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St. Mary's School for Bad Ass Babes / Apocalypse World

@Inkybus @Ironuyh

A few of the others confirmed Nadja's story, while others were cheering for Nadja's victory while collecting their winnings from Sleazy Joe as the losers grumbled that Nadja pulling out a gun should invalidate the wager. Adelaide sighed and looked at the corpse of Punk Jackson in disdain. She proclaimed to everyone listening, "Nadja made a fair kill. You have my thanks for saving Alana. We would have all been for the worse if she had been injured. Consider all of Punk Jackson's possessions your own, from his knife to his shitty music collection. Girl's, dispose of his body outside the compound, unless you want to take his disgusting rags or check for valuables first, Nadja?" She said addressing her gang as the girls. Two of them walk to the corpse, getting ready move it.
 
Alana was happy to let Nadja explain what happened. It still hurt a bit to try a talking, let alone just breathing as things were cooling down. She pulls her kit and starts treating the wound. She rasps out a quick "...s'might hurt a bit." as she moves to clean the wound. Absolutely no clue how dirty that knife was, she took no chances as she pulled out some of the nicer supplies on hand to clean the wound.

She glances at the people arguing over having lost their wagers. She commits a few of the most brash ones to memory, hoping for their sakes they got enough money to pay for her services when their time on a table comes rolling about. As Adelaide and the mechanic were speaking, Alana was finishing up with her arm, bandaging it tightly. "Now... don't go liftin' too much heavy stuff or gettin' into more fights, ya hear? This'll open right up again if you do, and we ain't made of medical supplies."

Finished dressing Nadja's wound, the Angel stands up and dusts herself off, rubbing her throat as she starts to head off to the infirmary again, lest she's stopped.
 
@Silver Screen Fiend

“Oh, it’s you?” Jeez, Mack, way to make a girl feel welcome.

There was a definite frostiness to the way Valkyrie evaluated Mack as he finished rolling his cigarette; one eyebrow arched, a slight downward quirk of her lip. She didn’t much care for being ignored. Certainly not in favour of a cigarette. Still, at least he had the sense to offer her a drink. That went a good way towards soothing her mood.

“Well, why the fuck not?”

She shrugged and gestured to the bartender to bring another with a flick of her hand, then turned her head to face Mack more directly and idly waved away a puff of his smoke.

“I’m just saying, Mack, you’ve got garbage taste. I know you can afford the good stuff — so what are you doing drinking out here? Penny mad at you, or something?”
 
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When Alana warned me that it would hurt a bit, I grit my teeth. Just then, Adelaide explained to the witnesses of this whole ordeal that the crackhead got what was coming for him and I'd get his stuff. I nodded at that and then checked the progress of our camp medic's ministrations: she seemed to have cleaned the wound perfectly, even if it had stung a bit. "I appreciate it, Alana."

I had no intention of getting into fights if I could avoid it, but sometimes certain people just needed to know that I wasn't a shit-starter. I was the one that ended it.

Looking after Alana for a moment, as she turned to walk back to the infirmary, I finally turned back and walked to pick up the shiv that the crackhead had sliced me with. "Waste not, want not. Blade might be useful for a booby-trap." I explained to no-one in particular.

Then, I went to see if the crackhead had any more worthy stuff in his pockets, before I went and took his stuff, along with the bits and pieces I already had in the bucket I'd been carrying. These discs would probably be worth something to the people that enjoyed this music genre: I'd have to keep an ear out. But that was nothing new.
 
@Inkybus

Nadja finds a couple packs of cigarettes on Punk Jackson, still the most popular form of currency between settlements so even non smokers often have them on them. More interesting are two small vials, one filled with a red liquid and the other empty. In the same pocket is a recently used syringe. She also found a key that looks like it's for a pad lock, or maybe a door. No markings on it, what soever.
 
"Locks are only a deterrent to the honest person." I muttered, as I picked up the key from Punk's pocket. I attached it to the carabiner keyring I had at my belt and put away the cancer-sticks that passed for some currency nowadays.

