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#RedrockAgency – May 14, 2017
It's early evening of November 15th. Leah and Nathan have both since departed from the gym. Jason and Vasquez have spent most of the day in their apartment and Jason has only recently departed to handle some work in his office.
Jason is seated at his desk in his usual attire, preparing to call Wenera. He glances down at his desk, quickly pushing aside a datapad and a few candy wrappers that have sat there for a number of days to keep them out of view of his terminal's camera. He drags his coffee mug into frame then sits back, putting on his best 'I'm a professional' face as he looks into the camera and pantomimes taking a very serious sip from his coffee
mug. He seems pleased with himself for a moment, deciding this at least makes him appear to be a responsible adult. Besides, there's no way for Wenera to know his coffee mug is filled with straight rum. He initiates the call.
It takes about fifteen seconds before he receives any sign of life from the other end. "Hello?" a voice says on the other end a second or so before the video feed opens, revealing that it's not Wenera answering; instead a human woman. The camera angle show nothing but her face, the room too dark to give of many details. Unlike Jason, she has not prepared for the camera, her brown/blonde hair unkempt and her pale face
Jason studies the screen in confusion for a moment. It's not the highest picture quality, but it's more than enough for him to know that he's not looking at Wenera. And just like that his 'I'm a professional' face is gone, replaced by his 'I'm very confused' face. "Who in the fuck are you and where is Wenera?" he asks, his gaze traveling alongside the screen to ensure he input the contact information correctly.
"Natalie; Uh, nice to meet you too," she says with uncomfortable shrug. "Is it urgent? Wenera told me to take the call, she's in the "
Jason's confusion slowly fades and he gives a shake of his head. At least Wenera got to the witness before Piros did. "Uhh.... Sorry. Jason." he introduces with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. Time to recover! Luckily he put a backup plan in place in case the professional face failed.. He reaches for his mug and takes a tentative sip. Yes, very business-like. Excellent. He furrows his brow, as if contemplating the richness of
the fake coffee bean. He sets his mug down before looking back to the screen. "I-.... Urgent? No, I guess not." he sighs, reaching up to rub at the back of his head, "I was mostly just reaching out to follow up and see if she made any progress in regards to our mutual 'friend'."
Natalie raises an eyebrow. "So she is genuine?" she says. "That explains why she hasn't killed me in my sleep yet." The tone is awfully neutral compared to her words. "Anyway, no, nothing," she says with a sigh. "I don't know what's taking her so long, Freedom Falls isn't that big."
Jason furrows his brow at the implication. "So... she thinks Piros is still somewhere in Freedom Falls...?" he asks.
She shakes her head. "No, she doesn't know anything other than that Piros has taken an interest in her," she says, "but why wouldn't she be in town?" She studies the video feed of Jason as she adds an actual question. "Have you heard anything at all? It's been almost two weeks now, and I'm getting really sick of waiting."
Jason sighs and gives a shake of his head in turn, obviously somewhat disheartened at both the lack of new information and the possibility of Piros still skulking around Freedom Falls. "Nothing. I was hoping our little run-in with her lackeys might've sent her on her way." He settles back into his seat, his gaze moving to his desk for a moment. He sucks in a deep breath before looking back to the camera. "Alright, Natalie. You two
keep your head down and stay safe, alright? Tell Wenera if she learns anything-... anything..." he stresses, "...to give me a call. Piros came after a close friend of mine. I'd like to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Natalie gives a slight nod, looking more than disappointed at the outcome of this fair exchange of no information. "You can count on that," she says, a hit of anger in her voice. "I want nothing more than to make that... monster pay, so the more guns pointed at her the better."
Jason snorts, giving a single, stern nod of his own. "That makes two of us, Natalie." he says, "And I've got got a biiig gun." It takes a moment for it to set in that is remark may come across less like he's implying that Piros should be afraid and more inappropriate. "Uhh.... A-... It's a Revenant. Actually." he explains awkwardly, holding his hands out to give a rough estimation of the size of his weapon. "Just saying-... you
know..... You need guns? We've got you covered." He clears his throat and glances off to the side before looking back to the screen. "Sooo.... I'm gonna let you go."
