Welcome to Tokyo, Japan. January, 1991. The world has entered the technology era, portable phones, home computers, internet, video games. Japan quickly became the epicenter of the latest and greatest. Companies and factories flourished. Where money was, people followed. And while many rose to live a comfortable, happy, and delightful life from this new found money... Others did not. You see, money has this effect on people that can't be outdone. People will do anything for it. And when it starts slipping into the wrong hands, it's impossible to stop. Benethe the day time laborers and the double-shift workers, a seedy underbelly of syndicates exists. Narctics, black market, organized crime, money laundering, you name it and it's been growing as fast as the upper world economy. While many do it just to stay alive, there's those who make it their posh lifestyle. Either way, there's only one question. What would you do if the money was good enough?
JAN 29 2021: Welcome!! ƎLEMENT has been open for two weeks now and we're so happy to see such a bright beginning! If you're new feel free to drop into the discord and say hi before joining.
[attr="class","adrie-lyric2"]Spiders and Honeypots
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[attr="class","inner-finally"]The hour was late, but in Tokyo the night was ever young. The nightlife within Roppongi was as vibrant as ever, with dozens of clubs each vying for their slice of the pie. But for once, Hiyokuna Sunadokei wasn't out on the town for dancing and drinks. Though she was out and about looking for a special someone, though not of the typical kind. Tonight was a matter of business, not pleasure... though for the buxom crime queen the two often mixed. Which is why when her limo rolled up on the scene, stilettho heels clicked their way inside as fast as they reasonably could while keeping her balance.
Tonight's venue was the Mile High Club, an eponymously named nightclub that commanded uppermost floors of a rather glamourous skyrise. A noticeably more high class venue than most, the wait staff carried champagne glasses and platters of h'ordeurves. It was very much a shirt and tie affair, this was a venue where only people with looks, money, or connections were allowed on the guestlist. Fortunately for Sunadokei, she possessed all three in spades. Dressed in a figure hugging black dress that left nearly nothing to the imagination, the curvaceous kingpin flaunted a valley of cleavage tastefully covered by sleeveless, black, body stockings. She looked rather regal, with a white fur shawl draped over her arms and her signature earmuffs for the nippy autumn weather. Both were naturally mink fur, of course. Why simply look the part when you can be the part?
Never one to travel alone, Sunadokei brought with her a small entourage of a half dozen bodyguards. All well trained thugs of military background, they dressed in tailored suits and looked the part if not for their stern expressions. Most concealed weapons somewhere on their personage, be it knives or guns, whatever they could sneak inside without raising a fuss. Others planned to rely on good old fisticuffs if anything erupted in violence. Few people after all, could walk away from brass knuckles to the face. Sunadokei lazily waved a hand, dismissing her guards off into the crowd. Free to mingle and enjoy themselves, so long as they remained sober enough to perform their duties.
Sunadokei was quick to find a server. "I'd like two bottles of champagne." She said with a smile, already pulling a fat stack of bills out of her purse. "Top shelf, whatever vintage. And a little extra if for you if you make it snappy." She teased, passing the man a sizable tip. He simply nodded and said right away miss, before departing to the bar. While she waited for his return, Sunadokei scanned the crowds. Her contact wouldn't be one for the dance floor or the bar, she knew him not to be one to mingle. Her waiter quickly returned, and she addressed him once more. "Tell me darling, if you'd be so kind... who's occupying the VIP booth tonight?" It was an innocent question, and he responded quickly.
"Ah, yes of course Miss. One is occupied by a rather well off looking older gentleman and... how shall I put this, his lovely lady friend." Sunadokei gave a soft frown at the reply, just some old codger and his courtesan. "Another was reserved by that up and coming boy band on tour from America. Oh... I can't remember their name. Backstreet something or other, though they've yet to arrive." Again Sunadokei expressed her disappointment. "And the third... well I actually can't say much about him. He didn't give us a name, and didn't say much to begin with. Tall fellow, handsome, glasses, dark hair."
"That would be my date." Sunadokei lied, her face lighting up in jubilation. "Thanks a million darling. If you could, see to it we don't have any distractions tonight." She followed up her request with a flirtaceous wink and a blown kiss, shaking her hips in exaggerated fashion as she sashayed her way on by. The server nodded, simply assuming things would get rather... 'steamy' in the VIP booth and the buxom woman not wanting any interruption. In truth, Sunadokei simply wanted preying eyes kept to a minimum.
It did not take Sunadokei long to find the third VIP booth. Tucked away in a corner where the sound of the dance floor was distant and muffled. The lights were dim, and the atmosphere cool compared to the more fiery main lounge beyond. Sunadokei slid inside, closing the door behind her and setting her champagne bottles down on the table. "You're a hard man to find when you want to be darling." She said to her mysterious acquaintance. "Luckily I have a little birdy in my ear telling me that you felt like being found." She teased, already pouring the two a glass as she seated herself opposite the man. "You look rather handsome, let me get that off my chest first." She added with a teasing wink, fully intending her pun as she took a sip from her glass. "Jinja Izuru..." Sunadokei said after finishing her sip, closing her eyes as she savored the taste.
"It's been a while. What is it? Three months since we last spoke? You never call honey bunny, it makes me think you don't miss little old me." She chuckled to herself, setting her glass down and resting her chin in her hands as she gave her acquaintance a sinister smirk. "You dabble in information, so first tell me what you know. Why do you think I'm here? I'm curious to see what your instincts tell you."
