The Inting Saga: Running It Down Mid

[Skaarf]

"Thank you, thank you." Thyra made a mental note to ask about tea manners later. "Actually, if we don't have anything specific - I could just grab my stuff at the inn and check out the clothing stores soon."

Her eyes glittered a little seeing the blank cheque. Good thing she wasn't the extravagant type....

---

It was a good thing she made a lot of money at Erik the Red's expense. She'd managed to randomly pick the most expensive wine at the reading cafe, and was the extra tea-preparation fee a normal surcharge? Good thing Thyra wasn't one to waste a new windfall by tossing it all in the bank when you had nifty stuff to grab!

Now she wandered the streets of Glasenburgh - a far more populous and busy center. Bianca and Thomas had their own things to attend to, and Thyra was now left to her own devices. She could definitely have used some guidance though, as she was completely out of her element - in the textiles district, no less. Hmmm.

See, there was some cute clothing that she would have considered in a different life. But having no storage space on hand... She caught a glimpse of the docks, and it hit her. What she needed was a small ship! Fortunately, she had a surprising amount of practice haggling. Even as a kid she had tagged along on trading expeditions with her kin. Living bounty to bounty only furthered this. With prior experience and some good barbarian glares, she came away from the docks with a small sailboat for a convenient price. Finally - she could store more clothing.

She was heading back to the textiles district when the sounds or arguing and scuffling caught her attention. Curious, she strolled in that direction - and soon was in a minor throng gazing into the windows of a shop. A couple of thuggish looking strangers were having a highly energetic and somewhat physical discussion with a shopkeeper.

"Terms of the loan be damned, we want the money now." One of the thugs had the shopkeeper by the front of his apron.

"But I don't have it all! I only have today's earnings. Why the rush anyway?" The shopkeeper was indignant rather than outright afraid. It seemded he was used to this type of exchange.

"That's none of your business. Cough it up." The thugs strongarmed the shopkeeper to the cash register. Soon, they emerged, stuffing coin into a pouch and wandered off towards one of the seedier looking districts.

Thyra slowly drifted in their direction at a distance, attempting to stay within earshot - clearly they were up to no good. There was the grumbling she had come to associate with all of the locals. There was crabbing about the weather, the poor fish quality at some restaurant, missing income from Erik the Red, some dumb blokes who weren't paying their dues, and the boss coming in for an audit due to low revenues.... There was more but Thyra had tuned out. Quietly, she kept her distance and watched as the thugs entered a particularly suspicious looking place with some beefy dude standing guard outside.

The Rusty Can.

She casually strolled past the "pub" without breaking her original path, and after a few blocks turned away onto a busy side street, then into a deserted alley. Confirming first that she wasn't being tailed, she pulled out a baby den den mushi.

Bidap bidap bidap.... Bidap bidap bidap bidap.... went the baby snail. When it was eventually answered, Thyra spewed words as if she was a waterfall, seemingly without taking breath. "Hey there, didn' buy clothing yet, soz! But I found myself a ship in Glasenburgh so I can get some clothing soon! Anyhoo, there's something funny afoot. The chump we brought in apparently was feeding some bigger fish, and they are getting hungry. Perhaps there are more fishies we can reel in. I'll be clothes shopping at Norman Marco in the textiles district while I wait. Snacks and naps'll be at the 7 Seas of Rye (inn). Okay byeeee."

Beerrrrrrrrrr-p. The little snail cut off the line abruptly.

Thyra wasn't sure where the others were. What she did know, was that Norman Marco had some decent clothing she could finally maintain. The rather excitable lass zipped off into the crowds in the direction of the textiles - as a quiet figure followed her from the rooftops....

---

SPOILER: Click to show

So, uh, this is set to potentially complicate/lead to a wild gangster goose chase - good for many posts and fights.
Dunno whether it would end in the city or in another outside base - I tried to leave hooks for several different ideas.

