IC-SWORD-Family Reunion(Lara/Bells/Sven/Tricia)

[Dave Syrinx]

"We need to help Clyde, he facing three skins by the gates. We can scare them off if we all go...maybe? Strong in numbers." Lara keeps the door open.

[Pickman37]

Jake was sitting in one of the dining room chairs, and amid the conversation between Mary and Caitlin, was nodding in and out of sleep. A long, restless night, coupled with a hearty breakfast and the arrival of his niece, had created a strange sense of normality despite the events of the previous day. Mostly, it was the exhaustion...

Suddenly, the commotion from the living room caused the women to startle and they rushed out of the dining room...

Damn fool!...Jake thought to himself as he sprang out of the chair, grabbing the .30 Carbine he had left against the wall a few feet away, berating himself for letting his guard down. The adrenaline rush cancelled out the pain in his knees from a life of ranching and he was soon passing the women in the living room, even as Lara's words hit him, as well as the anxiousness in her voice.

As he bolted onto the porch, Jake raised the rifle and sighted it on the three mounted men, even before his eyes had fully adjusted to the early morning light...

"STATE YOUR BUSINESS OR CARRY ON OUT OF HERE!"

OOC,I'm sighting my rifle based on the assumption that Clyde and Veronica have theirs sighted and based on what I glimpse as I burst onto the porch. If I'm incorrect,I blame my 50 year old eyes, the poor early morning light and my grogginess...Hopefully I'm not endangering the family I'm trying to protect by startling the skin heads....

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,[b]Veronica[/b] has a shotgun and she hadn't pointed it at anyone yet, but otherwise you're correct.

In the living room-
Tricia sidled up to the door and peeked out. "Oh, God, it's him..." she hissed.

On the front porch-
Veronica raised her shotgun and leveled it at the riders when her father-in-law came out and aimed his rifle. Having him beside her was reassuring.

Outside the barn-
Clyde held his rifle steady.

"We're looking for Tricia," said the lead horseman. "I know she's here."

[Pickman37]

Jake paused....The response startled him....

Damn!...he thought. Was she out on the equipment crew to the barn with Clyde and the two foreigners?...Did they see her?

He knew, or thought she went out as far as he could recollect, but his exhaustion was wreaking havoc on his memory, but he knew he promised to keep her safe despite her sudden appearance from out of no where and Clyde vouching for her....

Did they know?....

His eyes kept darting to Veronica in a vain attempt to get her to notice and raise her gun, but to no avail...

He choose to lie..

"Three people showed up here but we had neither the supplies or space for them to stay. We lent them our old '76 Ford and, in exchange gas for money, they carried on towards the west...A young girl with what I believe...were Romanian-speaking kids.....?"


Jake hoped the skinheads had not seen more than what he thought...and he could feel his finger tense up on the trigger....

OOC,Do I need a Fast Talk or Bargain here or did they see more than what I hoped in the early morning...

[Pickman37]

OOC,Sorry I missed Veronica getting in on the action..Again my bad eyesight but happy to have her as a daughter-in-law and getting in on targetting skinheads ;)

[SSior.27]

Caitlin went back outside, taking what cover she could from the truck. Tricia? Why do they want her?

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,You can try Fast Talk. The base chance is 5%.

[Dave Syrinx]

Lara Voronova walks towards the gates again, her pistol raised once more. "No matter - you leave now." She walks towards the riders of the apocalypse, remembering her own ordeal with the similar group at the motel.

"God, you better keep aim true...", she whispers as she closes in on them and aims at the one closest to the gates. With any luck, a missed shot would either hit one of the others or at least one of the horses - scaring them away or throwing off the rider.

[Pickman37]

Fast Talk Roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3319653/]Fast Talk (05%) lying to the skinhead riders (1d100=40)[/url]

It was only a few seconds but felt like an eternity to Jake.

My lie didn't stick...thought Jake. The riders neither moved nor responded. He may have fast talked Randy at Northside Tire and Auto in Scobey for sweet deals on auto parts but this situation clearly did not apply...

It was then that he saw the blonde foreign girl approach the gate with her pistol drawn and aimed...

God help us, this may get ugly.... He thought...

"I'll take the one in the middle..." He whispered to Clyde and Veronica, despite the riders being far from ear shot...

He took aim on the middle rider and tried one last stab at a peaceful resolution...

"THAT'S YOUR CUE TO RIDE ON OUTTA HERE WITH YOUR HIDES INTACT! IF YA CAN COUNT, YOU'RE OUTGUNNED!

In the back of his mind, Jake remembered how their guest's story left close to a hundred skinheads uncounted for and an incident here may bring them...Either way, this was not good for the family or the ranch....

Jake was a reasonable man but somewhere inside himself, he believed things...life...would return to normal...but now it looked like they would never be the same....

[Mr. Handy]

In the living room-
Tricia ducked back around the corner, but she knew in her heart she had been too slow.

