Top of the Class @judgericodredd - Tumblr Blog

Giving It Away

While his eyes went wide in surprise, Rico’s arms were quick to wrap around the psi pressed against him, hand rubbing along her spin. This was easy — to hold and soothe, pressing a couple more kisses to the crown of Anderson’s head, breathing in her scent. It was easy and warm and a return to what worked so well between them.

"Then you won’t. I have no where to be until tomorrow."

Not the complete truth — he had errands and jobs he had planned on running, but he easily dropped the responsibility for them. They could be done just as easily tomorrow.

Right now, Anderson was much more important.

#rp #judge-c-anderson #gonna have to get way more morbid to throw Rico off

His shirt would most likely wrinkle by the time she was through clutching it. All the psi static seemed to fade away for the moment. Rico’s charm somehow helped block it. Either that, or she was so focused or maybe even distracted that it was overpowered.

"I had a dream that I kissed you. Out in the open—where anyone could catch us…you were bloody, but we kissed."

Maybe it was too morbid, but she couldn’t help but confess. Odd. She had no recollection of the dream up until she felt him wrap her in his arms. Anderson’s hands slowly let go and she rubbed his back, daring to look up at the older Dredd.

judgericodredd

Rico hummed as he considered the dream she described, not seeming the least bit put off by it. In truth, the idea of being public about his exploits, for the world to know he had discovered his humanity and reveled in it, without fear of losing his badge and being thrown in a ship for Titan--

He hadn't really fantasized about such things since his younger days, but it wasn't too bad to revisit it.

"That would be nice," he mused, catching Anderson's gaze and leaning in closer. "Well, except the blood part. I would prefer to not be bleeding. Call it a preference."

"Semantics, supposed to, " Rico repeated with a roll of his eyes. Always the good clone, doing what he was told and expected to do, never dreaming of the life denied them by birth. Nevertheless he half-heartedly waved a hand. "Didn’t call you over for a debate, or to even find a way for you to understand though, so alright. Calling a truce. You don’t quote the department, I don’t poke holes in it."

He swung his legs around to sit back up, his arms braced against his thighs to lean against. Rico considered the man sitting across him, someone so alike but somewhere they had gone very separate ways. He liked to imagine that someday Joe would understand, but any real hope for that had long slipped through his fingers over the years.

But still, even when glowering and frustrated, his brother still showed up and had never betrayed him.

"Thanks, Joe."

Dredd regarded his brother quietly for a moment, nodding to signal he understood. He swung his legs back around and stood, empty glass in hand, crossing back to the kitchen to refill it one more time. Never had been a fan of much else besides coffee and water.

"You know how it is," he said, reaching to grab a second glass from the cabinet above the sink. Dredd filled it and returned to the living room, placing it down in front of his brother and wordlessly moving the bottle of liquor out of his reach. It was time for Rico to settle down and hopefully sober up a little bit; he couldn’t imagine he’d be able to get out of his next few shifts.

"Like clones."

#rp #judgedeadpan #look what you've done joe #rico is too drunk to deal with these clone/family feelings #he's got a case of the feels #he's like oh shit legit emotions oh shit make a joke #brothers and baby

Rico had snickered quietly when Joe didn't say anything at first, silently acknowledging the gratitude before he was on the move. Action was easier than words, especially the emotional types. Even when he spoke, it was vague, simply alluding to what didn't need to be said.

And it was nice. It was comfortable.

The second glass had momentarily baffled Rico until it was given to him and the booze taken away. He huffed another laugh, but it was simply a place holder, amusement not really reaching his eyes. They instead gave away his surprise and flickers of affection even he rarely let slip through.

"Right. Like clones."

He took the glass of water, tilting his head to knock back half of it before coming up for air with a sigh.

"Alright, clone-brotherly love moment over, otherwise I'm liable to get drunkenly emotional. Nobody wants to see that," Rico said jokingly. "I'll be a good boy tonight--" He raise the glass of water to specify "--and I'll see you tomorrow to make sure this doesn't happen again."

payback // closed

Rico’s advice hadn’t helped the cadet much; Dredd had a good twenty years at least on him and after a quick exchange he dropped him to the mat like he had the previous one. They were young, and most of them still growing. This one had been gangly limbs and it was easy enough to see he hadn’t completely figured them out yet.

"When you stop growing it makes it a lot easier," he rumbled quietly, leaning over with his hand extended to help him back up, "Been there. Done that."The cadet nodded and clapped his hand to Dredd’s so he could pull him up off the floor just as Rico reappeared.

This was going to be interesting.

"Been a while," he grunted, scrubbing his hair over with his hand, "Can we just agree not to send each other to the hospital in front of the cadets, Rico?"

The handful of cadets that stood between the Dredds parted quickly, and Rico could hardly help himself — he caught the gaze of one cadet that was staring and winked at them.

"Could be good first aid practice for them," he commented off-handedly as he turned his attention solely on Joe. "But I suppose I can hold back for your sake."

Once across from Joe on the mat, Rico set his feet just far apart enough to ground him, poised and ready to start at the drop of a hat.

"You never could beat me when we were in the Academy ourselves, after all."

A quiet, noncommittal grunt was Dredd’s only response; he rolled his shoulders back and stretched his neck. He could swear he could practically feel the anger roiling beneath the surface in his brother… although Rico’s body language was screaming it to him. Anyone else might not catch the difference but there was a slightly stiff edge in his movements he knew only by having seen it in himself.

This was a grudge match.

"That was twenty years ago, Rico," he deadpanned, settling into a strong stance that would give him some versatility, "And given your recent solved crime percentages I’m not so certain you’ve been keeping ahead of me as of late."

A quiet rustling whispered through the group of cadets. He’d have to remind them later that gossiping meant they weren’t paying attention to what was actually important.

