#oc: deputy nicole gerber | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

statichvm · 4 years ago

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hell followed with her

some more nicole for @theknifegame. 💜

word count: 2.5k

warnings: canon typical violence, some brief language.

summary: deputy nicole gerber assists in an arrest that may bring her closer to her goal — and to her sister.

Nicole was tired.

It was a bone deep exhaustion, one that hadn’t quite been swept away by the espresso she’d downed before they left the station. When she heard they were moving on a warrant in the middle of the night, she’d been sure it was a joke. Eden’s Gate was eccentric, and it wasn’t a secret that they needed to do something about them soon. But at this hour?

The Marshal had to be fucking with them.

They’d all piled into the helicopter; her, Pratt, Hudson, Whitehorse, even the Marshal himself. She hadn’t spoken much to the Marshal - Burke? - before they left, and despite his position directly across from her in the chopper, he didn’t seem too keen to strike up conversation with her either. She didn’t mind. Burke had made it plenty clear he was there to do his job, something she couldn’t fault him for. She was too.

Instead, Nicole turned her attention to the phone in her hands. The video playing had come in a week prior, shaking up the already complicated investigation into Joseph Seed and his family. The accusations had been flowing in steadier and steadier these days, ranging from harassment to straight up kidnapping. One week ago, the word “murder” came up for the first time, and judging from the contents of the accompanying video, Nicole didn’t doubt it.

It was shaky footage, clearly recorded in secret. The first half was nothing too sinister, apart from the alarming amount of weaponry in the hands of what they now were almost entirely sure were violent extremists. The Hope County Sheriff’s Department had tried and failed multiple times to disarm them over the previous months. Every time they were met with air tight permits, or a last minute legal loophole from a representative of the group that forced them to drop charges. Nicole was no stranger to heavy weaponry, though her experience came from the strict military training she’d received back home in Israel rather than civilians gathered in ramshackle churches with LMGs.

The second half of the video is where concern really started to set in, prompting a call to the powers that be requesting an immediate warrant. Joseph Seed stood at the front of the church, his practiced words ringing through the pews. He spoke of blindness, casting his gaze across his congregation before shifting to another topic, the reason they were all really gathered there.

Betrayal.

His tone turned hard, taking on a sinister edge that was a far cry from the gentle, soothing lilt he’d possessed before. He turned his attention to the man in front of him, hands bound behind his back as he struggled from his knees. Joseph gazed down at him, cupping his cheeks almost lovingly before pressing his thumbs into the sockets of the man’s eyes. He was almost too calm, too serene as the man’s screams intensified, climbing higher and higher until Nicole had to turn away. She’d never finished the video herself, but she didn’t need to. She knew how it ended. Her eyes flitted back to the screen, narrowing when she saw the words “SERVICE LOST” displayed in black and white.

Whitehorse leaned forward, nudging the phone still clutched in her hand.

“You’re wastin’ your time. There’s no signal out here.”

Nicole nodded, tucking her phone away into her pocket. She’d gathered as much. Hope County was a notorious dead zone. Hell, sometimes they even struggled with the walkie talkies.

“Crossin’ over the Henbane now,” Pratt’s voice drifted over the airwaves, drawing her attention to the world below. Nicole grimaced as she peered into the fog. A statue stood perched on the top of the hill. Joseph’s Word, as the cultists liked to call it. She wasn’t quite sure how they’d managed to obtain the permits to build the fucking thing, but once again, they’d been able to do it completely by the book.

From the front of the chopper, Hudson shook her head.

“Oh, fuck. There he is,” she murmured. Nicole snorted, her hand flying up to conceal the grin curling her lips. Hudson wasn’t fond of the man, and she’d made it no secret that she’d delight in seeing him rot in prison the moment they could nab him.

Across from Nicole, Burke and Whitehorse had started to argue, though their tones remained carefully neutral. The Sheriff didn’t want to be out here any more than the rest of them. Back at the station, he’d let it slip that he wasn’t sure this arrest was a good idea, something he seemed to be trying to explain to the Marshal now.

“You want me to ignore a federal warrant, Sheriff?” Burke spat, gesturing towards Whitehorse with the warrant in his hand.

“No sir,” Whitehorse replied. “I want you to understand the reality of this situation. Joseph Seed? He’s not a man to be fucked with. We’ve had run-ins with him before, and they haven’t always gone our way. Just sometimes... sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone.”

