Feb 27 20:30:37 110 PA - Honestly, it Was Unexpected
From Chronicles
Feb 27 20:30:37 110 PA.
QUANTUM CONCEPTS
Today, the stench a micro welder fills Quantum Concepts. It is relatively clean inside, though Bob is working on a bench near the entry. A peculiar amount of components are scattered around him and if one looks, the beginnings of what appears to be a twin barreled pistol of some custom build comprise most of these parts. He has his back to the door and the flashes of the welder keep him from noticing immediately if someone comes in.
Years back, Gabriel would have been simply marching through snowdrifts in street clothes - and not bothered by it. But, over time things have changed and today a huge NTI sextuple-wheeled vehicle churns its way through the frozen water to a loud stop outside of the open bay doors of his acquaintance's shop. When the absurdly huge engine finally winds down, the door opens and out leaps the short man, wearing a winter coat eerily familiar to those who know their military history, looking to be a modern copy of a Wehrmacht winter combat coat from the Ardennes Offensive. Behind him bounds a moderately-sized dog, her tongue lolling as she momentarily disappears into the snow, only to appear at his side a moment later, head popping out like a purple dinosaur in the front credits to the Flintstones.
Of note is that when Gabriel enters, he will find an old half ton truck. A dodge by the look of it sitting just inside; melting off the accumulation of winter ice. It might actually even be Bob's. The heat in the shop is not on though, ventilation or not, and despite being below freezing Bob is happily working along in his shirtsleeves. "Hello, Friday. Hello, Gabriel." He says; looking up only after the engine of the truck outside has died. And even then he's back to work at what he's doing, seemingly very hard into it. "I assume that you're not making a social call?" It's not that he minds, just he hasn't seen Gabriel in quite some time.
Gabriel shrugs and keeps his comfortable coat on as Friday starts to sniff happily around the corners of the shop. "Well, neither really. Happened to be in the area, saw the doors open and thought we'd stop in. Got a project going, or am I interrupting your work?" He enters a few more feet before stopping when the floor becomes dry. "Alex off harassing pedestrians?" A grin is given as if there may be some kind of joke in his own mind.
Bob waves his hand in a dismissive fashion. "Alex is probably off hovering in an alley somewhere. I haven't seen him for the better part of two weeks, and I live here." Already, the little flashes of spot welds are seen as he begins to go back to work on it. His mannerisms are exceptionally careful, which to one who is as astute at observation as Gabriel will reveal it is something that he obviously cares about. "I do have a project 'on the go' as it is, but you are not interrupting. This is actually the second time that I've attempted to put this prototype together and fortunately, I am having more luck." Is Bob . . smiling? There is certainly an edge of humor on his voice and in the set of his jaw. "My prior attempt came out as something more along the lines of modern art than an actual functioning weapon."
"Interesting," Gabriel immediately allows as he crosses a few more feet of concrete floor. "Got a construction project of my own going, actually. Unfortunately, I don't really have a good place to work it outside of my condominium. Not a problem for me, it's huge for just me and Friday. Still, I'm not sure the management would be pleased. So, like I said this is just a bit of a random stop!" He kicks the floor lightly. "Any chance that I could rent some work space for... oh, maybe two weeks? I shouldn't need any tools, but access to some light ones might be useful. Maybe... one of these spots?" A finger is directed at one of the smaller areas where one might work on a single engine or transmission.
Bob tilts his head to the side as he listens to Gabriel; the metallic individual's hands pausing in their intricate work. Now if Gabriel looks closer he might see a remarkable thing. Bob is not holding the micro-welder he is using. It is actually integrated with one of his fingers, looking as much a part of him as the very next finger. He doesn't say anything, letting him finish the entire question with somewhat of a dubious expression. " . . . A random stop so you could drop by and ask to use my facilities?" Bob smiles, though. It's a reserved one, but genuine. "What do you want to make? I'm afraid I can't say yes if it's a secret hush-hush project. And you can pay me back by coming along to provide some security on a trip I'm taking shortly."
"If it's that expensive, I might just keep it home and take the money from the trip. I believe we've already spoken about it, haven't we? No details but me for security?" Gabriel bobs his head, confirming the conversation. "But it was an honest impromptu stop. Hadn't even thought of using the place until I rolled by and saw you working. Neat trick," he adds, nodding toward the finger-tool. Apparently, he decides that whatever it is that he's doing can use other things. "I might ask for your assistance with the work then. What's the job though? It's been weeks. Months maybe. I've been, ah... north." Grin.
Bob peers at Gabriel; his curiosity has been piqued at this point. "I am not cheap, Gabriel. We came to that conclusion a long time ago." Humor of his own? Perhaps. He finally manages to finish the spot welding. "It is more precise than holding it, I suppose. There." He holds the thing out to Gabriel -- it appears to be a custom built frame for one to integrate a pair of NG-45LP -- already large -- barrels on, with room for their firing equipment, all slaved by the look of it to a single E-Clip slot. Heavy, certainly, but probably long range and with more firepower than a lot of rifles. "Weight is not really a concern for me, performance is." He explains and then raises his right eyebrow. "Ask away. And it is . . . mm, I am working with an acquaintance to build something, and some rare gemstones are needed. I've found an abandoned mine that might have some in it, and I intend to go looking there."
