Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Becky nodded as she washed the plates. “That is a concern. I’ll probably keep the Tommy in the glove box. We can store your extra there too; I assume it's going to be the rifle.”

  “That is an assumption, but is also correct,” Alvin said. “I picked up Durability for all the guns, to give them a little more life; Armor Buster, because we seem to find a lot of shit with armor; Reload, which takes ten seconds to reload a gun—”

  “Bullshit. Jarvis!” Becky said from the sink.

  “As I’ve said before, miss, I have no input into the system,” Jarvis replied primly.

  “Still bullshit,” Becky said. “Sorry, Hero. Go on.”

  “For the Tommy, I picked up Recoil to help you keep it on target better, since it kicks like a mule. For both of our sub guns and the rifle, I got Silence to see how much the twenty percent helps. The MP5-N had two more slots, so I picked up Bloody and Wounding for it. None of them have been attached yet though, so if you want something else, we can do that.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” Becky said as she set the plates to dry.

  Starting with the rifle, he pulled the magazine and made sure the chamber was clear before he set it on the table. Picking up the Durability rune first, he wondered how applying runes worked. Holding the rune, all of the guns on the table took on an overlay with round spots for the runes to slip into. “Well, that’s easy.”

  Taking her seat, Becky emptied both of her guns of ammunition before picking up the first rune. “Ahh, I see what you mean.”

  It only took them a couple of minutes to apply runes to their guns. Alvin was attaching the suppressor to the rifle and UMP when Becky summoned her handgun. “I need my holster, but it’s in the car,” she frowned and had the MP5-N vanish into her glove.

  “Put it in your bag for now, then,” Alvin said, sliding the rifle into his bag before summoning his handgun and doing the same to it. Picking up the UMP, he had it vanish into his left glove.

  “We’ll grab both holsters when we head out. We need to see what the fallout is when Han finds out that Karee bought the Contracted Power.” Alvin said as he stood up and stretched.

  “Fun times ahead,” Becky said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Hero?” When he glanced at her, she kissed him lightly. “I promise to behave, in regards to Karee. Have you given any thought to what might happen if she wants to go with us after this raid?”

  Alvin’s lips pursed as he considered her words. “No, I haven’t. I hope that neither of us encouraging her will dissuade her.”

  Gothy giggled, “You’re so cute.” Walking toward the glowing arch that marked the doorway back into the game, she looked back at him. “Come on, Hero, we have a world to explore.”

  Chapter Ten

  Making their way upstairs, the couple found a good dozen people sitting in the great room, going over gear and sorting it into bags. Milo gave Alvin and Becky a nod as they entered the room. “You missed breakfast.”

  “We had waffles,” Alvin replied. “Where’s Shawn?”

  “Over at the armory, making sure that we have a range of weapons, just in case,” Milo replied.

  “What about Han?” Becky asked.

  “He was looking over the kiosk last I saw him,” Milo shrugged. “He said something about upgrading some gear.”

  “Thanks,” Alvin said as he went to the exit.

  “Gothy,” Karee called out from the dining room, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Alvin gave her a brief look before he left. Becky gave him a small smile and turned to head over to the teen. “What’s up?”

  Briefly wondering if Becky would hold to what she had said, Alvin shook his head and felt a pang of shame for doubting someone he claimed to trust and love. The yard was bustling with activity as a number of people were guiding five semi trucks to a spot outside the walls.

  Walking toward the armory, Han called out, catching Alvin’s attention. “Alvin, wait, please.” He turned to see a sheepish expression on Han’s face. “What’s up, Han?” he asked, his brows furrowing in puzzlement.

  “About yesterday,” Han paused as he looked away. “I’m sorry about my outburst yesterday. I’m just a bit overzealous about keeping Karee safe. Millhouse was our brother. Not by blood, but by choice, and I just can’t let his only child be put into harm’s way.”

  Alvin nodded slowly. “I can see your point, and I didn’t take much offense. I want to ask something, and I hope you’ll be open to considering it. If Millhouse was still alive and Karee said she wanted to do this, what would he have said?”

  Han’s jaw set, his hands clenching. “He might have allowed it, but he would have been there with her to protect her.”

  “If you’re filling his shoes, then maybe you should fill his shoes,” Alvin said simply. “It’s possible people going on this trip might die, yourself included. How do you think she’ll take it if you force her to stay behind and she finds out you died?”

  Nostrils flaring, Han glared at Alvin. “I don’t think you understand. I’ve heard you were an orphan. You don’t understand how hard it is to see family walk into harm’s way.”

  Alvin sighed, “It’s your call, but the way you’re going right now, she’s going to run. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but the tighter you hold that leash, the more likely it is that she bolts.” Shrugging, Alvin started walking toward the armory. “That’s just my opinion, though.”

  Han watched him go with angry eyes before stalking off toward the gate. Becky came out of the house just in time to see Han stalk away and Alvin head toward the armory. Brow furrowing, she wondered what they’d said to each other. Alvin looked calm, but Han looked ready to hurt someone. Shaking her head, she started for the Mustang, wanting to check on a few things.

