"Well, my uncle's sheriff," John said in a sheepish tone. "He took me on as a deputy when Bill Scott had his stroke last year. I had to do something to..."
John was suddenly back to two days before Christmas, when the only thing that stopped him from killing Luke was Mark putting the business end of a shotgun against his back. The stiff feeling of the gun in the small of his back, the cold metal against his shirtless body, even the strong iron taste of blood in his mouth.
"I left the family business, Mark and Luke are running the general store by themselves now."
He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to avoid blushing as he continued on.
"Look, I have to get back to patrolling... Are y'all still living where you used to live? I was wondering if I could... uhh, call on you sometime. Catch up some more with you. That is, if it's all right with you..."
Byrd Man Member
El Hombre Pájaro
STATUS: "I'm an actor. I will say anything for money." -- Also Charlton Heston 5 yrs ago
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"I'm an actor. I will say anything for money." -- Also Charlton Heston
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6 yrs ago
Starting up a preimum service of content from actors like Radcliffe, Day-Lewis, Bruhl, and Craig. Calling it OnlyDans.
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Please, guys. The status bar is for more important things... like cringe status updates.
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Gotta love people suddenly becoming apolitical when someone is doing something they approve of.
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Deleting statuses? That's a triple cringe from me, dog.
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Bio
None of your damn business.
Most Recent Posts
I'm up for any friendships or rivalries with whoever will have me.
"Comes with the job. Had to help ole Eli Tillman and his dumb as dirt boys get themselves pulled out the mud a good bit back from where I was coming from. That's mostly what I do out here this time of year. Heck, they didn't even give me a gun when they swore me in."
John realized he hadn't seen Kitty since back before he became a deputy, or at least she hadn't seen him. He saw her a few months ago right after he got deputized, coming out of Strom's Drugstore down at the square. He waved to her with a wide smile on his face, but she hadn't seen him and he felt a bit embarrassed when his uncle snapped at him and said he looked like a damn idiot, waving and smiling like that.
"Umm..., so, how have you been? I've seen Jack around town, we kind of travel in the same circles nowadays, but I haven't had a chance to ask about you. You been keeping well?"
John realized he hadn't seen Kitty since back before he became a deputy, or at least she hadn't seen him. He saw her a few months ago right after he got deputized, coming out of Strom's Drugstore down at the square. He waved to her with a wide smile on his face, but she hadn't seen him and he felt a bit embarrassed when his uncle snapped at him and said he looked like a damn idiot, waving and smiling like that.
"Umm..., so, how have you been? I've seen Jack around town, we kind of travel in the same circles nowadays, but I haven't had a chance to ask about you. You been keeping well?"
In
The Executive Branch - An Alternate History Action & Adventure RP
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12 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Interest Checks
"If we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War."
-- George Washington
TL;DR Summary:
- The Executive Branch, a secret agency made up of former presidents and American figures protects the country and the world from threats both foreign and domestic.
- Enemies include insane European monarchs, robotic communists, vampire Nazis, and undead Roman legions.
- The characters involved will be composed of a squad of EB agents sent on a mission
- No set time period or teams, characters and scenarios will change after the completion of a story arc
- Advanced Standards
In Character Info:
In 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and went to war with Great Britain. In 1777 General George Washington met with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in Boston. With Jefferson was a man from France. Gilbert du Motier, known as the Marquis de Lafayette, was a prominent French general. With Washington was Prussian Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. Both men spoke to the three revolutionaries about an old and powerful society known as the Timekeepers. Made up of the elite thinkers, nobles, and politicians the Timekeepers acted as metronome for the entire world, responsible for maintaining the rhythm and natural order of things. It was the Timekeepers that declared that the long reign of the British Empire was to end. The colonies would win the war, Lafayette and von Steuben would help them.
In a ceremony in Philadelphia Washington, Adams, and Jefferson were inducted into the Timekeepers order and shown their secrets. The Timekeepers possessed powerful artifacts of a supernatural nature and had access to magic. Using the Timekeepers' tools, the Colonies defeated England and declared their independence. Washington was elected president, Adams his vice president, and Jefferson appointed secretary of state. As part of the Timekeepers, all three men had been made immortal and given a serum that gave them special abilities. All three faked their deaths at appropriate times and went into hiding in Europe in the early 1800's.
