[IC] [SR4] What I want to do when I grow up, High School builds character Options

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Todd forwards Papa Gotcha's response to his companions "As this point I believe we should make the contact tonight so we can start planning. Andrew do you know if the library is open late, if not we need a good Seattle location to stage a meet. Graciana since you are the one with a vehicle could we humbly ask for a lift to meet Mr. Johnson?

[Ziathra]

Smiling a little, Graciana says, “Sure. We'll all have to squeeze in the front seats. Everything I still own is in the back seat. Well, maybe someone can fit into the back, but we'd have to pack him in.” She begins walking to her truck.

[RdMarquis]

"If it comes down to it, I can squeeze into the back." Andrew takes a moment to check the library hours. "You think we should get going? If not the library, we might have to drive around and find a place that's open late. Heck, Stuffer Shack never closes." He frowns briefly. Having to wait until after midnight narrowed down their choices for a meeting place. And if Shane wasn't working late, too, he might be annoyed. If the library closes after midnight, Andrew will run a search for a place with late hours.

[Koekepan]

Fortunately, the library is open at all hours. Then again, so are several well-lit parks in the area. There's the waterfront, which is well lit and has restaurants and bars. There are beaches, but perhaps the most open and least remarkable location would be along the waterfront, in a touristy area. Nobody would turn a hair at a few kids showing up, and talking to someone.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Todd Weights the options Andrew has found "I do think a waterfront meet would work best. Andrew checks for a good public place at the waterfront, then he checks the time required to get there.

I have found us a location, we should be there at least 15 minutes before the meet. If there a problem with this let me know now.

If there are no objections Todd will contact Papa Gotcha; attaching the location as well as a time that meets the after midnight request as well as giving them ample time to get there

@Papa Gotcha[Dare Mo]: Here is the meeting place. It should meet the Johnson's requirements. We will contact you after the meeting

[Koekepan]

The location is a sort of overlook on a sea wall. At night it's vaguely scenic, with lights over Elliott Bay and the harbour. During the day the location sees a lot of traffic, but at midnight it should only have a few occasional passing drunkards. Highways get a vehicle almost there, it's just a mile or three from a carefully chosen exit, so access is good.

Papa Gotcha doesn't respond with a verbal message, but with a recognition key which will tell them which commlink is Johnson's.

[Ziathra]

Graciana parks the truck in a lit spot, then helps the guys out of it. Andrew may need the help; the back seat was crammed with things in garbage bags. She looks around for a bench, or a pair of benches. “It's a good thing I rested this evening. How are you two holding up? I hope Mr. Johnson doesn't want this done tonight.”

[Happy Noodle Boy]

With his eyes still closed Todd nodded "I hope our Johnson doesn't require that sort of fast service, or if he does the job better paying some serious New Yen.

Andrew wasn't tired, but he hoped to get some sleep before he had to go to work then school. He also wondered if there is going to School still there by end of the week.

Opening his eyes Dare Mo looked at his associates. Graciana, I think you should stay in the background and keep an eye out for trouble. Angelo do you want to accompany me on the meet and if so did you want me to take the lead on negotiations or did you want that privilege? Or if either of you really feel confident do you want me to hide and you get to talk to the Johnson?

[Ziathra]

Graciana thinks a moment, then nods. “You can talk to Mr. Johnson, Todd. I've had a really bad day.” She retreats to the bed of her pick-up truck. Now how can I possibly define trouble for a Watcher?

[RdMarquis]

Andrew grimaces at the thought of spending all night doing a run. His uncle would probably call Knight Errant. If not for the consequences, getting arrested on a job for not being home on time would be almost funny. "I'm not much of a negotiator. But I'll come along to keep an eye out for trouble."

[Koekepan]

While the trio plans in the truck, a woman walks up to the edge of the seawall, and leans on the railing. She glances around, then out at the water, then looks around again.

