Propositional Buyers [Open]

[Virrus Nero]

Already past midnight, and the buyers still hadn't shown up. Nero had come alone and lightly armed, only one of his twin pistols was stuffed into the belt of his Khaki uniform in plain view. His Colonel insignia taken off and hidden in his breast pocket with his fresh pack of cigarettes, which he had already broken into and was running low. He was already surrounded by ten to twelve butts, leaning against a large stack of covered carbon fiber crates as he finished another cigarette, sucking it back to the line and tossing it to the pavement. The district called 'Hades' was aptly named, as he had already seen a series of street fights on the way to the meeting area, an alleyway far enough from a main street to not attract unwanted attention from passersby. A dim lamp shedding the only light over a landing and a rusted looking vented door, save some glare from the street side of the alley. A single route in and out for him, a single route in and out for the buyers. Though the darkness down the alleyway could be hiding any number of others, armed, unarmed. If they tried to rob him, it wouldn't take much of his resolve to want to kill them on the spot; but at the time Nero would prefer a transaction of funds rather than pain. He took the time to remember what he had stuffed into the crates; something like thirty dated, but functional U.A.S. Rifles, another thirty Service pistols, one full crate of plastic explosives, and a plethora low-quality ammunition for all the weapons, which of course he would pass off as top of the line. Less than enough equipment for anyone checking stocks to notice, and he had already written it off as being issued to deceased or false members of the U.A.S. to avoid any nosy officers to come to his office looking for missing gear. Nero smirked to himself, it was a solid plan, and he was set to make a good share of currency from this deal. He knew of a way to contact Liberation members through third, fourth, and fifth-party sources, all paid off to relay messages, and not information. Nero could care less about their movements and operations, it was only if they came to his front door in force, or he was sicked like a dog on them that he would unleash and dispense swift destruction.

He waited, head tilted downward, still leaned against the covered crates; and craving another cigarette. Nero shoved a hand into his pockets and produced his pack of cigarettes and a lighter, from the pack he liberated a single cigarette with a flick of his wrist and snatched it up with his lips by the end of it's filter, holding it gingerly as he lit it. His eyes glanced toward the darkness, footsteps had caught his attention; Nero brought the flame of the lighter away from the cigarette, as it was lit, but keeping the open flame of the lighter as he smirked toward the blighted shadow. Nero flicked the lighter shut and replaced it along with the pack of cigarettes into his pockets, he closed his lips and took a deep drag of the smoke before stating hoarsely "It's about time you showed up". Coughing slightly into a closed mouth, but keeping eyes on the shadowy end of the alleyway.

[brighteye]

[/i] for the movement then.

Her dark clothes didn't help hide her - in fact, they just made her hair seem all the more bright. At her throat was a softly glowing gem of a pale blue color, the same color as her eyes. Her arms were guarded by nothing but some cloth bracelets that were carefully tied on. Her skirt - cut dangerously high - flowed almost to her ankles and was decorated up by a long, double wrapped belt. On this belt a gun hung openly, warning everyone she wasn't to be messed with. At the small of her back was a knife, just barely hidden by her top and skirt. Her yellow boots went up to her thighs, hiding her second gun. She was very good at using all three weapons, though she didn't seem like she would be. That's what being a U.A.S. solider for three years would do to a person - and then add three more years of fighting for the Liberation. She was alright to take care of herself.

Up ahead she saw a light flickering. It lifted up, and then there was a small plume of smoke. Apparently the person was a smoker. That was fine - let them kill their lungs. It would make them easier to fight if they decided to turn on her. The person - she couldn't tell who they were from the shadows - lifted the lighter for a moment before putting it out. "It's about time you showed up." a gravelly masculine voice called out to her, before coughing. Aislinn raised an eyebrow - not to the late comment, as she knew she was late - but to the fact that he knew she was there. She might not be hiding, but she didn't think she was being obvious either.

