[Mercy Merchant]

"Hmmmm.  Robin did say that might be a problem.  I will say that she was of the same opinion before we started partying, but I think she changed her mind pretty quickly."  His eyes are clearly oriented on your chest at this point.  "Are you sure we could not come to some sort of arrangement?  Is there some enticement I could offer you?"

[Irn0rchid]

"Yes, Robin always was more willing in that regard. Is she not sufficient for you?" Pointedly looking down at her own chest and then back up at Howard, "Nothing that I'm aware of, but nothing's impossible..." She shrugs. "No reason to shut him down entirely in case we do end up needing something."

[Mercy Merchant]

Howard momentarily frowns, but the smile comes back quick enough.  hHs eyes look at you hungrily and you know that he is mentally undressing you as he shakes his head.  "One woman, or even two, could never be enough to satisfy my real needs, so I confess to being disappointed.  But well enough said to keep me hoping.  I am sure that you would find me very generous if you let me experience you even once, just to make sure that you could not be interested.  Your friend proved very interested, indeed.  I am going to be in my private office for about an hour to do some work, but I will have an hour or two to kill afterwards before I have to leave.  Consider my offer and let me know if you change your mind."

[Irn0rchid]

Raising an eyebrow at his comment, Rose interrupts, "Your 'real needs'?"

"Well, you didn't really make an offer, but sure, consider it considered." Rose sits back down on the couch and turns her attention back to the trid, ignoring Howard as he goes to his office. "Well, he is certainly full of himself. Convinced he's God's gift to women, I'm sure. 'Can't be satisfied by multiple women'? More like can't be tolerated by them... Well, maybe now's chance to see what he does in that office of his. I wonder if the drone is still in there?" Giving a couple of minutes to make sure Howard isn't returning for some reason, Rose rubs her ears to see if the drone is waiting to return.

[Mercy Merchant]

At your interruption, Howard nods and replies before going on.  "I have an immense sexual appetite, Rachel, and have found that having only one partner limits my creativity in that regard."

"Hmmm.  I guess I did fail to make an appropriate offer.  Alright, here is something to consider while I am in the office.  Three hundred nuyen for an hour of your time.  If we prove compatible, I will provide you with a fifty percent bonus.  If you agree to let me have some access to you while you stay here, I will give you the same each time.  I would double the offer if you would consent to include Robin in the arrangement as well.  And if you prove to be even better than I am imagining, I would consider making the base price five hundred nuyen, with all bonuses calculated from that amount.  Consider the offer."

With that, he turns and goes to the hidden door, pressing some buttons and leaning forward to speak into the lock before it disengages and the door opens.  He disappears inside, closing the door behind him.  The drone does not emerge from the vent at your signal, so must still be cataloguing the contents of the room.

[Irn0rchid]

Maintaining a straight face while Howard recounted his offer was hard, but Rose managed to restrain her chuckle till he had left the room. "Well, I guess you don't get to stay wealthy without being cheap..." Amused, she sends a quick message to Robin to recount the details of the exchange and to let her know she's not currently considering engaging further with him. Settling back into the couch, she halfheartedly watches the trid while signalling for the drone every five minutes or so, getting increasingly worried that something might have happened to it when it actually entered the secure room.

[Mercy Merchant]

Monday  11 June 2075  1400  Elaine's House


Four five minute periods go by and the drone still has not entered the room.  You get a message back from Robin, though.  >>No problems, dear.  He has a talented tongue, but the rest of it is definitely not my style.  I do think that earning upwards of 500 for an hour of fun is not all that bad.  Maybe I just do not know what current rates are.  But in any case, this is your call, not mine and I support you all the way.<<  The drone finally emerges at the seventh signal and crawls over to you.

[Irn0rchid]

<<I guess it's just the vibe I'm getting from him. I'd have to work really hard to feign interest in doing anything with him, and it just doesn't seem worth it, especially with the money coming in from Elaine. I'm glad you had some fun with it at least.>>

Breathing a sigh of relief at the return of the drone, Rose pockets it and then after a couple of minutes heads to the bathroom again to jack in and download the recordings from it. Returning to the couch, she pretends to watch the trid while jumping to near the end of the A/V recording and checking to see what Howard is doing. "If he's doing anything interesting, I'll need to get the drone back in there ASAP. Would be really annoying if the drone left right as things were getting exciting. Assuming he's not just paying bills or something similarly boring..."

