Wednesday 20/07/61, Location: 22.31128, 114.18135, Time 20:00

Spook pulled over to a non-descript building, parking up the van and ushering everyone out.

"Where is it?" Kai looked around at the small commercial units and towering apartment blocks that rose over the top of them.

"Oh, it's not here. But I can park up here until tomorrow morning. We can't go to the casino in that – it's simply not done." She pulled out her commlink and called one of her contacts. "We're ready for pickup, whenever you are." After listening for a moment, she nodded to herself and then slid her commlink back into her small bag.

"Is there anything we should avoid doing when we get to this place?"

"Well, just the usual. Be polite and considerate, and probably try not to draw too much attention to yourselves. I'm sure it won't be an issue."

"I take it there's going to be wards up where we're going?" Tads asked.

"Oh yes – the building is very well protected. Is that going to be an issue?"

"I hope not." She gave a small sigh, and started to run through some mental exercises. She really didn't want to have to drop her spells – especially the one that helped her to summon and control the spirits of the land that protected the team. If she had to – then she would, but it was very difficult to cast, and she'd do her best to sleaze it through whatever defences the casino had.

"What about honorifics or titles?"

"I'd stick with 'Mr. Fan', Aswon, unless he directs you otherwise. If he asks you to call him 'Grandfather' then that's probably a good sign."

"What about sidekicks or minions?"

"Well, he'll have bodyguards for sure. But also Mr. Li – that's his protégé. Grandfather is quite old, and it's pretty open knowledge that he's training Li up to take over the business."

"Ok, noted. What about white noise generators and jammers?"

"It's a top-end casino – so yes, to both. If you've got any gear that uses a broadcast network, you'd be as wise to turn it off, it's probably not going to work in there. Can't have people communicating near the poker tables or teaming up to count cards for instance!"

A large limo turned the corner and started to cut across the road towards them, pulling up next to the team smoothly. As it drifted to a halt, the doors sprang open, and Spook lead the way inside, waiting for everyone to be in and comfortably seated before signalling to the driver to move on. The onward journey wasn't that long – barely ten minutes, even with the heavy traffic in the downtown area.

"That's the casino – or at least the tower." Spook gestured and the team peered out of the windows as they pulled onto a wide boulevard that swept towards the harbour. In a city full of high-rise towers stuffed full of offices and apartments, it was hard to stand out with a tall building. The development at 1 Harbour View managed it by not only being conspicuously taller than its neighbours, but also by heavily investing in decorations. The two hundred and fifty storey structure was a towering mass of glass and steel, and would have made an impressive sight on its own – but it was lit up with powerful searchlights arrayed somewhere around the base, and the edges of the towers wings had been built with some kind of tube or strip lights embedded into the corners and landings. A constantly shifting display of colour highlighted the massive structure, beads of light chasing up and down in a complex pattern. Lifts zipped up and down the interior angles between the wings, bullets of light that travelled up and down at a dizzying speed, carrying people to the higher floors.

As they closed in on the tower, they stopped being able to see the upper floors – the building was just too high to fully take in, turning instead into a huge wall that filled their view. The driver bought them down the sweeping approach road, and they could finally see the base of the tower – twice as wide as the upper portion, the base took up what looked like the entire block, rising up for the first forty or fifty levels before it narrowed for the tower itself.

"The casino takes up the bottom eight floors or so, along with the entrance to the hotel and the condos, with the population for the whole tower being in the thousands. Very expensive place – though the views out over the harbour and the sea is stunning."

"Nice water feature." Kai pointed at the large structure that dominated the area around the drop-off point. Three large bronze dolphins rose and fell out of the water, some kind of complex animatronic display that was also lit up by colour-changing spotlights that were buried into the rim of the feature. As one of the dolphins appeared to tail-walk across the water, it shot a jet of water ten metres into the air, the water turning into a falling mist as the jet disintegrated, turning into coloured clouds as the lights were refracted by the descending droplets.

"Any significance to the three dolphins?"

"Traditionally dolphins were seen as a sign of good luck by sailors." Marius commented.

"And I suppose three is generally regarded as a 'lucky' number, due to the sound of the word. At least I think so, right?" Aswon glanced at Spook.

"Yes. And of course, you should consider the word 'Triad' and how that is generally perceived…" Aswon's eyes opened wide for a moment with sudden realisation as he cursed himself for not considering that aspect sooner. There was no time for further conversation though as the limo pulled up smoothly at the entrance-way. This time the doors weren't opened automatically by the driver – but instead a pair of attendants wearing smart uniforms sprang into action, opening the doors and moving to stand at the side in a stiff stance, one arm gesturing in welcome and sweeping towards the building entrance.

The team climbed out, and Kai watched carefully out of the corner of his eye – but neither of the staff seemed to bat an eyelid or express any surprise at all by the unorthodox group standing before them. As soon as they were all out and walking towards the building, they closed the doors on the limo and then swiftly overtook the group, moving to the double doors leading into the building and pulling them wide open. It would have been easy to have had a sensor detect their approach and to open the doors automatically – but the metahuman touch here was apparently something deemed worthwhile.

