The following is, more or less, a lot of introspection that Tyger will go through after leaving Carpenter in our last adventure. This is something that, after much thought and rereading some of the character notes I made about Tyger awhile ago, I felt would be not only be totally In Character, but would also be a bit of a stepping stone for him turning over a new leaf.
Tyger is having a severe identity crisis at the moment. Part of this is due to his own poor performance on the battlefield lately as well as some of the things that happened in the Painting (our 3rd Session). My intent with this particular Blue Booking post is to establish for you, the Players and GM, just what is going through Tyger's head...things that he wont tell anyone, not even himself sometimes. Things that the Players/audience would know about the character...but not the actual characters interacting with him would necessarily know if that makes sense. So with that in mind, I would like it known that these events will NOT be known by any of the PCs right off the bat. He is not going to go out of his way to make these actions known. Now, if someone tails (heh...tails) him, or, perhaps does some research or checking, then they will find out exactly what happened because he also won't go out of his way to hide his actions either.
As Tyger left Carpenter in the empty maintenance bay, his mind was filled with various thoughts on the recent events. They said what he did was wrong...but she hit him first! And from behind no less! They said that she simply tapped him with the wrench...somehow the bump on the back of his head and the growing stiffness in his upper back and shoulders spoke quite a different story. Sure, he would live. He had also taken far worse hits than that from far nastier things than a gladiator with a wrench. They said that such things were expected in the Lace and Steel Tournaments and Arenas. Last time he checked, he had never entered an arena...much less an actual tournament, and somehow the idea that a gladiator would go off and actually attack someone who was, essentially, a noncombatant.
Apparently, They say a lot of things...
They say that Clades are worthless. They say that Clades are not people, much less actual citizens. Why is that? "If they didn't want me...then why did they make me?" Tyger murmured to himself. Yeah, They say a lot of things...
Tyger continued down the long halls of the precinct house, alone with his thoughts. Many of these thoughts were dark, almost hateful. He Hated humans for their arrogant superiority. Why were they better than him, when he was the superior being? Why was he created? What role did he fill on this accursed ball of rock? He knew of many individuals who asked those same questions...but they were Human though. Of course, they could and should question such things. What he found difficult was the fact that he was made by human hands...but for what reason? Why was he created...and if he and his kind were created, why were they hated so much? What did he do to earn such enmity? He paused in his silent musings, no...he knew why people showed him in specific, such enmity. He knew very well why that was. Part of him was amused, mocking...even proud of that fact....but on the other hand, he had to ask what did that serve except further alienate him from others? No, he sort of enjoyed that. After all, one cant get hurt if nobody is close enough to do anything.
These thoughts and more would continue to mill around in Tyger's head as he hopped onto his hover-cycle and sped away from the precinct house. He knew exactly where he was going...he needed to drown himself. He knew he had the money for that and more. He genuinely thought about doing just that. But then he would question what just needed to be washed away and drowned out. Of course he couldn't answer this question at first, until his thoughts once more turned to the nights activities. His mind played and replayed the events that drifted to what led him here.
There was just something about that fight that did not sit well with him at all. He played the events over and over again as he drifted down the busy streets of an active and healthy Angelus nightlife. He remembered the pain that lanced through his skull as the heavy wrench landed its blow. He watched almost helplessly as Andrew Dumas nearly escaped with the gloating Marcy the Mechanic. Why was it nobody took him seriously?!? For a moment he genuinely considered getting a tattoo on his forehead that said 'HEY! I'm NOT fucking around!' or at least make that his new T-Shirt or something. Those moments of combat continued to replay themselves in his mind over in his head again and again. He just could not put his finger why it didn't seem right though. It had nothing to do with what They said. They were full of bullshit anyway.
It suddenly struck him...like a fifteen pound wrench on the back of his head...
He recalled the look on Marcy's face after he fired the first shot. The look of horror on her face and features that suddenly the whole thing was not a game. It was not an act. That he was not playing around at all. That he was serious. Deadly serious. As the second shot hit her, he remembered that look of horror turning into one of total and complete terror. A look of genuine fear that he had seen on many different people in the past for many different reasons. The third shot that was fired only brought that image back into his mind harder. He couldn't believe what he had almost done...and yet the evidence was right there in front of him. he cursed himself repeatedly for what he had done...even more so for what he had almost done.