[Mercy Merchant]

Your orders to the drone had been to remain just at the far side of the vent into the hidden room and scan all it could from there.  From that vantage point, it had done the best its small brain could do.  You have a detailed scan of the location of a large number of pieces of pottery.  You can also see that there are openings to the left and right of the wall section you are on that would seem to indicate the room extends off in those directions.  Toward the end of the video, you see that the scanner picked up Howard moving to an office and entering.  Lights came on, but the drone did not move from its programmed location to get a better look.

[Irn0rchid]

Replaying the video again from the comfort of the couch, Rose marvels at the apparent size of the room. "I had no idea there was that much space down there. I think the girls are going to get home before I can finish this, and there's no reason to risk it with him in there without knowing more, so lets try a different tack tonight." Once the current show ends, she takes her purse and returns it to the bedroom. After programming the drone to leave the purse at 3am and return to the vent by way of the ceilings, do a circuit of the secret room's ceiling, and then come back to her purse by 6am, she leaves the purse open on a nightstand by the wall and returns to the living room. "Not much to do now other than wait for them to get home. Not sure what they have in store, but Robin sounded way too excited about it... I wonder if she's heard from that mage yet? Need to get that aspect," she chuckles to herself, "resolved as well."

[Mercy Merchant]

Robin and Elaine arrive shortly after you return to the living room.  They are carrying a couple of bags and both look happy.  Elaine disappears up the stairs and Robin plops down on the couch.  "I think you will enjoy the present she bought you."  She runs a hand along your leg.  "We will show it to you tonight, but only if you are a good girl."  >>So what progress have you made on the real project?<<

[Irn0rchid]

"Pfft, when am I not a good girl?!" Putting her hand on top of Robin's, she pulls it further up her leg and arches her eyebrows. <<No major progress. That secret room is bigger than I thought, but no obvious internal security in the portion I could see. Howard is in there right now, so I put a hold on further exploration. The drone is already set up to map the rest of the room tonight. I didn't see any alerts or warnings though, so that's good. Have you heard from that mage yet? If he's not available I need to look elsewhere or we're going to end up possibly running out of time.>>

[Mercy Merchant]

Monday  11 June 2075  1530  Elaine's House


Robin lets you move her hand and then takes it just a bit farther.  Her breathing is quicker and her eyes a bit larger as she looks into yours.  "You are always great and I cannot wait to get you out of these clothes."  >>Good on all counts then.  Glad you got some work in while I was out.  I did get a note back from the guy.  He said he was busy on something, but would give me a ring tonight.<<

Elaine comes down and notices where Robin has her hand as she sits down next to you and tentatively places her hand high on the other leg.

[Irn0rchid]

<<Okay, good. Really all we need him to do is scout the area for any astral security or traps. I'm not really sure what all that would entail, but that's what we'd be paying him for, right? The primary factor is not to get caught though.>> Smiling at Elaine as she enters the room, Rose asks, "How was the shopping trip?" When Elaine sits by her but still appears unsure, she's not sure what's going on, "She was the aggressive one initially, but she seems to be more and more reticent. I wonder what's going on..." Putting her hand over Elaine's, she brings it up next to Robin's, giving it a squeeze. "Do you two want to head back to the bedroom? I'd rather not be here like this when Howard reappears."

[Irn0rchid]

The relief on Elaine's face is clear.  She smiles and squeezes your
hand before standing. "Yes, I would very much like to be upstairs
when Howard finishes his work.  I had thought something was going on
when we got here and the normal crew of guards was not present.  Sorry
to be so worried over nothing."  The three of you head up to Elaine's
bedroom, where they show you the two toys they have bought for you.
The rest of the afternoon goes by in a blur of pleasure and
satisfaction.  The three of you shower and dress for dinner and Elaine
reminds you that she is ready to go up a couple of levels in the game.
 Once downstairs, the maid tells you that Howard has left, saying that
he may not be back until very late.  She looks a bit concerned and
when asked, tells you that he had been in a great hurry and had
forgotten to close the door to his special study and she did not know
what to do.