Scene #9298: My No Good Dipshit Of A Brother

Owner	Pose
Angela	Catherine Earnshaw is Trideag's biggest economic and one of its biggest political supporters as well. Recently she has sent Nelly, the family's Chief Butler, to Trideag in order to help Trideag in what is a very difficult time in District 12. While not officially a member of Trideag, there has been an ongoing request from Catherine to guide her wayward older brother, Hindley, back home from the Backstreets of District 20 back to Wuthering Heights. Catherine isn't the sort of person to call her brother a dipshit openly, but Nelly has been quite open with the fact that the only reason Hindley isn't the owner of Wuthering Heights is because of his own gambling debts and had he not proven to be unreliable and threatening the welfare of the Wuthering Heights estate--he would have been the one who had taken over the family home and the family leadership. Nelly has gathered up a little Butler outfit for Knifty that is similar to Nelly's and provided her with more knives that she obtained at the Workshop event, a carrying case, and a table napkin, presently carefully folded up in a pocket in her apron. T Corp requires its citizens to ''pay'' for color and this particular job is supposed to be under the radar which means that while everybody is moving through the Backstreets of the District, Nelly warns everybody's going to end up toned like they're in a an old timey black and white movie. Once Hindley is recovered, a Nest Pass contingent on Hindley's presence has been provided to Trideag so that they can approach Wuthering Heights directly and deposit him there. It is broadly the law of the land that everyone carry a timepiece that holds onto the amount of ''time'' each citizen has saved up--time seems to be a kind of currency at T Corp--but Nelly has obtained a special guest pass exempting Trideag from having to worry about THAT. "But we may have to worry about time thieves since we'll be heading into unsavory parts of The District." Nelly says. "Though of course, Hindley himself gambles with ahn so we'll probably have to worry about the usual sort of collectors. Hindley travels through numerous bars and houses of ill repute, but he's a high roller so there's only a few places that can accomodate his tastes. I can knock him out if I'd have to but I'd rather not carry him all the way to Wuthering Heights. It'd cause a kerfuffle and trouble my Mistress." T Corp, even its backstreets, give off a vibe not so disimilar from London. There's numerous factories, old-style lamps dotting the street not unlike you might find there. The aesthetic is too similar to be accidental, and there's plenty of smog in the air and just a general gloomy foggy atmosphere. Most people are minding their own business, though the presence of Trideag naturally draws eyes--a lot of people are just trying to get through their day and EVERYBODY is in a hurry. Most people move at about the pace as anyone would normally, but there are a not insignificant number of people who are mooooving sloooowly as if they have been reduced to .5 speed. Very rarely, someone can be seen zipping around rapidly through the streets. "Though this is less regulated in the Backstreets, District T allows one to buy and sell one's own time but we don't really need to worry about that for this mission. Knifty, your job is to learn today about decorum and procedure, do you understand?" "Ehehehehheh....." Knifty giggles before catching a look from Nelly and she clears her throat bashfully and says, "U--um. I mean. Yes ma'am." Nelly is satisfied so far. "He was last spotted in this area, there's two gambling dens he could have gone to. One doubles as a pub, called the Grinning Joker. The other is an actual casino with a private room for high rollers. The Last Chip. I am at your disposal."
Timespace Riders	T Corp requires its citizens to ''pay'' for color "Wow," exclaims Sougo with a characteristic smile. "I really don't like that! Do you read much, Nelly? There's an author from our Earth named Rousseau that'd have a lot to say about T Corp." "Sire, I feel this an inopportune time for discussions of 'thine and mine.'" "I'm just making conversation! This is my first time meeting Nelly." He and Woz are both wearing their Trideag uniforms (Woz's has the necessary addition of his unusual grey scarf). But we may have to worry about time thieves since we'll be heading into unsavory parts of The District. "That's okay," Sougo assures Nelly. "Time thieves are nothing new for me and Woz. How do the ones in this District we're going to do it?" Arriving in the District proper and especially its backstreets, Sougo is all the more certain that Rousseau would have a lot to say about life here. He was last spotted in this area, there's two gambling dens he could have gone to. "It should be a trivial matter for my Demon King and I to split up," Woz says. "There's several of us here that could probably get into that private room at that casino," Sougo opines with a nod. "Lilian comes to mind, I probably could, too. What can you tell us about that place, Nelly? Is there anything we'd need to know before we go?" He peers at his monochrome wrist in idle curiosity before returning his attention to Nelly.
Odette Raskins	Odette isn't the sort to openly shittalk anybody, but she's definitely the sort of person to listen for those kinds of things when she can. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure for her, so she's all too eager to absorb what Nelly has to say about Trideag's mission focus today. It's certainly relevant to tracking down and retrieving Nelly's brother, at least, although she doesn't look like anyone investigating anything today. After hearing about T Corp and this specific District, Odette's dressed to blend in with the workers minding their own business on the streets rather than wearing her usual Trideag fare. She's dressed in a long wool jacket with a bell-shaped hat, and her usually messy hair is tied up in a long braid draped over her shoulder. She's brought a worn-looking duffel bag with her instead of her new case, and she's wearing short-heeled boots so as to not hamper her ability to run too much. "I can knock him out if I'd have to but I'd rather not carry him all the way to Wuthering Heights." "I've got something for that, Miss Nelly. Maybe he drank a little too much and passed out or something. Only for a few minutes, but enough to get him out of there, you know?" She flicks a vial out of her pocket, swirling the liquid inside it around a few times before slipping it back in. "A quick little pump into the arm or slipping it into his food should do the trick." "District T allows one to buy and sell one's own time but we don't really need to worry about that for this mission." "It's not like we'd really be able to do anything with that, right? I mean, if we're exempt from the need to do any of that, then it'd be kind of... Weird to?" "One doubles as a pub, called the Grinning Joker." "There's several of us here that could probably get into that private room at that casino," "Depending on how much he's won or lost already, we might be able to catch him on a streak at either place. I-I don't think I'd fit in too well with the high rollers, though, so I'll check out the pub." Odette confirms, then strokes her chin lightly while peering at Nelly. "If you show up as someone's butler-" She glances over at Sougo with a nod. "-you could probably blend in pretty well, yes. Mister Sougo just reminded me, actually... Is the gambling in these places all hush-hush, or do they just do it in the open? I don't want to show up and make it obvious I'm not really there to gamble, you know?" A pause, and then she taps a finger on her chin. "Does Mister Hindley have any enemies we should be watching out for in there? I-if he's got all those debts and all, it might be worth keeping an eye out for them if they're around."
Xion	Fresh off a flashy win in the forests to help Hibiki, Xion is made aware of a problem in the City for Trideag that feels unrefusable and unacceptable to not give her all. It is a matter of one of Trideag's staunch allies, for the purpose of what they were retained for, through the direly thin times that had fallen on the City. To give less than her full consideration would be worse than simply turning down a request or letting the association handle it: it would be an insult to the kinds of 'faith' and 'word' that spent in the City. Some missions you couldn't turn down or put off when they showed up in your quest log. A dread crept on Xion anyway, after answering the last urgent request from the City, but... It was just dipshit wrangling. She didn't need the Kingdom Key for that. Appearing at the corner of an alley in the Backstreets of the City with the 'appropriate garb' of classic black coat over charcoal grey collared shirt and black tie with gunmetal tie clip rather than her screamingly obvious Trideag jacket, Xion moseys up into the group with black gloved hands slid into coat pockets. Seeing Sougo and Woz in their full uniforms gives Xion a moment of considering, but, Xion decides she could always change on the fly if loudly flying the colors was needed. T Corp's control of color made any such gesture far more muted in metaphor, anyway. Without the benefit of color to cast shape and blush over her, Xion appears shaded a little wrong - a cartoon cel over greyscale live action. Blinking her desaturated pie-sliced eyes, she tries to catch up on the mission and choices before her, before drawing a large red-wrapper tootsie-roll knockoff (a KUPO DREAMSTICK, for the brand conscious, so every wrapper is RED and you have to READ THEM) and putting the candy treat into her mouth so the stick can hang from her lips like a locals might nurse a cigarette. 'There's several of us here that could probably get into that private room at that casino, Lilian comes to mind, I probably could, too.' "That'sh beb my thinbkin toob." Xion slurs faintly around her lollipop, before deciding that a huge lollipop wouldn't be good for talking-type content. Plucking the treat from her mouth and holding stick in thumb and forefinger, she wands the candy towards Sougo, then carries to Lilian. "Lilian can easily check the high roller area, with you, without even a hint of needing to play it off - you belong there, more or less. And if you and Woz can easily stay in contact," Xion looks to Odette and Woz. "I'm sure Odette and I can head into the 'lower-class establishment', and say we're either doing some charity or see if any drunks need help actually. It's good air cover both ways." Satisfied to grinning, she sets her Dreamstick back into her teeth.