With a deeply rooted, angry growl, he wheeled his hovercycle above much of the ground traffic as he slewed into a sudden turn. He lost track of how many traffic laws he had broken just then, but then again, when did he care about such things? His intent was to drown his sorrows at a local dive bar and sleep off the hangover the next day. Yeah, that was not going to happen now. He keyed up his databand on the fly. He knew it would not take much hunting to find what it was he was looking for, and given how he was known to drive if the circumstances demanded it, it may take him less time to actually get there.
Tyger found himself walking through the front doors of the hospital, moving with great purpose and agitation towards the front desk. Once there, he would look towards whomever sat behind the desk. "Good evening. I am looking for a patient that was recently admitted into his hospital. Her name? oh, I don't know it totally for sure, but she goes by Marcy the Mechanic. Yeah, I'm a bit of a fan of hers..."
The secretary at the front desk did not seem to exactly be sure just who Marcy was at first, but she eventually did realize to whom it was Tyger was referring to. At that point, Tyger offered his thanks and made his way down the hall and to the elevator. He was not exactly sure what he was going to say to Marcy when he got there. He knew what he wanted to say at least. He only hoped that she was conscious. No...it didn't matter if she was conscious nor not. He would be able to get what he wanted off his chest either way. If worse came to worse, he could always come back.
With a soft chime, the elevator doors slid open, and Tyger stepped out into the hallway. As he rounded the corner that would take him to Marcy's room, he saw something that he was not expecting in the least. There were numerous people sitting in the hallway, waiting, posting vigil for Marcy and hoping her a speedy recovery. Many of these people were obviously fans, some were more likely than not friends and perhaps family. Suddenly intimidated, he actually thought about turning around and leaving and coming back later, or at the very least, waiting patiently for his turn. No. he couldn't do that. That would be running away, wouldn't it? He couldn't run away. He never ran before, and he would not start running now! He took a step forward towards the door when he caught some movement from the corner of his eye. A man he had never seen before, but obviously a fan, suddenly stood up and pointed at him accusingly. "There he is! That's the guy!"
Suddenly, it seemed that every single pair of eyes was upon him, staring at him angrily. He knew what they wanted to do. He felt their anger, their rage, their total hatred for him. he knew their feelings were justified, and something inside of him felt that whatever they wanted to do, he would let them. After all, he deserved it. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Once more, Tyger thought about turning around until things suddenly got worse. Pushing through the ugly crowd the other combatant at the Lace and Steel Arena that assaulted them, Cyndi Sabyr. She stepped forward, placing herself directly between Tyger and any forward progress, but also between those rabid as well.
"So..." she said with a frown. One of her hands moving to rest on the hilt of one of her swords. "...Have you come to finish the job?"
Tyger did not look directly at her, not out of any disrespect to her, but more along the lines that he could not bring himself to do so. "No."
Cyndi narrowed her eyes, the soft click of her sword being released from its catch impacting with his keen hearing like a shotgun blast to his chest. "Then what did you come here for?"
"To apologize." Tyger murmured in reply, his voice an almost dejected monotone. A simple answer. An answer that could not be anything but truthful.
She narrowed her eyes accusingly at him. "You actually think that you can walk in here and say 'I'm sorry' and it will just fix everything?"
Tyger just shrugged his shoulders slightly. "No..."
"Then what did you think? What do you want?" she said, seeming to lose patience.
Tyger looked directly at Cyndi now, his gaze unwavering, but his voice still flat and almost monotone. "Look. I know what I did was wrong and uncalled for. There ain't nothing I can do or do change what happened. But I would like to at least set it right."
Cyndi narrowed her eyes at him, as if gauging his honesty. With the click upon metal on metal, her sword was placed fully back within its scabbard. "Alright. Fine. But only under two conditions. First, you hand over your gun. Next, I go in there with you."
Tyger shrugged his shoulders slightly. "That's fine. I'm unarmed anyway."
Cyndi gave him a dark, sour look so Tyger lifted his arms to shoulder height and to his sides, fully exposing himself to her which would result in Cyndi giving him a quick pat down. Oddly enough for Tyger, the most dangerous thing that she found on him would be pack and a half of cigarettes and a beat up lighter. "Alright, lets go" Tyger offered a slight nod and shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and followed behind Cyndi. "The doctors say that she is going to be just fine"
"That's good.' Tyger replied in his monosyllabic monotone.
