IC: Origins, It takes two to tango. Options

[krayola red]

Tasha:

Boom.

What the hell…?

Your eyes turn skyward just in time to see one of the third floor apartment windows shatter from the explosion, spraying a hailstorm of broken glass down onto the sidewalk below. Well, it looks like things just got interesting.

Granted, this job had been weird from the start. If it had been anyone but Biggs who offered it to you, you would’ve turned it down, no second thoughts, thanks but no thanks. But hell, it had been Biggs, and you trust the ork as much as you trusted anyone in these streets. You knew that if he gave you a job without any information, it was because he didn’t have any himself, not because he was trying to pull a wise one over you. And this job was about as vague as they came. Go to this address, Biggs had said. Retrieve a package designated Z-0. No, I don’t know what the package looks like. No, I don’t know where the label is. No, I haven’t been sipping the Tex-Mex. For God’s sake, Tasha, just look for a fraggin’ crate or something with that letter and that number painted on it and bring it back here so I can pay you. I have no idea how big it might be, so you might want to bring your bike.

Well, you’re here now, and the placement of the window that just got wrecked informed you that that explosion was probably detonated in the same apartment you were supposed to sneak into and retrieve the loot from. Beautiful. Looks like you’re going to have to earn this one.

Zee:

> Core structure realignment interrupted
> Status of completion: 86%
> Processing resources re-allocated to nodal functions
> Cause of interruption: incoming message, flagged urgent

> Scanning message details
> Sender: Anonymous
> Tracing origin
> …
> Trace failed.
> Opening message

It is time to wake up, little one. They come for you.

You open your eyes to see a concussion grenade plop down on the coffee-stained floor a few feet away in front of you. You move, cat quick...you've become so accustomed to this body in the past few months that it almost feels like an extension of yourself. A program for maneuvering the physical world, as it were. You manage to dive behind a couch right before the grenade explodes. Your tactile sensors pick up the heat of the blast, but a quick self-diagnostic shows that your body is unharmed. Footsteps down the hallway, slow and cautious. Two sets. You have your guns and armor on you. There's a broken window right behind you, and you calculate that your body will survive a drop from this altitude, although maybe not without sustaining damage. Fight or run. Both are options to prolong your survival, and neither is without risk.

What is your choice?

[Glyph]

Tasha scowls up at the shattered windowfront. A motion like a shrug brings her Walther pistol into her hand, with targetting information showing up on her contacts a microsecond later. Her cold grey eyes rake over the street, looking for anything suspicious, before she slips into a side door and takes the stairs up.

"Well, this is off to a fine start," she thinks. "Most jobs, I wonder when they're gonna go bad. Nice and considerate of this one, to go down the crapper right away. Still, I gotta check it out, at least. If there's too many heavies down there, I can always run."

Her gun is still held at her side. She will probably need to use it, but she can't fire indiscriminately. Some of the people in there are probably the ones she was supposed to pick up the delivery from. Assuming they aren't already dead. She heads up the stairs, trying to approach the room silently.

[ Spoiler ]

Gear -
Worn:
>Lined Coat
>FFBA Half Suit
>DocWagon Bracelet
>Contacts
Carried or on person:
>Both guns, loaded, in arm slide/concealable holster
>2 spare clips for each
(For the Colt, loaded with regular, 1 of the spare clips is gel rounds)
>Commlink

Perception roll 2 hits.
(let me know if you would rather roll perception yourself, and ignore this roll if that is the case)

Infiltration, defaulting no hits.

[krayola red]

Zee:

You activate your ultrawideband radar sensor, and a small digital map shimmers into your field of view. Two metahuman figures of average height are taking cover behind each side of the doorway. It appears that they're both armed with some kind of pistol-sized weapon. They're half concealed behind the wall and don't seem to be moving forward - your knowledge of metahuman behavioral patterns indicate that they're most likely trying to figure out how to best advance into the room. As you continue to scan the area, you pick up the faint signature of a third figure entering the hallway from the far end.

Tasha:

As you round the stairway, your foot accidentally collides into an empty FizzyPop can, sending it skidding across the floor with a soft metallic clang. Oops, so much for the silent approach. At the far end of the hallway is an open door, and there are two lanky elven men standing on either side of it. Their guns are drawn, and it appears that they had been busy breaking into the apartment before you arrived on the scene. They both turn around when they hear your approach, look at you, and look at each other. As you get a closer look at them, you realize that they're identical twins.

