Delmar's storyline part 36 - Shrapnel

Delmar was fascinated by watching Reed’s frustration, first was Dawson kidnapped, then was Shrapnel completely out of control and now was Maxine trying to take the mentorship for Ramsey away from him. And he couldn't really do anything about it because he was supposed to follow Delmar on his missions. It was fascinating because Delmar had never seen big self-assured Reed feel helpless and questioning the authorities like this before. Reed led them home to his apartment where he packed some things into a bag. Delmar watched displeased as Reed included a silver gun with the things he packed.
“I thought you usually didn't use those.” he said displeased.
“I don't.” Reed grumbled without looking at him.

When Reed was done they headed back down to the Chemical faction. He led them up the big stairs and down through one of the larger more crowded corridors.

They stopped outside a fancy door. The door had a sign with Terra’s name engraved on it. Outside the door was a bench for visitors.
Reed picked up the silver gun from his bag, changed the magazine, unlocked the safety lock and handed it to Ramsey.
“If he tries anything funny shoot him with this. The bullets I loaded it with will give him a black out.” he said it as much to Delmar as to Ramsey. Ramsey nodded with a nervous determined look in his face.
“I'm going to speak with Terra. You two wait out here.” Reed said and knocked on the door. Soon it was opened by the Chemical factions second in command. They exchanged some words before she looked at Delmar and Ramsey who was now both sitting on the visitor's bench.
“Reed is it really a good idea to leave Ramsey alone out here with Delmar?” she said troubled.
“Don't worry, I took care of it.” they went into her office closed the door and left Delmar and Ramsey alone in the corridor.

Ramsey stared nervously at him with the gun awkwardly pointing in his direction.
“Relax, I'm not going to kill you in the middle of the Chemical faction. I'm not stupid.” Delmar said with a mean smile. Ramsey did not look like he was going to relax one bit, he still held the gun pointed at Delmar. It was never boring around the pup, Ramsey was still terrified in his company. He could always play some mind games on the pup while waiting for Reed to come back, see how much he could provoke Ramsey until he actually fired his gun.

“So how's your training going?” he asked still with the mean smile on his lips.
“Eh…” Ramsey started.
“It's not going too good, is it?” Delmar chuckled. “You’re not able to control your demon.” he kept staring at Ramsey while he dug around in Ramsey’s memories. “You’re afraid of it.”
“I…” Ramsey started but Delmar interrupted him.
“And you're afraid you'll never be able to control it. That’s good.”
“How is that good?”
“It's good for me. It'll be easier to kill you.”
“Reed said I should have no problem defeating you, he says I'm much stronger than you.” Ramsey said scared. Delmar started laughing.
“So he told you about elemental strength? I'm not surprised. But as long as you can't control your demon you're no match to me.”
“You’re lying.”
“You won't stand a chance and you know it” Delmar lay a finger against the pipe of the gun. “Why else would you hide behind that gun?” He took away the finger and leaned relaxed against the wall. “Reed knows it as well, otherwise he wouldn't give it to you and Terra knows it too, otherwise she wouldn't be so concerned when they left you out here alone with Me.” he chuckled evil again. “You’re just a scared pup, you'll never be a soldier.”
“Yes I will, I'm going to project everyone.”
“Why are you trying to protect others when you can't even protect yourself?”
“I am stronger than you” Ramsey told himself rather than Delmar.
“You are too slow and too scared to do anything in time. I would mash you like a potato.” like a lash from a whip the ice around him formed several sharp blades all pointing in Ramsey’s direction. Ramsey jumped scared a few centimeters away from Delmar and held the gun properly pointed at him ready to shoot for real. Maybe it was time to end the game? Ramsey had made up his mind to actually shoot him if he continued and the blackouts you got from the anti-shifter devices weren't particularly pleasant, he had enough of them after the time he had spent in the prison. Delmar let the ice return to normal and leaned relaxed back at the wall again and started laughing like it was all a joke.
“Haha, don't worry boy I'm not going to kill you. I thought we had an agreement?”
“We had?” Ramsey said now both confused and terrified.
“You were to keep out an eye for Angi and I wouldn't kill you.” Delmar explained with a mocking smile.
“Right!” Ramsey said with his eyes wide open by realization, he lowered the gun a bit and stared at his blue chuckling tormentor.
“You’re a good kid, it would almost a shame to kill you.” Delmar's smile suddenly disappeared and turned to an ominous look instead. “Reed on the other hand I'm going to kill as soon as I'm getting the opportunity. I'm going to murder him slowly and gut him like a fish…”

Suddenly the door opened again and Reed came out again. Delmar noticed displeased that he seemed a bit less distressed.
“Are we going to Brenner soon?” Delmar asked and got up from the bench.
“I got one more thing I need to do.” Reed threw a soft hat to Ramsey. “Hat on! We’re going off-districts.”
“Where are we going?” Ramsey asked happily and put the hat on relieved that Reed was back.
“We're going home to shrapnel.” Ramsey tried to hand back the silver gun but Reed just said, “Keep it kid, you're gonna need it more than me.”

