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

[Chrome Head]

Amy's Apartment Building (Ram's apartment), UCAS Sector, 5:00 PM, July 30th, 2075

Amy asked Overkill to stop at Patty's on their way to her apartment, to grab dinner for 2 adults and 4 kids. She selected a juicy slow roasted soychicken and sides of potato salad and coleslaw.

After Overkill had dropped off Amy at her place, she went straight for the first floor apartment claimed by Ram and his 3 kids. Ram was the handyman of the squatters in the building and he was very respected by the others, who regularly paid him for his services. He knew how to get electricity from the city Grid, how to hook up to the matrix when someone needed it, though usually not for very long, how to get water running, sometimes even hot, and how to repair all sorts of things. He was an ork with the unusual feature of having prominent ram-like horns as if he were a troll. His work made it so that he was always around and knew a lot of what was going on in the building with everyone's lives. And with his youngest being only 3, he was busy with his own household too. Sam liked to play with his two oldest kids, Jamie and Tom, who were both close to her in age.

As she climbs up the stairs, Amy's immediately greeted by Tom and Sam who roar at her, with Tom holding a wooden dragon in his hands. "Watch out Aunt Amy, Dunkelzahn is blocking the way!" said Tom menacingly. "Yeah! He can breathe fire on you so don't ever make him mad!" added Sam equally menacingly. "Oh! A dragon! Help me! Help me! I need a brave hero to come and save me!" and Amy pretended to duck to avoid the fire breath. "It's okay Amy, it's okay! We tamed the dragon, he wasn't really going to attack you!" reassured Sam. "Oh good, 'cause I'm afraid of ghosts too." said Amy, smiling. "A ghost? But we're playing dragons..." said 8-year-old Tom, a little confused.

Ram was walking their way, and Amy went to see him. "I gotta talk to your daddy, you guys can keep playing, but we'll have dinner soon." "Roar! Roar!" was the only answer she received.

"Hey Chummer, sorry for leaving Sam for the day. My work has been keeping me very busy and I suspect it might go on for a few more days." "It's all right, what are neighbors for, after all? I see you brought dinner? Nice!" the ork grinned. "Ram, I know you're not into this kind of thing, but Sam really likes spending time with Tom and Jamie. And since you're already looking over them, you think you could add her to the list?" The ork was hesitant, "Well, sure... I guess." Amy saw that he wasn't really happy about the prospect. "Listen, this won't be for very long and I'll soon find someone who wants to do it more than you, but in the mean time it would really help me out a lot. Let's not make a big fuss, I know your time is valuable, I'll add 50 per day that she's with you on top of what I give you each month. That'll only last until I find a more permanent arrangement anyway." Ram wasn't going to refuse good easy money from a neighbor in need. "Sure thing Amy, I don't know what you do out there, but don't forget you have a young kid back home who needs you. Maybe you should at least give her a call once in a while, if you can fit that into your schedule. At one point she asked where you were, and it really pained me not being able to tell her anything that really made sense." Amy sighs. "Yeah, you're right. I've been a really bad mother for the past two days, I guess..." Ram interrupted the thought. "Don't sweat it, let's just enjoy what you brought with you.. do I smell chicken? Hey Jamie! Aunt Amy brought some chicken over! Come! Tom, Sam, the dragon is hungry, isn't he? Come here before he eats you whole!"

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:05PM, July 30th, 2075

"Violence and smuggling? How shocking!" She puts her hand to her cheek in mock horror. "Moving stuff around this city is dicey at best, and lethal at its worst." She savors a sip of wine before continuing. Between the ZDF on the border, the individual security corporations inside the sectors, the crime syndicates, the t-bird jammers, the Fronts, the Godz, and then all the independent operators, I'm constantly surprised we don't wake up to an even higher body count each morning."

Pushing her plate away, after picking up one last shrimp, she continues, "Fortunately I avoid most of that, dealing with virtual materials. Makes the border crossings much easier." With a wink, she lowers the shrimp into her mouth, and then licks her fingertips. "Every once in a while I get a consignment of physical product, our business tonight is a prime example, and sometimes I get some pharmaceuticals coming over the border - but I try to keep that to a minimum."

Finishing her wine, she holds out her glass for Jack to refill it. "Or did your business with me involve more than just product?"

