Chapter 30
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Something soft and warm pushed against Quinn's side, the soft scent of lilac tickled his nose. Quinn opened eyes in the darkness of his apartment, he definitely wasn't alone. He slid his VR helmet off and looked down on the blonde head that was resting against his shoulder. She had one arm draped over his chest, while her amputated leg lay on his normal one. Unexpectedly the sight caused his throat to tighten up. 'Damn I feel like crying,' he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. So many bad things had happened to Tal in her life. A person like her deserved better.
"Hmm? She shifted and snuggle closer as she turned to face him. She pulled the blanket up higher, "dream come true waking up next to a beautiful woman?"
Quinn nodded, "yep, if by dream you mean nightmare."
She pinched his cheek, "brat! Let me feel smoking hot for once."
Quinn wiggled his eyebrows at her, "fine...what the heck are you doing in my bed anyways? You logged off before me."
Tal propped her chin on his chest, with anyone else it would be an intimate act but neither of them were bothered by it. "I was so excited, I wanted to talk to you about my day!"
"It was all engineering right?" Quinn had seen the edited 3-D map that Tal had worked on all day. There were also pages of surveys, estimates, calculations ... she had thought of everything.
"Yes, it was all engineering. It was my best day is such a long time!" She wrinkled her nose for a moment as her eyes teared up. "Sorry, you don't need all this emotion I'm sure."
"It's fine if you want to talk about it, even if you want to cry a bit." Q moved her hair out of her eyes and tapped her nose with his finger.
"Remmy is awesome by the way!" Remmy had spent the whole day shadowing her, asking every conceivable question. There were a lot of gaps in the little gnomes engineering knowledge, but she was sharp and creative.
"Yeah I know," Quinn smiled as he remembered their first meeting. "We'll get Renri in tonight."
Tal sighed, "I'm nervous and scared. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but.."
"Leave it to me," he paused and gave her a crooked smile. "This is kinda nice, waking up next to someone."
"Oh? Want to give me a key then?" Tal tried to wiggle her eyebrows but failed miserably.
"Denied!!" Quinn laughed at her attempt.
Tal sighed loudly," tossed away, once again... It's fine, I can deal with rejection."
"Sure, you've probably had lots of practice." Quinn gave her a sympathetic look.
Tal rolled away from him and propped a pillow under her head. "Sorry Little Q, I haven't asked you about your day. How was Fenway?"
Quinn took a deep breathe. "Well..... I escaped an assassination attempt, went for a stroll in the sewer, discovered a secret band of ninjas, defeated the secret band of ninjas single handedly, escaped the sewers to a five star hotel, successfully assassinated a naked bald headed woman, attended a banquet in my honor, recruited the secret band of ninjas and returned home successfully."
Tal watched for any signs that he was fibbing. "Oh I see, and all of that is true?"
Quinn looked up at the ceiling while thinking it over. "All but one tiny part."
Tal noticed that her stump had been resting on his leg, it felt nice that he hadn't moved away. "Let me guess, the naked bald woman was actually a naked bald man?"
"Ewwww.. really? " Quinn shook his head in denial. "The ultra secret band of ninjas were actually Songbirds."
Four hours later, Quinn had worked out and devoured an SOS breakfast made by Tal. "I'm glad I waited until I was done to ask what SOS stood for." He laughed aloud, "why the hell would someone make something called shit on a shingle? Couldn't the army say biscuits and gravy like everyone else?"
His video phone buzzed as Quinn was finishing up the dishes, Tal had gone to check on Ren. He moved the call over to his personal hud, "Hello?"
"Quinn! It's nice to see you," Anna Li was as cheerful as ever and as Quinn noticed with a depressed sigh, completely dressed.
"Miss Li, I assume you are in Vegas." She wasn't in an office, nor did it look like her bedroom.
"I'm at a nice house about two miles from you, it's a bit larger then you wanted, but it has everything else." Anna Li was trying to keep a smile on her face, but Quinn was good at reading faces. She wasn't happy about something.
"Well I would like to see it, but first lets talk about Orion Prime and Orion Media." Quinn watch her face when he mentioned Orion Prime, exactly what she didn't want to talk about.
