Outside Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 00:01:30

Carla was exhausted by the time she got home. And although she had gotten a good lead from Zephyr, she still had no solid information on where to find Esmeralda, and she was down quite a bit of cash, and she had lost her only weapon. She couldn't help expecting that she'd come out of this job with less money than she had started.

Expecting that the twins had reached the apartment before her, Carla knocked on the front door and waited to be let in. She had to give Paddy the information from Zephyr as well as let him know about her plans for the church's broken front door.

Fort Lewis Convention Center, VIP Escalator entrance
Tuesday 8/12/70 23:47:11

As soon as Conall could see his sister descending the escalator with two security guards in tow and no longer sustaining her Syren mask, he wasted no time making it over to the edge of the crowd to meet her as the Wolverine guards steered her away from the VIP entrance expertly. As soon as she crossed through the crowd Miss J’s message filtered past her vision in the corner.

One to Three, Four: I got info. Start heading out as soon as possible - send a message when you're off the premises

She breathed a sigh of relief as she finally stood in front of her brother again and she quickly turned her attention to the guards so that no one needed to make sudden moves. She flashed a 1000-watt smile towards Buckley once again.

“Gentlemen, this is my associate Liam. Liam darling, these fine gentlemen are going to show us to our vehicle and we will be in contact with them in the near future concerning our event and the security needs for it.�

She nodded and just prayed that Conall played along, he looked momentarily confused but since his sister didn’t seem to be in harm’s way, nor was she in handcuffs he just nodded and mumbled a gruff accepting reply. The guards continued to walk them escorted through the chaos that was the downstairs expo hall towards the general entrance. Once they made certain the twins were off the convention center property the guards turned and disappeared back inside the show and went back to their duties.

As the twins walked back towards Conall’s bike Etain brought him up to speed on just what had happened upstairs and got an earful about taking Bliss, especially while they were linked, there wasn’t any way for her to hide it or give him an acceptable explanation about why she did it. She watched as he fumed silently, only sending Miss J a message that they had managed to get out of the building once they were standing beside his bike. She was thankful that the bike would limit their communication on the drive back. She held on tightly to her brother as he seemed to take some of his frustration and anger out on the road before them as he raced back to his apartment.

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 00:31:30

When the knock came on the door she had been sitting on the corner of the bed having just slipped back into her jeans, leaving the very revealing dress on as a top and had been listening to her brother read her the riot act full of concern about what she did while at the convention center. The center of his attention had been on her taking more drugs. The knock on the door was a grateful reprieve. She watched as Conall moved to the door and cautiously opened it a crack with his foot right behind the door in case it was an unwanted visitor. Her fingers grabbed the edge of the mattress as she waited, and was soon rewarded with the image of Miss J slipping her way inside the apartment like she didn’t want to be seen.

Fort Lewis Convention Center, VIP Escalator entrance
Tuesday 8/12/70 23:31:20

"Here's a copy of the new info," Carla explained curtly to Paddy, handing him a credstick with Zephyr's information on it. She continued speaking as he wrote the data into his commlink.

"Like last time, I'll leave you to conduct the investigation as you wish; whether you want to work together with Frank or not is up to you. Just make sure you let us know as soon as you've found anything important."

"I'll need you for a short while in front of the church at 7:00 o'clock tomorrow morning, but you'll be free to get back to work after that."

Carla was about to step out the door again, but she paused upon recalling something.

"Oh, neither of you are injured, are you?" Paddy seemed to be fine based on his appearance. Carla glanced over to take a look at Etain, who was already as high as a kite. She frowned out of disapproval but held her tongue.

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 00:31:55

Etain had laid back onto the bed when it was clear that Miss J was only interested in speaking to her brother and spent her time staring at the ceiling and only half paying attention to the conversation taking place inside the doorway.

When Miss J enquired about their health, she spoke more to the ceiling than the woman standing across the small room from her.

“I’m fine, perfectly and completely fine thank ye for asking.�

She rolled over onto her side and looked at the woman’s face.

“And yer welcome by the way.�

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 00:32:00

Carla was about to point out that she hadn't asked for Etain to tag along, but Etain had turned out be quite helpful, both for making the catering uniforms and for successfully creating a diversion. She might actually be quite a useful asset to keep around...and she wasn't asking for pay.

"Indeed," Carla answered, "You both did very well tonight. Get some rest." She then leaned over and whispered in Paddy's ear, "I don't want the drugs to become a problem."

She left immediately after.

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 00:35:55


After Carla had gone, Etain couldn't help but feel the woman's gratitude had been slightly grudging, but she could hardly be bothered by that right now. For tired as she was, she felt happier than she had in a long while. She had proven she was quite capable of taking care of herself, and more than that, she finally had her dear brother all to herself. Not to mention her veins were still coursing with a warm Bliss-ful feeling.

Sadly, that combination was not as pleasing to her twin brother as to herself.

Rolling up some towels from the bathroom to use as a pillow on the sofa, he looked at her with confusion; warring emotions of concern and disgust. But he'd never been a softy with words, nor afraid to speak his mind.

"Sister, I'll na scold ye, nor question what's past. But I will speak my mind. We find ourselves now in a strange and right savage world. I have chosen to find my way by doin' what good I can, which is why I 'ave bound meself to this woman's service. But that means I must now run alongside the very savagery that this city is eating itself up with. An' the only way, my love, the only way that anyone - I, or yerself - is going to keep their head above that current is to cling for dear life to the only thing that is sure, and that's who you are. Fergit that, an' by the saints ye're lost."

He gazed for a moment into her eyes, seeking there his soulmate. But seeing her only half present, partially altered by the drug, he withdrew to his sofa and was instantly asleep.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 06:59:00

In the morning, Carla found Paddy waiting on the church steps. He hadn't liked the idea of being ordered around for a menial task, but unlike many of his pampered mates, he had always been an early riser, and he'd reckoned he was in no position to be making more of the world angry with him.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 06:59:00

The night had been rather short. Conall had never been one to find trouble sleeping, and yet again, tonight had been a good exemple. Like any good soldier; you got a rest whenever you could. He knew perfectly well that if he had staid up any longer, things would have rapidly escalated with Etain. He wanted to shake some sense into her. The young shaman was glad to see her, glad to finally be with the one he held dearest to his hearth… but had was starting to have trouble recognizing her. Hopefully, the night would clean her up and they could talk about it with clearer heads in the morning.

The sun was already shining on the horizon, but Conall couldn’t help but shiver slightly in the morning’s air. Sitting on the large stone steps of the church, leaning back on his elbows, the young elf simply watch the morning’s passerbys go about their business. Since he had arrived in the neighborhood, he had gotten nothing but confused looks thrown to him. It now seemed that people were getting quite pleased with simply ignoring him. He didn’t belong in their world. He knew it as well as them.

