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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Bongo hits the sack.

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She thinks how to put the next part.

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

She decides to end the message there and send it.

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

<<Please Mr. Snake >>

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wait. Are you there now?!?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Alright, just in through here a ways."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All part of the service.

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

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

Enzo waves at the pipes. "Well, I might not have exactly gotten the technical terms right on the work request. But that pipe up there is definitely related to lots of water draining during a storm, and the bigger pipe it goes into is getting the water the few hundred feet to the river. I didn't specify what was wrong with them. It's just usually they're drekked up with leaves or something, and, well, " He points to the almost certainly bullet holes through them. "This time the problem is something else. "

He stops to think for a moment. "Uh. I really doubt there's anything on the other side of the pipe. It's been a few days, and if it caused flooding in here, I gotta imagine it's all squeaky clean in there. Anyway I can get you in there if you'd like to scope all that out. " He holds up what Paul knows to be the impact wrench, though in here Paul wouldn't be able to see hardly anything if he had regular human eyes.

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

Rose disconnects after just an "Mmm hmmm!"

The interesting thing about the venue is the setting. Specifically, about half of it is outdoors. The sort of outdoors where you can actually look up and see the sky, maybe even the stars. Maybe not, the hanging displays on the neighboring uptown buildings might kick up too much light pollution. Maybe with a bit of zooming. In any case it's stretched between two roads and is narrow. Stretching the whole length of something like a 200 foot bloc. Some outdoor space even being given over to ping pong, foosball, and cornhole. Thoroughly anachronistic, but people who have no idea how to play them seem to like getting buzzed and trying.

There is a lot of foot traffic to either side of the restaurant, and particularly to the south where there are shops set up for pedestrians. There is even more actual traffic this close to the docks, but it doesn't seem to have discouraged people. Down here near the water in the "L" the uptown structures are all over. Maybe people just like to get out from underneath them.

The building at the "back" of the restaurant is where the band "stage" is. It isn't very big at all. but you could probably squeeze a drum set and a few guitars and mics up there, which probably happens regularly. For now there are just tunes being pipped in over the speakers.

There isn't a whole lot on Ciarán. He has his own node and he's mentioned on a few socials, but he clearly hasn't hit it big yet. Just a local semi celebrity. Bongo notices that nowhere in his materials does he actually claim to be an elf. He's tall, slender, good looking, and does have pointy ears. But he's also obviously got some augmentations. Accents of iridescent coatings on metal play along those ears, his temples, and along what are probably a pair cyberarms. He does like showing off his torso and the celtic tattoos scattered along it.

No indication that he has a permanent band working with him.

(OOC: You could choose in indicate indoors or outdoors etc prior to Rose arriving.)

Paul carefully backs up so as not to spread any more dirt into the office space than is strictly necessary. ""No need, thanks. I'll work from inside the pipes, using my equipment. Give me a minute to get back up to my van and you can actually close this up and backfill it, if you want to take the time. I'll just put up my safety signs and park by the access hatch, and I'll let you know."" He does take a minute to capture exact location of the holes in three dimensions so that he can track it on city infrastructure plans - or if it is entirely off-the-books so that he can work back to it.

The actual storm water pipe going through here is entirely legit. The tunnel going from the wall to the pipe is not. It's only about twelve feet long, but makes a right turn after going through the hole by the heater. Someone looking in from the basement would just see a gap and then dirt. The "ceiling" of the tunnel is mostly the base of the parking lot and then a little of the sidewalk as the tunnel turns to the left to where the pipe and drain are. At least they shouldn't cave in unless someone puts something heavy enough there. One side is the wall/foundation of the basement and the other is just packed earth.

Enzo says "Sorry. Uh. I don't really know the technical terms for pipes and stuff. It might be nice to get something in this little tunnel to keep our feet dry and make it less likely to drain into the building if water does get in here. But, well, I'd really like to keep this connection here.

