Up from the Bottom, Wipe Those Tears and Pass the Ammo Options

[BlackHat]

On the Road Again
Friday 8/22/70 19:00:00
Smith - Face
PAN - Hidden

Smith was looking at a map, trying to calculate his travel-time. He wanted to hurry up and meet with the mechanic, but decided he also didn't want to postpone on Deerwalker anymore. His final justification was that if he put off the mechanic, the team would have more time to secure the vehicle in question, while he was busy shopping for magical gear.

<<@Team:: "Hotel Hell, sounds... 'sufficient'. I hope it doesn't come to needing it. As for renting, despite it being my suggestion, I see one obvious disadvantage to that plan. If we legally rent the vehicle, it is going to be protected out the ears - we'll be broadcasting our position at all times, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was an internal camera. These would be easy to disable, but doing so would flag the SIN I use as engaging in illegal use of their vehicle, and might put a red flag on it when it gets checked over the next two days. If we go with that plan, Angel would have to do some magic, to make it look like good data is still being sent back to HQ, but that it is all false. I have no idea how hard that would be.">

He then began constructing another message to his anonymous new contact, <<"Starbucks is open late. So am I. Hope you are too. Not sure when my next appointment gets out, but I'll message you, with an hour notice, before I arrive there. Otherwise, the arrangement sounds acceptable. I look forward to meeting you.">> He wasn't sure how the contact would react, but he didn't have a lot of choice. If he was going to catch the ferry to get to Deerwalker, he needed to leave right now. He had no idea what was so great that it was worth the long commute to class, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.

<<@Team:: "FYI, going to meet someone about magical goods - last call for requests, Fort. I'll see what I can do, tonight - but at the least I should be able to introduce you to someone, soon. However you guys decide to handle the van, is fine with me, but I won't be able to rent one for at least 6 hours, anyway - so feel free to look for alternatives while I am busy. If you find something, let me know, because after this I am meeting with a mechanic - and having the van/truck there would probably make things easier.">>

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:08:00

The ride over - standing on the prow of the upper deck looking at the forested hills surrounding the twilit Sound - had done a lot to slow things down in Adam's head. Pulling his bike off the ramp and cruising up the road to the gated community, he was impressed by what he saw.

AROs had been everywhere, even before disembarking, reminding one and all of the necessity to display full-identification details at all times and in all places on Vashon Island. And the police presence - human and otherwise - rivaled downtown. The difference was that here the cops looked softer - same uniforms, but their belts bristled with less gear, they were a little older, and lacked the tense, guarded demeanor of the "public servants" in the city. Like the USA before it, water had protected riches. It was only internal strife that had brought down the once lone mega-power. He wondered what might change here to allow the tendrils of crime and decay from the city proper to find their way to this island paradise.

Pulling through the gates of Vashon Heights, he was greeted by the sight of clean sidewalks on tree-lined streets. Wide expanses of grass separated huge Windsor-faced houses from the street. He hadn't been able to enter without confirming the address of his destination, and now the neighborhood traffic program kept his AR vision filled with prompts, like a game telling the players which way to the next challenge. Speed bumps allowed his bike little more than a gentle putter toward his meeting.

A group of Asian, Indian, and white human children played stickball in the street. An affluent-looking ork in casual wear with a fanny-pack hanging from the front of his belt seemed to be watching them, but really he was watching everything but them. Adam doubted he was the father of any of these children.

Another relaxed looking fellow, a troll in a polo shirt by Lacoste, stepped slowly out of the shadow of a huge oak. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" "You must be visiting friends." "How 'bout those Seahawks?"

Once he was free of the "howdy neighbor" interrogation he found his way quickly to Deerwalker's (father's) place. This one was in the Tudor style, and had a large rotary drive with a shiny black 2071 Westwind sloppily parked in it. The place looked huge.

He climbed the front steps and the door opened before he could press the bell or key the equivalent ARO. He almost took a step back from the sight he saw - there was Deerwalker, all 185 blond Germanic centimeters of her, and she was crawling with snakes. He quickly realized, however, that they were synthetic - smart-material constructs from JoyGarden - the new Eve line. He'd read some of the ad copy. The snakes' size and color could all be controlled through the wearer's PAN, and they crawled over the body in random or preset patterns, with special algorithms that covered or concealed designated body parts with varying degrees of discretion depending on the position and identity of any onlookers. Decide moment to moment and person to person just how much of your Forbidden Fruit you want revealed...

