Chapter 25: Fever 103 Degrees

[Kith Keitoleinen]

"Well, I suppose we can come along with you." Kith says to Lucio as he excitedly drags him along. It isn't as though they are being given a choice anyway. Kith follows along and does his best not to be annoyed with Lucio. "When we arrive at Lucio's place I will take you up on your offer for aloe cream." Kith says to Linnea. His skin is starting to feel quite uncomfortable. He's never actually had a sun burn before.

He hopes that Lucio has a TV since he would like to watch the news and find out if Li Violette is okay. He has been a little worried about her this whole trip. He would also like to know what is going on in the world.

Along the way to Lucio's place, he notices people wearing face masks. He wonders if it is for pollution. However, the air quality here in Havana seems much better than elsewhere. He makes a mental note of it as they follow Lucio.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

Peter lifted his hand, letting Bambi slid away without making any attempts at holding onto her. His fingers rubbed together slowly as if feeling something invisible to the naked eye but his eyes remained on the woman banker. "Of course. Best to leave the Moderator to his work, after all."

One hand went to rest on his pants poket and he let his other hand at his side, following after Bambi at a walk, keeping the distance between them small but constant. He couldn't resist smiling just wide enough to show a hint of his teeth as they left the office.

"On that subject," he said, gesturing with his free hand while his other remained pocketed, "Of jobs, that is, my home has been completely constructed. It was finished sometime ago but I haven't yet gotten it properly prepared for company. You are, of course, still welcome to make use of the athletics facilities if you should so desire. As I promised."

He stepped twice very quickly, closing the distance between them to a fraction of an inch and then stepping to the side so he was walking beside Bambi and not behind her. "I know you didn't express a great deal of insterest before but I thought I'd remind you of the offer. There's plenty of space. Even a small indoor track." He didn't turn his head, but looked at the woman out of the corner of his eye and smiled a little wider. "You know; for running practice."

[Heikki Toivonen]

Heikki wakes up when he hears a knock at the door of Bonifaz's home outside of Munich. He springs awake and his heart sinks into his stomach. He doesn't know what to do. He knows that it is probably Bonifaz's father, Frederick, and that it can't be good.

He takes a moment to compose himself and goes to the door. He peeks out the window and sees that it is indeed Frederick. Heikki straightens his hair a little and opens the door slowly.

"H...h..hello, how can I assist you?" Heikki asks Frederick meekly. Frederick steps inside and looks around the house. There is a long pause before he answers.

"I'm looking for Bonifaz." He states.

"Oh....he...left." Heikki says reluctantly. He rubs the back of his head with his hand nervously.

"I thought you said he was sick." Frederick replies.

"He...is...he just left because he thought a vacation would make him feel better....he thought...he needed fresh air and sunshine..." Heikki replies quickly.

"Well take this. It's anti viral medication. He might have Cat Flu. It's going around." Frederick states before handing Heikki a small bottle of pills. Heikki nods his head and Frederick leaves.

Heikki breathes a sigh of relief when he is gone.

[Dinari Dollar]

Dinari arrives in Paris a few hours later. He isn't used to travel by train, but at least it is not far between Lucern and Paris. When he arrives, he heads to the corporate HQ of Countess Cola. He has actually never been there before. The first floor of the HQ is set up to be a soda cafe where people can sample different products put out by Countess Cola. He tries a couple different kinds of soda, some of which he has never tried before. Then, he is let upstairs to meet a representative from the company since Vivien is not meeting with anyone. She is trying to avoid the flu so she is staying away from the office.

He waits in a waiting room for a company representative to meet with him.

[Bonifaz Artz-Lehrer]

"That's a good idea. You can pretend to be a pie delivery girl. We can paint a pie on the van and say it is your pie delivery van. You can lure him to the van and we'll drug him or tie him up...and try to bring him back here for re-education." Bonifaz says to Salome. Archer has a pretty good idea. Salome looks too plain and boring to attract Dinari. They will have to find a costume somewhere.

"I will get to work on the van. Someone can work on finding Salome a costume. Archer, you can pretend to be Dinari Dollar. Someone should work on baking some pies." Bonifaz explains, encouraging people to take up different tasks.

"I suppose I will get to work seeing if anyone has any paint in this town.."

Bonifaz leaves after that, since they don't have a whole lot of time. It is still a long drive back to Allwhere.

[Archer Aylmer]

"Ugh. Okay..."

I mat my terribly uncouth hair down and part it to one side so it looks much neater then tuck my shirt into my pants and stand up extra straight. This gives me a much more traditional, even wholesome look and I feel it will help me get into character. I smile a big goofy smile and start walking around the grocery store and humming...

"Hmm, golly. This place sure is dirty. I think Allmart should take it over and renovate it. Then we can turn it into one of our many successful stores where we sell mediocre goods to mediocre people... Um... Yee-haw!"

