2020-05-18 - Kicking the Hornet's Nest

The darkness is broken by a parking lot street light shining down on the picnic table where Easton has setup. His jeep is parked around the corner. He's dressed for a mission, well a Gray Harbor one anyway because he has his trusty rain jacket on. He doesn't appear to be nervous at all, sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee that is starting to resemble the light drizzle in both temperature and now taste.

Alexander is sitting at the table with Easton, dressed in his usual oversized army jacket and a bulky sweater, along with some heavy, pocketed pants. It's not exactly body armor, but it blunts the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. He looks nervous. But Alexander always looks some degree of nervous, and his fingertips are beating a quiet rhythm on the splintered wood of the picnic table while he watches Easton. Or rather, stares at the way he used to stand out and now has blurred in some subtle fashion. That he's not happy about it is clear, but not the point of the evening, so he contents himself with staring.

It looks like they've all decided to take Easton's jeep. No use bringing all the vehicles for one courier. This is fine. Everything is fine.

Isabella is sitting next to Easton, and facing Alexander, dressed in black jeans, black hooded jacket, black pants, black...well, everything. It makes her difficult to see, but as the ex-marine takes a sip of his coffee, he'd find a suntanned hand s l i i i i i d e from past the shadows cast by the evening on the back, index and thumb holding a chocolate dipped donut hole. Fingers turn the frosted side towards him.

"Eat me, Easy. Eaaaaaat meeee," the little donut hole says, in mock falsetto.

....look, they've been here for a while. Nothing's happened yet, and everyone knows that Isabella's sanity tends to take a hit the more bored she gets.

Alexander's staring and drumming are taken in stride. Easton's in mission mode. Except there's a talking donut hole that's trying to distract his focus that needs to be dispatched with extreme prejudice. With a scowl, he leans over and snags it with his teeth, any bit of finger scraped is purely accidental. He narrows his eyes at Isabella, chewing exaggeratedly for a moment before he hears the bike.

Easton pushes up off the seat as the bike comes to a rest. The tell tale tightness in his chest alerting him that they aren't quite lucky enough to be dealing with a mundane thug. He mentally contacts Alexander with <<Scan him? What can he do.?>> Not for the first time Easton wishes he were able to do a couple of those neat healer tricks, but for now he settles on just heading into the men's room, choosing to wait at the door so they can have a talk and block the exit.

Alexander is learning. So he doesn't actively correct "Easy" to "Easton", he just twitches slightly, then smiles when Easton scowls...then eats out Isabella's hand. He looks like he might actually comment something about that, but then the bike arrives, and the amusement falls off of his face. He nods to Easton. <<I'll try. I'm not a real healer, though. Just a poor substitute.>> He stands up a second after Easton does, glancing to Isabella. He studies her for a moment, worry deepening the creases at the corners of his eyes, before he follows Easton to the door.

He reaches out with his abilities. First to try and feel out the courier's abilities. Then to wrap him in an illusion. If all goes well, he won't see Easton, Isabella, and Alexander at all when he emerges, but rather three blandly unremarkable men with medium-brown hair, and medium-brown eyes.

She said eat me, not bite me, Easton! Isabella grins, though eyes do round in surprise when he just eats the donut hole out of her hand, but before she says anything else, there's the man himself, heading right into the restroom. "Is that...?" There's a nod towards the decal on his jacket; it's distinctive enough.

When both men rise, so does she, the weight of her glock at the waistband of her jeans. Fingers hook into it, though she doesn't draw just yet, and seems oblivious to the mental conversation going on, not that it would be possible from her end without help. So far, the only person she's able to communicate mind-to-mind with is Alexander, and even he has to navigate several defenses in order to do so.

