IC: Down in the Puyallups with Team #3, Kilroy's latest venture, this time its corporate Options

[Redjack]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:13; Spade's Doss, Edge of Downtown, Seattle

The past few months had been lean ones for Spades. Since he'd parted ways with his running team he'd begun to wonder if the jobs they were offering up were better than the none he was finding. He'd made contact with an elusive fixer who worked mostly out of the Puyallups and only took meets in the Matrix: Kilroy.

The beeping of his com woke him from his post-cram induced semi-coma. Looking at the time, he'd slept nearly thirty hours. The beeping was a waiting message from Kilroy:
<<@Spade [Kilroy] Meet me at The Virtual Bender, noon. I may have some work.>>

[Redjack]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:30; Puyallup City, Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

Following his spirit guide, Ramses had found himself in Seattle some months back doing some work with Jack Logon. Jack is a paranormal investigator who solicited Ramses assistance in checking out an abandoned warehouse. Turned out it had been the breeding ground for some sort of insect spirits. Bad astral background and the like, but in the end it earned Ramses a good rep with Jack.

Jack had since introduced Ramses to Tina Runningbear, Talismonger.

[ Spoiler ]

Tina is a Native American who lives near Kapowsin in the Puyallup District. She has a reputation for providing high quality magical supplies. She is a bit of a recluse though and prefers to keep a low profile.

Funds running low, Ramses quest to secure additional funding led him to Kilroy. Well known in the Puyallups, the reclusive fixer never met face to face, always using the matrix for his meets. Jack had, however, spoke well of the fixer and had offered to make the connection for Ramses. That contact came in the form of atext message a few minutes ago:
<<@Ramses [Kilroy] Meet me at The Virtual Bender, 11am. I understand that you are looking for some work?>>

[Dirtz]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:30; Puyallup City, Puyallup Barrens, Seattle
Ramses;PAN=hidden[LTG] SIN= Baruti Mshai

Sitting in his study, Ramses awakens to the soft chirping sound of his commlink. Wiping his sleeve across the corner of his mouth, mopping some drool, he fumbles for his glasses which he finds still propped on the top of his head. He was burning the midnight oil reading the ancient texts again, hoping the cypher key would come to him like an epiphany in his dreams. Often he finds himself more receptive to the advice from BuBu, his mentor spirit, when he borders on the edge of exhaustion. Last night, working late at his desk in his two room apartment he fell asleep yet again during his studies. BuBu was oddly silent during his slumber.

Without thinking he stumbles into the shower still blurry eyed and groping for his morning coffee when it dawns on him Kilroy was asking him to meet in the virtual world. Bloody 'ell! Well, too late now. The waters running. He steps into the shower with a exaggerated sigh, the hot water washes away the fatigue and his muscles begin to relax. Cramped and sore from his awkward sleep the pulsing hot water rejuvenates his spirit. Grabbing some clothes and another cup of java he's ready to begin the day.

Not being very fond of today's gadgets and gizmos, he reluctantly attaches his commlink around his wrist, yearning for a simpler age of hand shakes and face-to-face meetings in place of all this virtual mumbo jumbo. Unfortunately, it would seem to be his fate whenever dealing with the virtual world, much like mixing oil and water, his body would not tolerate it well and left him with a sense of vertigo. He was after all, a creature born of magic - a dwarf, and a experienced practitioner of Egyptian magic. An unlikely partner of technology if ever there was one.

Taking a large sip from his cup and then a deep meditative breath he launches himself into the virtual world. His icon is Anubis, a man with the head of a Jackal - once known to be the god of the dead, standing upon a chariot lead by two mummified horses. Young Pharaoh Tut steps upon the chariot and hands a parchment to Anubis, who reads it allowed. Spurred on by Anubis the horses rear upwards and sprint away hastily, it takes only moments before they arrive at their destination....The Virtual Bender.

[SoyKaf Adict]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:15; Spade's Doss, Edge of Downtown, Seattle
Spades;PAN=passive; SIN=Sam Gorret

Spades jumps up shivering slightly, the after effects were ALWAYS hell after cram. But damn if it wasn't a good way to break the boredom of sitting at his house alone. Shapes played in the corners of his vision his eyes darting this way and that until he noticed what was making that unearthly noise. His commlink, one sigh of relief and a roll later and he was looking at the screen trying to focus.

