IC: SR4-First Run, Food Fight! Options

[netlich]

"Rumour control might be required. Meet at Garland's ASAP." Mark had just willed the message out form his internal commlink when the next one hit the shelves right as his eyes were registering that Tempty and the annoying dwarf where not moving his way.

"Can't go into boy's room!Ensure he behaves..."

'Oh drek man! Now I am pissed off too...' Mark's simple mind registered the obvious as he hasted to the toilet. As soon as he passed the doors his gut feeling became a dragon claw that was ripping his insides. The place was too quiet!

'Correction! NOW I am pissed off!' With wide eyes the troll stayed as silent and immobile as he could trying to register what he was seeing. His eyes danced about the room looking for windows and possible locations the dwarf was hidding. He was already thinking of sending a second message out. His fists where flexing and curling into balls but things were almost getting to a point where he now liked them. Talking was now becaming a fading option and the next one up was his kind of biz: Removing obstacles...

His eyes narrowed into a slit as he registered what was happening here.

[gobogen]

[Tzaz]

Rochy:
::Missouri Mule needs 2x4 to get attention. See what will happen if you do something really-really that stupid. The pet Rock shows him a future of him sitting at a table with the wall troll and firestorm and a brief look at worms crawling all over his body.::

Jack throws a invisibility spell and the Pet Rock gives him a 2x4 blow to the head. This knocks the spell to off and drops Jack into a corner dazed and hurting as a wall troll walks In,

[OOC] Thank you slacker. Live or die .... It has been fun

[netlich]

The troll's eyes narrowed down on a foot portruding out of a toilet cubicle. With apprehension he approached expecting a trap. Seeing the dwarf knocked out cold did not make him feel less suspicious.

"Oh wot kind'a lame-ass trick iz dat?" he said as he bend down and grabbed the colars of the dwarf giving him a shake to wake him, while keeping his spurs exit points right under the dwarf's neck. A few shakes later he realised the dwarf was indeed unconcious!

Using his hands as a cup he carried over some cold water. With the troll's huge palms the quantity would do the trick in waking Jack.

[Tzaz]

Jack sputters to consciousness.
::can you not just tell me instead of knocking me out::::Jack is thinking I should never have gotten out of bed this morning::::Jack is thinking on how to make little rocks out of a big ones. Then he realises he is going to get it.::
Rocky;
::if I had a Hammer, I would Hammer in the morning, Hammer in the evening, HAmmer you all over.::

Jack looks up and up at the wall troll and says :thanks, I owe you a beer." He then cleans up and drys himself off and leads the way to the booth with Tempty. He sits down meekly, pulls up the clubs electronic menu and orders 3 pitchers and 2 glasses. He turns off all electronic gear { eyes, ears and commlink}. He is not paying attention to crowd, security of even the ladies at the bar. He knows when his Pet Rock is mad at him and He is in BIG trouble.

[Cold-Dragon]

Celia nearly choked with laughter when her watcher spirit reported that Jack had fainted, although her version of the information came as:

::He made glow. The glow went bright. He fell down!:: By that interpretation, he had somehow botched a spell and knocked himself out. She was really starting to feel bad for the dwarf.

Eventually he came out with the troll, a bit wetter than the average patron, and much more docile. Snake seemed more amused than she expected him to be at this - perhaps he knew something she didn't? ::Well, at leassst now he looks less likely to tick them off. I feel bad for him already.::

[netlich]

With the three of them back at the privacy of the table Mark was having a bd, confusing day. Should he be happy that they avoided any serious confrontation and things where finally looking cooperative? Or be annoyed that he didn't get to slash and squish stuff? He decided the former was better for business. There was still the issue of Wang-Chi to be resolved.

"Ooooow-key. Let uz try from de top again. Jack why didya com'in'ere n' talk to us specifically?"

[Tzaz]

Rocky:
::trust is a two edged sword::
Jack is starting to think again, I called Wang Chi at about 0300 to warn him that someone was looking to hurt him and his team. I heard a lot of violence over the commlink. The commlink went dead. Went to stuffer shack and found a crime scene and lonestar. Reporters were talking about you as a caped crusader. I offered to help the LT at the scene. He said a thrillgang got wasted by some professionals.
Lt. said that 15 mins before the holdup until lonestar got there the surveillance system was down. No bodies of the professionals was found. The Lt said that the professionals used only pistols.I remembered Lady Firestorm was part of his business and very good with pistols. Came here to ask if she knew if he was OK.

