Catch up on the Prologue [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99126259]HERE![/url] [i]"City's full of shady folks. Tower's even worse. Wild's just...well. Wild. Know the most honest mutha-blam!-as I've run into? Fallen. I mean they want to steal your shit, but they'll steal it from right in front of you. Kinda transparency a guy can't help but appreciate. Oh, you think that's funny coming from me? Let me just get out my suggestion box, for you. It's at the bottom of this clip, I swear." ~ Ricochet[/i] ******************************************************************** "Alright, ground rules." Ricochet muttered, hunched forward over the table. Even out of his armor, the man was massive. Having bought clothing of the generally dirty and tattered variety that was popular in this town, it should have been easier to fit in---it really wasn't. Where they were in the world didn't lend itself to many dark skinned people, so simply on first glance he stuck out like a six and a half foot tall sore thumb. Those factors coupled with his rumble of a voice carrying like it did, even when he attempted to whisper, and blending in was going to be almost impossible. "Bishop. Bishop, -blam!-in' pay attention man." The bar was straight out of a brochure for the seediest place on Earth. A wooden building with creaking floorboards that had gaps between them. A bar splattered with curious and mostly unrecognizable stains. A smell that was pervasive but just as hard to identify the source of. Uneven tables and wobbly chairs. Drinks poured from bottles with no labels. Dirty dishes. A barkeep who wore an Auto Rifle on his back. A bar maid who didn't seem to be concerned with wearing anything at all. An upstairs full of rooms with beds which were rented out by the hour, and a clutch of friendly ladies who hung out near the piano which surely was never used who were a tad too enthusiastic about escorting travelers to their rooms to 'get them some comfort'. Bishop's eyes and attention had mostly been on the girls over at the piano since they'd entered. Ricochet had to stop Eagle at his fourth unnamed drink. Ricochet wasn't entirely innocent himself. He'd almost wound up in three fights since they got here. People were just plain rude, and he wondered if it was only because he hadn't beaten anyone to death with their own jaw yet. Something about the 'Wild' just seemed to bring out the animal in everyone. "What? What, man, I'm browsing the w...wears." Bishop remarked, still half turned in his chair. "I [i]think[/i] I see a two for one deal..." Ricochet sighed. And he looked. There were a dozen or so women over there, most pretending to have hilarious and engaging conversations with one another while they were being oggled. He didn't see any advertisements, or signs." "How can you tell?" Eagle asked, apparently reading Ricochet's mind. "Flashing red sign, man. Can't miss it. Well, shouldn't miss it." Bishop grinned. Ricochet stared. Squinted. There was no sign. None of them were even--- "None of them are even wearing red. Or redheads. You're an idiot." Eagle completed Ricochet's thought for him again. Ricochet kept staring, determined to see what Bishop was seeing. Bishop had turned away, shrugging and grinning. It was difficult to notice, at first, but there did seem to be two who were angled more toward their table. One gave a small frown and leaned to mutter to the other when Bishop turned. Ricochet tipped his head to the left. The one being whispered to arched an eyebrow, and her eyes shifted between he and Bishop. The whispering one added something. They both smirked, and carried on with what otherwise seemed to be a regular conversation. Both re-crossed their legs simultaneously. Ricochet saw the red. "Subtle." Eagle remarked, and took another sip of his drink. "...not really." Ricochet muttered. "Got your attention though, didn't it? I like these people. They completely lack class, self respect, and rules. It's like I've died and gone to Heaven." Bishop spread his arms to motion around them grandly. "...died and went to the future." Ricochet muttered. "Which is apparently that one bar in New Jersey..." Eagle added. "The future is great." Bishop agreed---or sounded as though he were agreeing with them, though he was far more enthused than either of them were. "Ground rules, Big Guy. I'm listening now." "Right. Well, we're here to blend in." Ricochet began. "Which you already suck at. Keep going." Bishop quipped. "Shut up. We're here to blend in. Big Z thinks this place matters. I don't care either way. We need to know what the ants want here, that's about all." Ricochet was trying to avoid being overheard, so he'd adopted code names. Bishop and Eagle didn't seem to like them as much. "...Big Z?" Eagle muttered, confused. "He's talking about Zava---" Bishop started, and Ricochet thumped his fist on the table to stop him. "Seriously? Don't -blam!-ing say that name around h---" Bishop cut him off again. "Who the hell else has a name that starts with 'Z'. Come on. And if you think they don't already know who we are, you're a damn idiot." Bishop waved for another drink as he spoke. "They don't. Not if you're not obvious as hell about it." Ricochet growled. "They do. How the -blam!- else would the Redlight Twins over there know I had money to pay for 'comfort'?" Bishop's question lingered in the air, drowned in the busy sounds of the bar. It was a good question. Ricochet looked to his right at Eagle, who had simply closed his eyes, taken a sip of his drink, sighed, and started sage-nodding in agreement. "Mhm." Ricochet shifted his gaze toward the 'Redlight Twins'. They weren't sitting there anymore. "Well -blam!-." Get Part Two [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99215365/0/0/1]HERE![/url]