Nace Bilby
ACME
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(This was written with @Rose and takes place before the events in Carnival)
West San Francisco. Along the Beach. 11 o’clock. Sunday Morning.
Nace tossed the stick and Goliath raced into the water after the it, grabbing a hold of it and running back towards his master. Halfway there he started barking and put the stick down. Nace noticed that Goliath began barking at a pair of approaching people.
“Check!” Nace shouted, a command to stop barking and head back his way.
“Terribly sorry about that, miss.” Nace said to the woman.
Rose had been slightly alarmed when the large German Shepherd appeared out of nowhere and began to bark. In her entire life she had only held a nodding acquaintance with canines and so trusted her first instincts. Meaning, she might have over-reacted a bit when she took a step in front of the nine-year-old girl she had been walking with. As soon as she spotted the owner of the dog, her muscles relaxed a little, but she continued to keep a sharp eye on the dog and the master.
“No harm done.” Rose would have turned away at that, but her ward somehow managed to escape from safety and fearlessly headed straight for the dog, giving Rose no time act in prevention.
“What’s his name,” the little girl asked, holding out her hand for the dog to sniff.
Nace slapped the side of his leg and the dog headed up to his side, sitting and panting with his tongue hanging out as he regarded the pair. He noticed the little girl’s reaction and gave a command to his own ward, “Gentle.”
That meant that Goliath would gently sniff the little girl’s hand. Nace turned to address the child, “His name is Goliath, like the Biblical giant. Just hold your hand out in front of his nose but don’t touch yet, let him smell you, let him get used to you.”
Goliath would angle his head up and sniff gently and Nace said, “If you want to toss the stick with him, you’re more than welcome.”
“Again, I’m sorry about that, Miss…” Nace said, vaguely certain he’d seen this woman somewhere around ACME before.
All throughout the conversation, Rose had kept a tight grip on one of the girl’s hands as her ward attached herself to Goliath. When the stranger offered to let the girl throw a stick, Rose rather reluctantly let go. “Just be careful, Katie.”
“I will!” Katie smiled up at Rose before taking the stick from the man’s hand. After running a safe distance away from Rose and the stranger to ensure no injuries in case of backfire, she tossed it for Goliath.
Rose, still keeping an eye on girl and the dog, turned to the man. “It’s really alright. I forgot how much Katie liked dogs…Thanks for letting her play with yours for a few minutes.”
“You’re welcome.” Nace said, before holding out his hand, “Nace Bilby, I work at ACME and I think I’d seen you around.”
Rose took Nace Bilby’s extended hand, realizing there was something familiar about the man’s face. “You’re correct, my name is Rose Ningolsham, and I also work for ACME.”
“I thought I’d seen you around the gym once or twice.” the South African replied with a smile, “So are you new here then? I only recently moved here from the UK.”
“Yes, I am fairly new. I moved here and started in the middle of last December.” Rose began to slowly walk onward, seeing that Katie and Goliath were moving further and further away from them. The girl seemed as excited to chase after the stick as the dog.
"He is a big sweetheart with kids. My nieces love him." Nace said, showing a photo on his iPhone of Goliath with two little girls ages eight and six, he was rolled over on his back while the girls scratched his tummy and rubbed it.
"You seem to have some sort of military background, I kind of feel you've got that sort of vibe." Nace observed.
Rose sent a shooting glance towards Nace at the change of subject. From his outer appearance, he didn’t look at all like someone she wouldn’t trust, exactly, but there had always been a reservation inside of her when speaking about her military time. Mostly because of the strange blankness that those years contained.
“I was in the Navy. A couple years in the reserves and three years active duty. You?”
"I was in the South African Army for nearly three and a half years and then I joined the British Army Reserve, with 21 SAS, one of the reserve regiments of Britain's Special Air Service. What did you do in the service?"
“My specialty was Naval Architecture, but most of the time I was doing something else. It wasn’t, in fact, until shortly before I was discharged that I finally was in a place to put my specialty to use.” She paused, silently rehearsing what she had read about her military service. It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember everything. The skills were still there. The memories were just blurry. “I did extra training for Individual Augmented duty, but that was cut short. Mostly my time was divided between being an aide, a division officer on a ship, and a recruiting officer.”
"So you're a Rupert then?" Nace said, "That's British Army slang for an officer and that's not necessarily demeaning."
“I’ve never heard that term before, but…” She studied Nace Bilby’s face skeptically, seeming to ponder whether ‘Rupert’ was actually not ‘demeaning’. “Yes, I was an officer. I’m guessing you weren’t?”
