A Warning For Vespa

8/16/2011
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Streetwise NPCs Don Vespa Tiny Stopwatch Clamps Rampart
(El Sleazo, Cubicron)
It was a quiet night for El Sleazo. The Don had breezed in early in the evening for his weekly card game (and collection of protection money from the more reputable business people of Cubricon) and was seated with a group of his friends and companions (aka mooks) in the private back room (with it's own energon dispenser with higher quality product than the usual at El Sleazo) where the riffraff didn't usually get to go- unless they had business with the Don.
Streetwise sighed a little. He didn’t like going to card games, even if they were interesting. But he wasn’t' really allowed to take part, especially with Don Fiasco. And ESPECIALLY after First Aids' radio message got him in trouble last time. So he climbed up to the back room. He was back to his white armor again and usual getup, although a little larger than before - outfitted with more adult armor recently.
Tiny followed his charge up the stairs and elbowed him at the big dramatic sigh. "You're makin' your dad look bad. Mech up, kid. 'Sides, it's just a card game."
Glancing up, Streetwise nods and straightens as he comes more into view now, nodding to his father simply, and then bowing to the other Dons, "Okay, sorry. I tried to keep it QUIET this time." he murmured, taking his usual seat by the wall. He sat very politely, optics glancing over which one.
The room below- the room Streets is in has an open landing looking down over it and is really more of a storage area than a real room- is humming with activity.
Stopwatch ensures the door closes securely behind them, moving to stand in front of it with his arms crossed.
From his spot slightly behind Don Vespa, Rampart nods slightly to both Tiny and Streetwise before turning his attention back to the card game.
Clamps is continuing a previous conversation. "Those Bots, they just got no sense of decency. Bothering folks when they're in important meetings- getting your kid in trouble. I'm telling you, Vespa, you gotta make sure he has some better influences." He draws a card off the stack.
Streetwise looks over at Clamps during that. But smartly kept his mouth shut. He looked down, pondering that. Were they a bad influence on him? He glanced to his wrist, where the comm was - now on SILENT mode of course.
Don Vespa waves at his son, gesturing to the chair pointedly. Then he flips one metal card as he ponders his next move "Yeah I'll say. He's been wanting to go there now ever since. Course, too dangerous. You know for all they try to claim they're FOR people, they tried to knock my boy out? Worse influence than you." he chuckles jokingly at Clamps.
There's a sharp rap on the door.
Stopwatch looks sharply at the door, frowning slightly as he looks back at Don Vespa. "You expectin' anyone else, boss?"
Vespa looks up, raising an opticbrow "Nope. Not really. " He gestures for Stopwatch to open the door though, flipping a card down "See your bet and raise? "
Streetwise, rather sulky from being spoken about like he wasn’t even there, looks up too, then straightens, as though sensing who may be there.
Clamps shifts his cards to his other hand, and drops one hand out of sight under the table.
Stopwatch nods, turning to open the door only a small bit. "What?" He demands as he does so, glaring at whoever's on the other side.
"I gotta message for your boss." A brilliantly red foot shoves its way into the small gap made when the door is opened.
Vespa looks up, and stiffens. He recognized that voice. "Let him in, Stopwatch." he notes. He nods to Clamps and settles back, his back of course not to the door as he flips another card down.
Streetwise does too, and his optics widen as he settles back.
Stopwatch jerks back slightly in surprise before scowling, shifting to open the door fully. "Try anything funny and it'll be the last thing you do." He snarls.
Rampart straightens, arms dropping to his side as he keeps a close optic on their 'visitor', more than ready to intervene should it be needed.
Standing against the wall behind Streetwise's chair, Tiny straightens up, faceplates set in an angry frown. "Bumper. Heard you were workin' for Fiasco now. Good riddance."
Bumper is freshly painted- bright red with chrome and purple accents- and looks far flashier than he did when he was in Vespa's employ a decaorn before. "I work for whoever I think is gonna come out on top. And this time it ain't you, Vespa." He steps into the room. "But lucky for your family, I'm here with an offer from Don Fiasco, who is a generous mech."
Streetwise scowls as well at this. He didn’t like Bumper, really. He folds his arms, glancing to his father to see what he would say.
"An offer eh? " another card flip and then Vespa looks at Clamps. "Well, I'm always willing to hear offers. Especially from Fiasco." he notes of his main rival.
