Mato thanks Tony for his hospitality and excuses himself, although with the rest of the team.

Having left Tony's office, he tracks down Tammie.

"Ms. Wu, would you be so kind as to arrange a meeting with the Muse? Or, at least, to alert her of our interest in connecting. Where does she usually prefer to meet? If you have any other advice about how best to handle her needs, I would be attentive."

Then it's back to the suite to watch over Raven while she astrally projects.

"Is it a ruse?" Mato asks rhetorically. "I'm not so sure. I would think that Carn-Evil would welcome an opportunity to take down Nightmare. Which isn't to say that Carn-Evil will trust us, or wants to be friends with us, but perhaps we have a common interest at the moment."

Speculation complete, he turns to more practical matters.

"It sounds like there was some action at the Lantern. Let's see what we can find out. Either someone is really brave to singe the syndicate's beard, or the alliance is coming apart at the seams already."

He gets on the comm to some folks he knows in Redmond. "Bobby, you want to see if Andrew knows anything, or needs help calming the waters?" SIS might actually be more fuel for the fire, but Mato is trying to stay dealt into the game.

<<Doc>> he comms Heather Huxley, his street doc. <<Heard there were some explosions and a drive-by. Did any survivors drag themselves into the clinic?>>

His identity broker/forger is also in Touristville. <<Tricky Nicky>> he says. <<Heard there was some violence overnight. More than usual. I've been in Bellevue so I've been alright. Are you staying safe?>>

@Racchel: Raven can sense the atrocity in the astral as she arrives at a rundown commercial building from the long-lost computer industry. There is not much remaining of the glass, just bare walls with sleeping bags and tents. The building has a large balcony which appears to be the center of the taint. It takes massive abuse or even murder to create a taint like that which is noticeable as a few steps above the general misery, abuse, and hopelessness of the inhabitants of the rundown building, which despite having most of the windows replaced with nylon sheets and garbage, and no electricity - despite all that it is very crowded with hundreds of designs making tracking a specific person difficult.

As for the card, it is impossible to miss its flowery glory on the top floor of the office building, its large flower emerging from the ceiling and attracting the local minor spirits to admire its beauty. The card itself, though, is not visible due to the building, but it is right in there, and there is no visible astral security.

@Mato Tammie says I can deliver a message; if you want her to be in a good mood, meet her somewhere she'll find pleasant. An art gallery or a live music bar may do the trick. "

- Heather Huxeley answers absentmindedly >>Nothing more than usual arriving at my clinic. Should I be worried?

Tricky Nicky texts >> I am always keeping safe, Thank you for your concern hon.
There was a big explosion at the Lantern, no wounded, just property damage, but a lot of property damage and many angry people. Brand-new bikes exploded in their parking lot damaging all the vehicles that visited the place and creating quite a panic. Doubt the Lantern is going to see much business in the near future.


@Tamarind, the bug is found, and the employee that is cleaning the latrines discovers the drone. He picks it up and heads out "Look what I found? I think it might be worth a pretty penny!" he says excitedly to some other employee that says "It is a spy drone; I bet the owner would want to know..."

Rachel will stick around the location for a while, in case something happens. She will, however, return to the others every now and then to give them a report of what is going on, and to let them know that everything is okay.

"Thank you," Mato tells Tammie.

He considers the situation. Mato knows a bit about classical music, and can make some modest conversation around composers like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, but it's the middle of the day and most performances are in the evening. He wants to meet sooner than that.

Mato studied art for a bit following his time at Pike Hall. Perhaps he can leverage that knowledge instead. "Please tell her I will wait upon her at the Bellevue Art Museum," he asks Tammie. "This afternoon, if it pleases her." The museum is nearby, just a kilometer or so from the Gates. It will be an easy walk. The museum closes at 5pm so hopefully the spirit joins him before then.

<<Thanks, Nic>> he tells Tricky Nicky. <<Part of me always wonders who would even go to the Lantern in the first place. I understand young, dumb corpers like to go slumming, but you think they'd pick a place that wasn't a gang bar.>>

Mato was young and dumb once, but even that would have been absurd by his standards.