Apologies to Thomas

[Jade]

puru~puru~puru

Thomas fished the Baby Den Den Mushi out of a pocket on his vest, and slowed to a stop on the street while Bianca walked on ahead. He watched her for a second, rolled his eyes, and then answered the call. "Yo, this is Mr. Hot Choco-" Before he could even get his full introduction out, the woman on the other end - that Thyra woman, who they had parted ways with only a few hours prior - launched into a full-on ramble, spewing out some key information before abruptly hanging up. He blinked, staring down at the once more sleeping snail in his palm, and then pocketed it again. "... Huh. Hey, Bi? I think Thyra wants to... Meet up again for some reason?"

Ahead of him, the Tea Company President stopped in the street and gave a small sigh. "Yes, Mr. Hot Chocolate, I heard, as did every other person on this street. Come, then, we will head for Glasenburgh straight away." She began walking once again, and Thomas followed - and then she turned right around and began walking toward him. "Ask one of the locals how to reach Glasenburgh, Mr. Hot Chocolate."

The lanky smoker rolled his eyes, and then wandered in the direction of a man who had been watching the entire exchange with a bemused expression on his face.

---

The two stuck out like sore thumbs in the common area of the 7 Seas of Rye. They'd taken a seat near one of the windows, where Thomas was going through cigarettes like a man who had decided to succumb hard and fast to his vices in his last moments in life while Bianca ignored him, casually reading through a North Blue-centric newspaper. Although they were both waiting on Thyra, only the lanky young man looked up to the door when it opened and scowled when it wasn't the blonde woman they were waiting for.

[Skaarf]

Thyra was bouncing with excitement, now that she had both a ship and cash to spare. She positively burst into Norman Marco - an upper crust clothing store. Evidently, such entrances were not uncommon - the staff gave her a knowing glance before turning back to their usual duties. A couple of the patrons looked a little miffed - but she didn't notice. You know this to be true as no fights broke out. In fact there were other customers about who were clearly new to money.

She wasted more time than she really should have, zipping through the lines of previously undiscovered categories of clothing. Much of it she discarded mentally, not seeing a point to the super frilly clothing that couldn't handle any wear and tear. But even rich people couldn't avoid the elements - and there was a decent selection of clothing that was more to her taste. A couple of hours of helpless giggling while trying on fancy hats practicality testing later, Thyra finally existed the store to the relief of everyone else within. She scampered off to her new ship with a variety of slightly nicer looking clothing that was all built a little better to handle inclement weather. She even had a swankier looking outfit courtesy of the Tea Company - but the rest was with her new found cash. Thanks, Erik!

Motivated by the prospect of some new money, she scampered off to the 7 Seas of Rye inn to meet her compatriots.... The figure on the rooftops followed, once more.

---

The senior members of the Tea Company would have been waiting at least an hour (factoring in travel times) before Thyra made her appearance. With keen eyes, they could easily recognize her behind the disguise, but she did cut a very different figure from her norm. A few strands of her long hair escaped the confinment of the buttoned trench coat but the rest was largely hidden. An ivy cap was pulled low over the black sunglasses she wore. A fresh pair of boots was visible peaking out from below, as she sat down by Thomas and Bianca, adjusting her scabbards briefly.

"Private Eye Thyra reporting in. Situation looks clear, and I'm certain I'm not being followed." She spoke in something resembling a whisper. It wasn't very subtle, but the effort at discretion was mildly commendable.

Thyra looked around "sneakily" at the other customers - most of whom were laughing it up and drinking with their friends. She didn't notice a shadow briefly pass over one of the windows high up on the walls near the raised ceiling. "Glad you could make it, had to be sneaky sneak. Mum's the word and all. Hee-hee - sorry. Ahem. So, uh, like I hinted - Erik the Red turned out to be handing cash over to some bigger boss who's coming in to audit them over missing money. I don't know who that is, but I did tail some goons shaking down a shopkeep over loans. It was ahead of schedule, so they must be feeling a bit cramped for time and money. There's a suspicious place - the Rusty Can I found about 10 blocks away that the goons might be holing up in. There's some beefy lad standing guard and it looks hella seedy."