"Whenever you’re ready."

#rp #judgedeadpan #let me know if you think at some point in there Joe wouldn't have acted that way #and I can edit this to fit it #rping fights is hard haha #Your turn to hurt Rico now hahahaha

"Cute," Rico replied, the slightest venom evident in his tone. If he were more honest with himself, he would know that in part his brother was right. His arrogance kept him from feeling the need to work hard to keep his skills as sharp as they had been, and all the while his lifestyle had slowly dulled them.

But he wasn't hardly that honest, even with himself.

He took a moment, plotting. While he still held the rage from the day before, his mind was much more clear, and therefor better prepared to aim it just so. Today he wouldn't get away with just running up and slugging Joe.

Finally he moved. Rico still led with fists first, wanting Joe to believe he was not as clear-headed as he was; to underestimate him. His blows were dodged, blocked, and even parried, just as he expected. The rush was thrilling -- any other opponent would have likely gone down by now, but Joe had yet to take even a single hit.

He let himself growl and grimace, throwing a sloppy punch that his clone caught in his grip with ease.

However, a smirk slipped when he used the way his body was twisted to give his knee plenty of momentum by the time it slammed into the bottom of Joe's rib cage.

Teddy and Torture ((closed))

Sorry. Didn’t want to make too much noise.

She took the helmet and frowned a little, sensing his injury, but she grabbed the dead turkey’s head and put the helmet on as instructed. It was a little loose—they guy wasn’t as big as Rico—but it would do. It was also dark. They wouldn’t be able to tell.

She then hoisted their friend up, grabbing under his arms and peeking up at Rico with shadowed eyes beneath messy blonde hair. She gave him a nod, a signal that she was about to throw their dead buddy to the wolves.

’Kay!

The guy reeked and Anderson’s nose wrinkled. She told herself this wasn’t the time. With a soft grunt, she pushed him up to lean over the top of the counter. Blood dripped from between his eyes and on to her lily white cheek. She ignored it, getting her lawgiver ready and casting a glance over at the senior Judge, crouching low to the ground. The decoy was between then, dividing the two Judges—and by Grud if things couldn’t get worse, the dead creep’s pants were beginning to fall down.

judgericodredd

Rico waited until Anderson stopped moving around, certain she had finished the task. He had shifted while she had worked, making his way down until he found the end of the counter. It would be safer to be further from the distraction.

The issue of the flare gave him pause. Ultimately he had to place his lawgiver back into its holster so he could grab the flare in his hand. The cap was removed with his teeth.

In three… two… one!

He roughly dragged the flare along the ground, the friction sparking the flare into life. In seconds he threw it in an arc towards the voices and gunshots.

Half a dozen perps in total that he could see.

Rico drew his lawgiver again and fired around the corner of the counter.

Anderson was low to the ground, but high enough to spot all the creeps. Thanks to the flare. Rico was at a disadvantage. She’d cover him. They were in this together. The Psi edged to the corner and peeked before opening fire. These guys were scattering all around the place like roaches. She brought one down with a bullet to the chest. Obviously he wasn’t the leader here. They trampled over the punk in all the chaos.

Rico, careful. Someone’s going to try and—

Bang.

So much for that creep trying to sneak up on the both of them.

Suddenly her eyes briefly dulled over and she flipped on her back, shielded by the the damaged table. There was another one, angry as Hell. While her psi-flash had warned her about the guy sneaking up on Rico, she hadn’t sensed this one coming.

What gave him away was the slow dragging of his boots and the small grunt as he raised his gun. Teddy bear stuffing was sticking to the blood saturating his skin. His weapon was aimed, but Anderson pulled the trigger first. Anderson was small, but she was fast and agile.

Three down on my end.

@judgericodredd

#rp #judge-c-anderson #the hand murderer gets a small taste of his own medicine

Glad for the cover in the seconds that passed before Rico had his lawgiver in his hand again, he leaned out to get his targets lined up. One creep's head practically burst from the bullet that sailed through it, the splattering of gore on the guy beside him distracting him to hold still long enough for another bullet to cut through his neck.

The mental warning put him further on guard, but by the time he located the surprise attack by the sound of feet behind them, Anderson had shot him down.

You focus on anyone sneaking around. You catch them faster than I do.

Most of the perps had tried to slink into the shadows at this point, leaving Rico to have to keep a careful eye out. He managed to pinpoint where most of them were hiding and was taking careful aim to shoot once they moved from their hidey-holes to fire their shots.

However, Rico picked the wrong one, and the next thing he knew, a bullet that had likely been aimed at him bounced off his lawgiver. The force of it kicked back on his palm and fingers. Nothing in his hand broke fully, but he still had to pull back behind the table, hissing out a breath as he took inventory of the injury. His hand had clenched out of instinct -- he never let his lawgiver out of his hand in a firefight -- so it took a moment to release the lawgiver and move his hand. It indeed moved, but not smoothly or quickly. It throbbed with pain. Bruised and possibly with a few hairline fractures.

Rico could pick the gun up again, but he knew his skills would be very off.

It took all he had to not growl out loud.

It is not my fucking day today.

He let out a quiet chuckle that turned into a bark of laughter. Rico really must have been drunk to offer that option to him. “You’re an ass,” he rumbled, his mood sobering quickly, “You shouldn’t toe the line so casually, Rico. We took an oath.”

The...

"Semantics, supposed to, " Rico repeated with a roll of his eyes. Always the good clone, doing what he was told and expected to do, never dreaming of the life denied them by birth. Nevertheless he half-heartedly waved a hand. "Didn't call you over for a debate, or to even find a way for you to understand though, so alright. Calling a truce. You don't quote the department, I don't poke holes in it."

