Chapter 57…

Ashley maneuvered the small plastic business card until it was resting in the palm of her hand - it's sharp edges gripped within the webbing of her skin. With perhaps a little more force than she intended, the dark haired woman slapped the card flat onto the table.

Narrowing her obsidian coloured eyes, Ashley observed the table's only occupant…

"So… is this a 'yes'?" Robert "Barker" Taube muttered. An old fork was clenched precariously in his fingers, teetering around without a proper balancing point.

Ashley frowned and shook her head. Without breaking eye contact, the woman pulled out the chair opposite to the mercenary commander. She took a seat, feeling the chair squeak as she leaned forwards and placed her forearms on the table.

"Okay…" Barker coughed. The man messily wiped his mouth and placed his fork atop his half-finished plate of food. He pushed the plate aside and wrung his fingers together. "So it's not a 'yes'?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…" Ashley maintained eye contact. "You're a mercenary, I'm sure that you know all about talking terms…"

"Oh! That's why you're here…"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you came off a little strong…" Barker chuckled. With a tapping noise, the man pulled a loaded handgun out from under the table. "Could've fooled me…"

Barker laid the gun on the table. Like his plate of food, he pushed it off to the side. There was the sound of murmuring; Ashley snuck a few glances out from her peripheral vision to find that she and Barker had a nervous audience. The patrons of Dima's bar quickly returned to their own business, but Ashley knew well enough to know that they were listening in.

"You had a gun trained on me?" Ashley muttered, her dark eyebrows raising up as she turned her attention back to the man sitting across from her.

"Play a couple games of cards in Angel City sometime…" Barker leaned back in his chair, his hand drifting away from the handgun. "In that place not keeping a gun under the table is considered strange. Plus… has anyone ever mentioned to you that you don't have the friendliest demeanor?"

"Whatever you say…" Ashley shrugged. "Look… I've given your offer a little bit of thought-"

"Wait."

"Huh?"

Barker offered Ashley a rather strange smile. His rheumy eyes shone with a strange light - like a child looking down on a basket full of toys.

"First off, I want to know."

"Know what?" Ashley frowned.

"A little more about you…" Barker leaned onto the table. "You never answered my questions…"

Ashley felt herself wilt.

"... about your past…"

"It's called privacy…" Ashley muttered. "And I'd prefer to keep things private."

"Well hold on a second. That's not fair, is it?" Barker scoffed. "I'm going to be giving you a gun - and money for using said gun. I need to trust you before that. So, are you going to tell me a little bit about yourself?"

Ashley frowned and bit her tongue.

"We both know that you were IMC… it's written all over your face…" Barker waved his hand. "But I don't really care about that. Hey, I was once part of the IMC myself… plenty of my guys were too."

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth… spill your guts, girlie."

"Fine," Ashley tapped her fingers against the surface of the table. "I- Uh…"

Barker leaned over the table expectantly, his eyes shining much like they had been before.

"Apex…" Ashley mouthed silently with her lips, her dark eyed gaze stuck on the wooden surface of the table. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Absolutely."

Ashley's gaze snapped back up, only to find that Barker had once again taken a seat. The man offered Ashley a strange smile and tapped the tip of his nose with his finger.

"Don't worry… it's our little secret…" Barker smirked.

"Oh?"

"Well, yeah…" Barker shrugged. The man fished a hand around in his pocket and retrieved a metal flask. Uncorking it, he raised the container to his lips and took a quick sip. "Hey, I'm sure that you had your reasons for joining Blisk's little clubhouse of psychopaths and war criminals…"

Ashley gave the man a glare.

"No offense to you, of course…" Barker slipped his flask back into his pocket. "But don't feel too ashamed… this is good news."

"How so?"

"Because Kuben Blisk only hires the best of the best," Barker patted his full pocket and grinned. "Which means that you're a worthy investment."

"I'm so glad that you think of me that way…" Ashley scoffed.

"Just business…" Barker shrugged. "But anyways… you've given my offer some thought?"

"Yeah."

"And…?"

Ashley tapped the smooth surface of the business card. "I'm in…"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that…"

"Could've fooled me… with the way you were acting before…" Barker chuckled. "Acting like I shot your dog or something…"

"I had some reservations…"

"So what happened to those reservations?"

"I gave your offer some thought…" Ashley leaned back in her chair. She tilted her head but did not break eye contact with the man across from her. "Look, I won't lie to you… I have my own ends…"

"And what would those ends be?" Barker raised an eyebrow. "Remember what I said about trust?"

"I don't want to be a soldier forever…" Ashley leaned over the table, her dark eyes wide. "But there are some loose ends I need to tie up before I can retire…"

Barker grinned. "And the money?"

"I need that too…" Ashley sighed, her tone heavy with defeat.

"Don't we all…" Barker traced his finger along the surface of the table in slow motions. Stopping this action, Barker slipped his fingers into his pocket to once again withdraw his flask.

"No contracts…" Ashley frowned and leaned forwards onto the table. "My soul isn't going to sit on anyone's bottom line - not even yours."

"No contracts…" Barker grunted as he held out his flask. Ashley gave the man a confused look and raised her eyebrow.

