IC: Daddy's Girl, Who's side are you on anyway? Options

[Ecclesiastes]

"Ok. Ok ok. Got it man. I'll get some guys together and have them at the place tonight, 8pm. Dinner's on you though... Heh, ok. OK, bye."

Leo Gettz disconnected the line and started running names through his head. Yeah... that'll do. One by one the runners get a phone call.

"I got somethin' for ya. Ok? Check it out man. I got a guy who needs someone found. May involve some rough neighborhoods tracking her down, so be ready for the heat. Meet the guy at Jack's for dinner, its downtown. He's buyin'. See? I hook you up man! Catch you later!"

[Shadow]

The phone clicked once letting him know the message was over.

“Jack’s eh?” Eclipse said to the fat tabby cat in his lap. The orange and white cat purred as the hardened runner absently scratched behind the animals ear. The cat was a new addition to his life, one that was quickly growing on him. He or she, he liked to respect the cat’s privacy, had shown up on his door a few weeks ago.

At first Eclipse had thought nothing of it, one of many stray cats in the are. But something about the cats lonely gaze made him bring it in and feed it. Since then the cat had taken over the place, even made himself useful by catching and eating the occasional mouse.

For that he had he named it “Mouser”.

“Okay buddy, time to get to work.” Eclipse carefully put the cat down on the couch. Mouser wasn’t exactly happy about losing the attention so he decided to tag along with his elf as he changed.

Eclipse shed his street clothes, a pair of slacks and a black t-shirt. The elf’s body was fit, but not insanely so of a body builder. He ran a few miles everyday and had a regime of pushup and sit ups that he did. His muscles were those of hard work and labor.

His weight was a lot more than he looked thanks to the Army’s bone lacing. The titanium implants added almost 50 kilo’s to his weight and increased his mass.

Once he had carefully removed all his civilian clothes he opened up his closet and inspected his working gear. He kept his armor and gear in vacuum sealed bags in his closet. His hope was that if only wore them on runs then there would be less chance of genetic material and astral signature stuff left behind. He didn’t understand a lot of how it worked, but he knew a few precautions to take.

A half hour later he was cruising in his white Saab north on I-5. The GPS in his head mapped the exact route he needed to take to get to Jack’s. Fifteen minutes before go time he was sitting across the street checking the place out. He brushed his hand over his two Colt’s the Smartlink flared up briefly to tell him that the firearms were loaded and the safety was off.

“Alright John, we who are about to die…”

He lets the cheery sentence usher him into the diner. His eyes ever alert as he walks into the place.

[Fortune]

Heather McLaine's lip curls slightly in distaste as she replays Leo's short message, crushing out her cigarette at the end. The fast talking fixer was definitely not her preferred source for work, but in the shadows, sometimes a person can't be overly picky about this type of thing.

After a quick shower, she takes her time brushing out her medium length blonde hair before tying it back into a pony tail, then wraps a green and black bandanna around her head. From the large walk-in closet of her converted warehouse apartment she pulls her work clothes. The skin-tight body armor is covered by a pair of black leather pants and lavender t-shirt emblazoned with the Shield Wall logo.

Tugging on her boots and shrugging herself into her a double shoulder holster, the elf then retrieves a pair of heavy pistols from where they lie on the work bench and gives them the once over before slipping them into their resting places. An assortment of other small items and ammunition then disappear into a purse-like satchel and the pockets of the dark green long coat she pulls on over top.

The full length mirror reflects her smile as she admires her transformation into Flare.

The streets of Tarislar are unusually quiet as she turns the Harley in the direction of downtown Seattle, having stowed her bag in the compartment under the seat. The big Scorpion's growl always sounds like music to her ears, and she hums along as she heads towards the meeting at Jack's.

[Glyph]

Spider listens to Leo's spiel. Not his regular fixer, but the man does seem to know how to get to the point quickly. An underrated quality, that. The bald, wiry man leans back in his chair, stroking his thin goatee. So they need someone to play detective... good, good. He glances up from his telecom, and the chess problem that he was working on, to take in his surroundings. They are quite a step down from what he is used to. However... the dingy apartment is cramped, but a fresh coat of paint covers the walls, and the place is clean, if somewhat spartan.

