Job offer [Gaunt]

[Buse]

Alleyways, 2:15 A.M.

The place, as usual, was empty, at least until you looked a second time. And then you'd be able to notice that, all in all, it would be better off empty. There were two types of people in the alleys: The ones that wouldn't be allowed to around the prettier, safer streets freely, and the ones that were looking for things those streets couldn't provide. Some people managed to fit in the two groups, but most were either one or the other. Expresso... well, Expresso was probably in the second group. The good thing about the alleyways was that, as they say, "what happens in the alleys stays in the alleys". Unless he made too much noise or ticked off the wrong people, he could do whatever he wanted and he wouldn't get too much infamy for that.

The masked man jumped from rooftop to rooftop, watching the alleys below him. All in all, the buildings weren't really tall, being most of them being two or three stories tall, and they were often close to each other. After a short search, he found another suitable target: A young blonde man, wearing a dark gray hoodie, walking quickly with His hands on his pockets. Expresso jumped down in front of him, making the man jump back.

"Sup, boss?" He casually asked, entering a relaxed stance. "How's the night going?"

The man didn't answer, instead trying to move past him. Expresso then simply sidestepped and tripped him, making him fall to the ground. "Hey, if ya don't wanna talk, it's fine, but ya gotta hear me out." The coffee man said, watching the man get up. "Ever heard of Molotov? They're this awesome mexican band, just found out about them. I'm dyin' to get their CDs, but I need cash for that, you know? Sure, I could just burn them or something, but piracy's a crime, and I'm no criminal. Anyways, I was thinking, maybe you could help with the cash?"

By now the man was already up, and tried throwing a punch to Expresso's face, who effortlessly ducked under it and threw a punch of his own square in the man's gut, making him double over. The masked thief proceeded to take the man's wallet from his pocket before he slammed his hands against the guy's back, sending him into the ground.

"Ten, twenty, thirty, fourty... alright, fifty bucks. That's a huge help." After storing the money in his own pocket(dimension), Expresso threw the wallet back at the man. "I hope you didn't plan on paying any debts with that cash, bro."

"Give it back!" The man snarled, crawling towards his aggressor. "I was gonna buy-"

"Milk, yeah, I know", Expresso interrupted. "There's a pretty good milk salesman down the way you were going. Best milk in town, or so I've heard. Lots of calcium." He turned around and started to walk towards the end of the alley. "Well, chat's good, but I gotta go. Heard the CDs are running out fast." And just like that, he took a turn, followed shortly by another turn, and once again he started looking for a fire escape so he could easily get back to the rooftops.

[Gaunt]

It was a pretty typical night. It was late, there wasn't much to do, and Gaunt was coming dangerously close to a bout of cabin fever. He left the Renfields in charge, heading out to the local 7-11 for some smokes. He didn't need some yet, but he did need to stretch his legs. A leap carried him to a rooftop, going from roof to roof to avoid the crowds.

He was halfway there when he noticed a fellow rooftop traveler. Gaunt stopped, shimmering out of sight as he got closer. The guy was pretty impressive for a mugger, dropping from the rooftop and effortlessly dropping his target. He appeared to have some sort of powers, though Gaunt wasn't quite sure how much he had to offer. The vampire maneuvered around, positioning himself on the roof the young man was climbing towards.

He stood waiting on the roof, leaning against a wall. Gaunt didn't make his move until the man was walking past him. With a hissing sound and a puff of smoke, Gaunt shimmered into sight. "That was one hell of a drop, kid. Your knees can't be thanking you for that." Gaunt straightened up, sauntering closer. He sized the super up as he did, trying to see if he'd attack. "So what's your gimmick?" Rows of razor-sharp teeth were visible as he spoke.

[Buse]

That was... an atypical night. All in all, Expresso wasn't one for villainy, and when he did decide to... "borrow" some money, he usually did it the quiet and stealthy way. On that particular night, he was a bit more inclined for action, but he still wasn't a really fighty person. It's just... hell, talking was so easier, and more fun in most cases. Sure, when the ugliest guy in this part of town(and that was a feat) just blinked into existance right near you, you couldn't help but get a bit more... well, ready for combat. Expresso didn't do much beside quickly stepping back and getting into a stance, though he dropped it quickly. That guy probably wanted a fight, but who knows? Always good to be sure.

