I DODGE THE BLAST AND APOLOGIZE

- FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE -

It was kind of hard to sneak up on the mercenary, which is why he's hardly surprised by the sudden presence, looking over to the rather pretty lady who arrived. "Maria, I presume?" he asks with a mock bow, charming as always. Just about as much as this place apparently, Maverick chuckling in response to the question. "Oh totally." he nods as he looks about the decrepit building. "I could see myself squatting here." One good thing about Akrham was that real estate was dirt cheap thanks to the trouble the island was facing. Not that he'd move out this far. While he had nothing against crooks and thieves, he'd rather not live in the slums if he could avoid it. But as far as laying low was concerned, this place was perfect! Hence why he was more likely to head to the Island to conduct his less than legal businesses.

While Maria sat, Maverick remained standing, leaning back a bit against the wall, careful not to put too much weight on it in case the whole building crumbled. He had to admit, she wasn't exactly what he'd pictured. In his defense, when he thought of witches he expected old women with big noses and broomsticks. She on the other hand was quite cute and had an impressive amount of hair. He was in for even more surprises though! But at the moment, he decided he may need to stop ogling enough to get to what he'd come all this way for.

"So, I've heard you are pretty good at finding people." Among other things, but tracking a target down was his only concern today. Maybe once he decides this pretty little thing is legit. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the coin he'd found and holding it out for view between his fingers. "You think you can get me something off of this?" he asks. He wasn't sure how exactly it worked, and initially he thought it might have been like a bloodhound tracking a scent or something. Regardless of how it was done, as long as he got some sort of lead that would help him nab this motherfucker, he'd be content.

Honestly, even if this turned out to be a bust, Maverick had always considered himself to be an opportunist and certainly would try and make this work worth while, maybe even convince the little witch to meet up again for less... professional means.

MARIA

I DODGE THE BLAST AND APOLOGIZE

- FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE -

At least the rumors seemed to have lead him to the right person, but whether or not Maria were actually capable was still to be discovered. You'd think after seeing all the things he had, Maverick wouldn't doubt the possibility of magic. Maybe it was mostly in part that he wasn't too thrilled about requiring outside assistance, being a fiercely independent man. Really the true factor had to have been the fact he didn't want to simply waste money, something the witch was already bringing up, claiming she too had to make a living.

"Understandable." he consents. "And I truly mean no offense but I don't really want to waste my money on party tricks." he admits his skepticism, which is promptly challenged when the coin in his hand was suddenly gone in a snap, Maverick looking down to his now empty fingers before looking over to the coin now in her hands. "Okay that was kind of neat." he chuckles. But it didn't prove that she' be able to give him the information he needed, and while he wouldn't want any beef with a pretty lady, if she ended up disappointing him, he wouldn't be all that pleased. Fortunately Maria at least offered the compromise that she'd do her magic first and he could pay later, which seemed fair enough to him. "You help me find this fucker and I'll give you whatever you want." he assures with a toothy grin. A petty criminal, but a criminal that had given him trouble. At this point it was personal, a matter of him redeeming his pride, so he wasn't exaggerating too much.

He's surprised when business is interrupted for a moment to make introductions. He's not exactly impatient though and merely smiles as she excuses her apparent rudeness. Maverick wouldn't have noticed any different, but he'd play along. "No problem!" he assures. "I'm the not-so-little merc, Maverick." he offers in turn, practically towering over the much smaller girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss." he adds with a nod and award-winning smile.

Back to the business at hand. "It's that serial robber going around. Guy going by the name of Blackjack." he explains. He's convinced they aren't just a regular human, for if they were they were wasting a whole lot of talent on robbing banks. "I'm not a man who typically relies on banks, but having some of my cash stolen, well I just feel like taking the law into my own hands, you get me?" he smirks. "So even just having a location will do me some good. Dude's got to have a hideout to stash all his shit." he hoped so anyway.

I DODGE THE BLAST AND APOLOGIZE

- FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE -

Well depending on how well this little business interaction had went, Maverick was positive he'd have more than enough to pay her off. And if she were talking outside of cash, well, he didn't want to toot his own horn but he'd like to think he was just as skilled in the bedroom as he was on the battlefield, though before he could really suggest anything, Maria had already set to work on... Well, he didn't know exactly what she was doing and decided to simply watch, head cocked to the side in a puzzled manner.

Things were moving around on their own and shit and had Maverick not been convinced he'd seen it all, or simply had a lick of sense, he might have been a bit concerned about how she could control things with a flick of the wrist. If anything the only thing that slightly concerned him was when she started speaking in a whole other language, casting spells clearly as the atmosphere changed a bit and roses were snaking along towards the basin she'd procured. One thing lead to another and the coin he'd offered had combusted and tossed into the darkened water and fucking exploding. 'Good thing I didn't want to keep that or anything,' he thought to himself in wry amusement, hand still on the hilt of his sword as if he was prepared for some demon to spawn out of nowhere. Could never be too careful, honestly! Not with this witchcraft shit.