She paused for breath - waving down the bartender for a beer. When the lass was off grabbing the beverage, she turned back to the others. "So? Do we kick down the door? Or do you have other ideas?"

The shadow moved once more over the window high on the wall by the ceiling, but this time it flickered repeatedly. Thyra took no notice - though in her defense she was facing entirely the wrong way and was happily guzzling down a beer. The mug clanked to the table as she sighed in contentment.

[Jade]

Thomas's eyes locked on the one-armed berserker as she entered - even behind her new clothes, the woman was still as blindingly obviously herself as the sun is in a clear sky. And even if there had been any doubt in his mind, the woman sitting down with them removed it. Her initial words, about not being followed, got him to sit up straighter. "Why was that a concern?"

Bianca lowered her newspaper slightly to observe the other woman as she spoke. The clothes were definitely an improvement over what Thyra had been wearing before, to be sure, although the outfit was perhaps not as inconspicuous as the woman might've believed. Though, saying that, it did suit the archipelago's climate...

When Thyra finished, Bianca took another moment before folding the newspaper closed and setting it on the table in front of her before speaking. "Well, this is quite the story, Ms. Henbane. Unfortunately, as bounty hunters, I am afraid that there is not much we can do without more information. We are not exactly Cipher Pol - we lack the authority to simply barge into seedy places, proverbial guns blazing, because we suspect that there may be criminals within. And if you are wrong, then there is an all too real risk of damaging the Tea Company name while we are still getting our start. I am afraid that, unless we know for certain that a bounty is hiding within this... 'Rusty Can', or they strike out against us first, our hands are tied."

[Skaarf]

"Concern? Oh, I'm sure its nothing. I checked before I called you guys, I was definitely not followed from the Rusty Can." Thomas looked worried - Thyra reached over and patted him on the shoulder and beamed. "We'll be fine."

She was not in the least troubled by Bianca's more patient tendencies. "Awww, alright. What if we were to, say, sneak into the building or do a stakeout? Maybe the goons were only there temporarily and we could track them to another location if its not the Rusty Can?"

---

"Are you sure it's them?"

"Of course I'm sure. They clearly aren't from 'round these part, and match the sketches. And that blonde is about as subtle as Ed's spiced tacos."

"Well, Erik's crew better not be lying about the money. Guess we'll find out right quick."

The shadows now flickered around several windows - rather than just the one.

---

High above and behind Thyra, glass suddenly shattered as bullets buried themselves in the table around her and her compatriots. One ws only a couple of inches from her left sleeve. She jumped and, seeing the shattered windows, guiltily remembered her earlier statements. Maybe she missed some details.... Well, no time like the present to make amends.

"Raaaaaaaaaa!!!!" She grabbed her empty beer mug and flung it with alarming precision at one of the newly destroyed windows. One of the shadows had begin to peer back through, visibly cursing as it pulled back - nearly getting brained by the beverage container.

"You could have ruined my swanky new coat!?!" Thyra knocked over her chair in her haste - blasting open the doors (good thing they were two-way!) and attempting to climb the walls of the building one-handed. "Come here and face me you cowards!"

[Jade]

Almost as soon as she'd finished speaking, the glass of the windows behind their seats shattered inward. Bianca didn't react, even as Thomas scrambled away from the glass shards swearing in much the same way several of the tavern's patrons did. After the initial shock, the lanky man glared up at Bianca, still seated with her back to the wall, his stare saying everything his words could not in that moment:

Why did you have to open your mouth?!

Bianca met his frustration and misplaced anger with utter impassivity, and then closed her eyes. While the men were moving into the tavern through the windows, and the civilians were rushing to get away, the Garden Woman brought forth a seed in either hand, which sprouted into life in an instant, thick vines growing outward and expanding to create a blockade. Within seconds, a wall of thick, barked vines had formed a sort of bubble between the Tea Company's corner of the establishment and the rest of it, effectively trapping herself and Thomas into that section with their would-be assailants.

