Plenty of Fish

[Supercape]

GM

 

Sveta took in Merge, with barely the twitch of an eyebrow. 

 

But she laughed at the comment about Bond villains. 

 

"My God, I've never been a Bond villain" she replied. "Although I'm Russian and have a mysterious past, that much is true" she conceded. 

 

She was about to say more, but stopped herself, looking at Merge. 

 

"Quite a crowd here at the Buck" she said, sipping on a vodka. It was only a gentle sip; enough to savour without risking intoxication. 

 

"But let me get the drinks. Vodka Martini?" she said with a wink, moving towards the bar, all swaying hip. 

 

As she brushed past Asad, she pulled him slightly, and, out of sight of Merge (or at least one of them), whispered to him. 

 

"I would say more, but for your ears only..."

[Tiffany Korta]

Merge waited for this Sveta to get a little further out of earshot before speaking again to Asad.

“If you feel the need to unload feel free. Then I can go and you can claim that I had something to go do, shuffle board or some other posh person's sport.” she gave a little shrug “But all this is, and I really hope it is, a massive coincidence. I’m here for something totally different and kind of personal, a family matter. I didn’t just pop into existence one day to be a bane of your life, though sometimes I wonder if it would be easier.”

[TheAbsurdist]

"The only kind of Russian women who approach me are the mysterious type.  Maybe not Bond villain, perhaps, but something else.  Maybe corporate espionage."  He smiled tightly and nodded at the martini thing, she looked nice walking away.  Though... the feeling of her as a bit of a serpent wasn't something he could shake.  They swayed too, right?  Right.

 

Merge, of course had something to say, and he glanced to her.  "My attendance was public record, so I am having a hard time believing you.  That said, I really don't know, or care why you are here.  But it isn't a coincidence that you are here, during one of the biggest financial events for this quarter, probably this half of the year.  But you are just trying to reassure yourself more than me."  He sighed and made his body language such that he was aimed at Sveta, even if he was now scanning the rest of the crowd.

 

"I don't believe you are here intentionally Merge, that you are here means something is up.  I don't run into people like us at these things unless something is going to happen.  Allah, it seems, has a sense of humor.  Which I cannot fault him."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Sveta returned, holding two vodka martini's. They had a slice of lemon in. They were almost crystal clear. One could almost see how very dry they were. 

 

She handed one to Asad, and took a sip of her own. Not too spartan, and not too liberal a sip. Her eyes landed on Merge. 

 

"I smell history" she said, looking at the two of them, with a polite suspicion, or more accurately, an interest. Merge was certainly difficult to ignore. 

 

"I don't want to get in the way of a lovely reunion" she said, without awkwardness, even a little demure. "Ill be at the pool, sunning my ass and sipping on this"

 

She raised her glass. 

 

"I'd stop by, if I was you. And not just for the view of my ass" she said, her tone flecked with seriousness now. "I'm not here just for pleasure. This conference is hot stuff. I'd keep your eyes open" she explained to Asad. 

 

"My are"

 

With that, she took her martini with her, walking without undue haste or sloth to the pool. Her hips swaying, her movements lithe, but not perhaps as much as they had been. 

[TheAbsurdist]

"Oh, check the tabloids, I have history with half of the western hemisphere."  He offered a small smirk as he looked at Sveta, "I will be right over Ms. Onnatop."  Unable to resist adding another Bond reference in there as he watched Sveta walk away.  Part of him wanted to do something stupid, it was the part that lamented the inability to really cut loose like he used to.  It didn't help that he really didn't have a taste for that kind of stuff, except for appearances.

 

Still, he watched Sveta as he drank his martini, though she was out of earshot.  "If whatever it is you are doing blows up, Merge, I will likely be there for that.  Now I am going to go follow a spider to her web, and see what trouble she is up to."  And with that, he glanced to the multiple mischief maker, before following after the Russian.

[Supercape]

GM

 

At the Royal Buck Pool

 

Sveta lay on her back, dark olive skin and luxury red bikini. Martini in hand. Sunglasses on eyes. 

 

Everybody made sure they were very attentive to appearing not be paying attention. This was a superhero. you could almost taste the swirling egos and every attendant emotion. 

 

"You two had a history" she said, more of a statement than a question, full of confidence she was right. 

 

"Don't tell if you don't want to speak. To be honest, their are bigger fish to fry. Plenty of fish to fry". 

