1201/Whiskey and House Damage

Whiskey and House Damage
Date of Scene:	29 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Ares, Molly Millions

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Ares has posed:
    After the power armored creature had taken such liberties with his home and then John Aaron saw to the matters, he had to begin setting things a'right. It was the evening of the next day after all, and it had been an eventful night. Much rushing around, contacts and contracts pulled in and set to action. It all left him having to call out from work and to focus his time on the here and the now.
    But now it was time to reflect on the damage, to try and consider a course of action. But really, for John Aaron, it was time to sit outside on the porch of his two-plot cape home... drink a beer... and scowl at the hole in his roof.
    Assuredly it had been made by accident when the power armored fighter had landed there, their foot slipping through the ceiling and crushing through some wiring. So it's not just the structural damage, but electrical is involved as well.
    Really it's enough to make a god want to wall his home off from all these pesky mortals.

Molly Millions has posed:
    The car that lurches without haste up the street wouldn't be a familiar one. Dark. Sedan. Older model. Couple of fresh scrapes on it. Parallel parking skills next to non-existent.
    It's who emerges from that sedan, however, that might be a surprise. She's still mostly got the dark clothing scheme going on, though the jeans and tee are not quite the same as the ones she was previously wearing... and in one hand there's a bottle of whiskey. Chances are good, it's not coincidence that Molly's in his neighborhood.

Ares has posed:
    His home is fenced in, though the front gate is open and a black SUV is parked there. But when her old clunker pulls up it makes just enough noise to draw his attention. Especially when it pulls into the driveway and those headlights sweep across the front of his home.
    He leans to the side, barely visible on that wooden deck off the back porch, peering around the side. But then he sees who it is and his brow furrows, lip curling into a hint of confusion as he watches her approach up the asphalt driveway.
    "The hell are you doing here?" Oh the words might seem harsh, but the way he says them with a hint of amusement might rob them of any sting.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly raises the whiskey,"You are on the matrix. And I told you I would make it up to you. So I brought whiskey. Is that a problem?" not that it stops her from approaching, in the slightest.

Ares has posed:
    The tall man rests his leg on the railing that separates them, but he waves her on around, towards the wooden stairs that will lead her up around the building and to the elevated deck where he's leaning.
    Once she's back there she'll see the yard equipment, the grill used for cooking out, an overturned BMX children's bike. It looks all so terribly mundane and normal. But then he gestures upwards with his beer towards the hole in his roof. "Just surveying the damage."

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly tilts her head back to peer upwards even as she's coming up the stairs,"...could be wrong, but fairly certain that's not the way to redecorate." she drawls with some amusement,"What happened?"
    "You didn't break anything, I hope?" added on after a moment as she endeavors to keep the smile somewhat under control at the thought of him managing to make the hole hismelf.

Ares has posed:
    The tall man retains his lounging posture, one hand scritching at the stubble along the line of his jaw. He's still watching the hole for a time, then his scowl overtakes his features as he shakes his head and then turns those brown eyes upon her. His reflection smiles back at him when he tells her, "Apparently someone wanted something of mine and offered a good chunk of money to gain it."
    He then looks down at the bottle in her hand, and lifts his own. "I would offer you a beer, but it seems you brought your own gateway to inebriation." He pushes off of the railing to step towards her, reaching for the bottle should she allow him to take it up and peruse its label.

Molly Millions has posed:
    "Wasn't me." not like that isn't fairly obvious already, but Molly affirms it anyways,"What were they after?" pause,"Not the kid?" yeh, there's a terseness in the last inquiry, like thievery... whatever, but kidnapping's another story entirely.
    She makes it up the last stair and leans against the edge of the railing herself to offer it to him. Nothing terribly exciting, Glenfiddich... all likelihood someone else picked it out for her, really,"I remembered, you like whiskey. So I figured I'd buy some. It... tastes different. But I suppose that less synthetics will do that."

Ares has posed:
    A shake of his head, "An antique of all things." He takes up the bottle and ponders its label for a time, tilting it around and handing it back to her with a nod and a smile. "What things surprise you the most about being here?" He starts to walk past her and there's a small cooler on the table. He pulls open the plastic container, ice crunching while he reaches in for a beer and tosses that towards her. "Save the whiskey for a special occasion."
    Then he turns back and pushes out one of the wireframe chairs towards her from the picnic table, letting himself slouch into one himself and then taking another drink of his beer.

