16229/We have guns, cheap!

We have guns, cheap!
Date of Scene:	31 October 2023
Location:	Powder Keg Gunsmith
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Cole Cash, River Banks

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Cole Cash has posed:
Cole said he would be out for business out for about three days. And left River with the keys of the... well, everything. Promised to pay overtime and all.

He is back after three WEEKs. Also, she got like 3 texts during the three weeks. 'Hey, still alive. Back in a couple' was a week ago. So, yeah, maybe River's first experience with Cole's poor planning skills. Or the mishaps of being a mercenary juggling too many things.

Which doesn't stop him from meandering into the shop with a new cowboy hat and thick cigar between his grinning teeth. "I am back!" He declares. "How is the shop going? Are we rich already?"

River Banks has posed:
    Three days stretched into three weeks.

    She tried to not touch the cash. Someone needed ammo. She made change and stuck it in an envelope with copies of receipts.

    One benefit though, the place was SPOTLESS. Chipped paint had been gone over. Stains lifted from the floor.

    The windows were even cleaned inside and out and that stubborn mildew was lifted.

    "Yeah you got messages from sixteen people who stopped in and wanted to buy something special, but it was all Greek to me." the blonde with the brown eyes states as she rises from behind the counter.

    She's now wearing a screenprinted T-shirt with POWDER KEG written on it so that it looked like she worked here.

    "So no, not rich yet." she states, and gives a huff out. "And I don't know 'nough about these things to sell anythin' but the little ones anyways. Which Ah can't cause ah don't got your numbers."

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole grunts. Then he sees the 'no smoking' sign he himself put (everywhere) in the shop. Because rules & regulations. And sighs, putting down his expensive cigar-of-triumph. Then he pockets it, because he is cheap like that.

"Sixteen, not bad!" He notes, deciding to be positive. That is possibly a lot of work, but maybe some of the orders might be interesting. He drops his duffel bag on the counter, and the clanking inside means it is most likely full of guns. "Well, I got a productive gig myself. I barely even got shot. And I think I can pay you for the extra hours. Almost sure!"

River Banks has posed:
    "Most men walked in the shop, saw a girl an' not you, and walked right out again. One thought Ah was robbin' the place and pulled a gun on me and took him some convincin' to say I was your hired help. Helped when I locked him outta the place."

    River shifts her weight again, and she gives an upnod. "I was getting a little bit worried with the time between alerts. You okay though? Like, you're not about ta drop dead on my clean floor are you?"

Cole Cash has posed:
"The floor is... too clean," remarks Cole, noticing everything is too clean. It is unnatural. But it probably will make the customers happy, so he will endure. "I had crappy cell cover. I am okay, but the plane... wasn't okay, so I got delayed. And then I got smacked by the powers-that-be with a dumb errand and lost five more days. By then I had lost the phone, too."

He rummages through his pockets and pulls out a dirty envelope full of $50 bills. "Anyway. Since no one shot you, I guess no one came to kill me, which is better than last time. Haha, I didn't tell you about last time I attempted to run a business, did I? It was a bar. It got blown up within two weeks."

River Banks has posed:
    "... that is utterly horrifyin' for someone tryin' ta stay under the Bat radar in Gotham." River replies, her eyes apparently quite dry because she blinks. She sets her mouth in a firm, thin line and leans her arm on the counter.

    "You didn't tell me when you hired me your last business venture BLEW UP." she huffs, and then tilts her head back and looks at the ceiling.

    "Well. Ah'm glad you're back. 'Cause now you kin check your messages an' hopefully make more than a couple hundred bucks in sales."

Cole Cash has posed:
"It wasn't in Gotham, it was in... well, I can't tell you. Also, years ago." explains Cole. Or fails to explain, rather. Just a couple hundred? That is disheartening. As a matter of fact, did River manage to eat for three weeks with two hundred bucks?

Maybe it is a guilty conscious what makes him grab the wads of money and count quickly, leaving a nice stack of cash in front of the young woman. Three weeks pay plus a nice bonus. It is -almost- fair. "You can take the rest of the day off, if you want."

River Banks has posed:
    She always eats pretty good; but that's because she's got a benefactor who's helping her out. She reaches beneath the counter and pulls out a wrist-brace, which she slips on.

    "Naw, wouldn't feel right, an' sides. Ain't got much else ta do other than work or walk 'round GOtham. An' even with your explodin' businesses, safer workin' than taking a walk." she states this as fact as she settles the strap on her brace.

    Glad you made it back in one piece. Ah hate job huntin'."

