<<Monday Morning - March 20, 2079 - Seattle>>

The move had been successful and the first week had gone in a blur. The first HOA-meeting had turned out not as bad as could be expected: Sunday evening with lots of soycaf and fresh donuts, the actual meeting had been good natured and more of a socializing event. There had been two somewhat lenghty speeches from the president, who obviously loved to hear himself talk, as well as from the minute keeper who just read out the minutes of the previous meeting in its entirety, never stopping to think if all this information was actually relevant.

But at least they had been welcoming Bobby had attended with AM and kept his mouth shut most of the time, so that it was left to the elf to leave a favorable impression
(One CHA+Ettiquette role please)

Once they were back, Bobby gave his goodbyes to the team: He was setting up his third initiation with one of the nine paths to enlightenment - Satori, which meant spending excessive amounts of time in meditation and hardly leaving his room.



Around 0900h the official SIS matrix page received a message, alerting AM.

The message read:

<<Dear Sir or Madam,

Your agency comes highly recommended and I would like to hire you for a special task: A very valuable artifact was taken from me - likely by my own son.

I ask you to find both and bring at least the artifact back to me. If you can convince my son to come as well, or at least talk to me via commlink, I'm prepared to offer you a bonus.

For details, I'd prefer a face to face meeting, this afternoon at 1500h, if you can manage. 1918 8th Ave #3300, Seattle.

With kind regards

Xavier Tien III>>

I am not at my best during the HOA meeting, but I keep it polite and try not to draw too much attention to myself or show signs of boredom. It is not my area, and I am thankful for Bobby showing up. It is comforting to have an actual SINner that has been part of a legitimate society at arm's reach.




===
Once I get the message, I forward it to my colleagues and start researching Mr. Xavier Tien III on the matrix to see who we will meet.
I add

>> Tamarind, I'd like to do a basic background check on the client if you want to help. That way, we come ready for the meetup. Guys, if you need my mojo, do it quickly, not five minutes before we leave I sometimes need to rest after these things.

Mato's idea of conspicuous consumption is more cyber. After moving in, he disappears to the clinic and emerges with new cybereyes.

"Doc Painless says hi," he reports back.

His eyes are different than before. On the astral they are obvious as can be. In the physical world, the effect is more subtle. The whites are whiter. The pupil is blacker, deeper, almost like a little abyss. The iris retains some of the chocolate brown of his previous eyes, but from some angles there's a metallic flash that circles the pupil like a golden ring.

"Doc says that bear eyes are popular," he says. "Not literally, but almost like an orange color."

In Touristville, Mato was prone to staring out the window for long stretches of time. One can do that in Bellevue but what's happening out on the street isn't even even a fraction as interesting. Now you can often find Mato simply staring at inanimate objects around the house, as if seeing them for the first time.

"Everything is so sharp..." he says, lost in thought. "Have you ever looked and salt and pepper up close? Or sugar?" He is equally curious about dryer lint, bread mold, moss, the grass in the backyard, tree bark, and pine needles.

He does his best to present a distinguished image to the neighborhood. He makes sure to always groom before going outside, usually wearing a suit. He treats it almost like a uniform. "My social armor" he calls it.

He is grateful when the call comes in, if only because he broke the piggy bank to afford the high-end cybereyes. Sure his trust fund would keep him housed, clothed, and fed, but that wasn't going to pay for the genemods he had eyes on...

"That gives us six hours," he says once AM relays the message. "It's at least a 20-minute drive, but let's leave 30 minutes to account for parking and any slowdowns. Once we get a basic outline of Mr. Tien was can start sending out feelers."

He contributes his own modest skill to the collective effort but is clearly better suited to other ventures: Logic 5 + Computer 2: 7d6t5 1 hit

A surface matrix search reveals the following info:

The address is that of a high rise, belonging to a law firm Brewster, Brewster and Jakobson.

Xavier Tien III seems to be a profesionally rich man: He sits on various corporate boards, has a lot of stock and otherwise occupies his time as a patron of the arts. There are at least four stories about him visiting galleries and vernissages.

"That's in Downtown between the Space Needle and the Wuxing Towers," Raven comments. She had spent a moment looking up the address with her map soft.

"So, yeah, we better put on the good suits and dresses. That guy must have some serious money. Fairly traditional wear is probably good. Are there any pictures of him? What kind of clothing does he wear? Do you think that recommendation came from Ben from Johnson, Goldberg and Associates? Seems fitting. Although, he probably simply is a client, not a lawyer himself."

Rachel casts a spell to increase her charisma a few hours before heading out. She will also assist with any fashion-related questions.

" Either them or from the Pike family... the Duchess that gifted me that book if you remember." She explains that Rachel was not with them then.

