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

[Konsaki]

15:13:14 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Outside McHugh's #4891, 4601 Linden Ave, Downtown Seattle, UCAS
Leon Mordred

After giving a bit of thought, Leon finally decided on a place to offer up, “Ok, how about we meet up at the McHugh’s on the corner of Galer and Queen Anne? We can grab something to eat there and talk about old times.
After that, we move on to the ‘Tooth and Nail’ where we can party on the floor for as long as you like. There are also some back rooms there we can talk in some more if you need a break. What do you think, Freya?”

For a second or two, all Leon could hear was the wind whipping just outside of the alcove he stood in. Then his sister’s voice broke through it via his headphone clips with a cheerful voice. “That sounds great! I’ll see you there, big bro!”
The changeling couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his sister’s voice as he finished out the conversation with a quick, “Ok, I’ll see you there.” Quickly pressing a button on his comm, the connection went dead and the AR window closed on its own. ‘Now to figure out what I’m going to do until seven…’, he pondered for a second before moving out of the alcove. ‘I know… I still need to get some grub to fill my fridge.’, Leon decided as he turned down the street towards the local 'Stuffer'.

[Konsaki]

15:26:31 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - Linden Ave, Downtown Seattle, UCAS
Leon Mordred

The next thing that came to his mind were cursed out with a heart felt, “Damn this wind!” If the wind cared at all, it didn’t reply but to just keep blowing all the same. Leon just grumbled under his breath and continued on down the street. ‘As if one man could change the wind…’, he thought to himself as he shook his head slightly.
After walking for a while, he looked to his left at the vehicles moving at a crawl on the pavement and felt something was off. Even at his slow pace on the sidewalk, he still seemed to pass the vehicles to his left, though he seemed to be passing the same vehicles he saw earlier on the way to the McHugh’s. Thinking about it for a second, the changeling just chuckled to himself and shook his head. ‘My mind must be playing tricks on me.’, he decided with a slight grin.

Even so, he continued on passing vehicles and also people who were walking the other direction down the sidewalk. As he gazed over the other people making their way through the cold, he noticed that the few that bothered to look at him only did so for a few seconds before looking somewhere else. ‘At least that’s something good about being outside right now. No one wants to bother staying outside in the cold any longer than they have to just to stare at me.’, Leon thought to himself.
After walking a few more blocks though, that thought had lost it’s shine in the face of the ever present cold. By the time Leon saw the easy to recognize ‘Stuffer Shack’ sign, he was wanting nothing but to be back inside a warm building once again. “Finally… I’m almost there!”, he said to himself under his breath as he pushed himself faster for the last stretch. It wasn’t that much longer until he was reaching out with his hand to pull open one of the entrance doors and pulling it open to step into the heat of civilization once again.

[grendel]

22:00:41 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – The Grounds, 2810B Mercer Ave. Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"It's been my experience that given either of those two alternatives, it's more likely to be a suicide run. But one can always hope. I've done a bit of work on the exterior layout, plus the information that you've given me. I don't anticipate any surprises once inside since the building is neither owned by a major corporation nor does it possess the infrastructure capable of sustaining a heavy security response."

Xayide drinks from her coffee cup again, the hard exterior of her face creasing ever so slightly in wry humor at her statement to Tony.

[bclements]

22:01:37 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – The Grounds, 2810B Mercer Ave. Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Tony grinned broadly on seeing that Xayide was joking. First time today I can remember laughing he thought as tension he didn’t know he had vented with the grin. “Doesn’t look that way to me either. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything. Meet you at 0100 at the fire door? If you can undo the alarm on it quickly, I’d like that to be our entrance.” he asked.

[grendel]

22:01:56 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – The Grounds, 2810B Mercer Ave. Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Xayide nodded.

"0100. Don't panic if you don't see me. You probably won't until the door opens. You lead once inside and I'll cover our six."

[bclements]

22:03:02 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – The Grounds, 2810B Mercer Ave. Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Probably true, and if those eyes are half as chill as they look you’ll know where I am before I do Tony thought. Cyberware hadn’t ever been much of an option for him, but even that and the trained dislike the Academy had bred into him didn’t make him a bit envious of how damn practical it was sometimes.

To Xayide he nodded, still half-smiling. “I’ll bring enough to party with. Vaya con dios,” he said, tossing his cup in a wastebin and turning up his collar as he walked out of the coffee shop, stiff wind off of the sound making him wish for self-warming outerwear.

