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

[Slipshade]

22:34:10 Monday 08 January 2063 - Paradigm Shift Room 7

"The offer intrigues me Mr. Ashikawa and I will accept the position on the team. I will join you first thing on Wednesday. There are a few things I need to take care of before I leave town."

Max extends his hand to shake Hideo's.

"Thank you for the opportunity Mr. Ashikawa, I look forward to the research."

'Great that only gives me a day to find Keira.'

[SentineloftheMou...]

0700 Wednesday, January 10, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Andie gets up the next morning and prepares to create a new ward around the workshop area for the next hour before something else happens.

He checks on the circulation to make sure it's still brewing and then starts gathering magical energy for the new ward....

[grendel]

19:25:21 Wednesday 10 January - Schrodinger's Chess and Coffee Shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Jennifer nods, taking a last sip from her coffee before rewinding her scarf about her neck and picking up her gloves. Leading Eyes out into the parking lot, she glances around before opening up the trunk of her car.

"I guess you'll just call if you find out anything new?"

[WinterRat1]

22:34:35 Monday 08 January 2063 - Paradigm Shift Room 7

After shaking Max's hand Mr. Ashikawa pulls out a card with a phone number on it and hands it to Max. “Call this number at 07:00:00 on Wednesday morning and you will be given further instructions as where to go and when to be there. You should not incur any expenses is the process of travel as we will arrange for your transportation when you call. We look forward to having you with us.”

With that, he excuses himself, leaving Max alone in the room, card still in hand.

[bclements]

10:06:01 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

"Not sure yet," Tony says, half to himself while scanning the parking lot. This isn't going to be pretty. At least a dozen people, probably more in there. Security...maybe. Probably's more like it..

"Ok, let's take stock of the situation here. You know anything about this place, like what's going on in there? I remember you mentioning at the graveyard something about coordinates. Are you sure they point into the building, or at something around the outside?" Tony says in the quiet of the car, still looking around at the office park.

[The_Eyes]

19:25:07 Wednesday 10 January - Outside Schrodinger's, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Eyes nods in reply. "Of course. I will let you know the moment I learn anything useful," he promised. Lifting the case from the back of the trunk, Eyes took great pains to not show his trouble handling the (to him) heavy case. Grimly he decided he'd have to get around to joining a gym or something; he felt pathetic that such a trivial weight should give him so much trouble.

"It might take awhile to finish with this thing," he added, "but at the very least I'll get in touch with you by the end of the week, if only to keep you updated on my progress. So... right. I'll talk to you later then." He sighed inwardly at his last statement. Brilliant. Smooth Save James, that's you.

[grendel]

19:27:22 Wednesday 10 January - Outside Schrodinger's, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Closing the trunk, Jennnifer nods. She shivers in the chill wind, her face cold and drawn for a moment. An awkward second stretches before she reaches out and hugs Eyes tightly. He blinks in surprise, his arms full of computer and uncertain as to just how to respond. Jennifer draws back, a strange mix of gratitude and embarrassment on her face.

"Thanks."

With a last glance, she climbs behind the wheel of her car and pulls out of the parking lot.

[The_Eyes]

19:27:41 Wednesday 10 January - Outside Schrodinger's, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Eyes walked back to his own ride, a wondering smile on his face. Not that it really matters what she meant with that, a mocking thought whispered through the grin, You're too good to 'take advantage' of the girl, and you probably wouldn't know what to do with her anyway. Besides, knowing your luck she no doubt meant that hug platonically. The grin turning into a bemused chuckle, Eyes dismissed the thought and got to the more relevant one of getting a heavy computer case home on a motorcycle.

[Slipshade]

22:36:12 Monday 08 January 2063 - Paradigm Shift Room 7

Max reaches into the pocket of his folded Mortimer of London greatcoat and retrieves his pocket secretary. He stares at the card Mr. Ashikawa handed him, watching the man’s aura quickly fading from it, when it has faded to almost imperceptible he scans in the card to the P-Sec’s memory. He then places the card into the inner pocket of the greatcoat and puts the coat on. He then has the Pocket Secretary dial the number John Standard gave him earlier that day. A few seconds pass before John picks up at the other end.

“It’s Max. I have finished my prior engagement this evening and am ready to help find Keira and Nora. Meet me at 6 Bellevue Way, One Lincoln Tower in Bellevue. I will inform the night guard of your impending arrival. Take the elevator to the 41st Floor and I meet you there.”

Max answers any questions John has and then hangs up.

‘I hope the snow is letting up a bit.’ He thinks to himself before departing.

[bclements]

10:05:44 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

Tony's view of the parking lot didn't improve his outlook. The cars seemed to be recent arrivals, and a decent amount of security cameras covered the entrances. Although his first instinct was to go in, guns blazing, he dismissed that out of hand. No, only fools and the desparate charge into the unknown. Warriors get all the information they can before their adversary even gets in their sights he thought to himself, remembering one of Sung's lessons.

