January 1st, 1:00 PM(Central Standard Time)
Outlaws Supernatural Consultative Services, Hub CityCameo by @Simple Unicycle Leo had just finished restocking his arrows, giving a sigh of relief as he placed the last one in it's container. Looking around the room, he ticked off his duties: Highwayman was as fixed as he could have it right now (but still not driveable), weapons were clean, magazines were full, dishes were done, and now his arrows were back. Things seemed pretty alright. He got up from his workbench and headed over to the fridge, grabbing a Coke. He noticed that there was no milk, and they were running low on Coke, with only 5 bottles left. Sure, they had Pepsi and Dew in cans, but the bottles of Coke just give it an... Authentic feel.
He felt his phone vibrate as well: It was the weapon store, "Wild Bill's Secret Stash" (Or just "Wild Bill's"), telling him his order had arrived and was ready for pickup. Well, that's two things to get him out of the place. Might as well. He grabbed his pack by the door and his jacket hanging above it, putting them both on as he called upstairs.
"Dave! I'm heading out! You need anything?!"Dave responded in kind, his voice coming from upstairs in a similar manner.
"Not much! Just don't spend all the money, gotta go to a trumpet lesson next week!"That guy and his damn trumpet.
"Got it! See ya in a bit!"He exited the door and walked outside, locking it behind him. Then, with a casual stroll, started walking along the sidewalk.
Leo was passing through the park on his way. It was a chilly, snow-covered day. He could see all manner of people in the park. It was mostly children playing in the snow, with thier parents close by. Then there was the occasional couple having a snow date. Then, of course, you'd see some people of lower standard drinking out of paper bags or smoking illegal substances out of crudely-made objects. The police were preoccupied with the violent crimes, so the lookout for non-violent ones dropped even further than they did before. The police didn't care about some guy drinking or smoking crack in public while they dealt with anti-meta/meta-rights riots.
Leo didn't care, either. He'd just wish they'd do it away from the kids. But he didn't really want to waste energy on these guys, so he kept walking.
He made it out of the park and into the city center, the commercial district. Wild Bill's was only a few blocks away, and from there he could head to the Grocery Store. But as he looked further down the street, there was a small obstacle up ahead:
Monsters.He knows that's not the term they prefer, but as he saw the Minotaur, Ghoul, and Goblin walking towards him from the other end of the street, that's the one that came to mind. He felt very uncomfortable in their presence, and moreso the fact that they were getting closer. Taking a deep breath, he casually looks both ways across the street, and crosses it quickly. He tried not paying attention to them while he was walking on the other side, but he managed to catch a glimpse of the Minotaur glaring at him as they passed. Leo kept his eyes forward, and after a few moments, you could see the breath of relief in the air.
He knows they're not bad people, Terrans. He just can't help it.
Leo entered the gun store, the door ringing a small bell above it. He seemed to be the only customer. Some commotion came from the back room as a beast of a man, Wild Bill himself, emerged from the back room. He was a hefty man, with a full beard and a mullet, maybe in his late 30's.
"Mr. Cash! Here for your order?""You bet I am, Bill. Can you bring it out?""Sure, I'll be back in a second."Bill went to the back room. Looking around, Leo could spot hundreds of guns lining diplay cases against the walls of the small store, and tons of attachments and smaller handguns inside the glass counter. After the Two-Month war, a lot of people who didn't own guns REALLY wanted one. Something to protect them from those things. Now, the same guns are turned against the Terrans...
Wild Bill came back, interrupting Leo's train of thought, holding a flat box. He placed it on the counter.
"Here you are.""Thanks. Do you mind if I check this first?""Go right ahead."Leo opened the box, inside being gun parts for his rifle project. He listed off some of the parts:
"Mag ejector, check... Safety Switch, check... Trigger mechanism, finally..."As he searched the box, he took on a confused look, looking under other parts.
"... Where's the firing pin?""Well... That's what I wanted to discuss with you.""What do you mean? Where's the pin?""Unfortunately, I couldn't find one to your specifications.""What do you mean you couldn't find it?! I thought you had connections, you said it wouldn't be a problem!""Do you know how hard it is to find individual parts for a .50 cal? Now, if you just wanted to buy the whole damn thing, that'd be different, but you don't have the paperwork and licenses for me to sell it to you.""Why didn't you just buy a .50, take it apart, and give me the parts to that?""Look, I mostly deal in small-to-medium caliber weapons. I don't know how to crack open a goddamn .50 cal! And besides, what am I gonna do with the spare parts?""What am I gonna do with a .50 cal rifle that doesn't have a firing pin?! Whack a Demon over the head with it, maybe look over the wastes with the scope and take in the sights?!""Look, Leo, I'm sorry, but I don't have a pin for you. I asked everyone, I looked everywhere. This is the best I can do."Leo paused for a moment, before closing the box. He put it away in his pack. He started backing towards the door, pointing at Bill.
"If you do find one, you tell me.""You have my word. Be seeing you, Leo.""You too, Bill."Leo opened the door, the cold of Hub City hitting him as he did, and stepped back outside, heading to the grocery store a few blocks away.
Leo walked back through the park, Coca-Cola 8-pack clinking in his hand. The trip was mostly uneventful, he passed a few other monsters in the street, but he held his nerve and walked normally. His mind rationalized that he could handle one or two at a time if they attacked him. He knew they wouldn't, but he still had the feeling nonetheless.
He heard some shouting in the park: a group of humans arguing with a group of monsters, each side holding thier children behind them. Something something "freaks" from one side. Something something "public park" from the other. The usual. This was going to escalate into another riot, Leo was positive. He could pick up the hate and fear coming from both sides. Both of them came to enjoy the park, but hate and fear had taken control of them.
Leo kept walking.
The police could handle it. They must've gotten pretty skilled at riot control by now, even if the monsters end up a little more beaten. And besides, he was a monster hunter, not a mediator. He'd probably only stall the inevitable. No thanks.
As he left the park, he heard glass shattering. He looked down at the Coke. All still intact. No, the shatter came from the group at the park. Sirens were getting closer, too. Things were gonna get messy. The police probably don't care about who started it.
Leo didn't care, either.
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