[Cthulhu449]

19:26:28 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 – Pasha’s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"Carmen, could I get the check?"

The young woman brought the bill a few moments later, the total coming to 20 nuyen and some change. Leo slotted 30 and stood up from the table, tucking in his chair as he rose.

"Is there a dataterm I could use around here," he asked, anxious to get in touch with the principal as quickly as possible.

"Sure is, right over there in the corner," Carmen answered gesturing to a station on the far side of the bar, "and thanks," she said, indicating the digital billing unit by raising it slightly, "stop back in sometime soon."

Leo gave a half smile and nodded, then crossed the room to the terminal. Entering the LTG he waited for the call to connect.

[bclements]

19:27:03 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 – Pasha’s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

The phone rang several times, long enough for Leo to be surprised that it wasn’t a voicemail response that answered.

” Nas, been meaning to talk to you,” a male voice asked, not passing video in the call.

[Konsaki]

15:49:02 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Stuffer Shack #1293, 5492 Linden Ave, Downtown Seattle, UCAS
Leon Mordred

The feeling didn’t last long, though, because just after he stepped inside he saw some of the other customers walking through some of the isles and the changeling could feel the growing anxiousness inside. Leon quickly brushed off the growing anxious feeling as he picked up a basket from a stand near the door and then started his way into the store. ‘If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all… Well, barring any layout changes to try ‘n make it more unique.’, he thought with a slight grin as he looked at the store itself.
As he scanned the Stuffer for the dry foods isles, the changeling noticed in his peripheral vision that the store clerk, some human kid who looked like he hadn’t even turned seventeen yet, had finally glanced up from the magazine he was reading. The boy hadn’t even spent the time to fully recognize what he saw before him before he returned to reading his magazine. Leon grinned a bit as he saw the teenager jerk slightly as if he was about to do a double take, but just a second later a huge troll woman stepped in the way to try and check out.

Shrugging it off, he made his way through the isles picking up dry and canned goods. Nothing really grabbed his interest as he picked his way through the products until he came to the end of the isle. Just as he turned the corner at the end of the row, a sign caught his eye. ‘Afterburner Bar! Fill yourself with the fuel you need for the day!’, it read, which he smirked at the accompanying images on it. Still, it had the desired effect as Leon picked up one of the single wrapped bars and flipped it over to look at the stats on it.
Reading over the numbers and ingredients, or trying to figure out what the ingredients were, took a while as he also weighed the price into buying it. His concentration was broken after a bit though as he felt his tail brush up against something and then felt a slight pulling sensation on it. Instinctively his claws extended in his free hand as he looked back behind him, but as he turned, Leon saw nothing but open air. It wasn’t until he looked down that he saw the source of the tugging and retracted his claws while feeling ashamed of himself.

There, standing no taller than his hip, was a little human girl with her hands still on his furry tail and a wide innocent smile on her face as she looked up at him. ‘She couldn’t be any older than around five…’, Leon thought as he looked down at the girl wearing bright pink overalls. He didn’t make any move to pull his tail out of her grasp since she wasn’t strong enough to hurt, but he was surprised when she giggled and squealed “Big kitty!” at him.
The feline changeling was taken aback for a second, but then just grinned down at the human girl. ‘She doesn’t know any better…’, he told himself but still pined for when this wouldn’t have happened. It was only seconds later that a worried human woman, presumably the girls mother, hurried up and said, “Jill! Come on, let go of the nice man’s… tail.” The woman stuttered for a second after realizing what her daughter was holding on to, but merely smiled nervously and nodded as her child let go while saying a cheerful, “Bye-bye, Mr. Kitty!”

Watching the mother and daughter move on through the store, well away from him, he saw the mother start chastising the girl. Obviously the woman wasn’t too happy with her daughter, but Leon could easily guess what she was saying. Shaking his head, he let out a small sigh as he thought, ‘That didn’t go too bad… it could have been a lot worse.’
‘Still…’, he continued as he looked around to see a few of the other customers staring at him instead of the shopping they were doing only a minute ago. Letting out another sigh, Leon put the energy bar back on the stack and moved through the isles towards the front counter, doing his best to avoid anyone else. All the while, he could feel the eyes following him, though he ignored them as best he could.
As he stepped up to the counter and placed his basket of food on it, he noticed the teenager on the other side just staring at him with that blank stare he saw all the time. Leon waited patiently for a bit before getting annoyed at the clerk and burst out with, “Hey, kid! You going to do your job or stare at me all day?” With this, the clerk broke out of his trance, mumbled some unfelt apology under his breath and scanned all the items in the basket before bagging them. With a quick slotting of his credstick, Leon picked up the bags and made his way out the Stuffer Shack.

