Template:Opco business day convention scene

The Negotiator cuts a swathe through the bar.

He sees her. The girl from the agency. He catches her eye. She looks down. She flushes red. She she steals a glance through a tumbling fringe: devastatingly demure. He’s drunk on his own success He rams a Tortuga chaser. That bad boy gives him wings. He sidles up.

Her eyes narrow. “You following me?”

He cracks an *innocent face*. “Look, lady: I was here first.”

She looks him up and down. “Is that a fact.” she says it like a fact, not a question.

“Yeah.”

She scoffs, but vibes playful. She runs a finger round the rim of his glass. “Oh, soldier, so you were preceding?”

He shrugs. “I guess I figured you would wind up here eventually, so I just made sure I got here first. I guess I was, ahhh — modified following you.”

He spits his drink. They get close. The party gets loud.