Description: Rust is only one of three eyewitnesses to Vega's death; of the others one is dead and one is Sagat. Clearly he is the best chance for an intelligence agency to find out what actually happened, and so Delta Red sends their best!
It's been a turbulent time since the events of Vega's bid for world domination. It was a hell of an adventure getting his passport back on his return to Nepal after the dust settled. Quite a story, really. A hard-earned lesson that the next time a military official representing the country he just inadvertedly saved wants him to be briefed and volunteer to be deployed in some other country that he really should assert himself and get his passport instead of letting himself be ushered right out his (mostly intact) hotel room off to the danger zone.
He should also carefully consider cutting down the amount of run-on sentences in his life, come to think of it.
Either way, it's back to work at Southtown. Day in, day out, working with the white belts (and a few of the yellow belts) through flesh-tiring, bone-breaking strength training and a bit of unconventional carpentry in-between the eccentric disputes of the Sakazaki clan and his own little foibles. It's a routine he's happy to return to. He's a working man, through and through, it's easy for him to get lost in his work.
It's not doing a great job of filling a new-found void he had the displeasure of coming home to news of, and it shows here on an early afternoon of an overcast day that promises a light rain later. Few words are spoken. The punches and kicks he demonstrates are not punctuated with much other than the simple act, and even then they seem to lack a bit of bite. Nobody among his peers is willing to say that he's phoning it in to his face.
After all, he's a man who survived being shot, blown up, stabbed, bludgeoned, and being Vega'd. Some of them are afraid if they really set him off, the only one who might me able to stop him is the Dojo's own master. (Who, coincidentally, seems to be playing a very aggressive game of hide-and-seek with some weird guy wearing a headband and possessing long hair out at a local strip mall.) Even Marco's been a little afraid to approach him since he's come back.
"T-Ten more reps?" Asks a younger white belt with very large glasses on his face.
"Yeah... sure," grouses out Rust as he goes through a series of punches, as if taking suggestions from the student rather than really doing much direction on his own, "you go on 'n... do that."
"Uh, okay, sure! Ten more reps." The student puffs out his chest as he communicates this to the other students out on the concrete lot.
Speaking of military representatives...
Delta Red always have another task, which is just as well, it keeps Cammy focused; she really doesn't react well when given nothing to do. But Colonel Wolfman seems to know this, which is why she has been dispatched on this most menial of tasks. Not that she minds, of course, she is happy to serve/follow orders mindlessly/contribute to the security of the free world/help her friends.
Unfortunately Japan doesn't seem to like her much, for whatever reason, and so she is a little on edge, as she loiters outside the dojo of one of the most dangerous men in in the entire world. But apparently Rust is in there, most probably right now according to intell, and so she steels herself.
She reaches up to tug the red beret off of her head out of respect for those within, and transfers it to her clipboard carrying hand, before padding into the dojo. Seeing that lessons are ongoing, she hangs around at the very edge of the room, by the entrance. She isn't too sure about dojo etiquette but she suspects you aren't supposed to just wander in with booted feet - quite literally.
Her blue eyes roam around those present - and before too long, fix upon Rust.
Howard Rust, age 41, American nationality and expat to Japan who taught shop in Pacific High, to eventually lose his job and get one teaching basic level Kyokugen (still quite intense, don't let the label 'basic' fool anyone). Known to be in contact with former Shadaloo operative, famous Muay Thai master Sagat of Thailand. Somewhat famed for his resilience to physical duress, especially during the recent war.
There's also the important footnote stating the obvious that his hair is not naturally dark purple and that any operative caught believing that hairpiece is real in any capacity is going to get reshuffled back into the usual military ranks.
It's a fairly thorough dossier (that spends further paragraphs making fun of his... hair issues than is really necessary).
When Cammy appears, the students are all kind of wondering how to get their current teacher's attention on the matter. Maybe he already notices? Takuma and his direct understudies are all pretty good at being able to tell when someone is present, maybe Mr. Rust there already knows...?
"Hey," speaks one Howard in a tired, unenthusiastic voice without turning around to face whoever it was that came in here as he strikes one of his legs out in a higher kick than he's usually comfortable throwing. "Caught us in, in the middle of a lesson," he clears his throat as he lowers his leg down to his ready stance again.
