Living in the Shadows: IC, Jan 8th-14th Options

[Morgannah]

12:01:45 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Ah," Cosmo smiled easily, eyes lifting from a short list of license plate numbers and addresses, "but this isn't really 'employment,' is it? I do not object to work for pay and considering my situation, it would be pragmatic to keep as many options open as possible. Wouldn't you agree?"

[grendel]

12:02:06 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Of course. Do you have any other questions?"

Kald folds his hands on the table in front of him.

[Morgannah]

12:02:33 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Tons, but I'm not getting any answers out of you, am I?

"None just now, no. Is it possible to contact someone if any issues arise?"

She tilted her head to one side, filing away an address in Hollywood as she turned to the items for her second tasking. The pair of tickets to Elise Nirveau's trid release at the Millenium Downtown Marriot pleased her greatly, but why a trip to a Motel 8 first? Was she expected to pick up her 'date'?

[grendel]

12:03:11 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Kald slides a slim Novatech lapel model commlink across the table.

"This is direct dial. It will only work once."

[Morgannah]

12:03:20 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Interesting.

"Who will I have the pleasure of addressing?"

[grendel]

12:03:47 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

For the first time she can remember, and perhaps for the only time, the child smiles brilliantly.

"We are Kald."

[Morgannah]

12:04:15 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Resistance is futile."

Accepting the commlink with a small smile of her own, Cosmo was encouraged by the boy's grin. She considered speaking to him as a child but threw the idea away.

"I'd like to understand, Kald. What does your name mean?"

[grendel]

12:04:39 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"All will be revealed in time. The Apocalypse is not yet upon us."

Kald shook his head once, firmly.

"Now, if there is nothing more, I must go."

[Morgannah]

12:05:02 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

A slight widening of her eyes was the only indication that the boy's mention of the Apocolypse with a capital 'A' fazed Cosmo in the slightest. She shook her head and rose, inclining her head toward the youth.

"Nothing more. It was good to see you again."

[grendel]

12:05:44 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Good day, then." Kald slips down from his chair, nods his head to Cosmo, before turning and exiting the restaurant. The first bodyguard leads out, clearing the street before allowing his principle outside the protection of the foyer. A black sedan idles at the curb, rear door opening for the trio as they approach.

Across the street, a heavyset black man in a battered Mercury Comet crushed out his cigarette. As the sedan pulled out into traffic, the Comet followed, several cars behind.

[grendel]

12:06:06 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Sloppy, eh?" Wash grinned, throwing up an image of the surveillance camera inside along with the camera's status display. Motown stared at it for a moment.

"So?"

"Look at the throughput, drekhead. She's patched the data into the loopback interface. The camera reads like it's ok, and if you look at the picture you're not going to notice that it's been tampered with. But all of the feed is going right to the great sump drain in the matrix."

Motown grunted.

"Whatever, just follow the cars."

[bclements]

21:53:45 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Babylon, 2220 176th St SW, Seattle, UCAS

Women after my own heart Tony thought, smiling at Xayide’s reply. His psec buzzed with the incoming contact information.

“No, nothing else,” Tony said aloud to this indigo-eyed women, still with the slight smile on his face. “I’ll notify if anything changes,” he concluded.

[grendel]

21:54:16 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Babylon, 2220 176th St SW, Seattle, UCAS

"I await your call, then."

Xayide stands, inclining her head to Tony in something of a formal gesture before turning and descending the stairs to the door.

[Morgannah]

12:06:12 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo downed the last of her drink and let out a long breath she didn't remember holding. The Apocalypse, and he was so matter-of-fact about it, but how?

Two grabs, a hit on Milan Viddmar's motorboat, remote control interface for four vehicles, and .. what? A trid premiere? And the final meeting location is supposed to make sense after the party? Were the pieces going to come together or would she have to fight with them until they formed a pattern that at least seemed logical?

She didn't need to check her watch to know that it was only a few minutes past noon and hours yet until her meeting with Scrye. Oracle would also contact her tonight, if all went according to plan, but there was still the issue of what to do in the meantime. She wasn't quite frowning as she made her way outside, clearing her Mirage before pulling her helmet on and slipping into Santa Monica Boulevard's midday traffic with the sort of active awareness that would be better suited to guard detail at 02:00 than the stream of ordered noise that flowed around her. A bright, almost gaudy ad for the newest NERP just about distracted her from a more tasteful billboard advertising something called a WMI. Cosmo had already resolved to do some research on Novatech’s upcoming IPO thanks to a nightly news teaser she’d noticed in an appliance store window, a quick peek at what this new toy had to offer might be worth it as well.

