Taya might have grown considerably, but she still clung to Neil when the twitching man's body fell heavily upon the entryway. Neil cloaked her eyes with his hand, turning her away. He was glad she didn't see the ruffians trampling over the body, surely ending the man's life by the way they callously stepped on his head and neck if he was not already slain. The pilot looked to Junebug, and his free hand went to the hilt of his revolver while he raised his brows questioningly. 

She shook her head, and he followed his captain's lead. He wasn't intimidated himself, but it could still get messy if they remained. He almost wished he'd brought Saxon or the modified Hauler. 

"You know the drill, fill 'em up!" a thug cried, waving his mug in the air as if he was rallying troops to battle. The others cheered and prattled on to one another in a blur of uproarious noise. In a minute, they had spread around the tavern and perched where they liked, which seemed very much to Neil as if the three of them were being surrounded. A quick look told him many eyes were on them, now that they all had drinks in their cups. 

Out of the crowd stepped a lean man, sporting a close cropped goatee and hair of dark curls. He had on a predatory, vengeful look to him even as he smiled. His eyes measured Neil for a moment, and then traveled down Taya to climb up Sayeeda, and he drained the last of his mug with one last swig. "I have never seen you before." The simple statement seemed to heighten the tension, not lower it, and the other men had quieted down. 

"We just flew in." Neil said nonchalantly. 

"Why would you come here?" He asked abruptly, trying to throw them off by cutting straight to the point. His eyes snapped to the Captain when she answered with. "Not that it's your business, but we heard there was work to be had. Mercenary, smuggler...anything that pays. Name a job and we've likely done it before." Their gazes clashed, and the fellow soon realized she wouldn't back down from a staring match. 

"Well, in order to work here you need to prove your worth." He said, receiving another mug full of beer without even having to ask. There was an accent to him Neil couldn't pinpoint. He had a sun darkened complexion, but it looked suitably uglier than Sayeeda's caramel color, at least to Neil's sensibilities. Around them, the men easily had their hands on their weapons, or free in case anything broke out. "What have you to offer, hmmm?" 

Neil chuckled. "No offense, but we'd like to speak to someone with authority if we're going to talk business." The man clearly didn't like Neil's wide smile, and he suddenly reached for his knife. His hand was halfway up to present it before Neil's gun was out of its holster, aimed just at his heart. All around them men had drawn their guns, and most impressively, Junebug hadn't moved an inch. She just stood there, arms crossed and unamused.  

"You've got spirit, I'll give you that." The menacing ruffian said, putting his knife back in place. 
[@Penny]