<<Friday Evening - 18:10 - March 31, 2079 - Bellevue, Seattle Metroplex>>

You've been back in Seattle for a little over a week from your Texas adventure. The house in Bellevue was intact when you returned and things have been fine, although with the coming of spring the Homeowners Association has sent out a reminder about yard and lawncare expectations.

Upon returning from the CAS, Mato took his payday and headed in for some gene therapy. Tamarind had been through it before to get her Synch and let him know what to expect, namely being immobilized and floating in a nutrient vat for the duration. Mato will be sedated and incommunicado for at least two weeks.

It is now Friday evening and the corpers are returning home to start their weekends. It's the first dry day in a while so some of them are grilling - clacking together their tongs as they flip expensive meat on shining, stainless steel grills - while others get to work on some of the HOA-mandated gardening.

Against this backdrop there's a low guttural noise, a growling motorcycle engine that pulls right up to the sidewalk in front of the house. Two kids step off the back of a Yamaha Growler which is covered in dust and dirt. As you get a better look at them, one is a teenager and the other is a tween. The teenager is wearing Halloweener colors and looks around with a sneer.

"We need to see the ork," the teenager says with a fair bit of attitude. "The street sam who wears the business suit."

"Tell him it's Rat and Tom," the tween adds, with rather less attitude than the teenager.

A quick glance around tells you that your neighbors are paying close attention, peeking out of curtains and watching over fences. In all odds, at least one of them is reaching out to Sakura Security.

During the lows that came after the highs, I spent my time studying Shedim and other shadow spirits and remembering trivia details about them, not knowing if they were useful or not. Still, it seemed to give me a semblance of a day job, like the environment where I woke up in the mornings, got dressed, and enter my study or go up to the Five Fingers for some knowledgeable company. I have also been practicing my talent a lot, and while I am not ready for more raw power like Bobby and Raven, I learned a lot about counter spelling; things have evolved from the rudimentary methods DB taught me. I tried read Tien’s thesis four times and tried to make sense of this all to try and see if I could ever be an academic. In other life, I’d study the mystery of the universe in sobriety and be a hermetic mage rather than take mind-altering drugs until my own perception of rationalism and reality cracks so that I can believe and feel, and connect. The process could have been far more pleasant and more me. Eventually, I give up this idle pursuit and keep working on counter spelling, which may save my life if I find myself at the wrong end of a spell. Won’t do much about conjuring, but as a shaman, I am used to conjurers being the stars of the show.


I haven’t tried the local gym - it frightens me too much. I should; one of the neighbors, Lisa, has somehow decided that we are best friends, and I am not assertive enough to correct her. Apparently, she likes me, or she wants me away from her husband, or she is curious about Bobby and Mato and wants to join our sex cult. I’ve seen the way these neighbors look at us - not being able to pinpoint just what we do for a living and why we’re five adults living together. I don’t tell Lisa much, but I smile and wave when I see her and always agree to accompany her to Yoga class - but I haven’t done so this week. I am a tad afraid of her social prowers and that this friendly mask may just be a chance to grill me on something, or worse. So I do the elf thing for now until I am brave enough to go into that lioness' den. A new Yoga class with this cute instructor. Why does it have to be Yoga and not a shooting range? Don’t these people like putting lead in cardboard and talking about how close their cluster of hits is - like normal people? Doesn’t Lisa find that more interesting than putting her body in an awkward position and wearing these tight embarrassing clothes that make me feel naked? Yet, I had to promise Lisa to go because at the end of the day, I am Iktomi’s plaything and I don’t hate him at the moment.

I try to blend in and appear normative, so I find myself pretending to have a day job. Get dressed every morning and head to see that Mato is okay, I know I know he is unconscious, but still, I am worried they’ll put in too many augmentations in him, and he never wakes up. Silly of me, but I do it anyhow. I Head to the clinic and watch his tank for a few minutes asking the local doctors if everything is alright, and then I move on to the five fingers, which is my current workplace. Fenghung seems to enjoy my company, and she cooks very well and enjoys having someone to talk to as she does all the chores.




****
When the two kids whom I had never seen before arrive, my heart skips a bit—Haloweeners here, oh the shame. I’ll have to bring chocolate cookies to the next HOA meeting and find more friends to counter the aftershock, I'll go to Yoga and to the gardening club, and the book club - and maybe then I'll have enough political power to overcome such a humiliation. "Praise the Trickster, praise the web. I comment indicating how worried I am about this situation.

