Participants:
| Scene Title | Newb |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Meet the new Hound. |
| Date | April 28, 2018 |
The Bunker: Rooftop
The top of the Bunker is a classic industrial roof, a starkly flat expanse with a low rim around its perimeter, vents and comm antennas clustered at points. It is distinctly unconventional, however, in the verdant rooftop garden to which most of the rooftop has been given over. Wooden lattices support tomatoes along both the southern and northern edges, while trellises bedecked with creeping ivy provide shade at appropriate places around the roof. Repurposed metal troughs, painted a matte smoke-gray, serve as raised beds for the growing of a variety of herbs, vegetables, and occasional ornamental flowers.
The centerpiece of the roof, however, is a patio space laid out in zigzags of red and gray brick, partially shaded by ivy during the afternoon. Refurbished wooden tables and a mismatched assortment of chairs dot the space, their placement varying almost daily according to the whims of Wolfhound's members. The grill off to one side sees frequent use, so long as the weather permits, and even occasionally when the weather is not ideal.
So, Felix, though he's only been there a few days, and mostly setting about basic training to make sure he's familiar with the group's equipment and standard procedes, has apparently decided to make a contribution to the rooftop garden/patio.
Namely, he's bought a portable metal firepit, set it up on a pad designed to shield brick and rooftop from stray sparks, and at the moment, is kneeling beside it, getting a fire going. It's the wood burning kind, even - there's a rack of firewood tucked off into a corner, along with the lid designed to cover the firebowl when it's not in use. HE's breathing patiently on kindling, with smaller splits of wood close to hand. Presumably someone used to be a boyscout.
The door to the rooftop swings open for Berlin to make her way out onto it. But instead of doing that, she turns back to look at someone behind her. "Dev, I'm telling you. You can't play card games with Luce. She cheats." She steps to the side, holding the door open for the other Hound. "The scarier she looks, the more she's cheating. You'd do better with Avi."
Her attention turns toward Felix a beat later, her eyebrow raising. "This is the new guy, right?" Says the twenty-year-old. "Do we like the new guy," she asides to Devon.
"I wouldn't put it past Avi to cheat either." Devon's voice echoes out of the hallway before he appears in the doorway. "But Luce? Impossible." Never mind that the subject of the conversation always beats him at cards. He steps out onto the roof and folds his arms behind his head. "She just gets better hands than I do."
When the new guy is pointed out, Dev angles a look at Berlin then over the Felix. He stares at the older man like he's seen a ghost. Someone missed the memo. "…Yes." It's a simple answer, a long time in coming and quietly stated, but with the weight of confidence behind it. "We like the new guy."
Robyn Quinn rarely makes her way up to the roof. She has to make her own contribution, after all - born of reluctance given the nature of her presence in the Bunker, as well the fact that she's not a member of Wolfhound in any real sense. She's not far behind Devon and Berlin, moving as quietly as she can behind them. Why?
"Yes."
She leans over and whispers it between them, almost as if out of nowhere. She may not be immensely well trained in stealth, but well, moving quietly comes a bit naturally when you could at one time turn invisible. A pat on Berlin's shoulder, and she turns her attention to Felix.
She doesn't saw why she thinks this, watching the firepit with curiosity. The bright fire light makes her look away from a moment, the light grey of the fire crackling. She adjusts the band over her eyes, the collar of her black button up shirt.
"Lucille absolutely cheats," she adds after that, looking up to Felix. "Hello, Mr. Ivanov."
He's risen and turned at the sound of footsteps, regarding the trio newly appeared with a mild, curious expression. New guy to them, but in general, with regards to the word and its vagaries, he's clearly far from new.
Old enough to be the father of any one of them, in fact. There's gray in that hair, lines deeply graven around eyes and mouth. "Hi," he says, mildly, taking a pace or two forward, putting out a hand, rather vaguely - to no one of them in particular. Tallish, but not large, lean as a hound himself. "I'm Felix Ivanov," As if they didn't know. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Colette Demsky's uncle, sort of."
Berlin turns to give Devon a look at his comment about Lucille's luck, but before she can form a reply, a Robyn Quinn appears. The girl jumps back with a little yelp before she realizes who it is and lets out a relieved sigh. "Jesus, Robyn," she says through a chuckle, "I'm too young for a heart attack."
