[X] My Assistant

[pbangarth]

"""I'm not so quick to think Mitsuhama is done with me. The contract to protect me, according to your predecessor, was for one week. We're not quite there yet.

"""And I'm not quite sure to be worried or proud to be the target of two, count 'em, two bounties. Sure. let's swing by Petsonal for a look and then head over to the love nest."""

Blue smiles. """Tell me, what am I worth to Chin Ho 'Jeremy' Huang?"""

[Bastard]

"""I agree. I don't think they are completely done with you. As for the second bounty, it sounds like it is Jeremy's personal reputation not cash, so I don't think there is a bounty outside of his personal circle, and it probably includes me.

"""Can you ask a spirit to watch for a tail, so we aren't followed to the Pet store?"""

[pbangarth]

"""You're right. If he's paying, it'll be for both our heads.

"""I have a feeling there might be trouble at the love nest. I'll let the little guy go and try for a stronger spirit. It's a balancing act: more power means less willingness to serve and a bigger headache at the summoning. I'm glad the drive to Pet will take a while. It'll give me a chance to rest and clear my head. Here goes."""


:::Thank you, creature of the city. We left without need of your help. Go home, now. ::: Once the spirit has left of its own accord, Blue seeks a stronger spirit to help them tonight. He's feeling a little more confident in his summoning ability tonight.

[ Spoiler ]

Summon F4 spirit of the city, keep astral for now, target 4, 6+2 = 8 dice: 5 successes ... whoa.
Drain resistance target 4(M), 4+2=6 dice: 3 successes 1 box Drain.

Heal Drain target 2+1=3, 12 dice: 8 successses ==>60/8= 8 minutes per box.

Blue rubs the back of his neck, trying to work out some of the strain. """That went better than I expected. This one is quite friendly and willing to help. Smart enough, I think, to be able to interpret commands. I'll give it a couple, and then let me rest for ten minutes to get rid of the strain of calling it."""

::: Thank you for coming. Guard this vehicle, and the two of us inside it. Then, watch if we are being followed. Let me know if you notice that happening. :::

[Bastard]

"""Null sweat. I will take the long way."""

[Koekepan]

Traffic has thinned out a lot, except for commercial traffic.

The spirit follows, giving Blue a semi-regular update about trucks that are rumbling along the same route - are they following? Possibly, until they are not. Turning off the main highway should solve that problem, at the price of going through some less salubrious regions, such as the fringes of the barrens.

[Koekepan]

More headlines trickle through while Karmakaze drives.

<<<VIRTUAFRIEND NOW OFFERING PARTHENOGENESIS>>>

<<<CRYSTAL HEALING INSTALLATION - RIGHT FOR YOU?>>>

<<<URBAN RENEWAL TENDER PROCESS UNDER SCRUTINY>>>

<<<CYBEREYE INSTALLATIONS LINKED TO DEMENTIA>>>

[pbangarth]

Blue flags the urban renewal piece for checking out once his head clears.

[Bastard]

Karma sees the headlines on her link at a stop light.

+++Virtuafriend? Parthenogenesis?+++

"""SledgeHammer, scan Virtuafriend article for mentions of Petsonal and/or Petsonalities."""

[pbangarth]

Once the headache clears, Blue follows his own hunch. """Sledgehammer, huh? I've considered buying that personal helper. Tell me later how you like it.

I'll dig into the real estate article."" With that, he checks out the urban renewal project.

[Koekepan]

"""There are no mentions of Petsonal Petsonalities in the Virtuafriend article. It is about creating humanoid clones with pre-set personalities."""

In the mean time, Blue unearths a bit of a rat's nest about urban renewal stuff; the exact nature of the urban renewal material isn't entirely clear at a quick glance, but someone is apparently trying to reclaim and rebuild segments of the Seattle enclave - but now accusations are floating around about improprieties with respect to tenders for the work involved. The lead article doesn't get particularly specific, but refers to other articles and releases from the enclave's government.

[pbangarth]

[ Spoiler ]

Sorry, I just noticed I posted this in the IC thread

Is that the Little Asia enclave in Tacoma? LINK

Blue shakes his head. """Looks like I need to do some reading to figure out whether Jeremy is involved in any of the shady real estate dealing in the urban renewal thing. This could give us some leverage. I'll see if I can get a hold of some further articles."""

+++ If I can read Durkheim without falling asleep, I should be able to handle government documents. +++

[Koekepan]

Blue manages to dig up some reports about the tenders, but it looks as if the actual records are being closely held by the government offices under various pretexts of commercial confidentiality. How the reporters (automated or human) gor their information is an open question. Bribery? Outright speculation? Inside sources? Who knows?

It is certainly alleged that HuangBilt is a contractor entering tenders to some of the contracts at least, but it's not clear whether any contracts have actually been assigned to the company as of yet, or might be in line to be soon.

More information that Blue does identify is regions that are supposedly intended for urban renewal, and what their outlines and plans are. It will take a bit more research to really pin down, but it does rather look as if the government intends to intensely manage segments of the 'plex, or even (possibly more likely) subcontract the management of these segments to corporate entities.

