RP: Bastardpiece Theater [Bastardpiece Theater] Act I: First Steps

When introduced, Dick only nodded with a smile, but noticed the looks Kira and Amy were giving each other. As peaceably they likely meant it, the chemist started to heavily misinterpret them and worry more about potential catfights in the future. Then noticing the two more military seeming characters gather close together got him worrying even more.

"I love this feeling of fucked," Dick thought to himself.

"Hey, think we stand a chance?"

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Shrugging his own shoulders in turn, Dex took a drag of his cigarette before blowing it away from them. "Honestly?.... I don't know, brother. They must have some kind of skill. Else they wouldn't of been picked, right?" he asked the shorter man. He could see that the man did have a rather commanding air about him. He couldn't of been a sergeant. Like Dex, most of the NCO's were patient with their troops, though they could turn into a boot's worst nightmare at the drop of a hat.

That left one possibility as to Fian's rank in the corps. 'Chief.' thought Dex as the training drilled into him years before caused him to stand a bit straighter. "I say we just keep an eye on the ones we're not too sure about. The other guy. I think Dick was his name." whispered Dex before patting Fian on the shoulder and taking another long drag of his cigarette.

"Good looking suit, mate." commented Dex to Fian with a shrug.

Amy heard some indistinct chatter from Dex and Fian along with a couple glances towards her and Kira. The words were lost on her, but she was no stranger to judgement and dismissal. Whether they were in fact doing so, or just talking about something else was rather irrelevant, the truth was that she didn't really trust them or their capabilities either. Military experience was all fine and dandy, but the most deadly situations in the criminal underworld weren't straight up firefights, and if the assassins targeting the girl knew what they were doing, they were going to pick the worst possible time for this group to try to thwart him. Probably after somebody cocks up or lets her out of our sight. she added with a grim afterthought.

In any case, assuming they survived, she would prove them wrong in due time, and she remained open to the possibility they would do the same for her.

Still, she was honestly rather more worried about their employers than the assassins. The family didn't get to their position from playing nice, and she fully expected them to sell their group out if they stood to gain even a little. Even if the head who wanted this girl protected wouldn't, then perhaps an ambitious or disgruntled underling would..

Kira smiled as the other greeted her or said nice things about her outfite. She was seemingly oblivious to chatter between Fian and Dex. Seemed that the people in the group accepted her and that was all she needed. That said she did not entirely trust any of them. Right now they were group of strangers and Kira wondered if they ever become a real team.

"Oh yes, good. Good." Kira replied to Amy. "Yes, we all need to stick together. Both girls and boys. We are all comrades now, yes? Now I have a question, do we need guns or not?"

For some odd reason, the Delsaurian had simply vanished as the people all talked amongst themselves.

But despite this, a tug at Dex's sleeve soon had him turn about to see Nacon holding a tidy little box he likely got from a store nearby. "Here you go - I thought this would make things a little easier for you if the tattoos kept giving you trouble," he remarked, handing over to the Nepleslian a cosmetics kit to cover them up. "If you feel you need to, go ahead and use it. The stuff is spray on, and is water proof. Just a little bit of rubbing alcohol is all you need to get rid of it too," the Delsaurian offered, setting the kit down on a shoe changing bench.

Before Dex could reply though, one of his eyes swiveled in his skull and fell on Dick. Turning his head to bring both eyes to bear, he asked the man, "You're staring at the two girls a lot - are you thinking of bumping up against them already? We don't have time for that you know!" the Delsaurian spoke, tilting his head to the side as he did so. "If I've learned anything from the sitcoms you Neplelsians have, it's that it's really bad for the work place to - "

The Delsaurian vibrated and rang like a phone, stopping him mid-sentence. Reaching into a pocket about his paunch, he quickly brought the culprit out and brought it to his ear. It didn't take long for him to finish, nodding away to himself as he said, "Yes...yes," as needed. Looking up at Kurt, the short alien quickly explained to him what had just happened, voice almost bordering on childlike as it tended to be.

