[Crossbow]

O’Conner

Consciousness returns in a flash, the nightmare of burning gone, leaving only a sweat soaked sheet to usher in the new nightmare. 

Every nerve felt raw, and itchy but not painful, he moved to scratch, but found himself restrained, hands, feet, chest, and head.  This was not new to his memory, but the maddening sensations that went with the restraints were horrible.  He finally screamed and found the next problem, a mask covering his nose and mouth, pumping his lungs with something he had very little of in his life, clean air.

His eyes told him he was in the cleanest room he had ever seen and in a clear tent of some kind.  What seemed like years passed, but it was probably a minute before a woman came in noticed him awake and sent him back to oblivion.

When he comes to the next time, there is a doctor waiting, the mask is removed and he can speak.

Snow

She comes to in a similar room though the treatment is intravenous pain killers and she is not alone.  Crenshaw is there holding her hand, and it doesn’t look like he has moved far from that spot for days.

Sammy

She returns home after departing from the airport, her ‘big sister sense’ telling her to make her return a surprise.  She is the one surprised to find Marcus asleep on a school day entwined in sheets on her couch with a human female.

Torley and Clementine both return to a normal home life and can begin to decompress, re-equip and plan as normal.
 

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor had never dealt with confinement well, even less so after prison. He immediately began fighting against the restraints, yelling as loudly and hatefully as possible. He fixed the doctor before him with a stare of loathing, "You can either untie me, or I can free myself. Option two is really not in your best interest."

[Crossbow]

The doctor looks at you like something he would prefer to scrape off his shoe.

"The restraints are for your protection, your new skin is very delicate, you could easily damage it in your sleep.  I will explain your condition, and then I can try to make you more comfortable."

He holds up a mirror, the pink, hairless and inkless reflection is a stranger to him.  "You lost 85% of your surface skin, you are very susceptible to infection at the moment, but you can have visitors in a day or two.  Your friend is recovering in the next room, the GSW was very severe, but since we were able to make full use of our capabilities, unlike in your case, she was never really in danger."

"I have been told to let you know that as an independent contractor for our parent corp you are not going to be charged for any of your care, but we are fully within our purview to remove you from the premises if you give us any trouble, so I would suggest you be on your best behavior with our staff and facilities."

"There is an audio controlled public comms unit that the nurse will walk you through, if you have any questions about your care, keep them to yourself, we know what we are doing."

"That should just about cover it, and I have 1300 tee time at the Renton Greens so...." He gives the smallest possible hesitation before heading for the door.

[Necrogigas]

After getting a look at himself, O'Connor was torn. Every animalistic instinct in his body told him to get free. He was vulnerable, and at any moment someone was going to come through that door with less than friendly intentions. The much smaller rational part of his mind told him to calm down and play nice with Dr. Prick. He'd seen people die from infected burns, it was a nasty way to bite the dust. Neither death appealed to him, but a slow death by infection less so. He forced himself to stop struggling against the restraints, but it was a near thing. His whole body seethed at being restrained as he stared down the doctor with baleful eyes. He spoke through grinding teeth, "I didn't get your name." His voice and body language promised great retribution.

[Crossbow]

The man stopped and looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing for a second.  "I didn't offer it either, but it's Doctor Marion Wilcox, in case you want to tell your friends who saved your life."  He marched out, shouting a nurse to come deal with him.  A pretty little Asian scurries in to show him how to use the basics of the comm system, which includes lots of vanilla entertainment options and a voice only phone connection.

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor continued to stare daggers into the man as he exited the room, *Why do frag faces like that always have to be volunteering for my drek list.* The nurse was easy enough on the eyes that he tapered his fury to the best of his ability. Being restrained like an animal and left rather vulnerable to attack made that rather difficult. He took several deep breaths in an attempt stop himself from lashing out at the woman, "I need to know where I am, where my gear is, and what happened to the rest of my crew."

[HydroRaven]

Out of the airport and glad to be back in rainy, slimy Seattle, Clem waved the other two runners off as she took her bike from long-term parking back home. On the road, the ork decided to call back the armourer and schedule her appointment for her new shotgun.

At her apartment complex, the ork felt the sight of the joygirls both refreshing and inviting at the same time. She knew what to expect with the bunraku parlour next door, which was more than she could say about the eccentric types she had met in LA. Once inside her apartment, she double-checked her accounts to make sure the payday had come through. After brewing herself a cup of soykaf, Clem decided to place a call to the contact she had received on her last run. She felt now was the time to take the next leap, and knew this procedure would put her one step ahead of most others on the street.

[Crossbow]

He took several deep breaths in an attempt stop himself from lashing out at the woman, "I need to know where I am, where my gear is, and what happened to the rest of my crew."

