Eleanor kneels near the body and leans toward it, her eyes closed but her head moving as if she were studying every detail.

Suddenly, she sits up "Holy Frag!" Waiving off her teammates with a motion of her hand she continues: "Sorry. There's nothing left on the body, just a few remnants of a fading aura, just enough to make me realize I know this guy. He was a psych professor, and mundane, but he was very interested in the psychology of magic. I had a class with him back when I was struggling with magic and spending a little too much time in the social life; I wish I had paid more attention. I'll have to contact my old initiation mentor, maybe he knows something about Dr. Brigg's research. If he's willing to talk, I'll see if I can bring you in too, Casey."

Eleanor continues her magical investigation of the room, arriving finally at the windows. Again her yes go wide, but this time she motions for her teammates to come closer. "I'm picking up faint traces of a signature, here. It's barely susceptible, but an image of a black bird keeps entering my mind. On a hunch, I'd say it's a crow shaman. Walker, you think you can have Sharp take a look at it, see if he can get a better read? Somebody needs to check outside for signs of physical entry, too. I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to look for."

"I think that's the best I can do here, which means I'm ready to go talk to Kalanay when you are, Casey.

Bang smiles at the voice of his old bud. <Hoiya Slaughter, I ain' ta bad aside from bein' wet> Ducking into the Stuffer shack to avoid the omnipresent rain, he smiles his best "friendly troll smile" at the clerk. The clerk shudders at the display of teeth. Getting a good look at the Ork, Bang notices his friend's eyes are bloodshot and bleary <Geez Slaught watchya been doin chippin all night 'gain> <What's it to you copper?> <Yup yah been ridin da wire, look chummer I needa axe sum questions then I'll git outa yer hair, kay> <Kay> <Yah know if dere's bin any biz involvin a dude named ... aww drek, gimme a sec willya> Scrolling through his comm log Bang quickly locates the name of the deceased. <Dr. Briggs dude had some head ware, worked fer da U-Dub and now 'es bin geeked. Oh an Slaught I need yah ta keep dis on da down low, kay?> <Alright yah lump of soy-bacon, I'll check, but it'll cost you.> <Da usual, haf now, haf when yah finish, right?> <No. Three quarters now, to keep it quiet, the rest later, when I finish.> After agreeing to a price Bang transfers the requested sum to Slaughter, agrees to the Ork's time frame to gather the intel, chats for a bit and finishes his call.

Wat ta do now he muses. Glancing down at the hand holding the cigarette butt he tries to think, closing his eyes he remembers the second half of his "Ev-i-dence" song. But of dis yah mus be shure dat de ev-i-dence is se-cure. Drek, I needz ta bag it. Scanning the Stuffer shacks shelves he locates the plastic baggies, choosing the one in a blue and green box that says "Guarentees Freshness" he grabs a box and makes his way to the cash. On his way there the familiar odor of food grabs his attention, his stomach rumbles deeply. Drek no wondah I've bin so slow, it'z bin awhile since lunch. Bettah see if any-body else iz hungy. Grabbing his comm again he sends a brief message to the team <Guyz could any one else uze a snack, itz on me> Grabbing himself a Extra Large Stuffer Kaf with lots of cream and a Double Stuft Soyritto and the rest of the teams snacks he heads for the cash. Bettah see if dis guy'z seen anyting he thinks. Placing his purchases on the counter he looks at the clerk, "Yah seen any ting weird taday" Bracing his massive frame on the counter he makes certain that the only thing the clerk can see is him. "And I dun't mean jest me" "Also yah no any one who smoks deez" and shows the clerk the butt. "Do yah no doz kidz who wer in fronta da shack awhile ago" After recieving the answers to his questions and paying for his purchases Bang gathers up the assorted items and heads for the door. "One more ting, chummer if yah see any one else wearin dis" he thumps his Firewatch patch with a thumb "Be nice ta dem, dey ain't all az pleazant az me." Grinning at the clerk again he exits the store.

<Sure, Bang, you think you can bring me a soylatte and a diet soda? One's for our guest Miss Kalanay. [b]Casey[/b} and I are headed up there, and we'll need you close by..

Eleanor waits for Casey and Bang and then proceeds to the officer where Kalanay is located.

"Hi, you must be Miss. Kalanay. I'm Eleanor Hartford, class of '68, and '69. I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, and I want you to know I'm going to do everything I can to find whoever was responsible. This is my friend, Casey. Even if procedure didn't require her to be here, I'd have asked her. We brought a latte and diet if your thirsty, and if there is anything else you need I can send a runner to the store across the street. Are you ready to give a statement?"

Eleanor walks through the motions, taking the statement, comforting Kalanay, and asking questions. She watches Kalanay's aura the entire time, taking her clues from the emotions she sees there and letting Casey focus on Kalanay's responses for any deeper meaning.


She asks Kalanay how she found the body, what they've been studying in class, if she knows of anything Dr. Briggs was working on outside of class, if she knows any students that seemed hostile to Dr. Briggs, if he worked with any students outside of class, and any questions Casey directs her to ask.

Casey, scenting the chemicals in the sink, takes a moment, sniffing one more time, reviewing all those times she's had to bleach her whites for a mission. Bleach? Or Ammonia? Ahh, there we are! Why'd they choose that particular chemical? And why even bother? Smart move, yes, but telling in itself.

She takes another moment to note the disposition of the blood footprints, then moves to the window, checking out the scuff in as much detail as she can without falling out the window.

<<Method of entry nigh confirmed. Almost certainly not expected guests. But little in the way of a defensive response, not good.>>

Observing her teammates as spirits are directed to observe the scuff marks, she nods. That may be important for later.

<<Tolstov, Casey. Can you arrange to route a file over to the coroner and the CSIs for me?>> She attaches the following file:

Priority Request
Request Origin: 131823
CC: Firewatch Mantis Charley
Request attention and report soonest on following elements of scene:

• Chemical Composition and Origin of Tag 3 (Sink Blood Cleaner)
• Hunt for original container of chemical re Tag 3
• Resident purchase records for chemical re Tag 3
• Make, brand, size, and anomalies for tags 8 through 14 (Blood Footprints)
• Fingerprinting of sub-sites Echo and Kilo (Sink and Window)
• Sampling and recording of Tag 17 (Scuff marks outside window)
• Victim Blood Workup, focusing on presence of non-alcohol based soporifics.

