Bongo is mortified. 'Best drummer in the world??' Not by this performance. He can't even blame the instruments. He knows he pulled up lame. Thankfully, Rose comes up with a good idea.

Bongo transitions from the basic rhythm of the comedy piece, pulling in hints of Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones to work a blend into Rose's lead. He ditches the clumsy sticks and uses his hands, particularly better for emulating brushwork.

Paul starts recording the feed on those drones. This could be key information.

He also takes careful note of the man's provenance and destination, and thinks about opportunities to perhaps engage him in conversation. After all, there's set-up time on his plasticrete, not to mention waiting for deliveries.

See, Enzo? Enzo is obviously beefed-up and capable, but he's also obviously trying to cover up trouble. This guy seems more thoughtful.

In fact, thinking about it for a second, Paul breaks out some real coffee and gets it brewing. Not cheap, but might be worth it as an icebreaker.

(OOC: Well, at least she gave an opportunity for another roll. Actually she rolled better as well. )

The beat ceased to be one that fit the song properly. However as she said, she could drop in with a bit of jazz scat singing which she proves quite capable of. It gives her an excuse to show off her range as well. She works in a couple mentions snippets of the original song.

This time the crowd gets into it. Moving along to the motion, forgetting about their food for a while. Until, after a while, the door slams open in the front of the indoor area, opposite the side where the stage is .

They yell, "Hey, what's going here?!?!" and start stomping towards the stage with a couple similar looking friends in tow. Bongo's research pays off a little because he immediately recognizes Ciarán, who appears violently upset, though apparently still knows better than to use profanity in here.

Rose gives a mischevious "Eeep" and jumps off the stage going for the nearby set of side doors on the west side of the building. Some servers look mortified. She seems sympathetic and yells "Remember we already paid!"


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


The old man gingerly makes his way towards the opening in the pipe, trying to stay as clean as he can with the muddy floor and dirt wall. He pokes his head inside and looks both ways for a while. "What the hell happened in here. I got a bad feeling this isn't going to end well. " He doesn't sound mad, though there isn't anyone here for him to direct his anger toward. Just worry and exasperation.

For a brief moment, Bongo considers whether a confrontation could be fun, but decides sticking with Rose would be more so. He tosses a bucket to Ciarán, (No, not as an impromptu missile for damage, but as accurately as he can to cause the man to pause or dodge.) "Here! Play this!" and leaps after Rose, laughing and dancing a jig in passing.

Paul continues to monitor the situation, and prepare for a tactful way to touch base with this old fellow. Coffee, maybe some higher-quality pastries, and of course breaking out a folding chair while setting up the plasticrete. When the welding below is completed, he gets the welder drone back up on the surface to refit it for assembling scaffolding. With this, Paul sets up a dolly with scaffolding parts packed nice and tight, and the snacks and folding chair on top. This he trundles down to the hole in the wall, flashing his card for temporary security access along the way. A contracted worker with coffee and scaffolding. Normal as a patch of rust on a freighter.

Down below, he comes to a halt outside the hole, and casually starts to unpack so that the old fellow can approach him naturally.

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.

Well, this looks like a good time. Bongo lets her muss his hair, and then takes the opportunity while she is close to slip his arms around her waist.

With a big grin he says, "Yup. Fair is fair." He holds the embrace for a moment, waiting to see Rose's response.

Rose knows that grin , she gets a wry look and gives Bongo just a lightning quick kiss on the lips, but then backs up. "Alright then. So what now? I guess we're in this bar now, it looks like it's trying to be cool. Actually a nice cool drink would be nice right about now. Maybe something fruity and icy, like a nice strawberry Daiquiri.

I'm guessing once his gig is supposed to start we won't have to worry about Ciarán anymore. If you don't like this scene, I suppose I could play tour guide a little, though even in nice areas you don't want to be out much after dark, and it gets worse as the night goes on because crowds thin, and nobody in the police union wants to work the night shift, and the whole point of the union is to get the workers what they want right? It's usually fine if you're in a place though, and can get a ride right from in front of it. I mean Gatsby's always stays open way late, and I swear like half their drink sales come from people boozing while waiting for their ride. "

Paul shows up at the hatch in the wall, and says mildly: ""My drones won't hurt you, just mind the welding on the pipe. I'm about to shore up the structure with props, so that should help the stability. You have any tunnel experience there? If you want to step out I have a thermos of coffee to share.""

The man nodes and heads out of the tunnel. Taking his time to slowly get his legs over the hole in the wall, and working his way around the furnace. He almost looks puzzled to see food and drink all laid out in the basement.

He takes a seat and says "Well, this is quite a pleasant surprise. Maybe your union is a little classier than ours. The docks have always been a little rough. "

He takes a sip of his drink and gives something of a surprised look after drinking it, then gives a pleased look and a nod at Paul.

"Speaking of rough...I think Enzo might be getting too rough. He's distracted upstairs, but I got a call about all the ruckus. "

He leans in "Look. Do you know what this is all about? What went on in there? At least what in the world are you up to now?" He takes a pastry while relaxing and giving Paul time to answer. He's been around a while, and is willing to let silence do its work if Paul doesn't answer quickly.