In 1830 the three men discovered the Timekeepers' long and winding plot that would see the United States expand all the way to the Pacific ocean, and then shatter into two separate nations after a long and bloody civil war. The three founding fathers could not bear to see the country they founded destroyed. Defying their society, the men fled Europe and returned to US. They used whatever means they could to stop and delay civil war. In 1860 they used their hidden influence to elect a man who would keep the union together: Abraham Lincoln. They revealed themselves to him and worked with Lincoln throughout the war. The Timekeepers discovered the founding father's treachery and turned on them. Unable to stop the Union from winning the war, they had Lincoln assassinated in revenge. They didn't stop the Founders.They used their magic to bring Lincoln back from the grave days after he was killed.
Europe and the powers that controlled it could no longer be trusted. The old world could not never govern or control the new. The four presidents founded the Executive Branch. A clandestine organization that would protect and fight for the United States, her interest, and freedom any place and anywhere. Their ranks are made up of former American presidents and other historical figures, each of them turned immortal in the same way the three founders were. Their long war with the Timekeepers ended after the First World War, when the last remnants of the old and rotten society were swept away in the fiery cataclysm of the war.
Now in 2014, they wage clandestine wars against a variety of threats that include the Secret Soviet Union, the Fourth Reich, and the Roman Republic of Zombies. But something dark and unknown lurks on the outer reaches of the world. A darkness is setting in, and an old power is returning to take control.
In a ceremony in Philadelphia Washington, Adams, and Jefferson were inducted into the Timekeepers order and shown their secrets. The Timekeepers possessed powerful artifacts of a supernatural nature and had access to magic. Using the Timekeepers' tools, the Colonies defeated England and declared their independence. Washington was elected president, Adams his vice president, and Jefferson appointed secretary of state. As part of the Timekeepers, all three men had been made immortal and given a serum that gave them special abilities. All three faked their deaths at appropriate times and went into hiding in Europe in the early 1800's.
In 1830 the three men discovered the Timekeepers' long and winding plot that would see the United States expand all the way to the Pacific ocean, and then shatter into two separate nations after a long and bloody civil war. The three founding fathers could not bear to see the country they founded destroyed. Defying their society, the men fled Europe and returned to US. They used whatever means they could to stop and delay civil war. In 1860 they used their hidden influence to elect a man who would keep the union together: Abraham Lincoln. They revealed themselves to him and worked with Lincoln throughout the war. The Timekeepers discovered the founding father's treachery and turned on them. Unable to stop the Union from winning the war, they had Lincoln assassinated in revenge. They didn't stop the Founders.They used their magic to bring Lincoln back from the grave days after he was killed.
Europe and the powers that controlled it could no longer be trusted. The old world could not never govern or control the new. The four presidents founded the Executive Branch. A clandestine organization that would protect and fight for the United States, her interest, and freedom any place and anywhere. Their ranks are made up of former American presidents and other historical figures, each of them turned immortal in the same way the three founders were. Their long war with the Timekeepers ended after the First World War, when the last remnants of the old and rotten society were swept away in the fiery cataclysm of the war.
Now in 2014, they wage clandestine wars against a variety of threats that include the Secret Soviet Union, the Fourth Reich, and the Roman Republic of Zombies. But something dark and unknown lurks on the outer reaches of the world. A darkness is setting in, and an old power is returning to take control.
Out of Character Info:
Still with me? Well, as you can tell this RP takes a lot of stuff and mixes it together. Fantasy, sci-fi, war, and alternate history are all blended together to create... whatever this is. This is a game I've tried to do in the past, and hopefully I can get some more interest to do it again. I need about three or four other people to get the game launched. I have a list of presidential and non-presidential PCs for the game we can use, with just basic character outlines that can be expanded on by you. I have the basic ideas, but I'm open to adapting to whatever anyone wants to do. The idea is that these historical figures aren't perfect and can barely stand each other. Through all their differences they do their best to combat the strange and odd things they see for different reasons.
Potential Character Sheet (Template Here)
Name:
Skillset:
Any powers or talents your character acquired or learned as an agent with the Executive Branch.
History:
Explain the circumstances of your character's death/revival and recruitment to the Executive Branch. Feel free to also add what they've been doing for the Branch as an agent.