>> anyone knows who they are? I text, my mind racing with how to salvage this disaster.

Bobby hadn't been idle during the team's excursion: He had begun his third initiation, pitting his own magic against his sense of self to find a new balancing point on how his magic appeared around his body. 16 hours of meditation each day, two hours exercise honing his skills, two hours meal preparation and hygiene as well as two hours yard work (making sure the little biotope and vegetable patch in the backyard wasn't noticeable beyond the screens and tending to the hedge that should shield it in future.

Missing the trip to texas had stung a bit. The fauna there wasn't much anymore, but he'd have loved to study a rattlesnake or two close up.

It happened that Bobby was tending to the front lawn when the two young gangers turned up. Bobby put down the pitcher of liquid fertilizer (a concentrated infusion of nettle compost and eggshells) where he tried to coerce the grass to grow more evenly (meditating about balance and appearance could do funny things to ones mind).

He turned to the two bikers and said in a loud and clear voice: "You have the wrong address." He closed in on the two, ready to turn them into tortoises.
in a much quieter voice he said: "Are you two completely stupid? Mato isn't here. His commlink displays clearly that he is out of communications for two weeks. Get out of here before someone calls security. Afterwards call my com. Now piss off, before we have to demonstrate to the neighborhood that we aren't associating with Helloweeners. For gods sake. Have you ever heard about blending in? Piss off now before I make you."



While he gesticulated he managed to send a message to the team

<<I think those are the two strays that helped Mato get the card from the drone. I gave them our company com address. We can hear them out once they get out of here.
Oh and AM: Please spread the rumor with your gals, that those two are drug dealers that wanted to sell to Mr. Onsley, down at 1259. His dog has a nasty rash, because he doesn't care for him properly.>>

When Bobby says jump, I usually ask how high. I don't think spreading a rumor is good, but if Bobby hates the guy enough, he has his reasons. The man gave me money to pay the Mafia, and he deserves complete loyalty. I exit the house, still in my training clothes from the gym, to help defuse the situation. I say quietly but not whispering as if I don't want people to overhear (but I do). . "I think your business is at 1259. Don't feel bad; newcomers always get confused with all the houses looking similar, stick to the numbers, and you'll be alright." mainly for the neighbors rather than for the two strays. To myself, "He has to do something about this nasty habit." more to spark the neighbors' interest and get them to ask tons of questions.

Rachel has enjoyed a few days of doing absolutely nothing after that rather stressful job. She also prepares for her first initiation, which she will begin on April 2nd, when the next lunar cycle starts. The lunar phases are an important factor in witchcraft and she wants to get it right, of course.

Bonding the first focus they acquired was a simple but quite interesting process. The power surge coming from it was almost like a drug rush. Damn! She could see that becoming addictive, if not controlled properly. It would be best, not to keep it active all the time, but only when needed. It would allow her magic to be so much stronger, though. The second focus would have to wait a bit, anyways, since she needed to complete her initiation first, in order to even be able to use it.

Since this is still a few days off, the young witch spends most of her time doing either relaxing or fun things, and of course help around the house where needed. She also still owes Yao a little shopping trip, and those are always fun. And she wants to practice golfing a little more, too.

As the bike pulls up with the two kid-gangers, Rachel was just about to go out for some exercise. She really isn't great at it, and some practice can't hurt. Dressed in tight-fitting, black leggings, a black tank-top, and bright orange sneakers, she certainly looks sporty. As she gets out of the house, Rachel sees that Bobby is already handling the two, that really do not fit in well around here. Knowing their neighbors, there are more than a few eyes on them right now, and there will be questions most likely.

"You better listen to him," she casually remarks, as she begins her running exercise, where most of her effort goes into looking like she actually knows what she is doing.

Tom and Rat look taken aback by Bobby's show of physicality. The tween takes a literal step back. The teenager stands his ground, but you can see him take a gulp. The astral shows that his resolve is wavering.

"I'm not a gonk," the teenager protests. "We're good at what we do. Good enough to find you. Good enough to make this."

The tween throws something on the lawn. A glance at it suggests that it is a heavily modified Sony Emperor.

"Mato said to deliver by the end of the month. That's today, and I don't want him weaseling out of our agreement like a hobgoblin just because he isn't answering."

The decide not to press their luck with Bobby's patience. Finding no help from AM or Raven, they get back on the Yamaha Growler and roar away.

