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RP: Bounty Hunts [Interlude 4] Cooldown

Foxtrot 813

Foxtrot 813

Prettiest Member
Inactive Member
Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night Cycle

The dark, closed confines of the pub bristled with the same activity from when Desmond had been there the last time, and nothing had changed. The place still had the lingering, pungent smell of alcohol and tobacco, while the same metallic, mismatched furniture that had probably been constructed with the metals that weren't even worth recycling from scrapped ships still had the same rusted edges that he had seen before too.

It didn't bother him in the least, the noise from a few vidscreens masked the sounds of most conversations unless someone was yelling to be heard and the relatively high number of clients made it harder for them to be recognized. And at least he could smoke there in peace.

Instead of sitting by the bar like the last time, Desmond sat at a more recluse table, trying not to attract any prying eyes towards him or the other bounty hunters that would be arriving. Since the last job had been aborted, he had chosen that pub to make a 'debrief' of sorts, as well as to offer some measure of compensation for the other hunters' work.

The world didn't run on hugs and kisses after all, and he wasn't specifically running a charity.

Bringing his left wrist up, the bounty hunter briefly looked at the time displayed on the small screen of the PHC on his wrist before exhaling a puff of smoke. He looked around the pub one more time and stubbed what remained of his cigarette out.
 
Dawn Station, Sector Nine, Ted's Pub, Night Time
With his gloved hands, a ragged looking tracksuit and jeans, a superficial cut along his cheek that stopped just above his lip, Danny Hanley-Lewis, the Bounty Hunter's go-to for strange fashion and yoga. Drumming his fingers along the length of a large, hot mug of tea with just a dash of milk, a spoonful of sugar, and the teabag left inside for extra strength.

The mission wasn't a failure, but a retreat was called all the same for some reason that presently eluded Danny. A sense of failure hung hot in the air, materialising as steam from his tea danced gently in front of his vision, getting shaken into dreamlike shapes as the moving air of Ted's cut and creased it with the other movement and chatter.

Desmond and the others could see the skinny man's mood noticeably deflated despite the comfortable escape - eyes looking tired and unfocussed. Rathe was safe too, it seemed like the team had gotten away in some shape. He was glad for his gold-skinned companion's safety. Desmond and Amanozako were safe too. Seemed like they'd gotten away too - the heat had died down. Always an escape around the corner planned as Desmond would.

He took a sip and let the hot tea rest on his palette without flinching as he waited for Desmond to say their peace.
 
Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night

After relieving himself in the pub's restroom, Rathe put his shades and hat back on and made his way to the table Desmond had claimed for them. He had separated from Danny once he had received the abort message on his DataJockey to keep a low profile, so seeing him after his significant outfit change was a surprise to Rathe. The golden skinned bounty hunter took a seat at the table and was soon lost in his thoughts.

The bounty hunter didn't like thinking about the aftermath of a hunt, save getting his paycheck of course, but it always managed to creep into his mind. What would become of Amelia or Six Four or the rest of the crew if Sienna's bounty was claimed? Would they become targets as well? Rathe's wallet hoped so, but only for Six Four, as he still kind of wanted to shoot that snarky little robot in the face.

The others, however...

This is why he didn't like thinking about the aftermath of a hunt. It turned targets into people, and killing people was something that Rathe didn't exactly care for.

Though the retreat wasn't the best ending to the job, it wasn't the worst by far, and Rathe was glad for that if nothing else.
 
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Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night Cycle

Remaining silent for a couple more moments while he waited for the neko to show up, Desmond eventually gave up, taking his eyes away from the entrance of the store and towards the two occupants sharing the table with him. The first thing his eyes caught was the mug of tea. "We're in a bar. You're not supposed to drink tea in it," The bounty hunter said. He would never understand why people liked to drink that stuff; too plain and uninteresting.

He inhaled sharply to get back to the point.

"I don't believe in free work, so here's a compensation for your efforts," Desmond said, looking at each of them in turn as he removed two beige envelopes from the pocket of his jacket and slid them across the table. "Half of the cut for each if this had been pulled off," he added. The Nepleslian waited to see if any of them had something to say, but it was clear that he was already getting ready to make his leave from the bar.
 
