Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 1: Broken Star Options

[Chrome Head]

Amy's Apartment, UCAS Zone, 1:00 AM, July 30th, 2075

Overkill and Amy didn't talk much on the drive home. The elf decker had set up the radio to play smooth jazz and it gave the ride a very calming atmosphere. The Warrens weren't very well lit and he had to put a lot of attention on the road anyway. He knew how to navigate to avoid the worse sectors and delivered Amy to her building without incident. His good night included a few words in German as usual. "What does Meine Liebling mean? I've meant to ask you this for a while." "It just means 'my dear', my dear friend," Overkill answers with a smile. Amy smiles back at him, satisfied with the answer, and walks away.

Inside, she finds Kevin in the same exact spot he had seen him earlier. "Hey, you awake Kev?" No answer. I'll see how he's doing tomorrow morning. This better not become a habit, he needs to be able to snap out of it, at least when he's supposedly taking care of Sam. The shaman slipped into her bed, which was just next to her adopted daughter, and almost forgot to dismiss the owl-spirit before falling asleep. "Thank you for your services tonight, wise one. Peace be with you."

[Always Overkill]

Overkill's Apartment, UCAS Zone, 1:06 AM, July 30th, 2075


After dropping Amy of at her apartment, Drave returned to his own place of residence, he lived in an old warehouse that someone had illegaly turned into loft housing. His loft was in the basement, down a cargo elevator, one large enough to bring his BMW Falke down with him. It wasn't a very big space, but he managed to keep it pretty tidy. He had few possessions, an ancient cd collection with old techno bands from the turn of the millennia, names like VnV Nation, Wolfsheim, And One; nobody that anyone has probably heard of in decades. There is a small workstation in the corner covered with decking supplies, the only place that apparently isn't well-organized, but Drave would tell you otherwise. Everything was right where he left it; tracers, jammers, comms, RFID tags, even Oppenheimer, the small black cat who wandered into his apartment shortly after moving into the Warrens, was resting peacefully in the chair in front of the workstation.

Upon hearing Drave enter, Oppenheimer jumped up from the chair and weaved between Drave's legs in his signature figure 8, looking up at him eagerly. He decided to oblige his feline friend, sitting in the armchair in the living room, and producing the Fliegegheimagent (FlySpy) from his pocket. He pulled up his AR overlay and selected an item from its drop down menu, "Oppenheimer Evasion Program 3", and watch as the Fliegegeheimagent began flying around the room, weaving low to the ground to entice the cat's attention. Oppenheimer knew what was coming, and gleefully took to the chase.

Drave watched Oppenheimer's pursuit of the Fliegegeheimagent, always pleased that something so simple could bring the creature such joy. Must be nice. He then looked over to the workstation Oppenheimer had been sleeping at. He sighed and knew if he wanted to get any rest tonight, he had some work to do. Leaving the cat to his hunt, Drave walked over to the workstation and prepped his Proteus-AG Blitzfurhen Cyberdeck to conduct searches on Argent, Mary Jane Kelly, and Emily Sanders. "Well Oppenheimer," Drave said to the thoroughly distracted cat, "lets see what we can discover." Drave then slipped out of the real world into the hyper-reality of VR in the Matrix.

[DrZaius]

Aurora Warrens, 12:50 AM, July 30th, 2075

After dropping Jack off at his apartment, Grease floors it back towards his neck of the woods. he skirts around a number of low-lifes and other undersirables, making sure to give most dark alleys a wide berth.

I wonder if I can take my Beemer down here? I may need to arrange a taxi shuttle to get my team out of this cess pool.

Eventually getting back to his own place in Montebello, Grease parks the taxi in the garage, and puts his drones away in their appropriate storage units. "Good boy, good boy.." he says as the doberman shudders and makes it's way to it's nook.

Around 1:30 a text comes through his commcode, which Grease quickly scans. He pens his own response to the team before changing out of his suit and into his work clothes.

<<@Team [Grease]: See you all at the coffee shop at 9. Heard back from Argent; he wants to meet at the Rising Sun Casino at noon. Let's hash out our plan in the morning.>>

<<@Jack [Grease]: I can send the cab to pick you up in the morning, if you like- no charge.>>

Sending the message, he decides that he doesn't like the way his BMW has been shifting between 3rd and 4th. Still tweaked on the novacoke from earlier, he loads up some AC/DC classic vinyl on his commlink and starts fiddling underneath his prized possession.