<<@Spade [Kilroy] Meet me at The Virtual Bender, noon. I may have some work.>>

Shit, what time was it? 10:15? What a crash! He'd been out all day yesterday... Nothing like a good sleep before slipping on his game face, and a job! Fuck yes! He was so bored sitting around the house listening Sinthcore and doing cram every once in a while, not to mention his stores were running a little low.
Ever since JinkxX66 got busted Spades had been without a reputable dealer on his block for some time now; not to mention, no job means no income, no apartment, no cram. This was a welcome sight, but he'd been through the hoops this could be anything or nothing special. Well, Spades had time, as he walked to his kitchen and set up the coffee maker with some potpourri soykaf he'd gave up trying to figure out what it tasted like... As he did he yelled, "Trid, on! Urban Brawl match up schedule." He was greeted with the pop-fizz of the trid screen turning on and scanning channels as appropriate. Well before the mystery soykaf finished heating up, the trid set on one scrolling tv channel that had the listings of todays listings, yesterdays scores, and tomorrows scheduled matches. Boring! What else can I do... Aw, hell, might as well seem like I have a semblance of timing, might as well get there early.

He grabbed his trodes from his bedroom as he sipped his coffee, and went back downstairs to sit on the couch while he prepared to get into VR. He'd been in VR maybe a dozen times, one time he was stupid enough to go into VR standing up and was at the virtual club for a couple of hours which he gotten him rather stiff legs afterwards. He was pretty close to all thumbs when it came down to open Matrix meetings, he was still trying to get adjusted, but no time for that now. Spades put the trodes on his head, and set up for VR, and then there was a blast of shifting shapes and it seemed as though he had been thrust into the virtual world with a slingshot flying forward until he came to an abrupt stop two seconds later. He was greeted by and open field with a large blank sign with a spot to ask questions. He manifests a piece of chalk in his persona's hand and writes "Virtual Bender" in the line. The sign shifts and a portal appears next to it, the sign points an arrow at the door. Spades persona walks through the entrance and is thrust in another direction toward some area he was pretty sure was exactly where he needed to be... So simple. Time to party!

[Redjack]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:58; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

The persona of Anubis steps through the shimmering wall of electrons that marks the entrance to the Virtual Bender. He is whisked across cyberspace to a node unknown and steps through into something out of Alice's imagination.

The room is hazy and has an earthy, underground feel to it. Several meters away to his right, a long bar stretches off into the haze. Roots hang down from the ceiling and the bar appears to be of some thick, ancient and slightly warped wood. The edge is a thick rounded edge, smoothed by hundred of years of patrons leaning on it as they drink. The bartender wears a large, striped top-hat and looks like a cat standing on his hind legs.

A number of patrons chit-chat at the bar: A knight in full armor, Marilyn Monroe, some lizard-man hybrid, several variations of techno-boys/girls themed personas, etc.. Down the center of the room, various sized tables hold yet notable figures. The wall to the right is an ever changing wall of pure code.

As Ramses looks around, a striped tail shimmers into existence just off to his left at face level. To the side of the tail, a large toothy smile opens in air. As it reaches its full size, the remainder of the Chesire Cat materializes. "You're new here... I assume you need a table.. Perhaps a dog biscuit?"

[Redjack]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:55; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

Spade's persona steps through the shimmering wall of electrons that marks the entrance to the Virtual Bender. He is whisked across cyberspace to a node unknown and steps through into something out of Alice's imagination.

The room is hazy and has an earthy, underground feel to it. Several meters away to his right, a long bar stretches off into the haze. Roots hang down from the ceiling and the bar appears to be of some thick, ancient and slightly warped wood. The edge is a thick rounded edge, smoothed by hundred of years of patrons leaning on it as they drink. The bartender wears a large, striped top-hat and looks like a cat standing on his hind legs.

A number of patrons chit-chat at the bar: A man sized Godzilla sits with Dilbert, while a ninja stand alone watching others in the room. An unknown, rather ugly young woman in a dominatrix outfit with a name tag "Monica" holds the lease of a 50 something male human in his underwear and an even uglier, short haired woman about the same age as the man. Further down the bar, a cartoonish woman with highly exaggerated proportions talks to an elf in priestly garb. Down the center of the room, various sized tables hold yet notable figures. The wall to the right is an ever changing wall of pure code.

