Caliph - Thursday 12 April 2070, 01:06:18 - Bus stop in Tacoma


Spot Eyes on the side of the road as I pull towards the bus stop; huddled under the overhead a bit to get out of the constant, foul, drizzle that turns my headlights into hazy rays in front of me. Head up about half a block and pop a U-ie, pull up next to him, pop the shotgun-side cab door.

"Arriba, cabron! No tengo toda la noche! Watch the AK when you get in - or just toss it in the back." Wave at the gym bag sitting in the shotgun seat.



As we roll on and I check the heads-up map down to Puyallup, I nudge Eyes - "Hey, man, could you put up a new ward in this thing? Old one ran out last week. Give it some juice, too..."

Eyes - Thursday 12 April 2070, 01:06:23 - Bus stop in Tacoma

Aiden laughs to himself as he watches the beast of van that Caliph drives go flying by and then do a quick u-ie to come back his way. The Destroyer, as Eyes refers to Caliph's death van as when its owner isn't around, was one of the largest and most complicated vehicles he had ever seen. He never touched any of the multitudes of buttons on the panel inside, not knowing whether he was going to be turning on floodlights or launching a hidden missile from behind a headlight. Better safe than sorry, so Aiden always kept his hands to himself.

As Caliph's van came back around to pick him up, Aiden slides his Hammerli back into its shoulder rig under his coat and grabs his bag from the seat next to him, tossing out a thumb in Caliph's direction, giving out the old hitch-hiker's sign for 'Need a Ride'. Then Caliph pops the door and grumbles to him to hurry his ass up and Aiden only barely stifles a laugh as he climbs into the Destroyer.

"I'm hurrying," Aiden grunted as he climbed into the shotgun passenger seat, carefully tossing the gymbag and its AK contents in the backseat as he did.

Settling in, Aiden pulls his seatbelt on and stows his own bag down in front of his feet, making sure that it is both secure, easily removeable, and leaves enough room for his feet. At Caliph's request for a new ward, Aiden shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly and responds, "Yeah, I can do it when we get about six hours of breaktime, should be no trouble at all. Drek, I'll even slide the 100 an hour fee I normally charge for this kind of thing. I mean, it's going to be protecting my hoop too, ya know."

Caliph - Thursday 12 April 2070, 01:00:00 - Driving around Seattle in his van



The message comes back to caliph's commlinnk eventually:

<<Plenty of crews going in and out of the Ute now days. No one goes into SLC though. The LSD have the place bottled up tight. Most crews drop an hour out, in the rough ground. Slide me some and I can pass you a contact code.>>

Thursday 12 April 2070 Private Airport in Everett

The trio were already together when Nix got picked up at the Quiky Shak, two blocks from the little house he currently lived in. There was no missing Caliph's vehicle. Nothing like it around town really. Here's hoping it blends a little better in the PCC.

The ride to the airport was spent in reflection by Nix; The failures in summoning were extremely frustrating and occupying too much of his mind right now and kept him both quiet and distracted.

The next thing he knew they were arriving at the little airport. As they rolled up on the entrance gate, a guard stepped out of the shadows to check them out. He was in black tactical gear; An SMG lazily hanging from its sling. Nix took half a second to shift his perceptions to what some people called mage-sight. The van itself was dark and drab, but each of its occupants alive as a dancing melody of colors; Aiden more than the others. The colors of the guards aura are greatly diminished. Too much cyber polluting his body no doubt. He also picked out the second guard, hidden in the darkness and shrouded in something of a technological nature causing a grey haze over him.

The strip itself was nothing special. A small, regional airstrip that really had no right landing a cargo plane on its short runway. No doubt they've faked the transponder. The team passed two hangers, coming to a stop in front of the third where the cargo plane sat. The girl who approaching the team's rig would have been pretty were it not that the sides of her head were shaved leaving a neon blue mohawk... ok more so all the metal on her face than her hairdo. What is it that lowers a persons self esteem so much that they feel the need to mar up their face with all that crap?

