02-Apr-2071, 22:23:02, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Jasper gave a sweeping, irritated look across the three of them,"I don't play much poker, Snow, But let me say this; We only know that hacker was a dud after the fact." he looked back to Nuke,"I've seen a lot of cocky hackers slumped over their expensive comms with blood runnin out their ears." looking back to Snow Flower, he folded his arms,"And I can tell you this, had I been working for that team, I would have dropped you as soon as you approached the cab. Maybe I ain't from around these parts, but sometimes shooting first is the only chance you get. You don't get to be my age by givin people the benefit of the doubt. If that cab driver is still alive, I'll bet he'd agree with me." Finally he glances to Stray"and if you hear me say I'm goin in, maybe I could use some help, maybe if we had bagged the chick in the lobby before she called for help, things would have gone smoother. Now I know I'm gettin a little defensive here, but I think we all could try to get on the same page a little better in the future"

Jasper ordered another shot through his datajack

02-Apr-2071, 22:23:20, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Stray glanced back at Jasper, frowning slightly. "I was moving to help Snow Flower when the shooting started. I was too far away to reach the lobby in time, even if I had known you needed support there."

02-Apr-2071, 22:23:30, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"The cab driver was a skittish moron who panicked at the first sign of anything out of the ordinary, and the hacker said and did several things that gave away that he wasn't in my league."

Rather than push the issue further, Nuke changes gears in an obvious ploy to diffuse the situation.

"How about this? We'll all head to her place, three of us go in, and Jasper hangs around outside, watching from a distance through a drone, but ready to swoop in and bail us out if we feel threatened?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:23:50, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"That sounds like a good plan." Stray nods. She's not sure this will work as well as some think, but it sounds like a sensible set up.

02-Apr-2071, 22:23:51, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Snow Flower put her hands on the table palm down in front of her and unequivocally uttered her next word so everyone at the table could hear it clearly as she swept her glance across the others sitting there.

"No."

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:00, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"Or not."

Nuke is stuck for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:00, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Still feeling a little irritated, Jasper quietly watched the girl with her hands on the table. He was open to other suggestions, but this was a little more sas than he was in the mood for.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:05, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Stray blinks and looks at Snow Flower, surprised by the pronouncement.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:06, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Sweeping her gaze across the team's faces across the table Snow Flower continued, "I am not going anywhere with a wild man who shoots anyone taking an interest in us. My magic does not work with the dead. I do not deal with the Infernal Regions. I cannot help if we are shooting everyone interesting we find."

"If I cannot help, I will not put myself at risk. The woman must suffer her fate."

As she speaks, Snow Flower's features ripple through a series of subtle changes, almost undetectable hints of scales and whiskers and slit eyes, all fading, never really there, as she finishes speaking.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:18, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Nuke sits, riveted in his seat, sure where the conversation is going, but unsure of where it will go once it gets there.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:25, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Stray moves a bit back, unconsciously trying to get out of a hypothetical line of fire between the mage and the rigger.

Uh-oh...

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:18, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Jasper thinks about his options for killing this woman just out of habit. He takes off his hat,setting it on the table, and looks Snowflower square in the eye,"Look peaches, you can go anywhere you like. But I'll bet a King's breakfast that if all that pimp needed was a whiny girl scout to go around and ask for rides from strangers, I wouldn't be here in the first place. Now I've lived a decent stretch, so If you want me to sit on my hands until the cows come home, no problem. I aint runnin this hoedown."
Jasper starts to calm down as he assesses the problem,"Hell, we just need to get on the same page. I think everybody here is probably capable of gettin the job done in their own way, but we're out there buttin heads like horny mountain goats. So I tell you what, I vote ol Snow here takes the role of team leader. We'll get yer commlink up and runnin, and I won't lift a finger without you suggesting it. fair enough?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:25, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"Neh!"

"I will not be responsible for you."

Snow Flower lifted a hand which had been still on the table and waved around indicating all the rest of the team, "I need to learn from all of you. I only know a few tricks and can talk to the kami. You have all done this many times before."