"We need to go - they want us there now boss!" Turning to the humans with him, he asked, "Got everything? We need to go!"

Kurt simply responded to the Delsaurian with a very short nod, and did a brass check on his Silver .45, holstered near the left side of his chest. Looking up at the group before him, Kurt simply said.

"It's time to go. Keep natural, stay alert, and don't fuck this up."

Dick's eyes opened wide at Nacon's accusation. "What do you mean?" he asked as if he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. At least the pharmacist knew someone was keeping an eye out, though. He figured this could get out of hand quick if left with zero oversight.

Having changed back into the suit after he picked out the maroon vest in lieu of the green, Dex glanced over and found a shoulder holster. 'Couldn't of worked out better if I wanted it to.' thought the man as he grabbed it and quickly donned the rig before holstering his .45 Silver Special. Though not before pulling the slide back far enough to see the round chambered.

Feeling a tug at his sleeve and seeing the little Delsaurian holding out the cosmetics kit, he took it with a nod of thanks. "Thanks, boss." replied the man as he popped open the bottle and stood in front of a nearby mirror and quickly sprayed over the ink covering his neck and knuckles, watching as the spray took the exact pigment of his skin causing the tattoos to disappear. 'The names will never be covered.' thought the man as his mind wandered to the tattooed names of fallen marines covering his arms and ribs.

Leaning over to Dick, Dex attempted to stifle the laugh that was building within him. "Don't be so ashamed about it mate. For all you know. They might take it as a compliment." commented the marine sergeant before throwing a wink and a smile at both women. Patting Dick's shoulder in an act of reassurance while he dug a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, before glancing at the almost empty pack. Shrugging as he took a drag, he blew the smoke above them all.

"Bah, you well know what I mean!" the Delsaurian exclaimed to Dick. "Seen enough of all that mess you Nepleslians go through in the workplace and in all those dramas! We're nowhere near as bad!"

At that, he paused however, and brought a claw to the scaly lip of his mouth in honest thought. "I think..." The fat lizard person quickly shrugged it off however, and grabbed his purchase before waddling away. "Hurry, hurry, hurry - they're already here to pick us up!" It didn't take long however for them to find out just who 'they' were - it was plainly obvious just who was waiting for them.

A long, black limousine had pulled up to a sidewalk, its door flanked by a burly man in a pinstriped suit and matching fedora - and like them, sported a speck of red in the form of his tie. Nodding behind his sunglasses, the man opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for them to get into the spacious vehicle. Quietly, and without a word, Nacon was the first to go, beckoning the others to follow.

"Well. I see we caught a few of you with your trousers down," a fellow with golden blond hair remarked from within, eying the group over the rim of his own glasses with shining blue eyes. As he sat beside the window to the driver's compartment, red tie loosened, he gestured to Nacon. "I hope you got a proper getup in that sack of yours - switch out now and be snappy. And are all of you armed with something useful yet?" he asked in a relaxed tone, leaning back into his seat at the far end of the Limousine.

"Sure, sure, right away - and no, not all of them are armed anyways," the Delsaurian replied, unzipping the clothing protector to reveal a butler's outfit cut to his size and shape. "You must be Benny, am I right?" he asked, removing his casual wear to reveal a tank top and white boxers with red hearts on them - from what could be seen, the entirety of his body was just a scaly as his face and hands.

"And you must be Nacon, the 'secretary' of this group," the man named 'Benny' replied as he brought forth a small suitcase. Popping the seals, he went on, "And you must be Kurt." Nodding once, he opened the case to reveal several .45 Compacts.

"I'm guessing you and your crew are all curious, hm?" Benny asked with a thin smile.

"Gee, thanks dad," the chemist whispered to Dex with a rueful smile. Time waited for no man however, and Dick followed everyone out to the street in his new suit while putting some effort into not looking at the girls. When he saw the other suits and the limo, the out of place pharmacist worked hard at not seeming affected by it as surprised by it as he was.

