The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
"Strawberry or strawberries." Jacen repeated just for confirmation. There was no way he was going to be so strict as to hold Lee to not being able to use the plural of the word since it often fit into conversation far better than its singular counter part. Glancing over at Tarin, it didn't take a genius to read the other man's expression. He was still upset about Lee going in like this but he was doing his best to hold it in and be supportive. Without even realizing it, the man was deffinately gaining more respect in Jacen's mind.
"There's a cab outside waiting for you Lee." Jacen said quietly as he turned his attention back over to the woman. There was no question about why he had been attracted to her that first time in the park and even though she was already taken, he still couldn't believe he was asking her to go into a situation like this. Sure it was old fashioned, but it was just something about how he had been raised. This was man's works and it was never fun to involve a lady. "Tarin and I will take the car. We'll be right behind you. The receivers have a range of 2,000 feet so we're going to be able to hear anything you say. Alright?"
***
A few minutes later Jacen found himself driving the car with a very concerned Tarin sitting right next to him. "She's going to be fine Tarin." Jacen said quietly as he kept his eyes fastened on the road instead of looking over at his passenger, "If things start going in a way you don't like, we'll pull her out. You're in charge."
Jacen wasn't sure if that was really the best choice but he knew that he had to give Tarin something. The other man was allowing his wife to risk her life in order to help Jacen and not even that, he knew Lee far better than Jacen did. Tarin would make the call if it came down to it.
***
The bar was packed as Jacen and Tarin made their way through the door in the same direction that Lee had already taken. Along with the stereotypical teenager girl band followers there were also plenty of young men and slightly more hard core drinkers spread out. The bar itself was full and every table near the stage contained packs of giggling females. A few booths along the edge of the room were still vacant but Jacen really didn't want to sit down although he had to admit standing might look a little suspicious.
"There's a table in the back corner." Jacen murmured to Tarin, giving the man a quick nod in the direction of the darkened table, "We should be able to have a pretty clear view from there unless you want to get closer."
Why the hell was his apartment shaking? Who had ever heard of an earth quake in New York City? Earth quakes hapened over on the west coast. That was one of the reasons Jacen didn't live there. New York suffered from floods, fires, and other natural phenomena but now earth quakes. What the hell was going on?
A woman's voice... what was she yelling for? Was she trapped because of the earth quake? Why could he move? Was he trapped? She was screaming so why couldn't he go help her? His mind was moving in slow motion and it felt like someone had attached fifteen or twenty pound weight to his eye lids. What was going on? Why were their birds chirping in his apartment? He had never heard birds like that in New York City.
"Kealey..." Jacen moaned, his eyes slowly blinking open as everything suddenly came crashing back in on him. Camping, night time exercise, hiking, skinny dipping, and escaped convicts suddenly replayed through his mind. For a brief moment he was reliving each situatino but then he found himself just laying with his head in Kealey's lap and a throbbing pain in the back of his neck. "Uuuh... are you... hurt?" He grunted, on hand moving up to touch the back of his head while his eyes tried to focus on Kealey's face. As always it was framed by the few strands of blond hair that had escaped her pony tail holder but Jacen couldn't recall ever seeing her look like this. Was that worry or concern he saw all over her face?
"Get out of here." Jacen muttered, his eyes never leaving Kealey's face, "Before they come back. You can't get hurt... I couldn't take you getting hurt."
It was heroic and stupid all at the same time. Jacen lay there, unsure exactly what sort of damage had really been done to his head and neck but all he could think of was getting Kealey to safety. And speaking of safety... where the hell were all of those convicts? He could only remember taking out one. What had happened to the other three?
Jacen was quiet as he watched the couple apparently work out their differences. He knew at least a little bit about how Tarin was feeling since this was the exact reason he hadn't asked Kealey to come with him. There was no way he could have asked the young woman to put herself into danger like this and yet here he was askign someone else's wife if they would. It made him feel like such a heel.
"I'm sure, Tarin. The hard part will be pretending I like him to get him alone, but I'll be fine." Lee's voice broke through Jacen's own internal dialogue, though it didn't really pull him away from it. This area that Lee said she would struggle with would have been Kealey's strong suit. With tens of screaming teenager girls all loving Pulse, she could easily have used that emotion to act the same way. Suddenly Jacen was realizing that he might have made the wrong choice by not telling Kealey about what was going on. She was perfect for this part of the job whether he wanted to admit it or not.