Molly Millions has posed:
    It's nothing to Molly, to snap the beer out of midair as casually as a professional baller... hell, if anything... she's even faster than she was when they fought at the gym. She follows after him if only to set the whiskey down on the table, still considering the first question as she grunts to the second.
    "That's... sort of like asking whether bullets or grenades are going to make you deader. I still can't work out if this is my history, or just... somewhere like it. On one hand, the matrix here is a primitive, painfully slow thing... and yet apparently there's schools? Where they talk about nanites in a more than theoretical sense. There's people, that can apparently fly and shoot webs out of their ass.." okay, maybe not quite on that second one, but still,"And yet augments are seemingly uncommon. If it was a simstim, Continuity would be frying its circuits. But overall... it's cleaner, and... safer. And I feel like a Hosaka trying to connect to an Ono-Sendai without the appropriate cable."

Ares has posed:
    The tall man's feet are propped up as he sets them in the seat of another chair as he slouches to the side somewhat, looking at ease despite the damage to his house. Because at this point, what really can he do? He has the order placed already for the supplies needed, and can do nothing right at the moment. So he is comfortable, even if it annoys him on some level. So he turns his attention to the silvered blade of a woman who has called upon him.
    "You seem to be adjusting well at the least." He rubs at his shoulder for a moment, wincing at something then turning his head until there's a crackle of aerated cartilage.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly opens the beer and takes a swig of it before noting the wince. An impatient flick of her fingers follows as she circles with the intention of showing that she does at least know something about massage,"No choice, John. In my experience you adjust fast or you die badly. As it is I've already driven to Utah and back and have a pissed off cyborg girl who's mad I'm not going to let her come on a run with me. And an AI with the kind of fire power that wet dreams are made of. Between them and you, I'm doing alright."

Ares has posed:
    "Well, it's good you're making friends." The incognito Olympian smirks to himself as he adjusts his arm, frowning at the small hitch. Some small injury playing at his annoyance while he tilts his bottle back and takes a nice long drink. "They can help you in your more active money-making endeavours, and I will happily drink what booze you bring my way."
    He lifts his bottle in a small salute to her, "A symbiotic relationship I imagine." With that he finishes the last of his beer, then leeeeans over to reach for another from that cooler.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly's hand, with it's false fingertips grips his shoulder after he's snagged his second, prodding around with the too smooth vat-grown flesh to try and work out where the knot is,"Not making any real money, so far. The girl's got people after her. She patched my systems to be compatible with the local and has seeded my system with nanites to deal with some minor repairs. But down the track, sure." she grabs her beer for another swig,"I own... owned? Controlling interest in a German casino, back home. Not that it does me any good here."

Ares has posed:
    The older man shifts his hips a bit so that he's sitting up in the chair, his feet sliding off of the seat so he can turn his head just so and let her exert what pressure she wishes. Perhaps he should be more wary, for it would take but a small flick of her fingertips to draw those blades across his neck, the carotid artery so close to the surface.
    But for now, in this small moment of reflection, he trusts her, allows that touch. And as she presses in with subtle pressure, she'll feel the powerful muscles give faintly, his skin warm under her touch, taut flesh resisting each press of her fingertips but at points giving faintly and causing him to make a small contented sound.
    "Well," He says lightly, "If you ever need another career." He smiles slightly at that.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Apparently it's safe enough, given that she's content to prod at his shoulder and keep those blades of hers sheathed as she carefully works over his back patiently,"I was never made for construction. Not that I have a fear of heights... just that even when I retired I found I missed it. Granted, I also got a hard lesson that even augs become obsolete over time. So your roof, I'm guessing they didn't get what they were after? Nobody we need to go pay a visit to?"

Ares has posed:
    "Could always get a job as a masseuse." He smirks as he says, eyes hooding a bit as he leans back in the chair, arms folding over his chest. John takes another sip of the beer and then murmurs, "And no, the perpetrator... apologized." He says as he once again looks up and over towards the damage. A small shake of his head is given, "But all told I really am glad you have found contacts. I hope your trust will be honored."

Molly Millions has posed:
    "That's just for friends." Molly grunts, petting his shoulder and then reaching over to grab her beer again before she prowls around to lean agains tthe railing,"Apologized? Well there's something new. And most likely... someone will screw me somewhere. It's the nature of the game. But maybe if I'm lucky and that happens at least someone might miss me enough to bother looking."

