17:00:50 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

Cesarino smiled back at A’ja across the table.

“There is no need for the Signore.” He said while waving his hand in the air as if he was shooing away some harassing fly.

Although the big Italian man looked somewhat tired, with mild dark circles around his eyes, his obvious ease and easygoingness made him likeable. It was like having lunch with a long lost uncle… who hadn’t slept last night. The mafia man exchanged a few pleasantries about the weather and the current sporting events before his meal, the extra glasses, the wine and Flicker’s mineral water arrived. He waved the waiter off, making it a point of pouring the drinks himself. He then proceeded in taking his jacket off, exposing the massive six shot revolver hanging under his left arm, and rolled up both his sleeves just after tucking in a little paper napkin in his collar.

“You’ll have to excuse me, but the day has been rather hectic and I’m starving.”

This… This was probably not the usual meet for most of the operatives. Michael Cesarino was one of the most powerful Mafia members in the whole Seattle area. Yet, he seemed terribly down to earth and amicable. After a few more minutes of drinking wine, eating and simply doing small talk, Cesarino wiped his mouth and pushed his plate aside. Both palms against the table, his easygoing expression slightly darkened.

“I would like to thank you all for coming here on such short notice. What we need from you is rather simple: there’s been a rather unfortunate incident… concerning the family of one of our precious… associates. We need to know who is behind it, and prepare ourselves accordingly.”

The imposing man leaned back in his seat, giving a slight chuckle.

“Now now… I know you must all be telling yourselves: why doesn’t he use his own people. Well, it’s rather simple: we need people who won’t be recognized by our rivals. We need people who can be discreet.”

Cesarino took a cigar to his mouth, which was rapidly lit by Anthony, still standing close by.

“The situation is like so: last night, our dear friend, Mister Lassiter lost both his only sister and nephew, in a criminal fire. We would usually let the Star handle it, and read over their shoulders, but the case is already closed. Murder-Suicide. According to Mister Lassiter, this makes no sense at all. I don’t blame him… The blue boys are far from liking him.”

He leaned back forward, to make sure he had everyone’s attention.

“We need you to do the Star’s job… because obviously, they don’t want to get involved. At all. Our man over here” he said, nodding toward Gun, “will accompany you.”

A few seconds of silence passed, before Cesarino spoke up again… this time, directly to A’ja.

“How much do you want for this?”

17:01:13 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

A’ja had been listening to Cesarino’s lead in to the job offer, watching his movements and those of his companions as he spoke for any hidden non-verbal clues. When the job was presented, not as a retaliation job, but as an information gathering job a weight was slightly lifted off the Elven woman’s shoulders. It was a brief reprieve, as it was soon replaced with the somberness of just who they’d be digging into the affairs of. Those that wanted to see the associates of the Mafia pay, were often as dangerous if not more so than the Families themselves.

Whoever did it had balls. Cesarino’s assuring that they were being chosen because they were off the radar both helped and hurt the new team. Good because they could run under the watchful eyes of the Star and whoever did this at first, until they raised too many red flags. Bad beacause it was likely they’d have to do a lot more footwork to get answers and find the information needed to deliver the truth to Lassiter so he could choose his own revenge.

When the subject of pay was brought up, A’ja chewed her lips for a moment, her fingertips meeting at a point before her lips as she thought this over. She wasn’t about to ask for carte blanche from the Finnegan’s but there would likely come a time that cash would have to grease a few palms to get to the right people for the answers, or to make others look the other way, and she sure wasn’t about to pay for it out of her own pocket.

“First, please pass my sincerest condolences to Lassiter for his loss…” She was genuine in her feelings, but she was also buying herself some time to calculate and discuss with her team.

17:02:09 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

For a brief moment, Cesarino's face was dead serious.. and he simply did not look like a happy camper. Then, slowly but surely, a smile crept up on his lips.

"I knew I was right about you. I'll be frank: we don't know what's going on. This could very well be the first shot of a series of offensives from other syndicates.... or other families. We are merely... protecting our assets."

17:02:18 Monday April 4, 2070 - Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

Flickers vision doubled and hazed, using astral perceptions to view the emotional state of the people at the table with him while receiving the emotionless text messages were beginning to cause his headache to grow worse. He engaged the deep circular breathing pattern that he used to trigger the shift from astral to mundane perceptions and back, sliding back to mere mundane perceptions. A quick review of the comm chatter caught him up to speed.

17:02:36 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

As the voices of Dual and Flicker rattled on in one part of her brain and another portion focused on what Cesarino was feeding her in the sense of information pertinent to their upcoming job and yet another part was focused on just what Gun was saying with his silence. Her hired teammates were already bringing up many points she had already planned on discussing with their Johnson, and yet she still had to come up with a number. The true question was just how high to go and what to “settle” for when Cesarino counter offered.

