Futuristic Reptiles (In the city under a radiation storm)

[Joyeful]

Jax stepped down the staircase, knowing the stairs would creak. She didn't give a damn; she knew where she stood, at least here. Memories could have been carved into these stairs, for the amount that flooded her mind.

"Aliya, you probably want to put the gun down," she smirked, spotting her. "Hey, Derek."

 

[Jodyguru]

Derek didn’t hear anything until he looked around and saw Jax in the doorway. He smiled and leaned forward.

“Hey Willow! Long time no see. We gettin the crew back together or what?”

Jax moved forward slightly, and he saw someone behind her on the stairs. Derek pulled his headphones off and looked at Aliya.

“Aliya, she’s brought company.”

 

[Joyeful]

Jax had a look on her face, one that Aliya backed away a little from.
"Derek. It's Jax."
Her tone was harsh, though she kept moving down the stairs. "And no. I'm not here to get the crew back together, I'm here to collect favors."

Aliya really was a bit pale now, and she slowly put the weapon down, terror seeping into her movements.
"Weren't so scared back in the warehouse, were you, darling?" Jax glared, and Aliya just gave a noncommittal shrug. "You know I only work for myself. You know that. Known it."

 

[Jodyguru]

Derek started laughing. “Favors? You took off. Abandoned your family so you could go work by yourself. I say we don’t owe you anything. In fact, you owe us for embarrassing Aliya yesterday. Now Talon doesn’t want to pay us.”

Reggie felt out of place here. He couldn’t speak for Jax or argue with these people who he didn’t know at all. He was along for the ride.

“Jax, tell them about the plans. Maybe this job will mean something for them.”

 

[Joyeful]

Jax grit her teeth, her hands clenching. "Fine. I ditched my so-called family for this bullshit. With a psycho who wants love but doesn't want to deal with its complications, and some asshole who lives in his basement getting all wishy-washy about when he didn't have to deal with literal slimeballs. You know, Reg, they might've liked the deal. But we're done here."

She turned to walk away, even making it up a couple steps, before Aliya interrupted. "You forgot to mention Adam in that-"

In a few seconds, Jax had turned, jumped the rest of the stairs, and had Aliya against the back of the couch, choking her. The look in her eye was murderous, a look most people didn't get the pleasure of seeing.

 

[Jodyguru]

This reaction made Derek reach for a revolver sitting on the desk. He spun around in his chair and trained it on Jax.

In the same moment, Reggie grabbed his rifle and pulled the action back. The weapon made a high pitched whir and a red dot appeared on Derek’s body.

“Freeze asshole” Reggie growled, then looked towards Jax and Aliya. “Damn it, Jax! What happened to keeping it cool? They won’t help us if they’re dead!”

“Maybe we mean nothing to you, but I always thought of you two as my big sisters. I even forgave you for breaking Aliya’s heart. Don’t put me in the middle like you always do!”

 

[Joyeful]

Jax made a low noise in the back of her throat, before snarling, "I told you both to not talk about Adam. Not to talk about my fucking family, Derek. I don't give a damn about bullshit sisterhood if you can't respect my goddamn privacy."

Maybe for the first time, Aliya looked truly terrified, and Jax positively pissed off, emotions neither seemed to show often, if ever. "Jax, I didn't mean it like that, you know I didn't, I would never- never hurt you-"

"Save it for someone who cares for your lying, thieving bitch ass," Jax snapped, shoving Aliya back into the couch, "You're sick."
"So are you..."
The other girl gave a sharp laugh, flipping Aliya off.
"Maybe," she muttered, turning away, barely audible. Rolling her eyes at Reggie, she motioned the way back upstairs. "Let's go. We're clearly not going to get any trustworthy help here."

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie turned and looked weirdly at Jax as she left.

“Sorry about the trouble. Uh... have a good one?” Reggie looked at them and turned to leave.

Catching her in the front store, Reggie wanted to give her a piece of his mind.

“Hey, hey... what the fuck was all of that? We barged into their hideout and you want to insult everyone, then try to kill them when they hit back? That’s not how it’s done and you know it! You were totally out of line back there. Why did you drag me here if that’s how you wanted it to go?”

 

[Joyeful]

"You really think I wanted it to turn out like that, Richard?" she hissed, spinning around, eyes looking more and more reptilian in her anger. "I don't want to fucking kill people. That's why I'm a goddamn thief, not a hitman, or a mercenary, or some fucking assassin roaming the night and getting their partners in crime killed, alright?!"

It hadn't been entirely clear what had gone down back in the shop, but clearly someone had hit a nerve, and she ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry for calling you Richard. I was out of line," Jax sighed.

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie sighed, and patted Jax on the shoulder.

“I know how it feels to lose people. The worst thing you can do is push everyone away. Signor told me that when my daughter died, and I made my wife leave. Once you’re isolated, the pain just swallows you. I don’t wanna see you go through that.”

After a quiet moment, the back door opened and Derek stepped out.

“So uh, are you guys staying or going? Aliya’s crying and throwing stuff.”