Natalie doesn't seem to react to the inappropriateness of his statement until he draws attention to it, and even then it's only a weak snort. Jason didn't exactly meet her at the brightest chapter of her life. "I don't want to be left out of the fight," she says, "so keep us posted if you hear anything."
Jason gains an embarassed look at the snort, but it quickly fades away as Natalie continues. He nods a few times, pleased that attention didn't linger on the awkwardness. "You got it. Take care." he offers before reaching out to end the call.
Jason rolls his shoulders once the feed dies. He lifts his rum-filled coffee mug up and takes a large swig as a smug smile crosses his face, confident that Vasquez would've approved of just how well he carried himself. Professional.
Jason's omni-tool bleeps with a message. <Vasquez: Picked up some takeout. Browsing the movie rentals. Day's not over yet, right?>
Jason reaches out and grabs his omni-tool as it begins to beep. A lopsided smirk crosses his lips as he expands his interface and types out a response. <Jason: of course nto. ur not gettibg rid of methat easy>
Jason remains in his office for a few more minutes before shutting down his terminal and heading back upstairs. He makes a brief pitstop in the rec room to grab a beer before returning to his room.
Vasquez looks as if she never left the room, having already slipped out of the clothes she put on to fetch the food, opting now for the comfortable option of panties and her loose-fitting Eezo Credits concert t-shirt, which aside from the band logo has a picture of a roaring krogan and Lowell City Stadium, 2170 on it. She sits in the couch, leaning against a pillow propped up against one of the armrests, half-covered by
a blanket. It's taken a while for her to truly relax over the course of the day, having been focused more on having this day off for Jason's sake to start with, but it's undeniably clear that she's started to appreciate it. Two varren kebab wraps sit in containers on the coffee table. Vasquez is already halfway done with hers, somehow ever enthusiastic about that particular meal. The boxes indicate that the food is
not from the Respite, but from the Varren Piece Diner, a newly opened place not yet visited by them. She's mid-bite as Jason enters, and offers a small wave and a smile as she disengages from the wrap and wipes the sauce from her chin.
Jason steps into the room, his smirk growing at the sight of Vasquez on the couch. "Eating without me again." he teases with a shake of his head as he closes the door behind him. He takes a moment to kick off his boots near the door before crossing the room and looking over the food. "Varren Piece Diner...?" he reads aloud from the container, casting a glance her way as he plops down on the couch beside her, "Tired of Respite
food?" He reaches over, picks a piece of stray meat out of Vasquez' container and pops it into his mouth.
Vasquez ' response delays, as she's still chewing her food. "Mmhg... no but... Arkat Zar'velah. From the Fortune's Den? He's opened up a place here. In Freedom Falls." she explains with a small snicker. "Small galaxy, I guess. I had to try some. As good as I remember." And with that, another big bite from the wrap. No time to wait for the hungry. She catches some dripping sauce with her hand and wipes it on the rim of the
Jason cocks an eyebrow as Vasquez mentions their old batarian aquaintance. "Arkat? Seriously? Shiiit. He probably heard you were out here and figured he could make some easy credits off of you." he says, a chuckle escaping him as he watches her sloppy display. He points an index finger her way and nods, as if she's proving his point. "Pretty sure you probably single handedly kept him in business back on Omega."
Vasquez finishes off the last of her wrap, looking Jason's way as he speaks. "Fhluck yhou." she manages, not quite done eating yet. She grabs a tissue, wiping her mouth and hands clean after swallowing and glances his way again, a chuckle escaping her. A faint smile lingers as she studies him. "Feels like Omega was a whole different life." she says, her smile fading slowly.
Jason returns Vasquez' sentiment with a middle finger of his own as he leans forward, sets down his beer and scoops his food off the coffee table, setting it on his lap. "Yeah... It does." he says simply as he opens up the container, his own smile fading as well. It's hard for him to keep his mind from drifting to some dark places when thinking back to that time in their lives, and it shows on his face. But he pushes his lopsided
smirk back into place, a 180-degree turn in emotion that should be familiar to Vasquez by this point. A veneer of 'everything is fine'. He gives a nod as he looks her way. "We were a mess." he adds with another chuckle before shrugging in an attempt at keeping the conversation light, "But, shit, I think we've managed to clean up well." He pointedly looks over the messy tissue in her hands before seeming to reconsider.
