IC: Tequila Blues Options

[Qillin]

Marco greats Ki and Gabriel as they arrive with a plain "Hello". Marco's icon is the basics almost stick figurish base icon you can pick when login in almost any these days. He did nothing to add to or change the plain blank slate of an icon.

[Guest_Overwatch_*]

The winged one introduced himself as Gabriel. Konton mentally parsed through his limited knowledge of western religious mythology. Gabriel if he recalled correctly was a powerful Kami. An angel of the christian god, a MESSENGER. Konton was trying to recall something about a trumpet when he realized Gabriel was extending a hand to him.

Konton never liked western hand-shaking. It was too familiar, too intimate for meeting some one the first time. But refusing an offered hand would be akin to not returning the bow of a stranger. Konton had no intention of slotting off some one of unknown position, so he quickly settled on a compromise.

Konton's fingers frantically poured over the terminal keys. He had to decide quickly how much information he would reveal about himself and his talents. In the chat node, the puppet reached into one voluminous white sleeve and produced a small metallic rectangle. He reached forward with both hands, and presented the business card to Gabriel. Thankfully, he was able to make the handshake as brief as possible, by interrupting it with the Meishi exchange.

The card read:

Ki
Freelance Magical Problem Solver


Beneath that was a SAN number where messages could be left that would be routed to his pocket secretary.

"The honor is mine.", He said matter-of-factly.

[Ecclesiastes]

The figure playing chess looks up from his game and nods to the newcommers to the room. "Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat and wait just a moment longer, there are only a few more I'm waiting to arrive."

[Whizbang]

Carmen entered the chat room, and made her way to a seat. Though her avatar was detailed enough, the brilliant splashes of colors of her clothing making her look rather like a gypsy, it was easy enough to detect that she was far from comfortable in the Matrix. She just hoped that she wouldn't be required to do much.

[ Spoiler ]

lousy post...brain dead from a long day at work... *wandes off to ... zzzzzzz......

[Mister Juan]

After Christophe had scanned all the icons present in the room, pinpointing who the employer was was a rather simple task. He had almost never heard of a run hiring more than one decker... except for all decker operation. None of the others we Matrix users, and that was apparent. Only the "chess man" had high enough hardware to block his scans. Chris was sure that, with a bit of insisting, he could have pierced throught the masking of the persona... but that would have been an uncool move on his part.

If the faceless angel had a face, he would have been grinning. His good friend Miron had already hinted that the job required travelling... so finding out that one of the person present was located somewhere in latin america wasn't such a surprise... the others seemed to in Seattle. Maybe he could, after all, do the whole job from where he sat.

But then... I wouldn't get to meet new people...

Beside Wraith, he was the only force to be reckoned with in the room: something that made him feel cocky, yet a bit nervous. He knew his tendency to be overconfident, something that he had to pay in pain, blood and nuyens a few times.

I'm still alive though!

And he was.

The angel stretched his wing, as if trying to shake the virtual numbness from his body. A brief breeze of air went through the room: a feeling that would probably go undetected by most of its occupant. Christophe had put a lot of effort into his icon, especially into coding the small details that made it seem dangerously real. Wings folding on the side, as if cradling him around his arms, "Gabriel" sat in one of the free chair, as close to Wraith as possible.

[Shadow]

Raven slipped the trid node on and leaned back in the plush white recliner. She rarely used the trid for anything, prefering more physical activities.

The matrix loomed before her, weird and enticing. Casually she punched in the code for the chat server. Her icon was the generic elf woman that came with the Trode net.

The room was nice, had all the features along with several other people.

"Sorry I'm late, I'm not a decker."

[Ecclesiastes]

With a wave of his hand, the chessboard pixelates before him and your Johnson lifts his head to greet you all. With a smile, he says, "I would have had him in three moves anyway... Well! On to bussiness... First I'd like to thank you all for coming, I know it was short notice, but I needed to move quickly. I'll also leave you all to introduce yourselves once I've made my offer, as I haveother things to attend to."

