Behind the Crown [IC], Behind the crown are shadows Options

[pbangarth]

"""I hear a helicopter coming. That means I don't have time to clear the residue of my spells. My spirit is toast. Let's grab what we can and get out of here before your vehicle gets tagged."""

[Bastard]

Karmakaze clears the contents of the glove box and center console of any electronics and paperwork, and grabs any bags in the car. Then she hot foots it for her car.

"""Sounds like the hellhounds have been satisfied,""" she tells Blue, as she puts the car in drive and flips it around in the parking lot.

[Koekepan]

It's a matter of seconds to turn out of the parking lot, make a quick right turn and cruise along under the trees and canopies of Ballard, heading north up the hill. Karmakaze's
Elektro can follow the grid lines quietly while she and Blue check their respective hauls.

In the mean time, Karmakaze realises that the incoming chopper may have been from a Lone Star precinct, but is more likely to have been from a Knight Errant branch office.

[Bastard]

The Elektro moves out into the moderate night traffic.

"""So... What does this mean for this job, Blue? The polis wanted you to check this place out and make sure they aren't getting fleeced. Then make two separate, but coincidentally timed, poorly executed runs on the building? I have never seen such ineptitude. It cannot be that. It has to be some sort of diversion."""

[pbangarth]

""" Frankly, I don't know. Did this woman actually have the authority to fire me? If not, I guess I'm still on the clock. Maybe there is something in the materials we picked from her car that can help us find out. I'll rifle through that pretty little backpack. That looks like it might have something interesting. """

Blue proceeds to do so, marveling to himself at the technology that allows cars to drive themselves on these busy roads.

[Koekepan]

The backpack is singularly unrevealing, except to display that the owner of the backpack has expensive tastes in cosmetics, likes to keep some basic meds and a small autodoc advisor on hand, and spare underwear. Nothing very scandalous, nothing loose enough to fit a stocky dwarf, but too loose for a gangly elf.

It does smell of floral eau de cologne. So there's that.

[pbangarth]

""" Damn. Nothing useful in here unless you're into heavily perfumed underwear. """

[Bastard]

"""Do you have a way to contact the person who hired you?"""

[pbangarth]

""" I do have his contact number. It would seem the thing to do to get some clarification. I guess we are heading for Jeremy's love nest right now? I'll call Mr. Johnson while we travel. I don't have much facility with electronics. Can you see what you can get off of the chips and the commlink while I see if I am still employed? """

Blue uses one of his burner phones and dials the number Mr. Johnson gave him.

[Bastard]

"""I can get it to one of my contacts, but we might need to pay them."""

[Koekepan]

Blue's call is immediately answered - by a fairly typical automated call screening device that politely asks for an outline of the purpose of his call.

Doubtless some little sub-AI will analyse what he says, and decide whether or not to forward him to Mister Johnson.

[pbangarth]

Blue shakes his head. """Yet another bot to bother with. """ He answers, <<<Blue for Mr. Johnson regarding contract.>>>

[Koekepan]

There's a brief delay, and then the connection ostensibly goes through.

<<<Johnson here. Do you have proof in hand?>>> The voice is bland, neutral, professional.

[pbangarth]

Blue comments to Karmakaze, out of earshot of Mr. Johnson. """ Looks like I'm through to Mr. Johnson. This should be interesting.""" He responds to the question, in a similar tone.

<<< No proof. There is a complication, however. During a stakeout tonight, I observed two men sabotaging the facility. I intervened, not wanting them to interfere with real evidence. A woman showed up, claiming to represent the concern that hired me. She accused me of failing to fabricate proof of the allegation, which fabrication was not part of the deal you arranged with me. The two men appear to have been working for her. She claimed I breached my contract by not fabricating evidence, and that I was fired. She then proceeded to enter the facility herself. The sound of at least two barghests howling ensued, and eventually quieted. She did not leave.

<<< So, am I still on contract as per our discussion? The two weeks are not up yet. Does this person have the authority to fire me? If so, what of the second half of my payment? >>>

[Koekepan]

There's a long silence from Johnson, and then: <<<I should ascertain some facts. I will get back in touch with you shortly. Will this matrix address still work for you?>>>

[pbangarth]

Blue replies, <<< Yes, but it won't be active indefinitely. I am finding it wise to remain difficult to track. >>> He disconnects. To Karmakaze, he comments, """ It looks like Mr. Johnson has been caught by surprise by the woman's actions. Don't know yet the status of my contract. He is investigating and will get back to me. """

[Koekepan]

Karmakaze's car picks its way through the streets, now much emptier as time has gone on, and heads for the highway. A few supermarkets and restaurants are still open, a few pubs and clubs, but pretty much everything is closed. Drizzle marks the windshield, occasionally wiped away.