Vasquez frowns slightly, Jason's act not going unnoticed, but upon hearing his words she scoots closer, pushing back similar thoughts in her own mind as she wraps an arm around his waist from the side, leaning in for a quick kiss before he has a chance to eat. She furrows her eyebrows as she pulls back, licking her lips with a slight grimace and then looking over towards the table, grabbing the beer bottle and leaning over
to place it out of Jason's reach. "I thought you said you needed to do some work?" she asks with a brief eyebrow raise before adjusting her position in the couch, moving her legs to the empty side and leaning slightly against Jason.
Jason frowns as the beer bottle moves ever further away. He instinctively reaches for it to snag it away, but he's too slow. "Fun police." he mutters before giving her a playful nudge in the side. He jams a bite of food into his mouth sloppily, causing a bit of food to fall into the container on his lap. "I did." he says as he chews. Such manners. "Had to-... Had to make a call. Follow up on all that-..." he speeds up his chewing,
lowering his gaze as he muscles down the bite before continuing, "...Piros shit. Touch base with Wenera." He shrugs his shoulders as he licks at his lips and moves in for another bite of his food. He stares at Vasquez as he chews loudly, clearly not done talking but unwilling to forego eating to finish his explanation. This goes on for a few annoying seconds. "...Nothing new to report."
Vasquez lets out a sigh, her shoulders dropping as the final comment is voiced at last. She turns her gaze forward to the screen, which has a long list of movies available for rent. It takes some effort, but she decides against commenting further on the situation for now. It could wait. All of it could wait, just a little while. "I, uh... this was a good idea." she says with a few faint nods, changing the subject. "We-...
I've been spending so much time on Redrock, I guess I-... Guess I was worried that if I slowed down I'd have time to think about everything that's going on. But... gotta take the time to enjoy what we have too, right? And... spending the day like this? Good way not to worry. To feel like things are normal. For a little while, at least." She lets out a slightly frustrated grunt as her voice breaks a little, rubbing
Jason sets the rest of his food down in the container as Vasquez begins to speak. He runs the palms of his hands across the legs of his pants to wipe them off while looking over the list of movies on display. Napkins are for suckers. As Vasquez begins to grow more emotional, he sets his container aside so he can toss an arm over her shoulders without risk of knocking it over. "What're you talking about, Linda? Things are
normal." he assures. Nevermind the family members coming back from the dead as evil scientists. The de-arming. The hurdles they keep having to jump. This is about lifting spirits, not honesty. "I mean things aren't perfect but, fuck, whose life is? Right? I mean the business is doing well. We're right around the corner from you getting the honor of becoming Misses Wolfe... and we've got a little shitstomper of our own
in the oven." He reaches across with his other hand to rest it on her stomach, a big dumb grin on his face. "Fuck normal. I'm happy. We're happy. Right...?"
Vasquez presses the side of her face against Jason's neck, letting out a quiet chuckle even as a few tears escape after all. "Our lives are a never-ending shitstorm, Jason. It's-... it's fucking exhausting. It's... just nice to feel like a normal couple for once."
Jason's hand slides down from Vasquez' shoulder to her side and he leans his body against hers. "What are you talking ab-..." he begins before a short sigh escapes him and he shrugs his shoulders. The sigh gives way to a short chuckle of his own. "Yeah... Our lives are pretty fucked up, huh?" he finally admits. "But, shit, we're still here. Even after everything that's happened." He gives her a squeeze. The lack of any sensation
in his arm from the gesture serves as an instant reminder of just how fucked up their lives are. Just one of the many scars adorning both of their bodies.
Vasquez smirks slightly, giving a small nod without lifting her head. "Yeah. We are." she says slowly, the words seeming to bring some small comfort. She places her own arm over Jason's, intertwining their fingers and guiding the synthetic limb to wrap more closely around her midsection. She spreads the blanket over to cover him as well, before renewing her lean against his shoulder. She looks down at the ring on her
finger thoughtfully. "Mrs. Wolfe..." she tries, quietly, before immediately letting out an amused snort. "No. No, no way."
