Liam entered the junkyard a little cautiously, as this was his first time here and he'd heard some stories about how its proprietor got a fair bit of his salvage. Not, of course, as though that were any barrier to doing business... all's fair in love, war and trade, after all. Still, it never hurt to tread a little softly.

A dark shape caught the corner of his eye, and he turned to face the open bay door of a Zoids hangar. One in particular caught his eye... a low-slung Zoid highlighted in gold, with a turreted vulcan gun extending out over the Zoid's pointed muzzle. Ahhh, Liam thought. That would be a Shadow Fox, then... He'd read the ZBC datasheet on it and been highly impressed at its flexibility and capability, but they hadn't been for sale on the normal Zoid market -- too expensive to mass-produce.

For a moment, Liam calculated credit balances in his head -- then nodded almost imperceptibly. Yes, he might just be able to make it work...

Liam walked up to the Zoid and began inspecting it at closer range.

Vincent, who'd been busy eating a sandwich, already had his shotgun out in the blink of an eye. "Hey, you! What are you doing here?! Don't touch nothin!"

It might be noted that Vincent's already IN the Shadow Fox's cockpit, obviously doing some repairs to it. Unlike the Saix and the Liger Zero, it's been freshly polished and worked on.

Liam laughed slightly, raising his hands. "Easy, there. I wasn't planning on it." He noticed the level of detail that had been paid to the Shadow Fox, and he wondered if it was still for sale...

No harm in trying, though. Probably. That shotgun looked rather... threatening. "Say, would you be open to selling this Zoid? I'd be willing to offer you a good bit of cash and another one in trade."

"That's pretty damn tempting," Vincent nods, "Except I got plans for it. Ya see the outside, there?"

Vincent points out of the hangar, through the walls. Liam OBVIOUSLY can't see through it. Seems Vincent's a trifle unhinged.

"I got plans for it. Big plans. A little tournament for this sucker, if ya get my drift. I figure that's the best way to do it. Though, since ya asked, I wouldn't be adversed to selling you a little bit of information..."

"A tournament?" Liam smiled slightly. "Interesting... I imagine it'll generate a good bit of publicity and repair business at the same time.

I might be willing to pick up some information. Name your price, and I'll see."

"Five thousand. Tops. It's good information and it'll help ya if you enter."

Liam narrowed his eyes. Five thousand just for information... that was a wee bit steep. Then again, he very much wanted to enter the tournament, or to send a team member anyhow...

"I have no way of knowing whether it'll be useful until you tell me," Liam countered. "Say, three thousand up front and twenty-five hundred if I think it was worthwhile." He grinned. "You get more than 5k, if it really is."

"Done." Vincent smiled honestly- it was a fairly good haggle, though Liam probably could have drawn it out a lot more. "The money?"

Liam fished a palm computer out of his pocket, frowning a moment and pressing some buttons. After a few seconds more he nodded. "Just transferred it to your account electronically, if that works for you. I've found it a really bad idea to walk around with large sums of cash in my pocket... You can confirm it anytime you like."

Vincent doesn't even bother, he can pretty much tell that it's for real. Besides... he had a trump card or two just in case he gets stiffed.

"Alright. The big tipoff that ya want to know? Mind the junk. Mind it REAL well." Vincent nods with all seriousness.

Hrm, Liam thought as he tried to pick apart Vincent's hint. I'm seeing a couple of possibilities... Number one is that I just got taken for a ride. Oh, well, it happens. Number two... If Number Two was the case, then he may just have gotten his money's worth.

The next matter for consideration was whether to pay the extra. Either way, Liam doubted that it was worth fifty five hundred credits... but he'd also be buying Vincent's goodwill, at least a little, and at least for a while. The owner of the junkyard would be happy to see him coming, even if it was the happiness of "Oh, look! Here comes that sop who I ripped off!" That could be worth significantly more.

"Well, in all fairness," Liam chuckled, "there's not much way I could have thought of that one myself. I'll be depositing the extra twenty-five hundred here in a bit." He glanced at the time readout on the palmcomp. "Graah, I've got to meet up with the team in a bit for our fight against Dawnstar. I expect I'll be bringing you more business shortly... but not too much, I hope, if you know what I mean..."

On his way out, Liam very carefully examined the junk piles, even taking a photo-capture here and there to help out his memory. You never know, it might end up coming in handy.

Hrm, Liam thought as he tried to pick apart Vincent's hint. I'm seeing a couple of possibilities... Number one is that I just got taken for a ride. Oh, well, it happens. Number two... If Number Two was the case, then he may just have gotten his money's worth.

The next matter for consideration was whether to pay the extra. Either way, Liam doubted that it was worth fifty five hundred credits... but he'd also be buying Vincent's goodwill, at least a little, and at least for a while. The owner of the junkyard would be happy to see him coming, even if it was the happiness of "Oh, look! Here comes that sop who I ripped off!" That could be worth significantly more.

"Well, in all fairness," Liam chuckled, "there's not much way I could have thought of that one myself. I'll be depositing the extra twenty-five hundred here in a bit." He glanced at the time readout on the palmcomp. "Graah, I've got to meet up with the team in a bit for our fight against Dawnstar. I expect I'll be bringing you more business shortly... but not too much, I hope, if you know what I mean..."

On his way out, Liam very carefully examined the junk piles, even taking a photo-capture here and there to help out his memory. You never know, it might end up coming in handy.

"Mind the junk." Claybourne repeated, sweeping his arms out at the piles of scrap metal scattered around his junkyard. "Remember that. Pleasure doin business with ya. I'll be waitin just in case ya need anything else."

((+5,500 to account))