There is a certain stiffness to his movements. A keen eye could probably pick out a few good places to strike him for good effect if it became necessary.
"Y'need someone, uh, pretty sure that, that you could get Ryo, he's in the orange... somewhere."
Cammy clears her throat, when it becomes clear that she's been noticed, but is essentially being ignored. Or at least, diverted. "Ryo Sakazaki?" she asks. She's done her reading, she had little else to read while on the plane after all. "I'm looking for a Mr Howard Rust, actually?".
She tugs the clipboard out from where it's tucked under one arm, leafs through it, while her beret is clutched beneath it. "Mr Howard Rust, American expat? Fought in the Shadaloo War? I was just wondering if you had a moment for a quiet word or two, I'm with NATO; they have an interest in your service during the war. It's only to clear up a few unknowns is all."
Her blue eyes wander over the line of students, and then back to Rust. And then up to the toupee. There's no doubt at all that this is her target. What she thinks of the toupee is not betrayed by so much as the faintest flicker of emotion, if nothing else, Delta Red have taught her about the appropriate reserved demeanour and manners.
"Of course, if now is a good time, as you seem to be in the middle of instruction, I can wait until you're done." she says smoothly.
The moment the Delta Red agent speaks is the moment the man before her stops mid-punch, as if almost rooted in place or frozen by something or another, an elbow creaking loudly as it's locked in place mid-punch, the fist tightening. The students look on with a slight touch of terror as the older man's brown eyes turn to the side. His head cranes very slowly in her direction as he lowers his shoulder. His elbow never bends. That fist doesn't clench.
The American man gives her a look that speaks of naked contempt, through and through, quiet as she makes plain her request. His eyes narrow ever so slightly in taking in her form, head to toe, as if to confirm whatever it is he's looking for in her.
"Keep goin'," he turns his head back to the students, who comply without hesitation. They could feel the atmosphere grow a little chillier as they continued a drill that one of them more or less invented thanks to their teacher's... well... emotional state.
"Ask me here," Howard speaks. Is he reluctant to want to speak with her in private? Surely these children don't need to know or hear of what sorts of horrors he was a part of, as he turns the rest of his body to face her in full. He flexes the locked elbow to work out the stiffness, a notable popping sound. His left fist is still clenched, his right hand open.
Cammy's face falls. What is it with this country? Anglophobes, the lot of them.
An uncomfortable silence fills the dojo for a few long seconds, before she licks her lips and nods. "Very well, Mr Rust." she says, mildly enough. And she looks down at the clipboard in her hands, digging the pen out of the clip where it has been stashed.
"I understand that you were in China, near the end of the war. We believe that you might have encountered Vega himself? Possibly more than once?". She looks up at him, and then walks over to a bench, so she can put her booted foot on it, and balance the clipboard on one camo painted, muscular thigh. "There was an explosion, in any case. You were there? We're curious what happened just before it, and just after, even, if you were still able.".
She glances over at him, and cuts to the chase. "You met the one called Vega, the so called Lord of Shadaloo, in person?".
"Twice." Howard says with a certain definitiveness even despite his low tone of voice. "India... 'n then, China." Both life-changing encounters he'd never forget, especially considering the first one was poised to be his last day on Earth until... mysterious interventions.
He really turns his head when she puts a foot on that bench. Don't you break that bench, he's thinking inwardly, me and benches are through and I swear to God if you break that bench...
"Y-Yeah, I was," he speaks, as though wondering how to phrase something to someone who probably should already know this (by his perception, however odd it might be). "After rescuing... Chun-Li down in, in Myanmar, I went up to China... got a call from someone, 'n... got together with two people when I ran into Vega the second time."
Even with Chun-Li's advice on how to best attempt to overcome his overwhelming psychic power and having met him the first time in person, it still gives him a bit of the willies thinking about... him. It. That power. The way it bore down on him with the weight of horror and hatred and so much pinkish-purple trying to blank out his mind.
