On the waterfront (vice)

[Lloyd Farran]

Lloyd stood on the dock and stared out too the sea.  "Soon...soon I'll go home."  He muttered, smoking his pipe.  He'd gotten started on working up the money necessary to leave the city and get back to England, then the quarantine hit and Lloyd's income all but vanished.  Now all he could do was watch the sea and dream.  He turned and started to walk along the dock, humming one of his old favorite drinking songs.  It was a shame most of the people he met didn't really understand his situation.  A victim of the quarantine, unable to leave or gain his fortune.

[Vice Ysal]

There was an appeal to the docks that the city didn't quite have. It was, however, not really Vice's thing to stand out here in the early evening breeze and contemplate on life's pressures and different possibilities that may or may not open up for him in the future. He did enough of that while dodging traffic after all. As it were, the only reason why Vice was here was to do a couple of rounds to make sure no one was littering the place up, that and no loitering. It was the unwritten code of sorts that the docks were for some of the hardier people around, at least that's how it's always been with the fight club so near the place. Why he was doing something like this though, well, he was bored and really had nothing else to do for the time being.

Unusually enough, the young man had opted to walk this time around. He didn't have his bike nor the usual attire that came along with it. However, the firearm that was properly concealed under the thick clothing was securely kept there for emergency purposes and all. Some people did try harder than the rest. Moving along the docks, Vice took a moment to stretch as he kept walking down. Apparently, there was some other guy there too who, for the most part anyway, looked like he could handle himself. Just keeping an eye at the guy, checking if he was doing anything more unscrupulous than thinking about life, Vice decided to leave him alone for the time being.

[Lloyd Farran]

Lloyd heard someone step out onto the dock but didn't turn to notice, he just kept walking along, humming his tune and smoking his pipe. "Oy lad, what are ya doing out 'ere this time of night?" He asked, stopping next to Vice. "Shouldn't ya be at a school or something? Ya look a bit young to be patrolin' the beach. Course, I'm not sure the age one 'as to be to become some sort of law enforcer. So, whats your reason to be 'ere lad? Just like the water? Waiting for a lass? Or are ya not from around 'ere too, just stuck here till the quarantine lifts?"

[Vice Ysal]

The breeze wasn't what he'd called comforting but it did make things a lot more bearable. The salty air allowed him to experience something else for a change, the smoke of the city did leave much to be desired. With everything more or less fixed, and the presence of the man was more or less diminishing from his perception. With a sigh, he was just about to leave when as he turned around, the man decided now would be better to speak up. Vice regarded him cooly, not really a blank stare but there was enough hold on it to know that he wasn't just 'looking' at the guy with an eye patch.

The red eyed youth merely grunted at the question, his thoughts suddenly redirected to coming up with a suitable answer for the man. He wasn't all too keen at making connections right now, the mood not exactly helping with that and so, with his usual aloof demeanour, decided to humour the guy with a couple of give and take.

"Just…"

Vice began, his eyes forcibly making a spark as he turned a bit to throw his gaze towards the vast body of water before him.

"Looking for something more than this City."

He ended cooly, his hands then coming up to cross in front of his chest as he fully faced the stranger. Now that he looked at him properly, the air around him wasn't of one who lived in Mosaic City. Either he was a new face or something else. Shrugging that thought for a later time, Vice decided to throw his own curiosity out there.

"And you? Don't exactly fit the bill of a 'Law Enforcer' yourself."

[Lloyd Farran]

"You'd be right lad." Lloyd said, being brutally honest. "I'm not from these parts. I'm from London, great city. If you've never been, ya should see it once the quarantine goes down." He said to Vice. "Me though, I'm basically just a beggar, forced to the street due to a failed business investment and a bit of fate." Lloyd blew a long string of smoke from his pipe and looked at Vice. "If your looking for something more though, this is the best spot." He said, turning to face the sea. "I'm sure the army has some system set up to keep us from going more then a few hundred meters outside the shore. Real shame."

[Vice Ysal]

"Planning to travel the world actually. See what life can offer and all that. I can handle my Masters and Doctorate along the way if it ever comes down to it."

Vice informed as he took the time to mellow out. He wasn't bull headed about a lot of things, preferring to keep it all easy to wade through but even then he knew he could get worked up quite a bit from the some of the more trivial things. Just looking over at the sea again, past the imaginable walls the military had created, well, Vice was struck with a small idea on how to alleviate that boredom of his.

