Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 48: Hatchet [3]

Chapter Forty-Eight

Hatchet Part III

Milky Way Galaxy

Tilnast System

Planet Sarka

'You don't mind switching places, do you love?' Hatchet asked Juyu without taking his eyes off the entrance. Juyu was not one to argue when there was obviously something dangerous happening, so she stood up to let Hatchet out.

The tension in Hatchet's shoulders was obvious for Loki even if his face remained calm. It was one of Hatchet's finer skills, to hide how much something was affecting him. Sometimes even Loki had trouble pinpointing how worried or angered he actually was. Many said in Asgard that the older an elf was the more they resembled a marble statue. Most Aesir never bothered to learn how to mask their emotions, but elves on the other hand were spectacularly good at it. Hatchet was not that old so he still had his tells. You had to know him to recognize them though. Right now he seemed more agitated than worried, so Loki was not concerned.

Soon enough two bulky men appeared by their table - one of them a blue native, the other slightly brown - and while they tried their best to hover menacingly over the sitting Hatchet, he paid them no mind. He even averted his gaze from the entrance.

'Paano wants to have a word with you,' one of them said after a few moments of silence.

'Then he can come down to District 7 just like everyone else,' Hatchet told them.

'Not up for a debate,' the blue one said.

'No, it really isn't,' Hatchet said. 'Now get lost. I'm busy.'

'He was not satisfied with the quality,' the brown one added. Hatchet sighed dramatically.

'I do not renegotiate,' he said. 'Especially not after delivery. He was the one being stingy about the original price, so he's going to have to deal with the lower quality. If he wants something better, he can buy from the corps or he's going to have to pay more. That's how it works. Now get lost.'

The two men looked at one another for a moment, then the blue one walked back towards the entrance. The other remained a few feet away from their table, scowling at Hatchet.

Loki raised an eyebrow when Hatchet looked at him. The elf just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

'I'd really appreciate it, if you'd tell us now if we have to get out of dodge,' Stark said.

'Do not worry,' Hatchet said. 'I'll handle it.'

When the blue man walked back to their table Loki was immediately certain that this was not going to end peacefully. From the look on Hatchet's face, he knew that as well.

'Paano does not like to wait,' he said. Stark silently snorted at the dramatically delivered line. Hatchet's eyes glinted with amusement as he glanced at him, then he turned his gaze back on the glowering man. 'You either do what you're told, or we're just gonna take what we need.'

There was no mistaking the way Hatchet clenched his jaw this time, nor how his eyes hardened at the words. He stood up with his usual grace and stepped closer to the blue man. He was bulkier, but Hatchet was taller and he of course used that to his advantage. He moved until he was inches away from the other man and stared down at him with unblinking eyes. Their noses almost touched, but the man squared his shoulders and did not step back, even if he looked like he wanted to.

'Did you really just threaten to steal from me?' he asked evenly. 'I do not think you thought this all the way through.'

It was almost admirable how the man held his ground, rapidly blinking up at Hatchet and swallowing constantly.