originally posted in:The New Dojo
[u][b]Good Business | Billhook Cleaners, Dojoville[/b][/u]
[spoiler]Open.[/spoiler]
Billhook Cleaners. The new family-owned cleaning business that had just opened up in the Dojo. It was a genius idea in theory - in a place full of battles and bloodshed, there was no place to give proper maintenance to equipment. They offered custom jobs: steam-cleaning powered armour, service drones that handled enchanted swords, and AI that could strip, clean, then reassemble the most complex guns that looked like they were pulled out of the pages of some sci-fi magazine. A conventional business, and the only one of its kind. After all, it seemed much more useful to the Dojo than a Starbucks - well, ever since Starbucks had stopped being a weapons shop.
The owner was one Mason Cartier, an aging white man who seemed well-built for his middle age. Salt and pepper hair was neatly combed, in-line with his casual button-down and khakis.
Mason limped through the many cleaning units that lined his building's walls. He used a gunmetal grey cane to aid in movement, his left leg entrapped in an exoskeletal brace. A strange thing in the Dojo, a place where mechanical augmentation and magic could easily fix any sort of ailments.
He reflected on the conversation that came just before while drifting between cleaning units, losing himself in his own recollection.
~~~
"Who would've thought that you'd end up here of all places?" the Arabic man asked his friend at the counter.
He chuckled in response. "My days in the field are over. I'm better off in my quiet little business here."
"You and I both know that's not true."
"Of course it's not. This is my job as well as yours."
"No, I don't mean that."
The storeowner was silent for a moment.
"How can you stand it, Moss? Knowing that there's maniacs like that still out there? People like [i]him[/i] from here?"
"I can't, Art."
"Mason. It's Mason now."
"They really [i]do[/i] have a sense of irony, don't they? Moss, Mason, Lingchi."
"Don't remind me of him. He gives me the creeps."
"You get used to being constantly psychoanalyzed."
"Speak for yourself."
The two shared one last laugh before the Arabic man stood up from his bench and gave his old friend a hug over the counter.
"Stay safe."
"In a place like this? That's impossible."
"As safe as you can, anyways."
Fixing his turban, the well-dressed Mr. Moss put his dark blue suit jacket back on and adjusted his signature hunter green tie.
"I guess I'll be seeing you, [i]Mason.[/i]"
"You too, Moss. You too."
~~~
He looked at his digital watch, accessing his calendar and checking if there were any special visitors scheduled to come. As soon as he began scrolling through the various dates, he shrugged and closed the app. If anyone noteworthy came in, he would deal with them accordingly.
English
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[i]The armored behemoth and the woman with him were both familiar with such safehouses. SAD used to use them in Amoridia, and then the Valravyn. It was clever, admittedly. The best hiding one could do was in plain sight, blatant for all to see. It appeared that even in the Dojo, the little cleaning shop was uneventful, unnoticed, and generally ignored. That was precisely how they would want it. It was easier to operate like that. The woman who entered was one that some around the Dojo had come to know by a different name. That was always a good rule of thumb for killers and espionage agents. Never throw around your real name. Callsigns, false names, false documents. All in the best interest of yourself. Nonetheless, the woman entered the building cooly, looking quite comfortable, despite appearing to have no armor and no weapons on herself. She wore a fur-lined leather jacket and tight jeans with a pair of combat boots, the cold not something she quite enjoyed. Her hair was up in a bun, and tucked into a beanie. Behind her, the armored behemoth entered, his halberd across his back, his fur cloak covering it. His armor shined silver and orange, freshly polished. The grinning and almost horrific Snaggletooth mask he wore presented a truly terrifying visage. He appeared as some sort of demonic night of the future, having traded his steel for ceramic and titanium. If anyone who knew Farcon or Maelstrom was there, they would recognize Inferno. He was hard to miss.[/i]
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The place was barren, save for a few milling service drones that carried loads of laundry and carted pieces of armour and weapons. Mason made his way over to Inferno and Widow, his stride a meticulous process of using his cane and dragging his brace-shackled leg along in a limp. "I've heard about two Maelstroms milling about here," the aging man yawned, "one on the run from that madman in armour, the other her bodyguard. So nice to finally meet you both." He extended his hand to Widow. "Mason Cartier, at your service." Mason didn't seem to hold a candle to the agents in front of him. While he did seem well-built and fit for his age, the crippled man was frail compared to the gorgeous Widow and the imposing Inferno.
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[i]Appearances too often were deceiving, something two highly-trained killers knew well. It was better to tread carefully on ice that could be thin. The remark about being a bodyguard irritated the armored titan quite a bit, though with his helm, it was impossible to tell. Widow smiled sweetly and took Mason’s hand, returning a greeting of her own, just to be certain they had come to the right place.[/i] “When kings fall...”
