Chapter 16: Fear and Trembling

[Aubrey 16]

"Call it a hunch, but I don't think that your reasons, whatever they may be, are gonna be good enough for your ex-comrades." Aubrey stated, smirking.

"I don't side with the Hand, actually." She crossed her arms across her chest. "I serve Annette Rosenthal, Global Bank, and the fashion industry. It just so happens that my mission was to investigate the mess at the banquet of the blessed and to aprehend anyway involved, the same mission that Alter is involved in."

Really, her getting roped into working with the Hand was kind of an accident. Aubrey didn't mind it so much, she much preferred it to working alone which was something she hated to do.

((Be right back, dinner.))

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

"Comrades?" Ceph spoke as he closed his eyes and sighed. He raised his palms into the air and shook his head slowly. "I've never had 'Comrades'." He stated, implying that he had plenty of experience within the organization.. and as an assassin.

It was true. He always worked alone for the most part and when he did get partners for a mission, he never bothered to bond with them in any way.

"--Even so. Have you never questioned their ways? The Invisible Hand and those Manalists."

[Aubrey 16]

Aubrey shrugged. "Whatever, comrades or not, they're still pretty peeved thanks to you."

She glances at her watch, something that she usually doesn't wear but it went well with today's outfit. If Alter was getting in a teleportation booth when Aubrey hung up with her, then she'd been waiting a little while at this point. But it was no matter, Aubrey'd be on her way soon.

"Question their ways? Of course not. Why would I? Their ways are the right ways after all."

Though she didn't follow the religion herself, questioning the Manalists was something beyond Aubrey's mechanical thought processes. It wasn't part of her slightly imperfect programming. Her glitch only made her more of a slave to fashion, and less of a slave to work. She was still in Manalist control, and nothing that Cephrien said was going to be able to change that.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"That's a great idea. I actually work for as a garden helper for a man named Charon. Maybe he would let me use some of his plants for this. I really like the idea." I reply to the necomer. I find it interesting that he is a doctor.

"That's neat that you are a doctor. It's so hard not having ...hospitals and health care. I guess wealthy people have personal doctors and hospitals, but it sucks for the rest of us. Have you ever had any close calls with getting caught?"

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

"Its fine. I haven't been here long at all." She replies with a smile. Truthfully, her heels were starting to make her toes hurt and her arm had a cramp from holding the bag for a long period of time.

Once settled in the booth, Tuvi orders a Pomegranate Fusion Smirnoff Ice "Dinari treats me just fine, Calithin. How are things at Crest Mining? I trust our previous business deal is still working out for you?"

[Emmet Fawkes]

Bishop snorted once again, but in contempt. The word Father Manala made him want to laugh, and it reminded him of that once-upon-a-time character back in the old days, Father Christmas, Chris Kringel, Father Christmas, Santa Clause—that jolly fat man who snuck into your house from the chimney. But Father Manala was worshiped as a God, and he thought it was pitiful. He laughed while his lips curled into that sneer.

“Do you actually believe in Father Manala?... y'know, Annie, I do respect religious people as well as I can... heh, sometimes I dabble in them too to see if their actually... uh—plausible! Yeah, that's a good word.” Bishop's head lowered and he seemed to be staring at the table before his eyes gazed across, and back up to Anneli's face. “Most Manalists, most Blessed, wouldn't admit to being flawed.” He wanted to know why she said that. As flawed as he way? That was a laugh and a half! Maybe Manalists weren't as fanatical as he made them out to be.

Bishop's easy confessions could be seen as stupidity or recklessness—not being cautious to what he was saying and possibly endangering himself. It was like a sort of disease he was. Compulsive liar. Compulsive truth-teller. They danced together sometimes, he couldn't keep them in. Sometimes it depended on who he was speaking to. Anneli didn't look like a liar, so why lie to her? What would he gain from lying. Nothing.

“I just looked around,” Bishop told her, slumping slightly in his chair. “I wanted to see the mammoth meat but I didn't have time to swing by the buffet table... ha ha! Not to eat of course, I'm a vegetarian.”

When Anneli didn't protest to his quid pro quo, he was nearly ecstatic. These were small games he played and enjoyed, even when those he was playing with didn't want to play. “Why are you here?” He gestured to this room and rested his hands on the table. “What do you re-eaally believe in? Because you don't look naive or easily-moved, you couldn't sit in this room with me and honestly talk to me if you were... and I don't mean Father Manala, and I don't mean God, I mean... what do you really believe in? Hope? Love? Peace? Nothingness?”

[Imil Habibi]

Imil is pleased that Hilja likes his idea. His smile becomes a little more relaxed.

"A few," Imil admits. "I've had a few close calls. I've been lucky so far though. Very lucky. If anyone would like a checkup, I'd be happy to oblige. I'll take as payment whatever you feel is appropriate. I'm afraid I can't provide very much in the way of medicine, but I can do my best."

[Calithin Crest]

"Yeah, our deal is legit. Things are always good at the office. Busy busy busy. But Crest Mining is an oasis in a senseless world. No complaints whatsoever."

I smile and take a sip of my drink when it comes. I'm sufficiently chilled out now and ready to get down to business.

"Anyway, the reason I brought you here... At the economic council meeting we all discussed how companies have to work together, especially now, to undertake development that will promote growth and new jobs. I was thinking that our two companies, with their long history of cooperative business ventures, could sort of take some initiative on that front.

