<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d3/dc/66/d3dc666930396888d065bf46105d76b0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Dalys Xavier Armstrong Jr. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=250173.msg12369109#msg12369109)<br/><strong>City | Date | Time:</strong>Boston, MA | August 14, 2017 | 8:45 AM<br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Mr. M<br/><strong>Content:</strong><br/><hr/>Necessities were sometimes unpleasant. It was a fact of life that Xavier had known since he was old enough to be fully aware of his surroundings. Fortunately for him he'd learned to shoulder the unpleasantries and make .. well no, Xavier didn't make a virtue of anything, but he knew how to shoulder a burden and keep moving. And if anyone tried to sell you that raw eggs were anything but unpleasant, they were bullshitting you flat out--but he needed food or he'd crash. Hard.  85 calories from a whole extra large egg were hardly going to put a dent in his appetite but every little bit counted. So he chewed the shit up like the shell wasn't slicing into the roof of his mouth and swallowed it all like a man, no weak ass gagging for him (he'd eaten way worse before anyhow). Turning the mustard bottle up after that was no less unpleasant but again, something was better than nothing. At least in this case.<br/><br/>Marines never stopped being Marines.<br/><br/>It was an unfortunate and ugly truth. He was sure the statement was meant to instill a sense of honor and pride but despite what some would consider a successful stint, he viewed his coerced service with mixed feelings and likely always would. There simply was no way around that. He hadn't wanted to be a soldier and he hadn't earned his punishment. Some might believe it was a sort of karmic justice but those very few who actually knew Xavier knew better. He'd been shafted.<br/><br/>Opening the milk he swallowed down a few healthy gulps to ease the odd burn caused by excessive mustard consumption then went back to polish off the rest of the yellow bottle. His mind was working over time to make sense of the puzzle that was in front of him but he was missing far too many pieces.<br/><br/>In the end, when both containers had been set aside empty, and Xavier had nothing more to focus on but the offer in front of him, he nodded. He could've opted to play hardball but why waste more time? Twenty five grand would make the potential move he'd been thinking of quite a bit easier to manage--though he still wasn't sure he wanted to go through with it now. Aside from that though was the fact that he'd made up his mind to go after her the moment Micah's name had been mentioned. Whether it was guilt, an odd sense of duty, or just the need for a good old challenge that had decided him he didn't know but as his eye fell on the file he could acknowledge that somewhere inside he felt responsible. Not that he'd ever say so out loud. They thought he possessed the skills needed to handle her? Yeah. Clearly they'd never met the woman. He enjoyed a challenge, true, but it could be Mr.M and his employer were betting on the wrong horse here. But, better him than the next guy right?<br/><br/>"So... not Tac 6," his index finger poked at the counter, "or the military, " he poked the counter in a different spot then moved to do it again, "but rather some shady employer in the background who knows way too much and pays in cash?" It sounded sketchy as hell. Thankfully, one thing Xavier had going for him was the tendency for others to think only the worst of him.<br/><br/>"Yeah, ok." He agreed with a shrug, his hand rising to rub over his scruffy face. "But I want double. 25 now, 25 when I bring her to the agreed upon site." If he did at all. "You're sending me after an Evolved with military training after all. Think of it as hazard pay." He smirked at the man now, the cheeky little dimple in his cheek managing to soften his countenance though it did nothing to make him look either harmless or innocent. "Any considerations for the state she needs to be in upon delivery?" A fair question and one which would let him further gauge who and what he was dealing with here because admittedly he hadn't a single clue. And Xavier didn't like being clueless.