“This could be something that we could crack in days, or it’s something we might not crack for weeks. The way I see it, you’re hiring us on retainer until either we produce the results you’re after, or you choose to terminate our employment, which ever comes first.” She drew a slow breath and laced her fingers together, placing them in her lap before she continued.

“Obviously we understand that both the speed and accuracy in which we obtain the information is as important as the necessity to do this as discreetly as possible. While I’d love to stroke my own ego and say my circle of connections will be enough to get you the answers, I’m quite aware that we’ll be running in circles that don’t take too kindly to outsiders poking around and asking too many questions. To break into those circles requires one of a few things; money, favours or trust. The latter is going to be the hardest to obtain in such a short amount of time, favours are only as good as what each of us has to offer. Money seems to be the easiest solution, no? I trust that there will be a reasonable amount to draw from should that avenue need to be explored?”

A’ja rattled off demands, wrapped in well-thought out words to make them seem more like questions and or ideas that Cesarino himself proposed.

“Since you don’t know what we’re up against I think it’s safe to assume we’d accept the job for 700 nu a piece, per day and you assume we’re on your payroll for the first week. After that we renegotiate our pay based on our performance and what we’ve uncovered so far. The only caveat to that is if we uncover additional information during our “investigation” that proves to be valuable to either yourself, the Family or Lassiter, or if we discover just how dangerous of a position we’re placing ourselves in, we’re paid accordingly as a bonus. Consider it hazard pay.”

She smiled dangerously as she intensely held Cesarino’s gaze.

“Payment is made half up front, in a form of each person’s choosing. I for one, want clean, untraceable certified funds, I can’t speak for either of my associates.”

Most of her cards were laid out on the table before Cesarino, it was his move to make. He could smile and accept her offer, thinking he was getting what he was about to pay for, or better yet that he was getting them for a steal. Or, he could laugh in her face and counter with an offer that he believed they were worth. The ball was in his court now.

17:02:36 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS
Dual sat in silence, keeping half of his attention on the team's chat-line, and the other half on the men they were meeting with. He tied to keep his expression as cold and unreleaving as possible, but that wasn't necessarily one of his talents. In truth, he was very impressed with A'ja's performance so far, and was eager to see how their Johnson took to it.

17:03:44 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

Cesarino looked over at the elven woman, his eyes squinting through the thick cigar smoke that was rapidly surrounding the small group. It was hard to say if the squinting was because he was deeply in thoughts… or because he was just getting annoyed.

Clearing his throat in a rather unpleasant manner, he leaned back into his seat and crossed both arms on his broad chest. Smoke slowly started to pour out of his nostrils, like an angry dragon fuming over a deal.

A few more seconds of heavy silence went by, the only sound being the muffled enthusiastic cheers from the crowd next door. In an almost exaggeratedly slow fashion, the mob boss unfolded his massive arms, stretched them out…. and suddenly banged on the table hard enough to split it.

“I knew I was right to contract you” he said with a chuckle escaping his lips.

“You drive a hard bargain Miss Rose, but you drive it good. When you require any funds of any sort, simply” he took a fountain pen out of his breast pocket and started scribbling down a telecom number on a napkin “call this number and make the request for the amount you need. We are generous people… but make sure you do not abuse of our generousity”

He slid it across the table to A’ja.

“As to your other requests… they seem reasonable enough.”

Cesarino leaned forward, setting his elbow the on the table and joining his hands together.

“As a sign of our good faith, and to prove that we aren’t hiding anything from you, I’ll go out on a limb and give you your first week’s pay in full.”

He took another drag on his cigar, and took a look at the 4 operatives that sat at the table.

“So, you want that certified sticks, cash or direct transfer?” he added with a smirk.

17:03:44 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

Dual thought about the options - each about equivilant to the other, in terms of usefulness and professionalism. The majority of his purchases were made online, wirelessly, so his choice ended up being easy. "Transfer."

17:03:55 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Flicker again resisted the urge to bow as a sign of respect and simply said quietly.

"I'd prefer certified credsticks if that is acceptable."

17:03:53 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle, UCAS

As the big man's fist hit the table suddenly it was all A'ja could do to control herself and not flinch. She was dutifully rewarded for her poise and she smiled despite herself. She palmed the napkin without looking at it and safely placed it into an inner pocket in her suit coat, flashing just enough cleavage in the process to be tantalizing.

"I'm glad we could come to such a mutually beneficial agreement Cesarino. Certified Credsticks would satisfy me greatly."

She reached across the table with her hand, not outstretched as if she was aking for her money, but in a gesture to officially seal their deal. Handshakes meant more to her, and likely the old man, than empty promises and pretty words.

