Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 2: A Dish Best Served Cold Options

[Jack VII]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

"Sounds good to me, I'm better at stopping bullets anyway." Jack headed down the stairs, trying to keep as much of his mass between Huiquing and the incoming fusillade as possible. He brought his SMG up to his shoulder and pointed it toward the main door, ready to fire on anything that busted through.

[Melpomene]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Mel settled down into a firing position, behind a thick L-shaped pipe. It gave her good cover while granting a full view of the front door. She could hear the sound of magazines being changed out. The smartlink on her Viper fed her constant data regarding distance to the door, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and her own heartbeat. Anything and everything that could or would affect her aim displayed in cold numbers on her AR.

She took a deep breath and mentally clicked Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". It was her go-to piece to calm her. After about 10 seconds, she refocused, her heart rate slowing to a more even level.

Ready.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

The group as one makes a break for the door. Jack and Snap remain protectively around Huiquing, the ork keeping himself between the Chinese man and any stray bullets spanging off of the machinery towards them. Snap reached out to her spirit, "Spirit, aid us, we need as much speed as we can."

Sisco's drone comes to life, pulling out from under its tarp and accelerating to the door behind its master. Sisco hits the door at a run, the weak seal shattering at the impact of his 120 kilo frame. Mr. T is in front of him, engine already purring.

Hung Lao, Amber, and the two bodyguards are close behind, and one of the bullets nearly clips the Triad member, but is deflected off of the glowing field of energy surrounding his body.

A swirling vortex of energy begins to coalesce in the air near the group, and the team can feel themselves propelled along by a mighty gust of wind, pushing them almost halfway to the door.

At the same time, there is an explosion at the eastern doors, and they shatter inward on their hinges. The two guards duck behind some machinery, dodging razor sharp shards of metal. Almost immediately afterward, another grenade arcs through the door, this one popping and hissing as a dense smoke cloud starts to erupt from it.

Thinking quickly, Snap offers a silent prayer to her Mentor Spirit, and crushes a few scented beads of oil in her hand. She creates an illusion of two more bodyguards near the door, behind some machinery and spraying bullets through the door outside.

<<@Team [Snap] I created an illusion to delay them. >>

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Keeping the door between him and any incoming fire, Sisco grabs the AK and mentally disconnects the safety, the mechanism clicking open in response to his neural command. He looks out the northern end of the building, checking to see if anyone is flanking them, but the area is clear for the moment.

The rest of the group, moving at supernatural speed, outpaces Hung Lao's group quickly, almost reaching the doors, catching up with the Doberman, which was now zipping along at almost 50 kmph.

Snap's illusion seems to be working, as the fire slackens slightly, although that may be due to the thick swirling smoke near the eastern entrance, obscuring the doors completely.

[Melpomene]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

<<@Team [Melpomene] Someone want to give me a sitrep? Am I holding this door, or what?>>

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Snap sends a hurried message, <<@Team [Snap] We're getting out of here. Come.>>

Mel puts gets up and runs toward the northern door, zig-zagging between the abandoned bottle-filling stations of the assembly plant.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Snap, ever concerned with the safety of "her" people, starts to slow down, seeing Mel avoiding the bullets and heading toward them. Shouting over the chaos, she says, "Let's hold here and wait for Mel."

Jack doesn't break stride, knowing that if the principal doesn't make it out, none of them were getting paid. "Need to get Huiquing to the van first."

Over the bursts of gunfire the team can hear the unmistakable clank of treads on concrete, and a concentrated burst of automatic weapons fire comes out of the smoke, hitting one of the bodyguards in the shoulder, spinning him like a top. He hits the floor of the refinery hard, his cries of pain showing the injury wasn't fatal. More gunfire pins down the other bodyguard, and a few rounds pass harmlessly through Snap's illusory Triad members.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Sisco reaches out through AR and manipulates the drone's sensor array. Turning it toward the smoke, the faint outline of an enemy drone appeared.

