Escape Trajectory: Makkuro — IC

[Fialova]

"Finally," Tess responds with a grin, her stomach rumbling as she moves past the others. Not waiting for their indecisiveness to lead to another argument, she spots an empty table near one of the walls and makes her way over there, taking a seat as she does. She then looks around, eagerly awaiting their server. Maybe we can get through this meal without a fight. I swear, this group is something else.

[ratwizard]

"We're supposed to—" Cass trails off, shaking his head and deciding to follow the woman toward a booth. Whatever. It's kind of dead anyway. He takes a seat opposite Tess.

[Scratcherclaw]

Can't she read the sign? God, she's gonna get Brayda pissed at us from the start. He sighs, following behind the woman as she finds herself a table. He sits down next to Tess, anxiously scanning the restaurant for any sign of the waitstaff. What if they don't know we're here, all because someone had to seat herself? What if Brayda spits in our food now?

[FinalTemplar]

Looking very out of place, Eridas follows behind them. He glances at the bot asking them to wait patiently and he gets worried, but sits down with them. He toys with the cuffs on his shirt and he starts to chew on his lip, looking at the others. "A-are we sure they won't ask us to leave? Will they serve us?"

[Fialova]

"Why wouldn't they?" Tess responds to the stuttering man. "We've got credits and empty stomachs, we're exactly the sort of people they want in here." What are they gonna do, tell us this seat is reserved? There's no one in here.

[ratwizard]

"Yeah, Creed, it's fine," Cass says in a curt tone. He gives a pregnant sigh before eyeing the three others. "We'll eat, kill some time, then go after our second mark. Should be right on time."

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru raises an eyebrow at Creed's extreme nervousness. The fuck? "Jesus, relax. Have you never been to a restaurant before?" Has he even been outside before?

As Cass brings up the game plan for after lunch, Hikaru half-pays attention, his eyes still wandering around the restaurant. "He'll have better security, so you'd better be ready, genius. And both of you are gonna have to act like you belong. Or better yet, act like the hired help!"

[ratwizard]

Cass smirks at Hikaru's reaction to Creed, but doesn't continue razzing the pilot. At the popstar's suggestion, he nods coolly. "Works for me. I don't mind letting you take the lead," he admits. "I'm a better hacker or a mechanic than I am a talker."

[FinalTemplar]

Eridas quieted down again, looking down at the floor as Hikaru seemed to mock him for his reaction. "S-Sorry."

[Namelessjake]

A few moments after you all take a seat a waitress appears, wearing a bright red shirt with the anthropomorphic falafel logo on the front and holding a large compad. She makes her way to the sign which had told you to wait to be seated but as she nears it she spots you at your table and quickly turns on her heels. "Welcome to Falafellas! I see you've already found a table yourselves - which is fine," she says with a somewhat forced smile as she stands next to your table. "My name is Brayda and I'll be your waitress today, just let me know if there's anything I can do for you," she says, her forced toned continuing. She quickly looks back in the direction of the kitchen where an older looking woman, also wearing the restaurant's uniform, gives her a nod as if to keep going.

"What can I get you guys to start with?" Brayda asks as she turns back to you. She puts a finger on her compad and flicks it forward towards your table. The dark black surface in front of you lights up with the restaurant's menu.

As you flick through the virtual menu you see the options are fairly limited, with the restaurant offering wraps or larger platters of falafel and various sharwarmas, probably made with meat grown in industrial labs which is very common on Idarete due to the planet's lack of agriculture.

Menu

[SHOW]

Mains
Falafel
Wrap: 6 credits
Platter: 10 credits

Chicken Shawarma
Wrap: 7 credits
Platter: 12 credits

Beef Shawarma
Wrap: 7 credits
Platter: 12 credits

Sides
Rice 3 credits
Salad 3 credits
Falafel (4 pieces) 2 credits
Sauce 1 credit

Drinks
Turbo Soda 2 credits
Idarate Vat Brewed Beer 3 credits
Water 2 credits

[ratwizard]

"Right..." Cass peers through the menu, turning back to the woman in a short moment.

