Chapter 380 - Polite-Hostile Company

Boone glances at the bartender as he sips his drink. He'd been sitting at the bar for twenty minutes now, but still hadn't heard anything interesting... The Ultra-Lux was exactly as it presented itself; Pompous, high-class, expensive, and polite.

Polite, as in, making small talk and nothing else.​​

The Ultra-Lux itself is an incredibly white, marble building, with staff that wear black tuxedo's and masks to hide their faces. Most customers who come here buy and wear masks as well, though, why they do Boone can't really figure out.

All in all, Boone thought it looked quite creepy. Everything was too clean and clinical, everyone was faceless and unaccountable. Not to mention the rumours Boone had heard about the place while he was still serving... Apparently they'd been eating people here... Whether or not it was true is still up in the air though.

Something that may have been inhibiting his information gathering was how much he stuck out... He was literally wearing heavy combat armour with a flying armed robot floating next to him. People glared at him for 'ruining the ambience', but he didn't really have a change of clothes... Nor was he willing to purchase one of those stupid-looking tuxedo's that cost more than a good gun.

Fortunately, his outfit isn't currently the one drawing the most attention...

*Bang!*

The double doors of the Ulta-Lux fly open as a bearded man wearing a gambler outfit and a desperado cowboy hat strolls in, followed by a heavily armed bodyguard who, for some reason, is allowed to keep his weapon.

"WHERE IS MY SON!" the man shouts, catching the attention of everyone in the main lobby.

"Excuse me sir, but could you please calm down? You are disturbing our other-"

*Smack!*

The Ultra-Lux staff is smacked in the face causing their mask to fly off and clatter to the floor, they land on their ass while holding their face, glaring hatefully at their attacker.

"You don't tell me what to do you jumped-up mask-wearing piece of shit! You will return my son, Ted Gunderson, to me, or I'll have this whole place turned upside-fucking-down!"

"H-Heck Gunderson?" the man who'd just been slapped stutters out, as if he'd just found out he was looking the president.

"If you know me, then you better damn well listen to me! GIVE ME MY SON!"

"D-dad!?" a voice shouts from the hallway leading to another part of the Ultra-Lux. A young man, maybe eighteen years old runs out looking horrified at his father's actions. "You're here!?"

Heck Gunderson marches towards the boy and smacks him across the head multiple times, "You fuckin' stupid boy! I tell you when and where to go, I expect you to be there! You disobey me again and I'll tan your hide and sell it!" he shouts.

"D-Dad! I didn't have a choice, they-"

*Smack!*

"You shut up and come with me, arrogant brat!"

Boone watches as the father drags the son away, but his train of thought is interrupted by two people taking a seat next to him and beginning to whisper amongst each other... Were it not for his well-trained senses, he might've missed it.

"Yeah, looked like he was about to get nabbed..." one mutters conspiratorially.

"Really? Why would they try and kidnap him? Aside from his dad, who I'd bet wouldn't pay a ransom, he's got nothing."

Boone finally looks over at them, spotting two well-dressed women, both wearing masks, a tuxedo and a dress. Either they bought the outfits, or they worked here... The latter option was unlikely given that they were questioning the going on within the Ultra-Lux. He lightly coughs into his fist and quietly addresses them, "Sounds to me that something's not right around here."

...

The two seems surprised that they'd be heard and look him over appraisingly, "What's it to you?" the taller one asks in a suspicious tone.

Boone leans forward and swirls his drink around, "I'm something of a 'problem-solver', and it sounds to me like you have a problem to solve." he downs the last of his drink, "Besides, not like I have anything else to do here." he states and ED-E beeps happily alongside him.

"Oh? Well, you're my problem, so solve that, squinty." she retorts, making Boone raise a brow at the sudden antagonism.

The other masked lady nudges the taller one in the side, "Hey, don't go scaring away free-help..." she looks at Boone, "It is free, right?"

Boone shrugs, deciding to see where this rabbit hole went. "Sure."

After 'agreeing' to work for free, the girls dragged him up to a hotel room where they quickly stuffed an extra Tuxedo into his arms... Judging by the small bloodstain on the collar hidden by the black coat, they hadn't bought this...

"Put it on, you're too conspicuous wearing all that armour." the shorter one says.

"Wait... Tell me your names first, I need to know who I'm working with."

"Christine." the shorter one says.

"Johanna." the other states.

Boone nods at them, "The name's Boone, but you can call me 'Squinty'." he says, not seeing a reason to hide his name. This gets a round of chuckles from the two women however, hopefully putting him in their 'good-book' for now. It wouldn't do to get stabbed in the back while the other's are out investigating the other casino's... Despite everything, he still had the pride of a professional.

He leaves them and enters the bathroom, but raises a brow at the naked man in the bathtub who's had his head bludgeoned to the point of becoming jello... Well, at least now he knew where they got the suit from. Though, he wasn't sure he was happy about shedding his armour in a potentially hostile situation, with no weapons no-less.

Regardless, he takes it all off and puts on the Tuxedo, struggling with the box-tie slightly before managing to get it in some sort of 'knot'. The outfit itself is a bit tight, but that was unavoidable in this kind of situation.

He then puts on the mask, making him look almost exactly like one of the staff that work in the Ultra-Lux... The only thing he was missing was the cane... The cane which just so happened to be lying on the floor next to the bathtub. It was dented slightly and covered in blood and brain matter, however... Nothing a little spritz in the sink couldn't handle though.