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:10PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack began to fill the wine glass, glancing at Honeypot in a silent request for her to say when he should stop. When the glass was half-full, the elf gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Filling his own glass, Jack replied, "While sharing dinner with you is my main purpose here, I did want to touch base with you as you're one of the few people I know who would be pretty familiar with cross-sector smuggling."

Pausing to snag a piece of squid, Jack takes the time to chew and swallow before continuing. "There's something about these incidents I really can't wrap my head around. Given how much smuggling goes on here with the way the city is laid out, it seems like busts would simply be a fairly routine cost of doing business in the Free Zone."

Lowering his voice, Jack leans his head across the table and continues, "Without getting into too many details, the incidents we're looking into involve a number of people officially involved in certain drug-related busts." Confident she can draw her own conclusions, the ork continues, "It seems strange that there would be this level of retailiation. I imagine busts are made every day, how often does that result in expensive, contracted payback? Am I just being naive here?"

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:10PM, July 30th, 2075

Leaning back, and crossing her legs, Jack could see why she was so popular in her original profession. He could feel his heart elevate a bit, as she turned her neck to drink the wine just so, and this was a purely platonic business deal. She would be a force to be reckoned with should she ever put on the charm.

"Money drives this trade, Jack, as it does every other. If people are killing one another over product being smuggled into the UCAS Sector, then whatever is being moved in must be worth a lot of money. That could be in the form of actual individual pieces, or the pipeline itself."

She dabs at her face with a napkin, laying it back on the table. "Since you are talking about drugs, then no one individual item is the issue, but the pipeline itself must be. Let's take it a step further. You are talking drugs, so you must be talking about cross-border smuggling from the Sioux Sector. Their laws against illegal drugs, as well as their standards for pharmaceutical-grade products are draconian compared to UCAS ones."

A sly smile plays across her face. "Now Jack, your two friends from the Warrens, they wouldn't happen to be those two elves poking around about the deaths of the Lone Star officers, would they?"

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:10PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack's eyes circumspectly wandered to wherever areas Honeypot chose to highlight. The elf's information about the Sioux Sector was news to him; it certainly explained the cross-border nature of the operation. Contemplating what the elf was saying, Jack's eye-wandering came to an abrupt halt when Honeypot basically described Amy and Overkill.

Well, frag... he thought to himself. With a desultory pout, Jack replied unconvincingly, "Of course I have no clue who you mean..." Lifting his glass, he raised a heavy eyebrow and continued, "With that said, let's toast to fools, lovers, and all the trouble in which they may find themselves. Sounds like the two you described could use it..."

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

"Cheers - they'll need it. They've caused enough of a stir that I've heard about it - and I'm not directly involved."

Again, the hint of the smile, "Not that you care, since you don't know who they are, of course." Finishing up, she stands, "Shall we conclude our business my dear?"

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

Figuring the elf would play coy, Jack responded, "Yes, best of luck to those two... of course, it sounds like they may be involved in something rather similar to the job my crew is working. Any idea which ant hills they've kicked over at this point? Forwarned is forearmed, after all, in case we're snooping around the same circles..."

Jack checked the ARO of the bill hovering at the end of the table and swiped the shape of a check mark through it with his index finger. As the McCormick's host tabulated the bill, he made a smaller plus sign gesture and drew the number 20 in the air to add on a tip for the wait staff. The ork didn't mind paying, he hoped to further develop his professional relationship with Honeypot and nice dinners was one way to move the needle forward, particularly since she was a self-described foodie. Hell, if he paid taxes, he'd write this off as a business expense. Jack made a mental note to ask Overkill to do a bit of research on foodie-advocated restaurants so he could pick the next place.

[Lobo0705]

Overkill's House, 5:10 PM, July 30th, 2075

After dropping Amy off at her house, Overkill hits the throttle on his bike and speeds for home. Arriving at his apartment, he quickly heads upstairs and grabs a beer, and then relaxes for a moment, taking a break from his endeavors of the day. He stays like that for a while, slowly drinking and looking out his window at the Warrens, wondering whether someone else was succumbing to the drug as he sat there.

Focusing, he slipped into the Virtual World transforming into his angel persona.

<<Jumping from grid to grid, Overkill zooms to the Tasty Burger host, a giant, garish manifestation of their Deluxe Burger in neon gold and black, shakes his head in disgust, and enters through the front door, pretending to be yet another customer. A quick stop at the virtual vending machine where orders can be placed ahead of time, he bypasses the security to arrange for the security files to be on the menu instead of the usual soy and meat food ™ products.

