Topic: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. (Read 156 times)
sugarfoot Trainee Survivor [M:130] member is offline
Joined: May 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 26 Karma: 0
Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Thread Started on May 13, 2008, 4:29pm »
26th July 2006
I arrived. Why? I couldn't tell you, or anyone else for that matter. Guess it was just an opportunity to good to miss I suppose. Oh I dunno! I worked for so long to get a reputation in the city, but it's just my luck that as soon as my big break finally comes, and The Boss hears about our little operation, that the whole bloody country gets bombed! One moment I'm sitting pretty, about to receive the biggest payment of, like, the CENTURY, and the next bombs are falling everywhere. I tell you, it's a good job Maxie was barking for his dinner, or I'd be jam by now. Splat! No more Nia. Did see The Boss go splat though. He had the cash with him and everything! Not saying he didn't deserve it though. He was a bit of a monomaniac and a bit melodramatic and a bit melo-whatever else you can think of. He could have gotten me so many new 'clients'. I'd have been set for life! Instead I ended up chasing round the bank notes when the dust cleared like they do on all those old movies, just to scrape a bit of cash together to get over here. My life seems to be getting more confusing by the day! Anyway, so here I am now. And I tell you, it's just the bombed out shell of a city really. S'pose they all are really. Hoping to get some work though. Not many people survived. I'm just counting on a few of them will be living on the other side, if you get my drift. Someone always wants something doing, and I'm not fussy. Can't afford to be anymore. Don't know how soon I'll be able to get out of this hell hole, but until then, keep cool.
You know who I am.
The girl swept her long brown hair behind her ears and looked up from the letter she had been writing. Would it get through? She had no idea. Even if she could find someone willing to take it, it would be a difficult journey and it was unlikely that anyone would do it for free. She sighed. Why was everything so difficult now? On the dirt floor next to her, a massive Irish wolfhound whimpered. Nia smiled. "You're right, there's no point dwelling on the past." Absentmindedly, she reached down and scratched behind his ears and he growled with pleasure. "Well we'd better get some in business then. Or I won't be able to buy you your favorite doggy food." She smiled and stood up from the rickety chair which she had been sitting on. The 'room' in which she was sitting was like the rest of Gyn; gritty and nothing more that a mound of rubble. In fact, she wasn't really in a room at all. It was nothing more than a hollow where two walls had collapsed and settled against each other, creating a sheltered, yet cold and damp, space. Nia stretched, her fingers almost touching the 'ceiling'. She picked up a card board sign and went 'outside'. there she hung it up on a loose nail and headed back inside to the shade of her 'room'. The card board sign read:
Espionage Grand Theft Safe Hacking We'll do anything.
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 91 Karma: 1
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #1 on May 14, 2008, 4:51pm »
Patience stopped in front of the large crudely written sign, sitting against the wall of a makeshift shelter. Her small, rather mean looking eyes twitched skittishly from entrance to sign, entrance to sign, and her long sharp fingers tore at the threads hanging from her large brown (though the colour was hard to distinguish by now) overcoat, which the lady had found laying in a mound of rubble somewhere. Her small feet, clad in rather large men's trainers, steped forward, not hesitantly, but slowly and almost casually, though there was a rather jittery note to her stride. Her clear-cut face stared forward, scrutinizing the girl that stood in the shelter. After a few seconds of careful consideration, the lady's mouth opened, and Patience spoke in a rather rasping voice. "You can find me something. And I will help you." Though it was more of an order, there was a hint of pleading in the femmes speech and she stared at the girl somewhat distractedly. "You are a small girl, scrawny. You can get anywhere, get anything?" Surely, thought Patience, there must be some E around. Mit had a stash of it hidden somewhere, she just need some-one to find it. Now Mit was dead, the drugs would be free for all. The lady's lengthy hands fidgeted at the toggles on her coat, as she waited for Nia's reply.
sugarfoot Trainee Survivor [M:130] member is offline
Joined: May 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 26 Karma: 0
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #2 on May 16, 2008, 4:48pm »
7th August 2006
Finally! It's been over a week now, but I finally got my first customer. Word doesn't spead fast here any more. When I was working London, and even Cardiff, I got my first client within the week! But, you know how it is now. People are scared to go out. They don't know what they might find. Not us though. Me and Maxie, we'll be just fine, don't you worry. Hope this woman is willing to spend more on us than she is on her appearance. You should have seen her! All ragged and messed up, standing there in our door way. I tell you, she looked like the Wicked Witch of the West! After Dorothy's house landed on her, that its. I'm interested in finding out what she wants though. Can't be much worth stealing from houses - the looters have seen to that. I'm betting that it's something underground, literally. Something that could have survived the bombs and stuff. Where ever it is, or whatever it is, I know that it must be some place difficult to get to, or she would have found it herself, not that she looks in a fit state to get through top security or any thing. She even called me scrawny! Can you believe that? I couldn't ether. But you know what they say, beggars can't be choosers, and i suppose that we're all beggars now.
