[Zweiblumen]

"Oh, Winston and Victoria here?  They're a project a few friends and I are working on.  We just play with AROs when we can."  He pulls out one of his burners and starts putzing with it. "Winston, rezz a bit will ya?  We gotta sell this!"  He looks around at the sprites and hopes this doesn't get him in deeper.

To change the subject he says, "Does the 31 run anywhere near to on time?  Looks like the schedule says it's due shortly."  As he takes an offered smoke from the bigger ork.

[Csjarrat]

Winston obligingly flickers and pixelates, his front right paw freezing as the "animation" falters before returning to his functional form.
Shit, yeah, that is pretty awesome. Think my daughter would love one. 'ow much they selling for? the first one asked inquisitively.
Oop, nah, now its facked mate, hah. Still got some work to do on em eh? laughed the second as Winston hammed up the act a bit.
The first one looked up from his squatted position, stroking Winston with his AR gloves.
Yeah mate, runs pretty regular, though gets busy on the evening shift. Runs over there{he slings a nod over his left shoulder in the direction of the crossroads}.

[Lumen]

Knives is a veteran of the streets.  He'd been at the business end of much bigger guns held by much bigger men and prevailed before  His mind flashes back to the double barreled shotgun on the boat, *No way in hell this little pea shooter can hurt me*.  This little whelp was succeeding at nothing but pissing him off. 

"Ye'd better put the gun down lad, fore ya loose that arm."  With the taunt he lunges forward to close the gap again and plant his blade in the yak's gut.

[Csjarrat]

You're quick off the mark, quicker than the wounded yak at any rate.
You lunge forward with an accurate thrust of your blade, catching him off guard as he tries to aim the pistol at you.
The focus sings with energy as the blade bites into his gut. A round discharges as he hits the deck, fragments of elaborate pagoda style roofing scatters the entranceway to the restaurant,  frightened diners scurry for cover at the back of the restaurant as the yak gasps, covering his wound with his hand.
The street falls quiet as the stroppy Triad bows to you and johnny, clearly thankful for your assistance. He'd taken a kicking but was clearly a hard bastard, his nose looked broken and he'd be sporting a pair of shiny black eyes come the morning.

[Zweiblumen]

"Yeah, these guys are prototypes.  Haven't figured out the price on 'em yet, but ya know, gotta get the kinks sorted or they'll end up hoopin us no matter what we charge."  Still trying to broaden his focus from a single action at a time, he keeps trying to bounce between this and the bus while they finish their smokes.  Having the conflicting effects of the fading from registering Victoria and the focus of the Psyche, Taylor's head is basically swiming when the bus pulls up.  He's using his actual SIN so the ride is charged to his account and aside from a worried look from the driver there's nothing stoping him from getting out of this neighborhood on the bus.

As he walks towards the back, he accidently jostles a couple of rougher looking orks.  And then Victoria and Winston start drawing a *lot* of attention from everyone.  "Damn, I should have had these two head back to the Resonance until I managed to get home.  They are going to cause more trouble than help on this trip."  As he tries to apologize to the orks, the bus pulls away from the stop causing him to fall gracelessly into them.

[Lumen]

Knives wipes his blade on the yak's shitty suit before placing it back in its sheath.  He pulls out a smoke, lights it, and offers one to Johnny.  When the Triad bows he lets out a chuckle,  "You alright there omae?  Will ya be needin' any more of the Clerkenwell's services today?"

Not expecting a response Knives looks to Johnny,  "We done here mate?   What's the next move?"

[Scawire]

Mantis walks up to the troll. So mon what seems to be going on. Mantis lights up a kill stick and puffs away wondering why this cyber troll of death is wantin to trade words with him.

[Csjarrat]

___Mantis___
Hey boy, 'sup. Saw you makin' eyes at me earlier. 'Chu doing tonight?
He smiles, looking you up and down, clearly liking what he sees.

