>>144366"Alright, I have to make sure Clip is doing alright."
>>144367“Heh. I don’t think you’re in any condition to walk so far right now” she says.
>>144368“Clip?” She asks
>>144369"Oh, stallion who asked to stay here for moment."
>>144369"It might be the only way, as far as I know," Iron lazily replied before shambling over towards Sands. "Maybe one of those metal things that go vroom vroom could work."
>>144371She bites her lip
“Have you got any money on you? Let me see.”
>>144370“Oh. Him.” She says
>>144372"You are upset."
He looks up at his Jubee.
>>144373“No. It’s a big unexpected, but... no.”
>>144374"Are you sure? If something is wrong, I want to know."
>>144375“I don’t think so?” She says
“I just didn’t know his name.”
>>144372He had some, although compared to the last time Iron had any money (4500 bits plus loot) and passed it all to Cauldron in order to boost her spending captial and start up her business, it was about... 350 bits, after considering the payments to the hotel.
>>144377“That’s enough” she says
“There’s sure to be a doctor in town, but I’d rather leave. They may be searching for doctors.”
>>144376"His name is Paper Clipping. He was foalnapped by traffickers in New Mareland trying to dodge draft and avoid fighting in its foreign wars. He is nice stallion, you might like him."
>>144378"What is the plan?" Iron muttered, blinking slowly.
>>144380"Pay someone to take us into town. Take us to your zebra mare, if you trust her."
>>144379She tilts her head
"Huh..."
>>144381"Sounds good to me," Iron mumbled as he stared at the window with a frown.
>>144381"Would you like to meet him?"
>>144382>>144384A little time has passed, and no luck for White Sands yet
>>144384"Are you sure? You do not have to say yes if you do not want to."
>>144384>>144385Iron, of course, doesn't say anything, letting Sands do the thing she's best at.
>>144386“Well, I don’t see why not.” She says
>>144387And again
[1d20 = 18]
>>144387>>144388She comes in telling Iron
“Alright, I found a stallion who will help us. Just carefully go through this door, out the back, and into the bed of his truck.”
>>144389Iron nodded, starting to walk towards the door, fully trusting Sands to properly guide him to safety, even if deep down, he wished to have died the moment she intervened in his duel with Koptis.
(...Is it bad to resent somepony for saving my life?) he absent-mindedly thought, looking pensive in his tired, pained demeanor.
>>144388"Alright then."
He smiles at her, gets up off the couch, and offers her a hoof to get up.
>>144390She similarly seems tired, but she works nevertheless, talking to a stallion in an old, orange truck.
"Lay down in the bed, and pull that cover over you. Don't get out until we are there."
>>144391She smiles, and takes his hoof to get up
>>144392"Easy enough," Irom mumbled, shambling over said bed and looking for the covers to hide himself under.
>>144392He leads his griffon outside, where he last saw Clip.
>>144394It takes a moment, but Clip is outside by the water
Khoi can be found in the little section under the house, with bedsheets
>>144393He places the cover over himself and settles in. It's a long drive, and the truck starts and stops at many points. Iron may be curious to get up and look out. Or he may fall asleep - which is more likely considering his poor condition at the moment.
After a significant time, the truck stops, and iron hears the sound,
"Iron. We are here."
>>144395He definitely fell asleep: He had lost curiosity when failing at what he supposedly does best.
Iron didn't bother to get out of the bed just yet, instead asking where they were.
>>144395Silver trots up to Clip.
"Hello Clip, I wanted to introduce you to Jubilosa. Jubilosa, this is Paper Clipping."
>>144396"We are at that zebra's apartment. At least I think we are" she says.
Iron may sit up, to see that they are parked off to the side, near where Black Cauldron lives
>>144397"Uh, hello."
Paper Clipping walks up, and looks upwards at her
"Hello, miss"
>>144398Iron did so, which soon turned him pensive. "...should we let you-know-who know about our progress so far?" he insinuated, mostly regarding the mademare they took the contract up for.
Otherwise, he'd stand up and slowly hobble off the truck to allow it to drive off without much of a hassle.
>>144399“Saint Germane? Only if she will find out first.”
Iron does do, and Iron can see that Sands hoofs some coins to the driver.
>>144400"I do not get it," Iron remarked, softly shaking his head as shuffled over towards the apartment's entrance.
