| abstract
| - At any time of day or night, this portion of the city remains its most glamorous, both home and playground to the rich and famous of Earth. You can often glimpse a celebrity just strolling down the sidewalk, although only the tourists are gauche enough to gawk or ask for autographs. To the west, the treetops of Central Park can be glimpsed -- when you are looking down a street, that is. Nothing can be seen through the towering skyscraper walls of the Canyon of Steel. Iron grates cover most of the storefronts, a few jewelry stores going so far as to entirely cover their windows with sheet metal. The skyscrapers reach up into the dark sky overhead, splintering it with the bright yellow and white of interior lights that gleam out through their windows. The streets are never entirely silent, cabs and buses running throughout the night, but things are quieter now, and the sidewalks are far less crowded. On Fifth Avenue, bordering Central Park, a few people out for an evening stroll can be glimpsed walking past the closed museums. Pubs and restaurants remain open for business, laughter spilling out onto the street as you walk past an open door. New York City, the city that never sleeps. The same can be said for the Nebulon, Grax. When there is a possibility that money may changes hands, he is as focused as Jetfire's laser sights. The Nebulon paces street corners and groups of late nighters as he patrols the most active intersections near his base of operations on Earth, hustling anyone that dares to give him the time of day. As the saying goes, a fool and his money are soon parted. Grax is an expert at picking out the fools. And when his intuition fails, well, he has a giant robotic alligator sleeping in a nearby alley to back him up. Clickety clickety clickety... Reidan is rolling down the street on his long skateboard, at a slowish pace. His long coat flutters in the breeze, hat squarely set upon his curly hair as he swishes around a light pole, humming to himself for the most part, hands tucked in his pockets and a full backpack on his back. He finally skids to a halt, kicking up the board to grasp it as he looks about "hrm. Jayson is late." Jayson Redfield comes toward Reidan from the opposite direction...and for some reason he has his guitar strapped to his back. "Mr. Wesley!" he calls cheerfully in a near-singsong voice as he approaches. Grax continues his capitalistic flow through passing crowds, and in doing so comes within earshot of both Reidan and Jayson. His interest piques as he watches the two. He can see that they are special, but in what way he can't quite pinpoint. The one has a machine for an arm... Perhaps, Grax schemes to himself, there may leverage there. Grax tucks his overcoat tightly around him and pockets his hands, dashing across the street as he hails the pair from a short distance away, not unlike hollaring for a cab. "... What do you want Jayson, that you are calling me Mister Wesley? " asks Reidan with a chuckle. THen he blinks and looks over towards Grax, perking up "Hello again! Its been a while hasnt it?" he grins as he waves back enthusiastically Jayson Redfield rolls his eyes in amusement. "You know I *always* call you that. Mama raised me to be polite." Truth be told, he'd be polite anyway. As Reidan notices Grax, Jayson glances in the Nebulan's direction, and he frowns a bit. "Skullcruncher must be nearby," he mutters to Reidan. Grax closes the distance between himself and the individuals. At Reidan's remark, he quizically raises an eyebrow, shaking his head just a the slightest bit. "I daresay we've never met, however," Grax rolls his eyes at Jayson, an obvious expression of displeasure, "apparently I've met your friend before. You needn't fret over my Cybertronian business associate. He's...", Grax searches for delicate words here, "...already has his fill, shall we say?" "Ahh. I see. I mistook you for someone else." explains Reidan with a doff of his hat. THen he looks at Jayson in confusion "Who's Skullcrun... ohh. I see." he nods "What brings you out this way then, sir?" he asks, focusing back on Grax "We've met," Jayson confirms, his tone flat. His arms are folded now, and he's watching Grax closely. "And I'm sure he has." To Reidan, he says, "Nothing good, I bet." "No worries, my friend, no worries." Grax glances at Jayson briefly, giving him the most polite, fake smile he can muster. "What can't be good about free market trade, sir? It is the foundation upon which this fine nation was built, after all!" He gives a strained, rehearsed laugh before returning to Reidan. "I work not too far off from here. I am just on my way to a party... how about you two?" "ONE of the foundations." remarks Reidan, as he elbows Jayson lightly "Ah. We were going shopping actually. I like to hand pick my products out for my work." he explains, guesturing to the chinatown part of the city. "What do you do if I may ask? Jayson Redfield huffs a bit and falls silent. "Shopping, you