Charm City [IC] Options

[Koekepan]

<<Bongo's right. Tip buckets everywhere. You can find one on basically every major site, and the minors and indies have matrix addresses where you can leave it. Spread it far and wide, share the love like syrup on the pancakes.>>

Tubesnake sends this while ensuring that the van wends its way safely back to the safehouse, location of the secret stashes and burgeoning roach civilisation.

[sunnyside]

(OOC: Earlier in an earlier Koekepan post it was mentioned that Tubesnake planned to swing by Bongo's ride on the way back to the safehouse, so I think it's safe to assume that still happened if folks want to.)

Angel replies to the group. <<Ok! I think I got it then Mr. Snake. Leave distribution to me! >>

Before getting to it Angel shifts her attention out of VR into the real world. She remembered that Brewster talked to her about how she needed to do that periodically now that she didn't have a special massage chair. Though maybe she could get one with the Nuyen she just got!

She then sends a mental command to the soycaf machine to make a cup. If she said she was going to take care of it she should.

Moments later she's looking around the apartment for something to clean the mess up with after the machine dutifully followed her commands despite the lack of a mug under the machine. Stupid physical stuff.

[pbangarth]

Bongo checks in on Angel before getting some sleep. He seeks her out and sees that she is out of the matrix. What luck. "Well done, Angel. Our first run together as a team, no casualties, two birds freed and a predator about to have the vultures circling."

He sees the coffee brewing. "I'd go for one of those, but I think I will turn in for a few hours sleep. Please wake me, would you, if you hear anything important about Quick Willie?"

[sunnyside]

Angel looks awkwardly at Bongo. Somewhat less comfortable to be in person. They huddle into their wheelchair, which feels much more like a portable home than the rest of the safehouse, and start stretching, having just come out from VR as the house cams showed the group arriving. At first Angel starts replying over the coms like they have been <Thanks!>> but they they pause, clear their throat, and switch over to regular speech. "Uh. Thank!" She says with some enthusiasm "I'll be busy for a while with all the drops, and I don't know if I could go to sleep right away anyway. It's also weird sleeping with a sprite out there, but I totally could. I should know if Willie arrives and I'll let you know!"


Outside things are actually quite around the safehouse, though anyone checking the cams can find some Boyz still outside. Ostensibly on guard, though they're all paying more attention to something else like their rides or ARE games, but at least they're awake and occasionally looking around. Some of the chip heads outside might be considered awake, but their awake is a lot like other people's sleeping in many ways. The speakeasy has gone quite too.

(OOC: I think we're probably to the point where people could make posts heading to bed and advancing time).

[pbangarth]

Bongo hits the sack.

[Koekepan]

Paul locks up his van, all down to the hidden killswitch and axle locks, then heads inside to use the plumbing. A little later, much refreshed, combed and resanitised, he heads back out to the van to check on the solution of the plastic sheathing on his drone so that he can set it in the mould for replacement before slinging his hammock to catch some sleep.

[sunnyside]

(OOC: I'll advance time some and give some hooks. Sounds like it's Thanee's turn to be on vacation though.)

Angel works though most of the night trying to share information with reporters and the like, riding a high of appreciation and professionalism, whether or not it's felt by all members of the party, she thinks it is for now. Brewster too! Nari in particular, who eventually sends he a request to help with the stupid socials followed by links and a puppy eyed fox animation. Angel starts going after those the hard way, but eventually figures out what the social systems are really trying to make a pain is removing a user. So long as you're just changing things you don't even have to hack their servers! Angel throws in some fun stuff somewhat randomly, or with the help of an AI to whip up some fake friends and activities. She decides it must be fun being on of those people making fake SINs for folks.


Eventually she just sort of drifts off to sleep, floating like a little Beluga in the virtual sea of data. That's potentially horrible idea with agents and ICE around, but, like most Belugas, she makes it through the night unmolested.