"They're alright, I'm a tough kid. I eat lots of beans." He smirked, shrugging off the comment about his knees. When the guy started approaching, he automatically took one step back, but just one. He decided to stand his ground after that. "I'm just some dude that likes coffee. And I may or may not have to eat at some point, you know." He pointed to where he came from, where he had mugged the guy. He'd try to avoid fights, though he probably wouldn't try too hard. After all, now that they had finally hired someone to work on the cafe, he could afford to get hurt a bit more.

[Gaunt]

The kid was keeping a good sense of humor, but Gaunt could see he was ready for a fight. Not that that was unusual, it was a pretty standard response to seeing a hideous vampire materialize out of thin air. No matter how friendly Gaunt tried to act, he was still a predator and people could still see that. It made social interaction in his Nos persona damned difficult, but he needed to test out this guy's skills in a way Businessman couldn't.

He stopped where he was, giving the kid some room to stay comfortable. It was clear he didn't like getting too close to Gaunt. Then again, neither did anyone else. "I'm guessing you got powers of some kind." he said, keeping his best poker face. "I'm with a group of freelance powered types, we're always looking for new talent. You interested?" A bit more direct than his usual pitch, but then again his usual pitch hadn't always worked so well. Maybe directness was better. "Steady pay, commissions for jobs, safehouses, the works. Of course I'd need to test out your powers first, but it's a good job if you can get it." The kid seemed to be having some trouble making ends meet, at least according to what he was saying. Maybe a little stability and a reliable income would sway him over.

[Buse]

Expresso crossed his arms, listening. When asked about his powers, he didn't react, instead opting to stay quiet. While he did like to show off, he wasn't stupid enough to sing his tales to people that might use it against him, and that guy looked dangerous. Maybe a small surprise was on the way. The guy continued quickly, either way. A... proposition. An unusual one, indeed, but Expresso didn't worry about that. Though again, he didn't do much besides shrugging until the man continued with the details. And the details were good indeed. Steady pay, comissions... then again, it wasn't all that different from the Teen Titans, except the pay was better.

"I'm out." He waited a couple seconds before talking again. "I don't really need money. And being part of a team's not really for me, you know? I like to pick my own gigs." He reached inside his jacket, retrieving a mug of coffee, then taking a sip. Maybe he could leave Gaunt wondering about that power... and he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to avoid a fight. "I don't really have anything against doing the occasional job, though. Sounds like a pretty great way to... spice things up a bit." Reaching into his jacket again, he put the mug back and got a notepad and a pen instead. After scribbling his cellphone number and his name(Expresso) in it, he tore the piece of paper from the notepad, making an airplane with it and throwing it at Gaunt, putting the note and the pen back. "You can call me anytime after 9 pm until the sun rises. I might not answer it after 3 in the morning, though. I like to sleep every once in a while. Oh yeah, you asked about powers, right?" He reached out his hand, materializing a coffee mug in it, taking a sip. "My own personal pocket dimension. Can get things in and out at any moment, and it stops existing while in there. Untraceable. Perfect for storing coffee, money, or anything you might need to steal, as long as it's not alive. Also happens to make me the perfect drug dealer, if you ever need a guy." He grinned. He liked to talk about the dimensions as if it were his main power. Gave people a false lead, and that could often be played to his advantage. Besides, everyone had their secrets, didn't they?

[Gaunt]

Sometimes, Gaunt wondered what his frown looked like. Considering how unpleasant his face generally was, he couldn't imagine it looked too nice. Right now, the mugger was getting a full display of it. At least he was offering to do some part time, but it wasn't ideal. He still wasn't too keen on this guy's cavalier attitude, but as a freelancer he could deal with it.

Gaunt caught the paper airplane, checking it was a real number before tucking it into his pocket. It seemed legit enough, he'd have to call the guy up sometime and find out. "I'll keep that in mind. Rat's Nest normally operates at night anyway, but I'll try to keep it on the early side. You'll get a day or two advance warning when there's a job, so you can get ready." He really hoped this guy wouldn't flake. He seemed potentially unreliable, Gaunt made a mental note to have a backup ready. Maybe Paige, she'd been reliable.

