Crimson Assets Options

[Grey]

Wraith sets the chair down next to Jack and plugs a line from his datajack to the hitcher jack on his deck. Chuckling at the decor, Wraith says, "Nice place."

[Dashifen]

[Blitz]

:: Ugluck shrugs and drops back down, disappearing under the vehicle as he continues to talk to you, slightly muffled by the tons of steel between you and him. ::

"They make hoity toity sports apparel. I know they're owned by Ares, but didn't know they were playing in the armor arena. Could be interesting."

[Shadow]

Trace returns PD's wave as the big ork walks through. "Heres my cell," trace hands the fixer a card, "let me know when and where and I'll come and pick it up, the sooner the better though, soka?"

Man 'o man I hope this deal works, I could actually get some real research done.

Trace heads over to Sully at the bar, as he makes his way there he switches his perception to the astral, taking a good long look at her as walks up. "Hey Sully, thanks for waiting, can I get you a drink or something?" He turns to the bartender, "can I get a coke please?" He waits in silence for his drink to arrive, when it does get there he takes a long drink.

"You look like you can handle yourself Sully, and I respect that, the other will look up to you for that. Most of them are just kids, and they may or may not know what real drek is, you do, I do, I am certain PD does. If we get into trouble in this you may have to hall some of their hoop out of the fire, you okay with that?"

[Buddha72]

Sully sips her water.

"More than ok, though if there is real dead weight involved we are better off shedding it now then later. I spoke with Crimson and you're being groomed for leadership of this motley group. I've been elected to the position of objective observer. I wanted you to know so we can start off on the right foot here. I have worked out my issue with her so I am all squared away."

She takes another drink.

"This girl has got some serious mojo at her fingertips and she's been pretty deep in the shadows to get my number for this. I'm not sure what her angle is yet but we should all be careful going forward. I may have some more info later but we'll see. I'd assume we are being watched 7/24 for the first month which is why I am even having this conversation here. I don't have the resources to give us privacy and I think I'd just piss her off anyway. So smile for Crimson and think happy thoughts."

[Shadow]

Trace chuckles and a smile splits his face. "Right. Well let's hope she doesn't get to mad. I'll keep it quiet though."

*Don't be alarmed, but I don't like really talking around her either. I probably should have done this right away but sometimes people don't react to it well. Strait up, this deal is to good, there has to be something on the backside, if we know it's coming then at least we can be prepared.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know my thoughts, if you don't mind swinging by my place later, I could use someone to watch my back while I am summoning. What do you say?"


*Said via the mindlink

[Buddha72]

*Neat trick and handy. I don't think she's out to waste us all but we are assets so we shouldn't be surprised if she seems a little indifferent to our final fate. She put a lot of effort into neutralizing all my senses which says she likes to play it close to her chest. She cares about something, she has passion but hell if I know what it is she cares about. I'll check with my people and see but don't hold your breath.*

"I'm free and it's something I do well, just need an address. I had other plans but it looks like the cowboy has slipped away."

*I'll chat with my friends then head to your place.

[Shadow]

I like it.

"Heres my address, i'll call you when I'm ready."

Trace cuts the link, smiles and heads out the door. He hails a cab and heads home.

[Loki Spirit]

Before he leaves, Kyle takes a napkin from the bar and scribbles something down on it. He hands it to Rumi, and nods. "Can you give that to Crimson for me? It's a list of stuff I'll need, and I don't know who else to go to for it."

With that, he heads out the door and into the street. So much to do...where to start first?

4:00 AM

Kyle watches and waits in the shadows of the alley across the street from Factor Five Apparel. The street lights glow dimly above the sidewalk. Next to him was the lowlight camera that he'd bought in an electronics store an hour earlier. He yawns.

Damn, I'm falling asleep. This is boring as hell. Why ain't the guards leaving yet?

He takes a slice of cold pizza from the box next to him and munches on it as he continues to wait.

[Buddha72]

Sully takes the info and leaves thumping bags of nuyen for Maddy in the form of a hefty tip. She steps out into the night air and fishes out a cell phone.