say? I may be able to recommend a few stores in particular. I am very good friends with many of the shop owners in that district. We help to move quite a lot of product during the tourist season." Grax does his best to remain peacable to Jayson, if only to maintain the dialogue for as long as he can. "Oh, what do I do? What do I do...," Grax mulls over the question briefly. It may appear as though he's in fact forgotten what he does for a living - or it may be that he is trying to figure out a way to explain it without sounding like a criminal. "I... am an entreprenuer", he states at last. Reidan hmms and nods. Then he looks at Jayson "Jayson, what about your mama raising you right? " he asks, then focuses on Grax once more "I see. And now you have a Cybertronian partner." Jayson Redfield gives Reidan a look. "That doesn't have anything to do with criminal Nebulans. Let's just go--we're wasting our time with this creep." He obviously doesn't like Grax, but isn't willing to start a fight. "Indeed I do. The poor thing. He would still continue to be a purposeless simpleton if it weren't for my sacrifice." Grax then turns to Jayson, and almost literally explodes at the man's remarks. "CRIMINAL? /CREEP/? Sir, that is slander! How dare you accuse me of such things! You have no proof! I have never spent a day in jail. CRIMINAL, he says! Sir, I demand an apology!" Grax waves his index finger at Jayson, stomping his foot for effect. Reidan blinks at this blowup, and claps a hand to his hat, taking a step back "Woah, easy! " he looks at Jayson, somewhat anxiously Jayson Redfield glares at Grax. "Not a chance, pal. I don't apologize to Decepticons or their Nebulans." He kind of wishes he had an e-cig right about now, but Andi made him quit. "By the way, you're acting like a little kid. It's almost embarrassing." Grax guffaws, "Decepticon? You need to fire whoever you get your information from, my friend. I wear no badge! I am not bound to that war mongering race! I do not serve anyone..." Grax folds his arms across his chest, sneering at Jayson. "But I know /you/ do, Mr. Redfield. I am not the child here. It is a child's mind that purports to be something that they aren't. They call it make believe. You call it the EDC." Reidan coughs "It takes two to argue, and two to bicker like children, why dont we settle this like men, without the petty insults and subtle innuendo?" asks Red, rather nervously Jayson Redfield steps closer to Grax and jabs a mechanical finger at his chest. "Do NOT talk about the EDC like that. Now beat it, punk." That said, he turns to Reidan, ignoring his words. "Let's just go," he grumbles. "This guy's pissing me off." Grax is all but ignoring Reidan at this point, infuriated so much so by Jayson. "I will say whatever I wish concerning the EDC. Or have you forgotten where we are? The land of the free? Home of the brave?" Grax puts his hand to his mouth in mock shock "...oh, that's right. You must be feeling out of place." The corner of Jayson's eye twitches. He's pretty sure he knows what Grax is implying, but just to be certain... "What are you getting at?" Reidan pulls his hat down over his eyes as he's ignored, and halfway ponders skateboarding them both before that idea was dismissed. He liked his skateboard. BUT... he did lift it, and try to stick it between them, so that the flat of it was between their faces. Grax closes whatever distance there may be left between himself and Jayson, only to be thwarted by a skateboard. But no matter! Grax growls at Jayson from behind the board. "I think you know perfectly well what I'm getting at. Or do you need a Nebulon partner to do all the hard work for you, too?" "LOOK, you," Jayson snarls dangerously, using his metal hand to grab the skateboard and move it aside, "if I was such a coward, I wouldn't have gone up against freaking GALVATRON as many times as I have. And what about YOU? You're the one who needs a Decepticon to fight for him! Pisser loin, vous le lache!" Sometimes it's awesome being bilingual. Reidan grumbls at that and then yelps as he's pushed back, stumbling. "Jayson, I'm about to slap you, and that's only because I know HE woudl slap me back if I tried to knock sense into him as well!" "I'm sure that if you had ever faced Galvatron, you'd be nothing more than another stain on the bottom of his boot." Grax offers Jayson a sinister smile at this. "As for my business associate... let's just say that I keep him around because some people don't understand the fine print." Grax steps back as Reidan stumbles, and moves over toward him, offering him a hand up. Grax piques at the comments in French, using his enhanced brain functions to download a translation codex from the internet mid-conversation. After realizing what's been said, he shakes his head. "You would be wise to behave, Mr. Redfield, or someday you won't have such... understanding friends. Or your precious organization to hide behind." Jayson Redfield glares at Reidan. "You do realize