Happy Hour

[Cazador]

Cazador had settled into a small apartment in the city. It would make a good spot to stay for a few days before he had to start moving again. He was bribing the landlord to let him unofficially stay in an open room. Staying too long would endanger the residents there since he wasn't an official citizen of the city. The apartment was serving its purpose though. It gave him a place to rest.

He had just gotten back from another long night of studying the enemy and helping a couple of random citizens from the Vulture soldiers. More and more he was hearing about a rebel group that was beginning to rise up. They could of just been rumors, but eventually he would need to look more into it. Cazador entered into the apartment from his window. It was high up. At least eight stories, but having a jetpack made things easier. Going through the front in power armor, probably would look very strange.

The apartment was dark and cold, but then you get what you pay for. He turned on the dingy light and began to strip out of his armor as he walked into the bedroom. There were several noticeable scars around his body, but it was the price to pay for being a soldier his whole life. None of them bothered Cazador except the stabbing scar by his heart. Seeing it was always a constant reminder of what he had lost. The pain had never left him, even after getting his revenge.

As he made it to the bed he collapsed. The battles of the night exhausted him. He layed on his stomach and closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't come easy. Rather than see blackness on the inside of his eyelids, all he saw was bodies of loved ones. There they were all in a row looking at Cazador. His mother, his brother, his fiance, and fetus in the hands of his fiance. Their eyes were pale white, but he could tell they were staring at him. They would always cry out to him to save them, but there was nothing he could do. Every night was like this. He opened his eyes and stared toward the wall. Like all other nights, eventually his mind slipped into blackness and he fell asleep.

He awoke the next morning rested. He did the normal routine of making something to eat, doing a small workout, taking a shower and figuring out what the day would hold. Today Cazador would need time to recover his mentality or at least try to. He needed a drink. Alcohol may of been illegal here, but human nature just never seemed to change. There was defiantly somewhere in the city he could get a decent taste. He threw on a black leather jacket, a white shirt, some jeans, and black boots.

He wasn't going to leave without a weapon though. He picket out his Dragon's Teeth Revolver and concealed it under his jacket. He then picked up the pieces of his armor that were laying around and assorted them into the closet. He set it to camo mode so no one would be able to see it either in case someone came snooping around. Couldn't the chance. He locked up the apartment and was out the door. If his sources were right, then he'd know exactly where to go.

In the 1920's, the United States government declared that the consumption and/or sale of alcohol was prohibited. For over ten years this went on, but even with the law being enforced, man's desire to consume alcohol never changed. During this time many illegal clubs popped out everywhere. They were called Speakeasies. There, citizens could illegally purchase alcohol at high prices. Despite being from separate universes, Isafaro's law on alcohol was no different than the 1920's of America. Alcohol may of been illegal, but there had to of been some places to get it illegally.

After walking a couple of blocks, Cazador went into an alley way. At the end was a door. It had to of been the place. He knocked on the door and waited. An old man opened a peep hole to see who it was.

"What do you want?"

"A drink. Open up."

"I don't like the look of you, but you don't look like Vulture so come in."

The door led into a bar. It looked like something from his world. Cazador pulled up a seat and asked for something strong. The bartender poured him a glass. Cazador just stared into it. He waited for a moment before taking the shot. He called the bartender over and told him to leave the bottle. Cazador poured himself another drink and like before looked into it. There was alot on his mind and he was just hoping to be able to forget for a little bit.

[Kragen]

"I'm not up to anything I just want a drink." "I don't trust you. Everyone knows you're married to the Colonel, a loyal sheep of the law who's even gotten Vulture's soldiers out of going to jail where they belong!" "I led a wanted fugitive into a sector no longer under Vulture's control, as far as this government is concerned it's my head on a stick. Now open the fuck up!"