[Jack VII]

Aurora Warrens, Nic's Knacks, 7:30 AM, July 30th, 2075

The commlink on the window sill beeped incessantly as the alarm activated at 0730. Jack shook his head groggily and woke up. Grabbing the commlink off the sill, he checked the device for messages and noticed a text from Grease. Appreciating the gesture, Jack typed back a quick reply.

<<@Grease [JustJack] That would be most appreciated, hombre. I'll be waiting outside at 0830>>

The message sent, the ork got out of bed and headed for the shower, grateful that Nic paid enough in bribes that their ration period generally coincided with daylight hours rather than something stupid like 0000 to 0600. Washing up, Jack dried off and took care of his morning routine. Given how quickly his facial hair grew, he grabbed his electric razor and shaved his face clean, knowing he'd still have a 5 o'clock shadow by 1500. Moving over to his closet, he selected a clean undershirt and light purple button-up shirt. Given the continued heat, Jack chose to go without tie again today. Grabbing his Actioneer Business Suit, he donned pants and jacket, tucking his Streetline Special into the holster tailored into the jacket. Putting on his brown wing-tip shoes and horn-rim glasses, Jack checked himself out in the mirror and gave himself a thumb's up.

Stepping into the main room of the shop, Jack noticed that Nic hadn't appeared to have woken up yet. The troll had been awake late last night waiting for him and was probably sleeping in. Heading over to the SoyFactory3000, a 5 year old model Nic had liberated from somewhere, Jack selected a soy cube and programmed the machine to inject it with a chocolate doughnut flavor. While the machine grunted along while it worked, the ork called up the morning edition of the Denver Tribune to see what was going on. "Purity, huh? I'll give those fraggers a pure fist to the face if I ever see them. Drekheads..." the ork groused. Coming to the article about the Sioux-UCAS talks, Jack paused. That could mean something. Most of the officers in our investigation were killed near and worked close to the Sioux border. On top of that, a few were involved in smuggling interdiction, so they'd be directly involved in fighting attempts to get past this tariff issue. I wonder which Sioux companies are hurting the most from this...

The machine chimed indicating Jack's soy-based breakfast was done. Grabbing the hot cube, he left the shop, locking up behind him. Grease's taxi was waiting for him outside. Walking over to the passenger side, Jack noticed that Grease wasn't inside and figured he must have either put it on autopilot or was controlling it remotely. Jack hoped for the former, as he really didn't want to know what kind of risks Grease would take with a car that he himself was not physically inside. Settling into the cab, Jack said, "Corner of Tower Road and Mississippi Avenue. Uh, gracias and por favor?" The cab beeped in understanding and shot off through the Warrens towards its destination.

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 8:45 AM, July 30th, 2075

Even without Grease driving, the cab's pilot program must have adapted itself somewhat to its owners behavior. Arriving at the intersection in a lot less time than he anticipated, Jack exited the vehicle, instructing the cab to find some place to park itself. Spotting the coffee shop Overkill had suggested, the ork entered and headed to the counter. Ordering a basic black soykaf, he paid, collected his order, and grabbed a sufficiently secluded table that would allow the group to converse without much fear of being overheard.

GEAR

[ Spoiler ]

Streetline Special [Regular] w/1x Spare Clip [Regular] (W)
Flash-Pak (W)
Actioneer Business Clothes (W)
Horn Rim Glasses w/Flare Comp, Image Link, Vision Enhancement (2) (W)
Earbuds w/Audio Enhancement (3) (W)
Hermes Ikon (5) w/Subvocal Mic
Bio-monitor (W)
Standard Credstick
Internal Air Tank (3) [Alpha] (W)
Muscle Replacement (2) [Alpha] (1.6)
Skilljack (4) [Used] (W)
Skillwires (4) [Used]
Smartlink [Alpha] (W)
Spurs [Alpha] (0.24)
Wired Reflexes (1) [Alpha] (1.6) (W)

Active Skillsoft: Navigation (2), Pistols (4), Tracking (2), Unarmed Combat (4)

[DrZaius]

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 8:57 AM, July 30th, 2075

Grease wanders into the coffee shop looking significantly worse for the wear. His glasses are tinted entirely black, and seems to have lost most of his vocabulary. Restricting himself to efficient monosyllabic commands, he gruffly orders "Soykaf. Black." before sliding into a corner of the booth.

