Ulthuan

Jaques nodded, face set.
"I agree. Let us be off."

Michael stood up and walked over to Jacques, his dog following.

"Alright then, me and Marshall are good to go. Though instead of that drug store, we should probably hit up the hospital instead-- we'll probably have more luck there. Sound good to you guys?"

Jaques shrugged uncomfortably.
"That hospital will be overflowing soon if it isn't already. I have qualms about looting it."
He grimaced.
"Though, if the hounds really are here, everyone will be dead soon. It is... difficult to accept that we are potentially condemning so many to death to make good of our escape. I... will follow your lead, Michael."

(note: A bit late to squeeze the response in now, but in response to Amy Lola says: ) "I don't. I just didn't see it coming!"
(...)

So they stood outside. Lola was curious about this mission. She knew the place she was going quite well, but the city seemed to change every day. Nothing was sure. " It's this direction. I suggest we first go to my cigarettes man. He can probably also tell us if something important has changed at the dealers place. I hope it's going to be an easy one. In the worst case we'll have to rob some teenager wannabe gangsters or something. I hope no one is too touchy feely about robbing teens or the old and disabled, right?" She looks from the one to the other, while walking with big paces, which resonated in the street.

Val paced at Lola's side. She smiled at first and rolled her eyes. Then she noticed Lola was serious.

"Wait, for real?" She asked, wide eyed. "We're not gonna rob teenage gangsters. That's insane! They're like gonna rob us right back."

She shook her head.

"And robbing old and disabled people is, like, evil. And it's not like they have anything of value or that they can go out looting. They don't have anything. Or hardly anything. You can't take that away from them."

She left Lola's side and moved towards Mark.

"You gotta tell her that's insane."

Lola left out a hearable sigh at Valeska's response who now walked towards Mark. "You're taking it to litteral. What I'm saying is, if we can't get guns by stealing or dealing, let's not steal weapons from a grown up organized gang, unless you wish to die soon. Lets take the clumsy ones, the stupid ones, the little ones, the old ones. I do not want to rob a grandpa of his last dollar, that's of no use. I want to, if neccesary, rob the stupid and weak gangs rather than the good ones!" she noticed herself getting into a rant and cut it off. She slowed her pace to catch breath and looked at Valeska to see if she got the point.

Mark had a grim smile on his face as he watched Lola and Val discussing. As the femme fatale tried to formulate her point better, he decided to add some of his own.

"Savouring the bit of humanity and decency we have left is important, but in the end survival is top priority. If we end up having to rob people, I'd rather face some of the street punks than one of the gangs roaming around."

The Dutch scanned ahead and shrugged lightly.

"I don't like all the stealing, but I don't like our odds against an organised group either. We don't have much of a choice, Val."

OOC: Sorry for the long delay, I'm back now

IC: The two groups separated and went their ways. Michael had decided that they needed to make all haste and led his group through the rival gang's trritory while Lola and her group left to look for those weaker than themselves to pray upon.

Michael and his group had barely entered the territory of the Hooded when they heard a shout, calling for them to stop. Jaques notices the speaker while Michael and Amy almost jump out of their skins, almost showering the man in a spray of bullets. The speaker notices this and grins "You're crossing our neighbourhood, and making a God-awful racket while doing so. If you want to leave intact, you've got to pay the toll". The street is a two way street and the man is standing some ten meters away from them, having walked out of a building as he called out to them.

Meanwhile the other group is faring somewhat better. As they were walking across the abandoned streets, Mark heard the sound of people talking and laughing. He could discern four voices, three male and one female. "Man, did you see their faces as we took all this stuff! They were all like, please don't hurt us, we'll give you what you want just let us go!" more laughter. They could smell the stench of cigarette smoke. The group couldn't be more than twenty meters away.

Michael did his best to steady his breathing and kept his pistol levelled at the stranger.

"Easy does it...we're not here to hurt anyone. We're just passing through-- what's this toll you want?"

As soon as Mark heard something, he motioned for the others to stop. Assessing the situation, he decided it'd be best to scout ahead. The Dutch put his finger to his lip, requesting silence, and as he motioned for them to stay put he crept forward. They were outnumbered, so he had to make sure they weren't outgunned.

Mark will use Stealth Specialist to try and see what they're up against without getting noticed. He also pays attention to possible defences like trapwires. If he's spotted and they have guns, he'll aim for the legs using Firearms Specialist. If they don't have guns and he's spotted, he'll call for them to surrender and aim for the head (not shoot, though, just as a threat.)

Val froze when Mark gestured to hold and be silent. She tried to see what he had picked up. While he began to move away, she silently slipped to a wrecked car and knelt beside it.

Valeska will look for a loose object. If Mark gets in trouble, she will use it or throw it at his adversaries using Anything goes.

Jaques grunted.
"We have nothing that you want, and we have guns enough to hurt you if you should try to fight us. A fight here would be in nobody's favour, though if you have anyone sick or wounded I am a doctor and can probably help out."
He spread his hands.
"Honestly, however, this would be much easier on everyone involved if you could just leave us alone, yes?"

Amy sighed audibly. She hated it when this happens. Steadying her aim for the bloke's face she only half listened to Jaques and Michael.

"Wha' kinda toll are ye talkin' 'boo't?" Amy snarled, quite eager to just make a run for it with blazing machine fire.. Clever as ever she refrained from her urge to just shoot the bastard, her military discipline taking over.

