IC: Last Laugh, Spinning dice and a smile full of knives Options

[gobogen]

As he sees the 4 of them jumping on him, Winchy remains calm first of all making sure that they wouldn't be able to reach him with a decent blow. He quickly knocks one guy out with a punch and an elbow to his face while the others slash his arms with little effect. He receives a weak blow of chains in the back and turns around to face the three that are still up.

"One down. Whose next? You still tink you can beat me?"

Since the answer to that is some punk trying to stab him, he just punches the guy right out and the poor man falls ... on his own knife.

"Don't you see that you hurt yourselves more than you hurt me?"

The bums run away in panic when they see blood on the ground.

Winchy is pissed by their behavior... "Don' leave your friend 'ere like dat!! 'e's 'urt!!"

Well the troll understands that he has to move out of there quickly and so he does calmly, as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened, avoiding the looks of bystanders. His nice black jacket and his shirt are now cut in two places and he's really pissed by that too. "Fragging punks", he mumbles while he brushes some dust off, looking for a cab.

[scoundrel]

Slacker:

The round of questioning at the station doesn't really take very long - they just make the usual inquiries, and don't seem particularly motivated in finding the culprit that burned down your apartment. The officer in charge makes some vague promises about setting upon the case immediately, but you would bet dollars to doughnuts that he'll toss your file in with the rest of the investigations that Lone Star considers unprofitable to pursue as soon as you walk away.

You take a cab back to your apartment to see if there's anything that can be salvaged, but soon discover an hour later that the fire had pretty much toasted everything except the illegal gear that you keep in your car. While you're on your way out, you run into the land lady, who expresses the token condolences before handing you an envelope. She tells you that a man had asked her to deliver it to you shortly after you left with the cop earlier that day. You rip it open after she leaves, and find the following letter:

[Slacker]

Seeing the signature on the note, Slacker lets his thoughts slip through his lips. "Bastard!"

The land lady turns around, a little startled be the vehemence with which Slacker cursed.

Looking up and seeing her still there, he remembers that he wanted to ask her something before she leaves. "Hey, wait up for a second."

When he catches up to her, he asks "So, do you have another apartment for me to stay in or am I just out of luck? I'd paid you in advance for the next several months. So if you don't have a place for me, I am not leaving here 'till I get it back."

Even while she is answering him, Slacker is cursing his brother and himself for not realizing what the 'P' symbol on the floor had meant as soon as he saw it. I must not have gotten as much sleep as I thought I had. How the hell is he always finding me so easily anyways?, he thinks to himself. One of these days, I seriously need to search him out give him his dues. Smirking a bit at that last thought, he knows all too well he'll never get around to it. Just too freaking lazy.

[scoundrel]

The land lady shakes her head. "Sorry honey, but all the other apartments in the building are occupied right now. Can't help ya."

She shrugs. "Life's a bitch, eh? Maybe you could go find a place to stay with one of your friends until you can find another apartment."

She utters this last statement with mild amusement in her eyes - it's obvious that she doesn't think you even have any friends.

[Slacker]

Slacker first tries calling Caitlin. When she answers he says "Hey Caitlin," pointedly using her name rather than Ice Queen since he knows she dislikes. "Uh....there was an....um...'accident'...yeah an accident at my apartment while I was at the meet. Do you think I could crash at your place for a night or two while I find somewhere else to stay?"

[gobogen]

Winchy hops in the taxi and talks with the ork driving him to his apartment. Almost as a joke, he was gonna ask wether he had contacts in the underground, but finally didn't bother.

15 minutes later he was home and he evaluated the dammage to his clothes. Darn I'll 'ave to fix dis or get a new one. At least, the money will be good so it's wort' it.

He first checks sports' results on the telecom and then a quick look at the latest news while changing and eating some. Back in his good old jacket and his overused jeans, he hits the streets, takes the bus and goes back to 'his real home', the barrens.

As he is walking toward the building he's squatting, he sees his 'roommate' coming back with a platic bag and some food.

"Hey T'ick Skull, good to see you spent de money on food dis time."

Once they're inside, and the tall troll starts to cook a soymeal of some sort. "Glad you got de water 'eater to work, man", Winchy says with a honest smile. A little bit later, Winchy asks him about the Ork Underground. "So I'll 'ave to go down dere for some time, dunno if you 'ave any friends dere dat you 'noe, maybe?"

[scoundrel]

Henry furrows his brow. "Eh, Ork Underground. Surry Winchy, but I is stay away from dat place. You should, too. It dangerous down dere."

He looks a bit depressed that he can't be of any more help.

[gobogen]

"Dat's alright buddy. I'll tell you 'ow it looks like when I'm back. You know I can defend myself so no worries, I know what I'm doin'."

Later in the evening, after going to a bar and paying a drink to Henry, Winchy calls MJ, an ork fixer who's likely to deal with the Underground.

He leaves a message for him:
"'ey MJ, it's Winchy 'ere. I know you're probably busy, but I'd like to meet with you at some point tonight or tomorrow. I'm going down in the underground soon and I was wondering if you'd 'ave any info. Maybe we can do dis over phone too, but I 'noe you like to 'noe what's goin' on in the shadows and I got somet'in' dat could be of some interest."