All around the neighborhood, heads pop over fences like gophers emerging from their holes.

I ignore the neighbors and say, "I still need to shower " I declare, I leave the emperor as it is and text Bobby >> get rid of it

I shower and dress in more comfortable clothes, put the old clothes and my laundry in the machine, and then make some tea - which I'll take outside to enjoy the cold evening and perhaps talk to the neighbors a bit. I am working so hard because I want to avoid my birthday. My birthday is coming up tomorrow. April fools, and my social anxiety kicks in with every day that passes. Being 31 is great, but it is also a lonely day where only the people who know that I am not Emily Miller can say something. It is the day I remember that I am not Emma Miller, even if I tell everyone that. It is my undocumented unofficial birthday as Amy Green. The name my mother picked for me. The same mother that never calls even if I remember all her essential dates. The name I could use in Redmond, where nobody was expected to have a real SIN. The name I can no longer use while living in Suburbia. I know it is just a name, but sometimes it feels sad.

Bobby and Mato know already; I think Raven and Tam may also know since we discussed my legal status before moving to suburbia. Black would not forget me and would call. I may tell Fenghung it's my birthday. Other than that, the only people that would remember are my Trix friends, and they are, despite hot sim, less accurate to me. None of my contacts or neighbors would know so. There would not be a party, just another ordinary day when I am grumpy and may get bitchy for no apparent reason. I'll celebrate in June when it's Emma's birthday. June is much better than April. It's warmer - but it is also a day when I'll feel the fakest for pretending to be her. As if I stole her life or something like that -but I am sure she couldn't use the SIN - they didn't kill her for me or anything like that. I don't want to know, I want a little more time before my life falls apart. Just a little bit of happiness, but how much happiness do I get if Iktomi's. Perhaps Iktomi would remember, too, and send a spider to my window. It would strangely make me happy.

Once they were back in Seattle Tamarind had ensured that none of the drones had taken damage in transit, and generally fussed over them for half a day. Then Stitch dragged her outside to the garden (quite literally, his hand is designed to lock on mechanical parts and be able to apply torque, and it works quite effectively on Tamarinds wrist, too). Once Tamarind got gardening then Stitch got to have its turn making sure that the other drones were doing OK.

However when the youngsters from Redmond showed up, she was back inside, working on her matrix skills. She watched the interaction through a Kanmushi that is sitting on the railing around the second story front porch. She has "the Harriets" as she calls them doing a slow crawl along, and detailed imaging of, all the possible entry points to the house, just for future reference.

When the commlink is tossed on the lawn, she sends the suggestion <<Toss it in the garbage bin. I'll fish it out later and check the quality of the work.>>

For a bit more theatrics, Bobby raised his fist towards the retreating gangers - and felt incredibly old while doing so, calling on youngsters to get off his lawn.

He followed Tamarinds advice and picked the electronics gear with two fingers and carried it demonstratively towards the trash cans. It looked like he threw it in, but he made sure to actually put it there with care.

<<Done. Someone should get ahead of the rumors now and tell the neighbors that this was a case of mistaken identity.>>

Edie is an Caucasian human woman who is probably in her 60s. She lives across the street from you. She's the president of both the Highland Homeowners Association (HHOA) as well as the Highland Neighborhood Watch (HNW). She's the local busybody who likes to keep tabs on everyone and everything.

Oh, I've just been security-conscious ever since my husband, Ron, died, she'll explain with a self-conscious laugh if anyone asks. Cross-examining this story with any of your neighbors will reveal that, no, she's always been exactly like this.

She also has a thing for Bobby and rarely misses the opportunity to strike up a conversation. She bustles across the street in her gardening outfit, which includes a wide-brim straw hat. She wears dirty gardening gloves and has a trowel in one hand and a weeder in the other hand, which looks rather like a dirty prison shank.

"Who was that?" she asks Bobby, her eyes wide with wonder.

Bobby turned to her with a rare expression, a smile:
"Gangers who definitely were not supposed to be here. I'll have to talk to our security providers about this. In broad daylight.
Young people like that, probably taking drugs and committing crimes.

Do you know who lived here before? They were asking about someone supposedly living here at one time.

Just as well that they took the hint and left. If I see them again here, there will be consequences."

Bobby was a bit proud of himself having spoken not one lie in his rant.

