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Bad Pennies [Sal + Ariadne]
Topic Started: Dec 12 2012, 08:10 PM (546 Views)
Holy
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At some point after the siege, numbers and contact information is exchanged between everyone, so perhaps it's no surprise when those numbers start to get used.

Can you meet?

It's a simple message on Ariadne's phone, but the simplicity left few details.
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Holy
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He shrugs, "If she's going to be the new Notary, she might like to know of the possibility that every Oath in this city signed before the Winnowing is null and void."
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Kara
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"Mm." Ariadne doesn't sound entirely convinced, but she begins typing all the same. "Could talk to both, you know. That's also an option."
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Holy
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"I don't care who you bring. Brig the whole Covenant if you want. Banks, Ashcroft, Rose, Cole. Present a united front." He almost says it without thinking, but as the words come out of his mouth you catch a look in his eye. "And actually, yes. Let's have both Banks and Ashcroft there."
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Kara
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Her fingers pause, and her gaze lifts to give him a skeptical look. "See what I can do." She almost starts typing, but instead stares, expression overly neutral.

"Want Rose there, too?"
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Holy
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"If you need your bully-boy there to feel more comfortable, I suppose I have no objections. Banks and Ashcroft are all that matter to me." If there was any doubt that Salvador had changed in the tunnels, that was wiped away.
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Kara
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She stops typing, glancing up at Killjoy through her bangs. She stares for a good long moment before apparently concluding her message and slipping her phone back into its pocket. "Wasn't saying anything particular about you and Rose. He signed it, too - seems like he'd be relevant. But." She shrugs. "Your meeting, your business, your call. This is just a favor."
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Holy
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"And I won't forget that favor. If nothing else, the Estate has forged that philosophy in me. That word is everything. There's no trick, no trap, no coercion here. I know what I want, I'm asking for it, and you're giving it to me. If you weren't interested you could walk away. If you wanted too high a price, I could walk away." He throws a hand out toward the steps leading back to the fountain. "The only consequences are that a deal isn't made. There are no chains around our wrists, there are no matters of life and death."

"I gave my word to help the Brides, to a man I don't really even respect. But even when facing down the possibility of death, I didn't waver. And I'll tell you true, Ariadne, if the Brides had fought Antoine and you over what to do with Trina, I would have sided with them. Because I gave my word. No blood, no writing, just sounds on the wind."
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Kara
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She doesn't flinch beyond cocking her head to one side. "I know." There is a pause, followed by her extracting her phone again. She looks at it briefly before putting it away without comment.

"Seems like signing is another way to give your word. Not denying Rose could have done things better. But we all do things we don't want to. Like trudging down underneath the city. Throwing ourselves in death's way, because of some words we wrote and said."
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Holy
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He flicks a hand as if dismissing the comment, "When we're in our right mind, yes." But then his thoughts clearly catch on something you said. "Why did you go down with us?"
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Kara
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She stares long enough for it to be mildly disconcerting when she doesn't blink. "Ashcroft said to." It momentarily seems like that might be all she has to say, but she does eventually continue.

"There was something in it for me, too, but I wasn't really thinking about that at the time. Definitely didn't have to almost die for him, though." She shrugs, glancing over at the fountain.
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Holy
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"Ashcroft said to." He says it like he already knew the answer, or at least already guessed at it. "Sent you to make yourself useful to Primogen Antoine. It must be fulfilling to be able to follow orders, but also have the autonomy to ignore them things get too sticky." His gaze follows hers, but rather than the fountain, it lingers on the people around it.

"Do you really think the Winnowing was random?" His voice lowers with the abrupt change of subject.
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Kara
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She levels a flat stare back at Killjoy, and it remains just this side of a glare. She continues the look even as the topic changes, her only response an irritated, "No."
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Holy
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"Neither do I." He asserts. "But the Primogen are too busy angling for positions to spend any real time figuring out what's going on. It's easier to blame bogeymen then spend the time to dig. Ashcroft's move for Prince is a distraction."

His hands wrap around the metal guardrail, gaze still fixed on the people around the fountain. "Trina, Roache... I have a feeling that's the tip of the iceberg."
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Kara
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Ariadne lets the comments about the Primogen pass without comment. As he continues, her interest grows notably. "Yeah?" She inches closer, but still keeps a decent distance between them. "Maybe she just woke up with some strange power. And he got bound. Doesn't have to be more than that."
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Holy
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He looks at her now, frowning. "Nothing has to be anything. But you saw Roach. That wasn't the Vinculum."

