[ismilealot]

@ Marco  He finally finds the clinic. In the Tir, they specialize in cyber for elves. And the record would be buried there. But, once he tells Arc his plans she looks at him and says, "Tcha omae. I coulda hooked yo up iffn' you'd said. Same guy I'm gettin' my stuff done at. Henri, my Vruk's brother knows him. An Henri works cyber so's he knows."

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc was relieved that despite her change in hair color and style, she was recognized by the older PI as he entered the hospital wing.  Crossing her arms, she tilted her head to the side as he greeted her, and she started going into detail what she knew about Yelena's incident...and watching his blood boil.  This surprised the short little mechanic as she leaned back a bit, cybereyes widening as she reviewed her stock of the man...  He cares about her...I thought he was an outside source, but maybe should consider him part of the team...  Bringing herself back, she answered his initial questions.

"Yeah, that's the best I gathered, but Srui is the best one to tell ya the solid on it.  But remember that fedo contact I said we was handling?  He's set to bust that place wide open here quick with all the dirt we cleared in.  And a list of peeps what went missin' we waiting on a word back about.  If we don't hear soon, I'll get on his hoop..."  She flicked a little smile at the mention of the sax guy, reaching up and touching a hand to Jed's arm.  "Think she'll like that...or it might sting...her story, long one, not mine to tell.  C'mon, I'll take you to her."

Leading the way down the ward, Arc paused as she saw Marco approaching, the man looking like he's eaten little and slept even less.  Flicking up a stray lock of hair, the human offered him a small hug.  "Y'all look like hell...you sure you ain't finna take a breather, man?"  As the jazz played, Arc stepped into the back, her hand playing with the pack of smokes in her pocket again, at least until Jed started talking to her about a certain derelict bike he had...

The talk of a fix-it job seemed to calm her, her body visibly relaxing as she looked up to him, flicking a little smile.  "Tchae...you shoulda opened with that, omae.  Yeah, you cover whatever parts I tell you I need, I'll get ya the labor...and some lessons i can do as well...or maybe my sorta assistant can if she feels like it.  How soon you needing this ride, man?  I'm going in for a procedure or two tomorrow, so won't be much free till the weekend...think that'll work for ya?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena recovers consciousness slowly, as if her body is telling her she needs the down time rest.  For a moment or two, she is taken back to Josie's as the lilt of soft jazz reaches her, bringing a smile to her face.  A good sax can do anything in the right hands, and whoever is burning this one knows what he is doing.  She finishes waking up and looks about, a bit disappointed to see that she is still in the hospital room.  The music is coming from a corner and she looks that way to see Smilin' Henry O standing there softly wailing away.  He notices her awake and stops playing to come over to her.  "Miz Yelena.  How do?  Was told ya be down here, wastin away without no music.  How is ya doin?"

Yelena smiles. "Smilin Henry O.  Yelena glad see you.  How are you?  How long play here?"  She motions for him to pull up a seat.

The large man takes a chair and brings it over near the bed.  "Oh, been doin fine enough, lately.  Better than you, to see it.  An been here a bit.  Man name of Jed come get me.  Din't know twas you I be playin for."

Yelena gives a small laugh.  "Happens now and then.  Jeddediah?  PI man?  How nice.  Is here?"

Henry nods.  "That man dowstairs in ta lobby.  He be chatting with some girl with red hair on half her head an a metal arm.  I think he be comin up soon."

Yelena carefully nods.  "Yelena thank for coming by.  You have nice hand with sax."

The man smiles.  "Why thankee, Miz Yelena.  I do try.  But not at your level yet.  Maybe some day.  Maybe we play t'gether down to Josie's when ya get outta here."

"Yelena have date with Smiling Henry when leave here.  Yes. Yelena like that."

Yelena yawns a bit and smiles as her eyes flutter closed again.  The large man quietly stands up and takes the chair back to the corner and begins to softly play again.  The tunes waft through the floor of the hospital, pleasing patient and staff alike, for despite his words, Smiling Henry O really could play the sax.