He really needs some work, not only to improve his pitiful finances, but also to get a reputation in this new town, get people in the know to start putting his name out. Maybe this guy knowing how to get ahold of him is a good sign. Certainly wouldn't hurt to check the offer out. At least the job seems like one that will engage his interest, something challenging.

He freshens up before heading out, dressing in slightly conservative corporate-style attire and practicing his thin, sardonic smile in the mirror a few times. His armored vest offers discrete protection from any stray bullets, but he needs no weapon. His mastery of mentalism offers far better protection, although truth be told, he considers his intellect to be an even more powerful weapon than his psychic abilities.

[Raiko]

Cipher, laid his tools neatly beside the small drone he'd been working on, the boyz had enough already to handle the Humanis scum, and he had another week to prepare this backup.

Besides he thought looking around the small industrial unit that served as both a workshop and a home, the rent's due soon, and my credstick's almost empty.

Leo had been good to him, helping him to make a name for himself in the shadows since Newsnet fired him. He hadn't let Cipher down so far, so there didn't seem to be any reason not to turn up for the meet.

Cipher ran his hand thoughtfully through his close cropped blond-streaked hair, then picked up his Browning from atop the workbench. He put the pistol into the holster on his left hip as he walked up the metal stairs to his bedsit looking for the rest of his working gear. After a couple of minutes stuffing various electronic devices into a kit bag and the pockets of his longcoat, he re-emerged into the workshop and walked briskly to his Leyland-Rover minivan, the green overcoat now covering his black Crimetime T-shirt.

The ork techie settled his bulky body into the driver's seat and briefly opened the passenger door to allow Felix to jump in. Cipher loved cats, but the real ones brought him out in a painful rash. Who cares, he thought, Felix looks real, and you can't rig a real cat.

Moments later workshop's roller door opened, and the electric van rolled silently into the Everett docklands.

[Ecclesiastes]

Jack's is setup like a dinner from over a hundred years ago. Girls with trays rolls around the place on roller skates, delivering meals made from what smells like real food. The air was filled with trendy tunes and they even sported a kariokee machine in the back. As you walk up to the place, you are greeted by a friendly hostess who asks that you follow her. She leads you to the far back corner, where a Japanese man in his mid forties is seated. His hair his greasy and thinning on top with a bad comb-over. He adjusts his goggle think glasses as you approach and motions for you to join him.

"Umm... Hi! I'm... Mr. Johnson." He nods as if he thinks its great how he knows what lingo to use. He extends his hand and those that shake it get the discomfort of cold clammy hands and a loose grip.

[Shadow]

Eclipse smiles genuinely at the man. The honesty of his appearance a refreshing change from the sleek, 5k suits that he is used to dealing with.

"Konichiwa Johnson-san," Eclipse says in somewhat broken Japanese. Having been stationed in the Philippines for two years had given him an opportunity to learn Japanese, he took it.

"My name is Eclipse," he introduced himself and shook the mans hand firmly.

[Fortune]

Flare nods politely to the client, shaking his hand as he introduces himself, then surreptitiously wipes her hand down the leg of her pants as she replies.

"I'm Flare."

She then turns her attention to the elf that had arrived just before her, giving him a brief once over as she tries to appraise his capabilities. Nodding once again as if satisfied, Flare turns her attention back to Mr. Johnson.

[Raiko]

Cipher nods to the two elves, then shakes Mr Johnson's clammy hand, "My name is Cipher, how can I help you?"

[Ecclesiastes]

As each of you takes a seat, you scan the room with a critical eye, one trained to look for things that an average person just wouldn't notice. Then it hits you. That big guy a few tables down keeps flicking his eyes your way, but is trying to make it look like he is simply having dinner by himself. So... you think to yourself, he brought some protection along with him.

