[center][i]"Don't let us hold you back John! Just come back when you can alright? The kids'll miss ya!"[/i][/center]

Those words echoed in his mind as his eyes emptily stared at the book that he was suppose to read - it was an old book, a novel about a cyberpunk setting, something about being sucked into a machine or something other, he wasn't paying attention anymore. He was stuck in a trance, stuck with painful memories of the past, it's a wonder that John hasn't exactly drowned himself in a bottle - though he wants to - the kids wouldn't have wanted to see him like that, nor is it the best thing to do in such bleak circumstances around a group of people who are just as broken as he is. No, he keeps it real with himself, a bottle of jack won't do jack shit, reading a book, teaching a few people, perhaps he could still make a difference.

He noticed the others just milling around and glanced down at the book he was just reading, he whispered softly to himself, [color=#2f5084][i]"I'll be back... Just hope y'all did your home work though"[/i][/color] He had a few promises to keep, he still has a few loved ones in his old settlement and though he misses being there he can't just go back even if he wanted to. There were too many people who knew about him and if they find out about his old settlement he'll be putting the people he cares about at risk and he of all people couldn't risk it. They were family but then when John glances around the room he was already around family - a mildly eccentric and dysfunctional family but it was still family.

He heard the creaky door open with a cacophony of sound amplified by the room, John instinctively wrapped his fingers around his holstered 9 mil. He waited for the usual greeting as he glared at the small opening and sure enough...

[i][b][color=orange]"Wake up you lazy bunch. We've got work to do! You have 5 minutes to get ready for briefing."[/color][/b][/i] 

He breathes a out a sigh of relief as he saw Loki's voluptuous form slip into the room. He stood up while relieving the grip that he had on his sidearm. Shortly after Loki was greeted by Flamel, another denizen of the Devil's Runners [i]glamorous abode[/i]. He couldn't make out what he was saying - he was at the other side of the room - but he seemed shaky and John's immediate reaction is that he must've been doing narcotics again. 

Konstantin isn't his favorite Roommate by any stretch and he would rather not get in a mess with someone who could poison you in your sleep with some drug. Being a talented chemist gave you a lot of advantages and for Konstantin that was being able to make drugs that could kill you or worse. John would rather not know how bad things could get, there is a reason why he always has a holstered pistol [i][b]juuuust[/b][/i] in-case, that and maybe one day the person that comes through that creaky metallic door wouldn't be anyone they knew, maybe one day it could be someone out to kill them all. That sort of shit happens all the time in the wastes, things get quiet, people get complacent, and one day they all end up dead because they let their guard down and John wasn't about to let shit like that happen, not to this bunch and he was sure as hell that they'd do the same.

The next moment Kian walked over to the briefing table then gave Konstantin a pat on the back. Kian was always the optimistic one, he always saw the good in most people even in someone like Konstantin. John respected Kian and Kian always gave the same decency to an old man like John unless if it's about his eyes of course. 

Kian pretty much greeted Ashur and Konstantin like a bright light his smile was almost infectious - so much so John almost smirked. John grabbed his gear and walked over to the meeting without a peep until he arrived at the table, [color=#2f5084][i]"What's the job boss?"[/i][/color] straight to the point, short and sweet as always. John rarely talked and when he did it was when it was absolutely needed or if you pissed him off for the Devil's Runners he was starting to loosen up but he was still trying to keep it shut, he didn't want to get close to people who might die and he doesn't want people getting close to him cause he might [i]'buy the farm'[/i] later on too.