Post by dexter on Sept 20, 2009 23:08:27 GMT -5
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar worked his way through the outskirts of Las Vegas, trying to learn the lay out. Though Dexter had been to the city several times prior to the invasion his memories proved to be lacking. He could recall with perfect clarity how a he’d seen a man from New Orleans perform impromptu song on his steel guitar outside the New York, New York Casino. How to get to the New York, New York Casino or any other landmark on the strip? No such luck.
<<Heeeeeeeeeeaat! >> Came the voice from the back of his head. <<Why must we go where there is heat?!>>
He chose to ignore Dexter. After all, coming here was fundamentally his idea. Dexter had said they need to find a home base of some sort. The first possible location for such a place had turned out to be Las Vegas. Large cities, such as Vegas, allowed for the ability to enter the society and suspicion to wan much more quickly than smaller towns allowed. The general mayhem that seemed to take place within this particular city also could serve as an excellent distraction, and could possibly keep attention away from the “new guy”. However if the location he chose for a possible base happened to be a place Dexter couldn’t stand, well, that would just be horrible now wouldn’t it?
Josh/Rian:
Joshua took his keys out of his pocket and inserted them into the lock of his door. There was a grinding click as the key entered followed by the sound of the dead bolt sliding back into the door. He turned the handle and let himself into the small apartment but he didn't stay there long. He didn't even turn on the lights, he just threw his bag on the couch and turned right back around. He was late for a meeting with Aceber, the local YPM leader and he didn't want to keep her waiting.
He trotted down the street and came up besides Logan's car. The young free human was his friend and had offered to give him a ride.
"Ready?" Logan asked. Joshua/Adeo nodded and went to climb into the car when he spotted a young man down the street. He looked a little lost. Joshua waved to him, trying to get his attention.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar stopped and looked around the street. He was beginning to grow very thankful he had been in to pool the night before. The city, from what little he had seen thus far, was easy to get lost in. Perhaps he already was. Down the street he heard movement and someone speaking. It disturbed him that he did not notice sooner. He turned his head just in time to see a man wave him over and tensed. There were two of them, he was out numbered.
<<Relax, Slug, >> Dexter mentally rolled his eyes as they began to walk over, << Not everyone’s out to get you. >>
Tyrar huffed, <<I would feel safer if we had grabbed a dracon beam. >>
<< Ha! Like that would help! >> His host laughed, << You aim totally sucks, dude. >>
<<Our aim. >>
<<I don’t shoot at anything, ergo, it’s your aim. >>
He stopped a few feet away from the two. What immediately struck him was the fact they were using a car. Unless things operated differently in Vegas controllers did not typically use them. Tyrar quickly scanned over the men again. The one that had waved him over certainly seemed nonthreatening.
“Can I help you with something?” He asked calmly.
Josh:
"What are you doing?" Logan hissed as he looked through his windshield at the approaching unknown. He couldn't even see Adeo's face from where he was sitting in the front seat, just his legs and torso. He reached out and swatted Joshua's leg to get his attention. "Dude, we don't know him and I'm not supposed to be here." free humans weren't really supposed to be anywhere but they normally got left alone if they kept themselves out of sight and lived in the slums. He was doing Adeo a favor by coming down here to pick him up and now the guy was being an idiot. "Get in the car man."
Adeo leaned down and looked at Logan's concerned face. He shrugged in a way that seemed to say chill out and motioned for Logan to get out of the car.
"You better know what you're doing homes because I'm not going down for this," Logan said as he opened his door and climbed out of the car.
"Can I help you with something?" the stranger asked. Joshua looked over at Logan and Logan glared back for a moment before turning to look at the kid. Great, Josh got them into this and now he wanted Logan to do the talking.
"Nah man, you just looked a little lost or something. Need directions?"
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar watched as the other man got out of the vehicle. This one seemed noticeably more concerned than his friend. He wondered if they were controllers at all, maybe free humans. Keeping eyes on the worried man he stepped closer and attempted to appear relaxed. According to Dexter he was failing at it miserably, so he let his host control the body while he did the talking.
“I certainly feel lost. Directions would be wonderful,” he paused, “If I knew the destination.”
While Dexter smiled at them, Tyrar began to think about their situation. From what he had seen these two were not controllers. One was too open and the other was too guarded, plus there was the car. He also had no clue as to why they were in an area where Tyrar had seen no other people, controller or otherwise. Out of concern he tried to regain control, only to have Dexter push back. << The last thing we need is you over reacting, >> Dexter hissed in their mind, << If you don’t stop jumping at shadows you’re gonna get us seriously screwed over. Ten-four? >>
Josh:
Joshua and Logan looked at each other upon hearing the guy's answer. Josh was a controller and Logan had been one so they knew what protocol was. When controllers got transferred to a city they had an assigned check in spot and someone to report to. There was always someone over you in the yeerk empire. Just how it worked. And if this guy was new then he should probably know where he was going, hell he probably would have been escorted there.
That said, there were plenty of people breaking the rules all the time. Especially in Vegas where people just seemed to drift in and out, sometimes only staying long enough to get some sort of fix or to pay off a debt. There were a couple of cities around the planet where a thriving black market and a bit of a criminal underground had sprung up and Vegas was one of them.