Then she lies in her workstation and begins to work, "I am digging some stuff for us to use in negotiations. Information is power and everything. If anyone wishes to help, you are most welcome. "

Then comes the fun part, an hour or two in hot simulation feeling like a superheroine capable of scanning vast amounts of data, only limited by the processing power of her hardware. AM tries to find out: 1. about the client, 2. What may have been stolen and its value, 3. Who stole it. 4. Anything else she can use for conversation/negotiation to have something to say in case she gets embarrassed or blanks out at the situation. Now that Jawsey is gone, she will likely take the lead position rather than the wingman, and she needs to be informed to feel more relaxed in the meeting.

"Great work, AM," Mato says of the Matrix research.

"Next I would say let's pivot and look at his son, Xavier Tien IV, since he's an early suspect. Now maybe it's someone framing him so we'll keep an open mind, but let's see if we can establish his recent whereabouts.

"The Fourth is 20 years old. The Boston lockdown was June 2076, so almost three years ago. If he really was at MIT&T at 17 years old then we could be dealing with a formidable intelligence. And magically active on top of that."

"I don't mind doing it again..." I grin deviously; hot sim is more fun than anything else I can do right now, even if it is just looking for information and not proper gaming. Let's see what we can study on Xavier the Fourth. I say, and with a grin, I close my eyes and enter the wonderland for the second time.

Mato considers what AM digs up on IV.

"He's quiet... disciplined... which makes him all the more formidable."

Shakespeare comes to mind. "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. Such men are dangerous."

To the three ladies he asks, "Can you make sense of this thesis? I know you're experts in magical theory and arcana. If IV is the culprit then maybe what he stole is connected to his research."

"Sounds like some writeup on the astral body. But what he describes there, materialization from the astral space, like spirits can, should not be possible, as far as I know. I probably won't understand half of it, though. I'm more intuitive than learned. The biggest difficulty is going to be to actually find him. And we should look into what the problem between him and his father is, I doubt the latter is going to tell us too much about it, but you never know. Maybe he is serious about reconnecting with his son, and does realize that he likely did a lot of mistakes. Yeah, I know. But, hey, sometimes people surprise you."

AM plays the geek, being very knowledgeable about Arcana and other theories.
"In principle, Metahumans can project, which none of the spirits has. The spirit's materialization is the mirror image of astral perception as they are astral entities. By materializing, they also exist in the physical plane but still occupy the same space in both planes. Full mages can exist in both planes but not in the same place, which is a surprising ability. It spawns a heated discussion about what a person is and where the soul lies.

A projecting mage can, in principle, interact with the physical plane where their projecting self lies. She can manifest and speak to people, and there are known examples of projecting self-triggering alchemical preparations in the physical plane - but even these are rare abilities. This thesis claims the possibility of interacting with physical objects by the projecting self - which is very radical.

Though, Many of the things we now casually do were considered impossible before - Bobby's transformation contradicts classical science about the preservation of mass, for example. It was likely, not possible a century ago. So at this point, I keep an open mind and don't assume to know what can and can't be done. Common wisdom changes all the time.

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to read the whole thesis, it might give us some insight into him as well," Rachel wonders.

"Oh, I'll read it eventually, and if it works, you should try it. I am not sure how much we can accomplish before the meeting though, or if the Forth is even relevant."

"Well let's educate ourselves so that we can be informed going into the meet with III," Mato says. "It might help us ask intelligent questions.

"Let's also note these allegations about the III with simsense models. I don't know what his 'type' is, but - ladies - be prepared for some extra attention.

"Is there any hint about the nature of the very expensive clinics that the III has spent so much time at the last nine months? Are they health and wellness places, or is he getting something fancy done, like gene therapy? There are lots of types of gene tech: genetic restoration, rejuvenation treatment, phenotype adjustment, then there are exotic metagenics..."

Mato drifts off with a dreamy look on his face. One imagines that he's fantasizing about what sort of genetech he might get for himself.

He snaps out of it. "So do we know anything about the clinics he's been visiting?"

"Praise the Trickster. He happens to like tall blonde women. " I say with a mischievous grin. "It is religious. I will have to dress nicer than usual." I say with a makeshift seriousness, and I thank Iktomi for these little tidbits to show me a new perspective on life. I look at Mato seriously and comment . He goes to delta clinic, and they can do anything; you can even be a tall blond elf girl. I'll ask for contact if we end this job on good terms. It would be unprofessional to ask for favors in advance. I always humor when I am a bit nervous.

Mato makes sure he is showered, shaved, and dressed in his nice suit.

"Let's take the Ford," he suggests. "AM will take the lead in discussions. The rest of us can support as we are best able."

<<Monday Afternoon, 1455h - March 20, 2079 - 1918 8th Ave #3300, Seattle>>

The high rise building was a glittering monstrosity of steel and glas, slightly reminiscent of an eldritch monolith planted by inhuman intelligences - in other words, just your typical, run-of-the-mill corporate cookie cutter construction that made up Seattle's famous skyline.