Tiny's engine revs angrily.
"Ain'tcha gonna ask me to sit down?" Bumper says with an insolent glance at Stopwatch as the other mech closes the door behind him. "You sure don't ask like you're all that willing to listen. Maybe I should go back and tell him you gonna be stubborn."
Stopwatch tilts his head down as he shuts the door again, leaning against it in a way that could almost be mistaken for casual. "Show some respect, Bumper." He snaps, bristling.
Rampart watches the entire exchange carefully, optics dimmed slightly but tracking Bumper's every moment.
Vespa states "Its too late to put you into this hand, Bumper. You know I hate changing the order of the cards." without even cracking. He does though, glance to Streetwise. Taking the hint, he slides off his chair and moves it forwards for Bumper to sit at the table, facing the Don.
"Thanks, kid," Bumper says. He sits down with a whirring, clicking noise of servomotors- louder than it probably ought to be for a mech who looks so well-maintained. "I don't owe your boss nothing, Stopwatch. Not anymore. No more freelancing for me- I'm Fiasco's man now." He rubs his knuckles on the shiny new paint job on his shoulder.
"For good this time? " asked Vespa "A pity. I had more jobs for you to do, as you're a hard worker and get the job done." remarks Vespa "So what's this all important offer then of Fiasco’s?"
Streetwise moved to stand now beside Tiny, and murmurs "The way he's acting, its not gonna be good. Or it'll be REALLY good."
Tiny says, "Zip it, kid, we gotta listen. This could be important."
Rampart narrows his optics at the sound, shifting his weight minutely as he crosses his arms. Something in how Bumper is behaving sets off alarms in his processor, though he can't quite place exactly what it is.
Stopwatch's scowl deepens but he doesn't say anything more, allowing his boss to speak uninterrupted.
Bumper nods. "For good." He leans back in the chair. "Don Fiasco sends his regards and invites you to join his organization. Your recent... troubles with the Autobots suggest you could use the help, and he'd hate to see anything happen to you or your family."
Vespa looks up at that, blinking. The cards for the first time were forgotten. He raises an opticbrow, then chortles "The troubles are mere annoyances. Like a small scratch on paint." flip of the card "We've got it all taken care of and under control. Send the Don our regards, and thanks, but the Vespa family is confident in its' ability to protect itself... from ANYONE."
Streetwise's own optics narrow a little bit, and he unfolds his arms, standing a little bit away from the wall now.
"You gotta be kidding," Tiny grouses. "You gotta have lost your damn MIND, Bumper? What'd you THINK he was gonna say to that?"
"Absolutely not!" Stopwatch snarls, pushing away from the door as if to charge over to Bumper. He seems to think better of it, though, and remains where he is.
Bumper looks unsurprised. "Figured you'd say that."
Don Vespa nods "We did indeed. But I appreciate you comin' all this way anyways." he flicks over a credit "Buy yourself a drink. You’re' a hard worker and I respect that."
Streetwise shook his head, glancing to Tiny once more in disbelief.
Rampart narrows his optics further, almost stepping forward before reversing the decision. Taking a small step backwards, he glances over at both Tiny and Stopwatch before turning his attention back to Bumper.
Bumper lets the credit bounce off his plating and fall to the floor. "I'll take him your reply." is all he says. He stands up. He glances at Streetwise. "Watch yourself, kid." Looks back at Vespa. "You too."
"... Is that a threat, then." notes Streetwise, his optics narrowing as he stared at Bumper. He was still perfectly calm though, reading Bumper’s every motion. What was he hiding? He was good at reading people. This wasn’t good at all.
Vespa states "And yourself. See you out there, Bumper."
"I like you, kid. Don't wanna see anything happen to you 'cause of who you're associating with." Bumper explains. He turns his back on the card table, and heads for the door.
Engine growling slightly, Stopwatch opens the door again, stepping aside to let the other mech out. He glares at Bumper, arms crossing over his chest again.
Rampart stares after Bumper, still not saying a word. He tilts his head slightly before looking down at the seated don, a small frown forming.
Streetwise' optics flicker again at that, and he stares after Bumper, watching him go. Then he speaks into the silence "... A mech who turns his back like that is either very foolish, or knows something we don’t."
