Drawing upon the practical skills of making oneself scarce, Jasper kept his body tucked away from the roving employee's line of sight. Though such stealth might look easy to an observer, the young man was of above average height and mass; simply put, there was a lot of himself to hide.

When the droid was finally on its way out, Jasper cautiously approached the device and retrieved a cellular phone from his pocket. Making a call was not yet on his list of priorities, but the phone's camera functionality would be quite useful in analyzing the machine. He raised the work-proscribed device to his eyes, quietly taking several photos of the equipment for later analysis - albeit with the flash function disabled.

Could this all be part of a government conspiracy to seed and manipulate the nation's weather systems? This sort of speculation was a guilty pleasure, one which Jasper was going to fully indulge once he was freed from his other assignments.

The day was winding down, and Peridoto could not have been more looking forward to the evening. So far the energy collection seemed reasonable (she was trying not to dwell on the lack of interest from her earlier report to Green Esmeraude...), the Droids reporting this evening had nothing to share of much import, and she already had a schedule for tomorrow's broadcasts. Things seemed to be going swimmingly at Tokyo 12. She hadn't received any additional notices about her unwanted foreign employee, and while she was certainly not happy that he hadn't been killed with her previous attempt, at least today he didn't seem to be doing much fussing about... although there was that stint of "inventory" that looked a bit suspicious.

As she got herself ready to leave, the drinks from earlier sounding quite appealing, she flagged down the nearest Droid as she gathered her purse and adjusted the straps on her impractical shoes.

"You! Did Steinbeck clock out?" Peridoto barked. Maybe she could fire him for timekeeping fraud, if nothing else.

Another of the droids proceeded to the rooftop as part of its preprogrammed patrol protocol, bearing the attire of a security officer. While being well sculpted to approximate the human appearance, its motions were a bit too efficient and crisp to be confused with the gait and mannerisms of the individual that it replaced. Noticing that an unfamiliar person was standing near the antenna array, the sentry approached from behind to observe the unscheduled activity.

• A non-droid lifeform was readily observed in a restricted zone. (Trespassing!)
  
• This lifeform, rapidly identified as Mr. Steinbeck, was openly using a cell phone on company property. (Insubordination!)
  
• Finally, Mr. Steinback was gathering information on a proprietary piece of Black Moon technology. (Espionage!)
  

The droid's eyes glowed, recording the observed offenses and forwarding the incriminating evidence to Peridoto. "Suspicious individual detected," the droid uttered over its open communication channels - including its mouth. With arms raised, the security droid rapidly advanced onto Jasper's position.

Uh oh.

Jasper turned around just in time to spot the looming security guard, narrowly evading an attempt by the automaton to trap him in a rear naked choke. This, however, put the two uncomfortably close to one another, enough for the droid to strike the phone out of his hand.

Growling, the young man braced himself against the concrete rooftop and shoved the sentry away. He couldn't let his phone be lost here; that would leave an obvious trail back to his apartment home. More importantly, he needed those photographs to determine the purpose of that device once he could make a clean getaway.

As the security droid stumbled back, Jasper snatched his phone from the rooftop and palmed the device into his pocket. Now that he wasn't distracted with gathering visual evidence, he would ideally be able to force his way out of the Tokyo 12 station and whatever resistance it could offer.

"So you're in on it too, are you?"

Weather Lady Kanran had nearly made it down to the lobby, ready to head home and enjoy an evening that allowed her to bask (at least a bit) in her (mostly) successes of the day. Her ponytail swished behind her and a hum formed in her throat, almost audible to anyone else in the building if it had a moment or two to gain a bit of volume. The message from one of her Droids interrupted that good mood and silenced the music.

"What?" she hissed, her fingers snapping as Peridoto engaged her communication link to the Droids.

So that was where that meddling man had gone! And so close to the antennae! If he interrupted it, she wouldn't be able to fix it so easily. That would be precious time wasted. She could almost imagine her hard-won stock with the leadership of the Black Moon Clan plummeting in the 48 hours or so it would take to make the necessary adjustments to the necessary hardware. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him, that awful foreigner!

