"Mmmhhmppm!"
Nero glanced at the source of the noise in irritation. The Highlander had woken up and started struggling against his bonds, the chair making a rhythmic clack clack clack against the floor. Casually, the Midlander smuggler walked to the other side of the room and with his foot, shoved the chair-bound Highlander over. While the tall Hyur continued to struggle, at least the chair had stopped making that insidious clacking noise.
"Bit of a noisy sort, your bodyguard." Nero remarked. "He ought to learn to relax a bit. Take life slowly, you know?"Â
At the back of the room, bound to another chair, was a middle-aged Lalafell garbed in gaudy clothing and jewelry that indicated his status as a wealthy merchant. Unlike the Highlander, the Lalafell was the picture of calm, as if expecting himself to be teleported to the security of his estate at any moment. Nero and the Lalafell stared at one another in a long silence that was punctuated by the occasional shuffling of the Highlander.
Finally, the Hyur sighed. "You're making this much harder than it has to be." Nero exhaled, the exasperation showing on his voice. He tousled his hair briefly with one hand, placing the other on his hip. "You know, the fact that we're both doing something technically illegal is supposed to make this easy. Surrender full control of the route to me, and I'll pay you a stipend. Nobody else has to know. There is absolutely nothing you will lose from this besides a single route out of fifty. Besides maybe a bit of pride and a few hundred thousand gil." He paused, expecting a reaction. When none came, he knelt down to the Lalafell's level, his earrings jingling softly. A cocky grin curled the corner of Nero's lip.
"Give me this one route, and you'll get to go home safe and sound, and I'll be able to go to the Bismarck in time to make my reservation."
"I will not condone the trade of illicit goods," the Lalafell wheezed in a somewhat hollow voice, as if he were reading off a script. Nero snorted derisively in response, standing up, his cordial expression replaced by a sneer of utter contempt.
"I'm fairly certain your bosses in the Syndicate ship more illicit product in a day than I do in a year. Please don't try to defend this on moral grounds, I can only take so much hypocrisy in one sitting before having an allergic reaction." His face evaporating back into an eerily cheery smile, he spread his arms dramatically. "And need I remind you of exactly how much product you were stealing from your employer with that route? I mean, I could have just sold the info to them, but being the paragon of generosity that I am.." A soft bump was heard as the Highlander apparently made contact with the wall during his struggle. Nero rolled his eyes.
"Stop struggling, you're only going to hurt yourself." It seemed to work, for the noises of the Highlander's epic struggle with the ropes and the chair ceased. Turning his attention back to the Lalafell, Nero crossed his arms, icy blue eyes gazing directly at his captive.
"Well, if you won't accept my very generous offer, maybe I'll just let our mutual friend Pepesha accept it." At the mention of that name, the eyes of the middle-aged Lalafell widened, seemingly synchronised with the widening of the Hyur's grin. "After a judicious application of persuasive force, obviously." The Lalafell seemed to freeze, but beyond that made no reaction for several long seconds of quiet, a habit that Nero was getting rather tired of.
Nero's grin drooped slightly, an eyebrow furrowing. "What I'm saying is that I'm going to hit her. A lot. As in, with my hand. Shaped like this." He held up a fist. "And it's probably going to hurt a lot. Unless you turned her into an iron golem or something. In which case the joke would be on me. You know, I wouldn't even be mad if that happened."
The Lalafell did not appear amused by the idea.
Nero sighed again. "Look, friend, really, one of three things are going to happen before this day is over. One," his mouth spread into another Cheshire-esque smile of faux affability and he clasped his hands together,"you accept my proposal and we all go home happy. Two, I throw your body," the Hyur jabbed a thumb at a nearby window, "out of that architectural orifice, and lean on your pretty daughter until she accepts my proposal. Or falls madly in love with me. One of the two." He paused.
"The third is that I get bored and forget about you. Maybe take a week off in Costa del Sol. Then I consider early retirement and spend the rest of my days being fanned by lovely Miqo'te girls in colorful swimwear."
Nero sighed wistfully, then glanced at the Lalafell, his hands on his hips again.
"Between you and me, that's the most unlikely one."
Another long silence, hopefully the last of many, passed until the Lalafell croaked out an answer. "How do I know you aren't going to sell me out anyway?"
Sensing that the Lalafell was close to caving, Nero's expression lit up into one of glee, and performed a mocking bow to his captive. "You have my word as a liar, scoundrel, smuggler, and honest-to-gods good for nothing ruffian," the Hyur announced dramatically.Â
With a smile still cresting his face, Nero tilted his head towards the Lalafell. "By which I mean, you don't. But it's not as if you have a choice now, do you?"
"And my daughter?" the Lalafell's voice had broken down into a whisper.
"Will remain safe and sound...probably. If you cause trouble for me, we'll need to have a little chat with her. And her husband." The Hyur had no intention of doing any lasting harm to Pepesha or her husband--his information said that the couple had a child on the way--but that didn't mean he couldn't make the older Lalafell sweat a little bit.
In an exhalation that seemed to amalgamate into a cross between a wheeze, a sigh, and a cough, the Lalafell slumped. "Take....take the route, then."
