Re: Brotherhood Chapter House
Alisdair had once been told, he couldn't remember when now, not to look a gift horse in the mouth; but life had taught him to accept no gifts without a full cavity search. He stopped eating immediately, looking at the man with surprise, mixed with just the faintest hint of suspicion. He would have stopped eating entirely, but he was too hungry, and he'd eaten enough for anything laced into it to have already had effect. He couldn't feel anything changing, and the pilot didn't look like the type to poison someone, and he couldn't think of any reason why these people would want him dead.
But the barmaid had been smiling at him since she had seen him. It suddenly occurred to him that the bounty notices might have already reached this far, though he doubted it, but her smile wasn't a bounty hunter's - he'd seen them frequently enough, often through gunsights, to recognise them on sight - she looked almost as if she was happy just to see him. He couldn't think of any possible reason why she would be; people generally weren't happy to see him at all, but that went with the territory.
He took a long, slow breath. Maybe he was just being a little too paranoid, maybe they were actually being kind, and he was going to get work soon, he could pay them back when the pay-check came through from this job.
"T-thank you, I'll repay you as soon as I have the money."
He turned back to his meal, still conscious of the barmaid's eyes on him, and went back to categorising what ammo he had left, and working out a small wish list of chemicals that he would ask their employer to supply.