Thao arrived twenty minutes early, as he was wont to do with most Freehold business. He stood in front of the jazz club and shifted from side to side. Black dress shoes, black pants, black leather belt, white button up, and black tie. The jazz club had never seen such a veritable font of colorful whimsy. He checked his watch once and then twice before facing the doorman.
The familiar chill at the door accompanied the fearsome visage of Big Swilla. Thao's stutter chattered in his teeth, eyes firmly set on a spot in the middle of Swilla's chest and away from his face. "Ah'm j-j-j-just here 't see J-j-jack." As soon as the reptilian Beast cleared him for passage, the Wizened scuttled inside.
He peered around the club for Jack as his eyes adjusted to the inside lighting.
"Thanks fer c-c-comin' t' m-me fer help with yer p-p-proj-ject." The Wizened also reached out a hand to shake Jack's. But the sudden stop and falter of her hand left Thao in a very awkward position. He played it off by pretending to adjust his tie. During the awkward beat, he wondered whether she opted out of a hand shake for her benefit or his.
Keeping Swilla's warning in mind he cleared his throat. Any p-place in p-particular you'd like t' discuss th' m-m-matter?"
Though Thao didn't want to question hospitality, he felt strained when she tried to start up small talk. Well. Ah'm gettin' a free drink outta this, so Ah can't complain. Though he did question why she would go through the trouble of washing out another glass just after cleaning everything up. He took a seat at a barstool, back straight and at attention.
"Ah'll j-just have what yer havin'. Still g-gotta get home after this." He waits for Jack to take a seat beside him before answering her question.
"Work...it's alright. Doin' well fer m-mahself there." The Chirurgeon's fingers tapped arrhythmically against the bartop. "B-been hearin' things though. Things that n-no one's sayin'. Voices Ah shouldn't b-be hearin'. Ah t-try t' ignore it some times, b-but..." His fingers froze in mid air. But Ah really just wanna listen. Just sit down an' listen. Thao's fingers fall back down onto the wood. He held out a hand for his drink.
"Nevermind. It's n-not imp-portant. P-please. Ah'd like t' g-get t' b-business. Ah' d-don't want t' waste yer t-t-time." He left the implicit 'or mine' unsaid.
"of Course" Jack nods and fixes Thao a light drink passing it to him. The winter hare nods them towards a boot h and slow sits.
"your not wasting my time, if you were...you would not be here" the winter said simply before taking drink.
"I am working on a project" Jack paused on that for a moment. "One ment for the protection of the freehold. I cannot say exactly what it is. But i could use your assistant"
The road to Hell was paved with good intentions. Motives like 'the protection of the Freehold' or 'the greater good' could very easily turn into sweeping crusades that ended with blood in the streets and curfews at night. The fact that Jack couldn't tell him exactly what her project was but still needed his assistance set off alarms in the Wizened's skull. Just gotta be careful now. Don't want t' insult th' Winter Court. They'll never forget.
He wouldn't outright reject her call for help. Thao had sworn an oath commending his skill last Autumn and if this was a medical query, the Chirurgeon was bound to see it through. He took a sip of his drink and tried to give the Hare as even a look as possible. "Ah'd g-get t' work immediately, b-but g-g-generally Ah c-can't d-do work unless Ah know what's th' end g-goal. What sort o' assistance were you lookin' for? Medical? Scientific? Oc-ccult?"
Jack watched the nervous man for a moment. It was odd for the hare to watch that way, like she was assessing him, measuring him. In truth that was a look she had picked up from the Wolf of her Motley.
The Archer smiled as Thao pressed the questions on, slowly she took a drink from her glass and tapped the table lightly.
"Medical" She glanced across the bar. " I've been tasked with preparing us in case of emergencies. As such I am looking for Medical Supplies, painkillers, antibiotics, and basic first aid supplies"
She waits for Thao's reaction before going further.
The Chirurgeon rested his bony elbows on the bartop. He steepled his fingers in front of his face and rested his chin on his thumbs. His fingertips thrummed softly in a wave from pinkie to forefinger while Thao considered his Oath and his position. Numbers and names tumbled through his head. He spoke at last.
"Ah c-can p-p-provide m-medical supplies. B-but it won't c-c-come free. Sutter Memorial has a b-bulk supplier an' Ah c-can m-make p-personal orders for whatever supp-plies y'need at a d-d-discount, p-payin' with m-m-mah own money. B-but iffen you want t' supply th' entire Freehold, Ah'm g-gonna need m-more funds than Ah'm p-personally able t' fund."
He reached for the drink and took another sip of his beer. "Ah'll need additional funds in order t' g-get sup-pplies. T-tell me how much an' how m-many an' Ah c-can g-get you an estimate of how m-much it'll c-cost th' next d-day. It m-might b-be a few weeks 'r months until th' supplies c-come in, b-but it'll be worth it." Thao drew invisible lines along the surface of the bartop while he spoke. He didn't seem to notice the work of his hands.
"Ah c-can supplement an actual order with whatever surplus an' wasted m-materials that would've b-been thrown but 're still usable. You c-can't imagine th' amount o' money you c-could save if p-people j-just re-sterilized eq-quipment." Thao shook his head in disapproval, then stared off to the side in his own wondering before snapping back to focus.
"Oh, sorry b-bout that. J-just. Sorry..." Thao looked back to Jack for her response.
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