2022-01-18 - Sex Bomb

(TXT to Seth Vic) Ravn : You read the Gazette this morning? I thought that redhead at the train station looked familiar. Turns out she was one of the girls from the Mercantic. We should probably be a bit worried about this, because as far as I recall, none of those women had any shine. And none of them are supposed to be anywhere around here, either. Vic, I'm assuming you told Seth why you woke up with burn injuries.

(TXT to Ravn Seth) Vic : Goddamit. No none of them had the shine. What happened to her? I thought we got her out of town? How did she end up back here and in the Pond, and how did she wind up Over There?

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : I'm as clueless as you are. Paralegal swore to me they'd be safe and sound and out of reach, getting on with their lives wherever they wanted to be going. Think the Dream had us in Serbia somewhere because she was Serbian, or because it was dropping subtle hints in the fashion of someone punching you in the face a few times might be trying to hint that he doesn't like you?

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Wait....what? I haven't read the paper. What is going on?

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : One of the girls from the Mercantic turned up in a Dream. And died there. Vic and I were both there -- along with a few others. Rosencrantz, Cavanaugh, some bloke named KC -- think he's some kind of psychiatrist. We were in a train station somewhere in Serbia, boarding a train to Belgrade, Beograd, whatever. And she was there -- shining like a bloody lighthouse. They told us all to wait for the next train, except her. We tried to stop her from boarding the train -- old steam train affair at that -- and she... exploded. I woke up with second degree burns. Vic was closer, must have gotten hit too.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : I'm going to need to talk to de la Vega about it. I mean, he can't not notice Cavanaugh turning up with burns. Question is how much I should tell him.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : ... But...none of the girls from the boat shined, that I noticed. I mean, I don't know that much about all this but people do develop it later in life, right? You aren't just born with it. Do you think that exposure to it while she was here opened something dormant? And yeah, I met that KC guy. Odd.

Now Vic, get over here so I can rub salve on your burns. waggle brow

Please don't hit me.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : I'm pretty damn sure none of them had any talent when we met them. But if people can somehow be used as batteries... Anyhow, she did not seem to recognise me. So did a Dream just make up stuff at random, use a familiar face -- or does this connect to Spokane like Vic thought? Either way, I'm going to have tell de la Vega about the girls. I'll try to tell him off the record, because, well, this incriminates the hell out of HOPE as well.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Wait. I can take that bullet if you need me to. I think he already knows Vic and I handled the ship, and if he didn't I suspect he has a good idea since he 'met' us in Spokane. If you would rather not be involved, we can try to mitigate your involvement as best we can. All you did was make sure the girls were safe, there is no way in hell you should be penalized for that.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : I don't disagree, but it's also an opportunity, Seth. It would be -- I discussed this with your gent at the Casino some time back. That it might be useful to have some kind of 'neutral zone'. For when what's going on isn't about, well, your usual business -- when it's all of us against the Veil. You can't buddy up with the police nor can they with you, because you're quite frankly working in opposite directions most of the time. But none of you have any beef with me.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : It might be a good start, giving him something useful.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : ...

It's your call, Darth. Your ball, your play. I just don't want to see you tied up in things that you don't need to be if you don't want to be.

If you want to be tied up, well, TMI. I don't need to know that shit.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Snerk. I want to be immersed in a tub of 12 year Chivas Regal.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Speaking of things we want to do, rather than things we have to do, though, let's have a training sesh and some beers after sometime. It's been too long. And I kind of want to -- I don't usually ask what you guys get up to for very obvious reasons. But I'm starting to think maybe we should worry about Spokane more, with that girl turning up again, and with those guys at Safeway shouting your name.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : I mean whatever floats your boat, man...I would rather drink it, though I wouldn't drink it after you bathed in it.

Yeah...Safeway is worrisome. At first, I thought they were just talking Felix, but after I talked to you and heard the exact phrasing they were obviously talking about me. This means my cover was blown, and now I gotta watch my back even more. And Vic's, because if mine was I am sure hers was. I can hope otherwise, but the prudent course of action is to act as if it has.

