The bar was attached to a dancehall. The heavy bass of a techno soundtrack reverberated throughout the hall. The room was kept dark with the exception of pulsing coloured lights set up around an expensive looking DJ deck which lit up in time with the beat. Tables and chairs lined the sides of the room, a dance floor taking up the majority of the centre of the hall. It was still early so the hall was mostly empty, only a handful of young couples occupying the tables.<\/p>\n
The bar was hidden behind a partition, allowing anyone looking for a quiet drink to hold a conversation while the music bounced off the wall, giving a muffled heartbeat to the ambient background noise.<\/p>\n
Blaise didn\u2019t have a hard time finding the boys; she could hear the distinct sound of Doug\u2019s hearty laughter, even over the constant thump thump<\/i> of the music behind the partitioning wall. She found them sitting at the bar, Gratin was sitting in silence enjoying a drink and a packet of nuts whilst Doug talked at him and the barman. The barman was not taken with Doug\u2019s brand of small talk, much like most barmen exposed to the inquisition that was Doug\u2019s means of breaking the ice by trying to pry into their private lives, while simultaneously not giving a shit and expositing all manner of humorous and slightly lewd anecdotes. Doug was halfway through the sentence \u201cand my trousers were around my ankles and he had a gun pointed at my joy department\u201d1<\/a><\/sup>, when he noticed Blaise and became worryingly quiet. The barman took this as his opportune cue to go and clean some glasses at the other end of the bar, reprieved of forced conversation with a clear lunatic.<\/p>\n Blaise sat down on a stool to Doug\u2019s left. The trio sat in silence for a few seconds, giving Blaise the time to take in Doug\u2019s appearance. He had removed his bionic arm and presumably left it in his room, the stump that was the remains of his biological left arm having been covered in bandages in order to hide the scarring. It wasn\u2019t so much that Doug cared what other people thought of his scars, he just felt that covering them was more inconspicuous. At least, that\u2019s what he claimed – perhaps there were some feelings of consciousness regarding his amputated, ruined stump of a limb.<\/p>\n Eventually, Doug lost interest in the bottom of his glass and took the risk of glancing up to look at her, as if making eye contact ran the risk of blowing his brains out through the back of his skull. He\u2019d ran head first into blaring gunfire with less anxiety.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I get you something, Red?\u201d he asked. She could tell that he was trying not to upset her. He didn\u2019t like their disagreements any more than she did.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, whiskey on the rocks, thanks,\u201d she replied. Doug nodded, called the barman back with a flick of his finger and placed the order. The barman set to work making the drink. Blaise stopped him just as he finished pouring the whiskey.<\/p>\n \u201cLeave the bottle,\u201d she instructed. The barman nodded and went back to the other end of the bar to serve some new customers. Doug chuckled nervously.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking to do some heavy drinking?\u201d he asked in a bid to start some conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to forget my problems,\u201d Blaise replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWell don\u2019t we all,\u201d Doug added. An awkward hush fell again as the two mercs busied themselves with their drinks. It was Blaise that broke the tension, unable to resist making a comment.<\/p>\n \u201cSo\u2026missing something?\u201d she asked, prompting Doug to acknowledge his stump.<\/p>\n \u201cHeh, yeah. Sometimes it\u2019s nice to walk around free of extra weight, you know? I mean, sure, there are supports built in to the arm, a counterbalance grafted to my other shoulder and I\u2019ve had my collarbone plated so it\u2019s easier to lug the arm around, but it\u2019s still around 50 pounds of metal I\u2019m carrying around and it can get tiring,\u201d he explained. Blaise smiled and nodded, adding an \u201cI bet\u201d as she took another swig of her whiskey.<\/p>\n There was another long silence, which was this time broken by Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cLook Blaise, I\u2019m sorry if you feel like you were shanghaied into coming-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Doug, I\u2019m sorry I reacted the way I did-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I should\u2019ve respected your decision instead of harassing you-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou were right about the money though-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make up for it-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cForget about it-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c-I said forget it<\/i>, Doug. I\u2019ll forgive you if you forgive me for being a bitch,\u201d she joked. Doug grinned at her.<\/p>\n \u201cDeal,\u201d he agreed. Gratin took this moment to raise his beer.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe you humans believe renewed alliances must be toasted to. Am I mistaken in saying that this is such a moment?\u201d he asked. The other two chuckled and raised their glasses.<\/p>\n \u201cTo friendship,\u201d Gratin toasted.<\/p>\n \u201cTo money,\u201d Blaise added as the group downed their respective drinks.<\/p>\n The evening rolled on, the bar slowly filling up as more passengers sought night-time entertainment. The mercs eventually left the bar and claimed a table in a quieter corner of the hall in order to escape the crowds, the music hammering the partitioning wall even louder as the DJ got more excitable.<\/p>\n \u201cWell this is a real party,\u201d said Doug sarcastically, sipping at his pint and interrupting another lingering silence in the process. Opposite him sat Gratin, ever the stoic mountain of concentration, currently focusing on some point above Doug\u2019s head. Every so often one of the mage\u2019s fingers would twitch in time with the muffled music pumping through the bar. Blaise stared off into the distance, absent-mindedly twirling her finger around the edge of her tumbler of whiskey.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you expecting?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about you, Archie?\u201d said Doug. \u201cHow do you feel \u2018bout our current course of action?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m indifferent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c…And?\u201d<\/p>\n Gratin didn\u2019t reply. His head bobbed slightly in a sort of half-shrug. Doug sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI keep the most interesting of company. Well, there\u2019s only one thing I can do. You\u2019ve forced my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Doug waggled his fingers to emphasise that he meant his human hand as opposed to his currently missing robot hand, got up from the table and walked away. The other two mercs were left in silence for a few moments, before Blaise broke it.