"Quinn... Orion Prime is sponsored by Orion Media. Not only that, Orion Media recommended the raid on the Fora Development Group." Anna took out a notebook and pencil as she waited for Quinn's reaction.
"Were they aware of my relationship with the Fora Development Group?" It really didn't matter to Quinn if they had known, but he still wanted to facts.
"They did not know, although they should have." Anna let out a long sigh, "If you knew how many heads rolled because of that..."
"Not your head though." Quinn wanted to push her a bit.
"No, not mine. That isn't my department, although I have a small existence in the game." She fiddled with her bracelet as she spoke, a nervous habit from the boardrooms.
"Okay let's do it this way. Instead of going back and forth, since you were honest, I'm going to give you my list." Quinn took out a piece of paper and started writing, he was really just scribbling but had thought Anna Li looked real professional with her notebook.
"When I said, not my head. That was only temporary. A lot hinges on this meeting." She thought that he had some goodwill toward her, so she put the screws on him a bit.
He smiled at her. "Shall we make a bet Miss Li?"
"I'm not opposed to wagering," She smiled reluctantly. "Whats the bet?"
"Lets bet dinner, that regardless of what happens today, you will no longer be working for Orion Media." Quinn loved making bets, second favorite thing.
Anna's face turned solemn, "is this your way of saying you aren't going to cooperate?"
"Nope, I fully intend to be as amiable as I can." Quinn didn't even have to cross his fingers, he had only said, 'as I can.' Naturally he wasn't an amiable person.
Anna gave him a confused look and then nodded once, " I accept, please tell me your requests."
"I want four deeds for Nomadic Red Dome tents, the kind that are set up quickly anywhere in TAP lands and can be taken down after 6 days." Quinn remembered that Leilani had a rather nice one, therefore they must be available somewhere.
"Nomadic Red Dome tents." She wrote it down, Quinn knew without a doubt she didn't know what they were. "Anything else?"
"Yes, I want Orion Media to pay for a TAP manager of my choice to run our real world finances related to the game." Quinn gave her an innocent look, the same one he had used on the songbirds.
Anna stared at her notepad, really it wasn't too bad. She wasn't aware of what Red Dome tents cost, but we are getting off relatively easy. "Is that everything?"
"One last thing, I want your boss on the vid-phone when we sign the agreement." Quinn scribbled one last time and then looked up.
Anna was watching him, for some reason she had a bad feeling. "I will push this forward immediately, in the mean time I will send a car so you can take a look at the property.
"Perfect, I'll be ready within the hour." Q ended the call and walked out the door whistling.
Thirty minutes later he was sitting next to Tal in the back seat of a black sedan. Tal was staring out the window smiling.
"Wow, it's a gated community!" Tal hung her head out the window staring as they drove through the entrance. She glanced back at Quinn, "I suppose I look like someones poodle hanging my head out like this?"
"Pfft.. If poodles looked like you, every man on the planet would have one." Quinn had noticed that all the houses here were very nice.
"Hey.." Tal had scooted over next to him, her blue eyes staring. "If you say things like that to a woman, she is going to think you find her attractive Little Q."
Quinn shrugged, "so what. You're ridiculously attractive, there is no getting around it."
Tal put an arm through his and was silent until the car stopped.
Quinn stepped out and then lent Tal his hand as she exited. The driver looked a bit put out. Quinn gave him a sympathetic look. Of course he wanted to help the pretty blonde out of the car. Too slow, Quinn thought to himself.
"Wow.." Tal stopped halfway up the drive-way, "we are going to live here Quinn?"
Quinn nodded, "probably ." He took her hand and headed toward the front door, just as he arrived it opened and a pretty Asian woman stepped out.
"Hello, I'm Anna Li. It's nice to finally meet with you face to face." Anna didn't have to fake a smile, her boss had agreed to everything immediately.
"Miss Li, this is Talia Joki." Quinn pawned the corporate lawyer off on Talia as he walked quickly into the house. Up the steps two at a time to the second floor, he didn't even bother to wait for them.