After a bit Tamarind has Stitch go pick up the garbage bin, and move it to the back yard. She's noticed that oeopthere seem to ignore what drones do most of the time, so his seems the route less apt to draw notice.

Then she goes out and retrieves the modified link. She let's AM know that she has it in the kitchen. She'll start by taking a good look at the physical workmanship.

Edie shakes her head at Bobby.

"The house was empty for four weeks before you moved in," she says. "The owner, Jim, was doing some renovations on it to get it ready for new tenants.

"Before that, it was rented to a young married couple who work for Knight-Errant! Julien was a patrol officer and Carmen had an administrative role. They moved when she got promoted. He would park his patrol vehicle right there."

She points to your driveway, and sighs at having lost such security-minded neighbors.

Edie shakes her head again. "Why would hoodlums want to visit Knight-Errant officers? In broad daylight?"

It's clear that Edie lives in a world full of Ares propoganda that teaches her that Knight-Errant is there to hold the line against the forces of chaos. Which, in Bellevue, might actually be true. In such a worldview, K-E officers would never be corrupt or consort with criminals.

"No, I heard the young man ask about 'the ork in the business suit'. Julien and Carmen were humans! That friend of yours, Miguel? He wears a business suit!"

(Mato has been using his SINner name of Miguel Ángel Torres around the neighborhood.)

I notice Tam's message when I get dressed and head to the kitchen to make tea. Tam and Bobby got the device inside somehow. I am more satisfied that I can stay in the kitchen rather than go outside and face other people. "I'll have a look." I tell the woman, and then spend a few moments examining the device and even bring a small screwdriver to look inside. I am unsurprised that it is a Sony Emperor because Urubia flooded Redmond with these devices. "Let's see what kind of hardware Mato orders..." I say and would explain what I do if Tam seems interested in electronics.

Bobby frowned:
"Are you sure that's what he said? Maybe it's my ears going or it's the horrible slang of those delinquents, but I understood that he was looking for "that dork". But I guess anyone wearing a tie would be a dork for those good for nothing types. Bad enough that they threw their garbage on my lawn. No respect for anything. My father would tanned my hide if I had pulled anything like that.

Anyway, I'll call the security company. Something like this can't happen again. What are we paying them for?"

"Oh, I already did that," Edie says, waving off Bobby.

"As good as they are, Sakura will never know or care as much as concerned neighbors. That's why the the only thing that works is constant vigilance!" She pounds her right fist into the palm of her left hand two times for emphasis.

On cue, two Sakura cars show up. They are white sedans with a large, purple cherry blossom painted on the front doors. Sending two cars suggests a strong response.

"They went that way!" Edie calls out to the lead car, and points in the direction that Tom and Rat left.

The first car speeds up to pursue Tom and Rat, even though they are long gone. The second car stops. A Japanese human male emerges from the driver's seat while a Caucasian elven female emerges from the passenger.

The Japanese male presents himself to you with a deep bow at the hips. "Edie-sama," he greets her respectfully. "You wished to file a report?"

"This is Bobby," she says to make introductions. "Bobby, this is Sakutaro-san. Bobby was the one who talked to them so he would know best!"

Bobby nodded in greeting. AM had told him about bowing in Japanese culture, but he hadn't been particularly interested. He just remembered that the dominant one in the relationship bowed less. So he left it at a short nod that could maybe construed as a very slight bow.

"Yes. Two boys on a bike came by babbled some nonsense and left their trash here. They could be gang members. But you probably can find out more when you check your security footage. I hope we didn't call you off some emergency - the two intruders are already gone." Bobby was proud of that very subtle sting. Thinking like a Japano corper was damn exhausting.
Still, he soldiered on with his carefully constructed complaint:
"Maybe we should put buying a gate on the next HOA agenda. A gated community has so many advantages and should make Sakura's job a bit easier and less frustrating.

If you excuse me now, I have to finish the yard work and get back to my studies."

Edie shakes her head wistfully.

"A wonderful idea, but the challenge is that we would need at least five gates," she sighs. "One to the north, one the east, two to the west, and then there's that footpath / bike trail to the south."

Sakutaro bows again at Bobby's admonition.

"The safety and comfort of our clients is our highest priority," he assures Bobby. "It is our pleasure to attend to you."

The elven female stays quiet. Either she is Sakutaro's understudy or she hasn't quite bought in to the whole customer service aspect of the job yet.