<<Nah, you're good>> he tells Dr. Huxley. <<Sounds like it was mostly property damage instead.>> He's tempted to offer to help in case any of her clients get unruly, but the good (?) Doc would probably take it as an affront. Mato's never seen her back down from anyone, including trolls on Kamikaze. Maybe the Doc was on Kamikaze too...

Mato informs the team of his plans. "I'll see if I can negotiate peace with the Muse, or even a settlement. If we play this right, maybe she can even help us out. It seems like she's the one with a vision, so maybe we can convince her that our plans align with hers."

He'll head to the museum after getting some lunch at the Gates, maybe an omelet if the kitchen will make one outside of breakfast hours.

Bobby dropped a message to Andrew, inquiring about what was going on in the neighborhood: <<Hey Andrew, I just got a message that something happened in the neighborhood - torched bikes etc. Is there a gang war brewing? That's really bad for business.>>


To the team he said: "Ok, so the die is cast. What do we want to do first? Muse or going back to our neighborhood to take a look on what's going on?"

"Do we want to pair up? The Muse seems sensitive about summoning, and perhaps about Bobby in general, so Tamarind and I could stay in Bellevue while Bobby and Raven scout out Redmond."

"That sounds like an excellent suggestion. Because I'd rather disrupt this spirit than accept its meddling."

Bobby nodded to their new resident rigger: "You wanna drive? I'll go bird, so you need to carry my stuff - and make it easy for me to find you again. Put a bright spot on the roof or something."

Tamarind says to Bobby "Why not have Raven drive to Redmond, she can stick something magicky on the car when needed to guide you in. Like Mato said, the Muse might be more comfortable away from mages, so I'll go with him."

Rachel nods to Tamarind's suggestion. "Sure, I can drive. Not very well, but should be fine."

Rachel witnesses a group of med-sized bound spirits searching the building, perhaps as a prelude to a move on the card; other than that, she does not see anything highly unusual other to the occasional drug abuse or random violence. The flower disappears after about 20 minutes.

Bobby shrugged: "Ok, fine by me, just don't come under their spell. Spirits are tricksy - especially if you don't have anyone watching your back in the astral."

Bobby went to the car to change.

@Tamarind, Mato It is not entirely obvious how to meet a spirit in the gallery lacking astral sight. You arrive there and are uncertain exactly where to meet the spirit or if she is there or is late—a strange feeling in such an interconnected world. You spend some time with your thoughts at the gallery when eventually, the muse joins you.

You don't see her, but you feel her presence which is somehow familiar despite not feeling it previously - you then saw her as a ghostly figure; now, she lacks that form, but she is a feeling of clarity, focus, and a sense of purpose. Perhaps this is what feeling inspired feels like. Tara is more approachable as she watches the paintings in her ghostly form; she waves at you when you approach. Hi there! detectives, how should I address you? It she says, seeming genuinely clueless or confused about the property etiquette and their position in the world - but aware enough to know that different people wish to be addressed differently, so perhaps informed enough to try and follow the social norms but with a glaring lack of understanding as to what these norms are.

Tamarind smiles a the spirit, trusting the old maxim about smiling helping you fee l happy, and in turn that the feeling will be seen by the spirit "I ask myself how to address people all of the time, I really feel you on that confusion! I usually just go by my nickname of 'Tamarind', it just seems easier to me than that whole first and last name arrangement that most people use." Then she glances at Mato to cue him to respond.

"Thank you for meeting with us ... and how would you like us to address you?"

Mato feels comfortable in the art museum. He appreciates the quiet, the hushed tones. It lets him play with his cyberears, listening to other patrons whisper to each other. The art isn't as nice as what was in Pike Hall, but Mato does his best to appreciate it.

He likes being in a nice suit, hearing his dress shoes click on the marble floors. He stands up straighter. He feels... civilized. No doubt life would knock him down into the gutters again, but if he crawls out of the Barrens once then he can do it again.