"Whoa, what the hell is-?!"

"Didn't you hear what they said? One of 'em controls vines, so-"

"I hate to interrupt, but that is not exactly accurate."

The two burly men clambering through the window glanced down into the space between them, where the white-haired woman in a starkly contrasting black suit was still sitting quite calmly. Her hands were placed on the bench she was sat on, palm-down on either side of her - and as soon as they'd registered that, something changed. "Shelf Bamboo."

As soon as the first syllable had left her lips, the seed she'd had between her fore and middle fingers of either hand sprouted suddenly, the thick top leaf of her specially-tailored plant catching both men under their chins and dragged them upward, slamming their skulls into the ceiling above as the modified bamboo surged upward. Their bodies fell to either side of Bianca, who remained exactly where she had started, seated on the bench pressed against the wall. "I can control far more than just 'vines'."

[Skaarf]

Even as she sprinted outside, trying to climb the wall one handed, Thyra could see two of the assassins clambering inside. Screams and chaos erupted inside, shouts about plant matter coming from those who ran inside. It seemed almost calm by comparison outside, where cautious passerby glanced through the open doors before hurrying on their way.

Thyra glared at the third man, who had turned to face her. "Looks like it's my lucky day, greenhorn."

He levelled a pistol and fired at her. Thyra dodged - or tried to, and failed. A searing pain tore through her collar-bone area - "Shit, my sword arm!" she internally monologued. Well, time for a plan B. The sword was not forthcoming from the scabbard, so she removed it - scabbard still on the blade - and threw it point blank at the assassin crouched on the wall above her. He tried to block it with his pistol but missed by a comical timing margin. A bruise formed in the center of his forehead as he tumbled through open air, landing with a "oomph" over Thyra's sole arm.

She sighed, dropping the man now that his momentum had broken, letting him collapse on the ground. For style points, she casually reached out, catching her sword - still in its scabbard - as it plummeted to the ground just after the man had. Chaos still reigned, so she hung her sword-in-scabbard back on the belt and marched inside - holding the third assassin up by his bunched-up shirt with her one arm.

She stopped in astonishment inside the inn, almost dropping the man a second time. A wall of some sort of planty stuff had formed where her buds had previously sat. There was no sign of the other assailants, so she marched forward, assuming there was a struggle within.

Experimentally, she slammed the man against the vines but they held firm - only dazing him as he was coming to consciousness. Originally she planned to draw her sword to cut through the material. However, the exertion of picking up and slamming the man caused her new injury to spurt a small amount of blood (dramatically). Nothing major, she had had far worse many times. However, circumstances were a little different this time....

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I'm BLEEDING!?!" It was more a scream of rage and disbelief, rather than fear or pain. "I JUST BOUGHT THESE CLOTHES and they're already ruined!"

In the presence of such rage, it would be a difficult task for anyone to remain asleep, or even to divert their attention elsewhere. Her eyes seemed to haze slightly red as she was no longer entirely rational, to put it lightly. She snatched up the man - ironically ignoring the extra (for dramatic effect) spurt of blood that resulted, and shook him violently awake. To be honest, there was a decent chance that nothing her victim would say would register. "What bastard sent you to ruin my new clothing? Who's your boss? SPILL IT!?"

Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman - or one who just got her new, snazzy, clean outfit ruined in an insignificant scuffle.

A hopeless drunk in the corner who had snoozed through the gunshots had startled awake and was now trying to crawl away half-asleep. The bartender didn't even notice a potential drink and dash. Even some of the bystanders started to back away and go about their usual business.

[Jade]

With no one else moving to come in through the windows, Bianca looked up to see Thomas drawing his blade on the wall of vines. Before he'd pulled the weapon from its sheath all the way, however, the white-haired woman was standing beside him, reaching a hand toward the vegetation. "Best not - you would only damage your blade."

