|
Post by Scorpio on Mar 8, 2010 19:43:23 GMT -5
Joe accepted the keys from the general whilst trying to stammer out a response at the same time, though he gave up when the officer had left the room. Following Andreya and Thornton to the front desk they signed the release forms and the papers to get their weapons back, Joes knife and Thorntons guns. The group made their way out through a parking area exit, Joe taking some time to match up the label on the keychain to the humvee that had been left for them.
"I should probably confess.." He helped the two into the vehicle and loaded their gear and bags. "This would be my first time driving a military vehicle, or indeed any vehicle."
He reluctantly moved into the drivers seat, Shocks still managing to keep balance whilst he started the engine and pulled out slowly. Occasionally he would pull over and turn off the ignition to read a GPS map on the dashboard, starting up again to move another distance before repeating the process to double check the route. Eventually he gained enough attention for an MP to pull them over.
"Sir, care to explain why you've been seen driving slowly around the base and stopping at secured areas?" As the MP looked through the window, he was slightly baffled by the driver. "....Is that a cat on your head?"
"Yes sir, that would be Shocks, just holding for Miss Andreya. and I'm sorry, I seem to be driving unlicensed at this time and am willing to turn myself in."
The soldier waved them on, deciding that it would be too much of a headache trying to report this in, especially if it turned out to be some kind of prank, or hazing ritual among a special forces group. Finally the humvee pulled up in the parking area near the housing section of the base, Joe carefully checking the vehicle over before carrying the bags.
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Mar 14, 2010 8:20:40 GMT -5
“That’s fine. Most of the time I drive I get into accidents.” Thorton said when Joe confessed he had never driven before. Never mind that ninety percent of his driving was done in active hot zones and often times intentional, but that was beside the point. He sighed when the MP pulled them over, fishing for his military ID card as the MP came over to the driver’s side window. After the MP noticed the cat, Thorton held up the card. It marked him as much higher a rank, and the MP waved them on.
“You’d be a helluva school bus driver.” Thorton said over the roof of the hummer as he opened the back door and gently took a hold of Andreya’s arm, almost carrying her out of the high sitting vehicle. He walked even with Joe as they made their way to the apartment.
“All the kids would be late for school, but they’d be safe.” He added, looking over at Joe with a grin. Thorton pushed open the door and sighed when he saw the state of the place. Pretty much destroyed.
“This is going to be fun…” He said sarcastically, moving to the couch and letting Andreya take a seat. He took a seat next to her and motioned to the chair for Joe. De’ja vu…
|
|
|
Post by Reaper on Mar 16, 2010 21:08:15 GMT -5
Andreya yawned slightly as she looked up at Joe and Shocks who was just waking up herself. She climbed down off his head and made her way to the floor. From there she started to prowl her territory looking for her own food. Andreya smiled lightly as she still looked at Joe. "She really likes you," she said lightly. "I'm sorry I've caused so much problems. It's just every time it seems like life gets back to normal, or in my case better, everything starts to fall apart.
She laid her head down on the arm of the sofa, and brought her knees up curling up into a ball on the sofa. "I just want to be happy," she mumbled slightly. She closed her eyes, and nuzzled her head on the arm. "Thorton makes me happy," she said with a whisper. Yawning again before she feel silent where she laid. Her body shivering on occasion from the medication that coursed threw her body.
|
|
|
Post by Scorpio on Mar 22, 2010 20:59:15 GMT -5
Joe kinda hung his head when Thornton saw the damage that had been done during the break in and subsequent fight. The door had been broken out of the frame and the shelves had been tipped over another asailant who wasn't too careful about getting back up. Despite the situation calling for it at the time he was ashamed at himself for damaging the home of the people who had invited him in the first place.
"Well, at least they didn't take anything with them."
He lifted the door back into the frame, using his knife as a rudimentary screwdriver to reattach the hinges. The dent from it impacting one of the mercenaries on the face would need repaired, thankfully he hadn't broken all the way through. The security chain also needed replaced. For now they could at least close up at nights. Next he got to putting the shelves back in place, gathering all the items and trying to restock them from memory, some of the photo frames had the glass broken, he'd replace that in time, for now he set them up carefully and gathered the broken shards thoroughly in case someone did themselves injury.
"If you can tell me what needs replacing I'll go out and buy it when I go for supplies. I should have asked them to step outside before I started fighting, sorry."
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Mar 26, 2010 4:27:43 GMT -5
“Somehow I don’t think they’d have listened.” Thorton said, easing up to avoid waking up Andreya. He laid her against a pillow and moved to start picking things up.
“Their always an inconsiderate bunch, people bent on killing you.” He said jokingly as he bent down to lift another shelf and set it flush against the wall. “I’d always figured on doing some deep cleaning. Unscrewing fixtures and such. Guess now’s as good a time as any.” He said. He looked around and smirked.
