Logfile from Brass&Steel.

Bo Ling's Chinese Restaurant

	An elegant, upscale Chinese restaurant. Red and black and gold
laquered designs hang every few feet on wall the color of a dark cream,
alternating between the stereotypical dragons and other symbols such as a
golden buddha holding a sack of gold and smiling beatifically. The low
lighting lends a mood of intimacy, of thoughts whispered in agreement, of
business dealings and romantic liaisons. There is always the scent of
fresh-cooked food, and the rattle of trays and plates, and the low lull
of conversation.
	Even when closed for business, Bo Ling's often serves as an
informal gathering place for local upper-middle-class and upper-class
Chinese families, who come for tea and conversation, for alliances and
dalliances. Once lunch time begins, and sustaining all the way through
closing, those families form a knot of Asians near the back of the
restuarant, beyond which, through beaded curtains, even more of them can
be seen in the restaurant's semi-private and private dining areas.

It's lunch-time and the restaurant is rapidly filling up with people
looking to enhoy a peaceful, stylish chinese lunch. The waiters are
efficiently and quietly slipping around, showing people to their tables,
bringing food and keeping full control over the crowd. At Cosmo's usual
table, there's a familiar guy sitting. Seems the waiters took a chance..

Arriving at his usual hour for a Sunday afternoon, Cosmo makes his way
toward the table after removing his fedora and his coat. He shakes hands
with the matre'd and then makes his way to 'his' table. "Zach! I'd heard
you were back in town, brother." He pats the other man on the shoulder.

Zach looks up at his approaching and his face splits into a wide, happy
grin. He hops up and grabs Cosmo's hand in greeting, giving Cosmo's arm
an affectionate sqeeze with his other hand. "Hey Cosmo! Happy new year,
man. I was beginnig to think I'd never catch up with you." He grins and
sits dow again. "So I've been laying siege to you teble for the last two
hours.."

Cosmo chuckles soflty and embraces his friend. With another pat to the
man's upper arm, he takes his seat. He tucks his tie against his stomach
and smiles back. "Happy New Year to you as well. I'm glad you're back. I
hope things went well on your excursion." He doesn't bother looking at a
menu. He knows what he wants, and the waiters are already bring him hot
tea.

Zach beams to him and his eyes twinkle mischiveously. "Oh yes, it sure
did. My...customer was very happy with the job I did." He takes a sip of
water and composes himself somewhat. "How's things been here? From what I
understad there hasn't been any...trouble with HArriet and Roger and
their... thing." He has lowered his voice.

Cosmo receives his tea with a 'thank you' to the waiter. He let it steep
a little further and begin to cool. "Good in some ways. They have not had
any further trouble. Those young friends of yours must be doing the job.
Though I think the time has come to get Harriet inducted into the order,
make that purchase we discussed, and then see that Sarah doesn't become a
further problem." He smiles thinly. He needs to tell Zach about the car
ride.

Zach nods at the mention of Harriet's approaching...promotion. "I've
already made arrangements. It will happen very soon. I must ask that you
not tell anyone who might convey that information to Judgment, though. It
does involve contacting my creator." He frowns a bit. "Now what's all
this about Sarah? There's been a lot of talk about her lately, she been
acting up?"

"Excellent. And of course, I won't say a word to Judgement about it.
While we haven't taken an official position on this, I am personally
convinced that Eli is up to something." Cosmo takes a sip of the tea. He
closes his eyes and enjoys the caffeine. "Not that Judgement can really
act any other way then it is. That's beside the point though. As for the
little Whore..." He takes a breath. He considers his words. "She's lied
to me. She is utterly unrepentant, and Brys says that she has become
extremely active on the college campus. I attempted to scare her into
behaving, but that did not work."

Zach's face darkens and he sighs heavily. "Damn." He studies Cosmo's
features in silence for a while then, "She's been trying to fool you?
Made you believe she wanted to change?"

Cosmo moves his head from side to side in a sort of noncommital gesture.
"I made a deal with her. If she'd keep the...problem away from Harriet
and Roger, I'd leave her alive. She lied to me about that though. I tried
to emphasize my point by taking her for a car ride out tot he country and
showing her the grave I'd put her vessel in, but it did no good. She
didn't keep her end of the bargain." And with a 'kite of Trade, that's
like signing your own death warrant.

Zach sighs yet again and purses his lips. "That was less than clever of
her. I had her figured as smarter than that... She's usually very subtle
for a habbie. Takes her time to do her.....filth." He looks disappointed.
All that talent going to waste like that....Pthooi! "Brynn told me you
guys were planning something to put a stop to her?"

