Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:41:30
ERROR 1406
PAN - Passive (Displaying Fake ID)

"Handle it like a pro" ERROR says with a shrug, but inwardly he signs of relief. He can relax, the probing is over. "But if there is no hurry, please stay a bit. If there is a hurry, well, a word of advice, taken from past experience. In the shadows, the only kind of person who would answer those kinds of questions satisfactorily is a professional liar, a Judas, or a rookie. Please, be careful." ERROR appears earnest in this offering. He is not trying to offend or condescend. A commcode appears between the two men- another hologram.
"After the run, drop a message to this commcode. Drinks again, perhaps, and it would be interesting to hear what manner of person ends up being hired, and how said person works out."

Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:49:30
Smith
PAN - Passive (Displaying Fake ID for the bartender)

Smith paused to hear what was said, but didn't respond, and didn't stick around afterward. Once he had walked a little way from the bar, he began to consider some of those last things that were said. Again, Error had become the most clear - and helpful - just when Smith had given up on him. The comment about his method attracting 'rookies' seemed to stick with him the most. Perhaps, that was it - Smith was expected to be able to put together a team of people - real people - because that's what he was, and he had been working with some up until now. Cattie was a damned good hacker - but, more than that, she was a girl, with a lot more going on in her life than trying to peddle her skills for cash. The more he thought about it, the more he came to believe that this would not be the norm. He was a rookie - most of his team was rookies - but he could advertise for ace hackers and expect to meet rookies.

Assuming he couldn't keep his current team together any better than he had up until now, they would all eventually be replaced by people quite a bit more like Error than Angel. That was a little disappointing. Sledge and Fortunato seemed somewhere in the middle - some nice niche in the curve where they were professional enough to get the job done without crying, but didn't run around town with holoprojectors around their necks.

Smith smiled to himself when recalling that little gem. He was happy with his decision. He was looking for a few specific things in a new team member, and Error didn't seem to have them. He was probably a bad-ass hacker, and was probably indicative of the sorts of people who "hack" professionally, but he was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. He just wasn't the sort of person Smith would pick - at least, not until he got a little more desperate. He was going to have to come up with a backup plan for the next couple of days, in any case - but he was very tired, and decided to deal with it tomorrow.

It wouldn't be long before somebody noticed Angel had taken off - and when he explained the situation, they want to know what his plan was. He hoped he could come up with something better than the commcode Error had given him.

Outside Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:49:50

Adam hadn't wandered far from the bar before he encountered a woman standing on the sidewalk.
She seemed pretty out of place.
She was a little tall for a woman, in her late twenties, and wore a frayed purple cardigan over a clashing orange tanktop. Her jeans were worn and looked comfortable. She had the sort of pronounced features that some guys would fall for, but most would pronounce ugly.

It took a moment for Adam to realize she was actually the highest resolution ARO he had ever seen.

She got right to the point, her voice crystal clear in the young Johnson's earbuds. "Hi, my name's Rebekkah. I am really hoping you can do me a favor and use Error for your current job. It's important to me that you do."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:50:00
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Adam stopped, looking incredulously at the ARO, then smiled - not entirely sure if the person on the other end would see it. Then he spoke, making sure his mic picked up his voice and transmitted it to the stranger. "Yeah? And why might that be?" He didn't even bother asking who this person was. He was interested, of course, but had had enough of trying to get to know hackers, tonight.

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:50:07

"Your business is no place for a vulnerable young girl. But if Caittie hears that your meeting with Error did not go well, I am sure she will return to your team. I have sent you an extremely talented replacement, in fact, the most talented I could find. He is much more capable than Caittie in every respect - especially as regards your urban mercenary activity. I thought that would make a win-win for all concerned."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:50:20
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Smith shrugged and made a weird, unconvinced, expression. "I don't think you give Cattie enough credit. I can think of a few things she had going for her, that Error doesn't seem to have - things I value quite a bit more highly than what a great hacker everyone seems to think he is." He shrugged again, expertly feigning disinterest for the AR ghost of a woman. He wasn't sure if she could actually read his expressions, or not, but was quite interested in the fact that she seemed interested in him taking Error off of her hands. "Don't get me wrong - I only want what's best for Cattie, too. So, if you don't tell her that I didn't hire Error, neither will I. That way, we'll both stay safe."

Rather than walking off, however, he leaned up against a wall, realizing that this conversation might go on a little bit longer - especially if there was another reason she wanted to make sure Error joined the team. If there was, Adam wanted to stick around and figure out what it was. If not, well, maybe Rebekkah would be interested in helping him out, instead. "Besides, that decision isn't really in my hands, anymore," he said, opening his hands towards the ARO as if releasing something into the air. "I laid out the situation, fairly clearly. He wasn't really interested in what I have to offer, or in the way I do business. To put it politely, I believe the feeling was mutual, but the ball remains in his court."

He smirked. "Plus, if Cattie told you about the job, I suppose she told you about how little we have to work with - financially. I can't guarantee that our patrons will give him what they promised to her - so I was sort of counting on being able to double-book this event as some sort of... 'test-drive'." He stared at the icon looking for some reaction, before getting to his point. "It is, therefore, very important that he wants to work for me." Adam looked the icon directly in the eyes. "...more important than whether or not he can actually do the job."

Pushing himself away from the wall, he sighed. "Since he doesn't... my hands are tied."

"So, I appreciate everything you've done for Cattie and I, but it looks like your friend is a little overqualified for the position." Adam grinned. "He's too good, for his own good."

Adam then waited for Rebekkah's reaction. If she was content with his offer to keep his mouth shut, then there wasn't really any great mystery, here. If not, Adam thought, then there must be more to it than one hacker looking out for another. If she had some further interest in Error, specifically, getting the job then he needed to know why.

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:50:28

The woman listened intently to Smith's reply. When he'd finished she shoved her hands in her pockets and furrowed her brow. She leaned against a parked Jackrabbit and Smith was surprised to see the curve of her denim-clad ass flatten against the hood - he'd never seen an AR persona that could interact like that with a found object.

"Well, I'm surprised to hear he is too good. Maybe that's something I don't understand, though I thought I was getting pretty good. I don't know about what sort of compensation he is interested in, but I know he wants to work with you. If he didn't, he wouldn't have met with you. I...well, I listened in on your conversations, and I'll admit I couldn't quite follow parts of it, but I'm sure he didn't say he wouldn't work with you."

