IC: Back into the Barrens, Val & Hardwire Options

[Redjack]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Val shook his head, trying to shake the fog of sleep from his brain. Looking over to his left arm, he can see the IV lines. He can see more lines attached with tape to his arm, chest, and head. The ceiling is a hospital white and, looking around, he sees a curtain surrounding his bed. Straining his brain to remember, a sense of deja vous comes over him: The last thing he remembers is the warehouse.

Hardwire was coming in after taking down the fool by the door and Yury... that bastard Yury was in the warehouse. Why can't he remember anything else?

He tried to speak, but found his mouth already full: More tubes.

============================
Hardwire; Friday, April 17th; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

The hum of the matrix was like a song in his head, his whole body vibrating to the beat of the music and... his eyes snapped open. He'd been asleep and, according to the chronometer, for damn near three weeks. His memory is a blur. The warehouse. The fool in the doorway. The bright flash of light and the sensation of his meat flying through the matrix, following the neon data trails....

Was is it so hard to focus... little white bunnies hopping along the data trail- STOP! WAIT! Eyes open!
The ceiling is white, clean. The bed is soft. Soft like little bunnies hopping down the data trail- STOP!
A curtain surrounds his bed, silver rings spaced along the top, holding it to a bar, making a three-quarter rectangle with rounded corners. Fluffy clouds and bunnies hopping- STOP!

He shook his head, then his arms, then the wires and tubes became apparent. On his arms, head, chest. Down his mouth and other orifices. He laid back, smiling. Little white bunnies jumping across his bed- STOP!

[Saytr]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

val took care looking around his body taking a self assessment of the kind of care he was in. he took a moment to focus and attempt to sit up before making any rash movements. He had no idea who was around and no idea where the others were. the last thing he remembered was loading the alpha....Yury!! immediately his thought ran to hardwire at the back of the warehouse and the poor mojo slinger what was his name,
his thoughts ran so fast he could not account for the time that had past and his last action after being on the cat walk inside the warhouse what had happened. the only clue he knew would be if Yury was dead he would be happy however being in a hospital wasn't exactly where he wanted to end that course of action, it was always a possibility....he caught himself getting side tracked, to the moment at hand. sitting up and pulling his
breathing tube out and figuring out what the docs had given him would be the first move. he needed to get his clean com and tooled up, who knew who was taking care of him and why. first things first..... he reached up for tube and started the grotesque process of what would feel like pulling a flexible tube from the bottom of his throat fighting back the urge to vomit and choke on the dryness. he needed to get a head start on things
he knew his com would be away from him but he checked to see what he had on him trodes and what not to see if he would be able to get a signal to his com to make a call and maybe even a gps search for where exactly he was at the moment. he hoped he was ok and why the hell couldn't he remember anything else!

[Redjack]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Looking down at his body, Val is relieved to find that despite only having the sheet and a flimsy hospital gown to cover it with, his body looks in tact and mostly as he remembered it. Squeezing his fists, he can tell the muscle augmentation is still in place and the tell-tale cording of his muscles from the muscle toner are visible under the layers of dermal armor. Feeling his neck above the collarbone, his gills feel fine. Leveling his hand in front of his body and holding it steady for a few moments, he can feel the subconscious tension of his wired reflexes. Despite not waking up in a bathtub, he still feels around his back and feels confident that his kidneys are also in place.

The breathing tube came out about like he expected it would. The various trodes all appear to be connected to medical equipment, lacking any displays. The IV bag dangled from a pole next the the bed, a drip line running down to the medical connection through his dermal; a connection installed when the dermal was initially installed during his transformation into Valery Strobokov... and it invokes a memory:

"The last operation was a success.", the old Russian man says with a thick accent in their native tongue. Vlad simply stares at his left forearm, an IV snapped into place into some quick connect divot, which is now a part of his arm. He runs his right finger along the course material that is now the dermal layer of his skin. Then looks at the finger as well. The skin is several times thicker than the callused skin of his heal and more resembles a fingernail, than skin.

The old man snaps his fingers, drawing Vlad's focus back. "Vladamir. I have made arrangements: You will leave in three days for Seattle." The old man grabs a hold of Vlad's chin to keep his focus, "Do not forget our pact. For your Galina and my Mikhail."

Val's focus returns to the present. Valery... Vladamir... He was both. Gangster. Grieving husband out for revenge. Oh his Galina... and also the matter of Kostya's son Mikhail...

[Sengir]

Hardwire; Friday, April 17th; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
For an instant, the amount of medical wiring on his body made Hardwire think he had ended up as a guinea pig, but the comfortable background hum of the matrix convinced him he was not due to be vivisected. The calm with which he drew these conclusions surprised him, somehow it felt as if more fear or emotion was appropriate to the situation. A drug effect, no doubt, drugs making him clearly see bunnies on his bed which another part of his brain was sure did not exist.