And they looked really really real.

"Hey Comrade," she smiled, "steaks are on the grill."

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:10:00
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Adam flashed back a smile. He hadn't realized how much he had missed the sight of a friendly face. As she stepped aside, he pulled his attention away from her snakes, and took in the foyer. "Nice place. I can see why you don't stay on campus." He knew Deerwalker's family was well-off, but he wasn't sure what to expect until he got here. He wondered if they were at home - that would certainly make half of what he wanted to discuss with her more difficult than it would already be. The fact that Deerwalker's outfit only suggested nudity, rather than screaming and pointing at it, suggested somebody with authority might be around. Adam wasn't worried about it, if they went shopping, later, they'd have the privacy to talk.

He removed his overcoat, revealing what he had thought, this morning, would be an impressive outfit - but, now, within a few feet of Deerwalker's state-of-the-art fashion-statement (which probably cost more than he had made all year), Adam wondered how lame she actually thought his simple outfit was. He looked good - he was confident of that - and he knew how to dress himself, but he certainly wasn't at the bleeding edge of any new trends. One of the things that Adam and Deerwalker had in common was their desire for the attention of others. He had noticed that, while she was the sort of person that would stand out in an auditorium (and dressed to maximize that potential), he was the sort of person who liked to stand out from across a room, where his charisma could come into play. They were both good-looking people, but made very different first impressions. In fact, compared to some of the "bottoms-only" outfits that he had seen her wear around campus, these snakes could be considered a pass at modesty.

Hopefully, as always, his personality would cover what his wallet could not. "I apologize, again, for the last minute delay. New job. New bosses. New demands." He winked.

He also hadn't thought about how hungry he had become until she mentioned food. He let the mention of steaks go unquestioned, though. Adam was well aware that Deerwalker was the Earthen version of a Sunday-morning-Christian, and, if the others weren't around, Adam could easily imagine her enjoying a soy-steak (or maybe even a real one, if mommy and daddy were paying), and somehow justify it to herself the same way she justified the buckskin "outfits" she usually wore (which, it seemed, were on their way out). In any case, even something that approximated meat sounded great to Adam, right now.

"So, tell me, what's new in your life?" Adam wasn't sure of the best way to approach the things he wanted to discuss, tonight. As usual, he was going to just keep the conversation going, and make it up as he went along - and at the moment, his strategy was going to be to keep the conversation focused on Deerwalker - after all, that's what he came here to discuss. Her magic. Her contacts. Her openness to the idea of moonlighting on the Earthens. He was also interested in touching bases with his friends - it just so happened that he was able to write this off (in his mind) as a business expense, too. In any event, everything pointed to Deerwalker, which was typically how she liked it - so Adam was happy to oblige.

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:10:30

"Not much, man," she replied as she led him across a high-ceilinged living room to a lavishly appointed kitchen/dining space. There was no mistaking the smell of real steaks. "I only come here when my asshole father's out of town, but then I feel all lonely. So I'm glad you came." The table was already set for two, and she sat down as a kitchen drone delivered the meat to their plates, vectored-thrust propulsion whirring almost silently. "You like my snakes?"

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:11:00
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

"Very much. JoyGarden, right?" Adam hoped that little piece of fashion-trivia would buy him some points. "I remember the ad, although they certainly look better on you, than they did on the model. Are they comfortable?" Adam imagined that they would be cold, and the feeling of several slithering bodies on his, wasn't something he would necessarily enjoy.

As the steak-smell wafted up from his plate, he tried to keep his mouth from watering, and remember his etiquette. "I am impressed. I wouldn't have pegged you for a carnivore, though. I hope you're not setting aside any personal convictions, on my behalf...." Adam's grin showed his sarcasm, but he was genuinely curious where her beliefs ended, and her act began. Personally, eating real meat felt a lot more 'natural' than gagging down whatever soylent-green the Corps had marked fit for human consumption - and he hoped that Deerwalker felt the same way. Still, he suspected the Earthens wouldn't approve - at least not until someone lied and told them that the cow had been humanely treated, and lived a nice life on a prairie before dying of natural causes. Even then, it would take some smooth talking to settle them down - and they certainly wouldn't eat it. Adam paused to see if she was going to elaborate on the seeming hypocracy, or if they would move on to some other topic and simply accept that Deerwalker ate meat. Adam was willing to go either way. He was interested to learn more about exactly what it was Deerwalker felt strongly about, but had no interest in making a big deal out of someone else's vices. He was no saint, himself.