"Trash?" Sakutaro asks with concern. He produces a pair of nitrile glove and pulls them on. "Please, allow me to dispose of it for you. We must assume chemical - or biological - contaminants." He dons a mask.

"Oh how dreadful!" Edie says, holding her hand over her heart.

The rest of your neighbors are now openly staring. Sakutaro waits for Bobby to direct him to the trash in question.

Bobby shrugged: "Sure, if you think its necessary. Though I expect our drone already recycled it."

Bobby went to the bin where he had disposed the remains of the electronic packs that he had used to build the stealth tag hacking device.
"Here, knock yourself out."

After fifteen or twenty minutes, Rachel comes back from her little jogging trip.

Seeing that Bobby is still out and now has to deal with their vigilant neighbors, she heads up towards them, a little out of breath.

"Good evening, everyone! This still about those two kids on that bike? I mean, they were just some kids, right? What kind of harm could they possibly do."

"But it is very reassuring, nonetheless, that our security personnell here is always vigilant. Their response time was pretty good, I saw them drive here during my run. At least, I am assuming it was their response and not a routine patrol."

Turning to Edie she adds: "You, too, of course. I love this community here, one can really sleep safe at night, knowing there is always someone keeping their eyes open."

Sakutaro removes the remains of the electronic packs with great distaste. ("So brave!" Edie sighs.) A glance at the astral will show that Sakutaro is not particularly disturbed; his performance is for the benefit of the audience.

Sakutaro drops the packs into a plastic zip-top bag offered by the elven female. He seals off the top and places it in a bright orange box labeled 'BIOHAZARD' that's in the sedan's trunk. Sakutaro removes his gloves and deposits those in the box, then shuts the trunk to seal them off from the delicate outside world.

Sakutaro bows to Bobby and Edie. "I will file a report and forward you both a copy. I will notify Knight-Errant of our findings."

You only get a head tilt from the elf. If there are no further questions, they climb back in the sedan and drive off.

~~~

Raven returns from her run to find that the neighbors are busy chatting and debating theories over their fences and hedges. Those who weren't there have been summoned and brought up to speed about the ganger invasion, whose story grows with each telling.

"What kind of harm could they possibly do?" repeats Hina, a middle-aged Japanese dwarven woman. "Oh my sweet summer child!" She shakes her head.

"Anarchists," agrees Danforth Ableworth, an older Caucasian human male. "Probably on chips or drugs. They wouldn't even know what they're doing."

"Sticking needles in their eyeballs!"

"Urinating in the birdbaths."

"Exposing themselves to children!"

"Setting things on fire."

"Some men just want to watch the world burn!"

They go on to speculate wildly about all the ways that hoodlums could depress local property values.

Edie doesn't participate in the escalating theories of subversive nihilism, but she looks completely enchanted by Raven's compliment. Raven knows that look: that she has someone wrapped around her little finger.

~~~

Inside, AM is done with her shower and Tamarind has successfully rescued the commlink from the garbage bin. There's a workspace in the garage. Luckily the garage door is closed so they can work in private.

Examining the Sony Emperor is a series of contradictions. It is both crude... and creative. It is sloppy, yet surprisingly solid. It's covered in a patina of Barrens grime, but the soldering and connections are clean. In short, it is a masterwork of jury rigging wherein all of the inherent elements of chaos are somehow counter-balanced to offset each other. It is clear that this is a piece of work that wasn't actively designed but was simply made. Tamarind keeps coming back to the expression "building the plane while flying" but yet... it flies.

First, Bobby makes a makeshift cyberdeck with a stealth tag; then, two street kids make one for Mato. I am positively impressed by the hardware work and the fact that it appears to be working despite coming from god knows how many dated electrooptic devices. Well impressed is a big work, I am impressed that a couple of street kiddos can pull it off with salvaged equipment and duct-table.

"First Bobby makes a makeshift deck, and now Mato has one ordered. I wonder what happened that made everyone so interested in doing things they shouldn't do in the Trix. Perhaps I market it well." I know it probably has nothing to do with me, but I decided to take it as a compliment because I feel like I need one.

I wonder why Mato asks street kids to build him hacking devices when he has me. "It's functional, though I am not sure I'd use duct tape to glue pieces together; we can afford to print some nice plastic box. It's not that expensive; I guess these kids are struggling." I look at Tam "If you need some work on your new RCC, let me know, these guys are capable, but you probably can't hand them expensive gear and expect it back."