"Someone has to find out the truth of what's going on, Ariadne. We've seen that tip. Nobody up here believes half of the truth that went on down there." He turns his whole body to face the once Mekhet. "I think you're different. I think you saw Roache, I think you heard Trina and that other voice she used, and I think you're smart enough to see that isn't normal at all."

"Am I wrong?"
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Kara
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She half-flinches at suddenly being the full focus of his attention once more. "Pretty sure I've wanted to know about the Winnowing longer than you. That wasn't even the reason for coming here, right?" She frowns, tilting her head. "But, she's dead now. Couldn't examine her if I wanted to, and..."

She frowns deeper, and her head quickly turns to find the fountain. "Not sure if I'd want to, either."
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Holy
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"So it's true. You really aren't a Mekhet anymore." His grip goes back to that railing, his back turning on the girl.
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Kara
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That sparks an immediate, obviously visceral reaction as her teeth clench together and she takes a remarkably confrontational step closer to him. "I am. I can still See, I can still..." A pause and a breath while she glares at him seems enough to calm her a little.

"Last time I looked at anything of hers, it messed me up. Remember?"
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Holy
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"And that doesn't motivate you? Something is poisoning our souls, Ariadne. These curses, something is inflicting them on us. That poison even spreads to the the spirits of objects, now." He continues to stare out and away from her. "The Brides have some of Trina's ashes."
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Kara
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"Motivate me to get myself messed up again? Sounds great." It seems like she isn't done glaring just yet. "Don't you have the Sight? Or are you not going to tell me til Banks sets an official date and time."
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Holy
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"A deal's a deal, right, no matter what?" He's quick to bring up her own objections, showing his teeth at her proximity, his own turn to glare.

"No, Ariadne, I don't have the sight. I don't know why people assume that I do. But I do have motivation, and I do have a line on something else." His tenseness eases as he continues, "I plan on looking into the Wynn. If the Winnowing is infecting ... possessing ... things now, instead of just people, that hotel might be one of them. I'll run it by Antoine, since he knows what went on in the sewers, but you... Are you interested in coming along, or should I find someone else with the Sight?"
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Kara
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She looks like she might retreat, but after a moment of uncertainty, she just shifts her footing a little. "I'll go. But a whole hotel? Really?"
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Holy
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"At least one penthouse in particular. I had assumed it was some sort of publicity stunt, but after Trina..." He shakes his head. "While everyone important is deciding whether Ashcroft as Prince is to their advantage or not, someone has to stay vigilant. Maybe Trina just snapped, but maybe all these changes come with a price tag, and she just had to pay out early."
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Kara
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"Figure some of us might have already paid," she mumbles, turning to lean against the railing herself, back to the fountain.

"Thought you liked it better after the Winnowing anyway."
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Holy
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"I do, but if my gains come because of some innocent person's loss, that doesn't seem right." His hands find their way into his pockets, a glance up at the sky overhead. "Let me know what Banks says. I'll let you know what Antoine says."

(I'm cool with either ending this scene and starting a new one, or just seguing into the Invictus Sit Down when Sir Kos is ready)
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Kara
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"Mm." Ariadne sounds less than interested in his answer, but before she can decide whether to say more, her phone chirps again. She extracts it, looking at it, then Killjoy. "1:30 at the Bellagio work for you?"

(Funny you should mention that!)
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Holy
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He slips free his phone, pecking away at the keys and then nodding. "Yes. I'll see you all there."
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Kara
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"Right. The Petrossian Bar. It's right by the lobby." Her own phone returns to its pocket, and she starts to depart without a further word.
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KosST
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(figure we'll use this thread to proceed with meeting the Big Bad Victus)
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KosST
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The time to meet at the Bellagio finally rolls around. The night is less hot than on the evening of the previous gathering at the Bellagio, which only seems to increase the crowd of people moving in and out of casinos for the evening. Entering the lobby of the hotel, there remains a throng of people, many moving directly into the casino area proper, some checking in even this late of an hour.

The Petrossian itself is situated at the point where the lobby meets the casino floor. It offers ample room to see and be seen by those in the immediate area. A roped off area ensures that when the bar is full - as it is now - brings an air of exclusivity. A service person at the entrance awaits others to arrive.

A crowd sits and drinks and gossips and flirts, as the city never sleeps, certainly not at night. Asher Banks is seen milling about near the entrance, waiting for the arrival of Salvador and Ariadne, chatting on a cellphone while scanning the crowd.

(Image to add later)
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