Tangled Currents - DES, Stormy Waters subthread Options

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #75

"I see. Big Boss comes to town to see how operations are going, have a look at the books, so to speak. Since you try to keep his arrival secret you aren't expecting sniper setups.
You keep saying you have top matrix overwatch so hopefully you'll have attacks by drones covered as well.
Bigwigs like this guy usually travel with at least one mage for astral security, hopefully taking care of that as well.
That leaves the meatspace for us with drive by shootings, car bombs, fake road work ambushes, gas attacks, rocket launchers, mines and trained attack-Chihuahuas.

Anything you can tell me about mode of transportation or are we expected to walk him by foot inside your little army out there. My own car is sadly inadequate for this kind of operation, although it is in fact an ambulance."

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

As John spoke, the body language and facial expressions of the men changed. "Who - exactly - keeps saying we have top matrix overwatch?"

[Raiderj]

Meanwhile... As Vexboy hid in the shadow of the AC...


"Hey Kid. Do you think that Sean Connery Bond could kick Pierce Brosnan Bond's ass?" Vexboy scoffed. "Hell no. Pierce Brosnan Bond is untouchable. Sean Connery Bond wouldn't stand a chance." Vexboy thought.

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #76

John smiled (#2 - slightly menacing):
"That would be you as in you specifically: You just told me that any outgoing calls are monitored. So unless you are full of bullshit, you should have at least two "trix jockeys" online that take care of matrix overwatch.

So anything else you didn't want to tell me that could be important?
If not, I'd ask you for a quiet place, where I can prepare my gear - I hadn't time to maintain my rifle and from the look of it I might need it badly with how "gangster style" you are handling security around here.
So if one of you could accompany to my car so I may fetch my gear and without making any calls, that would be just great."

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2105; warehouse district between I-5 and Green River, Tukwila, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

In his hiding place, Vexboy didn't have to wait long before two men emerged from the very door they had tampered with. As planned, the hinges held under the normal strain of the door simply opening. The two men took a moment to stretch their bodies. One gazed at the night sky, breathing the air deeply, while the other took a last opportunity for a proper, unrestricted piss against one of the HVAC units. Then they built up their sniper rifle and disappeared into their hide.

Way distant on the other roof, there was more activity, as it looked like two men were just starting to construct a hide for that rooftop.

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

The sour look on the man's face told John he was not entirely convinced by the drone-thing's quick-thinking lie.

But neither, apparently, was he sure enough of himself to take any precipitous action against the boss's flavor-of-the-month.

"All of you go with him," he told his bodyguards. "One minute. We'll be watching from the entrance."

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #77

"Sheesh, I find your lack of faith disturbing."

With a few quick steps around the corner, John went to his car and removed the hidden backpack.
Once back at the restaurant he went straight to a booth, removed the table cloth and opened his leg to retrieve the hardware kit.
With practiced ease he took his Ares Alpha out and apart. "Damnit, the smart optics are misaligned and no shooting range insight. Oh well time for a bit of improvisation."

With that he rummaged a bit through his pack until he found some tags. Immediately he began to take them apart too.

[JDragon]

Thursday, 21 November, 2075, 20:45; 38th Avenue NE, Northeast Tacoma, Tacoma, Seattle Metroplex

Rocky looks over at D-Pop as she sticks her head in the bed room he had found to grab some rest in while the sneaks were out doing recon.

"Wiz, Thanks for the update."

Left alone again he tries to get some sleep even if it is only ten or fifteen minutes.

[DireRadiant]

Thursday, 21 November, 2075, 20:46; 38th Avenue NE, Northeast Tacoma, Tacoma, Seattle Metroplex #42

DES consumed more materials than he had for months. It was tiring. Casting his will into the spirit world strained him. In contrast the Wind answered with ease.

DES needed to rest a bit, but first some more pieces to move, not least himself.

"I will need to be close by to provide the best assistance. Who is coming with me?"

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2138; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #78

John was quite surprised that the nosy Korean didn't pester him during his work. Seemed like he had managed to get on the guys nerves enough so he didn't want to speak to him anymore. Strike again for his machine charisma.
He was even more surprised when his stealth tag actually worked: The table now was strewn with pieces of wire, microchips and his still dis-assembled weapon. Now he began to calmly piece it together, and putting away his tools in his cyberleg.