"Mynce." A few moments pass as the phone dials. "Sully here, your name was dropped in connection with a woman named Crimson. I wanted to see if this was all legit. Leave me message when you get the chance."

She snaps the phone close and walks into the night. Get some thinking room and then head over to Trace's place to mage sit.

[Fenris]

The scenary moves by in a blur, rocking slightly with the motion of the horse beneath him. The horse spirals skywards for a long moment, and Jack draws a compass from his pocket, orienting it up into the sky, and nudging the horse to guide it towards a specific constellation of stars. Microseconds later the horse loops up and around the constellation, still galloping on thin air as it dives back towards the earth, layed out below in a twinkling series of nodes.

For anyone familiar with the Denver (NA/DEN) RTG, it's obvious Jack's not running a filter, because the standard iconography spreads out below as he rides in.

He dismounts in what's apparently a blank spot in the Matrix geography, glancing around for a moment before he reaches in to the pocket of his duster, drawing out an odd looking key and pushing it forward into mid-air. He takes half a step backwards as the image of the key starts to blur and lose resolution, and reaches back into a saddlebag, tugging free a Rubics cube. He glances up at the levitating key and down tot he cube several times, deftly sliding sides around, turning and twisting the small puzzle before finally looking up, tapping the angular wrap-around sunglasses further up on his nose as he tosses the cube underhand at the key. The cube and key connect, freeze, and twist and grow, becoming an archway decorated with brightly colored squares. He gathers up the reins to the horse and taps his leg to bring the hound dog loping along beside him as he steps through.

Beyond is a wide open plain of solid steel, guarded by a pair of towering machines, at least 5 or 6 times taller then his persona, vaguely resembling a few of the conceptual drawings he'd seen for anthroforms. There's a quick flash and a red beam of light washes over him, playing back and forth for several long moments before winking out, the machines losing interest and turning away at the same time. Antoher steel barred door, and he steps through into living chaos.

The host is filled with clusters of random icons, and bizarre and utterly off the wall persona's float by every few seconds. The landscape itself is surreal, filled with the Mandlebrot fractals that seem to be the decorating craze this week. He takes a knee, gathering the hound dogs droppy face in his hands and whispering to it for a moment. It barks, once, and then turns, loping off through the cacophony of icons, sniffing at one here, another there.

Jack speaks for the first time as data starts to scroll across his vision, bits and pieces of anything vaguely related to Force Five Apparel. The text scrolls by at a rapid pace, suddenly slowing down to something approaching readable.

"Wraith, you getting all this? It'll take a couple of hours, real time, to sift through Shadowland, and I'm betting we won't get what we want here, but it should give us a few leads, and who knows? We might get lucky..."

[Blitz]

Cowboy Jack:
:: The hound obediently retrieves bits of data from here and there, usually in the form of a partridge or other game bird. Knowing little of the meaning behind the raw data, you filter it and send it over to the ghostly bland avatar of Wraith which seems to follow you like a shadow. After hours of the searches, the hound finally comes back empty handed indicating that there is no further data it can find. ::

Wraith:
:: The world of the Matrix is bizarre and it's hard to keep your bearings. It's made even more difficult by the unconventional means of travel which give you vague hints of vertigo, but not to strong that you can't keep focused on the task at hand. ::

:: Once the oddly out of place cowbody sends his faithful friend out to collect data, you begin to see all matters of data streaming past your field of view. Most of it is random mentions; a runner talking about a skiing vacation where they recommend the factor five ski suits for style and functionality; a hacker with a penchant for skating who reports that the factor five boards are second in their list of hot equipment for the 2062 season. There is a mention of a run done on a surfing event sponsored by factor five. The run was unsuccessful, but it gives little information on Factor Five's actual security since the hit was on a surfer not the company. ::

[Blitz]

Sully:
:: After a few hours, you find yourself wondering why you haven't heard from Mynce yet. She's usually much more timely about returning your call drops and with all the unusual events lately, you find your paranoia tuned up a bit higher than normal. ::

Cut Scene...

