Towing the Line Between a Mark and a Conman (vs. Walkers)
Oct 5, 2021 19:01:58 GMT -6
Conrad Dukes, hachiman0, and 1 more like this
Post by Mundo Kindo on Oct 5, 2021 19:01:58 GMT -6
You are playing a dangerous game.
“But it’s still a game I’m a part of,” Mundo says.
He tosses another crystal into the compartment of a pedestal with a keyboard on it. It's sitting next to a large donut-like-machine with a huge donut hole.
The stack of five other crystals just like it, emanating a blue light, is quickly puffed out when the compartment closes.
“This is the one part of any facility they bring me to that Dukes and Pyramid can’t track and it just so happens to, ironically, be my own,” he adds.
“Something tells me you’re not just collecting those for shits and giggles,” Heather says.
She floats down through the ceiling, her arms and legs crossed as she descends towards her two compatriots.
“New plan: same as the old plan, but better,” Mundo says.
This plan is stupid.
“How do you even know what the plan is?” the masked man asks.
Omniscient, duh.
All Mundo can do is let out a sigh. Heather shrugs, straightening her legs out now that she’s at a comfortable eye-to-eye level.
“Heather’s got a point, though,” Heather says.
Oh for fuck’s sa—
“Hold your offense for a second, Heather, I’m making a point.”
Fine, fine…
“It’s not a bad idea to ingratiate yourself to him in order to subtly steal more crystals every week until you have enough to power the machine on your own. However, you’re towing the line between playing the con and becoming the mark.”
She’s out of line, but she’s right.
“The fuck—?!” Heather shrieks.
Heather can’t always be there to get you info you need. You might be able to control Church right now, but once Dukes knows you know more than you should, the jig is up, the news is out, he finally found you. You might be able to nab those crystals for now, but once Dukes notices enough are missing, the renegade would have been made—
"—retrieved for a bounty?"
And honestly, the biggest one, you might be able to do all of this revamp shit for him, but once there’s nothing left to revamp—
"—that would be the end…that day…?"
You see? We're learning.
Heather gives a giddy clap in response.
“That’s the thing, though. With Dukes, there’s never ‘nothing left.’ He’s always looking for more, whether via his own volition or through that of his boss. I wasn’t being hyperbolic when I mentioned enough of these things could run a city. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dukes is the kind of guy to try and run a country.”
“Despite Heather’s rude way of putting it, the point we’re making is that the longer this con goes, the more likely you are to fall for it.”
“Nice to know you both still have that confidence in me…” Mundo mutters.
“Given your recent efforts and actions, I wouldn’t really blame ‘em,” a fourth voice says.
Mundo and company turn towards Jason aka Max, who enters the otherwise blocked off room of the recently set-up Black Pyramid laboratory.
“I might not be able ta’ hear ‘them’, but if they’re questionin what you’re doin, than it’s nice ta’ know they’re at least smart.”
Thank you./“Thank you.” (spoken at the same time for clarification)
He was talking about me./“He was talking about me.” (spoken at the same time for clarification)
Shut UP Hea—
“Fuck OFF Heather!”
Damnit!
“Ha! Owned fucker!”
Mundo groans and adjusts his mask.
“Trust me, they are not where your confidence should be going…”
“Can’t be any worse than you. I tell ya’ ya’ve got a role ta’ play in the resistance and ya’ go out and try and ingratiate yourself ta’ Dukes on live TV?”
“It’s a fucking plan! Why is that so hard for you people to realize?”
“What does he mean ‘you people’?”
How do you even KNOW that reference…?
“What reference?”
……oh….right…ghost…omniscient narrator…
“Look I’m tired of talking in circles with you three. The plan will work because I’m not some pushover who’s going to take whatever the fuck Dukes tries to throw at me, alight? Working on the device and using it to control Church how I want to is a solid plan. Knowing the off-switch to every single one of Jabberwock’s revamped arsenal is a solid plan. ‘Intriguing’ him and getting him curiouser and curiouser to the point where he has to let me in is a solid fucking plan. Trust the process!”