Sliding his way through the cracks in security, he retrieves the footage from the camera, downloads it to his deck, and walks back out the front door with no one the wiser.>>

Back in his body, he reflects on his latest escapade. That's how it is supposed to happen - just have to get back into practice.

Reviewing the footage at his leisure, it seems to corroborate the tearful woman's story. The video shows a man that seems to be Lynx enter the Tasty Burger, walk up to the officer and execute him with extreme prejudice at point blank range, spending a few more seconds to empty a clip into the body. Overkill recognizes the weapon as an Ingram Smartgun. I'll have to get this info to the team, but first I think I'll grab some food - anything but Tasty Burger...

On his way to the fridge, he sees Jack's message blinking at him, and takes a look.

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

"Thank you for the dinner, Jack, it was delicious." She walks with him out the door, and calls her car to follow them as they walk to the taxi.

She looks askance at the taxi and says, "Interesting car, at least it blends in." Her own, car, a bright red Porsche Aguilar did anything but. She had kept silent on the matter of Overkill and Grease on the walk out of the restaurant, and remained so for now. Popping open the trunk with wave of her hand, she handed jack a couple of clothing boxes marked 'Lord & Taylor'.

"There you go, my dear, wear them well. Inside the second box are your contacts." Closing the trunk she says, "With regards to the two elves we were discussing, I could make certain inquiries, if you would like, but information, as anything else, carries a price."

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

"Any time, my dear. It was one of the best dinners I've had in a long time... the food was great too. If you want to do it again, or if you need anything from me, you know where to find me." Jack said to Honeypot with a genuine smile.

"Nice wheels," the ork remarked as he accepted the boxes from the fence. Not wanting to question the elf's integrity, Jack accepted the goods without comment. In response to Honeypot's offer, the ork nodded, "I'd certainly be interested in knowing what may be getting stirred up related to my job... and come on chica, we're professionals here, I'm fully aware that it's pay to play in this world. If you put your ear to the ground and something comes up, just give me a buzz and name your price."

Jack suddenly remembered he had intended to ask Honeypot about something. "Speaking of buzz... can you lay your hands on four clean Meta Links? We need a few burners, no connected SINs. I'm sorry that I forgot to ask you about it earlier, the conversation was so interesting."

[Lobo0705]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

"I'll keep that in mind Jack, and I'll see what I can find out." She pops the door on the Porsche, and turns at Jack's final question. "Some clean Metas? No problem. I've got some on hand - should have said something, I would have brought them. I'll have them delivered with the rest of your order tomorrow morning. Just send me the 480 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) the usual way." Stepping into the car, she puts the top back, throws a pair of sunglasses on against the glare of the sun, and speeds off, leaving Jack alone with Grease's taxi.

[Jack VII]

New McCormicks's Seafood House, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack waved goodbye to Honeypot as she sped off. Lugging the bags over to the Americar, he heard the distinctive sound of the taxi's trunk popping open. Lifting the hatch, Jack stowed the Lords & Taylor bags in the back and closed the trunk and said, "Thanks Taxi, you're not so bad after all."

Walking around to the right rear door, Jack reached for the handle. Before he could get his hand on it, he heard the distinctive sound of the door lock activating and saw the lock mechanism snap down as he pulled the handle. Frowning in annoyance, he tried the right front door but, again, the door lock snapped into place before he could open it. Fuming, he walked around to the left rear door. Before he cleared the trunk, he heard the sound of the two passenger side door locks snap open. Looking through the rear windshield, he confirmed that the car had indeed unlocked the passenger doors. Moving back around to the rear passenger door, he attempted to open it, only to see the lock snap into place once again.

It was at this point in time that the Americar beeped its horn at him.

Gnashing his tusks, Jack caught sight of one of the vehicle's sensors. Making sure it could see him, he balled his hand into a fist and placed it solidly against the window of the door. "You wanna try me?"

A few seconds passed in the silent stalemate, a page of plastipaper screamsheet blowing in the wind. Jack was relieved when he heard the lock actuator finally unlock the door. Snatching it open before the taxi's Pilot program had second thoughts, he slid into the backseat. Activating his commlink, he opened a message to the team.

<<@Team [JustJack] Hoi amigos, we need to meet at Nic's ASAP. I got some news, mostly pretty bad, from my meet. Check your six until you get there>>

[Always Overkill]

Overkill's House, 5:10 PM, July 30th, 2075


As Drave flips through the files from Manuel's sent by Jack, he notices a second message from him, bearing the warning. "Sohn von einem Weibchen", he curses.