 

She sat up, Martini still level. She had knocked back a fair bit, too. And she seemed as level as her Martini. 

 

"This conference, I have heard whispers and insinuations. Gossip and rumour. Half of it might be lies. The other half might be honest mistakes. But still..."

 

A trace, a fleck, of concern, as she looked away. 

 

"World electronic banking. Theory, of course. But attractive to many. We are half way there anyway. But say, if somebody does pull if off here. Say they managed to insert a virus, or rewrite the code. I'm not a computer expert. But say someone used that power for themselves, or some ideology. A lot of wealth could swim the wrong way...." she whispered. 

 

"I'm Russian. You get paranoid with that. I don't like to see wealth swim to the rich and away from the poor. Now, you having more wealth than I can dream of...you tell me what you think of that?"

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

And meanwhile...

 

Dwayne, determined to carry his only luggage, hopped from foot to foot infront of Nicki. Earnest had given up trying to carry it himself, and had all but given up hope for a good tip. He flashed a pleasant smile, but the light of joy had diminished and gone. 

 

"Miss, I have the...ah..." the faintest of pauses "...pleasure of escorting you to your rooms..."

 

Adjoining, first floor, sea view. Excellent rooms, too, with, according to Earnest, as he rattled out his parrot list, 

 

All Mod-Cons

Air Conditioning

Free Standing Bath

Mini-Bar

Free Wi-Fi and Hotel Desk Computer

Satellite Television, with over a hundred top rated channels, plus..ahem..specialist channels available to buy

Room Service

Gift champagne, apparently bough by a secret admirer

 

He rattled off the three restaurants at the Royal Buck, that all seemed at least moderately resplendent, if not excellent. Probably over priced too. Dinner would, it would seem, be served at 17:00 to 23:00. 

 

"May I show you to your rooms, madam, and, er, sir..." he asked Nicki and Dwayne, who was so exited his eyes might enucleate themselves, and his perspiration drown his lungs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheAbsurdist]

Once he got to Sveta and she was talking to him he knocked back the martini like it was water.  Which considering how expensive the alcohol used in it there would be no burn at all.  But he was not a new person when it came to drinking, so there was going to be a minimal problem with that, at best.  "Again, have you read the articles?  Finding someone I don't have a history with would be the herculean feat."

 

His expression was mild, a brow lifted is bemusement.  "I was expecting a request to apply lotion.  Hm.  Business?  Well business says there already is a global banking system, more or less.  Not completely unified, but that is known.  Honestly, as long as we have independent countries it wont be feasible, this idea is a pipe dream thought up by someone who doesn't get finances, and still is confused as to why the dot com bubble died a fiery and easily foreseen death."

 

He flopped onto a chez lounge next to hers, making himself comfortable in a suit that was simple seeming, but imminently expensive.  "Pardon me, but that is a mound of bolshevik, and we both know it.  The nameplates on who the oligarchs are in Russia change, but they've always been there.  Marx was an idiot who was propped up by his rich friend, and the switch from serfdom and the empire to communism was a lateral change, at best, for the populace,"  He said with an arm raised and gesturing that hand to the rhythm of his words.

 

"Given I can transfer funds literally any time I want to any bank in the world, I don't really have an opinion beyond feeling my time is wasted here.  And unlike most I actually have a value amount for what a second of my life is.  Like any good capitalist swine.  But, I also engage in obscene amounts of philanthropy, and am willing to talk to someone who is genetically predisposed to be a femme fatale."  And with that he snapped a finger, drawing attention to everyone who was trying to pretend their weren't listening, and failing.  "So, what precisely do you want?"  His head rolling to the side and looking at Sveta.

 

"Also, another martini!  This one dirtier than a beltway insider!"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I didn't know you studied philosophy" said a straight faced Sveta. Or was there a smile there?

 

"Yes Sir! Right away Sir!" nodded a poolside attendant, who was ever so pleased, it seemed, to be of assistance. At least his name badge declared this to be the case. 

 

Sveta polished off her own Martini but did not take another. Instead, she somehow slithered closer. Talking in something barely above a whisper. 

 

"What, you want me to tell all my secrets? I'm genetically programmed not to, you know..." she answered, boldly, without breaking eye contact. 

 

"I'm a spy. Old school. I can't say who for. And in any case, you are smart to know that even if I did, it would be a lie. I wasn't expecting you here. This adds an element of chaos to the mix. And the mixture is chaotic enough already. So I need to know I can count on you if things get....well, violent..." she conceded. 