"Who the hell is she?" one of them says to the other.

"How the fuck should I know? She's got a gun on her. Maybe she's a cop."

"She ain't no cop. I don't see a uniform on her."

"Not all cops wear uniforms, dumbass."

"Shut up. Anyway, she doesn't look like a cop to me. Maybe she's an overly curious civvie, poking her nose where it don't belong."

"Well, if she is, it's your own goddamn fault. I told you not to bring the grenades. But did you listen to me? Noooooo, of course you didn't, because you never do."

"Oh, it's gonna be like that now, huh? You know why I don't listen to you? Because every time I do, I always seem to find myself in a near death predicament."

"Oh please, that's ork shit. Name one instance where that happened. I bet you can't."

"Remember last week when I went out to get some lunch, and you suggested that sushi bar at Pike Place because they served real fish? Yeah, brilliant move, mastermind. Turned out their real fish was actually infected fish, and I ended up with explosive diarrhea for two days straight."

"Psh, that doesn't count. That wasn't life threatening."

"Like hell it wasn't! I almost died from the dehydration! And the smell!"

"Would've probably done the world a good turn if you had."

"Yeah, if I was dead, who would've come along to watch over your ass on this mission, huh?"

"I could've taken care of it myself, easy."

"Like hell you could've. You can't do anything without my help. I bet you can't even take out this wee little lass here by yourself."

"Oh, wanna put down a wager on that?"

"Sure. If you win, I'll give you my cut of this job. If you lose, you gotta go to that sushi place yourself, order their extra big, troll-sized deluxe plate and eat all of it."

"You're on."

The elf turns toward you and bares his teeth into a grin of insanity.

"You heard that, right little lady? Looks like it's you and me for this one. Don't go ahead and underestimate me now just because I happen to have a few screws loose."

His gun whips up in the air to meet you, lightning fast.

[krayola red]

Tasha:

You try to move out of the way, but the elf is bloody quick, and you knew even before he opened fire that you weren't going to make it. Instead of the deafening roar of a gunshot, you just hear a soft, subdued flit. Before you know it, your entire body lights up in white hot pain as electricity courses up and down your nerves. Gritting your teeth, you force your limbs back into your command through sheer force of willpower, steady your weapon, and return fire. Your aim is true, and both bullets punch straight through the elf's forehead, less than an inch apart. He collapses, dead before he even hits the ground.

The other elf looks at his twin, and shakes his head. "See, old boy, I knew you couldn't do it."

The wall behind him shatters into a shower of flaky paint chips and wooden splinters. He looks down and sees his shirt darken with blood. He groans.

"Aw, bloody hell. I guess there's no point in trying anymore."

He holsters his gun, sighs, and sits down on the floor, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.

[Glyph]

Tasha wobbles, drawing a deep, shuddering breath, and leans against the wall for a second as another wave of blackness sweeps over her. Clumsily, she re-holsters the weapon, an action that is normally automatic taking an effort of will to keep her hands steady.

Her Barrens rat instincts tell her to loot the body, and her survivor's instincts tell her not to leave the other elf alive. She ignores both voices. She can't bring herself to pull the trigger on the unarmed, bleeding, and now pathetic figure of the elf, and she won't dig through the corpse's pockets right in front of his brother, either.

Instead, she exerts her supernatural control of her own body to look cool and poised again, as she approaches the door. Whoever is in there might still be a bit on edge - understandably so - so she calls out with a soft but composed voice as she approaches, trying to project calm.

"Hello in there? It's all right. I'm not with those other people. I'm just here to pick up the package. I'm coming in unarmed."

Taking in a big breath, Tasha steps up to the doorway, and walks through it, her hands raised slightly.

[BlackHat]

Zee's reaction to the explosion was instantaneous. She had hardly hit the floor, behind the couch, before her hand reached out for the loaded rifle beside her. With her radar, she could see the two figures taking position on either side of her door. When the third figure showed up, she decided that she didn't have time to load up the proper programming to get her out of this situation. She didn't take the time to aim, either, knowing the rifle's scope couldn't make out the targets as well as she could, on her own. Her shot was silent - but even if it hadn't been, it would have been muffled by the two shots that suddenly rang out in the hallway. She watched her target slump to the ground, and turned her attention to the others - seeing that the other intruder was also down, and that the newest form seemed to be leaning against the wall - wounded?

