View source for 13437/On the road again - Ohio: Going foul circle and s'mores

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2021/06/04
|Location=Tuscarora State Forest, PA
|Synopsis=Where Skye and Clint finds more trouble, and some help with Yaozu
|Cast of Characters=137,1191,9897
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>After stopping for gas - and breaking a few bones in the process - Skye and Clint finally reached the Tuscarora State Forest, electing to stop for the night at one very isolated camping spot for the night. The sun is starting to lick the top of the tree line around the clearing in the woods, the millions of bugs being kept at bay thanks to the super strong bug repellent - so strong that if both agents didn't know each other, they'd run away from each other! There is a very large flat rock sitting in the middle of the clearing, but Clint decided to remain near the entrance of the camping spot.<br><br>So for now, Hawkeye started the bonfire, and everything for the meal is finely lined up: rootbeer, hot-dogs and s'mores! Around the bonfire are a few logs on the ground, serving as benches. Gretel is parked just on the side, all doors and windows carefuly closed, so bugs remain where they should, outside. The weather is nice, not too warm and not too cool, perfect for a quiet evening in the forest.<br><br>"Ah, finally! Peace! Dang it feels good," Clint says, a large smile on his face which suddently diseappears, replaced by a frown as he glances over at Skye, "Shit, did I just jinx us?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>Skye stares at Clint. "Did you have to say jinx?" She shakes her head, and laughs. "Come on. Two fights in one day? On your vacation?"<br><br>Come to think of it, shouldn't Skye have clocked out, or something. Isn't she awol?<br><br>Skye found some logs to sit on. Some nice blankets to sit under. And a bunch of sticks to use for roasting. "So.. do we have to wait for it to burn down before we start cooking?" She had never roasted anything on a campfire before. Heck, she'd never been at a campfire! The closest she been was the hotdog cart on the corner.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>It's not the first time that Yaozu has chosen to trail someone, though normally such actions are the result of missions or other requests put to him by Shield. It had been an unexpected conversation that he'd overheard -- with his hearing the way it is now, he overhears a lot of things! It didn't take him long to have a plan. If the information were to be proven wrong, then it would be all the better. But if the information turned out to be right -- well, he wasn't going to take the chance of not being there if friends needed him. And even though he didn't know them well, as of yet, both Clint and Skye were friends to him. <br><br>He had packed a few choice things before taking out a black motorcycle (one that didn't belong to anybody) to trail after them on. He'd done his level best at keeping out of their notice, and hadn't interfered at the fight at the gas station, though he had been near enough that he could have. As he'd pulled into the park, he'd noticed a different sort of quiet in addition to the obvious one of it not having many other visitors -- he'd noticed the quiet amongst the trees themselves. The animal quiet. He took a small campsite that was distant from theirs and out of sight from theirs as well. Precautions were called for, just in case. He didn't make a fire or set up a tent. <br><br>Instead, he hung his helmet and black leather jacket from the bike's handlebars, lifted his black scarf up to cover his face up to his nose, and then vanished into the trees. He was't wearing the robes he'd been favouring recently. He wore black -- black steel toed boots, black cargo pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black gloves. His black hair was braided and out of the way. Just a shadow amongst the shadows, stalking shadows. They were coming -- he could hear them, he just had to wait. And so, he crouched behind the trunk of a large pine tree and pulled one of the black throwing knives from his belt, to have it in hand and ready.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>"Well, keep it just above the fire," Clint suggests, "Not /in/ it," he adds, chuckling. "'Sides, if you burn it, we have more than enough. Why the heck do they sell buns by the dozen, and hot-dogs by eight?"<br><br>While Clint stays busy attending the fire and the cooking/burning of the saussage, there is some movement in the undergrowth at the opposite edge of the clearing. Despite being usually aware of everything around him, the movement is practically imperceptible from where Clint and Skye are sitting. Is it another camper? A wild, rabid animal out for blood? Or just something worse, considering the couple's luck? Whatever it is, it moves very slowly, keeping to the edge of the clearing as it approaches.<br><br>And then, if someone stood closer to the subtile movement in the undergrowth, they would notice that whatever is moving closer to Skye and Clint, isn't alone. Similar movement, very quiet, starts in the opposite direction, always keeping hidden, very slowly closing in.<br><br>"Ah, this is so nice," Clint states, as he finally sits beside Skye, proceeding to cook his own meal - just in case Skye needed more practice. "Isn't it quiet here?" Then, the archer stops doing what he's doing, listening to the quiet. Then, after a moment, shakes his head. Really, he's imagining things.<br><br>"Can't wait for the s'mores," he says, grinning, "But hey, veggies first." Since when are there veggies in hot-dogs? "At least, you know what hot-dogs are!" He laughs at that, teasing Skye who never went camping before.