First Date: Jailbreak and Kids?! [Char/Taro]

[EriChar]

Street clothes are so dull… This what Arthur Raffles thought as he looked at his reflection in the mirror of the hotel room he was staying in. Mirrors would be more accurate, as he was standing in a whole room full of reflective surfaces; the mirror room of the Grand Suite at the Prestige Hotel. As expected of a man so known for his flamboyance in his alter ego, Arthur had relieved a wealthy slave owner of both his slaves and his wallet, which was fat with more than enough money to book even a room like this for month.
Arthur’s issue was with the lack of flamboyance of his current dress; he wasn’t dressed badly at all, wearing a classy brown suit with matching tie, and a black shirt. Compared to his usual dress and current environment, however, Arthur was practically incognito.

“I guess I’ll have to slum it for today…” Arthur reflected with a sigh, flattening his messily spiked hair out a little, and he left the Mirror room. Silently snatching his room key from the marble counter in the main area of the suite, Arthur darted out of his room and locked the door, giving the hallway outside a cursory glance over before he moved on. The polished black shoes he wore tapped down the steps of the hotel quickly, and all too soon Arthur was in the lobby of the establishment. Flashing a grin and wink to the comely cutie currently manning the desk, Arthur headed out into the streets of Serine City.

He walked past the lights of the casino and the beauties trying to pull in the punters, a little disappointed that he was forced to rebuff them, but he had other places to be. Slipping into the darker underbelly of the city, Arthur walked dark streets, infested by thugs and lowlifes.
As he moved, one happened to fancy their chances with a well-dressed gentleman like he was. Keeping his head low and face hidden by a cap, a pickpocket bumped into Arthur for but a moment, intent on making off with the wallet inside Arthur’s jacket pocket. Quite deft hands, Arthur had to observe, as the wallet was taken away from him, he was a little impressed. However, it would not be the pickpocket who was impressed when he opened the wallet, only to find it bereft of any sort of funding and containing only a note with a message telling him to have ‘better luck next time’. Arthur wouldn’t usually carry cash with him in a wallet; inside info meant it only made him risk losing it, and he wasn’t the type of person who was intent on keeping it anyway.

As he moved through the dimly lit streets, Arthur was in good spirits as he counted the money he had gained from the thieves own currency container, having expertly lifted it himself in their brief brush. Whenever Arthur picked a pocket, regardless of what he took from it, he always felt a sense of nostalgia. Taking things from people unnoticed was one of the first things he learnt as a child, and it never ceased to be just a tiny bit impressive, no matter how many times he did it.
Not bad, should buy me a few drinks… Arthur observed, decanting a handful of Beri bills from the wallet, rolling them and then slipping them into his other hand. Opening the hand, the bills had gone, hidden away with his magic for when he would need them.

After a short passing of time, Arthur finally arrived at his destination; before him stood the blacked out windows of a shabby bar. Not entirely Arthur’s first choice in establishment, but he didn’t entirely have a choice right now.
All the clues I’ve followed have led me here… Arthur thought, pausing outside for a moment as he checked around him, trying to spot a tail.
“Hmmmm…” Arthur vocalised ambiguously, drawing his eyes away from the bar’s surroundings before stepping inside the locale.
The inside was just as worn and low key as it’s outside; Dark coloured furnishings and wallpaper that looked black. It was barely more lit than the dark street outside, with only a few dim lamps illuminating the locale, and the patrons barely seemed to even be awake, as only a few shuffled with their drinks and none seemed to turn their head as Arthur entered.
“A great place for a meeting, or an ambush…” Arthur remarked to himself quietly, looking the bar over with his hands in his pockets, still not entirely sure of what to expect…

[Deleted]

A small cloud of smoke had formed above an elderly gentleman sat not indiscreetly in a shady corner, nursing a glass of wine. Absently he’d sat here for some time as his right hand switched occasionally from the wineglass to drumming the table and so forth, all the while the other familiarly holding a long thin rollup. In his years Nestor had learnt the same irritation for earliness as was naturally assumed for lateness, it resulted in unnecessary waiting. Today however, the singularity of the brief demanded his attention, a rare unexpected treat in what had been a series of somewhat more predictable occupations. His eagerness though understandable was unobvious and poorly reflected by his somewhat serious expression, but was the cause of just such an instance of waiting. The occupiers of the selected meeting point seemed a quiet and un-inquisitive bunch, more concerned with the contents of their glasses than anything else. That probably factored in the choice of this bar, though it was not his choice.

