hell yeah

[autopilots]

[ He's sitting on a piece of concrete that's been cut away from a larger slab of concrete. It was probably part of a wall before; now it's only good for sitting on, and Raleigh doesn't mind it. It's as good a place to sit on as any.

Raleigh's picking at the dirt on his hardhat, when he looks over and sees someone loitering at the construction area. He knows it's been clearly marked as a dangerous area. ]

You're not supposed to be here without at least a hat on, you know.

Comments

[notacaptain]

Get told your head is hard enough times and you eventually start to believe it.

[She makes no indication that she's likely to move or address the hardhat situation. It's clear that she's much more interested in assessing the location than she is putting on some silly hat.]

[autopilots]

A concussion's still a concussion, on the other hand.

[ Raleigh gets up and walks over. ] You could take a better look somewhere safer, too.

[notacaptain]

Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last for that matter.

Safer doesn't always mean better. [She looks at the construction, eyes narrowing slightly.] Sometimes it doesn't even mean safer.

[She turns around then, shifting her attention from the construction to him.]

Maybe I'm not a fancy politician, but this looks like a waste of money. [She takes a step closer to him, one step closer to being out of the danger zone.] Do you really think this is going to work?

[autopilots]

[ It's a small thing, but it gives him a lot of relief. Ranger instincts die hard, Raleigh guesses, and the instinct to protect people is difficult to ignore for guys like him.

Hero types, some might say. Raleigh thinks it's just good old good conscience. ]

I won't get paid for thinking. Or for being honest. [ He's dodging the question, but he moves aside a bit, apologizing for the slight rudeness with body language. ]

[notacaptain]

But you're okay with getting paid to waste your time?

[Shepard's eyes are dark,s shrewd and focused completely on him now. She's seen enough of this stupid wall.]

Bland reassurance from blander politicians. How long do you think it'll take one to break through? Days? Hours? Minutes?

[She scoffs, scuffing at the ground with one boot in annoyance.]

Damned wall couldn't keep a jaeger out let alone a kaiju.

[If she notices the silent apology she makes no mention of it, at least not for the moment.]

[autopilots]

You're not the only one who thinks that.

[ He answers with no small amount of bitterness seeping through his tone. He knows how quickly it'll fall; Raleigh's father constructed dams much stronger than this, to face the forces of nature greater than a jaeger's fist. The wall's gonna come down like paper. Raleigh helps to build it anyway; it's the only way he knows he can help, now that he's left the PPDC.

He meets her gaze headlong. ]

What's got you riled up about the wall, anyway? I've never seen you around here before. You're a reporter?

[notacaptain]

What? That you're wasting your time or that the wall won't last? Because I think I've heard enough about both to last me for a couple of lifetimes.

Me? A reporter? I think they'd kick me out if I even dared try. [While she doesn't outright laugh at the very suggestion she could be a reporter, it certainly perks her mood up.] Punched a reporter once who was spouting off at me about how PPDC was a waste of resources and how rangers were dangerous and couldn't be trusted with the world's safety.

[She rocks back on her heels slightly, clearly reliving the moment. She'd gotten hell for it, but it'd been worth it just to see the look on that reporter's sanctimonious face.]

Probably not my smartest idea, she took it as proof she was right.

[autopilots]

Well, people tend to get really defensive when you punch them in the face, but yeah. [ Raleigh's expression changes into a proper grin, then. He knows about reporters; he's dealt with enough of them back when he was still piloting. ]

I wouldn't have even gone that far, honestly. [ Not true. He might have, while Yancy was still alive. But not anymore. ] — She wasn't hurt too bad, though, right?

[notacaptain]

Explains why she made sure to keep out of arms reach next time I ran into her. [She shrugs her shoulders loosely, not particularly repentant.] I don't make a habit of hitting reports, you could say this was a special occasion.

[No one wants to deal with yappy reporters right after losing someone, it'd been a bad time for Shepard. Ash had been a good friend, practically a sister, and she'd yet to ever really get over the loss.]

Of course she's fine, was only a tap. Have you seen how squishy reporters are? If I'd hit her properly she'd be dead.