@ Akuma
One guard is still partially covered at the far end of the nurse's station with his pistol braced on the desk leaning behind it. Doesn't present much of a target, but it's possible. The other guard you don't notice for a second, but twisting the mirror around, you finall notice him. He's sneaking around the far side of the nurse's station trying to stay as low as possible; looks like they're trying to flank you.

@Rowan & Sophia
The nurses on the floor are beginning to get up and look around to see what all happened. One of the larger ones is approaching you two but hasn't said anything yet -- he seems wary after seeing Sophia materialize out of no where. The other three seem to be checking on the two unconscious guards to see if they're okay. Most of the poeple in other hosptial rooms are staying behind closed doors -- a few have peaked out, but most go back to minding their own business when they see the guards down for the count.

@Lex
Keeping a close eye on the internal communications going to the security center of the hosptial, you just noticed a silent alarm from the fifth floor. But, your viral code was able to toggle it off before the security goons were notified.

"His employee, if nothing else." Rowan says to Sophia, "Look, let me into the room before this nurse catches me, please."

:: Her eyes flash with a hint of what might even be protective jelousy but it's gone in a moment. ::

"You're gonna have to do something better than that to convince me. My husband has never mentioned any female employees."

:: Her emphasis on the word husband is icy and challanging. ::

"Besides, at this moment, if you are here for Gio's benefit, why be concerned about the nurse?"

"Ask him if he remembers a girl name Rowan, from Seattle."
Rowans patience is wearing thin, and it shows.
"If nothing else your family wants him dead, and I am here to try and prevent it. If you think I am lying you can do whatever you magic types do and test me."

Akuma quickly peeks around the corner, fires a round at the guy behind the desk, then ducks back behind cover.

Your shot takes him in the shoulder as he attempts to drop behind the desk for full cover. You hear a cry of pain and then a curse but don't know what happened as you ducked behind the wall again.

<<OOC: You have one or two phases left? I've lost track of what phase we're on. My guys are done, though, so if you have any actions left this turn, go ahead and post 'em. >>

Akuma takes aim at the guard that is trying to flank, aims for his head, and shoots. He then holds, waiting for the other guard to show himself.

:: Sophia wavers slightly, the woman obviously knows more than she expected, but with everything that's happened, she doesn't really know who to trust. ::

"Fine, if you can be trusted, toss your weapon through the door opening, and then I'll let you in. Don't try anything funny, I've got plenty of juice to light you up if you make a move."

:: Disappearing from physical space, she zips back to her body and prepares to scoop up the released weapon. ::

Rowan deftly removes the clip from her pistol and tosses the unloaded pistol through the openning.

:: Eagerly grabbing the pistol, she cancels the service she had tasked the past spirit with a wave of her hand. She audibly hisses at the missing clip, but reluctantly removes the chair from the door allowing the woman to enter. Glancing up, she sees the approaching guard and flashes him her patented 500 watt smile as she weaves her spell over him. ::

"Thank you sir, you should wait in a safe position until the guards return. Whatever you do, you dont want to be seen by that gunman."

:: Then, she slides the door shuts and turns a hard look at the woman standing in front of her. She steps to the side to present the comatose form of her new husband, leaning against the opposite bed to allow Rowan a chance to see that Gio is quite incapable of responding. ::

"So, start talking sister. Why are your goons shooting up the hospital. If you're here to make sure he wont talk, you're obviously wasting your time. If you're here for me, you'll have a hell of a time getting me out of this room."

"We were hired to move Gio to a safe location, before your family or star get involved. He got into a spat with your family, which is what landed him here. Akuma got a little trigger happy once one of the gaurds spotted him, which is rather disturbing. We have a SUV outside ready to carry Gio, and you, to a safer location. "

"So what do you say? Can we take him out of here and somewhere you two will be safe?"

Rowan takes a seat and waits for Sophia to respond.

@Rowan & Sophia
The nurse looks puzzled for a moment, and then smiles and nods, returning behind the nurses station and begins to try and help the other nurses caring for the guards. As you close the door behind Rowan, you can see the other nurses talking to the one you ensorcelled and glancing in your direction.

@Rowan
When you enter the room, you see Gio in the bed closest to the door. He's asleep at the moment, and has a small bandage on the left side of his face. The blanket covers most of the rest of his body, but from what you know, it's probably only concealing the bandages from the gun shot wounds he took to the chest. You can also see that a large chair has been moved to the side away from the door; that must have been what Sophia put behind the door to keep it from opening all the way. The room is pretty cramped for space without much room to manuever. But, if necessary, you could use the bed with Gio in it for cover!

@Akuma
As you fire at the sneaking guard, he instinctively drops to the floor and behind cover as your bullet rips into the wall behind him. Using your mirror to see what's going on, you don't really see either guard at the moment.