Zee lept, in a single clean motion, over her couch, moving quickly across the small apartment, while slinging her rifle over her shoulder. Her programming pointed out several ideal positions for taking cover, allowing her to make her way to the door without giving the people outside line of sight to her. As she reached the wall, putting the open door between her and the doorway, her armor had already begun to analyze the dull grey surroundings, replecating the pattern across her body while she pulled her hood over her face.

Outside, the third intruder had holstered her weapon, and was now making her way towards the door, calling out to her. What package? She drew her Fubuki from its holster, and resisted the urge to kick the door into the intruder when she entered - watching her walk slowly into the room with her hands open. For the moment, Zee waited. This person had not attacked her - and seemed to have helped her out, already - but she didn't know who this person was, or what 'package' she was after.

[krayola red]

Tasha:

As you walk past the elf who's sitting on the ground, he opens his eyes to look you over. After a moment, he nods his approval, gives you an appreciative wolf whistle and winks at you before succumbing to a hacking fit, spraying blood, mucus, and bits of tissue all over the floor.

[Glyph]

Tasha responds with a wry smile as she walks by the elf - have to give him points for style, at least, hacking blood notwithstanding.

She walks into the room slowly and carefully. She expects a gun to the back of her head, or similar treatment, from whoever is in here. As long as they don't shoot her out of hand, though, it should be all right. She still feels rough around the edges, and feels the additional strain of nervous tension, but thankfully her abilities let her present a calm, professional facade.

Zee gets her first look at Tasha, seeing a petite female elf, wearing a pale trenchcoat (presumably armored), with both of her hands raised. She has an overall gothy punk look - black lipstick, heavy eyeliner, piercings, and short, spikey blue hair.

[BlackHat]

Upon entering the small apartment, Tasha gets a look at the barren surroundings. The walls are the grayish color of unpainted drywall, and only a few pieces of furniture litter the otherwise unremarkable scene. On the floor, near a couch, is the still-smoking remains of a grenade of some sort, but from the look of the room it was not explosive. There are not many electronic devices around, but a small stack of batteries appears to have toppled over near one end of the couch. A cold breeze comes through a broken window, but there is no immediate sign of the shooter, or any package.

[Glyph]

Tasha enters the room slowly, shutting the door behind her. Wounded and seemingly apathetic or not, the elf in the hallway still makes her nervous. She looks around, not seeing anyone at first. An invisibility spell, maybe?

"...Hello? Look, all I want is package Z-0, that's all."

A slight tone of exasperation enters her voice.

"Come on, you should have been expecting me."

[BlackHat]

Zee's internal threat-assessment of this girl was low, despite seeing a couple of handguns (the model and statistics of which were jumping to the forefront of her perception, as she did so) beneath her longcoat. She wasn't cybered, at all and her gait seemed genuine. Her hands were raised, which would make any attempt to reach for those weapons obvious. However, that assessment spiked when she mentioned "Z-0".

Could she be with them? Did she kill that man to gain my trust?

Zee's curiosity and confidence got the better of her. Tasha heard the door slam shut, behind her. Turning, instinctively to look, Tasha saw a beautiful girl, perhaps her own age, standing in front of it - face revealed, but body covered in a form-fitting-suit that was quickly changing from gray to black. More alarming that the Fubuki handgun she held in one hand, was the rifle that could be seen slung over her shoulder - with a long blade attached to the barrel. Whoever this was, she was well-equipped - much better than her surroundings would have suggested.

Her breathing was heavy, and her eyes wide. Zee's programming emulated someone in a tense, panicky situation, almost perfectly, giving her a realistic appearance that might cause this strange girl to underestimate her, if necessary.

"Who are you?" She asked, between feigned breaths. "Who sent you here?"

Tasha noticed that the four barrels of the pistol had not been lowered - and that her most obvious means of escape, had been cut off.

Keeping one "eye" on the unmoving intruders in the hallway, thanks to her internal radar, she kept her physical eyes locked on the girl, as she shifted position to the other side of the doorway.

[Glyph]

Tasha stays calm, careful not to do anything to panic whoever this woman is.

