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

[Vegas]

15:32:27 Thursday, 11 January 2063 -  4030 West 134th St, Downtown, Seattle

Mac blinked a couple of times as Tristan stood before them and the pair of men spoke to one another in hushed whispers. Her eyes raked over the man who stood before them in the shadowy darkness, sizing him up as much as admiring the play in his well-muscled form and the way his sweat beaded on his skin.

A slight smile of approval touched the corner of her lips as she crossed her arms in front of her and her gaze shifted to Kovacs. Being surrounded by this pair of dangerous men electrified her and cut through some of the fatigue that was threatening to overwhelm her if she was forced to stay up much longer without some kind of stimulant.

She waited for Kovacs to make any introduction that he felt necessary, content for the moment to feed off the tangible energy amongst their trio as well as the room.

[grendel]

15:30:33 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

"Well, half the reservoir is still here," answers Remy, tilting the broken remains of the unit so Joslyn can see. A faint residue of fluid sloshes in the bottom of the ceramic container. Joslyn frowns. The motion of the fluid is subtly wrong somehow, at once thicker and slower than water yet adhering to the walls of the container in a glistening sheen too thin to be something more viscous.

"Uh, don't touch that," he advises. Remy freezes in place, a dawning look of horror on his features. Slowly, very slowly he sets down the broken piece of machinery and steps back, rubbing his hands fiercely on his pant legs. Xade appears between the two men, her gaze narrowing as she inspects the unit.

"Whatever's in there might be the answer to the questions about what Winternight is doing. Either of you know a decent chemist who could analyze it for us?"

[grendel]

15:39:50 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - 4030 West 134th St, Downtown, Seattle

Tristan scooped up a duffle bag from beside the door and followed Kovacs and Mac to the stairs. He pulled on a long sleeved compression shirt as they headed down to the street, transferring his sword and bag between hands with practiced ease.

Kovacs' height allowed him to look over Mac's head to meet Tristan's inquiring glance.

"This is Mac," he said in answer, "she's working with me."

Mac remembered her observations of Kovacs and Locus, her hands remaining by her side. Instead she nodded in greeting.

"Hey."

"It's nice to meet you," replied Tristan, a brilliant smile flashing across his face. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black in the pale illumination from the fluorescent overheads. They were infused with a warmth, though, a genuine emotion telegraphed so clearly that Mac almost missed the next step in distraction. She became suddenly aware of her position between the two men, her proximity to their undeniably predatory nature bringing a heat boiling up from the base of her spine.

Focus, girl! she cursed herself silently.

"Am I the first or the last?" Tristan was asking Kovacs.

"Drift is working our transportation needs. Suda is delousing astral," said the tall street sam by way of reply.

"She's going to betray us."

Mac glanced sidelong at the muscular adept. Tristan's tone was the exact same one used by Suda. Kovacs nodded, pausing before commenting as they'd arrived at the front doors.

"I'm going to cut her out of the actual post execution plan. She won't know exactly what the arrangements for the drop are. And I'm going to cut you all out of tertiary contingency planning."

"Yep. I'd do the same thing. You wanna follow me to my place so I can ditch my ride?" Tristan jerked his head towards a newish Eurocar sport coupe. Kovacs nodded.

"We'll be right behind you."

[Vegas]

15:48:03 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Outside 4030 West 134th St, Downtown, Seattle

Mac popped the door to the Rover as soon as Kovacs had triggered the locks to release, taking a quick glance up and down the street before climbing up into the passenger seat. She shifted a couple of times before getting comfortable with the weight and bulk of the Browning on her hip. She let out a long slow breath before she started in on her questions, some she already knew the answers to, some she still wasn’t sure.

“So this is all really going down, starting now?” Again she let out a long slow breath from between slightly pursed lips. That one she knew the answer to and didn’t need more than a slight nod from Kovacs as he drove.

“Ok, so if Suda’s going to be making sure we don’t have magical tails on us, how are we so certain we’re not being followed and or electronically monitored somehow. I mean he had to have been keeping tabs on me to be so perfectly timed to be in the alley… “

Mac shivered as a chill ran through her.

“Or do you not care, because he’d expect you to pull your old team together…”

She paused her questions long enough to let Kovacs answer as they wound through the side streets and followed Tristan’s car ahead.

