Aberrant: Dead Rising - Training Day [Complete]

[Atomicweasel]

May 11th, early morning...

The sun shone pale but hot, making Hana regret her zip-up hoodie. She pulled it open as far as she dared without revealing the thick butt of her father's .38 Special. She had stuffed the bulky revolver into the waistband of her torn up jeans and had carefully covered it with the hoodie. Beneath the hoodie Hana was wearing a black and yellow Grants Pirates tee, inherited from Kristin. Over her eyes, covering a darkening bruise, Hana wore a cheap pair of sunglasses she had taken from Marmac. They had glittery purple frames.

She walked slowly around the tents, watching a heavy-set woman scrubbing at some clothes in a bucket. Briefly their eyes met, the spent woman, the young teen, standing just a few feet from one another, but looking at each other over a vast divide. Hana walked on.

A short while later she came to the converted garage Bond used to store and trade his goods. A nervous fluttering started in her stomach as she approached the building. There was a lot on her mind, and it had all reached a kind of buzzing ache as her thoughts mixed with the smells and sights of the Refuge. Simon and his sassafras. Ashley's red and angry face. Kristin looking all broken but held together like shatterproof glass. Cooking grease and wet grass and hungry little eyes that all watched her and waited for it happen. Like they knew. Like everyone knew. Eva's voice in her head. You little cunt.

Hana fumbled in her hoodie pocket. Her hand came out with the apple Lorraine had given her that morning with a bowl of oatmeal. She took a big crunching bite out of the apple, and then called out "Mr. Bond? Are you here?" as she padded over to the garage door and peered inside.

[Fox]

Bond was indeed there, dressed in faded green camo pants tucked into well-worn combat boots and a tight white t-shirt. Hana could clearly make out the dark straps of his shoulder rig over the white cotton, one golden Desert Eagle in holstered in the small of his back and the other under his right arm. The English mercenary was checking a small array of other firearms as Hana peered in, but paused in his well-practiced motions and glanced her way as he greeted her.

"Hana, come on in." Pale blue eyes regarded her with friendly analysis as he smiled. "I thought we'd start by finding you guns that'd suit. We need to take into account wrist strength, hand size and strength, and your own preferences. Did you have any ideas what pistol you'd like to start with?" He gestured at the row of weapons on the table. "I say pistol because we'll move onto long-arms later. Take a look, see if any fit well in your hand."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana stepped in. She did look over the pistols, starting at the end of the table and moving back toward Bond as she inspected them, pausing here and there to carefully lift one and feel the heft of it in her hand. Small and elfin as she was, Hana made a poor fit for most of Bond's guns. She looked like she'd have trouble keeping a .22 straight, let alone one of Bond's enormous Desert Eagles.

"Well, find one you like?" Bond asked after patiently watching Hana trail her fingertips over the grip of a Glock 9mmm.

"They're all pretty nice," Hana answered shyly, "but I've got my own." She unzipped her hoodie the rest of the way, and from the moment Bond saw the butt of her gun, he suspected it would be too big for her by far. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Hana withdrew the fat bulky revolver and laid it on the table at the end of the row.

It was a snub-nosed .38 special Smith and Wesson revolver with a black matte grip and a stainless steel finish, of the kind formerly favored by law enforcement. Short though the barrel was, Bond knew the weight of the gun without even holding it. It was a heavy gun, meant for a strong practiced grip. Aside from having picked out one of the .357s or .44s, Hana could not have chosen more poorly. In her small hands the thing would kick like a cannon...and likely be as accurate.

"It used to be my dad's." Hana added quietly.

[Fox]

Bond picked up the snub-nose and checked it over with a professional eye. He hefted it, rotated the cylinder, and cocked the hammer, listening to the double *click* of the action. Satisfied, he flashed Hana a smile and lowered the hammer again before setting the revolver back down.

"A good back-up piece." he told her. "You'll be lucky, or good, to hit anything smaller than a motorcycle past twenty feet, but inside ten feet it doesn't lose out to other handguns." He held out his hand for hers and, after a moment, Hana obliged, feeling a little self-conscious as Bond's pale eyes regarded her small hand and fingers. After a moment, he took her hand again.

"Go ahead and squeeze." he told her, then grinned. "That is, unless you're yet another member of that sisterhood of women in the Refuge that can tear my arm off, in which case we can skip the grip-strength test."

