Well, that was fast.

The bartender came up to him practically immediately. At least he couldn't fault the place for customer service, she was on top of her game. Unfortunately, it was a little too fast. He had no idea what he would've wanted, and so he felt an incredibly awkward moment coming on if he didn't think fast. Thankfully, fast thinking was his strong suit.

"Uhhhh..."

Okay, maybe it wasn't.

Adrian would take a seat at the bar, looking at the various bottles behind her. God, how did anyone memorize that many drinks? He took a moment, before looking at the bartender.

"Do you have anything, uh..." He looked nervously at the other people in the bar, realizing he couldn't ask for something easy. What was something his dad always liked?

"Jack and coke?" He asked, unsure. It was what Eero always had after unwinding from a long day. He would've preferred to just have the coke, but he couldn't look like a sucker.

Adrian audibly groaned. Put his richboy ass in place? Sounded more like someone had to put this obnoxious punk in their place. The longer he spent with 404, the more he could feel his brain practically melting. The exchange couldn't happen soon enough.

Adrian mentally scoffed at the thought of someone in here being a credible threat, but once 'Bagelhead' stood up and towered over Adrian by a whole damn foot, he opted it was better to keep quiet for now. The pink slippers sent him mixed feelings, but he would quietly head past the curtain into the next room, crate in tow on his shoulder.

What he was met with was... worse than he thought. 404 confirmed it was Beetle before him, and Adrian had to give her props for flaunting her status in a place like this, but... she looked like she was just a child. And here he was, carrying a crate full of weapons in to possibly give to her. His day couldn't get any worse.

Sighing, Adrian would dismount the crate from his shoulder as he placed it on the ground before him. A couple of clicks could be heard before the crate would open to reveal a plethora of weapons and other gadgets, all branded with the Morei Tech name in some form in little insignias.

"I have a delivery for you... probably. Courtesy of 404." He'd say, wondering if Beetle even knew who 404 was. He stared at the woman from behind his mask, trying to get a gauge on her. Everything told him this was irresponsible.

"But before anything, I'd like to know what you would intend to do with these."

It was a good question. Adrian didn't even know the thing existed until it appeared, and even then, it was under the finest security that Morei Tech had to offer. He was aware that in the conflict that ensued, everything went awry all over the building, but despite all of that, your ordinary schmo couldn't just waltz in and commandeer an exosuit that most of the employees didn't know was there.

"Yeah... that's Morei Tech." He'd repeat, before listening to what 404 had to say next. Mark's was a place Adrian couldn't say he had ever been to, but there was a first time for everything. Just as 404 had said, there were a couple of men, presumably the aforementioned deadbeats, hanging out by the front. They would give Adrian strange looks, but the hood, mask, and giant crate probably left a rather intimidating first impression, so they opted to not pay him any mind.

"Alright. Do I head inside?" He'd ask cautiously, looking all around him just in case there was some kind of trap to be aware of. He didn't trust 404 yet, nor was he sure he ever would. He was hoping this would be a one and done deal.

Adrian nodded as 404 spoke, although the hacker likely couldn't see it. It was something to agree with. The police, for the most part, weren't an actual force of good. If they did their jobs and they had the right people, then someone like Adrian or possibly even 404 wouldn't need to exist. He did know however that money speaks louder than anything else. The corrupt corporations could stick around no matter what they pulled, simply by putting money in the right pockets.

It was how Inari got by as long as she did, despite all the lives she ruined when in charge of Morei Tech.

"My hit list?" Adrian said finally, looking both ways before crossing a street and heading into more shadows. "I dunno. I'd say my main target might even be out of your league. Though, I got to admit the dated meme is... well, it's something."

He unironically liked the song, but he wasn't about to let 404 know that. He had a weird feeling they'd hack it into his things for amusement every so often or something.

"You started doing what now?"

He asked, only to be met with shock when his vision suddenly went dark, momentarily. When his helmet rebooted, he was greeted with a myriad of unfamiliar things. Thermometer? Speedometer? A frickin' mini-map? And was that a waypoint marker? Suddenly, he felt like he was in a video game. While it was wicked cool and must've took some pretty insane coding to suddenly upload it into his tech's firmware...

"Fuckin' hell, ever heard of consent?" He would ask, half angry that he was basically at a technical mercy to 404, but a slight tone of amusement could be heard underneath it all. He had to admit, this would certainly make his job easier, and he had to wonder if there were a way to program things himself. And he had to wonder what those potential upgrades 404 spoke of entailed. Not that he intended to be hanging around whoever this was for very long.

But while they were on the same side, this small alliance could prove to be fruitful. Nevertheless, if 404 had this level of control, he was scared to think of how easily anything he had could be disabled on him in a time of crisis, leading to unavoidable danger or even his own death.

"I trust you're not leading me into an ambush, or planning on tossing me aside once I deliver your things..." Adrian said cautiously. The Streets were a dangerous place, and not an area he wanted to be left in completely undefended. "I'll be heading there now."

As Adrian climbed the fire escape and started to head down, part of him wish he had Valo's knack for reverse engineering tech to his advantage. He imagined his brother would somehow find a way to track 404 down should anything go south. Maybe he gave his brother took much clout, but Adrian begrudgingly admitted that Valo was his superior in a lot of ways, most especially technology.

He landed on the alley floor, looking around to make sure there was no one in the vicinity before he started heading westward. His free hand was ready to reach for his gun at a moment's notice as he kept his eyes peeled and his ears ready.

Beetle Burgess? It wasn't a name he was overly familiar with, but one he had heard word of now and then. They sounded like an unruly bunch, but the news of them being former Angelico Industries employees was an unexpected development. It sounded like a just cause. Give them the means to fight back against their oppressors. But he was sure it wasn't nearly that simple.

"Sounds rather noble of you. And of course I'd want to take my competitors down a peg. But that's an approach the former CEO would've taken. And I'm nothing like my mother. I intend to get back on top without the need to resort to gangs destroying them."

He said. It was sure it was a fool's errand, attempting to do things in a more 'noble' manner. But he was adamant in showing that the company could turn a new leaf and be what Eero had envisioned.

"Tell me. What's Angelico Industries really like? Are they really that terrible?"

The last question was for curiosity's sake, but perhaps he could be convinced to turn the weapons to someone who could put them to good use. Ideally, Beetle's gang wouldn't be enemies for him down the line, using the very weapons that he gave them. He'd hate to kill what 404 described as a kid.

Adrian was thoroughly shocked to hear a different voice come out of his phone. A voice he didn't recognize, and immediately he was on edge.

"Who the- what did you do to Cassie?" He said, looking at his phone to ensure he was calling the right number. From the sound of it, whoever was on the other side of the line had been listening in the entire time... even while he was searching the apartment. He had half a mind to go back downstairs and see if there was someone in the apartment that he had missed.

No...

Something told him that this was that so-called internet god that had been plaguing the city as of late. They knew far too much from the short time he was in there, and he was on an encrypted line. It would take some serious work to get into it. He thought this 404 was a weird myth, but now he wasn't so sure.

Based on what little he had heard, he wasn't sure if they were good news or bad news. In any case, they both seemed to operate outside of the law.

"You're that internet god, aren't you? The hell you want with someone like me? Don't tell me you want me to drop some weapons off in whatever basement you're operating out of."

He probably could've just hung up. But he wasn't about that life.