Thorn in the Garden of Life

[losthunter]

Hunter paced his apartment, his phone in one hand, and a list of phone numbers in his other hand. He just got off the phone with Marcus, one of the six other people who had been given a gift by Kendra. And had learned that Marcus had been attacked by Austin.

Luckily, Marcus was able to get away, without any major side effects.

But Hunter was now worried about the others. And so he was making calls to everyone else who he had talked to, and warned them about Austin so they could stay safe.

And he knew it was time to face Austin again. But even though he felt like it was an emergency, Hunter knew that it would be better to make sure someone else came with him. He also knew exactly who he wanted to have by his side.

Jim. Austin attacked another person. I feel like I need to deal with this. Are you available to come with me?

Comments

[losthunter]

"My dad, during his TV commentary, had made some comments about why he opposes transgender rights to use the bathrooms of their chosen gender identity." Hunter tries to explain. "We still live in a society where there are society-driven rules and regulations based on bathrooms. And most public restrooms are assigned as 'men' or 'women'. There are very few gender-neutral bathrooms."

"And the protestors are voicing their support for transgender rights."

[boldygoing]

Jim has heard stories about the historical regressive attitudes of old Earth, but seeing it in action is a little different. He will never understand why anyone would care what another person does to their own body, especially something as harmless as using the restroom. "Shouldn't be much need for me to act, then." Which should make things easier to play along, if Austin is on the side of the protestors.

[losthunter]

"No. You should be able to blend in with the protestors pretty quickly." Hunter pulls out his PINpoint.

"I will wait here. Until you give me the all clear, or send a message that Austin is among the crowd."

[boldygoing]

Jim nods, and makes sure that his own PINpoint is secure in his pocket. He gives the sketch of Austin one last look, and moves out of the alleyway, walking over to join the protesters.

Maybe he's a little out of place without a sign, but he's not the only one, and he pretends to turn his attention to the building that they're protesting outside of, watching out of the corner of his eye for Austin.

[losthunter]

It takes Jim a few minutes of scanning the crowd, but he does soon see Austin. The young man is on the edge of the protestors, watching city hall intently. He is not holding a sign either. And seems to be nervously shuffling his feet back and forth, as he is undecided if he should try to connect with some of the other protestors.

[boldygoing]

Jim casually pulls out his PINpoint, as if he's getting a text message on his phone. His communicator looks similar enough to older style flip phones that it shouldn't draw too much attention, and he quickly types a 'response' to the imaginary text: a here standby

He slips it back into his pocket, and drifts along the edge of the crowd towards the other man."Not gonna join the crowd?" he calls out, not quite loud enough to draw attention from the rest of the group, but hopefully enough to get Austin's attention.

[losthunter]

Austin turns to face Jim, when he calls out to him. And he laughs slightly. "Not sure man. I have been to too many of these events, and despite all the people protesting, it doesn't change things."

He glances back to city hall. "It would be better if we could actual change things. Actually make a difference."

In the alleyway, Hunter reads Jim's text, and just sighs to himself. All he can do is lurk in the alleyway until the coast is clear. It feels all too familiar.

[boldygoing]

Jim takes a few steps closer, so they don't have to shout. It's like making small talk with a stranger, and Jim makes sure to stand at Austin's side, rather than directly face-to-face, as they look at the city hall building.

"Maybe, but that's not a reason not to try," he says, shrugging.

[losthunter]

Austin has a good vantage point of the guards who are assigned to city hall. And he must have been tracking their movements for some time. Because he nods his head, and smiles. "All the better reason to try something new."

"Come on... quickly." There really is no good reason for Austin to ask Jim to follow him. In fact, the only thing running through his head right now is that it would be good to have someone else there as a 'patsy' in case something bad happens. And Jim has unfortunately fit the bill.

[boldygoing]

If Jim had been one of the ordinary protesters, alarm bells would still probably be going off in his head at that. But he needs to stay close to Austin, and if he's planning on doing something harmful, Jim might be in a position to stop him. So he does follow, wary of hostile action by the other man, or by the men and women assigned to guard the city hall.

[losthunter]

Austin leads Jim towards a side door of city hall, pausing for a moment to check around for anyone that might spot them, before opening the door and stepping into the hallway. There are no guards around. He has found a moment when there is a change in shift times, and there is not enough relief security to cover every area of the city hall.

He crosses the hallway and enters into a room, that is empty. He grins at Jim, a little bold right now since everything is going according to his plan.

"It is difficult for anyone to listen to reason, when there is some pompous idiot on TV informing everyone that they should think the way he does. And that idiot is here today. We are going to go talk to him." His smile is not a very nice one.

[boldygoing]

Jim can't pretend well enough to look like he's in complete agreement with Austin, uneasy with the man's implied plans. And so far, he hasn't seen much opportunity to try to get the watch on Austin. But he can be patient, at least a little longer. "How are you going to get him alone? He's bound to have other people around."