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>"Veggies?! Fuck I bought the wrong type. These were bigger than the others." No, Skye has no idea why buns are in 12's. "Maybe they're figuring you'll drop some?" It could be!<br><br>When he hushes up, she does too. Nothing there. Just animals by the sounds of it. Skye broke up a buns and threw it beyond the firelight. "Probably just a raccoon. Didn't you say they hang around the campfire hoping to pick up tidbits?"<br><br>/C'mon Skye, we're away from the Trisk, and everything Trisk related. Just relax../<br><br>She doesn't relax.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>The movements might be small, but Yaozu's altered vision is rather designed for pinpointing such things. It is, indeed, quiet. -Too- quiet. Quieter than it should be, given the animals that live in the forest. There are always nocturnal sounds, and those are largely absent. Yaozu holds still, more than aware of any noise that he himself might make. And he waits. <br><br>Opportunity sometimes takes a moment to present itself. The Chinaman is calm and at ease whilst he waits, watching. When one of the satanists rises up near the edge of their campsite (but not in view from them for a tree that's blocking him from their sight), Yaozu takes action. He shifts his weight slightly, and he throws the knife that's in hand. With it as black as it is, light shouldn't catch it in the path of its flight. His aim proves true, the blade sinking into the left side of the man's back. And that's when there will be sound, or at least the sound associated with a man dying, and the body subsequently falling sideways to the ground. Yaozu is on the move even before the dying man becomes dead, though. He'll worry about retrieving his weapons later. Right now, he plans not to be found by them, and that means finding a different position to harass them from.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>The movement in the undergrowth cannot remain undetected by Clint indefinitely. As the movement slowly closes in, the archer starts scanning the clearing surroundings with his eyes, knowing to trust his instincts, which saved him on many occasions. But darkness is settling in, and it becomes quite difficult to distinguish anything in the forest.<br><br>And then, at the furthest point opposite to them, Clint finally spots the origin of his concern. Barely visible above the undergrowth, can be seen a majestic deer antlers.<br><br>Pointing in the direction of the magnificient antlers, Clint directs Skye's attention toward the sighting, "Wow, look at these antlers, you see them? Must be an old deer."<br><br>Just as he's admiring the /deer/, the antlers raise above the bush, and a torch can be seen in the distance, waving as if signaling something. No, deers do /not/ carry torches. And what was that sound, closer to them? Not a deer in heat, no siree, more like someone ready to meet their maker, thanks to Yaozu's skills.<br><br>Glancing at Skye, a silent order is given: bows!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>A silent 'fuck' is given.<br><br>Thankfully, Clint doesn't believe in putting away his bow even when he's supposed to be on vacation. Besides, he probably was going to check them out, and maybe use them for the blind target practice. Skye had her out too, just to be companionable, and *maybe* learn something new.<br><br>She nodded 'no' and raised her hands. Much better to take anything down in the dark for her. She makes a wide circle with her hands, then motioned, each going the opposite direction. /*Yes? Good.*/ She signed to him, and sets out.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>Instincts are powerful and very useful things to have. The Chinaman has learned to trust his own, though that trust has come from years of training combined with some experience. He doesn't, at first, give any attention in the direction of the deer antlers that Clint mentioned -- at least, not until there's the torchlight. That lures his attention and he gives a quiet grunt under his breath. And he listens, for a moment. How many were out here, sharing the forest? Things were likely about to get chaotic. <br><br>Yaozu creeps up behind one of the forest creepers, timing his movements with the fellow that he follows. Once he caught up to the person, he reached out to the fellows shoulder in order to pinch a nerve there and knock the man out. Relatively silent and effective. He retrieved a ziptie from a pocket of his cargo pants, pulled the fellow's arms behind him and tied them together. Then he kept moving. He -- and Skye and Clint -- were outnumbered, but that was a problem to be dealt with one opponent at a time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>A thumbs-up in answer to Skye, Clint rushes to Gretel. It's a matter of seconds for him to open the door, fish in his sport bag and done his equipment. In the /bare essential/ archery bag he packed, Clint always keeps his purple night vision glasses. While Skye can detect living beings by their heartbeat, the archer must rely on heat signatures at night.<br><br>Starting on the opposite direction as directed by Skye, the archer swiftly moves in the undergrowth, as silent as can be, his eyes scanning around for any heat signature. After a moment, he picks up a faint heat signature, the one from the dying man. By the time he's upon him, the man has died. "Guess you won't answer questions," he whispers to himself, "Fuck, do we need to bring a medium with us on vacation?"<br><br>Resuming his scanning of the surroundings, his eyes fall on another heat signature, a very living one this time. Is it a foe, a friend? Moving silently, he positions himself and takes aim, using a stun arrow, just enough to incapacitate the target, not enough that they can't answer questions without the help of someone gifted with the Sixth Sense.