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Mason hesitated for a moment. There was a long, drawn-out silence - one that could've easily been the calm before any ensuing battle. "Ravens rise," he finally sighed, shaking his head and chuckling softly. "It's "when kings die". Ought to learn that before you say the wrong thing and get stuck because someone thinks you're a fake. I would apologize on behalf of our uptight employer, but it wouldn't mean all too much considering that man probably has a few screws loose with all that fanatic-talk." He shrugged. "Though sometimes he's the Dalai Lama compared to the crazies here."
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Edited by Trashcan Jesus: 1/3/2018 6:00:42 AM“The Vulture tends to head the pack of mongrels... they follow closely behind he who leads them to easy pickings, and yet occasionally he leads others his way, true predators.” [i]Inferno remarked coldly. It was pretty clear that he had a solid disdain for Lucien Farcon. Widow visibly shuddered, hand going immediately to her side.[/i] “Nonetheless I have come with information garnered by my companion. Her... reconnaissance... has brought me information on the whereabouts of another one of Maelstrom’s notable figures as well as information regarding the whereabouts of a notable mercenary. I believe I was issued orders to locate such individuals from Farcon.” [i]Inferno cut straight to his point. He wanted this done and he wanted another ally.[/i]
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While he noticed the larger assassin's distaste for Farcon, his attention lingered on Widow, who was clearly bothered by the mention of their employer. "Well there's no need to worry about an old man like me. I'm just a humble ex-agent doing contact work now." He tapped his cane against the ground twice. "Right, to business. Mr. Inferno, you mentioned that you have information regarding two persons of interest? A Maelstrom operative I can understand, but what of the other?"
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“High profile contract killer. He’s one of the few still in possession of Venom tech. He was involved with the American Central Intelligence Agency and their pursuit of Jackson Wolfe under an operator known as Atlas. His contact name is Sidewinder. Both he and our operator are being held in a high-security military prison in the northern Wildlands.” [i]He explained, rattling off the information his informants had gotten him.[/i] “Getting them out is going to be difficult but not impossible. We have agents on the inside but the terrain is completely against us. The prison rests in a mountain crevice, built into the walls. It’s fortified well and the region is known for whiteouts. We may or may not be able to get exfil into the region if the weather isn’t cooperating.” [i]Widow said, speaking up.[/i]
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He tapped his cane idly, taking in the information the duo relayed to him. "From what I know about our assets, don't worry about extraction. If there isn't a whiteout, then I have no doubt our employer will be more than willing to create a whiteout of his own." With a few taps on his watch's face, a holographic screen appeared in between him and the Maelstrom assassins, showing them what was on his personal interface. "The chairmen," he began with a colloquialism for the council of the Black Court, "have a very big interest in Venom tech. While I have my own Christmas list, command has prioritized something very special if they ever get in contact with former VINC Assets. Any record of their dealings with InGen..." He gave the duo a wry smile. "I'm betting you can guess why, since genetic editing seems to be their whole shtick. Hell, I heard one of our contacts here bagged two samples from the Courier's own home. Deathclaw and Cazador, it said on the record." Mason said the title of Alex Wilson with disdain, almost sounding like Inferno in terms of audible hatred.
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“As for their dealings with other companies, I have minimal information. I know that they purchased genetically engineered extinct species, but as for much else, I have no information.” [i]Inferno remarked.[/i] [i]Widow was silent, listening in cautiously. She had to admit that the whole concept of this genetic manipulation generally disturbed her. This was how monsters like Giger came to be.[/i]
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"All good. Just keeping you two up to date and giving you both the reason why this new development is gonna get all eyes from command." Mason gestured to the cleaning facility around him. "So I'm gonna assume you two didn't actually need anything cleaned. Well, other than bodies probably, but I have no doubt both of you are trained in that."
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“No, we’re good.” [i]Widow said quietly. Inferno silently watched the man, making no comment.[/i]
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He noticed Widow's apprehensiveness. "I'll say it again, Ms. Widow. No need to worry about me being Farcon or one of his chairmen. They said you were here to escape the Courier's reach... but I wouldn't fault you one bit if the distance from the Court was more reassuring." Mason didn't like Farcon any more than he had to. While he was a chairman as the main Dojo contact for the Valravyn, he had no love for the God-Eater. He had his job and he did it well. Nothing more and nothing less.
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[i]She understood that he meant well, and she gave an honest smile. She remained silent, however. Rachael knew she was blushing and wanted out of there as soon as possible. If only he knew why the Courier wanted her dead, or what Lucien had done to her... such was karma, and she probably had more coming.[/i] “Distance from the mongrels leaves me operating room.” [i]Inferno said, breaking the awkward silence.[/i] “And I intend to do as I have intended. We will be retrieving Shrike and Sidewinder. The payout, I assure you, will be worth the potential risk.”
