004 · video

[bookkeeper]

Long time no see, huh. Uh.

[ Christ, he really hates talking into these things. Elena's the camera friendly one, plus she's got the looks to go with being on the big screen. She'd tried to get him recorded for that damn show of hers so many times and he remembers being the awkwardest. It wasn't Sexy.

Idly, at the bottom right edge of the screen, his thumb rubs along the side of his index finger. A nervous tic. ]

So [ . . . ] Not sure what good this is going to do but — what do you do when you know you can do something but you want to do more with it and you're not sure how or where to start?

[ Nathan makes a vague gesture to something off-screen. There's nothing really there, he just isn't sure how best to approach this. Or who to speak to. ]

Am I supposed to talk to someone specific?

Oh, one last thing — how do I get my hands on a gun? And where's the nearest firing range?

Comments

[video]

[cigarbribery]

Depends on what the thing you want to do more of is. If you want to quit your job to, I don't know, pursue your passion of knitting professionally, you don't have to get anyone's permission for that. It's different if you're planning on going into law enforcement, or the military, or even back into school.

[Though Foggy'd bet money on the former two of the three choices, judging from the question about the gun.]

Do you have a license to carry? And where do you live?

[video]

[bookkeeper]

I happen to be an amazing knitter. No double-pointed needle is safe.

[ Knitting? Who is he kidding. ]

I mean, I can knit my skin back together? Not with wool. Just— this power thing.

Left it back home. [ Code for: hah, license? What? ] But I'm in Heropa.

googles florida gun laws, stares in horror

[cigarbribery]

I'll believe that when I see it.

[Oh! Huh, okay, that makes more sense.] That'd definitely be a useful power in law enforcement. Or private security. Or—any job that involves excitement and danger on a regular basis, if that's what you want to do more of. Hell, if you're registered, you could probably even be a superhero.

[Though there's a distinct lack of excitement for the superhero bit.]

Okay, Florida's gun laws are incredibly lenient. You don't need to register a firearm, and you legally are not required to show a license when you make the purchase. You're not allowed to openly carry it around in public areas, though, but you can conceal it.

[A beat.] You're not planning on becoming the next Florida Man, are you?

Hahaha yeup

[bookkeeper]

Okay, what do you want? Mittens? You look like a mitten kinda guy. I'll add you to the list.

You're telling me. This could've come in real handy back with the job. And, gee, you think? I've always wanted to be a superhero growing up.

[ Please don't read into the sarcasm, Fogs. ]

Right. I should know them by heart, I live there. I mean back home. [ And he keeps a few laying around the apartment. ]

The who now?

[cigarbribery]

Free mittens, thank god. Mine have a giant hole in them.

What job did you have back where you're from? A cop, or something? [And he snorts out a little laugh.] Speaking as someone whose world's had them since 2012, it's not exactly all it's cracked up to be.

[He still respects the Avengers! He still admires Captain America, even, has since he was a kid, but when your best friend's a vigilante running around in a red leather suit punching people in the face and risking his life every night, the shine wears off the superhero thing fairly quickly.]

Florida Man. It's an Internet thing, like: "Florida Man Fights Swamp Alligator", or something wild like that.

[bookkeeper]

I'm surprised you still have your fingers. Unless you're not from Canada?

Not even close. [ He laughs at the thought. Nathan Drake, a cop. Hah. ] The Pigs hated me. We never saw eye to eye.

Hang on, have had what now? Superheros? Isn't there some saying or other about how we should never meet our heroes? How's that working out for you and the people back home?

Oh. And here I thought you were going to refer to all the headlines about 'Florida Man dies in meth-lab explosion from igniting his farts' or something up there like that.

[cigarbribery]

Nope. I'm from New York.

[Hm. Pigs, huh?] Yeah, cops and I don't always agree on the same things too. [Probably for different reasons from Nathan's, the guy seems like the type to toe the line of what's strictly legal.]

We've had superheroes since—well, the 1940s, if we're counting from Captain America, and 2008 if we're counting from the time Tony Stark came out as Iron Man. But 2012's when the Incident happened and superheroes became a thing. [A beat.] Well, I mean, the shine's worn off the whole thing. Plus there's a new vigilante that started running around Hell's Kitchen just this year. [Also known as Foggy's best friend.

A snort of laughter.] Those were actually what I was going for! Damn, fighting swamp alligators seems incredibly tame in comparison.

video;

[storyseeker]

Getting tired of the normal museum job with the predictable schedule?

[She's frankly shocked he lasted this long.]

Video;

[bookkeeper]

Routine schmoutine, am I right?

