#Miner'sRespite – August 1, 2015

Jason makes his way downstairs with a tired look on his face. He swings by the bar to get a drink and then slinks off towards a booth to scowl at a wall for a bit.

Kim steps into the bar with her sister in tow. Kim is in her usual casual getup with her hair being down as the only particular anomaly about her. Her blue eyes glance around as she steps inside and her eyes shortly after fall onto whatever of Jason's form she can see above the back of the booth.

Elise slides in directly after her sister and glances around with sharp gazes. Her posture is markedly stiffer than Kim's, which is not exactly hard to spot through her t-shirt and knee-length skirt combo.

Kim glances back towards Elise and motions with her head towards the booth she had just been looking at, then immediately turns and gives a small sigh before taking small, hurried steps to where Jason was sitting.

Elise rests her eyes onto Jason's form at Kim's indication, then purses her lips as she keeps a close distance behind with more calculated steps. Her eyes don't leave Jason's face for a second. (==)

Jason glances over at Kim as she approaches the booth. "Hey-..." he begins before he turns his attention to Elise, "...Oh... Uhh, hi...?" he says as he realizes she's with Kim. He raises an eyebrow and looks towards Kim, as if awaiting an explanation.

Kim smiles softly and gives a sharp shake of her head to move the hair overflowing over one shoulder back behind her head. She slips into the other side of the booth and lies her hands flat on the table while giving a nervous glance over to her companion.

Elise intensifies the gaze as she seats herself next to Kim and holds her hand out. "So you're the Jason Wolfe I've been hearing about? My name is Elise Polner, Kim's sister. Nice to meet you," she states with a business-like tone. Her face betrays little, but she does spare a glance towards the missing arm while she speaks. (==)

Jason gives a lopsided smirk and extends his remaining arm across the table to shake the woman's hand. "Nice to meet you, Elise. And yep, that'd be me. The one and only. Hopefully she's been telling you good things." he jokes, casting a glance at Kim as he does.

Kim sighs and leans her head against one hand. "Yeah, yeah... you know what I like, sis." (==)

Elise nods curtly and retrieves her arm after allowing the handshake for only a moment. "I assure you she has been... cordial," she states while standing up from her spot in the booth. "Drinks?"

Jason glances down at his drink and gives a shake of his head. "I'm good. Appreciated, though." He watches Kim across the table with an amused look on his face, his grin still plastered across it.

Kim glances around the bar for a moment before speaking to Elise once more. "Hmm... Don't forget to bring back a boyfriend, sis. I think you could really use one," she states with a half-bored, half-playful tone.

Elise purses her lips towards Kim once more with an eye roll and turns to move towards the bar without giving either a response.

Kim sighs and turns towards Jason as her sister leaves the immediate area. After a second, she shakes her head and leans down to bury it into one of her hands. "You... can probably see why I don't introduce you all to her now," she states in a soft, almost embarrassed voice. "She's... difficult at times."

Jason furrows his brow as he glances over at Elise. He shrugs and returns his hand to his drink. "She seems alright to me." he says. He shuffles in his seat a bit, getting closer to the edge and leaning across the table slightly, "You ever figure out what it was that she was up to...?" he asks in hushed tones, "You seemed pretty suspicious a while back..."

Kim stays still for a few seconds, then begins a pained laugh for several seconds. It ends with another sigh, then a quick blow to get the hair out of her face. "She... she got me. I'm a fool, Jason," she states with a fairly tired tone. "I knew it wouldn't last forever, but I would never have thought that my own sister was a spy."

Jason puts his hand up, releasing his grip on his glass. "Wait, wait... Back up. Spy!?" he asks, scrunching up his nose, "The hell does that mean?" He raises his voice a bit more than intended and quickly looks towards the bar instinctively to make sure he wasn't overheard, despite the fact that the Respite's background noise would almost certainly drown him out.

Kim flinches at the response and leans forward in a slight panic while also glancing towards the bar. After breathing a sigh of relief at seeing Elise still trying to flag down the bartender, she continues in a hushed voice. "Yeah... I should have put two and two together. She was very against the Alliance drafting me when my parents suggested it. I... I should have known she would

Jason furrows his brow and glances one more towards Elise. "So what is she doing here? Why are you with her!?"

Kim absently reaches up and moves her hair over one shoulder and stares at it. "She's here to keep an eye on me. I'm not free anymore, Jason," she states while moving her eyes to gaze directly into his with a deadly serious gaze. "The Alliance fucked up when they made that program I trained in. Everyone still alive that 'graduated'..." she stopped to exaggerate her words with a

Jason locks eyes with Kim as his scowl returns. "I know she's your sister, but-..." he pauses and pointedly glares in Elise' direction, "...You can't just let her do this. What's the plan here?"