<br><br>Just as he was going to shoot, another heat signature approached the first one, and after a swift movement, the first one was down. Alright, so /someone/ was on their side, but whom? Closing the distance to the second man, his bow aimed at the man, he asks in a low voice, "Who are you? If I don't like the answer, you'll miss the s'mores and wake up in the ICU."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>It wasn't quite like seeing their heart. More like sensing the heartbeats within. Skye knew there were several.. here.. here.. and here..<br><br>One thing that she hadn't gotten enough training in wasn't nighttime. At least nighttime in the woods training time!<br><br>Three people were bearing down on her. And fast. The first she layed out when she caught him off guard. The second came barreling at her, fast. So fast, that she missed the third: The leader, and High Priest. When he caught her he slipped his sacrificial knife until he broke the skin.<br><br>"Tell your friends to come out." And he gave the knife an extra push in the side of her throat. "Now."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>Dead men tell no tales. It's as true now as for any pirate or outlaw that ever followed the unspoken rule of thumb to avoid capture. Not that Yaozu was either of those things. He had known that what would come to pass would not be able to be kept quiet and out of Skye and Clint's notice. Fighting is seldom silent, eve when one does one's best to be stealthy. He had heard Clint's approached, and glanced briefly in his direction as he finished with the ziptie in order to visually verify his presence as well. <br><br>Rather than offer up an immediate answer to the question, Yaozu swiftly retrieves his throwing knife from where he'd set it next to the unconscious fellow's body. There's no warning at all other than the movement of his arm and the shifting of his body with the motion as he throws the knife towards and into the chest of an attacker that was coming up from the brush to the side and behind Clint. Then his gaze flicks back to Clint. He is, so very often, a man of few words. And in this moment, he offers only one word, which is his name. "Yaozu," he says, quietly. He pulls another knife from the belt of them, and then he rises to his feet before he retrieves some of the zipties from his pocket, and he offers them forth. "You will want these," he adds, just as quietly. <br><br>He hears the three men who converge on Skye, and hears her deal with the first two of them. It's the third one that she hadn't dealt with that is the problem, though. His lips press together, unable to be seen for the black scarf he wears, and he turns his head to look in the direction of them. "Plan?" he asks quietly, his voice near a whisper. Clint is senior to him in standing, Yaozu knows this, and he will likely defer to the other fellow's experience.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>As the man closing on him from behind is dealt with by Yaozu, Clint nods briefly. "Thanks," he says, and there is no more time for presentations. Yaozu doesn't have to prove on which side he stans.<br><br>Clint grabs the offered zipties - they will need them - and turns around, listening too in the direction of the commotion when the idiots attacked Skye. The High Priest has spoken loudly enough for Clint to hear the words.<br><br>Plan? There isn't a lot of options, it seems. "They know I'm here, they don't know you are. And if they do, they might believe that you're dead." Saying that, Clint lowers his bow, and turns toward where Skye is kept hostage. "I'll go in. Slowly enough, to buy you time to deal with any leftover creeps. Then you can take on Antlers Man. Whichever comes first." He then starts in the direction to meet the High Priest, stopping just a second to add, determination in his voice. "He doesn't know it yet, but he'll eat with a straw for months to come."<br><br>Then he walks to face Antlers Man, walking slowly toward him and Skye, his eyes automatically noticing that Skye is wounded - hopefully superficially. "There's only me," he says, "Let her go. Now."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>As far as she knows, there's only one: Clint.<br><br>As the blade presses further into her neck, leaving blood in its wakes, she concurs. "There's only one. We were on vacation."<br><br>The man doesn't believe her, after all someone had taken out his second in command, before these two. "Let me see you, and no funny business. I've got my knife right on her. A sacrifice is a sacrifice. Makes no difference to me."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>There's only a single nod that Clint's thanks earn from Yaozu. There is no need for other words to be given. The proof of which side he stands on lies in his actions. He has killed two of them, and incapacitated a third. It's not a bad bit of work, altogether. Both of them are friends, and he will do what he can to help them. He gives a quiet 'mm' of acknowledge and agreement at Clint's words, and he gives a small nod. He has his own intentions where the High Priest is concerned, and none of them involve the man living for longer than tonight. But time will tell what ends up happening with the fellow when all is said and done. There's another nod about the plan -- it makes sense to him, given that he's kept himself rather hidden until Clint had called him out. <br><br>He watches Clint start to head in the direction of the High Priest, and then he eases back into the shadows of the forest. There were still some creeps left within the underbrush, he could hear them. Slinking through the shadows, he