As Carla approached, Conall stood up instinctively, back straight and both arms folded behind his back… as if standing at attention. Wearing his usual hiking boots, which were starting to look a little less brand new, a simple pair of slightly worn jeans and a white t-shirt, it was easy for Carla to notice that the young man’s arms were both covered in what looked like celtic knotworks. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

“Top o’ the morning to ye mam’.� He said in an offical sounding voice.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 06:59:00

"Good morning," Carla greeted Paddy. She was dressed in her traditional nun-like outfit. Although Carla didn't want to reveal her alternate persona to her 'business partners,' she had no choice for straightening out the mess Paddy had made in the church.

"Follow me," she instructed.

As expected, the priests along with a few nuns and other citizens were waiting inside for an explanation of what happened to the front door. Father Ortiz waved the note Carla had left and rattled off a barrage of questions in Spanish. "What is this, Dona Carmen? What happened? What's wrong with the door? Was there an attack? Are you alright?"

"There is no problem," Carla tried to pacify the worried clergy. "There were a few thugs outside the church last night, and I called on my friend to...scare them away. Unfortunately, he accidently broke the door in the process, but thankfully the thugs ran off and no one was hurt." Carla gestured towards Paddy. "As you know, my friend...Patrick" the name was convenient in that it was Catholic and covered his Irish heritage "...is staying in town just for a couple of weeks while he looks for work. He is genuinely sorry for the damage, and he has generously volunteered to repair the door. Everything will be back to normal before you know it."

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:22:05

She hadn’t heard Conall leave the apartment so when she woke up slowly to yet another strange location with unfamiliar sights and smells there was a brief moment of panic that caused her to sit up straight on the thin mattress. Her high was long gone, and the minimal arguments with her brother last night had made it less than satisfying. Already she could feel the need for more tickling the edges of her mind. She rubbed at her eyes and looked towards the couch where her brother had fallen asleep and was actually surprised when he wasn’t there and it was easy to tell he wasn’t anywhere inside the small apartment. It took her still half-asleep mind a few moments to process what was going on, slowly remembering Miss J’s words from hours ago that she was going to need Conall in front of the church at 7 in the morning.

She glanced at the clock and cursed softly under her breath. It was just after 8:00 and half of her wanted to roll over and go back to bed, and half of her wanted to get up and find her brother, find a way to get to her things at Tuesday’s and then find out what else she could do to help find Miss J’s friend. Her brother’s words to her last night stuck with her and were almost haunting her.

Forget who I am an’ by the saints I’m lost….

She threw the thin blanket off of her legs after a moment of reflection and she reached for her commlink that was on the nightstand beside the bed. She scrolled through her painfully short address book and dialed up Tuesday, guessing she’d still be up after a night of partying. She waited through a number of rings before the girl finally picked up, her bubbly voice coming across the comm.

“Nyxie! I was wondering when you’d call!�

“Hey love, I hope I didn’t wake ye. Have a favour to ask, remember the church ye dropped me off at yesterday? Any chance ye can slip away and meet me there again and grab me things before ye come?�

“Null persp chica, I can be there in…say 45 minutes or so? Can’t wait to see you!�

There was a giddiness in Tuesday’s voice that lingered well after the call terminated which brought a slight smile to Etain’s lips. She got up off the bed and tried to stretch the few kinks from her limbs and work out a few of the knots of tension in her shoulders. Trusting she’d have at least a few moments to herself she stripped off the mini-dress she had slept in and dug around in Conall’s small bag and pulled out a faded olive green t-shirt. She held it up to her face for a moment and breathed in his scent and in it found comfort and a sense of peace. For a brief instant her craving for another hit of Bliss was quelled. She slipped the shirt on over her head, where it would have been tight on her brother, it was roomy on her smaller frame. She rolled up the sleeves slightly and tied the bottom of it in a knot at her hip. Splashing a little cool water on her face helped wake her up fully as she looked at herself in the mirror.

She ran her fingers through her still-blonde hair one more time in a vain attempt to comb it out before slipping out of the apartment to find her brother who was hopefully at the front of the church, and wait for Tuesday to show up with the rest of her things. She made her way through the maze of the church grounds till she came upon her brother still at the front door of the church working hard in the already hazy morning sunshine to fix the door from the previous evening’s reunion. She smiled softly to herself as she watched him from a short distance at the bottom of the steps. He was doing exactly what he said he was here to do, doing good and staying true to himself. She swallowed hard and thought about how much had changed inside her in such a short amount of time. It worried her at first, but it was so easy to “rationalize� away in the manner that only a addict can, all while still in denial that they had a growing problem. She glanced at the time in the corner of her vision to check the time and figured she had a good 30 minutes before Tuesday might arrive.

She climbed the stairs and sat down near the tops of them, not wanting to interrupt or get in the way of Conall’s work. She didn’t see Miss J when she looked around, but was fairly certain the woman was hovering around somewhere, watching everything.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:35:00

It was a relatively slow morning in the basement that day. When Carla found herself free from any patients for a minute, she took the opportunity to pay Paddy a visit. After filling up a plastic cup with some ice and tap water, she headed for the stairs.

"I'm just going to bring my friend a drink," she told the nurses, "I'll be right back."

Paddy was hard at work fixing the door, and making quick progress. She imagined that he would be frustrated wasting time on such a "menial" task, but Carla didn't see it as a menial job at all - this little community was her home, and maintaining a positive reputation with its residents was nearly as important to her as finding Esmeralda. Having Paddy fix the door, Carla hoped, eased any suspicions about what had happened the previous night or who her strange elven friend was.

Handing him the cup, Carla reminded Paddy of a piece of information from Zephyr.

"I don't know if you read the information yet," she whispered, "but Zephyr said something about Esmeralda doing magic tricks. If it's within your capabilities, you might want to pay a visit to her apartment and scan for any traces of magical activity. Or perhaps your sister can. I suppose it's likely that any traces she might have left would have faded by now, but it's worth a try."

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:35:00

As it turned out, hammering back into place an old wooden door was a lot more work than Conall had planned. Not much of a carpenter himself, he had hammered and sawn his way in a trial and error sort of path. So now, about an hour and some later, most of the door was no back up and swinging properly. Driving yet another broad nail home, the young shaman grinned to himself. The way he saw it, that door was going to be twice as sturdy as before... and looked pretty decent.

The summer sun was now high up and shining bright on him, making him sweat through his tshirt to a point where he had simply shed it off. About ten minutes earlier, Etain had showed up... but hadn't said a word. She had simply sat, quietly, on the stairs. Putting down the hammer, the young man eyed his twin almost cautiously. Who was she now... what was going on with her?