Paul is fairly frank with him. A man of his years has earned some respect. ""If it were up to the IBEW, sir, I'd have laid on flash-toasted soykaf. This comes out of my pocket. As for rough, I don't know about that, but Enzo called me in to fix up the holes and get things back on the straight and narrow. Those are my drones patching up the bullet holes and chipped pipe, but what exactly happened to cause them, I don't know. The damage came from inside the pipe, so at a guess somebody was crawling through here and found something, or somebody, that they didn't like. As for the gap itself, I brought down this scaffolding to make some pit props to keep things stabler, and I'm fixing up that pipe and hatch to be a little safer. But now you have the advantage of me, sir. Are you a ... foreman here?""

The man smiles and nibbles and pastry. "I suppose these days all I am is old. But I stick around. Make myself useful. Sometimes give perspective. For example, I bet if you do some forensics somehow you'd find that the tunnel was dug and the hatch installed long before all that damage. Maybe you already figured that out. What happened is they brought trouble into the union house. Maybe things haven't always been entirely above board as the Union struggled to survive. But this is something else. If he keeps this up it won't be the last time either, I'd wager.

So maybe you could shore it up, but you can also condemn. I was able to poke off a decent chunk of the wall. Wouldn't take much time to bring it most of the way down, even if it was just me. Maybe the parking lot can support itself. But I wouldn't be surprised to find out a partial cave wall would force it to be a bridge, and I don't think the builders had that in mind.

Anyway it isn't safe in a lot of ways. What if somebody from whatever happened has a grudge and knows where it is? "

He then eyes Paul as he lets the basements silence come in while he enjoys the coffee, careful to savor and not slurp.

""Yup, I figured this was some time old, and that the damage came afterwards. The context of the water problems kind of told me that. I guess - I was hired to sort out the problem, but the exact solution could be finagled one way or another. I had been planning to make it open from the outside only, but maybe the right approach is to seal this one up and do a different hatch, elsewhere? That's a bigger job, of course.""

The man sighs " I get why Enzo put that here. It isn't like he, or any of us really, have convenient safe places to set something like that up. Though now that you mention it, if you have any especially bright ideas there, maybe that would be useful. It might be much easier to get him to move instead of getting him to give up on his schemes.

But this has the advantage of having folks around all the time, without it being suspicious, and they could come and go, or hang out downstairs if they can shut up.

But nobody else knows what's going on with all that. Enzo is just mumbling stuff about it being important for the union and it being better if we don't know. Or at least the sarcastic messages I'm getting frame it that way. Hard to say if it's entirely wrong. He's got a lot of friends around here. Though I'm increasingly wondering how he got them. "

He leans back and helps himself to more coffee and another pastry, and paying with another appreciative nod.

"I guess I got into some sticky stuff in my day. But not the kind that had bullet and bomb a couple feet from the union house. Whatever happened could have gone really bad. And maybe it still will. Like I think I said, there could be survivors or someone who at least had some coms

Even if it was only nobodies in the pipe. Still, what next time? And besides that, there are a lot of groups looking for an excuse to cause us problems or shut us down. We've got a lot of friends down at the Police Union, and they spend a lot of time looking the other way. But they really hate it if we let the drek hit them for their troubles"

He sighs and leans back. "Ok, maybe I'm rambling a bit. Thanks for listening. Point at the ends it, unless you have some bright ideas otherwise, I'd like it if that tunnel just got sealed off. And it'd probably take a professional opinion from you to make that happen."

Paul sits for a moment, swallowing a bit of pastry with a sip of coffee. This is definitely a situation with ramifications all its own.

""All right sir, I'll tell you what. Why don't I just finish this up today, as per original specification. The parking lot will be shored up, the pipe will be repaired, and the hatch will be a lot stronger. I can come back another day to sort things out, and build you something better, and more discreet, elsewhere. It may be old school, but would you care for my card?""

The man still doesn't look happy and leans forward "Look. If you patch things up, Enzo's never going to believe there's a need to change. I guess to be clear I'm hoping you could...interpret the risks more seriously. I mean I'm not really one for being around the dirt, but having a hole there has to bring out some risks if enough weight gets up there, or enough stormwater surges through, right? I be the city would consider it inappropriate. "

His eyes widen a bit and he leans back again. "Don't worry about me calling the city though. Nobody is about to do that. Anybody in the building knows better than to get them involved in any of our business even if it was completely above board. So you're fine. And I'm not really in a position to make threats. I'm just asking you to put a stop to it before Enzo's plans somehow wind up with the union hall on the evening news. He'll be pissed. But what is he gonna do?

I guess you could ask what am I gonna do. Well, I guess since nobody wants to make any kind of fuss that could raise suspicious or get on the record, nobody is probably going to do anything. I guess it's your call boss. "

He reaches over to take the card. "But at the least I'll call up to bitch if something bad enough goes down. "

""OK, I'll tell you what. I don't want anybody falling anywhere, or anything flooding, but how about this: I'll tell Enzo that there has to be a better way, and this has already been found, obviously, so we should backfill it, and then I can construct him something better? I'll at least fix this up for now, but I'll lay out the truth for him because this here was never a good plan.""

