IC: Emerald City Nights, This Ain't no Oz... Options

[Thomas]

“I’m not sure that one ‘drunk guy’ is enough of a disturbance.� Steve comments. “At Wetech we’d just zap him with a stun baton, drag him into the street and call ‘Star to sort him out… I doubt these guys would call the ‘Star, but I also doubt they’d send more than one or two to deal with it. Perhaps if we upped the ante a bit – say some gunfire; that would put pressure on them to get control before ‘Star could show up.� Steve looks around at his coconspirators, “I have an idea…�

“I stumble around the place ‘drunk’, if all the goons come – fine. If not, have one of those spirits show up and fight with me – bullets don’t hurt them, right?... This just gives the goons a few minutes to deal with it before ‘Star can respond… If that’s not enough to get all of their attention…� Steve stutters to a stop. “Uhh, the spirit wouldn’t really have to hurt me, right?�

[Sedna]

"Geez, I dunno," says Kai, lookin' up from playin' with his phone. Leastwise it's keeping his hands busy, Johnson notes, and hopes it'll last. "Liddy really hates fightin'. Them soused sararimen, they gets real nasty sumwise, real temper freaks, all screamin' and blades an' stuff. She hates blades. Guns she don' min' so much. Could call up Sarah, she do like a good scrap. I kin all'ays tell 'er t' be real careful-like widja."

An' then Kai busts out grinnin' as he thumbs his phone on, and a startled Steve suddenly hears -- himself, escalating volume ringtone, in full choleric tirade. "Chill, man. Ye'll be fine, but I kin all'ays stink ya up if ya wants. Dead rats all'ays helps."

[Thomas]

As the ringtone finishes its cycle Steve reddens and starts to giggle, rapidly degenerating into actual laughter. This lasts only a few seconds, then, regaining his composure, Steve looks at Kai. “You know I didn’t mean it Kai� he says with a smile.

[Bastard]

Johnson sits behind the desk listening to his team plan. They have always given great input into the planning, but he was the one who made the final decision. With Johnson now stuck watching over the ECN office, he wouldn't be able to assist out in the field, so someone else is going to have to pick up the lead. No time better than now for that to start.

Johnson knows how he would run the mission, but its time for Viper or Steve to take the lead. He leans back in the large office chair so he can more comfortably observe the teams discussion, and to keep a better eye on Kai's hands.

[Glyph]

Viper smirks slightly, her expression relaxed, although she is actually glad that Kai's little prank seems to have defused some tension, instead of the other way around. She was about to chime in with some reservations - she knows spirits are pretty bullet-resistant, but not invulnerable - but she figures the kid must be able to summon them relatively strong, if he's not worried.

As Steve's laughter dies down, she speaks up, diffidently:

"Sooo... that's what you two guys are gonna be doin'. Now where do you want me? In with Kai, all invisible, so I can float us out in a hurry if he needs it, or outside, keeping an eye on the 'distraction'? Or part of it, maybe."

So far, the plan seems relatively simple. She actually considers that a good thing. Less things to go wrong, less chances for bad luck... and less stuff for her to have to bother to remember.

[Thomas]

“Well, I would feel safer if you were there watching my hoop, but the job requires that we don’t tip anyone off to our interests in the crates, so it’s probably better that you concentrate on helping Kai get in and out without being detected.�
Steve pauses for a moment, then continues;
“As long as the goons don’t get too personal about it, the worst that could happen to me is getting a bit roughed up – ‘Star would likely just cart me off to sleep it off elsewhere, or at most I’d be charged but I’ve got a clean record, and I’m a citizen.�

[Glyph]

Viper laughs.

"So, you get beat up by a bunch of sweaty thugs, while I have to keep the Mouse out of trouble. How come you're giving me the hard job?"

She relaxes a bit more in her chair, satisfied that their plan, such as it is, seems to have come together. She watches Kai out of a corner of her eye, though, half wondering if he will object to her presense - he's used to flying solo when it comes to the sneaky stuff.