“Ok… maybe tomorrow.” He said. He looked over at Joe and shook his head. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll get to it tomorrow. Probably a bad idea for you to be out and about, all them drugs they shot into you.” He said. Probably a good idea for them all to lay down and get some rest, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Joe and he would end up cleaning this place from top to bottom. Salvaging what they could, junking the rest. Making a list of things needed. Probably wait until tomorrow to go. Thorton wanted Andreya to get her rest, and he didn’t want to leave her here. And Joe… He was a great guy, but Thorton could foresee a hundred different ways Joe could get into trouble. Nothing to do with going out to a store, but walking around a military base with no real identification and no record. They’d red flag him quicker than s***.
They kept working, trying to get the apartment back in order. It hadn’t been all that bad, the mess. And the damage was limited. One trip to the hardware store would fix everything. That and a bit of elbow grease. When they got things shaped up, Thorton went to the fridge and pulled out two cans of cola, handing one to Joe and popping the other open. He took a seat and leaned back, looking around. Didn’t look as bad as it had…
|
|
|
Post by Reaper on Mar 29, 2010 23:09:54 GMT -5
Andreya shifted on the sofa and after a bit let out a small cry before her eyes shot open. She looked around the room and sighed a bit when she seen Joe and Thorton sitting down. She laid her head back down on the arm rest and closed her eyes for a little longer. After a bit she was satisfied that she wasn't going to fall back to sleep she pushed herself up into a sitting position, and looked around the room again. "I'm sorry," she said lightly. She let out a soft sigh before pulling her knees up to her chest. "I caused so much problems. I wish they would just leave me alone. I just want to disappear with you," she said as she looked up to Thorton.
|
|
|
Post by Scorpio on Apr 1, 2010 11:05:04 GMT -5
"I should probably meet up with a local chapter soonish and stay with them maybe, keep the risk of fights in your home down as much as I can."
He accepted the can when they finished, thanking Thornton and taking a seat on the floor. As he drank he studied the ingredients listing on the can, wondering if the caffeine and sugar would cause any ill effects, wouldn't be fun being on a rush whilst trying to get some meditation or exercise done. When Andreya woke he listened to her concerns some.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are they after you? I don't know much about these organised criminal groups but they're putting a lot of effort and resources into these actions with no real benefit or profit for themselves. Perhaps if that could be explained to them a truce could be made?"
Still missing his own naiveity.
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Apr 10, 2010 10:02:44 GMT -5
“They don’t work that way.” Thorton said simply. “For them, it isn’t a matter of money, of men, resources. Its revenge, honor if they ever knew the meaning of the word. They’ll never stop as long as someone’s breathing.” He told Joe. It’d been years, and they’d lost more men and money than Thorton figured they cared to think about. Each death that they suffered only drove them on, only fueled the fire. A catch 22 if there ever was such a thing.
“We shouldn’t keep you.” He said, looking up, changing the subject suddenly. He didn’t like talking about it. It reminded him of a lot of things. Friends lost, people dead, blood on his hands…
“You should go meet your friend. Anything happens, you always have somewhere to come.” He said, holding out his arm and motioning to the room around them.
|
|
|
Post by Reaper on Apr 14, 2010 22:01:11 GMT -5
Andreya looked up at Thorton as he shook Joe's hand. A string of guilt washed over her and she knew where it was coming from. She quickly looked away realizing how much she was hurting the one person who meant the world to her. The longer she kept her mouth shut about the situation the longer it would go on, and eventually she would lose Thorton. She looked up at Joe as he kept his eye contact with Thorton. He was a man of his word a man with courage and nobility. There short time together she had seen everything, and even he had risked everything to save her.
She cleared her throat a bit and looked down at Shocks who seemed to be making her own good byes with Joe. "I-" she paused at the words before looking around for the courage to say them. Joe's question about the Irish Mafia made her want to tell but she didn't know how Thorton would react. She was almost scared that he would get rid of her if he knew the truth. She was terrified back then that he wouldn't adopt her if he knew the truth. All these years and it was the only secret she had kept from him. He had put up with so much, and she felt like this would have put the water over the damn.
Andreya felt a wave of tears streaming down her cheeks as she thought of it. She couldn't imagine going back to a life without Thorton. It was a lonely and painful life, a cold and hungry life that she didn't love. "I . . ." she began again but fell silent. She was terrified that she would lose him when she told him the truth, but her fear of losing him to her family was even stronger. If she told him and he kicked her out, at least he would be safe from her family and she wouldn't lose him. "I . . . I have a chip in my head," she spoke softly almost a whisper. She felt the tears even more. "I- I'm so sorry," she quickly added. "I didn't want to tell you . . . I don't want to leave . . . please," she pleaded as she tried to look at him with terrified eyes. "Please . . . I'm sorry, please don't make me leave," she begged.
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on May 8, 2010 5:01:53 GMT -5
Days fell off the calendar as the trio recovered from their string of injuries. Joe had been welcome to stay, and did some nights. Others, he was out. Where, Thorton had no idea. He assumed to visit the other monks of his order in the area. He hadn’t received a phone call to come and pick up a very intoxicated Joe at a bar, so he had to assume nothing bad happened.