He swung his legs around to sit back up, his arms braced against his thighs to lean against. Rico considered the man sitting across him, someone so alike but somewhere they had gone very separate ways. He liked to imagine that someday Joe would understand, but any real hope for that had long slipped through his fingers over the years.

But still, even when glowering and frustrated, his brother still showed up and had never betrayed him.

"Thanks, Joe."

#rp #judgedeadpan

Giving It Away

The silence was eating at Rico. He would have almost prefer she say yes, he should go, anything — the lack of a real answer left him with an itch that drove him mad.

His hand curled into a fist while he tried to convince himself to leave, but instead he walked towards her. Each step was slow and careful, ready to turn tail if she made her opinion known.

Fingers were gentle against her shoulder, barely putting any weight on her, and the kiss he planted in her hair was chaste, more about affection than anything else.

"I’ll see you on the streets, then. Don’t be a stranger, Cass."

It wasn’t her intention cause him any irritation without answering him. She chastised herself for remaining silent. So lost in her thoughts, Anderson was caught off guard by his fingers and then the tender kiss. She flinched a little at first, but then relaxed. The telepath was still confused about the Goon incident—why he had wanted her to lie so badly—that she didn’t hear him walk up behind her.

"Rico," she spoke, voice gentle and barely above a whisper.

She turned and buried her face into his chest, breathing in his familiar scent. He smelled clean. Good even. Not like her. Cass still smelled like sweat and dirt. Her hands reached around him to grab at his back, clutching his shirt.

"I don’t want to sleep alone tonight."

judgericodredd

While his eyes went wide in surprise, Rico's arms were quick to wrap around the psi pressed against him, hand rubbing along her spin. This was easy -- to hold and soothe, pressing a couple more kisses to the crown of Anderson's head, breathing in her scent. It was easy and warm and a return to what worked so well between them.

"Then you won't. I have no where to be until tomorrow."

Not the complete truth -- he had errands and jobs he had planned on running, but he easily dropped the responsibility for them. They could be done just as easily tomorrow.

Right now, Anderson was much more important.

#rp #judge-c-anderson

Brothers and Baby

Dredd nodded quietly, content to listen for the moment as he eased back into the chair to stare out the window again. “Sounds like a plan,” he replied at length, glancing to Rico.

"Of course she’s cute if she’s got our good genes."

It was a weak joke, but perhaps enough to get his brother to crack even a half smile and put the bottle down. He’d get down there sooner or later and pay a visit once the shitstorm had calmed down a bit. Kid was in for one hell of a life, that was for sure… even if Rico kept his distance eventually someone would put two and two together and try to use her as leverage. It was inevitable.

He only hoped that his brother was ready for whenever that happened.

"Can we address the elephant in the room?" he asked after a moment, finally swinging his legs up over the arm of the chair and turning to lean back, "You either gotta stop sleeping around or get that taken care of, Rico, you can’t afford a mistake like this twice. I’m not going to lie for you if this happened a second time." It’d have been harsh coming from anyone else, but Dredd was forever caught in terms of black and white; it was either right or it was wrong.

And Rico had definitely been wrong here.

"Pretty positive you can get that done in the med center at the Hall of Justice."

Rico did huff a snicker, shaking his head a bit as he did. “True. First thing anyone says about Dredds is how cute we are.”

The amused look on his face did not waver much when Joe brought up the issue of making sure another pregnancy didn’t happen. Now that the shock was gone and a plan set up, his clone brother was talking to him in a way he was pretty used to. Cut and dry, little nonsense, lines drawn in the sand, threatening to betray him if he crosses too many of them — this was normal Joe. And that was oddly comforting.

It could have also been the alcohol, but Rico wasn’t concerned either way.

"The Department’s style of birth control is to make sure you never have sex again, either with pills that make sure you never get it up again, or they just chop off the whole lot," he explained with a gesture at his crotch. "So yeah, no thanks. I’ll make an appointment with a private doctor to get the tubes tied tomorrow."

Rico relaxed back into the couch, eyeing Joe for a second before adding, “I’ll give you their number, because you should do the same, you know. As much as she may want a cousin-sister, it’s better that Vienna be the only Dredd offspring.”

He let out a quiet chuckle that turned into a bark of laughter. Rico really must have been drunk to offer that option to him. “You’re an ass,” he rumbled, his mood sobering quickly, “You shouldn’t toe the line so casually, Rico. We took an oath.”

The Department’s rules suited him just fine.

"If it makes you feel any better I’ll go with you," he added, rolling his eyes, "Doesn’t make a difference to me." It wasn’t like it mattered to him one way or another; he’d chosen his life as a Judge and it’d take nothing short of death to separate him from that. Occasionally it made him wonder where Rico’s thought process had deviated from years of Academy training.

"Can’t have you skipping out on that appointment now, can we?"

#rp #judgedeadpan #oops Rico your bitterness about the reality of why you were created is showing #also your weird form of brotherly concern #Brothers and baby

"Tell me something I don't already know about myself," Rico replied with a chuckle. He turned to simply lay out on the couch, stretching casually even as Joe spoke more seriously.

"Ah, yes, the oath. Funny they still called it that when we did it." His head tipped to the side so he could look at Joe. His voice was still amused, even though his gaze became critical. "You know, since oaths are something people choose to take, not something they're created to do without question."

Rico's fingers drummed against his stomach as he turned to look at the ceiling again.

"I don't plan on making the same mistake twice. But if it makes you feel better knowing for certain, you're welcome to come. I'll badger you into doing it too though. It's quick and easy. If you do keep the 'oath', then it wasn't necessary but wasn't a problem either. But--" He paused, then ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "We have a lot of differences, Joe, but at the end of the day we're both Dredd. Don't make my mistake. That's all I'm saying."

payback // closed

Dredd only gave his brother a flat look that clearly said cut the shit. He was onto him. Of course he had to have found him when he was trying to teach impressionable cadets. Of course. It was all he could do to not let out an exasperated sigh. One way or another Rico was going to get his fight.