He immediately opens a connection to Amy's Link;

<<@Amy: "I am on my way out the door, you should be too. Meet me outside.">>

then responds to Jack;

<<@Justjack: "Thanks for the tip, I will swing by Amy's to pick her up, and meet you at Nic's, schnell">>

[Chrome Head]

Ram's Apartment, Aurora Warrens, 5:20PM, July 30th, 2075

Amy looks down at her commlink and sighs. "I have to get going again. Sorry Ram. Kevin will come by later to pick up Sam and put her to bed."

She hugs Sam emotionally before leaving. "Sam, I'm really sorry my dear, but I have to go back to work. I promise you things will get back to normal soon and I'll have plenty of time to spend with you. I'm ... I'm doing this for you."

As she climbed the stairs to her own apartment, Amy was wondering how true that last bit was. In many ways, it was. The money would allow them to live in a more secure, more comfortable place. They could eat better and take a shower every day. Yes, clearly that would be good for the both of them. Her line of work was dangerous, but it would be worth it down the line.

<<@Team [Amy] I'll be there. Overkill, pick me up whenever you're ready.>>

In front of Amy's apartment building, Aurora Warrens, 5:45PM, July 30th, 2075

Amy waits for Overkill leaning against the wall in front of the building, drinking water from an old plastic bottle. When Overkill arrives she goes towards the bike and hops on behind him. "Let's go."

[ 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]

[DrZaius]

UCAS Sector Outside Warrens, 5:30PM, July 30th, 2075

Driving back to his apartment, Grease's eyes keep wandering over to the glove box of his BMW, where his stash is located. Keep it together two days in a row, you junkie. Speeding up, he darts and weaves through traffic on his way back to the apartment. There were a number of variables in his head about how things were going to go down, and he disliked being as in the dark as he was. He hoped recovering some commlinks from the "victims" of Stingray might break the case open. This run was entirely too complicated, and he was afraid that it was going to go sideways fast. If you can't follow the mark, that means it's probably YOU.
Grease also tried to avoid going into the Warrens whenever he could. You could call it paranoia, snobbery, or whatever. He'd admit to himself that it was because he recognized he was only barely out of those conditions himself, and it wouldn't take much for him to end up there like the rest. At any rate, he wasn't going to go in there without loading for bear. Stopping by his apartment, he loaded the trunk of his BMW with a variety of sundry, highly illegal goods he couldn't take into any respectable part of the city. Let's hope I don't need them.. Finally, he motioned to his Doberman drone to hop in the trunk. "C'mon RHex, get in there. I'll let you stick your head out the window next time." Obligingly RHex lightly hopped into the trunk, sending Grease a variety of emojis indicating pleasure, loyalty, excitement, and hunger. "I just changed your oil this morning!" Closing the trunk, he sped away towards Nick's to meet with the rest of the team.

<<@Team[Grease]: OMW.>>

Gear:

[ Spoiler ]

Essy Motors Dronemaster RCC
BMW 400 GT
Fly-Spy
Microskimmer
GM Nissan Doberman "RHex" (in trunk)
Ares Light Fire 75 with 2 regular ammo, 2 gel ammo clips (on person)
Ingram Smartgun X with 2 regular ammo, 1 gel ammo clips (in trunk)
Colt American L36 with 2 regular ammo clips (in trunk)
Actioneer Business Clothes
Glasses w/smartlink
Micro-transceiver
tag eraser (in car)
Metalink Commlink (Slaved to RCC)
Cram, 1 dose (on person)
Novacoke, 1 dose (in car)

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:38 PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack kept his eyes peeled on his surroundings during the ride back to the Warrens. Truth be told, the tidbit that Honeypot shared unnerved him more than a little bit. The crew had only been working this job for a few days and word had already gotten to the fence about their investigation. He could only assume the woman was referring to Overkill and Amy since he had spent the majority of his time with Grease and no one was going to confuse him for an elf. Hmmm... maybe we ought to pair off differently if we have to split up again? If the shadows were looking for a male and female elf, maybe Grease and I should pair off with Overkill and Amy respectively. Whatever it took to throw off the scent...

