Logfile from brass. MeiQin is perched on the edge of the fountain, tote bag on the ground at her feet. She is carefully writing something on a brightly colored lozenge of folded paper. She finishes whatever it was and tucks the oddly shaped paper back into her totebag, pulling out another paper lozenge (this one red) and switching to a different pen before starting to write on the new piece of paper. Towards the fountain, from the opposite side of where MeiQin is, a tall guy comes carrying a guitar case. When he reaches the fountain, he hops up on the edge of it and starts balancing his way along it while whistling "Ev'rybody wants to be a cat" from the Aristocats movie. MeiQin is oblivious, focusing on her work. She mutters something to the effect of "Faces, edges, vertices... doh! Euler's formula. Convex or concave, it's still topologically equivalent..." Biting her lip, she carefully adds a few more lines of gold gel-pen writing to the red paper in front of her. Step step stepstepstep /hop/.. "Ooops!" A pair of long legs in red leather appear to the right of the busy lady, and then they jump behind her (presumably carrying a torso etc.), landing a little to the left of her on the edge of the fountain. But, judging from the sound effects, not wuite steadily. "Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" The tall one waives his free arm around to help get his balance back before he falls on his back in the water. "Gyaah!" MeiQin shrieks as she is jumped over and desperately huddles over her work to protect the delicate paper from the imminent splash of the Danger To Self And Others getting what he deserves. After a couple of seconds of desperate swinging back and forth, the guy manages to get enough forward monumentum to jump off the fountain and onto the asphalt. He look at MeiQin with a bright, sparkling grin. "Sorry 'bout that, miss. Miscalculated a bit, I guess. You allright?" MeiQin is a slight Asian woman in her mid-20s. She stands a bit over 5' tall, and her auburn-dyed hair swings in a chin-length bob. Her brown eyes flash from behind wire-frame glasses, and her eyebrows are thin and arched. Her features are delicate, and she wears no obvious make-up. She wears a tiny gold hoop in each ear. MeiQin is wearing a spaghetti-strap sheath minidress cut from black jersey over American-flag-print novelty tights and sensible shoes -- black loafers. MeiQin glares at the irresponsible twit. "I am well, no thanks to you. Have you ever considered the benefits of walking on the pavement like eveyone else does?" She clasps her paper -- it's about six inches long -- against her chest with one hand. Zach chuckles and gestures around with his free hand. "That's no fun! I walk the pavement all the time, and sometimes, y'know, a person feels the need for something /else/. "And hey, it all went well! Nobody got wet, so it's all good right?" Again he beams and eyes alight with mischief sparkle at her. MeiQin sighs and carefully puts her paper away before the reckless man can do anything more damaging. "This time, nobody got wet. This time, nothing was damaged. That does not make it any safer to do next time, you know. Why take careless chances at all, especially when they may endangers others?" Zach blinks. "Unless you're severely allergic to water, I was hardly endangering you, miss. But! You're obviously upset, so I gotta try making it up to you. Can I get you a beverage of your choosing? I'm Zach, by the way." He steps over and offers a handshake. You say, "Sorry I startled you." MeiQin slowly extends her hand to Zach. "Ah... hello, Zach. It's not me, it's what I was working on. Origami /is/ allergic to water, for loose values of the word 'allergic'. And I wouldn't know if you can, but yes, you may try." Zach shakes her hand firnly, but doesn't crush it. "Oh, you're making origamies! Well in that case, you certainly did have cause for distress. Right, so -- what'll you choose?" MeiQin tilts her head to one side, considering. "Well, there is a nice little Chinese restaurant that a friend took me to the other day... Care to spring for green tea?" Zach nodnods. "Sure! Which restaurant you thinkin' about? Bo Ling's?" He tilts his head in the general direction of the Board of Trade. MeiQin nods. "Yup, just the one. Shall we?" She picks up her tote bag and slings it over one shoulder before heading off to the board of Trade building. MeiQin steps into the Board of Trade building. You enter Bo Ling's. Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurant - Board of Trade Building An elegant, upscale Chinese restaurant. Red and black and gold laquered designs hang every few feet on wall the color of a dark cream, alternating between the stereotypical dragons and other symbols such as a golden buddha holding a sack of gold and smiling beatifically. The low lighting lends a mood of intimacy, of thoughts whispered in agreement, of business dealings and romantic liaisons. There is always the scent of fresh-cooked food, and the rattle of trays and plates, and the low lull of conversation. Even when closed for business, Bo Ling's often serves as an informal gathering place for local upper-middle-class and upper-class Chinese families, who come for tea and conversation, for alliances and dalliances. Once lunch time begins, and sustaining all the way through closing, those families form a knot of Asians near the back of the restuarant, beyond which, through beaded curtains, even more of them can be seen in the restaurant's semi-private and private dining areas. At Cosmo's usual table, three people are sitting and enjoying a lunch. Cosmo, and Harriet, of course, and Basil, as well. They seem to be getting along rather well...although it could just be the excellent food that they're enjoying. For the moment, they're concentrating on the latter, and not saying much. Two people, one short and one tall, enters the restaurant and are greeted by the maitre'd. Zach smiles and whispers a few words with him, and then he notices the three who do. Another whisper, and then the maitre'd comes over to Cosmo's table to announce that Mr. Ellis is here with a guest, and asks if they may join you. Cosmo looks up from the meal he is enjoying, having let the silence last for a while. He looks up as the host arrives. "Certainly, send Mr. Ellis and his guest over." He dabs at his mouth with his napkin. Bazil looks up from his General Tso and smiles as he notices Mei Qin, whom he's met earlier. He sets down his food, waves, and looks to the others. "I have no objection. Cosmo, Harriet?" Zach admires Cosmo and Basil talking in unison. *sniffle* So beautiful. Harriet perks up rather noticibly at the name 'Ellis', even more happy than she was a moment ago, and turns to wave at Zach and...MeiQin! Her smile ratchets up another notch or two, and she wiggles in her seat, rather like an excited puppy. "Guys! Hey!" Bazil suspects Alpha Maleisms. ;) MeiQin watches the maitre'd go to the table and then blinks up at "Mr. Ellis". "You know Cosmo and Harriet??" She shakes her head and then turns to wave and smile at Harriet. "Heya, Harriet. You know this goon?" Bazil says, "Oh, by the by, when you're all close enough, and introducing each other- I'm probably going to do interpersonal relationship Res, and probably an individual on you, Zach. Despite the risks of doing so while Harriet the Protected is in the mix. ;)" Harriet hangs her head. Harriet doesn't ruin /every/ resonance roll! Zach grins and lifs a hand in greeting. "Cosmo's a drear friend of mine, and Harriet's my lady love." He leads MeiQin over to the table and greets his friends. Harriet first, of course. "Missed ya, babe. I was on my way over, actually." Cosmo stands as the pair approaches. He offers a handshake to each of them. Zach after he makes nice with Harriet. "Yes. We are aquainted with the irrascable Mr. Ellis. You would be surprised at some of the company I keep, MeiQin." He pulls a chair out for the doctor. "Let me both introduce you to Bazil." Which he does. Bazil gets up himself. "I met Mei Qin the other night, with Ellen and Goldie, I believe. Pleased to see you again, Mei Qin." He offers a hand to Zach. "Bazil Peterson, and pleased to meet you Mr. Ellis." "That's no goon, that's a Zach!" Harriet exclaims, and offers the not-goon a hug and quick cuddle before releasing him to go do the polite. "It's good to see you, you know? Both of you. How's life going?" she asks, peeking over at MeiQin while introductions