Dick listened to the discussion between Nacon and the man in the vehichle as they discussed the Delsaurian's lack of appropriate attire only to see the lizardman start stripping. He turned away from that scene to look up at the sky for a few minutes counting craft flying by until the discussion started up again. The chemist looked down just in time to see the .45s appear and a small smile crossed his face as he started identifying the major parts and how he ought to work the, but waited until others made a move to pick one up first.

Kira followed closely. She did not really change back into casuals just let them ring the price tags off the clothing as it was being removed. It was easier that way. Since no one replied to her remark about guns she just strapped her hip holster behind her back with her .357 in it. There was no place to hide her staffs so she just tossed it into backpack with her belongings.

Then the time was here so she followed Nacon out with smile and backpack in her hand. She more then sure that her gun is well hidden under the jacket. After all it was snub-nosed .357 revolver. It was failry good holdout weapon which still packed enough to be called nepleslian gun.

"Ah hello," Kira said we smile. "I see we drive in style today yes? Nice vehicle this. I once crashed a similiar one like this."

Listening to Nacon and Benny speak, he saw the case come out and open with a collection of the rather hard to come by .45 compacts. A clearly delighted expression crossed Dex's face as he observed the firearms. 'Shiny new kit. You sure know how to make a guy feel welcome.' thought the marine as he saw no one else seemed in a hurry to reach into the case for one of the sidearms, Dex's NCO mentality that made him want to ensure each member of the team was kitted out properly kicked in causing him to reach into the case and grab some of the .45's before distributing them to each member of the team before reaching into the case and grabbing clips of ammunition and handing those out as well. Setting one of the .45's on his lap before glancing at the two he held in one hand, he was unsure whether Kurt and Nacon would need one.

Offering one out to each of the crews leaders, he gently set them next to the two individuals along with a few clips. Picking up the one he set on his lap, he reached down and hiked up his right pant leg before sliding the weapon into the dress boot before sliding the pant leg down over the weapon.

Listening to Benny speak to Nacon, Dex leaned back in his seat and said nothing.

Dick gladly took one of the guns being handed out and in drill like fashion, with the barrel pointed down. First he made sure the safety was on, he then pulled the magazine out and pulled the cocking mechanism back to check the chamber and make sure it was perfectly clear. Next, after the pharmacist had let the mechanism forward, took the safety off and performed a dry fire test before switching on the safety again and re-inserting the magazine. The chemist's movements were quick, but highly deliberate as if there were hell to pay if he screwed up even the slightest.

Once finished, Dick put the gun away, tucked into the back of his belt, while the spare mag found it's way into an inside jacket pocket. After putting the magazine away though, he pulled out two small high density polyethylene pill bottles out with chemical symbols inked on the bodies and caps in permanent marker. They found their way into his pants pockets before the academic settled in his seat again, finally looking marginally relaxed.

"Good to meet you" Was Kurt' only response to Benny. At this point, he had donned a pair of sunglasses inside of the limousine. On the surface it might have looked like an attempt to look in part as a bodyguard, or it could also be construed as an attempt by Kurt to look cool or simply intimidating.

In fact, said glasses were made out of the same "two-way" materials that some Nepleslian Police interrogation rooms had, and in fact Kurt had decided to wear them so noone could get a proper "read" on him; non verbal cues that might indicate what sort of emotions he was displaying, and most of all noone could tell where he was looking.

"Quick ballistics lesson. The ammunition fired out of these .45s will punch large holes in someone but they're shit all against any sort of armor. If you need to use it against someone in armor, make sure you shoot them a fuckton enough to get them to double over, and then hit them in any unarmored spots."

At that, Kurt angled his head towards one of the windows.

"So, 'Benny,' what's all this shit about?"

Softly chuckling to himself as he watched the Delsaurian struggle to put on his outfit, stumbling over as the Limo made a turn, Benny spoke with a bemused grin.