Grease's Taxi pulled up to Nic's Knacks in short order. Everything looked quiet around the converted building, although Jack knew not to get too complacent. Popping the trunk remotely, he exited the vehicle, leaving the door open to provide him with cover if he needed it. Slipping back to the trunk, he stood sideways as he retrieved the shopping bags and his worn clothes to reduce his profile. Closing the trunk lid, he moved back to the open door, shut it, and darted toward the building. Quickly entering, he closed the door and activated the maglock. Opening up his Ikon's feed, he quickly instructed the maglock to invite MARKs to the three elves' commlinks when they got within 10 meters of the device. Figuring at least Overkill would know what to do when he received the invitation, he looked around the room and spotted Nic.

"Hola, Nic! How's it going, chum? The team's heading this way in a few for a meeting. You remember Amy, of course. I'm not sure if you've met Overkill before, but he lives in the Warrens as well. The last one is named Grease, he's new to me and isn't a Warren Rat. Oh, they're all elves, so hide all of the flowers and baking sheets."

"Now, you know I don't like putting you in danger, but we needed somewhere that was relatively safe for the time being. I think a few of our inquiries may have been noticed, so I think the heat is on two of the others. The good news is that, as far as I can tell, no one has tagged me yet. The bad news is that the two that were noticed are heading over here right now. I'm not planning on spending much time here, so hopefully nothing comes of it, but I wanted to give you fair warning... not that where we live is all that safe to begin with but I know I would want a bit of warning." Jack did his best to be apologetic about the whole thing, he did feel terrible about putting Nic into the situation. "The maglock is active, but I had it invite MARKs to the others, so don't be too surprised if it opens up."

The troll had a look that mixed distaste with understanding. "Christ Jack, you gotta do a better job of keeping business seperate from personal stuff. At least the business you're in... it isn't like my shop is really going to cause us problems like this." The servos in his leg whined as he limped his way over to the counter and sat down on a stool. Jack knew the troll was also grabbing the sawn-off Defiance T-250 shotgun he kept there. "Go ahead and get ready for them. I'll watch the door."

Jack nodded thanks to the troll. Before heading back to his room to change, he grabbed his flash-pack and clipped it to a stanchion that was sticking out of a pile of detritus near the front door. He angled the device so it pointed directly at the door and confirmed it was slaved to his commlink. His slapdash preparations complete, Jack bolted to his room.

He tossed his balled-up Actioneer suit on the bed and stripped off his new clothes. Grabbing the two bags of evidence Ramirez had entrusted him with, he hid both of them in the bottom of the bag containing his new disguise clothing. Hastily folding the clothes he just removed. he placed them in the shopping bag with the rest of the clothing and evidence bags and hid them deep in his closet. Already in the closet, Jack reached for his brawling clothes.

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:45 PM, July 30th, 2075

Unsurprisingly, Grease arrived at the meet first. Riggers had that habit, no matter whether they started farther away than everyone else or not. Exiting the vehicle, the elf looked around with a well masked show of distaste. There was a reason he chose not to live in the Warrens after all. He popped the trunk on the BMW so that RHex could train his sensors on the surrounding area to act as an early warning system and fire support if the situation demanded it. As he completed his precautions, Grease noticed the now-familiar sound of a BMW Falke as Overkill and Amy pulled into view. Overkill dismounted the bike and moved to help Amy off. She waved him off, however, gracefully dismounted the bike on her own. It appears that she may have picked up a few things over the last few days of riding on the bike.

As the three elves approached the door, Amy's commlink pinged and the AR displays for Overkill and Grease lit up with a MARKs invitation from the maglock mounted to the front door of Nic's shop. "Achtung," Overkill said, "I'll handle this." Accepting the invitation, Overkill placed three MARKs on the maglock and cycled the lock. As the three elves entered, they noticed Nic sitting behind a counter, looking intently in their direction. The troll's large red cybereye focusing in on each of them in turn.

"Hoi, Nic!" Amy said as she entered, "Where's Jack?"

Before the troll could answer, Jack spoke, "Hey amigos, glad you all made it here." The ork stood in the doorway to his room, his corporate persona discarded. The ork was dressed in a plain black t-shirt, grey urban camoflauged cargo pants, a black web belt, black combat boots, and a stripped down black leather armor jacket. Nearly faded from view, a silver Aztlan logo was printed on the back of the jacket, marking it as one of the many pieces of Aztlaner military equipment that flooded the surplus markets after Ghostwalker booted the nation out of Denver. Interestingly, the black dye of the left cuff of the jacket had largely been stripped away as if heavy industrial cleaners had been used to clean the area on many repeated occasions. Jack carried a black tactical helmet with a visor under his left arm and had a well maintained HK227 SMG slung across his back.