After having applied all their usual gear, spells and other accessories, the team faced the first hurdle: A ward on the buildings entrance, clearly made by a competend, if not particularly inventive wage mage.



Inside the lobby, a series of identical looking service points with a series of nearly identical looking service people awaited the guests. Their smiles and the inaction of the two very heavily armored and heavily build trolls in Knight Errant uniforms showed that the team's arrival was expected and welcomed.

"SIS Inc?" the fit and smiling service girl with the heavy make up, that made her skin look a bit like it was encased in polyacryl, asked.

The affirmative, made her hand out four visitor badges with printed holo-images of the team's faces.



"Please take the elevator over there. The badges will lead you directly to your destination and open any door you need to pass through."

I use a few fashion spells to choose the occasion dress. A business-like dress with doll shoes and a long skirt, in grey. I do not like leading negotiations, so I ask for Iktomi's blessing before I leave. I was wearing the spiderweb earing and gave myself a fresh makeover by painting the fingernails with a combination of pink and white and tidying my hair in what the matrix calls a 'short and pixie tomboy' hairstyle. Then some attention to my cosmetics to bring more attention to my green eyes and increase my confidence. The ritual makes me feel better, and it ends with invoking Iktomi to be more charming. The entire project takes me 40 minutes, and once well groomed, I take a moment to appreciate myself and feel happy. How can I not be satisfied when well dressed and after I shaped my body exactly as I wanted it? Last smile, and now for that assertive business-woman act.

I like the Ford, but arriving at a meetup with such a wealthy customer in such a car saddens me. The classy look and expensive suits will make up for that impression. As strange as it sounds, I need a more excellent car to feel more confident so that we are successful - not in my head but in my critical and demeaning inner voice. I mean, it is Bellevue. If we move again, I will have a butler named Alfred and the Batcave under my room.

I let someone else drive as I review the background checks and what I know about the man.



I frown at the ward and try to push in; it takes a few moments of awkwardness as I struggle with a barrier that none of the mundanes see - but I quickly make my way inside.

Dressed in her Zoé Executive Suite, Rachel is ready for their appointment. Her luxurious, dark hair is tied back in a ponytail. Heeled boots and orange-tinted sunglasses, as well as a black cap, complement her outfit. Makeup is minimal, only subtly underlining her natural attractiveness.

She had her senses shifted to the astral before entering, since she expected a ward. They were in Downtown, after all. Once she has attuned her own aura to it, she can easily pass through that obstacle. Nodding at the two guards, Rachel wonders whether those are always here, or just extra security, because of Mr. Tien III. She immediately notices the irregularity with the badges. Looks like they had some older information on SIS, which rules out Ben as the one that passed along the recommendation. That probably also means they expect them to come from Redmond.

Thanks to the trodes fashioned into her cap, Rachel can send some magnified images of the badges to the others.

<< Looks like they got some older pictures of you guys. Tam's and mine are ... very recent. >>

Mato pins the badge to his chest pocket (if that's what he's supposed to do) and wordlessly walks over to the elevator.

He grew up megacorp but still... seeing two trolls on guard, not actively patrolling, just for... deterrence? High-threat response? Mato's been slumming it for long enough that it now feels odd. Will it feel normal again, if the company continues to prosper?

He uses the badge to key the elevator, which presumably will know to take them to the 33rd floor. Along the way, Mato does what his old mentors taught him to do, which is to pick out cameras, drones, points of ingress/egress, etc. Not that he expects to need it, but it can help keep him fresh on what the nice buildings are doing these days.

Tamarind chose the skirt suit, rather than the pants suit. Dark grey, which she suspected may not be her best colour even thought it seemed to work for administrative assistants the world over. She thought she looked a bit older and more weathered than usual, but whatever. She actually doesn't mind hosiery and a skirt, so long as it isn't too cold out. Not as practical as pants, but the world seemed to think that 'skirt' = 'dressed nicely'. And since all she cared about what showing that she'd made an effort to dress for the occasion, that was all that she was looking for. And of course she'd picked up an appropriate clutch of appropriate size for her RCC, and to that she also added a physical notebook and pen.

Aside from her usual moisturizer and some lip gloss she didn't bother with cosmetics. When she'd gotten out of Butte below she'd been teased for being so baby faced, her skin so soft from almost never seeing the sun or real weather. Since then she'd spent a lot of her life outside. Oh, sometimes in vehicles for sure, but when she had a chance she'd always gotten out and sat on the hood or leaned against the side and appreciated the sun or clouds, the wind, even the rain. The weathering of her face reflected being outside and above ground, and she had no desire to hide that.

She did take a bit of time to brush her hair out well, and loosely bind it. It may be picking up some streaks of grey, but overall it still had good thickness and lustre, and she intended to enjoy that for as long as it lasted.

