**
Money is always available, where peace and prosperity meet
Standing at the corner of Peace Street and Prosperity Road, Danny Hebert thought back over the history of his town. Back when the All Father ran the Empire an agreement had been reached between him, Galvanate, and Marquis to designate certain places as neutral territory where either no one had control, or they were all considered equals. One place was Sommer’s Rock, a falling apart bar down in the docks where no one held any sway, another was here, at this crossroads downtown where each of them had sponsored a restaurant. All of them had been rather blatant about who they represented, Galvanate had opened a classic Italian restaurant that looked like it had been pulled straight out of a 40’s mob movie, All Father had opened a Beer Garden and Marquis a Bistro. The fourth corner had been occupied by a small grocery that originally sold to all of them, but the owners died, causing the store to be closed not long before Lung’s arrival.
By the time the Rage Dragon had arrived, Galvanate was in the Birdcage and Kaiser was running the Empire. Lung bought up the fourth corner at the intersection, leaving the burned remains of Galvanate’s restaurant alone to replace and rebuild the old grocery into a nice diner that served an ever-changing mixture of Oriental Family foods and fusions. Lung, or maybe it was the property manager Kenta Horaki, had somehow made arrangements with a Tokyo based Culinary School to send ten of their top students to his diner to cook for a year. They would open no later than the third Sunday in January, close after the first weekend in December, and were always supervised by a member of the school staff. They received a paycheck as well as had room and board provided for them, but for eleven months they would work to keep a business running in a slowly dying city.
Locking the door to his truck Danny started to walk over. The kids that would work and run the restaurant were all outside it seemed, repainting the exterior mural depicting a large eastern style dragon in blues, blacks and gold as it eased its way around the building towards the door. As he crossed the street a brunette woman with a high ponytail, stepped out the front door and called to them. “Minasan, kon'nichiwa. Chūshoku wa mō junbi ga dekite imasu.” They all seemed to acknowledge her in some way, mostly by starting a quick clean up of their brushes or heading towards the door, Danny just hoped he could catch them before the door was shut.
**
“Excuse me,” Yukihara Souma heard a man’s voice call out and turned to see a middle-aged white man walking fast across the street towards them, in fact angling for the door and Miss Kuongi. “I’m sorry to bother you, and I know you are not open yet, but I would like to make a reservation for next Sunday.”
“You know most people just call or even go online to make a reservation,” Miss Kuongi said with a smile as the others eased into the restaurant behind her. Finally, Souma had his roller clean, and moved to join the others as their teacher-supervisor spoke to the man.
“I know,” the man said, “Old habit from when my wife and I dated.” Miss Kuongi raised an eyebrow at that causing the man to elaborate. “I would call in a reservation, and then when we would arrive, the hostess or greeter would take one look at me and swear that there were no reservations in that name. Frustrated by that, I started swinging by a week in advance and making the reservations. Since I could call the hostess or greeter out for lying to the manager, or at least explain to the manager who had taken the reservation and point them out, it got them to stop pulling that trick.”
Miss Kuongi smiled at the man, “Very well then Mister?”
“Hebert,” the man answered with a smile of his own, “Danny Hebert, Miss?
“Kuongi,” Souma’s teacher answered, “If you will follow me Mr. Hebert, we’ll get your reservation settled and be happy to have you here next Sunday.”
“Thank you,” Mister Hebert replied stepping in as Kuongi-sensei held the door open for him to come in.
“Souma-kun,” she said focusing on the teen for a moment, “Go have your lunch, and see what it is that Mito-chan has that she wants you to test. She specifically asked to have you test it, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Yes ma’am,” Souma answered heading off towards the kitchen area even as he heard the front door lock behind him.
“Now Mister Hebert,” she said, “What time were you thinking for Sunday, and if I may ask, what is the occasion.”