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:11:20

As she took a bite of her sirloin, the girl seemed genuinely confused by Adam's foray. Talking with her mouth full, she queried, "Why would I have a personal conviction? I've never been to jail. I've never even been arrested."

[adamu]

Boise, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 20:42:00

The trolls had burned gas in the Love Machine for almost two hours, looking for just the right truck with as little security as possible. Not easy, since people didn't usually leave tens of thousands of nuyen lying around for the taking.

Their search had taken them down through the industrial regions of Tacoma, where they realized that they were dealing with two variables - on-site security for the truck, and also the degree of law enforcement presence in the area. Deciding that the former could be handled, but the latter was getting into dangerous waters, they headed further out, tooling around the southern reaches of Auburn without actually crossing over into the wastelands of Puyallup.

Law enforcement certainly got thinner, but then so, of course, did any serious capital investment. The less cops around, the less there was worth robbing.

They finally found a couple of likely targets down between I-164 and White River, where the poor but functional Enumclaw neighborhood gave way to the slums of Boise, on the border of the Barrens. A number of tract housing developments were stretching the tendrils of productive civilization south of the highway to meet the low-cost housing demand from the working stiffs of Enumclaw. Here, the trolls found the gray security area they'd been seeking.

Lone Star presence was thin - an occasional cruiser was all they saw. More important, the Blue Crew's drone and surveillance infrastructure here appeared non-existent.

One site, where it looked like they were laying in a plumbing system, was wide and spread out. Equipment was scattered over several acres, and they spotted more than one of the upsized GAZ-P195s with open flatbeds. Looked like they were being used to haul piping. To compensate for the lack of police presence, there were armed Knight-Errant guards, and they were sure to somehow be covered electronically. But they were too few for so large a site. And of course, they'd die before calling in Lone Star back-up.

Another site was iffier. There was a temporary fence surrounding some sort of larger structure adjunct to a housing development. This was closer to Puyallup. On the other side of the fence they could see a huge Nordcapp Zugmaschine tractor trailer. There were no guards in site, but the fence was heavily tagged. As they drove past they spotted several rough-looking orks and trolls watching from the surrounding neighborhood.

At both sites, it looked as though the work crews had knocked off for the night, or maybe the weekend.

[JDragon]

Boise, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 20:43:07
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

"Finally we have something worth putting some time in to." Rocky had grown bored with the endless driving around looking for a stupid truck they might be able to grab for the weekends events. The upside was it had given him the time he needed to finish working with the software Dr. Cline had provided. He saved the settings and shut the program down, then brought up the team link to send out some text messages.

<<@Team:: Located two possible options for the needed transportation. Will need assistance with security issues. We are down in the Boise, Auburn area.>>

Rocky pulled the address of a local Stuffer Shack and included that with the message so they could meet up and layout all the details of what they had found.

"Hey, lets make one more pass of each site and record as much as we can for the others to look at when they get down here."

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:12:00
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Adam smiled, and took the girl's cue to begin eating. As he sliced into his own steak, he replied warmly - selecting his words carefully, so as not to offend. "I just meant that I understand that your friends don't like to eat meat. I admire your independence, this looks really good." He smiled again, as he took a bite of his - appreciation showing on his face. He then decided to change the topic to something more constructive. "Speaking of your spotless record, though, I am impressed that someone as outspoken as yourself hasn't as much as been picked up for public disturbance." He was genuinely impressed, in fact - if she hadn't been at least arrested for her almost constant public indecency, Adam was sure the EcoSquad had or would be hauled away for some protest, or releasing a bunch of genetically engineered lab animals, or making some other high-profile activist statement. He was most interested, however, in whether this was because she had an ace up her sleeve when it came to avoiding punishment, or because she just managed to avoid situations where the law was bent or broken, while maintaining her image as an outspoken activist. Considering she was with him on at least one mission where he knew they had broken the law, he suspected the former. He cocked his head as he cut his next piece - the steak seemed to simply melt away from his knife. "Had any close-calls?"