"How do we go now then?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:37, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Nuke shrugs.

"If you're against going to the girl's residence, my next lead was to get into the GridGuide system to try to figure out what the kidnappers drove away in after they ditched the van, but that's going to take all night if I don't want to get caught."

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:48, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

A waitress drops off a shot of whiskey. Jasper slams it, stands up and grabs his hat. Squaring it up on his round head, he glances over the group again,"Ya'll got my comm number. let me know if ya come up with anything" He wasn't gonna sit there and take anymore grief. He turns and heads for the door.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:48, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Stray bit her lip. This was getting confusing - they had made it out unharmed, yet things were so tense... The young adept looked at Nuke, hoping he'd take the lead.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:57, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

The hacker watched the rigger leave, relieved that the situation hadn't gotten any worse.

"I'll let you know what I dig up."

Confident that he's sorted out the commlink's issues, he sets it back down.

02-Apr-2071, 22:24:57, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Snow Flower carefully sat still as the man left

"Butterfly once said men are sensitive about their hair triggers"

Once the man was out the door, she moved her hand across the table, leaving a trail of fanned out cards in front of her. Idly she picked out one and turned it over.

"I need a new commlink? You can recommend one for me."

She flipped another card over.

"The officer is marked, given a small area to search a kami can find him. A few minutes uninterrupted with this man and I will gain his confidences."

Another card flipped.

"The lesser kami can be asked to watch over us, and if you speak my name before speaking, they will tell me what they hear. They also will be able to speak for me in your hearing. This is tiring for me over time, and will not last while I sleep."

A slide of her hand over the fanned cards reveals another card face up.

"When you are nearby, I can offer some small protections against the more destructive magics used against you directly."

Another reveal.

"The nervous cab driver is also marked. He could be found in a small area as well. Given time alone I can also gain his confidences. We may wish to negotiate with his friends since we may have the same interests. If they are too upset about what happened, we can always offer them someone in exchange to satisfy their honor. Since they do not know exactly whom it was, we have a choice of whom to deliver to satisfy them."

Another card joins the set.

"Given access and some time in the apartment all it's contents can be revealed, hidden and unhidden through a magic which causes some strain."

Another slide.

"Should we have time to prepare for battle, there are some small magics I can offer to assist those who will bear arms."

A final card.

"All these things I can offer to assist. You see my hand... finally, be careful leaving this place, who knows what awaits us outside."

Before her on the table is a set of matching flower cards, which Snow Flower runs her hands over and collects in one hand.

"so ka, what do we decide?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:25:07, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Nuke watches the cards dealt and turned.

"Getting your commlink squared away would mean you don't have to bother a spirit with something as mindless as relaying messages, which I can handle in the morning. I'm fine with making contact with the other team. It's why I didn't kill their hacker, or give him permanent, irreparable brain damage. If you can get the cop to open up to you also, that's just gravy. When do you two want to go look at Cheryl's place?"

On a whim, he fires off a quick message to the rigger.

<<@Jasper: Know anyone who might know who could have cleaned up the van before it got used?>>

02-Apr-2071, 22:25:07, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

Stray stares at the cards, then at the mage. She feels intimidated, but there's something she has to know. "What do you mean when you say 'We have a choice of whom to deliver to satisfy them'?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:25:43, Lucky Eddie's parking lot, Auburn, Seattle

<<@Nuke: I was thinkin of the van angle too. I got a name, Elias Marcoli,he works outa Fort Lewis. I'll look into it. >>

Jasper loads into Shelly as his Trucks start their engines.

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:00, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

<<@Jasper:Wiz. Let me know if there's anything I can help out with.>>

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:00, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"What do we do now then?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:00, Lucky Eddie's, Auburn, Seattle

"Jasper's chasing down leads with a chop shop guy he knows, trying to figure out who cleaned up the van. I'm going to go find someplace quiet to check out the GridGuide system. Snowflower, want to talk to the cop, or try extending an olive branch to the other team?"