"Okay. I'll take a chicken shawarma platter — extra baba ganoush — and can I get a soda? Light ice." He waits for her to register his order in her compad. "Thanks."

[Fialova]

Tess turns to face Brayda with a smile, hoping a cheerful tone will help offset the woman's seemingly-sour mood. "I'll have the falafel wrap and a glass of water, please," she says. It's criminal they charge for water here, and the same price as a soda? Do they want their people to get fat? Eyeing the beer on the menu, she says, "oh, and is it possible to get the beer to-go? If so I'll take that too." I'll need it once this whole debacle is over.

[FinalTemplar]

Eridas checked his pockets before taking in a deep breath as he looked at the prices. He wasn't much of a liar, unfortunately. He just weakly shook his head and pushed the menu away.

[Fialova]

"Not hungry?" Tess asks, noticing the man's lack of an order. "Surely you must be, that place was horrible."

[FinalTemplar]

He mumbled "N-no m-money." under his breath.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru musters a faked smile as their waitress introduces herself. She really must know the owner if she's still got a job here after so many bad reviews. He skims the menu, paying close attention to any nutritional information listed. I can't eat whatever I want if I'm expected to keep this physique. His eyes wander towards the side salad and he grimaces.

His eyes move back towards the shawarma. Screw it. I can work out longer tonight. "I would do a beef shawarma wrap and a glass of water, please and thank you!"

[ratwizard]

Cass sighs at the meek man across from him, rolling a decision to and fro in his mind.

"You're on my tab, beratna," the junkie says in a low tone before turning back to Brayda. "He'll have the same order. Just roll our bill together, if you could. Thanks."

[FinalTemplar]

Eridas' eyes widen at Cass before looking down at the table in silence, just nodding. "T-thank you." He mutters softly.

[Fialova]

"So generous," Tess says to Cass, placing her head on her arm as she leans on the table and faces towards him. "Looks like we can all get along after all, huh? Doesn't seem so hard," she continues playfully as she waits for a response from the waitress.

[ratwizard]

Cass nods wearily at Tess, feeling patronized by the gesture, but says nothing. I just want this fucking job to end.

[Namelessjake]

"That's all fine, I'll be right back with your drinks" Brayda says with a smile which quickly fades before she is even fully turned around. A couple of minutes later she returns from the kitchen with your drinks, including an unopened beer.

"Your food shouldn't be long," she says as she puts the drinks down, forcing another fake smile. She then leaves to seat a young couple who just walked through the door.

[ratwizard]

The face of a woman who's just been yelled at for another poor review this week, Cass thinks as he takes the soda and slurps it down. "Damn. It's funny how good something mediocre tastes when you've been off the grid for some time."

[Scratcherclaw]

"Thank you," Hikaru says as the waitress hands off his drink. Here's hoping she didn't spit in it. I haven't seen a smile that fake since Raye Diànt saw me at that charity event last year. He takes a sip of his water, eyeing Cass down his own drink. "Anything tastes better than the slop those dicks call food. A dog eats better."

[ratwizard]

"Yeah," Cass says grumpily between sips. "It's horrible shit, man. I wouldn't feed that recycled-cardboard-ass, stale-dishrag, fucking... slop — yeah, slop. Good word — to my worst enemy." He sniffs, as if a sniff could be temperamental. "Those Diktat chucklefucks have no right pissing on the people of this city."

[Fialova]

Tess smiles and winks at the woman as she passes over their drinks. She takes the beer bottle and places it in her bag, saving it for later. As the others begin to talk about their experience, she says in a low voice, "you guys should keep it down. Who knows who's listening, last thing we need is more Diktat eyes on us." Seriously, what part of secret criminal mission do they not understand? You can't just talk about being in jail in a restaurant with people around.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru rolls his eyes at Tess's scolding of their discussion. Okay, mom. He takes another sip of his water, glaring at her. "There's a reason I didn't name any names. For all anyone listening thinks, I was talking about some sucky free hotel breakfast. And then you named names."

[ratwizard]

"I named names," Cass clarifies with a shrug. "But you're both right. We should drop it."

