RP: Bounty Hunts [Interlude 4] Cooldown

Dawn Station, Sector 9, A Taxi
The blonde slipped into the taxi and sat down next to Rathe without a word. The taxi begun moving, and Danny was content to look out the window and watch things go by. Night life in Dawn Station was a familiar thing to Danny, as he used to live around these parts, and had an apartment somewhere in the upper levels of Sector 9, given to him as a courtesy from Aerin Tatst for services rendered previously.

"I have an apartment in the upper areas of 9 if you feel like, I dunno, watching movies or something..." He was trying hard to strike up conversation, but the way Rathe seemed to keep all cagey after answering truthfully about his suit was a barrier. "I have lots of books too."

Dawn Station - Sector 9 - A taxi

"Oh, thanks, I'd love that." Rathe answered sincerely. While he was immensely thankful for his place on the Ferret, the hunter would love to sleep in a room that wasn't measured in inches.

"Did you hear about that Nepleslian guy in Funky City who got shot in the chest, but the datajockey in his pocket caught the bullet?" Rathe asked, noticing Danny's urge for a conversation. "I heard Origin sent him a new one as a get well soon gift." he added with a chuckle.

Dawn Station, Sector 9, A Taxi
He heard stories about the famed durability of datapads. "Makes sense. I got a glimpse of how their PR worked." Danny nodded. "They were very customer centric, ready to bend over backwards because in Aerin's words, good PR and customer service is the best ad campaign."

And that was the truth he'd learned. If someone was treated right, they'd come back for more, and more, and more. It made a lot of sense, but a lot of companies failed to grasp it and suffered because of it.

Dawn Station - Sector 9 - A Taxi

"Got that right..." Rathe responded with a nod before silence befell the taxi once more.

Though the nepleslian was well aware that Danny had a personal life, it never really clicked in Rathe's head that there was more to his colleague than camouflaging undergarments and a fluency in Lorath.

"Mind my asking, but what's your story?" Rathe asked out of a mix of boredom and curiosity, piercing the silence of the taxi cab.

Dawn Station, Sector 9, A Taxi
Danny didn't respond immediately, blinking at Rathe before looking out the window. He looked back at Rathe and his fringe up, revealing a band aid that was on his forehead, close to the hairline. It was always there, and beneath it, Rathe could see what looked like scar tissue, as though the bullet had glanced off of his skull.

He dropped the fringe and didn't say another word, obviously not keen to discuss any further with a man who could be mistaken for a film festival trophy, and a colleague he didn't trust fully.

Dawn Station - Sector 9 - A Taxi

Originally, Rathe thought Danny was simply trying to formulate the correct words to say, but the hunter eventually realized that he wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon.

'Troubled past...' thought the Nepleslian, who knew that further dwelling on the subject would do no good. "Alright, I gotcha." Rathe stated simply as he looked out of his window to spot the warehouse-esque buildings of Sectors 2 and 4, meaning their destination was nearby.

"What were you planning to grab at the Mart?" Rathe asked, keeping cautious to stay in the shallow areas of conversation for his colleague's sake.

Dawn Station, Sector 9, A Taxi
"Some ammunition," Danny said - most Ori-Marts stocked ammunition for sporting purposes. "Maybe a book or two for some entertainment for on ship, maybe a yoga instruction video too." At least he was forthcoming with what he was after immediately.

"I think my apartment needs a plant too. I've been meaning to get one, one of those Yamataian Peace Lilly ones."

Dawn Station - Sector 9 - A Taxi

"You sure you have enough gas money to fly the Ferret here to water it?" Rathe asked jokingly as the luminescent Bravemart logo and building brightened the cab in the taxi, signalling that the two hunters had arrived at the Bravemart.

"That's 40 KS..." the cab driver informed them, holding his hand out to accept his payment. Rathe pulled the envelope containing his most recent compensation out of his jacket and handed the appropriate amount to the driver before tucking the envelope away once again.

Dawn Station, Sector 4, By Bravemart
Shortly after disembarking, Danny put 20 KS in Rathe's hand, which was equivalent to 20 KS, to split the bill. "It'll be one of those long-life plants, the sort you'd only need to water once every couple of months." Danny explained as he cricked his neck. "Plus I rent the place to friends of my landlady every now and again, sometimes they leave gifts."

He looked at the front of the Bravemart with his hands in the waist pocket of his hoodie and nodding. "Hm, not a bad looking place you've picked for shopping."

Dawn Station - Sector 4 - Bravemart - Entrance

"Should be, it was built just a little while ago, some time in 36, I think." Rathe stated as the entrance doors slid open to allow the two in.

Despite being located in one of the rowdier sectors of Dawn, the Bravemart seemed to be moderately well off, with almost all of the products in mint condition. Rathe wondered how the supercenter managed to handle the upkeep, but the look of the employees gave him the story. Unlike many of the other establishments on the sector, which hired from the well off Sector 9, Bravemart hired within the sector it called home, stimulating the local economy as well as creating a good relationship with the residents of the sector. After all, few would steal from a business that wrote their buddy's paycheck.

