[Bounty] THE WALL | tank + evan

Dead ends...

Tanya hated finding herself in dead ends. This guy was supposed to not be that bright, but here she was using as many resources as she could and she still could not find out where this guy was hiding out. She was probably underestimating him, either that or she really did not know how criminals hid out. Then again, it had been awhile since she had taken a bounty. Her abilities made her able to go after at least C Level, or B level bounties if she wanted to but they were too dangerous. She had a child she had to support, no need for her to take unreasonable risks.

But this was not an unreasonable risk. This guy was big, but he was not anything that Tanya had not dealt with before. At least she thought so, until her last lead had taken her to a back alley of some dive in the urban area of the West District. "Crap..." Hands on her hips she pursed her lips before rolling her eyes to look up at the starless sky. "Okay... I need some help here."

Night time was not Evan's ideal time of day-- he liked the day time, when light made it easy to get around and the colors of the environment made people and movement stand out. Night time was blurry, hazardous, and unnerving at best.

But that was when his target chose to roam the city, and so it couldn't be helped. He couldn't complain, really- shortly after he'd stuck his nose into the hit, The Wall had made another strike. Petty robbery, and not exactly a clean one either-- but then he had all but disappeared after. Mysterious. But not a problem.

That was hours ago. Evan had went to the cornerstore to investigate (apparently he was not the only visitor to inquire about the status of The Wall, he discovered), and came out with some interesting finds.

Traces of people were not uncommon, of course. It was hard to single out a single signature make up- many people did things day by day, and the accumulation of habitat plus habits often made for a sort of 'taste' that could be followed. A personal dust cloud, almost-- people from the East District tended to have an abundance of smoke and grit in their compositional fingerprint, like Evan himself. Even grimier were the residents of the South District. An absence of such usually pointed to the north or to the West.

According to the store keeper, The Wall had come in with a blunt weapon, had harrassed him for money, and then left. He'd shaken up the poor man as well- grabbed his shirt front, even. That was Evan's ticket-- the blond man had unabashedly slid his hand across the other's chest, singling out elements from the cashier himself from what he was actually searching for. Admittedly, it was hard- but luckily for him, it was a still evening with hardly a breeze, and the humidity though unpleasant was not unhelpful. This would mostly be a game of hot-cold, really.

Mouth open, breathing deep, he left the store at a quick pace (god awful city scents, and man he must have looked strange, but there was no time to worry about that, the trail would be getting cold and the sky was darkening). It was only a few minutes before the tastes in the air did fade due to the chilling of the night and the drop in humidity (traces of tobacco smoke and fear sweat was what he had been concentrating on mostly) but at least at this point he had a direction. Other things assailed him, and he slowed when all he could taste was sharp night air and pollution.

Evan looked around at his surroundings and grinned.

Downtown west distract. Large and sprawling, but there were only so many places to search, now. The Wall, he imagined, could only be doing so many things- it was money he'd apprehended, and so there was no need to visit a pawn shop, nor any reason he'd be doing that at this hour. He would be heading home, or somewhere to spend his loot-- and what place at this time of night would be open other than a brothel or bar?

Though, he did wish he knew someone who was actually from this area. He was much more familiar with the layout of the Eastern District. He was mulling it over in his mind, when a voice echoed his thoughts exactly.

"Okay... I need some help here."

Evan glanced up, and then down into the alley where he'd heard... a woman?

"Excuse me!" He didn't go into the alley, but he did step to the edge of the sidewalk, staying within the circle of a street lamp's light. You never knew who you'd run into at night in the city.

--

... WROTE TOO MUCH WHOOPS SO SORRY OTL;;

A voice?

An ambush?

She turned her head looking rather startled at the man that had just called out to her. Neon green eyes flashing an expression of fear, and then confusion as he was farther than what she expected an ambush to start. Biting her bottom lip, she turned to fully face him, taking cautious steps out of the alley to look left and right, searching for that ambush before raising a brow as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and gave a shrug. "May I help you?"

She was still wary, but he did not really look like a threat. Now that she was closer she could see his eyes. He was like her. He was a Harbinger, someone that could possibly be dangerous but would not be scared of her. She was not scared of him.

(( that's all right -^^-... -gives short little response-

-dies- ))

That description sounded very familiar, a frown on her face as she realized this man had described exactly who she had been looking for moments before. Tensing her jaw she pursed her lips looking at Evan before sighing, and giving a short laugh. "Of course... I'm not the only one looking for him."