  At the machine shop, Alvin found Wynn going over a Garand. “That looks like it’s seen some action,” Alvin said in greeting.

  “It has,” Wynn said as he checked the rifle. “The en bloc clips are a pain, but it’s what my father used during the war. He experienced the pain of M1 thumb a number of times.” Seeing Alvin’s puzzled look, Wynn put the fully loaded clip in place and the bolt shot forward. “If you don’t get your thumb out of the way, you get M1 thumb.”

  “Learn something new every day,” Alvin chuckled. “I wasn’t really a gun person until this whole thing kicked off. I would have called any magazine a clip before talking to a few people.”

  Wynn snorted, “Don’t feel bad, a lot of people make that mistake. Back in my day, we had a guy in the squad who would call them clipazines just to piss off the others. Man, did he regret that when all his magazines disappeared the morning of range day.”

  Alvin grinned. “That sounds like a story.”

  “It was…” Wynn trailed off, his gaze going distant for a moment. Coughing, he glanced at Alvin. “But that isn’t what brought you here. What can I do for you?”

  “I was looking for Shawn, to find out when he plans to get the show on the road,” Alvin told the old veteran. “I also wanted to thank you for all the modification work on the guns.”

  “Shawn’s inside the vault, grabbing a few extra weapons that might come in useful,” Wynn replied. “Said something about getting runes for them. I’m a little too old to try and keep up with all these changes. As long as the guns fire when I pull the trigger, I’ll be happy enough.” Pausing, Wynn met Alvin’s eyes for a moment. “Just keep my son alive, and I’ll be happy that the modifications were done for good reason.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Alvin said, leaving the older man to whatever else he had planned.

  He got to the vault door just as Shawn was coming out. “Alvin, did you want to shop some more?” Shawn chuckled as he shut the door.

  “Well, since the shop looks closed, I’ll pass,” Alvin replied. “I just wanted to check in and see when you were planning on this carnival hitting the road.”

  “After dinner,” Shawn said as he started toward the yard. “Dad, I’m going to hand off the Ove
rseer spot to you before we go.”

  “No need for that,” Wynn grumbled. “You’ll be back to bother me after the trip.”

  Shawn gave his father a tight smile. “Dad, I mean it.”

  With a deep sigh, Wynn looked away from Shawn. “Don’t make your mother cry.”

  “I don’t intend to, but if things go pear shaped, I want to make sure this place is stable.”

  “Maybe you should hand it off to Placido then, he can sell ice to an Eskimo,” Wynn said.

  “It’s your house, not his,” Shawn said firmly. “Now stop the bullshit.”

  “Kids,” Wynn said as he grabbed the Garand and headed toward the vault.

  Alvin watched him go, then followed Shawn into the yard. “Anything special between now and when we leave?” Alvin asked, trying to get the conversation back on topic.

  “Nothing,” Shawn snapped. Taking a few deep breaths, Shawn looked back at the building they had just left. “Old cantankerous bastard. He could do this, he just won’t try.”

  “Maybe he just wants to know his son can take over for him,” Alvin suggested.

  “Doesn’t matter, we have a raid to think about,” Shawn said, brushing aside the moment. “We have twenty-two people going, six of which can drive a rig, but we’ll only be taking five rigs in case one of the drivers goes down.”

  “I can drive a rig, too,” Alvin informed Shawn. “I’d rather stay in my car, though.”

  “We’ll hope you aren’t needed, then,” Shawn said. “I’m going to rune up these guns, get them handed out, and remind everyone to make sure they have some armor at least, then get my survival bag ready.”

  “What about your daughter?” Alvin asked.

  “Mom will take care of her for me,” Shawn said. “She had a panic attack last night, thinking those Fey fuckers were coming for her again.” Teeth grinding, Shawn seethed. “I plan to pay them back once we have what we’re going for. Fuckers will learn that fucking with my family and friends will cost them more than it already has.”

  Alvin nodded, appreciating the sentiment. “Once this is over, Gothy and I will be heading into Northern Cali, probably.”

  “At least you can carry there, now,” Shawn snorted. “What are you going that way for?”

  “Gothy wants to see trees, and it’s as good as any other way for us.”

  “You two are odd,” Shawn said. “No offense, but she prances around with that Contracted tattoo on her neck, and you treat her okayish, but then you say you’re going into a zombie infested forest because she wants to see trees.”

  Chuckling, Alvin shrugged. “Love does strange things to a person.”

  “Yeah…” Shawn muttered, going silent after that single word.

  “See you for dinner,” Alvin said, leaving Shawn at the kiosk.

  Heading back to the house, he saw Becky waving him over toward the Mustang. “What’s up, Gothy?”

  “I still have some XP to spend, and you probably do as well,” Becky said as she got back in the passenger side of the car. Leaving the door open, she held one of the kiosk pads on her lap. “I was wondering if you have another thirteen thousand XP I can have?”