Psychological Profile:
An idea of how the character thinks and so forth; should be linked to the history. Try to base as much of this on their actual history, both the made up stuff for the game and the real history.
Credit to HeySeuss for the great CS and interest check templates.
HeySeuss said
@Byrd Man: I like the idea of playing a public advocate. It makes sense that such a man would have a lot of influence within a community and such a man has clout on every level of society pretty much.
Thanks. I tried to make the character kind of like Cicero with just a dash of Huey Long thrown in.
Sheet is up. Let me know if anything needs to be changed.
Character Sheet
Name: Rickas Bannon
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Physical Description:
Rickas has short brown hair dotted with gray streaks that's kept groomed and combed. He's of medium height, but of pudgy build with a good sized paunch that's developed since his retirement from adventuring. The extra weight has given him a slight double chin and chubby cheeks. A long, jagged scar on his left cheek is a memento of his old adventuring group's run in with Pykas. Rickas will not fail to use the scar as political leverage to prove to whoever he is talking to that he has and will do what is necessary to help people in need. He has brown eyes and a partially upturned nose with a small cleft in his chin. While not wearing any particular form of jewelry, he does wear the finest fabrics and clothes befitting a man of his means. A dazzling orator, Rickas has a deep voice that carries well in crowds and has a malleable quality that can help him sound like a man of the commoners or the most elite of the blue bloods depending on where he is.
Skillset:
Far Ancestry:
Character History:
Rickas was born during the last few years of his father's term as a member of parliament. One of his earliest memories was going to the capital and seeing his father debate and attack the nobility for their lack of understanding and compassion for the poor. When Synbal was run out of office and then lost all his money, times were hard on the Bannon house. Rickas and his four brothers and sisters went days without eating while their father roamed around the country looking for work and their mother gave up on trying to keep a clean and neat house. Their mother soon turned to the bottle and became a drunk. Thirteen years old and sick of being hungry and dirty, Rickas left home and never looked back. He went back to the capital and became a street urchin and low level pickpocket. Two years into stealing change he was caught by a man who was a member of the local thieves guild. Seeing a spark in the boy, the took him in and showed him the potential of the long con. Rickas learned under his tutelage for many years, becoming an expert confidence man. Abiding by his master's rules, they never robbed from anyone but the upper crust. The people who could afford it. Their partnership came to an end when the capital guards learned of one of their cons. Rickas' master was captured and executed while Rickas fled the city and the country, heading to Dara.
It was in Dara that he met a group of adventurers. While they all provided something, Rickas acted as their mouthpiece. He used his conning skills to talk them out of more than a few sticky situations. He was in it for the money until the people of Dara needed the group's help. Against his better judgement, he went with his friends on the raid into Cyrabassis' lair. In the fight, Rickas was scarred across the face by a broadsword. After the defeat of Pykas, the group disbanded and went their separate ways. Rickas found his calling as a legal advocate. Those skills that he had used to con the wealthy also worked to convince a magistrate that he and his client were in the right. His money, power, and influence soon skyrocketed Rickas into the upper class of the city.
Psychological Profile:
Equipment:
Titles/Holdings/Power Base:
Relationships
Name: Rickas Bannon
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Physical Description:
Rickas has short brown hair dotted with gray streaks that's kept groomed and combed. He's of medium height, but of pudgy build with a good sized paunch that's developed since his retirement from adventuring. The extra weight has given him a slight double chin and chubby cheeks. A long, jagged scar on his left cheek is a memento of his old adventuring group's run in with Pykas. Rickas will not fail to use the scar as political leverage to prove to whoever he is talking to that he has and will do what is necessary to help people in need. He has brown eyes and a partially upturned nose with a small cleft in his chin. While not wearing any particular form of jewelry, he does wear the finest fabrics and clothes befitting a man of his means. A dazzling orator, Rickas has a deep voice that carries well in crowds and has a malleable quality that can help him sound like a man of the commoners or the most elite of the blue bloods depending on where he is.
Skillset:
A former rogue Rickas was never a master thief, but he was an expert actor and orator. His elocution skills and acting made him into a top notch confidence man who could sway nearly anyone into giving him anything. RIckas ability to debate with cold reason and fiery passion equally well has him a highly sought after advocate. As a fighter he was less than effective, preferring to operate from long range with a bow and arrow. He was always proficient with the bow and crossbow, though those skills have diminished. His years as an advocate has also given him an expert knowledge of the laws and customs of Dara.
