This Cocaine Preliminaries

Ok, well, our characters should kinda know each other. They've been working together. So, here I am going to put some practice rps of sorts. These wont mean anything to the actual rp but it will give us all an idea of each other. Yeah, I don't have all the people yet, but let's fool around in here aimlessly until then.

So... putting them all in the same place... I suppose this doesn't have to be terribly realistic, it’s just to get everyone chatting. So let's simply have them waiting in a room, 'cause Abba called them all and well, he's not ready for them yet. Hey, Abba's a busy man! When new characters come, they're just late. Besides that, everyone sit in the lofty room and wait for Abba to call you in... which will be... not very soon at all. You might as well meet Abba at some point though.

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The room was wide and had plaster cream colored walls, echoing the style of an Italian villa. One arching window stood alone in the middle of the eastern wall and had a beautiful view of the backs of two armed guardsmen. Pedestals covered in plants and plush couches crowded the room atop of an exotic rug. 

Riz threw her hair over her shoulder. The day was sweltering and she had recently come from outside. She crossed her legs lazily, unbuckling and kicking off her stilettoes. This wait seemed to be longer than the first - she knew Abba wasn't one to see them all right away. She sighed, toying with a strand of her hair.

Zist slowly pushed open the door and stood dramatically in the doorway as he often did. His eyes slid around the room and a little devilish twirl appeared on the corner of his lips. "Hmmm... we're all alone I see. My day just got better."

Maximillian walked down a corridor, his eyes scanning the walls around him for slight structural flaws, more out of old habit than anything else. He saw some figure posing in a doorway, and his simple instructions all came back to him. 'Down the corridor and to the left, wait there, and don't blow anything up.' It was such a simple task, but he had been so busy planning how he'd blow this place up he had forgot. He drew a pretty decent replica of a grenade and threw it in through the door, yelling "GRENADE" as appropriate. 'Always fun to see how they react.' He thought to himself.

"Wish I could say the same for myself." Riz snorted, picking up her stilettoes from the couch she has been lounging on and tossing them on the floor to make room. She gave Zist a smile to melt butter, but at the shout of grenade, she launched herself over the couch, her gun at the ready.

"Excuse me." Maximillian said as he strode past Zist and picked up his grenade, throwing it up and down a few times before he put it back in his belt. "No worries, 'tis as dead as the cold war." He said as he patted the little steel replica, the closest he had ever come to harmless fun

The very word "GRENADE" was enough to make Zist spring backwards like a small injured dog and stumble into the wall behind him. At hearing the crazed Russian Zist's face quickly darkened. Max had totally thrown off the mood! He straightened off of the wall and pushed his hair back before he walked into the room.

Riz wiggled out from behind the couch without any protest. She safetied her gun and slipped it once again in its holster between her legs. She smoothed down her skirt and straightened her attire, giving Maximillion a very dirty look as she did so. "Asshole..." She muttered, fixing her hair in one of the various wall mirrors and touching up her lipstick.

Zist sulked over and sat by her in a hunched fashion, looking very peeved.

Sharp steps were heard in the hall and in swung Evaristo, a rapier in his belt for no appearent reason except maybe to look cool. "Hallo, hallo, everyone. Nice day," he said in a breezy tone, strutting through the room and pausing at the window to admire the weather. He didn't give any of them a second look.

"Not too bad." Maximillian nodded as he got himself a chair, rather satisfied with himself. It would probably go a few weeks before he tried to be funny again, so he was mildly baffled when the others didn't find this as mindbendingly funny as he did. 'Ah well.' He thought as he fished a triggering-device to a middel sized bomb out of his backpack and started adjusting screws and wires with a pair of pliers. Since he would mess around with it a lot, it was of course not attached to the fun part, the explosives.

Riz took one last look at herself in the mirror before taking note of Evaristo as he came in. She sat down beside Zist in one swift motion, crossing her long legs - one of them being thrown over his own. "Oh, what's wrong kitten - grenades don't get you all steamed up inside?" She teased him playfully. When he met her gaze she gave him a wink.

Zist sighed. "That and slamming into walls, mon ami..." This seemed to cheer him some yet he let himself look sad an puppyish, twisting to turn more towards her.

Evaristo was tapping on the window odering the guardsmen to move.

