Description: Brett and Cammy have a few loose ends to tie up: just what he's been up to with Lita, the fate of Duke, and how poor Damnd is so misunderstood.
Lights, sights, sounds, the exulations of victory and the indecipherable roars of defeat. Just another night at the Metro Square Arcade. It's flashy with lots of stimulus and noiset to keep anyone entertained.
One Brett Neuer isn't so entertained though. He was never the gaming sort, and usually prefered fishing at the lake over the TV. Heck, the only reason he was at one machine was curiousity than anything, having been recognized and shown his in-game self in one of the may fighting games populating this floor of the arcade. It really was wierd to see him made up in a game (and the kid who was using him in the game soon found himself defeated by someone handling Munin, another figure he recognized in game. His one foray into trying to play stymied him, a dollar quickly lost.
The only reason he was here, really was to meet someone. You can't expect a fan of country to be dropped into a rave and suddenly fit in, would you?
Cammy isn't much into games herself, and is always bemused to see herself in one. Even though she hardly ever fights publicly. How embarassing. And she's never quite worked out why they always have the wrong uniform for her as well, what's wrong with green anyway?
She's perched atop one of the machines over by the entrance, one that nobody is playing, and apparently one nobody wants to play or is now able to, given her army boots hover just above the controls and her legs block any view of the screen.
Nobody is complaining. A few are staring. She /is/ in the games herself after all.
When she sees Brett, she waves amiably from atop her perch. "Hey! There you are.".
Brett is somewhat busy weaving his way through the sea of kids and young adults, trying to find someplace to sit again. There is the bar and ticket games on the lower floors, but that would require he manage to find his way back to the stairs in the first place. Thankfully, though, while he wasn't able to find Cammy, it seems she was able to find him. Maybe that vantage point helped.
"Huh...oh, h-hey, Ms. Cammy!" he says, barely heard over the din of people. He manages a wave to her before finally pushing his way through toward that lonesome machine. "Geez...just..I never knew what kind of headaches these arcades are. Biggest we had back home was maybe about 5 machines, and I never played 'em much all myself."
Cammy nods at him. "Well, they aren't the most peaceful of places. I'd meet you in a pub if there were any here, and if I was allowed in one.". She shakes her head with the faintest of frowns, one braid slipping out from behind her back, and then slips off of the machine to land on the floor next to him. Silly country.
And now she is smiling, even smirking a little perhaps. "I understand you met my lieutenant, Lita, and did a little training! Did you enjoy it? I hear rumours that maybe you beat her up. What happened?" she wonders. There is gossip to be had here, perhaps!
Hopefully Brett did not see her on TV the other day. But maybe if she has smoe embarassing tales about Lita too it won't be so bad.
Brett scratches the side of his head. "You're not....allowed in one?" He asks, putting two and two together. And here, all this time, he figured her at least a couple years older than him. The hockey kid isn't quite sure how he should feel about that, really.
When the training with Lita comes up, Brett straightens up a little more, a hasty, quick nod. "Yeah, I did. I didn't beat her up really. I got in a few good hits, but...it stopped before either of us got really bad off. She...well, she seemed impressed. She suggested though trying to get some training in grappling and unarmed fighting too. In case I can't find a stick on hand." Another scratch along the side of his cheek shows how unsure Brett is about it. "I thought about the unarmed, I guess, just not...grappling."
"Well, not to buy a drink, anyway. Not that I drink in any pub actually in general but it's still embarassing, knowing I'd be treated like a little girl if I actually asked for any.". Not that it would likely prove to be a huge problem, but maybe she has a point, somewhere. She shrugs, and smiles.
"Impressed. Well, she told me that. I thought that probably meant that she got beaten up." she says, her smile impish. "And ah, grappling." Cammy echoes, after having listened to him intently. "Well, that's wise. I think most special forces styles use a lot of that anyway, Lita perhaps less than me with her sword, but still, it's a specialty of ours, I suppose.". She tilts her head, peers at him. "You don't think it's useful?" she wonders, her tone more curious than judging.
Brett continues to scratch his chin nervously as he considers it. "I get in a pratical way, I guess. Just...it feels kind of like a hard thing to use with a weapon in hand I guess. I meant, with other styles, I was thinking it'd help me both when I got my stick and when I don't," he says, finally stopping that scratch. "It's also kinda a hard thing to do right with skates on since you don't got a good hold on the floor, isn't it?"
