Chapter 13: Pray For Me

[Judith Kalischer-Zinn]

((Sorry for leaving you hanging, Peter! Also, open call for a black market/smuggler sort))

Judith waited until Peter decided to fall asleep. She left carefully written instructions for the repair of Peter's machine for the next shift before returning to her tiny room. Unlike Peter, she needed to sleep, and felt that need acutely. Jet lag had caught up with her, and the nausea from the cheap teleportation booth Allmart had sent her through had not helped the matter.

When Judith arrived, she began writing a letter to her husband. She didn't send them often, since actually getting them through required a bribe. The bribe itself was a tiny fraction of what she needed to get him out of prison, but she felt like she should have been saving the money, nevertheless. She wished that she could write to her son, but he wasn't old enough to read just yet.

Judith never write her letters in Hebrew, although she desperately wanted to. Ariel Tal Shachar, may he suffer and remember suffering, had made Hebrew taboo. Every once in a while, Judith would bump into a fellow Israeli. She could always spot them, with their heavy eyes and heavy accents. No one dared to say a word. They wouldn't even look at her, or each other. Leon... Lior would look at her, and whisper to her. Everything he said was bewitching in their native tongue, even if it was as simple as "pass the salt." Writing to him in Hebrew would be Jewish. It would be incriminating.

"Dear Leon,

I love you.

Judith"

This short English note was a week's salary, but she needed it. She needed Lior to see it, or at least to think that he saw it. Judith felt very alone on the other side of the world.

She decided to go into town during her next break, in order to make a black market contact to get the note to her husband.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi enters the office, feeling for the first time, no nervousness at Annette's smile. Obviously no one had told her anything. Oh joy. She stands in front of Annette's desk with her hands clasped behind her back, standing more like a soldier than a bank accountant.

It was more out of fear that the moment she sat down again she'd loose all the energy that seemed to be coming from no where.

"The bank is London is corrupt, Ms. Rosenthal. I apologize that I took the liberty of giving orders while you were at the Council Meeting. Things had gotten very dangerous. A man, most likely a worker for one of the groups that used the London bank, attempted to force me to overlook the whole thing.

Needless to say, I refused and escaped him. An employee named Peter Levitas Barak from All Mart aided me and the creditor Aubrey with capturing him when he attempted to murder me for my refusal. At current time I think he is being held in a cell in All Mart.

I have already dispatched a solid number of creditors to the London bank to lock it down until proper accounts can be made. They are also attempting to select the likeliest employees who are the ones who aided in the London bank's corruption. I do not believe they would've been able to flee, but even if they have we will know who they are if people are missing from their assigned work shifts.

I believe it would be in our best interest as our next course of action to question this man."

["Niel" Samuelson]

There were a number of activities that Niel had to keep him occupied before making his attempt on Keitoleinen at the Banquet.

Maintaining upkeep on all of his equipment was second-nature and continuingly updating and preforming maintinence on the smallest piece took hours. Because of his natural propensity for perfection Niel had never in his life needed sleep which gave him an extra few hours heads-up comparitive to the rest of the human race.

Keeping himself in top physical condition was not difficult (nothing was ever difficult for Niel) because he was always in peek physical condition. What others refered to as "keeping in shape," Niel called the "constant means to perfection." And, for the fact that his conditioning never suffered from degradation, Niel was in state of constant and consistant improvement physically.

Having so much free time after his routines, though, made entertainment a priority. This problem was easily addressed by Niel opening himself to side-contracts. Romping about and lifting was all fun and good but only real combat in live-fire situations could keep body and soul together enough in such duldrums.

[Jack Kruschev]

Almost as if it were my mission in life, I triumphantly walk down the hallway of my place of employment with pride and a large ego. My projects have had an unexpected positive turnout rate. I’m officially in love with myself, and it feels great. New plants, new animals, and even an improvement in smeet, things are great here at Genetech, thanks to me.

Sitting at my desk, I look over to my computer and see that I have new mail.

[Anya Louteius]

((Oh my goodness everyone. I'm so sorry for leaving my character hanging out there Tristan since July....I have been without the net for the longest and finally got it back. I really hope I didn't upset anyone. Please forgive me if I did.))

Anya looked at the guy and frowned as she walked in and closed the door and walked over to the small bar she had. She grabbed two beers and popped the tops and handed him one. She sat down across from him and looked at him. "Manalist, huh? I follow it, but I'd much rather follow music. More free, if you know what I mean." She took a swallow of her beer and popped her neck. "So you played a little. Interesting....care to show your talent?" She said and she tossed him a Les Paul. She smirked and watched him. "Handle her with care, she is my baby. I've had that guitar since I could walk....almost." She laughed and waited.

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"I feel like I could cry. No one has been this nice to me in my whole life." Tristan says after taking the gift. He feels so happy and yet so sad at the same time. He frowns and holds back some moisture from his eyes. He wonders why she gave him this or what it means for him now. He immediately feels guilty, but tries to brush it aside.

"Are you busy right now? If not, maybe we could hang out or something." He suggests.

[Anya Louteius]

Anya smiled at Tristan and then sighed softly. "Well if we're going to hang out, at least tell me your name. Mine I'm sure you already know...but just in case....I'm Anya." She held out her hand for him to shake and she smiled at him. After they shook hands, she stood and stretched."So where would you like to hang out...erm...what was your name again?" She blushed at forgetting his name.

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"My favorite place to hang out is this place in Helsinki called Trendy Pizza. They have the best vegan food and sometimes local bands play there. I totally love it." Tristan admits with a smirk. He crosses his hands over his chest and continues to half smile. "My name is Tristan Tuzanic." He says, extending his hand.

