Salted Wounds [IC], a Deep Black Sea game Options

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

The cafe is almost directly across from the ship, so everything is within a 100m

[Thanee]

<< Alright, before the plans are getting even better, I will just head over and talk to the guy, okay? >> Nova offered.

[Gilga]

Anna replies >>> Sure, want me to tag along? by this time she seems mildly interested in her cake, though she secretly hope to find some Sushi bar inside the ship.

[Volker]

<< Alright, before the plans are getting even better, I will just head over and talk to the guy, okay? >> Nova offered.

"No need, we're already on the list. Anna, make your way out of it. Try to appear both a little pissed and beaten down. Something stupid like 'A professional doesn't show his face just to anyone' or something like that. We want him to discard the appearance as some moron trying to get into a special club. We then wait a bit and enter in pairs. First Shark and his manager Anna, a little later Nova and her sugarboy Wraith. I'll go last. If something goes south with the data manipulation, I'm the only one who can do something about that."

[SquirrelDude]

"Sounds fine to me.

"C'mon Mrs. Manager, let's go convince him to let me in. Maybe we can even get him to think I didn't just hire you for your looks."

[Gilga]

As the two approach the bouncer, Anna says " Mr. Handsome, I presume.... She extends a hand and says "Nice to meet you face to face. My name is Anna Black, the professional with me is a bit reluctant to show his face, and is disappointed in me for not keeping his privacy better. It is my fault really, my bad for not verifying the faraday cage. We came to a creative solution through" she says hinting at the mask, after a short pause she adds. "At any case... It is nice to meet you, but it is also very cold so... please be prompt

[ Spoiler ]

I just used her SIN name to speed things up. If the list is by aliases then Anna would go by the name Bunny, and I will edit. In any case, she will say the name in the list.

[Jack_Spade]

The bouncer looked - although it was hard to tell with his face mostly concealed - unimpressed:
"You are on the list - added in the last few seconds - so that's alright, can't have tourists getting mixed up in here.
Here are the rules: You can keep your weapons, but we'd appreciate it if you did not draw them inside the Dandelion. There are life-ending measures in place to prevent anyone from starting shit. Behave and no-one has to end as fish fodder.
Enjoy your stay, Happy Hour is on for another 20 minutes."

The inside of the cruise ship had a retro-futuristic ambiente with lot's of chrome and bright neon synth-leather.

Aside from two other guests: A gnome from the looks of it and a troll were having an animated discussion at one of several booths that seemed to be equipped with their individual white noise generators.

At the bar a very pretty, male elf was idly cleaning the counter. A casual glance in the astral revealed him to be magically active - as well as at least one strong watcher floating at the ceiling.

Two other doors led further to the ship's stern and prow respectively.

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy straightened his tie and suit, and nodded at the bouncer as he followed his 'manager' into the establishment. "Hopefully you can at least find me a good seat, after leaving me no choice but to come inside."

[Thanee]

Once it became clear, that the whole bouncer thing was just meant to be some sort of test for visitors, Nova made her way towards the entrance, accompanying the rest of the team. She was still dressed in her business suit along with some winter accessories, like gloves, a woolen hat, and a red plaid scarf (the only piece, that was not black), and carrying her aluminium attaché case.

She just moved past him, waving her hand and saying: "Slow night, huh?"

[Gilga]

Anna leads the Shark to the Bar, where she orders them drinks exploiting the 'Happy hours'. She gauges the barkeepers trying to figure out which one (or is there just one) is the one where people who ask for ABdecker go through. She listens carefully to the conversations around her, and observes the surrounding carefully.
>> Shark, let's try to see who the real contact point is.

[ Spoiler ]

Pereception: 15d6t5 3

[Volker]

After altering her visuals, bnc joins the group and tags along. "Onde Liszt," she answers when asked for her name, and passes the thug. Once inside, she orders a raspberry mojito. For a moment, she considers walking straight over to the barkeeper but then decides otherwise. Instead, she walks towards and through the door that leads to the stern, to explore the ship a bit.

[Jack_Spade]

The bouncer nodded the team in, showing no concern once he was satisfied that you all had been added to the list.

The stern showed its former life as a cruise ship most prominently with a long row of cabin doors, leading to 12 cabins in total and a 13th door at the end of the hallway with a small sign reading "Management"
The cabins were numbered and locked with sophisticated maglocks.