Forward results to Mantis Charley with appreciation.


A brief attachment to the file states simply.
Sorry for the list! Thanks for the help - it'll clear up a lot! -Casey

She then puts out another comm.
<<Charley, Casey here. Be on lookout for two or more suspects, profiles attached. Adjust filters to highlight matches for given footprints. Suspects footwear may still indicate evidence of presence on the scene. One or more suspect may be injured. Be forewarned, suspects are armed and dangerous, and may have mind-altering magics available. Keep it cool, Charley!>>

Another channel switch, another message.
<<Haeffner, your three marks are likely suspects based on reported behaviours. Keep it up. Good eyes on that one.>>

Moving towards the scene with Owl Eyes, Casey receives the comm from Bang.

<<Sorry big guy, I got my fill earlier. Maybe next time?>>

At which point, she turns to Ellie, "Actually, I wouldn't mind at all. Would have been nice to do it outside of business though, but I can't have everything, can I?" It's clear that she's still in keeping with her Casey Evans persona, though you can see her interacting with her comm.

<<Walker, Bang, have either of you managed to pull the video from the Stuffer Shack across the way yet? Given method of entry, it's the most probable source of intel. Any troubles let me know, and I'll pull a 'good cop' on the operator.>>

As the interview with Kalany begins, Casey flashes her disarming smile at the other woman. When Ellie introduces her, she grins again, saying "Hoi! Casey Evans at your service. Sorry about all the questions, but Ellie's hoping you can help us out. We want to find this one really quick, so you don't have to worry too much.".

Owl Eyes, however, hears quite a bit of running commentary.

<<There, that should ease her a bit. Plus it'll keep her focus on you, and odds are real low she'll catch my sub-vocs. Good job with the handshake - not too firm, not too weak. And you pulled your palms up just right - didn't want her catching the calluses from firing practice.

<<Watch how she moves, keep your eyes meeting hers. It shows you're interested in what she's saying above all else, and that'll engender trust pretty quick. As she moves, shift your own body to mirror her stance - it'll encourage empathy... good!

<<We've got a couple of landmines to avoid, so it'll be fun, this. Keep it conversational, and flow from one topic to the next, as if you're just asking the most natural question in response to what she's said.

<<We're going to need a class list for the class Briggs missed, and what time it was, as well as the subject. I'm hoping it's a small class so she'll know all of them. With that, we'll want to know who she spoke to about finding Briggs.

<<Ooops! Don't forget to smile there. Try to blush a second, as if embarrassed, then bow your head slightly for a half second. Good. Now look her in the eye again, and nod, as if redoubling your effort. Not bad, Ellie - you'll get this down to a science yet!

<<Hmm... she's closing up a bit... time for the disarming tactics... Go ahead and use the smalltalk questions - you know, ask her about her courses here, how far she is into it, what she's taking, what she plans to do after she's done with this degree. That last is actually pertinent, but in context with the others, she won't realize it. When she pulls back again, I'll just cue you to 'disarm'.

<<Going smoothly, Ell. We're going to need more detail about the Doctor, so ask her about her time with him. How well she knew him, what they did together, that kind of thing. Use that as a lead into asking about his research, assuring her that we only need to know so that we can get it back for her. As much detail as you can get about the research.

<<Repeat that word back to her as a question, Ellie - she'll read into it what we need.

<<Looks like we're getting there. Welcome to my world, by the way! Now we need to ask about who else knew about Briggs' research, and who was paying his costs on the project.

<<Now - pull a cop on her - get her to talk about her day in as much detail as possible. That'll get her thinking, and give us a better witness report. Plus it'll point out any holes in her story, and give us places to check her alibi against.

<<Perfect. Now, reach towards her hand ... gently. Good! Console her as to the loss of her colleague, and reassure her again that we'll get the one who did this, and make sure her struggles with this day are noted when convicting.

<<Comm her an address, so if she remembers anything else, she can reach us. Ask her if we can speak to her at a later date, and if she could do an introduction or two as the investigation progresses. And that's that! Two steps backward before turning... remind her that she's important - moreso than we are. Got it!

<<Have fun?>> The adept is grinning, though it doesn't reach her eyes this time.

"Let's see what the others have come up with while we were busy, shall we?"

After gently exiting the office, Eleanor walks down the corridor to where Bang should be waiting. Turning the corner, she flings herself against the wall, letting Casey push the button for the elevator.

Allowing herself to breathe heavily for a moment, she looks up at Casey and says "That was exhausting, and you're amazing. I feel like an actress after all those directions. I hope you remember most of the information, because I'm sure I'm too tired to remember it all."

Exiting the Stuffer Shack Bang hustles across the street to Charley team's Citymaster. Opening the door he places the snacks on one of the jump seats. Grabbing the box of baggies he struggles to open it, (not all convenience items are made for troll fingers) finally opening it, he shreds three bags before getting a whole one. Carefully placing the butt in the bag, he places his ev-i-dence in one of his combat webbing pouches. Grabbing the snacks he hustles up the stairs, locating Ellie and Casey just as they start their interview. Knowing that interviews are important, he quietly catches Casey's eye with a nod. After his fellow adept accepts the soylatte and soda, Bang returns to the crime scene.

Standing in the door frame drinking his soy-kaf and munching through the soyritto, a small thought occurs to him. Walker man said sumting about da winda right? An how big was dat hole in da stiff's hed? Calling into the apartment "Walker man, yah still in dere?" If Walker responds Bang asks "Wuz da hole in da stiff's hed smalla er bigga den ma hand?" He holds up a paw for Walker to compare. Recieving his answer, Bang responds to any questions Walker has by saying "I'm tinkin dat dey jest tore da ware outta 'is hed" If no one is in the apartment Bang uses his comm to voice his questions. After answering his questions Bang once more opens a commline <Hey guyz Ima goin ta check unda da winda fer ev-i-dence.> <Walker man yah wanna go cross da street, an talk ta dat Stuffr Shak guy, I tink he mighta bin lyin ta me> <An kin yah get da cam tape while yah dere?>

Spotting Ellie and Casey on their way out of the interview he smiles and greets them. "Yah guyz wanna hep me look fer ev-i-dence unda da winda?"

Walker is outside the window crouched over the prints. Hovering around 10cm above ground.

When Bang asks him about the size of the hole, he replies "I think his entire head is smaller then that. Why?"