are going on. MeiQin shakes hands as appropriate before slinding into a seat. "It's a small world, I guess." She answers Harriet, "Me? I'm mostly okay, although your non-goon gave me a bit of a scare. I take it he's the boyfriend who doesn't abuse you? The one who's also a mechanic?" Zach smiles and gives Basona firm, powerful handshake. "And it's lovely to meet you too, Bas. And you, Mei Qin!" His grin widens, "Now I know your name too, in addition to the origami skills." He takes a seat then all the niceties are done. Bazil pages: Merc Res, +2 CD for contact... :) AutoJudge: Bazil rolls: 6 + 4 = 10 . Check die: 4 Bazil pages: Or not! Bazil says, "Anyway. Interrelationship info. :) Starting from Zach, out to Cosmo, then Harriet, then Mei Qin." AutoJudge: Bazil rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 1 Bazil blahs. Not his day. Zach/Cosmo only, it appears. Cosmo settles back in his seat. He grins a little at MeiQin, enjoying her company. "Have you eaten? We're about half way through ourselves, but I'm sure we can get your order expedited." He sips from his water. Bazil shakes Zach's hand. "I've heard a lot about you, actually. Heard you're a wonderful mechanic, too." He laughs. "Actually, I /do/ have some car trouble..." He takes his own seat again and grins wryly at Harriet. "And here I thought I'd be the only one dispensing professional advice..." You paged Bazil with 'So what info do you get? I'm not much familiar with the evil Merc resonance. :)'. Bazil pages: On you, nothing. I'll try again when we leave- you show up even more than Harriet. As tot he other- let me roll to beat Role. AutoJudge: Bazil rolls: 3 + 4 = 7 . Check die: 1 Bazil laughs. "Well, that settles that. Just corporeal." Bazil pages: The "Degree of interrelationships" between you and Cosmo. Basically, how you feel about him. Harriet blinks at MeiQin as she settles back into her seat. "I wouldn't put it /exactly/ like that, but it's accurate enough, you know? And a scare?" She turns to eye Zach. "What on earth did you do to scare MeiQin, hmm? Am I going to have to make my stern face?" she asks, grinning. And chuckles at Bazil's observation. You paged Bazil with 'Zach is quite friendly with Cosmo, and cares a great deal about him. Though Cosmo is a paper-pusher, he's not a bad sort in Zach's opinion. Honest, smart and not afraid to get dirt under his nails.'. MeiQin smiles back at Cosmo. "Oh, we're just here because Zach owes me a drink. Besides, if I get hungry I can always make big puppy-dog eyes and mooch off of you and Harriet, right?" She turns to Harriet. "Well, he very nearly drowned the--" She leans over to whisper theatrically to Harriet. "--the thing we discussed earlier? The one you thought was a tentacled creature from another dimension?" Zach snorts. "Nah, I'm okay Cos. I'll get some green tea for the lady and some coffee for myself." He turns to Harriet. "And I didn't do it on purpose, hon. I just miscalculated a jump and nearly fell into the fountain, is all." He stretches his legs and smiles. "And here I was thinking I was gonna introduce a new person around...# That gets his attention immediately. Cosmo looks at MeiQin. Then back to Harriet. "What?" He's clearly confused by the reference. And more then a little alarmed. Bazil's eyes flicker again at MeiQin's statement, but he smiles at Harriet and Zach's interplay, settling back to his food as he listens. Harriet giggles at Zach and MeiQin. "Oh, my. I'm not going to ask why Zach was jumping around the fountain, you know? Some things, woman was not meant to know." Cosmo gets an innocent look. Very, very innocent. Possibly too innocent to be anything close. "Hmmm? Oh? It's nothing, Cosmo. Really. Unless MeiQin would like to elaborate?" She raises an eyebrow and grins mischeviously at the other woman. MeiQin blushes and hisses at Harriet, "Do you really think that this is the right time and place? It /is/ just about ready for--" She clears her throat and glances around the table meaningfully. "--for the intended target. So, if you think I should..." Her voice trails off. Zach raises his eyebrows high and eyes the two women. "Oh this ought to be interesting..." Cosmo looks at the two women. Suspicion in his eyes. The worry