The nurse looked sympathetic as she halted her spiel about the Matrix accessibility. "I am sorry about Dr Wilcox, he really is a brilliant physician, but your presence here has struck a bit of a nerve, you and your friend are not our usual clientele.  You are at the Blue Sky Clinic on Lake Washington, but I really don't know the answers to your other questions beyond your pale friend, who is recovering in another part of the clinic but is not awake yet."

[farothel]

Sammy

She returns home after departing from the airport, her ‘big sister sense’ telling her to make her return a surprise.  She is the one surprised to find Marcus asleep on a school day entwined in sheets on her couch with a human female.

Sammy sighed when she saw the scene.  She could have known, but she didn't need this right now.  She just wanted to visit a doctor and have a rest, but clearly that had to wait.  She opened the door again and slammed it shut, waking both teenagers.
"You," she said, pointing at the girl, "get dressed and then get out of my appartment."
She stressed the 'my' a bit.
"And we," she added, adressing Marcus, "are going to have a long talk about this."

[Mercy Merchant]

Snow fades in and out of consciousness several times.  She recognizes that she is in a hospital from the bed and the constant beeping of medical monitors that are telling someone how she is doing.  The presence of Crenshaw for the first waking period or two is reassuring and nice, but she is surprised when he is still there through the next several times.  She squeezes his hand each time she wakes up, telling him that she knows he is there even if the breathing and feeding tubes in her mouth do not allow her to say anything.  The drugs in her system return her to the blessing of unconsciousness and keep her sedated to allow her body to repair itself.  The surgeon part of her seems to know that the bullet she took must have come close to killing her.

Finally, her body is able to handle more than a few moments awake and she stirs, now almost dreading that she has imagined Crenshaw and that he is not really there.  She need not have worried.  The man is still in the same chair and holding her hand, his eyes on her face.  She smiles and squeezes his hand as she runs a diagnostic on her implants, finding all to be in order.  He smiles in response and holds up a commlink.  Nodding, she sends a message to him.  >>Thank you.<<

>>For what?<<

>>For everything.  But mostly for being here.  You were always here.  By the way, where is here and how long has it been?<<

Crenshaw blushes.  >>We are in the Blue Sky Clinic, on Lake Washington, in Seattle.  We have been here almost two weeks.<<

It takes her a bit to process that information.  >>That is a bit.  And you have been here the entire time?  Your job?  The rest of my team?<<

He blushes again and nods.  >>I told them they could send me along or do without me.  They sent me along.  Not surprisingly, they have a presence here and I have been told I can take a position there when you have recovered.  O'Connor was burned very badly and is in another ward here while he grows his skin back.  The rest are well and have also returned to Seattle.  They have come to see you a few times, but you have pretty much been out of it.  I have been instructed by Clem to tell you to make contact when you can.<<

At this point a nurse and a doctor walk into the room, having been alerted to her change of status by one of the monitors she is hooked up to.  The nurse moves about the various monitors while the doctor checks the chart and clucks his tongue.  "I see that you have regained a measure of consciousness, which is certainly a good sign.  I have to tell you that you were very badly injured, but in no real danger once we removed the bullet.  I have kept you sedated to allow your body to heal without the need for some serious pain killers.  It is not my place to talk to you about how and why you got shot, but I have seen lots of injuries like yours and you are a lucky woman to still be alive.  I think that you are ready to be taken off the sedation and that the tubes can be removed from your throat.  Would you like that?"

Snow has said these very same words to many patients in the past when she was doing her rotation in the hospital and recognizes that the doctor is sincere.  She nods her head that she would like the tubes removed.  The man smiles and says, "Very well.  I will sedate you once more and when you wake up they will be gone.  Your throat will be a bit raw for a bit so I will make sure that you only get soft foods for a few days.  You are making good progress and I have to say that the presence of this young man could only have helped.  You are a lucky woman to have someone to care as much as he does."

Snow nods at the doctor and then turns her head to look at Crenshaw again.  She squeezes his hand and starts to send a text when she goes unconscious.  She opens her eyes again to the still-beeping monitors.  Her internal chronometer tells her that it is almost midnight.  Crenshaw is still in the chair and his hand is still on hers, although his head is bent over in sleep.  She takes a few minutes to look at the man, wondering at his persistence in staying near her.  She has never had a man in her life that wanted to be near her, much less go through the inconvenience and discomfort of sitting in a hospital room while she recovered.  They had only made love the one night and some flirting otherwise, so why?  It has to be love or a job and right now she does not care which as it means he is here.  She realizes that she will have to re-evaluate her own feelings for him.