[losthunter]

"In about five minutes, a make-up crew will be arriving to help the TV anchor get ready for the live interview." Austin smiles again. "And we are those people."

He puts his backpack onto a desk, and pulls out a make-up kit, a couple of white smocks, and fake identification cards.

[boldygoing]

He may never get an opportunity like this one. And if he doesn't act now, he may end up participating in a crime accidentally. Nothing he hasn't done before, but he's put those days behind him. Jim pretends to look the gear over, then turns to Austin. "I don't know if you look the part enough. I've got a nice watch you could wear, to add to the look."

[losthunter]

Austin looks up at Jim, studying him carefully for a moment. "Yah? Show it to me."

[boldygoing]

Jim pulls the watch out of his pocket, moving it just enough that Austin might not see the runes, just the gold material it's made out of. "You want to show that you're well paid, right?"

[losthunter]

Austin pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. Jim is making a valid point, that the watch would only help to make his story more believable. And Jim seems comfortable himself holding it, so he doesn't think that there is anything sinister to the offer.

"Good point." Austin pulls on on of the white smocks. And then rolls up his sleeve. "Here, put it on me."

[boldygoing]

So far, so good. Jim is waiting for the other hammer to fall, though, once Austin realizes what's going on. He doesn't know if the other man will be able to tell just from the feel of it or not, but if he is, Jim is prepared to use everything in his power to force it onto Austin's arm.

For the moment, he casually moves to fasten the watch around Austin's wrist.

[losthunter]

Austin doesn't try to stop Jim from fasten the watch on his wrist. There is a moment, before the watch is completely fastened, when Jim's fingers lightly touch Austin's arm, that Jim will feel a slight uneasy sensation.

The sensation will linger on Jim's skin for a moment.

Austin returns back to his task at hand. Not realizing that the watch is now keeping his abilities controlled.

"We only have a few moments to get to the make-up area." He packs up everything else and slips on his identity badge before stepping into the hall.

[boldygoing]

Now may be his best time to act. With Austin's back turned, Jim closes the distance between them suddenly, taking advantage of the moment, and aims to put the other man in a chokehold from behind. "Sorry, the plan's changed."

[losthunter]

It is easy for Austin to be surprised by the movement and get caught by the chokehold. He struggles to try to pry Jim's arms off his neck, but he just doesn't know the right tactics.

And while Jim has the upper hand, there is a disturbance at the other end of the hall, where the guards return to their posts.

Unfortunately for Jim, that lingering sensation of his skin starts to actually ache within his body. Austin was able to connect mentally before the watch was placed on his wrist, and that is starting to take effect. The curse is going to bring one of Jim's dark memories back to his mind, as fresh as when it happened.

[boldygoing]

The odd ache from his body has just enough time to remind Jim of the radiation's effect on his muscles before he's suddenly plunged into the nightmare of the warp core.

The crackling blue energy flares bright white as the housings align, the shockwave sending Jim flying back and off the structure of the core. He slams into the curved bottom of the warp core chamber, a sickening crack in his back as he hits the metal, and all the breath whooshes out of his lungs, a massive weight seeming to sink onto his chest.

His head throbs, his thoughts reeling sickeningly from one extreme to the next, and his skin itches and burns like a thousand bees are crawling all over him. The metallic taste of blood coats his tongue, and he coughs weakly, a single driving thought settling into his mind: I have to make sure the ship is okay.

He knows it'll be the last thing he ever does. But it's all he can do.

With great effort, he rolls onto his belly, ignoring the searing pain in his back, the way his legs don't quite seem to want to work right, and claws his way towards the access hatch. He has to make it before his arms won't work anymore either.

[losthunter]

Austin feels the sensation that he is going to pass out, before Jim lets go and takes several steps back. He doesn't even spare a moment to find out what happened to Jim... instead he runs for the exit.

A couple of guards enter the hallway. By that point, all they see is Jim on the floor, clawing his way towards them.

"Freeze!" One of the guards calls out. The other guard notices that the exit door is open. He uses his radio to call in back-up.

[boldygoing]

As abruptly as it began, the dark red lighting of the access crawlway suddenly gives way to a room that Jim doesn't recognize, disoriented from the flashback. There are other people there... not Scotty. Not Spock. Who... what happened?

Wasn't there someone else here?

Wasn't he doing something?

Jim looks up at the other people, comprehension slowly filtering back into his consciousness. Oh. This is probably bad.

[losthunter]

Outside, Hunter is a little alarmed when three more cop cars show up. He glances at his PINpoint, as he weighs out the options of waiting, or going inside to see if Jim is okay. He has a bad feeling about this.

"Hold your hands over your head..." The guard who told Jim to freeze gives him another command.

"He looks like he is in shock." The other guard kneels slightly. Far enough away from Jim that he can't be attacked, but close enough to still get a good look at him. "Were you attacked? Can you tell us what happened?"