Mato is not particularly worried about how to rendezvous with the Muse. He's confident that she will find him. The spirits and sorcerers were manifested in the room at the Gates; they clearly know how to interact with the mundane world.

Mato is impressed that Tamarind introduces herself to Tara - he had expected her to stay silent and fidget in the background - but her empathetic approach is a pleasant contrast to Mato's cooler, more formal demeanor.

"How do you do, Tara?" Mato greets the sorcerer with a polite bow. He speaks slowly, and lowly, so as to not disturb the other museum-goers. "Thank you so much for meeting us. You may call me Mr. Torres." After a moment, he (somewhat grudgingly) follows Tamarind's lead and decides to follow social conventions rather than just launching straight into business. "How is your husband, Xenon? He is well, I trust."

Tara makes a foreign expression, perhaps of discomfort, but it is not exactly a human expression despite her appearance. If you are not mad at me, Tara.


To Mato's inquiry, she answers It is nice to meet you, Mr. Tores. My husband is well. I appreciate your concern. she says in what appears to be a practiced phrase as it comes out more naturally than the rest of her words. Will Mr. Walker or Raven be joining us? she comments, perhaps trying to extrapolate the proper manner to address them in this situation.

The line about "if you are not mad at me" catches Mato's ear. Is Tara extending an olive branch?

"Mr. Walker and Ms. Raven will not be joining us this afternoon," Mato tells her. "They have business to attend to elsewhere."

He decides to be transparent, knowing that astral entities have a heightened ability to detect deception.

"And, in truth, our goal was to lower the temperature. Mr. Walker is a passionate individual, but sometimes civil discussions benefit from a cooler environment."

Perhaps this will resonate with Tara, given her angry husband.

"Mr. Walker has a temper, and may be mad, but I am not. I invited you here to see if we might begin to mend relations. We may have been working at cross-purposes, even though I believe our goals align."

@Tamarind, Mato
Tara says Mr. Torres, we bear you no ill will, but to be perfectly honest, since our last meeting, we have been employed by another party. she says with a neutral informative expression, which appears more natural than mimicking human emotions. At that moment, Melpomene manifests in her horned woman form and shoots Tara a cynical look, then looks at Tamarind, then at Mato and comments Such tragic consequences indeed... she says with a playful expression. The irony... she says to herself, but perhaps since she is manifesting to Mato and Tamarind.

@Raven and Bobby: once Raven returns to her body with the news, she drives to Touristville. From his bird eye, Bobby can see a suspicious van parked a few streets from the building, and astrally the building is now quiet. The spirits spotted by Raven about 20 minutes ago are already gone, or at least not visible from the seagull's perspective. Armed Crimson crushers are patrolling the roof and ground floor of the building, and they seem as if they have too much energy to burn and cannot stay in one place for long, which makes them terrible guards, easily distracted, and very jumpy. Either their adrenaline is skyrocketing, or they are under the drug's effect. For the time being, the building is quiet.

"Hmm," Mato says, expressing something between acknowledgement and disappointment.

He tucks his chin as he contemplates the options.

"And do the conditions of your employment preclude other employment? Do your purposes counter our own, or might we come to a parallel agreement?"

Tara looks surprised, and confused by the desire to reach an agreement ... but what made you change your mind about us? she asks, Mel looks at her with an amused expression as if she already knows the answer.

Mato needs to walk a fine line of being diplomatic in order to keep the negotiations going.

"It was a matter of value," he says as tactfully as he is able. "The price was not worth the services rendered, especially with the conditions you provided.

"However, perhaps you have found employment since then that provides for your material needs while honoring your restrictions. If so, the conceivably that frees you up for an alternative arrangement, with alternative forms of payment."

This next part is as much directed toward Mel as toward Tara.

"Metahuman experiences, for example. My colleagues have had negative encounters with this, and so distrust the process, but I remain more open-minded on the matter. They do not wish to part with any of their life-force, and I respect that, but I am willing to consider such transactions."