She suddenly gets jostled awake as the mental connection with her sprite fires up. It reports back that Nari's comlink had connected to the matrix. There weren't any special precautions, and its security was pretty trivial so the sprite was able to frag its data. Nari wishes she'd had a chance to mess with whoever was using it, but Sprites aren't so sophisticated if you want it done fast. At least it's done. Angel had an alarm set to recreate a sprite if she got near the eight hour shift her unregistered sprite would put in.

Angel shoots of quick missives to the group and Nari <<Sprite fried Nari's old comlink, socials should be scrambled so long as people didn't save stuff, sents lots of stuff about Frank. Going back to sleep.>> She doesn't even bother to add an animation or acknowledge the grammar checker before going back to bed. At least this time she disconnects first, at least as much as Technomancers like to do, which means at least she isn't floating around in someone else's node.

She sleeps for a long while. When she gets up, she doesn't feel like getting out of bed, or more precisely the self propelled wheelchair she got here in. She roots around in the pouches to find some Fructalicious packets that she likes and some candy bars and manages to waste much of that day just exploring the virtual world.

She eventually has to send the chair to take her to the bathroom, but she goes the rest of the day without having to actually stand up and goes back to sleep.

The next day she gets call from Brewster. They catch up for a while, and she gives him her side of the run. Then they get into other matters.

Eventually she finally gets up and sends a message to the rest of the group.

<<Hey! So Brewster seems really happy with how that went in the end! I guess he really didn't like the stuff Frank was doing! So that's good. >>

She thinks how to put the next part.

<<He also thinks it's a big deal that I learn how to stand on my own two feet. Litterally. My meat feet. And actually do things like run. He's apparently got an instructer and gym space for me, for a whole month. I'd really like someone to come with me. He said he's spring for any of your fees too. He says it's important for everybody, you don't know when you'll need to really move, enough so he's willing to make an investment in the team. >>

She decides to end the message there and send it.

Then after a few moments sends a shorter one just to Tube Snake

<<Please Mr. Snake (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) >>

Then she waits...before being unable to wait anymore and starts flying around the Matrix again.

Though actual flies are starting to get attracted, she hasn't bathed since arriving at the house. She just isn't aware of her meat body for very long at a stretch.


(OOC: So you have a little over a month where Brewster will try and avoid giving you work. That's enough time for many karma spends or at least a start. I think more than enough time for most purchases. That's also time enough for one lifestyle payment, which with me can get you a little extra karma.

After three days Mike will text Selina that they're doing something different this Friday on the third floor of Gatsby's that maybe she'd like more, if she'd like to come and support a change...and just to have a good time.

Rose would hold out longer than that if Bongo doesn't contact her.

Tubesnake, being local, has a fair number of contacts and unions he might check in on. )

[Koekepan]

Paul Russell spends some time repairing his drones first. Then it's time to touch base. First is daily biz. Anybody needs a drekker cleaned out? A leaky pipe fixed? How about an estimate on construction or redecorating?

... or maybe something a little more quiet and private? Installation of surveillance? Perhaps a secret door to a panic room?

Paul Russell, general contractor, is open for business! (And so is Tubesnake.)

[pbangarth]

Bongo snoozes. He dreams of a Goddess, a humanoid (?) form of rock, plant and cloud, eyes black as the deepest night, all of her shimmering with coruscating hues of green, blue and brown. She seems to float away in a gray mist, beckoning him. Beckoning.

Bongo wakes. Refreshed? Mmm, maybe. He cleans up, dresses and heads out for a bite to eat. Something a little more upscale than the usual he has been getting here in Charm City. After all, he has some nuyen now to play with.

Bongo plans. It's a little early to connect with Rose. After noon is better for a lot of musicians. In the meantime, he investigates the locations of talismongers and magic schools. He is getting more and more interested in the higher mysteries of Initiation. There has to be someone in town who can help him get started.

[Thanee]

Selina has slept well into the next day after a very exhausting night out. A lot has happened, and they certainly managed to get a lot done. The two girls were safe by now, at least as safe as they could be. Fragging Nari's commlink helped severing those ties as well. It was quite unlikely that Frank would get to put his dirty paws on them again. Still, the damage was done, especially to Sophie. Inevitably, she also thought about Dawn and what she had been through. At some point, Fiona had returned from her watch. Sophie's parents had someone to take over the duties by then.