It made her reaction and instructions obvious.

"Get rid of him!" she snapped, sending the message not just to the reporting Droid, but any in the vicinity. If her one "employee" needed backup, hopefully the others could help.

The droids serving Peridoto were generally constructed so as to be unflinchingly loyal to their chartreuse mistress, with specific qualities being emphasized in their operation. They were required to be alert and responsive, prepared to execute any and every task assigned to their instructions. If the execution of their orders also happened to include sentient beings, their tacit lack of individuality ensured that they wouldn't be burdened with troublesome things like morality or a conscience.

However, such pervasive centralization was not without its faults. If certain orders were not explicitly spelled out to the letter, some droids would prompt their superiors for further instructions instead of taking initiative. The security officer was no different, having spent a few valuable seconds seeking clarification rather than getting rid of the offending male in the most direct manner.

Now that authorization was granted, the droid's eyes glowed as it advanced upon Jasper once more. "Directive confirmed; dispose of intruder."

Jasper didn't care for this sentry very much. Like the would-be assassins that approached him before, this subject was determined to finish the job of its forebears. It wasn't the actual attack on his life that the saboteur found unpleasant, but the seemingly soulless manner in which they carried out their orders. Whoever was behind these attacks would probably not stop until either Jasper halted their operations or was killed in the attempt.

It seemed unlikely that he could succeed now, with possibly the entire station on red alert. But what if he could get away to try again later?

The droid sentry charged forward with its arms raised, making another attempt to grapple onto the young man marked for death. Was it their way of communicating disrespect? Jasper threw his right fist forward into the droid's chest, where the solar plexus of a human would be located. The strike carried enough force to drive the officer several feet back, yet it was merely staggered rather than gasping for air.

If I was responding to this situation a few years ago, I'd have sent reinforcements already..

Staying at Tokyo-12 was no longer feasible. Having bought a couple of seconds of precious time with the sucker punch, Jasper turned to survey the city streets and buildings below the antenna. There was a decidedly long drop to ground level, being potentially lethal. The sun was actively retreating towards the horizon, illuminating his original hiding place with warm light. The shadow there was now gathering near the ground level, between the buildings..

The sudden feeling of being hoisted up off his feet nearly broke Jasper's train of thought. Despite being an objectively terrible fighter, the droid was surprisngly strong for its size. It had fully lifted the former employee over its head, and was now preparing to hurl him over the safety railing.

What a terrible way to go out... eh?

Kicking and flailing around in the droid's grasp, Jasper stole a second look at the gaps between the buildings. There were distinct patches of shade within them, and it was still too early for street lighting to spoil his plan.

Maybe this could work. Jasper was pretty sure that this crazy scheme required a non-zero BAC level, so if it was successful, he'd have to take a rain check and visit the bar later.

---

The human thrashed about in the security droid's grasp, though failing to free itself.  Noting the height of their location, the droid calculated that it would take mere seconds for this human to fall to ground and suffer a fatal impact.

"Oh please, don't throw me down there!" squawked the human in a slightly different voice.

If the droid was programmed to recognize pleading for one's life, perhaps it would have taunted the man before hurling it off the antenna array to its certain death. It grasped the railing and leaned forward, recording the image of the human falling face first towards the gaps between the nearest city buildings. In mere seconds, as it had calculated, the man fell into the shadows. Mere moments after that, he would strike solid concrete at a velocity approaching 195 km/h (122 mph).

Defenestration complete. Intruder ejected.

The video of Mr. Steinbeck's violent removal was quickly compiled and presented to Peridoto for her viewing pleasure.

She watched the video from her annoyed stance just outside the elevators, having been halted in her exit of the building to deal with this latest bit of frustration. She knew she shouldn't have let that human in here! It hadn't been something she wanted to do—she resisted it from the very start—but he wedged his way in and this was what Peridoto had to show for it. Meddling with the antennae absolutely could not be tolerated. This mission might not have been as critical as the work elsewhere in Tokyo, but she wasn't going to put a stain on her nearly-perfect record.