"My apologies. I had to take a different route, else I might not have shown up at all." Aislinn told the man smoothly, moving closer so she could better see him.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

Nero nearly let his cigarette drop to the pavement when his eyes looked over the woman who revealed herself from the darkness. His smirk turned into a full-blown twisted smile, his cigarette just dangling from his lips. He didn't bother to take another puff, just letting it hang from the edge of his mouth, pushing off the crates and stood tall, with his head raised. Folding an arm across his chest, and removing the cigarette from his mouth with his index and middle fingers, keeping it raised beside his face, slowly burning away. He had to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him, that there wasn't anything 'funny' with his smokes either, giving himself a moment to sink in the sight of a bright-haired young woman; dressed in a skirt, thigh-high boots, cuffs, as far as he could see, armed as well as he was with a single handgun. This was the buyer? A little lady who carried herself like a hardened soldier? Nero wasn't intimidated, far from it, he was amused. He cleared his throat with a deep growl, spitting toward the opposite wall where the covered crates were standing "Well, somethin' I didn't expect for once." He said through his smile, flicking an accumulation of ash from the tip of the cigarette to the pavement. Nero turned and bent down, lifting half of the cover up and tossing it overtop the stack of crates, the black carbon fiber now in shaded view.

"... Lets make this quick, I don't wanna get caught 'bout as much as you do. This is the gear, all fresh off the line... You wanna look it over, fine, but only after I got some currency in my palm." He continued in his rough tone, raising and lowering the hand that held the smoke in a fashion befitting an advertiser of a product. Nero turned back to face the girl again, smile still wide, eyeing her up and down, for his own viewing pleasure, and to make sure she wasn't going to make a bad move that would blow the deal. He took a couple of slow paces away from the crates toward her, shedding some light on his bearded, scarred face. His hands now at his hips, hooking each thumb through a belt loop on either side, his cigarette still held between his fingers, fuming up to his elbow before the smoke dissapated.

[aislinn]

[/i] He said, and she heard the amusement in his tone, if she couldn't already see it in his face. After flicking some ash off of his cigarette - whose smoke was blowing slowly towards her - he flipped a cover off of one of the crates, tossing the aforementioned cover onto the others. She couldn't really see what was within in the dim light. What looked like guns were inside, but honestly they could be anything. Some metal crudely thrown together a gun does not make. Neither do cardboard cutouts - something an idiot attempt to pull on her. He wouldn't do that one again, that was for sure. She wouldn't fall for it either. As she went to take a step forward to see them better, the man turned back to her and took a few slow steps towards her, making her stay in her spot, as he oogled her. "... Lets make this quick: I don't wanna get caught 'bout as much as you do. This is the gear, all fresh off the line... You wanna look it over, fine, but only after I got some currency in my palm?'

Aislinn raised an eyebrow. Did the man think she was stupid? Another side effect to underestimation. Aislinn crossed her arms over her chest, effectively blocking his view of that region of her body. "Sir, my boobs are not my face. I'll inform you - since you seem to be unaware - that I came here to buy weapons, not to let you look at me." She sighed dramatically. "However, I'm not giving you a dime until I can look at your products. I'm not taking the chance that you're going to con me into buying some poorly constructed weapons." She waited for his response, wondering what it would be. Hopefully it wouldn't turn violent - she got in trouble with Kuro the last time that had happened.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

Nero's smile had yet to fade, even when he realized he had nearly forgotten about his cigarette and lifted his hand to take a deep drag, exhaling through his nose. She crossed her arms, much to his disappointment, though he didn't show it, and at her request he looked her square in the eyes; saying something about her chest not being her face, which almost made Nero crack up on the spot, and informing him that she was there for the weapons, and not for his viewing pleasure. Understandable in Nero's mind, but it did little to deter his eyes flicking a quick wander while keeping eye contact. She sighed and told him she wasn't giving him a dime until she'd seen the weapons and equipment, as far as he could tell she was smarter than she looked. It was good on her part too, because he half-wanted to pass off thirty rifle's weight in bricks and save himself alot of paperwork to hide his transactions. "Smart, lady, smart... I like dealing with smart people." He murmured, turning slowly back to the crate he had revealed, crouching down, he pulled it out of the cover, making a loud scraping noise against the concrete. He situated it against the wall where the other crates were, but closer to her, the opening side facing them both. The black matte finish of the crate clearly visible in the poor lighting of the alleyway, Nero with his back turned to the girl, flicked open a pair of latches on either side of the wide and tall crate. Lifting the hatch of the crate, and removing a gray foam liner which he discarded to the pavement. Nero replaced the now half-cigarette into his mouth, taking a quick puff, and pulled out a bare-bones U.A.S. rifle scraped up as if it had seen quite a bit of use and abuse, with no attachments or sights, but all the rails for mounting them. He turned to her and looked it over himself.