Her lover's dark-eyed glance, and the worry within it, prompts her to smile. "I'll be okay," she tells him, reaching for his hand, if he allows her, to press a kiss on his battered knuckles. It's all she can do, relatively certain that he will worry anyway, but it doesn't stop her from communicating some manner of reassurance especially when her present talents are somewhat deadened by Megan's touch. Still, perhaps in deference to the idea that Easton is platoon leader, and Alexander is worried enough, she lingers somewhere to the side and back.

Easton follows Jake out the door and after him for a smoke, his hand in his jacket pockets. He nods at Alexander's assessment and with that little bit of knowledge about this guy he approaches from behind hoping to take him unaware but not quite managing that. Jake turns and Easton smiles, coldly. "Hi." He is obviously approaching him at this point and so he might as well get right into it. "Frank couldn't make. He's done." He lets that settle in for just a second before saying, "And so are all of you. We just need to talk terms." He keeps his hands in his pockets for now. And for the briefest moment he attempts just check that he can pull that silenced glock out, but that's a big ol' nope. He doesn't let that affect his composure though. It's not entirely unexpected.

Alexander doesn't even particularly attempt to be quiet, not once Easton's said hi. He's not a particularly menacing man - he's taller than Easton but he's not TALL, he doesn't carry himself with any particular confidence, and the hunched shoulders never say 'tough guy'. It's not even easy to tell how he's built, with the oversized, bulky clothing he tends to wear.

But the way he casually moves to circle around Jake and cut him off from a sudden move towards the bike? That at least says it's time to be concerned. He stares, flat and unblinking, at the man, staying just out of arm's reach.

He's surrounded, because as Alexander moves to cut Jake (or Nate) off the bike, Isabella takes up the unoccupied corner. There's only one place to go, should he decide to run, and that's towards the trees. And really, she's more than happy to see the man attempt to take his chances there.

"I think you better do what he tells you," she advises, solemnly. "He bites."

Easton doesn't need a gun in his hand to feel just fine having this conversation. Particularly when he it's three to one. He is going to want to figure that out before the ratio changes. He agrees heartily, "Yup" to the fact that they are done. The comment about biting goes unremarked. "Oh Frankie and I came to an understanding. He's never going anywhere near her again and he gets to keep at least one functioning leg. Everyone's happy." He shrugs and says, "But I think we can come to a better understanding. I'm open to hearing numbers, I understand this is business." Business that sometimes works in numbers, sometimes in gunshots but still business. "So can we talk, or should we bring in some more senior people for that discussion?"

Easton can't quite hide his smile as the shape of his pocket changes to be slightly pointier.

Alexander's gaze flickers back to Isabella when she makes the remark about biting, and the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. Just briefly. But his attention is mostly on Easton and his new friend. They're all being very friendly, and while he doesn't quite relax, his readiness shifts into something more patient and sustainable as the other man doesn't make a break for it. He remains silent, figuring that whatever small amount of menace he's able to generate without actually breaking people will probably be ruined by his speaking.

"I vote keeping this to ourselves," Isabella adds. "With you convincing your guys to just do what we say and staying the hell away from Gray Harbor and the people who live in it." The smile she flashes Jake/Nate is a winsome thing. It's a suggestion that will probably not sit well with the man they're presently accosting, but that is decidedly the aim. She wants the rest of the group to come.

And then, they'll deal with it then. Alexander's eyes met from where she stands, she flashes him a quick wink.

"Something like that." Easton agrees with Jake's wording. Seeing his eyes roam Easton shrugs, "I'd say don't sell yourself short, but I'm just very easy to get going." Poke. Poke. Goes the silence barrel of the gun against the waterproof fabric.

"Here we fucking are." Easton grins and agrees, "The number is also bullshit. Her dad was a fuckup, you trusted him and got burned like bozos. That's not her problem. She's paid you plenty over the years and I'm willing to talk something reasonable that will end this. But I wouldn't recommend your bosses saying that number again." Easton looks at Alexander and Isabella and shakes his head just a touch. It'd be great to drop some knowledge on poor Jake of who owns the casino that Felix Monaghan is now making his home base, but Easton doesn't really want to play that card in public. He also doesn't want to draw attention to his resources at this stage in the negotiations. "We mean fucking now. You can pull out a phone and call, you pull anything else out and I guarantee I'm faster."