As Spade looks around, a striped tail shimmers into existence just off to his left at face level. To the side of the tail, a large toothy smile opens in air. As it reaches its full size, the remainder of the Chesire Cat materializes. "Your new here. Let me guess... You looking for someone...? Or just anyone?"

[SoyKaf Adict]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:55; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

Spades is a little taken aback by the gamut of socially awkward patrons, he sighs with the thought, I honestly should've expected this, still they're... Spades shoves himself to the side as he expects some sort of attack from the tail that appears next to him, but as he turns left the "full" form comes into view. Spades lets down his defensive stance as he turns his whole body towards the floating cat.

He sizes the cat up, not expecting too much of it, but forms could be deceiving in any size in the Matrix. "Well that should be obvious, maybe if I were a little bit more straight off the bus from loony land I'd frequent this place proper." He looks around as he talks, scanning the motley crowd realizing that his Mr. Johnson was somewhere in the crowd, and the larger realization that he might just be one of these oddballs also dawns on him. I seriously hope he's not Dilbert, or I'm out of here... I'm gonna do some cram and cry myself to sleep.

As he thinks he remembers his conversation, "Yeah, I'm looking for Kilroy, you ever heard of him?"

Spades had chosen something suitable for his name along the lines of his persona, not having time to construct him personally, he got his old hacker teammate to run it up in code. A silver faceless and amorphous human with a large spade that spread across his face, the bottom connecting flat at the chin, and the sides stretched to the ears. The rest was proportioned out appropriately, very sleek. Somewhat hero-ish but it worked well enough. As he waited in anticipation of what the cat had to said, he caught himself praying in his mind. Please let it not be Godzilla or Dilbert, or submissive boy, or... Anyone pretty much here. Except toon girl... She'd be -- AHHHH, he's a he! I think, man some questions need to be answered right now!

[Redjack]

Spade - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:55; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

The Chesire Cat begins fading down to just a pair of floating eyes and ears as Spade starts speaking. When he mentions Kilroy, the eyes blink out of existence then the smile reappears to his left. "Oh, yessss... We know Kilroy. The smile closes and the mouth also winks out of existence.

The cat's tail then flicks around Spade's shoulder, as though it was sitting on his shoulder. Looking to his other shoulder, Spade sees the smile reappearing. "Hold on."

The room blurs are though he was moving across the room at light speed. A moment of vertigo later and he finds himself at a table against a short wall. A cartoon figure with a long nose is peering over the wall, his hands resting on the wall, but his mouth and the rest of his body obscured by the wall. The cat seems to have disappeared again.

"Spade. Thank you for coming. I understand you are looking for work?"

[SoyKaf Adict]

Spade - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:55; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix
The Spade/Spades

Spades could deal with the whole rushing back and forth, but not so many times in such a short time, good thing there was no virtual lunch to virtually throw up. He looks around for the cat but stops short knowing that it was a waste of time. He looks up at the figure on the wall, stopping himself short of making the outburst in anything other than his mind. I knew it, I knew he was some crazy, AHHH-- I do anything for gigs nowadays it seems... But at least he's not Dilbert, I can work with this...

"In a manner of speaking, Kilroy huh? Should've guessed the term. Yeah, I'm looking for a job, if you can tell me what your job is, I'll see if I can do the job. Though, jobs mean payment, and somehow I don't think I'm the only one doing this job. So while we're waiting for my possible companions, assume I'm in for the mission... What would we be doing exactly?"

Spades assumed the no-nonsense route, better not to beat around the bush with this guy, the sooner he could get out of this freakfest the better and back to good 'ol augmented reality, or maybe just some trideos... No cram though, he'd already had enough of a "trip" to last him a while.

[Dirtz]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 10:59; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix
Anubis/Ramses

Light streams by the persona of Anubis as he makes his way to The Virtual Bender, swirling and circling about him faster and faster as if he'd fallen into the proverbial rabbit hole. His arrival, which seemed to take an eternity, is announced by him stumbling forward into a large misshapen root hanging from the ceiling and falling to the ground. "Right, sorry about that. I'm fine, we're all fine here. "ello luv, how are you?" Fighting the awkward sensation of the room spinning and the disorientation from his journey he takes a minute to focus and gathers himself to his feet. Looking around he's fascinated by the strange assortment of eclectic characters assembled, only too late does he notice the big flashy grin full of teeth.

