Vests and whiskey.

William Curtis. 30. Hacker and armory engineer for the Resistance.

[xbamfbi]

“If you stare any longer I’ll take your eyeballs out.” She said it quietly, almost as if she was bored. “Anyway, you hit your head. It was pretty funny actually.” Before he had woken up, she had checked his pocket for money or valuables. If it had been up to her, she would have vacated the area before he woke up but here they were.

[williamcurtis]

“Good for you,” William grunted when slowly sitting up. “Happy to provide humor to the people-... by getting hit in the head with a lamp...I’d to it all over again-...” 

William’s sarcastic words spun around in his head just like everything else. Once the room stopped spinning, he wasn’t sure if he’d spoken those words or not. “What are you doing here?” William suddenly asked looking suspiciously up at her. Not really wanting to know why she was there however, he kept speaking. “Did you see the size of that guy? And that lamp? What was he-...? Never mind, I don’t want to know.” Grasping at his pockets, he felt the stethoscope still being there. It was a homemade one, looking almost like normal ear-speakers. Good, he needed that for his mission. He’d sought the master bedroom on the third floor for one reason: to hack into a safe, and it was behind Bambi to the right. As long as she didn’t give him any trouble... 

William could open safes, and he could go unseen through a crowd and get on his way to the third floor. He wasn’t sure about this obstacle though.  

[xbamfbi]

You passed out a few minutes ago.

Kind of hit your head on the way down.

[williamcurtis]

The sound of her shoes and voice woke him up. Staring at the female’s thighs and hips, and belly and breasts, William analyzed the person: her size, the color of her clothes, any eventual weapons...or what did you think he was doing? She was fit, he had to admit that. A thief or dancer? William’s disoriented mind thought. He was oblivious about the fact that it was Bambi, the woman he had a rough past with, until his eyes opened wide. “Oh, fuck,” He thought in alarm, however, remembering that he had nothing for her to take anymore, he just kept still. “Ow,” he said nonchalantly, and grimaced as the rest of his senses came back, and he could feel the pain in the back of his head. 

[arinmelnikov]

     Before the brunet Arin had been talking to had time to answer, he was approached by three men, the first of which blowing smoke in his face. The black-haired Lost Boy remained in place, watching, but when silence stretched on and nothing was said, leaving the air heavy and uncomfortable, he couldn’t help himself.    “All of you against one?”

   “What are ya – three halves of a whole pussy?”      Arin’s big mouth had gotten him in trouble plenty of times in the past, but he wasn’t one to turn down a fight; if that was how this ended, he wouldn’t mind all that much. At least it’d give him some action. It wasn’t really his business, but insulting people was one of his favorite things to do, and he wasn’t about to let as good an occasion as this slip through his fingers.

[williamcurtis]

The shabby man with a brown beard, and nasty looking eyes inhaled from his smoke when measuring the interrupting boy. A creepy smile formed with his rusty reply; “What about three against the two of you?” The smelly man made William look away again with his taunting glance; “Fair enough?” and knowing William wouldn’t fight, he looked forward to bash the rude kid’s face in. Bernard, which was his name, knew "admiral eyebrows” wouldn’t fight because he knew him from their teens. Bernard reveled at how uncomfortable he made William feel. William wasn’t sure what to do. Usually when he opened his mouth, the wish people had to punch him grew stronger. He hadn’t come there to fight, nor settle things with old enemies. He’d been given orders, and he wanted to follow them, but Bernard could deserve a punch or two. William was sure the young man could take Bernard down if his looks didn’t deceive him: he had a strong jaw, quick mind, a heavy building, and by the look of his knuckles and clothing, he was used to both violence and hardship. If William wasn’t mistaken, he probably used dirty tricks as well- good.

