The warden, a small white man with a bald, waxed head and a shaven head, says, "I love it when they do it the hard way. McKinley?"
A large (though not so large as Bron) black CO, also bald, steps forward, and says, cracking his knuckles, "Please, make this hard for me. I'll enjoy it more."
I"ll need some character info here. I'll need a list of my martial arts styles and moves to decide what I'm going to do here. I'm pretty sure it's going to get messy.
As far as I can recall, martial arts weren't ever something you really spent time with. Most of what you used were your tech based gun and sword skills, and beyond that, your excellent people skills.
However, I know that you have a back alley fighting skill; I do recall you getting it to expert; based on previous descriptions, I'm going to make it slow defensive, -15 defensive sm, +10 offensive sm, +10 damage mod.
I'll look at the black CO and crack my knuckles. "You don't want the hard way with me child. Most people don't survive the hard way with me. And if they do, they all wish they hadn't. But I assure you that squaring off with me is the worst possible way to spend the last 15 seconds of your life. That goes for the lot of you."
I'll look at the warden with a cold fixed stare. "As for you little man, make no mistake. I'm here to do my time. Sixty flat. That's a blink of any eye to someone who has lived as long as I have. But also know, that my reputation is extremely well earned. I have left more bodies in my wake than small pox. Now, if people stear clear of my bad side, and behave in a civilized manner, 60 years will go by quickly. You'll retire from here, and someone else will have to learn to deal with me. For now though, if you want to play tin god with everyone else in here, by all means, have at it. But don't you ever come in here, roll up on me like you're going to start something, talk rudely to me, and then threaten me with these pathetic excuses for domesticated house apes without consequenses. Now, take your schoolgirls and begone. From now on if you wish to speak with me, you will make an appointment as anyone else. This IS your only warning. Consider it a "favor". Now, once more and for the last time, gentlemen, you ARE dismissed."
Anyone makes a move, and they get kicked squarely in the knee. Anyone else closes after that, they get a thumb to the throat. After that, half split and thrust punch to the groin. All three incapacatating moves on seperate targets.
McKinley thinks better, and steps back a couple paces. The warden speaks, "McKinley, you big ----- -----, get the ---- out of here."
McKinley seems happy to leave.
"You three! Take him down a notch or two."
Three minutes later, three grown men are laying on the floor crying, and the warden looks unsure of himself momentarily, then screams shrilly, "I'm your daddy! Say it!"
A vein in his forehead is sticking out, and you can see the perspiration beading.
I'm going to walk over to him, spin him around and kick him square in the taint. "Get the f**k out of my presence! If I want to see you, I'll send for you, "lapdog!"
To the three on the ground, I'll say, "Sure does hurt alot, doesn't it boys? Now you listen to me. From now on, you mutts steer clear of me. And I wouldn't any of you three try and be the bearers of bad news to me, if you all get what I'm saying."
I'll lean closely to them and whisper so that only they can hear, "All right, you three knuckleheads, listen up very carefully. You three answer to me from now on, get it? If anything is going down, going on going out or going anywhere in here, you better make sure thatI'm aware of it, an most importantly, I approve of it. Any questions?"
I'll stand again and say, "You three get to infermary. And escort the warden back to his office, please."
The warden has run from the room with a sore rump; the other three don't acknowledge you, but clearly heard you as they leave the room, two limping heavily and one crawling, trying to catch his breath.
You are once again alone, and feeling fairly amused, considering your situation.
A CO you don't recognize knocks seeking entrance. When you inquire him as to his business, he tells you that you have a visitor.
"Thank you, officer. Shall I meet them in the visitor's room, or will I be receiving them in here?"
He informs you that visitors are not permitted beyond the visiting area.
He accompanies you to the visiting area. He seems a decent sort, possibly ex-Marine or special forces, and smart enough to not start problems. Short cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes, a lean build.
You arrive at the visiting area to find Nerene sitting in a chair with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. The guard lets you in and waits outside.
She looks over and smiles to you. "Hello, Pharaoh. Miralla said you got into some kind of trouble, and I didn't believe you'd ever let any people take your freedom away, so I had to see for myself.
"How much of this is because of that little ----- Lily?"