She was glad that Brewster made Angel go to the gym, it surely would be good for her to work on her fitness and also to do something not Matrix-related.

The next days, Selina mostly focused on two things. Finding a fitting apartment, the safehouse was good and well for a while, but a little below her standards, and she definitely needed her own place, especially once Dawn would arrive. And creating an exceptional dress to wear. A cocktail dress, simple but elegant, underlining the person wearing it, and not overshadowing her. Seductively tailored, of course. Getting the right shoes and other accessories, some unostentatious jewelry, also takes time.

When the text comes in, she replies a few minutes later. << "Change" sounds intriguing. Definitely up for a good time. >>

[sunnyside]

(OOC: For Tubesnake. I take it Tubesnake isn't so interested in doing stuff with Angel, or at least not RPing it in particular. At first I wasn't sure where to go with your post, but I've wound up brewing up some short options. )

Tubesnake scans the union job boards. For a city that doesn't have anywhere near enough jobs to go around for the masses of folks falling through the cracks into homelessness, there's endless work for utility workers. A consequence of Baltimore's tendency to built up and around the old, and then try to jam the same amount of drek through systems over a hundred years old. At least since the matrix shifted predominantly to its unstructured wireless form they've mostly stopped drilling through perfectly good walls to string whatever newfangled cable some corp decided they couldn't do without.

That and the union keeping the riff raff that could "do it cheaper" from messing with the utilities outside of corp extraterritoriality. It's mostly common jobs as far as the eye can scroll.

However two are flagged as problematic. One is for the Seafarers International Union. It's for underground work repairing their building's drainage into the runoff system. Checking the metadata they flagged the job themselves without further explanation. That does not forbode good things, or a simple job.

The second is expanding the water system into new corners of the Federal Hill Underground. The caves and their tunnels that honeycombed the hill and the slopes stretching south from it along the waterfront were dug to extract fine sand and clay used in pottery and glass making. They were all sealed up, but between the cave structure and the quality of the earth in general means it would be a pain to build large structures there, so they left a park. Of course, in the sixth world other folk have moved in, and they keep expanding. To get there Tubesnake might have to bow and say some stuff in Japanese, but even the most paranoid Japanacorp goons aren't known for giving the Unions too much trouble. They aren't exactly supposed to stop folks on public streets anyway. Sometimes the city gets uppity about tunneling underground. But there are enough folks with hearts that bleed at least around election time to keep that reasonably at bay. None of that nor the job is reason for getting flagged. Ah, someone who previously looked at the job noted that "The pay is good and the hosts welcoming, but Anne Abbot is a dwarf that always seems to attract trouble, and besides that doesn't keep her hands to herself around folks good with tools. Consider yourself warned chummer. "

--------------------

Bongo watches as the neighborhood changes rapidly as he heads from the safehouse to the top of the inner harbor to The Choptank. Which caught his eye as perhaps having something to do with a local combat biker team. No dice there. But it's the kind of place where the menu has a price for the Oysters Rockefeller but not for the Blue Crab, and where you can watch the crowds go buy in the valley of the broadway market between the northbound and southbound sides of Broadway. A valley between the uptown structures. Seems a good spot to spend some nuyen.

Looking it up, there are plenty of legit talismongers around. And for investigating the deep mysteries the Illuminates of the Dawn of course have a local chapter, especially this close to DC. Might take some time and poking around to find something more...specific.


------------------------

As Selina searches the net she finds housing in Baltimore is a little complicated by the whole uptown/downtown situation. There are uptown places up for rent for individuals, such as the Tourmaline where they'd just been. But they start at prices Selina associates with the high lifestyle, or more, that they promise. It sounds like the corps need to maintain a range of workers, and so in practice there exists nearly the full spectrum of degrees of housing in, down to people treated like drones and given about the same amount of space and consideration. But it's expensive to build up, and mostly that represents the corps wanting to avoid dealing with the security and logistical problems of legions of folks coming and out every day.

