[color=8882be]'Who wants to know?'[/color] The fairy man quipped back at Hardwick. He seemed unsettled; the kind of unsettled that belied guilt.

[color=0072bc]'Relax, chief.'[/color] Hardwick chuckled. [color=0072bc]'I'm not here on official business, and even if I was I think wherever you're from would be a bit outside my jurisdiction.'[/color] [i]Although, given what I normally deal with...[/i]

The other two men introduced themselves as Anthony and Ben. Both were relatively young and their clothes were painfully bright - maybe it was a style from a different dimension? - but seemed otherwise harmless.

Then there was the fairy man, whose eyes continued to dart around the room frantically like a startled cat. It was hard to tell if he was packing heat or not. Hardwick knew his own marksmanship wasn't exactly up to scratch even before whiskey. If things went south, he might be able to get one round off before the fairy man drew his piece - if he was lucky.

Content that he'd analysed the situation enough, he firmly shook both their hands. [color=0072bc]'Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, did you mention magic? I've always been partial to parlour tricks...'[/color]

The waitress, Ayeka, wandered over and poured the four another drink. Hardwick gave her a few more dollars and a winning smile... Or, at least, he thought it was a winning smile. Whatever was in that last drink had gone to his head faster than he expected.

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