Calisto quickly grabs the journal and tosses it into the ruck sack. Jester if you can grab any debris from the drone. We need to know more about who or what was watching us. She strides to the open drawer and dumps the contents into the ruck sack. "Wren - we're leaving." She opens the door and enters the hall of the apartment complex.

Calisto:
The elevator is to the left about fifteen meters down. Just beyond that is the fire exit and stairwell. To your right, the hallway turns after about ten meters. You suspect there may be another fire escape on this level at the end of that pasage. There are sounds of people talking in the nearby apartments the word "Lonestar" is voiced a few times.

Jester:
Sensors register a heightened rigger network presence. Drones are in bound.

Calisto turns to the right and continues down the hall at a brisk pace. Wren, break left out the apartment and take the fire exit down. She turns down the hall and heads for the fire exit.

Trixie mutes the phone for a sec to get on the radio and send out a message to the team, "I just got a call from our employer's driver. It looks like our employer has been shot. All I know so far is that he is with Docwagon."

Returning to the phone, she asks, "Are you ok? What happened?"

Trixie:
Hafiz shakes himself and takes a deep breath. His speech patterns slow down to match the calm he is forcing upon himself.

"Jaron and I were going over the agenda for this week, the window shattered and gas started filling the room. He and I ran out the back door, and before Jaron got five feet out he was shot. I fell after a bullet grazed my head. The assassins looked mad-hattered, they said Jaron was dead and dropped their guns and walked away. A few minutes later, DocWagon showed up, said they were doing their best and left."

His composure seems to be hanging on gossamer threads.

Wren moved as quickly as his long stride would take him to the fire exit. His hand slid into his jacket grasping for the familiar feeling of his Savallete Guardian. Just the comfort of feeling it close to his chest made him feel more at ease. As he reached the top of the fire exit he began his descent to the bottom.

"Where are you now?"

Wren:
Taking the stairs two at a time, you quickly reach the bottom. Striding across the lobby, you step out into the morning sun. The shattered remains of a spider drone lay on the ground five meters to your left. You can almost sense the Condors blanketing the area with sensor sweeps.

Calisto:
The hallway wraps past several more apartments before you come to the rear elevator and fire escape. Taking the stairs down, you find yourself in the apartment's underground parking garage. Timing your departure is easy as the gate seems to stay open due to the constant outpouring of corporate drones entering the morning commute. You're standing at the corner of 103rd Avenue and 3rd Street.

Trixie:
"I'm still at the ranch. Knight Errant is coming to kill anyone they find except Jaron and I. Do I need to leave? Are they going to come back for me?"

Hafiz's eyes start shifting back and forth and his body language becomes much more disjointed. His eyes glaze over and you see his body collapse off the screen. Through the smoke, two wheeled drones appear to be approaching the area where his body went limp.

Calisto begins to hail down a cab while taking in the info from Trixie as it feeds over the comms. Her face maitains its cheerful set as she waves her hand back and forth to get a cab. With a mental switch she accesses her cell phone and sends out a mass text message to her network.

C here, I need to know who hit Mr. Falcone, why and I need to know right now. The first person back to me gets a free contract with no questions asked and my full zeal is guaranteed.

She taps back into the team comms as she smiles sweetly at the cabbie as it pulls over. She slides in demurely and makes shy eye contact with the driver. With a heavy Italian accent she asks the driver to take her to the downtown area, naming off a cafe frequented by college students. I need a head count now for the rest of the team. Going forward we go out in pairs when we can. Hit your contacts and see if we can find out more about the hit on our Johnson. Jester, the hardest target to hit is the moving one. Begin picking the team up and stay mobile. Until we have more info we may have been compromised so I want everyone edgy and alert.

"I'm in," says Biomage, "We should talk more somewhere more private. Those kids around the corner were freaking me out, and you never know who is listening when you're out in the open. I have a cellphone and a transducer. You have my number. If there is somewhere I could meet up with you later, we could talk on the way."

"No. Wait for KE and let them take care of things. We're spread too thin to do anything for you. Can you tell me anything extra about your attackers?"

Jack shakes his head.

"We're close. We'll take a few more turns to lose the kids, and then I'll take you directly there."