Conall was quickly pulled away from his reverie when he heard the tiny footsteps of his employer. He ran a quick hand through his short hair, making them stick up with the sweat. She seemed rather content concerning his work, at least, by the look she had on her face as she handed him a cup of water.

"Much appreciated" he said with a nod, drinking it down in a single draw.

"Hoi... I be hearin' what ye say. I'll give her place a rough checking when I git me head around to it. A don't think ye'll find much use in it I reckon but nothing lost in tryin'."

He handed her the cup back.

"I was more thinking along the lines of payin this club of yers a little showin. Am fair n sure that if yer friend's been there, I'll find her, and if she's scarce, am sure I'll pick up some trail to follow."

Reachin down, Conall's rough hand grabbed the hammer back.

"Would ye care to join me on this outing?"

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:15

No sooner had the thought about Miss J crossed her mind than she spotted the “nun� approach her brother and bring him a glass of water. She shifted her attention to the neighborhood as they started talking, knowing it was far too impolite to stare. As her eyes moved over the landscape of the neighborhood she was more and more aware of just how out of place she really was. As people passed the steps of the church they eyed her suspiciously and the gazes lingered as they walked on by, chattering away in Spanish and other linguas. The message was as clear as if they were whispering in Sperethiel, she was an outsider. Perhaps they had grown accustomed to seeing Conall around, but now yet another Elf in these parts and people were perhaps a little less accepting and more suspicious.

The thought of her being much of a danger to anyone let alone the neighborhood brought a sort of twisted smile to her lips. The smile faded the longer Miss J occupied her brother’s time with conversation. Unsure where she stood with the woman, let alone her brother this morning she didn’t feel it her place to just march into their conversation and expect to be included. There was still such a level of uncertainty and this huge veil of security that draped over the entire group of people she’d met and was now wrapping around her brother and threatening to bring her deeper into the folds if she let it. No one was who or what they seemed, save for her brother perhaps. There was no air of deceit around him, save for the name he’d chosen and she knew the entire story behind it so it wasn’t false. But the “nun� and the other Elven man in the group…they were mysteries wrapped in lies wrapped in illusions. At some point, she’d find a way to see through it all.

Shaking her head of the heavy thoughts she spared one more glance to the time before she stood up and dusted off her hands and with a deep breath decided to cross the distance between her and her brother. The distance felt like it might as well have been from Seattle to the Tir itself but she stood a respectable distance away from Miss J as to not intrude and waited for a slight pause in their conversation before piping up.

“Don’t suppose ye could use an extra pair of hands? I figure if I offer me help ye might be able to get it done a right bit faster, then ye can get on to all the other important things ye have to accomplish today?�

It was her intention to offer her assistance with finishing the door while she waited for Tuesday but her words certainly carried an alternate meaning to the pair.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:20


Paddy appeared pleased by his sister's offer of help, and he was. Not because he needed the assistance but because he thought so good hard work in the morning sun would do her a world of good.

"Much obliged. Just hold this plank there. Real still now." He set a nail, and as he lifted the hammer he looked up at Carla - "So what say ye, ma'am? Will ye join us on oor wee outin'? Handled yerself right well yestereve, an' no one better to spot a sign o' yer former associate than yerself."

Downtown Electronics Shop
Wednsday 8/14/70 08:01:00
John - Contact Upkeep and Data Search
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

John had spend half of the night at the convention to get the trinkets for his contacts and wait for the Wolverine guy´s shift to end. All the while, he had sent his Agent on one data search after another, first about the Ground Zero club, then the Heartbreakers and their leadership, the Black Plague, Emeralds and on and on. He had not yet formulated a plan of action in his mind, but getting as much information beforehand as possible could save some time later.
When they finally met at The International House Of Pancake down the street, he brought two collegues with him, which fit the elf quiet right. He invited them on a beer and a snack and they chatted for a good while. They where all ordinary blue-collar type guys - a bit boring, but the former corporateman had known enough sec staff to know how to handle them and make an interested impression, to get on their good side. Eventually the conversation turned to down-time online-activeties and by the time they parted, the proto-runner had at least one AR-Shooter account-name to contact each of them. He took a cab to his safehouse, carefull to throw off any possible tails.
When he arrived at home, he took a short nap, did his workout for the day and headed out for the electronics shop, to give the callendar to the crew during their morning-break.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:25

"Yes, certainly we ought to go visit the club itself, but I can only travel at night. Don't hesitate to go without me if you plan on visiting anytime sooner."

Carla looked over at Etain, though she continued to speak to Conall. "Your sister is free to come along as well, but she has to be sober when we're working."

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:29

Etain opened her mouth to let loose a string of colourful curses at the holier-than-thou woman standing beside her but thought better of it knowing it would get her nowhere and fast. While she managed to stop her mouth she was unable to keep from shooting a right icy glare in her direction. Her fingers gripped the board tighter as she bit down on her tongue. This woman was quickly becoming the bane of her existence and yet she did have her to thank for in some way reuniting her with her brother. Internally she let loose all the words she’d have loved at that moment to spit into Miss J’s face.

Where does she get off tellin’ me what to do. She seems to be forgettin’ just what I did for her last night. What difference does it make if I’m sober or not. Mother of all saints, I fit in better if I’m not…

She let out a little huff of indignation as she stared straight ahead and didn’t bother to look back at the nun.

“Ye’ll have no problem tonight. Thank ye for so generously inviting me along.�

She glanced towards the street and checked her clock. Tuesday couldn’t get here soon enough.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:29

Carla looked over at Etain, though she continued to speak to Conall. "Your sister is free to come along as well, but she has to be sober when we're working."

Conall turned his head away from the woman, looking straight ahead at the nail in front of him. His jaw twitched slightly as his grip became so tight around the hammer that his knuckles turned white.

"She'll be..." he said through clentched theeth, bringing the hammer up and driving the nail clean through the plank in a single blow.

The young elf spoke with his back turned to Carla, his tone sounding polite, yet a bit annoyed.

"Once this door hangs like it should, I'll be on me way to Esmeralda's" he grabbed a few nails, sticking the tip of one in his mouth "and when the sun'll be droppin' off, I'll round meself to the club."

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 08:39:40

Carla was both surprised and a bit upset that her comment offended Paddy. Was he mad because he thought she was insulting his sister? Was he mad because he just didn't like being bossed around? Maybe he was mad because he himself disapproved of his sister's drug habits, but he didn't have the will to discipline his beloved twin. In any case, Carla hadn't intended to offend, and she regretted having done so. She felt no need to apologize, however, because she already knew a talented young mage who forfeited his abilities for BTL chips. If Paddy really cared about his sister, then he wouldn't let Etain follow a similar path.