The bouncer outside the Velvet Garage raises an eyebrow at the young woman showing up unexpectantly outside the club.

"Mynce, you know you shouldn't come without an appointment." He continues to stand blocking the entrance, but a soft touch on his shoulder from behind relaxes him instantly and he stands aside.

Maddy smiles at her and leads her inside. "Im sorry about that, Crimson only just now told me to inform Garrison to allow you entrance. She's waiting for you in her office."

Mynce nods and climbs the steps leading up to the well appointed office and she slips inside. With a smile and a nod to Crimson, she takes a seat in the nearby couch. Sitting unusually proper in the couch, she feels her heart race slightly at unusual meeting and waits patiently for Crimson to finish the works she is doing on her desktop.

Moments later, Crimson takes a seat on the opposite side of the couch looking interested but decidedly business like at Mynce. Speaking with a hint of uneasiness in her voice, Mynce turns towards Crimson. "She's asking about you already. I told you she is sharp."

Crimson smiles with an almost predatory nature as she nods. "Oh, I had hoped for as much. The society has plans for her and my own indications show she has untapped potential which would better suit my division than your superiors. For the time being, she will remain officially under your supervision, but if she blossoms as I expect her too, we will need to negotiate her transfer. For the time being, give her just enough information to lead her down the right path, but don't put up any signs. She'll need to discover the truth for herself, otherwise she'll be hard pressed to accept it. Also, you need to help reinforce her secrecy. I know your division isn't as concerned about such matters, but my work hinges on it."

Mynce listens with the posture of an underling in the presence of a superior far above them in rank. With a nod she quietly replies. "I will do as you ask, but you do realize that my own handler might become suspiscious of my loyalty if she discovers my deception."

Crimson nods. "Don't worry about that. She will, very soon, be getting orders herself. You may want to begin looking for a replacement for Sully within the next couple of months. My visions rarely disappoint me." Crimson rises and moves towards her desk once more, pointedly and wordlessly dismissing Mynce.

[Buddha72]

As Sully walks the streets, she digs out her phone.

"Weps." Another few moments pass. "This is Sully, I need some ruthenium added to my work gear with as many scanners you can cram on it. Deduct from my personal account for the moment. This may sound a little weird but when's the last time you spoke to Mynce? If you hear from her, tell her to call me ASAP. Thanks."

As she hangs up the phone, her expression clouds over. This is not going well.

"Rayne." The phone dials another drop box. "This is Sully. We may have been comprised. I haven't heard from Mynce and some woman named Crimson knew about the Society. She had her name. Go to ground and I'll stay out. If the cell has been penetrated you're on your own. I'm going to try and play this out. Be safe."

[Blitz]

:: Seemingly minutes after you've warned Rayne, your phone rings. Mynce's voice come through loud and clear. ::

"Sully, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I had some errands to run before I could get in touch with you. Can you meet me at the bar on 7th and Washington? What you want to know, isn't something we can talk over the phone about."

[Buddha72]

The tension visibly flows from her frame and her stride become smoother.

"It's good to hear your voice. I was starting to get a little worried. I left Rayne a message to drop out of sight, you'll need to contact her and give her a green light to resurface. I am on my way."

[Blitz]

Sully:
:: The bar is a run down pub with the word BAR blinking in a barely functioning neon sign outside. The tiny door forces all but only the slightest figures to turn sideways to gain entrance. You are familiar with the place, it's quiet and the bartender is apparantly a friend of Mynce's so she can get a safe place to talk without being over heard. ::

:: Mynce stands by the bar, but as soon as she sees you, she turns away and heads to the room behind the bar, where you usually meet with her before a trip out on the hunt. ::

"Ho Sully....I heard you've had an interesting day."

[Dashifen]

PD shrugs a moment before moving behind Ug's counter. Slotting two certified credstick that PD grabs from the drawer, he widthdraws 1,000 :nuyen: onto one credstick and 500 on the other from the account that Crimson set up for him.