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:12:20

She smiled mischievously. "Yeah, a few times, you know, the fuzz tried to crash our high at some marches and stuff, but I'm pretty good at just slipping away," she faded out of and back into sight right there on her chair, "if you know what I mean, you know. I mean, you know, I just couldn't get arrested - Daddy would have a fit. Mostly Cal is pretty good at planning the direct actions though, so we've never gotten caught. Like that one you helped us on. Everything went so smooth cuz Cal is so good at planning and the comrades are all, you know, really really good at that stuff and, you know, Gaia watches out for us."

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:12:40
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Adam chewed and nodded rather than respond with his thoughts regarding Cal's preparedness, or how smooth that particular mission had gone. Despite the one example Adam had to go by, the fact that the Earthens weren't already all in jail did speak well of his ability to handle such things, overall. Adam liked Cal - always had - and he had no wish to speak ill of him, much less to do so in front of his girlfriend. "So, you can make people look like other people, and like nothing at all," he said, when he finished another bite. "That is incredible. What other kind of spells do you know? You said Gaia looks out for you. Is she the source of your magic?"

He smiled, apologetically. "I'm sorry if I sound naive. I don't really know all that much about magic - but I'd love to hear more about it." The conversation was going along, nicely. Adam was enjoying himself, having his second great meal this week, and getting to know more about Deerwalker, in a few minutes, than he had since he had met her. A part of him felt a little bad that as their smalltalk continued, he was, in the back of his mind, still treating this like a business meeting. He had objectives, and this was a little new to him. Usually, when he hung out with Cal and his posse, he didn't have to think too deeply about what was going on, and could just have a good time. They were interesting people, good for some laughs, but once he had worked with them on that job, he couldn't help but think of them as potential business partners. Their professional interests didn't really overlap, but he could tell there was opportunity for synergy, if both parties were interested.

Considering there was a good chance that some of his team would use the current job to clear their slate, Adam also had an interest in keeping his eyes open for new blood. As the next bite of sirloin approached his mouth, he made the connection with his dinner date with Francesca, and the thought nagged at him again. He brought his attention back to the conversation at hand, determined to be a friend first, and a contact, second.

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:15:00

The woman laughed. It was a pretty big laugh, but not raucous or derisive. But it was hard enough that the snakes jiggled, and she nearly choked on her food. Downing some bottled water, she cleared her throat. "Dude - you think I'm one of those Mother followers? Adam, what's my name? You don't think my gaz father named me that, do you? I follow Deer. She's quiet, and very good at hiding. And she's peaceful, so she makes a lot of friends - I can probably help you get whatever telesma you're looking for."

Then she leaned forward. "And of course, in certain seasons, she has other needs, too."

She bit off a huge chunk of steak, and Adam took the opportunity to press her about her skills. The topic seemed to be a blind spot in her general obliviousness - as near as he could tell she was fairly knowledgeable and articulate regarding her gift. Maybe a little too much so, since it was hard for a mundane to tell what she was talking about.

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:25:00
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

It became clear that Adam didn't know the first thing about magic. He hadn't had a lot of problem wrapping his mind around the fact that she could do illusions - he had seen that twice. He knew Fortunato could do some other spells too like healing wounds or making cars rocket down the road at lethal speeds. he was a high-level kind of guy, and that was really the level at which he was comfortable discussing magic.

Deerwalker, on the other hand, seemed uncharacteristically knowledgeable about this sort of thing, and wasn't satisfied with any of Adam's attempts to frame things in any way that made any sort of sense to him. Off the bat, she corrected him regarding his gross oversimplification that she simply "made people look like other people". It was a great deal more complicated than that, it seemed. Some nonsense about "auras," "harmonic emanations," "chakras," "sprigans," and "nargles" along with the usual Earthen hippy dribble about Mother Earth, oneness, peace with nature.

The closest he could come to making heads or tails of anything that was said, was to relate the whole experience to a common situation given in one of his management classes. When a manager asks a technical engineer what a given system is capable of, he is looking for the elevator-pitch - the high-level overview - but, more often than not, the engineer's instinct is to answer the question, technically - rattling off a bunch of acronyms, jargon, and techno-babble about what components are doing what with other components, what sort of architecture is being used, underneath, as well as the specific limitations and capabilities of the various aspects of the overall system. They often mistakenly replace the word "what" with "how," and sometimes even think that their knowledge of these specifics will highlight what a capable employee they are. From the manager's side of the conversation, it could have the opposite effect - highlighting the employee's narrow scope of vision, and blindness to bigger-picture concepts.