Actually if you have any bright ideas to keep the seam from showing if any inspection drone goes through that pipe that would be even better than fixing any damage. Actually, it'd probably help if you could see how we get into the pipe, let me get these bolts off"

Enzo starts removing bolts with the impact wrench. The first pops off in a moment. They bolts are a good three quarters inch wide, but only five inches long. On a 60 inch pipe storm pipe, that shouldn't be long enough to go all the way through. Paul has some concerns about repeated use of an impact drill on cement, but since the section they cut is on the upper side of the pipe, gravity should hold it in place well enough so long as there isn't a storm of the century.

<< Hey Brewster! Don't worry about Angel, we will keep an eye on her. Looks like you sent her to the gym, which is cool. She needs to learn that she is not just a brain-in-a-fleshy-jar. Anyways, I have given the licensing a bit more thought, and I might need some more licenses. My main ID needs to be registered as awakened, as I will have "magic stuff" in my place, and that might look odd otherwise. And I thought about adding a PI license to my other magician ID, so I could pose as an occult investigator. Might come in handy, who knows. What do you think? >>

Paul frowns with what one might call professional concern.

""Actually, before I go back up, let me check this. I'm afraid that this may not hold up to a significant event, and then you'll be hip deep in bull sharks and octopus up here. I may have to do more than a little patch job, and actually replace that hatch entirely. I can make it practically invisible, but that will take a bit longer. And, let's be honest here, cost a bit more. Also, if you're concerned about stability, maybe we should start with some bracing for this little access tunnel otherwise the first time a fire truck parks over it you might have a cave-in and more awkward questions than a first date with a girl who goes by Krystal D-Vyn.""

Bongo likes the table he picked inside, where he can see the way out and the stage. As he waits for he disgruntled Rose, who despite her annoyance is coming, he figures what part of his drum kit would fit on the stage. It might be worth checking out this Ciarán. You never know what opportunities might open up.

Maybe Rose will know more about him.

Brewster takes a bit longer to reply this time.

<< I do appreciate you keeping an eye on Angel. Hackers of any type are hard to replace, and I certainly can't just go out and get another Otaku if anything happens to her.

Magic users are hard enough to get on a team. On that note having at least one ID licensed to practice magic is an excellent idea. It can be the difference between a short discussion with the Baltimore Police Union and being arrested, or at least making a hefty bribe.

I was going to say I'm not sure how useful a PI license would be. However some work that is developing could well involve some investigation, so maybe that would help smooth some ripples along the way. >>

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

Enzo gives him a confused look for a while, but decides to just act like he followed all of that and gets back to work with the impact wrench.

A dozen bolts later he grabs onto the pair of handled welded onto the curved metal. Actually, Paul has to respect how well the metal plate was bent to match up just right with the pipe diameter. Maybe curved metal is more in the nautical wheelhouse than dealing with cement and tunnels.

Enzo puts a foot on the pipe and pulls. Slowly wriggling the plate and the cement section that is underneath with it. After pulling it out Paul can see his muscles, possibly augmented, straining as he carefully sets it down in the mud. Paul can see that they've really skeletonized the yard wide and tall chunk of pipe, removing at least half of it's six inch thickness between the inner part that would be visible from inside the pipe, and the plate, as well as leaving the areas around where the bolts on the plate still attach. Again, being on the top of the pipe means usually this is just sitting there, but it isn't remotely up to code if that pipe goes water solid.

Some quick math puts the weight of a section of concrete that size with a metal plate into Olympic record territory for unaugmented humans, so maybe they needed to do that.

Enzo lets out a breath he'd been holding and then pokes he head quick into the pipe.

"Ok, looks clear and dry. You can take a look at what we're dealing with. And uh, I'm open to suggestions on the rest of it. "

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

Rose manages to get there in about a half hour. She breezes in past the staff at the outdoor entrance wearing a simple and short yellow summer dress, wedge healed sandals on her feet, and with her red hair in a ponytail, still a little damp. As she sits down she says "You're lucky I didn't make you wait ages, but I had to do a stint as a waitress, and I hated bums sitting around taking up tables and my time without ordering new stuff. I'm mostly here in whatever I could throw on for them. "

She looks around "ooooh. And maybe that. They do towers of seafood here?!?!?! " As a waitress approaches she points at the three tiered metal stack at a different table. "I'd like a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and whatever that is?"