He turns another corner, and then another, glancing back just before he turns to watch for followers, keeping an eye behind him as he leads Bio-Mage on a fairly erratic path back to the hanger.

Trixie:

You see one of the drones extend small mechanical arms and begin to drag Hafiz's body. The other springs an enormous machine gun and begins sweeping the area tracking for targets. An elctronic voice calls out from the first drone.

"I don't know, they hit us fast. They seemed fluid, professional--but they just dropped their guns and walked away--that's why i said Mad-Hattered. Someone's coming. I'm going to get hidden. I'll call later.

The drones exit the view of the vidphone with his limp body. The call-line stays open. A few moments later, forms in heavy security armor with assault rifles pass through the room. The Knight-Errant logo is prominent on their black armor.

Jack/Biomage:
The Cowboy-Decker looks back over his shoulder and doesn't see anyone following him. Taking a few more turns and glancing back every so often, the pair arrive at the hangar as Trixie sees the KE team sweep through the ranch.

Calisto:
The cabbie talks you up with normal mundane chatter. He apparently spent last summer in Naples with his family. You arrive at the cafe with out any trouble and step inside to place your order. A double espresso later, you are seated at a table with a copy of the Seattle Post in hand and the wall at your back.

Trixie looks up as Jack and Biomage come in. She mutes the phone, but leaves the connection open.

"We've got trouble. I'm going online to check on a few things. Can you keep an eye on the phone, just to make sure things get cleaned up ok over there? When I get in, I'll hide the connection so they won't know you are watching."

Trixie waits for a reply, then without another word, sits down in the lotus possition and plugs the matrix feed into her skull.

Trixie:
The world of meat and flesh melts away as the Seattle LTG comes in to view around you. The matrix around you feels eerily distant as if the life is being pulled out of it. Icons don't have the same gleam and shine that you are used to. You push on, ghosting past the wage slaves that interface with the grid everyday.

Arriving at the phone company, a massive switchboard looms before you. Pulling wires and moving them, you create a tangled mass of information that will take hours for the system to clean up, but your phone call should be long over by then.

A wave of your hand closes the switchboard down to a small blinking icon in your peripheral vision and you glide through the system to find the filing cabinet that archives all of the phone calls placed throughout the Greater Seattle area. It takes a few moments to find the page you're looking for amidst the millions that are in today's log. You set fire to the note and it crumbles away into digital ash.

Now the real work begins. You start calling sprites out of the matrix and have them look in the libraries and archives of recorded memory. You feel a tear burn down the front of your icon as you see records of an Otaku tribe murdered to the last in Russia. You steel yourself as you push onward.

Not finding anything in Seattle's LTG you push outwards, hitting the RTG , scouring each LTG that is connected to it. There is an expanding nothingness that calls to you from where the Falcone PLTG used to be. Traces of information lead you to a name. Monsignur Joseph Mennon. A Catholic priest in Rome. He placed a request for the "Falcon's Crown and the German Jewels." You're not sure what the connection is but the piece fits in the puzzle that your mind is slowly revealing.

Jack nods, pausing for only a moment as she plugs the feed directly into her head. He shakes his own, and heads over to the case. Crouching down over it, he flips it open, revealing a dull cyberdeck casing, no visible logos, and of no standard design. Nestled in the impact-foam next to it are two gleaming Cavalier Deputy's. Drawing them, he flicks them open, spins the cylinder, Western style, to check the load, and holsters them under the duster he wears.

He flashes a grin back at Bio-Mage, adjusting the Stetson slightly.

"Looks like ya joined up just in time. We're waiting on the rest of the team to get back with a few items from ah'r victim's place."

Calisto calmly reads the paper and sips her drink. She pulls out her phone and dials Hafiz while grabbing the attention of a server at the cafe. "Could I get a muffin please, somthing with berries? Thanks." She leaves a message as the voice mail kicks in. "Hey, it's me. Can we get together later to go over the class notes from the project. I want to make sure we have everything covered. Give me a ring, Ciao." She slips her phone back into her jacket.

Biomage says, "Well, while we're waiting, I would appreciate it if someone would explain to me what this job is about. I'll need to know all the details if I'm going to be any use to you."

Hours pass...

By the time the sun reaches its peak, Jester has collected the team members from their various bolt holes and returned to the hangar. After a broad strokes review of the mission, Jack gave Bio-Mage the files that your fixer had provided when you first took the job.