Nix exits the van with the rest of the team as the grizzled old dwarf exits the plane and in an exacerbated tone, "What in the hell?! How..?! I thought you all was bringing..?!" Then just as quickly resigns himself back to the situation, "Make's no never mind."

He turns to the girl, "Calli. Get ready to load it and lock it down." He then turns to the foursome, "The passenger seats are in the front. You best be gettin' to 'em. We got us a schedule to keep and I ain't one to mess that up."

Caliph - Thursday 12 April 2070, 02:32, Private Airport in Everett

Dump the assorted members of the team in the back of the van and make small talk as we roll to the airport. Drive up to the airport and dim the headlights as I get close, so as not to blind the guards (including the thermal and infrared headlights, of course). Drop the identifier tags and cover the licenses as we approach. Let the guard take a good look, but blow on by. He's not dumb enough to stop this truck at this hour, and hopefully he's good enough at this business to know not to look very hard. Not like he can, given the amount of wattage shining in his face even with the various lights dimmed.

Pull up caddycorner to the plane and the hanger, and pop the door a little. When the grizzled old dwarf starts barking orders, I smile.

"You the crew chief? Got somethin' for you." Pull a bottle of my own brand of moonshine from under the seat, wrapped nicely in a towel. "Hey darlin'. Hopefully Chief here shares." Smile at the pretty lady he called Calli, and turn back to the chief. "Now, by my watch, we got a minute or two till wheels-up. Lemme give your people a hand gettin' my stuff loaded; ain't my first rodeo."

Queue an instruction to the vehicle to back towards the plane and release the winch. Toss it to the chief. Queue the pressure regulator on the engine to deflate the tires to about 15%, so I can drop the ride height. Toss the chick a heavy bag of ratchet straps and chock blocks for the tires. Grab the gym bag with the AK and a change of clothes for myself.

Betcha these peeps have a Parachuting autosoft or tutorsoft or something I can borrow... been so long since I've done a heavy jump... At least this way I can keep 'em from pawing over my stuff.

Team -Thursday, April12th - Too damn early

The transport is wheels up soon enough, getting out of Seattle airspace before the morning air commuter traffic hits. The transport isn't much to look at, nor does it offer much in the way of comfort. It's stock airframe and innocuos letterings make it ideal for discretion however. After a frightening take off on an indeed too short runway that nearly leaves the trans in a river , it's airborne and headed south/south -east. The Pilot suggests a two and a half hour flight, and warns of additional potential weather delays. Weather in the Ute has never been "ideal" or even very "predictable".

Eyes - Thursday 12 April 2070, 02:32, Private Airport in Everett

Aiden laid his seat back as he and Caliph cruised around town, grabbing Nix and MagPye before heading to the tiny, tiny being an overstatement of sorts, airstrip in Everett. It was one of oh so many in the district, each catering to its own particular type of clients, the shadows being the most predominant of them. Eyes had been to more than enough of these little strips to know how they worked and what to do with the crew: basically sit back and let them do their job, it makes everything go faster. He had tried to help to do tie downs and gear loading on a run once, didn't turn out too well, basically ending with the Star chasing the Cessna out of the zone and he with a sprained back. No, Aiden preferred to do what he was good at, magical recon.

He quickly scouted the area for anything suspicious, coming up with a clean scan after a few moments. Next he looked around for the Johnson or one of her associates. Weren't they supposed to be here to pay them the upfront 'yen before they left for the PCC? Aiden quickly checked his Hammerli and the ring on his hand before dashing over to Nix and MagPye to give a heads up on the situation to see if things had changed with the payup.

Team -Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight Moving

Taking their seats, there's a small satchel waiting for them in the passenger compartment. The satchel includes a set of hardcopies for each set of ID's , as well as a mapsoft OC for the Ute territory, and a link to the old Shadowland files of Shadows of North America, and Native American Nations.