"If that's our target, I don't think that we can get your lock right now without attracting way too much attention. I've got a couple of ideas, but we need to know what's in that building." he said to Todd, without waiting for an answer to his question.

[Scrapheap]

15:18:44 Monday 08 January 2063 - Apartment 342, Redmond Free-People's Housing Co-op

John rinsed the disposable razor before setting it back onto the shelf and closing the medicine cabinet door. He then pulled the plug and watched as 4 days worth of beard drained out of the sink, before rinsing it as well. Man that shower felt good! You almost look respectable again, chummer. Almost.

He used a threadbare towel to wipe his face, before wrapping it around his middle. Squatting down to gather his clothing, he then turned and walked out of the bathroom, through the hallway and into the living room. He opened the door to the small closet where he kept his things and tossed in his dirty clothes. As he stood looking through his meager collection of clothes, street tatoos and scars visible across his bare torso, he realized that his sister had done his laundry. Reaching up, he grabbed his one set of armored clothes. Man, am I glad Etta cleaned these! Hopefully I won't need them, but if I have to go back to the Clinic I'll probably have to go inside. They'll come in handy in that case.

John quickly dressed, replaced his holster-rig, and then walked over to drag the old couch aside. Glancing around, though he knew no one was there, he knelt down and pried up the first floorboard with his cyberspur. Grabbing the canvas satchel off of the pile of weapons, he held it open with one hand and used the other to transfer all of his "safe's" contents. First came the battered Ingram SMG, then extra clips for both the Ingram and the Manhunters under each arm. Each clip was marked with a small band of colored tape: red for regular ammo and blue for gel rounds. Finally, he placed several grenades into a side pocket.

After replacing the floorboards and moving the couch back into place, he shrugged into his grey SecureTech jacket. With the plain jacket and dull work clothes, someone seeing him for the first time might mistake him for a delivery guy, or some sort of heating and cooling tech, at least until they saw the obvious cyber.

Walking across the spartan living room, he bent to grab a small pile of Nora's things off of a chair and added them to the satchel before snapping it closed. He then took his hat from where it hung near the door and with one final glance around, exited the apartment, locking the door behind him. As he walked down the hallway, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked to see if he'd missed any calls. Nothin.' Guess I have to go to Finn's in person. Better get down there and round those kids up. Get on the road. I hope they haven't gotten into any fraggin' trouble.

[Sedna]

0701 Wednesday, January 10, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Andie's familiar with the place, after all these years. His footsteps make almost no sound as he quickly checks the circulation. Still, it's enough to evoke an anticipatory bark, and then he abruptly finds himself sitting again on his small cot, with a rather large dog's feet planted on his shoulders and a happily wagging tail endangering the beakers.

"Move," he gasps, shoving the dog's nose out of his face, and then (as it's trying eagerly to climb into his lap), "Will you move! You're getting in the way!"

A snap of fingers, accompanied by "Dusha!" from the next room: Andie blearily recognises Sam's voice. The dog reluctantly withdraws from its eager quest for the lap and drops to an obedient sitting position half in and half out of the divider curtain, waiting. Sure enough, after a moment Sam appears at the curtain, holding out a leash. "Should have realised you were awake," he says with a tired smile. "His ears suddenly perked up, and then he bolted here before I could catch him. He's been waiting at least an hour for you."

"For me?" asks Andie, not sure what else to say to this.

"Yes, I have to stay inside. With him," Sam elaborated, when the meaning didn't quite register at once; and even then it takes a couple of minutes before it connects that this "him" means the other newcomer, presumably still deeply between sleep and unconsciousness. "That means you're the one taking him for walks. Be careful, he's got the lines of a greyhound, and you know what that means. Don't worry, I'll watch your circulation while you're gone."

[SentineloftheMou...]

0702 Wednesday, January 10, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Andie listens to Sam's comments and wonders with a glare at Sam. How did I get promoted to dogwalker? "I don't recall that being in my job description. Where is Solomon and why doesn't get to do this noble task?" Andie says with sarcasm.

[Scrapheap]

15:33:19 Monday 08 January 2063 - Cafeteria, Redmond Free-People's Housing Co-op

John winced as Grace gave him the total for the ganger's meal. Looking over his shoulder to where the three were still eating, he sighed and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket to remove a crumpled envelope. Opening it revealed a stack of paper nuyen. Frag, looks like I'm gonna have to dip into the rent money. I figured it'd come to this before I got Nora home, but I didn't know it would be over lunch. How much can three fraggin' kids eat anyway?