"Oh, yeah, that's totally my biggest concern," Thomas replied sarcastically, but let Scrap Metal drop back into its sheath at his side. At Bianca's touch, the vines shifted, pulling themselves apart to allow the two to walk through into the rest of the tavern.

A number of the patrons had remained in the building, seemingly stunned into staying by the rapid appearance and otherworldly shifting of the plants - and, more recently, the one-armed berserker bleeding onto the man she was holding aloft. Bianca and Thomas stopped in their tracks at the sight; the lanky man's eyes widened, but he said nothing and instead opted to raise his cigarette to his mouth. In front of him, the President clasped her hands behind her back, silently watching Thyra to see how she handled the situation.

[Skaarf]

Thyra didn't notice the vines parting - she was entirely preoccupied with shaking down the assassin, who was wobbling back and forth in place like a metronome. When she stopped long enough to hear defiance. "I'm not telling you anything."

She did a neat little trick - flinging the man up into the air briefly and then slugging him hard in the gut as he came back down. The wannabe contract killer slammed into a wall. "Let's try this again."

The man didn't respond immediately, coughing up blood when he finally spoke. "Lil' Napster is the real deal. I'm not afraid of a two-bit one-armed do-gooder like you."

"Lil' Napster? Now that's something." Thyra leaned in, bunching the man's shirt and then lifting him into the air again. "Keep talking. Where's he at? Why'd he send you. Yeah. Why'd he send you guys - you're terrible shots."

The assassin managed to look surprisingly dignified, considering he was the one being manhandled and interrogated. "If we were good at shooting, contracts would dry up super quick. Anyway, it doesn't matter, that's a nickna-."

He paled, his voice cutting off as he was flung into the air once more. Thyra pulled a neat trick - catching the man as he fell - using his momentum to give him a super-rage-fueled wedgie.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" The man was blubbering - mostly from humiliation. "Owww. ow. no. NO. THONALD. MAN UP, THONALD. YEAH!. You may have tricked me into spilling a name with your wiles, but I ain't selling out the rest of the gang!"

Evidently, he wasn't bright enough to try giving false information. In his defense, he'd been hit in the noggin repeatedly. Surprisingly enough, Thyra didn't say anything back despite her rage. Instead, she turned to where she expected the barkeep, smiling sweetly and speaking surprisingly softly. "Where's the bathroom?"

Shaking like a leaf in a storm without Thyra's help, the barkeep pointed vaguely down a hall. Thyra nodded, and then sprinted off towards the bathroom.

"Uh, that's the wro- ..." The bartended decided that maybe this wasn't the time to fuss about which room was being used for an interrogation.

[Jade]

Thomas winced at the rage-wedgie and glanced down at Bianca. "Should we do something about this?"

"No, I do not think so." Bianca responded, still standing and watching the carnage with her trademark impassive expression. "Ms. Henbane seems to know what she is doing, so I see no reason for us to interrupt her. Tell me, Mr. Hot Chocolate - does the name 'Little Napster' mean anything to you?"

"Uh..." the smoker wracked his brain for a moment, but shrugged as he came up empty. "No? Can't say it does. Why, do you know it?"

As Bianca sighed gently, those people in the tavern who were close enough to hear joined Thomas in looking to the white-haired woman, waiting with bated breath to hear what revelation she was so clearly about to drop on them. "No, I cannot say that I do." A few audible sighs from the crowd could be heard, but she paid them no mind as she instead turned around just in time to watch Thomas roll his eyes. "Contact Dr. Leblanc and let her know that she is to bring the Porcelain Lady to Glasenburgh in order to provide treatment to our newest Agent."

"Yeah, yeah, alright..." Thomas grumbled, fishing the Baby Den Den Mushi from his pocket as he wandered a little ways away.

[Skaarf]

It appeared humiliation was the way to go. The sounds of a brief struggle echoed down the hallway as the assassin tried to escape from Thyra's grasp. It lasted all of a few seconds - only enough time for a couple of groans and dull thuds to resonate. Soon, she was holding the thug by one ankle - dangling him over a mop bucket. One ankle, because her hand wasn't big enough to hold both at once - especially when he kept flailing

Don't ask how she came to the storage room instead of the bathroom. Instead, we should marvel over her improvisational skills.

