"That Vault is going to be very useful for us. Still, how did they manage to get the actual card away without anyone noticing?"

Mato doesn't know much about the astral but he's in a chatty mood with all the adrenaline in his system, so he'll speculate wildly.

"Is it possible that they still had it, but somewhere else?" he asks. "I mean, the card didn't 'bloom' all the time, right? If it wasn't blooming, maybe we didn't see it. Perhaps it was in a different pocket or in a smuggling compartment, or maybe they were intentionally using the Vault to bait us into thinking it was there.

"If they got away with it then fair play to them. But, to Bobby's point, you burnt their beard."

Mato wonders if not getting the card is a blessing in disguise. Sure, it would be nice to sell it again for a chunk of nuyen, but - just like he told Tom and Rat - anything of value makes you a target. Mato has already met his quota of being shot at for the evening and is glad not to be in the sniper's sights at the moment.

Bobby shrugged: "Well, the human body has - depending on sex - about 2 to 3 natural pockets to store stuff, enclosing it with their aura and preventing detection. Though I don't think so.
I think there was a hand off after the invisible person left the building. A small drone would be best to limit exposure to the mind influencing effect of the card."

Tamarind has her damaged drone film Mato burning the card, and than has it scan around the mayhem left behind by the battle. Then she calls it, and the rest of her drones, back to the van. She relaxes a bit, flexes her fingers after their recent rapid work, then starts stroking Beauty as she comes down from the rush.

<<Where too now?>>

After a moment she adds <<And ... did we win? Or draw? Or something?>> She assumes that Mato burned a fake card, but what happened to the real one?

<<To be determined>> Mato comms back to Tamarind.

<<We got paid by Stank, so no matter what we got something. Now we'll see what Vala thinks about the events of the evening.>>

<<Oh, and I got you a gift>> he adds, looking down at the drone that was flying the card around.

<<And remember: Don't negotiate against yourself. Everything we did went according to our plan and fullfilled all mission goals. We demand full payment for our troubles and see what we can shake loose in the negotiation.>>

Bobby added to the conversation.

The next day is eventless, and you can spend it having fun at the hotel, spa, or casino.

Then on its eve, you get a message.

>> Amazing day, detectives!
Vala would like a virtual chat with you guys before she makes the last payment.
I wish you luck!
--- Sandy.

Bobby had spend the time in the luxurious confines of their suite in quiet meditation. With this message, he turned to Tamarind:
"This time we'll check the credentials first. Please take the time to make a very thorough examination of the connection. We don't want to be spoofed overheard or duped again. Once was more than enough."

When things have settled down, Rachel relieves her summoned helper from his service, thanking him for the help.

After the hectic around the gangs, she is happy to indulge in some more relaxing activities in the casino. She will spend a few hours in the spa area, who knows when she will be able to do something like that again.

<< This will be interesting ... >>

Mato spends the night after the action in deep meditation, which for him usually involves staring out of a window. He looks out the suite's window, reflecting on all the differences between the scene outside vs. Touristville. Around 2am his sleep regulator finally puts him to sleep, only to wake up at 5am. He showers and shaves, not that his facial hair grows very quickly. Then he gets dressed and goes for a slow walk around the grounds, hoping to find a small garden or a patch of plants to center himself.

Breakfast is some fancy juice that costs ¥10 or ¥20, who knows. It's not like him to skimp on the accounting but right now it's an afterthought. Lunch is more like a light breakfast, with some house-made (or casino-made) yogurt and handmade granola. He's quiet and introspective, although he allows Raven to convince him to try the spa in the afternoon. He figures it might help with some of the aches he's had ever since his last round of surgery.

Mato hasn't spent much time in spas and doesn't really know what he's doing. He asks for "a massage" but when they present to him a menu with multiple massage types - sports, Swedish, prenatal, chair, percussive, deep tissue - he panics and points to one at random. (Lucky as he is, he manages not to select "prenatal".)

The masseuse - a young elf (they all look young, but this one is actually young) who looks like she could be a member of the Bellevue Hackers Club - looks a bit perplexed what to do with a customer who is missing about 54% of the typical surface area. She focuses on his neck, back, and shoulders.

"Is that too hard?" she asks politely while lightly drifting her fingertips over his deltoids.

Mato, who can't even feel it, says, "You could go a little harder."

The young elf redoubles her efforts but Mato can't tell any difference before and after, so he concludes that this is the her maximum muscular output. He sighs a little at the waste of it all, although he does appreciate the spa's shower that blasts him with five different water streams. He then lounges around the pool in a terrycloth robe, eating moisture-rich fruits and vegetables to promote his skin's hydration and pliability. He gets his fair share of looks from the rest of the spa's patrons. If he's not used to it now, he'll need to learn to deal with it when SIS relocates to Bellevue.

When the time came, Bobby was sitting on the couch, wearing a fresh shirt and trousers. The trousers were fresh, too.

After the greetings, he waited for Vala to start the conversation.

