Then suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Kentucky and about a dozen or so teenage boys and girls stood out in the street. They were all dressed similarly to the first three the Caravan met, with pieces of scavenged, jerry-built armour crudely cobbled together over their bodies. They were like a junkyard war party. Lots of leather... A cluster of kids were in the centre congregating around the "hostages"; two men, on their knees with cloths over their heads (concealing their identities.) Kentucky walked up the little sidewalk, climbed the front steps and rang the doorbell. The chime could be heard throughout the house, along with Luke's frightened cussing... Kentucky walked back to stand with his people, all of whom were armed with either regular guns or makeshift sharps. Someone handed Kentucky a very familiar longbow and set of hand-made arrows. The Boys' leader stood tall just behind 'Tucky's left shoulder.

Tom kept Wyoming behind him, hand shaking slightly as he wondered if Hank would be able to hold the crazed Karen back. Only part of the shake was fear. Did you even ask? He clenched his fist and looked up past Hank's arm to meet Karen's eyes. They had two hostages, two guys. Kentucky doesn't sound too interested in any deals, if they took Benson this is probably what he wanted. If they had more time he might have had more, but it was better then nothing.

Karen's last comment struck a cord, fists tightening. YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHO MY FRIENDS ARE! He shouted. YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! Shaking with rage he took a deep breath. He wasn't just some kid, she might have been able to tell Kaiden who he could or couldn't hang out with, but only Hank could do that with him. Even then only to a certain extent. He was only vaguely aware of the doorbell, keeping his focus on Karen.

With Karen and Lorenzo separated, if only for the time being and Bohannon's gun now safely lying on the bed, Dominic cautiously released his grip on Lorenzo, not putting it past the guy to lump him one in retaliation for his intervention. Meanwhile Tom had made a break for freedom with Wyoming, closely followed by an irate though a now thankfully unarmed Karen "I should have looked harder for that fucking bike" Dominic growled irritably as he came to the conclusion that he'd lost any semblance of control over the entire situation. On the plus side at least Hank wasn't laying into him with the guy trying to be the voice of reason; suggesting that they worked with the Lost Boy's instead of slaughtering them "Its a nice idea mon ami but I can't see it happening...we have nothing to offer them and they can take what we do have by force, in short they hold all the high cards" he said in a weary voice as he gently rubbed his temples in an attempt to fend off the looming headache. As raised voices continued to come from the corridor behind them signalling that Tom was still resisting Karen's efforts to gain control of their hostage and resume her interrogation.

It was at this point that the doorbell rang causing Dominic to mutter a string of French profanities under his breath in response Times up, they’re here. It was bad enough that they were here, after all who else could it be? But why had nobody warned him that they were coming so that they could have made some kind of preparations instead of catching them completely flat footed.
Stepping into the corridor he'd take a single glance at the exchange going on between Tom and Karen before speaking to them "They're here, It's over...Karen take the cuffs off of him, Tom go and make yourself useful and watch the back door in case your new friends decide to sneak around the back" Dominic growled at the pair of them before heading for the stairs.
He wasn't looking forward to this. He felt like a man walking to the gallows, but he had no other option but to speak with them and seeing no way in which they could walk out of this unscathed and fully expecting to catch a bullet for his troubles.
It was as he was about to pass Isabelle on his way to the stairs that the medic hesitated for several moments before throwing caution to the wind and passionately kissing her, breaking off the kiss long to quietly whisper to her "if things go south, and they probably will I want you to get the hell out of here...oh and just so you know, I think you're amazing and I love you" Dominic whispered into her ear; kissing her one final time before leaving her to face the Lost Boys.

Upon reaching the door he'd take a few deep breaths to steady his nerves before opening it and stepping out onto the front step with a broad smile on his face as he spoke "oh so its you Kentucky, and here I was thinking it was someone wanting to talk to me about God"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 10:27, Sun 03 July 2016.