Her eyes moved from the old man's face to the young enforcer sitting beside him, watching the younger man as she spoke.

"I trust we have use of this room to begin our team discussions on where we're going to begin our... investigation? Is it possible as well to talk to Lassiter to get his side of what happened and what he knows?"

17:03:55 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Flicker sat silently back while A'ja talked, showing nothing on his face, but sent a message over the team network.

17:03:55 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Getting his large frame up from his chair, Cesarino extended his own giant paw toward the elf’s outstretched hand. His handshake felt firm and warm, the sort that made you feel confident and taken seriously.

“Excellent.”

He unclipped a commlink from his belt and started punching in a few keys all the while he fished around his breast pocket for something. He came up with two credsticks, which he slotted in the side port of his commlink. A few clicks, beeps and creeks later, everyone was paid their due… and actually more. All credsticks and wire transfer red a full 5000 instead of the agreed 4900.

Cesarino simply smiled and mentioned, as if he was talking to himself, that he always liked “round” numbers.

The commlink went back under his chic suit’s jacket as the underboss glanced over his shoulder towards the kitchen.

“John… I’m sorry, Mister Lassiter” he added with another one of his smile “should be back shortly. I’ll send him your way. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

17:04:13 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

A'ja smiles warmly at the firm handshake, feeling less and less as the negotiations went on like this was going to come around and bite her in the ass. She's even more pleased as well as surprised at the sudden payment and the willingness to send Lassiter their way.

Taking the cue from Flicker as well as common sense she asked for one last favour from Cesarino.

"If there is any possiblity we could get our hands on any information you already have been able to obtain so we're not needlessly doubling back on what is known to you, things like the Lone Star officers involved in the investigation, the case number... That type of information will have us hitting the ground running, as opposed to crawling."

17:04:20 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

“I’ll make sure you get what you want as fast as possible” said the underboss, over his shoulder as he began to walk away towards the kitchen.

17:06:33 Monday April, 4 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

A few minutes of semi awkward silence passed in the large room. None of the technicians or mobsters present paid the slightest bit of attention to the newly formed team. They either had better things to do… or simply didn’t care. This was true of all of them, except the large “doorman” who had accompanied them in the room. During the whole meet, he had stood mere feet away from them, hands joined together in front of him, silently peering at them thru his shades.

Finally, through the door Cesarino had disappeared came in one of the most tired looking man. His short brown hair, which must have been cut in the latest corporate fashion, seemed slightly messy. Dark spots were already starting to form around his puffy eyes. As he walked toward the group, his undone tie, still hanging around his neck like a scarf, followed his movement. His very chic suit was filled with wrinkles. This man… this man looked he either hadn’t slept in some time… or had slept in very uncomfortable places.

A’ja


Flicker


Dual


Gun


The man sat down, give Gun a small smile and nod.

“First of all” he stopped to clear his throat “I’d like to thank you all for doing this for me. Mister Cesarino has been very generous… You can understand, this matter is very…” his voiced wavered “dear to me.”

He looked around, probably for something to drink… he was seemingly loosing his voice.

“Mister Cesarino said you had some questions you wanted to ask me?"

17:6:40 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Flicker rose to his feet as the norm came to the table and took the time to walk around the table to shake hands with him.

"Mr. Lassiter, sir, we are sorry for your terrible loss and you have my personal condolences. I wish we did not have to trouble you during this emotional time but it behoves us to act quickly in order to be certain that the villians who did this do not escape justice."

The young Ork returned to his seat and leaned forward, propping himself against the edge of the table with crossed arms.

"I was hoping that you would be able to explain your relationship with Mr. Cesarino. You know, what it is you do exactly, the level of involvement etc. If you have any personal theories as to who did this and why we'd be happy to listen to them as well."

Flicker figured that what Lassiter did and didn't say would reveal as much information as what the actual content.

17:06:58 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

As Lassiter shook the ork's hand, he nodded and thanked him in a whisper. The shock of what had happened had clearly not yet dissipated itself.

"I am Mister Cesarino's legal consultant and personal attorney. I represent him, and any client he assigns me to, in all legal matters." said Lassiter in a tone that betrayed it was an automatic answer. The lawyer had probably been ask that question more than a thousand times by different law enforcement agencies.

"As to who would do this to my sister....." he cringed his teeth as his knuckles turned white "I just don't know.... Those fragging Star's investigator didn't even look at the case. They hate me... This is payback for all their buddies I've ridiculed."

His eyes started to fill with tears as he choked on his own words.

"They said that because she was seeing some sort of counselor, she was depressed... and that she killed Brandon and herself. Now, I know my sister. She loved Brandon more than anything in the world and would have never harmed him. They just don't care. They just don't care!"

