inbox;

[stressors]

● "Hey, it's Shiro." ●

"Sorry you missed me. Leave me one and I'll call you right back. Thanks."

☏ call. ✉ text. ⌨ video. ☄ action.

code over at pagans

Comments

[stressors]

[ surprising absolutely nobody, he makes the fatal mistake of actually giving keith the keys at this point. ]

. . . what's the look for, then?

[impulsors]

You know the roads're wide enough to take at forty-five.

[ even as his hand locks tight around the keys and he turns for the door. it's too late now, shiro's never getting these back. ]

[stressors]

Hey. Don't put me in the position of having to pull our vehicle over.

[impulsors]

You're already late.

[ severely!! but shiro's look of alarm earns -- something. a little twitch at the corners of his mouth, fleeting but transparent. ]

Just shut your eyes or something.

[stressors]

[ well, keith doesn't know where he's parked.

so he's stepping up to lead the way out into the rain. he's smiling. ]

Wow. Already a natural.

[impulsors]

[ augh, drizzling still. he glowers briefly at the sky before his gaze swipes back. ]

Which way?

[ let him run for it. save the mullet before it frizzes. ]

[stressors]

[ are they going to do that thing where the date holds his jacket over his significant other's head in an effort to keep them dry.

because you bet your sweet ass they are. ]

Follow me.

[impulsors]

[ ????????????????????????????????????? ]

[impulsors]

[ they're not dating, you unbelievable camel. they aren't even kissing.















anyway. it's like a sequence unlocking: a click, an answer. oh.

he follows, keeps the jacket hooked over his head as another hand fumbles to unlock the old rustbucket -- hits the switch to open the passenger side before he ducks inside. at once, a hand comes up, scrubbing the wet out of his hair, mouth pinched against a host of words without shape. silence, silence. ]

[stressors]

[ he goes sliding into the passenger's seat with little fuss.

at least the rain starts coming down in torrents once they're safely in the car. ]

The forecast says we've got a few days of this. Hope you've got a hood.

[impulsors]

[ he starts the car in a combusting rattle -- his brows flick together, and he revs the engine once just to hear the sound cut through the dull pounding rain. ]

Or maybe I just won't go back out.

[ pulling out of parking. . . slowly. . . ]

[stressors]

That's not a bad idea.

At least until the mobs clear out some more.

[impulsors]

You really think they'll clear out on their own?

[stressors]

[ . . .

it's a pretty loud silence. actually. ]

No. At this point, it'll be a miracle if we don't find ourselves in the middle of another war.

But there's going to be a side that breaks first.

[impulsors]

They're mad for a reason. If the Company doesn't do something for them, instead of trying to take people out, the mobs're just gonna keep getting bigger.

[ all of this said

as he stealthily inches up to thirty-two mph. ]

[stressors]

. . . and the bigger they get, the more the Company's going to fight back.

They have to know that to be the case back at headquarters. But they're just riling the people up. And then they're sending Enforcers right into the middle of the mess and telling them to -

[stressors]

. . .

What's your speed?

[impulsors]

Thirty. You don't have to backseat drive.

[ in a possibly futile attempt to keep shiro from actually checking the dashboard, where the needle's holding steady at 34.






ugh, fine. he eases up on the pedal and watches the speed trickle down. ]

Is the Company trying to clear out Oldtown?

[stressors]

. . . I don't really know.

[impulsors]

That wouldn't make any sense.

[ like he's trying to argue with the steering wheel. ]

The Company doesn't do anything unless they're getting money or orders. They don't need Oldtown. But it's not like they're big enough to just start wiping places out for no reason, either.

. . . they'd have to want to get rid of something here. Something that makes them look bad.

[stressors]

I'm​ not sure if this is a point you're making, but unfortunately the Company has those in abundance.

[ . . . not that. he's going to list examples out loud or anything. ]

[impulsors]

I did kinda notice.

[ he is, after all, rac. ]

So -- it'd have to be something even worse than the usual stuff they do.

[stressors]

[ . . . ]

By the way, Keith.

[impulsors]

[ ??? ]

Yeah?

[stressors]

. . . where are we going?