Kentucky and the rest of the Lost Boys smiled at Dominic's greeting as the artist formerly known as Kaidan emerged from the crowd. It was clear from the way he moved through the group, and how they beheld him, that he was in fact their leader. He had grown a couple of inches since the Caravan last saw him, and his hair was much longer now too. He approached Dominic, stopping about half way up the lawn, a couple of his henchmen accompanying him, namely Dakota and Kentucky. Atlanta's smile faded as his slow gait came to a halt. "Dominic. You didn't play by the rules." Atlanta's tone was calm level and matter of fact. "These continued transgressions against my people must stop. First you rob us, then you arrest one of my people, and now you've killed one of my boys and left him out in the woods to rot." Kaidan clearly had a different perspective on what happened in the woods than the Caravan did. "The rules were simple Dominic; The stuff you stole for the people we found. Wyoming is MINE! He was never part of the deal and I want him back." Atlanta crossed his arms stubbornly and stared coldly back at Dominic as other faces of the Caravan began to appear behind him.

Lorenzo didn't need more encouragement to let go of Karen than the mean punch she aimed at his arm. There were spots in his vision and he felt a little queasy after that. He didn't even have his bearings well enough to feel smug about Tom getting the kid away, or to even say anything rude to Dominic. If that didn't speak wonders to how much the hit pained nothing would.

He only stopped cursing when the doorbell rang. Well shit. With all the stupid dramatics they were caught with their pants down. He took a sort of stunned looking glance around the now empty room then headed out, the pain from his snapped arm not helping with the angry rhetoric going through his head. "Wyoming," he said, brushing past Tom and Karen. He took his pistol out from his waistband, whistled, then patted the piece against his leg, like he was trying to get a dog to follow him. Not the politest way to go about it, but it at least gave Wyoming an out from Karen acting as his hostage taker.

In an irritated grumble he directed Hank, New Mexico, Izzy- anyone who was even semi-capable and in his immediate way- to cover the windows and whatever exits they could. Dominic was off to meet whoever was at the door, so Lorenzo figured he should just leave that to him.

He went into the living room to peek outside alongside Luke, tapping a finger against his pistol impatiently. When he saw the kids all done up in leather scrap he snorted. He only recognized the people they'd met earlier in the day. "They look like gay bar security," he scoffed. "Even a twenty-two would tear clean through those little shits."

Dominic did his best to try and hide his surprise at finding Kaidan in charge of the group; his smile faltering for perhaps half a second as he factored Karen's son into the black maths running through his mind.
 He waited until Kaidan's petulant demands were delivered before speaking in a voice that held all the warmth of a glacier "well there's your first mistake...you thought there were rules, the guns are ours, Wyoming is ours and you kidnapped our people long before we set eyes on that truck, and as for your boy well if he was stupid enough to try and bushwhack Bohannon then he deserved what he got…oh and we want him back too" the very fact that they'd managed to take him alive meaning that there had been more than one of them involved in that scuffle to begin with leading him to believe that they’d started it.
Having ran through the numbers, so to speak, and not liking what they told him Dominic decided to make an attempt at ending things peacefully if only for the sake of the hostages "Ok Kaidan this is what's going to happen, you're going to release our people, all of our people and we'll let you have Wyoming back, and then what we're going to do is we're going to take a seat on this front step and come to some kind of an arrangement like a pair of fucking adults and after that we all walk out of here alive" alternately we can sit and shoot at each other and then let the Zeds kill the survivors Dom grimly added hoping that the kid wasn't so high on power that he refused to see the logic of the situation and that a gun fight would most likely destroy them both regardless of which side won. Hell the two of them would probably be the first ones to die anyway, closely followed by the hostages giving them all the more reason not to start shooting at one another. Dominic just had to hope that he wasn’t making a mistake in treating him like an adult.

Atlanta flicked the long hair out of his face and shifted his weight from one foot to the other impatiently. "Okay Dominic, we can work this out like gentlemen. Fair is fair. Send Wyoming over and I'll send..." Atlanta walked back as he spoke, grabbing the taller, skinnier man, getting him to his feet and brining him up front. He pulled the bag off the man's head revealing the first hostage to be old man Joe. "...Mr. Joe here back to you. Then we'll work out a deal for the rest. Does that sound agreeable?" Atlanta held Joe firmly by one of his bound arms, keeping the man slightly in front of his own body.