What the duece!

Contorting his body to dodge the vicious bite that was poised to take off his head and waving his arms to ward off the attacker he flails about and trips over yet another root landing him firmly on his backside. Peering over his raised arm shielding him from his would be attacker he gazes out to see the remainder of the Chesire Cat materialize. "You're new here... I assume you need a table.. Perhaps a dog biscuit?", it inquires.

As if it were possible the head of Anubis blushes and looks around at the patrons to see if anyone had noticed. He stands, dusting himself off, and addresses the cat, "I only have two words for you my good man, TIC TAC! Now go along please I'm here to see Kilthrob. Um no, make that Robroy. Yes. Hmmm, nope not quite right. Rhymes with boytoy? Ah got it, Kiljoy! Yes that's it, I'm here to see Kilroy

Remembering the last trip in VR he made, Ah, yes this is going much smoother than last time. I must be getting the hang of it

[Redjack]

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:00; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

The Chesire Cat's smile fades as the image of Anubis stammers to find Kilroy's name. "You should really lay off the drugs, recreational or otherwise...." The cat's tail then flicks around Ramses' shoulder, as though it was sitting on his shoulder. Looking to his other shoulder he sees the cat's eyes, but no smile.

With a terse, "Hold on.", the room blurs are though he was moving across the room at light speed. A moment of vertigo later and he finds himself at a table against a short wall. A cartoon figure with a long nose is peering over the wall, his hands resting on the wall, but his mouth and the rest of his body obscured by the wall. The cat seems to have disappeared again.

"Ramses I presume? You come very highly recommended."

[Redjack]

Spade - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:57; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

Kilroy replies to Spade, "Yes, my name comes with a little history.... and I couldn't use the name without a matching persona image. Now, about the job. I'm assembling a team to do a little work for a client. I don't have the specifics except to say that he is in the corporate world. He is a new client, but brings with him the potential for reoccurring opportunities. This meetings is something of an..... interview, if you will."

The icons sits silently for a moment. The rest of the bar seems hazy, conversations going on around seem to fade away and while not totally silent, there is only a little ambient noise preventing that.

"I'd like for you to tell me the role you see yourself filling for a team."

[SoyKaf Adict]

Spade - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:59; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix
The Spade/Spades

Spades mulled around the meaning of Kilroy's name and possible background, but somehow he didn't think "Matrix icons and interesting personas" was going to be his high suit in trivia. He dropped the idea, even as the crowd seemed to die out around them, but stay there... This place just gets weirder by the second.

"I'd like for you to tell me the role you see yourself filling for a team."

Suddenly he realized the first introduction to the Shadows was helping out the group to which he was formerly associated, he'd never actually applied for the job; It just fell into his lap. The only thing he could think of was what he came about doing in the rag tag group prior to his current predicament.
"Well..." He stalled with an indecisive word to help him collect his thoughts while simultaneously attempting to keep his composure bland like he was trying to mull over SO MANY lists. "First off I'm the liaison between Mr. Johnson and the group's interests. I make sure the group is content with their salary, and make sure Mr. Johnson isn't trying to be unreasonable... Which nine times outta ten in this business they have something up their sleeve. Really, the only thing I do for Mr. Johnson is make sure his rep and standing in the facility we meet in stays pristine." He pauses, not wanting to dominate the conversation, and also wanting the information to sink in while he attempted to read an otherwise stoically hidden face for hints as to if he needed to add some fluff, but then again it was the Virtual World, he himself didn't even have a face to read. "To sum it up, I work the details between Mr. Johnson and the runners, I have trained in the use of firearms, but most of my talents lie in the social area of expertise."

He waited. This wasn't a job he could pass up. He didn't know if there would be more. He waited, what seemed like minutes were only fleeting seconds slowed down to a crawl, he was glad he didn't have an expression to read, this was like a two pair low, ace high. There was more running on the hope the other would fold soon. Whether Kilroy had the already express interest of adding him to the party anyway and letting it be known, or he was gonna sit and sweat it back on his couch, otherwise he kept a dead pan silence. Relax, this will all pan out, sounds like a cakewalk. I've never worked corporate before, wonder if it's anymore prestigious, more money involved... Definitely. Though, most corps don't seem like they have the middle guy in mind. Hell, we're Runners, we're not even the middle guy, we're somewhere close to the middle guy's foot. I'd better be extra careful all this is riding on rep and it could get bumped up big time or get smashed.

