[center][h2]Underworld Underhandedness - Part 2[/h2][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3GBuBnl.jpg[/img] [/center] JP/Collab from [@Gunther], [@wanderingwolf], and [@sail3695] [center][hider=Four Simple Words][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBaCRl2h87I [/youtube][/hider][/center] As the four conspired around their table, the Underworld began to fill with an army of young people. You couldn’t look in any direction without catching sight of leather jackets, high top sneakers, torn denims, or the big neon sign that was somebody sporting a Mohawk. As was natural, the murmuring conversation got that much louder, forcing some genius to crank up the music volume. Cal held a stony silence as One-Arm and The Sister seemed to fall right into accord. While he was all kindsa glad that she cottoned to their plan, that little voice, the one warned him about “gift horses” and “too good to be true” was busy clearin’ it’s throat. Good news was Yuri stuck right on task and asked what needed askin’ despite an obviously pretty woman’s diversion, nun or not. [i]Maybe it’s just Quill gets him tongue tied,[/i] the captain thought of his new first mate. In that case, he could forgive the man. There was a lot about the Companion could throw a man right off his balance. Hopefully she’s busy usin’ her feminine wiles to grease the wheels of the local law in their favor… He leaned into Hook, cupping a hand over the cook’s ear. “You’ve seen how rough it gets in there, but I can’t have you walkin’ through that checkpoint packin’ a pistol. ‘Bout as close to weapons as we can get is chisels to knock mortar off those bricks. That bike gang…the BZ Kings…I’m gonna hand you some extra coin to work out a protection deal. We want this to go smooth as silk.” Cal’s jaw lowered, his eyes and brows lifting to communicate just how serious he was. “You walk in every mornin’. Spend the day cleanin’ bricks and loadin’ wheelbarrows, and then you walk ‘em all out every evenin’, [i]dohn mah?[/i] Stick close to the Sister. Just live in her hip pocket every day ‘til we get ‘em all out..” Joe Hooker understood what was expected of him. He didn’t speak Chinese often, but this phrase was one he was confident about, “dohn mah.” The captain didn’t want him carrying his Ruger. The tool had become part of him, he had been carrying it for so long. “What about a knife?” He carried a K-bar on his belt, right behind the pistol holster. “Ah can hand over the protectin’ money, cap’n. Ah’m also pretty fair fighter, but Ah think ya knew that.” Joe didn’t smile on that note. He leaned back from the captain and looked around. He noticed a few men in the corner drinking what appeared to be beer and others with shot glasses. The thoughts of drinking beer and whiskey appealed to him. It was a difficult temptation. He wondered if he would be strong enough to resist this. He promised the captain he would quit. It was very difficult. It took all his strength not to imbibe. “So they’re chipped,” Yuri replied thoughtfully. “Like cattle…bought and paid for, just marking time until the slavers drop in to swoop them up for a contract.” As Hook and the Captain spoke in whispers across the table, he considered the new challenge of the tracking chips. [i]Like an RFID scan,[/i] he mused over his untouched bottle of cola. [i]I conjure it records folk leaving for work in the morning, and then when they return before curfew. Simple tracking…[/i] That could explain the guards’ nonchalance. But what about someone like Lyen? “Tell me, Sister,” his eyes lifted to meet hers again. “Are you chipped as well? Can you show me on your arm where they implanted it?” Ly shook her head, "No, humanitarian aid policies to address the 'non-issue' occurring in the Zones are in place so that organizations like my Order can move freely through the checkpoints." She rolled up the sleeve of her kasaya robe in the darkness of the club's strobing lights, "The Anabaptists have tech under the skin here," she marked the spot with a slender finger. "Even if we remove them after they leave the 'BZ,' the guards will have a list of all lapsed scans. It'd make replacing them with our volunteers superfluous," she said, chewing her lip in thought. “That’s easy enough,” the first mate leaned across the table toward the nun. “If the chips are just injected beneath the skin, our doctor can extract them. We tape them onto the arms of your volunteers. That, plus a clothing swap,” he added, “should do the trick.” Cal shook his head. “I’ve seen your knife. One gander says it ain’t for cuttin’ bread. Anythin’ looks like a weapon’s gonna get you singled out. If what One-Arm thinks is true, the guards don’t much study the man, but they’re all kindsa curious ‘bout what he’s