A few minutes later he leaned over the railing from the second floor. "Tal this place is great!"
By the time Quinn made his way downstairs, Anna had finished showing Tal the first floor.
"Quinn, it has six bedrooms and six baths." Tal's eyes were lit with excitement. She had been forced to move into a smaller place so she could afford the medical costs of Ren's life support. With her medical pension and her Dad's retirement, they struggled sometimes.
"If everything is in order, we can start the vid-call. We have already attained the items that you required." Anna had let out a relieved sigh when she learned that the Dome tents deeds were available on the market. They were a bit costly, but not unreasonable so.
Quinn took a seat on the couch next to Tal. It was a beautiful place, it even had a natural gas generator back up, for any power outages. "Ready when you are."
"I hope you know a nice place to eat, a bets a bet." She teased him a bit, the kid was just too sure of himself.
"Oh god.." Tal looked at her, then glanced at Q who gave her his innocent look.
"What the matter?" Anna had to admit, Talia made a great impression on her.
"You didn't make a bet with Little Q did you?" Tal bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Little Q?" Anna gave them both a blank look, the beeping vid-call on the table's hud interrupted them.
A middle aged man with a full head of black curly hair sat behind a desk. Quinn had to admit to himself, the guy had nice hair.
"Quinn, this is Mr. Obreen my boss." Anna made the introductions nervously, truth be told, Mr. Obreen was her bosses boss.
Quinn bowed his head slightly,"nice to meet you sir."
Mr. Obreen seemed a bit taken back by Quinn's polite manner, but he adjusted quickly. "All four Tent Deeds have been emailed to your TAP character Q."
Tal was watching them both with interest. A corporate shark and a vicious T-Rex dressed up as a nineteen year old orphan. She didn't bother to speak, she was just along for the ride.
"Thank you Mr. Obreen." Quinn stared at Obreen's desk with a bit of envy. 'I should have sat behind a desk too.'
"You also asked for Orion Media to hire a TAP business manager, of your choice, to handle your finances." He paused and looked up from the contract that he was reading. "Do you have someone in mind?"
Quinn nodded. "I would like Anna Li to fill that position."
Tal was the only one who wasn't floored by the request. She smirked at the two suits. If you wanted to get the better of Quinn, you had to be really sweet and sincere.
"I'm sorry Quinn, that isn't pos-"
"Agreed." Mr. Obreen interrupted Anna and a moment later scribbled something on the contract. "It was nice doing business with you Mr. Quinn."
"Thank you for your time Mr. Obreen." He sent a digital signature from his hud and the contract was completed. Quinn wanted to smile, but felt it might be a bit inappropriate at the moment.
Anna stared at her Bosses boss in disbelief. Either she refused and was instantly fired. Or she accepted and was now working for Quinn.
Tal gave her a sympathetic look, "now you know."
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Something soft and warm pushed against Quinn's side, the soft scent of lilac tickled his nose. Quinn opened eyes in the darkness of his apartment, he definitely wasn't alone. He slid his VR helmet off and looked down on the blonde head that was resting against his shoulder. She had one arm draped over his chest, while her amputated leg lay on his normal one. Unexpectedly the sight caused his throat to tighten up. 'Damn I feel like crying,' he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. So many bad things had happened to Tal in her life. A person like her deserved better.
"Hmm? She shifted and snuggle closer as she turned to face him. She pulled the blanket up higher, "dream come true waking up next to a beautiful woman?"
Quinn nodded, "yep, if by dream you mean nightmare."
She pinched his cheek, "brat! Let me feel smoking hot for once."
Quinn wiggled his eyebrows at her, "fine...what the heck are you doing in my bed anyways? You logged off before me."
Tal propped her chin on his chest, with anyone else it would be an intimate act but neither of them were bothered by it. "I was so excited, I wanted to talk to you about my day!"
"It was all engineering right?" Quinn had seen the edited 3-D map that Tal had worked on all day. There were also pages of surveys, estimates, calculations ... she had thought of everything.
