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| - - - After the conference with Mika, Raven departed to get away from all of the politics and pressure of his new job. He made a quick stop by his apartment to get changed out of the stiff suit and into some street clothes. Raven had the apartment listed under the name Jack Tarea, for the obvious purpose of not being found when he wanted to be alone. When his father had been alive, it had been his way of escaping from his father and the press. It was by no means a small apartment; Raven had gotten the money from his job with the Dunst group. Raven walked down the hallway to then end where his room was, and changed into some baggy black jeans and a black shirt. He picked up a small pistol and put it into an easily reached spot at the back of his jeans. If he was going to go downtown, he needed the safety. Raven left his apartment and walked down the street towards the downtown area, in search of faces he knew. When he had reached the darker streets of downtown, where all the fiercest bars and wickedest gangs were located, he paused and looked around. Up the street were a group of prostitutes standing on a corner and two men swayed out of the Green Parrot, so drunk they could barely stay up on their own feet. Raven knew that somewhere, lurking in the alleys, were gang members, waiting for an innocent passerby carrying a nicely filled wallet. He started up the street towards the girls, who probably had more makeup that clothes on. There were two of them, a blonde wearing only a black and white striped tube top with a leather, red mini-skirt, and a fluffy haired brunette wearing a bright pink mini-dress. Both were not beautiful in the least, but they attempted to cover their flaws with eyeshadow, lipstick, and other cheap makeup. "Hey sweetie, lookin' for a good time?" The blonde smiled at Raven and popped some minty gum as she spoke. "In your dreams," he replied, used to the way the prostitues on this side of town were. "Have you seen Jane around?" "What can she do for you that I can't?" The blonde replied, obviously offended. "It must be a lot if I'm looking for her, have you seen her or not?" "She's too good for these streets. Last I heard she was going to classy parties," said the fluffy haired girl, when the other showed no intentions of responding. "What party?" as far as Raven knew, there were never any classy parties on this side of town. "Look honey, we're not getting much business right now, so either pay up or leave." "Here, where at?" Raven responded, tossing a twenty denach at each of them so they could get the drugs they were so addicted to. He was sure that the girls knew where Jane was. There was only one prosititute named Jane in town, mainly because she would beat the life out of any copiers, and the fact that all the other girls usually had some idea of where their competition was. "A big office party over at The Empress Hotel," said the brunette as an ethercraft, one of the latest models in the flying vehicles, pulled up and the blonde went over to find some business. "Thanks," Raven said, handing her another five denachs and walking off down the street. - - - The Empress Hotel dining hall was filled with a few hundred people elegantly dressed and showered in expensive jewelry. From within the crowd of people stood a beautiful girl, dressed in a striking low-cut red dress that had a split on the left side reaching up to her thigh. Her dark, auburn hair was pulled back by a net of diamonds, and held in by hairpins of that same mineral. Two diamond droplets swung at her ears, followed by a glittering diamond necklace around her bird-like neck. Men crowded about her, in hopes of winning some of her fortune, for it was remarkably obvious that she was there alone. Within a few minutes the enchantress led a highly ranked political official up the stairs. From the window that Raven was crouched in, he could see Jane working her magic. No doubt she was usuing an alias, so the authorites would never find her. He knew it would be only fifteen or so minutes before Jane would be leaving in the ride that had been carefully planned out. With that, Raven exited from his perch and went in search of her ride, in most cases it was parked nearby or circling until she came out. On an eithercraft, nearby, was a heart with a J&X in the dust that had gathered on the back. Raven recognized this as Jane's signature mark on her getaway vehicle. The vehicle that she left in was never the same as the next. The windows were open, and there was a glow from a non-toxic, yet enjoyable, cigarette in the driver's mouth. It had been found in the past years that the mint leaf produced the same effect, if not better, as tobacco, just not as odorous or health threatening. All he could see of the driver was a black silhouette. The driver got out of the ethercraft to finish off the cigarette while waiting for Jane. Quickly, Raven slipped into the back of the ethercraft and lay down, waiting for Jane to get there. Within minutes, Jane was in the front seat and the driver was calmly driving off, so as not to arouse suspicion. |