"This is a fine, fine piece of hardware, much better than most of the crap I've seen you Liberation folks toting. The other three crates have some much nicer things. Ammo for days, and enough explosives to set a mean trap... Or level a building.. What you do with it ain't my concern." He grumbled, keeping the cigarette in his mouth, and exhaling smoke as he spoke. Nero pulled the charging handle back on the rifle, holding it back and holding it out enough so for her to see it wasn't loaded, obviously if she wasn't the type to pay without seeing the merchandise, she could tell if a rifle didn't have a magazine or any rounds in it. Giving her a moment to look it over, he let go of the handle, completing the cycle he then held it professionally against his shoulder, aiming upward and quickly squeezing the trigger, a faint 'clink' coming from the rifle's dry-fire. He brought the rifle down from his shoulder, and held it downward, one handed as he took a step back from the crate which he opened. Twenty-nine rifles altogether, all unloaded and bare-bones, in varyingly rough condition to a trained eye, sat in the crate awaiting her inspection. Nero took another drag from the smoke, exhaling again through his nose, and scratching his chin momentarily. "So whaddya think, Missy? They work, and they're the real deal. Good enough for you? Or am I gonna have to open the rest of these crates and make a nice lil' bazaar for you to pick and choose what ya wanna buy?" Allowing his smile to fade to a smirk, he spoke through the corner of his mouth, while keeping the now quarter-cigarette tightly gripped between his lips.

[aislinn]

[/i] She didn't think Kuro sent stupid people out to do the job, but then again, she wouldn't know. This was her fifth such mission - the first of which she went out with someone to observe, the third being the one that she was conned into buying weighted boxes with cardboard cutouts with a few real guns thrown into the mix. Oh boy was Kuro furious with her that day! Not like she could have fixed it after the fact - but she managed to run into the man again and got back a bit of what was stolen, as well as passing on the message to not pull that particular stunt again. It would be bloody next time. She wasn't violent except for when it came to what she was passionate about - the peoples freedom. He was standing in the way of that by his actions.

"This is a fine, fine piece of hardware..." He was holding a weapon that had definetly seen better days. While it was true that some of their weapons were shoddy, but it wasn't often you'd see someone running around with too many that badly off. Their mechanics had quite a ways with their tools, and had managed to upgrade them decently. So, while they didn't have all the nicities of a U.A.S. rifle, it was still a good weapon. The same went with the rest of the weapons they had. Many were modified from whatever they could steal from the U.A.S., unless it was still in good conditions, which couldn't be said about the rifle in his hands.

"It's not a 'fine, fine' gun, as you put it. However, it and the others can be put to use once our mechanics get their hands on them." She told him as he demonstrated the weapon. At least it was still in working condition. "But, at least they work. I've seen worse." She conceeded. It was true - she'd bought rifles and amongst them were broken up bits of what had probably once been a weapon, but were now just bits of metal. She scooted up to the crate as he stepped away from it, her eyes scanning the weapons in the faint light. Her hands went inside next, checking to make sure they were all real and not some fakes. Yes, yes. They were all the real thing... in this box. "So whaddya think, Missy? They work, and they're the real deal. Good enough for you? Or am I gonna have to open the rest of these crates and make a nice lil' bazaar for you to pick and choose what ya wanna buy." He asked, and she turned to see another smirk on his face. She smiled pleasantly back.