I could have you charged with assault if you hit me," he says warningly. He's a lieutenant, after all! He turns the glare to Grax. "The same could be said about you and your Decepticon friends," he returns, his voice now oddly calm. Even though he's still pretty ticked. Reidan just blinked at that, the hand from the Nebulan steadying him. He stared at Jayson though, halfway puzzled. He quietly picked up his skateboard again without a word. Grax shakes his head at Reidan, frowning. "And he threatens you, after knocking you to the ground? Some friend!" Grax harumphs, returning to the lieutenant. "My associates have been around for hundreds of millions of years, Mr. Redfield. I assure you, they will still be here, long after your race is extinct. One day, you may wise up - and make the only logical choice. To do what I have done." Grax looks over Jayson's mechanical arm, smiling. "You are brighter than some. You are already on the path. I only hope, for your sake, that you embrace the decision sooner, rather than later. You may wake one day in the future to the realization that you're on the losing side." "Friends will sometimes slap you in the face to knock some sense back into you." counters Reidan simply to Grax as he shakes off his coat, a little muted himself. Then he raised an eyebrow "What does THAT line meanthough?" Jayson Redfield goes quiet with a quick blink, and glances down at his mechanical arm. He knows just what Grax means, but he doesn't respond directly. "Losing side, huh..." Now what could the young lieutenant be thinking? Grax waves a hand across Reidan's back, clearing off some dust and debris. "Trust me, there are always more 'diplomatic' solutions." Smiling, he turns to Jayson, walking closer to him. "It means, Mr. Wesley, that nothing in life is ever guaranteed. Now..." Grax lifts a hand and leans over, thoroughly inspecting Jayson's bionic arm, stopping at a few points here and there along its length to emit a chirp of curiosity. After a moment, he straightens himself and caresses his jaw line with a machined finger of his own. "A fine specimen, Mr. Redfield. The armature is not state-of-art, but the craftsmanship is well enough." He cocks his head to the side, inquiring slyly, "Would you be interested in any... upgrades?" "Nothing remains the same, everything changes. The pendulum of balance continues to swing between evil and good." intones Reidan simply as he leans on his skateboard a little like a cane. He falls silent though, watching Grax and Jayson interact A snarl tugs at the corners of Jayson's mouth. "What *kind* of upgrades?" he asks simply. Grax lifts his own arm, and a moment later, and just as quickly it is replaced with a razor sharp blade. With a flinch and a blur, the weapon is gone and the cybernetic hand is all that remains. "...useful upgrades," Grax says at last. "The devil is in the details, Grax. One cannot enter into a contract without seeing it first." notes Reidan' Jayson Redfield stares at Grax for a long moment, and it's impossible to tell if he's actually considering the offer. Finally, he says, "If I want weapons in my arm, I'll get them from EDC techs, thank you." Grax continues, despite the thematic narration provided by Reidan. He frowns at Jayson's reply, but he does not overtly press the issue. Instead, he finds another route. "If you say so, Mr. Redfield. Although, you may not be fully aware of the magnitude of such an opportunity... Allow me to say that I am very good friends with some of the best weapons manufacturers in the known universe. They have quite the... portfolio." Jayson Redfield goes quiet again, a scheme forming in his mind. But as usual, one can't tell what he's thinking. "Maybe I *could* use these upgrades," he says at last, his previous anger no longer apparent. "Tell me more." "Well, Mr. Redfield, it depends on how far down the rabbit hole you are willing to go", Grax says, in an almost cryptic tone. Jayson Redfield acknowledges Reidan with a simple glance, not bothering to reply. "I've gone down a lot of rabbit holes," he says, just as cryptically. Grax smiles at this, an inward, I-know-more-than-you kind of smile. "Indeed. We all have, Mr. Redfield. So I say to you then, just how satisfied with thissss," Grax slithers, striking Jayson's arm with a flick of his finger, causing it to clang, "are you?" Reidan sniffs a little bit, then mmms a little, rubbing his chin ponderously "For the moment," Jayson answers, "I'm pretty satisfied, considering this was made by a friend and is in itself an upgrade to what I had previously." "Yes, but what can it /DO/?" Grax pointedly asks. "open cans." quips Reidan. "It provides me with a limb I otherwise wouldn't have." Jayson pauses, a smirk threatening to play across his features. "And opens cans," he dryly confirms. Grax chuckles at exchange, glancing at Reidan briefly with a twinkle in his eye! Returning to Jayson, he smiles wider, throwing his hands up before him like he is framing the