Smiling at seeing is availble funds increase for the moment, he turns back to Ug. Seeing that his friend is climbing out from under the car he tosses him the 1,000 credstick. "Here, this is for watching my car and for any intell you can get on factor five for me. Maybe my source is just hoopy but something tells me there's more to this than meets the eye. Especially if they're funded by Ares it stands to reason that they might be doing more that sports apparel. I'm going to do a little digging on this one. I'll see you later."

Heading over to his car, he raises the garage door before it. "You'll get the door?" he asks Ug over his shoulder. At the affirmative response, PD gets into his Americar and starts her up. He pulls out of the garage, stops, then reverses back in side. "Oh, one more thing. I'm not going to be using that apartment that you set up for me anymore. But, I know the guy who is. Make sure his place gets looked after like you did for me. He's new and a little wet behind the ears, but he might grow out of it if he has the chance." Ug shakes his head but agrees.

Heading out of the garage, PD heads for the Vixen to meet quick with Niere. While there, he thanks her for her help earlier with the address of the Velvet Garage, and tells her that he asked to grab a snapshot of the interior for her but the request was refused. He pays off his bar tab of 65 :nuyen: has a quick drink while just talking with Niere and then heads out of the Vixen.

He gets back into the car and starts to drive towards the address of Factor Five. On the way there, he calls Alex at the Times and leaves him a message for the workday tomorrow: "Alex, it's Joe. I have a rumor and an idea that I want to blow by you. When are you free tomorrow so I can come in? It's not something I really want to discuss over the phone. Call me on my normal number. Thanks, man."

Moving his way through the streets of Seattle and using his slotted streets map as well as the information from the chip he received at the Velvet Garage, PD arrives outside Factor Five shortly. Not seeing much traffic on the street at this time of night, he slows to a reasonable pace and looks carefully at the building in both physical and astral sight. After doing a quick drive by, he heads down the street at the same speed until he can turn around a corner. Once he's outside any sight lines from the Factor Five building, he accelerates and heads back towards the Underground entrence at Ugluck's.

Arriving back at the garage a few hours after he left, the place is dark, but he opens the garage door with his key and pulls his car into its spot. Locking the car and the garage behind him. PD leaves and heads toward his apartment. Going inside, he takes off his knives and his armor and sits down to check his messages. He also makes a phone call to Mac the Knife: "Mac, it's Joe. I've got something I could use your help with. A new ... associate of mine has asked me to encrypt my communications with him. Right now, I don't have the equipment on my gear, but I wonder if you could help me out with it? Drop me a line and let me know if you need anything else from me."

With that, PD grabs a glass of water, reads a novel for a little while, and nods off to sleep.

[Fenris]

Jack leans down to pat the dog on the head, the action more instinctive on his part then needed by the electronic program the dog represents. A quick double check to make sure all the retrieved data was safely stowed in the bags, and he traced the outline of a circle in mid-air, grinning at the ghostly generic avatar that was Wraith as he slammed his hand down on the big red button that appeared. There's a brief moment of weightlessness, disorientation, and then a rushing sensation as all the landscape you've covered is reversed and played back at high speed. The cabin rezzes in around them both, and he whistles softly as he replaces the gear he carries, piling the bits of data in a corner, and reaches up to pull he the jack free, dumping you both back into the real world.

He twists his head on his neck, rubbing a hand over the juncture of neck and shoulder, and grins at Wraith.

"Wild ride, ain' it? Anything useful in the data we found? I'm not looking forward to doing a broadband 'trix search, but it didn't look like we got anything decent there."

[Grey]

Wraith plugs a dataline into his temple and hands the other end to Jack.

"Plug that into your deck, I'm gunna pull the info into my memory and sort through it real quick... One thing that we may want to do is hit up the Force Five main host and see what we can dig off that. Just because the branch we are hitting isn't on the matrix doesn't mean that they don't have any information availible at all. We may be able to get into their company records. City hall may be a good place to look too, that way we can get a detailed blue print of the building."