However, the calculating wasn’t over; William saw Bernard’s perks as well. The guy seemed to still be high on himself like before, and he was drunk- similar to the other two. It would give them a few advantages. The hacker wondered if the dark haired youngster could actually take down two of them since they were all worn down, poor men from Avalon, frustrated with the world, who needed someone else to punch in order to make them feel better. Wait...Did that mean William was obliged to take the third? Giving it all a second thought, he would rather stay out of it. However if receiving a beating from one of them would give him the chance to witness Bernard getting a real thrashing, it was tempting. 

[arinmelnikov]

  “Know’s a strong word,” Arin replied, clinking the nail of his index finger against the top of his beer can, “but I’ve seen some of ‘em around.”

[williamcurtis]

William had been keeping his gaze on the ground to avoid a certain person’s attention while listening to Arin’s interesting reply. As the unwanted shabby older man stopped in front of William, he was forced to look at him. He was accompanied by two other men who luckily didn’t have a past with the hacker. As a thick cloud of smoke hit the hacker’s face, he looked away in annoyed defeat. It was clear the smoker was not welcomed in the taller man’s presence. The smoking man said nothing, only stared at the uncomfortable hacker, who also said nothing. William was supposed to keep guard, he couldn’t just leave, but oh- how he wanted to.

[arinmelnikov]

   “’F you’re a dealer, I’m Miss fuckin’ Avalon,” Arin retorted, a quiet huff of laughter made visible by the plume of smoke that shot out between his lips. “But it’s whatever. I don’t care who y’are.”

[williamcurtis]

William huffed a chuckle as well, and was relieved by the man’s lack of interest in him. “Do you know anyone here?” William asked before giving their surroundings a few glances- as he’d been doing earlier on. 

The hacker had been observing people circulating in and out of the club, however he let some skip past as if they weren’t existing, having already made up his mind about them. By the swinging door one could hear the beating music from inside. They both knew none of them were anywhere near a Miss, or Mister, Avalon, being where they were at. 

[arinmelnikov]

   “Nope.” Arin took another drag from the menthol cigarette, studying the man opposite him. “You waitin’ for somebody, or…” He paused, gesturing towards the door as he clarified, “fuck you standin’ out here for?” The brunet didn’t look like he was having a particularly good time, nor did he seem intoxicated in the least, his expression blank and sober.

[williamcurtis]

William replied with a friendly quip; “I’m a cigarette dealer. Not doing a very good job it seems...” He did not want to share his true purpose for being there as it was for the Resistance.

They hadn’t given him permission to talk to anybody, and he’d done that job very well until now. The hacker was bored of his current life, and missed the casual silliness of the Killjoys- ironically. 

[arinmelnikov]

     Arin lifted the beer he’d brought outside to his lips, taking a large swallow. It tasted nasty combined with the menthol cigarette, and did nothing to wipe away the taste – like he’d hoped.

[williamcurtis]

William had noticed what the young man had tried to do, and asked “Did it help?” He found the man’s attempt funny, however hiding it behind his blank stone mask, William would rather feel guilty than amused. 

[arinmelnikov]

     Arin offered a gruff word of thanks to the person who had bummed him a cigarette, staying beside them as he lit it and inhaled.

   “Ugh–” He was surprised to feel a cool sensation numbing his mouth, and shook his head in disapproval, frowning as he exhaled. “Fucking menthols.”

[williamcurtis]

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

William replied feeling uncomfortable where he was. He’d carried the pack of smokes for someone in the Resistance, and knew he wouldn’t miss it- being dead and all.  

[februaryhendrix]

“Well, William, it was nice to meet you,” February said, she scanned the street, realizing she still had a lot of people to see and a lot of things to do before heading back to the Bunker. “I’ve got to see about that pair of shoes now. See you around?” she asked before she faded back into the city streets.

[williamcurtis]

“Nice...meeting you too,” William replied hesitantly, though polite with a nod of his head. He started to get weary of it all, and backed still looking at her walking away. 