Her expression changed noticeably during the course of the short recording, the sulky posture straightening up and a gleam returning to her eyes. The Droid had done its work. She was going to have to save that one and watch it again later—there was something so satisfying about seeing Steinbeck plummet to the pavement. Too bad the audio wasn't good quality. It would have been even better to hear him hit the ground. Oh well. Not everything can be perfect, she supposed.

The polished fingernail pressed the call button for the elevator with a new brightness to her motions. Her humming renewed itself as she exited the building for the day. Striking that buzzing mosquito from her payroll would be a thrill for the morning.

Tonight, she would celebrate!

Following the address from one retained receipt, Jasper made his way back into the humble pub which he had patronized on the previous night. He had changed out of his work clothing, choosing to dress in a pair of blue athletic shorts and a mildly loose-fittiing red shirt - a summer casual approach which favored his own comfort above all else.  Nursing his right side with one hand, he gingerly took a seat and placed an order for a cocktail.

Back at the weather station, he kept his trump card close to his chest, and that hasty preparation saved his life. When the unwanted Mr. Steinbeck plummeted into the darkness towards potential death, he chose not to fall upon the concrete, but into the very shadows themselves.

The delayed landing, however, was not the proudest moment of his life. He had warped through the darkness into an adjacent parking garage, emerging from a poorly lit wall while hurtling in horizontal motion towards another solid surface. Jasper had just enough time to call upon a barrier of inertial energy to absorb the brunt of the collision.

Five whole minutes passed before Jasper could get back to his feet and walk away from the web of cracked concrete.

That injury was going to sting for awhile. With no conclusive results from his research of the strange device, Jasper's plans quickly gave way to soothing the day's pains with the sweet kiss of cheap alcohol.

Peridoto dropped all pretense of Weather Lady Kanran for her night out. She opted instead for a variation of her true self that only vaguely obscured the Black Moon crescent that marked her forehead, just enough to look enough like these (*gag*) humans so that no one would question her. She took a moment to adjust her attire and makeup, happily primping as she hummed to herself. It was so nice to finally be rid of that troublesome American! She could just imagine how much easier tomorrow would be without that annoying brown-haired man constantly stirring up trouble, looking in the wrong places. She wanted to concentrate on a more intense update to her black rain, and now she could do so with fewer distractions.

She felt positively cheerful as she bustled towards the bar she remembered from the previous night. The young woman sauntered up to the bar, her ponytail as bouncy as the rest of her figure, and hopped onto a stool, letting it swivel around for a moment before catching it and leaning towards the bartender.

"Something strong, not sweet," she ordered, unwilling and uninterested in specifying tonight.

Green eyes glanced around the bar, noting nothing of interest, even though she was dying to celebrate. What a bummer!

Unlike the chipper young lady who claimed an empty bar seat for herself, the young man with the red shirt and athletic shorts had an expression of burdensome exhaustion. He thankfully did not have deep sweat stains or the peculiar fragrance of heavy exercise, perhaps having had the prescience of mind to take a shower before rubbing elbows with the other bar patrons.

"What's the occasion," Jasper remarked dryly as he observed the cut of the chartreuse woman's clothing before taking a sip of his drink. He could think of a number of reasons for a happy expression at an unpleasant experience, such as leaving it behind in a place where it couldn't reach you anymore.

"The bad day is over, is it? Or are you simply above wine coolers?"

She ought to have recognized this man, as he was the same one she had sympathized with on a previous evening at this same establishment and he so closely resembled the American she had just rid herself of, but she did not. Humans disgusted Peridoto, considering herself and the rest of the Black Moon Clan so different and superior to those wretched Earthlings, whether they were under the thumb of Neo Queen Serenity or some other less sophisticated government. She didn't notice that this one resembled the others, because to her they all looked the same. Why would she bother to notice their features and physical characteristics? Indifference is a peculiar lens through which to view the world.

But she was in an amiable mood, happy for conversation even with the lowest of the low. She turned to the young man with a bright grin, tapping her brilliantly green fingernails against the bar.

"It started off looking that way, but it's shaped up marvelously better," she replied, her eyes practically shining with the good fortune of it all. Green Esmeraude would be so satisfied when she was able to report success with no annoying interruptions tomorrow! She'd be on her way to a promotion within the ranks for sure!