Removing his glasses and rubbing his bloodshot eyes, Grease asks, "So, where are we?"

GEAR

[ Spoiler ]

Essy Motors Dronemaster RCC
BMW 400 GT
Fly-Spy
Microskimmer
Ares Light Fire 75 with 2 regular ammo, 2 gel ammo clips (in trunk)
Colt American L36 with 2 regular ammo clips (on person)
Actioneer Business Clothes
Glasses w/smartlink
Micro-transceiver
tag eraser (in car)
Metalink Commlink (Slaved to RCC)

[Always Overkill]

Overkill, Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:00 AM, July 30th, 2075


Drave strode into Joe's Cup of Soy at precisely 9 AM, reading today's edition of the Denver Tribune. He was rereading the first article as he sat in the booth along with the crew.

"Guten Morgen Meine Freunde, did you happen to read the Tribune this morning? I love it when racists qualify their bigotry with such masterfully crafted PR statements regarding equality," he said sarcastically.

Turning the newspaper off in his AR, he motioned to the waitress that he would like his usual double caf soylatte before turning his attention back to the crew.

"Now, where to begin. I received a response from Captain Ramirez, I didn't want to forward it directly off the burned commlink, so I retyped it manually," he said as he sent them all a copy of the message.

<<@Nemo[Johnson] Glad to hear you are making progress. In answer to your question, it depends. If there are fingerprints, I can try and run it. If the weapon has been used in the commission of a crime, and we have seen shell casings like this before, then yes, we can match the casing to the gun. Are you at a dead end with regards to the investigation? I'd like to avoid using our databases unless absolutely necessary.>>

"I conducted searches on Emily Sanders and Mary Jane Kelly, basic civilian profiles, nothing flashy there. Ms. Sanders is a secretary for an accounting firm in the CAS zone; Ms. Kelly is a customer service rep for a publishing company. I have both of their home addresses. Also, my searches confirmed that Argent is most definitely a Shadowrunner, at least it seems that way with ads looking for work under the "bodyguard/enforcer/wetwork" categories. But I will let you judge for yourselves." Drave sent over the files from last nights searches to the rest of the team.

"Now I suppose the really tricky question is where do we start?"

Gear:

[ Spoiler ]

Ares Crusader 2 (No Suppressor)
-100 rounds Stick and Shock
Streetline Special
-100 rounds Standard Ammo
Earbud- Audio Enhancement 1, Spatial Recognizer
Fake Sin 4
Proteus-AG Blitzfurhen "Lightning Drive" Cyberdeck
Fliegegeheimagent x1 (Fly Spy)
Flash Pak x2
Trauma Patches x2
Stim Patches 3 x4
Bug Scanner 5
Hermes Ikon Commlink

[Chrome Head]

Amy, Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:00 AM, July 30th, 2075

Amy left Sam with Kevin again this morning, but this time he seemed a lot more alert. He said he'd take good care of her and show her how to build a toaster. While Amy had no clue what that was, Sam seemed very excited to learn about this, she always liked toying around with Kevin. Amy couldn't really understand most of it, and got bored really easily with that kind of stuff, but for the kids it was all fun and games. Outside, she waited for her turn to take Grease's and went on her way.

Once at the coffee shop, Amy gets herself a cup of soycaf before sitting down with the team. In answer to Overkill, she proposes one option "Well, we could try to completely solve that murder at the hub, that would be a really good start. There's the pills that we still need to confirm that they are indeed Crimson Fire. And there's still that Twoman in prison, would be nice to know who he is and how come he had the drugs."

When she gets a chance, she also adds "Apart from that, I have to admit I'm not yet fully equipped for this kind of job just yet. One thing that would be really useful, as I found out yesterday and it's come up again this morning with these files that I should look at, is AR glasses, or even better, contacts. I have enough money to pay for that now that we got an advance, but I don't know where to look. Jack, maybe you'd know? Would probably be good to also have masks or stuff to disguise ourselves, no? We're 'criminals' after all." She clearly has much disdain for that word.

[ Spoiler ]

Physical Description

Amy is a young elf of 25 years, 6 foot tall and 145 lbs. She has deep brown eyes and half of her black hair is shaven to show off her gears tattoo (see image). As an elf, she is naturally very attractive and graceful, yet it is obvious just looking at her that she comes from the streets. She is wearing tough boots with straps, jean shorts, a worn gray top under a leather vest, and her long black armor jacket over it all.

