day 005; SH442K; voice

[sharktrash]

Heeey scumbags!

[ As usual, the scratchy voice coming out of the comms is just too loud for comfort, and will probably prompt anyone listening to turn their volume down. As usual, he sounds a little too cheerful for their dire circumstances. ]

Anyone else getting shot at? Kidnapped? C'mon, I'm about to die from boredom here.

If this was really some kinda simulated Battle Royale you'd think the death matches would have started by now, right? 

But noooooo, it's just some fuckers sneakin' around and dronebombing the place.

Terrible vacation, really. Good fuckin' thing I didn't pay for it or I'd want my money back, yeah?

[ ... ]

Hey.

If you're still listening, congratulations, you might not be a fun-hating twat, so you get to hear my actual message.

Found another airplane, or part of airplane, in the mountain range. This really huge-ass fuselage, got "PacAir" printed on the side.

There might be some luggage in the compartments or salvageable electronics behind the boards, but the whole thing hanging in this really fucked up way and nothing on the inside looks sturdy enough to climb. Maybe if anyone's got some rope, someone could descend from above and check it out that way. Maybe enough people would be able to flip it, but I dunno if it's worth that kinda effort.

And there's also -- check this out -- a volcano. Doesn't look like it's been active for a while, there's a mineral water lake in the middle now, but it's weirdly warm. Don't know shit about that so I can't tell you if it could be heated from the sun or if it's coming from below, but hey, that's something to consider. 'Nd animals have been making their way here, so it's not poisonous. Probably. Smells kinda like sulfur though.

Volcanoes are usually in the middle of islands, right? Might not be the case here, but I'd say it's... in the southern part of the mountains? Can't be sure without a map, but there's more further north.

Guess that's it for now. Ya eggheads might be able to make something from this, right?

Oh but I wasn't fucking kiddin' about this place being boring, so if you've got any fun stories ya wanna share, I'm all ears. Only so much jungle noises one can take instead of a normal conversation, yeah? I'm a people person, you know. Honest.

Anyway! Headed toward some sus shit next, wish me luck.

Comments

[salamanca]

[ Kokichi can't be expected to know it, but nobody associated with the cartel really does "impotent" rage. Tuco would've pounded this kid bloody into the concrete floor of the prison structure with no regard for the consequences; several of Lalo's other associates would've shot the kid between the eyes the second he looked up from his walkie.

Lalo, for his part, is more inclined to laugh off certain jokes compared to his colleagues, but he's still not the type to just yell and try to hit you.

Lalo, in fact, rarely yells or raises his voice in anger much at all. More effective to say what you need to say with a smile. He's not smiling now, though.

As usual, Lalo's response is comparatively measured and calm in reference to typical cartel goons, and fucking psychotic in reference to anybody else. Even watching Kokichi get ready to defend himself is some amateur hour bullshit; Lalo can see one little shoulder tightening, unmistakably because Kokichi is gripping something in his pocket, a rock or an arrowhead or some shiv he found in one of the cells.

The truth is, if Lalo really wanted him dead, he would be. There'd be very little Kokichi would be able to do to defend himself if Lalo was determined to end him, no matter what he's got in his pockets. Fortunately for both of them, Lalo has no intention of hurting Kokichi and no real desire to. He speaks softly at first. ]

I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanna talk.

[ Really! He just wants to talk. For once. But he's not having this conversation in earshot or eyeline of the others. He shakes his head at Kokichi standing in the doorway — not far enough — only for his face to turn white at the suggestion this is a booty call. ]

What the fuck? No! Hell no! This isn't a — you're a kid — I'm not interested in —

[ The only thing worse than being accused of being gay is being accused of being a pedo. Lalo's eyes are uncharacteristically wide; there's a panic on his face that just doesn't look right for how rarely it's there. He realizes abruptly that he's being fucked with, though, and cuts himself off. He blushes faintly, going from shock white to pale pink.

He takes several steps back, away from the eyes and ears of the others. Lalo might not be planning a murder, but he's not going to say what he has to say where Jet and Martin can hear him. If Kokichi wants to hear him beg, he's going to have to take a risk. ]

They know you went outside with me, dipshit. If I go in there covered in blood and without you, they're gonna know what happened. How dumb do you think I am? Now come here. [ His voice softens and turns plaintive. ] Please.

[trialbyliar]

[An exaggeratedly shocked expression, like he totally wasn't thinking anything like that! The performance is so over the top that it wraps back around to accusatory, somehow. He shrugs and leans a bit further out the doorway, the door mostly shutting behind him - but he keeps a toe in the doorway propping it open that last little bit.

Innocently:]

Who says you'd go back inside? You could totally just shank me and ditch. Maybe tell another sob story on the radios about how we got jumped by one of the island mystery murderers and you only just barely got away with your life...!

[Ah, there's the hard edge. The little kid image slips away so subtly and suddenly it's way more believable that he's older than he looks at first glance.]

[salamanca]

Just come over here. Shut the door. All the way.

I just wanna talk to you about the things you were saying earlier. About me and the detective. I'm not mad anymore. Just wanna talk. Like I said.