It's probably the friendliest she's been since Robyn got here. Certainly the least formal. She didn't even use her title, for once.
"But see, Dev? Her literal job is to watch us, if anyone would know about Luce, it's her." But, since they're all looking at the new guy, she turns that way, too. "Nice to meet you," she says, apparently taking the others at their word as far as liking him, "I'm Berlin Beckett. Wendigo."
A look is given to Robyn, probably just enough to pull him out of his shock of seeing Felix. At least until the older man speaks up. "Dude. You're like a creeper sometimes. Hana should request a bell be put around your neck." It's a joke. Devon is rarely serious in the Bunker, reserving that demeanor for when it's actually needed.
"Devon Clendaniel." Though they'd met years ago, he's not sure how much Felix remembers, given the introduction. They hadn't been that close during those months, either. "We lived in the brick front house together. For a few months. With the Chessmen."
Robyn stands straight, looking back up at Devon. "But then how would I do my job?" A cheshire grin, and she turns her attention back to Felix. "Robyn Quinn," she offers, and before there can be any recognition of or comments about who she might have once been, she adds "SESA, Liaison to Wolfhound." She strides ahead pf the other two, a smirk on her face. "I've heard a lot over the years, Felix. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She glances over at the firepit, and then around to the rest of the garden. "I should really come out here more. But Colette's uncle? Every time I think I've met her entire family…" It grows, and always in unexpected ways. "I guess it makes sense that you found your way here, then." As she approaches, she offers a hand out.
Devon gets a long, thoughtful look from Felix. The little fire's started to crackle in earnest, casting dancing shadows over the patio and it's furniture. "I remember," he says, finally. As if it'd taken both effort and time to dredge up the memory. Maybe that terrible scar on the side of his head is something of an excuse. One hopes. There's a tentative smile. "Glad to see you alive,"
Then he's taking Robin's hand and shaking it, firmly. There're a gunman's calluses on the palm and the webbing between thumb and forefinger. Someone's spent a lot of time on the range. "Adopted, of a sort. You know how it goes," he says, clearly assuming they do. Even as some part of his brain is aghast at how *young* they all look. None of them can be anywhere near thirty, it insists.
His brain is at least partly right, as Berlin makes her way over with a bit of a spring in her step and everything. "Someone should tell Colette, Hana said no to the recruitment bonus," she says with a grin. As if this would be the only reason she would drag family into this madhouse.
"Did she put you on Rue's team?" It's a logical guess, given that it has the fewest members. "Did you meet Dearing? Did you meet anybody or did she and Avi just toss you in here and wish you the best?"
"Likewise." Devon allows himself to grin at the other man. He hadn't missed the scars or the wrinkles; everyone ages and he's got his own war wounds, so he understands the haziness of the memories. "Oh man. I thought… When we left… I didn't…" He shifts a glance to Berlin, like he might want to explain something. Whatever it is, it's apparently going to wait because he looks at Felix again. There isn't much to say there, either, right now.
"I gotta make a phone call." Dev latches onto that plan, even solidifying it with a nod. "We… I have cookies from… And we should catch up." That's directed at Felix, though he turns to go back through the door and into the Bunker. "Later. There's… Phone call. I need to make one."
"Adopted. Primal," Robyn remarks, her smile gneuine - perhaps the most so that Berlin, at least, has ever seen. She, admittedly, was curious what team the vetren had been put on herself, but well- they'll see, won't they.
"Thrown to the wolves," Robyn offers. "Not sure Avi works any other way." She glances over to Berlin, the light from the firepit illuminating her eyepatch and facial scar. "You should know that by now Berlin." Teasing, of course.
As Devon leaves, she looks back to Felix and crosses her arms. "So the Chessmen. Ygraine FitzRoy's outfit?" She thinks that's how she remembers it, anyway.
"As far as I'm aware, no formal team assignment yet," Fel offers. A grin at that quip about Colette. "And no, I haven't really met anyone. I've been doing some individual evaluations, testing, stuff like that. Making sure I'm okay medically, making sure using my ability with standard issue gear won't destroy it," he explains.
