An Evening Meal

<> Demiurge says "Okay. You'd left Venezuela, the Mercurian of Lightning, autopsying the arm."

<> Demiurge says "Sephar was a mouse in your pocket."

<> Phineas says "Yep, and now I'm headed to the restaraunt."

The restaurant is across town, in Adams-Morgan, according to the address you have.

Phineas gets in his Audi and drives over, making sure to bring the gun in with him.

Amirstan Restaurant - after some checking of addresses - turns out to be a discreet dark door, and a plain bow window, with "AMIRSTAN" in white above it.

Phineas pets the Sepharmouse in his pocket, "Keep your head down." He smiles and heads to the door, trying to go inside.

The door opens to his hand. Inside is a small corridor with a reception desk. A young woman in a neat black suit sits there, and looks up. "Can I help you, sir?"

<> Daimon blinks. Does Michael authorize driving in an _Audi_?

<> Demiurge says "Mercurians are special cases. ;)"

Phineas smiles, "Table for one, please."

Phineas adds, "Non-smoking."

The receptionist asks, "Do you have a reservation, sir?"

Phineas shakes his head, "Afraid not. But the place did come highly recommended."

<> Daimon says "Clearly. Michael keeps a lot full of wimpy cars in the back. :)"

The receptionist nods, and picks up a phone. "Just let me check if there are any free tables, please."

<> Pat says "Phin, your attunement tells you the only thing that will satisfy this breach of etiquette is BLOOD!"

The receptionist murmurs, "A gentleman out here, asking for a table." She listens a moment, then nods.

The receptionist looks up. "There's a table inside, sir. Please go through the door and you will be shown to your seat. Please remember that this restaurant is non-smoking."

Phineas smiles, "I don't smoke. My body's a temple." He grins and heads through the door.

<> Eduardo smokes. Occasionally it's because his clothes are on fire again.

<> Pat says "Eddie smokes, smoulders, etc."

Through the door is a very quiet, neat restaurant, the tables in polished dark wood, the walls papered in geometric designs. Most of the tables are full, several containing family groups or parties.

A waiter on the other side gives Phineas a neat head-bob and directs him towards a single table over by the wall.

Phineas waits for someone to show him to his table, looking rich and important in his designer suit. He follows the waiter to the table and sits. When noone is looking he discreetly puts Sepharmouse on the floor, "Check out the kitchen."

The table itself is spotlessly clean. It has a set of cutlery, table-napkin, and menu.

<> Demiurge has a choking fit.

<> Pat says "Oh, I sense calamity on the horizon."

<> Demiurge has a prolonged choking fit.

<> arcangel pounds Demi on the back.

<> Demiurge stops giggling. Eventually.

Sephar scuttles off.

<> Phineas grins widely.

<> arcangel patpats Demi. There, there.

<> Daimon says "Goofballs."

The waiter remains by Phineas' table, hands folded, clearly waiting for an order.

<> Pat wonders what Michael's credit rating is.

Phineas looks at the menu, considering the options.

The menu is surprisingly sparse, and offers a number of set meals, all of which seem in the European or Oriental model, and all of which seem to emphasise simplicity. The wine list is also quite short, though the wines listed on it (hello, Savoir-faire) are all recognisable as good quality.

Phineas rubs his chin and orders something from the European variety and a class of a nice red.

The waiter nods, and retreats silently. He returns with a single plate of fresh rolls and a glass of water, then vanishes again.

Phineas nibbles the rolls. He starts to try to resonate anyone nearby, including the waiter.

<> Demiurge says "Roll for the waiter, then for the two businessmen on the next table, then for the family on the table next to that."

<> Phineas says "Want me to roll?"

<> Demiurge says "After that it's a bit far away."

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 6 4 CHECK: 5.

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 6 6 CHECK: 2.

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 4 3 CHECK: 5.

Well, the waiter proves unreadable, as does the older businessman, but the younger one is an open book to Phineas' Mercurian gaze.

