Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25924729-20151107020221/@comment-25924729-20160329085619

As much as she hated to admit it, Asper had a point. She'd been so focused on fighting Barnes she's never considered the consequences.

"They forced our hand." she answered half heartedly. "They were going to just let the kids die, we had to save them. It's crude, but necessary." She thought about how hypocritical that sounded, killing to save lives. Was it a fair trade?

"Ah, Zhu-li. But are you sure this isn't just a glorified revenge scheme? Get back at the big bad Funhouse which broke your inoocence."

She whipped around in alarm, noticing for the first time a young boy in a pristine blue suit busily cleaning the minibar. From the looks of it, he had been doing that for some time, regardless of the slaughter around him. No blood stained the bar's marble surface.

"Interested in a scotch? Mojito? Vodka? I'd offer you a Bloody Mary, but that seems in rather bad taste." he gestured around the room. The kid turned his back on them, reaching for ingredients on the bar and mixing them into a cocktail.

Cautiously, the group moved closer to confront him. They towered over him by at least a foot, but the boy glared back at them, smiling devilishly at Zhu-li in particular. "Hello, big sis."

"Junior Barnes. What are you doing?!"

"Take a wild guess. Here's a hint, the old man sent me." he thrust a shotglass of vodka into her hand, before handing similar drinks to everyone else.

Zhu-li's gaze darted over the gold plated revolver at his belt. "You're here to fight us."

"That would be Plan A. Ideally, i'd have all my men and droids plus Memories, Lupin and Tigris ready and waiting to barricade the door. Unfortunately, you've seen how that played out. We all know there's no way in hell i can take all of you on, so i'd have to resort to Plan B. Serving you poisoned drinks!"

Zhu-li's eyes widened, and she choked up the vodka she'd been drinking, bent over and coughing violently to remove the taste.

Junior just laughed. "Re-lax! The old man wanted to do that, he's a pussy to stoop that low, but that just ain't my style. You should know me better right, big sister?" He took the half empty glass and swallowed the drink himself, with a satisfied "Ah..."

"So that just leaves Plan C."

His jaw tightened, and his expression became serious. "We all know how this is gonna end, you'll be the heroes, save the kids, bring down the old man and his club, big whoop right? But your friend here's smart, he sees the bigger picture. What about our side of the story, who's gonna explain to their families that my men all died to a bunch of kids, defending some slaves and a little old casino just so the rich gambling asses can watch a Funhouse fight for like what? Ten, fifteen minutes?"

"I live in a casino, so i can tell when a game is lost." He cleared his throat. "I, Donovan Barnes Jr. surrender on behalf of Barnes' Luxury Club."

Zhu-li blinked dumbly. Stunned into silence.

Junior stepped from behind the counter, walking purposefully towards her. "I can't speak for the mercenaries our idiot dad just called in, but i'll promise on my life. No more bloodshed. My men will stay out of the way and let you pass unmolested. You could just waltz in and take the kids with you. But please, no more killing."

Abruptly, Junior stepped right up and pulled her into a warm hug. "Nice to see you again, sis."

Zhu-li gasped, unsure whether to push him away, attack or let him. By the time she recovered, he already left and was walking towards the elevator.

"I'll give you lot a while to think about it, i'd appreciate if you pass the message on to your trigger happy friends up there fighting Lupin, before someone else gets hurt. You'll know where to find me once you've decided."

He turned on his heel in the elevator. "Just remember sis, if you try and fight your way into the Funhouse." his devilish smile returned. "You're gonna have a bad time..."

The elevator door closed behind him.