His brother’s suggestion had sent the room alight, of course; any seasoned Judge could read a crowd with ease and the cadets were no exception. It was subdued as most of them attempted to hide their excitement, but there was no mistaking the quiet anticipation that had begun to build. He didn’t even need to be a PSI to see it in these ones.

This was ridiculous.

"You," he grunted, pointing at the closest cadet, "Step up." The kid looked surprised at best but managed to hold their posture as they approached. Dredd jerked his head in his brother’s direction.

"You have until he’s ready to land a hit."

Pleased, Rico commented loudly for the cadet to hear, “Good luck. My advice: don’t use any of the patterns they teach you in class. One-Two Punch works fine on perps, but Joe could dodge it in his sleep.”

And then, he unzipped his vest before actually turning to walk back to the locker room, shedding it as he went. He had even started on the main leather jacket before he was hidden from the cadets eyes behind a door.

Blood was pounding in his ears as he quickly stripped down to only his tank top and underwear, stuffing the uniform into the locker and pulling out some work out shorts to put on. For all his eagerness, smiles and jokes, the bubbling anger from the day before was starting to boil again. One punch to Joe’s smug face hadn’t been hardly satisfying enough.

And besides, where best to drag his brother out from his sphere of self-inflicted control than in front of the cadets he wanted to be such a good role model for?

A smile was plastered on his face again when he reemerged, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his neck as he approached.

Rico was beyond ready for a fight.

Rico’s advice hadn’t helped the cadet much; Dredd had a good twenty years at least on him and after a quick exchange he dropped him to the mat like he had the previous one. They were young, and most of them still growing. This one had been gangly limbs and it was easy enough to see he hadn’t completely figured them out yet.

"When you stop growing it makes it a lot easier," he rumbled quietly, leaning over with his hand extended to help him back up, "Been there. Done that."The cadet nodded and clapped his hand to Dredd’s so he could pull him up off the floor just as Rico reappeared.

This was going to be interesting.

"Been a while," he grunted, scrubbing his hair over with his hand, "Can we just agree not to send each other to the hospital in front of the cadets, Rico?"

#rp #judgedeadpan #rico stop it #that was long enough ago that you can't brag about it anymore #rico pls

The handful of cadets that stood between the Dredds parted quickly, and Rico could hardly help himself -- he caught the gaze of one cadet that was staring and winked at them.

"Could be good first aid practice for them," he commented off-handedly as he turned his attention solely on Joe. "But I suppose I can hold back for your sake."

Once across from Joe on the mat, Rico set his feet just far apart enough to ground him, poised and ready to start at the drop of a hat.

"You never could beat me when we were in the Academy ourselves, after all."

Teddy and Torture ((closed))

Underground film productions were about as common as whores on the streets of Sector 9. The trouble with them was that they were held in the darkest, dampest corners of the city that were often out of sigh and out of mind. It was only ever dumb luck or some very good tips that landed a judge at the set of one before it was packed up and already gone.

Tonight, Rico didn’t need good luck. One of his favorite snitches told him all about a snuff film being recorded in a warehouse in a less tightly packed area of his sector.

He needed the arrest and, frankly, it was one of the crimes he simply could not abide by.

So Rico had gone in, lawgiver in hand, ready to take done some creeps.

What he found was a pair of men bent over an oversized teddy bear. The stuffed animal was bound and gagged and was leaking stuffing out various holes cut and ripped and burned open. One of the men had been preening like a full-blown serial killer while cutting through the stitches holding the arm to the bear’s body one by one, taunting the inanimate toy as if it had any ability to experience anything, let alone pain and torture.

"The fuck—?"

The stupidity of it all caught him off guard for a moment, which was long enough for the spot light to be swung around and hit him on the back of his neck just under his helmet. The surprise force had him rolling forward, his mind reeling as the light bulb broke, the room went dark, shouts were raised around him and guns were being drawn.

Rico had lost the element of surprise and they had all lost their main source of light, so he was forced to stumble his way forward, feeling around for cover he could get behind. He wouldn’t be able to pull his flashlight until then, since the light would make him an easy target.

He found a counter of some sort, and was working his way behind it when one of the bullets being fired aimlessly manage to land in his shoulder. It took a lot of willpower to keep his mouth shut and slip behind the cover.

Goddamn toy torture films.

It was called a Bouncybrat.

Marketed to kids and to doubt to bring out violent tendencies. Most serial killers started with animals and this was no different. If this toy got out into the hands of spugs, it would encourage them to mutilate and lose their innocence. MC-1 had done a good job of doing it so far. The city didn’t need anymore help from these thugs.

This had all come to her in one violent flash. Not only had she picked up on the location while on routine patrol, but she had seen a Judge in trouble. Couldn’t make out who it was though. She had sped through to Sector 11’s warehouse district and entered the building quietly, lawgiver drawn.

Then someone cut out the lights. Bullets flying through the air. Pure anarchy. She ducked behind a tipped over lab table, the same they were using the doll on but had abandoned. Closing her eyes, she touched her temples.

Rico?

Right after she sensed his familiar presence, there was a dark shadow standing above her. She saw him first. Her boot dug into his groin and when he bent down to cover his injury while grunting, she pressed the barrel to his forehead, letting out a single shot that rang through the room. He slumped over her, dead.

More confusion and shouts. More bullets. She winced, pulling the dead criminal over her body as a shield. He wasn’t exactly as petite as she was, so she was covered. Then the room went a little quiet again—at least there weren’t anymore bullets. The perps were now calling the Judge out. Funny. They didn’t know there were two.

