O'Hanrahan's Pub - Pirate Recruiting

[benbarrow]

"Yeah, the Orlando." Ben answered. "It's a Firefly class medium freighter. It's the only black ship in the docks, you can't miss it."

Ben looked at his watch. He had gotten an entire crew in less than a half hour. It was amazing how badly people needed work on this planet.

"If you need to round up your business on this planet... I'll be here for another hour, see if I can't get a mechanic for our crew or maybe even a couple of hired hands. We'll need them where we're going." Ben said. "You can come back here if you want, or otherwise I'll see you with the ship in an hour and a half."

Things sure were looking up for Ben now. His crew had come together nicely. They could take off now if he wanted. But that wouldn't be too wise without a mechanic. Ben didn't know too much about engines, and it looked like his new crew didn't know too much about them either. He thought it would be better not to risk going away without a mechanic unless they really had to.

"Oh, and Roxanne? You don't have to call me 'sir'. Just call me Ben."

Ben then turned his attention to the kid who needed to know if Jaclyn saw her cousin. If this guy was missing, someone might have a nice reward for his return. Or, if this kid was so keen on finding her cousin, perhaps she'd have the money to pay them to bring her around the 'Verse. Or if not, she could always pull her weight on board the Orlando.

While waiting for a mechanic to come along, Ben decided to follow the conversation between the kid and Jaclyn, and see where it was headed.

[roxanne]

Roxanne tucked a thumb back into a belt loop as she looked around the pub. She could pick out the regulars as well as some people not normally there. The regulars were always the easiest because there were times she had struck up many a conversations with them. She waved to someone she knew before turning to George who had addressed her. “Nice to meet you too and people usually just call me Roxie. And as you might have guessed, I’m the new pilot.” As she gripped his hand firmly, she shook it with rellief they already had a doctor.

With her hand she ruffled back her hair. “I’ll probably just come back here. Not much for me to do really.” Roxanne stepped back form the table a little so the other girl could talk to Jaclyn. Whatever, she had to go gather up her things anyways. With a smile she nodded. “Ok Ben it is. And people just call me Roxie.” Roxanne turned around and started to make her way out of the pub. The motel wasn’t that far away. She whistled a little as she stopped by the bar and ordered something first from her friend for when she came back around. She’d be there in half an hour so that’s about how long it took stuff to be made and she had enough platinum left to pay for that and then some.

Roxanne ducked out through the door as she looked around before heading to the motel. There were just a few things to throw into the duffel bag-no matter if they were folded or not. Then to pay the desk clerk for the past days of this week and then everything would be all set.

[georgewest]

George realized how little he had to do to be ready to leave, he had already packed all his medical supplies due to the foreclosure, all he had to do was grab his old fasioned mule with wheels and load up the cart in the back. The whole thing had been a gift from a government official who didn't want anyone (especially his wife) to know the type of disease that was ailing him. George warned to make sure he used a licensed companion the next time.

"Well, I have got to go get my stuff packed up and loaded onto the ship. Do you think you'll have room for my old mule on board or should I just sell it to someone, Ben?"

This comment was slightly veiled. He wanted to know what kind of equipment was already on board so as to be sure that Ben really was as prepared as he looked. If they already had a mule than that was a good sign. If not...well then...that didn't really mean anything West realized. This crew was going to be great and hopefully wouldn't need a doctor, but they inevitably would.

George smoothed out his tie as he stood up. I can't wait to get started on some crime he thought

[benbarrow]

"Well, I have got to go get my stuff packed up and loaded onto the ship. Do you think you'll have room for my old mule on board or should I just sell it to someone, Ben?"

That reminded Ben. The Orlando already had a mule. The previous owners of the Orlando were shady characters as well, and Ben guessed they used the thing for jobs that had to go quick, and stuff like that. It was one that hovered, and it wasn't too old either, so they wouldn't need another, older model.

"Nah, just sell it George." Ben said. "We've already got one that hovers back on the ship."

Ben hinted at the waitress to come over. Knewing she was going to get paid, she hurried himself to him.

"I'll have another pint of beer." Ben said. "And here's your commission."

Ben gave the waitress a nice amount of money. After all, she had done her best to send people his way, what helped him form a crew in less than a half hour.

That being said, perhaps it was time to leave as well, and meet up with everyone back on the Orlando. Right after he found out what the kid wanted, and right after Ben had himself another beer.