AM's evaluation is that the Sony would not be particularly competitive with her Erika. The Sony would allow street kids to do street kid things, like hack vending machines and maybe hijack drones with insufficient protection. This device might have been a technical marvel 10 years ago, but by modern criminal standards - or the standards of a quasi-legal grey-market service provider of investigative services - it is far from cutting edge. At best it would be a backup in case the Erika went offline, or something that Tamarind could use to accomplish simple tasks.

Tamarind admits to AM "I really should put in some work on understanding modern electooptics. I'd learned a bit before the last crash, but honestly there was always some man eager to show off how much they knew, it was easier just to pay them to do the limited amount of electronics work that I needed than it was to get anyone to teach me. We goes to show how lazy I am at heart I suppose. I shouldn't have let it stop me, but I saved my passion for people who tried to interfere with my drones."

I admit to Tamarind, " So electronics are a male thing?" I appear to muse about it; I wouldn't know much about such matters because I had little exposure to the outside world. In the Trix, gender is so fluid, and I use male and female avatars in different contexts to keep my privacy, obscure my real identity, and mostly because in some games a male would get less attention, and I generally don't like attention. Perhaps I am doing it wrong; I hold the Sony and appear to be musing "I wonder what they used their penis for.... I give myself more credit for acting than I do for electronics, anyhow. I joke, mainly to myself. My sense of humor is an acquired taste, a gentle way to acknowledge that most people don't get me. Seriously, don't feel bad. You are not going to damage enough drones to justify fixing them yourself. The more you specialize, the more you are going to pay other people to do stuff for you. I only learned how to use electronics to make a living... and it was never a good coin. "

Bobby acknowledged the security people's assertions with a nod and went back to his work. He came just in to listen to the end of a rather bizzare conversation.
"I disagree. To quote Heinlein:
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Though, to be fair, I've got a magic power that let's me learn any skill at low level for a while. Combined with my ability to analyze tools and devices, it's pretty easy to feign competency.

Speaking of which: I'll have to bring freshly baked donuts to the next Neighborhood Watch meeting, and a tray of brownies for HOA meeting would be a good idea too. Rules obsessed people get a lot easier to deal with when they aren't hungry."

Bobby put away his gardening implements and went back to the lodge, going back to meditiation.

Seeing Edie respond well to her honey-coated words makes Rachel happy. They want to be on good terms with the neighbors. And it wasn't even wrong. Sure, the neighbors can be a bit nosy, but she does feel safe here.

"Alright, alright. Well, they are gone now. I think we are safe for the time being."

While she certainly enjoys the comforts of a better life, Rachel had seen the other side as well, especially during her teens. She can relate to those kids. They have a rough life. And while she had her talent and her mentor to keep her safe, and with growing experience could even call on the spiritual world for support, not everyone has that luxury. The vast majority does not. They have to rely on their wits and their skills only. That is where gangs like the Halloweeners step in and provide a presumably "safe haven", but in the end they only make things worse. They just use them, but it is hard to see that before it is too late, especially when your life basically revolves around getting something to eat and a place to sleep every single day. These kids obviously do have some skills that put them a bit ahead of the crowd, though.

Lost in thought for a moment, Rachel looks around again. Was there a question directed at her? She might have missed it.

"Well, I am pretty tired, and I really need a shower."

A few drops of sweat run down her arms, as she puts up a faint smile.

"Lawn party is over! Have a nice and peaceful evening!"

As she heads inside, the words resonate in her thoughts.

Lawn party has a nice ring to it... maybe we should throw one at some point...

I wave my hand slightly and say "Hi" without a voice at Bobby as he crushes the conversation. It exemplifies how wrong I am and how right Tam is, and that guys are impossible and always know it all better. I never saw it as a gender thing - but it might be. As a shaman, I know better than to compete with the collective wisdom of the Wakan Tanaka. Bobby is so connected to them that he'll always be more powerful and can do extraordinary things.Bobby. You are all hyped. Take a seat, and drink some tea. How bad did it go? Brownies or hash brownies?

I fill up tea glasses for all of us. Mainly feeling relieved that I don't have to go out there to associate with people I have resented my entire life and pretend to be one of them and bitch about matters such as security and gangers when I freaking visit Touristville like every day and when half the criminals in Redmond already know who I am. What do we have in common? I got my home blown up, my roof Molotov, my friends exploded, stole explosives, interfered in a gang war, rescued a kid, dealt with magic artifacts, talked to dragons and crimelords, sold a memory to a free spirit, and participated in a bike race (to the respectable 3rd place). These neighbors get excited about a bunch of street kids that don't stay on the right side of the lake. It takes some effort to pretend to care or be alarmed - and I am just glad to avoid it all. If Redmond was impossibly dangerous - this place is impossibly annoying.


