"Look, buddy" Neil warned, stepping closer to Gerk. "There is no war, but you know the value of these guns. I'll accept twelve thousand, no less, or I find someone else." 

"Zen find someone elze," The paunchy salesman said triumphantly, turning away from the two young customers. Neil knew the lowly pawner sought to reel Neil in with an aloof act, and Neil wasn't going to fall for it. But at the same time, Jocasta was expecting this to work, and while he did not feel he owed her anything, it was hard not to want to please an attractive girl. Particularly one whom he could tell was usually more silly and congenial, when the circumstances called for it. 

"'Zen find someone elze'" Neil mocked, looking at Jocasta as if he was sharing an inside joke with her, and as if the merchant couldn't hear him clear as day. She smirked, finding the humor in it, though her eyebrow raised at what Neil was playing at. "I guess we'll just take these VAPADON BLASTER RIFLES AND HIGH YIELD LASPISTOLS WITH US. I'M SORRY I COULDN'T ACCEPT YOUR CIZNEX AS PAYMENT, BUT I AM A MAN OF THE LAW!" 

The merchant gave a start. "What are ze doing!?" The salesman cried, eyes wide at the sudden theatrics. Jocasta would know Ciznex was a potent narcotic and illegal substance that could ruin a business, even in such low quarters. Not only that, but Neil suspected old Gerk likely did put his finger in the business. A lot of low-lifes did, despite the risks. "I deed no zush thing! Ok! Ok! I'll buy your blasteed guns! Twenty thousand!" 

"Oh, he's cooperative now?" Neil ask Jocasta in awe. 

"Wonder why..." She mused facetiously, one of her drones buzzing around Neil.  

"Excuse me," A voice remarked. All three of their heads turned to the sound, and a blonde gentleman in a servants garb stepped out of the stalls. He had a wide face and a large jaw, but kindly eyes. "Did you mention a Vapadon blaster rifle? It wouldn't happen to be model-series 7, would it?" 

Neil gave the newcomer an inquisitive look, and then rechecked the rifle's stock, though he already knew the answer. "Yes it is, who's askin'?" 

[hr] 
[i]
The next day...[/i] 

The previous night had been a curious one. The man that had inquired about the rifle Neil and Jocasta were about to sell to was an aide of one of the upper nobility. An antique arms dealer and collector of limited munitions, looking for new weapons to add to his collection. Despite the heart attack Neil had nearly granted Gerk, they ended up not taking him up his twenty thousand credit offer, after all. Instead, they had left the stricken man and had allowed the servant to take them to one of the upper levels, past the main presidium to the patrician suites. 

Within, they had been granted a spartan room where they were met by a large holoscreen projector placed upon the wall. On the table before them was a glass of expensive gin, with two glasses. The servant had left them by themselves, and after a few seconds of confused silence, the screen powered on and they were face to face with a man who introduced himself as Lord Henry Byrecroft, who wished to pay thirty thousand for the rifle, along the accompanying blasters. 

Neil had a counter offer, and after some swift negotiation and a bit of advice from Jocasta, the two had found themselves sequestered past an audience of twelve thousand, deep in the bowels of the Rekker Ring, though that was a colloquial name. The spaces cordoned off for the fighters and their teams were located dozens of meters under the floor in a clockwise placement, with full kit, a small workshop for repairs and modifications, and even a small break area with snacks and a mini-fridge. Lord Byrecroft had not thought the Blaster Rifle was worth a top of the line Rekker, but his patronage and expensive offer for the rifle and the accompanying firearms gave them something to work with, at least to Neil's eyes. 

Standing on the moveable platform, awaiting its turn in the ring was the Rekker, which Neil affectionately called 'Hunk' to tease Jocasta, as she had immediately called it a hunk of junk when she first laid eyes on it. The humanoid mecha was 3.7 meters tall, with outdated hydraulic systems, peeled off paint, a gun that looked as if it would jam by the slightest bump, and a bowed leg, which honestly confused Neil as he could not see how that would occur without it being a conscious design choice. Still, as soon as Neil had stepped inside it's central control placement, he had a vitality to him. And considering Neil was usually quite animated, that was saying something. 

The light above turned red and flashing, indicating it was now time to fight. 

"Ready Jo?" Neil asked Jocasta as she stepped onto the platform with him. 

"So how exactly am I supposed to hype this piece of rust?" She asked. "This better work, by the way. And if you die I don't get paid."  

"If I die I don't get paid either, so at least we have equal stakes." He said, straight enough to make it indecipherable if he was joking or he hadn't thought the statement through. "And I don't know..." He leaned over, smiling flirtatiously. "You can talk about me? Anything to get the crowd going. We want bets, after all." 

The platform began to move backwards, air escaping the once-sealed walls and the two lurched as they were dragged backwards into a dark corridor, before yellow-safety lights chimed around them and they slowly rose.