savetheearth | [Text to Action. Backdated for July 26th]

[ after a quick confirmation from ravi... ]

Sounds good. You coming here or we meeting you somewhere else?

I'll bring it to you. Where do you live?

[ insert address here! it's an apartment complex. ]

I'll meet you downstairs

[ and he will be doing just that, chilling in the lobby with a game of robot unicorn attack 2. ]

I'll be there soon.

[It doesn't take very long. She closes the deal and heads straight for the apartment complex, showing up not long after in the same kind of plain one-size-too-big clothing she'd worn the last time Alex saw her and a backpack. She gives a quick glance around to make sure the coast is clear before heading over to him.]

Hey.

Hey! [ the greeting is accompanied by a casual wave. alex flips his ipad cover on and pushes off of the wall he'd been leaning on, waving her over to the elevator. he's a little paler than normal, but that might not be obvious to her since they've only met, what, twice? ]

Vin's upstairs. [ when they're inside the elevator, he says, with another wave of his hand, ] Don't wanna do it down there, might give people the wrong impression.

[Vanessa tilted her head a little bit when she saw him. Something seemed different about him today but she couldn't quite place it... probably her imagination.]

[That comment in the elevator got a weird look from her.] Um, yeah. I was thinking the same thing.

[ aw yeah, they're on the same wavelength!

(they are definitely not on the same wavelength.)

once the elevator opens to their floor, he leads her to the apartment and lets her inside, holding the door open for her. she'll see the living room first, to her left, and the kitchen to her right, and a row of shoes to the immediate side.

with the door closed, alex slips out of his flipflops and motions to the couch. ] Can I get you something to drink?

[so when Alex said $300 cash, Ravi assumed this was a private seller looking to sell off an older gun because they'd replaced it with a newer one or something equally, you know, not illegal. the fact that they happened to have the exact gun he was looking for is an interesting coincidence but maybe they're a collector or maybe they're also ex-military? he is wary about this but he's willing to give Alex's friend the benefit of the doubt for now.]

[the $300 cash is not something he has immediately on hand, though. so he has to run down to an ATM to grab that while Alex is waiting on Vanessa to show up. he got back to the apartment only a few minutes before she arrived.]

[he will be yelling at Alex not to pull shit like this on him on such short notice in the future. for now he is trying to get himself together and figure out exactly what the procedure is for a private firearm sale annnd that was the door opening. welp.]

[he cautiously edges into the hallway, and then emerges into the living room. his posture is closed off, arms folded, obviously kind of nervous. he offers the woman a polite smile and a hand raised in greeting and waits for Alex to introduce them.]

[There really wasn't helping the short notice. These things didn't typically take a lot of time to go down. Money and product changed hands and the people involved parted ways. It wasn't the first time she'd made a delivery either, although it was fairly rare that she did. Jobs like this paid well but required her to take all of the risk herself. It wasn't the kind of thing you could talk your way out of if you got caught, and selling out either seller or client was a seriously bad move.]

Just water, thanks.

[She didn't move toward the couch, she didn't actually plan on sticking around after the deal was done, and stood by the door to take in the apartment. After living in her dingy little place, even a regular two-bedroom like this seemed huge to her.

It took her a second to notice Ravi standing there and she figured he was probably the roommate. She returned the wave with a quiet nod but otherwise stayed quiet until Alex got back.]

[ he retrieved a bottled water from the refrigerator and made to toss it at her, but reconsidered and delivered it to her, instead.

was he unaware of the uneasy vibe these two were giving off? nope. was he going to address it? not yet. ravi was never at ease meeting new people -- probably even worse with a stranger in his living space -- and vanessa, well. she was a girl in an apartment with two guys.

even if that wasn't the reason for her tension. ]

Okay, so. Vin, Nessa. Nessa, Vin. [ he motions to each of them with the introduction, taking a seat at the island. ] We're all part of the network bullshit, so have at.

[he was expecting that. thankfully he's too busy being nervous about the situation to be annoyed about the introduction.]

Ravindra. Only Alex calls me Vin.

[are you supposed to shake hands when you introduce yourself to someone you're buying a gun from or, like, what? he is so lost here. he'll just...wait. someone will lead this interaction eventually.]

[Ah, so she wasn't the only one assigned a nickname then. That was good to know and she at least gave a little sympathetic smile.]

Vanessa.

[Fortunately for Ravi, Vanessa knew what to do from this point on. As mentioned, this wasn't her first rodeo, and the best place to start was with rule number one. Get the money before anybody sees the product.]

You've got the money?

[ he'd never understand this aversion to nick names. shortened names! hell, people called him 'alex' all the time. hardly anyone used 'alexander.'

maybe he'd wake up one morning (afternoon) and refer to ravi by his full name one day, just to see if he'd notice.