Bongo notices that she ends the statement with the pitch going up, while looking at him. It's as much a question to him as a statement to the waitress.

Bongo catches the drift of Rose's inquiry. "Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets. " he says to the server. "Size it so the two of us can share."

He waits for her glass of wine to arrive, small talking the attributes of the restaurant while they wait, and then suggests a toast. "Here's to music, friendship, and love of life."

Rose raises a glass in toast but her eyes bulge a little until Bongo adds the "of life" bit at the end.

She clinks he glass in the toast but then rolls her eyes and says "Still messing with me after I had to hustle to get here. You're still lucky get excited about real seafood. And I guess actual waitstaff. It's kind of strange that they still exist. We could just use a comlink and have a drone roll out the food. "

She pauses to take a drink

"Well, maybe they say the same thing about a live band. I mean in a way they've already replaced us for the time being with whatever they're piping over the speakers.

But. I dunno. I guess I like it. I like that they seem at least a little happy. There isn't nearly enough of that down here. Maybe ultimately that's what people are always really paying for. Just to get to be around a feel some happiness. Or at least feel something. "

<< Well, you only really know how useful something would be, if you do not have it at the time you would need it. And it gives my other mage ID a bit more purpose. >>

Paul steps up to the pipe to get an initial look. From his toolbelt he pulls a tape measure to quickly check the thicknesses on the pipe wall as well as the inner fitment and outer dimensions of the hatch itself. In addition to that, he looks for any unscheduled contents of the pipe such as data conduits. Next, he carefully looks around the pipe's exterior to see whether there are any other lines around here, knowing that they often like to bury electrical or data cables in the same trench as other stuff. Then he switches to an endoscope that he hooks to his working goggles, and does a short range inspection of the interior of the pipe, including the internal connection with the branch.

""Y'see, if the water comes down here and fills the pipe, that there hatch will have to handle the internal pressure of whatever the floodwaters give you. If you have a two meter head, that can get you a couple of tons hydrostatic, easy. If you have any kind of water hammer or pressure spike for any reason, that number goes way high. Now look, the rest of this pipe is backed up by packed soil, so it really holds a lot more pressure than the pipe itself seems to, but here the hatch is unsupported. That means that if this hatch does blow, all the everything will want to come out here, and come out fast. See the problem?""

Bongo nods in agreement. " I have to say I have a bit of an advantage in that regard. I can do something no recording can. When I play and call up my Talent, the music takes on a life that no recording can carry. I and my fellow players get a groove going that is beyond technology. You saw a bit of that at the bar last night. People get mesmerized by the music.

"Hey! Let's have a little fun. Once we've eaten our fill, let's hop up on the stage, and together give the patrons a thrill. Show them what real live music can do for them. I guarantee they'll feel something. Wanna?"

He scans to see if any percussion instruments are onstage or nearby. If not, he will have to improvise. Yes, will. He doesn't for a moment think Rose would not want to do it.

Brewster quickly whips back a reply <<Well, besides not wanting to dissuade you from using my services, I'm thinking you might be onto something with the idea. I'll send you the escro information, you send me the funds and the IDs, and I'll get my people working on it. Let me know if you have any special requests. It's good to put things like shellfish allergies in there. But you might have other details on your shopping habits or whatever you'd want tailored a certain way if it's all the same. >>

(OOC: Up to you the level of detail you'd like to have with making arrangements for the apartment. Selina would have to get there an arrange an interview. With her social/language skills she can essentially buy the necessary successes. It's mostly a matter of having the money and an ID that holds. In terms of money, I think you ought to be able to generally transfer over a pre-paid lifestyle. Hmm. Oddly, I don't think they have rules for transferring the location of a lifestyle. You'd think they would since runners could easily have a hideout compromised. You've also got your NPC to bring in along with the day job quality, and any karma related endeavors.