Carried Gear

- Armor jacket
- Cash and credstick
- Reagents 20 drams
- Sling bag with the following
- - Survival Kit
- - Respirator rating 4
- - Renraku Sensei [subvocal mic]

[Jack VII]

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:00 AM, July 30th, 2075

Nodding good morning to each of his compatriots, Jack said to Amy, "Funny you should mention that..." Turning to the group, he continued, "I'm checking with an acquaintance who works in procurement to see if she could secure an item or two for me. If anyone would like to put in a request, just let me know. So far I've got a request for one pair of AR contacts."

Resting his commlink on the table, Jack called up the AR keyboard and began typing a note to Honeypot. While he waited for any others to chime in, the ork continued, "Alright, since we still have leads we can follow up on in the Mitchell case, let's hold off on having Johnson do forensics on the shell casing. We know we can always ask if we have to, but better to wait until it is absolutely necessary. Overkill, please let Mr. Johnson know we still have other leads to follow up."

Looking at Grease, the ork said, "Grease, good jo- hombre, I gotta say, you look like drek. Sorry. Anyway, good job on getting a hold of Argent. Looks like the Casino is in the Hub, so you're out Amy. That's not a total loss though. A guy like Argent may not even meet if four of us showed up to see him. I think no more than two of us should go. Since you contacted him Grease, you're obviously numero uno. Just based on dress, I think I probably would fit in best with you, but I'm willing to hang back if Overkill would rather go."

"While Grease and whoever else are at the Casino, what will the other two be doing? We have a few leads to follow up on: the drugs, Emily Sanders, Mary Kelly, and Twoman. Of the four, Kelly is probably going to be the easiest and safest to follow up on at the moment. She lives and works in the UCAS sector, unlike Sanders who hangs her hat in the CAS. She also may open up a new line for us since we don't know anything about the incident she witnessed.

Taking a sip of his soykaf, Jack continued, "I also think Twoman is someone we really need to try to contact. He can confirm that the drugs are indeed Crimson Fire and may shed some light on the Los Mags connection to the conspiracy. Given our mutual ancestry, I might even be able to pull off an adequate Los Mags ganger with the right fake tattoo if we want to send someone in to try and talk to him. To do that though, we have to get on his visitor list, which means Overkill is going to have to do some work."

"Anyway, in addition to trying to find Kelly, the other group might best be served if they swung by a clothing store and did a little shopping." Pausing for a moment, Jack looked at Amy, "I think you're right that we need something to disguise ourselves a bit. Masks may be a little much, we don't really need anything fancy, but enough of a variety of clothing for all of us to not appear out of place in a number of different situations. Caps, jeans, shorts, khaki trousers, plain T-shirts, short sleeve collared shirts, stuff like that. A thrift store would actually work great for what we want and it shouldn't cost a bundle of nuyen either."

[Always Overkill]

Overkill, Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:02 AM, July 30th, 2075

Drave listened as the crew discussed the various routes they might take with their investigation that day. Jack was right, Grease looked like we had just gone 12 rounds against a cybernetically enhanced Troll, and Drave zoomed in curiously on Grease's bloodshot eyes with his Vision Mag.

"Even though I had such a splendid time on our last journey over to the Hub, I believe I will stay behind on this one. I trust that two Kandidats like yourselves will ask herr Argent all the necessary questions. Amy and I can start working here; Ms. Kelly is local, she won't be hard to for us to find. I would also like to take a look at Officer Newton's Apartments, see what the building's security cams may have caught the night of his shooting."

He looked over at Jack, "Think that supplier of yours would be able to come by an armor vest? The weather makes my regular armor a touch too indiscreet. Amy may want to consider getting one as well, that old jacket of yours has always been a bit warm for you in the Summer, Meine Liebling."

[DrZaius]

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:02 AM, July 30th, 2075

Draining his 3rd cup of Soykaf in as many minutes, Grease begins to look metahuman again. You're not sure what the phrase "rode hard and put to bed wet" means, but you're fairly certain it's applicable in this situation. He nods along with eyes squinted closed to everyone's ideas, making sure to show he's reading the conversation and not catching up on his beauty rest.

"Right.. Right. Well, I could probably use a vest as well. I've got some older clothes back at my place, It might make sense to try to blend in a bit more if we're going to be working in the warrens. I look like a bit of a Goomba sitting here in this suit."