Shrapnel lived outside the district in a quite regular skyscraper. It had already started to get dark when they got there. The name Kilroy Vitriol adorned the door. It was probably the name of Shrapnel’s human identity. Carefully Reed tried the handle to the door, with a silent click it opened and the three of them went in. The apartment was small but felt open, it was dark, quiet and seemed empty. It had one bigger room and a door that probably lead into a smaller bedroom. Alongside one of the walls was a well cleaned kitchenette and on the other side of the room from the door was a couple of big windows featuring the city with its billboard commercial screens in all of its glory. The light from the city below gave the apartment some ambient light. The walls were scraped clean down to the concrete and the only furniture in there was a bookshelf, a couch, a coffee table, a potted palm plant and a big rock lying on the floor. Delmar couldn't decide if he thought the stone was supposed to be used as a second coffee table or an adornment before he realized the presence of the small creature hiding underneath. So that's what Reed meant with ‘I wouldn't put the kid alone in a room together with a furious scorpion’. He had heard about some weird animal hosts, but this topped them all.

“Nell? Are you home?” Reed asked, at a first glance the dark apartment seemed abandoned. “Darn, it would take me forever to find him. Dog, you're the scout, you should be able to find him. He's usually home when it's not locked.” Reed didn't bother to turn on the light, the light from the city along with the dancing light from the fire surrounding him and Ramsey were enough to lighten up the room.
“He's under the rock.” Delmar said and pointed uninterested at the big stone chunk.
“He's under that rock?” Ramsey said surprised. He crept down on the floor, lay one ear against the carpet and tried to peek in under the rock. “How does he fit?”
“You don't want to stick your fingers in there!” Delmar dragged him away from the rock. “He's not in a very good mood.” The scorpion under the rock relied on its feral instincts and Delmar wasn't sure if he would sting if he got disturbed.
“But I don't understand. How can he be under the rock?” Ramsey said confused where he sat on the floor and looked up at Reed.
“He's a bug.” Reed said and started to look around in the kitchenette.
“But you can't be a bug! He told me so himself!” Ramsey exclaimed upset.
“Is he hungry?” Reed asked and opened the refrigerator.
“Nell, are you hungry?” Ramsey repeated Reed’s question to the rock. The rock didn't say a word.
“Yes he is,” Delmar declared. “But you shouldn't call him a bug if you want him to come out. You’re only upsetting him even more.”
“Darn it, the refrigerator is empty.” Reed sighed as he searched the shelves.
“He got mice in the freezer. He likes them microwaved a few minutes.” Delmar said still rather uninterested. Sure the scorpion seemed upset but Shrapnel wasn't really his problem to take care of. Besides Shrapnel was a chemical shifter, why should he care?
“You could almost think you know him better than I do, dog.” Reed said displeased and opened the freezer to find a package with frozen mice.
“Pfft, no. He's just taking the advantage of not having to talk with you. He thinks what he wants me to tell you.” as soon as Delmar had started talking about what Nell thought and felt Nell had started to communicate with him. The scorpion wasn't really thinking in words but rather in images and feelings, sometimes he threw in a word or two to describe what he meant. Reed closed the freezer with a bang.
“Great! Who needs talking anyway?! At least with you around!”  He put one mouse on a plate and threw it violently into the microwave and hammered the start button a couple of times.
“Nell, I'm sorry we called you a bug. Can’t you come out?” Ramsey asked carefully as he crept forward to the rock again. “Please?”
“Sorry kid, it's not going to happen.” Delmar said and began to inspect the notes lying on the coffee table by the window. He was starting to get bored. Ramsey looked up at him with big puppy eyes, Delmar didn't know how to respond so he answered with a weird deprecatory expression.

