The Back Country Deal

Liam and his gang awaited their 'business associates' in a run down old factory in a back country town far away from any police forces. Liam sat there tapping his foot as his good friend, the murk elf thief Psyche, sighed impatiently "Uggggh Liam where are these people!!!" He smiled at her and said "Oh calm down Psyche, they will be here."

The sound of old metal grating and scraping open was followed by the sound of footsteps as Dresden quite anti-precariously entered the warehouse. She wore a vintage shirt with a logo for the city of Andron...except it was ripped and cut in designs across the shoulders, and defiantly graffiti'd out with "REBEL" and "PUNK" and "LIVE FREE" in thick, black ink. She wore heavy leather boots laced up sloppily, and her rugged look was completed by a street-custom steampunk shotgun slung across her back with a studded guitar strap and a twelve-shot steam revolver holstered on her thigh. She carried a mismatched brown messenger bag in one hand, and a lit cigarette streaming with smoke in the other.

"Liam, Liam - how the hell are you? It's been awhile."

She glanced over her shoulder at her partner.

Liam smirked and got off the wall he was leaning on and looked at Psyche "Told you she would be here soon." When she came in he laughed and said "I've been very well Dresden, the black market here in our fair Back Country has been veeery good to me recently."

He smiled "I even recently...liberated a prototype weapon from a Andron warehouse with the help of my little friend Psyche here." Psyche seemed to stand up a bit taller making liam chuckle "Have you heard of the new R.I.F.T system they have been tinkering with?"

Beside Dresden was a pale skinned Vulcan elf. She wore a low cut, button down shirt with nothing beneath it pairs with a black skirt that was considerably longer in the back than the front. Her long red hair was braided at the sides and pulled back into a high ponytail.

"So this is the famed Liam," she paused and lifted her head up slightly as if sizing him up. "Too bad." She then looked to Dresden. "I thought you said he was suppose to be one of the best..."

Liam raised an eyebrow " I am the best." he looked at Dresden "A bit short on crew Dresden? Seems like your standards have dropped." Dresden would know he was just jabbing back, as liam was very fond of doing.

Deirdra's response was quick and without hesitation.

"Why don't you say that to the last gang I ran into, oh wait, they're all dead," she said as she smiled playfully.

He chuckled "I could say the same about the last loud mouth who talked down to me" he smiled the same way back. Psyche was just standing there, confused as to what was happening

Dresden took a thoughtful puff off of her cigarette as she hoisted her bag down and watched the altercation in mild amusement.

"Let's play nice, kids." She chuckled. "Liam, this is Deirdra. Deirdra, Liam. Not like either of you probably give a shit, but we can at least be civil." She took another puff. "Psyche, huh? You new?" She asked on the side, as if it were an afterthought, and she was fairly unconcerned and sounded a bit bored.

Liam chuckled at her and smiled "Alright, i guess i can be nice." he smiled At Deirdra "Its such a pleasure to meet you, very rare to see volcan elves this far away from their nation."

Psyche smiled and nodded "Yup! Liam found me just a few weeks ago, i was a street rat for a small mining town a few miles out of Andron."

"I love street rats," Dresden said dramatically. "She's cute, Liam. Try not to get this one killed so quick, right?" She absent-mindedly reached her free hand to scratch the back of her neck and tousled her messy, tied-back dreadlocks. "You should watch close when we get down to business. Learn a few things that'll keep you alive."

Psyche smiled but that smile faded slightly when the killed comment was made, Liam sighed "Really Dresden? I'd like her to not get scared off quickly either, she is quite useful." Psyche smiled a bit more and did in fact listen intently to what they were saying once they began business. Liam smiled "Speaking of business, what do you have for me this time Dresden?"

"Well, you're not doing her any favors by not telling her how it goes down. What's more useful than having a noob who knows what they're getting into?" As she took another long drawl off her cigarette, she turned her gaze to Psyche. "Don't be dumb out there. Anyone will fuck you over. Anyone. You have to keep it real. You'll find out. Fuck, I remember being young and stupid..." Dresden trailed off, bitching and grumbling for a moment while she knelt down and zipped open the messenger bag. Once she pried it open and laid it out on display on the cold, concrete warehouse floor, she fluttered back to the task at hand.

"Oh, yeah. You're gonna love this shit. It's real fresh. Probably the best yet." She drew in a sharp, decisive sniff before she slid the case over to Liam. The contents inside were still wrapped and concealed in a few bulging black cloths. "Check it out."

Psyche nodded her eyes almost twinkling with admiration as she listened and nodded smiling "Thank you for the advice! Ill make sure to follow it!" Psyche smiled and stayed to the side as liam smirked and kneeled down, checking out the contents, opening some of it up and checking out what she had inside. Dresden would notice one of Liam's oldest gang members, Stein, leaning up against a large tarp near them. It was probably the RIFT gun.

Once the cloth was moved back, the case would reveal dozens - maybe even hundreds - of tiny metallic canisters. The seasoned dealers would recognize these as hits of shift, the increasingly popular street-drug that was high in demand...and going higher in price.

"Looking good, huh?" Dresden smiled, proud of her delivery and her...product. Of course, she noticed Stein by the tarp, and had been keeping an eye on him. "Hey, c'mere. You know you don't wanna miss out on a hit of this." She reached in and plucked one of the canisters out.

Stein simply chuckles "The more i take the less we sell, the less i make." Liam smiles at him and nods "That's why i don't sample anything, i just assume you do anyway Dresden" Liam smirks "Would you like to see the RIFT?"

Dresden chuckled. "You guys never were much fun. You've gotta liberate yourself from the money to the mind, you know? Fuckin' live a little." She shook her head and slipped the little vial back into the case - she had more of her own, anyway, she thought. She gave up on trying to convert them. "Yeah, show me your new toy."

Liam chuckled as he walked over to the tarp covering the rift turret "Oh but Dres, money is my mind" he smiles deviously "Half of the reason im still alive actually" He pulled the tarp and an incredibly high tech turret was sitting there on the ground, expertly dismantled to be showcased properly, most likely by Stein.

Liam smiled at her "Runs on steam, alchemical, high tech, every power you can think. I even got it to run off of a drakin magic crystal, this thing is magnificent. Now its made for airships and such...and i don't have one of those...But you do" He leaned down and pointed at the barrel "It super charges and spins the energy, then launches it forward as a burst of charged particles." he chuckles more "This thing literally rips apart WHAT EVER it hits, it takes a bit of energy and time to recharge, but its definitely an invaluable thing to have in a pinch"