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xp_logs2006-10-28 07:15 pm
x-skin.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2006-10-28 07:15 pm
The Gates: Ready to Go
Nathan and Angelo make more preparations for the trip.
"Do you have one of those money belts?" Nathan asked idly. He and Angelo were sitting in the boathouse's living room, examining the letters of introduction and other papers that had arrived by courier this morning. Some were written in Czech, others in English... or maybe they were copies. It was, according to the note Joel had stuck into the package, everything they needed to verify that they were allowed to be in Smichov, once they got there. "One of those ones that goes under your shirt... we should all have them. That way we keep the important papers close."
"...pretty sure I've got one somewhere", came the answer after a moment's thought. "If I can find it. If not... well, the others'll need to get them anyway."
"I was going out shopping tomorrow," Nathan said absently, sorting the piles neatly into five piles. The name on the cover letter of one of them made him smile; he'd been able to hear Joel's eyes rolling over the phone as he'd let him know what name Medusa would be traveling under. Oddly, Joel hadn't protested quite as much as he'd expected. Possibly the value of having someone along with a direct connection to one of the two highly mutant-friendly nations had overcome his moral objections. "I'll pick up those and a few other things. We're going to have to pack food supplies too, I think. Not a good idea to rely on local supplies given the likely situation inside."
Angelo nodded. "...is it goin' to have to be those MRE bars again?"
Nathan laughed. "We're there for a week, and we'll need the full meals, so no. None of the awful bars. Not that the meals themselves are going to be a lot better, but at least there'll be a range of options. I'll hit that store in town that sells the supplies for backpackers."
"Sounds good." He smiled slightly. "So when do we head out?"
"Halloween. Around ten PM or thereabouts... yes, I know, we're missing Halloween again. At least this time I'm not taking half the school with me," Nathan said wryly, thinking about last year's trip on Halloween, and how that had ended.
"Yeah, just three of us. An' given how imaginative some of the kids can be with trick or treatin'... maybe it's not so bad we'll be out of the mansion."
"That sounded downright cynical." Nathan straightened, eyeing him assessingly. "I get the sense you're more concerned about this than you have been with some of our other trips. Am I right?"
He shrugged slightly, trying to stay casual. "It's just... places like that, they can go real bad, real fast. I know that. I mean, that's why we're goin', to see how bad it's got. But if there's the wrong spark..."
"It's worrisome, I know. And I know that our last trip had its problems, too, which I know preys on my mind, just a little," Nathan said wryly. "No kidnappings this time. Or I'm going to be very piqued." He rubbed at his jaw. "Any suggestions?" he asked, quite seriously despite the smile. "You've been out and about with me often enough to have a basic grasp of the sort of precautions we should follow. And if at some point you're going to start doing this on your own..."
"Well... I'm the only obvious mutant, unless powers come into it. So I'll go with the inducer. An' we should maybe try an' stay out of sight while we're not actually out there."
"So what do we look for, in terms of accomodations?"
"Somewhere small", came the instant answer. "If there's any independent hotels still open, one of those. Not a chain."
Nathan couldn't help a proud smile. "I should just stay at home and let you handle this, maybe?" he asked teasingly.
"Don't even think about it."
"Do you have one of those money belts?" Nathan asked idly. He and Angelo were sitting in the boathouse's living room, examining the letters of introduction and other papers that had arrived by courier this morning. Some were written in Czech, others in English... or maybe they were copies. It was, according to the note Joel had stuck into the package, everything they needed to verify that they were allowed to be in Smichov, once they got there. "One of those ones that goes under your shirt... we should all have them. That way we keep the important papers close."
"...pretty sure I've got one somewhere", came the answer after a moment's thought. "If I can find it. If not... well, the others'll need to get them anyway."
"I was going out shopping tomorrow," Nathan said absently, sorting the piles neatly into five piles. The name on the cover letter of one of them made him smile; he'd been able to hear Joel's eyes rolling over the phone as he'd let him know what name Medusa would be traveling under. Oddly, Joel hadn't protested quite as much as he'd expected. Possibly the value of having someone along with a direct connection to one of the two highly mutant-friendly nations had overcome his moral objections. "I'll pick up those and a few other things. We're going to have to pack food supplies too, I think. Not a good idea to rely on local supplies given the likely situation inside."
Angelo nodded. "...is it goin' to have to be those MRE bars again?"
Nathan laughed. "We're there for a week, and we'll need the full meals, so no. None of the awful bars. Not that the meals themselves are going to be a lot better, but at least there'll be a range of options. I'll hit that store in town that sells the supplies for backpackers."
"Sounds good." He smiled slightly. "So when do we head out?"
"Halloween. Around ten PM or thereabouts... yes, I know, we're missing Halloween again. At least this time I'm not taking half the school with me," Nathan said wryly, thinking about last year's trip on Halloween, and how that had ended.
"Yeah, just three of us. An' given how imaginative some of the kids can be with trick or treatin'... maybe it's not so bad we'll be out of the mansion."
"That sounded downright cynical." Nathan straightened, eyeing him assessingly. "I get the sense you're more concerned about this than you have been with some of our other trips. Am I right?"
He shrugged slightly, trying to stay casual. "It's just... places like that, they can go real bad, real fast. I know that. I mean, that's why we're goin', to see how bad it's got. But if there's the wrong spark..."
"It's worrisome, I know. And I know that our last trip had its problems, too, which I know preys on my mind, just a little," Nathan said wryly. "No kidnappings this time. Or I'm going to be very piqued." He rubbed at his jaw. "Any suggestions?" he asked, quite seriously despite the smile. "You've been out and about with me often enough to have a basic grasp of the sort of precautions we should follow. And if at some point you're going to start doing this on your own..."
"Well... I'm the only obvious mutant, unless powers come into it. So I'll go with the inducer. An' we should maybe try an' stay out of sight while we're not actually out there."
"So what do we look for, in terms of accomodations?"
"Somewhere small", came the instant answer. "If there's any independent hotels still open, one of those. Not a chain."
Nathan couldn't help a proud smile. "I should just stay at home and let you handle this, maybe?" he asked teasingly.
"Don't even think about it."