She brought Beauty along with her, to provide moral support on the drive She did make sure to remove the taser darts, however, who knew how strict the security in the parking garage was? With real regret she also left her other drones at the house, and disabled all but the commlink functions of her RCC. She hoped that the security was all that it had cracked up to be. Well, at least Stitch and Toothless were patrolling the house, occasionally twitching curtains and opening and closing doors (she'd confined toothless to those areas where the heavy drone and its tracks wouldn't cause damage). Not true security, but it would make the house seem potentially occupied. She would not be in much of a position to do anything about it quickly, if anything did happen. That would definitely be in the back of her mind until they got back.

Finally before leaving she turned on the AR fashion features, from the team's account. She rapidly selected options to make the software actually reflect her more or less as she was, instead of some attempt at making her look like the latest fashions victims on the AR side.

When they arrived she left even Beauty in the car, and was feeling a bit stressed until she was amused to see AM's clearly mark the location of the building's wards. Tamarind wishes that she could see the wards, but AM's actions marked it clearly enough.

The lobby was definitely designed to intimidate, and she had to admit it did its job reasonably well. The 'we have more money than you will ever have, and the power that it buys' came through quite clearly. It was a small detail, but the badge had been processed impressively quick. For all of the 'standing around impassive' thing they had going on in here, they'd moved fast. Tamarind was sure that the pic was not of any one moment, but rather a composite made from interpolating multiple frames to maximize resemblance as interpreted by some algorithm. And the AR provided both a pic identical to that on the physical badge, and the AR enhanced view. That little details was in some ways even more intimidating than all of the big stuff. Not just a lot of money, but enough money to spend in places that were not all that obvious.

At the elevator she asks Mato "Do those legs get tired on stairs? My knees and various leg muscles I don't even know the names of are happy for elevators, rather than trudging up endless stairs. But I never did like the design of elevators. They work, but they are not pleasing. So I wish I liked stairs better."

The elevator moved so smoothly that it's action was nearly imperceptible. Wards flashed past them, but apparently the creator had been present in some fashion, as they let AM and Trouble through without a forced intersection. An uninvited dual-natured creature would have had a very unpleasant ride.

The elevator stopped on the 33rd floor and subtle AR markers guided the team towards an entrance, past another reception and directly into a large corner office. Everything on their way here had been in very tasteful beige colors, accented here and there with a bit of steel and wood. This office looked more like a small museum - its wall were covered in memorabilia from the last 15 decades of American history. Real black and white photographies jockied for positions with seemingly worthless trinkets and genuine pieces of art. A few baseball cards here, a few "Magic the Gathering" cards there and a large painting that quite obviously was a real Grant Wood of "American Gothic" fame was sat prominently on the wall next to the large desk in the middle of the room.

A tastefully creme colored sitting area had been prepared with a plate of cookies. In one of the armchairs sat a man that the team recognized as Xavier Tien III.
Next to him sat a thin man of about 50 years with a severe widows peak, round glasses and an understated suit.

Both got up, when the team arrived.

"Welcome, you must be the SIS Team. Please, take a seat. Would you like some coffee? Soycaf, or some other refreshment?" Xavier greeted them warmly. His demeanor was very charming and disarming, as he introduced the man next to him: "This is Dr. Ian Jackobson. I begged him to let us use his office for this meeting. Isn't it just great? Such a great collection."

The prospective client busied himself with handing out beverages and waited for everyone to settle down.

"Thank you for making time for me at such a short notice, but I'm afraid we have to move quickly. I understand that your firm has a reputation for discretion. But Ian insists that you sign a non-disclosure agreement, before we beginn. That's alright with you?"

Tamarind is grateful to get a cup of coffee to keep her hands occupied. She messages the others <<I don't have a problem with an NDA>>

Then she talks to her agent, and assigns it to start scanning the team's links for marks, and then she takes several seconds while the team deals with the NDA issue to scan all of the gear herself. It doesn't seem like the sort of place that would pull such tricks, but better safe than sorry.

Rachel did not recognize much there, but the collected pieces did look interesting. "Indeed, a very nice collection, Dr. Jackobson. If I may say, I also really like the suit. Not ostentatious at all. Great choice. As for the NDA. Obviously, we won't have a problem with it. Standard procedure. You are absolutely right to insist. And we are not here looking for gossip, but for a client and to solve a problem of his. And as Mr. Tien III already said, discretion is one of our cornerstones."

I take a short while to appreciate the hallway and play the game, but I don't comment. It is just bits and pieces of information that may connect though I appreciate the effort people make to be unique and the fact that our host seems to be an interesting person.

I take a seat, but none of the food, and I am relieved that Tam takes some. When pressed with the NDA, I say , "In principle, no problem, but I need to read the specific agreement before we decide." I say seriously. Then I'll read the document for a while to understand its highlights and verify that it does not expose us to unnecessary legal risks for things out of our control. Then I'll compare it to a standard NDA agreement and highlight the changes to see if I come up with anything meaningful.

