This was the hotel address that Bryson had given them. At least it should comfort Nano somewhat that Asun wasn't wasting her time. In her simple, sporty outfit she did not much fit in here. She felt a bit out of place: "Ehm, I think he said to go to the rooftop bar." As she was leading them to the lift and then up to the place.
Nano didn’t care that she didn’t fit in with her shaved head and leather jacket. In the lift she looked to Asun. “As much as I love rich men on rooftop bars, I hope you trust this guy. I understand that you guys have been through some shit together, but I mean Isabel showed her true colors here and what’s to say the same won’t happen to him?” She shook her head before Asun could respond. “We gotta get to him before someone else does.”
"Trust is a big word,"Asun replied, "but he really came through yesterday. Helped to get everyone out here. Earns him some credit in my eyes."
==Rooftop Lounge & Pool, Staybridge Suites==
The chef was serving up delicious dishes and the bartender was handing out cocktails. A group of tourists were flying their drone around the luxurious rooftop area. Things had been stressful for Bryson, but good food, a cold drink and a nice massage by the pool were helping alleviate it. Unlike for most of his time here in Lebanon before, Bryson was actually able to dress down to relax. Rather than wearing fancy attire, the man was wearing a loose white button up and pool shorts, sunglasses covering his eyes as he lounged out by the pool. It was bright enough that the sun was giving enough light where he could write things down in a book while he sat, a white towel placed on the back of a lounge chair while an umbrella protected him from a direct burn of the sunlight. He paused whatever he was writing in his book to take a sip of a mixed cocktail of orange liquid topped with a lime, and adjusting the way he was seated as he sniffed in through his nose before he began writing again. "Mmh, this is pretty good, actually." He murmured to himself as he sniffed at his drink with a pleased look. It reminded him of a spicy Paloma, almost.
Bryson noticed Asun walking with an unfamiliar girl, the man tilting his head and raising his hand and giving a sharp whistle to catch their attention. Once the two looked to him, he gave them a nod, the man lowering his hand again and sighing as he closed his book, setting it down and to the side while he picked up his glass again and waited for them to come on over.
He seemed in his element here. Started wearing a cross too. Smart man. They got accosted by a waitress on the way over to him. Asun ordered a cava. Why not after all? As they got to him, she awkwardly greeted Bryson: "Hola Bryson, I'm happy you came out of it okay. How are you holding up? I actually came here, because I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Nano. Nano, this is Bryson. She is also American! I thought you may be interested in what she has to say."
Bryson gave Asun a little nod as he took a sip of his drink. "Asun, good to see you." Bryson said, the man giving her a little smile. "Hello, Nano. I'm Mister Tills in public, Bryson to my friends in private." The man introduced himself to Nano.
Nano growled at the ringing phone as she was introduced and held up a single finger as she excused herself and and took the call. It was Antoine. She had left him at the restaurant. She cursed under her breath and told him to eat something and she’d be back to pick him up. She hung up and came back to the conversation. She extended a hand to Bryson. “Sorry about that, hi! Nice to meet you. Asun said you were both in the hotel when shit went down.
As Nano had joined them again after the taking the phone call, Asun answered Bryson: "Isabel worked for Nano back in the EEUU. She distracted the ISF yesterday. But I'll let her tell you what she's wanting to work together."
Bryson had been in mid question when it was cut short as Nano returned, the man raising his brows at the extended hand. “I’ll give you a pass on the handshake this time, seeing as I’m so comfy.” Bryson remarked with a grin. “Nice to meet you to. I’m Mister Tills in public, Bryson to my friends in private. You want a drink, Miss Nano? Get whatever you’d like.” He offered up. “Asun shared some details about that, did she? It was a bit of a mess, but we got through it. Anything about the situation stand out as odd to you?” Bryson asked her as he laid back and relaxed in his chair. Nano nodded and hailed the waitress, ordering whatever was recommended. While the waitress skittered away, she took a neighboring seat. “Invisible big cats to begin with.” She wiped her face with a well manicured hand. “Isabel has been hocking superhero brain drugs and it’s pissing me off, so pardon me if I’m a little short.”