[roxanne]

Roxanne made it to the motel and sauntered to her room. There wasn’t much to pack really. Nothing had come out of the trunk, only the duffel bag. Well, one duffel bag. She had two duffel bags and a trunk. She had a dolly from her father’s ship she used to push everything on so it was easier on her. Plus, who knew-the Orlando could use something like that. As she walked through the room and the very small bathroom she grabbed her things and tossed them into the duffel bag without a care in the world. Since the motel had towels anyways, she didn’t bother taking out any of hers. Those were in the trunk anyways and she wasn’t ready to open that yet. There was a box of Nathaniel’s things and she wanted to wait until they were well in the space to start unpacking things. Then would be the time to see if the tears would pour or not.

The trunk had never left the dolly so she just threw her two duffel bags on top of it. There were more things she had but they were still on her father’s ship. Once she had someplace she could settle on permanently or close to it then she’d see about getting the rest of her things. As she stopped by the front desk to pay off for these past days, she pulled out the messenger style bag she used almost as a purse/knapsack. As she handed over the platinum she realized that she had plenty of time to get back to the pub and eat the food. While she pushed the cart through the crowd, she held a hand on the handles of the duffels bags to keep from someone snatching them. She finally reached the pub yet again with no problems.

Roxanne went in with a wide smile as normal. She parked her things next to the bar as she checked to see if her food was done. It had been for a few minutes, which meant it should be nice and cool. A nice burger with rice and a small salad on the side. If there was time she might get an ice planet on the way out as well. Roxanne set her food on top of her things and squeezed through to the table where the captain and her new crew mates sat. Well, one new crew mate sat. “Would anyone like a bite? I have plenty.” The cart was left within eyesight so she could watch for anyone who might want to pilfer her things.

[benbarrow]

“Would anyone like a bite? I have plenty.”

Ben smiled at Roxanne. It was a friendly gesture, she sure seemed like a nice girl. But it troubled him a bit as well. Would a nice girl like that be able to make tough decisions and do well under pressure? Would she be able to take all the heat they were going to get in the future? Or, if the situation called for it, would she be able to fire a weapon? Only time would tell, and Ben decided it would be best to wait and see. But she was the pilot, and he would try to keep her out of harm's way as much as possible anyway.

"Thanks Roxanne." Ben replied. "But 37 years of life in this 'Verse have taught me one thing: never eat when you drink!"

Ben had just finished his sentence when the waitress brought him his pint of beer. He paid the waitress, and gave her a little bit of extra again.

"Here's to you Roxanne!" Ben said as he heaved his pint. "Here's to all of you, to the Orlando crew!"

Ben chugged half the pint down, it was a great feeling when the cold fluid ran down his throat and into his stomach. Ben wasn't a drunkard, but he knew how to party and drink if the situation called for it. And this called for it. Sure, they didn't have a mechanic yet but Ben had been told that there were more mechanics than anything on this planet, so finding one wouldn't be a problem.

But then Ben turned around to face the band that was playing again. They had stopped playing jolly dancing songs, and were now playing a slow song, and a young girl that was in the band was now singing in a clear, almost heavenly angel's voice.

Siud an t-eilean às an t-sealladh
mar a shiùbhlas am bàta,
mar a chunnaic iomadh bàrd e
eadar liunn is iargan,
's fir eile a bha'n teanga fo fiacaill,
's deòir a' dalladh -
dubhradh- neo-dhearbht is uinneagan a' fannadh.

Ach chan eil a' cheiste cho sìmplidh
don allmharach an comhair na bliadhna:
a-mach à tilleadh èiridh iargan
à roinn a chuir an saoghal an dìmeas.

Cuideachd, chan e siud m' eilean-s':
chaidh esan fodha o chionn fhada,
a' chuid mhòr dheth,
fo dheireas is ainneart;
's na chaidh fodha annam fhìn dheth,
'na ghrianan 'S cnoc eighre,
tha e a' seòladh na mara anns am bì mi
'na phrìomh chomharr stiùiridh
cunnartach, do-sheachaint, gun fhaochadh.

The band stopped playing after the song was done, and many people, including Ben started clapping. The song was beautiful, even though Ben didn't understand it. It was in some sort of ancient language, but it didn't matter. It reminded Ben of the days before the war, when it was just him and his friends roaming about on Londinium. But it also reminded him of the good times during the war, like the night he danced with Lindsey. Ben smiled at the thought of her. The 'Verse was big, but maybe now that he had his own ship and a crew he'd actually have a slim chance of finding her again. And finding his friends again too. He could only hope they all had gotten out of the war okay and had survived this long.