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole arches an eyebrow at the bracer. But asks no questions. "That is Gotham's charm," he points out. "and it is not even raining". People can't come to Gotham and expect safety. As for the exploding business, despite the joking, remains a distinct possibility and he should try to scare River away.

Even if the DEO won't do it because Waller is looming over them, there are things like Daemonites that would explode his gunshop, not respecting Waller or even the Bat. Sometimes Cole does dumb things, and he admits it, but getting River involved was past dumb and into reckless endangerment. "And, hey, you don't get the whole Gotham experience until they don't try armed robbery at your shop a couple times."

River Banks has posed:
    "Yeah, the Gotham Charm kinda grows on you after a while -- like a mold." River states as she breathes out, and then shakes her head.

    "Look, speakin' of Gotham an' its charms... some body showed up who's lookin' for me. Says he's taken hold a' one of my debts. An' that he wants me to work for him."

Cole Cash has posed:
"Oh really?" So River has a job offer and yet she stayed at the shop. "I guess it is an even worse employer than me, since you are still around," Cole comments with a self-deprecating grin.

Bad employers are also part of the Gotham experience, definitely. "Is he someone that should be in Arkham? If so, I do have some tricked-out guns I can take out for a test run. Free of charge."

River Banks has posed:
    "... it's Sabertooth." River states. "Ain't someoen I'd recommend anyone workin' for. Likely he killed the previous holder of my accounts." she admits quietly, picking at her tee shirt a minute and then giving whatever she picked off it a toss to the trash.

    "I ain't in the business he wants anymore."

Cole Cash has posed:
That name gives Cole a momentary pause. It is not every day he hears of a creep that has been around for longer than him, and has survived more than him and Deathstroke put together.

"I have never even heard of old Creed hiring people," admits Cole. How much are carbonadium bullets in the Black Market. He will check tonight? "Yep, he is bad news. Maybe if you stall him for a few days the Bat will kick him out of the city," he suggests.

River Banks has posed:
    She croses her arms.

    "Fled New York Cityf or Gotham when he tracked me down there. Shoulda known it was jus' a matter of time. An' naw. I don't think he needsd help cleanin' an' settling a shop. An' he's far more destructive than a simple explosion." she states, and she pulls her shirt collar to the side -- and Cole might be able to see where she has a long lasceration scar -- she's run afoul of Sabertooth before, and he let her off easy.

    'Been about a week since he was in town. Didn't make no noise 'bout nothin'. Just tracked me by and decided to chat like a neighbor."

Cole Cash has posed:
"Maybe, but the Bat will go for him," muses Cole. "He has done things in Gotham before, pretty sure Sabes is high in the naughty list." On the other hand, Murphy says the Bat will be fighting aliens in the moon the whole month Creed is in town, because luck is never with people like them.

Cole huffs. "Y'know? He can't have you. That is poaching, very rude. I'll will have to talk with him." And he needs a cig, signs or not. Just when the smell of tobacco was starting to fade out of the shop.

River Banks has posed:
    "Thanks for that, Cole. I feel much more secure in my job now that you're gonna give him a stern talking to." the girl replies, and she pats herself down, looking over to Cole, and she offers him her pack of cigs. She doesn't smoke much. She rarely took a smoke break at work, but this seems particularly stress-inducing.

Cole Cash has posed:
Cole was rummaging through his pockets again. He has too many pockets, and also pouches, all very 90s. Then he takes the offered cigarette, produces a lighter and takes a few drags. "Yeah, a stern talking. I am sure he will be reasonable." He nods sagely.

Can't be much worse than that razors-everywhere ninja. Totally reasonable fella. "I guess I will be busy later. I better get the hardware cleaned first," he grabs the duffel bag and heads to the workshop. "And listen to those messages, of course."

River Banks has posed:
    "I wrote 'em all down for you." River states with a wave of her hand. "... he might be reasonable. He coulda killed me the other day if he wanted to. Maybe he just likes to watch people squirm 'fore he tears out their jugular... but Cole, you go after him, you lemmie know when an' where you're lookin'. I got a vested interest in you comin' back now."

Cole Cash has posed:
"I am starting with the Penguin icecube club and going down from it," mentions Cole. Probably lying. "Unlikely I find him in one day, unless he is waiting for me. Then I will improvise, I am good with that."

There is really not much planning with Sabretooth. The mutant is stronger, faster and has a far better healing factor. Cole maybe has better aim, and he cheats like the best. Maybe they will solve any problem with a poker game. That would be nice.