**Katie**
*PRT HQ-1730 hours*
Arriving at the PRT Building in the wake of the Mall Incident, as everyone was currently calling it, the five of us were escorted upstairs to a conference room where the PRT Director was waiting. She gestured for us to sit down, and once we had she leaned against the table and spoke. “Alright ladies,” she said, her voice far calmer than the look on her face would suggest. “I want you to walk me through the afternoon and explain both what happened and what the hell you were thinking.”
“Well it started for most of us when Taylor and I woke from our impromptu nap in the common room just before the eleven-o’clock tour came through.” I only half listened as Akane explained why the four of them were at the mall, and that they had been ambushed as they had exited the theater after seeing a movie. Myself, I was going over what had happened to me during the week and wondering, How did my life get turned upside down all of a sudden?
**Monday, January 3, 2011-2:30pm**
“So what you’re saying is that I fucked up and missed a prime chance to recruit someone to the cause,” I said as Brad pushed through another set on the bench press.
“Somewhat,” Brad answered. “Your predecessor at Winslow should have stepped in and stopped it a long time ago, and while it is doubtful that she would have joined, I bet that its better than even odds that her old man would have become a little more,” he paused a moment as if searching for the right word to use. “Accepting, yes, he might have become a little more accepting of our people, or at least our passage in the docks in appreciation.” He finished the set on the bench and sat up before turning to look at me. “The thing about helping someone is that you usually earn a bit of acceptance, a bit a trust by doing what seems to be completely unnecessary for you. Most people, they do like you did, they either join in or stand by and don’t help the person in trouble, in short, they’re sheep. People who do something though, especially for their own reasons, are heroes, it is part of why we do what we do.”
I nodded, what he said made sense in a way, but something seemed just the tiniest bit off. “Alright,” I said tossing him his towel. “How do I turn this to my advantage?”
“Honestly I don’t see how you could unless another opportunity presents itself,” he answered as he wiped off the bench and we started changing out the weights for my set. “But, you can at least apologize if you see her again, make up a bit for not helping maybe. Honestly though, I doubt you will have the chance. The way that Tachamachi girl seized the opportunity, she’s more likely as not being groomed by the chinks as we speak.”
*PRT HQ-1745 hours*
The argument outside the doors to the conference room pulled me from my memory of Monday even as Akane got to the point of the Merchant goons jumping them with AK’s outside the movie theater. “Masks on, all of you,” the director snapped quietly as she stood up, and a moment later all of us were wearing domino masks. Seeing this when she turned back at the door to check, she nodded and then opened the door.
“and if you think I won’t make sure you are sent to the coldest, loneliest outpost that the PRT possesses,” a woman’s shrill voice screamed. “Then I will by god prove you wrong, now open that damned door, you brainless boor and let us in there.
“The door is open,” a more cultured, possibly older voice said calmly. “Hello Emily, sorry to intrude, but I understand that you had a Wards involved incident earlier and you know we are required to check on things.”
“Of course Miz Burns,” the director responded coolly. “Please, won’t you and your assistant come in and have a seat, Miss No No was just getting to the point where the Merchants were capturing people coming out of the theater.” as she spoke the director stepped back, allowing two women to step into the room. The first in was older, maybe forty or fifty, and had the look of old money. She was wearing a tasteful grey pantsuit with a high-necked white blouse that was joined with a classic cameo pin. In short, she was comfortable as the rich would say.
Her companion on the other hand was best described as an attack dog’s brain in a teacup chihuahua’s body. As she entered, she glared at the director and I would bet, was a hair’s breadth away from physically growling at Piggot. This was comical because physically she was practically child sized, and if she was more than five feet tall or over a hundred pounds I would be surprised. If she had been dressed in ribbons bows and a nice dress, she could have been called cute. As it was though, in the severe pantsuit that echoed her elder she simply looked like a child emulating an adult they adored.
The director closed the door behind them and walked behind them as they came to the table looking us over. “Why are you masked?” the younger one snapped at Akane, Taylor and me, before whirling to face and glare at Piggot again. “Why are they wearing masks?”