Also included is a waiting file triggered by the case being opened. It runs auto-execute ,transmitting it's self to each commlink. The face of Virginia the fixer appears on the AR.

<<<Good morning gentlemen, glad to 'see' everyone aboard. I hope the flight accomodations meet your expectations. Mr Johnson has made great efforts to get you equipped and in place as quickly as possible.

First, I've transmitted an account code to Mr. Magpye's commlink. For your own safety and security, the numbered account has been set with a password consistin of the date of births from each of your IDs in sequential order. The money is available for transfer now, along with your bonus.

I will be waiting for you when you land to introduce you to Mr johnson, and will fill you in on the particulars of his work and personal life. We can also take care of payment for the IDs then. In the mean time, feel fre to browse the files I've prepared, or get some rest as needed. I'll see you when you land. >>>

The transmitted message blinks out.

MagPye -Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight Moving

MagPye will find the ID that he requested, look it over, and put it away inside his jacket. Looks good but it could be a ID to UCAS number one wanted list. I would never be able to tell. This should be a interesting venture.

MagPye will review the map chip and verify account code receipt at his end.

He will then look around for the accommodations. Darn Tea, no problem staying awake now, just need some relief. He has the I have a mission look on his face.

Caliph - Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight Moving

Stuff gets loaded up, no major bumps and bruises to the vehicle in the process, which makes me feel well. Load the visa into my real commlink and the fake ID into my throwaway, and pocket the hardcopy.

Pull a pillow out and lie down on the hood of my truck, since it's still nice and warm from the ride. Load up the mapsoft and scroll through it for a while, familiarizing myself with the look on the ground around provo.

After a we get to cruising altitude, meander to the front and ask one of the crewmen if they'll tell me which airport we're landing at, so I can get a read on what it looks like.

OOC: Trying an etiquette roll to get a good feeling from the chief, maybe get his phone number as a contact in case we need more air business in the future. Do I have any idea what an appropriate payment to my smuggler contact would be to get his friends' information? Also, don't know if the Chief'll have a problem with me asking which airport we're landing at, and I'll volunteer to let him log me off of comms in case it will make him feel better.

Nix - Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight

Nix starts by sending MayPye the account codes to transmit the money for the binding materials, then reflects on the whole setup. Could be an elaborate setup to grease the team... Could be a federal sting... Could be one of the syndicates cutting down the number of independents working Seattle...

Nix lets his paranoia run rampant for a few minutes before he reigns it back in convincing himself that this is just a run and that recruiting in Seattle gave the Johnson a warm fuzzy of getting world class talent. World class? Hah! We are fairly good and very lucky, but I wouldn't say world class.

As the plane rumbles on towards its destination, he continues to muse on the combination of the thoughts. Salt Lake City? The closest thing I have to a contact there is Spider. Even if we were bound for Denver or Grand Junction, I've not been active there in years... We are way outside on this one..

He finally puts these thoughts out of his head and proceeds to evaluate the files provided by Virginia.

Eyes - Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight Moving

The situation with the IDs and the nuyen dealt with, Aiden moves to one of the passenger seats, dropping into it like a sack of soycakes, the adrenaline of the day starting to wear off. He pulls out the hardcopy of the fake that the Johnson provided for him, a sleek little card with a few minor flaws, good for a cursory glance, but nothing that will stand up to heavy investigation.

Jonathan Talks With Wind? What the...whatever. Hmm..... Corporate Consultant. I like that, not too specific, not too general, could be awake, could be sleepy. I'll have to remember it for later.

Sliding the fake into his coat, Aiden slots the mapsoft of the Ute area, bringing up the geographical terrain layer first. He lets his eyes wander lazily over the map, noting terrain oddities, sites where a variation in background mana is most likely to occur. It would be good to know and expect these kind of things if they are going to be travelling around, don't want a spell to suddenly fizzle or pull up in someone's face. After that he flips through the other layers, noting major cross streets, GridGuide traffic layouts, areas of high Star patrols, and the places of the various border crossings.

