Playing Defense

Log Title: Playing Defense

Characters: Kimber, Major Bludd

Location: Los Angeles

Date: 3 November 2016

TP: America Burning TP

Summary: Major Bludd defends Starlight Mansion and its occupants from a band of roving bikers.

As logged by  Major Bludd

Los Angeles
Conflicting images of Los Angeles flicker across our television and movie screens: Hollywood glamour contrasts with gang violence, year-round sunny skies with smog, fast cars with traffic jams. From what travelers can gather, Los Angeles is a land of style and disaster, movers and shakers and earthquakes. Residents are accustomed to a rhythm that alternates between relaxation and stress, but out-of-towners -- fortunately -- tend to experience much more of the former.

The nation's second-largest city (after New York), L.A. is a great place in which to do business or take a vacation. Marvelous restaurants, terrific nightlife, beaches, diverse cultural offerings, Disneyland and easygoing attitudes converge in a vast territory flooded with sunshine and lined with palms. Nearly everyone should see L.A. at least once, though a single trip will hardly be enough to appreciate such a vast area that's jam-packed with things to do.

Currently the city is a shambles, under occupation by Cobra. Black and silver Battle Android Troopers are on every street corner, reminding citizens in their computerised voices that they must obey Cobra's commands or be punished. Mirror-helmeted Cobra Vipers patrol the streets, on foot and in black Stinger jeeps or Ferret ATVs.

It's a few evenings later, and things have begun to calm down to a bizarre new status quo. Cobra has taken over the city, and BATs and Vipers guard the periphery of LA County while Dreadnok gangs continue to roam the streets. Travel and communications are still blocked, but power has been restored. Kimber and Anne have let the Starlight Girls out of the basement, but are keeping them away from the windows.

The TVs and radios remain off - Kimber doesn't want them exposed to Cobra propaganda. The girls have adapted to Bludd's presence pretty quickly -- they grin when they see him, and most of them don't stare at the eyepatch at all -- well, no more than most kids. Kimber has taken to wearing her workout clothes most of the time -- still garish, but at least a bit more functional than her high-fashion look. She smiles at Bludd as she does another check of the mansion grounds.

Bludd is seated on a sofa in the entry hall, methodically checking his sidearm for anything that might need maintenance. He glances up and smiles at Kimber as she comes by. "How're you doin'?" he asks quietly, replacing the pistol's firing pin without looking.

Kimber hops over and gives Bludd a kiss on the cheek, whipping her long auburn ponytail around as she does. She's become much more used to Bludd's handling of firearms, and seems to have come around to seeing an armed Bludd as a comfort, not a potential danger. "Doing OK, Sebastian. No sign of intruders on the grounds, but I'm hearing a lot of engine revving down the block -- we might want to keep an eye on things."

Bludd replaces his sidearm in his shoulder holster, plainly visible over his shirt. "Engines, huh?" He casts a frown toward the windows. "Make sure the girls're safe," he tells her, placing a quick kiss on her temple as he gets to his feet. "If there's trouble, I'll solve it, no worries. Just might get a little loud in here if I have to ... 'problem-solve'." He gives a half-shrug, turning to gaze out the windows again.

Kimber smiles a little nervously, and gives Bludd a quick hug. "Just be careful, OK? I just got you back -- I don't want to lose you again!" She steps back, and grins up at Bludd one last time before running into the mansion to get Anne's help gathering and wrangling the girls to a safer place deeper within the mansion. From the entry hall, Bludd can hear the sounds of the engines about which Kimber was talking -- and they seemed to be getting closer.

Bludd gives Kimber a squeeze with one arm, his attention still on the front of the house. "I will," he promises her, glancing back to her with a confident smile borne of his years of dealing with situations wherein people had tried to kill him. Once she's gone, he turns off most of the lights in the front room and settles himself between the door and one of the windows, watching and listening while waiting for trouble to come and find him.

Outside, the noise of motorcycles can be heard racing up and down the boulevard. Eventually, the sound slows to a rumble, as a group of bikers stops outside the gate. Both laughing and shouting can be heard. There's a gunshot, and then the gate is dragged open. Soon the roar of the bikes tears up the path towards the house. A small gang of leather-clad thugs comes barreling into view. Some carry chains; some shotguns; and others have advanced weaponry given to them by the Dreadnoks.

