Description: The slums of Metro City are now infested with Delta Red agents, but leotard clad women with funny accents are positively mundane compared to... The Flying Hobo.
Cammy just finished escorting Chiyoko out of the slums after she got lured in there by some 'banger. And promptly went back into the slums again; because even though it's probably fairly unlikely that the Big Bad, whoever he may be, is likely to show up in her path, she figures it's probably good for the locals to see some law and order going on outside their windows. Beat cop style.
Maybe this means martial law in Metro City?
Either way her walk back across the slums was so uneventful she walked all the way over to the bridge without incident. There certainly are plenty of hobos in this town, she thinks, looking at the bridge, and peering beneath it - looks like the perfect sort of hiding place for gangers or criminals generally up to no good.
Slums have always been a common sight in Metro City, it is where the local gangs hire their muscle. Who else but the down trodden, the poor, the ones that know they have nothing to lose would join the gangs of Metro City? How else would they ever be able to get out of their lowly stations in life if not through crime?
There are those however, that are much too weak to be in a gang, even as fodder. Not all are natural warriors, they can be frail, or cowardly, or even, simply do not resort to petty criminal activities even if that means remaining forever in poverty.
Whatever the reason, homeless people are still abundant in Metro City, and one such person approaches Cammy silently. A middle aged man with dark skin and white hair, looking older than he should for his age.
"Excuse me ma'm." He says politely with a sad smile "Would you spare a coin to an old man out of luck?"
Too bad Cammy doesn't seem to have any pockets.
The hobo clearly underestimates Cammy's mastery of the uniform. Nobody has begged anything off her yet this day - most people in the slums are either mean sorts who prefer to simply take, or cowards who run away from the legendary pigtails. This guy is clearly neither, and that is, in Cammy's estimation, a good sign.
So she reaches down to her left hip - which is mostly bare - and digs around delicately under the hem of the leotard, drawing out a few dollar bills that have been secreted in there, flat against her skin. One of them is presented to the hobo. "I don't have any coins, I'm afraid..." she tells him, face as seriosu as ever. Even a pro leotard wearer can only do so much! "But you can have this?". Dollar bills, so much more convenient than pound coins. Metro City isnt all bad.
The hobo is clearly astonished. He sees Cammy slip her fingers inside her leotard, pulling it ever so slightly to show a fair bit more of skin that she probably intended. The man apparently has enough decency to look away when that happens, eyes crosses with some embarrassment at the display before he turns to look at Cammy again, clearly pretending he didn't just see that. "Yes! Thank you ma'am, bless your heart." Cammy is treated to a few American slangs as the man tentatively reaches for the dollar bill and stores it on his pocket, though considering where it was he might be spending it after all.
"We don't see nice young ladies like you in these parts anymore." He continues, strangely sharp eyes scanning Cammy's figure. "But it seems..you're not from around here? Are you with the military? I didn't think the situation was bad enough that the National Guard needed to be brought it."
Cammy merely looks baffled at the slangs, and is apparently oblivious to any skin being exposed, but is already moving on. After all, there are plenty of hobos, this one doesn't really stand out any more than any other. So she slips past him, to the space beneath the bridge, and looks around. She does reply to him, but her voice is rather distracted, her focus elsewhere. "No, I'm not from here. I'm here regarding the Glow trade, as you ask... it likely has some sort of international connection, so the powers that be think, anyway, so there are all manner of people trying to do something about it.".
One army boot nudges a few empty syringes lying on the concrete floor, and she crouches down onto her haunches, frowning. Eventually she looks up at him. "You've not seen any Glow here, have you? It's a sort of... glowing blue liquid. Hard to miss. Very dangerous.".
The hobo keeps staring, directly at Cammy's face in fact. He's clearly taking advantage that Cammy's attention seems to be all over the place except on him to study the woman's features. He only turns away when Cammy looks up at him from her crouched position and pretends that he was looking elsewhere.
"The Glow? Sure, plenty of it everywhere. Mad Gear regulates it and distributes it to whoever has enough dough. It's not all that expensive though, that's why it's so popular..as you can probably see." He gestures to the broken syringes, he's awfully talkative for a hobo, but he probably knows it's best not to lie to a cop. "Everyone knows that though, so it ain't like I'm snitching on nobody." Smiling the man begins to titter with a soft chuckle "Unless you believe what the news say and think that the Luchadores are involved with it. The things that media comes up with sometimes, not even a five year old would believe that nonsense! Hehehe!"
Cammy seems to be mostly oblivious to being stared at, as well. She's staring at the syringes - she even delicately picks one up, and peers at it intently for a moment.