Finally tiring of the various electronic versions of Ute land, Aiden lifts himself from the slightly comfortable airline seat, stretching lazily. Spotting the 'hawked girl from their loading, Aiden makes his way over to her and introduces himself, striking up easy conversation on topics like differences between Seattle and Ute territory, the local music scene, the hot nightspots, and current trends in body mods.

(OOC - Aiden is trying to befriend Calli for both business and personal reasons. If conversation go well, he offer to exchange comm numbers so that they can keep in touch. I will roll Charisma 3 + Etiquette 3 (6 dice) with a result of : 2 Successes )

Caliph - Thursday, April12th - 0400 - In Flight Moving

OOC: Nuts to that. If the dude wants to be a prick to my character, who was just trying to be nice, then he doesn't get to be my friend. </sulk>

Compose a text message to my smuggler buddy, including an invoice for a transfer of 500 for a contact. <<@Raul [Caliph] Yeah buddy. That's exactly what I need. You slip me the phone number and slip him some bona fides and the attached present becomes yours. Domine miserere teus, and have fun.>>

Leaves me 100 in pocket change to play with.

Eyes - Thursday, April12th - 0430 - In Flight Moving



Caliph - Thursday, April12th - 0430 - In Flight Moving

No response forthcoming at this point.

Caliph - Thursday, April12th - 0430 - In Flight Moving

Bastards. Any rate, whatever... I can figger this out myself

Sit down in the back of my van, do some quick checks, clean all my firearms, and bring up the mapsoft of the area. Spend a half hour figgering out the map and the various areas, general terrain type, stuff like that. Rummage around in my van for a while, rearranging some of the stuff (extra water bottles, etc) to prepare for the area.

After I'm done with all that stuff, chill out, step out of the van, kick my sleep regulator in, and nap for a while.

After checking the details of the new contacts and attempting to commit the basic details to memory, Nix leans back in his seat and gazes out the window. Feeling sleep beginning to overtake him, he summons a watcher to keep watch over him.

The watcher appears in the shape of the spirit of the eagle. Nix couldn't understand why his watchers usually appeared in the shape of the various shamanistic totems when he himself performed magic using the hermetic tradition. Watch over me while I sleep. Awaken me if we get close to the ground, someone approaches to me to touch or speak to me, your time is about to end or there is trouble. The last part always bothered him. Dang watchers tended to have a little problem interpreting vague commands. He hoped nothing interrupted his nap, but settled back none the less.

All - Thursday, April12th - 0615 - In Flight Moving


The plane taxis in to the Provo international airport. The name, and even very idea , are ridiculous, seeing as provo is little more than a small town with aspirations of grandeur, but falling far short. The airport is large enough to accomodate even a suborbital, albeit only on it's ine run way. Despite the former Ute governments attempts to make their land a major national sector, most major air traffic still goes through Salt Lake City.

The plan taxis in and pulls in to a private hangar. The ground crew gets the plane set in as the rear ramp door opens. Waiting by a large Nomad is Virginia and her body guard escort, the african american man. She smiles , looking much more comfortagble, now dressed in native styled business attire, all of leathers and tassles.

Welcome to Provo. if you'll get your things together, we'll conference quickly, then go to our meeting with Mr Johnson. Let me know when you're ready.

The watcher nudging him to consciousness as the plane begins landing, Nix resists waking but finally submits and opens his eyes. As Virginia comes into sight out the window, Nix looks down at his clothes and washes the caress of mana across and through them. The Fashion spell changes his clothes to a style closer to those the fixer now wears. If nothing else, my corpse will be well dressed.

The native style of dress takes Nix back in time to his youth in the fledgling Sioux nation and his years in the PCC. To all things there is a time and to all times there are cycles. Round this wheel turns.

He grabs his pack and heads out to meet the fixer giving a customary greeting. He acknowledges her request, but waits to reply until the rest of his team mates are ready. We will remain unified even in a thing as little as this.