On seeing the group of bikers, Bludd's immediately calculating in his head: distances, angles, groupings of enemies, types of weapons they carry. Since it's more than plain they mean to cause trouble, he settles into a kneeling position by the window, slides it open, and takes a couple shots at the bikers carrying the longest-range, most advanced weapons.

>> Major Bludd strikes Biker Gang with M9 . <<


 * CRACK** **CRACK** The sound of Bludd's shots ring out across the courtyard, and the two most heavily-armed bikers stumble backward off their bikes. Their weapons clatter to the ground as their bodies hit hard and their motorcycles crash and skid down the driveway. The other gang members look confused a moment until they figure out where the shots must be coming from and speed up, roaring for the front of the mansion. Two of them smash right into the foyer, breaking through the barred door. From deeper within the building, Bludd can hear the girls scream in fear.

Bludd turns from the window, moving to put the wall at his back instead, and fires at the two bikers that come through the door.

>> Major Bludd misses Biker Gang with M9 . <<

The bikers inside do donuts in the large foyer, tearing up the floor and laughing as they trash the place. One of them ducks as Bludd fires and roars toward him. He swings a chain over his head, and slashes it at Bludd as he rushes towards him, turning at the last minute so as not to impact the wall. The other biker heads for the stairs, climbing them with his bike and breaking the banisters with a lead pipe. Outside, the bikers drive around the building, smashing and shooting out the windows in the mansion.

>> Biker Gang strikes Major Bludd with Bash. <<

The chain catches Bludd's forearm as he shields his face from it. The force of the blow staggers him back against the wall. He ignores his immediate attacker to fire at the biker driving up the stairs. In the heat of the moment, he's forgotten just where Kimber and the girls are hiding, but if he can stop this guy from getting upstairs, he'll be a bit more confident they're still safe.

>> Major Bludd strikes Biker Gang with M9 . <<

The biker on the stairs cries out, and his bike skips out from under him. Both slide and tumble back down the stairs, leaving a trail of blood and oil on the carpet. The gang member that hit Bludd grins at the mercenary as his attention is diverted. More concerned with the target in front of him than the fate of his friend, the Dreadnok-wanna be jumps off his motorcycle and wraps his chain around his fist. "Hey, one-eye!" he yells with a laugh. "Over here!" He smashes his chain-wrapped fist at Bludd's face.

>> Biker Gang misses Major Bludd with Smash. <<

Bludd doesn't bother to observe the result of his attack before turning his attention to the fellow with the chain. He neatly sidesteps the thug's clumsy swing and brings his knee up in an attempt to slam it into the man's abdomen. "You rang?"

>> Major Bludd strikes Biker Gang with Bash. <<

"Rang?" the thug asks in confusion. "What did I ri-- oof!" The biker half-collapses as the knee to the abdomen drives him backward and almost drops him to the ground. "That --" he gasps -- "was a mistake, old man." He backs away, and then calls out, "In here! We got a live one, and I think I h'ard girls in the back!" A wicked leer crinkles the man's scarred face as the roar of bikes signals the other members of his gang closing in.

Bludd backs toward the centre of the room to better intercept any bikers who come into the house through the front doorway. He lifts his sidearm, casually aims it at the thug with the chain, and fires.

>> Major Bludd strikes Biker Gang with M9 . <<

"Augh!" the foyer biker cries out, and crumples to the carpet, bleeding and moaning. Moments later two more bikers roar into the building. One knife-wielding thug roars off down a hallway towards the kitchens, and the other moves towards Bludd, firing a shotgun blast at him as he closes in. "Who are you?" he asks as he fires. "Private security? Guess it doesn't matter -- you'll be red soup soon." He laughs at his own turn of phrase.