Carla finally responded after a moment of thought. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "I'll be here at 8:30 tonight, if you wish to bring me along. Good luck."

She turned her back and retreated into the clinic.

Sanctuary of St. Ignatius
Wednesday 8/13/70 20:29:00

After closing up the clinic, Carla had gone straight to Esmeralda's, showered, and put on some regular street clothes. She felt a bit uncomfortable going out without a gun - she still had her shock hand for protection, but that wasn't good for much more than stunning attackers. And she doubted it could do much to an angry troll. In any case, at least she'd have the protection of her fellow runners.

Having prepared herself for a night out of town (the 'town' being her little barrio, of course), she quietly left the apartment and returned to the church, where she waited for Paddy to show up. She wasn't actually entirely sure that he would come pick her up - based on his attitude earlier that day, it seemed that he wanted as little to do with her as possible. He might have decided to go alone with his sister. Carla decided to wait twenty minutes; if he didn't show up by then, she'd go back home and call it a night.

Paddy's Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 19:01:57

Hoi Frank. Am hitting Ground Zero tonight around the after eights. Our Miss'll be at the church round half eight, so ye might be wanting to pick her up.

Thumbing the commlink off, Conall raised his eyes from its tiny screen, across the room, and toward Etain who was lying all sprawled out on the single bed. His voice sounded tired, much more so than usual. All traces of his earlier anger was gone. He knew very well that scolding Etain for her behavior would do nothing. For one of the very few time in his life, Conall doubted himself. He doubted wether or not he could care for his sister.

"Assay, that part of town is a wee bit darker. From the drift a caught, it's actually the rougher edge of Seattle..."

He reached down and started tieing his boots.

"I won't be hiding things from ye since I know very well ye'd know them anyways; I would rather ye not come along on this one. Odds are favoring a much tougher evening than our last one, and am already going to be watching two arses beside me own."

He straightened back up, grabbing his jacket off the sofa and slipping it on.

"But I won't be playing Father on this one; telling ye what to do and what not to."

His rough hand went around the door handle... where he paused.

Taxi at the edge of the Barrio, down the Road from St. Ignatius, South Downtown
Wednsday 8/14/70 19:30:00
John - Picking up Marry Jane
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

Krait: Hi there. Just arrived with a cab at the edge of the hood to pick you up.

The technician anounced his arrival to Ms Johnson. Dressed similar to last night -before he had slipped out of his armored executive suit and into the fake catering uniform- John was sitting in the back of a cab. On his lap lay a small, unassuming package wraped into rough, brown paper. As the car stoped as if the Barrio´s perimeter was surrounded by an invisible, physical barrier, the elf addressed the driver, which nervously eyed the gangmembers kicking back some booz down the street.

Krait: "It won´t be long, my friend should be here any second!"

He considdered resuming the work on his Spoof Utility, but thought it would be better to stay alert and aply all his capacities to the task at hand. He took a good look around, to reasure himself that noone had followed him, like he had done countless times this day - like he did every day.
After leaving the electronics-crew, he had relocated to a secure coffin-hotel and started probing the Ground Zero node in case he needed an admin-acces later tonight. On the side he had started to do a bit of cracking - he needed cash and the tried and true way to get it was copying the expensive programs he had bought in the last days and selling the originals back to someone. It wasn´t only that he wanted to save some time with the cracking job, it also was incredibly boring to supervise his agent, while it was probing that node for some usable exploits. To avert any unwanted attention, he changed his comlinks access-ID, signature and datatrail every few minutes. During those aight hours, he watched the coming and going around the club´s matrix-presence, especially keeping an eye out for anything unusual -an icon hanging around for a long while, any persona with powerfull OS ratings, patroling Agents or IC- but spotted nothing out of place, though some of the avatars had realy bizar and in a few cases outright disgusting iconographies.

After his agent had established a way into the system, it´s master had gone back home -carefull to lose any tails- to dress up for another night with his new friends. He had basically put on the same look as last night with only slight changes in clothing and accessoires. He had also wraped the t-shirt he´d bought and have signed for Belinda into a sheat of simple package-paper, along with two tickets for the Ceattle-Center and a short, printed note. The tickets where good for one use, either for the VR-version of the CC or the real deal. Another 20 gone - he realy needed to make some cash. The note was brife and simple but in spanish - translated by a payed online-service.

'Friend of mine brought that from a business meeting, hope it fits! Have no time tonight. If you like take someone else along and have some fun at the CC, but if you dig, we can go there together another day. BT'

He was aware that his present could come across a bit sleazy, but he had been carefull to chose some brand he had seen in a standard clubbing environment before and that fit the style of Belinda´s pictures and persona. Besides, his nickname was a bit sleazy as well, he only had to keep it in check, so it did only feel interestingly teasing instead of outright disgusting or cheap.
He would give the package to Ms Johnson and ask her to look to it, that Belinda would get it - unopened. The girl wasn´t a regular contact yet and also not that important, so John had no problem to expose this connection to his employer if it helped him to cast some light on Dona Carmen´s own network by later asking Belinda how she got the package. Also, delivering it personally or sending a courier that was willing to enter the barrio would probably draw even more attention.

Once he had picked up the team´s nominal head, he had planed for them to ride the cab to Touristville, where they could meet the rest of their group and the Heartbreaker he had arranged to escort him tonight would join them.

Paddy’s Apartment
Wednesday 8/13/70 19:05:29

She sat up slowly, her eyes refocusing on her brother’s back as he made his way to the door. Where she had every right to be indignant back to her brother he had a point, it could be dangerous. All the more reason to go with, someone needed to be sure to keep an eye on Conall as well, and no one was more capable to do that then her really. Little did he know, or at least little did he want to admit it, as much as he claimed he wasn’t playing Father he was by still thinking she was fragile and needed to be looked after.

“Assay ye need me to go along dear brother, ye just don’t know it yet.�

She swung her legs off the bed and rose to her feet, watching him hold his position before the door with his hand on the knob.

“I assume I’ve got time to change me clothes before we go?�

She didn’t wait for his answer before she started calling forth a simple spell from memory. She took a deep breath and imagined the look she wanted to create down to the very last detail before closing her eyes. For most people, “changing clothes� meant diving into their closets or dressers, for Etain however she actually changed them on her body. The jeans she wore turned to form-fitting black leather, the tank top she was in a shapely deep purple corset.

