[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya smiles at Ms Mason.  "No, that would be the distinguished gentleman to your right, Delila.  I hope that I can call you Delila?  James asked me to set this meeting up for him, presumably because I have a place where we can meet."  She glances over the railing at the gathering audience and the other boxes and laughs before turning back.  "Although right now I have to assume that half the social elite of Seattle are wondering who my guests are.  By the way, I do like that color on you.  It suits you.  And I must say that you do Armante proud in that frock."

Tanya turns to Elsa and says, "That is an interesting ring.  Very nice.  And it is Elsa, right?  Do please call me Tanya."

[Aria]

Requiem smiled briefly at the people in the box, lingering a little longer on the attractive women…well this wasn’t what he’d expected, not that’d he’d had anything specific in mind…no dead man walking anyway…

“Good evening.  Please, call me Byron…”

Unbuttoning the long coat he let its bulk slide onto the back of one of the vacant chairs and gracefully accepted one of the champagne flutes.  He leant the umbrella against the chair, a small electric charge having shed the water from it outside, trying to ensure that one of the micro cameras got a reasonable glimpse of the faces in the box, for later analysis if needs be…

“Cheers”

[Jayde Moon]

@ All

As each of you make your way in, the older man stands, also introducing himself.  At Mother's inquiry into 'Ms. Johnson' and Tanya's response, he smiles.

"Please allow me to dispense with the... 'formality'... of addressing anyone at this gathering as Mr. Johnson.  As I said, I am James, though some folks call me 'Saint James'."


@ Mother

Saint James?!  What the holy fuck?  If this is THE Saint James, I have hit the big time!  Saint James is a near legendary Fixer who only works with the best Shadowrunners and arranges premium work.  Despite what Mother had in her 'resume', she couldn't imagine having actually pulled off anything worthy of warranting the attention of Saint James.


@ Tanya

When the man mentions that he is 'Saint James,' Tanya notices 'Delila's' reaction.  It is an extremely subtle reaction, just the very slightest widening of the eyes.  It conveys a sense of surprise and... pleasure?  But just like that, it is gone, returning to a carefully groomed 'neutral' expression.


@ All

The man continues, "However, as Lady Tanya suggests, let us respect this venue and enjoy the theatrics.

The opera opens at a seashore as the sun is rising.  It plays through the first act with somber performances from the Nightingale, fisherman, cook, and chamberlain, before closing into the first intermission.  As men and women leave their seats, Saint James speaks again.

"Now, you all doubtlessly noticed that I used... Mr. Green's commlink to message each of you.  I intend no disrespect to the deceased, nor did I wish to 'trick' you.  I felt it would be an appropriate manner with which to catch your attention.

"You see, Lyle Green was a friend of mine.  More than that, he was what you might call my protégé.  It was with great distress that I found him in a... 'state'... in his apartment.  I should like to determine what happened and why."

He pauses a moment, allowing room for others to speak, if they so wish.

[Lighthouse]

Though it is an honor and a pleasure to meet you Saint James I am on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what this is all about.

[Aria]

Requiem nodded too but otherwise stayed silent, keen to see where this was leading...

[obidancer]

Thank you Lady Tanya, genuinely answered Kachina on the comment on the ring. You look stunning in this dress, I'm honored to finally meet you. The red hair woman was indeed beautiful and let go an aura of power and confidence too. Another Alpha female in a group could make thing difficult, but if she could pull off getting everyone at in a box at the Opera in such a short notice, she had resources and skills that would be highly useful for a lot of potential runs.


Kachina then offered her hand to James, who introduced himself. The man was quite a legend in the Shadows. Pretty high caliber has been reunited in this booth. Was it random that Kachina had just reached out to them to form a team together? The later would be needed. The art of proper etiquette was to know what to say when to say it, but more often than not to just keep your mouth shut and observe, and she will have to teach that to the young Asian in the room. What was he, Korean? Kachina always had a hard time differentiating Asian ethnicity. What he did was well thought, but saying it could have been quite insulting to whomever organized this meeting.

The Elf was quiet, professional and deadly looking. She didn't know yet what to make of the man/woman but her Aura was bursting with Mana and Kachina could feel she was an Awaken with great power. Power for which Kachina always had respect. 

That was the first time she had the luxury to be in a box at the Opera and Kachina surely enjoyed watching and listening to it. Though cautious of her surrounding, she felt very safe and comfortable around the people in the Box.

Saint James finally explained his business. It certainly caught our attention, Saint James. And I would have preferred to meet for a different occasion. However rest assured that I would do whatever necessary to also find out what happened to Lyle. From a previous exchange, I feel confident to say that most if not all of us here are on the same boat.

[skulldixon]

Kumiho tilts his head to one said, thinking over what Mr. James has said. At some point during the evening he had shifted his sitting position from one where both of his feet were on the group to one where he sat cross legged on the seat cushion, wedged between the arm rests. When Mr. James had begun to speak he had turned the jammer back on, having only paused its function for a time -as was suggested to him - out of respect to the performers.

" You say that you found our dear friend in a state - which was later found the Knight Errant investigators. Were their any clues that you saw that they may have over looked or that you removed from the scene?"
He pauses for a second before saying
" You are correct, Lyle was a friend. He helped me get settled when I first came to Seattle. So i owe him much."