"You'll understand once when we get there," he answered, not really telling them anything at all. "Still, it's the same gig - watch over our little 'Princess', make sure she's safe wherever she goes and you guys get paid." Glancing at his watch, Benny tapped its face - a volumetric screen came to life with several figure streaming down it, blurred and illegible to them. "You're all getting a sizable amount of DA in your pockets, as well as some of the good stuff out of our armory. Now - " the man started.

"You all know that stuff already, but I guess it won't hurt to tell you guys something that you don't know. It'll help you do another part of your jobs not listed on the paper - we don't want any of our regular boys making too much contact with her," he explained, voice dropping into a more serious tone. As he laid back, Nacon was now fumbling to get his jacket on, and started vibrating again in the background. Seemingly oblivious, Benny went on, "We got our own reasons why, but whether or not you guys find out on your own? Up to you really. We got told you guys are good for keeping her from getting any extra holes in her, but also for keeping your mouths shut amongst other things."

Looking at them all over his sunglasses again, he now leaned forward, hands on his knees. "Capish?" The Delsaurian nodded vigorously for them all, now finally the splitting image of a butler.

"We got it - also, uh, we got another one boss," the pudgy lizard explained, turning to Kurt. "She's even more late than this one, so ended up coming directly there - since she had no clothing, they clothed her, but that's coming out of our group finances," Nacon explained. He then hurriedly held up his hands as though to ward off Kurt's wrath. "Not that it's a big deal - I'll take care of it!" Benny smirked with amusement and relaxed back into his seat again.

As the Limousine turned into an up ramp, the dirty neon lights and cement vanished in an instant. In its stead was a far more idyllic aesthetic. Nepleslian suburbia, complete with lawns, neatly lined up homes and so forth did exist - it wasn't a fantasy, but reality. Yes, much of it was cement and cinder still, but all fresh and clean. New. The only caveat was that such sat high up above the hustle and bustle of the megacity below, constructed up where the city still grew and housing prices were at the top. Even here though, it was clear there were a few more levels of the city to go - the grime from below was already starting to creep into this neighborhood as houses were bought out by businesses and bulldozed over to make room for complexes.

It was a city that never stopped growing, and they were all going to the top.

To a mansion to be specific. As their limousine finally cleared all the levels of the city below, it came with their first good glimpse of the sun - they all saw a mansion, one that was undoubtedly atop the very same massive skyscraper nearly incomprehensible in girth they had ascended by car. It wasn't a fancy, fairytale mansion of course - it was still one that would blend perfectly into the city should it be observed from the distance, but it was still a mansion when seen up close. A large structure with a countless amount of what had to be rooms upon rooms and endless hallways.

As the armored gates slid open and the Limo came in, the blond haired man spoke to them again. "Follow my lead, and don't get lost. We're moving fast - and most of all, keep your mouths shut for now." At that, the doors swung open, and the group was ushered in.

The interior was bright, tastefully decorated in comparison to the utilitarian exterior of the mansion - it, in fact, did look like something out of a story book. But the paintings, the tapestries, the riches all went by too quickly to be examined in detail. Benny, true to his words, swept them through the long, unending hallways and into a small antechamber and shut the doors on them all.

And then it opened yet again, just a crack, another redhead being nearly shoved in before it was hastily closed again, leaving them all in absolute silence.

As the limo went there a problem. Kira was handed loaded compact .45 ZA. Problem was there was nowhere to put the gun, but behind her belt and that won't do. Suit-pockets were never made to hold guns. She also saw Dex putting the gun into his sock and how silly it looked when he put his pant-sleeve over it.

She remained silent though as they moved through the building. She left her backpack in the car hoping they will just get it later. If not she would let future Kira worry about it. Benny wanted them silent, so she was silent, hiding the newly acquired pistol under her jacket for now. When they finally reached a room and everyone stopped, Kira was first to break the silence.

"I haz a problem," Kira said. "There are no holsters yes? Gun behind belt is something gangster kids do. Not a good thing for professionals. If there are no holsters I will rather use my revolver. Also Mr. Tattoo-man," she said to Dex. "That bulge on your ankle will tell everyone you have something tucked there. And no one will think it is a chocolate bar."

