[SgtBoomCloud]

It was certainly a valiant effort on Marco's part to explain healthy eating, and to her credit she did try to understand where the male elf was coming from, but the whole concept of someone growing their own natural food was beyond Arc's reckoning.  Arc, who has spent her whole life in the Seattle metropolis and sprawl, had only seen what could be passed as countryside in the trids let alone felt natural, fertile earth beneath her feat.  She gave a little smirk, shaking her head with a sigh.

"I kinda doubt 80-90, but whateva helps ya sleep.  Next y'know you'll be tellin' me I should eat dandelions next, eh?  Haa...around the people I grew up, if you hit 40, you were an ancient relic to defy the fate this jungle we call home has for us.  By all rights, you were expected to be working and living indie by 15, and my 21 year old hoop is an over-the-hill old maid in a trog's eyes.  If the violence of the Sprawl don't kill you, it's the KE oppression, the corp garbage vats, the debt cleaners, or the smog if you're lucky.  Last I checked, that don't leave a lot of time to be fretting over grub.  But hey, I'll give it a shot, you do seem accustomed to the niceties secreted away in the high-classers."  If it sounded like a backhanded compliment it probably was, but the short human was probably like that when talked down too like some kid.

She paused after Yelena said her piece, her mind reeling a bit at the news.  Bliss...frag  to hell...  She's seen more than her share of Blissheads in the Barrens: those folk who were focused solely on their next hit, not caring about any other aspect, even survival.  Hell, Bliss had a hand in the death of a small child killed by Ol' Smiley, her babysitter too Blissed out to do her job.  The human visibly tensed her jaw, her hand reaching up to cover the other's, easing it slowly off her as she gave a small nod.   Her next action might have been odd, but now felt more natural: she sent Yelena a message coded with her voice, her mouth remaining shut.

<<Yelena: Neither of us be used to this, omae.  You think I normally drink till I'm passed out, go to a private room with a guy, and wake up in the morning?  This job is a fraggin' test, just not what we used to.  We gotta survive, Y.  I will fragging tie your slot to a chair and string you up with shockers to clean you out if I hafta.  I ain't finna lose a roomie right after getting one, ya heard?>>

The message was interrupted as the human sniffed the air, smelling the cooking and roasting of the food Marco was preparing, forcing her stomach to rumble a bit.  "Woah..."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena smiles at Arc's words of assurance.  She remembers the last time she had quit and managed to stay clean.  It had been hard, almost too hard, and there had been no one to help her.  She had been a mess for several weeks as she fought the urges and finally won.  Well, apparentlyshe had not truly won, only managing to keep the drug at bay until last night.  It had just seemed so natural, so normal to crack the little blue capsule and take the hit.  *At least not Big K.  Kamikaze much worse get clean.*

Shuddering, she smiles at Arc and focuses on what Marco is cooking.  "Mmmmm.  Smell good Marco.  Yelena bet taste good.  So what we do now about drug?  Go back in daytime?  Wait party invite?  Call Sam?".

[gilga]

Marco sighs I am done with preparations, but it will be a bit longer before it is ready. ....When Yelena mention work, he is suddenly serious. The happy and careless smile disappear almost immidiently and his voice takes a more serious texture.

We should get some astral recon on this place so we know how dangerous it is to use magic in there. It will also teach us about the nature of these guys... Magical security is something we should report Sam. It is very unusual for a club to ward everything. I can summon a minor demon to help us with that... I couldn’t do it myself yesterday because I am blind for a mage.

... he thinks a little bit and adds:

Another good option will be to try and snoop around, and see what's going on. I also have a spell for that - but in that case it takes either luck or great skill to discover stuff... I’d prefer technology for that task. I have a directional microphone we can place. It is not as good as being inside but it can pass a wall maybe two so lets hope we get lucky with it.

He then smiles at Yelena:
If we go during the day we should definitely take guns... I sort of feel brave about walking unarmed in that place after what Arc just told us.

He goes to his room for a short while, and bring back a bag, a an Ares Crusader machine pistol, and a leather jacket, helmet and glasses.  He neatly place the equipment on the floor. The jacket is the only thing I have that is apropriate to wear in the Barrens.  I hope it is not an overkill. He finally say.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena smiles and nods.  "Marco do magic seeing of club?  Man of talents.  Yelena like that."  She watches as Marco pulls things out of the bag.  "Oh.  Marco have Ares gun.  Crusader.  Ares make best guns.  Yelena not use Crusader, but is good gun."  She walks over to the pile and points at the Crusader.  "Yelena look?"