“Because three of them are not Wards and thus don’t fall under your remit miss Smithers,” Piggot answered calmly. “Further more,” she continued, “you don’t have the clearance to know who the two who are Wards are outside of their cape persona’s. Now, before we return to the debrief, are their any questions you have for the young ladies Miz Burns?”
“I would think that introductions would be in order Emily,” the older lady said calmly. “In fact, if you don’t mind I’ll start.” The director nodded so the elder woman stood once more and continued to speak. “My name is Montmorency Burns and I am the regional director for the Youth Guard. With me today is my assistant Carolyn Smithers.” The younger woman nodded at us and glared, something I was sure she did with regularity.
Taylor, who was sitting between me and Akane, stood and inclined her head to the elder woman, “Miz Burns,” she said calmly, “I know your name through my mother for the fundraising you’ve done for the Brockton Bay University Library project. You may refer to me as Skitter, my current companions are No No and Rune,” she continued gesturing first at Akane, and then at me. “Also with us are Glory Girl and Panacea of New Wave.”
“I see,” the elder woman replied as the younger one turned her glare at me, trying to stare me down.
“Why, is this criminal not imprisoned,” the young woman growled at a barely audible level.
“Two reasons,” the director answered. “First, she came in willingly after helping with a hostage situation not of her creation. As such, as much as I would like to arrest her and throw the book at her, current rules require that I give her safe passage under the rules of the truce and allow her to leave so long as she does not cause trouble.” At this point Piggot started to glare at the young miss Smithers, “and I would not suggest trying to bait her into causing trouble young miss, for I have no trouble letting her defend herself.” I smiled at her only to get a sniff in response. “Secondly, since her records record who Rune is because of how her trigger happened. Because of what happened today, we are also willing to offer her a place as a probationary Ward, to include emancipating her from her, familial problems.”
My head snapped around to look at the director, eyes wide with surprise. Smithers of course voiced my own question by yelling “Your going to do WHAT!?”
Money is always available, where peace and prosperity meet
Standing at the corner of Peace Street and Prosperity Road, Danny Hebert thought back over the history of his town. Back when the All Father ran the Empire an agreement had been reached between him, Galvanate, and Marquis to designate certain places as neutral territory where either no one had control, or they were all considered equals. One place was Sommer’s Rock, a falling apart bar down in the docks where no one held any sway, another was here, at this crossroads downtown where each of them had sponsored a restaurant. All of them had been rather blatant about who they represented, Galvanate had opened a classic Italian restaurant that looked like it had been pulled straight out of a 40’s mob movie, All Father had opened a Beer Garden and Marquis a Bistro. The fourth corner had been occupied by a small grocery that originally sold to all of them, but the owners died, causing the store to be closed not long before Lung’s arrival.
By the time the Rage Dragon had arrived, Galvanate was in the Birdcage and Kaiser was running the Empire. Lung bought up the fourth corner at the intersection, leaving the burned remains of Galvanate’s restaurant alone to replace and rebuild the old grocery into a nice diner that served an ever-changing mixture of Oriental Family foods and fusions. Lung, or maybe it was the property manager Kenta Horaki, had somehow made arrangements with a Tokyo based Culinary School to send ten of their top students to his diner to cook for a year. They would open no later than the third Sunday in January, close after the first weekend in December, and were always supervised by a member of the school staff. They received a paycheck as well as had room and board provided for them, but for eleven months they would work to keep a business running in a slowly dying city.
Locking the door to his truck Danny started to walk over. The kids that would work and run the restaurant were all outside it seemed, repainting the exterior mural depicting a large eastern style dragon in blues, blacks and gold as it eased its way around the building towards the door. As he crossed the street a brunette woman with a high ponytail, stepped out the front door and called to them. “Minasan, kon'nichiwa. Chūshoku wa mō junbi ga dekite imasu.” They all seemed to acknowledge her in some way, mostly by starting a quick clean up of their brushes or heading towards the door, Danny just hoped he could catch them before the door was shut.