Savannah Estates litterally sits on top of the safehouse. It also advertises as high lifestyle, and their site indicates that they're an exclusive community, and an interview, and ideally a reference, is required. Their prices are a little lower than the norm for a high lifestyle. Matrix comments indicate that they cut some corners with space and furnishings, since everyone there is using a virtual overlay anyway.

There's a spectrum of housing in the "downtown." It's easy to come and go there, and you can find high and luxury accommodations within the "L." However there are plenty of wise ass matrix comments that make it clear that you can spend a lot of nuyen if you want, but it's never entirely safe down there. There just aren't the gated communities you might get elsewhere, because that crowd can just go uptown.

Also the uptown add-ons don't exist everywhere. As one looks out to the sourth or the butterfly you can still find plenty of structures without anything on top. Those tend towards low or worse housing conditions, often much worse.

[pbangarth]

His perambulations take some time, and Bongo eventually comes across a restaurant called The Choptank. Bongo investigates the Choptank's menu, and finds a few items to his liking. More interesting is the establishment's long history of highlighting local musicians to entertain patrons. He steps inside and asks for a table for two. A bit of delay as the maitre d' hems and haws about bookings, but a smile and a few words in Japanese put the host at ease. Once seated, he orders a glass of wine and lets the server know he is expecting someone.

Then he messages Rose. <<Got a table for two at the Choptank. Even the house wine tastes good. Would be nice to share some time with you over a meal here. >>

He asks the server about how music gigs are arranged here.

[Koekepan]

((OOC: Tubesnake has nothing against working with Angel, if that's where the jobs lead.))

Paul reads the boards thoughtfully over a beer, stroking his chin and mentally tallying complications and pay. He's happy to pick up a few quick, small jobs with no strings attached. Replace a six inch water line with eight inch? Can do. Clear out an infestation? No problem. An afternoon, one-and-done.

But these two other jobs; Federal Hill Underground worries him. He takes notes on what he sees, but the description of Anne Abbot gives him serious pause.

<<Angel? You there, ma'am? I don't have a job here but I have a datapoint that could use a good follow-up; apparently the Federal Hill Underground has a dwarf lady by the name of Anne Abbot who's a source of trouble but I don't know too much about her. All I have is a warning that she makes trouble and doesn't keep to herself. Is this in your wheelhouse?>>

While feeding Angel that little nibble of red meat, he puts in a query for the SIU job.

<<Paul Russell, licensed and bonded general contractor, plumber and electrician, member in good standing of the IBEW. I would like to bid on your job for your building's drainage system. When would be convenient for me to meet a representative?>>

He keeps it short and sweet; no need to get expansive at this point. However, he also takes a moment to drop another message:

<<Hoi chummers, I'm checking out a couple of jobs that could have big back ends on them. How paranoid are you feeling? Anybody have deep contacts in the local underground? I have some, but only so much.>>

[Thanee]

Selina starts a list of places that she considers interesting and worthy of checking out further. There is no need to rush things, she takes her time to find something that is as perfect as it can get. Until then, there is the safehouse, at least. She is definitely looking for an area, where the "downtown" is reasonably nice and not swarmed with gangs and the likes. So, low at the very least, better middle class on the ground. That means, Savannah Estates is definitely out, even though it sounds pretty decent otherwise. The "uptown" should be suitable for a high lifestyle. An area, where they have those skywalks, would be great. She prefers a clean, modern look. A nice view, with big windows and nice furniture, a little higher up if possible, but that seems to be the whole concept of the "uptown", anyways. A penthouse would be ideal, if she can find one that is affordable with the 10k she can (hopefully) allot to her lifestyle every month, as long as the jobs keep coming; according to Brewster, there is plenty to do around here, and she does not really have huge expenses otherwise. A space for a car and a bike, that is secure and nearby, ideally some kind of garage within the building, is also necessary.

