Description: Motley Crue (1981). Tran finally resurfaces, returning to take command as Elle's right hand enforcer once more. After a brief session of catch-up, Elle informs Tran of future plans designed to place Blackjack even further along it's own goals. Tran, however, seems to think he can hasten them in his own way.
Time marches forward, changing all it touches, and Elle's no different. Like time, she changes, and in turn changes everything around her to suit her needs.
Still, there are some things that time immemorial has difficulties changing. One of those things that seem remarkably resistant is Tran. Though his relative absence as of late has been a concern, the fact that Tran will always be keeps Elle grounded in a specific way.
Specifically, he's a reminder of the fact that there's still a human element to Blackjack.
So after a strenuous conversation with marise, she makes special notice to contact Tran for a short discussion and meeting at the office. It's late as usual, but that doesn't mean the place isn't alive. The office workers mill about, continuously processing data and working on side jobs for clients. As a 'security solution' for a few interests in metro and Southtown, the business has grown by quite a bit, leaving Elle to ponder the bigger questions, dressed in her usual maroon suit as she ponders Jinchuu, Burn, and more things besides.
What drives a man? Is it a base lust for all things material? Money, women, power? Perhaps, it was once so for Dr. Tran, a man on his own in a strange land. Armed with only some cheap booze, a couple blurry years of med school, and a fighting spirit, he sought to make his way in the world. Mostly he just drifted about aimlessly, poor and relatively weak.
Then he met Elle. Her offer was simple: help her out for some money and a place to stay, maybe rob a dude or ten. It seemed like as good a plan as any other, so the doctor went along with it. It kind of ballooned from there.
Though at heart he's still Dr. Tran, International Man of Action, Richard Tran doesn't really care so much about the money, women, and fame anymore. After all, he's got plenty of the first, a moderate degree of the third (just enough to have an image to maintain), and...well, the women part was never all that important anyway.
In the end, one has to wonder - just what makes Tran tick, now that his old goals are pretty much dust in the wind? Part of it's that he enjoys his job, but mostly...it's Elle. Even though she acts like she's cold and dead, Tran knows better. She might be a little numb, it's true, but underneath beats the heart of...well, he hasn't /quite/ figured out what just yet, but he feels like he's got a good lead on it.
Plus she threatened to rip his nuts out if he ever quit. That helps.
And it's for these reasons that whenever Elle calls, Tran comes and answers, today making the short trek to Elle's office. He knocks on the door, just once, and then lets himself in. "Howdy, Elle."
In a way, Tran's right. Elle's not dead. Not completely, and Tran has been there for all the ups and downs. Loyalty is more valuable than anything Elle can imagine right now, and Tran has been the embodiment of it. "Hey," is the reply. "Good to see you. I thought you had gotten stuck in the ship's cargo hold and had gotten too drunk to find your way out."
The mercenary's face doesn't really register much, but her hard stares and emotionless face seem to even out to a simple unemotive appearance. Tran doesn't need the business face. He knew her before all of this.
"Cigarette?" The tin of hand rolled cigs are pushed towards Tran. "Someone gave 'em to me as a gift. Don't worry. I had someone look 'em over, and they'r enot laced with arsenic or anything." She chucks a zippo at Tran as well, with a '21' engraved on it.
"Anyhow, a lot's been going on here. We've added a few new ops. I wanted to breif you on them a little, and tell you what's going on, and where I want to go from here. I want you to hear it first," Elle says, "Because you've always told me what you think, and not what I want to hear. And even though some of my ideas are messed up to you, you do 'em anyway."
A pause. "Even though I don't follow your advice, Tran, your opinion does mean something to me."
"Huh? Have you been spying on me around or something?" Tran's initial response to Elle asking where he's been is one of puzzlement. ...What? In his defense, his roommate /is/ Momo.
Taking a couple steps forward, Trap drops into an available chair, reaching forward toward the cigarettes. He takes one, idling toying with it, before reaching up to deftly snatch the lighter out of midair. "Don't really smoke much anymore, but what the hell?" Flick, flick, foom. Tran lights up, and then pockets the lighter. He hasn't been carrying one around, and Elle's probably only has to wave her hand at this point to get one.
Anyway, that's still a bit beside the point. Tran listens patiently to Elle finish what she has to say. Then he nods. Maybe it's a little arrogant, or maybe it's just plain acceptance of the compliment. "Yeah, yeah, you'll embarass me." He says it like that, but he's smiling anyway. "I'm pretty sure I told you sometime that I'm in for the long haul, didn't I?"
Tran settles back a bit, taking another slow drag of the cigarette. "So what's up, anyway? I've been kind of out of the loop, catch me up."
A nod, and Elle's already at work. Tran's pretty easy to work with. That makes life easy. "Alright, so listen up. You're participating in the Jinchuu tournament, right? I'll boil it down for you. The ship is run by the last of a ninja clan and his helper ninjas with, surprise surprise, hidden motives. I think they're planning on using their massive chi-charged boat to somehow continue their ninja clan."