"The Rockwell looks as good a place as any to get a drink." Bongo orders, hers and a gin and tonic for himself, and they find a table. Once the drinks arrive, he says, "Yeah, a tour might be nice once we finish our drinks. While we enjoy some time here, I'd like to talk about music together. I've got some commitments that call me away from time to time, but I'd like to get together with you and jam a bit. Do you have a practice space that you use? My gear is cumbersome, but I have a vehicle. In fact, if the tour would work better or be safer with a vehicle, i could fetch it and come for you here."

The old guy exhales slowly. "I was really hopping you'd see reason. I must be mellowing with age to put it that way. " He gives a little smirk and taps his greek sailors cap. "Or maybe just a better judge of character. I'll go with that. "

He takes another sip.

"Though Enzo isn't going to like that. He'll probably do some pissing and moaning. We've tried to civilize him, but he's a tough customer, and a lot of us aren't so civilized ourselves when you get down to it. Do you actually have another plan?"

(OOC: I didn't exactly plan for this course of action. So if you want you could pitch some ideas, or sling some dice and tell me to figure it out since your character should know more than you did. The latter is a totally valid choice. Usually one I encourage for very non-charismatic folks trying to give a charismatic character a try, but the concept applies to all sorts of situations.

In principle the stormwater system goes all over the city. But this is pretty close to an outlet to the bay, and the pipes are larger here. )

Paul sighs heavily and massages the bridge of his nose. ""Sir, it really depends on what the intended outcome here is. The original order was to patch up some damage and prevent flooding down here. Null persp, I can do that. I can shore up the cavity, strap the pipe, weld the holes and refit the hatch. Now there's a problem with whether or not it should be here in the first place - well, great, I can explain that this was a bad idea from inception and should be backfilled for all the right reasons, but none of that is about engineering a different outcome. If the need is for access through the piping, I can do that, but if the need is for access, piping or not, then there are a million different options at hand. I could get you an entirely different tunnel, given time and facilities. I could fix up what's here, dust off my hands, and call the job done. The reasons are all in the heads of people who haven't told me what they're trying to achieve and show little sign of wanting to do that. If it's all a security concern, that was never part of the original description other than that some of the holes look the part - well, great, that could give us a whole list of other options including monofilament lines, electrified control points or other zone denial systems. But if Enzo doesn't want to tell me what, or why, or how, I can only guess and hope that he's putting two and two together and not coming up with five. If you have a clear feature list that I can plan for, well, that'll be the first that I've heard of such a thing on this job.""

(OOC: Ooop. Initially missed pbangarth's post)

Rose scoffs but smiles at Bongo's last comment "I thought your whole thing was that you're supposed to be able to make music with anything. "

She looks like she's expecting some flirty pushback, but then gets that serious business look on her face. " Actually, if that really is something you have a particular talent with, that could be something someone could turn into an act. It pays to bring a little something a tart with skillwires can't do. But if you're a whole lot better with a real drum I'd like to hear that too. We have a little space that we use as a studio. The others are horrible about practicing there if I don't schedule a meeting and remind them, so we'd be able to have it to ourselves if you'd like to go.

I might also try recording you different ways. Not that we have much of a rig going there. "

As she speaks she gets increasingly focused on the task, and less on Bongo exactly, even though she's only talking about him. It isn't that she's avoiding eye contact, she just has a look of preoccupation with logistics and locations, or maybe messing around with her AR interface to pull something up. The latter seems likely as Bongo gets pinged with an address.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z1x9HKTRwe94X2wF7



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

The old timer seems much more at ease at this point, but he still scraches his head.

"Well, I suppose what he wants is exactly what he has. A way to sneak into the Unions basement from the storm drain system, maybe he's got some kinda connection going on at one of the docks nearby wherever that goes. Which I figure is probably pretty much just straight from here to the river.

Though what we need isn't always what we want. Probably what he wants is not to come down here to find a gun drone waiting for him some day. Actually, could you fix this pipe up like it'd never been damaged, but make it look like the pipe under a nearby building was damaged and fixed up.

Well, so long as it isn't under Judy's grill. Maybe I'd rather they got enzo. "

He smiles at his little joke. But continues "IF you have any other idea for something not so easy to trace back to us that'd be great. Some other access point? Maybe you know some little underground pocket of space near a pipe where they don't have cameras. Maybe with some kinda way to get out to a ride discreetly. "

Paul nods firmly. ""All right, now you're talking my language. Let me fix this up for now - it will solve the immediate problems. Afterwards I'll go talk to Enzo, explain to him that this location has been compromised that that he needs a better job done. I can delineate and excavate a better transfer system, that's both easier to transship and easier to defend. The best hatch in the world wouldn't help when it's compromised, and for sure the opposition knows where it is, now.""

Bongo notes to himself how close the location she marked is to the team's safehouse. Not much of a safehouse, though, if you tell people about it.

"That sounds good to me. Let me get my vehicle and drum kit. Would you like me to come back to pick you up or just meet you there?"

The guy nods. "Well, I'll let you to it. I'll finish up here and head upstairs. Maybe I can help stall him while you get things done, maybe after all the arguing he'd be up for a drink at Judy's now that I'm thinking about the place. It's hard to argue with finished work. "

He waits politely to let Paul get in a last word while he gets in some last bites, but then heads off.