A Faustian bargain? Perhaps, but isn't everything in the Sixth World? Orks don't live long anyway, especially not in the shadows nor the shadow-adjacent grey markets, so Mato seeks to maximize the return on what little life he has remaining, to trade a little bit of it to save the rest.

Mel's eyes light in interest We can try that. I bet you are delicious, Mr. Toress.. She bites her lower lip visualizing the experience. So since I am after relationships with loyalty and friendships. I want you to think of it in a less transactional and more fun manner if you are serious about having a muse in your life. Don't reduce our relationship to some mystic trade - not all magic in life is made of mana.


She then suggests Look, right now, you are unlikely to collect the money from Vala. My employer is likely acquiring the card as we speak and is replacing it with a cheap imitation made by our Xenon and Tara using illusion magic. Nightmare was unusually slow to respond to the threat - so by the time he made a move, our employer would already be gone.

Thing is, the fake card would not fool Nightmare or anyone awakened. The swap is only meant to give us some time, given the fact that mundanes are guarding the card. The person you sold the card to barely looked at it, so it may take a while until the swap is discovered. Nightmare is very likely to go after the card eventually, and he previously used the shock and awe method, so expect an unpleasant gang fight.

My deal is, if you can find a way to destroy the fake card during Nightmare's raid and mislead him into believing that the card was destroyed, then Vala's job will be fulfilled better than she planned. You see, Nightmare needs the last card to perform a ritual. If he never acquires the last card, he does not try the ritual - and does not learn that the cards are fake.
So in the spirit of what you suggest of being loyal to Vala and the new employer... If Nightmare thinks the card was destroyed, then I would convince Vala to get you paid. My employer is happy, I am happy, you are happy, and Vala is happy as Nightmare still makes new enemies - and as a bonus he does not even know he was conned... My plan is just a superior plan if we can pull it off.

Bobby found a good vantage point and perched there, keeping his distance from the building. Bored guards might start shooting at birds after all. All in all, he didn't like the look of this. Why did those bloody gangers never what they were supposed to. Just sell the card to Nightmare for a profit. Or burn it and be done with it. Who knew what the Muse and her side were doing right now.
The worst part was, that Bobby had been honest to Big Stank in a way: He now was their customer, and he was interested that the stupid trog didn't have to believe he had been sold out by Bobby.

And now he felt conflicted about warning the ganger...

Mato's brow furrows, his mind racing. He's trying to piece together what the Muse is telling him now and how it aligns with what he thought the job was.

"That's an interesting proposal," he says without commitment, trying to buy some time to bring the rest of the team up to speed. He tries to DNI as much of the story to Raven and Bobby as possible. Would Bobby even receive it, or would he be a seagull at this point?

<<The Muse if offering us a deal. She says her employer is likely acquiring the card as we speak and is replacing it with an imitation made by Xenon and Tara. The deal is that if we can find a way to destroy the fake card during Nightmare's inevitable raid and mislead the Halloweeners into believing that the card was destroyed, then she'll convince Vala to pay us. I know that's unexpected; I'll try to fill in the details later.>>

"Not all magic in life is made of mana," Mato repeats with a wry smile. "That's very good," he allows, nodding at the notion."There is wisdom in what you say."

Again, he's just trying to buy himself a moment to think. He concentrates, worried that his modest intellect will be overwhelmed at a vulnerable moment. He remembers Vala saying, Give the arrogant asshole his meaningless victory and let him deal with the dire implications of his actions, and Nobody likes this Nightmare, but this job can bring him a step closer to being vulnerable.

<<I think I misunderstood Vala's job. I thought the card was a trap, bait to lure Nightmare into destroying itself in a magical accident. But now I think that the job was never about the card, but rather what Nightmare would do to acquire it. The goal is to divide the Crush and the Halloweeners, to inspire Nightmare to do something rash that would isolate the spirit and put it at risk.>>

"Loyalty and friendships," he nods, trying to consider what a spirit would consider friendship. "A muse would be a change," he admits. "It would help to learn more."

