[@Ariamis]

Reaver looked at Al as he did the curt debriefing, choosing not to show his evident displeasure at being taken away in the middle of a question. His eyes then were set for a couple of seconds, before hearing his dismissal.

“Just one thing. Where is the last member of the raid party?” He said, choosing not to mince words this time around.

Al sighed deeply, and tapped on his cigar, letting the ashes fly off as if carried by a breeze. "Ah, that's right...I almost forgot."
He turned his seat, his hulking figure draped in shadows, his yellow eyes gleaming from the darkness. "Miss Viva proved to be quite a useful woman, once we learned of her connection to you. I see family resemblance, yes."
He paused, letting the air turn heavy and oppressive, before he continued.
"She is currently safe, if that is what you wonder. And she will be, too. But, as you know, nothing the Mint provides is free. So, you need to make sure you continue working, so you can pay for mommy's debt as well. Very simple."

Reaver in turn, simply laughed. “That is how we are going to play, capo?” He tilted his head. “The hostage card? You keep amazing me.”

"We prefer the term *insurance* peguci," Al responded,and clasped his fingers together on the table. "And only until the Penrose operation has reached full fruition. There's more chips stacked on this table than you'd know. The Beacon's hit, but they still got plenty of freelancers to outsource blood. I can't afford more carelessness from you or any other member of the family."

Reaver’s face went serious all of a sudden, as if someone had switched him off. “A counter offer then.” He said. “Filling the shoes that these past months have done on the Mint must have not been easy, capo. In the wake of Veronica’s fiasco, you’ve been tasked to pull all stops to plug the gaps.” He paused. “As much as you pride yourself in the family, the position has not been that hectic in years.”

“And of course, you wish to micromanage. Put insurance on everything. A commendable effort, capo.” Reaver’s eyes locked with him. “Regrettable though, that you could not have paid attention to read some things better. Like little ol’ pathetic me.” Reaver said.

“So I am going to just say that these times are trying, excuse my performance. And you release mother.” He paused. “Otherwise, well… what could happen? People who work under coercion make very big mistakes, capo. Unpredictable ones.” 

For a long time, Al simply stared at the man in black armour, a fog of foul vapours between them. Reaver could hear that when he cracked his knuckles, that same sound could be heard from various points around him, like an entire mob surrounded him.
"I must admit, I am flattered. A lesser man would not have kept so cordial." He rested a hand on the table. "...What is your ante, peguci?" He finally asked. "The guarantee that you won't betray me?"

“I’m a misanthropic warmonger. I don’t give a shit about many things as long as I keep doing glorious battle to cleanse this mediocrity, which other faction would allow me to go as wild you?” Reaver said. “And besides… confidence has to go both ways.”

Al burst out in a laugh, causing him to cough and heave. "Funny joke, that was!" He took a moment to lightly punch his chest and clear his throat. "You try to spin that yarn on any other broker, they'd have broken your fingers. But you have balls, peguci. I like that."
The vapours seemed to thin out, and the darkness gave way to the faint striped light of a closed shutter.
He lifted an antique black rotary phone to his ear, and uttered a single sentence to the receiver: "The birdy is outta the cage."
He hung up on the call as fast as he picked it up, and lit up a new cigar.
"There. I'll get stabbed in back, but I'll have a good laugh about it. Confidence, hah! Funny joke!"

Reaver sighed, relaxing his stern expression, before smiling once again. “ Yes, funny indeed. But businesses always need a little.” Reaver simply said.

Al puffed a big cloud that circled the ceiling. "I'll have her dropped off at Jameson street. From then on, it's up to you if you wanted the family reunion or not." As Reaver was about to leave, he heard Al cough again. "You're a real joker, you know that? Sometimes I forget the value in a good laugh…"

Reaver let out a chuckle. “Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.” He said as he took his leave. “Marcus Aurelius.”