Switching from sensors to gunnery, Sisco tripped the mechanism controlling the Colt Cobra mounted on the Doberman, hammering out a three-round burst. The bullets sent sparks flying as they pierced the casing of the enemy drone, stopping it in its tracks.

Startled by the burst of gunfire so close to him, Huiquing redoubled his efforts, moving as fast as his legs could carry him.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

The team is almost at the door, confident they can make it to Mr. T without any danger from threats inside the building. However, the feed from the Fly Spy overhead shows men breaking left ant right from the SUVs, some heading toward the northeast corner and some to the southeast corner. Their plan seems to be to come at the group from the north and the south. Fortunately for the team the southern entrance is sealed shut, but the northern door is their escape route.

Three men with automatic weapons are heading toward the northern corner of the east wall, while three more head to the southern corner. Two more stay behind at the eastern door, ducking at the "bullets" being shot at them by Snap's illusion.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Darting through the door, Snap sends out a quick message to the team, her trodes converting thoughts to a quick data burst, <<@Team [Snap] Fake explosion, don't worry.>>

What explosion? went through Jack's head a moment before a massive detonation went off at the corner of the building, causing Jack to flinch despite the warning.

Sisco also threw up a hand instinctively against the flash, and inside, Mel triggered her dampers, so as not to damage the valuable cybernetics, but heard nothing. Wondering if Snap had spoken too soon, the reactions of everyone else let her know that she hadn't. Although the group around Hung Lao remained upgright, the two men at the door, as well as all of the assailants threw themselves to the floor.

Snap smiled, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, although she could feel the strain of sustaining multiple spells starting to grow.

<<@Team [JustJack] Sisco, can you get your Doberman to set up a field of suppressing fire on that corner in case they get up?>>

Sisco nodded, leaving his position at the door after Mel and Huiquing got through it. Huiquing, the spirit allowing him to move as fast as man half his age, jumped into the back of the van and took cover. Mel ran past Jack, the flash-bang in her hand. Once they were in place, Sisco got into the driver's seat, closing the door and sending a message to his baby to put up a curtain of lead on the far corner.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

The team waits for what seems like an eternity, but is actually only seconds. Watching through the video feed, they can see the men get up from the ground, moving forward cautiously toward the corner.

The added delay allows Hung Lao and his group to make it to the van just as the Triad members reach the corner. Immediately the doberman opens up, the Colt sending a hail of bullets downrange, driving the men back.

"Get in the van if you are coming" says Jack to Amber, waiting to pick off any Triad member who might try and brave the suppressing fire and try and get a shot.

The mage helps Hung Lao into Mr. T and then jumps in herself, her two bodyguards climbing in afterward.

The video feed also shows the three men at the southern door, their attempts to get in frustrated by the welded door, begin heading west, clearly planning on coming up on the team from behind.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

"Get us out of here!", yells Amber, her brow furrowed in concentration. The team needs no second invitation. Mel tosses the flash-bang to the west, ready to trigger it remotely if it becomes necessary, and then hoists herself into the van. Snap, seeing Mel safely get inside, drops the illusion, the guards vanishing into thin air. She then clambers into the back, keeping an eye on Amber - although with the cramped conditions, it would be hard NOT to keep an eye on her.

Waiting until the drone stops firing, Jack, grunting a little with the exertion, clears and jerks the Doberman into the back of the van, and then heads around and gets in the passenger seat. He says "We're all in, let's go!" but sees that Sisco is already unconscious, connected to his van. <<@Sisco [JustJack] Move it pal, we are all in.>>

The overhead feed showed the three guards, now that the suppressing fire had stopped, move to attack the van. The lead triad member, hoping to take advantage of the cover offered by the gaping hole in the ground, ran up and jumped into the "hole". He dropped to the ground, grasping his ankle in pain as he twisted it on the solid concrete. The other two, seeing their companion sitting in mid-air in the middle of the hole, pull back to behind the wall, one of them dragging their comrade with them.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:51 PM, September 12, 2075

Switching to Cold Sim, Sisco perceived the world outside him through the sensors of Mr. T The voices of his passengers took on a tinny sound, as they always did when he heard them through the microphones in the truck's interior. He saw the indicator on the passenger window light up, and then the sensors picked up a hail of gunfire as Jack unleashed out the window at the three Triad goons.