He thumbed out a few bills, silently thankful that while it wasn't free the food at the Co-op cafeteria was cheap. The food bill for three teens could have been a lot worse. "Here you go, Grace. There's a couple nuyen in there for me too. I'm gonna grab somethin' on the way out." Sticking the envelope back into his jacket, he headed over and grabbed himself a quick lunch before making his way over to the kid's table.

"A'ight, gang. Let's finish up."

Around a mouthful of food, Megan said, "Took you long enough, chummer. We thought maybe you'd fallen in or something. We was about ready to send Twiggy here up to look for ya."

"Yeah," Twiggy chirped, "We thought ya'd fallen in the john, John!"

Here we go again...

[grendel]

21:16:09 Wednesday 10 January - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Eyes stared out the window of his apartment, drumming his fingers thoughtfully on the keyboard. The Enova server sat in the middle of his apartment, most of the usual clutter pushed off to the side. He'd enlisted Jane's help in scouring the files of the machine, finding them meticulously sorted and indexed, victim's of Casimir's trademark neatness. As he originally suspected, nothing incriminating, or even terribly interesting, was stored on the server. Except a single entry in a backup file for the office suite's address book. Tucked away in an innocuous system folder, its revision date indicates that the file hasn't been touched in at least six months. The entry is for a company called Epoch LLC, and its address is listed as 10441 Pacific Court Way Suite 107.

"Sweet! Why didn't you tell me you had an Enova?" Ran closed the door behind her, eyes glittering with excitement.

"You could knock, you know." Eyes grumbled, glaring to cover his nervous jump at the sound of her voice.

"Whatever." Ran peered at the assembled server blades, her hands caressing the smooth plastic casing as if she were stroking a cat. "What's it running?"

[Bastard]

1150.00 Thursday 11 January 2063- Cooper's Automotive, Downtown Seatle, UCAS

Sitting in the office, Marquis logs onto the matrix, which was finally reinstalled by SBC after a week's absence. It's been so long he almost forgets where he wants to go, but luckily he had bookmarked some of his favorite grids. Like Ares, where he can check out some of the new upcomming models for the next season. That should consume some time until Tony arrives.

[Ecclesiastes]

10:06:34 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

Todd sits quietly thinking for a moment, then turns to Tony, "Yeah, I'm not the 'charge in blind' type of guy. Let get out of here and I'll see what data I can dig up on these six companies. Maybe one of them will lead me in the right direction. Heck, if nothing else, I can try to tap into their video network and see if I can get a peek inside the building. What ideas did you have?"

[bclements]

10:07:02 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

"Well, right now I've got 2 basic plans. First one is we wait till after closing time, and break in. Second one is trying to scam us in. Both of them have their good and bad points. If you think of anything else, don't hesitate to bring it up. Either way, we have to know a lot more about that place." Tony says, starting up the car.

"You want me to take you back to your apartment?"

[Ecclesiastes]

10:07:26 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

Todd nods, "That'll work. I'll do some digging around and lets go in tonight. I'm good with either plan. Getting past security systems isn't too tough and neither is bluffing past secritaries. Lets see what I find and take it from there, at least now I have a better idea of what to look for."

[Scrapheap]

16:39:11 Monday 08 January 2063 - Parking Lot, Loveland Quinn's Bar, Puyallup

Shutting the van's door, John waited for his three companions to exit before locking up. As they clambered out, he briefly considered heading around back to the private entrance to Finn's apartment. He decided against it for the simple fact that if his friend was jacked-in there was no way that he'd hear the knock. Finally, once the kids were all out and standing next to him, he locked the van and led them around to the front entrance.

"What's the deal with this place?" Tyler asked while rubbing his upper arm. The gangers had amused themselves on the ride over with some game that involved punching each other every time someone spotted a Westwind. Surprisingly, Twiggy seemed to have won. At least he seemed to have taken the least amount of punishment.

"Bar called Loveland Quinn's. Owned by a friend of mine."

"Lemme guess," Megan said. "Quinn?"

Giving her a crooked smile, John replied, "Nope." Opening the door, he made a little half-bow and motioned them inside. "After you."

As they passed, Megan whispered theatrically to Twiggy, "He's so weird." With a little shake of his head, John gave one final look around and then let the door shut behind them.

[Scrapheap]

16:52:07 Monday 08 January 2063 - Finn's apartment, Loveland Quinn's Bar, Puyallup

John led the way up the stairs to Finn's doss. Following close behind came the three gangers, each carrying a sugary, carbonated beverage of their choice. John had purchased them at the bar downstairs, ignoring Twiggy's request for a "brewski," at the same time he'd purchased a pack of smokes. The place had been pretty full, and he hadn't liked some of the looks the off-duty soldiers from nearby Fort Lewis had directed at Megan. Or at Twiggy, for that matter...

