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[PM] [5th/7th/13th/V] Week ---: Watch 'til the End

“No don’t do it!”

Without any inkling of what was going on, Ken shoulder-check Rudo into his car.

“You can’t drink and drive!” Grinding to panting halt, Ken looked down at Rudo and heaved a sigh of relief. Wiping away worry from his brow, the young boy said, “Thank god I caught you.”

Undoubtedly Rudo was going to be angry. Ken had seen angry bullies get locker-slammed before by someone who had taken enough from them. The end result was the poor kid getting beaten after school, and the bully getting expelled. He really hoped that wasn’t where this was heading, but it was a little late to be worrying about that.

Especially when he remembered that Rudo had a gun.

Well.

Crap.

Hoping to change the situation, Ken turned to the other man, saying, “Hey, thank you sir for stopping this man. He’s had a bit too much to drink and shouldn’t be driving.”

[1216]
 
Bennett raised an eyebrow, his eyes following the boy's nimble movements after he shoved the quincy aside. Hm, pretty quick.

Then catching his own curious expression and replacing it with a more welcoming look, Bennett chuckled and redirected his hand to face the newcomer instead. "No problem, lad. You're Ken Kugimaya, right? Orpheus prodigy? I'm actually hoping to be your friend too."

Before Ken could resist, Bennett grabbed the boy's hand and shook it heartily. Grinning, he then immediately moved to pat Rudo on the shoulder. For a moment, it seemed as if the dark-skinned man was going to snap / punch / bite / maul / attack in any of a variety of ways to throw his rage onto the hooded man.

"Are you buddies with this guy right here? That's good. Really good. We were just talking about getting closer. You should join the club."


[147/1389]​
 
Struggling to gather his bearings and pick himself up off the cold asphalt, the ire in his chest began to swell. Finally making to his feet, the Quincy spotted his dark gunmetal pistol laying in the darkness several feet away, having been torn from his grasp by the unseemingly powerful boy at his back. Fists clenched, Rudo was ready to swing on anything and anybody within his reach.

His eyes shifted to the large advent, back to Ken, and then interloper, Carlisle. Unsure of which to pummel first, he skimmed past the boy --- not willing to believe the boy had either that strength or the gumption --- and settled his anger back on the hooded anomaly.

[later/later]​
 
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“Club?” Ken’s brow furrowed as Carlisle refused to let go of it. “Uh, I don’t really know what kind of club you’re talking about, but I’ll have to pass for now. I kinda got some other business to take care of first.”

Looking down at Rudo the boy was happy Carlisle had helped stop the other man from doing anything drastic.

Ken wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. It seemed as if Rudo was going to be okay, provided he didn’t keep trying to get into his car, and that meant Ken could go back to his investigation. Something he was sure would take the rest of the night and earn him a scolding from Danny.

Trying to pull his hand away from Carlisle, Ken asked, “How do you know who I am, anyway? Are you another Orpheus agent?”

[1357]
 
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"Where did he even...?" Varg muttered to himself as he ran around the streets. He could have sworn that Ken was there just moments ago and then he was gone. Maybe it was the booze, maybe he was getting sloppy, or maybe the kid was fast but either way, all that mattered was that he and that drunk with the thanatoresonance were both gone. Scratching his mohawk, he shrugged his shoulders but just as he was about to give up and return to take up the bartender's offer, he heard a raised voice and a couple with a lower volume.

After a few corners he managed to find himself staring down the group, an unfamiliar figure thrown into their midst. Slowly and warily he approached, slipping in next to Ken as if he could have done it unnoticed. The former Cerberus agent was lucky enough to have heard the last lines spoken by the kid. Orpheus Agent? Something's not quite right here.

"What's really going on here?" he asked, as if he had been part of the conversation from the beginning.

[183/1059]

 
He heard the Norweigan accent, and the hooded man smiled as he openly greeted, "Good to see another European out here in the Yellow Lands! Who knew we'd have such a racially diverse bunch? A blackie, two Euros, and only one Jap! They could make a movie on us: The Unlikely Band of Brothers in the Orient."

Bennett's racially insensitive attempt at humor didn't exactly elicit any laughs, but a wide grin stayed planted on his face.

Meanwhile, as he remained cheery, Bennett evaluated the three beings. Inside his goggles, the silhouette of both Ken and the newcomer flared a bright red color. Rudo was more of a dull orange. He scanned the mohawked man up and down again. Now him, I was not expecting. This is an unexpected surprise.

Answering Varg's question, he explained, "We were just getting to know each other, mate. But you're welcome to join the club too." He moved his hand to cross the width of Rudo's shoulders and held him tight in a seemingly friendly hug. Turning him slightly, certain to face the other two head on, he stated, "So the reason I'm inviting you two is because you all seem to care about my friend, Rudo Braun, here. And what do caring friends do? They help each other out. So here's my proposition."

He waved his free hand out in an offering gesture.

"You help me help him get his powers back. And in return, I invite you to join the organization that will eliminate titans, hollows, whatever you want to call them from Earth entirely. Your monetary payment will be ludicrous, and you'll have the organization's safety and security for the rest of your life."



[283/1,672]​
 
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The question went unasked, but when Ken spoke up the repetition of the words spoke for the boy, “Safety and security?”