Odette Raskins	"It's good air cover both ways." Odette opens up her bag briefly to take out her Trideag cap, grinning at Xion and marveling openly at her fit for a little too long before remembering to actually say anything. "Got this with me just in case we need to look more official." A beat, and then she adds, "Um. Should I change out of this, or...?"
Lilian Rook	Lilian Rook rather likes Catherine Earnshaw (for being earnest and a little silly and funding Trídéag a lot and also cute), and so she'd been more than happy to help her in return after she'd stuck by the Association more than most, with the collapse of L Corp and all. Nelly is also a maid, which is apparently a type of Butler, but still an ontologically trustworthy and comforting being. And since it involves the Association's biggest sponsor, Lilian really can't have people mucking about unsupervised here. Which means the only possible reason that Lilian could be hesitant about going herself is . . . T Corp. The moment Nelly communicated that she'd obtained a special exemption pass, Lilian had just given the strangest look, and then laughed in a frightening way. Of course she'd made sure to thank her sincerely, but the way she'd muttered to herself after that would be difficult to quickly forget. But a job is still a job, and Lilian has a code incidentally about that, and so-- 'Sire, I feel this an inopportune time for discussions of 'thine and mine.'' "I'll forgive him the compulsion. I feel completely obsessed with trying to imagine actually coming to London on purpose when it was like this." Lilian says, stalking down the streets with a little bit of a madwoman air. Unusually, she gesticulates while speaking, giving into the urge to talk with her hands here, despite mostly watching the pavement. "I just can't. Imagine seeing this and thinking 'hmmm, right, I'm on the wrong side; I want to be over there' and uprooting your life to one of these godawful things!" she says, jabbing her finger towards a factory. "Just to get rich! Who does that?! I've barely thought about him since he died and now the urge to run my mouth about it is like throwing up!" 'I am at your disposal.' Oh! A nice maid is talking to her! That sobers Lilian up a little bit. Clearing her throat, she says "No doubt he's been to both, or is planning to, but which one he's at right now is simple enough to discover. Woz--" 'It should be a trivial matter for my Demon King and I to split up' "Well, that's fine. Do that. Raskins--" 'A quick little pump into the arm or slipping it into his food should do the trick.' "No don't do that. Don't-- don't roofie the VIP. At least unless we absolutely have to. I bet he's ssss-" Lilian looks at Nelly. "-shhhameless enough to chase a line of credit all the way back out the door; or failing that, the right woman." she says, then quietly mutters, "This is evil London. There's no way he's gay." to herself. As if the thoughts are related, she looks up and says "Xion--" "Oh you look horrible." follows thereafter. "Sorry. Obviously it's not your fault. Please keep an eye on Raskins. Keep in constant contact. If you even slightly don't like how things are going, leave and bring the rest of us right back in. And perhaps don't try to pose as a collector, even if it'd be convenient. You're sort of . . ." Lilian looks up and down her dubiously-sized companion, apparently interpreting the cigarette candy as an attempt to look tough. "Perfect. I suppose." She is, indeed, heading for the Last Chip!
Timespace Riders	Depending on how much he's won or lost already, we might be able to catch him on a streak at either place. "Yeah! Or, you know, whatever the opposite of a streak is. It seems like people with gambling problems would tend to have one or the other," Sougo frowns. Lilian can easily check the high roller area, with you, without even a hint of needing to play it off - you belong there, more or less. "Then I shall keep a watch outside lest we've come just as he's changing money after a run of poor luck," says Woz with a little inclination of his head. Imagine seeing this and thinking 'hmmm, right, I'm on the wrong side. "Nobody who does it for that reason ever thinks it'll get to them," says Sougo. "The smog and the sickness and everything, I mean. The sad thing is, a lot of the time they have enough money to be mostly right." Sougo accompanies Lilian to the Last Chip. "I can be your attendant or something if that makes more sense," he asides to her. Woz disappears down an alleyway; the fluttering hem of his scarf can briefly be seen before the mysterious garment deposits him atop a roof. Ideally, it's one that gives him a view of the entrances of both establishments, otherwise he'll choose the Grinning Joker for the sake of coverage between himself and Sougo.
Angela	Nelly says, "No idea who that is. I don't have time for--" Nelly looks to Woz and gives him a nod. "He's correct. This isn't really the time to speak of 'earth literature'." Oh no! She's not interested in Theory or Philosophy! Odette offers to drug the guy and Nelly is sorely tempted but she says, "Wouldn't that still end with me flinging him over a shoulder and marching through half a District and up a hill to dump him off at the Mistress's front door." Nelly doesn't seem to have much to speak on the ethics of buying or selling time but she does hesitate at the question of Hindley's enemies. "Oh he mostly has friends so long as he has money in his pocket. But if he can't--or is prevented--from paying off his debts he'll find himself bereft of them in no time flat." Nelly seems to approve of Xion fitting in with the locals. It doesn't seem to matter to her she picked lollypop instead of cigarette, probably because a tactically deployed lollypop can still give off a similar vibe anyway. "Sounds like we have two for the pub at least, so the rest of us will go to the Last Chip." Nelly says. "Then it's settled--" Nelly didn't come to <s>London</s> T-Corp on purpose--she was essentially raised since she was a child to be a servant to the Earnshaw family so she covers her smile with a hand when Lilian talks shit about the aesthetic horror of the land in question. "I couldn't imagine ma'am. I know from observation that--" She almost forgot Lilian was wealthy herself in the moment. "--Well, it's not worth sacrificing your joy for. Past a certain point, anyway." AND SO... GRINNING JOKER The Grinning Joker isn't too far away, at least. It's a longer walk to the Last Chip. But it is a little harder to find since it seems to be a bar squeezed in a dusty alleyway, well off of the main streets. There's a number of low grade Syndicate mooks milling around outside smoking, as well as a man blocking the door-- a kind of bouncer perhaps?--carrying a spiked bat in his hand. He is attentive--but nonaggressive--if the Trideag crew approaches directly he'll look over that-a-way but is otherwise focused on people trying to get inside rather than those that happen to be milling about. There's an earbud in his left ear that occassionally buzzes with noise. He has a red kerchief tied around his right shoulder and is wearing a dusty brown coat, and a beige shirt, and dark slacks. THE LAST CHIP The Last Chip is significantly ritzier. It has paid enough money for its sign to flash with vibrant neon colors but it seems to be the only part of the building that IS lit up--at least on the outside. This casino practically takes up the whole block and there's women in suits offering flyers advertising the various games the casino hosts. There don't seem to be any guards, so people can go right in. Once inside, there's slot machines, blackjack tables, poker tables, and roulette wheels scatered about while men and women in matching suits offer drinks to the players. It's a big enough place that it'll be tough to just pick Hindley out of a crowd and not all of the casino can be seen just from the entrance. THe games and cards themselves seem to be colored as well while everything else remains in black and white. "Hahh... He could be anywhere in here, but he wouldn't be amongst the commonfolk." Nelly says, momentarily slapping Knifty's hand which was about to steal away a poker chip that its owner was too focused on the roulette wheel to notice if it had gone missing. "Do not make a scene." Nelly warns. "Maybe we can draw him out...?" Knifty suggests. "If he needs to win big, maybe someone could take the role of a mark...?" Knifty suggests.
Odette Raskins	"No don't do that. Don't-- don't roofie the VIP. At least unless we absolutely have to." "Wouldn't that still end with me flinging him over a shoulder . . . at the Mistress's front door." ". . . he'll find himself bereft of them in no time flat." "Roofie...? Oh. Got it! Only in an emergency, then." Odette nods quickly at Lilian and Nelly, pursing her lips briefly like she's just learned something new. "Never heard that word for it before... Oh. Yeah, luring him out with money should be way easier. Or..." She follows Lilian's gaze over to Nelly, then looks back over at Xion with a slow nudge of her glasses. "H... How confident are you about the Dame Commander's plan B? At least it doesn't sound like he's got too many enemies...?" Odette doesn't sound too confident about that herself, especially after being told not to pose as a debt collector. Still, that's good enough of a reason as any to go with Xion's idea to come in as a charity worker, and so the Trideag cap goes on! She's keeping that wool jacket on, though, because it helps her feel cool. Heading to the Grinning Joker with Xion, Odette takes a moment to just absorb the external ambience around the out-of-the-way bar. The smoking mooks, the tough with the bat, the gritty grayness of it all.. "It's just like the movies..." She murmurs to herself, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves before heading for the door. She tries to do so naturally, too, but the black and white aesthetic to everything is really getting to her. Unlike her usual expression of general axiety, though, Odette doesn't look scared or intimidated by the bouncer nor the mooks. No, she actually looks more chill than she ever has, moving with a slight swagger to her step as she stops right in front of the bouncer. She looks up past him from beneath the brim of her Trideag cap and behind those thick nerd glasses. "Hey there. Trideag Association, here to do a wellness check." She starts, sounding nothing like her usual peppy anxious self. Instead, she sounds like the quintessential civil service worker going through the motions for the twentieth time today. "Making sure your customers are still awake, getting them healthy enough to keep being paying customers, burn a few ahn ourselves while we're here. You know, the usual."