16:17:14 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Leon’s, 3600 Apt 203 Linden Ave, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Closing and locking the door behind him, Leon was glad to be back in the small place in the world that he could call his. As he set down the bags on the small counter, he relished the warmth of the room compared to the cold wind he suffered on the relatively boring trek back from the Stuffer. ‘Home, sweet home…’, he thought before adding, ‘It’s better than on the streets… alot better…’
While he put away all the food he just purchased, Leon listened to the trid to see if anything new was on the news. Hearing the usual going on about LoneStar making some arrests and other happenings that were pretty commonplace, he started to tune it out as he finished and moved over to his closet. Reaching in, Leon pulled out a small backpack and stuffed some workout cloths into it. “Of on my next big adventure…”, he wryly commented as he turned off the trid and stepped back outside into the foreboding weather.

[Slipshade]

01:00:02 Wednesday, 10 January, 2063 – A Warehouse in the Barrens

Max scrambled across the dirty floor, his white hands covered in a brown smudges of dust, trying to get away from the dangerously teetering shelves. His heart pounded in his throat as survival took hold of his mind. He normally stunning intellect had been ripped from him when the wharehouse exploded into sound and gun fire. Aura’s blazed like white phosphorous from the combatants only to flare and fade as there life’s blood decorated the wharehouse walls. Max’s flight instinct screamed at him to hide and his body was doing its best to accommodate.

Crawling up against one of walls he tried to fight against curling up into a fetal ball.

“Get up!” Gargoyle roared in his skull. “You are not a coward! Get up and fight or I will leave you stripped to the marrow of my blessing.” The anger and hunger that sprang from that voice shredded his soul, ripping the primal fear violently from him.

Gargoyle was not a kind totem.

“Get up!" Gargoyle hissed again and Max’s body jerked like a marionette twitching on it’s strings. The fear bled slowly from Max’s “wounds”. Not fast enough for his mentor spirit. Again he torn into Max’s hunkered form. Max could feel it’s clawed hand gripping his heart, slowing it’s beat to a dull roar in his ears. Max was sure the scream he let out was just as real as the one that sounded in his soul.

“Yesssssss.” Gargoyles voice sounded in wicked pleasure. “NOW GET UP!”

Max’s eyes flared open. He hadn’t realized that he had been squeezing them shut. The fear was still there. Max would have been inhuman if it weren’t, but at least it no longer overwhelmed. He looked up and saw John perched on the shelving and Nora dangling from Lady Dove’s hand.

The arcane mutterings tumbled from Max’s mouth as he drew power from Gargoyle’s blessing.

[Konsaki]

18:32:37 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Leon’s, 3600 Apt 203 Linden Ave, Downtown Seattle, UCAS
Leon Mordred

“Whew… I feel a lot better now!”, a very wet Leon said to himself happily as he stepped out of the shower. Grabbing his towel off the rung, he proceeded to dry himself off and then moved out of the bathroom to get dressed. As he started to clothe himself, Leon couldn’t help but grin about how something as little as working out could change his mood. “It’s got to be that endorphin high that does it,.”, he said with a grin.
It wasn’t long before he was fully dressed, save for his jacket, and standing in front of the bathroom mirror once again. He saw the same things as he did earlier in the afternoon, but his outlook had changed some for the positive. ‘Even with the changes, I’m one sexy beast. Now if I could only get Luna to think the same…’, he thought to himself as he rotated his head around to get a good look. After a bit of looking at himself, he finally chuckled at himself for standing there for so long.

“I have to finish up or I’ll be late…”, Leon chastised himself mildly with a grin as he pulled on the mirror to reveal a medicine cabinet full of toiletry items. Pulling out what he needed, he then began with brushed his teeth and finished up with a splash of aftershave. ‘Got to smell nice for the ladies…’, he thought as he put up a ladies’ man smile and thumbs up into the mirror before snorting to himself in good humor.
Heading back out into the main room, the changeling finished gathering his stuff. After equipping his gear, he moved over to the door and checked his messages one last time while putting on his jacket and gloves. Nothing new had come in between the last time he had checked it, but it was a habit and nothing lost anyways. Noting the temperature loss though on the room’s comm station, he knew it would be a little colder out there. ‘I better get there before it lowers too much more.’, he noted.

