Blinov:
All other bar patrons who pass the bald man's table grant him quiet deference with a nod or nervously polite smile. The staff approach him with a few questions about inventory and drink menu, to which he indifferently grunts answers.

As he makes a second pass of the room, his gaze fixes upon you. He mouths something, a serious look crossing his face...

Denny:
You recognize a few of the patrons, to varying degrees.

The heavyset guy with the deadly belt is some blowhard merc who comes and goes. The Street says his name is Monaz, and he only deigns visit Qetesh when he has work on nearby worlds. As you study him today, he begins aggressively taunting two middle-aged women in farmers' clothes.

The guy playing games with the raven-haired beauty is utterly ubiquitous, and at the same time insignificant. You see him around town from time to time, all over town, reading digital news boards and getting cups of coffee. He takes shuttles downtown and eats his lunch outside the racetrack. He doesn't seem important, just uncommonly active about town.

The bald man whom Blinov is spying on is a local entrepreneur, Mr. Blanco. Is he the so-called "Heathen Eyes" who runs this place? It would be a reasonable guess to assume so. After comparing notes with Blinov about the rumors, you know pretty much the same intel as he does, true or not.

By the by, Jessup and it connected domes have a population of roughly 200,000 citizens, slightly less than Q-Town but more than its other nearest neighbors, the dome of Raleigh and Sandor.

(OOC: Slightly more than the pop of Little Rock, Arkansas!)

Jolene:
You get a message on your compad--its Marshal Greene, of Q-Town, who rewarded Blinov for intel yesterday. As Dr. Nadir forewarned you, Greene would like to speak to your group sometime today about a possible job. Curiously, he reports he's also in Jessup and can meet you wherever, which is clearly out of his jurisdiction...

Can Blinov use any of his skills to read Blanco's lips for whatever he mouthed before looking away nonchalantly?

I'd say it would take a touch of Perception to figure it out closely--Jojo and Denny have that though and you could bother them to help you if they were paying attention, OR you could make the attempt unskilled yourself...

It would be too fast for either of them to notice in time. Blinov makes the check unskilled.

(Rolled for you in the rolz room--You just made it, even with disadvantage!)

Blinov:
Blanco's expression isn't menacing, but focused. It takes you a moment to realize what he's saying: "Draw."

Blinov does - draw a card that is.

Blinov:
You slide a card from the deck, its holographic image displaying upside down. It's a man on a large stone throne, looking quite regal in the middle of a sea of sand. With both hands he holds a large, bountiful cup, full to the brim with shimmering blue water. There's something swimming within the cup, some sort of fishlike aquatic critter, who bounds around the water's surface energetically. However, dark shapes move among the dunes behind him--large, looming shapes, approaching the king to consume him. The image grows darker, until the shimmering blue water is the only light, and then the image flickers and disappears.

As you look down at the card, Blanco stands and slowly strides towards your table.

Jolene and Denny:
Blanco greets you before formally acknowledging Blinov. He bows gently to Jolene especially. "Welcome to my supper club," he croaks, his voice like grating like granite slabs grinding against each other. "I have not seen you here before...are you visiting our fine dome?" A twinkle in his eye says he already knows the answer...

"There is no getting around your sharp eye, Gallant of Jessup. Thank you kindly for being a welcoming host. It has been an age since I felt treated like a right lady, all proper like."

"But you caught me at a disadvantage, not knowing your full name and all. And me not able to step on the toes of my escorts' honor... I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my informal address to you just now."

/looks at each of the men in this little conversation during talk with all bright eyes and smiles — and expectation.

At the appropriate juncture, Blinov introduces himself and casually places the card on the table in a prominent position, like a silent question.

Jolene looks at Blinov with big eyes of disbelief, like being dismissed, and then looks back at the bald man with raised eyebrows and pointed glance back to Blinov as if saying, "See what I mean?"

Denny

As Mr. Blanco comes over... Denny remembers that this Business man has always had a veil about it him


 " Actually sir, I'm a local... I used to work for Plowman Agricultural Engineering... Maybe you've heard of it?"

Jolene, with eyebrows still raised, looks at Denny, then rolls her eyes up with a conscious blink and purposeful intake of breath. Upon her exhaling sigh she opens her eyes and one can see she has returned her gaze to the bald man. The eyebrows drop as if resigned, and Jolene's eyes next wander about the room.

(She is now taking an interest in whoever is taking an interest in this meeting with the supper club host. Perception roll as the GM likes it.)

Blanco taps the card and lifts it from the table. He holds it in his hand as he speaks to Jolene. "You may call me Blanco, madam. And no worries regarding dress--your attire is fine. Appearances matter little to me, though mean a great deal to some." He subtly indicates boisterous Monaz, still taunting folks from the bar.

(OOC: Shall post your Perception results late today. In the meantime, any response to Marshal Greene?)

"Plowman?" Blanco asks Denny. "Didn't that become Lewiston AgriCon? Ah, still, nice to meet you."

Finally placing the card before Blinov, Blanco seems curious. "Well...I have never seen such an artifact in such good condition. Your draw bears a terrible warning, but despite that...I..."

He leans over the table. "How much for the whole deck?"

Denny

Denny get's a little upset when he hears Lewiston Agricon... and says with a rough edge

 " They're crooks, and If I were you I would never take your business to them, They're nothing like the company my Dad and I ran..."

Denny:
Blanco's shoulders tense up, like a boa constrictor flexing. His brow creases, seemingly suddenly agitated as you grow angry. "Er, I seem to have treaded on a nerve. I am sorry for touching a sensitive topic," he tells you. "I can assure you, my interests are in the entertainment and leisure industries, but were I to break into farming, I'd certainly not give them a single credit!"

He seems almost as mad as you! But not mad at you--you see it plainly in his eyes, flashing brilliant white like a furnace. In this instant, he seems to hate Lewiston Agricon as much as you do. Blanco takes a deep breath and composes himself, his eyes fading to pale milk again. He sighs, and shakes your hand.

Jolene:
You surreptitiously scan the room for anyone watching the meeting. The young barman for one seems surprised--perhaps at the mere fact that Blanco is engaging with you. He then returns to washing glasses.

The curvy black-haired woman peeks at you over her shoulder. Her gambling opponent is too engaged in the game to look up. She calls it a game, much to her opponent's disappointment, and stands to stretch. She then collects her winnings, settles her tab with the barman, and saunters for the exit, giving you a parting glance before she goes.

Two men from the far corner of the room watch her as she exits, and casually follow her out.

Blinov:
Blanco scratches the back of his hand while awaiting your response. He looks down at your tarot deck hungrily.