She looked down to where her fingers were idly playing with the frayed edges of her sweater. "Is there anything I can do to help? Making friends is always better."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:50:55
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Adam smiled, and joined her by the car - careful not to lean on it, because he doubted its anti-theft system would ignore him the way it ignored her icon. "Indeed, it is. A woman after my own heart...." Adam, still unsure of how much of the environment she saw through her feed, tried to be subtle with any further attention he gave to how her ass interacted with the environment.

It seemed that she did have interest in seeing Error picked up by Adam. That interested Adam greatly.

"He never said he wouldn't work for me - that's true - but that's not really the same as saying he wanted to work for me." He took a moment to think, even though he had a handful of ideas on the tip of his tongue. He was hoping Rebekkah would have picked up on his meaning, earlier. If she did, she was doing a decent job of playing coy. "For example, I didn't say that I wouldn't work with him, either - but, I assure you, it isn't something I want to do... currently."

The fact that she listened in on their conversation, but was now talking to him about the situation meant one of two things. Either she agreed with Error and thought he was being unreasonable, or naive, and hoped to help change his mind - or she thought that the decision rested with him, and was hoping to polish the turd that he had already let hit the floor. Adam hoped it was the later case, even if that meant it was a big waste of time. If it was the other way around, it meant that Error wasn't the one with unreasonable expectations, and Adam was going to have to consider drastically lowering the bar, moving forward.

Going with the assumption that his expectations were reasonable, and that Rebekkah had an interest in pairing the two of them up, Adam decided on a new approach. "I think you might be able to help - but not by talking to me." He gestured back towards the bar. "Error has my number, knows what I am looking for, and, apparently, so do you." He smiled. "My budget isn't changing in the next couple of days, and neither are my expectations. I'm going to assume that he's not going to get a lot more desperate, either - but with the right nudge, from somebody who speaks his language..."

Whatever that might be.

"...the value of this opportunity might become more apparent, to him - which, cross our fingers, would be enough incentive to make Error a little more... 'amenable' to the arrangement I have in mind."

He shrugged. "Unless you think I'm being unfair to the guy...." He raised an eyebrow. "After all, you know as much about him as I do, right?"

This was the point, Adam hoped, where Rebekkah gave some clue as to which of Adam's two scenarios held water.

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:51:13

"Fair I'm in no position and of no inclination to judge. People and their motives are hard to understand, and the normal range of emotions is terrifically amplified among those in your profession. It's a very melodramatic lifestyle that attracts the histrionic." She smiled into Smith's eyes. "Of course that's a generalization."

A trio of motorcycles roared past, and she waited for the noise to doppler off.

"But yes, I certainly know more about Error than you do. Enough to know that the particular line of questioning you used was doomed to failure, and not really through any fault of his own. Or yours. Just bad luck, that choice of approach."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:51:20
Smith
PAN - Hidden

"Oh, and why would that be?" Error had told him the same thing, but Adam had assumed he was just being stubborn. If there really was some line of reasoning that made this make sense, he wanted to know what it was.

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:51:28

"He has some very deep-seated issues regarding his personal space. And by issues, I mean pyschological blocks. He's really not capable of responding to direct questioning regarding his personality or habits. There are work-arounds, verbal devices that can allow him the freedom to provide information his associates need - I am sure I don't need to explain the nuts and bolts to someone as verbally adept as yourself. Suffice to say that the reticence you perceived was actually Error making a valiant attempt to answer questions which - even hearing - make him want to run from the room. Idiosyncratic? Yes. But find me a mentally and emotionally healthy person in your profession and I'll show you someone who's about to retire from it."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:51:45
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Smith smiled, in an 'I-told-you-so' sort of way. "Like I said, too good for his own good. You're saying he's so perfect for this job, that he's completely incapable of performing it." His smile became a smirk.

"Thing is, I'd rather have a mentally stable rookie, who can work with my team, and who has a personality I can stand, than a... how did you put it?... an 'idiosyncratic' professional, who is set in his ways, has psychological blocks against doing things the way I want them done, and enough 'issues' that I had to seriously consider the possibility that you and Cattie were just fucking with me, tonight." He shook his head. "The sad part is, you guys weren't."

The fact that Rebekkah was still here, talking to him, rather than approaching Error as he suggested, had Adam a little bit worried. Then, an idea struck him.

"I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate the help, though - and, clearly, you don't like my current answer, and think I can, or should, change my mind. So, how does this sound? I'll call up your boy, offer him one more chance - this time, nothing personal, just hacker-stuff. If he follows through, he's in - as long as he behaves. If he turns me down, fucks it up, or goes all rain-man on me, I'm done with him - for real this time, and the two of you will just have to accept that as my final answer. I'm sick of giving this guy second chances, just because he's handicapped."

He waited a second for her reaction, but quickly added, "... and if you want to grease the wheels, I suggest you talk to him before I do, and manage his expectations. If he wants this job, I'm expecting him to shape up. It doesn't matter that its not his fault - if he can't fall in line, and be depended upon, I don't have a lot of use for him after this weekend."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:51:56

"I very much appreciate your willingness to call him back and try again. That is very generous of you. And I will talk to him - right away - and offer him those thoughts I have which may facilitate a mutually beneficial outcome."

She stood up, which made for a slightly weird effect as there was no slight settling of the light car's weight back onto its shocks, as one would normally expect.

"But as long as you are asking me to say a few words to grease the wheels, I might offer you a few in parting as well..." A pause. "No, it is contraindicated. Thank you very much for taking the time to hear me out, and I will speak to Error."

And she was gone.

Inside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:52:12


Rebekkah caught Error before he'd left his seat. With no idea how or if he would greet her, she began speaking straightaway. "I am sorry if your previous meeting was painful to you. I was led to believe that the man you met was good with people. Indeed, it appears he speaks properly and persuasively, perhaps with charisma. He has greatly impressed others. But as you know, I am hardly susceptible to anything but content. Still, I would be very appreciative if you would find a way to do at least this one job for him. I am assured that his team is not the type to harm, betray or otherwise double-cross even a new associate. Perhaps in your next encounter you could role-play as someone other than...well, simply role-play as someone. Then perhaps you would be able to deal with him in the manner he prefers. What do you say?"