BUT MORE RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC AT HAND, alex propped his elbow on the island surface, content to watch from here since this wasn't his deal. ]

Edited (TENSES) 2013-07-30 06:56 (UTC)

[excuse u his name has a perfectly serviceable shortened version, which is ravi.]

[unfortunately ravi is not aware that this is a shady underhand deal and he is going to approach this like it is...not...a shady, underhand deal.]

Three-hundred dollars, yes? I have it. [but he isn't pulling it out bc he doesn't realize that's what she's asking for]

You brought the pistol with you?

[This deal is shady as fuck.]

Yeah, I've got it.

[It's not coming out until she sees money though. Alex seems like a decent guy but she doesn't actually know either of these guys. Especially not Ravi.

She stands there for a second and has another drink from her water before raising an eyebrow.]

Let me see the money first.

[Is this getting shady yet?]

Edited (Because she's talking about the cash, not the gun.) 2013-07-30 07:32 (UTC)

[ have some raised brows of his own. he glances at ravi, though, because this exchange is his. ]

[he is waiting expectantly for her to pull the gun out during that pause, and seems a little puzzled when she does not]

[he is starting to get an inkling of suspicion, but maybe she's just paranoid? he takes the money out of his pocket and walks over to set it on the island, in plain view. that's 15 $20 bills, neatly folded and now laid flat on the counter. they're even all facing the same direction. he...he likes organization ok]

[but he is a little bit paranoid too so he wants to make sure the gun is serviceable before he lets her run off with his money]

[A lot of the tension in her actually visibly relaxes as soon as the money hits the table. That was always the worst part, waiting to see if the guy was actually going to pay up, or if he was going to try to take it. Especially when you were somebody Vanessa's size and pretty much every fight was a losing one right from the start.

She doesn't even care about all the money being in the same order, it makes it easier to count. Which she does after sliding it over to her side of the island.]

Okay.

[She leaves the money where it is for the moment and shrugs off her backpack, opening it up on the table and taking... well, a gun. The model he wanted, unloaded, and in good shape but minus any kind of packaging or paperwork.

She sets it on the island in front of Ravi for him to check out himself... and likely discover that the serial number has even been scratched off.]

... Oh.

[ that's a very poignant 'oh'. An 'oh' that suspects an oncoming shitfest. Alex glances at Vanessa. ]

And the papers?

[ please let there be papers, DON'T LET HIM DOWN, NESSA........ ]

[he picks up the gun, makes sure it's unloaded and checks that the safety's on. he is definitely someone who knows his way around an M9--or a beretta 92, in this case.]

[since he's expecting someone selling out of their private collection, it's not immediately suspicious that there are no papers. registration paperwork doesn't need to change hands or anything, you just need a bill of sale which most people write up on the spot]

[but you need to include the serial numbers in a bill of sale, and he...can't...find them...]

[maybe they're in a different place on the 92FS than on the M9? except then he double-checks where they should be and sees where they used to be...]

[oh, shit.]

[he freezes and looks at Alex without moving his head. please do not let this be what it looks like.]

[Well, Ravi seems satisfied with the gun being in working order. Vanessa reaches over and picks up the money, assuming the deal's done when Alex asks his questions.]

Why would there be papers?

[And then she catches the look on Ravi's face and freezes up as well.]

[Wait. There was no way-- did they not know what this was?

Oh, shit. They didn't.]

[She doesn't say anything though, just keeps a close eye on how things were playing out and starts mentally calculating how fast she could get to the door from here.]

[ what's this? alex is actually laughing. the disbelieving, brief kind of laugh that accompanies situations so incredulous you can't do anything but laugh. the corners of his lips twitch in a nervous smile. ]

Holy shit...

[ he brings his hand to his forehead and leans back, staring at vanessa with that same smile of disbelief. after a moment, he shakes his head. ]

Seriously?

[oh my god. it is what it looks like.]

Alex... [that tone is tense and warning while still trying to be polite in front of a stranger]

[you are in so much trouble once she leaves, buddy]

[Okay, laughing. Laughing was... good? It was better than what she'd hoped for at least. At least things hadn't blown up, and it looked like they weren't going to any time soon. She glanced over at Alex, frowning.]

Yes, seriously. [He had to be kidding! How the hell did he not get it?] I told you I knew "a guy" who could get you a gun cheap for cash and two days later I text you saying I can get it right now. What did you think I meant?

[This is bad for her too, okay? It's not like she can just take the gun back and explain that the whole thing had been a misunderstanding.]

[ he did not get it by being alex. that is how. ]

That you knew a guy who wanted to sell a gun?

[ without any reason to suspect vanessa of dirty dealings, he sure isn't going to jump to, well, dirty dealings. ]

Is this normal for you?

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