Cosmo gives a nod of the head. He fiddles with a chopstick, rolling it
between his fingers in a little dance. "What sealed it was the fact she's
been using a free-loader to harass a young man named Mick." By
free-loader, Cosmo means Ethereals. He looks back up at Zach. "I think we
should tie her up in back with some of her..equipment. Setup a large
number of candles in the room and knock one over. Burn her shop down and
make it look an accident. That, or we tie her up and keep her at my
apartment until she is racked with disonance."

Zach frowns and his look become something of a glare. "Yeah, I heard
about that incident with that kid. I met him and Harriet in a joint near
my place in the wee hours after it happened. We're lucky she didn't end
up in jail, with you and Brynn having to change roles. Now are you sure
it's Sarah who's behind the...thing?"

Cosmo knits his brow. He looks down at his chopstick again. "I wasn't
pleased with how that went. Things got a little louder then I meant for
them too. I'm not one hundred percent certain, but apparently Sarah has
been around him a great deal. I'd like to find out from her for sure
before we send her on her way."

Zach ponders this. "Lust's guys don't have much of a record when it comes
to working with ethereals though... That's more of a Nightmare or Media
thing. Just because she's been all over the kid, doesn't mean that
everything else that happens to him is her thing. And in any case, she's
done more than enough to warrant her desctruction. Making her dissonant
will be extremely difficult, so I wouldn't go for that. Like I said,
she's a subtle habbie.."

Harriet has arrived.

<OOC> Harriet waves. :)

<OOC> Zach wiggles his ass seductivly. :)

<OOC> Harriet oohs appreciatively. ;)

<OOC> Cosmo says, "Hey! HEy! None of that! :)"

<OOC> Zach wiggles his booty for Cosmo as well. No need for jealousy! :)

<OOC> Harriet ogles Cosmo, too. Just to be fair. *grins*

Cosmo chuckles softly. He goes quiet as appetizers arrive. He unfolds his
napkin and spreads it over a thigh as the waiter leaves. "My thought
exactly. She may or may not be connected. Either way, I blew the ethereal
into it's component forces. And Sarah has warranted elimination. I'd
prefer to soul-kill her. To avid a situation like with Lucian and his
return. But I don't know if we can get her to go celestial."

<OOC> Cosmo swats Zach. "Somehow, I just don't think of Cosmo as the type
to be ogled. :)

<OOC> Zach says, "But she's seen you nekkid before! Like...sans vessel.
;P So she shoud be allowed to ogle!"

<OOC> Harriet thinks Cosmo is preeeetty.

<OOC> Cosmo says, "True."

<OOC> Zach grins.

The restaurant is full of lunchers, and very busy in a refined, quiet
way. Cosmo and Zach are sitting at Cosmo's table talking. A nice waiter
just gave them food!

Zach nods and goes to work on his spring roll. "That'll be tricky. She'll
only do that to avoid dying, and then she'll probably just go celestial
and decend. In a Tether she'll probably prefer trauma to risking Soul
Death," he murmurs while quite happily contemplating his food. *munch*

Harriet enters, with a couple of small shopping bags dangling from one
wrist. She looks a little frazzled...shopping will do that to you, but
pretty much happy. She glances around the resturant, and smiles as she
recognizes a couple of very friendly faces. A whispered word with the
hostess, and a waiter is dispatched to approach Cosmo and Zach and
politely ask, "Gentlemen? The young lady there would like to know if you
care for company?"

	Not a particularly tall man, perhaps five and a half feet or so
in height. Dark hair cut neatly, going to grey at the sides and
indicating he is perhaps in his later thirties or early forties. Wrinkles
at the corners of his brown eyes also indicate his age. His thin, sharp
face gives him a serious demeanor. He is clean shaven, without a touch of
facial hair. There is a faint scar in the cleft of his chin.

	 He wears a suit. It is a simple, conservative cut. The suit is
black, white shirt and a black tie. The clothes fit well on his trim
form. Black wingtips complete the look. The cufflinks are silver with
obsidians.

Cosmo looks up from his own dish of soup. He glances at the waiter and
then toward Harriet. A smile breaks out on his face. "By all means, bring
her over." He motions with his chopsticks toward Harriet. He turns back
to Zach and gives a nod. "I know. One of the reasons I thought we should
make sure her shop is not a going concern. Though I do hate to see a
thriving business go to waste."