"Why don't you two go get some rest. Lee, you should be able to get all the energy you need at the club. I've got to pick up a couple of things so I'll meet up with the two of you about 7:00. That should get us over to the club right as things are starting to heat up." Jacen finally spoke, rising to his feet and giving the two of them the best smile he could offer under the circumstances. "And thanks you two. I appreciate all the help."
***
At about twenty minutes until 7:00 Jacen found himself standing outside of Tarin and Lee's hotel room door and knocking to alert them of his presence. He was dressed in semi-casual club wear with black sneakers, black denim jeans, and a black and gold stylized dress shirt. The shirt fit loosely and was untucked to hide the inside the waist band holster in Jacen's back that contained his Glock 9mm. Also attached to the side of his belt was a small receiver with a wire than ran under his shirt and up over his shoulder. The ear piece to the receiver was currently hidden under his shirt but was still easy access to pull out and then slip into his ear.
"Hey you two." Jacen said once the door was opened. Stepping inside he did his best not to think about how nice the two might look and instead focus on the business side of the situation.
"Tarin, this is a receive and ear piece for you." He said handing out the apropriate equipment, "Lee, this is a miniature microphone. It's up to you on where you conceal it."
The microphone had both a sticky tab as well as a small magnet clip. It was about half the length of a woman's hair pin and just a touch thicker. While not as good as government inteligence equipment these were the best on the consumer market. They had set Jacen back a litte over a thousand dollars but he didn't care. Getting Lori and keeping Lee safe were his two chief priorities at the moment.
"You get your choice of safe words or phrases. Pick something that would seem natural but that you won't say unless you want Tarin and myself to move in and get you out of there. Any questions?"
Beans sat in a pot by the fire and several hot dogs were scewered on forks roasting over the flames. Jacen followed orders for the food that apparently "Joe" would soon be eating. Although, it seemed like Vinnie had been gone for quite a while. Maybe one or the other had just needed a bathroom break or something like that.
"Don't let that food burn or Joe will show you the meaning of pain." Blake observed with a cruel laugh, "He doesn't like charred food."
Shooting a glare in the man's direction, Jacen remained silent as he looked back at the food. The forks that he was cooking the hot dogs on would work as some sort of weapon though he rather doubted whether they were actuall sharp enough to pierce human skin.
The strangled female scream was so completely out of place that both of the criminals suddenly stood up to their feet. Jacen almost lept up as well, but managed to hold back as a sinking feeling suddenly descended on him. Kealey was out there and that meant... oh no.
Kyle was turning to walk in the direction of the scream when Jacen suddenly surged to his feet. All rational thought was gone when he realized that Kealey might be in danger. Grabbing hold of the man's club, Jacen held it in an iron grip as he swung his tightly closed fist into Kyle's face. One, two, three blows slammed home with all the force Jacen could muster and without a sound the man crumbled to the ground. He was just turning to spin around when a metal object slammed into the back of his neck.
***
He was on the ground... somehow he was on the ground but Jacen couldn't remember exactly how he'd gotten there. As he opened his eyes he saw two sets of legs, rather blurry looking, and dove for the nearest ones. Unfortunately they weren't real and with a growl from above the metal gun barrel descending, once again slamming into his exposed neck.
"Stay down!" Was the last thing he heard before darkness completely took over.
Jacen was silent as he watched the husband and wife begin what was probably a common argument. Obviously he completely understood where Tarin was coming from but at the same time he knew was Lee was saying. Did they even have any other option? There was no way that Jacen could ask Lee to perform this sort of mission but there was still one question that was left unanswered. "Can I even accept the help since she's offering?"
"Look you two, I'm not going to pick sides and say that either of you are wrong, but you're not." Jacen finally spoke up, "Lee, if I were in Tarin's position I'd probably be saying the same thing. He loves you and doesn't want to see you hurt and, god forbid, he doesn't want to lose you."
Standing back up, Jacen walked over to Tarin and placed a hand on the man's shoulder while looking into his eyes, "But I can't tell you Lee's wrong either. She has the power to defend herself, you've told me so, and for the life of me I can't think of a better option. The women that Pulse has killed have been unsuspecting while Lee would be going in prepared with the two of us as back up."