I don’t know why but I just got a shudder.
“I don’t even know HOW, but I got one too.”
“And I could use without the fucking Greek chorus every single moment of my day!”
Mundo glances over to where Heather is floating, utilizing it as two-for-one in imagining I am also probably there.
“You’re goddamn lucky that Von Brandt is still AWOL. If he was here, I can guarantee he’d have words in Dukes’ ears ta’ keep ya’ in the line that he wants ya’ in. But instead, the ‘Big Man’ is the ‘Boss’ right now.”
“Point being?”
“You’re on borrowed time. Make the most of it while ya’ can. Look, I didn’t come here ta’ argue or give ya’ the sales pitch again—”
“—spare us both the time, please—”
“—I came here ta’ talk ta’ ya’ about your next match.”
“Talk about the mark believing his con…” Mundo mutters.
“Ya’ found a couple locations where this family broadcasted the hijacked signal.”
“It was all fake, anyway. They scrambled the hell out of it so none of it mattered.”
“What did matter was that nobody knows who this family is.”
“So I’m facing an unknown opponent, not the first time.”
Max's rifle suddenly fires off to the right of Mundo’s mask. It narrowly misses hitting the portal set-up behind him.
“Watch the fucking fire asshole!”
“Watch the fuckin tone fuckwagon!”
Fuckwagon?
“This guy’s got swearing down pat.”
“I’m tryin ta’ help ya’ here, but you’re makin it real fuckin difficult to work with!”
“What makes you think I ever wanted your help?”
“Because Nathan fuckin sent me, genius!”
Mundo, behind his mask, widens his eyes. His crossed arms suddenly drop, and his stance widens.
“He did what now?”
“Nathan Lawrence! Your ‘buddy’ from Vegas? Yeah, he told us the position ya’ were in and we decided ta’ take advantage of it. Ya wanted his help right? Because you’re not a wrestler? Why the fuck do ya’ think I’m here? Ta’ change your diaper and jerk ya’ off?”
Mundo grimaces, unseen by those around him who can be seen.
“I’m here because you’re the resistance’s best shot at takin down Black Pyramid. Now I don’t like ya’, I’m slowly gettin close ta’ hatin ya’, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let an opportunity like this get trapped in a noose hangin off a balcony. So fuckin listen when I offer ya’ advice.”
Mundo sighs, returning his arms to being crossed in front of his chest.
“Fine. You were saying?”
“The family came outta nowhere. Nobody, not even Dukes, knows anythin about ‘em, and if he does, he’s keepin it close to his chest. You’ll be facin only one family member but nobody but them knows which one. Do ya’ got a problem hittin a woman?”
“Depends on the situation.”
“How ‘bout a girl?”
“…depends on the situation?”
“And ya’ wonder why we don’t have confidence in ya’…” Max pinches his nose to try and avoid a headache. “In either case you’ll be fine. Nobody knows if they’re trained wrestlers or just posers tryin ta’ take advantage of shit, like you. Either way, come up with a plan that’d work with any of ‘em and stick to it.”
“Yeah, I got one of those already.”
“Good,” Max says with a nod.
He turns around and heads towards the door, but stops, looking over his right shoulder.
“Oh, and one last thing, if we ever see ya’ fully side with Dukes, we’d have no problem killin ya’ like you’re the ‘Big Man’ himself.”
Mundo raises an unseen eyebrow, but otherwise has a nod himself.
“Noted.”
With that, Max leaves the room. Once the door is locked, Mundo turns to his two compatriots.
“So anyway, I’m not going to fall for my own con.”
I’ll have to take your word for it.
“Whatever. Just try not to put your trust in too many people who seem like they’re trustworthy. It might come around and bite you in the ass.”
The blue liquid starts to gush out of her mouth. Mundo raises an unseen (except by me) eyebrow as she stares at a spot in the room, focusing little on what’s around her.
Experience. Let her be.
“Huh…I guess you two are besties.”
Heather’s face suddenly glows, her eyes widen, and the smile on her face could blind Stevie Wonder again if she wasn’t translucent as is.