Once again Ben smiled. If they were all still out there, he'd find them. He was planning to see the entire 'Verse, and now it had become a possibility. Nothing in the 'Verse was going to stop him.

"Take your time eating, Roxanne." Ben said. "As soon as you're done, we're outta here."

Ben took another drink from his beer. If there was a mechanic in here, he or she'd best be coming by now.

[OOC: Here's the translation of the song:]

There goes the island out of sight
as the boat sails on,
as seen by many a bard
through sorrow and beer
and by others, tongue under tooth,
and tears blinding -
and ill-defined shadow and windows fading.

But the matter is not so simple
to the one who's a yealy pilgrim:
out of returning sorrow rises
from a region the world has derided.

And, that is not my island:
it submerged long ago
the greater part of it .
in neglect and tyranny -
and the part that submerged in me of it,
sun-bower and iceberg,
sails the ocean I travel,
a primary landmark
dangerous, essential, demanding.

[lilyzhang]

Sometime before of after the band starting playing, a teenage girl entered the pub, sauntering through the crowd like most people would stroll through an ornamental garden. A bit on the short side, and certainly no more than a fresh-faced kid, she didn't look even a bit imposing. Over her clothes she wore a slightly baggy blue jumpsuit, and a beaten leather satchel hung across her body. Her brown hair was tied up at the back of her head in a messy bundle, threaded through with purple brocade ribbon.

Nobody paid any mind to her as she made her way to the bar, and exchanged some words with the waitress.

Now unless you had some superhuman ears, you'd never have heard what the two of them were talking about. But they were both all smiles and chat, as though they knew each other well enough. When money was exchanged, the girl got handed a small glass full of pink liquid, which she sipped through a straw.

At some point the waitress pointed over to a table across the way. At that, the kid's eyebrows shot up, and with a nod, she made her excuses.

Quickly pushing herself away from the bar, the girl abandoned her drink, making a quick step towards the table – or at least as quickly she could in her heavy work boots. When she got there, she looked around at everyone with a wide-eyed, almost sheepish look. Perhaps to break the ice, she did one of those all-encompassing waves that requires the use of both hands

“Um, hi there folks. Awful sorry if I'm botherin' you, but” she pointed towards Ben “you're the one lookin' for crew, right?”

[roxanne]

There was something about Roxanne-there were three sides to her. There was this one which was happy, nice and all around sweet. Then there was her depressed side which pulled away from the world and didn’t speak a word except when absolutely needed. The finally side was her worker side. That side she was extremely concentrated and could make a decision if need be. But the captain and everyone else would have to wait to see that side. If there’s anything she learned from her family it was this-from her mother be a kind and caring person because in this world not many people are(this despite being someone who could kill a person at the slightest threat) and the second was form her father was to be quick on her toes and never let anyone take advantage of her. Balancing the best of both worlds.

Roxanne chuckled at Ben’s saying. Good thing he wasn’t the one flying the ship. Though she did like to drink, she only did with discretion. This past month she had drank a lot more often then normal. If she did the night before taking off, it all depended on what time they were taking off-that is what decided when she stopped drinking or how much she drank.

She lifted her glass of water to Ben before she chuckled. Roxanne chowed down on half her burger-which was cut in half-and sat back to watch the scene in the pub before her. She had heard this song before when she was in here-that she was sure of.

Roxanne loved to eat that was one thing she was more then definitely sure of.

As she swallowed down her bite she was curious of a few things. “Are we taking right off Ben? Or are there still supplies that need to be bought?” She was trying to figure out roughly how much time she had to get acquainted with the Orlando before take off. She wanted at least a good 15 minutes before take off to get used to the set up of the ship. She turned at the newcomer but didn’t answer her question directly. Roxanne simply pointed to Ben. “He’s the captain there.”

[benbarrow]

“Are we taking right off Ben? Or are there still supplies that need to be bought?”

"I just need to see one more person before we go." Ben said. "After that, we're outta here."

Then a new girl looking for work came along. Ben observed her for a second. By the looks of her, she couldn't even be twenty yet. Still, with Ben Barrow, everyone got an equal chance to apply for a job.

“Um, hi there folks. Awful sorry if I'm botherin' you, but you're the one lookin' for crew, right?” The young girl said as she pointed at Ben. Roxanne even concurred by telling her that Ben was the captain.