The tag phone notified him that it had successfully imported his contacts, so he could call up the team:
<<Hi there, I'm with the Koreans at their restaurant. They are sitting around and waiting. According to the head honcho of the troops, tonight a Seoulpa Bigwig comes to town. I don't think this is a coincident. He'll probably be present at the transaction - although they won't tell me anything about that. Pretty frustrating. They do distrust me quite a bit, but if push came to shove I could take a portion of them out.
The thing is: Those are 30 guys and I don't want to look greedy. If you care to join me, we could take them out while they sit in here like fish in a barrel. The emergency exits are chained shut, so if you cover the entrance they have nowhere to go.
Alternatively I can stay in my role as support muscle. But be aware that the transaction now won't just be half a dozen guys but likely 30 from the Koreans and - if the Yaks aren't slouches at least the same number on their side as well.
But make up your mind quick. We could be called to roll out at any minute.>>

[Raiderj]

"If I intevine i'll need to take out the snipers. About to do that anyway... Vincent peered over to look around while still attached to the wall to see the rooftops.

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2075, 2140; 38th Avenue NE, Northeast Tacoma, Tacoma, Seattle Metroplex

D-Pop sent a message to the group. <<The Fates have warned me of the dangers of taking any direct action myself. Perhaps I should not even be speaking now. So I will leave all decisions to you chosen operatives. Please keep in mind, however, that we have no leads on the current location of the children. If for any reason the transaction does not take place...I ask only that you think a few moves ahead when planning your actions. But I am sure you already have done so, and have the situation well in hand.>>

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2075, 2141; Warehouse roof/Korean BBQ Restaurant, Seattle Metroplex

From his hidden position at the target site, Vexboy could faintly hear chuckles and chat from the sniper hide, while some distance away, on the roof of the other logistics depot far on the other side of the burned out automotive center, he could still see men gathering junk and building it into something.

Meanwhile, as John tinkered with his electronics and weapon, a couple dozen Korean men were making themselves comfortable around the restaurant. The air was warm with burning table grills as they fried meat, which was delivered in abundance by the wait staff, who did not seem at all fazed by having their workplace taken over by heavily armed gangsters. The men around the room went light on the beer but heavy on the food. Weapons were kept close to hand, but most had shed their vest, jacket, and even shoes. Some napped on the matted floors. Others were settling into card or mah jong games, all chatting lightly in Korean.

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2145; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #79

Resounding silence greeted John. For a moment he thought his system had failed, but another check confirmed that the message had been delivered.

<<Come on guys, I need an answer. This is a small army we are going to deal with. Get your collective heads in the game.>>

John had put his gear back together and wandered over to one of the coolers, grabbing one can of beer. While he was there he picked up a waste basket and swept up the empty cans lying around "I hate disorder."
Popping the lid, he proceeded to take a sip with closed lips, while setting the waste basket in the center of one of the groups of men: "Clean environment, clean mind. And no-one has to trip when the action starts."

He proceeded to fake his drink and finally threw it into the trashcan next to the door before getting back to his booth.

[mister__joshua]

Jan
Thursday, 21 November, 2145; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

Jan waited, expecting someone else to answer the drone. He'd been thinking on his answer, playing each variation out in his head. Outwardly, he just appeared to be staring out of a window.

<<@Unknown: Patience John. I love shooting slant-eyes more than anyone, next best thing to Waks. But we can't afford to upset the op until it's too late for 'em to go back. Wait 'til the boss has his feet on the ground, you get the call, move out. Once it's too late to back out, if you get a chance, take it.>>

He'd barely known the man a day, didn't know how he'd act or whether to trust him. Maybe he'd listen to Jan's advice. If he didn't and it all went to shit, well, he'd tried. Poor Audric, sucks to be him. Jan was already thinking about his next move, his next residence, somewhere the damn 88's wouldn't follow. That's the thing about favours, sometimes they don't work out...

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2145; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #80

<<Alright, I'll try to wait for the roll out. Take care.>>

John hoped like hell, that his placing grenades in the waste baskets had not been noticed - especially since he had to place a few more to reliably catch all the guys in the main room. The kitchen, he'd have to handle himself.

