noheroessarge

[noheroessarge]

muse: Leo Barnes (The Purge) open to: 21+ only please / mutuals and non-mutuals / other canon horror muses, multifandom crossovers, OCs, whatever! triggers: canon-typical, including mentions of death/dead bodies, genocide, guns, violence, classism, racism, ableism, police, grief

21ST MARCH 2028

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM

WEAPONS OF CLASS 4 AND LOWER HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED FOR USE DURING THE PURGE. ALL OTHER WEAPONS ARE RESTRICTED.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF RANKING 10 HAVE BEEN GRANTED IMMUNITY FROM THE PURGE AND SHALL NOT BE HARMED.

ANY AND ALL CRIME, INCLUDING MURDER, WILL BE LEGAL FOR 12 CONTINUOUS HOURS.

POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WILL BE UNAVAILABLE UNTIL 7AM WHEN THE PURGE CONCLUDES.

BLESSED BE OUR NEW FOUNDING FATHERS AND AMERICA, A NATION REBORN.

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

07:26:03 LEFT OF THE ANNUAL PURGE

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

With one exception, Sarge had never cared for Purge night. It went against everything he'd sworn to do as a police officer. Protect and serve. It had been hard to argue with the results those first few years though because it seemed like it worked. Overall crime did go down in the country, and it stayed down. His job got easier. Then his world ended, and he believed in the Purge a lot. The Purge kept him going that whole first year. The Purge would get him the justice he'd never see in a courtroom. The Purge would set him free.

Yeah, grief could mess with a man's head like that. It wasn't until that night that he started to see it for what it was. Who was mostly likely to be a target. (Not him.) Who suffered the most on those nights. (Not him.) And who stood to benefit the most from things staying exactly as they were. (Not. Him.) It was unfairly stacked against people of color, people of low income, people who couldn't protect themselves. And, naturally, the New Founding Fathers liked it that way. Crime wasn't lower because people got to purge their darkest impulses once a year. It was lower because it cleared out all of society's "undesirables," and the government no longer had to pay to protect them. And when the Purge wasn't effective enough on its own, they sent their own people to help.

He would know.

He hadn't been able to stomach going back to the force after that night. He'd worked on the edges of private security for a couple years but hadn't yet decided if it was going to work out. Nobody needed a bodyguard more than on Purge night, and he wasn't quite willing to give this up. He'd been warned to stay out of it, warned not to play hero, but shit, it wasn't illegal. Nothing was tonight. The worst they could do was kill him, and that could happen just as easily if he was sitting at home as out here in the thick of it. (Maybe not just as easily. But he'd rather be a dead hero than a sitting duck.)

It wasn't that hard to tell the government Purgers from the regular population if you knew what you were looking for. They were better trained and better funded. Sure, you'd get the occasional rich asshole on a murder spree, with piles of fancy or custom weapons they had no fucking idea how to use, but more and more these days, the rich preferred to Purge in the privacy of their homes. Get someone old or sick or dying to come on Purge night, pay their family an enormous sum of money for their sacrifice, and never risk a damn thing. You could bet the government would be extra and trained. He fucking hated those semi-trucks with the automatic weapons in the back, take out a whole block at once like it was a goddamn genocide. (Wasn't it, in a way?)

He'd gotten lucky that first night. Few people had ever dared to fight back against that kind of weaponry. He'd caught them off guard. They were prepared now, but he was too. The explosion had knocked the semi on its side and left a crater in the street, and it was a chaos of gunfire and screaming. His team might not be well-funded or ex-military, but with a sniper rifle at that range, they didn't really have to be. There were plenty of people who hated the Purge even more than he did, and they were more than willing to hit back in any way they could. A little strategy, a little target practice, a little contracting, and you got this, a little street guerilla warfare.

When everyone with body armor, gas masks, and automatic weapons was on the ground, dead or dying, he stepped out from his cover but didn't holster his gun until it was clear he wasn't being shot at. Most of the people who had been hauled out of their tenement buildings to be slaughtered had already fled at the first opportunity, but a few had stayed behind, too shocked or injured to run. All of his team wore the same matte black mask, featureless and invisible in the shadows. It was an extra precaution; they'd already thrown out a signal jammer for the cameras. Everything might be legal on Purge night, but there were 364 other days in the year where "accidents" might happen to people who fought back.