Aiden finally returns to his seat after a lengthy and enjoyable conversation with Calli, along with her LTG number inputted in his comm. Still rested from his nap before leaning Seattle, he simply cues up more music and dives into a collection of magical texts on the metaplanes he keeps in his comm's memory for light reading.

Some of the planes can be as malleable as the Matrix itself, allowing each of its inhabitants to alter the metaphor of the plane with its will. With these alterations the physics and rules can also be changed, creating diverse and sometimes dyametrically opposed landscapes next to each other on a single plane. Even visitors with a strong enough will can bend the planes to their whims, though this is often ill-advised as it may draw the attention of the planes actual inhabitants to the spot....

As plane begins its descent and taxis into the Provo airport, Aiden closes the file down, bookmarking his page with a thought and a flick of his finger. Stretching in his seat, he adjusts his coat to look a tad more presentable than the travel worn wrinkles it currently dons. Watching Nix magic his clothes clean and changed Aiden makes a mental note to learn how he does that at some point.

With the plane finally stopped and opened up, Aiden grabs his bag from under his seat and hoists it up onto his shoulder, heading to the back of the plane and the ramp down to the tarmac. There is Ms. Johnson, looking much more in her element, along with bodyguard, looking like he has a stick up his ass like last time. Just another reason not to bodyguard jobs, too much stress, causes hernias and such.

Checking the Johnson and her stiff, as well as the surrounding runway and area, Aiden makes a sweep both in and out of the Astral, checking for anything suspicious.

(OOC - Perception Check: Intuition 4 + Perception 3 + Visual Spec 2 + Vision Enhance 3 + Mentor Bonus 2 = 14 Dice : 5 Successes
Assensing Check: Intuition 4 + Assensing 4 + Mentor Bonus 2 = 10 Dice : 2 Successes )

MagPye MagPye will gather his bag and leave the airframe, upon seeing Virgina he will break into a large smile.

Hello again, very nice flight. Makes some twisting movements with his waist, with some slight popping noises can be heard. He will nod to each of her bodyguard.

Caliph - Thursday, April12th - 0800 - Airstrip in Provo

When we hit ground, I get around to prepping my truck to roll off the plane. Even as we're rolling, I've taken the tie-downs off the tires, heated up the central pressure regulator on the vehicle, and as the ramp descends I fire the truck up and pull out.

Leave the car idling on the tarmac, facing the much smaller Nomad that our contacts rolled up in. It makes me happy to know that my truck is bigger, no matter how shallow and vacuous the feeling is. Sit it idling there and puffing air back into its tires.

Grab the gym bag and hop out. Put a smile on and wave to the Johnson, etc. while I check out the surroundings and bask in the air of the southwest.

Home again!

All - Thursday, April12th - 0630 - Provo "International" Airport

Once everyone is offloaded and set, Virgina puts on her "let's talk" face.

Since your'e all set, I would like to get moving . Mr Johnson is an early riser, and would like this business taken care of immediately. I hope you've rested some on your flight. I would like to brief you with some basic information on the way. If Mr Nyx and Mr Magpye are still your chosen representatives, I ask that the two of you ride with me, so that I can explain things on the way. You will of course have some time to confer with your team once we reach our destination.

Without another word, Virgina climbs in to the Nomad along with her bodyguard. Apparently the driver is already inside behind the darkened glass. She leaves the door open. Inside, Virginia and her guard are in the back bench seat. The vehicle has been modified sot that the front bench is turned to face the rear.

Nix climbs into the Nomad and takes a seat, his small bag of gear in Caliph's vehicle, which coincidentally seems to fit in much more here than it did in Seattle. A plethora of questions traverse his mind, but most of them are of the mundane nature and not befitting a professional sitting across from a new fixer. In the end he chooses a few questions more befitting a professional runner:
"Will we be meeting him at the location where the abduction occurred?"
"Has any new information presented itself since our last discussion?"
"Is there anything else we should know etiquette-wise about Mr Johnson? What he prefers to be called? How he prefers to be addressed? Any mannerisms he expects, are a local custom or that would be considered an offense?"

