[Mercy Merchant]

Aldo looks coldly at you for a moment then smiles.  He finishes off his drink and pours himself another.  "Ahhh.  A favor for a favor.  I can get behind that, but I am not a blind or an overly trusting man.  We might be able to come to an agreement, but I am sure you would agree that the girl is a valuable commodity.  Now, I know the uses and skills of my side of the bargain, but I know nothing of you other than you have got huge brass cajones for coming here to ask this of me.  So, two things:  First, I do not trust a man who will not drink with me.  And second, tell me what you can do and I will see if you fit the bill for something I need to have done."

[Chrome Head]

Joe smirks, takes a large gulp from the glass and puts it down abruptly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, still smirking.

"Of course. Let me introduce myself -- how rude of me not to? The name's Gaze, I'm a shadowrunner. My specialty is hand-to-hand combat, and I'm capable at infiltration and ranged combat as well. If the price is right, I even do wetwork. When you hire me, it's much harder to link the job back to you than if you use your own men. Surely, you must have use for someone like me. My services don't normally come cheap though, so the woman for one job of your choosing certainly seems a fair trade. Wouldn't you say?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Aldo motions to the bottle in an invitation to refill your glass if you want.  “Gaze.  Gaze.”  He shrugs, “No, I cannot say that I have heard of you, but that is no matter since I have now.  I like your style, but I am afraid that I cannot just take your word for it that you are any good.  Especially since I know the value of my property.”  He sips a bit from his glass then nods.  “Tell you what Gaze.  I could use a good independent operator, but I have to be careful.  I got a job you can do for me as a starter.  To prove you are serious.  If that goes well I will give you a real job.  Pull off both for me in a satisfactory manner and I will give you the woman.  If I still like you and you agree to a retainer, I could even set you, her, and her kid up in a nice place.  But you got to prove yourself.  Interested?”

[Mercy Merchant]

Joe takes a moment to think about it, taking another sip in consideration. "Yes, I'm interested, but as a one-time deal for now. My offer was for a 1-to-1 exchange. I do one job for you, and the woman and child are no longer yours. That seems fair to me."

Before Aldo can reply, Joe raises a hand.  "But, ... I understand that we need to build a relationship, that we need to trust each other.  So I agree to first do a job for you to prove my worth to you, but I don't do pro-bono work. I want some compensation in return, once you're satisfied, so there's no risk on your end, and we can then discuss the exchange I'm really interested about separately."

Joe finally adds, slowly, and meaning it.  "And who knows, maybe this can turn into a regular thing later on, maybe we can establish a more formal relationship. But as you said, we need to establish trust between us first. And I doubt you'll be disappointed."

[Mercy Merchant]

Aldo smiles and lifts his glass.  "I think we can come up with something to test your skills and commitment.  I will get someone to put a package together for you.  Come back tomorrow night.  One of the mugs will get you and we can talk.  The job won't be too tough, but there is an element of risk or I could just one of my own boys.  Your independent operator could be the solution to my little problem."  He sits back in his chair and puts the bottle away in his desk drawer, signaling that the interview is over.  Some signal must have been given because several of the goons return to the office, one coming to stand near you.

[Chrome Head]

"I'll be there."

Joe heads back to the show room, looking for Myotama, to let her know how things went down.

[Mercy Merchant]

You are escorted back downstairs into the near bedlam of the main barroom.  You notice that the girl on the stage in a bit older, but the men in the room seem a bit more drink and don't seem to care that her boobs are sagging a bit.  You see two of the waitresses but not Myotama, but walking around you find her on the knee of one of the customers.  She laughs at some joke and stands, seeing you as she turns to go back into the crowd.  Her smile is refreshing as she walks over to you.  "Joe-san.  How did it go?"

[Chrome Head]

Joe smiles back. Oh the things I'm agreeing to do for this woman... How did I get into this?

"It went okay. You didn't tell me before just how valuable you are around here." He's a bit shy making this remark, but he tries not to let on.

"So I had to offer something of similar value in return. It will take some time though, but I'm optimistic about this. Give it maybe a week or two, and you should be able to walk out of here and be free. We can talk more tomorrow evening. I have to be back here tomorrow night."

[Mercy Merchant]

It is hard for you to stand in front of her and not look at what is visible under the thin, gauzy top.  Myotama smiles at you but then frowns.  "Oh, Joe-san, don't do anything crazy.  Please."  She looks around and motions at the crowd.  "I am here for another five hours until my shift is done.  Are you leaving or will you stay to walk me home?  I can get one of the bouncers to do it if you have to leave."