On the front porch-
Lara and Caitlin emerged onto the porch as well with their pistols drawn, but they were still some fifty yards from the gates, well out of effective range. They did not yet have time to get closer.

Outside the barn-
Clyde watched the skinheads carefully, ready for anything.

"Oh, I can count, mister," said the lead rider. "This isn't over!" He whirled around to the west and waved to his two men. They rode off in that direction, the dog following after them.

[Dave Syrinx]

Feeling the lightness in her heart as she sees the three men ride away comes close to the nearly empty 9mm in her hand. Lara sighs and says "Now, let´s see if we fix truck? They come back with more and I not think your family wants me here. I´m trouble. Girls and boys...always trouble. Tricia seems trouble to the family too. Maybe we get fuel for truck, then leave again? You want to stay with your family, yes? I understand. If not we can leave - perhaps all - if you have more cars? The skins will come back and be much trouble." While babbling, she´s evidently startled by the encounter with these new skinheads and has no plan to stick around for them to come back.

[Pickman37]

As the riders galloped from the ranch, Jake let out a deep breath and lowered his rifle...

The Skinhead leader's last words echoed in his mind... "This isn't over..."...

He turned to Clyde...

"Good job son..." He gripped his son's shoulder and turned to Veronica...

"Veronica...." He trailed off and nodded...He was proud of her but lacked the words to express it...

Just then he heard Lara and the fear in her voice...

"Now, let´s see if we fix truck? They come back with more and I not think your family wants me here. I´m trouble. Girls and boys...always trouble. Tricia seems trouble to the family too. Maybe we get fuel for truck, then leave again? You want to stay with your family, yes? I understand. If not we can leave - perhaps all - if you have more cars? The skins will come back and be much trouble."

"Whoa girl! We should have some time here..Maybe we should relax, all go inside and discuss a plan of action...."

Jake tried to talk as soft and calm as he could to relax the distraught young lady....

[Pickman37]

No one moved...

Jake pulled off his ever-constant John Deere hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm....Which was odd because the early morning temperature was still cool...

These kids are going to give me a heart attack!

"All right!" Jake addressed the group but directed towards Lara. "You can all leave and I have no problem giving up the gas to help ya but I think we will be better off if we stick together, in numbers. I never heard of no southern Skinhead group but, even if they hook up with the Scobey ones, would they risk coming through all the crazies to get us...and besides, how many would be left? I say we stick it out here and defend...even if they do come back. I've avoided run-in's with these idiots in my life but, from what I've gathered, they're nothin but cowards..."

Jake exhaled deeply and waited for a reply....

[Dave Syrinx]

"Da, I see your point. But my gun is light, I need bullets. And maybe a rifle. I not know what´s in the truck. Caitlin, sestra, do you have rifles and ammunitions in there, from the farm?" Lara eases down a bit by Jake´s calm demeanor. "Yes, cowards. From the barn we can hold them away. Then maybe fall back to the main house, protection from the hills? Some of us can stay in the house to cover fire... Then have the truck ready if we must leave. On the back side of the house." She smiles at Jake."Now, we push truck. Later we push skinheads."


OOC - Tactics:

Spoiler:

Assuming they have time to push the truck and fill it up as well as check for weapons and reequip whatever arsenal they have ready at the farm, I´d like a small layout of the farm, fence etc. To work out a plan regarding natural cover and such.

[Pickman37]

OOC - Tactics

Show,Right on Syrinx! Either Lara and Jake will be heroes for pulling this off or it's gonna get ugly! Regardless, this should be fun! :) Along with Syrinx's request for a layout, we should also get clarification for weapons and ammo. Jake and Clyde have their rifles while Mary and Veronica have shotguns, based on the Dec. 4th post, with the others (outside of Lara) stating available ammo: [size=85] "I've got four," said Sven, checking the other pistol. Caitlin found that she had fourteen spare shells in her box, in addition to the two loaded into the shotgun. "I've got my old carbine," said Jake, "Clyde's got his Marlin, and the women have shotguns. We've got a decent amount of ammo for them too. Not as much as we had yesterday, but it should last us some time. Things have quieted down."[/size] How much ammo do we have and do we have any additional weapons on the farm? Looks like a potential show-down at the Bell ranch lol! Thanx!

[Mr. Handy]

On the front porch-
Tricia came outside. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry I got you all into this mess," she said. "I think they might have seen me. If you want me to leave, I'll leave."

Veronica lowered her shotgun. "I doubt that would do any good. Even if you left, they'd still think you were here. But maybe you'd be safer."

Outside the barn-
Lara and Sven rejoined Clyde, and the three of them were able to finish pushing the pickup truck up to the gas pump in a couple of minutes.