Me again.
Nia eyed the lady in her 'doorway' scrutinizingly. She didn't look like she would , or could, pay well, but she was beginning to run out of food, and Maxie would only put up with so much doggy biscuit. Next to her, the great Irish wolfhound stood up and sniffed at the hem of the baggy over coat suspiciously. he growled. "Dawelu i lawr , bachgen. Dawelu i lawr."Calm down, boy. Calm down. Nia raised her eyebrows at the woman. "Yep." She said, switching back to English so that she would be understood. Nia folded her arms and stared, unwavering at Patience. "We do anything." A moments consideration. "Except murder. We don't do murder. You gotta get your own hit man to do that. We won't touch it." Could this be her chance? Was this going to be the first job of many that could see her out of this hell hole? There was only one way to find out. And that was her way. "What do you need?"
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #3 on May 16, 2008, 8:30pm »
Damien Savage .you don't know b r o k e n.
Damien milled around slowly in his cellar. He had only been out once since the bombs. His main reasoning for staying put in his cellar was to guard it. Yes, guard it. It had food, his clothes, and a leaky pipe provided water. Right now, he was kicking some things out of the way, and fishing through some things, trying to find a lock of some kind. Maybe he could put a padlock on the door of the cellar so no one could get in. "Okay, Damien. Get a hold of yourself, you ass!" The words poured into his brain. He then picked up a sturdy crow bar. "Fight 'em off." It was the best idea he'd had so far.
He let out a sigh as he situated the crow bar in his hand. He walked over to his pile of clothes and pulled on his black leather jacket. Right now, he was in faded, ripped blue jeans, a white tee shirt, and his black combat boots, now with leather jacket. Damien also found his sunglasses, and put them on, this made everything look very dark in the cellar. He had saved only few things. Two pairs of jeans, three shirts, his leather jacket, a few blankets, a pillow, his boots ... and his sunglasses. Damien's good eye looked around the cellar, landing on some food, and the rest was beer and wine. He shook his head, walked to the leaky pipe and cupped his hands under the dripping water flow. He splashed some water on his face, grimacing at the burns on his face, then took a sip out of his hands.
Now, to see the ruin again... Damien climbed the metal stairs and pushed on the trapdoor above his head. He had heard voices up there earlier, females. The trapdoor swung open and slammed on some rubble, which was all that was left of his house. He hated the damn thing anyway. His good eye allowed him to take in the scenery around him. He then climbed out of his cellar, still clutching the crow bar in his right hand. He kicked the trapdoor shut and then turned his head to see what his bad eye couldn't. He nearly jumped at seeing two figures, well, three. One dog, and two humans. One looked like a little girl, the other looked like a woman. He rolled his good eye, the only one that seemed to move anymore. He had better get used to this half blind, half deaf thing, and quick.
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 91 Karma: 1
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #4 on May 18, 2008, 5:53pm »
As the positive words flew from Nia's mouth, Patience relaxed slightly. Oaky, that was fine. Murder wouldn't be involved, anyway that was something that Patience could do herself. She let a small smile show, though it was more of a leer, the lady having not had much practice in these polite informalities. Now she knew that there was a way to get the drugs she needed so despretely, the lady felt in control, as she always prefered to be. "I need you to get me my drugs. Them and their keeper were buried under a mound of..." Here voice broke off as a slamming sound of metal hitting something resounded through the air. Patience jumped and her fists tightened against her sides. A man appeared, a crowbar in his hand, his body covered in black and leather.