Kai led the way inside, with Shimazu close behind him, hand resting on his sword, and the rest of the team following along in a loose gaggle. The lobby inside the doors was a huge space, several floors high, and shimmering in the light. The floor and walls were clad in marble of some kind, a series of browns, creams and reds in a complex pattern.

"Oh wow…" Tads stopped, nearly making Marius walk into her as she looked up and stopped abruptly. Marius scowled, but also looked up to see what had distracted her, and even he gave a little sound of surprise. Above them, there was no roof visible, but instead there was a swirling hologram that filled the entire chamber. A swirling pool of sparkling water rippled and flowed, while shoals of fish swam through the crystal clear lagoon, octopi scuttled up and down rock-faces and plants flowed back and forth in the current.

"That's a big-ass hologram!" Hunter explained, zooming in for a look. "Someone's spent a lot of money on that. Resolution is really good, and the frame rate is high, too. No glitches or lags… someone's got some serious computer power running all that!"

Tearing their eyes away from the scene overhead, they spotted that the lobby rose slightly in a gentle slope, splitting into several paths that climbed in a very gentle slope over another water feature that bisected the entire lobby from side to side. Each of the three paths was just over a metre wide, and cut through an archway of balanced rocks, looking like some of the formations seen by some cliff-faces where the relentless flow of water had eroded away softer rocks to make giant shapes.

"Very pretty – and I'd bet good money that each of those archways has got a top-of-the-line weapons scanner built into them…" Aswon muttered, just loud enough for the team to hear him. "And you mostly have to go through in single file, too – makes sorting out the signatures easier."

The team dutifully crossed the shallow bridge, glancing down at the artificial river below that seemed to be full of brightly-coloured fish darting in and out of the rocks and carefully managed plant life. On the far side, the gentle ramps were curved, naturally aiming them at the 'cloakroom', where a number of smartly-dressed but fit individuals stood with entirely fake smiles on their faces, holding boxes for the team's weapons to be placed into. Kai, Marius and Hunter all deposited their tasers and pistols, and Aswon handed over his spear, grinning slightly as they struggled with the long weapon. It clearly wasn't going to fit into whatever storage system they had for the pistols and small blades they probably had to commonly deal with, and he had visions of it being placed into a hat stand or other innocuous container in the security office.

"I hope that this will be placed somewhere secure. It is linked to me, and I am loathe to see it go out of my sight."

"Ahh sir, thank you for asking. If you are able, then please feel free to assess the defences of the office." Aswon blinked in surprise, but then dropped into astral space to examine the ward around the room. He spotted the ward immediately – and after a quick assessment nodded his head. The ward was probably as strong as the one they'd put on the older tilt-wing – though it wasn't as good as the one on the Broadsword. He also caught sight of an air elemental in the corner of the room, hovering just under the hologram. The nebulous air-elemental was practically invisible in the real world at the best of times, but against the bright and constantly shifting hologram it was impossible to spot.

"That looks fine, thank you." He nodded courteously and then stepped to the side, letting Tads move in to his place and gave her a reassuring nod. Tads surrendered her staff too, somewhat reluctantly, to go to the same place as the spear, but when one of the staff gestured to Shimazu's sword, the bodyguard shook his head.

"No. I will not hand this over."

"I'm sorry sir, it's casino policy."

"This blade is bound to me, as I am to my principal." His voice indicated that he wasn't going to give on the point, and the staff member glared at him, appearing to be just as firmly bedded in his opinion.

Another staff member appeared from around the corner, and approached the group. He was older than the rest of the staff, and much smaller, lacking the physicality of the rest of the security team.

"What seems to be the issue here?"

"The gentleman is insistent on not giving up his blade."

"Ahh, I see." His face blanked for a moment, becoming expressionless as he extended his senses beyond the normal realm. "A most intriguing blade. I understand… though I can assure you that it would be as safe in our care as your other magical weapons." He gave a small nod towards Aswon and Tads, but then fixed his eyes back on Shimazu. "I feel that we can offer a solution here though, to allow you to keep your weapon, for ceremonial purposes, if you are willing?" Shimazu gave him a tiny nod.

The man went back to the office, returning a few moments later with a length of bright green rope and some kind of cutter – far more than a pair of scissors, it included a hefty battery pack and some kind of tube.

"If you would care to raise your arm for me please sir?" The man moved to the side of Shimazu, and then proceeded to wrap the green rope tightly around the handle of the sword, crossing the rope over to the edge of the scabbard, around twice and then criss-crossing again back to the handle. Several more turns were put in place, bonding the sword into the scabbard, before a small fixing was placed over the two loose ends of the rope, and they were thrust into the tube on the device. When the trigger was activated there was a hum and sound of some mechanical process, and a faint smell and wisp of smoke that emerged from the tube. With the device removed, they could see that the fixing had been pulled tightly together, bonding the rope in place and holding the sword into the scabbard. No doubt Shimazu could have broken the rope with some effort – but it would certainly hold him up for some time, and it was hard to imagine that the casino would not be able to respond before he did manage to free the blade.