With a thought, Wraith filters the data through his Knowsoft Link, seeing if anything comes up as usful information...

[Buddha72]

Sully leans against a wall, a boneless slump that seems tired.

"You could say that. This chica seems out to do something in the big bad world, but I have no idea what. Frankly, if she needs to be dealt with you can kiss the Seattle cell goodbye. Rayne and I might be able to kill her if we get lucky but we aren't walking back out again. Who is she and how the hell does she know about us?"

Despite her flippant tone, her face opens up for the first time that night. It reflects respect and admiration. She looks to Mynce to make this better somehow.

[Blitz]

PD:
:: The credstick disappears into his haphazard jumpsuit with a nod. ::

"Sure thang, I'll see what I can come up with."

:: Ug raises one bushy eyebrow at the mention of you giving up your safehouse. ::

"It's your place...though be careful about taking up charity cases. Sometimes you're stuck with 'em longer than expected."

:: He gives you a wink to let you know that, yes, he IS alluding to his care over you. ::

:: Niere gives you an exasperated look. ::

"I thought you had the head cam to take pictures even when people say no."

:: The neighborhood of Factor Five is very typical of a business park. From your history with Lone Star, you'd suspect that the area would rated somewhere between A and B. The grounds between the buildings are well tended and designed to let each building seem seperate from the the rest, yet the distance between each is negligable. Each business is pretty much designed the same as the rest, with a 2-4 story office building structure attached to a large warehouse section usually at the same height. The front of the buildings holds a descent sized parking lot which seems to be shared between the buildings closest to one another, and the side and rear of the buildings is unmarked asphalt for the comings and goings of delivery and transportation trucks. ::

:: External security seems rather light and the majority of the facilities are subsidaries and smaller corporations rather than the large compounds of the AAA's. There are no fences, no guard dogs and no guard shacks. The area has a low light atmosphere from the sodium lights over the enpty parking lots, and it seems they rely solely on cameras at all entrance points as their main external security. ::

:: Astrally, the buildings are brightly lit in comparison due to the surrounding landscape and above each camera of the Factor Five building sits a small dog-like watcher. ::

:: Mac calls you back almost immediately. ::

"So...stepping up into the big leagues eh? It's about time. What kind of encrypt are you looking at. I can give you the basic package that will keep casual evesdroppers out, or the super deluxe which will keep out everyone but the secret service. Of course there are varying levels in between. I guess the questions comes down to..how much you wanna spend?"

--
Wraith and Jack:
:: The information is a bit of a letdown, but apparantly, there hasn't been much call to run against Factor Five. From the data you can see, they aren't a big security tank and most public events they are a participant in seems to have links to the Extreme Sports arena. ::

:: You begin to suspect that the best way to get data on security, is to track down who did their security. As a subsidary of Ares...you have a pretty good idea where to start though. ::

---
Sully:
:: Mynce smiles somewhat at Sully's worry about the Seattle Cell, but has to think quick not to give too much away. ::

"Don't worry, Crimson is no threat to the Society, but you and Rayne wouldn't last two rounds even if she was unarmed. I can't tell you who she is, or how she knows about us. That is for her to decide how much she wants to let you know. All I can tell you is that you can trust her as much as you can trust me. Her goals are righteous, though her methods aren't exactly something I would subscribe to. She seems to think that you would better fit her needs than our own. You are free to make that choice on your own and for the time, she's allowing you to continue working with us. Eventually though, you will have to make a choice."

[Grey]

You can almost see the light bulb over Wraith's head.

"Lets take a look on the Knight Errant host and do a search there. 100 :nuyen: says they setup the system and have records of it still."

[Buddha72]

"Is she a member of the Society?"

[Blitz]

Sully:
:: If it weren't for your heightened senses, you'd probably never pick up on it, but Mynce seems to squirm. She pauses to think a moment on the right wording. ::

"Crimson is not a direct member of the organization you and I work for."