Tanya wakes up to her internal alarm clock to find that Monique has returned and set out her running clothes and some tea. After dressing, she walks out to the living area to find Monique going over some of the maps and notes that Tanya had made. The maid looks up from the notes, waves a cup of tea in Tanya's direction and says, "Interesting. Return Safe. Not sure that I have ever heard of them, but I will ask around my circle of contacts. I did not see Petra in bed. I had thought she was coming over?"
Tanya sips from her own cup as she slides onto the couch with Monique and picks up some of the paperwork. "Mmmhmmm, she was. But I had some new acquaintances over and the meeting lasted a bit long. She decided to just come over for brunch." Tanya puts the papers down and moves to the door. "I will be dining with Petra after I get back, then going to meet my new associates at 1500. I will be attending a ballet recital later in the evening. Informal dress, so nothing too fancy."
She pauses then adds, One of the people I just met is an Elf. Quite good looking, but I think he feels himself to be a bit on the old side. I think he is mainly muscle, but one does not live in the shadows as long as he has without something going for him besides muscle. Of the others, there is another man, oriental and perhaps Korean. Cora Lee has mentioned him to me before as some sort of prodigy with matrix art. There are two women. One is a Native American spell caster. Quite pretty and I would not mind getting to know her better socially. The other is..........different, but she seems very nice, and I think we could be friends. I cannot quite place what she is, other than another spell caster. Anyway, we are all to meet to get eyes on this building. So now I am off. Thanks for the tea. I will get back at about 1100 to shower and change. Ciao."
Tanya leaves the room and takes the elevator to the ground floor. Leaving the hotel she begins her morning run, using the time to think over what she knew of her new companions and the job they had agreed to undertake. The run takes her along the streets and byways of the neighborhood. She has several routes that she mixes up to keep them from becoming too routine. Running has allowed her to learn the area's streets and businesses. She finishes the run with a good sprint, bettering her normal time for this route by several seconds. Pleased with herself,she returns to her room, showers and changes into the clothes her maid has laid out for her.
Leaving the room again, she goes to the lobby to wait for her friend, who can be counted on to be punctual. As the star reporter for her company, Petra has learned the value of being on time. The two women embrace and buss cheeks before going to the hotel's luxurious dining room. During the meal, Petra tries to get Tanya to open up abut the evening before, but Tanya shakes her head and says, "You know I cannot talk about the specifics. If something develops that you can use without harming my employer or my companions, you will receive the benefit of the "anonymous source". And any information that you can dig up on the company or its leadership will earn you rewards."
After brunch, Tanya returns to her room to change for her afternoon out. She selects a pair of short-short denim shorts and a cropped tee that exposes her toned midriff, and a pair of knee-high boots. Monique looks up from her chores as Tanya steps into the living room. "Not much of a disguise there. That is bound to get you noticed."
"Yes it is. Replied Tanya, "That is part of the plan for this afternoon. Please have the evening frock laid out as I may not have much time to change into it. I would not plan on me being in for dinner."
Monique nods as Tanya leaves the room. Tanya goes to the garage, where she rolls the red and black Mirage out of its parking spot, fires up the powerful machine, and heads out onto the street. She has set the address for Requiem's dojo on her gridguide and roars off down the street, careful to follow the traffic laws. After all, there is no reason to be delayed by traffic policemen. Arriving at the Silk Dragon dojo, Tanya parks the bike and goes in to see what this martial arts stuff is about. Grinning to herself, she admits that she is also interested in seeing the handsome Requien in his element.
As she enters the building, a young man stands up up from a desk and gives a Tanya a slight bow, "How may I be of service?"
Tanya gives a slight bow in return. "I was told to ask for the master of this Dojo. Is he available?"
"He is. I will go get Sensei Jitan at once."
The young man returns with an older man. A sense of self confidence and capability radiates from him as he gives a slight bow. His English is only barely accented as he asks, "You asked to speak to me, Miss.....?"
Tanya bows a bit lower and strives to be as good as she can as she says, "Konichiwa, watashino namae ha Tanya Marisart desu. Watashiwo shitte ureshii desu." She laughs and adds in English, "And that, plus some uncultured swear words, just about sums up my entire vocabulary of Japanese. How do you do. I met a man by the name of Requiem. We got to talking and he told me a bit about his martial arts training and mentioned that I should come by if I were interested in looking into some lessons. So, here I am, and I have to confess that I am a bit interested in anything that will help me stay in shape and might come in handy. Do you think there is anything that you can offer someone of my age?"
The Sensei looks Tanya up and down, more to get an idea of her conditioning than to look at her clothes. He nods, "Anything is possible, Miss Marisart. But you have to want to do it; you have to have the dedication to do it. The man you know as Requiem is my best instructor and can certainly put a student through some hard training. I am not sure that you are ready for someone of his calber yet, but I am willing to test you out to see where you might fall, if you are interested." Jitan reaches for a small paper pamphlet and holds it out to Tanya. "This explains the various courses we offer here and the fees. Please look it over and get back to me if you decide that you are interested enough to get started. Now, would you like to watch a bit of the training that Requiem is giving some of our younger students? I have found that not only is he good enough to give more advanced students a good session; but he is also quite good with our younger set. Let me take you to the observation room. You will see without being seen."
Jitan takes Tanya to a small room that has a window looking out onto the exercise floor. Tanya sees Requiem and seven younger students in the room on the other side of the mirrored window. There is one other person in the observation room. The woman looks at Tanya as she enters and whispers, "Which is yours? Mine is Jimmy, that one there, with the glasses. The Sensei is doing remarkable things for Jimmy's self confidence." Tanya says that she is just watching today and the woman extols the quality of the Silk Dragon Dojo and Requiem's abilities. Tanya watches the remainder of the session and observes how Requiem handles himself and his students. When the session is complete, Tanya goes to the reception area to wait for Requiem.
When he appears, she stands and gives him a slight bow, "I have been watching you for a bit. You have skills and a great ability to see what others need. I think that I would like to see how much training I need. Now, on a different subject, are you ready to go to the mall to meet the others, or do you have something else to do first? I have my Mirage in the parking lot."