Dropping his hand, Jacen stepped away, giving the couple clear line of sight to continue their conversation, argument. "Lee, I appreciate the offer but I don't want you doing this if Tarin's not supporting you. This is gonna be hard enough as it is, if you're distracted, it may be even more dangerous."
The hike had not been overly difficult to make going from the camp up to the lake but Jacen was finding it much harder to go from the lake back to the camp. Maybe it was the gun barrel that kept getting jabbed in his kidneys or maybe it was the face that with every step he was getting farther away from Kealey. On the one hand that was a good thing but on the other hand it was awful. Obviously Kealey wasn't just some wall flower that fainted at the first sign of blood or violence but she also wasn't trained to fight or to survive in the forest.
"Keep moving!" The man growled, jabbing him yet again and making Jacen stumble forward.
"Damn it, I'm moving as quick as I can!" Jacen cursed as he righted himself and resumed his brisk pace, "Any faster and you'll think I'm running away or something!"
***
The four men had decided to leave Joe outside the camp as a patrol. Obviously Blake was the man in charge and even though he and JOe were both armed with the same weaponry, Joe seemed to give in to whatever it was that Blake wanted.
"Cook pretty boy." Blake ordered as he took a seat on a log while keeping his gun trained on Jacen, "So tell me about yourself... you one of those nudie types or something?"
Jacen's face flushed as Vinnie and Kyle laughed as Blake's obvious joke. If Jacen had his Glock or even his hunting knife then these rejects wouldn't be laughing but for the moment all he could do was wait for an opportunity. Lowering the chest, Jacen pulled out the left over bacon and eggs that had been meant for Jacen and Kealey to enjoy the following morning and began to fix them up. As he worked, the three men snacked on the graham cracker and chocolate he had brought for s'mores.
"Kealey never even got a chance to try those."
***
"Vinnie... go relieve Joe. Give him your club and take his gun." Blake ordered after the three men had snarfed down all of the bacon and eggs that Jacen had fixed, "There are still hot dogs and beans. I'm sure pretty boy will be glad to fix him a meal."
Grumbling, the man rose to his feet and stalked away from the camp while the other man laughed at Blake's comment. "To bad there isn't a pretty woman go along with this pretty boy." Kyle laughed, "I sure could use a piece of that out here."
"Canada Kyle... Canada. All the women would we ever dream of, just waiting."
It was beginning to make sense. If Pulse was able to control a beat, then no only would he be able to speak up a heart, but he could stop one. He could just make someone's heart stop so that the coroner would simply assume that an older person had died in their sleep. For a younger person it was sped up to simulate an out of control panic attack.
"He's a killer." Jacen said quietly as he sat on the mattress, momentarily staring off into space as he began to make the connections. "He enjoys it. This isn't something he does simply for business transactions or out of necessity. He likes the killing. He enjoys seeing the expression on the girls face as they realize that their life is over."
It was a morbid train of thought but deep down Jacen knew he was right. After hearing his voice on the tape recorder and hearing Tarin's revalations from their friendly neighborhood Ghost, Jacen knew he was right.
Shaking his head to clear out the thoughts, Jacen did his best to just focus on the situation. He needed to handle this in a business like matter and not let it get personal. He couldn't separate himself completely but he had to pull back enough to get the job done.
"His band plays most every night if the room service lady I met is to be believed." Jacen replied quietly as he lifted his gaze to look at Lee, "You have a plan?"
"A prize? I guess then to be fair, you get a prize of your choosing if you can hide from me for the full hundred count." Jacen replied with a grin. Already his mind was racing with ideas of what sort of prize and reward he would choose if he won. While a few of them were PG and PG-13 rated, quite a few delved into what would most deffinately be the R category. "Is Kealey flexible enough to do that?" Jacen wondered with interest adult interest, momentarily taking in her breath taking beauty once more before turning and closing his eyes to begin his count.
"1... 2... 3..." He began as he continued to tread water. He had decided a counter of twenty for her to hide would be more than enough since he only got to a count of 100 to find her. The sound of her splashing at the edge of the pool was entertaining and he couldn't help but let his mind wander to how she must look clambering out of the pool. Water droplets trailing down her skin, over every cruve and crevice while the sunlight caused her whole body to glimmer and shimmer in a most inviting way.