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2145; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

The response to John's exhortations to cleaner living were vigorously if not amicably received. As he went to his booth, the empty he threw into the bin was answered by one, then a few more, then a laughing hailstorm of empty bottles - none hit the wastebasket, but all threatened to hit him. They weren't thrown hard enough to do any damage, but many were not empty, and he was not only being pelted with empties but also the dregs of their contents. Jeers are guffaws filled the air. "Hate disorder? Well we hate you." "Bit me, Threepio." "Sit the fuck down, robot boy." "You want clean, wipe my ass, freak." "Damn hired stooge, telling us..." And on and on, the entire room cascading into ever louder torrents of laughter and derision, along with persistent calls for John to find a corner and leave them all alone.

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2150; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #81

It was the first time in a long time, that John had to consciously suppress a smile from activating. This was working better than expected.
"Message received. I'll go and clean myself up."
A perfect excuse to go to the washroom. Not to mention that he had caught two cans and two more had landed in the lip of his backpack. Just perfect.

The smell of cheap beer wouldn't come out anyway until he used the high pressure cleaner at home. Instead John used the privacy to extend his climbing claws to rip open carefully the top of his cans and sheathed four more grenades in the tallboys: Another HE and three Pepperpunch. Bending back the top and clamping it down, the cover was complete.
He made a few efforts to clean the worst of the stains, before he went back to the now littered restaurant. As before he began to clean up the place a bit, placing four more of the grenades at strategic locations. He didn't mind the resumed pelting with cans - their ammo in that regard was limited after all. Finally he appeared to give up to take position behind a sturdy column that took him out of the line of sight of the Korean mob and incidentally behind cover for the explosions near the exit. The Pepperpunch would be at the kitchen and around his position. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the perfect moment...

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2215; warehouse district between I-5 and Green River, Tukwila, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

The drive was uneventful, and in short order DES was pulling his RV into the vicinity of the target site, where Vex was sharing a rooftop with a pair of Seoulpa snipers.

They had, of course, left D-Pop and Bronwyn behind at the safehouse, and it felt weird now not to have her around.

[JDragon]

Thursday, 21 November, 2215; warehouse district between I-5 and Green River, Tukwila, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

Rocky woke as the Amerindian brought his vehicle to a stop. Rocky had learned when he was training as a boxer to get extra sleep whenever and where ever he could and had honed that skill to a fine edge as a runner. He had almost missed the bus, but had caught Des telling the others he was getting on the road in the other room as D-Pop was closing the door to his room.

He stretched a little, but kept it limited not wanting to break anything in Des's ride. "Any more word from the scouts?"

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2216; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #82

When the mob of Seoulpas had calmed down, John dared to venture towards the kitchen. Waiting was boring - even more if your thinking and acting was a few orders of magnitude faster than the average joe.
He stopped one of the cooks and asked him as innocently as he could in Korean: "Hey man, I think I need some stronger cleaning stuff than the bathroom soap to get that stain out. Where are your cleaning supplies?"

[DireRadiant]

Thursday, 21 November, 2216; warehouse district between I-5 and Green River, Tukwila, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #43

DES shifted the ARO with the conversation history to the forefront, overlaying the local map ARO.

"I need to be close enough to keep touch with the Wind, the young Brave is on the roof. What do you want to do now?"

[JDragon]

Thursday, 21 November, 2215; warehouse district between I-5 and Green River, Tukwila, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

Rocky slowly picks himself up off the floor of the RV and moves toward the front to answer the question.

"Well, no messages yet that anyone's hoop's on fire. So I say we hang till they need us or we see an opportunity. I tagged along as much to not need to take a cab as having any wiz plans, I'm the muscle not the brains. Or I hope I'm not the brains, 'cause if I am you may want to split while you can. "

[adamu]

Thursday, 21 November, 2216; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex

The cook looked at John scornfully - having found someone lower on the totem pole in this place than he was - and said, "Just speak English." Then nodded at a nearby closet.

Out in the main room, there was excited shouting - John had seen them lining up a couple of mantises for insect gladiatorials a few minutes earlier - the battle must be in full swing by now.

[Jack_Spade]

Thursday, 21 November, 2220; Korean BBQ Restaurant, Capital Hill, Seattle, Seattle Metroplex #83

John just nodded and went into the closet. He quickly grabbed some washing alcohol and - after loading the chemistry autosoft - a bottle of bleach and ammonia, putting them into his coat pockets.