Chapter 5: The Invisible Hand

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

post here when chapter 4 has 20 pages.....

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"Ooh, bummer. Yeah, I guess you can't quit these kinds of things without consequences. Like, I work for the Manalists as a soldier and I'm totally stuck working for them forever unless I want to leave and have them hunt me down and stuff. It totally sucks." Tristan says to the elf woman. He doesn't really want to see anyone get hurt so he tries to think of something else.

"Well, maybe ...like couldn't she be transfered to another job. Maybe she just isn't cut out for the Invisible Hand. Maybe she could like...work for another organization or something. Maybe she could be retrained and work for the Manalists like me." Tristan suggests. He isn't really sure what could be done, but, he has to suggest something.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"Here fine," Peter replied, taking a seat opposite Bambi. "I want to have a little work out facility close by. Alot of specialized elements involved, though it'll be alot smaller than the house. I have to do alot of special training and having a place to do it right there will be nice."

The cafe smelled differently than any he'd been in before. Every city was different, especailly when you crossed national borders. Peter was used to visual distinctions but the smells always threw him. The streets smelled different and he didn't trust that. London smelled very different from any American city in most places. He blamed the smell on the weird food people ate in England.

Peter took a moment to look around the cafe. Things seemed fairly slow. It was evening, getting towards night, and there where few customers near them, certainly none close enough to hear normal voices over the sounds of clattering plates and forks and knives. This wasn't really his field. Aside from being out of any of his cities of choice there were people here. This was a place for more veiled movements. That didn't fit into his plans at the moment. Oh well, adapt.

"Nice enough place," he commented, returning his attention to Bambi.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi actually usually sat at the booth furtherest in the corner, but she'd also never been here when it wasn't rather crowded with other work employees having their lunch break. "Perfectly understandable. As you might have guessed, I was never one to do much physical training or anything. I spent most of my youth studying." She commented idly as she took her seat.

She leaned back in the seat, folding her ankles under the table and resting her hands in her lap. She tried to show a bit of table manners when she was in public, though she hadn't really eaten with many people before. Most men interested in her were chased away by her paranoia and clumsiness, but she had a few friends around the office who she occasionally went out with.

"Isn't it? It's a very quint place..." She glanced around once more herself, taking a steady breath. " I always enjoyed the smells." A light, serene smile came into place over her lips, though it lasted only a moment.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

How different a person could be when they had the home field advantage. She wasn't acting the same as she had during their first meeting. Interesting indeed.

"Studying... not my thing really," Peter said, shifting his face slightly to the side and glancing up at the ceiling. "I've always been the more active sort."

He returned his attention to Bambi, leaning forward with his arms on the table, bending forward slightly so that his eyes were closer to being level with the woman's. With the tinted glasses his eyes where visible but they, and anything else seen through the lenses, seemed drained of their coloration. The pair allowed him a more personal connection (eye contact) without the red eyes unnerving people. He didn't use them much.

"So do they serve anything normal here or am I going to have to eat beans on toast or some other crazy English food?"

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi wasn't sure if she preferred the glasses where she couldn't see his eyes at all, or these. With the first, she wouldn't be able to see where his eyes were directed, but with these eye contact was all too possible. She always had trouble keeping eye contact with anyone, much less a man who she'd somehow stumbled into this stituation with.

When he spoke, however, she simply stared at him for a few moments before she burst out in laughter for the first time in front of him. "Yes, I would imagine food here differs from in America. Of course, it's like that for most areas of the world. However, being so close to the HQ of such a large company, this cafe often carries a variety of foods. It's main business comes from the Global Bank employees, after all, and employees over the world often make stops at the HQ."