"Ah hell." Jacen muttered as he realized he had lost count. Doing his best to concentrating, he finally made it all the way to twenty on his third attempt and then opened his eyes and began to slowly rotate in the water. Everything was quiet all around him and he could easily imagine Kealey trying to stifle a giggle as she watched the nude man search for her equally naked form. There was no way that Jacen was going to be able to maintain any semblance of control for much longer and already he was trying to come to a decision. "Do we lay out the towels here or do we hike back to the campsite and our tent?"
"Well look what we have here!" A voice suddenly rang out, causing Jacen to spin around in the water to face the four men that had appeared out of nowhere. It would have been a comical situation, being found skinny dipping by four other individuals, if those four weren't clad in orange jumpsuits that clearly showed they were a part of the New York penitentiary system.
"Looks like we found a pretty boy Kyle." Blake said with a cold smile as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Jacen, "You got food nearby, pretty boy?"
"There's a bucket of berries over by my clothes." Jacen said slowly, treading water as he nodded over toward the pail and its wonderful contents, "Uh... anything else is back at camp."
"These aren't bad." Joe called from where he was already sampling the sweet goodness, "But real food sounds a lot better than these damn berries!"
"If you don't want them Joe, I'll be glad to take your share!" Vinnie said with a grin as he snatched away the bucket and began to stuff the food into his mouth.
"Outa the water buddy. And get some pants on. You're going to take us to your camp. Clear?"
"Crystal." Jacen responded in a mutter as he swam over to the edge and climbed out. Normally he wasn't one to flaunting his body in front of anyone other than an attractive female, but these particular men were not exactly giving him an opportunity to be shy. QUickly pulling on his pants and boots, Jacen picked up his shirt to pull on as they walked. Left next to the pool was his towel and boxers.
"How far?"
"Thirty or forty-five minutes hike." Jacen responded shortly, doing his best to keep from glancing back at the pool as he and the four men made their way along the path. They hadn't seen Kealey, or her clothes for that matter, which meant that she was safe for now. If she played it smart and ran for help maybe they'd both get out of this alive.
"Just don't be a hero Kealey... go get help." Jacen though, momentarily wishing he was a telepath, "Go get help!"
Jacen had been sitting quietly in his room for a good twenty to thirty minutes by the time that Lee and Tarin knocked on his door. His mind had been racing over the various possibilities of what might happen when they went to the bar but his mind kept circling back to the worst possible scenario. What if nothing happened? What if Pulse wasn't there? What if he ended up right back where he started. There were lots of questions that still needed to get answered and Jacen was quickly realizing that patience wasn't his strong suit. That's why he had worked in the Rangers instead of with Military Intelligence. With the Rangers, he always knew exactly when he was going to strike. With a situation like this, gathering intelligence, you never knew when things were finally going to brake wide open.
Finally the knock sounded and Jacen walked over to let in the other two. Closing the door behind them he crossed his arms over his chest and listened attentively as they provided whatever information they could.
"Mutant, my ability can take care of. Psycopath, your abilities and my combat training can take care of." Jacen replied shortly, waving Tarin and Lee toward the single chair or the bed as an offer for them to take a seat. In another situation or a later time Jacen might have thought that Lee was handling Tarin's statement far to easily but at the moment it didn't raise any red flags. They had been able to face bad guys down in Columbia so why shouldn't they be equipped to handle the scum of the earth?
"Pulse is a member of a local band that apparently has quite a following with the teenager girls. He's the playboy of the group and, if my source is to be believed, every young female in the city fantasizes about what sort of things they could do together. He rides a street bike and his band plays at a bar just a block or two away from here."
Moving to take a seat where Lee and Tarin had left open for him, he regarded the two of them carefully as he tried to consider the situation as best he could. He didn't know what Pulse's ability was but apparently Tarin had that information. "Tarin, do you know if Pulse has an active ability? Would he sense when I got nearby?"
"I'll have to take that advice into consideration." Jacen said with a laugh directed at Kealey's comment while his statement was directed toward Lee, "I honestly had never really thought I'd meet someone that could pull a 75 pound recurve bow and have the skills to aim it at me. I know plenty of people that can handle a compoud bow but those that are experienced with recurve bows are very few and far between."