"You alright?" Cammy asks, suddenly looking faintly concerned. He's going to scratch his head off if he keeps that up; she looks a little relieved when he finally quits it. "I think Lita is very good at blending radically different styles, that's sort of her 'thing'. She doesn't always fight with the sword. Maybe she's forgetting that she put a lot of effort into doing that? I don't know. She's a good instructor though, she knows what she's doing, I think." the former doll says, most loyally.
"If not for Lita, in part anyway, I probably wouldn't train at all." Cammy admits, shrugging, with a faintly embarassed ghost of a smile. "She certainly helped me. And, I can assure you that you don't need both feet on the ground to be able to throw people about!" she says with a small laugh. She finds that ironic. Throwing people around when she isn't on it is something of /her/ specialty, after all.
"You want to go for a walk?" she asks, a little diffidently, as she looks up at him. "It is rather loud in here.".
Brett blinks a little at Cammy's concern, looking down to his hand, and then back up to her with a bit of a nervous laugh. "What...oh, I'm fine! Really, just...nervous, I guess." He's not going to admit why, exactly. No need to bring up how socially awkward he is with girls in public. Especially now that he knows Cammy is barely older than he is. Especially considering the obvious gulf in ability between the two currently.
"...really?" he asks, tilting his head when Cammy admits she barely trains. That's definitely a surprise to the hockey kid. "Wow..." Maybe she's one of those prodigies, he thinks to himself...making him realize he really doesn't know much about Cammy in the first place. "W...walk?" He asks, glancing toward the stairs...or at least the direction the stairs should be, hard to tell with the people in the way. "...sure, fresh air sounds better than here." Fresh as you can get in downtown Metro City anyway...
"I mainly wanted to talk to you about Lita really." Cammy admits with disarming honesty. "Get the gossip. But now I'm here we may as well talk a little in general, no? So, walk, yes.". She starts making her way stairwards, nudging people out of the way - gently, but oh so firmly. She can slip quite adroitly between people but she makes sure she makes enough space for Brett to follow along as well.
"And, yeah, though I should train really. Every professional should practice their trade after all. I'm just kinda lazy... being in the army is good for that though, they don't let you be lazy. So I'm in the right place.". She glances back over at him even as she's pushing some arcade rats out of the way, to make sure he's not getting separated.
She certainly isn't one for dancing around an issue, that's for sure. Which might be good for Brett, as bad at small talk as he is. It's just a bit troublesome when he can't take his mind off certain things like a young man his age is wont to do. Like a cute blonde girl and Delta Red uniforms. A combination of which makes it hard for Brett to not go red in the face or stammer even worse than before as he walks after Cammy toward the stairs. And unlike her, he's kind of forced to push his way around and through, lacking her grace and making up for it with compulsive apologetics. "Sorry, sorry, excuse me, sorry about this..."
Once they're on the stairs, he relaxes, hands in his pockets as he walks after her. "I honestly never would have figured you for lazy. I've seen some of your fights before...and...geez," he admits honestly.
Cammy is battering ram direct about a great many things, but her uniform isn't one of them. In the case of her uniform she is studiously oblivious, and no amount of blushing from Brett will pierce her apparent blind spot.
The staircase is fortunately less crowded, no games to watch here after all, so she falls into step alongside him. "I'm not lazy when it comes to my job. As I'm sure you noticed. But before too long this mission will be over, and I'll go home, and be wondering what to do with myself. And I'll end up doing nothing." she says, a little ruefully. "Well, until Colonel Wolfman or Lita or Major McCoy get me into the training thing again.". And then she turns and frowns at him. "What fights did you see?" she asks, a little aggrieved. She doesn't like being famous.
Brett nods. He's...not really sure he wants to delve too deeply into anything about her job. Who knows what kind of international conventions or secrets that would entail, and he'd rather not feel dumb for being told 'This is classified information, you shouldn't know this'. Still, when she says she has no idea what to do once this mission is over, there's a small sad look in his eyes. "Don't you have any...well...hobbies or anything that you like?" he asks.
And the part about what matches he watched...he gets weirdly nervous about bringing them up, mostly from that reaction. "...wha? J-just...some of the League and SNF fights you were in before..."
"Of course I have hobbies. Knife throwing!" Cammy declares, amused. "But I don't /fight/ with knives, so it's not like it has any impact on training or anything. And I guess I'll visit my friends. Like Ibuki, or Captain Guile. But I'll mostly be waiting for the next job. I'm sure there'll be something. We're usually very busy.". She nods firmly, all serious.
"League fights! I'm not in the League. That must have been a long time ago." she says, a little perplexed. "At least a couple of years anyway.". She apparently was fighting in the cradle! "I did do one SNF fight a little while ago, the fools made me the main event.". She rolls her eyes. "Not sure I like people knowing about me; the less people know about a soldier and her abilities the better I think.".