"I think it would be appropriate to remove any accumulated interest, late fees, or other unfortunate fees that have been added in the meantime," Alexander says, at last. "Considering that the debt was not hers to start with, and she is essentially doing a favor, a kind favor, to see that you recoup any of your supposed losses at all." His voice is deadpan and solemn. "Suggest that you start there, and see how much the figure changes." He shifts on his feet when Easton gives Jake permission to pull his phone, clearly ready to intervene if necessary.

"Or we could simply remove your testicles and add it to the pot," Isabella opines, her hands in her pockets, her reply a nonchalant one. It seems like a joke, but really, what she had in mind for them before was worse. "But thankfully, I'm not in charge. He is." She nods to Easton.

"You realize she can cut your nuts off without moving a finger, right? Or are you that unfamiliar with Gray Harbor's brand of fuckin' crazy?" The threat would have more oomph behind it if a) Easton actually knew if that were true or not and b) that were Lilith who would probably have already done it for no other reason than the guy deserves it.

Once the phone is out Easton calls cheerful, "Hey Natie." as if he were greeting an old friend too. He nods at the estimate and says, "Great, I can wait an hour. And knowing the cops around here, we should be just fine."

"Ooh while we're waiting. Let's play a game. It's called do you understand the world of fucked up that is Gray Harbor?"

Alexander does not greet Natie. He quirks an eyebrow up when Easton praises Isabella's ball-cutting skills - although he doesn't disagree - but looks uneasy about the hour wait time. He moves restlessly around Jake, although it's more to survey the rest stop rather than to menace the guy specifically. That's just a potential added bonus. A quiet snort at the 'game' Easton suggests playing, but he offers, "I like games. What should we make the rules?" And, with his mind, he adds to both Easton and Isabella, <<And is it a game we could play with this guy tied up and stuffed out of sight, and his bike walked out of the way? An hour is long enough to get together a decent posse, and all the people here who might be able to deflect drive-by bullets traded their abilities for memories.>>

No, he's still not over it.

She hears Alexander's mental message, but at the moment she doesn't elect to communicate with the same, just a subtle nod in the direction of the two men. Though the last bit of chastisement has Isabella making a faint face towards her boyfriend. She will remember this for later, Alexander. "That's his call, too," she says with a sudden grin. "I just work here."

Easton's also running on three cylinders .. yes, that's a joke about his leg. But also he's diminished, but thankfully his intensity doesn't necessarily come from his glimmer. He just nods as Jake takes that wary look, because he'd rather threaten him with Isabella and keep the actual threat of Alexander in his pocket. Sorry Iz!

"Oh yea there's rules. You get the question wrong, we show you something new. This is one of those teaching games." Learning is fun! And terrifying. "Good, Tacoma's a great place for you." He coughs and gives a little smirk about Frankie, "Aww. Frank's little head games are such piddly small potatoes. I mean he couldn't even hit a one legged drunk with that piss poor showing of static shock he was trying to throw about." Easton leaves out the part where he's the one legged drunk in this scenario, but the point still stands. (Yes, another pun, sorry) "And honestly Jake, I'm not sure you even have to sparkles to rub the fuck together so I'd highly suggest not giving it a go."

Alexander is quiet, for the most part, although he does allow some amusement to show at the 'one legged drunk' remark. But his skin is all prickly, and his shoulders are hunched, and he keeps his mind focused on watching their new friend for any tricks he doesn't know about.

