You head towards the Java Quarter.
Java Quarter
In the very heart of the Java Quarter stands a massive granite fountain. Change glints in the basin, and a whimsically carved dragon basks amongst the pouring flows of water. A small faded plaque indicates it's a memorial of some kind. Around the fountain square lurk squat little buildings, each painted in a riot of colors and bedecked with curling wrought iron trim. Many years ago these were fine houses for people from outlying steadings coming to visit the capitol. Now they have been re-made into artist's studios, odd little stores, java shops, and bars.
The streets in this quarter are all of cobblestone, and earthenware pots are scattered at every corner. In these pots are planted quirky little topiary bushes. The streetlights are made to mimic old gas lantern-lights, and the street signs are of battered driftwood. A great deal of care has been taken to keep the flavor and charm of this district without sacrificing modern amenities. Small darkened 'alleys' lead off the narrow streets and between the cramped buildings. Dingy and with a flavor of great age to them, they're probably not the best place for tourists to go.
Contents:
Aliana
Nephire
Roland
Obvious exits:
Zimmies Bar and Grill Pavilion
You arrive from the Dark Alley.
Aliana slips in...seemingly wandering amidst the stores.
There's a quiet movement through the shadows, as a tall man in dark clothes wends his way through the crowds.
Nephire gasps, and pulls on Roland's pant leg. "Roland! Is that the rat?"
Aliana turns as she hears Roland's name, eyebrow arching slightly.
Familiar faces draws Roland's attention and he glances over at Tara, then Ali, and frowns. He appears to about to do something then blinks down at Nephire, then glances around quickly.
Tara catches Rol's glance, arching an eyebrow at the frown, and ambles casually in his direction.
Nephire looks up at Roland sternly. "I'll help you hunt that rat!"
Roland bends over and picks up a round object, then frowns down at Nephire. "Stay here, will yah?" He scans the shadows again quickly and hops down from the fountain.
The tall man continues his trek, oblivious to various comments about rodentia. He pauses to speak to a younger woman, his tone gruff.
Roland strolls purposefully towards the tall man. "Excuse me, sir!" he calls out in, to the people who know him, is an obviously fake accent. Ever seen a used car salesman?
Nephire slouches.
Aliana wanders slowly towards the others. She pauses as Roland moves aff and she glances at Tara.
The tall man pointedly ignores Roland, simply assuming that nobody would be coming to speak to him. Well, at first. As Roland strolls closer however he half jumps, paranoid. His reply is half a snarl, "What do you want?"
Roland bears a toothy grin as he comes to a stop in front of the man. "Good evening, sir. How might you be toonight?" He shifts the round object from under his arm to his hands.
Tara's eyes narrow as she watches Roland, and she changes direction slightly, slowly approaching the man (the tall one, not Rol) from the opposite direction.
Nephire sits down on the edge of the fountain and watches the impending event.
Aliana ambles towards to trio...changing direction to approach from the gentlemans' left.
For those familiar with him, the tall man is, big surprise here, Guido. He's a lot scruffier than he has been, and looks little like his pictures, but the presence is unmistakable. Roland just gets a cold stare, and Guido slides his hands into the pockets of his oversized jacket. "Doing business. Scat." He turns back to the woman, only to find her gone.
In the sky, Some clouds begin to drift in overhead and the warm wind seems to die down a bit.
Roland nods his head eccentrically. "Yus sir, business with me. Now I represent the Tycho Tiger Industries, and I would like to propose an offer to you, sir." He glances up at the sky, noting the clouds with a soft murnful tsk. "Ominous clouds, sir. You should not let this offer pass by."
Nephire sits idly on the fountain-edge and watches what is going on... almost amused but looking distracted.
Tara's mouth quirks slightly as she overhears Roland. Slowly but steadily she slips toward Guido.
Aliana seems the picture of nonchalence as she slips around people, her course taking her closer and closer to the two men. She drops back sligthtly so that she appreaches from his left still, but hopefully back beyond his periphery.
Nephire hops down from his perch, and paces infront of the fountain. He shifts his stare over in Roland's direction every few paces, but is soon unsatisfied, and yells over to Roland "Are you done yet?"
Guido's having none of this, he's annoyed. Roland's spoiled his business. Snarling a wordless warning, he takes a couple of steps back, heading towards an alley at an oblique angle that does not require him to turn his back to Roland. His hand is still in his pocket, and presumably on his weapon. Either that or... Edit that... Not going there... Too much caffiene...