The waitress refills his cup and within moments he empties it's contents again. "So it's settled that we're meeting Argent; I'm fine with Jack and I going if Amy can't." Thumbing through the AR display of the information Overkill found, Grease nods, impressed. "This is a great profile; we can really work with this. I'm going to send Chapel the money now; Argent wanted 200 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to meet with us. Are there any questions in particular either of you would want to make sure we ask him? And has anyone been to this Casino before?"

[Jack VII]

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:05 AM, July 30th, 2075

As the requests were made, Jack added them to his message to Honeypot. In response to Grease's question about the Casino, Jack simply shrugged and said, "Maybe? To be honest, I don't know if I have or not, but it does ring a few bell. It's where the old Hilton used to be downtown. Security is tight as you'd expect for a casino, even more so since the Wakenda Yaks are rumored to be involved. Strangest thing is that Renraku provided most of the financing through a complex series of bundled derivatives and mortgage debt swaps, even used a fairly complex shell company structure to do it." Jack calmly sipped his soykaf as he met his compatriots' incredulous looks. with one of his own. "What? I don't know either..."

With it sounding like consensus had been reached, the ork said, "Alright, so it sounds like we're settled on our plans for the morning. If my connection can come through, the gear's going to be delivered to Nic's Knacks, the shop that doubles as my doss in the Warrens. I figure our trip to the Hub is going to take us the morning and early afternoon, maybe even longer if Argent provides us with other potential leads. Travelling back and forth is getting expensive, so I'd rather knock out any other leads in the Hub while we're there."

Jack downed the last dregs of his soykaf and scrubbed at the rings left behind with a paper napkin. Leaning over to Overkill, he said, "If you brought that magazine with you, I'll take it now. Thanks for letting me stash it at your place."

[Chrome Head]

Aurora Warrens, Joe's Cup of Soy, 9:05 AM, July 30th, 2075

Amy agrees with the consensus. "Sounds like we have a plan. I'll stay behind with Overkill, buy some extra clothes for everyone and find Mary Jane." This business is great. I'm getting paid to buy new clothes!

About the armor vest, she couldn't resist, "An armor vest sounds like a great investment. I'll take one! Oh and I'd still like a mask that looks realistic for myself, if that's okay. Just in case."

And in answer to Grease. "I don't know what to ask Argent other than what did he see. I guess you can always see if he's personally interested in taking revenge on the killer, but that's not so great if we want him alive."

[Lobo0705]

The Rising Sun Casino, The Hub, 11:25 AM

After finishing their discussions over breakfast, Overkill and Amy took their leave of the coffee shop. Jack and Grease watched them leave, Grease sagging slightly due to the effects the Novacoke was wreaking on his system.

"Just give me a little more time, and a few more cups of soykaf, and we'll get going." he said, pushing his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose.

Over the next hour or so, Grease seemed to recover, and putting picking up their things, the duo paid the check and went to the cab.

A quick drive brought them to the airport, where Jack stashed his mag in the glove compartment, and the two passed through security, each with a minimum of fuss. Arriving at Union Station at 11:10, they collected their things, and this time caught a quick ride to the station, the heat of the late morning sun starting to become uncomfortable.

They arrived outside the Rising Sun, the building towering over them, the AR a mixture of modern and feudal Japanese architecture and art. The cab parked in front, letting the two out into the crush of foot traffic down the sidewalk, tourists and sararirmen bustling by, rubbing shoulders with one another.

Negotiating their way through the press, they make it to the main entrance, entering a lavish lobby the size of most football fields. Security is in evidence all around them, uniformed guards, drones, cameras, although no one comes to pat them down. A huge double staircase runs up each side of the room, with a balcony overhanging the middle, while a main corridor exist the lobby on the other side. In the middle of it all is a Koi pond, stocked with rare and exotic specimens of the Japanese fish.

[Jack VII]

The Rising Sun Casino, The Hub, 11:25 AM

Jack stared at the oppulence. Nice place, he thought, images of the Warrens running through his head. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at Grease, the ork couldn't help but be impressed by the quick turnaround. The elf had looked like absolute drek this morning when he showed up at Joe's Cup of Soy. Now, he looked almost refreshed. Gregarious and even a bit charming, Jack hadn't even met this side of Grease before, so he had high hopes for the meet today.