She waves a hand. "Right now, I'm in the middle of planning something to deal with that. We'll discuss it in a general team meeting. Right now, all you need to worry about is getting through your tornament matches. Just keep an eye out for some ninjas: Riko and Hiretsu. I'll give you the files on them. Also, Sakura's the security guard, and I know you have trouble with little girls."
Elle then shifts gears as she tosses two folders with aformentiond ninjas' names printed on them. "Also, a heads up. I hired a few new thugs. Birdie's a british street thug that looks like a mountain of meat. I found him scouring old Shadaloo files. So far, he's done a good job. I also picked up Katana, and by extension, Mad Gear in the process. I had them do that run on the boat for me. Unfortunately, it went south."
"I also picked up Aislinn. She's an attache' from NESTS, so treat her with caution. She's loyal and doesn't ask questions... but she's not actually 'ours'. Not yet, anyhow, so just keep your distance." The explanations of who she's hired are given the utmost care, as she takes great pains to be fair about her assessments.
"Any questions so far?"
Mhmm...Yeah, a couple familiar faces, familiar names. Tran's met Sakura before, and she didn't seem that bad. And, of course, the ninjas. Tran's run in with them before, too, and it generally hasn't worked out in his favor. In fact, once it resulted in him almost dying. God damn, screw those ninja, they're just a bunch of filthy sadists.
To sum all this up, Tran grunts and looks over the files. Yadda yadda, words words words. He's also run in with Aislinn once or twice, and hopefully she doesn't still have a grudge from that time he nailed her with a steel chair. Oh, what fond memories.
And as for Birdie and Katana...well, what about them? Hooray for having a couple of thugs plus also Mad Gear? Whatever. Tran raises his hand a bit, and then finally responds, "Well, I gotta say I'm curious about the boat, but...I'll save it for later. all the rest of it seems pretty cut and dry." He pauses, and then grins wide. "So have you fought all of the newbies yet, or are you just keeping them in line with your chipper attitude and cheery smile?"
A good question. One with an equally good answer. "Birdie's a tank," she replies flatly. "A giant pile of meat with a chain. I took him down with a few good power bursts, but I swear he almost broke some of my organs. Katana's a little less monsterous, but he's got armor and power in spades. Again... not so good against energy. You might want to meet up with them and see if you can't instruct them with your usual sophisticated teaching style," Elle deadpans as she leans back in her chair.
"After all, it half-worked on Reed, who, by the way, is AWOL and possibly dead. I think he finally screwed with the wrong person. Haven't heard from him since I sent him to rob Preston and Ichiro," Elle says, as if she had just lost something along the lines of a buck fifty.
She crosses her legs at the ankles, rocking back in her chair in thought. "As for Aislinn, she edged me out... barely. The girl's a death machine with purple hair and boots. She's a tough little monster. Real easy to work with. Just does what she's told."
Witht hat explained away, Elle raises her eyebrows, and her eyes widen ever-so-slightly. "What do you want to know about the boat, now?"
"Do you want a list?" Seriously, it's a cool boat. Tran is intrigued by it. He might not as be as technical or precise with chi as some others, but he's got his good moments. "The big one, though, is what we're going to do with it, and I'm thinking that can wait until everyone's gathered. I'm not that in love with the sound of my own voice."
Puffing away thoughtfully, Tran suddenly recalls that Elle mentioned Reed's fate, so to speak. That illicits a soft grunt of disgust, sending smoke out of his nostrils. "And after all that effort...what a waste. Whatever." He'll have to look for an opportunity with everyone Elle mentioned, regardless, and it's this he's thinking of as he settles into a thoughtful silence once more.
"No kidding," Elle concurs on Reed's fate with a shrug. "Not your fault. not anybody's really. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Katana and Birdie seem like good, solid muscle who just need some guidance on how not to die when bulldozed with energy attacks. I figure you're just the whack job to show those whack jobs what to do."
As for the boat, Elle admits to Tran something she rarely admits to anyone else. "The boat? I honestly have no idea. I've got ideas, but I'm out of leads. What I do have is something that I won't commit to, because it would mean some of us dying. While I can't say that I haven't ever entertained thoughts of having Naerose explode into meat fragments, the fact is she's managed to pull competance out of her ass at the last minute again."
"As for what I want with it? Well, I have interested buyers. I got ninja clans looking up and down the thing like it was a new model car. That, and there's blackmail material all over it, if I can puzzle out what it all means," she explains as she unwraps a sourball she prduces from her pocket. It's placed in her mouth, and she gets a look of contemplation.
"Hopefully, I can have something concrete soon. Right now, I'm at loose end, and I owe Katana a semi-truck, and I need to send you, Katana, and Birdie to start sniffing out Burn seriously this time around. I'm losing money, Tran. My Burn profits are going down the toilet."
