Southern Hospitality, Ya'll come back now ... Options

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:30 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

Dalton eats his burrito and drinks his soy-kaf thinking about the remaining beer in the refrigerator. He stares at the ice-box for several long minutes as his internal battle wages. One beer before we go will be ok. That's not outa line. No! Why am I even thinking this. Its a run. Its time to be a professional and getting sauced, or even having one drink before hand, is not professional. I need this connection and this run. Time to focus soldier.

Dalton looks at his chronometer in in AR as Jazz makes her announcement,
<@Jazz [Dalton] Good morning to you too sunshine.>
<@All [Dalton] Ok, time to load up and move out. If you're catching the train to town, now is the time to go.>

Book wearily eyes the driver whose street clothes form a stark contrast to Book's cheap suit. He has street clothes in his backpack, but they are heading into a district where Book needs to blend with the upper class, not the lower class. He starts to reply to the much too chipper rigger, but decides its just not worth it and following his out to the car.

[2bit]

Vick packs up his things.
<@ Dalton [Vick] Dalton, what's your rig? Is there room to stow a rifle out of sight in there?>

Vick will just be wearing street clothes and his armor jacket, but he figures anyplace downtown gets a good mix of people. The Predator, loaded with stick n' shock, gets holstered, along with a few extra clips. The Alpha is bagged up. He picks it up, but waits on Dalton's reply.

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:31 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

Dalton spins on his heal in mid stride to turn back to face Vick, <@All [Dalton] A 2068 Chrysler-Nissan Patrol with a blue-printed 405 horsepower dyno-hybrid engine and the full defense package. Painted dark gray, no markings and decals for the sides for Super-Flush Plumbing, UPS, 8AM Delivery & Pizza Team's High Threat Delivery Unit. We got plenty of room for the team and our tools. My suggestion was we head down to the area; It'll take a while to get there. We can discuss specifics on the way and give Jazz more time to plan.>

Book chimes in as well, <@All [Book] In so much as we devise a plan before anyone goes off on a limb and blows the run for us. We can park a few blocks away. I can perform a distance astral recon, someone can do a walk by.. perhaps... and hopefully Jazz will have some details by the time we get there to assist in some detailed planning.>

Dalton keeps the momentum going, Sure whatever, I don't want to blow the run. You smart guys tell me how we want to play this and I'll drive..>

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:31 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

< [Jazz] Sounds good, guys. I'll get back to you, when I have something. >

Jazz then continues where she had stopped, when she dozed off earlier, and once she has found a hole in the firewall, she will create a new account for the system, getting it administration level access permissions, as she will need to be able to access Mr Fulerton's personal files.

[ludomastro]

Jazz finds herself immersed in the system. She notes that there is a momentary jump in the image and she finds herself staring at her favored image - her filter is working.

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:33 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

Dalton starts up the his van as Book straps himself in looking for Dean and Vick to load up.

As they start to roll out, Book continues with the planning discussion,
<@All [Book] Ok, we've established that I'm a shaman. I'm a little light on the offense. We've also established that our rigger is without drones. Anyone else have drones? What is your expertise? Vick? Dean?>

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:33 EST; Matrix Node, Fulerton's Office, Atlanta, CAS

Sculpted Matrix Nodes looked great and provided an interesting experience, but you never knew what you were looking at without extensive analyze routines.

When Jazz's Reality Filter kicks in, the fancy sculpted look vanishes and gets replaced by a rather concise and simplistic - at least a Matrix designer would call it that - color-coded icon structure. The stripped-down layout makes it easy for Jazz to make things out and reckognize them for what they are. It offers speed and performance, both of which are important for her tasks. Fancy looks won't get you very far here.

< [Jazz] Alright. I'm in. Looking around now. >

The first step, whenever you have entered a new Node, unless time was really limited, is a thorough analysis of the surroundings...

[Cedric Rolfsson]

Sunday March 2, 2070 04:33 EST

Dean put his reply out on the team's comm node, a little hesitant but trusting that Jazz would make it pretty secure. Just in case he tasked his agent program to monitor the commnode and alert him if anyone tried to hack in. He hustled out to the van, making sure he had his gear stashed about his person neatly.

That done, he shot off his reply.

[ALL]Dean: Actually, I'm a generalist, used to working alone most of the time. I've got magical abilities but no where near the specialist you are Book. I can summon and cast spells, but I'm also pretty decent in a dust up. Think of me as a utility in-fielder for you baseball fans. I'm going to be more use summoning than spell casting, but I might be able to surprise anyone not expecting spells to be coming from me. Most of my spells are general use, ignite, heal, magic fingers, that kind of thing. I have a couple of offensive stun spells but that's about it.

[2bit]

Sunday March 2, 2070 04:33 EST

Vick packs up his rifle and accessories, loading them in the van. He rides shotgun.