Still Nestor had been careful not to draw attention to himself, normally he’d do this by emphasising the more priestly aspects of his attire, but godly men had little place in Serine City and so he’d opted to do just the opposite. Wrapped around his neck a white scarf concealed the collar below, his coat and boots were militant and practical enough to be in keeping with normal North Blue fashions and indeed did a good job of keeping the chill out. Both hands ordained fingerless gloves, one of which returned to his drink as he took another sip. Normally under the circumstance he probably would have avoided even the one glass of wine, but he was in a bar and people in bars drank, it too was a part of his attempt to remain incognito. Then again, he was not given any reason for concern; discretions just came naturally to this line of work. It wouldn’t be long now he assured himself, adjusting his spectacles and turning his gaze to the door.

Promptly a young man entered, doubtless his rendezvous for his timing was fairly precise to that prearranged. Not that was the only indication, his clothing was quite suave, his brown suit was of a high quality and knowing already what he did, it confirmed that he was good at it. The boys’ eyes did a quick take of the room, seemingly unimpressed but searching, expectant of someone meeting another whose description they did not possess. Most obviously though was his alert mannerism, this was a boozers den and although they were of a varying age range, none were quite so young as him and none were a fracture as considered. In short he stood out, although not strikingly so it was enough, not that anyone else had cared to notice him and if they had they’d surely put him down as a frequenter of the many casinos in the area – for he looked like a man who knew his way around a casino.

In this time he had allowed for his soon to be acquaintance to purchase a drink if he so desired, before waiting for an opportunity to beckon him with a gesture. No significance was assigned the gesture other than ease of function, why stand to greet him when they’d just end up sitting down anyway? Besides his right leg had fallen asleep and he didn’t want to be walking funny when he gave his first impression. Ever to the point he extended his right arm in greeting before indicating to the opposite seat with his cigarette hand.

“You’re younger than I’d expected, though I doubt you can say the same for me, huh? Unless I’m very much mistaken, we’ve got some business together. The name’s Nestor, Nestor Ebenezer.”

[EriChar]

You’re certainly older than I expected… Arthur thought to himself, sizing the old man up.
Many years of experience… Arthur observed, seeing perhaps a hint of his own teacher Tantalus within the look of this old man. Some subtle resemblance between them, though maybe it was just the grey hair and wrinkles?
“Only an amateur’s eye would take what is seen in front of it to be the truth…” Arthur told Nestor with a wink, recognising that there was something more to this old man than he was choosing to let on.
“Why, I suppose if you’ve been waiting to meet me, you may well already be aware of my identity.” Arthur said with a smile, still standing as Nestor sat at his table.
“But it would be ill-mannered to not return an introduction. Arthur Raffles, hopefully a pleasure to make your acquaintance?” Our junior gentlemen thief told the old man in front of him, offering an introductory handshake.

With the first formalities taken care of, Arthur draped his hand onto the back of the previously indicated chair, pulling the pew out slowly, taking a very slight pause prior to sitting within. During all of these actions, he was gauging the responses within the environment around him. In the business Arthur was in, there was no such thing as being too cautious, and what looked like an opportunity was equally likely to be a well wrapped trap.
After a beat, Arthur was relatively satisfied that his chair wasn’t going to explode when he sat in it, and so he took to it, reclining backwards a little and saying nothing for a moment as he coolly gave a soft smile to Nestor.

“Ah, yes, Business…” Arthur began, addressing the issue that had seemed to bring these two individuals together.
“I always consider it a little too heavy a description of my practice, considering the enjoyment that I derive from my activities. But I suppose it is a more accurate term for my work than a hobby.”
Lifting a scotch glass to his lips, filled with brown liquid and a few ‘rocks’ of Ice, Arthur sipped at the sweet taste of Iced Tea. Arthur wasn’t a big drinker; he liked to maintain a level of focus which alcohol would deprive him of. The young thief had found that in a dark bar, a cleverly concocted false spirit like this would afford him the luxury of maintained focus without drawing the attention and suspicion of the teetotaller. It was only the matter of a generous tip for the barkeep that would provide it, and when you’re spending money that isn’t yours, generosity wasn’t much of a concern. After that, it was just a case of keeping a carefully trained eye on the production of one’s beverage to ensure that any undesirable inclusions were kept away. After all, who better than a magician to spot the slighted slipping of a drug or a poison?