When Bang asks him to go see if the rastaman is lying, he looks at him for a few moments and says: "Why not. I'm finished here anyway. I think the prints go both ways, but I didn't see wet footprints inside.. How long has it been raining?"

Walker: Gimme a hand here Sharp - the trog thinks the clerk was lying and I could use some help checking if he's right.

When they get to the Stuffer Shack, he walks towards the clerk, levitating something baked (my vocabulary fails me and I don't want to get a donut..) to the register ensuring that the clerk sees it. He flashes a badge and says "I'm gonna need the surveilance tapes for the last couple of days."

After he gets the tapes (or whatever they are called in 2070..) and pays for his snack:

"My teammate here thinks you weren't totally honest with him about not seeing anyone so let me intruduce you to Sharp *who materialises next to him trying to back him into a corner*. He and I are going to see if we can verify that. So: Have you seen anything strange at the building across the street? Remember that witholding evidence is a crime."

@ Bang:

Walker uploads the footage and watches it from the comlink when Tolstov has the change to look it over. Waiting outside standing in the rain scanning the surrounding buildings for a camera.

<<Tolstov, Walker: See if you can track the bulldog on gridguide. Team, Walker: The clerk told me that the kids are gangers. The gangers in the area would most likely have noticed something like this. Lets go have a word with them. Haeffner - where are they?>>

Still seeming unaffected by the rain, he walks slowly toward the citymaster continuing his camera search.

Casey with Owl Eyes in the elevator.

While Casey takes a moment to press the elevator's button, she avoids an immediate response to Ellie's comments.

The two women step into the elevator, Casey crooks a finger to beckon Bang, and once the doors close, it's a completely different story.

Casey seems to take on another posture altogether, seeming to project a sense of relief.

"Why don't I start at the end, Ellie?" Her voice returns to the "baseline" Eleanor and Bang are more familiar with as she says it, the relaxation now pretty clear in her tone. "I have the entire interview memorised, so there's no need to worry on that front... although the Comms do have a record, indirectly, if we need it."

She turns face to face with her colleague, and nods. "You did great. It's exhausting at first, but with practice, a lot can become second nature. My struggle was actually to verbalise it in enough time for you to use it!" Casey pauses a moment to shrug. It's not as if she'd believe that I've been doing this for half my life, one way or another.

"No, I'm afraid it wasn't all that much. We're all Firewatch, which means we're all amazing in our specialties. Mine just happens to be people. Your energy should be restoring itself shortly, but since you're probably an introvert, you may want to take a moment to meditate while elevator's in motion. Me? I'm used to sleepless nights, or as close as can be, when the cause is important." The social adept takes a moment to indulge in a mischevious smile. "You should have seen me in my other jobs, though. Some of those were really fun."

As the elevator doors open, bringing the three Firewatch officers back near the scene of the crime, the Casey Evans persona returns, and Casey seems as bubbly and full of energy as she did during the interview.

"Y'know what worries me, Ellie? That kinda research could bring someone a life again. But I'll bet the one's that stole it were only thinking of how it can tear someone apart, and put them back together again in a manner of their choosing. If they did it wrong, they could turn a person into a series of fragmented personalities, each one appropriate to a given task!"

The comms interrupt Casey, who then smiles to Bang.

"Looks like it's a moot point for the moment, Bang. The Coroner's here, and the CSI's shouldn't be far behind. Let's see what they have to say before we take a closer look at that window, hmmm?"

<<Tolstov? Casey here. Might as well send the Coroner up. We're ready for him. Bang, Owl Eyes and I will remain on this floor until he arrives, to hand the scene to him.>>

While they wait, Casey encourages a recap via comms.

<<So, team? What'd we miss while Ellie and I were with Kalany? Any news?>>

Bang listens to Casey for a moment, "Gotchya, let da techies do da woik." He follows the women and waits impatiantly for the coroner. He hums a little tune loudly, if anyone complains he stops. When the coroner arrives he shudders at the sight of the white coated individual. "Now what" he asks as the cononer begins his work. "Ah ta drek wid it I'm gunna check dat winda any way, I'z bored standin herez" He goes downstairs to check the ground under the window.

@ Bang:
As you approach the ground under the window you see that several of the bushes in the small garden directly underneath it have been damaged, as if by someone walking through them. Carefully measuring your steps to avoid damaging any potential evidence you notice several footprints matching those found in the blood upstairs compacted into the dirt. You snap a quick picture of them with the camera in your glasses and flag them for the CSI’s. Bending down further you see a small swatch of black fabric hung up on a broken branch. Making sure your gloves are on you take its picture as well before dropping it into another one of your ziplocks. Jogging back to the citymaster you get some more police tape and cordon off the area.

As you finish cordoning off the garden you see a black SUV pull up and several men and a women wearing CSI jackets get out. Waving at them, two approach your position. When you tell them what you’ve found the man kneels down beside the footprint and turns to the woman standing behind him

“Amanda, you mind running back to the truck and getting some tarps? We need to cover these prints before the rain damages them any more. Good eye… Bang? wasn’t it? Look at the depth of that boot print. I’d say we’re dealing with a good sized ork here, probably weighs about 300 lbs.”

Meanwhile upstairs the coroner slowly approaches the body and begins walking in circles around it.

“Begin Recording April 16th 2070 20:10. Subject is a human male, Caucasian, approximately 55 years of age. Head shaved, large wound to the left lobe of the skull, approximately 4 cm by 4 cm, skull has been removed. Appears to be… post mortem. Extensive trauma to tissue inside the brain cavity. Cuts to the bone appear clean, suggests surgical tools, scorch marks on remaining tissue suggests a laser scalpel.”
He bends over and runs a gloved finger along the inside of the cut. He then opens his briefcase and removes what looks like a long metal tube that he inserts in behind the small of his back after a moment he removes it and gently attempts to move one of his arms, the arm moves but it’s obviously quite stiff.
“Liver Temperature 28.7 degrees Celsius, Rigor mortis is receding, estimated time since death, 17.4 hours to 22.5 hours. Can someone give me a hand rolling him over?”
As the body gets turned over onto his back you see the purpleish stain of blood pools within the body discoloring his exposed skin where it rested against the floor. This is quickly eclipsed by the massive trauma suffered to his chest. Exposed bone and muscle tissue is all that remains of his center torso, that at least explains the massive amount of blood on the floor, even the coroners face ripples in a slight expression of unease at the damage he sees.
“Damage to torso suggests the use of either explosive or flechette rounds from a large caliber handgun fired within 5 feet. Flechettes seem more likely as there was no apparent penetration though the back of the torso. Wound patterns appear to match test firings from an Ares Viper. I don’t suppose any of you collected shell casings did you? It’ll be the only way to tie this to a specific gun.
Without even waiting for a response he continues with his examination.
“No defensive wounds apparent, though open eyes suggest that the subject was awake at the time of death. No other apparent wounds, further examination must be conducted as a part of the autopsy. End Recording.
As he stands up he turns to whoever is present and says
“That’s all it looks like I’ll be able to accomplish here, I’m going to get him out of here and perform a proper autopsy, I’ll have my report for you by noon tommorow.”