"Naturally. Never sign a contract you haven't read. But you'll find this one pretty smooth and succinct."
Xavier replied.

And indeed, the contract was quite basic, forbidding discussion of details of the case with anyone outside of SIS as well as names or dates outside the absolute legal minimum.

Once signed on behalf of SIS, Xavier continued:

"Now, as you already know, this is about my son and an artifact he borrowed from me without permission."
He pulled up an oldschool printout of a funny looking cube. It almost looked like an optical illusion, where parts of the cube seemed to shift as soon as you didn't focus on one particular part. As far as could be made out from the photo, it was made of a jade green to aqua marine blue material.

"This is the so called Xenobite-Tesseract - an allusion to a 20th century horrorfilm - which happens to be one of three known to exist. It's one result of the artifact rush in the late 50ies, found in the Mojave dessert. It has several interesting properties with the most important one being a very potent summoning focus.
My son is a prodigy and an accomplished mage, but still young and impulsive. He took the XT from my collection against my express wishes to conduct experiments. To be honest, I'm pretty sure his new girlfriend put him up to it. The artifact is worth millions. I'm afraid that he will come to harm using it, or even more likely, be taken advantage of by this girl. Obviously, I don't want to involve the police or any other official channels. He is my son and we all did stupid things in our younger years, I'm sure."

"Mr. Tien, what can you tell us about that girlfriend? You also gave us the impression that your son does not want to talk to you anymore. But you would like to change that. Can you tell us a bit more about your relationship?" Rachel asks.

Still active on the astral, Rachel will also curiously look around, when looking at the collection and also when speaking to the two people, which gives her the opportunity to take a closer look via assensing as well.

Tamarind starts a matrix search on the name of the artifact. She experiences a familiar regret at not having been born earlier, as the artifact rush has always sounded like a fantastic period to have been an adult, when many people, not all awakened, were involved in chasing down magic. She perks up at the thought that with SIS she is getting a taste of the same thing.

I smile when Xavier introduces XT, I like magical artifacts, and I wish we had more, not because of the monetary value but because they are professionally facinating and tend to provide us a glimpse into the thinking of the most brilliant magical minds. It seems like a lovely toy, and between the lines, I suspect the kid is mighty. I don't know much about unique artifacts, but powerful foci require powerful talent to utilize. If he is a full mage, with a talent like Bobby's and the right conjuring, we may be outmatched even SIS on one. If this XT so powerful to imply that? I mean, he thinks he can use it.

When I speak, I ask What exactly do you want us to do? I get that you wish to get the XT back - but in what manner? How would your son react to us? Is he likely to use force to stop us? How dangerous is he? Also, any detail about his life may be helpful, from how he spends his days, friends, family, and people he interacts with daily in addition to his girlfriend. Is he a member of any magical society? Or has any business position he fills? What are his hobbies? ...And most importantly, where do you think we can find them?

I looked for your son before the meeting, and aside from a fascinating research thesis and a few dry details, I did not find much. Your son seems to keep his secrets better than most. He feels careful and disciplined. I say matter of factly.

The collection is mostly mundane, even though some exponats show strong emotional attachement, likewise, both Jackobson and Tien are mundane, very healthy, but with some essence loss - likely from genetic treatment as well as some very exzellent deltaware headware.


Tamarinds matrix search appeared to take longer than the current conversation, so the results had to wait a bit.



Xavier nodded and said:
"Bring back the XT by what ever method you deem necessary - without hurting my son obviously.
My son is not a violent person. That said, he is a full mage with three initiations to his name. He is very talented where conjurations are concerned - binding, banishing and summoning as well as all relevant rituals in that context. He is very driven - always researching and working. That left him with very few real friends. I'll give you a list of his known associates.
He is an alumni of MIT&T and part of their magical research circle.
His hobby is his work - as I said: he is driven. Spirits and the metaplanes are what he loves to talk about.

I don't know where he could be. He is not in his flat, nor in one of the summer places of our family. And he hasn't checked into a hotel under his name. My yacht hasn't left the harbor and my private jet also is grounded. His SIN wasn't registered as having left Seattle.
I'd say you start looking at his flat though. With all his magic research I wasn't comfortable taking too close a look there. That's a job for specialists like you.

Ah and about his girlfriend: Two months ago he met her at his research group. Since then he is nearly as obsessed with her as with his studies. Victoria Arione, 27 years old, ritualist expert from Texas. It might be my personal bias, but I don't like her and I think she has bad intentions towards my son. Though beside a very bad car accident a year ago, there is nothing suspicious or remarkable in her biography."