The truth of the matter is that, more often than not, the person asking isn't interested in all of that, as is probably either just looking to wrap his head around a system (so he can talk to some other important bigwig about it, and fee confident that he's not completely talking out of his ass), or just looking for 10 words or less to put on a slide. That is really what Adam would have liked to have had - a nice simple dossier on Deerwalker, with bullet-points highlighting each of the magical capabilities she brings to the table. A little index-card he could put in his virtual Rolodex, and whip out when the team was in need of magical backup.

This brought him back to his current situation, where he was doing his best to look as though he was following along, while Deerwalker explained something about the "arboreal unification rites". He had long since given up on gleaning anything useful regarding her capabilities - and was now focusing on the overall impression of the conversation. His line of questioning had changed from inquiring about further explanation to simply remaining interested in what was being said. By this point, they both knew that Adam wasn't understanding a lot of what was being said, but the fact that he was interested in something that Deerwalker knew quite a bit about seemed to be incentive enough for her to keep talking about it - and he was able to keep his end of the conversation up enough to leave a decent impression - certainly not as someone who had a knack for these concepts, but as a good listener, certainly.

As the last of their steaks disappeared, the topic of magical theory and practice had wound-down, and Adam decided to take the opportunity to transition to another one, where they had more in common - specifically, their mutual acquaintances. "So, are any of your other friends magical? I mean, you seem to know a lot about it, did anyone I know teach you?" Before she had a chance to finish her last bite, and answer, Adam threw out a few more questions. "Cal mentioned something about 'Murlocks', does that mean he's a shaman too?"

Although he was interested in the answer to all of these questions, his inquiry served, primarily, to segway into discussion of Cal and the EcoSquad.

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:26:00

The snake-clad blond recoiled in mock distress, bobbing back several times as if she was being pummeled by the repeated blows of her date's numerous questions.

"Oh Adam, you're just a real curious sort, aren't you? Don't you know that we're all magical in our own way. We've each got value, man, a place in the deeper scheme of things. Even us humans. That's the beauty of our vision, you know - we know that we don't have to be oppressors forever, unwillingly benefitting from our exploitation of the more noble races. In fact, once we express as morlocks, we'll be the strongest and most benevolent of all Her creations - how else will be survive the Extinction?"

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:26:30
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

"So, like... about as magical... as I am," he stated, with just enough inflection in his voice to give the impression that he wasn't sure. He had no idea what she meant about Morlocks or Extinction, but that was nothing new. He figured, if he asked, he would just be treated to another one of her out-there explanations that left him with more questions than answers. For the moment, he was fine allowing himself to believe that he wasn't about to Express as anything, and that Extinction was a fair ways off - at least, he had more immediate problems to contend with, first. The Extinction of humanity would probably solve most of them, but it also probably didn't need his help to Express.

"How've things been going for them? You know, the inner circle guys I met earlier this week?" Adam realized that Cal never really gave them a name, before. "Did I miss out on anything exciting?" He grinned, "You mentioned Cal's taking a European vacation. He could have at least asked if I wanted to tag along. I'm surprised you didn't go."

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:26:40

A mischievous smile flickered across Deerwalker's features - Adam could see that revealing juicy secrets was a temptation for her. "Well, the bigshot he went over to meet, he's pretty hush-hush. Can't talk about him. But then, he might be coming here..."

She stood up and snapped her fingers, summoning the kitchen drone to clear their plates. "Let's go out back."

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:26:50
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Clearly intrigued, Adam wipes his mouth politely and then stands up. He wasn't sure what Deerwalker was hinting at, but he could tell from her reaction that it would be good. A few more questions came to mind, but he didn't want to ruin Deerwalker's big 'reveal'. This was her show, for the moment.

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:28:10

It was a beuatiful Seattle summer evening, still not fully dark, but the fir-covered hill that backed Deerwalker's (father's) house cast the yard into deep shadow. Less salty this far from the ocean proper, the smell of the Sound was gently refreshing.