[netlich]

Mark realised that it was a good thing the dwarf was still breathing. They were all in trouble.This was just the life insurance Jack needed. THat is, as long as he was telling the truth though and he wasn't just the naive bait for some bigger pedator after Mark or the others.

He looked at Tempty to ensure she shared his feelings and then opened his mouth, "Right. First of all de 101 on street survival. If yer not from around'ere and ye don't know de streets, try n' keep diz rulez in mind for yer next enounterz: You don't trust anyone. De less ya talk de less ya'r in danger. So next time think more and talk less. "

"But now ya haf talk'd. And now ya'r in trouble. 'Ere's de deal. If what ya say iz true, den ya re in it wheder I ; you; or anyone else likez it. See, if what ya say iz true den de chum dat wantz to hurt Wang Chi and'eez palz will want to hurt dose who know. Rulez of da streetz an' all."

" Now say dat I or da pretty lady 'ere do know dis Wang chummer. Let dis be a theoretical scenario, like a stoo-pid trid show. If some drekhead comez in our yard and wags his mouth'bout knowing all dis plus knowing dings we'ave done in de past den de streetz haf very few rulez for dat. All of dem add up to one thing dough. Wordz should never reach oder earz...Bad fer buzinez. So ya do some rumour control ensuring dose who know stop knowing..." the troll winked at this, "...and dose who started de rumourz realise de mistake. And never do it again."

"Dat's good fer buzinez."

He drank a good gulp of his booze letting the info sink in and allowing Tempty for some extra wisdom additions.

"Back ta our stuff now. How did som'out-a-town hill-billy dwarfie like ya get to know dat dis Wang Chi and his palz'are in danger? An'why de frag da ya keep callin'me a caped crusader man? Do I look like de kind that dashes into telephone booths ta wear a cape n'mask and help old ladies cross da streetz? Trust me I ain't dat holy man!"

Looking back at Tempty he smiled, "Unless da old lady speakz da NuYen-ish fluently n'all...hahaha!"

[gobogen]

Inside the bar, Taku is surprised to see that nothing special is happening. He was prepared to face a crisis or some critical situation, but the place is crowded and loud and seems absolutely normal.

There is also no sign of Tempty or Mark in the bar and Taku decides to go ask the bartender. On his way there he sees Mark's tusks in a corner of the bar. Tempty is in front of him in the booth and Taku really doesn't understand why his presence was then required. Where's the threat?

He doesn't see any reason not to walk to them and then finally notices the little dwarf sitting with them. Taku recognizes him as one of the paramedic who were responsible for saving his mother's life a few years back! What a shock!

Taku decides to go in and join them. He'll first evaluate what is going on before mentioning his past experience with this individual. He doesn't understand how such a good man could cause worries in any way.

Mark breaks in laughter just before Taku is close enough to meet and that frankly pisses him off - what the heck did they call me for, to present me with a common friend and have a laugh??

"Hey Tempty; Hammer; may I join you?"

[netlich]

"Hoi chummer! Dat wos fast! D'ya fly 'ere?" Mark's laughter died fast seing Taku. His voice went a bit more serious although he was still trying to maintain the all's-well attitude for bystanderds and onlookers. "'Av'a seat. Thingz'r are a bit rocky at da moment..."

Mark lets the adept sit and leaves the talking to the other three, glad than he can be relieved of the spokeperson position now that it was not just Tempty shotting glances at Jack on the table.

Bliah, tlaking! Keep at it and I might get used to it man! That stinks! The mouth should be used for eating not talking...Oh, which reminds me...

Interupting the conversation the street sam decided he had spent to much time without food, "D'ya need anything chummerz? We gott'arselvez some alchool an' I'm about ta get someting ta eat..."

As soon as he can find a waitress, Mark orders a healthy dose of sandwiches and pretzels, and then another one for him. He then goes back in silence as he tries to calculate how much he has already spent...

