"I like everything strong." Tony helped himself to a seat at the table - not the one he suspected had most recently been occupied - and stretched his legs out to prop his ankles on the rung of the adjacent chair. He rolled one of the empty bottles idly under his hand. It seemed to be dry - not a recent project, this one. "Actually - that's what I wanted to talk to you about. When I was out here about a year ago, I got a line on this really great stuff - there was a guy out in the middle of nowhere, a Peacekeeper friend of mine took me out to his farm, once. He made the most amazing hooch out of, like - cactus, I think. Anyway, I gave him a coat and he gave me a bottle of nectar like you would not fucking believe. Now I'm out, and my connection got himself shipped off to District 10 a few months ago."
That little excursion had been one of his first introductions to District Two as it existed outside of the military complex (which had always seemed to him more like a very drab, very boring version of the Capitol itself than a piece of some other place, never mind culture). It had, in fact, been one of his first introductions to any piece of a District not explicitly approved by his superiors. He'd seen every Justice Building, as one did, on his Victory Tour. He'd gone to various plants and factories as required for his work, and been shuffled right out again onto a train when his job was done. He was curious for any little tidbit he could get, and while of course he knew Victors' Village wasn't really the authentic Two experience - it was better than nothing.
His drive over here had also given him a sense - which he'd only vaguely had before - of how very large and empty some of the country was. He wasn't here doing recon, but he couldn't help but think back to the conversation he'd had with Rogers about trying to gauge the level of support a revolt might have in the Districts. In the Capitol, figuring out where people stood (and trying to move them into the proper place) was just a matter of navigating the usual channels, manipulating the pre-existing networks of gossip and influence that operated among the deeply social, constantly milling population. Out here ... how did one spread word of anything? How did one take the temperature of a place with so many scattered, far-flung communities? What did they care about? What did they want? Who the hell were they?
These weren't questions that were going to be answered with a little free trade, but ... you had to start somewhere. "I figured you had the hookup, anyway. Clearly you have your favorite brand." He lifted the empty bottle and set it upright, before giving the neck a sniff. "I'm always looking for stuff I can't get at home, you know? And I have plenty to trade."