So it wasn't exactly surprising to meet someone who wasn't on official business. What was surprising wast that he was so willing to admit it. Either one of them could have been Empire lackeys and might have reported him or something. But he looked very relaxed which made Logan a little nervous. Mostly people who had nothing to fear were the ones who were dangerous.
"Um, well...where are you trying to go?" Logan asked, feeling more and more nervous. Joshua, finally, looked like he was a little nervous as well. Or at least concerned. He was a little too calm to really be classified as nervous ever.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar watched the two men as Dexter began to look around. The calmer one began to look tense now. It was slight but it was there. His friend was getting worse as well. Once more played with the idea of regaining control just to have Dexter push back. He a seemed to think that if Tyrar tensed up things would only get worse.
<<Then perhaps you should just do the talking as well. >> He growled.
<<Uh, do I sound anything like you? That’s a negative. I can’t talk like you and they would notice if you stopped sounding like a freakin’ robot. Just try to talk it out. >> Dexter thought back.
They turned back to face the men. His eyes briefly stayed on the one that waved him over before he looked back at the nervous one. “Talk it out”, did his host honestly think it was going to be that simple? Without a better option Tyrar decided to give it a try.
“I’m not sure ,” Dexter added a shrug, “ I arrived last night and was taking time to look around the city.”
<<More info. >>
<<Knowledge is power. >>
<<Hmm I seem to remember you saying something about that, >> Dexter thought, tapping the side of his leg, <<Give someone else enough power to think they control the situation, or something like that? >>
“I have not been in one this large for a long while, “Tyrar added finally, “I forgot how easy it is to become displaced.”
<<Displaced? I know I said you sound like a robot, but- >>
<<Silence unless you decide to be helpful! >>
Josh:
"Yeah, I guess it can be," Logan said without much conviction. "Anyway, good luck to you I guess." He turned to get back in his car but Joshua didn't move for a moment and when Logan looked back at him the man looked pensive. For a moment he looked off into space and then he pulled a communicator out of his pocket and flipped it open. He pushed a couple of buttons and an image of Aceber came into existence, floating above the mini holo generator.
"Hello Adeo 249," she greeted him, using his yeerk name in case anyone was monitoring the channel. Well actually the yeerk empire was pretty paranoid. There was always someone monitoring the channel and it might even be being recorded, especially if either one of them were under suspicion for anything.
He nodded in greeting and turned the image capture towards the young man in front of them. On Aceber's end she was now seeing a hologram of him instead of Joshua. "Oh," she said in surprise as the stranger came into view. "Just a moment." Her hologram disappeared as she moved out of range of her own image capture and Joshua pointed the communicator back towards himself.
He nodded towards the stranger in apology for not asking him first before transmitting his image. But as he'd watched Logan and the guy talk he'd remembered something about a YPM of his description that might be coming their way.
Aceber came back into the image capture's radius and her hologram popped back into existence above the little communicator. "Yeah, I've got it here," she said holding up what looked to be some sort of cube. Joshua recognized it for what it was, a little storage device that had a holo projector of its own. She had probably saved something on it and was trying to show it to him but holo image captures couldn't pick up other holograms. She could see whatever she was looking at but he couldn't.
He looked patient and she looked down at it. "Oh sorry. I always forget other people can't see it too. It is just a message from Acro. Says to keep an eye out for the guy you just showed me. Is he still around?" She couldn't see him any longer of course because the image capture was now pointing towards him. Adeo nodded an affirmative. "Good well, um, hi I guess."
Logan listened to all of this from the car and rolled his eyes. "Good. He's clean. Can we go now?" Joshua looked down at him as he switched the communicator off and then looked up at the young man who's name he'd forgot to inquire about. He motioned towards to the car to see if he wanted to go with them.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Dexter smiled and nodded at the nervous man as he climbed into the car. He was about to leave when he saw the other man standing still. The man stared off for a minute before pulling something out of his pocket. When he started pushing buttons that Tyrar figured out it was a communicator and was about withdraw when a hologram of a woman appeared. Tyrar stiffened when she greeted the man with a controller name. If Dexter any arguments had about control he didn’t voice them for once. Suddenly the image capture was pointed at him and he took a half step backward in surprise. The woman looked at him before excusing herself and walking out of range of her own communicator.
<<What’s going on? >> Dexter thought loudly.
Tyrar watched as the man turned the communicator back toward himself and nod. He was wondering how many cities he could put between himself and Las Vegas before nightfall when the woman reappeared.
“Yeah, I’ve got it here,” she said and out of curiosity kept Tyrar remained. It remained quiet for a moment as the man watched the hologram. Tyrar began to look around for controllers in the street wondering if it was a trap. The woman spoke again, this time an apology and said she had a message from Acro to look out for him. Dexter seemed impressed by the “name drop” and he narrowed his eyes. He missed what she said but the man had turned the communicator back toward him.
“Good well, um, hi I guess.” She said and Tyrar raise an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure how to react. The nervous one spoke for inside the car, calling him “clean” and the other waved him closer. While he still didn’t trust them he did want to know what it was that had just taken place. He stopped when he was within the man’s striking distance.
“Would you mind telling me who you are exactly?” He asked looking the man in the eye.
Josh:
Adeo looked surprised. He had thought it was obvious that he wasn't an enemy of this young man but then, as he replayed the conversation in his own head, he realized that he'd never identified himself at any point. He looked over at Logan and realized how sketchy they must seem.