"We've got to talk."

GEAR

[ Spoiler ]

Streetline Special [APDS] w/2x Spare Clip [Regular] (W)
HK227 [Regular] w/3x Spare Clips [Regular] (W)
Flash-Pak (W)
Armor Jacket w/CP (2), FR (2), IS (2), NC (2)
Helmet w/Flare Comp, Thermo, Trode-Net, Vision Enhancement (1), & Vision Magnification (W)
Earbuds w/Audio Enhancement (3) (W)
Hermes Ikon (5) w/Subvocal Mic
Gecko Tape Gloves (W)
Bio-monitor (W)
Medkit (3) (W)

Cyberware
Internal Air Tank (3) [Alpha] (W)
Muscle Replacement (2) [Alpha]
Skilljack (4) [Used] (W)
Skillwires (4) [Used]
Active Skillsoft: [Automatics (4), Sneaking (4), Unarmed Combat (4)]
Smartlink [Alpha] (W)
Handblade [Alpha]
Wired Reflexes (1) [Alpha] (W)

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:38 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease felt sweat form at the base of his back. He hadn't known Jack that long, and this change was enough to make Grease nervous. Feeling the Ares Light Fire in his concealable holster, his tension relaxed very slightly. Ain't a man alive that can draw down on me first. His tension ratcheted back up when he realized a light pistol probably wasn't enough firepower to make sure he didn't get shot back. Drawing first only matters if you put them down.. I need a bigger gun.

Skillfully and successfully feigning non-nonchalance, Grease smiles. "What's up chummer? Find something interesting in the files?"

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

Good, he seems to be taking it seriously, Jack thought to himself as he registered Grease's question. He decided to take care of the ancillary business before getting down to the hard conversation.

"I sent the team a message of what I found, but any of you are welcome to take a look through the files when you get a chance. I can't be certain that my take on it is totally correct." Jack pulled out a manilla folder of papers from one of the shopping bags and placed it on the counter.

Grabbing the two Lord and Taylor shopping bags, he walked over to Amy and Overkill. Checking the contents of the bags, he handed one to Overkill and the other to Amy. "Compliments of my contact. Armor vests for both of you and AR contact lenses for Amy. Not sure if you've ever used them before Amy, but they turn on and are charged through the body's bioelectric field. Pretty low maintenance. Once they're activated, you can program them through your commlink. You should see a new icon pop up that looks like a pair of eyes." Glancing over at Grease, Jack finished, "Our vests should be in tomorrow morning. I also should have four burner Meta Links in tomorrow's shipment if anyone needs one. They're 120 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) each. Just let me know, we can settle up when they get arrive."

"With that out of the way, we need to talk. My meeting with my contact was... interesting to say the least. I didn't learn an awful lot about our case save for a few bits of information. Apparently, drug smuggling from the Sioux to the UCAS sector is pretty commonplace. I guess the Sioux have a lot more lenient regulations related to drugs and their manufacture." Jack paused, mentally connecting the dots that Honeypot had provided. "Because of that, my contact thinks that the drugs may not necessarily be the important part of the equation, but rather whatever pipleine they've setup to move the product. I'll take my contact's word as they have a lot of experience in moving illicit goods around the Free Zone."

"While that was all interesting, it wasn't really the most important part. During our conversation, my contact flat out asked if I was working with two elves who had been looking into the deaths of a few Lone Star officers. Now, unless that is a major coincidence, I think someone is keeping tabs on us. My contact is only on the periphery of this deal and already has heard things. I asked if they would keep their ear to the ground and let me know if anything was making the rounds in the shadows. The information might cost us some cash, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. My best guess, someone took note of Amy and Overkill since I doubt I would get confused for an elf."

Pausing briefly, Jack unslung his SMG and gave it a proper systems check. Glancing up, he continued, "We've got an idea that the folks involved in this thing aren't playing around. I think we all remember that Mary Jane Kelly is missing and I don't give her survival great odds at this point. I'm not sure where we stand at this point, but I would suggest that you stay away from your homes if you can. While we probably have an advantage living off the grid as much as we do, spreading nuyen around can loosen tongues."

[Chrome Head]

Amy is shocked, as if the reality of running the shadows just hit her square in the face. "My home!? ... Are you saying my home is compromised right now?"

Sam!