[Mach_Ten]

15:30:33 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

"Chemist?" a blank look crosses Remy's face and decides to take up residence there, much to Xade's annoyance
"Yes, Chemist, one who deals with the analysis of chemical agents"
And once more the teenager is glad that Orks have a hard time blushing, he looks sheepishly at his boots and skuffs some dirt and broken glass on the floor with his toe
"Oh's .. yeah, gotcha... soz!" he replies glumly as Xade returns to looking at the cooling equipment with Joslyn

spotting something shiny, he takes a knee and looks into a shelving unit
"I gots DIS though" He announces triumphantly, holding a glass container replete with enviro-seal™ cap, out straight in front of him like a kid who just dug up his Mothers flowers to present to her as an apology for destroying her best dinnerware in a game of indoor frisbee.
"Should hold alla dat stuff I finks?" he enquires, expecting rebuttal

"That'll do nicely kid!" She replies more gently, "We need to think about moving!" and now all business once more.

Remy scoops the liquid gently trying not to get any spilt on him or the floor and deposits it into the container which goes into a shoulder pack with his toolkit, wrapped in his red "BULL" tee-shirt, still covered in his own blood from the first explosion.

"Ready" he says, "where to ?"

[DeliciousD]

15:30:36Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

Joslyn frowns as he watches the liquid slop into the container.

"Why do I get the feeling we should've worn Hazmat suits?" he takes a step back from Remy and covers his mouth, waiting for him to seal the jar "Can't say I know a chemist...might know a guy who knows a guy but I'd have to make some calls."

He glances at the doors of the room and shrugs

"This didn't go quiet, anyone else in here's either made tracks already or they're waiting for us." he pulls out his commlink and clicks some pictures of the carnage before checking the time "Don't want to be here if the cops show up to check out the bang, I'm all for cleaning up and getting that stuff analysed."

[grendel]

16:07:11 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Eastbound 126th St, Downtown, Seattle

"I've got Isomer sweeping for electronic tales. I wouldn't put it past de Medici to have persistent surveillance, but I can at least complicate his operations for the moment. He'll know, though, that I'll pull in the old team. What he's going to ask us to do will require their level of talent."

Kovacs threaded his way deftly through traffic, following Tristan's pick-up truck. Mac had the impression, though, that he already knew where they were headed. The tall samurai was anticipating too many of the turns. A little less than fifteen minutes later, they were in front of a nondescript seven story apartment building. Tristan's vehicle disappeared into the underground parking garage while Kovacs nosed the land rover into a curbside spot.

The two of them waited in silence for the better part of ten minutes until the swordsman reappeared, this time exiting from the front door of the building. He had changed into a set of Actioneer business clothes and carried a bulky duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Kovacs popped the doorlocks and Tristan sprawled across the second row bench seat, tossing his bag into the rear cargo area with little ceremony. He grinned at the older samurai.

"Just like old times."

Something a little like a smile ghosted across Kovacs' lips. "Just like."

He put the truck into drive and pulled away from the curb. Tristan leaned forward over the center console and turned his smile towards Mac.

"There must be a pretty good story behind a pretty young thing like yourself hanging out with a dirty old man like him."

[grendel]

15:38:42 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

Xade nods in agreement with Joslyn. "Noland has them about four minutes out. We should definitely vacate the area. Keep that container sealed tight, Remy. We can call once we're on the road and see if someone has lab time that we can use to try and analyze this."

Suiting words to actions, she takes one last scan around the room before gesturing to Noland. The heavyset ork immediately pivots and heads down the hall. Remy follows, holding the container tightly in front of him. Joslyn is next, a step to the side in case some catastrophe does befall them and the container breaks. Xade brings up the rear. Luckily this time they can move at speed, constrained only by the cluttered hallways and not by a need for stealth.

The team arrives back at the truck in time to hear the scream of Lone Star cruisers surrounding the building. Xade empties out a tool kit into a duffel bag, and gestures for Remy to put the container inside. She turns to Joslyn.

"All right, I'm going to see if I can source something through my fixer but if you want to try and set something up through your friend, I don't mind doubling our chances of success."

[Vegas]

16:09:43 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – Eastbound 126th St, Downtown, Seattle

“That’s exactly why I’m spending my time with him.” Mac said matter-of-factly casting a glance in Kovacs’ direction before she returned a wicked smile of her own as she turned a little more towards Tristan.

“Honestly, a few nights back I managed to do my best damsel in distress impersonation and he rolled in with his best knight in tarnished armor in counterpoint and now we’re all here with a common goal. What’s your history?”