"Ok you daft punk. Who's Napster and who does he work for? And why were you idiots sent?" The wannabe was dropped perilously close to the mop water, coming to a halt inches from its surface. "You wanna be marched out there covered in mop water? Or you gonna cough it up?"

She began slowly lowering the thug closer and closer to the surface. It was a highly asymmetrical game of chicken. He cracked - his head pulled up desperately to avoid contact with the yucky water. "Ok, ok, I'll talk. Pick me back up, please!?"

Thyra laughed bitterly. "Don't make me drop you. "

Wails of terror echoed down the hallway, along with some helpful information. For the safety of our viewers, we will remain outside the room as Thyra threatens to dunk the mobster into the mop bucket.

"Napster runs the joints here! We just help people pay u-"

"Like you just tried with us?"

"Urk. Mayb-aaaaa"

"Well?"

"Yes?"

"Much better. What kinda joints?"

"Loans? Just loans! I swear!"

"Really?"

"Ok we also collect protection mone- waaaa!"

"Are you idiots some kinda gang? With your skills?"

"Listen, we run this town, nobody dares mess wi- WOAH!"

"Sorry, who were you guys again?"

"Shrblt - Sharbi - The Sharkie Bites!!!"

"What? Are you a gang of washed up fishermen or something?"

"Uhm. Well...."

"What's the Rusty Can? Do I have to fish every word from your damn mouth?"

"It's our front! Napster holes up there sometimes? Occasionally we bring in our debtors to make them cough up some do- AAAAAA!!"

"So you idiots run a gang, and coerce the townsfolk for money. Who's the big shot auditing you, since you clearly don't make enough."

"I don't know! No, please! I don't know! Only Lil' Napster talks to him!"

"Ok, you're clearly not important enough to know who. How about - when do you have to be ready for the audit?"

"Yesterday! I don't know how we can get ready for an audit yesterday if we only know to- GLARBLPH"

Thyra emerged from the storage closet, now dragging the mobster by the one ankle. A trail of gross looking water oozed from the mobster's head. For her part, Thyra was no longer raging and beamed widely at her companions - clearly having forgotten about the blood. "Well. That took a little longer than I'd hoped. But it looks like we have a few leads! Barkeep, can you call in a paddy wagon for these miscreants?"

"A... paddy wagon?"

"Ah, silly me. The cops! The marines! These buffoons should be more their speed."

[Jade]

"-like I said, it'll be at least an hour or two, so make sure she at least covers the wound." The Baby Den Den Mushi fixed Thomas with a critical look, and then sighed. "I'd ask you to make sure she rests, but I'm going to guess that's not an option right now?"

"Probably not?" Thomas glanced over his shoulder toward the rest of the tavern, looking toward the door Thyra had taken her victim. "Honestly, I'm not sure what we're doing exactly. Hopefully it'll be resolved by the time you get here."

"Really, what is Bianca thinking? If this woman is wounded, then it seems foolish to allow her to continue wandering around," Yvonne continued. The Baby Den Den Mushi's eyes closed and shook gently from side to side, approximating the head shake the woman on the other end was doing. "Well, it's not like my complaining is going to change anything. But you let Bianca know that if this woman gets seriously injured on her first day on the job, I'm going to give her a serious talking to."

"Wait, you want to give Bianca a talking to, or-" Another sigh cut him off, and then the tiny snail in his hand clicked and fell back to sleep. He rolled his eyes and pocketed the snail as he walked back toward his boss. "She's on her way. How's the interrogation going?"

Bianca opened her mouth to answer right as Thyra emerged, carrying the now far grosser would-be hitman by the ankle and called for the owner of the establishment to call in the authorities. "Well, I believe," she replied, with just the barest hint of a question in her voice.