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

"We don't know how much they know about us at this point in time. Hopefully I'll hear something more from my contact soon and get a better handle on the situation, but I wanted to warn everyone that we've at least been noticed and you may want to take whatever precautions you think are most cost-eff- I mean, appropriate."

Jack paused as he considered the business slip he caught himself from saying.

"I hope that living off the grid as much as most of us do will make it a bit harder for someone to track us down. With that said, we probably should be a lot more cautious if we visit the remaining crime scenes. If someone has been able to determine where we've poked around so far, they could set up an ambush at the places we haven't been yet by process of elimination, assuming the people who are aware of us are the same ones who are behind the conspiracy."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease shrugs at Jack. "Well, if they're already setting up ambushes, I'm glad our vests are showing up tomorrow, neh?"

He goes over to the counter to start perusing the files. "I know a couple of smugglers, I may pick up something you didn't catch."

Turning to Amy, Grease tries to reassure her. "I wouldn't worry too much- price of doing business. What do they know? A pair of elves are asking questions. Lots of elves in this town. I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion your home is compromised. You just have to be careful, as always. Take a different route home; make sure no one is tailing you. Keep an eye on your 6 and trust nobody; especially criminals." He smiles at that last sentence.

[Lobo0705]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

Although she listens to Grease intently, Amy shakes her head."I have to go back to my house, I can't leave Sam and Kevin home alone there if there is even a chance that they might get hurt by retaliation aimed at me. I don't know where to put them, but I'll figure something out."

Nic grumbles something under his breath, and those with sharp ears pick up the end of it "...damn boy is gonna' get me killed." He then speaks up and says, "Amy, bring the kids here, anyone that wants to get at them is going to have to go through me first." He then frowns and says, "But you make sure and tell Kevin if he messes with my damn tech again, he's on his own!" His tone is joking, but only slightly.

Amy seems visibly relieved, "Grease, I hate to ask, but do you mind lending me your car - or coming with me? I shouldn't be gone more than 30 minutes."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack was a little surprised that Nic offered up his place so readily. The troll was a grump most of the time, but then Jack had never really seen him around kids. Kids tended to be inquisitive and so was the troll, so maybe they matched up well.

Walking over to Nic, Jack patted him on the shoulder and said in a lowered voice, "I appreciate it, old trogg. I owe you one."

As Amy prepared to leave and Grease and Overkill started to pour over the files, Jack flipped open his commlink's screen to access the keyboard. While his combat outfit was solid, he lost his image link unless he wore his helmet, so entering text was done old school. It was only a small problem, but a pretty major annoyance.

Shooting a quick message to Honeypot, the ork flipped the commlink's screen back down and took a position near one of the windows facing the park.

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease waves a dismissive hand. "Sure, take the cab. It'll go anywhere you need to go. That goes for all of you- we work together, we need to be able to travel. The cab let's us go places anonymously; that's part of the value I bring here. Nobody is going to be able to recognize one cab from another. A souped up BMW bike though.." He lets the sentence trail off with a grin. Man, that's starting to get annoying.

Grease returns his attention to the files, reading through them quickly and flipping back and forth to check different files he's already looked at.

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 5:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

Unlike most of his comrades, Drave appeared thoroughly un-phased by any of the news that had just been laid bare. He had been staring into the gaping muzzles of his opponent's cannons for a long time; the tension it raised was nothing new to him, and it got filed away along with so many other feelings. He reached into his duffel and pulled out the SCK Model 100 in his bag, bringing up a status menu in his AR from the weapon's Smartlink, checking the ammo, and readying it with a strap as he began to put on the Armor Vest he had just received from Jack. As he did this he looked over at Amy, who looked more terrified now than she had seeing the Lone Star Patrol near the Wright murder scene. She grew up on some of the roughest streets there were, but this was likely the first time she had someone out to do her harm specifically. It was a different feeling and he knew it. Now she had to worry about Sam and Kevin, and as Drave realized this, he noticed a strange sense of dread he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Auch Meine Kameraden, I have been expecteing heat like this ever since we met the Johnson," Drave began as he and Grease poured over the files from the Manuel case, "but honestly, I thought it would take a bit longer before we drew this much unwanted attention. But our path is clear, hold up, lay low, and conduct our investigation using a measure more caution and stealth than before. If we stay on guard and remember to watch each others backs, we can get this job done." He made sure to keep his voice confident, hoping to bolster the spirits of his shaken friends.