Xion	Despite looking perfect for the job, she also looks strange and out of sorts. Despite not being able to read the script right off of Lilian's expression, Xion doesn't really need to. Her smirk becomes a brighter smile for a moment from her hard-candy boiled look to a faint grimace when her name hangs and turns the way it does. 'Horrible' is hard to hear, when she can't blame it on some thing she'd also point to. Suddenly becoming aware that it's 'bad' and not just situationally hokey, her expression dips and dims. With a teeth-click clench on her lollipop, the further words of Lilian smooth out her feelings enough she can suck on her sweet-and-should-be-red-but-not cherry kupo-pop. "Yeh." She sighs around her lollipop. "That was part of the plan too." Which, clearly, is 'watching Raskins' and not 'looking horrible'. If anything, she had planned for blending in! Perhaps she fit in too well in this place of thin people and deep monsters. 'Don't look like a collector', perhaps, is a good idea. Dropping a gloved hand on Odette's shoulder, she guides the medic lightly. "Try the hat, maybe, but it's fine to look a little posh around here." She reasons, pulling lollipop out. "Looking like you've dressed up a little to come here isn't a bad effect. We'll be heading into a place where a doctor should look the part, don't you think?" Dropping lollipop back into mouth and advancing stickfirst into danger, Xion tucks her hands back into her jacket pockets and gets her mosey on, heading through the streets leading Odette and letting Raskins watch her back as she leaned into her walk with a purpose. Looking every bit like someone around to Collect leading a doctor around by a metaphorical short leash, they do a half-around the streets before Xion seems to catch wind and double back towards the Joker. Approaching the door guard as she spots beige, the Steamboat Wilhelmina look she's rocking gives her a long blink as her look goes up to the faintly colored (is beige a color? a filter element?) shirt and the Very colored bandanna around his shoulder. "My and my associate here'd like in to your establishment," Xion drawls around her eroded candy, having hit the ideal size for speaking with stick hanging out. "She's a doctor, and I work in 'insurance'." She explains, like she's speed dating the doorman.
Lilian Rook	'Yeah! Or, you know, whatever the opposite of a streak is.' "Ordinary probability?" Lilian replies, a little archly by habit, looking back. "A losing streak is still 'a streak'. One I trust him to maintain, frankly." 'Nobody who does it for that reason ever thinks it'll get to them," says Sougo.' "Well I mean--!" Lilian gesticulates at herself in a huff. "Obviously it paid off!" It would help if she was at all clear who she's talking about. 'I can be your attendant or something if that makes more sense' "Hm? I suppose if Woz is okay with it." she says, even more bafflingly. 'I know from observation that--' "Oh please just say it." Lilian sighs. "I didn't get this scar on my face from a trust fund. Hindley's money has him more friends than I've ever managed to make." Where she falls between 'one of the good ones', 'resigned to hear it', and 'bitching about the same people' is ambiguous at best. Perhaps it's a little of all of them. By the time she arrives at the Last Chip, Lilian has thought to ask Nelly (whilst staring up at the sign on the street, like a noire character), "How do they maintain this . . . selective monochrome, anyways? Surely their Singularity isn't something so useless. What's even the purpose of it?" Looking back down, she takes a flyer from a lady in a suit just to say that she did. "If it was just for visually striking highlight, why sepia? Turn it black and white properly, then have your logo and branding in some striking red or green colour." 'Hahh... He could be anywhere in here, but he wouldn't be amongst the commonfolk.' "Working on it." Lilian says, through the door. It's a strangely nondescript and slightly improper way to speak for her. If Nelly is really paying attention, she'll see the way that the expression of professional pleasantness subtly slides off Lilian's face, replaced with a kind of steely-blank stare that's like she's searching the room and zoning out at the same time. Her steps are swift and mechanical, light on her heels. Her right hand is repelled from her pockets as if by magnet. She probably can't tell that Lilian is mentally scanning the crowd, though. 'If he needs to win big, maybe someone could take the role of a mark...?' "Oh? So you can think when you put your mind to it. That's good news." Lilian says to Knifty. Her current objective is applying her fat stacks to an equally sized pile of chips at the counter. She remembers to smile for a second. "Is that 'enclothed cognition' at work? You're taking to this style of teaching well." she says. She even chose not to steal a chip! "They're worth nothing outside the casino, by the way. And they're probably tagged as well." she says, in lower tones. "Is there some godawful swipe console somewhere? A QR code? An ATM? Lord almighty I wish I could get my colour back for just this." she says, maneuvering the room. "I don't care if it costs an arm and a leg; I hate not standing out enough."
Timespace Riders	I suppose if Woz is okay with it. "Woz..." Sougo smiles. "He'll get it. He'd probably wax prose about kings and paupers. Or say, 'if it has to be someone, all the better that it's her,'" he says, imitating Woz's regal inflection, gesticulation and intonation as he accompanies her. To his credit, once he's through the door, his usual happy-to-be-there, disarming sort of aura is muted, and replaced with something more businesslike. He falls in behind Lilian, hands clasped before him as he's seen Woz do from time to time, sticking just to the right of her. Maybe we can draw him out...? "Maybe," says Sougo, loud enough for Knifty to hear but without turning his head. It's important that he maintain the bit here! "We could also make Lilian look important enough to get an invite to that VIP area." He's never been in a casino before, but surely there's someplace they keep the chips--probably secure, to keep someone from just trying to take them sneakily or by force. If he were designing a casino, he'd probably want it as visible from the entrance as he could make it. "I'll get the chips for you, Lilian. Maybe I can even present them in some fancy case or something!" Having caught himself displaying more enthusiasm than the character he's attempting to play would, he overcorrects a little and adopts a stern face that looks physically uncomfortable for the moment he holds it. Anyway--Sougo looks for the exchange counter! His Dorado Black card should work for that.
Lilian Rook	'Or say, 'if it has to be someone, all the better that it's her,'' "Look--" says Lilian. A second later, she closes her mouth and looks down at the pavement. Then she keeps moving. Quickly.
Angela	LAST CHIP ''So you can think when you put your mind to it. ... Is that 'enclothed' cognition at work? You're taking to this style of teaching well.'' Knifty squeaks in surprise. "N...no I can't--" She flinches but relaxes slightly when she sees Lilian smile. There's a certain kind of danger to herself that Knifty prefers and the kind that people who 'think too much' tend to get into isn't the kind that she likes. She glances to Nelly and murmurs, "She wasn't even a Fixer. She was born into the family and became a Chief Butler just by working really hard. From nothing. ... I don't want to be a burden..." She stops herself before adding something else. She definitely prefers Trideag life over life on the streets and she feels--no matter what--that she's stuck in the most precarious position of remaining a part of it. It doesn't feel like to her she's earned it. Mang-Chi excels at getting around the City, Pete knows a ton of people and has ambition and drive, and Lenny is actually pretty smart. But Knifty doesn't really have any skills besides cooking and cleaning and doing work nobody else wants to do. In a way, this might be her best shot of becoming something more than what Lilian brought in--something Knifty is certain was out of pity. "She says I should take advantage of my being small..." Nelly heard good things about Lilian from someone she had some respect for--in the sense that she respected her more than the rest of her family--but Lilian being a rich girl that has also gotten into the dirt, so to speak, rises up conflicting emotions in Nelly. On the one hand, she's proud of Lilian taking on this kind of life despite her wealth (even if she seems to have a troublesome ded relative). But on the other hand ... It's really supposed to be the job of someone like her to handle certain things and she does takes ome pride in her work even if she never had much of a choice in it. One doesn't rise up to Chief Butler without hard work and even some passion. "He's looking for a lower class of friend, I'm sure. If you wanted to befriend sleazy layabouts and men who saw you as an extra pocketbook, I'm sure you could have had many friends." Nelly isn't someone who is privy to T Corp's singularity but she does say, "Well I don't know the secret behind the various Timetrack protocols but there's two leading theories--one is that it isn't really part of Timetrack technology at all and they're simply using some other singularity to tax certain forms of color in order to sell it to some other Wing that has technology that can do ... ''something'' with it. The other is that by capturing certain light wavelengths, they fuel Timetrack technology. Unfortunately, ma'am, you'd have to ask the people at Timetrack to get an answer and I doubt they'd just tell you--no matter how you much you flatter them. Closely guarded secret--as to the how, I do not know, but I know Wuthering Heights spends considerable amounts of money for its flowerfields--it is fortunate that Mistress Catherine is courting the Edgar family--it'll certainly shore up the family fortune and bring in more income." There is a small hesitation there before she speaks of that 'fortunate' situation but she speaks no more of it. Hindley isn't so famous--he is the type of old money, specifically DECLINING old money--that people just don't really think about all that much. So the other patrons don't seem to be thinking about him. But the staff... Ugh... Hindley's here again... He's such a fucking brat. Can you handle room 204? I just CAN'T today. He's here. In room 204. Probably a private room with a heavy buy in. There's plenty of ATMs present. Dear god so many of them, really. And it will also helpfully transfer credits to ahn so they can be used to buy poker chips at an exchange rate that would be criminal in any sane world but is perfectly legal in this one!