The door came open and Rose stepped inside, her eyes scanning the place not at all pleased with how the place look but she needed a drink more than anything else. "I can see why you're picky about who you let in here. You have enough building violations to get you close down long before the Vulture reached the booze cabinet." The bartender didn't respond as Rose sat down on a bar stool and placed several credits down on the table. "A bottle of your finest wine. Please." The bartender grabbed the credits and fixed a quick bottle of wine for Rose, simply leaving the bottle as he did before and placing a glass down next to it. Rose poured herself a glass and then took a large gulp from it.

It's been a long day.

[Cazador]

Cazador downed another shot and poured himself another. The man could defiantly hold his liquor. It wasn't before he started feeling a buzz. Like every other shot before, he looked into his drink. All he could see was a dark reflection of himself from the glass. He looked at his reflection and asked himself 'why am I still alive?' The more he drank, the more his questions began to run around. He had been fighting his whole life. The man was mentally tired and worn down far before his time. For years it was obvious he had PTSD, but he always fought through it. Every year seemed to get even tougher than the last. He began to lose himself further in thought.

It seems like years since I last sat down and just rested. Fighting is all I've ever known. Or maybe I should say, fighting is all I've ever been allowed to know. No... I shouldn't say that. I made that choice. 17 years ago. I made the choice to fight. Does that mean it's my fault you're all gone. I fought so hard to avenge you all. So why... WHY?!... Why do I still see your cold lifeless faces staring at me. I need to die so that I can see your warm smiles again... but no. I can't... I can't let myself be beaten. My body and my soul will be sacrificed so no one will ever have to suffer like I have suffered.

I thought my death was assured that day, but I was allowed to live... Maybe you were all watching out for me and protected me. I helped save one world before. Was I brought here to help save this one as well. I wish... I wish my father was here. I will find him someday, but for now I will stand on my own and continue this war. I won't let them suffer. I'll stake my life on it.

*music fades*

Cazador regained his focus just in time. He could hear another coming through the door. There was one thing that caught his ear. 'The colonel's wife.' From what he could hear, it sounded like she was no longer on the governments side. It could of been a lie. She could of been followed, but it wouldn't make any sense to send in an officer's wife when they could just as easily kick down the door. He needed to be cautious of the situation. He looked at the bottle to see her. She sat close by.

This was good. It would give him the chance to keep an eye on her. If he was lucky, there could be a chance for him to follow her and maybe have her lead him to this colonel. Capturing him could lead to some valuable intel. He heard about an area that wasn't controlled by Vulture. It confirmed what he had heard about a rebel group. Bringing him into the rebels could greatly hurt the government here. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. All he needed to do was keep an eye on her.

That would mean no more drinking. He was already feeling a little buzz, but that would be all. He called the bartender over for water so he could re-hydrate from the alcohol. He took small sips of water and waited it out.

[Kragen]

"You stick your neck out for someone and how do they repay you?" she mumbled in-between sips of her wine. "By calling you a slut and a gold digger then going on their way. Thank you very much, bitch!" Rose voice raised a little more than she intended it with that last line as her eyes looked back to the bottle, seeing the man behind her looking into his and being familiar with the reflection of the glass came to the conclusion he was watching her. Taking her eyes off the bottle quickly she grabbed it and then left some credits behind to make up for taking the bottle as she stood up and headed out of the bar expecting the man not to be far behind her.

[Cazador]

It seemed as if watching her would be easy, but then something changed. She just got up and left with no warning signs. It didn't take a genius to know what happened. She must of knew somehow Cazador was watching her. He must of spooked her. He would have to tread carefully. If he immediately went after her then she would know he was following her. He thought to himself that a minute head start would hopefully shake her nerves of being followed. He began to count the seconds that passed while getting his last few sips of water. It was a shame he couldn't enjoy his hard drink, but duty called.

"Thanks for the drink."

Cazador pulled out a large some of credits, even more than required for the drink. The amount certainly brought a large grin to the bartender's face. Of course the money wasn't really Cazador's. He had picked it off Vulture troops. They wouldn't be needing it anymore after Cazador had finished up with them. He left it on the table and began to walk off. Hopefully she didn't get too far ahead of him in a minute. Even if she wasn't in sight, Cazador had learned to scout well for targets. It was simple training his mentors had taught him when he was a boy.