(OOC: I'll leave it to you how you want to manage ideas for whatever Tubesnake is thinking).

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

She smiles and finishes her drink. "Let's stick together."

(OOC: You're free to get the car and head there. You kinda know the spaces, so you can describe the trip ).

Bongo has to think fast about how to keep the location of the safehouse secret. Outside, he hails a cab and gives the driver the address Rose gave him. He makes sure he is on the right side of the cab. As they approach the Symphony Orchestra building, he asks the driver to pull over. Rose looks at him quizzically, and he pays enough to cover her ride to the destination. "There are some things I have to keep secret, for myself and my teammates. You go ahead and get the place ready. I'll be there in half an hour or so." A quick peck on her cheek and he ducks out the door before she can complain too much.

Once the cab takes off, he hails another and asks the driver to go along Preston until Greenmount and then asks the driver to pull over. He pays, waits for the driver to go, and then heads down Greenmount till E Chase and home. Loading his Range Rover with his gear, he notices Willie's door closed. Heh. Sleeping another one off. He shakes his head.

Once loaded, he makes his way to Rose's studio. Right by Walgreen's. Handy. He knocks on the door.

Eventually, friday evening arrives, and Selina has taken her time getting ready. Her new dress is sitting perfectly, and she has a black overcoat in addition for outside. Since she has no car, yet, she looks into getting some transportation to Gatsby's. The bike isn't exactly suitable for the occasion. If all else fails, she can be pretty swift on foot with Fiona's help. But that is really a last resort.

Luckily, though, that isn't necessary. She finds a cab service that is able to pick her up at a nearby location.

<< On my way. Meet you at the club. >>

She is curious about what to expect on Gatsby's third floor. The hints about the changes there were pretty obvious, and she likes to think that the comments she dropped while they were there, might have helped a little to push them into the right direction. Soon enough, she can see for herself. As usual, Fiona will accompany her astrally.

As Bongo goes about his business the sun finishes dropping in the sky. In the parking garage there really isn't much visual difference as artificial light picks up easily for what daylight can sneak into the structure.

The more noteworthy difference is the sounds of commercial trucks on the first floor get quieter and the sounds of the Boyz get a lot louder, as do the safehouse's neighboring squats.

Still, the Boyz don't trouble Bongo and most of the trip to Rose's coordinate is through the "L" where the volume of traffic and Baltimore Police Union cars patrolling up and down its length are keeping the worst of the gangs away from the tourists and anyone looking to spend some nuyen.

As he gets closer to Rose things start getting worse again, now approaching the West "Wing" of the butterfly. Still he manages to get there without trouble.

As he approaches he can see it's underneath an uptown structure that is vaguely resembles a spiral staircase. The "steps" providing a balcony or open area for each floor, covered by higher floors as the spiral loops around. Vines grow around the many support beams keeping the structure supported.

Underneath Bongo spots a park with folks in it. It all seems a little familiar to Bongo now after his experiences at the Tourmaline. Though this place doesn't have tons of apartments able to stare at folks, so there aren't all the commercial vendors, and just generally not nearly so many downtown folk in general. Maybe more of a gang presence here outside the L judging by the Orks wearing leather jackets with orange highlights, and not nearly as aggressive a security presence with the elevators.

Of course Bongo only had moments to observe that as he drove the last meters to the coordinates, but his memory lets him stare as he likes.

The "door" turns out to be a garage. There's a damaged maglock next to the door. It doesn't seem to be able to do any "locking" anymore. However he hears a scratchy version of Rose's voice come through a microphone. <<Here, help me quick to get this open and get your car inside. It isn't such a great idea to park here, and I don't want people seeing you moving gear around, they might get the idea there's valuable stuff in here. >>

The garage is mostly empty, so he can get his van inside and pull enough forward to still have room to open a rear door and move things around, and then Rose can lower the garage door and lock it from the inside. There's room for two cars in here, and a door on the far side. On the side he isn't parking on there's a bunch of folding chairs near the second garage door, facing a small makeshift stage with a microphone. Not enough width for a full band to set up comfortably, but neither Gatsby's nor the Choptank afforded much more space. Cheap thin speakers are mounted on the walls, as are lights and what are presumably some cameras.

She says "It's usually pretty safe here if you don't give people ideas. There's a downtown art college nearby, and the students are just better targets for any kind of crime. We've never had anyone bother us here no matter how loud we get. Though the guys make sure to never leave their instruments behind. The rest is too much of a bother for what it's worth.

So what do you think? " She says the last bit with a half enthusiastic half sarcastic tone as she rasies her arms and turns around to indicate everything.

Selina hikes away from the safehouse.

She's becomes quite aware of the attention she draws down here. In her outfit she doesn't fit in at all. Maybe part of that is the period outfit, though dresses and black overcoats have a certain timeless quality. Still, even if some of the downtowners are trying to be sexy, they aren't trying to be classy.

Many are just trying to blend in with each other and go about their business. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine the AR overlay of the uptown folks over the safehouse turning them into Zebras. The system might have more trouble with Selina.