"Oh yes, they're the real deal alright." She said, nodding in agreement, her voice pleasant and sweet. "But, that's not to say that everything else is the real deal. I'll buy the rifles in this crate here," she patted the crate she'd just inspected. "but I'm going to go through the other boxes before I pay for them. You're not going to get money for anything that I don't deem to be worth our time or money." Because, when it came right down to it, it was her word. She held the money and she was the one making the bargain between the Liberation and this man with the weapons. She could purchase these rifles at least, but if he wanted his money for the rest he'd have to let her see all of his wares.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

The Colonel was slightly impressed, this young woman coming out of the wood-works knowing as much as she did. Definitely a hardened liberation member, and definitely someone he would find a worth adversary in the field of battle. This was neither the time nor the place for combat, however, Nero wanted his money, and he wanted it bad. The UAS didn't pay him quite enough in his opinion to sit around all day in a desk barking orders to weaselly little men who brought a new meaning to the term 'shit rolls down hill'. He watched the woman closely as she scooted up to the crate he had opened and inspected the wares. She had probably been ripped off before, and wasn't about to let anything slip; lucky for her Nero wasn't going to pull any fast ones tonight. She seemed pleased with the weapons, despite their condition, and Nero nodded to her and himself in approval. He sucked back what remained of the cigarette to the safety line, exhaling through his nose and dropping the butt to the ground in front of him. His next step stomped out the cigarette's ember as he made his way to the remaining covered crates. She started to speak in a pleasant, sweet tone that made Nero feel as if she was mocking him. "Oh yes, they're the real deal alright. But, that's not to say that everything else is the real deal. I'll buy the rifles in this crate here, but I'm going to go through the other boxes before I pay for them. You're not going to get money for anything that I don't deem to be worth our time or money."

Slightly annoyed by this, but wanting to get this job done, he tossed the rest of the cover off the stack of crates, and lifted one of the stacked crates off the other. He carried it by both ends toward where the young lady was overseeing the rifles, and dropped it beside the crate he had opened with the rifle from waste height. "One..." He murmured to himself, making his way back to the remaining stacked crates, taking another crate off the top of the one on the ground, carried at waist height, and dropped it adjacent to the second crate. The fourth and final crate he dragged behind the three, as the crates were already taking up most of the width of the alleyway, he turned to the opening end of the crate he had just dragged and flicked open the latches on either end of the opening end, lifting the crate's lid, this one containing ammunition all ready in magazines for both UAS service pistols, and the UAS rifles, as well as two 200 count boxes of loose ammunition for both. Nero stood and turned to face the young lady, his smirk long faded into a more neutral, though slightly grimacing facial expression.

"This one.." He pointed to the crate next to the one full of assault rifles with his index finger. "... Is full of plastic explosive... Y'know what that is, right? All in bricks, they got time-delay detonators. Little clocks, you feelin' me?" Nero continued on to the next crate he had lined up, pointing at this one now in an impatient tone. "This one's got service pistols... They're in just as good shape as those rifles, seein' as how you know so much..." Nero pointed back at the crate full of plastic explosive "This shit right here, it ain't the stuff I wanna be smokin' around, keep it away from sparks unless you want your lil' base of operations or wherever you're gonna be storin' it to go up in one big bang. Volatile stuff that'll be traced back to me if it goes off in its container, feelin' where I'm goin' with this?" Nero wanted his point to get across that no-one outside the Liberation should know where these items came from. He then pointed with his thumb behind him, in reference to the crate he had now just opened. "This, as you can tell, is the juice for all these weapons... I ain't handing this over until I get full payment for the weapons and the plastique." Nero finished his little rant, waiting for her to take her sweet time looking over the weapons, he would be watching for a false move, in which case he would respond with a single bullet, or more if it so required.

[aislinn]

[/i] he went on to explain them easily, making her think that he was trying to get back at her for her tone earlier. She didn't blame him, and didn't comment about it. The next one he explained in a bit more impatient tone, but she pretended not to hear it. Service pistols, then back to the explosives. He was very adamant about not setting it off all at once, or he'd be in a whole heap of trouble. She nodded in understanding, though she knew they wouldn't use such a large amount in one spot. They used very little at a time - the goal was to hurt the enemy and not the innocents. A huge explosion would injure and kill civilians as well as U.A.S. soldiers. Finally, the bullets.

"I ain't handing this over until I get full payment for the weapons and the plastique." He told her sternly as he finished his explanations. That was fair, she supposed. Then again, if his stuff was shoddy past the rifles, she'd have to get ammo from somewhere else if that was the case. Her hands, which had been at first going towards the explosives, diverted to the pistols. She took one out and examined it quickly, pointing it away from the two of them to pull the trigger, nodding at the feel, before replacing it carefully to check the rest to see that they were similar. Indeed they were. Good.