"No, I'm a sergeant with the British Army Reserves. And I wasn't being insulting with the Rupert bit." Nace replied, "Actually we weren't sure where the name Rupert for officers came from. My old commander, Captain Taylor was affectionately dubbed Rupert by our lot."
Rose nodded silently. Her attention once more drawn away to watch as Katie tripped over her own two feet and fell. The dog stopped its excited dance and turned back to guard what he seemed to think was now his responsibility. Rose waited till she saw a wide smile spreading over Katie’s face as the girl reached up her hand to pat the dog, and then all Rose’s muscles notably relaxed. Almost without her knowledge, a smile, similar to the one on her daughter’s face, spread over her own.
“I see. What did you say you did for ACME?”
"I work as a firearms instructor as well as a conventional agent. What about you?" Nace replied as he watched Goliath playing with the young girl. Goliath was wagging his tail and licking Katie's face.
"Looks like she's made a new, four legged, friend." Nace remarked, smiling as Goliath licked Katie's face.
“She has. Your dog is nice. Very patient.” Rose glanced down at her watch offhandedly. “I work for ACME’s Marina and Ocean Services Subdivision or simply MOSS.”
"He is good with kids, my nieces love him." Nace replied and remarked, "Fits with your naval experience."
“Yeah, it’s nice to finally put my specialty to some use.” She waved towards Katie, signaling for her daughter to return. “This is where I turn back towards my apartment. It was a pleasure to meet you, Nace, and thanks.”
“Likewise Rose. If Katie ever goes on about dogs I can always see if Goliath might want to come over.” Nace offered.
“I appreciate that. I’m fairly certain that my apartment building allows animals...I could probably keep a horse, if I had an inclination. Anyway…” Rose’s thoughts were snatched away as Katie came up and reached out her hand in expectation of it being held. She took it in hers and then turned back once more to Nace. “I’ll, no doubt, see you around in the near future. My contact information isn’t hard to find, if you need anything…so…I hope you have a lovely day.”
“Same to you. If you need anything regarding the firearms department I’d be more than willing to assist.” Nace replied, watching Rose and the little girl depart and smiling that he and Goliath knew someone new in San Francisco.
West San Francisco. Along the Beach. 11 o’clock. Sunday Morning.
Nace tossed the stick and Goliath raced into the water after the it, grabbing a hold of it and running back towards his master. Halfway there he started barking and put the stick down. Nace noticed that Goliath began barking at a pair of approaching people.
“Check!” Nace shouted, a command to stop barking and head back his way.
“Terribly sorry about that, miss.” Nace said to the woman.
Rose had been slightly alarmed when the large German Shepherd appeared out of nowhere and began to bark. In her entire life she had only held a nodding acquaintance with canines and so trusted her first instincts. Meaning, she might have over-reacted a bit when she took a step in front of the nine-year-old girl she had been walking with. As soon as she spotted the owner of the dog, her muscles relaxed a little, but she continued to keep a sharp eye on the dog and the master.
“No harm done.” Rose would have turned away at that, but her ward somehow managed to escape from safety and fearlessly headed straight for the dog, giving Rose no time act in prevention.
“What’s his name,” the little girl asked, holding out her hand for the dog to sniff.
Nace slapped the side of his leg and the dog headed up to his side, sitting and panting with his tongue hanging out as he regarded the pair. He noticed the little girl’s reaction and gave a command to his own ward, “Gentle.”
That meant that Goliath would gently sniff the little girl’s hand. Nace turned to address the child, “His name is Goliath, like the Biblical giant. Just hold your hand out in front of his nose but don’t touch yet, let him smell you, let him get used to you.”
Goliath would angle his head up and sniff gently and Nace said, “If you want to toss the stick with him, you’re more than welcome.”
“Again, I’m sorry about that, Miss…” Nace said, vaguely certain he’d seen this woman somewhere around ACME before.
All throughout the conversation, Rose had kept a tight grip on one of the girl’s hands as her ward attached herself to Goliath. When the stranger offered to let the girl throw a stick, Rose rather reluctantly let go. “Just be careful, Katie.”
“I will!” Katie smiled up at Rose before taking the stick from the man’s hand. After running a safe distance away from Rose and the stranger to ensure no injuries in case of backfire, she tossed it for Goliath.
