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

[Abbandon]

an Apartment in Sophocles District, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:35:21
Cerberus - Street Samurai/Bullet magnet
PAN: Hidden (earbud,non-plural)

Just a few more minutes before he could pass out. This had been the worst 48 hours of his life. Well second worst after he thought about it. Anticipating what he might be told anyway he took a few minutes to look around and gather the stuff from the van they might need. He had finally learned his lesson, you cant use what you dont bring with you.

A bandolier of grenades, check. An assault rifle, check. A first aid kit minus some supply's, check. Various pistols, check. And lastly some throwing knives. Looking like a one man army he stepped out of the back of the van and stretched. Cycling through his vision modes and magnifications he took the place in. He didnt need his hearing enchancements to make out screaming and arguing coming from one of the nearby buildings. Please dont have somebody like that near our room God, im to banged up for a domestic violence call.

Cerberus stood there in the drizzly gray light waiting on the others. Caittie and Fortunato neither one seemed in a hurry to move. What the frag are they complaining about? Im the one who got shot and tasered if anyone has the right to some extra Z's its me, but he kept his mouth shut and just soldiered on.

[adamu]

Outside Apartment in Sophocles District, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:38:21


Just as they all got out, it started drizzling again - a warm summer rain sluicing through already muggy air. It made everyone eager to get inside, but they needed to secure the bike.

Sledge hopped up in the back, and the two trolls, getting their legs under it, hefted the front half up onto the rear bed. That done, the ork pulled while they half lifted, half rolled the beast up into the van. Wedged in, Sledge had to crawl through the cab to get out.

It was weird putting the bike in the van - they could SEE the van, but if they took their eyes off it for a second, they would almost forget what they were even doing, having to use the context of the situation to remind them that there even was a van there - and then they'd turn back to it and would have to sort of refocus their vision to see it again.

As the trolls slammed the rear doors shut, Angel was mentally reprogramming the security features to only accept a physically uttered code phrase, rendering the van theoretically invulnerable to remote hacking. While she worked, she stood in Fortunato's protective shadow, as gang boys crouched in alleys and door frames shout-whispering things about elf girls that made her blush.

But none of the Posse dared approach too close - not with the two armed trolls and the hammer-packing ork woman nearby.

Everything as secure as they could make it, Sledge led the quintet in, followed by Cerberus. The elf mage was a bit shaky on his feet, but the girl helped him along. He probably didn't need it as much as she did, but no one said anything. Hand on his holstered weapon, Rocky brought up the rear.

Inside the lobby, the stench was horrible. Almost every square meter of floor space was some junkie's squat. Most were too out of it to even look up at the passing crew. The elevators weren't. They just weren't. There was a square hole in the wall - no doors, no elevator, just a shaft going up and down into blackness.

The stairs were littered with gimmicks, patch wrappers, and human feces. A ragged cat warily feasted on a pool of vomit, hissing at them defensively as they stepped around her prize.

The higher they climbed the more they heard - guttural laughter, breaking glass, thumping rap music, a woman's sexual moans and yelps that sounded more obligatory than passionate, a baby crying - not the incessant plaintive wail of needs neglected, but the insistent screeching of crisis and pain.

The interior the building was almost pitch dark. Almost. None of the all-meta crew had too much trouble seeing.

Arriving at the third floor, the door from the stairwell was blockaded. The trolls forced it open easily enough, and no one apparently cared enough to investigate the racket. A single long hallway stretched to the far end of the building, doors on both sides. Moving down the hall in search of a space, they could tell that the rooms were occupied - either the doors were open, they weren't there anymore, or they were closed but failed to screen obvious sounds of occupancy.

By the time the team reached the end of the hall, it was quite clear that there was no room at the inn.

[Abbandon]

3rd Floor of Apartment, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:38:35
Cerberus - Street Samurai/Bullet magnet
PAN: Hidden (earbud,non-plural)

Sledge had managed to reach the end of the hallway pausing to stop and scan the rooms as she walked by pairs of doors. Cerberus struggled to keep up by limping along as fast as he could while avoiding debris and empty bottles, there were all sorts of stain marks and drag marks leading from both ends of the hallway to the empty elevator shaft.

