The Bodyguards, IC Thread Options

[Street Wyze]

Mr. Johnson stands totally still and listens intently to your questions and comments. After everyone has had their say, he stands silently for a long moment, then nods and addresses the group.

"I appreciate your questions and I will endevour to answer them. It seems that you all are the professionals I had hoped to recruit for this assignment." He pauses and turns toward Bear. "Mr. Bear, I am certain that you and these other gentlemen can come up with a satisfactory way to meet the mission specifications."

"Rent," he says as he turns toward the second man to voice his opinion. "Any logistical support you may require I will endevour to make at you disposal. I already have Miss Johnson's preliminary intinerary ready for you, as well as the address of the hotel she is booked into and a list of several places she may visit based upon her personal interests. The duration of her stay should be no longer than three days and four nights. The cover stories I leave up to you, but I will do my best to aquire anything you can come up with that may help said cover stories seem more plausible. And yes, I do understand the limitations of any bodyguard. While it would be the best of situations if you could keep your presence totally covert, the highest priority IS the saftey of Miss Johnson. If you must intervene for any reason, I do expect and encourage you to give no thought to your cover and perform your primary function...keeping her safe."

"Mr. Baron." The Johnson turns to the mage and fixes Baron with a solemn look. "By no means do we wish for any harm to come to Mrs. Johnson. She is very valuable to myself and to my employers. If you are hesitant to take this job based on concern for your personal health, I can assure you now that you will be compensated generously for any wounds that any of you may suffer during the course of this operation."

Moving on, "Mr. Kull. If you are concerned about size of the promised payment, I am authorized to increase the promised price as well as award you various bonuses. If any of you would like to negotiate for a higher rate of pay, I will be glad to speak with you privately or openly."

With that he walks to the back wall of the room and takes a bottle of juice from the refigerator there, taking a large sip to quench his thirst from such a long speech.

"Are there any more questions?" he asks as he returns to his comfortable white leather seat.

[Fenris]

Assez shakes his head slightly as the other speak, watching and observing silently. When they've all had their piece, he arches a brow slightly to catch the attention of "Mr. Johnson".

"I, for one, have no problems and compunctions about guarding a client covertly. I've done it many times before. 8000 :nuyen: for 4 days seems reasonable enough. However, since I sounds like her schedule is a bit tentative, I will need an extra 3000 a day for each additional day she extends her stay here in Seattle. Also, if we're to stay close, we'll need to pay for accommodations nearby. I can hardly believe that she," he nods towards the image, "will be willing to stay in coffin motels and eat at the local Stuffer Shack. Therefore, I propose an extra 500 :nuyen: a piece per day to cover expenses."

He speech is steady and professional, always polite, and always said with a slight smile. He keeps his hands steepled casually in his lap.

[last_of_the_grea...]

"As well as the well put suggestions he (gesturing to Assez) made, we will also need names and descriptions of regular visitors or contacts that Miss Johnson has or will have. Images would be better. There is also the matter of the 2K up front...which I am still waiting for." He suggests with his tone and manner that he meant what he said about the 2000 being paid immediately. "I am certain everyone else here would agree that this should be taken care of before we continue." He speaks with such surety that he must actually believe that he has the support of all present, though they know him not at all.

[Herald of Verjig...]

"It's nice to see that everyone has some reasonable numbers in mind, but one of my primary concerns still stands. You expect a four day job, but have not given any details about the threat level or variety. If you have any nice slideshows of people you think would like to geek the chick, you may want to get to them once Baron's primary interests are met."

[Street Wyze]

"Mr. Assez I believe that 300 :nuyen: a day is perfectly enough party money for each of you," Johnson says, that slight smile returning once more. "As far as accommodations go, I have already booked two rooms in the same hotel for you all to make use of. They are both on the same floor as Miss Johnson's booking and should give you excellent points from which to surveil her."

Reaching a lanky arm over the back of his chair, the Johnson pulls out a nice looking briefcase. Placing it on his lap, he opens it and removes several credsticks, tossing one to each of you. "There you are Mr. Baron," he says once they have all been passed out. "Now I hope that money will not be a hinderance to our conversation for the next few minutes at least." This he does not cut with a grin, his face remaining stone serious. "As of your request for additional intelligence, I assure you that Miss Johnson knows no one here in the city. She is on vacation, seeing the sights and relaxing in her own way. There is no one in particular she would visit, but as I said before there are many places she could visit, and I have a list of those places ready for you."