[williamcurtis]

Leave out all the rest ~ William + Laina~

[williamcurtis]

killjoylaina:

“We miss you, too.” she said. She beared a smile at the thought of Will missing them as much as she missed him, but she was weary to it. Very few emotions had ever been expressed to her - the man usually stoic, or panicked, or ominous. The only time she could think he’d been anything else was far too late into the night for control over his collected image, and once when he’d been too drunk to realize. While Laina was fond of those memories, they stuck out only because his behaviour was so abnormal from what she knew him to be. She wondered if he’d changed that much in the short time since he’s left.

Laina was impressed at the announcement. “How did you manage that?” She wondered, grinning at Will. She had no doubts of William - genius was a word she used heavily to describe him - and only expected that he’d be considered The Resistance’s finest soon enough. Laina’s hoodlum status was only new to her, and she wasn’t nearly where she wanted to be in terms of a social standing among the Killjoys. Will had been in delinquency for what must’ve felt like centuries, their experience held no contest in comparison. One of the lucky ones, her brother would tell her. Lived fast to die old  - something he once expressed he wanted for her. She wondered if he still did. She wondered if Will was glad he lived so much longer than would be expected for her.

“I didn’t, the awesome Resistance did,” William smiled while lifting his hands defensively. “I just do what they tell me...” 

William was William after all, hiding behind his accomplishments. What he said wasn’t too far from the truth though: They gave him what he needed, and told him what to do, but in the end it was the hacker who made it happen. The increasing number of rebels got better and better armory thanks to him and a few others. William still didn’t believe he’d see the end of it though. 

The hatred William felt towards the Government, and the knowledge he had about them made it easy for the Resistance to persuade the hacker into working for them. What else could he do? He couldn’t fight, that was proven repeatedly. He couldn’t go undercover anymore, and he couldn’t socialize or lead. He stayed inside working most of the time.

[williamcurtis]

februaryhendrix:

February sighed in relief. “Good.” She didn’t think she could bear being mistaken for twenty-nine years old.

“Uh, nowhere,” February answered. She racked her brain for a non-gang-related reason to be in the city. “Just out and about. I was thinking about buying a new pair of shoes at a store.”

For a short moment a heavy hearted recognition passed William’s eyes. He lowered his gaze however, and blinked with an approving nod. Smiling   cheerfully he looked back up at her, and wished her well even if she was a civilian or rebel. He was also reminded that he shouldn’t be talking to her. He should be hiding inside. 

[williamcurtis]

Leave out all the rest ~ William + Laina~

[williamcurtis]

killjoylaina:

A memory of what the station had formerly been made Laina flush with happiness when she saw the man. Under the blue glow of artificial light, Laina and Will had spoken about the government and plans for the future over a metal bracelet. That was the first real conversation they had. Admittedly, she didn’t remember speaking of ever leaving the gang, which may have been a truancy influenced by her own ideals. To Laina, comfort and safety was easy. She had to force herself into bravery and change, which she didn’t like to consider a dominant trait in herself, no matter how much it definitely was. Though she wasn’t naive or indenial, and knew the fate of any member lucky enough to live past twenty-nine - they were deemed unfit, and their time as a Killjoy was proven ephemeral.

Laina’s grandmother used to always remind her of how different she looked at their different visits. ‘A beautiful girl growing into a beautiful woman’ were words often tossed on the subject, but it’s always made her feel awkward in her skin. She wondered what her grandmother would say if she could see her now. “I was just visiting and I thought I’d see if I couldn’t find you.” Laina explained, grinning at the hacker. Something about the way he carried himself made her think that he had changed as well. The usually stoic hacker carried a smile that seemed unusual yet charming on him. “I felt like it had been a while.” she admitted with a nonchalant shrug, though in reality it felt like it had been years since she last saw Will. 

William chuckled, but only softly as the melancholic state still gripped at him. “It makes me glad to see you,” he smiled, and continued with something no one ever thought the hacker would say; “I’m starting to miss you guys.” It was an understatement though- William missed them a lot, and had done so for a while. 

