Neva casually walked to the hotel and when she got there she looked for Ken and the others.  She had her plan laid out in her mind.  If she spotted Ken before they got back to their hotel she would walk past him slowing down only far enough to whisper "meet me in the hotel room" and keep going.  If she didn't spot him before she got back to their room then she'd tell him what she had heard and they could plan something from that.  This was good.  She could interact again.  This was...strange but had a tinge of the familiar to it.  This was good.

Linus was sitting in the hotel lounge, a cup of coffee at his elbow, reading up on the Sky Raiders.

He looked up as Neva came in.

"Hi there. Good evening?"

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg #205):

Neva looked up and shrugged.  "_{Mixed.  Got name to check out.  Need to talk to group.  Has Ken checked in yet?  Might be in trouble...Can't talk here...need privacy.}"

Neva then blinked.  Did that sound as paranoid as it did to her?  Maybe it did...probably it did.  That didn't make it necessarily a bad thing.

"I'm not sure, Miss Morozova. I got a bit absorbed in my reading. He might have gone straight to his room but he's not come in here."

Linus put the book down and got up.

"You OK? You sound a shade spooked. Shall we go and check his room?"

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg #207):

Neva blinked.  "Yeah.  I'm ok.  Sorry for the spooky part.  Habits are hard to break.  But...ummmm....yeah, let's check out his room."

About that time Ken walked into the hotel lounge.  He had a sandwich in his hand and apparently had stopped for a snack on the way back.  He nodded to Linus and gave Neva a smile.  "Good evening.  How's it going?" He glanced at Linus' book; "I haven't managed to get through that yet."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg #209):

Neva looked at Ken and gave him a half smile and walked towards the elevator, stopping momentarily to say as she passed Ken.  "_{We need to talk}."  She then continued into the elevator and waited to see if anybody would join her.

While her paranoia level had gone down a notch, she had to wonder if Ken had noticed any tails and if he knew the name Bren Pylory.  She'd find out soon.

Ken worked to stay impassive as Neva passed him and whispered her request to talk.  He swiveled to watch her walk and then hurried to join her in the elevator.  "Let me head up with you Neva.  We can get a drink on the veranda now that it's cooler out."

"Do you need me, Miss Morozova?" asked Linus.

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg #212):

Neva looked at Linus and shrugged.  "It's about what I observed and might affect the mission...might not.  I have a name that I don't know so not sure if you would know it or not.  Your call."

Neva wouldn't say anything else until they got into their room, hoping that it wasn't bugged.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:51, Fri 20 Apr 2012.

"On my way, then," said Linus, draining his cup of coffee and picking up his books and notes before joining them in the elevator.

Ken leaned over and held the elevator for Linus.  Once the door closed he stood quietly.  "Perhaps we might go out on the veranda and speak.  The night is fine and we are lest likely to disturb the others who might be listening and trying to perhaps... sleep."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg #215):

Neva nodded.  " Yeah.  That would be good.  Might be nothing...might be something."

"Sounds good. Do you want a nightcap? I dare say we can scare up some brandy."

Linus followed along, curious.

Ken nodded.  "Brandy and I have a few cigars Linus, if anyone wants one." He heads out to the balcony with the other two, stopping to help Linus scare up some brandy and glasses.

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg #218):

Neva surprised herself when she spoke up and requested something else.  "If you have any munchies I'd rather have that."

Whoah girl.  You're jumping in with both feet now with this socializing thing aren't you?   Wouldn't he be proud of you.  Don't forget to write it down so he'll know.

Neva gave herself a mental pat on the back and words of encouragement and smiled.

Ken nods as Neva speaks more in the last few minutes than the last few days.  "Sure Neva, they've got a couple of bags of crisps and baked pretzels I can bring." Scooping up the food he headed to the muggy safety of the balcony.

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg #220):

When both of the men return again Neva thanks them for the munchies.  it seems that her body has decided it likes to eat and wants more than she had anticipated.  She does refrain, barely, from wolfing it down and remembers that manners call for polite eating.

"I guess I'm just paranoid but when I stayed after you left Ken I observed some stuff.  First of all the bartender immediately put in a call to somebody and I know he was talking about us.  I don't think the bartender is just a go between though.  He didn't look too comfortable in squeeling on us and even looked scared.  Did you feel like you were being followed Ken?  Right before the phone call there was this man who left.  I mean he looked real suspicious.  Trust me on that one.  I've seen one or a thousand of them lately."

Neva stopped and thought for a minute and then remembered another thing.  "Oh yeah  When the bartender made that call I overhead a name.  Not sure if it means anything to you but he said Bren Pylory and when you were walking out Ken his eyes following you.  He even looked more nervous after he hung up on the phone than he did before...or did I already say that?"

There..she managed to get through the whole thing and still had chips to eat.  not bad at all.

She stopped and waited to see if they had any questions or comments and started t munch again on her chips.

"Speaking as a bar tender, we often get asked about people who've been in our bar. Bit unusual though to make calls..."

He checked the time.

"Maybe I'd better have a word with him, bar tender to bar tender so to speak. Find out what's going on."

He got up.

Liisha hadn't accompanied the others to the bar, it seemed prudent to have someone at the hotel.  She imposed on anyone she could find to for a drink however before finding a spot in the lobby to read.

In reply to Liisha Laagir (msg #223):

At the Hotel

Liisha found Thomas in the hotel lounge cum recreation room (it was a small hotel) reading a dog-eared copy of Hoard of the Sky Raiders.

Everyone else that remained there retired to the verandah to have drinks in the humid night air. Insects buzzed and night(birds?) called back and forth.

The Outback

It wasn't too long before last call when Linus arrived. A human bartender he recognised (not Darsh, from the night before) cleaned glasses behind the bar. He looked up when Linus entered, then tried to look busy.

OOC: everyone can be where they like, of course. Liisha's at the hotel while Linus is at the bar, but she or anyone else could come along and back Linus up.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:05, Mon 23 Apr 2012.

Linus went and perched on a bar stool.

"Good evening," he said to the bar tender. "Whiskey on the rocks, please."

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg #225):

The bartender served Linus in an efficient manner, then went back to cleaning up behind the bar. Linus could tell this wasn't make-work, he really was entering the last part of the shift and had work to do, but could probably be more personable all the same.

"This is my first visit here," said Linus, pitching his voice so that the bar tender could hear as he worked. "On a bit of a trip. I usually run a bar in Capital City - place called the Bar Code if you know the bar scene there - but the daughter of an old friend wanted to come exploring, she's got a group of youngsters along, but an older head seemed... advisable, if you know what I mean..."

In reply to Linus Spruance (msg #227):

The Outback

The bartender looked up. He had a pale complexion, typical of this planet where the sun never shines, pale blue eyes, short dark hair and stubble. "Uh huh. Well, best o' luck to ya." He stationed himself close by and gave the impression that he was attentive for any orders but wasn't going out of his way to make conversation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:37, Tue 24 Apr 2012.