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya smiles at Elsa.  "Thank you ever so much.  I am honored to meet you as well, and please, it is just Tanya.  The title came as an accident of birth.  I use it on formal occasions, but prefer to use just my name in gatherings like this."

Tanya welcomes the last arrival as he passes through the curtain to Box 1B.  Holding out her hand she says, "You must be Mr. Kelsey; please call me Tanya.  Welcome to my box.  You are just in time.  I was afraid that you would miss the first act.  Please help yourself to some champaign and snacks.  The curtain is about to go up."  After welcoming the last of her guests, Tanya takes her seat and watches the first act through to the intermission.  The Nightingale is a good opera and this troupe does it as expertly as any she had seen.  They were truly deserving of the ovation at intermission.

As the audience below the box begins to disperse out to the lobby for refreshments and mingling, she turns to the group, watching the others and listening to them talk without saying anything.  She sips at her champaign and takes the opportunity to assess the other guests and see where she might fit in.  As yet they were unknowns and strangers.  Lyle had used them, but she had never been partnered with any of them on any of her activities.  And, apparently contrary to some of the others, she has almost no knowledge of Saint James and is trying to get a feel for him as well. 

[Jayde Moon]

Saint James nods at Mother and listens to Kumiha.  He takes a moment to consider his words before speaking again.

"The scene itself did not provide any clues as to differentiate between one professional asset and any other, unfortunately, at least not to my eyes.  I am no trained forensics analyst, I fear, and my time in the apartment was short."

"I was there for a weekly dinner he and I share, to go over business," he adds, forestalling that question.

"I have worked with Lyle for many years and am privy to many of his secrets.  So when I saw what had happened, I quickly grabbed the one item that he both would not want Knight Errant to get a hold of and that might hold the clues to the case."

With that, he produces a small green notebook and holds it open, his eyes scanning a few lines before closing it and looking back at the group.

"There are secrets in here.  Some have been given to him, freely and with trust.  Others he worked to discover, even for those he considered friends.  But whether you told him or he dug it up, Whether you knew he knew or he never told you, he kept those secrets to himself.

"You don't have reason to trust me, yet, perhaps... but I assure you that you five, at least, may trust me.  The secrets Lyle penned in this book will never be shared.

"Which brings us back to you.  Of all of Lyle's contacts... of the skillsets in this book, favors owed, relationships built, I have determined that it is you five who are most likely, and capable, to assist in the matter of determined not only who killed Lyle... but why.  He had no enemies that I knew of and I am certain he would have told me."

He tucks the notebook back into his left inner breast pocket.

"So, what it comes down to is this.  My friend Lyle Green is dead... I am cashing in his chips, so to speak, with you.  Now, I am not without my own resources and I do not expect you to operate without fair compensation.  But I must know... are you in?  Will you repay the man who has done so much for you in the shadows?"

He stops then, looking to each in turn.

[skulldixon]

Kumiho nods mostly to himself and then looks Mr. James in the eyes.

" Yes, a course. My skills are up to the task and my will is resolute towards this goal. 화이팅!", he raising a fist before at the last (sounds like Paiting).

[Lighthouse]

Mother raises an eyebrow at the mention of the book.

[spoiler] Dear Lord Lyle could have anything on me in that book and now this Saint James has it. Talk about negotiating from strength.[/spoiler]

What I wouldn't give to see what's in that book. said Mother smiling.

I loved Lyle as I am sure we all did but I need to keep the rent paid and the lights on. You've definitely got my attention so what do you consider fair?

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya listens to James's words and then the responses from two of the others before saying.  "Lyle was a good friend.  I would like to say that I am certainly in to see that he gets justice."  She looks around at the others, then back to the older gentleman.  "I actually would be interested in knowing what he wrote about me.  Could you read it aloud?  I am sure that in this group there is little that I would feel embarrassed or guilty about."

[obidancer]

Everyone had secrets. Their life as a shadowrunner in itself was shroud with secrecy and deception. Kachina couldn't remember mentioning anything to Lyle about how she went from a bright looking career in a NAN Military Special Unit to running the shadows but somehow wouldn't be surprise to find that in that green book. She hated remembering those events; remembering how she failed everyone and everything she cared for in the span of a few hours... Her people, her unit, her values.

If Lyle got killed for some or one of those secrets, you are taking big risks holding onto them. But on the other hand, that book needs to stay in safe hands. We will do everything we can to resolve this mystery, and thank you for your generosity in this.

She looked at the silent Elf. All they needed for him was to acknowledge his consent too.

[Aria]

Requiem nodded once, he was in. He recognised the value of loyalty in a world that had precious little of it...

[Aria]

Requiem mused about the people around him.  He would probably have done this job pro bono, perhaps with something to cover expenses, but the lady was right, the bills still had to be paid, and besides he wasn’t about to step on anyone else’s toes, this wasn’t his gig to command and he didn’t know these people… yet.

“My skills do not lie in investigative work and tracking, so if I am here you are expecting violence, possible a great deal of violence.  If, or perhaps I should say when, we manage to find those responsible, do you have an agenda for what becomes of them?  I recognise that your response may vary depending on the eventual target but I would like to establish some basic parameters.  I don’t normally undertake wetwork but this is personal…” and he left it hanging on that note…