"Just a small ceremony…" Barker grinned and wiggled his flask.

Reaching out her hand, Ashley accepted the container. The metal felt cool to the touch, and she could feel liquid sloshing around within its interior. Raising the flask to her lips, Ashley took a long draught of the liquid contents. It tasted like how motor oil smelled, but the woman took a full gulp before handing back the flask.

"Smooth…" Ashley coughed as she flicked her wrist to close the flask.

"Homemade moonshine…" Barker accepted his flask back from Ashley. The man took a long sip of his own before tucking the flask back into his jumpsuit pocket. "It keeps me warm at night…"

"Whatever you say…" Ashley shrugged and narrowed her eyes. "You mentioned a signing bonus…"

"Yep, it's a thousand credits…" Barker leaned back in his chair. "Enough for you to buy some equip-"

"Make it ten thousand…"

Ashley heard Barker's breath hitch in his throat.

"Ten thousand?" Barker lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "You want ten times the regular signing bonus?"

"I'm ex-Apex…" Ashley smirked. "You said it yourself… that makes me very valuable to you."

"Ten times-"

"I have some loose ends in this town…" Ashley explained. "I need to pay off some things… it's not fair for me to just skip town."

"Bad bets?"

"No… just debts…" Ashley shrugged. "Tell you what… give me the ten thousand… and I'll take a lower cut on the first few jobs. I can pay you back for it, fair is fair…"

Barker frowned and tapped his fingers on the table. "I feel like we should have discussed this before the toast…"

"You're the businessman, not me…" Ashley shrugged. "But we can always have a second toast…"

Barker pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in thought. Finally, he held out his hand for a shake. Ashley accepted the offered limb and returned the gesture.

"I hope that you're worth it…"

"I am…" Ashley withdrew her hand. "Now… how about I buy you a good drink?"

"A good drink? Are you saying that you didn't like my moonshine?"

"It tasted like shit."

"Ouch, harsh…"

"Get used to it…" Ashley waved down Dima at the bar. She gestured to a bottle of whiskey on the higher shelf and held up two fingers. "I'm in this for the money, Barker."

"And your own ends?"

"And my own ends…" Ashley corrected herself. She swept her gaze back to the man sitting across from her.

"And what would those ends be, I wonder…" Barker smirked and sipped from his flask.

"That's my own business."

"Why should it be?" Barker shrugged. "Let me guess… a retirement fund?"

Ashley lifted an eyebrow. "Yes… but also no…"

"Revenge?" Barker leaned forwards expectantly. "Hot-blooded revenge? Cold-blooded revenge?"

"That might be in the cards…"

"Okay, warmer then…" Barker tilted his head. "So, who's the mark?"

"Once again… that's my own business…" Ashley mumbled. "I have my own ends and I'd like to leave it at that…"

"Just as long they don't interfere-"

"If the time is right and the opportunity is there… I'll let you know more," Ashley raised an eyebrow, her tone heavy with finality. "Until then, I keep to myself."

There was a loud whistling noise, which captured both Ashley and Barker's attention. It was Dima, still standing at the bar, two glasses of whiskey held in his hands.

Ashley fished an appropriate amount of credits from her pocket and handed them to Barker. "I'll pay… you grab them…"

"Fair is fair," Barker huffed as he took the credits and stood up. The man wordlessly left the table to retrieve the drinks.

Ashley leaned back in her chair as she waited for her new employer to return. She considered propping her feet up on the table but decided against it, not wanting to draw the ire of the establishment's surly bartender.

All around the woman, the patrons of the bar murmured to themselves. They seemed to have lost interest in Ashley and Barker's conversation - which the dark haired woman was glad about.

She wrung her hands in her lap, allowing herself to fall into her thoughts. The murmur of conversation and clink of glasses all around soon devolved into a chaotic white noise.

Ashley couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu taking hold of her. Gripping her, more like, it was a strange and almost hostile feeling of unwelcome familiarity.

She stared at the roof of the bar… it was high above her head and provided little in the way of visual stimulus.

Ashley heard two hollow tapping noises - glasses being set down on a wooden surface. She lifted her head and found that her new employer had retaken his seat on the other side of the table.

Barker settled his fingers on his glass. "Was I interrupting something?"

"Better that you did…" Ashley shook her head and grabbed her own glass. "So, we have a deal then?"

"Ten thousand credits, no contracts…" Barker raised his glass. "You're a weird one…"

"Touche…"

The two pilots tapped their glasses together and then drained their contents.

"Smooth," Barker put his glass back onto the table

"I have some things I need to take care of before I can leave," Ashley set down her glass. "And I have to ask a favour of you."

"A favour?"

"Get in touch with one of the Militia's suppliers. There is something I want to use the signing bonus for - something I want to buy," Ashley stood up from the table and pushed in her chair. "I'll give you all of the details when I have them."

"Okay?"

"Two… maybe three days…" Ashley frowned. "Then I'll be ready to go."

"You know where to find me…" Barker tapped the surface of the table.

Ashley promptly left the establishment, the doors swinging behind her.