It was weeks later, and the healing processes were near complete. Cuts, broken bones, bruises, gunshots all healed with time. Andreya was back to optimal health, as optimal as she could be, back up to date with her medications. It would only be a matter of time before something went wrong, but for now they enjoyed the time. Today was a rather good day. Thorton woke early, as usual, and was moving around long before Andreya woke. He stepped out the front door and sat at a plastic patio chair in his pajamas, putting a cigar to his lips and lighting it with a match. It’d been quite some time since he’d been able to sit down and have a cigar. It was nice. He felt like he was getting a glimpse of retirement, and he liked it.
He'd had a lot of time to think. Think about what Andreya had told him those weeks ago. He wasn't mad. He could never be mad at her. He understood why she hadn't told him. The same reason she had kept other things from him. Sheer terror. Terror that she might be abandoned, the concept of self preservation held higher than her. He didn't care. She was still his daughter, he still loved her more than anything. And he wouldn't abandon her while he was still alive.
|
|
|
Post by Scorpio on May 9, 2010 14:52:45 GMT -5
During the recovery period, Joe had been staying with Izo, an elderly member of the order who owned a small row of establishments at a waterfront area, using them as halfway houses, diners, bars, supply stores and even a MASH unit to help out soldiers who couldn't wait to get back to their base hospital. Other monks staying with him helped out, as did any passing through or needing temporary living areas like Joe. Between working and his own personal time he visited Thornton and Andreya at the army base, still having his pass papers and the guards becoming more accustomed to his eccentricies. Over the past few days he'd finished up repairing the fighting damage he'd done to the housing areas, reattaching the door and making a new set of shelves among other little things.
Today he was visiting to drop off a few groceries he'd picked up, food, a few cat toys and a few gifts he'd picked up for everyone (ooc: pick what you think would be apt, I'm drawing a blank for some reason). He saw Thornton on the patio as he rounded the corner.
"Morning Mister Thornton, hope you've been well. Picked up a few things you seemed to be short on, hope it wasn't presumptuous." He opened the top of the bag to show what he'd bought. "Has Andreya's recovery been going okay? She was looking forward to the training she was asking about last week."
|
|
|
Post by Reaper on May 9, 2010 19:50:28 GMT -5
Andreya yawned and rubbed her eyes as she walked into the living room. Shocks was pratically on her feet as she followed with her own yawn. When she felt the breeze from the balcony she looked over to see Joe and Thorton standing outside. She smiled lightly as she walked over to lean against the door. She yawned again and looked around the bright morning. The air felt good and the slight breeze made it feel even better. It was one of those days that would make a perfict beach trip. Shocks sniffed the air before walking back into the apartment, and over to her food and water. She let off a small 'meow' before disappearing around the corner.
"Hey Joe," she said lightly as she finally decided to talk. "It's a nice morning. Probably a good day to go to the beach," she mentioned as she motioned out to the ocean that could barly be seen over the buildings. She looked around before looking back at Thorton. "What do you say? It's been a while since we've actually went swimming or just went to play in the water."
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on May 15, 2010 10:50:36 GMT -5
“If you think your up to it.” Thorton said to Andreya, looking at the now stubbed out cigar to see if it was all the way out. He’d waved to Joe, chuckled when he saw the bag of groceries. They hadn’t been able to go to the store lately, stayed around the house to recover.
“Thanks Joe. You’re a life saver.” He said. He looked up at Andreya and smiled. “If you want to go, why are you standing around?” He said with a laugh in his voice.
|
|
|
Post by Scorpio on May 17, 2010 12:02:15 GMT -5
"Morning Miss Andreya, you're looking well today."
Joe offered to leave the groceries in whilst her and Thornton talked, finding his way into the kitchen and packing the various items away in the cupboards, fridge and freezer. He set the back on the floor as he worked.
"Okay that seems about it." He checked around in the bag just in case, bumping into something furry. "What the?"
Shocks poked out, having torn through the bottom of the bag to crawl inside.
"Hmm, getting a little deja vu, maybe you could come with next time if you like playing with the paper bag so much."
|
|
|
Post by Reaper on May 17, 2010 20:26:41 GMT -5
Andreya walked into the kitchen as she heard Joe talking to Shocks. She smiled lightly as she wrapped her towel around her arms. "She really seems to take a liking to you. I guess that's why she originally found you," she said with a smile. She looked back at Thorton and smiled. "I'll get the food," she said as she walked back into the kitchen. She gathered up some supplies for sandwiches and a few other things they would want. She walked out of the kitchen with Joe and Shocks following.
"No no," she said lightly as she picked up Shocks and set her on the sofa. "You stay here. We'll be back later." She kissed her head and followed the others out of the apartment watching Thorton lock it behind them. She smiled as she skipped down the stairs and to the vehicle they had waiting for them. She threw the food into the trunk and climbed into the back. Waiting for the others as they put everything in the car as well. In a few moments they were on their way to the beach.
|
|