Eventually she'd got the meeting with Mike. )

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

Enzo looks a bit sheepishly at Paul, though, Paul notes, he constantly maintains his posture, regardless of what is going on. "Well, I mean we added the metal plate, and the bolts, and it's on the top of the pipe. But, well, let me know if you have any particularly clever ideas that leave it open. The plate on the wall back into the union building also mostly kept the water out, and that was with all of the holes here. "

Looking at the "hatch" they've built. About half of it was chiseled away between the plate and the part visible inside the pipe, leaving columns of concrete spanning the five inches between the two. The bullet holes have weakened it further. Still reasonably sound, but Paul wouldn't want to drop it on hard ground.

From the outside of the pipe Paul can tell most of the bullet holes came from inside the pipe, since they blew out the concrete as they went, leaving an obvious pattern, and concrete bits on the ground. At least concrete patches are relatively easy for Paul. The drainpipe coming in has some holes through metal and a lodged bullet too, the metal plate has a couple holes that might be good to fix if it's part of preventing a full breach. Though if the inner cement layer has already failed, Paul doesn't trust those bolts into concrete if they've been well used. From the inside of the pipe he can see even more bullet holes. Maybe some weapons couldn't have enough ooomph to get all the way through.

The pipe is actually pretty clean. Soot from the guns, along with anything else in here was cleaned out by the storm water that led to the leaks and puddles in the makeshift tunnel. That means at least for a bit the water or things floating in it got to the top of the pipe. The remaining noteworthy thing is a small crater in the bottom of the circular 60 inch diameter pipe. There are other things that could have caused it, but Paul would bet money that it was a grenade or similarly sized explosive. Luckily it's down the tunnel a way to the north, so the sides of the pipe were more reinforced by presumably packed earth than right here in this section. With his endoscope Paul can see that it still has some rough patches, meaning it hasn't been here long or the water and debris would buff it smooth. It has some cracking around it that looks like it goes through. Not an immediate problem as Paul figures the section in the tunnel would go before this would in a serious way. However over time that could lead to a sinkhole under the pipe.

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

Rose nearly chokes on her wine at the suggestion of crashing the stage. At first she looks very nervous but then a smile grows on her face as she drops a couple large shrimp, and oyster and a blue crab onto her plate. "Ok. I'd like to see that. How would I fit in? Actually, let's make sure you've paid and I have my comlink in hidden mode before you try it. "

Looking around there aren't any instruments yet. That might be a very good thing, as instruments being present would probably mean the night's actual band had arrived. The restaurant has, well, mostly the sort of things you'd expect in a restaurant. Silverware, bottles, etc. It does use metal plates, like those in the tower of seafood you ordered, for a number of dishes. Buckets too, for ice or shells, along with various implements of destruction to go after blue crabs like wooden mallets, nutcrackers, and metal pickers. The outdoor chairs and tables don't look bolted down, and neither is the cornhole stuff, though people are using it.

<< Sounds good! I will send you the details for the ID, that I need to be done first, so I can proceed with the apartment. The rest can follow afterwards. As for habits and such, most of these are not new, so there should be a bunch of information tied to them, but some of them I am not using much. I will take a look and get back to you with more detailed information. Thank you! >>

After some quick research, Selina figured out that the building manager for the 414 Light Street apartment building is called Louise. Once she hears back from Brewster about the schedule, she makes plans for an appointment with Louise, when she will have her main SIN upgraded. She is not worried about making a good impression. Dressed in her Zoé business attire and with the looks and charm to match, this won't be much of an obstacle. A box of expensive chocolates as an ice-breaker might still be a good idea, though. The apartment she is interested in is still rented for the rest of the month, so there is a bit of time still.

Much of her time during the day is spent with preparations. She needs to find new business opportunities in the Baltimore area. For the time being, she can still use her contacts in Seattle, considering most of her work in fashion design is handled online and via video/trideo recordings (and thanks to spells like Physical Mask, she can even mix it up with her own modeling), and physical samples can also be sent in the mail. But it would still be useful to get some regular work done locally.

