The band Balloon was doing quite well since their inflatable crocodile incident. They'd taken the time to buy themselves a thought-activated drum machine, and the bassists nose had a pair of plasters put over it in a cross.
"We're ready to play, Ah one, two, one two three four!"
The introductory slap-bass riff was a bit like this, and it stuck best with the crowd:
(low) A - A - C - G - A - (pause) - (high) A - G - F - G - F - C - D
They decided to scratch any vocals, and let the energetic bass and the adjoining guitar do the work. The drums helped them get the edge and prevent them from having tomorrows breakfast thrown at them.
Luca was starting to feel a little bit crowded around his chair. Mrs. Bosoms was on his right, the new midget to the left (and below), and his crew behind him. He looked down to the midget and extended his right arm for a handshake.
"Pleased to meet you. I can tell you aren't going to kill me since you're very sincere about it. There are some nasty people who are out to kill me," Luca replied politely to the midget with a smile. The lady behind him seemed to take offence to his last statement.
As he retracted his hand, he knocked over his glass of wine, which looked understandable since he had to reach down to give the midget a handshake, "Ah, bugger." He cursed as the barman got his rag and begun wiping it up.
Then the spilt wine started to so something that wine usually wasn't known to do. It was starting to slowly eat through the wood, and the barman's rag. The barman recoiled and let his rag to its fate.
"What the!?" The barman cursed, "Hey lady, you tampered with my drinks!"
The bosomed lady, realising that all bets were off, had a serrated knife around Luca's neck in an instant.
"You think you're a smart man, but you're just high on the movies, and luck. Yes - Luck. That's how you outdid my master." She seemed to be lecturing him, "That's all you are. A luck absorbing freak of nature who needs to be put down."
Luca winked to the crew. He had his hand under his jacket and around his pistol - which was pointing at her.
"Not all luck is good, I know, but..." Luca said as calmly and casually as possible. He had it in spades as he had his hand around his pistol.
KA-POW!
"Yours just ran out."
The heads of the patrons turned to look at the assassination attempt, the band stopped playing. Even the people in the upper bar stopped eating and leaned over the balcony to observe the commotion.
Murmurs of surprise were exchanged.
The woman dropped her knife, stood up and staggered back past Jim whilst appearing to reflect on her lack of skill. She then grinned and threw a punch. Luca raised his forearm to block it, and did - but left a fist shaped imprint into the sheet of metal he'd hidden into his cuff.
Luca stared quizzically at what just happened. He had a feeling that this woman had more than meets the eye. He took a better look at her (not at her assets), then looked a little closer.
"Hold on a moment, I remember you from Mission 4, Delsauria," He observed with a bit of backtracking in memory, "You were the Secretary for the guy who turned into something big and nasty, am I right?"
"His legacy lives on with ME!" Her arm turned black with slashes of red, and transformed into a nasty hook shape, with a mass of bone jutting out of it, "I, AM, MALICE!"
The patrons in the lower bar begun to scramble for their lives and clear the space between Luca's Crew and Malice.
Luca made an exaggerated frown and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead. He wasn't expecting people like this to try and collect on him, "Hmm, this promises to be interesting."
"Holy shit!" John observed as he scrambled for some cutlery, "The videos of you fighting these don't do it justice."
Sebastian was struggling to pull his .44 from his jacket, awed by what was very close to what his son was up against.
Meanwhile, the massive doorman, hearing the gunshot turned around and raised his handcannon at the woman with unseen agility: "Whatever you are - FREEZE!" He yelled. The other doorman who was guarding the stairs followed suit.
The barman, meanwhile, was reaching under the counter and the band shrugged at each other and continued playing, this time, it was more upbeat and frantic.