[Skaarf]

There was now a hole in the vines - Thyra ducked in and saw the two bodies slumped on the floor. "Sweet, we got ourselves a cell!"

She tossed the dripping assassin into the cordoned off area below the table where they had previously been enjoying their drinks. "Don't give me another reason to clobber you."

She walked up to the barkeep, handing over cash for the drinks. "Sorry, I thought we weren't followed. So, uh. You got insurance for this?"

The bartender still looked frazzled, but nodded. Thyra slid across a significant portion of extra beri, winking, and then turning as the drunk from earlier made a feeble attempt at her coin purse. Sighing, she casually twisted his arm, rolling him into a corner.

She returned to the other two, blissfully unaware of the sheer volume of her interrogation. "Great news! As soon as the po-po arrive, we can go check out the Rusty Can again - its their gang hub place thingy! We might catch some 'customers' in the back! Or some wanted associated! Or we might nab them with some other funny business. Can we kick down the door yet - pleeeeeeeease?"

Thyra made her best puppy-dog eyes, staring reproachfully at Bianca. "Or at least can we sneak in or do a stake-out! Y'know! The cool detective work!"

In the distance, the shouts of a tiny "regiment" of Marines was audible.

[Jade]

Bianca and Thomas watched from the sidelines as Thyra tossed the half-drowned hitman through the mass of bark-covered vines, using them as a makeshift cell, but neither made a move - not the woman who could actually close the vines again, and certainly not the man working on lighting a new cigarette who couldn't do anything else about the situation.

The berserker's puppy-dog eyes approach of seeking out violence got a soft sigh from Bianca. "Well, while what I said earlier still stands, this group operating out of the... 'Rusty Can' did send hitmen after us," she said, laying out the situation as clearly as she could, as much for her own benefit as anyone else's, "so I see no reason that would prevent us from retaliating. I do not believe we have time for a full-blown investigation, so I think we will simply follow your lead on this, Ms. Henbane."

"Unless she's leading us into a trap," Thomas said, gesturing toward the one-armed woman with his cigarette. Bianca turned to look up at him with a disapproving look, getting a shrug out of the man in defense. "What? Come on, you don't think it's a little suspicious that we're sitting here talking about how we can't help unless we're given a reason, and then a couple of hired goons show up? I'm just saying..."

[Skaarf]

"Yus!" Thyra pumped her arm, and scampered out the door. She started yelling at the marines and waving her arm - trying to hurry them along - and soon the goons were being led away in cuffs.

"Sweet! Let's go SNEAKING!!!"

Thyra sprinted off, cackling like a madwoman. With the main source of disruption gone - the rest of the patrons began to resume drinking. The bartender scurried off to bury her treasure, so to speak. In an undisturbed corner, a hooded figure waited for the Tea Company representatives to leave. When the bounty hunters were gone and regular chatter resumed, they pulled out a tiny Den Den Mushi. "It was a success. The Sharkie Bites won't know what hit them. Let's continue stirring the pot. Glasenburgh will be ours - glory to Team Takoyaki"

---

Thyra poked her head over the top of a building overlooking the Rusty Can. "Hey, Bianca? How sneaky are your planty things? Can they... pick locks? Methinks we could sneak in the back or through a window."

She was shockingly quiet - but the excite radiating from her was very obvious. She paced back and forth - mostly obscured by the wall atop the roof. "Thomas, you're good at being subtle - how are you at sneaking around? I could be a... very big distraction if you were to try snooping. With or without smacking some heads together!"

A small group of gangsters - swearing and arguing - approached the Rusty Can. One had some moisture on his face as if he had been recently napping. The guard outside was the one and same that Thyra had spotted earlier, and he saluted the man with the wet face. It was a decent guess that the leader of the group was Lil Napster - or at least someone close to him - given the deference shown by the other mobsters.

---

Many blocks down the street, a telescope glinted briefly in the sunlight shining through a window, as another figure watched the team huddled near the Rusty Can.