is gone though. And his shoulders seem to have relaxed. "I see. Well, if you two are up to your normal shenanigans...just be sure not to do anything dangerous." Bazil chuckles a bit and begins to sip at his Midori sour. "Now, now, they're grown women, Cosmo. I'm sure they can handle it." His eyes twinkle as he eats his General Tso, a laugh almost going through. Harriet purses her lips. "No, I wouldn't dream of letting something like that out before it's...ready." Her eyes sparkle. "That just wouldn't be right, you know?" She smirks at Cosmo. "We've only known each other for a week, dearheart. We don't have normal shenanigans, yet. We're still exploring the limits!" Cosmo just snorts. He takes a drink of his water. "I know your normal shenanigans. And I have little doubt that MeiQin here is just as bent on making mischeif as you are. I know the type." He says seriously. He finishes off his meal. Then drops his napkin over the plate. MeiQin sighs and pulls her hands away from the tote bag. "Oh, I could finish it up in a minute at this point, but I will abide by your more experienced judgement, Harriet. When should I bring it out, though? It's not as though I can count on encountering the target on a regular basis." Zach blinks and peers at Harriet and MeiQin. "So. Now you got us all curious, and you're just gonna leave us hangin', is that it? Am I gonna have to tickle it out of you, Harriet?" Cosmo looks at the two women again. Slightly distrustful. Then smiles. He gives a shrug of his shoulders and doesn't give it much further thought. "No tickling here." He says to Zach. "Mind the decorum." Bazil laughs quietly as he listens, fascinated. "I think I'm going to like it here," he says with a smile. Harriet chuckles, and leans her head against Zach's shoulder. "If you'd like to, then by all means, you know? The target can be a little difficult to pin down, I agree," she muses, not looking at anyone in particular. She does look smug at Cosmo's comment, though. She is safe from tickle-interrogation! "It's a nice place," she murmurs. MeiQin considers for a moment. She mutters to Zach, "... you... me... of... way... a... him... to... love... something, okay?" You sense MeiQin considers for a moment. "Could you do me a favor? Just get Cosmo out of the way for a minute. Drag him off to the men's room to ask advice on your love life or something, okay?" Zach cuddles a Harrietarm fondly and smiles. "I'm not gonna attack anyone here, don't worry. I have other methods... Hm?" He leans his head to listen to MeiQin and then his eyebrows start climbing. "Uh, sure..." Cosmo narrows his eyes again, looking at the trio. "No good shall come of this." He pronounces in a dire tone. "Not with all three of them in on it." He orders himself a beer to sip while the lunch winds down. You say, "Oh, before I forget! Cosmo, can I have few words with you in private? Like, now?" Cosmo stands up from the table. He adjusts his cuffs. "Certainly Zach. I'm just teasing of course." He offers a smile to show his prediction was meant merely as a jest. Bazil laughs quietly. "Oh, take joy in groups, I'd say. Of course, having only met you all, I could hardly be the target, and hence, am something of an uninterested bystander." He waves politely. Harriet sits up so that Zach can disentangle himself. "Aww, that's not fair. We three are completely innocent of wrongdoing, you know? Just...a little fun and random acts of joy, is all." She winks at Bazil. "And I wouldn't be /too/ sure of that. You seem like a nice guy, and are therefore inducted into the circle of targ...friends." Zach eyerolls and shakes his head with a chuckle. "Oh dear. I'm afraid you're doomed, Bas. Utterly. HAve fun!" He grins and drags Cosmo away from the table and in the direction of the men's room. MeiQin chuckles at Harriet, perhaps a little too eagerly. "Harriet and I are the quintessence of sweetness, innocence, and light," she explains to Bazil, sneaking furtive glances at the disappearing Zach and Cosmo. Cosmo follows into the men's room. He waits patiently to find out what this is that Zach has to say to him that needs to be said, right now. Bazil laughs. "Oh dear. That much trouble, hmm?" He stretches out and smiles at Mei Qin and