J - 16AUG2070 Thu 1335hrs - Stuffer Shack, St. Avide St, Chalmette

Jeremy! Hey! Molokosos! We go! Kzhna grabs a package of frozen fish-flavored soy patties and tosses them in the cart. Jeremy's talking to his dog, Sasha, asking about the ingredients on a package of sweet cornmeal muffins. It'd taken her months to figure out how to control Sasha from her own commlink; she concentrates, now, and the trodes built into her earpiece beam a message from the commlink strapped to her should to the one in her son's pocket.

I can tell you about this later, Jeremy. Let's catch up with your mom! Sasha gallops goofily up to Kzhna and trots along beside her; Jeremy follows, and they all head up to the checkout line.

We must find you babysitter, Kzhna tells her son idly, unloading items onto the automated cashier.

Got to find a babysitter, mom. Jeremy speaks a bit of Russian, but his English doesn't carry a trace of accent because of the constant speech training Sasha provides.

Must find a babysitter, Kzhna agrees. Come. Stay with Sasha, mommy must make calls. Groceries loaded up into bags--they cost extra, but the Growler's saddlebags could only hold so much.

---

J - 16AUG2070 Thu 1647hrs - Lucky Strike

The Growler growls as Khzna chirps the tires in the lot outside the Lucky Strike. Finding a sitter hadn't been hard, but it'd taken a while--she'd called up Val, up in Seattle, since Val knows so many damn people, and Val had made some calls back down to New Orleans. The fixer had finally called Khzna back about a minute before she was going to strap the bucket seat back onto the Growler and just bring Jeremy with her to the meet. Put him in a booth or something, maybe.

Parking and locking the bike down, Khzna pulls off her helmet and shakes out her short hair. She's wearing a greyish wifebeater tucked into white cargo pants with too many pockets and black dragon designs stitched up and down their length. The cargoes, in turn, are tucked and bloused with military neatness into strapped-up leather boots covered in stainless steel studs and buckles. In AR, the studs, as well as many of the piercings in her ears and eyebrows, glow with a faint blue witchfire that also smokes faintly from the large rings on each finger of both hands.

Hey, balvan! The door guy's checking out some gambler's ass, so J waves to get his attention. I must see Miz Lucky. She knows I come here.

Rayo - On the Road - 13:35

Perception (visual) Check

At the parking lot of Lucky Strike Rayo checks his navigation system and starts finding the nearest shop where he could buy dwarf sized Combat Jackets. He puts the autopilot driving, the whiskies that Roberto and Lucky offered went straight to his head and it's not safe to drive like that, at least at this time of the day.
Freaking NOPS.. also freaking Lucky. Trying to stick her pretty nose to my business. Although Dr. Tell already works for the mob, but I'm not going make him any more trouble. My debt is my debt, and my only.
Rayo remembers the promise he had made to Benny and starts to think that R-rated pics starring Lucky in somebody elses hand doesn't sound so bad anymore..

J - Thursday August 16th - 16:47 - Lucky Strike

The man at the door, wearing a sharp and expensive suit, waves you in, directing you to the bar, where a human latino man in a crisp white button up and red vest is moving towards you. He seems very eager to see you, waving you aover and speaking a bit above the din of hte small casino.

Ms "J"? I am Roberto. Miss Lucky said that you would be coming. This way please.

Roberto leads you past the gaming tables, and a side bar area used for sport betting, into the heart of the Lucky Strike, through a security door, and down a hall. The place certainly is a Family business, as a number of made men can be seen moving about the place. Roberto leads you down a short hall, then raps on a mahogany door, looking up slightly at the top of the door frame.

Miss Lucky, it is Roberto. Miss 'J' is here.

She already knows this of course, but it's important to her that I keep up appearances.

Roberto gives J a wink and a smile as he waits for an answer at the door.

Rayo- Thursday August 16th - 13:35 - On the Road

As Rayo drives, or rather sits at a low boil and lets the auto pilot do the work, something nags at the back of his mind. Something isnt quite...