[Atomicweasel]

Feeling still more self-conscious, Hana squeezed Bond’s hand. She wanted to impress, so she bore down hard, but Bond’s hand was a great deal bigger than hers. Thicker, too. For all her efforts, Hana’s grip was much what might have been expected from a girl her size: insignificant. Hana was either as strong as a typical pre-teen waif, or she was a splendid actress...her furious squeezing did little more than add a bit of color to Bond’s palm. Finally, she squeezed herself out and stopped. Hana’s expression was hidden by the gaudy purple sunglasses, but her look was obviously expectant as she anxiously waited for Bond to grade her strength.

As she looked up at him, Bond noticed the little raw cut where Hana's split lip was mending. Her cheap sunglasses almost did the trick, but couldn't quite hide the darkened outer edge of what was surely a black eye.

[Fox]

"First step: your new exercise regimen." Bond took a small rubber sphere, a raquetball, from his pocket and tossed it to Hana. "Starting tonight before you sleep do fifty squeezes with each hand. Then fifty when you wake up in the morning. Combat shooting is 80 percent hand and wrist strength. You get tired and shaky after five shots, and you might as well not even have bothered drawing the weapon." He grinned good-humoredly at her and plucked the Glock from the weapons lineup on the table.

"This will be your main pistol. Good out to fifty yards if the shooter is up to the task. Seventeen shots when fully loaded and good in virtually all weather conditions. You can even drop it in a puddle for a few seconds and it'll still fire. It's actually a Glock 17 variant, the 'C'." He turned the gun over and worked the slide, opening it up to show the girl. "Slots either side of the barrel and slide here help with recoil and muzzle lift, but you'll need to pay extra attention when cleaning it." He let the slide clack back into place and set the gun back on the table.

"We'll get you started with this, too." he moved to the wall and took down a slim rifle with a wooden stock and a telescopic sight mounted atop it. "It's a .22. Now it won't blow a zombie away in satisfying chunks, but if you're accurate with it a .22 hollowpoint through the brain will drop a shambler. Or a man, for that matter. They're good for small game: birds and rabbits. Bolt-action, and solid out to 75 to 100 yards." He smiled again as he offered her the gun. "Rifle shooting - hell any shooting - is all about accuracy and each bullet counting, whether your shooting for your life or just for your supper." He paused, looking into her eyes to make sure she was absorbing what he was saying, then nodded and moved on.

"Here's some ammo." Five large boxes each of .38, .22 and 9mm shells were set into a carrybag. "And here's the guns..." The Glock was put into a smart looking wallet with a cleaning kit before joining the .38 in the bag. Bond nodded to Hana. "You take this and your rifle there. I need to get my rifle dialled in right, so I'll bring it along too." He reached over and picked up a large impact-resistant case.

"Now, let's climb up onto Violet's place and see if you can put one of those .22's into James' ear." Bond said deadpan in much the same cheery offhand way as someone might say 'Let's go for a walk around the garden'. Hana blinked for a moment, then spotted the grin lurking in those blue eyes before it broke out onto Bond's lips.

"Actually, we're going to the wall." Bond amended without missing a beat. "I set some targets up outside last night at a variety of ranges." Still grinning, he fished a pair of sleek sunglasses out of a pocket and slid them over his eyes. "Ready?"

[Atomicweasel]

"Ready." Hana agreed, trying hard not show how overwhelmed she was with Bond's presentation. She gave the racquetball a couple of experimental squeezes and then stuffed it into her hoodie pocket when she caught Bond's sunglasses tilted toward her. Shouldering the bag, Hana grabbed her borrowed .22 rifle and chased out after Bond.

Together they crossed the Refuge, Hana struggling to keep up with Bond's long strides. Every few feet she would fall behind and the break into a light jog, keeping abreast with the mercenary for a few hurried steps until he pulled ahead of her again.

By the time they reached the wall, Hana was flushed. The bag had turned heavy, and the weight of the rifle dragged at her shoulder and arm. She wasn't too proud to let Bond reach down to scoop her up and plant her back on her feet next to one of the parapets.

Picnic? Hana dared to hope when she saw Bond laying out a blanket and carefully folding it. He was quick to dash that hope.

"For kneeling. Helps you keep a straight aim on those longer shots."

"Oh." Hana looked out over the parapet, noticing the green shine of empty bottles strategically laid out on plastic crates. "Which one do I start with?" She asked.

It took Bond a moment to realize the girl was cradling her rifle against her shoulder, drill-style, as if she were all set to march in some parade.