Upon reaching Sledge she turned and looked at Cerberus and shrugged. Then she pulled her hammer up into a ready position eluding to the fact that it looked like they were going have to evict somebody. Cerberus peaked into the room on the left side of the hallway and saw a pair of legs that he couldnt imagine belonging to anything alive or human. Hairy, pasty white legs covered in both scabbed over and open sores. The yellow toenails protruding from the feet topped it all off.

He had grew up on the streets for awhile though and he knew how hard it was to climb out, hell he had to get a fake SIN to get a real job that actually paid money. Cerberus held up his hand to Sledge in a wait gesture. Standing there he focused and pushed the pain to the side for a little bit and then walked into the apartment.

Trying to ignore the nasty smell he walked past the entry area to where the rom opened up so he could see the entire room and whatever belonged to those nasty pair of legs......

[DireRadiant]

Apartments in Sophocles District, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:38:30
Sledge - Heart of Darkness
PAN - Hidden

Gleaming steel and glass towers stretching for the skies far behind, the wide concrete tributaries narrowed to crumpled narrow tracks. Sledge has memories of riding out with Andy, occasionally with groups of other crews, leaving behind those same lofty dreams and rolling out the country. Somewhat odorous countryside, but the stench was nothing like this. Natural fertilizer and decaying hay feed lots were a potent and natural mixture, and while the current odors were potent, and the sources natural, the circumstances were not. The cramped quarters, piled together metahumanity that she'd fought Morris and Monica in for that extra bit of breathing space and scraps had been nothing compared to this. For all the grime and scratching dirt and heat and cold and sores and straining and misery they'd been through in the community crib, it was nothing compared to this. All the bloodied fists, cracked ribs, skinned knees she and litter had endured had been a torturous journey, but at the end there been one thing she knew at the bottom of her soul, beyond her brother and sister, there'd been others who'd cared a damn. Someone to bring them the scrap to fight over, the worn blankets to shiver in, the cracked shoes to wear. Someone brought them. Someone cared about her, the lowest loneliest runt in the litter.

Here there was nothing, nothing at all.

<<@crew:: Ask ... nicely... if they'll clear a room for us. Going to get supplies. Know places nearby to pick up a crate of nutri soy bars?>>

probably a couple cases of brews for the posse out front too...

She closed her eyes briefly to help the nauseous flutter in her stomach. It helped against her unsettled stomach, but it did nothing to change the view or circumstances or her unsettled mind

... breathe.... got a job to do...

[BlackHat]

Streets of Seattle
Tuesday 8/19/70 13:51:23
Mr. Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

When Francesca DelGato answered his call, it took Adam a moment to respond. He was rounding a sharp corner just then, at a speed that the driver of one of the vehicles he cut off would have described as nothing short of "reckless." Having successfully merged into traffic, he glanced over at the open AR window, and saw a live feed of Ms. DelGato's face, looking somewhat perplexed at the image she was being presented with, which was Mr. Smith's avatar. She seemed right about to reach for a button in mid-air, so Adam quickly spoke up.

"Ms. Delgato. I apologise for taking so long to get back to you, but it has been one of those crazy mornings. I also wanted to apologise for the mess my team left on its way out of your neighborhood." There was a slight pause between each sentence, but when he wasn't driving like a maniac, multitasking his phone wasn't too difficult - he just hoped his helmet and microphone were able to filter out most of the ambient noise.

Francesca smiled once she recognized Adam's voice (or his hints about the morning's events), but she quickly caught herself and downshifted to a more controlled, yet still warm and pleasant smile. She looked straight into avatar's eyes for a moment as if deciding what she might say. "Thank you for calling. I heard your van got clear, but...well, I'm just glad you're all right."

Adam smiled back, then realised his system wasn't advanced enough to detect that. He risked taking one hand off the bike long enough to press an AR "emoticon" which caused his avatar to animate one of its stock smiles. "It is good to hear that you feel that way. I was wondering what you were doing for dinner this evening - maybe we could discuss ways I might be able to make it up to you." He hoped she caught his meaning. Although veiled in pleasentries (not that he would mind getting to know her a little better), he was really interested in talking buisness. He was certain there were ways they could help one another out.

Francesca smiled back, in quiet delight, and touched hair absently. "Let me just check." Her eyes went up and right for a brief moment. "Well, I think I can make myself free. Tell you what - you pick the time, I'll name the place, and we can meet there."