A wave for Devon. "Sure," he says. Patient - he's used to waiting. And more time will let him try and sieve through his memories and come up with more of Devon. Surely there's more for him to remember, right?
He nods at Robyn, but doesn't seem terribly put upon. "I remember a little of them," he says, mildly. Turning back to tend the fire - adding more bits of wood, and angling towards one of the chairs he's pulled around it. Clearly an unspoken invitation.
As Devon starts to make his exit, Berlin gives him a curious look, eyebrows lifting as she watches him go. Then she looks back to the others, still baffled. "Someone tell him to switch to decaf," she says dryly.
Her smile turns crooked at Robyn's use of the slang— or maybe at seeing her actually smile. "Damnit, you're right," she says, of Avi, "I sometimes forget because he actually likes me. He usually gives me a headsup before he throws me at them." Usually. And she is right, because poor Felix didn't exactly get introduced around. Maybe Hana wanted to leave him with a good impression before letting him see the Hounds themselves.
At the invitation, Berlin grabs a chair and pulls it over to plop down in. "Well, now you've met us, so that's something. What's your… I dunno, specialty? Wendigo, we're usually stealth. Amarok charges in and usually blows something up. Keelut is intel."
At the invitation, Robyn offers Felix that same smile, and the slight incline of her head. Her inclination is to stand, but she knows better than to be rude, so with only a slight hesitation, she pulls out the seat and lowers herself down into it, legs crossed and hands folded into her lap.
A bit of a chuckle is offered to Berlin. "Wasting no time with the interrogation, then. Thought the interviews were my job." Her fingers drum slightly, head canting to the side a bit as she regards Felix. "Well, I guess it's nor my place, but still. Welcome to Wolfhound, Felix."
Let us begin the sniffing of noses, as it were. The interrogation, such as it is, seems to cause no offense. Fel's not disposed to play up to the crusty old veteran as trope or stereotype. War has robbed so very many of their youth, after all.
He slouches down in the chair, a bit, pale eyes catching the firelight. "Thank you," He says, gravely. "Specialty….my ability, I'm a speedster. Mostly short burst hyper-reflexes. I was a cop and an FBI agent, part of FRONTLINE when it was active. I don't know where they'll put me. I was just kind of recon or irregular infantry, during the war."
"It's not an interrogation, it's just… normal… bounty hunter conversation." Gawd, Robyn. Berlin looks over at the SESA agent, her expression breaking into a more sheepish smile before she looks back to Felix. "Sorry, I guess that was kind of a lot."
But he answers and she leans forward to put her elbows on her knees as she listens. "That's freakin' cool," she says, of his ability. "We can always use more recon. The more we know before going in and all that. FRONTLINE— that must of have been a trip. We have some pretty cool armor here, too, though. It'll probably feel weirdly familiar."
Robyn simply offers a shrug to Berlin. "Was going to happen at some point," she offers simply, her smile starting to slip a little bit. "FRONTLINE. That's right. It's been a long time since I ever thought about them." She leans back a bit. "Many in my place back then were resentful of FRONTLINE. Never understood why. Tools of the government and that nonsense, but…"
She lets out a slight sigh. "The best of them fought for us. Died for us." A solemn moment, which she lets pass with a bit of a laugh at BErlin. "Recon. February's team, then." Her lips slip back into a bit of a thin smile. "She does her job well. I think you'll do well with her."
"It seemed like the right idea at the time," Fel's voice is wistful, rather than defensive. "Yeah. It was weird, doing it armored. It's the only time I've had gear that could stand up to what I had to do to use it while I was at full stretch. I've been doing some trial stuff with what I'm told is standard issue in terms of weaponry, but….no armor. I'd be eager to see it."
Fel's relaxed, sitting back in his chair, glancing to each of them in turn. His expression in repose is a kind of guarded somberness. "I look forward to meeting her. I don't think I have, as yet."
On the subject of FRONTLINE's politics, Berlin is pretty much silent. She didn't live it the way the two of them did, after all. Instead, she tilts her head and listens, a curious look turned on Robyn mostly. As one might look at a puzzle with too many pieces.
