Darkleer's Deal [CD] [Completed]

[OldDankleer]

Gentry looked apprehensively down at the bills he’d been putting off opening since yesterday. He moved into his new gym three weeks ago, and the construction costs were not going to be pretty even for someone as high on the hemospectrum as himself.

Looking for a distraction, he began stroking the iron moustache of his longtime companion Probopass, who was sitting unmovingly at the right hand side of his desk. “Phooey… If only I was a Pokemon, I could do nothing but take orders and never worry a minute about finances.”

He turned on the television and flipped channels until he reached a local news station. “…As usual, Pokemon contests will be broadcasted at 7:30 right here on SPN.” A stroke of remembrance hit him like a brick.

Gentry passed the Escavalier floating at attention on his left side to look out the window. Far below, he could see the Contest Hall. The diminutive size of the line outside told him that this was likely a rookie match. A little disappointing, but at least he could view the contest arena from his office if they chose to open the roof.

Something that felt like a hedge trimmer dug into his foot, causing him to wince. “Oh fudge!” Gentry shook whatever it was off his leg before realizing that he had just kicked his Durant halfway across the room. He immediately took out Durant’s pokeball and tried to force her back into it, but she was surprisingly fast for a steel-type. “I apologize for the foal language, but you must learn respect for your trainer.”

[Clubs Deuce]

The door to Darkleer's office opens, then shuts just after a small man passes through. "Whew! That was...quite a climb!" The short black fellow leans back against the closed door, happy to be be on the correct side of it at last. "This new gym of yours is sure a lot taller than your old one, Darkleer! I would bet dollars to donuts that it is the tallest one ever."

Eventually Clubs does come away from the door, and approach Darkleer near the window. Though, first he has to navigate around a heavy Pokémon or two. "Worth the climb though, I wager! Nice to see you again, big guy. I do not think we have met in person since...you know, the big boom?"

Clubs turns away from the ancestor, toward large Durant in the room, the one that belongs to Darkleer. He admires the metal insect, hands on his hips. "So! I bet these Durant workers you got scurrying around are a real godsend, huh? Real hard workers. Real organized. Real team players!"

[OldDankleer]

Gentry turned towards the noise of his office door opening and saw a short black carapace entering. He'd have to put off retrieving Durant until after he'd greeted him. Surely she wouldn't get in anymore trouble until then.

"Clubs Deuce! Yes, my gym was designed to reflect the durability, imposingness, symmetrical beauty, STRENGTH, and... reflectiveness of the steel type. I'm afraid some of those traits, namely symmetricality and reflectiveness, are not being displayed as of yet. However, they will in time."

"I'm utterly delighted to see you. I can never thank you enough for what you did for me."

"That one is a special case. I've taken her under my wing. She has behoovrial issues, but I see potential in her beyond that of any other Durant I've seen. I'd advise keeping your distance. But I disgress. In general, their industriousness and teamwork is unmatched."

[Clubs Deuce]

"Delighted? By little ol me?" Darkleer, you flatterer, you. Clubs looks a bit bashful for a moment.

"Oh, I am sure you could thank me enough, if you really tried. There are lots of different ways to show someone you are grateful!" Wait... Is Clubs being genuine, or is he trying to suggest something? It sounds genuine, at least coming from him... Maybe it's nothing at all.

He quickly returns to the subject of Durants. "Yeah, see? These buggy guys are perfect for big jobs. I think it is because they work together so well in big numbers." Clubs looks up from the ant toward Darkleer again, dovetailing conveniently into a related subject. "Hey, hey, speaking of big numbers. How many digits are you racking up with this construction job? Keeping so very many Durants working - that cannot come cheap."

The little guy smiles, and though his black carapace makes his mouth hard to see, his smile easily shows in his eyes. "Ahh, but I guess a guy as high-up as you never needs to worry about cash flow, right? Your bank balance must be high as this building is!"

[OldDankleer]

Almost as soon as the subject of the price tag is broached, Darkleer begins sweating profusely. "...Eleven digits. Well over what I can pay for whinnythout a loan." It may be embarrassing to admit he can't pay for the building by himself, but there's no use trying to hide it.