Harriet. "At least the numbers arrayed against me have gone down, somewhat. How are you enjoying your meal, Harriet?" You step outside. In a secluded, private spot... Zach turns and looks around to make sure noone's listening in. "Tell me something, Cos. Have you heard anything more from Upstairs about Roger?" Cosmo shakes his head. "No. I haven't. I've talked to Stone. To Dexter as a matter of fact. He said they would need to test him first. I've also talked to Ruby and Pan, as I thought he might fit better with Children then with Stone. He seemed open to that idea. But I haven't heard anything else yet." Zach sighs. "I promised him that I was gonna go up and demand an answer from the Sword about his situation. It's ridiculous how he's been passed around like a hot potato for so long. And Stone's been talking about testing for -months- without doing anything more. Sam started training and thenjust disappeared. Just like that Abner guy of the Sword. Ruby is hardly fit to take on responsibility for a Soldier, and Pan's a bit inexperienced, from what I understand." Cosmo nods his head in agreement. "I agree with you. But what else can I do? He'd be miserable with Trade. And the same with Creation or the Wind. Fire would not work any better for him. I am at a loss as to what else can be done. Marc has mentioned it to Laurence and I am given to understandt heir are reasons, but I'm not privy to them." Zach sighs. "I'll probably get my ass kicked from here to next Wednesday, but I promised. And it was me who initiated Roge, so... At the very least, they could send him some official bloody message saying 'Sorry, mate, we don't need you. Thank you for your interest.' or something. And you're absolutely right. He doesn't want settle with the kind of stuff useful to Trade and he's very definitely not for Creation or the Wind. That we've agreed on since day one." Cosmo slips his hands in his pockets. He bites his lip. "The only other option then is to see if they might send him somewhere else. I doubt he'd be pleased with it. But perhaps Sword just doesn't want any human operatives in the area. Another option is to wait until Harriet finishes her project for the Commander, and make sure you're present. Ask him then." Zach sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "I can't. That's just too long a time. Man... You should've seen his face when Harriet told him about the visit from the Commander. That really, really hurt him. Harriet gets a personal visit, and Roger, who actually was rectruited by a Swordie and wants so badly to serve them, doesn't even get acknowledged." You say, "I fear we may be running out of time. I wish we could get him evaluatd by an Elohite-Mercurian-Seraph team..." Cosmo frowns at that. Shaking his head slowly. "Well, we have Jarod and Tristan. We just need a seraph. Or do you mean some of Dominic's people? As for that, yes, I'm sure that did hurt. His entire situation has been bungled from the beginning." You say, "Who's Tristan?" "Tristan. He's a Mercurian of Trade." Cosmo explains. "I've known him a long time. I also think our new friend Bazil in there is an Angel as well. Zach raises his eyebrows. "Y'think? How so? And yay, we have Mercurians around! But no, I didn't mean Judges -- though they might do well, too." Cosmo smiles faintly. "I resonated him. He has potential to earn a Word. ANd he definitely isn't diabolic. He's too unselfish. He must, therefore, be an angel. QED." Zach blinks. "Huh! Interesting... You'll of course squirrel him off to find out for certain, yeah?" "Of course. At the first available opportunity. I wouldn't let something like this slip through my hands. Anyway, I believe that is everything. If you really feel you should go upstairs, then I'm sure Jarod will let you use the Tether." Cosmo glances at his watch, checking the time. Zach nods. "I have to. I promised him... Hope I don't get thrown in the slammer for cheek, though. Anyway, let's get inside again..." He heads back to the restaurant. You enter Bo Ling's. Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurant - Board of Trade Building MeiQin frowns at Bazil, disappointed. "Fa, a long long way to run," she hisses. Bazil rolls his eyes, and sings o/" Fa, a long long way to run o/", still smiling. Cosmo returns with Zach. He makes his way to the table, still speaking softly with the man. The three at the table are getting a lot of very odd looks. Oh, and Cosmo's plate has been replaced with an origami star with eight points. They're singing, even. "Ti, a drink with...with...blast," Harriet's voice wavers even farther out of tune. "I forget." Zach says, "I have to go to bed soon. Will make one or two more poses." MeiQin sings, "So, a needle pulling thread! You can't skip notes, Harriet." It's a very nice three-dimensional origami star in all different colors with writing all over it. Zach's expression changes from slightly somber to mischiveous smile as he hears them singing. "Woah, you've certainly got into the groove while we were out." Bazil looks up and waves to Cosmo and Zach. "Welcome back," he says with a smile. Cosmo approaches the table. He puts his hands on the back of the chair. He stares at the origami star. Then he looks at those around the table. "And this is?" He inquires. Harriet meeps at MeiQin. "It's been a while since I've watched it, I fear. I'll brush up, you know? Hi, guys!" Then she reaches her hands over her head, and beckons to Zach to bend down so that she can whisper in his ear. Zach obediently bends down and sneaks a snog for himself while he's at it. "I gotta be going, hon. I'll sneak by your place later tonight, okay?" Harriet whispers "Sounds lovely, beloved. Oh, and MeiQin and I want to rewire Cosmo's car to serenade him with Monty Python, you know? What do you think?" Zach stares at Harriet. Bazil waves to Zach. "Good evening," he says. "Hope to see you around- and if you've got time at your shop this week, I would like to bring my car in..." MeiQin looks up at Cosmo innocently. "Perhaps you should read it to find out? I recommend starting with the yellow bits." Written in black ink on the yellow side is: 'This is a modular origami model of a Stella Octangula, or eight-cornered side. As a physical model, it is of necessity imperfect, although it is accurate within tolerances of 1/16 of an inch. All further statements refer to the mathematical Platonic ideal Stella Octangula, as embedded within a locally Euclidean 3-space.' Zach straightens up and tells Harriet, "We should talk more, later." He winks. Then, turning to Bazil, he smiles and produces a simple card. "Any time, Basil! I've a tow truck, in case you've got real issues with your wheels. Juet gimme a ring first, and I'll either meet you at the garage or come pick up you and the patient." Harriet gives Zach an innocently oblivious look, upside-down, and nods. "Of course, love. I'll see you at my place, later." She gives MeiQin a winks, then turns to look at Cosmo, curious on how he's recieving the gift. Bazil pulls out his own card and hands it to Zach, taking his. "No, not quite that bad- but I'd rather take care of things /ahead/ of time, you know?" He smiles. "Pleased to have met you, Zach." MeiQin says, "No. It's fully symmetric in 3-D, and is at least 4 layers thick in all places, and is thus pretty sturdy. It's about 6 inches in diameter. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/StellaOctangula.html" Cosmo picks up the origami star. He reads the yellow bit as recommended. "That's very accurate." He says dryly as he reads the part about 1/16th. He gives Zach a wave. "Be well." He tellst he other man. He goest back to the eight-cornered side and reads the next section. Zach takes the offered card, and then leans down to snog Harriet goodbye. "Bye for now, guys! It was good seeing you again, Cos, and lovely meeting you MeiQin and Basil. So long!" He beams happily at them and heads out. MeiQin watches Cosmo's reaction nervously, turning aside for a moment to wave to Zach. "Goodbye, Harriet's boyfriend. It was... interesting to meet you." Cosmo smiles as he reads over the various sections. He resumes his seat, fascinated with the bit of origami. He looks up after several moments. "Thank you, MeiQin." He sounds as if she's just given him gold. Or a fancy car. Or smething of equal value. Harriet looks happy to be snogged, and returns it, turning to watch Zach until he's left the building, a warm smile on her face. You step outside.