Chapter 3: Every Heart is a Revolutionary Cell

[Bambi Engel]

"Well, yes, I understand. It's best to at least put something down, though. We like to have fully complete documents, records, the such... it helps avoid confusion and other things that might arise from partly filled paperwork. A statement of general intention would be fine, even something as simple as expanding business I suppose." Talking distracted Bambi from her paranoia and the peculiar instincts that were still bothering her.

So much that as she spoke, she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward to see the current document he was handling. In school she had been assigned to tutor some students, making her often sound like a teacher when she was explaining things. Naturally trying to break things down for students into the simplest terms so that they could grasp the concepts.

As soon as her mouth closed however, she became all too aware that she had ended up shortening their distance even more to read the file and point out certain words printed on it. Not one to make it obvious though, she refused to move again until she had a valid reason to that wouldn't seem suspicious.

Turning her gaze from the paper to him, she was ready to question if he still could not think of what exactly to put down. However, she changed her mind just before speaking. "Isn't it... hard to read with those on?" She figured it was the best excuse to attempt a shot at satisfying at least a bit of her curiosity, though it wasn't a direct question as to why he wore such dark coloured glasses indoors.

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Within about ten to twenty minutes, the white haired young man was able to find his way to Sidapa's location by the grocery store and a run down apartment. He stands outside of the alley for awhile, his body silhouetted by the bright sun before casually walking into the darkness to meet up with his aquaintance who was just down the alley.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"More difficult than it would be without them, certainly," Peter replied, smiling again and raising his free hand to graps the lens of his glasses. He half lifted them off without thinking about it and decided he might as well. He closed his eyes as the dark lenses where removed and set down onto the table (if he was going do remove them than he was going to draw at least a little fun out of the act). He kept his eyes closed until he had turned his face towards Ms. Engel herself and then snapped them open, locking his red irises with her pale blue ones.

"The glasses are something of a social nicity," he said, putting on the slightly forced smile of someone who is rather embarresed and is trying to keep themselves in order, "Much like the gloves." He raised his free hand, turning it about for a moment, the black leather material standing out against his white coat. "My eyes can be a bit of a... distraction. Sadly they are an unfortunate side effect of nessisary elements of my job." He tapped the Genetech logo on his sleeve which was at the bottom of the colume of symbols. Worth noting was that the Allmart icon appeared higher on his sleeve than the Manalist 'M'.

He turned back to the papers and placed 'expanding business' in the space provided. When the page was finished he turned to the next one but paused and glanced sideways at Bambi. "You don't meet many people like me, do you Ms. Engel?" By 'people like him' he meant people altered by Genetech, but he was curious to see who she thought he meant.

[Sidapa Amparo]

"Sidapa is happy to see you." Sidapa says to the demon. He always speaks of himself in this fashion. Both remain in the shadows and out of the oppressive sun. Sidapa approaches the demon with strange, quick, and angular movements. Everything about Sidapa is a little unusual.

"Sidapa has been talking to the people here. He learns that All Mart bought some land...lots of land. It sells cheap when things are chaotic like this. No one wants to live here. Everyone wants out. So that is how it is." Sidapa says.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi's mouth opened slightly once his eyes snapped open, the first set of red eyes she had ever seen gazing into her own. Of course, she had heard stories of the kind of things genetic altering does... but she had been in a private school and then sat behind a computer for most of her life. Not to mention she wasn't much of a risk-taker, almost the complete opposite. Realizing her mouth was open as if she were about to speak, she quickly shut it.

A small part of her felt a bit of sympathy. Many others would probably react worse than she had. She'd also hate to have to hide her own eyes and hands from people. Then again, she preferred people not to take any special notice of her at all. "We do what we must, I suppose. Admirable for you to make a sacrifice for the better of your job. I don't think..." She realized what she was about to say might be taken the wrong way, and her face flushed slightly as she tried to change the wording.

"I don't think they really make you look horrid or anything," she finishes lamely. "I can understand how they'd be a distraction though." With that, she finally sat back properly in her chair, giving herself a bit more of space. She stayed positioned close enough so that she could easily glance at any documents he may have more questions about.

At his next question, her face became thoughtful. "No... I don't suppose I have ever really met anyone like you, in fact. I mean, of course that's not necessarily a bad thing." She added the last hastily, though they were both true in many ways. She'd never met someone who admitted to being altered by Genetech, with clear side effects. Or someone who raised such primal instincts in her. Or even someone who was able to capture her gaze for more than a few moments. She supposed that rose from the instincts, though.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"Most people have around here. I'm really not that unusual when you put my along side the proper Genetech soldiers. I was altered as per Mr. Dollar's specific request rather than purchased by direct sale." He glanced up from the papers, "That is, I have always worked with Mr. Dollar first and foremost, though I wear the Genetech uniform." He brushed his hair and smiled, "And I like to keep my original hair color. It's a bit of a bother to keep it dyed, of course."

He returned to the paperwork and for a few moments pen scratching was the only nosie in the quiet. Using his free hand he casually undid the top two buttons of his coat, letting the stiff white collar spread out and showing the collar of the shirt he wore underneither. He'd opted for a t-shirt today rather than his more typical v-neck and the dark blue material stood out against both the white coat and his pale skin. He had unbuttoned the coat for two reasons: as part of the evolving game of action/reaction and because it was actually rather hot up in the office. The sun was streaming in the windows and the air conditioning hadn't kicked in yet.