"A gym leader's hefty salary, a blue blood's birthright to be fairly well-off, and gym construction grants add up to an exorbitant amount of money." He stops speaking for a few seconds and almost gulps. His head turns towards the letters on his desk. "However, I'm still not sure if I can pay my first bills."

(author's note: darkleer's debt is supposed to be the equivalent of 9 digits in u.s. dollars. i don't think there's an agreed upon conversion.)

[Clubs Deuce]

11 digits huh? Clubs tries to picture that in his head. Uh how many commas would that make?? Nope he's totally lost. "That sounds like an awfully big number!"

Clubs perks up when Darkleer mentions a loan, and fretting over his bills. "Oh! I did not expect a guy like you to need financial assistance! You know, I think I can help you out a second time, Darkleer. I did not want to say anything about it, but... My crew and I, we just came into a lot of money. I do not know how many digits it was though."

His gaze shifts to the side, as he rubs at his chin a little. "Everyone was pretty satisfied with the job. But the next job will probably be trickier. We would need a lot of strong workers who can work fast in a short period of time."

While he thinks, his gaze wanders a bit, until he notices that that big Durant is giving him the evil eye. "AH!" Clubs snaps his fingers as he pulls them away from his chin, then he looks up at Darkleer excitedly. "Darkleer! You have plenty of Durants, and my crew has plenty of fresh cash! Are you pondering what I am pondering?"

[OldDankleer]

Gentry raises one eyebrow at the monetary offering. There’s no way Clubs has the amount of money he’s looking for. Besides, he can’t accept another favor from him without giving something in return.

When Clubs suggests a trade instead, he sweats so hard that it begins to soak his clothes. “Are you suggesting that I lend some Durant to you in exchange for money? That would be inexcusable! Most of these Durant do not belong to me. The construction schedule would be messed up, I would run into trouble with the construction company, I would likely even be reprimanded by the Pokemon League… You probably do not even have enough money to pay my bills.”

He stops for a moment and thinks. He values following the law, but at the same time, he is legally obligated to pay off his loan. How is he supposed to pay it off otherwise? What Clubs has to offer may not be much, but every little bit helps. Besides, he owes him one…

“Alright, look. I will offer you thirty Durant in exchange for whatever you want to offer. In order to minimize the chance of the construction company noticing, you may only use them for a single night. You may take them now or you may pick them up on any evening.”

It’s hard being a man of the law when you’re indebted to both a construction company and an old acquaintance. It’s hard, and nobody understands.

[Clubs Deuce]

Clubs turns his palms up in a shrug. "Look at it this way, fella. The Durants are working to build your gym building. So, that means they are working for you. You could redirect some of their work however you want!"

He draws out a checkbook, exuding faulty confidence. "You just let ol Clubs worry about how much enough money... How enough money we have..." Clubs pauses, blanking out on how to phrase this. "You just let me worry about the numbers." he settles on saying.

Looks like the checks inside have a custom print, a dark theme with a card-suit symbol on each corner. Clubs pulls up a chair to stand on, then uses the front of Darkleer's desk to write on the check.

Saffron City Bank
Pay to the order of: GENTRY KRISNA ք30,000.00
THIRTY THOUSAND ~~~~~~~~~~^xx Pokédollars

CLUBS DEUCE

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/quote]
Obviously a guy like Clubs should not have been given a Midnight Crew checkbook. 10k per bug probably isn't a very shrewd financial transaction.

Regardless, he looks pretty pleased with the deal, and hands Darkleer the check. "If we only get them for one night, I suppose we had better wait until a little later to pick them up." The carapace hops down from that chair, then moves toward the door. As he opens it, he looks back over his shoulder before leaving. "Uh, if you notice thirty Durants missing, then that probably means we just picked them up without telling you. That is often how we tend to work." he adds as a last thought. "Byyyyyyyye!" Clubs bids before Darkleer can object to that, shutting the door after him.

OOC: I like to think that
The Midnight Crew just steals the Durants out from under Darkleer's nose later that night anyway
and Clubs really didn't need to spend a cent
Slick probably yells at him later on orz