The Bodyguards, IC Thread Options

[Glyph]

Rent calmly takes a step back, so that he is no longer between Baron and Assez. His face is blandly uninterested, although he is ready to jump in if anyone attacks the Johnson. He tried to defuse the situation, but apparently this Assez is a hothead as well, either that or very picky about whom he works with. But he has his own professional appearance to think about now. Any further attempts to interject himself into the proceedings could just call his own professionalism into question. He shoots a wry, sympathetic grin at Bear, who may have been the wiser of the two of them to sit this confrontation out.

[last_of_the_grea...]

The resistance to such a low powered spell tells him all he needs to know. "I shall wait in the hall while you get the information you need. When the meeting is done you can decide whether you need my expertise or not." With a slight bow to all, he steps to the door. This would never finish with him in there. He did maintain his telepathy with the other two though, mentally letting them know he would so they could keep him updated if they wished...and that it would be simple for them to end the link if they decided to. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him.

[Fenris]

A nod follows Baron out of the door, and he turns back to the Johnson, the ever present smile there.

"With that dealth with, please proceed with any additional information you have for us. I think all that remain here have decided to accept the job, with your conditions."

[Street Wyze]

Mr. Johnson nods to Assez. "I'd like to apologize to you all. Baron's skills came highly recommended and I believed I was hiring someone of a higher professional level. Now that we have worked that out, I will continue."

Again Mr. J reaches into his briefcase and removes an optical disk, which he tosses to Kull.

"That disk contains a dossier on Mr. Nojibot as well as several files containing recordings of his voice. Also it has the specifics on Miss Johnsons predicted arrival and departure times as well the list of the places she may visit. I believe we have come to terms on your payment. You have your 2,000 NuYen now and you will receive 6,000 at the end of the next four days if you job is completed."

Removing a credstick reader from the case he slides a certified stick into it and keys an amount into the stick, this he tosses to Assez.

"That contains expense money for all of you. 200 NuYen a day each. If I am impressed by your abilities to complete this mission, there will be bonuses awarded when the mission is done."

He closes the case and sets it next to him. "After we have concluded this meeting, I will leave. Feel free to use the cyberterminal in the next room to examine the data on that disk. Are there any more questions?"

[phelious fogg]

Bear shakes his head.

[Fenris]

Assez shakes his head as well, offering the Johnson a handshake before sitting down to await the Johnson's departure.

[Glyph]

Rent leans forward on the couch, steepling his fingers together thoughtfully.

"No questions. But unless you have decided against hiring Baron yourself - which is of course your perogative - the rest of us haven't voted on it yet. My experience with spellslingers is that they are a rare commodity, and know it. Corporate mages get away with drek that would get another employee summarily shot, and runner mages tend to be even worse. Now, if we have another spellslinger in this group, I say let Baron go his own way. But if we don't, then we need to seriously consider whether a bad attitude is enough reason to cripple our team. I shrug off most spells pretty easily, but I can't protect someone else from hostile magic. One spellslinger with line-of-sight, and all of the expertise of the rest of us means squat. So, how important is protecting Ms. Johnson to you? To me, it's important enough to work with someone who is not as professional as me - with my reputation and well-being on the line if he screws up."

Rent shrugs eloquently. "But in the end, she is just another client, and if she dies through hostile magic, my main priority will be establishing that I was not negligent in her death. So if you find the risk of using Baron to be more than the risk of a magical attack on Ms. Johnson, so be it."

[Street Wyze]

"If you all think that you can work with Baron, then I will let you work out an agreement with him. If not, I will endeavor to find another magic user as soon as possible."

[Fenris]

Unintentionally mimicing Rent's motions, Assez steeples his fingers and taps them lightly on his bottom lip, considering for a long moment.

"Rent has an excellent point, unfortunately. With Mrs. Johnson arriving in town on the morrow, our options are limited for the opportunities to gather additional magical support. Perhaps Baron can be persuaded to temper his rash actions just a bit. We'll work with him. If additional situations arise, we, as a team, will deal with them."