MagPye will come in the Nomad after Nix and sit beside him.

He will listen to Nix's questions.

Mr Johnson's name is Arthur Dances on Clouds. He is a regional manager for Iris Systems out of Santa Fe. Iris is the second top tech corp in The PCC. He is also a thunderbird shaman, and so tends to be very proud , and a little touchy, so avoid any potential insults. He appears to be anglo, although he claims an AmerInd name. He does have native blood, enough to be allowed in to a major PCC corp, but as I said, it's a touchy subject with him.

As for greeting him, he doesn't hold much to "proper etiquette", but he does expect his do. Give him a proper bpw of the heaed at the beginning and end of the meet, and don't interupt him, and everything should go smootly. No handshaking, spellcasting, or assensing.

Arthur is single, and has been for some years. His ex-wife Janice ... she quickly scans an AR window she has on provate mode Cartwright, using her maiden name again, is anglo, location unknown. They've been divorced since shortly after their son was born.

The kidnapping occured in the home, which is were we will be meeting Mr. Dances on Clouds. He can show you the room as well as a few personal affects. His son's name is Jonas. As I mentioned, he is five years old.

As I mentioned, I d also have a guide arranged if you should feel you need his services. He is an old angloe man called Carter. I have his contact number if you'd like it. His fee will come out of your pocket.

Any other questions?

Virginia sends out a quick holopic of a young boy, of about 5 yeras of age. He is human, with short cut, dark hair, and tanned skin. Although it is possible he could be of AmerInd descent, it wouldn't be a casual lookers first guess. He's smiling, outside on a swing set, wearing urban tribal styled clothing.

As Nix and Virginia talk, he takes a few notes in AR. So much legwork.. Iris Systems... Janice Cartwright... Could it be that simple? The missing ex-wife kidnapping the kid?

"The X divorced about five years ago then went missing...? We'll need to know if there has been any contact from her since... or if Mr Dances-On-Clouds knows her final disposition. The latter of course to keep us from chasing geese. We will also have to make discreet inquiries into his position. Motive will lead us to the kidnapper...."

I've already commented to him on the position of his ex-wife. He has had no contact with her since four years ago. She made some efforts to reconcile their relationship. Apparently he was the one that ended the relationship. Never the less, I agree that she could be involved and is worth checking out. He has no information on her however.

I believe he did say that the detective that went missing ,Charlie Two-Feathers, also planned on checking on her. I do not know if his dissapearnace is related to that.

Inquiries in to his work would likely be a good idea. He however, won't take kindly to them. So do it without his knowledge, and quietly.

The P.I. in Nix was beginning to come out now. He focused in on the wife now. Charlie was on her trail when he disappeared... I think we have a solid lead. There is something that is not being exposed about her though... Johnson isn't taking her on directly; No contact in four years; She leaves right after the child is born... 2+2 is coming up 27... Time to earn our money and figure out the missing bits...

MagPye will take notes as she answers Nix's questions.

How soon before we meet Mr Dances on Clouds?

I will take the number for the Mr. Carter.

Did the ex wife Janice have an occupation prior to the marriage and during the marriage?

Do you know if they had any issues with Janice getting pregnant?

He will look at the picture of the child.

I'm not aware of any issues with the pregnancy. Her exact work I don't know, but I had the impression it was a bit beneath Mr Dances on Clouds tax bracket.

We'll be meeting him in about 15 minutes. He lies in West Valley, not far from here.

Virginia transmits a comm number with the name "Carter" attached.

The ride is quiet, as Virginia's Nomad winds up I-15 to West Valley. The wind is beginning to pick up in the early morning, to the point of batting the SUV around on the highway a bit. Luckily there isn't much commute traffic at 0600, so there's plenty of room.

