The Criss-Crossed Case (Sevi)

[Dusty Dawson]

Retrieval jobs were always simple. Go from point A to point B and get object A. Return to point A and drop off the object and get paid. Dusty might as well have had the money given to her. But, a task had to be carried out. And point B had been a den of rather unsavory characters. They had been dealt with and left for City Watch to take care of.

Now all that was left was to drop the little box off and collect her gold. The client, one Baron Chevalier, was a nobleman of rather low standing. He didn't control much land and didn't seem to have much influence with anyone in the city. Otherwise she wouldn't have been called in.

"I need discretion." he had said, "I can't have people knowing that I can't even have simple burglaries taken care of! Too embarrassing."

Dusty had her own theories as to why secrecy was such a sticking point. The young ladies she had seen him chatting up in the Tavern probably had something to do with it. She noted one of them sitting at the bar, conversing with a rather elligble looking fellow. The detective smirked and shook her head to herself.

She had to relinquish her katana at the front door. The Silver Dragon was not like the dive bars she usually found herself in. It had an image to uphold. She climbed the steps up to the inn, wooden box tucked beneath her arm. It was locked. And as far as she could tell it would be no easy task unlocking it without a key.

Finally, she reached the good Baron's room. Gloved knuckles wrapped on it's surface. Instead of a reply, the door gently swung open. The darkened interior did not appear to be occupied. A troublesome feature that interfered with Dusty's getting paid. That old feeling detectives sometimes get, commonly referred to as "the gut feeling" or "hunch", was creeping up on Dusty.

"And it'd been goin' so easy, too..." she muttered as she cautiously entered the room. No maid had been in to tidy up, so his departure had been recent.

"I swear, if there's a corpse in here, I'm gonna be mighty pissed."

[Sevi]

Sevi had been there a while. The idiot she had been sent to retrieve the item from had never showed up to his room in the fancy inn. Not that she had used the front door. When she had tried she nearly got in a fight with some of the establishment personnel. She would have loved beating the hell out of rich people and maybe taking a coin or ten while they were unconscious, but what she was supposed to get for retrieving this… box… thing was far more valuable, and she couldn’t afford the mix.

So she had acquiesced their request and “left”… the front door and climbed through a window in the back then went to the room she was supposed to. She did so hate secrecy. It was far too much work, and far too little fun compared to the other avenues she normally walked to get where she needed. However, once again it all came back to the reward, and she WANTED that reward.

The moron hadn’t been there so she was waiting, and incidentally had fallen asleep on the very nice bed while waiting. Not often she got to use something this fancy. Actually it was the third time… best not to talk about the first two… there was a lot of pain involved on the other party. The door she hadn’t really shut after prying open with her claws slowly creeked open. And as it moved so did her eyes. She was sitting up as the door banged lightly against the wall behind it.

The door had let in a wave of fresh air once more. Whoever had been using it before she arrived used to much smell good stuff on themselves or maybe that was the room. Either way she couldn’t smell a damn thing besides that crap. And it had made resting on the very nice bed annoying difficult.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said rolling back lightly and leaping out of the bed in one fluid motion. “But there’s no-body here.” She said laughing inwardly at her own joke. Hey someone had to laugh at her jokes and those Pricks she usually dealt with just couldn’t get her fine and sophisticated sense of Humor.

“You don’t look like a spoiled nobleman.” She said noticing the distinctly feminine features of the person who had entered. Also the clothes gave it away. She may have been dressed nicely enough, but it was far from the Ritzy clothes she saw nobles wearing. Damn Stuffy couldn’t move in crap. It was one of her favorite reasons for beating them… of course she would provoke them into throwing the first punch. The city watch already wanted her for enough things without adding to the list.

OOC: incidentally I put up a Sevi “older Version” Picture it’s in her umm… character directory link at the bottom… if you want to look. If you don’t so be it.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty was met with jokes. She was looking for payment and instead, some girl was in her employers room and trying to...well, she wasn't sure what. But, Dusty needed a payday and it was obvious this person wasn't going to be it.

"Cute." she deadpanned, "The Baron sure fancies the ladies, but I think he likes 'em a bit....bigger."

She quirked an eyebrow as she got a better look at the girl. Dusty studied her cautiously. That gut feeling was persistant. Something was definately wrong. Why couldn't this have been one of those simple cases that ended with her getting good drunk at the end of the night.

"Alright kid, I don't know what ya think you're doing here, but I suggest headin on out this here door." she stepped to the side and offered a quick exit. There was still a chance that this could have a quick and peaceful resolution. A small chance. A teeny-tiny chance. So, you really couldn't blame Dusty for trying.

Still, she got the feeling that there was only one way this was gong to end. And it wasn't going to be quick or easy.