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:52:30
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Smith smiled, not quite sure what she was saying to him, but she seemed to be doing what he wanted her to do, so he simply waved as she started to drift away, and added "Why don't you have him give me a ring once you've said your piece." Adam didn't want to interrupt, if she spent as much time on Error as she did on him - and having the employee call the employer back seemed to lend itself well to the sort of conversation he expected to have to have with him. Once she was out of sight, he continued his walk down the road, keeping an eye open for passing taxis - but he did not call in for one, yet. He wanted to get a little farther away before he did that.

He spent a few more moments going over the conversation he had just had. It went well, he thought, but that was probably due to the fact that Rebekkah was upfront about the fact that she wanted something from him. That part still didn't sit well with him. It would have been one thing if he had met Error on his own - in fact, the idea of taking a broken socially-inept hacker under his wing sounded like exactly the sort of thing he would do. The crazier it sounded, the more appealing it would have been - at least, if it was his call, and if he didn't care about the consequences. What sat wrong with him about the situation tonight, was that other people seemed to be pushing him into it - which caused him to push back, if only to see how badly they wanted to see this happen.

Rebekkah stopped short of offering him money or the sort of information he was after - either of which would have been appreciated, but would have ultimately made him feel worse about things. He got the sense that she had no intention of leaving until he had agreed to giving Error another chance, though, and it wasn't about Angel, either - despite what she had said, up front. Being lied to didn't help the bad feeling he was getting. He didn't like the situation he was in, one bit. People he didn't know were manipulating the makeup of his team, for some unknown purpose. Cerberus bailed, after receiving some mysterious call. Angel bailed - no doubt at Rebekkah's advice - and now it appeared that those same forces intend for Error to take her place. That was the main reason Adam wanted nothing to do with the guy. Rebekkah had no reason to be looking out for him - so it was far more likely that, whatever her intentions, it would get in the way of him doing his job when the time came for him to do it.

He wished he knew someone in the biz, that he could ask for advice about stuff like this - but he was just going to have to continue to wing it. Of course, if things worked out the way he wanted, he might end up getting a couple of second-opinions before the night was over. If things were going to play out the way Rebekkah wanted, Adam at least intended to absolve himself of responsibility, first.

Inside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:52:42
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

ERROR's lips twisted into an frustrated grimace. Almost subconsciously his nervous system logged the exact moments of muscles, the exact neural activity associated with the experience, with the qualia, to use the philosophical term, of this facial expression and made it expressible in binary terms. He them caught this long string of ones and zeros, wrapped it up into an executable file, and sent it to Rebecka. All this was hidden under the holographic face. As he sent her the file, the hologram gave her a sweet, broad smile.
"Easy," he said, and then composed a quick text message to the Johnson. Text may be primative, in this day and age, but it let him skirt around some of the damage areas of his brain and express himself more clearly that speech, including nicely skirting his block with certain pronouns.
<<ERROR@ Johnson It was necessary for me to choose between charming lies, and abrasive honesty. Apparently it would have been more appealing to lie. None the less, the impression is that you are willing to work with me for the one run. Correct?>>

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:52:55
Smith
PAN - Hidden

The slight buzz from his pocket drew Smith's attention away from his thoughts. He flicked open the comm to see a message from Error, and shook his head, smiling. Presumptuous little bastard...s'pose it is just as likely Rebekkah's doing.

He quickly began typing his response, still making his way away from the bar. The text-only conversation held a lot more appeal than another face-to-face in the bar, and Smith was eager to get home.

<<@Error:: More appealing, perhaps, but if my gut told me you were a liar, we wouldn't be having this conversation, at all. I appreciate that you've been honest, even when it has been uncomfortable, and disadvantageous, to do so.>>

Smith was glad that Error couldn't see his smirk, or the look in his eyes when he put the message together. He was trying to be pleasant, but 'honesty' was not actually a quality he would have attributed to Error. The point was, neither was 'dishonesty'.

<<@Error:: I also regret that you've been misled - perhaps, unintentionally.>>

He leaned up against the wall, again - this conversation could take a little time.

<<@Error:: Your friend Rebekkah insists that I work with you for this run. I wouldn't want my professional courtesy, towards her, to be mistaken as a lowering of my expectations, towards you, or as a forfeit of my say in the matter. You're not in, yet.>>

<<@Error:: The compromise that we have reached, if you are interested, is that I may present you with one more test - this time asking nothing personal about you, at all. If you pass, you're in - at least for this weekend. If everyone has a good time, we can talk about making it a permanent arrangement, but there's no commitment - which is another concession that I believe you will appreciate. If your skills are not up to the challenge - which will not be based on my opinion of your personality, at all - Rebekkah has agreed to respect my decision to proceed without you.>>

<<@Error:: I think my new proposition should please everyone involved, with minimal sacrifice. Rebekkah gets one more opportunity to influence my staffing. You will have an opportunity to impress me, while keeping all the secrets you would like, and without having to agree to any long-term engagement with a team you've never met. I will get one more opportunity to see if you've got what it takes, and if you'll mesh well with my team - I just have to be a little more creative about it, but I like being creative.>>

<<@Error:: So, does that arrangement sound acceptable to you?>>

Smith sent the last message, expecting that Error would come back with some rambling answer either avoiding the question or refusing to participate. That was fine by him, though. Smith had only promised to provide one more opportunity. If Error turned him down, that actually made his job a lot easier - and left Rebekkah holding the bag. He might never find out why she was so damned interested in the partnership - but something told him he probably did not want to know.

Inside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:52:42
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

<<@Johnson:: Sounds perfect. A shame the interview couldn't have just been skipped, and we just started here. Of what does this test consist?>> ERROR wrote back happily. He considers recording his sigh of relief and sending it to the Johnson, but he doubts the Johnson would trust him sufficiently to run a sensory file from him yet... or is even properly equipt to run it even if he did trust.

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:53:30
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Smith smiled, and began typing up the details. He was still straightening out exactly how he wanted to phrase the idea, but it came along pretty nicely.

