<div align="center"><strong>-=Simeon Gaorong - enacting diplomacy insurance - Persephone=-</strong></div><br/>“Yes, Ferret is...something, isn’t she? Although, it seems that she’s not the only one who has her eye on you, Si...” Sasha teased him with a wink, no doubt referring to the helpful flower clerk working in that less than legitimate establishment.<br/><br/>In reply, however, Simeon offered the younger woman a somewhat more serious moment of eye contact, albeit softened somewhat by his friendly smile. "One can only hope," he said, leaving the details of that hope up in the air for the time being.<br/><br/>Then they were apart, the First Officer away to take care of communicating their more serious business back home to confer with the Captain on what action to take next, leaving her escort to escort her other escort. How very meta of her. Perhaps it was intended to be time spent educating their new hire on the details of this kind of work; clearly he was uncomfortable improvising, working without at least the vague semblance of a plan ahead of time, and being in hostile conditions without clear definitions for how to engage or whether to engage at all. Somehow he didn't think that was the case, despite having a wealth of knowledge he could impart if asked, or if needed.<br/><br/>Flowers, for instance. McPherson's reaction to Si's momentary gardening foray clearly conveyed his thoughts on the matter: effeminate, wasteful, distracting. It was true that dallying with the construction of a bouquet could be these things. However, it could also provide a useful prop for what was essentially a mobile defense operation.<em>The trouble with escort work of this nature is visibility,</em>he could tell his disapproving protege.<em>There is no defending these things in advance. We do not know who we will see, nor who will see us, nor in what state. Obfuscation is, therefore, a valuable tool to assist us in denying possible threats information they would prefer to have prior to engaging. Are we armed? How heavily? Are we preparing for an attack or at ease? Which way are we planning to go next? Which party is defender and which defended? All of this is information we can attempt to deny. In this case, a bouquet assists in that denial.</em><br/><br/>Simeon was almost always more long-winded when not actually speaking.<br/><br/>His educational generosity might continue,<em>A bouquet is among the best options for carried cargo when acting as a live participant in possible combat situations. It is often colorful, drawing the eye away from the body and toward the blossoms, inadvertently causing poor aim if you are lucky. It is lightweight, provided you pick your flowers well and do not pack too many together, yet the bouquet can often take up a prodigious amount of space, allowing for any number of things to be hidden behind or around it in the cradle of one's arms, like so.</em>This would be when he'd indicate having kept one hand entirely out of sight since they'd left Ferret's shop. One arm was more or less dedicated to supporting the bouquet, but the other only needed to provide the look of offering that support when, in actuality, it is free to do whatever is needed behind the screen of the neatly wrapped stems.<br/><br/>Doubtless this particular arrangement of hands, arms and dazzling color contributed to Simeon's comparative calm beside McPherson during their altercation with Badger's associates. The veteran had to admit, while the young lady with the gun had been on his radar during most of her approach, her companion caught him somewhat off guard coming out of the crowd as well. If it had come to combat he would likely not have been able to prevent their new man's demise - a grim truth, but one he could accept to keep in mind on future occasions. Denial never helps one improve; one must recognize mistakes to overcome them. All the same Si kept his demeanor level while being ushered out of sight alongside Steve, the flowers held motionless between his body and that of their mysterious assailants' female half. If they had meant for violence to occur it likely would have happened already; that did not mean he planned to lower his stance at all until the situation became more secure.<br/><br/>“Please excuse our graceless introduction; my name is Snow Ishii, and my associate is called Blondie. We mean you no harm, we are simply delivering an important message. ...  Our message is from Badger. He wants you to tell your Captain that he doesn’t appreciate the company he and his First Officer have been keeping. But as a sign of good faith, he is willing to forgive the blatant disrespect he’s been shown. Tell your Captain that Badger expects him to pay him a visit soon - and definitely before another visit to the viper - or he will consider it a serious insult. Your Captain knows where to find him.” The young lady was well-spoken for an associate of Badger's. Her appearance was less startling by comparison; any hooligan could buy a few pretty faces, but rare to come across one who sounded cultured as well. A curiosity, but one he would have to take the luxury of considering at a later time.<br/><br/>At that moment he had more important things to do with his thoughts than occupy them on frivolities. "I will be sure to bring the message to the Captain personally," Simeon answered, nodding slightly when the woman bowed. "However," he added upon straightening, "and bear in mind this is merely a suggestion from a weary man, not a statement on behalf of his superiors; I have often found it more effective to deliver messages prior to the show of force when my audience is more accustomed to force than verbalization. While I can - and do - appreciate the unspoken implications of your method, I would hate to have future communications prematurely cut off by dire misunderstandings."<br/><br/>It wasn't a statement that needed answering, nor did he expect to hear one. They had said their piece, this Snow and Blondie, and doubtless were instructed to do nothing more unless something extraordinary took place. Still, they were no slouches in this line of work, clearly; they must have noticed the stiffness in Si's posture at some point even if the reason for it were not immediately apparent. Things had gone their way this time, but it was not quite so one-sided as that brand of strong-arm tactic required to be consistently effective. He intended to remind them of that fact, nothing more.<br/><br/>When they had gone Simeon lowered his gun, his arm having begun to cramp somewhat from keeping it angled outward behind the bundle of flowers. It was not a comfortable position to hold stationary for any prolonged length of time. Made the wrist burn after a while, and the forearm a bit. Nothing that wouldn't fade given a little time to relax. "Don't beat yourself up about it," he said a few moments after Steve's wall-directed venting. Had to give him a little time to work it off, but only a little. "We are on their home ground after all. It was not ideal, but they have a positioning advantage on us here. It is to be expected. Shake it off, do better next time. Now, when you are ready," he tucked his gun hand up behind the flowers again, flat against his chest to make the raised grip easier on his arm, "I believe we are due at a hellhole to pretend it is not a hellhole." Granted, by Simeon's standards it was likely any and every pub in the Eavesdown area qualified as a hellhole, but that didn't mean he was wrong in labeling at least some of them that way.<br/><br/>He waited a moment at the mouth of the alley to look 'round the corners first, scanning the crowd for any untoward attention directed at them before nodding Steve to follow him out and up the street toward the Slippery Cock. It was not the first time he'd thought the place needed a new name. How much more cruder could one get? Not that it was so terrible in this case, really, considering the company. For as much attitude as he'd shown thus far it seemed to Si that the new guy might fight in at such a place rather well. Bully for him.<br/><br/>If they were meant to loosen up at all upon arrival it seemed necessary to begin the process prior to that point. To that end, once they were firmly returned to their course through the crowded pathways Simeon vocalized the best reason for having picked up flowers on the job: "You realize, of course, that if you had been holding the bouquet and I were the one empty-handed, you would have been the one to receive the gunnery geisha's up-close attention and I that of her brutish partner."