James closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to grasp everything that the Librarian was saying. About his intentions, about himself, about everything. It was quite a lot of information to take in all at once, especially given his prior location and intake of 'important' information. But soon after in his mind, James concluded that while this was a bit interesting, it wasn't necessarily important to him for the moment. It was merely something he would have to keep in mind for later. When the Librarian asked if there was anything else, James did have more questions, but lacked the patience or the interest to continue asking them. There was a part of him that didn't want to know every detail that was to come. It made it a bit more exciting that way. Besides, he felt he wouldn't be getting a lot out of the Librarian, even if he said he would.
"Yea…I could use a drink."
"Certainly!" the Librarian nodded. "I have a small bar if you would like something to take the edge off."
"If you don't mind, I think
we will take our chances somewhere outside," Nate popped in. "I like the atmosphere, you know?"
*****
The two walked into the bar. It was a quaint little place, considering where they were. Well, Nathaniel didn't know where they were to be completely fair. Nathaniel was okay with this. It had some character to it, but it didn't overwhelm him. Rather it helped the otherwise plain feel to it. They were a couple of pool tables, dart boards and plenty of small tables and stools scattered about, populated by a mix of men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Most of the patrons stared at Nathaniel and James as they walked in. Not necessarily welcoming, but if worse came to worse, Nathaniel and James would be more than enough to take them down. After all, they had a few tricks that they didn't have. Nathaniel moved quickly to the bar itself, grabbing one of the many open stools near the center of the bar, scanning the hard liquor. James took a seat beside him, also gazing over the multitude of drinks.
"What'll it be?" The bartender asked. At least he didn't bother asking for ID off the bat. It was probably inevitable.
"Whisky and Coke. No ice," Nathaniel requested, sliding out his credit card and driver's license. "Also whatever he wants," Nathaniel continued, gesturing to James. "And start a tab. I think we'll be here a while. We got a lot on our minds, to say the least."
"Make that two," James told the bartender, gesturing 'two' with his fingers as he did so. "But make mine on the rocks." The bartender nodded, and went over to prepare the drinks. James held his gaze at the bartender for a few more moments, before turning around in his stool and observing the bar itself. "Not bad," He said out loud nodding his head in acceptance of the place. There were few like it where he had come from, the serene Hawaiian environment instead electing for open, peaceful-looking drink stations on huts by the beach. This was different, and for James, different was better. He let a smirk make its way on his face for a moment, before turning back to the bartender, who had prepared their drinks. James grabbed his eagerly.
"Ah, f*ckin' whiskey," James said, looking over the beverage in his hands with relish, savoring the drink even before he hand begun to drink it. "God you have no idea what you're lucky enough to get every day." He said aloud, to no one in particular but turning now to Nate as he continued. "Back where I come from, it's always margarita-this, or f*ckin' pacific-papaya-fruity-delight that. There's few chances to enjoy a real man's drink. At least, a good one."
Nathaniel grabbed his drink with smile, taking James' enjoyment off the drink as a sign that it wasn't half bad. As he grasped it, the glass itself froze ever so slightly, icing the drink for him as took a small sip. "Mhm. No ice, more alcohol," he said with a nod and a smile. "So I take it you are from…Hawaii, if everyone gets those kind of drinks," Nathaniel continued. "People don't got for those in New York. Unless they are women. They like those fruity drinks and stuff. Guys I work with were always about rum, vodka or whiskey. I slowly developed a taste for it."
"Good guess," James said, taking a large swig of his drink, letting it sit in his mouth for a few moments before gulping down the contents. The aftertaste was quite to follow, and he closed his eyes for a moment to let it sink in. "And kudos to you and your people. Maybe there's hope for this world yet, eh?" He said, as he raised his glass towards Nate, and took another large gulp of the drink. "Ah…" He let slip from his mouth. After everything he had gone through today at the store, this was exactly what he needed. But it was only touching the surface of the real reason he came.
"So," James said, placing down his drink on the counter and gazing at Nate with a look that gave off a sense of seriousness unlike moments earlier. "I don't know about the girl," He said, closing his eyes for a second as he recounted the name in his head. "Err…Oakley, but please tell me at least you're not buying any of the sh*t that this Henry guy is selling. Because there's no way he's on the level. At least not completely."
Nathaniel paused for a bit, before taking a gulp of his drink. So he wasn't the only one with…thoughts concerning the Librarian. "Well, to put it lightly…I don't trust him. He was almost
too upfront about everything. I want to trust him. I really do, but I have…these theories about what he is really after." Nate finished his drink. "Bartender. Another round, please!"
"He was almost too upfront because he wanted to make it look like he told us everything, while really telling us nothing." James replied, downing the remains of his drink, while also slipping in an ice cube into his mouth, beginning to crunch on it while he awaited the next round of drinks. James loved to chew on ice from his downed drinks. It was a bit of a habit of his, and a reason he always liked to order ice with each drink. "My guess is, he's probably lookin' to use us for something. And judging by how old he is, or at least claims to be, he's no doubt done it before. Remember that library he had with all the books? Let's pretend for a moment what he said in there was true. So each one of those was a detail of an ability he had, or some story or whatever. Point is, we're clearly way in over our heads. He's a big player, and though he might prance about with his stupid grin thinking we're buddies, we're probably close to nothing to him. I'm thinking in his eyes, he's the Shepard, and we're the sheep." As James explained his own thoughts to Nate, the second round of drinks arrive, which was grabbed by James without giving a glance to the bartender. He handed Nate's to him, while taking his own in his hand and taking another swig.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to be bossed around by anyone, no matter who they are. I'm here for his training, then I'm bailing the first chance I get, before he gets his chance to do whatever the f*ck he wants." He looked over to Nate, realizing he had been ranting a bit, but shrugged it off as simple bar talk. It had been a while since he was able to open up to anyone on that level in quite a while. In fact, he can't recall a time when he could. "At least, that's my thoughts."
