<<That's not a bad idea. They're like a fast-food fortress, heh. I say we set up the meet in Everett. I know some guys who could show up if it looks like things are gonna go...badly. Hopefully they won't be that dumb.>>

16:10 2nd Jan 2070 --McHuge's, Everett Seattle--

Sybercat gives you the keys to her van.

"I'm gonna be busy working through Hacks comlink here. Just don't trash the van k."

The rain has picked up again as you drive towards the McHuge's in Everett. The van pulls into the parking lot and you enter the restaurant.

Mack: As you enter the restaurant you remember why you hate this place. The thin molded plastic furniture does not look like it has a hope of bearing your weight. It's deliberately designed to be fragile so that they cannot be used as cover. You also notice that the three security guards stationed around the dining room perk up when they see everyone file through the door. You're still wearing your 'working' cloths and Hex, you think there is still the faint smell of gunpowder on your jacket.

Slash has already arrived. You sit down across from him.

"Where's Hack? I ain't sayin nothin till I know e's not dead."

1625 2nd Jan 2070 --McHuge's, Everett Seattle

Loki walks in, looks around, and goes toward Slash. "You're Slash? We have your brother. You tell us what we need to know and you get him. Now, tell me everything you know about Dark Angel or Jim Crull. Hack didn't know much, but he said you would know more."

<<This guy seems like he knows more than Hack did. He's probably the leader of the operation. If he doesn't know much, he should be able to forward us to someone who does.>>

16:30 2nd Jan 2070 --McHuge's Everett Seattle--

"I tols ya, I wanna know dat mah broder is OK beffor I tells ya anyting..." He seems to deflate slightly. "ahh screws it... If he dead, he dead. I tells ya what I knows...

Dis chummer o' mine, names Slim tol me he knew a guy dat needed a special body. I sure Hack tol you about im. Anyhow We find da body an' planted it. After a couple o' days we still ain't seen da green so I got a buddy o' mine who knows about dat computer dreck ta take a look inta da body and figur out who's suppos ta be payin. It turns out some kleeb name Ed-word Crull claimed da body an filled out da death sirtificate fer Jim Crull. Here."

He sends a file to your comlinks, it contains a digital copy of Jim Crull's death certificate and lists an Edward Crull as his brother and nearest relation. It also has Edward Crull's address. The bad news is... Edward Crull is located in a high security, gated community with extraterritorial status owned by Mituchima Computer Technology. Lone Star doesn't give it a security rating, but if MCT has gone to the trouble of giving it extraterritorial status you can be assured that it's high.

"Now I tols you wot I knows. Lemma broder go, or a' leas gimme 'is body so I can bury em."

<<Message to team>>
<<Another Crull?! Oh shit, should have seen that coming! This thing gets weirder and weirder!>>

"Slash! Your bro is here, ALIVE! But before we let him go, tell me more about this Slim that contacted you. Is he a runner for the Yaks?"

"ya... he work for da Yaks... Dunno much more dan dat though..." his brow furrows in concentration "Few monts back he says dat he workin fer a new ho-u-ban" his mouth contorts around the difficult syllables in the Japanse word Oyuban "I only remembers cause he say it was some chick. Dat's weird. Da yaks are da biggest boys club in da plex. Cat... Kat... someting like dat. Havn' hear from Slim in bout two weeks dough. I tink he sometims hangs at some club... Mindfuck... Mindwarp... Mind-somting? I dunno. My kind ain' welcome dere. Careful, is crawlen wit Yaks."

Mack sends:
<<Sounds like he is giving us the straight dope. Good thing we checked with him. Should I bring Slash in now?>>

<<Yeah, I think he's telling the truth. Go ahead and bring in Slash, I think that's all he's got - and if not, it might make him happy enough to share a little more.>>

"We'll definitely be able to use that info, Slash. Here's your brother."

<<Any other questions, or should we let them go? I think I have all I need to know, personally.>>

Mack gets Slash out of the Van, closes the van up, then finishes unfastening him.
Help him stand, and walk him in to the restaurant, and up to the table.

We did what we could for the road rash.

<<Should we get back in touch with our patron and ask her if she ever heard of Ed Crull? She might know something about DAs family. I don't want to let her know what we have found out, but we do need more info.>>

<<OK, let Hack go now, and lets get back to rest up before Xanadu. Loki looks like he could do with some rest to heal, and I need to be on form to do my duties tonight.

In the morning we'll see what we got from Xanadu and then we'll call Icelady to see what she knows.>>

After depositing Hack outside the restaurant you make your way back to the Yellow Brick Road.