 

"Although I'm not here for violence. I'm here to stop somebody ripping apart the global e-banking system. But, to be frank, I don't know who, and I don't know why. It might not even be one person. Perhaps, for a job like this, it needs several. It certainly needs the expertise of someone with world class software skills, perhaps even some super powered ability to do so. The security, both physical and cyberspace, is tight around the tech here..."

 

"So, have you seen anything unusual with those X-Ray eyes?" she asked, more light heartedly. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Nicki gently nudged Dwayne in the ribs to get his attention on the thing on hand, sometime she was sure right now he’d forget to breath if she wasn’t here to keep an eye on him.

 

“That would be great thank you very much. You have a great place here, and I don’t mean just the hotel, what can you tell me about the area?”

 

It didn't hurt to try and gather a little intel about the area and make a few friends along the way, she just hope she got beyond the standard guest spiel.

Meaning while one of the now many Merge’s hanging around the hotel was out by the pool keeping an eye on Asad and this mysterious Russian. She was even going to the extra effort of playing the waiting staff, and by keeping out of the way she hoped that neither of them would notice them around.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The rooms were most splendid, and did indeed largely live up to the hype. Nikki and Dawyne had rooms next to each other, single, but at a size which would be more than enough for a small family. The free standing bath was particularly luxurious. 

 

"Yippeee!" yelled Dwayne, more than once, and with plenty of (and perhaps an excess of) enthusiasm. 

 

Most excellent champagne was in both rooms. A most excellent champagne in a most excellent silver plated ice bucket. Presumably the ice was spring water too. Just because. 

 

"Wow! Can I?" asked Dwayne, tossing the bottle from hand to hand. 

 

Both rooms were also equipped with state of the art laptops computers, with the Royal Buck logo as the screen saver, and free internet access. They even had popular games like Planet of Battleworks, and The Cyberpeople loaded onto them. Again, all free of charge. 

 

A complementary card was with the champagne. 

 

Hi Lover!

So glad you could come!

I'm in room 212, above you!

Can't wait to meet you!

You can videolink me on the hotels website...Theroyalbuck212....! 

Kisses!

 

 

 

[TheAbsurdist]

"Why would I stop them from ruining the presentation of a colossally bad idea?  I mean who is going to give the oversight?  The world bank?  Again, a pipe dream by people who don't understand the implications presented.  Filling a need that exist.  It's like inflatable unicorn horns for cats."  His brows arched as he looked at Sveta.  A frown on he settled on the lounge chair, shifting a bit as he looked away from her, looking very bored.

 

"That is... expected.  What do you want, or think I can do?  I am a selfish lothario."  He smirked and shook his head as she elaborated and confirmed his suspicions, or toyed with him.  It was hard to say really.  So he laughed a little, as the guy brought the drink, sipping at the murky martini as he crossed his legs at the ankles and looked at the sky.

 

"Oh, I know there will be trouble.  So much."  A snort, and he shook his head.

[Supercape]

GM

 

By the pool...

 

"Perhaps. Perhaps you are a Selfish Lothario. Or maybe not". She finished her drink. She almost looked disappointed. Perhaps even anxious. But she soon steeled herself. 

 

"I don't think you are. Not when it comes right down to it. Oh, you may play at being one. Perhaps even, you live and think as one. But I think...I hope...that when you are really needed, you will be there" she answered, firmly. 

 

"But tell me. Are you really a man who is reactive rather than proactive? do you merely respond on a whim, when trouble arises, then you fly in to save the day?"

 

"Not that I would object if there is trouble. I would very much like you fly in and save the day. But here is the thing. Perhaps by then, it is too late. The damage has been done". 

 

She stood up and put one hand on her hip, giving him a penetrating glance. 

 

"I am here to stop trouble before it starts. That gets dangerous, that gets complicated. That gets...dirty. But it also works. I am proactive. So, what are you, mister?" she asked, challenging him. "Are you going to help stop the storm, or just fight the storm when it arrives?"

Edited June 21, 2016 by Supercape

[Tiffany Korta]

From the door of Dwayne’s bathroom another Merge appeared once the porter had closed the door, snatching up the note and reading it before tossing it to Dwayne with a little snort.

