StV: Florida Man, part 10

Cloudburst said, "Hold here and wait for my signal." She glanced back at Tempest. "If that thing takes me down, you're in charge again... and you might consider just pulling out and coming back with reinforcements." Then she turned to consider the park ranger and the sheriff's deputy. "Whatever happens, you two stay back."

"What... what are you going to do?" asked the sheriff's deputy, Steve. 

Cloudburst swallowed. "Start by asking nicely if he'll come back with us and spend some time in jail." She thought momentarily about Lyceus and the sort of calm confidence he always projected, and tried to channel some of that for herself. "If that doesn't work, I'm thinking I just keep him drinking until he passes out. Then we roll him off the side of the gator, put him in the boat and head back as quietly as we can."

Steve choked off a strangled laugh, then sat down in his seat. 

Cloudburst took a deep breath, then stepped off the side of the boat.  Her costume wouldn't drag, at least; the arms and legs were form-fitting, with a heavier over-layer that covered her torso. Her mask was relatively simple, too: a simple cover for her mouth, nose, and neck, equipped with some air filters and leaving her hair free. 

Atop the giant alligator, Florida Man watched her approach with a bemused expression on his face. He'd opened another beer, and was working his way through it already.

"Hey there," she called quietly, when she nearly there. "You want some company up there?"

"Sure," he said. "You'll probably need to walk up the tail..."

"No, I've got this," she told him, and lifted herself up on a tower of wetlands water until she could step across. 

"Okay," he said. "That was cool. You some kind of nature spirit?"

"No," she told him, "but that's not a bad way to think about it."