It's worth a shot. Hank shrugged, keeping an eye out in case Karen tried anything. In a way he could almost get her reaction, if it had been Tom out there he would probably feel the same way she did. He, however, liked to think he'd give the kid a chance to answer before flipping shit. Turning his head at Tom's outburst he sighed. While it was healthy for him to release whatever tension had been building he doubted it would do the current situation any good.

Tom. Once he was sure Lorenzo was in as much control as the situation allowed he tried to gently pull his brother to the side for a moment. Receiving a shake off he watched the kid stomp away, muttering something as he went down to the back. Damn it. Running a hand through his razor cut hair he turned to NM. Can you do me a favor? Hank paused, trying to ignore what the implications his request would mean. Lowering his voice  If things go south...get Tom and yourself away. I don't care if you have to knock him out. He won't like it, might say he hates you, but he'll get over it. I'll catch up with you guys when I can. Ok? He knew he was asking a lot from NM, basically to ignore everyone else to their fate, but the teen was the only one here who Tom would likely listen to.

Following the others downstairs he looked out another window, laughing slightly at Lorenzo's comment. Think he'll be ok out there on his own? From what Tom said this whole Benson thing might be a set up by Kentucky. Watching the exchange out front he felt his heart skip a beat. Shit, Joe.

Karen backed down when Dominic called out his orders. She lingered in the hallway for a moment and called after Tom "Wyoming's coming out when he's called for, do you understand? Don't do anything stupid and childish or I swear even your brother won't be able to save you." With her threat delivered Karen moved up to the front of the house to asses the situation. There was a brief moment when she was alone in the stairwell and she used that time to pop another pill into her mouth.

Karen squeezed Luke out of the way and joined Lorenzo at the window. "What do we have?" she asked as she parted the blinds to look out. Then she saw her son. Kaidan was standing on the lawn, holding a hostage. The child she thought was dead was the one putting them in this awful situation. "No. No no no no." She said with a scared panic. It was not the feeling she'd dreamed of feeling when she imagined reuniting with her boy. Karen walked around the old plaid La-z-boy and through the front door to stand beside Dominic. She wanted to run right up to her son and hold him but in the present situation she couldn't will herself to go any closer.

"Kaidan? Kaidan, what  are you doing? You don't need to do this okay? You don't need to hurt anybody." Karen held her hands out non-threateningly, feeling suddenly terrified. Terrified not only of what the Caravan might do to her boy, but of what her boy might do to the Caravan. It was a low, gnawing terror deep down she'd always felt, but never acknowledged. "Kaidan let him go. You don't need him. Take me instead. Take me as your prisoner and let them go." Any semblance of a motherly quality had left Karen's voice and it had turned cold and flat.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Sun 03 July 2016.

Atlanta looked at Karen and screwed up his face like he'd just taken a sip of yesterday's coffee. "I don't want you. You're not my mother, Karen. You never were, you never wanted to be. You took every single opportunity you had to run away from us. To leave... You never wanted me."

Karen shook her head, speechlessly trying to find the words to counter Kaidan's.

"Dad killed himself because of you Karen! He was all sad and alone because you loved your war and your pills and your badge more than you ever loved us. You broke his heart Karen." Atlanta's voice was level. He wasn't angry, he wasn't yelling. His words were calculated and his cadence metered deliberately to hurt her.

In reply to Atlanta (msg # 207):

Karen was no longer speechless. She was screaming.

"Fuck you Kaidan! Your father hung himself because he was terrified of you! He was scared of what we both knew you were! What you'd become! And look at you now! He was fucking right!!"

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. She was angry. But her anger was a defence against the heartbreak she felt. The son she thought was dead, the boy she fought so hard for so long to protect, had stabbed a verbal stake through her heart. Karen had been all mixed up for a long time, trying to get past his dissaperance, accept that he was probably dead, but now he came back. And he was evil. And it hurt her like nothing had ever hurt her before, or ever would again. The Kaidan she used to know was gone and in his place was "Atlanta" and the only difference between them was now she knew it. Karen felt like she was gone too.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Mon 04 July 2016.

