I smiled.  Being called Sword was a pretty good code name. "Tea, please."  I set the briefcase on a side table.  "I brought you something.  The Delmonico Restaurant was kind enough to keep what look like low level records of some of their customer's criminal activities.  Some of them are in code.  Others are not encoded.  If you think you might be able to find a good way to use them, please accept them as a gift.  Oh, and do you like to smoke an occasional cigar?"

He gladly takes the suitcase.

Then he smirks as he takes a cigar.

"Very nice indeed. Strange that they are not any used." He clips off the end of one, and prepares to light it, but your hand moves like lightning, and grabs it.  He looks puzzled, but you saw a bit of white paper inside it.

Retrieving it yields a small sheet of paper with twenty sets of initials and a three digit number next to each.  Most have '100' next to them.  The highest is '400'.

   I looked at the list.  "You might want to give up smoking for a little while.  We need to take the rest of these cigars apart very carefully.  Keep the cigar bands and wrappers with each deconstructed cigar.  The bands might contain some kind of coded information."

   I handed the list to the Baronet.  "This looks a lot like a list of payoffs.  This could be what we need to pull the fangs of the snake called the Martini Mob.  Shall we get started?"

He clears off the desk, and the two of you begin carefully taking apart every cigar.  Then its time to examine each and every one.

You find two other sheets.

One has four sets of initials and numbers 1000, 1000, 1400, 2000, and the other sheet has five sets of initials and just a slash like '-----' where a number might be.  There is no sign of a code on the cigar bands.

"Barbarians. To use Rosehills this way. Thirty pounds each.  Hand selected leaves by experts.  This is a crime."

   I had to smile.  "Technically, the Martinis only used three of them.  We destroyed all of them.  But the action, no how regrettable or expensive, was necessary."

   I picked up the long list with the smaller numbers.  "If this is a payoff list, these people are probably all connected somehow.  I'm going with this being a list of dirty cops.  The larger numbers are probably the supervisors or maybe Internal Affairs."

   I then picked up the short list with the big numbers.  "Given these numbers, if this is a payoff list, the people who are getting between one and two thousand must be some serious shakers and movers in Philly.  You are more tied into the local scene than I am.  Do you know of anybody fitting that description with these initials?"

He calls for his secretary to bring in a Who's Who in the city and a Listing of Aristocracy in the city.  After searching it a bit, he has a match for one of the thousands.

M. G. ....Judge Mayfield Girard.

There are a couple others it could be, but the Baronet is convinced its this one as he has a fishy reputation while the other two don't.

He goes on to some of the others on the short list with humbers, and comes up with ten possibilities for three people.

"This must be a back up sheet.  Perhaps they keep the main copy in the Martini Mansion.  Or its just a memory jog. Because O.S. could be Lord Oliver Stuart, Miss Ophelia Sanders the newslady, or Oscar Saber who is ....head athletic coach for Young Martian Campground.  Ok, its probably not Oscar.  I'm not sure why Oliver would be receiving so much money.  Frankly, he always struck me as a nonentity.  So maybe its Ophelia who does the News at Nine."

   I thanked the Baronet for his help and apologized for having to leave.  I took the three lists with me.  I knew of this reporter who might be able to put them to good use.  I had to beat feet to get to my next appointment.  Being late for a meeting with your boss is bad.  I'm reasonably sure that being late for a meeting with your Goddess Boss could be a lot worse than just bad.  I drove over to the temple, taking a few extra turns here and there to throw off a tail.

Trying to rush, you don't spot someone backing up out onto the street, until too late. You hit the breaks and swerve, and do a half banana in the middle of traffic.  Which is bad enough, but there was a patrolman standing nearby.

He comes over, checks the papers, and writes you a ticket, as well as giving you a twenty minute lecture on the rules of the road, and how you're not immortal, and he's peeled too many girls out of too many cars already this year.

The ticket is twenty pounds and you can drop it off at anytime or schedule a court date.

So, by the time you arrive at the front of the High Temple the teenybopper greeter gives you a wide-eyed look. She hands you eight stalks which tingle in your hands like the attack stalks had.

