can't slow down, can't turn back

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

Raza had said that sooner or later Jack would arrive at the bar, and with Ronin out heroeing rebuilding the temple, the alchemist had more than enough time to simply loll about and drink.

It wasn't so far different from a normal afternoon in that regard, though he was covered in less blood than he normally was by this hour.

Eyes shaded with glasses, Remi sat staring at the sea. A bottle of whatever it was Jack normally drank (the information courtesy of Raza), sat on the table with two glasses. Once upon a time manipulation and preplanning had been as foreign a concept to the alchemist as heterosexual desire. Now though he found his clever mind had rather taken to working out what may or may not lull the Ark's captain to his table and he found it rather soothing to wander down conversational paths they might take.

Then again it didn't take a genius to know that if you were the only supply of a man's prefered alcohol and were easily found, that he'd likely turn up sooner or later.

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too

full speed ahead 'til I'm dead in the fast lane

It was late and docking a ship filled with stolen goods and contraband was not the sort of expedition that took five minutes. But his contacts had been in touch, the guard on the dock had been bribed, the crew was out from under his feet, and his stock was well on its way through Rae's Fingers by now. Jack, deeply tanned and tired and a little landsick, wanted only one thing - a large, strong drink of whisky and a fiesty woman's legs locked about his hips. The familiar stars above his head were a comfort, but not as much as as the hum and bubble of thoughts from those at the Hanged Man.

Raking a hand through his hair and trudging up towards the door, it was something curious that caused Jack to pause, his hand upon the bleached wood.

One of these things was not like the others.

Blue eyes flashed sidelong to a table nearby, illuminated (barely) by the torches. Sitting at it, he saw, was a man who looked as though the world had chewed him up and spit him out again (but didn't they all?). A man muscular enough to crush him, likely, in a moment of anger. A man who was far too sober, and who wanted to meet with him. Above all, though, it was a man with a bottle of his favourite vintage.

He was silent as he dropped into the seat opposite Remi, tapping an absent finger along the table. "Call me Jack," he said gruffly, nodding at the bottle. "Heard you're lookin' for me. That drink'll be a good start."

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

Raza hadn't eluded to Jack's magic, though she had impressed upon him that Jack had a way of knowing things. Remi simply assumed this was by way of whispers and shadowy figures in doorways. Regardless, as a figure dropped into the chair opposite him, the alchemist had to steel his expression against turning surprised.

Jack was...much smaller than he would have thought. sucks to be level 0. If anything though, that only reinforced Remi's assumptions about the man. If the captain didn't have physical strength to fall back on in tight situations, he must have quite a bit of something else tucked up his sleeve to have made it so long in a place like this.

"Remi." The alchemist offered with a curt nod, before complying with the captain's request. Holding his own glass in his fingers but not raising it to his lips, he studied the man across him for a moment. Reaching beneath the table, he pulled out a thick ledger and placed it before Jack. "Do you know what this is?" It was a ship's ledger obviously. When opened by either one of them it would appear blank. When opened by the port authorities looking for proper documentation for the items in the Ark's hold, it would reveal a meticulous inventory of absolutely mundane items with all the proper sign-offs. Can you say psychic-dr-who-ledger

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too

full speed ahead 'til I'm dead in the fast lane

Sure, whispers and shadowy figures in doorways. Whatever helped the people of Torchline continue to drink themselves to sleep at night. Jack didn't wait for further permission, pouring himself a generous measure of whisky before sinking back in his seat and knocking it back in one, relishing the burn in his throat and his chest. Cheers'ing to Remi as he named himself, he set down the empty glass and found, beside it, a fine looking ledger.

"I'm gonna assume that was rhetorical and that you ain't tryin' to insult me," he said, narrowing his eyes a fraction and flicking open the ledger absently. "It's blank. Thanks - I already have one." The whisky though - he'd have more of that. And so, pouring himself another glass, he considered Remi very carefully. Expectantly, one might say.

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

"Have to make it seem like this is a friendly conversation." Remi replied with a sly raise of his brow. If all the card were on the table right off the bat, Jack would be off far too quickly for this meeting of minds to be anything other than nefarious. As it was, the handsome alchemist now sporting a bad-boy streak drinking with the captain of the Ark on the nights his husband was far, far away? Well. That seemed believable enough. Maybe.

"Blank to eyes expecting nothing." He agreed. "But to eyes looking for inventory lists? Approvals from other ports, rights of passage even...those eyes will see all that they need to see to assure them that everything held within the hull of a ship is above board, so to speak."

Remi similarly knocked back the drink he'd poured for himself, reaching forward to pour another. "I thought you might find it useful."

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too

full speed ahead 'til I'm dead in the fast lane

Nerfarious meetings. Alchemist. And a husband far, far away. Noted.

Sipping at this glass of whisky a little less like a man who hadn't had a drink in days, Jack glanced over the ledger that remained stubbornly blank - because why would he expect it to be any other way? "But it ain't a friendly conversation," he said, smirking and still examining the ledger.