[scoundrel]

Three minutes after you send the call, the LED on your telecom flashes red. You pick up the phone and hear MJ's gruff voice.

"Yeah, I've had some dealings down in the Underground. Let me know what you want to find out, and I'll give you a fair price for an answer if I know it. Dante's in thirty minutes?"

[gobogen]

"Sure t'ing, meet you dere. Dey let me in dere more easily dan da Penumbra" Winchy says jokingly.

30 minutes later, the troll's getting used to the music he finds weak and uninteresting while looking for his ork friend.

[scoundrel]

Winchy:

Only one word can describe the place that calls itself Dante's Inferno: wild. When you walk into the club, you come face to face with a large room illuminated by a rainbow of roving disco lights and dozens of ravers grinding flesh against each other on the dance floor. The latest pop song thunders out from speakers expertly concealed all over the room, filling the atmosphere with music that seems to come from the air itself. You watch in shock as a young elven girl sidles up to you, bats her eyes, and flashes you at point blank range before giggling and running off.

Pushing and shoving your way past the mass of bodies in motion, you make your way over to the bar. You find MJ sitting on a stool with an umbrella drink on the counter and an empty seat next to him. He spots you a second later, smiles, and beckons you to come over.

"Winchy, my trollish friend!" he exclaims amiably. "What can I do for you on this fine night?"

[gobogen]

Winchy makes his way into the crowd not giving one inch to whoever would push him around a bit. He's like a large refrigerator moving in a straight line through the unpleasant growd of dancers.

Did I just see a boob or what?, he asks himself. Man 'uman girls are so tiny!, he laughs interiorely.

Winchy finally finds his contact and sits next to him, trying to ignore the place and its annoyingly happy atmosphere.

After ordering a random, glowing, blue drink - he doesn't really care -, he quickly gets to business. He tries to avoid compromissing words in a public place like this, although the loud surrondings are gonna cover most of the conversation anyways.

"Ok so I 'ave a job down dere like you might 'ave guessed. 'umans will be part of de team and I've never been dere myself. So any kind of map would be 'elpin' us out to start wit'. Also, more important, do you 'noe of anyone who might be willin' to 'elp us dere? I'm askin' 'cause given what we be doin', we might find ... watcha call it ... sympat'isers. "

[scoundrel]

MJ takes a sip from his drink through a straw. He pauses for a moment to appreciate the flavor before responding.

"Well, I don't really have any maps that you wouldn't be able to find in a local library, but those probably wouldn't be too useful to you. I know people down there, but I can't help you unless you tell me what sort of people you're looking for."

[gobogen]

"I got no problem wit' dat but I'd rather talk about it somewhere else.. y'noe."

Winchy tastes his flashy drink and is intrigued by it. It's actually not that bad, it's quite strong too, which is good.

[scoundrel]

MJ raises an eyebrow. "I never thought you to be the paranoid type. They got private rooms here, but it'll run you about half a grand to secure one."

[gobogen]

Paranoia is anot'er word for survival in de shadows, Winchy thinks. The subject is not too confidential anyways this time so he'll just ignore privacy issues for now. He also doesn't want to piss off the guy who might be helping him with details like that.

Winchy leans towards MJ and talks in a very low voice that's just distinguishable amongst the music all around them.

"Well 'ave you 'eard of de Ork Integration Alliance? We be 'elpin' someone in dere wit' private matters dat better be kept quiet I'm guessin'. " He sits back up to continue. "Anyways, whoever in favor of dat are on our side. I dunno what's your opinion on dis but it seems to me like a good cause. Might be able to find orks on our side even in de U, I'm 'opin'. If not, we can pretend we're dere for a different biz of course. Do you t'ink you got someone dat could 'elp us?"

[scoundrel]

"That's interesting and all, but I sorta meant what type of people you want me to hook you up with," MJ says with a grin.

[gobogen]

"Well, first off de best t'ing we can 'ope for would be to 'ave some place to stay at night, y'noe. Some place safe. Dat would be good. Next, anyone willing to show us around a little bit might 'elp too, but I dunno. We need someone who would be willing to 'elp us for small t'ings and tell us more about what's safe to do and where it's safe to go. The small t'ings dat you need to 'noe just like when people from outside Redmond get into de barrens for de first time.. dere life is at risk. We could avoid dat wit' someone on our side. 'tis risky too, cause if we can't trust 'im enuff, 'e might plot in our backs. 'tis why I told you about the rest. If dey 'noe de 'umans are friends and not just walking credsticks, dey may 'elp us better."

[Glyph]

Caitlin winces slightly when she gets Slacker's call. "Damn. Hope you were able to save most of your gear. My place? Um, that would be a... bad idea. My place at the moment is a dingy little hellhole near the Barrens. There wouldn't be enough room or privacy for two people. Not to mention, your car would probably be jacked 10 minutes after you parked it. Now, I'm not blowing you off. If you need a loan for a hotel for a few nights, I'll help you out. Even better, why don't you show up at the Hellfire, 8:30-ish or so? I'm going to talk with Korbin, and probably meet with our whole group after that. We are getting a sizeably advance for this job, so if anything, you could upgrade your accomodations. When we get back, I know I'm going to go looking for a better place."

