Neon enters the dive bar, eyes on his phone swiping quickly through quick notes and photos in files. The air of the place doesn't affect him, looking up with disinterest as he moves through towards the front of the bar. He greets the bartender in silence offering an easy grin as they begin to make him something unexpected. It's not whiskey on the rocks or a gin and tonic. Out of the back they begin pulling out chunks of ice and crushing them, lacking a blender or the willingness to turn it on. They throw something clear in along with green and purple dyes. Topping it all off was a yellow umbrella that matched Neon's wig.

The Beast lays out payment and extra tip for the excellent service, before finally recognizing one of the place's scumbags. The glass given to him is tall and slender, but packing a punch nonetheless.

He moves to take his seat, directly in front of the woman counting cash. “Hey you.” He said with daux friendliness. He gives his phone a final swipe before pocketing it and taking a sip of the green purple tequila laden slush. “You busy right now?” And before she answers he added. “Shouldn't be, last job you did for me was a week ago, down nea Sea Manville's remnants.” He said as he swirled his straw in his drink.

“I was pretty stoked with the efficiency. I want someone on retainer like that.” he sips again, eyes on the rest of the bar, probably scoping out other recruits.

---

june sleigh | disguised

June raised an eyebrow to the stranger, her eyes glued to the cash and mind still on counting mode. Looked like they hadn’t stiffed her, and this would be a nice payment to the interested in her account. Not nearly enough, but it never was. Content she clacked the bills against the table and shuffled them into a neat, orderly stack.

“Sorry, who are you again?”

From her pocket came two rubber bands, and the fat wad was rolled into a cylinder. Both bands slapped against the paper, and she shoved it into her bag. “If you’re looking for business, I have a website. Sleight Fast Delivery. Go there and fill out the form.”

How the hell did they know about Sea Mauville? Not something to bring up out of the blue. “But I don’t do contract shit with strangers or one-time customers.”

But… eh, fuck it. Money was money, and beggars couldn’t be choosers. But if this were this person's way of getting her into their bed, he’d be down a drink and a finger by the end of the hour. “But I’m always down for a quick trip and a repeat customer. What do you want?”

---

mint frost

"Neon." he said as he stirred his drink, letting the green and purple mix before setting it down to take a quick photo of it and then going back to drinking. "You already have. You delivered my shit, and one of my friends paid you for it." he hadn't personally dealt with the job, simply sent instructions. But upon looking into the woman's business he'd figured she'd do well enough. And if not, she wouldn't gotten arrested or blown up already for not delivering on time.

Perhaps it wasn't the effort to hire what would equate to a body carting around heavy equipment.. But the secrecy of it all and the efficiency she'd shown made her viable. So he explains again anyway because he did need a delivery girl, and he did want to go home early tonight. "I need delivery on retainer. Full time, on call."

"Options for when a sudden job comes up and I need it delivery faster than a Rocket." he added before taking another sip.

---

june sleigh | disguised

The moment ‘Neon’ mentioned Rocket, her body flinched but she did her best to maintain her current posture. They were still in public, and these were still people she didn’t know. Couldn’t trust.

But hey, play it cool. This was the worst place to go mask off, but to freak out over it would have made it a dead giveaway. Don’t lose it.

“Mind keeping it down, yea?” She whispered furiously. Even if it was business, it wasn’t worth going to jail for… Arceus knew how long. “Don’t really wanna tell the whole world what’s up. Otherwise, none of it matters.”

For her, anyway. If this person was the hot shot they pretended to be, then Rocket would try to bust them out. She’d be left to rot without so much as a second glance– neither side really cared for the little guys when it mattered. If anything, they'd find her mysteriously hung after the dust settled to keep her quiet.

“Look…” she sighed. How to say no? “Appreciate the offer, but I don’t, nor can’t, do full-time work like that. You know how busy I am? You know how it was scheduled last time? It gave me an opportunity to plan it out for a few hours.”

It was a very stressful time, but necessary. It let everything go off without a hitch. “I don’t do well with ‘on call’ deliveries. Besides… not looking to put my foot in the race, if you catch my drift. I already shot down the League.”

And if she wasn’t willing to work with the League directly, then the odds of her doing the same for Rocket were about zero. None. Zilch. Nada.

---

mint frost

Neon did his best not to roll his eyes, letting June talk as he began to knock back the rest of his drink. If he got too distracted the ice would water it down. "I don't care about your Ranger deliveries with the League." he said, looking over his glass at June. "Are you sure? I promise it's probably more stable than the freelancing." With a lot of fallbacks. A place to live, a place to eat, a constant job at bare minimum.

