Gas is over-rated (Open)

[John Nemo]

The leader of the troop ground his teeth as he stared at his men. Like throwing meat in a grinder. The screams and cries.... He looked away, letting out a breath. He had three hundred men a mile away. If he jogged, he could make it in under seven minutes. They would be long gone before they got back. But now he had a name. He would find them, and hang their skins over his cars, he would-

"My daughter was five when she got taken by yer fellows."

His eyes widened as he whipped around, looking into a space where eyes should be, shadowed by a hat.

"After rapin' her fer hours, yer men cutter throat."

The leader swung, John blocking it easily with his left. Using his right, he brought a jagged piece of glass up and swiftly cut the mans throat, blood squirting from it as his heart threw it from his body. Specks hit Johns face, though he didnt blink. He tore off his hat and looked into the mans eyes. The leader brought hjs hands up, eyes bulging as he tried to stop his life from seeping between his fingers.

He couldnt look away from the green eyes in front of him, at least while on his feet.

He slumped to the ground, choking and convulsing. John stared forward until the guy stopped moving. He put his hat back on, running a finger along the brim. He lifted the body and carried it over to his truck. Removing another railroad spike, he stuck the man to the side of the building and rammed it in his chest. Unmarked. He stared at the man as blood poured out onto his chest and down the wall.

"I won't tell yeh what they didtah mah wife."

He left the Barker pendant around the mans slit neck before walking back into the bar, stepping unceremoniously on the bodies.

He grinned at Delilah.

"Well, Beautiful, yeh say yer Crows, eh? That some sorta... what... Resistance group er sumthin'?"

[Delilah A. Black]

((ooc: Okay, John gets next post so then we can return to the regular posting order))

Theme: "What Makes a Man?", City and Colour

Delilah started to stalk forwards out of the entryway to the bar and towards the patrol leader when a shadow flitted out of the corner of her eye, making her pause. Her bloodied right hand came up and her two men halted in their progression.

"Ma'am?"

"Hold position," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth without turning her eyes from the scene in front of her. "I want to see what he does."

The next instant, John cut the man's throat out with a broken bottle, staring down into the patrol leader's eyes as he entered his death throes with what could only be described as pure hatred. Only Delilah (and perhaps Rai and Rose, if they were nearby), was able to see and comprehend the words that formed on his lips, though she couldn't hear him from her distance away. They watched as he hauled the body back to the building and proceeded to spike it into the side of the building, much as he did with the first two. Only this one, she could still hear choking on his own blood.

"Chto za huy?!" <What the FUCK?!>

"Who is this guy?"

Delilah ignored them both, "Back inside." she gestured with a flick of her knife, shaking the blood off them in a cascade of red before replacing them in their sheaths. Scooping up an upended chair with her foot, Delilah sat down for a moment, running a bloody hand through her raven black hair as the adrenaline began to leave her.

When John came in, she returned his grin with a broad one of her own, leaning back and folding her arms under her chest. Cain and Sergei would be standing at her flank, like two stoic pillars with their hands clasped at their tail bone.

""Well, Beautiful, yeh say yer Crows, eh? That some sorta... what... Resistance group er sumthin'?"

"Or something," she agreed with a hint of mischief. "We are resisting Barker, putting some order back into the land. To date, we're the only gang to see a Barker army marched to our front gates and not only survive the attack, but put a huge dent in his little empire," and it was the truth. If the Dragons were attacked, they would undoubtedly survive as well. If Barker came at them with every single man available...the chances were still good for the Dragons.

"Is that the kind of thing you're lookin' for, HANDSOME?" Her smile widened a little further as she underscored the little compliment and nickname he had given her. "Because let me tell you, we could always use a man like yourself."

Again, this was very true. The Crows hadn't lost too much in their battle for their lives, had done far better then expected...but what they had cost them dearly.

And, she was still curious about this man. She had gained an inkling of an understanding about him and found herself wanting to know more, to see what made the blonde Southern man tick, or so to speak.

She had a very strong suspicion it had a lot to do with Barker.

[John Nemo]

John shrugged resting his forearms on either side of the doorframe as he used his left hand to flip up his hat a little.

"Oh, I don' know about that. Ive met plentya resistance leaders, and noneovem really fit too well. In fact, most turned out to be Barkers in theh makin', if yeh get mah drift."

That was the thing about fighting someone in power- most who did it, simply wanted to set their own dictatorship up in it's place. John, who had seen his fair share of these groups over the last several months, had never found one whose company he truly enjoyed. So, he was constantly alone. Not that he really minded- but hell, he didnt really have anything against the kids.

He looked around himself, at everyone standing about. He looked back at Delilah and gave a grin.

"Still, If yeh don't mind how I do things, i migh' be willin' to check yeh out at least." A wink. "And then we can look into this whole Crow business."

Yeah. Smooth, man. Way to be subtle.

Still, he wouldnt let the others get too suspicious. He gestured out the door.