"I know a hell of a lot more about the situation between my family and his than you do. Someone else in one of the families are playing both sides of this mess and until I can figure out who that is, I won't trust anyone. Besides, if Gio's family gets their hands on him, who knows what they will do when they find out what's going on between him and me."

:: Sophia begins to show a hint of the intense weariness that the whole situation is leaving her with. The stress of trying to hide her relationship and the helplessness of having the only person she trusts unconscious and unable to help is breaking down her usual tough resolve. ::

"Well in case its not totally obvious to you now, this place isnt secure. We could get out of here and go some neutral ground where Gio can recover. My team and I could provide you with security and help you find out whats going on. I only have Gio's interests in mind, he's my boss, and it doesn't look good to have your boss axed when you are supposed to be the one protecting him."

Over the comm, "Do any of you know a good secure medical facility? Something not connected to the mob in any way?"

"What do you say, trust me, and let me try to do my job and save your skins."

Seeing that no one seems to be, Akuma takes action. He moves northwest, towards the nurses station, then north along it, all the while keeping an eye out for the guards. Once he gets to the north side of the nurses station, he begins his search for the guards.

Both guards are crawling on hands an knees away from you and towards the hallway that leads to the elevators and stairs. One guard looks pretty banged up -- that guard is further from you and closer to cover in the hall. The other guard is closer but seems to be crawling faster. Both guards have their backs to you and don't seem to notice as you peak around the station at them.

::Looking at Rowan's aura you notice the dark image of cyberware installed throughout her body, although it seems as if she has much less cyberware than you have seen in others. She seems to be a generaly healthy mundane. She seems more tired and anxious than anything else, as if its been a very long day.::

:: Sophia seemes to hesitate, and then looks long at the empty bed before sighing heavily as her shoulders droop. ::

"Fine, get me the wheelchair from out there."

Rowan walks over and grabs the wheelchair, bringing it back to Sophia.

"Whats the best way to get out of here?" Rowan asks Sophia.

Over the comm, "Lex we need an excape route, and we need new accomodations for Gio."

:: Sophia shrugs as the image of Gio shimmers on one bed and materializes on the previously empty bed. ::

"I have no clue, you're the rescuers. I'll help where I can. I've been nice to the staff and they've been nice in return. Where ever that's not good enough, I'll try my little mind trick. Beyond that, I hope you know how to use this thing."

:: Tossing the gun back to Rowan, Sophia turns to Gio and takes the armored jacket she had laid over him as a blanet and begins to shrug it over his limp body, taking great care not to move him too much, afraid of opening his delicately closed wounds. ::

"Give me a hand with Gio...i don't want to hurt him getting him in this chair."

::Hearing the static over the comm::
"Oh drek, his jammer must be taking out the whole hospital, I guess we'll have to wing it untill we can get outside."

Rowan catches her pistol, reloads it, and slides it back into its holster. She walks over to Gio and helps Sophia move him into his wheelchair.

"I guess we take the elevator down then?"

"Yes. Don't say a word and follow me. You still have that invisibility working for you, but if anyone sees through it, I'll tell them that you're my bodyguard."

:: Sophia faces the door the the hospital room and steels herself for the long walk out of the hospital. She takes a big breath and lets it out slowly to calm herself and then glances once over her shoulder astrally to the comforting presence of her spirit. Then she puts on an encouraging smile as she pushes Gio through the door and heads towards the Elevator at a casual pace. Occasionally speaking in an encouraging tone to Gio as if she's just taking him for a stroll. ::

@Sophia
When you leave room 422, you can see more nurses moving throughout the floor. They are beginning to load up one of the two guards that Akuma put down onto a gurney to take him away. It looks like he might have a broken shoulder or something. The other guard is being examined on the floor before you. He has a nasty purple bruise spreading across his cheek and down over his neck and shoulder. He's going to feel that when he wakes up.

"Where are you taking him, may I ask?" a nurse questions you as you move towards the elevator. "We haven't been notified of a transfer and the guards said he's not to be moved."

"Well, the guards were not exactly very helpful, were they? Now, Gio is quite important to me and I'm taking him down to the security office until someone catches that psychopath who was shooting the guards out here." you responds.

Something in your voice or perhaps the cold look in your eyes as you stare at him convinces the guard that you are not a woman to be trifled with. "Alright -- but I'll call down and let them know that you're coming."

Thinking quickly but not coming up with anything to get out of that one, you merely nod. Pushing the wheel chair away from the main fourth floor area and into the elevator lobby area, you turn to Rowan and ask, "Any ideas on how to dodge this one?"

Akuma smirks slightly, seeing the guards try to flee. He takes aim at the guard in the rear (figuring the guard in front isn't going to be moving too quickly), and fires off a round at him. He then moves foward after the guards to get a little closer.