[Tzaz]

Rocky:
:; Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.::
Jacks thinking:
:: Did Celia set me up as a stalking horse? Should I tell The Wall or Lady Firestorm? I am between a rock and a Hammer. What should I do?::
As the beer arrives, Jack pushes a full pitcher to Hammer and pours a glass for Tempty and Himself.

[Shalimar]

"I don't feel much like drinking at the moment..." Tempty says, frowning slightly. "Lets get down to this. You were following us, which was a bad move, since we don't like having nosy people in our private matters. You are going to tell us everything you know about Wang Chi, and why he would tell someone like you anything about us. You are then going to tell us why you felt it was a good idea to follow us around. I want to like your answers, and you want me to like your answers too, is that clear?" the red head asks the dwarf.

[gobogen]

Taku quickly realises that the issue is quite serious. Extremely serious actually. Someone was following us and knew a little too much. That someone was that dwarf who saved his mother by the looks of it.

He was quite curious to see how a paramedic would know Wang Chi so well as to go out to stick his nose everywhere like he did.

It also reminded him that Wang Chi had dissappeared. He had forgotten about the whole thing because of the unexpected fight in the Stuffer Shack.

What the drek is going on? What happened to Wang Chi? Who's that little guy and what's he doing following us around?

Taku had his typical severe look on his face. Concentrated and ready to take action.. within a split second's notice. The story the dwarf was to tell should answer his questions though.

[Tzaz]

Jack downing his first beer of this hour. Dear Lady: "I am not following you around. Im trying to find out if Wang Chi is ok.Wang Chi is a friend and fellow explorer. We hunt rocks together. We were introduced remember."

[netlich]

"Chummer, 'ow da ya know'ee's missin'or dat someone iz 'unting'im? Iz dere anything more dan just loozin'your connection to'im yesterday night? " Mark's voice was a bit more impatient this time.

[Shalimar]

"I vaguely remember you, so its possible that we were introduced, but I know that the other part is Drek, you were following us, otherwise you wouldn't have known what went on last night, and you certainly wouldn't be calling Hammer a caped crusader. So spill, give it all. How did you know where we were, and why were you following us. Full Disclosure is your only ticket out of here."

[Tzaz]

Jack sees this is not making Hammer or Tempty happy with his lack of information.
"In the last day or so I have been hearing some rumors about some people looking for Wang Chi and from the descriptions what looks to be the rest of you. The strongest rumor came from a mutual acquaintance at a Talismonger shop, where i was buying and selling rocks. This person claimed to be an old acquaintance of Wang Chi with important information that he needs. The information being that some bad people are hunting him>possibly because of some run that he just pulled off. Already having heard some rumors of such , also wanting to confirm the acquaintance was in fact a friend of his. I got on the commlink with him at approx 0300. When I mentioned the acquaintance name to hin , he said"Acquaintance , eh? Hmmm." I then heard gunfire and violence. I then pulled up his last location from his commlink and went there with the aquaintance. We checked the scene out. Based on the info at stuffer shack , I remembered Tempty and decided to come here. I have not determined if that was a good idea, yet. We decided to meet at this club tonight at 2000.\to meet Tempty. "

[netlich]

Something tells me that if I ask the aquaintance's name he is gonna refer to my advice of not giving names and I might just kill him here and now... Mark mused to himself and nodded at the dwarf's words...The steps to take were clear.

a)Verify Tzaz's words
b)Meet that aquantaince and follow the trail of rumours
c)Eliminate any mention of the Hammer and any threats to his rep or health.
Note: Perhaps the Caped Crusader might prove helpfull in throwing some bloodhounds of Mark's trail...Poor chummer gets the blame; not bad as Plan B...

Now if Wang Chi comes out of it unhurt that would be an added bonus...

The troll mentally checked his commlink's time and noticed something that send his gut doing summersaults . "Ya mean dat aquaintance of yourz's in'ere? NOW? Damn man we could all be in trouble!"

The Hammer had to master all his willpower so as not to jump up and start looking around. He had not seen anything suspicious and yet that mystery man or woman was in here! Man that spelled trouble with a capital T in the troll's books.