She slipped on her military tailcoat and quickly came up behind Conall ready to go with him. The few hits of Bliss were burning a hole in the pocket of her pants much like the memory of Tuesday’s lips on hers in the car earlier when the girl had dropped off her thing were burning into her brain. Sometimes it was hard to keep promises…

T-Top Bar Parking Lot on the edge of Touristville/Redmond Barrens
Wednesday 8/13/70 21:05:29

The place was a shithole. The type of place most rich kids from Bellevue came over to "slum it" when they grew a pair big enough to try it. Conall's bright and shiny racing bike, along with the two Elves on the back drew more than enough of the wrong kind of attention in a place like this. Drunks and druggies stumbled through the area along with various younger members of the Touristville society sporting various logos and colours to define their respected gangs.

Her hands gripped Conall's waist a little tighter once they were stopped and she tried to keep herself alert and paying attention as they waited for the rest of their party to arrive.

T-Top Bar parking lot, south side of Slater Ave. as it merges with NE 124th St.
Wednesday 813/70 21:32:04

Krait paid the cabbie and he and Carla got out into the humid night. The day's muggy heat still seemed to radiate off the asphalt surrounding this gray-market watering hole. The parking lot was filled with obvious gangers congregating in cliques here and there, as well as other slummers getting their kicks from the sense of danger.
Order was kept by a strong Lone Star presence: two armored Chrysler-Nissan Patrol-1s, one with its spots and overheads bathing the otherwise ill-lit lot, a shotgun-wielding officer leaning against the hood, a fierce looking German shepherd sitting obediently by his feet, the driver buttoned up inside.
The other car's lights were played on the intersection of Slater and 124th - the message was clear, although there were two ways to read it - this was a Lone Star-controlled zone, so don't make trouble, OR, Lone Star held sway only this far, head north at your peril.
In any case, it wasn't the weapons of the four officers that deterred violence, it was their cameras constantly streaming feeds back to the precinct, and the knowledge of the shit-storm that followed anyone that fucked with any member of the Blue Crew.

Once out of the cab, it wasn't hard to spot the twins on their rice-rocket. The newcomers went over but greetings were minimal - although working together, the personalities on the team had far from meshed. Carla asked Paddy whether he'd made it to the apartment.

"Aye, an' sure as I 'ave, me found no sign of ensorcelment. Sigs coulda been wiped, but my money says there ne'er was any magic used in that place."

As they talked, Krait saw what he was looking for - a human woman, tall in outlandishly spiked red-leather thigh boots got off the back of a bike and strode boldly through the center of the lot, a hot-pink leather duster flowing behind her. The bike's driver, another woman in hot pink, idled at the curb, watching to make sure her partner found her date. Viewing the woman in AR, Krait saw that although her PAN was dominated by a huge red valentine-heart, split jaggedly down the center, there were also the words "Ground Zero or bust!" - the code word he'd asked her to display upon her arrival here, since he had not wanted to say anything about his own identitiy or appearance until the last possible moment.

The woman did not make a show of looking around - merely made herself very obvious and waited.

T-Top Bar parking lot
Wednesday 813/70 21:32:10

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you," Carla murmured to her partner, "not to pull anything crazy. The lower we keep our profile, the better."

T-Top Bar parking lot, south side of Slater Ave. as it merges with NE 124th St., TouristVille, Redmond
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:33:00
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

As the Heartbreaker took her waiting position and several guys shouted over personal remarks, John whistled and called his date for the night over with the pre-established code-phrase.

Krait: "Looking for a good time? Lets hit the Grounds together with my friends!"

This escort would cost him a good chunk of his entertainment budget and he´d probably have to pay the full rate, no matter if he left out the intimate parts of her service, but even though he had not asked for a bodyguard the presence of any gangmember should make things easyer once they hit Heartbreakers Turf and probably before, as long as they avoided the 162´s´ territory.
He gave his teammates a nod and aproached the girl. He still wondered wether Paddy had intentionally asked him to show up an hour early to pick up Ms Johnson, but in the end it didn´t matter much to him. He hadn´t wasted the time, working on his sniffer-crack while he waited at Meg´s and had proceded to do so on the long ride to Redmond, though his DNI and formidable multitasking-capabilities made it impossible for anyone to notice. Now he´d have to crunch the code for less then three hours, before he had his extra copy. Now was not the time to do the cracking however, as the elf wanted to put all his attention to his surrounding and the task at hand. Now was the time to get things rolling. He offered the gangmember his arm and leaned over to whisper into her ear, as the accesscode to the online-account with her upfront payment beamed over to her PAN.

Krait: "Ground Zero sounds nice ... any mode of transportation you deam appropriate, sweetheart!"

T-Top Bar parking lot, south side of Slater Ave. as it merges with NE 124th St., TouristVille, Redmond
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:33:07


The woman waved at her friend, who roared off into the night. Talking to Krait but sizing up the rest of his entourage, she shrugged - "Y'ain't gonna get a cab to cross one-two-four for less than five Cs. But we can walk it in an easy ten. Ya just gotta be sure and stay on the left side of the road, don't do anything stupid, and no one should bother us."

She popped a bright pink bubble. Now that she was closer, it was possible to see the same red, broken valentine as in her PAN tattooed onto her left cheek. He lipstick was exactly the same color. Under the long coat she wore rose bikini panties and a fuchsia T-shirt, all the various shades of pink and red in her ensemble perfectly coordinated, and complemented by her tanned skin.

T-Top Bar parking lot, south side of Slater Ave. as it merges with NE 124th St., TouristVille, Redmond
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:33:10
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

Krait: "Lead the way, Sweetheart!"

The elf said, as he took in the surrounding and gazed over into the Ghoul´s domain, paying little attention to his payed companion bayond the first through inspection.

T-Top Bar parking lot, south side of Slater Ave. as it merges with NE 124th St., Touristville, Redmond
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:33:20

Discreetly looking the woman over with his practiced eye for detail, Krait was sure there was nothing whatsoever coming between her and the too-short T-shirt or the panties. He did, however, see the top of some sort of small, cylindrical cannister just inside the top lip of her right boot. No sign of implants aside from her breast augmentations. He doubted she was over 18, but she had some hard lines on her face she'd done a fair job of covering with makeup. She wore fingerless mesh gloves - at least one of them was laced with conductive wiring.

"You're the boss," she replied with a smirk and led the other four north across the parking lot. On her way, she veered directly for the Lone Star officer and whispered something in his ear. He told her to "get the fuck out of here," but there was a smile on his face.

Once they were across the street and headed up the road that separated Heartbreaker and 162 turf, she said to Paddy, "Your bike'll be safe for the next few hours. The boys in blue won't do a thing for us north of one-two-four, though, so keep your eyes - and your noses - open. We'll be all clear in just a few."

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:41:00

They crossed 124th easily enough - there was virtually no traffic. After adjusting slightly east they continued north on 132nd Avenue. On the left side.