<<@Error:: Perfect for you, perhaps. Here is your task: Attached to this message are three commcodes. I would like you to track down the owners of these commcodes, using your digital magic, and, by whatever means is available to you, convince these three individuals agree to recommend you as a potential teammate.>>

Smith chuckled out loud when he re-read the message before sending it, with the remaining team's contact numbers attached.

<<@Error:: I leave the details of how you go about this, to your discretion - hacking, data mining, social engineering, extortion, wetwork, honesty, whatever.... I am prepared to trust your judgment. The only limitation I impose is that you cannot mention myself, Angel, Rebekkah, or any of the events of the last 4 hours or so.>>

Smith rubbed his chin, knowing that if he intended to put any more constraints on what he was asking, he would have to do so right now. One thing he realized he would need to know, is just how it happened.

<<@Error:: You have until the job begins tomorrow to deliver to me a log of the relevant activities and exchanges, including their recommendations. I suggest you begin immediately. I believe these people are sleeping, preparing for a big job tomorrow, and that there may not be a lot of time after they wake up. Any questions?>>

Smith smiled. It probably wasn't perfectly worded, but he was happy with how it turned out. His objective was pretty transparent - at least, he hoped Error put the pieces together - but, whether he succeeded, or not, Smith figured it would ultimately tell him what he needed to know, without him having to ask Error a thing. It also put the responsibility behind the decision on other people - which allowed him to have fun with it. If his team could not be convinced to accept this - there was no sense in Smith going any further with this. If they all agreed that they wanted Error around - so be it. There was still the question of whether or not Error would accept the task - but, again, that would only serve to tell him what he needed to know. If he could not give Error a task, and expect it to be carried out - then there was little point to inviting him to get any closer to the team.

Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:53:30
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

As soon as the second message gave ERROR 1406 license to use any means, he immediately leaned back dropped in full VR. The hologram projected a normal face on his, like he was just leaning back normally. ERROR even left his real eyes open, so the image link in his contacts could still record, and just overrode the flesh and blood sensory data with the digital sensor data of the matrix. With the feed from his contacts in one small window, and the incoming text in another, ERROR moved his focus to the message itself. He felt his Resonance, and let it harmonize with the resonace of the message. There was only one true Resonance in the whole of the matrix, after all- it just acted under infinite aliases. Soon, ERROR is the message. He is every component of the message, including its true datatrail. Thus, ERROR returns to being ERROR, and finds himself at the originating node. Having found it, he allows himself to cease to be a person again, and falls back into pure resonance. This time when he returns to being, the being has divided. A sprite is now present with him. With a simple command, it decrypts the node. ERROR is pleased to see that his potential employer has bothered to purchase an advanced firewall to defend a sensible operating system, but since both are not but simple constructions of code, ERROR slips with ease. Only 1 agent protects the node. If ERROR had a face, right now he would smile. Instead, he merely becomes the Johnson. Once more ERROR lets himself fall away, and becomes another person. He tells the agent to add the AccessID of ERROR to its list of allowed users. He then tells it to copy all data and transfer it to ERROR's commlink. Then, ERROR returns to himself, and the last message from the Johnson comes through. he sends a quick reply.

<<@Johnson:The terms are harsh, but acceptable.>>
His business there finished, ERROR logs off the node. He buys three disposable commcodes and uses the first to place a call to "Sledge."

Outside the Uptown Bar
Saturday 8/23/70 04:53:33
Smith
PAN - Hidden

Error logged off before Smith could, but he sent back one reply, assuming it would find its way to the hacker's email.

<<@Error:: GL. Hope to hear from you soon.>>

He then disconnected his own commlink, and continued his walk down the street. A few streets away, he switched to Adam Lear's commlink, and hired a taxi, taking it as far as campus.

He wasn't entirely sure whether or not Sledge planned to start work early, or overnight, but hoped he got a chance to get a little sleep first. Then, he went to bed.

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 04:53:30
Sledge - out and over
PAN - Hidden

bzzzt....

Her back was sore, but the rub down was easing the pain and stretching the kinks out of the knots in her back. She smiled at Andy indulgently as the familiar warmth started to make itself felt. She laughed at him.

"What?" he said.

Grinning she grabbed his head and shook it over her lap, "Cerri, look, there's still some of that rice." Twisting she pulled a clump out his hair.

"Vut! I think the crew must have cooked it on purpose after I told them not too.", Andy grimaced. Looking away, he fixated on something. Rescuing his hair, and himself from her teasing he shifted over a grabbed from a pile of gifts on the table.

"What's this? Kinda heavy!"

She rolled her eyes at him, "The whole site sent stuff, some quiet thing!"

Andy grinned tuskily and tabbed the ARO card, an image popped, the clean hi rez pink skin softee features smilled perfectly at them. The ork flipped the image off, and winking at her and grinning cheekily, "He can't have you now!"

The ARO flickered as Andy started ripping open the package, the recorded voice smoothly delivering it's message, "Tut tut, Andy, you should know you can't keep things from me!"

bzzzt....

A huge ball of flames filled the appartment, engulfing everything, her eyes melted, skin burned, bones cracked, blood steamed she reached for Andy....

Sledge's eyes snapped open, seeing nothing, except the expanding light. She caught her breath, and slowly focused on the interior of the cab, her back aching, and a trickle of sweat slid down her back.

vut i need sleep

With a snarl she flung a very bad thought at the incoming call and waited to hear whatever was going to be said.

Greg's Doss, Enumclaw, Auburn
Saturday 8/23/70 05:00:00
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato was sleeping, facedown and tangled in sheets, when his commlink rang.

He twitched an arm against the covers twice before deciding to extricate it with more force. His arm shot out from the net of sheets and proceeeded to knock the commlink to the floor. Without moving the torso, the hand groped around for the bright, buzzing thing skittering across the slanted, stained, fake-wood slats. As his hand closed around the device a finger slammed into the battery port, the fiber optic link, the screen and the keyboard before striking the answer button.

This was work, it was crisis, it was four-in-the-morning consult ... Hello, Blaine speaking. In the sleep filled haze, Fortunato got out "Hello, Bla .." and stopped cold. He felt an uncomfortable pressure settle around his head, and sweated even more in the summer heat. Who had he just given himself away to? Eyeing the display he saw that it was an unrecognized number -- he was fucked, Necrosis had him, he writhed in a bed of snakes for what felt like an eternity.

