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| The Sound and the Fury | |
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| Participants | Marrow, Rogue |
| Synopsis | Two Brotherhood officers talk and a plan is formed. |
| Location | West Facility - Rykers Island |
| Time | December 20, 2015 |
| Posted By | Rogue |
There are some angry words being half-spoken, half-shouted just outside the facility's fence. Marrow's unmistakable timbre can be heard while someone is undeniably protesting. She opens the gateway, revealing the west road and the shadow of the 'bone-demon' holding open the portal, raising her voice so that she can be heard. A 'tough guy' can be seen, looking quite put out. "I don' fuckin' care how long it takes ya. If ya want to stay here, ya pull yer fuckin' weight. I told ya to strip that Sentinel apart and get the memory chips out fer the Intel guys. When I tell ya to do somethin', ya fuckin' do it. I don't usually spend this much time flappin' gums about insubordination — if I have to keep flappin' my gums at ya, I'm just gonna give up and see how ya do with a couple more breathin' holes in ya. Do I make myself clear?" There's silence for a moment, then she rumbles, "Now get the FUCK out of my FACE and do yer fuckin' JOB before I decide to stop bein' generous." Apparently the guy gets the hint as he nods silently. With a grunt, she then turns to stalk into the facility grounds, letting the gate clink shut behind her as the guy turns around and walks off.
As luck would have it, Rogue is just coming out of the offices as the threats of violence are going down. Stepping out of the Sprung structure, she's eyeing a report and flipping through the pages, not really looking where she's going as she meanders out into the dusty field. It's only the raised voice that finally sinks through her subconscious, and she slows to a stop, quietly closing the report folder before looking up and around. No need to figure out who it is, but she does look curiously over in that direction to discern just whom Marrow is yelling at now, and why. Rather than feel any sympathy for the underling, she seems vaguely amused by the whole thing. The report folder is tucked up under an arm as she starts sauntering again in that direction.
And really, this is why underlings aren't necessarily Brotherhood, but simply Rykers residents. Some are. Some aren't. This one? Likely not. He's also likely not familiar with Marrow's temper nor reputation… yet. Most people don't argue too much, nor too often. Shaking her head, she mutters to herself as she wanders through the courtyard like a woman with a purpose… only she doesn't really have a purpose. Thing have been quiet in her neck of the woods and it's making her antsy. She stops for a moment, breathing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm down. She glances up again and looks over just in time to spot Rogue sauntering in her direction. Running a hand through her hair, she offers a brief wave and an awkward half-scowl, half-grimace.
"Ah see you're really workin' on that whole 'playin' nice with others' thing we talked about," Rogue drawls in teasing. Her tone and manner are ironic, since she knows full well she's probably the last person to be giving that lecture. Or at least well down on the list around here. She glances over to see if the poor sucker has disappeared along the West Road, before turning back to Marrow. "Everything all right?" Not overly concerned, since she figures this could very well just be Marrow being Marrow and not the sign of anything deeper than that.
Rogue is given a brief snort. "Yeah, well… didn't see me punchin' holes in him, did ya?" she mutters, stopping a few feet from Rogue and shoving her hands in her pockets. For Marrow, that is her playing nice, isn't it? She then waves a hand dismissively in the air. "Yeah, yeah… tired of the freeloaders thinkin' they can just eat our food an' take up space an' not do anythin' fer it," she grumbles, casting a glance back over her shoulder at the fence behind her. The poor schlep is no longer in sight, apparently deciding to hop to it or at least lie low for the time being.
"No, but Ah didn't catch the whole thing," Rogue replies with a smirk, the implication being that she could well have missed some quality hole-punching in there. But it really doesn't matter to her too very much, and she just shrugs it off with a roll of her shoulders. "Thinkin' the ring'll be open soon, if you're wantin' to work off some steam." This is noted after a brief glance towards the large clearing for sparring, wherein a rather one-sided battle is going down.
Hitching up a shoulder of her own, Marrow replies in a rasp, "Nah. I'm fine. I'll be -more- fine if these freeloaders would work for their chow an' not fuckin' argue about it." She scratches at her head a bit, then looks around, expelling a large puff of breath which shows in the colder air of December. "Bah… mostly I'm gettin' bored. We got anythin' good comin' up? Any raids? Are we okay fer supplies fer now?" she asks, looking as though she's getting ready to pace, but she manages to avoid doing so. She does look over toward the sparring ring briefly, but then she says, "I think if I get in that rin'… someone's gonna get too hurt." She's in one of those moods. She needs something less alive to pound on… or something that she doesn't have to worry about if gets dead. Or she just needs to cool off.