A strange arrangement, thought Adam, but I am game.

He considered his class schedule, and when he wanted to check back in with the group. "How does six-thirty sound? Today's buisness should be concluded by then."

"Perfect. I'll see you in The Emerald Room at the Westin, at six-thirty."

She came back with the location pretty quickly. Adam wondered why she chose that place - she probably felt it was safe. He decided, between classes, he would need to do a little research.

The two concluded their conversation with some pleasentries, and Adam was once again free to direct his attention towards his task of getting to campus as quickly as humanly possible.

[adamu]

3rd Floor of Apartment, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:38:35


The legs belonged to one of three sleeping human forms sprawled on rat-eaten futon in a rather spacious "living room." It was apparent that there were a couple a bedrooms beyond, and Cerberus' enhanced hearing could pick up breathing in those rooms as well. There was a bathroom, door half open, and he didn't need enhanced smell to decide that would be the last room he checked out.

The floor was strewn with greasy wrapping paper - but no brand logos - they must have been munching on some unsavory local offering. And there were patch wrappers all over the place.

Everyone was nodding hard - there were no signs of consciousness in the first room, and none of the four adults in the bedrooms were awake either, although a skinny, silent infant waved idly at a mobile that hung from the ceiling. Flies buzzed around its mouth, eyes and ears, as they did all the men and women in the place.

Of the seven adults, the troll's thermographic vision confirmed that one was cold as the grave.

Aside from the futons, the place was entirely unfurnished, and there were no appliances of any sort in the kitchenette.

All the three main rooms had windows, but they were well boarded up, leaving the room in near total darkness.

[Abbandon]

3rd Floor of Apartment, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:38:53
Cerberus - Street Samurai/Bullet magnet
PAN: Hidden (earbud,non-plural)

Jesus Christ, how can people live like this. Cerberus carefully and quitely made his way back to the hallway thinking about the baby as he went. If I killed those pieces of shit and took the kid to a hospital it would probably be as bad as living like this, maybe worse. Theres nothing I can do.

As Cerberus emerged from the apartment he opened up the commline. <<@team /minus Johnson,Sledge: "That ones a no go. 6 people, 1 baby, and 1 corpse. Rocky lets search the rest of these rooms, both sides, and find one we can take." Cerberus dug around in his jacket and pulled out the wad of cash and thumbed off two one hundred nuyen bills and handed one to Rocky. "If you find one relatively empty give them an offer of either the cash or violence." >>

With that Cerberus turned to the door across from the one he had just came from, the one with a door. No telling what the frag is behind these doors...

[pragma]

Third Floor Apartment, Posse Turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:39:00
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Hidden (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato, breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried that the troll was about to start bashing heads, which would have given the team precious little breathing room. His hand had unconsciously gone to the pistol in his jacket pocket, for comfort more than any intended use, and he relaxed it slowly. Pulling the hand from his pocket he started typing.

<<@Ops: Hold up a second. If we're just looking for a headcount of the rooms, I can do an astral sweep and let you know what I find. It'll be faster and probably quieter.>>

Caittie had bee worriedly flitting around him since he'd gotten out of the van. He couldn't really blame her; there was no doubt in his mind that he looked like hell warmed over. He doubted passing into a deep coma-like trance would make her feel any better, but things needed to get done.

"Watch my shoes big guy" Fort said to Rocky as he took a seat on the squalid, reeking carpet, closed his eyes and shited to the astral plane.

[JDragon]

Third Floor Apartment, Posse Turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:39:10
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

As the group made its way in the the barrens, it was much as Rocky had remembered from his youth, not that it was all that long ago. He did start wonder how it was he had been lucky enough to get out and take his family with him and give them a better life. Hopefully his actions over the last few months hadn't spoiled that and that Skinny had followed through with is promise to take care of them. He would have to check on them once things settled down and they had taken care of Louie.

While most of the trip through the barrens had been as he remembered he was not ready for the squallar that people were forced to live in as they made their way into the apartment building. He kept an eye on their backs making sure no one snuck up on him. He was hoping this unlike everything else would go as planned and they would find somewhere to crash for a while.

