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| - Storm Pool - At two hundred feet long and almost half that wide, this is the largest open space on Level One. The ceiling rises twenty feet above the surface of the pool that occupies most of the room. The pool is churned up into tempestuous waves that easily reach most of the way to the ceiling and whirlpools that swirl down to the bottom of the pool's twenty-foot depth. Floodlights on the ceiling flicker in time with the deep bass rumble of the machinery that keeps the water seething. The overall effect is that of a full-force gale, and a rather convincing one at that. Steel doors at the edges of the room lead back out to the hallways on Level One. The rush and thrum of water crashing in violent waves blocks out most sound here. There is, at this point in time, a single spectator to the twisting waters, however. Jest leans against one of the walls, arms crossed over her chest. Her face and hair are dampened by the spray, gray eyes flat as they watch the variations. The doors open with a clatter as a human man stumbles backwards through them, falling to the floor near where Jest is leaning. The doors swing back and forth loosely for a moment, and the man stares at them in fear, though it is not the doors themselves he is looking at. Rillitan enters, striking an imposing figure with his flak armor on fully. "I'm going to ask you where he is." he says simply. Jest straightened with a snap as the doors initially opened, hand flying to her hip. She didn't draw though, something which she may regret in the future. She steps back, slowly and her gaze goes from Rillitan to the other gentleman, "Ah. Lovely." "I ain't seen him, he ain't - -" the man is interrupted by a shot to the leg. "Shut your lyin' mouth up, we got company." Rillitan says to the man, shaking his head and looking to the woman, "S'cuse me," he nods blankly, "I hope you don't get none bright ideas on helping this man, here." he addresses her, "He ain't a nice person, an' he's tryin' to hide a nastier one." Jest visibly tenses at the shot and bares her teeth in a smile, "Oh, yes, handsome. I can see that. And you are just a saint in flak, aren't you then?" She looks to the man, not without sympathy, "Sweetie? If you are willing to die for this person you want to protect? I suggest flinging yourself in the water. If not? Give up the info sooner rather than later. You might get some leniancy." Her hand, it should be noted, stays by her gun. "Ain't attesting to be, love," Rillitan grunts, turning back to the man. "Now you lose a limb for every lie you tell me, boy." he says to the man, waving his gun towards the man's right arm, "I want to make this clear to you." he growls, "You're going in that water whether you tell me the truth or not. You might want to think about giving yourself a chance, like the woman says. Now, where?" "...well. If he's going to kill you whether you tell him or not..." Jest demures. She's backing up another pace, gaze still measuring Rillitan and the other with understated calculation. The human looks back at the dark waves, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he contemplates that. He turns to Rillitan again and whimpers, "I swear, he's not come to--" the man cries out again, as he's shot in his right arm. "Two left. Try again." The thumb cowl on Jest's gun is subtly shifted off. Her expression is smooth and gives away little as she watches this drama unfold. "Okay, okay!" the man gives in, "He's hiding in the old tattoo shop, the back room, everyone knows where it is... please... don't shoot me again." the man begs. Rillitan narrows his eyes, "Good boy." he says, after a moment, moving forward to the man and grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling the man up into the air, feet dangling above the watery froth that rolls away from the churning pool. "You're going in deep now, mate... when they found out you talked." This gets a confused expression from the man himself, which is shortly interrupted by the Timonae smashing him in the top of the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him out clean. Rillitan turns and throws the man down at Jest's feet. Rillitan has to stride towards the man, and in that motion, his eyes cannot remain as fixed on Jest. The woman takes this opportunity to draw and take bead on the bounty hunter. "Dr-" She starts, voice cold. The fact that Rillitan twists and throws the man at her feet has her dancing back a couple steps and stopping the now obsolete 'request'. Rillitan shrugs, "S'as good as dead, if he ain't smart and quick... Which he ain't." the Timonae says flatly, "I ain't the executioner, though. Rightly, he gets his chance..." he glances down at the gun she's holding and scowls, "Oh put that toy away, you don't look right with it." Jest's brows raise, "Yeah. I'm missing the kevlar, I guess. Just call me an amatuer." She doesn't holster the pistol yet. Gray eyes instead flick to the fallen man and the puddle of blood that should be forming. Perhaps to tell just how likely it is that the man will bleed to death. "Oh fer hells sake, woman, put the gun away an' I'll make sure he's stable for ye." Rillitan mutters, shaking his head and holstering his own gun. He kneels, pulling a small pack from the back of his belt and withdrawing some thin white material." Jest doesn't obey at first. In fact, she may not obey at all. "You got a name, Tim?" Her voice is calm. She backs up yet another few steps, heels clicking. "Rillitan." he replies, "You, Daisy?" he wraps gauze around the two wounds that he inflicted onto the man, making sure they are sealed, if casually. "Jest," the woman returns. She holsters the gun. "Charmed, of course." "Well who wouldn't be?" Rillitan murmurs, finishing with the man he stands up and smile, noting that the gun has been holstered. "See? Things you do to please a pretty face, eh?" he gives the man a light kick before moving to leave at that. "You've taken away my brooding spot," Jest says, tone flat. "Oh, you can't brood with an unconsious man laying at your feet? Damn, if anything I'd imagine it helps /enhance/ the general broodin' experience." Rillitan pauses, looking back at her again. Tiana arrives from Level One Corridors . Tiana has arrived. "What happens when he wakes? Or when someone comes looking for him?" Jest asks with dry logic. She shifts