Participants:
| Scene Title | Just Another Day |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Buck and Kailin run into one of the daily dangers of being on Staten Island and deal with it. |
| Date | June 6, 2009 |
The coast of Staten Island is as much of a presence as its inland, with rivers that invade right into its heart as well as cutting off the circulation of transport from the rest of New York City. The coastal regions reflect a lot of this borough's rural nature, with rough shores and plantlife, broken brick, and general abandonment. The harbors are left to the devices of those that freely come and go, a conspicuous lack of official presence - a number of them notably overrun by the developing crime syndicate, but there are still quite a few, particularly on the coasts nearest to Brooklyn and Manhattan, that are accessible to the lawful public.
The Coast has its share of activity as midnight approaches, people moving here and there with boats moving through the water in different directions - most with very few lights on to avoid attention. In the night, Kailin stands at the end of one of the streets leading back into the inland of the city where it is much more lively and active. He's got his hands tucked into his pants pockets just watching things move through the darkness. The light from the full moon gives things a bit more clarity, but not much more and Staten Island remains cast in a pall of shadows.
Being more familiar with the reputation of Staten Island these days, Buck has come a bit more prepared. He's dressed the same as always, of course, as he gets off the boat from Brooklyn, but he's got a pistol tucked in his waistband, which is new and different. But probably not inadvisable, in Staten Island at night. He adjusts his hat, smiling hopefully as he strikes off in what he hopes he remembers is the direction of the bar.
Recognizing people in the dark isn't all that easy, but a cowboy hat in New York City certainly makes it much more likely. Kailin spots the man in the hat and gives him a glance in the darkness, studying for several seconds before confirming that it is the Texan he met. "Hey!" He gives a shout towards buck and waves a hand widely to indicate his location. "Buck. What's up man? What ar you doing back over here? Too dreary in the city?"
Buck turns, a little surprised, but he grins wildly, striking out from the crowd in Kailin's direction. "Hey…" he has to think a moment about the name, "Kevin! How the hell you doin'?" When he gets close enough, he reaches out to give a rough handshake. "You know, it's damn expensive over there. I'm runnin' low on cash…"
Kailin nods to Buck as he shakes the man's hand. "I'm doing okay. Been absent for a while, but you know how things go." He chuckles lightly at his comment about the city being expensive. "Yeah, it can get that way. Did you get a job yet?" He motions towards the inland and says, "I think Linda's still hiring, but I haven't seen her in a while. I hope she didn't get caught up in something and meet an untimely end."
"Naw," Buck answers with the ghost of a frown. "I might hafta take some bouncer job 'r somethin' till I c'n get on my feet. City prices're steeper 'n I thought. But hell, lemme buy you a drink, man. What's a good place 'round here?"
Kailin shrugs and says, "Any place is as good as the next around here, really. I mean, as long as you're actually gonna come over here." He waves a hand dismissively. "The only differences are in the enemies you make and where they are most likely to find you." He smiles again, his eyes narrowing to slits as a stranger approaches from the docks. Kailin turns towards him as the man extends an empty hand. "Hey, man… You guys got some change to spare? I just need to get some bread. Its for my kids, man."
"Only enemy I got's a terrorist," Buck says, smiling a little, But when the stranger approaches, Buck frowns a little. "For yer kids, huh?" he asks, utterly without sarcasm. Buck's a pushover. He puts his hand in his front pants pocket to find a couple coins which he will offer over.
Kailin just shakes his head and replies, "I got nothing for you. Sorry." He looks from the man to Buck and back again. The man looks at the coins with a confused look which slowly shifts to angry. "What the fuck is this, man? How am I supposed to feed my kids on this?" The smell of alcholol on his breath wafts more clearly as he begins projecting his voice. "When I said change, I didn't mean some coins. Its just an expression. Give me a few dollars, man."
Buck frowns a little when the man rejects his attempt at charity so rudely. "Well, that's all I c'n spare right now," Buck drawls. "I ain't workin' right now, so I'm sorry, but that's all I got t' give."
The man looks at the change and then to Kailin. "And you, man. That fucking jacket could pay for my food for a month." The man's other hand comes up and it holds a small knife with a blade of about four inches reflects the small bit of light coming from the full moon. "Why don't we just settle this with wallets and call it even. And don't try anything stupid…" he arm whips through a series of passing cuts with his knife at superhuman speeds. "I'll stick you, gut you and cut you before you can even think twice." Kailin raises an eyebrow at the display. He looks to Buck, then looks back towards the man. "Okay… You want my wallet…" His arm slowly moves to push aside his jacket and go behind his back.