"Yeah, everybody's fine," Rogue replies a little dryly. Sort of the motto of the organization, isn't it. Never, ever insinuate anyone here is less than fine. Goes for her as well, of course. She tucks a lock of white hair back behind her ear before readjusting her glove. "Think we're okay for supplies for now, but ain't gonna hurt none to check with the kitchens maybe. Gettin' a few rumbles down the grapevine, but nothin' really definitive yet. Lotta paperwork without much action." And she hates paperwork. Worst part about this position. Well, aside from the fear she's going to get them all killed.
"Well, really… wha' did ya expect? Me to be all 'I'm not okay, let me sob on your shoulder'?" Marrow snorts and rolls her eyes. "Ain't nothin' wrong with me other than bein' bored to tears." Or Marrow's closest approximation, right? She doesn't have a lot of hobbies or distractions like other people. She works out. She spars. She gets in people's faces. When there's little to do in the way of missions, she gets bored and restless. A bored Marrow is a dangerous thing. "Paperwork?" Snort. "Better you than me," she adds. "But yeah… it's just gettin' a little too quiet. Ya know what I mean? They haven't forgotten about us out here… but they haven't tried to get to us fer a while. Somethin's up." Is she getting paranoid now too?
"You try cryin' on my shoulder, Ah'm thinkin' you'll be the one gettin' hurt," Rogue replies simply, though whether that's a threat of violence or a passing reference to her wonderful powers is up to Marrow to discern. Pinning the folder between her side and her elbow, she jams her gloved hands into the pockets of her jeans before shrugging her shoulders again. "If somethin's comin', Ah'm sure we'll know 'bout it soon enough. Still, ain't no reason to slack off patrollin' and intel. And maybe some counterintel too. Thinkin' of offerin' up a bounty on those damn little Peepers. Like to cut some open, see what they know."
Marrow only snorts as Rogue tells her she'd be the one hurt if she cried on Rogue's shoulder. She's not arguing, nor does she take offense to it. If anything, it seems something about it amuses her. "Nah. Haven't been slacking on the patrols. In fact, I was thinkin' of doublin' them up. Besides, we need some new hotspots to hit fer supplies. Our usual suspects are startin' to dry up an' the supply trucks keep gettin' stopped or held up or detoured an' delayed. Need to supplement that stuff a bit, maybe. So… some patrols bein' pushed out a bit farther… more scoutin' than patrolin', I think, might be good." She'll get right on that, of course, since she's looking for stuff to do. "Peepers?" A purple eyebrow pops up as she gives Rogue a bit of a dubious look. "They're pretty fast and silent little buggers. Though, if ya make it seem like ya don't notice them at first… might be able to get 'em by surprise. They'd have to have their transmitters disabled before they're brought here so they're not used as homin' beacons…"
"Wouldn't be much fun if it weren't a challenge, would it," Rogue replies simply, as Marrow points out the difficulty in catching Peepers. "Take 'em down, take 'em out… Though we'd need to set up somewhere away from here. Ain't bringin' those bastards into the facility, on the chance they might learn too much. But ain't like Big Brother don't know where we're at already. Long as they can't pick up any secrets, we should be doin' all right. Get some of our computer geeks to take a look, see what makes 'em tick. Even if we don't learn much useful outta them, it still takes out one more tin soldier in their army, right?" Returning to the initial point, she pauses for thought a moment and then nods. "Sure, you can increase the sweep of the patrols a bit. Things should open up a bit past Queens. Might as well get some scouts on it, yeah."