I’m just gonna sigh…
“~That isn’t a no-ooo~,” she sing-songs.
GAAAAAAAH!
“Stay close on the next. I’m going to need both of your help…”
“But it’s still a game I’m a part of,” Mundo says.
He tosses another crystal into the compartment of a pedestal with a keyboard on it. It's sitting next to a large donut-like-machine with a huge donut hole.
The stack of five other crystals just like it, emanating a blue light, is quickly puffed out when the compartment closes.
“This is the one part of any facility they bring me to that Dukes and Pyramid can’t track and it just so happens to, ironically, be my own,” he adds.
“Something tells me you’re not just collecting those for shits and giggles,” Heather says.
She floats down through the ceiling, her arms and legs crossed as she descends towards her two compatriots.
“New plan: same as the old plan, but better,” Mundo says.
This plan is stupid.
“How do you even know what the plan is?” the masked man asks.
Omniscient, duh.
All Mundo can do is let out a sigh. Heather shrugs, straightening her legs out now that she’s at a comfortable eye-to-eye level.
“Heather’s got a point, though,” Heather says.
Oh for fuck’s sa—
“Hold your offense for a second, Heather, I’m making a point.”
Fine, fine…
“It’s not a bad idea to ingratiate yourself to him in order to subtly steal more crystals every week until you have enough to power the machine on your own. However, you’re towing the line between playing the con and becoming the mark.”
She’s out of line, but she’s right.
“The fuck—?!” Heather shrieks.
Heather can’t always be there to get you info you need. You might be able to control Church right now, but once Dukes knows you know more than you should, the jig is up, the news is out, he finally found you. You might be able to nab those crystals for now, but once Dukes notices enough are missing, the renegade would have been made—
"—retrieved for a bounty?"
And honestly, the biggest one, you might be able to do all of this revamp shit for him, but once there’s nothing left to revamp—
"—that would be the end…that day…?"
You see? We're learning.
Heather gives a giddy clap in response.
“That’s the thing, though. With Dukes, there’s never ‘nothing left.’ He’s always looking for more, whether via his own volition or through that of his boss. I wasn’t being hyperbolic when I mentioned enough of these things could run a city. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dukes is the kind of guy to try and run a country.”
“Despite Heather’s rude way of putting it, the point we’re making is that the longer this con goes, the more likely you are to fall for it.”
“Nice to know you both still have that confidence in me…” Mundo mutters.
“Given your recent efforts and actions, I wouldn’t really blame ‘em,” a fourth voice says.
Mundo and company turn towards Jason aka Max, who enters the otherwise blocked off room of the recently set-up Black Pyramid laboratory.
“I might not be able ta’ hear ‘them’, but if they’re questionin what you’re doin, than it’s nice ta’ know they’re at least smart.”
Thank you./“Thank you.” (spoken at the same time for clarification)
He was talking about me./“He was talking about me.” (spoken at the same time for clarification)
Shut UP Hea—
“Fuck OFF Heather!”
Damnit!
“Ha! Owned fucker!”
Mundo groans and adjusts his mask.
“Trust me, they are not where your confidence should be going…”
“Can’t be any worse than you. I tell ya’ ya’ve got a role ta’ play in the resistance and ya’ go out and try and ingratiate yourself ta’ Dukes on live TV?”
“It’s a fucking plan! Why is that so hard for you people to realize?”
“What does he mean ‘you people’?”
How do you even KNOW that reference…?
“What reference?”
……oh….right…ghost…omniscient narrator…
“Look I’m tired of talking in circles with you three. The plan will work because I’m not some pushover who’s going to take whatever the fuck Dukes tries to throw at me, alight? Working on the device and using it to control Church how I want to is a solid plan. Knowing the off-switch to every single one of Jabberwock’s revamped arsenal is a solid plan. ‘Intriguing’ him and getting him curiouser and curiouser to the point where he has to let me in is a solid fucking plan. Trust the process!”
I don’t know why but I just got a shudder.
“I don’t even know HOW, but I got one too.”
“And I could use without the fucking Greek chorus every single moment of my day!”
