RE419S | audio/text sent to everyone but DI481O | Night 23

[aluminumandash]

[ Hours—several—after Q&A with the anonymous callsign's come to an end, Rust breaks his walkie silence for the first time since the storm. He sounds raspy-voiced but keyed up, intent. His drawl's more clipped than usual, but he doesn't rush. ]

Bout a week ago, the man who's been calling himself Officer Ben De Guzman pulled a gun on me, knocked me out when I fought back. He then cuffed me, took my shit, and up till today had me leading him around that fucking cabin to the Northeast. Ah, this included forcing me to help put together a bloody arrow, leave it out for the guy living there like some kind of a fucking love note.

His callsign's DI481O. [ He repeats it for good measure. ] Mid-forties, Mexican, six feet. Muscular build. He's got a mustache, a grey streak in his hair. He dies, he'll come back in jeans, a button-down workshirt, red bandana. He'll have sustained a gunshot wound to his left leg and he'll be limping. His gun'll have four rounds, but I don't think I gotta tell anyone how easy it is to pick up new weaponry around here.

Most of what he said on here was bullshit. As you mighta gathered.

His name's Eduardo Salamanca. He's cartel, top of the fucking food chain. Drug manufacture and distribution, wide-scale killing on his say-so. This is a powerful man used to getting his way. He's also— [ The merest pause, a huff of breath. ] obsessive. Vengeful. Prone to fixate on people he sees as having wronged him or diminished his status. Capable, too. Not a hunter, but he can survive alright on his own.

[ Another, longer pause. When he comes back some of the weariness from the past week bleeds into his voice. ] I'm gonna type all this up for you. Ah, anyone who can write it down, please do. Tell anyone you know who might not be on the walkie.

Um, I took a print of his boot—I'll see if I can't get that out there. Anyone who's talked to him recently, I'd like to hear from you. You think he might come after you, I'd like to hear about that too. I've also got some questions.

Whos hurt/how bad?
Anyone familiar with Salamanca's name?
Anyone turn up something from his world during the storm?


[ OOC: True to his word, Rust will painstakingly type up a text version of this, which will take him a good twenty minutes.

He will ALSO be monitoring Lalo's walkie for a conveniently unspecified period of time, so if you want your char to look shady, now's your chance! Reply here with a message for Lalo and Rust will intercept it. (Or ignore this if your char is too smart for such ploys!) ]

Comments

VL121R | voice | afternoon day 24

[meadqueen]

[Randvi checks her radio just after her conversation with Shaw about the detective’s status so she's hugely relieved. Unfortunately she's also furious that someone she’d let herself be vulnerable to was lying in this specific way so this kind of comes out like she's admonishing him:]

Detective, we’ve been worried. You should bring your information to us in the village. No one can read my writing, but Jet is helping me translate my notes to English.

I've just returned but I believe we have four injured here - three in the storm, one injured by an animal. [Luckily for Senku she doesn't know about his little stunt yet] Some injuries are severe but no longer life-threatening. The group who went to rescue the injured woman you met in the north is projected to reach us tomorrow.

Zam disappeared in the night. During the storm. We still don't know what happened.

We have had reports of many falling objects - how would we tell what was from his world?

boldly assuming Rust hasn't died by then

[aluminumandash]

[ He's had a hell of a night, and even with Salamanca out of the way feels exposed. Like he's on borrowed time. He's not much concerned with tone, is grateful for facts—although all he can really do is clutch at them. ]

If there's something distinctive about his world, he's kept it to himself. I'd say drugs, something might be used to smuggle them. Luxury goods, status symbols. Shit meant to impress or intimidate. They speak Spanish in Mexico, same alphabet as English—you find anything with writing on it, you can check with someone.

[ That out of the way, he takes a moment to refocus. Heading to the airfield—with Salamanca fixated and the thing at the cabin breathing down his neck—seems unbelievably risky, but he does have information more than one person ought to know. ] How're your medics doing? I've got supplies, but it's pretty fucking scattershot. No painkillers, nothing like that.

Godspeed, man

[meadqueen]

If you suspect a specific item after interrogating him, be aware that it may be something that he would believe no longer exists. I found part of an item belonging to Senku that is from his past.

[She doesn't know what a lot of those things look like either but Senku and (soon) K will help her out]

We have some pain medication but we are rationing it at the patients’ request. There isn't much. Senku is distilling ethanol to prevent infection. Steph created a suture needle which is rough but does what it needs to, and she found a… an aid kit at the hotel.

[Guessing at the source of the reluctance to visit in person]

If anyone tries to harm the people staying here, I’ll kill them.

we...did it...😬 oh also private

[aluminumandash]

[ If that's meant as reassurance, it's not doing the fucking trick. But maybe it's not about that: maybe she just wants it said. So he sets the channel to private before asking: ] Y'all got guns? Ranged weapons?

[ Matter-of-fact. Shaw's one gun, at least. ]

I told Senku, but he [ —outright said he wasn't worried— ] don't seem troubled by such worldly affairs. Salamanca's been cutting deals. Contacting callsigns outta the blue, offering them shit from the base. I don't know what all you got going on, but make sure anything important's locked up tight. Keeping notes only a few of you can read ain't a bad idea either.

Private

[meadqueen]

K does, as does Shaw, though I think if it comes to that we may already be beyond help.

[A lot of people would have to be dead for someone with violence on their mind to get to where the people on bed rest are located]

I'm not concerned about a gun. [This is a lie, she's very afraid of them] If he’s intent on killing someone here, he has four attempts to strike me, and each of those is an attempt he can't make against another target.

No one but me can read my notes, but I don't know if we have anything that would be of value to anyone who has been here longer than us. [Salamanca’s not going to kill anyone for her emoji diary and another callsign probably already has a better map]

Senku is like that about everything but he knows that if someone is using him as a bargaining chip they need him both alive and functional. Many things we have here are offered freely already.