Guns & Roses

Chapter 21

[Sheriff]

'Shit, shit, shit!'
Sheriff nervously paced in a slow circle a little further into the building, at first he'd just stuck around with Sanford and Deimos at the doorway, he'd found comfort in the idea that they could be his alibis if the new one managed to see right through him, but he was asked to go a little further in once they came to talk to the other two. Now he had to work around convincing another one that he was genuinely on their side, that alone wasn't really what scared him though. What scared him was that their first impression gave him the feeling that they were very good at finding out what people were like, and he couldn't afford someone like that being around right now, especially if he was right in thinking Hank found out about him leaving the grunt alive. And if Hank had already told them, god knew Sheriff was probably going to get himself killed soon.
'No, no. It's fine, be calm... I'm... I'm calm.'
He tried convincing himself, though try as he might it didn't stop his hands from being shaky, neither did it stop him feeling like he was on the verge of passing out.

"Sheriff?" They asked, Sheriff flinched, he hesitated when he tried to speak. After a second he gathered up what little courage he had left.
"Yeah, that's... me." His voice quietened as he went, looking at them he couldn't help but feel intimidated, despite being on the older side they gave off the impression that they were quite deadly. Sheriff wasn't about to doubt that. The new one cleared their throat before speaking again,
"2BDamned, but feel free to call me whatever you like, since everyone seems to enjoy doing that." They said, extending out their hand, Sheriff obliged, extending his own so they could shake hands.
"Now, I assume 'Sheriff' is not your actual name. If I may ask, what is it?" 2B observed, strangely despite how they were when he first saw them, Sheriff thought they were... a little nicer than that.
"No, it... it's not my real name, I'm not that happy with the name I got so, I just use nicknames." Sheriff admitted, to his surprise, he was starting to feel a lot more comfortable with talking to them already. 2B seemed to consider this, though whatever they were thinking about wasn't brought up by them.

"Alright. So, Sheriff, since you're new I'll need to teach you some of the basics here. I'll also be taking into account what you already know to decide what you may need to work on." They explained, Sheriff briefly wondered what the basics would be, before settling on the idea that it was probably to do with fighting. They began walking down the hallway, Sheriff keeping his pace to stay by their side with some effort, finding it a little surprising just how quickly they walked. Though he had to admit, he preferred this walking speed over trying to keep up with Hank.
"I've heard quite a lot about you from the others. Mostly good things if you wish to know, though I must ask..." They began, Sheriff felt a surge of nerves at the possibility that they would ask him something he couldn't answer. Even with how good things were going altogether, a single mistake could cost him his life, and that one thought was the thing that wouldn't let him sleep, or sometimes even eat, until he covered every possible track he'd left, even if the chance they'd notice was minuscule.
"I've heard that you've left a grunt alive, I'd like to know why you did so." The way they said it sounded less like a request, and more like a demand. Sheriff had been thinking about how to go about that exact question for days, though now that he was faced with answering, he couldn't remember a goddamn thing to give them a decent explanation. He knew he had to come up with something quick, so in a move of pure desperation, he decided to play dumb.

"I... left one alive?" Sheriff responded, hoping the hesitation and nervousness in his voice were disguised as confusion.
"Yes. How did they manage to live?" 2B followed up, their voice eerily calm.
"I didn't... I guess I didn't strangle them... long enough.." Sheriff silently winced, feeling like he gave too much away in his panic to answer. He felt a pit forming in his stomach, convinced this was where it all going to fall apart.
"Strangle them? Why didn't you just shoot them?" 2B questioned, Sheriff tried to subtly shove his hands in his pockets to hide their shaking.
"I didn't have anything on me..." Sheriff told them. Sheriff felt like his time was up, they'd managed to push the questions to something he couldn't answer. That's when he realised he already had a perfectly good excuse for not having a weapon.
'I... might actually be okay!'
He felt hope slowly rising through the fear that gripped him.
"Why not?" They asked, and for the first time since these questions had first been asked, Sheriff was confident in his answer.
"I got my gun taken off me, I haven't been allowed to use anything since." He explained, 2B sighed in what Sheriff assumed was disappointment.
"I assume it's Hank who isn't letting you?" 2B asked, the disappointment in their tone now undeniable. Sheriff just nodded, unsure if he would sound too relieved if he said anything.
"Well, I apologise for how they've been. Don't take it personally, they've always been prone to being easily... paranoid." They revealed.
'Paranoid, huh?'
Sheriff had never really thought of it as paranoia, though he supposed the only reason he didn't was because he knew they were right.