Incline 28: Heiya

Pops opens the door and we step on in, my hands closing it as I linger behind. I sneak out the photo from our bag and look at it again. A smile cannot help but come to my face and split it wide open. Pearly diamonds, a whole pair of rows of them.

A photo of me and Pops and we're not dressed as we normally are. Me more so than him, yet it's all there. A memento to a moment where I am not thinking about our current job or overarching problem. I don't have good thoughts with me right now, however, this photo will continue to make me happy.

I will forget the bad things that happened as of late. I won't forget what Pops did for me on this day and the effort he put into making me happy. He tried and succeeded in getting me out of my misery, even if for only a moment. I will not forget a thing about this moment, nothing at all.

"Ah, good. You're back." Hrurim goes, his arms crossing over as he minds his human head in the hwardgon-sized house. I eye his expression and turn to Pops as he mindlessly hooks something back to his person. I bet he never feels comfortable unless he's weighed down by gear and tools. This photo might as well be of another man all because of it.

"You have news for us?" Pops is right to ask as he slaps around some bracers and all the locks of it. I pass him some more equipment and move further into the house. Putting a hand into the bag, I pull out a couple of hard candies and flick them into my mouth. The fruity flavours roll across my tongue, knocking against my teeth. I withhold the urge to bite down.

"We got word from the contacts. They've agreed to see you." Hrurim explains and one of the candies heads for my throat. I spit it back into my mouth proper, coughing away as a stinging slime clings to my dangler. My paw refuses to go away and I continue to cough. I wave my free hand at the pair, shoving away their needless concerns.

"Hm. This seems odd." Pops mutters and I cock a brow as the pain in my throat pales to something more manageable.

"How come?" I ask at nearly the same time as Hrurim. The human, in a moment of character assassination, offers no smile chuckle or laugh. My mouth straightens out and I try to keep my suckling quiet. Guess this is the big news we've been waiting for to get Hrurim like this.

"That suspicious tower you surveyed back when we came into town. It's as you suspected, it belongs to a crime family. The Vyacvans." Pops explains and I nod, although my head is empty of any details. Despite the fancy tower, I've never heard of any mafia family called the Vyacvans. They're certainly not a local one of no importance if they have a tower like that, though.

"I must put emphasis on something, though. They said nothing about buying Nin here, just that they're willing to talk." Hrurim clarifies and I look at Pops as that serious line he calls his lips refuses to budge. His eyes narrow.

"Enough time for word of my deeds to spread." Pops lets out, his avenging actions possibly being that tick that got us somewhere.

"Might be, they might've been assuming you to be a fraud up until now." Hrurim says and Pops scoffs, his eyes no doubt rolling away. I emulate his reaction, though more subtly. 

"Can't blame them for caution, but who takes this long to get back?" I ask, not putting much thought into my words as I head off into the living room. The other two come after me, an invisible rope practically dragging them.

"Caution with the police is always the norm." Pops says, not a flash of care across his face either.

"Still, manners or something." I moan for the sake of it and he pats my arm as he walks by me. I throw myself back onto the sofa and straighten out my dress. The bag comes up and I let it fall my way, denying Pops the chance for any unusual snacking attempts.

"I've written down an address and they want us there in a few days. Presumably for that initial meet up to make sure we're not pulling their leg." Hrurim explains and I bite down on one of the candies, cracking it wide open to its liquid core. The thick, almost-slime goes across my tongue, leaving it thoroughly soaked with a delicious flavour.

"Great, we don't even get a nice welcome for the fancy new zoo animal. We get some kids off the street handed knives and bats." I snark, looking away to the house and its messed up interior. Shame we're going to miss the return of the actual owners. We've left quite the lovely mess for them to handle. It would be a hoot watching them roar with rage.

"Hand that over, would you?" Pops asks, taking the address from his old friend. He looks it over, taking a notable amount of time doing it. I try to get a peak at the other details, but I cannot decipher the handwriting at this distance. A rare moment of using a pen and bit of card, too.

"I would offer to scout the place, but, well... You know." Hrurim says, shrugging as he puts a calloused hand through his stubble. I shake my head, getting my sarcasm out that way and he throws me a quick gesture. I smirk at his attempt to get me to knock it off and he dares to not even give me the slightest bit of satisfaction. No anything to get a good mood rolling out of this miserable town.

"That's fine, I can check the area beforehand. Give Heiya some tips as to where she might be able to camp out beforehand." Pops explains, one of his fingers tapping on the piece of card as he throws it out onto the tea table.

