Stable

The establishment, commonly referred to as the Hybrid's Den was a special sort of locale. The kind where you could get lost in the variety of entertainment. Where money ordered, and those bound by greed obeyed.

Mind had had enough of being drawn into places such as this.

Sighing as he had followed his assistant all the way here, only to come to find out that 'here' was...certainly the least professional place for a business meeting he'd ever envisioned.

A main trident-shaped stage of sexualized mares and stallions groping the wooden poles as if their lives depended on it, dancing on screwed-to-the-floor hard wood tables to be hurled money by disgusting onlookers one hoof away from being kicked out for touching the merchandise.

Mind, whose jet colored Unicorn body could do with a few extra meals, swept his unkempt mess of a silver mane out of his face before it ascended his headache into a fully-grown migraine.

That source of his headache was commonly called Kelly, his plump yet thick-with-muscle assistant whose wood-brown Earth-Pony coat paled in comparison to her lively green mane, styled in copycat fashion after her boss. Although, in her defense, she'd had it brushed, usually often on the opposite side of her face to his, in an effort to appear more approachable to traders.

The duo appeared on the raised platform overseeing the view of the massive interior, which had an immense crowd off to the right trying to fulfill their bar quota of being too drunk to walk.

A hostess walked up to the new arrivals, greeting them kindly, “Hello! Can I get you a seat near the front?”

Kelly stepped up to the mare, saying to keep Mind from turning around to leave, “Well, no. We’re here for the meeting. With...a Miss Duwell?”

Staring at the sweetheart of a mare for a moment, the employee suddenly put two-and-two together, “Oh. Oh! Sorry about not realizing that sooner. We were only given the description of you, Kelly. And, weren’t expecting your arrival for another hour.”

Mind walked up to the greeter, responding to her confusion, “Better early than late, I’d think. Now, is she in? Or, may we take a seat somewhere? Preferably away from your...entertainment.”

The hostess nervously laughed before reaching out for an on-break worker saddled up right next to the five-hooves-off-the-laminate entrance, whispering something in their ear before just about tossing them off to retrieve orders from their employer.

After several minutes of patiently waiting with a backed-up crowd calling out insults for the stalemate, the hostess's fellow worker hustled back to ponysally escort the pair back to the crime boss, making it perfectly clear they weren't getting the other form of escort on the way back.

Dammit! This isn't how it was supposed to go down!

Dancers out there giving their customers drool-ridden chests wasn’t exactly the picture Duwell had wanted to paint.

Yeah, it’s not the most clean-cut establishment. Sure. But, it wouldn’t have been so bad had they just come right at noon. That would have given the staff plenty of time to close down for a half-hour to clean up enough for a respectable presentation. Bet this shit never happens to Vain's spoiled plot!

A knock on the door brought Duwell from her pit of self-loathing.

As she tidied up her suit, pressing it free of wrinkles, the crime lord allowed her two hopefully-soon-to-be-business-partners entry.

Mind and Kelly descended into the barely lit room, unable to make much note of Duwell, aside her almost glowing light pink/purple eyes.

But, what really caught the ponies' eyes were the stationed Griffons on either end of the enterprising criminal, whose gaze locked right on back to the two.

Kelly was smiling, not nervously or to keep fear in check at the very sight of the guns very much evident in the Griffons' holsters. No, she liked violence. She wanted nothing more than to combat the armed trigger-happy fellows. A part of her now selfishly desired the deal to go south, licking her lips at the prospect of an ensuing battle.

Mind knew Kelly always had his back, so wasn't too upset at the presence of the firepower over the counter that added to the heavy atmosphere that always transpired in these sorts of dealings.

Duwell cupped her hooves together as she charged in with the introductions, “I’m Duwell Former. Pleasure to meet you, Mind. Thank you for bringing him and yourself here today, Kelly.”

Kelly crossed her hooves, nodding to the Griffons that greatly contrasted the tone the crime boss delivered, “And, they are?”