**
“Excuse me,” Yukihara Souma heard a man’s voice call out and turned to see a middle-aged white man walking fast across the street towards them, in fact angling for the door and Miss Kuongi. “I’m sorry to bother you, and I know you are not open yet, but I would like to make a reservation for next Sunday.”
“You know most people just call or even go online to make a reservation,” Miss Kuongi said with a smile as the others eased into the restaurant behind her. Finally, Souma had his roller clean, and moved to join the others as their teacher-supervisor spoke to the man.
“I know,” the man said, “Old habit from when my wife and I dated.” Miss Kuongi raised an eyebrow at that causing the man to elaborate. “I would call in a reservation, and then when we would arrive, the hostess or greeter would take one look at me and swear that there were no reservations in that name. Frustrated by that, I started swinging by a week in advance and making the reservations. Since I could call the hostess or greeter out for lying to the manager, or at least explain to the manager who had taken the reservation and point them out, it got them to stop pulling that trick.”
Miss Kuongi smiled at the man, “Very well then Mister?”
“Hebert,” the man answered with a smile of his own, “Danny Hebert, Miss?
“Kuongi,” Souma’s teacher answered, “If you will follow me Mr. Hebert, we’ll get your reservation settled and be happy to have you here next Sunday.”
“Thank you,” Mister Hebert replied stepping in as Kuongi-sensei held the door open for him to come in.
“Souma-kun,” she said focusing on the teen for a moment, “Go have your lunch, and see what it is that Mito-chan has that she wants you to test. She specifically asked to have you test it, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Yes ma’am,” Souma answered heading off towards the kitchen area even as he heard the front door lock behind him.
“Now Mister Hebert,” she said, “What time were you thinking for Sunday, and if I may ask, what is the occasion.”
**Katie**
*PRT HQ-1730 hours*
Arriving at the PRT Building in the wake of the Mall Incident, as everyone was currently calling it, the five of us were escorted upstairs to a conference room where the PRT Director was waiting. She gestured for us to sit down, and once we had she leaned against the table and spoke. “Alright ladies,” she said, her voice far calmer than the look on her face would suggest. “I want you to walk me through the afternoon and explain both what happened and what the hell you were thinking.”
“Well it started for most of us when Taylor and I woke from our impromptu nap in the common room just before the eleven-o’clock tour came through.” I only half listened as Akane explained why the four of them were at the mall, and that they had been ambushed as they had exited the theater after seeing a movie. Myself, I was going over what had happened to me during the week and wondering, How did my life get turned upside down all of a sudden?
**Monday, January 3, 2011-2:30pm**
“So what you’re saying is that I fucked up and missed a prime chance to recruit someone to the cause,” I said as Brad pushed through another set on the bench press.
“Somewhat,” Brad answered. “Your predecessor at Winslow should have stepped in and stopped it a long time ago, and while it is doubtful that she would have joined, I bet that its better than even odds that her old man would have become a little more,” he paused a moment as if searching for the right word to use. “Accepting, yes, he might have become a little more accepting of our people, or at least our passage in the docks in appreciation.” He finished the set on the bench and sat up before turning to look at me. “The thing about helping someone is that you usually earn a bit of acceptance, a bit a trust by doing what seems to be completely unnecessary for you. Most people, they do like you did, they either join in or stand by and don’t help the person in trouble, in short, they’re sheep. People who do something though, especially for their own reasons, are heroes, it is part of why we do what we do.”
I nodded, what he said made sense in a way, but something seemed just the tiniest bit off. “Alright,” I said tossing him his towel. “How do I turn this to my advantage?”
“Honestly I don’t see how you could unless another opportunity presents itself,” he answered as he wiped off the bench and we started changing out the weights for my set. “But, you can at least apologize if you see her again, make up a bit for not helping maybe. Honestly though, I doubt you will have the chance. The way that Tachamachi girl seized the opportunity, she’s more likely as not being groomed by the chinks as we speak.”