Nicole frowned. This arrest felt sloppy, ill advised even. She had her reservations about confronting the man in the midst of his congregation, sure. But to suggest they leave it alone? It didn’t sit quite right.

“Yeah, well...” Burke paused, nodding to himself as he adjusted the warrants in his hands. “We have laws for a reason, Sheriff. Joseph Seed’s gonna learn that.”

Nicole found herself nodding, restless hands clenching and unclenching in her lap. He was right. The Seed family had gone far enough. It was time to end this before it got even more out of hand. Whitehorse sighed, turning his head to glance towards the front of the chopper.

“Pratt, open a call with dispatch.”

“Ten-four.”

Static crackled over the radio as the connection secured.

“Whitehorse to dispatch, over,” he said. Nicole could hear the unease in his voice, tinged with what sounded to her like a bit of annoyance. He was unsure about this entire operation, something she hadn’t expected from him.

Nancy’s voice came over the line, muffled and a bit distorted. Nicole found herself tuning out their rapport, focusing instead on the county below. Hope County was beautiful, she thought. In any other circumstances, it’d be an ideal place to live, to start and raise a family. Eden’s Gate had changed that, sewing seeds of unease and distrust as they dug themselves further and further into the county.

Nicole realized with a start they were descending, barely hovering over the front entrance of the compound before the chopper finally touched down with a gentle jolt.

“Now listen up,” Whitehorse started. “Three rules. Stick close, keep your guns in your holsters, and let me do the talking. Got it?”

A chorus of murmured agreement echoed through the chopper, with Nicole adding her own nod. She’d waited this long to get to the heart of Eden’s Gate. She wasn’t about to blow this chance. They piled out of the chopper, leaving only Pratt behind and forming a loose posse on the side nearest the compound. Whitehorse glanced around, sizing up their surroundings with wary eyes.

“He’ll be in the church. Stick close.”

The walk through the compound itself was uneasy, and Nicole found her hand drifting towards the pistol holstered firmly at her side. Whitehorse had been explicit in his request for them to keep their weapons holstered, but as a cultist leered at her from the shadows, Nicole wasn’t quite sure that was going to be possible. She’d seen this play out before, knew these kinds of extremists weren’t too keen on outsiders disrupting their way of life. Fire barrels lit the compound, their dull, orange light flickering across the faces of curious cultists gathered around to peer at the trespassers.

Nicole drew closer to Hudson, frowning as she took in the large metal arch they passed under. Rusted metal covered in peeling white paint encompassed the makeshift alleyway, turning the space between two housing structures into a literal gate preceding the church.

“A bit literal, hm?” Nicole mused, the corner of her lips quirking up at the sound of Hudson’s muffled snort.

As they passed under the arch, a particularly large cultist stepped towards Hudson, a shotgun clutched in his hands.

“Sheriff, I don’t like this,” she murmured.

“Everything’s fine, Hudson,” he assured. “Everything’s just fine.”

Beside them, Burke scoffed.

“Jesus Christ, you’re wearing badges, aren’t you?”

Nicole found herself rolling her eyes. A badge didn’t mean a damn thing to the people out here. They respected one authority, and that was Joseph Seed himself.

“Yeah, they don’t respect badges much out here,” Joey affirmed.

“They’ll respect a nine millimeter.”

This time, Nicole couldn’t hold back her own scoff. The Marshals could have sent someone a bit more levelheaded for such a delicate operation, but that would imply the US government cared much about safety over results.

“Not every problem can be solved with a bullet, Marshal,” Whitehorse chastised.

The group fell silent as they continued onward. It didn’t take long for them to reach the church itself, an imposing structure that looked almost eerie in the darkness. They paused at the doors, regrouping before entering.

The church itself was dimly lit, draping the far corners in shadows so thick it was nearly impossible to make out much more than vague shapes. Despite the pews being packed and seemingly well used, a thin layer of dust coated nearly everything inside, leaving a near constant tickle in the back of Nicole’s throat.

Eden’s Gate could use a maid, she thought. Or a damn feather duster.

She could hear the low sound of Joseph’s preaching droning in the background, but she had other priorities. Her eyes scanned the pews, searching the darkness for a flash of red hair. Nearly a year’s worth of searching for Ivanka had yielded no results, but this was the first time she’d walked into the belly of the beast. Seeing how they lived was sobering, and the thought of her sister being subjected to these conditions? Worse still. Ivanka was strong, she reasoned. They’d been through worse than this and survived. She’d find her.