The SUV passes a highwinds area know Point of the Mountain, a jutting point off the main Timpanogos range. It used to be internatioanlly renowded as a hot spot for gliders, as the natural wind currents would keep them aloft in the same area with ease. Now most of the point has been dulled by excavation by a local mining corp, leaving nothign but highwinds.

The nomad pulls off of the freeway, heading into a residential district. The homes here are a higher tax bracket than the runners are used to. High level managers and low lever VPs must occupy the homes here, by the discreet security systems, and not so discreet patrol cars. Private security of course. Eagle security is so much more prestigious than regular beat cops.

The SUV pulls up to a two story house, blocked off by a security gate like all the others on the block. The gate opens as it plls in to the drive way. The house isn't ostentatious in the way of Seattle's elite in Bellevue. But it's comfort and quality are evident.

The gate stays open long enough for Caliph's bull dog to pull in behind, then closes with a slow rattle. Virginia opens the door, as her bodyguard keeps an eye on the runners. She hops out , gesturing to the gray house, still dark in the predawn light.

Mr Dances on Clouds is waiting. This way gentleman.

Well at least this Johnson has money. Not like that little snot-bag Dixon who sent us after the woman who supposedly had key-codes to the Ares Mainframe. Can't believe he talked us into 15% upfront.... Thought it was bad when we found out she was really his wife ran off with her personal trainer... Not nearly as bad for him as when he couldn't pay off the balance... Wonder if he still needs that colostomy bag? As they pull through the gate, Nix focuses back to the present. He accepts the various AROs from Virginia and admires the approaching house.

A subtle gesture by Nix is all that betrays his spell as he moves to follow Virginia out the door. He hesitates in the doorway only for a second to recast the spell. He knew he had botched the spell as soon as it was cast. He was glad for his quickened reflexes; He was so fast that the casting of the spells should not have been noticed.

The mask spell only affects his face and hands, his clothes truly changed earlier. The changes were subtle. Higher cheek bones, shades of skin, eye and hair color darkening darkening. Things enough that if you took a picture of him and compared it to his real self you'd say, "No. Not the same person, though close..."

"Please. Lead on." Nix says with a smile.

MagPye will get out of the Nomad check his clothing,and smooth out his mustache.

He will button his jacket and place his hat on his head at a correct tilt.

A big smile comes across his face.

Yes my lady, Please Lead on. MagPye will follow Virgina's lead into the house.

Aiden enjoys the ride to Mr. Johnson's doss in a general air of observance. Caliph may have had the music blaring at troll-thumping levels for all he knew, Aiden was too deep in his thoughts to notice. Johnson's son kidnapped. No idea on coordinates of the former Mrs. Johnson. Suspect on her end. Motive? Not easily identifiable, will take more observation. Johnson? Shaman and CEO. Child? Possibly gifted....maybe kidnapped for future potential. Likely. No Ransom note? Supports 'napping for the gift or the mother, not blackmail or nuyen then. Need to see the Johnson and the site, needs more observation. Aiden's thoughts flick through his head quickly and coldly, calculating every possible way right up to the moment the Bull Dog pulls in through the security gates.

Stepping from the van, Aiden hesitantly releases the sustained spell laid into his watch, remembering the note of no casting or assenssing from Virginia. He did fly us all the way out here and he is no one we have met before, it is highly improbable that he brought us all the way out here to get geeked. Feeling prepares, he follows the others when they enter the premise.

As they approach the doorway, Nix's smile drops from his face. Frelling dren filled ghoul licking.... and he stops, dropping the mask.

"Viriginia. I will need Mr Dances-With-Clouds to implicitly allow me to pass through his barrier. Please advise him that I have a quickened spell."

Virginia seems to take it in stride, not really suprised that the mage has a spell quickened. After all, your team was called up because of their excelelnt reputation.

What sort of spell?

Not wanting to fully play his hand Nix answers the question, "A spell from the health sphere."

Caliph

I follow the tiny little nomad at a discreet distance; though on a rural route like this with little traffic any observer for any time period could figure out the connection.