Taking another quick pull of his cigarette, Tran leans forward and snuffs the end of it out in the ashtray the Elle surely keeps on her desk. She's like a boy scout, so prepared is she. "Yeah, maybe I'll see what I can do. No promises, though, especially not on a couple guys I haven't even met." Like, what if they're got really bad BO? That'd just be /terrible/.
As for the boat, though..."And maybe I'll see what I can do with the Suiryuu, too. I mean, it's a ninja thing, so I imagine you and Marise have been whacking your heads against it as hard as you can, but...just remember, we don't have to understand it to swipe it. Worry about how it works after we've secured it. Although...come to think...ninja, huhn. Those ninja. You know what, nevermind, they've probably got the whole damn thing rigged to blow up at the press of a button." Goddamn ninja. "Well, it's up to you, I guess, but the only way I can see us making off with it is to take care of the people who built it, and I'm not too confident on that count, no matter how many people we've got."
Tran sighs, and grabs at his forehead with one hand. Thinking is hard. Worthwhile, but a pain. "Hell, honestly? The more that I think about it, the more that I think we should just say to hell with it, and watch to see how it plays out. Maybe have a chopper on standby in case things turn sour real fast." Tran lowers his hand, then shrugs, mildly apologetic. "Sorry, but that's all I've got."
"Right now, that's about all I got, too," is the straightforward reply. Elle's not really coming up with any genius solutions herself, and she's not going to advance the notion that she does. "That's certainly an option, and probably the least-risky. The more I look at it, the more it's shaping up to be some other damn ninja plot that doesn't really affect us in a pointed manner. But hey, it's my job to find an angle to play off of, right?"
The notion is pushed aside. "I have more tools, but I appreciate the effort. I have to see what Naerose can bring me, and I've got a few more contacts on the boat that might be able to swing us a solid win. Let me worry about the details for now."
That being said, Elle makes note, "I need the drug money, Tran. So this is important. I can't get any plans off the ground without a solid, steady income. A few high-paying merc jobs every so often isn't goign to cut it. And while I've got enough to keep us in the black and salaried, I need a bigger nest egg in order to get that casino opened. So right now, my big investment is on you, and what you can do with two meatheads and a sixteen-wheeler."
Well, it's nice to know that Tran isn't really missing anything, then. The situation is shitty, and there's no clear profit to gain from any of it. Still, the doctor feels a brief need to give Elle a warning. "Alright, just don't push too hard on this one. If we get something out of it, that's great, but I'm not keeping my hopes up."
Tran goes silent again for a moment afterward, thinking on the rest of what Elle's told him. "You know, I might have an idea about that. Needs a little more time to flesh it out, but...hm, maybe. Tell you what, lemme do a little bit of independant research, and I'll let you know if I think it's got a shot in hell. Hell, if not, I'll tell you anyway just for kicks. Although..." Tran pauses again, already considering it further. "Do me a favor, and don't send out Leilani too far from Metro on anything. She's better at talking to people than the rest of us, plus she's got that sexy way she moves her hips...yeah..." Tran trails off. His train of thought appears to have been severely derailed.
Well, if Tran wants Leilani in Metro City, Elle doesn't have a problem with that. It's where the islander is stationed anyhow, mostly to get her used to living on her own and away from the influences with the Syndicate, never mind the fact that Duke decided to move in on the action for that group.
"You got it," Elle says, making note to notify Leilani to more or less stay put. "If you need any other personnel, let me know. But make sure it comes in with a attack plan. I have other things going on, so I've got to prioritize the staff I have on hand." It's a good explanation as any. Elle does her best to manage those under her employ to put their talents to their best use.
As Tran goes into thinking mode, Elle doesn't inquire. The man is usually raving about ass kicking. If he wants to start considering and planning, Elle's not in any rush to interrupt the process with probing questions about his schemes. "Well, before you start overthinking Leilani, if you have anything else you're concerned about you better ask now. I have stuff I need to wrap up."
It's not just about the ass kicking - if Tran just wanted to kick ass, he could go out on the street and beat the shit out of someone without any fighting experience at all. He can do that, he's a doctor, it's easy. However, Dr. Tran is a sophisticated man. He requires a more complex experience than that - a situation rife with the substance known only as PURE AWESOME.
But that comes later. Tran's not a stupid man, after all - the only reason he lasted in med school for as long as he did was his intellect. It's just a matter of application, and today? Today Dr. Tran is quite motivated.
"No, I got nothin'." It's almost offhand, and then Tran stands up. "I've gotta figure this out. Alright, Elle. With a little luck, I'll be able to get back to you on this before the next company meeting." He grins, turns sideways, and opens the door. "Trust me, if this pans out, you're gonna love it. It'll wash the sour taste of this boat thing right out of your mouth." Then he ducks out, not quite slamming the door, but not being gentle, either. Can you blame him? He's excited.
Log created on 00:40:20 09/20/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 02:05:36 09/21/2007.