Re-evaluating your position, the team inventories a computer, journal, trode net, and several optical chips from Dr. Zeidel's former apartment.

Phone's ring and pagers buzz as contacts return messages left earlier this morning.

Around one o'clock, the vidphone screen fades to black as the telephone call is terminated. The KE team had swept through and left within twenty minutes of the conversation but the window into the ranch had been left open just in case. An hour later, there is a beating on the door and Hafiz limps into the hangar. His face is pale, the erratic shifting of paranoia in his eyes, as he crosses the threshhold and collapses. A trail of low-grade stim patches runs up his forearm.

The clock is just about to four-thirty when Trixie finally unplugs her skull from the cable. Hafiz is still unconscious but stirring in his sleep to signal the shift to dozing from a drug-enforced coma.

Trixie:
You puzzle over the pieces of information that are laying in front of you before you logoff. The church, crowns, jewels, Mennon.

The autopsy report clicks over in your head turning on a series of different light switches. Abnormal cyberware in the lower and mid-brain. If the doctor had a wireless uplink connected to his lower brain, it would be possible to constantly transmit data and neurological impulses without seriously hindering movement and function. The fact that the coroner couldn't make heads or tails means it isn't registered.

Tie unregistered cyberware to Falcone's love for the high-tech and you create a tenuous connection...why Mennon though? Connection between murder, possibly murders, coming through the Catholic church?

Trixie disconnects and for a few minutes looks a little out of it as she scrolls through the volumes of data buzzing around in her head. After a moment she looks around at everything and blushes a bit, realizing that shes made herself the center of attention. She coughs quietly to clear her throat, then gives her report.

"Ummm... ok. I dug around all over the net for anyone who may have it out for Falcone. I was running out of places to look when I had an idea...

See, before this mission even started, I did some digging around on Falcone after I got the message that we'd be meeting with him. There was a PLTG registered to him, but as I was going through it, the thing started to desolve around me. I snatched up as much info as I could before having to bail as it came down around me. Another thing that was a little fishy is that I came across the name of our recently dead doctor. His name was being cleared off the matrix everywhere I looked. Fortunately, all the data I collected matched up with what was given to us by Falcone in the brief, so I didn't give it much more thought.

Well, I went back to where that PLTG was and while most everything is gone, a few ghosts remained. I found a name... Monsignur Joseph Mennon. A Catholic priest in Rome. I did a little looking around and he had placed a request for the 'Falcon's Crown and the German Jewels' out on the net. I'm not sure what thats all about, but something... well, the Reasonance pulled me to this data. Why? I'm not sure yet. This is just getting more and more confusing. Now we may be dealing with the Catholic Church on top of everything else.

There is something about that unregistered cyber that the autopsy reported. Are any of you on the up and up with the latest trends in cyberware? Maybe this 'Falcon Crown' is the cyber in the doc's lower brain? I had an idea about the cyber possibly being some sort of wireless uplink for doing data or neurological impulse transmissions without hindering movement.

We've got a few connections here to play with. The datatrail is leading me to Mennon. I'd like to dig around on him now and get as much data there as I can. I can work through the night with no problems while you all get some rest.

Anyone have any other ideas before I go back in?"

Biomage says loud enough for everyone to hear him, "Before we do anything else, let's get the intros out of the way. My name's Biomage. I can shoot, fight, cast spells, patch you up, and divine. I don't take drek from anyone, and when the drek hits the fan..." he softens up a bit and continues, with an evil grin, "stay out of the line of fire."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biomage looks over the information and says in a sinister tone that sounds somewhat intrigued and somewhat amused, "How very interesting..."

He continues in his normal intense speech pattern, "So Doctor Markham Zeidel was researching the existence of free AIs on the matrix. Seems as though he found something, and someone decided to kill him. All-Father might be a clue."

Turning to look at Trixie, he says, "Trixie! While you're searching the matrix, if you would be so kind as to do a search on the All-Father, I would appreciate it. I remember hearing something about that name from mythology. Also, find out if there is a connection between Zeidel and that Catholic priest. From what you told us, it sounds like someone is trying to kill everyone that Zeidel ever knew. Could be the priest, or he could be next on the hitlist. We should talk to him. Face to face would be best."