Far Ancestry:
In their homeland the Bannons are known for their idealistic nature and lofty dreams. The Bannons also, however, lack practicality and common sense. Yorma Bannon, Rickas' grandfather, went bankrupt trying to turn a small farm with poor soil into a thriving plantation. Before that he tried his hand at being a merchant, only to have his partner embezzle all their money and flee. The old man died penniless in the house of his son, Synbal, Rickas' father. Synbal Bannon was a charming and intelligent man who fancied himself as a merchant and politician. Coming from the lands of freemen and representatives, Synbal was able to become one of a small handful of local leaders that represented his area to the nation's parliament. Synbal proved to be an idealistic and crusading representative who fought for the people who had elected him as well as the poor and downtrodden. He spoke for the people no matter how much trouble it caused him. His lack of compromise or give with the old money of the nation led to his exile from office. He threw himself into his business interest by becoming attempting to become a shipping magnate. Placing all his money on three small ships, he was wiped out financially when pirates and storms destroyed all three ships a year into his business. He never became rich or powerful like had desired.
On the flipside the Morgun family, the family of Rickas' mother, were known for being shrewdly pragmatic and gifted in matters of business and politics. They were known to be tough, fair, and able to read men like open books. Magdar Morgun, Rickas' great grandfather was a long-serving member of the national parliament and a successful farmer. His uncle Belkas Morgun was a priest who spellbound followers with his passionate rhetoric. Sanol Morgun, Rickas' grandfather, was an able businessman who didn't want his daughter marrying Synbal Bannon, but at the time the young man's prospects were so high he allowed it.
On the flipside the Morgun family, the family of Rickas' mother, were known for being shrewdly pragmatic and gifted in matters of business and politics. They were known to be tough, fair, and able to read men like open books. Magdar Morgun, Rickas' great grandfather was a long-serving member of the national parliament and a successful farmer. His uncle Belkas Morgun was a priest who spellbound followers with his passionate rhetoric. Sanol Morgun, Rickas' grandfather, was an able businessman who didn't want his daughter marrying Synbal Bannon, but at the time the young man's prospects were so high he allowed it.
Character History:
Rickas was born during the last few years of his father's term as a member of parliament. One of his earliest memories was going to the capital and seeing his father debate and attack the nobility for their lack of understanding and compassion for the poor. When Synbal was run out of office and then lost all his money, times were hard on the Bannon house. Rickas and his four brothers and sisters went days without eating while their father roamed around the country looking for work and their mother gave up on trying to keep a clean and neat house. Their mother soon turned to the bottle and became a drunk. Thirteen years old and sick of being hungry and dirty, Rickas left home and never looked back. He went back to the capital and became a street urchin and low level pickpocket. Two years into stealing change he was caught by a man who was a member of the local thieves guild. Seeing a spark in the boy, the took him in and showed him the potential of the long con. Rickas learned under his tutelage for many years, becoming an expert confidence man. Abiding by his master's rules, they never robbed from anyone but the upper crust. The people who could afford it. Their partnership came to an end when the capital guards learned of one of their cons. Rickas' master was captured and executed while Rickas fled the city and the country, heading to Dara.
It was in Dara that he met a group of adventurers. While they all provided something, Rickas acted as their mouthpiece. He used his conning skills to talk them out of more than a few sticky situations. He was in it for the money until the people of Dara needed the group's help. Against his better judgement, he went with his friends on the raid into Cyrabassis' lair. In the fight, Rickas was scarred across the face by a broadsword. After the defeat of Pykas, the group disbanded and went their separate ways. Rickas found his calling as a legal advocate. Those skills that he had used to con the wealthy also worked to convince a magistrate that he and his client were in the right. His money, power, and influence soon skyrocketed Rickas into the upper class of the city.