"On your way out of the casino, please return here and we'll remove the bond, of course." The man gave the rope one last tug to check, then stepped back, checking with Shimazu that he understood, and getting a nod in return. "This way then, please…" he gestured for Spook and the team to follow him, around the corner of the security office to what looked like replicas of coracles. Several of the small craft were lined up ready, but unlike the real water craft, these had large doors that could open in the side, allowing easy access to the interior. Marius, Hunter and Tads climbed into the first of the strange devices, while Kai, Shimazu, Aswon and Spook climbed into the second. Once the doors were closed, the 'boats' gave a little shudder, then started to move, rising up and moving forwards on some kind of hydraulic arm.

The boats rose smoothly into the air, starting to turn slightly to the right as they did, rising up closer and closer to the bottom of the holograms that made up the ceiling above them. So realistic were the images that most of the team couldn't help but give a tiny little flinch or shudder as they 'entered' the water, immersing themselves into the lagoon. Around them, the fish darted and played, plants swayed in the currents and larger rays, eels and sharks flitted through the water. One of the sharks appeared to take an interest in the front boat, charging towards them, rippling amidst the rays of sunlight that appeared to penetrate through the water from overhead. Light glinted and sparkled off of the reefs and even the exposed teeth of the shark, which abruptly changed direction, just before it appeared to 'hit' the passengers. Marius gave a start, then twisted and looked back behind him, checking to see what was happening, watching as the same shark repeated the same manoeuvre on the second boat.

They rose onwards, following the gentle curve and rise through the underwater scene until they cleared the top of the 'water', rising up onto the edge of a sandy beach. The outer walls of the tower were covered in more scenes of a tropical island, providing what looked like a view that stretched to the horizon, but the main part of the structure was covered in a dense wall of trees and vegetation, apart from a small tunnel – flanked by two large statues that would have looked at home in a production about the gods of ancient Greece. The boats pulled up at the side of the beach, nestling in perfectly and came to a stop, the doors popping open automatically to allow them to step out.

"I do not know if anyone else saw it…" Marius started as they alighted from the craft. "But I am certain that the 'shark' that approached the boat, and some of the other fish simulations were actually cover for a camera. The point of closest approach coincided with some brighter lights that came from the display, and I am certain I caught sight of a camera concealed within the hologram. I suspect that we have all had high-quality images taken of our faces while we watched the display."

"Makes sense, I guess, for casino security. Would look really dodgy to have your face covered throughout the ascent, and I didn't see or suspect a thing. I'm guessing nobody else did?" Aswon looked around, but got a series of head shakes. "Yeah – they're not used to having people as sharp-eyed as you, Marius. But if you're trying to keep professional cheats or swindlers out of your casino, it makes sense."

"Great – so now we've got all our faces plastered over their security systems…"

"I wouldn't worry too much, Hunter. Of all the places that are going to have security out the wazoo, a casino has to be near top of the list. The amount of money they handle, they're not going to take any chances, are they? And that probably extends to their computer security…"

"Yeah, I guess so. I'd certainly not even dream of trying to do a run against the average casino – not with my deck or utilities, let alone a top-end one like this. As long as they're not in a sharing mood – maybe it's not so bad."

"So – now we go through the tunnel, I guess – past Poseidon?" Kai gestured at the two large statues that 'guarded' the tunnel, one hand firmly holding onto a massive trident, at least three metres tall, while the other rested on their hips, both their heads turned to face towards the visitors.

"I guess so. Makes me wonder if they're as animatronic as the dolphins out front and whatever system was lifting the boats. Makes you wonder… I wouldn't want to be the person trying to do a swift exit with someone else's winnings if they do move…" The rest of the team glanced up at the massive tridents as they wandered past, wondering just how much force they could swing down with.

Passing through the short tunnel, they emerged into another fantastical space, that took a few moments to process. The space was probably at least three stories tall, and stretched the full width of the tower wing, and gave the appearance of being a huge cavern or grotto. Around the outside of the space the cavern walls had several openings, and beyond them it appeared to show the ocean, with more fish swimming around and a varied landscape portrayed through the distortion of the water, a mix of brilliant coral reefs, sand banks, rocky outcroppings and dense beds of kelp that rippled and flowed. They could see some people at several of the openings, watching the display and occasionally pointing things out to each other.

The cavern 'floor' was a carpet, woven in a deep blue with the occasional lighter series of lines wound through it, stretching across the entire space that they could see. Clusters of slot machines were gathered around large and impressive bits of scenery, a huge anchor in one space, a 'treasure chest' in another, an old-fashioned bronze and fabric diver in a third. Sweeping paths led between the clusters of slot machines, with the lighter blue lines seeming to act as guides to other areas of the complex.

There were scores of people already here, some at the caves watching the display, others playing on the slot machines, or slowly wandering around and examining the décor, but many of them were heading towards the centre, where there seemed to be a small rise in the floor level. On either side of the cavern there was an entranceway that seemed to lead to a smaller sub-cavern, and in the dimmer light they could just about make out some tables – perhaps for the more high-stakes and exclusive players.

