Time is Money, Friend! (Roellen Slums)

"Nah, no dice without Friend!" Keedle shot back quickly, now squinting as the mix of florescence and highbeams were causing bright spots to dance across his vision. Before him, James still floundered on the ground, and from above, the sharp whine of the drone's whirring blades remained a constant reminder of the UECH's sophisticated surveillance and weaponry. Still, the goblin clung tenaciously to the bag, refusing to drag it forward at the man's behest. He cleared his throat and attempted to wet his lips before rattling on defiantly, "Bring him out, then you get what you came for. But if you did anything to either of them..."

"Article three of the Alien Hostility Mitigation Act requires all threats from non-aliens to be reported immediately to local and state authority." The tall fellow didn't miss a beat in reciting this bit of legislation, countering Keedle's gutsy stubbornness with a frustratingly calm, knowing tone. As the goblin's little talons were piercing the fabric of the backpack's handle, the agent looked blatantly in Zhenn'arh's direction, "Article seven defers to the use of lethal force when-"

"Hey, hey!" Keedle snapped, waving a hand in the fellow's direction as his temper frayed and he caught on to what the man might be attempting, "Ain't no reason to be bringing up your fancy laws and legal bullshit. This deal's under the rug, you and I both know that. Zhenny, ignore this creep! Look-" The words came a little more quickly now, but were clear and deliberate as he glared between the man and the prawn that was still shaking against the dirt and gravel, "-I'll meet you halfway, and open the bag so you can see I got the goods. Zhenny here will grab James, and you'll bring Friend out, k'?"

Without giving the man time to properly answer him, Keedle reached a sweaty palm for the front zipper of the backpack and pulled it open. A number of folders were illuminated by the headlights as the flap fell downward, exposing the contents within. Though unlabeled, it was clear the folders were filled with paper, and the goblin took the extra step of pulling a handful of these sheets out to wave above his head, "See? Got your schematics right here. Now Zhenn, you grab James so the kid can take a look at him. ..Zhenn?"

Keedle glanced back, and then upwards at the forest troll that was towering over him. Even with the fellow's eyes narrowed against the blinding light, Keedle could see just how deeply flushed they had become. The sclera weren't just blushed pink, they were quickly deepening to a crimson hue. The goblin's ears reflexively flattened back for a second or two, much like a cat that found themselves unexpectedly before a coyote.

"We only brought the adult." The agent answered back at length, collected and unphased as he watched the little man's control begin to collapse. He'd moved his hand deliberately to the holster at his side, his focus now rapt on Zhenn'arh. "Considering how dangerous it was, I couldn't negotiate a release. Not even for those papers."

The reality of the situation began to dawn on Keedle all at once. The agent wasn't even looking at the backpack or the papers that were being held up. His fingers were curling blatantly around the gun at his side, all while James kicked and floundered just a few yards beyond their reach. "Rath, move back." He murmured sharply, then reached back to slap a hand against Zhenn's leg, desperately trying to jolt the troll out of his growing frenzy before it was too late, "Zhenn, I need you to snap the hell out of it! Now's not the time to spiral." To the agent, his rapid-fire speech came pitched with bitter venom, "I shoulda known you creeps would try to pull a fast one on me. Well I got news for you, you're little ploy's not gonna work. You're gonna get back in your car, get Friend, and we'll start this deal fresh, got it?" He was keenly aware of Erathun's feet scuffling slowly backwards behind him, while Zhenn'arh hadn't budged an inch. Sweat collected across his temples, "And you're gonna get your hands off those guns, before you provoke something none of us can stop."

In his ongoing struggles, James made a sudden, sharp squeal of noise and twisted on the ground, as if being attacked. Zhenn'arh's muscled tightened, and his weight shifted subtly forward. The movement was slight, and he didn't offer so much as a growl of sound or threatening word to go with it, but he didn't need to. That faint shift in position was all the agents needed to seize on the moment they'd been trying to tease forward from the beginning. An electro-dart was fired, right alongside that of a pistol round. Keedle flung himself backwards with a yelp, diving first behind the backpack, then scrambling for the dusty honda civic. Erathun had already been slowly stepping back, and dove right along side the goblin, while the troll burst forward...

The lights flickered suddenly around them, and then dimmed and fell into darkness. As a second round of shots followed the first in rapid succession, the ground seemed to quake, and a now silence drone dropped like dead weight from the sky...

Keedle's plan might have been thwarted, but the goblin always had a contingency plan for his contingency plans.