Speaking of Brewster, Selina will send him an inquiry, whether he is able to help with finding a more permanent place within the city. He should be delighted, considering he has been spending quite a bit to get some more talent into the city. She does not give him too many details, just yet, it's mostly a question of whether he has the appropriate connections (though, considering that is pretty much his job description, he likely does) and on what terms he would be willing to offer some help with the process.

[sunnyside]

Rose replies back pretty quickly. <<That does sound nice, when would you like to.....

Wait. Are you there now?!?

Well that's ballsy. I'm not even ready you assumptive ass.

....Fine I could come, but only because I really love good steamed crab. And not a single word out of you about my hair if you make me rush! >>

The waitress doesn't seem to entirely catch what Bongo means right away "At seven Ciarán will be on. He's an Irish Elf! I switched my shift just to see him!"

If Bongo corrects her she doesn't know much of use other than to direct him to the restaurant's node, but could add that the schedule is usually booked up about a month in advance, but she has seen people playing at odd times and sometimes bands cancel.

-------------------------

(OOC: Just for clarity those aren't meant to ballon into full on runs. Though I've been surprised by players before. Instead they're gigs that might generate some contacts versus just the day job payout alone, and should hopefully wrap in about the time Willie gets back and folks figure out how to spend their cash and karma. Speaking of which the bit with Angel is going with her and training up on athletics/stealth at the facility Brewster is making her go to. I also figured you'd only bite on one or the other, but we might see how things go. )

Angel adds a yawn animation when she responds to Tubesnake followed by a nodding animation

About a half hour later he gets a message <<Well, I could find her easily enough. I haven't hacked her or anything yet. Mostly she seems active on socials. Especially dating sites. I don't seem to be able to detect much for shadowy stuff associated with her, but maybe I'd need to break some security for that. >>

She includes some pictures of a curvey blond female dwarf. If she was a human one might guess she's in her early thirties. She tends for fairly bold colors and lipsticks, especially red, and seems to prefer tight but not too revealing clothing.

The reply from the Seafarers doesn't take long either. Mostly its hooked into his union's systems for handling accounts and pricing. They don't afford Paul as much freedom as being independent, but politicians can get upset if folks welch or excessively impede members. It contains the address of the union as the meeting point https://maps.app.goo.gl/dT2yoRk4KMvdRdhMA

If Paul wants it, a couple clicks in his unions system and he'll be down as having the job, unless he cancels for some reason.

-------------------------------------

After a couple hours Brewster gets back to Selina with a message. << I'm glad you're liking the city. If you'd like an apartment you might do fine through legal channels, at most you just don't want them to lean on a fake ID too hard. My specialty is more boltholes and safehouses. And I suppose I'm a bit short on those with luxury accommodations.

I think what you might want is a spot in one of the old high rise apartment buildings. "Uptown" structures only really work on top of short buildings, and even then you want some spots to drop heavy columns. After they passed laws about new construction projects needing to address the need for affordable housing, they essentially just made new builds with the downtown/uptown structure.

But the old buildings are still there largely as they were. If they allowed themselves to be torn down and rebuilt they'd be subjugated to all the new laws. So the luxury apartments of old found in the old Downtown, Belvedere, and curling around the Inner Harbor are still desperately trying to hang onto their prestige and structural integrity.

The tallest of the old guard is 414 Light
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SPdQPPYwrEHxBvM57

I'm a bit partial to options for egress so, while I personally don't like the look of The Promenade at Harbor East, I quite respect balconies you can get down from, quick access to a watery getaway, and relative proximity to the safehouse.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wyBmhdWA16VEqg2X8

Of course there are others more nestled into the heart of the city.

Arrive, which does a better job with its node than most.
https://arriveinnerharbor.com/

The Symphony Center Apartments near the arts district
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QGJ32rw6cbtxAMp57

Really there are actually quite a few. You'd be surprised how eager Baltimore companies are to hang onto or resuscitate a name and location that will get them around newer laws. >>

[Thanee]

<< Thank you, Brewster! That gives me something to ponder. Speaking of IDs, I would like to upgrade some of mine. This might be a good time to do that, before actually using them here. I assume, you can arrange for that? >>

[ Spoiler ]

Selina has three R4 Fake SINs (two with a R4 Fake License attached) plus the one Brewster provided. I would like to upgrade those (or some of those) to R6.