On the opposite side of the cavern was the most impressive sight, though – what appeared to be a huge ship pressed into the wall, a replica of a 16th century Spanish galleon. The vessel seemed to dominate the far wall, the masts rising up into the cavern roof and the multiple decks at the rear of the ship reaching up high above them. A large gangway led up to the middle of the ship, from somewhere on the far side of the cavern.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. May I fetch you some drinks?" The team were dragged out of their observations by the pair of 'mermaids' that had approached them, attractive women wearing a very tightly-fitted costume and carrying silver trays in one hand. They ordered a variety of drinks, and the service staff took their order down, disappearing off to one side to go and fetch them. Looking around they could see more wait-staff circulating around, in a variety of different coloured mermaid costumes. The caverns to either side though were guarded by men, fairly large and well built, and wearing bronze cuirasses and with swords strapped to their waists.

The team moved forward, heading towards the centre and up the very slight rise, finding that the centre section was ringed by a wooden fence that looked to have been constructed from driftwood – but with comfy chairs ringing the massive timbers and using the flat surface on the top of the wood as a small table or area to rest drinks. Inside the centre section, the floor sloped downwards, leading to a variety of tables for blackjack, poker and some other card games, as well as roulette wheels. The staff on those tables also appeared to be exclusively male, and were dressed up like naval ratings from several centuries ago.

The nautical theme was clear and if anything a little overwhelming, but what might have been gaudy and tacky elsewhere was carried here by the sheer level of indulgence and quality. As they had passed the display pieces and decoration, they'd noticed that everything seemed to be authentic – there was no sheen of composites on the anchor, but there was a rich patina of rust, pits and scars and the wear of hundreds of years. The fence around the centre section and the treasure chests were made of ancient wood, petrified with time and giving an authenticity that screamed of an approach that really justified 'no expense spared'.

Looking around at the other patrons, they could see why – they were almost at the point of being under-dressed, as every other visitor probably wore suits or gowns that cost as much as the entire team's wardrobe. Ostentatious gold and silver jewellery flashed and twinkled in the lights, while hand-crafted watches were more evident than commlinks, and every person they saw looked to be handsome and beautiful – or as good looking as a top-notch surgeon could make them.

From the raised area circling the 'lagoon' in the centre, they realised that guests here could see all of the games taking place, watching from relative comfort and without crowding around the players – but also that all of the games involving the rapid movement of chips, dice, balls or cards were all neatly clustered together. Looking up at the roof above they could spot, not only the signs for the hidden lights that reflected off of and lit up the space, but also several very suspicious holes or short tunnels, that no doubt concealed the high-resolution security cameras that monitored the area.

"Just been looking at that ship…" Hunter's eyes looked slightly odd as he zoomed in to the maximum he could, his cyberware distorting as the lenses extended to the maximum distance. I don't think it's actually an original ship – it'd be too much hassle to preserve and keep clean. But it looks like it's based on a single piece design. I'm not seeing any join lines or sectional construction. If that was actually made as an entity, then it means they either built it in the room – or it was installed during construction. Either way, that's a serious undertaking, and a pretty impressive piece of engineering."

The others looked over at the ship, admiring the aesthetic – at least until Shimazu conspicuously got up and hustled after Kai, who had managed to slide off his stool with barely a sound and was heading down into the lagoon.

"Oh no… please tell me he hasn't got all the credsticks!" Hunter slid off the chair and started to head down, and the rest of the team hurried after him. They caught up with Kai and Shimazu just as the pair reached the roulette table, Kai having stopped off momentarily to slot at least one of the credsticks and claiming a handful of chips.

"We still have some time before the meeting – I guess there's no harm in having a little gamble?" Spook opined.

"NO!" It was hard to tell who was more quick or forceful with their retort between Aswon, Marius and Hunter, while Tads was shaking her head vehemently. It was Aswon who carried on speaking though. "Kai – do NOT put down our profits on a massive gamble."

"But…. We could double our money. Think about what we could do with all that cash!"

"Or we could lose everything and end up doing taxi work, body-guarding slime and doing odd-jobs to pay for the clothes on our back and ammo, let alone fuel!"

"Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen!" the croupier announced, and around the table a number of people put chips between fifty and five-hundred Nuyen down on their chosen numbers.

"A thousand on red," Kai announced, and flipped the chip in that general direction. The croupier used his rake to position the chip for him, while the rest of the bets were placed with a little more care and precision by the rest of the bettors.

"No more bets." The croupier spun the wheel, then sent the ball skimming along the outer edge in the opposite direction, and the crowd watched as it spun around the ring, before eventually settling on the number twenty – a red pocket. The croupier paid out one other person who had placed a split bet around those numbers, then slid over a stack of chips towards Kai.

"Double me up, please." Kai gestured towards his initial stack, and the croupier pushed the winnings together with the original stack. Several of the other people around the table grinned, or whistled at Kai's nonchalance, before placing their own bets. Once more, the bets were called, the ball span, and a short time later it clicked into pocket fifteen – coming up red once more. There was a smattering of applause aimed at Kai, along with some muttered comments or good-natured ribbing, and as the croupier once more pushed a stack of chips his way, he tapped on the layout once more with his index finger.

"Double me up again, please."