:: Sophia sees that her excuse will need a little extra mojo in order to get the nurse off her back, so she weaves her spell around his aura and responds smoothly ::

"Don't do that, the attackers might have the phones tapped and I don't want them to know where Gio is going. The whole point is to hide him before that lunatic comes back. Please...just give me time to make him safe."

:: She adds her patented smile of helpless innocence to seal the deal. ::

@Sophia and Rowan
The nurses seems to shiver for a second as Sophia's spell takes effect, and her cheekbones and pursed lips seem to take on an almost feline disposition. The nurse, looks back at Sophia, smiles and response, "That's a good idea, miss. Wouldn't want to endanger the patient, now would we." With that, he returns to the other nurses and begins to help the others. As you move away from the nurse's station, you can hear him attempting to convince the other nurses of necessity of your actions.

@Akuma
Upon hearing the retort of your gun, the closer guard dodges to the left, rolling out of the way. The shot hits the floor where he so recently crawled. The other guard looks back for a moment and the guard you shot at yells, "Go! Go!" before rolling over and shooting back in your direction. Taking two shots, they bracket you, one flying to your right and impacting the wall behind you and the other whizzing next to your ear -- a little too close for comfort -- and breaking a water cooler behind you. The guard glances sheepishly at the watery mess he's made before glancing back in your direction. The other guard is moving as quickly as possible, now, hunched over and will shortly be out of sight around the corner towards the elevators.

<<OOC: Akuma's actions at 11 and 1 are up now. Both of the guards are out of phases (spells doom for them, but they lasted longer than I expexted --- mostly because the hid behind the station but still >>

:: Sohpia smiles slightly to the invisible woman at her side as she turns her back to the chaos of the 4th floor and enters the elevator, facing Gio towards the back wall of the elevator. Turning, she stands back to back with Gio as door shuts. Once they are alone inside the small space, she glances at Rowan. ::

"I hope you have a ride standing by. Id hate to have to flag a cab trying to leave here with a wanted criminal...or two."

Akuma first takes aim at the guard who just shot at him and lets off two rounds, he then turns to the guard trying to get away, takes aim, and lets off two more. As the last round leaves the barrel, there is a *click* from the gun as it runs out of ammo.

Five guards, one clip, not too bad...

@Akuma
As the closer guard risks a glance over his shoulder at the other one, you shot taks him in the ear. He slumps to the side as you second shot hits him in the stomach and he falls backwards against the floor. Turning your attention to the other guard, the first shot strikes him in the back throwing him into the wall. As his falls to the floor you second shot -- probably unesseccary you think to yourself -- also makes contact and that one goes down as well. With a quick look around, you see no other combatants and turn off the jammer.

over the comm

"4th and 5th floor cleared. All guards down. Rowan, what is the situation down on 4?"

"Im with Gio and his wife, we are comming down the elevator. We need to change some plans once we get to the car, I'll discuss later, right now lets get away from here fast."

"I'll be down in a sec."

Akuma races into room 508. He opens the window, then ties off his stealth line to one of the beds. He jumps into the climbing harness as quick as possible, attaches the line, then crawls out the window, making his way down to the floor as quickly as possible.

Once on the ground, Akuma hits the line with a catalyst stick and runs towards the front enterance to cover Rowan once she comes out.

@Rowan & Sopia
As the elevator makes its progress toward the ground floor, the cramped space seems even smaller because of the severity of the situation. When the elevator slows to a stop, you both share a quick glance, and then look forward as the doors open.

The doors open and you can see the front doors before you. The reception desk is in between here and there -- about halfway between you and the door. There are there people waiting to get onto the elevator when you leave, and as you look around, it becomes clear that there is a guard at the front door. She's dressed in a uniform, unlike the guards upstairs, and looks to be just a normal hosptial security guard. Looking around as you get out of the elevator, you can also see another guard along the north wall of the reception area, sitting on a bench by the cafeteria. You can't see all the way down the wall by the gift shop from your vantage point within the elevator, so you can't tell if there is a third person you may have to deal with.

@Akuma
When you get to the window of 508, you can see Rowan's rope still hanging from the roof. You look around for a moment and are able to tie off your stealth line and get down to the ground in a few moments. The stealth line dissolves quickly when you tap it with the catalyst stick. You are probably about halfway around the building towards the front door when the elevator reaches the first floor and the others see what I described above.

@Mojo, Lex, Alice
You guys see Akuma come down the outside of the building and tear off towards the front of the building. Looking at the Lex and Mojo, Alice smiles and says, "Looks like things might get interesting for us again." She turns the car back on and puts it into reverse, preparing to drive to what ever exit Rowan and Sophia use.