Nephire giggles slightly and hides in some crates in a nearby alley.
Roland ignores the tiny-tot yelling at him and pursues Guido. At Natural Wonders, there's something called Three Dimensional Selling. Discuss, Discover, Demo. We've dicussed, we've discovered Guido's a jerk, and here comes the demo part. "Hey, Sarducci," Roland calls out, "turn around will yah?" He raises the arm holding the round object, which actually is a dart board.
Nephire peers out of a crate in the alley, only to point and laugh at Roland, who tried to act all tough, but failed... to Nephire, it seemed that Roland failed miserably.
Tara's eyes widen, just a bit. She freezes momentarily, and sidles a bit to the side... well out of the line of fire should Rol let that thing go off.
Hearing his name, Guido realizes he's in deep trouble. He turns away from Roland, who he had been facing, and goes pelting down an alleyway.
Aliana sees the object...but still makes her way a bit closer....then as Guido takes off so does she.
Nephire darts back into the false security of his crate, noticing Tara's reaction to the round-object, and hoping it will offer some protection.
Roland sighs as starts to run after. "Why do they always run," he mutters underneath his breath and he pursues full sprint.
Tara mutters a curse, taking off full-speed after the men. "Ali! Circle round!"
Like a football player in an airline ad, Guido pelts through groups of people, leaping over small obstructions and ducking under others. He weaves his way in and out with a speed that belies his size. He's ex-Security after all, and hence a tricky target.
Nephire pops out of the crate realizing it's no safe haven, and uses his crook to vault up onto the roofs over-looking the alley that Guido had ran into.
Roland heads in a straight line towards where Guido appears to be running towards. He nonchalantly thumbs a button on the dart board.
Aliana shoots off quickly to circle around, trying to cut him off...she is small and quick.
Nephire's expression on his face suddenly turns empty, fearing the awesome power of the dart-board.
Tara's route more or less follows Roland's as she sticks to staying behind him. He'll make a good protection if Guido decides to fire, see.
Nephire then bounds from building to building once again using his wooden crook, keeping up with Guido.
Guido continues scrambling through the alley, diving over and behind a large crate in a commando roll.
Roland frowns as he ducks behind a crate a short distance away. He calls out over the box, "All I wanted to do was to sell you a dart-board! You hurt my feelings by running!"
Nephire sees Guido racing through the alleys like a black cat being chased by a pack of ravenous dogs. Nephire decides to make his move... he leaps from the roof in an attempt to land on Guido's shoulders...
There's a scramble of sound from further down the alley as Guido dashes out from beneath the the row of crates...back the way he came.
Tara gives Roland a frown when she catches up with him. "I don't know what you're up to, but just /do/ it, would you."
Nephire misses his target by a foot at most, plummetting face first in the ground... and with a loud scream, creates a new crater and a cloud of dust.
Aliana skitters to a stop as she sees him go in the opposite direction from where she was heading. She races thataway after a yell tp the others.
Nephire painfully mutters "Ouch," from the newly formed crater, as the dust cloud continues to fill the small alley.
Roland peers around the crate to see Guido start running again, and winks at Tara. "Have a little faith, ahe?" He turns around the crate again and starts chasing after him again, vaulting over the crates Guido was previously hiding behind.
Tara rolls her eyes, waiting a split second before following Roland once again.
Nephire slowly emerges from the crater he made only moments before... "Why doesn't anyone even ask if I'm ok? The little guy tries to stop the bad guy, nearly succeeds, but is almost killed, and nobody cares... hmph!" He then dusts off his cloak and persues after Tara and Roland.
Left, right, over a patch of broken pavement, and Guido is nearly to the end of the alley. Once past the alley, it will be a cinch to blend into the crowd and escape.
Roland shifts his position of the dart-board to that like a discus, and giving it a good flick of the wrist, sends it it wobbling ahead of him, right towards Guido.
Aliana is just a bit ahead of Roland...but off to the side...with luck the discuss won't hit her.
Nephire remembers what Clara had taught him about music. Oh yeah... artistry...," He then stops and picks up an old metal cylinder and a uses his crook to produce a horribly deafining sound, accompanied by even worse vocals...
Tara turns her head slightly, eyeing Nephire for a moment as she fingers her laspistol.
Nephire continues to clamber on with his 'artistry,' in hopes of stunning Guido in shear agony of the wretched notes.
The dart-baord whirrs past Ali, heading towards its target.