Finally he said, "Who is this?"

Uptown Bar
(time still unknown)
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

<Sledge, I presume> ERROR says simply after completing the trace. He had decided that there was not need to make this needly complicated, and simply ask for a meeting, in the morning of course.

Uptown Bar
(time still unknown)
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

As soon as the man called Fortunato slipped, ERROR went to work He vanished into pure resonance again, and, releasing the sleuth sprite from service, reassembled himself with a code sprite. He sets it to tracking down information on Fortunato, cross reference names begining with the "Bla" sound. This is accomplished by the time Fortunato asks his identity,
<Well,> ERROR says, <It seems my sources were correct after all. As for myself... well, let us just say I am someone you are in a position to help, just as I am in a position to help you.>

Greg's Doss, Enumclaw, Auburn
Saturday 8/23/70 05:00:06
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato rolled out of bed and out of the line of fire of his window. He grabbed his earbuds, blissfully located on the nearest table, and inserted one. He knew very little about hacking, but he didn't like getting calls from unknown callers in the dead of the night. He spke quickly and curtly, having been shocked awake.

<@sender: I'm all ears.>

He threw on his armored coat and set about gathering his equipment and personal effects while scuttling around the room in a low crouch, ratty pajamas at odds with the battered greatcoat.

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 04:59:30
Sledge
PAN - Passive

<<blork>>

_

Uptown Bar
(time still unknown)
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

<<If that is codeword, I freely admit I don't know the proper response. I am calling concerning your plans for tonight regarding a certain building. I am intrigued, and would like to discuss them with you, at time and place of your choosing.>> ERROR says to Sledge calmly.

Uptown Bar
(time still unknown)
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

<<I would like to meet with you, at a time you are ready, and anywhere you want. I understand if you wish to finish sleeping- this morning works fine for me.>> ERROR's tone is laid back and non-threatening.

Greg's Doss, Enumclaw, Auburn
Saturday 8/23/70 05:00:06
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

<<@Sender: You've already roused me.>>

He scoured the matrix frantically for a moment, wondering if the probably-hostile stranger on the other end could see what he was looking for.

<<@Sender: Be at the stuffer pizza diner by the Riverbend golf course in precisely half an hour. When you place your order ask for 'soy lovers' then correct yourself and order 'a slice of vatgrown cheese'>>

Had he been traced? How long did it take to trace phone calls? Fortunato found himself consummately unsure. He hastily browsed through his address book, wrote Johnson's commcode on a scrap of paper and turned off the commlink. He suspected there was a more intelligent was to stop it from sending and receiving signals, but battery in hand had a certain reassurance to it.

After thirty seconds of focus, five tubular blobs of mana were following him down the stairs as Fortunato's shape began to shift. He figured if he wasn't shot walking out the door, he had a fighting chance to get out of this.

Stuffer Pizza Diner, Des Moines, Tacoma
Saturday 8/23/70 05:25:00

Fortunato shifted uncomfortably. The alley next to the stuffer was the worst combination of damp, smelly and uncomfortable. Then again, being damp, smelly and uncomfortable seemed to be his line of work. He slowly munched a slice of pizza while idly thumbing Johnson's number into the new comm. he'd grabbed from the stuffer electronics section. Both were bought with cash.

<<@Johnson: Think my comm. is compromised and I may have a personal problem that keeps me away from business tomorrow. If I message you again in ten minutes, there's only the comm. to worry about.>>

He reflected that people who know more about commlinks might not accept calls from strangers. He'd have to turn his old one back on in that case.

He hunched low next to the garbage can in order to get a view of the street without being observed. No one would think anything of a dozing, homeless ork, but the trash can prevented anyone astrally perceiving from seeing the mask which was a dead giveaway. One watcher waited at either end of the alley to warn him of anyone approaching and one stayed at the stuffer counter with explicit instructions about listening to food orders. The remaining two hovered near Fortunato bickering. He waited, silenced pistol ominously in hand.

Uptown Bar
(time still unknown)
ERROR 1406
PAN Passive, displaying fake ID

After giving a quick affirmative and disconnecting, ERROR slipped out of full submersion went outside, He flagged a cab about two blocks from the bar, and had him drop him off a block from his hotel. Once safely back in his room, ERROR 1406 opened a window a crack, and let one of his flyspys crawl onto the windowsill, then closed the window and laid down on the bed. He let himself be submerged in the Matrix again, and began directing his flyspy towards the meet.
After a few minutes, the Code sprite turns up the data file on Forunato, and he began to read through it, after issuing further instructions to the code sprite. He mostly had to skim, though, as ERROR still had to direct the flyspy's route. Once it was a block away, he ordered into an alley and set it to project a hologram of the elf he masqueraded as in the bar. ERROR did a scan of the area with the drone ultrawideband radar to determine the exact distance to the stuffer shack. The drone did another scan with the ultrawideband radar, trying to find anyone nearby with an unusual amount of weapons, armour, commlinks, gadgets, or 'ware. Spotting the curious person in an alley with a silenced pistol, ERROR ordered the drone to verify with a visual. Since he still had about thirty seconds to spare, before the proper time, ERROR decided to risk trying to passphrase out on this elf. The flyspy moved to the farside of the elf, so those in the street can not see, and projects a small image of a well dressed elf inside a stuffer shack, placing an order.
"I will have a soy lovers, please." The six inch ERROR in the hologram said, then paused, "Actually, no. I believe I would prefer a slice of vat-grown cheese." Then the background fell away, and the face enlarged until it was life size. It then greeted the elf in the alley. "Gooday"

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:00:00
Sledge
PAN - Off

<<If that is codeword, I freely admit I don't know the proper response. I am calling concerning your plans for tonight regarding a certain building. I am intrigued, and would like to discuss them with you, at time and place of your choosing.>>

With a snarl she got to her feet at the same time she pushed the mental commands at her commlink. The electronic stream went dead with a burst of fuzzy static in her head.

... vut, need Angel ...