Tom was hot, the only thing keeping him from snapping at Lorenzo was the guy seemed to not be out for Wyoming's blood. Brushing off Hank Make my self usefull...not just some kid... mumbling he stalked away, the only thing missing from the post-argument stomping a slammed door following a final "I hate you". It was easy for them, they were all adults, they didn't have to worry about teenage issues. The only one who could possibly relate to him was NM, and even then most of it would probably be from memory. Grabbing his bag he headed to the kitchen, taking the tire iron out before throwing the bag against the wall. Taking a deep breath he shoved a chair against the door then sat in another. He could feel the headache starting to form. Watching the windows and door he just wanted to curl up somewhere and wait all this out.

In reply to Hank Lucion (msg # 205):

"'Shit Joe' is right."

Lorenzo looked at the old man to see if he was any worse for wear, but his dark eyes flitted back to the hostage takers with a steady, even glare. However his expression quickly turned to confusion. Having joined the Caravan mid-winter and hungry, he had no idea what he was bearing witness to.

From the heated argument that ensued between Karen and the kid he could piece it together well enough, but he still was not sure if this reunion was good or bad. He passed a very perplexed look to Hank and Luke.

"Okaaay? And I thought my family was fucked. This a bad thing?"

From the way he gripped his pistol and pushed tighter against the wall, he was clearly expecting bad. This certainly put a damper on negotiations.

So hostage number one was Joe, personally Dom barely knew the guy but he did know that Joe had skills that they were going to need if they were going to survive out here so that at least was a bonus.
It'd be nice to think that he would be able to convince Kaidan to release both hostages for Wyoming but he couldn't see it happening somehow. Kaidan wasn't that stupid and Dominic wasn’t that good of a talker "how are you doing Joe?" Dominic asked the old hunter in an attempt to gauge his condition and treatment under the Lost Boy's care, assuming of course that Kaidan would let him speak.
However before any of them had much chance to speak Karen had emerged from the house leaving Dominic speechless as he bore witness to the family feud that took place in front of him Mon Dieu! This is not happening! Dominic silently exclaimed in frustration. Here he was trying to prevent a fire fight from breaking out and she was causing unnecessary tension by dragging their personal lives into an already tense situation "Enough of this Jerry Springer shit! Karen, get the fuck back in the house!" Dominic shouted; jabbing a finger at the still open door and not caring what the woman had to say about it. He was not going to have her derail the situation any further and would physically drag her back into the house if he had to. Without waiting to see if Karen would comply he turned his attention back to Kaidan and the task at hand "D'accord, I accept the exchange; Joe for Wyoming, but first I want to know who the other hostage is, and take that damn bag off his head will you, we ain't in a Tarrantino movie"</Goldenrod> Dominic spoke irritably; the Karen situation doing more to get on his nerves than anything else had "...I'd also like to point out that the only reason that Blondie is stood there instead of in here with us was because I was led to believe that there was only one hostage and pulling this stunt is doing little to make me trust you or your people" Dominic finished; offering Kentucky a withering glare. Oh if only looks could kill!

Karen stared down her son as he smiled maliciously at her, knowing he had hurt her. She knew there was nothing she could do to talk him down from this and that it needed to play its course. Kaidan wasn't a tantruming child that you could spank and put to bed, nor was he a criminal you could cuff and lock up. He was a fully fledged sociopath with a small army at his disposal, and Karen knew him well enough to know he was fucking dangerous.

Karen broke eye contact and turned and stopped, leaning in and whispering in Dominic's ear. "I don't care what happens... You don't get to kill him." Karen swatted Dominic on the shoulder and left back up to the house.

She walked in the door and passed Lorenzo and the others observing, frustratedly kicking the large screen TV off of its stand at the edge of the room. It landed on the floor with an audible crash. Karen disappeared up to the bedroom Wyoming had been in, sitting on the bed holding Bohannon's gun in one hand and her last two Oxycodones in the other.

So that's Kaidan... Not the meeting he'd imagined but at least they found the kid. When Karen had first mentioned she had a son close to Tom's age things had spun too quickly out of control to get beyond that.  Though any hope of a quick resolution drained as mother and son sparred. The only thing I know about Kaidan is he's about Tom's age. He shrugged, just as confused as Lorenzo.