[grendel]

16:16:02 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – I5 South, Downtown, Seattle

"Oh, you know, black sheep of the family rebels against expectations, strikes out on his own, seizes an opportune moment to create his own destiny and the rest, as the poet's say, is history."

Tristan flips his hand dismissively, a gesture Mac knows is meant to conceal as much as express. She doubted that his path was as clean as that simple statement, but clearly he enjoyed his own mythos. She saw his eyes flicker towards the rearview mirror, and his smile became something genuine for a moment. Mac glanced towards Kovacs, but couldn't read anything in the stoic set of the older samurai's shoulders. Something had passed between them, though, because Tristan flopped back onto the bench seat.

"I've been expecting you, Kovacs. It wasn't the same after you left. I kicked around with a couple of other guys. Even worked with Quilland's crew for a couple of jobs."

This evoked a reaction from the driver: a derisive cough.

"Yeah, it was like that," confirmed Tristan.

Silence filled the cab of the truck, broken only by the hum of tires on the road.

Then, Kovacs spoke. "We might not make it back from this one."

"Yeah," said Tristan, matching the samurai's flat tone. "Although I'm counting on the fact that I'm too pretty to die to get me through."

[Vegas]

16:24:13 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – I5 South, Downtown, Seattle

As the mood in the car returned to that of their shared reality, Mac turned back around in the front seat and grew more pensive and quiet as the miles rolled beneath them. She kept her eyes focused on the road ahead of them as Kovacs continued South. Her fingers drummed nervously against her leg, in time with the song that had been stuck in her head since last night.

The shared silence in the car with Tristan occupying the backseat was anything but comfortable and Mac longed for the comfort of the drive with Kovacs alone, where she could ask questions without feeling overly inadequate. She tried to force herself to relax and accept the situation at hand waiting until they arrived at their next destination to find out just what would come next.

“So if everyone’s on board, where are we headed next?”

[Mach_Ten]

15:38:42 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

Gingerly passing the container of sloshing viscous fluid into the duffel, Remy looks up at Xade and cocks an ear at the encircling sirens.
"Four minutes? das' not long, at leasts we gots out before the Five-O "

He jumps on the bike and kicks the starter, letting the engine roar underneath him reassuringly,

"I got's ta check on Unkah Danny, I dun' fink he knows anyone, but maybe 'dere is summat I can do, when we meeting up next ?"

[grendel]

16:28:22 Thursday, 11 January 2063 – I5 South, Downtown, Seattle

"Dinner," replied Tristan. "Our friend and erstwhile leader prefers to conduct his business over food. Lubricates the brain cells."

Again, Mac catches a glance between the two men, Tristan meeting Kovacs' eyes in the rear view mirror. The tall samurai didn't dispute the comment, though. The truck rolled on in silence for a minute.

"I don't know what de Medici is planning," said Kovacs. "It'll be something big, something he's been putting together for a while now. It will probably involve multiple teams running simultaneous ops. Yamatetsu NorthAm has been tangling with both S-K and Renraku over the past year, trying to position themselves against Novatech. My guess is it will be related to that."

"Good, for a minute there I thought this might be difficult." Tristan yawned.

17:37:04 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

Kovacs, Mac, and Tristan sat at a table in back, inconspicuous amongst the other evening diners.

"Their marinara is fantastic here," commented the tall samurai.

[grendel]

15:40:17 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

Xade leans out the passenger side of the truck.

"Let me know how Danny is doing. I'll call you at eighteen hundred tonight. We'll arrange a rendezvous then and plan our next step."

The window buzzes up and the truck pulls away.

Remy glances at Joslyn, halfway into his own ride. The young man with the old eyes shrugs.

"It's not like I had dinner plans, either."

[Mach_Ten]

16:30:47 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - The Emporium, 8047 Fall City Road, Redmond, Seattle

"Ack! Dinner, yeah... umm, you fancy grabbin' a bite first?"

The growl from Remy's stomach is audible almost over the thrum of the bike engine and he gives his abdomen a conciliatory pat to sooth the savage beast within.
"Dere's a diner at the market, an' I need to grab some gear too! Danny'll be fine wiv a call, I dunno where he'd be now anyways,
race you there ?"

Remy drops the helmet over his face and straps himself in against the cold.
pulling out onto the highway, being very careful to not attract any unwanted attention, he takes a circuitous route around the place before heading north and back to the markets.