Marcy was laying in the hospital bed. He had seen people in far worse conditions given his history and line of work. However, to see her outside of her costume, like this. To see just how much damage he had actually done to her, he could not help but feel even worse than he did when he walked up to the hospital. Without a word, he sat down beside Marcy's bed as Cyndi gently roused Marcy from her drug induced stupor. "Hey Marcy. You...have a visitor."
Marcy blinked a couple of times and looked over to see Tyger sitting at her side. Her eyes grew wide with horror and she started scrambling for the Call Button on the bed. Tyger simply placed a hand on her shoulder, offering a gentle squeeze. "There is no need for that. I don't want to hurt you" and murmured.
"He just wants to talk to you. He doesn't have a gun, and I'm going to be here the entire time." Cyndi said, reassuring her friend.
Tyger looked from Cyndi briefly with a slight nod of thanks and then turned his attention to Marcy. There was that brief uneasy silence at first, which Tyger broke. "Marcy..." he murmured. "...I just came here to apologize for my actions. I know that there is nothing that I could can say or do to change what has happened. I did something wrong...but I would at least like to try to set it right again. If that's even possible."
Marcy looked at him almost distrustfully, but then her own countenance softened after a few moments. "Well...I did hit you with a pretty big wrench..."
Tyger only shook his head with a gentle interruption. "That's not the point. I shot you. I should not have done that"
"Yeah, but I could have killed you..."
"Irrelevant." Tyger interrupted again. "You weren't trying to kill me, and yet I tried to kill you."
Marcy released an almost exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm trying to apologize to you as well." That bought her a raised eyebrow from Tyger. He didn't really know what to say, so he just let her continue, with the hope that she would explain things to him. "Look. I hit a cop. Plain and simple. And not just any cop either. I went and attacked a cop that's X.S.W.A.T."
Tyger said nothing for a brief moment and then replied softly. "Perhaps. But I didn't have to shoot you three times."
Both of them were silent for a moment. Both of them felt the need to apologize and that the offended party was more than right to what they did. Something inside of Tyger just decided to almost give up and attempt a different approach to the entire situation. The last thing he wanted was to start an argument over who should be apologizing to whom. He took a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Look, Marcy. What I did was wrong. I'm not going to pretend that I was justified in my actions. I'm just a Clade after all, so I don't think my word means much to anyone. But for what it's worth. I'm sorry."
Both Marcy and Cyndi, the latter having been totally silent and just listening and watching, looked at Tyger, as if he were trying to tell them that the sky was orange and the sea was yellow. Cyndi was the first to break the silence, her words carrying a tone that almost sounded as if she were insulted. "I don't know where in the hell you've been staying at or who you've been talking to get an idea like that."
"Just...around I guess." Tyger murmured.
"Well, we ain't like that here"
"Yeah." Marcy continued. "In the arena, we work with all sorts of people. Cyborgs, Enhanced Humans, Clades, you name it."
Tyger looked first from Cyndi and then to Marcy. He was obviously not exactly sure what to think of their words, but his thoughts were interrupted by Cyndi picking up where Marcy left off.
"Look. Out there in the arena, it doesn't matter who or what you are. All that matters is that you can fight and look good doing it."
"Have you ever heard of Lyonesse?" asked Marcy.
"Yeah, I've heard of her"
"Well, she's a Clade." She continued.
"I know." Tyger returned.
"She stopped by earlier to see how I was doing. Do you think that the sentiment meant any less considering that she is at the top of the ladder? Or that she just happens to be a Clade?"
Tyger only shrugged his answer. It was obvious to him that these girls had led a different lifestyle and had seen different things than he had, but he continued to humor them.
"Well it doesn't." Cyndi snapped, obviously a little upset still. "She cares. She cares about us, and she's shown it too. Not just by tonight either. She has offered us a lot of helpful pointers while out there in the arena as well as helped train us. Do y'think that it means anything less just because she's a Clade?" Her words only bought another shrug from Tyger, which only caused her to continue on her rant. "Not a dammed bit! Y'know why? Because we're family here. We don't care what you are."