[pbangarth]

Blue reads the reports he can get to easily. """Yeah, Huangbilt is definitely in the hunt for some of these so-called urban renewal contracts. Deep details are being held as proprietary. But it looks like there is some serious money at play, and Jeremy likely wants his chunk of it. Useful if I could know more. I could ask Billy to look into it, but I think he is being watched by Mitsuhama, either directly or through Jimmy. If I contact Billy, Mitsuhama might find a way to track me to Jeremy's hangouts. No point in having Jeremy's crew and a Mitsuhama team to deal with at once.

"""And, anyway, I don't think I've finished sussing out what's going on with Billy's niece. I should finish that payment before I ask for more services from him. Let me go through my notes to see what I can tell Billy. Heh, and then chuck another burner."""

[Bastard]

"""Good thing these burners are cheap now-a-days. My grandpa used to tell me they were a grand a piece."""

[pbangarth]

"""Damn. Wheels within wheels in the politics of this place. I can't make heads or tails of the discussions I've found about this urban renewal concept. But it looks like somebody somewhere is going to make a lot of money, no matter what the rationale is for renewing territory that doesn't really look like it needs renewal. I'd bet my left ... well, no..a lot of money, that Jeremy is trying hard to be in on this, whatever it is. I think this whole project is something that could lead to a few contracts in the future, though. Worth trying to learn more."""

Blue looks out at the night-time traffic, and feels small. It's not a feeling he likes.

+++ I wasn't born to be small. +++

[Koekepan]

The lights of Seattle drift by as the car keeps pace with traffic. The city's glow reflects off the clouds drifting above, lending the whole zone a constant, vaguely orange twilit ambience.

Overhead, advertising drones push various products, but also political messages. One active message demands legalisation of BTLs, with the slogan: "Give us better lives, or BTLs!" Officially, it's a fringe group with no real following.

[pbangarth]

Blue notices the BTL message. """Some activist group is lobbying for BTLs to be made legal. You know anyone who tried them?"""

[Bastard]

"""I have dealt with a lot of BTL-junkies in my time. Like any mind altering form of entertainment, it is usually abused by those seeking to alter their mind due to a drek life. I would imagine that there is some safe, healthy, productive way to use it, so I can't blame it all on the BTL. Most of the junkies I had run-ins with already had a slew of problems, well before inserting a chip."""

"""Speaking of junkies, this whole urban renewal program sounds like organized gentrification. While the goal may be to clean up crime, make the area safer, thus raising property value, it often pushes out low-income residents not just the criminals. While that area improves, the street criminals just move to another area, along with the low-income residents. I'm sure the plans start with roads paved in gold, but then the megacorps and politicians get involved, along with the organized criminal enterprises, if any of the three weren't already involved in the planning."""

[Koekepan]

Karmakaze's car finally pulls to a stop near Petsonal Petsonalities. They're close enough to see the big window, but not close enough to see the snake behind it, more so because the weather has taken an ugly turn with a blustery wind scything in from Puget Sound, carrying a stinging drizzle that whips against everything and drips in rivulets from overhead lines illuminated by the light in the street. Vehicles splash by, but almost nobody is on foot, and then only hurrying from car to door.

Karmakaze's car reports that the exterior temperature is 5 degrees Celsius.

[Bastard]

"""So? What is the plan, Blue?""

[pbangarth]

""" I figure I'll project into the astral plane and cruise around the facility, with my little buddy, and see what I can see. There's some weird, water-related things going on in the astral around back I'd like to check in on. Meanwhile, you could keep an eye out here in the physical plane. Unfortunately, we won't be able to communicate with each other while I'm out of body. My body will be a comatose lump here for the duration of my excursion. If you have to get out in a hurry for any reason, we need to have a place to meet up, so I don't have to search for my bones to get back.

""" I don't expect to be out that long, but staying out of body for more than about six hours is a death sentence. So, if you have to get out of Dodge quickly, why don't we make my place the place to reconnect? That work for you?"""

[Koekepan]

While Karmakaze digests that thought, she watches a couple of heavily-dressed guys wheeling a dolly down the street, and turning into the alley behind Petsonal.

What seemed unusual was that they weren't hurrying like delivery workers, or just shuffling from a parking lot to a door, but trudging along as if they were headed somewhere.

[Bastard]

"""Well I just saw a bunch of suspicious hoops heading to the alley behind Pets. You might want to check them out as well. Your place is the primary rendezvous, the Casino is secondary."""

[pbangarth]

"""All right. I'll see what I can find out in the astral. Good idea for a secondary rendezvous. """

Blue's body slumps as he projects into the astral. He teams up with his summoned spirit and heads out to see what those people are up to.

[Koekepan]

The astral view of proceedings is not terribly surprising, given that Blue has already been by there. The aquatic lifeforms are thriving, if largely ignoring his presence.

As far as the newcomers are concerned, they stop in the alleyway right behind Petsonal, and unpack their boxes from the dolly. Evidently, they brought various tools. Blue can't identify all of them, and at first it's a bit puzzling when they spray some kind of fluid, as if from a sort of grease gun or wax dispenser, onto a window. It suddenly becomes much clearer when they add a big suction cup onto the window, and yank it outwards. The window doesn't shatter, but crumples outwards. They release the suction, and the window flops onto the ground. That took mere seconds, but now they are attaching something that looks rather like a bearing puller onto the bars.

They're making it look as if something inside Petsonal broke out.

Karmakaze, inside a car, around a corner, couldn't even hear the window hit the ground. The proceedings are a lot more discreet than one might think, despite the lack of subtlety in their approach.