He liked high rises. [break][break] The atmosphere was always so much more sophisticated and tolerable compared to the seedy bars he's been to. He enjoyed frequenting these places, always dressed the part. Izuru liked looking like he belonged and he did, in a sense. [break][break] Dark eyes scanned the crowd in idle curiosity, his keen ears picking up stray conversations here and there: little pinpricks of rumors and information that people tended to forget was important. Names, ages, even something so innocuous as the name of your street growing up was information that could be used and exploited. Izuru did and he made a killing off of it. His spider lines spread far and wide to obtain the information that could be sold at a higher price than it took to get it. [break][break] Which was partially why he took to these kinds of venues. The rich, the influential, and those who lived and thrived in the underbelly of Tokyo all came to these places and he knew it wouldn't take long for one of them to seek him out. They always do.[break][break] His fingers spin a pen idly in his hand, a glass of something amber and vaguely honey-scented sat untouched on a coaster, condensation forming on the outside of the glass, untouched by his hand in his little booth far from prying eyes. The sound of heels clicking against the floor caught his attention as the door opened, the form of Hiyotaka Sunadokei stepping in with all the confidence and poise of someone raised in high society.[break][break] Checkmate.[break][break] A pleasant, polite smile found its way to his lips, giving him a friendly, albeit secretive, countenance to him. He took the offered glass and had a small sip out of courtesy, studying the woman before him as she spoke, tone light and playful. [break][break] He had heard that she was looking for him and he knew that it would be foolish of him to hide from her for too long. She was a woman who doggedly pursued what she wanted, and he wasn't stupid enough to test her limits anytime soon. Yes, what he did could be considered dangerous, but not as dangerous as becoming a target of someone powerful.[break][break] "My sincerest apologies for hiding for so long, Sunadokei-sama," he replied sweetly, his voice a lovely, soft sound that hid his true nature. "I was just so overtaken by your beauty upon our last meeting that I found myself unable to show my face to you."[break][break] Flattery, conversation, business; these were all part of the play. He swirled the champagne in his glass calmly, watching the sparkling liquid wink in the low light, those pretty eyes of his meeting hers once more as she got straight to business. He set the glass down gently and laced his fingers together, placing them on his lap as he leaned back comfortably.[break][break] "Well," he muses with a light chuckle, unphased by the shift in her demeanor. "I'm in the business of information. There's something you want, something you wish to procure, but this operation is delicate and requires details that are proving difficult for you to acquire. That's where I come in. Judging by your appearance at this present time and what's currently being developed, my guess is that this is a corporate level that you can't sink your lovely fingers into." His glasses glinted, catching the light as he readjusted them, his smile widening just a fraction. "And if this is to be believed, then it must be related to those new computer parts being generated with technology that your company does not possess yet, but so fervently covets." His head tilts to the side innocently.[break][break] "Am I correct, Sunadokei-sama?"
[attr="class","inner-finally"]Sunadokei let out a haughty chuckle at her acquaintance's remark, then shook her head and scoffed. "Darling, has anyone ever told you that you are a terrible liar?" She said after taking a sip of her drink. "Keep lying though, I like hearing them." The woman was too vain to ignore a compliment, even one as painfully obvious as his. She swirled her glass, thinking on the truth of the matter. Izuru was a social chameleon among the criminal underworld, she knew him to be as much. If he wanted to vanish, he damn well could. So finding him on anything but his terms was anything but easy.
The accuracy of her 'friend's' assumptions made the buxom woman raise an eyebrow, giving him a curious look. "Spot on, your reputation proceeds you." She said flatly, slightly miffed by how detailed his initial guess was. He clearly had moles within her criminal organization, or some ears to the walls. That was a problem for tomorrow though. "You are entirely correct. The Hitachi Group has a brand new, top of the line 32bit microprocessor they have internally dubbed the Hitachi SH-4. It is state of the art, and I have my sources that military and civilian contractors are already lining up for the first production series to put in their own computer systems." She paused, downing the remainder of her glass and moving to pour herself a second. "It is as corporate level as it gets, and yes... I very much would love to sink my lovely fingers into it."
"What I desire..." Sunadokei said, gazing 'past' Izuru as she contemplated aloud. "Is something concrete, that I can work with. Blue prints, schematics, a working prototype, production line data. Anything of the sort. Bribery is too... messy. Loose lips sink ships, and engineers and techies are known to squeal at the first hint of police involvement. Which is why I want to go direct to the source." She smiled, turning her attention to her acquaintance. "How do you feel about being my secretary? I promise it's just for a day." She laughed, offering a playful wink. "I happen to have a meeting arranged with Hitachi, though sadly it is purely for a marketing gimmick. Something gaudy I'm sure where they'll inevitably want my chest to help sell a product." Sunadokei said rolling her eyes, she was more than used to it. "But I can get us, and by us, I mean you, all the security clearance you could ask for. In, out, retrieve whatever is easiest, and I will pay in accordance."
Sunadokei took another sip of her drink, thinking about that damned chip. "Payment wise I am open to negotiation. As always I deal in yen, and American dollars if you so prefer. I am also not opposed to bars of silver, gold, or platinum if you desire something more discrete though I will be going off present market value. And as always, half upon agreement, and half upon completion." With that Sunadokei gave one of her signature smiles. Coy, demure, malevolent. Like a modern succubus, intense beauty hiding equally intense greed. When Hiyokuna Sunadokei desired something, there was very little that stood in her way.
