by Khavi » Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:18 pm
Buzz sat silently listening to the three men talk and argue. Each of them seemed to want to prove themselves the more justified in their actions, that their faction was somehow morally superior to the others.
"Come on, boys," she said, standing up. They all looked at her quizzically. "There's no point in standing here arguing over who has the bigger penis, all right? It would be appreciated if we could just sit down and discuss this in a civilized fashion. So put your politics away, and let's keep going."
At this point there was a small amount of arguing with her, but she silenced them with a look. "Don't," she said, crossing her arms. "Sitting here bitching is not going to get us anywhere, all right? I swear, any of you act up and I will make you raise your hands to say something. So just... don't."
They sat quietly for a moment, and Buzz couldn't help but feel like her mother again. She didn't realize until after she was finished talking that it was the same thing her mother had always done when Buzz and her brothers had gotten in fights. She smiled a little to herself, remembering, before looking back up at the motely crew around her. They didn't look spectacularly happy.
"Look, we all have our ideals about our sides and our enemies, but this isn't the place for it," she said, her tone softening. "We have other things to worry about, like living through the rest of the night and figuring out how to get our asses out of this frying pan and through the fire. You three work it out, I'm going to find dinner. And if I have to come back in here before I'm done, heads will roll."
She turned and left them to it, thinking as the walked into the kitchen that maybe leaving them alone wasn't the greatest idea in the world. Buzz had to hope that they would be able to figure something out without killing each other.
Unfortunately, she was completely wrong, and twenty minutes later there was an unecessary amount of noise coming from the dining room. Buzz frowned at the sandwhiches she had just made, and turned on her heel to march back through the kitchen and out into the diningroom.
She got to the doorway and was greeted by the sight of Josh and Crayfish standing on opposite side of the table, snarling across at eachother. Crayfish had one hand on the table, the other pointing at Josh and Donovan. Josh, fists clenched, looked ready to throw himself over the table and throttle Crayfish. Donovan stood next to Josh, seemingly ready to do the same.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Buzz snarled, and three angry faces looked up at her and immediately paled.
"Oh, shit," said Crayfish, lowering the arm pointed at Josh.
"That's it, apparently you three aren't adult enough to be left to your own godamn devices. Josh, Donovan, go sit in the livingroom," she said, pointing down the hall. "You all three obviously need a little time to cool off."
"Buzz-"
"Go," she said. "I'll be out to talk to you two in a minute. Crayfish, you're coming with me to the kitchen. I want to talk to you."
Donovan and Josh trudged off down the hall into the livingroom, and when Buzz heard the TV flick on she turned around and pulled Crayfish into the kitchen.
Once back in the kitchen, Buzz looked Crayfish up an down. He looked half wild, his chest heaving. Despite the fact he seemed to be trying to calm himself down, he still looked insane. Buzz got a glass out of the cabinet, filled it with cold water, and pressed it into his hand.
"Drink. It'll help you calm down." She watched him down most of the glass, and saw his breathing visibly slow when he finished. "See?" she said, taking the glass back from him.
"You certainly know how to handle a situation," Crayfish said once they were into the kitchen.
[color=limegreen]"Something I learned from my mother," she said, turning back to the sandwhiches she had been making. "This is the same thing she used to do to my brothers and I when we were little. Throw us into seperate rooms and make us sit there and calm down, and talk to us seperate. Then she'd put us back together and make us shake hands and apologize and come to a civilized agreement about whatever it was we were fighting on."
"Your mother sounds like a formidable woman. Smart, though."
"Only formidable when she was angry. But certainly smart... I guess my brothers and I are better for it... well, one of my brothers, anyway. Bill's fine, but Paul..." she frowned, and turned back around to face Crayfish. "This isn't about my family, Crayfish."
"Ethan, please. No need to keep calling me Crawdad anymore, huh?" he laughed.
"Fine. But you have to talk with me, Cray... Ethan. Honestly," she said. "No lies, no governemtn bullshit. Just you."
"Cross my heart," Ethan smirked, tracing an X over his chest with his finger. "And hope to die."
"Do you believe everything you said out there? That there's not always a black and white, the lines always run together. Corrupt people on both sides."
"Of course I believe it, Buzz. I'm not just a government mouthpiece, you know. Maybe it sounded like I was trying to stick a spin on it all, but I was trying to make a point."
"Good... I agree with you, you know. Both sides have their problems. It's why I never actively took part in the Resistance or the Government, until now. There's too much political shit everywhere, for my tastes. Too much sneaking, too many men like Kelbecki who fly the banner of one faction or another but really are only in it for personal means."
"Everyone's in it for personal means, mechanic. It's all a matter of how much you let your personal means interfere with your work, whether you're a rebel or an agent."
"And where do your personal means lie, Ethan? You said you're helping us because you're not a fan of the injustice the government's thrown on Josh's back. Framing him for a murder. Isn't that letting your ideals interfere with your work?"
"I suppose it is."
"So why help us?"
"Because I want a clean fight. I'll be the first to tell you that the government doesn't always use honest means to get to their ends, however justified those ends may be. I stand with the government in their ideals but not always with their methods. When I found out how they had set up Josh... I couldn't just turn a blind eye and let them get away with it."
"Final straw that broke the camel's back?"
"Pretty much."
"When did you figure out it had to be a setup? You said you didn't know at first that it was Josh, or that it was a framed murder..."
"Actually, when you came into the picture. I had my doubts that Josh was actually a cold blooded killer, but when you snuck into my compound specifically for him and didn't just dissappear over the horizon... I knew there was something wrong. Because you don't seem the type to be an accomplice to a murderer."
"You're right, I'm not. So you figured out that he's not what the media says he is... after you sent us off to that other safehouse?"
Crayfish nodded, and rubbed his mechanical eyes. "I did a little research of my own after you left. Once I knew for sure, I figured it was time to make sure you two didn't end up dead."
"And now that we're here? You going to keep your neck out for us, put your career on the line?" Buzz asked. She didn't figure he would stick around now that they were mostly safe.
"After this, chances are I'll go back to the offices and tell them either you're dead, or you escaped. I'll keep in contact, give you warnings, prod you in the right directions... but I can't physically stay here with you. It's too dangerous," he said. He shrugged apologetically.
"That's enough," she said. "I'm sure we can keep our heads above water on our own, Ethan, so long as this isn't just another set up and we're all dead by morning. But I think I can trust you."
"Well, I'm glad one of you does."
"I'm going to go talk to Josh and Donovan, see what's on their minds... You wait here, and when I call for you come into the livingroom. And bring those sandwhiches."
"Sure thing, boss," Ethan chuckled. Buzz smiled, and turned to leave. "One thing, though... watch out for Alastor... Or Donovan, or whatever he's calling himself. I don't know if I'd trust him."
"He thinks we shouldn't trust you, and you think we shouldn't trust him. But I trust both of you, and that should be enough to keep you two quiet and put your differences away for a while. You and Josh, too... I don't know what went on between the two of you however many years ago, but I think it's time you bury the hatchet. Agreed?"
"Point taken, mechanic. Just be careful."
"I can handle myself, Crawdad."
She left the kitchen, passed through the diningroom, and walked into the livingroom. Josh and Donovan sat on the sofa, ignoring the Zero-G football game that was on the TV screen.
"You two ready to act like civilized people yet? Or should I let you alone for a few more minutes?" she asked, sitting down on the coffee table across from them.
I was so mad, I could have chewed up nails and spit out paper clips.