Tyger looked down and released a sigh. It sounded hurt, almost depressed in a way. His right hand twitched for a brief moment. Damn, he needed a cigarette. "Well, that is wonderful for you both. I am happy that you both have someone or someones you can call family. People that you can go to when you need them." Tyger's words weren't cold, nor were they snapped out in a fit of rage like he would normally do in a similar setting. They seemed sad, more like a hurt child's than a merciless savage's.
"D...don't you have anyone like that?" Marcy murmured softly as she shifted in her bed to look at the Clade better. "I mean, you're a cop and all that. I thought you guys all stuck together. You know, look out for your buddy and that sort of stuff."
Tyger cast a glance from the corner of his eye at Marcy and made a sound that was like a sarcastic harrumph. "No." He went silent for a moment as he folded his arms over his chest. "Y'see, I'm a lot different than the rest of the guys on the force." Cyndi and Marcy looked at each other for a moment and then back to Tyger quizzingly. "It's not just the fact that I'm a Clade either. Unlike those other guys, I'm not a cop. I'm a criminal. A pirate to be exact. I should be locked up somewhere dark, out of the way, wherever it is that they send the scum of the earth. Unlike everyone else on the force who joined up out of their own desire to do something right and good, people who willingly put their lives on the line for others, I was forced into it. To put it simply, I was told that I could join X.S.W.A.T. or die." Tyger gave a sarcastic half-laugh and looked over to Marcy. "Ain't much of a choice is it?"
"Not really, no." Marcy murmured in reply. "But that doesn't matter. Not to us anyway. So what if you're a Clade? We work with Clades all the time. And the fact that you've got a past? That doesn't mean anything either. we all have pasts that we aren't always happy about. Some of us had to take one hell of a look in the mirror before getting to where we're at now. I came from a broken family. Both of my Parents were alcoholics and my dad...well he was more than a little loud when he got a hold of the sauce. Everyone in my hometown knew when he was drunk. His drinking started to cause me a lot of problems at school and at home, so I learned how to defend myself. That...didn't always go over very well at home. Eventually I just decided that I had enough of it so one day I just packed up and left home. That led me to the Lace and Steel, and, eventually, to Lucian St. Croix.
"After hooking up with him, he made a lot of promises to me. He promised that I could be more than what I was. He told me that if I worked with him, I could be more than just some punk kid who got in far too many fights. I trusted him and believed him. Sure, he gave us enhancements that were illegal. I knew what he was doing sometimes was wrong and against the rules, but I turned a blind eye. What he was doing was holding up his end of the deal. He told us he would do whatever it took to get us to the top and I accepted that. Because that is all that I wanted. I wanted to be at the top and nothing was going to stop me. Because of what he offered me, I willingly did whatever he wanted. After all, it is only fair...right?"
Tyger nodded "Yeah, I can't fault you for doing what he told you to do."
"He most likely thought you guys were after him. When your friend showed us his badge, we thought you were after him or us as well and none of us wanted to go to jail." Cyndi murmured.
"Well, we weren't after you guys. You fall well outside of our jurisdiction anyway."
Marcy flopped back onto the bed with a sigh while Cyndi slumped into her chair and bumped her head against the wall. "It's good to know that now..." Cyndi muttered.
Tyger looked over to Cyndi and raised a brow.
"Look, it doesn't matter to us if you were a criminal. Not all of us have a spotless past. You were a crook, well some of us were kids that got way in too many fights and was kicked out of school for it. Some of us were drug addicts or even worse. What matters is that you at least feel bad for what you did and came to fess up about it." Marcy said, looking up at the ceiling. Cyndi only hung her head in remembered shame at her own offenses as Marcy hit upon them.
"I only wish that were true with everyone Marcy. I really do. It would make things a whole hell of a lot easier." Tyger replied. "But...I really don't think that..."
"People change Tyger." Cyndi said as she looked up to Tyger. "Sometimes something happens and you can't help but look at yourself and realize that you have to change. Sometimes change just happens on its own. Other times you just wake up one day and realize that you are someone that you just really don't like and you seek actively seek to change that about yourself."
"Yeah" Marcy chimed in. "Before tonight, the only thing that Cyndi and I cared about was getting to the top. We didn't give a damn how we got there, who we had to hurt or what we had to do to get it. All we wanted was to get to the top because that was all that mattered to us."