However the HomeBoyz giving her a clear amount of attention as they drive by. Quite visible as their hotrods don't tend to have a roof and they don't like to wear much in the way of helmets, so it's clear to onlookers where they're looking. For their part they seem wary of catcalling Selina. Probably they've got orders, or warnings about her.

Selina isn't exactly sure of how far their turf goes, but getting picked up nearby doesn't go outside of it.

The cab has a human male in it, however he isn't driving. That's left to the autopilot. He's riding shotgun and keeping his head on a swivel while keeping a hand on something between the seats that's deliberately out of sight. He looks at Selina, but gets a look of annoyance and it's a quiet trip.
(OOC: Unless you'd like to chat him up. If she looks it up Cabs that go outside the L are often like this. Not being chatty isn't too odd. )

Gatsby's doing well tonight, at least as far as the first floor goes. Mike has his booth again, and is doing a poor job of trying to look casually at folks coming in. He eagerly waves at Selina as she arrives and waves her over.

Selina considers the walk to the cab a proof-of-concept. Definitely working. The Boyz are clearly trying to behave. At least, somewhat. Probably don't want to mess up their deal with Brewster. Still, she is able to consider them more as security than a threat.

"No need to worry, they mostly just bark," she tells to the guy in the cab, who is probably more a guard than a driver.

When they arrive, she wishes him "Have a safe night!" as she gets out of the car.

Getting inside Gatsby's is no problem, as Mike has put her on the approved guests list, of course. No hacking needed this time. She looks around for a coat check to leave hers at the entrance, if they have one. On their last visit, there was no need, so she didn't really pay attention to that part.

The music feels good and with light steps Selina heads towards the stairs, dodging the other guests and dancers along the way.

Paul tidies up the coffee break setup, while keeping his drones on task. The welding itself doesn't take long, and he does the strapping of the pipe himself. High tensile strength strapping isn't too hard to install although it is a dirty job. The patching the drones can easily handle too, and then it's fabrication time - but he keeps an eye out for Enzo's arrival. The easy way to do that is to have a Fly-Spy perched on his cart, sending a video feed.

The driver doesn't respond verbally, but he gives a nod, and his mood seems to be improved for the trip for it. He even manages a wave goodby after arriving at the club.

There's a different band this time. This one a little less steeped in the band, but seeming to focus on Jazz, brining a live trumpet to the mix along with some Louisiana Zydeco beats. At least roughly in the right time period if not something the people seem entirely used to dancing to. But it carries a carefree fun that people seem to be enjoying.

Reggie gives Selina a big toothy grin as she heads down the stairs to the table after working her way through those dancing on the spiraling ascending stairs.

Mike waves he over, already getting into some absinth.

He says "Very glad you could make it. Normally I just try to make the world better through my job, which I think of as having people look a little better than before while they're in firefights. However while I enjoy the scene down here, they're up to something different upstairs, and I'd like to support it. I'm sure however it goes, it'll go much better for having you around.

Officially they wanted it to be a secret. But their leaks and how easy the were to find reeks of being deliberate. I might take note of that myself, it was fun to run the information down. Like hunting out an add. "

He pauses to have a quick drink " They still want to keep things a little elite and naughty. Just....different. Luckily not hard drugs. That'd be boring and I need to get to work tomorrow. So at least they got past that hurdle. Instead they've managed to invite in some of the actual gangsters from both the east and west sides. You already get that kind of mixing here under the archology. However usually gangs have turf in the clubs around. They'll wear their colors and all of that. Things tend to stay tense, even if they're in the same establishment. The idea here is that it might be fun to be dressed up and bring a little class from the past to the trouble of today.

Enough uptown folks are at least interested to see how that goes that I think they'll be profitable this week. But it might be a disaster. Which is partly why I'm happy to have Reggie. This is still a small club. They don't have deep pockets for their own security forces.

Though part of their attempt to make this fun instead of dangerous, is to strongly encourage disguises in addition to a change of clothing. Hopefully neither of us is the sort to need those exactly, but I brough some nanopaste all the same if you'd like. Something to consider while we get in some drinking and dancing. "

Thanks to some classical training, Selina knows a number of dance moves, ranging from really classic stuff to latin, jazz, and also more modern routines. So, she has no trouble finding the right rythm here.

"Hey, Reggie, nice to meet you again," Selina says to the big troll as she passes by him.

Stopping in front of the table, she strikes a few quick poses, as if she was a model in a photo shoot. "Statement enough?" she asks as she approaches. Her champagne color cocktail dress is quite a bit tinier than last time. Elegant, seductive, and underlining her figure. With matching heels and some unostentatious jewelry.

She listens to his explanations of the changes to the third floor and nods. "Gangsters, huh? That does sound different, alright. Well, I'm not easily scared. As long as they behave and keep the young girls out of it, it can only be an improvement. I really didn't like that part, but it was my own doing. Still a little sorry for having dragged you into that last time. I mean, to be fair, you did warn me."

Looking at the absinth, she comments: "I still don't think this will ever become a favorite. A glass of wine, or maybe something Old Fashioned?"

"Do you know how to dance to that?" She gives a quick nod towards the stage. "Most of the guests down there don't seem to."