He nods to the Johnson, smiling. "I believe that's everything, then. Can you please ask the gentleman to step back into the room as you leave?"

[Street Wyze]

Mr. J picks up his breifcase, stands, and begins walking towards the door. "Well then gentlemen, good luck to you all." As he passes Rent he stops for a moment and reaches inside of his coat, pulling out a cell phone and handing it to him. "If you need to contact me, use the number one preset number. I should be able to answer any time you call." With that, the Johnson leaves the apartment.

Out in the hall, the tall elf pauses and puts on a pair of 12,000 NuYen sunglasses then looks at Baron.

"They'll talk to you now. If you can play ball with them you'll get the same amount of pay and any relevant bonuses. But if this mission fails because of your posturing...I will destroy you."

Mr. Johnson turns away from Baron and walks away. Soon he turns a corner in the hallway and he is gone.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Baron narrows his eyes and drops his mindlink spells, observing Mr. Johnson in detail, from his hair to his clothes, his height and any detail he can discern. Threatening a shadowrunner was never a good idea. Questioning his abilities and discretion was a sin! He's tempted to nail him with an influence spell, but resists the impulse. However, he would remember this Johnson and his description, learn as much as he could about him...likely after the job, but if there was time, before it started.

He opened the door after the Johnson was out of sight and stepped regally through the portal, closing it behind him. He looks around at what he's certain are hostile faces and counters before any can speak.

"I had an analyze truth spell active during Mr. Johnson's pitch. I caught him in a lie regarding Ms. Johnson's safety. Specifically, when he stated that the highest priority was her safety. He slipped and I was "pushing his buttons" to see if this run was a set up. I could not explain during the interview with him right there, so I played the role I'd started: paranoid runner. You may question my methods, though I believe them to be reasonable, but results are what counts.

However, I understand that trust likely is an issue now. I will detail my skills and abilities so that my duties in this run can be best determined. If nessesary I will provide a reference."

That stated, he stands with arms crossed, waiting for the inevitable questions andlow insults he'd have to shrug off.

[Herald of Verjig...]

Kull takes the disk.

"I will copy the records on our likely adversary to research if and how he arrived. I would gladly explain more, but I am not certain of the security of this room, and would like to leave as soon as possible."

[Glyph]

Rent, about to reply to Baron, pauses as Kull speaks, then nods slowly.

"Yeah, why don't we head somewhere a bit more secure. We can divvy up the expense money, look at the disk, and all introduce ourselves a bit more thoroughly, so we know what each of us is bringing to the table."

[Fenris]

"There's a local dive bar named Tiggy's near the edge of the Barrens. There's enough biz going on that with a little intervention we can be assured of relative privacy."

Assez grins, "The waitress has a thing for felines and cosmetic surgery, but she's nice enough. Meet in an hour." Basic location and directions follow, and William rises and takes his leave.

[phelious fogg]

Bear, finally relaxing from the previous ordeal, smiles. "I guess I will see you all there, until then" Bear stands up and walks to the door, then turns around, "Baron, could you try not to be such a hot head in the future." Bear chuckles and walks out the door. When he leaves, he calls up his cousin, Garrion and says, "Ill have that money for you by the end of the week, keep the wheels rolling and try to get more information on the nut who has me in this mess. Also I need some information on a Mr. Samson Nojibot, including his wereabouts and any enimies he might have, pictures would be nice too. Also a list of important people comming into town, Ineed to check that against my employers id. I have a picture of the package we need to protect as well, I was hoping you could help identify it." He pauses waiting for Garrison to answer, then says, "Whatever you can find will be all right, and just tell me the cost later, you know Im good for it."
After that he drives to Tiggys and has a drink.

[Street Wyze]

Garrison answers in an airy tone, this usually signifies that his thoughts are being translated into audible sounds by a transducer, which is how Bear is used to hearing him.