"He... Vega," he continues, raising a hand as if gesticulating something getting bigger, "just... expanded," he remembers seeing the protruding bones - a sickening sight, indeed - and is holding back a lump as he continues to describe this, "after we, we worked at him, and... he just, blew up. One big-ass explosion, just... blew up. Then, I... I didn't really feel him."
He sure doesn't look the part of a guy who survived two direct confrontations with Vega, but all intel suggests that yes, he did - immediate reports of the explosion said that he was the only one still left standing after all's said and done.
"He's gone now, and, y'know, God willing, never gonna see or hear 'bout him again," he says as he waves a hand and turns to look away, "that it?"
The man before her is clearly not in a good mood, but for what reason? Students underperforming? Inclement weather? Favorite sports team lost playoffs? What is his problem, anyway? Cammy so far has been nothing but polite to this man. It's not like she's interrupting him in the middle of a fast food 'meal' (blech, how could they even consider that food), is it?
Cammy has only really talked to a handful of people in Japan, beyond checking in at hotels, muttering to airport staff and buying cheesecake slices in the Pao Pao Cafe. Aside from Ibuki, every single one has been immediately hostile.
She can only assume that military uniforms, posh Brits, and NATO, are not welcome in this place. And they weren't even Japanese folks giving her a hard time, in fact the expats were the unfriendly ones, the actual natives, like Ibuki, were nice. Given Rust is clearly an expat, she's not actually that surprised that he's treating her like she is a contagious disease.
And while she's not too happy about it - who would be? - she's beyond working out why now. She has a job to do, she'll do it, and then get out of here.
So she scrawls on the clipboard, eyes fractionally wider. "So you actually saw him then. Thats more than anyone else admitted to, that we could find anyway.". Some people are harder to interview than others; Rust may not be the friendliest sort but he's certainly easier to find and talk to than Sagat.
"So you fought him? He exploded somehow? And now, as far as you are aware, he's gone? Who were you with at the time?" she asks. She turns the page on her clipboard, consulting some old notes. "Quon Chen?" she guesses. "And Sagat?".
There's also the distinct possibility he might be pissed at Obama over some matters of veteran benefits he's not going to get since he's not an enlisted soldier in any capacity - there's been a bit of turbulence over in America as election day looms nearer and nearer yet, after all. That'd probably be enough to make any American crabby.
It may be too convenient an explanation, though.
He nods tersely (...better to say he basically doesn't really nod at all?) at the assertion about him and the exploding. Son of a bitch, he thinks inwardly, his skin is crawling anew at the lingering sensation of having suffered (and survived) all of that mess.
"Keep goin'," he turns back to the students.
"...Ten more?" Asks the bespectacled student, who is wiping his brow.
"Fifty." So says Howard as he clears his throat and turns back over to Cammy with a bit more speed in the turn of his head. It's like he doesn't want to turn his eyes away from her. Unwarranted suspicion, or...?
"Yeah... them," he says, not wanting to repeat Quon's name. He falls silent for a few poignant seconds as he rolls out a kink in his shoulder. He looks down and away, even, at mention of it. "Quon, he... he really got the, the worst end of it, you... you know that."
He's pretty sure she knows that.
Cammy watches the orders to the unfortunate students blankly. Looks like a harsh training regimen, alright. Probably harsher than Delta Red, at least as far as martial arts are concerned, these guys probably don't have to trek across rain swept Welsh mountains while wearing huge rucksacks at least though. She stays quiet, not wanting to interrupt the sensei at work.
And just scrawls. Confirmation that it was indeed Sagat and Quon at the last known sighting of Vega. One of whom won't be being interviewed by anyone on this mortal plane ever again. And the other of whom is probably almost as hard to get an interview with.
"Quon Chen. I was aware of his death.". Her voice isn't exactly indifferent, she has some sympathy. But it's a distant sympathy, for a man she only really knew by reputation. "Not connected to this incident, though. Not directly anyway. A shame Ken Masters did what he did, I actually warned him about Adon, that he was no joke, not a man to simply dismiss, like some Wrestling Federation heel. From what I saw, the warning was not heeded. Perhaps if things were taken a bit more seriously than what happened wouldn't have been quite so tragic.".