The girl took Adam's hand and led him past an outdoor hot tub and what looked like a sauna - both of which she glanced at meaningfully - before bringing him to a small gazebo. Sitting down, he wondered if she hadn't adjusted her snakes to a slightly more generous setting. "So I never thought you'd be so interested in our work. I always took you for, you know, a bit of a mercenary, though I never, you know, told Cal that."

[adamu]

Stuck, in Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 21:31:00

Rocky's report of finding some possible trucks to appropriate had led to another quick team conference call - although Johnson had essentially let everyone know he was in a sensitive meeting with a contact and left the details to the others.

Sledge had said she had her own meet coming up, but since everyone felt there was no time to waste on gathering the gear they needed, and there was little chance of success without matrix backup, it was decided that Angel would head south and join the trolls. Fort would join them as soon as he finished a magical project he was busy with.

They decided to meet halfway - in the micro-city of Stuck - more becuase it was convenient to the highway than for any other reason. Angel had just pulled up in a cab and was looking around for a good spot to keep an eye out for the trolls without being mistaken for one of the many prostitutes that worked the streets of this Mafia enclave.

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:29:20
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

It was Adam's turn to smile mischievously. "Mercenary? No, but I do like to try a little bit of everything." He raised an eyebrow. "It never was quite clear just what it was that you and Cal had heard about me - or through whom." He paused, smiling. "I don't think it's entirely fair that I never got to make a proper first impression. At least, not as 'Smith.'"

He had an idea, and looked at her, appraisingly. "I suppose all I can do is hope that an in-touch girl, like you, can forgive a guy for occasionally becoming slave to his instincts." He winked. "You know. Survival. The Law of the Jungle. Eat or be Eaten. Something like that." His smile faltered just slightly at the thought of his mother, and the reason he needed the money they had offered him for the last job. It wasn't his survival he was worried about, but decided not to go into the details, just yet.

Truthfully, he could see where she would have gotten that impression. Ever since he got into Franco's pocket, and doing work for various mafia-ties - even now, as leader for a team of Shadowrunners - it seemed that he was willing to do almost anything for money. In his eyes, at least, it wasn't the money that was driving him - it was his parents, Shwen, Tyisha, John, Sally, Cal, Deerwalker, or some other friend in need. If his own sense of adventure wasn't getting him into trouble, he was throwing himself into it to dig somebody else out.

Then again, maybe he just liked maintaining the self-image of a knight-in-shining-armor or robin-hood type hero... instead of facing the fact that he had become little better than an errand boy for a mafia pimp. He had been providing for his parents, but he couldn't deny that he had been taking a little off of the top (in theory, to make it easier to keep this gig going).

He directed attention away from his cracking demeanor by gesturing at their beautiful surroundings. "I'm not, like... this well off, but I've never been hurting for cash, either. Things just have a way of working themselves out, you know. I'm not in this for the cash, that's not what... motivates me. I figure, my talents caught your eye right when you guys needed me, and I am glad they did. Now that our paths have crossed, we understand one another a little better, and we are in a better position to help each other out."

He smiled, warmly. "That's what I'm about."

[adamu]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:29:30

"Well," she replied, "if what you want us to do is help each other - I mean, you know, in a, you know, law of the jungle kind of way - maybe we should, you know, find out more about each others' talents."

[adamu]

Heading east out of West Seattle
Friday 8/22/70 22:00:00

The trolls made it to the meet with Caittie very shortly after her arrival. So she got to leave the charming company of the streetwalkers in favor of a cramped van filled with two huge metahumans that had only a few days ago tried to kill her. Could this really be a lifestyle for some people? Sledge had offered her an out, but she felt honor-bound to do at least this one run with her new companions, to thank them for risking their lives to help with the Louie problem. But now here she was not with the people that had helped her, but with the guys that had been the problem.

And anyway, Sledge didn’t know what the FBI mage/hacker knew – that her very nature marked her for capture or worse by the corps.

Maybe the shadows were her fate.

In any case, Sledge had given her the rundown on some possible sites where they might find the equipment they needed, and right off they headed for an upscale neighborhood on the water called West Seattle. Someone was redeveloping an old cemetery – hello, had no one told them about the Awakening? – and they probably had exactly the kind of gear needed to spot dead bodies underground.

