10:07 <banana> When Mari came home she was very impressed by the contents of the fridge, and she said "Hmm" a lot. 10:08 <banana> "Hmmm". "Mm." Et cetera. That sort of thing becomes worrying after a while. 10:10 <tom> Bob's just sitting there with that stupid grin. Holds it. Dangerously: "What's wrong, hun?" 10:13 <Quaker> Alright. Now that the nut is cracked, time to bring in a technician for professional analysis. As they wait in Benni’s lavish parlor, Badawi turns to Rolf. “You mind giving Aster a ring? It’d be better if he were here to make sense of what’ll be said.” 10:13 <Quaker> “You can test out that new app of Haldane’s.” 10:14 <banana> Mari's finished unpacking her study stuff now. Her face turns wicked. "Nothing." 10:14 <banana> Mari: "Just joking, I'm not doing that. However, I was thinking." 10:15 <banana> "You mentioned we could meet your coworker for dinner.. this place is pretty small. It's a bank holiday tomorrow and it's finally stopped raining. How about a picnic?" 10:15 <tom> "Yeah, sure, that sounds... won't it still be all gross and wet out?" 10:16 <banana> "That's just England, baby." 10:17 <hrolf> "Would it? Alright." Rolf pulls out his phone and taps out a message. "ld on ptl job coem if u wnt will snd addy if u cmin rspond asap (to aster) thx". Someone told him about autocorrect a long time ago but he couldn't be arsed to figure it out. 10:17 <tom> He's just sorta slouching on the couch, having "borrowed" her laptop. He's just scrolling through his list of games, realizing he doesn't have the patience for any of them. So he's just sitting there in neutral with the gears spinning, helpless. 10:17 <tom> "Right on, right on. Where where ya thinking?" 10:19 <Crion> In the group chat: "Send the address. Hand the phone to Badawi to type it in, please. Google has less patience than I do." 10:19 <banana> Benni Athletic will be ready soon, but he didn't want to talk about business at home. Not this business. He's sent Badawi and Rolf back to the 'office' (which is to say, Styles) and will be following himself in half an hour, when the game's done and he's "prepared". 10:20 <Crion> He's annoyed how little time it took him to translate that. Rolf texts like a cop. 10:20 <Crion> Which makes sense. 10:20 <Quaker> Badawi dutifully puts in the Styles address. 10:21 <banana> If it's just the two of them waiting that's fine; if they've brought Aster it won't be hard to convince the guys at the door to let him in, but it will raise the confusion levels a bit. The couple of gang guys around visibly Don't Know What's Going On, or why there is suddenly something important and new professional-looking strangers. 10:22 <Quaker> Hopefully Chex and the rest can keep the hubbub down. “Steady on, lads. Just a bit of business with management, above your pay grade.” 10:22 <Crion> Aster wears his black coat, which is quickly becoming his Away Mission garb, and carries a new black moderately expensive professional's case, which he picked up over the weekend. Inside is his laptop, a few USB devices and scanners which plug into it, a satellite internet connection so he can VPN back into the lab network, and so on. 10:22 <hrolf> Rolf’s lying on a couch, feet up and catching highlights from earlier games of the day on the telly. He slams a fist on the palm as he sees that Bolton equalized at the last minute against Aston Villa. “Fahckin brummies couldn’t keep a clean sheet if their fahckin lives depended on it! Useless gobshites! There goes my accy!” 10:23 <Crion> His affect isn't hostile, but it's certainly no more friendly or ingratiating than it usually is. 10:23 <Crion> Hopefully that won't lead to issues getting in the door. 10:24 <Quaker> The thief will leave Rolf to his couch and draw Aster into a corner to explain what’s been going on. Followed by: “Athletic will be back shortly. Don’t mind the underlings — they follow Benni, and he seems pretty willing to explain his problem, and hear our evaluation and possible offer.” 10:25 <banana> The door leads to.. a barbershop. One that's mostly empty now that it's about 4 in the afternoon, but with people hanging out inside the back, one of whom is Agostina Badawi. She can lead Aster through to the back where he finds Rolf as well as two large thugs - everyone else is clearing out. 10:25 <Crion> Aster: "Mmmm. Thank you. Yes, I haven't been. We've made...progress on one of the other offers. The information is in the workgroup." 10:26 <banana> Willie Wellesley receives a text one evening. She's come to expect pretty regular contacts from Sergio, little daily-update messages as they tentatively feel out where to go next - but this is from an unknown number. 10:27 <VoxPVoxD> The little tickle of pleasure she's rapidly coming to associate with the text notification curdles into worry when she sees an unfamiliar number... what does it say? 10:29 <hrolf> Rolf is having an argument with one of the thugs. “…nah mate, it wouldn’t matter if Grealish was still playing for them, the defense ‘as been all cocked up for years you can’t tell me Grealish would’ve stopped a fahckin’ soft as shite goal from a corner in injury time...” 10:29 <banana> <Hello, this is Mariam Medawar 🩺; I live with Bob Goreman 💂. It sounds like you are to thank for a whole pile of sweets. How do you luke picnics?> 10:29 <banana> <Like, I mean> 10:31 <VoxPVoxD> Is that a footguard emoji?? <hello! don't let bob fob the sweets-credit onto me; he worked very hard indeed. picnics are Delightful> 10:31 <Quaker> English teams play shit defense anyway. Bunch of plodding stonefooters. 10:32 <Crion> Aster has no opinion on soccer. Especially not some secondary English league. 10:33 <hrolf> The conversation has moved on to football of yore. "...yeah mate, the euros broke my 'eart too. Best chance we had to win somefink since 86...may that fahckin Argie cheat Maradona rot in hell..." 10:34 <banana> After all the comings and goings, three members of the cell are in this reasonably well-lit and ventilated set of shady back rooms, watching (or not) the football, and watched over in turn by two remaining Probably Armed Men. Rolf knows them to be Chex and Leon. 10:34 <banana> The bigger guy, in a wifebeater offset incongruously by an expensive jacket, introduces himself to Aaron Aster. 10:35 <Crion> He does remember hearing a lot about that, though. Had to provide barely-faked sympathies that it did not 'come home.' 10:35 <banana> Chex: "The boss says he'll be here in five. May I ask whether you're part of this.. group? With Hughesie and Miss Badawi?" 10:36 <Crion> Aster: "That I am. You may introduce me as Aaron Aster. In the interests of comity and openness, I will stress that I am a private citizen, despite having a somewhat similar background to Mr. Rolf's, if in another country." 10:36 <hrolf> "'e may talk like a nonce, but 'e's a good un." 10:37 <Crion> To Rolf: "I need an option to turn off subtitles on you." 10:37 <Quaker> Badawi: “Mr. Aster and Hughesie are working with me as associates, in the problem-solving trade. As for the Sunset House, you can rest assured I’m their only representative here.” 10:37 <VoxPVoxD> A picnic? Outside, in October? <what should I bring?> 10:38 <hrolf> Rolf chuckles and slaps Aster playfully on the shoulder. "Just bantz mate, just bantz." 10:38 <tom> Battle stations. All hands on deck. Bob finds himself drafted into a new war. 10:38 <Crion> There's something odd about these two men. Not simply that they're keen, but the nature of being keen. This is part of why he gestured towards his law enforcement background without technically having to. 10:39 <banana> Mari: <Warm clothes and maybe a warm dish? We've got blankets and thermoses. There's a spot in Piccadilly with umbrella heaters, do you know it?> 10:39 <banana> Mari: <{map location}> 10:40 <banana> Indeed Bob is cooking again. For the evening and significant parts of the next morning. Sumi will apparently bring something too, but Mari's determined to provide the bulk of the food in what now appears to be a competition. 10:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: <I do now! any dietary restrictions - vegan, halal, allergies, etc?> 10:41 <banana> Chex: "That's good to know. We're all pretty private citizens too." 10:42 <banana> Mari: <Halal food would be great, thank you - it doesn't have to be 100%.> 10:43 <banana> The backroom door at Styles opens and Benni Athletic tromps through. Chex and Leon get up immediately to follow him through the TV lounge and into an office, where they arrange themselves in a classic boss-and-guards setup. 10:43 <tom> Bob will sneak out for a moment to warn the poor woman about what's happening before things can escalate out of control. Willie's phone chimes weirdly quickly after receiving Mari's text. <hey maris goin kinda hard on the cooking so can you let her have this. kid needs a win> 10:44 <banana> Aster hasn't seen this guy before. He's tall and muscular but looks like a slob, wearing an incredibly expensive suit that's got visible greases and stains. His face is clean-cut with close-cropped hair and a bit of pudge. 10:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's surveying her pantry like a general analyzing a map of supply lines when her phone, which she hasn't even pocketed yet, buzzes again. 10:45 <VoxPVoxD> Her eyes narrow. 10:45 <hrolf> Rolf waggles his eyebrows at the others and follows the starfuckers in. He saunters in with casual familiarity and throws a half salute. “Evenin’, boss.” 10:45 <VoxPVoxD> <that's Disrespectful, bob> 10:45 <tom> <pls> 10:45 <banana> Athletic takes a seat behind some kind of antique desk. Black iron chicken-legs hold up the thing and the wood is nicely polished. Chex and Leon stand in the back corners, arms folded over their probable-weapon bulges. Benni coughs and eyes up the three visitors. He looks uneasy. 10:46 <Crion> Mmmm. A distinct type of mid-to-lower level crime boss. Would look slightly out of place on American television, but that's mainly to the costuming. 10:46 <VoxPVoxD> <do You enjoy the feeling of being patronised that comes with an honest competition being thrown out of pity?> 10:46 <tom> <no> 10:46 <VoxPVoxD> <well then.> 10:46 <tom> <just be nice ok> 10:47 <VoxPVoxD> <I'm Always Nice> 10:47 <tom> Bob lets out a strangled cry, stomps out his cigarette, and glowers helplessly at the friendly little garden gnome among the dying late-October flowers before stalking back inside to help Mari win. 10:49 <banana> Athletic: "So you're Sourjack's people.. as well as mine in Mr. Hughes' case. Him I know." 10:49 <banana> "The rest of you I don't. But if this is to help Mary..." 10:49 <Crion> The fact that everything about this man screams 'slightly out of place loser' isn't a showrunner's artistic decision, however. At least not a showrunner of this world. It is the telltale sign, reinforcing Rolf's earlier report on these gentlemen, that they are of the sub-phyla of paraphenomenals who display acute mental gifts, at the general tradeoff of alienating their peers. Unclear if 10:49 <Crion> this is a cosmic consequence enforcing itself or a simple incompatability with modern civili--ah, he's talking. 10:49 <hrolf> To the others: "That's Reveille.." 10:50 <banana> Athletic: "Her stage name. But on paper she's still Mary Morgan-Ath- Atletico." 10:50 <Crion> Sigh. Fantastic. They get to play couples' counselor too. 10:50 <banana> He gestures to himself and smiles faintly. "Born Benicio Atletico. Don't let it worry youse." 