Anderson grabbed her new friend, wrapping his arms around her neck and crawled, pulling the both of them over to where she sensed Rico. The perps were too busy yelling at the Judge and themselves to hear the dragging noises. As soon as Anderson reached Rico, she covered his mouth, letting the body fall over beside her.

Rico, it’s me. Had a flash and took one of their guys out. We can use him as a decoy.

Slowly she removed her hand and leaned close, lawgiver ready in case they were discovered.

judgericodredd

"Come out, you bastard Jay!"

More insults and jibes were shouted, but Rico ignored the words and was instead trying to figure out their locations based on where the voices were coming from. The echo in the warehouse wasn’t helping, but he didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t find a way to shoot without being shot, he wouldn’t live much longer—

His entire body tensed and his lawgiver was drawn with his uninjured arm the second the hand hit his face. It was only the familiar voice in his head that kept him from pulling the trigger.

Shit, Cass, he thought, taking a deep breath through his nose and lowering his gun. Glad you’re here though.

Rico considered the limp body next to them, before nodding. He pulled off his helmet one-handed

Put this on him and lean him against the counter where they would see him. I’ll throw a flare, and when they see and start shooting him, we’ll shoot from the other side of this counter.

Sorry. Didn’t want to make too much noise.

She took the helmet and frowned a little, sensing his injury, but she grabbed the dead turkey’s head and put the helmet on as instructed. It was a little loose—they guy wasn’t as big as Rico—but it would do. It was also dark. They wouldn’t be able to tell.

She then hoisted their friend up, grabbing under his arms and peeking up at Rico with shadowed eyes beneath messy blonde hair. She gave him a nod, a signal that she was about to throw their dead buddy to the wolves.

’Kay!

The guy reeked and Anderson’s nose wrinkled. She told herself this wasn’t the time. With a soft grunt, she pushed him up to lean over the top of the counter. Blood dripped from between his eyes and on to her lily white cheek. She ignored it, getting her lawgiver ready and casting a glance over at the senior Judge, crouching low to the ground. The decoy was between then, dividing the two Judges—and by Grud if things couldn’t get worse, the dead creep’s pants were beginning to fall down.

judgericodredd

Rico waited until Anderson stopped moving around, certain she had finished the task. He had shifted while she had worked, making his way down until he found the end of the counter. It would be safer to be further from the distraction.

The issue of the flare gave him pause. Ultimately he had to place his lawgiver back into its holster so he could grab the flare in his hand. The cap was removed with his teeth.

In three... two... one!

He roughly dragged the flare along the ground, the friction sparking the flare into life. In seconds he threw it in an arc towards the voices and gunshots.

Half a dozen perps in total that he could see.

Rico drew his lawgiver again and fired around the corner of the counter.

#rp #judge-c-anderson

Giving It Away

"Not really afraid of dying. Just afraid of how I’m gonna go. I don’t want to lose my mind and wither away like the others. I can’t. I have too much work to do on the streets."

She lowered her eyes while he spoke, memorizing the pattern on the cloth that wrapped up the lukewarm ice pack. She stood suddenly, pack and cloth in hand and peered down at him.

"There’s a barrier between us now. I can feel it. Sense it."

The blonde looked away, twisted up with emotions that could be clearly read through her eyes. Cass turned and headed for her small kitchen. She put the cloth on the table and washed the ice pack before drying it and storing it back in the freezer. His nose didn’t look all that bad for someone that hadn’t gotten it immediately fixed. She was worried about the swelling, but all in all it looked alright.

judgericodredd

Rico opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him as he watched her move away from him.

So instead he got off the couch once she was in the kitchen, not entering but standing just outside it, arm braced against the door framed as he watched her.

He wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true. It was what kept him from holding her the way he wanted to.

"Well, I suppose I should go then," he said, his half-smile forced. "Thanks for the nose."

#rp #judge-c-anderson #he's like excuse me #reject me or accept me I cannot handle this non-answer #just like me agaaaaaaaaaain

She deliberately had her back facing him. Those brilliant blues were burning. Maybe a normal person would have been able to handle something like this better, but her damn emotions were working overtime.

Anderson felt everything.

If she spoke, her voice would give her away; so she bit her tongue and didn’t respond. The only acknowledgement given was a small nod. Pads of her fingers ran over the cloth on the counter.

Did he want to hold her? She couldn’t tell. He had thought about it, but was the desire really there? Cass shook her head at the thought, dazzling blonde hair spilling down her back.

judgericodredd

The silence was eating at Rico. He would have almost prefer she say yes, he should go, anything -- the lack of a real answer left him with an itch that drove him mad.

His hand curled into a fist while he tried to convince himself to leave, but instead he walked towards her. Each step was slow and careful, ready to turn tail if she made her opinion known.

Fingers were gentle against her shoulder, barely putting any weight on her, and the kiss he planted in her hair was chaste, more about affection than anything else.

"I'll see you on the streets, then. Don't be a stranger, Cass."

Giving It Away

The name of the place did sound vaguely familiar, although Rico was almost ashamed that he hadn’t ever really known much about it beyond need to know information, and that had been years ago. He hadn’t really given it a second thought since.

He didn’t know what to say about about her predicament as a mutant, not knowing anything about what that was like.

But death he knew.

"Lots of judges would be lucky to make it to forty," he mused, letting his knuckles brush along her cheek before returning to her hair. "Even if you only make it to forty, that leaves you with a good couple decades still to go. And I could just as easily be gunned down tomorrow as I could be any day between now and then. Growing old is rarely a concern when you’re a judge."

His fingers left her soft strands when she moved out of his lap, his hand moving with his arm to lay across the back of the couch. Rico considered her carefully as she spoke, and he was quiet for a moment when she was finished.