Brett laughs nervously at the attempted joke. "Y-yeah...." He's...not going to touch the knife throwing part. That just sounds like a dangerous road to go down regardless. "I dunno...if you don't what to do between then...you could try and pick up a sport?" He then tenses up as he realizes how easily it could be seen as him trying to pimp hockey person to person now. "I-I...well, you know, like socc-f-football, maybe." Another stammer, this time, trying to make sure he uses the right word for the sport for her.
He looks a bit confused when she insists she wasn't part of the League. "Really?....that...I thought it...nevermind, maybe it's just me being mistaken." He shakes his head a little. Sure looked like her... Now he's REALLY confused.
"I really am not in the league, I can assure you." she tells him, faintly amused. "I would know after all, right. And as for sports; gymnastics maybe?". Cammy shrugs, apparently left cold. "I do that as part of my training; it's very appropriate for my fighting style, but meh.". Sport is just like training as far as she's concerned. She does it, when ordered to do it, or shamed into doing it.
"I think I'm going to get a cat after this though." she says, cheering up a little as she moves on to a subject clearly closer to her heart. "I've always wanted a cat. The only problem is looking after the little mite when I'm gone, which I will often be. But you can hire catsitters apparently, and while I'm not exactly rich a catsitter is cheap.".
By now they are out of the arcade, and wandering down the street. "We really don't get paid that much. I think doing the right thing is supposed to be it's own reward.".
Gymnastics...that's something Brett obviously has no experience in himself. He shakes his head though as soon as she starts comparing it back with her training. "NO, no, no, I mean...you know, something you can do just for fun, not for training or anything, you know?" he says. "...I mean...when I'm not doing hockey or training for hockey or fighting...well, I fish. It's...relaxing. I mean, besides when you catch something way bigger than your line is meant to handle, but that's few 'n far between," he says, offering a chuckle himself.
The pet idea seems to make him smile. "A cat's good. I never had one because I'm allergic, really, but...they look nice, you know."
"Fishing?". Cammy turns to give him a funny look as they are walking along. Isn't fishing an old man sport? She's too polite to outright say that to him though. "I think the weather is a bit too bad for that where I live. It's not like I like getting rained on, it's just something I put up with, really.", she counters mildly.
Oh, and now she's reminded, she better tell him about Duke, as it's all hush hush. "Oh... I do have one other thing to say, by the way. I told you before that I hauled Duke into jail, right?" she asks, looking up at him, and suddenly assuming a somewhat guilty expression. She's not too happy about her actions in that whole episode really, looking back on it, though her CO seemed satisfied.
Brett smiles. "I live in Minnesota. Weather isn't exactly sunny at home either. Besides, it's...relaxing, you know? Just...not much to worry about until the bob starts to dip and you get something on the line, you know? And I'm pretty sure England has fishermen around there too, I can't imagine they don't. Fishing's kind of a worldwide thing, otherwise how do they get seafood?"
He frowns when Duke is finally brought up. He really does not like having to talk about him, even when it's good news. "Y-yeah...you mentioned it before. He's locked up now, right?"
Cammy isn't really a huge fan of seafood either, in defiance of the fish and chips stereotype. But she thinks she's being far too negative here, so she lets that just slide past as well. "Maybe." she just says, neutral. "I suppose it's not so bad, just sitting there and waiting. I don't think I'd like to do it on my own though. Sounds like the sort of thing you do with others.".
And now she's flushing again, quite noticeably this time, and looks back up at him. "Well... I'm not sure I should be telling you this really. The Glow trade is finished here pretty much, no new supplies coming in, though apparently Mad Gear are making lots of money in the last week or so, putting the prices up.". She starts with the good news!
Well, that DOES sound good. Not that Brett was really up on the drug trade in the city, outside of where Duke and the dreadlocked guy was concerned. But from the sounds of it, it does seem like this hits hard at those guys' operations in the city. Good news is good news, even if it's good news that goes over your head, after all.
"So they're over then? Or...is the fact that they're still making money off the stuff going to make for a problem?" He asks. It figures that only now would he not be a stammering, socially awkward mess, with Cammy the one blushing instead.
"Over enough for Delta Red to be pulling out of here, though I'm sure I'll still visit this city in the future, see what's going on. Unofficially, of course." Cammy says, rather more sombrely. "But, uh. Well. We had to let Duke go, in the end.". She looks up at him again, obviously anxious, her deceptively innocent blue eyes a little wide.
