07-09-2013, 06:17 PM
Continued here: Window Shopping
Once upon a time, huge Soviet-era apartment blocks stood in long, identical rows, housing thousands of low-income factory workers and laborers. Many still existed even in this 'enlightened' era of economic growth and expansion, but some had been knocked down to make room for newer, nicer, more beautiful structures. But, as with all things, money changed hands, companies folded, contracts were lost, and investors moved on, until all that remained were rubble-strewn lots shadowed by the great Garden Ring Road's overpasses and raised highways above.
Years passed, and eventually folks returned to these abandoned lots. Squat-er camps formed, and government funded housing projects were started up and abandoned, leaving stretches of close-packed cookie-cutter houses built by the lowest bidder and never quite finished. But it was a start, and improvements came sporadically as new city planners came and went.
Bulatnikovskaya block was one such area. Cloned housing and huts that ranged somewhere between ramshackle and whatever was a step up from ramshackle, lined the old streets. What was once a soccer field had been re-purposed into a communal garden, and up the block there was even a small open-air market where people sold fresh butchered goat meat, vegetables, salvaged junk and home-made crafts. The only evidence that this little corner of the world was actually a part of the greatest city in the world (so far as the CCD was concerned), was the not-so-distant skyline a public transit system a person could set their watch to.
Few folks who lived in the area could actually be considered land owners (as much as one could be when living in a city), but some folks earned enough to do more then simply rent. Hood was one of them. But rather then landing himself in one of the many 'mostly finished' housing units, he had one of his own built.
Sea-can construction had become rather popular in the 10's and 20's. Entire apartment buildings had been constructed of them. The metal boxes were abundant, cheap, and water-proof. At first glance, Bulatnikovskaya block's newest addition seemed out of place. A pile of sea-cans that were delivered to a run down residential neighborhood rather then one of the not-too distant train yards. Then came the electricians and plumbers, and even a government inspector. Of course, there might have been a greased palm or two to get the ball rolling, but two months after arriving in District I, Hood had a home.
In the months since he moved in, Hood had spent every waking hour spent at home on renovations. Sanding the outer walls of his new home of rust before he could start coating them with rust-protection. Interior finishings would come later, once he was comfortable his new home would weather it's first winter.
Much of the funding to build his new abode came from the Atharim. Beneath the sea-can cabin, another was burried. Excuses for the digging and dropping of the can into the open pit, was that it would serve as a solid foundation for the rest of the structure to sit on top of, and for the most part, folks bought it (or accepted bribes to make sure that part of the building plans were lost from records). That sea-can, hidden beneath the floor, provided access to the old sewers below; a bolt hole to a safe house for any Atharim agents that found themselves in a spot of trouble. The hidden room would also house Hood's personal arsenal, which was, sadly, still a work in progress.
At 0200hrs, Hood sat on the step of his recently finished porch, under the glow of the lone light fixed above the front door. At that late hour, there wasn't much activity on the street, but there were obviously people still awake. Loud music could be heard from coming from one of the houses a ways up the block. The windows were covered in bars and CGI, the door replaced with an expensive metal thing. A drug house. Teenagers and young adults could be seen coming and going all day, but so far they had left him alone and hadn't caused much trouble.
The occasional yelling couple, the distant wail of sirens and the near constant drone of the near by Garden Ring Road. On some level, he was consciously aware of all those sounds, but they were a distant thing. Sitting next to him was a toolbox, a pile of rags, and some oil. After each day's labor, he would spend an hour just sitting on the step, enjoying the cooling evening air as he cleaned and inspected the tools.
Not too far off, the local metro line could be heard coming to a stop at the station. This far out from the city center, their stop was above ground, but the tracks quickly dipped below ground again on either side of the platform. Minutes later, the sound of the train vanished as it went back under ground, and Hood finally packed his tools away.
He shifted to lean against the a post on his porch, and picked up a bottle of Alexander Kieth's beer. An expensive import, but old habits died hard. He brought the bottle to his lips then paused and frowned at it, noticing a moth stuck to the condensation on the lip. A couple huffs and puffs blew the insect clear, then after another moment's hesitation he shrugged and took a swig.
Soon enough a trio of shaggy mutts wandered into the pool of light around his porch, and Hood stared at the three dogs for a long moment. None seemed particularly excited to see him, and just scooted around him onto the porch to lay down or partake from a bucket full of water next to the door.
"I wake up, and there's a single puddle of piss on this deck, the lot of you are getting shaved and baths." The three mutts glanced at him. They didn't understand him; they recognized some Russian, unsurprisingly, but English was beyond them still. More likely, they were trying to decide if he had mentioned anything about food. He stared at the largest of the three, then just sighed and stood up, collecting his tool box and setting the empty bottle of beer on the step. Someone would collect it by morning to recycle it.
The dogs were a explainable but welcome addition to his new home. They had just shown up one day and started living on his deck. They'd leave in the morning on the metro, heading into town where they could beg and scavenge for scraps of food, then return at night to sleep there. They stayed out of his way, and had proven themselves as an efficient burglar-deterrent, so he put water out for them, sometimes some food, and generally put up with them. When winter came, he'd have to think of some sort of more permanent arrangements.