Finally, he said, “That’s good. You’re the last person I want to be afraid of me.”

#rp #judge-c-anderson #he's like no let me kiss you until you stop worrying about this stuff

"Not really afraid of dying. Just afraid of how I’m gonna go. I don’t want to lose my mind and wither away like the others. I can’t. I have too much work to do on the streets."

She lowered her eyes while he spoke, memorizing the pattern on the cloth that wrapped up the lukewarm ice pack. She stood suddenly, pack and cloth in hand and peered down at him.

"There’s a barrier between us now. I can feel it. Sense it."

The blonde looked away, twisted up with emotions that could be clearly read through her eyes. Cass turned and headed for her small kitchen. She put the cloth on the table and washed the ice pack before drying it and storing it back in the freezer. His nose didn’t look all that bad for someone that hadn’t gotten it immediately fixed. She was worried about the swelling, but all in all it looked alright.

judgericodredd

Rico opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him as he watched her move away from him.

So instead he got off the couch once she was in the kitchen, not entering but standing just outside it, arm braced against the door framed as he watched her.

He wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true. It was what kept him from holding her the way he wanted to.

"Well, I suppose I should go then," he said, his half-smile forced. "Thanks for the nose."

Teddy and Torture ((closed))

Underground film productions were about as common as whores on the streets of Sector 9. The trouble with them was that they were held in the darkest, dampest corners of the city that were often out of sigh and out of mind. It was only ever dumb luck or some very good tips that landed a judge at the set of one before it was packed up and already gone.

Tonight, Rico didn’t need good luck. One of his favorite snitches told him all about a snuff film being recorded in a warehouse in a less tightly packed area of his sector.

He needed the arrest and, frankly, it was one of the crimes he simply could not abide by.

So Rico had gone in, lawgiver in hand, ready to take done some creeps.

What he found was a pair of men bent over an oversized teddy bear. The stuffed animal was bound and gagged and was leaking stuffing out various holes cut and ripped and burned open. One of the men had been preening like a full-blown serial killer while cutting through the stitches holding the arm to the bear’s body one by one, taunting the inanimate toy as if it had any ability to experience anything, let alone pain and torture.

"The fuck—?"

The stupidity of it all caught him off guard for a moment, which was long enough for the spot light to be swung around and hit him on the back of his neck just under his helmet. The surprise force had him rolling forward, his mind reeling as the light bulb broke, the room went dark, shouts were raised around him and guns were being drawn.

Rico had lost the element of surprise and they had all lost their main source of light, so he was forced to stumble his way forward, feeling around for cover he could get behind. He wouldn’t be able to pull his flashlight until then, since the light would make him an easy target.

He found a counter of some sort, and was working his way behind it when one of the bullets being fired aimlessly manage to land in his shoulder. It took a lot of willpower to keep his mouth shut and slip behind the cover.

Goddamn toy torture films.

#rp #judge-c-anderson #he just about jumped out of his skin

It was called a Bouncybrat.

Marketed to kids and to doubt to bring out violent tendencies. Most serial killers started with animals and this was no different. If this toy got out into the hands of spugs, it would encourage them to mutilate and lose their innocence. MC-1 had done a good job of doing it so far. The city didn’t need anymore help from these thugs.

This had all come to her in one violent flash. Not only had she picked up on the location while on routine patrol, but she had seen a Judge in trouble. Couldn’t make out who it was though. She had sped through to Sector 11’s warehouse district and entered the building quietly, lawgiver drawn.

Then someone cut out the lights. Bullets flying through the air. Pure anarchy. She ducked behind a tipped over lab table, the same they were using the doll on but had abandoned. Closing her eyes, she touched her temples.

Rico?

Right after she sensed his familiar presence, there was a dark shadow standing above her. She saw him first. Her boot dug into his groin and when he bent down to cover his injury while grunting, she pressed the barrel to his forehead, letting out a single shot that rang through the room. He slumped over her, dead.

More confusion and shouts. More bullets. She winced, pulling the dead criminal over her body as a shield. He wasn’t exactly as petite as she was, so she was covered. Then the room went a little quiet again—at least there weren’t anymore bullets. The perps were now calling the Judge out. Funny. They didn’t know there were two.

Anderson grabbed her new friend, wrapping his arms around her neck and crawled, pulling the both of them over to where she sensed Rico. The perps were too busy yelling at the Judge and themselves to hear the dragging noises. As soon as Anderson reached Rico, she covered his mouth, letting the body fall over beside her.

Rico, it’s me. Had a flash and took one of their guys out. We can use him as a decoy.

Slowly she removed her hand and leaned close, lawgiver ready in case they were discovered.

judgericodredd

"Come out, you bastard Jay!"

More insults and jibes were shouted, but Rico ignored the words and was instead trying to figure out their locations based on where the voices were coming from. The echo in the warehouse wasn't helping, but he didn't have a choice. If he didn't find a way to shoot without being shot, he wouldn't live much longer--

His entire body tensed and his lawgiver was drawn with his uninjured arm the second the hand hit his face. It was only the familiar voice in his head that kept him from pulling the trigger.

Shit, Cass, he thought, taking a deep breath through his nose and lowering his gun. Glad you're here though.

Rico considered the limp body next to them, before nodding. He pulled off his helmet one-handed

Put this one him and lean him against the counter where they would see him. I'll throw a flare, and when they see and start shooting him, we'll shoot from the other side of this counter.

Brothers and Baby

He didn’t bother thinking about the details of how his brother knew how to get the kit; it was just another detail on top of a laundry list of shit that concerned him in his brother’s activities but he had never had the time to investigate.

"Alright," he replied after a moment, scratching the back of his neck, "I trust your judgement. Still wouldn’t hurt to get it done." Dredd leaned back into the chair (it was a bit too plush for his liking, he’d decided), taking a moment to drain the rest of his water in quiet.