10:51 <Crion> That explains the other part of the minor Sopranos vibe. 10:51 <hrolf> Rolf is surprised. "'I didn't know you were a wo- uhh. Anyway, so you were gonna tell us about Mary..." he leaves the sentence hanging awkwardly. 10:52 <Crion> Aster very slowly turns his head to furrow his brow at Rolf, then turns back. "We are, indeed, Sourjack's troubleshooters. Could you please outline the problem that requires solving regarding your estranged wife?" 10:53 <banana> Benni looks at Rolf for a moment. "I decide who is and isn't a wog around here mate. Moving on." 10:53 <hrolf> Rolf nods in relief. "Right on chief." 10:54 <VoxPVoxD> Bob's Americanitarian diet combined with Mari's request means it's time for a trip to a good halal butcher. Is it stupid to go all the way up to Cheetham Hill just to impress/defeat Bob's girlfriend? Perhaps. But wouldn't it be stupider not to? 10:55 <banana> The fruits of Willie's labours will become clear the next day. Specifically, here: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/picc.jpg 10:57 <banana> Piccadilly Gardens is hardly Kensington or Hyde Park. But it is green enough and clean enough, and there's plenty of space for four people to roll out the blankets and iceboxes. 10:57 <VoxPVoxD> She's got some ideas to refine the kheema mutter shepherd's pie, and it will stay so wonderfully warm. How's the weather? 10:57 <banana> Just barely not yet Winter. 10:58 <VoxPVoxD> Ugh. Fine. 10:58 <tom> It's not too cold, hopefully. Bob will be there in a snug winter jacket and jeans, helping Mari unpack. He's just hoping it'll be good enough. 10:58 <banana> Bob and Mari, I assume, arrive together; Sumi's not here yet. Now that it's finally no longer possible to keep cooking, Mari will pepper Bob with belated questions. What does Willie look like, how will they recognise her? What did she do before the magic mercenary work? What does she do on your jobs? 11:00 <banana> Benni Athletic clears his throat once more and outlines the problem, as he sees it. "Now, I don't know the full details.. you'll have to get those from Mary. But here's what's going on." 11:01 <tom> His answers, respectively: Princess Diana, Princess Diana, Princess Diana, and, after kind of a long silence, he will simply add: "She is also magic." 11:02 <banana> "She's done well for herself... so have I. But we were both born shit-poor, part of a tangle of neighbourhood kids.. there were seven of us originally with about five parents between the lot." 11:02 <banana> "Obviously, we had an edge over the other gangs and scrappers out there and over the powers-that-be at the time.. The powers of Cosmos." 11:03 <banana> "There's a price for that power. It's not natural, innit? It's been gifted to us by.. others. And they want specific things in exchange." 11:04 <banana> He hurries through all this, not exactly interested in describing his life story and the details of his strange mental powers to quasi-cops. 11:04 <hrolf> "Aye, and what would that be?" 11:06 <banana> Athletic: "We get 'called' eventually. There's something we're 'supposed' to do, supposed to be.. some role to play in the world. Often it's something damn impossible. Over time though the Calling kind of goes berserk, latches on to more-feasible things and tries to force you into any idea that'll sort of fit." 11:06 <banana> "I am a leader of men. That is my destiny, written in the stars." 11:06 <Crion> Bleak. 11:06 <Quaker> Badawi: “What was Mary’s calling?” 11:06 <banana> Athletic: "I don't know." 11:06 <banana> "But it's not to be the singer in a band." 11:07 <Crion> Aster's taking notes. "One suspects figuring that out will be key, if this has to do with hers going berserk. Which sounds like where this is going, either as a major or minor factor." 11:07 <Quaker> “Can you tell what others of your kind are Called to do? Or is it all self-reported?” 11:07 <banana> Mari: "Uh huh. So you're saying posh, tragic and magic? I'm guessing she's hot?" Bob can actually see Willie in the corner of his eye, crossing the park. So a visual demonstration is feasible. 11:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie aimed to show up about ten minutes after the scheduled time. When she does arrive, it's a black peacoat with a violently red scarf peeking up past the collar, a black headscarf and designer sunglasses. She's got a rattan picnic basket on one arm. 11:08 <Quaker> Hot is a state of mind, man. 11:09 <banana> Athletic: "We've a degree of access to some information about each other and about the shit into which we get. I can... commune. Could probably tell you a lot about what Mary needs if it wasn't for the restraining order." 11:09 <tom> "That's her," he waves from the ground. 11:10 <hrolf> "What could you help us with, then?" 11:10 <tom> Bob's got his legs crossed on a little polymer blanket with a number of serving trays and kitchen niceties arranged out at his fore in a grid pattern. 11:11 <Crion> Once again Aster is beginning to suspect this is all a ruse to prosecute a much more mundane grudge with this woman...but if he wants to spend a million pounds circumventing a restraining order, that's his business. 11:12 <tom> He's got a shitty little propane space heater for the ladies to share. He's content with his coat. And of course, the sunglasses and the baseball cap. 11:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes a beeline for Bob when she spots him on the green. How does he look? How does Mari look? In particular, how old does she look? 11:13 <banana> Willie sees Bob - and a young woman with hands on her hips, seeing her in turn. Mari has thick dark eyebrows, dark hair in a ponytail and mildly fashionable bargain-bin stuff on. Also sunglasses in one hand. She looks like a student, which she is. There's no sign of her supernatural nature at all! 11:14 <VoxPVoxD> Not from Hell, then. Except insofar as the North of England is Hell. 11:14 <banana> The couple's brought a whooole bunch of food. Too much for three people, although Willie has the vague understanding that someone else will be joining them. 11:15 <VoxPVoxD> Leftovers are good! Anything that delays the point at which Bob returns to eating processed food again (as she assumes he does whenever anyone who cooks turns their back on him for more than an hour) is both a moral and strategic good. 11:15 <banana> Mari: "Hey..." She folds up the glasses and sticks out a hand. "Um, good afternoon!" 11:15 <tom> He's beaming up amicably at Willie as she strolls up, though as she's arriving she can catch him ask after Sumi, if she's been in touch today. 11:16 <tom> Oh, shit, yeah. Bob stands. "Mari, this is my coworker and uh, friend, Willie." 11:16 <tom> "She's got fire powers. And I think that's pretty neat." 11:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie removes her sunglasses and looks down at Mari with her ash-grey eyes before reciprocating the handshake. "Ah! A pleasure to meet you. Willie Wellesley." She's just going to ignore Bob reading off her Pokedex entry. 11:17 <tom> "Willie, Mari." 11:17 <banana> Athletic: "You're the ones supposed to be helping, aren't you? But I'll help you help Mary." 11:18 <hrolf> "'s right boss, 's right. But we fought we'd clear it with you first. And anyfing you could do would be highly appreciated, like." 11:18 <banana> "First off is the money. If you can get her to pay it'll be my money anyway, but I'll top it up. We can negotiate on that. Next I can tell you what the actual problem's gonna be." 11:18 <VoxPVoxD> She's a bit young... but then Bob is very young, for his age. 11:18 <Crion> Finally. 11:18 <VoxPVoxD> Age, like IQ, being just a number. 11:20 <VoxPVoxD> She wonders if Bob brought a gun. 11:20 <tom> Why do people keep asking me that? I'm being very good. No guns! 11:20 <banana> Athletic: "Find a way to live with the calling and you're O.K. Or at least it's up to you to be O.K. If you resist.. it escalates. You get threats - that's probably where Mary is at - then Cosmos starts trying to force you onto its path. There will be coincidences, obstacles and ultimately at least one attack." 11:20 <banana> "Leon here has been through the process." 11:20 <tom> The ODIN reticle is on, however. 11:20 <banana> The kid in the back of the room - noticeably younger than Chex and Benni - stands straighter. "Yeah." 11:21 <hrolf> "'ow'd it end up wif him? 'e doesn't seem to be a revolutionary leader or a nobel fahckin peace prize winner or anyfink of significance, no offense." 11:21 <tom> As seen at the Farm, the ODIN has a hard time with certain things. It's easiest to pick up Vampires- all you need is a standard camera, and infrared or thermal is always a dead (ha) giveaway. But as it's reasonably sunny out, that seems like a low probability. 11:21 <tom> Still... you never know... 11:22 <banana> Mari: "Yeah, nice to meet you too. Sumiya will be here in about ten minutes... shall we get a spread laid out?" 11:22 <Quaker> Badawi: “Hold on. Is Cosmos a literal entity? Some kind of thing inside her? What do you mean, threats and attacks? Possession? Apparition? Does it walk around on two legs?” 11:22 <banana> Mari: "Please don't take this the wrong way, for some reason I had the impression you were older." 11:22 <tom> Bob: "Be careful with that bin, I don't want the jalebi to get all broken up." 11:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Let's!" She'll get on her knees and help unpack everything - she's brought a cute, not-too-big enameled dish of something covered in cheesy, cumin-scented mash. "Oh?" 11:23 <tom> Shit! shit! Oh, there's the rabri. 11:23 <VoxPVoxD> "Does Bob call me 'ma'am' even when I'm not in the room?" 11:23 <banana> Mari: "No, he called you a princess." 11:24 <tom> Bob sees no strategic upside to jumping into this conversation. 11:24 <banana> Leon: "Well, my destiny wasn't anyfink- anything like that. And anyway I beat the tar out of it." 11:24 <banana> Benni turns to Badawi and steeples his fingers. Knuckles crack a little. 11:25 <Crion> This is shaping up to sound like a protection detail. They're outfitted for that sort of thing...as long as Rolf and Bob don't mind doing the legwork. Aster's no bodyguard. 11:25 <banana> "I suppose Cosmos is a force. A voice, or voices, from beyond the stars. It's not.. unified. There are factions, and that's where these attacks can come from: you get... entities. Alien things come after you, or after others- they have their own agenda sometimes that's nothing to do with us." 11:25 <banana> Athletic: "If you're fighting the Calling though then eventually you have to face the worst enemy of all." 11:25 <hrolf> "The french?" 11:25 <Crion> Is it yourself? Aster suspects it's yourself. 11:25 <Quaker> NATO…? 11:25 <banana> "Yourself." 11:26 <Crion> There we are. 11:26 <tom> Bob's hands are starting to shake just a little bit. Which is weird, right, because he's not actually that nervous. 11:26 <banana> "One way or another. My boy Leon got an actual star-ghost mirror-guy." 11:27 <banana> Leon: "The thing was me, so, it was tough... but I had the boys on my side. We work together." 11:27 <banana> Benni: "Yes." 11:27 <banana> "And I can protect Mary if you convince her to allow it." 11:27 <Crion> Now Aster's wondering if this whole thing is a play to try to get them to kill his wife for him. Oh yes, the target will look just like her. Be careful, it may even insist it's the real her. So on. 11:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie laughs gently. This is her small-talk laugh. "Ah, how flattering. He speaks of you as if you are the courtly lady to whom he has sworn his sword." 