"I apologize. My name is Joshua." It was the first thing he'd said the whole time and Logan looked surprised to hear him speak. Joshua didn't talk much on a good day among the closest friends. It was odd to hear him say anything to a stranger. Logan had even begun to wonder if Joshua spoke at all.
"Um, Logan," he chimed in, the uncertainty in his voice due more to his lingering surprise than to any uncertainty about his identity. "I'm not YPM or whatever. Neither is my man Joshua. But we help them out sometimes, you know, if they help us. They're better than the normal controllers anyway. Don't treat humans like crap and Josh here helps out with patching us up if we need it, which we sometimes do. I guess you can say he's an equal opportunity doctor and I'm his chauffeur, at least for toady. So, what's the deal with you? You need a ride some place or what? You can wander around here on your own but Aceber could probably hook you up with a place if you need it."
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar nodded when Joshua gave his name. He turned when the other one spoke. It had been a surprise when Logan told him they weren’t YPM. Every time he’d come into contact with a bounty hunter or controller looking for a promotion they told him they were YPM. They also never used the term “Equal Opportunity”. The two of them might not be what he considered allies, but at least he was on neutral ground. He wondered why Joshua only gave a human name when the woman had called Adeo 249. Was he a controller or a free human? Perhaps he didn’t want to give out to much information. Then again he just didn’t feel a need to repeat himself. Logan was easier to categorize. When an individual who isn’t YPM makes a comment about not treating humans poorly, they are most defiantly a free human.
“Aceber?” He asked, hoping for more of information.
While Tyrar was trying to figure out the situation Dexter was more amused. Since the risk of being turned over to the nearest sub-vissor decreased he could feel Tyrar calm down, or rather get less tense. Dexter looked over at Logan and smirked. That man was not amused. He wanted to have left ten minutes ago and didn’t want to spend his time talking to him. Of course all this did was trigger Dexter’s desire to jerk his chain. Logan reminded him of ever person who asked him why they were friends on a regular basis. Dex never knew how to answer them, he had guessed it was though association and the entertainment factor.
“Chauffer, eh? So are you on a payroll or do you work for tips?” Dexter said the first thing that popped into his head. It wasn’t particularly witty or clever but there was always room for improvement. What hadn’t expected the words to actually come out of his mouth. Tyrar had been keeping the mute button on pretty constantly and he assumed that he still had. Obviously he had assumed wrong and now he could feel Tyrar getting pissed at the back of his skull.
<<He, he…oops? >>
Josh:
Logan was taken aback by the kid's question. "Yo dude, what's your problem," he said closing the car door a little too hard and beginning to walk around the car. "We don't even know who the hell you are and we're trying to help you out. You want to crack jokes on someone how about-"
He was cut off when Joshua grabbed his arm. He had come all the way around the car and was about to approach the unknown controller before Josh stopped him. He looked back at Joshua and then pulled his arm out of his grip. "Whatever man, he's your problem. You want to take him to Aceber be my guest, but you can do it without my car. I don't need to put up with this bullshit. I was doing you a favor."
Logan walked back around the car and pulled the door open angrily and got into the front seat. He turned the car on and looked over to the passenger seat where Adeo was still half in half out of the car. "Dude, get in or get out but I'm leaving."
Adeo leaned down and looked at Logan as if he was being immature. The kid hadn't said anything too bad though it had been a little rude. Still, Logan didn't have to drive off and leave him stranded. He waved a hand at him asking him to just wait a second.
"No. Get in or get out. I don't care which."
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Dexter got wide-eyed when Logan yelled at him. He jumped like the man had just pulled out a stick of lit dynamite when the door slammed shut. It was obvious that the chauffer comment hadn’t been a shining moment of brilliance but he didn’t think it had been that bad. When Logan started to walk around the car Tyrar closed off their features and prepared to take a defensive position. Joshua stopped the man and Tyrar stood at parade rest. He got the impression that it was a good thing Dexter hadn’t done any of the talking.
<<I want you to understand the only reason I have not harmed you is because it would be extremely awkward if I punched you in the face. >>
<<Got it, >> Dexter thought back quickly. He knew Tyrar would never actually hurt him but he still took the warning. Tyrar could hold something over a person for a long time if he wanted to.
Tyrar listened to the man yell at Joshua with narrowed eyes. His jaw clenched when he told Joshua he wasn’t taking them in the car. Tyrar was sure that he would choose Logan over some mouthy kid. The situation would not have been that horrible if they had known where to find Aceber. Also underground groups tended to be close knit and offending a member could offend the whole. He looked down and took a deep breath before he tried to meet Joshua’s eyes again.
“Our sincerest apologies,” Tyrar said carefully, “my host was making an attempt to be, “he paused looking for the right word, “cute.”
<<I wouldn’t say cute- >>
Tyrar looked up and to the left in annoyance.
<<Shutting up now. >>
“Would you associate still be willing to transport us if I ensure that his comments remained restrained?” It seemed like a long shot but Tyrar asked anyway.
Josh:
Logan looked up at the controller and for a moment a look of disgust crossed his face. He couldn't help it. He wasn't good at hiding what he was thinking and all he could think about when he heard the guy speak was some oozing gray slug wrapped around a human brain, squishing pieces of itself into every nook and cranny. "My host." God, how could anyone choose to live like that. It made him question if they really had a choice. Sure the YPM boys were all about coexisting but what if one of their hosts didn't want to coexist, what if one of them just wanted to be free. Would the slug really go back to its sludge pool? Probably not.