Lifting his beer to take another sip, Jacen watched with some interest as Tarin and Lee held a whispered conversation. When Tarnn went and made his comment, Jacen had to fight to hold in a laugh. There was a slight, if ever so slight possibility that Kealey had been deceived by Tarin's statement but that wasn't going to be happening with Jacen. It was all right there to be read like an open book. The heated glances, the whispered conversations, the wide, uncontrolable grin that had suddenly appeared on Tarin's face. All of these were clues that indicated just what the "old married couple" was intending to do.
"Somehow I think you two could probably give the kids a lesson in debauchery." Jacen said with a teasing smirk before lifting his beer bottle and finishing off the last of it. "Go on, get out of here you two." He added as he lowered the now empty bottle and set it on the table, "Get home before the Fire Marshall reports you for creating flames they can't put out."
Turning away from the other two Jacen raised an eyebrow in Kealey direction with a playful grin. "So, what'll it be beautiful? Should we go paint the town red, see what kind of trouble we can get into, or maybe make some trouble of our own?"
"Guilty as charged." Jacen replied with a laugh and hands raised in surrender as Kealey pointed out just how obvious his comments really were, "Let's just say that I appreciate fine things of beauty, and they don't come any finer than yourself."
***
Finally stuffed on berries and having filled the bucket up to within an inch of the top, Jacen and Kealey were ready to continue the hike on to the pool. Even though Jacen was well satisfied both from food and from the previous nights activities, he couldn't help the surge of anticipation as they drew closer to their destination with every step. Kealey was one of those women that most men only dreamed about ever meeting much less dating and yet here Jacen found himself living out those same fantasies. Late nights in the bedrooms, cool nights under the stars, and warm day at secluded pools few people even knew existed.
"I'm not going anywhere." Jacen said with a grin and a wave as Kealey moved lightly off behind one of the rocks surrounding the pool. Setting his own towel, canteen, and the bucket of berries down in a slightly sheltered spot, Jacen kicked off his boots and socks and left them sitting next to the other items. Taking in a deep breath Jacen lifted his face to enjoy the feeling of the sunshine hitting his skin until he heard movement. Dropping his head and opening his eyes he grinned as he watched Kealey slowly walked out, revealing that she was now garbed in a towel. The blond hair fell down over her bare shoulders and her legs seemed to go up forever before disappearing underneath the towel to just hint at the pleasure that were hidden underneath the thick cloth.
For some reason, both of them remained silent for a moment as Kealey walked past Jacen and into the water until it was almost up to the edge of the towel. Backing up onto dry land again Kealey looked over her shoulder at Jacen and smiled before the towel dropped, puddling at her feet.
The lump in Jacen's throat was instantaneous as his eyes followed the graceful arch of her neck, down the curve of her bare back, to the beauty that few, if any other men had ever had the chance to enjoy. She was breath taking and more sensual than could really be believed as she moved back into the water, inviting Jacen to join her.
The scrambled to remove clothing was immediately and more than once in the seconds that ticked by Jacen cursed the fact that men's clothing were often so hard to remove. Finally, leaving a pile of clothing that included his inside out shirt and his pants halfway so, Jacen jogged into the water, stroking through the clear liquid to join where Kealey was no treading water. Her damp hair floated in ring across the top of the water and Jacen did his best to keep from gaping and staring at all the beauty in front of him.
With a quick peal of laughter, Kealey splashed a sheet of water at him, filling his mouth and yanking him back into at least some semblance of control.
"I'm gonna get you for that beautiful!" Jacen said with a laugh as he swam toward Kealey.
For the next fifteen or twenty minutes the couple was involved in playful splashing and water wrestling. Both got mouthfuls of the clear water but yet neither of them seemed to care. Their playfulness covered the whole pool and even took them under the water fall where Jacen took great pride in helping Kealey to clear out some of the small knots and tangles that had begun to develop in her hair.
"How about some hide and seek?" Jacen asked playfully as they swam out of the waterfall, "I'll count here in the water and you slip out an hide. It has to be somewhere in the clearing so that gives you all of the rocks and behind the water fall. Sound good?"
Jacen laughed as Kealey made a face about living in flannel and hiking boots and then out of nowhere leaned over to plant a kiss on the blond's full lips. "You look beautiful, even in flannel and hiking boots, never fear." He said with a chuckle as he climbed to his feet and moved to accomplish his own tasks. In a short time the cooler was tightly sealed and once again hung from a tree while several bucket fulls of sand had ensured that the fire we well put out. When they returned it would be a simple matter to shake the wood free of any offending dirt and then relight it to once again providing a heating and cooking source.