After talking with Slacker, Caitlin also calls Warden and Winchy, to let them know to meet at the Hellfire as well. She mentally chastises herself for not setting up a time for them to get together and plan right after the meet. She'll have to try to do better from now on.

[Slacker]

Slacker tells Caitlin, "Guess I'll see if any other the others have room for me to crash. Don't feel like looking for a new place while we are planning this job. See ya at Hellfire."

Before Slacker heads over to Hellfire, he tries to get the money he had given the land lady for rent. "Hey. Since the apartment isn't liveable anymore and you don't have another one free, I'm going to have to get the rent advance I gave you."

[gobogen]

@Caitlin

"I'm kind o' busy right now, but I'll try to make it. I might be late dough." Winchy says, and you hear very loud music in the background.

[Digital Heroin]

After he's done his talking with Caitlin, Warden considers a moment, looking down at what he's wearing. It's not fancy, but then again he's never been, and Torrie will understand. When he calls her place, he catches her answering service, which isn't unexpected, the girl works odd hours. He thinks a moment, then leaves a short message.

Hey Torrie, it's Forrest, it's been too long. When you get off work swing by Duke's and we can catch up, drinks are on me..

Sure, it's nothing special, but all the flags are there, and it's ambiguous enough no one else should be able to decipher that he's looking for info, since he knows she isn't a heavy enough drinker the offer would matter.

[Glyph]

The rest of the day seems to go by in a blur for Caitlin. She no sooner gets done talking to the others, than she gets a call from Brad, who needs to be bailed out of trouble again. She finally gets home, catching up with her correspondence with Becky and eating a quick early dinner of pasta from the Stop & Go, before sitting in a lotus position to meditate. The state of gnosis, or perfect knowledge, seems as far away as always, but she still feels refreshed. After getting presentable again, she takes the tube to a stop a few blocks away from the Hellfire, and walks the rest of the way to the club.

[scoundrel]

Winchy:

MJ closes his eyes and thinks for a moment before responding.

"If you need a place to crash while you're down there, I know an ork who manages a one star hotel in the Grayrock district. The guy's a bit of a dickhead, but he'll gladly accommodate you if you're willing to pay in certified cred. Just bring your own security.

'As far as someone who can help you with odds and ends, I'm beer buddies with a local bartender in the Underground. He does a little arms dealing on the side, and might be able to provide you with a lil' of the bang bangs if you happen to need any. He's also pretty good at knowing what's going on in the streets.

'I'll hook you up with both of them for...say...one grand?"

Slacker:

The land lady shrugs apologetically, and says, "Sorry sweetie, but the money is nonrefundable. It don't matter how much you pay in advance, all that means is that I don't come collecting until your rent runs out. You're still responsible for housekeeping. It ain't my fault your apartment burned down."

Caitlin:

Abaddon's Hellfire actually has a fairly nondescript exterior for an Emerald City nightclub. An ordinary passerby wouldn't have any indication that the building is used for anything more than office work. You cut through the desolate alley next to the club and round it to arrive at a green steel door with three stony steps leading up to it. You rap your hand on the door to beget five healthy knocks, two short and three long. After a moment, it lazily opens back to reveal a burly troll decked out in street armor with a heavy pistol holstered on his belt. His face breaks into a friendly smile when he sees you.

"Hullo, Miz Snow. De boss is waiting inside," he rumbles.

"Thank you, Gravelback," you reply.

You step through the door to enter a cozy, dimly lit alcove with another large door on the opposite wall. Gravelback takes care to close and lock the door that you had just walked through before opening the other one. When he does, the silence in the air immediately gets blasted away by a loud stream of techno music emanating from within the next room. Walking inside, you find the same club that you've hung out in dozens of times before. Some of the people mingling there recognize and wave at you when they see you come through the entrance. The Hellfire isn't as suffocatingly crowded as most of the other raves in the city, but there are more than enough clubbers of all breeds jazzing it up inside for a social animal to easily find someone friendly to chat, drink, dance, or, as the case often is, sleep with.

A waitress approaches and greets you before leading you through the dance floor and pool tables to a small corner on the other side of the room. Due to some miracle of architectural design, the thundering roar of the music resonating in the nightclub slowly fades away to a more managible volume as you reach the dining area. The waitress takes you to the table where Korbin is sitting before waving goodbye and shuffling away. Korbin greets you with a smile.

"Caitlin, it's been awhile. Take a seat and tell me everything."

A waitor comes up to the table as you sit down, takes a tall mug of Bridgeport Amber Phoenix off his tray, and places it down in front of you.

[gobogen]

"Sounds like a plan, MJ. It's always good to do bizness wit' you. I'll give you 500 nuyen when you give me de contacts' info, and 500 when we come back, assuming your friends did not screw us over. Deal?" offers Winchy.