There was also newcomer, but Kira decided to handle business first so she just gave the other red-head a nod.

She was late, goddammit she was late, the chant cursing herself, the cities crappy public transportation... and the iron hand grip of what had to be some kind of mafiaoso thug gripping her bicep as she was rushed past various doors and groups of more finely dressed men and women. She could see their stares, some where surprised, some sneered... she may have looked the part... the fancy grey dress pants and shirt with a small coat having been given to her by her recruitment officer. But their kind could sniff hers out.... of course... the one bit of comfort came from the bit of steel and propellant that rested in her jacket pocket.

The man stopped at a door, ornate, wooden.. well beyond anything she'd seen in her life time, he opened it and with little ceremony shoved her in. She turned to shout some insult, the annoyance of having his hands on her clear on her face... only to hear the door click. She seemed to fumble for a bit... before turning around.. the small crowd in the side chamber causing her eyes to widen for a moment before she fiddled with one of the buttons.. her feet suddenly becoming quite interesting...

Following the others through the hallways, he attempted to dedicate the place to memory for future reference. Each turn and hallway before finally reaching the room. Leaning back against the table, he couldn't help but notice that the sound of a pin dropping would sound like artillery fire in the dead silent room.

Glancing at Kira as he reached down and removed the .45 from his boot, he checked the weapon carefully ensuring everything about it from slide, to firing mechanism, to clip feed was in working order. "A convenient place to store it till I could admire this fine piece of destruction, beautiful." replied the man casting another wink at Kira.

As he was finishing the reconstruction of the weapon and sliding the clip home, the sound of the door opening and another red head being shoved into the room grabbed his attention. A short chuckle left the back of the man's throat, though he had figured out that Nacon and Kurt seemed to prefer speaking to the newcomers before the others did, so he said nothing other than giving a half hearted two fingered salute to the woman before returning his attention to the .45 compact.

Dick knew a thing or two about not getting any extra holes; but he kept his concerns to himself in regards to ensuring someone else avoids that fate. When the lawns and nice homes showed up, the chemist looked around at the buildings, the holes in the ground; he tried to hide his smirk as added a mental note to himself to research realestate prices. As they went up however, he quickly left the notion alone - the lower suburbia would be good enough.

The mansion was impressive - okay, quite impressive - and the young academic couldn't help but suck in some air as his tension started rising again. "Relax dumb ass!" came his next thought admonishing as he gently let the air out, "Keep your cheeks puckered like that and the holes will start showing up!" Dick still couldn't believe what money really could buy, though, and as much as he managed to keep up, his eyes still needed to look around some.

When the door shut behind him, the pharmacist tensed slightly again, only to quickly move aside when they re-opened sending someone else in. A third woman to complicate matters even more; but then he thought about their assignment again and someone needed to take the princess to the bathroom - better them than him. Dick then let out a heavy sigh and looked at the ceiling while awaiting further instructions while the complaint department started.

"Hellooo," the Delsaurian waved with a toothy, open mouthed smile at the newcomer.

"I'm Nacon. I'm the treasurer, secretary, handyman and whatnot for our group," he continued, introducing himself. "I'd introduce everyone else, but right now, we're going to do something I think." Turning his eyes back on everyone else, he looked them over as they handled their guns. "Eh, we're in that much of a hurry - stick them in your belts since we don't have any other options I think," the Delsaurian pragmatically suggested.

Clasping his hands together and rubbing them eagerly, he continued to smile. "Now, any moment, I'm sure we're going t - "

The knob of the doorway leading deeper into the mansion suddenly clicked - turned slowly, slowly, slowly until its handle was all down all the way. And only then, did the door open just a crack. Looking out at them all, a single green eye framed with blonde hair watched them all. The depressed, perhaps baleful look it gave them all lingered on each in turn - particularly on Kira and Fran for some reason - before a youthful voice was heard. Bored to death and perhaps apathetic, the she spoke to them all.

"So I'm getting you guys huh? Can I come outdoors now?"