Chapter 16: Fear and Trembling

[Li Violette]

"There are rumors of a communist zombie from the gray zone. He might be a potential recruit..or at least interested in us. If you get a chance, you should look into this. Though, he was only rumored to be in Russia. I know nothing other than that." I reply to him.

"In addition to that, and actually before that, there are some socialists living in Helsinki. Maybe we should befriend them. They have a paper and might be planning some things. I want you to befriend them to learn more about them and what they are doing. You should avoid talking about Red Infinity for now and any connection to it. It may put them off. You will find those socialists in Helsinki. According to their paper, there should be one named Tuesday DeCastro. I you find her you should find the others."

[Jack O. Trades]

Humming quietly to himself he began waving his foot to and fro. Falling into a quiet serenity in his mind the rest of the world seemed to fade away. For a moments he had forgotten what he had done only a few hours ago. For a few moments he would forget all the things he had done. All the things that had been done to him would fade away into dreams of crimson tides and laughter. For a few moments nothing but visions of blood, of smiles, and for a few moments he was blissful.

For a few moments.

His right eye snapped open a unnatural hatred burning in them as the sound of a phone ringing brought him back to this world. After letting it ring three times he reached into a pocket sewn into the lining of his jacket sifting through the contents. "Hmm....lesse...joke phone, bomb phone, poison phone....Business" Drawing a red phone from his pocket he eyed it with disdain for a few moments before finally answering it, not bothering to check the number. Despite his rage the second the phone opened his voice turned oddly cheerful "Heh! Boy, did you get a wrong number. Jack of all trades, what do you need?"

[Archer Aylmer]

"Jack? It's, uh... Archer. Hey hey. Um, listen... Where you at? Can we meet up? I recently came into the posession of some, uh... Crimson foliage."

I'm not very good at coming up for slang terms for drugs. I stand up and start pacing around the room senselessly. This whole situation is making me agitated.

"Those goons you have running around after you are always grand customers, so I was wondering if you might throw me a bone here and let me come by. I'm in sort of a bind. I'd return the favor later, of course. If you ever needed anything in the future, you know. I keep my word. I'm a team player. Besides, it'll be good to... Catch up."

I run a hand through my hair and sigh deeply. You never know what Jack will say. Wild card doesn't even begin to cover it.

[Jack O. Trades]

As he listened to the voice spew out the blur of nervous dealings, it truly took everything in him not to laugh. As the man spoke the mad clown himself began to nod adding a 'uh huh' every few seconds. Once he had finished, jack himself went quiet for a few moments as if mulling the idea over in his head. In truth he was contemplating breaking into the nearest house and skinning the first person he came across but thats beside the point. As his mind finally returned to the topic at hand he let out a hearty chuckle "Hehe! Sure why not. Could use a lil bit of a sit down after leaving my party favor for the blessed."

Standing up in the van he began to walk towards the front of the vehicle closing an eye "No secret the town the manalas party...was...at. Drive around the town for a while, you'll come across an old amusement park. Once there, just follow the clown. Bring your friends, Ill bring mine. Ciao for now" Not waiting for a response he hung up the phone leaning over the front seat to speak to the driver "To the fun house, I'm expecting company" With a nod the man drove off once more to take his boss to an abandoned theme park.

Once the vehicle stopped he hopped out being followed by five of the men, the sixth driving off to park the van next to the ferris wheel. As he began to walk towards the fun house which the building itself was in the shape of a large clowns head, the entrance between its teeth. As he began to whistle a funeral dirge with an oddly cheerful tone he slid his hands into his pockets walking through the mechanical graveyard that was the park

As he strode through the doorway to the fun house he hummed quietly tapping his foot to the ground as he looked around the room seeing the burned out wreckage that was the inside. Once the five men walked into the room all of them standing in the center of the room. After a few moments a mechanical grinding sounded off as a section of the floor began to lower down steadily into a expansive basement. Stepping off the platform the mad clown began to walk through the room which looked like a mixture of a family home and a circus.

