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Author Topic: Give and take. [Tally!] [M]  (Read 12792 times)

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Offline Rhi-Rhi

Give and take. [Tally!] [M]
« on: May 15, 2012, 03:08:06 am »
Ari checked the old receipt he'd written the information down on and compared it to the place he was standing outside. Yep, this was it. A nice, neutral place where they could speak and not really worry about being overheard, not that anyone would care. This transaction was pretty mundane. Sure, it was fancy stuff you couldn't get in this part of the solar system, but it wasn't some top secret info, either.

He pulled out his lighter and burned the receipt (half out of habit, as he hated paper trails of any sort, and half just because he could), then pulled out a cigarette and lit up, lingering outside the bar and idly blowing smoke rings. The guy couldn't miss him, what with the rainbow hair and all and the distinctive sleeves; he'd worn a wife-beater because it was the closest he could get to not wearing a shirt without going shirtless.

It'd be interesting to see what kinda guy he was dealing with.

Be equally interesting to see if what he could loosen up with a little alcohol. Get the right person liquored up and you could sometimes cut a fantastic deal. Or get laid.

Frankly, he'd take either or both, if they were cute or an alien. He'd been stuck in space around the same crew long enough he'd welcome the variation.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2014, 08:29:11 pm by Rhi-Rhi »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2012, 03:38:37 am »
That had to be the guy.  Couldn't be anyone else, from the description Nathan had gotten of him.  His contact's hair looked like a rainbow had vomited on it.  He bore tattoos too and—of course—was taller than Nathan.  Way taller.  Had to be above six feet.

All in all, he gave the impression of someone trying too hard.

Nathan broke out of the crowd and caught the man's eye.  They couldn't have been more dissimilar.  For one thing, Nathan was dressed not to leave an impression, his coat a conservative brown and his hair being the color it was supposed to be.  The only thing that might stand out were the two handguns at his hips, well cared for and bearing the marks of frequent use.  Not energy weapons those.  No, he shot real metal.

"Nathaniel Beaumont," he said, and put his hand out.  Right down to business.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2012, 09:40:26 pm »
Yeah, Ari had formed a lot of ideas and assumptions in his head. Had to say, the guy that stepped out of the crowd and made his way toward him? Didn't fit the mold of any of those assumptions. He blinked a couple times as Tiny, Unimposing, Utterly Forgettable Man approached him--and introduced himself as his guy.

That was it? Shit, he was like pocket-sized!

"Get out!" Ari said with a grin, reaching out and shaking the guy's hand firmly. "You're Nathan? Holy shit. Here I was picturin' someone, y'know..." He held his hand up over Nathan's head. "Bigger."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2012, 09:52:17 pm »
Nathan sighed, projected good-humored exasperation into it.  One of these days he was going to snap and pistol-whip the next guy who commented on his height with that amused, slightly puzzled tone.

"Ah, yeah.  Yeah, I get that a lot.  Ready to make the deal?"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2012, 03:32:00 pm »
"Adorable," Ari said, unable to stop just one more little jab. Probably not the smartest thing to do right before a deal, but hey, they both had something the other wanted so he was sure he could risk a little teasing.

He motioned to the bar, signalling Nathan to go in first like the proper gentleman he was. "Sure, let's go. Ari Maxwell, by the well. But I'm sure ya figured that out already," he said. "Drink's on me, pal."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2012, 10:47:20 pm »
Nathan paused for a split second in his step at that word.

It's okay, chill.  Just have to sell him the delivery and then never see him again.

He could swallow his pride and feign a sense of humor for one little transaction.  So Ari would be a challenge—after dealing with Bhaskara, was this really that difficult?

"Oh, thanks."  He signaled a waitress and chose a table in the corner, where they wouldn't be surrounded on all sides by listening ears.  Not that anyone was likely to hear him in this place.  It was packed wall to wall and thrumming with din.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2012, 09:02:06 pm »
Ari slid into a chair across from Nathan and leaned his arms on the table, making himself quite comfortable. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for the cute ones, in more than one way." He winked at Nathan, grinned, and turned toward the waitress just as she approached to take their order.

"I'll just get a beer and whatever he wants," he said. He had all the time in the world today and deals were always so dull. Besides, the guy was being awfully terse; gave him the impression he was the "in and out" sort.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2012, 01:18:05 am »
Nathan smiled, ducked his head like he was shy at the compliment.

Yeah, suuuure you are.

"Uh, I'll have the same."  He folded his arms on the table.  He was staring to work out how he wanted to play this negotiation.  "I brought the sample.  The rest of the drop is in my cargo hold.  Once we make a deal, it's yours."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2012, 12:37:10 am »
The waitress returned with two bottles of beer and Ari took a long swallow from his.

"Good deal. Well, do feel free to share it with the rest of the class," he said. "How much ya got in the hold?" And then, after another pause, he eyed Nathan's beer. "Ya sure ya didn't want somethin' better? Ya don't gotta be modest for my sake."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2012, 01:07:06 am »
Nathan paused, halfway to reaching for the bag with the sample in it.  He smiled friendly like.  "Better?  It's the same thing you got.  I figured you'd know what was good."

He upended the bag on the counter, and shards of a dark, shiny metal spilled out.  A superconductor, but one of the few known in the galaxy that maintained zero electrical resistivity at room temperature.  Damn hard to get, but worth all the time it took.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2012, 05:33:31 pm »
"Yeah? Aww, that's adorable. For future reference, I've got shitty taste. Only get what I get if ya like cheap alcohol and ain't particularly fussy about your food, 'cause I can't tell the difference between salmon and mutated catfish."