Blue's 'link shows a message from Johnson.

<<<Contract terminated. Payment rendered. Thank you for your service; I may get in touch with more business later.>>>

So there it is: Blue and Karmakaze, in a car with a box full of adventurous reptiles and a weird egg-like thing. And another NY5K in Blue's cred.

[pbangarth]

Blue tells Karmakaze, """ The contract is done, and paid. 2500 is for you. """ He downloads the cash from his soon-to-be-discarded burner to his credstick, then passes half to Karmakaze. He sends one last message, to Mary Margaret.

<<< Please think of who might be willing to buy young paranormal animals. Will contact from different number in a while. >>>

He strips the burner of the relevant chips, cracking them, and tosses the pieces and the main unit out along the highway. """ Hopefully, Mary Margaret will come through with some potential buyers for the paranormals, but I have to think that Petsonal is a reasonable possibility.

""" If you find nothing interesting yet on the electronics, what do you feel like doing? Wanna visit Jeremy's love nest? """

[pbangarth]

Blue continues. """ I'm getting a little worried about those little critters in the back. And the egg. Sooner or later, something is going to get hungry or bored.

""" I'd like to get rid of them as soon as possible. And of course, make some cash while we're at it. """

[Bastard]

Karma pockets the credstick.

"""Thanks."""

She ponders the questions, and where to head first.

"""I will try and contact my people again about the electronics. I still have a bunch of drek we snagged out of those goons truck, but I don't think that will lead to anything we need right away. We already know we have to deal with Big J, and where to find him. Let's head there.

"""As for those little reptiles, I agree they need to be offloaded as soon as possible. No word back from your contact at Petsonal? Sounds like the poli is done with the work, but maybe they aren't. And didn't they offer to reward us for any 'recovered' assets? Were you able to use your astral sense or whatever to assess whether they are paranormal or not?"""

[pbangarth]

Blue replies, """ OK, let's head over to the love nest. Yeah, I checked them out. The little guys are astrally active, and the egg is not.

""" Going over my mental notes of the conversation with the woman inside Petsonal, I think she has offered a ridiculously low price for these things, if they are indeed atavophid basilisks. I had trouble counting the squirmy little things, but assuming there are ten of them, and they each weigh 1 kilo, she would offer us a whole five hundred for the bunch.

""" Hardly worth the effort. Well, maybe not for us with twenty five hundred each to our names. I'm hoping Mary Margaret can come up with some competitors' names, so we can do some quick wheeling and dealing. Heh. If we do sell the little critters to somebody else we might actually be doing what the woman in the car wanted, showing that the basilisks are getting out. """

In a cartoon, a light bulb would now flash over Blue's head. """ Wait a minute. The woman in Petsonal said there is some kind of power move in the ranks of Polidemos. What if we just nuked the mover trying to take over? Think about it. She manages to cause Petsonal to be the patsy for escaped paranormals, gets Polidemos off the hook, and makes the old guard look feeble. Not too likely now, even if the barghests didn't snack on her. Could be why Mr. Johnson so quickly confirmed the end of contract and paid out. The internal shuffle might have been nipped in the bud. """

Blue checks news feeds to see if anything has been reported about the events at Petsonal this evening. In passing, he checks the time, so he can guestimate how much time there is until dawn.

[Koekepan]

Things have been taking some time - all that driving back and forth adds up, and the equinox is here. Even allowing for the long shadows of the cascade mountains, there are fewer than six hours of full darkness left.

The news media are mostly quiet - all Blue finds is a sort of AI-driven automated police blotter type of report that says that a Knight Errant security team went to check a disturbance in South Ballard.

If Blue wanted updated information from any of his contacts, he might now be in a better position to get hard answers, with the critters actually in hand. After all, Mary Margeret's initial response had been pretty speculative.

[Bastard]

"""I think you are right, on both accounts. We did enough, and your Johnson is happy, and we can get a better price on the black market for these things.

"""Do you think that cardboard box will hold those things? Or should we swing by a Home Depot and pick up a plastic storage tub? If you got someone that can move them, maybe they can store them. I could also check with my fixer, just so we can cast a larger net and get a better idea of the market price."""

Karmakaze continues heading toward the love nest as she and Blue figure out how to offload the slithering cargo.

[pbangarth]

""" If they are open this time of night, that sounds like a good idea. A big bin into which to just drop the cardboard box. Although, we will need to make sure there are enough air holes. """

With a new burner, Blue calls Mary Margaret. What the hell. Midnight isn't so late. If she is cautious, he will leave a message to call him back soonest.

[Koekepan]

<<<Hiya, Baby Blue! You looking for something to make the girls go wow? I got pickled white kidney. It'll make you strong, like bull!>>>

Yup, she's awake and her usual perky self.