"And now?" Tyger asked as he looked over to Marcy.
"Now...we realize that there is more to life than just getting to the top" Marcy replied. "It's kinda funny, y'know." She continued, her voice wavering slightly as if either on the verge of tears or trying to hold back a laugh. "Before tonight, neither of us actually thought that there was nothing else in life except to get to the top. But when you suddenly come to the realization that you're gonna die, and there are things that you haven't done yet...and then see that the path you took to get you where you're at now is what is going to get you killed...you suddenly wish that you had made different choices in your life. Your friend..."
"I...wouldn't really consider him my friend...I don't have any of those." Tyger said with a frown.
"Well...your coworker then" Marcy returned. "He did something. I'm not sure what he did. What I do know is that he worked some sort of miracle that gave me a second chance. He made me feel...different." Marcy looked down, trying to hide a blush as she did so.
"He's married" Tyger stated with a cold neutrality.
"That's not what I meant!" Marcy retorted looking at Tyger with an annoyed expression. "He showed me genuine caring. He showed me that he gave a damn about me. Nobody has ever done that for me, ever. Nobody has ever given me that feeling that they believed in me either. He did that."
Tyger sat back in his chair and looked up to the ceiling. "Yeah..." he said with a sigh. "Nathan's good about doing shit like that. Make you believe that you're important and that he gives a damn. Perhaps he does."
"Even if he was just talking rainbows and sunshine, he got us thinking." said Cyndi.
"We're going to jail, at least as soon as I get out of here I know that I'm going." Marcy continued, picking up where Cyndi left off. "We tried to stop you guys from doing your job, we resisted arrest and we attacked police officers. It's not like those are minor infractions. In addition to that, we both have some illegal cybernetic augmentations. That alone should see us getting five to ten right there."
"Which that reminds me" Cyndi looked at Tyger with narrowed eyes. "Aren't you going to arrest me for what I did?"
Tyger only shrugged his shoulders, his gaze still on the ceiling. "Wasn't intending on it." He did not see the look of disbelief that crossed both Cyndi and Marcy's faces. "I came here to apologize. Not cause any trouble, hurt anyone nor put anyone under arrest. That's it."
"Oh" Cyndi said, slightly admonished.
"Anyway, after we get out, we're gonna go straight. There is more to life than fighting, more than the Lace and Steel and there is a lot more than just getting to the top. After we get out, we're thinking about opening a place of our own. A place where we can train fighters in the Lace and Steel. Pass on some of what we've learned and even tell them what and who to avoid." Marcy continued.
"We don't want any other girls making the same mistakes we did. We don't want them to fall into the same trap with the same sort of scum like Lucien." Cyndi said.
Tyger nodded just slightly. "That sounds like a good plan. I'm glad that you've made that sort of choice. I wish you the best of luck in that."
"What about you?" Marcy asked.
"What about me?" Tyger returned, raising an eyebrow.
"You cant tell me that after all of this, they're going to just let you go. I mean, I know the police have rules and stuff like that too. Right?"
"Yeah." Tyger nodded, looking down. "They do. I...don't know what is going to happen. I've been in trouble before. By god, I've been in some deep shit since I got wrapped up in X.S.W.A.T., but nothing like this though. So I couldn't tell you what will happen. It most likely won't be pleasant though."
"I...see."
"Look Marcy," Tyger murmured as he sat back in his chair. "It shouldn't matter to you what happens to me. I fucked up, and im going to pay for it. It's that simple.
"But..."
"Marcy, don't concern yourself with me. I'm just a Clade after all. You're young and have a full live ahead of you, and a new opportunity to make things right for yourself."
"Well, you don't look all that old yourself, and you oughta have a full life ahead of you too. You said yourself that you've been in some deep shit before, and yet you're still around. It's not like this will be the end of you, y'know. Yeah, after we get oughta jail, we'll have our second chance, but you? You don't have to wait that long. As soon as whatever they do to you is over and done with, you get to continue on."
Tyger looked to the floor as Marcy spoke, heavily considering her words. "You have an interesting way of looking at it..." Tyger murmured under his breath. "...Y'know, I was offered a second chance a year and a half ago. Though I am in no position to make such an offer, I can at least put you in contact with the person that made it possible. Perhaps she can pull some strings or something..."