 

“Well this doesn't smell suspicious at all, at least it’s probably not that tramp downstairs.” thinking a second she gave a bitter little laugh “Because no one else could possibly be in two places at once.” the sarcasm dripped from her voice

 

As she spoke she carefully opened the champagne and poured herself a generous glass, this was not something she wanted to do without alcohol in her.

“Oh well when you’re ready give you true love a call, at least I can finally see who you’ve been flirting with.”

[Supercape]

GM

 

The face on the screen was beautiful. 

 

A dark rich skin, petite features, and long hair that was not exactly unkempt but fell naturally, like wildness, over her face. Her eyes were brown and shining, deep, inviting, and smart. It was a face to launch - if not a fleet of ships, then certainly a few dozen handsome ones. 

 

"Hi handsome!" she said, a deep rich voice to match the face. It was hard if not impossible to place her accent, but she clearly spoke English fluently. 

 

"How do you like the room, how do you like the weather? Is every thing ok?"

 

Dwayne perked up, his eyes shining with admiration, his smile threatening to split his face in twain. 

 

"Sure, yeah, great, I mean, good, I mean, yeah...fantastic!" he said, rambling and manic with excitement. 

 

"See...I told ya!" he said to his sister. 

 

"Your sister came? Great!" said the face on the screen. "Can I see her?"

[Tiffany Korta]

Merge rolled her eyes and gave her “brother” such a dirty look, he was never going to make the hallowed halls of a super spy. As she gave him the stink eye she rapidly change her look to one more fitting of Nicki then Merge, removing makeup and putting on a large hat to hide her blonde hair with it colored tips. It wasn’t perfect Merge was always more glamorous than Nicki, something they both prefered, but there wasn’t time for the real deal to come into the room even if it was only a room away.

 

“Well hello there, just wanted to see this girl my brother can’t stop talking about.” she even put on a more Nicki like accent, it was strange in that they tried to sound and act so unlike each other.

 

“Of cause I’ll leave alone you to catch up, but I wanted to say hi first. And oh gosh I don’t think I even caught you name?”

She hoped with a face she had enough to try and find out anything she could about this woman.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Jenny. Jenny X" said Jenny X, her smiling face over the vidlink. 

 

"I'm Dawynes...well..." she paused, coy. "I'm Dwaynes...friend" she said, vaguely, still smiling. At Dwayne, who had peeked over his sisters shoulder to get a look at his friend. 

 

"She is totally awesome!" he whispered, loudly, in his "sisters" ear. 

 

"Look, I know you might be worried. But Dwayne is pretty awesome! He knows his way around computers and stuff. Got a gift. Even if he is a bit, well, unique"

 

Dwayne dug fingers into his sister's shoulders. 

 

"Look, I'd love to meet up with you Dwayne, but, you know, perhaps in private?" she asked, a bit nervously. 

 

"Please!" whispered Dwayne, again to loudly...

[Tiffany Korta]

Nicki was the thinking of the two, whilst Merge was more of the doing type so whilst Merge was scowling at Jenny Nicki was thinking of a why to turn this to get some advantage. And by the time the big question was asked Nicki had worked out a possible answer.

 

“We just need a moment for a brother and sister conference. If you’ll excuse us a minute!”

 

Merge muted the mic and turned round the screen, just in case she could read lips she’d learned that you could never be too careful.

 

“Okay you can go up and see her, but on one condition. You link up to the computer next door and I get to see and hear everything, well almost everything...”

 

Something's a sister really didn’t want to see her brother doing.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Dwayne appeared excited and frightened, the twins of adrenaline. 

 

"Yeah..I mean...oh...I mean...I mean..." he stammered. 

 

"I mean, I'm scared!" he confessed. He was nearly in tears. 

 

"She is beautiful! Crazy super fine!" he repeated. "What do I say? What should I do? What if she doesn't like me". 

 

And now, he broke down in tears, great winds of tears seeping from him. 

 

"I mean...look at me?" he said, confessing, and keeping coherent. "I'm a mess! Who would love me? I'm...damaged...I'm not normal. A kid with no future, no life...scrambled in my brain...cant even speak....why would anybody love me? Especially her?"

 

He wept uncontrollably, pulling on his sisters clothes. 

 

 

 

 

[Tiffany Korta]

 

Merge held her brother close to her gently trying to calm him down, she had cried out long, long ago. She remembered when he was the confident older brother who Nicki had look up to and he defended her from all the darkness in the world. But now she had to look after him, the very reason she became Merge Trois in the first place.