Hood went inside, stopping in the doorway long enough to toss the three strays some leftovers. The interior of his stylish new home was still fairly spartan. Plywood served as the floor, and a wooden frame skirted the walls. Eventually, drywall and insulation would be installed. The tool box was put away, the door closed and locked, and he did his rounds to make sure the windows were secure. He wasn't worried about people trying to break in. Hell, let them try it. He just didn't want to have to explain to the police why had he killed someone.
A quick trip to the fridge found another bottle of beer in his hand, and he popped the cap just as the phone rang. He frowned briefly; there weren't many who had his number, but those few knew he would still be awake at so late an hour. It would either be his day job, or his night. One payed over the counter, and the other was the reason why he had a tunnel into the sewer under his house.
He let it ring a few times, then finally answered in fluent Russian. "White."
"Sorry for calling so late..."
Hood rolled his eyes and took a sip of beer. It was the over-the-counter sort of work then.
"Don't worry, you knew full well I'd be awake. What's the tasking?"
The man on the other end of the phone chuckled, "If you had a Wallet, I could just forward it to you you know. You really should get with the times."
"Yeah well, prefer doing things the old fashioned way. What're the particulars? I'll come in to the office in the morning for the packet."
Another sip of beer then he set it aside to take up a pen and line up a pad of paper.
"There is a grand opening of the the Baccarat Mansion in a few days. Lots of high society types will be in town for it, and some are travelling under the radar. Without their usual entourage or bodyguards. There are a few parties requesting our operatives, and you're one of our top guys, so you will get first dibs."
Hood nodded, and noted down the relevant details his boss had to offer over the next few minutes. This could well work out to his advantage. Barely five minutes after he hung up, the phone rang again. He made this one wait a few rings too, sipping his beer. It was already getting warm because of these bastards and their long-winded phone conversations. This time, he answered in Arabic. The conversation was shorter, and held no surprises for him. They spoke in code, of course; innocuous, inane chatter. It was a long distance phone call, from a 'cousin' in Dominance III, talking about family and the like.
He scribbled down the important points, and knew which of the high-profile visitors he would choose to serve as bodyguard. An Atharim....were they investors? Owners? The particulars of their organization still eluded him on the finer points, but they did good, so he hadn't been too interested in poking around too deeply.
He'd probably have to buy a suit. A nice suit, anyway...he had suits, but nothing quite fancy enough for something like this. And of course, a new suit meant a new shoulder holster. So at least there was something interesting to be done tomorrow.
Edited by Hood, Jul 27 2013, 06:45 PM.
Once upon a time, huge Soviet-era apartment blocks stood in long, identical rows, housing thousands of low-income factory workers and laborers. Many still existed even in this 'enlightened' era of economic growth and expansion, but some had been knocked down to make room for newer, nicer, more beautiful structures. But, as with all things, money changed hands, companies folded, contracts were lost, and investors moved on, until all that remained were rubble-strewn lots shadowed by the great Garden Ring Road's overpasses and raised highways above.
Years passed, and eventually folks returned to these abandoned lots. Squat-er camps formed, and government funded housing projects were started up and abandoned, leaving stretches of close-packed cookie-cutter houses built by the lowest bidder and never quite finished. But it was a start, and improvements came sporadically as new city planners came and went.
Bulatnikovskaya block was one such area. Cloned housing and huts that ranged somewhere between ramshackle and whatever was a step up from ramshackle, lined the old streets. What was once a soccer field had been re-purposed into a communal garden, and up the block there was even a small open-air market where people sold fresh butchered goat meat, vegetables, salvaged junk and home-made crafts. The only evidence that this little corner of the world was actually a part of the greatest city in the world (so far as the CCD was concerned), was the not-so-distant skyline a public transit system a person could set their watch to.
Few folks who lived in the area could actually be considered land owners (as much as one could be when living in a city), but some folks earned enough to do more then simply rent. Hood was one of them. But rather then landing himself in one of the many 'mostly finished' housing units, he had one of his own built.
Sea-can construction had become rather popular in the 10's and 20's. Entire apartment buildings had been constructed of them. The metal boxes were abundant, cheap, and water-proof. At first glance, Bulatnikovskaya block's newest addition seemed out of place. A pile of sea-cans that were delivered to a run down residential neighborhood rather then one of the not-too distant train yards. Then came the electricians and plumbers, and even a government inspector. Of course, there might have been a greased palm or two to get the ball rolling, but two months after arriving in District I, Hood had a home.
In the months since he moved in, Hood had spent every waking hour spent at home on renovations. Sanding the outer walls of his new home of rust before he could start coating them with rust-protection. Interior finishings would come later, once he was comfortable his new home would weather it's first winter.
Much of the funding to build his new abode came from the Atharim. Beneath the sea-can cabin, another was burried. Excuses for the digging and dropping of the can into the open pit, was that it would serve as a solid foundation for the rest of the structure to sit on top of, and for the most part, folks bought it (or accepted bribes to make sure that part of the building plans were lost from records). That sea-can, hidden beneath the floor, provided access to the old sewers below; a bolt hole to a safe house for any Atharim agents that found themselves in a spot of trouble. The hidden room would also house Hood's personal arsenal, which was, sadly, still a work in progress.
