2008-12-28

<@Trina_Korat> RPG Go!
<@Trina_Korat> :is atta random booth reading the paper::
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::Trina may notice something, big, brown, black, and furry, licking the glass window next to her, standing on two-legs, with the forelegs propped up against the window::
<@Trina_Korat> ((<Trina> Fletch, and you wonder why I asked if you rode the short bus to school. Were you NOT allowed to lick the windows? Stop that. Seriously, stop that!))
<@Trina_Korat> ::turns when she sees something out of the corner of her eye, blinks, then smiles. Does a little wave to Browser:: Hi, you!
<@Fletch_Ryder> <Browser> ::standing there, tongue hanging out, tail wagging fervently::
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((lol!!))
<@Trina_Korat> ::chuckles, leaves her booth and goes outside::
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((<Fletch> ::gets beaten with a newspaper:: Nuooo, the memories!! <Trina> This is all it took for them to brainwash you? The funnies?))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::DEADDEAD!!:: <Therapist> “Family Circus” did the trick, mostly. That and “Hagaar the Horrible.”))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::hand is wrapped around the other end of the leash, looks a bit winded, as if he was dragged most of the way:: Get down from there, Browser. ::trying to pull him off the window::
<@Trina_Korat> ::laughs now:: You haven’t learned by now that he’s determined to yank off your arm? ::goes down to Browser’s level to give him pets and cuddles::
<@Fletch_Ryder> <Browser> ::pulled away from the window, calming down at Trina’s petting, his ears folding back and his eyes shutting complacently:: <Fletch> Well, the CKIA’s sure gonna’ foot the bill for my plastic arm if he manages it one of these days. ::smiling some:: How are ya’, Trina?
<@Trina_Korat> ::chuckles!:: And, I’m doing alright. Taking a minor break from Mommy Duty. Gramma has the kitts. She insisted I go out to clear my head a bit, so here you have me. What about you?
<@Fletch_Ryder> We’re out taking a “walk.” But in this mutt’s case, it’s more like wrangling a bull. <Browser> ::snorts at that, flicking tail::
<@Trina_Korat> Then don’t go near a china shop. :grins:: Coffee? :motioning to a table out there:: My treat.
<@Fletch_Ryder> Sure, why not. I think I’m all walked-out, for a while. ::leading Browser over to the table, where the dog circles it with his sniffer, before curling up underneath it, eyes remaining open and alert::
<@Trina_Korat> What would you like?
<@Fletch_Ryder> Just regular coffee, very black.
<@Trina_Korat> Be right back. ::goes inside to get that coffee, comes back out and gives him his:: Here you go.
<@Fletch_Ryder> Thanks. ::takes it, sipping at it before setting it down on the table:: So how are the little tykes these days?
<@Trina_Korat> Cale’s growing up fast, becoming a talker. Katie is… well, eating and sleeping. :grinning:: It feels odd staying at home “all the time”. I’m hoping to be working my usual part time again soon.
<@Fletch_Ryder> Heh, I bet. Forgive me, but it’s strange thinking of you as a housewife, Trina. Too much fight in ya’.
<@Trina_Korat> ::laughs:: McGrath DID ask when I was returning from maternal leave. ::sips from her cup now;: I feel so loved.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::chuckles at that:: How is the Bureau? It seems to be doing alright for itself.
<@Trina_Korat> Aside going crazy with the usual, pretty good. Heh. When the NSA dissolved, Mark was offered big bucks by the Secretary of Defense… sorta like a “raise for the whole organization” – bigger benefits, more pay, the works. :;soft smirk now:: I really do wonder at times what was going through his head when he declined.
<@Fletch_Ryder> Too many strings attached?
<@Trina_Korat> Probably. Wouldn’tve shocked me if he’d felt like they were about to put a leash around his neck. ::beat, looks down to Browser:: No offense.
<@Fletch_Ryder> <Browser> ::snorts, flicking his ears:: <Fletch> The government has sticky hands when it comes to giving hand-outs. And their strings are more like nooses. ::eyes dropping to his cup::
<@Trina_Korat> I wouldn’t doubt that. ::eyes him some, then finally asks:: Seriously, what all did happen to you after the incident, Fletch? You wrote once and that was pretty much it. I mean, I know where was a lot of screening and all, but…
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::silent a moment before answering, still eyeing his cup:: They could have me prosecuted as a traitor and shipped to Pawtaunamo Bay if I revealed anything about what happened.
