RP: The Fringe [Chapter 4.3b] - Doctored Delivery

Dawn Station - Streets of Sector Nine City Tier 4 - Just outside Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage

After the exciting ride, a bit disappointed that it was over, Six Four waited for the supplier to give them their order. It didn't have to wait long for the ORISEC person to come over to the truck and ask for their name.

"This one is Stitchtech 64-4406-2207, Friend of the Freespacer Collective of Surgeons. This one should be on the order placed by a Captain Sienna Shelton."

Dawn Station - Streets of Sector Nine City Tier 4 - Just outside Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage

Seeing that Six Four was doing the talking, Amelia pulled the truck's handbrake and contended herself with tapping -a poorly done- rythm on the truck's steering wheel as she waited for the Freespacer to finish talking. The astrogator briefly glanced at the rearview mirror to see if the two occupants on the truck's bed were still there, then returned to staring at her front.

Dawn Station - Streets of Sector Nine City Tier 4 - Just outside Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage
There were only a handful of things that could flap Danny's alien and unflappable calm. Snakes, the overtly and grotesquely sexual, and bad driving when he wasn't properly secured. Throughout the whole ordeal, he had balled into a corner, face turned into a frown that was wide enough to go from jowl to jowl in sheer terror, lips wiggling slightly as he whined in those moments of relative calm.

Everything that wasn't a moment of relative calm, including but not limited to how he nearly went flying out of the back of the truckbed, ended up being tossed like a salad as Amelia rounded corners, hooned over bumps and some very severe near misses; even going arse over teapot and landing on his chest with his legs in the air.

Like this, he had all the beauty, dignity and grace of a swan being pushed down stairs, eventually ending up bruised and battered and face down in the middle of the tray. His beanie had fallen off during the ordeal too, another 15 KS spent at a petrol station for a cheap synthetic fabric beanie gone from the disguise budget.

"aaa..." he mumbled as Rathe peeled himself away from the frazzled bounty hunter and they both gathered their marbles. Danny's eyes were spinning around in his sockets as he flipped face up. "D-don't mention it." He replied as he sat upright and rubbed his head.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

The average-looking employee curiously eyed the two men in the back of the truck looking like they'd just been thrown out of a crashing airplane, then turned his attention back to Six Four. He ran his thumb along the pages of his clipboard, flipping through them once in a while as he squinted a little, trying to match the Freespacer's inquiry to a name on his list. It took longer than any of them expected, actually, and just as at least one or two of them were beginning to wonder if there was some kind of problem, the man's face lit up. "Aha," he said aloud, tapping his index finger on one of the pages. "Here it is. Shelton, Sienna." He glanced up at the Freespacer with a severely downward tilt to his face, as if he were peering at it over the top of a pair of glasses that weren't actually there. "Now, you do understand that this account has not requested loading service, correct? I can direct you to its location, but you'll be responsible for retrieving it," he added, rolling his shoulders in an unenthusiastically apologetic, but helpless shrug. "Union bylaws, you know."

Movement behind the employee caught Six Four's attention - a squat and sturdily-built bull of a man had appeared from the other side of the black box-shaped van/truck in front of their own vehicle, circling it and heading for the driver's side door. He didn't look at the group, but instead moved by all appearances single-mindedly to open the door and step inside, closing it behind him, concealing him behind the tinted windows. The vehicle didn't start, however, or move at all. It just sat there.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

The astrogator continued looking ahead of her with a somewhat bored expression as the employee inspected his paperwork. "Yeah, we know," Amelia replied, stopping her tapping of the steering wheel to face the employee, looking less than pleased. "You guys were cool enough to remind us that already, before we left the store," she added, trying to wring every last ounce of guilt that she could from him. She would've sounded more indignant if two strangers hadn't suddenly shown up to volunteer to do it.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare - Back of the Truck

Rathe felt his nose where the corner of the building had nicked him and, thankfully, found no blood. Looking at Danny's state, then at his own, then at the situation the two were in and what brought them here, Rathe began chuckling quietly at what had happened to the hunters so far, coupled with the fact that he and Danny didn't die on the way to where they were now. In hindsight, the adventures of the hunters seemed comical to Rathe.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

"This one understands." The doctor said looking at the ORSEC guard, "That is what those nice individuals in the back are for."

Six Four flashed the ORSEC person an unseen smile, it kept forgetting that it's face couldn't be seen nor the inflection in its tone to indicate said smile could not be heard. Catching itself, it returned to its neutral demeanor. "Friendly: Thank you however for your help."

As it redirected It's attention back infront of it, it picked up (more so on of the backround systems) movement from behind the ORSEC person. As the stout man walked around his vehicle Six Four recognized him as the man from the diner.