The Emporium, is still bustling but several stalls have closed and left for the day after completing their transactions,
Remy checks The Sword Noland gave or lent him, treated with care and respect, at the door, being careful to keep the re-claim ticket somewhere safe.

It's not long after that, he spots the place he's looking for,
a surplus place that all the cool kids go for replica mil-spec gear that's the latest fashion accessory, only Remy wants the real deal,

"Hey mister" he calls to the owner who is finishing up with a teen dwarf girl buying a ruk-sack that she could probably fit into.
"You got this in my size?"
His extended good arm, points up to a Ruthenium Tech Camo-suit, hanging on a mannequin above the stall, posed in some kind of mid air kung-fu style

"Ya can't afford it kid now frag off n' stop wasting my time"
Remy fingers the cred-stick in his pocket and is about to argue when he realises that actually the guy might be right,
he looks around glumly before picking up various odds and ends, mostly gel pads and a skin suit
and the multi-pocket system that any self respecting soldier in the TRIDs wouldn't be seen without.

"How much?" he asks boldly of the stall keeper expecting the same initial reply.
"Look kid, This ain't no Try-and-Buy ! You buy the suit and I'll throw some of that in for free, now go bug someone else or pass me your creds!"

Scanning the area, Remy sees the troll from his last visit, loitering conspicuously close and decides to not make an issue of it,
he wanders over to the payphone area and grabs a vacant booth.

"Hey Unkah Danny, how's it going?"
the phone is picked up after a couple of rings and Remy try's his best to sound cheerful and amicable

"Don't gimme that Drek Rembrandt, you're only s'posed to call this line in an emergency
and unless your wearing cement boots and are surrounded by some shocked looking fish that are wondering if you're dinner or diner... and you don't sound to be underwater to me... This AIN'T an emergency!"

Ohh .. Drek, what's gotten into him now ? .. better play it straight... the Ork teen thinks.

"Yeah, Soz Danny, look, I went with them guys from the shop.. ya know the ..umm... the girl .. aaand ... well.... I need some protective gear see..."
The line goes deathly quiet,

Remy holds the receiver to his face and shakes it in case it's faulty, but eventually there's the sound of an exasperated sigh from the other end and Danny replies
"How much? ... and before you answer, this is coming out of your trust fund kid !!"

I has a trust fund ... how mu... nevermind ... Remy gasps and nearly verbalises the query, but actually explains further
"Just enough for some armour and a Camo suit ... and .. mebbe a pistol ?"
He wonders how far he could push the request, but decides to err on the side of continuing the nasty habit of Breathing that he has developed and leaves it at that.

Danny does a balance transfer to a wiped clean stick that Remy has and activates it
"Try to keep outta trouble kid, I only gots so many businesses left in town, ya scan !"

Rembrandt thanks his uncle and races off back to the stall keeper, most of the kit is packed away but all the items he selected are still there and are packaged ready
"I had a sneaky suspicion you'd find a way to sort this, you look the determined kind kid .. hand me the creds and let's get outta here okay!"
Remy grins happily handing over the creds and collects the package, heading back, he almost forgets to collect his belongings, and rushes to the ticket office.

With everything strapped securely onto the bike, He takes it slow heading out, the diner is only a block away and he reckons he can use the cubicles to try on the new gear for the first time
Like a proper Runner .... hoo boy!

[DeliciousD]

15:40:17 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Bahr Industrial Processing Facility, 3280 Hewitt Ave, Everett

"Diner by the market, gotcha, I could use a bite."

Joslyn watches the van and bike pull away as he removes his outer armour and bundles it up, he stashes it in the back of the Spiral, grimacing at the knowledge that the blood's definitely going to stain something. With a sigh, he hops into the drivers seat and plots a course to the Emporium, just below the speed limit, Gridguide can handle this one, Joslyn has things to do.

As the car cruises along the snow covered streets, Joslyn pulls out his commlink.

Hi Sergio, I've had an interesting few days, don't open the attachments if you're eating.

[Attachment of pictures of gore-covered room]

I met some of Romano's contacts, group that call themselves Winternight, they're not the nicest bunch, turned themselves into salsa rather than talk. We found some weird drek in the cooling units your boy sourced for them, don't suppose you know anyone who could run a chemical analysis on it do you?