In reply to Dominic Dubreton (msg # 211):

Atlanta stared at his mom like he just won. He knew he hurt her, and he knew it would buy him distance from her to conduct his business freely. Atlanta permitted Joe to nod that he was doing fine, but nothing more. "Saskatchewan, bring him here." He directed behind him, seeing no harm in revealing the second hostage now instead of later. Dominic was going to bargain for both lives no matter what, even if neither of them were Bohannon... Saskatchewan herded the other person forward to stand beside Joe. "You all remember Ricky right?" Atlanta asked, pulling the bag off Ricky's head. Ricky looked around stunned, the gag still in his mouth. He never thought he'd see these people again. But he was glad it was them he saw.

Atlanta shooed Ricky to go back to stand with the others. "Okay Dom. Send Wyoming out to me and I'll send Joe. We can even do that whole meet in the middle - pass on the way thing you see in the movies."

Wyoming felt like a piece of meat being torn apart as events escalated violently in the house. He appreciated Lorenzo and Tom's attempts to keep him separated from Karen, all the while his wrists pulling at the cuffs binding his hands behind his back, leaving, red, bloody rings around his flesh. In the heat of the moments that followed, he couldn't concentrated on the, by comparison, minute pain.

His heart felt like it would burst from his chest when Karen came stalking out after him, his sense of security not helped by the cold stare that Dominic, the leader, had fired his way. But there seemed to be a good bit of this group that didn't agree with the course of action, but they weren't in charge, yet.

The doorbell.

His blood likely turned as cold as the Caravan's, for he knew his own people's, Atlanta's..reputation the best of many.

Events precipitated his movement downstairs, not without Wyoming casting a look of sympathetic solidarity to Hank, Tom, Lorenzo, NM, any who had stuck up for him. Even if he was a piece of the trade to happen, he was not confident of his survival chances and was as much a member of the gallows as many of them were likely doomed to be, especially locked up as he was.

Downstairs he awaited being moved outside as the pawn he was, managing not to tremble, feeling an eerie calm pervade his slender form, surprising himself.

"I'm sorry for all of this." He said to everyone and anyone, his head drooping slightly, feeling worse for the Caravan than for himself, truthfully. If he'd been a leader type he would have done things differently, more kindly, but he wasn't cut from that cloth.

Izzy wasn't in the right shape to get physically involved in the scuffles that threatened to turn into downright civil strife between the group as a result of the events that had been set into motion. Though she'd considered bringing her glock into the mix, she knew herself well enough that she couldn't bring it to bear, as it would be a step too far against people she cared for.

Quickly falling into the background as the most colorful reactions took precedence over the dire matters at hand, Izzy felt at a momentary loss, but remained at hand should anyone turn against Dominic in a serious sense. That was something she would not abide.

When the doorbell rang, they all knew the stakes had changed. As Dominic had clearly pointed out, they were out of time, and anything they had tried to affect was over with.



The nimble, lithe woman hesitated like Dominic had as they locked eyes, unsure of what was to come. A breath of heavy relief escaped her lips just before Dominic kissed her deep and vigorous, carrying all the potential that might not come to pass should the evening go awry. It did make the moment sweet in a sad way, but really she'd never felt more alive or in love.

Her tenderness was amplified as she embraced her man, letting the emotion wash out together, certainty and uncertainty mixing and concocting some sensation that was new and potent and just as unpredictable.

" I will.." She promised softly, lying to her love. She wasn't about to go anywhere, but he didn't need to know that. "You're my hero. I love you too." She returned, telling the truth.

A supple kiss parted them, her heart both tearing and strengthening at the same time, like the building of muscle when tested against adversity of condition.

--

With the group coalescing downstairs for the most part, Izzy moved to Cauldershore's room..

She'd promised Dominic she would 'handle' the poor man's situation, and as she entered the room, she closed the door the for most part behind her. Her hand that had rested on the hilt of her glock now unbuttoned the holster and withdrew the weapon, holding it firmly in her right hand, the other grasping her walking staff, keeping steady as she stood in front of the bloodied, suffering member of their entourage.