At 0200hrs, Hood sat on the step of his recently finished porch, under the glow of the lone light fixed above the front door. At that late hour, there wasn't much activity on the street, but there were obviously people still awake. Loud music could be heard from coming from one of the houses a ways up the block. The windows were covered in bars and CGI, the door replaced with an expensive metal thing. A drug house. Teenagers and young adults could be seen coming and going all day, but so far they had left him alone and hadn't caused much trouble.
The occasional yelling couple, the distant wail of sirens and the near constant drone of the near by Garden Ring Road. On some level, he was consciously aware of all those sounds, but they were a distant thing. Sitting next to him was a toolbox, a pile of rags, and some oil. After each day's labor, he would spend an hour just sitting on the step, enjoying the cooling evening air as he cleaned and inspected the tools.
Not too far off, the local metro line could be heard coming to a stop at the station. This far out from the city center, their stop was above ground, but the tracks quickly dipped below ground again on either side of the platform. Minutes later, the sound of the train vanished as it went back under ground, and Hood finally packed his tools away.
He shifted to lean against the a post on his porch, and picked up a bottle of Alexander Kieth's beer. An expensive import, but old habits died hard. He brought the bottle to his lips then paused and frowned at it, noticing a moth stuck to the condensation on the lip. A couple huffs and puffs blew the insect clear, then after another moment's hesitation he shrugged and took a swig.
Soon enough a trio of shaggy mutts wandered into the pool of light around his porch, and Hood stared at the three dogs for a long moment. None seemed particularly excited to see him, and just scooted around him onto the porch to lay down or partake from a bucket full of water next to the door.
"I wake up, and there's a single puddle of piss on this deck, the lot of you are getting shaved and baths." The three mutts glanced at him. They didn't understand him; they recognized some Russian, unsurprisingly, but English was beyond them still. More likely, they were trying to decide if he had mentioned anything about food. He stared at the largest of the three, then just sighed and stood up, collecting his tool box and setting the empty bottle of beer on the step. Someone would collect it by morning to recycle it.
The dogs were a explainable but welcome addition to his new home. They had just shown up one day and started living on his deck. They'd leave in the morning on the metro, heading into town where they could beg and scavenge for scraps of food, then return at night to sleep there. They stayed out of his way, and had proven themselves as an efficient burglar-deterrent, so he put water out for them, sometimes some food, and generally put up with them. When winter came, he'd have to think of some sort of more permanent arrangements.
Hood went inside, stopping in the doorway long enough to toss the three strays some leftovers. The interior of his stylish new home was still fairly spartan. Plywood served as the floor, and a wooden frame skirted the walls. Eventually, drywall and insulation would be installed. The tool box was put away, the door closed and locked, and he did his rounds to make sure the windows were secure. He wasn't worried about people trying to break in. Hell, let them try it. He just didn't want to have to explain to the police why had he killed someone.
A quick trip to the fridge found another bottle of beer in his hand, and he popped the cap just as the phone rang. He frowned briefly; there weren't many who had his number, but those few knew he would still be awake at so late an hour. It would either be his day job, or his night. One payed over the counter, and the other was the reason why he had a tunnel into the sewer under his house.
He let it ring a few times, then finally answered in fluent Russian. "White."
"Sorry for calling so late..."
Hood rolled his eyes and took a sip of beer. It was the over-the-counter sort of work then.
"Don't worry, you knew full well I'd be awake. What's the tasking?"
The man on the other end of the phone chuckled, "If you had a Wallet, I could just forward it to you you know. You really should get with the times."
"Yeah well, prefer doing things the old fashioned way. What're the particulars? I'll come in to the office in the morning for the packet."
Another sip of beer then he set it aside to take up a pen and line up a pad of paper.
"There is a grand opening of the the Baccarat Mansion in a few days. Lots of high society types will be in town for it, and some are travelling under the radar. Without their usual entourage or bodyguards. There are a few parties requesting our operatives, and you're one of our top guys, so you will get first dibs."
Hood nodded, and noted down the relevant details his boss had to offer over the next few minutes. This could well work out to his advantage. Barely five minutes after he hung up, the phone rang again. He made this one wait a few rings too, sipping his beer. It was already getting warm because of these bastards and their long-winded phone conversations. This time, he answered in Arabic. The conversation was shorter, and held no surprises for him. They spoke in code, of course; innocuous, inane chatter. It was a long distance phone call, from a 'cousin' in Dominance III, talking about family and the like.
He scribbled down the important points, and knew which of the high-profile visitors he would choose to serve as bodyguard. An Atharim....were they investors? Owners? The particulars of their organization still eluded him on the finer points, but they did good, so he hadn't been too interested in poking around too deeply.
He'd probably have to buy a suit. A nice suit, anyway...he had suits, but nothing quite fancy enough for something like this. And of course, a new suit meant a new shoulder holster. So at least there was something interesting to be done tomorrow.
Edited by Hood, Jul 27 2013, 06:45 PM.