I try to sound cheerful and confidant while I speak, but it falls a little short and instead sounds somewhat shrill.

[Nihato Gallagher]

"I come from Ireland. My parents are dead." Nihato figured there was no point in lying. Her parents being dead would explain why a kid was out alone. Orphans weren't too uncommon in this Manalist world.

She tilts her head at his explanation before glancing around. His words were almost comical. "I suppose they're 'interesting'." She decides if he's lying she'd just find the truth out later. Her stomach grumbles and she starts to cough for a few moments. "Can I come with you?" She tried her best to act the part as a kid in need, she figured people would be more willing to help her that way assuming they weren't totally pro-Manalist.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi saw the motion of his fingers from the corner of her eye, springing up a strange emotion of guilt. Had it been rude for her to simply move away from his hand like that? Trying to shove the emotion down, she begins walking from the office. She forced herself to move at a casual pace as she was already paranoid that she'd insulted him.

The topic of his home distracts her from her puzzling emotions. "Ah! That's right. I remember it sounding like a fascinating place." She turned her gaze partly toward him once he was walking beside her. They'd been out to the cafe near her work to discuss some of it. She recalled the indoor track, as well-

She caught onto his words, acutely aware of his smile widening. Running practice. She flicked her eyes from him nervously, unsure how to respond for a moment. It'd been awhile since they'd been alone together, their last meeting having been cut short.

"I suppose running practice could be useful, in case I ever find myself having to outrun a Mafia member again." She made sure to imply some pride (as best as she could) in her words. After all, she'd pissed off a dangerous man and successfully escaped from him. Not that he was as dangerous as Peter... Peter had proved that when he'd almost fried the guy.

Unconsciously, she touched her hand to her chest. Things were so strange between them. Would she be able to run from Peter, even if she wanted to or tried? "But I guess that could be attributed to adrenaline, I doubt people run half as good without that running through their systems." Thankfully for the clumsy accountant, adrenaline seemed to always be on call for her.

[~Ophelia Vespera~]

"Ophelia Vespera," she told him, "I am not an active rebel. Or at least not as an ambitious one as yourself."
She went back over and stood in front of him as he sat on the counter. Her emerald eyes speculated him from his feet to his red eyes. His eyes seem to probe her himself slyly and seductively without even moving.

"What makes you all think you can dismantle the government? Or even stop the person who is spreading the cat flu.You must have friends in high places to do that." She claimed, folding her slender arms across her chest. She realized this might've sounded a bit condescending and demanding, more than a statement and added quietly, "Not that I expect you to tell me who."
The government and talk of conspiracy made her blood boil more than she remembered.

She peered down to her feet, and played with a red rose petal loose on the tile floor with her sandal, "But, if you ever do need a place to stay in Rome.. For business purposes of course. You are welcome to stay here. Over all, I am not bothered by creditors and such.... Except for rare occassions when a malfunctioned one busts in the shop."
She didn't know about the Red Infinity, but removing the current government was something she felt compelled to do. She had done nothing like her other family members, who perished for each of their causes. Now was it her turn? Current events told her heart yes; why else would have so many people and strange things popped up in her life? Maybe unlike her family though, she might live to see the end of her work.

[Émilie LaFramboise]

"Dinari Dollar, ma'am, owner of All Mart?" Émilie wondered vaguely what the man was doing here, but nodded regardless. "Of course, I'll be with him in a moment." There was a good chance it could be connected to the flu epidemic. In that case, it was probably important she met with him in place of Vivien.

She enters the room a few moments later, with some folders (mainly for note taking). Putting on her best smile, she extends her hand toward Dinari as she approaches. "Aah, Mr. Dollar? I'm Émilie LaFramboise, I apologize that Vivien can't meet with you personally. I hope you don't mind settling for me."

He was very... blue. His hair, anyway. At least he was cute, though looking good was generally a requirement of the Blessed.

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph slightly tilted his head to stare at her from a different angle. 'Ophelia'.. what an appropriate name-- It fit her pretty well. He released a slight chuckle through his nostrils-- it was pretty obvious that she wasn't too fond of the government herself.. seeing as how she was having a delicate conversation with a terrorist.
'Ambitious'.. That might've been the word for it-- or rather he was just trying to do what should've been done a long long time ago.

"Of course we do. But it's just as you said--" He started to her questioning. Although she didn't have all the power in the world, Li was their best bet in getting a good shot at this. Or at least finishing this in the cleanest way possible.

"--'can't tell you."

Ceph's head tilted back again, he stared up at the ceiling.

As he listened to her offer her place to stay, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised that he didn't even have to ask. After all, he was pretty sure that he had almost gotten her in big trouble the last time he was here. Not to mention that rogue creditor-- although that wasn't exactly his fault..