02-Apr-2071, 23:56:06, Downtown, Seattle

Work had gotten serious. The bike, a toy and not a tool, sat in his garage. Instead, Nuke maneuvered his pickup through the downtown parking garage. After finding an empty space, he laid back in his seat, respoofed his AccessID, double checked his program load, and began scanning for the nearest GridGuide access point.

After locating one on the nearby I-5, he cracked his digital knuckles set about weaseling his way into the GridGuide system.

03-Apr-2071, 05:08:55, Downtown, Seattle

It takes close to 5 hours, but Nuke manages to sneak into the grid guide system without triggering an alert. All official sources are open to his shiny-new admin account, but finding what data has been altered will take a bit of work.

03-Apr-2071, 05:08:55, Downtown, Seattle

Fatigue begins to creep in as Nuke finally makes his way into the GridGuide system. His bland, generic looking icon surveys the datascape, looking for databombs and the like, while he contemplates the best place to start his search.

03-Apr-2071, 05:08:55, Downtown, Seattle

Nuke searches thoroughly, but the leads he chases lead nowhere - red herrings planted there, someone manipulated the data. Pulling up the user lists for the day/time shows nothing either - but deleted logs are about standard for hacking jobs. But... there are the accounts. Nuke can't be the only one to have created fake admin accounts, and if there's one that was created around that date... Nuke delves in again, sifting through data trail after data trail.

Through luck, gut instinct, and skill, Nuke manages to find one account who supposedly was installed one year ago, but whose user log for the period until the day the kidnapping happened doesn't match the logs he pulled from the system memory. It's not 100% sure, and no court would admit it, but by all accounts (pun!) that was the account the hacker of the kidnappers used.

03-Apr-2071, 05:08:58, Downtown, Seattle

The scent of his prey re-invigorates the hacker, the surge of adrenalin clearing the encroaching cobwebs of sleep deprivation.

Nuke knews the other hacker missed something. Everyone misses something. People get away with crimes because the things they miss are so small that the investigators miss them, too.

Suddenly inspired, he begins hunting for any cameras on likely routes between the Chelsea and the van’s drop site that weren’t tampered with during the window in question, hoping to get a visual confirmation on the van’s location, and cross-reference that with an access log entry to find its’ spoofed AccessID.

03-Apr-2071, 06:15:18, Downtown, Seattle

The cameras accessible by the gridguide have been tampered with, but Nuke has smelled blood, and manages to puzzle together that there was a car, and which route it took, by pulling out various peripheral data - the reactions of the other cars to a vehicle not visible on the camera records, but to their sensors at the time, the vehicle count used for jam warnings and finetuning the signals, and similar bits and pieces. Hacking a few surveillance cameras on the route that results in of shops and businesses not tied to the gridguide node and therefore less likely to be hacked clinches it - he gets the picture of the real escape van, a Bulldog that changed color three times during the trip. But by the time Nuke dowloads the last part of the Bulldog's route - where it disappeared into the Puyallup barrens - it's noon.

03-Apr-2071, 12:03:27, Sloppy Sally's Soydog Shak, Downtown, Seattle

Annoyed at the layout of the parking lot, and starting to get delirious from sleep deprivation, Nuke drove his lifted pickup over the parking barrier, across the sidewalk, off the curb, and out into traffic.

Out in traffic, soydog in one hand, steering wheel in the other, he sends the last few clips of the van changing colors, and the last image he can find of it heading into the Barrens to Jasper, Snowflower, and Stray.

<<Jasper, looks like you're the kidnapper. Lost track of their chameleon coated Bulldog when they went into the wilds of Puyallup. Their hacker is slick. Way better than that Gearhead guy, so it took forever. Anyone else turn up anything? I'm going to go take a nap, unless you all need me right fragging now.>>

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:00, Northbound I-5

Jasper headed to Fort Lewis as he got Slim on the comm,"Hey stick man, I'm lookin for a follow up on that Marcoli guy. You got a number or location on this guy?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:35, Northbound I-5

Slim raises an eyebrow: "It goes against my policy to pass on the numbers of the competition, but since I don't think you're looking for his services... Elias Marcoli works out of his small-time shop in Ft. Lewis, here's his adress and comm number. How's Charlene holding up, by the way? Need soem repairs?" A data pack is attached to his call and arrives in Jasper's comm node.

