Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-26104528-20150531022109/@comment-26130256-20150723061830

"So I don't compromise your secret hidey-hole in Vale, you tell me," Azulius asked, showing a map of the restaurant. The odds were slim that Azzie knowing the location of Stahlfritz's safe house would come back to bite either of them, but that summer with the Harlequin gang had taught him the value of a well-hidden safehouse.

"And come on, now.  Just because I try to dress for success doesn't mean I'll go into shock at ugliness like some kinda uppity art critic type.  You should see some of the gambling dens I've played in, back when I was an auditor.  More smoke in the air than oxygen, and cockroaches so big I still swear some of them were Grimm in disguise.  But the stakes were good, and I made out like a bandit."

"And as for the Blackbriars," he continued to elaborate as they headed for the door, "They're one of the few inter-kingdomal gangs that can still pose a genuine threat to the Cardamom's operations outside of Vacuo.  Too many connections to turn them over to the law, too many men and guns to have Uncle Trigo just deus ex machina them, and too many brains to leave them alone and hope they self-destruct.  So far, we've had them in a glorified Mistrali Standoff for a couple years, but that could change in a jiffy.  Personally, I'm kind of glad the family struck this deal with Flagg, because I think some of your good hardware might be enough to tip the balance in our favor."

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"Perhaps some explanation is in order," Ochre paused momentarily, highlighting the gardening store with a laser pointer. "See those six black bricks on the corner?  That is the symbol of a De La Croix family front.  They're the premier black market operators in the city of Vale."

"Lovely people, and more reliable than the post office," Trigo agreed. "You need it found, fenced, forged, appraised, or moved in Vale, the De La Croix are who you want on speed dial.  They don't do walk-ins, though.  You have to be introduced by someone they already trust, so Azzie must have flexed his Cardamom credentials to buy anything more dangerous than some weed-killer."

The enforcer checked his Scroll, finding the De La Croix invoice. "Here we go.  One drum magazine of Roaring Moxie's caliber, a dozen loose Dust crystals of various types, six advance copies of the latest Ninjas of Love, two smoke grenades, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and a brown trench coat.  Wonder what he has planned for that." Pressing play, they saw the illusion Azulius leave the store, followed by the real thing in his 'disguise'.

"You simply had to ask," Ochre deadpanned. "I sincerely hope this is one of those double-bluffs where you do something so painfully obvious that people assume you can't possibly be serious, but you are anyways."