11:28 <tom> "They won't let me do that yet," he adds, helpfully. 11:28 <banana> Mari: "Niiice. Actually it's kind of on the cards... did we talk about Samhain?" 11:28 <tom> "Tried." 11:28 <Crion> Aster: "To be clear, the main ask here is for us to...reconcile you with your wife? Not run the protection detail ourselves?" 11:28 <tom> "Yeah. I have no idea what that is." 11:28 <Quaker> Badawi: “Or eliminate her Calling?” 11:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Ooh! Do you celebrate?" 11:29 <tom> "Fuck, I missed Eid." 11:30 <banana> Benni Athletic grumbles to himself. "I ain't talking about 'reconciliation'. That's.. up to her. What I'm told is that Mary's looking to pay someone to protect her.. and I can do that without pay, because I've built this thing and what else is the use of it if you can't look after each other?" 11:30 <banana> "If she hires you, or anyone else, and you keep her safe, beat the thing... that's still good." 11:31 <banana> Chex: "But when the Entities come for ya.. we know how to fight them." 11:32 <Quaker> Badawi makes a mental note for the cell to abduct and interrogate Chex, to find out for free. 11:32 <Crion> Aster: "Well, then. I suspect we'll have to interview her, however briefly, and then we'll be in touch with a decision." 11:32 <hrolf> "Got one question chief. What's stoppin 'er from embracing 'er calling?" 11:33 <VoxPVoxD> This is a bit awkward, like Willie anticipated, but her resting mood is so high lately that the anxiety barely registers. In case anyone can perceive the emotional energy coming off her supernaturally. 11:33 <hrolf> "Oh yeah, and a follow up. 'ow would she react if we told her we met wif you about it." 11:33 <tom> Bob busies himself with the picnic while the two chat. He's shuffling trays about, moving dishes in and out of the warmth of the heater to make sure everything stays reasonable toasty. 11:34 <banana> Mari: "Yeah, it's a big party night. Actually there are kind of two separate parties.. one of them's mostly public." She keeps looking Willie up and down... impressed, you think. 11:34 <banana> There's someone else crossing the park with immense energy. 11:35 <banana> Sumi swirls toward the picnic in long skirts and heels, her hair flapping in the breeze. "Save most of it for me," she calls before she's really arrived. 11:35 <tom> "Hurricane Sumi has made landfall." 11:35 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. 11:36 <tom> Bob's currently trying to hide the fact that he's getting some weird heart palpitations- but it passes, for now. He's not that worried.. is he? 11:36 <banana> Benni: "What stopped you, Leon?" 11:36 <banana> Leon has shaggy hair and he runs a hand through it before answering. "I was 'meant' to be some kinda.. sage or doctor. Studying the humours of the body, cloning, curing cancer or summat." 11:37 <banana> "That's all well and good when you dropped out at grade 10 for an apprenticeship in import/export logistics." 11:37 <tom> He gets it under control. Just need to loosen up a bit. He goes for a beer. 11:38 <tom> God there's really no way to look cool on a picnic blanket, is there. 11:38 <VoxPVoxD> Not clothed, no. 11:38 <hrolf> "Aye, I get it. Like if I was summoned to work for the fahckin IRA." 11:39 <banana> There isn't, so Mari gets up for a moment to hug Sumi: "Heyyyy. Bob made the desserts, and this is Willie who helped.. she's also brought some extra stuff which smells brill? Don't worry about your stomach." 11:39 <tom> Bob will, of course, stand for Sumi. 11:39 <VoxPVoxD> A little twinge of sadness as she takes in the gathering people and realises she'd never be able to do this kind of thing with Sergio. But then, never going out in sunlight will really take her skincare routine to the next level. 11:39 <VoxPVoxD> Swings and roundabouts. 11:40 <tom> "Hey Sumi." The last time I saw you, you were made of gold and stepped on someone to death. Nice. 11:40 <banana> Sumiya: "Sup Bob. Sup.. Willie? Sumiya Tyagabrahmam here." 11:40 <VoxPVoxD> Willie gets to her feet and offers Sumi a hand when the hug breaks. "A pleasure to meet you, Sumi. Yes, do call me Willie." 11:41 <tom> "Oh hey, yeah, this is my coworker, Willie." 11:41 <Crion> Aster pockets his notebook. He's ready to get out of the office of this man who at best is continuing to exercise direct control over all of his wife's affairs and at worst has direct ulterior motives for her that involve stabbing them in the back too. 11:41 <tom> He gets drowned out and is happier for it. 11:41 <Crion> Waste of time. 11:41 <Crion> Well, not entirely. 11:41 <tom> Time to take a backseat for a bit. 11:41 <Quaker> Badawi: “Alright. So can you put us in touch with Mary? We can go over it with her, and let you know.” 11:41 <Crion> Now he knows this man's Calling. 11:45 <banana> Athletic takes out a rolodex and a phone with "An0m" sintered on the back where you'd expect a logo. "I'm going to forward you Lindsay's contact. He's the band manager. Also Vivian, who plays the drums.. ..I'm not qualified to judge whether she's any good at it." 11:45 <hrolf> "And to my second question?" 11:45 <banana> Chex: "How about Georgiou?" 11:45 <banana> Benni: "Bogdan is useless." 11:46 <hrolf> "Who's that then?" 11:47 <banana> Willie, Sumiya, Mariam and Bob... eat. And chat. There are know-you to gets. Anything in particular that Bob or Willie want to bring up? 11:48 <banana> To Willie, the two changelings (she assumes; they don't scent of hell to her at all) seem kind and basically normal. Mari is not very gregarious but Sumi makes up for it. Both of them have the social graces to navigate a meeting like this, although Sumi keeps making comments hinting at how posh Willie is. 11:48 <banana> They are, she may or may not admit, very funny. 11:49 <tom> Bob will be sticking strictly to softballs. "I think Willie works for the welfare department?" 11:49 <Crion> You can hit softballs quite a long way, and break quite a few windshields. 11:49 <banana> Benni: "As for whether Mary Morgan would want you to talk to me about her business.." There's some emotion on the star-child's face. 11:50 <banana> "I think it would put her on the wrong foot. You'll have to let her know we're acquainted, she'll likely come around, but don't lead off with it. That would not help." 11:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie wants to get a sense of Bob and Mari's dynamic, and of Sumiya's estimation of Bob. So she asks the presumably-fae folk questions either about Bob or about things she knows Bob will react to, like video games. Is Sumi just being playful or is she trying to get a particular reaction from Willie? 11:51 <VoxPVoxD> It's nice to be around funny people, but she's quite sensitive to being teased. 11:51 <tom> It must be nice for Willie to realize that Bob seems to hold Sumiya and Mari in the same sort of terrified awe as herself. 11:52 <Quaker> Hold on…why are we doing this shit? Sourjack gets paid to keep his face hidden, and can conjure our phone numbers out of the blue, so why can’t he slog around in the shit with Bogdan? A darkening cloud of annoyance comes over Badawi’s face. 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> It really is. 11:52 <hrolf> "Fair's fair mate. Appreciate the 'elp boss...and we'll stay in touch and keep you appraised of any developments as and when of they arise like, yeah?" 11:53 <Quaker> Badawi nods and leaves the office. “Thanks for your time.” 11:53 <Crion> Once outside: "We talk with the woman moving forward. If we take the job, then we can consult the man about money." 11:54 <banana> What Sourjack's claimed - or what he's had Haldane claim on his behalf - is that he can't do the routine contact and investigation stuff because it could give him away, lead people to discover whatever his own sources of information are. That's not to say Badawi's wrong about the balance of convenience. 11:54 <Crion> "Frankly, I'm dubious on talking to him to begin with." 11:54 <tom> Bob will try to bridge the divide: "Yeah, uh, Willie and I met through that guy I talked about at the, you know, the thing. 'Sour Jack'. Toon town fucking name." 11:55 <tom> "I'm getting paid good money to get run over." 11:55 <tom> He flexes his knee. 11:55 <hrolf> "I reckon we hit up the contacts Benni's given. Assess the situation, like - the bint may not be in a completely fit mental state. And then approach her. What say?" 11:56 <banana> Aster, Badawi and Rolf have plenty of places to talk. Styles is on a commercial street which includes a kebab shop, a bookshop-cafe and a furniture dealer with a bunch of plastic chairs and tables set out in a display. 11:56 <Quaker> Badawi: “Yeah, well, he was our in for the job. We don’t have to talk to Athletic anymore than giving him the bill after it’s done.” 11:57 <tom> Bob will kinda gesture at the cumin cheese-looking box Willie brought. "What's that again?" 11:57 <banana> Willie's estimation, the relationship between Bob and Mari is good, if not as.. connected as it could be? They seem to care about each other a lot, and they're doing that nonverbal communication thing, but each of them seems nervous of the other's reactions at times. Not scared, just hope-they-like-me stuff. 11:57 <VoxPVoxD> Ah. Kids. 11:57 <VoxPVoxD> Children, that is. Man- and otherwise. 11:57 <Crion> Aster: "Also, Rolf, if you could please try not to talk us out of a job by calling the woman a dumb bitch directly to her face, that would be appreciated." 11:58 <Quaker> “It ever strike you two that we should get a post box or some shit for this? Take out an ad? I hate having to do this private eye garbage.” 11:58 <Crion> To Badawi: "It's not my forte either. But I hate haggling over fees even more." 11:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It's a shepherd's pie, essentially, but with a curry base. Kheema matar, with some spices in the mash alongside the cheddar." 11:59 <hrolf> Rolf holds up his hands in mock outrage. "I'm a gentleman wif the ladies, mate. Specially the pretty ones." A cloud passes over his face. "Also I reckon it wouldn't be a good idea to mess around too much wif Benni's bird if you like keepin your head." 11:59 <tom> Bob doesn't know what most of that actually is but he'll scoop some out anyway. 11:59 <Quaker> “I bet Wellesley doesn’t.” 11:59 <banana> Sumi: "It's lovely. This whole thing's a feast. Were you sayin' something about Samhain when I came up?" 11:59 <VoxPVoxD> It smells really good. Looks like ground meat and peas and spices. 12:00 <tom> Bob's plate is no surprise, really. A little bit of everything, a true centrist's dish. 12:00 <Quaker> “Speaking of, how’d the other leads go?” 12:00 <hrolf> "As for this muckin' about in the muckety much...it's part of the job. We don't run fancy like the yanks do, and its better to do the job yerself, the fewer the less mouths to run." 12:00 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, well, if you want to turn on Sourjack or go solo, I'm not currently on the market as a co-conspirator. I've got bills that need paying. Maybe after a few more jobs we can circle back." 12:00 <tom> Bob understands the implications of taking too much from either side in what is developing into a worryingly friendly cold war. 12:00 <banana> Mari: "Your feast-radar is accurate. I was just going to explain that the party bit of the party is public, I mean for anyone who's got an invitation, but after that.. we can take Bob under, right?" 