Entering the Lobby with the elf, Jack said, "So what's the play? Our guy give us a place to meet him? I'll go grab us some chips if we need to gamble a bit before he gets here. Otherwise, that balcony looks like a good place to watch for his arrival. Just let me know."

GEAR

[ Spoiler ]

Streetline Special [Regular] w/1x Spare Clip [Regular] (W)
Flash-Pak (W)
Actioneer Business Clothes (W)
Horn Rim Glasses w/Flare Comp, Image Link, Vision Enhancement (2) (W)
Earbuds w/Audio Enhancement (3) (W)
Hermes Ikon (5) w/Subvocal Mic
Bio-monitor
Standard Credstick
Internal Air Tank (3) [Alpha] (W)
Muscle Replacement (2) [Alpha] (1.6)
Skilljack (4) [Used] (W)
Skillwires (4) [Used]
Smartlink [Alpha] (W)
Spurs [Alpha] (0.24)
Wired Reflexes (1) [Alpha] (1.6) (W)

Active Skillsoft: Disguise (1), Free-Fall (1), Gymnastics (2), Sneaking (4)

[Lobo0705]

1621 Wabash, 10:15 AM, UCAS Zone

Overkill and Amy left the coffee place, and after a quick 15 minute trip outside the Warrens, stopped at a local clothing outlet. While Overkill moved through the clothing store efficiently picking out clothing for the rest of the team, Amy moved a little more slowly, a small smile on her face as she picked up fabrics that she normally never got to wear. Picking out a couple of nice outfits, she followed Overkill to the register and let him pay.

Stashing the clothing in the saddlebags of the bike, they zipped across town to Mary Kelly's house. Arriving outside, they dismount look around. It is a quiet residential neighborhood, looking like the houses dated back about 70-80 years.

Mary's house was a ranch, and while it was apparent she took care of the exterior of the house, the yard showed less care, the grass long and ragged, and the tips starting to brown in the heat.

[DrZaius]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:25 AM, July 30th, 2075

Scoping out the Casino lobby, it is mostly empty this early- but not entirely. People mill about inside, a combination of degenerate gamblers, early-rising elderly, and tourists killing time before lunch.

<<@Jack [Grease]: This place is locked up tighter than a Dragon's wallet. I don't blame Argent for picking it; it's about as safe a place to meet as you could hope for. I'd wager they have a fairly good idea of every piece of ware we've got on us, legal and illegal. I think we play nice, they won't give us trouble. I imagine they're willing to let almost anything through the door they think they can handle if it's got cred on it.>>

Turning to face Jack, Grease comments outloud, "He just said the lobby. Could be he's already here, watching for us- that's what I'd do. Let's let him sniff us out, take a look so he doesn't get spooked off. That Koi pond over there looks fascinating; let's go examine it for the next 20 minutes. We let him approach us, the meeting is on his terms; all we want is to make sure he's comfortable so he isn't cagey when we ask him questions."

<<@Team [Grease]: At the Casino; no sign of Argent yet. Will let you know what we find out.>>

Grease saunters over to the Koi pond, showing real delight as he examines the exotic fish, making sure to point out a few especially interesting ones to Jack as they wander around the exterior of the pond.

GEAR:

[ Spoiler ]

Essy Motors Dronemaster RCC
Fly-Spy
Microskimmer
Actioneer Business Clothes
Glasses w/smartlink
Micro-transceiver
Metalink Commlink (Slaved to RCC)

[Lobo0705]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:55 AM, July 30th, 2075

Grease and Jack spend half an hour in the lobby watching the fish and chatting amongst themselves, while at the same time keeping an eye out for and nosy guards or their contact.

As they wait, the guards continue their rounds, and the clientele continues to wander inside. At 11:45, Argent enters the room through the main doors, and walks towards them. He is dressed in a light blue button up shirt, the sleeve's rolled up due to the heat, stretching to wrap around his biceps. His light khaki pants come down over expensive shoes, and wraparound mirror shades cover his eyes.

As he walks through the room, he glances once at a security guard, and then toward the pond, and when he takes a seat he is across from Jack and Grease, a distance of about 3 feet between them. He pulls up an A/R copy of the Tribune and turns to the crosswords.

"Gentlemen. This is your dime. What is the situation?"

[Chrome Head]

While at the store, Amy spent some time looking for that special dress. She's always thought those were useless and only rich dumb people wore them, but at the same time there was a little princess inside her, like in most girls, and so she found a beautiful black and white dress that suited her while she was at it. Something sexy like she's never owned before, and she was looking forward to wearing it some place nice. It'll be just like in the movies..