Piss poor static shock. The reminder of what Frank had tried to do to Easton and, worse, Alexander wipes traces of Isabella's earlier nonchalant smile. Evergreen eyes gleam like a cat's in the shadows, the storms within them utterly ferocious as an irrational drop of white-hot anger worms its way through her veins. Her fingers tighten into the grip of her hidden gun. She does manage to push another smile back on her lips, however, but it's all teeth. All teeth. If nothing else, it at least plays with Easton's current gambit of waving Isabella around as the mysterious threat while keeping Alexander hidden...and really, she is distressingly accustomed to playing into her niche as a bombastic distraction whenever the situation suits her.

Who needs telepathy when you know the other person well?

Easton pulls out a set of zip ties from his pocket and asks Jake nicely, "Wrists together, crossed please." It's like Easton's watched countless hours of youTube videos by former Marines about how to break out of restraints or something. He then holds the zip ties for Isabella to do the actual zip-tying while he maneuvers himself to keep a clean shot at Jake should he try something. "Nice and tight." And then he's motioning him over towards the picnic table where they can all sit and pretend to be close buddies while they chat and wait for the rest of the crew to show up.

"I appreciate your professionalism," Alexander tells Jake with every appearance of sincerity, once the man has allowed himself to be zip tied and maneuvered. "You don't get a lot of that. And it's nice. So thank you." He doesn't sit at the picnic table with the rest, but rather hovers restlessly while they play their happy learning things game. He moves from one side of the table to the other, back and forth, while his eyes scan the roads, and his mind scans for people on the roads. Civilian drivers, should any arrive, are delicately convinced that they can make it another few miles to the next rest area.

She lets both men engage the criminal, as Isabella is presently assisting Easton in actually tying up Jake/Nate. Eyes flick occasionally to the road, and Alexander's restless pacing, but despite the fact that she's presently committing an unlawful act of vigilantism, the young woman is keeping her calm. That will probably change once the rest arrive and the proverbial shit hits the fan, but the people with her are practiced improvisers. She has every confidence that this will work out somehow.

Right? Right.

The gun falling apart in his pocket is not a great sign. But it's not like Easton's relying on that to keep him safe. He's just hoping that Jake doesn't realize that the threat has been lifted. <<My gun just dissolved.>> Easton sends to both Alexander and Isabella, thankful that he has at least enough glimmer to manage simple mental communication. But then Jake is cocking his head and Easton realizes that maybe that's a two way street. Shoot.

"Oh good, looks like we aren't dealing with complete amateurs. That will save some time explaining."

Easton shoves the bits of gun back into his pocket and pulls his hands out. They can't affect what's in the pocket dimension as far as he knows so he will just have to hope that he can pull fast enough and not fail at a dramatically important time ... dun dun dun.

<<That's a bit strong. Be careful.>> Alexander steps away and to the side, his hands low and loose to the side, his eyes on the approaching bikes. Which he missed, and which does not make him happy. His lips are thinned and his eyes narrowed. There's a change in his breathing; it goes slow and steady. <<We're just trying to get Bennie's debt dropped, right? You don't want these guys dead?>> It's just a simple question, and even in the more intimate space of the mind, there's no judgement, condemnation...or hesitation, whatever Easton's answer is.

She can hear both but at the moment, Isabella can't telepathically communicate, her lips pressing into a thin line. "I think one of them's piggybacking," she tells Easton and Alexander quietly, nodding towards the bikes, and surreptitiously gesturing to the tied up Nate/Jake. And then, signalling with her eyes, she taps the side of her hip. The offer is unmistakable, at least to Easton: Did he want her gun? The man was a better shot.

The slightest stretch of Easton's fingers is the only 'hold' signal he gives to Isabella <<Not yet.>> He's going to have to worry more about timing, and keeping that gun, the one at his ankle and the others in the pouch ready but not in play is going to be important now. <<Just clearing the debt. Hopefully without any blood.>> He's not out for retribution or out of anger, he just wants this problem gone. But if he has to shoot some bikers, he's not going to be all that bothered by it.

