Chapter 1 - The Crash

Taelor grins back at Graham. Things were moving again. She was surrounded by friendly faces. They might actually pull this off. "I love tours. Show us the... um, wonders? ... of Mani Losa Plains!"

<As Elan joins the group outside the catina>

Tecumseh wrote:

"Ahoy, Statton!"

Statton jumps again, this time only a little. His face breaks into a smile as he looks at Elan. "Oh! Elan, haha, funny meeting you here too." He says, oblivious to Taelor's tension.

He introduces the two newcomers to Taelor, relating a delightful story where Elan had returned a Lazarus Patch Statton had dropped one day.

He leans in towards Elan and whispers "Elan! We might need your keen senses... We'll explain on the way."

As they walk and Taelor explains the situation, Statton interjects occasionally to spout too-technical information about the Spores and the antidote. He also describes the appearance of Diogene's suspected accomplice: Strong, brown or black hair, ponytail.

<back in the present>

As graham explains how the group would infiltrate the community center, Statton grimly pulls his bioscanner out of his pack and flips it on. Unlike his battered compad, the bioscanner is a sleek silver oviod trimmed with gold - out of place on a world like this. Well... taking a bioscanner on his way out probably didn't piss the Halianti off much more than they already were.

Gesticulating with the scanner in hand, Statton says, "With this I can detect the gamma-thanotic signatures emitted by the spores within two or three meters."

Elan holds his hand out. Is he saying 'hold on for a moment' or is he about to fall over? His head is still spinning.

"Alright, so let me get this straight," he says. "A container full of the zombie-spores was stolen from Sonia, and the assumption is that the container will be somehow released during the townhall meeting tomorrow, like a dirty bomb.

"Option A is to leave, but since the shuttle is busted we're on to Option B, which is to save the day."

He blinks languidly a few times, his thoughts slowly catching up to his words. He's usually the criminal/lawbreaker/outlaw and is thus unaccustomed to being the potential hero.

"To catch a thief, you have to think like a thief." He says this with a straight face, he thinks. But he thought he was going to have a straight face at the star port too and that didn't work out too well.

"What does the container look like? How big is it? Large, small, easy to hide or hard to conceal? Could they just sneak it in tomorrow or do you think they'll need to arrive with it in advance? On that note, do they just need to open it, or will it need some sort of preparation?

"I presume they'll want to aerosolize it. Let's pay close attention to the ventilation system. Any central system which circulates or filters the air is going to be a prime candidate. But if I were them I'd keep it somewhere safe tonight and then just bring it tomorrow to minimize the chance of it being discovered. There might not be anything to find right now."

He stops, mentally reviewing everything he just said for coherence. Seems... okay? He mentally resolves not to drink any more of the local spice beer.

Sonia listens closely to Elans questions. Of course, she hadn't even spoken about what they were looking for. After Elan finishes, she nods twice faintly and starts "The container is silver and bottle-like and about this high and wide", she shows an area of about 70 by 40 cm. "It is pretty heavy, maybe 25 kg. On the top there is a pressure valve, because the container is under negative pressure. So it is pretty tricky to get a sample out in a controlled manner. However if you just want to spray it out, that's possible without much preparation. I'm not sure whether the thieves know that due to the negative pressure at first air will only go into the bottle until the pressure equalized. It's a safety measure. But once the pressure equalized the spores will start spilling out. " She shudders at the thought of that.

"Pretty big then. They won't be smuggling it in their pants, amirite doc?" He slaps Statton on the back.

Woah, I need to dial it down a notch.

He considers the community center.

"It might not be in yet."

That's what she said! ... Damnit!

"Let's get in and look around. If we run into Diogenes or his goons, let's pull out. We can come back later tonight to look around with less interference. If it's there and guarded, we can grab it. If it's not there then it won't be guarded and we'll have our run of the place to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings.

"If it's not there, and I suspect it isn't, then we'll need to set up a watch, keeping an eye on the place. I just worry if they bring it in at the last minute, in the middle of a throng of people. In that case we'll have to be in position inside, guarding any logical spots where they might release it. If they're clever enough to break into Sonia's place without being detected then they'll be clever enough to think through placement. That actually serves our purposes, since we can do the same thinking and narrow down the number of spots we have to defend."