Then, using the comm, "This is Alice, guys. Rowan -- be a dear and let me know where you want me to pick you up, k? I'll meet you at that door so you don't have to push Gio across the parking lot. All we need is a sniper and this whole afternoon is a wash."

:: Sophia unconsciously bites her lip as she pushes through the people in front of the elevator and makes a beeline towards the woman at the front entrance. ::

"Miss, you've got to do something. There's a wacko up on the 4th floor waving a gun around! The guards can't seem to call for help so I snuck down the elevator."

over the comm

"Lex, why don't you go ahead and let the 4th and 5th have their phones back. Go ahead and set off the alarms too, hopefully that'll draw the guards away from us here. Lets hope they go for it, if not, I'm gunna drop em. Rowan, can you deal with the guard over on the bench if it comes to that?"

"No problem, if it comes to that..."

@Sohpia
The guard at the door turns to you and gives you a concerned look, "We're aware of the situation upstairs and we are are working to handle it as we speak. Thanks for the information though; we always appreciate it when concerned citizens are willing to help out." Her manner is aloof and somewhat concerned -- almost annoyed with you. As if she doesn't really want to be here right now.

The other guard doesn't really seem to be paying attention to you or Gio. However, now that you could see around the wall of the gift shop, you can see a third hospital guard inside.

:: Sophia smiles, carefully looking concerned, yet relieved that the situation is under control. Turning, she takes the handles of Gio's wheelchair and pushes him past the guard, trying to time her movements so that the guard doesn't get a clear view of Gio. ::

:: Mentally, she speaks to the spirit waiting in the astral. ::

"If any of these guards moves to stop me, confuse them."

@Sophia
As you move to push Gio out of the hospital, the receptionist calls to you from behind, "Miss? Has that patient been discharged, yet?"

over the comm

"Meet us at the front door, Alice. We may need to evac quickly. I'm giving Sophia a few more seconds to talk to way out of this, failing that I'm going to start dropping guards and tell her to run to the van."

also over the comms

"Okay. Pulling around to the front of the building now." Alice puts the van in reverse and backs out of her spot, and begins to drive towards the front of the hospital building.

:: Sophia turns on her irresistable smile and moves towards the receptionist. ::

"Actually, no miss, but Dr. Richardson agreed with me that a little fresh air might help him a bit. Just going to walk him down to the garden. Especially with the activity upstairs, don't you think it's a good idea to get him a little serenity?"

:: Her smile turns slightly feline as her eyes flash, momentarily her irises turn from circular to slits, but the transformation disappears before anyone can determine if it was ever real or imagined. ::

@Sophia
The nurse looks startled for a moment, then her face goes slack as your spell takes a hold of her mind. "Well, that sounds lovely. Just don't go to far, dear, in case he needs help. If you run into a problem, just run back here and get me, all right?"

over the comm

"Alright guys, looks like we're clear. Lets get loaded up and get the frag out of here."

:: She smiles once more. ::

"Thanks so much, Miss. We'll just head out to the garden."

:: Turning with a subtly evil smirk, she marches boldly towards the front door and out the hospital, whispering out of the side of her mouth. ::

"Your car is.....?"

Keeping his voice low, Akuma says, "The van pulling up right now. Move around to the far side to security doesn't see us loading. I'll keep an eye out while to get things worked out in there."

:: Hearing the male voice, she switches to astral to get a look at him. His similar dress and invisibility spell leads her to assume that he's with Rowan, but just to make sure, Sophia concentrates on assensing the spell he's cloaked with. Seeing the same astral signature as the spell enveloping Rowan, she nods once and follows his direction to the waiting vehicle. ::

"Just be careful with him...he's still rather severly injured. I'll never forgive you if moving him causes him further injury or worse. My wrath can be very painful if not fatal."

Lex's voice crackles over the comm, "Hey, one last piece of business before I fold. Want me to add a time of death to Gio's records? If the Caroletto's think Gio's toast, then they won't be looking to finish an already done deal. That gets the Caroletto's off his back. It could work well for Gio, too. Dead men come and go as they please."

"But if he has any legit money holdings in any banks, that'll really frag up his world. Can you just delete any records that he was here at all? Or better yet, why not let his wife decide, she is about to knock on the door to the van. Alice, why don't you help her get Gio loaded up while I cover you guys."

@Sophia
You see a mid-sized GMC SUV pull up in front of you and an attractive woman hops out of the driver seat and opens the side door for you. As the people in the van begin to move about to make room for you and Gio, you see an Ork trying to move a human into the back seat. The human looks like a decker to you -- mostly because of the datacord he's currently plugged into. The small satelite link that's pointing out the other side of the car is something of a give-away as well. The woman turns to you and introduces herself: "I'm Alice, honey. You must be Sophia -- and this must be Gio. Well. Let me help you get him into the seat hear and we'll strap him in all safe and sound."