Hitomi was still on guard, for her the danger was still not over. The closing in man didn't mean relief, but possibly more trouble. Making herself ready for another fight, she eyed Sarah closely.
"Violence Telepathy? I do not wish to be violent, Sarah-san. I merely defended myself back there. But no, I have no clue what that man wants."
She was still unsure how to react. Honour demanded that she apologized to the man for not joining him, but her instinct warned her of the upcoming trouble. She still had a war to fight, and dying over a worthless drink in a hellhole like this didn't seem like a justified end for her carreer. In the end, though, her distrust in people could be unjustified...
"Hai. I will wait here, and meet with the man. We can at least say 'thank you' and apologize for running, can't we. Doesn't mean that you have to stay, though."Her grin was cold as ice. It was not a sign of hostility, more of a resignation in whatever would happen next.
”Oh, great.” Sarah wasn’t sure if Hitomi could see her rolling her eyes in the darkened corridor, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be for lack of trying. ”Let’s all stand around and apologise for, you know, leaving the violent stranger to fight his own battles. If we’re extra nice, maybe he’ll throw in an extra dislocation for free. And they say I’m crazy. God, if I leave you two here you’ll probably try to bring him home or something.”
”Dial down the sass, he may be able to hear us,” Leslie said, smirking. ”We wouldn’t to come across as ungrateful after all, hmm?”
”I’d like to come across as alive, actually, skipper.” She glanced back down the hallway. The stranger stood a little shorter than Leslie, but made up for it in muscle. He was built more like a runner than a weightlifter, quick and wiry, and he looked no more concerned strolling away from the bar fight than another man might have been walking to the carpark. He wore a self-satisfied smile as though he’d been born with it in place. Sarah coughed and deliberately took a step back towards the Admiral. Checking him for weapons seemed a little redundant after the show in the Revenant. ”Hello. Can we help you?”
The stranger cocked his head at them, seemingly puzzled. ”You hailed me,” He glanced at Leslie. ”I wish this s--t would happen less often.” After a short pause, he shrugged and smirked. ”Alejhandro Ramirez. I was just looking for a quiet drink but that’s too much to ask, apparently?”
”Apparently.” Sarah echoed, cautious. He didn’t look dangerous, but she’d just seen him flatten three armed men. He didn’t need to look dangerous. She let the duffel bag drift to the floor, and shot Leslie an I told you so glance. ”Er, look, Alex. I appreciate what you were trying to do in there, but we had it under control. Hitomi there knows how to use that sword.”
Ramirez shifted his glance to Hitomi for a brief second, evaluating. Then he smiled. ”Probably, but decapitation is something that even Barrier Gate frowns upon.” He shrugged again. ”Either way, they were disturbing the peace, and so I educated them a little.”
Leslie raised an eyebrow, both impressed and a little curious. ”Are you from a military or something?”
Ramirez chuckled at that. ”Not really, just a freelancer. Sorry for spoiling your night out.”
”No, no problem.” Sarah took a very slow and very deliberate pace down the corridor. ”We were just going.”
Ramirez’s eyes narrowed. ”I’m not planning to hurt anyone, so let’s actually finish a conversation like adults, hm?” He folded his arms, a mixture of amusement and irritation. ”I’ll probably find someone else to get wasted. Somewhere with less trouble.”
”I appreciate the sentiment, Alex. But I think I’m all out of verve for tonight. That put a real damper on the evening,” Leslie smoothly interjected, with a glance at Sarah. ”However, as one freelancer to another...we could stay in touch. Maybe some work will come up that needs both of us?”
”Wait.” Sarah frowned down at the stranger, fingers drumming a beat on her thigh. ”I’ve seen you before somewhere. You worked at the Zenarch. Two, three years ago?”
Ramirez seemed nonplussed by the revelation. ”That’s a very long time, miss. I do get about a fair deal. We did meet, probably...but I don’t really remember it.” He paused. ”Well met, however. Would you like to join me for some bar trawling?”
”After what you did to the last bar?” Sarah raised an eyebrow, held the man’s gaze for a moment, and shrugged. The duffel bag rattled as she hoisted it over one shoulder. Drinks were drinks. ”Guess it can’t happen twice. Leslie, Admiral?”
Leslie shook her head. ”Don’t really feel like it anymore. I’ll call it a night, probably.” She glanced at Hitomi. ”You should go, however. Don’t let your night out be spoiled on my account.”
Ramirez nodded with equanimity. ”Us three tercios then. Hold up though, miss.” He rummaged in his pockets for something, retrieving a card. ”My contact details. I specialize in a great many things, so if you’re in a bind...feel free to give me a call.”
Leslie pocketed the card, nodding and smiling at the group. ”I’ll see you guys later. Try not to get into any more trouble.” She waved and walked off, rounding a corner and disappearing a few moments later.
”Sure, skipper. Catch you back at the ship.” Sarah raised a palm to her forehead in salute, waited until Leslie was safely around the corner. ”No more trouble. That’ll happen.”
Ramirez chuckled heartily. ”Don’t worry about it. You have two very deadly people going drinking with you. Nothing can possibly go wrong.” He glanced back at the bar, and laughed some more. ”And it seems like you destroyed that man’s family jewels. What a low move.”
She hadn’t meant to, but that hardly changed things. Sarah nodded as though folding a grown man up like a lawn chair had always been the plan. She groaned. ”Nothing can go wrong. You had to say it. Maybe I should invest in a lightening rod.” Sarah turned back to face the group, extended a hand. ”I’m Sparks, by the way. That’s the Admiral.”
Ramirez looked at Hitomi with sudden interest. ”Admiral, you say…” He clapped his hands together. ”Very well. Let’s show you civilized people how the term ‘night of debauchery and sin’ came into being.”
"This is really sort of a personal project of mine."
- James Arland, on single-handedly engaging an enemy regiment.