"Placing eight thousand on red." The croupier announced, glancing over to catch the eye of one of the wandering members of staff, wearing what looked to be an officer's uniform – it at least had an extra set of stripes on the shoulder. The croupier got a nod of approval, and then neatened the stack of chips up, before checking that everyone else had their bets down. Once more the ball skittered and jumped around the ring, before coming to land in pocket fourteen – coloured black. Kai gave a little shooing motion to his chips, appearing to be unbothered as the croupier used his rake to pull in the stack of chips to his area, and various people around the table gave a little sigh or offered Kai their commiserations. It all seemed fairly good-natured though

"Better luck in the next game, sir." The croupier said, as Kai looked to be moving away from the table. Kai smiled at him and grabbed a couple more chips, then slid them over to the dealer.

"Thanks, have a good night." The croupier nodded, then conspicuously picked up the chips, showing the value of one thousand Nuyen, and placed them one by one into a slot, where they disappeared from sight. Kai let his grin wash over the other people at the table, then sauntered away, waving for the team to follow him. "Tempting as it was to go all in on red… I don't think you'd have liked that."

The team grumbled and moaned, but it didn't have any particular feeling to it – both because they were slightly relieved that Kai had only ended up losing two thousand, and because they knew from long experience that complaints slid off Kai like water off a duck's back…

They meandered through the gaming area, heading towards the ship at a casual pace and examining the betting floor and the patrons as they went. It looked like the patriarchy was definitely alive and well here, with the 'serious' players seeming to be exclusively male, while a lot of the men had what would commonly be described as 'trophies' on their arms – whether those be their actual wives, mistresses or professional courtesans was something they could only speculate on. The majority of the patrons were human, with a tiny smattering of elves and dwarves present. There wasn't a single troll to be seen, and the only orks present all seemed to be working security.

Tads diverted them to the side to stare through the 'cave' into the display of the ocean beyond. It was somewhat calming, and no doubt good for people to come and stare at after having lost a pile of chips on a big bet – but they also noticed there was a very simplistic narrative structure built into the display, where if you focussed on one of the smaller fishes, it seemed to chronicle a journey against multiple bigger fish as they tried to reach various places. Shimazu commented that it was probably a carefully constructed psychological piece of distraction to keep people invested in the place and to distract them from any thoughts about money.

It was now only a few minutes before nine, and they picked up the pace to head towards the galleon. The gangway that rose up from the casino floor to the entranceway appeared to be constructed of rotting timbers, moist with sea-water and with kelp dripping from the bottom – but as soon as they stepped onto it and felt the reassuring stability, it was clear that this too was a carefully crafted illusion. No doubt some special effects creator had earnt a tidy sum with some 'ever-wet' effect that had been applied to the carefully textured structural material, but there was no danger of this path going anywhere.

There was another ward present at the top of the gangway as they entered the ship, and Tads had to carefully sleaze her foci through it – but once more her skill and power were sufficient for her to evade the ward's attempt to block access. Inside the ship, Aswon had to bend forward at a significant angle, and both Shimazu and Hunter had to mind their heads, too. The interior of the ship was dark and continued the heavy theming, looking exactly as they would have expected if someone had said "what does a five hundred year old ship look like?". With none of them being naval historians, or even general historians, they couldn't comment on whether it was truly accurate to the period – but it looked like it could be.

One thing that definitely wasn't accurate was the access up and down the ship, which consisted of ramps rather than stairs or ladders, but that was clearly an aspect where the requirements for modern access had trumped historical accuracy, and matched the general level of accessibility in the rest of the facility. Rising up through the mid-decks, they could see cabins on either side of the access route that appeared to have sumptuous decorations and furnishings, gathered around smaller gaming tables – no doubt for hosting private poker games that also doubled as covert meetings for the movers and shakers of Hong Kong.

Finally, they rose to the top section of the ship, probably three full levels above the gaming floor, and approached the large cabin labelled as the 'Captain's Quarters'. Leaded windows gave them an expansive view of the artificial cavern and the hundreds of people moving around below, and it would have been easy to gaze out over their activities and people-watch for some time. Spook however moved to the door and gave it a quiet knock. Almost instantly, it swung open, revealing the expansive room inside. The ceilings in here were much higher, to Aswon's delight, though he still had to duck significantly to get through the door.

A large table was set across the stern of the ship, an elderly man sat behind it with a younger man standing to his right hand side, and six men with the unmistakable auras of bodyguards lined the two side walls, three to each side. Their suits bulged and hung strangely, distorted by the heavy armour plating that lined them. Subtlety was clearly not a factor here – they were armoured as a statement, as much as a warning. However there were no weapons visible, and even though the suits were clearly armoured, none of them displayed the often-spotted bulges that indicated a shoulder holster for some serious firepower.

The team moved in and formed a loose line in front of the table, examining the two men behind it. The elderly man, Mr. Fan presumably, looked to be well into his seventies, if not his eighties, with hair that was pure white, and a long moustache in the same colour. He wore a very traditional-looking silk shirt with finely detailed embroidery, while his younger associate wore a much more modern tailored suit. The associate seemed to be staring down at the sword hanging from Shimazu's side, with a very unhappy expression on his face.

"Good evening, and welcome. Thank you for coming, and I hope you will please excuse me for not standing to greet you. My legs are not as young as they once were, and I tire easily these days." His voice was a little thin, but still carried easily across the room, and conveyed a sense of self-assurance. Kai took a miniscule step forward – barely moving in fact, other than making it clear that he should be the centre of focus, and then bowed deeply to their host.