She may not have known him but after the effort she made to hunt Ken down, she wasn't too happy about Adon's interview being some joke of a media circus. The Jaguar was provoked while everybody laughed at him as if he was some harmless joke, but Cammy knew otherwise.
"I'm sure fighting Vega left it's scars, though. In any case. Your information is very helpful. We've been attempting to track Vega's whereabouts but come up blank. Shadaloo seems to be rudderless, falling apart. You seem to be able to confirm his death.".
She scrawls some more, expression serious. Good news, and news worth the trip to collect.
Wait until Takuma decides it's field trip time. It gets pretty hectic. It is perhaps traumatizing to really express in detail whenever it's time for him to round up family and hangers-on into the Sakazaki Cadillac for adventure and suffering.
Howard shakes his head a few times at her speculation. He points a finger at her, but doesn't really punctuate the gesture with any words or meaning beyond waving it a few times and grunting in something that's either anger, annoyance, or impatience on the matter.
"L-Lemme tell you," Howard says as he takes a few steps towards her while she scrawls down more information, "I dunno what... what end this is all for," his tone is clearly hostile as he looks her in the eye, "but he's, he's done with. Over. I... I was there."
He wasn't looking at him directly during the explosion, which is really the only fatal flaw of his observations - but he is surely convinced that he's gone for good, as though assuming foolishly that Vega is operating on Normal People Rules in regards to bodies exploding in vulgar displays of power (or... exploding, in general).
"'n if I were you," he continues, "if I were you, I'd... I'd think really hard 'bout what you're gonna do about it."
Cammy nods, not even looking at him at first. She's focused on the clipboard, as she writes out what he says, word for word. She glances up, though, when she realises he's approaching.
And steps off of the bench where she's been balancing. "What we're going to do?". She smiles thinly at Rust, finding that a little ironic, she's overheard some of the brass talking about their future plans while in 'the office' as it were. "Fight the inevitable demands for budget cuts probably. Not that Delta Red really need much money, it certainly isn't going on salaries anyway." she says, with a smile. She really is trying hard to be friendly! But more than that, she does have a certain easy charm, even if it is mostly down to just how... innocent she looks. Once blank eyes are now quite warm and attentive, the faint edge of menace, of wrongness, that hung around her like a pall despite her best efforts is no more.
Still, she's done, she thinks. He exploded. That seems pretty clearcut, though there have been similar reports of Vega's death in the past, and he always seems to return in time. Either that or a pretender rises to take his place. She offers Rust a salute. "Thank you for your time, Mr Rust, I think that sums it up, and is quite useful. You were one of only three eyewitnesses, and as I'm sure you understand, what happened to Shadaloo's leader is quite important information. A war was fought over him, after all. Governments want to know how it panned out in the end.".
And then she's slinking away towards the exit, to leave him to get on with his lessons.
He doesn't get those eyes. He's got her, he thinks. She's just a really good actress, even as she rattles off a totally ordinary and mundane thing that he could probably sympathize with. God, he remembers his struggles with Pacific and its lopsided budget that spent lavishly on everything except what was really convenient for him to have as a teaching aid or two.
It's like he's looking at someone who's convinced that they're convincing him of something otherwise, and it's... a bit disarming, as he stands silent to her smile and observations repeating what he's said.
"Yeah... I, I see that," he grumbles as he takes a few steps backwards. He does seem very ready for her to leave so he can get back to whatever it was he was doing. There's no polite 'your welcome' or what have you - he's a man who has had enough, as it were.
"H-Hey, sir," comes another student from another part of the grounds.
"Yeah?" Rust turns his head. Who now, he inwardly grouses.
"Package came in for you," the student says, "actually, um, he's come by several times and says he can't leave it unless you're there to sign it, and... now that you're here he really, really, really wants you to come sign."
"All right," Howard grumbles as he looks back to the practicing students, "keep doin' those... fifty sets," he says as he goes to collect that package marked to being his as he looks over his shoulder every so often to look at Cammy on her way out.
What is his problem with her, anyway?
Log created on 18:09:21 05/27/2012 by Cammy, and last modified on 20:33:20 05/27/2012.