Buck is a little taken aback by their assailant's speed. In fact, he even takes a step back, although he does not flee. "Now, I ain't in much better shape th'n you, mister," Buck says with a reproachful look, slowly reaching toward his back pocket with his left hand as his right reaches up to pat the front pocket of his shirt.
Kailin slowly brings his hand back out, but instead of a wallet is a knife. "So you want your kids to be able to eat. Take them to the soup kitchens…" The knife in Kailin's hand isn't what he wants to see and his face turns into a snarl. "Big mistake. But don't worry, I can cut around the jacket and sell it." He steps forward and his arm comes at Kailin in a slow, clumsy stab, which Kailin just steps back from. And the snarl on the mugger's face turns instead to a look of confusion as he stumbles to the side a little bit, expecting to be faster.
Fortunately, with Kailin distracting the mugger and his slashing slowed, Buck has time to move his hand from his front pocket to the Beretta in his waistband. He pulls it out and points it at the mugger, handling the weapon quite professionally. "Stand down, fella," he advises, expression grim.
"Oh snap." Kailin smirks slightly at the mugger as he is still both confused and surprised. "Looks like you brought a knife to a gun fight." Kailin flips the knife in his hand around, holding it in a reverse grip, letting the blade disappear along his forearm. The mugger is stunned to inaction and he backs away slowly, confused and obviously scared. He whips his arm back and forth, but only after he is out of range of the two men he tried to rob, hoping his speed will come back to him.
It does not.
Buck keeps the gun trained on the guy until he backs off quite significantly. But he does offer a glance to Kailin, smiling. "Hey, you saved m' wallet, there," he says. "Now I really gotta give you a drink."
The man stops backing away about a hundred feet from them, still trying to figure out what is wrong with him. Kailin look towards Buck and shrugs as his hand goes back behind his back, sliding his knife away. "Me? What did I do? You're the one with the gun." Kailin looks back towards the mugger and his hand swings out again the knife replaced with a 9mm. "But. You got evolved people running around trying to stab people for money. That's not cool at all… See, this is the problem with evolved. When they aren't responsible with their powers they are a danger to everyone…"
"Yeah," Buck says, "But I wasn't so sure I could pull it on 'im, he w's so damn fast," Buck says. "Once you had the knife on 'im, I knew it'd be all right," he explains. "Yeah, I reckon it's a big danger. What percent o' th' population y' think they are? Maybe if we c'd isolate 'em, they'd be less trouble."
Kailin shakes his head to Buck. "Not sure. With so many in hiding it is almost impossible to get a decent estimation. Like illegal immigration. But it isn't everyone that is bad. Just the ones that use their powers to do things like try to kill people for a meal." He raises the gun and fires off three quick shots that catch the mugger center mass, dropping him immediately to the ground. Kailin looks back towards Buck. "He could have used those powers to save lives. Instead he kills."
Buck lifts his brows as he watches Kailin shoot the guy who had ceased to be a threat to them. He is perhaps a little surprised, but he doesn't react with horror. He puts his gun back in his belt. "Damn shame," he agrees. "Somebody's gotta clean this mess up. They oughta put the National Guard up here."
"They oughta do a lot of things over here on this island, but everyone's written this place off." Kailin puts his gun away too, sliding it back into the small of his back. "But I suppose there is a reason for that. And whatever it is, we all have to live in the reality of the now, not the visions of the future." He motions his head towards the inland of the island. "So how about that drink? We probably don't want to be standing around here for too long."
"Well, it's stupid as hell," Buck complains, but he nods. "Yeah, let's duck into a bar 'r somethin'," he agrees, striking off at a good pace in any old direction at all that's away from the dead body.
Kailin follows along, making his way in towards the bars. "I used to think about the sense of it all, then I realized that very little around here made sense. So I just stopped thinking about it. I do what I'm supposed to do, when I'm supposed to do it and try not to look back." He smiles at the guy next to him, but it is a faint, hollow smile. Kailin pulls his jacket around him a little more as he continues on. Bag and tag. Body bag. Toe tag. Check and check.