Adrian D'Arc I Human I Blade Team Leader I tags; Alastair, Jin, Kat
The moment his earpiece crackled, the leader was alert and listening, frowning as Kat recounted the breakdown.
"Okay, Kat, I'm listening... Broken down? What do you mean? Just completely kaput?"
He sighed, shook his head and leaned over his second-in-command to open a new tab.
"There's no 24 hour recovery operating around here, apparently, and I don't think any of the vehicles we have here will tow an SUV."
He glanced out of the window at the remaining SUV, a Land Cruiser, and frowned, mostly unfazed by his troops' location but a little concerned nonetheless. It wasn't as if they hadn't been in tight spots before, but the odd situation - werewolves, for the love of God - niggled at him.
"Well, the Land Cruiser might be able to give towing a try. I think it says three tons max capacity on the spec, and that could be enough. In the meantime, stay inside the car. If your headlights are working, hit them up to the max. If not, there should be a powerful flashlight in the back. Point that into the deeper side of the woods, load your weapons and keep your eyes peeled. If you can, lower the windows to leave a slot for pistol muzzles, if not, open the doors very slightly and make damn well sure you can shut them immediately if you have to. Anything you see that you don't like, shoot it. We can deal with the feds later."
As an afterthought, he added, "And that's not to say you're allowed to shoot Ford. You're not... By the way, great to hear you found us, Klein. Next time, try to ensure that the map is actually the right way up. Over."
Switching channels to the fourth earpiece, he tapped out the basic info to Ford and then shut it off, finally turning to make himself another cup of coffee and grab the keys.
Theodore Ford I Human I Blade I tags; Ygritte
"Nah, no need to show me. I'd rather not turn to stone, thanks."
He shoved his now-idle hands into his pockets casually as the well rehearsed lines rolled off his tongue.
"And eh, mostly rabbits and things. Used to hunt deer but git gored pretty badly by a seriously peeved buck and now my friends don't... Uh, trust me not to get killed," he said, averting his eyes as if embarrassed.
Pft, as if a buck would ever get the better of him.
But the comment about freedom caught him off his guard. He was well paid - very, very well paid - and had free rein under the government. Kill a guy? They didn't bat an eye. Destroy a valuable building to foil a terror plot? A slight paycheck deduction for unnecessary collateral damage. But was he really free?
He shook his head, forcing a chuckle. "And, well, hey, define freedom, marshy."
Skylar Aleksandersen I Werewolf I Beta I tags; Benji, Tyla, Jason, Blake, Emmy, Adam
In direct reference to the gunshot, she simply said, "That was the end of the sick mofo who tried to kill off Adam and Emmy, if Aurora's behaving herself. And look, mate, I get that taking prisoners isn't really my style and that your niece is curious and all." She crossed her arms across her chest defensively. "But that's no excuse for Blake to be nosing around. If that hunter had managed to break past Aurora and me, unlikely as that would be, she would have been directly in the line of fire. If you're going to bring her here, keep her under control and impress onto her that she needs to stay put of my way. Otherwise, leave her at home, Benji."
Then her face softened, slightly, noticing the familiar form of Adam in the adjacent room. Pointedly ignoring her. Fine. She could play that, too. She forcefully reined back what anger was left in her voice and refocused her attention as the older Medic approached her. She respected him, and it really wasn't his fault.
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm stressed. More stressed than usual. And I'm still trying to work things out... How is everybody? Did I hear "flaker"? Fill me in."
Jason Loen I Werewolf I Medic I tags; Benji, Blake, Skylar, Tyla
Rolling his eyes, he turned away as the warlike Beta stalked in, only turning back when he noticed a teary-faced Blake with her. He made no secret of the fact that he didn't like Skylar, but he wasn't going to turn his back on his partner's kid like that. She was practically his little sister. And he certainly wasn't about to leave her in any infra-pack political crossfire.
Patting Benji on the shoulder as he passed - you're on your own, buddy - he wordlessly held out a hand to Blake and gestured out of the store-room they used as a medical bay. Com'on, kiddo. Let's let your uncle deal with Skylar's crap.