Silencer and Stun [Kaspar]

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

When she passed by the motorcycle shop window, she slowed. The shop had already closed for the night, but the lights around the building were bright enough that she could still see the outlines of the used bikes within.

She glanced back at the sidewalk at the sound of someone's approach.

Kaspar. She was feeling more generous toward him than she had earlier; after their last conversation, she'd at least left without the desire to punch him in the face. As far as she could tell, he'd kept his promise not to tell anyone her secret, and helping with Danny had left her with...not a bad feeling.

"You have a new dead fanboy you want to talk to?" she asked. She feigned boredom, her eyes flicking over him. Not wanting to punch him didn't mean that she planned on being nice.

She'd been playing with her hair, but now she let her hand drop back down.

Grey had told her what Kaspar was. Admittedly, she didn't really know anything about how to fight with a sword (let alone against a bloodsucking, super-healing monster), but it still felt nice to know that she could put a long piece of stabby steel between the two of them.

[Kaspar]

It was a very mild evening, compared to some they'd been having lately, and Kaspar decided to walk instead of taking the car. He'd been in the studio for a few hours and decided it was time to let his brain recoup a bit before trying anymore, figured he might as well just enjoy the night. He'd half considered texting one of his favourite people, asking them to come hang out but alone time was probably good when he could grab it. His schedule was insane lately.

There simply weren't enough hours in the day.

His headphones were on, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket as he dawdled down the street, not really paying attention to the faces he passed, just enjoying the music and the fresh air.

It's a shame he didn't have the good sense to keep walking, to ignore her words.

Vienna.

Of all the people he could've run into tonight she was definitely not on the "yay friend" list. The girl seemed to have it out for him, had all but admitted to casually stalking him online or otherwise, and had assisted him in speaking to a ghost. Literally. The girl was a pain in the ***, with one use and he was just as happy to avoid her. He'd tried to be nice, tried to get along with her but she'd thrown attempts back in his face. Regret and Vienna went together.

He pushed the headphones off, eyes narrowing on her. "Seriously? Look, Vienna, I don't want to be rude but... Are you legitimately stalking me? What are you doing here? I believe you KNOW my studio is just around the corner. What would you like from me this time?" He subtly slipped his phone from his pocket, pulling up a number and typing out a message that read "s.o.s. your buddy is stalking me again, please come fetch before I eat her face off. Seriously!" Grey would probably just laugh, like an asshole.

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

And just like that, the feelings of armed neutrality she'd been having were replaced by ire.

"Damn, you're an egotistical son of a *****." She scowled at him, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I was crossing the street when you showed up."

She'd been taking another look at those used motorcycles they'd brought into the shop yesterday, but she wasn't going to tell him that. The fact that it wasn't so far from his studio had admittedly crossed her mind, but she wasn't going to hide from him.

"But since you ask." She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at him. It was probably entirely reckless to needle him. He was a vampire, for God's sake. "You owe me. I got your friend his CD and helped send him on to his eternal rest. Danny didn't pay his share, and I don't work for free, man."

[Kaspar]

His eyes rolled up in his hand, Kaspar glancing impatiently at his phone, hoping Grey might actually be of assistance. "Sure, sure, you are forever innocent of everything. You are very hard done by, i'm so awful. Forgive me, sweet Vienna. Let me make it up to you by showering you in praise..."

He stepped around her, as if he might keep walking but then her words made him pause. Was she seriously harping on about money?

"If you wanted cash, you could've called. You found out other personal details about me, why not my number? We have a mutual... We know some of the same people." He wasn't sure how much he could call any of them friends, really, they were still figuring that out.

He reached into his back pocket, tugging at a wallet and flicking through the bills. "How much do you want, hm? Money doesn't bother me, so name your price and kindly fuc-..." His phone buzzed, just as he was about to tell the girl to **** off with her bad attitude, lifting it to see the reply. A heart emoji. That was literally it, and that's when Kaspar knew beyond a doubt that the man behind the phone was cackling at his situation. "She's asking for money, i'm going to throw it at her and tell her to **** off. Are jokes about being a pro too much? Seriously, call off the attack dog." He texted back, mumbling allowed. "Useless, Grey."