At that the corner and his aid carefully load the body onto a gurney and after covering it with a sheet, wheel it from the room.

@ Raleigh: Your drones that have been trailing the kids from the stuffer shack have all begun to converge on a single location. It’s a building located approximately 10 minutes away if you walk straight there rather than the round about rout that the kids took, one of the drones gets a decent look at the sign. It reads The Grindhouse.

@ everyone

@Casey: The Grindhouse vaguely rings a bell. It's a tough low class bar frequented by day laborers coming out of the barrens. You don't think it has any organized crime ties but lots of low lifes and wanna bees hang out there. There is a small street gang that tends to hang out there but you can't remember the name.

Bang smiles at the CSI's compliment. "Hey, techie guy I gotz sumtin else yah might like" he pats his combat webbing until he locates the baggie. "Here yah go" he says as he hands over the cigarette butt. "I find it over dere" He points in the general direction of the Stuffer Shack. If pressed he will walk a tech over to the spot as best as he remembers it. When Casey's comm comes in he reponds to it saying <Good idea Casey, meet yah at da van> He ambles towards the Citymaster.

Casey observes with an eye to detail as the CSIs begin their work, then heads towards the Citymaster, hoping that Ellie will follow.

<<Looks like we've got everything on the scene we're going to for now, team. We've got a single lead we can follow ASAP, and since we're racing the clock, and dealing with some potentially nasty stuff, I'm thinking it best we follow up on it post-haste.

<<I can think of a number of tactical options for the Grindhouse, but I would advise they're probably not going to be too pleased to see any policing agency on their turf. It's a pretty low-class establishment, with a mini-gang to its name. Pretty off the radar.

<<First question we want to answer for ourselves is whether we treat them as witnesses or suspects. Given that some of these folks are gangers, I'm not sure whether there's going to be a difference.

<<Will we go in, kicking in the door and taking names? SWAT for backup? Do we want our infiltrator in there to spot targets for us first, then go in? Other options?

<<Great eye on tracking those kids, Haeffner. It gives us something to do while the CSI team is processing the scene.

<<I'd like to hear your thoughts on the strategy, team.>>

Walker stops scanning for the cameras and gets into the citymaster.

<<I agree we should go check the place out. I hate going anywhere without backup and intel so I think we should get some uniforms for perimeter and SWAT to get there as silently as they can.

Intel is a bit harder. Think you can give us a feed inside Haeffner? Or failing that, do you think you can go take a look Casey? Or do we just do an astral recon? I'd prefer a physical recon since that way we would get a better view of the weapons the people inside have, but I'd rather go in with suprise and astral recon then with them knowing we are coming and physical recon.

I think we should approach on foot before the backup gets here to either keep them in or at least follow the ones that get away.

And I'd say we detain everyone inside and sort it out afterwards.>>

Casey responds quickly to Walker's comm.

<<I can get in. That's easy. Detaining everyone? That'll be harder. We're going to need backup.

<<Tolstov, could you get Captain Holstine on the line and swing us some backup for clearing this den out quickly and quietly? We'll also need a building schematic, so we know which exits to cover. A single squad should do the trick, with a spare vehicle for containing extra witnesses.

<<If we can get Owl Eyes or one of the spirits on Astral Recon, that'll be good - we'll need to identify the Awakened among our subjects. I'm not completely up on all of our personnel files, so I'm not sure if there's a groupspell on our squad that'll make this easier.

<<Once the Astral recon's done, I can go in... just bear with whatever I'll say. I'm going to keep the Comm open, so I hope either Tolstov or Haeffner can keep the link secure. I'll try to 'paint' major threats subvocally.

<<Expect it to be wild when we go in. Bang, I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to need you on the front door, in as close to full gear as we can get in short order. The more folk we can get to surrender, the better in the long run. Sorry about giving you stereotype duty, big guy.

<<We'll have someone, preferably a few someones, covering any other exits we can find. SWAT will back us up beyond that, if the Captain can get them for us.

<<Any other thoughts or different plans before we go in hot and heavy?>>

<<I'll use Sharp for astral recon and Hartford should also take a look. It shouldn't be hard to spot the awakened ones.

I still think we should go in stealthily in case they see the SWAT coming, but then again you know more about the way gang security works so it's your call.

About spells: I don't have anything that would make them surrender, but I DO have something that should make them unconsious. With a flashbang or two and Sharp helping I think I could do it to most of the bar if it isn't very big. Naturally it should be the last resort, but if it seems everybody is armed and armored, it might be worth considering.>>

Walker starts muttering under his breath, digs something from under his jacket, crushes it and throws some dust on himself.

After he does that, he seems more focused, staring intently at the wall with a look of deep consentration.

Haeffner listens to the comm chatter racing back and forth. Wow. When you have a hammmer...

<<Throttle back here, folks. Let me see what I can see first, hey?>>

Orders are issued to the three drones... one sweeps wide around to check for any alley entrances, another remains out front, keeping a lookout for the kids, whose various RFIDs - if any weren't wiped - are catalogued and the third begins to search for an entrance to the place.

Casey smiles, and those in view of her can see a bit of relief colouring her eyes.

<<Better. Much better. Recon first, and we'll decide where to go from there. I hope we can still have some backup on standby, in case the drek hits the fan. Let's hope we don't have to use it.>>

She then directs a personal comm to Haeffner


To the group as a whole, she adds,

<<This is looking good, both for us and for Firewatch. We'll drive the Citymaster within 10 blocks of the Grindhouse, and take positions from there. Bang, how do you feel about throwing a low-life out of the car in disgust? Especially when the low-life is me? Just try to be gentle, while making it look good.