Frank initially gives a bit of a start with Selina's first question, though he clearly enjoyed the poses. He takes a moment appreciating her with his eyes, and having a drink of absinth. Enough time for him to do a bit of memory retrieval, digital or organic memory is hard to tell, but Selina's earlier deep glimpse into his aura indicated he most likely has both working for him. He's smiling by the time he puts the glass down.

"Well you are right. That is less conservative. Hmmmm" He leans back and rubs his chin. "But what statement are you really trying to make? Maybe...that you're feeling more comfortable here? A bit more experienced with a previously new place. Maybe something else a little different in your life that was bothering you before? All the same I quite appreciate it. "

Reggie seems to have appreciated it to, but he deliberately turns away and takes to paying attention to the steps leading down to the table. For a big guy he's usually quite good and nearly going invisible and blending into the background.

Mike continues " As for the upstairs, they at least seem reasonably clear that they aren't doing to underage thing. At least as clear as they can be without admitting in a potentially public place that they were ever doing it in the first place. Setting expectations is important. Little is worse for a scene than some whiners. Maybe I should have just said not, but it's easy enough to leave a place ,and I didn't want your curiosity getting the better of you and finding some way in without me around. Especially on a first meeting. I'm usually quite comfortable saying no.

But I don't see a reason to say no to a different drink option. They'll deliver a cocktail or wine. But if you get champaign it can come with some fireworks.

As for dancing. Well, I've been viewing some of the dances in AR. Not so different to what I'm more used to. But you never know when one of these bands is suddenly going to jump to a different century with their music or shift the beat. The key " He says, spreading out his arms wide and resting them on either side of him on the couch, appearing comfortable. "Is to let go of the usual stress and need to perform you have to deal with. It's a crazy place trying to capture a little of the magic of a crazy time. There's no better dance floor to stumble on in all of Baltimore in my opinion. "

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

Eventually Paul's drone see's Enzo heading down into the basement. He's still chatting with some people upstairs as he starts down the stairs and closes the door. But his demeanor is cool as a cucumber. However once the door is shut he has a definite rush in this steps as he approaches the hole in the wall.

Sticking his head in he takes in the ongoing progress and repairs. He mutters to himself "Alright Alright. Those geezers had me a little worried. Looking good. "

It occurs to Paul that some unions are big on not letting maintenance drones serve as sources of records for disciplinary actions. The drone's feeds being hackable or alterable by an employer, and employers rarely want to spring for the sort of systems and softwre you'd need to make them secure and safe from tampering. These guys may really just not regard them as something that might record them.

"Oh, never underestimate curiosity. They couldn't have stopped me, even if they wanted to."

She grins mischievously.

Then she ponders the drink part for a second, and says: "Hmm. Champagne would fit well to the dress, wouldn't it? And fireworks? Fun!"

"Also, dancing is all about fun and just going with the flow. Feel the music and the rythm, and do not worry about doing every step perfectly right. That's for professional dancers. As long as it feels right. If you start to overthink it, that's when things go wrong."

""Heeeey, Enzo. I'm glad I caught you there.""

Paul emerges from the hole right as Enzo comes to stick his head in. He has work gloves on and a wrench in his hand that he'd used to tighten the straps.

""I've been checking this situation out, and I've been shoring it up OK, but you know you have a bigger problem, right? The water's big enough, but you know that whoever came down here and made a ruckus knows where it is, and that hasn't changed. What I'm saying is that I can do this patch job for today, but you need to think of a better way to serve your purpose. If you need help, well, I can maybe do some of that for you, but then we need a design and planning discussion. Whaddya say?""

Bongo surveys the room and replies, "I think this is perfect. I'll set up the drum kit and we can jam." He puts his equipment up on the stage, tunes one of the snares that went off during transport and then asks, "What first?"

Mike gives a smile and a nod. "It should be here in a just a little bit. I think at some level people know that. That's why they enjoy some drinking before the dancing. You can tell yourself to relax and just have some fun, but the boys in the back room have yet to figure out how to get our brains to actually listen to what we tell them to do. "

He looks up to see a male and female server in tight period dancing outfits. Practical for navigating all the tight stairs in the multi level maze.

They set a bucked down with a bottle of champaign on ice. With a deft gesture the guy uses a large white napkin to pop and catch the cork, while the woman yells, "Heaven to Besty" and keeps a playful scream going as she activates the fireworks. The crowd joins in as sparkles and roman candle like bursts shoot out a ways above the crowd, along with some "Vweeee" sound effects that may not have come form the fireworks themselves. Most in the crowd look up with a smile, some seem a little worried, maybe not having seen this done before. But whatever the fireworks are made of seem to burn to nothing while still in the air, long before actually getting near the dancers below.

Selina might catch a few jealous looks.

The woman gives the group a wink. "I'm kinda new and still really enjoy doing that. " The two hustle off pretty quickly however, under Reggie's casual but attentive eyes.

Mike pours her a glass and says "Where was I kim? Oh yes. Let's toast to more forceful measures to get our brains to do what we want. " He says raising up his absinthe glass.