Closing and locking his door, Leon made his way down the street towards the nearest train station, noting how dark it had gotten since he had last been outside. It didn’t bother him though, since his natural low light allowed him to see pretty well with the glowing street lamps. Even then, as he looked around, he saw the red glow of heat from every person he came across, but he had gotten so used to it over the past year and a half that he didn’t mind it much attention save for the fact that it helped him out.
Other than the cold wind, the walk to the subway station was really uneventful. Even inside the subway tunnels and on the rails, nothing happened worth noting. He ignored the people who bothered to look at him, and just made his way to the destination. ‘I’m going to see my sister and have a good time tonight and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you normies ruin it!’, he thought with a snort.

18:56:11 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – McHugh’s #1739, 19 West Galer St, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

The three block trek from the subway to the McHugh’s was chilly as Leon could easily notice the temperature drop. It might not have been much of a drop, but when it goes just a few more degrees towards freezing, one can tell. Still, it mattered not for now, as he sat in a table near the main entrance and waited for his sister’s arrival. He knew Freya would have little trouble finding him, but he wanted to see her as she entered as to not keep her waiting.
It was only a few minutes after he sat down that he noticed a pink and purple haired elf walk in the doorway and look around. As the green eyed changeling stood up from the table he sat at, she looked at him and smiled before walking over. Embracing each other in a hug, Leon said in her ear, “Freya, it’s good to see you!”

After releasing her from the hug, the taller of the two siblings took a slight step back to get a good look at his sister. He had to admit that the black synth-leather halter and mini-skirt did look good on her, but he had to brush off a wave of a brother wanting to protect his baby sister. As his gaze quickly went up to her face, he smiled back at her as he looked into her pretty green eyes that were framed by her hair which she kept back in a ponytail like his.
“You look great!”, he said outloud, but inwardly he thought, ‘Damn… It’s hard to think that my baby sister is starting to look hot…’ Though looking into her eyes he noticed, like he always did, the fact that her eyebrows were the same color as her hair.

Just as Leon had suffered changes under the effects of Haley’s Comet, so to did his sister. The only change Freya had though was her hair color, which changed from the same brown his was into a mixture of pink to purple colors, with almost each strand of hair a different color in its own right. It came together into a dazzling display that almost nothing else could duplicate, and the ones that could were the weirdoes who replaced their hair with those fiber optic strands that changed color.
While Freya was technically a changeling just like her elder brother, she could still keep her identity as an elf, which her brother had lost at that time. ‘At least you don’t have to go through what I have because of your change…’, Leon mused with a bittersweet feeling on that fact as he continued to smile at his sister.

[Cthulhu449]

19:31:01 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 – Pasha’s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"No, this is Leo; Nastasya should have told you I would call, sir," Leonid said, looking at his reflection in the empty vidscreen. "I'll get right to the point so I don't take up any more of your time than necessary. Is there somewhere I could meet you to go over the situation in more detail?"

[grendel]

10:30:31 Sunday 14 January 2063 - outside The Green Papaya, 600 East Pine St, Seattle, UCAS

Vedic scanned the street again as he waited for the call to connect on his commlink. The week old snowfall was piled high against the curbs and sidewalks, colored a dirty gray by the offcast of vehicles and pedestrians alike. The melt and refreeze cycle left large patches of rough ice that wouldn't fully vanish until well into spring time. The revolving connecting... icon switched over to the Openwater Aquarium business graphic, while a gravelly voice on the other end opened the conversation.

"Ya?"

"We said eleven hundred," replied Vedic, "600 East Pine Street, The Green Papaya."

[grendel]

00:03:41 Saturday January 13, 2063 - NYK Shipmanagement Staging Lot A-6, E Marginal Way S At S Michigan St, Seattle, UCAS

"Worry less about how I conduct my business in the future and focus on how we are going to complete our transaction now. I am reluctant to release any of the principles involved since I have no guarantee that he has not misled you as well. I am, however, appreciative of your concerns. May I suggest that I ride with you to the location and Mr. Scratch accompany my personnel? That way you have at least some assurance that I desire to conclude this business in a mutually beneficial fashion."

As she speaks, Ms. Johnson motions with her left hand, a small gesture which brings her security team to an 'at ease' posture rather than braced for imminent combat.

