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

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:07:15

Indeed, even as he turned the last corner, from a block away he saw the dwarf was already hopping down out of the driver's side of a bland brown minivan, expensive Italian leather shoes planting themselves on the asphalt in front of the convenience store. His trademark crimson tie was loosened slightly in the afternoon August heat.

As the face dismounted and took off his helmet, the FBI agent approached, hand outstretched. "Good to meet you in the flesh," he said.

Behind him and several meters away, Johnson noticed the human, whom he hadn't seen exit the van, leaning against it smoking his ubiquitous cigarette. He appeared to be torn between watching the conversation and staring at the faded lines of paint on the asphalt, as if he couldn't decide which was least boring.

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:08:30
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

Johnson sat his helmet on the seat of his bike, and then took the dwarf's offered hand, smiling. "I only wish it were under better circumstances." His smile faltered, intentionally. "I mean, what am I supposed to think? First you're tailing my friends while they enjoy a country-side joyride, then you start picking them up off the street, spooking away all my good talent, and now you've got the only three people green enough to talk to me under surveilance?"

He gave the dwarf one of those looks someone might give a child who was caught blatantly doing something he knew was wrong. "I don't walk into your office, and piss on your desk. Do I, Mr. Higgens? No." He shook his head.

"And yet, I think I've been a pretty good sport about all of this. I'd love you help you boys out of whatever shitstorm you've been assigned to, but my hands are tied - and rather than try to win me over, you keep coming up with reasons for me to despise you."

"So, tell me, what am I supposed to think?"

[JDragon]

The Waffle Iron, just off I-164, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:08:08
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Giving Johnson a couple minutes to get outside and start up his bike Rocky then dug in to his pocket and pulled the much larger wad of nuyen that would be needed to cover his and Cerberus' bill for breakfeast. "I got this one. Lets get moving and make sure we go the opposite direction J did."

Rocky took one last long drink of his soycaf and then sliped out of the booth and made his way to the front door of the Waffle Iron, making sure not to look anyone in the or get anywhere close to making eye contact. Typing up a quick message as he went.

<<@Cerberus: You think one of the doctors that has helped you out would be interested in doing some simple plastic surgery?>>

[Abbandon]

The Waffle Iron, just off I-164, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:02
Cerberus - Street Samurai
PAN - Hidden (Robert Nevall)

Cerberus felt semi bloated as he stood up from the table. He knew his body was busy turning it into energy to fuel his massive muscles but he wouldnt be doing any headstands any time soon. He looked at the elf girl who seemed to have a bladder problem to see if she was coming with them but a negative shake of the head later and he was walking out the door behind Rocky.

<<@Cerberus: You think one of the doctors that has helped you out would be interested in doing some simple plastic surgery?>>

<<@Rocky: Dude have you looked in the mirror lately. I dont see how anyone could....haha just jerking your chain man. Well you met Doctor Cline. who put me back together back at that clinic, and to tell the truth you probably know as much about him as I do. It seems like im only ever going in or coming out of there all drugged up. If he can implant stuff like eyes and ears he probably has no problem just reshaping somebody's face. Thats the only doc who has worked on me. But seriously why would you want to, I dont think we have exposed ourselves that much in the past few days? Are you famous or something?>>

Cerberus climbed into the van. <<@Rocky: We could head over there and ask I guess? You probably wanna get that done asap? I can watch your back while your there. Hey what kind of plans did you have for housing?? How would you feel about shacking up together some place in the barrens? A place with some running water and maglocked steel doors. We would probably have to pay off a gang or maybe join them. Anyways thats what I plan on doing but if we went in together it would be cheaper for the both of us. >>

[JDragon]

The Waffle Iron, just off I-164, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:58
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Rocky kept quite as they walked out to the van, taking a quick look around to see if he saw anyone watching, not that he would actually pick them out if they were.