"You don't look like you can say the same," she stated, judging by the man's posture and tone of voice. "I'll share my good fortune; may I buy you a drink?"

She even felt charitable towards these creatures! What a difference a positive outlook could make in a person!

Jasper initially wasn't sure what to make of the lady's exuberance. Perhaps on another day, she would have sounded like someone else that had come to vent her troubles. But she barely could keep her joy to herself, and in fact was now asking if she could buy him a drink!

This seemed like something he would only see happening within a dream. Meeting Peridoto's brilliant gaze, Jasper nonchalantly scratched the back of his head as if to consider the offer. "I pulled a muscle; nothing too serious. It will get better. And while you don't have to share your fortune with me, I won't turn you down."

He shrugged briefly, offering a faint smile to at least show some obligatory approval of her forward attitude. "After all, it's your good fortune! You should celebrate it however you like."

Jasper would entertain the surprisingly attractive woman in her celebration, as he could pick up his unlicensed private investigation at any time he felt necessary. Simply leaving the Tokyo-12 weather station alone made no sense; they had resorted to attempted murder. However, going public with this knowledge wasn't Jasper's style at all. He would strike them from the shadows, swiftly and without warning. The mystery machine on the antenna array was also highly suspect, and he would need to inspect it thoroughly. With a sledgehammer.

But for now, he'd mingle with the young woman and simply appreciate the fact that he was still alive.

For a human, he wasn't the most revolting one she had seen. He didn't have Demand's brilliance, of course. No one could really compete with the Prince when it came to beauty and style. In a way, he reminded her of Saphir, but only vaguely; she couldn't imagine Blue Saphir wearing such casual clothing or responding so amiably. And as far as Peridoto was concerned, what made a man most attractive was how readily he responded to her. She thrived on attention and appreciation, and if someone was willing to make sure that was what she received, she could forgive a multitude of other faults.

"Please, allow me!" she replied, dismissing his attempt to turn her down. She wanted to be entertained. The man was right: this was her celebration. Peridoto planned to enjoy it!

"So, what are you having? Any recommendations? I'm not familiar with this country's beverages of choice."

Jasper took a few moments to face Peridoto with an appraising expression. If she wasn't that familiar with the country's beverage culture, then she was either a visitor or recent expatriate. The style of her dress was cut low and revealing, but not so overselling to the point of a streetwalker's vulgarity. She certainly was easy on the eyes! Despite the appealing dress and the understated desire for attention, there lay hints of shrewd calculation within those eyes. Jasper would know that kind of look anywhere, for it was best seen in his washroom mirror.

I might be playing with fire, but I think I can keep my guard up.

Jasper briefly closed his eyes to think upon Peridoto's question, and in a moment he had the proper answer. Not wanting for confidence, he met the woman's gaze without hesitation. "Something with whisky. For you, a highball or even a chuhai may be the way to go. Those feature fruit flavors, and if you aren't interested in something overly sweet then I'd suggest you try lemon or lime."

And he was useful! Peridoto's eyes gleamed at the positive response to her question. Her Droids never managed to provide actual answers. They just bumbled around, blindly taking orders. She'd been stuck with them for too long, especially since she wasn't exactly friendly with most of the other Black Moon Clan family members. They were her competition, after all. This stranger seemed to be the best company she'd found in weeks. If the drink was good, he'd have risen even a little higher in her esteem.

"Great! Bartender, a lime chuhai for me and something for my companion here," she announced, all but dragging the young woman's attention over to her, even though she had turned to serve patrons elsewhere down the bar. Peridoto was not about to be ignored in favour of dull, worthless humans. She allowed a moment for the man to place his order, intending to be a gracious hostess for... what's his name here.

"Oh, I always forget the customs of this place," she continued, glad to use her status as a "foreigner" to cover for any mishaps. "Nice to meet you, ...?"

Jasper had not planned on such a colorful evening, but it was a bit too late to complain. His self-appointed companion, the talkative young foreigner with a thirst for excitement (among other things), was quick to offer him a drink and also solicit his input on ideal choices. What matter of fortune was it that put her in such a celebratory mood?