<<Here's what I'm thinking - the Citymaster drives up, and 'your' suspect is released. The suspect runs, eventually finding the Grindhouse. The rest of the team moves with some degree of stealth towards the location, and ready for a signal that I hope I don't have to give. A subvocal 'bulldog', I think will do it, in any context.

<<Haeffner, if you could comm me images of the suspected gangers, that would help a bit - give me more to go on. If you could also check to see if they brought weapons into the bar, that would help me out too. Any other security precautions you can identify at the bar would also help.

<<Now if you'll excuse me, team, I think I need to get changed.>>

<<I think it's better if I jump out invisible too. Anyone wanna join me?

And I know you have more experience in undercover work, but why are you using one of the things you are going to get info of as a codeword?>>

Casey looks puzzled to those who see her, as long moments of silence run through the comms. Her eyes lose focus for a few seconds, then she slaps her forehead, which echoes lightly in the transmission.

You'd figure with all that's going on, I'd keep that one detail stuck in my head. Serves me right for paying a little less attention to vehicles. But here I was, focusing on the people. Rookie mistake, Casey! Remember you're not working solo anymore, and keep it together!

<<Aw, frag it. The GMC just had to be a 'Bulldog', didn't it? Fine. 'Terrier' it is, then. But only subvocal, got it?>>

<<Got it. We'll kick down the door the instant you subvocalise that. I'll get Sharp to materialise next to you then too.>>

Anyone walking by Charley teams Citymaster notices Bang leaning against it. He quietly listens to the comm chatter of his teammates. He smiles whenever his name is mentioned, and pays careful attention when Casey suggests his role in the upcoming raid. He frowns at Casey's sugestion that he shove her around. When the human woman arrives at the van, he stops her with a look. "Yah shure yah wan me ta shove yah outa da van, I dun't wanna hurchya." As Casey tries to reassure him he looks pained. When the adept finishes he responds by saying "Alright den, jest make shure yah roll when yah hitz da groun' it'll take somma da fall" He begins to get into his full armour, asking Casey to help with some of the more difficult spots. "Da code was "terrier" rite?" He asks concernedly. When Casey nods affirmitively, he closes his eyes and mumbles for a bit. Casey can see his lips forming the word "terrier" over and over. "Kay, I gotz it, you sub voc dat an' I'll be dere inna secon. Holla my name if yah needz any hep in dere." As he finishes with his armour, another thought seems to occur to the troll. Placing a meaty paw gently on Casey's shoulder, his voice lowers in concern and there almost appears to be fear on his craggy face. He bends down to look in her eyes "One ting yah gotta re-mem-ber dese kinda folks hate cops, wez jest like bugz ta dem, dun't let em know dat yer any ting bud one more ganger er de'll geek yah" He lifts his hand away from the adept's shoulder. "An we don wanna lose yah" he concludes. When the rest of team arrives at the van he asks "We redy ta roll, er are we waitin ona warr-ent."

<<All right. Casey, drones are in position, ready to tail you in.>>

Haeffner shakes her head. "Man, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that." She looks pointedly at Bang's knobby fists. <<You sure about this?>> She's asking both parties - Bang and Casey.

Walker notices Bang gearing up and starts to put his armor on too. He gets it on in record time, picks up his Alpha, some flashbangs and sits back to stare at the wall like he was trying to drill a hole in it.

Casey listens intently while the preparations are being made.

After Bang's speech, she drifts off for an instant, lost in thought, or memory...

It was one of her early jobs, back when she formed her own firm. A one person investigation team, ready against the mean streets of Seattle. The contract was lucrative - she does all the work, Lone Star gets all the credit. Still, it was worth it. At least to her - she survived, of course. HJer job was simple, go in, get descriptions of the gang members, and hand the info over to her employers, along with probably armament present. The previous attempt, the one Lone Star tried, failed miserably when the badge made a cop mistake. And the gang must have had a mole, because they knew the cop the second he walked in. One step forward, he was fine. One step back, he had more holes than a European Cheese.

When Lone Star was done, casualties on both sides neared 75%. They had the manpower to waste. The gang didn't. And Casey was several thousand nuyen richer, despite her warnings to her employer. That was one of the early nails in Lone Star's Coffin. The coffin that helped Firewatch look at taking over the security for Seattle. Oh, but what a lesson, and so early in her career.

As Casey finishes her "costuming", significant changes are readily noticable. Her hair appears much shorter, and very poorly tended. A slight slouch appears in her posture, and her eyes and face take on that weathered look of someone who's spent too many nights sleeping in the open air. As she finishes, it's clear that the team's infiltrator isn't going in as a woman 'Runner, but as an "experienced" man, living as best he can off the roughness of the streets. As Casey emerges from her memories, her eyes begin to blend in with the man's attitude, a worn and weary look.

"Bang, my friend. Do not worry much over me", she says, her voice now very male, and as tired as the appearance she wears. "No-name gangs haven't worried me for many years, and if you will trust me, I know all too well how they deal with security teams." 'His' head shakes a moment.

<<New trigger, and I think this one's best for you, Haeffner. Should my heart rate drop below 30 beats per minute, come in. I'll need medical attention. If you do that, Charley has no need to fear losing a member so soon after its inception.>>

The comm channel changes directionality, seemingly aimed at Haeffner, in response to her words. <<Am I certain? Yes. Am I ready? That is uncertain. But it must be done to make this infiltration work with the least risk.

<<Be at ease, all. I have taken worse wounds than a single push from a friendly troll.>>

With that, 'he' waits, preparing for the response from HQ, along with the answers from astral and drone recons.

Once her drones are in position - one covering the front of the building, one covering the alley and the rear and one prepared to slip in the door at the first opportunity, Haeffner pilots the team's Citymaster to the spot Casey indicated on the team HUD.

<<All right, we're in position. Bang, Casey. Showtime. >>

Haeffner's brow furrows at the now-male-seeming Casey. Man, that's some creepy shit.

When the citymaster approaches the location where Casey is to be thrown out, Walker digs something else from his armor and becomes invisible.

Sharp - Hide me.

Sharp materialises for an instant as an eagle and vanishes again.