Um... When we open up new mines, mining towns always develop along with them. You know-- communities centered around the economy of the mine with people and families moving there to be nearer to it. I was thinking that Allmart could set up shop in these towns early, before any competition has the chance to take root, and for the exclusive rights to develop in these towns... Your company could... Say... Shoot 10% of the profits our way."

I take a few papers containing the details of this deal out of my suitcase and hand them across the table to her.

[Anneli Laukkanen]

"No, most Manalists wouldn't. But, I'm okay with my imperfections." Anneli shrugged, raising and lifting one shoulder. "I am flawed, which is why I'm not Blessed, not that they are exactly flawless either, but their closer than I."

"The mammoth meat?" She paused a moment, and then remembered. "Ah, yes. I heard about the animal slaughtering." She shuddered a little, and was glad she'd missed the party. That wasn't something she would've liked to have seen.

But, Bishop wasn't here for looking at mammoth meat. He'd been near the explosions, perhaps involved in them, and thats why he was in for questioning. "What about the explosions? Where were you when those occured?"

Anneli's head perked up when Bishop asked his questions, and she had to think a moment. What did she believe in? Manalism, of course, but that wasn't exactly by choice. "I guess..." She trailed off, thinking. She believed in love, right? And hope? Peace...sometimes. "I believe in all of those. Hope, love, peace, even nothingness sometimes. I believe in life itself, in people, and all the increidble things that they're capable of. I guess, I kind of believe in believing." She laughed a little, at herself.

"Does that answer your question...or even make any sense at all?"

[Jack O. Trades]

After a few moments of silence the mechanical grinding could be heard as the floor began to lower itself once more. Slowly the platform lowered itself down beneath the ground as another sheet of wood and metal would close off the ground over the two people heads. Several minutes would pass as the platform lowered down into the massive basement. Once it came to a grinding stop the two would find themselves in the living area, all the lights dimmed leaving only the outlines of the furniture and two men.

Both were staring at the platform as it lowered, one sitting at a table and another on a chair with a paper, both having their hands on a handgun. Seeming to relax somewhat both went about their business as one resumed cleaning the parts of a machine gun while the other resumed flipping through his paper. Beyond the small noises those two made one would feel a stark emptiness at the near absolute silence of the lair.

Soon however the two would begin hearing the sound of foot steps on marble and the echoing sound of a voice humming pleasantly. As the lights slowly began to turn on they would hear a sing-songy voice coming from the darkness "Come with me and play awhile.....Doo-da....Doo-da....."

"Guaranteed I'll make you smile...." as the final word echoed through the air he seemed to materialize from the shadows until all the lights finally brightened the space leaving him striding across the room with a ear to ear grin. Throwing his arms wide as if to embrace someone "Well, well, welcome to my cozy little getaway." Jumping a couch with a coffee table in front of it he sat crossing his legs reclining into the seat motioning to the wide couch on the other side of the table "Come, make yourself at home. Would you like a beverage? Coffee? Soda? Mercury?"

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph simply shook his head again.

"I suppose it's impossible to convince you otherwise. Someone who's sided with the Manalists for their entire lives." He made a rather flamboyant gesture with hand, twirling his wrist around twice before placing his hand back on the hilt of his sword.

"You are still young after all."

His lips slightly curled up into what appeared to be a smile.. It was either a strained smile to show that he pitied her.. or a mocking smirk that taunted her. It was impossible to tell.

He blinked, expression going back to it's normal emotionless state as if to erase the previous facial gesture.

"In any case, I don't believe we have any more to discuss here. I can tell that you aren't here to try and take me back to the Manalists. Unless you'd care to try, now that you've found me."

[Archer Aylmer]

I'm a little shaken up right now. It is not every day in my life that fun house floors lower into criminal lairs. Very slowly I make my way to the couch across from Jack and take a seat, motioning for Heikki to sit down as well.

"No, no... No thanks. No beverages or poisons for me today. I am fully hydrated. How have you... Been? This is a very impressive operation you have running here."

I clear my throat and can't stop looking around at everything. It's all just very dark and eerie. I wonder vaguely how long this all took to set up.

[Aubrey 16]

Aubrey rolled her eyes. Young, pha. So what? She appeared the same age as he, and had the physical strength of someone beyond her years.

"No, I'm not going to waste my time." Aubrey said, about trying to capture him. "I know I'd be able to, but I've already put my skirt in harms way once today, I'd rather not make it twice. Besides, I've got bigger fish to fry." The andriod shrugged.

She gestured toward the teleportation booth between them. "You can go ahead." She offered. "Age before beauty, after all."

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

"A wise choice." Ceph replied to her statement about not wanting to bother in trying to capture him. He didn't want to cause a scene here for one thing and it was far too early to cause anything dramatic.. especially without anyone to back him up if reinforcements were to arrive.

Although he was fully capable of taking on more than one.. it would be troublesome to eventually be overwhelmed by increasing numbers.

Ceph raised an eyebrow when Aubrey offered to let him through the teleporter first.
"Who said I was taking the teleporter? I was just passing by." He lied as he suddenly turned away and began to walk off, raising a hand to quietly wave her farewell.

[Aubrey 16]

To Alter

"Whatever." Aubrey stepped into the teleportation booth, taking note of what direction Cephrien was walking in. She punched in the code that Alter'd given her.

Moments later, she arrived where she was supposed to. Surprisingly enough, she'd beaten Alter there, so she waited in front of Keitoleinen's mansion for the brown haired woman to arrive.

Aubrey decided she'd tell Alter about her brief run in with the goth kid. Later they could check the teleportation logs in that area, or Alter could send other operatives after him.