[Fox]

"The automatic, I think." Bond said after a moment's consideration. "Let's get it out of the bag and we'll start with the basics."

They hunkered down together on the folded blanket, Bond showing Hana the working parts of the Glock in order: slide, catch, clip, safety, breech... Bond, perhaps surprisingly, was a good teacher. He didn't rush through the lesson, but nor did he belabor each point as though he was talking to a little kid. As soon as Hana appeared to understand each step, he moved onto the next. He was patient, too. Try as she might, Hana detected no frustration or resignation in his demeanour. When she messed up cocking the slide and got it hung up, he didn't snatch the weapon away peremptorily with a long-suffering sigh. He simply watched her figure it out, then gave her a catlike smile when she did.

When she was able to go through the steps without a pause or hang up, he made her go through the preparation over and over again, gently urging her to do it a little faster each time. By ten repetitions Hana had it down, pulling back the slide, dropping out the empty practice clip, then slapping it back into place and releasing the catch with one thumb before aiming the Glock at the nearest row of bottles.

"Good." Bond said with a grin for her as he handed her a full clip. "Now with ammunition. It changes the weight of the gun, balances it out." He watched as Hana gingerly took the clip, then dropped out the empty, following each step with intent concentration until the now-loaded firearm was pointed downrange. Hana looked at it, then at Bond with a cute smile. The mercenary nodded approvingly.

"Okay, let's do some shooting. Remember: keep it either pointed downrange or safetied and pointed straight up for now." he reminded her with a smile. Hana nodded, and Bond moved to her side, gently adjusting her grip on the pistol. "Left hand makes the cradle, right hand does the trigger work." he told her as he steadied her arms. "Keep the elbows slightly bent. That's it. Get a feel for the loaded pistol before you start shooting."

He leaned against the parapet, watching Hana as she hefted the gun, getting familiar with it. "You might want to take the sunglasses off to shoot for now." he suggested mildly. "Of course, I understand if you don't want to. That bruise looks nasty from here."

In the small quiet moment that followed, Bond smiled gently at Hana. "There's just us here for now. Care to tell me why you're sporting a shiner?"

[Atomicweasel]

“I got into a fight.” Hana replied, lowering the Glock and biting her lip with a guilty sidelong look at Bond. What’s the point in hiding it? she thought with rising embarrassment. He knows. He might as well see it. She flipped the safety on her gun and set it down in front of her on the parapet, the barrel pointed away from her like Bond had shown her to do. Reaching up, Hana removed her cheap sunglasses and tucked them into the collar of her tee. A livid purplish black bruise made a ring around one of her pretty eyes. She touched it gingerly. “It still kinda hurts a bit.”

“But that’s not why I’m here right now—I mean, that’s not why I asked you to show me how to shoot.” Hana hastened to add as Bond looked at her knowingly. “I swear!”

“I know.” He nodded, crossing his arms and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Do I even want to know what the other guy looks like?” Bond teased lightly.

“Other girl.” Hana corrected, grinning ruefully. “She looks fine. She kicked my ass.”

“Nooo, I refuse to believe it. A champion pugilist like yourself.” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Hana blushed and shrugged. “I did okay. She did better.”

Bond laughed throatily, his pale blue eyes lit with mirth. “Alright, Champ, let’s see if you can shoot better than you can fight.” He urged warmly.

Bond’s laugh was contagious. Hana broke into a little fit of giggling as she reclaimed her gun, thumbed the safety off, and tried to take a steady aim at the closest bottle. She looked to Bond who was still grinning at her, licked her bruised lip and complained “Don’t make me laugh! It makes my lip hurt.” He tipped his chin at the bottles and she squared her feet again, slowly taking aim like he’d taught her. She breathed in. She breathed out. In. Out. Her elbows loose, Hana closed her eyes, opened them again...and as she breathed out, took her shot.

The bang was much louder than she expected, the gun bucking up in her hands with a frightening kick-back. But when she looked out over the wall, the bottle lay splintered in a sea of shining green glass shards. “I did it I did it I did it!” Hana squealed with delight, turning proudly to Bond and bouncing up and down.

“Safety!” he reminded her.

“Oh, right...” she turned away from him, abashed, and flicked the safety back into place.

Click to reveal..

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2395529/ (1 suxx!)