"Heh, a few hundred meters huh? Funny you should mention that."

And this was the whole famed 'test' that everyone seemed to love giving to everyone to see if they actually knew what was happening.

"What if I told you…that we could get out but you'd be risking your health in doing so?"

[Lloyd Farran]

Lloyd's interests were peeked at the prospect of a way out of the city. "Explain yerself lad." He said, glaring at Vice with his good eye. "If there's a way out of this hell hole, I want to know about it." He put a hand on his revolver to show that he was serious. He didn't want some sarcastic quip when something like leaving was on the line. "Go on lad, tell me how to get out of the city and no one gets hurt. Try to evade the subject, and I might wind up doing something a bit of alcohol will make me stop regretting."

[Vice Ysal]

"You do know that killing me…"

Vice grinned as he raised his hands into the air and into his sides in the universal sign of surrender. He took a few steps back, teetering over the edge of the docks and into the waters below…well, this made for a pretty dramatic scene if anyone were to watch.

"That you won't be able to find out, right?"

At that, Vice then made a noncommittal shrug as he noticed the actions the man had made. It was threatening, sure, but it wasn't like he didn't know how to dodge a gunshot. Well, no not really, he'd probably die from attempting something as stupid as that but hey, gotta live in the present, yolo, and all that.

…

Ew, Vice mentally spat, that was more disgusting than he thought it would be.

"So I suggest that you let go of that firearm of yours and besides, I'm pretty sure that no amount of drinking can make you forget that you just snuffed away the only chance you had at getting out."

Despite that though, Vice was watching with a very good eye on that motions of the strangers arm and shoulder. The moment it makes an offensive motion, well, that's what the drop would be for.

"So, are you going to let me make a transaction with you or we gonna play 'dodge the bullet' still?"

[Jonathon Montoya]

Lloyd pondered Vice's point and then slowly let go of his pistol. "Alright then. I won't shoot you...Yet." Lloyd said, putting his hands in his coat pocket. "Just know, if you try anything funny on the way out. I will kill you." Lloyd then blew another string of smoke. "Now lad, lead the way. The sooner I can get out of this god-forsaken city the better. Also, if the solders do catch us, yer going to be in for a world of hurt from me as well." He then reached into another pocket and pulled out a few dollars. "Here, it's all I have for now."

[Vice Ysal]

"Bills…?"

Vice sounded out loud, looking at the money in the beggar's hands as he was offered a couple of bucks for the information. It was almost enough to make Vice smile, laugh even at the sheer…he didn't even know how to describe that. To think that a man would be able to pay for this kind of information with that kind of wealth? Hah, the entrance to the outside world was a much more grievous place that a couple of bills could never fix.

"No, stranger. That's not the kind of payment I'm looking for…besides, you look like you'll need the cash more than I would at this point. No offense."

Putting his hands down and back into his pockets, Vice began to walk forward, and past the stranger who had just both tried to shoot him, and pay him off for the information stuck in his head.

"If I show you the entrance to the place beyond this city…you'll be owing me favours. A hell lot of them if what you see amazes you enough."

And at that Vice turned his neck a bit to face the eye patched man.

"And I've got a feeling you'll love it there. You game?"

[Lloyd Farran]

"Fine then." Lloyd said, shoving what little cash he had on him into his pocket. "I have a feeling I'm going to wind up regretting this at some point, but I will go with
ya lad." He said, putting out his pipe and tucking it away. "So, let's get going lad. No time to waste with leaving the way I see." Lloyd then pulled out one of his pistols, checking to make sure it was loaded. "Just being safe, things could get out of hand on the way out. I'm sure once we're outside we'll be alright." Lloyd really did have no idea what he was getting into.

[Vice Ysal]

"Nice Gun."

Vice grunted as he turned around fully to face the direction towards the terminal. The distance was gonna be a bit to walk from where they currently were as of the moment and it'd be pretty dark the moment they'd get there but they were both guys anyway, and they were both armed too. Rolling his shoulders as he walked towards the drier edge of the docks, the younger of the two hollered out towards the eye patched individual to get a move on. It'd be taking them quite a while to get there and he'd rather prefer to be there as soon as possible.

"We'll be arriving at the destination a bit late though, so I'd suggest maybe getting a bite along the way. The outside areas aren't places you'd want to explore on an empty stomach. Trust me, I've been there."