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Uncertain Tea
Guardian Angel HarukiMichael watched the conversation, leaning on the wall next to Patrick's booth. The group was a bunch of supers, and from the sounds of things, they were out for revenge. Likewise, it sounded like Patrick was once more volunteering him for a heist before telling him about it. While Michael was usually amenable to such work, going up against any of the big six was generally a bad idea. That he'd be up against the one who basically ruled the city Michael had built his base of operations in somehow made a bad idea seem even worse.
Of course, he was in no position to refuse. Patrick was far from ignorant of the risk, and Michael was a valuable asset to say the least. If whatever contents the target held justified the risk, Patrick would have plenty lined up to 'convince' Michael to take the job. He did not leave these kinds of things to chance, and the two worked closely enough that Michael was certain the resources to obtain his participation would be available. Though, that didn't mean he couldn't put himself in a better position to bargain for his price.
Turning, a quick look around the room and he saw what he was after. A waitress walking past had a pair of drinks on a tray-martinis dressed with an olive each, a favorite of his-and with a quick grab they were his. No one noticed, and even when she showed up with an empty tray, no one would care. Taking only a brief second to sample one of the drinks, he then sat down next to Patrick, taking up the final seat in the booth.
"Patrick," he said, appearing to the world once more. The older man hesitated only slightly at the appearance, the hand on his knife relaxing after a few seconds. "I'm surprised at you. It's poor form, not to offer a lady a drink. I expect as much from the pig-no offence-but you know better. I can only hope something this simple will make up for your poor manners."
Waiting a moment for everyone to make themselves accustom to his sudden appearance, he'd set down both drinks, one each for himself and the lady at the table. Patrick, of course, was looking at him with something between utter contempt and mild annoyance playing across his face. By contrast, Michael was all smiles, enjoying his drink and keeping his eyes on the woman. He didn't wink at her, exactly, but if facial expressions could have subtext, that would be his at that moment.
"Everyone," Patrick began, gesturing vaguely at Michael with his knife, "this is Void. As you may have deduced, he is the man I mentioned previously. As you wanted to meet your potential team mates for this mission, I suppose it's a sort of luck that he decided to make an appearance. If he seems a bit drunk, don't worry, that's normal."
As usual, Michael bristled at the mention of his 'super-persona.' Very few people knew him by it, and he would prefer to keep it that way. While it sounded cool as a teenager, 'Void' just kept sounding more and more pretentious as he got older. The jab that he was an alcoholic was expected, and by now he would be more surprised if Patrick hadn't made a joke of that sort.
"If you lot feel like you're getting the short end of the stick on this one, you are but you're not alone. Until recently, I hadn't even known that this drone existed, let alone that I was going to be stealing it. Though, to be fair, I'll give you all a reasonable baseline for comparison. My usually fee for work like this-grand larceny-is about fifteen percent of the score's expected net sale value. Patrick keeps me on retainer for these things, though, so for him the price is only three-hundred and fifty-thousand per item. There are modifiers to that number, of course. For working with a team, I always charge an additional fifty percentage, to cover additional hazards. After that, there's an extra twenty percentage increase if the target has anything more sophisticated than a level 2 AI. Finally, whenever any of the big six are involved, my fee is doubled, or tripled if the facility either owns the target or it is located on their property. In this case, it's both, so the final price will actually be quadrupled. Patrick probably thought I was too drunk at the time to remember that part of the contract."
After taking a sip of his drink-giving everyone a chance to run the numbers, and Patrick a moment to consider ventilating his throat-Michael set down the glass and smiled at the woman across the table. "He never pays for food or lodging, but if you need a place to stay, my door is open to you. I can't say that I have anything by way of clothing for you, but I could certainly have a new outfit brought by the following morning. You shouldn't need it until then, anyway."
Of course, he was in no position to refuse. Patrick was far from ignorant of the risk, and Michael was a valuable asset to say the least. If whatever contents the target held justified the risk, Patrick would have plenty lined up to 'convince' Michael to take the job. He did not leave these kinds of things to chance, and the two worked closely enough that Michael was certain the resources to obtain his participation would be available. Though, that didn't mean he couldn't put himself in a better position to bargain for his price.
Turning, a quick look around the room and he saw what he was after. A waitress walking past had a pair of drinks on a tray-martinis dressed with an olive each, a favorite of his-and with a quick grab they were his. No one noticed, and even when she showed up with an empty tray, no one would care. Taking only a brief second to sample one of the drinks, he then sat down next to Patrick, taking up the final seat in the booth.
"Patrick," he said, appearing to the world once more. The older man hesitated only slightly at the appearance, the hand on his knife relaxing after a few seconds. "I'm surprised at you. It's poor form, not to offer a lady a drink. I expect as much from the pig-no offence-but you know better. I can only hope something this simple will make up for your poor manners."
Waiting a moment for everyone to make themselves accustom to his sudden appearance, he'd set down both drinks, one each for himself and the lady at the table. Patrick, of course, was looking at him with something between utter contempt and mild annoyance playing across his face. By contrast, Michael was all smiles, enjoying his drink and keeping his eyes on the woman. He didn't wink at her, exactly, but if facial expressions could have subtext, that would be his at that moment.
"Everyone," Patrick began, gesturing vaguely at Michael with his knife, "this is Void. As you may have deduced, he is the man I mentioned previously. As you wanted to meet your potential team mates for this mission, I suppose it's a sort of luck that he decided to make an appearance. If he seems a bit drunk, don't worry, that's normal."
As usual, Michael bristled at the mention of his 'super-persona.' Very few people knew him by it, and he would prefer to keep it that way. While it sounded cool as a teenager, 'Void' just kept sounding more and more pretentious as he got older. The jab that he was an alcoholic was expected, and by now he would be more surprised if Patrick hadn't made a joke of that sort.
"If you lot feel like you're getting the short end of the stick on this one, you are but you're not alone. Until recently, I hadn't even known that this drone existed, let alone that I was going to be stealing it. Though, to be fair, I'll give you all a reasonable baseline for comparison. My usually fee for work like this-grand larceny-is about fifteen percent of the score's expected net sale value. Patrick keeps me on retainer for these things, though, so for him the price is only three-hundred and fifty-thousand per item. There are modifiers to that number, of course. For working with a team, I always charge an additional fifty percentage, to cover additional hazards. After that, there's an extra twenty percentage increase if the target has anything more sophisticated than a level 2 AI. Finally, whenever any of the big six are involved, my fee is doubled, or tripled if the facility either owns the target or it is located on their property. In this case, it's both, so the final price will actually be quadrupled. Patrick probably thought I was too drunk at the time to remember that part of the contract."
After taking a sip of his drink-giving everyone a chance to run the numbers, and Patrick a moment to consider ventilating his throat-Michael set down the glass and smiled at the woman across the table. "He never pays for food or lodging, but if you need a place to stay, my door is open to you. I can't say that I have anything by way of clothing for you, but I could certainly have a new outfit brought by the following morning. You shouldn't need it until then, anyway."