"...yeah I get that kind of a lot."

"I'd say that'll get you killed someday but mother's talked a lot about your gun. You've been around, haven't you? Either you're not that idealistic when push comes to shove or you're so badass that you can just be that idealistic and not die."

"Maybe I'm just a coward who runs from danger the moment it shows up."

Snort. "You're not. How are you liking your coffee?"

"Oh it's very nice. You got my number."

"That I do."

"A separate thing I was curious about is, well... Mearii seemed pretty down on the bank."

"...yeah. That. Is complicated."

"It sounds it."

"Warrens City has always been a trading outpost. It's a lot easier for people coming here and back to just sell their goods, buy their goods, then go back where they came from. If someone coming from Crane's End doesn't have to go all the way to Inepril to sell their raw metals and buy their manufactured goods then that's just a lot easier and cheaper for all involved."

"And the bank came after? Mearii says that the city was doing fine without them."

"Yeah. Banks are necessary for credit chits to be reliable, and carrying cash is very dangerous for the kinds of trading caravans that visit. Makes them a prime target."

"Sounds like a positive for all involved, but it's not?"

"Crime will go for the weakest targets. Before, that was caravans on the road; now that they don't carry any money and their chits are useless the city itself is where you go if you want to steal the money."

"So, more crime here even as everyone gets richer and the city grows."

"We didn't use to have a sheriff, before. Now we do."

"And the bank charges high interest on its loans and financing, high account management costs, and it draws lots more outsiders..."

"And most outsiders aren't nice well-behaved boys like you," she finishes with a half smile.

"You'll make me blush."

"I think I'd like to see that, actually. Want to grab dinner tonight?"

...aaaah, flirting.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline; I'm otherwise committed." To never ever having a relationship again aah.

"Shame." She drinks the rest of her coffee, sets it down, then gets up. "My break is almost over so I should be heading back," she says. "But do let me know if you change your mind," she adds with a wink.

"Will do."

"Hey boss," says someone who's been looking through a pair of long range binoculars for long enough he thinks his eyes might fall out when he stops. "Are we sure the armoured car's meant to arrive today?"

"No, numbnuts, I said todayish," explains said boss. "They don't keep set schedules."