[Dirtz]

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:01; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

"Ramses I presume? You come very highly recommended."

"All right mate, that's me. Ramses that is", reaching out and offering his hand to shake. Not quite knowing if the cartoon can even shake hands he tentatively shakes one of Kilroy's fingers instead. He retracts his hand quickly unaware if he's breached some sort of protocol, reaching instead to the bridge of his nose as if to adjust something. "Right, very well. Highly recommended you say? Too kind, really. Mr. Logan's been known to gild the lily from time to time, snort. He lets his laughter trail off as he pans the room for a chair and pulls up opposite the short wall at the table.

"Yes, well we had a run in with some nasties, Jack and I that is. Bug spirits and all, quite tenacious wankers they are you know. Jack, right smart bloke he is, comes up with a plan and we gets them in a crossfire. Quite a mess it was, and a bit touch and go for a while, but fate smiled upon us and we won the day." For a moment Ramses is lost in thought, reliving the exaltation and pride in their achievement, then a touch of sadness overcomes him. Returning to the present, "Being new in town and all, Jack says you'd be... the...er man to see, pardon the expression, if I would be needin any work."

[Redjack]

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:02; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

"Well I don't think that you will find such otherworldly horrors as those, but you will find magical security forces that need to be dealt with."

The icons sits silently for a moment. The rest of the bar seems hazy, conversations going on around seem to fade away and while not totally silent, there is only a little ambient noise preventing that.

"You will be meeting the Johnson for this run today, seven o'clock tonight at the Fire Cracker in Puyallup City. I'm still working through the details of how many runners there will be on the team. If everything works out, I'll secure a face later today." He pauses a moment before continuing, "I can generally get any gear you might require, untraceable and at fair price. I also specialize in matrix work. Do you have any questions?"

[Redjack]

Spade - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:59; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

"Excellent. I have an opportunity for you today. The Johnson will meet you at seven o'clock tonight at the Fire Cracker in Puyallup City. For my part, the Johnson pays me a fee directly and I direct to him capable runners. I also have a number of connections and can acquire most gear you may need, perform matrix work and make other connections. Of course, all of this comes at a price and rare items will take time. Questions?"

[Dirtz]

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:03; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

" I've got the job then? Cor blimey, well if that ain't The Mutts! Fire Cracker you say? Hmm", the form of Anubis scratches between the ears for a moment, " Very well I'm sure I'll find it. I'm rather good at finding things you know. " Ramses begins to stand and extends his hand, " Pleasure meeting you sir, if I think of anything I'll you a ring. Hmm, don't believe I have that number though, would you mind?" Unsure of what to do with his extended hand he lets it fall to the wayside and waves a salute to Kilroy. He turns to leave then spins about, faster then he intended to because he's still facing the exit, "Right. Now, who should I inquire about at the Fire Cracker?"

[SoyKaf Adict]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:00PM; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix
The Spade/Spades

"The Pullayup, huh? Well, I imagine that's the place to be if you want out of the way and out of sight, not so much on the quiet end... Heh, the Fire Cracker sounds like a pretty 'bangin'' place. All right, thanks for your time Kilroy. I've got two questions though before I leave."

Spades stood up looking around at the faded conversations around them as he spoke.

"Think GridGuide could point me in the direction of that club? And if you don't do meat-body meetings, how am I supposed to trust you to patch what I need through to me? I mean no offense, omae, but I just met you and... well, technically I haven't even met you yet."

[Redjack]

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 11:04AM; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

The arm of the icon comes over the wall to shake the hand a Anubis. The other hand presents a business card that simply says 'Kilroy, You have problems, I have solutions.'. When Ramses takes the card, his system registers it as a contact ARO. "When you get to the Fire Cracker ask Jimmy, the bartender, for Mr Johnson. He's see that you are taken care of."