The explosives were next, and she didn't spend as much time with these, because she really didn't play with explosives - nor did she want to set something off on accident. Mainly she just skimmed over it, looking through it to make sure that it wasn't weighed down anywhere before moving on to glance over the bullets. Then, after the thorough examination, she turned back to her vendor with a smile. "It all looks good." She told him, happy that she wasn't going to have to deny him on something. He didn't seem too thrilled at her need to view everything, but that might have been the tone of her voice.

She knelt down to reach into the top of her right boot - the one that didn't hold the gun - and pulled out a clip of currency. She didn't always carry money there - other times it was at her hip, up the arm bracers that she generally wore, or in a variety of other places. She didn't like to carry money, especially the amount she was holding currently, in the same spot more than once - just in case someone she'd sold to before tried to pull a fast one and just attempt to attack and steal it. "This should be the right amount." She informed him, holding out the money.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

Nero looked her over, eying her every move with discreet scrutiny. She was good looking, and knew her way around a weapon, his type of woman, it was unfortunate that he didn't trust her one bit. He watched first reach for the explosives, but hesitantly going toward the pistols instead. She took one out, and aimed it away, pulling the trigger and nodding in approval. These UAS service pistols weren't the best, but they would be functional for another hundred years if she; and the liberation, took them apart and cleaned them regularly. She put the handgun back and checked the rest of them, all of which were in the same, if not slightly worse condition. Watching her check the explosives revealed something to Nero, she didn't like the idea of explosives, the way she merely looked them over without looking over the detonators, which were all operational, but it showed Nero she either didn't know much about them, or didn't like them altogether. She glanced over the loaded magazines; good because Nero didn't oil any of the bullets, they'd probably jam ten or twelve rounds in, but the Liberation was smart, they'd probably unload the magazines and clean the ammunition. She turned to him with a smile, surprising to him, but Nero didn't oblige much of a smile back, he forced a bit of a smirk before she told him that "It all looks good".

He continued to watch her reach into one of her boots, opposite of where she hid a pistol, which Nero just now noticed. She pulled out a clipped wad of currency, which she seemed glad to be rid of, holding it out and stating "This should be the right amount" seeming fairly confident in her words, Nero leaned forward and slowly made his reach for the money, grasping it firmly with his thumb and index finger, and pulling it away from her just as slowly. He unclipped the money in the palm of his hand and flipped through each of the bills. It took him only a moment to count up the hefty wad, they knew what they were buying obviously, and paid well. The weapon's net worth new was something along the lines of what they paid, 15,000 units. It was a hell of alot better than the pittance of an officer's salary he was being paid to push pencils and mad-dog stare all the men and women under him. "Yeah, this is perfect... Don't have too much fun with them weapons, girlie. Don't get yourself killed, either... I'd like to meet you on the battlefield one day... One on one... I think it'd be entertainin'." He stated, ending with a bit of a chuckle, he reached into the breast pocket of his khakis and pulled out a Colonel's insignia as well as a pack of cigarettes. Affixing the insignia onto his collar, it shone with a polished brass gleam; he would then pull out a cigarette from the pack, then replace the package into his pocket. He stuck the cigarette into his mouth, but didn't light it just yet, he wanted to be clear of the explosives and ammunition before he got himself killed with a stray ember, or piece of ash that was still hot enough to set off one of bullets of bricks of plastic explosive. Nero took a step back from the ordinance, and pulled out his lighter, lighting it and puffing quickly to get the cigarette started. He wanted to wait around, she probably wanted to get he last word in, and besides, he didn't mind messing with her head a little longer; anything to get to a future opponent on the field of battle would merely turn the tides in his favor. Nero flicked the cigarette lighter closed and re-pocketed it. His twisted smile perfectly adorning his grizzled, bearded face.