She almost ripped off the door handle in frustration at the purely manual controls, but it had to be done. Reaching for the kill switch under the dashboard was easy as long as she wasn't seated in the cab. The problem wasn't shutting it down, but if they needed to move it quickly it would take the associated mechanics at least 15 seconds to re initiate. Almost as an afterthought she fired off her own internal diagnostics check and reboot cycle into her ware.

Flurry of tasks done, she turned to the next item in the list. Keeping in a good stance, Sledge tapped Rocky and hoped the trog wasn't going to snap awake flailing punches.

"We got a problem."

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 05:00:29
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

It took a good 30 seconds of prodding from Sledge to get any response out of Rocky and then all she got was a moan of pain as he rolled over and looked at here.

"What?"

It was apparent Rocky was having issues moving along with trying to wake up. The pain was easy to see as he tried to stretch out his cramped muscles.

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:00:35
Sledge
PAN - Off

"Up."

With his first stirring she stepped in closer, and bent over reached down and started tapping his pockets.

"Commlink."

"Off."

"Implants?"

... must get a jammer ...

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 05:00:43
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Hidden

Rocky was a little slow figuring out what it was Sledge wanted between the haze of just waking up and the complaints his body had about not getting its fix.

After the third or fourth prod he realized what she wanted and fished out his comm, hitting the power button.

"Ok, its off."

"No 'Ware here."

His body still was complaining as he started to stretch out slowly letting his mucles warm up slowly and waiting for the endorphins to kick in so he could think straight.

"So what exactly are we having problems with now?"

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:00:50
Sledge
PAN - Off

Sledge leaned in to keep her face close to the trog as he stretched his considerable mass. "Got commcall from unknown talking about us and plans."

She carefully held out her hand palm out and spread her fingers. "That's how many have my codes."

Sledge stepped back to give Rocky more room and paced to the side.

"Running dark since dinner. Bad date, really bad date." ... jimmy...

...breathe ...

"Spoofing. Switching subscriptions. Keep team in loop only. No Angel, no Cerb."

...breathe ...

"Cycle commcodes, notify team comms only, all others trix drop box, anonymizers, shadow nodes, I call you, don't call me routine."

...breathe ...

Sledge stopped and stared straight at Rocky's face, "So how did I get a commcall?"

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 05:01:04
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Off

It was a challenge for Rocky to keep up with exactly what Sledge was talking about at first, but by the time she got to the point of asking him how she got a comm call, he had the basics of it.

"How the frak should I know?"

Rocky stopped his stretching for a moment and looked straight at her as he continued.

"Look, I know the basics, I make calls, I send text and do a few searches, thats IT. I don't know jack about any thing else, why do you think my comm has been in hidden mode for the last week?"

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:01:15
Sledge
PAN - Off

"Skraa zakhan."

... breathe...

Sledge bared her tusks in a harsh grin, "Garage owners not going to risk losing money maker. No one here take risk with own skin. Not where I can reach them."

She stood up straight and turned to face the exit, "Gotta go out and keep moving, make some calls from public access."

"Coming?", she queried as she started making her way out onto the streets.

Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 05:01:29
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Off

"Sure, not like I'm getting any more sleep untill this is figured out anyways. Gotta grab some gear."

Rocky was not really interested in wandering around in the dark, but he didn't have a better plan at this point. He made sure his pistol was in its holster and slipped his coat back on. Going back to the van he grabbed his duffle and pulled out a handful of ammo for the pistol, his respirator and glasses.

With his gear ready, shoved in radom pockets of the coat, he continued to stretch as he followed the crazy ork out in to the night.

"So where we going first? I could use some chow."

Outside Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:01:50
Sledge
PAN - Off

She looked out in the streets, and stepped out. Nothing happened. Hunching her jacket collar up she randomly picked a direction and started walking.

"Good idea. Waffles or Noodles? I know a couple places with all night street vendors."

"And lots of soykaf."

this is going to be a long long shift

Outside Eddie's Garage
Saturday 8/23/70 05:02:19
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Off

"Waffles sound good, its morning after all."

Rocky followed Sledge's lead as they walked down the street. Keeping a warry eye out for any one paying to close attention to them. He also did his best to not make eye contact with anyone.

Waffle Iron Mike's
Saturday 8/23/70 ~ 05:23:16
Sledge
PAN - Off

Twenty minutes industrious shuffling along side streets and striking out at the first two spots she tried had landed them at the corner between a fresh fish street market and a municipal road and sewer project. Last time she'd seen this cart Iron Mike has been a teeny bopper UW undergrad elf, today a it was a grizzled taciturn halfer who didn't bat an eye when she manually punched in her account and confirmation codes for the order of stacked waffle cones. He only stared at her for two seconds when she asked to rent the AR glasses. That was about as long as it took for the halfer to verify the previous account transaction. Grunting he pointed at the grimy pair hanging on the umbrella pole. With a nod of thanks she slipped them on while she handed Rocky his mountain of waffles.

With the glasses on Sledge didn't feel half blind anymore as ARO feeds blossomed in her view. Finding the public access manual term was easy. Legacy building codes required them on every block. A few steps later she let her fingers fly over the manual inputs and discovered what she feared.

... vut ...

<<@team:: Comms insecure. Going dark. Respond soonest at matrix board 123H.sd9847.12312mm.1231 to this posting <<ref:123787234123421.23412.dd>> with meeting spot.>>

Shaking her head, Sledge went back to the cart and exchanged the glasses for her order of egg, cheese, onion and chorizo stacked in a waffle cone. She squeezed half the bottle of salsa over it, and looked over at Rocky.

"Hurry up and wait. No direct contact with either of em. So we check every once in a while."

She sniffed, and winced at the smell, "Might as well hang at the fish market."

Waffle Iron Mike's
Saturday 8/23/70 05:25:17
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Off

The first half of the walk Rocky thought he was going to die as his muscles screamed bloody murder, and his body went from freezing cold to sweating like a dog in a span of 30 seconds.

By the time they found a vendor that Sledge was happy with he was starting to feel a little better and had developed a serious appetit.

He took the offered waffles as he thanked Sledge, "I got lunch or dinner, which ever we get the chance to eat next."

He was already working on his food when Sledge walked over and gave him the bad news.

"Where ever works for me."

Rocky continued to eat as they walked over to the market and found a spot out of the way to wait to see what happened next.