__Lumen__
Your arrival here is an unwelcome provocation to our enemies. You forced their hand and now their anger will be raised.
Either send more support or leave. He'd said his bit and wiped a stream of blood off his lip onto the back of his hand and nodded a goodbye, heading into the restaurant, presumably to get himself cleaned up.
Johnny shakes his head at you.
Don't wind em up mate. Ee's right, in a way. Shoulda known it'd end in tears. I'll have mick send a van-load o' lads over.
Gotta stay true to our facking word if it's gonna mean shit in this city.
He gets on the blower and calls it in as you clean yourselves up and drag the beaten bodies of the yaks out of the side road and into the service alley, giving them another kick or two to make sure they stayed down for a while.
You knew there'd be no rush on the police's part to get here and start taking names, Chinatown was pretty much a self-policing state and the bobbies only really showed their face during the daytimes to keep the tourists happy. What bothered you more was the prospect of their pals turning up in force, falling back to friendlier ground seemed like a decent idea.

[Lumen]

"Wind 'im up?  Only thing I did to that bloke was save 'im from a worse arse kickin.  Provokin wankers is my fuckin job mate, it's why the family keeps me around.  That and my lovable personality."  He laughs and elbows Johnny.  "Look mate I'm all bout helpin em but I'm not too keen on taking on all the yaks in Chinatown.  If lads are on the way let's get the fuck outta here.  Can't get all shot up 'for my real job."

Knives keeps his eyes peeled as he puffs away, chain smoking as he waits.   "We gettin more drinks or what?  If not guess I can get a jump on some shopping and catch you at the pub later. "

[Scawire]

Mantis finishes his drag on his smoke, then blows it up into the air away from all the occupants of the pub. Ya I was scooping you out mon, When a walking death bringer like you enters the room you make sure you and on the death list. Mantis smiles a bit then adds. Got me a bit of biz to handle but heading to me pad first. Whatch ya up to? Mantis guns down on his cig as he waits to hear what the Cyber Troll has to say.

[Csjarrat]

___Zwei__
The bus rattled up to the stop, squealing brakes and noisy hydraulics assaulting your ears as it shudders to a halt and lowers to the height of the pavement to let you on.
It stank of sweat, cheap cigs and diesel fumes onboard, tattered fabric seats and graffiti were the decor of choice. You stuck out like a sore thumb and you knew it.
A group of oily, sweaty orks sat around smoking, talking shit about football as they headed home from their early shift.
The largest of the group who was sat on the back row clocked your entrance and nodded his head your way. His mates began to laugh;
A little lost are we darlin?
Taking an empty seat, you feel their eyes burning into the back of your head and its not long before scrunched up bits of litter start raining on you as they hurl them forwards.

___Mantis___
The troll laughs a deep, hearty laugh, his bassy tones drowning out the background noise of the bar and busy road outside for a second or two.
Cybered up death bringer? I think you got the wrong idea boy. Only thing i bring is people to their best fucking-climax they've ever had!
He passes you a business card, his commcode emblazoned in lurid pink AR writing and offering "male company" services. The first session came with a 30% discount and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
He looks deep into your eyes, his expression softening.
I've got a cancellation tonight. Call me.


__Lumen__
Johnny smiles a big grin at you. I'd fucking love to mate, but I'm feelin' pissed already. Mick wants me to do a few things this afty so let's go for a pint tonight or summat.
The main street was notably quieter as you headed back down to the pagoda denoting the beginning and end of Chinatown. Eyes watched you from shopfronts down the main street, people hanging out of upper floor windows and peering between rows of clothes hung between buildings on lines put the hairs on the back of your neck up.
The small trickle of tourists that had avoided being forcibly ejected while shit kicked off seemed oblivious, too busy taking selfies on expensive looking commlinks to realise what was actually happening.
A triad squad stood by the pagoda, waving would-be entrants away in a show of force. The last thing chinatown needed was a million and one videos of the gangs kung-fu fighting and engaging in open sword battles in the streets. The extra tourist influx would be worse than the police pressure.

The triads waved you through and Johnny whispered in the ear of the one who seemed to be organising them before you headed out into the busy afternoon of the "Old Smoke".
The feeling of being merry still washed through you, resurfacing as the adrenaline of the fight wore off. All seemed well with the world as you bade Johnny goodbye, promising to call later for a beer.