[ Lalo beckons with the crook of a finger. He's not interested in discussing anything else except for the life-ruining shit Kokichi is trying to spread all over the network, and going around and around with Kokichi about anything else or any other accusations Kokichi might have would be a pointless distraction, so he won't bother. The information he's giving is as much information as he's willing to give with the door even cracked open even a little.

His heart thuds in his chest. He doesn't want to beg, but his eyes do it for him. Pleading. Hopeful. Desperate for Kokichi to be willing to talk to him.

After all, from Lalo's admittedly insane perspective, he's bent over backwards for Kokichi more than once (a normal, sane and healthy person would assuredly disagree with Lalo's warped ideas of what constitutes bending over backwards for somebody).

But fuck, Lalo thinks, the kid owes him this much. All he can do, though, is silently beg with the look in his eyes for Kokichi to come closer. ]

[trialbyliar]

[As sincere as that pleading look seems, Kokichi doesn't entirely trust it. Not even with the very sincere-looking freakout he's had earlier. This is a man that'd been putting on an act since the moment they woke up here, and Kokichi's seen too many normally decent people driven to murder to have much faith in decidedly less decent-seeming people.]

Jeez, relax. I just don't want us to get locked out!

[He makes a show of pausing to look around a bit, finding a small twig and wedging it in the doorframe before carefully closing the door on it so it's held open just the tiniest amount. Would that actually help anyone inside hear much? Who knows. But he steps away from the door after that. You want it closed properly? Do it yourself, motherfucker.

Limping a little on his injured ankle – and maybe even playing it up a bit, all see? Look how weak and harmless I am! – Kokichi finally moves away from the building. He doesn't quite approach Ben, not willing to get within arm's length, but his casual wandering over to lean against a nearby tree makes the caution a little less obvious.]

So...what about you and the detective? Is this the part where you confess your deepest feelings to me and beg me to keep quiet?

[salamanca]

[ Lalo, in fact, does go over and close the door himself. He waits until Kokichi is a decent enough distance away from it not to crowd him before Lalo goes over and slams the thing shut.

Then he moves back away from the door, collapsing onto the ground in a sitting position just out of arm's reach from Kokichi. He dabs his forehead with his bandana. He rolls his head, and looks over at Kokichi. ]

There's nothing [ he starts emphatically, snappishly ] going on between me and the detective.

[ Then a defeated, exhausted sigh. He looks at Kokichi again with that same pleading, desperate expression. ]

But mmmm. Something like that. Listen, kid. You can't tell anyone else that I'm a [the f-slur goes here].

If you keep your mouth shut, I'll make it worth your while. I'll do whatever you want. [ He hates that he's been reduced to this, begging a child for mercy. But what other choice does he have? Killing Kokichi under the present circumstances seems like a wildly bad idea, for a lot of reasons. And he can't let his secret — one of his many secrets — get out to more people. ]

[trialbyliar]

[He tenses almost imperceptibly as Ben actually goes back and aggressively shuts the door. It's not the energy of someone who just wants to have a nice chat, and being such a constant agitator has made Kokichi hyper-attuned to any signs a person might have lost patience with his shit.

But instead, he gets a grown man collapsing at his feet and begging him for mercy, and it doesn't feel at all as good as he would have anticipated. Kokichi makes a disgusted face – disgusted with this display, of course, but we can all guess how Lalo will interpret it.]

Ugh, gross. Quit groveling already That shit's only fun if I actually demanded it.

[And while he would absolutely lord it up and make someone get on their knees and beg him for his help in other circumstances, this just feels...kinda pathetic. And not even in the satisfying way that he'd love to see people he dislikes looking pathetic. It's just sad and makes him feel like an asshole for something he didn't even do.

Kokichi shakes his head, sighing heavily.]

You really suck at being subtle. Y'know, no one would have even questioned it if you'd just laughed it off! But now I'm the bad guy because you couldn't help broadcasting your massive insecurities to the whole island?

[At least let him be the bad guy for things he actually intended!!]

[salamanca]

[ Lalo would have to agree with Kokichi. This is extremely pathetic. He's disgusted by himself, too; equally disgusted by his sexual orientation, which now everyone knows about - most people from home don't even know that shit about him, and now all these strangers have it as common knowledge - and by his reaction to its exposure.

But what else can he do? Lalo misses when he could just shoot people. That made everything so much simpler.

Instead, he's sitting here getting lectured by a child. And yes, he interpreted the disgust on Kokichi's face exactly the way you think he did. He envisions that disgusted expression on his cousins' faces, on Yolanda's, on Miguel's, on Tio's, on Abuelita's, and he wants to throw up. Catastrophizing fantasies of being disowned, or getting the shit kicked out of him by ten people at once, play on a loop in his mind.

He sighs and still keeps staring at the sky. His knees are pulled up to his chest. One arm crossed lazily over them. His breathing is hard. He tries to manage a laugh at Kokichi's whining, but it's not a real laugh. Just a choked out gust of air.

Lalo closes his eyes. He shakes his head. ]

Bad guy? How are you the bad guy? Nobody's going to remember who I was talking to. Only that I made a fool of myself. And if I just laughed, I'd look like a [ f-slur ]. Only a [ Mexican slur for gay men ] would let something like that go. Don't you get it? You know how many guys I know would've pounded your head into the concrete of that prison cell in two seconds?

[ Sorry, Kokichi. Be glad you're not old enough to remember 2004. ]