"Mr. Fan – thank you very much for inviting us to come and see you. We're very grateful for your time and attention, and the chance to see your wonderful establishment. Although we've only seen a little of it, we've had a wonderful time so far, and I have to say we've never seen anything quite so fine in all our travels." He kept his voice under control, speaking slowly and sincerely, giving the impression of speaking nothing but the absolute truth, and when he was finished, took an equally short step backwards to re-join the rest of the team.

"How very kind of you to say. Won't you please be seated?" At this, the bodyguards along the walls smoothly moved into action, picking up chairs to move behind the team and encouraging them to sit. The associate by Mr. Fan moved around, bringing one chair, and making a beeline for Shimazu – then placing his chair about a half-metre further back and away from Mr. Fan. The rest of the team paused, wondering what Shimazu would do – but he seemed un-phased by this apparent slight, and carefully sat down on the chair, nodding and murmuring his thanks to the man, settling back and clasping his hands on his lap, his face calm and inscrutable. "Please, some drinks for our guests." Moments later the door opened, and more staff came in, bringing exactly the same drinks orders that they'd placed down on the casino floor initially.

"And of course, thank you for making the arrangements, Sing," Mr Fan turned towards Spook.

"It was my pleasure, Grandfather. Aswon, I have known for some time, and I have the greatest regard for him, and his team have proved to be most competent, and they could be a great asset." Fan nodded, and then turned back towards the team, addressing Kai mostly, but with glances at the rest of the team as he watched their reactions.

"I certainly won't press you for the details of your current work, or why you are in Hong Kong. I'm sure you have no desire to share. However, I thought we could meet, and discuss the possibility of work in the future, if you are open to such a thing?"

"We're certainly very interested, Mr. Fan. We look at a variety of business ventures and opportunities, though we do have some aspects we are more interested in than others. I take it that you've been briefed on our capabilities and style?"

"Your capabilities yes – the style? Well, I would rather hear such a thing from you."

"Well – I would say that our main bread and butter is smuggling – whatever the goods are, moving from a place of supply to demand, without permits. We have an aircraft that is nice and stealthy, with a reasonable cargo capacity that allows us to move swiftly and without detection."

"It is always good to have relocation experts on the payroll."

"Relocation experts – of course. Certainly not smugglers." Kai gave him an engaging smile, as if he'd just been told a funny, yet insightful joke. "From that, though, we have expanded into other areas of work. We have performed a number of retrieval missions – either bringing cargo from a dangerous or remote area back to an employer, or recovering stolen items to return them to their rightful owners. We have experience of handling parabotanical and paracritters, expensive artwork and magical cargoes that require shielded handling."

He paused for a moment, making sure that Mr. Fan didn't want to add anything or ask any questions, then continued.

"We do shy away from certain activities, though – things like people-smuggling where it is against their will, kidnapping, and wetwork. That's not to say we wouldn't do those at all – but they are jobs we very carefully consider. It's not our area of expertise, and we don't have equipment that is best suited to it, as well as some moral and ethical considerations – and we know that there are teams out there that are much better suited to it than we are. So we leave that kind of work to them. We do, however, like to take on some of the more unusual tasks – magical investigations and 'weird things', some things with a bit of mystery or challenge."

"Interesting. Very interesting." Mr Fan ran a finger down his moustache, idly playing with the long hairs that swept down each side of his mouth.

"We tend to only work as the whole team, and try to support each other. I'm sure if there's anything I've missed, they can remind me…"

"We work as independent contractors as well – not members of staff on your payroll." Aswon added. "But we aim to bring the highest levels of professionalism with us. You can trust us to get the job done, and not to discuss it with anyone else afterwards.

"Yes, very much so – thanks, Aswon. We don't like to talk about our previous work, and we won't use knowledge gained on one job to help another client out later – or take advantage of that knowledge against you. If we're asked to work against a former client, we refuse and move on to a new job."

"I see. Please, bear with me for a moment…" Mr. Fan leant back in his chair, then turned his head to look up towards his assistant. When he spoke, his voice was just as loud and clear as before, even though it was directed towards his own staff – clearly intended to be heard by the team. "Outsiders, Mr. Li, are something you should consider carefully. They do not know our ways perhaps, and there are many that dismiss them. But the waters in the China Sea - do we think they never saw the Atlantic Ocean? Or the Indian? All things flow and ebb, change over time. And just because they are from far away, does not make them less worthy. Just different."

"Yes, Grandfather."

"Many will treat them poorly, or as inferiors. And truly some of them are. Those - like the dregs of our society, you should use and discard, tools that are unworthy of a craftsman. But some rocks shine bright, and are not to be used to make a path, but to be treated well. And the advantage to having someone from...elsewhere, is that your enemies find it much hard to plan and take account of their capabilities. Where conflict comes to the fore, they could be the difference between failure and success."

Mr. Fan didn't seem to be bothered about discussing the team in front of them, or that he was potentially discussing discarding some employees of low worth. Perhaps it was a message to the team that 'biz was biz', or that it was better to be at the top of the pile than the bottom. Maybe it was all for show, and didn't reflect his true thoughts. It was hard to say either way, given their limited knowledge of the man.