But Felix gets her to perk up some and she nods, "Our armor is pretty good. Saved my life on our last mission. I took about twenty bullets," she says, a gesture to her shoulder as if to point out where, "walked away with some brusies. Way better than bullet holes."
"That," Robyn notes quirks a quirk of her visible eye, "was honestly very impressive," she remarks of the relative little damange Berlin came out of Operation Skycastle with. "I never saw the Horizon armor in action myself, but… the AEGIS line is nothing to discount."
"Rue is…" Her expression brightens up the slightest bit, but she abruptly stops, pausing as she looks over to Berlin sheepishly. "Well. I suppose someone actually in the unit would be better suited to tell you about her. You'll be in good hands with her though." She taps a finger on her knee. "How fast, if you don't mind me asking?"
That comment of Berlin's makes a gleam of amusement appear. "I agree," he says, with a sudden, wolfish grin. His mouth's a bit too broad for his jaw, it seems. "I've been shot enough that I'll take bruises over it every time. Sounds like a fun mission. Whom were you pursuing?" Of course even a hint of the hunt is enough to make even that old dog sit up and wag his tail hopefully.
"The armor was amazing. They had to do an entirely custom set for me - the usual stuff, I'd literally shake it to death, run right out of it." A hint of enthusiasm there, a crack in the shell. "In short bursts, close to about two hundred and twenty miles per hour."
Berlin looks over to Robyn, nodding a few times. "Yeah, it was. Kind of the only good thing to come out of that mission, really. But it's nice to know for sure the AEGIS can take consentrated rapid fire." She hadn't had to test the limits of its protection before then. "It was blaring in my ear, but it held."
She's probably a little to excited about that part. Oh well.
"One of the remnants. Donna Dunlap. Still at large, unfortunately. We got someone else in her place." No comment is made on Lauren Gilmore, though. "So we're still hunting her." Always more to do around here, at least. There's a blink in Felix's direction when he mentions his experience with HORIZON. And then, a laugh. "Oh my god, you ran right out of it."
"A partial success," Robyn notes with a glance over towards Berlin, "is still a success. Suboptimal, but still noteworthy." She lets a small sigh slip out as she shakes her head. "That said, that Dunlap slipped by was a disappointment for all involved." Which is to say, SESA wasn't thrilled either - after all, having Dunlap in anyone custody would've been a bit win.
"Gosh." Robyn seems genuinely impressed, though. "That is… no wonder you shredded your armour." A hand moves to her chin, considering for a moment. "I don't know the physics of friction so well, at least AEGIS is a smaller unit." She gives a bit of a nod. "But still, that must have been a sight.
He lifts his hands, nodding. "Yeah. Even before they got me into the first prototype, I was arguing with 'em about it. We had one engineer who was sure we could just jury-rig something that'd work, with a few modifications to the joints. Nope. I slagged it in the first use. At least a million bucks, down the drain." He's not boasting, not by his tone. Just still bemused.
Then he shrugs. "Well, at least I didn't get here just to find you guys were on the verge of wrapping things up. And for the armor - my bet is something pretty loose and lightweight. Reinforced plate carries were what I used during the war - just old Enduring Freedom surplus, stuff like that."
Berlin looks over at Robyn and seesaws her hand. She's not sold on the idea of partial success. "Big disappointment. We'll get her next time." To Felix, she shakes her head. "Still plenty to do. We're not wrapping up anything."
She sounds certain there, but more because she doesn't want Wolfhound to go anywhere than because she actually knows.
"We'll figure the armor out. Some test runs, see how things shake out." Hopefully not in pieces. But you never know.
"Learn to take what you can get," Robyn remarks to Berlin, frowning a bit. "Nothing is ever perfect." Skycastle certainly hasn't been. It wasn't the success they wanted, but to Robyn it was still a success, and that was what she had told SESA in her debrief and after action reports.
She sots there for a moment, before rising back up from her seat, pointedly averting her eyes from the fire. The SESA agent looks over to Felix, offering an apologetic incline of her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Felix. I don't think I mentioned it, but though I work for SESA, I live on site. My office is near Hana's, if you have need of me. For now, though?" She stretching, yawning. "I think I may go nap, of all things."