[gilga]

Marco told Arc - "Oh ... I did not know that the clinic you go to can do high level combat stuff. The vibe I got from Yelena is that we are talking titanium bones, armored skin, enhanced reactions and some skillwires for the monowhip. Next time will want to beat her they'll better bring hammers hammers becasue anything softer would not even pierce her armor. Do you think your clinic can do all that it'll be incredible not having to organize the logistics to take Yelena to the Tir... She plans to become stronger - a lot stronger. "

Then when she commented about his physical state Marco returned the hug and said "I'll go home to sleep tonight but until then I should be here where my heart is. I was never actually worried for someone else - I am probably over doing it - but what can I do. There is nowhere else I'd like to be more than right here seating in that chair. "

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc nodded slowly as she faced Marco, putting a hand on his arm as she stared up at him.  "It's null sheen omae.  When a close one is in need, ain't nothin be overdoing it.  You there for her, she see that."  she paused a bit, thinking about the kind of ware they were looking for for her Sruiken.   "heh...guess I ain't the only one looking for an upgrade.  Yeah, I think he can do it.  The dude'so a bit kooky, but professional.  Use my ID name from before, he only accepts word of mouth recommendations, but he may hook her up fine.  But ah...she's gonna have to be clean.  I'll make sure she knows that."

The human pauses as she hears the music playing softly from the hospital room, looking towards the door as she nods to the two gentlemen.  Smiling, she wordlessly slipped into the room, arms crossed as she watched Yelena wake and converse with the player by the door, waiting for a moment to approach...

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena keeps her eyes closed as she listens to the music, using the fingers of her right hand to keep time with the sax.  It almost makes her forget the past few days.  Almost.

[gilga]

Marco said "An upgrade... you speak of your body as if it is a comlink, is that really how you see it like a machine?"   He took a deep breath "These weren't the right words... Arc was extremely useful and augmentations were a serious decision a life altering process - once you cross that line you can never go back. These had some metaphisical price that nobody completely understood... They made people feel less human and more... something else. Perhaps Arc was so fascinated with the cyberarm - she simply called it an upgrade. Perhaps accepting it as more was too painful, or perhaps she just picked a bad word.  Marco tried to say it differently. "

"I mean to say that you were the most useful one... You got the samples and the cook, and kept this gig running even when things looked dark. You did not panic when we lost Feathers, when we lost Sam, you kept your cool when I felt like I had no more air. You did what you felt right - even if the result was a night at prison and possibly larger risk. You are the leader of this group - for good or for ill.  We would have never gotten so far without you."

"And people give her a lot more room to err than they give me..." Thought Marco.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc tilted her head and leaned back a bit, eyes narrowing at his expression.  "Do I think our bodies are machines?"  She laughed a little, holding her head.   "Well in some ways we are.  We take a fuel, we convert that drek into energy, and then we use it to move.  Is that not a machine?  But I getcha.  It is an upgrade though...we're putting things in our bodies to make us able to do more, better.  By this weekend, I'll have more time in the day to get my drek done, something I need...and one of the few times I choose what goes in my body.  Here, here's the number of the guy I'm going through.  Use my SIN name to know that you were recommended, aight?"  She trailed off after this, glancing at her cyberarm before she looked back to Marco, cheeks flushing at his comments following.

"....leader, huh?  Then all the more reason for this slitch to not frag things up.  Regardless of what I did, there's a lot I didn't do.  Because of me, people got into trouble, people got hurt, and even worse, people almost died.  I coulda prevented that, or at least been able to stop it from happening.  That kinda mistake when we head out could be the last one someone knows.  I can't accept that...I need to be better..."  Her expression looked more pained at the end, but by that point she broke away a bit, glancing back at him.  "I'm going to check on Yelena.  She might be awake now.."

Heading down the hall, Arc quietly opened the door to the hospital room, seeing Yelena laying back and listening to the music.  She looked better without all the tubes in her, but she still looked quite beat up.  This shook the little mechanic as she paused, taking a breath before stepping up.  "Hey Srui..."  She said quietly, looking up to see the elf begin to speak, hearing the pain in it.  Quickly, she raised a hand to stop the assassin, shushing her before tapping her head.  Reaching back with her cyberhand, she withdrew the universal cable from her rig's datajack, reaching forward to plug it into the elf's, establishing a secure Matrix channel.

"There, that's better.  If I didn't know any better, Sruiken, I'd say you were trying to leave me here.  Well you can't get rid of me that easy.  I...I'm sorry.  The job was done, I shouldn't have let you go to that party.  Or at least without some eyes on you.  This is my fault, and you paid the price.  But you're gonna get better, and then we can go back.  Make things better.  How's that sound?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena opens her eyes at Arc.s voice.  She smiles and starts to say something, but the short human stalls her with a hand and pulls out a cable to make a direct connection.  **Fragging right I am getting better.  I got careless.  Bella's husband tried to kill me.  Coward could have done it himself, but instead drugged me up real bad and drove me into the barrens and dumped me on the road.  I had been weak and................well, I got stronger.  I saw something, Srui.  Something I do not understand, yet.  I have asked Marco to help me locate some new ware to help me survive better.  I think Blake can help, but maybe you and Marco can come up with something.  It needs to be soon, though, as I would like it in before we go to Poland.**