As they left the lights and noise of the T-Top behind them, the road grew quieter. There had been a number of Heartbreaker girls plying their trade just north of 124th, but soon the streets were deserted.

It was dark, and the streetlights were out. Every now and again they passed by low, rough mounds of concrete in the street or on the sidewalk. At first inexplicable, it soon became clear that someone had plugged all the manholes with cement.

As they walked, their "escort," who introduced herself as Violet, was busy trying to figure out just what her "duties" would be this evening. "I take it this is your first time to Ground Zero...you and your friends all into the scene?" she asked loud enough for the question to be addressed to anyone in general, seemingly unconcerned by the occasional scuffling sound from across the road.

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:41:03

"Oh definitely,"Carla lied. "But it's our first time getting into Ground Zero. Tell me, is it everything they say it is?"

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:41:20
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

Krait: "I´m actually not an insider. I have seen many things in my time and I´m looking for something ... new. I heard you could find anything you´re searching for in this place."

John thought it would be smoother, not to pose as a member of a subculture he knew next to nothing about and had little interest of learing much more, so he decided to play the curious newcommer instead.

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:44:00

The prostitute-ganger gave Carla's subdued appearance a once-over, as if wondering what sort of outfit might be hiding under that long coat. "Oh yeah, precious, it's everything and more. I'm sure you'll have plenty to share with your greenhorn friend here," she said with a working-girl's smile as she referred to Krait. "Because, yeah honey, you really can find anything in there - anything except vanilla, that is. Getting in, though, that's on you. None of you are wearing anything close to what'll get picked out of the line. There's always VIP entry, but it doesn't come cheap..."

As she talked they took a left onto NE 126th Place and with a few short steps around a corner left the eery world of quiet and darkness behind them. There, a couple of blocks away, was a darkened warehouse-looking structure set apart from the other ramshackle buildings in the neighborhood by a line of people standing out front and muffled music straining to get free of the place's brick walls.

All around the streets facing the place, Heartbreakers plied their lecherous trade to slowly cruising cars that had obviously chose to use the much safer but longer route up 126th Avenue to reach the meat market.

As they drew closer, even from a block away they could see a couple of trolls at the door towering above the leather- and latex-garbed aspirants, picking and choosing the privileged ones.

There was also another door right next to the main one, where a few small parties of black-clad individuals were ushered by ork security staff from their limos and into the fastnesses of the club.

"Don't worry, kids," said Violet, "Even if you don't get in, I got a place near here, and I'm woman enough to add more'n a little spice to your party."

In Line Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:44:30

"We'll take our chance with the line," Carla replied. Realizing how difficult it would be to get into the club, however, Carla thought that they might need a little bit of help. Placing her hands in her pockets and out of sight, Carla called up the virtual keyboard display on her smart glasses and started typing a message to one of her friends back "home."

To: St. Pierre
From: Dona Carmen

Bon soir, mon ami. It is I, Sister Carmen. I was just wondering whether you know anything about a club called Ground Zero in the city. A young man mentioned it at the clinic this morning - I fear the club is related to drugs in some way, though I am not sure. He also mentioned a group called Heart Breakers, though it wasn't clear to me what their connection was to the place. Does any of this sound familiar to you? I know you and your boys keep the neighborhood safe from outsiders, but I would just like to know what is going on.

Please get back to me as soon as you can.

Merci, et adieu.

Although it was very difficult (as far as she knew) for somebody other than the wearer to read the AR display on smart glasses, Carla repeatedly checked her surroundings to make sure nobody was spying on her - especially Krait, who she knew had a keen eye.

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:44:33
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

Krait: "Maybe we should try the way we made it last night, my dear? I could make a few calls to try and get us in as VIPs."

'The Greenhorn' said to Carla and then addressed the other two elfs.

Krait: "I´m sure the two of you could put up a show that gets you picked out of the line any night! On the other hand, it´d be much more fun if we didn´t have to part even for only some time."

Finally he turned his attention to his hired guide.

Krait: "I´m sure you are more then up to the task of entertaining us Sweetheart, but I´d be really curious to have a look inside the club! Maybe you could help us get in for less then a lot of cash - I´d much prefer to spend tonight´s budget on you rather then on those orks."

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:46:00

"Flash or cash, honey, those are the two tickets into this place," answered Violet. "You four sure ain't got flash, but you do seem to have cash."

In the line of would-be clubbers, it was apparent what counted as 'flash' - lots of rubber, leather or latex - masks, body suits, capes. And then there were the vampires - goths with their pasty faces and heavy black fabrics, even the occasional EGL with bows in hair and layers of lace poofing out from apron-adorned minis.

The ones with the fashion sense to make all this seem cool instead of just gimmicky were the ones that seemed to be getting in - but there were picks that looked frankly atrocious as well - who knew, really, what the doortrolls were in the market for.

"Now," Violet continued, "I do know those boys at the door, but getting noobs like you in will cost me a favor, so you'd better be spreading some love my way - the cash you save may be mine..."

As the prostitute negotiated new terms with Krait, an incoming message cursor flashed at the upper right-hand corner of Carla's field of vision. The message was in French, but she read it without difficulty.

Dona Carla

Sister, you wanna play neighborhood watch and fight the war on drugs, I can point you to places a lot closer to home than that snakepit. Now...if you are actually interested in that place for any...other...reasons, just say the word. I got an MMA buddy works the door there. I only know that place by its ugly rep, but he could give you the skinny. As for the HBs, they're a gang of real mean whores got their own 'hood staked out to do their biz.

Georges

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:47:00

Carla was dying of frustration. She felt certain that St. Pierre would help get her into the club if she outright asked for it, but admitting that she intended to go there - let alone admitting she was there right now - was not something she was prepared to do. She quickly typed a response, hoping she could get some useful information before it was too late.



To: St. Pierre
From: Dona Carmen
Re: Ground Zero

Non, non, I don't want to fight any wars. I just like to know what is happening in the community. I spend so much time stuck in that little basement - I hardly know what happens above ground. Please tell me, what "other" reason might one have for being interested in this place? Why does it have such an ugly reputation?

Forgive me for my inquisitiveness; I am bored and restless and cannot sleep. I hope you do not mind the conversation.

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:48:00


St. Pierre flashed an IM right back at her.

Dona Carmen

This is an awkward topic for me to discuss with one such as yourself that has chosen a higher path in life.
Let us just say that it is an extremely carnal place, filled with the sort of obscene practices that fall well outside the sacrament of marriage. And while there are many such places in this city where such pleasures can be indulged, at that place things have been rumored to take a far darker turn - indeed, for some that drink too deeply from the well of sin, life ceases to have much meaning.
Take my advice, Dona Carmen, this place is not for you. Even for a lost soul such as myself, the damned pursuits of that club hold no appeal.