world. "Oh, but it could do so much MORE!" Reidan muses this and looks down at his own hand, the weathered, boney fingers stretched apart. Jayson Redfield folds his arms. "Like have a retractable blade that I could use to cut out the hearts of my organic enemies?" he asks darkly. Grax looks Jayson right in the eyes, coming to quickly to level with him. "If need be, yes. Don't behave as though violence is something foreign to you, Mr. Redfield. You and I both know such is not the case. You're carrying a firearm now. I believe your 2nd ammendment grants you the liberty to posses weapons for personal protection, does it not? You know full well the weapon does not make the criminal." Reidan coughs "Actually the second amendment means the individual states are permitted to have a military of their own." he corrects. "Indeed..." Jayson just looks straight at Grax. "And you're right. Violence isn't a stranger." He glances to Reidan. "Actually, Mr. Grax is right on that one," he tells him. Reidan blinks "Really? They must have changed it then." he states, looking surprised as he rubs his chin. Then he looks at his hand once more. Grax pats Reidan on the shoulder, giving him a 'don't worry about it' glance. He notices the man looking over his own outstretched hand, and more capitalistic gears begin to churn in his perverted little mind. Returning to Jayson, he muses. "Then perhaps you would also agree that sometimes the best defense is a good offense, yes?" Jayson Redfield considers this for a second. "Probably. But it depends on the enemy." "Especially in your line of work, I'd imagine," Grax continues. "Now, Mr. Redfield, have you ever considered what the outcome might be if you were to combat a Cybertronian without the aid of your exo-skeletons?" Reidan quips again "Soylent Green Pate." "Been there, done that," Jayson says nonchalantly. "What else ya got?" Reidan blinks and looks at Jayson, then back "Blue rare pate." "Mr. Redfield, now you're just being facetious. Do I need to have my reptilian counterpart enter the conversation? You may be a proud, stout individual, but you are no Decepticon warrior," Grax says. Jayson Redfield nods. "True, but I haven't died yet. I'm just sayin' that I *have* faced Decepticons without my armor." "Mmm. And what is your opinion of the armor your employer has provided you?" Grax inquires. "It's custom," Jayson explains. "It's excellent, especially after all the upgrades I've done on it." Grax mulls this over for a brief moment, turning back to Jayson. "What if I told you, despite whatever enhancements you may have equipped this armor with, you would never need it again?" Reidan sniffs a little skeptically at that "I find that a little hard to believe." Jayson raises an eyebrow slightly. "But go on." Grax holds a hand up to Reidan, giving him a 'hold on there just a second, please' kind of expression before returning to Jayson. "You may find it hard to believe, but it is in fact possible. The Nebulons have fared extremely well against Cybertronian incursions for countless years." "And you're suggesting I can as well?" Jayson shakes his head a bit. "It's a nice thought, but I really don't know..." Grax smiles again, as if to convince Jayson through looks alone. "Well, you don't quite have the biological make up to withstand the binary bonding process, however, there are plenty of other augmentation procedures that are available to you. Perhaps this prosthetic arm of yours came about as a result of an unfortunate accident - but have you not found that it has increased your efficiency and productivity? Why stop at the one improvement? Over time, at a pace, you could become a force to be reckoned with, Mr. Redfield. A powerhouse of biotic engineering superiority. Even the great giants of Cybertron would learn to fear you." Jayson Redfield folds his arms, idly tapping the fingers of his left hand on the metal of his right arm. He seems thoughtful, as if seriously considering this. "And how would you get me these upgrades, Mr. Grax?" Grax smiles. "You needn't concern yourself with the logistics, Mr. Redfield. Does a farmer ask God where he gets the sun and rain for his crops from?" Jayson Redfield raises his eyebrow again. "What would you know about God?" He pauses for a second, then shakes his head. "Aw, never mind. I'll...consider your offer, Mr. Grax." "It was only an expression, Mr. Redfield. It was only an expression." He smiles at Jayson's last remark, and extends a steely hand out to the EDC official. "A pleasure doing business with you, sir." Jayson Redfield hesitates briefly, then extends his hand to take Grax's. "A pleasure," he mumbles. Grax grips Jayson's hand tightly in a way to display to him the power of the machinery at work in his own body. To give the human a last impression of sorts. "Until we meet again, Mr. Redfield. When you have made your decision, you may find me at 40 Wall Street. I look forward to hearing from you."
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