You pull the van around to a garage in the front and walk into the front room. Immediately it becomes clear where Tinman gets most of his money. The room is packed with weapons of almost every conceivable make, model, and caliber. There are crates of cheap AK98 and Styer TMP knockoffs probably destined for the street gang market, a stripped Ingram Warrior 10 lying on a crate of... what appear to be mortar shells, a Ruger Thunderbolt (probably better not to ask where that came from), and even a high tech HK Urban Combat gun leaning against a wall. You've heard those things can get smuggled through airport security without so much as a blinking light.

Your attention is drawn to a troll with white hair flying away from his scalp in a million different directions, sitting behind a desk with a single naked lightbulb swinging above his head. Parts for a Nitama Optimum II are scattered across the desk in front of him. He has a pair of bulky goggles over his eyes and seems to be completely engrossed in whatever he is tinkering with. This is probably Elfin-Face, the name suits, in an ironic sort of way. One of his horns is missing and his left arm has been replaced with a huge bulky contraption that looks massive, even on a troll. His 'hand' is actually a weird collection of small probes, screwdrivers, tiny manipulator arms and quite possibly a kitchen sink.

He glances up as you enter, his hand going to a bone white Ares Predator II sitting on the desk beside him.

"You Cat's crew? Just a moment. I will get her. You can here his joints popping from across the room as he slowly gets to his feet and sticks his head through a door behind him. "CAT! ваши друзьÑ? здеÑ?ÑŒ!"

You hear Sybercat shout from somewhere deeper in the building. Я буду там! You couldn't understand a word, but she sounds pissed off.

Elfin-Face turns back to you. "She will be out soon. Please, take a seat. I just put a pot of real coffee on. Would you like some?" You notice he seems to be over enunciating each word, almost as if he needs to put significant effort into speaking clearly.

After a few moments Sybercat comes in. She has an icepack pressed against her skull and a bloody tissue under her nose.

"Hopefully you guys had better luck than me. That SIN traced back to MCT, didn't match Jim Crull's though. I tried to dig deeper and triggered an alert. Fragging ICE almost got me. It was ugly in there."

Loki walks in, looks around, and says, "Coffee? I'd love some. My thanks."

"Looks painful. We got some info, though. For one, we found out Angel had a brother, Edward Crull who apparently filled out his death cert. We got an address, but he lives in an extraterritorial Mituchima high-rise. I might be able to talk my way in, but maybe not all of us. There's also a contact of Slash's who apparently hung out at a club with Mind in the name. We didn't get a name, but we know that much. It's full of Yaks, though, so if we go there we need to be careful. Oh, and the trolls weren't told to get Dark Angel specifically, but might as well have. They were given very specific details about the body in question, so either it was a coincidence or the person who paid them didn't want to give out a name. I'm more inclined to believe the latter. Who matched the SIN given to you?" Loki says to Sybercat after she comes out, adding the rest of the information given.

He looks over to Elfin-Face, "Hey yeah! Real coffee! Make mine a large! The names Sweeps pal, nice to meet ya!" the grin returning to his face.

Sweeps looked at Sybercat and winces. Instantly he is reminded of his neighbour, who was made a vegetable in the second matrix crash.

"Hey you gonna be ok?" he said, his usual mocking tone absent from his voice.

He then listens to Loki explaining things.

"Hack and Slash are clearly no where near smart enough to be at the centre of all of this. And that was clearly why they were chosen to do this job. Some guy called Slim set up Hack and Slash to the job. This Slim, we could do with knowing more about. Apparently he's been working for the Oyuban, or so Slash says, a woman named something like Cat or Kat, and Slim hasn't been seen for a while now.

Edward Crull is the name we were given by Slash, and we're assuming he must be a brother, though I'm just taking a wild guess at that.

We have a broken trail of breadcrumbs to follow and I for one am confused as hell as to what is going on."

Sweeps's face darkens,
"One thing that's becoming painfully clear, is that the Yaks are at the centre of this, and if they're at the centre, there is a VERY good chance that Mitshuma Computer Technologies are too! And that's BAD NEWS for us! Many a runner has gone off the radar after trying to break MCT.

One thing I would like to know, who actually owns or runs the club Chiaroscuro. Dark Angel was due to perform there after all."
He looks at Sybercat and thinks it best not to ask her to try and find out for now.
"Hey ah, Elfin-Face, would you know who could find that out for us?"

He sighs and clenches and un-clenches his hands.
"I'm itching to get to Xanadu now though. We need to find out where Dynamo Blue fits into all of this."