[aislinn]

[/i] As if she could use all these weapons by her lone self. She preferred hand-to-hand combat herself. "Don't get yourself killed either... I'd like to meet you on the battlefield one day... One on one... I think it'd be entertainin'." And then he pulled out his Colonel's insignia with a chuckle - that along with cigarettes though that was irrelevant at the moment. Her eyes were still on the insignia. She remembered a time when she'd have done anything to get promoted up the ranks, especially up as high as this man was. She hadn't been anyone when she was in the U.A.S., just another seargent. In the three years she'd been with them, she'd only gotten three ranks.

Still, that didn't matter either, really. That was long in the past. She was happier now than she was in that group. They'd used and abused too many of their followers, which she had been obliviously blind to until she finally opened her eyes. This man was her enemy, and he had sold her weapons to continue the war between their two distinct groups. Was he crazy? She could attack him right now - what would he do if she did? What kind of enhancements did he have to his body? She didn't see any weapons on him - not that that meant anything, since the lighting was bad and there were so many places to hide weapons. That is, if he didn't fight hand to hand himself.

"Forgive me, Colonel, for not straightening up and saluting." she said dryly, forcing herself to speak. It had been awhile since she'd seen an officer insignia on someone that wasn't dead, and it had taken some amount of willpower not to salute as had been drilled into her body for three years. "Forgive me for asking, but what's a U.A.S. member doing selling weapons to the enemy? Am I going to be attacked by the time I leave the alley?" That was always an option. She wasn't sure if anyone knew the man she had met with. It was always a gamble, sending out members to get weapons. More than a few were traps set by the U.A.S., which ended up in Liberation members being killed or severely injured. So far she had counted herself lucky, but tonight her luck may have ran out.

A noise behind her made her whirl, the gun from her hip in her hand before the thought even completed itself. Her arm was extended towards the noise, finger on the trigger. The safety was off - it was never on unless she was within the Rig, where it was safe. She'd rather have a loaded gun at the ready when she didn't need it than a gun with the safety on when she did. Those few moments could be what let her live or die. "Who's there?" She demanded coolly, one eye still on the Colonel. This might be the aforementioned trap being sprung, and she wasn't letting him off so easily.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

Nero enjoyed his cigarette, sucking it back and exhaling the caustic fumes of the full-flavor tobacco as well as the crisp early morning air. Not that the air didn't carry it's own share of horrid pollutants, but that was another thought that was altogether gone from Nero's mind. All that mattered was money in his pocket, and no waste of ammunition. He was already one quarter of the way done the full flavor cigarette and the thought donned to him that he should not be buying regulars anymore. They were far too short, and didn't last half as long as a 100mm, or a king size. He took the cigarette out of his mouth after taking a long drag of it, examining the cherry on the end, and blowing the smoke he had inhaled onto the ember making it burn brighter. Looking up from the cigarette to note the girl was still standing there, seemingly staring at him; not him specifically, his eyes noted that hers weren't on contact with his, no, she was looking slightly lower than his face. She was looking at his collar, more specifically, his insignia, as if she recognized it. His twisted smile faded to a his naturally neutral grimace, eying the girl down before she confirmed what he did not want her to confirm out loud.

"Forgive me, Colonel, for not straightening up and saluting." Made him almost shudder, and caused him enough of an upset to drop his cigarette from between his fingers. It fell to the ground, but he did not stomp it out. His attention was dead-set on this little lady who knew just what a U.A.S. colonel insignia looked like. Just as well, she was either mocking him with the salute jest, or trying to allude to something. More likely than not, she was a disgruntled ex-U.A.S. servicewoman. Doubtful that she served under him, though, Nero didn't recognize her from any dossier he had ever looked over, though his access was limited to members that were directly under him. She continued to daunt him with words that in his opinion, should not be spoken out in the open. "Forgive me for asking, but what's a U.A.S. member doing selling weapons to the enemy? Am I going to be attacked by the time I leave the alley?" Nero gritted his teeth when she said that, for one he was sticking out his neck to make a profit off these Liberation bums, as if he would tell her, and if Nero wanted to, he wouldn't need an ambush to kill the girl and take her money, hell he could have booby trapped that plastic explosive and had the whole place go up -- Though that would have easily been traced back to him, he could have covered it up, saying something along the lines of 'Procuring intelligence on Liberation activity, and was forced to take extreme measures against opposition.' would have gotten him out of a whole mess of trouble. But this was outrageous to Nero, and his face showed it. He was about to answer with all the fury his Aggression Enhancers allowed him, but he stopped himself, she turned quickly and drew a pistol from her hip, aiming down the alleyway away from Nero.