Patience raised her eyebrows at the burns covering a side of his face, and she felt herself staring, at this different human. Of course many people had suffered burns and such injuries in the explosions, and Patience was just relieved that she wasn't one of them. Oh she had broken a few toes, which were still rather tender, but at least that hadn't happened to her. Shutting her mouth, she turned back to Nia, and continued; "My drugs were buried under a house, but you can still get to them. There is still an opening in the wall, and the building is propped up, it's perfectly safe for someone like you. They are in a white plastic bag." The lady narrowed her eyes and glared at Nia, still unsure of the girl. She didn't trust her, and though she rarely trusted anyone, she wanted to keep a special eye on this kid. Especially with that beast of a dog. Urgh, all animals were disgusting. And people with dogs like that generally only had them to cover their own backs, because they were too weak or scared to jump into a fight by themselves.
sugarfoot Trainee Survivor [M:130] member is offline
Joined: May 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 26 Karma: 0
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #5 on May 19, 2008, 5:24pm »
Still the 7th August 2006
I couldn't help feel annoyed. Another crack addict. Great. Why couldn't I just get a nice clean job for once? Like theft. I'm was good at theft, but you knew that already. Once upon a time, a long time ago.... blah blah blah. I could sit here and go into astounding detail about how I once broke into a Swiss bank and got away with a priceless painting, but I just can't be bothered. But still. The thing 'bout dealing with drugs, is that they're easy to trace. What with all the fingerprint stuff and random gizmos that the cops how now. Or did, but back to the point. You can't trust the druggies not to leave stuff hanging around when they're all high and what not. They don't care. Cops can't arrest them for taking drugs, only for having them on their person. But my finger prints... Well. That ain't good. I spent four years dropping out the system, and I ain't gonna be dragged back in by some druggie. not unless it's worth it, of course. We're still short on cash, and I dunno. This is a big break. Not as big as the Swiss Job, or that one in the US for that matter, or even that nasty one in China. Ugh. Never doing that again. I haven't been near so much as a worm since. Yuck!
Still me.
The girl, though she appeared layed back and relaxed, was wound tighter than a spring. The coil, not the season. "Let me guess." She couldn't help butting in, after all, what was coming next was going to be just so obvious. She felt she had to say it. "It's buried under a big mound of rubble, bricks and the remainder of this city? Am I right? You bet I am." Could this lady be more specific please? There were thousands of mound of rubble in this dump, most of them inaccessible and all of them dangerous. This had so better be worth it. "Beth dybiwn, Maxie?"What do we think, Maxie? In the split second that Nia glanced down to her dog, a mighty crash ruptured the air. Maxie located the origin of the sound first, his shaggy head swiveling round, a snarl on his face. The girl followed his gaze, only to find herself staring at the raw face of one of the many injured people that had been mauled in the blast. She knew she shouldn't. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help staring, her jaw gaping. Hastily, Nia closed her mouth. The man was disfigured, but worse than most. Who would be able to live with something so hideous crawling on the side of their face? Nia wouldn't. She could barely get enough work as it was, without people judging her or even being repulsed by her; most people didn't think she was trustworthy enough to carry out some of the bigger jobs. Well, she soon showed them. Swallowing down her disgust (most of it was directed at herself for being so appalled by the poor, poor man), she tried to speak. "I...I'll" Nia coughed, cleared her throat and tried again, her voice confident this time. "I'll be with you in a moment, sir. I don't like to see my clients together. Privacy and all that." She turned away and faced Patience again, but Maxie continued to bark at the man, though with each passing moment his ears pricked more and her strained against the rough rope which Nia held. "Two questions. One: How much? the price I charge depends on how difficult the job is. I ain't risking my life for peanuts. And Two: Be more specific please. There are hundreds of destroyed houses and white plastic bags. I'm gonna need more info." There was no way in hell that Nia was going to search every one of these houses. She could get another client. and there was this man too. He might have a simpler job for her. One that was less messy.
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #6 on May 19, 2008, 11:12pm »
Did they think he was blind in both eyes? Damien turned, just so his good eye could watch them. He took off his sunglasses, so, if he turned, it would show off his blind eye as well. His good eye just watched them stare at him, mouths agape. His lips tightened into a scowl as he looked down, acting like he was picking through the rubble to find something. He felt the muscles in his body tighten, his stomach tensing. He hated being stared at. He bit his tongue to keep from snapping at them, and just kept digging in the rubble with his foot, overturning chunks of plaster to reveal what was underneath. The crowbar still clutched in his hand. He didn't know why he was digging through this rubble. No reason really, except to keep an eye on those two not too far from him.
