Too much panic in this town (Ch. 5: Day 2, Pt. II)

NPC · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:09 am

It was a long, hard walk there, easy to miss... if you didn't know the way.

Come the swift and sudden takeover of the Eggman Empire, a number of speedy decisions and weighty sacrifices had to be made. Largest of them all was the base of operations, or lack thereof as it had come to be. The private estate of Li Fang's clan, once a proud beacon of tradition and honor, had been reduced to literally less than nothing; from a high tower standing proudly over the financial district to an underground shelter hidden in the subway. The blow to his ego had to have been tremendous.

But, he took some superficial refuge in the things he could. His visitors would find that Li Fang, sitting at his chic glass-and-steel desk, was a still a well-dressed reptile of a man, in his champagne-beige blazer and suit pants. He wore no tie, and his pure white shirt was loosely buttoned, but crisp and clean. The room itself, his home and office for the time being, was as clean as a former station could be, and as bright, too; sun lamps high overhead, suspended from the slightly cavernous ceiling, kept alive a host of pleasant, exotic-looking plants, and necessitated (or perhaps facilitated) that their owner wear sunglasses. The floors had carefully arranged rugs to cover over anything unpleasant, and the furniture looked as trendy, new-age, and maybe even nonsensical as it could manage, with a sofa that looked more like an upright C with a long tail, and a flat panel that was suspended from an arm-like mount that looked more appropriate for an old traffic signal than a TV.

He was leaned well back in his expensive-looking chair, slumped a bit off to the side on an elbow, as he manipulated the floating, glowing volumetric display of a very pricy-looking handheld device. The numbers and foreign text were difficult to read for those entering, especially being that they were reversed from behind, but it nonetheless appeared to be news reports, and he seemed to be in a good mood about them — as much as it would show on a coldblooded face like his, anyway. When Tracer, Archer, their mysterious mouse associate, and the one surviving troop eventually entered his personal quarters, he set it aside and silently sat up more straightly, hands folded on his desk's clear surface.

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Rachel · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 7:23 pm

Tracer walked in all the grim silence one comes to expect from working with her. She however, seemed more angry then what could be considered her norm, despite the train heist having been a success.

She walked into the office without even sparing a glace at Li Fang's decorating, They where in a subway; A hole in the ground to hide in while trying to avoid Eggman, the newly budding group (who's name Tracer hadn't bothered to learn), and whatever remnants of GUN that could be bothered.

Once inside the room however she looked to Archer. For the time being she was willing to let him air her grievances. Negotiation's weren't one of her skills, killing fools that sent them out on missions with bad intel and crap for foot soldiers, that was more up her alley.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:40 pm

On the way back to their client's abode, Archer had discarded the unnecessary ticket=puncher's uniform in favor of his more familiar green cloak and tan tunic.

Upon entering the room, Archer glanced back at Tracer, who no doubt had the spoils of battle in tow, then at Li Fang. He approached the crime lord, clearing his throat.

"Mr. Li Fang," He said with a polite bow, "I have good news and bad news... Good news is we got the goods."

Dramatic pause...

"Bad news is, all your guys are dead except one. We're going to have to renegotiate our pay. This job was not quite what you described..."

NPC · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 5:54 pm

Li Fang's brows raised just ever so slightly behind his sunglasses. He still looked placid.

"That is certainly regrettable," he mused quietly. "Reconnaissance had reported... no more than five rather frugally-armed escorts in the car."

His head shifted millimeters to the side.

"How many were there?"

Zaka51 · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:16 pm

"There were seven..."

It was at this point that the mouse entered the room, looking a little worse for wear. He hadn't changed clothes since his departure from the train, and it showed: the navy blue material of his suit was wrinkled and roughed up, and there was a couple noticeable tears in the fabric, most likely a result of his train climbing and window-smashing. He was wearing his fine aviators again, probably due to the bright lights hanging everywhere, but also probably to hide his somewhat irritated expression.