His power armor's visor would of made finding her much easier, but he could still get off fine without it. At least by tracking her without his power armor, he wouldn't have to worry about getting rusty. It was a good tool, but the last thing Cazador ever wanted to do was turn it into a crutch. It needed to amplify his skill. He opened the door back to the outside. Hopefully he could find her.

[Kragen]

Rose didn't venture far. She had been waiting behind a corner with the bottle still in hand planning to come out of hiding and smash the bottle over the man's head. But when several minutes past Rose started to think she was just being paranoid. Sighing at herself, she left the corner and went down the pavement with the bottle still in hand. Taking in gulps of her wine from the bottle as if she was raised in a barn. Not caring all that much about being lady like at the moment. Something in her body though was telling her to be alert and this caused her to turn around to look behind her to find...

[Cazador]

Cazador slowly opened the door and peaked outside. She was just barely leaving. Cazador's instincts were right. She must of been waiting for him to come out. He quietly closed the door behind him and dashed for the piece of cover he could see, the corner to a neighboring building. He once again peeked over to where she would go next. She was certainly taking her time. Cazador gave a small smirk of amusement seeing her drink down a bottle of wine like she was a guy. Cazador took this moment to look around for a way to get to higher ground. She wouldn't suspect that anyone would be following her from the rooftops. He spotted the perfect route up. By the time he saw it, the woman had finished sipping from her bottle.

He ducked back into cover just in the nick of time. As she looked back behind her all she saw could find was an empty alley. Cazador waited a few seconds and waited for her to face forward again. He cautiously poked his head out. Something did catch his eye in a garbage pile diagonal from his spot and right next to the woman. There was a cat sleeping in it. Cazador picked up a thrown out can that was next him. All he needed was for the animal to get her attention for a split second. Cazador tossed the can at the cat. It was a direct hit. The cat made a shriek and bolted off in front of his target. Using this distraction, he ran up a wall to reach a scallfold on the side of the building and pulled himself up quickly.

Cazador reached the top of the building. It would be much easier to track her now. Hopefully she would get moving soon. It didn't look like the safest block in town and she would be no good to him dead. Cazador could of just grabbed her and interrogated her for the information on her husband's location, but she was only the wife and had done nothing wrong. He didn't want innocent blood on his hands. Cazador was prepared to give up his mission should it appear she would be harmed. He quietly just mumbled to himself.

"Just lead me to him already."

[Kragen]

((Apologies for the wait.))

The cat that suddenly jumping out scared Rose half to death. Throwing the empty bottle of wine towards the cat which of course missed and shattered on the ground. As she saw she just tried to take out a defenseless cat Rose held a hand up to her face and sighed.

"I'm losing my mind."

Little did Caz know she couldn't go home. The Vulture would be expecting to find her there. At the same time though what would the Vulture try to do to her husband if she didn't? Conflicted, Rose headed off to the only safe spot she knew existed around here. Riley's Tavern. The guy was scum from what he heard and only the lowest of the low ever went there but the man knew how to keep his place safe from the Vulture and that was all that mattered to her right now. Rose made it to the front entrance and pushed it open entering the tavern.

[Cazador]

Cazador continued to follow the woman from the rooftops of Isfaro. He was starting to think she didn't know where she was going. To him it looked like she was wandering around in circles. Maybe she was a light weight who couldn't hold her alcohol. From his perspective it was starting to look that way. Jumping from roof to roof was getting tiring. There were some close moments where he had almost missed the ledge. Cazador was really starting to miss his power armor. Thankfully she finally reached her destination. Cazador took a moment to catch his breath and then started to examine the area.

This can't be where the Colonel is at. A big shot military leader in military government like this usually has a much nicer place to stay at. Something here isn't adding up...