He pushed it up to reveal his face as he knelt by a girl, maybe eight, frightened and bleeding. "Hey, it's alright. Can I have a look at that?" He nodded toward her arm, gently inspecting the three-inch gash in it, likely from being pushed to the ground. "It'll be okay. Hold it up like this to stop the bleeding. You got somewhere safe to go?" This he directed at the woman who had joined them. Mother, aunt, older sister? He had no idea. When she shook her head no, he produced a business card with a single address printed on it, no other information. "Memorize it. Head that way and take a left on 5th. There are weapons and medical supplies. You'll be safe there until morning." The card disappeared back into a pocket, and he nodded a goodbye as they started down the street. He needed to move too, before the next wave, before all the noise brought vultures of a different kind down on them.

It was instinct that had him pointing the gun before he even understood what the threat was or if there was one. He couldn't see clearly enough in the shadows of the alley to tell whether it was victim, threat, or something else entirely, but he hugged the building for cover and kept his aim steady.

"Come on out of there. Slowly."

[noheroessarge]

[noheroessarge]

THE PURGE | 1.04 "Release the Beast"

[noheroessarge]

The Purge: Election Year | Charlie & Leo 

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo starring as Sergeant Leo Barnes THE PURGE: ANARCHY | dir. James DeMonaco (2014)

[noheroessarge]

PROMPTS FOR BODYGUARDS AND VIPs *  adjust as necessary, send 'reverse' for the reversal of action prompts

DIALOGUE PROMPTS

i told you to stay there.

it's my job to protect you.

i'll come with you.

i can't stand having someone follow me around all the time.

don't you have anything better to do than just stand there?

i don't need a bodyguard. i can take care of myself.

you won't even know i'm here.

you make me feel safe.

may i please come in?

if you need me, i'm right here.

i won't let anything happen to you.

we'll talk in the car.

stop sneaking away from me!

get behind me!

they think you need protecting.

your life is in danger. that's why i'm here.

don't call me that. my first name is fine.

maybe we should get to know each other, considering you're going to be around me all the time.

can you take me home?

i feel safe with you.

you're very intimidating, you know.

i'm just doing my job.

i don't think we're allowed to do that.

i'm not supposed to drink on the job.

stay with me. please.

i can be myself around you.

i don't see you as my bodyguard. i see you as a friend.

what if someone sees us?

i'll take extra precaution.

keep the paparazzi away from me.

i'm not used to the whole bodyguard thing.

i'm coming with you.

take my jacket. you're freezing.

i would lay down my life to protect you.

why do they think you need a bodyguard?

i didn't ask for this.

if anything happens, you get behind me. understand?

ACTION PROMPTS ( sender is assumed to be the bodyguard here. send 'reverse' for opposite )

[ limo ] sender rushes to the limo before receiver gets there and holds the door open for them, helping them climb inside with an outstretched hand

[ shield ] in the midst of danger, sender uses their body to shield and hide receiver behind them

[ escort ] sender escorts receiver to the door of a fancy party, offering their arm out to receiver to take

[ alone time ] sender and receiver are alone for the first time in receiver's room

[ eye contact ] across the busy room of a crowded event, sender makes eye contact with receiver

[ meet ] sender and receiver leave a crowded event and find a private space to talk

[ tearful ] sender comforts a crying receiver after a close call

[ paparazzi ] sender guides receiver through a crowd of photographers and screaming fans, keeping them safe from harm

[ award ] receiver mentions sender's name during an acceptance speech at an award show and finds them in the crowd

[ vacation ] sender accompanies receiver on a tropical vacation

[ drink ] alone together, receiver encourages sender to stop being so official, relax, and have a drink with them

[ explode ] sender and receiver fight about receiver needing a bodyguard in the first place

