#lwdstart

Sam still can’t believe the news, she’s been promoted and she can’t believe it. She’s waiting to wake up from whatever dream she’s currently in. She’s never been more honored than she is now, the time is a little early for a promotion and she knows there would be other in line before her, but whatever it is that Charlie saw in her pushed her to the front of the list. Now Sam wanted nothing more than to find Charlie and thank her for fighting for her.

She heads to the mess hall for a good meal, and her spirits are high, she knows she’s more likely to find Charlie there. She spots her at a table and Sam makes a beeline for her, not bothering to head for the meal line yet.

She quickly moves around a few tables and sits in the empty seat in front of her, grin wide on her face. She waits for Charlie to finish chewing and she leans forward a little, she’s got patrol soon and but she couldn’t wait to give the good news to her friend and commanding officer.

It was another day in side the QZ and Charlie had a few hours before she had to be at her shift. It was strange. Walking around knowing in just a few days she would no longer have the title Captain in front of her name but soon it would be Major. A title Charlie felt like she should have been given almost 2 years ago but sadly the world went to shit.

Charlie wanted more then anything to grab Baker and Sam and head into Rays and buy drinks for all of them celebrating the news but she knew she couldn’t yet. Soon though. Soon she would be drinking with her three best friends celebrating. Soon Charlie would have a new rank pin on her uniform. Soon.

For now Charlie bit her tongue and tried to keep her mouth shut which always is a difficult job for the girl. She moved through the market now. Aimlessly looking from table to table at nothing and everything all at once. She didn’t need anything at the moment but if there was something that came in handy she could always grab it for later. When she moved up to the next table someone else was already there and Charlie decided to speak to them even if it was someone she didn’t know. She needed anything as a distraction right now.

Rations are important, it’s the only way of survival these days. Civilians are antsy and the heat of the day only makes things worse. The line is moving slowly and Sam has already had to break up one fight and drag someone to the end of the line after they tried to cut in line. Her M16 is around her shoulder and Sam rests her hands on the butt of it, pacing back and forth, eyes checking out those around her.

She’s closer to the front of the line when someone exits, their ration in hand and they pause, apparently adding the single of today to a few of their others, Sam keeps an eye on them and rolls her eyes. It’s a quick way to getting yourself robbed, or killed. They finish what they’re doing and move away quickly, hands in their pockets and Sam gives them a slight smile as they rush away.

Once they’re out of ear shot she shakes her head and continues her walk back down to the end of the line, checking on her squad as she goes, making sure they’re following her rules and not getting into anything with the civilians, Sam does not need another Morgan.

Over the week, Ray’s devolved from calm but steady searching to something much more frantic. It has to be here, it just has to but it’s not and he’s about ready to pull his hair out. Just the night before, he had a dream that his great granddaddy rose from the grave just to scold him for losing the dang thing. Jesse says he hasn’t seen it, which Ray believes since it was in the damn bar. He remembers seeing it on the bar, right up until he woke up the next morning. It’s possible it got kicked over somewhere, but Ray would ave found it by now.

Sam didn’t often come to the black market but she was interested in selling some of the gear she had, and she knew when going into the market she had to ignore her military feelings, she knows other soldiers come through here and it was a necessity that everyone needed. She was short on rations and the more she could get the better. She moves through the market she’s in more casual clothing but she still has some of her uniform on. No one will really bother her if she wears it.

She spots one stand that looks like it’s worthwhile, she approaches a table and it looks promising, the guy seems to know what he’s doing with supplies, Sam can’t really stop them from making thinks but she at least hopes they can make things safe, she examines his merchandise and decides he could at least make something decent with the supplies she may sell him.

Maybe she’ll trade him, it all depends on what she can get. Sam just needs to start managing more. Getting her armor brought down her supply and the ration shortage didn’t help her any either. When the man behind the table sees her, he throws on a smile Sam doesn’t really trust and she gets right down to business.

Victor wasn’t quite expecting what he got this time around. Every so often, he meets with a man in the black market that doesn’t have a booth. The meeting place is always different, too, and the entire interaction is like something out of a poorly written mystery book. Victor doesn’t care about the story, though, just the cheap supplies that come tucked into a neat little backpack for a decent price. Victor buys the bags wholesale for eighteen rations, which is a huge chunk of change, but there are always enough weapons and supplies to make it very worth his time.

His eyes light up at the sign of a hatchet. These are rare, and Victor knows he could probably get some sucker to pay double market price for it, but he decides to keep it instead. Hatchets are beautiful, combining savagery and finesse all into one tiny little weapon. They tend to be sharper and sturdier than the machetes, which really aren’t mean for combat as much as yard work. As much as he could get for the melee weapon, he really wants to indulge, and he’ll take the ration loss up front for a new toy. Bobbie will be jealous.

Sam didn’t often go outside the QZ, but she was antsy and in the mood to get away from the monotony of inside the zone. Sam went through all the right channels to get permission and she was waiting for Baker at the gate before she would go out. Her gear is on her back, and the sun isn’t at it’s highest point, she feels good about today and she hopes to find something good to resell in the market. She’s short on ration cards and this will be a great way to get a few more for when she needs them.

She also felt like she wanted to get another pistol, just to have the extra backup, but she really needed to start saving up for whatever she may need. Things have been short and Sam really wants a little something to fall back on if she needs it. She has plans to come out again later with Alvarez and Carter.

She’s been trying to stretch out her legs, and get out more often, she spends a lot of time inside the QZ, and Sam feels it’s time to get around more outside. She likes how the military is more open now, it gives her more of a chance to be the full soldier she knows she is, she never understood that rule, she found bombs to be a little more dangerous that a lot of the infantry work but she followed the rules anyway.

The private took off like a bat out of hell, so Daniel can only assume that means his messages have been delivered. Thorough the week, Daniel’s been calling squads in under the guise of performance reviews. It’s not a lie, really, but Daniel isn’t using them for paperwork. He’s using them to gauge who is going to be getting their promotion, and who isn’t. It’s a little more underhanded than Daniel would like to be, but he can’t exactly let them know what’s going on. It could cause resentment, or making people exaggerate what he needs to know.

There’s a knock on his door, and Daniel looks up, waiting to see if it’s Charlotte or not as he says “come in”. He has a couple of lines left in the paperwork he’s on, and Daniel finishes it up before getting to his feet.