Jester's fingers' sporadic rhythm on the empty water glass sounded like drops of rain from a gutter. Martin rolled a piece of paper back and forth in his hands. Why they got rid of vapes indoors was beyond him. The rhythm continued and he reached out and grabbed Jester's hand.
"Just a moment" With the other he took the tall decanter of still water and filled the glass to the brim. Jester tilted his head at forty-five degrees, blinked, and then slowly placed three fingers into the full glass. A small amount of water started to stream out and pool onto the table.
Martin quickly pushed a few napkins over. "Stop that, we don't need to cause a scene" he blurted out.
"Have you done this? You really should." Jester raised his hand slightly out of the glass, formed a beak with his fingers, and then started splashing his new form into the water. "Hello...oh" the waitress took a step back.
"I apologize for my frien.." Martin began. "No need" Jester interjected. "Have you tried this?" He asked the waitress. "Nooooo..." She slowly pulled out a piece of paper with a pen. "Anything else to dip your hand in? We have a few types of sauces with our fries"
"Ooo, anything seasonal?" "No" This time Martin interjected. He quickly glanced at the menu. "A few burgers, fries, and your specialty shake."
"The Twilight OTeen" methodically the waitress called out the special that every guest had ordered. If it wasn't for the paper, the shake, and the 90s theme this hole in the wall would have closed years ago.
"And some sauces" Jester nodded. "Do you.." "All of them" Martin relented.
"K, dears" the waitress took a few napkins from another table and dumped them onto the small pool of water on the table. She quickly exited back to another end of the restaurant. "Life wastes itself while..." Jester lost his train of thought, his eyes focused on the water intently and with one quick splash he plucked a hair out of the water. "Well that feels interesting"
Behind him the door to the 90s cafe swung open slowly and a piece of military hardware walked in, barely covering itself in a professional looking jacket over a tshirt and jeans with perfectly rolled bottoms folded around leather boots. Martin slowly brought his hand below the table. Jester snapped and water from his hand flicked on Martin's face "We are preparing to live!" he finished.
"Subtle" the hardware head said as he walked over and sat down next to them. "I wouldn't" he said nodding towards Martin's hand under the table. "You think you might have twitch time, but this isn't Space. Anyways, you ringed me. Do you have it?"
"Not on us." Martin retorted his hand still resting under the table. Jester slowly drank the glass he had gingerly been dipping into. He drank it about half way and placed it back on the table. His hands starting the rhythm again.
"What’s the code" the man called over. Martin shifted and pulled out a small book. The cover was all taped up and he started flipping through it. Jester continued to tap as Martin flipped to page one sixty five and started to scroll down with his hand.
"In skating over thin ice" Jester's tapping stopped. "Our safety is in our speed" Jester flipped the wet paper towels into the warrior’s face and quickly brought the empty glass behind it with a fast follow. The soldier barely had time to react to the towels before the glass came shattering into his eyes. The glass took one out with a shard but the soldier, through a scream, caught Jester's hand before he could draw it across his face.
The two of them held for a moment in gripped urgency as the few patrons in the bar began to scream. "What the fuck" Martin yelled. "Kill him" Jester mouthed to Martin, as he slipped to the ground with the soldier.
"You fk" the soldier’s hardware was good, but Jester was G8 trillionaire sleeve. Martin looked around quickly at the patrons then came back to the two men on the ground. The soldier's tattooed neck was flexed, Martin got down next to him. "He doesn't have a port. kiilll him" Jester said as he wrapped his legs around the soldier and brought his arms into a lock.
"Ok ok." Martin pulled out a large syringe and jammed it in below the soldier’s jawline. The soldier shifted and the needle broke spraying about half its contents onto the ground. There was a grunt above them and Jester and Martin looked up as the waitress lifted a large metal line pole above them. Jester tilted his head to the side right as she dropped it down onto the soldier’s face driving the glass deeper. She hefted it up again and hesitated.
"If you're going through hell, keep it going" Jester said in a Churchillian tone. She dropped the makeshift hammer down upon the soldier with a withering smash. The soldier convulsed a number of times and Jester slowly let his grip up.
The waitress looked pale as the two rebels stood. "Well lets not do that again" Jester said as he straightened Martin's jacket and squared his shoulders. "What the hell, you just went at him" Martin shook in disbelief.
Jester rolled his eyes and tapped on the table that incessant rhythm. He paused and looked at the waitress who was still in a bit of shock. He took the pole from her hands with his left hand and then started tapping the table again. The woman snapped out of it and placed her hand on the other table and repeated the pattern but with a slight variance.
"The delivery is tonight, you have a brief window to intercept the load..." she began. "You need to redirect the ship, there’s a link that one of his Thropic service team has."
"They must be on to us" Martin pointed at the body. "No he’s surveillance, they don't know the plan. Follow me" the waitress waved them towards the back of the establishment. There were some underground tunnels in the neighborhood. Kept open mostly as a tourist attraction, but served well for quick swaps.
"Oh shit I'm bleeding" Jester looked down at his leg. "I think that’s my femoral artery" He looked over and the soldier had a small knife exposed in his hand.