There was more than enough time to travel across town as many times as needed and though the circuit she’d planned wasn’t the most time-efficient, it kept her off the grid more often than not. She took the time to survey the streets surrounding her new safehouses and for once, the layout of each neighborhood interested her more than its inhabitants. Egress and security would be manageable so long as she was careful. Both apartments should already be stocked with a few necessities too, but she wouldn’t know for certain until she moved in when no one was around to watch, most likely after her meetings and a short trip to one of the addresses that her black binder had listed. It was no accident that she had a place to stay within twenty minutes’ drive from any point in Los Angeles, all connected to major highways after several turns and far enough from Grid Guide streets to give her a bit of peace, besides. With a bit more time, Cosmo was sure she could do even better than she had so far.

19:47:50 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

It had taken every bit of willpower to resist the urge to dress for dinner but Cosmo had done it, arriving at Il Grano just as she had earlier in the afternoon. How anyone could do this, day in and day out, however, was completely beyond her.

Anticipating a potentially hours-long wait, she’d picked up a few newspapers several magazines, all in chip format of course, to keep her occupied while she ‘lounged’ in a cozy booth, glass of merlot in hand.

[bclements]

21:56:45 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Babylon, 2220 176th St SW, Seattle, UCAS

Tony nodded back at Xayide. Idiosyncrasies. Yeah. May just be crazy as well Tony thought while watching Xayide descend the stairs down to the main level, and seeing if anyone followed her or noted her leaving.

Maybe it was the cybereyes? He’d always heard that jamming too much of that stuff into yourself could do that. Xayide didn’t look to have that much, but looks could be deceiving unless you knew exactly what to look for. Maybe she was just loco from doing her job. Maybe she was just off her meds. Crazy or just odd, as long as she’s good I don’t care, Tony thought, keeping his eyes open and sipping the remainder of his whiskey.

Night's still young he thought, not really wanting to go back to staking out some dead, seemingly unoccupied building in the freezing cold; at least not without a few more drinks. Waiving at the waitress for another as the muted bass thrummed through the bar, he scanned the bar and stair area for movement that would have accompanied Xayide leaving.

[grendel]

22:01:28 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Babylon, 2220 176th St SW, Seattle, UCAS

As near as Tony can tell, no one takes an overt interest in Xayide's departure. In fact, she seems to have simply disappeared, slipping down the stairs and out the door without him having seen more than a shadow of her.

[grendel]

19:58:16 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Sister, you are into some freaky drek."

This time Cosmo did look up in surprise at the softly cultured voice, smoothing the jerkiness of the motion with a playful smile. Scrye had changed, and not just her outfit. Her hair was now a dark indigo, her skin paler, although still obviously ethnic. Her makeup, though, was done to de-emphasize the graceful curves of her face, making her appear flat and unattractive.

"Merlot?" offered Cosmo, tilting her glass towards the slim woman.

"No thanks, I need something stiffer. Got what you wanted, but I certainly don't like what it means." Opening up her commlink, Scrye dumped a hundred megapulses worth of data into Cosmo's lap.

"Okay, we've got stills of the vehicle including license plate, make, and model. Couldn't get the driver due to window tinting. Here's your mark, cute kid by the way, and his bodyguards. Profile and face shots. They arrive two minutes prior to noon. Leave five minutes past, heading east, my guess is on a reciprocal route to what they took to get here. They're professional, whoever they are, very good at evading surveillance. Very methodical. Which is pretty much their weakness as well. Thirty minutes later they're here, duplex apartment in Pasadena. I make it as a safe house. Two vehicles parked in back, both off-road capable SUVs. Sedan pulls into garage, garage door closes. House is secure, with external surveillance and a security system I didn't want to try. Also, I shook a tail leaving here, a pair of operators in a Saab Dynamit. Also professional."

Scrye leans forward on her elbows, glancing meaningfully up into the corners of the room.

"I've looped the cameras, our pictures are being taken but the data is being erased instead of stored. I checked the activity logs, though. At least two other people have hacked superuser accounts on the security system here at the restaurant in the past twenty four hours. If they're not with you, then they're against you. You've got troubles, sister girl, and I don't envy them."

[bclements]

22:05:59 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Babylon, 2220 176th St SW, Seattle, UCAS

“Nice,” Tony murmured to himself, noting Xayide’s disappearing act. She’s good, or you’re getting sloppy. he thought to himself as the waitress placed another amber-filled tumbler in the place of the empty one. Hopefully the former he thought as he sipped some of the whiskey, not seeing anyone that had followed her exit either. He shook his head slowly while staring down into his drink, trying to get himself out of the paranoid funk he seemed to be in. It’s not like they’re looking over your shoulder. Get to the job at hand he thought, giving the datapad holding the map of the building a glance.