02-Apr-2071, 22:26:39, Northbound I-5

"Charlene's doin great. that new response chip is workin wonders, but this run seems a little sticky, we might be limpin into the shop any time now. And you know yer the only shop fer me Slim." He sends a hundred cred to Slim and pulls up the address and maps the surrounding area. I'll stake out a perimeter and then make the call, don't wanta spook em, but don't wan't him to split either.Once he gets Charlene into a good loop six blocks out, he starts siffin the airwaves for anything from the building. Shelly parks on the street with the longest veiw of the building she can find. Jasper strokes bud's metal head as he makes the call...

02-Apr-2071, 22:27:59, Northbound I-5

The voice that answers - after a few seconds of an animated "Please hold" pattern showing scenes from a car shop/garage - sounds coarse, as if the speaker had been smoking for a long time. "Marcoli Car Shop. Marcoli speaking. How may I help you?"

02-Apr-2071, 22:29:30,Fort Lewis

"Howdy Padre, I was wonderin if I could get a little info from ya. I saw a pretty sweet van a few nights ago in front of Chelsea's downtown, and a little bird mentioned that you might be the guy to get someone a ride like that. Now I ain't aiming to cause no trouble for ya, but I'm real interested in the party drivin this here van." Jasper keeps it real friendly. He sends a clip of the kidnapping with the best shot of the van. he's also sure to include enough of the scene that Marcoli can see what this van was being used for. "now I know we're all just workin guys tryin to make a livin, so I'll do my best to make it worth your while."

02-Apr-2071, 22:29:45, Fort Lewis

Marcoli clams up at once, and stalls - claiming he has no idea about any van, and won't be talking about it on the comm to a stranger.

02-Apr-2071, 22:29:56, Fort Lewis

Jasper thinks about droping Slims name to put him at ease, but it might backfire, so he decides against it,"I understand man, forget I mentioned it, how 'bout I buy you a drink somewhere? we can talk shop. I got a story about a "2055 Renraku Konichiwa with a trailer hitch. You'll never believe what it was haulin."

02-Apr-2071, 22:30:48, Fort Lewis

It takes some more talking, but Marcoli agress to a drink in the "Army Blues" bar, a former hangout for soldiers on leave which has been slowly taken over by locals and turned into a watering hole. When Jasper arrives there he spots a single group of soldiers flirting with a waitress, and three tables stocked with what looks like locals. Marcoli sits in a corner at a small table. The bartender - a female ork - glances at Jasper when he enters, and calls out a greeting.

During the talk it becomes clear that Marcoli is both afraid and greedy, so a mix of bribes and assurances that Jasper is not working for Lone Star should help.

02-Apr-2071, 22:34:28, Fort Lewis

This place is alright. A guy could get real cozy in a dive like this. Jasper lifts his ball cap to the bartender,"Howdy ma'am" Passing by the soldiers, he relives some memories with a quiet smile. As he approaches the table, Jasper plays up his struggle to get his short fat body into a seat. He found that this kind of thing usually help put people at ease. He asked Marcoli what his poison was and ordered two. "I appreciate your time amigo, I'm out here tryin to find this girl see, and I got cops in the way, they impounded that van, not that I think the fellas drivin it left any callin cards. I don't want to drag you into this mess man, so what can I do to get a little info and get outa yer hair? I ain't got much street cred here bein fairly new to the area and all, but I've been runnin jobs in Puyallup for a few months now and I'll swear on granny's bible I ain't no cop"

02-Apr-2071, 23:38:19, Fort Lewis

Marcoli takes some convincing, and seems to be checking Jasper's credential with a few contacts in Puyallup. And of course he is no Mother Teresa - Jasper has to loosen his tongue with a bribe. But after a long time of beating around the bush, and glancing toward the door, and probably checking for bugs, Marcoli electronically slides over a name and picture:

"Drives-like-crazy", a human male, looking like a native american, though that could be the result of cosmetic surgery. Pony tail, combat fatigues. Used to be a smuggler, and has been working as a wheelman for some months, according to Marcoli.