"That's the need I need filled anyway. Those 'heads up' jobs are dwindling." With tensions ramping up it was more than likely he'd be sending his own, rather than contracting out. Especially if Rocket needed to lock down supplies, not just hire a fall guy.

Whatever the case, they're not as desperate as they look. But with how shit was going on Hoen that might change He grabs a napkin off the table, and pulls out a blue marker out of his jacket before writing something quickly. "If you change your mind, talk to this guy, anyway Wednesday at these coords. They'll be able to vet you with less bullshit than if you found any grunt and asked for work." he explained.

---

june sleigh | disguised

Well… the no heads-up jobs did sound vaguely appealing. In a forbidden fruit sort of way: once she started, she couldn’t stop until she was dead, captured, or fleeing for her life out of the country. They were not ideal places to be.

Her face grew red at the impromptu call-out of her usual work for ‘Rocket’. Far removed from anything they actually did, but the type of shit a lazy grunt pawned off for a hefty split of profit. She rubbed the back of her head, “Told ‘em to be smart about it– in my defense, haven’t had a slip up on my end for any of them.”

Last thing she wanted to be was on an important Rocket’s shit list. Random schmucks like howard slayte ? Sure, a dime a dozen. This guy?

That’s how you disappeared in the night without a trace.

“But stability is a luxury I can’t afford anyway,” she said as she took the offered napkin and gave the blue writing a careful eye. “Not that I can afford luxuries…”

The bigger concern was, well… annalise henderson . Her friend had been captured by Rocket. June also knew that it was likely specific Rockets, ones that she did her best never to find. But what the ranger didn’t know was that it wasn’t an option. This was how she incrementally dug herself out of the hole she was in.

Under-the-table deals, drug deliveries, and dangerous fellows in the night.

“Anything else you wanna talk about, while you’re here? Any more work? Other enticing offers?”

But she couldn’t be too mean to the dangerous fellows that came to her.

---

mint frost

He nodded along, finishing the strange colored mix that his green and purple drink became until there's nothing left. Ice cubes clink together before he finally set his glass down and put some cash on the table. "I don't know what self imposed limits you're talking about, nor do I care." he said looking up at June.

"Let me give you an insider's trading tip. Your work is dwindling. That easy, no questions asked delivery girl job is going away pretty soon." he said. "It's a liability." he explained.

"Any work that comes, from anyone, like that? It's going to become suicide missions. If you don't have insurance, you're being sent to die." That's Neon's plans anyway. He'd put out for jobs. Of course he would. But with so many defectors and leaks the last major battles they'd had with the League. he intended to tamp down those possible leaks where he could. Sacrificing people who sold their loyalty to the highest bidder was the start.

"I'm not saying this to pressure you to take the job. But if you want to stay alive and stay out of it, maybe get a job with Delibird Deliveries." he snorted. "Then again, they may be pulled into this war effort too." he shrugged. "Hope you have good savings." The rumblings of war couldn't be ignored anymore, and whatever came of the clash between Rocket and League would surely sweep up people like june sleigh . With that, he got up to head to the door and take care of another appointment.

---

june sleigh | disguised

“I see…”

That sounded like bullshit. Had to be bullshit. Suicide missions wouldn’t be offered to her, for starters. Neither side wanted to enlist a nobody without an alliance, and when the cards hit the table, they’d want all the help they could get. Help that didn’t switch sides. She’d have to pick. But she wouldn’t.

People besides Rocket existed. Low-time drug dealers needed people like her. Those who didn’t want to sell out to Rocket but also didn’t snitch to the League. Now those were a dying breed.

But so too were they. How many jobs had been illegal but not Rocket recently? Less than normal. War was on the horizon, and those unwilling to participate either had to bunker down or leave the country.

Ultimately, jobs would still exist. Maybe not as many of this variety, but they weren’t going anywhere. Where there were people, there was desire for things to be delivered. Sometimes it was illegal stuff. That’s where she came in. She secured herself as a ‘necessary middle man’.

But those didn’t make her the money to get out of debt. Maybe the rat trap was about to snap on her neck after all.

“I’ll be sure to keep some in the cookie jar,” she said as Neon stood up. He was bullshitting. Had to be. Otherwise, she was in trouble. The problem would have to be taken care off immediately, or she’d have to finally suck it up and accept help.

But there were bigger problems right now. The Wilds called. She fidgeted at the table, her finger absently stroking the Hisuian ball in her backpack. Soon. She’d try. Maybe she’d be free from one struggle soon enough.

---

mint frost