Forums » General Roleplay » A Hero Stands... Stumbles (open)

"Meh," She smiled and pulled her good leg up to rest it on the seat, buckling herself up, "This could be a lot worse. Atleast I don't have to sit back there with him." She concentrated on the feeling at the base of her spine, willing luck to hit and hit hard. She was concentrating on the jeep, her hands touching the dashboard.

((Let's see who the dice hate today. 1-5 is bad luck for her, epic bad at 1 and 6-10 is good luck for her))

The jeep started right up and they pulled away from the curb. Cody seemed to relax once they were in motion, even as Roosevelt kept up a running dialogue of whatever the latest scuttlebutt was about in the world of politics. Obviously he didn't agree with the majority's opinion.

And then the engine started to sputter. Roosevelt muttered an oath, even as Cody sat up straighter. "Oh hell no," Cody muttered, seeing that they had just stalled on the one street that actually had an official police station... And worse, they had stalled directly outside it.

A grin passed over AJ's face as she opened the door, moving to get out when of course her seat belt stopped her. As she struggled to undo it she managed to slip out of the jeep and give herself a good smack on the back of the head. Seems the bad luck had affected her too as she groaned, looking up at the sky, counting stars that weren't there.

Luck hadn't exactly been gained or lost either way. A police officer was coming over to investigate the trouble as Roosevelt muttered something under his breath about a shotgun and the trouble it would raise if found.

"Just have them give the engine a start," murmured Cody back. "They don't need to search the car for that." But it wasn't the car he was worried about---it was their guest. And he couldn't very well just pull out a gun and intimidate her. Not outside a police station.

"Come on," Cody said, reaching down to help the girl back into the car. "No need to act suspicious." Thank god he had left the blueprints with someone else.

She nodded and climbed back in without a word, her head throbbing. There was no thought beyond how nice it would be to lay down. She curled up in the seat, holding her temples lightly, her eyes closing as a wave of migraine flowed over her.

The policeman approached, warily but confident. "You all need help?"

"Just a jumpstart will be fine," Roosevelt replied as he climbed out of the driver's seat to fetch the jumper cables. "Er, I forgot, I don't have any."

The officer glanced suspiciously at AJ. "Is she alright? There's a walk-in clinic not far from here. Or I can call an ambulance."

Cody ground his teeth together, trying not to attract any more attention than he needed to.

She shook her head, "Just need a few minutes." She didn't seem to know who she was talking to as she reclined the chair back, closing her eyes.

The officer didn't seem very willing to help, but he did give them a jumpstart. "You're sure everything is fine? There's a mechanic's shop just two blocks down. You should be able to get that far."

"Thanks," said Roosevelt. "We'll do that." He climbed back in, buckled up, as did Cody, and they resumed heading down the road. They passed the mechanic's shop, obviously not stopping there.

"You feeling any better?" Cody asked 'Marie'. "We've got tylenol if that will help."

AJ nodded, "Yeah, some pain killers would be awesome. Am I bleeding?" She leaned forward to touch the goose egg on the back of her head. The skin hadn't broken, only dazed her. She reached out her hand, "I just messed up a perfect escape, didn't I?"

"No, you're not bleeding," said Cody. "Might have a concussion, but you're not bleeding. Do you remember your name and your birthday?"

Roosevelt would wait until she answered those before saying, "A perfect escape comes in all shapes and sizes. Don't beat yourself up over it. And we have aspirin or whatever back at base."

"Annabella Jacqueline Todd, September 15." She rubbed her temples and glanced over at Roosevelt, "Thanks. You're a decent guy for a thug." She gave him a smile and frowned, "Did you just trick me into giving you my name?" She brought her palm to her face, groaning softly.

Cody grinned and glanced over at Roosevelt who nodded. "Yep, that's her name--saw her license earlier," Roosevelt explained. "And yes, I'm quite nice for a thug. Though I'm much less of a thug and more of a guy who just wants some freedom from the oppressive government."

Cody shook his head. "Whatever, we'll let you go as soon as we can spare you to tell someone. And, here we are."

They pulled up in front of an old, gray and worn down--though still structurally sound building. If she looked carefully enough, she might have seen movement in the windows. "Home sweet home," commented Cody. "For the moment."

AJ frowned, "How can you work with him? He's such an ass. I really hate listening to his voice." her green eyes flashed in annoyance and she opened the door, "So, do I have to stay with both of you, or can I choose?" She inspected her fingernails, but her face was crumpled, clearly on the verge of tears.

She looked over at them, "So, what'll it be?"

Cody didn't even flinch. He'd been called worse. "You can pick. Roosevelt, try not to give her the grand tour while she's here."

Roosevelt grinned and saluted. Under his breath to AJ he confided: "He's an ass because if he isn't, people might get the wrong idea about him. He's actually nice, providing he's not paranoid--but you gotta work to get him to trust you."

AJ laughed softly, "Well, I don't think I'll be gettin' on his good side any time soon. So, where's this grand tour I'm not supposed to have? Can it start with getting something for my head because, I think it might crack open like an egg." She rubbed the goose egg again, trying to get a good look at where they were. She wanted to be in tip top shape when she came back to end whatever they were doing.

Cody disappeared inside, gathering a few people with him as he did so and giving Roosevelt and AJ some space.

Roosevelt led her past the front door where two men nodded at them and shouldered their guns. "Kitchen's in the back; it's where we keep all the good stuff--well, food and medicine really." He led her past two rooms stuffed with cots, some had men and women sleeping on them. Mostly the area was spartan; very little furniture, maybe a couch or two, a table.

The kitchen sported a table large enough for six, and cupboards stocked with various foods; from cereals to ramen. Roosevelt found tylenol and a clean glass, filling it with water, before handing both to her. "This should help with your headache."

Swallowing them dry, AJ smiled at him, "So, how long you been doing this?" She rubbed her temples and sucked down the water. She was surprised at how well she was being treated. Whenever she had been captured before, it had been humiliation after humiliation.

Rope at the very least.

Roosevelt leaned back, watching her, slightly impressed she was able to take pills without water. "How long? Um, about as long as Cody. So, uh, ten years or so? We started young and worked our way up pretty quickly," he admitted. "It's not hard, but we have to stay on our toes a lot."

"How long have you been doing your gig? I mean, it probably takes some guts to don a costume and run after bad guys. I imagine it's hardly pleasant."

"About a year now. It's not so much about guts as it is just going. I don't think about what I'm doing. If I do, I hesitate and that gets me hurt." She moved to sit on the counter, giving her ankle a much needed rest, "I don't know how much good I do, since there are plenty of weirdos on the loose."

"Well, I'm sure the rest of the populace appreciates what you do. That's more than what we get. And granted, there are a lot worse bad guys out there than us."

Roosevelt looked down at her ankle as she moved to the counter. "How's the ankle? You didn't hurt it further, did you?