At the scheduled time, Sandy arrives with Ben Smith the lawyer Melpomene arrives with them. Sandy grins when she enters the suite - "well, look at you..." she says appreciatively. "Having fun?" she does not wait for an answer but instead explains "Mel says that you needed a lawyer, so I asked Ben to accommodate us in case he can help." Ben nods "Happy to be of assistance, but how can I help? Did you get caught doing anything illegal or?" Mel manifested as the semi-transparent greek demoness, says "Well... it is an interesting story... they did not do what Vala paid them to do, but they did something better. I want Vala to be reasonable about it and pay nonetheless because she got her money's worth."

Ben asks , "Alright, the spirit of the deal rather than the written letter. Goldberg would not like that, but it is a pro-Bono gig, so fine. I would try to convince her to go on that path, but it is a lot of money, and many would use a loophole to get out of such a commitment."



Sandy looks at the team . "Should I hook up the call to Vala, or do you want to do some catching up or planning or whatever?"

Rachel is a bit surprised, but certainly not unhappy. This was a weird day, and as such this was a fitting conclusion.

"Since it is all over now, I'm curious. How did you get it out?"

Tamarind had holed up in her van, in the parking garage, doing the initial work towards repairing her damaged "Pelliper". She had even started the night sleeping in the van until a guard had come and told her this was not allowed. Exactly how the guard knew that the van was occupied, Tamarind didn't figure out. Reluctantly she'd returned to the room for just enough sleep, then had returned to the van to explore some other ideas on how she could repair the twists in the chassis without further throwing off the balance of the drone.

She did return to the room in time to quickly shower and change to her less casual clothes, but the others can easily see that her mind is still off with her drones. When a lawyer comes in she looks entirely puzzled, then she ducks her head and anxiously strokes Beauty for a bit, in hopes that someone else will handle negotiations. If she had to she could make polite conversation, but what was the point of working with a few people, if not to have them deal with the many more people?

Before Sandy and Ben arrive, Mato presents the drone he retrieved to Tamarind. It is Tiny's drone, the one the carried the card to and fro as the Halloweener cadets chased it.

"Here," he tells Tamarind, handing over his prize. "Sorry about Pelliper. Thanks for the assist out there."

Mato hopes that Tamarind doesn't think that the damage to Pelliper is a waste, that Mato could have handled things by himself without Tamarind putting the drone in harm's way. Perhaps this is true, but Mato is sincere with his thanks.

"It's a nice feeling when you know your team has your back," he says.

That part complete, he tells Tamarind a bit about Rat and Tom. "You'd like them, I think. Rat seems to be a natural tinkerer. He had rigged up a Sony Emperor to do some hacking. Crude, but it worked. I bet you could find some fun projects to work on."