After a drink he says "Actually maybe you are special. Everyone says dancing should just be fun. But usually there's plenty of scrutiny. Judgement. With you I managed to actually fall with my antics and things still turned out splendidly. "

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

Enzo looks worriedly at Paul. "Well. I didn't want to talk about it. I'm pretty sure the folks in the pipe aren't telling anybody about it, blasts in confined spaces tend to do that, and if anybody did know I think they'd have caused trouble right away. We don't plan on getting in that sort of a situation again, so it shouldn't be a problem right?

Still, if somebody does really screw up, it would be awesome to have an alternative option instead of this. If you have any sneaky pipe tricks anywhere else I'm sure I could arrange. Well. I guess it would probably have to be something off the books. You really are fixing a leak here and you logged on and everything, but I'm sure we can work something out. "

He leans over to look just a little in control "That is if you really have some ideas." For all that he's all smiles at the moment, if Paul thought he tossed him some bad news, Enzo did not catch it.

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

Rose rubs her chin a little and walks past a "RestroStack" poster on the wall, and then heads towards the folding chairs, eventually plopping down in one. "You know, in all the time we've had this set up, I've never once sat down as the audience here. Maybe we should have gotten collaborators soon or something. But I guess I liked having this all to myself. Anyway, why don't you show me what you've got, and I'll just take it in. Maybe see how it comes across on the feeds. We can see where we can take it from there after a set. "

She crosses her legs and eyes Bongo expectantly.

Bongo does a few checks of the instruments, and then runs through a polyrhythm warmup he found on the matrix a couple of years ago.



Then he settles into a older, pre-tango milonga rhythm, a syncopated 8 count with accents on 1, 4,5, and 7 in its most complicated form. Latin but with a good dose of Africa thrown in. A great, loose dance feel to it.

Eventually, he morphs the older latin rhythm into a jazz 3/4 with brushes. with a flourish he ends and sets the sticks down. "Waddaya think?"

Paul shrugs cheerfully. ""Hey, you're the boss, and your decision is what it is. As far as this job today is concerned, it's all on schedule and under budget but I always ask myself on a job: when, if ever, will I be back to fix things up again? And the thing here is that it's not about whatever chopped meat met with an explosion in there, but who sent them there, and who they told about where they're going. You don't have to be Sun Tzu to make the connection that if one crew showed up here, and didn't achieve what their bosses wanted, another crew might and this next crew might be bigger and tougher and ready for more trouble than the first one. So what I'm proposing here is that this hole gets backfilled. In fact, I would install monitoring in the pipes, just to find anybody coming down here, and then I would leave the scaffolding in place and pump it all full of plasticrete. Lock it up tight, because it doesn't matter what I construct if the next boys show up with plasma cutters and thermal lances. Now, if what you want is protected transshipment then you need a better source of access than a pipe that really should be clear anyway, you need it more discreet, and you also need a defended intermediate zone. These things don't come cheap or easy, but depending on the parameters all of this is feasible. The other side of the coin is how everybody else feels about this - what you can do is one side of it, but what about everybody else working here? How do they feel about it?""

Selina watches the fireworks, and like many in the crowd, she did not expect that. Maybe some sparkler candles, but that was pretty cool, actually.

She smiles. "Alright, I will give you that. The champagne was a great choice!"

After a first sip, she raises her glass again. "Here's to some carefree moments."

Rose looks a little perplexed at first, but her head starts bobbing with the various beats. She starts looking happier as he goes along. A few hand gestures indicate he's probably using some AR. As he finishes she says
"Ok. So it occurs to me that I'm not exactly a drum instructor. But I get beats, and I get complex beats. I was looking some stuff up and, besides, I don't think I could have one hand doing something different from the others quite like that. I sing and sway in a pretty coordinated rhythm.... I think. Maybe I'll have to watch of video of myself.


She shakes her head

"Anyway. I appreciate that you just aren't bluster or something without the technical underpinnings. I should probably have asked for that. Though based on the trid shows I think I ought to just be screaming at you to go faster and faster. I never quite understood the point of that. "

She shakes her head again as she keeps getting off the topic she wants to get to.

"But what I'd really like is for you to do. I don't know exactly. But your thing, whatever it is. Pin me to my seat you know? "

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

Enzo almost rolls his eyes, but manages to catch himself. "If anybody knew about the spot and wanted to come back with something to crack it open, they'd have done so by now. The drek really hit the fan, and we'll be more careful, but we got a little lucky and seem clean. "

He then looks a little thoughtful "Though now all the uptight sorts here know about it. So I guess there's that. I'd love to hear if you can think of a different place to set something like this up. In the meantime. "

He leans in close and speaks in a softer tone "How about we make like you've sealed this up, but don't. Like maybe really do seal up the area where we currently get in, but then add door in the brickwork that you can't see, or maybe a hatch to the parking lot? We could get by with a bit less space down there. We didn't actually know where the pipe was exactly. That should also make everything more stable right? And you've already put some work towards it. Be sad to waste it."

He gives Paul a shrug and his winningest smile.