Drugs. Vory. They had been at the Vory warehouse...investigating another case of lost memories, and Vory hunting them for it. But this was not how the Vory would treat a captive, another oddly emotionless memory reminded him. So what was this place, and how did he get here -- and for that matter, when did he actually look up his time and location? He needed answers, preferably before someone came looking for him

[Redjack]

Hardwire; Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Fighting to clear the fog... and the bunnies, from his brain, Hardwire fought to get control of his his thoughts. Raising his and over his, he sees them wrapped in clouds- no, bandages... and a owl begins flapping around his arms and hands with a, "Whooo! Whooo!"

First bunnies, now an owl, what next, kittens?

[Saytr]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Val blinks repeatedly coming back to his senses. the rage of his dead wife bringing him back to the present and a certain clarity. seeing his trodes still attached he reaches out hoping his com is still active. attempting to reach out and connect to his com to get a semblance of is whereabouts and how long he had been out. Slowly sitting up from his position he takes in the room in all of its contents.
looking around to see what was around him windows noises and smells he tries to take it all in and look for a escape if authorities were about or worse. Val needed to get out of there and exact what his memories set him out to do. The only other person who was with him was Hardwire, he hoped the deck head made it out ok, thinking of which he tries to get ahold of him

<@hardwire[Val]"you still alive? I am in a hospital somewhere. hit me back when you can or if you can trace this communication let me know. I am in the dark and need a light tunnel to figure out what happened there."> alas Val sees the errors of not knowing tech as much as he wished talking only to himself. The escape begins... looking about as he rises and looking for anything able to use as a weapon if need be. He needed a plan, first things first he needed to unhook and get on the move. Starting with turning off the I've and silencing all the equipment to no Blair once disconnected.

[Redjack]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Val, like any other child of the sixth world, is accustomed to a comlink being ever present in his mind. He mentally nudges the commands to activate his comlink. Nothing. He repeats the commands. Nothing.

Reaching up with a finger to his temple, he realizes that his nanopaste trodes are gone. Looking at the little end-table next to his bed, he sees a box of tissues, but no comlink. Thinking weapons, he figures the IV pole will make a reasonable enough staff.

Sitting up, his head swims for a moment, the position strange to his body and brain. This in turn causes a nausea to rise in his throat. With all the focus and willpower he can muster, Val levels himself and remains seated and in control. The curtain around his bed blocks his view of the rest of the room.

[Saytr]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Val takes a breath steading himself and regaining what ever semblance of composure. slightly repulsed by the feeling of vomit from a empty stomach, fighting back the urge to barf he happily twists himself to try and attempt a stand before trying pull back the curtain and see where he was and who had him. holding onto the pole until he can see. mentally steading himself to use the IV pole as a make shift staff, he leaned on it for support while standing up.

[Redjack]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Shaky, but in control, Val grabs the IV pole, grits his teeth and pulls himself to his feet. He pushes past the atrophy in his limbs, past the vertigo of his brain... and stands. Through it all, he feels as though he is regaining control of his destiny.

[Sengir]

Hardwire; Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

The auditory part of this hallucination was new, and the image of the phantom owl stubbornly resisted Hardwire's attempts to blink it away, instead becoming even sharper as he tried. Focusing his torpid mind on the strange phenomenon, he realized that some of the matrix buzz surrounding him seemed to shift as the owl moved. He couldn't quite remember what made this sight familiar, but in his current state he couldn't see a reason why it might be a bad idea to lift a finger towards the owl as it landed near his left hand.

[Redjack]

Hardwire; Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

The owl stops and lands, one claw to his finger and the other claw to his hand. It "Whoos" at him again, then the owl's noises begin to sound more... more... more like words. "Whooo... Whooo do you... Do you understand me? Did you hear me? They are coming. I've hidden you as long as I can. You must run. Your centurion is in the next bed. Get up!"

[Saytr]

Val; Some time; Somewhere

Val takes out the I and clears his thoughts before looking around past the curtain and to the beyond looking always for his belongings.

[Sengir]

Hardwire; Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
"Funny little bird, I'm kinda tied up here"...and why would there be a laser axe in the other bed? Confused, Hardwire tried to angle his head so he could peek past the curtain in the direction pointed by the owl's wing

[Redjack]

Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Val
Val pulls back the curtain at the end of the bed and moves out. The room is a typical hospital white. To the left center is a door, which appears to be an exit from the room. To the left of that is a small bathroom, to the right of the exit door is a pair of closet doors. Straight ahead are a pair of sitting chairs and a tray with wheels. To his right is the curtain of another bed. The curtain parts need the head and he sees another patient. It only takes him a second to realize that Hardwire is in that bed.

