|| One ||

This was the first time since he'd redesigned a certain segment of his business that Adrian Toomes met a client himself. Usually his men took care of it but apparently this client was out of their league-and that meant a lot more money than they got from everyday criminals. So there he was, sitting in a dark box of a fancy bar where they were supposed to meet. He had no idea what-or rather who-to expect but in his line of work he didn't have the luxury of being picky about the clients.

A waitress stopped by once again to see if he wanted to order anything apart from the previous glass of whiskey that still sat on the table untouched. After a while Adrian began to wonder why the client hadn't arrived yet. One option was them simply being late while the other was the whole meeting being a trap. The last thing he wanted was being arrested but if there was a chance to make a serious deal tonight he had to take the risk.

"You must be Adrian."

His gaze turned to the source of the sound and found a young woman standing next to his table before she decided to sit down, not waiting for his response. "I am," he slowly replied. "And you are?"

"Call me Joan," came her answer right away as her dark brown eyes scanned the area. She looked nervous, even a bit paranoid which made him a bit nervous too. The feeling quickly disappeared, though, because suddenly she tilted her head to the side and gave him an annoyed look. "What is this place? A self-service restaurant?" she asked, pushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "I mean, where's a waitress or a waiter? I need a drink."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Joan's eyes narrowed suspiciously but in the end she only shrugged. Leaning back in her seat, she began to tap her fingertips on the wooden table. "So I saw one of your weapons the other day and let me tell you, it's amazing what you and your team can do with some alien tech," she began, even flashing a small smile at him. "Seriously, I've seen advanced weapons before but that one was the best."

It was always nice to see that the good old word of mouth marketing still worked like charm. "Thank you," Adrian said, trying to hide his emotions and keep his poker face. The waitress finally stopped by once again, taking Joan's order before disappearing. "What do you need?"

"You see, I have a very… specific skill set," Joan began as she raised her hand from the table so he could see it better. Only seconds later sparks were flying between her fingertips, and for a short moment he wondered what she was. Was she even human? But her answer came almost right away when she went on. "Being a mutant is fun, it also comes in handy in my line of work, but there are jobs when I still need a different type of weapon. Also, I could use some equipment that's designed specifically for me."

"That explains why you wanted to meet me," he tells her with a nod. Even he wouldn't trust his men with such an important task. If she needed something unique, he was more than willing to give it to her. "But it won't be cheap."

The waitress returned and placed a glass of whisky on the table. "Do I look like I care about the money?" Joan asked once they were alone again, though her voice lacked the malice her words carried. "What I want first is a list of the things I need and you can provide."

Adrian thought for a few moments since this situation was new for him. His men sold the weapons on the streets, away from their headquarters, and they barely designed weapons based on the clients' needs. It's not that he didn't like the idea; no, it was something new and he loved the sound of that. Satisfying the unique requests of clients meant there was room for improvement, room for raising the prices. "Maybe we should meet up with one of my men to do that," he offered. "He might have some good ideas."

"This is exactly the kind of thinking what I'm looking for!" Joan exclaimed before taking a sip of her drink. As she put the glass back on the table, she looked at him with a wide grin. "The more brains take part in the process the better my new equipment will be."

Joan was like a kid that was waiting to get her hands on the perfect toy; a kid with the ability to generate electricity. He liked this project already: she needed new ideas, some new directions, something different and they didn't need to think about how much she would be willing to pay. Not like they'd thought about things like this before, though. If a buyer wanted the product, they had to pay the price they got. But when it came to unique orders, the price could be an important part of the negotiation.

This, Joan's request and this project was like a real life playground for adults, one he already had a feeling would be hard to leave at the end of the day.

For those who-by any accident-bump into this story on Wattpad as well: don't worry, it's me, OliviaRileySykes :)