[FinalTemplar]

Eridas quietly sipped on his drink, offering Cass a small smile. He's so nice... What a good friend. He thinks.

[Namelessjake]

You suddenly hear a clatter from the kitchen followed by muffled shouting drawing your attention away. A few moments latter Brayda emerges smiling, carrying a tray of food. She walks over to your table and places the tray down on the side of the table.

"Your falafel wrap will just be a couple more minutes, they was a small problem in the kitchen," Brayda says to Tess as you see the tray only has three plates on it with the other orders.

She places two identical plates in front of Cass and Eridas. A large portion of thinly sliced marinated meat with onion, takes up around half the plate next to three small metal containers of dips - hummus, tahini, and baba ganoush - Cass' plate has a fourth container with an extra baba ganoush. The rest of the plate is then taken up with a couple of falafel balls, fries, and a somewhat basic looking side salad of lettuce and tomatoes with pickles. Hikaru's plate is smaller with the same mixture of meat and a assortment of salad poking out of a still steaming pitta and another small container of hummus.

"I'll be right back with the falafel," Brayda says before picking the tray back up and heading back towards the kitchen.

[Fialova]

"That's alright," Tess responds politely. She looks at the food with very slight frown, the hunger becoming even more apparent now that there is food directly in view. When the waitress turns to leave she flashes her another smile before turning to the others. "No need to wait for me, dig in," she says.

[ratwizard]

Cass holds a hand over his mouth to hide the smirk as he hears the commotion from the kitchen and sees Tess' order come up short. Poor Brayda can't catch a break, can she?

As the woman leaves, the junkie looks down at his food and takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes in an almost religious appreciation. Perfect.

He nods toward Tess, avoiding her gaze. "You can poach some of my fries or falafel til yours comes out. That way we don't feel like dickheads devouring this beautiful goodness." The junkie dips a few fries in the hummus and stuffs them into his mouth. Fuck yes.

OOC

[SHOW]

How many weeks of daily methadone tablets and spleen steroids does Cass have left?

1(1d10) = 1

Fuck

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru's eyes go wide as the crashing and yelling echoes from the kitchen. He glances over, watching Brayda emerge from within with their meals. He averts his eyes as she approaches and explains the circumstances. I guess that's why she's on edge. Makes me almost feel bad for her. Almost.

As she places his meal in front of him, his eyes light up and he grins widely. "You don't have to tell me twice," Hikaru says, diving straight into his wrap at Tess's urging. He shoves the wrap into his mouth, feeling like he's living for the first time in too long. "Thank god we're not on Strocho. The paparazzi would have a field day if they saw me here."

[Fialova]

"Thanks for the offer," Tess says to Cass, giving him the first genuine smile she'd shown him in awhile. "I'm good, though. Those carbs aren't good for my figure," she continues, giving him a wink.

Turning to Hikaru, head still in her hand, she listens to him talk about the paparazzi. Reaching for her compad with her other hand, she holds it up and snaps a quick picture of him right as he is taking an especially unflattering bite of his meal. "I wonder how much that one would be worth," she says to him playfully.

[ratwizard]

Cass shrugs at Tess, already too many bites deep into his wrap to give any meaningful attempt at banter. Ugghhhhh, fuck. This is the shit.

Turning, he watches calmly while Tess antagonizes the popstar.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Worth our friendship and more than your life," Hikaru grumbles, unhappy with Tess having photographed him without permission. He scowls, taking a more careful bite of his meal. "Delete that. And delete it from the Recently Deleted folder."

[Fialova]

"What, you don't want to take a matching one of me? We can make them our backgrounds," Tess continues while taking another picture, this time of Hikaru's annoyed expression. She is no longer leaning on her hand now, but sitting up and looks quite amused.

[Scratcherclaw]

"You're not gonna get me with that one. Star Teen Magazine awarded me with their Cutest Pout of 3200 Award. It's kind of a big deal." He flips through his compad, pulling up the magazine's article on his particularly adorable expression and showing it to Tess. He smirks. "I'm sure you'd win one of their awards too. Most Likely to Drive a Man Insane. Clinically insane."