He stops. He usually doesn't talk this much, does he? But, for now, his tongue is loose. Hopefully nobody asks him anything personal or incriminating right now, as he's likely to give a full account against his best interests.

Taelor snorts at Elan's joke. It wasn't good, but with things as tense as they were it was a nice change of tone. It had washed away the last of her anxiety. She was grateful for that.

She listens intently as he lays down his plan, nodding here and there. "If it's not there, I think we should try and find it tonight. Before it's in a crowd, you know? The rest of it sounds good to me." She smiles warmly at him. "You really know your stuff. Stakeouts, ventilation systems, covering the exits, all that shit. Are you a private investigator or something?"

Elan tries to suppress a burp that might diminish his stature.

"I am a... security consultant" - yes, good, that's the ticket - "specializing in... moonlight requisitions."

He vows to get some dinner soon to settle his stomach. He continues to study the community center.

"Sometimes my consultations are unannounced."

Whoops, did I say that part out loud?

Taelor smirks. "That makes it sound like you're a thief. Oh, sorry, I mean 'an extra-legal acquisition specialist'," adding the quotation marks with her fingers. She laughs at the absurdity of it.

But... they are on Astyoc, not exactly a bucolic paradise. Was it so far-fetched to think that crime might be a factor here? And if so, would that be a bad thing? Her dad did use to say "it takes a thief to catch a thief". Her experiences with law enforcement had generally confirmed that idiom. Well, if you considered extortion theft.

She squints at the unsteady young man. "Wait, is that what you're saying? Because that might be the kind of expertise we need for this... job." A thought occurs to her and she lights up with excitement. "Is this a heist? Are we heisting?"

Statton, listening intently to Elan's plan, relaxes a little when he says "If we run into Diogenes or his goons, let's pull out"

At the word "Heist", Stattons face becomes worried once more, remembering the outcome of his last attempted "heist".

I believe Elan's plan is a good one, r-regardless on the origins of his expertise... he says, wringing his hands absentmindedly, "A direct confrontation with Diogenes now would be a mistake, I think. So... heist might be an apt descriptor(?)" He falters.

"Perhaps we should also follow up on this Matt fellow who also appears to be a follower of Diogenes" Statton suggests.

"Well..." Elan demurs, "planetary law differs from system to system, but there's a broad consensus that you cannot, in fact, steal what rightfully belongs to you. So, by definition, it is not a heist, as a heist implies theft. It is simply... a liberation?" (This said with an airy wave of his hand.) "Presuming, of course, that Sonia had legal ownership of the spores to begin with."

Woah, Professor Elan, where did you come from?

He shakes his head again, trying to clear it. He refrains from launching into a further tangent about 'legal ownership' and various nuances (and loopholes) between different societies.

"Let's have a quick chat with whoever lets us in. That should provide the lay of the land. I can scout things out quickly while you all protect our avenue of escape. Lanes of retreat: very important. Once we have our reconnaissance, we can make an informed decision about our next steps."

Once the plan is formed, the newly formed band of adventurers casually talking walks towards the community center and then turns into the side road towards the back entrance. The workers at the entrance are way too busy to worry about people apparently leaving their shift and heading to a bar, so the group goes unnoticed. The side street is longer than first expected. It reaches far past the community center and ends in a right turn about 50m beyond the community center. The back entrance is a plain metal door, with a plain fix knob as a handle. As the group reaches the door, heads turn back and forth, but no followers or other spectators can be seen.
Graham works his way forward to the front of the group, turns his head to the rest and as he gets confirming nods from everyone firmly knocks the door three times.
Moments of tense waiting pass. But nothing happens. He knocks once more, this time even more determined. Again tensed waiting and after another minute the door opens up a bit. A wave of noise spills out and the head of a you man peeks out. "Ah, Graham, it's you. Wasn't sure whether I heard right. It's really loud in here. Come in." He opens the door completely, but as Graham's friends pass he frowns. "What's happening, man? I thought you just wanted to peek in. Who are these people? I can get into big trouble here. Not cool." But he does not hinder the crowd to pass, turning to Graham with an annoyed face. The rest of the group finds itself in a small hallway which ends in a lit up large room, some 20m ahead. Before that there are stairs on the right leading both up and down, two doors on the left and an open door on the right leading to some kind of kitchen.
There are people working in the kitchen and the large room at the end of the hallway. The whole place feels busy.