The woman had already gone into tavern, but now he needed to go in after her. Cazador wasn't about to let his hunt be for nothing. There was always that chance she would recognize him, but he didn't think she got a good look at him earlier. He scaled down the building and made his way to the front only to be greeted by three unfriendly individuals. Each of them were about the same height as him, but they defiantly had some weight on them. Cazador attempted to walk past them, but they continually stood in his way. Looked like gaining entrance was going to be a little more challenging then the last place he went to.

"I ain't never seen you around here before. How we know you ain't Vulture."

"Take a good look at me. Do I really look like one of their troops?"

"No... I guess you don't, but if you're new to our neighborhood then you gotta pay a fee... Those are some nice looking shoes. Hand 'em over."

"They wouldn't even fit you."

It sure was easy to set off anyone who thought they were being challenged by someone weaker than them. The obvious leader of the three attempted to assert his dominance over Cazador. A poor mistake that he would regret for the next few months. The large man threw a clumsy punch at Cazador. It looked like he was putting all his weight into it. As stepped back a little bit to avoid it, he could only think to himself how clumsy the man must of been. Cazador grabbed the punch and swung around his large attacker with his arm in hand. Without missing a beat, Cazador used his elbow and hit the man's joint. The man's arm was completely bent backwards. He let out a large scream of pain.

"You want my shoes?!"

Cazador kicked in the side of his knee and literally knocked some of the bone out of his flesh. He fell to the ground in pain. He looked towards the man's other company. It didn't look like they were gonna put up any resistance. Cazador could now freely enter. Hopefully his little stunt outside didn't attract too much attention from inside the tavern.

[Kragen]

Upon entering the tavern Rose was immediately met with the smell of tobacco and alcohol. Eying people from the left and right of the room making out and further down the hall on the ground level was moans of pleasure. The place doubled as a tavern and a whore house. Rose couldn't believe how low she had sunk. Ignoring the looks of the men who were undressing her with their eyes she laid some credits on the front desk and grabbed her room key. Hearing a commotion outside Rose looked over to the entrance and shook her head in disgust. Assuming it was just another normal evening for a place like this as she proceeded upstairs to her room.

[Cazador]

Cazador stepped over his attacker's body and entered the tavern. It was dark, dingy, and the smell of the atmosphere was polluted with the scent of sex, tobacco, and alcohol. It was amusing to think that the people of Genesis were no different than the people of Earth. Seemed like both worlds had very similar tastes. He looked around trying to spot his target and just when he thought he lost her, he spotted her. She was going upstairs to one of the rooms. Cazador was really confused now. A high level Colonel wouldn't risk his career with Vulture just to get laid in a whore house. His wife didn't really look like the prostitute type either. She seemed to carry herself with a little more self respect than that.

Cazador walked over to the counter to question the teller about the woman who entered. He was going to get answers one way or another. Depending on the man's attitude would determine if he'd keep eating solid food or if he'd be drinking steaks through a straw for the rest of his life.

"That woman that just came in... what's her room number? Have their been any high ranked officers in here recently as well?"

"Hey I just can't give information on my customers. It's bad for business."

"You know what else is bad for business? A bullet to the head!"

Cazador flashed the man his giant revolver. It didn't take much for a slimey weasel like him to spill his guts. A little show of some metal and he started to sing like a canary.

"Room 7 Upstairs! I haven't seen any military guys at all lately. They would shut us down and throw us in jail if they knew what went on in here. You know what the Vulture are like."

"Was that so hard?"

Cazador made his way upstairs to follow the owners lead. With any luck the Colonel would be up there with her. Maybe he had snuck in without anyone noticing. It was worth looking. Little did Cazador know, the hunter was also be hunted as well. Outside the tavern, a small drone had been following Cazador for sometime when he was on the roof. It was shoot back information to Vulture HQ.

Meanwhile in Vulture HQ...

Several soldiers with one high ranking officer were over looking the monitor that was getting feedback from the drone outside the tavern. An image of Cazador's face came up on screen. The officer smiled and spoke.

"That's him! He's the one who took out all those troops with that robot accomplice of his a few weeks ago. Without that armor of his he won't be any threat to us. Get all troops in the nearby area to that location. I want this... Cazador alive. We need to know the location of that power armor. As far as I'm concerned, it is property to Vulture."