But then she lets it fall, and stands up again, brushing one pigtail back into position behind her back as she does so; the hair is as impractical as the clothing. Only then does she actually turn to look at him. "I don't believe what the news says, but it's worth looking into every possible lead. Better that, than simply dismiss any information presented as false based purely on the source." she tells him in all seriousness.
She slowly walks around under the bridge next, her attention wandering once more, as she peers at some of the graffiti. Gang markings, maybe. She tilts her head and frowns at them, but not knowing the distinctive culture of Metro City's underground, she's not exactly the best person to try and interpret it. If it means anything interesting at all. But she can memorise it, maybe. "Now I know the luchadors aren't stupid enough to stash it in their apartments, at least." she says, distracted. Not quite the same as the luchadors being innocent, mind!
For one reason or another, the hobo decides to follow Cammy. As she descends the steep hill leading to below the bridge, the lanky man seemingly has no problems keeping up, sliding down as she jumps down without hurting himself as most hobos would do by taking that quick approach. Staying behind her, but at a respectable distance, the man glances about whilst Cammy inspects the gang signs painted on walls.
"If you say so ma'am, you're the expert." He concedes with a bit of a shrug, clearly still not thinking that's a good lead to find shipments of Glow. "I just think it's a little strange don't you think? Glow is supposed to make you all bulky and muscled which makes folk slower. If I were gonna go after wrestlers I would be going after the powerhouses, like that guy Hugo..didn't he use to run with Mad Gear a long while ago?" He scratches his head, fumbling with his messy, uncombed white hair. "Not saying anythin' about the guy of course, I hear he reformed, maybe?"
"I've not seen or heard any evidence of Hugo Andore being around... ". Cammy replies, looking over at him with a frown. OK, now he's being a bit un-hobolike, following her around like that.
"Hmm, there is that big Jamaican guy with the blond hair... but he seemed like such a nice fellow. Still, if I bump into him again I plan on asking a few searching questions, that's certainly true. He's a big guy. And muscles don't necessarily make you slower, everybody needs muscles, no? I'm sure Sagat is very fast when he wants to be.". At least, his fist probably is.
"And I don't think many on the street know what is going on precisely. But I'm sure eventually I'll bump into someone who knows more... or even more likely, whoever is running the show will get irritated by me constantly walking through the slums and destroying their drugs, and send someone a bit higher up against me. Someone who knows what's really going on.".
"I don't know much about fighting, ma'am." The lanky, hapless looking hobo responds. "And it's been ages since I've watched a Slam Masters fight or even a SNF." Judging by his looks, the guy is lucky if he can a decent spot to sleep in the city, forget about even getting close enough to a TV.
At the mention of a big, blond Jamaican, the hobo's eyes widen and he looks around, as if there was someone spying on them. "I know who you're talking about." Says the man, in whispered tones "He's with Mad Gear. But you didn't hear that from me." He's not exactly nervous right now, but now he seems less forthcoming with the information.
"Oh, I'm sure you can take them ma'm." He grins slightly, talking with louder tones now to avoid suspicion. "You look pretty tough!"
"Neither do I really, ironically enough... I'd be the worst teacher in the world. I guess you could say I was just an unthinking natural at fighting, or something." Cammy tells him, finally leaving the graffiti alone to come over and talk to him. "But I seem effective enough to me, the last few fights notwithstanding.". She has lost the last two in a row, after all.
"And, probably, I guess. He looks the type. But I'm not sure if he's just an innocent man caught up in it all, or a real... devoted member. There are plenty of the former out there after all. Maybe he's just being used.". Cammy felt a bit sorry for Damnd from the first time she met him, he can't be all bad!
Anyway, looks like there's nobody else under the bridge, just this eloquent hobo, so she wanders past him, to climb back up the bank to the slum side of the river.
"People that get involved with Mad Gear...had made their choice." The man looks to one side, regret in his eyes. "No one gets pressured into it, they aren't smart enough for that. But they do know how to lure people in by offering them quick money, cheap booze and women. All only to run here and there delivering a few things, it seems harmless enough at the beginning, until you start getting sucked into fights to represent for the crew." The man knows what he's talking about, maybe has even experienced it by the tone of his voice. He doesn't look very apprehensive though, just sad. "Suffice to say, no one involved in that gang is innocent. This city.." He motions about "Is like this because of them. No one else."
As Cammy moves away, the hobo, surprisingly, continues to follow her. Even climbing up the hill with no problem at all, walking after her like some sort of lost puppy. He says nothing at all when Cammy doesn't ask, just stays silent, looking at her strangely.