Glancing up after sending the message, Joslyn checks the map and sees he had a few more minutes

Hi Zeyda, long time no speak. I've got something interesting for you; mystery liquid, made by some guys called Winternight who are crazy enough to kill themselves to stop someone else getting hold of it, serious runners looking to stop them using it...there's got to be some paydata in there somewhere, you know anyone who's handy with chemical analysis or somesuch? I can probably swing some cred from the interested parties if you've got anything, let me know.

The Spiral pulls up by the Diner near the Emporium and Joslyn steps out, hops on the spot several times and shakes out his limbs.

Keep it together, it's a long ride.

He walks into the Diner, involuntarily darting glances at everyone in the place, it's a dingy affair but he's eaten at a lot worse. Picking a fairly central booth, he sits down and peruses the menu. After a short wait, a waitress wanders over.

"Whatcha want shuga?"

"Coff...actually, make it OJ, well, whatever's like OJ and something resembling meat."

"Soysteak an' chips?"

"That'll do, thanks."

Joslyn taps his feet and drums his fingers like a high tempo dance beat until Remy arrives, he waves the young Ork over and, when he's sat down, takes a bite of his now cool chips.

"How's your Uncle doing? Fancy some eats?"

[Mach_Ten]

16:45:47 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Fall City Road, Redmond, Seattle

"eats, Yeah man I'm famished, not eaten since lunch! can you believe dis place? it's like a throwback to wayback when!"
Remy can hardly contain his excitement, dropping packages onto the seat in the booth that Joslyn occupies

The waitress returns with OJ for his .. friend ? Colleague? Running mate ? associate ? and Remy reels of a list of high protein, high sugar high carb foodstuffs,

"It don' havta taste gud, I just throw sugars onnit anyways!" He explains to Joslyns shocked expression.

He looks around and begins to talk in hushed tones, leaning toward Joslyn over the table leaning on his elbows, until the pain sends another jolt up his arm and he tries to look casual leaning on only one.

"So, You had run ins wiv dese' Winter...." he hushes some more, looking around nervously as if saying their name summons them to the location "...Winter night dudes?"

[Vegas]

17:53:21 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

Mac was anything but hungry, yet she dutifully picked at the toppings on a slice of veggie pizza and a salad knowing she’d never hear the end of it from Kovacs if she didn’t eat at all. She slipped her commlink from her pocket and set up a few searches to run in the background while she weeded through the missed calls and messages she’d been ignoring, even the ones from Holly Anne. She wasn’t in a place to deal with that emotional fallout right now.

Mac rubbed at her tired eyes and downed more of her soda hoping the sugar and caffeine combination would power her through until there was the ability for her to crash.

She watched as her companions ate with the speed she was used to from Kovacs and as their eyes never really settled on anything, a constant state of hyper-vigilance.

“So…Tristan, what do you do for fun?” Mac tried to break the silence that lingered at their table, the incessant hum of a restaurant in the background that was always at an almost intrusive level.

[DeliciousD]

16:47:28 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Fall City Road, Redmond, Seattle

"Can't say that I have," Joslyn's hand twitches as he reaches for his drink, he sighs, breathes out slowly then tries again, taking a quick sip then hurriedly returning it to the table "Don't think I want to run into them again to be honest but..."

Joslyn stares into space for a moment, his mind drifts back to the Night of Rage, he frowns as he remembers the his inaction, his complicity. Suddenly the smell of burned steaks makes him gag as he remembers the scent of cooking metahuman flesh carried in the smoke of a burning warehouse, maybe he couldn't have done anything to stop it, but...

"But what?" Remy's question thankfully jolts Joslyn back to the present, he shakes his head to clear his mind.

"They're clearly dangerous," Joslyn continues "I don't know who or what they're after, but that kind of crazy's never after anything good, they need to be stopped."

His hand twitches again, knocking a knife onto the floor

"Frag it," he mutters quietly "Like being old again."

"You get anything good?" Joslyn forces a smile and nods at Remy's packages.

[Mach_Ten]

16:47:28 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Fall City Road, Redmond, Seattle

"Nuffink amazing, just replacins' some gear I lost in that explosion at my uncles"

He pulls some of the camouflage suit from the bag and activates the ruthenium
so it replicates the awful pattern of the vinyl table cloth below.

"Fed up bein so easy to see, dat's I keep gettin shot an' blowed up!"

He replaces the items in the bag and makes room for the waitress to deliver their food.