<[Vick] "Neg, no drones here. Not really my thing. Guess it wouldn't hurt to have one or two for myself, right? An extra pair of eyes is always useful, huh? Anyway, no, in this group I'm best deployed on point. Now let me tell you, I value good recon, I hate surprises, and I hate fighting fair. You don't get to be as old as me doing what I do without learning to stack the odds in your favor."

"Let's get rolling, we've got a decently long drive ahead of us and I'd like to be done with recon before the bagel shops run out of the good stuff.">

[ludomastro]

Jazz sees a very organized file structure. She gets the feeling that even without the Reality Filter she would most likely be able to find what she wanted. Each "drawer" is labled with it's contents. There are files for donors, political enemies, friends, new donor targets, proposed legislation, and the list goes on.

The drive goes smoothly this early in the morning. Outside of a few construction crews, the path downtown is clear. Getting close to the headquarters is simple. Now the waiting game begins.

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:34 EST; Matrix Node, Fulerton's Office, Atlanta, CAS

After taking some time to look around, Jazz pays closer attention to friends and political enemies, copying as much data as possible for later perusal. The hacker also looks into donors, might be a place where some inconsistencies could be found.

Afterwards, she will search for Fulerton's personal mail account.

[ludomastro]

It would appear that Mr. Politico doesn't rank people into "normal" groups. He has no "friends" per se but he does mark enemies. Everyone seems ranked by levels of influence and his statues with respect to that influence.

The allies (friends) folder turns up few interesting tidbits. His staff obviously and a few other politicians who are both up and coming as well as those that entrenched. Surprisingly, he has associates from the other three parties as well.

The threats (enemies) folder is not as thick as you might expect. He obviously considers his opponent - Mark Roloven - to be a threat; however, the top spot is reserved for a well known businessman - and reputed underground figure - Sirius Black, an ork with an attitude and, if the file is correct, far more influence with the Star and City Hall than any legit business man has any right to have. There is a small dossier on another enemy that simply identifies him (or her) by the name - Feliz.

The money (donor) folder is so full of information that it is overflowing. There are the obvious links such as Humanis and such but everything seems on the up and up except for two details:
1. His biggest donor is paying cash. There are small notations as to what should be done with the money to make it appear legit; however, Jazz can't seem to follow the trail.
2. The second largest donor is non other than Ares.

A check of his mail turns up very little. There is one interesting, half erased, tidbit: A note that says, <Wednesday. 2200. My place.>

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:40 EST; Matrix Node, Fulerton's Office, Atlanta, CAS

After looking through the information, she found, Jazz decides that there isn't much else to be found here for now. She erases the traces left in the security log and then logs out.

< [Jazz] Got a few things. Most interesting is a half-erased mail, which points to a meeting at wednesday. Maybe his 'girlfriend'. I have downloaded everything I could find, if you want to take a look. >

Jazz copies the information to the other's commlinks, so they can also look at it.

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:41 EST; En route, Atlanta, CAS

Dalton pulls out of the driveway and begins driving the crew towards their destination.

Book then replies to Dean,
<@All [Book] I can use both the illusion of physical mask and the transformation of shape change in addition to invisibility. My only offensive spell is stun bolt though. I have several bound spirits as well. I assume you can't project then?>

In response to Vick's commentary Dalton says with a grin,
<@All [Dalton] I think I can swing a bagel shop on the way. Do you have audio and video feeds as well?>

As Jazz's feed begins coming in:
<@All [Book] Looks like we have several places to begin.. Cash donor.. 10 o'clock meeting on Wednesday... Not sure the enemies are worth our time given our goals... Jazz, can you look through those cash donations and see if there pattern..? Certain time and day of week...? Cross reference the cash times to his calendar and look for commonalities at or shortly before the large cash donations..?>

<@All [Dalton] I've always been told one way to measure a man is by his enemies...>

<@All [Book] I know, but I'm not sure that spending time their will get us any progress towards our goals...>

<@All [Dalton] We don't have a lot of leads here.>

<@All [Book] Ok. If there is time and null risk, then perhaps.. Jazz if you are able to determine why those two are enemies that information might be useful..>

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:42 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

< [Jazz] Sure thing. I'll let you know, when I find something more specific. >

Jazz then proceeds to analyze the data as requested.

[Thanee]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:57 EST; Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, CAS

< [Jazz] Some interesting stuff here...

He seems to work quite a bit with Senator Jorge Gonzales of the Republican Party on certain legislation that would expand meta-human rights.

Sirius Black has apparently been in contact with Terry on an irregular basis. Extortion would be the apparent motive as he has quite a bit of leverage with both the Star and City Hall. However, there is no cash trail in either direction.

It turns out that Feliz - the spanish for Happy - is the codename of a local Madam. She apparently has some dirt on him that would be uncomfortable but probably not derailing to his campaign. Not enough.

The two standout details from the donor list:

1. Can't follow the trail for the cash to its origin. The best I could do for now was figuring out, that the money is coming from offshore accounts. The best guess is that the money is coming from the Azzies based on datatrails but nothing affirmative here.