After the capture of Hack, Padre sat back and frowned, a conflicted look crossing his face. When he sees the room they're going to do the interrogation in, he quickly steps back out of the back room and sits out in the van, looking over the weapons they managed to take from Hack. He completely focuses on the weapons and ignores the others as they return to the van, electing to stay with the van once they get to the other meeting.

While the meeting with Slash is going on, Padre bows his head and takes time to pray. He continues praying silently straight through the drive back to the Yellow Brick Road. Once there, he opens his eyes and smiles at anyone who happens to look his way, although anyone who looked closer may notice that the smile is a little strained.

He nods respectfully to Elfin-Face. "No coffee for me, thank you... but do you mind if I look around?" He gestures to the weapons around the room.

He looks to Sybercat as she enters, taking in her injuries with a concerned look on his face. "Miss Sybercat, are you alright? Do you need assistance?"

"Oh and when we're done at Xanadu, I'd really like to speak with Dark Angels band mates. I'm guessing that the shoot out at Heaven and the car chase with Hack and Slash has gotten someones attention. The time for sneaking around will soon be over. So I think it's ok to talk to the band."

Hex walked into the room and slumped into a squeaky metal chair. Looking around the room he lets out an audible whistle at the number of guns laying around the place. "Wow. Remind me to come back here after we get paid...I suddenly have plans for what to do with the money. And yeah, coffee sounds good. Haven't had real stuff in...well, a long time."

Listening to the other runners talk he nods along with the plans. Looking over at Sweeps, he says, "Looks like you get to steal the show tonight. And hopefully some useful info, too. Security at that place was pretty bad on the outside, can't imagine it's better inside either. Unless you need some help though, I got stuff I need to take care of. I vote for a night off, meet up tomorrow to discuss whatever turns up."

Mack listens to Hex, and looks at the armaments.

I'll ride along tonight Sweeps, unless you object. Just in case someone comes to cause trouble.

Then Mack looks around at the weaponry in more detail. He hasn't seen this much stuff in one place sine the company armory.
(He is particularly interested in any and all knives. He will look at the heavy weapons and the ammo for them as well.)
If, for any reason Elfin-face says anything that leads him to think examining the equipment is undesired, Mack will stop looking around.

If Elfin-face actually stops working and doesn't appear to be about to start something else, Mack will ask if he handles knives.

Elfin-Face chuckles as he pours a rich smelling cup of real coffee for you "I am glad you approve. I'm too slow to run anymore and guns have always been a hobby of mine. I do what I can. It keeps the lights on and the locals happy."

Mack: When you ask about the knives Elfin-Face shrugs slightly.

"Tinman's really the one to talk with about knives. If I couldn't shoot someone I tended to use these " as a pair of long chrome stilettos extend from his knuckles. "I do have something you might like though."

He wanders off to a stack of crates sitting by his desk and begins rummaging around. After a moment or two he returns with a slightly banged up box with an Ares logo printed on it approximately 15 inches long and 4 inches wide. He hands it to you with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Found a couple of these during a raid on an Ares facility... oh probably fifteen years back. Tinman snagged them because he thought they looked pretty wiz. Ares was trying to develop the 'next generation' of combat knife, the project fell through when they realized that they had spent almost half a million nuyen on the prototype alone and they were starting to develop nano manufacturing techniques that would do the job just as well, for half the price. Apart from a couple in Tinman's personal collection this is our last one. It's your's for... how about twenty thousand nuyen, it is just collecting dust right now."

As you slide open the box you see the most beautiful weapon you've ever seen before in your life. Pure sex would be the best way to describe it. It's blade reflects the light almost like liquid silver, the edge looks almost like pearl and the matte black hilt is wrapped in silver wire. After a second or two your brain registers what it is seeing. This is a mark 15 XCK (Experimental Combat Knife). You'll have to check the details on the knife collectors forum you frequent later but you remember that Ares developed this in the early to mid 60's in an attempt to develop a knife that could deal with most modern body armours. It's edge consists of a highly complex matrix of artificial diamond and it has a small power source inside that causes the blade to vibrate almost a million times a second. It can cut through a steel plate like butter and is one of the single most sought after weapons on the knife collectors market. You think you know of one other person who owns one.

Mack stands, holding the box, looking at the knife.
After a few minutes, he looks up at Elfin-Face:
May I take her out of the box?

When Elfin-Face agrees, Mack carefully removes the Knife from the box, and weights it in his hand. The fit is beautiful.

Turning away from the table, Mack moves around a little while holding the blade. Not so much striking, as moving his body while the blade extends from it. He stops and sighs.