"Sir, you're not going to believe who else is in there... It's the Colonel's wife. Shall I send the order to take her in as well."

"Might as well. We can kill two birds with one stone today. We'll catch this little "one man army" and the Colonel's precious whore traitor. Send out the word to bring them in."

[Kragen]

Rose made it up to her room and took off her jacket once inside, putting it on the nearest coat rack in the room before removing her shoes and dropping down onto the bed in just her shirt and pants. Pulling the covers over her and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Still oblivious to the man who was following her and the Vulture's troops now moving in towards her location.

[Cazador]

Cazador made his way upstairs. The hallways were dark, but the lack of lighting gave him some sense of security. The only thing he didn't like was the smell from downstairs was coming up. It didn't really bother him, but it was an annoyance none the less. He approached room seven and put his ear against the door. All Cazador could hear was the sound of one pair of footsteps. He listened carefully and could hear her dropping on a bed. The sound of the springs in the bed bounced a few times before stopping. He had his answer there. She was alone. The Colonel wasn't there. He didn't know why, but she wasn't going home. As he put things together in his mind, things started making sense on her behavior. For some reason she couldn't go home.

He moved away from the door and prepared to head out. His hunt was a waste. There was no point in trying to get information out of her now. Unfortunately for both of them, the night would not end peacefully. The sound of moving vehicles and heavy movement from outside began to drown out the noise of the city. Cazador ran to the nearest window and looked out to see Vulture ground troops and armored vehicles outside. It donned on him at that point that Vulture had been tracking them. There would be no need to send this many troops to shut down a tavern. They must of wanted him for that display of violence against them he pulled with D.A.V.E. Without his power armor, there would be no way to fend off that many troops. All he had was his revolver and his wits.

A spotlight blasted the building and a voice shot out from a speaker that one of the troops was holding.
"Cazador and Rose... Come out now with your hands over your head. We have the whole tavern surrounded. Surrender or die. It's your call."

It all made sense now. Rose, the colonel's wife, couldn't go home because she was being hunted. He didn't know what she did, but whatever it was, it was enough for them to want to capture her. He could of just left her to her fate, but in good conscious, Cazador just couldn't do that. If they were to have any hope of surviving then they would somehow need to make it back to the apartment Cazador was staying out. His power armor would drive Vulture back to holes they came out of. Cazador ran back to room seven and kicked down the door. If she hadn't been woken up by the loud speaker then the door breaking open would of. They were both outlaws now.

"Wake up! We need to get the hell out of here now!"

[Kragen]

Rose was rudely awakened from her slumber by the loud speaker though still coming to, Rose couldn't make out what was being said or that it was being directed at her. The sound of the door being kicked down certainly got her attention as she jumped on her bed and screamed when Cazador entered the room.

"W-what's going on? Why have you been following me?"

She recognized him from the bar, albeit barely but she recognized him all the same as she looked over to see the light behind the closed curtains in her room.

[Cazador]

"Yes I was following you. I was counting on you to lead me to your husband, but as it stands now it looks like that plan just went up in flames."

Cazador pulled his handgun out peeked out the window again. There were too many of them to fight through. It be total suicide to do something that foolish. It looked they were getting ready to send in an armed squad to get them out. It was the same set up as a SWAT team back on Earth. At least in the tavern he could fight off small squads, but they wouldn't just keep using the same tactic over and over. Eventually they would just blow the building up or smoke them out. He needed to figure a way out somehow otherwise he'd be preparing to make his last stand against the Crimson Vulture. As Cazador continued to monitor the enemy, a giant beam of light went into the window.

"There He Is! Open Fire!"

Cazador's eyes widened. He jumped away from the window barely in the nick of time. Bullets and glass were flying everywhere. in his direction until he could hear the sound of them saying cease fire. He lifted himself back on his feet and looked towards the frightened.

"You have two choices right now. You can take your chances coming with me or with them. It's your call, but I don't plan on letting these bastards capture me."