Angela	Fortunately The Grand Dorado card is respected here. One of the big reasons The City just doesn't go full closed borders is because too many Wings think they are Concord material and many more people see doing business with them as a way to get up in the world. Nikki isn't an exception in The City, she's just someone who is capitalizing on it. Once Sougo shows off his card, there is a small gasp from the woman behind the counter who says 'One moment please' and then fetches her manager who fetches his manager who fetches his boss who arrives flanked by two waiters who have brought a plate of bacon wrapped shrimp and a fruity looking cocktail that they energetically offer to him. "Well well! I wasn't expecting someone of such pedigree to visit our fine establishment. Please, what can we do you for? I'll make sure you get a VERY FINE exchange rate." The guy who might very well OWN this casino says to him. "Name's Chip. Here let me give you MY card..." He offers Sougo a business card. Chip is going to stick with Sougo as much as he can unless he's given a reason to back off. GRINNING JOKER ''Here to do a wellness check.'' Odette sees on a closer look that the cloth wrapped around this man's arm has an outline of a rabbit on it with crossed out eyes. He eyeballs Odette discerningly. "This is a Dead Rabbits establishment. I know about you Trideag folks. The kid talks about you sometimes but he ain't here if you're looking for him. He been reading papers about you lot. Didn't know Associations typically did collections... Someone must've hired you. Someone with ''real'' capital." He looks between Odette and Xion and his gaze ultimately settles on Xion. "This is a gamehouse, you want in--I've got a gal in our crew who got jumped by a bloke looking to steal 'er time. Don't expect you to be able to give it back to 'er? But she could use some treatment since she got stabbed a bit. Can't exactly afford a fancy doc, so you willing to do that for 'er? If so, I'll let you poke around inside without any trouble. Just don't harass my mates.#-1 FUNCTION (ANIS) NOT FOUND He extends his hand and offers it to Xion who is acting more in charge. "Name's Matthew. I run this crew of crooks." If Xion shakes his hand he'll take it as acquiescence to the deal and let her inside. The pub is a dusty smoky affair and is filled with Dead Rabbits--as indicated by all the people wearing the scarves. It isn't JUST dead rabbits though. The ale seems cheap, and the whiskey is cheaper. There's a door leading into a kitchen, a locked bathroom (paying customers only) and a staircase leading downstairs into a basement. "We took 'er downstairs." Matthew says. "Wrapped the wounds as best we could. That's the deal. I'll help you out as much as I can if you help ''her'' out as much as you can." He leads the two downstairs and past a table where a bunch more Dead Rabbits are sitting around playing games--none of whom look like they could be Hindley--but there's a woman hwo needs help here still. Matthew opens up another door, leading into a small room with a bed in the corner where a blonde woman is lying, stabbed multiple times across her body and abdomen. She moves slowly. Too slowly to be normal as she turns her head to look at Xion and Odette at like 1/10th the normal speed it would take. "Matttttthhhheeeeewwwwww....Whoooooo arrrreee theeeeseee peeeeoopplleeeee..." Her voice sounds practically inaudible. Odette can tell at a glance that her slowed time might have saved her since she needs immediate treatment. "Offered these people a trade." He says. "Hopefully get you patched up and then we'll see about getting you some TIME."
Timespace Riders	Outwardly, Sougo is politely smiling. Inwardly, he's despairing. Oh man! I should have seen that coming. My attendant thing is ruined now... But, wait a minute. Maybe I can still work with it. Yeah--I've got a good feeling about this! "Chip," says Sougo, taking the cocktail, lifting it in a little toast to his host, and then taking a sip. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sougo Tokiwa. I appreciate the warm welcome," he says, taking the business card, making a show of reading it and then gently placing it in a holder which Woz had insisted he have. He politely waves off the shrimp, but tips both waiters anyway. "And I think you're going to appreciate what I have to say," he says, noticing the way that Chip sticks to him and deciding to utilize it. "First, I'd just like some chips for my friend Lilian, over there," he says, casually gesturing towards Lilian. THE Lilian Rook! "Enough for her to enjoy herself." "See, um... I'd heard about your place here," he says, after that first matter is settled, "And I told her I'd treat her to a visit. I'm already pretty impressed, but I want her to have a great time, too. Any chance you could send someone over to her to see about a private room?"
Odette Raskins	"Try the hat, maybe, but it's fine to look a little posh around here." "It does? Okay! Thanks, Miss Xion. Gosh, this is going to be so cool..." Odette's really feeling pumped up after Xion's encouragement, and she settles for hanging the Trideag cap off the back of her neck while earing the fancier bell hat! This helps her maintain her swagger levels even as she heads for the door with Xion, more than content to let the noirette play the role of the insurance adjuster in their duo. "The kid talks about you sometimes but he ain't here if you're looking for him." Somehow managing to keep her cool even as the bouncer makes it clear that he knows what they're there for, Odette nods lightly while getting a better look at the Dead Rabbits insignia. She holds her tongue for several seconds as she suppresses the urge to say something about that, then looks right back up at the bouncer. "That makes things a little easier, then. We're real worried about him, see, and since we're already here..." She's not actually sure where to go from there. Thankfully, Xion's got the read on the situation, and she gets the bouncer to actually offer a deal for them taking a look around. "I'll take a look at your patient. Wouldn't sit right with me or the boss to let someone die from something treatable. Odette Raskins, EMT." She doesn't specify which boss she's talking about, of course, because that helps her feel like an old timey professional. Heading inside with/slightly behind Xion, Odette breathes in all that atmosphere and foul air, exhaling softly to suppress more of her internal excitement at how cool this all feels. Xion might notice her vibrating a little, though, what with the medic standing so close to her. As Matthew lays out the situation for them, Odette's already got her hands in her bag to sort out what she'll need to fix the patient up. The first crack in her demeanor comes when she sees the extent of the woman's stab wounds, but she settles back down shortly afterwards as she approaches the bed and raises her scanner to get a better read on those injuries. "Good call, wrapping these up. She's lost some blood, but it could've been a lot worse even with the stolen time keeping this much of it in." Odette explains while working, using her fancy new injector to shlorp medicine out of her various bottles and tap-inject them a couple of times. Once she's satisfied that the medicine and numbing agents are all in, she takes full advantage of the woman's slowed time to start patching up and sealing her wounds along with replacing that lost blood. "Trideag, wellness check-" She gestures at herself while finally answering the patient. "-and..." She trails off, nodding towards Xion like that'll help increase her intimidation levels some. "Who did this to you, anyway? Did you get a name, a look, some kind of ID on the perp?"
Xion	In retrospect, dressed like the gooniest Fixer goon who was definitely in collections and also definitely was active muscle. . . was accurate to Xion's role and goal and even why she was recruited by Trideag, but, also what she had softly wanted to avoid! Unfortunately... It was even less convincing to go 'wait wait, no no, I'm not in collections, I'm in secret other thing!' when you looked as goontastic as Xion did and exuded an aura of well-restrained violence. Surely, none would mistake her for a Fixer! "Just the wellness check. Heard folks were unwell." She answers anyway, around her white lollipop stick, and shifts around to let Odette talk for a second. "The doctor here is one of our best, and we're happy to do community service." She drawls in perfect handler-voice. "I've got a friend I can call a few blocks uptown that might be able to look at the lost time, but how about we look at their injury first?" She wonders, looking to Odette with a reassuring-and-approving glance. The puff out - the pride - is good! She'd need to show more of it more consistently for Xion to really believe Odette had it all in her as a base state, but also, it was a nice change. "You don't have to improvise that much, doc. It's a seller's market for salvation in these hard times." She reasons, sliding Odette in the door in front of her and following along at a pace. "And Trideag has some spare saving to share, where it can." She finishes, moving for a more energetic parting and hitting 'brushing back her hair'. Then she looks down at the offered hand from the doorman, and drops her own gloved hand into the bat-wielding door guard's with a nod. "We've got no problem with Rabbits, and I'm feeling thirsty. Looks like you've got a deal for the door charge." She agrees, and then gets back to ushering Odette inside. She expects Matthew to stay at the door - and she's quite wrong. Looking a little surprised - but quite willing to be shown around - Xion eases off the gas and drops back to a hands-pocketed greyscale mosey while following Matthew through doors. When the door opens and there's blood, Xion starts pulling off her coat and setting it up for Odette to kneel on, producing gauze and bandages of her own from shockingly deep pockets like she's done this a lot. She hasn't -- she's just reading Odette's mind -- but the effect is a trauma team like drop-in with smooth motions as she takes the holding-and-passing role of field first aid and triage. "Hey," Xion leans in, faintly smiling in monochrome. "We're from Trideag. Doc here's going to bind you up so the rest of your red ticks don't tock on out of you, okay?"