Putting the bat down by the half empty potato bag filled with baseballs, William hoped the anger wouldn’t stay for much longer now that Laina was there. He was tired of pretending and suppressing, but of course he would do it for her. Even though it was easier to accept Laina as a real outlaw now, a real Killjoy, he still wanted to protect her from the darkness of being one. He used the joy of seeing her as a kick starter to keep his mood up. “So what do you want?” he teased; “I’ve got the finest weapons and armory you can get in the BC slum...” 

What Laina probably didn’t know was that William hadn’t just become the Resistance’s new hacker, he was also a weapon and armor engineer. He created armor like before, only this time he had more access to stuff he needed, and the pressure to produce more. Bombs, fire weapons, and mines were some of his work too, as well as traps and computer viruses. The people he worked with were quite the hot heads, and they pulled his strings and pushed his limits more than he could handle. The roof, and the baseball was what he used to breathe and relax. The drugs kept him from losing it completely. 

[williamcurtis]

Leave out all the rest ~ William + Laina~

[williamcurtis]

killjoylaina:

For those who believe in resurrection death has no fallout. Instead it represents a second chance and a new beginning. The idea of resurrection is so seductive that people forget that in order to raise from the ruins you have to spend some time in them first. Not believing in resurrection is a funny concept, because all of our stories are that of death and resurrection. Of underdogs and happy almost-endings. Stories she’d been told to put her to sleep as a child represented a phenomenon as real as the recent events Laina had witnessed. Soon-to-be-eighteen-year-old Laina was at a phase in her life other girls her age typically didn’t experience. Only two years after abandoning her home to be with her brother, Jared had decided to abandon the Killjoys and fight the good fight directly from Battery City. She now had to choose between independence or cowardice - options that could build her upwards or destroy her completely. She was in the ruins of her resurrection and she knew it - she could feel the new beginning creeping up on her like seasons passing. Subtly and surely. 

Laina had very little experience in terms of self-reliance, and without her parents, her brother, and friends she’d made in the past she felt ready to burst. A new beginning was all she needed, though she didn’t know where to start. In the rubble of her resurrection she sought out an old friend for one last time before she went back to the killjoys, this time as only one person instead of as an addition to another. While searching the base of the resistance, she only got lost once or twice. A few other members of the resistance told her she could find the hacker atop of the roof, so upwards she went and surely he was there. She opened the rooftop doorway to peek outside. “Will?” She called, stepping on to the tall platform of the shelter. She could hear the thud of something hitting some smaller thing, followed by the fading ‘whoosh’ of flight. It sounded like someone playing baseball, but to Laina it just sounded like someone playing. A sound she hadn’t truly heard since the era of her misconduct had started. It brought a smile to her lips as she stepped around and found that Will was the source of those sounds. “Will.” She called again for his attention.

“Laina. I thought my ears were messing with me.” 

William smiled the moment he saw the blonde girl who matched the young voice he’d heard. It had pulled him out of his ruminative state, and lowering the bat to rest next to his side as an extension of his arm, he looked at her in the cool night. How peculiar it was, having her show up now. Even though he could see she’d been through some stuff since last time, and even though she seemed alright, he wanted to be sure when asking happily; “What are you doing here?” He was glad to see her. She was a memory from the station, and the future. 

Revealing these true emotions so suddenly proved that William had changed too- however not every change had been a good one. He had just stopped using medication for the stab wound, and he no longer needed bandage, but the scar still stung. Unfortunately the hacker had been using so much drugs to avoid the pain that he’d become addicted. Whiskey did nothing for him now. The drugs made him more human though, and more relaxed, but it dulled other traits he'd had: like caution, and the last bit of serenity was gone.  

[afra-lost-deactivated20160327]

(Past)

[williamcurtis]

afra-lost:

“Afra.” She introduced, “Don’t mention it.” She said, pushing up to her feet to stand. She held out in her hand in case the man needed help to raise himself. She figured she shouldn’t leave until she was sure his legs had been repaired properly enough for him to make it home. “You should put ice on it when you get home. It reduces swelling, and if it doesn’t swell out again you wont have that problem again, you know.” She was confident he’d be alright. She held a lot of pride in all that her family had taught her before she joined The Lost Boys. 