"Ophelia." He spoke, looking back down from his elevated seat. With a stern face, he gazed down upon her.

"..You know what will happen if you're found hiding a wanted 'Terrorist' like me, right?" Ceph needed to make sure she was grasping the situation. Although he was willing to stay here-- he had to make sure she knew..
He wasn't just part of some pick-it fence rally organization-- Ceph had committed crimes. He bombed buildings, fought the Hand, and even killed people.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

Peter let his grin slip back to a normal sized smile and chuckled a little. "Yes, you have to watch out for crazy Russians. But then you did handle that whole affair extremely well. I suppose your friend still wants to kill me for ruining her outfit." He took his hand out of his pocket and spread the front of his suit jack slightly, apparently marveling at the clothing as he did so. "Honestly until just a few hours ago I thought she was crazy for being so clothing focused but after getting this piece of work on I have to say that clothes can be pretty awesome.

I suppose you don't really know what I mean," he said, turning his head a little to look at Bambi. "You wear the fancy stuff all the time. Well, I say 'fancy' when I really mean 'business attair'. There's people who probably think those white coats I used to wear are 'fancy'. Anyway I think I'm conveying my point: I like nice clothes now."

Peter dropped his hands to his sides, leaving the suit coat open. "Changing subjects. I see your moving up in the world; filling in for the boss. Our jobs become more and more alike. We both work with money, cover for our bosses, wear awesome clothes, and fight the Russian mob. We should hang out more."

[~Ophelia Vespera~]

Ophelia did not remove her gaze from the petal on the floor, and she became dead silent. "Terrorist" she remembered her brother being called that, over and over by her interrogators. She denied for days, weeks, maybe even a month or two that he was one. She definitely didn't believe him to be one, no matter if he sold drugs, weapons, or even murdered someone. Her brother was someone she deeply admired. But it didn't take knowing or believing anything to get what they needed out of her through torture. And in the end, she figured out they had executed her brother weeks before she confessed.

"Yes." Ophelia finally answered, the softness of her voice indicating she might've had more of an idea than he thought. She shook her head, as if shaking the very melancholy away, and looked directly up into his eyes, a small twinkle of confidence in her eyes, "But, I cannot do nothing for the sake of my own personal peace and safety, I am uncontent doing that. My family has all died for what they thought was right; religion, family, freedom, whatever it was... It's sort of become a family trait.."

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi hadn't seen her fashion-crazed friend in a while, more than likely due to the whole flu situation. Creditors were being put to doing duties they wouldn't normally have to perform. Either she'd completely forgotten about the affair or she was, indeed, holding a grudge against Peter. With Bambi's luck it was the latter.

Puzzled as Peter begun commenting on their own fashion, she takes in his suit once more. He did look good in it and there was no denying it was fancy. Glancing down at herself with consideration, she realized she'd never really thought of her own clothes as fancy. When one wore the same type of attire for years, she supposed that attire becomes common in their eyes.

He brought up another good point of thought: her "moving up" in the world. Reasonably, her frantic nature had prevented her from seeing the rise. Bambi's lips twitched into a smile at his comment of wearing awesome clothes and fighting the mob. She'd never willingly experience such a situation as the mess with Alexei, while she was sure Peter would gladly jump at the chance.

That fact didn't deter his point. An uncharacteristic chuckle escaped from her lips as he finished. Once more, Peter had thrown her a curve ball. She knew there was some sort of game or attraction between them, yet she hadn't expected a statement like that.

"Our jobs may be alike, but you still perplex me." Her tone made it clear she found such a thing intriguing. "To address your previous point, I didn't recognize you at first in the suit. You even look healthier. Nice clothes are a comfort although I must admit I'm hardly one to know what's fashionable." Aubrey was living evidence of that.

Hanging out? She'd never 'hung out' before outside of work except for with Aubrey. What would hanging out with Peter entail? She somehow doubted it'd involve dragging her around to stores like Aubrey. She didn't have the faintest clue, and yet...

"Yes, hanging out more sounds like it'd be easier than running into each other like this."

[Kasper Schultz]

Kasper isn't sure if he should trust the girl, but, she is just a girl afterall. If she tries to tell on them for having a meeting it is still far away from civilization. Anyway, the nihilists could probably do something about her to prevent that.
"Um...well....I guess you can come with us. We're having a meeting about things kids wouldn't understand anyway. It might be boring to you. But, maybe you can have some food and color while we're meeting." Kasper suggests reluctantly. He turns around and starts walking back to the abandoned grocery store. He wonders if this is a bad idea. He is naturally a cautious person.

He re-enters the Grocery store just in time to see Archer acting out Dinari Dollar with Salome. He isn't sure how to react, so he just watches quietly.