She bends over to pick up the gun, turning it over in her hands to get the feel of it.  As she puts it back down she says, "Good gun.  Feel right."  She turns to look at Arc.  "Arc.  Yelena leave gun case Arc car when go club.  Still there or need go garage?"

[gilga]

About the Ares Crusader: it is the largest one that I could possibly conceal in the elevator. My neighbors won’t appreciate arms. He laughs.

He then say:
Let’s summon the demon before we eat, that way we may have some interesting company. Marco close his eyes for a couple of seconds, he seems concentrated. When he opens them a demon materialize right in front of him. 

The demon looks like a metahuman, he is about the size of a troll and has dark red skin and  a demonic tail. His eyes are bright red, and his head is decorated with a pair of long white horns. He wears a black business suit,  a white shirt and a bow tie.  He is very muscular, and appears attractive despite his obvious demonic features.

Every other student in my class summon angels... Every time I summoned anything it looked like a demon and my mentors banished it without even talking first.  He thinks to himself.

Thank you for coming to our aid noble demon, for your enjoyment I made Spaghetti. I dedicated a lot of effort into making it. You are welcome to dine with us. My name is Marco, and these are Arc and Yelena. What is your name? 

The demon respond with a deep and low voice. I am Asmodeus.

It was expected... any demon Marco ever summoned, at any force level was named Asmodeus. Somehow none of them knew about each other, but they claimed all to be the same demon.

Marco say: Well Asmodeus... have a sit... First we eat, and we’ll get to work. Food is one of the important pleasures of this world... We are happy to share it with you. 
The demon sits, and Marco begins serving the spaghetti. Bon Appetit!. He say.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena chuckles at the thought of Marco's neighbors and what they might think of his gun.  She returns to Arc's side when Marco says he is going to summon a demon.  The creature that appears is frightening, but the clothes the demon is wearing softens the appearance.  Her hand reflexively grasps Arc's arm as her eyes instinctively go to where she had put the Crusader down.  Fortunately for all concerned, she knows that the gun is unloaded.  Her dealings with various truly horrible people in many gangs allows her to calm down quickly, accepting that this creature not a threat.  Still, she has never seen a summoned creature of this, or any other kind, from so close.  Its apparent friendliness, or lack of hostility is better, could be a ruse, so Yelena will remain vigilant.  She calculates the time it would take her to get to the Crusader and load it if that became necessary.

She sits at the table when Marco invites them to, watching the demon with interest.  Just the fact that she is so close to this..........demonic ally is a bit disconcerting, but Marco seems to have it under control.  Her estimation of Marco's talents certainly increases a lot with this demonstration.   She begins eating the food before her and his value goes up another notch.  She looks at him closely as she eats.  *Excellent lover.  Excellent cook.  Skilled mage.  Nice man.  Why Marco not married or at least with girl full time?  What wrong Yelena not see?  Must be careful.  Too easy fall for man then find out monster.*  After a few bites she says, "Very good meal.  Marco good cook.  Thank you for share."

She looks at the demon, still somewhat incongruously eating a meal with them.  "So.  Can we talk with you or just Marco?"

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc was once again reminded that Marco was a mojo slinger of sorts, which put her just a wee bit at unease, mostly due to her experience and lack of knowledge about them.  But that was turned aside when the Crusader was revealed, the human giving a little smirk and picking it up after Yelena was done with it.  "Eh...not a bad piece.  Found the smartsofts to be a wee bit buggy, and the frame doesn't do much for the kick of repeated fire.  Still, a decent piece, you chose good.  After this job, bring it to me sometime, I'll fix it up nice."  She grinned, glad to be talking about something in her element.  For your go-kit, this definitely will make you look less like a fraggin' squish, which is vital in the Barrens, ya heard?  Biggest thing is just how you present y'self.  You act like prey, you gon' get nommed like prey."

"As for recon, if you got the mage stuff going down, I think I can handle a bit on the tech side.  Check this drek out.."  Lifting her cyberarm up, she clenched her hand into a fist, as if flexing, reaching across with her other hand to catch a pair of drones that popped out: a Kanmushi bug and a Fly-Spy.  "It's a lot easier to use with my RCC, so I'll wanna be someplace outta sight when I go diggin, eh?  Ah..."

When the demon was summoned, it took everything for Arc to not bolt out the door.  As Yelena gripped her arm, she sent her a message.  Marco was right:  this DNI stuff was pretty much telepathy.  <<Yelena--your go-bag is in the car.  Mine too, but my Pred is with me.>>  She eyed the figure up and down, a little wary as they took their seat at the table.  Eh, what the hell...a fraggin' succubus hired us, brought Marco to us, why shouldn't I be fraggin' surprised...  Shrugging, she picked up a fork, picking at the spaghetti hesitantly before taking a bite.  Her eyes widened at the explosion of flavors and the texture, something actually different from the overprocessed foods her body was used to.  "...frag me seven ways to Sunday...  She muttered in wonder of the taste, digging in whilst listening to the impending conversation.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena looks at the drones that Arc has displayed.  "Rigger friend in Denver was fan of drones.  Arc like so far?  Yelena protect when not in body."