Logan looked from Joshua to the stranger and for a moment he wondered why he was even here at all. These fuckers had taken over his planet and destroyed his life. He'd had a full scholarship to ULV to run track. He'd had a girlfriend. His family had been relatively sane as far as families went. He hadn't known what he wanted to be but he'd been excited to figure it out. And now he had nothing. He scrounged every day just to get enough food to feed him and his little sister. His parents were dead or enslaved. There were no schools, there was no scholarship, there was no life, no hope. What the hell was he living for? Just to keep breathing tomorrow? What the fuck was the point!
"Get in man before I change my mind," Logan said turning the key in the ignition. He didn't know what he wanted to do but he just realized that he had to do something. He couldn't continue on like this, just living from day to day. He had to have something to live for. He couldn't sit around and let his sister grow up into a world where her best choice would be to accept some peace loving pile of goo into her brain.
This had to fixed and he'd probably need the YPM's help to do it, at least in the short run so he wasn't going to burn any bridges right now.
Joshua looked at Logan, a look of thoughtful surprise on his face. He had thought the young man would take more convincing than that but he seemed willing enough to drive them. Joshua decided not to push his luck and he climbed into the car and motioned for Dexter to do the same.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar didn’t give Logan time to change his mind. He opened the car door shortly after Joshua and sat behind him.
“Thank you,” he said curtly to the both of them.
<<Names, >> Dexter thought.
Tyrar raised an eyebrow. He did not understand what Dexter meant at first. Then he remembered Logan and Joshua had given their names and he had not returned the gesture. He looked out of the window with slight annoyance and embarrassment. Long ago Tyrar had gotten into the habit of not revealing his name unless it was asked for directly. Even then he would usually avoid giving it. For this reason he typically forgot to tell others what it was in social and more casual situations.
“My designation is Tyrar 397,” he felt awkward saying it without provocation, “and the individual you met briefly is Dexter Mitrajit.”
Dexter felt Tyrar release control. Apparently the slug wasn’t mad at him anymore. He moved closer to the door to get just a little more distance between him and Logan. The driver had kinda freaked him out and Tyrar also had the annoying tendency to try and sit in the exact center of seats. He did a quick wave but didn’t look to see if anyone was paying attention.
“Sorry ‘bout earlier,” Dexter added.
Josh:
"Who's sorry? The jeerk of the slug?" Logan asked ungraciously. Joshua reached out and put a hand lightly on the arm steering the car. Logan's gaze briefly turned to him, angry eyes meeting calm ones. Logan turned away but he held his tongue for a moment and Adeo returned his hand to his lap.
For a while silence reigned in the car as Logan navigated the baking streets of Las Vegas, his eyes locked on the road ahead of him and very obviously ignoring everyone else in the car. Joshua cast him a few worried glances but didn't break the silence, afraid it would only set Logan off. The young man could be volatile and rash. Joshua didn't want him making any stupid decisions in the heat of anger.
'We're here," Logan said as the car came to a stop, speaking for the controller's benefit since Joshua would know where they were. Joshua nodded his thanks before turning to look at Dexter and Tryar and motioning for them to follow him. He climbed out of the car and closed the door respectfully before walking around the front towards the sidewalk and the building they had stopped in front of. It wasn't much to look at, just a modest house, but it was YPM central in Vegas and Adeo would be here.
Dexter/Tyrar 397:
Dexter opened his mouth to respond to Logan’s question. <<Wait until we have reached our destination, >> Tyrar thought calmly. He could stand Logan being upset with him, most free humans disliked yeerks and with good reason. However he did not like him the man agitating Dexter, even if there was a chance it was not his intent. Anger would not help the situation. They needed to met other YPM in the city. Privately Tyrar wanted nothing more than his host to agitate the man out of spite. For this very reason he concealed all hints and feelings regarding the subject from Dexter. The last thing the boy needed was incentive.
After hearing what Tyrar thought Dexter snorted. Yeah, Logan could flip out, stop and throw them out of the car. Maybe without the stopping part. He put an elbow on door and rested his head on his hand. As he watched the city go by Dexter started missing Boston again. People got him there. Well, Izzi got him… Okay, Izzi put up with him and that was a lot better than right then.
Dex blinked when Joshua spoke again. He hadn’t realized that the car had stopped and looked around for a second. Joshua motioned for him to get out of the car and some sense returned to him. He opened the door and climbed out, watching Joshua walk toward the house in front of them. Dexter was about to close the door when he glanced back at Logan. He leaned back in and looked at the driver, tapped his finger against the doorframe.
“Thanks for the ride and F.Y.I. it was me that said sorry, ‘cus I was the one that opened my stupid mouth and got you all sorts of pissed,” He said before standing back up and closing the door.
He began following Josh when Tyrar thought, <<That was not a clever action. >>
<<Yeah, well nuts to him. >>
Tyrar paused, wondering what nuts had to do with the circumstance. <<Logan is still in a vehicle. He can easily run you over, >> He responded dryly.
Dexter hooked a thumb on one of his pockets. He picked up his pace to catch up with Joshua.
“Anything I need to know before getting in there?” Dex asked before looking over his shoulder back at Logan.