[Fox]

"That was an excellent first shot." Bond told the girl with a smile that caused Hana to break out in a pleased blush. "Try for two in a row now." he suggested, pointing at the targets. "After the first shot, ride the recoil and bring the gun back into line on the second." Bond mimed the action, pointed fingers taking the place of a pistol. "Remember when you're in combat for real: 'if it's worth shooting once it's usually worth shooting twice'. That goes especially for zombies. Until you get to the point that you know without a shadow of a doubt that the first bullet will do the trick, with a pistol in hand the double-tap is your best friend." He leaned on the parapet, pale eyes on Hana's face. "Shooting fast isn't as important as shooting accurately, but if you can do both you stand a better chance than those who just blaze away in a panic."

He smiled and watched as Hana settled in to take aim again. It was a pleasant morning; behind them the Refuge was taking on it's usual loud bustle as the day developed. Hana fired, then again, the reports coming two seconds apart. Another bottle shattered fifteen feet away.

"Shit. Missed one." Hana swore, then looked abashed at Bond, who was grinning. "Uh... I mean... 'poot, missed one'."

"No need to hold back on my account." Bond told her, still grinning. "You're old enough to swear if you feel the need, and I'm a big boy." He glanced out over at the targets. "You hit on the second shot. That means you were trying to anticipate the recoil on the first one. Look." he leaned close to Hana and pointed. Up close, Hana noted that Bond smelled faintly of soap and nice cologne: comforting male scents. Following the line of his finger, she could make out a bullet hole in the crate about a foot below the level of the bottles.

"Everyone does that at first." Bond said as he straightened and moved back to his watching perch with a reassuring smile. "The recoil is going to happen: be prepared for it but don't try to compensate for it on the first shot. Squeeze the trigger, don't jerk it."

Hana nodded and set her chin determinedly, taking aim once more. Bond watched as she squeezed off four more shots in pairs, the second pair of bullets each hitting a bottle. Hana squeaked happily, and Bond chuckled. "Alright. You've got the gist. Now shoot another two full clips after that one and we'll move on to the rifle."

He set the carry-case for his rifle on the ground and knelt down to open it up as Hana continued to shoot, starting to fit the parts together with practiced efficiency. As she paused to change clips, Bond glanced at her appraisingly. "We might need to teach you some unarmed technique too, the world being the way it is right now. Especially as you seem to be gifted at getting into trouble." he teased. "What was the fight about, anyway?"

[Atomicweasel]

“Someone tried to take my stuff,” Hana squeezed off another pair of shots, the second bark of the gun closely following the first. Two little bursts of dirt signaled her misses. Hana frowned and fired three more times, one hot shell grazed past her cheek, spat out by the bucking Glock. The third bullet finally found its mark, shattering the bottle on the crate with a satisfying explosion of glass bits. Hana thumbed the safety and set the pistol down, her ears ringing. “I got back to Violet’s last night, after I left your tent...and there was this girl from the prison downstairs and I could tell she had my backpack and I was like, ‘that’s mine.’”

Hana turned away from the target practice and watched Bond assembling his rifle with neat precise movements. She pushed her hands into her front jeans pockets and hunched her shoulders as she leaned back into the wall. “And she was all like, ‘Fuck off,’ and so I was like, ‘No, you fuck off’ and then I went up and tried to take my stuff back from her and she like shoved me over...” Hana paused to act out the shove with an outstretched hand. “Like that.” Hana slipped her hand back into her pocket and sucked in a long breath “and I got up and then she took out my Twix bar that Simon gave me and I was saving for later and she started it eating it right in my face, you know? Like daring me.” Hana glanced down at her feet and unconsciously licked over her bruised lip. “She was a lot bigger than me. I should’ve just left.”

“But you didn’t.” Bond said. It wasn’t so much a question as a statement.

“No. My dad’s gun was in there...”

“That’s why you fought her?” Bond pressed insightfully.

Hana shrugged and then frowned. “No,” she admitted “I guess not. I don’t know, I just...she was standing there eating my Twix bar and grinning at me like I couldn’t do anything about it.” Hana glanced up at Bond, watching him for a sign of approval or disapproval, “so I punched her right in the mouth.”

“And?” Bond smiled at her with a faint look of amusement.

“And I punched her in the ear and I kicked her in the side and then I punched her in the nose—“

“I thought you lost,” Bond said, laughing.

“I did.” Hana grinned briefly. “She hits a lot harder than I do.”

[Jasmine Gentian]

"Guess you'll have to teach her to make those hits count, Jim."