Georges

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:48:00

Bless you for your consideration, Georges., but surely you remember how Christ was thrice tempted by Lucifer himself in the desert. How can we be servants of God if we are not willing to confront evil, let alone even know about it?

But perhaps I am too insistent. I will not press you any further on the subject if the topic causes you discomfort. Merci, Georges.

She hoped that the first paragraph in that last message might change his mind, but for the sake of not sounding too curious, Carla had to leave the option of ending the conversation up to St. Pierre.

Based on his replies, Carla was starting to have second thoughts about entering the club. Maybe it would be a better idea to let the twins go in by themselves after all. Besides, Carla already had her own demons to worry about.

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:49:00


Dona Carmen

I am certainly not trying to hold out on you. I just didn't want to offend. If you truly wish to know about this evil place, I will tell you that unlike a lot of other places into bondage and sadomasochism, the management of this place is not always too particular as to whether all the participants are exactly there of their own free will. Word is this is the place to go if you want an audience to see you do, well, sexually illegal things to others. There are even rumors that some participants don't leave alive, and that the ownership is fine with that because of their cozy relationship with a nearby gang of ghouls.
If you have somehow come into this place's sphere of activity, Dona Carmen, run for your life. And if you need help of any kind, the vatos stand ready.

In fact, I may be a ganger living the wejoto, but I am not stupid. So pardon me for asking if by chance this has anything to do with Sister Esmeralda. Like you, Los Locos owes her a great debt, and if my hunch is correct, then we would like to help you find her.

Georges

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:49:15

Carla debated whether or not to trust her secret with St. Pierre. She didn't want to play games and keep track of lies to get vital information out of him; she was going to have to tell him the truth. Apparently, though, he already knew a dark secret or two about Esmeralda, and those secrets were kept pretty quiet (or maybe Carla was just oblivious to the neighborhood gossip.) Surely he would keep a secret for Carla as well.

I'm afraid it does have to do with finding poor Esmeralda. Forgive my lack of honesty with you; I have been looking for her for so long, but I didn't ask for any help for fear of damaging our poor sister's reputation. My goodness, what would the fathers think of her being involved in such activities? They would believe her to be possessed by-

"Oh my god!" Carla gasped aloud. Instinctively, she checked her surroundings, as if to make sure a predator wasn't creeping up behind her.

What exactly do you know about Esmeralda's connection to this place? When did it start exactly? Did any of this activity begin before the 20th of June? Oh, you must help me Georges; I had no idea what kind of danger she might be in.

After sending the message, she tapped the twins on the shoulders and beckoned them to step further away from the guide. Once they were some paces a way, she whispered to them,

"Can either of you see if there is any spirit activity going on around here? Particularly, um, nasty kinds of spirits - like shedim."

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:49:28

She was surprised enough when the nun had asked one of them to start scanning for spirts but then went doubly on edge the moment the word “shedim� spilled from the woman’s lips. Etain perked up, or more correctly stiffened beside her brother for a moment before nodding a slight confirmation to Miss J before closing her eyes and forcing her perception to slip sideways.

When she opened them again she drew in a quick soft breath as her view outside the club was awash in swirling auras and pulsing vibrations of lifeforces. It was a chaotic scene with the people milling about the club and waiting to get in, she could have spent hours just sitting here watching and studying their auras but she forced herself to start looking for the types of things that were out of the ordinary, the darker things that liked to play not-so-nice on the astral.

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:52:01

As she tore her attention away from the auras of the people standing outside the club waiting to get in she was all too aware of the way they pulsed almost in time with the hard thumping bassline that was managing to escape the club. She shuffled along with her group as the line inched forward agonizingly slowly, but beneficially for her. She was looking downward from the club’s entrance when she spotted it in the corner of her vision. A pale yet glowing form, fluorescing on the astral much like a jellyfish did in the water. As soon as she was able to focus her full attention on it however it all but disappeared as if it knew it had been spotted.

Almost instantly again another similar form caught her attention pulsing in and out of existence as if they were using an invisibility spell that was failing off and on. As soon as she turned towards it, it too disappeared behind some physical obstacle and out of her sight. One after the other she’d catch fleeting glances here and there as she moved in a slow circle in line, counting what she thought were at least 6 separate entities of interest before she blinked again and turned to face Miss J.

“Won’t swear me life on it, as I’ve never seen what yer askin’ about in person but there’s certainly some not so normal things hanging around this club right now. Not yer normal spirits or elementals that any dandy with the gift could summon. Nay those there are special, suffering from Evanescence however may not be long on this plane.�

She nudged her brother gently, her face deadly serious.

“Y’might want to keep yer eyes open and be prepared for the worst. I’ve got no idea just what those things are, or what they’re capable of.�

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:52:05

Carla glanced over at Krait to find that he was still negotiating with the hooker. At the rate things were going, it looked like getting everyone into the club would be both too expensive and too dangerous.

Considering the risks St. Pierre had mentioned, Carla wondered whether her team could even put up a fight. She certainly couldn't do much herself - especially without a gun. Conall was pretty tough and probably knew a bit of magical fireworks (she had hired him as the "muscle" after all), though Carla wasn't so sure if Etain was capable of anything combat-wise. And as for Krait, well, he seemed like the kind of guy who specialized in avoiding fights altogether.

So what were they supposed to do if they got forced into some kind of sadistic sexual atrocity? Carla considered spliting the team into two groups again - two people would go inside while the other two waited outside in case anything happened. Chances were, however, that the standby group wouldn't even be able to get past the trolls in case of an emergency. They simply had no back-up plan in case anything went wrong. Carla knew these kinds of jobs wouldn't be safe or easy, and to an extent she wasn't so afraid of getting shot by some security guards or cops. Getting killed in this place, however, was simply too frightening to consider.

"In the event that something goes wrong," Carla asked the twins while waiting for Krait to return, "do both of you have spells that can help us...force our way out of the club? Just in case we need to, that is."

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:49:28
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

Violet: "Now, I do know those boys at the door, but getting noobs like you in will cost me a favor, so you'd better be spreading some love my way - the cash you save may be mine..."

John leaned a bit closer into his companion, as he tryed to get her support without spending any extra cash, since his ressources where allready streched. At the same time, he considdered using the exploit he had worked for the half day, to get into the club´s system and put them on the VIP guest-list. Since he didn´t know what would await him inside, however, he hoped that he could save that backdoor for an emergancy.

Krait: "Well, if I overstretch my accounts tonight, I won´t be abled to come back again and spend some more. I´d hate to not see you again, V. But maybe we can work out some other deal - I could arrange for some favor with a contact of mine."