"I think we're just about ready." Jacen nodded as he grabbed a couple of towels from out of one of the packs along with the two canteens of clean drinking water. Turning he handed one of the canteens and one of the towels to Kealey while slipping the shoulder strap of the other canteen over his shoulder and stuffing the towel under his arm. "You carry those, I'll get mine and... this." He added as he grabbed up one of the stainless steel buckets he had packed, "If there are extra berries we can bring some back for dinner."
***
The hiking path up toward the pool was winding but relatively flat. Curving around large sections of thick trees and undergrowth, it wasn't so clear that it seemed to get a lot of use but yet the path could still be seen. Obviously it was used on occasion though not regularly.
"I'm not surprised you felt some people up here." Jacen said conversationally as he led the way along the path, "I was hoping our time here would be completely private but with it being the weekend other people do come out to enjoy the great outdoors. Thankfully all of the camp sites are pretty far away from each other so we probably won't even know anyone else is around unless you're sensing them."
The sun was shining down warmly and while it wasn't enough to make the day extremely hot, a fine sheen of sweat was most definitely beginning to develop on Jacen's face and neck. The back of his shirt was getting slightly damp but a gentle breeze that came through the trees kept him from feeling uncomfortable.
"There should be some berry bushes right up ahead." He finally said after they had been hiking for maybe thirty minutes, "They're about ten or twenty yards off of the path in a little clearing where the sun can ripen them really well."
Jacen's eyes scanned the area as soon as they came in view but it was Kealey's squeal of excitement that alerted him to the fact that she had obviously spotted them. "You get the prize for finding the fruit!" Jacen said with a mischievous grin and a quick wink bat at her as they turned off the path to head for the bushes, "You get to jump in the water first once we get to the pool!"
***
Few people in the United States truly appreciate what a bush ripened berry tastes like. Firm outside, juicy inside, and warmed in the sun, the wild blackberries had just the right amount of sweetness and sourness. This was a particularly good year for the berries and it was times like this that Jacen wishes he knew how to make wine from wild berries. Flavors like this should be preserved for years and yet instead it would be lost and never tried by most of the city dwellers.
"Good eh..." Jacen mumbled through a mouth full of berries as he continued picking with his specialized system. A handful in the pail, two handfuls in the mouth. Yummy.
In a short time the bacon was done and after putting the hot meat on a metal plate Jacen dumped the eggs into the remaining bacon grease. Thankfully not only would it keep the eggs from sticking to the pan, but it would also flavor and season the eggs to that salt and pepper would really be unnecessary.
"If you're feeling adventurous I'm sure we can keep the day plenty entertaining for you." Jacen said with a grin and a quick glance over at the blond beauty. Even with her hair snarled and tangled he couldn't think of a time when she'd looked more beautiful. The outdoor air and physical exertion was giving her a healthy glow that made him want to forget breakfast and take her back into the tent to explore just how far that glow extended.
Clearing his throat Jacen turned his attention back to the foods and the eggs that were suddenly a lot closer to being done than he had realized. "And yes, we can eat berries right off the bush. You have never tasted really good berries until you've eaten them freshly picked."
Quickly dishing out the eggs and bacon onto two separate plates as well as grabbing two full cups of coffee, Jacen moved over to take a seat next to the woman he was quickly becoming infatuated with.
"I've got to say, you've made an excellent choice Kealey. Berries and swimming are a great combination. After our hands are all sticky from berry juice we'll definitely be ready for a swim."
The bacon and eggs were perfect if you just ignored the need for some sort of sweetness to cut the savor side of things. The saltiness blended with the slightly bitter taste from the coffee and all in all made for a good breakfast though Jacen had to admit the berries were sounding better and better as a final course.
"How about you wash the dishes while get the food hung back up and the fire put out?" He spoke up again once they had both finished eating, "There's some soap in my pack and it's a quick walk down to the lake. Once that's done we can see about heading off for those berries and our swim!"
***
"I'm starving! When are we gonna find some food?" One of the club wielders snarled as the four men continued to make their way through the trees.
"Shut up Vinnie!" One gunman snapped back, "We're all hungry and I'm sick and tired of your whining! We'll get food as soon as we can!"