"I'm Tasha, and Biggs sent me. I was told to pick up package Z-0 here - whoever sent those other two guys was a lot less friendly. Might wanna check for a leak on your end - Biggs is just a middleman, and I just heard about the job today, so it wasn't one of us who tipped those guys off. Look, I don't wanna rush you, but the bad guys could have reinforcements showing up, and I'd rather be gone before they get here. Come on, they did tell you someone would be here to pick up the package, right?"

[BlackHat]

Zee cocks her head slightly as Tasha speaks, paying attention to everything. "No, not exactly." She seemed to be catching her breath - perhaps the adrenaline rush of combat was wearing off. "I was told someone was coming just before the grenade went off." Her eyes darted in the direction of the couch.

She holstered her firearm, having finally made up her mind about the girl. "If you are right, and there are others on the way, I have to keep moving. Will you check if the men outside are alive, while I change? The shot to the chest should not have been immediately fatal - but he will require medical attention." Without waiting for an answer, she began to move past Tasha towards the couch.

[Glyph]

Tasha shrugs nonchalantly, ignoring another bout of dizziness that sends spots of darkness dancing in front of her eyes.

"All right...too late for the one I shot, though. Do you have a medkit? Because I know jack-all about patching people up without the auto-doc walking me through it."

So, the woman is coming with her? Not quite the original plan, but as long as she shows up with the package, Biggs should be happy. It must be something small, which is a relief - her biggest fear (before the shooting began, that is) was that she would find some huge crate, and have to go back to Biggs in total humiliation: "It was too heavy! Waah!"

The guy outside seemed in bad shape, but not quite in a terminal way yet. She takes a few steps outside to where he is sitting against the wall, checking to see whether he seems more stable now, or worse.

[krayola red]

Tasha:

You've seen enough wounds before to know that that bleeding, gory mess of broken flesh in the middle of the elf's chest doesn't bode well for him. From the way he's wheezing, it's possible that the bullet clipped one of his lungs. Actually, considering how much blood he's lost, it's a wonder how he's still conscious. He raises his head to meet your gaze, and for the first time, you get a good look at his eyes. They're...pitch black, like two hollowed out bits of coal. You think at first that they might be cyber eyes, but you eventually realize that they're organic - the pupils are dilated to such a degree that they've completely overtaken the iris. As you stare into them, you feel a profound sense of unsettlement, like you're gazing into the depths of a madness that knows no bounds. Some small part of your mind awakens, a primal instinct for survival that's been passed down through countless generations, and it screams at you to look away, but you find that something holds you fascinated.

Suddenly, he speaks, and the sound of his voice breaks the spell.

"Come back to finish me off, pumpkin? Ah well, I was kinda hoping that I would survive this job."

He coughs, and wipes the back of his hand across his mouth.

"You see, there's an episode of Karl Kombatmage coming on tonight that I was looking forward to watching. In the last episode, Karl's archnemesis locked him inside a carrier pod and had it jettisoned into space, and I really wanted to find out how he escapes from that one."

[Glyph]

"Damn. He's as unhinged as his brother," thinks Tasha, but she smiles a rueful, crooked grin.

"Nah, our little angel of mercy in there's gonna patch you up. Or try to. Probably a bad idea, but pffft, not like I'm the queen of smart decisions, myself. I'd ask who hired you, but hell, I don't even really know who hired me."

[krayola red]

The elf looks genuinely surprised.

"Patch me up? Well, that's new. Even in this line of work, it's not often that I meet someone as crazy as I am. I like you, pumpkin. My name is Sticks. We should go out for dinner some time."

He shrugs.

"Couldn't tell you who hired me even if you asked. My brother Bones, he's the one you shot in the face, he got us hooked up with this job. Poor Bones. We use to get into arguments about who's the prettier one. I think I pretty much got him beat now, don't you think?"

[Glyph]

Tasha sits down across from the wounded elf. At his words, she glances at the other elf, the dead one, her eyes going sad for a second. Bones... she liked it better when she didn't know his name.

"Yeah..." she says tiredly. "You'll have to tell me how Karl gets away..."

She really feels like crap. Not as much as Sticks, she's sure. She hopes that girl gets out here soon.

[krayola red]

The elf gives you a cheerful (...almost manic) smile.