Placing the glass back on the table, Arthur adjusted his seating position to something a little less casual, moving his head a little closer to that of his opposite sitter, still maintaining that composed scarce smile he had been keeping.
“So, Mr Nestor Ebenezer, having followed the breadcrumbs to this establishment… I’d assume that the business which you bring to my attention is worthy of it?”
Arthur still had very little idea of what was to be set up here, which is why he had such suspicions of it being him that was. Largely, his presence in this back alley bar was because of his curiosity, rather than incentive. It had been rather an effort to dig out the clues that brought him here, and he had arrived here to discover if what he had put in would stand to balance what he had invested.

[Deleted]

“Bread crumbs, eh?” queried the spectacled veteran. “I shouldn’t be surprised, by nature we’re a secretive... organisation.” Nestor paused taking a drag on his cigarette as his eyes glanced quickly across the bar, reassured he exhaled before stubbing the butt out in the ash tray. He’d taken a liking to Arthur, or at least that was to say he hadn’t taken an immediate disliking to Arthur. He seemed articulate, had a flare of something not quite describable and was to the point. Straight to business, it was probably the best way to proceed.

“Firstly I think it’s important for me to explain I don’t hold the loaf, so to speak. I’m not sure if you quite know who the people who’ve taken an interest in you are, but they are men of significance. Obviously they feel your unique talents will be of huge benefit to our cause, but an equally significant qualifier for this meeting was the manner of your conduct.” Nestor’s pale eyes studied the young thief, gauging his reaction. Simultaneously his hands worked on a separate project, expertly rolling a second cigarette with the abandonment that came with years of habit. Fed up with this veil of ambiguity the old man decided to make things clear.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so it’s said. Our enemy is the system and so by extension our friends have to operate outside of it. That leaves us a potential great many friends, but we’re not looking for any old criminal scum. From what I’ve been told about your prior clientele, they were most deserving of your service... that was very considerate of you. A thief of your calibre is a very rare thing, but a thief with a conscience is even rarer. I’m not sure how much you’ve been told, or if you know who exactly we are but very few people get intentionally scouted for recruitment. We’re the Revolutionary Army, Dragon’s Army and on its behalf I’ve been sent to offer this invitation. I trust your personal agenda will protect the delicacy of what has been disclosed to you if you decide to decline, but the choice has been given and it is yours.” Draining the last of his wine, Nestor broke from his talking and then sparked up once more. He’d rehearsed his speech a few times over in his head, and felt he’d done enough to at least garner an interest but what he was asking of this stranger was quite radical. Nestor chose to proceed with the rest of what he’d thought it was important to say.

“My brief was twofold and the first was to try and make this sale to you. Now, I’m growing somewhat weary of my own voice but please bare with me because I feel I haven’t yet fully described what it is you’d be buying. The World Government preaches order and justice and yet in the shadows it advocates slavery, censorship and genocide. The taint of absolute and unchecked power has forced good people into extremism. We are a by-product of a regime, the resistance; the antibody and don’t take us as delusional fanatics, the Revolutionary Army is very much an army. Already Islands have been liberated and day by day the down trodden and the truly just flock to our cause. Your job I think it was put - would be to help us steal the world. This war won’t be won with soldiers. What we need is power, but when most of it is in the hands of our enemy what can we do? We have to take it. Steal a politician’s credibility, a general’s strategy, a good man’s loyalty and little by little you take down what they have fought so hard to establish. In place we sow doubts, distrust and misinformation because sometimes it's necessary to clear the previous foundations before building a new structure.