[Koekepan]

Paul takes a good, long, careful look at Angel's quick scrapings.

<<Yeah. Thanks, ma'am, you're a winner. Maybe if we need to get in there later Bongo can keep her distracted while we do what we need to do. Sorry Bongo; it's a dirty job but somebody has to enjoy it.>>

With that pithy kernel of earthy wisdom, he turns to the SIU. OK, he clicks in on that job and heads off to be early. When it comes to the union and getting to know people embedded in the bureaucracy, corporate or otherwise, it pays to be early, polite, and as clean as the job permits.

[sunnyside]

Brewster replies quickly this time, apparently engaged in something not so distracting.

<< That's actually a specialty of mine. I'm a bit more efficient than others. As a welcome discount, how about two for barely more than the going rate for one...twenty five hundred nuyen, if you happen to have that lying around. (OOC: That's for R4s like his or yours to R6 presuming via the OOC text you explained that to him)

Though regardless since you have a friend good with comlinks. None of the places you're looking at are likely to have especially impressive security; physical, astral, or matrix, but they are going to run a background check because they're worried about troublemakers or not getting paid. The best bet is always when you aren't gambling on the outcome at all. Still, you want IDs that don't crumple on a bad day at the stuffer shack.>>

---------------------

As Paul approaches the Union oop wife wants me to cut up a watermellon, I'll get back to this.

[sunnyside]

As Paul approaches the Union the fist thing he notices, since he's used to the heavy traffic anywhere near the docks as goods try to get out of Baltimore, is the guys hanging around outside the union. They seem to have just set up some chairs and are enjoying a chat. But they're definitely more built, more armored, and Paul suspects that if he looked close enough he'd find they're better armed than most of the men and women going into and out of the Union building.

But all Paul has to do is digitally flick some bona fides their way to get a round of smiles and raised brown bags.

Inside the union hall is a busy place. The harbor business has waxed and waned, but right now is a big concern. They still have the job screens up high on the walls. They glow showing opportunities for the folks in the union. Everything is handled via comlink these days. At this point they're up there more like decorations or tradition.

Some folks inside are dressed for work and just getting in a chat or soycaf before heading out, once again something they technically don't really need to do, though maybe some jobs have more security requirements than open matrix connections. Lots of orange vests.

But they guy that walks up to Paul is wearing black pants with extra pockets and material over the knees, and a heavy black jacket. A tall human with slicked back black hair and chrome eyes that Paul can see himself reflected in. He reaches out a hand with a smile. " I'm Enzo. You're Paul from the pipes and stuff union right? Welcome. Hey, you want something warm to drink or anything before we get underground?"

While some might miss negotiations, having a union hourly rate does make the initial meets go a lot faster.

[Thanee]

<< I do not exactly have that option you are implying, so best to make things as secure as possible. Your offer sounds great. As it happens, just recently I got some extra cash into my pocket, so no problems on that front. How much for all four plus the licenses? >>

[sunnyside]

Brewster sends a little grin animation along with << Don't count out Angel. They have so much potential. Maybe I'm being secretly selfish in hoping you look out for her too. >>

( OOc: Away from books while on travel, but her typically can offer rates 10% off of the book prices for ids/licenses.)

[Koekepan]

Paul returns the handshake, and answers with professional courtesy. Biz is biz.

""Enzo, pleased to meet you - just had a drink, so I'm good to go. Yeah, I'm multitrade licensed, but with the IBEW. You'll find my GC in order, so how can I help you?""

It's obvious that he's not dealing with a normal dockworker here, so Paul keeps his eyes and his mind open. He also pays quiet, but particular attention to the attitude of the working stiffs to Enzo.

[sunnyside]

(OOC: Hey, Tubesnake can actually buy a hit for social stuff.)

