The day was upon him and his newest client. They had just met yesterday and the man had requested Birdie have his product ready for him the day after. Quite a stubborn thing to do, something Birdie wouldn't forget. We could all be stubborn, but that was just a childish thing to request, especially for such a technologically advanced piece of equipment. No use whining over it now, as it was complete.

While he walked down the street in his typical garbs, not hiding the fact he toted his pistol ready to fire on his hip, Verde walked to his side with long guitar case. This holding the goods that Asher had requested Birdie to make for him, nothing less, nothing more. Also in attendance were three of Birdie's companions, just lingering around so he could focus on the dealing at hand while they watched their surroundings. Having retrieved the coordinates for the their rendezvous from the bartender as directed, Birdie and company found themselves in the middle of the of the shopping district that was rather busy. Taking a seat on a roadside bench, Verde too sat down, the three others would walk amongst the crowd staying in the general vicinity as to watch over their boss and his assistant. To their back was a brick wall that hid the happenings of a restaurant from public eye. "This is the spot, quite the annoying place to do this, but whatever." Digging in his jacket pocket his withdrew a few things. First a pair of shades that he put on his face and over his eyes, next was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. A single stick being wedged in between his lips, he lit up and smoked away as he waited for his client. He wasn't late, Birdie was just early as he always was to these things.

 

Exhaling an ivory plume into the sky, his shaded eyes scanned the area till he spotted a woman making her way specifically towards Birdie's direction. "Mm." He grunted with the cigarette still between his lips, notifying Verde of the incoming person. His operatives out in the streets took note of her too, but Birdie didn't really detect much of a threat, so he didn't signal for them to take precaution measures. Birdie and Verde listened to her say her bit, she was quite the peculiar thing, what she said was even more odd though. "You say that as if this isn't where I was directed to meet him. If he wants to do business, then he comes here where I was told to go and we get this over with." He grinned mischievously and didn't budge from his spot on the bench. "Kidding of course-" He stood up and shoved both his hands in his pockets then gave a beckoning motion with his head to Verde which was also meant for his street lurking company. "The open streets are no place for business, lead the way." Verde shook his head as he stood, his grip firm on the case with the product. "You're giving me anxiety, why can't you just not play for once." He rubbed at his chest as he spoke causing Birdie to chuckle. His companions that were within the crowd no longer worked to keep their presence hidden and indiscreetly walked with Birdie and Verde to the rendezvous point.

There Birdie and his company were brought into a building off in a fairly secluded location. "You two go keep watch." Birdie dispatched two of his three nameless followers to watch the door from the outside, he could never be too comfortable, especially with a brand new client. While they went outside, Birdie, Verde, and the last grunt were told the woman that was laid out on a table in front of them was who he was to be making his installation on. He scratched his head a bit and ran through the installation process in his mind, accounting for the woman's size. It wouldn't be an issue of course, he was getting paid after all, so as long as Beli was flowing he wouldn't have any issues. Complications however. . . those were a whole other thing. "Seems simple enough, Verde, prep the Gatling Gun and Proton Cannon." As he was told, silently as ever he lifted the case onto an empty part of the table and opened it. Inside was the Proton Cannon, the Gatling Gun, then a Trident, and some slave collars. "You get the other things and move them elsewhere, they have nothing to do with the installation." As he was told the grunt grabbed the Trident and Slave Collars, including the hub for it and moved it elsewhere in the room to be transacted once the installment was complete.

Left in the case were Birdie's tools for the procedure. Calmly standing over the woman who seemed to be unconscious, deactivated or at least pretending to be either of the two, his cigarette's smoke trailed eerily upwards to the ceiling and a bit of ash crumbled off the end onto one of her exposed arms. Taking a final drag, he took the stick out his mouth, tossed it on the floor and snuffed it out under his boot. Exhaling the smoke, he also removed his shades and put them back in his jacket. "Alright, start by removing her arms." Verde nodded and grabbed the appropriate tool may it be a screw driver or the heat based sheet metal cutter. While he did that, Birdie began to grab his tools and arrange them in a very particular order, amongst his tools was a small microchip, which he shamelessly picked off the table and slid into the confines of his jacket pocket. He hadn't the time for such tomfoolery this time, but perhaps the next time should there be one. With the design of the Proton Cannon however, it needing to be refilled after the tank was expended, there surely would be a next time.

After Verde removed the arms, Birdie would assist him in opening them up to expose their mechanics. Nothing too special for a cyborg, Birdie was just glad both her arms were fully mechanical, given they were both just removed without really checking. "Can I bother you for a cup of water, liquor, juice or something? Tobacco really dried my mouth out." Birdie looked at Zed as he said this and picked up one of his tools to begin removing some of the interworking of the woman's artificial arms. Verde was working on the other albeit at a much slower pace. The process wasn't too unfamiliar to him given he was a Blacksmith and knew how to unscrew a screw of wrench out a bolt. When it came to the wiring and other things however, he'd be out of the game. That's when Birdie would truly have to show his prowess as a Scientist and do what he felt he was naturally talented at. The only thing he'd need was consulting from the weapon smith himself about the safest way to install it to avoid back firing, allow safe cooling, and things of that nature. So Verde would modestly backseat drive a bit as Birdie did the technical work. Weaving wires and melding the networks of the Cyborg interface and the weapons to work as one would be a tiresome, yet fulfilling task. Placing his shades back on his face, he grabbed his next tool that produced an array of sparks from out the woman's exposed arm as he guided it around the inlaid weapons. Cutting old wires and replacing them with new ones that connected to these weapons, he tested a connection and was rewarded with a whirling sound from the Gatling Guns multiple barrels that were unloaded, but attempting to fire. That one was set, now for the Proton Cannon he followed a similar process, but couldn't actually test this weapon due to the reason that it was always loaded and ready to fire.