I Am the Law
Episode 2, Drinks on the House

Monday April 16, 2070. 21:50 hrs. En route to The Grindhouse

The rain has picked up again as you pile back into the citymaster, the drizzle has turned into a fairly consistent rain. The wipers fly back and forth across the thick armored glass driving back the rain as the citymaster pulls back into traffic for the short drive to The Grindhouse

Tolstov has joined you, he’s sitting rather uncomfortably sandwiched between Bang and Haeffner. As the APC hums along the roadway he says
“Something else you guys might want to keep in mind is that if Casey sees anything illegal going on Cptn. Holstine has a judge on speed dial who is paid well enough to answer calls at odd hours. He’s used to hammering short notice warrants through for Firewatch so we could probably get a warrant in 20 minutes or so if Casey notices anything and records it. Doesn’t matter what really, BTL’s novacoke, prostitution you name it it’ll give us a green light to raid the joint and detain everyone. Oh, and a SWAT team is en-route for backup if we need them. They’ll meet us after we drop Casey off. We’ve also got a MDV* en route too, so unless the place is far more popular than it appears we should be able to handle any suspects we round up, even give them some elbow room”

As the Citymaster turns down the road towards The Grindhouse Casey pulls the rear door open. He winks ever so slightly at Bang and says “Wish me luck” before the trolls meaty paw shoves him out the door.

@Casey: Your roll was less than perfect, and it wasn't helped by a somewhat akward push from Bang so when you hit the ground, the side of your head smacked the concrete and a kaleidoscope of bright lights flash across your vision for a moment while you instinctively jab your tongue around your mouth checking for blood or loose teeth. Pulling yourself up onto your hands and knees you shake your head to clear the ringing from your ears which is when you notice the voice coming from above you.

“Now, dere’s sometin you don see all da time… you OK?” You feel something poking into your ribs on your right hand side. Turning your head you find yourself looking up at an Ork dressed in jeans and a leather jacket with a do-rag tied around his head staring down at you. As your eyes follow his arm you see a club of some kind, clenched in his scarred knuckles, the tip is what you feel poking into your side. For some strange reason your eyes are drawn to the rivulets of water running down the clubs smooth surface as it presses against your back. As your eyes move back towards the Ork you see his head is cocked, rather like a dog and a look of bemused confusion reigns across his face. “Care to splain why you jus flew outa da back of some Eh Pee See driven through mah hood like a bat outa hell?” At least the Ork doesn’t look terribly hostile; curiosity seems to be warring with the instinctive wariness of a born urban preadator, and for the moment at least, it looks like curiosity is winning.

*

Casey grimaces as 'he' lands headfirst. Gotta work on that... far from my best landing.

Then the adept, disguised inside, out, and astrally, takes note of the ork catching 'him' flat-footed. Ah, well, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy... so let's go on with the show! The heart rate monitors that Tolstov was asked to observe so a spike in rate, but it doesn't seem consistent with fear... more like excitement.

To the eyes of the Ork, the 'man' scuttles away from the weapon, eyes wide in abject terror.

"Gahh! Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" 'he' cries out. With the wariness of one whose lived off the streets by cobbling together all 'he' could get, 'he' evaluates the Ork, realizing the meta isn't going to immediately threaten 'him'.

With a few more moments to regain 'his' bearings, the victim's eyes go from abject terror at the Ork, to the shifting gaze of generalized fear.

"You're not going to hurt me?" 'He' seems relieved, but only slightly. When asked to explain, 'his' response is still more flight than fight. "Fragin' Star man... Jes came outta nowhere, picked me up, and started jabbin' clubs inta my fraggin' hide. Tellin' me to 'fess up', and 'where's the paydata,' and all high'n'mighty. Said they knew I took somethin', and should just give it back... I swear! It wasn' me! I was jes at the Stuffer, man, I didn' do anythin'! 'He' continues along these lines for a few moments, until the ork prods him to keep going.

"Didn' even know the Star did torture in their cars... I mean, what the drek! They hadda be the Star! So when they get bored with me, boss man says 'We're done. He's all yours.', and the troll looks at me all happy-like, and I'm gettin' ready to bite it. He pushes too hard, and WHAM! Out the door I am."

As another vehicle drives by, the 'man' jumps again.

"Frak! Gotta keep runnin'. They'll be back, yessir. Gotta go somewhere even Star-man won't go. Can't stay. Nosir. Can't."

Attempting to get up, the 'man' furtively watches the ork with 'his' every move, and pleads for mercy from the big meta.

"Can I go? Please? Now-like?"

Walker jumps out as soon as the door opens, heads for some cover and then starts sneaking after Casey when she lands. He keeps the ork in his sights until it seems Casey has things under control.

So far so good..

<<Do you want an astral look of the Grindhouse before you go in Casey?>>

Casey is a little slow to respond to Walker, her attention focused mostly on the job at hand. When she gets a moment to send a note, however, the team gets to hear.

<<Definitely. The more I know going in, the better. If there are lots of Awakened, I may have to turn off my focus... don't want the telltale giving me away completely, ne?>>

<<Hoy, Tolstov! I hope the spoof is holding? Don't want the wrong datatracks getting out.>>

Sitting in the Citymaster Bang shakes his massive head. 'Hu I new she coud do dat, but itz still a s'prise ta see it' he thinks as Casey completes her transformation. He shifts in his seat trying to find a comfy spot. When the team arrives he stands and gently grips the new Casey man's shoulders. He locks eyes with his fellow adept and Casey hears a sub vocal message directed at hir. <<You redy, Casey? Kay, stay safe. On tree, one.. two.. tree.. >> On three Bang gives Casey a light shove sending the adept spinning to the ground. Bang winces as Casey rolls to a halt. He closes the Citymaster's doors after a beat allowing the now invisable Walker to pass, turning to the remainder of the team he shrugs sheepishly, "I din't wanna hurt er" he remarks. He sits down and starts checking his Alpha. "I hope shez okay" he says absently. He shifts impaitently in his seat listening to his comm and waiting for action.

@Walker:
As you hit the ground you execute a perfect tuck and roll coming up half crouched on your feet. You see Casey’s form being prodded by an ork and hear Casy shouting, he sounds scared. After Casey’s comm. you order Sharp to check out the bar.

