Have a car thief with no cars

[vengeance_driven]

[Do you know what happens when you put a confused Serb Yugoslavian expatriate in the middle of a strange building in a strange place while he's in the possession of his favorite carbine rifle? He skulks through a hallway quietly, looking for a way out.

Niko nears a window with his back to the wall. And off in the distance? That jungle? That sure wasn't Middle Park. Not long before he heard something that sounded like the most fucked up war-zone he's ever been near. More rushing fire, less bullets. So he's just playing it careful until he finds some sort of damned map.

First he finds a soda machine, though. And that soda machine is not a Sprunk soda machine. He ventures closer, pokes it with the gun as if that's going to help anything, and moves to look behind it as if he's searching for the mechanism for a bomb in an obviously fake piece of inexplicable equipment. Surveillance maybe?

He's pretty sure he's not in Liberty State, anymore.]

Oh, here we go. [Traces of his Balkan accent in those sarcastic sounding words he goes back around to the front of the soda machine, not creeping along for the time being and with his rifle lowered at his side. He's ready to hop behind that thing defensively though.]


((OOC: New person, new character. Niko Bellic from GTA IV. Snarky bastard but pretty friendly and easy to reason down.))

Comments

[shadowscall]

[Kai walks up, his head down, already digging in his pocket for change. He doesn't glance up until he's managed to get a few quarters in his grasp, and then he just blinks at the man in front of the soda machine. Huh, someone new. At least, he hasn't seen him before.

Oh, and he has a gun, too. Wonderful. At least he's not waving it around.]

The machine's not out, is it?

[That's polite and non-threatening, right?]

[vengeance_driven]

[That gun is nearly jerked up, too, and he takes a step back at the voice. But... alright, that's just change. Sure.]

I don't know. It's ah- [He was looking for bombs and surveillance systems???] I haven't really checked. [But he backs up some more, way back, to give Kai some room and to keep an eye on potential exits.]

Where is this? This is the first time my city has ever fucked off and left me somewhere strange.

[shadowscall]

[Kai should probably be more worried, considering, but nope. Not really in the mood for it. Instead he just gives the other man a shrug and goes up to get his soda. No threat here. Just a teenager who realized he was out of Coke.]

Oh good, it's still got some. [Yay, cold soda. He grabs the can, turning back around.]

Hope you don't mind a forced vacation. You're on an island in the middle of nowhere, basically, and we can't leave. Well, in a school on an island in the middle of nowhere.

[He sounds way too comfortable with the idea of that now.]

[vengeance_driven]

[How. How did he get to another island? He watches that can of soda with the concern of it being a secretly grenade until the kid's been holding it for a moment.]

You seem pretty alright with this. Don't this bother you?

[No, Niko. This isn't English grammar.]

No ships go by? No nothing? What were the loud sounds I hear before? [Between dragons and everything else, it's hard to say.]

[shadowscall]

[He doesn't need grenades, he has other tricks up his sleeve.]

...Yeah, actually. But I've been here eight months, I think I'm finally adjusting. Not that I want to. Getting back home would be the best thing ever.

[Despite what he'd be going home to. It's the people waiting for him that matter in the end. At the mention of ships he shakes his head, looking almost amused.]

Not unless you count making your own raft, and the tide just pulls you back anyway. Someone tried it once a while ago. There's an invisible barrier over this place, so trying to fly out isn't an option either. Loud sounds? Probably one of the resident idiots.

[If that had happened a week ago he might have gone and looked; today, he didn't really care what it was as long as the building didn't explode. Kai pops the tab on the can and takes a sip before giving the man a slight grin.]

Sorry, you're stuck for a while. But it's not terrible here, when the weird stuff's not happening. I'm Kai Jaeger.

[willedtoexist]

[Even if Luke didn't seem to need it around here, he still made sure to carry his shotgun around, slung over his shoulder. He had his lights too, just in case.

But it looks like he's not the only one walking around prepared. Luke knows better than to just sneak up on strangers with weapons, so he makes sure to stop a distance away, brow raising as he tries to figure out why this man is looking at the soda machine like it's some magic box.]

Works if you actually press a button, you know.

[vengeance_driven]

[It's ample enough warning that he doesn't aim the gun at Luke. Instead he ducks beside of the vending machine. Which, bomb or surveillance machine or something that spits out soda, it's convenient. Then he peers out from his side of it.]

How long has this been here? [A nod towards the soda machine. Because he's not pushing that button.

God, he's turning into Roman with this level of paranoid about people pulling stuff on him. He'll also be ranting about the mob chasing him into dumpsters and worried about having his drinks spiked at this rate. He'd roll his eyes at himself, but to his credit he's not ever lost his place on a continent before.

Kidnapped a time or two, yes. But this is up there.]

[willedtoexist]

[Okay, so the guy is a little jumpy. Luke had been there -- in some ways still is there -- so he doesn't really judge him for it.

The question about the soda machine was a little odd, though.]

I don't know, it's always been here. [As far as he knows, anyway.

He steps towards the machine, holding his hands up to indicate that he's not going to do anything, before just...pushing a button for his soda of choice, which drops in the pocket at the bottom of the machine. No explosions!

He reaches down to grab the soda and pop the tab open.]

Relax. It's probably one of the few things here that doesn't fuck with your head.

[vengeance_driven]

[And Niko oozes out from his improvised cover a few steps, motioning to the bottom of the machine with the gun he's holding.] These are not brands I recognize. Not even as ah...

[What's the English word.]

generic... not a generic brand. [That takes some work to say.]

But I will believe you in everything else is fucked up. [He drags his fingers down the stubble on either side of his mouth, like he's trying to stretch the tiredness out of his face.]