Nephire glances over at Tara, "Sonic waves can be a deadly weapon."
Nephire attempts to scream over the loud racket.
The dart board whizzes past two confused looking guys wearing vests instead of shirts, a blond woman with a stick, and a tech named Tchoxer. It also wizzes -past- Guido, skittering onto the ground in front of him. THis should mean he's safe, right? Wrong. One foot comes down just in front of the dartboard, and suddenly there's a crackle of ozone and Guido falls as if tangled.
Tara blinks, slowing slightly with a frown. "DeMario..."
Roland jogs to a stop next to Guido. He looks down at the dart baord, kicks it a way, then gives Guido a small shove. TIIIIMMMBEEEER!
Aliana once again skitters to a stop...then pads forward to Guido.
Guido hasn't far to go as he's pushed, as he was already falling after all. He lies there, looking peeved.
Kaycen and Kathlyn, two conveniently NPC Security officers, take this particular moment to arrive from the Pavilion. They're off-duty, likely on their way to the Fruvous, but all thought of being off duty flees their collective mind as they see the ruckus. (Could you describe the ruckus, sir?)
Roland grins down at Guido. "Good quality, ahe?" Well, the ruckus, good kind sirs, is that there's a small group of people looking down at a tangled person. Hey, look, it's a certain Guido Sarducci.
Tara smiles grimly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "Good work, DeMario." She kneels beside Guido. "You and I are gonna have a little fun, Sarducci."
Aliana shakes her head,'No..Tara...He goes to the brig.'
Tara nods amiably. "Right after I get through with him."
"Don't kill him, Valentine." That'd be Kaycen, moving over to the grouping with Kathlyn a step behind him. "Too many other people want the privilege."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Aliana says simply,'No'
Tara frowns in Ali's direction. "I didn't ask for your opinion." The Security types get a glance. "I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to teach him a lesson about playing with other people's toys without permission."
Guido does not look thrilled. That's about all he can do however.
Aliana frowns as she turns to the security officers, "Are you going to take him to the brig?'
Roland chuckles at the small group as he walks over to go pick up his dart board, frowning at the dented edge where it hit the ground. "Ahh poopy. Dented."
Kathlyn replies to Aliana, "Yes." Despite her fondness for making inappropriate comments, she's all business, now. She turns to Tara, inquiring thoughtfully, "What did you have in mind? As long as all his body parts--including fingers--are still attached when you're done..." Kaycen is clearly disapproving of this, but doesn't comment. Yet.
Hey, if you thought Kaycen was dissasproving, Guido's even less cheerful about the prospect.
Aliana takes a deep breath, then says quietly,'I thought the Alliance upheld the concept that a person was innocent until proven guilty?'
Tara chuckles, rising to speak softly to Kathlyn. "...worry... my engines... battered... the hell outa... one piece..."
Kaycen says quietly, "We've got a roomful of witnesses that saw him shoot Junior and the Chief. I don't think there's any doubt." He's still standing between Kathlyn and Guido, though.
Roland cuddles his dart-board underneath his arm as he walks back over at Sarducci. "Hello. Hey, do you by chance happen to have Italian blood? Just look more pissed and I'll take that as a yes." He crouches down to look down at his face.
Aliana nods her head, 'I saw someone that /looked/ like him,' A pause as she tries to remember what Rhys told her, then she looks at the two officers, 'I was just told by someone I trust that everyone is entitled to a fair trial...with adequate representation....Maybe he was wrong?'
With a name like 'Guido Sarducci' there's doubt? Guido looks pissed.
Kathlyn looks almost disappointed, and nods to Tara, then moves to exchange a few words with Kaycen, apparently ignoring Aliana. The older SecOff seems to disagree with what Kathlyn's saying, though, and shakes his head. "The Chief wouldn't approve, Kath. You know that. Let's just get him to the brig--and post someone outside to keep folks out." Straightening, Kaycen inquires, "How much longer will he be out, anybody know?"
Roland nods his head. "Good, good." He grins up at Kathlyn, "About another half an hour. I added a bit of, hmm, extra umph? to the device." He gives the dart-board a pat.
Tara kneels down again, ignoring the Security officers. "Roland, can you carry him?"
Roland scratches his chin. "In a bag or over my shoulder?"
Aliana peers up at Roland, 'To the Brig, right?'
Kathlyn shakes her head at that, moving towards Guido. "We've got it from here, Valentine," she says, her tone polite but firm.