[ lecture ] sender lectures receiver about putting themselves in danger

[ dinner ] as receiver dines on a fancy dinner with other people, sender lingers in the room and keeps an eye on them

[ hug ] receiver rushes into sender's arms, seeking comfort from their bodyguard

[ locate ] receiver sneaks away from sender, and sender finally tracks them down

[ perform ] while receiver is on stage during a performance, they spot sender watching them backstage

[ accidental ] sender and receiver accidentally touch hands while reaching for the same thing

[ kiss ] hidden away from the cameras and noisy crowds, sender and receiver share a kiss

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes | Purge: Anarchy for @sparklingbinjuice

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes | Purge: Election Year

[noheroessarge]

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo as General Ryle in “Cosmic Sin”

[noheroessarge]

🖤@tosinwithagrin liked for a starter

21ST MARCH 2028

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM

WEAPONS OF CLASS 4 AND LOWER HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED FOR USE DURING THE PURGE. ALL OTHER WEAPONS ARE RESTRICTED.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF RANKING 10 HAVE BEEN GRANTED IMMUNITY FROM THE PURGE AND SHALL NOT BE HARMED.

ANY AND ALL CRIME, INCLUDING MURDER, WILL BE LEGAL FOR 12 CONTINUOUS HOURS.

POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WILL BE UNAVAILABLE UNTIL 7AM WHEN THE PURGE CONCLUDES.

BLESSED BE OUR NEW FOUNDING FATHERS AND AMERICA, A NATION REBORN.

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

07:26:03 LEFT OF THE ANNUAL PURGE

― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ― ≛ ―

With one exception, Sarge had never cared for Purge night. It went against everything he'd sworn to do as a police officer. Protect and serve. It had been hard to argue with the results those first few years though because it seemed like it worked. Overall crime did go down in the country, and it stayed down. His job got easier. Then his world ended, and he believed in the Purge a lot. The Purge kept him going that whole first year. The Purge would get him the justice he'd never see in a courtroom. The Purge would set him free.

Yeah, grief could mess with a man's head like that. It wasn't until that night that he started to see it for what it was. Who was mostly likely to be a target. (Not him.) Who suffered the most on those nights. (Not him.) And who stood to benefit the most from things staying exactly as they were. (Not. Him.) It was unfairly stacked against people of color, people of low income, people who couldn't protect themselves. And, naturally, the New Founding Fathers liked it that way. Crime wasn't lower because people got to purge their darkest impulses once a year. It was lower because it cleared out all of society's "undesirables," and the government no longer had to pay to protect them. And when the Purge wasn't effective enough on its own, they sent their own people to help.

He would know.

He hadn't been able to stomach going back to the force after that night. He'd worked on the edges of private security for a couple years but hadn't yet decided if it was going to work out. Nobody needed a bodyguard more than on Purge night, and he wasn't quite willing to give this up. He'd been warned to stay out of it, warned not to play hero, but shit, it wasn't illegal. Nothing was tonight. The worst they could do was kill him, and that could happen just as easily if he was sitting at home as out here in the thick of it. (Maybe not just as easily. But he'd rather be a hero than a sitting duck.)

It wasn't that hard to tell the government Purgers from the regular population if you knew what you were looking for. They were better trained and better funded. Sure, you'd get the occasional rich asshole on a murder spree, with piles of fancy or custom weapons they had no fucking idea how to use, but more and more these days, the rich preferred to Purge in the privacy of their homes. Get someone old or sick or dying to come on Purge night, pay their family an enormous sum of money for their sacrifice, and never risk a damn thing. You could bet the government would be extra and trained. He fucking hated those semi-trucks with the automatic weapons in the back, take out a whole block at once like it was a goddamn genocide. (Wasn't it, in a way?)

He'd gotten lucky that first night. Few people had ever dared to fight back against that kind of weaponry. He'd caught them off guard. They were prepared now, but he was too. The explosion had knocked the semi on its side and left a crater in the street, and it was a chaos of gunfire and screaming. His team might not be well-funded or ex-military, but with a sniper rifle at that range, they didn't really have to be. There were plenty of people who hated the Purge even more than he did, and they were more than willing to hit back in any way they could. A little strategy, a little target practice, a little contracting, and you got this, a little street guerilla warfare.