His fist pounded the table.

17:06:58 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Dual

Dual only paid peripherial attention to the lawyer in the room. He was sure A'ja and Flicker were capable of asking him the right questions. Of course, if any of those gathered here today were serious about wanting this investignation to turn anything up - Dual was sure they would offer up any information they had that they thought might be helpful.

His attention was mostly on the text and code swirling around him in AR space, as his search programs poured through hundreds of public news sites. Eventually the process finished, returning all the articles that matches. He sifted out a couple that were obviously not what he was looking for, and was a little disappointed to see that the only remaining article barely mentions the fire at all.

17:07:00 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

"We care sir, and Mr. Cesarino obviously cares so try to focus on that. Please remember, we will find out why this happened, and I'm sure the people responsible will pay a price in proportion to the heiniousness of the crime they've committed." Flicker tried to keep his voice soothing, calming, reassuring the obviously distraught man.

"I'm sorry to have ask you these questions now but time is of the essence. Do you know if your sister kept any weapons in the house? Do you know if you are listed as the next-of-kin for purposes of releasing the counselor's records so that we might examine them in the off chance that there might be some information to help us in them. How about Brandon's father, who is he and what is his relationship to your sister?"

17:07:10 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

Lassiter started fishing around his pockets for a cigarette.

"I understand" he said while nodding "you're doing your job. I don't think Cathy had any weapons in the house. She actually hated guns... "

He finally found his pack of smokes and lit one, sighing with apparent relief.

"Yes... I am the one listed as the next of kin on all of Cathy's things..." he said while struggling to swallow.

"I've even started to motions to get copies of all the police reports concerning Cathy's and Brandon's... " he bit lower lip "their death."

Once again, his knuckles turned white as he mentioned the Star.

"But those god damn crooked cops at the Star keep throwing flak my way to slow me down... "

When Flicker mentioned Brandon's father, John's attitude when from angry to slightly uncomfortable.

"Well... no one really "knows" who Brandon's father is... For as long as I can remember, Cathy always wanted a child... but it turns out Cathy had some grave fertility problem. She simply could not get pregnant... She tried every possible treatment. She was almost desperate towards the end. She then finally found some new fertility clinic, somewhere in Italy I believe. Brandon was born there; in vitro."

17:07:10 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS
Dual raised an eyebrow. It wasn't that he thought that this little bit of trivia necessarily had anything to do with their deaths - but it was unique enough to stand out amid all the other details floating around. He doubted if Flicker would have asked about the father if he didn't already have a potential theory in mind. Dual wondered if the Italian clinic would have made this more or less viable.

Dual certainly wouldn't mind taking a trip to Itially on the mafia's dime.

17:07:10 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

A'ja had taken a different approach with Lassiter than the upfront and demanding one she took with Cesarino. She had been able to do her homework on Cesarino and that helped, Lassiter however was a different kind of nut to crack and she had very little background to work from, so she spent a lot of time gauging his reactions and body language to the questions Flicker asked and waited to see what other information he gave up on his own without them fishing for it.

"Who were the investigating officers Mr. Lassiter? Who informed you that Cathy and Brandon had died? Who from the Star have you been in contact with to get the information you've requested?"

She threw out questions softly, but rapid fire as they came to her mind.

"I have friends within the counsiling circles, who was her therapist? And I take it Brandon was living with your sister full-time, no paternity suits had been filed, or known inquiries had been made on her son?"

While she waited for his responses, she opened the attachement Dual had sent their way and frowned at the glaring lack of information to the press.

"One more thing, is the death of your sister and her son the reason Cesarino's got everyone out on high alert? Is there any evidence leading you or your associates to believe this is a mob-related hit, or retaliation?"

17:07:13 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

Killed the child and then herself? If she had a gun or knife or poison to kill the child then why didn't she use a similar method to kill herself? If she did then who started the house fire? Most people wouldn't choose to burn to death as a means of suicide, especially if they have another option readily available, since suicide is usually an act of desperation which is done, if not impulsively, then certainly without rational thought. There is something more here.

Flicker listened as A'ja explored the mob connection but something sat wrong with that angle. It would appear to be the most likely one at first glance but the pieces just don't fit. If it's someone sending a message to Cesarino then why not kill Lassiter? He had to be in court for mandatory appearances, have regular office hours, etc. so he'd be a relatively easy target to access. If it's someone sending a message to Lassiter then why, what's the message being sent? Why is Lone Star being so dumb about their investigation, although dislike for a sleazy defense attorney would be part of it that wouldn't explain the cover up of a murder/suicide in the press?