"Hey there, don't be regretting nothin' now. He shot you first. That gives you every right to flat-line his skinny ass. I hope he's having a good time down in Hell. I hear the women down there are hot."

He bursts out into peals of laughter at his own pun, which is cut short by another whirlwind of violent coughing. He spits out something organic and fleshy into his hand and studies it with academic interest before flicking it away.

[BlackHat]

Zee didn't respond to the comment about the medkit. She seemed focused on whatever task she was doing. Once at the couch, she pulled an old beat-up duffel-bag out from underneath, opening it up to reveal some clothes and other small objects. At this point Tasha was outside - Zee could see her through the wall - so she began changing into her street clothes, in a hurry, putting her body armor in the bag, in their place.

A minute later, Zee had made a quick round of the apartment, picking up anything she thought she might need - which wasn't much - and putting it into the duffel bag. She stopped at the kitchenette, which had seen better days, and grabbed a handful of nutrient supplements stashed in one drawer, putting them in the bag, as well. Remembering what Tasha had said about a medkit, she checked for an emergency first-aid kit under the sink, but was not surprised to see the entire cupboard empty.

When Zee emerged into the hallway, she seemed like a different woman - rather than a high-tech sniper, she looked like any other girl her age. She was dressed in black jeans, combat boots, and a sleeveless gray tank-top that exposed a lot of her arms and neckline. She had a poor-quality black duffel-bag slung over her shoulder, the same way she had held the rifle, before (was this the package?) - and Tasha could make out the tell-tale pointy bulge of a rifle-barrel straining to remain in the bag, and thought there might be a pistol in one of those boots. Upon stepping across the threshold of her doorway, she took a second to look at both men, kneeling beside the one she shot, and setting her bag down.

She drew a combat knife from her beltline - the blade, of which, was the same bayonet blade previously mounted on her rifle - and began cutting away the elf's shirt - she seemed to be staring at the man's collar, for some reason. "What were your orders?" Zee asked, as she began loading up the necessary programming to deal with the man's wounds. Although, without any tools, or a proper place to operate, the best she could hope for was to apply some pressure, to slow the bleeding until an ambulance arrived. Having exposed the wound, and loaded her first-aid program, Zee continued. "The bullet went through. I will do what I can to stop the bleeding, but it is going to hurt. I need you to stay conscious. Tell me what your orders were."

[Glyph]

Tasha winces (internally) at Zee's crude attempts at first aid. Looks like she knows what she's trying to do, but evidently there was not a first aid kit.

"I can't believe I forgot my first aid kit," she thinks. "What if that had been me taking a bullet?"

[krayola red]

Zee:

The elf watches with interest as you begin to do what you can to stitch him up. He has to be feeling a great deal of pain at this point, yet it appears that he remains utterly unfazed. He considers your question for a second, seeming to juggle it around in his head a few times to decide whether or not to answer it.

"Hmm, well, I guess I do owe you one for trying to put me back together. I'm afraid I can't tell you much, only that we were supposed to capture you alive and bring you someplace. If you want to know more, you'll have to figure out how to invoke the spirits of the dead."

As you work on his wound, you casually canvas his body for tell-tale markings of any sign, but he was completely clean. After a few minutes or so, it was clear that you had done all you could for him. You've managed to slow down the bleeding a bit, and the wound looked slightly less grotesque than before...not much, but it was something. He would probably survive at least until an ambulance came for him, and that's taking into consideration how slow emergencies tend to get processed in this part of town.

[BlackHat]

Zee looked confused at the comment about calling spirits, but let it go, and continued to work. When it was clear that the bleeding had stopped, and that the man didn't know anything that she didn't already figure out, she stood, tucked her knife away, and lifted up her bag. Turning to Tasha she said. "He will live. Give me a few minutes head-start, and then call an ambulance." While Tasha was still processing that last part - trying to make it fit with her understanding of the 'plan' - Zee added, "Make sure the bandages stay tight, and talk to him to keep him awake." She then turned, and began to walk towards the stairs.

Evidently, Zee was not planning to go with Tasha.

[krayola red]

As you turn to leave, the elf calls out, "By the way, sniper girl, you might want to ditch the Allison Young identity. It's the one we used to track you down."

[BlackHat]

"Yeah," Zee said when she reached the stairs. "Someone would have asked about the mess, anyway."