Coffee Time for Darkside

My eyes scanned the coffee shop. I was looking for an open table, but it was also partly instinct. Playing hero for too long does that to a guy. Place was packed -- crap. Was that Magnus sipping a cappuccino in the corner?

I'd never actually seen him "off the job" -- neither one of us was in his respective outfit, so I wasn't sure it was really him until his eyes met mine. Crap, crap, crap. I didn't want this. He must have recognized the black trenchcoat. He stood up quickly, fight in his eyes. I raised my hands calmly and approached the table. He was drinking alone.

"Darkside!" he hissed. "What you doin' here?"

Magnus was a large man of indeterminate ethnicity: could have easily been black as white or anything in between. His arms bulged muscle when they weren't stuffed into the ridiculous getup that passed for his costume. I'd never seen them before today -- he was wearing a tight-fitting T-shirt that bore the name of a band I'd never heard of -- but I knew the muscles were there after our various run-ins.

"Relax," I said. My hands were still raised. "I'm not here for you, just the coffee."

"Likely story! I know how this stuff works, man! You say that now and then we get outside and it's all cops." My eyes wandered down to his clenched fists. I could tell I'd need to talk fast to avoid a mouthful of one of those.

"Look. You wanna know the truth? Nobody's looking for you right now. Price on your head's too low."

His lip curled. "No way! After the Reimann job? There gotta be an easy hundred grand on me."

I shook my head. "Sorry. Last I checked, you're under ten thou. Right now, I'm not on the job. I'm not even packing. You're not worth that kind of trouble." Using my head to gesture towards an open chair, I said, "Mind if I sit? Place is packed today."

He bared his teeth at me, then paused to consider. "...Fine. But you try anything and it's your neck, man. Your friggin' neck." He wrung two large hands together in apt illustration. I grinned back at him, lowered my hands slowly and took my seat.

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but I'm sure we can sit down for a coffee like two civilized guys." A waitress passed by. "Tall café mocha, please."

"I got nothin' to say to you."

"Hey, that's fine! I'm just sitting here, you know."

There was an awkward pause. Magnus swilled his cappuccino. The mug looked small against his large hands.

"I didn't think you were the cappuccino type."

"Look, I said I don't wanna talk to you."

"You don't have to," I said. "...You come here often?"

"No," he grunted.

"That's a shame. This place is fantastic. When it's not so crowded, I mean."

He glared at me between sips.

I decided to try another avenue. "Did you hear about The Lizard?"

"Dude had it comin' to him!" he barked, in spite of himself.

"You think? I thought you two worked together."

"Naw, man. We crossed paths but that's all. Everyone knew not to go near Doc Chaos, Lizard included. He knew better."

"Yeah, that's what I hear. Now you wanna talk big bounties, Chaos..." I whistled. The waitress returned with my drink. "Thanks."

"Whoever takes Chaos deserves every penny. There's guys like me, then there's guys like him."

"No doubt, no doubt."

"I'd pitch in if I could. Ain't no one's safe with Chaos running loose."

"You mean that? You ever consider going legit?"

He curled his lip at me again. "Hey, man. Don't start with that."

"Hey now. Think of it this way. What if you and me took down Chaos? Split the reward fifty-fifty?"

"I don't want my atoms scrambled, man. You know what's good for you, you steer clear of him too." Finishing his cappuccino, he gave his mouth a good wipe with his arm.

"I've never known what's good for me. You think I'd be in this business if I did?"

"'Sides, I don't work with your kind," Magnus growled, fishing for some cash and tossing it onto the table.

"Yeah, well, it was worth a try."

I watched him stand up. He pushed in his chair and started walking.

"Hey, Magnus?"

"Yeah."

"You're a decent guy when you're not committing crimes."

"You ain't so bad neither when you're not tryin' to bring me in."

I took a long, slow sip of my mocha. Best mocha in town.