She shrugs, and sighs. "I'm sorry. They would have got him out anyway in the end; I did mention the lawyers last time, didn't I. So we had to use him as a bargaining chip while we had him. We stopped the Glow, but he got a caution.". And then she goes silent for a long moment. Hopefully he'll understand! "I wish I could have done more...".
Brett nods and smiles. "I wouldn't mind visits, even if it's not for Delta Red stuff. I kinda..." His attempt to say he wants to learn more about Cammy stalls, however, when she tells him that Duke had to be let go. "...he's out?....he's free?" he asks, a rather deep glower coming over his face. A frustration that shakes his body until he's able to take a deep breath and slowly exhale it. "No...no...it's not your fault. It's...apparently, he has enough power to slide by on this stuff no matter what happens..." he mutters.
"This city is rotten." Cammy declares frankly, as she wanders along the street next to him. "It's not the only one, I hasten to add; London isn't much better, and Sunshine City seems to be even worse when I visited.". She shudders at /that/ memory.
"I think there's a limit to what officialdom can do here; it probably explains why Delta Red are here at all in part, the local police seem to be totally useless even with Mayor Haggar's reforms. Not up to the challenge of dealing with international cartels anyway.".
She thinks he's actually taking it rather well really, but she reaches up to gently pat him on the shoulder briefly anyway in brief solidarity. Who knows what thoughts simmer behind that frown. "But we did stop the Glow trade. And while Duke still has his freedom he doesn't have his unblemished underworld reputation anymore. I think that's important! Reputation is the glue that holds these crime syndicates together. So, a victory, just not as big as we had hoped.".
It isn't so much the city itself that concerns Brett, so much Duke himself. It really was a personal thing. But...then again, the entire thing started because he wanted to stop two thugs from assaulting a poor street vendor. It really did all start with the rot that was already present in the city. Rubbing his face with his entire hand, the winger sighed. "I guess it's something. But....nnhhhhnnnnn...."
His frustration is abated a little by that little show of solidarity, but it still doesn't make him any less frustrated. "It's just....he could still be doing the same thing to people like he did to my family. And the same sort of people just like him here..."
"I don't think Damnd is that bad, if you mean him." Cammy maintains, apparently having a blind spot for the lovable Jamaican scamp. "He can't help being what he is, he's just trying to get by in life I think. Not malicious really. But yes, Duke might, unfortunately. If he does, then maybe we'll get involved again in the future." she says somewhat fatalistically, spreading her hands.
"If something international in scope happens anyway. The luchadors being involved is what drew us really I think." she admits. "Mexican cartels infiltrating Metro City with a new superdrug? Turned out the Mexican part was all rubbish. Ironic really, Duke shouldn't have done that." she smiles.
"Anyway. I'm sure we'll meet again, it's not the end or anything. Maybe quite soon if you continue training with Lita! I'm glad I could clear up those couple of loose ends with you though.".
Brett just...shakes his head. He's not going to ask about what it is with the Dreaded guy. All he knows he's involved with Duke, so it's hard to consider him a good guy, no matter how much he's just trying to get through life'. Still...he's not going to get into it involving that guy. He glances, when she affirms what was pretty obvious: the luchador connection to GLOW being BS. "So the luchador guy I told you about is in the clear, right?" he asks.
He seems like he's got some frustration to work off...and he's not sure going back to the arcade is such a good idea, even with those industrial strength strength-test games they had on the second floor. "Right, right," he says, finding himself doing all he can to avoid pacing about. "I....ughnnn...I hope I can see you again, just...I need to think through a few things."
"I didn't think the luchadors were to blame really, but just to make sure we checked. We were quite thorough!". As El Fuerte's furniture, or lack thereof, can attest. "So yes, they are in the clear, as far as I know. If not well, talk to me I guess, but I'm sure they are good guys really.". Cammy isn't exactly enthusiastic per se; it's not that she thinks the luchadors are up to no good, it's merely that El Fuerte and his culinary weapons of mass destruction wear on her delicate nerves.
"You will if you want." she says in closing, with another smile. She is trying her best for poor Brett! She even brought up his mother to none other than Billy Kane after all. "Anyway I suppose I should get going. I hope you persist with Lita, and learn the value of grappling." she tells him.
Brett nods, forcing a weak smile for Cammy as he looks back to her. "I'll try. Hope you guys have a good trip back at least. I'm...just going to take a walk around for now. It was...good catching up, alright?" he says, sighing a little as he rubs his face. It's gonna be a LONG walk tonight, that's for sure.
Log created on 17:17:36 05/25/2012 by Cammy, and last modified on 20:52:31 05/25/2012.