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Week 50: The Auction of Minoru Nakahara

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Darya Demeter
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Post  Admin Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:20 pm

A Black Auction room of the Seoul Interchange was barely lit by dim lights from wall sconces. This was a special auction being held in a little-used room called "The Executive Suite" and called to order by the surprisingly well connected Ban So Tzun. There was a small auction block at one end of the room and an array of sofas and chairs for guests to use. Many of the furnishings were authentic leather, or ancient antiques that had been restored to their full, finely crafted glory.
The inanimate objects in the room were not the most attention grabbing feature of the auction room tonight; it was the gathering of so many varied high ranking people. Representatives from every major corporation were in attendance and flanked by body guards. The room was a powder keg of political rivalries, old grudges and temporarily halted wars, all focused on one thing. The item for sale.

Minoru Nakahara was seated on a wooden chair behind and just off to the side of the podium. His hands and legs were bound to his seat, but he was not gagged. An agent could escape such restraints easily given a few minutes, but it was not the chair that 'Xu' would have to worry about getting out of in this room.
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Post  Ban So Tzun Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:32 pm

Dressed simply in fine clothes, Ban So Tzun could not have looked more relaxed. Everything about him was sharp, clean, professional and completely at ease in front of such a powerful audience. He stood beside his item, a hand on Minoru's shoulder. The room was full, and though he was not smiling, shit-eating delight was obvious in his eyes. He looked down at the bound agent possessively, and let out a tiny sigh only he could here. After checking his watch, he gave a brief nod and stepped to the front of the stage.

"Welcome to the auction of Minoru Nakahara, Takata traitor and Oracle agent." His voice was loud, clear over the room, respectful and polite Mandarin. "Thank you all for coming. I am not a man to mince words, and I am sure many of you influential individuals are very busy." He turned and looked around the room, arms wide and accepting. "The bidding will start at 25 million credits."
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Post  Wei Xu Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:36 pm

Minoru sat back on the chair and scanned the faces in front of him, without allowing an expression to touch his face. The prospect of being sold to these people was not the most pleasant one.

While most of his bruises from his time with Ban had healed, it was still evident that he hadn't been treated especially well. This didn't appear to affect him, though, as he maintained his neutral posture and gaze, and kept his mouth shut.

He regarded Ban without much by way of emotion, but those watching closely could see the faintest hint of a smile creep across his lips as he looked at his captor.
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Post  Darya Demeter Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:46 pm

As the starting value was announced, Darya sighed and put down the bidding sign she had been given. That was a way out of her price range, particularly as she had given Ace her money in case they were actually able to repurchase Xu. Instead, she raised her hand gently to Xu, nodding her head. She was known as a former Oracle agent anyway, it would make sense that she would know Xu.

She slid forward quietly, until she was next to Xu, and whispered gently. "I don't think we'll be able to help you I'm afraid. Sorry."
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Post  Wei Xu Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:53 pm

Minoru's eyebrows rose as he saw Darya advancing. "I shouldn't imagine so, no," he murmured back. "To be honest, you really shouldn't be here at all. Did Ace talk you into coming? I wouldn't have thought you'd be coming to this." His tone was almost conversational.
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Post  Darya Demeter Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:02 am

Darya smiled slightly. "I wouldn't of, but I need to make sure the rest don't try anything stupid."

She looked around the room, before leaning on her hands. "Still. You don't look too worried, considering the circumstances. It is starting to look like the best term situation for you would be for you to die." There was no malice or gloating in her voice, she was simply stating the facts.
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Post  Wei Xu Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:26 am

The smile was returned, though it definitely an edge of gallows humour. "Well, it's hardly ideal. But I agree, it looks like the best realistic solution right now. Certainly, it's preferable to torture. I'm not opposed to it in principle, but I'm a little more reluctant when it's applied directly to me." He paused for a moment, and lowered his voice even further. "You have some ideas? Don't tell me."
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Post  Admin Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:41 am

A man of central African descent nodded his head at Ban to make the first bid. He was tall, athletic and radiated a strong sense of power and control. The man was sharply dressed in a black suit with utilitarian jewellery such as gold cuff-links and a designer watch on his wrist.