Lilian Rook	'She says I should take advantage of my being small...' "Take advantage of every single thing life gave you at all." says Lilian, effortless as an afterthought. "Be utterly shameless about it. You can afford to be picky when you're half as strong as I am." she says. Indeed, she will allow Sougo to cabby the chips for her. "That includes me, by the way. Or rather, everything I give you. Use it." 'He's looking for a lower class of friend, I'm sure. If you wanted to befriend sleazy layabouts and men who saw you as an extra pocketbook, I'm sure you could have had many friends.' "You'd think." Lilian sighs. "But I'm no good at that either. I suspect it's because I'm either not good enough at vapid chatter, or because I can't keep my mouth shut." It's a joke. Haha. Laugh. Lilian won't, but still. 'they're simply using some other singularity to tax certain forms of color in order to sell it to some other Wing that has technology that can do ... ''something'' with it.' "That's . . ." Lilian stops and considers for the first time that the Wings of the World may not just be paying for access to each other's Singularities, like the Time Track system at Lobotomy Corp, but symbiotically scraping each other's esoteric runoff-- or, more realistically, trading between each other according to material needs like nations with a global economy. Which strikes her as sort of worse. "I hope it's the second one." she says. 'I do not know, but I know Wuthering Heights spends considerable amounts of money for its flowerfields' Lilian takes in a deep, sharp breath, and whispers "Ceterum, autem censeo T-Corp esse delendam." Only after does she say at a normal conversational volume, "I'd like to visit them soon. You might not guess, but I'm a big fan of flowers." 'First, I'd just like some chips for my friend Lilian, over there,' Lilian knows what's going on even faster than Sougo, seeing as she can read the manager's admirably greasy little mind before he says a thing. Turning her head back over her shoulder just so, catching a little sparkle in her lily clip (she will NEVER take it off for something like this, even if it's white hold and diamond!), she glances back, raises a hand, and waves with her fingertips. She knows just the right posture, the perfect tilt of the head, the slide of outrageously well-cared-for hair, to sell it. The vague smile that says 'he's cute, isn't he? but I'm not sold that this is the place.' that gets any savvy business owner's pulse going. "Might you have somewhere for my coat?" she says, deciding to unbutton her Association jacket, seeing as she's wearing a suitable cut and style of dress underneath (hence the reason for the jacket; she didn't know for certain she'd visit a nice casino). §Two-oh-four. He's not terribly popular.§ She doesn't bother to hide that she's forcing the words into anyone's brains this time. Even from Nelly or Knifty.
Angela	LAST CHIP ''I'd just like some chips for my friend Lilian, over there.'' "Of couuuurse..." Chip says. "My word, that IS Lilian Rook, isn't she? My daughter has been talking about her non-stop, haha! Say, you don't think you could get me her autograph? It'd make her day for sure... Out to Natalie?" He snaps his fingers and a hefty stack of poker chips are brought out to Sougo along with a pen with the casino's name emblazoned on it, which is proffered to Sougo by Chip himself. "Is this enough, Sir?" Chip asks, not even hesitating. "A private room? OF COURSE, of course. Pam!" A woman with the nametag of 'Pamela', wearing khakis and a polo shirt slinks into view. "Show the Director of the Trideag Association to WHATEVER room she'd like. And get that autograph, mm?" Knifty stares at Lilian for a long moment before nodding numbly at Lilian. "Okey... I'll try..." She squeezes her neck with her hands gently for comfort. Angelaelly frowns at Lilian. She doesn't have an idea herself which is worse but she says, "A lot of Wings work with one another. And work against one another. It's not always clear how much. ... But if you wish to speak with The Mistress, all you have to do is ask. Catherine would love to emet with you. She probably thinks it would be improper to ''ask'' for you considering how much she has invested in the Association. She wouldn't imagine she feels you could ''refuse'' a call like that, so she wouldn't want to ask. This mission-- ... That she asked for this suggests her level of exasperation with this, pardon me, fool. But you're certainly a gentler hand than she could have put forward." Lilian already said no to drugs after all. Chip is naturally thrilled when Lilian waves at her. He is CERTAIN that his kid will finally think he's cool once he tells her about THIS. "Of course, of course...!" He says, giving a nod to Pamela who starts to fumble with Lilian's coat only for Nelly to move to help her and fold it carefully so that it doesn't crease before setting it back in Pam's hands. "ahah...wow...thanks." Pam says. ''Two-of-Four. He's not terribly popular.'' "The lady would like to visit Room 204." Nelly says. Chip actually stumbles a little, his slick merchant persona fading as he says. "Ah...we could find a nicer room than with more pleasant company--" "Room 204." Nelly insists. Chip grimaces but doesn't protesty further, nodding to Pam who starts to lead Lilian's crew over to Room 204.
Angela	"AGAIN!? Agggh every time...!!" A drunken man is shouting behind the door. "I was WINNING, I had a full house! How'd I lose--!" A pause, time for someone to respond that can't be heard. "Hey--let go-- Let go of me! I'm STILL an Earnshaw--!" The doors pop open as a pair of bouncers fling Earnshaw out onto the casino floor in front of Lilian and everyone. A cane is flung out afterwards, bonking him on his head. Despite being from a wealthy family, his outfit looks a bit scruffy as does his face and general personality. He has short hair and the nicest things he owns is a pocket watch hanging out of his pocket and the cane that just collided against his body. "Your sister would like to see you." Nelly says. "That bitch--" Nelly slaps him in the face. "...she ruined me. She planned it. She was plotting with that bastard..." Hindley doesn't stop grumbling but his tone drops considerably. Nelly looks to Lilian. "So can we get him out of here without making more of a scene?" Hindley isn't a fighter. How Trideag wants to handle this is how it's gonna get handled. GRINNING JOKER Matthew says, "Yeah, sure, check up on whomever you want." He doesn't actually know who Odette is actually after and is hesitant to just mention the kid's name when he's not sure it's even who they want. "But you haven't named anyone. Patient's name is Pepper." Odette gets down and dirty. Matthew leans against the wall and watches her work. Odette is going to have to guess a bit due to the temporal influence as to how long it'll take the numbing agents to work but if she's talking about ten times slower it'll probably take about time tens as long to take effect, but stitching the wounds shut and general surgery can happen in real time. It might even be easier than normal because Odette has ten times more time to work. She has more than enough skill to fix Pepper up though she doesn't really have what it takes to fix her stolen time. ''Who did this to you anyway?'' Pepper looks towards Matthew who elects to answer for her so she dopesn't have to keeeep taaaaalking liiiike thiiiis. "It was a small crew. Vagabonds of the backstreets, desperate to refill their clocks." Matthew says. "Pepper's gonna be tough to communicate with when moving as slow as she is. And she's gonna have a hard time understanding you." But he seems satisfied with the work he's seeing so far so he looks over to Xion. "You're being awful generous. But Rats whisper about how generous Trideag is." Pete's efforts with the Rats is making some progress it seems, even in Districts he isn't directly working in. ''Looks like you've got a deal for the door charge.'' "You could say that." Matthew says. "But I don't think I'm the guy you're interested in. If I am I'm happy to give you a dull typical story." Pepper gives Xion a small head wiggle of acknowledgement. "So who do you actually want to know about? I can't tell you what you want to know if you don't say if you're too cute about what you want that I don't figure it out." He allows himself a small grin. "C'mon, I wasn't born yesterday. Something about the Earnshaws, right? Only reason you'd bother with us." He's throwing a bone out here but they did just basically show up and fix up his friend and offer to fix up his friend more. He might as well be actively helpful.