And then there is Dawn, of course. The girl needs to get a place in a school. As her guardian, Selina will have to make those arrangements. That alone will be quite the endeavor, but it was one of the conditions for taking her in. Selina never had that chance. She is lacking a bit of formal education because of it, but with her magical talent, she did not need it that much. There were other roads for her to follow. And Dawn is happy for the opportunity. She would not have that out there on the streets. And her life there has been beyond horrible. Without such a talent like Selina's, she could not protect herself. Of course, it has been an adjustment, from living on the streets to a high class apartment. But much like Selina herself, Dawn wasn't born on the streets, she ended up there, but she had a normal life before, and now she has one again. She will have some catching up to do, but she is more than willing to put in the work. Much preferable to what she had to endure in her former life. And surely, there won't be any complaints about having her very own, comfortable bedroom, with her own bathroom, walk-in wardrobe (and having someone around that, literally, can magic up any clothes you might want), plus a trideo set, and a killer view.

"Good idea about having paid and becoming incognito. " Bongo pays for the meal, with a sizable tip, and then makes his commlink hidden.

As Bongo digs into the tasty repast, he considers Rose's question. "Well, this is a seafood restaurant. There are a lot of materials here relating to the consumption of seafood that I could use to set up a rhythm. Do you know a song that has any kind of connection to seafood or the sea? Something with a good, strong rhythm, maybe, to go with the rousing melody? The crowd, at least, might enjoy the thematic and impromptu nature of our performance. I'll back you up with percussion and maybe a bit of vocals if I can figure it out."

He remarks to himself the location of wooden mallets, metal plates, and a couple of different sized buckets. Some cloth napkins would help to tune the buckets. If the mallet handles don't unscrew, then held at the mallet head end, they would make serviceable drumsticks. More the thrash metal kind, but he can adjust.

Once the song is picked, and possibly only one song will be allowed by the establishment, discussion of key and time signature will be all Bongo needs to tune his 'instruments' to Rose's song.

Paul considers his options. It has to look right from the inside, and act right from the outside. He can weld metal and patch concrete, or even hone down the pipe's interior and backfill it with plasticrete for a much stronger solution than the original construction.

""Just to be clear here, does the hatch have to be accessible from the inside, or can it be completely seamless? Because I can provide you with a closure that is way stronger than what you have here but there's no easy way of making it both invisible from the interior and easily opened from inside, while strong enough to resist storm waters. I'll have to do some fabrication, but if it's one way only, I can get that installed without too much time lost. Also, would you like it to be easier to open for people who have fewer augmentations than you do? That's possible, but it helps to know ahead of time.""

She thinks for a little while still working on the substantial amount of seafood. She clearly likes crab, but she has trouble with the buggers, there's a lot of whacking to finally get into the claws and torsos, followed by some fiddly picking. Initially it looked like too much, but a whole lot of it winds up in the bucket at the table instead of being edible. Due to their particular order, pretty much everything he's looking for is present, depending on just how many buckets and plates he wants, and his ability to hold off the busboy.

Oh wait. There is a song we've messed around with. Even in hidden mode, she can flick him a recording of her and her band playing a version of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKS5RM6TFUE In the recorded version she's making harmony with recordings of herself singing the piece, either with her managing the different notes or their synth guy having edited it they don't mess with the song as much as others, though they stretch out the dance oriented instrumental parts.

She continues

" Though if you don't think that period will go so well here, I know the old standard "Margaritaville." Well, and the local "Crabs for Christmas" but that's out of season comedy. "

I guess they just don't talk about seafood nearly enough in contemporary music, or maybe I'm just know the period stuff better.

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


Enzo thinks a bit and leans on the pipe, almost partly sitting due to the curve. "At the moment it isn't accessible from the inside. The most important thing is that the city doesn't come and cause trouble. I guess something where you can have some kinda comlink operated garage door opener would be cool. But I have a feeling you're going to say that's a bit much, and not very strong.