"They don't get tired, no," Mato tells Tamarind. The question surprises him but he is happy to talk about 'ware. The magicians never wanted to talk about them, understandably, so having Tamarind as someone else to talk shop with was a pleasant prospect. "It's my cardio that's the weak link: my heart and lungs do eventually get tired. There's an air tank in my right leg that can help alleviate some of the VO₂ max issues associated with intense aerobic exercise, like swimming. Perhaps one day I can find the room for a synthacardium but, honestly, my limits get tested in training far more than they do in the field."

~~~

Up in the office, Mato kicks himself for not doing any Matrix searches on the address, which presumably would have pointed toward Dr. Ian Jackobson and what his role in this exchange might be. Why was Dr. Jackobson the one insisting on an NDA? Mato would have thought that Mr. Tien was savvy enough to request one for his own sake.

<<Tamarind, would you please do a quick search on Dr. Ian Jackobson? Just whatever we can learn in 60 seconds.>>

Mato reviews the NDA with his elementary knowledge of UCAS and Seattle Metroplex law. It looks simple and straightforward, so he nods and signs it.

"Dr. Jackobson, may I be direct and ask about your role here today? Are you serving in a professional capacity? Or as a trusted friend and advisor to Mr. Tien? In either case, I am sure your expertise will be most welcome." This is bulldrek, but it smells sweet.

Mato lines up his own questions.

"Mr. Tien, I appreciate your concern as a father." More bulldrek, but Mato can pretend. "In addition to the questions of my colleagues" - he indicates AM and Raven - "I have some of my own.

"First, you suggested that your son may come to harm by using the Xenobite-Tesseract. Is that because it is inherently dangerous, or does it simply allow summoners to exceed their own limits? I do wish to handle it properly when we recover it for you.

"Secondly, you said the artifacts is worth millions. My immediate concern is that such a valuable piece of property will make your son a target. Now, as my friend here pointed out" - he motions to AM - "your son seems exceedingly discrete. But my worry is that we may find our efforts not just opposed by your son, but by other professionals who have identified a profitable opportunity."

This line of questioning can be used to help scare up the price a bit. Mato has other questions, such as about how IV was able to remove the artifact from the collection against the express wishes of III, but those can wait.

Tamarind starts doing the search that Mato asks of her, and is distracted enough that she blurts out a question rather than passing it along to the rest of the team to ask "If we tell your son that we are working for you, how do you think he'll respond?"

She follows up by message <<Sorry, I don't have a feel for the rhythm of this yet, or who I should pass along questions to, for asking. The other thing I'd like to know is if the father knows of any other changes in the son's life in the past year, besides the girlfriend. He doesn't have a history of theft or spectacular magic, what led him to do it now?>>

I mentally text Tam >> ask him politely after he answers Mato. it is important that your voice is also heard in this conversation., and would say it myself if she does not.

<< He also hasn't answered my question about the relationship to his son. I suppose, it was just an oversight, as he surely understands the importance of that part. >>

Jackobson just shrugged: "Both, I guess. Though I don't think I can give you any advice here beyond the obvious. As agents of Mr. Tien you are within your rights to enter his property - including that he granted usage to other people. If those people have changed codes or added security measures, you are within your rights to circumvent them - non-destructively if possible. That is to say: Be discrete and there shouldn't be any need for me to be active in a professional capacity."

Tien answered:
"Yes, the XT has been classified as partially decoded. Which - as far as I know - means, experts aren't sure if there aren't more functions and effects in it than is currently known. The focus can be used to summon potentially any kind of spirit, regardless of tradition. You can imagine the danger that comes with that kind of power.

That is also my worry - if people find out that the artifact is out there, there might be a whole army of criminals hunting for it - hence why I asked you here on such short notice. My son took the XT yesterday and I noticed its absense this morning. The faster you resolve this, the less likely the information is going to spread. If his girlfriend is behind this for profit, she might have hired help. But as a ritualist, I'd expect her to use other methods - like little golems or some such."





"Hm. That is a hard question. In general, my son and I have a cordial relationship. We don't see eye to eye on everything, obviously. I don't think he would react violently. More likely that he would try to flee or lock himself in until he is ready to come out on his terms. He has tremendous willpower and a strong personality - as a conjurer, I'm given to understand, that is a requirement sine qua non.
To answer your question: I think he'll be willing to talk if you approach him with respect and without threat."

The quick search on Dr. Ian Jackobson shows that he is a full partner at the law firm you are now, moves in the same art circles as Tien and by all indications is a friend of the family.

"The biggest requirement is the talent itself, obviously. But a strong willpower certainly is important, not only as a conjurer, but as a magician in general. Every tradition has slightly different ways of dealing with the dangers and the stress of magic-use. Your son is following the hermetic tradition, correct? So, he will approach any problems in a logical and calculating manner most likely. The picture you are painting at the moment certainly looks like that girlfriend could be the driving force behind all this. Maybe he told her about the artifact, or she found out on her own, you are a fairly public person after all. She could have enticed him, told him that she would love to see it in person, or even try it in a ritual."