With a sour look descending down her face, Duwell explained to her guests, “Just...measures. Don’t be insulted. They’re my security. Hired from a friend.”

Mind's expression of mild apathy rang out as he nodded, unconcern in his voice to manipulate the crime boss into stepping away from the landmine of a matter, "Of course. We both understand. Don't we, Kelly?"

Kelly's grin only mildly dissipated into the wind as she shook her head in acknowledgement.

Duwell, whilst still not a fan of the unsettling smile the Earth-Pony displayed, concluded her boss had a tight enough leash around the girl to keep her seated, getting on with the transaction as promised.

Unfurling a schematic of a device in her own magic, she drifted it over to Mind's suddenly interested eyes. Well, as much as one slightly raised eyebrow could appear to be.

Mind took note of how Duwell never strayed too far from the dark veil of her chair. How her very horn tried its best to remain suppressed in the amount of light it fired out to fulfill its purpose. She was hiding something. If Mind were the type to care about more than his work, he might've pressed onward to figure out what mare before him had done to herself.

He, instead, merely regarded the blueprints set before him.

Bored soon after deciphering the invention, Mind passed the papers back to Duwell, remarking casually, "I demand funding for these future projects of yours. Because you couldn't be bothered to go through third parties, I'll be requesting double the set price of whatever you had-"

Kelly said simply, only to her own benefit, "In mind."

Mind didn't even blink at the interruption of his assistant to finish his words with puns, as it happened far too often to scold the mare for anymore.

Duwell knew this might get out-of-hoof soon, so she put her hooves in her lap, the signal for the guards to be prepared for a shoot-out.

Her face obscure aside from those still radiating eyes and tight pout forming in the hints of light touching her face, Duwell pressed on with her admission, "Listen, I'm not going to pay you in the traditional sen-"

Mind could feel the headache returning, waving at Kelly to keep sat.

She, on the other hoof, took this motion as an opening for engaging her foes, quickly picking up her chair to easily hoist it almost to the ceiling.

Duwell's face formed what could only be called a scowl, declaring, "If you aren't open to hearing my proposal, then this is your chance to leave. Dicers, escort our former guests outside."

Mind sighed, not in the mood for a wasted day. He mentally and magically controlled Kelly's body, forcing her to place her chair down and take a seat in it.

Duwell nodded in acceptance, shooing her guards back to their stations as she grinned for the very first time, "Hmmmm. The controlling type. My favorite. You sure you're not the woman between the two of you, Mind?"

Mind didn't care to register whether he'd been tossed a compliment or insult, opening up the dialogue again, "Just what do you have to offer."

Duwell cleared her throat before speaking again, "Need dirt? A priceless work of art...misplaced? Have any sexual-"

Mind rolled his eyes at the mere mention of him wanting any of her offers, asking one of his own, "Okay. Fine. Workers. Lots of them. I've got several projects of my own in need of bodies. You supply the work force, you have a deal."

Kelly extended her hoof out to shake on the deal instead of Mind, but Duwell's narrowing of her eyes let the mare know she wasn't welcome.

Understanding the open hostility, Kelly retracted her hoof, commenting sweetly to offset the dark, disturbing setting she was in, "Awesome! This went so smoothly!"

Mind immediately forgot what his assistant was jabbering on about, attempting to open Duwell's cache of secrets for a very important reason, "Now, I'm still in need of funding. Do you know of anypony else who could assist me in acquiring large sums of money?"

Duwell directed the duo behind her, to the Griffons wearing grins as deep as their beaks would allow.

The one on the left spoke in a voice that matched somepony who inhaled smoke since birth, "Yeah. Our boss might. He's busy right now."

Kelly was the one interested now, liking where this was going as she said, "Ohhhh! Doing what?!"

The guard to the right chuckled to himself as he made a pushing motion with his claws, "Heh. Booom!!!!"