[Cold-Dragon]

It seemed as good a time as any to introduce herself now; no sense in getting everyone in a frenzy searching for her.

Besides, it seemed amusing at the time to pop up a moment after their revelation.

Celia rose from her place at the bar and make a casual walk over to the booth that everyone was occupying. She she got closer, she was able to make out some matching details from the kids story to them, albeit at a guess. If they're linked to Wang Chi, they might be the runners who pulled off the one stunt that I'm investigating. I might be able to make something from this if I'm careful.

::Just don't try to be cute and dance around them like Jack.::

She wouldn't dream of it...

Now she was by the table, smiling and doing her best to look all happy at meeting some friends. "Did somebody mention my name? That's so sweet of you; I hope it was something nice."

[gobogen]

Taku reflects on the situation. What the hell is going on? This is getting out of hands, with everyone knowing more than us. I really don't like this. Good thing they called me for backup. How did we get so careless all of a sudden? Is this all Wang Chi's fault? I thought he was a real professional...unlike the dwarf and ms. stalker.

Taku keeps a steady poise. He's not trying to show any emotion in particular, but he seems again very focused. He's not the kind of guy to talk often, keeping remarks for himself and speaking only when he has something to add. It is the case right now.

He nevertheless makes room for the arrival of this new person to the conversation, looking confused as well as annoyed. He gets up, lets her sit in the middle of the bench, and sits back down, all without a word. He can't help his cold attitude towards strangers.

[Tzaz]

Rocky:
:: The worms crawl in ..the worms crawl out..they play pinochle on your snout ::
Jack:
::Celia sure moves like a snake? She would be great to hold onto and dance with::
::Taku reminds him of a Tir Tairngire Paladin::
::I am no longer the stalking horse. Now did these people hurt Wang Chi or are they going to help?::

[Cold-Dragon]

Celia finds room made for her and takes it daintily, keeping the appearance of belonging just fine with all that are together. "Thank you. Now, I believe we all have a common interest at the moment. That's Chi's 'birthday' yesterday."

Obviously, Wang Chi's birthday was not yesterday (unless it was a very bad day for him), so that meant one of two things.

a) Celia (otherwise known as Ms. Stalker) was a complete nutcase,which made a pair of nuts for the team to deal with.
b) She was referring to Wang Chi's disappearance.

"Now, we're all good friends, so we're going to make it up to him for forgetting, or I'll bop some heads for being so rude to our friend. Anyone know something he'd like for his special day?"

She reached for the pitcher of ale and peered inside. Obviously, from the look of dissappointment and distaste, she doesn't like ale or whatever it was.

[netlich]

"Dunno'ow ya'eavezdropped blondy, but ya should'av 'eard da 'ole ting. We're past pleazantries n' ettiquette now...'ow about ya tell us why ya think Chi or his chums are in danger? See things 'ave already been said 'n lines a've already been crossed and am sure ya understand our distressin' but also annoyin' position?"

Talking - more talking! Ghost gime me strength! She seems a bit more on the "talk the talk" kinda thing. What does this mean? Are we being set up in Tempty's own yard?, Mark was almost bitting his glass of beer as he drank. He went silent for a moment as if mulling over what he tasted or what the newcomer had said.

Comlink message flared on Taku and Tempty.

'First a mouthfull of talk and no walk and now ms pro talks the talk. Are we being set up in our home yard so as to show ourselves and gather in one spot? If anymore delays I will walk and come back with reinforcements. I am getting itchy...'

OOC: If I know from our previous run that Taku has a normal handheld commlink or phone I am not sending him this message now. It is gonna be too obvious.

[Shalimar]

Tempty sent a mental reply to the other 2 runners:
This is bad, they know about the job, but of the people that know about the job, I know they didn't find out from the Johnson since he would know how to contact us, I know they didn't find out from Garland, since he'd tell me, and he wouldn't let anything go down in the club. They also didn't find out from us. It leaves only the people we hit. That means this lady is most likely working for our target and her johnson probably wants pay back. Can you tell if she has any Mana? Or the dwarf?

Out loud:
"Look lady, we want to know who hired you. Tell us and you'll make it out of the club alive, otherwise, well, I'll just have to leave a big tip for the cleaning staff."