Not much is clearly visible about her, but even at this range her PAN can be picked up. It's Johnson. Miss Johnson, apparently. She stands perhaps five feet, nine inches tall. Slender, apparently young, dressed in a flowing trenchcoat and a hat which drips a bit at the brim. Boots on her feet with a slight heel.

She's unaccompanied, ostensibly, but the place is out in the open. There might be waiting vehicles, snipers, contracted police agents. Who knows? But not standing there with her.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Dare Mo Checked his outfit quickly. I will have to add clothing to my 'tools of the trade' shopping list He recalled his sensei once said that an operative should always have the right wardrobe for any occasion. Dare Mo took another look at himself in the rear view mirror and shrugged But for right now this outfit will have to do

Okay Angelo lets get this done. If we are lucky we can get some sleep before we have to start Dare Mo adjusts his cap and heads out.

Dare Mo remains outwardly calm. He scans and sees no obvious sign of trouble perception roll .. He approaches the Johnson, he pauses at about thirty feet glances back to see if Angelo is following him. Dare Mo then approaches within twenty feet and puts both hands on the railing. He turns to the woman as if his about to ask for the time

Greetings Ms Johnson. How can we help?

[RdMarquis]

Angelo closes the truck door behind him. He follows Dare Mo at a slow pace, pulling his jacket closer. Partially because of the cold. But also to withdraw the drone from his pocket. He tips the red sunglasses over his eyes, tapping the AR display to activate the Flying Eye. Angelo sent it to search the area in a 100 meter radius while he joined Dare Mo and their prospective employer. "Evening."

[Koekepan]

Johnson turns when approached - perhaps a little abruptly. Then she leans on the railing and looks the two young men up and down.

Her disguise, as it stands, is terrible. She's recognisable at a glance as Suzette Arkwright, newscaster of minor notoriety. On the 'trix she's all sweetness, a gorgeous girl next door with the latest gossip. Tonight there's something sharper in her features. Something predatory.

Maybe she doesn't think much of what she sees. "You? You're it?" She looks back and forth, up and down the street. "I was expecting something a little more impressive."

She sighs and examines the beautifully manicured nails on her left hand. They glow softly in the evening. "I'm told that you can get into places and find information. Valuable information, that people want kept secret. Is this true? Because if it isn't, you can leave now."

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Dare Mo glances at Angelo and speaks so that only Angelo can hear She says she want information

Dare Mo then looked back "Ms. Arkwright, while being 'impressive' is a asset in your profession, subtlety is an asset in mine. Our mutual contacts would not have asked us here if they didn't think we could do your task" Dare Mo pauses in case Angelo wanted to add anything then continues: "Ms. Arkwright if you could explain what task you require of us. then we can tell you if we can help."

[RdMarquis]

Angelo nods and sends Todd a quick message. He continues monitoring the passerby through the eye of his drone.

@Dare Mo [Angelo]: There are some people around. They might not be watching us, but you never know. Be on your guard.

He was wearing sunglasses, but Arkwright might still have noticed if he rolled his eyes at her comment. Or smirked at Todd's. Instead, Angelo puts his hands in his pockets and maintains his impassive stance. "Precisely. And we can compensate with skill for what we lack in appearance." His voice is barely above a whisper. "Acquiring information is something of a specialty of ours." More like the only work thy had done as a team, but she didn't need to know that.

[Ziathra]

Graciana, back in the pick-up truck, grumbles. What a wonderful ending to this disaster of a day. If I get stiffed again, I'll have to go collect pigeons for Skunk Robinson. I had better take a look around.

She stretches, then slips free of her body one more time. Then she looks around the astral space of the area for trouble.

[Koekepan]

The astral space here is far from dead, but it is dull. The heavily industrialised, consistently mildly toxic environment does the astral space no favours. The spirit activity is muted, and the auras of people and plants alike show signs of the environmental burdens their biological material bears. The most lively sign of activity is two rats squabbling.

