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What it takes (Candira and Jugger)

She blinked at his news, frankly a bit stunned. "Me? Why on earth would there be a warrant for me?" She asked, crossing her arms. she was obviously confused as to what would possess anyone to put a hit out on her. Then again, she seemed to be the only one who stood up to the mob when they came. It was in small ways--but she mostly kept her head down. She only retaliated when threatened openly. After losing her father so long ago, she knew better than to push anything too far.

And now he was telling her that she was a target and he was tempted to take her. The blonde didn't like where this was heading. "First of all, you don't know how I feel, and it's pretty clear that you never have, so let's refrain from making snap judgments about my character. Secondly, are you threatening me?"
 
"I just told you who would put a hit out on you. I said this mob boss I'm trying to kill did. Kind of funny...I get to kill either you or him and I get paid either way." He chuckled. "But no. I'm not exactly...threatening you...just warning you that if I'm paid off a higher pay than the one for the boss...I might be tempted to come after you...but only tempted. This is why I'm trying to figure out where this guy is so I can kill him before he bribes me...and money is easy to sway me."
 
Frowning, Marlowe came to his side once again and looked up at him. "I could never pay you enough to keep you from killing me. I certainly hope that you won't consider it for too long. Maybe I ought to help you after all," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "He's not hiding, but I wish you wouldn't take them so lightly. I'll tell you all about it today while we catch up." She didn't want him to leave just yet. After all, he was still the first person she really liked. Even though she hated him too.
 
"Like I said...I'm trying not to get bribed to the point I'll have to kill you. So...try and think of other ways to pay me, should the need arise that you need to sway me, alright? Now then...what did you have in mind that we do to 'catch up', as you put it? Go for a walk in the...uh...desert...? Drink some of your watered down drinks? Maybe something a little more...private?"
 
"I thought we might talk. Where you want to do that is up to you. As for paying you off...I'm sure I'll think of something. Like you said, it's been about ten years. That's plenty of time to fill each other in on." Maybe, if she was lucky, she'd learn something that would endear him to her again and make her not want to punch him in the jaw every time he made her mad. She shrugged and asked, "Well? Where are we going?"
 
"What are you asking me for?" Darian said with a frown as he furrowed his brows. "You said you wanted to chat. You know more about this town than I do. You've only been here your whole life. You tell me where we're going." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Or is there really nothing to do in this town unlike back when we were kids and the world was our playground? I was the king, and you were always the loyal servant with an attitude." He said, snickering at her as he teased her.
 
She rolled her eyes. "Well, the options are a bit more limited now. But I'm not sure where you might want to go. You've been here for weeks, supposedly, so you should know where you'd like." But since he hadn't offered up any selections, she decided to invite him to a small restaurant that did good business and annoy the waiters by not ordering anything until lunch. It was something she liked to do now and then.

"Unless it's too quaint for the king," she said, mocking him.
 
"Not a problem. Maybe I can cause a fight or something to...bring in the customers attention. We might even get paid." He said before chuckling a bit. It was obvious that money ran this guy's world. "So then, where is this restaurant? I hope its not too sturdy in the walls...cause then I can't throw a guy through them if I need to." He smirked. "Or maybe I should just do something a little less...barbaric...I mean...after all, I'm not a child anymore...so that stuff isn't tolerated...and this town doesn't need anymore money wasted on repairs."
 
She led him out of the bar and toward the little place, listening as he went on. So he'd changed. Money was important to him now. Very much so. She wondered why that was, but decided to leave it for now. "Smart to not make trouble for the shop owners. We really don't need money wasted on repairs." She walked along side him and smiled.
 
"Hey, I still have SOME respect for this little town you know." He replied back to her as they entered the restaurant and were seated in the back. Darian sat back casually and just waited for her to order before he would. "Damn. The only people I've seen that I remember is you. Where the hell are all the others? Run out of town or did they just die?"
 
She chuckled at his question. "Really? I don't remember you having much when you were little." She winked and then walked into the place. Seated in back, she made herself comfortable in the booth they had. The blonde sat with him and shook her head. "Actually both of those guesses are correct. Some are still here and living just on the outskirts, ranching."
 
"Interesting to know...though you're moreover the one I came here to see, for a variety of reasons, and you already know a few. The bounty on your head for one, to see an old friend again, and I was just passing through, so I figured I might as well stop by anyway. Truth be told...I was going to skip this place if it wasn't for the bounty, but then I caught wind of it that two of them were in the same town...So I decided to stop by since its on the way to where I'm heading."
 
She chuckled. "Did you really stop by to see me?" She highly doubted it and rolled her eyes, telling the waiter they needed more time as he set their water in front of them. "Or are you talking about someone else?"
 