[Jack Kruschev]

Getting up from my throne of a chair, I notice that I have a new man in my office. He's somewhat whispy of a white and gray mix. Immedietly, I realize that it is an old friend. Whether he's a true demi-god, like he claims to be, or simply a rupernatural being, it doesn't particularly matter; he has power beyond belief.

"So, Tyler, haven't seen you in a while."

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi sighed softly as she stared up at the All Mart head quarters. She had yet to see Peter since the incident, but it had only been perhaps a little under twenty-four hours since the whole event went down.

During that time after leaving Rosenthal's office she had spent four hours filing the whole report, another two hours visiting the London bank to look over the accounts that had been done and to see off the employee that had so kindly given her away (she found herself selfishly pleased to see the Manalists officers taking him away), and five hours sleeping.

Upon waking she had spent a few hours lounging in the tub, thinking over the whole event. She felt a bit bad for not feeling bad about the employee, whom was probably sitting in a prison right now. Maybe she was finally becoming Manalist material! The thought had brought a bitter laugh. The last two hours had been buying new clothes and shoes to replace the ones that had become wrecked.

Standing in those new clothes and shoes, she now found herself entering through the front doors of the All Mart head quarters. She had a feeling Peter would keep Alexei here rather than hand him over to the Manalist. She wasn't sure why, though...

Flashing a nervous smile to the woman at the desk, she didn't pause as she walked by. Instead, she mummered, "I'm going to see Peter," as she breezed by. Just as she thought, the woman showed no hint of suspicion. Did everyone really think they were together?!

It brought up the question of why she hadn't simply called Peter. Not wanting to bother him? Perhaps. More than likely, a part of her thought she was better off trying to get information from Alexei by herself than with Peter.

It turned out to be harder than she expected. She wandered the building for what seemed like hours before she accidentally ran across a mysterious corridor. She supposed all the employees were used to seeing her around. Did they gossip as she was passing by, whispering on how there goes Peter's girlfriend?

The thought made her face red and her cheeks puff out a bit irritatedly. Oh, she was getting distracted. Shaking her head, she eventually came across a door at the end of the hallway. Concrete and dim lights greeted her as she stepped through the door, glancing around.

She was surprised to find a cell and a horrid looking Alexei. Raising her eyesbrows as she approached the steel bars, she crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I've got to say, you looked much more dashing on our first date."

How could she even have humour in this situation?

[Anya Louteius]

Anya smiles and looks up at Tristan. "Nice. Well why don't we head there? Sounds interesting to me." She said with a wink and then she looked around. She shrugged as she thought about doing a disappearing act from the band again. It wouldn't be the first time she had done that.

She smiled at Tristan and grabbed a light jacket. "You can tell me about Helsinki. I don't think I've ever been there." She admitted with a small blush in her cheeks.

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei wore nothing but a pair of bright orange pants that were slightly baggy on his lanky frame. He was on the floor of his cell doing push ups and facing away from Bambi. He glanced very briefly over his shoulder then resumed his exercises.

"If you expect me to answer questions," He said as he continued to move up and down, "You're wasting your time."

Sweat beaded on his back and dripped down the ebony serpent tattooed on his back. He tried to not let any irritation show from her snide remark. He slowed his pace and then stopped completely, moving to his knees and then standing up straight. He winced, some of his wounds still bothering him. He turned towards and couldn't quite contain his glower.

"The fuck do you want, sukka?"

[Tristan Tuzanic]

"We can take a teleportation booth, it's faster." Tristan suggests. They start walking together in search of a teleporter. Tristan gathers his thoughts and tries to think of how to explain Helsinki.

"It is sort of a boring city. It's cold and gray and the people are never very happy looking. There is a large Manalist temple in Helsinki." He states, shaking his head.

[Kaschei Bessmertny]

To Alonso, Alfy...if you want to post
It comes to Kaschei's attention that Alexei failed at his mission and that he has also been captured. Kaschei waits a few days before acting, since he isn't sure how to proceed. It would teach Alexei a lesson to endure Manalist torture for a while. However, with more time and thought, Kaschei becomes worried that perhaps Alexei would talk too much...and ...that really Alexei is one of the more obedient mafia members.

Getting Alexei out of that situation will be no easy task. There is always bribing the right people within the Creditors or the Manalists, but, that takes some time and he doesn't have a strong relationship with anyone from those groups.

He does however recall meeting a man named Alfy, who was involved with red leaf...and who posed as a priest. This could be useful. So, Kaschei begins searching for this man, heading to the location where he last spotted him...a run down apartment building near a high temple. Some members of the high temple were known to live here. He sits down in the lobby and watches people come in and out of the apartment, keeping an eye out for Alonso...

[Tuesday DeCastro]

After a considerably less than productive meeting, the rebels vacated Tuesday's apartment(unless you want to stay, which is fine to), and she fell asleep in her warm bed for the first time in what seemed like a while. Surprisingly enough, her phone had also ceased to ring, sitting quietly on the charger while the blonde woman rested.

She woke up, feeling content and comfortable, and stretched. Rolling off the mattress, she cleaned up the small messes in her abode, and even vacuumed a little. Simply for the sake of something to do, she pulled a slightly bruised banana from a nearly empty fruit bowl sitting on the counter, and took a bite after peeling it. She made a face, and threw it away. Tuesday skimmed through the fridge and saw that she needed to restock things.

She ran a hand through her hair, touseling her already somewhat messy curls, and pondered for a moment. She should probably also stop down at the Socialist Revolution HQ, and call Calithin about the banquet. It wouldn't hurt to check up on Malak either(assuming he didn't stay).

She sighed, and sat down on the couch, only further procrastinating on the things that needed to be taken care of.