Time would go on and Birdie would have ensured himself he had installed both weapons, the Proton Cannon and the Gatling Gun, no more and no less without any problems. It would take about an hour and a half, but he figured the pay would be well worth it as would the relationship with military personnel. Putting the woman's arms back on and securing them, all her newest additions were successfully integrated and ready to function at a moments notice.

"That should do it." Birdie would say as he finally wiped the cooled ash off the woman's arm that had fallen prior to the operation. "Where's the money man?" Birdie would pull out another cigarette and spark it up with his lighter as Verde packed up his tools back in the case.

 

Birdie and his company would respond well to Asher and shake his hand as it came to them, his gloves kept on of course however. Who knew what kind of nasty germs one could catch from a man as dirty as this one. "Have a drink ready for me when I come back Verde." Birdie took another puff from his cigarette as he trailed behind Asher ever aware of the presence of the pistol on his hip in the case something went down that he wasn't prepared for. Before he stepped into the room, his associate, not Verde, but the grunt had the additional items placed securely the in case and handed it to Birdie with a nod. "Thanks." He said as he stepped into Asher's office and let the man close the door behind him. Removing his shades and tucking them in his jacket as he scanned the room, he was quick to locate the Beli and step over to where it was located while Asher spoke. He wasn't one for formalities and showing he was listening and stuff even though he surely was listening. Replacing the bag of Beli with Asher's extra requested items, Birdie took a seat and removed the paper bills that were bound together and placed them on Asher's desk counting them shamelessly.

"Hmm . . . I could use the Sea Train for shipping things to other clients, so it is in my interest, but I can't sit back and act like I'm no curious how someone affiliated with the World Government is just going to willy-nilly take the Sea-Train and not get heat for it?" He exhaled a smooth plume of ivory smoke from his mouth that lingered in front of his face for a moment. All the beli out the bag and accounted for, he leaned forward and brushed it to the side, breaking the plume of smoke that was in his face as he did so. The beli wouldn't fall off the table, it would remain neatly stacked, but just slide over to his left as he brushed it over with his left and leaned onto the desk that separated Asher and Birdie with both arms folded onto each other. His hand lingered down near the handle of his pistol, but this was hidden, because his body was leaning forward and he was close to the desk. "You don't expect to round up a gang of "rag-tag" bandits and organize them to take something like the Sea-Train and put their name on it do you? I have no interest in being the face of any operation that you want done. Could you hire me and my associates as lets say . . . mercenaries? Sure, but I'd hope you aren't hoping to make me your fall guy." Birdie's brow was cocked up skeptically as he stared at Asher awaiting his response. He'd yet to even glance at this financial report that Asher had tossed onto the desk.

If Asher responded saying Birdie and his crew weren't meant to be the fall guys, then of course he'd dig deeper. "Who's face is it that's going to be stapled to this heist then?"

 

Birdie sighed and shook his head. His question wasn't answered in the fashion he hoped it would be, but he figured Asher understood he wasn't the one to play with. Gradually Birdie was building his own hand of cards against Asher and while he battled with playing one now, he chose not to. It was still too early. "As long as we're clear that my name nor the name of any of my associates is headlining any papers when this is said and done, we're fine." Grabbing the paper of the desk he examined the turnout of the Sea-Train and figured this was a hefty sum of money that he could use to advance his agenda by multiple months. "When does this all go down? I'm hoping you don't plan on throwing another "I need it by tomorrow" kinda thing at me." Birdie's tone made it clear he wouldn't approve of such a thing if it was so.

It's true that Birdie is just an accessory to this whole thing, but he wouldn't be dragged about and ordered about like a pawn, he was much more valuable than that and he knew Asher knew it. They were still business partners after all. What's an inventor with no one to sell to and a man with money with nothing to buy. Involving the Sea-Train Asher was undoubtedly the King on the board, at least as Birdie saw it, but outside such a trivial heist, they were equals.

 

The words were more so amusing than reassuring, but Birdie supposed the universe put Asher and him together as a form of Yin and Yang. While Asher didn't hide the punches he pulled, Birdie had no issue with doing his dealings in the dark to eliminate those he wanted gone. It was always nice to see the response to such things however, so he understood why Asher was a more stab you in the chest type as opposed to the back. Birdie nodded with a smirk on his face, the expression said all Asher needed to know and would communicate to Asher as to how Birdie handled his business. "I guess I'll play per your rules then. I at least owe you that much." Listening to the rest of what Asher had to say, Birdie simultaneously shoveled his payment back in its bag, preparing to leave. "Assuming we got nothing left to talk about then, Imma show myself the door." As he stood up and opened the door, he'd stop in the door way and speak once more. "I might bring some fun toys to the party too, if you have any special request I'm always looking to make more money." With that Birdie would step out the room fully into the operating room where Verde and his other associate were waiting on him. Looking to Zed and Mercy, Birdie would give them both acknowledging glances before he put his shades back on and walked out the door Zed had brought them through at first. His other two companions still loyally on watch would fall into formation as Birdie, Verde, and the other soundless walked beyond them.

[Exit]