The doorman, Ralph, is a nephew of someone Graham works with. Good kid, a little squirrelly, and Graham knows that he has him off balance.

Graham smiles at the surprised doorman, and claps him on the shoulder. "Thanks, mate, quick tour for our guests, then we'll be on our way. Don't want to disturb Diogenes, I know he's busy right now -- is he in the big room, then?", and points down the hallway. Graham holds his gaze with a steady stare and a slight grin. He knows he has the initiative in this conversation, and he'll press it as long as he needs to in order to keep Ralph's gaze front and center. He's ready to launch rapid-fire questions, comments, and compliments, but he holds until he knows the answer to Diognenes' whereabouts.

"Yea, I know you are not gonna pull anything on me. But really, they're gonna bust my balls over this if it comes out. Shit! Err, what? Diogenes? No, he's not here. Ran out earlier to take care of something 'urgent'. No idea. He said he would be back though. "

"Your aunt said you could handle yourself, no worries. They give you shit, you give it right back, am I right?"
Without waiting, he goes on. "You're running the show around here, aren't you? Got everybody on their toes? Seems a lot busier than just prep for a town hall meeting. What are all these folks doing -- are we all getting fed tomorrow? Put me down for a steak." With that, he points over his shoulder with his thumb towards what must be the kitchen.

While Graham chatted up the doorman, Taelor leaned in closer to the others. "It'd probably be best if Graham and Elan take the lead, heading off complications," she says, indicating the doorman with a slight twitch of her head. "Sonia and Statton can follow behind to do the scanning. Diogenes' henchwoman knows my face and it makes less sense for me to be here, since I just arrived, so I can bring up the rear or watch our exit. What do you think?"

Elan nods to Taelor. "Good thinking. I'd say watch the exit. Always protect your avenue of escape!"

He looks around, a little unsure what's going to happen next. Is Graham going to lead a tour? Is Ralph? He's tempted to slip away and pretend he's a worker, but he doesn't want to burn Graham's connection. He'll be more subtle about it.

"Once Ralph leads the 'tour' down the hallway, or goes back to work, I'll slip through one of those doors on the left, or one of those staircases."

He looks to Statton, trying to instill some confidence in him.

"Just try to blend in. Act like you know what you're doing. If anyone asks, you're doing a security sweep. Tell them there was a bomb at the space port! That's true enough; it won't even be a fib."

Statton nervously nods at both Elan. "S-sure" He squares his shoulders and hefts his bioscanner up into his hands, studying the signals (he had been carrying it like a pulseball under his arm and surreptitiously checking it) He'll keep an eye on his bioscanner as they walk through the community center. Yes, yes, just a normal security sweep.

The walls seem to waver slightly in Statton's vision, Statton tries his best to ignore it, glueing his eyes to the bioscanner's screen.

"Well, it's good to see you, and thanks for letting me in. I'm sure you have lots to do, and I don't want to keep you from it. Which area are you working in, and what's your role getting ready for tomorrow?"
Graham waits for the answer, nods, and heads off to catch up with the group.

"I'm just carrying stuff around. Yea, I'll better get back to it. Have a nice tour."
Ralph shakes Graham's hand, waves to the rest and walks off.
The current estimate is about 10-15 people working in the center, at least on the ground floor. No one so far is taking notice, it seems normal that people are walking around and doing things, as well as people standing around and doing nothing.
The group casually makes its way towards the stairs.
The hallway is wide enough for three people to stand relatively comfortably next to each other. The floor is of an old linoleum like material and has marks of long use. When passing the kitchen you see three people washing dishes and arranging them on tray waggons, in preparation for tomorrow. On the other side a door opens to what seems like a storage room. Shelves with cans, toilet paper, towels and other supplies are visible. The stairs are less wide than the hallway, but still fit two people. After two 90° turns the stairs end in a hallway, much like the one downstairs. To the right at the end of the hallway is a door, with a glass window through which shines light.
The rest of the hallway has multiple doors, which are all closed and have little signs next to them with letters and numbers, identifying rooms by some code unknown to you. It is surprisingly quiet up here and no one can be seen.

Elan is off like a shot, moving quickly knowing that time might be limited.

He starts to check doors, first listening at them (are there voices? sounds of machinery?) before gently testing door knobs to see if things are locked or unlocked. He works his way down the hallway toward the door at the end which has a glass window. That one he will approach cautiously, assuming that there is someone inside since the light is on.

