Julie looked up at Vincent again. “And what if he fails this time? And... and what about the platinum chip? Arcade... what in god’s name are we going to do if...” “The platinum chip is safe”, Arcade interrupted her. “Tara must have taken it off when she was attacked, and by sheer luck Vincent found it when he had a look around the spot where Cobra died. The chip is safe, Julie. I know where it is. And...” Julie gave him a long, scrutinizing look and shook her head. “Don’t worry. If you tell me it’s safe, I’d rather not know. The fewer people know the better.”
Arcade smiled, casting a quick glance at Vincent. His face was impassive, but he seemed to incline his head the tiniest bit. Then he addressed Julie again. “Our main concern is now to keep the people calm. Thus the illness, and thus you being involved. It would be natural that the doctors of Freeside would do everything to see her up and about again as fast as possible, no?” With a silent nod, Julie stared into her cup. “Do you believe it? About the Legion, I mean. Not that I’m saying Vince is lying, but he might be mistaken.” “I asked him the very same thing”, Arcade gave back. “All he said was to remember who he had been and what his past contained, and to ask myself that question again. I guess he has a point. If he recognises a wound as having been caused by a throwing spear, then that’s most likely what caused it. And honestly, I don’t really want to allow us the hope that it was only some wasteland raiders using looted legion gear.” “I kind of wish he would be wrong, though.”
Arcade shrugged. “Try to look at it this way: if he’s right, then that’s not pleasant but he’s got a chance of finding her. Because if he’s wrong, then no one, not you, not me, not Vincent, has a single, flipping clue as to where she might be or who could have something to do with her disappearance” Putting her cup down with a wordless sigh, Julie nodded. “You’re right, of course. I’d just have liked to think the Legion was history.” “And I am sure the Legion, as we remember it, is. There can’t be that much left, not enough to attack us, anyway. That’s why they tried this, I suppose. But they don’t know about our secret weapon.” “Secret weapon?” A puzzled frown appeared on Julie’s face. “What secret weapon do we have against the Legion?” Arcade looked at Vincent again and smiled, a narrow, but undeniably amused and slightly cocky smile. “Vincent.” x-x-x-x-x-x >>>The Strip, October 23, 2282<<<
Arcade had just been about to hit the sack when someone had knocked on his door. That someone had been Dylan, having just returned from his trip to Primm, and now he was sitting on a bar stool in the Gomorrah sipping a fancy drink with a paper umbrella in it.
“It’s not bad, actually”, he had to admit. “What was it called again?” The bartender leaned forward with a smile. “That’s a Happy Threesome, Sir.” Dylan gave his drink a distrustful stare. “What’s it made of?” “Banana yucca schnapps”, the bartender replied while he poured whiskey and maize beer into a mixer. “Barrel cactus liqueur and agave juice.” He then proceeded to add sunset sarsaparilla and prickly pear juice to the mixture. “A bit sweet for my taste”, Dylan said, but finished his glass with a shrug. Arcade savoured his a little longer. “Most cocktails are on the sweet side”, he said and picked the umbrella out of the empty glass which he then placed coyly between his teeth.
“The sweetness is mostly due to the liqueur”, the bartender said in a friendly voice and poured the mixture into a high, narrow glass. “If Sir would like something less sweet and more tart?” He offered Dylan the glass. “And what’s that?” Dylan eyed the mixture. “A Slippery Dick, Sir.” Arcade tried to suppress the snort building up in his throat, with meagre success as they had already sampled several other drinks. The umbrella fell and rolled under the bar. “I’ll have one, too!”, he said cheerfully and the bartender proceeded to mix another one. “There you go, Sir.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Turn Wounds into Wisdom 6b/?
Date: 2014-09-08 09:34 pm (UTC)“The platinum chip is safe”, Arcade interrupted her. “Tara must have taken it off when she was attacked, and by sheer luck Vincent found it when he had a look around the spot where Cobra died. The chip is safe, Julie. I know where it is. And...”
Julie gave him a long, scrutinizing look and shook her head. “Don’t worry. If you tell me it’s safe, I’d rather not know. The fewer people know the better.”
Arcade smiled, casting a quick glance at Vincent. His face was impassive, but he seemed to incline his head the tiniest bit. Then he addressed Julie again. “Our main concern is now to keep the people calm. Thus the illness, and thus you being involved. It would be natural that the doctors of Freeside would do everything to see her up and about again as fast as possible, no?”
With a silent nod, Julie stared into her cup. “Do you believe it? About the Legion, I mean. Not that I’m saying Vince is lying, but he might be mistaken.”
“I asked him the very same thing”, Arcade gave back. “All he said was to remember who he had been and what his past contained, and to ask myself that question again. I guess he has a point. If he recognises a wound as having been caused by a throwing spear, then that’s most likely what caused it. And honestly, I don’t really want to allow us the hope that it was only some wasteland raiders using looted legion gear.”
“I kind of wish he would be wrong, though.”
Arcade shrugged. “Try to look at it this way: if he’s right, then that’s not pleasant but he’s got a chance of finding her. Because if he’s wrong, then no one, not you, not me, not Vincent, has a single, flipping clue as to where she might be or who could have something to do with her disappearance”
Putting her cup down with a wordless sigh, Julie nodded. “You’re right, of course. I’d just have liked to think the Legion was history.”
“And I am sure the Legion, as we remember it, is. There can’t be that much left, not enough to attack us, anyway. That’s why they tried this, I suppose. But they don’t know about our secret weapon.”
“Secret weapon?” A puzzled frown appeared on Julie’s face. “What secret weapon do we have against the Legion?”
Arcade looked at Vincent again and smiled, a narrow, but undeniably amused and slightly cocky smile. “Vincent.”
x-x-x-x-x-x
>>>The Strip, October 23, 2282<<<
Arcade had just been about to hit the sack when someone had knocked on his door.
That someone had been Dylan, having just returned from his trip to Primm, and now he was sitting on a bar stool in the Gomorrah sipping a fancy drink with a paper umbrella in it.
“It’s not bad, actually”, he had to admit. “What was it called again?”
The bartender leaned forward with a smile. “That’s a Happy Threesome, Sir.”
Dylan gave his drink a distrustful stare. “What’s it made of?”
“Banana yucca schnapps”, the bartender replied while he poured whiskey and maize beer into a mixer. “Barrel cactus liqueur and agave juice.” He then proceeded to add sunset sarsaparilla and prickly pear juice to the mixture.
“A bit sweet for my taste”, Dylan said, but finished his glass with a shrug.
Arcade savoured his a little longer. “Most cocktails are on the sweet side”, he said and picked the umbrella out of the empty glass which he then placed coyly between his teeth.
“The sweetness is mostly due to the liqueur”, the bartender said in a friendly voice and poured the mixture into a high, narrow glass. “If Sir would like something less sweet and more tart?” He offered Dylan the glass.
“And what’s that?” Dylan eyed the mixture.
“A Slippery Dick, Sir.”
Arcade tried to suppress the snort building up in his throat, with meagre success as they had already sampled several other drinks. The umbrella fell and rolled under the bar. “I’ll have one, too!”, he said cheerfully and the bartender proceeded to mix another one.
“There you go, Sir.”