The dogs barking and snarling echoed in his good ear. It seemed that his good eye could see better, and his good ear could hear better now that there was a loss. His body was trying to make up for it, compensate. Damien couldn't help over hearing, also, that the woman, was after lost drugs. "Stupid, god damn junkies." He thought grudgingly in his mind. He hated people that got drunk and high for a living... It pissed him off because that's what his dad used to do, instead of taking care of his family. He wondered briefly why this woman would come to a little teenage girl and that stupid barking wolf hound for help? His good eye strained slightly and saw the sign, and read it. "Oh, how charming..." He thought sarcastically... "A miniature thief."
God it was hot... Sweat had started to bead on Damien's forehead, back, and neck. It had been cool in his cellar, but now once he was in the sun (which was now hurting his burns), the heat was enough to choke you. He shed his jacket and tossed it back down into his cellar. Then, words filled his good ears hearing. He turned his head toward the two females to see if that 'sir' she addressed was in fact, him. He squinted his eyes, his blind eye casting an eerie, glazed over blue glow in contrast to his tan skin and darker, hazel/grey good eye. "I don't want anything from you... Except maybe for you to shut that damn dog up." Damien said, the last bit maybe a bit too harsh, gripping the crowbar tighter and pointing it at the huge wolf hound. It was almost a threatening thing, what he did with the crowbar, but he wouldn't just march over there and start bashing the dogs skull in. The only reason he'd do that is if the dog charged him, then he would most definitely take a swing at it.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2008, 11:17pm by && D r a Q »
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 91 Karma: 1
Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #7 on May 22, 2008, 3:22pm »
Patience gritted her teeth at the nerve of this girl. She should respect her elders, the lady thought to herself. Though Patience didn't practice this idea herself, she felt it necessary for all younger persons to treat her with respect that the femme felt she deserved. "No, they are in a bloody house. Which I unfortunately can't get into. When you said you'd do anything, I thought it meant you weren't afraid to do anything. I see this is otherwise. Anyway it wouldn't be a problem for a child like you." Patience frowned, her mouth in an ugly line across her face. She watched Nia's eyes move in the direction of the man behind. Yes, the girl was bothered by it as Patience had been. But really, yes it was horrible but it didn't effect them. They had to get on with their lives as did he.
"Anything you want, I'm gonna pay you." Truth was Patience didn't have anything to pay. Apart from her and her clothes there was nothing else. Slave labour was the payment this lady was hoping to give. But when I say hoping, I mean preferring. Though it was doubtful that this child had anything for her to do, maybe she would need some other kind of help. "And for your 'number two', I don't think any street names are going to work around here. So you agree to help me, and I will show you the way."
Now that tiresome dog started barking again. What was the point in keeping one? Why waste food on something that could become food, to all the hungry people, like Patience here? To tell the Truth she was rather afraid of big brutes like that, and was happy for it to focus it's attention on something else, instead of beadily eying her up.
sugarfoot Trainee Survivor [M:130] member is offline
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Re: Setting Up Shop, or so to speak. « Reply #8 on Jun 12, 2008, 5:22pm »
{Bah! I can tell this is going to be rubbish. I can't even add the letter bit at the top I'm so out of touch!}
At a barley noticeable movement from his master's fingers, Maxie shut up. He swiveled his head round and wagged his tail as Nia absentmindedly scratched his ears. She was thinking. This woman didn't look like she had two pennies to rub together, let alone enough to even pay the thief's base rate. That was how Nia conducted business. She had her base rate - the cost of hiring her for a job- the on top of that were the costs to do the job (equipment etcetera) then there were the costs for personal risk, insurance and bonuses for a clean job.
The actual job didn't seem that difficult. Find and retrieve. The finding was easy, especially if this lady would show her the way, and so was the retrieval, it was getting out without being busted that was the problem. Nia took on the pretext of considering her options, when really he mind was made up. She needed the money, fast and this was the fastest way to get it. All of her clients expected her to ask about the risk, but she never did. After all, she had her own more profitable ways to do this. "I ain't scared, I just drive a hard bargain." Well, if she was going to die, she at least wanted to die with lots of money to fund her plans. "Anything? Well then, you should know that my base rate is one hundred quid. Twenty five now, for the recognizance. If I accept it's then seventy five on the day, then it's whatever I deem an appropriate cost for the job, and thats just for starters."
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