Tara shrugs. "Doesn't matt..." She glares at Kathlyn, hand hovering near her weapon. "Lieutenant Pendleton didn't seem to have a problem with it. Lay off."
Aliana watches Tara carefully, muscles tensing. She remains silent tho.
Roland clears his throat. "Actually, I think I currently have juristiction here, seeing as this is my bounty, and you guys are out of the Complex, which is your area of juristiction, right of Riley's mouth. I'll turn him into Pendleton only."
Kaycen moves to rest a hand on Kathlyn's shoulder, but he says lightly, "We can handle it, Ms. Valentine. Please. It was our comrades that he injured. Allow us the responsibility." He shifts his gaze to Roland and doesn't speak for a moment, but the appeal is still there. "We will see that you're compensated for your work."
Roland flicks a finger in Tara's direction. "She's my employer at the moment."
Tara mutters an oath. "Oh, I'm sure you can handle it. As can I. You'll have him within 24 hours. Now. Back. Off. DeMario, get Sarducci to my ship."
Aliana turns her gaze to Roland, gaze intent...expression unreadable.
It's only Kaycen's hand on her shoulder that keeps Kathlyn from doing something regrettable. "Like hell we'll back off," she flares. "He may not be AF any more, but he was when the crime was committed. Our responsibility. And while we're standing here bickering, he's getting closer to waking up." As much as Kathlyn would like the opportunity to tackle Guido, she also doesn't want to give him the chance to flee again.
Roland taps Guido on the head, repeatedly. He glances quickly at his collar, then up at Kathlyn. "20 more minutes," he notes. *tap tap tap*
Tara shrugs, getting to her feet. "I don't particularly care about your responsibilities. And the sooner you stop quibbling, the sooner I'll return him to your loving care."
Aliana asks softly,'And what if Guido had been set up...someone staged the shooting to make it look that he did it?'
Kaycen shakes his head. "I'm afraid we can't just let you take him, ma'am," he says politely.
Roland nods at Ali. "Then he'll be aquited at the trial." He looks down at the dartboard, and turns it around to the back, flips open a hatch and removes a large steel-grey box, pocketing it into his jacket.
Tara arches an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, are you planning on stopping me?" She seems amused.
Aliana considers Roland's words, then nods her agreement, 'Which is why he cannot be subjected to the Captain's loving care until then'
Kathlyn's clearly got a few ideas, but Kaycen's hand is still on her shoulder. "With help, of course," the man says pleasantly. He doesn't snap his fingers, that would be too suave for this rather stodgy man, but he does look towards various exits, filled by on- and off-duty SecOffs. There aren't all that many of them, but, then, there aren't enough SecOffs for the Complex as it is.
With a flick of her wrist, a small dagger appears in Ali's hand. Tara is watched carefully now.
Roland glances down both ways, then glances up at the two K's. "Let me remind you again you are out of your juristiction. He is my bounty, and neither Tara neither you will get him at this rate."
Tara's expression turns stormy as she follows Kaycen's glance. "I don't like losing," she notes softly, one hand gesturing broadly. The other surreptitiously darts inside her jacket for her laspistol, which swiftly moves toward Guido. It's only set on high stun, but considering he's already been hit once...
Kaycen nods equably to Roland. "They'll only interfere if they must. But you said that Ms. Valentine is your employer, and she seems--" Kathlyn's been watching Tara throughout all this, and pulls out her tangler. "Drop the weapon, Valentine," she snaps, as Kaycen turns and draws his tangler as well. Of course, Kathlyn can't see the setting. For all she knows, it's a killing bolt. (Maybe all the Security types pull their weapons as well, and it just turns into a ludicrous display of weaponry.)
Aliana lunges forward with an attempt to knock Tara off balance. Dagger has disappeared into its sheath.
Roland glances at Tara. "Tara but the damned gun away, will you! You're making things worse, if that's even bloody remotely possible." He reaches behind himself.
Tara easily dodges Ali, "You need practice, girl," she snarls. Unfortunately that was also the moment in which she fires, but her movement away from the Bonded sends her aim awry, into the ground near Guido's head.
Kathlyn doesn't hesitate, and fires on Tara. Her aim is good, but Tara could likely dodge if she's fast enough. Her weapon is set on the lowest tangle setting.
