07-12-2018, 12:52 PM
The sound was largely indistinguishable from the background vibrations of the Carrefore nightlife. Trundling diesel engines buzzing in and out of the Coruscant portal to the West (or at least what passed for West), countless voices all whispering surreptitious nothings about everything, and the midnight chorus of frogs squatting in the irrigation ditches all blended together into a persistent echo. Still, after some time, a shrill, reverberating whine did begin to distinguish itself from the rest of the panoply. It bounced off of the low, stucco walls of Carrefore, its echoes stretching out like the horn of a distant train.
Talos was certainly no stranger to the audible irreverence of super-charged motors in the urban night, but it set him on edge nonetheless. The cresting revs of turbined engines indicated that the source was closing at startling speed. When the echoes consolidated into a distinct howl, even the agile vampire was slightly startled as a large, black vehicle of some kind roared up to the rooftop. It was approximately the size of a compact car, but stretched thin. It had all the appearance of a bulbous, black bullet, winking with high-tech sensor arrays and the flickering blue light of repulsion exhaust. Flashy, certainly enough, to be the chosen conveyance of a drug lord.
The sky bike hovered there for a moment, before drifting slightly over the cusp of the roof. A small wave of engine wash ruffled the labels of Quinn's jacket as the seamless cockpit slid forward and up with a sexy hiss. The figure that emerged and hopped down to the gravel-strewn terrace was less imposing than Talos had been expecting. Drake kept his hood up, but the vampire's sharp eyes could discern the scarred, gaunt skin...the tired eyes, and of course, the utter lack of a right arm. This 'Pariah' was neither tall nor short, flashy nor demure. Someone who could be easily lost in a crowd, and in memory.
Drake's left hand twitched, and the Ibis slid off into the urban landscape once more, blending intuitively with the light stream of traffic by use of its own onboard guidance. The unlit cigarette pinched between Drakes lips was now soggy, and summarily discarded down the shaft of an air conditioning vent. The previous un-silence of the night resumed.
"Evenin'." Drake intoned, casually scanning the rooftop. There was no indication of a posse nor monitoring. His HUD wasn't detecting any presence of tracking signals, aside from the one planted in the burner phone. To that extent, it wasn't detecting any heat sources from the Mysterious Stranger either. Red flags, yes, but Drake was an old hand at long odds.
"Cold night." Drake continued, scratching his nose idly. Without waiting for invitation, the smuggler strode up to the tastefully arranged corpse called Scootz and knelt down slightly. The stupid fuck. Walking around at night with the supply bag was not what Drake had meant when he had told the chemist 'be fucking careful with this shit.' Oh well. The skinny man reached his hand into his dimensional man-bag and withdrew a small, dull grey canister. Drake toggled the arming primer and shoved it crudely into Scootz' chest cavity. Talos watched with interest.
"Yes, I suppose it is. Were you two...close?" Quinn asked, circling around the procedure to get a better look. A thin skin of silvery liquid began to spread out from the device and coat the entirety of the dead man's body. Some strange, post-mortem medicine? Jaclyn had said that anything was possible in the Omniverse, after all. Drake stood up and watched as the nano-mesh crawled over the chemist's face.
"Business partners. I suppose you picked up on that." the smuggler murmured. He held his hand back, motioning for Talos to give the body a wide berth. Another twitch of the fingers, and Scootz burst into a conflagration of heat and sparks. A few seconds later, and the only thing remaining of the body was a few hunks of bone-shaped charcoal. Talos let out a barely perceptible sigh. Of course. A small click from his left notified him that there was now a small, green handgun being trained on him. It flickered with green light, and issued a dog-whistle whine of power.
"You didn't tell me this meeting was going to be monitored." Drake said through grit teeth. Quinn was honestly taken aback.
"Monitored? From where? Who is watching?" he stuttered, glancing around in spite of himself. The gun twitched upwards for a moment, indicating Talos' pocket. The upper half of the lizard was peeking out of his hiding spot, tasting the suddenly warm air with interest. A mild breeze caressed the scene, bathing it in thick silence. Monitored. Lizard.
Drake was grinning like the devil. He then proceeded to laugh uproariously and tuck the keening derringer back into his bag. His singular hand extended in a shake.
"What's up fam, my name's Drake. Who're you?" he asked. It was with such sudden joviality that Talos could swear it was a split personality. As with everything else, this was a tactical move on Drake's part. Was this guy an edgelord? Vigilante? Good samaritan? Kick the nest and see what falls out.