Bryson laughed a little and glanced over towards Asun before he looked back to Nano. “Superhero brain drugs? That sounds like a dangerous business.” Bryson remarked. “What’s your reason to look for Isabel? Are you here to convince her to give up her life of hocking superhero brain drugs to return to… Wherever your home is?” Bryson asked with a little chuckle.
"Chicago area. But i think if she wants to do this rather than work for me, then i will leave her here and go back home, but it looks like i'm here long enough to investigate some disappearances." Nano's drink came, and she looked at the menagerie of drink accoutrement. She tried to sip from it, but became frustration when she couldn't, so she tore the umbrellas and swords and a straw with sunglasses on it from the drink and took a long sip. "What about you? Where is home? I'm sure you travel a lot."
“Arizona was my home for a long time. Nowadays I’m a little less anchored.” Bryson replied to the question. “What sort of business do you conduct, Nano? You must have some interesting work that nerds doing if you want to re-recruit someone that hot to you.” He didn’t make ‘hot’ sound like a comment of Isabel’s appearance, instead making it sound more like she was messing with a fire going looking for this person.
Nano set her drink on the ground by her feet. "Procurement and export. We made a bad contact over here, so she found something else to do while i came over and did the job she was supposed to do. You know how it is."
“So what’s the goal now? You just want to pass the message along to her?” Bryson asked, the man rolling his shoulder slightly. “Trying to get a meeting with her to figure out what she’s been doing? Or are you more upset at her errant behavior than a nice chat would solve?” Bryson asked the woman.
Nano raised an eyebrow at the questions. "She botched a delivery to someone very important. I promised to acquire the item and finish the delivery. Then i will let her decide what she wants to do. I'm leaning towards leaving her here, but hey. She could surprise me." She relaxed a bit, leaning to one side of the seat and looked at him suspiciously. "Any other questions, Mr. Tills?"
"Yeah, just a couple." Tills says with a chuckle as he watched her lean off to the side. "Are you in the market for work, miss Nano? I could benefit from someone with procurement and export related experience acting as a..." He paused a moment to think of a good word. "Manager, of sorts. You need to search for Isabel in Baalbek, I have business ventures in the Bekaa Valley region. If you happen to have the skills that I think you do, based on what you're saying, I could make use of my things in Bekaa valley to help set you up with a way to find this Isabel, and maybe help you figure out her involvements with this badness she's in, maybe even help you figure out why she's breaking deals. All I'd need is someone who's willing to help with some of my ventures over there, and I'd be willing to give them the tools to help operate in that area." Bryson offered as he picked up his drink again, taking a gulp of it to the point where the glass emptied out. He set it again to the side before he looked back to her. "How about it?" "I think i can make time for such a venture, sure. I'll be in that neck of the woods anyway, and i could use any support you're willing to offer." Nano smiled between Asun and Bryson, turning her attitude around. "I'd give you my phone number, but phones here are a big no-no. I'm looking into setting up a satellite system that the team can use."
"I've gotten connected to something that will be a big help in keeping communications secure and quiet as well." Bryson said, the man leaning back as he looked upwards. "I'm going to be exploring the options more thoroughly later today, since security's going to be the biggest question of import moving forward."
"I'll have to speak with you later as to the actual details of what you'll be doing in the Bekaa valley. I've got some brains to pick about some new opportunities that have popped up." Bryson said as he leaned up, the man grunting slightly as he pushed up to stand off of the poolside chair.
Nano stood as well, taking her drink with her. “If you’ve got comms covered, I’ll step back from that. However I’ll be in contact in case you come up with those questions.” She extended her hand to thank him and seal the deal.
Bryson did accept the handshake this time, nodding as he shook the woman’s hand. “If you need to reach out to me before I get things set up for messaging, Asun knows Ashlee, she has my card.” Bryson said with a nod and smile. “Not sure if I properly said it before, Asun, but thanks. I’m pretty sure you saved my life a couple times the other night, so.” Bryson grinned a bit and gave her a nod. “I’ll talk with you later too.”
"De nada." Asun replied. "I'm just glad everyone got out of it. And we couldn't have done it without you. Catch you later!"
コメント