Jess walks into the bar, making her way to the Ghoul bartender in a suit. After tossing her back-pack near her legs, she slides on a bar-stool, and becomes tense when Ahzrukhal turns to her wide-eyed, then smirks, giving her a once over as he leaned an inch forward on the surprisingly clean counter.

Jess does not cringe at his sight. Spending so much time with Gob had enforced the fact that they were still people into her brain. Her heart felt shame for the slight disgust she once held for their kind, but she'd succeeded in ridding herself of it, and managed to get used to their look. However, the look in Ahzrukhal's eyes seemed to scream trouble.

She ignored it as he spoke. "Well, hello there. And what'll you be having, gorgeous?" he asks, smirking still. That smirk seemed intent on staying. She could wipe it off his face, she guessed. Maybe when he starts pushing it.

"Whiskey," she simply said, putting a tired hand through her shoulder-length, dark brown hair, breaking eye contact as she bent down to grab some caps from her bag.

"Comin' right up," Ahzrukhal replies, facing the counter behind.

Pulling out, Jess gets the sudden feeling she's being watch. She turns her head,

and sees him.

A human!

He was tall-no-huge; That was the word. He had long, oak-brown hair, and beard. He was armored in heavy, though worn-out, leather. A rifle of a sort was poking out behind his head, strapped to his back. His arms, muscles bulging, were crossed, and one long leg was against the wall. He looked relaxed, but when she caught his gaze, it was intense, sharp, and it was directly fixated upon her.

It sends chills up her spine, and strikes slight fear in her heart.

"Here you are, gorgeous," Ahzrukhal says, the sound of glass against stone heard as he pushed the bottle towards her. Snapped out of concentration, Jess turns to Ahzrukhal, who could see the puzzled look on her features, wary even.

The moment she turned away, Sawyer set his gaze elsewhere, all too aware that Ahzrukhal was glaring at him suspiciously.

If only he could tell her to her to run before the pig made up his mind. If only he could warn her straight out.

"Thanks," Jess retorts absently, pushing the caps towards him. He greedily accepts them as she raises the bottle to her lips and takes a quick gulp. She then, after setting it down, turns to Sawyer again. This time, he's looking away. Ahzrukhal, catches her. Seeing she seemed more concerned than interested, as most people are of Sawyer, his smirk returns.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless, unless I tell him to be otherwise," Ahzrukhal smugly says. At his voice, Jessica turns to him. She takes a minute to process what he'd said.

"…Who is he? I mean, why is he the…only human here?" she asks strangely. Ahzrukhal shrugs.

"There's no specific reason for the latter, as for who he is, his name is Charon. He's…a loyal employee," Ahzrukhal explains. Worriedly, she asks:

"Loyal employee? What do you mean?"

"I hold his contract, which makes me his employer. He will do what I ask, when I ask, without question,"

There was something about the way he said that last statement that struck a memory in Jess's brain.

One of the things that had caught Jess's attention most since being out of the Vault was the apparent return of the slavery system. The idea disgusted her to her very core, especially when she further thought about it, and furthermore, when Jericho decided to share with her, during the time that conversation had started between her, Lucy, and Billy, some colorfully disturbing stories about actual slavers he'd known and the things they'd do to their slaves, the things they'd make their slaves do…

To have that kind of control over someone, to force it. To have no regard for their feelings, wants, thoughts even!

…It was horrific.

She locks instant, accusing eyes with Ahzrukhal's curious ones. "So, he's your slave?" she asks in a highly disapproving tone.

"No, no," Ahzrukhal shakes his head and hands dismissively. "Sweetheart, you insult me. I do not believe in slavery. It is an abomination. No. You see, Charon grew up around a very interesting group of individuals. They... well, I guess you could say that they brainwashed him." Jess's eyes go wide. "He is absolutely loyal to whomever holds his contract. Unfailing, unflinching, until the day that employment ends," he explains.