"I can give yeh a lift if yeh like. Wherever ya need. That way we can talk there, someplace without theh smell."

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rose had found a seat and began to clean her blade appearing as though she no longer cared about what was happening. Rai had been sitting there listening to the conversation to see how things would go. He had no problems with the Crows, he had even heard Marcus was one of em and he was an interesting fellow to be sure, so the couldn't be too bad if they caught him. But it dawned on him that he knew very little about the crows.

"Umm, Hey Delilah. I'm guessing you're the kind of person who is smart enough to know that I'm a Dragon, only an underling right now but still part of them. But I don't know too much about the Crows and I was wonderin if you wouldn't have a problem with me taggin along to learn some more? I mean knowledge is valuable in these times and its something I don't have a lot of. But with your permission, and of course yours too sir if you are going to be the ride, I would like to come along and learn with him about you and the Crows."

Rose's eyes would flick up to look at Rai with a quick 'What the hell?' kind of a glare before returning to her sword.

[Delilah A. Black]

"Oh, I don' know about that. Ive met plentya resistance leaders, and noneovem really fit too well. In fact, most turned out to be Barkers in theh makin', if yeh get mah drift."

Though Cain bristled visibly at the insinuation that they would oust a dictator to put in another, Delilah and Sergei would both incline their heads in understanding. It was a legitimately reasonable concern. Especially if what he said was true, about what Barker's men did to his family...

He had every right to be cautious about getting involved with more of the same. In fact, Delilah respected that.

"Still, If yeh don't mind how I do things, i migh' be willin' to check yeh out at least. And then we can look into this whole Crow business."

Delilah's eyebrows lifted and Cain and Sergei stared at the big blonde man in surprise. Did...did he just hit on their Commanding Officer? They had seen this plenty with Birch, who was a veritable flirt-factory, but for to see someone they just met making eyes at the mechanic...

Sergei's face stoned over as he decided he didn't care. Cain watched her with much more interest, looking for her reaction.

She would disappoint them both by giving none...other than a small lopsided smile and an unwilling blush. Damn. Men still did this to her. You'd think she would have gotten used to it by now, what with Stu, Marcus, David* and of course BIRCH being rather blatant over the past year about it, but no. The attention of a man always bewildered her infinitely and rarely did she know what to do with it.

"I can give yeh a lift if yeh like. Wherever ya need. That way we can talk there, someplace without theh smell."

And a nice little topic change for effect. Delilah stood up, dusting the dried blood of her pants. A good idea; the smell of warm bodies was starting to rise as the day began to fade and who knew when the next patrol was coming around?

"Sounds like a plan."

"Ich glaube nicht, dass es eine gute Idee, mit ihm zu gehen." <I don't think it's a good idea to go alone with him.>

Surprised, Delilah glanced over her shoulder suspiciously at Sergei, a curious little smile on her lips. "Wann haben Sie erfahren, Deutsch zu sprechen?" <When did you learn to speak German?> she asked the Russian man.

Sergei's expression hardened and looked straight ahead, saying nothing more. She looked at him a moment more and then shrugged, turning back to John.

"Umm, Hey Delilah. I'm guessing you're the kind of person who is smart enough to know that I'm a Dragon, only an underling right now but still part of them. But I don't know too much about the Crows and I was wonderin if you wouldn't have a problem with me taggin along to learn some more? I mean knowledge is valuable in these times and its something I don't have a lot of. But with your permission, and of course yours too sir if you are going to be the ride, I would like to come along and learn with him about you and the Crows."

Delilah turned her head to look at Raikotsu, eyes flicking momentarily to where Rose was (whom had just given her charge an unpleasant look). She thought about that for a moment before smiling and nodding her head, placing her hands on her hips.

The idea that this was a trick or a trap never crossed her mind, except fleetingly so that she could dismiss the possibility. The Dragons and Crows were allies now, and the battle with Barker's army had proven their strength and their fighting capabilities, even with half the actual force of the Dragons. She didn't believe that she had anything to fear from him, for instance, if he was trying to see if there were any cracks in the Crows' defenses.

Besides, Dragons were as welcome in her territory as any other person, save for Barker and his men. Refusing was not an option.

"I certainly don't see why not. If it's alright with John, it's alright with me."

She pointed outside at the garrish monster truck parked outside. "But not in THAT thing. It's attracts way too much attention. I have a panel van stashed in an alley a block away from here and that should be enough to haul all of us there and back without running out of gas in ten minutes."

She paused to look over the truck again, remembering what she noted initially.

"Plus, that thing is on her last legs. You probably couldn't hear it over the OBSCENE lack of muffler, but you're low on oil. And the brakes are about to go."

She folded her arms over her chest as if that was that.

If he REALLY wanted to keep the truck, Delilah would offer to have it brought to Crows territory where she would fix it up for him. Otherwise, it was a risk and could make the still-recovering gang an unnecessary target. Again.