"Yes, it was all engineering. It was my best day is such a long time!" She wrinkled her nose for a moment as her eyes teared up. "Sorry, you don't need all this emotion I'm sure."
"It's fine if you want to talk about it, even if you want to cry a bit." Q moved her hair out of her eyes and tapped her nose with his finger.
"Remmy is awesome by the way!" Remmy had spent the whole day shadowing her, asking every conceivable question. There were a lot of gaps in the little gnomes engineering knowledge, but she was sharp and creative.
"Yeah I know," Quinn smiled as he remembered their first meeting. "We'll get Renri in tonight."
Tal sighed, "I'm nervous and scared. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but.."
"Leave it to me," he paused and gave her a crooked smile. "This is kinda nice, waking up next to someone."
"Oh? Want to give me a key then?" Tal tried to wiggle her eyebrows but failed miserably.
"Denied!!" Quinn laughed at her attempt.
Tal sighed loudly," tossed away, once again... It's fine, I can deal with rejection."
"Sure, you've probably had lots of practice." Quinn gave her a sympathetic look.
Tal rolled away from him and propped a pillow under her head. "Sorry Little Q, I haven't asked you about your day. How was Fenway?"
Quinn took a deep breathe. "Well..... I escaped an assassination attempt, went for a stroll in the sewer, discovered a secret band of ninjas, defeated the secret band of ninjas single handedly, escaped the sewers to a five star hotel, successfully assassinated a naked bald headed woman, attended a banquet in my honor, recruited the secret band of ninjas and returned home successfully."
Tal watched for any signs that he was fibbing. "Oh I see, and all of that is true?"
Quinn looked up at the ceiling while thinking it over. "All but one tiny part."
Tal noticed that her stump had been resting on his leg, it felt nice that he hadn't moved away. "Let me guess, the naked bald woman was actually a naked bald man?"
"Ewwww.. really? " Quinn shook his head in denial. "The ultra secret band of ninjas were actually Songbirds."
Four hours later, Quinn had worked out and devoured an SOS breakfast made by Tal. "I'm glad I waited until I was done to ask what SOS stood for." He laughed aloud, "why the hell would someone make something called shit on a shingle? Couldn't the army say biscuits and gravy like everyone else?"
His video phone buzzed as Quinn was finishing up the dishes, Tal had gone to check on Ren. He moved the call over to his personal hud, "Hello?"
"Quinn! It's nice to see you," Anna Li was as cheerful as ever and as Quinn noticed with a depressed sigh, completely dressed.
"Miss Li, I assume you are in Vegas." She wasn't in an office, nor did it look like her bedroom.
"I'm at a nice house about two miles from you, it's a bit larger then you wanted, but it has everything else." Anna Li was trying to keep a smile on her face, but Quinn was good at reading faces. She wasn't happy about something.
"Well I would like to see it, but first lets talk about Orion Prime and Orion Media." Quinn watch her face when he mentioned Orion Prime, exactly what she didn't want to talk about.
"Quinn... Orion Prime is sponsored by Orion Media. Not only that, Orion Media recommended the raid on the Fora Development Group." Anna took out a notebook and pencil as she waited for Quinn's reaction.
"Were they aware of my relationship with the Fora Development Group?" It really didn't matter to Quinn if they had known, but he still wanted to facts.
"They did not know, although they should have." Anna let out a long sigh, "If you knew how many heads rolled because of that..."
"Not your head though." Quinn wanted to push her a bit.
"No, not mine. That isn't my department, although I have a small existence in the game." She fiddled with her bracelet as she spoke, a nervous habit from the boardrooms.
"Okay let's do it this way. Instead of going back and forth, since you were honest, I'm going to give you my list." Quinn took out a piece of paper and started writing, he was really just scribbling but had thought Anna Li looked real professional with her notebook.
"When I said, not my head. That was only temporary. A lot hinges on this meeting." She thought that he had some goodwill toward her, so she put the screws on him a bit.
He smiled at her. "Shall we make a bet Miss Li?"
"I'm not opposed to wagering," She smiled reluctantly. "Whats the bet?"
"Lets bet dinner, that regardless of what happens today, you will no longer be working for Orion Media." Quinn loved making bets, second favorite thing.