Aliana hits the ground, shoulder-first and rolls to her feet. Dirt is brushed off her shoulder, "I got what I wanted...you missed'
The bolt hits Roland in the leg, and with a grunt, he falls over. Very, undramatic and definantly ungraceful.
That would be Tara's shot hitting Roland, btw.
Tara was, to her misfortune, paying more attention to Ali at that particular moment. Zzzzzzap. Down she goes. Oh my, she does /not/ look happy.
Kathlyn, unlike Kaycen, is suave. She blows imaginary smoke from the end of her tangler, and returns it to its holster. "Get him out of here, please, guys," she says to some of the SecOffs, who move to do just that. Kaycen keeps his weapon handy, just in case, and remains at Kathlyn's elbow. "She doesn't look happy," he murmurs, nodding towards Tara.
Aliana glances at the two, with a tilted head, 'I don't think I want to be tangled...It really doesn't look like a lot of fun'
Tara would volunteer the information that, no, indeed, it's not a whole lot of fun. But she's a little incapable of doing so at the moment. She also wouldn't give a rat's... uh, butt... for Kathlyn's chances once she's able to move again. There's a score to be settled now.
Another of the SecOffs moves to check on Roland. "High stun, looks like," she reports. "That's because it's not fun," Kathlyn tells Aliana. "It had to be done, though."
Roland stares off into the air. He didn't really needed to be stunned. Dumb, missed shot. Amazingly, he isn't as pissed looking as the others.
Tara would tell Roland, were she able, that it was all his fault for getting in the way, not to mention for not following her orders in the first place. So, nyaaah.
Aliana nods her head slightly to Kathlyn, 'I still don't understand why she felt so compelled to take him back to her ship.' Her expression is rather curious as she considers Tara.
Kaycen peers at his chrono, then moves to get Tara into a more upright position, prudently removing her weapon as he does so. "You can have it back when you're in control of yourself," he says calmly, keeping a hand on her shoulder. Kathlyn shrugs at Aliana. "I'm not sure, either. I don't mind saying that I wouldn't mind beating Guido into next week, but he belongs in the brig."
Aliana rubs her chin thoughtfully as she muses softly, 'She didn't want Riley dead until she was satisifed.'
Tara does manage a glare at Kaycen as she starts to shake, more for touching her than for taking her laspistol. "... keep... keep it, you... bastard..."
Kaycen doesn't remove his hand. "No, ma'am," he says seriously. "My parents were married." Kathlyn, on the other hand, stares at Aliana. "She wants the Chief dead?" Yeah, her weapon's back in her hand.
Roland manages to frown as he murmers, "Shut, up... Tara."
Aliana blinks at Kathryn, then hmmms, 'But not until after she was satisifed....I didn't really understand this'
Y'know, Tara would really like to refute that charge, as it's not quite accurate. As it is, all she can do is stare in Ali's general direction in astonishment. "Huh?... No... wrong..."
Kathlyn's gaze on Aliana is intent. "Did she say this to you?" Tara's speaking? Tara who? Kaycen informs Tara lightly, "You really shouldn't try to speak yet for a few minutes, ma'am."
Aliana pauses for a few moments, 'Let me think...It was the night of the shooting...I think Anya was there as well, I could be wrong though...THings happened rather quickly.'
Tara /has/ to try to speak- she's horrified at this turn of events. The next few words she manages to mumble, though few, tell Kaycen what he can do with his advice.
Now that's just stunning news to Kathlyn. "-Anya-? No. No, way. That can't be right." She finally catches some of Tara's muttering, and turns towards the other woman, blue eyes assessing.
Aliana shakes her head,'No...She said that she would rather not have him dead yet...Not that she wanted him dead.'
Tara actually looks relieved at Ali's words, and sinks back against whatever Kaycen propped her against. She returns Kathlyn's look with a glare.
Kaycen propped Tara against something convenient, of course.
Kathlyn turns back to Aliana. "That's a very fine point you've got there. Yet. Kind of an important word."
Aliana rubs her temples as she starts to pace, "I misunderstood her meaning...so I asked at what point she wished him dead...and her response was not until I am satisfied." A pause as she considers Kathlyn, 'I just remembers the part about her wishing him dead.'
Tara squeaks, struggling to rise again. "No... context..."
Aliana has a selective memory..shoot her.
Kathlyn shakes her head, asking, "And this was Ms. Valentine who was speaking--about Chief Addison? And Lieutenant Pendletone was--" She turns towards Tara, her tone blandly polite. "Take it easy. We're not going to do anything until you get a chance to talk. The effects of the tangler should be wearing off soon." Kaycen nods at that, one hand still on Tara's shoulder.