>> Biker Gang strikes Major Bludd with Ballistic . <<

Bludd takes the shotgun blast to the side as he tries and fails to dive out of the way. He grits his teeth and rolls, coming up in a crouch. A separate part of his mind is all too aware of the knife-wielding biker tearing through the house, but in this moment he focuses on the thug with the shotgun, bringing up his pistol and snapping off a shot. The quicker he gets rid of this guy, the sooner he can track down the others and keep them from harming Kimber or the girls.

>> Major Bludd strikes Biker Gang with M9 . <<

The shotgun biker looks more surprised than anything else as a flower of blood blooms across his chest, with a matching one spreading across his back. His bike carries forward into a large antique grandfather clock, which emits a tremendous crash as the motorcycle slams into it. The thug slumps forward, dead before he hits the floor. Further in the house, the Starlight Girls scream as the sound of the knife-wielding biker gets closer.

Bludd takes off after the knife-wielding thug he saw heading for the kitchens. His injuries, especially the shotgun wound, cause him some distress, but the need to protect Kimber makes him all but forget them.

The roar of the bike stops, and there is the sound of screaming and the clanking of metal coming from the kitchen. As Bludd approaches the kitchens, a butcher knife sails by into the hallway, hitting the wall with a thwack and sticking deep into the plaster. Kimber can be heard screaming, "What are you doing here? You want me to make you a sandwich! Get out of here! I mean it!" The biker can be seen in the doorway of the kitchen, flinching as another knife sails past him.

Bludd is startled by the sudden appearance of the butcher knife, and he skids to a stop just before the kitchen's entrance. He grins at the sound of Kimber's voice, pulling the conveniently placed knife from the wall and wielding it in his left hand, his pistol still in his right. "'At's right," he drawls, the pistol held out toward the biker. "Take yer mates an' go. Take the ones that fell down in the front room too, while yer at it." He can't resist bestowing a smirk on the woman who stared down a tentacled alien robot with a steak knife as she threatens the invader in her home with similar steel.

The biker looks to Kimber, who is stationed where she has plenty more knives where those came from. He turns back to look at Bludd, with his butcher knife and pistol. "Fuck this," the biker says, and drops his own knife. He backs his bike into the hallway, and then roars past Bludd and out of the mansion, leaving his friends to take care of themselves. Those that can still walk, do, carrying the rest, and getting the hell out of Starlight Mansion. They spread the word - Starlight is off-limits. Properly cowed, they stay away from the Starlight Girls and their protector, Major Bludd.

"Lemme run the house," Bludd tells Kimber. "Make sure they've all gone. Also..." He glances in the general direction of the front of the house. "Had some collateral damage in the front room. You're ... gonna need a new door, for starters. You may wanna stay outta there for the time being, actually." He offers Kimber a weak smile. "All the girls alright?"

Kimber smiles in obvious relief, and runs over to hug Bludd, knife still in hand. She blanches, however, at the sight of Bludd's injuries. "Anne!" she yells. "Get me the first aid kit!" To Bludd she says, "You need to sit. I'll go check out the house. You're hurt!" She tries to guide Bludd over to a chair so he can sit and let her tend to his wounds. At the same time, she glances towards the front of the mansion, obviously torn about what to do.

Bludd shakes his head at Kimber. "I need to check the house first," he tells her. He glances down at the shotgun wound on his side. "It's not as bad as it looks. If one of those guys is still hangin' around here, poking through things, lookin' for things to steal, I'd rather be the one that finds him." He lays a hand on Kimber's arm. "I've done this before, love. Once I'm sure the house is clear, then you can have at me with the first aid kit, okay?" Though his words are calm and his manner confident, he's making something of an effort to not show the toll his injuries may be taking on him to Kimber.

Kimber closes her eyes and takes a breath. She then opens them, and nods. "OK. You're right. I trust you. Check the house and come back. I'll make sure the girls are OK and I'll take care of you when you get back, OK?" She leans forward and gives Bludd a very careful kiss on his cheek, and then steps back. "I guess I'll pick up all these knives as well," she grins, looking around at the mess she made defending the kitchen. "Next time he can make his own sandwich."

Bludd grins at Kimber. "It won't take me too long," he promises. He chuckles. "That's right, crazy biker punks should make their own sandwiches." He heads out of the kitchen to make his check of the house.