[RP] A Simple Case of Bullying

Running a mercenary business wasn’t easy. Not only did Mari have to deal with the logistics of cleaning their money so she and Spork wouldn’t go to jail for tax evasion, but there was also fielding clients and putting their names in for various jobs. Most contracts went to the lowest bidder, and there had been more than one occasion where Spork had been able to hear Mari curse up a storm that meant she had lost a bid to someone who was willing to get their hands dirty for much much less than she wanted.

The contracts where clients reached out to Nine Tails Inc were much better to work with, as she could negotiate directly with the client. No surprises, they got what their services were worth, and their reputation grew. Were they the cheapest? Of course not, there were people who claimed to take on hits for figures in the double digits. But they got results. So when Mari received an encrypted email for another job, she was immediately interested.

This job was different than most of the others they’d gotten. Normally people had all their information sent in an email, they wanted to be as detached as possible from the thugs they hired. There were a few that wanted to meet their independent contractors, and for those Mari usually went alone as a sole representative of Nine Tails, Inc. However, this one specified that all personnel involved with the contract come to the meeting. It meant bringing Spork along, which would usually be a bad idea. But they needed to stretch their legs anyways, and if this did end up being a trap then they could punch a cop, which would be sure to make their day.

Mari followed her standard procedure for meetings in locations where they could be ambushed. They took public transportation until they were a couple blocks away from the destination and walked the rest of the way. Mari kept an eye out for any possible tails. This could absolutely be a trap, but as long as she was prepared for it to be a trap she wouldn’t have to worry. One quick costume change and Kitsune stepped into the half-finished office building, streaks of dirty light coming through the windows. She knew Shiba was behind her as she moved to the agreed-upon location, eyes scanning for any hidden muzzles or cameras tucked into the siderooms.

The only thing that caught her attention was the round, collapsible table in the middle of the space, three chairs surrounding it, complete with — was that water? And their apparent host filled one of the seats, a couple folders in front of him. Kitsune took a seat, gesturing for her partner to do the same.

The rough, metallic filter was replaced with a smoother one that still shifted her voice beyond what it would normally sound like. She had multiple settings, but those were the two most often used, which Spork referred to as “business mode and business mode”. Mari had long since stopped arguing with them about that one.

She gestured towards her partner. She desperately wanted those folders, to know what they contained, but it was best to let the client take the reins. Or at least believe they had them.