Vespa glares after the mech as well, and shakes his head "Fuggedaboutit, Streetwise. Fiasco's a tough mech, but we've been doing this song and dance for years." he did though, seem a little more concerned than before.
"He's not taking no for an answer this time, Vespa," Bumper says over his shoulder. "I meant what I said. Watch yourself. Starting now."
Rampart steps closer to Vespa almost unconsciously, unsure of how to put his concern.
Stopwatch glares after Bumper, moving to shut and lock the door behind the red mech.
Streetwise looks up at Tiny, then towards his father. "I think we should cancel the card game father. Something about how fast he left doesn’t sit right with me."
There's a faint beep from the door.
Stopwatch frowns at the beep, shifting to try and slam it the rest of the way shut. "Cheap, glitched piece of slag..." He mumbles.
"I agree." Rampart says finally, glancing over at both Stopwatch and the door. "Something's wrong here."
Vespa glances up and towards his son. Then he blinks and puts the cards down "Same here. Call this round a draw, Clamps, we're headin' back to the Sanctum." he decides, standing smoothly.
The noise of the crowd in the main room of El Sleazo down the hallway and down some stairs from the private room is audible with the door caught partway open, and it's getting louder. "What's that?" "Is that smoke?" "What's going on?" are barely perceptible from the growing clamor.
Tiny pushes off the wall, putting a hand on Streetwise's shoulder and guiding him towards the door. "You heard the man, let's go, kid."
Streetwise pushes the hand off. "It /was/ my suggestion, I'm going!" he notes, a little irritated as he headed towards the door without help. Vespa packs in the cards, and the chips were all slid into a bag - to be counted and resorted later fairly as he always did, moving to lead the way downstairs "Smoke??"
Clamps stands up as well, superstitiously folding in his last hand of cards to the deck.
The door is still jammed.
Stopwatch pauses at the racket below them, optic ridges drawing down as he glances through the crack. "What the slag...?"
Rampart tenses at the sounds, barely restraining himself from drawing his weapons. "Something's /very/ wrong." He corrects himself.
Clamps doesn't wait, drawing a heavy-grade pistol from his subspace. "Get out of the fragging way, Stopwatch, or I'll get the door open through yer stinkin frame..." He aims at the door, firing at the control mechanism with a short burst.
Streetwise pauses, then his optics widen as the pistol is brought out. Without even being directed to he darted around to the far side of Tiny.
Vespa also stands back, half turning his reinforced side to the blast
Stopwatch barely makes it out of the way in time, jumping back as Clamps shoots. "What the /slag/-"
Rampart immediately draws his own weapon, stepping slightly in front of Don Vespa to shield him.
With a ginormous GRRAAAAAAACK sound, the door explodes in a spray of shrapnel and flaming debris, a much larger blast than can be explained even by the oversized handgun Clamps carries. The enforcer mech is thrown backwards, chassis smoking, and at almost the same instant, a secondary explosion rocks the room. Screams begin to be heard from the room downstairs.
"Clamps!" shouts Streetwise after the explosions' echo leaves his ears. He pulls out his own pistol - not a pea shooter either as he looks around Tiny's side, optics wide as he stared at the mech's frame "... Clamps?"
"Stopwatch, Grab 'im! We'll go out the roof!" shouts Vespa, gesturing Rampart through first.
Clamps groans weakly, but doesn't make any move to get up. His optics are dim, but steady.
Stopwatch is blasted back as the explosion happens, smashing into the wall with a horrible shriek of metal before collapsing in a painful heap. He lets out a quiet groan, struggling to his feet to follow Vespa's orders.
Rampart nods, heading for the trap door he knows is hidden near the edge of the room. All his sensors are jacked up to their max, carefully monitoring for any other threats.
The trapdoor is jammed shut- Bumper was obviously well-prepared.
"We're gonna hafta go out the front, boss-" Tiny says. He steps around Stopwatch with a dispassionate glance at the fallen mech. "Mebbe we should take 'em to that medic femme- she's closer than Bandage. He don't look so good."
"Scrap that. Tiny grab Stopwatch, Rampart, grab Clamps." corrects Vespa as he waves Streetwise forwards and towards the stairs now, jumping over the bannister and waving them to follow, in case the stairs were rigged 'move out everyone!" he calls "Evacuatin' now!" when he took charge, he took CHARGE.
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