Of coarse that wasn't the case and Cerberus had started looking the easiset room to take control of. He took the cash from him and was about to move in to the closest room when the message came in from the mage.

<<@Ops: Hold up a second. If we're just looking for a headcount of the rooms, I can do an astral sweep and let you know what I find. It'll be faster and probably quieter.>>

Rocky stopped and nodded steping over next to Fort so anyone trying to do anything would have to go through him first, doing his best to keep alert and aware of anything changing around them.

[Konsaki]

Hotel Hell – Posse Turf, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:41:43
Angel – Technomancer - Hidden
PAN – Hidden

‘Oh my freaking god…’, was all Caittie could think as she looked at the building in front of her. It looked like if it lost just a few more bricks, it would just come crashing to the ground. The boarded windows and glooming daylight cast mysterious shadows all around the outside of the imposing face. She didn’t have much time to wonder at the textbook example of what happens to a building after decades of abuse as the three tuskers of the team grunted and heaved the bike into the van for safekeeping.
Thinking about the van, she could only guess if it would even last seconds of the team not being there, especially with the beast of a motorcycle stored in the back. As the vehicle rocked back and forth under the efforts of Sledge and the trolls, the elven teenager started working on locking the vehicle down. She saw Fort, who had seen better times, move over next to her while she stood out in the open. She didn’t understand exactly why he did, but he seemed to have a stern look on his face as he scanned the area.

“Ya think the carpet matches?�, someone half yelled out in a mockery of a whisper. The technomancer didn’t quite register that it was actually said, her mind trying to play it off as a trick of the wind. “Don’t care… I’d still stick it in her butt!�, another voice called out, almost like it was directed towards the team.
Caittie couldn’t play it off as the wind after that, it was too clear. She couldn’t help but feel her face flush bright red as she continued to work on the van. The three inside were almost done, with Sledge trying to crawl out the driver’s side door. “Look at her! I bet I could make her scream.�, another voice spoke on the wind, to which the first laughed and replied, “Just don’t leave any scars like you did to the last one!�

The sickness she felt at the checkpoint had returned, only a hundredfold. The red haired elf wanted nothing but to head inside to the safety of a closed room where she could just relax. It was like this day couldn’t get any worse for her… Then it started raining a sickly, oozing, dirty rain. Utterly disgusted beyond all limits, Caittie finished her programming on the van and turned off the transceiver, removing all wifi functions of the van.
It was almost like a light switch had turned off in her world. She hadn’t noticed it before, but without the lack of the van’s signals and wireless communications, she couldn’t feel her link to the matrix. She instantly felt more alone than she ever had in her life, even with the rest of the team gathering in a line to go into the building.
If it wasn’t for Fort, she probably would have been standing there, stunned, for a while. Once she got moving though, she couldn’t help but start searching for something, anything, on the airwaves. Something to keep her from focusing on the lack of the feeling. Nothing... there was nothing...

Moving closer to the twin doors that led to the lobby of the old decrepit building, her nose could smell something odd. She couldn’t place it totally, but it smelled… wrong. As they opened the doors and stepped in though, it hit her like a wet sock to the face, dripping in the vilest concoction created of vomit, feces, spoiled foods, fermented blood and diseased bodily fluid.
Indeed, that seemed that was exactly what it was. As the team made it’s way through the lobby to the stairwell, Caittie could only look on in pure disgust as she tried to hold her stomach. She never in her entire life imagined something like this, even when her mind was racing on the drive over, her wildest thoughts were pale in comparison to the living hell these people lived… and died in. This hotel of disease and squalor… She could sum it up as two words, but even they could not give justice to the way she truly felt about the building, “Hotel Hell…�

The dimness of the insides of the building didn’t bother her elven eyes, easily breaking through the gloom and dust to see things for what they really were. A cat feasting on her prized pool of vomit, probably the only ‘food’ the feline was able to find in the past week; a living corpse sprawled out in the hallway, too involved in his chip induced dreams to recognize that someone had long since pissed on him; the violent and disgusting view of two ‘people’ thrusting against each other, nothing about it passionate or loving, the screams coming out as forced or due to pain.
The sounds, too, caused the atmosphere to be one of which being shot at by the mob might be more desirable. Caittie just couldn’t see how these people let themselves live like this. The screams of a baby in distress passed her ears as she rounded the landing on the second floor which led towards the third. It panged at her heart to hear, but instead of wanting to see how she could help, the green eyed technomancer only pushed on up the stairs, assisting Fort as they went.