Xion	Reading Odette's mind to be her assistant is easier than being entirely in her own head. This way, she's detached a little from what's going on, supportive, having the whole context of Odette's feelings to guide her and the cold clarity of following along with someone else's program rather than sounding it out entirely herself with blood on the line. Still, she's questioned. There's easy outs from this - making up a name, scanning off a name from the crowd, just plucking it from out of Matthew - but Xion hangs on simply taking them. Caught instead between her feeling, following Odette's, and answering, for a few seconds she does nothing. 'You're being awful generous. But Rats whisper about how generous Trideag is.' It's because she chose 'herself' and not you, Matthew. But she can't say that. It's because instead of the usual, she had already gotten her way, and even the thin tea of being powerful enough that mercy and benevolence was cheap to justify wasn't why she was so terribly hitched. It's because she sees someone taken from in the streets and imagines that it could have been better, and hadn't settled in her heart what the value of the road untaken really was. It's because she was as desperate to buy a cup of righteousness as she was to sell a smile and splash of aid. She couldn't muster the whole of that feeling, the fullness of that answer, to someone from the Backstreets. 'I am a part of darkness that takes from you, and I am guilty', perhaps. But that didn't get her what she wanted. So instead Xion took her time with her answer, until thoughtfulness overtook sick melancholy. "If I named someone, you'd definitely not believe me when I told you I'm not really in collections." Xion answers, lopsided in her 'that's funny, right?' half-grin. "Trideag tries to be the friend that the streets deserve, and so people close enough to the streets to hear that know about what we do." Investing in the Rats had always been something Xion took personally, even before the war, and so it was hard to feel guilty about it or Pete. . . So scoffing and pulling her hands back when Odette stitches Pepper shut, Xion peels off her gloves and ditches the bloody cloth into a baggie before disappearing the bag and moving to tug on a fresh pair. "You've got people like the Earnshaws down here?" Xion asks, not even feigning the surprise. She was sure Hindley was at the high rollers area and was intending to just gather intelligence and spread Trideag's good name down in the Backstreets. "Now I'd be interested in that, seeing as the doctor and I get paid by the missus to drag him home sober and with his purse intact," Xion doesn't even lie, considering that'd be an absolute coup of a mission success. "But you said yourself: Trideag's got a rep for being generous to Rats. It's because you know things, and we come from places that respect the ears on the streets, and on the walls. We can be... good neighbors, right?" Not just immediately screaming 'OUR BOSS HAS SENT US FOR THEIR USELESS DINGUS RELATIVE' seemed cleverly suspect, all told. Xion was such a good Fixer! . . . Was that a good thing?
Odette Raskins	For Odette, trying to look cool and composed doesn't come naturally. The vibes in this place certainly help, as does the outfit and having Xion puffing her up the way she's been doing. Even with the monochrome surroundings, it's hard to hide the blush at being called the best at anything, and she's trying extremely hard not to grin like an idiot at that, too. "Just trying to make our own kind of mark here." She manages to get out to follow up on Xion's comment about spare saving, complete with a brief tip of her hat that doesn't look quite right because it's not a fedora or anything with a proper brim. When it's time to get to work, Odette finds the work easier than ever with that combination of better tools, more time (sort of), and a pocket Xion to help her cycle through so many tools. She hasn't quite piece together the mind-reading part, though, so she ends up settling into actually saying what she neesd like a regular and well-practiced surgical team would. It's not until work on Pepper is finished that the medic finally lets herself recall what was even said through all of that, taking a pair of towels out from her bag and offering one to Xion before wiping her head down with the other. "Feels pretty good to do something rou... Almost routine for once. Sorry about the mess, though." She listens to Matthew explaining the incident, and that lines up with what Nelly had warned them about earlier. "Sounds like a tough situation, between everyone needing it and not enough of it going around..." She lets out a discomforted noise at that, already uneasy about even suggesting how to proceed with that. It's not like Matthew identified the culprits as rival gang members, either, but just desperate people. Suggesting that the Dead Rabbits go after anyone hoarding time (However that works) certainly feels like something that her heroes might do, but... The Dead Rabits aren't them, and they never will be. They wouldn't stand a chance. Shaking off the funk starting to form in her mind, Odette instead focuses on more heart-swelling things, like the Rats' whispers! "Trideag can be, since we're working on making things better around the City. Everything pays out somehow, even if it's not always in ahn." Hearing about the Rats making inroads definitely puts some more good feelings into Odette's gut. Matthew's sharp enough to catch on to why they're there, though, and Xion's directness in just asking about Hindley directly helps Odette's mind settle on their actual reason for being here again. "That's exactly it. Getting paid in money is great and all, but knowing people that can get things done and knowing people that know what needs doing is pretty good for getting paid, too. What do you say, Mister Matthew?"
Timespace Riders	"That's great, thanks Chip," smiles Sougo. On the topic of an autograph, "I'll see what I can do," he adds with conspiratorial chumminess. And he actually will. On the way to room 204 in Pam's tow, he asides to Lilian, hand cupped politely over his mouth, "Any chance you could set Chip up with an autograph? His daughter's a big fan." ...she ruined me. She planned it. She was plotting with that bastard... "Your sister took all of your money, then grabbed you and threw you out? It looks like the casino did all that," he notes neutrally. Remembering that Pam is here, he hastily adds, "No offense." "Actually, would you give us a minute?" After, he returns his attention to Hindley. Sougo flickers briefly in place. How did Hindley get this way? What does he get out of gambling like this?
Lilian Rook	'Okey... I'll try...' That's about what Lilian was expecting from Knifty. Squeezing at her own neck draws her gaze back like a double take. Not at the gesture itself, so much as the immaterial thing somewhere between Knifty's throat and her brain that embodies Lilian's understanding that it's a self-comforting tic. There are a hundred different questions she could ask, and they'll all have to wait until later. 'Catherine would love to meet with you. She probably thinks it would be improper to ''ask'' for you considering how much she has invested in the Association. She wouldn't imagine she feels you could ''refuse'' a call like that, so she wouldn't want to ask.' "Oh my . . ." Already put into a thoughtful mood, Lilian processes that for a few extra cycles. Her expression directed towards Nelly is automatically gentle, for the simple fact that she's a maid, but it becomes significantly more Complicated. 'But you're certainly a gentler hand than she could have put forward.' "I'm definitely not used to hearing that." Lilian sighs, a little bitterly. "I hadn't realized she truly thought so much of me. Now I feel remiss in not paying more attention to her." she says, aftr, running her fingers through her hair and settling it back over her shoulder. "Well. I can't let that stand, now can I? The last thing I want is for a steadfast supporter of mine to feel that way. If one of us is using the other, it's definitely me." 'Ah...we could find a nicer room than with more pleasant company--' 'Any chance you could set Chip up with an autograph? His daughter's a big fan. Coat folded over Nelly's arm, Lilian produces one of the chips that was just on the pile, and uncaps a pen, then in gimmick metallic gold ink, she slashes her signature across the blank space in the center, and flips it back to Chip as if by coin toss. "Better that it be a token of your business, rather than something one could pretend has nothing to do with you, no~?" she says. May as well. If she has the time, she's going to take his casino to the cleaners later, so she'd feel a little bit bad if she didn't give him anything at all. Getting Hindley back is the minimum she'd expect from her Fixers; getting back all the money he spent here is what she'd consider the Director's personal touch. If she can get him back to the manor in one piece, that is. Lilian had considered this job functionally beneath her in capability, but only a test of trust, until the second she actually sees Hindley. Looking down on him at her feet feels distinctly appropriate. §Maybe that isn't fair. Just stay looking at his face. Ignore the rest.§
Lilian Rook	'...she ruined me. She planned it. She was plotting with that bastard...' "Mister Earnshaw. If your sister had planned such a thing, she would've done an especially poor job." Lilian says, coldly. "Rather than throwing your family's money away and letting you dangle by your own poor conduct, it should have been about ten times easier and a hundred times cheaper to have you abducted or offed on the way down the street here, and even more to simply blackmail you. Even if the casino were her plan--" Lilian's eyes drift away from his face. She fails to roll to hold contact. "--if it were me, I'd have you taken to the back room the first time you spent everything you had; and you wouldn't come back out the same man." She stops and considers whether to lean down and drag him up, but decides against it. "I'll wait for you to pick yourself up. You're an Earnshaw, and furthermore, you're a man; so you should be able to do that much." she says. "Then you can walk out of here with your dignity intact, in the amicable company of the famous Fixer working for your house. If your blood is even half as blue as mine, you should recognize what an opportunity that is." Only then, after waiting a moment, does she hold out her hand. She's wearing gloves; she can touch this guy's hand for appearance's sake. But once he's up on his feet, and Lilian takes his arm, she pulls herself in worryingly close, and croons quietly into the space between them, "Be a good boy, and you can come back with the money you've already spent. A second chance only the Messiah would offer, isn't it? But if Catherine has to bear the humiliation of me dragging you out kicking and screaming, I'll beat you unconscious in the alleyway over there and tell everyone you were mugged instead. Even Nelly would corroborate my story, so: on my arm, or under my heel?"