The show of force is pretty impressive, eight bikers and at least one who knows what they are doing with Spirit. He's assuming the one giving him a knot in his stomach is responsible for hurting his poor defenseless pistol. He stands and faces then hands out of his pockets and palms out for the moment. "Thanks for coming down. I'm hoping we can get this settled and get everyone on their merry way shortly." He looks back at Jake and says, "We've been civil. We're intending to stay that way. But I'm clearing this debt on Bennie's behalf one way or the other. In one of those options you get to recoup some of your money. The other involves an unplanned trip to the other side that most if not all of you don't come back from. If you don't know what I mean by that, go ahead and ask her, she seems knowledgable."

Alexander's eyes rest on the woman. It's hard to avoid her; in a world gone fuzzy with Easton and Isabella's diminishment, and the low level powers of the others, she stands out - sharp and beautiful - and he can't help but watch her move. That she's also, in his mind, the most dangerous, doesn't hurt. He's fairly certain that her own spirit can block him, but he reaches out anyway, trying to weigh the power and shape of her abilities.

The threat in the room is one she focuses on also, but she trusts Alexander to be able to throw down when necessary. If not...

There's a quiet glance towards Easton, otherwise Isabella says nothing else. But she's alert and clearly tense, shoulders braided with tension and waiting for something to move forward or crack.

"Done." Easton agrees to ignore not-Jake-but-looks-like-Jake. He looks at Morgan with a questioning quirk of the brow when she declines to elucidate exactly what he means about taking a trip. But that's her choice. "Yup. Another." Easton is fine with the business clipped tone right up until the part about the old man. His teeth clench slightly, "To be clear. Her dad, volunteered her for this? When? Exactly." The anger in his voice is clipped but rising at the thought that this wasn't some arbitrary decision on the bikers part, but a willful decision by Bennie's dad.

"I'm willing to clear part, to get Bennie off your radar. You want the rest, I suggest you find the idiot fuck knuckle who decided to borrow from you in the first place. It's his debt. Not hers."

Alexander's head rocks a little at the abrupt shut out from her feel. He frowns at the gesture, but then offers a shrug. It was a fair cop, and he can acknowledge that, along with a little nod of respect. Another twitch of his eyebrows when someone mentions 'the old man', but Easton's handling it, so all he does is shift his stance with a deepening frown. He does say, almost to himself, "Another? Been having a couple of those, lately?"

Bennie's father sounds like a piece of work and the revelation ignites the adrenaline that's already in a steady drip in her veins. Isabella's jaw sets, pupils dilated with just a hint of fury there - nothing compared to what's within her. When Alexander twigs on another refinance, she turns her eyes back to the other group and waits.

Easton doesn't seem nearly as amused as Eddie about the situation. He shakes his head and says, "Bennie's a little nice for her own good sometimes. She might not have seen it. I don't have that problem." He is about to answer Eddie's question when Morgan decides to get handsy, metaphorically. His jaw clenches and his head snaps directly to her. He growls, "One. You get one fuckin' look, you touch me again, and I will end you." He realizes that no one else knows what he's talking about, but that's fine. She does.

And then he turns back to Eddie and takes a breath. He apologizes sorry and takes a breath. He needs to calm himself. To focus on why he's doing this. He closes his eyes for just a second to get his game face back on, for Bennie. And just like that something slides into place and clicks. The glimmer users in the area would see it or feel it but right there? Something fell into alignment. He's not back up to strength but he's certainly burning brighter than he was a moment ago.

"Thirty Gs. I realize that's not what her dad was in for, but with what you've bilked out of her so far, and taking out some money to cover the pain and suffering of Frank's little mental torture sidegame, and considering the other option is 0, I think it's pretty fair. That's my ceiling. You start saying words I don't like or scoffing like I should be worried about you, that goes down."

With that said he tests out his newly re-upped Glimmer, feeling around for the space inside the pockets on the other side, making sure he has what he needs at the ready, just in case.