As the platform raised up once more to hide the passage he had leapt onto a couch, turning on the television and starting a recording of a Christmas episode of Batman. In truth he did like the old holiday, and these old cartoons he had to thank Vatelli for letting him watch them. As he hugged his knees to his chest he absently noted in the back of his head about how he had gutted Vatelli but the memory was quickly forgotten as he engrossed himself in the old cartoon with a small smile.

[Archer Aylmer]

"Oh... Kay..."

I frown and listen to the line go dead. It takes a minute for me to fully grasp the instructions I've been given, and I slowly set the phone down. I grab my jacket and put it on with a thoughtful expression on my face. Normally I like to handle my business alone, but, this time I think it might be better to bring someone along.

"Heikki..."

I look around until I stumble across Heikki and try to conceal my apprehension as I talk to him.

"We... Uh... May have some potential buyers. I'm going to... A run down amusement park... And... I think you should come along. This whole thing is your fault anyway."

I run down to the basement and find a black backpack amongst the boxes of Allmart junk. I fill the backpack with red leaf and slip it on. This whole situation can either go very well, or very badly for us. I walk back upstairs, feeling thoroughly unprepared, and wish I had some sort of gun or something to take along. You never know Jack. But, unfortunately, all I have is my magical flute.

"Okay, well, I'm ready..."

I make my way out of the house, and assume that Heikki comes along. Once I walk a ways away from the house I come across a road and after about a half an hour of failed hitchhiking find someone willing to take me into town. Once there I spend my last bit of reserve money to use a teleportation booth and arrive in the designated city.

Luckily, some nice people give me directions to the amusement park so I don't have to do much looking. Unluckily, I don't have any more money to take a cab or anything so I have to walk... By the time I get to the Amusement Park it's late afternoon and possibly the eeriest moment of my life. I step through the gates cautiously, trying not to disturb anything.

"Follow the clown..."

I repeat Jack's words quietly to myself and when I turn around I see a building with a giant clown's head for an entrance. This must be what he meant, I figure, and go inside.

"Hello... Jack... It's... Archer... You... You around?"

I sigh heavily and decide that this park isn't too amusing. Pretty major misnomer, in fact, if you ask me.

"Hellooooo... Jaaaackkkk..."

[Aubrey 16]

"Who said something really strange and then hung up?" Aubrey asked. Alter had just said he, not given a name.

She wondered if Annika was still at the Keitoleinen mansion. If something strange was happening, then probably not. Annika was far more efficent than Aubrey.

"Suuure, I'll go jump in a booth now, and meet you there in a few, 'kay?"

Aubrey looked over at Bonifaz, Anneli had asked her to chill around the holding cell, but there wasn't much of a reason for her to stick around, especially if she was needed somewhere else, besides it wasn't like he was going anywhere.

She made her way out of HQ and toward the nearest teleportation booth.

[Anneli Laukkanen]

Anneli put her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek into her open hand as he spoke, listening intently. Every now and then she'd nod, and write something on the paper in front of her.

"Did you happen to find out what made them so perfect?" She asked about the Blessed, slightly curious to see what he'd made of them. Anneli herself had never had much of an interest to be considered Blessed, much to her adoptive parent's dismay. She thought the whole 'Blessed/Cursed' thing was over-hyped, but had never voiced her opinion.

"So, you killed the guard, stole his uniform, and then you'd gained entry. All this to see how perfect the Blessed were? Seems like a bit of a hassel." As she spoke her fingers moved to catch a loose curl, one of the many framing her face, and now she was twirling it between her index and middle fingers.

"What happened next?"

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

He listened carefully to his orders and decided that he would call her back whenever he found anything related to the assignments so that she could guide him carefully so that he wouldn't miss any details.

Ceph stood up on the end of the rooftop that he sitting on, becoming more noticable to the public below.. Though the only way to notice him was by looking up.

"Will that be all?" He questioned her, looking off to the side to locate the nearest teleportation booth from his position.

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"No problem, Mr. Crest. See you there." Tuvi replies before hanging up. She rushes to take a shower and dress then grabs her laptop so she can take notes of the meetings.

Properly attired for a lunch meeting, Tuvi follows Calithin's directions to a nice resturant and stands, waiting for him.

[Calithin Crest]

"Sounds good."

I put all of my papers into a suit case and slip my jacket on, heading out of the office. I grab a taxi and think I'll make it on time, but we end up getting caught in traffic.