[ As she should be. ]

Video;

[storyseeker]

That's one way of putting it. Did you have something particular in mind?

[...that he can admit to over the network without looking like a criminal?]

Video;

[bookkeeper]

Oh, you know me. [ A beat. ] You do, right?

Video;

[storyseeker]

Sometimes I wonder if anyone really knows you, cowboy.

[She's smiling. Teasing. In her heart of hearts, though, part of her means it.]

Video;

[bookkeeper]

Ouch. To be fair, pretty sure I don't even know myself some days.

[voice]

[codeofiron]

[Brandon feels a bit sympathetic to that desire to do more. Not here (which is hopefully too temporary), but in general. Still, he'll stick with voice rather than video until he knows more about what the man plans to do with the gun.]

Law enforcement?

Voice; private

[bookkeeper]

[ This gives him a reason to get off the camera, honestly. And he's smart, adding a privacy filter to this conversation. ]

Buddy, the relationship I got with the coppers, it would rival what I got going now. They try and eat people like me for breakfast.

Keyword: try.

Voice; private

[codeofiron]

[Well then. Brandon's not inherently troubled by the answer - he's never been on the right side of the law. His voice is neutral.]

So what are your plans?

Voice; private

[bookkeeper]

Right now? Nothing. I just miss it, having one handy.

Voice; private

[codeofiron]

[There's a long pause. Brandon wonders if he would actually miss having a gun - he's never liked them, even though they became completely necessary. He'd like to think he'd feel relieved.

But he suspects, regretfully, that he would feel more unprepared.]

I don't know any shops, but there's a range in Maurtia Falls.

[bookkeeper]

I've got a few suggestions on the shops. Same for another range. Not sure it can be called a range with the name it already comes with— 'Danger Room'?

Sound familiar?

[video]

[calltheundertaker]

[There is an honest to god cowboy saying hi. Or at least, he looks like one, what with the hat, and the beard, and the lit cigarillo in one corner of his mouth.]

I ain't sure 'bout yer first question. But there's a gun shop in Heropa that'll prob'ly have what yer lookin' fer. Or know where t' get it.

[he takes a drag from the cigarillo and blows out a plume of smoke]

If y' get 'n answer 'bout a range, lemme know, I ain't too keen on shootin' cans in an alley an' some ol' lady's cat gettin' caught with a ricochet. That guy, what's 'is name, Erik? He said there's thing called a Danger Room, but shit, I just need some targets t' shoot.

[video]

[bookkeeper]

[ Let him stare, if but for une momento. Since when did this place start turning into the Wild Wild West? Holy shit, and this guy is so legit that he even has the drawl. ]

The first question's mostly to do with powers. The whole, y'know, superhero thing.

[ Nate waves a hand. ]

Danger Room? And there's a gun shop in Heropa? [ He mutters: the hell...? Where have I been? ] I'll have to look them up, thanks for the info. Shouldn't there be targets in the Danger Room? Unless you're looking for live targets...

Re: [video]

[calltheundertaker]

[Nathan is allowed to stare as much as he wants, McCree is pretty well used to it. You don't get many cowboys at all in the year 2070 after all, and this man is dedicated to his aesthetic.]

[He nods in agreement, lifting a can of beer to his lips for a drink, which brings the flash of a nicely articulated metal hand into view]

Think it's called.... Mickey Milkovich's. Whoever Mickey is, he's got a kid working th' counter, but he knows what he's sellin', should be able to getcha what you need.

Prob'ly, but from what I c'n tell it's more like a VR simulator? Or maybe they're usin' hard light, I ain't sure. So you c'n shoot at movin' targets an' run courses an' shit without anyone real gettin' hurt. I been meanin' t' go down there, I ain't had much've a chance t' try out these powers I got yet. Figger it's better t' give 'em a whirl there.

[bookkeeper]

A gun's a gun.

[ That's a lie. A Colt Defender is a heck of a lot different than a SPAS-12. ]

Oh, so you're new? When did you get in?

[calltheundertaker]

[That gets Nathan an eyebrow, and a look that might as well say "You ain't too bright, are ya son?" but without actually saying that]

Sure. I'm guessin' you won't mind showin' up to a fight with a .22 then.

Been here 'bout a week. Been gettin' a feel fer th' place. Figurin' out where things're at.

[In the order of smokes, then booze, then bullets. And then he'd watched some terrible movies.]

[bookkeeper]

I'll take my chances. They say never bring a knife to a gun fight, but I've brought less than that and I'm still here.

[ Nathan nodded to the screen. ]

And that? [ The robo-arm. ] You come in with that?