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Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night

Rathe noted the generosity of the cut, especially considering that it most likely came from Desmond alone. The hunter nodded as he slid the envelope into his jacket pocket, where he felt the bottle of Kaserine he had forgotten about still nestled tightly. Rathe made a mental note to either leave the bottle here on Dawn or take it with him to spike the drinks of people who got on his bad side.

"When do we head out?" Rathe asked simply, preparing to exit as well.
 
Bar

Amnozako entered, late, she had other tasks to attend to that had kept her from arriving at the proper time. She spotted the others, walked over and dropped into the remaining empty seat without a word or even any excuse for being behind.

She noted the envelopes thatbhad been passed out to the others, payment, at least there was some compensation for the monumental waste of time that had been the last mission, so she fixed her red eyes on Desmond, waiting for hers and whatever else needed to be said before this little gathering came to an end.
 
Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night Cycle

Desmond watched the unmistakable figure of Amanozako step into the bar before answering Rathe. "I'm still working on finding the next job," he started to say, watching as the Neko moved towards their table. "Meanwhile, go burn that money you earned," he suggested, reaching for the third and last envelope inside his jacket meant for her. He waited until she arrived at the table to finish saying what he had to say to them.

"And that's all there is," the bounty hunter said, sliding the beige envelope towards he from across the table, containing the same cut the other two bounty hunters had received. He scanned around the table one last time before placing a few DA to cover what had been ordered and got up, ready to make his way out of the bar.
 
Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night

With a smile and a nod, the golden skinned nepleslian rose to his feet and slid the chair he was using back under the table. After going through a quick mental checklist of the things he planned to buy, he turned to Danny and Amanozako.

"I'm heading to Bravemart to grab a piece, either of you up to join me?" the hunter offered to the two, seeing that Desmond most likely had more important matters to tend to than a trip to the store.
 
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Dawn Station - Sector Nine, Ted's Pub - Night Cycle
The pay package was slid in front of Danny, always in a beige envelope. He took his hand off of his teacup and grabbed it, sliding his share of the pay to the edge of the table, and putting it down his hoodie, tucked between his mesh webbing and his chest.

The blonde looked over to Rathe and lit up at the mention of some shopping. "I'll come with you. I have had some plans myself." He wanted to buy some components to build something that he really needed in a pinch earlier. The idea came to him when he didn't have the time to pull his tranq gun out while he had his 10mm pistol.

He considered a vice-versa option, but nixed the idea quickly.
 
Bar

Amanozako accepted her payment, sliding the envelope into one of her great coats inside pockets. "No" she said to the gold nepleslian. "I have other things to attend to" she said, declining the invitation.

"What are your plans?" She sent wireless thought to Desmond's ear piece.
 
Bar

Desmond heard the neko's message through his earpiece and glanced at her one more time before giving her a knowing look. "I'll contact you all when I figure out the next job; lot's of things to prepare and go over," he said. He was still going through the data collected from the Industrial Complex; the challenge was more recovering it than analyzing it all, and that wasn't his specialty anyway. The bounty hunter took a step towards the entrance of the pub to make his way out, but stopped and looked at the golden Nepleslian instead.

"Why the hell did you buy a bottle of Kaserine?" He asked rethorically, straightening the unzipped jacket he was wearing before turning around and making his leave. He waited until he was out of earshot before pressing a finger against the earpiece.

"No plans right now," he said.
 
Bar

Rathe quickly tried to answer Desmond's question and explain himself, but the latter was out the door before the nepleslian could reply, leaving Rathe with a blush heavy enough to turn his golden skin dark orange. The hunter shoved the pill bottle deeper into his pocket and zipped his jacket up, praying that no one heard Desmond's question as he left the bar.
 
Bar

'Good, then I think we should enjoy our time off, shouldn't we?' she sent wirelessly to Desmond as she got up, starting for the door.

"Kaserine, huh?" she said as she paused by the gold skinned Nepleslian, her neko ears twitching, "Kinky" she flashed him a predatory grin before exiting the bar and heading in the general direction Desmond was going.
 
