Neil counted himself lucky. Most plans didn't work so well. He had half expected to maneuver the drunken lout in the back and extract the card by gunpoint or knocking him out cold. That would have brought questions, and he was working on a limited timetable. He expected to be out of Neo-Elam and on the way to Neo-Jeddah in a week, and in two weeks he'd be living well and purchasing a ship that just might be able to get him through the blockade. He just needed to stay focused, keep his mind on the job for once, and- 

Neil placed his malt down and glanced at the portal, before turning back to his drink. 

He performed a doubletake, and the soft beat of the [i]Smuggler's Blues[/i] was replaced by a perpetual [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFd0zPUHgjE]rhythm[/url] that played through his head as he watched this incredibly curvaceous and pretty woman in makeshift apparel stride over to the bar. More than a few men, and even a few woman regarded her as well, albeit likely not all for the same reasons. She had clearly just experienced something rough. To some it might have been off-putting, but it only enhanced her beauty in Neil's eyes. His leg began to shake as he did his best to keep himself from going over there immediately, cursing himself for his circumstances. She was the kind of woman he would remember years later in a haphazard situation and idly wonder about. He placed a hand on his chest to settle his heart down, and for a moment he felt like he could keep himself in check. 

“What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?” she demanded. The lazy eyed, dark mustached bartender turned, obviously high on some clandestine drug, or simply disillusioned with life.

Before the barman could even speak, Neil placed his bottle down again and leaped from his chair, vaulting over the table of a couple of locals engaged in business likely no less shady than his own from just an hour ago. He did not hear their curses, and as he crossed the last dozen feet to the bar, he spotted one of the tattooed billiard players approaching the counter, one who seemed to have a similar goal judging by his eyes. Neil placed a foot on the last empty chair of an otherwise crowded table and shoved it, sliding it across the floor to tangle the legs of the tough. His eyes went wide and his limbs flailed in panic, dropping his drink and hitting the floor with a crunch. In the blink of an eye, Neil had appeared beside the woman, opposite of the direction he had scrambled over from, as if it was a clever maneuver to fool her. The time it took for him to get from his chair to the bar was later clocked at 1.27 seconds by the security feed.

As if by pure happenstance, Neil leaned casually with his back to the bar counter, elbows resting against the top as he began to whistle an innocent tune. He sighed theatrically. "What does a guy have to do to buy a girl a drink around here?" 

After his lament, his eyes nonchalantly swung in her direction and he looked shocked. "Wha- I-... " he placed a hand to his chest again. "Al-aḥlām taḥawwal ilā ḥaqīqah," he said wistfully. "Dreams do become reality." He raised a finger to indicate the barman. "Get her three of whatever she wants, on me."

The bartender began to open his mouth again, but Neil beat him to it. "This seat taken?" He asked, pointing to the stool beside the woman and planting himself on it, elbow on the counter, hand to his chin as he gave her a suggestive wriggle of his eyebrows. The bartender had learned his lesson, and decided to just hear her order before going to fetch it. Despite his shamelessness, Neil noticed a bruise or two on her shining skin. "By the way, you look like you've just dealt with a bad hand, so tell me to fuck off and I will."