<@Trina_Korat> ::frowns now:: But you weren’t doing it willingly. Mewbu was the one pulling the strings…
<@Fletch_Ryder> Yeah. ::hand clenching around the cup:: I guess.. since he’s out of the picture now, and Project Browser’s been all but nullified, there’s no reason to keep so many secrets. ::finally looking up, with a steely gaze::
<@Trina_Korat> ::gives him a calm look:: Not to mention we were all there when it happened. It was the Bureau’s investigation.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::can’t help but chuckle bitterly at that:: Yeah, if it weren’t for you all.. paw dang, I would’ve assissinated the Prime Minister. ::gah, mun needs to revisit some of these old logs. done almost completely forgot about all these intricacies of Fletch, po’ boy::
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((^assassinated, gui. <Trina> A-sissy-nated? <Fletch> Yeah, given him a few twirlies and hung ‘em by the bleachers by his briefs. <Trina> Eh heh.. you didn’t fly over the cuckoo nest, you rocketed!))
<@Trina_Korat> Well, you didn’t. We kicked your tail into not doing it. ::smirks some now: ((I found them. ::needs to upload that arc. They’re missing for some reason. :shall fix!::))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::SOOODEAD!!!::))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((How long ago were they, even?))
<@Trina_Korat> 2006? XD
<@Trina_Korat> (())’s!!))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((::snorks!:: <Trina> 2006? XD Remember it? <Fletch> Erm, no, not real- <Trina> ‘Cuz we kicked yer tail so hard!! Ch’yeah!!))
<@Trina_Korat> ((<Fletch> What about 2006? What do you know? What’s “X-D”? Is that a code?1))
<@Trina_Korat> ((<Trina> We scared a few people doing that… even Joe couldn’t contain himself when he peed around that corner. ))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((lol!! <Fletch> ::secret, repressed “Huggy” behavior cues up:: Awwww, I wanna’ give the whole world a hug! ::procedes to do so:: <Trina> The pacifists must’ve gotten ‘em after Mewbu…))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::yes, you can only imagine which infamous typo I just ran across XD))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::DYING!::))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((LOL! that one was legendary!))
<@Trina_Korat> ((<RPG> ::on the edge of their seats! What’s gonnna happen?!:: <CK> ::TYPOS!:: <RPG> ::fallcrashburn::))
<@Fletch_Ryder> Well, after that, central intelligence did what they promised. They took real good care of me and the other sleeper kats they rounded up, giving us our own small facility and round-the-clock specialists to help us.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((XD!!! I don’t how we finished that night; there were so much rollin’ and cracks made))
<@Trina_Korat> :frowns some now:: How did they do that? Forcefeed you chocolate and make you sing “kumbaya?”
<@Trina_Korat> ((It ended on Felmun offering Joe some Pull Ups and we all went to bed))
<@Trina_Korat> ((<Fletch> What’s with you she-kats and chocolate? <Trina> Chocolate is important. Chocolate is all.))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::smiles some, bringing the coffee back up to his mouth, taking a swing:: No, as hardened G.I.’s, we wouldn’t have stood for any of that hippy crud. It was more like.. deep psycho-analysis. Lots of sleeping pills. Lots of waking pills. Lots of questions, and sensors and wires hooked up to our heads. It was pretty ridiculous.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((lol!! <Fletch> So that’s your down-fall.. I’ll remember that next time you start gloating about the Maulers.))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::DIES!!:: <Trina> Oh yeah! Chew on THAT, my friend! 50-28! My team kicked your team’s tail all the way to… <Fletch> ::deadpan look at the screen, tosses something to the side:: <Trina> Is that a York Patty?! ::pounce::))
<@Trina_Korat> What all did that do? Make you forget?
<@Fletch_Ryder> No.. on the contrary. It made us remember. They wanted to know what Mewbu had done to condition us so well, how he’d accomplished it. We had to give detailed reports on everything we’d seen.. every horrific thing we’d done for that maggot while under his control in North Afurica. It wasn’t pleasant.
<@Trina_Korat> ::shudders:: I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through.
<@Fletch_Ryder> We had frequent sessions with various therapists and psychologists. The one I saw the most, and admired more than any of ‘em, was Grace Mewroe. She.. helped me through alot. I don’t know that I’d be here, stable as I am, without her counseling. She was actually the one who rallied on my behalf to be put on the Browser Project.. and to be exonerated from it’s demise.
<@Trina_Korat> You still talk to her?
<@Fletch_Ryder> I’m required to hold a phone conference with her once a month, but we exchange emails now and then in between. She’s still working at Langley. Apparently, some of the other soldiers have had small relapses since leaving the program.
<@Trina_Korat> Makes me wonder now how many of you were in that group?
<@Fletch_Ryder> 22. But 2 had died before the incident, in accidents of some sort. So just 20.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::taking another drink, as Browser sighs underneath the table::
<@Trina_Korat> ::arches a brow:: And, the CKIA didn’t notice this for how long? ::starting to suspect now;:
<@Fletch_Ryder> Didn’t notice what?
<@Trina_Korat> What happened to you guys in Afurica – the brainwashing, everything.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::clears his throat some, pausing as if to build up his composure:: Without going into too much gruesome detail, we were basically captured during a raid on the capital city of Mewakchott, where Mewbu was moving in to overthrow the government completely. We were cut off from the bulk of our unit, surrounded, and gassed. When we came too, we’d been relocated to some sort of camp.