To the whole team, Mato explains the job offer he made to Rat and Tom. If anyone objects to them being on payroll, Mato will take their retainer out of his share.

~~~

By the time Sandy and Ben show up, Mato has inspected and then re-inspected his suit for holes. He doesn't find any, which sort of boggles his mind. He reminds himself not to be overconfident, that Halloweener recruits aren't exactly sharpshooters. But still... that was a hail of bullets.

Mato is somewhat relieved when Mel shows up and says the same thing to Sandy and Ben that she said to Mato yesterday at the Bellevue Art Museum. He had wondered if she was lying to him, was manipulating him into something that only benefited her. But now it seems she's holding up her end of the bargain.

"Val is volatile," he says the rest of the team. "Let's not antagonize her. Gently, gently." Easier said than done.

Mel explains, "As you may know, I made this story more interesting, tipping off another faction about the card. They were highly paranoid about antagonizing the Halloweeners now that they were in bed with Urubia. So they tried all sorts of indirect methods for getting the card from you, and they all failed.

After you sold the card to Big Stank, they planned to steal it from him and replace it with a decoy. Hoping that the decoy would hold long enough for them to disappear. Things did not go out as planned; they assumed that the Crimson Crush lacked magical assets, yet their entire building was riddled with slave spirits. These caught on to their thief quite easily.

She sighs " Their thief was captured, but they negotiated her release in exchange for the strike team pretending that their mission was successful - a decoy, if you will."

If you followed my advice, you destroyed the card; the question then asked is, which card did you get? "

"I did destroy a card," Mato admits. "But I couldn't say which one Tiny attached to the drone."

He doesn't feel badly; he feels indifferent. The possibility had occurred to him, but he needed to act on the best intel available at the time.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive," he whispers to himself under his breath.

"I'm pretty sure the fake card was destroyed. So, the real one must still be out there."

Bobby frowned but kept his tongue in check, letting the muse explain. Though when she finished, he couldn't help but add:
"You know how this confusion and change of plans could have been avoided? If Vala and you had played with open cards -no pun intended - and had let us do our job without interference.

Though you ensuring we get paid goes a long way to me not minding too much.
But I'm not sure a lawyer will be able to do much here - we can't bring this affair to court and all involved are very much interested in keeping the details secret...

...unless of course you leaked them already to another amateur runner team."

Mel seems pensive "You would have had an easier time if you kept us committed to you. "
Ben says Most lawyers never see the inside of a court, Vala hired you to do something discreet, and if she is indeed pleased with the results, she should not take it to the letter - it is highly unusual in this type of employment. I'll try to get that message across if you would like."

****
Sandy then patches Vala, and the old lady seems to be very happy; before anyone can complain, she says "Very good work; I appreciate the chaos you seeded and the elaborate manner you brought the card to Nightmare. Crimson Crush, Crimson Guard, Urubia, Nightmare. Either you are very good at your work, or you are lucky. In any case, you would find your 50k deposited under your account, and enjoy the suite."

Mel seems amazed but is not visible through digital media and thus cannot participate in the conversation. Sandy seems very satisfied, and Ben looks confused -"wow," he says quietly You do not see that every day.

"Thank you all for your offer to help here with the 'tough negotiations'. Guess noone here really expected this. But no complaints, right?"

<< I guess, Vala has some means to track the card. Not sure, how else she would know all this. Seems like the card went to the Crimson Guard, maybe as payment for their services, they brought it to Urubia and Nightmare got it from her? He must have realized, the destroyed card was a fake, and tracked it down from there. Well, as long as she is happy with the result... I mean, there surely was some luck involved, but we did get the ball rolling into the right direction. >>

Bobby shrugged in answer to the allegation: "Maybe, even probably. That was Val's failing, not to disclose that she had brought you in and that you expected a piece of the action. But we are not in the habit of just handing out a cut to random people we meet. If we hire subcontractors, we do it on our terms. We fight tooth and nails for our company - and our clients. I don't fault you for looking out for your interests, but neither should you.

Vala both failed in her role to coordinate and to mediate. But she's paying up and at the end of the day, that's what matters.

And now I want to go. This hotel gives me the creeps."

Over comm he replied: <<Very likely - though to say with a client that won't disclose pertinent information.
Let's have a little retro on our mission and see what we can do better next time. But not here while a fragging lawyer is around that we didn't hire. Speaking of which...>>

Bobby turned towards the lawyer: "By the way, nice meeting you - you wouldn't have a card on you? Here is ours, should you need a discreet and capable detective agency. We'll certainly keep you in mind should we need representation."

Ben hands Bobby his card. , "Well, you did not need any negotiation, but it was a pleasure to see that our effort on your behalf bore fruit and that you and Vala are satisfied. The Jhonson, Goldberg, and associates would happily take your business." Sandy waves her hand shyly and says , "So happy it worked out, but we need to get back to work. bye-bye" The two leave; Mel lingers for a moment longer and then says , "Glad it all worked out, I was getting worried... and yes, Vala was coarse. " She gradually disappears, leaving nothing but a smile, and then she is completely gone.



The suite is suddenly as quiet as it was a moment ago, nothing much has changed.

Tamarind looks up from the new drone. It is similar to the fly spy's that she uses already, but a different brand, a smidge larger, slightly different dimpling. Since the rest of the talking seems to be done, she asks "Any objections if I call this one Tiny?"

After a moment she adds "Oh, the rest of that is done, right?"

Mato doesn't have to say much. The meeting proceeds - and concludes amicably - anyway.

"I wonder if Nightmare got the card even before the chase. If that was Nightmare observing me, perhaps that is why it appeared so... amused?" He looks to Raven to see if that's the right description. "Or at least unconcerned with the fate of the card."

He sighs, sinking into an overstuffed chair in the suite.

"Do we even know if there's anyplace to go?" Mato asks. "Besides this hotel. I mean, presumably we could afford another hotel now that we've been paid twice, but does anyone know if SIS is still standing? Or did the Halloweeners torch it in their rampage last night?"

But then he gives Bobby a knowing look. "Or are you talking about another walkabout? Disappearing into the woods for a week, or a month."

Rachel shrugs. "I don't know, that one was just creepy. But he would surely know, that the card was fake. The original would be easily distinguishable in astral space."

Bobby shrugged: "I haven't got a call yet. But I expect they'll wait until we are at home again."

When every visitor has left, Rachel suddenly realizes: "We still havn't spent all that gambling budget... since we still have this place for a few more days, there is no reason to just leave that untouched, right?"

She grins at the others, obviously quite happy with the prospect. "Anyone else hitting the casino floor?"

"Feel free to do so. I've got some meditating to get through before my next initiation.
Speaking of which: when AM is back you might want to become part of our magic circle. Helped me a lot to improve my magic - and my temper."
Bobby replied

Tamarind suddenly straightens up "I hate gambling ... with my money. I worry more about losing than enjoying winning. And I expect that we'll lose it all because that is how these games are set up. But I am good at calculating odds, it might be fun to do the best we can with it." She even, carefully, puts the drone down at the prospect. "This place has annoyed me, let's give a go at taking some of their money."