in the beatnik quarter

"Howyuhdoin'?" asked Death, as he shuffled a greasy deck of cards.  "Er, I'm pretty good, thanks." I replied.  "Sit down." he says, motioning towards a chair.  I sat, and waited.  Death came to the point pretty quick...."Word is on the street is that somebody is looking for a certain article....a blue type of article."  Death spoke in sort of a tortured growl of a whisper....I leaned forward to try to hear better, and was struck by his rank breath.  "Yes," I admitted..."A client is seeking a small blue jade figure....of a geisha."  He stopped shuffling the cards, tapped them once on the table, and cut the deck, to reveal the Ace of Spades.  "Do you know what happened in this lovely City of ours the last time there was a blue jade type problem?"  Death asked politely.  "No, not really." I confessed.  "Well, it just about all hit the fan big time, back when the Blue Jade Virus showed up in City Systems."  The burning eyes glowered across the table.  "What does an art figurine have to do with a computer virus?" I puzzled.  "That's the $64,000 question, ain't it, binky?" responded the grim one.