carryin’. I got just as much unease in my gut about sendin’ you in empty handed, but Sister goes an’ comes every day.” He thought on that. He also thought on the mindset of his man..a slight tremor in Hook’s hand and nervous eyes darting compulsively toward the bottles behind the bar. He’d gone off the rails once. To tell it true, that’s why they were here with The Sister. It’s clear that if liquor was Hook’s demon, he was fighting the battle to shake it, just as he’d promised. [center][hider=Junkie Slip][Youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5PGg1H66o [/youtube][/hider][/center] And now, here was Cal, considering dropping a struggling man into a mighty tetchy situation. “I trust you, Joe,” he finally whispered. “I trust you to think about this an’ not make hash of the plan. If you can hide that knife to keep it free from a pat down, then take it if you gotta. But most important,” his eyes touched on the man’s nervous hands, making his point before he gave it voice, “ain’t no shame in backin’ out if you need to. You tell me you’re good to go, I’ll take you at your word. But if you do, you gotta be on your right game…for your crew, for her,” he dipped his head toward the Sister, “and for forty souls we gave our promise. You good?” Lyen stole a glance at the Captain as he extended a steady hand toward Hook's shaking one. She glimpsed the look in Hook's eye which she recognized immediately: guilt. Even now as the man thought of some response, she sensed some history here that could play a role in this plan, for better or worse. She returned her attention to Yuri as he puzzled over the issue she proposed. “Mebee Ah should jus’ take up smokin’ agin?” Joe allowed the words to roll off his lips in a playful manner. “Nah, Ah’m good, cap’n. Ah kin handle this.” Joe’s tone quickly became more serious. He glanced around the bar for a split second, then looked into the captain’s eyes, his voice soft and low. “Ah really don’ need the knife or the pistol. It’s jus’ easier ‘sal. Ah kin fight with jus’ mah fists. You seen what ah kin do with jus’ mah fists.” Joe’s tone became a bit more serious. “Not countin’ the war, ah’ve planted many a men…not just the two you know of. But ah kin control it, ‘specially if ah’m not drinkin’.” Joe didn’t bother smiling. It was not something he was proud of. In fact, he still felt he needed to confess his sins to a shepherd, to do penance, to gain redemption for his sins. He wondered if the nun would count. It was something he planned to ask her later when there was time. The weight of the guilt and shame he carried on his shoulders was overwhelming. It was time to unburden himself. “Control..that’s the thing,” Cal nodded before turning toward the whole group. “Sounds like we got this all sussed out. Sister Lyen,” he said, “Hook and Yuri’ll meet you at the checkpoint tomorrow at eight…” [center][hider=Paper Planes][Youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3CIbk3At_8 [/youtube][/hider][/center] “Nine, actually,” Yuri cut in. “Doc’s taking me to get this arm mended. We’ll have wheelbarrows and chisels..everything we need to look legitimate…” “Plus a little grease for the guards,” the captain added. “Have your first ten or so ready and Hook here’ll put ‘em to work,” he instructed Lyen. “Get your vols to start showin’ up at China Doll mid afternoon. Have ‘em come in ones an’ two’s…spread ‘em out, so they don’t raise eyebrows…that make sense?” "[i]Duhn Ruhn[/i]," she said, nodding to the Captain. The plan Yuri had set out was a simple one, but now the bows needed to be tied by her hands. Ly was confident the Underworld's clientele would make the very volunteers she sought. The only task left to do was to organize and motivate them to help the Anabaptists. She was confident in the outcome, even if it stepped on the toes of hubris. Before she left tonight she would make sure her call to assemble at Club Banebdjedet would meet the ears it needed to. Her eyes lingered on Joe Hooker, a man who seemed to be struggling with his worse demons here in the middle of the pulsing lights and techno-schism bass drops of the Underworld. This place had once touched the very same nerve for her, in the smell of alcohol, the unveiled delivery of corporal anesthetic. But the healthy don't need a physician; only the sick. And here she found plenty who needed tending. “Shiny,” Cal answered as he took to his feet. “Love to stick about and listen to this…music…but we gotta round up wheelbarrows. Sister,” he offered a formal nod as his crew all rose. The captain turned for the door, falling into step beside Hook as Yuri brought up the rear. “Tune really is kinda catchy,” he looked sidelong towards the cook as they stepped outside. [i]”...and take your money…”[/i]