The noise inside was deafening, but Jack's message came through to Mel's commlink <<@Mel [JustJack] Get them to shut off their devices, we know they didn't track us here.>>

Mel yelled out over the din of gunfire "Turn off all your electronics now!". Startled, the two bodyguards looked to Hung Lao for confirmation. He nods, and the men quickly shut off their devices.

Mel, cursing how slow she is in her meat body, but unable to go into VR, does a quick search for hidden devices. Her avatar scans the area and detects a single hidden icon that doesn't belong to her team. Got you!

Jack sprays the area around the corner, watching the three men hug the ground, ducking as his rounds pass dangerously close over their heads. Just gotta keep this up a little longer and we'll be past them.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:52 PM, September 12, 2075

Sisco felt the asphalt beneath his feet as he threw Mr. T into a hairpin turn around the building, tires screeching but his expertise and Rig keeping the van on firmly on all four wheels as it flew past the Triad members hugging the ground near the corner of the building.

It made things a lot more difficult, however, for Jack to keep his aim steady as he let rip a long burst at one of the men, several of the bullets thudding into the body armor, knocking the wind out of the prone Triad enforcer. The other two let rip with their SMGs, and Jack ducked back inside hastily as the bullets whizzed by all around him.

Sisco felt the impacts against the chassis like bee stings, painful, but not enough to slow him down. Gonna need a new coat of paint when this is over.

Jack stuck his head back out briefly, in time to see the man he had wounded eject his mag, slap a new one in place, and start speaking rapidly into a communicator.

Inside the van, the ricochets were incredibly loud, like someone beating sheet metal with a hammer over and over in quick succession. Mel blocked out the distraction and focused on the icon she had found, playing a quick tune on her viola, coaxing information out of it. The device seemed loathe to give any information up, as all she could discover was that it had been transmitting some sort of data.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:52 PM, September 12, 2075

Snap reached out into the Astral, calling out to the spirits, finally reaching a humanoid-looking creature of the aether. "Protect us, noble one." The creature, sensing Snap's need and power, bowed its head in acknowledgement, appearing inside the van, next to Snap, taking the form of a woodland sprite, more at home in an Old World forest than the urban jungle of Denver. Alighting on Snap's shoulder, the spirit infused the team with a feeling of peace and security, its small wings beating rhythmically.

Spinning around in his seat to keep the gunman in his line of fire, Jack opened up on the two Triad goons, emptying his clip at them to keep their heads down. The two switched out mags, keeping their heads down, unwilling to risk being hit by the barrage of bullets heading their way.

Mel, barely noticing the sprite in their midst, concentrated on the icon in front of her. The device, knowing it was under attack, had started to pump out ever increasing signals, attempting to disguise its location, a Matrix-like version of chaff. Homing in on the device itself, Mel let forth a piercing note from her instrument, shattering the icon into a thousand pieces.

Sisco, looking ahead, saw the other two goons get into their parked SUVs, and accelerated. Jumped into Mr. T as he was, he was confident he could outrun them. <<@Team [Sisco] Hold on to your hats back there!>>

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:52 PM, September 12, 2075

Now that she was sure any tracking device was neutralized, Mel decided to see if she could assist in their escape. Reaching out, she sought the icons for the two SUVs in front of her. A simple 4 part harmony cut through any masking that the vehicles had, and she quickly found the icons floating in the Matrix nearby.

Jack was getting dangerously low on ammo, but he kept pouring it on the Triad members behind them. If I can hold them off for a few more seconds, Sisco might be able to get us out of range.