Zach looks up as the waiter speaks to them, and follows Cosmo's glance.
He smiles and waves to Harriet. When the waiter departs he murmurs to
Cosmo, "Agreed."

Harriet smiles back and starts moving over even before waiter returns,
giving him a grateful nod as she passes by. She reaches the guys at the
table, and grins. "Hey, y'all. How are you doing today? I see you finally
caught up with one another," she says with satisfaction as she pulls out
a chair and plops down with relief.

Cosmo stands as Harriet approaches. He gives her a hug before letting her
take her seat. "Here, have some food. I ordered plenty." He takes a sip
of his hot tea. "And we are discussing the matter with Sarah. And with
Mick, of course."

Zach grins as Harriet sits down. He takes her hand, kissing it gallantly.
"Good to see you Harriet. I laid siege to Cosmo's table here, and finally
managed to meet with him." He grins. "Like he says, we're already deep
into talking shop. How did it go with Mick yesternight?"

Harriet hugs Cosmo back before sitting, and smiles and squeezes Zach's
hand as he does his thing. To his question, though, she sighs and rolls
her eyes. "Well, it seems he's happily repressed everything /except/ our
kidnapping of him, you know? He still thinks we're a cult, but it's more
of a sad, pitiable vigilante cult than an evil one, I think." She makes a
face. "Which is sort of an improvement. I guess."

Cosmo considers for a moment, chewing on a bit of won tan. "A minor
improvement. Perhaps we can convince him that Sarah is part of a rival
cult and while we are simply weird and pitiable she and hers are actually
dangerous?"

Zach winces slightly and shakes his head. He smiles weakly. "A sad,
pitiable vigilante cult, eh? My oh my... But if we convince him that
we're rival cults, which by the way ain't all that far from the truth if
you look at it from the right angle, he's likely to go pointing at us if
she disappears."

Harriet nods in agreement with Zach. "And, of course, I've already tried
to warn him about her. His response was that, considering the kind of
people /I/ hung out with," and here there's a significant look at Cosmo,
"I didn't exactly have any credibility in that area, you know?" She
sighs. "If it helps, he's apparently rather devout...perhaps someone with
more experience with the religion thing should have the next
philosophical discussion with him?"

Cosmo looks back at Harriet evenly for a moment. He pops more noodles
into his mouth. "While I am rather devout, I do not think he will listen
to me willingly. Considering his perception of the events. Unless I could
prove to him that I did, in fact, help him. Maybe Roger could speak with
him?"

Zach nods. "I think Roger knows him, so that'd be a good choice. I'm not
partucularly religious myself." Which is yet another reason why Roger
should be looked after by an other angel.

"You could /try/ apologizing for scaring him half to death, Cosmo,"
Harriet says quietly. "I think it would help, you know? Not for getting
him out of there, exactly, but for the fright." She glances at Zach. "I
think Roger would be an excellent choice, though. He's used to working
with teenagers, too."

Cosmo nods to both of them. He listens carefuly to Harriet's words. "That
would be the honorable thing to do. I'll gladly apologize for frightening
him, but I'd prefer if Roger perhaps speak with him first and be the one
to setup a meeting. Make sure he is aware I have no intention of harming
him." Good thing about being a 'kite; Cosmo isn't embarassed to admit a
mistake and correct it.

Zach smiles and approves. "Good plan. I'll talk to the guys at the
Bluebird and see if I can find out a bit more abour the kid. They seem to
know him pretty well there. I'd like to check out his talent with guitars
as well, he's certainly very enthusiastic about them." Maybe it's tome
for the Zach to fulfill that dream about getting an electric guitar...
But then there's the funding thing. Hmm...

Harriet beams. "Wonderful. I'd really like if we could manage to repair
the damage to Mick, you know?" She shakes her head. "He's a really good
guy, just understandably on edge."

Cosmo grins back at Harriet. "Of course. It would do little good to
remove him from an immediate physical threat and then leave him to twist
in the wind." He gestures to each of his friends with his chopsticks.
"You two should order food. Mine will be here shortly. As for the guitar,
Zach, I'm sure we can work out some sort of deal."

Zach grins to Cosmo. "Hey dude! Stay outta my head willya! But seriously,
I think we'll manage to fix this." He smiles to Cosmo. "And I ordered
before you came here, so I'm good with the food thing."