I look at Tam with an embarrassed grin . "Okay, I get it now. I'll happily take my hoop from the Trix and teach you without turning to the occult. Like actually getting our hands dirty.

Bobby took the cup of tea and replied: "Brownies. Lots of sugar. Hash browns only if we have breakfast there."

With that, Bobby returned to his studies.

As Rachel saunters in, she says: "If that gets them all riled-up, they probably have never seen anything truly bad in their whole lives. Lucky them, I guess."

"So, what is this thing, that Mato wanted, anyways? And why couldn't they just mail it to him? I mean, it's a bit of a miracle, they even made it up here."

I answer Raven "These would be Rat and Tom; we pay them 500 nuyen a month from the SIS budget because Mato is a softie with a good and generous heart that tries to save people. I suspect he ordered the link as a test and forgot about it. The two kids really need the money, and Mato is not responsive, so they decide to play hide and seek with Sakura security and bring it to our doorstep, making a terrible mess, only to be tossed away like Redmond trash to keep face with the neighbors. " I feel pretty shitty realizing what jerks we were. Oh, I'd do it again exactly the same but it saddens me that I gave Big Stank better treatment when he was insulting me and awkwardly staring at my butt. These boys got the full Bobby treatment and probably did not deserve it. I realize that I will miss Mato and am waiting for him to wake up from his transhumanist adventure. As annoying as the man can be it is not the same without him.

Comlink is functional, and you can start a career of petty theft with it. A nice toy to hack some vending machines or unattended comlinks."

I sigh . "I guess we'll have to apologize and pay the kids." and then I call them from the Sony, to do just that.

The line opens and you can hear the older teen's voice talking to someone in the background.

"I told you this would happen! I told you! They squeeze you dry and throw you out like a disposable [unintelligible]!"

The line crackles for a couple seconds with all the signs of a poor Matrix connection.

The voice then directs itself at the commlink line.

"WHAT," it asks in an annoyed tone, not really phrasing it as a question. "WHO [static] IS THIS?"

Tamarind commented back to AM "Electronics are not a male thing; they just think it is."

To Bobby's interruption she just says flatly "Heinlein said a lot of things." She's not sure enough of her place here yet to get into that debate.

She suggests "I can send Tom and Rat a food delivery, as an apology for how we treated them. As well as whatever we owe them in pay, if course."

I say to Tamarind "Delivery is too public... I don't want people to know they have a good thing going.", envisioning some other bully getting the delivery or strongarming them for their credstick.

I accept the anger and don't think much of it. "Hi guys, this is M - Mato's friend --- he is currently not available, but we like the link and want to pay for your work as you agreed upon. Can we meet tomorrow morning at Cutty's gym in Touristville? I have an early boxing session - so perhaps afterward at 8:30?"

"Sure, fine, yeah, whatever, [static] har-dee-fragging-har."

The line goes dead. Well, that wasn't a "no" but it didn't sound too encouraging.

"I wonder why they are so angry - how late is Mato exactly?... Let's make them a credstick and I'll deliver it tomorrow after the morning session." I got quite good at Boxing, but Cutty is not impressed and says my legwork is still a mess. Well, to the very least, I can take some beating now.

"They are with the Halloweeners, they are always angry," Rachel states matter-of-factly.

"Did they try to reach Mato? Probably also annoyed if he wasn't answering their calls."

She sits down with AM and Tam and looks at them with that shy smile, that can only mean, that she wants something.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It's nothing bad. I just want to upgrade some of my stuff, like my crappy Meta Link, and could use your expertise to see that I don't buy anything stupid."



She will also look into getting some ceremonial garbs for summoning tailored for her. Those, she can get at her talismonger.

I put down the tea-glass "You actually used a metalink until now? it a burner link. Get something with a good firewall."

Rachel shrugs. "It's not fancy, but it works. I don't keep any sensitive information on there."

"So, what do you think about the Renraku Sensei? That's a little better, right?"

"Not much better, but you'll have reception in most areas and less static, but it's not secure or anything."