"Whoa, wait a minute there. Just what are you suggesting?" Cyndi suddenly chimed in.
"I'm suggesting you guys get the same break I did a year ago. Both of you have obviously learned your lesson by what happened tonight, and decided to go straight. I don't think its some sort of con job, so I think you two deserve a shot at being good. If you have to serve whatever sentence you get with X.S.W.A.T. instead of spending it in prison, so much the better."
Cyndi and Marcy looked at each other for a brief moment and then looked at Tyger. "So let me get this straight..." Marcy began. "...you want us to join X.S.W.A.T., right?"
Tyger nodded his head:: "yeah...I do."
"Why?" Cyndi replied.
Tyger sighed softly as he sat back and closed his eyes before speaking. "Well...to be perfectly honest...I can't say that I know for sure. What I mean is, is that I fucked up, pretty badly too...and instead of going to prison, I was put into X.S.W.A.T.. I do not see a reason why either or both of you cannot do the same thing. X.S.W.A.T. always could use a few more people, and I think that you both have learned your lesson."
"Yeah, but why us though?" Marcy inquired.
Tyger scratched the back of his head for a moment or two before he answered. "The way I see it, is that both of you are good girls. Whether you want to admit it or not, you're not evil, cruel or heartless. You just had to live your life the best you could based on the hand that was dealt to you.
"Besides..." Tyger continued looking down. "...we all know that you two are going to jail for this. It may only be for a few months or it could be several years. Either way, I have seen what sort of folks get thrown into that place...and...I don't want either of you to suffer that. Your good girls, and I would like for it to stay that way if at all possible. You don't need to get stuck in a place like that for any length of time...no matter what either of you two did. So, if there's a way that I can keep that from happening I'm gonna try." Marcy looked like she was about to say something, but Tyger did not give her the chance to get started. "Besides that..." Tyger said with a slight grin as he turned to look at Marcy. "...if you hadn't hit me over the head with that wrench, I was going to ask you out or something after we had Dumas secured."
Both Cyndi and Marcy were stupefied at the revelation from the Clade, though it seemed that Marcy was more so. She looked down, her cheeks tainted with a sudden blush. The silence lasted for a few uncomfortable moments, with Tyger eventually breaking it. "Well...it's true...and, I guess it is a little selfish of me to think that if you were in jail, it would be difficult to..." Tyger stopped himself with a sigh. He felt that somehow he was digging himself deeper into the hole that brought him here, and that one was already too deep to climb out of easily. "Look...my personal feelings aside, I don't think either of you deserve to go to jail. I think that there is another way and that you two should take it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from it."
"What about you?" Marcy asked.
"What about me?" returned Tyger.
"You were offered this deal, and you took it...but you don't seem very happy with it." Cyndi finished Marcy's thoughts for her.
Tyger chuckled briefly. "Am I that obvious?"
"Yeah. You are." Returned Cyndi. "If you don't like it, why do you stick around?"
Tyger shrugged slightly. "Well, it should be pretty obvious. I can't just pick up and leave. They would come after me and either throw me in prison or blow me away. Neither option really sits too well with me no matter which way y'look at it, y'know?"
"Well," Marcy said, "it seems to me that you don't like working for X.S.W.A.T. a whole lot."
"It has its moments." Tyger answered. "They put a lot of restrictions on me. I'm a pilot, it's what I do...and I just can't do it as much as I like. There are other things too, mostly regs that I can't stand, paperwork and the like. I just don't have the freedom that I prefer. Too many rules and shit."
"So, if you don't like it, why would you suggest joining X.S.W.A.T. to us? After all, you don't seem happy with it, so what makes you think that we would? Are you just assuming that misery loves company?" Marcy returned.
Tyger took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. "No. The reason why I would suggest it is because, I guess, I see something in the both of you. Neither of you are criminals per se. You just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and you were doing what you were told. That doesn't make you evil, cruel and most defiantly not deserving of prison time."
"You already said that." Cyndi frowned as she folded her arms over her chest. "But just because you think we may not deserve prison time doesn't necessarily mean we want to join X.S.W.A.T. either, especially since you don't seem to like it."