Jason's smirk grows a bit more genuine as they snuggle up together. As she says the name aloud, he gives an 'Eh? Eh?' before being followed by a loud groan when she turns it down. "Admit it! You're coming around to the idea!" he accuses. "Okay, okay, okay... VasquezHyphenWolfe!" he suggests, "Everybody loves hyphens, right?"
Vasquez gives an immediate, deadpan "No." After a moment's silent thought she furrows her eyebrows. "Guess we a lot of work to do when it comes to naming, huh?" she ponders, a small smile inevitably creeping in as she guides Jason's hand in under her shirt, pressing against her belly. Anticipating it, she manages to prevent the almost reflexive twitch that all too often follows upon feeling the touch of his synthetic
Jason frowns at the dismissal, but his smile is quick to return as his hand is guided to Vasquez' belly. "Yeah..." he says softly, "But we've got time to figure that out. Got any suggestions?" Despite it still being early in Vasquez' pregnancy, he'd be lying if he said this wasn't something he had already put a lot of thought into. The baby was always in the back of his mind. And, for that matter, the front of his mind.
Vasquez thinks in silence for a moment before letting out a much softer "No." She lets out a quiet sigh. "I'm still kind of... waiting for it to hit me that this is all real, I guess. It's hard to-... it's hard to think that far ahead. Do... you? Have any ideas?" she asks, lifting her head a little to look at him.
Jason snickers and gives a shake of his head. "No..." he lies. "We've still got some time to figure all of that out before the little troublemaker is here." he says, leaning over and saying the latter part of his sentence to her belly. His smirk grows as his gaze returns to Vasquez' eyes. "I'm.... right there with you." he says with a deep breath and a shake of his head. "Still trying to adjust to all this. Waiting for it to sink
Vasquez nods faintly. "Yeah... it's... pretty crazy." she agrees, her gaze darting away and her expression shifting as worry gains the upper hand. "Do you think the baby is going to hate me?" she asks, seemingly out of nowhere, while staring at the container for Jason's food.
Jason gains a confused look, completely caught off guard by the question. "Wha-... no! Of course not." He tilts his head to the side as he studies Vasquez in silence for a moment. "Why would you ask that?"
Vasquez gives a shrug, glancing back at him with an awkward expression. "Well-... you know. You're great with kids. Li loves you. I'm-..." She brings a hand up to her face, quickly starting to feel embarassed as she realizes the ridiculousness of the sudden outburst. "What if I'm just 'the mean one'?" she mumbles, rubbing her hand over her face.
Jason raises an eyebrow, simply staring at Vasquez. After a moment, a short sigh escapes him and he shakes his head. He shifts a bit to better face her, bringing one leg up onto the couch. His hand moves from her belly to her leg and he gives it a pat. "You're going to do fine, Linda. You are going to be a great mom." he assures. His words sound sincere. They are sincere. He forces his smile back into place, doing his best to
conceal the tendrils of doubt that begin to enter his mind. Not about Vasquez. He has no doubts that she has what it takes. About himself. He barely even had a father. How can he be a father. "We're going to be great." he says with a small nod, backed by a bit of fake confidence.
Vasquez ' doubts linger, but Jason's final, confident claim causes a small smile to manifest, and she leans closer to him with a quiet sigh-turned-chuckle, kissing his cheek. "We do make a pretty good team, don't we?" she mumbles, lingering near his ear to make sure she's heard before turning towards the screen again, leaning her head back against Jason's shoulder and making herself comfortable.
Jason gives a single, confident nod. "Hell yeah we do." he says. His own insecurities can wait. He can always drown them with a bottle of booze later. This is about keeping a smile on Vasquez' face. Being a 'normal couple for once'. He studies her face as she looks to the screen, his smile growing more genuine with each passing moment as he realizes this is the person he's going to spend the rest of his life with. He has doubts,
concerns, and fears about a whole hell of a lot, but not that. "Alright, what are we watching?" he asks as he shifts in place a bit, adjusting against the couch but keeping Vasquez close in his arms. "I hear Big Bootied Asari Volume 3 is fucking fantastic." he suggests. Joking, of course.... Probably.