@seojoon.tak, @sergei.pavlo

[dipolar]

If you like authentic Chinese food, respond.
If not, our business is concluded and I have nothing to say to you at this time.

[ There's a pause here, let it be inferred that Jake is staring disbelievingly at Hei for starting this series of messages off this way. ]

let me do us all a favor and interject here before this guy can slam us any further down the rabbit hole because this isnt how we agreed to vet people. weve done a little reading up so we can skip intros from you guys, but ill start this off saying im sergei, 1 of 2 men you guys had a fun debate over a little while back

You even type too much.

this here is tak

Without watering my own thoughts down with pointless introductions, I will add this:
Whether killing us in police custody was the right or wrong thing to push for, it doesn't matter.
Decisions were made to threaten us over a very public network and you'll all learn that this was a mistake.
Our information, as well as our services, will not be extended to you in the future.
I may rethink this if I'm given appropriate restaurant recommendations, but in the effort of full disclosure...
It's very doubtful.

great sticking to your guns there tak. point either way is it was a pretty fun read, not many better ways to get to know a community than reading their public discourse surrounding the incarceration of two guys when they have zero info. i like that balls to the wall approach of kill first, never ask questions later. reminds me of old coworkers. anyway if resnik, sky, alucard, kaldur'ahm, rider, grayson, argentum, rammsteiner, odinson, fighter, and kogane ever wanna do business, give a shout. im not as into threats.

Or getting to the heart of the matter quickly.
In any case, this offer extends to those who attempted to assist me during the festival.
Your patience may be rewarded.

[ These come as a slew of texts from both implants, one after another, clogging the network with a bunch of bullshit. Replies will come from both Hei and Jake. ]

Comments

@leo.fitz

[retravel]

[ this looks like a disaster, so fitz just sends several gps pings of chinese-influenced food stalls. ]

It's mostly fusion-fare, but there are some more traditional dishes.

[probiotic]

this is the funniest response yet, i needed that

[ He can just feel the resignation from here. ]

[retravel]

People say I'm a laugh riot.

[ keep feeling it, buddy. ]

[probiotic]

that makes two of us, glad its not just on my shoulders any more

[retravel]

Holding cell help keep your spirits up?

[ really wants to straight-up ask about how the NAPD roll... tell him the hot goss are they cool are they incompetent what's the 411 ]

[probiotic]

[ Do you wanna' hear about the hottie that interrogated him. ]

i keep my own spirits up but the pillows werent as bad as youd think

private.

[retravel]

[ yes tell him everything

actually, the comment about pillows reminds him — ]

Will you be at the safehouse from now on?

[ seems like an unsafe move for the accused, given the simmering pro-murder sentiments. ]

private.

[probiotic]

will i be allowed or will i stay?

[ He is right on board that train of thought with you, man. ]

private forever.

[retravel]

Meant the latter, but I won't lie and say the former isn't of interest as well.
There are some cheap motels where others have holed up, following the ruckus on the network.

[ fitz stands by his "wait and see" statements, for the record. needs of the many and all. ]

and ever and ever

[probiotic]

well thats sweet

i can come and go as i please, just turns out coming and going around present safehouse company isnt my idea of a smart move

[retravel]

[ so Gaby did listen to the masses. it doesn't surprise him that she would consider all sides, but safehouse privileges signify a measure of trust, even as they mean to relocate. ]

I'm inclined to agree with you.
Doubt anyone's ballsy enough to make good on the threat, however.

[ everyone's a hothead, sure... but their kill counts seem p low ]

[probiotic]

cant say im super worried that anyone would get too far but im not stupid enough to operate based on conjecture. yours or my own.

besides i dont think the company would be too great regardless

[retravel]

You're right about that.
Now that you have IDs, do you think you'll be able to settle in elsewhere?

[ or will the NAPD cause trouble? ]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dipolar]

Finally, someone competent.

Have you been to these places in particular?
Would you recommend them to someone like me?
How big are their portion sizes?

i hate this

[retravel]

[ okay wow he knows this guy is an incidental murderer or w/e but a man who can eat deserves the time of day, especially after prison food. also! a compliment! (he's so easy help)

30 seconds later, hei receives a new document, ranking the places in order of fitz's preferences. ]

Yes, I'm a fan of all of these places. However, if you have discerning tastes, you'll be disappointed. The spices of this world are lacking in variety and potency.

[ okay, food network. ]

Portions also err on the small side, except at the following:

[ and pings two of his recs. ]

In better news, it's restaurant week, so now's the time to sample them for better prices.

[dipolar]

(he really is, holy shit. an entire list. hei receives it well, glancing over it with a begrudgingly satisfied grunt.

restaurant week? is his luck looking up?)

You've been helpful, Leo.
I'll remember this.

I'm not picky when it comes to having a halfway decent meal, I've subsisted off of far worse than the standards these places have to offer.
Those two with the larger portion sizes will be the first places I try...
Still, before I do, I should probably ask your favourite between the two and your preferred dish.

[retravel]

[ helpful huh（˶′◡‵˶）

one of the locations pings blue, located in a street food market in the corporate distract, a block from pulsar. ]

Best jianbing in the city and bloody massive, too big to be carried in one hand comfortably. Skip the pork (it's definitely not pork, as you've been told). Go for the classic veg option.

[dipolar]

(stomach growling..................)

Then I'll go tomorrow morning, the moment it opens.

[retravel]

Good plan.
Do you have any other questions?
I think you both missed orientation.

[dipolar]

Why, are these food questions boring you?

(he's joking............)

I have a couple, but nothing related to our kidnapping.
Can you really travel to space?

[retravel]

[ unsure if joking slams the overthink button ]

Yes, you can, though there's only the one tourist destination, Lunar.
Worth the trip and cost, if you can swing it.

[dipolar]

I don't have enough money for that, I doubt I will anytime soon.
To think it took so short a time between landing on the moon and turning it into a tourist trap...

(almost six centures? doesn't seem like a long time to hei, not in the grand scheme.

it's sort of sad, in a way. impossibility is the appeal of some dreams, fanciful things you can't just reach out and grasp in your hand. like so many things in his life. he'll have to consider this and if he deserves to experience anything remotely close to it.)

You've been?

[retravel]

Yeah.
It was like nothing I've ever seen, even with all the horribleness.

[ the magnificence of space, paid for by human lives and greedy, heaving conglomerates. ]

[dipolar]

To go there... I don't know if I could.
It seems like it would confuse a lot of things that once made sense to me.

What do you do that allowed you to make that kind of money to go?

[retravel]

How do you mean?
I like the grandness of it all. Reminds you that the universe is the cosmos, not chaos.

[ an order to everything. ]

As for the money, a dear friend helped secure a discount through his job, but my engineering work helped cover the fee.