The young businessman is Earl Jameson, an up-and-coming brokerage type, with hobbies of drinking beer with friends, watching football, and black-and-white photography.

<> arcangel says "He doesn't golf? He'll never make it."

Earl Jameson feels respect and awe towards his boss, Bruce Wevers, who's the other man there, who invited him to this restaurant, even though Earl feels that this restaurant is rather ... bland.

Earl has a girlfriend, Louise Krentz, several football-watching buddies, and phones his mom in Ohio regularly. She's very proud of her son.

<> Demiurge says "Gotta love resonances on a roll."

<> Phineas says "Wow, a good man. :)"

Phineas eats some more of the roll, sipping his water, and leans back, waiting for the food.

<> Pat says "...and he hopes no one finds out that he likes to wear silk teddies under his suits."

<> Demiurge says "Pat, are you sure you aren't tattooed?"

The waiter shortly reappears with the food. Steak a la Hungarienne, vegetables, wine. He ducks his head and retreats again, silently.

<> Demiurge says "Phineas, try a Per roll offhand."

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 2 3 CHECK: 1.

As Phineas glances round the room, for a moment there seems something unusual. Oh, yes. Most of the people here - adults, even - are all drinking water.

Phineas peers at his wine, and at everyone drinking the water. He sniffs the wine and the water.

The wine smells like perfectly good wine.

Phineas stands up and heads towards the restroom, trying to resonate more staff members on the way.

There is only one waiter conveniently on the way, busy serving another table.

<> Demiurge says "Roll for resonance."

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 3 3 CHECK: 1.

It can be sensed that the waiter currently has a fairly high opinion of himself, even though the guests here look down on them, because he's aware he knows far more about _good_ food than they do.

Phineas hrms and tries to resonate a few more of the customers .. he looks around for a manager.

There are no managers currently present. There is a family group currently next to Phineas, where the mother is telling the younger boy to sit up *straight* and *dab* with his napkin, while the father and older boy watch disapprovingly. The whole restaurant is really quite _quiet_, with people just enjoying their food.

Phineas heads into the bathroom, thinking this is all far too normal for the arm to have come from here .. he has to contrive a way to get into the kitchen...

The bathroom is all tiled in black and white. Very clean. Very tidy. Very quiet. One man is just finishing washing his hands. He nods politely as he heads out, greying hair ruffled.

Phineas resonates him as he leaves, there HAS to be something odd here ...

<> Phineas rolls the d666 and gets 2 5 CHECK: 3.

He's Adam Johns, a major investment lawyer, happily married, here to indulge in his hobby of gourmet dining, and a player of golf.

Phineas shakes his head as he washes his hands. He heads back out to his table and picks at his food, eating the veggies and not the steak.

<> Demiurge says "It's beef, Phineas. There's no way it could be any, ah, other sort of meat. :)"

<> Phineas says "Hmm, you sure? :)"

<> Demiurge says "Yes. ;)"

<> Phineas says "Okeeokee .."

Phineas eventually relents and eats the steak, praying it is just beef.

<> arcangel says "Even if it weren't, it's already dead. You won't get dissonant. Probably."

The food is _exquisitely_ cooked. It seems bland at first, but as he continues to eat, the elegance of the seasoning becomes apparent. It's what one might term minimalist art.

Across the room, Adam Johns has resumed his seat, and is studying his menu. Curiously, he's got a different colour one to the menu that you had.

Phineas hmmms and looks over at the menu, watching carefully to see where the waiter puts it once he takes it.

The waiter tucks it under his arm, and takes it across to a small bookcase at one side where the menus appear to be stored. Most of the menus piled in it are the same colour as Phineas'. A few at the bottom are the darker brown that Adam Johns has.

Phineas hmmms and takes his chance. He waits for when no waiters are around, then walks calmly to the bookcase, snags a brown menu and heads into the washroom. He does it all very nonchalantly, as if he owned the place.