"Later we can sort out other options. Maybe we eventually decide to plug this up good. "

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

Mike smiles "I was hoping you'd like it. Word is they got a lot of those quick and clean burning fireworks in bulk, expecting them to be wildly popular. Maybe they charge too much. But I think the real problem is that the folks in these tables like watching from out perch, and drawing very specific attention, but most don't like too much attention. I get that. "

He leans over and gives her a smile while putting and arm behind her back. "I think you like the attention, or at least don't mind it as the price of a little excitement. And I like that. "

With his other hand he starts quickly downing his drinks "Normally I'm for indulgence with these. But I guess I'm eager to get you dancing. Lead the way when you're ready "

"OK," Says Bongo. "Hold on to your seat." He redoes the milonga, a dance rhythm for the dancer in Rose, and calls up the magic to show her the difference.

Paul nods, and mutters back:

""I can do that, sure. But for today's work, I'll settle what I have going on here. I just want you to know that things are just patched up, and I see signs of bigger trouble in future. What you want to do about it - well, that's on you.""

As Bongo weaves the magic into his percussion he perceives perhaps a complication of using this ability, at least this close up. Rose normally seems like the energetic type. At least she'd be active, maybe cheering, at least checking the camera feeds. However as he gets going she seems pretty zonked out, staring at him but more blankly than focused and with a little bit of a slack jaw.

At this point it's up to Bongo how long he wants to string this section out (OOC: There is a chax10 minutes limit on using the ability. A little fuzzy on how long it takes to reset that. )

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

Enzo nods. "Well, I'll look forward to hearing if you have an ideas for a different spot. Maybe I can arrange for something more elaborate here. Do you think you'll be able to do the work on the hatch? And maybe add something of a slab on the other side of the wall. Something someone could push back with a solid amount of force, but that would make it seem to someone just messing around as if things were sealed? One thing nobody wants is any kiddos just using it if any of the old guard get talking now that they know about it. They also might poke around to see what's there, but probably wouldn't really put their shoulders into it. If you put in some screw holes I could attach something when needed to pull it back into place. "

He gives Paul a hopeful nod.

Bongo sees the effect his music has on Rose, and brings the piece to a close with a flourish. "Well, did you feel pinned?"

Willie wakes after a few hours, eats a little, and contacts Brewster. << Thanks for the payout. Gotta replenish ammo. You got a source? >>

"Attention. I would have to lie, if I was to say I do not like it here and there. As with all things, it depends a little. There are times where attention is unwanted, but most of the time, I do not mind at all. As for dancing, though, there is rarely a time where I do not like to dance!"

Once Selina has finished her Champagne, she gets up from the table.

"As your drink just so happened to disappear, I guess there is nothing stopping us from hitting the dance floor now."

Rose shakes her head and says "Wow. Yeah. That was what I was looking for. "

She makes a few quick gestures with her hand and stares away. "Ok, luckily I did have the cameras set to record. Enough to display a holo. Let me get around you for that. "

Rose gets up and has to get around Bongo to reach a small crack in on of the plywood sheets that compose the makeshift stage. lifting it up she takes out a garbage back, which turns out to hold a holo projector.

She shrugs at Bongo "Not contraband, but there isn't exactly much for security here. Even the landlord might poke around to make a few nuyen. I don't even like people visiting to know it's here, even if it isn't a good one. I'm figuring if you're willing to get me seafood you won't rip off a crappy projector. " She gives him a joking smile as she sets it up near the stage.

"Ok, I've loaded imagery. I don't have the best software, but it should work. Why don't you have a seat next to me and we'll see how it translates "

She sits in the front row, and pats the folding chair next to her.

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

(OOC: It can be unclear, so I should note that I assume messages unless someone indicates they're making an actual call or attempt to meet in VR or something)

Brewster replies pretty quickly.

<<I always come through on my obligations. As for ammo, you have a number of options. For regular ammo needs I can connect you with some legal dealers known to run the absolute minimal rating checkers allowed by law. For many items I can also arrange for delivery at reasonable ratees through my more extensive network. For a low fee of two hundred Nuyen I could arrange a meeting for you with some useful individuals for a wide range of items, and then you could "cut out the middleman" such as I am. That can also speed the process up. Actually since that might be somewhat useful to me, and since it occurs to me its half of an adventure to meet up, I'll lower the fee to an unprecedented hundred. I do need to maintain the relationship after all, and I do have to put my reputation on the line vouching for you, plus the obligations that implies. >>

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

Mike smile and jumps up from the bench. "Well then, lets hit the floor. " He almost seems like he'd have zipped by and taken her hand, but the balcony is a little too tight for that. Instead he puts a hand on her back.

"Huh. Interesting stitching. Anyway lead the way, and lets see what you open with."

(OOC: Assuming she gets up and heads down the staircase, he'll follow and keep a hand on her as they weave through the crowd. He'd then hold out his arms and take a step backwards to open up a bit of space for Selina to move)

Before they head down, Selina pulls out her commlink, no trodes on this time, to check on some videos about that Zydeco dance, that corresponds to the music being played.

"That is one I havn't done, yet. But looks easy enough," she comments as she tries a few of the dance moves.


"There is always some Lindy Hop or good old Swing to fall back on."

Bongo sits down beside Rose. He's pretty sure the effect won't come through the tech, but he has never actually tried it out. "This should be interesting. My guess is that the recording won't have the same effect. If it does, we might not be able to turn it off before the recording ends. And," he considers the possibilities, "if it does, I have a whole new avenue to explore."