Which if our covers were blown, why haven't they come after us directly? So much about this just doesn't make sense.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : That's what worries me. That it's not just a rival gang pulling shit. Because while I don't know what you guys did in Spokane -- I don't think Spokane is full of gangsters who turn human beings into shine batteries. If this was a gang thing I'd stay out of it.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Sadly, it all ties back to our 'friend' who was in town last year. I think he is still pulling strings.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Which friend is this? The one who had a minion give me a nice slug of lead through a lung?

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Indeed

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : That's a profoundly scary thought. Bloke's in jail for life, isn't he? Of course it's hardly a secret that strings can be pulled from inside jails.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Yeah. IIRC his name was mentioned when we were in Spokane. Vic and Javi might remember as well. I was busy being intimidating question and answer session was handled by the others.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Well, now there's no doubt that somebody needs to clue the Chief in if he isn't already.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Uh...I'll just say Vic and I were not the only ones in Spokane.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Don't. If this neutral zone shit is going to work somehow, it's important I don't end up having dirt on anyone. It's the only way that either side can trust me, you realise?

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : I said nothing.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Life's too bloody complicated sometimes.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Yeah. Sometimes makes a guy want to retire and move to Hawaii...but I have a feeling if I tried I would end up right back here somehow like a bad episode of LOST.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : Pretty much. I tried to go home, remember? Last year -- on Christmas, a year ago. I can't say it was the Veil that convinced Hyacinth to go right after me, but the thought has crossed my mind. Drawing me back here with a promise of something better than life back there. We keep telling people this place is like Hotel California, and it's not a joke at all. Just have to make the best of it -- and if our friend from the garden expo is trying to screw with us even from jail, I suggest we get ready to screw right back.

(TXT to Ravn Seth) Vic : Fucking Serbia. Fucking Spokane. Fucking ow. Yes, I wrecked the train trying to keep her from getting on it. I noticed that the analog station clock in the Dream was acting weird, so, I shoved the time forward an hour on that clock with my Juice, and it undid the train. Like it screamed and fell to pieces. Not before she got a foot on it though, and went boom. She was strong. So strong. Stronger than me. Stronger than Rosencrantz. So strong it HURT to look at her, made me feel ill. And now when I close my eyes I see her. This is bad. Also yes, I feel like I'm full of burning shrapnel.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Ok...ignore the silly quip about rubbing salve.

Seriously, are you OK? Anything I can do to help? It sounds pretty bad. Do I need to get you to a burn unit? WTF are you anyway? Are you home? And if so, why the fuck are we texting about this.

(TXT to Seth Ravn) Vic : They aren't regular burns. Mine feel internal. I'm at my house yeah. I woke up there after and I've been too sore to get up. I've been sleeping mostly. My phone was all the way downstairs so I didn't get to it til now.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : <meme of a unhappy face> That isn't good. I don't know if I can do anything about that...but I can try. I'll make my way over once I get some pants on, though this just goes to prove my point about making that access tunnel between the houses.

(TXT to Seth Ravn) Vic : At least I had clothes on this Dream. Cool ones. I was also a brunette.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Sexy.

Wait, you didn't get shot in the tit again did you?

(TXT to Seth Ravn) Vic : No, thank God.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Thank god for small favors.

I'll be over in a few minutes. I'll let myself in...so don't shoot me.

(TXT to Seth Ravn) Vic : Copy that.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : No one is that strong, not from what I've seen. They have to have been using her as a battery of some kind. She didn't recognise either of us, either -- and I dare say she should have. High as a kite, or so full of power it'd burned her brain right out.

(TXT to Vic Ravn) Seth : Yeah, I'm at Vic's now. I got the lowdown. I don't understand it, but I got it.

(TXT to Seth Ravn) Vic : We need to figure out what's going on. We'll talk to de la Vega and get back to you with what we can, Ravn. I don't want you any deeper in this mess.

(TXT to Vic Seth) Ravn : I will still have to talk to him about the trafficked girls. He obviously knows about it -- or the Gazette wouldn't. I don't want to insult his intelligence by pretending I have no idea what that was all about. If I want him to trust me another time, I'll need to own that. But the rest, yes, -- I'll leave that to you.