The icon dressed in black stands up and turns as he speaks, addressing the whole group.

"My employer would like to hire you. There is a certain woman who we would like to acquire..." As he speaks, an image of the doctor appears next to him. "The extraction is willing, but as always, there are strings attached. Firstly, her employers aren't going to let her go quietly and secondly, once you have the doctor, you'll have twenty-four hours to extract the doctor's daughter from the privite school she is attending."

"This will have to be carried out quickly and precisely. The doctor will be attending a conferance in Corpus Christi soon. It seems like the best place to make the snatch. From there you will need to move on to Monterrey, Azlan, for the extraction of the daughter."

"I have already arranged for a Rigger that will take care of all your travel needs. The pay is one hundred large for each of you. Questions?"

[Sphynx]

The Anime eyes of Miho don't move, but the single word does spell out beneath them.

W....h......e..r.e............?

[Ecclesiastes]

The Johnson turns to the eyes, "I'm not quite sure I understand the question. I explained that the first part of the job will be in Corpus Christi and the second leg would be in Monterrey. What other 'where' is there?"

[Mister Juan]

Before the floating eyes could even reply to the Johnson, Christophe decided to jump into the conversation.

The faceless angel seemed to twist a bit in his seat, as if it had suddently became uncomfortable. Leaning forward, both his arms came to rest on the table.

"I simply want to make sure I understand: we are to grab this woman" the icon gesticulated toward the picture "in Confederate territory, then, within 24 hours, cross over to Aztlan ground," a small icon of a stick figure being used as a pignata by two other "Mexican" stick figures appeared over his head "grab her daughter, cross again, and drop them somewhere... all that while working amongst individual who haven't worked with one another before... and all that for one hundred grand?"

For a few seconds, Chris wished he could have taken a concern face. He turned himself toward Wraith.

"I'm not saying it is not doable; on the contrary. I simply think that a few more resources will be needed, on top of this original payment. If a higher paycheck, with half of it in advance, cannot be produce... well... personally, I'll settle for a few high end utilities."

Wraith had some major hardware... However had hired him could spare some more pocket change. After all, just hiring the team he was now "part of" was going to cost well over half a million.

"What about medical coverage? I mean, we'll be sticking our necks pretty far out for these two extractee."

The angel leaned back into his chair, visibly more comfortable.

"These term also go for everyone here, of course."

"Oh yea... Beside that, I'm game. I've got a few more questions, but I'm game."

[Ecclesiastes]

The icon smiles, "Good questions. I don't expect you to be able to pull it off without any intel and whatnot. I've already been doing data gathering and I'm not the type to send runner in blind. I've got a packet put together already for you to look over. The Rigger is good. Very good. I'm confident that he can handle the border crossings. As far as the cash and gear goes, half up front is fine, let me know what gear you need and I'll do what I can, but part of it will come out of your final pay. Deal?"

[Mister Juan]

Chris took the most virtual playful voice he could, as if he was kidding.

"Come on chummer; don't try to tell us that our employer can cough up more than half a million nuyen on a run, and isn't ready to add a few freebies in the package!"

[Mister Juan]

The angel cocked his head to the side, taking a sheepish voice.

"How about I add this: please?"

[Shadow]

"Is the doctor a willing or unwilling extraction? And who's the rigger?"

[Ecclesiastes]

"The doctor, as I already said, is willing. The rigger is a fellow that goes by the name Grendel. He's good at what he does. And as far as supplies go, give me a list and I'll see what I can do."

[Mister Juan]

"Well, if these items are free of charge, I wouldn't be agaisn't getting my hands on whoop ass Sleaze utility... and maybe one of these new dreck hot programming suite! Oh and maybe a new Validate prog; mine is getting dusty... and a big ass vulcan minigun! You know the kind that makes holes as big as basket balls! And..." the angel looked up at the team.

"Oh... sorry... I got carried away..."

[Ecclesiastes]

"Yes... well, I'll see what I can do. In the mean time, I have other things to see to. Here is the info we've gathered so far..."