12:01 <Crion> "As a general rule, though, poking up the chain of command is more trouble than it's ever worth." 12:01 <banana> Sumi: "Probably can. Are you up for one last trial, William Robert? Not today, but soon?" 12:01 <tom> "Put me in, coach," Bob chuckles, taking Mari's shoulder in hand. 12:01 <VoxPVoxD> !! Are they mound people? 12:01 <VoxPVoxD> That's brilliant. 12:02 <VoxPVoxD> Explains the hobbit hole flat as well. 12:03 <Crion> Aster: "I think the last thing we have to follow up on is the Roth job. I say give that one to Wellesley, and I'll go with her for gravitas and in case Roth is one of those men who doesn't take 26-year-old runway models seriously." 12:03 <banana> Sumiya, to Willie: "I do apologise for the air of mystery." She hums musically for a moment. "You're used to it, right?" 12:03 <hrolf> Rolf picks up his phone and taps out another message to the group. "met wth atletic got new ddata should debref soon when can we gathwr at safehoys thx - rolf" 12:04 <Quaker> Badawi: “Chain of command. Not you too, Aster. One Goreman is enough Army talk for me.” She rubs her jaw. “Probably visit the mages I know today, see if they know anything about this. Maybe they’d be receptive to tagging along - for research purposes. Don’t have to tell them we’re getting paid.” Badawi glances at Rolf. “And I know what you think about them, but more hands is more hands.” 12:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I wish I was! I don't often get to spend time with such charming and vivacious people. Since I moved, I hardly know anyone outside of work. I'm very grateful to Bob and Mari's social charity." 12:05 <hrolf> "Yeah? Just make sure you don't literally end up sprouting more 'ands." 12:05 <Crion> Aster shrugs. "I was a cop for 22 years. For most of those years, it was at a place where people quietly vanished if they got too concerned about where the paychecks came from. You learn certain avoidance skills." 12:05 <tom> Bob frowns, taps the ODIN's frame-buttons, googles 'vivacious'. 12:06 <banana> Mari: "You're honestly welcome. The pie is, um, really good." Her food was *more*, though. 12:06 <banana> As in there was more of it. It was fine picnic stuff. 12:06 <banana> Sumiya: "Where'd you move from?" 12:06 <Crion> Aster: "Oh, do either you have any interest in running teenagers out of a graveyard on Friday night?" 12:07 <VoxPVoxD> Well, yes. Willie wasn't hosting the picnic, nor was she catering it. "London! Part of the Great Regionalisation. They moved DWP up to Manchester, and I moved with it." 12:07 <Crion> "These fucking vampires, powerful lords of the darkness, somehow can't handle a bunch of goth kids in their special place." 12:07 <hrolf> "It's vampires mate. There's probably a catch innit?" 12:07 <banana> They are handling it. That's why they sent you. 12:07 <Crion> Aster: "The catch is they don't like teenagers, and they don't respect us." 12:07 <Crion> "At least that's my assumption." 12:08 <Quaker> Badawi: “What? The lead with your vampires was to spook a bunch of kids?” 12:08 <tom> Bob's rubbing Mari's shoulder and scoots over closer to her on the blanket. It's not starting to get too cold already, right? He'll check the temperature readout online. 12:08 <hrolf> "Aye, but they'd have to respect our rates? They'd be mental to pay that for clearing out a bunch of lads." 12:09 <Crion> Aster: "They don't trust us, so we need to do them a favor first." He's openly seething. "And they want this one for free. We're being held hostage by a low-level bureaucrat. We do this or he doesn't give us an introduction to the vampires with the real money." 12:09 <banana> Sumiya: "The whole department? That's a pretty big move. Maybe the whole 'parliament for England' thing is really going to happen?" 12:09 <Quaker> “Jesus.” 12:09 <tom> He barely understands what they're talking about but is certain he doesn't have to care. Which is nice. A welcome novelty. 12:09 <Quaker> “Fucking Sourjack.” 12:10 <Quaker> “Yeah, alright. Couple of ski masks and a pistol. Thousand in cash as the carrot. We’ll take care of it.” 12:10 <Crion> "Anyway. My plan is to brain-zap one of the little shits then drive in with a mock-up ambulance and police cordon and what not and declare a public health emergency. I don't know. Super COVID." 12:11 <Crion> "That one sounds like it has less overhead, unless someone gets dead." 12:11 <hrolf> Rolf shrugs. "Mess around wif the bloodsuckers and it'll all end in tears...and blood. Don't say I didn't warn you." 12:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "If the regions hand the Tories another majority like the last one, it just might. Not *all* of the Department moved. The top-level HR positions that liaise directly with CABOFF — my direct superior, for instance — are still down in Whitehall. But if you're at Deputy Director level or lower — if your job isn't just bossing other civil servants around — this is where the 12:11 <VoxPVoxD> job is now." 12:11 <banana> Mari understands but also doesn't care. She's interested in the interaction, though. Bob has the impression she expected Sumiya to say something else. 12:11 <Quaker> “You might run someone over with the ambulance by mistake.” 12:11 <Crion> Dryly: "Noted." 12:11 <tom> Bob loads up on more of Mari's cooking. It's around this time he'll point out to Sumi the box full of something golden-brown with a companion tub of some sort of off-white nut-coated suspension. 12:12 <Crion> To Badawi: "American drivers aren't that bad." 12:12 <banana> Sumi: "If you're not the first CABOFF the rank." 12:12 <tom> This is good, though, right? They seem to be agreeing? 12:12 <banana> "Oh my goodness." 12:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie laughs. 12:13 <Quaker> Badawi checks her watch. “Alright. I’m off to see the wizards. Good luck with Roth. Meet you both back at the box.” 12:13 <Crion> Aster: "Will do. Rolf." That's his farewell; he walks back off to his car. 12:13 <VoxPVoxD> She responds: "Though in a way I was! I got the promotion to my current grade by being the one at my rank most willing to relocate." 12:14 <tom> As the picnic progresses, he's slowly reeling Mari in with his hand sliding down to her side. Very smooth. Suave. 12:14 <VoxPVoxD> Do behave, Robert. 12:15 <tom> If anyone seems to notice he instantly backs off. Who, me? Anyway, Sumi and Willie seem to be carrying the evening, which is just swell. 12:15 <Crion> To Willie: <Haven't seen you in office for a few days. Need to get w/you on Roth situation ASAP. Otherwise we will be stuck teenherding; marriage counseling> 12:17 <hrolf> Rolf sends up a series of increasingly frenetic message followups to his first one, all the group chat. <hello did any1 get this msg the dble sign thng that says msg receved is not showing thx - rolf> 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> "Excuse me just a moment." They can see her face fall just a bit between when she excuses herself to check her phone and after she reads the screen. <tell me those are at least separate jobs> 12:18 <banana> Sumiya: "That does sound like a lonely move. Work's important to have.." She hums again. "Want to meet some more weirdos? In a couple of weeks?" 12:18 <tom> Bob looks worried. 12:18 <Crion> Aster: <Sadly, yes. Meaning double the time investment.> 12:18 <tom> But he uses Willie's temporary distraction to nuzzle Mari on the cheek for just a second. 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> She looks up at Sumi: "Yes, gladly! The night of the 31st?" 12:19 <banana> Mari: "If you mean- ah." She's going to headbutt Bob just a little bit. Sideways headbutt. It's probably affectionate. 12:20 <VoxPVoxD> To the phone: <a price i will Gladly pay to stay out of starchild arranged marriages or Whatever The Hell> 12:20 <tom> He's feigning a grave injury, laughing. It's genuine. 12:20 <banana> Rolf has some business to deal with too. Liam's visit last night was not convenient, and now he doesn't know whether the door into his bedroom is going to turn into some kind of magic portal again. 12:20 <Quaker> Where does Strangeways Retrievals Service have its public offices if Badawi wants to drop in, anyway? 12:21 <banana> The good news is that he brought his files up from London. So it's relatively easy to dig up what he on Liam's twin, including a forwarding address... 12:21 <hrolf> Rolf: <its a milk run easyt job doin bdyguard detail goof cash i say we tke it xx - rolf> 12:22 <VoxPVoxD> Still texting Aster: <when?> 12:22 <Crion> Aster: <Will call his office. If you are free this evening we can set a meeting then. Otherwise tomorrow morning.> 12:23 <tom> Bob, who is and has always been a respectful distance from Mari: "Everything okay?" She's been texting for a little while.. 12:24 <banana> The Mystagogues of Badawi's acquaintance prefer to contact her rather than the other way around, but she's been working for them long enough to have an in. There's a computer lab downtown, officially marked as a training center for the prison, where Octocat presides over a staff of... people who do something. Cataloguing or analysing. Some of them are wizards, anyway. 12:24 <VoxPVoxD> Willie isn't expecting to see Sergio tonight. She doesn't want to foreclose on the possiblity... but he's not awake yet, because he's a blood-drinking monster who belongs to the night... and at the end of the day the work must come first. <this evening then. call it 8?> 12:24 <Crion> Aster: <Suitable. Will text further details.> 12:24 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: <smashing> 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> Phone away: "Yes. Just a work thing. I have a meeting at 8." 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> "All squared away now." 12:25 <Crion> Aster will actually travel back to the Greybox and try to get Haldane to make the call. Roth should hear a British voice on the other end of the line. And preferably from someone in a better mood than he's in right now. 12:25 <VoxPVoxD> "You were talking about weirdos?" 12:25 <hrolf> Rolf picks up a pen, and holds a finger to his lips and ponders what to say for a second. He rips a piece of paper out from a notebook and begins to write. “LISTEIN <SLUR>, YOU STILL OWE ME TWO MONTHS BACK RENT BUT I’M GOING TO FORGET THAT FOR NOW, OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF ME HEART. ‘ORRIBLE <SLUR> SAYIN HE’S YOUR TWIN SHOWED UP. HE’S AFTER YOU. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. YRS, ROLF HUGHES.” 12:25 <tom> Willie sees herself in Bob's mirrored lenses. "Need backup?" 12:26 <banana> Mari: "Sounds fine. We'd freeze long before eight out here." 12:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie shakes her head. "Not yet. This is pure white collar stuff." The 'yet' is very heavy. Sounds like there is something she wants to work with Bob on...? 12:26 <hrolf> He folds the paper up and slides it into an envelope. Time for a brisk walk to the post office. 12:26 <tom> "...Alright." He'll nod. 12:27 <banana> Sumi cocks her head. "I'm wondering how much your work overlaps with the party." 12:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "In what sense?" 12:27 <banana> "Let's see whether this is a good idea. The night of the 31st, yeah, Samhain, you could come to the ceremony bit with food and dancing at least. Bring friends.. as long as they're the right kind of friends." 