As she moved past the ramshackle barricade that Cerberus and Rocky moved aside, she was resigned to the fact that this floor was just as trashed as the floors before it. She had to correct herself yet again, trashed was too clean a word for what her eyes could see. The only saving grace she had was the fact that she couldn’t see the heat, or lack of it, from the many dead bodies the team passed.
Still, it was painfully obvious in more than a few of them, as the skin on many of the cadavers had turned grey and hard. Due to the malnourishment of the many people in the building, she couldn’t tell if they were starting to bloat yet, but she hoped they weren’t.

<<@crew:: Ask ... nicely... if they'll clear a room for us. Going to get supplies. Know places nearby to pick up a crate of nutri soy bars?>>

She looked over at Cerberus as the hulking fighter pushed his way through the trash and junk to look into one of the end rooms. The look on his face was clear as he pulled back and shook his head. They wouldn’t be finding any room in there.
<<@team /minus Johnson, Sledge: "That ones a no go. 6 people, 1 baby, and 1 corpse. Rocky lets search the rest of these rooms, both sides, and find one we can take. If you find one relatively empty give them an offer of either the cash or violence.">>, the giant of a man sent out as dug around in his jacket and pulled out the wad of cash, thumbed off two bills and handed one to Rocky.

The highschooler could only shiver at the thought of it all. The hellish conditions, the situation that pushed them to this place, the realization that they were staying here for some time… the fact that they might be here for days…

<<@Ops: Hold up a second. If we're just looking for a headcount of the rooms, I can do an astral sweep and let you know what I find. It'll be faster and probably quieter.>>, she sensed Fort message out to the team. It amazed her that he actually sat down on a swath of filth that consisted of a carpet and closed his eyes. ‘He must have seen some really bad things in his life not to be disturbed by this…’, she thought as time passed.
It wasn’t too long before the air shimmered in the center of the only ‘clean’ people in the building, no knowing how long that would last. In the shimmering, a form not unlike the one Alex had visited her with on the day her life went to hell, though it was obviously Fortunato and not her dead best friend.
She sat there stunned to hear his ghostly form calmly explain the floor, like it was some report he was reading from and not really real. There were people diseased and deceased all over the floor, in different numbers, but only two rooms of note. One with a heavily cybered man and another with two people working with chemicals or something, but he expressed his thoughts about leaving them alone.
His astral form raised a hand to point at a room near the stairs they had just come up. “That room seems like the best one to try. It’s got a family of five, two adults and three children. I suggest we try the soft approach before moving to more harsher methods.�, Fort explained in a tone which made him seem detached from what was really going on, or at least that’s how Caittie interpreted his professional training kicking in.

[JDragon]

Third Floor Apartment, Posse Turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:41:49
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Rocky had been so intent on keeping an eye out, he was suprised when Fort came floating out of the floor. Rocky still had to get used to people using magic regularly around him. Even though his ability was magical in nature it was still weird for him.

Fort passed on what he found, “That room seems like the best one to try. It’s got a family of five, two adults and three children. I suggest we try the soft approach before moving to more harsher methods.�

Rocky looked in the direction the mage had pointed, the voiced a thought. "Maybe someone a little less mean looking should make the soft sale, and if that doesn't go then Cerb or I can play the heavy?"

[Konsaki]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor – Posse Turf, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:04
Angel – Technomancer - Hidden
PAN – Hidden

Looking from Fortunato’s floating astral form to Rocky’s muscled bulk, Caittie processed what he was actually saying. ‘Someone that isn’t as scary as Cerberus and Rocky, huh? Well, Sledge did good talking…’, she thought to herself before trailing off. As she looked around to focus in on the woman leader, the teenager noticed that she was gone.
Scrolling through the messages logged on her new commlink, the technomancer noticed that she had mentioned going out to get supplies and she wanted the rest of them to do what they were currently trying to do; get a place for the team to stay. ‘Ok, so she’s not here to talk. That leaves Fort.’, she mentally checked off.