"You're right - sounds like somethin' infinitely useful to a man like myself. How strangely fortuitous." He raised his eyebrows, as if inviting Remi to cut to the point whenever he felt like it. Jack didn't give a shit about friendly conversation on his first night at shore, and if Remi wasn't going to offer himself up for a good fucking, Jack's patience was guaranteed to be limited.

"Prove it does what you say it does. An' to that end - to what do I owe the pleasure, random stranger on the beach?"

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

"And?" Remi inclined his head to the side. He wasn't here to make friends. Jack could call this little palaver whatever he wanted, just so long as those loitering about didn't get the wrong idea about things. Ideas bubbled distantly in the alchemist's mind: where had the governor be as of late, and just what on earth would Remi do with all those favours he'd been slowly accumulating?

"Prove?" The alchemist chuckled at that. He wasn't a man used to be asked to prove the validity of his creations. Lucky perhaps that his mind would bear this out: the ledger would absolutely work. For his part all Remi did was shrug. "Take it with you and find out for yourself. Worst case you can pass it off as a new ledger mistakenly grabbed, and produce whatever it is you've been using. Best case you'll find yourself breezing through check stops."

Tutting at this, Remi downed his second drink. "Stranger? And yet we're two drinks in and on a first-name basis." Three now, given Remi was pouring himself another. "I hear you're the man to know and recently I've become fluent in the language of bribes."

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too

full speed ahead 'til I'm dead in the fast lane

”And nothin’. Maybe you can work on the friendly bit of your charade some more, I think the bastard in you is showin’.” Tipping Remi a wink, Jack sunk another gulp of whisky and absently flicked through the ledger. All the while he lifted the thoughts from Remi’s head, packing them away for later consideration (especially that one about the governor). Finally, he snapped the ledge shut and pulled it across to his end of the table.

”I’ll do just that. Let’s hope for your sake that it doesn’t turn out to be a dud bribe, eh?” The captain smiled and drummed his fingers along the leather cover. ”You clearly haven’t had a drink with enough people in Torchline yet. You ain’t more’n a stranger until I’ve woken up next to you in bed,” he said. ”Now, fluent in the language you might be, and don’t get me wrong, I am definitely the man to know. But what do you fuckin’ want?”

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

'And yet you're still sitting here drinking with me. " The alchemist replied with a shrug, appraising Jack from beneath the curtain of his curls. "From what I"ve heard of you, getting on too well right off the get-go would be just as suspicious." Remi added after a moment.

At this thinly veiled threat, Remi just chuckled. Dimples broke across his cheeks as he gave Jack a warm smile, his brows raised in easy agreement. It wasn't just that he knew the ledger would work; he knew himself. He'd heard tales of plenty from those in the bar and from Raza, and yet heightened magical or physical strength hadn't been among them. Jack's power lay in his associations and networks to be sure, but still the alchemist found it hard to take the man seriously given what Remi knew he himself was capable of. Especially lately.

"You'd not last a night with me." Remi hummed back, downing his drink before giving the captain a level stare. "You've noticed the portal has been open." Not a question. "It won't be long before the Outlanders that I"ve left start pouring in. They are the...do-gooder type and though I don't doubt that Torchline can hold her own, I'd prefer not to see her reputation be tarnished by their annoying morals."

Rolling the glass easily between his fingers, Remi shrugged. "What I fucking want is for you to know what side of all of this I'm on."

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too

full speed ahead 'til I'm dead in the fast lane

”A smart boy, as well as built like a brick shithouse. You’re the whole fuckin’ package ain’t you?” Jack snorted. It was about as close to a ‘right you are’ that Remi would likely get. He ran a finger around the rim of his glass, meeting the green stare and warm smile evenly, and he raised his eyebrows in challenge at the other man’s quip. ”Overconfident prick, too,” he appraised. ”Better watch my fuckin’ step around this big bad bear man. Really, I’m shakin’ in my damned boots, Remi. I swear.”

Jack slumped back in his chair, propping one of said boots (no tremor to be seen) on the edge of the table. A slow smile crept across his face and he heard the other man out about the portal, about the Outlanders, about Remi’s associations and implications about them. ”Well that is certainly good to know,” he said. ”Good luck to any do-gooders around these parts. I’ll keep you in mind though. You seem the capable sort.” Capable, batshit insane. Same thing really.

i've been the prince, i've been the pauper, been the star and played the fool

"Not a bear." The alchemist corrected smoothly, his lips curling into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hawk, lion, manticore on my good days. Or bad, depending."

As Jack slouched, the alchemist abruptly got up. Looking down at Jack now, a brow raised, he nodded. Confidence rippled outwards from his thoughts, as did mental images of breaking the bottle over Jack's head and simply calling it all a day. He could run a ship, probably. Mayhap he and Ronin could sail away. Quickly those ideas disappeared (a shocking lack of remorse accompanying them), as he clapped Jack on the shoulder. "Well I'll leave you to your drink." I've a husband I'd much rather drink with at home he thought, making his way across the sands and towards his wagon.

~FIN

been the winner and the loser, in between them, too