That’s... that’s about what I had to say. The latter half of my brief was to achieve a jailbreak, a political speaker wrongfully jailed; he began speaking a little too much sense if you catch my drift. Ideally I was sent to both guide and facilitate you and this would be the first achievement of what may become a small but elite taskforce. Regardless I know what the rest of today entails for me. One thing is left to be said Arthur Raffles, the Revolution is coming but will you be a part of it?” Finally the aged Revolutionary finished with what is was he had to say and looked visibly relieved about it. Cracking into a chuckle Nestor could only hope he hadn’t come across too intensely, he’d spoken a great deal more than intended, but given the rarity of this kind of event he wanted to leave knowing he’d said everything that he could to persuade his youthful new acquaintance.

[EriChar]

Dragon’s Revolutionaries? Even Arthur was surprised that he had been scouted by such an organisation. Perhaps a little surprise even showed through his ‘poker face’, as his eyes widened slightly, the shock of the people behind this old man. Honestly, he had occasionally considered seeking them out; they both had an interest in exposing the fraud and corruption in the world, with Arthur operating on more of a personal scale, whilst the forces of Monkey D. Dragon were rather indiscriminate in their action. However, the mystery surrounding both their party and their leader was always perhaps a little off-putting for both Arthur and Kid Fantastico; while their actions had seemed to be rather righteous, he couldn’t get enough of a feeling for them to decide where they really stood. He knew of revolutions in other places, and while they preached morality and reform, it was usually just duplicity in order to force a different dictator into power. This is why our gentlemen thief had been wary of the establishment, he didn’t want to turn around one day and see that he’d facilitated the second incarnation of the World Government, merely exchanging their blue cross for a red banner.

Still, the doubt and uncertainty he felt towards their goals may be cleared up by their representative, since the old man seemed to be giving him the hard sell. It wasn’t often that a naturally social person like Arthur was silent for a long period of time, particularly with company. But with the matter that was being discussed, and in the exposed locale in which the subject had been brought up, Kid Fantastico’s alter ego remained silent throughout, allowing the old orator a chance to convey his message. As he listened, Kid couldn’t entirely disagree with what Nestor preached; in this world, it was difficult to deny that the biggest bunch of corrupt crooks were the World Government. Sitting in their pristine offices, they passed judgement on the common folks, all the while practically worshipping the ground walked by a bunch of inbred and outdated false idols. The Tenryuubito where people riding on the coattails of their distant ancestors, and any sort of heroism exhibited by their forbearers had been dragged through the mud and the blood enough to stain it black with iniquity.

Steal the world? Nestor had just said something that had really caught Arthur’s attention. It was an interesting way of phrasing such an action; in many ways you could say that the World Government was the owner of the whole world, the clue was in their title really. Even in the few territories that weren’t allied or controlled directly by the organisation, their presence was still felt. The bureaucrats and politicians had the land in a stranglehold; and were probably the source of all the misdeeds that Arthur had dedicated his life to righting. After all, when the peers of society are crooks themselves, it can’t entirely be the fault of the common man when he or she copies their conduct.

But is it even possible? Arthur wondered, this wasn’t the case of snatching a priceless painting or a fine gem, this was a whole world. People would easily notice if that was gone. Having brought his hands underneath the table whilst Ebenezer spoke, Arthur now found that they were shaking slightly. However, the source of the shiver wasn’t fear or anxiety; it was excitement. That was it, the largest, most obvious thing that there was; the world itself. To snatch that away it from under the noses of the World Government and everyone who stood upon it, it would certainly be the greatest heist that ever could be performed.
It probably is impossible. Arthur thought, but that didn’t deter him, on the contrary it made him crave this concept even more. What greater role was there for a magician than taking the impossible and turning it into the possible? It would be a challenge worthy of Kid Fantastico.

However, before his excitement got the best of him, and he leapt into the opportunity in order to challenge himself and show off, Arthur forced himself into a reality check. While it was true that what they were offering was practically his own life’s dream on a plate, could he really trust these guys and go through with it? Hell, for all he knew, this guy in front of him could be an undercover cipher pol agent, intent on getting Arthur to expose himself in the act. It would be a risk to put his self on the line like this, to show a trust towards Nestor Ebenezer that he possibly couldn’t afford to, which made Arthur hesitant to accept such a tempting offer. And with the old man finishing his description of the intended task, it was time for him to make a decision. No doubt, if he knocked them back now, he wouldn’t get offered a chance the next time. Every rested on what he said next.