her weight. "So. Rillitan. Who do you work for?" "Ain't nobody thinking he's up here, love." Rillitan smirks, "Fer the moment, his mates think he's gettin' lucky with a girl above his station, an' they wont come lookin' till they find out I've grabbed their other mate. I don't work for anyone, I'm a bounty hunter. This planet tends to draw them that might be running from a history. History like gang rape and homicide." the Timonae looks down at the man again, shrugging, "If he wakes, hit him round the head again." Tiana wanders in with a quick glance around to spot Rillitan, the Timonae her destination, "Waiting outside is boring." Says the young Martian, coming to stand beside Rill. A brief look is given to the unconcious man, and his gun-shot limbs, but she doesn't seem to care much. Something flicks over Jest's face at that, "Oh, you just are, aren't you? Tell me. Is there anything left of the Guild?" Jest asks and smiles. It doesn't match the edge still in cold gray eyes. Those eyes flick to Tiana. Another few steps are taken back. "Nicely done, both, then. Very subtle indeed." "Fallen apart, just about." Rillitan grunts, "Still got old leads, but half the issuers are recovering from the war... and a lot of people disappeared. Best we can hope is that they got what was needed." he glances back to Tiana and mutters, "It's hard to play nasty if you hang about, Ti, you know that." Tiana gives a little sigh, along with a faint smile, "Ah know, but 'es unconcious now anyway. Don't much matter for now, does it?" A toe edges out, and she nudges said unconcious man. "She's pretty," Jest smirks, "Hard to be a bad-ass, indeed." "Prettiest. Tiana, Jest, Jest, Tiana." Rillitan says, kicking Tiana's foot aside from the unconscious man as if it was a dead bird and Tiana was a small child. "Ti." he murmurs, "Our man's in the tattoo parlor." he explains. Tiana acts innocent, like she hadn't tried to nudge anyone, ever. Nope. She nods to Jest, giving her a cordial smile, "Hello Miss Jest." A gigle escapes the Martian, and her smile widens a bit as she turns it on Rill, "Can we give 'im a tattoo?" Jest laughs softly, arms crossing over her chest. The results given her top are predicatable, but the gesture has a defensive air to it rather than a deliberately provocative one. "Pleasure to meet you, Tiana. And, thanks for your indulgance, Rillitan-dear. Quite reassuring, it was." Her head tilts at the mention of tattoos. "Yeah, we'll tattoo 'rapist' to his forehead." Rillitan snorts, looking across to Jest for a moment more before smirking a little and keeping his gaze back down on the unconscious man. "With a little bunny beside it for effect?" Ti resists the urge to giggle again, and instead clasps her hands beside her back, and continues to smile ever so cheerfully. "Aren't you worried about your man getting away, mmm?" Jest murmurs. "Worried?" Rillitan cocks his head, "Man ain't come out of his hidey hole in three months. I doubt he'd get the feel for fresh air all so suddenly... You know much about hunting, love?" "Perhaps someone put a fresh pie out front of his hidey hole." Tia suggests not-so-seriously, "People love their pie, don'tcha know. 'Specially fresh 'uns." "Fresh something or another might lure him out. Which is something to keep in mind if you don't know what else is inside with him." Jest tells Tiana and then looks to Rillitan. Her lips twitch, "I've a little experience." Her voice is quiet. "Uhuh." Rillitan confirms, though the tone suggests he doesn't quite take Jest's word. "Well, could always lure him out I guess. Been itchin' to bash down a door and shoot everyone for a while, though... Whatever works." he shrugs. Tiana cants her head towards Rillitan a little, "I'd rather not have t'wait so much again, but however you wanna go about it." She looks around the room again, murmuring, "And we haven't any pie." Jest looks back to the water, "You know what you have for resources. You know what sort of a public mess you want to make. You know what back-up you'd expect him to have. Your girl there. She's a bit odd. But she is pretty. She could play the ditz well enough. Wandering into the back room trying to find the tattoo artist, for example. She gets a look inside. If its clean? You walk in. If it isn't? She can make him an offer. If you think she's up to seducing him out. Either way? You get him in you territory and take him down." "Well," Rillitan looks across to Tiana shortly before shaking his head, "I'd rather keep it confined in the place itself, we might draw him out - sure, but where does he go then? Bag him out in the warren? Hardly my territory, love. We'd get more flak then if we got it done in a closed environment." the Timonae shrugs, "Might put more shot risk on me, but I'm a big boy. We'll play it hard and withdraw if it gets too hot." There's no protests from Tia about being odd, though there is a slight, almost unnoticable shrug. She just keeps on smiling, a nod offered towards Rillitan's game-plan. Jest's lips curve upward, but she still focuses on the water, "Little experience." She repeats, resting some weight on 'little', tone dry. "And I only know what works for me. Your strengths are different, of course." "You're welcome to come see exactly where my strengths lie, Jest." Rillitan offers with a snort, "Course, I wouldn't want to ruin your brooding. C'mon Ti, we'll go see what the tattoo place is laid out like." "Okay." Tia replies agreeably, unclasping her hands and letting them rest casually at her sides. "I help you. You get me some information." Jest glances towards him, "Or were you just offering to flex those big bad muscles?" She winks at Tia. The Timonae raises an eyebrow, "What information?" he asks. Tiana quietly waits for the party to move on to the tattoo parlor, though an eyebrow does raise slightly at Jest's proposition. "You said you still had some contacts. I'm looking for a couple names." Jest says, expression giving little to nothing away. "In exchange for that?" She smiles very slowly and adopts a deliberate seductive half-lidding to her eyes. "I'll do pretty much what you want." It only lasts a half beat and is gone, wiped clean. "Deal?" "Fine." Rillitan says, looking a little unsure himself, "Tia, we got one more. Let's move." the Timonae makes his way out. Return to the year listing..
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