12:28 <Quaker> Badawi pushes open the door of the training center. Octocat in? Or anybody else she recognizes? 12:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "...meaning?" 12:28 <banana> "Everyone comes masked. It's a night of forgiveness when nobody asks questions your real face, your blood blue or otherwise, your plane of existence..." 12:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "After dark?" 12:29 <banana> This lead is going smoother for Aster than the last. 12:29 <banana> Roth's secretary speaks to his secretary - a characterisation Richard protests - and setting up a meeting for eight is easy enough. Apparently the man works late; he suggests you meet him in the foyer of the Beetham Hilton, where there are co-working spaces and a cafe. 12:30 <Crion> Co-working spaces. Ugh. Sufficient. 12:31 <Crion> He passes the information on to Willie. This time he'll wear an actual sports coat and slacks rather than his previous lab attire with a different jacket over it; no tie, however. 12:31 <banana> Sumi: "Mostly, yeah, it runs from the afternoon to midnight but some people don't turn up until late. The whole thing is a celebration of the passing of the year in something like the status quo." 12:31 <tom> Bob's never actually had Jalebi before. He's tried some of his failed creations, but has very carefully saved the prettiest and neatest spirals for this moment. What's it like? And what's it like dipped in the... sweet milk mix? 12:31 <banana> Mari seems a bit more uncertain about this. "It's out of the city, though. Don't feel like you have to.." 12:32 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That sounds delightful. But of course I wouldn't want to intrude. I shouldn't presume to take the goodwill Bob has earned for my own." 12:33 <tom> "Nno, I think it's good that people know we're.. y'know, people. Not here to make problems." 12:33 <tom> "Considering the mission." 12:34 <VoxPVoxD> Well, she'll follow up with Mari privately, then. 12:34 <tom> Bob seems thrilled. Not picking up any of the tension, not an iota. 12:36 <banana> Inside "HMP Training", Badawi finds the lab. Rows of workstations, half of them occupied by clerical types; all of them seem to be totally wireless, which is unusual for a permanent setup like this. She sees Octocat from over at a coffee machine; there's also an old lady using one of the computers that she recognises as a wizard, one who provided her with meticulous blueprints for a heist job. 12:37 <banana> Several people look up and wave or nod. As far as Badawi can tell they're collaborating on some sort of documentation project. 12:39 <Quaker> Octocat is a bit soft, and a bit scared of her. She’ll buffalo him over by the coffee machine. “How’s the prison business, Octocat?” She waves back at the people with an unfeigned friendliness. 12:40 <banana> Rolf posts his message. The Royal Mail is brilliant, of course, but it's not like something will happen immediately.. still. There will be consequences. 12:42 <banana> The jalebi tastes very sugary, of course, but crisp. It's offset enough by yoghurt flavour to be something unique, more like a cookie than a pretzel. 12:43 <banana> Sumiya's very pleased and will eat as many as she can get. "With sweets like these, who needs enemies?" 12:44 <VoxPVoxD> In fact, as she drives to the mooted address to meet with Aster a bit after sunset, she sends two texts. The first is to Sergio: <do you have pets? where do you stand on Animals?> The second is to Mari: <thank you for a lovely afternoon! I was So Pleased to meet you and sumi. and while I'm very grateful for the invitation, I absolutely don't want to be the source of any awkwardness. 12:44 <VoxPVoxD> please don't hesitate to tell me if you think my attendance (with an appropriate date) would be unwelcome> 12:45 <banana> Octocat: "Ah.. Badawi.. it's good. I mean, it's probably not good, what they do in there is pretty unpleasant from an ethical perspective although obviously these things are.. I heard you met Opal?" 12:46 <banana> "And Opal says you met Carrey. Who was somehow left on medical leave." 12:46 <Crion> Aster will loiter in his car until Willie arrives, so they can walk in together. This will work much better with her as the 'face' of the operation and him as the grim, silent technician. 12:47 <Quaker> Badawi: “Talk in your office? Tell you all about it, in a trade.” 12:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's still in her picnic clothes, which is to say designer winter clothes, a hiding-from-the-press headscarf, and $450 designer sunglasses. "Mr. Aster," she says with chipper detachment. Aster gets the sense that's the voice she'd hear if she called Willie at her government office. 12:48 <banana> The building before Aster and Willie is kind of incredible. Is it... a good idea? It certainly does't fit the style of the city. Huge square lumps of glass overhang things and run up the side of the tower in irregular lines. They're early. 12:49 <VoxPVoxD> "A refugee from La Defense," she observes. 12:49 <Crion> Aster: "Ms. Wellesley. I haven't scouted the room ahead. Hopefully we're to meet him in the cafe, not the co-working space." 12:49 <banana> Octocat bows slightly to invite Badawi into his office, which is basically a room with bookshelves and a computer. "Trades we make. Are you looking for some work, Agostina?" 12:49 <Crion> COVID regulations should give them privacy either way. 12:50 <tom> This went really well. Plus, leftovers! Once he's seen Willie and Sumi off, he'll go to Mari and help pack things up. 12:50 <Crion> The comment about the architecture seems to pass him by. 12:50 <Quaker> Badawi: “Information. What’d you hear about Carrey?” 12:52 <Crion> Aster: "We spent the afternoon following up on the Reveille matter. Not promising. Marriage spat. Can't take Rolf anywhere. Called me a nonce and the husband a wog." 12:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Eugh." 12:52 <VoxPVoxD> "I must apologise for my dereliction. I've been distracted." 12:52 <Crion> Aster: "He's a man who has been insufficiently hit in his life. Luckily, that's because he's so good at hitting, which redounds to our benefit." 12:53 <VoxPVoxD> "For the moment, at least." 12:53 <Crion> A slight pause. "Mmmm. Goreman was out of the office as well." 12:53 <Crion> "Well, he'd have found all this boring." 12:53 <banana> The day after the picnic, Bob's got things to do. If he recalls correctly, Rolf had a contact who might have access to gear on the the same RFID system as his reactivated chip. 12:54 <Crion> They have a picture of Roth. How hard is this man to locate? 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I saw him at the offsite the other day with his arms all tattooed with cooking oil burns. I do hope he mastered the art of jalebi." 12:54 <tom> The man's got his fingers crossed. Rolf was an artist with the ghost paint back at the Farm, so he can't be completely full of shit. 12:55 <VoxPVoxD> The art of deception hinges on never saying anything untrue. 12:55 <banana> The evening of the picnic, Mari told him: "Willie's sexy... but I could tell that's not what you're going for. As could CCTV." 12:55 <banana> "She's asked me whether it's really ok to go to Samhain.. I said it is, the public part, although I don't really know why Sumi thinks she should come. What exactly are fire powers?" 12:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stick that on your Bingo card, Goreman. 12:56 <tom> Bob will laugh that one off and pull her in closer. "Oh, you can tell? I didn't know you were psychic, too." 12:58 <banana> Octocat: "I've only met Carrey a couple of times. She's an Arrow, the ones who fight the war in heaven, or not in heaven.. anyway, she's stround but loud and moves too fast. The injury Opal says she's got is the kind you get from overreaching your own abilities." 12:59 <tom> If she lets him, he'll kind of pull her into a close embrace on the couch. "Fuck, I think we're all out of Doom Patrol. Got any ideas?" 12:59 <Quaker> Badawi: “Yeah. You like her? Dislike her? Her arm fused with her clothes after she turned a truck into a ball of metal.” 12:59 <tom> "Oh, you know.." 13:00 <tom> I really shouldn't say for her, just like.. you know.. I didn't say anything about you guys.. but uh," he licks his lips. "Apparently hell is real?" 13:00 <tom> "I really shouldn't say for her, just like.. you know.. I didn't say anything about you guys.. but uh," he licks his lips. "Apparently hell is real?" 13:01 <banana> The lobby of Beetham Towers is huge, seeming to cover most of the floorspace. It's not a workspace in the same way they had in the hotel Aster stayed at, but there are *many* little clusters of chairs and tables, complete with power and networking. The lights are still on this late at night and a couple of the brown-faux-leather sofas are even occupied by groups of suited types with papers 13:01 <banana> and laptops. 13:02 <Crion> No one has proper offices anymore. Disgusting. 13:02 <VoxPVoxD> Tell me about it. 13:02 <Crion> Remote working is one thing -- many benefits there, necessary as public health policy. But co-working spaces? 13:02 <banana> Mr. James Roth is not in a group; he's waiting alone, standing by one of the chairs near the centre of the floor. He's got a phone out and is tapping away on it. Looks a little older than in his photo, but relatively vigorous. 13:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie will seem to check her own phone. 13:03 <Crion> Aster will maintain eye contact if it is made, but make no move to start the conversation. 13:04 <tom> "I mean," Bob will start scrolling through the options. Fuck, there's a lot of shows that just aren't available anymore, even if you use an American proxy! He might have to just go back to fucking torrenting shows again! 13:05 <Crion> Roth won't recognize them -- well, won't recognize Aster, and won't recognize Wellesley in her current role at least -- but they do cut a rather imposing and professional figure as they stride towards his table. 13:07 <VoxPVoxD> They do look a bit Foyle's War together, don't they? 13:07 <tom> "If you don't want her at Samhain, she's not. But.. I been thinking a lot, lately." Uh oh. He squeezes her gently. "Someone with some... magic? Like real, actual magic, on my side? Makes it seem less scary." 13:07 <Crion> Not a referent Aster's likely to have. But if she says so. 13:08 <tom> "Like, okay, I've got a chip and a gun, if I can get past the door security, fuck," He winces. Is his heart beating kinda fast? Mari can hear it, certainly. "But she can throw fireballs. I've seen that." 13:09 <tom> "Fuck, man, even Aster's got psiblasts." 13:09 <tom> "You know, Squidward." 13:10 <Crion> That's really not a technically-accurate phenomenological description of what the Talon module is at all. 13:10 <banana> A second entry is added to the Huntr tracklist for anyone who's checking it - Willie, so far. 13:10 <banana> Local Businessman James Roth 13:10 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6LxcdKfKQI 13:10 <banana> “Nobody’s going to listen to the whole thing but they’ll get the point.” 13:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins as the song plays, and then her expression changes quite abruptly when she sees it's the second item in a playlist. Is there a delete button? Is it the first entry labeled? 