Maximillian looked at Zist and Riz over his continious tweaking on the trigger device. Flirting... he never had gotten the hang of it, at least not how it worked over here. 'Hmph.' He thought to himself as he returned to moving wires and thightening screws. Of course he was bitter, he had been dangerously closed to getting vital parts blown up more times he could count, and he dared to bet it was more than average. Worst was, he kind of liked it, not the 'burns and pain'-part, more the Endorphine/Adrenaline kick it gave to sprint for your dear life away from an explosion, some times burning, others, not.

Riz gave a throaty giggle, running her finger along his jaw bone. "Oh, what would I give to know what gets you going, my dearest." And with that she threw her leg back over and re crossed them, fixing her short skirt as she did so.

"So, anyone know why we were called here?" She mused aloud, tucking her hair behind one of her ears.

Zist folded his arm over the back of the couch and looked out at the other people in the room to let them do the answering.

"We must consider," said Evaristo while staring out the window, "who is ere. This is a job for sniping, explosions, seduction and poison. I for one can not wait for the task..."

"Well, someone wants someone else to die." Maximillian, not looking up from his tweaking. "Either that, or we are going to steal something, big and heavily guarded, just my two... what you say, cents."

"It will probably happen slowly like, step by step, si? First, the youths worm into our victim's heart... get information. Only reason for them, si? Then it will come to people needing to die... one especially left to the boy and the rest to me... maybe I will be watching his back, si? Then... ah, then when everyone is taken care off, the information found, the people associated dead, we need the bomb for... si..." Evaristo hissed.

Zen walked in the room without announcing himself. He'd wait till somebody noticed before making himself known. He listened to them all go on about why they thought they were here, and he wondered himself. Never has Boss Abba had this many men here at one time. Though he was familiar with the faces around him, he did not like the current situation. This is not what he was used to. This many people implied a dangerous job or something else big. He didn't have enough information yet to come to his own conclusion so he remained quiet.

Riz bounced her leg absently, curling and uncurling her toes. After a length of time she pulled herself from the couch and began to pace; her unshod feet moving noislessly along the carpets. She checked her watch once, twice. She hated waiting for things. More, she hated waiting in silence. With a sigh, she sat back down on the arm of the couch, crossing her legs once more. "Not that I would care what any of you wish, but just for a conversation starter, do you mind if I smoke?" She said in her faint Italian accent, her eyebrows arching.

"No senorita..." Evaristo said finally turning.

Zist yawned and shook his head at the same time.

"Those things will kill ya." Zen said with a dry sense of humor. He wasn't much of a joker, but he thought it appropriate to say at the time.

Riz gave Zen a wryly grin, shrugging listlessly. "If not these then some other man." She lit up a cigarette and took a few drags, exhailing slowly. "Might as well die by my own hand, right?"

"Your life, your choice I suppose. There are far more dangerous things out there." Zen said trying to stay focused on that task ahead. He wanted nothing more than just to know what is going on. He knew he would soon find out.

"Glad to see you two getting along," Zist said lazily. "Maybe we can have a threesome later."

"What?!" Zen said. Looking as though Zist struck a nerve. Realizing that Zist was joking and that he was over-reacting, he tried regain his composure. "I'm just making conversation."

Zist silently laughed to himself and said, "Ahw, I love you."

"That actually doesn't sound half bad..." Riz remarked lazily, exhaling her smoke in a wonting fashion. She cracked a wicked smile. "Maybe we could oil Max up over there and we could all be slated..."

"Not to ruin anyone's fantisies, but does anyone have a clue why were all here? I'm just saying, can you think of a time that he needed all of us? This has to be some serious shit."

"It may be we are attacking a small country..." Evaristo pondered aloud to himself.

"If that was the case then he wouldn't send us in, he would send his other lackies first. This must be serious shit to get all of use involved." Riz remarked cooly, flicking her ashes in the large ashtray. "No, this is something else, something bigger than just picking off a few people who owe him money."

"Maybe the boss is in trouble. Were not the only "bad guys" on the block you know." Zen added.

Zist gave a dramatic little shiver at the thought that boss could seriously be that over his head.

"What ever it is..." said Evaristo. "Let it be done! And let it be done soon!"

Zen watched as everyone's mood seemed to change. Cleary they were becoming worried. Zen looked at Riz as she continued to puff on her smoke. She mystified him. He didn't know the real her, but who did? He turned his head quickly when she looked up. Did she notice? he wondered.