"That's right." Ben said. "Ben Barrow. Captain of the Orlando."

The girl seemed awfully young, maybe too young to be working on a ship like the Orlando. Ben supposed he could ask for her age, but of course she'd probably lie about it. But maybe she was the mechanic he had been looking for all evening. And if she was, her age wouldn't really matter. A mechanic he could keep on the ship, far away from danger.

"Have a seat miss." Ben said as he gestured toward an empty chair. "And introduce yourself to us."

[lilyzhang]

With a beaming smile, the girl took a chair, unhooking her satchel as she did so. There was a metallic clank as the weathered bag made contact with the the floor.

“Well thanks, Captain!” She said, casting her eyes around the table. She gave a friendly nod to Roxanne, who'd spoken to her earlier, and then the same for everyone else. Then she turned her attention back to Ben, looking him straight in the eye - as though the looks of him didn't scare her any. She'd seen all sorts of mercs and ruffians around the docks, so really, this bunch looked pretty respectable in comparison.

“Um, well then; my name's Lily - Lily Zhang - and I've lived around these parts all my life. My dad owns 'Zhang's General Merchandise and Repair Shop', which is kinda near here, matter of fact” She pointed somewhere vaguely towards the pub door, over her shoulder.

“And, um – I'm lookin' for employment aboard a ship, because I think they're shiny. My grandpa's a mechanic, so he taught me quite a bit about what makes 'em go - and how to fix them when they don't want to go. But I want to know more, and I reckon the best way to do that is to learn from experience.” She said, catching her breath for a second.

'Phew - long story. Hold your horses, girl!' She thought.

“Anyway, it's nice to meet you all!”

With that, Lily shuffled back in her seat and awaited a verdict, looking calm enough despite her obvious enthusiasm. Truth be told, she wasn't all that worried about what Ben and his crew thought of her - that's just not who she was. The way Lily saw it, either it'd all work out and she'd get hired, or it wouldn't work out. Simple as that.

See, that was the nice thing about the docks: if this ship wasn't the one for her, then just give it enough time, and another one would be along soon enough. No point crying over spilt milk, after all.

[benbarrow]

Ben couldn't help but to chuckle a little laugh at Lily. He thought it was funny how she talked and that she almost ran out of breath at the end of her sentence. Little did Lily know she was hired as soon as she said mechanic. Ben was going to give her a chance. Whether or not she was up to the challenge remained to be seen.

"You're lucky." Ben said. "One minute more and we would've been outta here. But you're a gift from heaven as well. We really need a mechanic. So I'm gonna give you a shot, Lily."

Ben slided a registration form toward Lily, as he did with all the rest as well.

"Just fill this form out, and then you can go and grab your stuff before we take off." Ben said. "The ship's in the Eavesdown docks. It's a Firefly class medium freighter called the Orlando. It's the only black ship there, so you can't miss it."

Ben leaned back and waited for Lily to fill out her registration form. After she was done, they would leave and prep to travel to St. Alban's.

[lilyzhang]

"Really? Oh, you won't regret it!" Lily said, wrinkling her nose and grinning as she took the paperwork. "And a Firefly too? Neat! The design might be getting' on a bit, but they're good and steady, so long as you treat 'em right. Plus it's kinda nice to have all the main systems tied up in one package - 'cept maybe for the possibility of 'em all going BOOM!! on you at the same time. 'Cause let me tell you - you really don't want that."

The girl coughed delicately behind one fist. "But, um - that won't happen on my watch, of course.”

As her chatter died off, the little mechanic went to work on the form, scribbling in her details with a neat, unfussy printed hand. Now, although Ben might have expected her to lie about her age, she didn't. As a rule, Lily wasn't one to bend the truth – well, not unless she was trying to sell some piece of Luh Suh at her father's store. And she was pretty darn good at that too.

She frowned a little when she read the part about the dying, as though she was seriously thinking on how that might go. Then, with a sanguine sort of shrug, the girl filled it out, stating that her parents should be notified in the event of her demise. Maybe she had a death wish, or maybe she thought she was invincible, but Lily wasn't going to worry about that right now. Everyone had to go in the end, she figured.

The only thing that might worry her was how devastated her family would be, were she to croak it up out the 'black. But the girl put that idea out of her mind quick enough.

