first stab; video

[animator]

[Really, at first, Anita looks nothing short of irate, sitting in front of the camera with her arms crossed. She's already heard every possible explanation from the folks at the hospital, and while she's done her best to take it with a grain of salt, she's not pleased. It's difficult to wrap her head around, honestly, and that's saying something, considering what she does for a living and how often she spends her time ass-deep in myths and legends. All sorts of things that people once thought were fictional but were, in truth, real.

This is just a twist she had never expected.]

The funny thing is that this is only bordering on the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me.

[She's certainly seen worse. Nobody is trying to chain her to a bed and slice her up, so, you know, that's a definite plus.]

I'm sure plenty of other people have shown up and started talking about how this just can't be true, so I'm going to skip that part for now and worry about finding out more about this place. I'll assume we're not looking at an island full of humans, given the circumstances. There's nothing wrong with that, but humor me. I'm curious. Are the police any good, or is it all Gangs of New York up in here?

Comments

[animator]

[She watches the display with interest, grinning once the paper target is reduced to nothing more than itty-bitty confetti flakes.]

Show-off. Nice shootin', Tex.

[mindoirsurvivor]

I've always been competitive.

[He ejects a corrugated black-cylider from his gun, still hissing, elements on it glowing orange with heat, and sockets another; then hits a pair of thumb-keys on the back of his pistol, re-engaging the safety and turning off the biometric scanner. He turns the gun in his hand and offers it to Anita.]

Want to give it a shot?

[animator]

That makes two of us.

[She raises an eyebrow as he does the exchange, gamely accepting the firearm from him and testing the weight of it.]

Thought you'd never ask. Let's see, here.

[Ready, aim, fire.

Wow.]

You have great toys.

[mindoirsurvivor]

M6 Carnifex. Accelerates a third of a gram of tungsten steel to a little over Mach 5. I'm still getting used to the notion that the size of a bullet actually makes a difference to people around here.

[He shrugs after a moment.]

Wish I could equip the whole department with them, but this isn't the official department sidearm -- it's mine from back home.

[animator]

Getting your hands on more of them is pretty much out of the question, in that case. Still, it's an impressive piece of work.

[She hands the firearm back to him, then lifts the Browning again, looking at it rather fondly.]

I have plenty of other weapons at home, but this has always been my standby. I've sworn by it for years. I usually keep a 9mm Firestar on my person, too, and I'd feel better if I had my knives here, but if I could only arrive with one weapon, I'm glad I got the Browning.

[mindoirsurvivor]

I know how you feel.

[He holsters the Carnifex.]

All right. You check out. Unfortunately, I've got no excuses left -- next comes the paperwork.

[animator]

[She makes a great show of withholding a sigh, giving him a clearly theatrical but still-pleading look.]

I was kind of hoping you'd have forgotten about that part.