Ares has posed:
    The bottle is lightly rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he smirks across the way at her. "Maybe, I might be convinced to wander off in search of the gal that brings me my occasional bottle of whiskey. But, you know. Somebody'd prolly have to twist my arm at some point." He says that lightly with a clear amusement in his gaze, but then he gains his feet and pushes the chair in with the toe of his boot. It complains with a faint metal scrape but then he wanders of towards the railing to lean next to her.
    "By the way." He turns to the side slightly and leans against her, "Don't remember telling you you could stop." John cocks an eyebrow as if taking her to task so sternly for her transgression.

Molly Millions has posed:
    There's a snort from Molly, her lenses turning his way to watch his approach,"It was interfering in my beer drinking." priorities, you know, there's a small waggle of the bottle before she tips it back before uttering,"But if you want me to twist your arm... that can be arranged." pause,"What about your kid, though? They home?"

Ares has posed:
    "No," Ares takes a sip of his beer and then sets the bottle to the side, glancing over his shoulder he tells her, "He is off to the camp of summer, and will be back in August unless he gets kicked out of this one as well." The way he says that he does not seem actually unhappy with Alexander for getting kicked out... perhaps maybe even proud of it.
    But then he furrows his brow and turns slightly, though she can assuredly still reach his back as that is the most important thing. "Why do you ask?"

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly decides it's better to finish her beer quickly than to set it aside again, waggling the empty bottle before she sets it aside. There's something perfunctory in the way she elects to prod him. Twist this way. Settle a little further down, there, but at least she does start up working out the kinks again,"Well, if you don't him to see you fight... might be counter productive if I start twisting your arm on the front porch, yes? And what's a camp of summer, anyways?" she could look it up online, after all, without even moving, but damned does she hate the local 'net.

Ares has posed:
    "Oh you want to spar again?" He asks of her as he steps away from her, lifting a hand to massage a small knot she may have missed as he wanders over towards that cooler. John pauses there and pulls open the small plastic container, sliding its lid open and then digging around in the ice for a few moments. There's a scrape of ice upon glass and then he tosses her another one. Though it looks like there might not be anymore in there.
    "I had imagined after that last beating you wouldn't want to try your luck again." His smile is wry as he leans there against the table, arms folding over his chest as he watches her. But then he lifts his chin, "Or is this just your way to make a pass at me in that sort of future-y way?" He smirks a bit more but perhaps before she can answer he interrupts and says, "Ah, camp of summer. It is where children sometimes go for three months to learn wilderness survival tactics."

Molly Millions has posed:
    "That you beat me just means I need more practice. Besides... Lucy's done a number on my systems, so don't count your questions before they're earned." Molly snags the tossed beer with all the lazy precision she did the last one and pops it open as she saunters her way over,"No John... if I was making a pass at you... I'd just do this."
    Shy? She's not, given the way her hand reaches southwards, for all that she continues on her path to stare in the windows,"Wilderness survival tactics." the disbelief and amusement in her tone is clear in the way she says it,"How about a tour?"

Ares has posed:
    A small smirk is seen on his features as she responds to his casual jape with her own, but hers makes his breath catch momentarily and his chin to lift as his lips part. But then she's slipping past him, walking towards the windows of his home. Her footsteps are light on the woodwork, just small clicks of movement. And then she's looking in the windows.
    Inside there's a kitchen of grey as the primary color. There's a prep island, appliances of steel, and a large oaken table for dining. She might see the crossed swords and the shield upon the wall, or even the little drawing attached magnetically on the wall.
    But then he'll step beside her and says, "What would you like to see?" He asks as he cocks an eyebrow at her.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly's head turns slightly as he comes over to join her, a slight smirk upon her lips,"I'm just curious." she shrugs slightly,"Space is at a premium, in my experience. What exactly do you fill all that space /with/? I mean... a whole room just for a kitchen? Nice shield, by the way... but still. I thought it might just be that this city is obsessed with gomi like London... but all the other towns Lucy and I went through it was the same thing. As far as I could tell."