The market was slowly getting buissier as the catch from yesterdays fishing, what little of it could be done was brought in and displayed for the buyers from the local resturants. Of course those had to be resturants that had clients that could affoard real food and not just flavored soy.

Stuffer Pizza Diner, Des Moines, Tacoma
Saturday 8/23/70 05:30:06
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato's alarm played across his face as the disembodied voice spoke the passphrase behind him. Regaining his composure he turned slowly and said: "You said face to face, not face to machine. Deal's off." He wheeled and began to walk opposite direction down the alley while mustering his spirits in the area.

A niggling suspicion had crept into the back of his mind that this wasn't as bad as he had worried it was going to be; Necrosis was only interested in him and would have had a chance to wipe him quietly in the alley. The question was, who else would be looking for his number?

Hotel Suite
Saturday 8/23/70 05:31:22
ERROR 1406
PAN - Passive

"Both faces are present, just not in the expected manner," The holograph face says, following Fortunato. "The proposition is simple- all publicly available information about you on the Matrix, there is a surprising amount, will be wiped in exchange for putting in a good word with your Johnson. Think about it. Will talk to the Johnson later this afternoon, so if the deal is accepted, talk to the Johnson before then." With that, the hologram flicked out of existence. ERROR began guiding the drone back to the hotel. All in all, his attempts have mostly resulted in near complete failure. What was apparent, is that this is not a normal runner team. Fortunato was certainly hiding from something, and he was pretty sure the others had hiding demons as well. A strong fear response. ERROR wonders idly why he is still considering the job. Scared amateurs, but their plans looked solid enough. ERROR had to admit he was curious, moreso because Rebecka personally asked for his involvement. If he had known of what the team consisted earlier, he would have not become involved. But now he was. He had their complete plans, and he had not bothered to erase the evidence of his intrusion. He knew their plans, and they knew he knew. He could still disappear, but he did not want someone else looking over his shoulder. Which means he needs to prove himself acceptable to this group, least they conclude it would be easier to write him off. They were scared, they might. If he could not do so through words, ERROR 1406 would do so through overwhelming merit. He started to review the data for the run, seeing what he could improve upon.

Stuffer Pizza Diner, Des Moines, Tacoma
Saturday 8/23/70 05:30:06
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Passive (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato's thoughts rapidly fanned out, drawing in all of the spirits he had in the area. A very small physical thing is shining bright lights behind me. Soon the lights will turn out and it will start moving. All of you should follow it and report back to me about where it goes.

"I assure you that your deal will cross my mind." Fortunato said grimly.

He hailed a cab with his hand, paid the driver in cash and drove near his home then walked the rest of the way. As soon as he entered his ward, he slipped into astral space.

Hotel Suite, Astral Plane
Saturday 8/23/70 05:30:06
Astrally Projecting

Fortuanto watched ERROR's form stir from VR induced coma. The mage had been studying his target's aura which seemed to be trying to tear itself apart as if being stuck in one body was far too few.

The technomancer woke up and started as the faintly glowing, spectral form in his living room became apparent.

Fortunato was beaming inside ... he felt in control of himself, cool, collected and like he knew what he was doing. He felt the way Babe Ruth felt pointing at the outfield, for much the same reasons.

"Listen you little shit. You dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night to a dishonest meeting to threaten me with material that I know is mostly not there. Now I don't know for sure who sent you, but I like the idea of having my trail wiped. You clean up after me and I'll put in a good word for you amidst the storm of warnings about allowing a stranger to get close to us."

The room glowed a faint red as anger radiated off the mage.

"But know this, if I so much as have trouble turning on my commlink in the morning, if I ever even suspect that my computer is to blame for a work related problem, then this ... "

The ghost snapped his fingers and a shining snake with venom dripping from rows of oddly sharklike teeth slithered through a hole in the floor, coiling around ERROR's perch.

" ... is going to find you and eat you slowly. It will eat your fingers and your toes, it will chew out your eyes through the flickering contraption you're wearing and, for irony's sake, it will chew it's way up your fucking digestive tract. And you'd better pray that it's done by the time I catch up to you, because I've seen the core of your fluttering, confused soul and I will anchor it into your body with a fucking nailgun. Do I make myself clear?"

Hotel Suite
Saturday 8/23/70 05:33:00
ERROR 1406
PAN - Passive

ERROR raises his right arm slightly and holo projector in the cuff of his FFBA flashes out and blots out the illusions. A loose cut out exists around the man.
"Excessively clear" ERROR says simply, maintaining the runner's calm he has cultivated. Keeping the facade together, he adds "If there is nothing further, I will start trashing the data now." ERROR is confused about what would elicit such a response. Has he not acted as a professional runner should? Has he not BEEN a professional runner? Empirical data forces two probabilities. 1) He is grossly mistaken how to become how a professional runner should behave, or 2) these are not typical professional runners. The Johnson alluded to as much, with his painful, confusing, probing questions. ERROR was becoming unsure of who-to-be. Perhaps this is why, as the man began to fade, ERROR gave an interjection.
"The intent was not to threaten, just to offer. The words are.... the choice of words are bad." Before ERROR can get a response from the man, he dropped back into full VR and began to revisit the information rich sites.

Seattle Bus Station
Saturday 8/23/70 12:34:00
Smith
PAN - Offline

Smith woke up rather late the next day, but still hadn't gotten enough sleep. He took a half-hour to get himself cleaned up and dressed before heading out. He took a bus to the central station before turning on his "work" commlink - spoofing a new access ID, getting a handful of messages, both from Nym and from panicked members of his team. He wasn't happy about the fact that they seemed spooked, but was relieved that he didn't find 3 formal recommendations waiting for him, either.

He didn't spend a lot of time going through them, but it was pretty clear that they thought their comms were compromised, and that it was possible Fortunato was going to bail due to "personal issues". He responded, quickly, with a meeting place - posting on the matrix node Sledge provided. He needed to get everyone together to calm them down - or see just how much of a problem Error had become, overnight.