As they approached, she darted ahead in the Matrix. She found the site easily enough – big AROs declared all sorts of safety and trespassing warnings in the name of B&B Contracting. It was a pretty secure-looking area, and there were cameras everywhere. She located a hub for all the Lone Star cams in the neighborhood and called a sprite, knowing that whatever went wrong, the cops could never trace it back to her. She let her friend know that if anything dangerous happened it should just go ahead and bail. She then told it to quietly find a spot in the hub to watch all the angles on the construction site from, and send the data to her in intermittent bursts on an encrypted frequency. Later, if that worked, she could recompile it for the task of altering the feeds for when they made their move.

By the time the Love Machine arrived, all had gone well in the electron world, and they all had regular video updates of what the place was like. Not only that, but she had located a manifest that confirmed a ground-penetrating radar unit was kept onsite in a supposedly secure storage unit.

Despite the cameras, the trolls wanted to see the place with their own eyes, and figured one drive-by wouldn’t hurt, especially since they probably would not be in the Love Machine for the actual theft. There was a three-meter chain-link fence topped by shiny new concertina wire. Gate was shut. But at least it was all easy to see through. Between their meat eyes and the cams, they counted two guards roving the site, plus at least one other came out of a quonset hut to use the port-a-potty, and then went back inside after entering a code on a keypad. He’d been careful to screen the code from the view of any prying eyes as he pushed the buttons. The hut was where the GPR was listed as being stored.

They were a little surprised to see that no work was going on – most sites in safe neighborhoods such as this ran 24-7. It was a point to wonder about.

One thing they didn’t need to wonder about was telepresent security. They spotted at least one surveillance drone whirring around above the place. Caittie, however, said she was pretty sure it was on autopilot…at the moment.

Satisfied they’d seen as much as they could, they headed for the next site. Caittie was a bit tired from her online exertions, so Cerberus went ahead and checked traffic reports himself. Roads would supposedly be clear on several routes to I-5. He also noted the nearest Lone Star station, and estimated a two-minute response.

As he was puttering with his commlink, the greenish-skinned troll got a text message from his best friend Kyle. Damn! In a queer reversal of roles, his thiefly buddy had apparently pissed off some unsavory characters, and he wondered if Cerberus could come around and watch his back for a few days until he got things sorted. The timing couldn’t be worse, right in the middle of what could be the run that scored Cerberus a blank check on cyber upgrades. Not to mention he would hate to let his teammates down.

But there was no way in hell he could say no to Kyle.

“Yo brau,� he said to Rocky, “I know this sucks, and I really hate to do it, but I am not going to be able to continue with this job with you guys. Trust me when I tell you I know how shitty this is of me, but I have no choice.�

Rocky responded with some concern: “Man, that is not good news. But you do what you have to. It’s not like I can stop you, right? I mean, is there any way you could stick around and help us with this job, and then we could help you with whatever you’ve got going?�

“No can do, brau. You guys have to do this thing this weekend, or it’ll be impossible. And what I have to do, I can’t wait on. But I am worried about those FBI guys. I mean, I know all the details of the run. If I bail now, they are going to see me as some sort of security leak, maybe have me arrested – or worse.�

Rocky didn’t have to think long about his answer. “Screw them. You’re right, but they said they would quit spying on us once we started the job, right? Hell, they don’t know where you are, and if they do see you off somewhere, how are they to know you’re not working on the run? I guess you won’t be around to collect your big favor, but by then the run’ll be done and who cares where you are? They aren’t going to hear about any of this from us, man.� He looked over at Caittie, who just shrugged – she was hating Cerberus less and less, but she’d still feel more at ease with him gone.

Cerberus put out his hand to his friend. “I owe you one, brau. I guess you can just drop me off anywhere , then. I gotta get moving. The Ingram is in the case under the seat, that goes back to…�

Rocky cut him off – “Man, this van is worth a LOT more than that toy of yours. I figure you’re losing your interest in the wheels, you take the gun as your severance.�

The two shared a mischievous look, at which point Cerberus shrugged. “All right then, I guess its vaya con dios, you two. It’s been real.� Slinging big bag with the disassembled piece of military hardware over his shoulder, he got out the back of the van as Rocky slowed it to a stop.

And then Rocky and Angel headed for the next site.