When she turned her head back to the floating mage, she noticed that he was already looking down at her smaller form. A look in his eye made her a bit more nervous that she already was, a feat in itself. Panicking, the young elf quickly looked between the two trolls and notice they were also looking at her expectantly.
“Whoa! What? You guys want me to talk them?!�, she exclaimed to the remaining team while waving her hands in front of her defensively. The look on her face plainly showed that the thought of interacting with the people around her, other than her team members, was not exactly top of her ‘Things to do in my lifetime’ list.

[pragma]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor -- Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:08
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Hidden (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Projecting, Manifest

Fort could have sworn that he had been in this exact hotel in Istanbul two years ago. He'd been called out on a field op and, as usual, he was left in some squalid dump with local resources while Tim hunted down someone to ask questions to. The place was, all in all, slightly less unsavory than it looked. His coat had self cleaned worse things than the carpet residue.

His astral form bobbed slightly on the turgid wave of mana that bounced back and force between the walls. It was trapped, filthy and seething, just like the hotel's residents.

Noting the drastic change in the Caittie's aura he said: "Don't worry about it kid, I'll do the talking."

He settled back into his body and stood up, a singularly disgusting stain excised itself from the back of his coat as he settled it back into place over his shoulders.

"Alright, heavy hitters should stand on either side of the door, make yourselves as visible as possible. Caittie, run overwatch but stay out of sight. I don't want them to get the idea that you're on the table."

"Everyone ready?" He walked toward the family's door.

[JDragon]

Third Floor Apartment, Posse Turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:11
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Rocky was gald to see Fort was going to do the talking, he could tell Angel was not really up to doing the talking right now. Which he understood, this was just a bad place to be. At least he had dealt with stuff like it before and could pound most anything that got in his way.

He led the way down to the room Fort had indicated and took a spot next to the door, waiting for Fort to do the soft sell.

[Abbandon]

3rd Floor of Hotel Hell, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:11
Cerberus - Street Samurai/Bullet magnet
PAN: Hidden (earbud,non-plural)

Cerberus was in the middle of figuring out how to try and breach the door without getting himself geeked when the call to hold came over the comms. Hmmm Fortunato can float through walls and shit? Note to self, dont masturbate to thoughts of Caittie with Fort around.

Seeing Fortunao in ghost form was pretty freaky, a shimmering image complete with the ability to see crap on the other side of him through his body, but even more so when he told the group about which room offered them the best chance of peaceful resolution, because his voice just seem to come from different places. Cerberus had never really been that close to a mage doing his thing before. If he was going to be doing shit like that all the time that would be really cool.

Cerberus shrugged and moved down the hall to the door and stood opposite to Rocky. Digging the wad of cash out of his pocket again he held it out to Fortunato not knowing if he needed it or not. Looking back down the hall he wondered what had been in the room he had planned on entering and then focused on the task at hand. Ok just stand here and look like a troll with glowing green eyes.

[pragma]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor -- Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:12
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Hidden (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato stopped to compose himself near the family's room and took the proffered wad of cash. He pocketed a few 100s and returned the rest.

Alright, these are all humans, we're meta, no need to make more waves than we already have.

He considered putting on a mask for a moment, then realized that the damage was probably already done. The posse, and countless squatters, had seen two trolls and a young elf girl. If anyone was going to tell Fishbreath or Smithers, then they probably already had.

But that was no reason to be careless. He pointed at each of the trolls and spun his fingers in a quick circle, indicating that they should face away from the door. No need to let anyone remember those green eyes. After making sure Caittie was concealed Fort put on a calming smile and knocked sharply on the decaying door. A withering squatter opened it up. "Who are you and what do you want."

Deciding not to beat around the bush, Fortunato replied "We're looking for a place to crash. I'll pay you 200 nuyen to clear out of this room for a day, we'll hold onto it for you and give it back when we're done. Sound good?"

He waited for the squatter's response.

[adamu]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor -- Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:22


The man was obviously cowed by the sight of a troll standing near the door, and then he noticed the second one. Still, he mustered up the courage to demand - "Show me the money."

When Fortunato did, the man yelled over his shoulder - "Mother, grab the brats and the bags. We's movin' on. NOW, dammit!"

[pragma]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor -- Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:32
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Hidden (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

"We may need to leave in a hurry. If you have a comm. we'll give you guys a commcall to let you know that your space has freed back up. Reception's not great, so stay in the area."