"It hasn't struck you," Maximillian said calmly as he leaned back in the chair. "That the boss may be cleaning out some unwanted members of his organization, in one way or another." He then fell silent and resumed his work, letting them interprent that as they wished.

Riz eyed them all, not saying anthing further. She snubbed out her cigarette with a final exhale of smoke and promptly popped in a mint. They had begaun to suppect various cases as to why they were all here - it was only a matter of time for them to start pointing fingers. Zist didn't care, this Riz knew. Maximillion only cared about what he could and could not demolish with his explosives. The other two though, Zen and Evaristo....They seemed to be more interested in what Boss Abba had for them than anything else.

Riz leaned back on the arm of the couch, throwing her legs over Zist and flinging her hair back. It cascaded down her back in a curtain of russet curls. "So we wait..." She said in a sigh, taking another look around the lobby. There was nothing to do but stare at one another. "I hate waiting..."

Evaristo snorted at the Max's idea. Like the boss whould ever throw out the great Evaristo! "I think... that maybe... one of us could be a spy. And he knows it is in our group but he knows not which one... he could be making us wait to make the guilty one panic, or give something away..." his spanish accent hissed.

"Interesting theory." Maximillian smiled slightly. "But the boss always struck me as a more direct person." He shook his head. "But what do I know, no?"

"I think we all should shut up and concentrate on something else. Like where to go for lunch; I'm starved." Riz remarked casually. She pulled herself to her feet and slauntered over to the drink bar and started shifting through cabinets. "And all we have is....olives and saltines..." She remarked with a fallen face. There was a few more noises of shoving things aside and opening and closing more cabinets and such. Finally she propped herself up on the bar top and raised her eyebrows. "Take out?"

"The alternatives seems to be cannibalism." Maximillian said, noting he had done two cases of what could almost be considered humor at one day. 'Careful now, I'll turn into a clown at this rate.' He thought sarcastically. "So yeah."

Zist was one for spicey things. He raised his arm lazily and said, "Mexican."

Evaristo gave a disgusted snort. "Mexican is just a sick rip off of Spanish food. It makes me ill."

"Mexican sounds good yeah." Maximillian agreed. 'Now was that just to disagree with someone? I mean, it's not like I eat much mexican anyways... it doesn't taste too bad, does it?' He thougth to himself.

"No..." Riz said with an air of carelessness. "Evaristo is right, this mexican food does turn any stomach sour. Chinese then? I weild a deadly chopstick..." She said with a smile. She loved to be the one to be difficult.

"Must we, with all our profits get such lowly food?" Evaristo bickered.

"Thai. It's both Asian and spicy! Best of both worlds!" Zist concluded.

"Thia, wonderful; you always know what to choose when faced with decisions." Riz grinned playfully at Zist and grabbed a pad of paper from behind the counter. She had begun to search for a pen when Evaristo's question was asked. To this she frowned slightly. "Because we cannot leave here until Abba sees us, and ordering things to go from a 5 star resurrant is horrible!" She threw her hands in the air and went back to trying to find a pen. "So what is better as take-out than take-out?"

Zist puckered his lips in a quick little blown kiss when she grinned over to him.

Evaristo just looked at her amazingly annoyed. "I am not hungry," he whined and spun back around to look out the window.

The door swung open, and in strode Alger, his flat face stretched into a frown. "Fuck," he said. "I'm not late, am I?" He wasn't sure why he was called here, and glancing about at the assembled group, he had even less of an idea. Alger was not one to be assigned with this many other people. He wore a suit despite the blistering heat and, even though it was so expertly concealed that few could ever tell, he was packing more heat than a small army. Alger had a few suspicions of his own, and if any were correct, he would not go down without a fight. He then tried to remind himself that he was just being a tad too paranoid. "Oooh. Olives." His eyes went to a can of olives that had been place on a counter. "Yum."

"That depends." Maximillian yawned. "You missed some very good pointless banter." Story of my life, when all comes to it. He thought to himself. That and 'Kaboom' but that's not really a sentence, nor a word really.

"Good," Alger replied, picking up the can. "Of all banter, that's the kind I dislike the most." He produced a can opener from a pocket-well, a can opener that just happened to be attached to a small handgun-and quickly retrieved a few olives, sucking out the red insides and spitting the rest into a nearby potted plant.