 

She lifted his head with her finger until he was looking him in the eyes, looking for all the world like she knew all the answers.

 

“Don’t worry if you’re linked to the computer they I’ll be able to be there the whole way through. I can give you any advice if you need it,but you’ll do fine kiddo!”

[Supercape]

GM

 

A moment later...

 

Jenny X was, it seemed, residing in a similarly luxurious suite a mere thirty seconds walk through plush and pleasantly fragrant corridors away. At this rather elite part of the hotel (which was already of fine calibre), only the rich and famous resided. The cost was shocking. Many businessmen, dancing in the upper tiers of the financial sector, were here for the conference. Some where old, some where young, all where rich, and had every savoury and unsavoury trappings of that lifestyle. Trophy wives, and indeed trophy husbands, amongst them. 

 

The odd security guard for such splendid plutocrats was of course par for the course. Having two burly men on the corridor was not perhaps unusual, but even so, for those on the alert, it was noticeable. Hotel security, perhaps? It would certainly be prudent for such very wealth clients to have security, and so to for the Hotel. 

 

Dwaynes eyes had shed every tear they could, and he was still shaking, shuddering, from the intensity of this. Mumbling, incoherent. Despite every word or comfort from a loving sister. 

 

"I'm scared" he whimpered to her, as they approached the door of Jenny X. 

[Tiffany Korta]

 

Nicki sat at her computer screen watching everything Dwayne was doing and hearing, the only difference from her normal interaction with Merge (of which several different version drifted in her mind) was that she wasn’t receiving his thoughts and emotions. Not that it was difficult to tell what he was thinking right now, luckily they rigged it so she could actually hear his voice rather than a rather cold typed world floating in his mind.

 

“Don’t worry you’ll be fine, you’ll little sister will be here every step of the way. Now clean yourself up and act as confident as you can. Remember she want to see you and know you so you already up on that point.”

[Supercape]

GM

 

A moment later, back in Dwaynes most splendid room...

 

The ice in the ice bucket was still crisp and cool, and so was the impressive vintage in it. 

 

With a few clicks the computer flicked onto Dwaynes very unique transmissions. 

 

And shocking it was. 

 

Four beefy men, dressed lightly, cracking knuckles. Standing over a petrified Dwayne, who was shaking to the point that one might be concerned he was having an epileptic seizure. 

 

Next to him, a shrunken figure, who could not have been more than four foot tall, and barely skin and bones. But with the face of a young and beautiful woman. The face of Jenny X!

 

"Dwayne, I need you to listen. To help us. We don't want to hurt you. But...well...we need to help us, one way or another. There are ways we can make you help us. And you wouldn't want that, would you..."

 

One of the four beefy men approached the terrified Dwayne, holding a syringe full of ominous purple hued liquid...

[TheAbsurdist]

He is working on his... third drink?  Fourth?  He wasn't really keeping track, and he arched a brow as he looked at her, snorting a little bit at her assertions and all of that.  This had happened before, different sales pitch perhaps, but that was all they were.  At least to him.

 

"Mm, and this is where the grasp of a language helps, when your metaphor choice is off.  I find it better to be entirely literal for these sorts of things in those instances."  He lifted a hand and moves it about gesturing around them.  "First your assertion that there are two problem crisis management methods is just wrong."

 

A pause and another sip, as he rolled a bit more fully on his back and crossed his legs at his ankles.  "I define my efforts as responsive to tends, as well as actions.  I am not reactive, or proactive, I do not let the fear of a possible outcome, or something that has already happened, rule my decision making.  Both are driven by fear.  And you never make promises when you're happy, and you never make long term planning when you are scared."

 

Finishing that drink and he turned to her, moving his arm to rest his cheek on his upturned palm that was propped up by elbow.  "That's how we got the Cold War.  And George Santayana says, well you know, blah, blah."  His other hand rose, and spread out his fingers, holding parallel to the ground before he started to shake it back an forth.

 

"As for what I am?  That's simple, I am a billionaire who doesn't support this idea.  Who knows that this big keynote is a proposal, that the selling hasn't happened."  And then he slowly pushed himself to his feet, and then he smirked, as he let that bored expression leave his face, and he gave her that bit of intensity she was hoping to stoke.

 

"More importantly I am man that can shut the storm down.  Nice try Sveta, but I am being sold things forty-six hours out of my forty-eight hour day.  And you don't get to where I am without a lot of plans ready."