He sat back, both to give A'ja room to work with Lassiter and to allow himself a moment to collect his thoughts, and took a long drink of his perfectly chilled mineral water. The headache from the drain fuzzed his thinking, made it hard to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, it was frustrating and fascinating at the same time.

17:07:10 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - Seattle UCAS

As the interview with Lassiter carried on, the man’s total sense of loss became more and more obvious. His voice kept dying out and his eyes rarely left the surface of the table. He was even starting to seem distant, as his answers became spaced out with more and more silence.

"Who were the investigating officers Mr. Lassiter?”

“Bill Yates and Brian Wrights.” He answered without hesitation “I’m going to drag both of their asses in the crud they came out of…”

“Who informed you that Cathy and Brandon had died?”

“Detective Yates called me during the night, as soon as they had identified the body… They didn’t even ask me to go down to the morgue…I guess there isn’t much left….”

“Who from the Star have you been in contact with to get the information you've requested?"

“I started with that Yates asshole” he said while rubbing the side of his nose “and the guy was just uncooperative… so I’m just dealing with their main administrative branch. I’m in touch with a certain Lt. Henry… who isn’t more helpful” he said in a sigh.

"I have friends within the counsiling circles, who was her therapist?”

“Doctor Deborah Paige. She’s a stress and anxiety specialist.”

“And I take it Brandon was living with your sister full-time?”

“Yes, Brandon lived with Cathy. When I had some free time, which is a rare thing, I’d go up to Bellevue and spend some time with them.”

”No paternity suits had been filed, or known inquiries had been made on her son?"

“Nothing that I am aware of.”

John started to rub his tired and puffed eyes. It was clear the man needed some rest.

"One more thing, is the death of your sister and her son the reason Cesarino's got everyone out on high alert? Is there any evidence leading you or your associates to believe this is a mob-related hit, or retaliation?"

Lassiter’s attitude shift slightly. His tone sounded official… like something he had rehearsed in advanced.

“Mister Cesarino acts on his own agenda… an agenda of which I have no knowledge nor influence upon.”

His right hand went up behind his neck, which he massaged for a few seconds.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

17:07:17 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

Flicker nodded, quickly storing the data they had in his commlink for later review, and leaned back into the table.

"Of course, Mr. Lassiter, it's clear that you're very tired. Perhaps we should continue this investigation on our own and let you rest now."

The young Ork mage drained the last of his mineral water and then stood, leaning forward to place a reassuring hand on the distraught man's shoulder.

"I know that empty words can't ease your grief, sir, but please know that you have my sincere condolences." He squeezed gentley and then stepped back from the table to allow the others to rise as well.

The grief sticken man's sorrow already forgotten Flicker began trying to fit together the information they had, looking at possibilities and avenues to explore. He like solving puzzles, much of his education had been nothing more than a series of puzzles to solve, and this one looked to prove interesting.

17:07:17 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

A'ja shook her head when it became obvious Lassiter could use a break from the questions coming from mulitple directions. The whole situation couldn't be easy for him in the slightest, but she made notes to herself of the specific details he could provide.

"I think we've got enough to get a jump on this Mister Lassiter, I don't think we need anything else immediately, however if there is a number or a place we can reach you should we need more information in the future of our investigation?"

17:07:17 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS
At A'ja's words, Dual stood up, ready to go. He wasn't sure where they should start. The scene of the crime, the crooked cops, or the mystery clinic... but he was sure that once they were away from here the team would discuss how they were going to divide up teamwork. He suspected that since he was the Matrix-sauvy guy, they'd have him cover the most geographically difficult piece - so as he waited for his companions to rise and exit with him, he began a simple matrix search on all of the fertility clinics in Itally, sorted by their date of establishment. Of course, he was pretty sure this mystery clinic would be private, and probably grey-market at best - so he wasn't expecting a lot.

17:07:40 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

As Flicker spoke to him, John nodded his head with what little energy he seemed to have left in him. The young ork’s words seemed to reach him, as he looked up straight to him.

“Thank you” he simply said in a fading voice.

When A’ja ask for a contact number, Lassiter simply reached to his belt for his commlink. Seconds later, all four runners were receiving a private commlink number.

“It’s my personal number… You can call me at anytime.”

With a few nods and handshake, Lassiter picked his jacket up and walked toward the kitchen… probably to exit through the back, leaving the newly formed team "alone" (well, as alone as they could be while surrounded by a good part of the local mafia outfit).

17:08:01 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

Flicker looked after the departing man and contemplated the current situation. Instead of talking out loud he subvocalized over their private commnet.

17:08:01 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

Just as the swinging double doors leading to the kitchen swallowed up John, A’ja's commlink informed her she had an incoming message.

17:08:01 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

A'ja was about to open her mouth to offer up a number of places they could use as a working location when the message from Cesarino came through.

