[color=9e0b0f][h1][center]Nina[/center][/h1][/color] [hr] [sup][@Hekazu][/sup] [hr] Nina couldn't help but to agree with Croaks' words despite feeling a bit guilty about them. People from the upper levels didn't respect how tough the life was down there... And she was once guilty of the same thing. She remembered how tough it was for her when... well... When her entire life was turned upside down. When Croaks mentioned her collecting people who cared about her, she couldn't help but to laugh. [color=9e0b0f]"Oh, but having 'friends' is an important part of my job, isn't it? It helps a lot that most people see me as a cheerful, happy and even naïve girl and tend to forget that I'm not [I]just[/I] an Info Broker..."[/color] Nina replied with a chuckle and a mischievous wink. It was fun on how Croaks, who did not only have that tough appearance of a gang leader but acted like one was slowly acting more friendly towards Nina. She had met him just a few hours ago and now he was following her to a place he didn't know and she did, which was a clear sign that he trusted her. Despite how dumb or suicidal he thought she was, it was undeniable that her way of doing things worked extremely well... Croaks thoughts weren't completely wrong though... While Nina had many people who called themselves her 'friends' the truth was that said 'friendship' was just for her own convenience for at least half of them. But she wasn't going to tell Croaks that, of course... Nina was honestly curious when Croaks said that disliked bar brawls though. Much to her own surprise, as Croaks continued to explain about why he disliked it, about his gang, his people, it became quite evident that Croaks was more trustworthy than she had previously thought he was. That type of loyalty, trust and how he cared about people who were close to him was something hard to find nowadays... [color=9e0b0f]"Interesting... The way you talk about your crew, how you care about them and trust them... That's not something you can find easily even if you're on higher levels..."[/color] Nina said with a discreet smile towards him. Unlike others who worked only for themselves or just wanted money, Croaks was someone she could respect. When they finally got in front of the storehouse, Croaks turned to her, asking what would be their plans after doing what they needed to do here. [color=9e0b0f]"I did say that they deal with a lot of... 'hard to find' things here at the storehouse didn't I?"[/color] Nina asked in a lower tone than before as she continued to walk towards the front door, trying her best to not draw too much attention. [color=9e0b0f]"Alcohol just happens to be one of the least dangerous things they sell."[/color] she continued. [color=9e0b0f]"I just need to get some special nanites I ordered and a good bottle of wine and then we can stop somewhere to grab something to enjoy with this wine."[/color] she finished, finally getting inside the storehouse together with Croaks. Inside, the storehouse was just as big as the name implied. Just as they got in, they were greeted by three armed men standing guard nearby a counter protected by steel bars, where a rough looking middle aged man with a synthetic eye quietly stood, waiting for costumers. While at first glance the security wasn't that good further inside the storehouse where products where, if one paid just a bit of attention they would realize that there was literally not a single corner where cameras wouldn't be present and there were armed guards in strategic points. As they walked through one of the long corridors, surrounded by tall shelves replete with pretty much anything one could imagine, ranging from bullets and firearms to cyberware and implants, Nina finally stopped in front of a shelf that was replete with wines, whiskeys and others alcoholic beverages. [color=9e0b0f]"Hm... This one should be fine... It's taste is as good as it's appearance."[/color] she said, grabbing a rather fancy looking wine bottle after analyzing a few others. [color=9e0b0f]"By the way, you most certainly wouldn't want to get into trouble here."[/color] Nina said as they walked towards the beginning of the storehouse, where the cashier was. [color=9e0b0f]"The security might not look that much, but this place is considered 'neutral grounds' for quite a few gangs, solos & etc. If you try anything funny here, doing anything without being hunted would be basically impossible. Because of that, nobody never tries anything... Everyone knows it's not worth the trouble... That doesn't mean it's safe though..."[/color] Nina continued. [color=9e0b0f]"It's a neutral area, sure. Nobody in it's right mind would even take out a knife around here, but still there are [I]a lot[/I] of eyes around the Storehouse. You want to get in quickly, get what you want and get out, drawing as little attention as you can. Nothing good comes out of letting others know too much about you..."[/color] Nina concluded as they finally got back to the entrance where the same middle aged man was still waiting. As they approached the cashier, his synthetic eye immediately started moving, scanning both of them before he finally asked what did they wanted. [color=9e0b0f]"These and I ordered a certain canister of nanites."[/color] Nina said with a serious tone in her voice. [b]"Nanites huh... Let me see here..."[/b] the middle aged man said, typing in a computer for a few seconds before he turned to one of the guards, obviously saying to keep his eyes on them. [b]"Order 48F. It's here."[/b] The man said, without looking to Croaks or Nina as he walked further behind the counter going to a reinforced door that they didn't even realize that was there previously. A few minutes later, he came back with a steel cannister on his hands, showing it to Nina and putting it inside a small black briefcase and the wine bottles in a regular shopping bag. [color=9e0b0f]"Do you need something?"[/color] Nina asked, turning to Croaks as she grabbed the briefcase and the shopping bag with the wine bottles before heading towards the exit.