Perhaps he could inquire further once the alcohol had sufficient time to loosen her lips. A little bit of banter wasn't going to hurt Jasper, and if the chartreuse lady planned to indulge herself with his attention, he might as well dig for a bit of small talk. The fortunate young man wasted little time in mirroring Peridoto's order for a lime chuhai, then considered the lingering question of his name and shrugged briefly with a amicable expression of relaxation. While she certainly had good enough looks for him to consider picking her up for the night, there were slightly higher priorities occupying the back of his mind.

"You can call me Jasper."

"Jasper!" she replied, eyes twinkling as she recognized the word. "One of the gemstones, but not a precious gemstone."

She completely forgot that it would be customary to give her name in response. She wasn't yet intoxicated, just enthusiastic. To think she had met a human with a name that wasn't terrible! This was the sort of name she might here at their headquarters, among the other Black Moon Clan members. Peridoto didn't realize that she was glad it wasn't a precious gem name—being reminded of her failure to exist in that higher ranking of their leadership would have soured her mood. But jasper wasn't the illustrious diamond, brooding sapphire, haughty emerald, or fiery ruby. She still ranked higher than him, as he was a human and she belonged to a very special family, but it made him like her more than the other useless flesh creatures on this planet.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked, noting that he was also foreign.

Gee, thanks for noticing.

Jasper couldn't help but groan slightly when the woman spoke her thoughts without an apparent filter. His name wasn't a precious gemstone? While the statement was factually true, it seemed that she was unusually elated by the discovery.

While waiting for the barkeep to produce their lime-themed beverages, Jasper gave a few moments of consideration to Peridoto's question. How best to frame his reply when he was technically still in danger within Tokyo?

"I'm studying and looking for business opportunities," the young man replied with brevity. That should be a sufficiently broad answer for introductions - honest and truthful to a point, without being too revealing of his character. Now it was Jasper's turn to put her in the hot seat! If she was looking forward to a drink and was comfortable asking questions of his person, she should only expect the same.

"What about you, Ms..?"  Jasper met the lady's twinkling gaze while slightly leaning forward on the bartop in her direction, prompting the question of her own name.

The bartender slid the two drinks towards the waiting customers, and Peridoto took a sip before responding to Jasper's inquiry. The tartness of the lime pleased her, as did the strength of the shochu and the cold temperature of the beverage in the tall, frosty mug. So far the pitiful human beside her continued to slowly move up in the rankings. Too bad she couldn't have people working with her who were this useful, unlike her bumbling Droids and that miserable American that she was finally rid of!

"Olive," she replied after the sip. It certainly wasn't a nickname she could claim to have been called before, but it would do just fine here. After all, peridot was a form of olivine, was it not? "I'm here for business. I can't wait to go home."

Both of those statements were true, of course. But that didn't mean she was ready to leave just because she hated Earth and humans and the 20th century. She needed some time to prove that she was valuable—she had to successfully finish her project. The black rain she had been cultivating so carefully would turn a corner tomorrow, now that she could focus on it without that stupid guy buzzing around like an annoying fly. They would capture more energy, Green Esmeraude would be pleased, and perhaps Peridoto would get a raise!

That would be even more worthy of celebration.

Now things were at least a bit more interesting. The lady now had a working name to go on - Olive - and she admitted to being interested in Tokyo only for the sake of her business. Not only did she act on Jasper's suggestion for a drink, but she didn't spit it out or otherwise recoil in disgust.

"You can't wait to go home? I know that the business culture here has its extremes, but was there a particular reason? Do you have friends or family waiting for you?"

Jasper was certainly curious enough to raise the question. His own situation was a bit more complicated; if he were to consider the Dark Kingdom his home, then his home had turned out to be rotten and corrupt to the core. North America was Jasper Franklin's true homeland, but he had a papertrail; in Yankeeland, he officially was counted among the deceased. To settle back there permanently would raise too many questions and involve many more G-men that Jasper didn't want to bury under the cold earth.

For better or worse, Japan was now his home.