065. Coda

[samson]

[In the cabin, Brock and Molotov have been having a heated argument. As heated as an argument can be when it's completely silent, anyway. Gesturing wildly, choking gestures in the air, and a lot of pointing.

Finally, Brock manages to get her to understand he wants her to check on his car. It's important to make sure the Charger is safe, that the garage is secure; if worst comes to worst, they can pile in as many people as they can and make a quick getaway. Once she storms off to do as he asks (he's pretty sure she's going to scratch the paint deliberately but that's okay), Brock snaps open the journal and writes.]

[Like everything else lately, the following is written. Printed, actually; he's trying to make this as legible as possible so it can reach even little kids or people who aren't too literate.]

This is Brock. If you still need somewhere to stay, somewhere safe, I have a cabin southwest of the castle, off the main road. We can all take turns keeping watch, at least until we figure out wh

[The pen jerks to the side, leaving a jagged line and an ink smear.

There's the sound of... something... for about a half minute, sounds of violence. Blows landing, furniture being broken.

Then there's nothing.



And then the door slams. Hurried footsteps, stiletto heels on hard wood. The sound of something hitting the ground hard.

The pen touches the page again, the handwriting different than Brock's. A shaky, quick scrawl.



After, the sound of things breaking -- dishes, glass; fragile things that make noise when they break. Someone trying desperately to get the attention of someone. Anyone.]

Comments

[ofhope]

[ Oooh, scary~ He holds his hands up in exaggerated submission, but the smile's still there. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Mocking or not, once his hands are up, Spike lets out a breath and practically falls back to lean against the wall. Ordinarily he'd be the first to smile at the first cynical excuse that came along, but his anger gets the better of him.

That's the whole reason he's staying out of what's going on in there. He doesn't need someone around to stop him.]

[ofhope]

[ This is more depressing than interesting. Joshua raises an eyebrow at him for a moment, then points towards a window and attempts sign language. Were you close? You never know who might understand! ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Joshua knows sign language? He had no idea.

Spike doesn't though, so he has to guess while not being in the mood for guessing -- which is basically squinting at him and shaking his head. He mouths "what are you doing here" because maybe he an read lips too.]

[ofhope]

[ He can read expression and body language well enough when lucid, at least! Joshua just shrugs and lifts up the journal, pointing to the cry for help. Why wouldn't he investigate for funzies if there's a murder spree? ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Of course. He usually only comes to help.

Spike gets it together pretty quickly, seeing as how it's not his first time. He points to Joshua, then to his eye, even if it seems like a ridiculous way of communicating through charades. Did you see anything?

Chasing demons seems like a favorable way of dealing with two dead friends. All he needs is a direction.]

[ofhope]

[ His laugh may seem even more disturbing now that it's silent. Shaking his head, he goes to write in his journal, and holds it out. ]

It wouldn't be much of a murder mystery if I saw something already.

[gottaknockhard]

[And Spike had to stand in the way of Joshua joining the other detectives. Maybe he shouldn't. Joshua could have some kind of demon-radar for all he knew, like hunting dogs.

He reconsiders and waves him on. What harm could it do to Brock now?]

[ofhope]

[ Joshua raises an eyebrow like 'Are you joking?'. He plans on staying out here regardless, that's what windows are for. Instead he points at Spike, then motions with a head tilt. The fuck are you doing lurking out here like a...Joshua? ]

[gottaknockhard]

[He shakes his head, because it's hard to mime out how he's keeping his distance because Brock's grieving wife deserves to have a moment without someone she hates hovering over her. Absolutely nothing to do with seeing his friend's body with a gaping hole in it up close.

After that helpful gesture, he goes for his cigarettes, just to give him something to do. Then his focus shifts to the ground, trying to make out footprints in the mud or something like that.]

[ofhope]

[ Joshua just watches for a moment, like he does, then shrugs and moves closer so he can indeed peer in that window. He doesn't need to get as close as a normal human to see as much, so at least he's not fogging up any glass.

The smoke isn't very subtle, though, and it's bound to give Spike away before long. Not that Joshua cares. Either forgetting or again not caring that Spike doesn't understand sign language, Joshua signs. ]

He went down fighting.

[gottaknockhard]

[Apparently he's willing to bet that they're too distracted in there to notice the smoke. It wouldn't be the end of the world if some of the crowd decided to come check it out, anyway.

He's not paying attention to them though, or to the ground anymore. He's watching Joshua, and trying to make out what he's signing. It's not a whole lot of use, but he doesn't want to interrupt what he's doing by tapping on his journal to get him to write it out.]

[ofhope]

[ At least some signs can make logical sense, while others are probably useless. ]

Metal? Can't tell if that was already there. He's missing his heart.

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike picks out one or two, getting the 'heart' reference immediately. He saw Sheena's body, so that must be their calling card.

He nods, signalling like he understands. It's probably too much to assume that the other bodies in there are all that's left of them.]

[ofhope]

[ He looks at Spike for awhile after, recalling again that he doesn't know sign language but not carrying enough to write it all down. Spike can straighten his spine and walk on in if he wants more details.

He'll write it down again. ]

Why are you even here?

[gottaknockhard]

[He doesn't want to encourage note passing, even thinks about walking off at the question, but he hovers on the edge of that decision and pulls out the journal he'd refused to use earlier.]

I owed him.

[ofhope]

[ A shrug, and another scribble. ]

You're doing nothing. So you owed him what? A smoke?

[gottaknockhard]

[His expression darkens by a few visible degrees, but he consents to flicking his cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his shoe. Then he turns to stalk away, like Joshua's assumption was dead on.]

[ofhope]

[ Aw, poor baby.

But he realizes that was exactly it, and had misjudged the importance of it. (Everyone smokes, why is it so important?) Joshua grabs his arm, then let's go, and points to his pocket. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[He pauses, but there's tension in his movements as he looks back towards him. Joshua always picks a bad time to be curious.

Spike isn't in the mood to guess what he's after, and stares coolly back at him, daring him to mime out exactly what he wants.]

[ofhope]

[ A sigh. He should give Spike some lessons after this.

Glancing down to the crushed cigarette, he pushes at it with his toe. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[He frowns, trying to decide if he's mocking him or asking for a cigarette. Either way, he only cares enough to debate this because he doesn't have a plan of action beyond looking for another corpse in the woods.

Spike looks again in the direction he was going, then fishes out the crumpled pack of cigarettes in his pocket and tosses it at Joshua.]

[ofhope]

[ Whatevs, bro. Y so srs.

He pulls out two, less-than-pristine looking cigarettes, then holds out one, expression rarely altering from that half-smile. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Apparently he made the right assumption. Spike takes a deep breath, for no apparent reason, and reaches for the cigarette. He lights his own, then holds out his lighter as if he's accepting the apology.

It's not an apology, or compassion for a lost friend, but Spike isn't really looking for either. He'd regretting giving up the pack as soon as he did it, this is only about taking one back.]

[ofhope]

[ Hardly an apology, please. But it is an attempt at peace, for the sake of the dead. Joshua may act casual about it, but he has no wish to desecrate their memories unless they're a true enemy. Brock was just a guard, one who he would have killed on his own without hesitation, but has no reason or drive now that he's free.

Seems it was done for him, anyway. So he accepts the light with a more somber style of amusement, but despite his shady company, and living in the twenties, Joshua is not a smoker. The following attempt is...going to lead to coughing, though only a little. ]