[Ecclesiastes]

The Johnson places a photo on the table. It is of a cute young elf of asian decent. She looks to be about 16 years old, with either dark blue or black hair and bright green eyes. The photo looks like it is from a family day at the park, another older human japanese woman is half in the picture, perhaps the mother. The girls clothing is comfortable, but trying to fit in as well. Her is smiling, but you get a hint that it isn't genuine.

He pushes the photo over to the group of you and sighs, "This is my daughter. She has been kidnapped and I want her back."

He pauses to catch your reactions.

[Shadow]

Eclipse filed away the mans height and weight to that place in his brain where all the data went. He absently pulled out a power bar and began eating.

Eclipse pauses his chewing for a second. Elven births to breeders was rare but it did happen, something like half a percentile. The girl didn't look happy in the photo, which could be accounted to the cultural hatred of elves the Japanese have for elves, or it could just be cause she's sixteen.

"When was she taken? By who? Where did it happen? And forgive me for asking, but why do you think she was kidnapped?"

[Fortune]

After the photo had been passed around the table, Flare takes it and examines it in detail. Sitting back, she is content to let the other elf ask the questions that would naturally arise in such a situation.

[Ecclesiastes]

"Because my daughter wouldn't run out on her family!"

He takes a breath. "I'm sorry. I'm just... look. Her mother and I are worried sick. There is only one thing that we're sure of and that is that lately, she's been sneaking out. Going to some club. I had someone look into it for me and the place can be kinda rough and I just worry that... just find her, ok? I don't know what else to tell you."

[Fortune]

Flare's eyebrows raise slightly at the mention of a club. She slips the photo into her pocket as she leans forward to pose a question to the girl's father.

"What's the name of this club then?"

[Ecclesiastes]

"Neoworld. Its some rave club here in Downtown. Here, I put this together for you."

He tosses a chip your way.

[Fortune]

The cybered elf eyes the others sitting around the table, apparently waiting to see if one of them has any more questions. When nobody speaks up, Flare once again turns her gaze to the Johnson and looks at him expectantly.

"So, now we've come to the place where we discuss payment."

[Shadow]

Eclipses PPC appears in his hand and he slots the chip, downloading the contents as quickly as possible before sliding it over to Flare. He gives her a brief smile before dropping the chip in front of her.

When she asks the question of payment he sits back. If it were up to him he would probably take the job for free. Which is good that it isn't up to him.

[Glyph]

Spider has been pretty quiet. He introduced himself to the others politely enough, but has mostly seemed to be contemplative, letting the others take the lead for now. At the Johnson's outburst, that his daughter wouldn't run away, a very faint smile flicks at his face, one that might be equal parts cynicism and pity, but otherwise he has kept a poker face.

He has been observing with more than mere fleshly eyes, however. He has been quietly assensing the Johnson, and the others, to get a handle on the situation.

As the question of payment comes up, he seems to take more notice. His eyes are on the Johnson and Flare, as he readies himself to contribute to the negotiations, if necessary.

[Ecclesiastes]

"I have give you each one thousand nuyen. Is this acceptable?"

[Fortune]

The expression on Flare's face at the Johnson's offer is almost comical to behold. Her eyes open wide and her jaw actually drops before she can clamp it shut.

"You've gotta be drekkin' me! You ain't hirin' us to shine your shoes."

She looks around the table at the others gathered there, to gauge their reactions to what she considers a ridiculously low offer.

[Ecclesiastes]

Spider raises his finger, "If I may.., Sir, you obviously aren't used to deals of this nature. You will need to come up with at least five thousand or each of our services."

The Johnson's eyes take their turn to bulge. "You! I! Ugh... Fine. Five thousand each. Just get out there and bring her home."

[Shadow]

Eclispse lets an an inaudible sigh. His body language shifts slightly.

His daughter is missing, he obviously has money, and he is only offering 1k?

[Fortune]

"One last thing ..."

Flare pockets the datachip as she rises from the table.

"Do you know the names of any of the people your daughter might associate with?"

[Ecclesiastes]

He shakes his head. "I'm sure she has some friends at school, but I've never met any of them. Work keeps me very busy."