He hanged back, behind the llama and the buck, scanning over the "goods" that he'd personally risked his safety to gain. The mouse did not seem too cheerful, as there was a somewhat dour tone in his voice, and he wore no smug smile this time. "I counted seven, hiding in the baggage cars... but they weren't guards. They weren't from Chun-Nan. They didn't look or sound like it. They didn't look like they belonged to anyone. But from what I observed, they were the biggest problem during the job."

He rubbed at his chest. Still ached. That cat could kick hard, and he himself couldn't take much of a hit. He grumbled a little, still sore about the incident, both physically and emotionally.

NPC · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:23 pm

The well-dressed reptile nodded slowly, head still at a cant. His elbows were on the desk, fingers laced, and lips pursed, as he appeared to think on the matter.

"'Didn't look like they belonged to anyone,'" he echoed in a slow, deliberate rhythm that indicated the musing was actually leading somewhere. He shifted his gaze from the mouse back to the llama and deer. "And you didn't happen to recognize any of them,... did you?"

He looked out the tops of his eyes, brows raised expectantly.

Rachel · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:06 pm

"I did. A cat, Ace I think." The llama finally spoke up. She hated the rat, and Li Fang. Getting good work was becoming a serious chore. Ever since The Arc mission. Which had been one of the worst and most embarrassing jobs of her life.

Clearly she was reluctant to go into this particular episode, but she did want proper compensation.

"Last time I saw him was working with a group lead by a monkey named Rock, his girlfriend, and assisted by some lunatic in a suit, Wild-something or other." She grumbled. Adding after a moment. "Either way, they hardly had to lift a hand against your men. They might as well jumped off the damn train for all the good they did."

NPC · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:23 pm

"I carefully research all of my hired help," replied Li Fang. "You two were no exception."

He sat back in his seat, tapping a couple keys to bring back up his volumetric display. The news he was checking out before was quickly whisked away and replaced with a number of photographs and profile-like datasheets.

"I've already been informed about who it was that interfered," he added. "I just wanted to see if you would admit it openly."

A picture of Ace boarding the train came up. Had it been taken by an onlooker? Someone they didn't even see? It soon aligned with an image of a photo ID and a ship's manifest. A thumbnail of a photo of Tracer soon appeared, as well.

"It's quite interesting what happened to the SIRSV Lagrange a few months ago," he began cryptically. "The disappearance, along with ARK... And the crew, especially." He began to read off the list. "Captain, Dr. Astrid Morrison... Engineer, 1st Lt. Lazarus 'Rock' Lochert of the SIAF... Specialist, Daniel 'Ace' Crawford... Specialist, Tracey 'Tracer' Starr. Among others."

He drummed his fingers slowly.

"Here we have a former coworker of yours. Surely you don't expect me to believe it's mere coincidence that he would show up here, interfering in one of your operations — one of my operations — across the world from his home, and from all of his previous recorded activities, here in Chun-nan?"

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:19 pm

Archer glanced over at the rat as he strolled in to answer the question in his place. Then Li Fang brought about the question in regards to anyone else knowing the stowaways.

It's been some time since that operation, so Archer had slowly extracted the juicy details of that flop. He scratched his ear with a gloved hand, trying to think of what to say precisely. He didn't want to give Tracer a chance for rebuttal, because he was sure it wouldn't be with words.

"Your information seems to have some holes, from what I understand..." He paused and decided to leave that bit to the imagination, "But I digress, I certainly wasn't there. Neither of us have any love for that cat, of that I can assure you. Let alone any reason to inform him of your operations."

Not to mention, they still didn't know what it was.

"This is just another job to us. That being said, it was a success; marginally." He glanced back at the package.

Rachel · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:35 pm

Tracer remained mostly still, she held the straps Archer had tied to the crate like a giant purse someone her size really had no business being able to carry. She tightened her grip, knowing Archer's negotiation wasn't going as well as he'd hoped.

If it came to her style of negotiation they might not get paid at all. Maybe someone else will buy the circle from her. She considered this a moment, before looking at the rat.

"The cat had no interest in me." She finally said. "But seemed pretty concerned with you."