As they reached the front of the pews, Nicole felt her heart sinking. She’d walked right into their base and still no sign of her sister. As Burke finally presented the arrest warrant, she finally caught a flash of red hair off in the corner. It didn’t take long to realize this redhead was male, taller than average, and draped in a camouflage jacket that screamed ex-military.

Jacob, she realized. The eldest brother.

She’d read the files, familiarized herself with the family as best she could. Three brothers, one “sister”. The female was interchangeable, it seemed — a figurehead that was disposed of at the first sign of disobedience. The current Faith — Rachel Jessop, according to her file —had the most lasting power, holding the name longer than any of her predecessors. As if the mere thought was enough to summon her, Nicole caught a flash of white lace in her peripheral, revealing the young woman drawing closer and closer.

That just left—

John.

The youngest, and from what she could tell, the funds backing the entire cult. The Sheriff’s Department had a whole file on John Seed, who had spent much of his youth and young adulthood as John Duncan. Rumors of child abuse and even more rumors of addiction and hedonism surrounded the man, enough to pique Nicole’s curiosity. She’d spent extra time on his file, unable to shake the familiarity of his childhood compared to her own turbulent upbringing. She couldn’t help but harbor some contempt for the man. There’s no changing one’s past, but to use it as a shield, a justification for violence? It made her sick.

Right on cue, the man himself stepped out of the shadows. He was smaller than his brothers, though his posture radiated the aura of a man trying to project importance. Tension was growing between Joseph and Burke mere feet away, but Nicole found herself unable to look away from the youngest Seed. He was handsome, undeniably so. His slicked back hair and perfectly pressed clothing screamed money, pride even. She wondered what big brother had to say about that.

As if he could sense her attention, John shifted his gaze towards her, locking eyes without so much as a flinch. Something churned low in Nicole’s gut, something that skirted much too close to excitement for her taste. Beauty could mask all manners of evil, and she’d heard enough about John’s particular brand of evil to know that was a road she shouldn’t go down.

The sudden realization that all eyes were on her tore her from her moral dilemma.

“Rookie, cuff this son of a bitch,” Burke ordered, jerking his head towards Joseph. Nicole’s eyebrows shot up as she realized the cult leader stood directly in front of her, arms outstretched in surrender. Surely it wouldn’t be that easy, she thought. There had to be a catch.

Slowly but firmly, she stepped forward, slapping the cuffs on the man’s wrists. He went easily, willingly as she placed a hand on his bare shoulder and started to guide him towards the exit. As she started walking him forward, she couldn’t help but take one last glance back at the siblings. At John.

He stood just as still, his features carefully arranged into a mask of serenity. He looked too calm for a man whose brother was being arrested on a federal warrant, and for what seemed like the millionth time that night, Nicole felt a bolt of uneasiness course down her spine. This wasn’t right, something isn’t right—

The doors to the church swung upon, revealing a nervous looking Hudson and countless more cultists than before. In the time it’d taken to serve the warrant, they’d descended upon the compound, gathering outside the church in droves. As they led Joseph back towards the chopper, Nicole could hear them crying out, begging her to unhand Joseph. Their anguish only fueled her anger towards the man, tightening her grip on his shoulder till she was sure it’d bruise. It was unprofessional, but men like Joseph Seed didn’t deserve her professionalism.

They’d nearly reached the chopper when it happened.

A stray rock soared through the air, colliding with Burke’s temple. Whitehorse barely had time to protest before the Marshal drew his pistol, firing into the air. The moment the shot was fired, hell broke loose. Cultists clamored for Joseph, surging forward to grab at him as Nicole hurried him to the chopper. Hands grabbed at her legs, snatching and clawing at her pant leg even as they began to ascend. Nicole watched in horror as a woman climbed the railings, barely taking a moment to breath before throwing herself into the blades.

The result was instantaneous, sending them careening sideways as Pratt scrambled to regain control. Across from her, Joseph remained serene, his low singing almost eerie when faced with the reality of the situation. He seemed unbothered in the face of mortality, unaware of the fact they were going down. His face was the last thing Nicole saw before bracing herself for impact.

With a symphony of crumpling steel and shattering glass, Nicole’s world went black.

#far cry 5 #fc5 #other peoples ocs #deputy nicole gerber #my writing

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