With a click on his remote, Ms. Johnson's picture is replaced by two shots of a human male of African decent. His skin is dark brown and long light brown hair flows from his head like the mane of a lion. One is a close up of his face, the other is a full body shot with a caption stating hight and weight measurements. Reading it, you find that he is a very large human, 6'9" and 350 pounds, and you can see from the full-body shot that little or none of that weight is excess fat. "This man," Mr. J continues, "Is named Samson Nojibot. A former colleague of mine, he was privy to information regarding Miss Johnson before he left our mutual employer and began to freelance. I consider him the primary threat to the well-being of Ms. Johnson. The last time my employers located him he was in Atlanta, but that was five weeks ago and he could easily be in Seattle right now. Also a concern are shadow teams such as yourselves, the identifying of which I leave to you."

[last_of_the_grea...]

Baron takes the credstick and checks the amount. Satisfied, he slips it into his pocket and crosses his arms in front of his chest again. Trusting his magic should the Johnson lie, he turns his attention to the monitor. Samson Nojibot. A collegue. Well, this Johnson just let them all have the info to find out who his employer was. He considered the reactions of his spell to what the Johnson said throughout the meeting for possible answers and questions. He activates his Sony OptiView™ vision magnification eyewear so he doesn't have to move closer and inspects the image of Samson for any obvious (or not so obvious) distinguishing features besides his size.

"This case intrigues me. Why, may I ask, is this man a threat to Miss Johnson? Normally those who leave the employ of a company under normal circumstances are no danger in and of themselves."

[Street Wyze]

"I apologize, Baron. But I am not authorized to disclose any more information personally regarding Miss Johnson."

[Herald of Verjig...]

"There is a reasonable likelyhood that Samson would hide his identity if he was planning to act againts your interests. If it is within the available resources, I would like some photos and voice samples. There are many who this man could have dealt with, and such aids may help their memory."

[Fenris]

He gives the Johnson a knowing smile as a compromise is reached, and gives another slight shake of his head as he catches the credstick and tucks it away in the inner pocket of the suit jacket.

As the Johnson delivers the last of the information he seems inclined to give, Assez waits for a quiet moment, and speaks again.

"I think that I, for one, have enough information. If she is arriving tomorrow morning at 9:30am, I think that we, as a group, " he nods towards the other gentlemen present, "already have our work cut out for us. We'll need to recon her hotel and as many of the possible itinerary stops as possible before tomorrow, and secure our own cover stories and accommodations. We'll also need to work out a rotating close and distant watch sch...well, I'm sure you've no interest in the details. If you'll be kind enough to provide the information you mentioned on her possible tourist picks, and the rooms you've acquired for us, I, for one, would like to get to work."

He glances around the room, lingering for an extra moment on Baron, and then back to the Johnson, apparently uninterested in any arguments that may be forthcoming.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Assez is wise, as Baron intends to argue. "I did not ask about Ms. Johnson, I asked about Samson Nojibot. Remember what I told you before. If I discover through my or my new teammate's work on this job that you had information we need and did not share it, I walk away. The 2K will keep me silent about the job, but not about you." The threat is not subtle...he is direct and hoping he will inspire direct answers which aid his spell.

[Glyph]

Rent puts the credstick in his pocket, pleased enough with the negotiations. He grins at Kull's request. "I agree that photos would be helpful. At least this Samson is... distinctive looking. Big guy, for a human."

Looking back at the Johnson and Baron, Rent wonders if it's worth getting into the middle of it. But Baron does have a point, and maybe it won't be too late to keep things from getting confrontational. Stepping closer to the two of them, he speaks in his soft, rumbling voice: "Baron, I'm not sure we need to know why a former company man would want to abduct an employee of that same company. In fact, the less we know about Ms. Johnson's contributions to the company, the better." Rent turns back to the Johnson. "However, he does have a point about this Samson fellow. If he is a former colleague, then I'm sure you could at least tell us about his cyberware and fields of specialty without jeapordizing your company's identity." He smiles a bit to take the sting off. "After all, every company has its, shall we say, expeditors."

[phelious fogg]

Bear, still nervous about this situation, and getting more so with the confrontation between Baron and Mr. Johnson, tries his best to sink into the couch and dissappear.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Well, they just blew it down the drekker, didn't they? Baron turns to look at Rent, brow furrowing in annoyance and giving Rent his best, "Don't you dare interfere," look. After a moment's glare, his features soften again just a little and he turns back to the Johnson, switching to astral perception to monitor his emotions as well as listen for lies.