"Charming." Riz remarked, her thin eyebrows raised pointedly. She picked an olive off the counter and threw it aside. "We were about to order take-out, wishing to get anything, Alger?" She asked sweetly, finally finding a pen and starting to scribble something on the paper. "Unless you wish to dine on olive pits, that is."

"Already ate, Riz," Alger said, pointedly wiping his fingers on the edge of his suit jacket in response to the 'charming' comment, the edges of his mouth crinkling a bit as he did. He chose his next words carefully, trying to make it vague as to whether or not he was in the dark, as well. "Were any of you told why we were summoned here?"

"No, but I have my theories." Zen said as he eyed everyone around. He couldn’t help but speculate if he was about to be killed. He was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute. ‘But why?’ He thought to himself. Someone had to know something. A voice whispered to Zen, ‘Trust no one’ it said softly. “Who said that?!” Zen yelled, clearly disturbed as he turned quickly expecting to see someone.

Zist's brow arched and he squinted in confusion.

"I think you did..." Evaristo said blankly, confused but not entirely aware of it.

Zen stood there silent with a look of confusion. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He never heard voices before, but this seemed real. He shook it off. 'Stay focused' he thought to himself.'You never know what's going to happen.

Alger steadily looked at Zen. "Insane much?" he asked. He placed the opened can of olives back into a cabinet, satisfied and not caring who finds them next.

"What's insane is no one seems to have any fucking clue why were here." Zen said growing impatient. "I'm tired of this. I'll be outside waiting."

Riz had stopped her writing, quirking an eyebrow at Zen. She didn't know him very well, but just yelling for the hell of it seemed a pretty stupid wa to get attention. He could do other things, like unbutton his shirt, for example. She didn't know if he was truly crazy like everyone had said he was or not. Riz shrugged listlessly again, her hair falling over one shoulder. "Alright," She mused, tossing the paper aside. This really didn't matter to her. "I'll get food, you all stay here." She rolled her eyes and slauntered out of the room, her shoes still beside the couch.

Once outside Riz trapsed over to one of the men in suits who seemed to be guarding the doors. "You know, being stuck here isn't all as fun as what you think..." She began to one of them, placing ehr hand on his chest. "A girl could get hungry. Would...." She smiled brightly. "Would you be a dear and fetch me something?" The man only nodded, swallowing against her fingers that ran down the side of his face in a caress. "Or get one of your lackies to do so?" She asked sweetly, handing him the paper. The man promptly radioed someone up. "Thanks babe."

She blew the man a kiss before making her way back to the room. She topped just outside, seeing Zen hunched by the wall, obviously scowling. Riz smiled faintly. "You know, you can't let paranoia get you in there..." She nodded to the door, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it.

"Well, if everytime I crossed and uncrossed my legs I got my way, there wouldn't be very much I'd have to be paranoid about," Alger pointed out. "Then again, I wouldn't look very good in a miniskirt." He sat in an expensive-looking chair, took out a rag, and began to polish a gun.

Zist was going to say something pervy in responce to Alger but then the image hit his head and his eye twitched.

"Hum," Evaristo puffed. "I think my theory of a spy is the right one... and the way that boy is acting, I turst him not at all." He glanced at the direction Zen had left. 

Maximillian put the device he had been fixing on the last twenty minutes or so down in his backpack again. "Well.." He said. "Isn't a common spy strategy to spread suspicion in whichever group it's sent to infiltrate? Not that I'm saying." He said, returning to minding his own buisness, which would equal to looking on the roof.

Evaristo huffed. "I hope you are not implying that I, Evaristo Conrado Delgado the 3rd is a traitor!"

"... You were a cop..." Zist said with a little giggle.

Evaristo tried to find a defence but choked on his words. Having been a traitor in the past really did a deal on his arguement. He looked back out the window and mumbled in Spanish.

'Insane much?' Zen pondered. As he replayed the last few moments in his head. Was he truely losing it? Was his past catching up with him? Zen had to leave the room. He didn't like looking like a fool. Alger was tough, but Zen believed he could take him. That wouldn't be smart though. He was at Abba's place. There are rules against things like that here. He might take down Alger, but he wouldn't last too long after that.