Spades - Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:01PM; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix

The eyes of the icon seem to brighten as it answers. "GridGuide™ will be able to get you to the bar... The other journey is going to require a little more faith though. I don't meet flesh side. Ever. The last time that happened, well, it wasn't pleasant ... but that is a story for another time and a legend I'm sure you can learn about on the street. I hope this won't be a deal breaker?"

[SoyKaf Adict]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:02PM; Virtual Bender, Somewhere in the Seattle Matrix
The Spade/Spades

Spades mulls this over a second. You need this job, you just got to trust some people sometimes... Sometimes.

"No, it's just unfortunate, some times life presents some interesting situations. I guess I'll let legends present themselves at a later date, I have to get ready for the run at the moment. Can I message you back via my comm or was that a counter-trace line?"

He waits for his answer a moment and then says his goodbyes, walking to the door of the freak club and passes through his portal logging out of VR.

Saturday, March 15, 2070; 12:04PM; Spade's Doss, Edge of Downtown, Seattle.
Spades; PAN=Passive; SIN=Sam Gorret.

Spades sat on his couch, he twisted from side to side cracking his back trying to loosen himself up. He got up from his position popping a few more bones as he got up walking to the kitchen. Emerging from the kitchen with a new pot of coffee. Mostly his situation was whether he wanted to risk driving himself into Pullayup or giving a taxi a REALLY big tip to take him down there. I'm probably going to lose the taxi as soon as I get there, if I even get one. What about gangs? Pullayup has 'em, just wish I kept up with info on the turf I'd be passing though. Spades sipped his now cold soykaf with a dissatisfied grimace while he pulled up an AR interface and looked up information of GridGuide and locations involving the name The Firecracker in Pullayup.

[Redjack]

Sam - Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:48PM; Sam's crappy little apartment, Somewhere in Seattle

It had been weeks since a real job and the shitty little side jobs Kilroy had been sending over was beginning to make Sam think she'd fallen from graces. The remaining 3/4 of the nasty Soyoritto® sat on her plastic plate staring at her with the same disgust she had for the pitiful excuse for sustenance. The beep of her comlink broke her from the staring contest she would have eventually lost with her lunch.

<<@Sam [Kilroy] Kid - I got a little something to make up for that bodyguard thing last Friday night. Nothing in the scan told me his wife was banging two of her students and set the kids up so as to collect his life insurance policy. By the way, thanks for not losing it and whacking the wife when she tried to improvise. That would have been a little messy to explain....
Anyway at seven o'clock tonight be at the Fire Cracker in Puyallup City.
--> Incoming video feed flagged ->mage0012<-
--> Incoming video feed flagged ->fodder0797<-
Here are the two others I've currently lined up for tonight's gig. This is a corporate gig so the pay should be good. The client is new, but his basic scan checks out. I've not worked with either of these guys before, but their scans check out and they have fairly solid recommendations. Let me know if you have questions.>>

She has worked for Kilroy for six months. Like everyone, she's never met face to face. Never met anyone who has met him face to face. Seems there has been a Kilroy working fixing runners in the Puyallups for nigh on a decade and a half now. In the early sixties, he had a nasty run in with the Yakuza. Word is he died very messy. Then around '65 he resurfaced, working solely virtually. Took quite a while to gain traction but in the last six months he has been picking up runners by the handful and seems to have his fingers in more and more runs, in and out of the Puyallups. Some say this is a copy cat. A few even think he's a ghost in the machine given his knack with infiltrating systems. The two video files he provided in fact both look like they were provided by security cameras from either an apartment building or hotel. The one thing she does know, unlike some of the other scrubs out there arranging runs, he pays. Sometimes better than others, but the work at least keeps coming in.

[Gray]

Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:49PM; Sam's crappy little apartment - Puyallup Barrens, Seattle
Samantha "Sam" Rodriguez;PAN=hidden[LTG] SIN=Roxanne Vega

Sam scowled as she read the text from Kilroy. She was still fuming over last week's run. The femme fatale of that venture should have bought the farm, and it took great retsraint for Sam to refrain from selling it to her. Sam was seriously considering blowing Kilroy off, but the acrid Soyoritto® smell threatening to turn her stomach inside out was telling her that she needed the job.

Ughhh... I can't eat any more of this shit!

Sam tossed the remains of her lunch out the window for the stray cats in the alley. "Have at it, guys!" she yelled to the scrambling feline horde below. At least a dozen cats of all colors, shapes and sizes quickly devoured the smelly morsel.