Jasmine had finished up helping with the wall a little later than normal.. she knew they wouldn't be here much longer and though she was no longer sure the wall would do much to help save them from the kind of attack they were anticipating, at least it would be useful to morale, and from regular zombie attacks. She'd done the best she could to work as quickly as possible while still being discreet about her quickness. She was still concerned about letting people see what she could do, though not at the cost of not getting anything done. But she knew Jim was meeting Hana for practice today, and since he was going to the effort of setting up the range she figured it would be a good opportunity to get some practice in herself.

She'd arrived in time to hear Hana's description of the fight, and as she watched the girl interacting with Jim, her lips twitched in mild amusement.

"After all, next time there could be more at risk than a Twix bar.. or your pride."

If there was a reprimand to the comment it was faint, the expression on Jasmine's face indicating that she was far more amused by the anecdote than offended by it. Besides, Jasmine had eaten her share of Twix bars on the road, but she'd had far less problems with random zombie encounters than she imagined this young woman might have had. So for her, it had been easy access, she'd hit plenty of gas stations and supermarkets along the way - though mostly for reading material or something to break the monotony of her months alone with - than for any real desire or need for food. However, she could kind of imagine hitting someone over a bowl of lime, raspberry, and orange flavored sherbert. It had always been her favorite. So who was she to judge?

[Atomicweasel]

Mild though Jasmine's reproach was, Hana felt stung. The hint of disapproval in Jasmine's words, light and amused though her tone was, darkened the blush of Hana's cheeks and brought rushing back to mind her wounded pride.

Hana glanced sidelong at Jasmine and dug her sunglasses out of her hoodie pocket. She slipped them self-consciously back on over her black eye. You think I got lucky. Hana thought. You think this was all about some stupid candy bar? Hana remembered Eva's superior leer, the crumbs of Twix bar falling from her plump lips, the brutish violent look of her flat face. Here, at the Refuge, that stolen Twix bar hadn't been anything more than a petty insult. A slight. On the road, it might have meant so much more. It might have meant the difference between life and death. Then Hana would not have been telling her funny embarrassing little story. Then Hana would not have told the story at all, because the ending would have been darker by far. She's the one who got lucky.

"She's way bigger than I am." Hana said defensively.

[Jasmine Gentian]

"I'm sure - there weren't any girls there as young as you at the prison.." Thankfully... "..and it sounds like you put up quite a fight."

Violet she wasn't, but Jasmine had spent a lot of time around kids Hana's age.. not only her own siblings, but those kids at the hospital.. ones like her, sick, and afraid, and defensive about everything. She knew she'd hurt the girl's feelings, and she hadn't meant to. But she knew how to talk to them too. She walked over and sat the gun case down, then turned to Hana, her expression serious.

"But I meant that. I know it must have pissed you off - I would've been pissed off too. And I'm not saying she didn't deserve a good wallop. And I know.. I know it's been rough. I got lucky.. in a lot of ways. It was probably harder for you to make due. Which means you've got a lot to be proud of.. whatever you had to do, you survived. That's quite a feat. And it'll be better, for you to learn how to fight effectively. Jim has been teaching me.. he can teach you too, if you'd like. Just cause I'm naturally strong doesn't mean I shouldn't know how to do it right, so I can control myself.. same as you. But.. I just wanna make sure, you know? Now that you're gonna travel with us, it won't be so hard. We'll have food, and water. Jim and I, we get by pretty good on our own, we're gonna do even better together - that's why we want to help out other people. We should all learn everything we can from each other. But.. we provide for ourselves first. If we don't, we can't help anyone else, right? So we'll have what we need.. and we can worry a little more about living, and a little less about dying. I don't know about you, but that's what's important to me. I feel like I've spent my whole life trying not to die, and I don't want to do it anymore. But..."

She reached over and tapped the hard case of the assault shotgun case lightly. The look on her face wasn't demeaning, or patronizing.. it was serious, deadly serious. She had a suspicion that Hana - like everyone - may have had to do some things that people wouldn't normally do in order to get by. And she certainly wasn't judging her for it. But before they took on the responsibility of teaching this girl to fight, and to shoot, and to kill.. the responsible part of her mind whispered to her in her mother's voice that she had to make sure she understood.