He hopes he can get a response back before he has to commit to anything one way or another.

If Bobby is not available via electronic means, Rachel will quickly head into astral space to bring him the news.

<< I informed Bobby. So, the Muse is working for someone else, who also knows about Vala's plans? Did that runner lady also work for that same party then? Bobby said, we should contact Vala and bring her up to speed and then find a solution together. I think he is right. If we do this behind Vala's back and hope that she is okay with it, there is no reason why we cannot be upfront and clear this with her before making any moves. She is our employer after all. >>

<<I'm not so sure>> Mato replies.

<<Vala is volatile. I know Bobby favors the direct approach, but with Vala that seems like a recipe for combustion. Remember her outbursts to us, and how Tara said she is 'self-centered like all her colleagues in show biz'.>>

<<Sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. I think Vala needs to be handled gingerly and steering to the conclusion we want her to reach. Tara said that Melpomene 'is the mastermind of soft power.' I think she might be onto something here. We could have something to learn here ourselves.>>

He closes his eyes for a moment, trying to make sure he's not the one being manipulated. That look from Mel... he's not used to it. He's not accustomed to being pursued, either as prey or as an object of desire. He's not sure he likes the feeling, but perhaps it is an acquired taste.

<<Tamarind, can you sweep for MARKS please.>>

Tamarind and her agent started the process of checking their links and all of the items in their PANs for marks. Meanwhiel she is scowling, not worrying about schooling her expression because she knows that is the least of the ways that the spirits have to sense her emotions. After a moment she dumps some of her thoughts out to the team.

<<Why should we believe this spirit? She could be diverting us from our job for her own motives. She has already admitted that she is now working for someone else. Maybe what she says is true, and there is another way to complete the job. But maybe she is taking the opportunity to get us to not complete the original job as described. I like this Muse more than our employer, but liking has nothing to do with completing a deal.>>

<<It is not apt to be pleasant, but I think we should talk with our employer before we change our course so dramatically>>

<<It is possible>> Mato allows. <<But I think it goes deeper than that.>>

<<Remember how Tara said that Mel was "the closest thing we have to a leader" and that "she inspired Vala to create the cards". I have to think that Mel is the one puppeteering all of this. I think she's pulling Vala's strings, and is probably the one that set this all in motion in the first place.>>

<<And maybe our strings are being pulled too. But that's our job: we dance to get paid.>>

Tamarind, there are no marks on your equipment or other hints of foul play. As far as you can tell, none of it is currently compromised. The notable exception is the burner link. It has a nonstandard operating system, meaning someone took the time to reprogram it, which might explain the information one of the parties had about you.

Meanwhile, Bobby receives a message from Andrew: >> Mr. Walker, Hi. Yes, there are some disputes that we, unfortunately, inherited. I'll let you know if there is anything that directly affects you.

Bobby can spot the guards crushing one by one from the after-effects of whatever drug they took before. He can also see Big Stank accompanied by an old bearded man with white hair and a black plain suit arriving at the building in an old model of a Ford Americar. The car is plain, and the man also seems old by the rate he moves. Big Stank's accompanies him holding his hand and helping him out the stairs. In a very gentleman and polite manner, which he never expected the arch-ganger to possess.

Perhaps this is his expert for a second opinion?

The building looks like it is being watched; there are multiple watcher spirits four or perhaps five that he can effortlessly spot - and they all watch the building. For the time being they did not spot Bobby, but his freedom of movement is limited due to their scrutiny.