Finally, Lily signed the contract with a satisfied flourish, then handed it back to Ben. With a smile, she hooked the satchel over her body, and got ready to leave. "I think you'll find that's all in order." She grinned, standing when everything had been checked. "So, I'll see you all soon, then! Black Firefly, right? Shiny!"

Lily waved goodbye to everyone, went to the bar and exchanged a few words with the waitress, then left the pub. She'd say her goodbyes to her family, grab her toolbox, as well as some some clothes and other essentials she'd need. Then she'd make her way to the Orlando!

---

Luh Suh - Garbage

[connorbeckett]

Connor Beckett stepped aside and respectfully touched the brim of his hat as a dark haired young woman exited the building. She was pretty, though the blue coveralls she was wearing indicated that she worked with her hands for a living. “Ma’am,” he added deferentially, before stepping inside.

Immediately, the gunhand sought the darkest corner of the room with his eyes and left his gaze there until they adjusted to the dimly lit, smoky haze of the place. Old habits die hard, and this bit of caution was something he’d learned even before he had gone off to the war.

O’Hanrahan’s Pub was loud and festive, the kind of place where folks came to make memories. “Or forget them,” a cynical voice inside his head quipped sarcastically. It was also the bar the Boss had mentioned he’d be at with Stoot.

Connor had finished the loading of the Atlas and needed to find the Boss to see if there was any more work to be done before they left, or if the rest of his time planetside was his own. The slender gunman eased toward the bar, noticing the looks his twin guns drew but paying them no mind. He had no desire for any trouble tonight, and if he had his ’druthers he wouldn’t have come to a bar in the first place. There was always someone who let the booze talk his ego into being tougher than his body could back up. “Usually more than one someone,” corrected the quiet voice. Beckett was tough enough that he had no need to prove it to anyone else, and he tried to avoid situations that placed him in the company of those who hadn’t earned that self-awareness. It was safer for them, and he could think of better ways to spend his time than punching some loudmouth punk. “Or shootin’ one,” added the voice, solemnly.

Reaching the bar, he ordered a glass of iced tea, then turned and leaned casually on one elbow, surveying the raucous, well-packed room. He had only been there a few moments when a waitress approached him, looking anywhere but at his guns so hard she might as well have stared.

“I don’t remember you coming in before,” she noted before asking in a breathy rush. “You looking for work?”

“No, ma’am,” he answered quietly. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, that gentleman over there has been looking for a crew. And the two men with him, I suppose. They’re friends of his.”

Connor looked where she pointed and quickly spotted the figures of Stoot and the Boss. He was about to start in their direction when the third fella looked up. Their eyes met, and suddenly in his mind the bar went silent.

In a barely audible whisper, Connor spoke. “Barrow!”

[benbarrow]

Ben kept Lily's application form in front of his face as he read it. 18 years old. The youngest one so far. Ben hoped he could keep her safe, and that he wouldn't have to break bad news to her parents. Lily reminded him of some of the girls he lived with back on Londinium, those of his gang. Always cheery, and a ray of sunshine in the dark, no matter what.

Ben put the application form along with everyone else's back on the clipboard, and then put the clipboard back in his backpack. The Orlando was full up on crew, and it appeared that George and himself would be the only males aboard. That didn't bother Ben though, despite his athletical outcome, he never was a macho-type. Although he could charm women if he made the effort to it. Not that he had the time for women in the years during and after the war. Quite frankly, in a way he had been saving himself for the moment he'd find Lindsey again, even though there was the chance of that never happening.

Ben put the backpack down, and put it next to his chair. He then looked up again, but nothing could prepare him for what he was about to see next.

He know stared direcly in the face of the same Alliance assassin that had tried to kill him during the Siege of Dhukang, the one he fought barehanded with while mortars were raining all around them. He had found him, and probably came to finish the job.

But Ben wasn't going to die. Not back then, and not now. And certainly not by the hands of an Alliance assassin. For a minute, Ben contemplated on what to do. The odds were in his favor after all. He had his newly appointed crew with him, Stoot sat next to him, Ryan was outside and the bar was filled with Independents. The assassin had definately chosen the wrong location to assassinate Ben.

Ben kept his eyes trained on the assassin as he warned his crew and Stoot.

"Danny, I need you to take one last order from me." Ben said in a calm manner. "Go outside and get Ryan, and get ready to shoot."

Ben took his right pistol out of his holster, and kept it hidden under the table.