[BlackHat]

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 20:30:50
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Adam stared at her, thoughtfully, for a moment, as he tried to make sure he understood her meaning. The way she looked back at him and the way her snakes began to part both left very little room for misunderstanding. He knew exactly what 'talents' she was referring to, and he was, to his surprise, startled. He had believed that he understood the sort of woman Deerwalker was, but had always took her flirtatious nature with a grain of salt - that is just how she was, and nothing had ever come of it. As he understood things, Cal and she were always together, and she always seemed to be looking for more attention than he could give her from other guys. He had never seen anyone take her up on it, and so he had never seen Cal make an issue of it - he was a pretty laid back guy. In the end, he just supposed she liked the attention, but thought that was all talk.

That was a mistake. She had action in mind, as well. Despite what Deerwalker might claim about simply being in touch with her carnal instincts, Adam had a feeling Cal would be just as much in touch with his male instinct to establish dominance, mark territory, and all of that. Even laid back hippie guys didn't like it when a girl they liked bumps uglies with one of their friends.

The dilemma of the situation, and the implications of his actions or inactions, were quickly lost on Adam, as Deerwalker stepped in and embraced him with a kiss, at which point his logical side stepped down, and allowed his intuitive side to take over and do what it knew best. His body warmly embraced hers, and their private talent-show began. This wouldn't be the first time he had hooked up with a girl who he knew to have a boyfriend - and it probably would not be the last. If this was, something that both he and Deerwalker wanted, in this moment, he decided that the least he could do is make a good show of it - and not ruin the experience by getting hung up on all of the reasons why it was a bad idea, or trying to make excuses.

Of course, it was her idea....

Vashon Heights, Vashon Island, Outremer
Friday 8/22/70 21:41:20
Adam Lear
PAN - Passive

Some time later, Adam and Deerwalker were both recovering in the hot tub. As it turns out, both of their talents turned out to be pretty impressive, and they were both pretty exhausted. The stress Adam had built up from the last few days was a distant memory, and Deerwalker seemed to have satisfactorily scratched her itch. They laid there making idle post-coital chat, for a while, but as the night went on, they eventually decided to head back into the house - and, Adamhoped, to get back to business, before calling it a night.

[JDragon]

On the Road Again
Friday 8/22/70 22:02:01
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

"Well that was interesting. You think we will ever hear from him again?"

Rocky made sure the next address was in the autonav system and then pulled out his comm to bring the team up to speed on the recent roster changes.

<<<@Team: Heads up gang, Cerberus had some personal business come up and he's out for the forseeable future, sounds like at least the weekend. I'll pass on the few details I've got on the next face to face. Research is going as planned, let us know when your available for work.>>>

With that done Rocky sat back and watched the road go by as they headed for their next stop.

[pragma]

Greg's Doss, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 22:05:30
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato did not think his eyes were cracking, but he didn't know how else to describe the feeling. Closing them and was a deep relief, sitting down was a paradise for his sore feet and tense neck, taking a deep breath made Enumclaw's faintly sulurous odor seem like a whiff of heaven. The ward was done, he could relax.

He opened his eyes to the astral and the walls of the room immediately started shifting. The walls were a slow vortex, a stack of coils moving in a slow circle. He was satisfied.

The only other issue was the pile of rocks in the corner. It had been staring at Fortunato since its arrival. Fortunato found the string of beach-ball sized boulders inscrutable. The spirit had not said a word since summoned and seemed to be sleeping in the corner rather than scattering to astral space. It seemed uncommon.

He couldn't trouble himself too much though, he had a chance to relax for a few minutes. As he idled, he thought of the things left on his to-do list:
Meet talismonger, forge new identity, astrally trespass on coporate territory ... busy night it looks like.

He had removed his contacts to prevent them from agitating his tired. eyes. He eased them back into their blooshot places and was confronted by a backlog of messages. He skimmed them and wrote.

<<@Johnson: Big part of my job's done. If you want me to work with the trolls for a while, or meet your contact, let me know. I was hoping to scope out astral security during the window that we'll be hitting the place tomorrow, let me know what my priorities are for the op.>>

<<@Team: Hey guys, I'm available for work. Let me know what you need done.>>

The stone serpent spoke saying: I am bedrock, the basalt and the granite have parted ways.. Fortunato began to respond before realizing that it had become dormant again. This promised to be a long night. He rested in his astral fortress.