>>144401“What do you not get? You tried to stealthily go in and take on the vanguard of an arriving invasion of very dangerous criminals. That didn’t work. Now they know who you are, or at least, they are aware that someone is challenging them. Saint Germans might be very angry or entirely unsurprised, but it won’t be the same as returning having solved the problem.”
>>144402Iron huffed softly, feeling the metaphorical lemon being squeezed into his wounded ego.
"What about all the work we did previously?" he questioned as he hopefully arrived at the door without any sort of roadblocks in his way. "I am sure the accountant knows the Waterfront Gang is watching them because of his testimony, right?"
>>144403“I don’t know. They may have been hit hard enough to decide not to engage. They may think they have to strike first now. And they may only want to come after you.”
>>144404“Yes. She was here doing laundry” he says
>>144405"Did you talk with her at all?"
>>144406“A little, yeah. Says she’s been living here with you, the griffin, and a hyena.”
>>144405"I can beat their sorry flanks back with my full strength," Iron dismissed somewhat with a heavy step, appraising his weakened body. "It it a matter of how fast I can heal."
>>144407Silver nods.
"Okay then...anything else?"
>>144408“Not if they already know you are dangerous. At least, not alone.”
>>144409“She says you are dating this find griffin here?”
>>144410Silver nods.
"We have date planned for tonight, right Jubee?"
>>144410"If they know I am dangerous and have managed to take down an entire establishment on my lonesome," Iron argued, still tired, but passionate enough about knowing all his labor had
some sort of payoff "then they will surely not want to find out if there are more of me."
Nonetheless, he shook his head, still kicking himself for his loss.
>>144412“Oh, I think they know already that you are one of a kind.”
>>144411“Mhmm.” She nods her head, while half-unfolding her wings
>>144413"How?" Iron mumbled, a bit puzzled. "Am I really that rare to find?"
>>144413"So...want to take look inside house, Clip?"
>>144414“Well, they know you’re not an ordinary colt who just wandered in. Let’s say that.”
>>144415“Sure!” His tail moves back and forth
>>144416Iron didn't quite get it, but that may be due to the debilitated state he was in.
Therefore, he kept moving towards the one that can make his physical and emotional pain go away.
>>144416He smiles at him, and motions for him to follow.
"If you will follow me..."
hopes to continue with the cute stallion
>>144418The colt runs around towards the stairs, and follows behind Silver
>>144423Silver enters first, and shows off the living room to the colt.
"Here is living room, nice and spacious with TV and radio for entertainment. Off to side you will find bar, kitchen, and dining area."
>>144424He walks, almost cautiously into the entrance, looking up and down
"Woah."
He stops to take extra time to look at the taxidermied... Leopard? The one that stands on the left side of the hallway, opposite the stairs and near the radio and phonograph.
>>144425Silver looks with him.
"Bit of relic of when it was Maakie who lived here. I do not get it, myself."
>>144426“Odd tastes... I’m not sure what else I expected.” He comes further into the room, with Jubilosa following behind. He takes a careful look at the radio, and the other items like model ships.
>>144427Silver looks at Jubilosa.
"What do you think of all of these taxidermied animals around house, by way?"
>>144428“It’s a little bit, well, excessive. But I think it’s pretty neat.” She says
>>144429Silver nods, and smiles at her.
"I am bit ambivalent towards them, so it is nice to hear others opinions on them."
He returns to seeing what Clip is doing.
>>144430Now he is interested in the television, walking up to it, and touching it.
>>144431Silver uses his magic to turn the moving picture box on from a distance.
>>144432Paper Clipping moves back quickly as the black screen becomes moving images of black and white. A high pitched sound emanates, replaced by static, and then a pony voice.
>>144433Silver stifles a little chuckle, and looks at what is playing on the television.
>>144434It looks to be multiple clips, each some seconds long, of what seems to be an aerial view over modern warships with bridges, guns, and conning towers. More than that, the source of the images dive, tilt, or shoot white tracers, or even pairs of black smoke trails in the directions of the ships. Sometimes the ships are stationary, with scenes of dry docks around them. Sometimes they move with white steam coming from the stacks, and curved trails of foam n the water behind them. And some smoke with great stacks of black from the hull. Airplane and machine gun sounds overlay the images, along with the voice of a narrating pony
>>144435"This must be news report of ongoing war. Though I am not sure which war it is..."