Angela	LAST CHIP ''How did Hindley get this way? What does he get out of gambling like this?'' The last question might be tough to answer simply from observing the past. Why do people drink knowing it harms their own body? Why do people smoke several packs a day knowing it'll kill them? This isn't a man who has had a difficult life. Even now, addict of both drink and game as he is, compared to the rest of The City? He's still living the high life. No, what got this guy to this place isn't conspiracy, it isn't cruelty, it isn't even really neglect... Sougo sees a scene. He's still a child at this point. He curses bitterly about a betrayal from his father, bringing ''him'' back instead of what he had promised. Who 'him' is isn't said--this child hasn't bothered to learn his name yet, but he hates him. He calls him an urchin, calls him filthy, calls him dangerous. He can nurture poison within him in the hopes it'll burn his enemy never knowing that it'll ravage his body, mind, and soul. He calls him 'that bastard' with the same venom as he says it today. ''No offense'' "None taken, sir! We'd be a bad casino if we didn't do that and we're one of the best!" Pam chirps before squinting because she's not sure she was supposed to let her customer service brain take over to that extent. "I mean hew's actually kind of hard to keep out." She adds. ''I'm definitely not used to hearing that'' "Well..old money family struggles can end up significantly more cuthroat. I get the feeling you aren't dumping him in an alley with a new smile around his throat." Nelly says though she pauses at the idea of Lilian being the one using Catherine. "...I wouldn't say that. She make act the ingenue but she's smart and ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants." And she isn't saying it like 'a better City for everyone' is exactly what Catherine is doing all this for--more like a side effect. Chip nearly dives to the floor to catch it, wincing as he pulls a muscle to do that. He stares at it as if Lilian had tossed him gold rather than plastic. "Thank you very much, Director. She will be 'thrilled''." When Hindley is told off by Sougo (lightly) and Lilian (not so lightly). He starts to say something that was CLEARLY going to be vitrolic but he sees a look in Nelly's eye and flinches, turning his head away to avoid looking directly at either of them. "You...you are... That Director she won't shut up about..." He mutters, though he clearly wants to say MORE. ''If your blood is even half as blue as mine, you should recognize what an opportunity that is.'' Hindley hesitates, suddenly aware of the eyes on him and on the group sent to fetch him. Sourly, but trying to make himself as dignified looking as possible, he straightens himself up and takes Lilian's head, swallowing down his anger until-- He's pulled in! Is this a trick, he thinks, is she going to gut him RIGHT HERE? ''Be a good boy, and you can come back with the money you've already spent. A second chance only the Messiah would offer, isn't it? But if Catherine has to bear the humiliation...'' Hindley's jaw drops in utter shock. He tries to formulate something and his face turns from bright red to deep red. He is so MAD that he can't even formulate words and he's so EMBARRASSED that he can't throw a punch. Besides, he isn't quite drunk enough to think that sure, he should pick a fistfight with everybody here. "You...You....!" He's too terrified AND flustered to finish the threat.
Angela	THE GRINNING JOKER The Dead Rabbits aren't heroes. They look after each other and that's about it. They are helping Odette and Xion out because they are helping them out and it's polite to help those that have helped you. They also aren't exactly keen on picking a fight with an Association. Matthew is significantly smarter than Hindley is because he had to be. ''You've got people like the Earnshaws down here?'' "Hah..!" Matthew says. "Naww... They may be a declining family but if one of them asked me for a favor they'd really be stupid or in real trouble. But they took in a kid from the Outskirts a long time ago, built him up, raised him." A bit like what happened to Cinder. "He was never gonna be an 'Earnshaw' though. Just giving him that cushy place to stay for a while is the level of charity they were gonna get. And when the old man died, well, he wasn't gonna be welcome there anymore so he came to us." Matthew shakes his head. "But he's long gone from here too, sad to say, that was years ago. The kid went off trying to make something of himself, no clue where he might be now. Think he wants all the nobs to see his blood don't matter." Matthew shrugs both shoulders. "Silly little dream. You can grind as hard as you want but they're never gonna care--even if he became new money, old family like that'll never respect it.#-1 FUNCTION (ANIS) NOT FOUND He doesn't seem to realize that Xion is actually supposed to be looking for HIndley rather than some second brother of the family, unconnected by family blood which means... Yeah this was probably the wrong place but at least an innocent gang member was saved and some lore was uncovered. Matthew seems to think he helped out a lot though so he adds, "I would appreciate it if you could help with the Time problem. Would save us from having to do 'time theft' ourselves." He says it like this which suggests that he has made similar deal in the past. ''But knowing people that can get things done and knowing people that know what needs doing is pretty good for getting paid, too.'' Matthew nods slowly. "I'd be a pretty bad leader if I only sought immediate payouts. If you want another off the books deal down the line--we don't exactly have ''cards'' but I'll let the gang know that if you show up around here asking questions to let me know and we'll work something else out."
Timespace Riders	Sougo, in the past, finds an unflattering portrait of Hindley. I was afraid of that. And still, he can't help feeling sorry for the guy--not because he's had a hard life, or for anything to do with his circumstances, but because I feel like I work with a couple of Hindleys. People who think they can 'get back' at someone by hurting themselves, and then end up still angry and hurt afterwards. In the present, he frowns, as Lilian handles him rather adeptly and he appears to realize it. "Thanks for understanding," he says to Hindley, which really means 'thanks for not making this more difficult than it has to be.' The guy probably isn't in any position to meaningfully talk about his circumstances or his decisions, so Sougo just leaves it at that. Falling in at the back of the group, he procures a battle-hardened flip-phone with an unusual shape (because it can change into a laser blaster) and texts Woz, letting him know they've got their man. "Right now it probably seems like everything sucks. But if you make a habit of taking advice from Lilian and your sister, you'll forget you were ever this mad, much less why."
Xion	Xion doesn't feel very heroic in the City, of all places, but she can be other things. The kinds of people the Dead Rabbits are - their stories, their struggles - are the sorts Xion understands without the intensity of touching the heat of the heart across from her. She didn't need to do so, for some of the closest people to her. She couldn't, and so, had to learn a different way. It was almost the same, but, the anxious uncertainty and unknowing made the difficulty much worse for her. And yet, the person she wanted to know the most was the one she could hear the least. Difficult. Until she had gained Namine's memories of being human, she couldn't believe that anyone could be human like that. Then, she knew, that everyone was. Difficult. 'Think he wants all the nobs to see his blood don't matter.' "I think that's probably right. To be seen, people will do nearly anything. Still," Xion smiles at Matthew, her greyscale cartoon look not being able to afford the twinkle of color. "I'd appreciate a photo or trinket of them. Maybe someone who knew him would feel better knowing they kept moving on from here. And, I've got some friends who might turn a trinket into a lead. Either way," Xion nods, extending a gloved hand to shake. "Happy to do business, Matthew, off or on the books. And I might send my friend Pete along to talk in my place? Just so you don't turn Pete from Trideag away if he comes sniffing. Clever guy with his ear... to the ground." She explains, nodding and glancing at Odette who has done a good job but can't address the Time issue, and then turns to pull out her phone and tuck the top against her ear after touching a few speed-dial buttons on her contacts. "Hey, Woz?" Xion begins into her phone. "You or Sougo might want to come down to the Grinning Joker if you've got the time - You might have just the trick to speed back up some people who've lost some of their time. It's for some new friends, and it'd easily calm further violence. I can head up to the entrance to wait for you if you like, our new friend Matthew here is overseeing things if you'd like to meet them."
Lilian Rook	'Well..old money family struggles can end up significantly more cuthroat.' Lilian smiles, too vaguely to mean anything. Her eyes are somewhere far away. "I have enough dead family. I'm not feeling terribly eager to add to someone else's." she says. '...I wouldn't say that. She make act the ingenue but she's smart and ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants.' "That's reassuring. Thank you Nelly." Lilian sighs. 'Thank you very much, Director. She will be 'thrilled'' "I'm glad to hear it. Thank you very much for your consideration." Lilian says, her attitude restored back to its usual by Chip's praise. She even does a little hairflip before buddying up with Sougo and walking off. . . . . . . . . 'You...you are... That Director she won't shut up about...' "Perhaps you should listen for a change." Lilian says. "Here's one perfect example of a time it might have helped you tremendously. Consider it a valuable lesson; free of charge." 'You...You....!' "I'm gorgeous, clever, tactful, charismatic, and as strong as the Red Mist~?" Lilian purrs, working her fingers up to near Hindley's elbow, then squeezing with just enough of a grip to tell him that he isn't going anywhere. "Oh, you are a charmer~ But I'm afraid I already know all those things~ Were you going to tell me something new?" she says, gesturing to Sougo with something htat obviously means 'keep an eye on him'. "Like . . . that you've been hiding a power that could challenge even me this entire time?" "Or even more shocking; you've decided that you'll smile and laugh, have your drinks, sit and watch me gamble, act as if your sister is introducing us in hopes it'll clean you up, and go home with your head held high?" Whether it's cold reading, precognition, or psychic reading, there are a dozen explanations for why Lilian goes on to seal the deal by saying, "Or are you just going to keep playing into the same old hands, gnashing your teeth while they laugh?"