Psychological Profile:
Rickas is very friendly and warm as any politician must be. He has a great memory and uses it to his advantage when he can, by remembering something about a certain person they may have forgotten or wish to have forgotten. He uses his charm and warmth to get close to those he needs. If you're someone he doesn't need he can be cold and demanding. Rickas sees himself as practical and pragmatic, extremely so. This is a conscious decision to rebel from his father's way of doing things, to show that the only way to be successful is to not believe in ideals and dreams. He can convince an aristocratic blue blood that he is against the common plebs and then turn around and call out the wealthy and corrupt gentry of the city at a rally of the working class. While he is pragmatic, he does have a idealistic streak that he will entertain as long as it doesn't interfere with any political plans. He is a great reader of other people's emotions and wants which makes him a good diplomat and negotiator. While he does want to help people, he also wants power. He believes that only though power can people really be helped.
Equipment:
Nothing out of the usual clothes. He has his armor and weapons from adventuring, but they have been put up for a long time.
Titles/Holdings/Power Base:
Rickas is chief advocate of Dara, the top advocate to argue legal cases either representing Dara or someone in need of his help. His years as an advocate has led to him amassing a handsome personal fortune and a large house in the nicer part of the city. He has the money to buy several sellswords as he wishes. Rickas also has many contacts within Dara politics, from magistrates and council staff members to commanders in the city guard. He also has many friends and former clients in the business sector of the city. At one time he has represented nearly every single one of Dara's oldest and richest families of the city. Alongside the rich and connected he also has the poor on his side. With his reputation as a reformer and a man of the people, he is popular among the working class and can use them to sell his ideas to the rest of the city.
Relationships
TBD
I know I didn't show interest in the interest check, but I do want to work on a sheet. I've been wanting to take part in a government/politics RP for quite sometime, and this is pretty close to that.
"There you go," John said with a forced smile.
His khaki colored shirt and black tie were spattered with mud from the road. Eli Turman and his three boys were giving the final push to their wagon to get it out of the mud. The thick red mud from the other day's rain made this part of the road like quicksand. When John rode up on his horse, Eli and two of his sons were pushing the wagon loaded down with farming equipment while the youngest son held the reigns to the single horse that pulled the wagon. John tied his horse up to the wagon with the Turman's before he slung off his coat and helped the three farmers with their wagon.
"Thank you, Johnny," Eli said with a nod. "We woulda been stuck here to nearly noon if you hadn't come along."
"Just doing my job," John said as he untied his horse and slung his jacket back on. "Now, ya'll be careful farther down the road, there's a fair bit of mud down near Pollar'd Corner."
"Obliged," the old man said before climbing into the wagon with his sons.
John watched them leave and waited until they were down the road and around the next corner before he looked at the mud on his shirt and sighed. The red clay of the Carolina mud was damn near impossible to get out sometimes, at least for him. One of the few downsides to no longer living at home was that he didn't have his mamma doing the wash for him. Mrs. Bonds, his landlady, would wash his clothes once a week as part of his rent agreement, but she couldn't get stains out worth a damn.
He got back on his horse and headed back down the road in the opposite direction that the Turmans had went, heading south towards the McCormick County. John clicked his tongue and worked his horse up into a steady trot that had him bouncing down the dirt road at a pretty brisk pace. He pulled back on the reigns and slowed the horse down when he saw a bicycle speeding down the road towards him. His throat nearly closed up when he saw who it was riding the bike.
Kitty Avett had been one of John's playmates as a child, the Normans and Avetts practically thicker than thieves when the kids were all coming up. Matt, Mark, and Luke ran around with Jacky when they were boys and on into their teenage years, Matt and Jacky even enlisted together and went over to France during the War. Ruth and Sarah were just about the right age to form their own pack with Willa and Violet. John and Kitty were the two youngest of the ten kids, so they always got stuck together. John didn't mind it, especially when he got to a certain age and started to recognize Kitty's beauty.
Then, that thing that always happened with the old man happened. The problem with Harold Norman was that anyone who spent enough time with him realized he was a worthless son of a bitch, everyone always came to that conclusion. It just took Mr. Avett longer than most to see that, and the families had their falling out just a year or two before the old man ended up dead. They said he drank himself to death, but John always figured he nastied away, all that meanness and hatred eating him up inside like the worst kind of cancer.
John took a deep breath and started to steadily ride towards Kitty, doing his best to look official and respectable... even with the mud all over his shirt. He silently cursed Eli Turman for picking today of all days to get stuck in the mud.