<<@Kilroy[Sam]Hiya, Kilroy. It's hard to stay mad at you for last week. I tried but I just had to let that one go. 7 p.m. at the Fire Cracker. I'll be there. Any special instructions for contacting the client? >>

[Redjack]

Spades - Saturday, March 15, 2070; 12:14PM; Spade's Doss, Edge of Downtown, Seattle.

Having gotten an updated LTG from Kilroy, Spades browsing on the matrix yields an address for the Fire Cracker from GridGuide and some basic information from the Chamber of Commerce: Neighborhood Bar

Ok, perhaps the publicly available information is slightly less than helpful. He is able to determine that Puyallup City is on the northern edge of the Barrens and enjoys a "D" security rating from Lone Star. That rating of course being up from the "E" & "Z" in other parts of the Barrens.

Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:49PM; Sam's crappy little apartment - Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

Kilroy's reply is short as it sometimes turns out to be:
<<@Sam [Kilroy] See Jimmy, the bartender. Ask for Johnson>>

[Gray]

Sam - Saturday March 15, 2070; 12:50PM; Sam's crappy little apartment - Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

Sam could match Kilroy for tearsness, and raise him a notch. She was normally the queen of verbosity, but she took it as a challenge to try to beat him at his own game.
<<@Kilroy[Sam] Thanks. TTYL>>

With plenty of time before the meet, Sam put on her workout outfit: black bicycle shorts, sports bra, ankle socks, and sneakers. She gathered her touseled hair into a ponytail secured by a pink scrunchy. She clambered down the fire escape to the alley behind her apartment sending most of the stray cats for the hills. The few that were not feral remained to watch her with silent interest. There was a fair amount of open space for a workout, despite all the clutter. The air had been warmed by the midday sun, so her skimpy attire was not as out of place as it might seem in March.

Her daily routine consisted of various exercises she gleaned from years of childhood gymnastics competition: a gift from her mother. Her other diversion, chess, was an interest she shared withher father. Both of Sam's parents were gone now. After 15 minutes of strectching and 45 minutes of gymnastics, Sam's body was coated in a sheen of sweat. She mopped her brow, and then began her cool down exercises: 15 minutes of calesthetics she learned from her father.

As Sam finished the workout, the boldest of the alley cats, a black and red long-haired female she called Sassy, wrapped around her feet, and began purring loudly.

"Hiya, Sass. What's shakin'?" Sam said as she scratched between Sassy's ears.

Sam - Saturday March 15, 2070; 2:19PM; Sam's crappy little apartment - Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

The water was never very warm in the shower, but at this time of day it was freezing. Sam stuck her big toe into the stream of water, to check the temperature.

Brrrr! That's COLD!!! I guess that's the price I pay for sleeping until lunch time.

She braved the frigid water. There were no shortcuts either. Due to the extreme temperature, it took twice as long as normal to get the shampoo out of her hair.

Sam sat on the bed wrapped in an over-sized bath towl shivering. She rubbed her arms and legs to get some warmth back into her cold extremities. The goosebumps slowly subsided. Then she padded over to the nightstand, grabbed a brush, and began the process of styling her hair. As she brushed her long, dark tresses, Sam began to formulate a plan for approaching this eveing's meet.

[Redjack]

Sam - Saturday March 15, 2070; 2:21PM; Sam's crappy little apartment - Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

Sitting on her bed thinking, Sam sees an incoming message. Its from Scrimp. He'll be by at 6:30 to pick her up. She would need to be careful how she played the game with Scrimp. Too far one direction and Scrimp would feel like he was being played. Too far the other and she would find herself backed into a corner.

Ramses - Saturday March 15, 2070; 6:40PM; Fire Cracker, Puyallup City, Puyallup Barrens, Seattle

Ramses looks up and down the neighborhood street, several cars parked along the curb and a few people walking going about their business in the early evening. The Fire Cracker sits on the corner of the street, its entrance facing to the west. Looking at the sign he doesn't get it at first, the realizes the flame on the sign sits atop a cracker, like a saltine.

A Saturday night, well over a dozen people are already in the bar. The AR is a bland, off the self sculpted program. While most of the patrons are human, there is an ork and dwarf bullied up to the bar.