I arrive a few minutes late looking a little frazzled and apologetic.

"Sorry sorry sorry... Traffic. You know how it is. Mannn... I hate rush hour. How are things with you? Dinari treating you well enough over at Allmart co.?"

I show her inside the restaurant where we are immediately seated by the hostess in a booth near the window. When the waitress comes by I order myself a Gin & Tonic to start with.

[Emmet Fawkes]

Bishop was surprised at how eager she seemed to hear out his ramblings, more people were so ignorant that they'd try to interrupt them—that was the reason he'd killed people, because he was interrupted. Most of the time, he captivated their attention with fear and they'd stand gaping at him like a fish out of water. Anneli was listening like they were both sitting down for coffee.

It reminded him of University, if Bishop had ever actually attended. The student scribbling down things on paper and the teacher sitting, rambling on about philosophy and things that the student did not quite comprehend. He stifled a giggle at the thought, but it sounded like a high-pitched wheeze-hee-haw.

“No, and I didn't really expect anything to begin with,” He retorted curtly, his jaw clenching at the word “perfect.” Perfect people were completely symmetrical, they had weakness, everyone loved them, they were angels among men. Angels had been exterminated a long time ago, and they didn't deserve any Gods. He slipped his feet off the table, and leaned closer, placing his hands on the surface. “Blessed actually means, by definition, “worthy of worship”... do you think that you and those people at the Banquet are worthy of that, seriously? That your without defect? Just because you guys are the brightest crayons on the box, you all lack things that make you human!”

Bishop went silent for a moment and tapped on the table lightly with his index finger. Tap tap tap. The sound amused him. Snorting, the masked man's shoulders squared up and he puffed out his chest, letting an easy laugh escape him. “Ha! It was a hassle, wasn't it, toots?” he exclaimed, his voice suddenly excited. He eyed her intently. “Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about the bomber, though. About yourself, about what you think. Yes or no?”

[Anneli Laukkanen]

"I've always thought of the Blessed as the inner circle to Father Manala, who is the only one worthy of worship. I'm not among the Blessed, nor am I without defect, I'm just as flawed as you are, possibly moreso." Anneli stated.

In a weird way, she was in awe of Bishop. Of course, he baffled her, but the way he easily confessed his beliefs, in an interrogation room for the Invisible Hand of all places, was worthy of some kind of admiration. Anneli had been forced to believe in Manalism, and follow it to a T, otherwise she would've been condemmed, like the angels before her, and that made her admire people that went against the religion for some reason, it made her think that there might be hope for the future.

"That it was." She said about it being a hassel. "I'm quite interested to know what happened after that hassel. What did you do once you were inside the party?"

She considered him for a moment. Quid pro quo, hm? Anneli decided to humor him, at least. What harm could it do? "About what I think? What is it that you want to know?"

[Tuesday DeCastro]

Tuesday nodded. "I think your place will be just fine, Hilja." She states.

"I'd be more than happy to have it here, if it weren't for the fact that my place is a little small, and we've had the past two meetings here." She sighed. "I have some nosey old neighbors, and I think they're starting to get suspicious."

"And the last thing we want is the Invisible Hand crashing our Marx mas party."

Tuesday produces a pad and pen from the bag that was at her feet, something she always had on hand. She wants to be productive, even if its just toward a Marx mas party. "Who should we send out invitations to?" She asks.

[Li Violette]

"No, that is all. Good luck." And with that, I hang up the phone and return to my work. I have some work to do before the Manala Mas party this week. The main work is a Manala Mas speech that I must give in two days. So, I sit at my desk thinking about some things I should say about this holiday.
I look over a document from Master Scrag about things he would like said about this Manalist holiday.

[Heikki Toivonen]

"Why are we at this park? I thought you were trying to get rid of the red leaf." Heikki says to Archer as he cautiously follows him around the run down amusement park. Heikki is nervous, but feels that Archer must have some sort of plan. Heikki sticks his hands in his pockets and looks around at the run down rides. He wonders why the place closed.

Heikki keeps behind Archer, letting him lead the way. "Maybe we should have invited Amelia along, but oh well."