His khaki colored shirt and black tie were spattered with mud from the road. Eli Turman and his three boys were giving the final push to their wagon to get it out of the mud. The thick red mud from the other day's rain made this part of the road like quicksand. When John rode up on his horse, Eli and two of his sons were pushing the wagon loaded down with farming equipment while the youngest son held the reigns to the single horse that pulled the wagon. John tied his horse up to the wagon with the Turman's before he slung off his coat and helped the three farmers with their wagon.
"Thank you, Johnny," Eli said with a nod. "We woulda been stuck here to nearly noon if you hadn't come along."
"Just doing my job," John said as he untied his horse and slung his jacket back on. "Now, ya'll be careful farther down the road, there's a fair bit of mud down near Pollar'd Corner."
"Obliged," the old man said before climbing into the wagon with his sons.
John watched them leave and waited until they were down the road and around the next corner before he looked at the mud on his shirt and sighed. The red clay of the Carolina mud was damn near impossible to get out sometimes, at least for him. One of the few downsides to no longer living at home was that he didn't have his mamma doing the wash for him. Mrs. Bonds, his landlady, would wash his clothes once a week as part of his rent agreement, but she couldn't get stains out worth a damn.
He got back on his horse and headed back down the road in the opposite direction that the Turmans had went, heading south towards the McCormick County. John clicked his tongue and worked his horse up into a steady trot that had him bouncing down the dirt road at a pretty brisk pace. He pulled back on the reigns and slowed the horse down when he saw a bicycle speeding down the road towards him. His throat nearly closed up when he saw who it was riding the bike.
Kitty Avett had been one of John's playmates as a child, the Normans and Avetts practically thicker than thieves when the kids were all coming up. Matt, Mark, and Luke ran around with Jacky when they were boys and on into their teenage years, Matt and Jacky even enlisted together and went over to France during the War. Ruth and Sarah were just about the right age to form their own pack with Willa and Violet. John and Kitty were the two youngest of the ten kids, so they always got stuck together. John didn't mind it, especially when he got to a certain age and started to recognize Kitty's beauty.
Then, that thing that always happened with the old man happened. The problem with Harold Norman was that anyone who spent enough time with him realized he was a worthless son of a bitch, everyone always came to that conclusion. It just took Mr. Avett longer than most to see that, and the families had their falling out just a year or two before the old man ended up dead. They said he drank himself to death, but John always figured he nastied away, all that meanness and hatred eating him up inside like the worst kind of cancer.
John took a deep breath and started to steadily ride towards Kitty, doing his best to look official and respectable... even with the mud all over his shirt. He silently cursed Eli Turman for picking today of all days to get stuck in the mud.
Deputy John Norman stood just outside the tar paper shack and listened to the sounds of struggle easily passing through the thin walls. He kept his eyes forward and looking impassively at the dirt road while glass bottles broke inside. The shack belonged to Theo Tatum, a local colored moonshiner that supplied the colored people in Pickett with their hooch. Theo had the misfortune to keep his still and 'shine two miles outside the town limits of Pickett, make his whole operation fall under the jurisdiction of the Pickett County Sheriff.
"You got my money, boy?" a voice asked from inside the shack.
"Yessir," Theo said breathlessly. "Look underneath the stove over there, sir, you'll find it."
"This ain't enough. You do know math, don't ya boy? Half of what you earn goes to me, you get it? You make a dollar, I get fifty cents? You shortin' me, boy?"
"No, sir, I an't shortin' you. That's all I got, business is just slow."
"You better not be lying to me, Theo. You lie or cheat me, then you're gonna goddamn hang."
A few minutes later the door to the shack swung open. A middle-aged man with gray hair and a large gut ambled out with a roll of money in one hand and a bottle of homemade liquor in the other. He wore the black and khaki uniform that John was wearing, but with a gold badge on the chest that announced his job title: Sheriff.
"I'll be back next week, boy," Sheriff Henry Norman said before shutting the door to the shack. "Try not to be so uppity then. You know what happens to you when you get uppity, right?"
"Yes, sir," Theo mumbled from the floor, blood dripping from his mouth.
"That's a good boy."
Henry closed the door and ambled towards John as he stuffed the cash into his pocket. He winked at his nephew and took a long swig off the bottle. John stayed silent and watched his uncle while he polished off half the bottle in a few gulps.
"Goddamn, that's some shitty liquor."
"Well, he's paying you to take it off his hands," John said with a grin. "What you expect?"