A file folder appears in his hand and multiplies. He gives a copy to each of you, then continues, "In there you will find my contact information if case anything comes up. I'll be contacting you within 24 hours with details on the travel arrangements I've made for you. Don't worry about customs, you gear will get through. Goodbye ladies and gents, hopefully I'll see you face to face sometime soon. Feel free to use the room as long as you like, I've reserved it for a four hour window. Good day."

With that, his icon fades from the room.

[Guest_Overwatch_*]

Konton introduced himself to the other runners as Ki. He repeated the business card ritual with each of them, and bowed deeply. Not sure how best to "hand" a Meishi to a pair of floating eyes, he simply left it hovering in the air in front of them.

"For my part, I'm ready and willing to accept the run. The payment is adequate, and the Johnson seems to know what he's doing. Not to mention it's a willing extraction of a woman and her young daughter. We might even end up doing some good. But I'll need some time to look over the data packet's information on possible magical and supernatural threats before I make any special equipment requests."

The puppet returned to his seat and inclined his head toward the others.

"Before I log off however, I'd be happy to discuss team dynamics, abilities and areas of expertise. We are going to have to get to know each others strengths, weaknesses and tendencies very well. And in a very short time at that, if we want to be successful."

Konton's icon folded it's hands into the sleeves of it's robes and waited. Time to find out exactly what kind of group he had gotten himself into...

[Shadow]

Wow, Grendel. That guys a legend in the shadows. The kind of operator that a girl could learn a lot from.

"I'm Raven, I will be your muscle on this flight. I am a decent planner, but I prefer to remain in the background unless no one else steps up. One thing I would like to mention, I have heard of our Rigger, hes the best of the best so I think were solid on that end. I suggest we keep things simple, and move as quickly as possible as we have a time limit."

[Sphynx]

It's only after the Johnson has left that everyone sees the rest of Miho's question:

W....h....e....r..e...d.....o...we...m...ee..t....e...a...v...<backspace>....c...h...o...t..h....e..r...?

[Whizbang]

Hmm...not every day a run that payed this well came down her way. She might as well take it. "I am Carmen, my strenghts are illusion and spirits, and the fact that Corpus Christi happens to be my corner of the globe."

[Mister Juan]

Gabriel turned toward the elf woman.

"Milady Raven, why be so hasty? Our new common chummer has given a 24 hours window for us to get ready and aquainted. I know this new wiz hot bar that just opened downtown! Very neato vide and trendy crowd! Drinks aren't that cheap but we can always...."

Christophe suddently realised he was, again, going off on a tangent.

"Oh... Well.... I'll be Gabriel this time around, and someone else in the good old meat world. I'm probably here as a virtual treasure hunter and all around trickster of people."

He got up and took an exagereted bow.

"Honored to be taking part in such a enterprise with such a lively bunch."

[Shadow]

"Well since not all of us are actually in Seattle, we stay here, or find another 'trix cafe that Carmen can join us at. As for speed, I don't like waiting around doing nothing. The Johnson gave us 24 hours we should use it to get a preliminary plan, and backup plan on the table."

The generic trix node Icon shrugged.

"Thats all. Now we know its a conference so that means a lot of public places and people. Odds are we will be able to walk the doctor out. Lets look at at least three options for taking her."

The woman raised her fingers,

"One, from her hotel room, two, during the conference, maybe at a meeting. And three, out on the street going from place to place. She is going to be in one of those situations, so we should work a plan around all three."

[Sphynx]

H...e....l.l...o.........?

[Qillin]

Marco stands and greets the whole room "Hello everyone, you can call me Q." then looks over as the eyes type out the questions. He then checks his setting and makes sure the system will close caption his speech for the typist. "Our employer says there will be a plane that will be picking everyone up who is in Seattle. You will meet everyone there on the plane and Carmen and Myself you will meet on your arrival in Corpus Christy. Did you get all that?" sitting back down he says. "I'm a sort of gun you might say. I'm also proficient with explosives." He will leave it at that awaiting the other people to introduce themselves.