Dropping the illusion to ease the burden on herself should she need to cast more spells, Snap nervously noted her precarious position at the back of the van. She widened her stance and wrapped her arm around a drone rack, hoping that it was securely fastened.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:52 PM, September 12, 2075

Deciding that the best defense was a good offense, Snap launched a ball of energy at the two SUV's trailing them. Electricity played in arcs back and forth across the two vehicles, sputtering and then eventually petering out. It seemed to have no effect, the two trucks continuing to accelerate behind Mr. T.

<<@Snap [Sisco] Its gonna take more than that to stop one of those things, gonna have to put your back into it.>>

With that, Sisco puts Mr. T into a controlled slide, heading around the southeastern corner of the building. Jack, looking around for new threats, picks up three more enforcers running toward them from the west. They stop as they see the van come into view, and Jack, his smartlink blinking "Low Ammo" in his field of vision, flips the HK down to burst fire, and tries to hit one of them. The swerving motion from Mr. T makes it almost impossible, but one of the men seems to walk right into his line of fire, dropping from a trio of bullets hitting him center mass. "Welcome to the party pal." Jack yelled, not sure if his voice carried above all the automatic weapons fire.

The two men back at the northeastern corner open fire, trying to stop the van before it gets out of their range. Sisco slews left and right, causing the automatic weapons fire to miss first left, then right.

The two men to the west who are still on their feet drop to one knee and open up on Mr. T, and Sisco can feel real pain as the slugs rip through the metal plating in the back of van. Mel and the other passengers duck as the low caliber rounds, punching through the armor due to their larger caliber sabots, punch in one side of the van and then ricochet around, nearly wounding several of them. Shit, that hurt...

Humming "Ode to Joy" under her breath, Mel continues to work to find the weak point in the icon controlling one of the SUVs chasing them. Her back itches as she keeps one eye closed in anticipation of another of those rounds ripping through the chassis and into her back, but stays focused, sending virulent code deep into the heart of the SUV's control panel. Almost got it...

Snap, taking Sisco's advice, summons her will and launches a ball of energy almost double in size to the one she threw before. Capillaries opened in her nose, and a trickle of blood leaked out as she tracked the ball to its target. This time when it hit the SUVs, sparks flew from the engine, and an brilliant blue light reflected off of the windows. From her vantage point, the illumination allowed her to see the passengers and drivers writhing in pain, and both SUVs swerved slightly before swinging back into pursuit.

<<@Snap [Sisco] That's more like it!.>>

Jack, his HK clicking empty as his mag ejected, missed wide as he tried to take out another one of their assailants.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:52 PM, September 12, 2075

Wiping the blood away from her upper lip with the back of her hand, Snap concentrated again, launching a smaller ball of energy at the Triad members rapidly fading from view as Mr. T picked up speed. The men's backs arched and their muscles spasmed as the electricity coursed through their bodies. Left far away from the action as Sisco continued to put the pedal to the floor, the men lost all interest in the fight, hunkering down and gasping in pain.

The men to the south of the building continued to fire at the van, tracking it as it headed toward the gate. Call it luck, call it karma, but someone was watching out for the team. The first SMG seized up, the firing mechanism locking in mid burst. The man yelled curses in Mandarin and started to clear the jam. The second man fared even worse. The bottom of the bullet's casing separated from the rest of the bullet, causing the weapon to blowback into his face, blinding him. He threw up his hands in pain and dropped the weapon, and it bounced several feet away.

Jack stared in disbelief at their good fortune, and then ducked his head back into the van as bullets started whistling by his head. Glancing out the side-view mirror, he could see that Snap's spells had not stopped the SUVs from pursuing them, and they were in fact gaining on them. A gunman leaned out of each passenger window, spraying bullets at Mr. T, but Sisco deftly shifted left, and then left again, wincing as he felt the impact of the bullets like someone hitting him with softballs. Jack leaned out his window and fired back, but his aim was no better than their pursuers.