Dawn Station - Sector 9 - Outside Ted's Pub

Rathe again tried to explain himself, but the grin Amanozako threw at him caught him off guard. Was it in mocking or did it have a more carnal appeal to it? Though he had no current preference to those aspects of 'getting busy', as far as Kaserine is concerned, he wondered if she did. Either way, he didn't know the hunter well enough to find out, and judging by how much the two were together, Rathe could easily be barking up Desmond's tree if he decided to start barking. Then again, by that logic, he and Danny could be considered an item... Wait... Where was he going with this?

Rathe abandoned his wanton train of thought and tried hailing a cab that would take he and Danny to the Bravemart on Dawn.
 
Dawn Station, Sector 9, Outside Ted's Pub
Without another word Danny finished his tea, left a tip, and walked out with Rathe and the two waited for a taxi in the evening air. He didn't have time to indulge shenanigans with the others on everyone's sexual preferences, but he did notice Rathe turning a funny colour when the topic was bought up, and it still hadn't left his face when they were out in the open.

"To be fair, a man who always walks around in a skintight suit," referring to himself without a trace of irony in his self awareness, putting his gloved hands in front of him and rubbing them together in the cold air. "And a man with gold coloured skin and a supply of kaserine would be too obvious, don't you think?"

Quietly though, he was wondering why Rathe bought it at all. Maybe he did swing in that direction, plenty of people did and there was nothing wrong with that.
 
Dawn Station - Sector 9 - Outside Ted's Pub

"Well it's a good thing we're off the clock, eh?" Rathe told the other hunter as two cabs passed them by without even acknowledging they were there. "Apparently not obvious enough..." he grumbled as he took off his sunglasses. While he wanted to keep his skin from getting into the spotlight, wearing sunglasses at night wasn't exactly inconspicuous either.

"By the way, why do you wear that suit all the time? Doesn't it get uncomfortable or hot in there?" the golden skinned nepleslian asked curiously as they waited.
 
Dawn Station, Sector 9, Outside Ted's Pub
"I remove it when I sleep and when I take a shower," Danny answered in that complete earnest, yet again. "Though, theoretically, I could wear it forever with its waste management and fluid wicking systems." As he was waiting, he did one of those stretches that really hit all the joints, bending far over backwards and touching the ground with his fingertips while his ankles were still rooted to the ground, and then standing back up.

All Rathe could see of any exertion on Danny was a mild pinkness in his cheeks that soon washed away in the cold. "Try doing that in a flak jacket." He mumbled off the cuff as he looked back to Rathe as they waited for the taxi. Yoga was a terrible and frightening thing to Nepleslians, so was having what amounted to a rubber-jointed skeleton.
 
Dawn Station - Sector 9 - Outside Ted's Pub

Rathe's eyes went wide in shock as he looked at Danny as one would someone who just carried fecal material in their hand. "Why don't we try not doing that at all?" he requested as he averted his eyes away from the other hunter. Rathe had no idea how anyone could willingly try and break their back like that, not to mention unironically considering living in a glorified leotard all the time. Though Danny had Rathe's utmost respect as a colleague, his personal life was a case of same planet, different worlds.

'Judgement of life choices coming from someone who turned his own skin gold and currently owns a bottle of kaserine seems a little hypocritical...' a voice in Rathe's head reminded him as the Nepleslian chuckled to himself, still trying to gain the attention of the few taxis that buzz through the dimly lit street.
 
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Dawn Station, Sector 9, Outside Ted's Pub
Danny looked the other way at Rathe. Nepleslians - all the same, all willing for guts and glory but the moment someone in a bodysuit strides by they have to assure themselves they're not that person who has the guts to wear something that revealing and not at the same time. Yamataians were the opposite, all willing to prance and flounce, but the moment any sleeves require rolling up - they evaporate.

"Taxi's taking a while." Danny mumbled as he looked left and right onto the streets, cricking his neck in the cold air.
 
Dawn Station - Sector 9 - Outside Ted's Pub

"Wouldn't you? Ted's isn't exactly the best looking joint on Dawn. Probably has a reputation that fits the bill..." the hunter noted as a cab finally slowed to a stop in front of them.

"Where to?" the driver asked in a rough, deep voice as Rathe and Danny slipped inside the taxi. The former looked to the latter before speaking up, "Bravemart in Sector 4?" The driver nodded in response and resumed his previous speed.
 
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