“Nice to meet you, Afra. I’m very glad you helped me. I’d like to sit for a while, if you don’t mind.” The hacker was afraid of moving just yet, and needed some time to regain his thoughts about how to get back to the station. If the ones he’d traveled with didn’t come back this way soon, he’d be screwed. William rarely had to return to the station by himself when not in civilian disguise. As it happened however, he’d either been attacked or abducted. It was just William’s luck. Most of his cars had been stolen as well. Somehow the hacker was still alive, and often he wondered why. Maybe there was a God who let him live only to punish him for being gay. The tall hacker left that idea quickly as it would mean the Government would be right. He hoped he hadn’t done anything wrong by loving the opposite sex though- it had only caused him heartache and trouble anyway- and a feeling which could never be returned.  

[williamcurtis]

chaolvaldez:

Agents never seemed to look up, something Chaol used to his advantage when he jumped from where he climbed, effectively knocking his natural enemy to the ground. Her head hit the asphalt and she was out, expression lax and completely prone. It was a time race from there, the Lost Boy understanding that made for her weapons and her gear. There was a tiny medkit on her utility belt, her stungun and standard issued weapons finding their way into Chaol’s loving arms. He dragged her body and threw it in a dumpster before setting off again. He shot two of them on his way back to William but didn’t bother to take their weapons or gear, Chaol was just one man and he had another to carry. 

He could only take so much. Ten minutes or so had passed since he’d left the man’s side and when he returned, he did not wait a second longer, setting in to take care of the wound. “You still here?”

“...” What woke the earlier unconscious hacker was the sound of someone entering. Fear of who it might be made him lift his drowsy gaze. He wasn’t dead yet it seemed, and he grimaced in dismay. More pain, he thought, but seeing it was Chaol, he sighed- not sure if he was relieved or annoyed. 

As the younger male insisted on touching him again, he whimpered through closed lips while grabbing Chaol’s hands weakly in protest. “Don’t,” William said, barely able to speak; “Please...” He knew the dark curly haired young man was a good rebel with a diligent heart, but William felt both unworthy of his help, and ashamed. 

[williamcurtis]

Leave out all the rest ~ William + Laina~

At this point, William didn’t care if he hit an old lady in the head. Nor did he care should the baseballs he whacked several blocks away hit a puppy, or a smoking bandit- alright, so he did try to aim for the most unlikely spot, but he was still rather angry. On this roof, he could whack out his frustration, anger, sadness and guilt without anyone watching. His emotions were hurled across the air as the former Killjoy swung the bat almost perfectly. The bag of baseballs next to him had helped the former baseball player improve his rusty skills with each swing, and now it laid half empty. He’d lost the professional way of swinging in exchange to a more barbaric one, but he didn’t care. William watched the white balls of frustration disappeared into the starlit sky while thinking all sorts of things.

The bashful hacker felt he’d disappointed everyone. Eleven years out in the war, and what had he accomplished? His former gang had no leader anymore, and now he couldn’t be there to protect the ones he’d started to care for. His family was still under the Government, and he had lost track of them when the Resistance kept pressing him to do their will. It bored him, frightened him, and killed him mentally. Even Trayson came up with better ideas than the Resistance did- at least that was a thought he liked to think.

He missed the Killjoys. He missed Garrett. He missed Laina, and Sid. Never did he think he’d be in this situation- Missing the station, and feeling miserable about fighting the Government without the Killjoys by his side.   

[williamcurtis]

mickycordoza:

“You were staring, I assumed there would be a reason.” 

It wasn’t that she cared much, but more of the fact that she was curious. Staring did seem to bother some people, but after having lived in the Lab for over two years, she was used to worse things.

“You’re in front of me...”

“And you’re a woman-...In front of me. You’re far more interesting than that dysfunctional phone booth, and you’re far more interesting than that pavement, and that bush...May I ask what you’re doing here?”