What Comes Around Goes Around
Posted on Sat May 7th, 2022 @ 2:24pm by Alden Loxley
Mission:
Fortune & Glory
Location: Pelorum (White Sun System)
Timeline: Summer 2512 (5 years ago)
Best laid plans and all, somehow never seemed to stay the best or laying down. But there he'd been, stuck on Persephone after all that waiting around, with no ride and no deal and the same exact lack of financial happiness he'd been left with. The Walkabout and all its complicated issues had landed, taken off and gone and Alden, for better or worse, was still grounded.
Clearly his luck had temporarily run out, because there he remained for another week before he managed to grab a short haul piloting job on a freighter leaving for Pelorum. Crystal blue waters, a fine climate and a rep for being a vacation destination of high quality, this tiny planet still needed supplies, and Alden wasn't fussy about the jobs he needed to take to get the hell away from Persephone for a while.
As he stepped off the ramp, credits safely stashed in a rough and ready backpack, Alden decided - screw it - he deserved a break. This place was expensive - way way too expensive - to do much of anything, but walking on the pale yellow sand of the nearest beach was still free.
Bare feet scrunched sand, trousers rolled up to just below his knees and Alden was just enjoying the wonders of sunshine on his face and no one nagging or trying to steal from him. Good peaceful times were hard to come by and needed to be thoroughly appreciated.
Things didn't go completely the way Abigail wanted. A small job which took a little beating until the beating part worked well. Pelorum was a luxury world, so direct action was not something people were used to. They were used to cheating and scheming, and that came later when she came for the money. Lucius, so happy to hire her, was less than thrilled to pay her for the job. While she took half up front, she was not willing to pass on the other half. But, facing the guns of his bodyguards, she decided to make a tactical withdrawal, regroup, and then strike when Lucious didn't expect it.
So she did. She stalked him patiently, and Lucius went out to the beach with only one bodyguard. She was ready. Jumping the bodyguard wasn't hard, and she took him down cleanly, though not fast enough. Lucius tried to run away, sprinting as if his life depended on it. Though from Abigail, it was just his knees, maybe elbows. Killing him wouldn't get her the money. However, breaking a few bones would likely improve the odds. She ran after him.
This is how they appeared on the beach. Lucius, a slim black man, was dressed with class, running on the sand, and she was behind him, in Daisy Dukes and a tightly tied flannel shirt, keeping her prominent bust in check. She decided to run along the beach, running on the hardened pavement. That allowed her to quickly catch up with her prey, but now it remained to cross the sand, which in her combat boots wasn't the most ideal. Lucius, on the other hand, appears to be approaching someone. Abigail came up with a wicked idea. "Catch that thief!" She called, hoping that perhaps the handsome guy in the rolled-up trousers would help her.
Alden's brain was sliding through the noise of the seabirds, rush of the ocean and just the sheer magic of planet-bound warmth all around him, when the slender blond with the generously proportioned chest shouted out for help. He didn't hesitate, didn't think, consider or evaluate the possibilties. Nope. Far too deeply ingrained was the white knight big brother to delay an assist when one might be needed.
Out went the right leg, a hard ankle tap that brought the slender 'thief' to the ground in a whump and flurry of sand and exhaled breath. Then there followed some colourful cursing as Alden rested his knee in the man's back and held him down by virtue of his own body weight. He heard the guy mutter some more expletives combined with a demand for freedom, but he ignored every word as he looked across that short section of beach to regard the shouter.
"Do I want to know what he stole?" Alden asked, as he aimed an amused look of curiosity at the leggy blond.
Abigail grinned at the man who stopped Lucius from running, crossing the sandy beach from the pavement. Her instinct was correct, and everything worked out quite well. She opened her mouth, but Lucius kept yapping to let him go, making it impossible to say anything and be heard. She crouched by Lucius's face and slapped the side of his face with an open hand a few times. "Ni Men Dou Bi Zui." She demanded, and only when the black guy remained silent did she turn to the other man. The handsome knight in shining armor. She reached out her hand. "Hi, I am Abigail, and this man owes me half of the pay for the job he hired me for and refused to pay me afterwards."
Her grin turned wider into a sweet smile, showing her perfect teeth. "How about you help me with him and I'll give you half of what he still owes me." She gave Lucious another slap, this time playful.
He really should have been asking what the guy had done, but Alden had been the dude on the floor a few too many times his own self, so he left that particular part of the tale for this blond powerhouse to worry herself about. Or not.
"Alden," he said, raising an eyebrow as he shamelessly looked Abi up and down and took his time about it. "And sure, I could certainly use some ready credits." Little bit skinnier than he usually preferred, but every bit as dangerous for that lithe form and keen smarts, he didn't doubt. "Have we met before?"
"Hmm..." Abigail thought for a moment, returning the shameless assessment, very much sexual, and slowly shook. "Nope, I would remember." She said, almost disappointed.
"So..." She looked down at Lucius. "You see, the man hired me to beat someone. I think he was surprised that I did it, because when I turned up for second-half of my payment, he refused." Abigail let out a theatrical sigh. "Imagine that. So... how about we escort Mr. Lucius Wolf to his place and have him pay us? With penalty interest?"
Damn, but she looked him up and down with a glance that soaked into his soul and a lot of other places lower on its way there. He liked that. Exhibitionist nature rushed to the surface and Alden grinned a mutually interested grin. She wanted him, or at least appreciated all that work he'd done in sculpting musculature for his own benefit and - of course - for the sheer hubris.
"Fair comment," Alden returned. He might not, but he hadn't been that drunk in a while. He let her sell the pitch on this target of hers and nodded with the clear, visual appreciation that was every damn job an honest person took in this Verse. Disreputable individuals were far more common than those who tried to meet in the middle and make a good, safe living, Alden knew that more than most. Niska had been a difficult master to leave behind, and he'd half-lost a favourite cousin to that bastard. "I can imagine it quite a bit," he agreed with a wry smile. "Happens more than most might think, doesn't it?"
A second or two in consideration and Alden nodded. He had nothing else to do, might as well assist the pretty lady in her nefarious mission. Seemed like an easy pay-day and he could really come to appreciate one or two of those.
"Sure," he confirmed. "I could spare a little time for an escort job, given you seem like such a fine, trustworthy sort." Did she hell, but right now she was on his side, and Alden was easily led by a damsel with confidence and a mission to complete. "Lead on."
Abigail leaned to help Lucius up. He opened his mouth to say something, but she smacked him with her open palm. "Hush." She prompted him. " The time to talk has passed. Let's finish the deal as the civilized people we are. You don't want me to get uncivilized." She waged her index finger at him before she slipped her hand under his arm and ushered him forward.
"So, relaxing on the beach?" She said to Alden, looking down at his feet meaningfully.
Gotta love a strong, independent woman who knew just exactly what she wanted, Alden considered, feeling that odd mix of envy and pity for her current target. That smack though... Tah ma duh. He grinned, followed Abigail's gaze down to his own feet and then wandered back up again to meet her eyes directly.
"Kinda, yeah," Alden admitted, with a relaxed happiness. "Don't rightly have the credits to do much else on this pretty, shiny rock." He looked from 'Mr Lucius Wolf' to Abigail and offered up a wide-armed expansive gesture of agreeability to this beautiful stranger. "How bout we go get your payday sorted, and we can talk over some drinks..." Cos - historically - that always went well, he considered in a humble moment of silence as he fell into step to her right and kept a weather eye on her bounty, in more ways than one.
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