Vienna.

He didn’t need to ask if the caretaker had checked out; certainly Rico had taken care in choosing someone to watch over his illicit offspring. From the way he’d been talking there had been a moment where he honestly thought his brother might take the easy way out and disappear into the city.

"Good choice," he rumbled, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. Really, had there been another option? A Fargo clone quitting the force would have put the Hall of Justice in shock, more than likely.

"I don’t see you forgetting this happened," he added after another moment of silence, finally meeting his brother’s eye, "Going to watch from the sidelines? Kid might appreciate having someone to look up to even if she doesn’t know the relation."

Rico snorted when Joe complimented his choice. He had no idea that it was the only real option if he didn’t want Vienna dead within a year. The Halls of Justice were the least of his problems. If Rico dropped off from his alliances in the underground, some would come to drag him back even if it meant using her as blackmail, and the others wouldn’t do anything to help him or the girl. Grud forbid his enemies find him without the protection of the department or his allies.

Besides, this was his life. He wouldn’t know what to do if he wasn’t a Judge. Probably more underground work, which would only double the likelihood that Vienna would be murdered.

His fingers twitched and he glanced at the bottle, but didn’t reach for it.

And then Joe was looking at him, eye to eye.

"I’m gonna be sending Pasternak money every couple of months," he admitted. With that he then shrugged. "Otherwise, I dunno yet. Probably safer not to, and Pasternak will do a good job, so I shouldn’t, but—"

Rico sighed.

"She’s cute as fuck, Joe," he drunkenly mumbled, as if it somehow explained the warmth he felt towards her, how no matter how much of a problem her existence was, he hadn’t wanted to let her go when he had held her.

Dredd nodded quietly, content to listen for the moment as he eased back into the chair to stare out the window again. “Sounds like a plan,” he replied at length, glancing to Rico.

"Of course she’s cute if she’s got our good genes."

It was a weak joke, but perhaps enough to get his brother to crack even a half smile and put the bottle down. He’d get down there sooner or later and pay a visit once the shitstorm had calmed down a bit. Kid was in for one hell of a life, that was for sure… even if Rico kept his distance eventually someone would put two and two together and try to use her as leverage. It was inevitable.

He only hoped that his brother was ready for whenever that happened.

"Can we address the elephant in the room?" he asked after a moment, finally swinging his legs up over the arm of the chair and turning to lean back, "You either gotta stop sleeping around or get that taken care of, Rico, you can’t afford a mistake like this twice. I’m not going to lie for you if this happened a second time." It’d have been harsh coming from anyone else, but Dredd was forever caught in terms of black and white; it was either right or it was wrong.

And Rico had definitely been wrong here.

"Pretty positive you can get that done in the med center at the Hall of Justice."

#rp #judgedeadpan #brothers and baby #Rico is finally back to his usual (drunk) self #'ah yes joe is just telling me i'm breaking rules and i shouldn't do that any more'#'threatening if this happens again'#'good ol' joe'

Rico did huff a snicker, shaking his head a bit as he did. "True. First thing anyone says about Dredds is how cute we are."

The amused look on his face did not waver much when Joe brought up the issue of making sure another pregnancy didn't happen. Now that the shock was gone and a plan set up, his clone brother was talking to him in a way he was pretty used to. Cut and dry, little nonsense, lines drawn in the sand, threatening to betray him if he crosses too many of them -- this was normal Joe. And that was oddly comforting.

It could have also been the alcohol, but Rico wasn't concerned either way.

"The Department's style of birth control is to make sure you never have sex again, either with pills that make sure you never get it up again, or they just chop off the whole lot," he explained with a gesture at his crotch. "So yeah, no thanks. I'll make an appointment with a private doctor to get the tubes tied tomorrow."

Rico relaxed back into the couch, eyeing Joe for a second before adding, "I'll give you their number, because you should do the same, you know. As much as she may want a cousin-sister, it's better that Vienna be the only Dredd offspring."

payback // closed

He’d just finished dropping the first cadet onto her back on the training mat when he caught the flash of a uniform behind the group of students. Dredd’s shoulders tightened until a flicker of recognition crossed his features. The last thing he needed.

Fuck.

"Rico," he started, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "You need something? I’ve got a session to teach." He knew why he was here. There wasn’t a question about it. The cadet he’d been working with seemed to sense the change in him and pulled herself to her feet, stepping back towards her group of classmates.

If his brother was itching for a fight he’d be hard pressed to pass it off as anything else… he’d have to in order to keep the cadet’s rumor mill in check.

Rico only grinned wider.

"Didn’t mean to interrupt. It’s just been a while since I’ve sparred with someone challenging, and I was hoping you’d be available," he lied sweetly, taking off his helmet as he did so. "But I can wait. Cadets take priority."

He tore his gaze away from Joe, instead taking in the group of cadets staring between the two Dredd brothers. Unlike Joe, the Department had long stopped asking Rico to help with the Acadamy, so he didn’t get to interact with the students much.

So young and impressionable and hormonal.

"Because really, you guys don’t want to watch a couple of jerks like us spar, right?"

Dredd only gave his brother a flat look that clearly said cut the shit. He was onto him. Of course he had to have found him when he was trying to teach impressionable cadets. Of course. It was all he could do to not let out an exasperated sigh. One way or another Rico was going to get his fight.

His brother’s suggestion had sent the room alight, of course; any seasoned Judge could read a crowd with ease and the cadets were no exception. It was subdued as most of them attempted to hide their excitement, but there was no mistaking the quiet anticipation that had begun to build. He didn’t even need to be a PSI to see it in these ones.

This was ridiculous.