Okay, alternate dimensions. That answered one question, but raised others. He knew the guy was hiding something, but he wasn't sure what yet. "Right, neat. What about your physical powers?" He asked casually, not letting him off the hook. Gaunt was planning to get the truth there.

[Buse]

The guy was frowning, but that didn't really have any effect in Expresso. Instead, the speedster just stood there with the same casual posture, calm look on his eyes and constant smirk. "Sure, advance warning sounds good. Gives me time to prepare." He took another sip from his mug. It was about half empty already. And as expected, mr. frownypants didn't give up there. He wouldn't be fooled, that's for sure.

"Hey, hey, quid pro quo", Expresso answered with the same calmness of the question, "You want to know another power, you tell me a power of yours. Can't just give important knowledge away for free, am I right?" He took another sip of his mug, a bit to give him time to think up an answer, a bit to enjoy the moment. "Besides, I didn't even get your name." Expresso scratched his head, an inquisitive look on his face. Part of it was buying time, but most of it was actually getting to know his new "boss" of sorts. Always good to know whose plans you're following.

[Gaunt]

The guy was pretty detached, not really responding to Gaunt's change in mood much. Still, he seemed cooperative. That at least was good news. He'd learned from Psyman not to put too much trust in flakes, so he was going to give this guy some easier work, with less stealth involved. Something even he couldn't plix up. Finding one of those might take some time, but he'd figure it out eventually.

"Well, you've seen one, but fair is fair." Gaunt clapped his hands once, sending out a shockwave that was enough to blow hair back and stagger anyone standing nearby. "Now, what's your next trick?" This was the real point of interest. The pocket dimension was a neat trick, but it wasn't much on his own. The ultimate smuggler's stash was useless if he had no way of getting stuff to put in it. "The name's Nos, by the way. Lieutenant in the local chapter of Rat's Nest." A full member he would have told the truth, but part-timers couldn't be trusted with that. He was going to keep up the ruse for now.

[Buse]

"Nos, right. Cool name. You do look a bit like Nosferatu." He took another sip of his mug. "Good times, when vampires didn't shine. Anyways, powers, right?" And another sip. He took another look at his mug, noticing it was nearly empty. Good. "So uh... I drink coffee, right." He finished his mug, turning it upside down to show it was empty. "And, the more I do..."

He stopped. He looked down to his mug, apparently distracted, then suddenly smirked and threw it up in the air. As soon as he did, he dashed towards Nos, then around him, being careful to stay out of hitting distance until he couldn't anymore, and then dodging any strike. He ended up stopping right behind the vampire, giving him a light tap on the shoulder before dashing back to where he was, then casually holding out his hand for the mug to fall right in it, catching it. "...The faster I get." He then stored the empty mug back in his inventory, his eyes locked on Nos. "Stronger, too, but the main thing is speed. So all in all, I'm a pretty decent brawler, I guess." "Pretty decent" could be an insane undartstatement in his case, but he didn't exactly find it fun to deal with the crash later. He just hoped that night's crash wouldn't be so terrible... though if it was, he'd deal with it. No biggie.

[Gaunt]

Gaunt frowned a little at the Nosferatu comment, feigning annoyance. He really wished he'd picked a better codename for this identity, it would make it easier to play offended when people made the connection. As it was, he had to reference a vampire in one breath and angrily deny that he was one with the next. It was confusing as HFIL for him.

Ugh, a speedster. Those could be a bit of a nuisance. Gaunt had dealt with some back in LA, and there was never an easy way to take one down. You just had to either wait for one to slip up or outright ambush them, making it a royal pain in the ass once they got up to speed. He made a mental note never to give this kid the chance at a fair fight if they ever had to clash. He might not be able to do any real damage, but he could be a headache that Gaunt did NOT want. "Alright, seems useful enough." Gaunt pulled out an index card, scrawling some contact information on it. "Give us a call when you're free for a job, we'll see what we can find. And if you like it, the permanent position is still an option." Gaunt handed him the card and turned away, waving over his shoulder as he flickered out of sight. It had been a productive start to the night, but he still needed some smokes.