Tyrar worked his way through the outskirts of Las Vegas, trying to learn the lay out. Though Dexter had been to the city several times prior to the invasion his memories proved to be lacking. He could recall with perfect clarity how a he’d seen a man from New Orleans perform impromptu song on his steel guitar outside the New York, New York Casino. How to get to the New York, New York Casino or any other landmark on the strip? No such luck.
<<Heeeeeeeeeeaat! >> Came the voice from the back of his head. <<Why must we go where there is heat?!>>
He chose to ignore Dexter. After all, coming here was fundamentally his idea. Dexter had said they need to find a home base of some sort. The first possible location for such a place had turned out to be Las Vegas. Large cities, such as Vegas, allowed for the ability to enter the society and suspicion to wan much more quickly than smaller towns allowed. The general mayhem that seemed to take place within this particular city also could serve as an excellent distraction, and could possibly keep attention away from the “new guy”. However if the location he chose for a possible base happened to be a place Dexter couldn’t stand, well, that would just be horrible now wouldn’t it?
Josh/Rian:
Joshua took his keys out of his pocket and inserted them into the lock of his door. There was a grinding click as the key entered followed by the sound of the dead bolt sliding back into the door. He turned the handle and let himself into the small apartment but he didn't stay there long. He didn't even turn on the lights, he just threw his bag on the couch and turned right back around. He was late for a meeting with Aceber, the local YPM leader and he didn't want to keep her waiting.
He trotted down the street and came up besides Logan's car. The young free human was his friend and had offered to give him a ride.
"Ready?" Logan asked. Joshua/Adeo nodded and went to climb into the car when he spotted a young man down the street. He looked a little lost. Joshua waved to him, trying to get his attention.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar stopped and looked around the street. He was beginning to grow very thankful he had been in to pool the night before. The city, from what little he had seen thus far, was easy to get lost in. Perhaps he already was. Down the street he heard movement and someone speaking. It disturbed him that he did not notice sooner. He turned his head just in time to see a man wave him over and tensed. There were two of them, he was out numbered.
<<Relax, Slug, >> Dexter mentally rolled his eyes as they began to walk over, << Not everyone’s out to get you. >>
Tyrar huffed, <<I would feel safer if we had grabbed a dracon beam. >>
<< Ha! Like that would help! >> His host laughed, << You aim totally sucks, dude. >>
<<Our aim. >>
<<I don’t shoot at anything, ergo, it’s your aim. >>
He stopped a few feet away from the two. What immediately struck him was the fact they were using a car. Unless things operated differently in Vegas controllers did not typically use them. Tyrar quickly scanned over the men again. The one that had waved him over certainly seemed nonthreatening.
“Can I help you with something?” He asked calmly.
Josh:
"What are you doing?" Logan hissed as he looked through his windshield at the approaching unknown. He couldn't even see Adeo's face from where he was sitting in the front seat, just his legs and torso. He reached out and swatted Joshua's leg to get his attention. "Dude, we don't know him and I'm not supposed to be here." free humans weren't really supposed to be anywhere but they normally got left alone if they kept themselves out of sight and lived in the slums. He was doing Adeo a favor by coming down here to pick him up and now the guy was being an idiot. "Get in the car man."
Adeo leaned down and looked at Logan's concerned face. He shrugged in a way that seemed to say chill out and motioned for Logan to get out of the car.
"You better know what you're doing homes because I'm not going down for this," Logan said as he opened his door and climbed out of the car.
"Can I help you with something?" the stranger asked. Joshua looked over at Logan and Logan glared back for a moment before turning to look at the kid. Great, Josh got them into this and now he wanted Logan to do the talking.
"Nah man, you just looked a little lost or something. Need directions?"
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar watched as the other man got out of the vehicle. This one seemed noticeably more concerned than his friend. He wondered if they were controllers at all, maybe free humans. Keeping eyes on the worried man he stepped closer and attempted to appear relaxed. According to Dexter he was failing at it miserably, so he let his host control the body while he did the talking.
“I certainly feel lost. Directions would be wonderful,” he paused, “If I knew the destination.”
While Dexter smiled at them, Tyrar began to think about their situation. From what he had seen these two were not controllers. One was too open and the other was too guarded, plus there was the car. He also had no clue as to why they were in an area where Tyrar had seen no other people, controller or otherwise. Out of concern he tried to regain control, only to have Dexter push back. << The last thing we need is you over reacting, >> Dexter hissed in their mind, << If you don’t stop jumping at shadows you’re gonna get us seriously screwed over. Ten-four? >>
Josh:
Joshua and Logan looked at each other upon hearing the guy's answer. Josh was a controller and Logan had been one so they knew what protocol was. When controllers got transferred to a city they had an assigned check in spot and someone to report to. There was always someone over you in the yeerk empire. Just how it worked. And if this guy was new then he should probably know where he was going, hell he probably would have been escorted there.
That said, there were plenty of people breaking the rules all the time. Especially in Vegas where people just seemed to drift in and out, sometimes only staying long enough to get some sort of fix or to pay off a debt. There were a couple of cities around the planet where a thriving black market and a bit of a criminal underground had sprung up and Vegas was one of them.
So it wasn't exactly surprising to meet someone who wasn't on official business. What was surprising wast that he was so willing to admit it. Either one of them could have been Empire lackeys and might have reported him or something. But he looked very relaxed which made Logan a little nervous. Mostly people who had nothing to fear were the ones who were dangerous.