He also keeps a eye open for any roof access.

Statton creeps forward, following about 5 meters behind Elan as carefully as he can and waving his bioscanner around.

As the group heads off, Taelor, ever eager to please, stays behind to watch their exit route. Her militia training kicks in and she initially stands at attention, before realizing how out of place she looks. She hesitates, shuffling from one foot to the other, before finally settling on leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She does her best to mimic the many security guards she's seen in her life, adopting an air of bored annoyance. It doesn't take long for the expression to become more than a façade.

She takes out her dataslab and sends a message to Jasper and Senn.
//Found one of this morning's technicians. Pointed me at his boss. Met some people, Sonia's research was stolen including a sample. Met more people. We're looking for the sample now. How are things at the ship?//

The rooms all appear to be empty and all very similar. Their purpose seems to be to serve as rooms for small meetings or gatherings, small courses or work groups maybe. They all contain several tables, some chairs and a window.
There are no further stairs towards upstairs.
Eventually Elan approaches the last door at the end of the hallway. He slowly makes his way towards it, instinctively taking a half crouched position. Statton follows also a sometimes kneeling very low, sometimes almost standing straight, unsure which is the exact position he is supposed to take.
Once Elan reaches the door he kneels before it and slowly lifts his head up in order to peek in.
The door seems to lead to some kind of gallery in the large hall. Elan carefully tries - the door is open.

Before proceeding, Elan turns around and talks to Graham and Statton in a low voice: "If we need to fall back quickly, we'll duck into one of these empty rooms. If there's no chance that we can avoid being seen, then we huddle up and talk amongst ourselves, acting like we belong. Statton, say something confusing and scientific. Graham, say something ..." He waves his hand in the air to signal 'I don't know what'. "... something boring and administrative. Something uninteresting and unengaging to an outside listener."

Then he opens the door to the gallery as quietly and smoothly as he can, doing his best to spy around corners and see what's on the other side before proceeding too far.

Statton marvels at the quiet and quick efficiency with which Elan moves down the hall, checking each room in turn. His own body feels clumsy and stiff by comparison.

He nods at Elan's words, glancing backwards the top of the staris to double check that they aren't being followed. He fires off a short note to Taelor //Good idea, keeping watch pls msg us if anyone is coming//

The door to the gallery slowly swings open, giving a slight creaking sound, which feels extremely loud to the three crouched behind it, but apparently disappears in the cacophony of work that's audible from below.
The gallery is empty. It is about three meters deep and stretches the whole width of the hall, about ten meters. It's almost empty except for lighting equipment which is only half set up, some chairs and a half empty box of spice beer.
The rail to the hall is solid, not see-through and about 1,20 m high.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Taelor's data slab vibrates gently indicating another message. It's from Jasper.
//Wow, sounds like quite a day out. Do you need help? I'm still working on the ship. And the doc is sick. Ironic, ain't it?//

While she is reading a large man comes up to Taelor. "Hey, you can text your cutsy-tootsy later. There is more stuff to be brought in. Make yourself useful!"

Elan frowns, disappointed not to have caught a handful of goons in the act of setting up a dirty bomb. Of course, that would have led to different complications.

The sight of the of spice beer makes his stomach gurgle unpleasantly. He turns to Statton.

"Doc, maybe scan the equipment quickly, then we'll turn around. The spice beer is a bit suspicious. Maybe workers are just loafing off out-of-sight up here - which is maybe why the lighting equipment is only half set up, I don't know. We'll check in with Taelor then proceed to the basement if we have time."

He looks out from the gallery to the hall below, trying to identify any suspicious equipment or locations for where someone might try to conceal something. Mostly this is a catalog for future reference, as he assumes that he'll be back at some point later.

Statton nods and gets to work scanning the equipment and the crate of beer, kneeling below the rail.

Thelonius wrote:

While she is reading a large man comes up to Taelor. "Hey, you can text your cutsy-tootsy later. There is more stuff to be brought in. Make yourself useful!"

Taelor jumps, startled by the big man's sudden appearance. "Yes, sir!" She says instinctively before her brain has a chance to catch up. Fuck. Shit! Gopher, the eternal volunteer...