<<Crazy night. Tonight could be crazier. Let's go over the details at the Diner we ate at on Tuesday - near the clinic. Reply if you can't find it. - J>>

He then turned his own commlink's wireless capability off, instructing his agent to begin a thorough scan. If Error's plan involved compromising the rest of the team's commlinks to make friends, there was a good chance that that twisted logic lead to his own commlink, as well. At the very least, dealing with a new hacker would require stronger encryption. He sat back on his bench while he waited for the next bus heading towards Meredith, and worked on his security while the scan completed.

Fortunato's Doss, Enumclaw, Auburn
Saturday 8/23/70 12:35:06
Fortunato - Support Mage
PAN - Hidden (Contacts, Earbuds, Smartlink)
Astrally Inactive

Fortunato heard his comm. buzz as he was preparing the snake eye for the his ritual. That single animal organ, harvested from a wild snake captured while moulting, cost more than his bed. He set it down carefully and reviewed Johnson's message. He composed a response on his newly minted commlink.

<<@Johnson: Busy with preparations for the evening until late. Sending representative to diner -- tell him what the fuck is going on. Don't disturb me until ~5.>>

A moment's focus produced a watcher which Fortunato carefully instructed to carry messages. He resumed his grim work.

Waffle Iron Mike's
Saturday 8/23/70 06:15:17
Rocky - physical adept
PAN: Off

As they sat waiting for some kind of response to Sledge's message Rocky started to nod off sitting on the bench out side the fish market.

"This sucks, lets go find a coffin motel or something so we can at least get some sleep."

When Sledge didn't argue Rocky got up and looked around, luckly he was able to spot what looked like a sign for a small coffin motel a few blocks from where they were. The walk was quick and while his body complained is was not near as bad as it had been before he ate.

Once at the motel he found a couple larger coffins close together and fed in some cash for each one, "Room's on me. This should cover us till early afternoon."

With a nod, he opened his coffin and climbed in, "Just give the door two double taps when its time to get miving."

When he got ho complaints he closed the door and tried to stretch out so he would be able to climb out on his own when it was time to go.

Paloma Diner, Meredith, Renton
Saturday 8/23/70 13:00:00
Smith
PAN - Offline

Smith hoped online briefly about a block away from the diner - and got a response from Fortunato. It made him feel a lot less bad about not getting around to work until 1 in the afternoon when he saw the 'professional' runner was busy until 5. Smith didn't mind discussing things through a proxy, but Fortunato's spirits tended to be, well, stupid. He hoped nothing important got lost in translation. He took the commlink back offline before getting close - his agent's heavy encryption routing was only around 12% completed, and he would prefer if the meet with his team went "undisturbed," but was a little worried that he had not heard from half of them - and would be unable to field their calls. He would probably have to hop online sporadically to check messages - and just hope his luck held out, and he never stayed on long enough for Error to catch his scent.

He entered the diner, causing an AR bell to ring, which he was unaware of, and smiled at the waitress as he took a seat in one of the booths. He ordered a coffee, and said he would be meeting some friends - a polite way of telling her not to come back until there were some other people here. The fact that his PAN wasn't visible had already told her that he wasn't hear on for the food.

After the waitress brought him his coffee, and left to tend to some other patron, a small voice squeeked out of the seat next to him. "The boss had his commlink ... did I say that right?"

Smith stared at the translucent spirit that was slowly materializing, out of sight between the table and back of the booth. "I... don't know. I mean, I know he has a commlink," Smith offered, in similarly hushed tones - looking confused.

The spirit continued, "...was compromised by an 'unidentified party'. He said that the person offered him 'matrix services' in exchange for a recommendation to you. He wants you to be careful and not to trust this person, but the person does apparently know how to hack. But the boss said he didn't know much about that stuff. Any rate, if you want to tell him something, tell me or use his new comm. He's not turning on the old one until he knows he's clear."

Smith smiled as the spirit struggled with the larger words - and was impressed that this one seemed a lot more intelligent than some of the previous spirits he had had conversations through. Perhaps this would work out, after all.

"Oh yeah," the spirit added, "and he followed the guy home and threatened to kill him. You should know that. He said that."

Smith laughed out loud, drawing the attention of some of the nearby lunch crowd - but that attention passed almost immediately. People talking to themselves, or laughing at things no one else could see was commonplace with the advent of AR interfaces. It didn't seem to matter that his PAN was (apparently) hidden.

"Okay," Smith told the spirit. "I'll leave him a message on his new comm - when he's not busy, tell him to check it, okay?" He didn't want to overload the spirit with too much to remember, at once - and didn't really trust the naive thing not to interrupt Fortunato before 5. "Feel free to stick around and listen in to what the others have to say, too.... or, whatever."

Smith began typing up a message to Fortunato - getting the whole thing ready before hopping online, using the weakest open wifi signal his commlink could pick up. He stayed online only long enough to fire off the messages, and confirm that he had no new message waiting for him, then dropped off again.

<<@Fortunato:: Nice work. I'm sure your uninvited guest had it coming to him. I'll take your 'recommendation' under advisement, but need to talk to the rest of the team, before making any decisions. As it happens, Angel pulled a Cerberus on us last night - personal stuff - happens to the best of us. I don't blame her, we talked about it, at least. The hacker was her idea for a replacement. I'm disappointed to hear that he chose to hack you instead of just calling you. He's kind of a tool.>>

<<@Fortunato:: So, now that you know we're in need of a tech-spec, which half of your recommendation should I focus on? The fact that he can do the job, or the fact that we can't trust him to only do the job? In short, I need a thumbs up, or a thumbs down. Would you work with this guy, based on what you know about him, or should we start working out a plan to dump him, gently?>>

This is a pain, Smith thought, to himself. Fragging hackers....

While he waited for the others to arrive, Smith considered the information he had so far. Fortunato sounded the most freaked out last night - almost ready to quit - but his 'recommendation', was at least 50% positive. Smith remembered, as he was typing up the message, that Fortunato didn't know that Angel bailed - so he probably didn't realize that his recommendation would carry any weight. Its one thing to acknowledge someone's skill, if they're not someone you have to interact with in any way. It might be another thing, altogether, to agree to work with them, if they rub you the wrong way.

Maybe Sledge or Rocky would have more definitive ideas about the whole thing. he hoped they got his message, and that the meeting place wasn't too cryptic. Smith took a sip of his coffee and settled in for what could be a long wait.