OOC,There are no additional weapons or ammo on the truck, and all the guns and ammo on the ranch are listed in the Locations and Weapons thread next to each character's name. The pickup truck mainly has water, food, medical supplies and tools. It is not broken, just out of gas. It will take one person about fifteen minutes to refuel it fully. The other vehicles on the ranch are already fully fueled. [b]Lara[/b] has three bullets in her 9mm pistol, [b]Sven[/b] has four in his, and [b]Caitlin[/b] has sixteen shells for her shotgun plus her scalpel. [b]Jake[/b] has almost 200 rounds for his carbine, [b]Clyde[/b] has 200 for his rifle, and [b]Mary[/b] and [b]Veronica[/b] have 100 shells each for their shotguns (which are both 12-gauge, just like [b]Caitlin[/b]'s). Those are the only firearms on the ranch, though I'm sure you can find other things that can be used as or made into weapons. The ranch and its surroundings are on pretty flat ground. The ranch is a square property about a quarter of a mile on each side, just south of the east-west road where the front gates stand in the middle of the northern fence. The ranch house is fifty yards south of the gates. The only natural cover is some light woods on the ranch grounds, to the southwest of the ranch house. The barn is located fifty yards west of the ranch house, and the gas pump is in front of the barn. The ranch has large pastures for cattle and horses, surrounded by smaller fences.

[Pickman37]

Jake Bell nodded at Veronica and then spoke to Tricia.

"Veronica is right. You should hang tight with us. We have a better chance with numbers and, if they come back, we'll be ready..."

Jake swallowed hard. He watched Lara and the others push the truck to the pumps...

That foreign girl had a good plan... Jake thought.

"Clyde!" Jake shouted, "After you fill their truck, get them to bring it around to the south side of the house and you bring the Civic around as well. Then meet me at the barn..."

Jake retreated into the house and retrieved the keys for the Dodge and the tractor...

"Mary!" Jake shouted even though his wife was most likely close by...

OOC,Unfortunately Syrinx had to retire here but I think the plan had its advantages..Going to proceed as such..:)

[SSior.27]

Caitlin stood by listening. She had come this far to arrive here and now this. She started to prefer the threat of mindless beasts. "Maybe we can shuffle the stuff in the back of the truck to carry more for everyone. Just in case. We don't want to be caught unprepared if we have to make a run for it."

[Pickman37]

Jake Bell listened to Caitlin and responded.

"I agree. After Clyde pulls the car around the house, where it will be waiting with the kid's truck, Mary and Veronica can decide what more we need in terms of food and supplies, based on what they already have with them, and stock the truck and car in case of a quick get-away. Then Clyde and I will station in the barn, with the rifles and a pair of binoculars..."

Jake made a mental note to grab the binoculars then continued...

"Everyone else can remain stationed in the house..." Jake glanced at Caitlin's shotgun, noting a 12 guage. "If you're short on ammo, Veronica or Mary can spare some shells. Anyways, if things look bad up front we can leave...All of you in the vehicles behind the house and Clyde and me in the truck in the barn. But first, we have to assess what we're up against..."

Jake turned to Tricia. "Can you tell us what's going on and what we're looking at? I wouldn't expect the skins to show up here unless you have something they want. If there's anything you need to tell us, then please do..."

Jake's voice softened as he trailed off but he was worried.

I hate to leave the ranch. It's been my life....and where do we go? He thought. Dear God...What have these kids got into....?

The temperature had not risen by much but again Jake pulled off his John Deere hat and wiped a cold sweat from his brow with his forearm....

[Mr. Handy]

On the front porch-
Tricia looked at her feet. "I think it's me that they want," she said. "Well, that one guy, Lt. Joshua Stuart, anyway. He has a thing for me. I was trapped on the roof of the diner in Scobey by the infected people. For all I know I'm the only survivor from there. Those Nazis rode in on their horses. They'd come to loot the town for supplies and stuff, but they 'rescued' me while they were at it. I guess they did save my life, but...they just give me the creeps. They took me back to their compound, and I was too scared to try to refuse. There must have been at least a hundred men there, all heavily armed. Stuart put me in a room next to his and told me to get some sleep. He didn't try anything, but he did kiss me goodnight and told me he'd see me in the morning. I didn't dare go to sleep in that place. I waited until everyone fell asleep and then slipped out. The compound's fence is topped with razor wire, but I found a tree just inside the fence with a branch that went over it, so I was able to escape. He must have tracked me down here because he wants me back. Maybe...maybe I should just go with him. Then the rest of you will be safe."

"Nyet," said Lara, a grim frown crossing her face. "I die before I let those pigs touch you."

"They might not leave the rest of us alone even if you did go with them," said Sven. "We've already defied them, so they might want to make an example of us. And now they've seen that there are other women here." He spoke to Jake. "The truck we came in is already loaded up with water, food, and other supplies from Caitlin's farm. Loading more supplies from your ranch into your own vehicles would help too if we have to make a run for it. But where would we go?"

Outside the barn-
Clyde hooked up the gas pump to the pickup truck's tank and began pumping the gas. He nodded in reply to his father.