"A good man of his word." She whispered under her breath as she dove into the material attached to the short message. With her eyes closed she read the files image-linked to her field of vision. Her eyelids fluttered slightly with the rapid back and forth motion that came with "reading". Comitting the names and places and as many of the limited details as possible to memory she opened her eyes and looked at her teammates.

"I've got the file from Cesarino with the important dates, names, places etc. I'm about to forward it to everyone so we're all on the same page. Perhaps with four sets of different eyes from different backgrounds we'll all get a new perspective and pick up on the things the others of us miss."

With that said she distributed the file to the remaining members of the team.

"Where do you guys want to dive in?"

17:08:01 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

"I believe I've secured us a base of operations, I would suggest we proceed there and then determine our next action." Flicker looked over at the silent enforcer still sitting at the table sipping his drink and looking almost bored.

"Perhaps we could review the information and then determine what our best course of action would be? I would suggest we move immediately to secure a autopsy report from the hospital where the bodies are located." He paused for a moment, his gaze far away and his face blank while his mind raced.

"Actually, I think we should definitely examine the bodies ourselves and secure from the corpses tissue samples. Just for the sake of argument, let us assume that this crime was committed by enemies of our employer. If that is the case then the killings are logically intended to attack our employer through Mr. Lassiter. If that is the case then wouldn't it be make more sense to use the live sister and nephew as leverage to force Mr. Lassiter to work for these hypothetical enemies? The bodies would be placed in the burned out house to mislead Mr. Cesarino into believing that one of his trusted men had been attacked and would need additional protection, thus causing him to clutch the serpent even closer to his breast, where it could do more damage. With Lassiter 'distraught' to cover any minor behavior changes he could easily be blackmailed into disclosing information, or even perhaps more direct action. He was obvioulsy close to his sister, maybe close enough to betray the Mafia in order to save her."

Flicker blinked a couple of times, and visibily brought his mind back to the room.

"That scenario is a little far fetched but its within the realm of possibility. At the very least we should verify the identies of the victims to be thorough, and provide a clean sample for genetic comparisson without having to rely on electronic records created and maintained by an organization whose position is clearly adversarial to Mr. Lassiter's."

17:08:01 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sport Bar - UCAS

Dual smiled, "Far-fetched, sure - but I'm sure that whatever the truth is, it would seem equally far-fetched. I would definatly like to get more information on those bodies, and I agree that we won't be able to trust any official reports."

"So, we're planning to hit a Hospital in Bellevue?" He moved his hands about the space in front of him as though swatting at imaginary flies. "I'll see what information I can dig up on the place. Even a map would probably help us plan a way in and out."

17:08:03 Monday April 4, 2070 - Inside the Sports Bar. . . still - UCAS

"I'd say we could grab a personnel directory on-line and get the visiting hours, which would help, along with the map."

Flicker looked over at A'ja and lowered his voice, using tone to make the statement a question.

"Let's head to the ops-base and get organized, then we can go from there."

17:22:11 Monday April 4, 2070 - En route - UCAS

Dual’s head bopped up and down as the bus he was on drove into a pothole. Outside the crowded vehicle, rain was busy hitting, wave after wave, the dirty windows. The whole place stank of humidity, damp clothes and sweat. But Dual didn’t really notice any of those things. His entire attention was turned toward the Matrix wide search he had been busy running since he had left THE Sports Bar. With the files A’ja had gotten from Cesarino, finding the hospital’s public node had been a piece of cake. It had all the usual information one could expect: facts about the establishment’s history, past and future, descriptions of the different units, etc… From what he had gathered, it seemed that the Overlake Hospital Medical Center was one of the most cutting edge and high tech medical center in the plexe. Not to mention it was the highest rated trauma center on the West Coast.

Even though he had found the access node to the rest of the Overlake matrix network, Dual simply hovered around, not yet ready to make a move. He still had some digging to do.

The Overlake hospital, located in Bellevue, was part medical care center, part research center. One of the rare not-for-profit hospitals left in the UCAS, it bankrolled itself mostly on donations and government funds. The whole Overlake campus, which was of a rather impressive size, was made up of six different buildings: the main hospital care facility, the Group Health Specialty Center, the South Tower Research and Emergency Care Center, two massive medical offices buildings and the Overlake Childbirth Center. To Dual’s surprise, he rapidly found out that the Overlake facility had two morgues: one in the level 1 basement of the Main Hospital Center, and another one in the South Tower Research and Emergency Center, on the second floor.

A few minutes later, Dual had found what he was looking for. Visiting hours in the main hospital and the South Tower were from noon until 8pm, and unrestricted for fathers, support personnel, siblings and grandparents of new babies at the Childbirth Center. After 9pm, all visitors had to enter the hospital through the Emergency Department entrance of the South Tower. Anyone needing to go beyond the lobby would be requested to sign in with security and wear a "visitor" pass.