03-Apr-2071, 12:03:35, Benny's Diner , Puyallup

Jasper headed home after the meet with Marcoli. He wondered how the others were doing, but he figured they would call when they had something. He had burned a lot of cred tonight. Hopefully it was worth it. In the morning, he went out to gas up the trucks and grab a bite to eat. He sent of a message to mrs. J to see if she knew anything about this "Drives-Like-Crazy" guy. He tried Snow Flower on her comm, but got no response. He was about to try Stray when he got Nuke on the line.

<<I wish I was the kidnapper, that'd make this job a hell of a lot easier. Ayway, Marcoli said it was a tall indian fella what got the van. so maybe it was you. hehe.>> Jasper shoots Nuke the info on the wheelman.

03-Apr-2071, 12:03:48, I-5 Northbound, Downtown

<<Once I get some sleep, I'll see what I can dig up on this choombatta. Any idea who else he normally works with?>>

03-Apr-2071, 12:04:05, Benny's Diner , Puyallup

<<I've never heard of the guy, But they seem to be hangin out in P-town somewhere, Get some sleep son, I'll keep diggin. any word from the ladies?>>

03-Apr-2071, 12:04:16, I-5 Northbound, Downtown

<<Haven't heard from them. Later, I look into what the other team is up to. They might be having some luck astrally tracking the girl. Any idea what part of Puyallup he might be from?>>

03-Apr-2071, 12:04:16, Starlight Express, Tacoma

Stray is busy chatting with a few contacts in her friend/replacement uncle's night club, trying to find out more about the incident. So far she's only got some rumors, and a lot of passes she could have done without.

03-Apr-2071, 19:14:22, Nuke’s Residence, Lower Queen Anne Hill, Downtown, Seattle

Caught up on sleep for the moment, Nuke stirs. The coffee machine starts immediately, followed by checks of what Gearhead and Company are up to.

Armed with a cup of coffee, he settles into his truck and heads out into the night air, looking for someplace quiet to work.

03-Apr-2071, 19:37:51, University of Seattle Graduate Student Parking Lot D, Downtown, Seattle

After taking a few seconds to make sure the satellite uplink is his only connection to the matrix, Nuke begins sifting for rumors and information on the rigger “Drives Like Crazy�.

03-Apr-2071, Puyallup

Jasper waited to hear back from mrs. Johnson. He knew she was busy as the Pope on Sunday. He called Stray to see what she was up to and to see if she could help track down this "Drives-like-crazy", because he was running out of Ideas. If nothing else he could start flashing the guys picture around and see if anybody knows him, but it would be nice to have back up for an endeavor like that.

03-Apr-2071, 14:04:16, McHughs, Tacoma

Stray answers the call "Yes?" then chews a lot to swallow most of the soyburger she's eating. "Drives-like-crazy?"

Mrs. Johnson takes a while to answer Jasper's call, but does in the end, but can't add much other than Drives-like-crazy supposedly was hunted once by a go-gang, but managed to square things with them.

03-Apr-2071, 20:31:19, University of Seattle Graduate Student Parking Lot D, Downtown, Seattle

Nuke takes a break from data mining so send a quick message around.

<<Two things. Pretty sure I've found the fake GridGuide account used to register a bunch of fake AccessIDs for DLC's van. I'm still trying to figure out who that is. But that's kind of back burner until I can catch the user online. Here's the big deal. Turns out that DLC had a disagreement with some nobody go-gang called the Mo-Towns a little while ago. Turns out he was involved with the girlfriend, Sasha, of their leader, one 'Big Mo'F'. Looks like the gang backed off after someone hacked one of their vehicles and drove it off a freeway into a Lone Star station. I'm betting they still hold a grudge. Want to get together and go talk to these cats? They find out that we've got a mutual enemy and they might be able to clue us in.>>