[Thomas]

"I’m not sure I like it, but it seems like the most likely way that we can avoid anyone finding out that we messed with the crates."

Steve looks at the other two, then at Johnson, before continuing.

"However, if we have time, we might make a disturbance before we actually try to infiltrate the building, just to see how they react. People tend to have patterns, any individual tends to react in similar ways when given the same stimulus.

Kai, could one of your friends start some drek with the squatters? Just stir them up, maybe get them yelling? We could observe how the goons react, see if they call for backup – whatever. It might give us an idea of how they will act when our hoops are on the line."

Steve looks at the kid, and wonders; What is he playing with now?

[Bastard]

"Instead of wandering around, you can always drive my Americar around the property. That may add to the drunken approach," Johnson adds.

Steve remembers that car. A Ford Americar-nice and dinged up, light black, very bland. Probably could use a few more dents, just for gp.

[Bastard]

Later that night...

The team gathers at the near by quik-e-mart before sending Steve on his stammer. The night sends its cool breeze, the sounds of the city are just background noise, and the air is filled with funk. Welcome to the Barrens.

[Sedna]

[quick backpost]

"What, like ya jes' wan' one o' dems t' start trouble an' shit? Null sheen." A glint in Kai's eye: "Mebbe gets a whole gang here."

"Dry run," repeats Steve a bit nervously. He's pretty sure the kid's got the concept. He just needs to be sure that the kid wants to.

An' then, wheelin' around on the chair to face Viper:

"Ya wanna backs me up, guess'n s'OK, long's'ya kin keeps up. Make sure ya gots me a clicker fer when we goin' in."

" 'Clicker'?" asks Viper after a moment, confused.

"Ca-me-ra. Could be I's lookin' in an' gots no clue what I'm seein'."

An' then blinks: Did Johnson really just give 'em the OK to drive his car? Jeez, way t' take alla fun outa it ...

[Thomas]

After giving Kai a final caution that this is just a test to see how the goons react to a disturbance, Steve walks off down the block to observe from a reverse angle.

Apparently Kai didn’t understand where Steve wanted to be before the drek hit the fan; 40 meters short of his chosen viewing location, Steve hears one of the bums start yelling.

The elf preps his binoculars and scans the scene.

[Bastard]

Steve spots two goons near the back door of the warehouse. He can see the the dimly lit interior through the cracked open door. The halogens probably burnt out years ago, or may have been stolen for backyard wrestling props. Or maybe goons just prefer the dingy yellow glow of incandescent bulbs.

The two are standing about 10 feet away from the quarter opened door, smoking cigarettes and drinking out of white foam cups. You could assume it is coffee by the way steam is floating off the top, but you never know. Maybe they like hot cocoa or tea.

[Glyph]

Viper slides into the Qkik-Mart, one of the few places open this late, humming tunelessly. As she heads towards the isle with the cheap electronic goods, she idly wonders how Steve and Kai are doing on their recon. Hopefully they will start to mesh a bit better, or at least not kill each other.

Ignoring the gaudier offerings with too many 'extra' features, she decides on a black plastic disk on the end of a neck chain - built-in flash, easy in-and-out memory disk, wider angle than the even cheaper pencams, and not a bunch of buttons to confuse the kid. Not bad for 30 :nuyen:, although she wishes they had a less drab version. Actually, they do have a "Hi Kitty" version, but she knows Kai wouldn't go for that.

She sighs as she needs to summon the cashier to unlock the plastiglass display case ("As if this crap was even worth shoplifting", she thinks). She winds up getting a soyberry wiz-gulp and a couple of candy bars, as well. She walks home, more alert than she seems, but still not overly concerned about street predators. But her confidence in her magical abilitites, misplaced or not, isn't tested tonight. The only ganger she sees is one staggering down the street, half-supported by a similarly-dressed woman, who elbows him sharply when he ogles Viper. Damn. Been to long since she's partied. She'll have to fix that once this job is over.