The Vaults of Greed

Anything you might want to try out that doesn't temporally or thematically fit the serial should go here. This is an ideal space for all your what-ifs and might-have-beens, as well as for your average silliness.
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IamLEAM1983
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The Vaults of Greed

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The cafeteria bore all signs of being as tidy and enticing as modern corporate food courts tended to be, with each counter's worth of offerings essentially being treated as its own store of a sort, complete with signage and cash registers. The combined aromas made Tom's snout pulsate out of an Epicurean soul's appreciation, causing him to stand in place for a few seconds, eyes closed and fingers lightly dancing at his sides, as if each scent were a chord or an instrument in a symphony.

"Hrrrm," he then groused, the sound charged with lust, "stir-fry vegetables..." 

Eyes half-lidded, he made his way to the counter that served Chop Suey and other vegetarian offerings, and politely voiced his order in Cantonese. He ignored the vacant look of the cafeteria employee and the flies that buzzed around her round face - until something made him look down at the salad tray and what he could see of the preparation area.

Without looking away, without flinching and without the slightest sign of pain, the employee sliced off all of her right hand's fingers, save her thumb. All the while, her sleepy, almost indistinct voice kept droning in Cantonese.

"Pork buns, pork buns... Fresh pork buns..."

Tom took a step back out of revulsion, his upper lip rose up in a snarl, and Latin left his lips. "I abjure you, lesser Fiend! I cast you out from this plane! By order of the Warlock Tom Magnus, begone!"

The girl kept her distant and blank expression, but the base of her throat shook as faint, mocking laughter was heard. "You know the little one is already ours, do you? No matter; the one who commands us walks."

The flies flitted away, the girl blinked a few times, looked down on her handiwork - and screamed.

Tom's first impulse was to back away in revulsion, but something else made him step forward, gather some momentum, and vault over the low counter. He placed a knee down next to the collapsing worker and tried his best to support her. In harried Cantonese, he had her use her other hand to use a rag in order to put pressure on the open wounds.

"Hold it. Hold it. Don't pass out - hold it. Push down. I know it hurts, but push down on your other hand...
- My - my fingers! I-"

Eyes wide, Magnus looked for Mary in the throng. "JAMESON!" he shouted. "CALL AN AMBULANCE NOW!"
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Given that Mary had been directed to call an ambulance, Aislinn hurried to Tom and the unfortunate cafeteria worker's side. She helped to press down on the rag covering her dismembered hand, hoping they could stop the blood flow. While doing this, she put horror to the back of her mind and also hoped the fingers could be reattached. Another question whispered in the back of her mind. Who was the little one the demon had referred to?...
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Mary didn't need Tom to yell at her; she'd been trained in emergency response, after all. Her fingers blurred and she sent two alerts out, one to summon on-site medical staff to the cafeteria, another to summon a couple of Song's "spiritual advisors" to the same area. Even as she was doing that, she was tersely explaining to local Emergency Response exactly what had happened, where they were and who had been hurt, as well as the likely involvement of demonic influence.

Only then did she react outwardly, by hopping on top of a table and giving a sharp, piercing whistle; the excited, fearful chatter died down instantly, and those closest winced as they covered their ears. "Everyone, clear off! This is a direct order from your President!" she called out in Cantonese. Reluctantly, but in an orderly fashion, the other employees left the room, at the same time as a calm, robotic, slightly female voice droned over the intercoms, presumably advising all employees, staff and visitors to clear the hallways so first response could make it to the scene. This was helpfully clarified when the same voice repeated itself in English, then Mandarin, then began to loop.

In moments, the three of them and the wounded worker had the cafeteria to themselves. Mary grabbed a small baggie and put ice into it, then slipped disposable gloves on and stuffed the woman's severed fingers into the bag, before packing more ice over them and sealing the baggie. "Ambulance en route," she told them.
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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"Good," hurriedly replied Tom, who tried to keep a soothing presence for the girl. He chanced a look at her nametag and smiled. 

"Fei Lin," he said, in Cantonese. "That's a pretty name, Fei Lin. Stay focused on me, alright? Help is coming."

The girl slightly whined, gathered her wits, and surprisingly replied in English. "Call me Felicia, my father's Malaysian and put me through English schools here... Hell, how am I supposed to work off my tuition now? I guess I can forget all about Oxford, now!"

The warlock did his best to appear reassuring. "Don't say that; Hong Kong has some of the best hospitals on the continent! A little reconstructive surgery on the damaged nerves and you'll be the talk of the pubs with your word count per-minute. You know as well as I do that there's little nanomachines can't do, nowadays."

The girl tried to chuckle and winced instead. "Or else what? They finish the job, chop off my hands past the wrists and stick me with augments? If the hands come with onboard USB Type D connectors, it might not be that bad. I'd charge my phone while writing my fucking dissertation!"