Hardwire
Still lying in bed, Hardwire rolls to the side, reaches out grabbing the curtain to pull it to the side. He sees the naked backside of a muscular man in a hospital gown standing at the end of the next bed over using a rolling IV stand for stability. He turns to face Hardwire and is recognizable as the Russian elf, Val.

The owl let's out a "Whoot" and flies away.

Both

As the two take a moment to recognize each other, the klaxons of a fire alarm begin to blare throughout the facility.

[Sengir]

Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

The sight of Val brought back some memories, or maybe his anesthesia was subsiding. Still, Hardwire could not remember anything past the firefight at the warehouse. He meant to ask Val what the frag had happened to them, only to be reminded that he was still connected to the breathing tube.

[Saytr]

Friday, April 17th@22:13; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
Val

Val looks at Hardwire carefully for a second to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing. Once the alarms started Val took to Hardwires aid in removing the breathing tube and iv as well as his own IV. helping hardwire out of the bed to the room and head towards towards the door in the right side of the room not wanting to walk out the main door into a fray of authorities. hopefully they could find some clothes and get the hell out of there ASAP.
looking at Hardwire knowing there are questions that need to be answered "first things first lets get out of here. than we can talk more."

[Redjack]

Friday, April 17th@22:14; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Val moves almost reflexively to disconnect his own cabling before moving over to assist Hardwire. In moments, he has Hardwire free as well, including gently removing the breathing tube.

A quick scan of the closets reveal the following:
Val's jacket is actually in good shape and he has a t-shirt, but no pants. His boots have obvious fire damage, but are serviceable. Both his comlinks are there, powered off, and his nanopaste trodes are in a small specimen container. No weapons.
Hardwire has no clothes, nor weapons. His comlink is there, though the casing is partially melted.

As Val get his armor jacket pulled on, the door opens and a male human, Russian, looks in, surprised to see people up. His right hand is hidden under his jacket. A second man is following him.

[Sengir]

Friday, April 17th@22:14; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Coughing and unable to get out a word, Hardwire followed Val to the lockers and picked up the molten 'link. As he finally managed to croak out intelligible words, he only got to "What the frag hap-" before the door opened and the intruder reached into his jacket

[Saytr]

Friday, April 17th@22:14; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
Val

Vals attention from Hardwire is interrupted and immediately goes into action. closing the distance between the two and tries to stop the two from breaching the doorway, vals wired relexes spring into immediate action and moves in and attempts to subdue the first Russian male holding the right hand inside his jacket while throwing with what might he throws a haymaker into the Russian in a attempt to knock him out.

[Redjack]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:15; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Running on pure reflexes and adrenaline, Val smashes into the first man like a bull... and is stopped in his tracks by a forearm block. Likewise, as the man attempts to pistol whip Val and is met by a fierce, if unskilled, block by the street samurai. The second man calmly pulls his pistol and screws on a silencer.

[Sengir]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:15; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
While direct confrontation had never been his forte, and the kind requiring physical strength even less so, growing up in the barrens had told Hardwire one thing: Inertia mattered. The commlink still in hand, he charged towards the door in hope of knocking over the intruder

[Redjack]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:15; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Hardwire ambles past Val and the first goon towards the second goon and soon to be silenced firearm. A deft block with the elbow of the goon sends Hardwire charging past and into the hallway.

[Saytr]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:15; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
Val

Val unarmed and out gunned figures it would be best to get him and hardwire out of there instead of trying to punch their way out of a gun fight. disengaging from the first thug once he sees hardwire get past the first thug he attempts to rush past barreling through the duo and assist hardwire as well in a attempt to start their escape. If they were patients in the hospital than the alarm probably wasn't meant for them but the two new Russian invaders, in a attempt to look the part Val planned once they got away from the duo to start yelling for help in a attempt to scare or dissuade the Russian pair from engaging them inside the hospital. If it was as well maintained as it seems they probably had a security team on hand and already in search for dangers.

[Redjack]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:16; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

Val, his wired reflexes amping his body way past anyone and everyone else in the donny brook attempts to take the first goon off his feet... but finds that his personal lack of hand-to-hand skills are easily countered by the the street savvy Vory.

[Saytr]

Friday, April 17th@22:14:16; St Francis Medical Center, 22000 Marine View, Des Moines, Downtown District Seattle Metroplex, UCAS
Val

Val was getting frustrated wishing he has a weapon to spray these two down with. Once again he deftly attempted to escape the duo and get the hell out of dodge before with hardwire before they became meat popsicles.