Ares has posed:
    A hand lifts to scritch at the curve of his jaw thoughtfully as he looks out across the way into his own home. Assuredly from what little she's seen of the world, his home isn't entirely out of the norm, though the suburbs are a far cry from the quarters available in the city. But then again her frame of reference was rather limited considering the time and place she hails from. He tilts his head towards her, "Perhaps where you're from is from an alternative future. A time where technology has advanced in some ways, but not in others. A time advanced sufficiently that population exploded for some reason."
    He turns his back to the window, though he still eyeballs her from the side, his lip curled amusedly. "Then again, you could just be a freak." He leans there against the railing and lets his eyes wander the yard and their surroundings. "I could show you around the house if you want. There's a small workout area there if you wanted to spar again. Or I could impress you with my entirely mundane living arrangements."

Molly Millions has posed:
    It's the 'freak' that makes Molly reach over and punch him square in the shoulder,"Show me. And then we can spar again. And I doubt that I will know, one way or another.. I was born in twenty one ninety.. given the obsession with rejuvenation creams and surgery, I doubt I'll live long enough to see how it happens." pause,"If it does." she apparently takes it as a 'by her leave' given the way she prowls towards the door with a glance over her shoulder,"So about the shield... do people still use those now?"

Ares has posed:
    They stroll along the way towards the door and once they get there he pulls it open and holds it for her. There's a small brush of a chill to the air as the inside is air conditioned fairly well, but there's also a faint smell of some sort of cleaning liquid apparently as the kitchen has recently been tended to. It's also there... that the hold intrudes, looking terribly horrible and gaping with electrical wires pushed inside. There's also an indentation on the ground as if somebody had dropped something rather heavy on one of the tiles and cracked it.
    "It's this way," He says as he walks to the side a bit, taking another turn down a hallway. Hanging on the walls there are more weapons there, crossed swords in main, and an old pistol. "Shields? Somewhat. Riot shields for special weapons and tactics groups."

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly can't help but pause to eye the ceiling and then the dent in the floor with the slightest shake of her head,"That's some hole." she opines before she turns to follow, for all that she can't help but be slow to peruse the weapons,"...Riot shields? Not quite the same thing, though. When we broke into Sense/Net they'd switched mostly to using quick-spray foam barricades for riots... but that? More like something Bogatyr would carry."

Ares has posed:
    They are all old blades, spanning the last two thousand years and then some. Some are preserved well, but others wear their age like a badge of honor. The pistol is a wheel lock, that still looks as if it could fire if it was loaded. John keeps walking however, turning his shoulders to the side to step past her, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment and giving a small squeeze while he moves by. "In some ways these people are not as advanced as yours." A curious decision to say these as oposed to my.
    But then he reaches a door and opens it, flicking on a light in the stairwell as he begins his descent downstairs. It's there that she'll see a rather full and elaborate basement, actually seemingly larger than the house it's above. There's a set of mats in one corner, a twenty by twenty area for sparring and practicing. There's a heavy and a speed bag for boxing, and a set of free weights for training. There's also a place for some mechanical work and construction.

Molly Millions has posed:
    "In some ways." Molly agree's, the distraction in her tone perhaps indicative that she caught the distinction, even if she doesn't mention it aloud. She follows along once she's had her fill of looking at the weapons and pauses briefly at the top of the stairs before laughing on her way down.
    "Multiple stories. For a man and his child... and this counts as a /small/ work-out area? It's impressive enough for me, John. Granted, I've spent most of my life living out of hotel rooms. So perhaps my view on such things is a little skewed."

Ares has posed:
    He stops at the base of the stairs, folding his arms across his broad chest. John gives her a small shrug and then tilts his head. "I tend to plan for bad and prep for the worst." He gestures with a nod towards the various training areas. "But sometimes I don't like to put in an appearance in the city or just stay out of the way when things turn grim."
    A rough and calloused hand lifts to the back of his neck and he scritches there for a time, that old injury still niggling at him some as he glances across the way at her, "Of course I had planned on making it a little bigger but..."

Molly Millions has posed:
Molly Millions takes off her jacket as she heads down the stairs, unclipping the holster of her fletchette in the process without any particular area,"Bigger?" she repeats with another bark of laughter,"You could fit my entire apartment in here with room to spare. So... question time again, or did you have other stakes in mind?"

Ares has posed:
    Pushing off the bannister and unfolding his arms, John walks out onto the empty area, pausing to sit down at a wooden bench. He smiles wryly across at her as he begins to undo the laces of his shoes and waves at her absently, "Your turn to come up with something, but make it good." He says this as he begins to slide a thumb into the shoe and pull it off. The sneaker comes free and he sets it aside, then he switches legs and starts to undo the laces of the other. "At this point I wouldn't dare try to anticipate or guess your mind, Moll."
    That said he finishes the laces of that one and then proceeds to pull off his socks in turn. "No shoes on the mats, ya uncultured heathen." His lip curls as he says that, meeting his own reflection in her eyes.