2. It would appear that Ares is making regular donation deposits every two weeks. The deposits are being made to a PAC that is working on his campaign. It is getting it pooled to campaign adds, public relations and get-out-the-vote efforts. There is also a note for a meeting roughly every two weeks at Starbucks near his office.

The half erased email seems to have originated from a public terminal near the Krispe Kreme where the Johnson hired you. Quite interesting, huh? >

[2bit]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:57 EST; On the Road!, Atlanta, CAS

<[Vick] Did you get a timestamp for that half erased email? Looks like someone wants to warn our target.>

< I agree about AZT being #1 donor - If Ares is #2, it narrows the field down a bit, doesn't it... >

< Meeting at a Starbucks every two weeks to - what exactly? - hand the man a briefcase full of Ares scrip?? Other than the timing, I don't see the connection; that's not how campaign contributors, even ones preferring to remain silent, do business. >

< The madam could still be useful - either his ork "girlfriend" is in her employ, or he's cheating on his ork girlfriend; that info will put her in our pocket. Remember she's likely got personal access to our senator-to-be. >

< Are there any details on his work with Senator Gonzales? How secret is that? Anyone in his camp a Humanis member? That info could put them in our pocket too. >

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 04:59 EST; On the Road, Atlanta, CAS

Dalton continues to drive as the conversation continues.
<@All [Dalton] The email is especially troubling... We have to assume that everyone on the team has been photographed.>

Book replies:
<@All [Book] If that is true, then potentially my face is the only one not currently recorded. That will definitely increase the complexity, but may also provide us some opportunities for subterfuge and mis-direction... How long since the last Starbucks' meeting..? Can you access the security cameras at the Starbucks and determine how long the video is archived?

I'm still not sold that the ork is a girlfriend. I could be wrong, but I still feel that its a relative.. Perhaps even a child.>

Dalton snickers:
<@All [Dalton] Wouldn't that just be the cat's ass? That would even be a worse shot than a lover I would think....>

Book nods:
<@All [Book] A bill to expand meta-human rights? That don't make sense. I thought he was the big anti-meta-human candidate?>

[2bit]

<[Vick] I think it's more accurate to say he's the candidate for the party that leans the farthest toward anti-metahuman. You know, if we knew the specifics on that legislation, it just might clue us in on his relationship with the ork woman.>

[Redjack]

<@All [Book] Vick - I think you have a darn good point...>

[Redjack]

<@All [Book] This isn't making sense. Johnson said 'he plays up the need to keep metas in their place', yet here he is working on a bill to expand meta-human rights.>

<@All [Dalton] Are you sure you didn't get something backwards there?>

<@All [Book] I think I scanned it straight...?>

[2bit]

<@All [Vick] Maybe AZT is buying that legislation? *sigh* I dunno - it really doesn't make sense to me either. He's not working on this bill in secret, or isn't hiding it very well, anyway. . . . Someone must be pulling his strings. Maybe he and Rodriguez know the same people - AZT, Ares, or Black.>

[Redjack]

<@All [Dalton] Hehehehe.. Maybe that ork is pulling funky mind control magic on him. Got him under her spell!!>

<@All [Book] It don't work like that. But it does give credence to the ork being a relative.... or a legitimate lover.>

Dalton audibly snickers: <@All [Dalton] Likes him the TUSKER loving!!>

[Redjack]

Sunday, March 2nd, 2070; 06:30 EST; Downtown Atlanta, CAS

Book has no reply for Dalton's off color attempt at humor so the rest of the ride occurs in relative silence. Dalton locates a Bagel shop near the headquarters and pulls in to a parking spot.

Book casts physical mask as the van is parked, but is not happy with the results. He casts a second time and is much happier with the results.

[ Spoiler ]

Physical Mask F6: 3 hits
Resist 4DV: 4 hits - no drain
Drop Spell
Physical Mask F6: 6 hits
Resist 4DV: 5 hits - no drain
Sustain Spell

Book's form morphs to that of a human male in his mid thirties. Nice suit and haircut. He exits the van and proceeds down the street to get a good feel for the area. There is nothing that compares to actually walking the streets to get a feel for them. When he passes the HQ, he will assense the building. He is primarily looking for watchers or elements on patrol or visible signs of a ward or protective circle through windows and the like.

Dalton on the other hand turns the Vick and Dean. "What's the plan chummers?"

[2bit]

"Have a look around." Vick removes his Predator from its holster and gives it a once-over while speaking. "I'm going to go blend in with the street walkers, find a perch, and get a feel for their physical security. I know the personal security biz, and there might be information to be gleaned from an old man's eye on the scene. Won't be getting too close, though; there's a possibility of getting made. Dean, I want you shadowing me. Dalton - no drones on this rig?"

<@Jazz [Vick] "Jazz - Are you still in the system, and can you reach security from where you're at?" >