"...if we're gonna do that - if we're going to teach each other how to get by the best ways we know how - we have to remember that we've got more than most people do, and that using our knowledge and our skills and the tools at our disposal comes with a certain level of responsibility. We have to remember that a candy bar and a bitchy attitude may be worth a black eye.. but not a broken arm or a bullet. Okay?"

[Dawn OOC]

The sound of grass being tromped pulled the small group out of their discussion as they turned to face the intruder. Bond and Jasmine half-expected it to be Ger coming to see what the racket was about. Instead, it was Dr. Singh.

"Excuse me," he said in his softly accented voice. "May I interrupt to speak with Mr. Bond and, ahem, Mrs. Bond?"

[Fox]

All three looked at him for a moment, then Bond chuckled as Jasmine blushed a fetching dark-cherry hue. The lovely girl's dark eyes promised the Englishman a comeuppance for his amusement, even as a shy smile started to quirk at the edges of her lips. Hana stifled a giggle, pushing one sleeve of her hoodie against her mouth.

"Jim and Jasmine will do, Doctor. So far Jasmine hasn't seen fit to make an honest man of me." Bond said with a grin as he sat down on the edge of the wall's walkway, feet dangling. He took a Mars bar from a pocket and opened it, taking a bite. Bond studied the man curiously. He had rarely spoken to Singh beyond the occasional bartering encounter and the small talk associated therein. Bond found him a matter-of-fact, logical man, which in the pragmatic merc's book made him worthy of some regard. "What can we do for you, sir?"

[Dawn OOC]

The doctor nodded, letting his unease at the lack of 'formality' in the relationship pass by without comment. He pushed his hands into the pockets of the jeans he wore; his dress clothes had long since been destroyed by the rigors of rough living. His brown eyes traveled over them, skipping Hana after a moment of regard and moving back and forth between Bond and Jasmine before settling on Jim as the 'leader'.

"I understand you are leaving the Refuge soon, or so the rumors say. I would like to go with you." In the moment of silence that followed, James assessed him and saw that he was sincere. "If you have the room, I know I could enhance your welcome at most enclaves. Many are without professional medical care, and would be happy to have someone, even for a few hours."

His pitch given, the doctor relaxed back onto his heels and swallowed, watching them closely for signs on which way they would go.

[Fox]

"Well... I won't deny that it'd be useful to have a doctor along for the trip." Bond mused aloud, his gaze examining Dr Singh minutely. "There are a few operational matters to consider and discuss, though. Firstly, what with you, Hana, and Pumpkin the Falcon is going to be a little more crowded than usual. That cuts down on the supplies we can take as well as increasing the consumption." He paused, thinking it over for a second.

"We can deal with that by taking a second vehicle. But there's a final matter that is more important." His face was grave for a moment as he regarded the man.

"Can you defend yourself? I don't just mean against zombies, though that is certainly a factor. I mean against other human beings who may, in fact almost certainly are, hanging around the remains of this once-great nation with the sole intent of killing, raping and robbing passers-by, in no particular order of preference." Bond's expression was best described as 'friendly inquisitor'. "If something like that happens, Jasmine and I are going to have our hands full defending Hana and Pumpkin as well as ourselves. I know that a lot of doctors tend to regard the taking of life as a last resort." Bond pointed over the wall. "Out there between the enclaves, and even in some enclaves, it's a long way from last. If you are willing and able to assist, then that is so much the better. If you are a committed pacifist then, no offence intended, you will be a danger to the rest of us as well as yourself."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana propped herself against the wall next to Bond, leaning into it with one slender shoulder. She glanced at the Mars bar Bond was eating and then looked Dr. Singh over carefully. Her dark blue eyes seemed to absorb everything about him while her asiatic features remained unreadable and expressionless. She saw the way he held himself. She saw how his eyes skipped over her, discounted Jasmine and settled on Bond. She saw when his Adam's apple bobbed nervously up and down. She saw a timid man. Maybe he's scared... Hana thought, remembering what Bond had told her about the Refuge being attacked. Or maybe there was something about the Refuge he didn't like. Either way, if Bond let him come, then there definitely wouldn't be room for Simon.

"Why do you want to come with us, anyway?" Hana asked precociously, as if she were just as much in charge of running things as Bond. Before Singh could answer, she twisted her head to look up at Bond. "I was going to ask you if Simon could come with us," she blurted hurriedly "he used to be a cop, so he knows all about taking care of himself and shooting and watching out for people. He could help with me and Pumpkin, and besides he knows nature stuff too--like what plants you can eat and what ones you can't...and he's real nice and everything."