The hatch, well, I can handle it and so can some other guys. We figured we shouldn't chip off any more than what we did. I wouldn't mind it being lighter, but didn't you say it needs to be stronger? It'd be nice to at least not have it be much heavier, and yeah lighter would be cool. But I really don't want to have to explain massive sinkhole in the parkin' lot. "

He pauses a little "Uh. It also would be good if you could be a little subtle chummer. Heading in with a whole buncha heavy stuff might be a bit much. And we're doing pretty well these days, but we still have our bean counters you know? "

Paul nods understandingly. ""Gotcha, gotcha. OK, so here's what I can do: I can install a hinge, and a worm gear crank to open it, and set everything up so that it seals tight and locks hard. I can make it dang near invisible from the inside, and easy to work from the outside, patch the old concrete and make the work subtle; I'll use some drones to shuttle parts and assemble everything in place so it doesn't raise too many questions. I could add an electronic opener for not much more money, and fix it all to the pipe bracing that I'll add to keep it all inside the pipe instead of inside your offices. Speaking of bracing, I'll prevent your little future sinkhole problem, too. I reckon three days' work - maybe two if everything goes perfectly - and I'll start with the holes to keep things as low-key as possible. Sound good?"

Enzo looks awkward and scratches the back of his neck "Uh. That all sounds really awesome. But...maybe what do you think you might be able to manage, like, today? I don't need any electronics, I could see where that might be a bad idea actually. I can handle the hatch as it is. Just really need the pipes fixed up, and I guess if you're really worried about a ceiling collapse that would be good to have... well, less likely. "

Enzo is still trying to mostly maintain a cool posture and tone, but Paul's dwarf eyes can see him blushing a little, or something like that, here in the dark in the infrared.

""OK, first things first; I can patch the holes quickly. I can brace the tunnel pretty quickly. I can brace the pipe pretty quickly. But if you don't want a flood on Mother Nature's schedule, I'll have to spend the time adapting this hatch. I'll see how far I get in 24 hours and report back. Sound good?""

Bongo replies, "I think the period piece might be seen as an attempt to draw the crowd over to Gatsby's. Margaritaville might work. So would Crabbuckit, by k'os, if you had it down. I think the Crabs for Christmas would be a good joke piece with lots of links to the city. Let's do that one."

He listens to some versions of it through his commlink to get the timing. He could replace some of the instrumental pats with a little extra percussion.

"Yeah, I think I have the gist of it. When you're done, Rose, I'll swing by the server's station to pick up clean pieces for our performance. Wouldn't do to drip butter on the stage."

Enzo scrunches his face a moment and says "Alright. Sounds like a plan. Really priority is getting the thing looking decent in case a maintenance drone comes by. Maybe I can swing getting you by again . "

Alright. Lemmi get outa here and let you get to it. " He shoots his comcode to Paul "Just me know if you need help lifting something or anything. I'll be around."

He starts to leave the tunnel but pauses and pokes his head back in.

"Actually maybe a bit of a rush would help. If this looks too professional there could be extra questions if it does get found. Hey, maybe you can explain what you did in case I need to say I did it. "


Another voice bellows in the otherwise quiet basement.

"Enzo!?!? Is that your ass sticking out of the wall. What the fuck is this?!?!"

Enzos head vanishes out of the whole. "None of your business. Just some union repairs. "

The voice replies "If it's anything to do with the union it's my goddam business!"

He pokes his head back in a moment. "Just do your thing. I'll take care of this. "

He says "Look. If you got a beef with me keep it private. We got the trades here. Good guy. Union to. But not ours. C'mon let's get an office."

The two head up the stairs from the basement, leaving the door to the first floor ajar.

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

She looks a little defensive and says "Hey! That's my band! Gatsby's just thinks we're cool. We don't exist just for them. You can just say you can't handle the beat. Crabs for Christmas is easier to play and sing though if we don't have a chance to practice together first. And who knows how much time we have."

(OOC: Maybe a good idea grabbing clean stuff. Large clean plates are a little tricker, tending to be back in the kitchen, but they keep buckets, silverware, napkins, and implements of crab destruction where they're easy to get on demand. The bar keeps glasses close at hand. )

It was Bongo's turn to be affronted. As he set out to collect his tools, he tossed back to Rose, "There is no beat I can't handle. Never will be."

Back now with the materials, using some cloth napkins he does a little quiet adjustment of the pitch of the two buckets he has to fit the key of the song. "OK. Let's go, before the establishment catches on to what is happening."