<@Trina_Korat> ::eyes him, listening::
<@Fletch_Ryder> It was in the middle of nowhere. We were.. mistreated, to say the least, breaking many of the tom’s spirits over a period of weeks, even months. They tested unregulated drugs and various hallucanigenics on us. Eventually, they warped our minds to the point that we were literally relient on their every command, even to eat or sleep.
<@Trina_Korat> All this to do their dirty work.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::nods:: They used our group to wipe out villages, execute innocent kats at their whim. The perfect soldiers.
<@Fletch_Ryder> But when the army was finally gaining a foothold on the war, gathering the various tribes together in a pact to over-run him, he wanted collateral for future ventures should the tide turn sour.
<@Trina_Korat> Soldiers without any feeling, any recollection of what happened…
<@Fletch_Ryder> So when his forces started dwindling and retreating, he conditioned us into “sleeper cells,” set like a time bomb for his personal use whenever he should want to turn us back on. We were dumped in the middle of the desert, instilled with fake memories of wandering around, fighting rebels on the outskirts of the country, unable to make contact with anyone and barely staying alive out in the wilderness.
<@Fletch_Ryder> I guess the army was eager to find heroes to give medals, rather than check our stories and give Mewbu the credit of being an intelligent and maniacle warlord.
<@Trina_Korat> ::sighs:: Good kats, Fletch. Again, I can’t even imagine what you went through.
<@Fletch_Ryder> It’s alright. ::tries to smile:: I don’t want you, or anyone, to even try.
<@Trina_Korat> Either way, you’re still a good friend. You always will be. Anything you need, you tell me, you tell Joe… we’ll do what we can. You’re still an agent to us at the Bureau. ::nose up playfully:: So there.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::manages a smile:: I do appreciate that. You guys have been better than I probably deserve. Heh, I don’t know how I lucked out. I still haven’t been able to tell my parents about this. No one really knows the truth, except the government and you all.
<@Trina_Korat> If we have to stand as witnesses, we will. In the meantime, no, we won’t say a word. Not unless you ask us to.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::shakes head:: It’s all better left in the past, dead and buried like it belongs.
<@Trina_Korat> ::nods:: Best focus on the present now… and the future… knowing that the Maulers will win that game tomorrow night and go to the championships. ::smirks:
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::blinks, looking up at her remark:: You’re.. joking. I know you must be, because you just made the most ridiculous statement about the most ridiculous team of the year.
<@Trina_Korat> Excuse me? I happened to check the scoreboard and they’re tied, both going to the finals, thank you.
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::shakes head, adjusting in his seat:: Yeah, nevermind that the Maulers have played a much easier schedule than the Wildkats, and don’t even have a defense worth scoffing at.
<@Trina_Korat> You’re just made cuz’ the Wildkats changed their coach at the last second. Maybe he’ll actually tell them to pass the ball now instead of standing there with it. ::smirking;:
<@Trina_Korat> *mad
<@Trina_Korat> ((Mad. For Pete’s sake, Sage. ::thinks reading bad!fic quotes warped her::))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((lol! Ya’ gotta’ be careful. That stuff’s like burning magnesium; fun to watch fall apart but dangerous if you stare too long. ;) ))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::DIIIIES!!!!:: So THAT’s what’s wrong with me…))
<@Fletch_Ryder> Hey, Pawler’s hip fracture couldn’t be helped. He would’ve been willing to coach from a wheel-chair had they asked him, but they knew it was asking too much. Whizcter is gonna’ be juuust fine callin’ the plays.
<@Trina_Korat> Yeah, yeah. Keep giving them excuses. ::drinks sommore of her coffee::
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((<Grocer> Paper or plastic? <Sagemun> Don’t touch it! I’m going to bag it with my *telekenetic powers!* Oooh, and then I’ll make it go invisible, and float it out! Ooh, and then I’ll trip, and fall into the hands of some strapping young cart pusher!))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::KEELS OVER!!!:: …”Who’ll then scream, “MAGNETO!” and try to run me over with the carts!”))
<@Fletch_Ryder> ::mouth up-turns into a half-smile:: You’ll be the one making excuses by the end of tomorrow night. ::eyeing her over his cup, as he takes another swig::
<@Trina_Korat> Oh really. How much do you wanna put on THAT wager?
<@Fletch_Ryder> ((LOL <Grocer> …okay. ::puts up Lane Closed sign::))
<@Trina_Korat> ((::DYING::))
<@Fletch_Ryder> Our next coffee tab. ::small smile:: I mean, if you don’t mind talking with me for prolonged periods of time.
<@Trina_Korat> You know I don’t mind. ::smiles back::
<@Trina_Korat> RPG Pause!