A lady of beauty and elegance. And undoubtedly quite deadly.

Mack puts her back in the box, and puts the box back on the table.

If I had the money, I would undoubtedly simply accept your offer. However, even after this job is complete I am unlikely to be able to cover what she is worth. Until then, I will not insult you or her by attempting to discuss the price.

And Mack slowly slides the box back across the table to Elfin-Face.

Sweeps pats Mack on the back in sympathy.

"Don't worry there buddy, you'll be able to afford it one day."

He sighs dramatically wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"In the mean time there is a nice butter knife I saw in the kitchen you could try!"

Sweeps, while laughing, jumps back quickly in case Mack takes a swing.

Mack looks at Sweeps, and takes a half-hearted swipe at him (mostly because he seems to expect one).
Then, turning back to Elfin-Face I guess some folks do not see beauty.

Thank you for showing her to me.

22:20 2nd Jan 2070 --Xanadu, Renton Seattle--

A heavy drizzle is coming down as Sybercat pulls the van into the parking lot of a different warehouse and turns it off. She clambers out of the drivers seat and says.

"Could someone else take the wheel? Just in case we need to make a quick exit. I'm gonna be busy in VR and sometimes seconds matter." At this she pops the football mouthguard in her mouth and slumps over in the seat.

Sweeps: You slide open the door from the van and turn your collar up against the rain. As you approach the studio you see the sign is darkened and you can only see a dim light coming from the front window. The rest of the street is deserted apart from the odd dilivery truck winding their way from warehouse to warehouse, even the stuffer shack on the corner doesn't look like it's open 24 hours.

Sybercat's avatar appears in the corner of your ARO. The combat armour you've seen her wearing up until the point is gone and she's wearing a form fitting black bodysuit with a balaclava over her face. <<Hey! My agent looks like he's still in place. The maglocks arn't online so you'll have to crack them the old fashioned way but I should be able to slow down the response time to any calls for help if something goes wrong. Best of luck buddy.>>

22:20 2nd Jan 2070 --Xanadu, Renton Seattle--

Padre seats himself in the driver's seat and smiles at Sybercat. "Miss Sybercat, I can take the driver's seat for now, but, should we become involved in anything resembling a high speed chase, it would be advisable for someone with more experience than I take the wheel."

22:20 2nd Jan 2070 --Xanadu, Renton Seattle--

Thanks Padre. I'll keep an eye out for external trouble.

Mack slides the side door of the van part way open, and arranges a number of throwing knives ready to hand.

2220 2nd Jan 2070 -- Xanadu, Renton Seattle

Loki gets in the back of the van and says, "I think I'll sit this one out. I'm no good in a firefight, and I'll just be another body to risk getting killed. And I don't want that. I'm sure you all can handle it anyway."

Before Sweeps steps out of the van, Padre catches his arm. "My friend, if you need to do anything that will leave a trace that you had been in there, grab something unrelated to what we are actually looking for. Perhaps a copy of the music from the Dark Angel album that is coming out. The longer we can divert their attention from our inquiries, the better. Good luck in there, and the Lord's Blessing be upon you."

Sweeps feels the cold of the rain get colder as he hears Padre's words:

"Right back at ya!" he says weakly. He had never been a religious elf, and to have someone share their faith with him felt odd. Strangely he was comforted by it.

"No worries on the red herring planting front. They'll never know I was there." With that he activates his chameleon suit, and runs into the night.

He gets running around the back of the building, praying that Sybercat has any camera's locked down. He gets to the back door and pulls out his maglock passkey and gets to work on the lock.


If he gets in, he heads to Dynamo's Office and looks around. And finds somewhere to plant the signal booster.

The maglock doesn't seem to be accepting your passkey...



The light begins blinking red and you nervously remove the outer casing exposing the wires within. Clenching your passkey between your teeth you find a likely spot to create a short and bridge the connection hoping that the voltage is low enough not to burn you through your gloves. A spark lights the night and the smell of ozone fills your nostrils as the angry red light goes dark.



Breathing a sigh of relief you hope you haven't set off any silent alarms. Just as you are about to open the door you hear a muffled bootsteps approach from the other side. The maglock is still sitting there, wires exposed and you're crouched by the door. You figure you have about 10 seconds before he opens the door (assuming that is his plan and he's not just on a routine patrol).

Sweeps moves quickly. No time to put the maglock back together.

He draws his stun baton and positions himself at the side of the door and waits for the guard to open the door

When the guard sticks his head/body out of the door, Sweeps sticks him with the stun baton!