[Dawn OOC]

When Hana butted into the conversation, all of the self-confidence he'd built into asking at all faded. Singh had never been good at dealing with children; they were far too irrational to understand and he always felt like they were laughing at him.

"I'm sorry," Singh stammered as Hana rattled to a stop. "I didn't know you were out of room in the vehicle. My apologies for bothering you."

He turned and started to leave, frowning as little as he considered his next step.

[Jasmine Gentian]

"Now wait a moment, Dr. Singh."

Jasmine stepped forward, holding out a hand to stop the doctor from leaving. Hana opened her mouth to protest, but Bond quietly laid a hand on her shoulder, his eyes meeting hers with a look that reminded her that she'd said her part, and that it would probably be beneficial to her cause to remain quiet for now while Jasmine had her say.

"You're not bothering us, and we never said we weren't open to the idea. Like Jim said, the driving situation could be easily remedied - Priest and his crew have traveled in far greater numbers than us effectively, and while I'm not sure I'm a fan of gathering that large of a group, having more than one vehicle does increase our potential space for supplies and storage. So we're more than willing to consider your proposal.. and I have to admit that the idea of having a doctor along is appealing, just.. in case. I mean.. I don't know if Dr. Myfwany said anything, patient/doctor confidentiality and all, but.. I just found out I'm expecting. So that would be.. comforting, I suppose. And I know you're right.. people would definitely appreciate the services of a traveling doctor, no way of knowing how many people out there are completely without medical care. However, Jim raises a valid concern. I don't know.. where you were, before here, when this all happened.. or if you've had to defend yourself in the past. But.. do you think you'd be able to do that? If something were to happen, would it be up to us to protect you, or would you be able to, or be willing to learn, to protect yourself? I can promise I'd try, but we have the kids to think of too. Are you a pacifist, doc? Or like the rest of us, have you adopted enough necessary pragmatism to get by in the outside world these days?"

Her lips twitched with a mixture of amusement and sadness. It pained her a bit that it came to this, but whether or not the doc would be willing to lift a hand in his own defense made all the difference in whether or not they could take him. A part of her desperately hoped that he would be willing to do so. The idea of not only having a doctor with them in case anything happened while they were away from the base, but.. well, of having a doctor with them in case anything happened to the base.. held a certain appeal.

[Dawn OOC]

"I, hmm... I've never had to defend myself," Singh said, looking a little sheepish. "I was rescued and brought here. Before that, I just ran from zombies. It's not that I'm a pacifist - I don't know how to fight. Even were I a pacifist, I do not see the zombies as living creatures, and would have no issues with hurting them. Other humans... I may find that difficult. I do not know. I've never tried."

He was little embarrassed to admit to Bond that he was, effectively, a wuss. Singh didn't put much merit in 'manly' endeavors, such as crushing a beer can on one's head. But this was James Bond, or close enough to be. It was a bit emasculating to admit to Bond that he hadn't done anything like that before. Thank goodness he'd already lost his virginity, many years ago. That'd be the only thing worse than this - to admit to James Bond that he was a wuss while being a virgin.

[Fox]

"Not a problem, Doctor Singh, there's nothing to learning to defend yourself. We've been doing it for tens of thousands of years." Bond finished his snack and hopped lightly to his feet. "If you're willing to take at least some training and use it when necessary, you're welcome to come along." He smiled and gestured for Singh to come up onto the parapet. "Come on up and have a try." Turning to Hana, Bond appraised the girl... or was it young woman now. She seemed awfully intent on him allowing this Simon along.

"Simon sounds like a handy fellow to bring along too." he began quietly, watching her face. "I'll need to meet him, assuming he wants to come along. Does he? Or haven't you asked him yet?" Bond enquired with a foxish smile.

[Atomicweasel]

"Uh uh," Hana shook her head. The sleeves of her thin hoodie were stretched out, covering her fingers to their second knuckle when her arms hung loose at her sides like they did now. "I didn't want to until I asked you," Hana answered honestly. She chewed at her bruised lower lip. "I was afraid you'd say 'no.'"

With the silly purple sunglasses back on, her eyes were once more hidden from Bond, but her body-language was easy enough to decipher. She was timidly hopeful as she tried to keep still and come off thoughtful and grown-up. "If you want, I could ask him over for dinner tonight and we could all talk about it..." Hana meekly suggested.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine glanced at Hana, a bit less aggravated at the suggestion now that it wasn't scaring off a possible traveling doctor. The phrase "we could all talk about it..." was also promising, and after a moment's consideration, she nodded at Hana.