"Assuming we have suitable work, I take it then that you're interested in some independent contracts in the future?"

"Yes, Spook here speaks very highly of your professionalism and calibre." Kai kept it simple, wondering where this was going to go.

"We're not local though, so transport costs might be high, or could lead to some time passing before we are available."

"Ahh, yes – thank you, Tads. We're actually based over in Europe – but were doing a delivery this way. Obviously with a fast aircraft we can make the journey in less than a day if required – but that brings with it certain costs in fuel and time."

"We have been known to act as emissaries from time to time. Delivering messages securely, or acting as ambassadors or neutral messengers, for dealing with other organisations." Aswon added.

"I see. Well we should swap contact information for the future. I feel certain that we can do business together at some point." Mr. Li reached into a pocket and pulled out his commlink, and with a few taps on the screen started broadcasting a virtual contact card, beaming his information to the team's devices. Kai did the same in return, swapping their contact information. "Of course, such things are a two-way street - is there anything you have need of?"

"Well, we have had a long journey to reach Hong Kong, and as it turns out we do have some errands to run nearby. It is always useful and most welcome to have knowledge of some quiet and out of the way places where we can land and make arrangements to refuel, without attracting official attention?"

"That seems reasonable. I'm sure we know of some places that could be useful. Perhaps…" Mr. Fan considered for a moment. "The tank and the bay I think." He glanced up again to Mr. Li, and gave a brief nod, and his assistant tapped away on his link once more, before sending over two more contact cards. This time Hunter and Marius made sure they received the cards on their own commlinks as well. Hunter checked the co-ordinates as they stored in his device, and did a quick mental translation of the co-ordinates.

"Both in the South China Sea area, if I'm reading those right… one more northerly than the other, not much deflection in latitude." Hunter studied the numbers carefully, mentally trying to place them on the map – but both seemed to be in areas of open water. Mr. Fan nodded to him, and then raised both hands together in front of his mouth, steepling his fingers as he considered them for a moment.

"It was good to meet you, and to have this introduction. However, I'm sure you have a desire to try some more of our facilities, or enjoy some gambling, or perhaps you have things to see in the city. It has been an enjoyable meeting, and I look forward to working with you in the future – but for now, we won't keep you any longer."

"Of course, Mr. Fan. It was our pleasure to meet you, and once again we appreciate the invitation. We wish you the best of health and fortune, and look forward to working with you soon." Kai spoke respectfully and gave another deep bow to Fan, and a slightly less deep bow to Mr. Li. In turn, Mr. Fan nodded graciously, and somewhat to his surprise, Mr. Li returned his bow. The team stood, and with a bow of her own, Spook moved around her chair and led the way out, the team filing out through the door in single file, without a word. She swiftly led the way down the ramps and back out of the ship, down the gangway and to the casino floor, not stopping her brisk pace until she was a good five metres clear of the entrance ramp. She stopped and turned to face them, and gave a visible sigh of relief.

"Good job – that went well. I think he was impressed by you."

"Oh good – I was a little worried, when he started to talk to Mr. Li. But otherwise it seemed to go well." Hunter coughed, loudly and stared at Kai.

"Do we want to save any discussions for outside? I'm sure this area is being monitored by cameras at the very least…"

"I'm happy to head out – maybe go find somewhere for dinner? We are all dressed up after all!"

"We were invited to enjoy the gambling by Mr Fan." Aswon pointed out. "I would suggest that we not ignore our host – perhaps even if we only go and place one bet each, for the sake of appearances and decorum."

"Yes – that's not a bad idea. Ok, let's go get some chips…" Kai led the way over to the cashier desk, and gave every other member of the team a thousand nuyen's worth of chips, and the team spread out over the floor, each finding a game to try their luck on. Tads tried her luck on some slot machines and they quickly swallowed her tokens until she was all gone. She looked a little confused as to how this was supposed to be fun, but shrugged and moved on. Aswon also tried some slots, but seemed to be much more aware of some kind of strategy for play, and spent several minutes nursing his chips – still losing, but keeping his losses down to about 20% of his stake.

Marius sat down at a blackjack table and played a few hands, playing a very conservative and mathematically correct game. Of course, random luck was still a huge part of the hands played, but his innate intelligence let him swiftly calculate the odds, and he came out ahead after only a few hands. He cut from the table when he was up a few hundred and headed back to the cashier to cash out, meeting up with Hunter.

"How did you do?"

"Lost it all…" Hunter winked at him though, leaving Marius unsure on what he meant. He was as acutely aware of how likely they were to be monitored though, and didn't press for an explanation.

Ten minutes later, the team had met up near the centre and they decided that they'd certainly been there long enough to be polite, and had engaged with Mr. Fan's facility enough to avoid causing offence – and made their way back through the tunnel and past the guarding statues. By the time they reached the fake shore, there were two of the coracles waiting for them, and after climbing aboard they quickly descended through the hologram and back down to the security office – the journey down seeming to be much more direct and swift.

