Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-5543592-20190701151243/@comment-25828117-20190712212449

"Hey, barkeep! Another one please!"

Perhaps William had been louder than he had strictly wished to be but it wasn't like he cared much. Whatever the other patrons of this dump thought of him, it didn't even cross his mind. And by the lack of  general reaction around the bar, neither did it cross theirs.

The barkeeper, a fellow named Hayden, looked as impeccably dressed as one could be in the wasteland. He wore a navy blue vest and bow tie with a white shirt underneath that was kept tight around his big arms by sleeve gaiters. The black man was built like a tank. Though it wasn't entirely clear if it was fat or muscle, all that was certain was that there was a lot of him pressed into that neat outfit of his. If he looked well-dressed his face belied a not so gentlemanly past: Scars and scratches darted across his broad, flat face, and a golden earring had somehow managed to get pierced through his thick fleshy cauliflower ear.

William's steely blue eyes regarded the lumbering bartender with barely hidden anticipation. The man wanted to get drunk, and fast. To forget about his last case, to forget his past, to forget he lived in this frozen hellscape of a city. Though if there was one positive to Second City, it was that at least the drinks were served cold.

"Another case solved, huh?" Hayden mused while he poured Will another finger.

The ex-thongzi agent grinned bitterly.

"Solved the usual way, sure."

Will knew Hayden long enough that the man didn't keep tabs open for anyone. You paid upfront for every drink. Thus he shoved the correct amount across the counter into the bartender's waiting hands.

"I heard you helped some broad get out of town." Hayden continued as if the conversation came with the drink you paid for.

William sighed. If Hayden knew about that, chances were 'the big man' knew too. And as resourceful as he was. As skilled a killer he had been trained to be. Living in a city where one man with an army, large enough to take over the Empire Wasteland was your enemy was bad news no matter how you sliced it.

"Not just a broad. Big man's flame." William smiled. He knew that saying this would probably paint a target on his back but he enjoyed making Hayden uncomfortable.

Hayden's small, almost permanently squinty eyes went as wide as they could. Which was to say; they looked normal for once.

"Sounds like you're a dead man walking, Will."

The ex-thongzi gave a surgeon's face of tacid admission. Hayden might've had a point if not for the fact he would skip town in a few hours.

A wry smile returned on the assassin's face.

"I wish I could see Big man's face when he realizes she's gone forever. Out of his reach, no longer his to torment."

Hayden stifled a smile. Even here in his own establishment with no one around but drunkards half-asleep in the booths, he wouldn't dare looking like he enjoyed something at the expense of the big man.

"I hope she was worth it, man..." The barkeep eventually sighed.

Will smirked. If Doris was worth it... That remained to be seen. Should he ever cross paths with her again.