**Hair looks nice on you.  What did your rigger man say about it?**

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc visibly smiled as she pulled up a small chair to sit on as the cable connected them, a virtual sigh escaping her lips as the sax played on.  "Aye, and I shouldn't have let you do that.  But we can't dwell on what coulda been.  We work in the now, you and me.  Marco told me you was getting some ware done, like me.  Hoop's a wreck, I don't think he's slept since he came here.  But I am helping.  Dropped the name of the guy who's doing my stuff.  He's good, very clean about it.  But you're gonna have to be clean for it.  Cold devil rat, yo.  I'll strap you to that bed if I gotta, ya feel me?"

"Ah, the hair...Jaime loved it.  Said it brought out my eyes, if that drek applies to me, heh.  He's glad that we finished the club job, so we have time together before Poland."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena nods.  **You should spend every moment with him that you can spare.  And make sure he knows how you feel.  Some men just do not get hints and need to be told.  Clean?  You mean drugs?  I think that I can avoid them if I do not go near them.  But I got myself all messed up and it will take longer than I have to get completely off of them.  So many fragging years spent getting all sober and then to slide back so quickly.  I guess I will never be completely over them.  You said Marco looks like drek?  Has he been sitting in a chair here the entire time?  Poor man.  I wonder if he still wants me to move in with him after this?  Not sure if he can trust me.  Frag, I do not know if I can trust me.  Not a good start.**

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc shook her head, sighing a little.  "I intend to make my time with Jaime special.  I cooked for him even, and didn't burn the place down, heh.  But yeah.  I gotcha Srui"  She paused, looking to the side towards the door, as if anticipating Marco and Jed to show.

"The keeb fraggin' loves you, Srui'ken, no doubt about that.  Every time we work, he got this air of being in control and above problems.  Here, he's a wreck.  If that ain't love, I don't know what be.  I get that you're going tough right now.  This job took a lot outta us.  I've seen some hoops struggle with the same drek, but you got one advantage Srui.  You got us.  Your Marco, me, even Firefly who's looking at us like teachers.   If you want strength, don't be alone.  We here for you, Srui"

The human sighed as she sat back, the cable flexing as it adjusted to the length change.  "He's out there with Jed right now, you know.  He ain't far.  He's letting me do the drek I need to do to be ready for Poland.  So drek like what happened to us don't happen again.  That I have to promise"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena sighs.  **I got that, Srui.  I think I love him, too.  I am just afraid to let that in again.  The last time was..............................rough.  And I think he wants me to change more than I can right now.  I have to be strong to face Tsina Molovna.  She.....she killed the family and betrayed everything we stood for.  We both took the same oaths, paid the same price in blood to belong, shared intimate moments.  Now that I know she is still alive, I cannot let that go unanswered.  It would mean that everything is valueless if I cannot make it right and I would be nothing to myself and nothing to the shadow.  Marco does not understand this justice.  He sees it as simple wanton killing.  For me, for Nikolai, for the rest of my dead Bratva, it is simply justice.  And those that helped her and those that support her deserve the same justice.  I would spare those that surrender and turn away from her, all but the others that helped her kill me, but I cannot just ignore it.**

**And I want the new ware to help me survive and to help you survive.  We will do this and then see what is next.  Perhaps I will go help Firefly.  She needs our help and our counsel.**

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc nodded slowly, dropping her head a little as the words of the Russian elf sunk into the mechanic's understanding.  It was a moment of pause before the human responded.  "He didn't grow up the way you and I did, Srui.  His concept of justice accounts for a world that is less dark than what you and I experienced.  At least that's how I think it is, I can always be wrong.  But, I know what you mean.  On the streets, under the belly of this grand world we live in, you gotta handle all your biz.  If someone wrongs you, it is up to you to make it right, and from everything I've heard, this slitch has wronged more than just you."

"I'm with you Srui, we'll make this happen.  You make it your job to exact this justice.  I'll make it mine to make sure there's enough of us to come home, aight?"

[gilga]

Marco watches Arc and Yelena connected with a cable and thinks to himself. "Technological mindlink - I wonder how come they feel perfectly comfortable to mindlink, but when the same functionality is achieved using magic it becomes intimidating and awkward... People are very strange sometimes. "  He closed his eyes and enjoyed the Jazz music.