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Eddie hadn't been this nervous in a long time. [break][break]

It was actually kinda funny when he stopped to think about it, this old and familiar sort of dread that started to creep in the moment he had arrived at HBIC headquarters. It was like getting called to the principal's office back in school, or, God help him, like getting pulled aside by his dad to have some sort of scathing one-on-one about “responsibility” or “being a man” or some similarly nebulous concept.[break][break]

But Gunner Graves hadn't called him here to give some sort of asinine lecture. The State of the Region's head of security had called Eddie up to gain whatever insight he could about the horrific press conference-turned-terrorist attack. That little reminder of his purpose was enough to smooth some of the nervousness away when Eddie acknowledged, [break][break]

“Yessir.” [break][break]

Eddie leaned forward on his forearms, hands clasped together on the table as he tried not to fidget or squirm beneath Gunner's piercing gaze, [break][break]

“I, uh, ain't ever worked with the HBIC before.” Hell, he hadn't even known what the acronym actually stood for until rather recently (Eddie had initially been convinced that some of the other guards at the event just didn't get along with Gunner after their first debriefing), “But hell, I ain't been in Hoenn all that long, either.”

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Gunner Graves [break]

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Well hell, that was a tough one. Eddie's brow furrowed with concentration as he formulated his answer, [break][break]

“Nope, no prior connections, 'less you count my landlord back in Rustboro. I was in talks with him for a couple'a weeks before I moved over.” [break][break]

He unfolded his hands to scratch at his chin, a nervous tic of introspection, [break][break]

“Next point'a contact woulda been Magnus an' Sons, the construction crew I ran with those first couple'a months. And then, uhh...” [break][break]

Suddenly, there was a spark of recognition, and with a snap of his fingers, Eddie suddenly smiled at Gunner, [break][break]

“You might think I'm full'a shit, but my first weekend out here I ran inta kyle lopez. Happened ta be takin' a daytrip out ta Slateport while he was moppin' up after some over-sized fish.” [break][break]

It was a damn shame that he hadn't gotten to have more than the one or two fateful encounters with the beloved champ before his untimely demise, but Eddie was starting to learn that fate was a fickle and cruel mistress in this part of the world.

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Gunner Graves [break]

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Eddie shifted a little in his seat, [break][break]

“Not at all, if I'm bein' honest.” [break][break]

He felt a pang of shame at the admission; maybe if he had, people wouldn't have gotten hurt like they did. Maybe it was his own inexperience and incompetence that had lead to the tragedy of that day. The thought made Eddie's stomach roil with anxious discomfort, [break][break]

“Not for somethin' like this, at least. Done a little bit'a guard duty out in the Chasm after I joined up with the army, before I got shipped off ta Dewford.” [break][break]

A beat passed, and Eddie sighed, [break][break]

“I've squared up ta some nasty shit the last couple'a months. Never woulda thought that I'd see the worst of it from some fuckin' terrorists of all things.”

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Gunner Graves [break]

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Eddie nodded resolutely, before straightening himself a little, [break][break]

“Yessir. I'm part'a the army, private second class. Been told that I might get bumped up ta first class around this time next year.” [break][break]

Not that he was particularly concerned with ascending the ranks to any degree. Those upper echelons belonged to the real heroes of this region, like the guy that had set him on this course in the first place, [break][break]

“And it's kind of a long story,” he admitted, especially with his own penchant for story-telling, “But I'll try ta give ya the CliffsNotes version of it.” [break][break]

Eddie paused a moment to consider the details before finally launching in to his tale, [break][break]

“So, you remember back in March when the Giant Chasm opened up? That was the start of it. Heard the League was lookin' ta build in the area, so I joined up as a volunteer, 'specially after all'a that shit with the dragon and the genie. I just wanted ta help, yanno?” [break][break]

Ah, but then came the really ugly part of this tale. Even if he had been aware of it, Eddie could have done little to hide the pained expression that had begun to paint his features, [break][break]

“But the whole thing went tits up. A Walkin' Wake came in and tore the whole fuckin' place apart. Killed a bunch'a the guys workin' there, killed a bunch'a the security detail, and just about killed me.” [break][break]

But this was the part where the hero came in, and Eddie's face brightened a little again, [break][break]

“I shoulda died out there, but I was lucky enough that Navy happened ta be in that neck'a the woods. Dragged my ass outta the rubble, kept me from windin' up in the belly of that big fuckin' lizard, and after that, I decided that I wanted ta do the same for someone else some day.” [break][break]

And at this point, Eddie's eyes were practically shining with some spark of impassioned idealism, [break][break]

“So I figured joinin' up was one'a the best ways ta go about it. Navy put in a word for me, considerin' I'm a little long in the tooth compared to yer average recruit, and the rest is history.” [break][break]

Though it was probably best that he left out that part where they came to that decision over some beer, mead, and a couple fingers of whiskey, but hey, Eddie had promised Navy that free drink for saving his sorry hide.

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Gunner Graves [break]

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Eddie's eyes followed the opening of the envelope, the slide of paper across the table. He studied the charcoal scratches on white and committed the features depicted to memory; a sharp, stern face, slicked black hair, a mustache, an eye-patch. None of it was familiar, outside of the fact that any particularly surly-looking man over forty-five always reminded Eddie of his dad, [break][break]

“Nope, not at all,” he replied easily. He tapped one of the pristine edges of the white paper, “This the jackass that kicked this whole thing off?”

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Gunner Graves [break]

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Eddie eyed the paper again. This was the monster behind all of that pain and bloodshed and smoke and fire? This guy? [break][break]

The older man's hands balled into fists on top of the table, fingers squeezing tight, short nails digging into his palms, knuckles turning white. This bastard was gonna pay, all right. Once Eddie got his hands on the guy, he was going to tear him limb from fucking limb- [break][break]

“Huh?” [break][break]

Eddie's head snapped up, back to Gunner. Oh, shit, he had just asked another question, hadn't he? He blinked stupidly as he replayed the words in his head, [break][break]

“No. No, I don't think I've seen any of 'em anywhere,” he confirmed. [break][break]

Certainly not the apparent grunt and the Ceruledge that his Kleavor and Tauros had clashed with. Definitely not the guy that his Kleavor had tried to axe on the way out.

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Gunner Graves [break]