"Um, well...where are you trying to go?" Logan asked, feeling more and more nervous. Joshua, finally, looked like he was a little nervous as well. Or at least concerned. He was a little too calm to really be classified as nervous ever.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar watched the two men as Dexter began to look around. The calmer one began to look tense now. It was slight but it was there. His friend was getting worse as well. Once more played with the idea of regaining control just to have Dexter push back. He a seemed to think that if Tyrar tensed up things would only get worse.
<<Then perhaps you should just do the talking as well. >> He growled.
<<Uh, do I sound anything like you? That’s a negative. I can’t talk like you and they would notice if you stopped sounding like a freakin’ robot. Just try to talk it out. >> Dexter thought back.
They turned back to face the men. His eyes briefly stayed on the one that waved him over before he looked back at the nervous one. “Talk it out”, did his host honestly think it was going to be that simple? Without a better option Tyrar decided to give it a try.
“I’m not sure ,” Dexter added a shrug, “ I arrived last night and was taking time to look around the city.”
<<More info. >>
<<Knowledge is power. >>
<<Hmm I seem to remember you saying something about that, >> Dexter thought, tapping the side of his leg, <<Give someone else enough power to think they control the situation, or something like that? >>
“I have not been in one this large for a long while, “Tyrar added finally, “I forgot how easy it is to become displaced.”
<<Displaced? I know I said you sound like a robot, but- >>
<<Silence unless you decide to be helpful! >>
Josh:
"Yeah, I guess it can be," Logan said without much conviction. "Anyway, good luck to you I guess." He turned to get back in his car but Joshua didn't move for a moment and when Logan looked back at him the man looked pensive. For a moment he looked off into space and then he pulled a communicator out of his pocket and flipped it open. He pushed a couple of buttons and an image of Aceber came into existence, floating above the mini holo generator.
"Hello Adeo 249," she greeted him, using his yeerk name in case anyone was monitoring the channel. Well actually the yeerk empire was pretty paranoid. There was always someone monitoring the channel and it might even be being recorded, especially if either one of them were under suspicion for anything.
He nodded in greeting and turned the image capture towards the young man in front of them. On Aceber's end she was now seeing a hologram of him instead of Joshua. "Oh," she said in surprise as the stranger came into view. "Just a moment." Her hologram disappeared as she moved out of range of her own image capture and Joshua pointed the communicator back towards himself.
He nodded towards the stranger in apology for not asking him first before transmitting his image. But as he'd watched Logan and the guy talk he'd remembered something about a YPM of his description that might be coming their way.
Aceber came back into the image capture's radius and her hologram popped back into existence above the little communicator. "Yeah, I've got it here," she said holding up what looked to be some sort of cube. Joshua recognized it for what it was, a little storage device that had a holo projector of its own. She had probably saved something on it and was trying to show it to him but holo image captures couldn't pick up other holograms. She could see whatever she was looking at but he couldn't.
He looked patient and she looked down at it. "Oh sorry. I always forget other people can't see it too. It is just a message from Acro. Says to keep an eye out for the guy you just showed me. Is he still around?" She couldn't see him any longer of course because the image capture was now pointing towards him. Adeo nodded an affirmative. "Good well, um, hi I guess."
Logan listened to all of this from the car and rolled his eyes. "Good. He's clean. Can we go now?" Joshua looked down at him as he switched the communicator off and then looked up at the young man who's name he'd forgot to inquire about. He motioned towards to the car to see if he wanted to go with them.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Dexter smiled and nodded at the nervous man as he climbed into the car. He was about to leave when he saw the other man standing still. The man stared off for a minute before pulling something out of his pocket. When he started pushing buttons that Tyrar figured out it was a communicator and was about withdraw when a hologram of a woman appeared. Tyrar stiffened when she greeted the man with a controller name. If Dexter any arguments had about control he didn’t voice them for once. Suddenly the image capture was pointed at him and he took a half step backward in surprise. The woman looked at him before excusing herself and walking out of range of her own communicator.
<<What’s going on? >> Dexter thought loudly.
Tyrar watched as the man turned the communicator back toward himself and nod. He was wondering how many cities he could put between himself and Las Vegas before nightfall when the woman reappeared.
“Yeah, I’ve got it here,” she said and out of curiosity kept Tyrar remained. It remained quiet for a moment as the man watched the hologram. Tyrar began to look around for controllers in the street wondering if it was a trap. The woman spoke again, this time an apology and said she had a message from Acro to look out for him. Dexter seemed impressed by the “name drop” and he narrowed his eyes. He missed what she said but the man had turned the communicator back toward him.
“Good well, um, hi I guess.” She said and Tyrar raise an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure how to react. The nervous one spoke for inside the car, calling him “clean” and the other waved him closer. While he still didn’t trust them he did want to know what it was that had just taken place. He stopped when he was within the man’s striking distance.
“Would you mind telling me who you are exactly?” He asked looking the man in the eye.
Josh:
Adeo looked surprised. He had thought it was obvious that he wasn't an enemy of this young man but then, as he replayed the conversation in his own head, he realized that he'd never identified himself at any point. He looked over at Logan and realized how sketchy they must seem.
