[ john probably should have considered the opposing forces a little more than he did, but he does assume - or at least some part of him assumes - that bob has enough of a survival instinct to either hold himself back from the wheel, or just put his arms in the way to cushion between the forehead and the wheel. the reality is that john doesn't really think about it, assumes bob will have it figured out, and that whatever happens here will be better than him going headlong into a tree, or another car, or some poor bystander in the street.
so he's going to stop the van. and he's going to stop bob with it. and while he hears the air bags go off and feels the crunch of the van itself under his hands, it's better than the alternative.
john himself hasn't been here very long - a couple of days, maybe a week at most. but he's gotten enough of a hang of this place to at least know the basics, how the city works and how these loans are meant to keep people tied down. it's not all that new to him, he's seen the same system work in countries he'd been deployed to, systems of economic oppression, etc etc etc. he'd done what he could to stay out of it, started going on supply runs, and had been making what he thought to be a fairly decent dent in his debt.
but if bob has been here this whole time, or even part of this time, that opens up an entirely different set of variables. a whole different dimension to what he'd started to assume this place worked.
as soon as the van has been stopped, john needs a few moments to extract his fingers from the metal, stretching out the muscles of his hands, his shoulders. for all that he feels like he's tested the limits of the serum, he's still always figuring things out. he wonders if his shoulders will be sore tomorrow (they will) but he's also... vaguely impressed with himself for literally stopping a moving car.
he walks around a bit in a circle, trying to loosen the muscles back out, and test just how bad the burned out soles of his boots feel. they're not great, he's going to need replacements, but they're workable for now. doable. uncomfortable, but not the worst. he stops just as bob comes out of the van, with that same easy smile - grateful? dopey? john's not sure. but it does have him smiling back, a little surprised by how relieved he feels, too. bob might not be the entire team- hell, bob might not even really be one of the working members of the team as far as the active missions are concerned, but bob is still bob. and survival is easier in numbers. ]
Yeah- fine. [ john says, easy, rolling his shoulder once. nodding. ] Don't worry about the boots. You alright? [ a beat, and then john's smile disappears. ] Wait- Panorama? [ he knows the city, but something doesn't quite add up. ] How long've you been here, Bob?
ITS FINE TOTALLY FINE
so he's going to stop the van. and he's going to stop bob with it. and while he hears the air bags go off and feels the crunch of the van itself under his hands, it's better than the alternative.
john himself hasn't been here very long - a couple of days, maybe a week at most. but he's gotten enough of a hang of this place to at least know the basics, how the city works and how these loans are meant to keep people tied down. it's not all that new to him, he's seen the same system work in countries he'd been deployed to, systems of economic oppression, etc etc etc. he'd done what he could to stay out of it, started going on supply runs, and had been making what he thought to be a fairly decent dent in his debt.
but if bob has been here this whole time, or even part of this time, that opens up an entirely different set of variables. a whole different dimension to what he'd started to assume this place worked.
as soon as the van has been stopped, john needs a few moments to extract his fingers from the metal, stretching out the muscles of his hands, his shoulders. for all that he feels like he's tested the limits of the serum, he's still always figuring things out. he wonders if his shoulders will be sore tomorrow (they will) but he's also... vaguely impressed with himself for literally stopping a moving car.
he walks around a bit in a circle, trying to loosen the muscles back out, and test just how bad the burned out soles of his boots feel. they're not great, he's going to need replacements, but they're workable for now. doable. uncomfortable, but not the worst. he stops just as bob comes out of the van, with that same easy smile - grateful? dopey? john's not sure. but it does have him smiling back, a little surprised by how relieved he feels, too. bob might not be the entire team- hell, bob might not even really be one of the working members of the team as far as the active missions are concerned, but bob is still bob. and survival is easier in numbers. ]
Yeah- fine. [ john says, easy, rolling his shoulder once. nodding. ] Don't worry about the boots. You alright? [ a beat, and then john's smile disappears. ] Wait- Panorama? [ he knows the city, but something doesn't quite add up. ] How long've you been here, Bob?