"Are you a London native, Ms. Engel?," he said at last without looking up from the paperwork. The Bank was based in England, though the woman had no accent he could detect, which was curious. Certainly one could have work outside their native land but it was a diminising event under the Manalists.

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei once more walks the streets of Havana. He meets with desperate men and offers them work helping him move heroine and opium into Cuba from Moscow. He kept his eyes out for the suspicious looking person, and any other suspicious looking people, he'd seen earlier. After establishing these few contacts he called KAschei and left a message.

"Kaschei, I've taken the liberty of making some contacts and created a makeshift airstrip on a small island just off the main land of former Cuba. From there we can use boats to move it anywhere on Cuba, and perhaps North and South America. This will be a perfect way to get a firm hold on this part of the world before the Economic Council and Manalists do."

[††Venice "Cephrien" Ashgrove††]

Ceph propped himself up against the alley walll, crossing his arms as he listened to Sidapa's information.. though it surprised him to hear something that he had not heard of yet.

"Are you saying that everything has gone to shit here because Allmart bought land?"

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi nodded slightly, having seen reports and such are the authentic Genetech soldiers. She vaguely wondered what color his hair had been turned into, but figured it must have been some sort of odd color. She had never dyed her hair herself, but some of her female coworkers complained about it from time to time. Seeing him unbutton his coat, she realized it was rather stuffy in here, but she had been in her suit with worse heat.

It did allow her to see he was certainly built as his frame suggested, but not overly so. She supposed it was the sort of size many women wished for in their men. She turned her gaze to the window as she shifted once more. When he spoke again, her face took on its habit of reddening. She was glad only her cheeks were touched by a rosy color unlike some people whose faces turned beet red.

"Actually, no... I was birthed in America. I couldn't tell you what part though, I only spent a few years of my childhood here. It's why I was so interested in seeing the place with my own eyes. My mother sent me away to a private school when I was young, and I never heard from any of my family again." Bambi thought she may be saying too much, but figured there was no harm in it.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

"A well know story around the building," Peter replied, turning back to the paperwork. He'd paused and looked up as Bambi spoke. Things where very nearly done, he'd even managed to understand a couple of the pages but mostly he was just signing where it said to. Wasn't like it was his money. Besides, Dollar could afford anything, he's say as much himself.

"Mr. Dollar has made a point to employ any American who wishes to return to the their homeland. Nearly everyone in this complex was, at one time, a citizen of the United States. Many of them lost family or friends during the changes. Some still know people lost in the wastes."

Peter bearly glanced at the last few pages, he was growing tired of papers. Putting the last mark on the stack and stretched his arms high over his head and then leaned back in his chair slightly. "I believe that is the last of the forms," he said, with just a hint of triumph in his voice.

[Calithin Crest]

"Hello, this is Calithin Crest, head of Crest Mining..."

I pause for a moment to let my fantsticness set it.

"I'm looking for someone to write an article about upcoming projects I'm going to be undertaking and stumbled upon your name. Is that something you would be interested in? I'd be happy to meet you for an interview, Ms..."

I've forgotten her last name. I try to cough and cover it up. I'm terrible with names. Awkward.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi gave another nod and smiled softly. "I can imagine. He sounds like a generous man, at least to those of his nation. I'm afraid I've quite fallen into a pattern with my life, and I'm not one to like changes. Even if it meant seeing this beautiful land everyday." There was also the lack of people compared to the streets of Switzerland. Making a move and change of employment would alter her life entirely. She'd have to get used to a new building, find a new apartment... She shuddered inwardly at all the things it would require.

Once he made his statement of triumph, she leaned forward once more to pull the papers toward her. Glancing over them, she noted everything looked to be in order. "Well, I believe I've taken up enough of your time then unless you have anything else to discuss with me?" Finally standing, she begun to sort the papers and slip them back into her folder. She felt crashing emotions as she did so, part wishing to flee from this man as quickly as possible, and another wishing to continue this strange stitution.

[Tuesday DeCastro]

Calithin Crest...Calithin Crest...where had she heard that name before? Then he said he was head of Crest Mining and Tuesday immediately remembered.

She listens as he tells her that he is interested in her writing an article for him about Crest Mining, and she is certainly interested.

"DeCastro, Tuesday DeCastro." She says in a very Bond-esque manner when he obviously doesn't remember her name, it strikes her as a little unprofessional but she doesn't dwell on it.

"I'd be thrilled to do an article for you, when are you open for an interview?"

[Alrick Vayne - The Void]

Alrick's eyes seemed to flash with sudden understanding, but it came and went in an instant so it was unsure if it was there at all. He grasped Bonifaz's hand and shook it firmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bonifaz. As far as your acquisition, that's well within our ability to extend a loan. As far as your problems with the Manalists, that is your own affair and I'd rather not know the details. I understand that many companies have their own issues with their work conflicting with certain policies, but I've seen time and time again that these problems have a way of sorting themselves out. We respect the privacy of our clients, and know the value of secrecy for large term investments and thus so long as you can provide all the necessary paperwork to verify the legitimacy of your business, there should be no issues. Indeed, I believe we have most of that paperwork on file from past dealings, so you just need to provide us with a more up-to-date copy and then we can discuss the nature of your loan."

[Calithin Crest]

"I'm about done with my work for the day if you'd like to meet right now... Anywhere is fine. Your choice. My treat. I appreciate you taking the time out."

I yawn and walk over to my desk so that I can get a pen to write down any location she might give me.