Paul gets a chance to look around as Enzo replies with "Sounds good. If you don't need anything than just follow me and we'll get down to it. "

Looking around instead of just at Enzo's back, Tubesnake can see that he must be known, mostly because Paul is getting a lot more attention than Enzo. Though a few glances more at the pair seem to imply different feelings about whatever they're up to, which is odd, because usually Paul doesn't draw much attention at all. Of course it isn't like this place has a lot of entertainment going on aside from the longshorman versions of people watching and gossip.

Enzo leads Tubesnake down into the basement. Mostly seeming to be divided up with the addition of cubicle style walls that go almost to the high ceiling, leaving just a gap for airflow. They don't seem to be used as office though. Presumably storage and utility areas, as the union got an extra three stories of space above the old hall as work expanded. Enzo weaves through the small maze and reaches a solid metal plate on the wall in the back behind the heater. Paul can see that this area has a bunch of towels all over. No obvious leak. Probably water is building up outside the wall in this area and seeping through the expansions joints in the wall. While Paul looks at the wall Enzo reaches into a cardboard box not far away and takes out a couple of magnetic handles and sticks them to the otherwise featureless chrome plate. Then he reaches back in to get an impact wrench and starts in on the bolts. He moves fast, but the four foot by four foot plate has a dozen of them. The plate looks like it exists to protect the wall from the nearby heater, which is fortunately off in this weather. As he gets to the last bolts at the top he holds onto one of the magnetic handles and lets the plate come off the wall, revealing a tunnel going through the wall.

This, of course, isn't normal, but Paul knew not to expect exactly normal.

Enzo starts into the unlit tunnel. His chrome eyes glowing bright as the start projecting eyebeams out ahead of him.

"Alright, just in through here a ways."

He doesn't get far before he actually does get to a spot where the drainage standpipe from the uptown structure above goes into the storm sewer. This isn't really a spot where one ought to be able to stand. By the unfinished walls this little connection was dug instead of being properly built. It looks like they've cut into this circular section of the storm drain and attached a plate and bolts and handles so it can be opened and closed from this side, but probably not from inside the pipe, where Paul suspects there would just be little seams

It's a muddy mess in Enzo's little tunnel. Tubesnake can eventually see why. There are holes, he suspects from bullets, going through this section of the pipe and damaging nod only the storm drain itself but the smaller diameter drain pipe coming in and the connecter. It isn't raining at the moment, but in a downpour water would be gushing out all over. The mud implies this area has neither good drainage nor ventilation, which it wouldn't this close to the waterfront and with that plate sealing it off.

Enzo says "Look. Can you fix it up for us. I mean the storm drain isn't even ours, but we don't want to get in trouble or fined by the city. I'm hoping you can make it look as good as new on the inside. And of course we're hoping for some discretion from a fellow union. You know you'll be able to count on me for a solid in the future"

[Koekepan]

On the walk, Paul is quiet and respectful - not sullen at all, but modest and considerate. The basement area interests him, but he restrains the urge to go poking around or sending endoscopes through gaps, and just follows Enzo quietly.

Once at the hole, Paul nods thoughtfully, looking at the whole situation.

""OK ... OK ... I see the situation. I can definitely fix this - call it six hours of work including cleanup, and I can get started immediately. I have a couple of questions about work parameters. We can definitely keep this discreet, and off the books, but to get this right, it really helps to have tools inside the pipes. Would this be a problem to you? Also, are you aware of, or expecting any kind of presence inside the pipes, pests or personnel? Additionally, just to reflect the work order that I saw on the system, do you have any alternative narrative on record - a condensation problem on a conduit, or something like that?""

Paul is quiet, professional and serious. He recognises that Enzo has a problem, and needs to fix the problem and get it right and keep it all quiet because it's an embarrassment. He tries to leave the conversational openings for Enzo to tell him what he needs to know, without prying.

All part of the service.

[pbangarth]

Bongo chuckles at Rose's bristling. <<The only comments about your appearance will be honest appreciation, Rose. >> Damn, it comes so easliy to him.

He studies the venue, analyzing acoustics, sight lines, electrical outlets, what's up on stage now, etc. He also investigates what's available onmatrix about Ciarán.