You sense Sharp’s ethereal form passing though the wall into The Grindhouse. After a moment, he enters your mind. “Hey boss… the… “Grindhouse” has little activity… boring. Only one awakened… much cyberware, little soul remaining. Most beings intoxicated, aura’s fuzzy… twenty four individuals… no foci, some cyberware, many sad, most indifferent or angry, some both. Individual observing soulless box… trid? very happy… I do not understand, why does the box with no soul give such joy? It is not real… what is not real cannot grant happiness…*

@Casey:
After regarding you for a moment the big ork twirls the bat in his hand and slides it into a sling across his back. He then extends his now empty hand down to you and pulls you to your feet. “Now dat sounds like a helluva story. I’d like to hear da whole ting. Comeon, there’s a bar down da street, I’ll buy ya a beer and ya can tell me wat went down.” Assuming that you follow the Ork he leads you to The Grindhouse.

*

Casey's subvocalized voice sounds somewhat bemused... (and more in line for her standard baseline.

<<Well, this is interesting... and perhaps providential. Ah well, who am I to argue with luck?>>

The adept, at least to visible signs, follows the Ork with quite a bit of fear in 'his' mein. Every car that passes by leaves 'him' cowering, every sound has 'him' searching for the origin of the threat.

As they reach the Grindhouse 'he' asks.

"No-one's going to hurt me in here? Star man ain' gonna find me?"

<<I'd say it's safe to leave the foci on. There is only one awakened inside and he's a burnout.>>

@ Casey:
The Ork pulls open the door to The Grindhouse and follows you inside. You first impression is that this bar is no different than thousands of other dives scattered all over the low end neighborhoods in Seattle. It’s a fairly quiet night, perhaps a dozen patrons are scattered around the battered tables bolted to the floor. Acrid smoke assaults your nostrils as the Ork who has introduced himself as Babe, short for Babe Ruth some baseball player from over a hundred years ago sits down on a stool by the bar. As he sits he pulls a pistol from the waistband of his pants and sets in on the bar near his right hand. You notice that most of the patrons are armed to one degree or another and an old Remington shotgun is hanging on the wall behind the bar with a sign underneath it reading: “This is the BOUNCER! Don’t start shit or he will end it� in large black letters. The bartender appears to be an Amerindian, he’s dressed in jeans and a somewhat ratty T-shirt for a band you’ve never heard of. As Babe leans up against the bar he waves at the bartender to get his attention and says.

“Two shots of your finest firewater chief! I’ll take a beer to wash them down with too.� The bartender give the ork a slightly dirty look and pours two shots out of an unlabeled bottle into the glasses in front of you. As you down the shot it feels like someone has poured liquid flame down your throat, Firewater is certainly an appropriate moniker, though battery acid might be a better one. As you begin to explain how you ended up in the back of a Lone Star APC you take a moment to examine your surroundings in more detail.

A man watching an Urban Brawl game on the trid suddenly lets out a whoop as the Aztechnology Panthers score another goal against the Seattle Stranglers bringing the score to 7-4 in favor of the Panthers.

As your eyes continue to scan the room you see several young men and women gathered about one of the larger tables. They’re dressed in faded jeans and ratty leather jackets. When you look at the back of the one closest to you, you notice that he has a red sword spraypainted onto the back of his jacket. That’s when you remember the name of the gang that calls this block home, The Bloodswords. Strictly small time, they have managed to stay under almost everyone’s radar, a few of their members have rap sheets but always for small time stuff, burglaries, liquor store holdups, and a bit of drug and BTL dealing on the side. They don’t have any ties to the larger underworld that you know of though given Seattle’s gang culture there has to be someone keeping them from getting snapped up by a bigger fish.

Your ARO brings up the pictures of the three young men Haeffner’s drones trailed and after a moment you notice all three wearing Bloodsword colours. It looks like you're in the right place at least.

Unfortunately you still havn’t seen anything that could be used to get a warrant so you excuse yourself and walk to the bathroom to get a better feel for the place. As you walk past The Bloodswords’ table you notice one of them getting up and following you. You keep it cool hoping you don’t blow your cover as you walk towards the restroom. You’re so focused on acting casual it’s almost too late before you realize you’re about to push open the door to the ladies room. You catch yourself in time however and enter the mens.

The restroom is as filthy as the rest of the bar but you none the less turn on the sink and splash some water on your face washing some of the dirt off as you check for bruises. As you’re doing so you hear the door swing shut behind you. A human man wearing Bloodsword colors is standing behind you, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He appears to be unarmed save for a large knife in his belt. A tattoo of a dragon circles his arm and he grins at you showing off several missing teeth.

“I heard some of what you was tellin’ Babe, sounds like ya had a shitty nite. I can hook ya up wit sometin to take the edge off. 50 nuyen, and you’ll be in heaven for the rest o’ the nite. Forget all about the soy-bacon roughen you up.�

Suddenly you hear Tolstov's voice in your ear.
<<BINGO! Take whatever he's offering, that'll get us our warrent. You comfertable sticking around in there till we get it? We shouldn't let those punks out of our sight if we don't have to.>>

Casey mentally chides herself.

What is it with you and rookie mistakes today, Casey? That's number two! You haven't done that in over 5 years! That firewater must be more potent than I thought. I'd better play it real close now, and stay sober as I can get.

As the "Bingo" call comes out, Casey replies promptly on the Subvoc, as she continues with her public persona.

<<Roger, Tolstov. Will stay as close to them as possible. I've still got Walker as backup, we should be able to hold the fort until the dogs arrive, if needed. Make sure that warrant is for this one, and any member of the Bloodswords, under suspicion of complicity.

<<I'll keep you appraised as we go. Keep the spoof solid, Tolstov, as I transmit the nuyen to him. See what you can get from his PAL, too.

<<Well, looks like we'll have home court for the interview. Once you've got the warrant, we'll have to see how we want to handle it - I doubt the Bloodswords will come along quietly. Keep your ears on, folks, and your mikes set to subvoc. I don't want Walker's invisibility or my cover blown by stray chatter in the audible range.>>

To the ganger, however, little of this is perceptible, while the rather shaken, and slightly liquored Casey rambles on while shaking perceptibly.

"50 nuyen? Damn cheap ta get me away from Hell of Star Man to heaven." The 'man' taps 'his' PAL. "Sendin' 'kay" 'He' makes it seem like both a question and a statement at the same time, as the nuyen transfer begins.

<<I'm gonna need to know the effects of whatever they give me ASAP, folks, if I'm going to palm it and pretend to take it. So if any of you have something around to analyse it once I've got it, don't hesitate!>>

Walker tries to find a good hiding spot outside the Grindhouse and keeps an eye on the situation inside through Sharp.