She was still smiling, not at Evan, but at the luck she seemed to be having tonight. Taking a deep breath she raised her eyes to the sky once again before giving a shrug and looking back at her competition... perhaps. "First of all... I'd like a name I can call you. That is if we're going to be working together." She was at a dead end, and he did not seem to know where to go that was open.

So if they had any chance of getting any money they would have to work together, Or scramble along hoping the other one didn't get better clues.

"You can call me Tank." She was not about to give him her real name. Her real name was reserved for the when the sun was out, and she wasn't on the job at a construction site.

"Of course... I'm not the only one looking for him." This made Evan pause, and he raised an eyebrow, registering what she'd meant. Oh, well, he'd stumbled across another bounty hunter. Not all too surprising, except what if she decided he was a liabiltiy...?

"First of all... I'd like a name I can call you. That is if we're going to be working together."

The man relaxed considerably. Was that her way of asking? Ah well, he wasn't going to turn her down. Much easier to go along with her, and it seemed like she had the muscle he was much lacking.

"You can call me Tank."

Well, it was fitting. he nodded. "I'm Evan-" A first name was not much without a last name. He reached out and offerred his hand for a handshake. Though, if she did shake it, that was not all she would get- as impulse would have it, he was going to bring her hand up for a kiss on the back of it. She was the closest living thing at the moment, and he couldn't help it- not that he was going to fight the impulse, either. A kiss wouldn't waste too much time, and then they could get back onto the subject of the nearby bars and what not. What would be better to check anyway? The Wall had not been able to get away with too much credit, so he wondered if that would count a brothel out...

"All right... Nice to meet you Evan." She nodded her head at him, taking his hand without even a second thought. Of course what he had done a moment later, had made her eyes bulge, and immediately pull her hand away from him like his lips had burned her.

Taking a shaky breath she turned her face away from him before he could see the flush that had appeared on her cheeks. Her hand tightening into a fist, as she tried to wipe away the feeling of the kiss on the back of her hand. She was quiet for a few moments as she took out her phone. It was odd she had reacted that way to something so innocent as a kiss on the back of her hand, but she had some bad experiences with Harbingers and kisses before. Clearing her throat the next few moments were filled with the beeps of her phone as she searched through numbers, and began to send texts.

"I don't live here originally... I don't think there are any brothels around here. Plenty of street walkers, but it's difficult to get them to talk sometimes unless you have the money to bribe them with or... You have an ability to make them." She tensed her jaw before giving a shrug, hazarding a look back at Evan. She had offered to work with him, but she did not know his ability. "I'm texting some friends I got that live around here... They'd know the bars around here."

She finished her text, looking back at her phone waiting for a reply, "Mind telling me what you can do? Just in case we get into a rough patch or something... would like to know if you're handy in a fight or not."

Her hand came away easy when she pulled back, and he stood up straight, looking unoffended if not a tiny bit concerned (had he put her off so quickly?). She seemed to ignore that he'd even done that, which he appreciated, though the silence that followed was just as awkward as the sky was blue. He shuffled slightly when her attention shifted to her phone, hands in his pockets, and Evan pretended to find something intriguing to stare at in the darkened street.

"I don't live here originally... I don't think there are any brothels around here. Plenty of street walkers, but it's difficult to get them to talk sometimes unless you have the money to bribe them with or... You have an ability to make them."

She'd spoken up finally, and he glanced back, attempting a casually disarming, innocent smile (which, in the end, looked incredibly dorky and sheepish).

"I'm texting some friends I got that live around here... They'd know the bars around here."

"Oh. That's good. I figure we have some time, our culprit got a fresh hit so he'll be celebrating I assume. It's his fourth robbery so it's not like he'll be as careful as he should be." At least, if The Wall was as dimwitted as he was reported to be, it was what he'd assume. It was quiet for a little bit longer-- texts were fast, but so awfully slow-- and the other woman piped up again.

"Mind telling me what you can do? Just in case we get into a rough patch or something... would like to know if you're handy in a fight or not."

He paused, and then laughed. "Oh, handy in a fight? I wish!" He sighed, carding his fingers and cracking his knuckles, leaning back against the wall of the building lining the alley. "I can tell what things are made of. Imagine if, when you tasted something, you could tell what everything in that substance was, from ingredients to elements. Air's hardest to do, but when humidity holds particles heavy in the atmosphere, it's easier. Alas, I lost our target's trail as night fell." He paused to sigh dramatically, arms folding infront of his chest. He didn't even think to mention that kissing was part of his restitution, which was too bad because it might have lightened the tension a little bit.

"And you?" Even without a combatative ability, he was pretty sure she could hold her own better than he could.