 

[Joyeful]

Jax rolled her eyes. "I would be shocked you hadn't tried to help her, Derek, but you always have avoided conflict. It's up to you, Reggie," she sighed, "Seeing as I am completely biased- I definitely don't want to go back in there."

 

[Jodyguru]

“I would but I don’t wanna get beaned with a stereo.” Derek laughed nervously. “Maybe you and Aliya gotta keep distance for awhile, till you both calm down?”

Reggie nodded in agreement. "Well, if they decide to help us." He turned towards Derek. "You said that Talon Company stiffed you guys. Well, we're going to send a message that they fucked with some serious hombres. We need intel, maps, and a couple bombs."

Derek nodded quietly and looked at Jax. "Wil- Jax, for what its worth, I really am happy to see you. I know I can help, and Aliya will want to help too. I-" Derek suddenly started coughing, and they were hard, wet coughs that lasted an uncomfortably long time.

"Damn it... not again. I was busy hauling my stuff from the last safe house, I must've forgotten my medicine." He coughed more, slinking down onto the floor, holding his chest and covering his mouth. Derek was always sick. In fact that was the big motivation for him to start running ops: so he could survive longer.

"Shit. Is he gonna bite it?" Reggie asked, looking at Jax. The coughing wasn't as bad as when he would vomit or convulse. Jax had witnessed a couple close calls with him.

 

[Joyeful]

Jax shook her head. "How many times have I told you to not forget your damned meds, Derek?"
Turning to Reggie, she sighed, "Nah. He'll be fine, if we get him his meds," she quipped, glaring back at Derek again.

 

[Jodyguru]

Derek’s coughing fit ended, and he took some desperate gasps of breath to catch up with himself.

“I’m fine. I just. Need fresh air.” Derek walked between Jax and Reggie, going out the door.

“Maybe you should go get the stuff with him. You two should catch up. I’ll stay here and try to broker peace with Aliya, or at least make sure she doesn’t ditch us.”

 

[Joyeful]

Jax sighed. "You're probably right. I haven't seen Der in awhile..."

Aliya was someone she drfinitely didn't want to deal with, and she ran after Derek almost as soon as another crash came from the basement. The sound was followed by a scream and a few more clatters, miscellaneous sounds that came together to form a cacophany of anger.

 

[Jodyguru]

Reggie nodded and stepped backwards, towards the cellar door. "See ya when I see ya. Try not to get mugged." He flickered a smile at her and went downstairs. He heard the yelling and the crashing, but he had an ace up his sleeve. He just hoped Aliya was into the kind of shit he liked. He knocked on the door, trying to be polite, then opened it a crack.

"Hey, its me Reggie. Jax is going out for a bit with Derek to get his meds. You... like to party?" He felt like an idiot, but if the shoe fits. He was holding his glass pipe in his hand, ready to flash it out if she obliged.

Meanwhile, Derek gasped for breath outside, trying to calm himself down so the coughing didn't come back. There were people milling about in the street. Pallid like him, difficulty breathing like he did. He was one of them in more ways than he could count. He always felt like a walking corpse, except when he had the music blasting in his headphones. It transported him to a better place, and made the world he knew melt away like soothing ointment.

"Is there a better world out there somewhere, Willow? They say there's parts of the country untouched by nuclear fallout. I have dreams about the midwest. Long fields of golden wheat stretching on forever, and air so clean you can fill your lungs with it."

 

[Joyeful]

"You're out of your mind," Jax replied, but she knew he'd see past the coldhearted tone in her voice. "Those places are long, long gone from fallout. Everyone knows that."

She hated thinking positive- it was the worst form of wwishul thinking. Hope was an enemy when proven wrong enough times.


Aliya, meanwhile, looked up, glare over her rather pretty features, in this era. "The fuck d'you mean, Scarface?"
TheTinsult wasn't refined, like her usual ones. For the moment, she just needed someone to scream at.

And, admittedly, maybe a good smoke.

 

[Jodyguru]

Derek looked over at her. "You don't know that. Just because the media said the city is under permanent lock-down due to radioactive waste, doesn't mean its true, or covers everything. Its probably impossible to get out right now, but there has to be land untouched by the war. There just has to be." Derek started coughing again once he was worked up. He took a desperate breath and leaned against the wall.

Reggie smirked and opened the door more. "Scarface... I like that a lot better than Snakebite." he chuckled and showed her the glass pipe with shiny red crystals inside it. "Cherry Tinge. Are you in, or are you a party pooper like Jax, giving me shit because I like to enjoy myself?"

 

[Joyeful]

Aliya grabbed the pipe with almost shoking determination, glaring as she lit it and sucked in a bit of smoke. When she exhaled, she took a moment before replying. "I've never been like Jax, asshole. She prefers getting high off of kills."
The sentence wasn't explained, as she took another hit off the pipe, but there had to be a story behind it.


Jax sighed, watching Derek let out another cough. "I would love to believe that the government has that light of a conspiracy. But you know me. I'm not going to pretend for something as foolish as hope. If you have proof... well, that I could believe in."

It was downright shameful, how she would give into a single air sample. But she'd long given up any thought of a clean world. Her body was proof enough that there was no such thing in store for her.