Chapter 17: The Season for Taking

[Momo Kurokawa]

(to Max)

Momo enters the same coffee shop that Max did, following shortly after him. She saw him on the street and decided to follow him. She wanted a chance to talk to him about how things are going at M TV.

She pushes her way past some customers to make her way to him. "Hello Mr. Alexander. How are things at M TV?" She asks. She turns to the counter and orders herself a hot tea.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

When I am done with work, I head home and find that my roommates are there. I go right up to my room though and lay down. My bed is covered with a soft, black and red striped blanket. After a long day it feels so good just to lay down. I look up at the ceiling, which has cracks and water spots. I am pretty close to saving enough for the London trip. I can't wait.

I lay there and think, but thinking makes me feel depressed, so, I decide to turn on the radio. I sit there, listening to MTV -Radio and what is new in the world.

[Dinari Dollar]

(To Max)

Dinari notices Momo enter a cafe and he decides to follow along. He is feeling a bit bored and has time to kill before his next meeting. He wanders over to Momo and Max and nods to them both. "Hey, how's it going? Want a peep? They are on clearance now at Allmart." He offers both of them a marshmellow peep. The peep is yellow, and baby chick shaped.

"These things last forever. They're leftover from back when Easter was a holiday. We still have tons of them in storage."

[Tristan Tuzanic]

Tristan left the mansion of Eva and her sister and paid no attention to the money that they wanted. He can hold his own against them and anyway, he doesn't have any money. In the months that followed, he was sent to Morocco and then to Pakistan to investigate the temple bombing there. After a few months of searching he was recalled to Helsinki, most likely by his wife, the High Priestess there.

Tristan wandered the streets of Helsinki, not quite ready to face her. Maybe he would find a distraction before he had to face her.

[Linnea Korpela]

Linnea sits at her kitchen table, tapping her fingers on the wooden surface.
"What if I rent out the extra room?" she says, thinking out loud. "It would be more lively around here."
She also thought about her black out episodes.
"That's what I'll do. And I can use the extra money to advertise the gallery, maybe do some upgrades."
Smiling slightly, she got up from the table and went to the computer to make an advertisement. Afterward, she went down to the gallery to clean up any mess that might have been left. All the while wondering while Keito hadn't shown up or found her unconscious and put her somewhere.

[Horacio Hatfield]

(Linnea)
After the Marxmas party, Horacio decided to stay in Helsinki because it seemed the center of political activity in the world. So, there he stayed, mostly homeless, trying to find odd work here and there. Finally after a few months of working, he saved enough money to look into an apartment or room for rent.

After a day working as a street sweeper, he headed inside a library to use the computer there to do a housing search. He came across a pretty low priced room near an art gallery. He decided that he would check it out.

So, he left the library and headed to the home of Linnea Korpela. Once there, he rang the doorbell and waited patiently for her to reply.

[Linnea Korpela]

Linnea was rummuging through a box in the back storage of her gallery when she heard the buzzing of the doorbell upstairs. She stood there for a moment contemplating if she should find out who is at the door. Rubbing the dust off her hands Linnea turned and headed upstairs to answer the door.
As she neared the door she saw a pretty big shadow, this made her very nervous. She couldn't turn back now the person would have seen her and it would have been rude. Opening the door she smiled, "Hello, can I help you?"
The sight of the man standing at her door startled her but she covered it up with her smiled as she listened to his reply.

[Horacio Hatfield]

"Hello, my name is Horacio, and I was interested in renting the room." Horacio says politely. He can sense that she is startled by him, which is a common response to how he looks. He always acts extra polite to ease those he is talking to. "I can understand though if you are looking for a female roommate or someone younger. But, I thought I would inquire about it anyway."

[Linnea Korpela]

"Oh," she said as it sunk in that he was asking about the room. "No its fine. I didn't list any specifics so your free to take the room if you want. My name is Linnea."
She gestured for him to come inside. "Before you take the room, do you want to look at it?"
She paused a moment and before he could answer she continued talking.
"Your free to use anything in the house, the only thing I ask is that you clean up after yourself. If you want to share the groceries and the television, I don't have a problem with that."
They were now in the kitchen but she waited for his response before she moved to show him the rest of the house.

[Horacio Hatfield]

"This is a nice place. I would love to see the room." Horacio says as he follows Linnea inside. He looks around at her home and notes that it is pretty clean. "I am neat and I think you will hardly notice I am here. I just read and work. Is there a damage deposit or a lease that I would sign?" He asks. "Since I can't really commit to being here longer than six months. I tend to travel around and most places expect you to stay there for a year."

[Annette Rosenthal]

Annette was pleased with how well that the Manala Mas party turned out. So pleased, that she actually gave Bambi a small raise. In the months after the party, Annette attended various functions of the World Economic Council and Global Bank. Things were looking up in the economy, at least according to the Moderator. She felt slightly suspicious of the fact that Momo Kurakawa seemed to be borrowing a lot of money in the last few months. She was told that it was to invest in new technologies, but Annette had some other suspicions.

For now, she didn't concern herself much with it. Instead, she decided to teleport to Helsinki to meet with Keitoleinen and some business leaders there. After a long day of meetings, she walked down the street in Helsinki, reflecting on her day.

[Annika 25]

Annika follows along with Annette as a body guard. Wherever Annette goes, there is usually a Creditor Android at her side. Annika walks quietly beside Annette as they meander through the city.

"You appear to be tired. You are only human and should take more time to rest. You are old for human standards." Annika states as she walks along with Annette.

[Annette Rosenthal]

"What concern is it of yours?" Annette remarks. She lights up a cigarette and takes a long, relaxing drag. She coughs a little and turns to the machine. "You don't get this far in life by slacking off. Foolish machine. I should take you in and have you looked at." Annette scowls.

She coughs again and looks up at a billboard for Allmart. To her left is a large video screen that shows M TV news 24 hrs a day for the public.

[Annika 25]

"There is nothing wrong with my functioning." Annika replies. "I do not need to be brought in for repairs." She adds.

"I only state was is apparent to me. It is a fact that you are older than most people who work for the Economic Council and Global Bank. You also smoke. If you die, who will replace you at Global Bank?"

[Annette Rosenthal]

"I'm not going to die." Annette replies. She hadn't thought much about it. Her health had always been fine and she wasn't that old. "I'm too mean to die." She adds with a small laugh. The laughter turns into a cough.
"I'm not going to die."

She shakes her head and notices that they are near their hotel.