Now, why would a Johnson want this shut down? he thought. He didn’t relish going back out in the cold night to do what seemed to him some more pointless surveillance. This place looked dead, and may have been for awhile. Well, looks can be deceiving, and I’d rather this building be dead than me. Black clinic like this doesn’t work on banker’s hours, he reminded himself.

Slugging the rest of the whiskey down, he slotted a credstick to pay for his drink, and stood up, feeling the fiery tongue of the liquor stab down into his stomach. Finally warm he thought, shrugging his coat back into place before descending to the door. “Miles to go before I sleep,” he thought, leaving the grandiose club and heading back out into the cold night, a cold car, to look at a cold building.

[Morgannah]

20:01:33 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo allowed herself a slight grimace that was only partly covered by the glass raised to her lips.

"Mm, I can't think of many people that would want this sort of attention. Occupational hazard," she smiled, pulling another credstick from somewhere up her sleeve and handing it over, "but there was no way to be sure without growing another pair of eyes. Thank you."

The stills were all good clear shots of the subject and there were plenty of them but the Saab .. bothered her. The Kald tended to use only the most basic and utilitarian equipment but then .. she couldn't recall any Dynamits tailing her at any point, either. One of the hackers in Il Grano's security system might have been with her employers and it was possible that the other had nothing to do with her at all but again, could she assume that it was a happy coincidence?

She poured another glass of wine, appearing much more at ease than she really was. Would another CARAT team be deployed to put her back under if it was learned that she had been reactivated? Might it be something more permanent this time? It was a chilling thought, but who else would be after her so quickly? Viddmar's people?

"You're good." One devastating dimple appeared in her cheek as she admired Scrye's disguise with a certain professional interest. Good eye. Good hands. I'll bet she blends right in whenever she wants....

"Knowing what you do, though," she paused thoughtfully, "would you consider doing something like this again?"

[grendel]

20:02:25 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"I might," replies Scrye, the credstick disappearing into her overcoat.

"I'm a businesswoman, after all. I'd have to consider your case carefully, though. You're hot, and I don't just mean that smile of wicked promises. Working for you might bring some of that heat on me."

The slim asian woman taps her fingers on the tabletop for a moment, gaze slid sideways to the dining room.

"Ah, the Hell with it. Maybe momma did raise a fool. What have you got?"

[Morgannah]

20:03:51 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Nothing that should bring you in direct contact with the opposition."

She signaled a waiter and arched an eyebrow at Scrye, only speaking when the woman nodded.

"Martini. How will you take it tonight, Pretty?"

"Straight up."

Cosmo's grin did turn a little wicked as she nodded at the slack jawed waiter, refilling her own glass while they waited for the drink to arrive.

"Excellent. Now, I'd like to begin by saying that you're free to walk whenever you want and considering that you know some of the dangers already, it's null persp if you do. In all truth, I'd feel better about this if you did evac at the first sign of trouble. What I'd like you to do, however, is twofold."

"One." She raised a finger, tilting her head to one side. "I'll pay you to do exactly what you're doing right now, rerouting camera feeds and such, but at pre-arranged times and locations."

"Two." Cosmo leaned forward slightly. "I'd like you to tail me for a while to see if these professionals come out again. I'd like to learn a bit about them, if you feel up to it."

[grendel]

20:04:42 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

Scrye taps her lip with the metal skewer the held the olives of her martini.

"Let's see, get paid to keep my eyes on that sweet little tush of yours. Hmm, just give me a minute, I wanna know if there's any downsides to this deal."

She grins, a fiery expression that her makeup can't quite hide.

"Done. Hacking cameras requires a minimum of six hour lead time or the price doubles. The watching you part? I just might do for free."

[Morgannah]

20:05:14 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Come now, I'll offer five hundred a day for a week or as long as it takes for these guys to show themselves. And of course, all the, ahh, wardrobe changes you can handle."

She didn't quite wiggle her eyebrows at that, but the playful dimples peeking out of her cheeks said pretty well the same thing.

"Sound good?"

[grendel]

20:05:49 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Oh please, don't feel that you have to get all dressed up on my account."

Scrye smiles.

"But I'll take your deal. I'm assuming we're starting today?"

[Morgannah]

20:06:07 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Il Grano Restaurant, Los Angeles, CFS

"Only if you're available. Tomorrow is fine by me if you have a few things to handle first."