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly hangs her jacket and the holster over it on the end of the banister, habit, more than anything else. She snorts for his comment about no shoes, pausing at the bottom of the stairs to remove her own,"You want to know something, John... just ask. Questions work well enough. Not much point in fighting each other for money." with her shoes removed she prowls across the mats to get a feel for them and find herself a good spot to stand, squatting at least briefly to help herself stretch out, head tilting to one side consideringly,"Granted, given out recent conversations... perhaps higher stakes are needed. Confessions or... conditions, perhaps? Loser of the first match has to pick a location to go, together. Winner of subsequent rounds gets to set conditions... I think you'd look adorable in a dress."

Ares has posed:
    A snort comes from him as he gains his feet and rolls that shoulder again, clearly favoring it. But he shakes his head as she finishes speaking and then stifles an exaggerated yawn as if what she suggested was just the most boring thing in the world. Instead he holds up his hands in front of her in that ubiquitous gesture for he to take a few swings at the palms of his hands to get warmed up.
    "Confessions are no good if we both know that neither one of us is scared of anything, and don't embarrass easily." If she starts to take a few swings at his hands he'll continue the exercise by lightly kicking at her shins to make her work on her footwork. "Each time one of us taps we lose a bit of clothing? Or each time one of us taps we have to accept a dare? Lovely little wagers. Or if you can come up with something even better, let me know."

Molly Millions has posed:
    Molly straightens,"Do I know that you're not afraid of anything?" she asks of him rhetorically, lofting a brow at the hands offered out with some amusement. Okay, she'll bite, taking it relatively 'easy' to let him warm up. She does stick to hands and respond with light kicks for all that the angles with which she strikes betray the Muay-Thai origins of her fighting style,"I hope you did your laundry today then." she shrugs, stepping back a couple of steps comfortably.

Ares has posed:
    "Oh are we starting?" He says as he casually accepts those few punches and kicks, bringing his hands up and around to block each in turn, on the full defensive for now as if he were just gauging her again. But his smile meets his eyes as he looks to her, head tilting to the side, "I thought we were waiting a bit and your grandma was taking a few swings at me. But oh that was you. Sorry."
    But he casually keeps his guard up and isn't really fighting too hard for the moment, "Anyways, I'm just wearing three bits of clothes, I figure I'll give you the handicap and all."

Molly Millions has posed:
    "Well, if you need to warm up more, old man... I know how quickly you wanted to give up last time." Molly responds, unpreturbed by the barb,"...you say that like you think I'm wearing more." and with only that for warning she switches to bring in a shin-kick towards his side, evidently not shy about taking potential advantage.

Ares has posed:
    A smirk touches his lips and then a wince as her kick connects, but rather abruptly he'll catch her leg and hold it there against his side and he shakes his head. "Now see, you have always been so sneaky, taking advantage of my propensity for good will." And does he take advantage of her momentary lack of mobility? Yes, in a way. For instead of pushing her away, or throwing her to the mats... he simply pulls her closer to him.
    He turns his head to the side, and she could clock him five ways to sunday from here, and perhaps he just accepts the risk for instead of capitalizing on the moment he'll bring her close, let her feel how very warm he is against her, feel the faint touch of his hand at the small of her back. And then his head turns just so as he brings a small kiss to her lips, very faint, and very brief. A silent challenge, gambling much and daring her as well.

Molly Millions has posed:
    "Fair fights are for children." is Molly's opinion in that regard, and maybe that's why she gets caught, forced to awkwardly hop at the shift in motion. It's a fair bet that probably her intention isn't romantic given the way that she pushes her hands on him and pulls back her head to keep her lenses clear.
    It's not that she's entirely caught by surprise, given that he does manage to successfully kiss her lips, and can likely feel the smile against his own, but it doesn't stop her from springing to utilize the proximity to unbalance him with the shove of her captured knee, hands curling in his shirt in anticipation that likely he's going to take her out in the process. And she's just mean enough to lead with the knee in his side for all that she doesn't elect to follow it up with other strikes immediately,"Flirt or fight, John... doing both is just bad news." she smirks before leaning in to give him a proper kiss.