Odette Raskins	"But they took in a kid from the Outskirts a long time ago, built him up, raised him." "The kid went off trying to make something of himself, no clue where he might be now." "He wasn't going to be one of them, but he's got a better shot at ending up somewhere comfortable than most people here do. Or making something of himself, if he figured some things out since then." Odette nods slowly as she files that away as something to notify the others about. She doesn't really know what she can do with that information just yet, but it's still something she can try and piece together somewhere else later. That, or hope Xion has some better ideas than her, even if this isn't the Hindley they were looking for. "Think he wants all the nobs to see his blood don't matter." "--even if he became new money, old family like that'll never respect it." "It's not wrong to want to change people's minds, although... He must've realized it by now, so maybe he's aiming for something else. People can change a lot in a few years, even if..." Odette pauses, realizing she might be getting a little too invested in this wayward second brother. Blessed as she was, she's definitely heard and seen plenty about the differences between people back home and people anywhere else. "... If it didn't look all too likely before." She says, projecting as she does. At least in Odette's mind, she really would like to hear that at least one more person who got a break like that did something good with it. "Would save us from having to do 'time theft' ourselves." "I'll let the gang know that if you show up around here asking questions to let me know and we'll work something else out." Nodding towards Xion with a light smile of relief, Odette lets out an intrigued noise as Xion makes a call. She listens in for a while, then turns back to Matthew with a confident grin. "Sounds like help's getting secured. We'll appreciate having the... Ahem. Extra eyes and ears, too. I won't ask any of you to go as far as applying for a job with Trideag if you're used to what you're doing now, but..." Odette strokes her chin lightly, then snaps her fingers. "The Faded Print's a good place to pay it forward, if you ever happen to be in that area or if you need a hand when Trideag's not around. Just in case, you know?" She '''hints''', trying to be subtle about her own association there.
Angela	THE LAST CHIP Hindley isn't so stupid that he's going to try to slug Lilian. He IS pretty stupid--stupid enough that he's not sure he really believes that video--but it doesn't really matter if he doesn't believe the video because anyone who can even fake-beat the Red Mist is going to be tougher than anything he's got going on. All he has is money and he has less of that every year. This guy doesn't have a JOB. "I don't even know who you are." Hindley says to Sougo, sullenly rather than answer his offer. ''I have enough dead family. I'm not feeling terribly eager to add to someone else's.'' Nelly hesitates, a complex expression flickering over her face before she dips her head demurely. "Of course, Director. I shall leave him to you." She steps away to clear away the gawkers now that Hindley has calmed down some. She knows he's the prideful sort and an audience is only going to make him more surly. Lilian ALSO tells him he should go ahead and listen more and then to make sure that he doesn't think of getting pissy shouty, she grips her arm tightly enoughy that he winces. Yeah he's not a fighter. "O...of course I wasn't--" Hindley says, which IS true since he was mostly going to call her slurs but a reminder of her power is enough to make him reconsider it. So Hindley forces the worst and a smile so forced it might as well be chained up that way before sinking to a nearby seat to watch her play-- --but that last thing Lilian says to him gets him to both stop that horrible smile but also his radiating malaise and sourness, a vision of perplexion on his face but it's the kind of line that feeds into his victim complex. "Yeah...they're laughing at me... They ''want'' me to be frustrated..." Maybe these Backstreets people have a kind of folksy wisdom to them, he thinks, and he should keep them a little more in mind. One day he'll get his revenge. He'll do something they wouldn't ever expect... Well, at least he's calming down and seems to be going along with Lilian's plan here and if Lilian does win him his money back he'll naturally pat himself on the back for being so restrained.
Angela	GRINNING JOKER Matthew rubs the back of his neck at the ask. "Sure, I'll talk to Pete. Imagine we could do a lot for each other." He says. He is a little more hesitant to give Xion a lead on where to go to find 'the kid'--he WAS a member of the gang and Xion is, essentially, working for The City but ultimately the big reason he's hesitant is because, "We didn't exactly go around taking photos of each other..." Matthew admits. "Maaaybeee... Theeee... Floooweerrr..." Penny offers. Matthew frowns and turns to check the drawers before ultimately drawing out a thin piece of laminate paper with a flower pressed into it. Odette MAY recognize it as Heather (or Heath) flower though it won't be until they get out of this District that it's color will return and the vibrancy of its violet coloring will be shown to anyone. "Don't know if it'll help, but he left it behind before he left. But I can tell you he's got tons of scars on his arm and he's usually carrying a bat around with him. He's a surly guy." Matthew shrugs a bit at the idea that he might be up to something else. He doesn't know anymore and it's not exactly his problem even if he has a soft spot for the guy. ''I won't ask you to go as far as applying for a job with Trideag'' "What? ... Trideag wouldn't want people like us." Matthew says. "Besides, we're more useful to you on the ground rather than wearing your badges." He glances to Penny but neither of them seem to have heard of the Faded Print--it's a little too local for even a guy with his ear to the ground. "Well we'll check it out. But I'm not making any big promises without talking to the gang first." The Faded Print DOES sound a little more his style, though, just from the name. Like he can imagine his crew in it. But he still commits to making no promises. "Anyway, take the flower. And if you can help Penny's Time I'd appreciate it too--" He decides not to warn them that the Time Collectors might get on their ass for unauthorized time nonsense since T Corp CAN detect it when someone manipulates time because that might discourage them from helping Penny. But that's a future problem!
Timespace Riders	I don't even know who you are. "You don't really need to know who I am," says Sougo. "But my name is Sougo. Thank you again for listening to Lilian." "After she wins you your money back, I'll have some advice to give you. It's up to you whether to take it or to think 'who does this guy think he is' and blow me off." -- THE GRINNING JOKER Woz strides to the edge of the establishment's roof, overlooking the alley. He casually steps off of the building, flinging his scarf outwards to snare the fire escape and gently guide him to the ground. "My Demon King informs me that our wayward charge is now in good hands," he replies to Xion over the phone. "And so we have even more time than is usually the case. I shall be inside shortly and await you just past the entrance." Doing exactly that after crossing from the alley onto the front of the establishment, he pays Xion a courteous and smiling nod in greeting. "His majesty is presently attempting to offer counsel in the name of what we'll call the public good--but I would be happy to meet Matthew, as would he, once his work is done."
Odette Raskins	It's a flower! Odette does vaguely recognize it at first by shape, but she'll need to take a closer look once the color's back to really identify it properly. "Huh. Must've really liked the ook of it, or maybe it means... Something. Arm scars, a bat, surly... Hmm. I mean, at least two of those things are pretty common, but the rest..." "Besides, we're more useful to you on the ground rather than wearing your badges." "But I'm not making any big promises without talking to the gang first." Nodding lightly in satisfaction, Odette takes a moment to jot those notes into her PDA, and then she taps her nose once. "Of course. That's all we can ask for." She replies with another nod, doing one more checkover of Penny to make sure she didn't miss any wounds before leaving her in Woz's capable hands. There could totally be more asked for, but Odette knows that this kind of connection is far more useful than just a single payday.
Xion	Xion is patient for a few moments, happy after she gets great news from Woz. "Sure. I'll see you soon. I'll be..." She starts to think of how to describe where she'll be or what she'll do to highlight herself, but then remembers she's a walking weirdo cartoon in the middle of sepia London, where Nobody Sees Color (they didn't pay for). "Well. You'll notice me." She decides, and clicks off the phone. Lingering with Matthew for a second, and trading glances with Odette when the medic seems to notice the flower and lets the hatted doctoroid take charge of the important item, Xion pockets her phone and bobs her head with a concluding-nod. "Thanks a lot for this - both of you." She tries to address Penny so the time distortion doesn't steal away her appreciation - and adds a little dip-bow and clasp of the hands. "Sometimes I think people like mementos, too. A commemoration of memories can bind things together. I'll use it with care. And thanks for the info." Pausing before she leaves, something hitches Xion. 'Trideag wouldn't want people like us.' "Pete's part of Trideag, and, came from the Rats. Trideag is full of strong fighters, but needs people, people who want to live for better rather than dying for nothing. I understand that might not be everyone. The world's hard enough, maybe trying one more time's too much to ask for most people." Xion lingers for a moment, cartoon eyes closed and soft cheeked face unshaded but with a serene tilt of a closed eye considerance, she almost looks normal. Almost, maybe even, human of a kind. "I've got a friend that'll be coming. Let me go get him." --- Xion fingerwaves to Woz as he arrives, standing at the entrance and heading back inside while holding the door for the Vizier. "Well hey there, Woz. I thought you'd like this one - I think you and your king might have the power to 'give back time' to people literally. Let me show you." And then, with all's well, they might just help a few more people that night.