"I apologize. My name is Joshua." It was the first thing he'd said the whole time and Logan looked surprised to hear him speak. Joshua didn't talk much on a good day among the closest friends. It was odd to hear him say anything to a stranger. Logan had even begun to wonder if Joshua spoke at all.
"Um, Logan," he chimed in, the uncertainty in his voice due more to his lingering surprise than to any uncertainty about his identity. "I'm not YPM or whatever. Neither is my man Joshua. But we help them out sometimes, you know, if they help us. They're better than the normal controllers anyway. Don't treat humans like crap and Josh here helps out with patching us up if we need it, which we sometimes do. I guess you can say he's an equal opportunity doctor and I'm his chauffeur, at least for toady. So, what's the deal with you? You need a ride some place or what? You can wander around here on your own but Aceber could probably hook you up with a place if you need it."
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar nodded when Joshua gave his name. He turned when the other one spoke. It had been a surprise when Logan told him they weren’t YPM. Every time he’d come into contact with a bounty hunter or controller looking for a promotion they told him they were YPM. They also never used the term “Equal Opportunity”. The two of them might not be what he considered allies, but at least he was on neutral ground. He wondered why Joshua only gave a human name when the woman had called Adeo 249. Was he a controller or a free human? Perhaps he didn’t want to give out to much information. Then again he just didn’t feel a need to repeat himself. Logan was easier to categorize. When an individual who isn’t YPM makes a comment about not treating humans poorly, they are most defiantly a free human.
“Aceber?” He asked, hoping for more of information.
While Tyrar was trying to figure out the situation Dexter was more amused. Since the risk of being turned over to the nearest sub-vissor decreased he could feel Tyrar calm down, or rather get less tense. Dexter looked over at Logan and smirked. That man was not amused. He wanted to have left ten minutes ago and didn’t want to spend his time talking to him. Of course all this did was trigger Dexter’s desire to jerk his chain. Logan reminded him of ever person who asked him why they were friends on a regular basis. Dex never knew how to answer them, he had guessed it was though association and the entertainment factor.
“Chauffer, eh? So are you on a payroll or do you work for tips?” Dexter said the first thing that popped into his head. It wasn’t particularly witty or clever but there was always room for improvement. What hadn’t expected the words to actually come out of his mouth. Tyrar had been keeping the mute button on pretty constantly and he assumed that he still had. Obviously he had assumed wrong and now he could feel Tyrar getting pissed at the back of his skull.
<<He, he…oops? >>
Josh:
Logan was taken aback by the kid's question. "Yo dude, what's your problem," he said closing the car door a little too hard and beginning to walk around the car. "We don't even know who the hell you are and we're trying to help you out. You want to crack jokes on someone how about-"
He was cut off when Joshua grabbed his arm. He had come all the way around the car and was about to approach the unknown controller before Josh stopped him. He looked back at Joshua and then pulled his arm out of his grip. "Whatever man, he's your problem. You want to take him to Aceber be my guest, but you can do it without my car. I don't need to put up with this bullshit. I was doing you a favor."
Logan walked back around the car and pulled the door open angrily and got into the front seat. He turned the car on and looked over to the passenger seat where Adeo was still half in half out of the car. "Dude, get in or get out but I'm leaving."
Adeo leaned down and looked at Logan as if he was being immature. The kid hadn't said anything too bad though it had been a little rude. Still, Logan didn't have to drive off and leave him stranded. He waved a hand at him asking him to just wait a second.
"No. Get in or get out. I don't care which."
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Dexter got wide-eyed when Logan yelled at him. He jumped like the man had just pulled out a stick of lit dynamite when the door slammed shut. It was obvious that the chauffer comment hadn’t been a shining moment of brilliance but he didn’t think it had been that bad. When Logan started to walk around the car Tyrar closed off their features and prepared to take a defensive position. Joshua stopped the man and Tyrar stood at parade rest. He got the impression that it was a good thing Dexter hadn’t done any of the talking.
<<I want you to understand the only reason I have not harmed you is because it would be extremely awkward if I punched you in the face. >>
<<Got it, >> Dexter thought back quickly. He knew Tyrar would never actually hurt him but he still took the warning. Tyrar could hold something over a person for a long time if he wanted to.
Tyrar listened to the man yell at Joshua with narrowed eyes. His jaw clenched when he told Joshua he wasn’t taking them in the car. Tyrar was sure that he would choose Logan over some mouthy kid. The situation would not have been that horrible if they had known where to find Aceber. Also underground groups tended to be close knit and offending a member could offend the whole. He looked down and took a deep breath before he tried to meet Joshua’s eyes again.
“Our sincerest apologies,” Tyrar said carefully, “my host was making an attempt to be, “he paused looking for the right word, “cute.”
<<I wouldn’t say cute- >>
Tyrar looked up and to the left in annoyance.
<<Shutting up now. >>
“Would you associate still be willing to transport us if I ensure that his comments remained restrained?” It seemed like a long shot but Tyrar asked anyway.
Josh:
Logan looked up at the controller and for a moment a look of disgust crossed his face. He couldn't help it. He wasn't good at hiding what he was thinking and all he could think about when he heard the guy speak was some oozing gray slug wrapped around a human brain, squishing pieces of itself into every nook and cranny. "My host." God, how could anyone choose to live like that. It made him question if they really had a choice. Sure the YPM boys were all about coexisting but what if one of their hosts didn't want to coexist, what if one of them just wanted to be free. Would the slug really go back to its sludge pool? Probably not.