Wait, how long has that hover truck been there?

Noticing it again , slowly moving in and out of traffic, a small, dark blue Nissan Hovertruck follows Rayo as the van automatically makes a turn. He's sure he saw it a minute ago , infact ... maybe even since the Lucky Strike.

The van turns again, and a few moments later, the hover truck takes the corner as well.

Lucky nods to the AR assistant waiting by the door and stands, buttoning her suit jacket.
When the door opens, the woman known as Lucky Santangelo is standing behind her desk... waiting. She smiles at the woman who enters and indicates a comfortable looking leather chair in front of the desk.
Good evening, Ms. J. Thank you for meeting with me. I am, of course, Lucky Santangelo. Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?

Rayo - On the Road - 13:36

Oh man.. Rayo puts his cars sensors tracking the following car in case it disappers and comes back again. Couple of blocks later Rayo climbs to the drivers seat, makes U-turn at the lights and stops the car to side of the road, but keeps on looking at the sensors what the hovertruck is doing.
Are these the krewe members Lucky warned me about.. or are these guys mobsters?

J - 16AUG2070 Thu 1649hrs - Lucky Strike

Vodka? J asks hopefully, settling herself carefully in the seat. She'd learned to do that after embarrassing herself once by breaking an expensive antique into matchsticks by plopping down in it. This one creaks a bit as it adjusts to supporting someone who weighs as much as a college linebacker. Is jus' 'J', though. Nickname, see? Capitalist pig-dogs have a hard time with my real name, she grins. Especially if they read it first! They see many consonants, then freak the hell out.

Rayo- Thursday August 16th - 13:36 - On the Road

The hovertruck passes by, but a minute later, Rayo spots it up the street a ways, now on his side of the street, and parking.

Rayo - On the Road - 13:40

Oh crap.. crap, crap, crap.. they might even be feds! Okey.. no panic, Rayo-boy. No panic. If they don't have some kind of tracker, I can always shake them. Easy. Should be. Usually.
Rayo talks to himself while he pulls his van back to the traffic. Two turns right and Rayo starts finding a proper place for his distraction. Rayo plans to check who the guys behind him are by taking a turn right before a parking lot with good view to other side of the road, slows down, jumps out of the van, hides in the crowd and let's his van to autopilot itself to parking lot. Then just to wait in a cafe other side of the road if somebody is going to check if there's somebody in his van. That's the Plan A. Plan B initiates if somebody notices that he's eating donughts and drinking spiked latte.

Sometimes it's just better to be a dwarf than a troll. Like when you try to hide in the crowd.

Rayo - Infiltration test +2

Luigi

As Luigi walks out of the gym, heading towards his van, he sees a black '64 Charger he'd been admiring on the way in. Now the car is still sitting in the gas station parking lot across the street from the gym, two hours later.

Infiltration Test

Interestin', don't recognise dose boise. Different Family? Betta keep da eyes on dem.

Settling into the van and setting the autonav to a nearby drive thru' Stuffer he tries to keep an eye on the car as the van moves off through the traffic. Especially as he picks up the troll sized burger meal and pulls back out onto the road.

Perception check

Rayo- Thursday August 16th - 13:40 - coffee shop on the street

Rayo sees his van pull in to a near by parking lot, and the hover truck pull to a stop at a curb, within view of his van.

Luigi - Thursday August 16th - Nuke ' Em Burger Drive Thru

As Luigi pulls out back on to the road , he again sees the charger, about a block back, slowly moving through the light traffic behind him.

'J' - Thursday August 16th - The Lucky Strike/Office

Lucky sits back for a moment, grinning in her chair. She gets up and pours J a double out of a chilled botle of Schtolynaya, then hands it to the woman, and returns to her seat. Her face is all business now.

I need some work from someone I can trust. Mancuso says you've been in the area for a while, but moved from Seattle? I'm the same, so I think we may at least be getting off on the right foot.