After Rachel contacted Bobby, he took a moment longer to look around but then returned to the car, so he could take part in the conversation. Catching only the tail end he said:

<<I'm thoroughly confused now. What Mel is saying, contradicts directly what Vala has told us. One of them therefore didn't tell us the truth about what they want to happen.>>

Bobby recited the precise job:

"As to what I need from you guys. You take the card, and when you are ready my people would spread the romour. Then all the power-hungry mages of Seattle would be after your card. You need to hold on to the card, only to lose it to a specific unreputable individual. If you lose it to the wrong people, you have to make them lose the card within a short period. Again, I don't want anyone examining the card too closely or they might solve my puzzle, and then the mystery is gone.
Once you lost the card to the intended mark, I would pay you the promised 50K."

and:
"Well, for once, you played with all my previous Tarot cards despite these odds. So I expect you to play with this one as well. In this case, you are a step higher in the food chain, and the compensation is a bit bigger, but the dangers are the same, really. Second, Nightmare is not incompetent; he got all the previous cards for a reason. In the first card, you even stole his hostage getting us all worked up, but he gets the job done. "


So, to me this looks like a clear deviation from what we are supposed to do.>>

Tamarind suggests to Mato <<time to turn off the burner link, there is something odd about it that I'm not sure I understand, it could be tracing us or even passing along more information. No marks, but I don't know what all it does.>>

Then to keep things going with the spirits while the team talks online, she asks "Vala very specifically said that to get paid we needed to get the card in Nightmare's hands. Or whatever it has. Get the card to Nightmare, anyway. Without it being examined too carefully. Now. you are saying that convincing Nightmare that the card was destroyed may be just as good, and that you can convince her to pay us anyway. I'm sure you can see why we would have some confusion about how this change would be accepted, when she didn't tell us originally that was an option. I'd like a bit more understanding about what has changed about the situation that makes this a reasonable option to Vala, or what Vala held back from us that means that she would have accepted this all along."

She passes along to the team <<She is claiming that her employers may be stealing the card roughly now, and replacing it with an illusionary fake. Any signs of int rusion yet? If we don't go with the revised plan, then we need to either stop that switch, or get it away from her employer.>>

Mato switches the burner link off.

He waits for Tara and/or Mel to respond to Tamarind.

He's not opposed to the idea of intervening, but he and Tamarind are in a poor position to do so. Bobby is a wrecking ball on his own, but even might get overwhelmed by superior numbers. Mato and Tamarind weren't that far away - maybe a dozen kilometers - but with weekday afternoon traffic that could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

<<As I see it, we can either save Stank and then convince (or prevent) him from destroying the card. But then we basically have to sell him out to the Halloweeners somehow. This is the job we were hired for but I don't know if there's a way to do it on the down low. We'd be making some serious enemies, both in Stank and Mel's team.>>

<<Or we can let Mel's employer steal the card, then destroy the decoy. Maybe Vala is satisfied, maybe not, but this one's easier to do indirectly. That keeps the both the real and metaphorical heat off our backs.>>

Mel responds thoughtfully to Tamarind The thing that has changed in the situation is that Big Stank has the card, and another mage is making a move on the card. You are in an art gallery talking to me, and I am not sure that you are in a position to prevent the theft, and I don't think Big Stank can prevent it, given his lack of magical assets. Yet, I gave you a better chance to follow that direction because now you have the information that something is going on and are free to act on it for good or ill.


I also offered you another favor, providing that completing Vala's offer may be difficult in the current situation. I offered you an alternative endgame which I think would be accepted by Vala given my previous interactions with her. All in all, I'd say that I have been very helpful and shown you a lot of goodwill - not because of the way you treated me in the past which was appalling but to form a better future relationship in the future.

"Oh, I admit we were rude to you the first time we met. Vala rather set things up for a confrontation, I think? And you are right that you are being most helpful. That doesn't for certain mean that you are being truthful. I'm not a good manipulator myself, but I know that the best are good at being so helpful, helping people along to the desired conclusions and actions. I'm not saying that you are doing that, I'm just saying that I don't have a good way to know if you are doing that. Unlike you, I can't just read your emotional state from your aura."

"So back to the usual human dilemma of who to trust, based on deduction, intuition, and of course our innate biases."

