Taxidermy (Get it... anyone?)

[FangedSmile]

Nokolai froze in his stride. His head tilted slightly, sloooowly, but his eye twitch back to Jack. "That's not funny," he said, in a low, hollow voice.

[B. B. Wolf]

Jack coughed and shook his head.

"Just curious is all," he said tossing a conspiratory wink toward Aya. After that, he took the bag and suitcase out to his real car and put them in the trunk. It was probably good that the other two didn't see the stuff he kept in the trunk...

After that, he went back inside and felt a twinge of disappointment by the way Aya looked fearful. Honestly, she could outrun Agent Rog at a brisk jog right now. What was she afraid of? He had no reason to try anything because he knew he'd be killed if he did. Reminding himself that Aya was a civilian, he crossed to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. "Okay, so who's hungry? Aya, you like pepperoni pizza?" he asked.

[FangedSmile]

Having never actually eaten a pepperoni pizza, Aya nodded after only a moment's hesitation when the growling of her stomach got the better of her. "Yes, please."

Frustrated, Nikolai ignored the offer as he returned to the room with a pair of boots that looked like they would fit. He sat back in his original chair and pulled the boots on with as much pain as he'd feared and couldn't help but notice the pillowcase Aya had not released even once.

"What do you have that is so important anyway?" Though, before getting for a reply, his personal curiosity got the better of him and he looked to Jack. "And how did you get involved?"

[B. B. Wolf]

Jack pulled half of a pizza out of the fridge, set a few slices on a plate, then draped a wet paper towel over them and put them in the microwave for a little bit.

"Did you see my taxi?" he replied sardonically. Seriously, it might not actually be my car, but not only did they shoot it up, they lost me my job! That, and I'm a stickler for happy endings. I wouldn't be able to stand it if a bunch of blockheads in a black car with guns kidnapped a pretty young woman who's main concern when she arrived was candy. Other than that..." He thought on it for a minute, wondering if he had any deeper purpose, then shrugged and took the reheated pizza, which looked good as new, out of the microwave. "Things got boring."

He put the plate on the bar and started looking through the fridge again.

"I've got coke, water, beer and milk to drink, waddy'all want?"

[FangedSmile]

"Coke, please," said Aya, sliding the pillowcase behind her as Nik's attention to it began to make her paranoid.

Nikolai groaned. "You've got to be kidding. You just happened to pick her up and then decided to stick around?"

"He's pretty ungrateful considering you could have just killed him," commented Aya, with a smile and a nod at Nikolai, both of which made him think she was agreeing.

"Anyway, whatever she has is of great importance to a lot of powerful people. How do you know they wouldn't be better of with it instead of a kid who brings candy all the way across the world?"

[B. B. Wolf]

Jacks face lost a bit of emotion when he looked at Nikolai. He saw someone with enough of a history to feel they needed to put on an act during their every waking moment, enough distrust for a retirement home with bleeding-heart residents who just discovered how to send money to people online, and a sour attitude. By all accounts, he should have dragged him to the dumpster and made him someone else's problem... Nah. His gut told him not to and he'd survived by trusting it so he rebutted the man's comment in a tone that suggested his words were obvious to any decent person on the planet.

"Because the kid that brought candy half-way across the world is just that. A kid. Important people that try and kidnap kids don't bode well. Plus, if you want something, always ask first. It's the polite thing to do," he said as he poured a glass of coke. He put an ice tray on the counter if she wanted some.

"I've had worse, believe me." he said to Aya.

He grabbed two beers and held one toward Nikolai. It wasn't exactly an olive branch, but it was what he had.

"Want one before we head out?" he asked.

[FangedSmile]

Though he'd first leaned away like Jack was going to beat him with the bottle, Nik relaxed hesitantly when Jack continued to stare at him. "Fine," he breathed, snatching the drink from Jack's hand. It was, after all, a great burden for him to be accepting hospitality. Sure.

Aya stood to retrieve the coke and two slices of pizza. She kept the book with her, tucked under her arm, and was completely sure that she didn't like Nik. It seemed like he was learning more about them than he'd revealed about himself. "What is he?" she asked Jack, unnerved by the way Nik's eyes slid to her the way she imagined snakes looked at mice before striking.

[B. B. Wolf]

Jack offered her a smile as if they were just discussing the weather. "Someone who knows more about the people who are trying to get that book than we do," he replied.

[FangedSmile]

Aya frowned, though that answer made sense. A darker part of her spoke when she would have otherwise remained silent. "Can't you just... I don't know. Get answers out of him?"

Nik took a long swig of the beer and was disappointed by how 'great' it tasted after the chloroform. He figured Rexxam would come bursting through the door any minute now and had hoped the last beer he ever drank would be enjoyable.

[B. B. Wolf]

"I don't know what type of person you think I am," he replied. "But I don't torture people and that method of questioning is rarely successful anyway. People in pain tell you whatever you want to hear that will stop the pain. My method is slower, but it gets answers." He bit into a slice of pizza and chewed it up good before swallowing it. Letting time pass. After a little while, he looked at Nikolai.

"So what's your specialty?" he asked conversationally.

[FangedSmile]

Blushing, Aya turned to her own pizza, nervously devouring it like she was in an international gluttony contest and her country's pride was at stake. Nikolai ignored the ravenous girl. He stared motionlessly at Jack.

"Your S's. Sneaking, stealing, spying, sniping, subterfuge..." He trailed off like it was unimportant.

[B. B. Wolf]

Jack smiled at that.

"You know, I knew I there was something I liked about you," he said. He raised his beer in toast and took a swig, finishing it off. He tossed the bottle in a recycle bin under the counter and leaned on the bar after putting the ice back. He looked hard at Nikolai then, eyes piercing into his soul it seemed.

"Is that it?"

[FangedSmile]

"Was going to add kidnapping to the list, but you ruined that," replied Nikolai, though his stare couldn't exactly match up with Jack's gaze. "Doesn't start with S anyway, so it's not a big loss," he added in a lighter tone, trying at last to match the mood Jack had been offering earlier. He wasn't a fan of people who could tell when he was lying but he wasn't accustomed to doing much else.

"Bakayarrro," mumbled Aya, rolling the r.

[B. B. Wolf]

Jack looked at Aya pointedly but didn't say anything. He wanted Nik on their side, and she wasn't helping matters. Plus, casual swearing wasn't going to get her far in life. Then he refixed Nikolai with his stony gaze, ignoring the attempt at good humor that he knew was just an attempt at mirroring. Mimic the other person's behavior and they'll like you. Liars 101.

"Waddya think of all this magic mumbo-jumbo?" he asked.

[FangedSmile]

Aya received the look and the snarl dissolved from her face. It wasn't doing her any good to let her own anxiety rule her and cause her to mess up whatever Jack's plan was.

Nikolai smirked as if confused, and answered a question with another question in the same light-hearted tone he'd tried before. "Why would you ask me that?" he looked over at Aya. "That how it is? You have something the US government wants back, but you want to keep it so you tell him it's dark magic? What really happened? You steal it?"

Nikolai let his eyes travel back to Jack, accusingly. "You could be screwing the whole country over, Jack. She's a foreigner, she doesn't care what happens to this country, only her own. Damn it, just give it back! You said it's impolite not to ask, so look, here is me asking. Please give me whatever she has so I can return it. Then you can protect your little princess and be the knight in shining armor. I'll tell them I killed you or something and we call it a night." That was good... right? He wondered as he focused on keeping his gaze and features soft, as if honestly pleading. Wasn't this what people wanted? A way out? And he was offering it... this could all be over right now.