Mid week 54: Smoking the Chambered Round.

Hugo linked arms with her, grinning widely. He lovingly adjusted his grip on the beautiful girl in his company, and once he was done making sure Una was comfortable, he looked down at the tiny Coraline, eyes twinkling. The walk from the garage to The Round was short, so there wasn't much time for walking arm and arm.

The Chambered Round had no bouncers, as it was an established neutral ground... And quickly became non-neutral ground for anyone who thought otherwise. Inside was a big, round room filled with ambient glowing colored lights which highlighted the dull shine of durasteel furniture. The rounded seats, tables and chairs were bolted down to prevent against collateral damage in a nuke fight. Shooting ranges made to accommodate light to very heavy fire lined the circular walls like spokes of a wheel, with seating along the edge to accomodate onlookers. The second floor had seating as well, with grand views of several shooting ranges at once. There was a dance floor, and low beats of music could be heard, but it was hard to make out anything more than that over the gunfire. The bar in the center was simple, circular, and apparently well stocked for agents, since even this early in the night where were a group of clearly drunk Ai Jinn nukes taking up half of it.

The place had a reasonable crowd, and Hugo looked around approvingly. "Here we are."

Ito Akio, former agent for the Takata Corporation and current agent of fortune sat in the darkest bit of the bar he could find on the second floor, nursing a pitcher of Bobco's cheapest. His laser cannon sat next to him, and on the table in front of him was a coupon and a beautifully made clockwork toy.

He had been drinking for a while now, and his fast metabolism, even for an agent, was causing him to feel the after effects of the booze he had grabbed before arriving. He hoped more booze would be the solution.

Below his breath he muttered stuff about a clothing company in the Interchange. He did not appear to be happy with them.

"Ooh, they're definitely nukes. Oh but they're Ai-Jinn! Hmmm, I'll be subtle just in case. Have fun tonight dear, okay? Hope you find what you're looking for. And wish me luck sweetie, which I accept in either kisses to the cheek or forehead." Coraline gently teased as she took back her hand. Whether or not Hugo kissed her she blew him a kiss as she headed toward the Ai-Jinn and wondered how best to make a good first impression. She was chatting excitedly to two of them within a few seconds, easily deflecting questions about who she was. It wasn't hard to get people to focus on guns instead of people and Coraline had an ace up her sleeve, as it were.

Hugo did indeed give Coraline a small kiss on the forehead, since it was requested so politely, but he was already looking around. Quickdraw didn't seem to be here tonight, but there was a good crowd of other folks. Glancing around, he made is way to the opposite side of the bar of Coraline to get a strong drink. Perfect.

As his eyes looked around, he could see a few light firearms users pulling off some VERY precise shots. It was interesting, but he couldn't really see the appeal in guns so small. He sipped something orange in a frosted glass. It was nice.

Yan Yan, Ai-Jinn sniper specialist, had just finished his round on the firing range (a very long round involving a competition with several others and the acquisition of almost a hundred credits in assorted bets) and was walking back to his usual spot, when he saw that there was an old Japanese guy sitting in his place.

Obviously new here, he thought. Nobody's told him that's my spot yet. Normally, Yan would not have been happy with some foreigner stealing his seat, but he was in a generous mood after his success on the ranges, so he simply sat by the guy and gestured for a drink.

"Hey," he said, doing his best to sound friendly, which didn't always come easy to him. "What's up?"

Akio looked up, bleary eyed, and gave himself a few seconds to focus on the multiple Ai-Jinn agents in front of him. Eventually they decided to merge together, and he gestured into the air. "Got paid shit, lost half me rank."

He took another swig of beer, and reached forward and grabbed the clockwork toy. Even in his drunken state, his fingers flew around it with precision and soon it was a pile of cogs on the table top. He stared at it a bit more.

Yan whistled. "Tough break. Still, least you're alive. Bad jobs don't usually give you that. Way I see it, if you can still go and drink afterwards, it could have been a lot worse. Name's Yan, by the way," he added, holding out a hand. "Sniper. You?"

As his drink arrived, he gestured to the bartender to bring another one. He was feeling generous - it wasn't like it was really his money, anyway, and the guy really did look depressed.

Akio shrugged. "I wouldn't..." he hiccuped "Wouldn't mind, but those assholes gave me fuck all." He violently gestured at the coupon in front of him. "See this? See this? This is the super special thing they promised." Akio's fingers were in the way, but the logo was from a clothing company in the Interchange. "This!"

He scowled into his beer, then reached forward and began reconstructing the toy. It was taking longer, but he seemed surprisingly delicate and careful, even in his state. (Int+A&C+4 for specality=17, rolled a 5.)

"Let's see," Yan said, reaching to pick up the coupon. He held it up for a moment, looking at it, then put it back on the bar. "Damn. That's a pretty shitty bonus." He looked across at the toy that was being rapidly reconstructed. "Hey, nice. You build stuff?"

The coupon was 20% off all clothes from the companies range. The company was well known for not having the best selection, particularly of sizes, since their target market was not agents, and from the looks of things, Akio likely wasn't in their size.

Akio looked up. "Break things mostly. Good with my hands." he flipped a cog into position and began to fiddle with the outer layer of the samurai figure.

"Makes sense," Yan replied, nodding. "Says why they hired you." At that point, the other drink arrived and he passed it to the other Agent. "Here, on me. Been a good night for me. Lots of stupid people who think I can't hit a proper target." He smiled, smugly. "Might as well get you a few drinks. You look like you need 'em."