Spider in the Web Part 2

The Expanse - Bar  - The Warren

The first thing noticeable about the Expanse is that it is /bright/. The walls, the ceiling, and the floor all provide illumination, a white with a slight tinge of blue. The lighting shifts slightly and regularly, and patches of subtly darker blue and brighter white are somewhat visible on the surfaces of the walls and ceiling. The lighting seems to suggest moving through the interior of a cloud, and it does so well.

The room is laid out as a rectangle, perhaps twenty feet by sixty-five, the long sides parallel to the walls of the Bazaar. A dull metal bar emerges from the left of the back wall, stocked with nearly everything one might ask for. Booths are set into the walls along the front side of the room, the walls around them darkened slightly to allow a small measure of privacy. The remaining space is taken up by a number of tables, arranged in no particular pattern, each surrounded by four of five chairs. A door, of a light-colored wood, leads into the casino through one of the Expanse's short sides.

Jeff Ryan is sitting at the bar, he seems to have stayed out of his usual robes the last few days, he has a glass in hand, the usual clear drink he seems to enjoy.

Jeff Ryan A tall moderately handsome man, Jeff Ryan stands just over six feet tall. A shock of blond greying hair hangs over his face. It's his eyes that draw attention, keen, smiling and intelligent. His frame is lithe, yet well built and his movements easy, fluid and graceful.

Jeff Ryan is his name and his colours are black and silver. He is wearing black pants with a silver line running down the outside leg that tucks into his boots. A silver shirt peeks fout from underneath a charcoal black flak jacket. The pants and flak jacket meet at the waist, bordered by a double holster-belt, the holsters themselves strapped to each thigh and the belt adornished by a silver buckle. A silver ring adorns his right hand.

It's dinnertime. Well, after dinner time, but when you're working all day, hour twenty one must suffice. Lucius sits at the bar a little ways down from Jeff, chowing down on what looks like breaded chicken and a big mug of root beer. His rifle is leaned against the bar, while his helmet is next to the plate.

Lucius A good description of the man before you is wide; his broad shoulders and barrel chest certainly display themselves prominently. He stands about 6' tall, his body covered in large, compact muscle. He has a angular face, albeit with some slight roundness present at the cheeks. His cheekbones are prominently seen under his eyes, he has a large, straight nose except for an aquiline break at the top of it, and finally his chin is distinctly featured on his face, jutting outward a few inches. His hair is kept short, and is the colour of fertile earth; deep dark brown. His eyes are piercing, of ice blue, while his skin is of a uniform medium tan colour. He is cleanshaven, a light grey stubble resting on his face.

He wears a full military BDU, dyed in fractal urban camoflauge (blues, greys). Both the jacket and pants of the BDU are made of a heavy material, with many pockets as well. On his shoulders, the gold rank insignia of a Sergeant Major, with its three upper and lower arrows and star in the middle is present. Under the BDU jacket he wears a grey undershirt. On his feet are black military style boots. A black flak vest is worn over the BDUs, the ceramic inserts providing bulk protection. It seems he wears flak armour on the rest of his body, also in plain view, as well as a hard ceramic-composite helmet. On his flak vest, he has a nameplate pinned which reads, "S.P.D." On the belt he wears, a holster is attached, which contains a .45 Glock G21c handgun. Finally, on his back is strapped a 5.56mm FN FNC assault rifle.

Jeff Ryan glances down the bar at Lucius and raises his glass in salutation. His voice, the usual emotionless gruff tone you've come to expect from the lunite, "Greetings Lucius."

"You do realize how much of a geek you sound like while saying that?" Deadpans Lucius. For a moment, his expression remains completely neutral - then he grins and raises his own glass. "Slide on over, bud."

Jeff Ryan chuckles and slides over a stool, taking a sip from the glass as he does so, "You forget.." The lunite answers, "I'm not from the same universe you lot come from. Back home we speak... well we speak Standard more..." He searches for the word, "Standardly."

"I like to add a little bit of colour into my conversation. You know how it is. Plus, I grew up in a bilingual home, so certain.. expressions find their way into my regular speech." Lucius gulps down some root beer, nodding in satisfaction after. "Any word from the front?"

Jeff Ryan nods as Lucius speaks, smiling a little. The last question brings the lunite back to a more serious mood, "Nothing, I was hoping you would."

"Haven't seen our friend recently, actually. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but it looks like he means business." Lucius shrugs, cutting off a chunk of chicken and dipping it in ketchup.

The lunite reluctantly nods, "Ares is a friend of mine, I don't want to see him get hurt. And if this guy is here, that means Ares is here..." Ryan pauses a second, as though deciding something. How far can he really trust a Martian when there's money to be made?

"If you're so concerned for your friend, then why don't you put a bullet into this guy's fucking face and be done with it? Bullets solve certain difficult problems." The Martian remarks, nodding as if to emphasize his point. He takes a bite of the ketchup-y chicken.

"You heard him," says Ryan. "He's working for someone else, better the devil you know."

"And? What, you think everything he does is recorded? If he doesn't make it out alive, then ain't no one gonna know who capped him." Lucius looks to Jeff, regarding him squarely in the eyes.

"I want to keep an eye on who's looking for Ares," says Ryan. "It's easier if we don't just shoot everyone who comes around asking questions, might work the first couple of times, then they are going to get smart about it." He pauses a moment, and dead-pans, "Perhaps, never underestimate stupidity."

Lucius shrugs lightly, cutting another piece of his chicken up and again swabbing it in ketchup before he consumes. "Guess you might have a point. Depends how insistant this guy's boss wants this Ares character."

"Besides," says Ryan having made up his mind. "I've not been entirely honest with you. I have more at stake in this than I led you to believe."

Lucius takes a sip of his root beer but does not speak as he lays the mug back down. He focuses on Jeff, listening intently.

"You know that I am wanted just about everywhere outside of TK right?" asks the lunite.

"I thought this conversation was about Ares." Lucius states, but makes a motion with his hand, signalling to Jeff to go on with.

The lunite ignores the martian's interuption, "When I'm off-world I tend to use alias', for running the business end of things I use a decent ID that's been set up for me. Under that ID I use the name David Davenport, in the, shall we say, the darker side of society, I used the alias Ares."

Lucius's eyes widen a bit, and he exhales deeply. "Well I'll be damned. Think that he picked that up when he talked to us? Mean, your voice is sorta distinctive. The longer this clown is on planet, the more he can report to his boss."

"I don't think he knows that much, to tell the truth I don't think he knows anything other than my name, well the Davenport name anyway, he probably picked up Ares somewhere," says Jeff. "It's not a big secret that Davenport used the alias Ares. Enough people knew about that."

"I'd be extra careful.. you never know how much other people know, if you're getting my drift. This guy looks like he knows his trade, too. Might wanna lock yourself away in the Temple, ein?" A little grin produces itself on Lucius's face at that.

"I am not going to go charging around looking for him," says Ryan. "Not yet, but the best way to survive a trap, is either not to walk into it in the first place, and if you can't avoid that..."

"Be prepared for when it comes to you." Lucius completes Jeff's sentence, lips spreading as his grin does the same. He has finished his drink and his food; now, the Martian pulls out a cigarette and lights it, grabbing his helmet also and strapping it on. "But, I gotta go on duty. Do my rounds, you know?" He clicks the chin strap closed. "Keep your head up." With a wink, Lucius rises.

Jeff Ryan nods at that, "I will." He chuckles, "Try to keep it attached to my shoulders too."

"Whatever works." Lucius does an about face and grabs his rifle, heading for the door. Back to the exciting workplace, it seems.