[Lumen]

"No worries mate, I'll meet up with ya later at the pub then.   Oi and have Tim give me a ring, don't 'ave 'is digits."  Knives keeps bopping down the street towards the tube.  He thinks twice before taking the tube home rather than the one to Kensington.  *Probably better to show up sober and dressed proper before getting my swanky sword suit.  Plus would be good to look this stick over before I carry on.* 

Once he's on the tube and riding he browses a few fancy catalogs for fine suits.  His greatcoat was pretty fancy for a street lad but those real rich bastards would spot his cheap suit underneath a kilometer away.  He spends the ride looking through suits and salons close by the outfitters in Kensington. 

[Zweiblumen]

Not even bothering to dodge the detritus being thrown his way, Taylor hunkers down into his seat trying, and failing, to disappear.  Cursing himself for not being more careful, he tells Winston and Vicky to return to the Resonance and wait for him.  Winston seems disappointed, but turns to go.  Victoria is more ameanable to leaving Mams and beckons Winston on.  The two of them vanish from AR as they leave the Matrix and return home.  Taylor sees the portal they open and has a sudden yearning to return once more.  With the psyche still coursing through his veins he's able to keep an eye on his physical surroundings while trying to catch the secret of how the Sprites are able to move so easily between the Matrix and the Resonance without first having to use a Well.
Looking around again with the sure knowledge that nothing good is going to come from the rabble rousers in the back of the bus.  With no other options, he sends a text to Ralphy.  <<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Oi, mate.  I know it's a long shot, but any chance any of the boys are near the 31 line near this location?  I seem to have raised the ire of a few local boys.  It's my fault for being over here in the first place, so don't want to start any trouble.  Would be nice to have someone show up just as a deterent if you've someone near by.  Also, beers after dinner?>>>
They don't call him "Mams" for no reason, but he's smart enough to know he's severely out numbered and probably safest on the bus until someone shows up or the blokes leave on their own.


EDIT: fixed sprite name

[Csjarrat]

___Zwei___
//Fuck, you're a long way from home! There's a patrol about 10 minutes down the road from you. I'll have 'em jump on for a few stops. Yeah I'll take you up on that, you're buying the first round lol. Time and place?//
The orks continue hurling stuff for a few minutes but swiftly get bored as they fail to get a rise out of you and true to Ralphy's word, two beat cops hop on. The mood sours instantly as they begin SiN checks on the passengers attempting to board. The orks begin to hurl abuse at the coppers for harrasing "good honest folk" and the ring leader stands up to them, expecting his "boys" to form up behind him. He's rewarded with a taser bolt to the gut as his friends fail to stand up and the two bobbies drag his twitching body off the bus and give him a kicking for good measure.
The rest of the ride is pretty peaceful and you pull into Victoria bus station unhindered to make your connection.

__Lumen___
Will do mate, stay outta shit yeah? Johnny waves you off and merges with the crowd as you head towards home, the smell of warmth and stale air of the underground assaulting your nose as the obnoxious AR ads assault your eyes. The ride home doesn't take long, a quick change off the hammersmith and circle line to get around a broken down train the only real highlight.
Thumbing through your commlink, your AR feed rapidly fills with allsorts of promotions, sales and special offers on suits and there seems to be a fairly decent looking tailor "Gentleman's Finest" about a 5 minute walk in the opposite direction out of Kensington tube station. Fittings are by appointment only and your first purchase is at 10% discount (on items over £100).
Your basic search returns plenty of hits for salons in the area, is seems there is no shortage of barbers in the upmarket district of Kensington, and you book a slot at the one in the shopping arcade that encompasses the tube station for the morning.
Timmy tries to call a few times, but the underground 'Trix connection glitches out and he gives up, switching to text message instead:
<<Alright Knives, Johnny said you've got a job you need my help with??>>

[Lumen]

Knives sets appointments for both a haircut and a suit fitting for late morning tomorrow.  Yea it will cost more than a month's rent but he needed to look the part and the high life was starting to go to his head. 
<Yea mate.   Heard you were a Trix wiz and I could use one.  How long are you stuck at the factory?  I'd rather discuss the details face to face.>