The Found Arcana – Second Interlude [IC]
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The Found Arcana – Second Interlude [IC]
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Andrew does ask AM and Jawsey for their version of events. As they recount things, he listens attentively and takes notes on a piece of electronic paper in an unknown form of shorthand that largely looks like chicken scratches. Evidently it means something to him.
“Arigatou gozaimasu, Green-san. You honor me with your attention,” he says, folding up his electronic paper and slipping into the inner breast pocket of his tuxedo.
“The Crimson Crush are a dangerous foe. A hundred armed and angry orks on drugs would give anyone pause. Doubly so if, as Thompson-san notes, they are organized and disciplined.
“But order and authority cut both ways. As you have witnessed, it makes them capable of honoring agreements, and makes it possible that cooler heads will prevail. It is in that spirit that we must meet them. There is a recipe for every occasion, with different combinations of etiquette and diplomacy, bargaining and bluffing, misdirection and confusion, intimidation and – when necessary – directed violence.” Andrew gives a small, tight smile, as if he does not shy away from this step.
“Your organization seems to understand this. Sometimes you can correct misunderstandings and appeal to reason, sometimes you can pay to make a problem go away, and sometimes you punch a bully in the mouth.”
He steps back, his body language conveying his intention to go. “Please excuse me as I continue my rounds. I have appreciated our conversation. It leads me to believe that we will have a harmonious relationship. In fact, given your demonstrated capabilities, I may wish to engage your agency’s services in the near future, at your standard rates of course. But, before then, I need lay the foundation for our safer, more prosperous future. Ojama shimashita!“ He gives AM a polite 15-degree bow and turns to leave.
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Bobby nodded at Andrew – having wisely kept his mouth shut. He gives a small wink to AM as the man turns away at the mention of further contracts.
When Andrew was out of earshot he said: “Alright, seems like we haven’t to move just yet.”
To Mato he says: “Nice to see you back. Looks like you have to play the role of dumb muscle for a while. If anything, this little altercation has shown me that I need to go out into the wild a bit. I’m finishing my shifts – although honestly I think there won’t be anyone along today.
After that I’ll be out of contact for a month.” -
Mato nods but seems a bit nervous about the prospect of working for Andrew.
“It’s so ambiguous… you don’t know what he’s going to ask us to do. Are we going to be the diplomacy, the misdirection, or the ‘directed violence’? Those are radically different risk profiles.” He paces a bit as he thinks.
“Notice how he bowed but didn’t shake? When I was growing up in the corp, I noticed that Japanese corpers only shake between equals. Andrew still considers us gaijin, hired goons, cannon fodder. He thinks he can pay us to make a problem go away. And if we ‘go away’ in the process? That might be a win-win as far as he’s concerned. I don’t trust him any further than I can throw him.”
A curious expression, since – given the combination of Mato’s cyberarms and Andrew’s modest stature – Mato could probably throw Andrew pretty far.
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AM nods in agreement as Andrew explains, and then returns a slightly deeper bow.
“Mato, you are right about that, but make no mistake, we are not his equals. Andrew is the voice of the Yakuza in this hood. We pay the Yakuza for keeping us safe in good times, and for not hurting us themselves in bad times. As long as we live under their protection then we are not their equals. Bad things happen when people do not acknowledge their place. It is the same with the Mafia, they may respect me enough to lend me money, and hire me on occasions – but I doubt I’ll ever be their equal.”
She pauses “We made progress in establishing trust so that he can consider us when they have problems. Andrew is a dangerous man and is cunning and ambitious. We should always be careful when dealing with him, but can we afford not to deal with him? So far we had some initial luck with people offering us a job, what will we do if there is a full month with no paying job? What about two months? We should take any paying job that we think is offered in goodwill, and that we can successfully accomplish. If we nurture the relationship right, we can help Andrew move up in the world, and he would help us to make enough money to survive “
To Bobby she says “You take care in the wilderness, I can only imagine what your totem would ask of you. Be careful with him too. “
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Jawsey relaxed a bit after Andrew left. The man was un-nerving in how thoroughly he fit his role. “AM, I think he likes dealing with you more than me. I’ll talk with him as needed, but you might be the better point.”
At Bobby’s mention of heading off to the wilderness for a month, Jawsey wished him well and asked if there was anything he wanted them to do to keep an eye on him, or if they should stay away. “After all, astrally you won’t be that far away, so if I know about where you are I can check in on you occasionally — it would be good practice for my navigation and searching — but if that would spoil the whole intent then I’ll stay away.”
And then he couldn’t resist asking “How did you find your totem, or it find you? It has never happened to me, probably my gift was too weak and limited to get noticed. But I wonder if I keep strengthening my magic if maybe someday it will happen? But how do you even know?“
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AM responds “I find him pleasant to work with as well. I don’t mind dealing with Andrew.”.
She listens intently when Jawsey mentions Bobby’s totem because the man is like an embodiment of Iktomi. Still, he seems to follow some other spirit. Or is her trickster, shapeshifter mentor plays a game on her with that one. She clearly follows Iktomi, he seems more distant to her than Bobby;s mentor.
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Bobby nodded at the discussion of their relationship to the Yakuza:
“Sure we are not equal – but as long as we are paid a fair rate, I’m willing to ignore that. At the end of the day everybody is someone else’s dog…”When the talk came to his spirit quest he shrugged his shoulders: “Let’s go inside. Stuff like that is best not talked about in public.”
Once inside, Bobby was uncharacteristically subdued: “I don’t mind you having an eye on me – but I don’t think it would be a good idea to speak to me. It could hurt me or you if things go wrong.
As for my totem: Hunger found me just as I found my magic. I never realized how much he actually influenced me until my first serious fight. I lost control when I got hurt. Someone in the Mil told me that I’m probably following a corrupted Spirit – Wendigo, the cannibal. But I don’t think so. At least I don’t have any particular urges for human flesh.
But to answer your question: You likely already have found one – or it has found you. You just haven’t been in a situation to realize it. I bet once you do your first spirit quest, you’ll get to meet him or her.”
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