The vials were probably the shit that Punk had gotten in his system and had been the reason for his smoothbrain decisions. I decided that I would feed the vial and syringe to Toofy, my sputtering little shredder. I put that stuff with the rest of the scrap metal in the bucket, before I picked up said container to go put my stuff away and then check on Punk's residence, see what I could get from there.
 
@Motoharu @Silver Screen Fiend @Silverbird

Meat looked at Joe Blow and gave a long, slow nod of acknowledgement. There was a probably a sort of person that these sort of extended warnings would have an effect upon that was directly the opposite of what was desired. A sort of person who, at being told they could not do something, yearned with every iota of their being to do that very thing. Having the contents of the package forbidden to them would make them desire the knowledge of its contents as a dehydrated person craved any sort of fluid.

But Meat was not that type of person. He did not especially care what was in the package. Probably more than just drugs. But since there was no sense that it directly harmed him Meat was not about to really care all that much. He wanted the jingle.

20 miles was a long way to walk.

Joe Blow suggested hiring a driver, and Mack was right there. A heck of a coincidence. There was a part of Meat that was feeling paranoid. But in the main he just turned his bulk towards where Mack was drinking with Valkyrie.

Meat did not take a seat, but he loomed over both of them. He looked at Mack with his dead eyes. "Mack." Meat said in a dead voice that had only the minimum inflection and nothing of human warmth or emotion. "Drive me somewhere tomorrow. Can pay you [1-barter]."
 
@Ironuyh

As Alana returned towards the infirmary, Kristen is yelling for her. "Alana, over here. We got two patients. One has multiple lacerations caused by glass. I can stitch her up myself, but the other, well I ain't seen anything quite like it. Hopefully you can help her, Doc."

As Alana goes in she sees two patients, side by side with a thin curtain separating them. They were both wearing nothing but a revealing bra and a torn up, plaid skirt, the typical outfit of the prostitutes at St. Mary. The first is Penny, Mack's sister. She has several cuts on her right arm, with jagged, colorful glass sticking through it. Nothing serious, but she'll need stitches. She pleads to Alana, "Please help Angelica, Dr. Alana. She's never like this."

The second was Angelica, Penny's best friend, and a fellow prostitute, though one of the cheaper less popular ones, due to her average body and the long scar she had on her face thay she got before she arrived here. She was fairly mild mannered, and had a reputation for being willing to do anything for the right price. Right now, she was restrained to her bed. Her eyes were dialated and reddened and her arms were shaking in their restraints, and she had several fresh bruises. She was yelling incoherently with her face twisted in rage.
 
@Inkybus

Punk Jackson had a crap tent on the outskirts of town. As Nadja examines the place, it becomes clear how insanely into music Punk Jackson was. He had everything from tapes to vinyls to CDs to DvDs. Even had other memorabilia like posters and t shirts. It became clear that he spent every last cigarette he owned on anything Punk he could find, and had virtually no other possessions. Even all his clothes were punked themed.

Unfortunately for Nadja, post apocalypse the value of what is just entertainment collapsed compared to necessities that people needed to survive. If she stuffes it all in a bag and puts it on the open market, it'd only be worth one barter. However, if she managed to find the right buyer, someone half as obsessed with Punk as Jackson was, she could sell it for 3 times it's value as an impressive collection.

The other thing Nadja notices is there are no locks on anything. Whatever the key is for, it's not here.
 
I decided to bring my trusty cart to bring all of Punk's stuff from his tent to my living quarters, which were just behind my workshop. I could store his entire collection there, so I did. His stuff could come in handy in case of an emergency, as it had a good deal of collectibles on the whole. In case I needed emergency funds, I could sell these for a quick profit, but I was going to wait to find an enthusiast to offload all this otherwise.

