Appointments

[redjacketthief]

This is the mailbox of your's truely, Arsene Lupin III. I take it that you've come here because you want to talk to me or make some kind of plan. Whatever it is, I'l gladly listen, but I need your name, date, time, and the best way to get back to you. Sorry I missed you, and I'll get back to you soon, okay?


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Comments

[redjacketthief]

[Arms business could go either way in his world, but there was enough government corruption that the difference was negligible. It was a matter of book keeping in the end, and who had the books. Where there was books, there was a paper trail. Evidence like that can't be easily erased. He carefully reaches under his jacket to pull out his gun and passes it off to the arms dealer for closer inspection.]

It's a Walther-P38, an eight shot semiautomatic that fires .9 milimeter rounds. It's also a standard-issue military weapon, but an old one that's no longer in regular use. I kinda like it.

[ever_deceptive]

[Yeager handles the gun with care, looking it over and testing the grip, keeping the barrel pointed towards the ground as not to alarm anyone nearby.]

It does look as though it has a little bit of wear from age. Nothing major, of course. Enough to give it character. [He gives another smile, a nice little salesman's smile that's practically ingrained in him for these types of conversations.] I'm quite fond of military-grade firearms. By and large they tend to hold up over decades without having to be brought in for maintenance. It's a shame we don't have that many in my world.

[Handing the gun back to Lupin, he reaches into a holster concealed by his suit jacket and produces a pistol of his own that is absolutely decked out with gold inlay, setting it on the counter.] We do have some nice custom arms, though. This is a semi-automatic .45 I commissioned a few years ago that takes seven-round clips. It's pretty much state-of-the-art in terms of accuracy.

[redjacketthief]

[Pardon him while he whistles at the superb craftsmanship.] Nice piece! [He lifts it from the counter and inspects it himself, admiring the embossing, weight and alignment.] If you don't mind...this? This isn't a weapon. This is a work of art! [He didn't normally go for weapons, but he would consider stealing it in a different set of circumstances.

He hands it back, smiling.] I'm not a weapons man myself, but they end up involved no matter what I do. Arsene Lupin III, what's your name?

[ever_deceptive]

[He gives a hearty chuckle, then replaces his pistol and offers his hand.] Yeager. It's a pleasure to meet you. What kind of work are you usually involved in, if I may ask?

[redjacketthief]

[He takes the hand, and gives a friendly but firm shake. How...interesting, meeting this man here of all places. Lupin half expected more drama in finding him since his vague lead from Firo a few months back.] Pleasure's mine. I'm kind of a collector [(thief)] by trade, with a specialty in rarities.

[ever_deceptive]

Ah. [He catches the insinuation there and a smirk plays about his lips.] You must meet some very interesting buyers.

[redjacketthief]

I meet some interesting people, but I mostly collect for myself. Sometimes I'll get a commission to go find something...but usually not. I like the thrill of finding something.

[There's a pause as he sips his coke.] What about you? Working with weapons has got to introduce you to some intersting people.

[ever_deceptive]

It does indeed. Especially if one is rather indiscriminate in choosing clients, as I was. I was never one to limit myself to any particular cause--that's just refusing potential business. [He rests his chin in his hand.] Besides, the ones that got a little too brash always got what they deserved, one way or another.

[redjacketthief]

[that was a familiar refrain.] Don't they always? They get too eager, too greedy, and stop thinking. Of course they're gonna get something nasty!

[ever_deceptive]

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can never afford to stop thinking. I had a client not too long before I came to Luceti that decided he wanted to make his career by taking out a government. Only problem was that he was making such a mess of his own city, working the citizens to death, that people started taking notice. He got himself assassinated. That's how it works--as soon as you get caught up in some ambition and can't manage what's going on in the present, you're done for.

[redjacketthief]

That's true. [very true.] Not thinking is dangerous in any career--and taking on an entire government? That's just stupid and asking for death. Guys like that are just embarrassing!

[ever_deceptive]

Indeed. Their only redeeming quality tends to be how much money one can make off of them. I turned quite a profit off of that one without him even getting a chance to use what I sold him~

[redjacketthief]

[There was something comfortably twisted about that sentiment, something Lupin wasn't entirely unfamiliar with. While he wasn't one to go out and turn a profit like that, he was no stranger to collateral damage. Causing it. Using it.]

Sounds a little messy for my tastes, but very effective there. You seem like an inteligent guy though--how do you manage in this place? It's not like there's cocky idiots to make a profit off of, or artifacts to [steal] locate.

[ever_deceptive]

I do tend to get rather restless here, I'm afraid. I just try to keep busy whatever way I can--I think I've gone through at least eight books this size since I arrived a few months ago. [He gestures to his reading material, chuckling lightly at himself.] I've taken up sparring with a few people as well. That, I suppose, is the one nice thing about Luceti--the great variety of people with interesting backgrounds and skills.

[redjacketthief]

[He's gonna whistle at that, impressed at his prolific studies and sympathetic with the sentiment.]

It's about all we can do here really. I've been studying myself haphazardly, and have considered taking up some proper sparring at some point. [When he's not blowing up his apartment on accident, that is...]

[ever_deceptive]

What do you like sparring with? [Perhaps they could arrange a match sometime, Yeager figures.]

[redjacketthief]

I was just talking in general--I don't normally fight for fun, but I can do okay in a barroom fight. In a place like this, a guy has to find some hobbies, right?

[ever_deceptive]

[Fighting for fun is a pretty major part of Yeager's culture, but he's already encountered some societies where it isn't, so he's not completely surprised. The mention of bar fights gives him a mental image of Lupin attacking someone with a chair that makes him laugh.] Mm-hm. Well, if you're ever interested, I could teach you some techniques with swords or knives. Firearms, too, though sparring with those tends to end up a little more dangerous than back home. [Yeah, he hasn't encountered too many people that can shield themselves here the way he can. Luceti's physics are weird.]

[redjacketthief]

[Be it a chair or a morningstar, Lupin isn't above using weapons in melee fights. It's not often that he does engage, but when he does it's usually because something went wrong--he's always willing to fight dirty in those circumstances. However, in a fair hand to hand fight, he is sorely out of his league.]

I'd worry about busting my gun if I used her for something other than what she was made for. Makes like this aren't common any more, even where I'm from. There's also sentimental value there too...

Sparring in general sounds pretty fun to try sometime. Conversation too. You're an interesting guy, Yeager.

[ever_deceptive]

Ah, I doubt you'd damage it. Pistols like that are made of materials designed to suffer some very harsh conditions indeed, even beyond their military service life. [Generally speaking, at least. He doesn't know anything specific about that model, of course, but he can tell a durable weapon when he sees one.]

Thank you. You're interesting yourself. I don't encounter too many people around here in a line of work like yours.

[redjacketthief]

I've met a fair few. Guess they're drawn to my charm. [He's only being a little egoistic there as he smiles boyishly and shrugs. Tempted as he is to press further, he understands that balance is key.

He'll need to thank Firo later--the young camorrista has good tastes!]

Joking aside...yeah, a friendly spar would be awesome sometime. I deal more with the details and sidelines than directly with the fray. Normally I wouldn't care, but, in a place like this? We've got nothing but time, and it can't hurt to learn a few new things.