When everyone with body armor, gas masks, and automatic weapons was on the ground, dead or dying, he stepped out from his cover but didn't holster his gun until it was clear he wasn't being shot at. Most of the people who had been hauled out of their tenement buildings to be slaughtered had already fled at the first opportunity, but a few had stayed behind, too shocked or injured to run. All of his team wore the same matte black mask, featureless and invisible in the shadows. It was an extra precaution; they'd already thrown out a signal jammer for the cameras. Everything might be legal on Purge night, but there were 364 other days in the year where "accidents" might happen to people who fought back.

He pushed it up to reveal his face as he knelt by a girl, maybe eight, frightened and bleeding. "Hey, it's alright. Can I have a look at that?" He nodded toward her arm, gently inspecting the three-inch gash in it, likely from being pushed to the ground. "It'll be okay. Hold it up like this to stop the bleeding. You got somewhere safe to go?" This he directed at the woman who had joined them. Mother, aunt, older sister? He had no idea. When she shook her head no, he produced a business card with a single address printed on it, no other information. "Memorize it. Head that way and take a left on 5th. There are weapons and medical supplies. You'll be safe there until morning." The card disappeared back into a pocket, and he nodded a goodbye as they started down the street. He needed to move too, before the next wave, before all the noise brought vultures of a different kind down on them.

[noheroessarge]

@defectivexfragmented

A decade of Purge nights, and it was strange to think that kids growing up now had never known life without it. As a cop, Leo had never been particularly in favor of it, although at first it had seemed to follow through on its promise. Crime rates had been down those first few years, and they'd continued to go down as people seemingly got all their aggression out on one night. Then, of course, he'd had his own reasons for believing in that night, had spent almost an entire year planning to avenge his son's death.

It was only after he'd spared Nicholas's killer that he started to see just why the Purge worked so well, and it wasn't because people got to let their worst impulses out for a night. He was no hero, couldn't save everyone. What you got for being a hero was a bullet in the chest. But he couldn't do nothing. Private security paid well all year round, not just on Purge night, and it paid better every year since he'd started to gain a reputation for being damn good at it. A lot of that money went into protecting people who couldn't afford it otherwise. What the fuck was he going to do with all of it?

He'd given a fake name at the intercom, and a different one to every person he'd spoken to since, and not a single one had tried to stop him from getting inside. In other words, the security was a fucking joke, and access to Bucky Barnes was all too easy. If he'd walked in there to kill him, he would have been dead. He might not have gotten out so easily, but still, dead was a problem. It was easy to pick him out among the rest of the staff, even if he hadn't been familiar with his work, Leo's dark eyes piercing even from across the room. He was a few minutes early for their meeting, so there was no need to interrupt the rehearsal.

[noheroessarge]

“Go, I'm slowing you down.”

@pleinsdemuses

In theory, getting Senator Roan elected president and putting an end to the Purge were both great ideas-- difficult in practice, but well worth almost dying for, as Leo Barnes would know better than anyone. In reality, it was a lot more difficult to get people to set aside violence when they didn't have twelve hours a year to look forward to. These first few months since its repeal had been chaos, and in some ways, it felt like one single unending Purge.

He'd known the event would be dangerous, the security team stretched thin for something this large, but he'd never once been able to convince her not to do something once she'd set her mind to it. Why should this be any different? "With all due respect, President Roan, there's no way in hell that's happening. Stop here. Catch your breath." They'd been running for several minutes, the sounds of gunfire and explosions far enough behind them to be reassuring, and he tugged her into an alleyway while they waited for the extraction team. He touched the mic at his headset, practically snarling into it. "Alan, where the fuck is my car?"

[noheroessarge]

❤❤❤

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes | Purge: Election Year

[noheroessarge]

Frank Grillo starring as Sergeant Leo Barnes THE PURGE: ANARCHY | dir. James DeMonaco (2014)

[noheroessarge]

FRANK GRILLO Kingdom (2014-2017) S02E02