Harriet snickers at the byplay, and looks satisfied. To Cosmo, she shakes
her head slightly. "I actually just stopped by for a snack and to warm up
before venturing out into the cold wilderness of the city again, you
know? I can't stay long," she says, sadly. "So if there's anything you
really need to bring up with me around, speak now or hold your peace, you
know?"

<OOC> Harriet is going to pose out in another couple of turns, in other
words. :)

Zach looks at Harriet and straightens as a sudden thought hits him. "Ann!
I'd forgotten about her..."

<OOC> Zach nods sadly. *sniffle*

Cosmo winks at Zach. He's a smart boy, he figured as much. "Good, good."
He turns to Harriet, a faintly proud expression crossing his features.
"Well, if you have any advice, I am taking Brynn out to that cartoon film
festival this evening. Is there anything you would recommend?" Of course,
she's a fellow malakite, but it never hurts to have a female opinion. He
blinks at Zach's outburst.

"No tentacles," Harriet says, with a grin. Then she, too, looks at Zach,
rather wide-eyed. "Er. Yes? She's being looked after by Brynn, right?"

Zach nods absently. "Yeah, she is isn't she. She's the one who got hurt
in the ice rink, right?" He shakes himself, and then looks at Cosmo. A
slow grin starts to form on his face. "You're taking Brynn to a comic
festival? Sweeeet.."

Cosmo looks confused. At the comment about tentacles. "I don't know that
song, so it shouldn't be an issue." He nods to Zach. "Yes. She did get
hurt,a nd I believe Brynn is looking after her. But no, we are going to
watch some old cartoon movies. And apparently something called anime that
Harriet thinks we might both enjoy."

Harriet blinks at Cosmo's comment. "Er. A song of tentacles? Never
mind...I don't want to know." She shakes her head, and chuckles.
"Just...if Brynn asks, assure her that tentacles will play no part in the
evening, you know? I believe they're showing entirely safe stuff." She
adds under her breath as she rises, "I hope so, anyway," then smiles at
both of them. "Now I must be going. It was good to talk to you guys."

From afar, Harriet thinks playing with pop culture clueless angels is
just fun. :)

Zach rises to hug Harriet goodbye, then floomps back down on his chair.
He chuckles. "See you later Harriet, I'll stop by tomorrow night for the
final arrangements and stuff, ok?"

Cosmo stands up, dropping his napkin on the table as he does so. He gives
Harriet a hug and an actual peck on the cheek. In a fatherly sort of way.
He'll explain later about numinous corpus songs. "I will asure here of
that. Though I am unsure as to why. Be careful, and have a good day."

Harriet nods, and dashes off after hugging them both, because her player
is going to be late!

<OOC> Harriet waves and poofs. Thanks for the RP!

Zach grins to Cosmo and beams up the waiter bringing them more food. When
the waiter has dadted off, he just keeps on grinning. "I think she means
tentacle porn. It's big in Japan I hear." He sobers up. "And /quite/
disgusting."

Cosmo looks blankly at Zach for a moment. Like a computer having been
given a command it simply can't process. "Oh. I am certain that sort of
thing won't be shown at an open festival like this." He just shakes his
head slowly. The things humans come up with occasionally. "I think it
will be a fun evening however.

Zach nods to that. "I'm sure it will." He leans in and lowers his voice a
bit, "How old are you, Kosimeo?" "A little over four hundred years old."
Cosmo replies to Zach. He too keeps his voice heard. Definitely something
worth whispering. "I was fortunate and began service on earth almost
immediately, if intermittantly."

Zach ahs and grins. "In that case I'll leave off asking you what your
intetions are with my sister. I'd only do that if I were the big brother
around here," he chuckles. He seems almoust boucy and good humour is
always difficult to contain and hide. At least for the creature known as
the Zach.

Cosmo smirks faintly. "My intentions are purely honorable. Brynn needs to
have someone help her with her problems. She realizes her failings, and
needs a positive influence to rectify them in the correct way. THat is
what I want to do." A pauses as he considers briefly. A slow smile
appearing on his features. "Not that I would be opposed to a bit of
physical intimacy. Her vessel is quite comely." He can admit that now
that he knows she's one of them. And not a human.

Zach gives his original Boss a firm, mental cuddle. There are certain
privileges with beind a Creationer. License to cuddle humans is just one
of them. He smiles a warm smile to Cosmo. "I'm glad to hear that. You're
probably just what she needs. Stable and reliable and experienced. Me,
I'd just get sparked up by her fire and fan her flames. *boom* Instant
disaster." He looks contemplative as he deals with a mouthful of fried
rice. "She had a meeting with her Bright Lady a week ago... Came to my
place afterward, all burned on her cheek. Seemed upset about something,
but I think she changed her mind about whatever it was she wanted from
me. I didn't press.."