[Chrome Head]

"If it's okay with you, I'm gonna head back now. I need to be in good shape for tomorrow, and .. this isn't really my kind of place. But don't hesitate to call me if you feel unsafe, even at night."

Getting closer to her, he whispers. "And if that drekhead Aldo ever touches you again... well let's say I'll be handling the situation very differently than I have tonight."

He took my carrot, but I still got my stick ready.

[Mercy Merchant]

Myotama looks a bid sad then smiles.  "Thank you for helping us, Joe-san.  I do not know how to thank you enough.  Would you like to come for dinner before your meeting here?"  One of the bouncers comes by and tells her to get to work.  She nods and turns to go, saying, "Let Tommy know tomorrow if you would like dinner.  Same time as today if you want to come."  She disappears into the crowd, but not before you get a parting glance at her nice butt as she swivels her hips to make her way through the mob of men.

Walking back outside is like taking a breath of fresh air.  Sort of.  You have left the smoke-filled room behind, but the sight of the two drunks throwing up on the curb brings you back to the reality that this is the Barrens.

[Chrome Head]

Joe was really glad to be out of that place, but the visions of Myotama would be haunting him for a while. The sheer eroticism that she inspired was uncontrollable, and yet Joe was trying to repress it, to focus on his self-appointed mission to help her. His feelings were mixed, but he wasn't going to back down now. And as far as employers went, Aldo wasn't that terrible, maybe this could become profitable for him over time. Running in the barrens for someone who operates there as well has its advantages. There's very little law enforcement, and so there's less of a need to worry too much about being seen perpetrating criminal acts. He should probably buy himself a good respirator though, this place stinks.

He walks back to the parking garage, to get his car back and head home. He'll try to get as much sleep as possible and exercise well in the morning, to get ready for the night to come.

[Mercy Merchant]

The walk back to the parking garage is unnerving.  It is not quite midnight yet and the streets are full of drunks, prostitutes, and thugs.  You are approached by all three types in the short distance you travel by foot.  The drunks ask for money, most claiming to be vets and needing food for their children.  The prostitutes ask for money as well, and it seems like the going rate down here is 20 nuyen for oral sex, 50 for a quickie against a convenient alley wall, or 100 for a longer time in an equally convenient no tell motel located "just around the corner".  The thugs ask for money, too, but do not seem to want to offer any services for it.  The drunks are easy to get past, the hookers seem a bit more persistent, and the fist thug needs to be shown the error of his ways.  You show him.  And the next two as well.   

Suddenly, you see a group of gangers blocking the street up ahead.  From the shadows, you can hear them accost two of the street walkers.  They ask them if they have seen some guy walking about.  The description is inconveniently close to what you look like.  They tell the girls that "the boss" is interested in showing this gent the meaning of coming down here.  The leader hands something to both of them while he tells them that the boss would be personally grateful for any information about the mug.  The hookers chime up that they have not seen anyone by that description, but will certainly be looking for them.  The leader nods and waves across the street and you see another group of men over there talking to one of the panhandlers.   

There is a psst from near you.  Looking in that direction, you see a girl with spiked hair standing about six feet from  you in the shadows.  It is unlikely that you would have noticed her if she had not made the noise.  Without coming closer, she says, "That description sound a lot like you.  You want to fight those lugs or let me show you another way out of here?  20 will get you a guided tour.  Or you can take your chances with Aldo's thugs there.  And the others coming up behind you.  Choose wisely, kemo sabe."

[Mercy Merchant]

Without even looking any longer at her, "Must be a mistake, chummer, no one's looking for me. Thanks for the tip, but no thanks."

**If they think I'll give any of them any money, they're badly mistaken.**

Joe continues walking in exactly the same way and direction as before, paying extra attention, maybe, but nothing more.

[Mercy Merchant]

Wednesday  June 6  2075  0021  Street  The Barrens   Seattle



The girl swears softly as you walk away.  The eight thugs on your side of the street approach a bit closer and the largest one holds up his hand.  “Hey ya seen a man looks like………………..”

He is interrupted by the guy next to him, probably the brains of the bunch.  “Say he looks like the guy, don’t he?”

The first one smiles and calls out, “Jimmy!  We got him.”  He looks at you and says, “Now this is gonna hurt some.  Mister Aldo wants us to make an example of ya.  Be nice and it be over real soon.  Just a nice, Barrens Beat Down.”