Taking an uneasy step away from the foreigners, Ken’s brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the red-head’s words. Whether it was the man’s strange adult humor, or something in they way he spoke, it was apparent Ken didn’t like what Carlisle was selling.

He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it.

Then, after a second thought, he said with all the seriousness that could be given by a fourteen year old boy, “I don’t think I like you.” As simple as that, and nothing more. Afterward, he reached into his jacket and pulled out what looked like handcuffs. “People who offer money and protection after asking others to help someone in need probably aren’t good people. As an Orpheus agent I’m placing you under arrest on suspicion of eliciting help from an Orpheus representative for the purposes of harmful activities to our world and the world beyond.”

Strangely, though it was obviously practiced from writ, the expression on the boy’s face left no doubt he meant to carry through with his arrest. Maybe it was related to why he was here in the first place.

“Your cooperation is appreciated.”

[1573]
 
Immediately, the eyes of the dark-skinned Quincy shifted up to the young boy, only glancing at him before turning back to Carlisle. Eyes wide behind his square-framed glasses, Rudo was left stunned; the racial slight went right over his head. Not a word left his lips, though, a myriad raced through his head, contemplating the offer.

A long moment passed in silence. Then, with less hesitancy than he had shown so far, the skepticism gradually faded from his expression.

Looking past Ken, who had already pointedly declined the offer, Rudo found Varg, awaiting his answer.

[95/1,364]​
 
Varg's face turned sour, but not at the proposition at all. The bulky man had endured countless injuries in conflict and handed out at least as many as he had suffered, but he always fought for the side that paid the most. This man was offering him money and security for helping the angry, drunken fellow gain his powers back, that seemed like as fair a deal as he would have ever accepted.

The Norwegian's gaze turned to the kid who was clearly ready to take the man in. Ken seemed genuine and his head was set in the right place, but did Varg want to stray from the selfish path he always took? The cogs in his brain ground together so loudly they actually started to make a sound. Abruptly, he realised that it was his teeth that were grinding together.

"Does he," Varg began slowly, nodding towards Rudo, "want his powers back?"

[156/1215]

 
Varg's brown eyes gleamed at the simple sentence that left Rudo's mouth. The kid was an interesting character he really was, but the former agent could not turn down such an offer.

"Sorry kid," the Norwegian slurred, passing a wary yet somewhat apologetic gaze to Ken. He approached Bennett and offered his hand.

"I'm in."

[55/1280]

 
Ken’s emerald eyes shifted from the stranger with the mohawk, back to Rudo, before finally settling on Carlisle. “You don’t have to apologize,” he stated. “I can empathize with not having any powers. If things were different, I'd probably even help you. But this just feels wrong....” Shifting his conversation to the redhead, he asked, “So what’s your choice? A peaceful questioning isn’t going to hurt you, but if you try to run or fight I’ll have to use force.”

Bennett just laughed as he shook the Norwegian’s hand. The audicity of the kids statement too much. “Bright as a fuckin’ spotlight you are, pal,” he told Varg. Shaking his head, still chuckling, the Irishmen looked at Ken. “Got some balls on you, dontcha?”

He stepped around Varg, then, and moved closer to the boy. When Ken took a half step backwards, the smile on Bennett’s face grew. “You’d do best to join up with us,” he said, “and this will be the last time I make the offer. We ain’t doing anything but being pals with one another. Helping each other out, you know?”

From Ken he strolled over to Rudo, kneeled down next to him and threw an arm over the quincy’s shoulder. “Come on, boy-o. Be smart like your pals.”

Ken shifted the cuffs from one hand to the other before he reached in and pulled out his Gravekeeper. As the matte-black metal of the pistol came into view, the Orpheus operative watched as Bennett’s smile slipped for half a second.

“I don’t want to do this with force,” Ken told them all, “but you’re not leaving me a choice. The other two are free to go, as they haven’t done anything yet.”

The boy began to lift the gun towards Bennett. Before it was levelled at the man, however, his world blurred as something hit him and sent him sailing through the air. He hit the wall of the nearest building with a sickening thwack and rebounded before coming to rest on the ground.

Pain wracked his body from head to toe.

“Oi!” Bennett cried, “I was about to have some fun beating the little shit’s face in!”

“We’ve accomplished what we wanted. Take those two back, Bennett, I’ll collect the boy.”

The Irishmen shook his head and rose to his feet, pulling out a cellphone from his pants. “For a guy telling me to be patient earlier you sure are being pushy. Come on, you two.”

Bennett left with the two men, Varg helping carry Rudo with one arm over his shoulder and a string of obscene, racist, comments drifting back through the cold night.

Pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, Ken forced himself to focus. He wondered how the superhero’s he looked up to did it. How did they manage to keep pushing themselves after something like that.


Someone moved next to him and in a panic Ken worried that he was going to be killed without anyone knowing. He slapped one of the cuffs onto his own wrist before the person picked him up by the scruff of his jacket.

“Everything has its order,” Ken heard the man say. Right before the man’s red glove came up and punched Ken in the gut. The force of the blow was too strong, and it drove all the air from the boy’s small lungs. Causing him to pass out.


FINAL [2125]
 
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