Anna's face turned solemn, "is this your way of saying you aren't going to cooperate?"
"Nope, I fully intend to be as amiable as I can." Quinn didn't even have to cross his fingers, he had only said, 'as I can.' Naturally he wasn't an amiable person.
Anna gave him a confused look and then nodded once, " I accept, please tell me your requests."
"I want four deeds for Nomadic Red Dome tents, the kind that are set up quickly anywhere in TAP lands and can be taken down after 6 days." Quinn remembered that Leilani had a rather nice one, therefore they must be available somewhere.
"Nomadic Red Dome tents." She wrote it down, Quinn knew without a doubt she didn't know what they were. "Anything else?"
"Yes, I want Orion Media to pay for a TAP manager of my choice to run our real world finances related to the game." Quinn gave her an innocent look, the same one he had used on the songbirds.
Anna stared at her notepad, really it wasn't too bad. She wasn't aware of what Red Dome tents cost, but we are getting off relatively easy. "Is that everything?"
"One last thing, I want your boss on the vid-phone when we sign the agreement." Quinn scribbled one last time and then looked up.
Anna was watching him, for some reason she had a bad feeling. "I will push this forward immediately, in the mean time I will send a car so you can take a look at the property.
"Perfect, I'll be ready within the hour." Q ended the call and walked out the door whistling.
Thirty minutes later he was sitting next to Tal in the back seat of a black sedan. Tal was staring out the window smiling.
"Wow, it's a gated community!" Tal hung her head out the window staring as they drove through the entrance. She glanced back at Quinn, "I suppose I look like someones poodle hanging my head out like this?"
"Pfft.. If poodles looked like you, every man on the planet would have one." Quinn had noticed that all the houses here were very nice.
"Hey.." Tal had scooted over next to him, her blue eyes staring. "If you say things like that to a woman, she is going to think you find her attractive Little Q."
Quinn shrugged, "so what. You're ridiculously attractive, there is no getting around it."
Tal put an arm through his and was silent until the car stopped.
Quinn stepped out and then lent Tal his hand as she exited. The driver looked a bit put out. Quinn gave him a sympathetic look. Of course he wanted to help the pretty blonde out of the car. Too slow, Quinn thought to himself.
"Wow.." Tal stopped halfway up the drive-way, "we are going to live here Quinn?"
Quinn nodded, "probably ." He took her hand and headed toward the front door, just as he arrived it opened and a pretty Asian woman stepped out.
"Hello, I'm Anna Li. It's nice to finally meet with you face to face." Anna didn't have to fake a smile, her boss had agreed to everything immediately.
"Miss Li, this is Talia Joki." Quinn pawned the corporate lawyer off on Talia as he walked quickly into the house. Up the steps two at a time to the second floor, he didn't even bother to wait for them.
A few minutes later he leaned over the railing from the second floor. "Tal this place is great!"
By the time Quinn made his way downstairs, Anna had finished showing Tal the first floor.
"Quinn, it has six bedrooms and six baths." Tal's eyes were lit with excitement. She had been forced to move into a smaller place so she could afford the medical costs of Ren's life support. With her medical pension and her Dad's retirement, they struggled sometimes.
"If everything is in order, we can start the vid-call. We have already attained the items that you required." Anna had let out a relieved sigh when she learned that the Dome tents deeds were available on the market. They were a bit costly, but not unreasonable so.
Quinn took a seat on the couch next to Tal. It was a beautiful place, it even had a natural gas generator back up, for any power outages. "Ready when you are."
"I hope you know a nice place to eat, a bets a bet." She teased him a bit, the kid was just too sure of himself.
"Oh god.." Tal looked at her, then glanced at Q who gave her his innocent look.
"What the matter?" Anna had to admit, Talia made a great impression on her.
"You didn't make a bet with Little Q did you?" Tal bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Little Q?" Anna gave them both a blank look, the beeping vid-call on the table's hud interrupted them.
A middle aged man with a full head of black curly hair sat behind a desk. Quinn had to admit to himself, the guy had nice hair.
