[@SmileyJaws]

[b]Synchronicity. Unlikely, meaningful coincidences. They say it's a small world, but really, it isn't. But you know. Anything can happen, and sometimes, it does.[/b]

[color=6ecff6][b]"I swear, I don't know 'em! Try askin' Stevie Boy 'bout the Engineer!"[/b][/color]

[color=9e0039][b]"Oh, Shush. Bog off with that now, Mister Ray. I'll not be having that. You /do/ know, and I know you know. Pick up your feet, will you?"[/b][/color]

[i]The hushed exchange occurred not fifteen feet from where Yuri had briefly exchanged flirts with a street gal, at the entrance to an alley between a casino and a restaurant. A gaunt man wearing a suit and thick glasses was roughly guiding a balding fellow in an apron deeper into the alley. This was dirt, if dirt there ever was. Should Yuri follow the two at a safe distance, keeping out of sight, they'd eventually reach the back of a dilapidated apartment building. The exterior of the structure was dimly aglow with crimson and blue light, flickering bulbs protruding from the walls. It meant that the building was soon to be "restructured". In the olden days, one might have brought up the word "demolished", but that process, as it had been, was now vastly inferior to what currently existed. You didn't need to tear down buildings to make new ones, not anymore. Still, pity for the fool that was dumb enough to hide in a building whilst it was being restructured. He'd find himself thoroughly fused into the floor, or perhaps reduced to a pile of reconstituted meat inside of a random cabinet.

The lanky man with the spectacles stopped, having found a location he deemed suitable enough for the task at hand. He turned to address his companion, one hand folded neatly behind his back, the other softly stroking the schmuck's bald head. Ray flinched each time the black-gloved hand touched skin, as if he felt he were being brushed by something quite undesirable.[/i]

[i][b][color=6ecff6]"Look, Xil Gil, I know why you'd come to me, right? I swears it, I do. If I knew, I'd have talked already, yeah? What alternative have I got, huh? You're puttin' me through the wringer for nothin'!"[/color][/b][/i]

[i]Xil Gil. That was bad news. He was well known, but for what, none could say exactly. He was a sort of unintentional figurehead that stalked in the shadow of Eurocorp, and those that carelessly stepped upon that shadow sank into it, never to be seen again. His official position was "Chief Investigation Officer", though that was really one of those utterly meaningless corporate titles given to those who fulfill either no worthwhile role at all, or a task that is less than legal. One might find safer company amongst gangbangers. At least people had a rough idea of how gangbangers operated, how they went about their shenanigans. Who Xil Gil was and what his precise purpose was could only be speculated about within the sort of trashy magazines that claim several new celebrities are in danger of dying from heartbreak or obesity every two weeks. Being as inventive as they are, they've thrown all kinds of unsavory accusations Xil Gil's way. None stuck, and none had ever been addressed.[/i]

[b][color=9e0039]"Right then, so I've come to a dead end have I? Bollocks to that. You haven't been put through the wringer yet, Mister Ray. Shall we see what you've to say for yourself when you have, old horse?"[/color][/b]

[i]Xil Gil stepped closer to Ray, hand gliding down the back of the man's scalp and over his spine, coming to rest on his backside. Xil Gil gave the man's buttocks a squeeze.[/i]

[b][color=6ecff6]"YEOW! Holy fuckin' titties!!"[/color][/b]

[i]Surprisingly, Ray screamed in pain from the squeeze and lurched into Xil Gil. The Brit was knocked off balance and tumbled backwards, falling into a sitting position through a large cardboard box. He sputtered indignantly and stood up, but could do so only partially as his ass was still wedged partially through the box, which was lifted up when he tried to stand.[/i]

[color=9e0039][b]"Tinny! Just Tinny!..."[/b][/color]

[i]After several moments he managed to shove the box off, proceeding to curtly brush himself clean afterwards. Ray hadn't made any move to escape, though he probably could have ran. Running did no good against these types. They had resources, they had lawyers, and they could find you in the system as easily as you may see a rat in a cage. He simply stood there, cheeks red and shoulders trembling. Xil Gil stepped forwards again, and this time with much more deliberation reached out to take Ray by the face. It was slow, deliberate, and the bald fellow didn't move an inch or raise a hand for himself. He bellowed in pain almost immediately, and the sound of leather squeaking could be heard. It wasn't leather though, but Ray's flesh. His crabby skin was stretched taut enough to reveal the curvature of his skull, Xil Gil's middle and ring fingers digging into the soft meat beneath Ray's eyes. His head was gradually forced backwards at a steep angle as he sagged to his knees, groaning. Were one to listen closely, they'd be able to hear his cervical vertebrae creaking dangerously, on the verge of...[/i]

[b][color=9e0039]"Oh, cabbage. Now who could that be?"[/color][/b]

[i]A muffled fart, shortly thereafter followed by a homeless man running into view. False alarm. [/i]