She looks around nervously and her eyes land on the open door to the kitchen. "Uh... What I mean is that I... am. The, um, chef asked me to wait here for a special delivery and bring it in when it arrives at the back door." She leans in closer, whispering conspiratorially. "It's a surprise, Diogenes' favorite, so he doesn't want too many people in the know." She winks and leans back. "As soon as I'm done with that, I'll be right there to help you with the rest." She smiles at the big man, praying silently that he buys her bullshit.

With Ralph out of the way for now, Graham catches a glimpse of his group heading up the stairs, and goes to follow. He's still a ways back, but he sees them in the upper hallway.
"For a tour group, there sure is a lot of odd running around, crouching, advancing behavior. So much for hiding in plain sight", Graham muses to himself. No matter, these people are his way off this planet, and he's going to provide cover for them whatever it takes. He goes through scenarios in his head. He doesn't really understand what they're doing, but supervisors don't always know what their technicians are doing. If pressed, he can pretend to be supervising. Yeah, that'll work. That will have to work.
Graham picks up his step, and rejoins the group. He listens in to get a little more detail about what's happening here.

"Right missy, you go tell the chef he can pick up shit himself and get on with it."

Taelor's smile falters. "Right, will do!" she says with fake enthusiasm.

She starts walking down the hallway, turning back as she reaches the halfway point, only to see the man still glaring at her with his arms crossed over his barrel of a chest. Well, fuck. She continues down the corridor and out into the main room, joining the group of laborers hauling in the supplies for the town hall.

Elan looks left and right and spots a crack in the banister. He gives Statton a sign to stay and elegantly slides over to it. Through the crack he has a good view down onto the scenery in the hall.
Nine people are picking up chairs, arranging them in rows, facing the elevated area at the far end.
On the side walls, tables are being placed. Others carry boxes in from the outside and bring them towards the back, presumably to the storage rooms.
Neither Diogenes, nor the woman are to be seen.
Elan tries to memorize the faces and is just about to move back as he spots Taelor walking hesitantly into the main hall. She looks back over her shoulder multiple times, but keeps going. She walks over to the chairs, picks one up and places it in one of the rows.

Elan is confused, what's Taelor doing there? In that moment she can see Diogenes and the woman enter the hall. Taelor does not seem to notice and continues with her new chore. The woman spots Taelor, quickly turns to Diogenes and they exchange a few words, after which the woman starts towards Taelor. "Hey, you! What are you doing here?"

God fucking damn it, Taelor thinks as she recognizes the woman's voice. What should I do? Play dumb? Call her out? Taelor slowly lets out a breath, trying to regain her composure. She stands up straight and turns to face the woman with the best unconcerned air she can muster.

"I'm placing some chairs and minding my own business. Now, ask yourself, are you sure you want to settle our issues here and now?" Taelor asks, spreading her arms wide and looking around to indicate the large number of bystanders.

The woman closes the gap between Taelor and herself and now stands right in front of Taelor. "What are you talking about? You don't work here and you don't belong to this community. Let's go outside and let these good people do their work." and quieter, so only Taelor can hear her, she adds "Where are your friends, are they lurking around here too?"

As Statton finishes his scans, he hears Taelor's voice. He has the urge to look over the balcony to see what is happening, but thinks better of it instead he looks up sharply at Elan, his eyes darting between him and the door.

Oh hell... why did I think this would be a good idea...

He imagines himself at the end of the hallway, he can picture it in his minds eye as the world shudders around him.

But no.

He squeezes his eyes shut. Keep calm.

He opens his eyes and once again looks to Elan, as if to ask: what should I do?

"I'm volunteering," says Taelor stubbornly. "Some people like to help, rather than make things worse." She crosses her arms, looking the woman up and down. "If you want to talk, we could meet at the cantina later. I feel like we have some issues to resolve. Unless you'd like to talk about what happened this morning with all these good people around?"

"Common, let's go. Or I'll have to call security." Quietly she again continues, "What do you want to say? I'll tell them you planted it and who do you think they will believe? You are not welcome here. So for your own good, move it. And again, where are your friends?"

Drat, Elan thinks as he sees the situation develop down below.

He looks around. Could throw the lighting equipment over the edge for a distraction... no, no need. They're not rushing her, not huddling up around her.

He's loathe to give up a primo spot for sniping the targets down below, but that would escalate the situation dramatically and unnecessarily. Time to retreat.