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His eyes fell sideways to Inferno. "You left the mongrels for some even mangier dogs," his tone now surprisingly dark, "don't forget where you are. Living with the insane had made me cherish any inkling of sanity back on Amoridia. Even Farcon's kind." There it was again. That same disdain that was directed to the Courier in his earlier statement. An enemy of the Courier wouldn't be that surprising, considering his notorious reputation.
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[i]Inferno said nothing, silent as he watched the man. Widow looked rather uncomfortable, and ready to leave. After a moment, however, Inferno spoke coldly.[/i] “Tell Farcon I need a team. We move on the prison when I have enough men.”
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Mason nodded, his previous tone immediately dropping. "Consider it done. Anything else?" He wasn't blind to notice the duo's time having expired at Billhook.
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“No. But expect resistance when I return with my assets.” [i]Inferno remarked, before leaving, Widow following in tow.[/i] [spoiler]End until we pick up for the assault[/spoiler]
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Thunk. Thunk. The heavy sounds of the large man's boots hitting the floor echoed inside the shop as he took his first steps in after opening the door. Over his shoulder was a sack of clothes (presumably), and a wallet in his other hand. He was three inches over the six foot mark, with the muscle mass to match. An axe of sorts hung at his waist, double bladed and thick, but a weapon wasn't uncommon around these areas. His clothes were that of a sleeveless white tee and khaki shorts. His hair was thick and red, and was nearly combed on top, as if only a few minutes of effort had been put in. The same could be said about the medium length beard. Putting the clothes on the ground, he spoke in a smooth and deep voice. A tired listener might have fallen asleep! "Got a hefty load, tavern ain't as busy now that the tourney crowd is out. But I still gotta load to clean. Thank gosh you guys showed up, the river never got the smell out!"
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"The river?" the old man asked with a slight wince, "I don't expect any river around here to be clean with all the fighting going on. I don't care what kind of magic here is in the water, community water is community water." With his free hand, the storeowner waved and summoned several small levitating drones from the ceiling. They took the sack of clothes from Dale's hands and brought them over to a postmodern-looking washer, sorting and loading them one by one. He extended the same hand to the taller man. "Mason Cartier, owner of this here instalment. And you are?"
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"Dale Morrison, co-owner of the Good Knight's Night Tavern. We're a little less modern than most places, gives some familiarity to some of the crowd here." The burly man took his washer's own, his grip obviously tight, but not over bearing. Letting go, Dale looked for conversation, mostly because there was nothing else to do at the time... And his partner was in a bad mood. "Business booming? I assume you guys just got here, or I haven't looked hard enough!"
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Mason retracted his hand, nodding and smiling at Dale's question. "New business. You'd think that someone would've thought of this, but nope. Business is as good as can be I guess, assuming it'll take some time to realize that we're here. I'm somewhat disturbed by the thought of people not cleaning their equipment at all with all that physical activity." The older man mockingly shuddered. "Imagine the stench..."
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"Surely you smelled it on your way here to set up? But yeah, it was pretty bad when we arrived. Though, be careful." Dale patted the axe at his air with a chuckle, his eyes searching the back for the clothes he had dropped off. "I came here seeking riches, and while I got them, I also got danger. Murders every three days, occasionally a massacre. For a world with plenty of fighters, it feels like no one is there to stop the villains before they go too far. I worry for my family's safety."
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Inwardly, Mason groaned. His inner recruitment checklist had been marked off with every word that came out of Dale's mouth - something all of their operatives were trained to do. While men like Yaksha enjoyed twisting mens' loyalties to their cause, Mason found it harder to recruit someone like Dale. Someone who seemed like a decent person. "You got family here?" he asked, "you're right, that is a bit dangerous. You look like a strong guy, but even you can't be everywhere at once." He turned away from Dale, surveying the building around him. "Even this place could go up in flames at any second. Customer gets angry. Fight gets out of hand. The wrong God-warrior flicks a pebble. That kind of stuff."
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[spoiler]I legit it didn't see this, probably got buried under some other stuff lmao. [/spoiler] "Well, I've got more than a few trick up my sleeve. My wife- she's a master of runes, powerful magic that takes hours or days to make. Helps us keep the place intact." Dale followed the owner's eyes around the store and listened intently. He had a fair share of people with short fuses, so what the man was saying was truth. "Yeah, I try and be friendly enough- my pride isn't worth my life, if it saves me or others."
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"Rune magic? Interesting enough. I'm no wizard but I don't hear that kind of stuff often, compared to the conventional stuff everyone has around here. Slinging fireballs, ignoring bullets. That type of stuff." He made sure to use the word "wizard" instead of falling back to the habit of "thaumaturgist". After all, it had taken him months to wring out the SAD terminology from his head. The last thing he wanted was to talk suspiciously to alert anyone. "You said you were an inn owner, right? Big guy like you, I would've thought you'd be in some kind of security job."