[DireRadiant]

11:50:17 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - 03:18:49 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - Mirror Dark Magic Shop, 6300 Woodridge Road Suite 5, Renton, Seattle UCAS

Grimacing at her choices, she settled for a turkey and avocado half sandwich with tomato slices and a Cascades spring water. As it was being constructed Litany inquired casually, "Say is that a real magic store over there?"

[bclements]

19:31:18 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 – Pasha’s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

”Situtation? What sit…wait a second, you mean she was really serious about that bulldrek bodyguard thing? Roderick said, incredulity coming through loud and clear even over the relatively loud lounge noises of Pasha’s

“I can’t believe that slitch would do that. Your joking, right?”

[bclements]

19:01:11 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – McHugh’s #1739, 19 West Galer St, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Freya practically beamed at Leon “Great to see you too! Come’on, let’s get some food. I’m starving” she said, dragging Leon up to the order counter.

The register jockey, apparently having a bad reaction to the sight of a cat-featured Changeling and minimally-clad-multi-hued-haired-elf together, didn’t register verbal orders until Freya snapped her fingers a few times right in front of the young human's eyes. The clerk, visibly composing himself, managed to take their order, and a minute or so later they were back in their plastic table with a tray laden with soyburgers, fries, and cola.

“So, how’s your week been?” Freya asked in between bites of a SoyPounder.

[Cthulhu449]

19:31:40 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 � Pasha�s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Leo exhaled slowly between his teeth, producing a soft hissing noise. He didn't enjoy hearing strangers bad mouth his friends, but it looked as if he'd have to let it slide for now.

"No, sir, this isn't a joke. Nastasya," Leo accented the name to chastise Roderick despite himself, "wants me to keep you in one piece for a few days. I trust that is in line with your plans for the next week or so?"

He waited a moment to see if there was an answer to his rhetorical question, then continued, "Again, I don't want to use your valuable time, sir. Is there anywhere we can put together a plan to go about this?"

[bclements]

22:06:02 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – Outside The Grounds, 2810B Mercer Ave. Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Time to kill Tony thought to himself on the way back to the car, taking a brief look at the time on his psec then shoving his hands back into his pockets as if to keep frostbite from setting in. The gusty wind cutting through his coat made him wish for a flask, or even make a quick stop at the Spirit for something to ward off the cold.

Just a sip or two of the good stuff. Just enough to keep you warm…

And just enough to light on fire if you breath wrong. You’ve got either no rep, or worse, someone that can look up who you used to work for. Breathin’ whiskey fumes on them isn’t going to win anyone favors

It’s just one drink. And rep didn’t seem to stop you on Monday

Wasn’t working with anyone Monday. No way I’m going to be responsible for someone being hurt or killed because I’m drunk. No way

It steadys your aim! Calms your nerves! You don’t want to shoot the purple-eyed chica instead of the bad guys

Tony kept up this internal debate for a good while, even after getting into his car, even after he’d got in the car. Even after the car heated up and he turned the blower up. Driving around in a random path vaguely toward the Landing on mental autopilot, he suddenly found himself in front of the Spirit[/b]. [i]Quick walk in, quick couple of fingers, you’ve got the time the part of him that wanted a drink intoned as he came to a stop at the intersection. There’s even a parking spot…

No! Stay away from that drek. You’ll need a few after. Have them then! You don’t want to screw with either Xayide or Zedya, and you don’t want to be ‘that drunk guy’ if you pull this off.

One drink isn’t going to hurt you at all. You’ve done this a bunch of times

Remember Priest? You’ve got to get her out. Getting a bad rep isn’t going to allow that to happen. Stay sober for a few more hours.

That seemed to suffice for the moment. It still seemed a lot harder than normal to put the car back into drive from reverse? I actually stuck it in reverse? and pull away from the bar, punching up the parking deck for the Landing on the autonav. Despite his decision, his eyes still lingered in the rearview until the car took the next turn and put the Spirit out of view.

22:59:15 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – Miner’s Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Tony blew on his hands to warm them as he entered the foyer of the Landing, trying to restore circulation from the cold, blustery walk from the parking deck. “I had a takeout order,” he said to the hostess.

[grendel]

23:02:38 Sunday, 14 January 2063 – Miner’s Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"One moment please, sir," replied the young woman standing behind the maitre d' stand. She motions to one of the busboys who nods and disappears into the kitchen. A minute later he returns with a large brown paper bag held in a way that suggests it holds something significantly heavier than a takeout meal of pork chops and baked potato. The young woman beams a smile at Tony, though, as if she were delivering the best cooked meal in all of Seattle.