Try as she might, Anna could spot only one barkeeper in the nearly deserted room. Aside from the troll and the gnome there didn't seem to be anyone else around in the big room. The barkeeper was friendly. His badge read "Schorsch" and he mixed a mean caipi as well as a very strong mojito.
"Anything else I can get you?" he asked in accented English.

[Gilga]

"Vodka" she says and looks at the Shark to see what he wants to order.

[Luckace]

As the "pairs"-disguise had been ditched anyways, Wraith's first stroll took him to the bar as well, where he nodded a smile towards the friendly barkeeper and ordered a Gin Tonic.
He also checked the menu to see if the club served food and made a mental note to grab dinner as soon as their business with Abdecker was concluded.

[Thanee]

Just in time to add "Vodka sounds good... I will also have one.", Nova arrived at the bar. She nodded to the few people present, whether they took note or not, then looked for a spot to sit down at the bar. She pulled her attaché case up and laid it flat onto the counter next to her. She also removed her hat and scarf, putting them on top of the case.

Looking towards "Schorsch", she asked: "Is this place always so deserted? Or is it a special night, where you only take... well... folks like us in?"

[Volker]

bnc raises an eyebrow as these fellows only order vodka in a cocktail bar. "Barbaren", she mutters under her breath.

After she's finished with the stern - she doesn't try and hack any of the locks - she searches the ship's prow.

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy thinks for a minute. He considers ordering just a light beer, but the fight earlier in the day probably worked off the calories.

"Just keep it simple. An Old Fashioned."

[Jack_Spade]

The drinks are served with speed and panaché. The snacks menue contains everything that a state of the art soy-, corn- and krill-food processor can synthesize.
To Nova's question the barkeep shruggs:
"It's particularly low tonight. Bad weather, hightened police activity after the terror attack on that appartment complex and of course many teams with female human members currently prefer not to go out to clubs if there is a chance they get mobbed by some of that damned Crusader junkies. But since you lot are here now, maybe it will pick up."

The door to the prow reveals the toiletts, another dance floor as well as some really nice, secluded booths with big panorama windows showing the harbor and the Danube. Of course all those windows are just hyper realistic screens on solid walls, showing an outside camera image.

A spiral staircase runs up and down here, but is currently locked at the top and the bottom.

[Thanee]

"Oh, yeah, I have heard of those punks. Well, they are welcome to try," Nova answered with a slight grin.

"Also, I have the feeling, that these Crusaders won't be welcomed with open arms in here, anyways."

She took a sip from her drink, wondering a little about the looks she got from bnc.

"Well, we are not here to cause any trouble, rest assured. But we are looking for someone, too, as things are. And this is supposed to be the place to arrange a meeting."

"The Abdecker. In case, you havn't guessed that part, already."

[Gilga]

Anna took her vodka in a shot and enjoyed the warmth of the drink as it spread inside her chest. She enjoyed that Nova took the lead, and just listened to the exchange intently, with appreciation. The chromed woman was quite charming in her own right, and she was the reason that Anna could still come along down this rabbit hole. It was clearly a blast to be in a team with multiple people that knew their way through the conversation. Anna was a bit suspicious about the "terror attack" in an empty apartment complex as it was really short ago. While listening to the conversation, Anna browses some of the headlines of local news in her glasses to see how much of a wave they caused.

[Jack_Spade]

The local news are indeed filled with speculations about the explosions - most of them are playing the terror angle, others are a bit more conservative and say it could also have been an accident. But terror seems to sell better...

The barkeeper stopped polishing and smiled at Nova: "Ah, I should have guessed. Well, I can send him a message, but it would increase your chances that he answers if you can give a good reason and/or incentive for him to talk with you. It would be best if you also tell him who refered him to you."

[Volker]

bnc overhears the conversation over the mic, but is, of course, still wandering through the maze.

[Thanee]

"Yeah, I figured that would be necessary," Nova said, flashing a sly smile.

Her voice became a lot more sincere, when she continued.

"We know, that he was in contact with the woman. You know, that certain one. She mentioned him in a note she left as someone she would come to looking for help. And help is what she needs right now. We are not like those freaks, that just want to rip her apart... or worse. I don't know how much you know about the whole story, and I am not going to give you any details here, but I can tell you this... we want to help her, and that's why we need to find her before anyone else does."

[Jack_Spade]

"Hm, ok, that is a bit vague. Do you have a name I can give Abdecker?"
Schorsch replied.

[Thanee]

Nova shrugged her shoulders a little.

"I know. Need to be careful, you surely understand. There's a lot at stake. You can tell him my name. It's Nova."