It was clear, now, that Nero was only being accused by the woman because she felt as if someone was watching; and damned if they got around Nero as well. He hadn't felt as if they were being watched the whole time, that was probably because what was watching them wasn't human, or maybe it was. Nero reached behind him and pulled out the U.A.S. service pistol that was stuffed into his khaki pants' waistline, and pulled back the slide, chambering a round into firing position. He did this somewhat sluggishly, his enhancements had not kicked in yet, as his aggression enhancers had not yet begun to cycle at a high enough rate. His eyes scanned the darkness in front of the girl, her handgun pointed in the same direction as his, but she also kept an eye on him. Nero mustered what words he could, being both appalled that she accused him all of a sudden, and somewhat shocked that something got the drop on the both of them. "Listen, missy... One, you gotta quit callin' me by my rank, two, those bureaucratic bastards don't pay me enough to slaughter you Liberation kiddies, and three, I don't know what the hell it is thats down there, but you can be sure that it ain't my dealin'...". Nero started to breath heavier, he wanted to get his heart rate up higher, so that his Chemical Aggression Enhancers would begin to cycle at a combat rate. It was about this time that Nero spied down the iron sights of his handgun, a glimmer, a sheen, of metal. Slowly the mechanical nightmare that was a Predator drone peeked itself slowly out of the shadows of the alleyway into the dim lighting that was offered by the single light. Nero had seen them before, they were used in conjunction back when he was with the suicide corps. for the fodder infantry that he was once a part of. The drones were automatons, designed in the form of a large predatory cat, but instead of flesh and bone, these beasts boasted three inch neosteel plating, and advanced servos in every joint that allowed swift, agile movement. Equipped with long, sharp titanium talons, and if that wasn't enough, they could emit an electrical pulse that was incapacitating if a human were in direct contact with the drone. They were programmed originally to keep deserters from escaping the battlefield by terminating them, and were quite the handful. Nero had never come against one, not until now, and their dull glowing yellow eyes still struck a cord of fear into even Nero's hardened heart.

"Missy... I've seen one of them automatons before... Its a Pred. Drone... You'd best not make any sudden movements unless you're gonna be dodgin'... and don't come within striking distance of that 'sumbitch. It'll tear ya a new one... No doubt about it." Nero slowly explained, trying not to gain too much of the Predator's attention, but the beastly mechanical nightmare flicked it's plated steel tail from side to side, as if it had found its new playthings. Nero's face was an expression of horror as he locked eyes with the drone, and it unleashed a horrific metallic growl that made Nero's skin crawl. These critters were a hell of alot tougher to kill than your average person, and Nero didn't like that, not one bit.

[aislinn]

[/i] That just made her want to do it anyway, just because it would needle him. Then again, he might shoot her. Two, those bureaucratic bastards don't pay me enough to slaughter you Liberation kiddies, Ah, there it was. He didn't think he was getting paid enough. Since when do any soliders get pay that was actually worth their service? ...and three, I don't know what the hell it is thats down there, but you can be sure that it ain't my dealin'..." He didn't sound like he was lying, but she didn't know this man from Adam.

The man was breathing heavily, and she wondered what was wrong with him. He looked fine, other than his breathing. She didn't look over at him, though, because something shiny had caught her eye at the end of the alley. She had never seen anything like it, but it looked dangerous enough. Anything that was made of metal and could move by itself was dangerous in her opinion. Even those little hacker bots technitians were always toting around were dangerous - they were difficult to destroy and could probably smack a human like her across a room. No thanks. It looked like a cat - she liked cats well enough, but this was no type of cat she'd ever seen before, not in all three years she spent in the U.A.S. It seemed the Colonel did, though. "Missy... I've seen one of them automatons before... It's a Pred drone..." She'd heard of predators before, but she had never in her life seen one. Now she was wishing it was still that way. "You'd best not make any sudden movements unless you're gonna be dodgin'... and don't come within striking distance of that 'sumbitch. It'll tear ya a new one, no doubt about it." He told her, slowly and quietly. The predator merely waved its tail back and forth, as if it knew he was talking about it.