  “What are you wanting to do?” Alvin asked.

  “I wanted to raise my Brawn to four,” Becky told him, showing him the pad, “but it costs thirty thousand XP.”

  “To better handle the Tommy?”

  “That was my thought.”

  “We’ll need to head over to the exchange orb,” Alvin said.

  Getting back out of the car, Becky wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. Leaning her forehead against his when the kiss stopped, her eyes sparkled. “You always give me what I want.”

  “Not always,” Alvin said as he spun her out of his arms, slapping her ass. “Start moving.”

  With a wicked laugh, she winked at him and started walking, her hips swaying to music only she could hear. “As you command, Hero.”

  When they went to exchange XP, Alvin noted his increased total and made a mental note to ask Jarvis about it. Then he gave her 45,000 XP, waving off her questions and leading her back to the car.

  “Take off the jacket before you accept the upgrade,” Alvin said. “I want to see how noticeable the change is. You’re also upgrading Nimbleness, since I had extra XP. Jarvis, why did I have more XP all of a sudden?”

  “People at all Settlements have been spending XP, sir. You now get the kiosk cut at midnight, when the system updates and resets.”

  “Good to know,” Alvin nodded, turning his eyes to Becky expectantly.

  Shrugging, Becky had her jacket vanish into her corset before tapping the button to accept the stat increases. Alvin blinked, as the change was noticeable. Becky shuddered, the muscles in her arms thickening just a touch, their definition becoming more pronounced. Letting out a soft whistle, Alvin nodded. “Yeah, it's noticeable. Your chest is a bit fuller now, probably because of the underlying muscles being stronger. You’ve also thinned down a touch in the middle, I think.”

  Becky nodded, “Yeah, the corset feels a bit tighter up top, but still comfortable, while the lower ribs feel a bit looser. How about you, what are you going to spend what you have left on?”

  Alvin pursed his lips. “I could upgrade my Brawn to stay pretty much in line with you. We also need to upgrade your Nimbleness more to bring it in line with mine, so then we can stay in line with each other.” Picking the pad up off Becky’s lap, he stared at it for a moment. “That would leave me with about twenty thousand XP, which I can hold on to in case we need it for something else.”

  Becky nodded, her eyes on his body. “Just take off the jacket and shirt first, so I can see what you were talking about.”

  Chuckling, Alvin had his jacket and shirt vanish before he tapped the purchase button to increase his Brawn. Shuddering for a moment as the game altered him, Alvin let out a deep breath. “Gods, that feels weird.”

  “Oh, you’re becoming even more of a hunk,” Becky murmured as her hand traced his pectoral muscles, which had some definition now.

  Stepping back, he was dressed in an instant. “No playing in the yard where kids can see us.”

  “Maybe we should go inside for a bit, then,” Becky said as she stepped out of the car.

  “You’ll get play time when we sleep,” Alvin told her firmly.

  “Shouldn’t we get a nap in before dinner?” Becky said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “We’ll be driving for hours, then doing stuff. Stuff that isn’t fucking me.”

  Snorting at her, Alvin lightly bonked her head with his. “While the first point was valid, the second point just means you want sex, like always.”

  Rubbing her head, Becky frowned at him. “Like that’s a bad thing.”

  “It isn’t,” Alvin said as he put an arm around her waist. “Maybe we should get a small nap in.”

  “That’s my Hero, rescuing me from peril,” Becky snickered.

  “But before we do that,” Alvin grinned mischievously, “we might need to test run the new guns to get a feel for them.”

  Growling under her breath, Becky bumped into his side. “You’re being mean to me again.”

  “And you love it, and you know I’m right,” Alvin said as he let her go. “Now, let’s go ask Shawn where a good spot for some quick target practice would be. Maybe we can get the others going with us to come as well, so we know who might be worth a damn.”

  Nodding slowly, Becky agreed with his logic. “Okay, you win… for now.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Almost an hour later, they had collected everyone who was going with them on the raid and walked a block over so they had a good backstop behind the target area. While Han and Shawn were setting out a variety of targets, Karee came down the road. She was carrying a rifle over her shoulder and had a pistol strapped to her hip. Wynn walked along beside her with a small pull cart in tow.

  “Oh, this is going to go badly,” Alvin murmured. “You did remind her we had nothing to do with
her having the Contracted Power, I hope?”

  “It’s taken care of, Hero,” Gothy said as she turned to look at Han. “The bigger question is, what’s he going to do?”

  Han started back toward the shooters, then spotted Karee and Wynn. His steps slowed for a moment, before he started walking again. Bypassing the others, he went to meet Karee and Wynn. “Why did you come?” Han said to Karee, pointedly looking at the weapons.

  “Wynn said he was bringing extra targets to you guys, so I thought I could get some practice in as well. Everyone needs to be able to defend themselves, now more than ever,” Karee’s voice was cold as she went to walk past Han, only to be stopped by his hand on her shoulder. “What?”