Fortunato leaned in next to the squatter, tolerating the stink and speaking softly.

"This is a good deal for both of us and I'd like to make more good deals in the future. Don't spoil your chances of that by running around talking about this. Because if you do talk, I'll find out and then I'll skin your kids and turn them into shoes."

Leaning back out he added, "And there's a bonus if you keep us posted on anything interesting going on outside. It'll be based on the value of information, I'll leave it under that sleeping mat when we leave. Good doing business with you Mr. ...?"

"G ... Green," he stammered as he swapped commcodes.

As the family cleared out Fortunato said "Cerberus, you can crash first. Rocky, you're in charge of holding down the fort. Caittie, I don't know what you should or shouldn't be doing right now, but whatever that is, I'd recommend doing it. I'm going to go see if we've got any rope in the van -- I really want to have a second exit prepared for when whoever is chasing us catches up.

[Abbandon]

Mr Green's room, 3rd Floor of Hotel Hell, The Posse turf
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:42:40
Cerberus - Street Samurai/Bullet magnet
PAN: Hidden (earbud,non-plural)

"Roger that." Cerberus turned back towards the door to their new apartment and pausd to watch the greeen family enter the stairwell one by one. "Im gonna set this gear down on one of the beds. If you guys need to wake me up just shake me cuz im gonna have my ears turned off."

Walking into the apartment it was just as crappy as the one he had come from. Between the two bedrooms Cerberus chose the one farthest from the door to the partment, offering better visual protection in case anyone looked in and better tactical position in case someone tried to breach their room, although he guessed "something" would also be appropiate.

Cerberus stopped at the bed and unloaded his small arsenal which consisted of a bandolier of various grenades, two pistols, an assault rifle, and a first aid kit. He decided to keep the three throwing knives, hiding them around his body.

Looking around at the crappy room he just began kicked garbage away from an area near the wall seperating them from the outside. Once he had cleared an area big enough he zipped up his combat jacket and sprawled out on the ground using his arms as a pillow and laying belly down.

Before closing his eyes the last thing he did was to turn his ears "off", in reality just muting them. Before he had time to complain about the situation his physical pains and mental exaustion he had been fighting back for the last 30+ hours overhwelmed him at long last and he was out.

[JDragon]

Hotel Hell, Third Floor -- Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:43:01
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Rocky held his position in the hall as the rest of the group filed in. Once inside he closed what remained of the door and then looked for the best way to secure the door. He saw that the old tenet had actully set up a reasonable lock, there were two hooks in the wall on each side of the door and a steel rod that would hold the door closed. Rocky picked it up and dropped it in to position, testing the door a little before heading further into the room.

Looking around it was a little cleaner that the rest of the place, which was good to see. So Rocky found a spot where he could sit against the wall watching the front door and the main part of the room. He pulled his revolver out and laid it on the ground next to him where he would be easily able to grab it.

Once he was set up he sent a message to Sledge to give her a heads up. <<@Sledge:: Got a room, 3rd floor, next to stairs, on the left. Door is barred, call me when you get here and I'll let you in.>>

[adamu]

Outside Hotel Hell - Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:40:00

After picking her way back down the stairs and through the drug-den lobby, Sledge emerged into the cloudy drizzle to be greeted by a scene whose ugliness bordered on the comical.

There stood the van, secure but newly emblazoned with a huge spray-painted red sheriff's star. A young ganger stood with his hand on the handle of the passenger door, shaking in violent spasms. It was unclear exactly how long he'd been there, unable to disengage himself from the security current, but his eyes had by now rolled back in their sockets, his hair was starting to smolder in the rain, and his fingers were starting to char.

Five other gangers stood in a semi-circle around him laughing hysterically. One of them was throwing rocks at him.

[DireRadiant]

Outside Hotel Hell - Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:40:30
Sledge - Beer Run
PAN - Hidden

The grimace on her face wasn't because of what was happening to the poor posse member. Not entirely. It wasn't even really the others tossing rocks and laughing at his misfortune.

Andy wasn't here.

Reflexively she'd given the mental command to her commlink to highlight his current location and notify him of a problem, and it had failed.

The unexpected result, no backup, no reliable person covering her back. No cover. Exposed. It made her pause breifly before she unslung the handle of her hammer slapped the next rock away, and levered the idiot loose from the door.