Recovering their weapons was handled swiftly and professionally, and the peace bonding material was melted free and removed from Shimazu's sword, and they were free to cross the river and through the scanners once more, heading out of the doors and into the evening warmth. It had at least cooled enough to no longer be sweltering and muggy, and enough breeze from the sea kept them from immediately starting to sweat as they left the air-conditioned confines of the building.

"I'll get someone to come and pick us up – any preference for a dining location?"

"I'm not fussed. But also – we don't have to go anywhere with wards or anything." Tads looked back at the building, nodding at it. "The wards in there were more than strong enough, I think, and numerous enough, to make sure that any tracking attempts would have been thrown off."

"I'd actually quite like to go back to the Broadsword." Hunter said quietly. "I ain't fussed about fancy food – I'd rather get a really big bag of takeout, and get back somewhere comfy…" He looked over at Spook. "Nothing personal, just being honest."

"Nothing wrong with that. I'd…" She paused for a moment, her gaze flitting to Marius. "I'd actually quite like to see the inside of your aircraft, if you don't mind – it looks pretty cool. I'd happily join you for some food there?"

Spook called for her limo driver, and they headed via a fast-food outlet back to the building site, climbing aboard the Broadsword and settling down in the passenger cabin to eat and drink. Aswon was just about to start chatting with Spook, when he saw Hunter hold up a hand to stop him, then point at Aswon's food. He grabbed the bug scanner from their gear, and then started to work over the team's clothing, looking to see if anyone had managed to plant any covert devices on them while they'd been in the casino. Each of the weapons they'd handed in to security also got a thorough going-over too. It took a few minutes, but everyone was happy to sit quietly and just eat while he worked.

"All clear, as far as I can tell." He announced, and headed back to his kit to put the scanner away. While he had his back turned on Spook, Hunter selected Aswon on the team frequency and sent him a covert message.

"Hey – your buddy Spook. She's not going to be pissed at loosing biz is she?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we got the old man's deets now. Don't need to go through her for jobs any more."

"Hrm – gotcha. Let me ask…"

Aswon waited for Spook to finish her mouthful of food, then called over to her.

"Hey Spook. Just wondering… We've got Fan's details now – he might be calling us, or us calling him. Not going to be a problem for you is it? I mean, you're not brokering the deals anymore, so there's no cut for you?"

"It's cool. Probably ends up that way for a good third of my contacts, depending on who they are, and how much I trust them. Something like this – Grandfather is going to remember who brokered the introduction, who set him up with the contact. If you do good, some of that rep is going to rub off onto me, and my rep. I'm in pretty tight with him anyways I'd say, and he knows I work with people that can get frak done. Your rep is my rep. Of course, that goes both ways…"

"Well, we don't like to fail – but we'll also keep that in mind."

"Something else we should bear in mind at this juncture." Marius butted into the conversation, holding a forkful of food in front of him while he examined it suspiciously. "If we get in tight with one branch, clan or style of organised crime, we become less independent. We work for Fan once, that is fine. We work for him on a hundred missions, then we might find issues dealing with the Yakuza, Rings, Mafia or Vory."

"You've got a point, Marius, that's for sure. Not something that bothers me that much, but then I'm based here – it's the Triad's home turf, and the other syndicates have a hard time here. Something that's going to bother you a lot more I guess – but it'd have to be pretty major to make it onto the radar of someone in Korea, Japan, the Italian Confederation or Moscow…"

"Indeed. But it is worth remembering."

"Well, I got two words we can throw out that might help there… 'Ryumo' and 'Lung'. If they can trust us to be neutral, then their syndicates can be, too!"

"We don't know for sure that those two men were dragons, Aswon."

"Yeah, we do, Tads. Come on. Have we found any evidence to the contrary? And who else has the kind of cash and mojo to throw around to send us on a trip like that?" Spook stared at Hunter with unfeigned interest, wondering what he and the others were talking about.

"Well, that's something we're pretty convinced on, but not one-hundred percent, for sure. Maybe a tale for another time." Aswon turned his attention back to Spook. "So, before we leave – is there anything we can do for you? Any little favours?"

"No, I'm good thanks – all my pots are simmering away nicely. This meeting was a big worry, but it seemed to go very well."

"Anything for our young friend?" Now it was the rest of the team's turn to look at Spook with curiosity, but she, too, deflected neatly.

"No, we're all good actually. Doing very well in fact. So – the job to the Huk, you're happy with arrangements?"

"Yes, we'll probably look at slipping out of the city early hours and heading down to meet the weapons dealer you have lined up, and just keep the job simple. Might be less profit, but a lot less hassle and risk."

"Well, that sounds like my cue to leave then – let you get a few hours of rest before you head out." Spook stood up and started grabbing the take-away pots and wrappers, collecting them all into a bag to take with her. She put the bag down quickly as Aswon approached her and enveloped her in a hug, holding her tightly for a few moments and whispering something into her ear, before he released her with a big grin.

"You all take care of yourselves – and I'll see you next time you're here?"

"Count on it, Spook. Right – let's get an hour or two's kip, then we're wheels up to head to the weapons dealer."

Spook headed out, watching as the ramp closed and the craft disappeared before her eyes, concealed by the polymer stealth system and the concealing spirit, before turning to head for the edge of the building site, calling up a taxi company on her link to take her home.