Kim shakes her head. "I... don't know if there's a way out of this, Jason," she states with an even more tired voice than before. "I can't try to escape or they'll hunt me down and kill me. I'm basically a hostage right now. I can still help, but..." She stops and leans back in the booth. "If the Council decides to lock me up or something, I can't say no."

Elise walks back over from the bar with two ales in tow. She sits down at the booth and sets one over in front of her sister, then takes a small sip before looking towards Jason with the same curt gaze. "So. I assume you understand the situation at this point? I assume I've been gone long enough for her to tell you what's going on."

Jason slams a fist down on the table somewhat loudly as Kim speaks, no longer particularly concerned with keeping up presentation. He stares directly at Elise as she approaches and retakes her sit, gritting his teeth as she speaks. "Oh, I understand alright. I understand that you assholes have no authority out here. I understand you're a coward that decided to prey on your sister's

Elise grits her teeth and scowls as Jason speaks, then slams her fist on the table just as hard. She makes sure her other hand is clasping her drink so it won't go spilling all over the place, then begins speaking in response. "You slimeball. You think you really know who I am? Or even better yet, do you think you really know who she is? You're just as bad as those military shits."

Kim flinches and looks towards the wall with a complicated expression. As Elise speaks, she folds her arms and stares towards the wall. (==)

Jason 's shit-eating grin returns, seemingly proud at the response he got out of her. "I know that I don't give a shit who you are. I know that I don't give a shit who she is, either." he glances at Kim but quickly returns his attention to Elise, "I trust her. You? Well, from where I'm sitting you're just another lapdog." He holds eye contact with Elise as he takes a quick sip

Elise rolls her eyes and takes another sip of her drink. "You clearly do not understand the situation if you seriously wish for me to leave." She stops and folds her arms over her chest with a glare. "If you truly care about my sister... you will tolerate my presence. Or, if you prefer, I can arrange for us to leave. Together."

Kim continues staring off into nothing, but is noticably still listening if the flinch at the end of Elise's speech is any indication. (==)

Jason looks between the two of them. "Convince me. What sort of leverage do you have that makes you so damn confident and smug. C'mon. Blow my mind. Explain why I shouldn't just 'remove you from the equation'." he says, giving an almost apologetic glance in Kim's direction.

Elise rolls her eyes in response before giving a disgusted look. "Don't be a fool. What could you possibly do that wouldn't get traced back to... Redrock, was it? From what I hear, you can't take much more of a hit to your reputation right now."

Jason scoffs a bit and shakes his head. "Our reputation is doing fine, sweetheart. But how many agents are your employers willing to lose? Especially just to pick a fight with us. Because the moment I finished with you, I'd make damn sure she was far away from this place before your people could send a follow-up." He places his hand on the table and leans forward once more, looking

Kim shivers before hurriedly reaching over and placing a sweaty hand on his. "Jason... please..." she states in a soft voice. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. "I... please stop. It's not her fault. She just..." she trails off and looks away again.

Elise glances over to her sister and leans back to let her take over for the moment, albeit without keeping her eyes back on Jason's face afterwards with a darker expression than before.

Jason glances down at Kim's hand. "Not her fault...? How is this not her fault!? She made a conscious decision to betray your trust!" he says, the frustration obvious in his voice.

Kim opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She shivers once more and shakes her head. Suddenly, there's a conflicted expression on her face. "I... I'm sorry..." she eventually manages to get out, then scoots over towards the edge of the booth. Elise notices and hesitantly stands up to allow her through. With a single apologetic glance towards Jason, she stands up and runs

Jason scoots out of the booth as well with a concerned look on his face. Once Kim storms off, his expression turns back to anger and he turns around to face Elise, remaining on his feet, "You're a cowardly disloyal piece of shit." he practically spits, "The only reason this is even a discussion is because I know how much you mean to her. But don't mistake that for weakness. I know it

Elise grits her teeth and balls her hands into fists, but keeps herself under control for the moment. "You... It disgusts me to think someone who would make a display like that would claim to be her friend." She scoffs and begins walking to the front doors. "You truly don't know who either of us are."

Elise rolls her eyes towards the doors and slips out to chase after her sister.

Jason raises his left hand and gives the middle finger to the back of her head. He suddenly misses his finger-giving hand.

Jason continues to wave the finger in her general direction for a few moments after her departure before cussing under his breath and stomping back towards the staircase.