"If that is how it is, we need to understand your son's motivations. And it won't just be to impress a girl. There must be something deeper. If we want to convince him, to give it up, we need to know why he even went so far as to 'borrow' the artifact. And we need to figure out a way to show him, that this woman is not interested in him as a person, but only as a means to an end."

"Can you tell us a few things that you and your son have in common? And a few things, where you are definitely not seeing eye to eye, as you put it?"

"How about his relationship to his mother? I understand, you live apart. She is in europe, right? Is she still in his life, though? Does your son talk to her?"

"Also, have there been other girls before Victoria? Maybe we can reach someone. Could give us some interesting insight."

Tien frowned at those questions:

"Those are rather intrusive questions.

I'd say my son and I both share a love for art and value hard work. I am very proud of my son's accomplishments, even though I can't claim to understand everything he does. We've spend many a day in museums, discussing the old masters and what makes art art.

We are not seeing eye to eye about women. He had a very difficult relationship with his mother and never expressed much interest in women until recently. She was always trying to set him up with the daughters of her friends. He prefered to converse with his spirits instead. I encouraged him also, but more to get out and socialize - connections are the lifeblood of business. But that was all too frivolous for him. Time he considered wasted.

He wasn't a shut in by any means, but he never tried to expand his circle of acquaintances.

As far as I know, he hasn't had contact with his mother in over a year.

There was one girl, Gracie. She studied with him in Boston. Nice girl, very bubbly kind of personality. She just ignored his shut in tendencies and dragged him with her by sheer power of her natural magnetism. Sadly, she didn't make it out of Boston. Never heard from her again."

"Thank you! Obviously, only answer what you are comfortable with sharing, but keep in mind, that this information might be crucial in what we want to achieve here."

I keep my attention and take it all in, listening to the man talks as much as I can assess the situation. The man is in a bind, but how much would he pay? Did he come to us for being affordable or for being good? I look at Mato and make the Sioux sign language gesture for "How much to ask?" It is subtle, and the literal translation is "How many eels?" but I trust it to do the work. I want to go high because there are plenty of ways such a gig can go sideways and because the Third feels dangerous. One should always initiate the offer in a negotiation. It sets an anchor for the price of a service and sets the negation around that particular number.

These rich folks don't mingle with the peasants unless they need something. So I take what the Forth says with a grain of salt. Nobody can tell the true intentions of another person. Such a rich family would have welcomed anyone of my economic status with suspicion. The part about the mother is a bit odd because she lives in Europe - I know these guys have a private jet or whatnot, but it is far.

Mr. Tien, sometimes a small detail can be crucial for achieving the ideal outcome; bare with us. I want him in a good mood before we talk Money, and so I follow with a simpler question. About Victoria, any addresses in the city she may be in? Do you know if she came here for your son or if she has some other connection to the city?

Mato has a different opinion on negotiations than AM, although he has to concede that he may be in the wrong since she is much more experienced. His philosophy was always that the person who initiates automatically loses, especially in a scenario like this where the client's value of money is so radically different from their own. To Mato, the bigger concern is underbidding the work, rather than being lowballed by the client.

He wiggles and flexes his fingers in what might be taken for an idle drumming, but which literally translates as "The second mouse gets the cheese," which implies, "Him first."

To further the conversation along - and to scare up the price some more - Mato nods to III's response. "Yes, but not just an army of criminals. An artifact like that could potentially draw the attention of the Draco Foundation, the Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research, the Atlantean Foundation, plus any number of corporations who might be tempted to use their extraterritoriality to eliminate concerns around legal ownership of the Xenobite-Tesseract."

He drums his fingers - for real this time - which make little clacking noises on the table.

"The girlfriend does seem to be a person of interest. With such a large age discrepancy between the two, one wonders about the interpersonal dynamics of the relationship. At age 27, a ritualist expert could have amassed sufficient resources to bring in outside professionals like you suggest. It is an avenue we should investigate."

He holds his hands up slightly off the table.

"Speaking of investigation, before we proceed much further may we discuss the particulars? Your initial inquiry requested that we return the artifact at a minimum, and that returning your son - or convincing him to have a conversation remotely - would be worth extra. May we define the precise parameters for success in each instance? You don't wish any harm to come to your son, naturally. But what if we were to sedate him, either for our own protection or to help deliver him safely? Would this be acceptable, or do you wish for their to be no physical interference with your son whatsoever? Within the bounds of our personal safety, of course."

"After we conclude this meeting you'll receive a dossier about my sons associates. Arione's information is included. As far as I know she has a little place in Snowhomish."
Tien's face went very serious at Mato's last questions:

"I very much hope you won't have to bring him to me bound and gagged. I don't think that he would ever forgive me such a transgression. No. Convince him or let him be. That much respect must remain. The only reason would be that he endangers his life or that of others.