13:12 <VoxPVoxD> 10Does it have a picture? 13:12 <banana> Octocat: "If I had to characterise it as like or dislike.. I don't like risks. Pointless flashy nonsense. Part of that's just nerd bias, you know? If I'd played cricket in school I might be more inclined to people who run towards danger." 13:12 <VoxPVoxD> Does it have a picture? 13:12 <banana> "I can't tell whether I'm the one trading you information or vice versa. 13:13 <Quaker> Badawi takes off her sunglasses and scarf. Is there a place to sit? If there is, she does. “Do me a favor. List all the Wolf-Mourners you know.” 13:13 <tom> Bob coughs to hide his just-so choking up. "I've been thinking about what you said about.." 13:13 <banana> The first entry in the tracklist is called "Untitled entity". Willie's memory is still hazy but presumably she didn't type anything in. There's a picture of her and Sergio Bonasera, his arm about her shoulder, by the canal at night. They're gazing into each other's eyes, and Sergio's face is blurred by a rapid turn toward her. 13:13 <VoxPVoxD> Fuck. 13:14 <tom> Ok now his heart's going real fast. "I mean, what if having someone like that around makes the difference? What if something happens?" 13:14 <Crion> Aster glances over at her and frowns. 13:15 <Crion> He's either polite or self-aware enough not to try to glance at the screen unless Willie is holding it to be easily seen. 13:15 <VoxPVoxD> No time for that now, though. We're working. Phone away. Deep breath, shoulders thrown back, confident step forward, gentle, reassuring posh voice: "Mr. Roth?" 13:16 <Crion> Back to work. 13:16 <banana> Octocat: "Okay.. this is definitely information you're learning from me, rather than the other way around." But he winks, and doesn't seem to consider this much of a secret compared to what Badawi already knows. 13:17 <banana> "Here in the North we've got about seven of them. I think Manchester and Liverpool are covered by Carrey, Opal and " his mouth twists "Zeno. Over in Yorkshire there's a team, whose names will mean nothing to you... Fandango and Garibaldi pair with a couple I don't know from the other side." 13:17 <banana> "Er, if the names do mean something to you, please let me know?" 13:18 <banana> Mari: "We work hard to make sure things don't happen, but... yeah. Are you feeling okay, Bob?" 13:18 <Quaker> “I will. Why don’t you like Zeno?” 13:18 <Quaker> “I promise my side of the trade is coming.” 13:19 <banana> James Roth: "Evening, evening. Is it Aster and Wellesley? Do you want some coffee from the bar? I've got a card for the place." 13:19 <Crion> Aster nods. "Aaron Aster." 13:19 <banana> His voice is rather good, actually - a mellifluous baritone. Offsets the unprepossessing appearance and adds a bit of charisma. 13:20 <Crion> He won't shake unless it's offered; uncommon in an American, he's often told over here. It always annoys him. He'll decline coffee. 13:20 <tom> Bob snorts. "I'm fine babe, just been getting some'a that recently." 13:20 <tom> His heart isn't slowing down, though. 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie also declines coffee. These pod-based machines are dreadful. 13:21 <tom> "Yeah, you work the problem from your end, but I mean, if something does happen. I wanna be there." 13:21 <tom> "I wanna look the mother fucker in the eye and drop his ass. Stone cold." 13:21 <banana> Octocat: "Okay.." He puts his hands flat on the computer desk. "We've talked a little bit about the Iron Pyramid. The Seers, who want to enslave the whole world and make themselves kings of the dung-heap, real apocalypse stuff.. Zeno's one of those guys." 13:21 <banana> "Whatever he does with the wolf guys is probably fine, but... otherwise? Not fine." 13:22 <Quaker> Badawi tries to remember exactly what movements Zeno made with his arm, and do them for Octocat’s benefit. 13:23 <Quaker> “So the Wolf-Mourners are some kind of…nonpartisan park ranger thing?” 13:23 <banana> Roth takes a seat at one of the chair-pods then. "Right. You're here in response to my advertising.. an extension of justice to the things that crawl in the night. That's the business you're in?" 13:24 <Crion> Aster removes a notepad and pen, and defers that question to Willie. 13:25 <banana> Octocat: "That's right, it's another consequence of the world being... you know, messed up. There are so many alternate dimensions full of nasty things. My understanding is they're allocated to keep watch on a particular one." 13:26 <banana> "Is that the kind of work you're doing now? For 'Sourjack'?" 13:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "More or less, Mr. Roth. We view our role as serving those who suffer at society's edges. Even those who find themselves in its firmament, as you do." 13:27 <banana> Roth: "I am a humble servant to titans." Of business, presumably. "Let's talk opportunities, then." 13:27 <Crion> Not even asking for resumes. Interesting. 13:27 <Quaker> Badawi: “The work is all over. I get the impression that Sourjack is skilled at listening in on things, but limited in actual power. They feed us leads, we follow up and do the work.” 13:27 <Crion> He had the whole 'twenty-two year veteran' spiel lined up. 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> Smacks of desperation. 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> Or a setup. 13:28 <Quaker> She thinks for a moment. “Does the consilium take an active role in communicating with the other supernatural sorts in the area? Or…researching them?” 13:28 <Quaker> “Do you?” 13:29 <banana> Roth: "Do you find yourself in need of a tax-deductible scourging flame? Whatever's out there in the city.. is your work punitive?" 13:30 <Crion> Aster narrows his eyes. Is he trying to sell us something? 13:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Many would say so. I prefer to think of it as evening the odds." 13:30 <banana> Octocat: "I don't think this an information trade at all. I think it's a conversation." 13:31 <banana> Octocat: "But hey, I don't mind telling you.. my people research the heck out of supernatural sorts. We love to know from knowledge." 13:31 <banana> "Discover anything weird in that work and you could make an interrogator very happy." 13:32 <Crion> Aster: "My approach is clinical and professional. But it is routinely deserved. I'm unclear -- opportunities. Things we're in need of. What are we talking about here?" 13:32 <banana> Roth, to Willie: "Sure. Balance the books." 13:32 <banana> To Aster: "Well, I'm interested in synergies." 13:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do go on, Mr. Roth." 13:34 <banana> He goes on. "Have you ever had to deal with a threat that's incorrect? Not morally, but physically, according to physical law?" 13:35 <Quaker> Badawi: “I can tell this work is going to involve a lot of this sort of thing, coming back to researchers to find out more of what we’re dealing with. And I don’t want to waste your time or annoy you if you’re not interested in that sort of thing. Are you alright playing the part of anthropologist? Or putting me in contact with someone who is?” 13:35 <banana> Mari: "You sound kind of manic though." She touches his forehead, feeling for sweat. "The leg wasn't infected... I hope we didn't poison you and Willie with something that was off." 13:36 <Crion> Aster: "I was the master technician for the lab which helped catch Dee Jacobsen, the Bait-Switchblade Killer, who had mastered the art of co-location. Literally being in two places at once. Two SWAT teams shot him in the head at the same time, thirty miles apart. It sounds, Mr. Roth, like you're trying to sell me something." 13:37 <banana> Octocat: "I'm interested, but not an expert" He leans back. "This is a bit of a dilemma.. I know people who do exactly what you need, but.. they won't want to talk about it. It's unfair, but you'd be considered an outsider. Umm." 13:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie glances at Aster. "...which is very much not how we interpreted this solicitation." 13:37 <tom> Really? She's just gonna... well, alright. Bob soldiers on. "I'm fiiiiiiiiiine. What I really need is for you to pick something or I swear I'll just pick something at random from the 'New' Netflix Specials," he threatens, with appropriate menace. "Nobody wants that." 13:38 <tom> Is he sweating? 13:38 <banana> Roth: "Ha! No. Business is- it's good. I'd like to pay you folks, if you're in a position to provide the services I need." 13:38 <banana> Bob seems to be sweating. 13:38 <tom> Not good, folks. 13:38 <Quaker> Badawi: “They don’t want to talk about it? Or can’t?” Stick up their ass? Or just afraid? 13:38 <tom> Please, just for one evening- 13:39 <tom> "I swear, I'll put on Bright. I'll do it." 13:40 <banana> Octocat: "We have fairly strict rules. It's all supposed to be in a good cause.. there's a war on and so on. Um. I think I know who would help you, for fun or money. Technically you'd be going outside Consilium, so I can't vouch for their bona fides." 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "If you could provide more detail, Mr. Roth, maybe we could more easily discern if your needs and our skills are a match." 13:41 <banana> Mari: "Feel free to put on the movie, baby. I'm going to get a thermometer." 13:41 <tom> No amount of twee bullshit will save him now. 13:42 <Quaker> Badawi: “What does that mean? Outside Consilium? I thought it included all of you.” 13:42 <banana> Mari doesn't want drama either to be honest. But she too has things she can't really turn off. 13:42 <Quaker> “Except the Seers.” 13:43 <banana> Octocat: "Yeah, no. Over in Liverpool they have the Free Assemblies - I don't mean just Liverpool, same guys in other parts of the world too. They're not bad people. On the right side, supernally speaking... but they don't like hierarchy. Or strict rules." 13:44 <tom> Glumly, he googles 'girl movies' and resigns himself to an hour and a half of fucking... Frozen? Too on the nose. 13:44 <banana> Octocat: "Some Free Councillors would even say that the Diamond and the Pyramid are alike, strict and rigid militant orders serving unseen masters while blinding themselves to reality... um, they'd be wrong, though." 13:45 <tom> Fuck it, man. Mari's coming back to John Carpenter's The Thing. 13:45 <Quaker> Badawi: “Hm.” 13:45 <Quaker> She thinks about it. 13:46 <VoxPVoxD> Just watch Evangelion again. 13:46 <tom> I'm not sure Mari's ready. 13:47 <banana> Local Businessman Roth is finally forced to put some cards on the table. "I haven't got a lot of needs. Doing very well really, but as a value-added extra.." He turns away and withdraws an object from a place. 13:47 <tom> As Bob will explain if Mari has the heart for some of the gorier scenes, he always kinda sympathized with the thing. I mean, yeah, it's obviously monstrous, but what if it really just wanted out?" 13:47 <Quaker> After a while: “The Wolf-Mourners hired us on an emergency basis to assist in repelling spirit incursions. Werewolf work, apparently.” She describes each of the spirits she saw. “Pretty standard stuff, I suspect.” 13:48 <tom> "I mean it got picked up off some goop planet and it's just pissed as all hell- please don't stick that anywhere-" he's glaring down the barrel of the thermometer with apprehension. 13:48 <banana> Mari quite likes horror movies, though she tends to get mad when characters do stupid things - particularly any professionals who should know better. She'll half-pay attention as she takes Bob's temperature, pokes a few places on his arm and stomach, and asks how he's feeling toilet-wise. Eventually she's going to get around to asking to draw blood. 