"Quinn, this is Mr. Obreen my boss." Anna made the introductions nervously, truth be told, Mr. Obreen was her bosses boss.
Quinn bowed his head slightly,"nice to meet you sir."
Mr. Obreen seemed a bit taken back by Quinn's polite manner, but he adjusted quickly. "All four Tent Deeds have been emailed to your TAP character Q."
Tal was watching them both with interest. A corporate shark and a vicious T-Rex dressed up as a nineteen year old orphan. She didn't bother to speak, she was just along for the ride.
"Thank you Mr. Obreen." Quinn stared at Obreen's desk with a bit of envy. 'I should have sat behind a desk too.'
"You also asked for Orion Media to hire a TAP business manager, of your choice, to handle your finances." He paused and looked up from the contract that he was reading. "Do you have someone in mind?"
Quinn nodded. "I would like Anna Li to fill that position."
Tal was the only one who wasn't floored by the request. She smirked at the two suits. If you wanted to get the better of Quinn, you had to be really sweet and sincere.
"I'm sorry Quinn, that isn't pos-"
"Agreed." Mr. Obreen interrupted Anna and a moment later scribbled something on the contract. "It was nice doing business with you Mr. Quinn."
"Thank you for your time Mr. Obreen." He sent a digital signature from his hud and the contract was completed. Quinn wanted to smile, but felt it might be a bit inappropriate at the moment.
Anna stared at her Bosses boss in disbelief. Either she refused and was instantly fired. Or she accepted and was now working for Quinn.
Tal gave her a sympathetic look, "now you know."
Something soft and warm pushed against Quinn's side, the soft scent of lilac tickled his nose. Quinn opened eyes in the darkness of his apartment, he definitely wasn't alone. He slid his VR helmet off and looked down on the blonde head that was resting against his shoulder. She had one arm draped over his chest, while her amputated leg lay on his normal one. Unexpectedly the sight caused his throat to tighten up. 'Damn I feel like crying,' he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. So many bad things had happened to Tal in her life. A person like her deserved better."Hmm? She shifted and snuggle closer as she turned to face him. She pulled the blanket up higher, "dream come true waking up next to a beautiful woman?"Quinn nodded, "yep, if by dream you mean nightmare."She pinched his cheek, "brat! Let me feel smoking hot for once."Quinn wiggled his eyebrows at her, "fine...what the heck are you doing in my bed anyways? You logged off before me."Tal propped her chin on his chest, with anyone else it would be an intimate act but neither of them were bothered by it. "I was so excited, I wanted to talk to you about my day!""It was all engineering right?" Quinn had seen the edited 3-D map that Tal had worked on all day. There were also pages of surveys, estimates, calculations ... she had thought of everything."Yes, it was all engineering. It was my best day is such a long time!" She wrinkled her nose for a moment as her eyes teared up. "Sorry, you don't need all this emotion I'm sure.""It's fine if you want to talk about it, even if you want to cry a bit." Q moved her hair out of her eyes and tapped her nose with his finger."Remmy is awesome by the way!" Remmy had spent the whole day shadowing her, asking every conceivable question. There were a lot of gaps in the little gnomes engineering knowledge, but she was sharp and creative."Yeah I know," Quinn smiled as he remembered their first meeting. "We'll get Renri in tonight."Tal sighed, "I'm nervous and scared. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but..""Leave it to me," he paused and gave her a crooked smile. "This is kinda nice, waking up next to someone.""Oh? Want to give me a key then?" Tal tried to wiggle her eyebrows but failed miserably."Denied!!" Quinn laughed at her attempt.Tal sighed loudly," tossed away, once again... It's fine, I can deal with rejection.""Sure, you've probably had lots of practice." Quinn gave her a sympathetic look.Tal rolled away from him and propped a pillow under her head. "Sorry Little Q, I haven't asked you about your day. How was Fenway?"Quinn took a deep breathe. "Well..... I escaped an assassination attempt, went for a stroll in the sewer, discovered a secret band of ninjas, defeated the secret band of ninjas single handedly, escaped the sewers to a five star hotel, successfully assassinated a naked bald headed woman, attended a banquet in my honor, recruited