<strong>-- Desmond - 519 Velvet Avenue - 3:46am --</strong><br/><hr/><br/>The sun had long since laid its weary head to sleep, and you had to squint through a curtain of oily fog to notice the moon up there with his starlight posse, but inside Room 31 on the third floor of a withering little apartment smack dab in the center of the Red Light District, it may as well have been broad daylight.  Anyone not jacked into the current tenant's frequency would have just seen a cramped space shrouded in silk banners laid out in patterns of maroon and crimson, the air heavy with the scent of exotic spices and dreams of faraway lands, and hear the faint jingle of bells played by a mischievous breeze.<br/><br/>But to the figure lounging on the overstuffed bed in the darkest corner, it was another world entirely.  Crystal waters flowed from winding flues hewn from ivory and gold, cascading down from the ceiling into the waiting branches of cherry blossom trees burrowing their way out from beneath the floorboards.  The water sang and burbled with delight as it danced from petal to petal, each one flaring up like freshly struck match at the touch.  A beautiful, impossible dream spawned from technological luxuries and guided by a singularly inventive mind.<br/><br/>Suddenly the trees went up in a shower of vibrant pink sparks, the water microwaved into steam and the flues atomized until naught but dust remained.  The virtual reality condensed into a single sphere projected from a device in the center of the room that had been disguised as an abstract sculpture.  The orb turned a violent shade of red, and a cartoonishly large mouth spawned to deliver a single, abrupt message.<br/><br/>"Be at 113 Plaza Street tomorrow at midnight. You will be meeting a Johnson who is looking for some hired help. I have told him to expect you. Don't be late."<br/><br/>The occupant, a male elf of some physical beauty (http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/7117/elfshadowruncharacter.jpg), barely shifted from his comfy throne.  Desmond lounged as casually as a pampered housecat, and though he felt a twinge of feral excitement in his chest at the news his composure was as carefully controlled as ever.  A smile graced his lips as he closed his eyes, wild ideas and algorithms carrying him off to sleep.<br/><br/>It was going to be a very busy day.