"Either you or this mob boss. Thats who I'm here to see. We've been over this before hun, I don't think we should go over it again haha." He smiled to her and began to drink the water. "So why haven't we ordered yet? Or is this some custom I haven't heard about in this town to wait an hour before we order?" He joked.
 
"First of all, it hasn't been that long," she said giving him a little look. "And secondly, we do this to each other. It's our thing. It's what we do." She said with a chuckle. Marlowe watched him and tilted her head. "So you wanna get rid of the mob boss...he's staying at the only other large piece of property in town. Got a bunch of henchmen, lots of ground to cover. They're all pretty good shots, but there are a few flunkies that are just there for kicks or familial ties." She said, tilting her head. "I suppose I probably could have bargained to use information to pay you, but oh well. It's done already.
 
"All thats left is your body." He said, winking to her. "Well how bad could a few guards be? I mean come on, I've taken out a larger share of people before and all I had one me was a slingshot. You remember that time I protected you from those bullies right?" He said with a swipe of his thumb under his nose, showing he was somewhat cocky. "I'll take them out without a problem, provided you give me either backup fire or enough ammo to take em all out."
 
She sighed. "Well the problem isn't really that they're great in number. It's that they're all great shots and in hiding places. And there are a lot of places for them to hide." His comment about her using her body made her smirk a little and she just shook her head. He was really a little over confident. But then, she supposed that's what had drawn her in the first place.
 
"In any matter...Don't worry about it. It can't be that hard for me. You know all the possible hiding spots that they have, so you could just tell me where I should watch my back." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck before he laid that hand down on his mechanical arm. "I really wouldn't worry too much for my safety...If I were you, I'd worry on whether the ones in town who catch word of it might go after the townspeople, as a sort of payback for me killing their boss or something. But then again, if they're just lowlife thugs, once the alpha's been killed, the pack should scurry away with their tails between their legs."
 
"That's not how organized crime works, and that's what this is," she said with a frown. "I'm worried about you, but I'm also worried about anybody in town that they could connect to you. They're spineless cowards and if they think it's easier to get revenge on the town than on you, they'll do it." She frowned and looked at him. "So as much as I do want you to be careful for your own safety...I want you to be careful for theirs too. I don't mind so much if they come after me." Caroline could handle herself. She wasn't really worried.

She watched Darian curiously, wondering what he was thinking.
 
"Well then...What is it you supposed we should do then? Just let them continue to act like they own this town before they eventually bribe me to kill this town's only means of actual defense? Pfft. I doubt there will be no friendly casualties...so you should get everyone some kind of weapon and tell them to lock their homes or something for when we do take action, got it?"
 
"I'm just saying we need a plan and frankly, I think we need a lot more than just you and me." She wondered how he'd take that but let it go. "Most everyone who can lift a gun has one--it's a question of how well they use it and how flame resistant their houses are..." She paused and remembered the horrific site of her house burning and finding her father's body...

She shook the image away and looked up to him. "I'm not sure what to do. I'm just saying it's important to think it through."
 
"I'd rather act first and think later, if you ask me." He muttered to her. "Anyway...I guess I'll actually try and think it through...I mean, I can't let the town I love just burn to the ground can I?" Well, he could...but he wouldn't tell her that. He was in this for the money moreover. "So everyone who has a gun should start getting ready. If these mob bosses live on someplace like the old mansion on the hill that was supposedly haunted when we were kids, we just need to set up a barricade along the road and have the townsmen guard the road until we get back. Simple enough, though we'll have to hurry if we'd want to end this guy's life and save as many of the villagers as we can."
 
She frowned. "You really love this place?" That didn't sound like him, but she hadn't known him for ten years, so who was she to say? She shook her head and ordered coffee when the waiter came back, not wanting to keep him waiting anymore. "I think we can do that, but it'll take some time. It might take a day to gather the materials and get everything set up with people."
 
"Still...it might be hard to even convince these guys to actually stand up for themselves. The people in the bar all looked too afraid to stand up to a growling cat if it walked by them and hissed at 'em." He said with a sigh. "This town might be doomed you know, unless they get amped up by someone they know and trust...Someone who's been protecting them this whole time." He was obviously hinting to her that she should give a rallying speech.
 
"What, me?" she asked, watching him. He had a good point, not that she hadn't known it before. Convincing anyone to join up with them would be difficult. They hadn't even wanted to get involved last night, for pete's sake. Well, one thing for sure was that she was going to need real bullets this time, and a lot of them. "I'll give it a shot, but I don't know how many people will listen..." She thought about it and wondered how long this would take. "This is going to be more than a day's work."

At that her coffee came and she dumped a ton of cream and sugar into it.
 
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