No, just bring me the Xenobite-Tesseract and make him understand, that I only want to talk with him."

Jackobson leaned forward and whispered something in Tien's ear
"Oh right, the incentive. I'm willing to pay you 100k for the XT, another 50k if you manage to convince my son to contact me and another 50k if you manage to do all that within the next 24 hours, as every minute increases the risk that someone else is getting interested in the artifact."

Tamarind is quite ready to accept the offer and to get going,on the theory of sooner started, the better odds of making the timing bonus. But she defers to those who were not a couple of weeks away from living in their van on the money front. She puts down her coffee and walks her fingers across the table a couple of steps to sign "charging bison" to signal her eagerness to get started without further delay.

Additionally she sends a message to her drones and her van, for the former to all load into the latter -- all except Stitch, who she instructs to get her ready bags of spare clothes, armor, weapons, and gear, and load those into the van. She doesn't bother the others just yet to see if they want anything.

After a moment's thought she also sends her un-scarred delivery drone to Taco Temple, and puts through an order that she hopes everyone will be satisfied with. It can meet up with them wherever, and then they will have food, of a sort, and hand. One less delay later.

Then th

"Understood," Mato says of the conditions placed on the IV's return.

I yield to Mato, unsure if he knows better than me - but I am not confrontational. It turns out okay; my anchor would have been 150k for XT, but additional bonuses may or may not be collected, so we are in relatively good shape. It feels like either way would have been alright -but just because it is a lot money does not

"We are not very far" I nod in agreement, but there is a "but" there. Still, your offer is a little light for retrieving the XT, which is the main reason for us being here. You are asking us to go down a rabbit hole here, facing two powerful mages in the mix; one of them claims some extraordinary abilities in his research thesis. They have quality education, access to expensive resources, and the ability to conjure any spirit. In addition, we still need to deliver the XT to you. Competition over lesser artifacts in the local scene has been fierce and violent in the last year. So that alone is a risky task. Doing that for 100k is a bit light for the current circumstances.

The other incentives help to keep things interesting, but again these depend on very uncertain factors with unequal knowledge. For example, you understand your relationship with your son better than us and can gauge better how likely we are to convince him to talk to you. So 50k does buy you our best effort, but it is difficult for me to value the chance to collect that part of your offer.

Indeed, retrieving the artifact within 24 hours is desirable - but I do not know how possible it is. 50k implies that we will go out of our way - but without much intel about where the XT is, it is uncertain if it is even possible.

We provide you with a delicate, discreet, and time-sensitive service here. We do anything from top to bottom, from legwork and intel gathering to extracting an artifact; we take all the risk on our firm. Even finding the XT is nontrivial, with two mages trying not to be found within 24 hours may require some luck. It is a lot to ask for in return for 100k. So I suggest increasing the reward on finding XT to 150k and sealing the deal. Such an amount would be significant enough for us to take on these risks, and start right away"

That's a lot of money Rachel thinks. But then, again, that artifact is worth millions, there is only little time, and they do not know how much magic is going to be thrown at them. She takes a moment to compose herself, before adding some helpful remarks for the inevitable negotiations. Where there is money, there is always more, after all. As much as it sounds, Mr. Tien and also his lawyer friend probably have a different perspective on money than they do.

"There is not much time for preparations. Time is of the essence here. Not to mention, that we cannot really say for sure, what exactly this is leading us into."

Anything else? Think, little Raven, think...

Tien sighed and nodded: "You have me over a barrel here. I can't really shop around for offers right now. Alright. 150k at delivery. Plus the boni as discussed.
I'm also giving you my direct comm code, should you need more information, as well as Dr. Jackobson's for anything else in regard to permits, access, etc."

He put a datachip on the table.

"This is a little dossier on his friends and associates with contact information. It is very bare bones, but I'm afraid I couldn't add more with the limited time."

He stretched out his hand to AM: "Do we have a deal?"

I can feel my heart pounding after I make the bold claim, and I am relieved when the Third agrees. I stand up and shake the man's hand, feeling like I can breathe for the first time. "Deal" I add.

"Thank you," Mato says, standing and buttoning his jacket because that's what he sees business people do when they stand with jackets that can be buttoned.

"Is there any security footage of when the artifact was, ah, borrowed? Pressure sensors or the like? I know you discovered the absence of the artifact this morning after the fact, but any sensor information might help to establish whether your son was able to accomplish this on his own or whether there were outside parties involved."

"I have reviewed the files. It was nothing more than my son going into the collection room, shutting off the alarm with his house key and taking the artifact. It wasn't like I had forbidden him from looking at it."

Xavier Tien III stood also up, signifying the end of the meeting: "I'll await your call - when you have the artifact, bring it straight back here. Dr. Jackobson will take it to the client vault for the moment. Good luck in your hunt."

"Thank you! Alright then, we better get right to it. Clock's ticking."