03 | text

[tradecraftdude]

MISSING

PET PYJAK
ANSWERS 2 JOEY
DO NOT SHOOT
DO NOT EAT
DO NOT FEED BACON

RSPND 2 THIS MSG W/LEADS

[ Attached to the post is a slightly blurry photograph of a pyjak wearing a harness made out of cable ties, and a dogtag around its neck reads 'JOEY RAMOAN'. ]

Comments

[tradecraftdude]

He's not a monkey, okay? Every good business needs a mascot. Tony the Tiger. Ronald McDonald. Colonel Sanders. We'll have Joey Burrito. Taco Joey? Maybe I'll rename him José.

[jumpiness]

Chalupa Joe.

[ the name comes to him unto high, but he still waves his hands around. ]

All right, mascots, jeez, but not near the food. We still gotta get a hold of a whole bunch of shit to make Taco Bell. The overhead on this will be killer.

[tradecraftdude]

Chalupa Joe? Man, that's almost as good as something I'd come up with! I'll buy it!

[ marco pulls up a screen on his omni-tool and starts flipping through market listings as they talk. ]

I've got a little bit of capital that I think I'd be willing to sink into this, but we really should find ourselves like an actual backer. Honestly, though, how much stuff could we possibly need? We could run this out of a window with a microwave and a minifridge until it gets off the ground.

[jumpiness]

[ stiles snorts, but leans over to look at marco's listings. annnnd they make zero sense to him, he's not a market guy. ]

I have some saved up too. [ a little while later, he's going to lose it all denting joker's shuttle. he nods at the microwave and mini-fridge suggestion and then hums. ]

I know a couple people, though. There's this chick York, works in a bar - maybe we could promise to pay her back. Or we could ask someone else.

[tradecraftdude]

You really think York is gonna be into this? [ on second thought, if he can convince her that it'll help keep him out of trouble... ] But whatever, it's worth a shot. If we pester everyone we know, someone's bound to cough up some cash. It's an investment opportunity!

[ he stops for a moment and gives stiles a suspicious look ]

Wait, how do you know York?

[jumpiness]

Well, she might be willing to try? [ stiles shrugs a shoulder. ] And hell, if we just ask for a little from a lot of people that's easier than asking for a bunch from one.

[ stiles pauses and then quirks a brow at marco. ]

Met her when she was working at the bar. Why?

[tradecraftdude]

Small station, I guess. Go figure. She and I go totally way back, though. I bet I can get her to chip in. Almost everyone else I know on this rock is kind of a bum as far as cashflow goes, though.

[ he goes back to looking at shit on his omni-tool; dollar signs are practically oozing from his pores. ]

I don't think we'll be able to handle having a storefront to start with, but if we run this as a mobile unit we can cover a wider range of customers and locations while maintaining the same base of operations.

the operation doomed to failure

[jumpiness]

Really? What, did she used to babysit you or something?

[ he thought york was from the future and marco from a time more like his, but he supposes he could be wrong. ]

Yeah, no one else I know is particularly rolling in money.

[ he taps his chin as he thinks. ]

You thinking a cart - like a Taco bell cart? It would keep costs pretty low to start.

glorious failure

[tradecraftdude]

Dude, I have never needed a babysitter! [ you get socked in the arm for that, stiles ]

But yeah, we get ourselves set up with a cart that can do refrigeration and cooking. One of us runs the cart, the other runs orders. Chalupa Joe does cartwheels and hands out flyers.

C:

[jumpiness]

Oh yeah, you could boil water right out of the womb?

[ he yelps and pushes at marco's shoulder, with a huff. ]</small. Sounds like a plan. All we gotta do is get some money. And a cart. Hey! We should find a junk yard and find one there or something. Bleach it, it'll be good as new.

[tradecraftdude]

[ marco rolls with the shove, then picks up his burger and munches it on it again, a thoughtful look on his face. ]

Yep. No biggie at all. I bet we can find something better than bleach, too. This is like, future space rock world, right? [ he claps a greasy hand on stiles's back. ] Okay, buddy, you find us a cart and I'll find us cash, and we'll get this show on the road!