<<@Rocky: Dude have you looked in the mirror lately. I dont see how anyone could....haha just jerking your chain man. Well you met Doctor Cline. who put me back together back at that clinic, and to tell the truth you probably know as much about him as I do. It seems like im only ever going in or coming out of there all drugged up. If he can implant stuff like eyes and ears he probably has no problem just reshaping somebody's face. Thats the only doc who has worked on me. But seriously why would you want to, I dont think we have exposed ourselves that much in the past few days? Are you famous or something?>>

Climbing in to the van Rocky almost fell over as Cerberus asked his last question. He just figured everyone on the team knew who he was and had opted not to say anything. He opted to wait till the van doors were closed to answer even using the sub-vocal mic.

<<@Rocky: We could head over there and ask I guess? You probably wanna get that done asap? I can watch your back while your there. Hey what kind of plans did you have for housing?? How would you feel about shacking up together some place in the barrens? A place with some running water and maglocked steel doors. We would probably have to pay off a gang or maybe join them. Anyways thats what I plan on doing but if we went in together it would be cheaper for the both of us. >>

<<@Cerberus: Your kidding right? You not been watching professional boxing for the last 2 years? I'm or I was, Angus "Rocky" Smith professional boxer, and probably shortest term champion in a long time. But thats enough about me for now. Yeah it would be great if we could check into it. The sooner I know my options the better. >>

Rocky stopped for a second to catch his breath, realizing what he had just done. But if he was going to change his appearance at least a few people were going to know the truth.

<<@Cerberus: Sorry about that, just hadn't thought about my past in a while, been to busy with the present to worry about it. Thanks for the offer to watch my back, with the way things have been going that would be good. I'm up for sharing a place for a while till we figure whats going on and what we want to do with our new lives. But I may be short on cash if I get this work done before the next job, we'll have to wait and see.>>

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:08:40


For a moment, the dwarf looked slightly perplexed at the young human's tirade, but his smile never faded. "What are you supposed to think? Well," he said amicably, gently even, "how about this: How did you know we were watching?"

Lowell laughed.

[pragma]

The Waffle Iron, just off I-164, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:08:00
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

The watcher replied. Boss, I know I'm here and I know that you ought to be but you're not an dI don't see anything else and seeing is pretty much all I do and that's about what I've got right now.

Fortunato sighed deeply through his nose as the watcher prattled on in his brain then walked calmly past the counter, through the kitchen and into the alley behind the store. While many aspects of being a spy eluded him, pretending he was supposed to be somewhere had always come naturally. Other than a sweaty teenage cook eying him oddly, he went unnoticed.

In the alley he began to walk swiftly away from the site of the surveillance drone. He'd need to find a cab soon in order to vanish, but if his assumptions about his surroundings and who was watching whom were right, then he had some time and he could stroll and enjoy a hot August day where Seattle's perpetual gray clouds were still hanging in the air.

Anonymity was a wonderful thing. He'd need to try it more often.

[Abbandon]

Leaving Enumclaw Auburn, heading for Dr. Cline's
Friday 8/22/70 16:11:19
Cerberus - Street Samurai
PAN: Passive(Robert Nevall)

<<@Rocky: Wait...what was that news story I saw.....professional heavy weight boxer killed in the ring by doped up opponent..you were his opponent? Thats...thats none of my business I guess.>> Everybody makes mistakes I guess. I offed that dwarf at the coffin motel...and I plan on taking out a few other people atleast.. <<Sorry I'm into mixed martial arts mainly. I studied with boxing coaches as part of my training but I never watched those kind of fights...to unrealistic no offense, who stands there and lets another guy punch him in the face instead of taking him to the ground and breaking his arm or making him choke out from a submission but I do remember that story now.. Maybe we can train with each other sometime and teach each other stuff. Like how to destroy earth elementals with punches!!>>

"Ok I set the autnav for the doc's so just stay frosty and keep a lookout for tails. If you thought you might have surgery today you probably shouldnt have had that breakfast. Having food in your system can sometimes absorb the drugs they give you to keep you under while they work. So are you going to get anything radical done?"

Cerberus subscribed the vans rear feed to his glasses and watched for anything suspicious.