started to make his way towards the nearest one. Much as before, he was careful to time his steps to coincide with someone else's, so any noise he made might be overlooked because of it. Once behind the fellow, he slipped an arm around the fellow's neck and secured him in a chokehold. And when the man succumbed to it, he ziptied his wrists before moving on towards his next 'victim'. This one was bold enough to be standing, perhaps believing what Clint had said -- that there was only him. Yaozu darts forward from behind and to one side, footsweeps the fellow to end up landing the fellow on his back in the underbrush, and then he strikes the man in the solar plexus to knock the breath from his lungs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>While Yaozu takes down the last of the creeps - hopefully, there aren't much more of them - Clint very slowly walks, facing the man, his bow lowered. If he can get within six feet of the man, the creep will reget it.<br><br>As he walks slowly, the archer moves his fingers to tap on his thigh. The gesture could be interpreted as a nervous reaction, but Clint is quite sure that Skye will cath its true meaning. If she can duck, Clint will strike. This has to be executed in a timely manner, there isn't much room for error.<br><br>Another option is that Yaozu can strike Antlers Man from behind, which would also fix the problem. Either way, this has to stop.<br><br>"Look, let her go", Clint tells the man, "Take me instead, larger sacrifice as a bonus. Whad'ya say?" Of course, Clint would trade places with Skye, but he's most likely buying time. Time to get closer, or for Yaozu to do his magic.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>The High Priest is suddenly aware of the dwindling down of his men. And the girl was too calm. He had her just this &gt;&lt; close to death and she wasn't breaking a sweat.<br><br>Along the way, he realized he'd made a mistake. A very big mistake. He should have run while he had the chance to.<br><br>Clint gets closer. Just a movement of the left hand shows Skye understands. The left side is where she's gonna go. Yaozu gets closer. And the High Priest pushes her away, trying to get away.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>The zipties that Yaozu brought along have proven to be even more useful than he had originally anticipated. Another one is used on the fellow that he just brought down and knocked out. None of them have really put forth much in the way of resistance. No sooner than he's finished with the fellow and he scampers as quietly as what he can in order to end up in position for taking down the High Priest. <br><br>And he waits. Precious little moments and in the growing darkness, he waits. As the High Priest pushes Skye away, Yaozu springs into action. That, it would seem, was what he was waiting for. He pushes himself to his feet and runs, a black shadow detached from the night. He jumps and turns and aims a kick for the High Priest's head. And with those steel-toed boots that Yaozu is wearing, the fellow isn't likely to be getting up anytime soon afterwards! And after the kick is delivered, Yaozu lands lightly on the ground, rolls once and then comes up to his feet, one of his hands held in front of him and other moving towards one of the remaining few knives he wears.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:137|Clint Barton (137)}} has posed:'''<br>That was good teamwork! Clint would agree, but for now his main concern is Skye. As the High Priest pushed her away, the archer was right there to get a hold of her. Glancing around, making sure no other idiots thought it smart to try them, he then exhales, not quite relaxing.<br><br>"Hey, you ok, Keyboard?" he asks, "Let me look at that cut," he says, removing his t-shirt to use as a bandage. The cut doesn't seem nasty. As he talks, his protective arm around her waist, he turns her toward the log/benches, to sit down by the bonfire.<br><br>Waving at Yaozu in an inviting gesture, he calls out, "Hey, if you sure they're all down, whatabout we get these s'mores, then have someone come collect the trash?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:9897|Yaozu (9897)}} has posed:'''<br>Though he brought one of his hands to rest upon one of the knives, he didn't draw the dark blade. Yaozu tilted his head a bit to one side, listening to the growing night beyond him. His hands lower to his sides, and his stance eases. His left hand moves to come to rest at the small of his back, as is both familiar and customary for him to do. "There are no others," Yaozu says in a quiet tone. If there were others, then he would hear them. <br><br>The Chinaman takes a moment to retrieve the knives that he had used, pulling them from the bodies each in turn. Only once he had them all did he make his way towards their campfire in order to settle on a log. And it was only once he was settled that he pulled his scarf down so that it rested about his neck once more rather than be covering half of his face. "I will see it is taken care of," he says.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1191|Skye Johnson (1191)}} has posed:'''<br>The High Priest is out. In fact he'll need a hospital. Poor guy.. NOT. The few remaining Satanists get out of here, and fast. The others are ready, thanks to zip ties, to visit the jail. Turns out the police have been watching them for some time now, to no avail.<br><br>Skye is more dirty then beaten, except the knife cut in her throat. It looks bad, but when Clint looks after it, he will find it's really not that bad.<br><br>Skye laughs softly. "See, Yaozu, this is why our vacation times aren't."<br><br>12 hours. And it's just begun.<br> <br>
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