"Listen up guys." Ben said. "Don't ask why, for now just do as I say. See that guy over there? George, Roxanne, I need the two of you to get behind him. Jaclyn, I hope your packing and you're ready to shoot, because this place is going to be pandemonium. Whatever I do, back me up."

Ben stood up, and kept his pistol in his right hand. Shooting the assassin now was too risky, he might hit one of the other customers, or the assassin could take one as a hostage. Besides, after what guys like that did to the Independents during the war, he wasn't going to let him get off that easy by shooting him dead.

Ben took a few more paces toward the assassin, and then aimed his gun at him.

"Didn't know the Alliance still had assassins!" Ben shouted. "I thought we hunted down all of your kind before Serenity Valley!"

After the word 'Alliance' had fallen, people turned toward the assassin and Ben. People stopped talking, and even the band stopped playing. The room was now filled with silence, and all looks were aimed at Connor, who Ben had just revealed as an Alliance assassin. The Independents starting crowding up around him. No way was he leaving here alive.

"You picked the wrong bar to try and kill me, assassin!" Ben said with a smirk on his face. "Any last words?"

[connorbeckett]

Memories flashed through his head with the speed only the mind is capable of. Memories of sketchy Intel reports, the rush of adrenaline on a para-drop behind enemy lines, sweat and blood and heat, crawling through wet darkness, more.

“Bulletproof” Ben Barrow was something of a hero to his Independent comrades, but to the Alliance he had been like a thorn in the foot: a small irritation at first that rapidly became a big problem. Memories played in Connor’s mind like a wave, powerful images of the multiple missions involving the man in front of him. Barrow was the only assignment that he’d never fully completed. Oh, he’d come close a couple of times, but something always interfered and spared Barrow’s life. A soldier leaning forward at the wrong moment took a bullet to the brainpan meant for his commander. A misfire after a river crossing had ruined his magazine, the leak unnoticed in the darkness. Once he had simply missed. On three separate occasions, he’d had the man in his sights, and each time Barrow had sidestepped his death. Luck, or so the legends claimed, and Connor didn’t disagree. But it was more than that, too. Barrow was tough, and his men loved him. They died to protect him, because they knew he’d do the same for them.

The last time he had the chance to “clean” Barrow, his fourth attempt at the Independents’ superman, Connor had managed to come face to face, though he’d had to take care of several of Bulletproof’s own men to do so. But even their deaths hadn’t insured Barrow’s.

In his mind, the gunhand remembered the silent but brutal struggle as he and Barrow had fought hand to hand, tooth and fist, knife and rock, their bodies soaked with sweat and covered in dirt and debris, with no quarter asked and none given. Each trying desperately to put an end to the threat the other represented in a singular battle of survival, while all around them war on a broader scale rent destruction across the landscape.

Explosions tore the earth and lit up the night sky with eerie red-black clouds, the deafening sound shrouding the gasping breaths of the two combatants who battled on amidst the flames. The last thing Connor remembered was a bright light and being flung through the air … He’d woken up hours later in a pile of rubble with numerous cuts and a few broken bones, but he hadn't seen any more sign of Barrow.

Until now.

Something about the situation struck Connor as funny, and a lopsided grin spread across his face as he watched Barrow stride across the room, shouting, with a gun in hand.

“Well, he never was one for subtlety, was he?” the voice asked with rhetorical humor. Connor simply waited with a small smile on his lips, still leaning casually on the bar with his left elbow and holding his iced tea in his right hand, as his former nemesis approached.

“It’s good to see you, too,” the gunhand deadpanned when Barrow had finished his threat. “The war’s long done, Barrow, an’ I served my time,” he went on quietly, still leaning on the bar. “I didn’ come here lookin’ fer trouble.”

Pausing briefly to take a sip of his tea, Connor continued. “You go wavin’ that gun around, an’ someone’s liable to get hurt. An’ you know as well as I do, that if I draw my hog leg there’s gonna be a lot o’ dead folk in here. Mebbe you, mebbe me.

“Mebbe them folk over yonder who jes came in here fer a good time t’night,” he added, nodding with his head in the direction of the now-quiet crowd. “How ‘bout instead o’ all that, I buy you a drink, an’ you let me finish this iced tea? It’s real good.” He took another swig from his glass in the silence as if to emphasize his point, while the crowd stared at him, disbelieving.

“Besides, I’d hate to go and get shot when Stoot and the Boss may have more work for me to do. They may not take it too kindly if you shoot up their crew.”