Trooper Station | Saturday

[knife_bender]

Both Diego and Annie were at the station today, supposedly doing research, but was it research if you couldn't find anything? Diego was also fairly sure Annie had lost her damn mind, but she was here losing her mind and not in a hole somewhere, and for that he was thankful.

Even if he had to keep giving the other troopers apologetic looks every few minutes.

[Open, gf modded with permission]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie was doing marginally better after hearing that Anakin and Rey had made contact yesterday, and everyone was alive (if, yes, bored.) She'd found a whiteboard in the station, which now had a bunch of notes scribbled on it. ("volcanoes?" had been crossed out, but "dig own holes?" remained. (As did "look for Jimmy Hoffa down there?" which was, you know, maybe a testament to that losing-her-damn-mind thing.)

Annie was now standing over by the map of all the buildings that had disappeared, pacing a bit while she was on the phone. The conversation, though Annie kept her voice down, was clearly getting a little heated, and Annie rolled her eyes as she hung up and wrote $400/day on her whiteboard under "BACKHOE QUOTES."

"He said you have to be twenty-five to rent one," she told Diego irritably, coming back over to his desk to take a sip of coffee. Which was actually a red-eye, because who even needed to sleep right now, they had to find holed people.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, I'm not doing that." Last thing they needed was a backhoe falling through a hole on top of people.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie wasn't going to argue, but she did just sort of vaguely glance over towards the troopers. Maybe one of them would call!

One of them actually turned around when he saw her, so probably not a great sign.

Maybe Steve would do it.

"I wanna get a hole to open so we can throw supplies down for them, if nothing else," she decided. "My camping gear thing wasn't a bad idea after all, turns out!"

She'd take her little victories where she could find them, thank you.

[knife_bender]

"When was the last time you ate something?" He didn't want to hear any sass about Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald after this. Zero sass.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Look, if President Kennedy fell in a hole along with some of their closest friends, Annie herself would bring the Expo markers, okay?

"Earlier." Oh, look, a weird non-answer that probably meant 'yesterday.' Always a good sign. "But on that note, I think we should gather nonperishables we can throw down there."

Probably, like, a can opener, too. Just to be really practical about it.

[knife_bender]

"If we ever find a hole." That seemed to be the big issue here.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Maybe we should just set up, like, boxes with stuff in them all over town?" Annie tried, eyes wide (maybe wider than they should be, because she was overcaffeinated.) "Like by all the remaining buildings!"

[knife_bender]

"Maybe check Danny's desk for some snacks, babe." Before she passed out from too much caffeine and not enough food.

[defenderofdesmoines]

That got Annie to stop -- if only due to the unprecedented 'babe,' which she was now mouthing back at him with a raised brow as she obediently did cross over to Danny's desk.

"Do you need a snack, babe?" she asked, both being kind of contrary and affectionate about it, since that had kind of thrown her off.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve was back at his desk looking like he hadn't slept (because, well. Yeah), back on the phone with someone in Guam? Yemen? Somalia? He'd kind of lost track where he'd been transferred to.

"I just need to borrow a sonar system for a rescue mission," he was saying for the tenth time. "Civilians, some minors." He couldn't make "fell in a hole" sound less stupid--and he was never ever going to mention raccoons, so he'd been finessing and making it sound more earthquake adjacent, but he was still getting nowhere.

He needed coffee and a shower, but he'd take even a little bit of movement from his contacts.

[knife_bender]

Diego couldn't really decided if the sonar was a more or less pointless endeavor than Annie's digging a hole thing.

Oh god, what if it was part of the same plan?

"Have you eaten anything?" Look at what you've reduced him to, people. He was his mother.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve pointed to a pile of protein bar wrappers that he was definitely going to regret later. "Protein's important when you're not sleeping."

The Navy had taught him that!

The Navy didn't mention the constipation.

[knife_bender]

"Well, you're officially doing better than Annie." Even if you might blow out your colon later, Steve.

[grenadesandohana]

Steve opened his top desk drawer and moved the beet chips out of the way until he pulled out a s'mores flavored bar. "Here. She'll like it."

She would not because it was not at all like a real s'mores.

[knife_bender]

"Thanks. She could probably use some chocolate," Diego said, looking down at the bar. "Or...cacao nibs, rather."

[grenadesandohana]

"It gives you some texture," Steve said.

Some gritty, gritty texture.

[knife_bender]

"I'm going to take your word on it," he said. "But I'm sure she'll appreciate it. She's not doing too great on the eating or sleeping."

[grenadesandohana]

"I'll bet," Steve said sympathetically. "Tell her the food can make up for the lack of sleep. That way you can solve one of the problems?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"So you have to be at least twenty-five to rent construction equipment, and Diego won't call and the troopers are ignoring me now," Annie greeted Steve, and that was how she was doing today!

[grenadesandohana]

Steve blinked at her for a second, trying to put together what she was asking. "So you want me to rent some? What are you going to dig up?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"The people," Annie said, like it was obvious. "Unless the Navy totally has like, better construction equipment for this."

She was willing to believe that! That made sense, in a way!

[grenadesandohana]

"They do but they're not letting me use any," Steve said, frustration bleeding into his voice.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"How can we convince them it's serious?" Annie asked, her worry turning more sympathetic. "My contacts aren't much help, either. Unless we want explosives."

Did they want explosives? Were they there yet?

[grenadesandohana]

Steve always wanted explosives.

"What kind of explosives? A properly directed charge will be faster than a backhoe."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Remember my buddy Serge?" Annie asked, eyes widening because all right, that sounded like a direction to take this in! "Frenchie? He's got, like, everything and I could get in touch with him."

So mostly it was the illegal kind of explosives, really.