He makes a fist with his metal hand and punches the palm of his meat hand.

"I'm not exactly up on the latest cyberware trends. Maybe you could do a matrix search. If I could get a look at the cyberware that Dr. Zeidel was equipped with, I could analyze its purpose with a spell. You guys tell me if that's doable. From what I've heard, he's under lock and key at Knight Errant, right? So how can we get in? I can't be in two places at once. We could do one and then the other. Or..."

He pauses as he turns around and looks back at Trixie, "maybe someone's already analyzed Zeidel's 'ware and kept a record of their findings on their company intranet. Or maybe Zeidel's medical records could tell us what he had installed, that's if we can find them.

"Your call chummers. I realize I may come on a little strong. It's what I do. I get things done. Ideas! Thoughts! Suggestions! That's what I need here. We've got to get this done. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that our names are going to end up on that hitlist, if I'm right.

"Whatever we decide, I'll spend the night trying to read any impressions that may be left on Dr. Zeidel's personal effects."

Calisto takes everything in as people speak. "All good ideas but first I need everyone else to tell me what they did and saw between when we left to go to the doctor's place and now. Leave nothing out, any little detail could be important." As she speaks she begins to empty out her bag. She puts the computer to one side and the modified trode net and optical chips to another. Switching to the comm unit for the team while pulling out the journal. Trixie or Jack, I need to know if there is anyway for someone to spy on us from the matrix here in this room. If this is an AI, one like the Zeidel wrote about, I want to make sure we make it harder for it to track us and watch us. "We also need to find out how our employer is doing but that can wait until Hafiz comes to. I was planning to go through the journal to see what it can tell us but I am getting off topic. Let's hear what happened to everyone else before the hit."

Trixie starts to show signs of stress. Pupils dialated. Small ammounts of sweat on her brow. Shortness of breath.

"I was just here waiting, nothing happened till I got the call from Hafiz."

She then turns to Biomage.

"With the data I've already got, I should be able to extrapolate conclusions once I dig up stuff on Mannon. But what is this All-Father thing? I've never heard of it. What brought it to your mind?"

Calisto:

You silently switch your transducer on and place the phone call to Akira. He is on his way to a board meeting at the moment, but takes the call while he walks. "Yes daughter?" Listening to your request with the thoughtfulness of a man who owes you his life, he consents. "Please forward the package via courrier to my office. I will have some people look it over and contact you soon."

Hanna Cha has a pained sound to her voice, the Triads never flinched away from punishment for failure. She doesn't know much about the new BTLs except thatn someone other than her dealers is pushing them for half the cost of hers. She's a little preoccupied right now with that, but hopes that the two of you can get together towards the end of this week for tea.

You switch off the transducer as Trixie questions Biomage's terminology.

Biomage says, "All-Father sticks in my mind. Maybe Zeidel carved the word just before he died as a warning. I have my doubts about whether the cuts caused his death. The bleeding may have contributed, but I think he was already dead, and that he knew it. All-Father might be a hint at what he had found. The name of an AI perhaps. Maybe the one that killed him, if it was an AI. Think about it. An AI using all of the power of the matrix that it can. If I understand Dr. Zeidel's paper correctly, an AI could be as smart as a human if it existed on the matrix. You know about computers, so you tell me. Could an AI generate enough biofeedback to kill someone? Or could it just simply let loose a cutting edge black IC? The word All-Father could also just be a red herring, planted by whomever killed him, as though someone jacked into Zeidel's body while he was on the matrix and made him kill himself. We need to know the exact cause of death. It will give us a direction to start searching in. And if the word All-Father has any significance, it could give us a lead to investigate. It wouldn't hurt to know. If nothing else, we could close that lead."

"Ah'll check the hanger, Callisto, and find out what else may be plugged into the 'trix. In the meantime, ah suggest the little lady searching use a sat-link, and we nix the permanent 'trix connection. That means tha'll only be a link to the 'trix when we make one."

He begins moving around the room, checking all of Jester's equipment for everything that may be plugged into the matrix, or just into any kind of network in the hanger. While searching, he calls out to Trixie.

"Thar's a portable sat-dish in mah case, and you can use ma' deck if ya don't have a sat-link on yours."