"Marshall," Alexander says, quietly. He felt it, too, but he can also feel that it's not doing harm (yet), and so he doesn't snap back. He just calculates, quietly, weighing each of the bikers for physical and metaphysical threat, and adjusting his stance slightly. A flicker of his eyes back to Easton as the man comes more into focus, but although he makes a hmm noise in the back of his throat, he doesn't let it distract him for more than a couple of moments.

Her arm is still behind her back as Easton and Alexander assess the present threats, though Isabella says nothing else. In many ways, she's halfway glad that the former has some background in difficult business negotiations, considering his stake at the casino, and how he runs his own establishment by the water. Maybe there'll be an amicable way out of this after wall. She also takes a very quiet step to the side, to enable her to have a good view of the proceedings, and dive for cover. Just in case.

Easton is all ready to drop that offer at the I dunno, the "Tw-" already forming on his lips when Morgan cuts in. He snaps his attention to her and lets slip a "what?" before more of the story comes out between her and Eddie. He is obviously caught short by that offer. "Why the hell would I want the useless sack of assholes?" He answers his own question with his next thought though... to make sure he never sets a foot near Bennie again. Easton's not really big on family reunions or forgiveness for family members. He does do threats well though.

"Fine." he thinks about it. "And what is this business partner shit? Far as I knew he was in hole to you. If yer dumb enough to keep doing business with this idiot after he screwed you over and stole your load, you don't deserve another dime." He waits a beat, "But I'll pay forty. To clear the debt, and find out where Oakes is."

"An actual sack of assholes might be somewhat more useful," Alexander muses, not quite under his breath. "Not for the purposes they were intended, but it's actually surprisingly difficult to get a large number of discreet body parts for comparison and forensic investigation all in one place." At some point, he realizes that he's using his outside voice, and he clears his throat. Don't mind him. He IS paying attention. Almost certainly.

"You're so cute," Isabella mutters. Look, maybe after close to a year being Alexander's girlfriend, her perception in that regard might be just a little bit skewed. It also looks rather comical considering the mental illusion that Alexander placed on the three of them is still in effect, so it looks like Silent Bob is openly flirting with Jay, just a little.

"Anyway, his offer's more than generous," she tells Eddie-Money and the rest of his crew. "I say just take it."

"Great." Easton nods, glad to not have to put holes in anyone, or have Morgan snap his one good leg and then put holes in them. Mostly that second option. He nods and says, "Fine. Forty in cash, lump sum no more financing, no offense. We'll be using a local. Joey Kelly and his people will be handling the cash transaction, if you don't mind. They're a nice neutral party and can hopefully avoid any unpleasantness there." nice neutral Joey is neither of those things. And Isabella and Alexander might not be aware of why Easton's going that route but he's not going to expose then anymore than this, especially now that it's just financial.

Even the mention of Bennie's dad threatens to darken Easton's face. The three of them might be done with Eddie's people, but they have at least one more person to call on.

You know what Alexander hates? Being laughed at. A muscle in his jaw jumps when the bikers crack up, and there's a moment where it looks like he might send the whole thing to hell by just screaming and jumping the nearest snickering asshole. But this is about Bennie, and Easton is handling it, so although his body goes rigid, he forces himself back down into a semblance of calm, although he can't stop himself from making little pacing motions back and forth, like there was a cage between him and the bikers, and he was looking for a way to slip through the bars.

The bikers burst out laughing, and Isabella's eyes round a little, snapping back to Alexander and detecting all the rage lines manifesting in the form of tension over his figure. Her own does, in spite of herself, in readiness to act if she needs to. But as he wrestles himself down, she lets go of that tension bit by bit. She takes several steps towards him, though she doesn't touch him - just enough to be close, in the event that it is necessary.

With the transaction concluded, she exhales a breath. There's a bit of an awed look towards Easton after all of it, though - she does not know many who can just pull forty thousand dollars out to pay a debt.