It's grand to see you as well, my queen. This is my own doing. And I chose this avenue to keep from having to kill more people. It's only 60 years, and to people such as you and I, that is nothing at all really. Besides, they've made it quite comfy for me so far. And once the order of things is established, they'll pretty much leave me be."
I'll run a teasing finger up her calf. "So tell me, beautiful, where have you been?"
She watches your hand a moment, then answers you, "I've been to a lot of terrible places and seen many faces of evil. None are so evil as Ishmael, just so you know.
"And after you get out of here? What are your intentions then?
"At any rate, I've come to tell you something you might find important. Dawn is clearly very upset without you. She hasn't said a word since your incarceration, not that she generally does. Lily asked me to let you know that Dawn is very upset without you.
"At least someone doesn't blame you for putting on that cursed ring. Speaking of which, where is it?"
"Have Dawn brought here. The ring is in good hands. Ishmael is safe ly locked away. See if Ringo can arrange a before sunrise visit from dawn. See if we can take the outside visitor's area. As for my plans when I get out of here, I'm not sure yet. But 60 years is a decent amount of time to make a decent amount of "friends". We'll see when that time comes, I suppose. I'm sorry about the places you've been. Go to the building. You'll be safe there. Have Dom set you up in th western suite. Just relax for 60 years or so. Think of it as a really long vacation."
Nerene nods to you, and says, "I'll tell Ringo. I'm sure Dawn will be happy for the surprise.
"While I've got you here... alone... I may as well say hello to you properly...." As she speaks, she stands and walks up to you, beginning to unbutton her blouse.
::fade to black::
The guard escorts you back to your holding area. A slight peckishness has crept into your belly, so you take your leak and engage your pantry. Plenty of fresh food and ingredients stocked in both. Any ideas for dinner?
I think a salad, hamsteak and potatoes.
I'll talk to Ced about who runs all the action in this place. Who's the man who makes the dough from all the illegal things going on in here.
They don't seem to be removing you from this room, but you manage to get ahold of a guard.
He ignores you, and you punch your hand through the solid glass on the window, grab him by the head, and pull his head into the room. He understands, and Cedric is brought to you.
"That'd be my brother Duncan. He's a big man outside, and right now he's the big man in here."
"How about you give me a who's who of the organized crime world both in here and on the outside?"
He gives you a bunch of names on the inside as well as on the outside. Bob's name is among them. Apparently, there are several small splinter groups that promote racial supremacy and strong family-like bonds (he refers to these as clans) or specific religions (these he refers to as orders) and some larger groups that are just in it for the money (which he refers to as guilds); some people are in one of each.
"Good enough for now. I'm looking to take 15% of all the action in here. You think anyone will have a problem with that?"
Cedric takes it seriously. "I wouldn't be the guy to talk to; I'm pretty sure there isn't a single guy to talk to, but a whole lot of them."
"Think you could set up a meeting with everyone I'd need to see?"
Cedric still doesn't seem to take you anything but seriously. "I really doubt it. I'm in good with Duncan because we grew up together, but I've always tried to keep my nose clean when it came to all that stuff. I might be able to get Duncan in here to talk to you, but even though he's the big man in here, on the streets he's just small fry. Most of the big fish don't get caught; that's what makes them big fish."
"I meant in here. I want to meet with all of the leaders of the action in here."
Ced tells you, "I can get a message to Duncan, but I'm not exactly on friendly terms with the rest, and I'm on a fast track right now for good behavior; I'll give Duncan a heads up that he should talk to you, though."
"Very good then."
Guess I'll settle in with whatever intersting book I can find on the shelves right now.
You begin reading.
About two hours later, the sun is beginning to set on your first day in prison. You are disturbed by the sound of gunfire in the building somewhere.
Ugh. Perhaps Dawn got impatient? I'll make my way towards the gunfire for as long as I am unhindered.
Well, there, an interposing metal door prevents you from leaving the cell, it's electronically locked. There's a small glass window in it that you busted out earlier today, but you won't be able to squeeze through a twenty four inch high four inch wide rectangular space without folding it in half, which we both know you don't do for anyone. =D
Did you want to try to break out, or wait and see?
By your sense of Dawn, she's close by judging both by the moving scriff vector and the amount and pattern of gunfire you hear.
Guess I'll wait for her in the cell. I'll continue reading.