Riz shrugged, leaving the room and following Zen. She made sure to sway her hips rythmically. "Some have it, some don't..." She called over her shoulder, taking a puff on her cigarette. Zen wasn't too far from her; she eyed him carefully.

"Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly, taking a seat by him and crossing her long legs. "You might want to grab another excuse next time you wish to leave, if you use talking to yourself agian they might think things." She gave him a smile.

"yeah, I'm fine." Zen replied with his head looking to the ground. "I wonder if Rosario's men have to put up with this kind of bullshit too?" He thought aloud. "Could that be why we're here? Could the truce be over?" He looked at Riz. "What do you think?"

Riz brought her shoulders up, a small shrug and exhaled a mouth full of smoke. "You never know for sure in this business. They always try to keep you guessing, and in the end it's all just one sick game of cat and mouse." She licked her lips.

"The last I heard of one of Rosario's men, he wasn't doing too hot," Riz gave him a sure-fire grin. "But you didn't hear that from me."

"Bodyguards outside the door, to make sure we don't leave," Alger mused. "Way too many men for one job, all in one crowded place. Made to wait a bit. Now why do I have a feeling this is more serious than any of us could imagine?" A corner of his mouth twitched again. "Unless Abba is just a bit twisted and likes watching us squirm." He puts away his current gun and pulls another one out, polishing it as well, the very image of non-squirming-ness. To himself, however, he knew all this cleaning was just fidgeting... His guns were clean enough.

"If it's THAT serious, we'd most probably be dead by now." Maximillian said as he picked up his grenade replica and started throwing it from hand to hand. This situation was stressing him, and handeling explosives, or what looked like explosives, made him calmer somehow. He strongly doubted that anyone would notice his unease, but that could be because he had virtually no facial musculature in half his face.

Zist yawned. He had a late night last night. With a not to elegant flop he landed on his side and proceeded to sprawl over the space of the couch, his legs wide open of course. Modesty was a mystery to this man.

"We are close to the office of Abba," Evaristo said glancing at Alger. "That there be so many guards is to be expected. I still say out of all theories..." he left it at that and turned his attention to a bird on a branch close by.

Zen turned his attention to Riz. "You are too damn good at your job...I trust you completely and you've stolen my heart." He said teasingly. "Boss Abba is lucky to have you." God was she attractive. Her form was perfect. He wanted her bad, but a woman like that was out of his league. He would go to the bar tonight. That is if there's not bigger plans tonight.

Riz blew a raspberry at him, puckering her lips perfectly. "Sweet of you to say..." She mused then took another drag on her cigarette and finally snuffed it out in the ash tray. "But I've got my weaknesses too, Blue Eyes." She grinned, standing up and smoothing her skirt down over her legs. "Do me a favor, Zen," she called to him, seeing her food finally arrive. She took it greatfully, handing the man a 20. "Next time, try not to believe everything I say." Riz gave him one last playful grin, winking. And with that she made her way back into the stifling room.

Everyone seemed to be doing the same thing as what they had been doing when she left. She sighed, perching herself on the bar stood and opening her food. "Any word yet on what Abba wants?" She offered to the dazed figures moping about.

Zist was resting his eyes, deciding to pretend to sleep until he actually was so no one would bother him. The only responce he gave Riz was a twitch of his nose.

"No, senorita. If I was a stupider man I would kick down the door," Evaristo hissed turning squinting eyes to the door of Abba's office.

Maximillian had put down his replica grenade, and had now come pretty close to counting the number of spots in the roof. What kind of spots it was, he didn't really think much about, he was kind of bored, and needed something to occupy his mind with.

Alger, in an attempt to keep himself amused, pulled out a six-shooter and took out five bullets. He looked at its position, clicked it into place, then spun the barrel, which rotated freely. He clicked it into place after a short pause, aimed at a potted plate, and pulled the trigger five times. Click-click-click-click-click. Alger almost grinned at the people around him. "My record's thirty-five times," he offered helpfully.

"Wonderful..." Riz sighed with sarcasm. She unsnapped her chopsticks and began to pick around her food. She ate quietly a moment, chewing thoughtfully. A moment later she checked her watch. It had been over two hours since Abba called them. She sighed noisily and popped another piece of spicy meat into her mouth. At this rate she'd be more than happy to gouge out her eyeballs with the chopsticks in order to give her something to do.

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MMade
This Cocaine