<> Demiurge rolls the d666 and gets 3 4 CHECK: 5.

<> Demiurge rolls the d666 and gets 5 1 CHECK: 5.

Nobody appears to have noticed this daring snatch and grab.

Phineas goes into the bathroom, walks into a stall and looks at the menu once the door is locked.

The menu has SUPERIOR DINING ASSOCIATION embossed on the front page, once opened. Inside, the list of meals available is larger, though there is _no_ wine list, or any sort of drinks list. There's also a set of dates on the inside back page.

Phineas mmms and wonders when the nearest date is.

The nearest date is Saturday night.

Phineas pages: Is it a paper inside of a folder -type of menu?

You paged Phineas with 'No, it's bound inside a leather cover. Expensive.'.

You paged Phineas with 'You could rip the paper out if you wanted, probably.'.

Phineas hmms and tears the paper out of the expensive leather covered menu. He folds it up, tucks it into his pocket and heads out of the stall. He checks to make sure the coast is clear, when it is, he tosses the folder into the garbage can and covers it with some paper towels.

Nobody seems to have noticed anything out of the usual. His plate is still there, food unfinished.

Suddenly, there is a faint noise from the direction of what is probably the kitchen. One might suspect it is the screech of someone seeing a mouse.

Phineas sits back down, hoping Sephar makes it out ok. He pretends nothing is going on, nope .. everything is cool ..just look casual.

There is another distant, muffled shriek, and the sound of something heavy falling.

Then nice peace and quiet.

Phineas winces .. and shakes his head, that was clearly not such a good idea.

The rest of the meal is going quietly, when Phineas hears Sephar's voice at the back of his head. Celestial Tongues. "Searched kitchen, nothing obvious. There is private dining room and cellar. Can't enter now. Meet outside."

<> Demiurge says "And a point of Essence rushes into Phineas with it."

<> Phineas says "Well, ok :)"

Phineas calls over his waiter, "I have to go. Can I have the check please?" He hands him his credit card.

The waiter nods. He takes the credit card and vanishes with it into the inner room, reemerging a few moments later with a credit slip for Phineas to sign. The amount quoted is expensive but not exorbitant.

Phineas signs the slip, puts the card away and heads out to the car, waiting for Sephar.

Sepharmouse emerges a few minutes later, scuttling round the corner of the next building and down the street towards him. It's now late evening.

Phineas leans down to pick up the mouse and head into the car, he closes the door, "Tell me what you found out."

Sepharmouse settles in Phineas' pocket. "The kitchen is very neat and tidy. They have one main cook and several girls who do all the chopping up bits and peeling things."

Phineas nods, "Tell me about the place downstairs."

Sepharmouse says, "There was some sort of inner door to storage that nobody went through, and it was locked so I couldn't really make it open in front of them, and there was an inner dining room too..."

Sepharmouse says, "The inner dining room looked like the one you were in, only more expensive. I could see it through the crack under the door."

Phineas nods, "We're going to have to get help. I think this place might be a bit .. odd." He pulls out the menu from his pocket and shows it to Sephar, "My gut feeling is that on these dates, they serve special meals of the long-pig variety."

Sephar looks confused. "Long pig?"

<> Demiurge says "Sephar being about the most innocent PC. :)"

Phineas smiles, "Cannibals in the islands used to refer to human meat as long-pig because it supposedly tastes like pork."

Sephar thinks about that, then says, "Eew. I thought they might be organ-smugglers or something."

Phineas says "Well, they could be. But I just have a gut feeling, as it were. The steak wasn't so great anyway, kinda overpriced."

Sepharmouse twitches his nose. "Okay. You're the expert here. Shall we see what Venezuela got from the autopsy?"

Sepharmouse says, "Or do you have other ideas?"

Phineas nods, "Sounds good. We'll just have to head back here before Saturday. That's the next date listed on the 'special' menu."

Sepharmouse twitches its tail, and squeaks, "Okay."

---

Fiat Justitia