He snorted as the bag was kicked out from under his leg. He rolled over then, spilling over the bags he had been lying on like a passed out drunk. Wordless and angry-sounding mumbles bubbled forth from his lips as he struggled to his feet, swaying as he did so. The stench of liquor wafted up from his entire body.

Dolus Gairu stood unsteadily on his feet and fixed him with a disjointed stare, one eye opened wide and the other squinting in a scrutinizing expression.. He wiped a filthy hand across his face and blinked several times before he glanced up and down the alley. His nostrils flared with an intake of breath, and the scratch to his abdomen that followed served to hide the surreptitious tapping at the device strapped above his waist.

A moment passed. Wolvinator raised an eyebrow at him. ?C?mon. You think I got sloppy? We?re clear.?

Another moment passed, and then Dolus?s stance changed. He stood up straight, legs spaced shoulder-length apart. His world-weary expression faded from his face, to be replaced with a wry grin. The glassy-eyed look in his eyes was replaced by a look of keen observation.

?You know me,? he said, and his speech was markedly different from the apparently drunken mumblings of a few moments before. ?I like to be careful.?

Wolvinator smirked at him. ?Captain Paranoid.?

?Hey, please,? Dolus said, a false expression of hurt sliding onto his face. ?That?s Admiral Paranoid.?

As if the word had reminded him, he took another glance up and down the street. His expression returned to its glassy-eyed state for a brief moment as he turned inward, feeling for the strange energy signatures that had been present since his arrival. Apparently satisfied all was clear, he turned his attention back to Wolvinator.

?Okay, I?m up. What?s this something??

"Jeez, go ahead and jinx me, why don't ya? You know that when you have to save my ass it's cause I went and did something that's about to get not one, but six different universes all blowed up."

Dolus tapped a few keys on the PADD and nodded before he flicked his wrist. The PADD seemed to vanish, no doubt hidden somewhere among the baggy clothing he wore.

"Anyway, southern desert, eh? Not exactly an easy trip. Gonna be hard to get out of the city with enough supplies without drawing too much attention."

"What...You not up for it?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying: you never ask for anything easy."

"I could always get ya a nice sweet job babysittin' for some kids or somethin', if this big boy stuff's too hard for ya."

"No, thanks. I'll take mysterious signals in the middle of a barren dessert over the terrible-twos any day of the week."

Wolvinator grinned at him. "Yer call."

Dolus looked down at his wrinkled clothing. "Well it'll be nice to wear something that doesn't stink of sweat, dirt, and alcohol for once."

"Yeah, yer gonna be down to just sweat and dirt."

"Hardy har har. Just keep my secure comm channel open, okay? I got my contingency plans-"

Wolvinator interrupted him. "And yer contingency plans for yer contingency plans, and yer backup contingency plans for yer contingency plans for your contingency plans, and your secondary backup plans for your-"

"All of that," Dolus said, smirking as he cut him off. "You're tertiary backup plan, so keep the channel clear, okay?"

"So don't use it ta gossip with Aly about shoes? Cause that's what I was gonna use it for, ya clown."

"All right, all right. Just making sure, you know. I can be a little pa-"

"Paranoid? Never woulda guessed."

Dolus rolled his eyes and then dropped out of his straight-backed stance. He slumped over and began to sway unsteadily on his feet again. In moments, the figure of a healthy, confident man was replaced with the figure of a miserable drunkard.

"Ah'll see you lay-dur den, misstur," the apparently drunk man said, offering a sloppy salute as he began to stumble, mumble, and curse his way down the alleyway. A few moments later he'd turned the corner, half-singing and half-muttering some forgotten tune as he went.