There are several messages spooled on her 'link from her Vory contact, all requesting updates on her progress in L.A.  Frowning, she realizes that she has let down the organization she owes everything to.  She reads through the messages and forms her response.  >>Vlad.  Yelena here.  I have been incapacitated by a bullet wound inflicted during my visit to Los Angeles.  I have been returned to Seattle by the corporation I was working for and have been sedated for the past two weeks while I recovered.  I report that I failed to make any real progress in re-establishing a Vory presence in L.A.  I do have the name of a possible contact that was a fringe part of the organization.  His response was not very favorable and he may need to be reminded just who we are.  However, I am not certain that a heavy hand is required there.  Making him a partner might yield a better return than breaking his legs.  There are many people in economic hardship there that should welcome the presence of a benevolent family.  It should be possible to work with these people and recreate the Vory presence there before the authorities or other syndicates are any the wiser.  I am sorry for my failure and am prepared to face a judgement for my actions.  My duty, my honor, and my life belong to the Vory.<<

Once the message is sent, she settles back down in the bed.  Her fate is in the hands of the Vory, as it has been since her birth.  She has risen to a position of trust and influence, but is mindful that she has disappointed important people.  She looks over at the sleeping man and smiles.  Perhaps she has also found something else to live for.  She falls asleep as she considers what she may have to tell him when he wakes.

[Thvor]

Torley and Clementine both return to a normal home life and can begin to decompress, re-equip and plan as normal.

It didn't take Sam long to recover from the trip to LA, physically at least. It had been a strange job and somewhat frustrating; he didn't like it when he wasn't able to get what he wanted. Once he was feeling better, he sent a message to Lyra, letting the strange kinesic from the Group know that he was back and offered to take her out for drinks to talk about some of the things he'd seen--and especially about how it seemed that she'd been right about his vocal influence. The chance that she might accept--and let him see her without the mask--was surprisingly exciting to him.

After that, he sent a message to Lt. Harris to see if he could get some lessons on how to use his cane more effectively. There had just been too many times where he'd felt pinned down and useless; annoying as it was, he had to acknowledge that he needed to get better.

Finally, he took a glance at Jo's social schedule to figure out which party he was going to be at that evening, and got dressed for a night out, where he'd find out from his friend what had been happening in Seattle while he'd been away.

[spoiler]Necro had a good point; in game terms, it'd make the most sense for Sam to get O'Connor to train him in dodging and intimidation. I don't think Sam's likely to know anyone better for the former, and, well, Con's pretty intimidating. So those will wait until Con's recovered.[/spoiler]

[Crossbow]

Sammy sighed when she saw the scene.  She could have known, but she didn't need this right now.  She just wanted to visit a doctor and have a rest, but clearly that had to wait.  She opened the door again and slammed it shut, waking both teenagers.
"You," she said, pointing at the girl, "get dressed and then get out of my appartment."
She stressed the 'my' a bit.
"And we," she added, adressing Marcus, "are going to have a long talk about this."

Sammy watches as the young lady get her clothes on, Marcus also retrieves his discarded clothing.  The girl seems to be a little older than brother, but that isn't so unusual anymore.  Humans looking to 'Walk on the wild side' generally gravitate towards the younger ork men, not as scary as the fully mature form is the general belief.

With clothes on Marcus attempts to salvage some dignity for himself, "Cassie, I will walk you down to your ride, then my sister and I can have our talk." The boy seems to be feeling his oats as he walks to the door, but he apparently isn't completely insane, he doesn't try to shove past her even though he could.  He waits for her to clear the way.

[farothel]

Sammy didn't move.
"I'll walk her out," she said, still pissed on her brother, "You can get start by cleaning up this mess.  And it better be done by the time I'm back."

[Necrogigas]

The nurse looked sympathetic as she halted her spiel about the Matrix accessibility. "I am sorry about Dr Wilcox, he really is a brilliant physician, but your presence here has struck a bit of a nerve, you and your friend are not our usual clientele.  You are at the Blue Sky Clinic on Lake Washington, but I really don't know the answers to your other questions beyond your pale friend, who is recovering in another part of the clinic but is not awake yet."

O'Connor furled his brow in confusion, "Lake Washington? I'm back in Seattle? Drek, how long was I out?" After figuring out he was in an upscale hospital O'Connor gave a laugh, "I bet having to work on Barren trash like me got under the doc's skin."

.
.
.

After finishing his conversation with the nurse O'Connor put in a call to Clem, <"Yo, Clem. I just woke up. The frag happened?">

[HydroRaven]

Having visited the man once or twice since his hospitalization had started, Clem was both surprised and somewhat relieved to receive a call from O'Connor. She let it ring a bit before picking up, as she didn't want the human to think she didn't have anything better to do than to wait for his call. <What happened is we finished the contract and got kicked out of Hollywood> said the ork, thinking back on what she had done in the past two weeks since her return.