"Well, I meant more along the lines of providin' them with an exact target. Like, oh, where we all slept. If they took out the Brotherhood in one swoop, Rykers would be a sittin' duck fer them to just come in and arrest everyone else," Marrow points out. "But yeah, secrets are the big thin', I guess. Plenty of unused warehouses out there we could commandeer an' lock down, I suppose. Could use somethin' like that." Shrugging, she adds, "Takes one out of their army… maybe adds to ours. We might be able to get the Geek Squad to convert them like their clunkier cousins." Might be a bit of work since the Peepers are slightly more sophisticated but Marrow has -some- faith in those with brains in these situations, if not combat situations. With a nod, she acknowledges the last thing Rogue says. "Right. I'll get on it first thin' in the mornin'. It'll take some time today figurin' out who we've got to deploy an' who's not already out in the field already. First thin' tomorrow, I'll send 'em out."
"Then no one's to sleep with one under their bed," Rogue orders with a wry smirk, teasing in a dry but light way. "Really though. We gotta be careful, of course. Best if we can keep 'em from even realizin' one is gone missin' until we're ready for 'em to know. Dunno if that's possible, but then, since when have our goals ever been possible?" She gives a roll of her eyes with that, hunching her shoulders up a bit as the cold begins to get to her. "Yeah, convert 'em. Feed 'em false information. Turn 'em into Trojan Horses and let 'em go back home… Ain't no shortage of things we can do if we can get 'em figured out." She just nods to the idea of the scouts going out tomorrow. Fine by her.
There's an equal smirk returned from Marrow. Touche. She's just getting over-paranoid in her boredom. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing… just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you. Right? Her hands come out of her pockets for a moment. It's not that she doesn't feel the cold, but she doesn't feel it quiet as acutely as everyone else, or so it seems… or perhaps she merely ignores it or chooses not to let it show that she's cold too often. Rogue would know it's a 'playing tough' thing with her. Won't be long before she starts shivering with all those holes in her coat from the bone swords protruding out of her back. "Yeah, well, guess fer now we shoul' focus on two thin's: catchin' one an' where to put it shoul' we actually manage to catch one," she says, counting off this short list on her fingers. "Maybe I'll pop by Intel in a bit and get them workin' on point number two if ya wanna put out the APB on Peepers around the place. I'll instruct the scouts to watch fer 'em too."
"If nothin' else, it'll keep people from bitchin' about gettin' bored. We'll see how many of 'em actually put their money where their mouth is." Rogue doesn't seem to have faith that too many people will go for it, but hey, it's worth a shot. "Ah'll make sure word gets 'round 'bout the bounty, soon as Ah clear it with the boss. This time of year, Ah hear some people like to buy things for one another; sure some extra money'd help with that." Because Rogue McScrooge pretends not to do Christmas. "Wherever Intel chooses to set up, make sure it's 'bout as far from our base here as can be. But secure. We don't need the little bastard breakin' free and runnin' home to momma."
There's a smirk from the bony one. "Heard a rumour about tha' once. Somethin' about some fat drunk in red pajamas an' some high-on-somethin' deers or somethin'. Real popular with the kids fer some reason." And that's all she's saying about that before she goes all business again. Nodding once, Marrow replies, "Wherever it is, I'll tell them to get it all set up good-like. No scrimpin' on the security an' containment." This isn't just some two-bit mutant who broke protocol and has to spend the night in the brig. This is real life and death — and Marrow is nothing if not serious about that kind of thing. "Alrigh'. Seems we got some stuff to do, so… maybe I'll go do that." And try not to punch holes in the not-so-hired help in the process, no doubt.
"Crazy what folk'll come up with. Like to find out what sorta drugs they were on when they dreamed that one up." Rogue gives her head a little shake, albeit with a subdued smirk all the same. Back to business, her shift isn't quite so sudden. She simply nods in approval as Marrow gets the severity of the situation. "'Kay. Meantime, Ah'll go get a message in for the big man. Ah'll put a posting up in the meetin' hall when we get the go-ahead."
Drugs. Yeah, that's it. Nothing else could explain that much apparent cheer and good will toward others, right? There hasn't been a lot of good will tossed their way as of late from the outside world, so truly, it had to have been the work of drugs. She'll buy that. Or at least be amused by the idea. Nodding once, she finally replies, "Alright. I'll hold off on the Peepers with the scouts till I see the postin'. Gonna go check out the roster list fer now an' see who I can get to volunteer fer tomorrow's run." Volunteer. More like voluntold when it comes from Marrow. With a small salute, she turns around and marches off toward the Intel Center, apparently looking to get them working on things and to pull up a list of candidates. She'll leave Rogue to her piling-up paperwork, it seems.