1621 Wabash, 10:15 AM, UCAS Zone

Amy and Overkill arrive near Mary's house. Amy is now dressed appropriately for that neighborhood, wearing pants, of all things. "So how should we approach this? We just knock on her door?"

[Always Overkill]

Overkill, 1621 Wabash, 10:15 AM, UCAS Zone

"Precisely, Meine Liebling," Drave answered with a smile. "We knock. We are not cops, cops make people in these parts nervous, they know better than to talk to them about something like this; people get killed for doing that. We are Private Investigators, hired by the family of Officer Newton to investigate the shooting. I have found over the years that a most people who witness something traumatic like this want to tell their story, and they like to think they are helping find justice for the victim and their family. Being a couple PIs sent by the family helps people believe that. And when you break it down, its essentially true. Being part PI is all part of the job when it comes to Shadowrunning."

After saying that, Drave led the way up to the door, and proceeded to knock.

[Lobo0705]

Amy and Overkill, 1621 Wabash, 10:15 AM, UCAS Zone

Overkill and Amy walk up the sidewalk past the mailbox to the door. Trying to look like they belonged there, Overkill knocked. A minute passed with no answer. Overkill rang the doorbell this time, and again waited.

Amy was looking around the street, using both her normal and Astral sight. It was amazing how healthy the Astral looked here, filled with blues and greens and yellows swirling through the sky, and how unlike her own neighborhood with its reds and blacks and purples.

Traffic was light, only the occasional car driving down the road, and no one was outside, except for the occasional far off sound of a lawnmower drone performing its duties.

After no response from the second ring, the two looked at each other, deciding what to do next.

[DrZaius]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:55 AM, July 30th, 2075

Staring straight ahead, pretending to make a comment to Jack, Grease responds slowly.

"This is a delicate matter, so there are two ways I can ask this. However, you seem like someone who doesnt' like to waste time, so I'll cut to the chase. I'm going to couch everything I'm saying with "hypothetically". Let's say, for sake of argument, you were at Club QXT the night of July 25th. Let us also say you were involved in a firefight, and that someone nearby you was killed. We want to find that person's killers; what can you tell us about what happened?"

Grease turns and stares at Argent, studying the expression on his face and the lack of emotion in his silvered eyes.

[Lobo0705]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:55 AM, July 30th, 2075

Argent's face doesn't change at all, his face as expressive as a chunk of granite, and his eyes just as lifeless. He continues to work on the crosswords while he speaks.

"I appreciate someone to the point. Hypothetically, were I to have that information, that would be considered to have value to the right people. Who the culprit or culprits are, what they look like, video of them shooting at the person in question, etc. 1000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) would cover it, if I had that info."

[DrZaius]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:55 AM, July 30th, 2075

Grease nods to Jack.

"Well, one thing I'd be curious about before nuyen is exchanged is the value of this information. If, hypothetically, you were aggravated enough to pay them back in kind, that information would be less valuable to us. Can you guarantee that's not the case?"

[Always Overkill]

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 10:20 AM, July 30th, 2075

Amy and Overkill approached Schaefer's Diner on MLK Blvd. across from the scene of Officer Newton's shooting.

"Some Shadowrunner don't like to use their real names." Drave said to Amy before entering, "I personally prefer to leave foolish pseudonyms around town, like today I will be Heinrich. Our premise is the same. PIs hired by the family of the slain Officer for furthering the investigation."

"He just sit down, wait for the waitress, and when she comes, ask to speak to the manager."

[Jack VII]

The Rising Sun Casino, 11:58 AM, July 30th, 2075

Jack cringed a bit when he heard Argent's price for the info. That's a lot of dinero. The information better be good.

The ork cringed even more when it didn't appear that Grease was going to try to negotiate the price down at all. Argent couldn't know how much information they had nor the details and conditions of their employment, so it seemed like they had a few bargaining chips, but the elf was better at reading people, so maybe they had less leverage than he thought.

Jack slowly pulled out his commlink so as not to startle Argent and transferred 1000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to the credstick in his pocket. He waited to pull out the credstick until the final sum was settled. While he had the commlink out, he quickly typed a message.

<<@Grease [JustJack] Doesn't know our position, might go lower. Doubt the info has value to him.>>