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:00
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

Johnson wasn't sure what Higgens was getting at, but he had a few ideas. Maybe they knew Angel found a picture of them - he doubted it. The idea had occured to him, on the way over, that the drone belonged to someone other than the FBI (maybe the people they hinted were after Cerberus and Sledge) - but his greeting when he arrived confirmed they were watching, somehow, so his point was still valid. He decided to dodge the question, for now, and get the conversation back where he wanted it.

Johnson's smile returned. "The same way you knew I was coming, and the same way I knew where to find you."

"Look, let's cut to the chase. You guys are on strike two, in my book, and I know I'm not your favorite guy, either. I'd be happy to call it a night, and part ways while we're still friends - but you two keep playing the Ex that won't make up her mind."

"You say you don't want me, but every time I turn around, there you are. You don't want me to be with anyone else, but you know it won't work out if we're together." Johnson grinned.

"So, what's the deal? You guys going to stalk me until I hook you up a friend, to get you off my back? Or were you just so excited to hear my offer that you couldn't wait a half-hour for me to call you?"

The team was under the impression that the deal was shot - that Johnson was coming over to tell these guys off, and that Sledge's caution was a deal-breaker, so Johnson felt like he didn't have anything to lose. He did have an idea that might salvage this whole thing, but if the Feds were willing to cut the strings, he might be willing to let it go. I was becoming inconvenient to have them around.

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:30


Agent Higgins sighed. He walked a couple of meters over to a bench in front of the convenience store and sat down. There were faded markings where graffiti had been scrubbed off the plastic, but more determined vandals had carved various initials, proclamations of love, and obscenities into it. The dwarf's body language indicated Johnson should sit down, but he didn't wait.

Clapping his hands together once, as if to energize himself, he started talking.
"My point was, how can you get on your high horse about us watching you, when you are clearly watching us? C'mon boy. Piss on my desk? You brought a hacker into my office with you." His voice was calm, and he was even making an effort not to sound patronizing. "Do you see me having a conniption fit? No, I was almost impressed. We don't know you. I just met you. I don't really care about you. I want to talk to the ork woman, offer her a job. You may be in the right place at the right time, by your association with her, to catch a big break. I was also happy to wait the hour you asked. It was you that had to come charging over here, like the kid that tattled to the teacher that another kid's eyes were open when your own were supposed to be closed. And to do what? Scold me? Next time you spot some surveillance, take my advice and keep your cards a little closer to your chest."

He massaged his temples. "I am getting way too old for this. Listen, you've still got some time left on the hour you asked for. Do yourself a favor. Have you got any idea what kind of trouble some of the people you are with are in, and how shoddy their covers are? We can help with that, if you will calm down and stop playing 'us against the world.' You want to make friends, kid, not enemies."

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:35
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

As the dwarf was talking, Johnson casually made his way to the bench. When he was done, it took effort not to get up, again, and wash his hands of the whole mess. Despite remaining where he was, his mood had soured, considerably. He didn't regret asking Angel to watch over him, but it did lend the dwarf a good point. A point he was currently using to jab Johnson in the Face, repeatedly.

"Alright, so maybe I peed a little." He winked. "I have trouble holding it in, when somebody upsets me. If your explanation hadn't been so damned convincing, ...."

Johnson's words were interrupted by an annoyed whine from the usually impassive human. "Shit, now that's just one more damned thing I gotta do."
He threw his butt down onto the asphalt in exasperation and then disappeared into the van.

[Konsaki]

The Waffle Iron, just off I-164, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:30
Caittie – Technomancer – Hidden
PAN – Kitoria McCree - Passive

Caittie sat there in the booth, watching the male members of the team go their separate routes. As she sat there continuing to eat the leftover food on her plate, the girl thought about the drone and Johnson’s last suggestion. ‘I know what he wants me to do’, she said to in her mind, ‘but how exactly should I go about it?’
By the time she had gotten tired pecking at the now cold waffle bits; the young technomancer had formulated some sort of makeshift plan. It was simple in its structure, but call in a lot of favors from her sprites. Still, it was the best she could think up on the spot and easily adaptable for the numerous unknown factors that might await the redhead.