"Speak 'p. we're no' 'ere tae harm anyo'on bu' I sure as hell do'on't 'ave any trouble goin' with it anyhow." Amy continued, her voice lacking the usual happy tone and getting on at much more of a serious, threatening one.

Mark's sudden action made all senses awake in Lola. Something caught his attention and she sincerely hoped it was an oppertunity, not a threat. She tiptoed (to not let her heels make that clicking sound) a little forward, but behind Mark, and to the side of the road. She already picked her gun out of her pocket and made sure it was ready to use.

Lola awaits a sign or action by Mark for a litttle moment.

After Jaques' words that he was a doctor, the man's expression changed "A doctor, eh? That might do, depending on how good you are. Alright, put down your guns guys" he shouted to the roof and as the companions looked up, they saw at least five people with weapons moving about. If they had chosen to fight, they'd all have been gunned down right there. The man turned back to the group "One of our people was injured in a fight the other night. If you can take care of his injuries, I'll consider that toll enough, fair?" he extended his hand.

Silent as a shadow Mark moved closer. As he crept around a burnt out car, he saw what he was stalking. The other group had clearly just been running, as two of them were still panting and the other two are wiping sweat from their brows. Looking around he can't see any signs of traps of any sort, although it would be extremely difficult to spot any should any be about. Listening to the group closer by, he can hear them, even though they've lowered their tones "Manomanoman, how'd that geezer get all this stuff? I mean, the guns alone are worth a fortune these days and then there's canned food, bottled water and ammo! We hit the jackpot with this" the big man, who was obviously the group's leader, said. "The boss will sure be glad to get all this. Now hurry up and load the truck" the other group started lifting their loot into a truck and would soon be finished.

Michael let out a sigh of relief and lowered his pistol, though he still kept his finger on the trigger.

"That sounds like a fair trade to me. Jacques, can you patch this man up?"

Mark knew he had to act quickly. Assessing the situation, he decided the loot was worth the likely firefight. As he kept a steady aim on the leader, his commanding voice boomed out.

"Hands where I can see them or I'll blow your brains out!" The Dutch's voice was stern and without a single doubt or hesitation. If these people proved a threat to him he would not be merciful. If they were compliant no blood would have to be shed and they'd have the stuff they needed. Things rarely went according to plan, though.

Mark calls out to the group to surrender. If any of them appear to be a threat to him, he will blow the person's brain out. If any of them attempt to flee, he will aim for the person's legs to stop him/her. He will use Firearms Specialist for this.

Jaques shrugged.
"Hopefully. I will need to know what resources are available - antiseptics, painkillers, anything - and I must see how hurt he is first. If anything vital has been ruptured, there likely isn't much I can do without advanced equipment. Take me to the patient, please, and I will do whatever I can."

When Mark bellowed his warning, Val's heartbeat started racing. She met the eyes of Lola. Lola had her gun ready, but seemed to hesitate. They had to do something. Val took a deep breath and began to sneak, approaching the enemy group from the direction opposite to Mark.

If the shit hits the fan, the previous action still stands (Anything goes). A preferred object would be something you can throw and beat with, like a metal pipe. Otherwise a rock or something sharp will also do.

When the situation became clear, Lola decided what she had to do: Prevent the truck from driving. She walked forward, still taking some sort of cover, and with weapon aimed at the front window of the truck, she shouted "Listen to him if your life is any bit precious to you! You're under fire."
She couldn't really hear what they were saying, but she knew they had to finish this before the truck would start driving. Meanwhile she stayed focused on the group. Maybe they would start fireing. In that case she would help Mark with blowing the brains out of this group (his choice of words lingered in her head).

Lola will make use of her Unsubmissive/unyielding tone while speaking to the group and will use her streetwise for estimating the situation and streetfighting if she has to fire her weapon. She won't hesitate to fire it if the driver (?) makes a move or anyone tries to get in the truck. Then she'll fire the front window.

Waving his hand, the speaker signalled one of the gang members to come down. When he arrived, the speaker turned back to you "You'll leave your weapons with Alex here. You'll get them back once you leave our turf, if you can treat my man. While the doctor is treating the wounded, the rest of you will be confined to the same building. No one's allowed to wander unescorted, understood?"

With Mark's shout, the group dropped their loot and turned to face the sound. One of them pulled out his pistol, but Mark shot him down. The survivors dropped their weapons and raised their hands. "Don't shoot, we surrender!" one of the men shouted, clearly terrified.

A grimace twisted Jaques' otherwise handsome face, and he put his hands up in supplication.
"Come, simply take me to the patient and I will do what I can. There is little trust in my companions during these times, and what you ask could easily be construed as a ruse to simply kill them all. There is no need for that - I will come with you, and help as best I am able. And you still have not told me what the injury is."

Valeska slowly emerged.

"Hi," she said and gave the group a reassuring smile. "We umm... just wanted to share in some of that stuff."

She moved closer and began to pick up the dropped weapons.

Reluctantly Amy went along with the plan and handed over her assault rifle, keeping her knives where they were. Concealed beneath her armwarmers. As they would remain as long as these guys did as they promised and she wouldn't be searched too roughly.

"Be quick 'boot it Jaques. Don't wanna stay 'ere too long." Amy said, her voice carrying a slight tone of commandment.

Right after Valeska's -in Lola's opinion- soft and hesitating answer, Lola shouted 'Ok, so let us see that surrender! Come over here and show your hands! I'm going to count to...five." Lola began a slow, yet steady counting. "One!....Two!....Three!...."