You read through the noise.
About fifteen minutes later, the shooting stops. A minute later, you hear a shotgun very nearby:
BLAMchickaBLAMchickaBLAMchickaBLAMchicka
The door swings open and Dawn walks in. She tosses your sword as well as an assault rifle down on the couch next to you.
"Nice to see you too, Dawn. But we already went over this. I am going to be here for 60 years. I'll do the time, and then we'll have all the time we want together. Care for a cup of tea while you're here?"
She speaks, serious as a heart attack. "Nerene told Bron you said the ring was in a safe place. He wanted to search your private office so I had to neutralize him. Then I had to neutralize Bob. Once they were incapacitated the logical objective was to report to my superior that the base is under assault. Combatants here stood in the way of my mission, and they were also neutralized."
Ahh, Dawn. Daddy's little sociopath.
*Sigh* "Bron and his persistent ambition to take the ring from me. And Bob as well? Very well. Let us return to the building, get matters settled, then I can return here to finish out my time."
I'll strap on the sword and pick up the gun.
If anyone says anything on the way out, I will tell them that I will return shortly.
Nobody bothers you.
You see that Dawn has shot all the cameras along the path on her way in, as well as fatally shooting every guard in her path as well as several inmates.
The warden's face is fixed in an angry scream, his left eye and half of the back and top of his head missing.
You end up outside again, and walk to the building. Every now and then a police officer sees you, stomps his brakes, then peels out and drives away.
You arrive back at your building and enter. Dawn leads you to a room where Bron is in a bed.
He has neither arms nor legs and is not conscious. Lily and Nerene seem to be working hard to keep him alive.
Bob is in another bed in a stable condition hooked up to a ventilator and unconscious.
Miralla looks over when the two of you come in, and announces, "The little psycho's back, and she brought Pharaoh with her."
"These men would be fine if they had obeyed the rules ad left well enough alone. Ok, let's hear your side of it. What happened?"
The people in the room are silent for a few moments. Finally, Lily turns to you and says, "Pharaoh. That ring is an abomination. I don't know if any of us can be trusted with it, but it's clear that you can't be. We'll take it by force if we have to."
Dawn pops her clip, checks it, and replaces it in one deft motion while turning the gun on Lily.
Lily says to her, "What, Dawn? Are you going to shoot me? Shoot your own 'mother'?"
Dawn looks undeterred, but you know she won't shoot your friends unless you're in immediate danger or you give the word.
"The rings stays with me. Period There is no safe way to destroy it, so in my guardianship it shall remain. This matter is closed."
With that, I will go and retrieve the ring, and return to prison.
Dawn is walking with you to the prison. The streets are empty.
"Can I stay with you?"
The request comes as something of a shock, as it's the first request Dawn has ever made of you in all the centuries she's followed you blindly and never questioned your word.
"I'll have Ringo work on it. But for now, it's probablt best that you stay at the building."
Once bck to jail, I'll make an appointment with Ringo and explain the situation.
Dawn is disappointed, but she doesn't argue with you.
Ringo says to you, "I don't think it's a good idea to go through the court system and try to convince them to let Dawn stay with you in the jail.
"First of all, they'll want to speak to her parents or legal guardians in court, and if they find out she doesn't have any legal paperwork proving who her parents or guardians are, they'll probably declare her a ward of the state and try to take her away.
"Secondly, this is a prison for adult men; a girl of her appaerance would most likely be placed in a juvenile facility for girls, but certainly not in a place where there are known child molesters.
"Third, they'll want to strip search her in a small room, and that will probably remind her of her early life, and she might snap on them.
"Last, but certainly not least, they'll want to take her guns away, and she'll probably shoot somebody whether they try that or not, if she determines them to be a threat to 'the mission'."
Ok. All good points. I think I have the solution to keep her out of mischief. Just work on getting those before sunrise visits for her, or she may just keep upping the body count on our local law enforcement officers"
I will go to Dawn. "Blossom, your new mission is to protect the building. You are to kill no one without MY autorization. If you find yourself in doubt,ask Ringo. If still in doubt, you will arrange a visit with me throuth the proper channels and we'll discuss it. Otherwise, just incapacitate them. And no more shooting up the prison unless I give the sayso. Are we clear?"