"Oh, wonderful. I'm getting kicked out and becoming homeless." I say, keeping up with the facetious behaviour despite the lack of need or want for it. I get the point, however, I am the best one suited for keeping an eye on the pair. Can do that best from a vantage point and a loaded rifle in hand.

"Might be worth me also going around to make sure they don't try it." Pops says and I frown, not sure if it's solely concern for me or actual paranoia regarding an opposing sniper-type. I've handled boys and more who think they can handle a rifle better than me. I know what to look for an how to handle it. Besides, are mobsters even going to go so far as to set up a marksman? Street gangs aren't exactly the army.

"If it's just me, that might set them off." Hrurim cautions as me and Pops nod. I've not been fully involved with what these two have been doing, but we're not many. Pops has either told this mob how many we are or he has altered the numbers.

"A reputation like mine has certain assurances." Pops lets out and Hrurim's head shakes, one of his hands smacking the arm of the sofa.

"A reputation no one's believed so far!" he exclaims, his voice brimming with the exhaustion of the incomprehensible amount of work he's had to do. Old, precious nanny figure we got. Don't Pops and I love him so much? We do.

"Guess we'll have to see. We don't have a whole lot of options right now." Pops points out and Hrurim calms down to something more controlled. 

"Yeah, suppose." he lets out, a sigh following it on through.

"Are we prepared to head on out, otherwise?" I ask, not knowing how much of our stuff is not in the truck and in the garage. The pair wave their hands and I shrug, settling further into the sofa.

"Might be worth heading on out sooner rather than later. Shake them off a bit if they're sniffing close." Pops ponders and I let it slip my mind, not all that concerned about it.

"You ever known a mafia to do that? Snoop around and wire tap?" Hrurim asks and Pops wobbles his head, a paw balancing poorly on the air.

"I have my gut feeling. Still, if we keep getting involved with the tower and their lines, cops must be listening in. Private construction can only keep so many eyes and ears out when they couldn't be any more explicit. There's a reason Gamtambo never did things the usual way. Cost him a lot of wounds to his pride, but it made him all the more effective. Not having that gaudy target on his back. Well, his younger self, anyway." Pops waffles on about as I randomly stretch and move an arm about.

"Fair enough. We should be good to go by tomorrow, then. At night if you two don't mind not resting after your day of play." Hrurim explains and I scoff at his choice of words.

"Shut up and have a rock fall on you." I say, getting another candy out and leaving it in its wrapper. I toss it at the half-wit and he catches it without shifting his eyes.

"Thank you." he says, a smirk on his lips as I scoff again, my eyes rolling over those annoying reflexes.

"We'll rest for the day. We have plenty of time tomorrow to lose them should it be a problem." Pops says, getting up to his feet to then look out a window. I look over his way, not having anywhere near the view he does. But, if he does find something, I'm sure he would've noticed even before we came back. He's observant like that, never really able to leave that work mode he's always in. 

Who knows, though, maybe the scary men in black have turned up on the driveway. The stakeout that's not so hidden and unsuspecting as they think it is. People always overestimate their ability to stalk and follow. There's those traits that always give them away once you know what to look for. Gods and goddesses above, anyone not stuck up their backside will notice an odd case of the followings.

"Guess that settles that, then. Did you two eat out or is La Restaurant Hrurim still open?" Hrurim asks, rising to his feet and clapping his hands. I point an arm out, recalling something all of a sudden.

"You know, we saw while we are out that some places are willing to do delivery due to the buildings being a mess in so many places." I say, giving him some details.

"Dial in?" Hrurim asks as he wanders the way of the phone.

"Probably, yeah. I know we already cracked the safe in this house. Might as well spend some of those savings on something fancy." I say, shrugging as a few things go through my mind.

"All this digging around Ivahstar's contacts and other experience did enlighten me a certain way." Hrurim says, catching my attention and Pops', though he's probably more interested in hearing his name spoken. Quiet, loveable narcissist he is. 

"Well, go on. Out with it." I say, tossing another candy his way in lieu of anything harder.

"Apparently the port brings in stuff from those Eusorochii colonies on the south coast." Hrurim shrugs and I click my tongue, pondering if I even have the cravings for something I've never really had. A fat 'no' forms in my thoughts, weighing them down with everything but a want for Eusorochii cuisine.

"Eh, haven't been underground in so long. Would rather have something properly hwardgon." I say, shrugging as I try to think of something. There's so much overlap with the surface that you can find a lot of it here. 

"Mmm, cave fish and algae. Yummy." the sarcastic human lets out and I grumble something I can't even properly hear myself. He's the one who bought battered Water-Vein fish when we arrived into town...