Instead her eyes began to glow, which was always a good sign, but rather than focus on that, his attention turned to the basin which was now oddly enough flashing some familiar images. Sometime in the midst of all the foreign chanting, she'd began to speak English again, mentioning a street, stolen car, and even a motel room, all of which were undoubtedly clues, hopefully to this man's whereabouts. It was the best lead he had to go on, and the witch was suggesting he follow her. "Aye-aye, witch captain." He could only assume she planned on leading him to Blackjack, otherwise he may have to cut his chances and check out for himself before the robber had run off again.

MARIA

I DODGE THE BLAST AND APOLOGIZE

- FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE -

Oh, right! How could he have been so rude? He chuckled at the correction, offering his most sincerest of apologies as he followed the appointed Miss Witch Captain outside and into the rain, where she'd proceeded to stop the rain from falling on them. A little water never bothered him, but he merely shrugged it off, waiting for her direction or at the very least an explanation. He got both, listening closely as she explains the details. She'd even been kind enough to keep him from running away! Well she might just be his new favorite witch, disregarding the fact she's the only one he can say he's ever really interacted with before.

It seemed payment was in order then, and though he hadn't exactly bagged the fellow yet, he supposed he trusted Maria enough at this point to not worry too much about being cheated. If nothing else, he was feeling a bit more confident and by extension, willing to humor her, especially since she seemed interested in this offer of "Anything" he mentioned. He smirked at the thought before reaching into his pocket again, this time producing a rather impressive stack of hundreds. "If you want something more traditional, I can give you this fat stack of cash, and maybe even some extra if I actually catch this motherfucker." he offers at first, the intended payment when he'd first arrived. But now seeing her? "If not... Well, I can think of a few things..." he states as he makes his way closer, like a predator stalking his prey.

"You're a pretty little witch, someone who's been checking me out since I've got here." he points out, appearing to have noticed. "If you want, we can get to know each other a little better." he suggests, not at all unfamiliar with paying with his body, clearly, nor ashamed of it either. "Killing bad guys isn't the only thing I'm good at." he adds with a playful smirk. "... But it'll have to wait until I actually take care of this bastard." he says regretfully. Business came first and he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by a pretty face! "I should be able to make short work of him if he can't get away." he assures, in case she wasn't feeling particularly patient.

MARIA

I DODGE THE BLAST AND APOLOGIZE

- FOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE -

Ah, that blush. Always a telltale sign he was getting somewhere. Course the same could be said for the red outside the skin as well, but he supposed finding satisfaction in making people bleed was hardly the right thing to think about when trying to court a pretty little lady into getting be with you. Unless she was into that sort of thing, of course, but not only did he doubt it, he wasn't that much of a sadist, at least towards people who didn't deserve it. Otherwise? Well he didn't see the problem in enjoying one's work. It was what he was built to do, after all. Kill the opposing forces, but that didn't necessarily mean that was all he had to do. Maverick certainly wasn't about to set any limits for himself.

Sure enough, the little witch seemed to agree to his proposal, though instead of just one or the other, she decided to take both, which Maverick didn't find too surprising, shrugging it off as he handed her the stack. "Fair enough!" he consented. But as far as getting back was concerned, Maverick felt the need to correct her a bit "When I get back." he insists. "Have a little faith, dear." he adds with a chuckle. Confidence, arrogance. Call it what you will, the self-proclaimed hero had a penchant for being hard to kill, which was about the only thing that could keep him from doing anything.

Ready to go, Maverick was about to hunt down this son of a bitch when Maria kept him back just a little longer, giving him... a rock? Witches sure were weird, but he could look past it for the sake of her looks, taking the pebble as she explained. It would apparently help him find her again, which didn't quite make much sense to him but she was the expert on this magic stuff so he wasn't going to question it too much. "Alrighty then." he replies as he pockets the little stone. "Don't miss me too much." he offers with a cocky grin.

One second he's there, the next he's jumping well over her head, climbing onto a neighboring rooftop and continuing his travel route from there, always preferring to take the high ground, especially when facing a threat he doesn't fully comprehend. Super or not, he wouldn't be letting the robber get away this time and was going to come back one way or another.


It'd be a couple hours before he'd show his face again, slightly worse for wear. The man had fought back, a valiant effort, and while he'd thought he had the upper hand with his gun, that was quickly proven wrong when Maverick may have accidentally stabbed him through the chest. Oops? Well he hoped there was still some sort of reward for bringing him back dead, though had it not, Maverick had already taken the liberty of extracting some funds from the guy's stash before he returned that as well, leaving the dead guy as well as a clue to the new whereabouts of the stolen cash on the police station's front door like a cat would give their owners a dead animal as a present. He still did a good job, he thought, even though he would have preferred not getting shot.

Durability came in handy and though it certainly stung, it did no serious damage, just making him bleed a bit and forcing him to remove the bullet which was always a pretty sight. Hopefully the little witch didn't mind a bit of blood because after all that excitement, he was even more determined to have some good old fashioned fun, which was why he was using the pebble to try and find her again. As she'd explain, the place they'd met before had been nowhere in sight, and though he wanted to question it, he decided to save that for later.

MARIA