[i.smile.alot]

@ Arc, Yelena, Marco  The devil looks at you all in turn. Measuring. And then it becomes a red mist that swirls through the meal and then the apartment. Marco feels his hair stand on end when it swirls around him, and he hears a whisper. "Two services. I am not bought by a meal." It is clearly waiting.

@ Arc  >>File sent. Downloaded.<< Arc's comm acknowledges the file transfer and receipt to Sam. Well, it's away. she thinks. She colors at the memory of just what was on there, but done is done.

@ Ambrose  The afternoon has been spent quite profitably. And when Ambrose stands back and looks at his handiwork. It's with the pride of any new father. One  last touch,  Ambrose thinks to himself,

[gilga]

Marco nods at Arc when she offers to fix his gun. I appreciate it... while I know how to use it, I actually have no idea how it works... He is especially impressed when the little drones pop out of Arcs hand. He smiles... It is fascinating.

Then during the dinner Marco say to the demon. Please, Asmodeus ... do understand. You may not know me personally,  but you are all I know is you, during all my short life.

I brought you here for a single service, not two. What I know how to do myself I prefer to do myself. But you can look into the astral world and I can’t.  This is why I ask you to visit a place and let me know what it looks like from the astral world.  Give me a detailed report about anything magical, or awaken in there.. and please if you do not enjoy my cooking and our company you are free to leave right away. I only brought you a bit early because I wanted to make your visit to the physical world a pleasant one. But I can be all business if you prefer it like that.

[i.smile.alot]

The demon listens to your description and directions of where you want it to go and then is away in a mist of red that fades in a moment.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena is surprised and a bit discomfited by the response and disappearance of the summoned demon spirit.  After a moment of quiet where she tries to get her thoughts together, she points to the demon's plate.  "It seem demon not want.  Yelena have?  Is very good.  Not want waste."

[gilga]

Marco sighs... and say: I am terribly sorry. Asmodeus is not always this impatient. I can never begin to understand him.

He looks a bit distant...he thinks:
He’ll do what I asked, then he’ll go back to where he came from. The next one I’ll summon will also be called Asmodeus, and will probably be completely different and deny all knowledge of this one. Providing he cannot lie to me... I cannot even begin to understand what answers my calls.

He smiles at Yelena: Sure feel free... the food will not be this good tomorrow.
To Arc...  this will cover the magic part for now.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena shrugs her shoulders.  "Marco not be sorry.  Yelena think demon magic was good.  Yelena impressed Marco can do."  She digs into the second plate of spaghetti with gusto.  Waving a fork, she says, "Is very good Marco.  Yelena not eat like this in long time.  Maybe never.  Thank you."

Yelena finishes her meal and takes her dishes into the kitchen to begin washing up.  She notices a small console on the counter.  Looking at it closely, she sees that it is a remote for the sound system.  Looking over her shoulder at Arc, she uses the console to restart the metal track that had run to conclusion during lunch.  She moves her hips to the beat as she starts the water and adds soap.  As expected, Arc is moving her head and tapping the table.  Yelena motions with her head, "Arc.  Come help.  After clean can talk about what do tonight."

[SgtBoomCloud]

After the demon passed, Arc was absently chewing on the food.  Delicious as it was, her mind was focused on that video log she sent to Sam, her cheeks visibly reddened at the thought.  Well, too late for regrets, I guess.  Drek  Her mind was snapped back when Yelena grabbed the demon spirit's plate of spaghetti, causing her to snort.  "Keebs having seconds, now you're just messing with me, Y..."  She winked, shoving down another mouthful and chewing happily, finishing the plate just in time for Yelena to invite the human over to wash up.  "Ah, what...oh, this ain't disposable...aight, cool.  I'll give the frag a shot."  Bobbing her head, she picked up the plate and headed to the kitchen, following the Russian's lead.

"As for tonight...I dunno about you, but after last night, I could use a trid and sleep night.  We gotta meet up with Sam in the morning, and she ain't exactly paying us for extra recon, ya heard?"  She picked her voice up, enough for Marco to hear.  "I'll let my toys loose next time we at the club, maybe they be small enough to slip into places without notice.  Find a reason to have my RCC and stuffs if I can get away with it.  But for now...this breeder be needin' a step back, you feel me?"