Tom seemed glad Felicia looked to be the type to laugh at her misfortune.
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Mary knelt down and put her hand on Felicia's shoulder. "You know who I am, Felicia?" she said gently. "Don't worry, I'll personally ensure you and your family won't have to pay one red cent because of this shit, okay?" She held up the bag holding her fingers. "Your digits are on ice, so no fretting. And if augmentation is necessary, H&J has programs and contracts to cover that sort of thing." Said programs were really meant for dock workers and security personnel, who were involved in accidents and incidents, but the rules could be stretched at need.

Behind them, H&J's own staff was coming in, the EMTs and the advisors. Quickly and efficiently they moved in, gently prodding the others out of the way and doing what they could; two of them clustered around Felicia, checking vitals and making sure she was stable, and the others proceeded to clean up the blood and sterilize the area; once most of the blood was cleaned up and Felicia was removed, the custodial staff could come in and clean the entire room out. It was a cafeteria, after all, and food safety was another of the things they took Very, Very Seriously.

The two "advisors", meanwhile, stood on edge, warily eying Tom and Felicia from a short distance. One was a cantor, the other a diviner, and they were both rather troubled by the scene. "These are our American guests, right, Madame President?" one of them murmured.

"Indeed they are. Don't get any funny ideas, either of you; I was here when it happened, Tom has my complete trust, and he was not responsible for what happened to Fei Lin." Not directly anyway, but now was not the time to get into the weeds over it. "Make sure no further taint lingers, okay? Especially over Lin." They nodded and got to work.
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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With Felicia secured, Tom dusted himself off and went around the countertop. "That was a general-purpose warning, courtesy of Pride," he said. "The Goat knows we're planning something, but is waiting to escalate his own interventions. It's not in Pride's nature to try and think too far ahead if it already has a plan - that just tells me he thinks Fong's men can suss us out and deal with us without his intervening."

He sighed and looked at the empty cafeteria. "We'll just have to prove him wrong. Seeing as the Goat can't give up Ephesian, we have the advantage. Our foe can't manifest in Hong Kong, he's stuck hoping his underlings do their job."

Magnus then grimaced. "Goddamnit, Quint; I shouldn't have the stomach to even be hungry after this! There's days where I forget I rehabilitated a total slob's body... Give me a second, I'll go cadge something from one of the vending machines..."

As for Heathcliff, the red-skinned demon looked understandably green behind the gills. "I'd have killed for a salad a few minutes ago, but now? I'll just head to that inner courtyard, over there," he said, pointing, "catch some fresh air and try and avoid retching..."
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Relieved to see the worker taken care of, Aislinn sighed and ventured over to the vending machine as well. "Disgusting tactics or not, we still need to eat to have enough energy to take on Fong's men. I'm not about to let Prince Bitchface's antics get to me," she groused.
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Mary rose to survey the scene again. "We can't eat here, the cafeteria's been compromised," she told the others, beckoning them to leave the area. "Let's get out of here, leave my people to clean up and make sure Felicia's ready for the paramedics when they arrive. We all should get some carbs in us, if we're gonna pull this stunt off against Fong."

Fortunately the vending machines were in the hallway outside, and Mary waved her wrist computer in front of their scanners; each one beeped a few times, then the prices went down to zero. "Refreshment on the house. It's the least I can do after that mess." She picked a bag of chips and a soda for herself, and leaned against the wall to start in.
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

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Tom picked a boxed egg sandwich and a Coke for himself, while Heathcliff went for a compartment offering an apple, a slice of foil-sealed cheese and a bottle of water.

"This is one of the reasons why I picked Volker for Warrior," he said, eyeing Mary as he also leaned against the wall. "One of my friends, I mean. One of those from Hell."

He sighed. "A polyglot CIA turncoat with ties to eight distinct criminal syndicates and a kill record as long as my arm... If he'd been there, we could've poised the Devils against the Bratva and the Yakuza combined; and watched while Chechen bruisers and Japanese full-body cyborgs tore Fong apart. We could've elevated the Sin Seven to clear prominence in the region and rendered all regional Fiends and supernaturals with an eye on Triad activity excommunicado. You would've had a nice, civil toast with the local Sons of the White Dragon and inherited of some of Mammon's hoard - and Felicia would still have her fingers.

If only you could pull back pieces, in this game. Withdraw moves based on your current knowledge and make better choices... If only my bringing my friends over weren't a clarion call to the militant fringes in both Planes..."

He made the idea of taking a bite into an egg sandwich look like an angry and hate-filled gesture, even if most of it was self-directed. "The truth is, Jameson, you've fought your last mundane mob war. A new form of warfare is on the horizon. Demons, angels and mortals fighting each other over shared hatreds and common goals. Alliances across all three planes - and enemies across their expanses as well. It all starts here - with an innocent girl losing fingers because a blowhard feels the need to remind me again that I've got my fingers in his pie!"
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Re: The Vaults of Greed

Post by TennyoCeres84 »

Aislinn had also gotten a chicken sandwich and some apple slices, along with a bottle of green tea. "Yeah, since therapy seems to be a no go for many Pitspawn," she commented rhetorically with a snort.
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