He holds out his free hand to take Rose's hand and together they walk to the stage. As they walk, he says, "I'll catch their attention and hold it. When I swing into the rhythm of the song, you take over and I will support you. Don't get caught by the beat, the way the others will be. You know it is coming, and let it flow into you, supporting rather than hypnotizing."

On stage, Bongo quickly arranges the buckets so he can play them, and with the handles of mallets he sets up a rhythm to draw in the patrons.



Well .... shit. Maybe the kid can use a reality check once in a while. It is a serviceable performance, but nowhere near what he is capable of doing. He is sub-par, and knows it, but a seasoned professional nonetheless, and he carries on as if it were a masterpiece. There will be some 'splainin' to do with Rose later.

Paul quietly moves upstairs, already formulating his plan in his head. There's a lot to do, and little time to do it. Obviously, discretion is the key requirement so job 1 is the bullet holes. Actually, scratch that. Job 1 is moving the van so that it blocks access to the vulnerable part of the parking lot, and opening the access hatch so that he can send his drones in. He tools them up for concrete patching, with a team of two either using an extrusion gun to fill the patch or wielding a trowel head to smooth the result. A third one he sets up for welding, and gets it working on the bullet holes through metal to make sure that that is resolved. That part should go pretty quickly, so that's a relief.

While they're following those procedures with just an occasional checkin, Paul puts in an order for some scaffolding parts. Nice, adjustable, strong, easy to assemble and very generic. Those can be packed up and hauled down and then assembled to be pit props. When the order is in, he also puts in a part order for a couple of dozen pipe straps. Preventing concrete distortion before it starts, that's the name of the game and will at least partially make up for the lost earth support. With that order in, he can turn to the big job: fixing the hatch. For that he needs to fabricate a new hatch that precisely sits in a hole, but also has perimeter bolts that will mate with newly-fabricated bails around the perimeter. For this he orders up some sheeting to use for creating a form, and extra plasticrete, and a dozen heavy-duty bolts. As strong as the original pipe? Probably not, but way better than what they had. While he waits for the deliveries he checks in with the drones and verifies that they're doing the right things.

Ciarán actually catches the bucket, and seems at something of a loss for words for a moment, and a moment is all he had for a snappy comeback before Rose and Bongo are out the door.

At first Rose heads North towards the broad street market. It's trying to be a bastion of the more open society of the past with open market stores and farmers market produce. However behind the smiles the whole area is on edge, especially towards approaching newcomers. A couple running seems to get the wrong kind of attention, as farmers start reaching for firearms.

Rose seems to not want to deal with any of that and heads left. Giving a smile to a hulking troll bouncer at "The Rockwell" and flipping the ARO about the cover charge to Bongo. It isn't even seven yet, and if they're particular about who they let in, they haven't started yet.

(OOC: Assuming Bongo is good for it the bouncer doesn't cause any trouble, though they start scanning the horizon for any trouble. However Ciarán hasn't left the Choptank. )

Inside the Rockwell is a bar, and not an especially big one. It's thing seems to be having actual wall projections. They seem to have updated with all sorts of AROs popping up to add an AR experience, currently based around the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossoms. It still all seems to feel a little dated, like much of the downtown spaces. And not in the deliberate way Gatsby's is about it. It isn't even seven yet, and the bar is only perhaps a quarter full. Nobody is on the dance floor, and most are having a bar food dinner or just some drinks. Nobody even looks up at them, since Rose shifts to a normal gait once she's past the muscle.

It hasn't been that far and Rose catches her breath quickly. "I wanted to get away in case anybody started taking pictures that could be a problem."

She then seems to realize herself. "Oh no! Darn you, I could be in pictures with my hair in a sloppy pony tail! Well fairs fair. " She says, as she reaches her arms over Bongo's shoulders to muss up his hair.

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

The old guy looks around some more. Eventually shifting his focus to the dirt wall. He notes the drones doing their work, but starts picking at the packed earth. At first it might seem absent minded, but he picks with a bit more vigor and steps to the side as a couple cubic feet of earth slide down from the wall down to the floor. He rubs his chin as he looks back and forth along the length of the packed earth wall.