Steeling herself for the task ahead, Caittie arose from the table calling out names into the Resonance. One by one, they were answered as she made her way back to the restrooms once again. A few seconds later she was occupying what was an empty stall, though not using it for the purpose it was intended for except to have some privacy. One long deep breath later, Angel was diving into the full VR streams of the Matrix.
Seconds past as she prepped herself; compiling a sprite on the spot to assist, telling each sprite what they would be doing and strengthening the current complex forms she would need on hand. Then, the digital angel went hunting; hunting for holes in the security system that protected the unknown drone to be precise. This part would probably be the most dangerous action she could do in the digital stream, though this time it was both fast and uneventful. She easily found her way into the system, avoiding any protocols that might trip an alarm.

Setting out a sprite to the task of decrypting the node, the cyber angel scanned the node for any other presence. What she found was almost a barebones system with only one other user logged in. Reading the commcode, she matched it up to what might be Agent Higgins’ partner.
It was only a second later that the sprite had broken the encryption and the girl could see the activites of the drone. A laser mic was sighted in on the now empty booth the group had been sitting at, while a camera lense was trained on the pair of trolls, tracking them out of the diner and into the van. Sighing, Angel sent out a quick message to Johnson, saying “We guessed right. It’s them.�

She wondered what she should do next. There were a few options that popped into her head, some better than others. On one hand she could just leave it alone, but the agents were following the group. On the other hand she could destroy the drone, but these were federal agents and she really had nothing against them. She couldn’t take control of the drone for the very same reason too. She could edit the data but that only worked while she concentrated on it.
With a small mischievous smile, the girl figured the best thing might be to have it return to the agents. It wouldn’t cause any damage, it would stop it from snooping, albeit temporarily, and she wouldn’t have really done anything wrong besides the hacking in part; which really couldn’t be undone now anyways even if she wanted.
Figuring that the other person might stop her command, she told the sprite to do its best to make sure the drone completed the command. With that, Caittie sent the command and dropped out of VR, no longer really needing the super speed it gave her on the digital plane. Though, she still stayed in the node in AR, just to watch what was going on.
With that, Caittie opened the stall door and started to leave the restroom, figuring that there was no real point in staying in the diner any longer.

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:45
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

Johnson only briefly glanced at the message from Angel in AR before returning his attention to Higgens. His mood seemed slightly better.

The dwarf had made some good points about the team's covers being soft, and Johnson wanting friends, but strategically, he would lose whatever leverage he might have if he conceded that he needed the Fed's help. So, Johnson decided to do what he always did when he was in over his head. He decided to push his luck. It was time to fall back on his original plan, and play hardball.

"Maybe I think we're caught in the middle of something we want no part of. Maybe I see a difference between watching you while you're on-the-job, trying to make sure you stay away from us, and you watching us while we eat dinner and talk privately."

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:58


The older dwarf looked as though he honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing. For the first time, his tone became caustic. "What, you are part-time fugitives? Forgive me, I guess I just didn't hear you declare a time-out." He caught himself, looking chagrined at his loss of self-control.
Deep breath.
"Look, if I thought you actually believed that drivel, I'd leave you sitting here, find the woman myself, and predicate our deal on her not working with you. But I don't believe you're that dumb. You've shown some poor judgment, but we all start somewhere. You've done one good piece of work that I know of, and I've had a firsthand look at some raw but promising talent. But then, all this will become academic within the next thirty minutes or so if you don't let me know you've got the woman in your corner by then, because it will be time for me to start lining up my first back-up, which will be the end of our joyful relationship. So look, we're both still talking, we obviously both want to find a way for this to work, so if there is any further assurance of my bona fides you feel you need, tell me and I really will see what I can do."
Just as the dwarf wrapped up his offer, a tiny airplane dropped from the sky and skidded to an extremely short landing on the blacktop of the parking lot, coming to a stop directly in front of the two negotiators. Higgins gave it a surprised glance, but quickly returned his gaze to Johnson, leaving the drone an unmentioned elephant in the parlor.

[adamu]

Walking toward the "meet," Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:09:58


Walking toward Johnson's location, Angel was relieved to see in AR that the drone had executed its command without a hitch. She was, in fact, surprised that the FBI agents had not attempted to interfere in any way, and the last thing Locke showed her before derezzing was a camera view of Johnson and the dwarf sitting on a bench talking.