Tyger shrugged his shoulders just slightly. "I don't particularly like X.S.W.A.T., but I don't dislike it either. I guess, well, despite everything that I have done, everything that I have lost or had taken away from me, X.S.W.A.T. has at least given something back. Sure, I may not be able to do what I want, when I want to do it, but at least I get to play with some top of the line equipment." He paused for a moment and released a light chuckle. "I guess...despite it all, I kinda do like it. I mean...it's not like I haven't had the opportunity to just run off at any given moment in the past."
"And yet, you're still with them." Marcy mused with a slight smile.
"And yet I'm still with them, yes." Tyger nodded.
"How about this then," Marcy began. "If you stick it out, don't run off, quit or whatever it is you intended on doing, we will talk to whoever you need us to talk to and try to join X.S.W.A.T., I don't want to go in on this alone, and if we're gonna sign up, you'd better believe we aren't doing it alone."
"Alright." Tyger nodded. "That sounds fair enough." Tyger offered his hand to Marcy with a slight smile. "So we have a deal then. I stick around and you join up with me. I cant guarantee that we will be at the same precinct, much less the same unit. But you will be able to find me at any time."
"Yeah," Marcy said, taking Tyger's hand with a smile. "We have a deal." She looked over to Cyndi.
"Sounds good to me." Cyndi said with a nod.
Tyger then reached over to the small desk that was beside Marcy's bed and fished around for a few moments until he found a note and a pen. After writing a few things down, he then placed the note pad on the desk and stood up slowly, cracking his neck as he did so. "There's all of Alice Cadbury's contact information. I don't want to speak for her and say that you can contact her any time, but if you set up an appointment with her, I'm sure that she will be more than happy to speak with you both." He then started to turn to leave, but stopped himself and wrote something else onto the notepad and smiled a bit to Marcy. "Give me a call sometime." He then looked over to Cyndi and offered her his hand. "I want to thank you for giving me a chance...despite what happened earlier. Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Cyndi said, taking Tyger's hand firmly.
"Marcy," Tyger said, as he turned to her. "I really do hate to cut my visit short, but you have to get your rest, and I have a lot of things to do. I appreciate you listening to me and hearing me out as well. Thanks."
"I'll walk you out." Cyndi offered. "We may have forgiven you for what happened, and we may have an understanding with each other, but that doesn't mean that those guys outside know about it and will accept it anyway."
Both Tyger and Cyndi left Marcy in her room then. Tyger shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked a little taller then; Cyndi was at his side playing crowd control again. Neither of them said anything to each other for a while, though Cyndi was spending most of her time reassuring that Tyger was still not a threat, and that everything was just fine. Though many of the individuals there did not seem to accept the idea, they did nothing except give Tyger some nasty looks from time to time.
"So..." Tyger began once they were both at the elevators. "What kind of flowers does Marcy like?"
"What?" Cyndi looked at him with a confused expression. "What makes you think I would know that?"
"Well..." Tyger shrugged his shoulders with a slight hint of a smile. "You two are friends, right?"
"Yeah, we are. But we ain't like that." Cyndi returned. She seemed insulted at the question, but there was something in her tone of voice that stated that she was giving the Clade a good ribbing. "Sorry to disappoint you there."
Tyger blinked a couple of times, at first thinking that he had, indeed upset her. "That's not what I meant. I mean, if you two are best friends, and you both seem to be...I figured that you would know what kinda flowers she liked. That's all."
"Well, that's just something you're going to have to figure out on your own, now isn't it?" Cyndi said with a mirthful smile.
Tyger only shook his head. "Well, I guess I'm not going to get any help from her friends." He shrugged slightly and keyed the elevator. He turned to look back at Cyndi and smirked. "I guess it was worth a shot at least."
Cyndi only smiled with her hands behind her back; somehow, this gave the impression to Tyger that she was enjoying the little mind game.
"Alright. Fine. Be that way." Tyger chuckled as he stepped into the elevator. He turned around then, and as the doors closed he simply smirked. "I promise I'll do my best to stick it out. I wont let you down...neither of you."
The elevator door ended their conversation, but defiantly not Tyger's thoughts or machinations. When the doors to the elevator closed, Tyger immediately activated his data-band and began a quick search over the Net. He knew what he was doing was not going to be cheap, but he didn't care. It was totally worth it in his mind. He only hoped that Marcy liked roses.