CHAPTER 2: The Divine Comedy

Through me you enter into the city of woes
Through me you enter into eternal pain,
Through me you enter the population of loss.

Abandon all hope, you who enter here.

19:11:04 Monday April 4, 2070 - The RoseBowl - Everett, Seattle, UCAS

The Rosebowl was a one story red brick building. It was obvious, at least from the outside, that the place had seen better days. With the advent of technology and virtual reality, old school entertainment places of the kind had dwindled down to a few establishments. Nevertheless, the small parking seemed almost full, as it stood quietly under a giant pink and light blue neon signed that buzzed on and off from times to times. An holographic marquee scrolled across the windows, announcing bowling alleys, pool tables and dart boards, as well as the different specials of the day. Strolling innocuously on the sidewalk, Flicker passed the door and turned into the side alley. Even through the closed windows, he could hear the unmistakeable sounds of active bowling games. Rainy days were probably good for business.

It didn’t take him long to find the basement access… which consisted of two large and heavy metal doors that swung outward; the kind of doors you’d expect of a delivery entrance. Using his commlink, Flicker disengaged the maglock that firmly held the doors shut. To his own surprise, he was greeted by a set of green-carpeted stairs… definitely synthetic by the feel of it. The safe house wasn’t all that bad. But then again, Flicker had seen better. His own place seemed like a luxury suite compared to the small basement apartment. The light flickered on and off a few times, struggling, before humming to life and shining in the room. The entrance’s stairs led directly to a small kitchen. The door separating the stairs from the kitchen had already been left open, with an old style mechanical key still into the lock. A small plastic tag dangled from it, announcing the key as “storage room”. At a rapid glance, the kitchen looked clean. The white tilled floor was chipped in a few places. A single round table stood in the middle, with 5 chairs, and a counter, with fridge and other appliances ran two walls out of the four. An empty light blue vase covered with a fine film of dust, sat, lonely, on a coffee table in one of the corner. On the counter sat two sealed boxes of MRE as well as a pack of coupons for free games at the Rosebowl. Whoever ran the safe house at least provided food. As Flickercrossed the room toward what looked like the living room, he realised that the air was heavy with humidity and rather damp. After all… it had rained all day, and the place was a basement.

The living room, in contrast with the mostly nicely kept kitchen, was in a more decrepit state. It was rather small, with the same green carpet that covered the stairs covering the floor. Yellow paint was peeling off the walls, collecting in small piles around the edges of the room. A large sofa-bed was pushed against one of the wall, facing a trideo unit. A rather beaten up telecom unit sat next to it, on a chair similar to those in the kitchen. Above the couch, hanging of a nail, stood the effigy of a half naked man on a cross.

Three doors, beside the large opening leading to the kitchen, lead out of the room. One opened into an almost bare bathroom: a toilet bowl, sink and shower head sticking out of the wall. No mirrors, no curtains, no bath. Near the door, a small piece of plastic stuck out and up to prevent water from spilling into the living room. The two other doors lead into bedrooms: empty rooms with 4 folding army style bunk beds in each. Old screamsheet and magazines were piled up here and there. Each room also had a small heating unit attached to one of the walls, with small bared up windows giving a view of passer-by’s feet. One of the bedrooms also had a, at some point another door leading out of it… probably up to the Rosebowl. The frame could still be seen, but it had been walled up a long time ago.

Somewhere above his head, Flicker could hear the muffled sound of someone scoring a strike.

Dual
19:16:51 Monday April 4, 2070 - The RoseBowl - Everett, Seattle, UCAS

After collecting his things, Dual caught another bus across Everett to the Rosebowl. He stepped out onto the street in front of the large building, and looked around taking in the surroundings. It wasn't so much the appearance of the buidling, or hte sounds of bowling, it was the background noise of network traffic he was paying attention to. The AROs pockmarking the buildings of the street told him a lot more than any of the signs would.

Dual walked over to the side of a building, where he wouldn't be disterbbed by those passing by on the sidewalk. A glowing rectangle appeared on the wall at head-hight as he reached out to Flicker's commlink with a request for video-chat.

19:16:52 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

Patrol the boundaries of this building and alert me or one of these others if anyone comes into these rooms besides these people.

The watcher spirit, a glowing astral figure in the shape of a eight inch long Eastern Dragon, zipped off to begin its rounds. He'd filled it's tiny little mind with the images of Dual, Gun, and A'ja so that it would report a breach to them as well.

He returned his senses to the mundane just in time to feel the insistent buzz of his commlink, with the touch of a ghostly icon he accepted the incoming transmission.