Cosmo considers that information for a moment. His food arrives and it
offers a few minutes of silence. "I'll ask her how the meeting went. She
can sometimes be recalcitrant, but I hope to be a good influence on her.
Besides, there is something attractive about those who serve Fire. She
has a rather serious grudge against Sarah, so we should include her in
those plans." Ahhh, Malakite mating rituals. Invite your sister along to
slaughter a demon; it's better then jewelry.

"Oh they are beautiful allright..." Zach sighs dreamily. "I wish you luck
in your pursuit, as well as the help. Maybe not such a good idea to
mention the Gabe-thing unless she mentiones it first though. There's
still a mark on her cheek, so you could always try to let her tell you
about it by asking about that. It's healed well, considering that it was
a very nasty burn and she refused to let me Heal it." He takes a drink of
water. "I asked her out last night, to the Bluebird. I figured some music
would do her good. But then I forgot my Fire-etiquette and caller her
'honey'. She didn't like that, so she left." He leaves out Harriet's part
in things...

Cosmo chuckles a little. Then nods at the advice. "I'll ask about the
wound. Though she had mentioned to me she would be seeing the Bright
Lady." He sips from his tea and sets into his meal. He eats slowly but
methodically. "I'll be sure not to call her any pet names. Unfortunate
she didn't go with you though." The other good thing; no jealousy.

Zach smiles crookedly. "Oh she went, she just didn't stay all that long.
Anyway... That was the latest on Brynn, she'll get used to me some day
I'm sure. And I'll learn to behave myself around her. Some day. Now for
something different; have you heard from your Boss regarding Roger?"

Cosmo shakes his head. "I have not. I will be attempting to contact him
tomorrow. I have my research completed and I intend to inquire about
Roger and Laurence if I have the opportunity."

Zach nods. "Good. Can you call me if the answer is negative? I promised
Roger I'd take things one step further if Nothing is still the only thing
we're getting..." He looks somewhat apprehensive about that. "I hope
there's good news for him. He's suffering now, and that's just /wrong/."

Cosmo is ... reluctant to criticize the Commander of the host. "I will.
And I would hope that Laurence would be aware of that, and that there is
a reason for the delay. But I will let you know."

Zach is also reluctant about such disrespect, but he's been waiting for
the Sword to claim their's Soldier since this summer. And that's an
amazing feat of patience on his account. Quite unheard of, except for
/one/ single exception... "Say, did you hear about the incident in the
park on little new year's eve? Roger made his forst kill that night.."

Cosmo shakes his head. "I have not heard other then the fact that Roger
was involved in a shooting. Did he kill a demon?" He sounds pleased for
the human. That's something worth celebrating.

Zach shakes his head. "I don't think so. It only took two bullets to kill
him, so he was probably human. If I'd made the kill we'd have probably
heard it all over town.."

Cosmo smirks faintly. "Indeed. Regardless, I understand it was in defense
of some young man named ..." He has to consider it for a minute.
"...Jerzy was it? I don't have many details."

Zach nods and lays his chopsticks down. "Jerzy Holland. He's something of
a celebrity - or was. The kid retired a few months back, after some
tragedy in his family. His dad was pretty famous too. The kid showed up
in the park while Harriet, Roger, Ada and I were horsing around in the
snow. Harriet had just tried to invite him to join our snowball fight,
when his body guard got shot. These two guys in full commando gear came
walking toward us with silenced rifles. I pelted them with snowballs
while protecting the kid, Roger did his cop thing and shot one of 'em to
death."


Cosmo listens to the details. His features curious. "Odd. Why would
anyone want to kill a rock star?" He gives a faint shake of his head. "I
imagine there is more there then meets the eye. But we have so much on
our plate at the moment..."

Zach nods morosely. "Indeed we have. I'm just glad we were there to stop
whatever was happening. I feel bad for the kid though, he's seen a lot of
tragedy in a short time.." Zach gives Cosmo a brief summary of Jerzy's
story as it's known to the public before letting the mater drop. (BB 11/5
and 11/16)

<OOC> Cosmo acks. I didn't realize the time. I've got to get going. :(

<OOC> Cosmo says, "Thanks for the RP!"

Cosmo vanishes to the ooc areas.