Gabriel's brow perks, and he offers his own smile. "Ah. A modern sawed-off shotgun. Good for what you're saying, yeah. I'll use anything for the job.. but I admit that I prefer things that aren't as clumsy or random as a blaster like that. Something a little more elegant for my more civilized time when people didn't just walk around slaughtering each other. Friday!" His fingers snap, and the dog comes bounding over with a loose shop towel in her mouth. There's a light sigh and a chuckle as the soldier frees it. "Sorry. But, as I've told another person, I prefer to at least know *who* I'm working for, if not always the precision of what it is that they're doing. Your acquaintance?" A leading question.
Bob reaches down to take the towel from Gabriel -- or at least attempt to, going so far as to toss it over his shoulder for the dog. "I can't reveal the client's name, because . . . well, he's a wealthy eccentric. However. He's an educated individual, magic bent, who is interested in exploration and we are musing making a business out of it. The client is benevolent, I assure you. Is that good enough? His name will come out if we are successful." He waits for a moment to see if that will do it; resting the weapon on the table again. "Not really a shotgun, by the way. For me, that is a pistol. A very heavy one, but more damage than my rail weapon and a fair bit more useful."
There's a long period of silence coming from old Gabriel. Even Friday seems to pause and hang on edge as if waiting for someone to announce the winner of a judged contest. Eventually, he levels a friendly - if somewhat serious - gaze at Bob, and light finger pointing as well. "On your word." Then after a slighter pause, he tucks his arms behind his back, comfortably inside the open long-coat. "Can you tell me where we're going? I'm sure you'd rather wait for a group to gather, but if I know more beforehand, I can contribute more to whatever laid plan you might have. Different perspectives, right?" Then he chuckles. "Yes, I'm sure it's powerful. Everything is powerful. Everyone's powerful. Just not very elegant," he adds with a wink.
Bob waves his hand dismissively in a 'bah' fashion at Gabriel. "I'll make something elegant eventually. It's not a priority right now. When I have enough things that will get the job done, then I'll start looking for elegant. When that time comes, I think I'll go for range rather than damage. See how far I can keep beam cohesion out to." He ponders; holding that thought. "Sometimes I think I should be in charge of a research and development firm, not running some tiny garage in the back end of nowhere on some dus . . " He trails off, and shakes his head. "An unproductive thought. Yes, as you say; on my word." A little bit of frost has gathered on his upper arms, but he really doesn't seem to be noticing it. "We're heading North and West of the city about forty miles. Not very far at all. Going to go in, carefully pick our way down, find the rocks we need and leave. We'll want some security and everyone armed in case there is something in there, but . . we can't risk doing much damage. It's probably seismically unstable."
"Really? I thought earthquakes happened in California and coal mines," Gabriel says with a smile. "Make sure that arming everyone is a good idea. Not everyone who can hold a weapon should actually be given one. But? I'll go and grab some maps of the area to make sure that nobody gets lost. Forty miles I can cover in twenty minutes, you must be using a truck or something. Anything I should know about the rocks? Like, are we mining for uranium? Lotta guys out in Nevada ended up watching their hands turn into tumors and fall over dead from working around that stuff in sufficient quantities. Don't suppose there's something in the area that might want to live in this mine shaft?" Clearly, he's going over an impromptu checklist of coarse details.
Bob gives Gabriel a smile. One of his most reserved. "I've checked into it a little bit. There is some activity, local wildlife and the like. We might see a bear or the like." He pauses, complete with brow furrow. "I don't really want to tell people to come unarmed, but I think I'll tell people to leave rifles behind. We won't really be able to use them much in the close quarters of the mine anyway." From his breast pocket he unfolds a small piece of paper. "Green crystalline structure. Opaque, possibly cloudy." He folds it and puts it back in his pocket. "I thought we might take my truck, it's not too far off the main road. Unless you feel like letting me drive yours." There is a dedicated frown on his face while he muses. "To my knowledge, it isn't hazardous, no. But, we'll bring a geiger counter along just in case. I'd rather be safe than have your hands fall off."
Gabriel smirks and nods at the hands comment. But, he then looks to the old Dodge - ancient Dodge - with a wary eye. "Ah... you sure that thing can get there? The camp that I showed you, with Natasha. That's just about as far as you can go in the wilderness before trees clog you up so much that it's faster to walk. Obviously it can be done, we did it getting to Minnesota. But that was at least capable of hovering a few feet over obstacles. If you have something that could fly, or one of these guys who can rip open a doorway to another place, that'd be better." Friday finally sits down at his feet, receiving a couple of scratches behind the ears. "*If* you're unlucky and get caught out there, it's just a big target. Plus, forty miles northwest might mean dealing with the magic lines. Scary." It sounds like he means it.
The mildly awkward conversation continues for a while, with Gabriel eventually leaving, on his way from a truly unexpected encounter coming back from his own work.