[Namelessjake]

Brayda emerges from the kitchen once more, this time with a single plate which see brings straight over to Tess. "And your falafel wrap. Sorry for the wait," she says placing down the wrap in front of Tess. It appears very similar to Hikaru's wrap, although the meat is replaced with several crushed up falafel balls. The wrap looks somewhat hastily constructed and could fall apart, making for a messy dining experience.

"Just let me know if you need anything else," she says, with another of her signature fake smiles, before leaving you to finish your meal.

[Fialova]

"Thank you," Tess responds with her own smile, this one genuine. Poor girl This place must be slowly sapping her joy in life. Looking down at the food she notices its haphazard construction and turns to Hikaru with a grin. "Looks like you will get a mess picture of me after all," she says, as she lifts and takes a slow bite, eyeing him as she does so in case he takes out his camera. As she lifts it some of the filling falls out the bottom back onto the plate.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru rolls his eyes at Tess's offer. "As if that means anything. You're not famous, except maybe with a handful of rich old men in Strocho." I'm sure they pay well, but god, the wrinkles.... Ignoring her prodding, he turns back towards his own meal, savoring the meat and warm pita. Not bad for a backwater planet like this. Can't wait for food back home though.

[Fialova]

"Hey, come now," Tess responds, feigning offense. "Only some of them are old. Or men, for that matter," she continues, taking another sloppy bite of the slowly falling apart wrap. "But you're right, seeing me like this wouldn't ruin their opinions of me. Some might even find it a turn-on," she continues, as a small clump of falafel falls onto her plate. "Wouldn't they be fun backgrounds, though?" she adds, getting back to her original point.

[Scratcherclaw]

"I knew you were a fan, but making me your background? Next you're gonna join my fan club and practice kissing on a holographic picture of me," Hikaru says, smirking as he thinks of his obsessive fans. Whoever sells those holographs must make a killing. Surprised our merchandising team hasn't jumped on it.

With his thoughts back to reality, he shakes his head. "Nah, my background's staying what it is. It's been the album art for the first single I wrote since it came out. Kinda special to me."

[Fialova]

"Why practice on a hologram when I can just use the real thing?" Tess responds with a smirk, before taking another bite of her meal. As he describes his phone background she says, "ugh, so cheesy. You should have something exciting, like a still shot of yourself on stage or something if you're gonna make it work-related."

[ratwizard]

Cass coughs on a bite of chicken as Hikaru brings up Tess' line of work. He grunts, clearing his throat and washes it down with a long gulp of his soda. Fuck, man, don't choke in front of her. God, you're a loser piece of shit.

He instead eyes Creed, curious to see how the man is enjoying his wrap.

[Scratcherclaw]

"I'd hope you don't need practice in your line of work," Hikaru says, covering his mouth with his hand to conceal a cheeky grin. As she prods at his compad background, he shrugs. "Call me sentimental. And the album cover is cool as hell."

He glares at Cass as he nearly chokes on his food. "Forget how to chew there? Don't kill yourself, champ, or this job is a bust."

[FinalTemplar]

While Hikaru and Tess bicker, Eridas quietly focuses on his food. He tries to be polite while he eats and manages to be somewhat respectful.

[Namelessjake]

Your conversation dies down as you all get stuck into your meal. After ten minutes or so you're all finished, feeling not only full but also like you've had one of the best meals of your life thanks to your time in a cell. Brayda reappears and begins cleaning up the empty plates.

"Would you guys like to take a look at the dessert menu or do you just want the bill?" She asks, as she continues to stack the plates on her arm.

[ratwizard]

"We'll take the bill please," Cass says, deciding for the others. We don't have time to sit around and drink a shake.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru's eyes widen as Brayda mentions dessert. He scans his companions, unsure of whether they want any or not. He frowns as Cass calls for their checks. Maybe we can stop for ice cream or something after the job is done.

[Fialova]

Tess is about to ask for the bill when Cass does in her place. Good, glad I am not the only one who just wants to get this over with. "Yes, and would you mind splitting it for us?" she asks Brayda with a smile.