A ghostly image of Dual appeared within his field of vision.

"Yo, Flicker, I'm at the appointed location. How 'bout you?"

The young Ork appreciated the skillful way the hacker avoided naming or requesting a specific location, he obviously knew about communication security.

"I am already inside, I am sending you the comm code for the doors. Please join me." He appended the lock code for the maglock to the transmission.

19:23:07 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

Outside on the rain-slicked streets or Everett the high-pitched whine of an engine on a Suzuki Mirage pierced the relative quiet. Racing down the streets at speeds definitely higher than legal with a relatively large duffle bag strapped to her back like a backpack, A’ja was already running more behind than she had wanted to.

As she turned corners and raced down still more streets, the Rosebowl was near impossible to miss with it’s old-school neon and holographic displays. Frowning as she pulls into the near-full parking lot, she does a drive around and finds a slightly out of the way location to tuck her bike into a parking spot and lock it up tight while setting the security. She couldn’t take any chances with it, considering it could be their only way out of the safehouse if things got ugly.

She started to double back on herself, subtly looking about to see what and more importantly who was around and or paying interest to her presence. She walked down the alley, avoiding deep puddles of acidic water and god-only-knew-what. She found the back doors easily and pulled on them gently, confirming their locked status.

19:23:08 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

Flicker started back to full wakefullness, from where he lay trying to catch a nap, when his commlink buzzed spitefully at him. Reading A'ja's message he groaned and beamed her the commcode, then sent it off to Gun's commlink too.

19:23:08 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

As soon as she receives the commcode she hears the door unlock with an audible thunk as the maglocks disengage. Taking one last glance around her before stepping inside she pulls open the double doors and walks into shag green carpet.

She carefully wings the large duffle from her shoulders and sets it just inside the doorway. She nods to Dual and looks around for Flicker.

"Nice place we've got here, hmmm?" She grins as she spots the MRE's on the counter. "Is everyone here yet, or are we still waiting on the "hired help" to show?"

20:18:29 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

When it became clear that they might be waiting a long time for Cesarino’s guy to show up and since time was of the essence the team got their heads together and started making plans as to how they’d approach getting into the hospital as well as what the teams current weaknesses were. After a quick discussion it was painfully obvious that they were lacking in the transportation arena and A’ja got to work quickly digging up her mental rolodex of talent as well as posting and combing the forums on Shadowland.

After that she even made a quick call to Cesarino explaining their need to hire on a fifth for the job, a driver and how they’d need to dip into the expense account to do so. This was more of a polite heads up as to just why she’d be calling the number he so graciously provided to her at The Sports Bar earlier in the evening so soon. She also dropped the hint to him that if he could put her in touch with a first rate forger who might be able to create ID’s when necessary for the team that could hold up to fairly intense scrutiny on a very short notice she’d be much appreciated.

That being said, she also worked her own contacts to find someone “just in case” Mr. C’s guy couldn’t move fast enough. In the background she could hear Dual working alongside with Flicker each of them doing their own legwork to get them started on the right foot in the investigation.

22:09:55 Monday April 4, 2070 - The Rosebowl - Everett - Seattle UCAS

As the night went on A’ja decided it was worth perusing the ad she posted earlier on Shadowland to see just what it dredged up from the darker side of the Seattle employment base. She laughed inwardly as already it had attracted some interest. She took note of a couple of the more “professional” replies and digs deeper on each of them.

Once the info comes back to her satisfaction, she dials the LTG listed in the reply and waits for the automated agent to answer.

22:09:55 Monday April 4, 2070 - LTG: 6544.21.4015 - Seattle UCAS

"Delivery Expedited Systems. Agent OWL. How may I assist you?"

In trideo format the contralto voice emanates from a stylized iconograph of a north american horned owl.

22:10:02 Monday April 4, 2070 - LTG: 6544.21.4015 - Seattle UCAS

A'ja was bemused by the OWL iconagraphy, but she should have expected as much. She paces the main room of the squat as she sends a single icon, a stylized kanji representation of "rose" as she transmits voice only.

"Looking for a driver, I'm responding to an ad that was posted on a private forum. Word is that you've got a driver that I need to hire, I'm specifically interested in Smith."

22:10:10 Monday April 4, 2070 - LTG: 6544.21.4015 - Seattle UCAS

OWL blinked. Then regurgitated a skeletal mouse key. Text and voice instructions overlayed the large eared mouse icons.

"Enter your portion of the encryption key for a secure communication"

As the key file is passed in the owl icon yawns, the mouse skeleton fades, and the gaping mouth opens wide, revealing a tunnel at the end of which a North American eagle icon in spread eagle pose appears.

"....smith... so you know someone I know. How can I help you?"