[obeytherod]

[Malik stops by the machine, about to tell this guy to move it so he could use it himself, but then he spots the gun. The Egyptian bristles, taking a step backwards and reaching defensively down to his deck.

He doesn't actually summon a monster just yet. No need to get himself shot by scaring the moron. Instead he tries to act casual.]

Oi, oi, what are you going with a thing like that? This is a school, you know!

[vengeance_driven]

[That....

Is quite possibly the most shiny Egyptian looking kid he's ever seen. With a deck of cards. Alright.]

I will remember bouquet of flowers next time I am kidnapped. It is nice when I'm warned so I can be ready. What, this is a school?

[obeytherod]

[All that gold does make him look pretty shiny.

Malik has to take a moment to understand Niko's accent. It's not his first language so they can be a bit difficult for him at times. Don't mind the incredulous staring.]

Yeah, it's a school. [At least this guy doesn't seem so threatening despite the gun.]

Nobody to shoot here! So maybe you should put that away, huh?

[vengeance_driven]

[English is a poor lingual middle ground for any two people to have. Niko's adventures in grammar could be far more disastrous, but they're not great.]

I would rather hang on to it. Call it healthy paranoia because I'm not used to finding sudden jungles outside of the window.

[Though he's looking kind of baffled, and he mouths a word to himself that means school in Serbian, so it probably looks confusing.]

fiiiinally tags you here

[thumbsdown]

[Boone had arrived earlier with Elle, and after getting past the initial where the hell are we? stage they'd found a room and gone off to explore on their own. Boone is still wary, and though his own rifle is slung over his shoulder for now it sure as hell won't be if he thinks there's gonna be trouble.

When he spots another man prodding at a vending machine with a gun of his own, he pauses in the hallway and watches him suspiciously. He seems confused... he probably just woke up in that clinic too. For that reason, he doesn't approach him. No doubt the man will spot him soon enough.]

boop need to erase subject

[vengeance_driven]

[That sense that he's not exactly alone kicks in finally after he nudges the vending machine with his foot (because obviously that will reveal any secret machinations), and he looks over his shoulder at Boone. Takes a couple of steps back.

That doesn't look like a Venezuelan insignia. Or British, even if he has some Middle East level wear and tear on him. Or Russian, that's for certain.]

After working his lower jaw for a moment?]

Одакле сте? Which country? [Maybe independent militia? That is a damn strange gun, sir.]

[thumbsdown]

[Boone takes his time answering. He has no idea what the guy said first, and after mulling it over (and deciding he's never going to figure it out) he speaks.]

What did you say first?

[He'll answer right after this guy does.]

[vengeance_driven]

[Sounds American. Sort of a soft-spoken American. Soft-spoken in Niko's realm of experience.]

"Where are you from?" You have a red beret. But I don't recognize the-

[He motions to where the insignia would be if he were wearing one.]

better late'n never, right?

[moderndaydragon]

[...That man has a rifle.]

Uh...

[Well, she was going to say hello and ask if she could get a soda, but she's kind of thrown off-guard by the gun.]

Not late at all! I'm slow as butts.

[vengeance_driven]

[He's a hollow-eyed, battle-scarred soldier. So he wouldn't blame her for being jarred. When he notices a sort of surprised looking girl, though, he doesn't raise the rifle. He just takes a few silent steps away from the machine, letting that gun hang by his side.

He doesn't say anything right off. He's just watching to see what she does, eyes darting between what looks like a fake soda machine and her.]

I was not aware butts were independently slow. I learned something!

[moderndaydragon]

...You just surprised me. That's all. Most people don't come in with weapons.

[She manages a bit of a smile, moving to go and get a soda from the machine. She's still a bit uneasy with that gun, but the idea that it probably won't actually kill her unless he gets her in a couple specific spots does wonders to let her give an air of calm.]

Are you thirsty?

Anatomy 101: The problem with slow-booty

[vengeance_driven]

Not really.

[That soda machine gets stared at as she goes through the process of buying the single can. Then he crouches, gives it a dubious look.]

Most people? This happen a lot?

look I totally have an excuse for being late to the party

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

Expecting it to explode or something?

[Sibyll spoke from the doorway after spending a few seconds watching him curiously. Once she had spotted the gun, the Courier kept her distance. She didn't pull out her own automatic, but it was ready in case the confused man turned hostile.]

I have the slow, so it is fine!

[vengeance_driven]

[He doesn't jump too much at the voice. Helps that when he looks over, she looks like a Slav too (which he knows he probably shouldn't think and it's such a Hove Beach attitude to have. But he steps back from the vending machine.]

Maybe a little. Still checking the place out for surveillance and things.

[Not hostile yet. He was good about reigning it in until guns were actually pointed at him, and even he was wisely keeping his lowered.]

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

I can safely tell you there's a lot of it, but I'm pretty certain the vending machines are safe.

[Casually, though still watching the man out of the corner of her eye, Sibyll strolls over to the vending machine and presses a button. She's rewarded with a bottle of water that she immediately takes several gulps from.]

Don't know how they're watching us, but that crazy bitch is somehow. She even has all our rooms set up for us with fitting clothes and everything.

[She turns back to Nico, twisted smile on her lips.]

So where and when did she snatch you from? Never heard an accent like yours before.

[vengeance_driven]

Oh, good. Just what I like to know. As if I don't have enough people breathing down my neck.

[The last part is grumbled more lowly. He leaves the machine put, though, slinging the rifle after a moment. That's a hard edge of a smile she has going on there, and he can't tell if it's directed at him or the faceless entity keeping track of how many times they use the toilet.]

I am from the Balkans. Eastern Europe. But she took me from Liberty City in America.

[At kind of a bad time. He feels like he's finally making the right contacts to find someone that he needs to find.]