<<OK, we have to decide quickly, try to stop this supposed theft, or go for plan B where we manipulate the destruction of the fake card. Raven, any chance that you'd be able to spot this theft going down?>>

Mato nods along with what Tamarind is saying.

"Yes," he agrees, "there are certain members of our organization that are more passionate than others." He smiles wryly. It seems like a fair euphemism. "I would imagine that you are familiar with this as well," he says to Mel and Tara, alluding to Vala's capricious nature.

"But let us have cooler heads prevail in the end, shall we?"

This is a nice thought, but the reality is that the decision is largely out of his hands.

<<Bobby, Raven, you're the ones with your hoops in the fire. Your necks are on the line.>>

<<Doing it Vala's way involves confrontation: stopping the theft, then crossing the Crush.>>

<<Mel's way might be accomplished with misdirection and nobody's head on the chopping block.>>

<<But you have your own consciences, and your own senses of honor, so maybe things weigh differently for you.>>

Mel sighs "Do you think Tara finds it easy to understand you? She sees your aura.
How well do you think my team of extraordinary spirits negotiates in your opinion? Can you explain why you walk away with a 50k contract, and we can't get a 5k one? Why Vala only pays me superficial respect and hides me from her fellow metahumans like some dirty secret? However difficult you think you have it, it is ten times worse for a spirit. " She seems upset and passionate with her little speech, but unlike a metahuman - she regains composure very quickly.

With that, she says ...You guys are very busy, so I'll leave you with that. If you want to talk to me again just text Sandy. Don't go through the Gates, every little favor has a price with them.

Bobby replied: <<I'm open for ideas - easiest way to step in would be to call Big Stank and warn him of the theft. Though I'm inclined to let it happen and take the card from the thieves.>>

Mato needs to be cautious about addressing Mel. She has cooled down but he doesn't want to heat her back up. Still, he feels obliged to provide some feedback.

"It wasn't your price so much as your restrictions," he says candidly. "Not wishing to work with summoned spirits, for example, limits our ability to function as we usually do. And your exclusion of violence, while laudable, could have left us unprotected and exposed at a most vulnerable moment. If it had just been Ms. Tamarind and myself, unendowed with the Talent, then surely we would have accepted your proposal. But blessed as we are with the Awakened gifts of Ms. Raven and the son-of-the-shaman, there was considerable redundancy with your offering. This is not a criticism; it just a reality that many of your skills overlap with ours."

Mato bows to Mel and Tara out of respect. "Your concern about our time is very considerate of you.

"Please accept my gratitude for meeting us. And, yes, your advice about the Gates is well-received. I look forward to speaking with you in the future."

He waits to see if Tamarind has anything to add, then turns to go.

<<Tamarind and I are on our way. 15 minutes minimum, could be up to 30 minutes with afternoon traffic.>>

<<They alluded to it being easy to steal the card from mundanes. If we are going to stop the thieves, we'll need to expect - and deal with - Awakened opposition.>>

@Tamarind and Mato There is a bit of traffic, but within 20 minutes, you team up with Bobby.


While Tamarind and Mato are about 10 minutes away, Bobby notices that the suspicious van's door opens and then closes, but nobody enters - well, not nobody. There is a person there invisible, though. His sharp perception catches a glimpse of distortion on the near-perfect spell. This happens almost parallel to the old man and Big Stank exiting the building. The old man politely says farewell and comments I'll study the matter. Very interesting.

Bobby sent

<<Right, I just saw an invisible person head in. I expect they are going to steal the card about now. I'll head over to the van and take it from them in turn - unless you all think we should stay clear of the Muse's plans.>>

<< I really have no idea what we should do... but we should decide quickly, if we want to do something about it. Do you think that is the Muse's work? Could also be someone working for Nightmare, or even someone else entirely? >>

<<Let's break it down>> Mato says.

<<Our goal is to get paid. We've been paid once by Big Stank. If we play it right, we can get paid again by Vala, or maybe even another party if we end up with the card again.>>

Mato isn't thrilled with that thought. He had been relieved to get rid of the card.