"Twenty Five million." said Ban, nodding and waiting for further bids to be made.
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Post  Darya Demeter Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:53 am

"Plenty of ideas, yes. None of them good, or feasible, even by our low standards." she smiled slightly. "You've probably got just as many, and most of them probably end up with you dying in this situation, right?" She paused. "Like I said, I'm just here to make sure no one else tries anything stupid." she scooted to the edge of the platform, before looking back. "Goodbye, Xu. I hope that if we don't buy you, you don't suffer." Once again, her tone was serious, and twinged with a weird mix of dislike, respect and remorse.
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:56 am

In the audience, one pair of eyes hadn't let Xu's face. They belonged to a small figure dressed in a designer gray coat, the collar of which hid the figure's face from all directions but the front. A hat was shoved down over their close cropped pale hair, hand shoved deep into their pockets. Hidden behind a group of high ranking Ai-Jinn, only those directly facing the prospective buys could clearly see their face.

The figure's eyes flicked to the woman at the side of the stage a few times, but as she moved away, the deep gaze returned to the "item's" face.
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Post  Wei Xu Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:03 am

"Yes, well, try and make sure nobody does. I..." Minoru seemed to struggle for a moment with the words, and then he sighed. "I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt. Not on my account," Xu finished, softly. "Goodbye." With that, he turned his face away from Darya, and returned to scanning the crowd, his face as unreadable as it ever was.
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Post  Darya Demeter Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:09 am

"If you get a chance, tell them that yourself. I think they'd be more likely to listen to you than me." said Darya, before leaving the stage and heading towards Ace, sitting down on an armchair next to him and putting her head in her hands, clearly in thought. After a moment, she wiped her eyes of the moisture that was beginning to form at the edges, and leaned forward, crossing her arms. "Ace. Let's try to win him back." she said simply. She added over their private smeaker. "He doesn't want us to do anything else."
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Post  Ace Nizky Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:28 am

"I don't think I can win. These people are so rich and powerful. I don't know what he did but if people are willing to go to this much effort, spend this much money on him..." Ace trailed off, the defeat plain in his voice.

Ace looked around the room one more time. In his head his internal A.I. was working overtime, capturing images of the people in the room and cross-referencing their appearances, gait, posture and voices with internal information, UIG databases and the WDN. Trawling through thousands of images and sound clips as the speed of information, looking for who these people are.

In his pocket a Quantum Camera recorded every sound in the quiet room, saving it perfectly for later analysis. If he couldn't win this then he could at least leave knowing exactly who had, and who had tried to win his friend.

Externally Ace was trying to stay calm, but the twitches in his movements and the look on his face betrayed him. He was not handling this well, but at least he had Darya close.
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Post  Admin Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:26 pm

A face familiar to many Oracle agents raised her hand and said "Thirty Million" in a sweet, upbeat voice. Cheng Shiyu, Ai Jinn agent and local business owner in Seoul, was dressed in a grey suit sporting a pair of thick shoulder pads and black 2 inch high heels. A large, round gem was hung around her neck by a gold chain and rested on the bare flesh just below her neck.
Although she was not carrying any weapons on her person it was easy for the experienced agents present to spot the tell tale signs of cybernetics hidden through out Shiyu's body. The agent was practically a member of the aristocracy in Seoul and this sort of meeting was her natural habitat. She smiled as she looked the captured Xu up and down. "Who knows what lovely little secrets this one knows."
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Post  Ace Nizky Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:45 pm

The bids were coming in now. There were faces in the crowd that Ace recognized and some his AI was hard at work identifying, but plenty of people were hiding who they were, which was perfectly understandable. Ace was not one of those.

He was not dressed in his usual fatigues, but in a perfectly tailored and highly fashionable suit that looked as if it had been selected by someone with a very good eye for these things. Ace straightened his tie as he mustered up all the confidance he could. He raised his hand and smiled unapologeticly at the previous bidders.

"Thirty five million."
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Post  Ban So Tzun Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:10 pm

Ban nodded indulgently to the beautiful Cheng Shiyu, smile breaking across his face. "Indeed. If I remember correctly, Minoru here has been an agent at Oracle since its inception. Thirty million," he purred.

While Ban talked, Ace stood. The auctioneer's eyes found the flight sergeant just before he spoke, brow raising. Ban's face broke into a wide grin, And he looked around to the whole room. "Oracle appears to be trying to buy back their agent with your money." He smirked, pausing only for a brief second to let his words sink in. "Let's see how far they get. Thirty-five million."
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Post  HanJi Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:53 pm

Knowing that to enter the auction itself would not be an action that would lead to Han controlling himself, and knowing that this would only lead to death and ruin for himself, Xu and everyone else, Han was sitting in his van, outside the interchange. In the back, the weapons rack was filled to the brim with equipment and weaponry, enough to arm everyone who had come to the auction twice over. His shotguns protruded from the specialised weaponholders he'd installed on the dash board.