Rose, still keeping an eye on girl and the dog, turned to the man. “It’s really alright. I forgot how much Katie liked dogs…Thanks for letting her play with yours for a few minutes.”
“You’re welcome.” Nace said, before holding out his hand, “Nace Bilby, I work at ACME and I think I’d seen you around.”
Rose took Nace Bilby’s extended hand, realizing there was something familiar about the man’s face. “You’re correct, my name is Rose Ningolsham, and I also work for ACME.”
“I thought I’d seen you around the gym once or twice.” the South African replied with a smile, “So are you new here then? I only recently moved here from the UK.”
“Yes, I am fairly new. I moved here and started in the middle of last December.” Rose began to slowly walk onward, seeing that Katie and Goliath were moving further and further away from them. The girl seemed as excited to chase after the stick as the dog.
"He is a big sweetheart with kids. My nieces love him." Nace said, showing a photo on his iPhone of Goliath with two little girls ages eight and six, he was rolled over on his back while the girls scratched his tummy and rubbed it.
"You seem to have some sort of military background, I kind of feel you've got that sort of vibe." Nace observed.
Rose sent a shooting glance towards Nace at the change of subject. From his outer appearance, he didn’t look at all like someone she wouldn’t trust, exactly, but there had always been a reservation inside of her when speaking about her military time. Mostly because of the strange blankness that those years contained.
“I was in the Navy. A couple years in the reserves and three years active duty. You?”
"I was in the South African Army for nearly three and a half years and then I joined the British Army Reserve, with 21 SAS, one of the reserve regiments of Britain's Special Air Service. What did you do in the service?"
“My specialty was Naval Architecture, but most of the time I was doing something else. It wasn’t, in fact, until shortly before I was discharged that I finally was in a place to put my specialty to use.” She paused, silently rehearsing what she had read about her military service. It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember everything. The skills were still there. The memories were just blurry. “I did extra training for Individual Augmented duty, but that was cut short. Mostly my time was divided between being an aide, a division officer on a ship, and a recruiting officer.”
"So you're a Rupert then?" Nace said, "That's British Army slang for an officer and that's not necessarily demeaning."
“I’ve never heard that term before, but…” She studied Nace Bilby’s face skeptically, seeming to ponder whether ‘Rupert’ was actually not ‘demeaning’. “Yes, I was an officer. I’m guessing you weren’t?”
"No, I'm a sergeant with the British Army Reserves. And I wasn't being insulting with the Rupert bit." Nace replied, "Actually we weren't sure where the name Rupert for officers came from. My old commander, Captain Taylor was affectionately dubbed Rupert by our lot."
Rose nodded silently. Her attention once more drawn away to watch as Katie tripped over her own two feet and fell. The dog stopped its excited dance and turned back to guard what he seemed to think was now his responsibility. Rose waited till she saw a wide smile spreading over Katie’s face as the girl reached up her hand to pat the dog, and then all Rose’s muscles notably relaxed. Almost without her knowledge, a smile, similar to the one on her daughter’s face, spread over her own.
“I see. What did you say you did for ACME?”
"I work as a firearms instructor as well as a conventional agent. What about you?" Nace replied as he watched Goliath playing with the young girl. Goliath was wagging his tail and licking Katie's face.
"Looks like she's made a new, four legged, friend." Nace remarked, smiling as Goliath licked Katie's face.
“She has. Your dog is nice. Very patient.” Rose glanced down at her watch offhandedly. “I work for ACME’s Marina and Ocean Services Subdivision or simply MOSS.”
"He is good with kids, my nieces love him." Nace replied and remarked, "Fits with your naval experience."
“Yeah, it’s nice to finally put my specialty to some use.” She waved towards Katie, signaling for her daughter to return. “This is where I turn back towards my apartment. It was a pleasure to meet you, Nace, and thanks.”
“Likewise Rose. If Katie ever goes on about dogs I can always see if Goliath might want to come over.” Nace offered.
“I appreciate that. I’m fairly certain that my apartment building allows animals...I could probably keep a horse, if I had an inclination. Anyway…” Rose’s thoughts were snatched away as Katie came up and reached out her hand in expectation of it being held. She took it in hers and then turned back once more to Nace. “I’ll, no doubt, see you around in the near future. My contact information isn’t hard to find, if you need anything…so…I hope you have a lovely day.”
“Same to you. If you need anything regarding the firearms department I’d be more than willing to assist.” Nace replied, watching Rose and the little girl depart and smiling that he and Goliath knew someone new in San Francisco.