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess it\u2019s too much to ask that he\u2019s given up on us and pissed off to his room?\u201d asked Blaise, shifting in her seat to face the mage.<\/p>\n \u201c…Optimistic,\u201d summarised Gratin. \u201cHe\u2019s far too keen on forcing us to socialise. I admit I\u2019m slightly curious as to what he\u2019ll try this time. I\u2019m guessing drink.\u201d<\/p>\n True enough, Doug shortly returned with a tray full of glasses and bottles of various shapes and sizes, each full with liquids of various colours and consistencies. He set it down on the table in front of the other two, before sitting down and resuming his pint. He didn\u2019t comment on the tray of drinks, or even utter a comment of explanation. Blaise looked at him quizzically.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm? Oh, these? Just thought I\u2019d get tonight\u2019s rounds in.\u201d<\/p>\n Blaise leaned over the tray and looked through the selection of drinks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s in them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little sample of everything at the bar. Help yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh no, I don\u2019t think-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c-And if you don\u2019t want anything, then you can sit there and watch me drink through this lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Doug necked the last of his pint with a few gulps, and placed the glass down. His fingers eagerly hovered over the selection in front of him, and he plucked out a tumbler of murky brown liquid. Blaise watched him as he put the edge of the glass to his lips and sucked at its contents. He smacked his lips a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cAny good?\u201d enquired Blaise.<\/p>\n \u201cBloody awful, but I\u2019ve had worse,\u201d said Doug, going for another sip. Blaise eyed the booze selection and was surprised to see that Gratin already had a bottle in his hand, rotating it as if he was deconstructing every molecule.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s beer, Archie. You put it in your mouth, swallow and go \u2018mmm\u2019,\u201d stated Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t call me that,\u201d murmured the mage. He swirled the bottle in his hand a little bit and then placed it to his lips. Doug and Blaise watched attentively as he sampled it. A low \u201chmm\u201d came from the mage as he swallowed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you reckon?\u201d asked Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cI think someone\u2019s urine sample got mixed in at some point during the brewing process,\u201d stated Gratin. He took another sip.<\/p>\n \u201cThat good, eh?\u201d chuckled Doug. \u201cProbably an acquired taste.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, unfortunately to acquire this particular taste one must first pass it through their bladder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean – oh, never mind. I\u2019ll take your pissy beer and raise you-\u201d he snatched another bottle out of the selection and read the label, \u201cColonel Gillady\u2019s Old Firewater Reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n Chugging it down, Doug paused to splutter as his eyes watered. Blaise grimaced as Firewater Reserve dribbled down Doug\u2019s chin as he gagged.<\/p>\n \u201cHhhh-hot!\u201d wheezed Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t like it then?\u201d said Blaise.<\/p>\n \u201cNot t-too *hack<\/i>* bad! Wanna try?\u201d<\/p>\n Blaise waved her hands in dismissal, but Gratin\u2019s newfound alcoholic curiosity prompted him to take the bottle from Doug. He noted the smoke emerging from the top of the bottle, and then drank it back without a second thought.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely an improvement,\u201d Gratin offered in appraisal. \u201cI could get to enjoy this beverage.\u201d The mage passed his half-empty piss beer back to Doug, whose eyes were now red and running. \u201cI think you\u2019ll find this beer will be more within your tolerances.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSod off,\u201d coughed Doug, rooting in his jacket for his cigarettes. Bringing out his lighter, Blaise put her hand on his arm.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t risk an open flame near your mouth given what you just drank,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Fair point,\u201d replied Doug, closing his jacket.<\/p>\n \u201cMy turn, I suppose. I\u2019ll raise you two this\u201d said Blaise, grasping a curious black bottle labelled \u2018Zoy Zauce\u2019.<\/p>\n Thus began the small drinking game that would keep the mercs occupied for the rest of the evening, until it inevitably escalated into the big drinking game that would occupy their time for most of the night.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n The room was dark, with the exception of the glow from the computer monitors around the edge of it. Figures in darkly-coloured security uniforms could be seen hunched over each monitor, intently and fervently watching security feeds and monitoring databases2<\/a><\/sup>. The drone of several newsfeeds could be heard over the hum of computer cooling systems.<\/p>\n One of the security officers was trawling through a database marked with the familiar blue diamond that was the Salmanic Inc logo. He was reading the new additions to the Salmanic database when he paused, re-read a section and turned around to face the centre of the room. There was a staircase there that led up to a gantry that connected to a glass encasement that contained an office. On the gantry stood two identical female silhouettes in lab coats. It was these two women that the security officer addressed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a hit,\u201d he announced. The women nodded in contemplation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c-What to do,\u201d they replied in turn. The officer nodded, turned around and grabbed his workstation\u2019s phone. He looked up a number on his computer and dialled it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve found him. It\u2019s time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The bar was attached to a dancehall. The heavy bass of a techno soundtrack reverberated throughout the hall. The room was kept dark with the exception of pulsing coloured lights set up around an expensive looking DJ deck which lit up in time with the beat. Tables and chairs lined…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46,32,31,33,9],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mercenaries-tale","tag-alcohol","tag-blaise","tag-doug-mccracken","tag-gratin","tag-the-mercs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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