Shifting position again, and now the mask of his smile sliding away from his face, Arthur chose the path of honesty. If Nestor was who he said he was, an officer of the Revolutionaries, he was risking a lot himself by approaching Arthur like this. It was a somewhat mirrored situation they were both in, but Arthur had some respect for the old guy for laying it out straight, and it was his duty to do the same.
“The idea of ‘stealing the world’, it honestly fills with thrill and excitement.” Arthur confessed, looking into his beverage for a second before knocking the drink back.
“But, I’m a bit wary of just jumping into this with you.”

Arthur gave his empty glass a pensive look before placing it back onto the table, his mind made up.
“I’ll tell you what.” He said to Nestor, leaning back in his chair again and the guard of his smile resuming its defence of him.
“How about, we treat this first mission as a trial run?” Arthur asked, deciding that actions spoke louder than words.
“We can walk away from the job at any time, and if we both get through it ok, we’ll take things from there?” It was the fairest deal that Arthur could offer; he didn’t want to get caught with his proverbial pants down, nor let the possibility of this offer escape him entirely. If he and Nestor could pull the job off together without a hitch, then that would probably lead them to a bright future. If not, well then Arthur could walk away from the encounter and chalk it up to experience.


((OOC: If you want to use it, I made you a Post Header too, located here.))

[Deleted]

“How about, we treat this first mission as a trial run?”

Stubbing out the end of yet another cigarette the old man allowed himself a brief smirk. That was about the best answer he could’ve hoped for. Out right denial would have been tricky, but even that would have been preferable to a flat out yes – that kind of trust reflected one thing, idiocy. Still his new acquaintances enthusiasm was quite palpable, indeed he outright verbalised that he found the offer appealing, and that it seemed was that. Well it was contingent on the success of this jailbreak, but that as far as Nestor was concerned was the easy bit.

“Alright, that sounds more than reasonable. Well then... let’s walk.” Pushing his spectacles back to a fixed position the elder gentlemen packed away his smoking paraphernalia and tucked the containing box into a pocket deep inside his lengthy coat as he stood ready to leave. Once in the open air Nestor was ready to brief the youngster more thoroughly.


“Alright, here’s the summary--” he paused momentarily, his eyes glancing for anyone he deemed an unwanted listener and was relatively assured that he was fine to proceed. “I’m not sure how much you do or don’t know about Serine City, I’d think in some ways probably a lot more than myself. However, what’s important here is that the Governor is an independent authority. His Shield agents recently imprisoned a man by the name of Donovan Fleece. Fleece is an outspoken political thinker, and in many ways a supporter. What’s unusual is why then he’s been arrested in the first place.”

Turning a corner the freedom fighter paused naturally, taking another cautionary glance and silently cursed himself for not rolling another cigarette, they made breaks in conversation seem so much more natural. “Of course, this could be the Governor wanting to stamp out any potential bad-blood between him and the World Government, the last thing he wants is additional attention here - given his cities business. A less likely, but more worrying possibility is that someone’s influencing the Governor of Serine; his taking of bribes isn’t a well concealed fact. Moreover Fleece has been investigating us privately for a little while now, his intent it is likely was to join the cause but that is somewhat speculative. What we don’t know is how far he came in his search for us, nor the intent of those who have silenced him. Now, it may just be the straight up case I initially outline, but that doesn’t change the fact that a free-speaker has been wrongly censored. Nor does it change the fact that channelled correctly, we could use Fleeces’ overtly audible voice in a more discrete and productive manner. Finally then, this serves as a kind of test. The Shield agents are known by reputation to be very capable men indeed, and we do not believe the rumours of devil fruit users among their ranks to be unsubstantiated. Hence the test, like I said, I’m here really to facilitate you. We’re stealing a man and any information we can come across, that’s really your ballpark no?”

Their destination was growing closer now, the Governor’s building and the adjacent prison were not known for being the most impregnable buildings in the world, but their protectors were far from incompetent. “So, I think you’re about up to speed now. I haven’t had time to scout the building, so I think the lead will be very much yours but I’m here... however if you’re anything as good as I’ve been led to believe we’ll be fine. A boat waits on the east coast of the island, ready for our depart at anytime, but our job is done best if no one even realises, if you’ve got any ideas of how to make a man disappear without notice... perhaps I’m asking too much.”