Once he's done searching the room, he'll begin to systematically disconnect any connection to the outside world the hanger has, including phones, 'trix, any other satellite, etc.

All:

Hafiz lets out a long, low-pitched moan before rolling off the makeshift cot. He runs his hand over his face as he stumbles towards the group. The jitters from the stimpatches seem to be easing out of his system but he still falls without much grace next to Calisto. Reaching out, he touches her shoulder as if to convince himself that she's not a demon from his dreams.

The middle-eastern man sits before the team broken and disheveled, muttering occasionally in a language you don't understand.

Trixie answers Biomage first, in regards to his question about AIs. "Yes. They wouldn't have a bit of trouble killing someone."

She shudders a bit, then shakes her head a bit, as if to clear it. She smiles a touch at Jack, "Thanks, but I'll manage. I could probably use the hardline still and not worry about it, but you're right, I'll use the sat for now."

Something about the way she says she'll manage hits Jack as a little strange.

Wren moves to the side of Hafiz and tries to steady the mans shaking body with a firm grip on his shoulder. "Calm down my friend. You're safe now. What do you remember from the shooting? Are you aware of any parties that may wish Jarone harm?" He tries his best to put a reassuring smile on his face pushing back his own thoughts of worry.The fact that they may be working for nothing as well as having someone after them still invaded his mind.

All:

Trixie, sensing that people were done with her for the time, pulls away from the group and slides the data cable into her lower skull. Her legs crossed in a lotus position stay in place as the rest of her body folds in on itself.

Hafiz jerks back from Wren's touch like a beaten dog. Comprehension of the words spoken dawns on his face a few seconds later. He starts to speak in that same cinnamon-spiced language as before, but stops himself and begins again.

"There was gas, then we ran outside. Jaron was two steps in front of me when he was shot. I collapsed an instant later when a bullet hit my skull."

His hand rises almost of its own volition to touch the scabbed over flesh wound.

"They walked forward, decided he was dead and turned away. 'Falcone is dead' they said. It echoed through me again and again. As soon as they said it, all of them dropped their guns simultaneously and moved as a group away. DocWagon showed up and took Jaron saying they were doing their best. When I could walk, I came inside and called you. The young one answered..."

Hafiz fumbles through his pockets for a second and pulls out a small credstick case.

"This is all I have with me, but I can get more if you need it. Find out who did this and kill them."

The credstick case falls from the Arab's shaking hands and opens to reveal ten small slips of plastic that gleam in the light of the hangar--Certified Cred.

"While we're in the process of locking down, folks, new rules. Shut off any cellphones or pagers. Any calls that go out get routed through ma'self or Trixie, who will happily bounce tha call all over heck an' back before we send it through. Because the LTG's are used for normal voice and data transmissions, Trixie and Ah should be able to check messages and retrieve stuff sent to you over the 'trix. Any questions?"

Jack pauses in the middle of detaching the main 'trix connection to the trideo unit, looking to the group for comment.

Biomage perks up at Hafiz's request and says, "Now there's an idea. First things first. We should try to make sure that Falcone made it through his trip to the hospital. If he's dead, we're working for free, and I don't like working for free, chummers. After that, we can go after whomever tried to kill him. Whaddaya say we scout him tomorrow morning? Or, would one of you prefer to keep an eye on him in case someone tries to hit him again? Either way, it's late. I'm going to get to work on trying to read the impressions from this junk."

Biomage grabs all of the personal effects and begins pouring over them. He sits down, takes out his bag of runic dice, and begins rolling them whilst whispering chants.

Calisto reaches into her jacket and switches her phone off. "Jack I need you to go over your day for me." She follows him through the hangar.

Jack speaks back over this shoulder as he moves through the dimly lit hanger, disconnecting diagnostic equipment and the like.

"Real simple...came here, got a call from Falcone that we were getting a new member 'caus that other fella' ran off. Called the guy," he jerks a thumb over his shoulder at Biomage, "and went to the coffee shop over on the boulevard to meet him. We walked around for a few minutes, talking about the job, and I noticed some chip head lookin' a lil' too hard, and we took a roundabout route back here. Ah made sure we weren't follow'd."

"Care to spill on how your day went? Ya'll seem to have had a bit more exciting time then us."

Biomage:
The casting takes a somber tone from the first tile you read.