the secret band of ninjas and returned home successfully."Tal watched for any signs that he was fibbing. "Oh I see, and all of that is true?"Quinn looked up at the ceiling while thinking it over. "All but one tiny part."Tal noticed that her stump had been resting on his leg, it felt nice that he hadn't moved away. "Let me guess, the naked bald woman was actually a naked bald man?""Ewwww.. really? " Quinn shook his head in denial. "The ultra secret band of ninjas were actually Songbirds."Four hours later, Quinn had worked out and devoured an SOS breakfast made by Tal. "I'm glad I waited until I was done to ask what SOS stood for." He laughed aloud, "why the hell would someone make something called shit on a shingle? Couldn't the army say biscuits and gravy like everyone else?"His video phone buzzed as Quinn was finishing up the dishes, Tal had gone to check on Ren. He moved the call over to his personal hud, "Hello?""Quinn! It's nice to see you," Anna Li was as cheerful as ever and as Quinn noticed with a depressed sigh, completely dressed."Miss Li, I assume you are in Vegas." She wasn't in an office, nor did it look like her bedroom."I'm at a nice house about two miles from you, it's a bit larger then you wanted, but it has everything else." Anna Li was trying to keep a smile on her face, but Quinn was good at reading faces. She wasn't happy about something."Well I would like to see it, but first lets talk about Orion Prime and Orion Media." Quinn watch her face when he mentioned Orion Prime, exactly what she didn't want to talk about."Quinn... Orion Prime is sponsored by Orion Media. Not only that, Orion Media recommended the raid on the Fora Development Group." Anna took out a notebook and pencil as she waited for Quinn's reaction."Were they aware of my relationship with the Fora Development Group?" It really didn't matter to Quinn if they had known, but he still wanted to facts."They did not know, although they should have." Anna let out a long sigh, "If you knew how many heads rolled because of that...""Not your head though." Quinn wanted to push her a bit."No, not mine. That isn't my department, although I have a small existence in the game." She fiddled with her bracelet as she spoke, a nervous habit from the boardrooms."Okay let's do it this way. Instead of going back and forth, since you were honest, I'm going to give you my list." Quinn took out a piece of paper and started writing, he was really just scribbling but had thought Anna Li looked real professional with her notebook."When I said, not my head. That was only temporary. A lot hinges on this meeting." She thought that he had some goodwill toward her, so she put the screws on him a bit.He smiled at her. "Shall we make a bet Miss Li?""I'm not opposed to wagering," She smiled reluctantly. "Whats the bet?""Lets bet dinner, that regardless of what happens today, you will no longer be working for Orion Media." Quinn loved making bets, second favorite thing.Anna's face turned solemn, "is this your way of saying you aren't going to cooperate?""Nope, I fully intend to be as amiable as I can." Quinn didn't even have to cross his fingers, he had only said, 'as I can.' Naturally he wasn't an amiable person.Anna gave him a confused look and then nodded once, " I accept, please tell me your requests.""I want four deeds for Nomadic Red Dome tents, the kind that are set up quickly anywhere in TAP lands and can be taken down after 6 days." Quinn remembered that Leilani had a rather nice one, therefore they must be available somewhere."Nomadic Red Dome tents." She wrote it down, Quinn knew without a doubt she didn't know what they were. "Anything else?""Yes, I want Orion Media to pay for a TAP manager of my choice to run our real world finances related to the game." Quinn gave her an innocent look, the same one he had used on the songbirds.Anna stared at her notepad, really it wasn't too bad. She wasn't aware of what Red Dome tents cost, but we are getting off relatively easy. "Is that everything?""One last thing, I want your boss on the vid-phone when we sign the agreement." Quinn scribbled one last time and then looked up.Anna was watching him, for some reason she had a bad feeling. "I will push this forward immediately, in the mean time I will send a car so you can take a look at the property."Perfect, I'll be ready within the hour." Q ended the call and walked out the door whistling.Thirty minutes later he was sitting next to Tal in the back seat of a black sedan. Tal was staring out