From the electronic eye, Angelo gets no indications of overt trouble so far. One of the authorised downtown robotaxis is trying to persuade a pair of drunks who are barely holding each other up that they need to ride. There's a man on the roof of a building, but he doesn't have a rifle - he has a cigarette.

Suzette seems to have heard enough of what she wanted to continue: "All right then, my little newspiggies. I have a tasty trough for you to stick your snouts into. I know there's a story in there, and it's up to you to bring it to me. Money, scandal, dirt. It's in there. And I want the scoop. I want people logging on to my show to hear me give them news nobody else has. If you're good diggypigs, I've got five thousand just waiting for you, and more work besides. If you lose my scoop, you lose the jobs."

This is a Suzette they've never seen before. Her face is a study in the classical sins. Spite and avarice, pride and envy flicker across her features while she speaks. But there's a data stick in her fingers, and her clothing says she's good for the money.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Dare Mo listened to Ms. Arkwright rant with quiet amusement. He recalled hearing about how french farmers would use pigs to find truffles, a fungus highly valued by gourmands. Dare Mo thought about mentioning this but he doubted that Ms. Arkwright would appreciate the analogy.

So Ms. Arkwright, could you please tell where you want us to sniff around and dig for you?

[RdMarquis]

"Yeah. Please, continue. What do you want us to look into?" Angelo supposed one of Arkwright's fans might be shocked at what she was doing. In contrast, the teenager was only a bit unsettled. His former caretakers had taught him long ago not to take people at face value. A friendly smile could just be a mask, after all. Which gave him an idea. Angelo recalled the Eye, maneuvering it just close enough that the camera could see a disguised Suzette Arkwright talking to two unknown individuals in the middle of the night. He allowed the drone to linger for about a minute before sending it back on patrol.

If only the Eye was equipped with a microphone, as well. But with the right person talking (certainly not him), the footage might look like believable blackmail material. Angelo scowled internally. Not that he intended to use the video for such a purpose. But Arkwright had something to lose and probably few compunctions about how she gained the information she needed. At best, the footage would be insurance. Just in case she decided it was necessary to betray them for her goals.

[Koekepan]

The drone hovers around. Between the weather conditions, the highly mechanised urban and dockyard cores and the simple noise of the city one tiny drone is hardly worth remark - or at least, Suzette shows no sign of even paying it any attention. Instead she says: "FullMatrix. It's a downtown charity, handing out commlinks to kids. Very noble. But something stinks. Their donation rate is way too high. Someone, somewhere, is losing a drekton of money, and fragging the market too. Who? Why? They must be on the donor list, but that's kept dark. Find that out, follow the goodie trail, and show me the money. There, a nice soft target, no big risks, and a fat payoff."

Suzette waggles the credstick in the ozone-tainted air, a sneer twisting her mouth. Or perhaps the stench of old petrochemicals and rotting algae from the water is offending her delicate nostrils.

[Ziathra]

Graciana slips back into her body. She probably can't hear the conversation, but she can see that waggled cred stick. Ah, money. Good. I just hope whoever doesn't want results tonight.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

Dare Mo nods respectfully, pausing to allow Angelo to interject if he wished, then continued "Ms. Arkwright we would be happy to look into this matter for you.

[RdMarquis]

"We'll keep you updated on our progress." Andrew decided not to say anything beyond that. Just accept the offer and move on. This time. After they had shown Arkwright what she was paying for, they could talk about their fee for the next job. Besides, he had to get home, and soon.

[Koekepan]

Suzette reaches into her left sleeve with slim fingers, and produces a slim datachip. A little antiquated in some ways, but still a favourite of reporters who don't want their signals snooped. She drops it on the sidewalk, and says: "Happy snuffling, piggies. You scoop, I pay."

With that simple undertaking, she turns and walks off briskly down the waterfront, like a late but relatively sober tourist.