The plates fill most of the table, with little room for elbows
"Not wantin' to sounds greedy.." He takes a moment to chew and swallow the mouthful of food, trying to be a little polite
"But don't 'runners' get paid for getting shot at?"
He waves the fork in the air to emphasise the point
"I mean .... I've gots ta help Danny get fixed up at da shop an' I could probs use some medical cover"

[grendel]

16:52:03 Tuesday, 09 January 2063 - Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Fall City Road, Redmond, Seattle

As Joslyn listens to Remy, he feels the slight shake of an incoming text on his commlink. Discreetly calling up the interface, he sees that Zeyda has replied to his earlier message.

Not sure I want to know how you're handling this mystery liquid. But I have a friend at the UW in the physical sciences lab. He'll take a look at it for you for a price. Bagley Hall, southwest entrance, nine p.m. tonight, Dr. Wilton Lakeye. --Z

[grendel]

18:01:14 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

Tristan glanced over at Mac, a smile curling the handsome curve of his lips. His answer of girls like you went unspoken, though she could read it easily enough in the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Instead, he flipped his hand in a casual gesture while he took a swallow of the house merlot.

"Oh, you know, the usual: sex, drugs, drunken shenanigans. I'm just your average red-blooded American frat boy."

Kovacs coughed out a laugh around a mouthful of garlic bread.

"I should have warned you not to believe a word he says," muttered the tall samurai, "he follows the Trickster's path."

"Lies. Vicious slander," countered Tristan. "I'm an officer and a gentleman!"

"You were never an officer." Kovacs delivered the dry observation in a tone of long suffering. Tristan grinned triumphantly.

"But I am a gentleman."

The two men fall silent for a moment. Then, Kovacs nods to his teammate.

"Thanks for coming back."

Tristan shrugs. "You know me, I never met a bad decision I didn't like." He glances at the slice and a half of pizza left on Mac's plate. "You gonna finish that?"

[Vegas]

18:13:41 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

Mac leaned back in her chair slightly and her relaxation was visible as she enjoyed the playful banter between her dinner companions, her eyes bright and mischievous as a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Trickster’s path or not, she was already enjoying Tristan’s addition to the team and the little subtle game of cat-and-mouse flirtation didn’t hurt either. It put her at ease actually, being in familiar territory again instead of feeling inadequate.

“It’s all yours.” She pushed her plate across the table as she shook her head, picking more at her salad and sipping at her soda as the guys finished up their dinner.

As they ate, she worked through some of the search results that had come up in the background skipping the most obvious mainstream options for the more underworld, street level results where the real surprises lived. Often dismissed as conspiracy theory occasionally the "crazies" were onto something, she was hoping there might be such a nugget on any of the possible players in their upcoming game.

[grendel]

18:17:09 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

"Thanks!" Tristan stuffed the slice into his mouth as Kovacs fished through his pockets for some certified cred to cover the meal. He shook his head at the gluttony, standing and settling his longcoat over his shoulders. Mac was on her feet right afterwards, leaving Tristan to grab a handful of dinner rolls from the basket on the table before following them out. The night's embrace seemed less chilly now that she had a belly full of food, and the casual banter of her companions no doubt helped as well. She expected more of the casual flirtation from Tristan when they climbed into the cab of the truck, but he remained slouched across the rear bench.

"Makin' some calls," he offered by way of explanation. Kovacs turned the radio up a bit. Mac glanced at him.

"Ambient noise will cover the sound of his subvocal mic," explained the samurai. "When we get back to the house, I'll show you how to setup your weapons and how to do basic maintenance. Is there anything at your place that you can't live without? I want you with us twenty four seven now that we've got the team assembled. I don't know when de Medici is going to spring his surprise and I don't want you away from our cover if possible."

[Vegas]

18:18:31 Thursday, 11 January 2063 - The Pizza Grotto, 3008 Bethwaite Rd Suite 4, Renton, Seattle

Mac turned slightly in the front seat to focus on Kovacs and give Tristan as much privacy as she could inside the truck.

"Live without?" She shook her head. "No, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd appreciate the opportunity to grab a few things beyond what I already have at the house."

She knew the stash at the apartment of a few items she hoped she could get her hands on before either she abandoned that place altogether or someone else got their hands on them.

"I don't want to make you double back though Kovacs...I don't know your master plan or schedule, but it can wait until tomorrow. Although if I can't grab some sleep sometime soon, I'm going to be a bigger liability to you then I already am."