Voicemail

[goddamngrenades]

You have reached the voice mail system of FOXTROT 12.

When you are finished recording, just hang up or press pound for more options.

To request a locksmith, press one.

To hear these options in Spanish, press dos.

To send a verbal confirmation of a written command, press three.

To send a written confirmation of a verbal command, press four.

For delivery options, press five.

To page this person, press six.

To locate your nearest operator, press seven.

To leave a call back number, press eight.

To repeat this message, press nine.

Press zero for other options.

To mark this message as urgent, press eleven.

Thank you for calling, have a nice day.

BEEP


Comments

[bothbarrels]

[ He waits outside the militia complex after receiving York's call, mindful of the fact that clones are not to be admitted. His hover cycle is a conspicuous enough place for York to find him, and he leans against it until they arrive. He doesn't know what to expect out of this but he does know he intends to continue to shield his sister's clone from the truth about his death. She doesn't need that burden.

He pushes off the cycle when they arrive and stands up straight. ]

Hey there.

[ There's no urge to rifle her hair or put an arm around her, at least not until things get cleared up (if that's even possible). For now he waits for her to speak, knowing she must have something she wants to say if she's seeking him out like this. ]

[petitions]

[South pops off of York's ride and immediately hugs her arms to her sides. York skipped the 'beer' portion of their hangouts, but it's probably for the better. Sobriety is settling solidly anf she's reflecting everything York told her with a cold sting of reality. North hadn't told her because he wanted to protect her. There was a large part of her that just wanted to rub it in that she knew, that York was more trustworthy, but standing here, now and seeing him, that anger edged away. He was her stupid older brother and she lovef him, so ... maybe it was time she shielded him from the fact that she knew.]

[She cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to speak without her usual attitude, but a little bit of it still came through. It's hard, North. This is really really hard.] I'm glad she makes you happy.

[bothbarrels]

[ Not that his expression is harsh, but it softens a bit at her opening that way. ]

She does. We hit it off like... [ A slight smile pulls up at one corner of his mouth. ] I've never experienced anything like it.

[ He does notice her affect though, the way she's drawn inward on herself, and he comes closer to set a hand on her shoulder. ] I hope you understand where I was coming from when we spoke.

[petitions]

[She hefts out a sigh and glances away.] Yeah, I get.

[Everything hurt. Seeing North smile about Wrath hurt. Knowing after less than a week she'll be gone and they'll forget about her hurt. His contact is a comfort, though, and she leans into it and reaches up to grasp his wrist.]

[bothbarrels]

[ He pulls his hand away from her shoulder just enough to slide his hand along her hand and grab it. He doesn't squeeze, just holds it there. ]

I think you would have liked her. Really.

[ If circumstances were different, he might take them to meet, even. But at this point he doesn't think Wrath would go for it. ]

[petitions]

[She holds on, tight.]

Not like there's any time to get to know her anyway.

[Days. Days. That's all she has.]

[bothbarrels]

No, I know there isn't.

[ He lowers their entwined hands. ]

Do you want to walk and talk?

[petitions]

[Please don't let go.]

Yeah, sure.

[bothbarrels]

[ He doesn't, just readjusts the hold so they can wander side-by-side. He signals to York that he should hang back and starts off with her down the street, continuing to hold her hand. ]

I looked for you really hard after you disappeared, you know. I caused a lot of chaos trying to find you.

[ And no, that wasn't this version of South, but she remembers being that South, so for her this is going to be significant anyway. ]

[petitions]

[Don't ever let go ...]

They don't ever make it easy.

[bothbarrels]

No. They don't. Someone hacked into the security camera footage and they had taken you away. Four guards with masks, and you looked like you had been tranqued. So I got pissed. Started making plans to break in and find you.

[petitions]

[She frowns. That she didn't remember. Hazy, maybe? She tries to think back on it. She didn't want to let on, though, and give North any more reason to doubt her legitimacy.]

Yeah, it was ... awful.

[bothbarrels]

[ Like he doesn't know when she's lying. He glances over at her but doesn't say anything about it. ]

It didn't help that around that time there was a port virus. You know how they can reprogram people through their ports? It was like that but it was a mistake. They didn't make it on purpose and everyone got it.

It made people angry and irritable and impulsive. So I got together with some people and we stormed the Hub. We all wanted answers.

[petitions]

[She appreciates the silence on that matter. She's still struggling with it.]

What did you find?

[bothbarrels]

Nothing useful. We fought to get in and most of us failed, but Shepard got in and found only an empty office.

[petitions]

Figures.

[Nothing ever came easy, and nothing ever resolved.]

So, what do you do now? [It's hard not saying we, but she's growing more and more aware how much she doesn't fit in. It settles like molten lead in her gut.]

[bothbarrels]

[ Now here's the trick—he can't speak freely about the plans he's involved with because of the probability there is surveillance out here on this street. If there's one thing he'd like to give this clone it would be some knowledge that what he's doing is making a difference, but he can't say anything about it.

So he'll have to tell her what Bifrons knows, the way things appear to be. ]

It's funny how things work out. The militia got a new commander after the fight we had in the tower and she recruited me.

That's how I met Wrath too, actually. She kicked my ass right before she got injured.

[petitions]

[Okay, she has to snort despite herself. That was more the kind of girl she'd hoped North would find; someone to keep up with him. Still, she's got a worse expiration date than a carton of eggs.]

Sounds like everything is coming up roses.

[bothbarrels]

For the most part. You know how life is, there's good and bad.

[ And once again, most of the bad are things he needs to spare this clone from. He gives her hand a little squeeze. ]

I guess you found somewhere to stay last night?

[petitions]

[She doesn't answer for a moment, then shrugs.]

Found a bar open until four am, does that count?

[bothbarrels]

Mm, no, not really. Where did you sleep?

[petitions]

I don't.

[She realizes there's no lying to him at this point. The only reason she has any staying power right now is York assured to get some food in her.]

[bothbarrels]

[ He gets that stern, concerned look on his face—the one people are increasingly referring to as his Dad Look. ]

You need to sleep. You may feel like it doesn't matter since you don't have that much time but you're going to crash sooner or later and it's better if that happens somewhere where you can relax.

[ He turns partway, still holding South's hand, and gestures for York to come over to where they are. ]

[goddamngrenades]

[ York peels himself off the wall where he'd been ignoring- all of this, really, and slings his hands into his pockets. ]

Got a couple of safehouses she could use.

[petitions]

[South sighs heavily and leans into North. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but sleep sounded really nice right now. But it did feel a bit like wasting time; she had so little of it yet.]

Alright. Guess I could do that.