Aliana nods her head, 'I do remember seeing her there.'
Tara grits her teeth, though that could just be the effects of the tangler wearing off. She's not /quite/ stupid enough to resist that hand on her shoulder, at least not after giving Kaycen a pondering look.
Roland sighs and tries to whistle, since he doesn't have complete control, some of the notes are off.
Kaycen is absolutely polite, and quite firm in his determination to keep more evil things from happening that day. He smiles pleasantly at Tara, but isn't going to release her until he decides that she's not going to cause injury to anybody.
Kathlyn nods slowly to Aliana. "Well, we'll see what Ms. Valentine has to say soon enough."
Aliana nods her head slowly, not seemingly worried about this, 'Roland was there as well.'
Tara bets she can... why yes, yes she can spit in Kathlyn's direction. "Damn nosy ... none yer business..."
Kathlyn was close enough for the joyous gift from Tara to land on her cheek. She lifts a hand to wipe it away, and it's clear that only a sudden look and a murmured warning from Kaycen keeps her where she's standing. "It's not my business when you make what appears to be a threat to Chief Addison's life?"
Tara seems quite pleased- hey, at least /something/ hit the right target tonight. "'dicu.." She clears her throat. "Ridiculous."
Kathlyn's eyebrows may not be as abundant as Niko's, but they're just as good at lifting skeptically. "Oh?"
Aliana settles beside Roland, mostly to check his condition.
Tara shakes her head a wee bit, the words coming slowly but firmly. "Don't want him dead. Can't... can't pester if he's dead."
Roland raises his eyebrows at Ali. "Hello," he says a bit strained.
Kathlyn nods agreeably enough to that. Goodness knows dead people are a lot less easy to pester. "So is there some sort of misunderstanding going on here?" Kaycen nods his approval. Kathlyn learn well, grasshopper.
Aliana asks quietly, 'Then what did you mean by telling me "not until I am satisfied?"...Perhaps I heard wrong?' Roland is given a quick smile.
Tara glares. "Yeah. Y'all interfered with a legal bounty..." Smoldering eyes flick toward Ali. "After I'm done playin' with him, I don't give a damn if he lives or dies."
Roland blinks. "When, did, I... say?"
Aliana ahs, 'Thank you...I was rather confused.' She glances back to Kathlyn, 'See...I was wrong.'
And suddenly, everything comes clear. "You were speaking of Sarducci, then, Valentine? That -does- make much more sense. And it's a sentiment that I can agree with, unfortunately."
Tara shakes her head. "Naw, was talking about Maddison." Her brain's still tangled- she forgets to drop her nickname for the chief.
Aliana pats Roland's arm comfortingly,'If you wait a bit you can speak.' Ali blinks a few times at Tara in confusion, 'You were...' A pause and Ali decides she is lost..Roland is much easier to understand.
Kathlyn's had a long day, and should actually be having a drink at the Fruvous right now, so it's no surprise that she's annoyed. "Just explain yourself, okay? Or you'll be in the brig as well--in a separate section from Sarducci."
Tara snarls, testing Kaycen's hold on her shoulder. "You can't- even Addison'd see you've got no right to hold me. He's amusing, Addison is. I want him alive. After I tire of his entertainment, I don't care what happens to him. Sarducci I'd kill myself if y'all didn't want him so bad."
Aliana glances up from Roland, darting a glance at the security officers before looking to Tara, 'What exactly do you mean by entertainment?'
Kaycen's hold is pretty strong, and he gives Tara a small shake. "Speak respectfully of him," he cautions quietly. "You may not have any honor any more, but there are those of us who do, and we'll not see him belittled."
Kathlyn smiles blandly at Tara, not answering.
Tara peers at Ali. "He's got buttons. Fun to push. You're fired." Slowly her brow knits in a frown as she looks up at Kaycen. "And what do you know of my honor?" she asks softly. "Sounds like I'm not the only one that's been belittling folks."
Aliana just beams at Tara, I stopped reporting to you the moment Roland brought down Guido...The orders stated specifically that I reported to you until we captured Guido'
Roland remains silent as he blinks occasioanly.
"You're comparing yourself to the Chief?" Kaycen's tone is very quiet. "Trust me, Ms. Valentine, there's no comparison." You're no Jack Kennedy, Tara. Sorry.