Mundo glances over to where Heather is floating, utilizing it as two-for-one in imagining I am also probably there.
“You’re goddamn lucky that Von Brandt is still AWOL. If he was here, I can guarantee he’d have words in Dukes’ ears ta’ keep ya’ in the line that he wants ya’ in. But instead, the ‘Big Man’ is the ‘Boss’ right now.”
“Point being?”
“You’re on borrowed time. Make the most of it while ya’ can. Look, I didn’t come here ta’ argue or give ya’ the sales pitch again—”
“—spare us both the time, please—”
“—I came here ta’ talk ta’ ya’ about your next match.”
“Talk about the mark believing his con…” Mundo mutters.
“Ya’ found a couple locations where this family broadcasted the hijacked signal.”
“It was all fake, anyway. They scrambled the hell out of it so none of it mattered.”
“What did matter was that nobody knows who this family is.”
“So I’m facing an unknown opponent, not the first time.”
Max's rifle suddenly fires off to the right of Mundo’s mask. It narrowly misses hitting the portal set-up behind him.
“Watch the fucking fire asshole!”
“Watch the fuckin tone fuckwagon!”
Fuckwagon?
“This guy’s got swearing down pat.”
“I’m tryin ta’ help ya’ here, but you’re makin it real fuckin difficult to work with!”
“What makes you think I ever wanted your help?”
“Because Nathan fuckin sent me, genius!”
Mundo, behind his mask, widens his eyes. His crossed arms suddenly drop, and his stance widens.
“He did what now?”
“Nathan Lawrence! Your ‘buddy’ from Vegas? Yeah, he told us the position ya’ were in and we decided ta’ take advantage of it. Ya wanted his help right? Because you’re not a wrestler? Why the fuck do ya’ think I’m here? Ta’ change your diaper and jerk ya’ off?”
Mundo grimaces, unseen by those around him who can be seen.
“I’m here because you’re the resistance’s best shot at takin down Black Pyramid. Now I don’t like ya’, I’m slowly gettin close ta’ hatin ya’, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let an opportunity like this get trapped in a noose hangin off a balcony. So fuckin listen when I offer ya’ advice.”
Mundo sighs, returning his arms to being crossed in front of his chest.
“Fine. You were saying?”
“The family came outta nowhere. Nobody, not even Dukes, knows anythin about ‘em, and if he does, he’s keepin it close to his chest. You’ll be facin only one family member but nobody but them knows which one. Do ya’ got a problem hittin a woman?”
“Depends on the situation.”
“How ‘bout a girl?”
“…depends on the situation?”
“And ya’ wonder why we don’t have confidence in ya’…” Max pinches his nose to try and avoid a headache. “In either case you’ll be fine. Nobody knows if they’re trained wrestlers or just posers tryin ta’ take advantage of shit, like you. Either way, come up with a plan that’d work with any of ‘em and stick to it.”
“Yeah, I got one of those already.”
“Good,” Max says with a nod.
He turns around and heads towards the door, but stops, looking over his right shoulder.
“Oh, and one last thing, if we ever see ya’ fully side with Dukes, we’d have no problem killin ya’ like you’re the ‘Big Man’ himself.”
Mundo raises an unseen eyebrow, but otherwise has a nod himself.
“Noted.”
With that, Max leaves the room. Once the door is locked, Mundo turns to his two compatriots.
“So anyway, I’m not going to fall for my own con.”
I’ll have to take your word for it.
“Whatever. Just try not to put your trust in too many people who seem like they’re trustworthy. It might come around and bite you in the ass.”
The blue liquid starts to gush out of her mouth. Mundo raises an unseen (except by me) eyebrow as she stares at a spot in the room, focusing little on what’s around her.
Experience. Let her be.
“Huh…I guess you two are besties.”
Heather’s face suddenly glows, her eyes widen, and the smile on her face could blind Stevie Wonder again if she wasn’t translucent as is.
I’m just gonna sigh…
“~That isn’t a no-ooo~,” she sing-songs.
GAAAAAAAH!
“Stay close on the next. I’m going to need both of your help…”