Opening the door to the apartment, he discovered the place unusually dark and quiet. Aside from the muffled sound of the bar below, he couldn't hear anything. If Finn was jacked-in, then it was no big deal. If he wasn't, well, who knew? Probably just being paranoid. But better safe than fraggin' sorry. With the way things have been goin' lately, best to be careful.

"What's the hold-up?" Megan's voice carried up the stairs.

"SHH!" Quickly pulling the door almost closed, the old runner turned to look at the three kids. "Listen, it's probably nothing, but I got a funny feeling. Seems kinda quiet in there, you know?" Pulling a Manhunter, he added, "I'm gonna go check things out. You guys wait here. You hear anything, run down and tell the bouncer."

Tyler was taking him seriously, at least. He pulled his knife and said, "You got it."

With a quick nod, John turned and slowly opened the door. Hitting his reflex trigger, he ducked inside. Silently clearing each room, he slowly and carefully made his way to Finn's office. Frag it, he better just be jacked in...

[bclements]

10:07:55 Thursday 11 January 2063 - 10441 Pacific Court Way, Seattle, UCAS

"It's not the secretaries I'm worried about," Tony says, putting the car into gear and gently pulling the car out of the parking lot, "it's the guys with guns waiting on them when the PanicButton get's pushed." Making his way out onto Pacific Way, he sets the Autonav for the spot he dropped Todd off at last.

10:58:18 Thursday 11 January 2063 - Corner of 5th and Elm, Tacoma , Seattle, UCAS

Stopping the intersection directly across from the same Stuffer Shack he'd been at 2 days before, Tony has a bit of deja vu. This time, it's not going to be just a dog. he thinks to himself as he puts the car into park.

"Here you go, kid. Be sure you get some floorplans of that building. Once we get in, we want to know about where to go. We may not have much time to look around," he says, unlocking the door of the Americar.

[Sedna]

0703 Wednesday, January 10, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

"I don't know where he is," says Sam, trying to curb an armful of increasingly anxious dog before something unfortunate resulted. "Is he usually here this early? But someone's got to take Dusha out soon, and I -- well -- can't. Listen: you're Sara's apprentice, right? Doesn't that mean you sometimes take on whatever needs doing around here?"

[The_Eyes]

21:17:34 Wednesday 10 January - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Eyes tapped a nearby display. "Custom job," he replied. Of course it would be; a programmer of Cassimir's reputation and skill would never use one of the off-the-shelf systems on something like this. "It borrows a bit from Raku's Genesis series. Want to take a lo-" He breaks off as he glances around and notices Ran slumped into a nearby chair, a cord running from her brain into the innards of the machine. "Right," he said to noone in particular, as he activated his own RAS override and dove after her.

He found her already inside, appraising the innards of the host with a critical eye. "How... boring," she concluded, contemplating the utilitarian feel of the room. "It's just a regular office? I mean, I guess it's pretty detailed and all," she ran a hand over the oak desk she was standing next to, admiring the look, feel, and even smell of the freshly polished oak that made up the unit, "but what's the point of making an office in the 'trix? You can make anything you want; it's almost disappointing really."

Eyes idly ran a finger over the leaves of a potted plant, noting the attention that went into even the veins spiderwebbing through the leaf's underside. "I think this is just his workspace," he replied. "It's the Control system; my guess is you don't usually come here unless you're doing work."

He held a door open for Ran. She stepped through, and smirked. "Okay, *this* is pretty wiz. Guy was a bit of a neat freak, wasn't he?"

Standing before her was a filing cabinet. Ten feet to the right of that was another filing cabinet. Ten feet to the left was another filing cabinet. Ten feet up was another filing cabinet. Ten feet down was another filing cabinet. And so on and so forth, forming a grid streching in three dimensions as far as the eye could see.

Eyes chuckled. "Yes, he was. There's a few other rooms around here, all seperated by that same door motif. There was a giant chessboard in one of them. I played a couple games, and I don't think I've yet seen the same killing strike twice."

Inwardly, he pondered the address he found. It could be a pretty good clue, but no matter what he was not about to go prancing into some company's office without doing some thorough research first, probably starting with their own Matrix host. In fact, that seemed a better way to get info on Casimir than actually going to their offices anyway; what was he going to do, walk in the front door and start asking when was the last time anyone had seen the guy who turned up dead a few days ago?

Besides, he had been working for two days without much of a break, and it was begining to show. All work and no play make the Eyes dull and witless. "So, what do you want to do?"

[grendel]

21:18:02 Wednesday 10 January - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

"Eh? Whatever. We should run a T1 line to your place and sell server time." Ran answered Eyes' question in an off-hand manner. She'd pulled all of the files from the nearest file cabinet, the digital text memos arranged to form a distributed image of her face. As he watched, she respun it to look like the MCT Towers downtown. And again to look like some kind of winged lion-like creature.

"Where'd you get it, anyway?"