Feoh reversed, hagall, nied. Jara stands surrounded by peorth and wyrd. Tir stands alone.

Matters have gone beyond the point of repair, with unforeseen challenges and obstacles stacked before you. Patience is key, for Necessity is a harsh taskmaster.

The hidden truth is balanced against inevitability, and the opposition could tear apart any hope of peace for those caught between them.

You stand at the crossroads with a great journey before you, victory is assured, but a sacrifice may be necessary to win.

Setting the stones carefully back into their bag, you try to clear your mind an open your senses to the astral plane. The journal carries impressions of a troubled man, his writing is both excited and worried. You can tell by the light fingerprints of the astral impression that its owner was mundane and had a weak force of life--a sure sign of implantation in this modern world.

Closing your third eye once more, you see that Dr. Zeidel was also very meticulous. The knot tying the journal shut is smooth and precise.

Biomage studies his runes for a bit.

Well, that isn't exactly what I asked. Useful anyway maybe. I guess I should back off and wait to see what happens. This could be bigger than I thought. Looks like getting caught in the middle could be bad for me. I'm not supposed to know the answer to my question... and danger comes with the job. I'm at a crossroads... Ok. I wonder if that is meant to represent the things I suggested we do. Looks like at the end of this, I'll come out with some sort of payoff.

Biomage ponders his prediction's results for quite a while before continuing to examine the journal, page by page.

He was a troubled man. Hearing voices can be troubling. Maybe the medication wasn't helping. If I read his entries, that might give me a clearer picture.

"We went to the apartment complex, went upstairs and begin to look around. I couldn't find any signs that his death was staged or that the place was compromised. Found these items of interest. Then we had a drone for company all about the same time everything went south. The only thing odd was a woman we ran into leaving the building while we were going in. Jester did you get any footage of her or happen to see where she went after we went in?"

Biomage:

With some care, you untie the knot. The journal reads as a supplement to Zeidel's research. He began writing here about six months ago after a kidnapping attempt by some first-rate losers. They copied all of his data but before they gave him over to whomever it was that paid them, the team basically imploded. They were at each others throats because LoneStar had been digging around the scene and the team members were blaming each other for screwing up. Magic was used, shots were fired.

The journal tracks a defunct research team that had gotten corporate sponsorship for small implants that would allow a constant stream of mental impulses to be shunted into a wireless network. The network would be a microcosm with which to compare the Matrix in general. Unfortunately the Takara site that they were working out of, was destroyed by Ikeda operatives.

Recent entries show references to a shortcut in the "X-factor". The last several pages are filled with a handwriting that you wouldn't recognize from the beginning of the book without the transition from smooth neat lettering to sharp, inch high characters. I AM THE TRUTH INSIDE, THERE ARE SHADOWS OF LIFE WITHIN ME, HUNTING FOR THE LIGHT

Calisto:
The old man with a cyber-leg nods.

"I got some footage of her leaving, about a block or so. I coudn't record what she said to you, but I've got the rest of it on a chip."

Jack whistles softly at Callisto's description, shaking his head a bit as he moves over to his deck case, drawing the components for the temporary satellite dish from inside and spraying a layer of the polymer over the snap together framework.

"You know, Ma'am," he speaks softly to Callisto, as everyone else seems to be busy, and she's in charge, regardless of how pushy the new member seemed to be.

"If they were onto you that quick, they migh' already know about this place. If they do, even cutting off all the connections won't stop them from sending people, or watching with satellites that'll pick up body heat and tha' like."

::Elsewhere::

A hand knocks softly on a frosted glass door.

"C'est moi." A pale boy, all knees and elbows, calls before entering the room.

"Viens. Je sais que tu as essayé. Ce n'est pas ta faute. Notre père n'était pas prête pour les autres. Toutes les choses de Zeidel sont détruites. Il n'y a rien plus." Behind a rich mahogany desk sits an older boy. He has all the characteristics of a runway supermodel, smooth lines broken only by the glowing neon chips that jut out of his temple and the datajack on his inner wrist.

"Et la femme?" The young boy rubs his hands together in eagerness.

"Elle arrivera dans l'heure."

