Made of Sterner Stuff

[sovereign]

"Good to see you found your way here, Larry."

"Thanks. My desk is... that one?"

"Yep, that's the one. Need any help unpacking?"

"I think I have it handled. So, do any of the flatfoots ever come through here?"

"No, we have a sign marked a while back that there are no donuts permitted in this part of the base. Total hogwash, of course, but it keeps them away. Plus, there's a trail of shiny lights that leads back to Sunbucks."

"Clever."

"We got the air circulation to add to the effect just last week. Takes the Sunbucks smell right through the shiny light trail, and keeps the smell of flatfoots out of our office."

"Amen for that."

"I'll second the motion. Drink?"

"Not on the job, normally."

"Guess the orange juice is all for myself, then."

"Orange juice? I thought you were referring to alcohol, my bad..."

"How long did you say you spent among the flatfoots?"

"About a month, then went on leave for awhile. Pulled my life around, and applied for a transfer. Thank God too, I couldn't stand going back in there."

"I'm surprised you bothered to go back for your stuff."

"Really?"

"I know I didn't. I had the misfortune of working there for a decent bit longer, but I set up a perimeter of water bottles and perfume around my desk. I swear, it works like garlic to vampires. Then again, I came back one day and they had muscled past it, apparently looking for twenty thousand credits someone said they had. That was the day I applied for transfer, and never looked back."

"Huh. Say, how did you end up with the nice wooden desk? I don't see anyone else with them..."

"That would be a reward for busting a cardamine dealer. Specifically, one of the Blue Lotus guys that have been taking over the market recently. Those guys are nasty, I tell you. Most of the small scale smugglers and such are scared witless of them."

"So much for all that propaganda about them being fragmented and weak, I guess..."

"Oh yeah, you can use that fear to your advantage. We've had some luck telling people we work for them and threatening them with all that entails, and you know you've run into someone important when they aren't scared. Its gotten me out of a lot of tight situations."

"That's nice to know. Anything else I should know?"

"Well besides the handbook, I would suggest getting a feel for the place before going for the serious cases. Finding pirates isn't too hard, especially in New York, since you can just threaten to call in the cruisers if they don't talk, but if you're up to it you might want to go for some murders or something. Drugs and artifacts are hard to catch red-handed, especially Junkers and Blue Lotus. Damn they're good at what they do, and they're good at giving us hell if we press too hard. Talk to the boss if you want stories about what they can do."

"That would be Frank Quinn, right? Scrawny fellow with dark hair?"

"Yeah, that's him. He may not look the part, but he's easily the most efficient man I've ever met."

"Alrighty then. Thanks, mister..."

"Ross McDuff, at your service."

"Thank you, Ross."

A few silent minutes passed as Ross returned to his work and Larry finished unpacking his belongings.

"So, how long does it take for work to show up around here?"

A piece of paper printed out of one of the nearby machines. Ross grabbed it, skimmed it for a few seconds, then handed it to Larry.

"See you in a week, you're off to the California system. Good luck, don't die, and if you stop on Los Angeles, would you grab me a teddy bear for my collection?"

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