13:49 <Quaker> “But we came across another group of…professionals. They belong to a much larger organization that specializes in harvesting supernatural body parts and integrating them into technology for their operatives. They were using a specialized device to open a dimensional portal to the spirit realm, to capture something called an idigam. We stopped them, and disarmed them. The Wolf-Mourners took custody of them.” She tells him what 13:49 <Quaker> the strange carpet machine was like. 13:50 <tom> Yeah, yeah. Bob won't even turn away from the screen as he splays out his arm, wrist-up, and kneads the inside of the elbow. You're supposed to drink water, dilate the veins first. 13:50 <banana> James Roth is now holding a thing like a caltrop. Rigid metal jutting out on multiple axes with hooked spikes on the ends. "If you work on anything these can catch," he says, "I'd make sure you were paid." 13:50 <Quaker> “Let’s see…you know Zeno is a Seer. Thought that’d be worth something, but…” 13:50 <VoxPVoxD> What is that? 13:50 <tom> "Aw you're gonna miss- you're gonna miss the dog soup bit." 13:51 <Crion> Aster produces two examination gloves seemingly from nowhere. They seem to be some kind of felt, rather than latex. "May I?" 13:51 <Crion> He ignores for now how backwards and insane the phrasing on the ask is. 13:51 <banana> Roth hands the jagged object over. "We're giving 'em out for free." 13:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, while Aster works: "Mr. Aster is our best analyst. Top of his field with over twenty years' experience and a sparkling record." 13:54 <banana> Octocat writes these things down. "Dang," he says eventually. "Yeah, Opal didn't mention the 'professionals', so I'm guessing Zeno did something to them... did you say Idigam? That would not have been standard stuff." 13:54 <banana> "But they probably couldn't have pulled it off." 13:55 <Quaker> Badawi: “Yeah, Idigam. Why not?” 13:57 <banana> Octocat: "That's a sort of spirit-god. Or something. Just too big for a couple of guys with thaumotechnology." 13:57 <banana> "..did you manage to recover any of their tech?" 13:58 <Crion> Aster: "This isn't magic. But it should be. It interacts with incoherent geometries. Or...exemplifies them. You said you're 'giving them away for free.' And you don't know what they're used on. Do you have a machine that is producing these?" 13:58 <Quaker> She nods. “Yeah, I spirited away their carpet apparatus myself. Got their phones and some credit cards, too.” 13:59 <Quaker> “Oh, I think they wanted to capture it. They had some kind of shackles, same kind of tech as the carpet. It was destroyed when Carrey showed up later and smashed their truck, though.” 13:59 <tom> How exactly does Mari react to the hideous gore of a kennel full of dogs being digested alive by an alien monster? 13:59 <banana> The wizard rubs his hands together and pulls up some kind of application on the computer. "The carpet... which opened up the Gauntlet for them, right. I'll tell you straight up, that would be worth an introduction to the Free Council, and credit." 13:59 <tom> Albeit, confined to a tiny glowing box in the living room. 13:59 <Crion> "'Magic' being a term-of-art, of course. This is certainly paraphenomenological, but it lacks a certain overt...flash, let's say." 14:00 <banana> Mari's got the blood sample refrigerated. Bob.. doesn't actually know why, but she's no vampire, so it should be fine? "Ew. They didn't deserve that." 14:00 <Quaker> Badawi rubs her temple. “Leytide manipulator.” She was half paying attention at the debriefing. 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> She was a bit worried, you're always at risk of the upsell that looks foolish even when you're dealing with someone of true ability. But Mr. Aster did not disappoint. 14:01 <banana> Roth listens eagerly to Willie and then Aster. 14:02 <tom> He was kinda hoping it'd actually get her so he could move in- but, nah, she's a seasoned horror veteran. Probably not just from movies, either. He gulps. His heartbeat's back down for now, though, so that's great. 14:02 <Quaker> “Octocat, what’s your actual name? I feel like a bit of an idiot calling you Octocat.” 14:02 <banana> Roth: "Your understanding of the situation is very impressive. I have hopes. I can manufature as many as you need.. how big's your sales team?" 14:02 <Crion> Aster: "Mmmm. And there it is." 14:03 <Crion> He'll carefully return the object. 14:04 <banana> Roth: "Not this again. I want to pay you. For captures, or a viable extension of expiation into the unbounded world. Sell me a jut, if you have it." 14:04 <Crion> Aster: "I gather the machine producing these is doing so off-specification, or was otherwise inherited, bought at auction unsuspecting its true nature, etcetera?" 14:05 <banana> Roth: "Again, no." 14:05 <banana> "We're having some sort of failure to communicate." 14:05 <banana> He smiles apologetically to take the sting out of it. 14:05 <Crion> Aster: "Evidently." 14:05 <Crion> Aster does not. 14:06 <banana> Octocat: "Er.. if I told you that, a warlock could use it to hex me." 14:06 <banana> "And it's fine, they're cute." He turns his monitor around to show Badawi a picture: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/octocat.png 14:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you have a specific challenge in mind, Mr. Roth? I believe Mr. Aster's surmise is that your interest is in our ability to use the tech, rather than the sort of problem that might call for a use of the tech." 14:08 <Quaker> “Sure they are.” She winks at him. “Come on. You know my name.” 14:09 <Crion> Something is higher-order level wrong here than this man being a poor communicator. Aster would be very interested to meet the engineer who designed and/or is operating this machine Roth believes he understands as a business opportunity. 14:09 <Crion> Or perhaps they're just appearing out of thin air. 14:09 <Crion> That would be even worse. 14:09 <banana> Roth: "That's right, that's right. Even if you haven't come across anything in violation of applicable law yet.. perhaps you will. Take some of these babies with you, and you'll be able to reel 'em in. For which I'll pay in pounds sterling and otherwise." 14:10 <Crion> Aster remains silent. They should, at least, take samples. 14:10 <Crion> For the lab. Not for selling. Or promotional use. 14:10 <banana> Octocat: "I know several different names you use to protect yourself from people who might wanna track you down otherwise..." 14:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, but... why?" 14:11 <banana> Octocat: "Actually, hexes aside, it's the same thing. Have you ever tangled with... vampires?" 14:12 <Quaker> Badawi: “Actually, I was going to threaten some teenagers on their behalf later this week.” 14:12 <banana> Octocat: "Oh." 14:12 <Quaker> “Why?” 14:13 <Quaker> “Is your little cousin looking for help to drive vampires out of a local cemetary or something?” 14:13 <banana> "No, I mean, that's how they operate. They're rooted in society.. they find peoples' weak points and threaten them. Family, friends, institutions. Keeping our identity strictly shadowed protects us from that sort of thing." 14:14 <banana> "The name is totemic.. it's part of a larger magic. Concealing a symbol means concealing the real thing from arbitrary- why am I telling you this, lol." 14:15 <Quaker> Badawi: “Go on. It’s interesting.” 14:15 <tom> Bob sinks into the couch while the onscreen paranoia begins to peak. This is the best part of the movie! The distrust and anxiety! He'll tap Mari on the leg and offer her his shoulder. The memories of the past day seem. Blurry? That's not good. But he won't say anything. 14:15 <banana> Roth: "Well... there's only so much I can do from here. Frankly, when we wrap I'm not heading out into the night to bring down the hammer on ghouls or goblins or what-have-you. Although if you know of some that need hammering...?" 14:17 <Crion> Aster: "Have you even tested these at all. On anything." 14:18 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you have technical specs? Production numbers? We're going to need to present this to our team before we give you a firm answer, and any detail you can provide would help." 14:18 <banana> Roth: "I will also pay for testing reports." 14:18 <banana> "Not the full fee, though. If you want seven figures I'm looking for actual field use!" 14:18 <VoxPVoxD> "I have to say, that deploying untested technology, impressive though it may be, gives me considerable pause." 14:19 <VoxPVoxD> Especially when there's no delete entry button in the app. Richard. 14:19 <Crion> Aster: "We do not have co-locating serial killers, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, mummies, ghouls, ghasts, or goblins simply sitting around the lab. Testing will be a fraught and dangerous process, heavily involved, extremely risky. Life-threatening." 14:20 <VoxPVoxD> Christ, what was she thinking? Nothing, obviously, she was intoxicated three or four different physical and paraphysical axes. 14:20 <banana> Octocat fiddles with his collar. "I wish I could just.. teach you the spell, you know? You'd be good at this stuff... but that's not how it works. The Lie even hides magic, true magic, from you if someone were to perform it. One upside is it makes it easier to hide other things." 14:20 <Crion> Aster: "If -- if -- we take on this work, we will need an arbitrarily-sized and steady supply of these things." 14:21 <Quaker> Badawi: “Like true names?” 14:21 <banana> "Sympathy is an important principle in magic. Things that are like other things.. are those things, to an extent. Things that are similar to other things are near to them, literally. So as part of a magic spell, if I take small routine measures to cover up my identity, it ends up really covered." 14:21 <banana> "Even if you did know my name, as long as I hadn't actually revealed it - you won't find it in a phone book. You'll skip right to the next page." 14:22 <banana> Roth: "I can guarantee supply as long as we're in touch occasionally. It'd be an interesting collaboration, actually. Could open up further lines of business." 14:22 <Crion> Tightly: "That will be a decision for the group to make in full." 14:22 <banana> "What's your ask like for testing? Give me some kind of range if you've got it." 14:22 <Quaker> Badawi: “I’m jealous. I have to actually get the passports and such forged.” 14:22 <Crion> He looks to Willie. 14:23 <Quaker> “I’ve spent more time in records ministries than you’d think.” 14:23 <Quaker> What does Octocat look like, by the way? 14:23 <Quaker> “Hey…have you heard of ‘Star Children?’” 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I can't give firm numbers without consulting the team, but I don't think it's practical for us to do this kind of business at anything less than 60% of our base rate." 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't know if that makes sense on your end." 14:26 <banana> Octocat is 5'11, anglo, usually wearing button-up shirts. His face is pretty mobile and he goes through a lot of expressions even when just staring at a computer screen (which he is usually doing). He's skinny and just a little bit sallow-skinned from not going out; his blonde hair is also a bit limp. 14:28 <banana> Roth is in his element now. He takes an empty envelope from the papers he's got on him and scribbles on the back of it. "It'd be acceptable in the case of results. If you can let me know what classes of anomaly can and can't be hooked... 