[Sevi]

So the woman didn’t think her joke was funny ahh another person who didn’t understand her great sense of humor. Well it wasn’t like she really expected much from the woman. Of course there was a joke about her in some rebuttal form. Hmm… bigger? Was she talking about breast? She had a problem sometimes understanding these people. It was her understanding nobles liked ‘em young supple and easily manipulated. Of course she didn’t fall into all of the categories and she most certainly didn’t fall into the large breasted one… at least for now. She DID have to wonder how old she was sometimes. Maybe this is as big as she would get. She didn’t envy some of the ways the older female fighters had to deal with things, but being looked down on as a kid also pissed her off a bit. She didn’t feel like deciding which she hated more.

Sevi’s hand rubbed at her nose a bit trying to get that goddess awful smell out of it. She had hoped to be used to it by now, but it didn’t work out that way. “Sorry, I’m waiting on someone here. If you would kindly leave so as to not interrupt my business.” She said biting back a few choice curse words. It was harder than she liked and she didn’t know why she was stopping herself from just forcefully removing the woman. It would have been the quickest and easiest way. She looked like a fighter, but not exactly the same as what Sevi was used to… maybe like someone from that tourney she had fought in for food money. Not quite like Thunder Tits though. Or was it lightning?

Bahh whatever she had but to wait for the woman to leave and she could go back to waiting… maybe open another window. Sevi noticed the woman was carrying something and of course… it piqued her interest. She had to glance the woman over after the initial glance from earlier. Sevi decided… she didn’t like the woman. Then again she didn’t like a lot of people. Maybe it was the way the woman was standing? No… probably more like the way she held herself. More important was the box though… “What in th’ Box?” Sevi asked quirking an inquisitive eye brow.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Didn't get paid to look inside..." Dusty started. That question was now starting to nag at the detective. Coming to her client's room to find this rude girl in place of a Baron was starting to grow more and more suspicious. There were very few coincidences in her line of work.

Dusty was starting to get the impression, that her initial guess was wrong. Someone was trying to pull something. Now, the question was who.

"Who's payin' ya?" she asked, "An' just what ya gettin' paid ta do?"

Details would be necessary. The sooner the better. Dusty should have just turned the case down when Chevalier wouldn't tell her what was in the box. Now, she was in an uncomfortable situation without access to the proper amount of facts. As she waited on the younger girl (or at least younger looking) to respond, Dusty went over what she knew, so far...

Fact: She was hired by Baron Chevalier to retrieve an item of personal importance.

Fact: He had stressed secrecy in the case.

Fact: The item in question was a small box in possesion of a small band of thieves who had broken into his room at the Silver Dragon and made off with the box and several valuable items.

Or was it a fact? She had to go back on that last point. It was the Baron who had made that claim. Perhaps there was more going on than she first thought. Tomorrow morning she was going to have to have a chat with those thieves. And seeing as how they were locked up, that wasn't going to be too difficult to arrange.

Of course before any of that...she would have to deal with this first.

[Sevi]

Chh looks like she was just going to have to resort to force. If the woman didn’t see fit to properly answer her and giver the run around saying ‘ohh I haven’t opened it yet, and I’m a stupid tramp.’ Well that was the woman’s decision. However, Sevi had better things to do than listen to the woman beat around the bush. “It don matter jus’ Give me th’ box Yer Holding and I’ll leave.” Sevi said rather casually as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Even if the box was the wrong one she could just discard it. Besides everything was easier just taking the box from the woman anyways. She didn’t have to play nice and keep herself restrained. Well the woman didn’t seem like a push over, but she could hardly be a match for Sevi right?

OO: -.- Sevi… wasn’t in my brain today.

[Dusty Dawson]

"So, it's like that, eh?" Dusty sighed, shaking her head, "You do realise that my job is to deliver this to it's owner. That person being not you. So, I'm gonna say again. Just walk right out the door an' I won't have ta toss ya out the window."

Blue eyes locked on the girl and narrowed. This was going to be a long night. In fact she was getting ready to make her case to double her usual fee for the amount of trouble she was now going through. The more the other girl spoke, the less qualms Dusty had about tossing a few haymakers her way.

If only she thought that would be enough. But, from what she could see the mystery girl was going to be a handful. "Now quite yappin' an' make a choice. We doin' this the easy way or the hard way?" she said, "Either way, you're leavin' this room empty handed, kiddo."

[Sevi]

Sevi was dumbfounded. Of course she knew that she wasn’t the boxes owner. And the person standing before her being quite obviously female meant that she wasn’t the owner of the box… once again the clothes gave it away as well. Thus she could easily imply that the woman was delivering the box to its owner. What did she take Sevi for? A common street thug… well if she thought about it she kind of was a street thug, just not a common one.