You walk in, and see May sitting on a chair while someone reads to her, and four husky look gals in sports uniforms are waiting in front of her.  Each has two stalks in their hands.

"We're the center breakers of the Philly Pitbulls, field hockey.  The High Priestess asked us to stay a bit and do her a favor.  I'm Michelle, but most people call me Bonebreaker."  She grins widely, and the other three smile as well.  Its a very wolfish smile.

   I couldn't help but smile back.  I love alpha predators, especially when they come in bunches.  "I just have two questions before we get this party started.  First, are there any rules to this particular dance session?  Second, you can all take a few days off, as in you don't have a game scheduled for a few days, do you?"

"No guns, no knives." And the four of them drop into a line side by side, and then charge at you as one.

   I boosted, then tried to time their rush to jump over them, hopefully giving one of them a foot in the back of the head as I fly past them.

You vaulted over Bonebreaker's shoulders.  She tried to turn to grab your ankle, and was way too slow, but her turn got her head out of the way, and it was a clean miss for your foot.

A neat roll, and you're back to your feet, as Bonebreaker yells out a command, and they start trying to wheel back to you.  Its clear they are used to working together as they have signals and pre planned moves.

   This silliness has gone on long enough.  I called out, "Stop!  I don't want to hurt you!"  I was hoping they would stop, but I readied a pain spike to fire at the one on the far right just in case.  I planned on following it up with an immediate physical attack while she was momentarily distracted.

They pause for a quarter of a second, one laughs, and they charge.  You pain spike the one on the right with the shirt name of Skully.  She looks like Gillian Anderson if she were six inches taller, and ate a live panther for breakfast.  She stumbles and you move to the right hitting her with a left cross that puts her on the floor.

Meanwhile you hear a yell of 'Toronto' by Bonecrusher, and suddenly the one labelled Cannonball is diving right at you in a high leap.  Its an easy duck, but then she brings up her knees as well, and you're about to get facesmacked, so you continue to duck.

And then Slider takes your ankles, and Bonecrusher slams into you, all elbows and headbutt.  In the midst of spinning in the air, you lash out with a punch that causes a grunt, and a kick that hits air.  And then you and Bonecrusher land in a scrambling pile.

A sharp whistle is blown, and Bonecrusher gets up.

"You're really fast. Need some more hand to hand training. But not bad. We could start you on the bench if you like. Second string endrunner."

   Once I'm finally back on my feet, I offer Skully a hand up.  It seems like the right thing to do.  I looked at Bonecrusher and smiled at her.  "You had me at somewhat of a disadvantage.  It wasn't the four on one difference in numbers.  It was that I wasn't allowed to kill you.  You see, what you do is a game, a violent game to be sure, but a game nonetheless.  There are no places for games in my world.  People like you can go to a pub and toss back a few pints with the people you just played because it's a game.  In my world, people die.  Stone cold.  Dirt nap.  Pushing up daisies.  Graveyard dead.  My job is to make sure that the right ones make it through."

   I smiled my best feral smile, the one that even scared me.  I didn't even have to try.  It was just there.  "Do you want to do this again by my rules?"

First she blanches, and takes a half-step back, then her face flushes red, and she starts growling.  She's glaring eye to eye to you, and you're sure she's about to attack, then both of you hear...

May is blowing a whistle and yelling 'Stop'.

OOC: +@1 to Intimidation skill.

   I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and killed the boost.  "I guess the game has been called by the Referee.  No hard feelings, Michelle?"  I offered my hand in if not friendship, at least as a peace gesture.  "And if you will excuse me, I'm a little late for a class from May."

She breathes in and out, collecting her temper, and then snorts, and takes your hand.  Its a short handshake, but you no longer feel you will need to watch behind your back should you attend any field hockey games.

They leave, and you turn to May who is looking very innocent.

"Now, where were we? Ah, ..." And she takes up a stalk, and a dagger. Muttering some words, she then wraps the dagger in the suddenly pliable stalk, and ties it together.  Then she has you turn about, and when you turn back, the dagger is gone.  Its only after looking a bit, then you feel an itch in your mind, and suddenly you see the dagger at her waist.

