As the briefing began in earnest, Colton turned on his game face and was all business. He soaked in every iota that came out of the Major's mouth, only briefly reflecting inwardly.
Ah, Opertion: Hellbender!...
...Lyboc, that crafty son of a bitch.
In the wake of the briefing, after all appropriate
oohs and
ahs were done, Raleigh Ray came over for the command circle pow wow. There was a lot to get done, and he knew with his new stripes came responsibilities. He listened as Freeman delegate out the list of things that needed to be done, payin extra close attention when his name was invoked.
John Freeman wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:19 pm
...Colton, you heard the major in terms of equipment. Sort that out with the motorpool. Make sure everything is in top working order. Jaxson will go with you."
"Roger dodger, cap'in. I know a guy. Shit will get done." he replied in the affirmative.
As he left too get to it, he breathed in the vapors of the frosty mint coming off his cheeked dip pack and enjoyed its cooling effect, but inhaling and exhaling.
Gettin' off to ah good start! he thought to himself regarding the entierity of the gathering.
"Jo Joooooooo!" Raleigh Ray cooed with a crocodile smile at the sight of his buddy in the motor pool, SGT Joseph James Johansen.
"How did ya like thems shell fish I got for ya last month?"
"Gave me this shits somethin' fierce!" the large black man said with his distinct Chi-Town accent as he started to walk towards Raleigh Ray in a brisk manner, his speed and grace belying his tremendous size. The large cressent wrench in his gloved hand smacked its business-end in the palm of his other hand over and over in a threatening manner. At the end of his stride, Jo Jo towered over the comparitively diminutve Raleigh Ray like a giant ready to crush a bug.
Raleigh Ray's coy smile didn't break once. Maintianing a cool, calm atmosphere was his only defense. Upon reflection, he did thing the shell fish sort of did smell funny.
"Really now? I didn't think any thing could crack dat cast iron gullet of yours."
He suppresed the nervous urge to gup, despite the swelling of dred-inducing saliva in his mouth. Instead he did just the opposite and spit on the floor off the the side.
Jo Jo looked at Raleigh Ray, then at the gob of tobacco-brown spit, then looked over his shoulder to one his underlings.
"Private, clean that up. ... So what can I do for you, Ozark?" With the tone change to the more friendly, Raleigh Ray mentally made a sigh of relief... Relief that his tank of a girl friend Barbra was going to come down here an break Jo Jo's spine!
"Well Jo Jo, me an' da 17th are off on a dilly o' a mission in a short few, and I need to make sure we don't get stuck wit' the lemons down here. Now big boss man already said we aint's gettin's no sweet rides like a Mark Five or thems big 'o Slayers. No sir-ree. We's straddled with Expedition Nines. But that don't mean we have to get stuck with the worst ones. Plus big boss said we can have some hover bikes and good picks on power armor."
Jo Jo considered Raleigh Ray for a moment with a sideways look and a blank face. Finally after a few seconds of letting him dangle on the line, the hulk of a man spoke again.
"Tell you what, Ozark. I can give you the sweetest cream puffs in the barn here... but... I need a favor in return."
"More o' dat shell fish you like?"
Jo Jo's answer to that was another smack of his hefty cressent wrench in this palm of his titan-like hand.
"Not funny, Ozark. ... No, me and some of the crew are having a poker night tomorrow down here in the back, but we need three more bodies to round out the table. High stakes. And we know you and your squad are fat on combat pay. Sooooo...
Raleigh Ray nodded knowingly and put out his hand for a solid shake.
"I'll shake the tree and see who I can find. I'll even put together a dip if you supply the chips."
With a tortilla chip suspending the strange looking dip in his hand, Jo Jo sniffed at Raleigh Ray's contribution to the poker party with suspition.
"I swear, Ozark, if you blow up my ass one more time...
Sitting opposite at the table was Raleigh Ray, flanked by the two people he could scrounge up on short notice from the
new and imporved 17th, from Fireteam 2; the psi-stalker sniper "Bullseye" Becka Lapua and her faithful recon spotter dog boy Trager. Initially Raleigh Ray approached only Becka, but the two proved to be inseperable, and the packge deal worked out well enough for his needs.