As Ahzrukhal starts to ramble about how he assumes Sawyer probably hates him, the cogs in Jess's mind start to turn. Too many thoughts were being pushed into her mind at once, quickly.

A slave!

He's human!

Brainwash?!

Contract.

Loyal to the…contract.

Set him free!

How? How?!

History. History books. Slaves were freed by paining off their debts.

The contract.

…Ahzrukhal…

"How much for that contract?"

Jess asks.

Ahzrukhal immediately shuts up, staring at her as if attempting to confirm what he'd heard. He lets out a short laugh. "Are you serious?" he humorously asks.

She raises her eyebrows expectantly.

The smirk falls off Ahzrukhal's face, momentarily,

then returns.

He leans forward once more.

From behind, in that corner, Sawyer tenses. Why was she still talking to him?!

To Sawyer, Ahzrukhal seemed amused, which probably meant he was flirting, and she didn't even seem insulted!

Maybe she was a whore.

Well, at least that would save him the trouble of getting involved.

As Sawyer wondered why in the world a woman would willingly put herself in such a position, the real conversation between the two opposite him resumed.

"Well," Ahzrukhal starts, "he is a highly valuable asset to me and to the Ninth Circle…What did you have in mind?" He asks. She did not expect him to leave the first number to her. How much did she have? Around five thousand, and counting. Ironic, how easy it was to find caps around dead bodies.

That thought threw a flashback at her, of the first person she'd…killed…Yet another reoccurring nightmare to thank the Wastelands for.

Shaking it off, she begins to calculate a small, but convincing sum.

"…One thousand," she offers. Ahzrukhal scoffs, unimpressed. She frowns.

"Two," he insists. Her eyes light up with the fact that it didn't eat up all her money. She could make it with three. She once did, with less even.

"Deal," she smiles. It takes Ahzrukhal a moment to accept the fact that she actually agreed as she bent again to retrieve her cap-packs. She brings out four small ones, each with five hundred that she'd personally counted in. Ahzrukhal's eyes gleam with euphoria.

She opens them one by one, and shows him their contents.

Sawyer furrows his eyebrows in grand confusion at the exchange.

Ahzrukhal reaches out to take a bag. Jess blocks his movement. "The contract," she says. Ahzrukhal smirks. He didn't get many smart ones around. Her wit certainly was refreshing.

"Ah, yes. I'll be right back," he says. He then walks back to the door at the end of the bar, enters, and closes it behind him.

Jess turns to look at Sawyer, and finds his gaze on her once more. She smiles, knowing what was about to happen.

Sawyer furrows his eyebrows at her, arms still crossed. 'Crazy bitch,' was all that his mind thought at her smiling-for-no-reason face.

Ahzrukhal returns. Sawyer does not notice when he slides the contract across the counter to Jess. As Jess looks over the piece of paper, Ahzrukhal rechecks the money.

Seeing it then, Sawyer doubts it is what he thought it was.

…Could it be?

Jess looks over the paper. She furrows her eyebrows. Most of the words were almost incoherent. The sheet looked incredibly worn out, like it had been handled by a hundred men over the course of ten years alone.

It did not matter. It meant his freedom.

Freeing someone from something as such, something than never should be again, that never should have come back.

Something awful.

At Ahzrukhal's sudden laughter, Jess looks up to see joy mixed with greed in his eyes that were darting between each bag of caps. He then locks his eyes with hers. "Oh, it has been a pleasure doing business with you, miss…" he draws.

"Jessica," Jess replies dismissively.

"Jessica," Ahzrukhal repeats, as if testing the name. "That is a…delicious name," he smirks, the joy in his eyes replaced with unmistakable lust. Jess grimaces, regretting informing him with her name. "I'll go stack these babies up," he says, picking up the pouches. "Why don't you go ahead and share the news with him yourself?" he suggests absently, heading off once more.

Jess smiles. She rises, slings her bag across one shoulder, grabs the contract, and turns to meet Sawyer's expectant gaze.

XXXXX