He signals Statton to grab a few bottles of beer to take with them. They can always be thrown or used for a distraction themselves. Then he makes eye contact with Graham behind him and signals that it's time to go.

"My friends are at our ship making sure you don't try any other funny business," Taelor snaps at the woman, keeping her voice low. "I'm just trying to make myself useful while I'm stuck here. Trust me, nothing would make me happier than getting off this fucking rock. You want me to leave? Fine, I'll leave." She leans in closer. "Have fun terrorizing your fellow citizens, bombarella," she says spitefully.

Taelor starts stomping towards the door, visibly upset. The audacity of this bitch! She takes a deep breath to steady herself, and hopes she stalled long enough.

Graham senses the urgency from Elan and Statton, and looks around for the cause for concern. Rapidly scanning the hallways near his position, he sees nothing out of the ordinary.
"What's the problem -- are we compromised? Do we need to get out of the building?"

Elan can see Taelor and the woman exchanging some quiet, apparently unfriendly words and Taelor starts stomping off, out through the front door and disappears into the dark.

Taelor walks straight out the front door. By now it is almost completely dark. The van is still in front of the center, but it seems he workers are done unloading, because no one is carrying things anymore, just a small crowd stands on the side walk, having a beer. They look up quickly when Taelor comes out, but then carry on with their conversation.
A light breeze has picked up, it's cool, but at least the clouds cleared up. Taelor longingly looks up at the stars.

Taelor takes a deep breath of the cool night air. That's at least one good thing this planet has for it: an atmosphere. Looking around to make sure no one is waiting to jump her, she pulls out her dataslab, writing a quick message to Statton, hoping he can read between the lines. //Saw an old friend. Had to leave early.//

Putting the device back in her pocket, she approaches the group of drinking laborers. "Hey guys, I'm Taelor. I'm new around here." She smiles sheepishly, tucking a loose strand of her hair over her ear. "I think Diogenes' lady friend and I got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to apologize to her after she's had the time to cool off. You wouldn't happen to know her name, or where I can find her later?"

"Hi Taelor from not around here. Do you mean Tamara? Yay high, black pony tail and a bit bitchy?" , the speaker turns to his companions to check the reactions to his joking description. With a satisfied smile over the chuckles of his peers he turns back to Taelor. "Don't worry about about it. We've all been there. She'll come around. Want a beer?" He offers Taelor a bottle.

In the meantime Elan can see Tamara and Diogenes arguing quietly. They keep looking left and right to make sure no one overhears their conversation. Diogenes then points up to the banister, says something and looks at Tamara, who nods and they both turn towards the door towards the backdoor hallway.

"Taelor's burnt," Elan tells Graham. "Looks like she got out. Time for us to go."

There's a part of him that's tempted to stay and maybe try to get to the basement, as he's an unknown quantity. But he also knows that the ponytail woman will be on alert, and that means heightened security, maybe even a sweep of the building.

"They're headed this way," he says. "Statton, pass out those beers." He twists out the caps and distributes them among themselves, hoping it can add a sliver of cover.

"Quickly, into one of the meeting rooms," he says, ducking into one of the empty rooms they found earlier along the hallway. His plan is to let Diogenes and the woman pass by on the way to the bannister, then slip the team out behind them, down the stairs and out the back door.

"Hand me a beer, and duck into a room near the stairs going down. I should be able to lead them away, long enough for you to get down the stairs and out the back. Stay calm, keep your wits."
Graham relishes the thought of putting one over on Diogenes, and hopes he gets to see him in a panic. He's had enough of that power-hungry jackass, and enjoys rattling his cage every now and then.

Statton hands out the beers, leaving one for himself. He then follows Elan into the empty room. Statton shows both Elan and Graham the message from Taelor, whispering "You're right, looks like she got out, at least."

Statton stares at his beer like someone encountering an alien life form for the first time, then takes an experimental sip.

Graham turns and slowly walks away from the stairs, occasionally raising the beer to his lips (but not drinking). He's not sure he trusts anything about tomorrow's meeting, and there's more than one way to deliver a chemical agent...
He looks at the beer a little suspiciously, raises it, pretends to drink again.
He waits to hear footsteps behind him, and he continues to walk slowly, one hand on his beer, one hand in his pocket.
Casual. Not a threat. Just a guy taking a moment to enjoy a stolen beer, waiting to see an old 'friend'.