Bentley was only there because he was expecting that Sly would turn up, as he said he was coming to the party. But he soon parked beside the bar, a short distance from the RED, in his much smaller wheelchair and helped himself to a soda. Mingling was not his forte and never had been.
"I never make assumptions without as much information as possible," Bentley pointed out, turning his gaze to scanning the party-goers for a moment. "I'm curious though because I happen to specialize in using sleep dart guns."
"A strange coincidence, then," Sniper said, genuine curiosity coloring his features. "I arrived here with a dart gun. Not exactly sleep darts, but close enough."
"A coincidence certainly, but strange not so much. I've dealt with much stranger." Still the common ground was nice. "I'm not exactly built to engage an adversary at close range without an advantage. And dis[atching them isn't alwways in my best interest either."
The rest of what he said bothered him. "You said you had it when you arrived. Does that have to do with your current condition?"
"That's right," RED replied with a sigh, gnawing on another pretzel. It was a surprise to have common ground with a talking turtle, though with the way he said dispatching adversaries wasn't his style, it was likely he wasn't a mercenary. Maybe more of the engineering, behind-the-lines sort.
"The guy who put me in this condition took 'em," he said in a low tone, his displeasure at that fact apparent.
When he said that he really meant he went about it differently...tranqing an opponent and then blowing them up was an easy solution for him.
"Itsounds as though there was no reason for this." Bentley glanced over to check where Sly had disappeared to. "My friend and I have a knack for getting things back easily. It shouldn't be too hard to manage if you need."
Sniper eyed Bentley warily, unsure of what to make of his words. While they'd gotten along for the conversation, he didn't place his trust in others so easily. "A knack. And what does that mean?"
"Obtaining various things." Something about the way he worded that sounded suspicious- even more questionable was why he'd mention it to a near stranger. "And you're tellin' me this why?"
"Simply an offer to retrieve your stolen belongings."
Partly it would give Sly something potentially challenging to do, it would potentially help him with filling in more of his map of the city, and the RED would get his things back.
"If you don't feel as though you can trust my offer it's perfectly fine. In your position, I just wouldn't be comfortable with the idea of being defenseless in a strange place, even if yours is only a temporary inconvenience."
"I ain't that defenseless," RED snapped back, as though his condition weren't completely telling of the truth. The turtle was right- he didn't trust the offer, simply because he couldn't see why anyone would help a stranger so readily. Sniper didn't know Bentley or this 'Sly' he spoke of, nor did he want them handling his precious rifle in the unlikely event they did find it.
However, even if they did break his Sleeper somehow, it was better to have it in pieces than not have it at all. A broken gun could be fixed; a missing gun was far more useless.
He sighed, his current state of dependence on others grating on him. His tone shifted to something more neutral, less cutting: "I'll think about."
"Right now the only difference is I have full use of my arms," Bentley pointed out in response to the denial. "I'm going to assume that you have me at a disadvantage overall and will be able to walk again in the near future."
What grated on Bentley was that if he didn't have his two friends, he not only would have had no help with his permanent disability, but he'd be in a wheelchair in prison. To him there was no shame in admitting a temporary inconvenience.
"I'll leave the offer open since my current job is from home."
"Right," RED managed, fighting his natural tendency to bite back at the comment and shut everyone and everything out. Something in him was simply unwilling to accept that one would offer help after knowing him for only a short conversation, whether it was for a fee or out of unusual generosity. Sniper's general distrust of others spread everyone: teammates, enemies, and even to those who were apparently the kind sort. It was hard to break down years of paranoia, after all. All the backstabbings he'd received throughout the years had ingrained it into his mind.
In spite of his nature, he tried to maintain politeness and professionalism. "Sorry, mate. Just not used to trusting, er. People. S'not something that's recommended, where I come from."
Bentley was right again: Sniper did have very little left to lose, and a lot to gain should they actually be able to find his gun. However, the fact that he had very little left only made him cling to what he had tighter: the battered remains of his pride, what health he had. He was even starting to think he ought to keep a closer eye on Pyro- not because of what Miss Pauling said, of course, but as she was the closest tie he had to the place he'd come from.
The turtle looked harmless enough; on the other hand, so did most Spies, their suits a far cry from the bloody nature of their occupation. Paranoia fueled his caution.
Reply
Reply
Well that and bombs, but that wasn't important.
Reply
Reply
The rest of what he said bothered him. "You said you had it when you arrived. Does that have to do with your current condition?"
Reply
"The guy who put me in this condition took 'em," he said in a low tone, his displeasure at that fact apparent.
Reply
"Itsounds as though there was no reason for this." Bentley glanced over to check where Sly had disappeared to. "My friend and I have a knack for getting things back easily. It shouldn't be too hard to manage if you need."
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Partly it would give Sly something potentially challenging to do, it would potentially help him with filling in more of his map of the city, and the RED would get his things back.
"If you don't feel as though you can trust my offer it's perfectly fine. In your position, I just wouldn't be comfortable with the idea of being defenseless in a strange place, even if yours is only a temporary inconvenience."
Reply
However, even if they did break his Sleeper somehow, it was better to have it in pieces than not have it at all. A broken gun could be fixed; a missing gun was far more useless.
He sighed, his current state of dependence on others grating on him. His tone shifted to something more neutral, less cutting: "I'll think about."
Reply
What grated on Bentley was that if he didn't have his two friends, he not only would have had no help with his permanent disability, but he'd be in a wheelchair in prison. To him there was no shame in admitting a temporary inconvenience.
"I'll leave the offer open since my current job is from home."
Reply
In spite of his nature, he tried to maintain politeness and professionalism. "Sorry, mate. Just not used to trusting, er. People. S'not something that's recommended, where I come from."
Reply
Leaning up again, he helped himself to the chip bowl, careful not to drop it.
Despite his smarts, he was obviously pretty young for an adult. Doesn't it make you wonder what type of work he does...and why he's crippled so young?
Reply
The turtle looked harmless enough; on the other hand, so did most Spies, their suits a far cry from the bloody nature of their occupation. Paranoia fueled his caution.
"Like I said, I'll think about it."
Reply
Leave a comment