Logan looked from Joshua to the stranger and for a moment he wondered why he was even here at all. These fuckers had taken over his planet and destroyed his life. He'd had a full scholarship to ULV to run track. He'd had a girlfriend. His family had been relatively sane as far as families went. He hadn't known what he wanted to be but he'd been excited to figure it out. And now he had nothing. He scrounged every day just to get enough food to feed him and his little sister. His parents were dead or enslaved. There were no schools, there was no scholarship, there was no life, no hope. What the hell was he living for? Just to keep breathing tomorrow? What the fuck was the point!
"Get in man before I change my mind," Logan said turning the key in the ignition. He didn't know what he wanted to do but he just realized that he had to do something. He couldn't continue on like this, just living from day to day. He had to have something to live for. He couldn't sit around and let his sister grow up into a world where her best choice would be to accept some peace loving pile of goo into her brain.
This had to fixed and he'd probably need the YPM's help to do it, at least in the short run so he wasn't going to burn any bridges right now.
Joshua looked at Logan, a look of thoughtful surprise on his face. He had thought the young man would take more convincing than that but he seemed willing enough to drive them. Joshua decided not to push his luck and he climbed into the car and motioned for Dexter to do the same.
Dexter/Tyrar 367:
Tyrar didn’t give Logan time to change his mind. He opened the car door shortly after Joshua and sat behind him.
“Thank you,” he said curtly to the both of them.
<<Names, >> Dexter thought.
Tyrar raised an eyebrow. He did not understand what Dexter meant at first. Then he remembered Logan and Joshua had given their names and he had not returned the gesture. He looked out of the window with slight annoyance and embarrassment. Long ago Tyrar had gotten into the habit of not revealing his name unless it was asked for directly. Even then he would usually avoid giving it. For this reason he typically forgot to tell others what it was in social and more casual situations.
“My designation is Tyrar 397,” he felt awkward saying it without provocation, “and the individual you met briefly is Dexter Mitrajit.”
Dexter felt Tyrar release control. Apparently the slug wasn’t mad at him anymore. He moved closer to the door to get just a little more distance between him and Logan. The driver had kinda freaked him out and Tyrar also had the annoying tendency to try and sit in the exact center of seats. He did a quick wave but didn’t look to see if anyone was paying attention.
“Sorry ‘bout earlier,” Dexter added.
Josh:
"Who's sorry? The jeerk of the slug?" Logan asked ungraciously. Joshua reached out and put a hand lightly on the arm steering the car. Logan's gaze briefly turned to him, angry eyes meeting calm ones. Logan turned away but he held his tongue for a moment and Adeo returned his hand to his lap.
For a while silence reigned in the car as Logan navigated the baking streets of Las Vegas, his eyes locked on the road ahead of him and very obviously ignoring everyone else in the car. Joshua cast him a few worried glances but didn't break the silence, afraid it would only set Logan off. The young man could be volatile and rash. Joshua didn't want him making any stupid decisions in the heat of anger.
'We're here," Logan said as the car came to a stop, speaking for the controller's benefit since Joshua would know where they were. Joshua nodded his thanks before turning to look at Dexter and Tryar and motioning for them to follow him. He climbed out of the car and closed the door respectfully before walking around the front towards the sidewalk and the building they had stopped in front of. It wasn't much to look at, just a modest house, but it was YPM central in Vegas and Adeo would be here.
Dexter/Tyrar 397:
Dexter opened his mouth to respond to Logan’s question. <<Wait until we have reached our destination, >> Tyrar thought calmly. He could stand Logan being upset with him, most free humans disliked yeerks and with good reason. However he did not like him the man agitating Dexter, even if there was a chance it was not his intent. Anger would not help the situation. They needed to met other YPM in the city. Privately Tyrar wanted nothing more than his host to agitate the man out of spite. For this very reason he concealed all hints and feelings regarding the subject from Dexter. The last thing the boy needed was incentive.
After hearing what Tyrar thought Dexter snorted. Yeah, Logan could flip out, stop and throw them out of the car. Maybe without the stopping part. He put an elbow on door and rested his head on his hand. As he watched the city go by Dexter started missing Boston again. People got him there. Well, Izzi got him… Okay, Izzi put up with him and that was a lot better than right then.
Dex blinked when Joshua spoke again. He hadn’t realized that the car had stopped and looked around for a second. Joshua motioned for him to get out of the car and some sense returned to him. He opened the door and climbed out, watching Joshua walk toward the house in front of them. Dexter was about to close the door when he glanced back at Logan. He leaned back in and looked at the driver, tapped his finger against the doorframe.
“Thanks for the ride and F.Y.I. it was me that said sorry, ‘cus I was the one that opened my stupid mouth and got you all sorts of pissed,” He said before standing back up and closing the door.
He began following Josh when Tyrar thought, <<That was not a clever action. >>
<<Yeah, well nuts to him. >>
Tyrar paused, wondering what nuts had to do with the circumstance. <<Logan is still in a vehicle. He can easily run you over, >> He responded dryly.
Dexter hooked a thumb on one of his pockets. He picked up his pace to catch up with Joshua.
“Anything I need to know before getting in there?” Dex asked before looking over his shoulder back at Logan.