This place usually had its people order over the counter, but she assumed because of the lack of people for the reason some employees were acting as waiters. She hadn't used a menu in a very long time, but she was sure they kept the full list of items on one near the counter. "There's specials and some of the plates offered on the sign, but they have a full menu at the counter." The thought of offering to fetch him one crossed her mind, but she didn't vocalize the offer.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

Peter glanced up and slipped his glasses down his nose a little, part of his red eyes showing over the tops. He could see the specials easily and, with a little focus, could read the selection menu of the customer nearest him sitting at the counter. The eyes weren't for show, he'd gotten the full Genetech work up during his time in Ireland and visual ability was very high on their list. Other senes came close second, like hearing and smell. Touch and taste, not so much, though when smell moved up taste following in pretty close.

"I won't be needing one," he replied, fixing his glasses and smiling. "Alot of crazy forgein food but there one of two things I think I can manage to deal with."

He shifted position, crossing one leg over the other under the table and leaning back against his chair. "But down to business until someone comes for the order, yes?" Wondering too far into personal territory would only mire the already swampy ground he was treading on. This game worked best with vague personalities, the more he learned about Bambi Engel the more the game shifted. He liked it better not really knowing who he was playing with.

"What are my chances of actually getting any sort of loan? I make good money but this is my first time with high value lending."

[Tuesday DeCastro]

Tuesday took the key from Calithin when he held it out for her, and slipped it into her purse. "Yeah, I went down to ask if I could get a new key and they wanted a freaking fortune! For a room key!"

She shook her head, and took a sip of her coffee. "I thought it was pretty ridiculous."

[Calithin Crest]

"Sorry for keeping you waiting so long to get it back. But yeah, hotel people... They really like their keys."

I grab my jacket off of a coat rack and put it on in one swift motion.

"Well, I was just about to head to work. The office is pretty nearby, if you want you can walk me there?"

I excuse myself for a minute to go in my room and get a tie. I choose a dark purple one and come back to the living room, struggling a little bit to tie it around my neck. I never get the hang of this.

[Tuesday DeCastro]

"Sure, I don't really have much better to do for a little bit." Tuesday said. She saw that Calithin was having trouble with her tie, so she walked over to him.

"Here, let me help you." She took hold of the tie, and with a twist and a knot she was done.

[Calithin Crest]

I look down at my newly tied tie and feel pretty fantastic. I smile and give Tuesday a quick kiss.

"That was the exact right thing to do."

I grab my suitcase and my keys and head out the door with Tuesday, locking it behind me.

"So what are your plans now that you're in Helsinki? Any new stories coming up?"

[Tuesday DeCastro]

Tuesday smiles when he kisses her, and nods. "Yeah, I'm a pretty snazzy tie tier. My dad wore ties a lot, so I learned for him."

She shrugs. "Actually, I've written a few stories on revolts and such for a small newspaper, but I'm looking for something big, something that'll just wow people."

[Calithin Crest]

"It's a dramatic world... Crazy things happen all the time. I'm sure you'll find something. Maybe you can..."

I think for a minute as we walk down the sidewalk, heading in the direction of my office.

"Go under cover and do, like, an expose'. Maybe... Put on a pink wig and pretend to be a creditor. Or... Interview a Manalist priest, or... Interview some rebels. Keep it anonymous, of course, to protect their safety... But still. I'd read any of that."

[Tuesday DeCastro]

"That," Tuesday said, "is an excellent idea. Really, I find great stories when I least expect them to come, so for now, I'll probobly just write about the small stuff to at least keep my name circulating, and then when something huge really hits me, I'll put out this huge incredible story."

She nodded. "It'll be amazing. All the other journalists in the world will be jealous like crazy."

[Calithin Crest]

"Yeah, I tend to have pretty excellent ideas... Peanut butter and jelly? That was me. Sofas? Me, also. Not to mention band aids, popsicles, and stars. All me."

We round a corner and I run my fingers along the side of a building as we walk.

"You have a pretty cool job. You get to meet alot of people, I bet. It must be fantastic. Difficult, I'm sure... But fantastic. I mean... I like my job, don't get me wrong. But I'm usually around such dull people. Just awkward executives or random dumpy workers. Not so fun."