The Queen and The Paupers

[benbarrow]

Ben was sitting on a bench in the great marble hall that led to Minerva Colt's chambers. For the occasion he was wearing a black suit, with an equally black shirt and tie. The last time he wore it was in the casino, on the evening that he won the Orlando in a high stakes poker game.

With him was his best gunman JD, who was wearing his best clothes as well. Ben had told him to do so, and JD always did as ordered, a trait Ben admired.

Both of them had to relinquish their weapons at the front door, but fortunately the guards didn't find the guns that were taped on their backs, just in case things were going to go south.

Ben had never dealt with Minerva before, but he heard the stories about her and knew that it was important to get on her good side. Them being in their best clothes should help them in that venture, and if he'd put a bit of his charm in there, Ben was certain he would get on Minerva's good side.

Ben opened the small chest he was keeping on his lap. It contained the custom made sidearm of general Tecumseh Carruthers, an Alliance general Ben had killed during the war. Ben was going to give it to Minerva as a gift, because he knew she collected war relics and people always appreciated gifts after all.

Ben closed the chest and then patiently waited for the Queen of Persephone to come out of her chambers and welcome both him and JD in her palace.

[parkesy]

JD sat up right in his seat, next to Ben. He felt nervous about this. He had never been the kind of person to take on diplomatic jobs. And to add to it, he didn't have his guns on hand. luckily Ben had allowed them to strap little pistols to thier backs, just incase. That made him feel better, but the tape was starting to itch.

It's not often people see JD, all smarted up. He had even shaven his goatee off, to make him more presentable.
Everything felt weird for JD, but Ben wanted him here, so JD did as he was told.

JD thought it was a shame to give the generals side arm away. It was a nice piece of work. But the crew had what they needed as it was, and it may help with getting on Miss Colt's good side. it wouldn't hurt.

He still didn't know what to expect on this deal. It is after all his first one. "What we waiting for Ben?", He whispered to his Captain, "I wanna get and do this, so we can get out of here.", His uneasiness coming through now. But it was ok to let Ben see this. It's not him that they have to keep happy. it's not Ben paying for the guns.

[Minerva Colt]

It had not been the best morning for Minerva. A business deal she had expected to close on had fallen through, and of course she'd been forced to send her muscle out to deal with the unfortunate man who had failed her. The deal had been worth a lot of credits, and had taken a substantial amount of conniving on her part to get rolling. She would not be lenient today. When one messed up as badly as he had, there were no second chances.

However, there was a glimmer of hope tainting her thoughts as she carefully pinned back her hair in the mirror. A man named Benjamin Barrow had contacted her about some stolen arms, and the name had struck her as familiar. The man was a war hero among the independents, a fable in his own right. If nothing else, meeting him would at the very least satiate her own curiosity about the man behind the stories. One of her guards came to inform her that Barrow had arrived, and she waved him off absently. Let them wait for a little bit. If the man was the least conceited by his hero status, it would do him good to be knocked down a peg or two. Glancing at her reflection once more, she smoothed the front of her deep green dress, making sure it hugged her curves in all the right places. After a few more beats, she finally opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

Minerva's eyes fell on two men, both dressed to impress and one with a box in his lap. She nodded and offered them the smallest of smiles. "Gentlemen. I can only presume one of you handsome men is Benjamin Barrow?" When the man in black had identified himself as such, she blinked coquetteishly at him. "Your reputation precedes you, Ben, but that doesn't mean you get any..." she trailed off, running her fingers up his chest before gently tugging his tie so that it lay straight as a razor against his chest, "special treatment. You had better make this worth my while." With a wink and a sly grin at the other man, she stepped back into her chambers and motioned for the them to follow.

Once inside the room, she waved at the men to close the door behind them. Minerva herself reclined in a long white couch, carefully arranging her dress around her. "Please. Have a seat." She clasped her hands daintily in her lap, and glanced at Ben expectantly.

ooc: played by Christina.

[benbarrow]

Before Ben had a chance to calm his young impatient friend down, the doors opened and out came Minerva Colt herself. She looked like an angel, but Ben knew that looks could be deceiving. Especially in Minerva's case. He knew that the woman in fact was a demon, who had haunted a lot of people, and still haunted many to that day.

Ben knew that was just the way things were. He didn't blame Minerva for making her fortune the way she did. He had his way, and she had hers. And Ben was a robber and a thief long before he was a soldier and a war hero after all. So who was he to judge?

But Minerva wasn't like any other crime boss he had met before. He had heard she had Companion training, and that rumor came through when she ran her fingers up his chest, and tightened his tie a bit. "Special treatment", somehow Ben liked the sound of that, even though he knew how dangerous the woman who stood before him was.

He followed her in and took a seat when she offered it to him. Gently he put himself down on the long white couch that was opposite the one she was sitting on. Ben hoped JD would be as equally cautious as him, since he knew his young friend had a habit of just letting himself drop down when it came to sitting down. He then turned to Minerva. Now it was time to put his charms to use.

"I'm honored that one as lovely as yourself knows my name." Ben said. "This young man who is with me is my associate James Dalton, my best gunman and the quartermaster aboard my ship."

Ben then carefully put the little small mahogany chest on the coffee table, and then gently shoved it toward Minerva. He hoped she would like the gift he was offering her.

"Your reputation as a rare items collector preceeds you as well, miss Colt." Ben said. "So please accept this small gift as a token of our appreciation for seeing us today."

He hoped she would like the gun. After all, it belonged to one of the most prominent generals of the Alliance, a man Ben had killed himself. At that time, he had taken it as a spoil of war knowing it would come in handy one day. Like when he would have to break the ice with a certain female crime boss.

[parkesy]

As the doors opened, revealing Minerva to be behind them, JD's nervous disposition swiftly disappeared. He stood up as the lady walked through. Although never really needing manners around his father as he was growing up, he still knew how to act when in the presence of higher authority.

He stood silent and still, as Minerva seemed to flirt with Ben.
When the time comes, JD does his job. And right now, his job was to simply be 'the associate'. And of course to be there in case something happens. 'God help us if anything does happen' came his thoughts. It wasn't the vast amount of heavily armed guards, or the secure building they where situated. no, JD was sure that he and Ben could make it through that.
It was something about Minerva that just screamed deadly.

He followed Ben, as he in turn followed Minerva into her quarters.
he then closed the doors, just as Minerva had motioned for them to do so. He even waited for Ben to sit first, before he sat down himself, making it clear that JD was obviously the subordinate.

He sat there quietly, letting the two converse, and sort out the bussinessy stuff. Even though it did not show any more, he still wanted to get the hell out of there. He convinced himself, that was because he was looking forward to getting paid, and getting to go have a short break with the rest of the crew. But that didn't change the fact, that the real reason was because Minerva made him feel uneasy.