"Heh," Nathaniel snickered a bit, once again freezing his drink as it came. It was good practice. James' theory was interesting and hand some truth in it, at least that is what Nathaniel thought. The fact James wanted to bail as soon as he could was understandable and really, Nathaniel couldn't blame him. After all, Nathaniel has and still is flirting with the idea himself, but he wanted to learn everything he could from the Librarian before that idea even seriously crossed his mind. And who knew how long mastering his abilities could take? Only the Librarian probably. Nathaniel took a small swig of his drink, gulping down the alcohol. The big man was finally beginning to feel something other than anxiety. Maybe it helped that with James, Nathaniel could actually have decent conversation with someone.
"It is an interesting thought. The Librarian being a "Shepard." But if you are going to be a conspiracy theorist, you have to provide more evidence than a simple hunch and a first impression. I have a friend back in New York. He rides bike like I do, but works at a different shop. A real big smoker too. Anyway, he loved conspiracy theories. He knew a lot about them and explained a few of them to me. Like the uh…the JFK one about how the government killed him or something. The Kurt Cobain story of how he was murdered. Hell, even if the idea of 9/11 being an inside job. Point is, because of him, I learned how these guys think." Nathaniel took another sip, cleared his throat and collected his thoughts. "Let me present my own theory on the Librarian: He is telling us only half the truth. Like you said, he is going to use for something and maybe this whole infiltrating the different organizations really is part of his plan, but only a small part of a greater plan." Nathaniel took a drink and paused, making sure everything went down. "Tell me, what does a Librarian do?"
James listened to Nate give his own explanation on his views, giving the man his full attention while quickly gulping down his second drink. He had begun to crunch ice in between his teeth as he was finishing. He held the ice cube between his teeth on the left side, closing down and letting the cold infiltrate his mouth, before resuming crunching up the smaller bits. He smirked a bit when Nate described his friend in New York. He never gave much credit to most conspiracy theories in general, though he always loved hearing about them. Even if they were mostly fabricated in his mind, the thought of such global theories being true fueled his imagination countless times before. When Nate asked James the question at the end of his own thoughts, James thought in his head for a moment, before answering. "I guess…a standard librarian keeps knowledge. He's a caretaker so others can use it."
"Ah, he keeps knowledge, but how does he obtain it? You see, James, you are thinking too much inside your little box. To get this knowledge, he has to
collect it. The Librarian has all our heritage. Our abilities. Now, at first, I didn't think much of it. But…but after seeing his place, full of those cars, paintings…that collection…a thought popped into my head. What if the Librarian is using us to expand his collection?"
James grinned when Nate mentioned his thinking being wrapped only inside of 'his little box'. It was an interesting turn of events, as it was usually James who would think that of others he would converse with. The degree of intellectually stimulating conversation he was having was exciting for him. As Nate continued to speak, James motioned at the bartender to bring them another round without saying a word, thus not interrupting Nate's thoughts. The bartender replied with a nod, quickly fetching the drinks for them. Nate posed another question to end his speaking turn, and James was quick to interject. "Hmm…that might be true," He said, as the bartender brought their drinks one more. "But that only brings me back to my point that he's still using us. For his collection. For his dirty work. For whatever reason it is. Even if it's not all that detrimental to me in the process. I'm not one to do others' dirty work. It's just not in my system." As he said this, he took another gulp of the drink, feeling the hard liquor beginning to work its magic ever so slightly on himself. That might have been a reason he was saying so much. That and Nate had made the conversation worth the chatter. His thoughts traveled back to earlier in the day, where he likely killed another man, his boss at the convenience store because of a similar thought process.
"I didn't disagree with you, now did I? I am simply providing a motive as to why he
needs us. He doesn't want to get his hands dirty, or reveal that he is alive to these other organizations. Especially the Royal Family. Undoubtedly, he has connections to them. Syndicate doesn't seem to be his style. But, I am not sure about the AUP though. It's difficult to figure out what he really thinks of them. I don't think he is lying when he says he is an outside party. At least in this century," Nathaniel paused for a moment, stirring his drink in his hand, chuckling at his own little joke. "Now, I will work for him, for a time. Till I get what I want. And then, we'll see. Maybe I will stick around. Maybe I will run away. But something tells me running away isn't an option anymore," Nathaniel said as he stared at his drink, before downing the rest of it. James ordered a third round and Nathaniel subconsciously took the drink and began the vicious cycle again.
"Heh…" James chuckled, finishing his third drink in record time. He felt himself begin to get a tad dizzy, and concluded if he were to stand right now, he would have a bit of trouble walking. He shrugged it off though, as he signaled to the bartender for one more right, who complied again, though he started at the two men a bit as he did so. "Ain't that the truth." James replied towards Nate. "We sealed our fates in this life the minute we stepped into that cab. And you know what? I'm not complaining one ****in' bit. We were plucked out of out boring ass life and put into a completely new ones. Better ones. One where we can choose our own course. And we have power to go along with it!" James' voice was slowly picking up in volume as the alcohol took affect, and his quick drinking of the fourth one furthered this. "I saw what you did to that guy in that center. And that was with no training. I think whatever we do end up doing, you and I are meant for big things."
"I can toast to that. What do you say? To great things?" Nathaniel picked up his last drink (someone needed to be responsible) motioning for a toast.
James grinned, raising his glass to meet Nate's. "To great things."