Once the appointment had been scheduled for her consultation the day after their return, the ork had decided to send a message to Louis, her contact at KE. She had been out of town long enough, and she knew she needed to give some face time to some of her contacts. After all, nobody likes someone that only reaches out to them when they need a favour. <Hey Louis, how about we meet tonight at The Basin, just to catch up? I'm buying.>

Later that night, Clem had entertained the officer and drowned his complaints to the tune of ¥200. The man had expensive tastes, especially when someone else was paying. Although nothing substantial had come out of the encounter, the Asian woman had come back home satisfied with the night.

The next day, as she was leaving for her appointment, she got a message from Hiroshi, her arms dealer. <Call me when you get this, I have an offer for you.> Clem knew that this offer meant she was going to have to pay something, but sometimes the offer was worth it, so she decided to call the man as she was getting on her bike. <What kind of offer are we talking about> said the ork, dispensing with the formalities and letting the Japanese man know she was aware she was doing him a favour. <I have a friend that has gotten into debt with us and needs to find a job to repay us. He can't do the kinds of things you can Clem, but he has studied martial arts and is quite good at it. Actually, it seems he is as good at it as he is bad at picking horses> said the man, laughing at his own joke. <Anyway, the man is giving lessons once a week for two months for about ¥500 a head. I figured you'd be interested.> Clem frowned as she was driving through traffic. <There is no way I am going to stand in a class with children kicking and crying all around me. If I'm going to learn something from him, it has to be one-on-one, and he has to condense it to within a month, no more.>

Hiroshi heard exactly what he had wanted to hear, but didn't like revealing his cards so easily. <I didn't take you for the type to stand with all the other corpses, anyways. But he needs to make this extra effort worthwhile, so the price would go up to ¥10,000.>

Clem's eyes widened at the nuyen amount. <For ¥10,000, he better come and give me a foot massage every night> answered the ork, a mocking tone in her voice. <I'll give you ¥4,000, and I want to train with him exclusively, at my convenience. If I call him, I want him to drop whatever drek he's doing and meet me, whatever the time.>

This part was something the Japanese man was both expecting and skilled at. <Come on Clem, ¥4,000 is barely enough for him to cover the interest on his debt. Besides, if you want him to be there for you, ¥8,000 is a much fairer price for someone as skilled as him. I know you can already handle yourself in a fight, so he won't waste your time with the kiddy stuff, straight down to business.>

Still feeling the price being too high for her, the ork countered with <¥6,000 is as high as I can go right now, and I won't be starting until next week, so that should give you time to milk him for another week.>

After a small pause, Hiroshi agreed. <Alright, ¥6,000 and you owe me one. I'll arrange everything and send you his info so you can schedule everything at your convenience. Good doing business with you, Clem.>

<Yeah> was Clem's answer, before asking Hiroshi one last question. <By the way, what does he teach?> <He's a Muay Thai fighter> answered the Japanese man before hanging up.

*Great* thought the ork as she arrived at the armourer. An hour and a half later, all the adjustments were made on her new shotgun and she had just enough time to bring her new purchase home and get to her second appointment of the day, at the secretive clinic.

The building exterior was nothing to look at, blending well with its tired surroundings. The paint was flaking, cracks were scattered all over the facade, and the entrance looked like it had been busted in, probably during a raid or a gang war. Taking the elevator to the 6th floor, Clem emerged in front of a sturdy metal door with an intercom on its side. Announcing herself to whomever was on the other end of the camera pointing at the entrance, the door unlocked and Clem walked in.

The interior was a completely different picture than the outside. Marble floors, an aquarium with real tropical fish taking the whole southern wall, an ebony reception desk with a pretty elven lady behind it and a big, imposing troll in a tailored three piece suit standing next to the door threw Clem off balance for a moment. She hesitantly walked to the desk, as if each step was somehow messing the aura of the place.

"You must be Ms. Mitsui" said the elf, a big smile on her face. "Someone will be right with you, please have a seat meanwhile. Would you like something to drink?"

The ork refused the offer and sat down on one of the stylish chairs facing the aquarium. A few moments later, a tall, fair-skinned woman in a white coat came to meet Clem. They exchanged greetings and they were soon inside a comfortable office, talking business. Once everything was decided, with an appointment scheduled the next morning and payment settled, Clem left the posh building and went back home, exhausted but happy about her day. It wasn't the first time the ork was going to go under the knife so she knew what to expect, but being unconscious while someone else opened her up always made her feel queasy.

The ork had quickly fallen asleep that night, the sound of customers next doors a strangely soothing lullaby.