"You," he grunted, pointing at the closest cadet, "Step up." The kid looked surprised at best but managed to hold their posture as they approached. Dredd jerked his head in his brother’s direction.

"You have until he’s ready to land a hit."

#rp #judgedeadpan #Rico that is not a better kind of teasing of cadets #you both need to cut it out

Pleased, Rico commented loudly for the cadet to hear, "Good luck. My advice: don't use any of the patterns they teach you in class. One-Two Punch works fine on perps, but Joe could dodge it in his sleep."

And then, he unzipped his vest before actually turning to walk back to the locker room, shedding it as he went. He had even started on the main leather jacket before he was hidden from the cadets eyes behind a door.

Blood was pounding in his ears as he quickly stripped down to only his tank top and underwear, stuffing the uniform into the locker and pulling out some work out shorts to put on. For all his eagerness, smiles and jokes, the bubbling anger from the day before was starting to boil again. One punch to Joe's smug face hadn't been hardly satisfying enough.

And besides, where best to drag his brother out from his sphere of self-inflicted control than in front of the cadets he wanted to be such a good role model for?

A smile was plastered on his face again when he reemerged, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his neck as he approached.

Rico was beyond ready for a fight.

payback // closed

Dredd was never one to let his anger get in the way of his job; he’d gone home from Anderson’s after squabbling with his brother and right into his training routine. It was easy to slide back into familiar drills from years in the academy and it didn’t take long for the lingering rage to settle back out of his frame of mind. A shower and a cycle of natural sleep and he had been right as rain.

That still left the matter of Anderson and Rico, however.

He’d made plans to make it up to her later; she had a fireball temper and it was probably best to let her settle before he attempted to stumble through an apology. She hadn’t deserved to get dragged in the middle of his… familial problems.

Today was his monthly lecture at the Academy; it’d gone off without a hitch per usual (most cadets were either too in awe or too terrified to goof off in his class). He’d taken the opportunity while he was in the Hall of Justice to go through the rounds in the training room and work off a bit of extra steam. A couple of cadets had caught him in the locker room as he was stripping into shorts and a tank and had expressed interest in catching him for a spar.

A decent chance to kill two birds with one stone.

Originally Rico was going to give Stevensburg a couple more days before he shook him down, but the jog down Anderson’s building had hardly helped him much. It was only a couple of punches to his stomach, threats of death hurled into his face, and a dislocated shoulder, but Rico did leave with his shoulders feeling a little lighter.

A couple drinks, a visit to one of his new favorite boy toys, and a night’s rest had him relaxed again.

Rico had thought he was completely over the incident as he walked through the Halls of Justice. He had a couple reports to turn in, and then he would be back to work—

"Excuse me, Judge Dredd?" A pair of cadets were staring at him, wearing expressions of awe. Rico could hardly hold back a sigh. Joe’s fanclub. Just want he needed. "I— well, we, just wanted to say that your lecture today was very informative, so thank you."

Today. Rico glanced at the time, and then grinned. His brother was likely still somewhere around the building.

"Oh, um, sorry, do we have the wrong—"

"Yep, wrong Dredd. Smile always gives me away. But you just reminded me that he and I have an appointment, so thank you."

The stunned cadets were left in his wake as Rico began to hunt. It took mere seconds to confirm that Joe had not hit the streets yet, and his lecture would have been out for a while. That left the training and locker rooms.

The crowd of cadets he spotted when he peeked his head into the locker room was all he needed to begin humming and strolling his way down to the aisle of lockers they were all standing by. When one of the younger cadets noticed him moving to stand behind the group and saw his badge, the poor thing practically squeaked.

"Guess that means I have to wait my turn," he practically singsonged, towering from behind teenagers with a predatory look.

He’d just finished dropping the first cadet onto her back on the training mat when he caught the flash of a uniform behind the group of students. Dredd’s shoulders tightened until a flicker of recognition crossed his features. The last thing he needed.

Fuck.

"Rico," he started, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "You need something? I’ve got a session to teach." He knew why he was here. There wasn’t a question about it. The cadet he’d been working with seemed to sense the change in him and pulled herself to her feet, stepping back towards her group of classmates.

If his brother was itching for a fight he’d be hard pressed to pass it off as anything else… he’d have to in order to keep the cadet’s rumor mill in check.

#rp #judgedeadpan #like a cat toying with its prey #oh no it's ok you don't have to spar with me now #I'll just hang out #go a few rounds with the punching bag #because i mean these kids don't want to watch the fight of a lifetime

Rico only grinned wider.

"Didn't mean to interrupt. It's just been a while since I've sparred with someone challenging, and I was hoping you'd be available," he lied sweetly, taking off his helmet as he did so. "But I can wait. Cadets take priority."

He tore his gaze away from Joe, instead taking in the group of cadets staring between the two Dredd brothers. Unlike Joe, the Department had long stopped asking Rico to help with the Acadamy, so he didn't get to interact with the students much.

So young and impressionable and hormonal.

"Because really, you guys don't want to watch a couple of jerks like us spar, right?"

Giving It Away

Rico paused for a while, weighing how much to let on and how much to keep to himself. After what happened with Goon, he knew he should keep tighter wraps on himself, but he also wanted her to trust him. He had always found that admitting a few things that weren’t all that dangerous helped with that.

And she had used his first name. He had not reacted, didn’t want to point it out, but it assured him they were on the right path.

So finally he replied, “Yeah, I’ve had a record for a while now. After leaving the Academy, I figured out that following the rules given to us don’t always result in justice. Slipped up a few times with the Halls finding out when I was younger. The gossip has never died down since.”

His fingers threaded through her hair, careful if they hit even the slightest snag.

"I appreciate your discretion for now. I hope that over time though I’ll be able to let you in more."

"What does being a Psi have to do with death?"