O'brien's must have a really comprehensive insurance policy...

So, went to O'briens quite a bit earlier than I said I would.

I don't have an amazing memory, but the birds do. I wanted to see if I could recognize him. I went in... Well disguise is a strong word. I eschewed my normal mask for a motorcycle helmet and went there hoping I could figure out who he was before he figured out who I was. He said he'd been there before and is fairly regular. O'briens doesn't have that many regulars. There aren't many servants who make a home in the area and so, most of the people who show up and aren't runners are usually just passing through. So, I was hoping the birds would be able to pinpoint anyone I had seen at O'briens before.

There were exactly three people I had seen before. One was the bartender, one was a doll who worked in the area and the last was a proxy of The Faceless Bastard who comes here fairly regularly. He provides some of the money O'briens requires to stay in business since most servants, myself included don't really pay for our drinks or food. The rest of his income comes from pawning the stuff we steal off runners who fall for the trap.

So, he probably wasn't the proxy, definitely wasn't the bartender and I was fairly sure he wasn't the doll. Had I been lied to? Well... I don't know. The man who sat down at my table and addressed me as Sergei certainly wasn't a face the birds or I remembered seeing here before. He had a cane with a spiked point at the tip and a circular knob at the top with a symbol of a skull engraved in it. He was wearing a monocle with a chain, the chain was wrapped around the brim of a top hat and he was wearing a heavy fur coat.

"Hello, Sergei. I wasn't expecting you till noon," he paused, well actually I was expecting you much later. I assumed you would try for one last bit of pettiness and make me wait an hour or so after noon had passed,"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," I tried, but his response shook me.

"Well, true you might not be The faceless Bastard. You aren't the only one here who's face is hidden after all. You are, however the only nest with a hidden face,"

"You can tell I'm a nest just by looking?"

"I can identify all kinds of servants at a glance," he said before proceeding to point out every servant in the bar and who they worked for. It was somewhat enlightening. I was not actually aware the new bartender was a Camper...

Speaking of I quietly decided not to drink here anymore at this point. 

"So, you're 9 then?"

"I am, though with The Children gone I suppose you can call me by a different name. Call me The Facet,"

"The Facet?"

"Yes," he said. I waited, but he didn't seem to be intent on explaining the name.

"So, why did you want to meet?"

"Oh... No reason in particular. I just thought you were interesting and wanted to meet just once face to face and get to know you before our next meeting ended in your death," he answered.

It was... Well it was as good a reason to meet as any I suppose.

"You know that I'm going to kill you before we leave here, right?"

"You will try," he responded. I nodded and glanced around then with one hand I took hold of my drink and with the other I grabbed the faceplate of the helmet. I slid it up, just as I tossed my drink at him. It... Did not go as planned. The drink hit him without even a reaction and as soon as the first of the birds tried to emerge he pulled up the cane and a mist began to spray out of it. It took less than a second for the mist to spread and I couldn't see anything for a few seconds. I leapt back from my chair and clear of the mist and saw him now standing up one hand holding the cane like a sword the other digging into a pocket of his jacket. My vision became slightly blurry and I saw one of the birds flying lopsidedly and it crashed into the wall. The other patrons were watching now. Everything was getting hazy. I couldn't let him get away. Couldn't let him get the best of me. I lunged and felt the point of the cane stab into me, but I also felt my machete slide into the flesh of his neck. I heard a thunk as something heavy fell onto the ground and then... Well I remember a scream and then pain and the sensation of flight and then I woke up sometime later.

O'brien's was in shambles. There was a piece of shrapnel embedded in the upper part of the helmet. Where we had been sitting was a large area of scorched floor and debris. I feel like I should probably have been dead. I'm pretty sure I was standing at the epicenter of a grenade explosion. He was dead though. He was lying on the ground a short bit away from the explosion. His body was torn in places and his neck was almost completely severed. The other patrons were mostly shaken, but alive except a few who had been a bit too close. I apologized for the commotion, but The Bartender said insurance would cover it and that I should go home.

It seemed like a good idea. I guess I killed 9... Or The Facet? Whatever he's called... It doesn't matter now. Something about all of this feels wrong. I... I don't feel like I won?