the window smiling."Wow, it's a gated community!" Tal hung her head out the window staring as they drove through the entrance. She glanced back at Quinn, "I suppose I look like someones poodle hanging my head out like this?""Pfft.. If poodles looked like you, every man on the planet would have one." Quinn had noticed that all the houses here were very nice."Hey.." Tal had scooted over next to him, her blue eyes staring. "If you say things like that to a woman, she is going to think you find her attractive Little Q."Quinn shrugged, "so what. You're ridiculously attractive, there is no getting around it."Tal put an arm through his and was silent until the car stopped.Quinn stepped out and then lent Tal his hand as she exited. The driver looked a bit put out. Quinn gave him a sympathetic look. Of course he wanted to help the pretty blonde out of the car. Too slow, Quinn thought to himself."Wow.." Tal stopped halfway up the drive-way, "we are going to live here Quinn?"Quinn nodded, "probably ." He took her hand and headed toward the front door, just as he arrived it opened and a pretty Asian woman stepped out."Hello, I'm Anna Li. It's nice to finally meet with you face to face." Anna didn't have to fake a smile, her boss had agreed to everything immediately."Miss Li, this is Talia Joki." Quinn pawned the corporate lawyer off on Talia as he walked quickly into the house. Up the steps two at a time to the second floor, he didn't even bother to wait for them.A few minutes later he leaned over the railing from the second floor. "Tal this place is great!"By the time Quinn made his way downstairs, Anna had finished showing Tal the first floor."Quinn, it has six bedrooms and six baths." Tal's eyes were lit with excitement. She had been forced to move into a smaller place so she could afford the medical costs of Ren's life support. With her medical pension and her Dad's retirement, they struggled sometimes."If everything is in order, we can start the vid-call. We have already attained the items that you required." Anna had let out a relieved sigh when she learned that the Dome tents deeds were available on the market. They were a bit costly, but not unreasonable so.Quinn took a seat on the couch next to Tal. It was a beautiful place, it even had a natural gas generator back up, for any power outages. "Ready when you are.""I hope you know a nice place to eat, a bets a bet." She teased him a bit, the kid was just too sure of himself."Oh god.." Tal looked at her, then glanced at Q who gave her his innocent look."What the matter?" Anna had to admit, Talia made a great impression on her."You didn't make a bet with Little Q did you?" Tal bit her lip to keep from laughing."Little Q?" Anna gave them both a blank look, the beeping vid-call on the table's hud interrupted them.A middle aged man with a full head of black curly hair sat behind a desk. Quinn had to admit to himself, the guy had nice hair."Quinn, this is Mr. Obreen my boss." Anna made the introductions nervously, truth be told, Mr. Obreen was her bosses boss.Quinn bowed his head slightly,"nice to meet you sir."Mr. Obreen seemed a bit taken back by Quinn's polite manner, but he adjusted quickly. "All four Tent Deeds have been emailed to your TAP character Q."Tal was watching them both with interest. A corporate shark and a vicious T-Rex dressed up as a nineteen year old orphan. She didn't bother to speak, she was just along for the ride."Thank you Mr. Obreen." Quinn stared at Obreen's desk with a bit of envy. 'I should have sat behind a desk too.'"You also asked for Orion Media to hire a TAP business manager, of your choice, to handle your finances." He paused and looked up from the contract that he was reading. "Do you have someone in mind?"Quinn nodded. "I would like Anna Li to fill that position."Tal was the only one who wasn't floored by the request. She smirked at the two suits. If you wanted to get the better of Quinn, you had to be really sweet and sincere."I'm sorry Quinn, that isn't pos-""Agreed." Mr. Obreen interrupted Anna and a moment later scribbled something on the contract. "It was nice doing business with you Mr. Quinn.""Thank you for your time Mr. Obreen." He sent a digital signature from his hud and the contract was completed. Quinn wanted to smile, but felt it might be a bit inappropriate at the moment.Anna stared at her Bosses boss in disbelief. Either she refused and was instantly fired. Or she accepted and was now working for Quinn.Tal gave her a sympathetic look, "now you know."