Henry grunted and started towards the dirt road where the Sheriff's Department's lone car, a black 1922 Durant Model A-22, was parked next to the bay colored horse John rode. The sheriff tossed the half-full bottle of hooch into the car and climbed inside of it while John mounted his horse. Henry talked to John while he started the complex process of starting the car up.
"Heard a rumor, Johnny."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"Heard that Mark and Luke might be getting into the 'shine business."
John shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his uncle.
"If they is, they ain't told me."
"Uh-huh." Henry spat a long line of tobacco out of his mouth that spattered on the dead ground by the car. "Well, I want you to have a talk with 'em when you see 'em again. If they're in the business, they know the rules. You gonna need to have a come to Jesus meeting with them two boys."
John nodded but didn't say anything.
"Alright, I'm headed back to town to the office. Just keep on patrolling til your shift's over, Eli will relieve you this evening."
With that, Henry Norman started the car up. John had to hold his horse in check and keep it clam as the loud machine sped off down the dirt road towards Pickett. He didn't like the prospect of confronting Mark and Luke about what they were doing, even when he hid behind the badge of his office. The whole reason he took the job offer from Henry was to get away from them, his sisters, and his momma. He rented out of a house in town so he didn't have to go up to Jardin to see them. That whole family was poison. It was bad enough having to take Uncle Henry's corrupt bullshit at work, and now this. Only six months as a deputy and he was already wading back into the family cesspool. John shook his head and started down the dirt road away from town.
"You got my money, boy?" a voice asked from inside the shack.
"Yessir," Theo said breathlessly. "Look underneath the stove over there, sir, you'll find it."
"This ain't enough. You do know math, don't ya boy? Half of what you earn goes to me, you get it? You make a dollar, I get fifty cents? You shortin' me, boy?"
"No, sir, I an't shortin' you. That's all I got, business is just slow."
"You better not be lying to me, Theo. You lie or cheat me, then you're gonna goddamn hang."
A few minutes later the door to the shack swung open. A middle-aged man with gray hair and a large gut ambled out with a roll of money in one hand and a bottle of homemade liquor in the other. He wore the black and khaki uniform that John was wearing, but with a gold badge on the chest that announced his job title: Sheriff.
"I'll be back next week, boy," Sheriff Henry Norman said before shutting the door to the shack. "Try not to be so uppity then. You know what happens to you when you get uppity, right?"
"Yes, sir," Theo mumbled from the floor, blood dripping from his mouth.
"That's a good boy."
Henry closed the door and ambled towards John as he stuffed the cash into his pocket. He winked at his nephew and took a long swig off the bottle. John stayed silent and watched his uncle while he polished off half the bottle in a few gulps.
"Goddamn, that's some shitty liquor."
"Well, he's paying you to take it off his hands," John said with a grin. "What you expect?"
Henry grunted and started towards the dirt road where the Sheriff's Department's lone car, a black 1922 Durant Model A-22, was parked next to the bay colored horse John rode. The sheriff tossed the half-full bottle of hooch into the car and climbed inside of it while John mounted his horse. Henry talked to John while he started the complex process of starting the car up.
"Heard a rumor, Johnny."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"Heard that Mark and Luke might be getting into the 'shine business."
John shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his uncle.
"If they is, they ain't told me."
"Uh-huh." Henry spat a long line of tobacco out of his mouth that spattered on the dead ground by the car. "Well, I want you to have a talk with 'em when you see 'em again. If they're in the business, they know the rules. You gonna need to have a come to Jesus meeting with them two boys."
John nodded but didn't say anything.
"Alright, I'm headed back to town to the office. Just keep on patrolling til your shift's over, Eli will relieve you this evening."
With that, Henry Norman started the car up. John had to hold his horse in check and keep it clam as the loud machine sped off down the dirt road towards Pickett. He didn't like the prospect of confronting Mark and Luke about what they were doing, even when he hid behind the badge of his office. The whole reason he took the job offer from Henry was to get away from them, his sisters, and his momma. He rented out of a house in town so he didn't have to go up to Jardin to see them. That whole family was poison. It was bad enough having to take Uncle Henry's corrupt bullshit at work, and now this. Only six months as a deputy and he was already wading back into the family cesspool. John shook his head and started down the dirt road away from town.
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