"Ok, Bear. Nojibot...hmmm, almost rings a bell. I might find something on that pretty quick, send me any pics you have and that'll probably make it go a lot faster. I'll get back to you soon as I can with the other stuff. Catch ya 'round."

[Herald of Verjig...]

"Nice to see that we all can agree on something."

With that, Kull leaves, first to copy the important portions of the disk, and then to the bar.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Baron nods as everyone leaves for Tiggy's. He steps into the restroom before he leaves, though, pulling out his pocket secretary and typing out the name of Samson Nojibot fellow, a description of him at 6'9" and 350 pounds. Dark brown skin and long, flowing brown lion's mane of hair. Next , he types up a description of Mr. Johnson, linking them to the same employer and noting that Samson left said employer's fold. Finally, he types out a description of Ms. Johnson. Attractive elf woman, dark brown hair and eyes, tan skin, tagged for a 9:30am arrival in Seattle via boat. He types in the hotel and room number she's staying at, then closes the file and activates the passcode. Later he'll load in the pictures of Samson and Ms. Johnson to send off to his contacts. He flushes the commode, then heads out to Tiggy's.

[Fenris]

The rain drizzles constantly near the outskirts of the Barrens where Tiggy's is located. Suspicious eyes peer out from dark hollows among the scattered remains of civilization. The building itself is a cacaphony of random colored plascrete walls patching the battered and burned walls.

The interior, while smokey and smelling of a mixture of gun oil and cooking grease, is fairly clean, and sports not only a dart board on one wall but a pool table as well.

A stereotypical orc polishes glasses behind the bar, and grunts at each new customer stepping through the door.

[last_of_the_grea...]

Noting the erea Tiggy's is in, he decides it would be wise to call a taxi for the ride there. He calls up Iron Horse Cabs, a company that proudly advertises it's armed driver and shotgun rider. They carry machine pistols and defend the customer once they accept the fare. They also have armoured cabs, using the GM Smartcar™ design and runflat tires. The fare is 25% higher, but they guarantee safety and go anywhere. He pays the fare (in advance...they figure out the cost before they go. I invented the company myself :) Pretty kewl, neh?) and steps inside the coach and goes for the ride.

[Street Wyze]

Baron feels very safe during his ride to the Bar.

[Street Wyze]

Assez is the first to arrive at Tiggy's. Stepping through the door, he stands for a moment, checking the place out and letting the collected drizzle run down his coat to the floor. The place is fairly empty, this being the early afternoon, but the usual ork is behind the bar and a slim waitress with distinctly surgically added feline features passes by him, delivering a beer to a customer, then turning and taking him in. She looks at him for a moment, then a smile blooms on here face.

"Hey hot-stuff, I remember you!" She walks up to Assez and stands quite close to him. He gets the feeling that if she really were a cat, she'd be rubbing up against his leg. "You want a table, honey, or do you need something more private?" she asks conspiratorially.

[Street Wyze]

As the armored cab pulls up to the run-down, dirty looking bar, Baron looks out of the thick, rain streaked, window and catches a glimpse of Assez entering.

"You need us to wait mister?" the shotgun rider asks, sounding a little tense. He may be armed and dangerous, but this isn't the kind of area anyone likes to sit and wait at.

[Street Wyze]

As Bear is on his way to Tiggy's his phone rings. He answers and Garrison's transducer-pitched voice comes to him over the speaker.

"I think I've got a few preliminary things for you on this Nojibot guy, but I'll need pictures to confirm. What I know now is that he might be a guy who organized and carried out a big hit in Atlanta a month or so ago. Like I said, I ain't one hundred percent on this, but my contact in the CAS says he'll be able to confirm with a picture and that will open up some more info."

[last_of_the_grea...]

"No need to wait. You may go." He says it as if he were dismissing a servant as he steps away. After the usual once over, he sniffs at the bar's less than trendy appearance, then opens the door. He looks around discreetly as he enters, seeing who else is there or if he's the first to arrive.