She was deciding what to do next, when she realized that there was someone - not an AR someone - walking along quietly beside her. Momentarily dropping the augmented reality, she looked over and saw the human FBI guy, sauntering along lazily. He looked so real that she almost failed to notice that his feet were a few inches off the ground.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen him do this - project his astral form for the world to see.

Just like someone else had.

He spoke: "You're a little young to be hijacking FBI drones, miss."

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:10:40
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

"Part time? I wish." Johnson found the dwarf's comment about a time-out particularly amusing. If only he could call time out. "As far as I can tell, we're unemployed. You don't want to offer us a job, but you won't back off so we can find another one."

"Nobody wants to work with people who have FBI drones following them around. Least of all, ork women."

"You're right, though. I would like to make this work. If I thought the next 30 minutes would make a difference, and land me this gig, I would take them - but I don't. If I thought that my team would show up in person if we got it, I would tell you it was a deal - but I don't. If I thought you would believe me, I would tell you that the ork you're looking for was dead, so you could stop bothering me and move on - but I don't."

"So, I am at an impasse."

"That's not to say that I'm taking the deal off of the table, just yet. We both have a plan B, but I think we'd still both rather see this deal work out, if we can. I don't think its a lost cause, just yet."

"There is one way that I think everyone can still get what they want out of this, and relatively quickly, but its going to require something that none of us have demonstrated very much of, so far. Trust."

Johnson raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if Higgens was interested in hearing what he had to offer, or if he was prepared to let the deal go.

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:10:50


"Son, my partner and I offered to meet your whole team, just the two of us, at the time and place of your choosing. You will not ever see greater unilateral trust in this business. You just won't. On top of that, I gave you my real name, and even met you at my legitimate place of employment. At that point, you saw twice the one-sided trust you ever will in this town. Like I said, the moment I know the ork woman is on the job, the job is yours. But my plan B is to go to one of my usual crews. So whatever your idea is, let's hear it. I'm game for anything - how did you describe yourself? - reasonable."

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:11:50
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

"I'm glad to hear that." Johnson was genuinely pleased - not just because Higgens was willing to hear him out, but also because of the way he put the bit about Sledge. "First of all, I'm going to have to trust that, once we've come to some arrangement, you and your partner will disappear. My team is not against the idea of working for you, but, overall, they were quite clear about not wanting to meet you, or have you spying on them. That means as long as your eyes are on us, we're paralyzed - and that doesn't help you out at all. Subsequently, you're going to need to trust us to get the job done, and you're going to need to trust me to utilize the best assets at my disposal. You say that the ork is mission-critical, and if that's the case, I need you to trust me to pass along the important information and put her in charge - because I can assure you that she won't show, for you to tell her, in person."

"Bear with me." Johnson could tell that all this talk of people not showing wasn't helping sell his case. He decided to cut to the chase. "From what you told me earlier, the reason you want to meet everyone, is that you intend to pay us in favors - and you want to be able to vouch for the people you're granting favors for, right?"

"So, since they're all a little shy, here's my compromise...." Johnson paused for dramatic effect. "You hire me - just me - to find you a team, and secure the ork as lead on this 'mission'. You pay me in favors, the same six favors you were planning to promise out to everyone else. I'll negotiate payment with any assets that I need to call upon, paying them out of my own pocket. And, we agree that if I want to give one of my favors to somebody else on the team, they've got to come meet you, in person, and answer any questions you feel are necessary to give you confidence in their character. I don't really expect that to happen, though."

"Its not ideal, for either of us - but we both get what we want. Your mission gets done, by the ork you want to do it, and it doesn't cost you anything that you hadn't already planned on spending. My team keeps what little privacy they have, stay employed, and even get their choice of cash or agreeing to your terms. I get to stay in the middle, making sure everything goes smoothly and, hopefully, keep my hands relatively clean. All it requires, is that you and I trust one another not to fuck each other over - and I am certainly willing to do that, if you are."

