. “Is this what the world is suppose to look like, without people?”


“Nah,” Jake said “It’s suppose to be overgrown vegetation. Desert though? Mojave is just a desert, anything inhabitable was man made from the sand. We’ll be leaving the wasteland and entering one big desert, pretty much no change in scenery.” Jordan shook his head. “There was a forest,” he said “A National Park or something like that. Gone. We were suppose to have walked right through it before getting here though.”


Jordan turned back to see Teto and Martin looking at the map again, while Johnston looked back at the small group of zombies trying to keep up. “15 will take us all the way to Vegas, as long as we don’t break off down 40,” Jordan said “Part of me wants to keep going though, just to see what home looks like now.” Jake leaned his elbow on Tuckers shoulder when he finally stood up. “You don’t wanna go home,” he said “Whatever image you have of it in your head probably way better than the real thing.”


“Maybe,” Jordan said “What do you think your guy’s homes are like now?” Jake shrugged. “I lived in a shitty apartment before all this. I really don’t care what happened to that dump.” Tucker wasn’t even paying attention and whatever Cooper wanted to say, she withheld comment. “Home is wherever,” Teto said as he walked up with the rest. “Know where we are yet?” Jake asked. “We’re on the Interstate,” Teto said with a sly grin “Where exactly? I have some ideas, but once we get far enough along I should be able to pinpoint exactly where we are. From there, getting to 40 should be a snap.”


“Our “friends” are catching up,” Johnston said as the zombies tailing them were closing the gap. The group then took off running. They were finally on the right track, no longer wandering. Somehow that added a spring in their step, and there was no more complaining over all the running.

*****************************

“Just what the doctor ordered…no pun intended,” Jezus said as he and Kendall fired into the crowd of rioting citizens. After having to meet with both The Doctor and the hapless, idiot psychologist, there was nothing he or Kendall wanted to do more right now than kill something. They got their wish when RC called in for backup.


“RC, are you still inside?” Kendall said into his radio. “Yup, so don’t shoot us when we try to get out,” RC responded. “Is Mean by any chance dead?” Jezus asked with hope but Mean responded “Fuck you!” which cut down that hope. “What did you guys do?” Kendall asked but Janky cut in. “You guys need to cut off the personal banter, we need to keep the channel open.”


“So now what?” Jezus asked Kendall, who was surveying the scene. A sizable mass of about fifteen people were scattered in the street, concentrating fire of both ends where ResEs were trying to advance. Items were being tossed from windows for the people in the street to use as cover while additional people were also shooting and throwing debris out from the buildings at the ResEs. From what it looked like, they were only armed with handguns and a couple single shot rifles, nothing the ResEs weren’t prepared to handle.


Kendall snuck around the corner of his cover and lined up a shot. “Shirtless mother fucker with the neck beard,” he said to Jezus, who looked over and watched Kendall blew the guys head off. “Nice shot,” he said as he and Kendall ducked as a wave of bullets flew at their cover. “So we’re just gonna take potshots until they’re all dead or what?” someone said over the radio. “You got a faster plan?” Kendall said as other ResEs started screaming to run.


The sound of breaking glass and fire notified Kendall as to what just went down. “Molotovs? Are you serious?” he screamed as he peered back over and saw people throwing flaming bottles out from windows at the ResEs. “Duck!” Jezus yelled as a bottle exploded just short of their cover. “Move!” Kendall said as they retreated.


“Help is on the way,” a ResE said as Kendall noticed a row of people with riot shields charging in. The Enforcers were only able to recover a small handful of riot shields, so they were stored for only emergencies. Apparently it took them a bit to dig them out of storage, though Kendall was just glad they were there now. “Heads up for Molotov cocktails,” Kendall said into the radio as the six ResEs set up a semicircle with their shields out front as they marched. Several ResEs ran up behind them and used them as mobile cover as they fired into the rioters.


Kendall, Jezus and the few ResEs who stayed behind provided cover fire at the windows, keeping any more Molotovs from being thrown. “Making quick work now, eh?” Jezus screamed. Kendall was about to respond when he heard additional screaming from ahead of the riot squad. Thirty or Forty more citizens, all brandishing firearms, were charging in. Molotovs rained down once again as the chaos kicked up another notch and the riot was only now just beginning.