He watched the auction transpire with a growing despair of Ace's U-View.
I'm ready outside. Just make sure I know who the buyer is. Then I can attempt pursuit and pick you up.
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Post  SosieTerrehaute Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:09 pm

The figure's head turned slightly as she heard Ace's familiar voice, but she continued facing the auctioneer and his 'item'. When Xu's eyes met hers, her whole body tensed as if she wanted to run. She resisted, wrapping her arms around herself. Away from her.. natural environment.. the figure looked smaller, more fragile, and out of her element. Her dark ringed eyes and gaunt face follow Xu's movements, ignoring the bidding going on around her. When she was sure he was looking, she mouthed a few words, keeping her gaze level.

In the van outside, an anxious Bell twisted her hands into knots, though showed no other outward sign of her worry. She had dressed in armor, but nothing heavy enough to restrict movement. Her long purple and pink hair was tied back in a bun. The little replicant stared, unseeing, at the back of Han's chair.
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Post  Admin Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:12 pm

A Mongolian man in a surprisingly average looking suit spoke up angrily. "Forty Million!" he barked, keeping his hands deep in is pockets as he looked around the room with a constant snarl. "Stop all this talking!"

"Sorry Dr. Khan," replied Ban understandingly, "Do I hear forty five million?"

The bidding began to heat up as bids went back and forth rapidly between Cheng Shiyu and Dr. Khan all the way up to sixty million credits. It was then that a hooded figure from the back of the room stepped forwards and spoke Mandarin in a feminine voice. "Liberty Black bids one hundred million credits. This is our final offer."

There was a brief pause as the room considered its options. Shiyu and Khan both looked down, clearly out of the running.
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Post  Wei Xu Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:17 pm

When Ace gave his bid, Xu looked at him and smiled thinly - grateful, but aware that there was far more to do yet. He gave no other reaction.

When his eyes briefly met those of the figure in the crowd, he paused only long enough to tell what she was mouthing. Then his lips twitched slightly upwards and he continued letting his gaze wander across the crowd.

As the bidding war between Shiyu and Khan went on, Xu's eyes flickered from one to the other, without resting too long on either of them. At Liberty Black's bid, his eyebrows raised, but nothing more.
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Post  Ace Nizky Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:54 pm

There was only a slight pause before Ace's voice loudly announced "One-hundred and ten million." He did not take his eyes off Xu as he spoke.

In Xu's head Ace's voice spoke clearly, bypassing his ears and setting up no cranial vibrations as a smeeker would. "That's my limit, Xu. If anyone wants you badly enough then I'll have to let them have you.. For now."

Then Ace turned to face the crowd, eyes locking with the previous bidder.


Last edited by Ace Nizky on Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post  Wei Xu Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:57 pm

Xu nodded, almost imperceptibly, but gave no other indication that he had heard Ace's words, either out loud or in his head.
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Post  Admin Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:34 pm

Romeo Romero, EI playboy and manager of Two Snakes, leaned back on his bar stool. There was no bar in the Executive Room, but somehow the EI agent had found not only a bar stool but was holding a glass of what looked and smelled like whiskey.
"Hey guys! Can we stop pretending like we are all poor people please?" he yelled to no one in particular. "A hundred and fifty million. And if anyone wants to come to my place afterwards we have got a sick VR system there. Seriously, it can fit like twenty people in it at once. Who's in?"
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Post  Ban So Tzun Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:04 pm

There was a tiny excited intake of breath from Ban at Romeo's words, his brows raising and his grin widening to dangerous levels. He gave a breathy little laugh, and nodded to the room. "That does sound fun! The bidding stands at, ah!, one hundred and fifty million credits."

Ban amusement, delight, energy was definitely rising. He bounced from one foot to the next, just once, as he looked around the room. He was struggling to keep himself professional, but he couldn't stop himself from rubbing his hands together in glee. "Is that the final bid?"
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Post  Darya Demeter Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:38 pm

Darya reached forward, holding onto Ace's hand, biting her lip. This was the situation she had been afraid of, them getting out bid and no way of generating the funds needed to counter it. Her eyes flickered around the room, looking at Romeo, Xu, Ban. With this, the others were gonna be bond to attempt to rescue Xu. She doubted anything she could say could stop that, but she had to try. Biting down, she activated her smeaker. "I talked to Xu, while he was on the stand. He said...he said he didn't want you guys to get hurt. If we continue with the plan..." she looked up at the stand and for a flash it wasn't Xu sitting there, it was Natasha, and her face turned pale. "Whether we continue it or not is up to you. I don't think Xu wants us to, but..." her voice tailed off slightly "But I understand if you feel you have to." Her hand shaked slightly.
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