"Means, I can just stick to the Meta Link, then? Can't afford anything better than the Sensei at the moment."

Bobby's door opened again and he turned to Thanee: "Yeah sorry, I can hear everything in my room. You need a better link on a small budget? Why haven't you asked me?"

Bobby pulled out a pair of funnily shaped goggles. "I use these critter goggles as my primary commlink. It's got the same security and processing power as a Transsys Avalon. The goggles themselves cost 300 Nuyen and the parts to add a persona to give them personal matrix capability came to about 500 Nuyen. If you want, I can build you one too. Doesn't necessarily have to be critter gear. Though that is ususally cheapest as a base for high data processing and firewall capabilities.

If you have 800 to spare, I can build you some. And no, you don't have to wear them to use them. That's what the trode net is for."

I say "I "How about I buy you a Transys Avalon, and you make me a counter spelling focus? I can even design the formula, and we have a million reagents. I know you don't normally craft stuff - but with such a strong power focus, it shouldn't be so hard. Or you can start carrying strange goggles in your purse. Would make for a nice ice-breaker at parties."

AM gets a chirp on her commlink.

<<Per our agreement, here is our monthly payment. Following this we will have five installments remaining, concluding on August 31, 2079.>>

<<Please let us know if you wish to employ our services and we would be happy to assist you. -Seraphina>>

Along with it comes a bank transfer to the SIS account: it's ¥10,000 from the Bellevue Hackers Club. Happy birthday, AM! Sort of.

Bobby also gets his weekly ¥20 from Clive Clarke, the shoe-seller from Touristville, but that's less exciting.

Tamarind suggests "Once we manage to re-assign ownership of the RCC that we recovered, you can use my current one any time you need the security. It is a bit bulky though. If you don't mind the look of them, for another thousand, which maybe you can afford with the transfer that just came in, you could find a black market blue defender. Not the most powerful at cutting through noise, but a very solid firewall. But you wear those as a bracelet, might not be your style?"

"Ohh... I totally forgot about that. I think someone mentioned it before, but I was planning on paying my part for the HQ and everything. That does change things a bit," Rachel says with a sheepish grin.

"So, that Transys Avalon is a good one? Let's see..."



She turns to AM and Bobby: "Thanks for the offers! Also, I am working on my skills to make foci for you, but it will still be a while. We definitely have that reagent part covered. It also requires a personal investment, which I am not quite capable of just yet. So, a bit more patience, please."

I comment, "Transyis Avalon is very secure, and we can mod it to be more secure. I'll get one myself because my lovely Erika can't take a matrix punch, so I'll save her to my link to mitigate the issue... and about the focus, I have never used one, so I am not in a hurry to start.

I am studying counter spelling again. With the new techniques I study, it might resemble what you see on the Trids where the counterspell --- counters a spell." It is a bit funny how little I could do with counter spelling without efficient techniques.

"Yeah, me neither. Until now. Let me tell you, it is... exhilerating. Feels like you are plugged into some kind of battery with unlimited juice. And this one's a pretty big battery."

Then, Rachel's face lightens up.

"Speaking of exhilerating... tonight is dance night! I will hit some clubs. Couldn't find much around here, though. There is the Gates, of course, did they even have a club in there, or was it just the casino and the bar? There has to be more, that place is huge. Maybe I will just pay them a visit and take a look around. And then there is a place called 'Poor House', but that does not sound much fun. Apparantly there are some trolls fighting or something like that on a friday night. Not my cup of tea. Why that's in Bellevue and not in Redmond is beyond me. If there is nothing else here, there is always Downtown!"

I can feel the temptation, but my mind is set on harmless fun for my birthday... I was thinking of magically coloring a Eddie's door in a non approved color.

"There is the Inferno, and Sybrespace which are pretty hip. Syberspace is neon lights and metal music and relatively small. Cyber punk vibe, and plenty of script kids and deckers. The Inferno has this BDSM vibe with people dressing up like fantasy demons. Lot of fake leather and horns, whips, and nine dance floors some very restricted. . Gates have a club with live music which is very nice nice, but it is sort of a sinner only place. High security SIN scans and the like... I never danced there though. But it seemed fun when I did a gig in there "

"Dante's? Yeah, sure, been there a few times, but that's in Downtown. And it's a bit... I don't know... excessive? That Sybre-place is there, too, but that seemed more like a hangout for tech-people. Live music sounds cool. Gate's it is!"