Not wanting to exhaust herself, Snap turned to her spirit, "We are being pursued by those two vehicles. Perhaps you can make it more difficult for them to follow us." The spirit nodded, phasing through the back of the van and reaching out to the drivers of the vehicles behind them. One's mind was more difficult to influence than the other, but the weaker-willed of the two flinched when he shifted gears, temporarily stalling the vehicle. The other one surged ahead, passing the spirit and beginning to gain on Mr. T.

At that moment, the music reaching a crescendo in her head, Mel finished her coding, causing the icon to glow red and then explode. In the meat world, the driver watching in horror as the transmission swung from 3rd gear directly to reverse, locking the engine up. He managed to keep the vehicle from flipping, but just barely, and the car swerved left, slamming into the side of the building. Giver of Immortal Gladness fill us with the Light of Day... Mel allowed herself a brief smile as she finished her song.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Exerting her will upon the spirit, Snap again asked it to stop the oncoming vehicle. Again, the men inside seemed extremely resistant to the spirit's powers, so much so that she wondered if they weren't being protected by someone else. Still perceiving Astrally, she looked around, but detected no one else who might be influencing things.

Jack continued his running gun battle with the men on the ground, but the speed and Sisco's constant swerving made it all but impossible to hit anything. Sisco himself was in a serious amount of pain from the damage Mr. T had take while he was jumped in - and he was nervous about his baby, hoping she would hold out long enough to get away.

Mel switched over to the other SUV, trying to ignore the sights and sounds around her as she kept hammering away at it. Almost there... just one more second...

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Sisco careened Mr. T through the gate, causing it to almost skip sideways as he swiped the side of the fence, bouncing the gate closed behind him. The driver of the pursuing SUV slammed on his brakes, and then hurtled forward in his seatbelt as Mel's latest cyber-attack wrecked his engine. The SUV slammed into the gate, smoke pouring out from underneath the hood.

Jack sprayed the men near the southern end of the building once more for good measure, and then tapped the side of Mr. T, "Alright, let's get out of here!"

[Chrome Head]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Time goes by, it must be barely seconds, but at the speed they are going Snap can already see that the pursuit is over and they are safe -- for now. Still peering through the back window, she announces factually "They won't be able to keep up anymore." She finally drops all sustained spells, feeling a bit drained.

Barely a couple more seconds go by. "How the hell did they find us?" she asks, now facing everyone in the truck. There's no anger in her voice, just genuine concern.

[Jack VII]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Jack was wondering the same thing. He glanced at Mel with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she had found anything that might have suggested someone was carrying a bug, wittingly or unwittingly. With the thought that one of the crew in the van might be a turncoat, he kept his nearly spent SMG readied, although not pointed threateningly at any one at present.

[Lobo0705]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Amber speaks up for the first time since the combat started. Raising her hands in a non-threatening manner, she turns to Snap, putting her body between the young shaman and the two bodyguards in Mr. T. Approaching slowly, she stops just in front of the young shaman. Swaying to keep her balance as the truck moved, she speaks quietly in rapid English. "I have several formulae for truth detection. I don't want to alarm you. It only makes sense that we were tracked. I just don' t know if it was deliberate or accidental. Have your associates cover the two men that came with me, S'oka?"

[Melpomene]

Bottling Plant, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Mel sits back after getting the non-verbal cue from Jack.

"There was a tracker that appeared once all of our 'guests' turned off their electronics. I don't know where it is...I never had a chance to trace it before I bricked it. And as far as I can tell, there's no other trackers, at least locally."

[Chrome Head]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Formulae? Hermetics always sound so serious...

Snap acknowledges Amber's request with a nod, and makes good use of her trodes.

<<@Team [Snap] Their chick mage wants to cast a truth spell on her own body guards, I'll cast a similar spell of my own. She thinks her men might be responsible. What I wonder is if she's got something to do with it... Anyway, Jack, Mel, make sure these two don't try anything unexpected while we get to the bottom of this, I'll watch Amber.>>

With that message sent, the shaman casts her own Lie Detector spell, assuming that Amber will get the cue.