It's a pretty drive. These communities are always easy to get in and out of, no matter how important they think their fences make them. On the picture-in-picture window on my cybereyes I'm queueing up imagery/topo/drainage maps of the area to figure out access.

I drum my fingers a bit as I drive. It frustrates me that I can't hear the conversation in the Nomad ahead of me. Magpye better have a recording of the whole thing ready for me the instant he steps out.

We pull into the nouveau-western styled house complex and I wince a bit. There's no way that people haven't been over this yard a lot. Send a quick message to the face group - << @Nix, Magpye (Caliph) - I'm going to need complete security system and camera recordings from this area and logs of all the inspections that neighborhood security and the PIs did, if the Johnson has them.>>.

Grab the sniper rifle (in its case, of course) and sling the whole kibosh over my shoulder. Only fools carry pistols in this part of the country.

I think, MR Nix , that our employer will want something more specific than that.

MagPye

Will watch the exchange between Virgina and Nix, he will slowly reach up and groom his mustache.

<<@ Caliph (MagPye) My Apologies, I did not forward to you the conversations we had with Virgina on the way here. Your requests may be problematic due to the nature of Mr. Dances On Clouds. Standby for data recording from the conversations with Virgina. Sound file attached>>

MagPye will stop grooming his mustache, and wait until the issue at hand is addressed.

Nix stops and looks at Virginia, perplexed, "Excuse me?" He waits for her to stop and turn around. "I am a professional. As such I will afford Mr Johnson his due respect and I will put my life on the line to locate his son. I however expect a measure of decorum myself. If that answer does not suffice and he trusts me with his son but not in his home then I am more than happy to have our briefing in the wonderful garden that I am sure exists on the backside of the house."

While retaining a calm demeanor, Nix is obvious caught off guard by what he perceives as a breach of etiquette by Virginia.

Roll Neogtiation +1 modifier for good RPing/wording

OOC: 2,3,4,5,1,3,3,5,2 - If we are bargaining 2 hits.. Else only 1 hit.

Aiden keeps his smile to himself as he watches Nix take a verbal bite out of Virginia. Very well said my friend, very well said, which is accompanied with a fair amount of mental applause. Although having been standing around during this whole stand-off between the two, Aiden has not just been watching the cock fight, but also scanning the area for security measures, cameras, sensors, and anything deadly looking, keeping it to the physical plane as per the Johnson's request.

(OOC - I roll Perception to scan the area for the above mentioned things. Perception 3 + Specialization Visual 2 + Intuition 4 + Vision Enhancement 3 + Mentor Bonus 2 : 15 Dice = 9 Successes......wow that was a lot of successes....)

MagPye will not flinch at Nix's words to Virgina. Ah these Gadje do not understand the guest rites, or the courtesies of same. My sister and my mother's clan would have had a different view on such behaviors. Nix would not have fared well against them. It has been so long among them, and still such makes me long for those of the Rhomany to work with.

Mr Johnson is indeed trusting you with the lfie of his only son, and entrance into his home and life. Coming in masked will not endeer you well to him and his trust that he is placing upon you. Would you trust a man who refused to show you his face? Consider also that Mr Johnson is hiring you because twice he has placed his trust in others to find his son, and came up short. This will not be seen as a good beginning.

Caliph

I climb out of my truck and watch the procession to the front of the house. I hang back a bit and let them work out their greeting etiquette and stuff; in the meanwhile I light a cigarette and start shuffling through the audio recording of the conversation in the Nomad in my head. It's easy, when fast forward and rewind are controlled by one's brain.

When I hear the magic words, the words that make my particular job so much easier, I cough a bit on the smoke. I rewind it and play it back to make sure. Yep - there they are... Taken from the home... BINGO!

I fall in line behind the procession into the building. I have a place in this meeting, for certain. I leave the sniper rifle slung over the back; though it would be a faux pas in Seattle, down here any true Indian should expect it. And it's in the case, anyway...