"That sounds like a good idea, Hana. Why don't you invite Simon over tonight? We'll discuss the idea with him and see where he stands. In the meantime, let's get back to our training, shall we? I'll supervise your practice a little bit while Jim shows Dr. Singh the ropes a bit."

She mulled it over for another moment, her eyes scanning the weapons he'd laid out for Hana's review. Then she picked up a .35 caliber Smith and Wesson. It was a big gun, perhaps a little larger than Dr. Singh would have picked out for himself, but Jasmine remembered from what Jim had told her that the recoil wasn't so bad because of the weight of the gun, and that it made a bigger impact on a zombie than a smaller .22 might. She looked at the gun for a moment, then held it out to Jim.

"Probably start him on this one, right?"

He nodded, something resembling a proud grin flickering across his lips faintly before he turned to Dr. Singh and started to show him the basics. Jasmine and Hana went on to doing some practicing of their own, the attractive young black woman making sure to keep an eye out on her fellow trainee as she shot and correcting her when she made a couple small mistakes, and allowing Hana to watch her practice a few rounds with the assault shotgun. Watching the lithe, delicate-looking young woman handle the recoil of the huge weapon as smoothly as she did was impressive enough to have Hana reeling a bit, and suddenly glad that Bond - or Daniel Craig, or whoever he was - had started her off on the smaller handgun first.

[Dawn OOC]

Singh handled the gun well enough, for a novice. He was clearly afraid of it but that was good, because he treated it with extreme respect. After several shots, he stopped, looking at his progress. "Not good," he said softly. "Perhaps I could drive if we run into trouble?" He gave Bond a rueful grin.

[Fox]

Bond grinned back, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder. "You'll do fine, Doctor. Just practice with that for now. Get comfortable with it, because you'll be wearing it while we travel." At Singh's hopeful look, Bond nodded. "Yes, we're taking you along. You made a good case and you're showing willing. Now shoot a few more clips off and I'll show both you and Hana how to clean your new weapons."

Turning away, he exchanged a small smile with Jasmine as she looked up from changing out the oversized clip of her shotgun. Whatever passed between the two was in some mixture of couples and partner-code, and thus a mystery to onlookers. Bond took up his high-powered rifle and began to work on sighting it in, the loud *crack* of it's firing punctuating the more rapid staccato of the other's practice.

[Jasmine Gentian]

They passed a good half-hour that way, with Bond (and Jasmine, to a lesser degree) helping out Hana and the good Dr. Singh with their aim, or any questions they came up with. Bond supervised them all in getting them cleaned up, taking care with Hana and the doc to make sure they knew how to do so properly, like he had the first time he'd taken Jasmine shooting. As they each packed up their weapons, preparing to leave them with Bond and Jasmine for now since carrying in the refuge was prohibited, Jasmine glanced up from packing away the various pieces of her assault shotgun in it's complex-looking case.

"Okay Hana.. why don't you invite your friend Simon over at six-thirty tonight for dinner? That'll give me enough time to get something ready.. and Dr. Singh, why don't you join us? If we're to travel together it would be good for us all to get to know each other better, and it seems as good a time as any."

She closed the rifle case, clicking the metal locks on the case shut and rolling her thumb across the locking mechanism to rearrange the numbers before passing it off to Jim to load with the others for now.

[Dawn OOC]

"Uh, oh, yes," Dr. Singh said, smiling. "I'd be delighted. And if we're going to be traveling together, perhaps you should call me Mrigesh."

Jasmine blinked; she didn't think anyone had heard his given name before. "Oh sure, Mrigesh," she replied, smiling graciously. The Indian man smiled warmly, then cleared his throat and looked at Bond with a touch of nervousness. "Yes, six-thirty," he said, nodding. "I will be there. Should I bring something?"

[Fox]

"Just yourself is all that's required, Mrigesh." Bond smiled at him. The doctor nodded, flashing another nervous smile, then shook Bond's hand and walked off. Bond watched him go curiously.

"I think I make him nervous." he said softly to no-one in particular, then he smiled over at Hana and Jasmine. "Well then, ladies. Let's go wash up and have a cold drink, hmm?" The three headed back into the Refuge from the perimeter wall, Bond draping one arm around Jasmine's shoulders as they walked together.