Gourmet Gangster
Denon
District 12
Evening
Rain
Denon. A world of neon heartbeats and syndicated dreams.
District 12 was nice enough on the surface, not overly corporate but a gem in the rough. It hummed with traffic, trade, and the presence of a steady city's ebb and flow. The better future society skyscraper ominously loomed in the background everywhere you looked. There were big buildings here but that symbol dwarfed all of them.
Under the pretty shine, there was a war for control on the streets. Since the Black Tie Syndicate had gone to ground. Two gangs were fighting old feuds, with neither apparently getting the edge, maybe someone wanted it that way. The Shadow Syndicate and the Zann Consortium were the faces of the struggle, but they weren't really who was pulling the strings. That sort of information didn't exactly come cheap or easily, unless you ate the right meal in the right place.
Pools of water formed along the well-worn grooves of the streets, steam rising from small vents below to meet it. Down one of many alleyways, there were places ready to do business into the evening or nighttime hours, on a planet that never slept. First, a small bar with old Rodian offering drinks that all came in at least four different colors, A rundown place selling holopets that were once a fad with the richer half of Denon. A cluttered store selling second-hand slicer decks or parts. Where you could sometimes get a bargain or be ripped off depending on if you knew your decks. Opposite that was....
The Dark Water Sushi Bar.
Rain hit the very edges of the open Sushi bar. It had a covering with stools outside, and a bar that looped around to go inside to an open doorway on the right. There was a tall GONK droid in the left corner outside with its own section on both sides. Best avoided because it was a noodle hustler, who played a prerecorded line to offer noodles, and only took yes or GONK for an answer. In the center of the bar was an Atrisian with a heavily tattooed face, and if you got close enough to see, several shining metal teeth.
Chopping away in the open kitchen, his knife hit the deck faster than the eye. Beside him, a large and varied menu was displayed, which occasionally cycled its pages. Inside it was cozier, as well as stools, large red seating was in comfortable booths, and dark brown tables were on a matching floor. A neo glow from the outside and artistic displays on the walls gave it a unique dim neon tone depending on where you sat. The names of each artist were displayed below, with a few displays sliding to reveal a new piece every few minutes. They were small names most people had never heard of, either there for exposure, to give a message through art, or just for the hell of it.
Stairs at the back of the bar led up to a second floor but at the moment it was closed. Like most nights it was a quiet night with just one or two regulars in the bar.