After securing his first belongings, I took some paper-tape and taped it around the key I'd found on Punk, writing 'pk' on it so I knew what it was. Then, I went back to Punk's place and searched a bit more thoroughly. He might have hidden a strongbox somewhere, even underground, so I brought a long impromptu-icepick with me that I could stab the earth with, in case I did not find a clue or the lock itself that belonged to the key I'd appropriated.
 
Taking a quick stop to pick up an ice cube or two to help soothe her aching throat, Alana was surprised to see the dangerous situation brewing in the infirmary, and puts a bit of rush into her step as she jogs into her office. Seeing people from the brothel was not uncommon, especially not Angelica. Plenty of memories of Alana telling the girl personally to not buy into the crazier requests rung through the Angel's head. When Penny calls out to her as she does, Alana hoarsely responds, "'Never like this'? She on somethin', then? Who was she with, if ya know doll?"

The doc wasn't one to get physical with the patients, but it was clear Angelica wasn't in a mood to cooperate. She lifts her leg up onto the fitful girl's already pinned arm so there weren't any surprises as she tried to hold her arm still, checking for injection sites. She'd check the other arm similarly. "I'd give ya a chillstab if I knew it wouldn't do anythin' crazy. Where's Dee at? She's gotta be familiar with all the stupid shit people're doin' over in the brothel. Kristen, get someone to find that layabout, would'ja? She might actually know what's goin' on."

Looking over to Penny's arms and Angelica's bruises, she questions the high earner, "She do that to you? And did you do this to her face? I'm gonna need a full explanation." Alana keeps up the weight on the prostitute's arms, intent on not getting attacked for the second time this day.
 
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@Silverbird

"Sometimes I just want to get outside the walls and smell some free air. It gets stuffy up in there, you know?"

Mack sucked down a few more drags of his cigarette then stamped it out with the toe of his boot. It wasn't very good tobacco, old and dry and stale, but it did help the swill he was drinking taste better. He polished off his glass then tapped the counter to order another.

"Besides. I never want to be too good for anything cheap. Helps keep me grounded."
 
@Ironuyh

Penny replied frantically, "Oh, she was with a new guy, someone called Strider. He was tall and kind of handsome, but something about him seemed off. I tried to warn Angelica, but he payed well. I thought it was all fine, he left and Angelica seemed happy. She even said he was gentle with her. But then, just a little while later, she attacked me out of nowhere with a broken bottle. That's how I got these cuts. The bruises are from the bouncers, it took four people to restrain her and get her over hear."

Alana examines Angelica as she pulls on the restraints. She sees several track marks, she certainly has used plenty of drugs in the past. One looked fresh.

Dee finally rushes in apologizing, "Sorry Alana, I picked a bad time for a break, what I'd miss?" Kristen explains it and Dee responds, "Damn, that's not from any of the usual drugs going around. Heroin is the injectable of choice, and that would give the exact opposite reaction. I've never seen anything like it in the settlement."
 
I decided to head back: I hadn't thrown the vial into the metal grinder/shredder yet and it was high time... but then, perhaps it would be best if that thing was analyzed by someone who knew something about bodies? Instead of throwing the drug away, I should find out more about what it does and if there's any medicine that'll help with making someone who was high come back down sooner or a way to counteract it.

After reaching home, I wrote a note that read 'I have a sample of the drug Punk took. Can you tell me if you know what it is and what you want done with it?' signed it and then headed to the hospital-ish part of the settlement to put the note among the various messages Alana got. Given the current humdrum of the settlement, I was sure that she wouldn't be able to meet with me, so a message would have to do. I was reasonably certain the drug would keep for a few days, in case our resident Angel wanted anything done with it.
 
Taking the time to listen to Penny as she relayed the story, and then when Dee rushes in and the story gets a second runthrough, Alana wonders her best course. She doesn't know if giving her a narco would cause issues or not, and there's no real way to find out other than to do. After a moment, she turns to the younger infirmary worker. "You think you can meet with this Strider guy? I'd recommend takin' someone with you in case he tries somethin'. I can try and give her a downer, but I don't know what it'll do to her, if anything."