As Jo Jo hazarded a bite of the chip with happy results, the skelebot at middle of the rectangular table began to deal the cards. The skelebot was given a special program for this function, and was inspected by both Jo Jo and Raleigh Ray before hand to ensure no one was cheating. As best as either could tell, everything was on the up & up.
The cards flew across the tables like daggers at a magic show, each landing exactly where the mechanical dealer intended. In no time at all all six players had their cards in hand and were scutinizing them with stony faces... All except Trager that is, who couldn't help telegraphing his tells like a billboard on Main street. Becka was like a rock, and for all intents and purposes didn't even have a pulse. Raleigh Ray on the other hand wore an objoxious perma-grin that didn't waver no matter what card he held in his hand, intentinally there to ware on the nerves of his oppoents.
On the opposite side of the table was Jo Jo, who seemed more interested in the chips and dip than the cards. In fact after a single glance, he placed them face down on the table and played from memory. His two fellow mechanics flanked the large black man's sides; Vicky and Victor, the Miller twins (Jo Jo's prized top two monkey-wrenches and the pride of he motor pool). The two seemed to be psychically linked, as they only needed to glances at each other to know what the other was thinking. And with a flash of eye contact the two freckle-faced, curly-haired gingers not only knew what each othre had, but agreed on their joint strategy.
After looking at their cards, and given an opportunity to fold, all parties put 10 credits into the pot; the minimum blind for the night per hand.
"So, baldy-cakes... Jo Jo began, giving Becka Lapua an unnerving sexy stare.
... so why do they call you Bullseye? Did you sass your boyfriend and he teach you some manners?" The idle conversation was deliberatley rude and mesogonistic. His strategy was to destract her from her cards and game.
Before she could respond, Trager bore the big man a little teeth and a low growl for disrespecting his master. Despite being a small, bushy furred terrrier, he didn't seem to fear Jo Jo's superior size, strength, and years of experience.
"No." the bald, starkly-white faced woman replied without a hint of emption in her voice, her eyes never leaving her cards.
"It's because my last C.O. prefered it to my last nick name... Nutcutter. I used to take trophies from every male I sniped in the field. Thought it made me look cool. But turns out men don't dig that sort of thing."
That broke Raleigh Ray's practiced perma-grin as his head slowly rotated to Becka.
"Bull's eyes... bull's balls... guess they's both big and round."
"And both delicious!" Trager added, licking his lips at the thought of cooking either one up for dinner. His forte for gormet BBQ cooking was renowned throughout his company, though his superiors weren't always happy with his lack of pickyness about just what he tossed on the grill. Even so, it went well with his dream in life; to eat at least a sampling of one of every living thing befor he dies.
The Miller Twins exchanged another glace and their eyes briefly went to Colton's dip for the night with a flash of concern. In freaky unison they said together.
"Should we order a pizza?"
[color=FF4000]"This ain't Chi-Town. Ain't no deep dish pizza delivery here."[/color] Jo Jo said with an almost nostalgic tone, missing the specialit of his home town.
Alsmost if on cue to break the tension and direction of conversation, the skelebot dealer said in its mechanical tones.
"Player 1. First bid goes to you." Its black metalic finger pointed to Becka.
By the night's end, The Miller Twins walked out of the back room with a bag full of credits and a belly full of Coton's delicious dip. They were the clear winners of the night with their cooperative play strategy. Jo Jo came a little ahead and seemed happy with what quantity of win he got. He also carried off the remaining leftovers of the dip, bowl and all.
Meanwhile, Raleigh Ray, Becka, and Trager walked out together, all with significantly lighter pockets.
Raleigh Ray took a moment to shake Jo Jo's hand and bid him and the twins a good night. After, he walked his teammates to a nearby elevator and proceeded to go up with them.
Once the elevator doors closed, he pulled out his main credit card, as did they theirs.
"Okay, a deal's a deal. Let me refund you your losses, guys. Thanks for taking a dive tonight. If we play them again, feel free to play to win as best you can."
"Doesn't it bug you that you basically just had to kind of bribe those guys?"
Raleigh Ray just gave a tired but coy smile before saying a word.
"I'd rather be poor an' styling wit' good gear than rich an' out there with crap. 'Sides, winnin' money feels a whole lot better than jus' gettin' yo palm greased. This way is better fo' everyone."