"Hey, I'm grabbing a piece and some ammo for it." the hunter noted as he spotted the firearms dealer near the back of the store, "Meet back in 20?" he asked.

Dawn Station, Sector 4, Bravemart
Danny nodded back to Rathe. "Here? Twenty minutes it is." Once he moved inside, he split off from the gold man, and kept an eighteen minute timer set. After all, it'd take a couple of minutes to get back to the point. Danny walked through the store, looking for the homewares, and home decoration section. Hell, the place even had a section full of greenery for the house.

Danny grabbed a trolley and placed a pair of petite pot plants, Yamataian Peace Lillies, which according to the tags were suited for indoor living, and drew on moisture. While he was at it, he put a household humidifier. The place sometimes felt a little too crisp and dry with how the high-end temp regulation was. For some reason he wasn't able to adjust the humidity. Plus, it'd be good for the plant.

During his sojourn, he also remembered to buy more 10x25mm. Desmond wasn't supplying the bullets to him, and he bought a couple of boxes of rounds. They looked enormously out of place with the plants and humidifier, but just to add things up and muddy what sort of a client he was, he bought some tranquillisers and anaesthetics.

When asked for a license on the medicine, it seemed to check out just fine with that Search and Rescue license that was still current, and all in all, his purchases cost 1400 KS.

With a trio of sturdy, canvas shopping bags in his arms, he met back at the front doors of Bravemart, waiting for Rathe.

Dawn Station - Sector 4 - Bravemart

As Danny went his own way, Rathe resumed his path to the gun cabinet at the rear of the store. Over the years, the hunter had gotten used to the double takes and unsettling stares he often received walking in public places, but he always noticed them, and each one was another reminder of the lesson he learned working his final job in the underground. Sure, he could pay a few hundred KS to have his skin returned to its original color, but then he would run the chance of forgetting that lesson, then having to relearn it.

As it often did, his train of thought had gained all of his attention, and he almost passed the gun case he was aiming for. Luckily, the gold skinned gunman caught himself right in front of the counter in front of the case and approached the employee running it. After showing the necessary proof that he was able to purchase a firearm, Rathe selected his handgun of choice and an appropriate suppressor to accompany it. After paying 330 KS to the employee, Rathe was given his new matte black Zen Arms .45 and suppressor along with 100 rounds of ammunition and a spare magazine. Seeing that everything was in order, Rathe left with a smile and a nod to the bravemart employee and made his way back to where he would be meeting Danny.

The bounty hunter spotted his colleague already waiting at the entrance of the store with a number of shopping bags by his side. "Want a hand with that?" the Nepleslian offered as the two left the store.

Dawn Station, Sector 4, Bravemart
Everything felt relatively light to Danny for the moment, and the way the bags were designed, they had a longer loop that was usually tucked into the bag that could be pulled out and used as a shoulder strap if the arms got tired. "Oh, I'll be fine, thanks for asking though." Danny nodded back to Rathe.

"Where to, now, you reckon? How long did Desmond give us for time off again?" Danny asked, sending a quick ping to his handler, a short message via his mobile device:

Danny's handler chimed in after some time. The message was curt and to the point, like it would be expected from its sender.

Dawn Station, Sector 4, Bravemart
Danny showed Rathe the contents of his screen. A message from the boss themselves. "Well then, we have tonight at least. Still up for crashing at mine?" Danny asked. "I'll phone a friend and see if they're down for a visit too, don't worry they're 'chill'."

The last colloquialism, usually a Nepleslian one didn't quite roll off Danny's tongue correctly as he looked at his phone again, then flicked over to the contact book, and thumbed through his limited contact pool for 'A. Tatst' and pressed the call button while he waited for Rathe to arrange transport. "Get us another taxi or something."

The dial tone went...

Dawn Station - Sector 4 - Bravemart Parking Lot

"You know it, sounds like a plan." Rathe responded as his colleague repeatedly flicked his finger across the screen of his device.

Hailing a cab here was surprisingly easier than it was at Ted's Pub, and it only took a short time for the car to roll to a stop at the curb in front of the two hunters.

Dawn Station, Sector 4, Bravemart
The dial tone went to a message bank. Danny's nose wrinkled, and he sighed. He cut the call, knowing that the recipient would get a notification that he called. "Hm, must be busy," Danny sighed as he stepped into the taxi after Rathe.

The gold-skinned hunter saw Danny reach for a key card for an apartment in Sector 9. "Take us to Worldview Towers, please," Danny directed. From memory, Worldview Towers was an upscale luxury apartment complex. This begged the question of how someone of Danny's disposition and manner could hold such a place.

In the end, it all came down to who you know and what you did for them.