Aliana looks down at Roland,'How are you feeling?'
Tara snorts disdainfully, though she looks a bit rattled. "Didn't think he'd do that," she muses. "No, there ain't no comparison."
Roland furrows his brows at Ali. "I can't move neck down. How do you imagine I feel?" He twitches a finger.
Aliana hmms, "rested?'
Kathlyn, who has been watching silently throughout all this, shakes her head. "Let her go, Kayce," she suggests, suddenly looking tired. "Let's get out of here. Paperwork. You can snipe at her later." Kaycen, after regarding Tara for a long moment, relases her, silently offering her weapon. She's not in the Complex, after all. He can't keep it.
Roland twitches his thumb again. "Not quite.
Tara slowly, carefully, gets to her feet, shaking her head. "Keep it," she growls. "I don't want anything befouled by your touch."
Aliana ohs,'Want anything to drink while we wait?' Tara is watched rather carefully as she rises.
Kaycen actually smiles at that. He doesn't have a sense of humor, though, so he can't be amused. "Kind of like Midas in reverse, huh, Kayce," Kathlyn suggests. She tugs lightly at his arm, turning to leave. "Thanks for your help, folks."
Aliana nods her head slightly in acknowledgement,'Welcome'
Tara goes over slowly to kneel beside Roland, examining him. She ignores the Security folks.
"Nice miss," Roland notes to Tara.
Aliana glances at Tara over Roland.
Tara shrugs lightly in response to Roland. "Blame the Bonded brat over there. I wouldn't have missed if she hadn't interfered."
The nice Security folks who have been doing all the talking take their leave, though likely one or two off-duty types are hanging around still, just in case.
"A Shot you should not have made," Ali quickly retorts.
"I believe who ever pulled the trigger is responsible. But it's only a stun, and I can finally move an arm." He raises an arm up for her to see.
Roland than drops the arm again since he was the subjec
Tara nods to Roland, moving back cautiously. "Here." She tosses a voucher onto his chest. "Half what we agreed upon, since you didn't fulfill all of your end of the deal. Aliana, you're an idealistic wench who's going to get hurt behind those rose colored glasses."
Roland raises his head to peer at the voucher, then raises his arm again a single finger at Tara before letting all of his limbs fall abck to the ground.
Aliana tilts her head slightly as she considers Tara, 'I act as I must, because of what I am...I can do nothing else'
Tara gazes calmly at Ali. "Then change what you are." She leans forward to tap at Roland's chest. "You're lucky you're getting any at all."
Roland frowns at Tara. "You're lucky I'm decent enough not to hold a grudge. It was your own incompetance that caused this. Had I been left to my self, I would have gotten him myself, thank you very much. Then you'd have your precious 24 with him." He sighs again and moves his other arm.
Aliana snorts softly as she rocks back on her heels, Roland is given a thoughtful look as she rises. "Good Luck, Bounty Hunter" Tara is considered thoughtfully, 'How sad indeed.'
Tara blushes furiously. She rockets to her feet, fists clenched at her sides, and it's only with extreme self-control that she refrains from kicking Roland. "How /dare/ you say that to me? My incompetence? It was Security's interference that screwed me over."
Aliana asks softly,"What were you going to do to him?"
Roland looks up at Ali. "No, wait, stick around for a bit, I'll need your help in a moment." He looks next at Tara. "Two people chasing each other would have not been noticable. Secondly, your little stunt with the guns didn't help much either. They would have been out of my rights to take him away. But since you pulled a gun, suddenly we both became a threat. Thus, they could take him away as they very well pleased." He rests his head against the ground again.
Aliana nods slightly to Roland, then watches Tara carefully.
Tara glances toward Ali, telling her through gritted teeth, "Scare him. That's it. Might've beaten him up a bit. Just wanted to play with his head." Her glare returns to Roland. "Don't you get it? They'd've taken him anyhow. They didn't care about your bloody bounty."
Aliana says quietly, "Anya would have kept her part of the bargain."
Roland sighs as he looks up at the dark sky. "But who's fault would it been then? Surely not mine, nor yours as it rests partly now."
Tara shakes her head impatiently. "Pendleton wasn't here though, was she?" she points out. "It was out of her hands tonight. It's /still/ Security's fault, DeMario. They were in the wrong." And she'll have her little revenge on them too, oh yeah.