The Doctor sighs as she looks at Angelica. "Probably just gonna have to monitor her and make sure nothin' bad happens so we don't trigger somethin' ourselves. When you're headed out, find a few people to come by so that if she somehow breaks free we can hold her down?"

When Dee has left, the Angel would inform Kristen to start doing what she can for Penny, before starting to try and do as much of a checkup as she can with the flailing woman. She thinks for a moment if she should try to look for deeper insight that only this world provides, but she's only had bad experience with that, and will stick to her wheelhouse for now.
 
@Silver Screen Fiend @Ask the Question

Valkyrie did know. After all, it was a similar itch that had driven her out here, wasn’t it? Life inside the walls wasn’t exactly what you’d call quiet or peaceful, but it was definitely more predictable. Controlled, even. The hold was still scarred by the rebellion, the atmosphere inside occasionally one of lingering suspicion and pain, and Adelaide was maybe trying a bit too hard to bring it all to heel. Stuffy…

The battlebabe didn’t share those thoughts, though. She just gave Mack a knowing smirk, and a sip of her own drink as he polished off his glass.

Terrible. As she’d expected. She made an exaggerated face as she set the drink back down, just so he’d know.

“Seems like a waste,” she said, with a regretful shake of her long curls. “Life’s fast and unpredictable. There’s no guarantee the good stuff’ll still be around tomorrow, so if you ask me—”

She leant forward and casually slid her free arm from the bar as she spoke, bringing her hand to rest on Mack’s knee instead.

“— you should enjoy it while you can.”

And at that moment, Meat arrived. Valkyrie didn’t say much in greeting — just raised her glass in salute to the towering slab of muscle, then slipped her hand from Mack’s knee and focused on her drink, giving them a minute to talk. She was damn curious about what Meat might be up to, but Mack knew his business, and she wasn’t going to get in the way of that. Good chance she’d hear in a minute, anyway.
 
@Ask the Question

Mack never knows what to think of Meat. He might be the biggest dude the driver ever laid eyes on, and it's real hard to get a read on him. The eyes behind that mask betray nothing. Mack gazes up at Meat, downs half a glass, and nods.

"Yeah. Alright. Where you need to go, big guy? Wait, don't tell me. Bad luck. We'll meet up tomorrow after breakfast and talk about it then. Or better yet, tell me when we get in the car and crank it up. I don't like the future weighing me down in the present, you know? Okay. Yeah, I'll find you tomorrow. You can pay me when we get back."

Mack finished his glass then placed it back on the counter. Fuck. Now he can't drink anymore. He needs to be awake and alert tomorrow. Can't have the haze of a hangover clouding his instincts. Damn, and he really wanted to get wasted tonight, too. The local amazon just put her hand on his knee and made a few subtle intonations. He felt like there was a promise of something there. Well, not getting too fucked up is probably for the best if there's a chance he might get lucky, or at least on his way to getting lucky. Gotta control the inner sleazeball and not fuck it up.

He felt like having another cigarette, but he didn't feel like rolling one, so he fished a half finished cigar from his vest and lit it with three matches.
 
@Silverbird @Silver Screen Fiend

Meat nodded his head slowly and deliberately in acknowledgement to Valkyrie. He had nothing to say to her, so he said nothing at all. There was no need to fill the air with empty words.

The giant man nodded his head again to Mack. It was good, because Meat did not yet know where he needed to go, exactly. He would learn that from Joe Blow later. But with Mack's services secured, there was no reason to linger and interfere with whatever he and Valkyrie were engaged in. "Tomorrow." Meat said in his dull voice, confirming that he had heard and understood Mack.

Without further ado, the masked man lumbered off, moving quiet as the grave away from the pair without any sort of drawn out departure or pointless chit-chat. His intention was to go back to his tent and wait out the remains of the day until it was time to meet Joe Blow, learn just where the package needed to go, and to receive it.
 