"Odd, Wonder what hes doing here." It said to noone in particular.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

"Very good," the employee replied to Six Four with a nod, scribbling something on his clipboard, then turned to face one of the huge aisles snaking off to the left, between the gigantic shelves. "Take your vehicle down this corridor," he said, pointing with the corner of his clipboard. "You will see markers at the end of each row. Go to marker 47B -- that will be a red one -- and look on your right. Your shipment should be on the third level up, about halfway down."

Without waiting to see if his instructions were clear, or if any of them had any questions, the employee turned and started to walk away. As he did, another truck of a similar model to the one the group was driving, albeit significantly older, pulled into the warehouse and parked in the space behind them. The employee glanced back, taking notice of the new arrival, and with an almost invisible sigh of minor annoyance, changed course and went to approach it.

Ahead of them, the three-axle vehicle still didn't move.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

Upon being instructed to move, Amelia pulled down the handbrake, not giving the two men on the truck's bed any more respite as the truck suddenly lurched forward, accelerating. The truck seemed to swerve towards a collision route against one walls of the stacks of goods that made up the corridor, but Amelia always abruptly jerked the vehicle away at the last moment when she bothered to look forward and not to the markers on the end of each row.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare
When Danny heard the engine start up again, he tapped himself on the temples, looked over to Rathe and mumbled something along the lines of "Oh fucking shit, here we go again" in Lorath Ly'thir. He didn't know if Rathe knew the language, but he just had to roll with it.

Gripping the sides of the truck and laying low as Amelia, although slower, was driving like a complete hoon. More jerky stops and starts, another swerve that sent him rolling onto his back and scrambling for the edges of the truckbed like a flailing tortoise. Instead of up and down motion like it was on the roads, it was more side to side in these warehouse corridors.

Thankfully, it wasn't as fast, and instead, it resulted in him slipping and sliding left and right in the truck bed, eyes looking up at the ceiling and lights of the pharma-storage facility. Once things begun to slow down, he looked up at Rathe and asked. "So far, so good, right?" He asked, somewhat deflated as he realised that the things he had to do for a job were sometimes not pretty, nor as 'glamorous' as he'd like.

There was no glamour in this task anyway, especially not in upcoming cargo duty.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Main Thoroughfare

As Rathe knew next to nothing in Lorath, he was unabashed at the string of curses that would have otherwise surprised him.

Since he had been picking up on Amelia's abhorrid, but consistent, driving patterns, Rathe was able to remain where he wanted to remain by holding on to different parts of the bed according to how Amelia turned, switching his grabbing points as Amelia drove straight.

As the drive began to slow, nearing the end, Rathe heard Danny's question and turned to see him in a heap on his back.
"For one of us, it seems..." Rathe replied, holding back his laughter as he held out his hand to help Danny up. Rathe's past was well decorated with manual labor, so he saw nothing wrong with the job they were to do.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

After a jerky zig-zag course down the gigantic aisle, Amelia brought the vehicle to a haphazard stop beyond the appointed marker, applying the brakes a bit too suddenly and causing the squeal of tires to reverberate far and wide through the warehouse, very nearly throwing both Danny and Rathe headlong into the rear cab window. The shelves towered above them on either side, almost disappearing into the glare of the lights high overhead, and the whirring and clanking of machinery was a bit louder this far down. Ahead of them the aisle continued on, still veering off gradually to the right like the hall of mirrors illusion, making at least a few of them wonder just how massive this "garage" actually was. It seemed more akin to a cavern than a warehouse from here.

As the group prepared to get out and search for the pallet containing their order, the three-axle vehicle they'd seen back at the entrance rumbled up behind them, gradually slowing to a stop at the end of the aisle, blocking the way they'd come in. With its headlights shining obnoxiously brightly in their faces, the engine thrummed for a few seconds longer, then there was a quiet thump as the brakes were set, and the engine cut off. The headlamps remained on, however, preventing them from seeing more than the hazy outline of the driver's side door opening.

"Zat ees my Freespacer friend I see, ja?" a husky, booming voice called from the vehicle, though it was almost impossible to make out the source.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

Pulling the parking brake once more, Amelia had to squint her eyes when the three-axle pulled up behind them once the headlights reflected from the rearview mirror, making her try to hide the obvious discomfort from it. 'What an asshole,' she briefly thought about the other person's sloppy driving behind them. "You know those dudes?" She sked Six Four, turning her eyes away from the other vehicle's migraine inducing headlights. Did he really had to drive with the headlamp on high beam?