[Fenris]

Assez rises, glancing around at the room to confirm his own feelings in the faces of the others in the room before stepping up quietly beside Baron as the other 'runner continues to confront and offend the Johnson.

His voice is quiet, pitched to carry only to Baron and the Johnson, despite the small size of the room, and still polite and tinged with the English accent.

"I think you've satisfied the rest of us. I suggest that you allow Baron to walk away with his credstick. I offer up my own to replace it, if need be. He's already proven that he has no concept of how to work with a group. If, after reviewing the information on her itinerary and the locations involved, we decide we need another member, I'm sure that between the three of us," he motions to Rent and Bear, "we can contact and retain someone of adequate and appropriate skill.

[Herald of Verjig...]

"It seems Baron is not the only one showing a shortage of senses in this meeting. There are five of us here being offered a job. Baron's sense of self preservation seems to have exceeded his common sense. The interesting part is that he would threaten four people who could dismember him if we so agreed. He has some skill, otherwise he would not have been told of this meeting, but he can't seem to evaluate the costs of his words. Yet it would be a shame to get blood on this carpet and make Johnson clean up such a mess, he has been quite reasonable so far."

All this time, Kull remains seated, in his chair, as reclined as possible with its design.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Sensing via his astral perception that things are turning against him, he turns his attention to Rent. (9, 5 3 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 1 are the rolls) He hits a mindlink slpell (force1) to say what he means silently. ~I have an analyze truth spell active. I detected a lie from our Mr. Johnson when he said he wished no harm to come to Ms. Johnson. I am not doing this for no reason.~ He holds the spell so Rent may reply, even though it is straining to hold 2 spells at once. He does the same for Assez and Kull. (10, 6 and 4 with a -4 penalty added in allready for Assez, 15 and 3 after a -6 penalty for Kull...the rest were all 0 or below. Resist if they would against force 1...pretty easy...hopefully it'll calm everyone so I don't have to drop the character from the game. However, with the strain of holding 4 spells He's screwed for any other actions besides detecting lies)

[Herald of Verjig...]

(since ~ is apparently the standard for loudly thinking)
~Then he is lying about the motive, but not so much the goal. He says we are to protect her, but he really just wants Samson dealt with. If we will destroy this man, we should decide that when we get information about what Samson has been doing. If this is part of some infantile power struggle, I want to know more than this man will ever divulge before decided who to be honest with.~

[Street Wyze]

Baron can see several things with his astral gaze. Assez is fairly agitated at his loud-mouthed ways and this agitation could quickly build to anger. Kull is calm, apparently keenly interested in the events unfolding before him. Bear is wishing he were a mage, so he could just turn invisible, not wanting any part in the conflict. Rent wants to end this as soon as possible and just move on. The Johnson seems to be the calmest person there, although Barons slight intimidation does seem to have paid off. Mr. J is not going to perpetuate the conflict, rather, he will leave it to the other runners.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Baron relays Kull's return message to the other two (should they choose to allow the mindlink) and waits for their response. He keeps his eyes on the Johnson, however, waiting for the conversation to continue.

[Glyph]

Rent sends his thoughts, which seem fairly calm and unruffled, along the mindlink:

~"Even if he were telling the complete truth, it would change nothing. He still won't volunteer information about his company's internal power struggles. We need to get information about this Samson character, and trying to browbeat the Johnson won't accomplish anything."~

[phelious fogg]

Bear looks curiously at the remaining runners, not knowing what is going on between them. Bear sits quietly, waiting to see what happens next.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Baron couteously waits for Assez's response.

[Glyph]

Meanwhile Rent, ignoring both the outbursts from the others and Baron's scowl, continues to look calmly and expectantly at the Johnson, waiting for an answer for his question about Samson.

[Street Wyze]

The Johnson waits quietly and somehow you know that he knows something is going on between the members of the group. After an uncomfortable silence he speaks, "I believe we have reached a slight impasse. I don't know what you gentlemen are thinking, but arguing gets us nowhere. I will continue only when you have come to a decision on how to end this conflict."

[Fenris]

Assez feels the unfamiliar contact of magic with his mind, and instinctively clamps down, shutting out the mind affecting magic springing from the unknown source.

Still smiling politely, he looks to Baron. "After proving himself unwilling to act civilized, Baron was just leaving." he says calmly, outward demeanor showing none of the disgust for the lack of professionalism the other has drawn up. At Baron's distraced gaze, the possibility of the runner being Awakened flashes through his mind, and he tightens his mental defenses a little more, even more on guard and unimpressed then he was previously at the man's possible attempt to stick his fingers into his mind.