<<Vala's goal seems to be exposing Nightmare. Breaking up the syndicate is what Mayor Sonya Scholl and Kalanyr want. I wonder if they're behind this, using the card to drive a wedge between the Crush and the Halloweeners.>>

There are ramifications to this that Mato can only guess at. Is it better or worse if the syndicate fails? Is less criminal stability mean more order, or more chaos?

<<I think there's going to be havoc either way, so let's choose the avenue that makes us some nuyen. Getting the card back keeps us in the game, but let's not kill or be killed in the process. If they swap in a dummy card then we can still do things Mel's way and make Nightmare think it's been destroyed.>>

<<So, yes, let's try to observe the swap, then intercept the card.>>

<<Alright, I'll go out and try to intercept the thieves.
Rachel, do you have any buff you could put on me to make he harder to detect? I can mask my appearance, but my illusions are easier to pierce in general.
For this I'd like to just hang around, masking my magic potential and then just hit them with my taser.>>

Bobby replied.

- Once the van's door closes, the van drives away in the street. Its windows are backend, so it is difficult to see what is going on inside.

- At about the same time Big Stank and the old man exit the building and say their farewells.

<< I can turn you invisible, if that helps... >>

Rachel then casts the spell on Bobby to render him unseen.

<< Should I quickly check on the astral, if there is anyone still in the back of that van? >>

<<Too late, I missjudged - they apparently already have what they came for. Though I would have expected the card to be visible on the astral. Must have pulled in again.
Let's follow the van. Carefully.>>

Bobby went to follow the car, without being obvious about it.

<<Look for the bloom>> Mato recommends, even though he knows it doesn't bloom all the time.

Another decision point now, forced sooner than he was expecting.

<<But if we all follow the van, we'll be leaving Stank - and the decoy - to Nightmare. If we want to try things Mel's way, we'll need to stay here and interfere with Nightmare.>>

<<We can split up. That's more risk, but maybe more reward as well.>>

<<Sent drones to keep an eye on Big Stank and the Crush. We are already comitted.>>

Bobby replied switching to autopilot for a moment, so Rachel could take over.

Rachel and Bobby:

- If the van notices the subtle tail, it does not make any visible sign that it does. It makes its way south toward the 520 and seems in no rush.

Tamarind and Mato:
Once you finally arrive on site, there is a standoff. A group of Halloweeners hastily painted with sloppy makeup riding their bikes and gathering strength near the building. They deploy strategically at nearby locations around the apartment complex and seem to be preparing for battle.
Each group makes many Molotov cocktails but seems tired and in no particular hurry to use the cocktails. They seem short on bikes, and each cycle has at least two riders, with some carrying a third rider.

As the minutes pass, their numbers increase to the point where the Crush is vastly outnumbered. Worse yet. Their guards seem to have a terrible headache, crushing from using a combat drug too early. They have a hard time remaining focused and appear to be slow, and while they are not backing down, it is clear that the Halloweeners have more muscle on the scene.

There is no violence yet, but the atmosphere is agitated, and it does not take much for the standoff to turn into a full-blown battle. Mato can note that Carnevil is not there, or at least the clown car is nowhere to be seen.

Tamarind had let her delivery drones rest while they were in the gallery, but once on their way had put them back into the air, and let's them cruise around to get a broader view than they can get just from her van. It would be good to see if reinforcements are on the way.

She makes the drone's feed available to Mato, too, then goes in search of the Kanmushi that she'd left in the card case. It may have been terminated or turned off, but she sees if she can get a ping off of it, and if she can see where it is.

Tamarind's drones:
The Kanmushi is unresponsive, likely discovered already. Tamarind can see reinforcements on the way, mainly Halloweeners. Crimson crushes are not approaching the building with more force, but they are nearby.


Tiny stands on the balcony waving a card "No more attacks, if you want it, you bargain; one more step and we rip it apart." He yells in his deep and very loud troll's voice but does not wait for a response and puts the card away.