100k for each categorisably ontological result, and there should be several of those?" 14:28 <banana> "Too many things out there that shouldn't be." 14:30 <banana> Octocat has heard of starchildren. "I think so. Clairvoyant beings, born in waves?" 14:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Well! We will certainly be in contact." 14:31 <VoxPVoxD> "May we take this back with us to examine?" She glances at Aster in case that's a bad idea. 14:31 <banana> Roth: "Perhaps less late in the day?" Now he does offer handshakes. 14:31 <Crion> He has a sufficiently-safe baggie for it in his case. 14:31 <banana> ..but then drops his hand again to pick up the caltrop. "Yes, here you are." 14:32 <VoxPVoxD> After it's handed over, Willie with handshake. 14:32 <Crion> Aster's handshake will be very firm and very brief. 14:32 <banana> He holds it by the centre, which is basically an origin point for the thing's spiked axes. Fairly safe as long as you don't twist your wrist while carrying it! 14:32 <VoxPVoxD> "Good evening, Mr. Roth. We'll be in touch." 14:32 <Quaker> Badawi: “That’s right. We’ve been in touch with the Manchester gang of them. One of them needs protection from their own powers, another is willing to pay outsiders for the protection. Possibly leading to a final resolution where, I guess, the former would be safe from whatever foreign entities inspire the whole thing. Bit of a messy interpersonal thing. One of the jobs we’re considering.” 14:34 <banana> Roth: "Good to hear. Either way, good luck with your very necessary work." 14:35 <banana> He gets up when you leave, but doesn't follow; the local businessman remains in the lobby, focusing on his phone again. 14:36 <Crion> Once outside: "Fucking christ. Salesmen!" 14:36 <Crion> "He doesn't even know what he's making -- I don't even know what he's making -- and he wants to shove it out on the street and sell it! With us doing the product testing!" 14:39 <banana> Octocat: "That's kind of cool. Guardian cabal stuff. Do you think you'll enjoy this kind of work more than artifact hunts... or elixir smuggling?" 14:39 <banana> "That said, we are not out of artifact hunts. If you're retired from that, Vivi will be sad." 14:39 <Quaker> Badawi sinks into her chair. 14:40 <Quaker> “I don’t know. It’s been a bit iffy so far. The spirit thing was…rushed. My teammates are from all over. I get the sense that we all expect different things.” 14:40 <Quaker> “I’m not retired from anything. If you need something done, just let me know.” 14:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie frowns. There's something off about this... but she can't put her finger on it. "Yeah. It's peculiar." 14:41 <VoxPVoxD> "I wonder who's making them." 14:41 <VoxPVoxD> "We should look into that." 14:41 <banana> Octocat: "Absolutely. I wish we could offer more than work.. someday, you know? When the Ladder is built again." 14:41 <Crion> Aster: "He didn't seem willing to tell. In fact, he directly ignored the question. And I don't want to be left holding the bag if he's in violation of truly dire patent law." 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "We can investigate without interrogating. Look into his books, his connections, and so on." 14:42 <Quaker> “Actually, do you need anything at the moment? Sourjack is a bit of a dickhead when it comes to finding paying work. We’re in the private eye phase of the job at the moment, but…” 14:42 <Quaker> “Nothing seems especially promising.” 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> "More work, which means more time... but this doesn't seem like a job with a clock on it." 14:42 <Crion> Aster: "Well, we could. But he's not paying us for that." 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> "No, but it seems like information we could use to pitch our own clients." 14:43 <banana> Octocat: "I'll see what's coming up. In the meantime, here's an offer:" 14:43 <VoxPVoxD> "A lot of the work at the first stages of building a business is sadly unremunerated, but essential for developing your value chain. As I'm sure you're well aware." 14:43 <Quaker> “Some local businessman has vague problems with vague supernatural things. Vampire business, but I think we weren’t supposed to know they had it in the first place, hence the little teenage chore to take care of first, prove our loyalty or something - what’s that?” 14:43 <Crion> Aster grimaces again. "I have to say, now that I've been press-ganged into it, I can conclude that I was right: I do hate business development." 14:44 <banana> "Your 'leytide manipulator' for some Free Council contacts, a precis I can dig out of the archives on starchildren... and money." 14:44 <Crion> Aster: "Absolutely, like that late night examination for the Detective Sergeant. But this isn't in our business plan!" 14:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "If you liked it, you'd have a job like Mr. Roth's instead of your own." 14:44 <banana> Octocat: "Cash transfers. Very vulgar. very useful." 14:44 <Quaker> Badawi lifts from her gloom. “How much money?” 14:45 <VoxPVoxD> "We don't have a business plan yet. Only Jack does. And his is proving rather fraught." 14:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "He casts a wide net, but a lot of freelancer flotsam seems to be getting caught." 14:45 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. Not a single one of these jobs has turned out to be what he pitched them as to us. I'm beginning to think perhaps that was on purpose." 14:46 <Crion> Remembering something: "What did you see on your phone, before the meeting? You were using Huntr, yes?" 14:46 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I wonder if it's poor communication on Jack's part or on Haldane's. Haldane is competent, but he is not a manager by temperament." 14:46 <banana> Octocat: "What's the thing actually made of? It's not solid gold or something, right?" 14:47 <banana> "I can approve up to £9999 without having to get signoff from the Curator." 14:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I TrackChecked Mr. Roth." She offers him one of her airpods and then plays the song, without exposing the screen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6LxcdKfKQI 14:48 <VoxPVoxD> “'Nobody’s going to listen to the whole thing but they’ll get the point.'” 14:48 <Crion> Aster gets about ten seconds before handing them back. "Prescient." 14:48 <Quaker> Badawi sinks back into hell. “Ugh. Look, no offense, but I’m a bit cash-flush at the moment.” 14:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Indeed." 14:49 <Quaker> “Hmm.” 14:49 <Crion> He sighs. "Well, that's enough intolerable nonsense for one day. For me at least. See you at the office, tomorrow or...whenever." 14:49 <Quaker> “Look, save the money. I’ll take the contacts, the precis, and more information.” 14:49 <banana> Octocat: "I could... show you something really cool?" 14:49 <banana> "Along with the contact and the precis." 14:49 <VoxPVoxD> "Sadly Mr. Roth is clearly not some sort of animatronic gangster, so I'm not sure how closely to read it." says Willie. "Yes, of course. Good night, Mr. Aster." 14:49 <Quaker> Badawi: “I expect that for free, Octocat! We’re…friends.” 14:49 <Crion> "Good night, Ms. Wellesley." 14:50 <VoxPVoxD> Once she's back in the car she checks her texts. Mari says it really is okay... did Sergio respond? 14:50 <Quaker> “What’s the cool thing?” 14:50 <banana> "So we are. Meet me back here some time on the weekend and I can give you a tour of the Strange Ways." 14:51 <Quaker> Badawi: “Hold on. You mentioned vampires earlier.” 14:51 <Quaker> “You know ‘em?” 14:53 <banana> Sergio: <Big fan. I never did have pets growing up, so maybe I felt jealous... I keep meaning to get a dog. The issue is making time to look after them, of course.> 14:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. <😊😊😊> 14:56 <banana> Octocat: "Ugh. I haven't met one, unless it was before I awakened. But statistically... did you know every outdoor vampire kills 90 medium to large mammals a year?" 14:57 <banana> "And that's when they're not feeding on human blood." 14:57 <VoxPVoxD> Then Goreman gets a text. <picnic went smashingly I thought. can I interest you in a spot of Business we can't bring to the group as a whole just yet> 14:59 <Quaker> Badawi: “Do you know anybody in the Victus Indomitus? Or….know about them? We were looking to get in touch. They apparently want to find two of their own who have gone missing. Touchy subject, though. I understand it’s a bit of a gang war with them and the head cheeses in the County.” She shrugs. “But whatever. One of our people seems to have taken sides out of convenience, but I don’t mind doing work for either.” 15:03 <banana> Octocat: "That's something else the Free Assemblies could help you with. They're less dogmatic about who's, you know, human." 15:03 <banana> "The Hierarch would tell us it's all about who has a potentially Awakening soul. Which the undead do not. But I'd favour a definition based on the possibility of friendship." 15:05 <Quaker> Badawi: “Who’s solid in the Free Assemblies?” 15:06 <banana> The Free Council: next week? 15:35 <Quaker> Badawi rides her bicycle home. It’s drizzling outside by the time she arrives. The water slicking the handlebars. 15:36 <Quaker> She wrestles her bicycle up the stairs to the second floor. Beneath is a shoe repair shop, which shuttered a few weeks into the lockdown. She hasn’t seen the owner since. 15:38 <Quaker> Her apartment is long, thin, and quiet. There’s only one large room, and a bathroom. Her tools are away in a closet. The wall next to the door is taken up by kitchen things, though they haven’t been used much. 15:41 <Quaker> The only natural light comes from a long skylight that runs down the middle of the long room’s roof. On one side of the long room’s length, there are dozens of potted plants in tiered rows. Ferns, succulents, snake plants, fiddle-leaf figs, prayer plants, aloe. 15:44 <Quaker> The other wall is taken up by bookshelves. Many books on different things. Old histories of places far away from Britain. Alchemy texts. Technical manuals. Many books on folklore, and old fiction from authors in Spanish. Books of Spanish poetry. Argentine crime novels. Mexican comic books. And hundreds and hundreds of records. 15:45 <Quaker> There is no bed, just a large pile of blankets and pillows spread out on top of a thick comforter. She leaves her things by the door, locks it, and takes her shoes and coat off. 15:47 <Quaker> Later, she is lying in the blankets. There is a small laser projector making a swirling pattern of stars and nebulae in a purple and blue light on the ceiling above her. Next to her head, propped against another pillow and the bookcases, is a painted tile in white, red, and brown, in a wooden frame. It has a little picture of a molcajete, and the words LA REINA NO COCINA. Next to that is a picture of a man and a woman standing in 15:47 <Quaker> front of the sea and smiling. 15:48 <Quaker> Her turntable is on. Badawi wishes her husband were here. She falls asleep with her old headphones on, listening. 15:48 <Quaker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0bzV7uQ2Pg