Maybe he wants more money.
"They are just trying to survive maybe, and don't know any better, or don't have any other opportunities." Cammy says, thinking of what Damnd told her. In truth she has no idea what being raised in a ghetto entails, it's about as far from her experience - what tiny experience she actually has - as one can get. "Either way, I will talk to the big Jamaican guy, see what he says.". She shrugs. "Either way, the /real/ guilty parties are whoever is calling the shots, not the street punks. Though I have to say, most of the street punks I've actually fought so far have been pretty much unredeemable, thats true.".
She then gives the hobo a strange look. Courtesy forbids her from having a go at him, and he did just give her a tipoff after all, but him following her around, still, as she's walking into the slums again, is a little odd. And given she's expecting a visit from some sort of hit man, it makes her somewhat wary. "I'm afraid I can't give you any more money, you know." she tells him. So uncouth to talk about money, but still, better make it clear. "I think by fighter standards I'm pretty poor, and, well...". She indicates her getup. There's only so many places notes can be stashed!
"Everyone is guilty, even if by simple association, from the lowliest of peons to head honchos. They all know what they're doing is wrong, they are ignorant, but not stupid." The man continues to follow, hands tucked on his pockets, raving on about the morality code people in the city should have despite their economical situation. When Cammy stops abruptly and stares at him with cold eyes of warning, the Hobo simply stops and stares right back at her with a blank face. I don't want any money."
The hobo states simple, matter of factly, strangely...even dangerous? He's acting awfully mysterious all of the sudden, enough to start giving Cammy a heavy dose of bad vibes.
"I only want one thing..."
He trails off, blinking, as if he was waiting for Cammy to second guess him.
"Doing something wrong when you got no choice doesn't seem quite so wrong to me. Though I suppose it doesn't really matter what I think, that's down to the CO, or a judge, or whatever." Cammy replies, still walking along, away from him.
But then something makes her pause, makes her turn around. Blue eyes widen somewhat, and she finally faces him and gives him her undivided attention. She knows hobos are often crazy. But he seemed quite coherent up till now! And then there's the Ominous Feeling.
"So... /you/ are the one whoever is peddling glow sent out to grab me?" she guesses, tensing up noticeably.
Ignoring Cammy's intent of playing devil's advocate, and he would really since being a cop Cammy shouldn't even be heard saying something like that. He'd imagine there would be repercussions from her COs if she was heard saying that stealing and murdering and trafficking where okay if the conditions demanded them. No no, it is not what the man intends, and it would sound rather odd to hear such talk from a random hobo.
Instead, not getting into the details, the man begins to walk slowly towards the girl as she tenses up, reaching for hand tentatively.
"Please.."
He pleads her.
"Save this city, no matter what it takes. The people here have suffered too much already..I beg you."
"Can you promise that to an old man?"
Cammy isn't a cop! And isn't much of a secret agent either really, she's only been doing it for a few months; either way, special forces are hardly the most by the book sorts at the best of times. Probably Lita needs to explain a few ground rules to Delta Red's new loose cannon though, that's true enough.
She frowns when he reaches for her with his hobo-hand, but she does have gloves on at least, so she doesn't do anything to stop him - though she's obviously not very comfortable with this, no, not at all, and is clearly ready to leap away from him if need be.
His request just makes her look confused. "Well... I can't promise that I will succeed. But I am trying." she tells him, honestly enough. "I have my orders.".
The man sighs at Cammy's non committed response. After all her rambling about how people only did things because they needed to and how it wasn't their fault, it looked like the man had found the cavalier of justice he was searching for. However, he now looks disappointed and looks down, slowly releasing Cammy's hand. "Trying is not the same as doing.."
"But I understand." He regards her with those sharp eyes of his that speak of a man who's truly hiding something. "I hope you are successful anyway, I'm not kidding when I say this city really needs a savior." Finally he decides that it is time for him to leave and turns around to move away. "Well...so long..."
"My little Emerald."
At those words the man leaps into the air and starts...flying!!? He ascends quickly up and shoots like a rocket speeding across the sky away from the city. He's lost in the horizon in mere seconds.
Cammy blinks at that - in fact she promptly falls on her butt in speechless surprise when the guy actually takes off. What the f***! She's never actually seen anybody fly before.
Let alone a hobo.
After a few moments she gets up off the manky street, and looks around. Hmm. She's... gonna skip the slum crawl now, and just go home. And write a report.
Which nobody will believe.
Log created on 18:09:11 05/12/2012 by Cammy, and last modified on 20:41:08 05/12/2012.