>>144436The voice over fills in this detail:
“Our colts and fillies in the ‘Flying Pigs’ squadron carry out the attack on Aquellia harbor. The
Liberté Chérie long wounded by our planes in the Freeside Gulf, and dragged into harbor for repairs, is sunk outside its dry dock. Its reign of terror is at an end, thanks to the Republican Air Force.”
>>144437"Ah, Aquileia. It is rather sad I do not automatically know what war New Mareland is fighting anymore, by my count I think they may be in...what, two, three?"
>>144438“When they leave one, they enter another” Paper Clipping answers
>>144439"Indeed it seems. Under normal conditions I would say it is duty of nation's citizens to come to its defense, but it is also duty of nation's leaders to avoid war where possible and keep their citizens safe. I can not blame you for making to leave New Mareland, this is ridiculous."
>>144440“I know. Much of the male population has been drafted. The only way they keep the economy up is from what they loot from other nations.”
>>144441"I wonder how many stallions are being sent overseas, and how few will make it back home. It is like entire generation is being marched off to their death."
>>144442“Exactly! It’s the acts of a few imperialists consolidating power over their own populations. I want no part of it.”
[b]Blue Skies is still best pony
>>144444Agreed.
>>144443He trots up to the colt, and pats his back.
"You are safe here, do not worry."
>>144445He is pat, and sits down
“So, uh, what do you do? You say you don’t work for the police.”
He tilts his head
“Are you some kind of gangster?”
waves
I hope I can play today
>>144446"Heh, not really. I like term 'Adventurer', but I suppose I am more of mercenary, even if it is dirty term for what I do. Khoi used word to describe kind of wandering knight in her homeland."
>>143986Dark Denizen has a flat expression, and asks Amber
“How good of a liar are you?”
>>144447is waved atwaves back>>144448He narrows his eyes in skepticism
>>144449She blinks and twists her mouth.
"Not very, I don't like to lie...."
>>144450“Hired by who?” He asks
>>144451She grins
“No matter. Simply go to the right place at the right time.”
>>144452"Well, since coming here I have been hired by development company to clear undead out of quarry, nun to rescue colts from politician's, uh...sex dungeon, and local government to clear traffickers from Hoebuck."
>>144453She tries to pull Amber off to the side, and stares into Amber’s eyes for her next words
“Have you ever been to the Baltimare police headquarters?”
>>144454He blinks, and shakes his head, pulling it back
“Undead and sex dungeons?”
>>144456“Like zombies? And what?!”
>>144457Silver nods.
"Risen by long dead necromancer. That nest was difficult as Tartarus to clear out, thank goodness there was unexploded bomb in quarry to blow them up to smitherines. As for sex dungeon...well, we were asked by local orphanage worker kirin nun called Sister Ash to help rescue two missing colts who were foalnapped from orphanage by local gang and sold off to local politician named Comte Burgher. We broke into his mansion, and inside hatch inside his pool house we found, well, sex dungeon, and imprisoned inside were two missing colts as well as two young foalnapped changeling drones. It was...horrifying sight."
And I have to sleep now>>144458She has that grin, once again
"I can't say that my experiences with it have been pleasant. Perhaps yours will be better. That is where you are going tonight."
>>144459He blinks
"Well then..."
>>144464"Heh heh heh. Do you really think the police would be content to leave us who live by night alone?
No. But you
are thinking right. There will be the night shift, and there will be
fewer of them. There are there mostly for emergencies, and they will not be expecting other business. And if you get there at just the right time, you will be there at the time the night shift expects their break."
>>144465"Um, is that important?" She seems uneasy in asking so many questions, as if the wrong one might set this mysterious mare off.
>>144466"Always better to deal with fewer police, and especially, to deal with disinterested officers. Officers who don't care to take to much notice of their surroundings." She says
>>144467"So they'll be friendlier?" Amber doesn't really know how to interpret what she said any other way.
>>144468"Less prone to asking questions." She answers
>>144461Silver sits down on the couch.
"There is not much more to tour, I am afraid. Upstairs are bedrooms for myself and Jubilosa, Khoi, and Mala, as well as two bathrooms. You are more than welcome to make yourself at home, Clip."
He pats the couch seat next to him as an invitation to sit down.
>>144470"Where would I stay?"
He looks over at the couch, and pauses for a moment. There is a delay before he stands up, and moves over to the couch to sit down