"Cauldershore, I'm sorry." She told him, gently and genuinely, eyes empathetic. There was little she could do for him and they both knew that.

Her gun wielding hand rose up.

And then she turned the gun swiftly around, so she held the barrel end, and, shuffling forward a tad, bent down some. She leaned her staff against the bed briefly, her free hand taking Cauldershore's bloodied, wrinkled hand whereupon she pressed her handgun into his grip, closing his fingers around the weapon.

"I know you need to rest, but you are needed, one last time, 'Shore." She smiled, tears budding in the corners of her eyes, pressing her forehead against his, for she did truly care for each of her people and them all as a group.

As negotiations continued outside, Isabelle sought about assisting Cauldershore to the next room that would give a vantage point above the front of the house, the one legged survivor relying on the tall, ailing man for leverage in moving just as he did her..
Feeling for the dying man's comfort, but requiring this last duty of him, she positioned Cauldershore against the wall next to the window. She slowly and quietly pulled the frame up, freeing the barrier so he could shoot outside when and if required.

"Just a little longer, stay with us, with me." She encouraged Cauldershore, knowing she was asking alot, but needing him all the same, even in spirit.

It took her a moment longer to retrieve a second handgun from those they had taken from the DEA van, and soon she was at a second window in the same room as Cauldershore, a bag with a few extra clips of ammo on the floor between them now. Here she could see Joe come into view, and then Ricky as the hostages. Her heart sank further.

"If they do anything to any of our people, you open up on them with everything you have. I'll keep reloading for you." She cocked her pistol.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:15, Wed 06 July 2016.

When Joe stood up he appeared to be slightly injured at least, the tall, sinewy older man hunched slightly from some damage yet to be generally perceived. When the bag was removed from his head his salt and pepper beard came into view, scragglier than it had been. His sharp green eyes were as daring as ever though, even though one eye was blackened and somewhat puffed from recent abuse.

He had been gagged with some cloth and when permitted to nod by Atlanta he responded by managing to spit out the wad of fabric, followed by spitting some concoction of saliva and blood out at the Lost Kiddo that held his bow and quiver of arrows.

Having a notion regarding his self perservation he managed to keep from cussing his captors out, and instead satiated himself by looking over the Caravan, his people. He had no idea who had survived from when he last saw them, and while he was disapointed not to see more of his companions, the ones that he did spot gave him some reason to plot out to himself how he was going to get out of this snap and be of use. He gave a nod to Dominic to confirm he alright, and a quick wink to Hank when he spotted him, through his unpunched eye.

When the Lost Boys showed up the the doorstep there was no more time for the conflict rattling their rag tag group. The prospect of getting a couple more of their people back plus Bohannon was enough to rally them together no matter their differences at the moment that door had rung.

Hank took him aside as 'discussions' began between the groups. NM was clad in his gear, and was ready for action in spite of the emotional shakiness that had recently developed as a result of his near murder at the hands of Sam. Though times had been hard, they all needed to be closer than ever at this critical junction, even he could see.



It was quite clear from the look on New Mexico's features that he wanted to reject this request, decline it outright, but there was no time to argue. He shook his head, but didn't reject Hank's plea. The teen ran a hand through his thick, shaggy hair, looking up to Hank then to gauge how serious the man was. It was quite a position to be put in. He cared about Tom, and Hank, but also the others, who he'd known in some cases for even longer. What Hank was asking was for NM to save his and Tom's skins and leave the others to a known or unknown fate.

It was a situation that NM had been in for every single group or companion he'd hooked up with since the ending of the world.. Abbie, Molly, Kail, Cookie, on and on, more and more. It continually haunted him.

But would could he do. Mexico was almost at that point he did not want to survive any longer like he had been, but his nature being as it was, he might very well be doomed to make it out each time, but live with the trauma of his loved ones falling like dominoes. Survivor's Guilt to the utmost.

"Hank. I.." He tried to argue, he really did, but there was no time, and there was no argument he could make when Tom was in the mix. For himself, he could decide not to leave, to stay with the group in this Alamo. But Tom.. He couldn't leave his brother of a companion to that fate as well. It was almost cruel how Hank and tied them together in the request. For of course NM could not object.