"If you draw it, or threaten with it, or use it, the glamour over the mind fades. It will last from ten to thirty minutes. It is the first Weaponhide.  It is said that Ceres could hide a whole army for a week, but we are just beginning to walk here."

   Yeah, May is about as innocent as I am.  That bit with the team was probably some kind of test.  I wonder if I passed.

   I saw how the dagger vanished, then reappeared.  Now this is something I really need.  "Please show me how to make that spell work.  Is there a size limitation on the spell?"

"A one-handed weapon not a javelin.  Yes, your pistols can be covered by this spell.  But not the Hoe."

She shows you.  And then she moves on to a finding spell to find lost things.  It requires a basket of grain tops, and you toss each one out.  If its in the right direction, it lands where you tossed it.  If not, it blows or tumbles out of the way.

You practise both for a couple of hours, and then May nods.

"If you have a request, of something to learn, you may ask at this time.  We give a small set of spells to our Workers, and end with an elective.  If you wish to learn more, then you will need to go to the Secret College for many weeks."

   I gave the choice careful consideration.  I couldn't spend weeks at the Secret College.  I had made a couple of dents in the Martini family armor.  There was a lot more work to do to bring it all down.  "I need a very powerful protection spell to ward off magical attacks."

She shows you how to gather up a handful of stalks, and carefully wrap them about your left hand, all the while muttering a spell. She does it in fifteen minutes, and it creates a a standing wall of wheat that covers the front side of you about three feet in front of you.  You can attack through it, but not with a knife or the Hoe as 'such will 'reap' the wheat, and the wheat will do as its nature dictates, and be reaped for bread.'

It lasts for one minute, and reduces the success of a magical attack by -30.

It takes you a good two hours to get the first spell to work, and by the end, you're sweating.  After that, you're able to get it to work with thirty minutes of effort.  It can be held in wait for up to an hour, but that means you can't use your left hand while waiting.

Wheat Shield Wall: Dispel Enemy Magic, -30, 30 minute cast time, whole body involvement, left hand out of use for duration of 'wait' which is up to one hour, +10 to success roll.

You can cast your physical blocking spell, the one Arabella bounced off with this one.

+@1 Ceresian magic as you've definitely gone into a more challenging area of magic.

   I'm exhausted.  This magic training is more difficult than I had ever imagined, not that I ever imagined being able to do real magic.  I'm also not quite sure of the tactical applications of a spell that requires thirty minutes to set up, yet only lasts one minute.  Maybe as I use it, the duration would grow longer.  This magic skill set I'm working on is not an easy one to acquire.

   "I'm all played out and I still don't have a mission set up for tonight.  If you will excuse me for now, I'll get back to you about the Secret College."

   I needed some food and some sleep before even thinking about tonight's run.

On the way home, you stop in for some fish n' chips, sprinkled with vinegar, and another side, much like colcannon at the Stepdander.  The sign was supposed to be 'dancer, but the signmaker messed it up, and the original owner way back when, three generations ago was too cheap to spring for another sign, so by now 'the Dandruff' is a hallowed tradition.

Eating silently, you listen to the gibes and sarcastic remarks, which this place seems to attract, and you're cheered to  hear a few of them directed at the Martinis.

You stagger back to bed, get in, and don't remember your head hitting the pillow.

   I eventually dragged myself out of what passed for bed.  The sun was streaming in through the window, but I was reasonably sure there had been a period of darkness in there somewhere that I had missed.  I was hungry enough that the cold can of overly processed veggie mush I wolfed down almost tasted good.  Then I got a whiff of myself and decided some serious cleaning up was required.

   I was just finishing getting ready for the day when my growling stomach reminded me that the veggie mush hadn't lasted very long.  I decided to run a few errands, like get some breakfast and a newspaper, pay a speeding ticket, and get a little more shopping done.  I tucked Glock my shoulder rig into a day pack to leave in the car while I was running around, especially at the police station or courthouse.  I made a mental note to check the ticket to see where the fine was to be paid.