The microwave signaled the mouse was done and Reed took it and sat down on the floor beside Ramsey. He put the plate half a meter from the rock so that the scorpion would have to come out if he wanted any.
“He wants you to put it closer to the rock.” Delmar pointed out.
“Shut up dog!” Reed grumbled. “Nell, Chemical is very mad with you. Not because you yelled at him and called him a pussy, but because you're neglecting your duties.” he sighed. “I know you're miss Dawson, we all miss his stupid face. I'm going to keep an eye out for him, I promise.” Reed made another pause, so long that Delmar almost thought he was done talking. “I'm going to bring the kid with me, so you don't wonder where he's gone. I caught Maxine red handed trying to lure him down to the training halls with her. She’s going to try to convince Chemical Ramsey is not getting the education he needs since I’m away with Delmar and you're in here refusing to go out. You know how the two of them are, Maxine thinks she can do whatever she likes cause she's older than him and Chemical thinks she's right whenever he don't have enough arguments against her.” there was still no answer from underneath the rock. “Anyway, I'm bringing the kid along, it'll be good training for him as well.” Reed was quiet a little while, then he turned to Delmar. “Is he saying anything? Or… thinking?” He looked at Delmar displeased to find him grinning sadistically and chuckling. The moonlight and the artificial light from the city made his expression look very ominous.
“Pfff, I never thought I would hear that from a chemical shifter.”
“Hear what?” Reed asked irritated.
“He thinks Chemical can go shoot himself with a nail gun.”
“That can be all?!” Reed turned back to the rock. “Nell, can't you speak with me like a normal person?” Reed stared furiously at the rock, patiently waiting for Nell to respond. But the scorpion under rock could have been stuffed for all the conversation it made. Suddenly Delmar broke the silence.
“Alright, alright. I'll tell him.”  He said. “He think it's good you take care of Ramsey, it's good you finally show some responsibility.”
“You’re twisting his words, aren't you?”
“Who me? I would never!” Delmar said dramatically pretending to be upset by the accusation. “No seriously though, he thinks it would be bad if Maxine took over the education for the boy and he himself is not any state to educate him right now. He thinks Maxine is probably a nicer company than himself right now.”
“Maxine isn't a nicer company than anyone. But least she talks with her friends and foes.” Reed said irritated.
“What did that have to do with anything, but okay?” Delmar said a bit confused by the scorpion’s message. He had started communicating completely in words now. “She doesn't throw out her friends from meetings either.”
“I'm sorry Nell it was an order.” Reed said and stared at Delmar, like Delmar had insulted him.
“He thinks you're a hypocrite.” Delmar said and continued to cite the scorpion’s thoughts, “Chemical backs down for Maxine and you back down for Chemical, so in the end you’re backing down for Maxine.”

The flames around reed started burning uncontrollably again.
“And you call chemical a pussy?! You who don't even dare to say those words to my face with your own voice?” Reed shouted at the rock.
Shrapnel wanted Delmar to tell Reed exactly what a bad friend he thought reed was right now, but Delmar hesitated. Sure it was fun to be mean to Reed but what he could tell from both their minds was that none them really wanted this fight. The whole thing made Reed really distressed as he didn't know whether he should listen to his superiors or his friend.
‘He's like a loyal dog who started to question his master’ Delmar thought. He decided to not play along in the game anymore since a distressed Reed only meant more trouble for himself.
“We should leave, Reed, seriously.” Delmar said and lay carefully a hand on Reeds shoulder while he asked himself how the hell he should comfort the fire shifter so his rage wouldn't be channeled onto him later.

“Is he really saying this or are you playing me for a fool?” Reed asked a bit calmer, still looking at the rock.
“No, he's despairing. He’s not saying anything.” Delmar said. Could it be as easy as a simple lie?  If he took the blame for the insults Reed would probably hit him and that would be it. It seemed like a better alternative than having Reed going around like this for several days not knowing who he should blame.
“Then how would you know about the meeting?”
“I’m a psychic.”
“There must be a limit to how much you could find in that short amount of time?”
“I had plenty of time to go through your memories before we got here.” Pulling lies was one of Delmar’s primary skills, sometimes he was even more believable when he lied then when he told the truth, but this had been hasty and not very well planned or executed. Reed looked doubtfully at him. He wanted to believe the lie but he had a hard time doing so.
Delmar had expected that Nell would urge for him to continue to deliver the insults but the scorpion didn't care too much, all he wanted was for them to leave him alone.

“Don’t worry Nell, I’ll make sure to keep out an eye for any information about Dawson I can find.” Reed said. He wasn’t mad at Nell, he was mostly mad at himself for not being able to help Shrapnel more.

Delmar could not help but to be irritated he was being used as some sort of communication central. But at the same time it was interesting to see someone trusting him to relay messages, truthfully, and not dig deeper into their mind. Not that Shrapnel’s mind looked especially appealing to dive into, it was rather dark and cramped.

Without asking he moved the plate closer to the rock with one foot. Then he helped Reed back on his feet again.
“Come on, it’s time to go.”
“You lied to make me feel better.” Reed said tired.
“No, why would I?” Delmar said and cursed himself he hadn't come up with something better.
“Thanks” Reed mumbled and headed for the door. Delmar pulled up his hood and disguised himself so he could go out into the human world again.

“Are we going to Brenner now?” Delmar asked when they got down on the street again. It felt like he hadn't asked anything else the whole day.
“Yes. Now we're going to Brenner.” Reed answered.
“And I?” Ramsey asked unsure.
“You’re coming with us.”