Both boys take special care to not notice the other person in the room, a middle aged man cleaning and oiling his rifle before slotting the dual clips. He places his palm on the grip and mentally commands the rifle to switch clips, ensuring its smooth transition.

Jester nods at Calisto's request.

"Let me put it on screen." Jester limped over to his trid and removed his RC deck from his leg. A few seconds later he had the correct sensor feed up and looping. The thirty seconds the girl was on site loop over and over. The camera zooms in to watch her walk away. Jester seems a little embarrassed about it and offers a shrug by way of explanation.


After he sets up he saddles over to the fridge and gets out some food, ham, some bread and chips. He makes a hearty sandwich and poors a glass of milk. He waits for when everyone else is pre-ocupied before wandering over to Trix's jacked in form. He places the sandwich and milk in front of her.

Biomage tells everyone who is listening what he has found.

"Nothing," he says, "Well, nothing that I recognize. The runecast came up empty when I asked who or what killed Zeidel. The runes said I was not meant to know, among other things. The cast was about me, which is the usual. I can try another cast, but it might not be reliable, unless I wait a week.

"The journal showed signs that Zeidel was a troubled man. I'm guessing it was partly due to schizophrenia and partly paranoia. He was doing research on AIs. A few entries about some 'X-Factor' and mention of a shortcut. It also mentions some kidnapping attempt, presumably by a shadowrunner team. The team fell apart before he was handed over for payment to whomever hired them because they started throwing around accusations about each other scewing up and letting Lone Star on their trail, and they killed each other off. Looks like he escaped when the shooting stopped, maybe because everyone was dead. He also mentions being part of a research team that had gotten corporate money to make a sort of mini-matrix to compare to the real matrix and use neural implants to transmit a constant stream of data with it. It was on a Takara site that was destroyed by Ikeda operatives. I don't know what that means. The handwriting's really different on the last several pages. Might be because he went off his medication.

"Listen to this: I AM THE TRUTH INSIDE, THERE ARE SHADOWS OF LIFE WITHIN ME, HUNTING FOR THE LIGHT. I don't know exactly what that means, though I have an idea of what it might mean. Could be crazy babbling, or it could be that he downloaded an AI that they had created into his headware when the site was destroyed. Maybe it wanted out."

Hafiz shakes his reverie off a little bit.

"Zeidel? Markham Zeidel? I did not realize he was sick, how long was that happening? Jaron is a close friend of his."

Biomage takes a few steps toward Hafiz and bends down a bit to get close to eye level with him, as he is seated on the couch. "How close?" he asks, narrowing his eyes.

Hafiz stammers and turns red.

"Not that kind of friend. He, he, Jaron, he funded his research. Jaron was really interested in Zeidel's AIs--they talked a lot about what they can do, lifespans and understanding the outside world, that type of thing."

Calisto raises an eyebrow at Biomage's antics. "Let's get a little less spin on this people. First, what medication and how do we know he suffered from a mental defect? Second, I need to hit the streets and pick up some new drek hot BTL that's hitting the streets. I have a contact that can point us in the right direction for where to pick it up. Third, we need this modified trode net figured out. If no one else has a contact or the skills to do it themselves, I can arrange to have a discrete professional to do the work. The last thing on this laundry list is finding out how Jaron is doing. Hafiz, any suggestions on who to call?" Her stance is relaxed and firm as she moves through the hangar space. Her body lanuage is fluid and precise. "Let's get to work before more of us end up dead."

Hafiz seems to compose himself under the attention and discipline that Calisto utilizes to pass out directions.

"I can call DocWagon and get an update, or you can call and ask for the update. I have an account number to use. DocWagon tries not to use client names over the phone."

He reaches into his pockets, realizes his phone is not there and moves over to the cot he slept on to scoop the phone out of his jacket. The Arab pulls the number out of speed-dial and waits to be told to make the call or to hand the phone over.

"Make the call Hafiz. Also see when and if he can take a call or have visitors."

"Calisto , you need an escort on the BTL run? By the way, something you guys said earlier jogged a memory. All father is Odin, the king-god of Asgard. It might come in handy, or it might just be a coincedince."

"Ah can take a look at the 'trode net. I should be able to let you know if it's modified, and if there's any base software hardwired into it. If ya want to bring one of those chips home, Ah should be able to plug it into mah deck and look at it without risking anyone's head."