"Blake! Vinnie!" The other gunman suddenly barked as he pointed off to the right, "A cabin!"
"Pretty rundown Joe, but maybe there's some food left or something." Blake admitted as he eyed the building rather doubtfully, "Better than nothing."
"According to the maps we should be able to make it to the lake by tonight. There's a parking area where we might be able to get hold of a vehicle if we want or at the very least steal some food." The last clubman observed as they all turned to go check out the rather run down looking cabin, "We'll find something!"
Jacen wasn't completely sure how to go about showing the picture to people while maintaing at least some sort of discretion. He had been a military man that took care of the mission when it was given to him. Information gathering was for the guys at Intel. "Why didn't I ask them more questions?" He mentally cursed as he wandered outside the hotel and began to walk over to the nearby convenience store, "Then I might actually have some clue about what I'm doing!"
Making his way into the gas station, Jacen's mind was racing as he tried to come up with some sort of cover story that might work in this situation. "Lacen King." Jacen began, spinning of the best yarn he could come up with on this short notice, "I'm looking for this guy. Goes by the name Pulse. He skipped out on his bail down in Orange County and the judge wants him back in his court room by tomorrow. Seen him?"
The man behind the counter barely even glanced at either Jacen or the picture before turning his attention back to the latest issue of Playboy that he had been perusing. "Never seen him before. Rough looking guy. Try the bike shop next door."
Stepping into the bike shop, Jacen began to wonder if he could really use the same story in this sort of environment. While not all bikers wer fugitives they were also a close knit bunch and the idea that someone was going to drag one of their brothers off to jail might not sit with them to well.
"I work for Johnny Rico." Jacen said, doing his best to come across as tough hired muscle, "This guy goes by the name Pulse. He borrowed money from Rico and then ran off without paying it back. Rico wants a word with him. Seen him around?"
The glares Jacen was getting from the various people in the bike shop made him want to just slink out the front door but he stood his ground and just stared at the man behind the counter. Finally, when the silence became unbearable, the other man spoke up. "I've seen him riding down the road before but I never met him. He uses a street bike."
The next few hours passed by fruitlessly as Jacen found himself unable to obtain any better information. Frustrated to no end the man stalked back into the hotel and made his way toward the room. Anger and desperation were both simmering beneath the surface and for no particular reason he stopped one of the teenager maids that he was passing in the hallway. "Ma'am, do you know this man? He goes by the name Pulse."
"Oh my GOD!" The teen shrieked when she saw the picture, "Pulse! I LOVE him! He and his band play at the bar just down the street! He is SOOOO hot!"
***
It had taken almost thirty minutes to get the girl to stop jabbering about how awesome Pulse was but finally Jacen had managed to extricate himself from the conversation and return to his room. As he waited for Lee and Tarin to knock on his door after having completed their own assignment he had to smile ever so slightly. Finally he had something to go one.
Without meaning to, Lee and Tarin were deffinately providing to much information about how they had proved themselves a real couple. It didn't take a lot of imagination to picture the two of them locked in a room and when the jailer's returned... well let's just say that even the sight of Lee's beauty might have been hard pressed to overcome the sight of Tarin's... yeah.
"I'm a hunter." Jacen explained shortly, a slight grin on his face as he watched the somewhat incredulous expressions appear on both Lee and Tarin, "I keep my Glock in the truck as well but my recurve bow and arrows are on a rack in the back window. I happen to like deer jerkey and venison but I only hunt what I can eat. No mounting heads or anything like that."
Jacen knew it had to be strange for the two of them to hear an apparent "city boy" talking about hunting but that was just a part of life for him. After his time in the military the great outdoors had just become a way of life. In fact, if he wasn't so interested in the action provided by S.W.A.T. he probably would have considered a career as a guide out west or in the far north.
Jacen returned his focuse to Kealey as he raised his bottle to clink it with the rest. Lee and Tarin's comments about how they had proved that they were a real couple was making him begin to think about his own status with a certain young woman. Had they even really talked about what they were? There was no way that he was going to accept something like 'friends with benefits' from Kealey and somehow he doubted that was what she wanted either. Maybe that was something for them to discuss in the very near future. Along with what sorts of intimate apparel she would allow him to buy her.
"To small packages." He agreed, a grin on his face as he remember just how much bedroom dynamite was stored in this small blond.