She crouched down over the fallen and checked his vitals, then stood up, glanced at the fresh logo, and asked, "Got more paint?"

"Place get some cold brews?"

[adamu]

Outside Hotel Hell - Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:40:56


There was no pulse on the boy's neck. With no clear idea how long he'd been out...well, heroic efforts MIGHT get him back, or it would probably be a waste of time.

Around her, the other kids were still laughing, though one ventured, "He's gonna be okay, right?"

Ignoring the question, Sledge stood up and asked whether the vandals had any more paint, which only elicited laughter. She then asked, "Place got some cold brews?"

"Hell, we make our own," came the beginning of an almost friendly reply, which was cut off as an older boy - maybe nineteen, cuffed the speaker across the mouth.

"You shit-for-brains." The older one held the offender's face and pointed it at Sedge. "That," he said, as if to an infant, "is a fucking tusker. The Posse is all about stringing tuskers up."

[DireRadiant]

Outside Hotel Hell - Posse Turf, Sophocles, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:41:07
Sledge - Beer Run
PAN - Hidden

2.34 centimeters of muscle of bone snapped into motion. Crouching low for leverage, grabbing rancid dirty cloth for grip, she lifted and twisted. The gangers inert mass was no match for her speed and precision. With a power lift and a rearrangement of her hips she moved his body into position.

With care she used her handle as a seperator, and braced the ganger against the van nearest electrical discharge plate.

Lips peeled back in a defient snarl, coldy Sledge spoke, "Where can I go to get a couple of cases of cold brews for you fine upstanding men? I see you've been dying of thirst out here."

Held up by her straining arm muscles the already dead ganger barely even twitched as short electrical arcs and traces grounded themselves through his body.

A small puff of smoke drifted up through the air.

[Konsaki]

Hotel Hell – Posse Turf, Redmond Barrens
Tuesday 8/19/70 14:43:17
Angel – Technomancer - Hidden
PAN – Hidden

After the family had left the room and the remainder of the team moved in, Caittie was finally able to relax a bit, but only just a bit. The room was far more clean… less trashed than the rest of the building. Someone had actually spent time to shovel out a lot of the crap she had to walk through in the hallways, but even then, the room smelled like cat piss… or something.
Taking a quick look around, she saw Cerberus make his way into another room to rest. At least, that’s what he said he was going to try and do. If he could actually sleep here was anyone’s guess. Caittie didn’t know if she could… not with the smell, the stains and more importantly, the lack of any feeds from the matrix. It was starting to grate on her nerves.

The elven girl moved over to the lone table in the room and sat on one of the chairs, figuring it to be more sanitary than the floor. Setting her backpack on top of the table, she laid her arms across it and placed her chin on her forearms.
Fortunato was taking charge it seemed, setting up a watch for the door and just letting Caittie know that she basically had free rein on what she was going to do. Then, he left the room, saying something about getting rope to use if they needed to escape.

‘This really blows…’, the technomancer thought, fully annoyed and disgusted with the situation. She hadn’t been here in this building more than around ten minutes and Caittie felt like she would have to scrub three layers of skin off to be clean again. All the different things that were happening just made her disgruntled and she felt like she was going crazy.
As she looked around the room in further detail, the green eyed girl could see the cracked walls and stained wallpaper, where there was any left. As she looked at the door keeping the outside world out ‘there’, she noticed the metal bar blocking the door from the inside. Breathing a slight sigh of relief, she conceded, ‘At least we have something…’

The red haired girl’s eyes were then drawn down and to the side where she looked on Rocky’s hunched over form. He seemed to be mashing something out on his huge, compared to her own, commlink keypad. As he straightened up, she could only guess that he had finished, but she didn’t see any message.
Caittie tried to shrug it off, but she could only continue looking at him, wondering what he was up to. Then more questions came to her head, her mind searching for answers to them from her limited knowledge of the troll, but none were forthcoming to the elf. Looking over quickly to Cerberus’ sleeping form, she decided it was the perfect time to ask what was on her mind.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she finally asked out to Rocky, “Who exactly are you?� Not really giving him a chance to reply, Caittie continued with by raising her head off her arms and waving on in his general direction, “What are you doing here? What’s your story?