Sevi rolled her arms behind her and then forward as she bent her knee’s. “Sorry to disappoint you, but they’re both the easy way. I’m jus Choosin’ the fun way is all,” Sevi said with a smirk. With no more warning she leapt farther than her small body should have been able to right at the woman with the box. She had to get it so she could get paid. Not to mention a few other things it was to help her with.

[Dusty Dawson]

Getting paid, while always nice, was even better when you had all the answers you wanted. Whatever was going on with this strange, ill-tempered girl she was sure there would be less answers coming from her and more salty language. Not that she wasn't above using a few choice bits of language, but right now it just wasn't going to get her very far.

With a leaping hoodlum bearing down on her, Dusty decided it was beat not to be where she was standing. Snatching up the bottle of brandy that was in the bureau next to her, the detective readied a nice greeting for the green haired girl once she landed. Although she hated to waste good booze, it was still better than pounced upon. Plus, it was her clients problem. He paid for the room, after all.

Her hand came down, gripping the fancy glass bottle and aiming for the girl's head.

[Sevi]

Sevi hadn’t thought the Woman was that fast. To be ready in such a instantaneous way… spoke well for the amount of fun she was going to have with her. All be it she DID have to get out of the current predicament she was in… or rushing at in high velocity anyways. Her arm moved up and blocked or rather caught the full brunt of the bottle which managed to break giving the woman a sharp weapon as well as hurting Sevi’s arm and drenching her and the woman in the foul smelling liquid.

She couldn’t understand what some people saw in the stuff. A shard of glass had managed to cut her cheek and her sleeve. Chh did the woman know how hard it was to stay warm on the streets? And here she had a hole in her new… well to her jacket. “This Jacket was hard to come by!” She said as she spun low and ducked to the floor her foot lunging out to trip the woman as she did.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Then don't start fights!" Dusty retorted. Her pants caught most of the brandy. Which was annoying as it meant a cold walk home was in her future. She held onto the bottle, it's jagged edges making for a handy improvised stabby device. She backed off, keeping the box behind her and the bottle in front of her.

"You think I'm just gonna let ya conk me on the head and walk off...just like that?" she sounded quite incredulous, actually, "Do you know what I had to go through just ta get it? It's been one long day and you're making it longer. I don't wanna hear no sob story, when I gave ya plenty time ta walk on out. You blame any more on me an' I'll break yer damn jaw!"

Dusty stood firm. The box was getting too important. The detective had a determination to find out just what was so important about it. There were too many cases that were coming to unsatisfactory endings. And Dusty was getting sick of being taken for a ride only to wind up at more dead ends.

[Sevi]

Chh it seemed the woman was actually better than she expected. As exciting the fight it would be the other seemed to have expended the energy to get out of Sevi’s range. Not as fun as the fight with the large breasted assassin lady she met a while back. Then again most things weren’t. She stood up and kept her distance. A cut by that bottle may not be so much for some people who had access to medicine, but to a street urchin it could mean death.

“Ya’ I was kinda hopin’ it would be that easy, but this way’s more fun. So let’s keep it going then and the winner takes the box.” Of course that had been obvious from the beginning since the loser would most probably be on the floor in a heap. Not a dead heap, unless the woman was one of them trained killers. Never knew with some people.

OOC: o.o Stabby device huh

[Dusty Dawson]

Tired? Perhaps a little. It had been a long day. But Dusty had just been riled up. The threat of of safety, both physical and financial, was doing it's job of sending adrenaline coursing through the detective.

"Fine." she said, "Just don't say I didn't warn ya."

Broken bottle in hand, she realized she still had to devote one arm to securing the box. Keeping it place could cause future problems. But it was also heavy and solid. A fact she kept at the back of her head for future reference.

[Sevi]

Sevi had the upper hand assuming she could just take the box and run, but so could the strange woman who now had her at bottle point… or close enough. Well… you didn’t live forever. At least if she went out through the cut she may receive from the bottle she could get the box, and take it to the idiot in black. What was it with mystery people and the black clothing anyways?

“Of course,” She said with a smirk. Trying not to allow the indecision show on her face anymore than it had already. She lunged at the woman again. This time she would come in low and dodge to the right should the woman get any ideas about using the bottle. Perhaps this time she should consider trying to remove the harlot’s ability to wound her and then go for the box… best option… if not as fun.

[Dusty Dawson]

It was at this time that the younger girl came in for another attack. She stuck low to the ground, looking for an opening. But, Dusty was in no mood to provide something so simple. The quickest course of action was to throw a low kick.

If the girl wanted to get down and dirty, the detective would oblige. Her cowboy boot was hard and unforgiving. All she had to do was land a solid hit to get the fiery little would-be thief to back off again. If luck was really with her, today, the blow may even knock her out cold. But, that was just wishful dreaming. Lady Luck couldn't be THAT generous, could she?