Talos was certainly no stranger to the audible irreverence of super-charged motors in the urban night, but it set him on edge nonetheless. The cresting revs of turbined engines indicated that the source was closing at startling speed. When the echoes consolidated into a distinct howl, even the agile vampire was slightly startled as a large, black vehicle of some kind roared up to the rooftop. It was approximately the size of a compact car, but stretched thin. It had all the appearance of a bulbous, black bullet, winking with high-tech sensor arrays and the flickering blue light of repulsion exhaust. Flashy, certainly enough, to be the chosen conveyance of a drug lord.
The sky bike hovered there for a moment, before drifting slightly over the cusp of the roof. A small wave of engine wash ruffled the labels of Quinn's jacket as the seamless cockpit slid forward and up with a sexy hiss. The figure that emerged and hopped down to the gravel-strewn terrace was less imposing than Talos had been expecting. Drake kept his hood up, but the vampire's sharp eyes could discern the scarred, gaunt skin...the tired eyes, and of course, the utter lack of a right arm. This 'Pariah' was neither tall nor short, flashy nor demure. Someone who could be easily lost in a crowd, and in memory.
Drake's left hand twitched, and the Ibis slid off into the urban landscape once more, blending intuitively with the light stream of traffic by use of its own onboard guidance. The unlit cigarette pinched between Drakes lips was now soggy, and summarily discarded down the shaft of an air conditioning vent. The previous un-silence of the night resumed.
"Evenin'." Drake intoned, casually scanning the rooftop. There was no indication of a posse nor monitoring. His HUD wasn't detecting any presence of tracking signals, aside from the one planted in the burner phone. To that extent, it wasn't detecting any heat sources from the Mysterious Stranger either. Red flags, yes, but Drake was an old hand at long odds.
"Cold night." Drake continued, scratching his nose idly. Without waiting for invitation, the smuggler strode up to the tastefully arranged corpse called Scootz and knelt down slightly. The stupid fuck. Walking around at night with the supply bag was not what Drake had meant when he had told the chemist 'be fucking careful with this shit.' Oh well. The skinny man reached his hand into his dimensional man-bag and withdrew a small, dull grey canister. Drake toggled the arming primer and shoved it crudely into Scootz' chest cavity. Talos watched with interest.
"Yes, I suppose it is. Were you two...close?" Quinn asked, circling around the procedure to get a better look. A thin skin of silvery liquid began to spread out from the device and coat the entirety of the dead man's body. Some strange, post-mortem medicine? Jaclyn had said that anything was possible in the Omniverse, after all. Drake stood up and watched as the nano-mesh crawled over the chemist's face.
"Business partners. I suppose you picked up on that." the smuggler murmured. He held his hand back, motioning for Talos to give the body a wide berth. Another twitch of the fingers, and Scootz burst into a conflagration of heat and sparks. A few seconds later, and the only thing remaining of the body was a few hunks of bone-shaped charcoal. Talos let out a barely perceptible sigh. Of course. A small click from his left notified him that there was now a small, green handgun being trained on him. It flickered with green light, and issued a dog-whistle whine of power.
"You didn't tell me this meeting was going to be monitored." Drake said through grit teeth. Quinn was honestly taken aback.
"Monitored? From where? Who is watching?" he stuttered, glancing around in spite of himself. The gun twitched upwards for a moment, indicating Talos' pocket. The upper half of the lizard was peeking out of his hiding spot, tasting the suddenly warm air with interest. A mild breeze caressed the scene, bathing it in thick silence. Monitored. Lizard.
Drake was grinning like the devil. He then proceeded to laugh uproariously and tuck the keening derringer back into his bag. His singular hand extended in a shake.
"What's up fam, my name's Drake. Who're you?" he asked. It was with such sudden joviality that Talos could swear it was a split personality. As with everything else, this was a tactical move on Drake's part. Was this guy an edgelord? Vigilante? Good samaritan? Kick the nest and see what falls out.
![[Image: screen_shot_2018_02_16_at_4_33_57_pm_by_...c3dkog.png]](https://orig00.deviantart.net/883e/f/2018/047/1/d/screen_shot_2018_02_16_at_4_33_57_pm_by_tearen_and_zearen-dc3dkog.png)