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

As Rathe pulled Danny to his feet, Amelia slammed on the brakes, knocking both of the hunters forward. Rathe barely caught himself before his head hit the rear of the cab, saving the gold skinned nepleslian a mild concussion in the process. As the six wheeled truck boxed the four of them in, Rathe's eyes were a solid silver as he was able to look directly into the blinding light. The voice that came after the truck stopped seemed oddly familiar to Rathe. 'Where have I heard that voice before... old gang buddy, ex cop, former client?' the bounty hunter thought to himself as he studied what he could of the truck blocking their entrance and the figure driving it.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

"Not really, this one only the person speaking in a restaurant yesterday. This one does not recall his name." Six Four said to Amelia, "This one thought it saw him when we arrived here."

With a shrug the freespacer shielded its eyes to the glare that its helmet didn't dismiss, making a mental note to get its reflective power upgraded.

"This one is a freespacer yes. Your voice also sounds familiar, would you kindly turn off the high beams please."

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

"Ah, please forgive me," the voice boomed, and after a brief pause, the headlamps on the big vehicle cut off. Once everyone's eyes readjusted from the black and purple spots that the lights had left, they could see a short, but massive and hulking man, built like a tank, lumbering towards them with a lighthearted gait. Gigantic muscles bulged even through the sleeves of the black leather jacket he wore, which was open in the front to reveal a glimpse of a yellow T-shirt pulled taut by a pair of immense pectoral muscles. His low, sloped brow was crowned by a head of curly silver hair cropped close to the scalp, and he was looking at the group with piercing eyes the color of steel. His neck was completely lost in impossibly huge trapezius muscles and a square jaw that almost looked wider than his cheek bones. A disarming smile was spread across his otherwise fierce-looking face.

"I did not mean to startle," the hulking man called as he drew nearer. "I am here only to collect an order for my ship, ze same as you, methinks, ja? Und I saw you in ze truck, and thought zat I might offer my assistance as a friendly gesture."

Far ahead of them, Amelia spotted another vehicle pull into the other end of the aisle, effectively blocking the other exit. Two silhouettes exited the vehicle and moved immediately to one of the nearby shelving units, and set about setting a forklift assembly built into the railing on the shelve above it into motion.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

It didn't take a genius to see that something was up. If the other vehicle was really with the first, why weren't they together at one end of the aisle? If they had only been to pick up a delivery and had to split up for some reason, how would the other truck know to stop at the other end of the aisle and go straight to the forklifts? The two trucks keeping a constant line of communication was one of the only possible situations, and it was suspicious to say the least. The whole scenario just seemed far too coordinated to be legitimate.

Hoping to deter the stranger and his 'friends', Rathe addressed the man directly. "That's what we're here for," said Rathe, motioning to Danny and himself, "so I wouldn't suggest any more cooks for the kitchen if you catch my drift..."

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

Amelia leaned out of the window to stare at the man approaching, somewhat surprised that he was actually shorter than her, even though barely so. She cocked her head to the side as he spoke, taking some extra effort to listen through his accent, and ultimately raising an eyebrow at his sudden generosity. 'Why was everyone suddenly wanting to help them today?' The astrogator thought. They were really very very lucky or something was up.

"Yeah, thanks, but we got that handled," Amelia said after Rathe spoke out, pointing with her thumb towards the bed of the truck.

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B
When prodded by the gold skinned Mercenary and the verbal barrage of an abwehran accent thick enough for light to bend around it, Danny leaned up in the truck bed like a vampire rising out of a coffin in a cheesy horror film and peered at what he THOUGHT was an Abwehran, but instead turned out to be a man where one of the parents may have been a barrel.

Where is his chin? Danny wondered to himself as he propped himself up on his left arm while his hand was resting against his hip and against the collapsible baton that was strapped to his suit, hidden by his clothing.

Hearing Rathe and the woman chip in their two offerings for refusal of help, he simply nodded at the stout man. He then looked ahead of him, and behind him and realised that Amelia's truck had nowhere to go. "Very heavy handed generosity..." Danny mumbled in Lorath as he put the pieces together and the hairs on the back of his neck started to stand on end.

"Rathe. We're being boxed in." Danny whispered as the camouflage pigmentation in his suit started to fade and give way to its natural state as the adrenaline begun to flow. Amelia, if she looked back at the blonde, could see a skintight navy suit cupping the base of his skull now - and it certainly wasn't there before. "Get your war face on, goldilocks."

Was that a telescoping stun baton in his pocket, or was he just very, very happy to see the helping hands?

Origin Medical Wholesalers Warehouse Garage - Aisle 47B

Rathe grinned back to Danny, opening the side of his jacket to reveal the HAS in the inner pocket.

"Just so we're clear, I don't plan on using this if I don't need to. Hopefully seeing an adequate defense'll change their outlook on trying anything funny..." said Rathe to the other hunter as he rehid the handgun, "and don't call me that."