The work I have is very important to Miriam and Julian, and has to be ket very quiet. I've been working on taking care of a situation involving a local krewe, and and out of town Family muscling in. It has to be taken care of quickly and preferabbly quietly, but I hear that they're bringing in some hired guns. Shadowrunners. You have a reputation as a woman who can handle her self, and I need another gun. Are you interested?

J - 16AUG2070 Thu 1649hrs - Lucky Strike

Spasibo. J sips her drink because that will make it look like she's giving some thought to the proposal. Good vodka--and this stuff's not bad--hits hard, goes down like a splash of lava. J doesn't appear to notice that there's a caustic, poisonous liquid sliding down her throat.

I can do this, she nods after what she figures is an appropriate amount of time thinking about it. Make them disappear, yes? Nobody know what become of them, they just are gone? This is what you mean by "quiet"?

'J' - Thursday August 16th - 16:50-The Lucky Strike/Office

Well, you know how Le Grande Dame de Morte works. 'Quiet' is a relative term.

She wants everyone in the deal killed, but they can't know we're working against them until we strike, and they can't know who especially. No survivors.

One of our Captains, Vince Spinelli, came over from this other Family afew years back. He brought a few good men with him. Men you've probably worked with before. If Vince found out that we'd gunned down some of his potential relatives, it could be problematic.

Our job is to break up the deal, deal with the people involved, take the merchadise and the cash, and leave behind a few extra bodies. I've been told a few people from a rival krewe would do.

For tonight, you and I, and perhaps Luigi, will be visiting a woman who could be potentially helpful in finding exactly where this deal will be going down. She's also potentially hostile, so I need people at my back incase things go sour.

You should know Luigi. He's the only minotaur in a three piece suit in the area.

Assuming things go well tonight, and I like your style, you'll be in for the big show later on. Which, of course, means a percentage for you.


Lucky sits back, steepling her fingers, waiting and weighing J.

Luigi - Thursday August 16th - Nuke ' Em Burger Drive Thru

Definately followin' me. and glancing at the card Lucky handed him with some regret he tucks it away again Well dat luxury iz out der window fer now. Need ta protect both me and dem, 'specially if dis is der NOPS.... odd choise ov car fer dem dough. Betta warn Rayo if dey followin' me, an' it's a Krewe, den dey might well be followin' 'im too.... Probably outta be warnin' Ms.Santangelo as dey prolly picked us up at der Strike but lessee if wese can't sort it first wid out worryin' 'er pretty lil 'ead.

Tapping a quick message into AR he sends it winging to Rayo

Got a suspicious tail, watch your six - L

Setting a new destination into the autonav and telling it to drop him off a couple of blocks from home. He sits back to try and keep an eye on the tail.

-------

Stepping out of the van onto the sidewalk Luigi straights up and stretches before activating the autonav to take a looping route around for a while before coming to the garage at his flat. And as it pulls away he starts a leisurely walk down the street vaguely heading home, trying to keep a relatively covert eye on the Charger and looking for a good place to go and have a talk with the occupants.

Rayo - Pop's Coffee and Doughnuts

Rayo keeps looking at the hovertruck waiting at the street from his shady near window table, holding a strawberry crusted soy-doughnut and ordering a new cup of soy-latte. Now he wishes he would taken the irish bar next door. Soon his arm vibrates as Luigi's message finds it's way.
So. Is Krewe this bad or are they just trying to make us feel jumpy?
Rayo takes a bit and sends the message back.
I got one too. Trying to lose it. Hope they don't tap and locate us. - R
No hurry to anywhere, Rayo keeps on sitting and watching what happens next.

Luigi - Thursday August 16th - 14:00 - On the Street

2 Perception tests -2 -

Rayo - Thursday August 16th - 14:00 -The Caf-e

Watching for twenty minutes or so, slowly munching away and adding to your waist line, the hover truck doesn't move, and no one steps out. Soon another vehicle pulls up, an old sedan, and sits along the curb, still idling. After five minutes , no one gets out of the vehicle. Soon after however, it slowly pulls away, and heads around the corner.

Roll Intuition

Perception Checks