Nero spun around, clapping his hands, his widest smile yet adorning his face. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Nero glanced at the source of the noise in irritation. The Highlander had woken up and started struggling against his bonds, the chair making a rhythmic clack clack clack against the floor. Casually, the Midlander smuggler walked to the other side of the room and with his foot, shoved the chair-bound Highlander over. While the tall Hyur continued to struggle, at least the chair had stopped making that insidious clacking noise.
"Bit of a noisy sort, your bodyguard." Nero remarked. "He ought to learn to relax a bit. Take life slowly, you know?"Â
At the back of the room, bound to another chair, was a middle-aged Lalafell garbed in gaudy clothing and jewelry that indicated his status as a wealthy merchant. Unlike the Highlander, the Lalafell was the picture of calm, as if expecting himself to be teleported to the security of his estate at any moment. Nero and the Lalafell stared at one another in a long silence that was punctuated by the occasional shuffling of the Highlander.
Finally, the Hyur sighed. "You're making this much harder than it has to be." Nero exhaled, the exasperation showing on his voice. He tousled his hair briefly with one hand, placing the other on his hip. "You know, the fact that we're both doing something technically illegal is supposed to make this easy. Surrender full control of the route to me, and I'll pay you a stipend. Nobody else has to know. There is absolutely nothing you will lose from this besides a single route out of fifty. Besides maybe a bit of pride and a few hundred thousand gil." He paused, expecting a reaction. When none came, he knelt down to the Lalafell's level, his earrings jingling softly. A cocky grin curled the corner of Nero's lip.
"Give me this one route, and you'll get to go home safe and sound, and I'll be able to go to the Bismarck in time to make my reservation."
"I will not condone the trade of illicit goods," the Lalafell wheezed in a somewhat hollow voice, as if he were reading off a script. Nero snorted derisively in response, standing up, his cordial expression replaced by a sneer of utter contempt.
"I'm fairly certain your bosses in the Syndicate ship more illicit product in a day than I do in a year. Please don't try to defend this on moral grounds, I can only take so much hypocrisy in one sitting before having an allergic reaction." His face evaporating back into an eerily cheery smile, he spread his arms dramatically. "And need I remind you of exactly how much product you were stealing from your employer with that route? I mean, I could have just sold the info to them, but being the paragon of generosity that I am.." A soft bump was heard as the Highlander apparently made contact with the wall during his struggle. Nero rolled his eyes.
"Stop struggling, you're only going to hurt yourself." It seemed to work, for the noises of the Highlander's epic struggle with the ropes and the chair ceased. Turning his attention back to the Lalafell, Nero crossed his arms, icy blue eyes gazing directly at his captive.
"Well, if you won't accept my very generous offer, maybe I'll just let our mutual friend Pepesha accept it." At the mention of that name, the eyes of the middle-aged Lalafell widened, seemingly synchronised with the widening of the Hyur's grin. "After a judicious application of persuasive force, obviously." The Lalafell seemed to freeze, but beyond that made no reaction for several long seconds of quiet, a habit that Nero was getting rather tired of.
Nero's grin drooped slightly, an eyebrow furrowing. "What I'm saying is that I'm going to hit her. A lot. As in, with my hand. Shaped like this." He held up a fist. "And it's probably going to hurt a lot. Unless you turned her into an iron golem or something. In which case the joke would be on me. You know, I wouldn't even be mad if that happened."
The Lalafell did not appear amused by the idea.
Nero sighed again. "Look, friend, really, one of three things are going to happen before this day is over. One," his mouth spread into another Cheshire-esque smile of faux affability and he clasped his hands together,"you accept my proposal and we all go home happy. Two, I throw your body," the Hyur jabbed a thumb at a nearby window, "out of that architectural orifice, and lean on your pretty daughter until she accepts my proposal. Or falls madly in love with me. One of the two." He paused.
"The third is that I get bored and forget about you. Maybe take a week off in Costa del Sol. Then I consider early retirement and spend the rest of my days being fanned by lovely Miqo'te girls in colorful swimwear."
Nero sighed wistfully, then glanced at the Lalafell, his hands on his hips again.
"Between you and me, that's the most unlikely one."
Another long silence, hopefully the last of many, passed until the Lalafell croaked out an answer. "How do I know you aren't going to sell me out anyway?"
Sensing that the Lalafell was close to caving, Nero's expression lit up into one of glee, and performed a mocking bow to his captive. "You have my word as a liar, scoundrel, smuggler, and honest-to-gods good for nothing ruffian," the Hyur announced dramatically.Â
With a smile still cresting his face, Nero tilted his head towards the Lalafell. "By which I mean, you don't. But it's not as if you have a choice now, do you?"
"And my daughter?" the Lalafell's voice had broken down into a whisper.
"Will remain safe and sound...probably. If you cause trouble for me, we'll need to have a little chat with her. And her husband." The Hyur had no intention of doing any lasting harm to Pepesha or her husband--his information said that the couple had a child on the way--but that didn't mean he couldn't make the older Lalafell sweat a little bit.
In an exhalation that seemed to amalgamate into a cross between a wheeze, a sigh, and a cough, the Lalafell slumped. "Take....take the route, then."
Nero spun around, clapping his hands, his widest smile yet adorning his face. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