*PRT HQ-1745 hours*
The argument outside the doors to the conference room pulled me from my memory of Monday even as Akane got to the point of the Merchant goons jumping them with AK’s outside the movie theater. “Masks on, all of you,” the director snapped quietly as she stood up, and a moment later all of us were wearing domino masks. Seeing this when she turned back at the door to check, she nodded and then opened the door.
“and if you think I won’t make sure you are sent to the coldest, loneliest outpost that the PRT possesses,” a woman’s shrill voice screamed. “Then I will by god prove you wrong, now open that damned door, you brainless boor and let us in there.
“The door is open,” a more cultured, possibly older voice said calmly. “Hello Emily, sorry to intrude, but I understand that you had a Wards involved incident earlier and you know we are required to check on things.”
“Of course Miz Burns,” the director responded coolly. “Please, won’t you and your assistant come in and have a seat, Miss No No was just getting to the point where the Merchants were capturing people coming out of the theater.” as she spoke the director stepped back, allowing two women to step into the room. The first in was older, maybe forty or fifty, and had the look of old money. She was wearing a tasteful grey pantsuit with a high-necked white blouse that was joined with a classic cameo pin. In short, she was comfortable as the rich would say.
Her companion on the other hand was best described as an attack dog’s brain in a teacup chihuahua’s body. As she entered, she glared at the director and I would bet, was a hair’s breadth away from physically growling at Piggot. This was comical because physically she was practically child sized, and if she was more than five feet tall or over a hundred pounds I would be surprised. If she had been dressed in ribbons bows and a nice dress, she could have been called cute. As it was though, in the severe pantsuit that echoed her elder she simply looked like a child emulating an adult they adored.
The director closed the door behind them and walked behind them as they came to the table looking us over. “Why are you masked?” the younger one snapped at Akane, Taylor and me, before whirling to face and glare at Piggot again. “Why are they wearing masks?”
“Because three of them are not Wards and thus don’t fall under your remit miss Smithers,” Piggot answered calmly. “Further more,” she continued, “you don’t have the clearance to know who the two who are Wards are outside of their cape persona’s. Now, before we return to the debrief, are their any questions you have for the young ladies Miz Burns?”
“I would think that introductions would be in order Emily,” the older lady said calmly. “In fact, if you don’t mind I’ll start.” The director nodded so the elder woman stood once more and continued to speak. “My name is Montmorency Burns and I am the regional director for the Youth Guard. With me today is my assistant Carolyn Smithers.” The younger woman nodded at us and glared, something I was sure she did with regularity.
Taylor, who was sitting between me and Akane, stood and inclined her head to the elder woman, “Miz Burns,” she said calmly, “I know your name through my mother for the fundraising you’ve done for the Brockton Bay University Library project. You may refer to me as Skitter, my current companions are No No and Rune,” she continued gesturing first at Akane, and then at me. “Also with us are Glory Girl and Panacea of New Wave.”
“I see,” the elder woman replied as the younger one turned her glare at me, trying to stare me down.
“Why, is this criminal not imprisoned,” the young woman growled at a barely audible level.
“Two reasons,” the director answered. “First, she came in willingly after helping with a hostage situation not of her creation. As such, as much as I would like to arrest her and throw the book at her, current rules require that I give her safe passage under the rules of the truce and allow her to leave so long as she does not cause trouble.” At this point Piggot started to glare at the young miss Smithers, “and I would not suggest trying to bait her into causing trouble young miss, for I have no trouble letting her defend herself.” I smiled at her only to get a sniff in response. “Secondly, since her records record who Rune is because of how her trigger happened. Because of what happened today, we are also willing to offer her a place as a probationary Ward, to include emancipating her from her, familial problems.”
My head snapped around to look at the director, eyes wide with surprise. Smithers of course voiced my own question by yelling “Your going to do WHAT!?”
Wolf wins every fight but the one where he dies, fangs locked around the throat of his opponent.
Currently writing BROBd
Currently writing BROBd