Apparently.

Putting his beer down, he leaned forward in interest as Nathan, and then let out a low whistle. "Beautiful," he said, looking them over. "How many people ya have to kill to get your hands on that?"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2012, 01:56:49 am »
People who called Nathan adorable usually got a dirty look for it.  Unless he was trying to sell them something.  Then, as now, he put forth a wry smile in response to the cutesy word.

"None."  He couldn't keep the pride from edging into his voice when he said that.  "Just had to slip past a couple of pirate squeeze points.  The planet's a tiny little rock on the edge.  Can't even get there without a jump drive."

He was being modest.  A nasty dark matter storm blocked off a whole two quadrants centerwise.  Only way through was two jump gates on either side, and pirates controlled both.  Not only had Diva made through both gates on the way there—but she'd made it back without a scratch, too.

"Feel free to run your scanner over those.  They'll check out."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2012, 02:36:44 pm »
"Oh, mhmm. Yeah, those pirates. They can be tricksy little buggers," Ari said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small scanner. He tapped a button to activate it but seemed in no rush to scan things and hurry through this transaction.

He idly waved the scanner over the shards and, as promised, the readings came out sound. This stuff was legit. Damn.

"Ya get outta there alright? I mean, you're sure they ain't trackin' you or nothin'? Those guys can be pretty sneaky if ya ain't careful, even if ya think you are being careful, and this is some serious merch."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
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AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

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Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2012, 09:52:29 pm »
"Nah.  Diva's uncatchable.  And anyway, we're all pirates in one way or another.  I certainly didn't own the mineral rights to those nodes we mined."

Ninety percent of the vagrants stopping through Cancer could claim the title of pirate for one nefarious deed or another.  He kept a working relationship with many of the worst of them, but it was the true pirates—the ones who commandeered and salvaged weaker ships—who had it out for him.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2012, 03:43:29 pm »
Ari lifted his eyebrows. "Uncatchable, huh? Ain't afraid of jinxin' your good luck?"

Well, now he was curious. Call it a pride thing or whatever, but you didn't go waving around expensive materials and then boasting your ship as uncatchable. That was just asking for it. At least, it was in Ari's head. He'd always liked a challenge.

And he wasn't one of those honorable pirates, either. He'd made deals with people before only to rob them later--or even during the transaction, if he knew where their ship was and had crew enough to carry that out.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
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AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #15 on: July 28, 2012, 12:11:43 am »
Nathan made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a scoff.  "I don't have any good luck to jinx.  Just a lot of bad luck I've learned to deal with."

It wasn't so much that things went right for him, as that things went very, very wrong and he always somehow manged to hold it all together by one frayed thread.

"So?"  He waved a hand over the scattering of samples on the table.  "Thoughts?"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2012, 01:07:51 pm »
"Whoa there. Where's the fire, buddy?" Ari said with a laugh. "Got somewhere ya need to be or somethin'? Relax, kid. You've hardly touched your drink."

He picked up a shard and turned it over in his hand. "How much ya want for 'em?"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
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The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2012, 03:16:24 pm »
Nathan looked like he was just barely into his twenties.  His height helped with the image.  It came in handy when he was trying to look naive, or when he wanted someone to underestimate him.

He took a swig of the beer.  It wasn't as bad as Ari made it sound, or maybe Nathan was just too used to eating processed meal bars to tell the difference.  If he'd ever had a refined sense of taste, spending months out on the edge with nothing but chemical substitutes to eat had taken care of that.  "No, nowhere to be.  Didn't realize this was a social outing is all.  But we don't have to be all business."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

Offline Rhi-Rhi

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2012, 02:38:10 am »
"Good. 'Cause ya look like ya could use a good relaxin' outing, kid. All work and no play makes you a dull boy and all that."

Taking up his beer, Ari chugged the rest down and flagged the bartender for another. "Besides, ain't nothin' wrong with mixin' business with pleasure. Not like they're mutually exclusive. Why, the last deal I made here, we sealed it with body shots instead of a handshake. Now that was a good time," he said with a wink.

"I think it's become somethin' of my preferred method."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »
OPEN THREADS! JOIN FOR ADVENTUROUS FUN TIMES!
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AWESOME SHIP OF PIRATEY GOODNESS
The Sassy Juice wants YOU on its crew!

Ari // Arrow // Asher // Bailey // Cecil //  Cyrus // Dakota // Esha // Francis // Gabriel // Jake // Jericho // Jewel // Keziah // Kyran // Lexi // Malriiko // Nuri // Poe // Rachel // Shiloh // Sitara // Val // Yazuri

Offline Tally

Re: Give and take. [Tally!]
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2012, 09:55:20 pm »
Great gods, was it that obvious?  Nathan hadn't docked at a station for anything other than business in...well shit, years.  Even when he stopped on Cancer, he saw to his jobs, saw to his payment, and hauled anchor again.

"Your exploits make me sound downright boring."  That could be said for most people on Cancer, if he were honest with himself.  He wasn't particularly a daredevil, and he went out of his way to avoid breaking the law.  Less attention that way.

He raised his glass in a toast.  "To business and pleasure, then."
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 pm by Guest »

 

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