Violet: "I don´t think we know each other well enough for that kind of relationship honey, but," he flashed her his most winning smile, "maybe I´ll talk to them on your behalf as a free favor to a firsttimer."

His smile did not show any of his concern, as he overherd Ms. Johnson´s request to his magical teammates. Of course he should have thought about that himself. After all, this location came across like the perfect holding of a nafarious master shedim. Naturally, the public sorces would deny the existance of anything like a master shedim, much like they played down the danger that the lesser possessing entities posed. John didn´t know much detail about either, but he had dived enough conspiracy blogs to know the basics. The mentioning of corps stealing spirits brought the information he had dug out about the naighboring ghoul-pack back to his mind and he searched through it again for anything usefull.

Krait: "I´ll be sure to ask only for you, the next time I´m around, sweetheart, and if you ever need a small favor in return, just contact me."

With that he beamed a contact-adress for one of his myriade of forum-accounts over to her at minimal signal-range.

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:52:10


Carla's comm buzzed with St. Pierre's incoming text reply: <<Forgive me, Dona Carmen, I had no idea that Sister Esmeralda was involved in this place. I had merely guessed that since you were making quiet inquiries into something, it might have to do with the only real mystery the people are talking about. Now I confess I am shocked to hear that the Sister is into that sort of thing! But I am in no position to judge. How can I help? Shall I call my friend that works there?>>

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:52:15

Carla didn't want to risk St. Pierre somehow learning from his friend that she had actually been at the club tonight. Either she was going to have to stay outside or get some sort of disguise.

But how could St. Pierre help her get inside if he didn't even know she was there? It occured to her that St. Pierre most likely knew who Paddy was; Carla could ask St. Pierre to let him inside instead.

Why, that would be wonderful, St. Pierre. I sent my friend - the elf fellow - into town to check out this club, but I had no idea how dangerous it was going to be. Do you think your friend can help my friend get into the club? He's the Irish elf fellow who goes by the name Patrick, and he's most likely travelling with one or two elven companions.

After sending the reply, Carla motioned for Krait to join the group and tell them what - if anything - he had accomplished.

Walking north on 132nd - the line between Heartbreaker and 162 turf
Wednsday 8/14/70 21:52:29
Krait - Hitting Ground Zero
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden (signal 0), Moai offline

As Ms Johnson motioned for him to join them, John put his hand against the small of Violet´s back in a gesture much more less posessive then most customers would use, carefully waighted not to intrude to much into her privacy sphere as to become a regular anoyance of her job, but not putting more of a distance between them, either.

Krait: "I´ll be right back, Sweetheart, don´t run away!"

He whispered into her ear, before he strode over to the group of companions standing a small distance away. When the boss inquired what he had gotten out of the Heartbreaker, he answered in a low voice.

Krait: "Well, she´ll talk to the guy at the door for us free of charge, but it dosn´t look like we will get past them without spending at least some more cash. I´m afraight I´m out of liquid ressources for this night, however."

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:53:20

"I've got a little bit of cash left," Carla answered, reaching in her coat to pull out some nuyen, "but I'm not sure if we can afford to get everyone into the club. I think it would be best if you three go on in while I wait outside; you're all much better field operatives than I am anyway."

Carla discreetly handed Krait her credstick, "That's got about 4000 nuyen on it - it should be more than enough to get in, though don't hesitate to negotiate for a cheaper price if you think you have a shot. Now, if you manage to get inside, see if you can find out anything about "Cat", as our target now seems to go by. You've all seen a picture of her face, though I'm honestly not so sure if that photograph is helpful any longer. If you can't find any info on Cat, see if you can learn anything about her relationship to Zephyr.

Any questions?"

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:53:20

Conall had been almost glad to see Krait and Miss J arrive. The place was worst than Meg's.... and not only on the smell side of things. Everywhere he looked, the young elf felt like throwing up. He could actually taste the bile in the back of his throat. He had grown accustomed to living in a drek hole with the common folk. But this wasn't even close to it. It was a whole huge giant step down the social ladder.

Stepping off his bike, Conall had slipped his helmet under the bench cover and taken up post, making sure to keep himself well between his sister and anyone that came too close for his own comfort.

With each second that passed, the young shaman regretted more and more his decision to help out. But no matter what, he couldn't go back on it. He had given his word to the doc... and although he wasn't considered and O'Neill anymore, he wasn't about to tarnish the name by breaking his words. So, when the other half of the team showed up, a wave of relief came to mix itself with his impatience.

Impatient... because no one would have dared make him wait if they knew who he really was. As the couple approached them, Conall pushed his back off the side of his bike, spat into the gutter close by and closed in the distance between them. He acknowledge their presence with a simple curt nod.

As people and things went about to their business, the short tempered elf withdrew himself to the sidelines, keeping less than an arm reach away from his twin, and always scanning the crowd around him. When they finally made their move toward the club, the simply fell back to close their march.

When Carla spoke of shedim, Conall eyes became two tiny slits. He hadn't gone very far in his magical theory classes at the academy, but he knew enough about shedims to know that it only meant bad business. He had been schooled on how to approach and neutralize all matters of magical threats; from the benign and banal, to the extreme.

“Aye Miss. I be knowing enough about their kinds to spot them and stay away from them.�

He cocked his head slightly to the side, his neck making a slight popping sound.

“But don't be mistaking me carefulness fer reluctance. If they give a push, I can shove twice as mean.�

Turning his attention to his sister, it wasn't hard for him to notice she was already at work. Etain had always been the keen one about the flows of the Etherplanes. Conall had almost flunked out of his Spell Signature course. He could barely make heads from tails on the astral... which didn't matter much to him. What he lacked in analytical capabilities, he more than made up in raw, brutal, destructive power. If it breathed mana, he could bring it down. Fast.

His left hand went to her neck where he gently brushed a strain of hair away.

“Don't worry. I'll keep ye safe. Just don't leave yer body for no reason.�

He gave Etain a warm smile... which quickly faded as Carla spoke again to them.

"In the event that something goes wrong," Carla asked the twins while waiting for Krait to return, "do both of you have spells that can help us...force our way out of the club? Just in case we need to, that is."

“Lady,� he leaned in forward “I can take down any bloke, alive...� he gave a quick side glance to his sister “or deed. So don't be alarmed concerning our wee combat readiness. If the shite comes to us, in whatever form, I'll make us a way thru and thru. And ye'll be smelling like a rose.�

Outside Ground Zero
Wednesday 8/14/70 21:53:22

"Well that's comforting to know," Carla said honestly. She wasn't sure whether or not Conall was full of hot air, but it was nice to hear some confidence.

"How exactly do you combat a shedim spirit anyway?" she added, seemingly out of mere curiosity.