Roland shakes his head slightly. "Not after you pulled the gun." He winces, then numbly reaches around to pull the fasteners he had tucked at the small of his back out. He tosses them weakly at Tara. "Here, take these. You can go arrest those Secs yourself."
Aliana snorts softly,'Once we had taken Guido to the Brig...Our job was complete...and then Anya would have paid...Then you find your own playmates.'
Tara lets the fasteners fall to the ground, smirking. "You forget something, DeMario. They'd already said they were taking him when I pulled my pistol. That's /why/ I pulled the pistol in the first place." She stares at Ali. "You don't get it, do you, little dragongirl."
Aliana manages to look rather patient,'Tell you what...Perhaps you should explain it to me...In small words so that I can understand'
Roland frowns up at Ali, "Let 'er go. She needs to get back to her ship." He casts a glance at Tara before looking back at the ship.
Aliana peers down at Roland, 'Am I keeping her...so sorry'
Tara shrugs. "I'm not particularly busy. And Ms. Naivvete here could use a lesson or two. She's just lucky I don't make it a physical one." Her gaze flicks to Ali, speaking slowly, as if to a backwards child.. "DeMario and I had a deal with Lieutenant Pendleton. Those Security officers... heaven help 'em if I ever get my hands on 'em... interfered with that."
Aliana looks faintly amused by the thought of Tara teaching her a physical lesson. Her smile slips at the next phrase and she simply nods, "Really now?"
Roland sighs as he watches the dark clouds float by in the night sky. He wiggles his right foot.
Tara nods. "Yes, really. I do believe you're intentionally not seeing that fact." She glances down at Roland. "You want me to keep an eye on you til you can get out of here?"
Aliana nods her head once, her words coming easily to her, "Guido will have a proper trial and face his punishment...not provide you an eveings amusement'
Roland shakes his head. "No, I'm fine thank you. Please send my regards to the hobos down the street."
Tara's eyebrows arch in surprise. "Amusement? That's hardly what I had in mind. I was going to teach him a lesson, and that's rarely fun on either end." She nods to Roland.
Aliana doesn't even respond to that, her gaze dropping to Roland.
Roland raises his brow as both women stare at him. "What?"
Aliana smiles with a slightly mischievous glint to her eyes "And you mind?'
Roland blinks at Ali. "Mind what?"
Aliana just chuckles and shakes her head, 'Nevermind'
Roland frowns and goes back to cloud watching.
Tara snickers, eyeing a Security officer who's strayed a few inches out of his shadow. "Ah, you'll be safe enough, DeMario. You two kids have fun." She starts to walk away, then pauses to look back at Ali. "If Sirgar gives you any trouble about all this, tell him to talk to me. I'll put in a good word with ya with the big blowhard."
You head towards the Massive Open Air Pavilion.
JAVA> Roland listens to her foot steps fade away and only acknowledges it with a single blink.
JAVA> Aliana watches her leave with a rather thoughtful expression before she looks down at Roland, "need some help getting home?'
JAVA> Roland uhms. "Medical actually. Before my whole entire nervous system decides to freeze up completly."
JAVA> Aliana nods her head,'You ready now...or would you like to rest a bit longer?'
JAVA> Roland frowns as he strains and pulls himself into a sitting position. "A couple minutes will do. Stupid genes. Sometimes they're a real pain in the rear, y'know?" He scoots himself over and props up his back on a handy dandy crate.
JAVA> Aliana peers,'What do your genes have to do with being tangled?'
JAVA> Roland wells as he strikes a very exagerated conversation tone, "There's a small hereditary fault in my family that makes getting tangled-slash-stunned an occasionally fatal outcome. Has to do with the nervous system being too over-loaded from the tanglement-slash-stunning and not fully recovering from the shock, blah blah, more medical babble that just means I try to be careful not to get tangled-slash-stunned very often." He nods his head and pulls his legs towards him, then using the crate as a brace, pushes himself to his feet. "Oi," he states.
JAVA> Aliana pretends to understand that really she does. She slips over to offer a shoulder,'Should we go the back way or in the box?'
JAVA> Roland uhs, "The box will suffice," he mutters as he uses her shoulder for support. "I don't think stairs are a very good idea at the moment."
JAVA> Aliana wrinkles her nose as she heads thataway
JAVA> Aliana heads towards the Massive Open Air Pavilion.
JAVA> Roland heads towards the Massive Open Air Pavilion.
Q-HTML V2.1 (evaluation copy) by Craig Cockburn created this page on 10-Feb-1999 at 01:45:37