"Enjoy your dinner, sir!"

[bclements]

19:32:06 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 – Pasha’s, 3900 Bryn Mawr Road, S Downtown Seattle, UCAS

”If you’re calling me on this number, I probably don’t have to ask how you got it from Nas-tas-ya" Roderick said, stressing the fixer’s name, mocking both Leo’s sternness and his accent.

”You downtown?”

[WinterRat1]

22:25:07 Wednesday, 10 January 2063 - Klassy Kat, Second and Virginia, Downtown Seattle

As Lana applied well deserved pressure to O'Halloran's groin, his eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed quickly as his face contorted into a scowl. Moving faster than she expected, he grabbed her left arm with his left and wrapped his right arm around her neck and used a surprising amount of strength to hurl her deeper into the booth, slamming her against the wall.

"You dirty little slitch!" he screamed. "Who the frag do you think you are!? Who the frag do you think you're dealing with!? You wanna come here and talk to me like that!? I'm going to teach you a lesson you're never gonna forget!"

Although she wasn't hurt, Lana was definitely feeling cornered, with her back literally against the wall and O'Halloran blocking the way out of the booth. The music had cranked up to a pounding roar with the latest dancer on stage, who unfortunately was using strobe lights as part of her act. She didn't know if Aidan had seen what had happened, but she hoped to God that he had.

Cracking his knuckles, O'Halloran smiled viciously. "You want to play rough slitch? Fine. Let's play." With an evil gleam in his eyes that clearly communicated his intentions, be began moving through the booth towards her.

[Mister Juan]

00:03:59 Saturday January 13, 2063 - NYK Shipmanagement Staging Lot A-6, E Marginal Way S At S Michigan St, Seattle, UCAS

When the Ms. Johnson motioned to her goons, Ludmilla actually thought about drawing her Predator and double tapping the slitch in the hearth. From where she was, she could easily make the shot... but it would be her very last act. No matter how much juice flowed in her hyped up nervous system, she could never duke it out in a close quarter gunfight against that many opponents.

There wasn't anything else to do but play ball.

Her hands tightened into fists.

“Da.... Ok.... I will take you to the key.”

She turned around, holding herself with one hand agaisnt the opened door of her car. She leaned in. The russian woman gave Scratch a long and good look. Biting her lower lip, Ludi hesitated on how to break the news to the kid.

“Change of plans. I'll take her to the key... you stay with them. Once she's got the data, you'll take the money. We'll meet back outside the Funhouse.... Da?”

[grendel]

00:04:11 Saturday January 13, 2063 - NYK Shipmanagement Staging Lot A-6, E Marginal Way S At S Michigan St, Seattle, UCAS

Scratch returned Ludmilla's look with one of dubious belief, tension clearly evident in his shoulders and the grip of his pistol.

"As long as you think this is the best thing to do." The slim hacker tucks the pistol back into its holster before opening the car door and stepping out into the chill night air. Ms. Johnson motions to the open door of her own Nightsky, stepping around to the open passenger door once Scratch has moved forward. She settles herself in the plain cloth seat, the attache case resting on her lap. After a moment, she glances across to where Ludi still stands.

"Shall we?"

[Mister Juan]

00:04:29 Saturday January 13, 2063 - NYK Shipmanagement Staging Lot A-6, E Marginal Way S At S Michigan St, Seattle, UCAS

I'm going to need to change car.

That was the very first, and only thing Ludi could think of as she slid into the Comet and clicked in her seatbelt. In one swift and practiced motion, she pulled the hair thin cable from the dashboard, flicked her short hair to the side and plugged it into her datajack. One hand on the wheel, she gave one last look to Scratch before turning towards the woman seated next to her.

Inside her, Ludi could feel her temper starting to approach boiling point. If Scratch, and her reputation hadn't been on the line, she would have wiped that smug smile and confident mask off Ms. Johnson's face. She would have taken a fistfull of that silky and shiny hair. She would have pounced that pretty face a few times on the dashboard, until her perfectly white teeth started to hit the floor. She would have bloodied her face into pulp.

Ludmilla popped a few joints on her free hand.

Without a word, or any move for that matter, the russian woman started the car. Using the car's navigation system, she called up the shortest route to 811 Stewart St.

Her nervous system still jacked up, Ludi could feel the stress building up right next to her anger. Her fingers kept drumming on the wheel... and she could feel her jaw twitch.