Zaka51 · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:58 pm

The suit looked up at the llama, a bit surprised by the sudden attention but not visibly bothered. He made his way around the crate, past the two, standing off to the side. "Well, he should have been. I was met with suspicion from everyone on that train--which was understandable. But I made one tiny slip-up and he jumped me...tried to kill me with playing cards," he admitted with a shrug. "After that it was just a bunch of taunting and running around... I mean, I didn't want to get caught. They were the curious kind, the kind that causes trouble when it comes to sensitive plans like this. If I had let them catch me, they would have started asking questions...with their fists and boots." He rubbed the side of his neck in quiet contemplation.

"Had to bluff my way out with a fake bomb threat. They shot at me. I took the 'alternate' way off the train...though I don't blame you for leaving without me in that fancy helicopter--thank you for not riddling me with bullets with that thing, by the way," he said with a small smile and a nod to Tracer, though it was actually hard to tell if he was being sincere or mocking.

"So, I played the role of a distraction. I'm sure that if the cat--Ace, was it?--had been knocking your antlered friend around instead of me, things would have gone more poorly, hm?"

The mouse sure loved to talk.

NPC · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:10 pm

Li Fang looked as irritated as a person could look without actually donning a facial expression worth mentioning. Maybe it was just his very... deliberate, slow breathing, or increasingly stern posture in his seat.

"That aside," he said with a sharp glance at the mouse, "do not deflect the blame, or be... dense. I was not implying you were betraying me, else I doubt you would have bothered to come here." That seemed mostly targeted at Archer, who may have gone a little off the beam with his interpretation. "I was stating that trouble is following you, and you have made it my trouble."

He sat back again.

"I will still pay you as we agreed, despite your misstep, but not a ring more. If it's more money you would like, however, it's quite a simple matter: You need only prove yourselves — avenge my lost men and their dignity — by bringing your former associate, that cat, to me."

It looked like he should have smiled then, but the effect was more like his mouth just... tightened sideways, and nothing really happened.

"It should be simple for you, shouldn't it?"

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:13 am

Archer sighed when the ultimatum was dropped. They had a choice, but Archer didn't like either of them. The crime lord seemed convinced that they were the cause of the wild cards aboard that train.

"I really couldn't care less about the honor of your less-than-stellar henchmen. But even if I did, the cat had nothing to do with their deaths. The men guarding this crate were clearly better trained than your thugs."

He glanced at Tracer, not quite sure where her temperment was right now, but he was clearly worried that they might not get paid at all if this negotiation didn't take a turn for the better, and quick.

"The alley cat was too busy beating up on him," A quick glance was shot to the rat, "To even be a factor in the mission objective. I think we're due hazard pay for having to put up with the sad display put on by your men. Then, maybe we'll consider taking you up on that headhunt offer."

Archer's final attempt at haggling. He didn't know if, based on their talk, Tracer would even accept the originally agreed amount, given the trouble they went through.

Rachel · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:29 am

Tracer was becoming increasingly tense. Her shoulders straighten and her look of anger faded to one of calise alertness. It was unclear whiether this was because she was about to start hostilities. In her experince this sort of break down leads to violence. Granted, she normaly starts it, but that didn't mean Li Fang wouldn't take the opportunity to try and cancel their contract outright.

The longer they spoke the more likely it seemed he was looking to remove them entirely.

NPC · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:28 am

"Your disrespect is unbecoming of someone in your position," he replied simply, his voice just as level as it had been through the rest of the conversation. "You appear uninjured to me, yet you failed to support my men, and continue to insult them. That insults me. If you refuse my payment, you forfeit any compensation whatsoever; you may take the item and leave."

He swiveled in his seat, and began fiddling with his computer again. It was back to the news he had been looking at prior; Eggman's picture was discernible amid the foreign text.

"Some... recent events in the news have reduced my interest in the item to mere curiosity — vanity even," he explained, sounding increasingly disinterested. "And you, you sour any desire I have for curio shopping. So consider this your last chance to recoup your munitions and fuel expenses, turn a profit, and still have more business opportunities in this region. Otherwise, you may collect your weapons and coats at the front door and... go elsewhere."

Too much panic in this town (Ch. 5: Day 2, Pt. II)

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