@Ironuyh @Inkybus

Dee rushes out to look for Strider. Alana gets Angelica's condition stable, but her mental state is still not improving. Kristen just finishes stitching up Penny when Nadja arrives with the vial.
 
@Silver Screen Fiend @Silverbird @Ask the Question

A very tall woman, dressed in a long cloak that covers her face and most of her features takes the seat next to Valkyrie. She orders a drink, and without looking at her, subtly passes her a note. If Valkyrie reads it, it would say, 'Adelaide has a job for you, top secret. Meet her on the far side of the lake in an hour. Bring and tell no one.'
 
@Silver Screen Fiend @Motoharu @Ask the Question

Well, damn. Valkyrie let out a disappointed, self-deprecating chuckle as Mack told Meat not to give him any details. So much for her curiosity. She should’ve known better, between one of them being taciturn and the other professionally discrete and too damn sober.

She’d have to get the story out of one of them later. Probably Mack, it’d be a damn sight easier. For now she knocked back a fair chunk of her drink, forgetting to pretend to dislike while her thoughts were elsewhere, and waited for Meat to depart.

“Strange guy, that one, but I like him. Always wondered what he looks like under that thing.”

The battlebabe took a more thoughtful sip of her drink as she watched Meat’s retreating back. She didn’t miss the tall woman passing him on her way in — couldn’t have missed her, especially with that intriguing air of mystery hanging about her — and she kept watch of her from the corner of her eye as she turned her attention back to Mack.

“Speaking of… how come I’ve never had a chance to see your car? She’s called ‘Doreen’, right?”

Valkyrie leant forward slightly and was about to add more when she felt the piece of paper pressed into her hand. Intrigued, she leant back again, and took a moment to glance at it while Mack lit his cigarette.

Huh. Well that called for a change of plans.

Casual as can be, Valkyrie downed the rest of her drink, then climbed to her feet. She didn’t make straight for the entrance, though; instead, she leant forward to whisper by Mack’s ear, her voice velvet-smooth and her hair cascading over his shoulder.

“You should give me a ride sometime.”
 
I walked into Alana's workplace and asked to meet with her, either directing my query to Alana herself or to one of the helpers if she was busy: I did not want to intrude on her while she was at work. Spirits knew I would be cross with someone if they interrupted me while I was in the middle of my tinkering rhythm.
 
As the infirmary gets set to legitimate work, Alana would take some of Angelica's blood, intent on running some tests. She keeps a casual eye on Kristen's stitching as she works to see what's ticking inside the prostitute's system. Something's throwing a wrench in everything, and if she can learn more about it, she can find its opposite. As the Angel's working at a rather leisurely pace, since a lot of the process can only be as fast as the tools work, when Nadja arrives with something.

Alana would meet with her at the door. "Nadja, what's goin' on? Already cashin' in on whatever it is I owe ya?" She gives a bit of a grin, but notices the vial, and looks at the mechanic with a questioning look, as that seems to be the reason she's there. "That for me? I guess I am lookin' into drugs at the moment, maybe we'll get lucky?" The doctor would direct the mechanic to input the drug into one of the machines so they can see if it's a match for any of the nonsense in Angelica's bloodstream, and then get back to waiting for the work to be done.
 
Alana was, thankfully, not in the midst of surgery and other aid at the moment, so I raised the vial up so she could take it: "Well, I was thinking that we could get something to eat at the Cantina sometimes in the near future: I'd like to get to know you a bit more.~"

I liked to think that I offered her a winning smile, after all but asking her out on a date, but the situation at hand still had to be addressed: so I spoke up after a beat of silence to let the half-serious sentence land first. "But really, I found this on Punk's body and I don't think drugs that are maybe mildly good for you should look this red. Weed definitely does not look this ominous."

After explaining my being here, I went ahead and followed Alana's lead, putting the drug into the machine she'd prepped to see if she could find matching data from her control group.
 
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