"Okay. I'll do it."

He meant it, as much as it pained him.

Turmoil arising more and more, but so far no bullets flying, NM went downstairs, seeing Izzy move to check on Cauldershore before he descended to the main floor. Poor guy. Poor all of them.

Entering the kitchen at the back of the house, NM found Tom had already ad-hoc secured the back door, though it wouldn't put up much resistance if they were stormed at this end.

"Tom." He spoke up, resting a hand on the seated boy's shoulder from behind. "You and I are gonna stick together, kay? Anyone comes in through here, we don't let them get to Hank and our people. And if we need to, if we can, we pop this sucker open and get the hell out of here, with the others." He thumbed at the door, already assessing how much time they'd have to bust out of there and get to the forest should they lose the battle.

"Joe is outside. Those asshole's have him. Dominic's going to get him back." He'd caught sight of the champion of the group as he'd made his way to Tom. It had lightened his spirit even if this was far from a done deal yet. "We should probably stay behind the Island counter for cover." He indicated the large, long counter in the middle of the kitchen. They couldn't put it past the Lost Boys to send a volley of bullets through the walls and windows of the kitchen. And he'd rather have the drop on them than the other way around.

Taking hold of the handle of his machete sheathed to his thigh, NM pulled the sharpened blade free from its scabbard, arousing a rasping sound from the metal. He kept his gun at his hip for time being.

Luke felt safer amongst his group as most of them filed downstairs to the front of the house, but he never lost the heeby-jeeby's that all the Mad Max Brats were giving him. Hopefully they assumed he was a good shot with his gun though in fact he was far from confident.

One hand twiddled his styled mustache as a nervous reflex while his other, sweaty hand, waffled with his pistol.

He was not prepared to step out onto the deck, but he did make his presence known at the porch window from the living room, pushing the glass up so he could, much as he didn't want to have to do it, shoot uninhibited. These freaks were close enough they he could do some damage even if uncoordinated, but wasn't going to be the first to do anything unless Dominic said so or someone else shot first, and he didn't want to risk hitting Ricky or Joe.

Ricky moved back when ordered to his by captor, one of the lens of his glasses cracked noticeably but overall he was unharmed but in great need of a meal. Doc, Izzy, Lorenzo, Hank.. Surely their captivity was at an end, and they could be with their own people once these kids got their own guy back. He tried to say something through his gag but it was muffled entirely.

Looking between everyone he wished he was the first to be traded, selfishly enough, but was glad that his friend Joe was going to be on the Caravan side of this standoff. He was a good man, skilled, and was quietly ecstatic that they'd all be together soon as a team an family once again. They'd been through worse, and always pulled through no matter what. Even though this whole thing was tense, Ricky seemed to almost smile in spite of his gag at Dominic.

 

Interesting...is Karen hoping to save the boy, or does she merely want the honour of gunning him down herself? Dominic quietly mused to himself as he heard the blonde’s whispered request; an amused smile briefly quirking his lips followed by a near imperceptible nod. Though whether that was in agreement or simply to show that he'd heard her wasn't clear.

With Ricky being revealed as the final hostage Dominic gave the pair of them a quick glance; noting that although they both seemed pretty banged up that they were all things considered in pretty good shape.
On being called upon to release Wyoming in exchange for Joe, with the teen even going so far as to suggest doing a movie style exchange Dominic simply shrugged his shoulders as he casually spoke "Sure...whatever floats your boat" he said before cautiously backing towards the door. With his eyes never leaving the Lost Boys and his hand floating near to his gun Dom would call through the door to the others "Ok send him out" he said hoping that somebody would have enough sense to remove the cuffs he'd been wearing. It was bad enough that he was marked up without the boy coming out in chains too.

Once Wyoming was at the door Dominic would take a firm hold on the back of the boy’s neck and would slowly walk him down the steps to the edge of the path; releasing him once Joe had also started moving towards them.
Assuming of course that nobody decided to start shooting at this early stage of the negotiations Dom would offer Kaidan a relieved smile as he spoke "well...that's the easy bit, now tell me what it is that I can do for the Lost Boys?"