ArchivedLogs:Vignette - Resource Management

Vignette - Resource Management
Dramatis Personae Joe, Wilson Fisk
In Absentia	2013-11-18 Joe makes a new friend
Location Medical Station for Plague Meds
Joe sat at a table in the bar of a deserted bowling alley. Well, it was /almost/ deserted. A mountain of a bald, white man sat at the bar, flipping channels on the TV on the wall. He turned as if he forgot something from before, and said, "Oh hey bud. You wanna drink or sumpfin?" Just when Joe was about to answer in the affirmative, the big galoot guffawed and said, "Well then make it yourself!" He waved a hand at the mostly stocked bar, chuckled at the cleverness of his joke and turned back to the TV. He finally found the news feed he wanted, and watched it on mute with the closed captioning turned on. Joe hauled himself out of his chair and crossed to behind the bar. It didn't even surprise him when the goon asked him for something 'since yer up anyway'. He fixed the big guy's drink first, and then a gin and tonic for himself, actually a little surprised at the high quality of booze available. Joe briefly lamented the lack of lime wedges, but then the reality of the world just outside the alley reasserted itself. He just sipped his drink and enjoyed it as is. Eventually he was called in. The small office was made to feel even smaller by the immense bulk of the man behind the desk. The crime boss was enormous, at least 400 pounds, but when he stood to greet Joe, his movement belied the man's great strength. He shook Joe's hand, and invited him to sit down. "You probably know me by reputation, Mr. Zerah," the huge man said as they both took seats. He seemed pleasant enough, but he didn't seem overly concerned with making Joe feel comfortable. "Just so you know, you're only still breathing because my guy confirmed what you brought me. It's the real deal." He watched Joe for a long moment and added, "Which makes /you/ the real deal, Zerah. You got a big hairy pair walking in here with that merchandise." Joe licked his lips and settled into the hard wooden chair which was his only option on his side of the desk. "Well that's good to hear, Mr. Fisk. It was pretty hard to come by, but I wanted to give you first rights on it. Uh, to the merchandise, I mean, not my-. Everyone knows New York is your town, sir, and-" "Come on, Zerah, quit kissing my ass," Fisk said, laughing at the potential meaning of Joe's explanation. "You and I both know you got access to the hottest thing on the street. And I ain't talking about your /balls/. I'm also not going to insult you by threatening you into service. Besides," Fisk leaned back in his chair, lacing his huge hands together in front of him. "I think specialists work better when they're independent. I'll save us both some time. You were /right/ to come to me first. I want what you got. And I'll pay top dollar, because it's /worth/ top dollar." Fisk held up a small glass vial, and Joe relaxed back in his seat. "Keep bringing me these, and I'll make sure you're very comfortable. This thing won't last forever, but I'm betting you'll find even more ways to be useful when things clear up out there. Am I wrong?" "N-no sir, you're not wrong," Joe said. "I can be very useful to your organization. Trust me. If I just had some resources, I could bring you a lot more." Fisk nodded and reached into a desk drawer, pulling out a bank-wrapped stack of bills. "I know cash isn't worth much yet," he said. "But it will be soon. You'll see. Take that for now. And Gary outside. Tell him to get Hector as well. The three of you should be more than able to tour the ci-" Fisk frowned and cleared his throat, but didn't finish the sentence. "You'll be fine. They can get you whatever else you might need." Joe emerged from the big man's office, and it was only then that he remembered the drink in his hand. He sipped at it, and stared out at the dark lanes for a long moment. Bowling alleys were creepy places when no one was around, having a good time. But just then, Joe was feeling 10 feet tall, ready to take on the world. The zombie apocalypse had been good to him. He looked at Gary and said, "I'm guessing you were listening in?" Joe nodded when Gary grunted his assent and said, "Good, let's go get Hector then. We've got work to do."