Shooting Starz

Tala paused in her probbing, arching an eyebrow at the grand tale of ass kicking, or lack of really. She gave a snort of disbelief before return to her healing duties, fingers digging in a taaaad less gentle than before. “Ah the old physics switch-a-roo. Gets us every tim…wait, a ring?” She perks up, flipping the hand to get a good view of all sides. “I got some great news R, it’s not broken, but um, gotta pop it back in place and that’s gonna hurt like a bitch.” She curled a hand firmly around his wrist and the other hovering above the swollen joint. “Any last words?” Tala says solemnly, image ruined by her wicked smirk.

“Easy– eeeeasy!” The frazzled outcries of Rex get more hectic– in fact, comically so, an over the top performance that works wonders to gloss over that brief curiosity. The fret in his eyes was a wild fire, searching the ceiling for some famous last rites to go by when at a sudden a light bulb all but appears over his cheery little head. “Okay. Okay, okay, okay. ‘It ain’t easy bein’ cheesy’. Boom.”

“Patient confidentiality, R, you know I’m good for it” Her voice was soft as she inspected the injured hand, gently spreading the discolored fingers. “Ice for the swellin, tape up some digits to keep it set since we both know settin you up with a splint is pointless since you’ll just yank it off. Low key brakin bones, huh?” Tala finally looked up, giving him a slow-growing smirk, “Was it worth it, hon?”

“Aaaactually,” Between the tears in his eyes, a natural reaction to the abuse of the joints, and his muttered ouch!-es, he somehow works in a retort. “Not really. It was stupid.” Still, he said it while matching her grin.

Athletic: check. If he’s willing to let people swing fists at him for some cash, chances are he’d take the day off for an easier job, right? The convincing part was uncomplicated, though faced with hesitancy about the no-violence bit. Simple set up: collect a package from the Starz’s elected official, it’s all wired up with tracking and sound feedback to assure fairness, and deliver it to a location while avoiding capture and/or loss of said package. This would be the first step to protecting them and theirs. With a nurturing corner in NYC’s drug market, the Starz needed more than just Rex’s natural charisma and eye for detail, and Tala’s healing hands to keep their numbers safe when things got heated. Corruption that the other established powers had due to the influence of illegal weapons was not in the cards for them. Whether or not he knows the depth of this decision, the nameless “Nicki’s fighter” agreeing to play this game means more to them, and Rex, than he could possibly fathom. 

Tala had been working with a select few to gauge the general abilities of the starlets. A common issue cropping up in nearly every scenario, but she found a baseline, a foundation to build upon. And it was there in her face the entire time, the golden key doubling as the cement that binded them. Mobility. They were young overall, passion where there should be experience, and even if it got the job done, passion and luck could only take you so far. But now it was time to change that. And what better way for the competitive lot to earn experience than a cat-mouse game?