[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The thug in the doorway nodded once and disappeared, only to shove an indignant gentleman through the door.

Nexus looked him up and down and scowled; the gentleman in front of him was well-dressed and held himself with dignity, his bowler hat perched perfectly on top of his head and his shoes nicely shined. This was no customer.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"What do you want?" he growled out, heaping as much loathing into his voice as he could and eyeing the briefcase the man clutched in front of him as he took a lazy pull from the cigar. "You're no customer and yet you say you owe me a debt - of what, I wonder?"

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The man's face split into a greedy, oily smile and Nexus felt his hackles rise. The gentleman stepped forward and opened the case, and Nexus feigned boredom as he looked at the rows and rows of Keystones and Goddess Tears in the case, not missing the vial secured to the lid of the case in which something dark floated and wriggled.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I've been told you're the man to see about getting hold of things" the seedy little man declared, grin opening wider into an almost feral smile. "I would like to see about getting this delivered."

Nexus snorted and blew smoke into the open case. "I'm not running a delivery service", he sneered.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He watched as the man pushed the case closer to him. "This case is one half of the payment for your trouble - surely the notorious Scarhands won't have any trouble taking a simple vial across the city? Or should I start looking elsewhere?"

Nexus bared his teeth and growled at the man in reply.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He scowled, and leaned over to look at the vial more closely. "I can see that's a mustelid specimen - and I don't care where you got it from, before you start boring me with details." He turned his face to the door whilst keeping one eye on the case and the seedy little man.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Tony!" he barked, and the sound of a scuffle outside the door indicated Tony was on his way, finally stepping into the room and shoving the door closed behind him, as they all ignored the grunt of pain from whomever had been trying to listen in.

Nexus swished his drink around in the glass, and curled his lip.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I want three stooges on choppers for an urgent delivery - I want it to change hands fast, and I want a 'receipt' got it?" he sneered, eying the little man who was now trembling with glee. "Who's our contact on the other end?"

He listened to the description of the young woman who would meet Tony's guys when the got there, and scowled.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door and Tony entered with a black eye and a battered but intact receipt, the signature of which was still gleaming red on the parchment.

"Sorry for the delay boss, we had some trouble on the way back". Nexus sneered, and gestured with his glass for the receipt to be handed over to the seedy little man in front of him.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

His sneer grew deeper as the man exclaimed in delight, as he reached forward to take the receipt.

"Not so fast, he said, jerking his head which caused Tony to pull the receipt out of reach. "I believe you owe us another case" he stated, as he shut and clasped the case on the desk and pulled it to rest on the floor beside his chair, coincidentally just out of reach.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Ah, yes, of course" replied the man smoothly, though Nexus could see the sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

"Perhaps Tony can provide you with an escort, to make sure you don't get... lost.. on your way". He gestured with his glass and Tony folded the receipt and placed it neatly in his breast pocket, before clasping the man by the shoulder.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Thank you for your business" Nexus sneered as Tony escorted the man out of the door. He was not concerned about the delivery they had just made, after all, the police force was in his pocket and half of them owed him big money - they wouldn't touch him, especially if they wanted to keep their homes and families.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He grinned nastily to himself as he swung his feet off of the table and picked up the case, turning to the safe which was bolted to the ground beside his desk.

A river of dirty money flowed through his 'business', and he swam in it every day, drinking deep as if it were the finest champagne.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As he spun the dial, he felt the weight of the pouch still hanging from his side. It had been a very profitable night, which while not unusual was certainly unexpected - he hadn't meant to be working that night, after all. As the safe door swung open, he stepped back to admire the bags, cases and gleaming piles within for a moment, before lifting the case in his hand.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He felt the case slide into place with a minimal amount of shoving, and stepped back to admire the wealth in front of him before swinging the safe door shut and spinning the dial to reset it. Business was booming, his whisky and cigar were rich, and he lay back in his chair with his feet up once again to await Tony's return.

END