"Can we kill it?" She asked carefully, watching the metal creature as it stared at the two of them. She realized they couldn't 'kill' it as in a human, but they could sure as hell destroy the sucker. It was metal with an A.I. There had to be something they could do to break it. "Blow it up? Shoot it? What?" Her tone was quiet and her words came out slowly, when she really wanted to be loud and speak quickly. She forced herself to be careful - she really didn't want to be killed by the monstrosity before her.[/ul]

[Virrus Nero]

Nero's hand gripped his pistol so tightly it began to shake. Both from fear and from the adrenaline now beginning to surge through his veins. He could feel the Aggression Enhancers kicking in, and soon he would be nearly uncontrollable. With eyes trained down the notch and point iron sights of his pistol, he kept the barrel aimed at the forehead of the Predator Drone, which seemed to be waiting, as if it were scanning him and the woman he was with. Its eyes seemed to train on Nero for a few seconds, before turning to the young lady, and then back to Nero. For a moment the beast was silent, and the young lady seemed to take advantage of this by speaking over her shoulder as carefully and hushed as Nero had to her. "Can we kill it?" she asked, and Nero honestly didn't have an answer. Every predator drone he had seen always was far away, chasing down some fool that decided to run off the battlefield, and tearing him or her to bits. Even if the escapee had managed to turn get a few shots off, the beast was on them so fast that they were goner's before they even knew what hit them. "Blow it up? Shoot it? What?" She continued to press Nero, just as hushed, but with much urgency, as if she knew the gravity of the situation, of course she would, though, she was obviously an ex-U.A.S. servicewoman, with that cool demeanor and savvy with a weapon. Nero thought about what he could do; use her as a meat shield? That was out of the question, those talons would tear through her and into him, and they'd both be screwed. Let her die while he runs off? Well, Nero wouldn't loose any sleep over it, but the beast would tear her to shreds and be on him faster than he could get away anyways. It was apparent to Nero that his only choice in this situation was to work with this lady to take the drone down. Soon after she had pressed Nero for what to do it opened it's Sabre-toothed maw, speaking in a computerized female voice.

"Identification confirmed; Colonel Virrus Nero, subject is not at post, consideration, deserter, protocol, termination. Identification confirmed; Aislinn Marshall, subject is known deserter, consideration, liberation member, protocol, termination." It rambled, revealing tidbits of information it was given, and loaded into it's knowledge database. This thing was really getting on Nero's nerves now; it had revealed his name to this little lady, miss Marshall it called her, and worst of all; if it got away it would reveal Nero's little side project to a General, even the President himself, and Nero would either be sent back into solitary, or worse, executed for treason. What a woe that would be, to die before exacting any revenge on the slave drivers the U.A.S. were. At least if he went to prison he'd make an attempt to break out, kill as many guards as he could, and go out with a big bang. But this wasn't exactly what he had in mind, Nero narrowed his eyes at the beast, still seemingly fearful of it, but it had pissed him off more than miss Marshall ever could, at least for now, and he wanted that thing to turn into a scrap pile real quick. His heart rate quickened, and soon most of his fear was replaced by an adrenaline high, a feeling of near invincibility. Nero spoke through gritted teeth, in an obviously enraged tone. "This thing's gone an made me... Mad..." Nero's English suffering greatly because of the sheer anger and adrenaline pulsing through him. His hand steadied now, a side effect of the aggression enhancers, and reaction modifications in him, which made him into a killing machine when angered to the point of blind rage. "Shoot 'iss goddamn eyes out! Covered in steel piece of mechanical piss-me-off!" Nero nearly shouted at the top of his lungs, pulling the trigger of his U.A.S. pistol as fast as he could. The drone to Nero seemed to move in slow motion because of the adrenaline, he watched it as it quickly got into a position to pounce; but his rain of bullets accurately plinked into the forehead and face of the drone, repeated hits. The sound of his pistol going off was drowned out by a ringing in Nero's ears, he was deafened from rage, his only sense being tunnel vision on the now one-eyed and seemingly confused predator drone.