Recruiting for Analytical Difference

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Early fall 1870 AD London England

Joshef Yamaeta and his assistant threaded their way through the crowd a small band creating an annoying clamor as they marched back and fourth past his target's home. Joshef almost froze as he felt the pickpocket's hand push into his protective aura fighting the urge to badly burn all her fingers he instead focused his ring given pyrokinetic ability and made it feel like she had pricked her finger on something very sharp and hot.

Joshef managed to maintain his stride as a large part of his mind focused on maintaining and expanding the heat the young woman was feeling in her finger and now her entire hand. Joshef motion finally stopped, hand raised to knock, when the distinctive sound of ripping cloth followed closely with the sound of coins, jewelry and assorted pocket trinkets striking cobblestone, made him shiver.

In an instant he realized what had happened, the distinctive sound had somehow found a lull in the cacophony surrounding the Babbage home and it had brought an ominous silence to the forty or so individuals around the Babbage dwelling..

Joshef looked over his shoulder wishing the instant he saw the now almost silent crowd that he had never turned his head, quickly turning from the silent almost frozen tableau behind him he started to knock. The frightened pick pocket had had an instant to escape at the moment the thread bare cloth bag had torn on a organ grinders battered music box, but that instant was gone. The organ grinders hand had closed around the young womans extended arm and her brutal beating and probable death was assured.

Joshef fought to keep the desperation out of his knocking as a growl rose from the crowd, the pickpocket had been good and it looked like she had been greedy, the crowd was starting to recognize variouspersonal items and it was not happy.

Joshef was greatly relieved to see the door open and took only a second to verify it was Annabel before he picked her up and quickly entered his assistants nearly stepping on his heels in their haste to get a solid door between themselves and what had just become an angrymob.

What! Joshef what is going on? Joshef frowned as Annabel broke cover for an instant. Joshef frowned and said"Sorry Miss? I'm Joshef Yamaeta and these are my assistants, we have come for our appointment with Mr. Babbage." Joshef paused setting the young woman down and taking a breath to finish by saying "The mob outside caught a pick pocket ."

Joshef watched as Annabel's eyes widened her face growing pale, she suddenly darted between him and his assistants checking the locks and quickly kicking a couple of nearby wedged shaped pieces of wood under the base of the door.

Raising one eyebrow Joshef said questioningly "Miss?" after a second of silence Annabel remembered her role and curtsied saying" I'm sorry sir, I'm Mr. Babbage's maid Annabel, he is being harassed and it has grown worse lately windows have been broken and I've found dead cats at the doors."

After a couple of seconds of awkward silence Annabel shook herself and said" please follow me Mr. Babbage is expecting you."

Joshef turning to follow the young lady and sighed as he released the protective field surrounding his body, he was getting tired and his reserves were getting low, that encounter with the pick pocket had been draining in more ways than one.

Joshef frowned what to do? Thanks to the Mr. Babbages actions the conditions around the man had deteriorated badly and Avalon needed him and his work badly.

Mr. Babbages earlier designs had the Avalon bankers and business men frothing to get more of his mechanical devices and designs, somehow he had managed to develop a crude mechanical version of what existed as part of the esper circuits of every functional Silver Millennium artifact and more importantly his ideas and machines did not require black krptonite.

Joshef smiled his own sister was an accountant in Avalon and every time he returned for a vacation or a visit she always commandeered the family amulet around his neck for the duration of the visit, it had gotten so bad he forced her to spend one hour visiting before she cloistered herself checking her figures and balancing books.

Joshef's smile dropped from his face as his thoughts were returned to his current assignment by a dimly heard yell, this situation was getting out of hand, his operative might need help.

 Joshef lips thinned the dead cat's meant that a person or group of people had escalated to a new level, from drunken threats to active violence. Annabel had the extensive martial arts training of any Avalon operative, but she was listed as an average student at best.

He needed to get back up for her, but couldn't see any way to achieve it. Her esper rating was very low, far to low to use a esper device without a black  kryptonite booster circuit and he didn't have the resources to issue her one.

"Gentlemen Mr. Babbage will see you now" shaken from his thoughts on precautions for Annabel and Mr. Babbage Joshef quickly shifted gears and with a skill born of hundreds of previous mission he prepared to start the process of persuading a genius to fake his own death and come to Avalon.