It was rare that Kaspar didn't reign in his annoyance, didn't keep it tamped down but frankly he was about ready to break this girl. He lifted his gaze to stare at her expectantly, waiting for her to name the price.

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

She hadn't expected it to be that easy, honestly. And if part of her felt a little guilty, she suppressed it. She wasn't going to back down or turn down free cash.

She glanced at his phone when it buzzed, a slight frown crossing her face at his murmur about Grey.

He was texting Grey? Vienna had thought he was just Grey's dinner one time. She filed that away in the list of things to ask Grey about.

"I don't know," she said, her eyes lifting consideringly to his face. "How much is your friend worth to you?"

She wasn't going to tell him if he couldn't figure it out himself, but Danny couldn't have paid her in money. His next-of-kin had closed his bank accounts and moved his things out of his studio. But he did have an iTunes account loaded with music, a Steam account full of games he'd never played, and a subscription to a few noline services here and there. If she'd gone through with her original plan, she would have traded the CD for his passwords and sold his accounts online.

Damn it, she should have taken payment upfront.

[Kaspar]

"You're serious, aren't you? You aren't just going to tell me what you want..." His jaw was clenched, the man glancing at his phone again to a follow up reply "Handle it =| <3", not exactly the best advice considering how he wanted to handle it right now.

"I'm not in the mood for guessing games, i've got a busy night ahead. Why don't you go harass Adley? I'm sure he'd LOVE the company, or Grey! He's probably just slinking about..." His tone lowered, mumbling to himself, "Giggling like a jackass." The blonde man shoved the phone into his pocket and stepped around her, heading back in the direction of his studio. He figured she'd probably follow but wasn't about to shorten his stride for her convenience, why should he?

"Just name your price, and then go home, Vienna. It's dangerous out here, and getting more so by the minute. I'm tired, hungry, and you don't want to see me angry." He warned, beginning to wonder how much patience he could muster before he just flung money at her face, or better yet, bite her and sent her wandering aimlessly in a daze into the night.

Nah, she'd just come back a few days later making accusations, as per usual.

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

She frowned sharply at him.

If that was supposed to a threat (had Grey told him she knew?), she wasn't impressed. Kaspar was annoying, with a total disregard for personal space. But it was hard to actually be scared of him - especially since she had to admit that she'd already given him plenty of reason to vampire out at her.

And he was willing to pay to get rid of her, which meant that he was willing to negotiate.

She might be able to get a hundred for Danny's Steam account. Selling iTunes accounts was tricky - maybe twenty, thirty bucks? Of course, that all assumed she could find a buyer.

"Twelve hundred," she said without batting an eye, keeping pace with him.

[Kaspar]

The man kept walking, the woman trailing behind seemed to be thinking and he knew she was about to be ludicrous. He was right. Kaspar just started laughing, shaking his head as he jogged across the road and around the corner to the small carpark out the front of the old church that had become Morningstar Inc, his studio and office housed within.

"No." The word was said flatly, his wallet being shoved idly away so he could pull out his keys instead, unlocking the building and leaving the door ajar for her.

What was it with this chick? He was keen to get rid of her, and the cash didn't bother him one bit but he had other means of getting her to back down.

She just had to come inside.

[Vienna Torres (DELETED 8181)]

The crossing signal had changed to indicate that they didn't have much time before the lights turned green. She increased her pace as well.

When they reached his studio, she pushed the door open, but she didn't enter. Because following him into the studio was just a bit too much even for her, especially considering what they'd done in there.

She leaned back against the wall. "Guess he didn't mean that much to you after all," she said, shrugging. She paused. "Five fifty."

[Kaspar]

"You're being ridiculous, and you know it. What do you want it for, anyway?" He shrugged off the worn leather jacket, hanging it one of the hooks by the door. The place was empty other than a girl sitting at a small reception area near the front, headphones on and flicking through files. She glanced up as they came in, waved but didn't comment, just returning to her work.

Kas didn't head into the main studio, leaving that door closed, he instead went to the small kitchen and chill area, turning on the kettle and grabbing out a mug.

"Don't hover in doorways, it's rude. Stay or go, your choice. You don't get to sit on the fence." A song came to mind when he thought of her, a song he enjoyed but understand the frustration it spoke of all too well. "Girls." He huffed dramatically.