"So, is that acceptable? If not, we're done talking, and you're welcome to call up your usual team."

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:12:20

Higgins listened carefully to the face's pitch. It was clear he was weighing his options. After about ten seconds he said, "I can meet you more than halfway on that. If you get the job, we'll keep our distance. And your terms on the payment of - what was it? - six favors? That'll work for me. But I can't just trust you to get the woman on board. She doesn't have to meet with me if she's not inclined. But I need some surety that she's on board. Now, you say that won't happen without more info on the job. But I can't tell you what the job is without knowing you've got the job. But here's what I'll do: I'm willing to gamble a text message - for her eyes only - through you to her. If you'll deliver it, maybe she'll bite. If she does, you've got the job. If not, well, we can probably all go our separate ways. What do you say?"

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:12:40
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

"That sounds more than fair." Johnson offered his hand to the dwarf. "If you've got something convincing to say to her, that you can't say to me, I don't mind playing currier, if it lands us the job. It better be good, though."

[Konsaki]

Walking toward the "meet," Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:10:37
Caittie – Technomancer – Hidden
PAN – Kitoria McCree - Passive

Fully understanding who the ethereal man beside her was, at least enough to comprehend the statement the human had said, Caittie couldn’t help but look a little sheepish. She’d have been lying to herself if she tried to convince her psyche that she wasn’t at least a little nervous as well, looking at the obvious mage floating along beside her. Not knowing exactly what to say or do in the situation, she reverted to a truly honest, “Sorry…�

Looking down towards the ground for a second, she watched the pavement move below her as her stride resumed its normal pace from the quick stutter step a second ago. Raising her sight back up to look towards Lowell once more, she gave an apologetic smile as she continued, “I mean… I know it might not mean much, but I only sent it back to you. It landed right near your partner. I didn’t even know it was yours until I was in, but I guess none of this really excuses it, huh?�
The technomancer was having a hard time thinking up what exactly to say to the man, not knowing exactly what was going to happen. All she knew was there was a line and she was, at this moment, on the wrong side of it with no real defense to her name.

[adamu]

Walking toward the "meet," Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:10:50

The FBI mage did not seem angry at all. He smiled warmly.
"Listen, you're a talented kid, Miss Natome, that's plain to see. And better than that, you're alive, which makes my day a little less shitty. Seems to me, from what I've been able to put together, that you've had a rough few days. That you survived at all is a miracle, so I'm not passing judgment on how you did it. But now that things may have calmed down a bit, seems like maybe you have a chance to reevaluate some things. By which I mean, you have fallen in with some rather unsavory characters. Now far be it from me to tell someone how to live their life, but a girl of your talents has a lot more to look forward to than Matrix chores for a crew of street mercs."

[adamu]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:13:10

The dwarf was pleased indeed by Johnson's answer, and he let it show on his face. "Great, give me just two seconds."
And that was how long it took. Opening his eyes from a moment's concentration, he looked at the human and transferred a data packet to his PAN.
"Tell her the password for the message is her real name - don't worry, she already knows I already know it."
Then the dwarf watched Johnson expectantly. It was clear from his body language that he wanted the message sent now.

[BlackHat]

Outside the 24Heaven, Enumclaw, Auburn
Friday 8/22/70 16:13:20
Smith - Johnson
PAN - Hidden

"... give me two seconds," Johnson mumbled as he fired the message off.

<<@Sledge:: "Busy day. Password is your real name. I'd love to hear your thoughts.">>

[DireRadiant]

On the Road
Friday 8/22/70 16:13:22
Sledge - Holding Pattern
PAN - Hidden

Screeeeeeechhhh! HOOOOOONNNKKKKKK

She didn't even notice.

<<Recovery job. Package is buried under a collapsed building, one that was being erected by a very big company. If you want the job, call me NOW, and NO ONE else.>>

It took a few microseconds to bring up the public access data, re spoof her access codes, then she made the connection.

<<@Higgins:: Magnu Jrikjrik kukra. I'm in.>>

Behind Sledge a pair of irate motorists blared their horns in protest to the rapidly departing form of Sledge on her Harley reproduction bike.