<<Can you get close to one of the exits?>>

Casey's response is a slight bit delayed.

<<No promises, but I'll see what I can manage. This next bit will depend on them, and my ability to act.>>

@Casey: The man produces a small memorychip from inside his leather jacket.

“You got a comlink with simsence or did the cops take it? You ever tried a BTL before? This one’s pretty tame but it should still give ya what you need.�

Tolstov comes over your comm:
<<If you need to take the chip, go ahead and do it. There are safeguards on your comlink that’ll keep your brain from boiling out your ears. Worst case scenario you’ll have a hell of a headache.>>

Fortunately for you the bar is fairly close to the entrance and Babe has picked seats probably only about 15 feet from the door. So do you slot the chip or not?

edit: Forgot to mention, the main door is the only entrance you can see. There is a door behind the bar marked "Employees Only" and you expect there is probably a service door back there but although the place should technically have a fire exit you this doesn't look like the sort of place that the firedepartment checks up on regularly.

Casey's face seems a little dubious.

"What, man. Safe to do it here? Star Man ain' gonna come down the door for me when I slot?

Meanwhile, her subvocs paint a different picture.

<<Tolstov, do I need to slot the BTL for you to read it? If I get something akin to a 'script', I can fake it without the chip being in, but I do need to know what I'm doing. I'm going to need an answer soon, as I doubt I can stall this guy much longer.

<<How's the warrant coming? I suspect I might need my backup soon. Might even be able to bring them in on the act, if this works right.>>

<<Well you're going to have to load it into your comlink. I've just updated your IC suite and the simsence safeguards just in case so even if you do run it it should be like watching Neil the Ork Barbarian or any other low budget sim flick. I'd say you can get away without actually running it for sure, only concern is if he gets it in his head to start poking around your comlink he'd notice it wasn't actually running. Of course if he does that he's going to start wondering what a gutter rat is doing with a mil spec comlink anyhow so I guess the point is moot. He's got a pretty primitive rig himself though, a bit tough to say for sure, he's got it on passive. Faking a chiphead shouldn’t be tough, just stare at the wall and grin like an idiot for a few minutes and your own grandma will belive you're an addict. SWAT is just pulling up now though so we should probably go brief them.>>

the punk nodds reasuringly:
"Yea man you're safe, we're The Bloodswords! Cops know better than to mess with our turf!"

After another moment Holstine's voice comes over all your comlinks. <<The warrant is just making it's way though the courts database. As soon as they have it backed up we've got a green light. I'd say you have five minutes gentlemen, good luck.>>

As the comlink exchange is going on a second Citymaster with SWAT markings on it pulls up. A man wearing black security armour steps out of the side hatch and introduces himself as Lieutenant Jackson.
"Evenin' gents, how can my boys help you out tonight?

ooc:

Casey finds a good 'safe' place to hide and take 'his' BTL, accepting whatever guidance the gangers choose to offer.

Once 'he' 'slots', the subvocs start running overtime, as 'he' recounts what 'he' is seeing on the chip.

When the warrant comes through, though, Casey drops that commentary, and inserts a new one, describing each of the gang members, and their location in the bar, giving Firewatch a bit of a tactical edge. Other potential threats are identified, before the final word goes out.

<<I think this farce has gone on long enough. You know where they are, Charley, and what to do. I'll keep identifying targets until I'm selected as one. If I don't break cover - make sure I'm 'arrested' for possession, use, and possession of stolen property - the Predator I've got hidden on my person is Firewatch issue, after all! Just be sure to have me shoved into the Citymaster again.

<<Time to take 'em down, Charley!

<<Terrier!>>

the BTL is a fairly standard variety porn. The girl isn't even that attractive but dispite the comlink's hot off the press SOTA stability architecture running on overdrive you can still feel spikes of artifically enhanced emotion. It's an unusal feeling and you're getting this just from Tolstov reading the file. You can only imagine what it would be like actually running it, nevermind with a hotsim running.

When the comm call comes in Bang grabs his helmet and slams it on his head. He grabs the door handle of the Citymaster and leaps out of the APC. He sets out towards the Grindhouse at a medium ground eating jog so Hartford and Haeffner can keep up. When he reaches the bar he slams his back against the lefthand side wall beside the front door. He adjusts his helmet straps and riot mask letting the vision mods in the mask come up. He grins at the women as they catch up. "On tree" he says. He lets them catch their breath, chambers a gel round into his underbarrel shotgun and then says "One, too, tree" He slams his meaty left paw on the door hollering, "DIS IZ FIRE WATCH, WE HAZ A WAR-RENT!" The troll then executes a SWAT half turn and uses his shoulder to break through the door. When he enters the bar he levels his Alpha at the assorted patrons and says "You all unda arrest!" The unholy glee in his eyes dares anyone to try something.

<<Get the SWAT to go after the runners if we have them and come help us get some cuffs on the ones inside.>>

Walker jumps out of the cover when he hears the codeword, but stops himself midstep seeing (through Sharp) that Casey is in no immediate danger. Checking the positions of the SWAT and the rest of the team, he starts heading for the front door, checking his Alpha and grenades (which are HE btw).

Walker: Sharp - get the backdoor. Don't kill anyone unless you really have to. Sharp: Spoilsport..

When Bang arrives, Walker drops the invisibility, asks the summoned spirit to give him strenght for the raid and gets into position to get in second.

"On tree" he covers right and gets far enough inside to make room for the ones behind. Covering the suspects with his alpha.

"Hands over your head!" he adds after Bang finishes yelling.

A second later Sharp materialises at the backdoor also yelling "Firewatch! Don't even think about it!" pointing his flamethrower at a ganger going for his roomsweeper.

Haeffner rolls in after Bang, her alpha leveled at the questionable patrons of the bar. One of the three surveillance drones follows her inside to begin cataloging all present and the two outside are watching the exits for runners. She keeps a sharp eye out for anyone who looks twitchy.

As you kick in the door the bar erupts into bedlam. Most patrons throw their hands above their heads but a few begin to run towards the back door before encountering Sharp and surrendering. The only exception is the ork that brought Casey in. Babe shouts "You fuckers arn't taking me again!" as he dives over the bar a shot rings out over the noise of the other patrons

@Bang: You feel something impact your bodyarmour as if someone punched you in the shoulder. Please make a damage resistance roll DV 11 at an AP of -1.

Next up Raleigh.