The guard opens the door and begins panning with a flashlight. Taking advantage of the fact that he hasn't seen you, you jam the stun baton into the small of his back and just hold it there for just a moment longer than you are 'supposed' to.



The guard stiffens and convulses as the current courses though him. When you turn the power off, he collapses to the ground still twitching, the smell of burnt hair filling the night air.

Sweeps made curses to the gods of all style and finesse.

Sloppy, sloppy SLOPPY!!!

He allowed himself an ironic sigh and gave himself a mental shake.

<Syberbabe>
<Did this little barbecue chop here press the panic buttons at all? Is anyone coming to bother me?
Also, can you tell if this is the only person in here?>

Sweeps grabs the guard by the boots and dragged his sorry ass just inside the door. He then pulls the door almost closed, but did not allow the maglock to engage.

He searches the guard for anything interesting, such as keys, keycards,... anything else.

He then proceeds to Dynamo Blue's office and plants the signal booster under her desk near her terminal, making sure it won't be found easily. He then looks around for anything interesting.

After rummaging around Dynamo Blues office, he goes back to the hallway to the guard and dragged him to the locked door with the finger print scanner.

He then takes the guards index finger and presses it to the scanner.

<<His is the only PAN I'm picking up in the building. I didn't pick up any calls either. He probably didn't think you were a threat until he was out cold on the pavement. Still though, be careful. It's possible that someone has a comlink in hidden mode still.>>

After giving the guard a quick patdown you find his comlink, an Ares Light Fire pistol and a keycard (likely for the maglocks on the front door).

Creeping down the hall you enter Dynamo's office and plant the signal booster. Her desk drawer is locked, but it's a cheap keylock, you could pick it with a piece of bent wire so the autopicker makes short work of it. Inside you find several scraps of paper, pens, pencils and other miscellaneous junk.



You're just about to shut the drawer when you notice a scrap of paper with "Acc# 274523-475-446" written on it. Copying the number down into the notepad on your comlink you make your way back out into the hall. Grabbing the guard you press his thumb against the maglock and a soft blue light reads his print. Unfortunatly the lock doesn't disengage and red text appears on the screen
BIOMETRICS NOT RECOGNIZED
PLEASE RETRY

<Sybercat>
<Hey Syberbabe! I got a finger print lock in here, I tried the guards print, but it won't open for him. You think you can trip the switch with his finger print? I got his comlink here if you need any credentials from him>

Sweeps looks down at the poor man on the floor, he checks to see the man is still breathing and still unconscious.

He also takes the mans weapon for safe keeping and pockets the kaycard and the mans comlink.

Padre nervously sits in the driver's seat, turning his head this way and that, searching for anything that could put a cramp in their plan. Every couple minutes, he sends a random message to Loki's commlink before going back to looking around.

<<I'm here, where are you?>>

<<Where are you?>>

<<My child, are you coming? There are others wanting to go home. You are making them wait.>>

<<I grow weary of these games. Come to where you said you'd meet me before I leave you to find your own way home.>>

<<Lemme see what I can do...>>



After a few tense seconds Sybercat comes over your comlink again.

<<Ok... try the finger again... I think... that should work... Just hold it for a few seconds... BINGO! We're IN!>>

The door swings open and you find a fireproofed room with whole bunch of datachips, each one is carefully organized according to a neatly printed label. You don't know much about the recording industry but you're pretty sure these must be the orriginal recordings of every artist in their stable...

As you begin working your way through chips trying to see if anything jumps out at you...

After a few moments of searching you find a chip labeled "Dark Angel".

<Sybercat>
<Hey thanks! That worked like a charm!

Can you get into the security office system to see if there is any info or interesting entries?
Also, I'm not sure if this means anything, but I found a number written on a peace of paper I left in Dynamo Blue's office:
Acc# 274523-475-446
Sounds like an account you might want to check out later.>

Sweeps takes the data chip and puts it safely in a pocket next.
Sweeps remembers Padré's suggestion. He looks over the chips to see if there are any interesting artists here.
He grabs a handful of random chips, some of which he scatters in the hallway to the back door.

He takes one last look around.
He checks the reception desk for any interesting appointments.
He checks the security office for interesting info.
He looks in the recording studio, just in case.

23:05 2nd Jan 2070 --Sybercats Van--

Sweeps: Your final look around the studio doesn't turn up any other interesting tidbits. Most of the artists are pretty small time, there might be a few other popular ones in the mix but you don't know enough about pop music to even make an educated guess.

Exiting the studio from the back door you return to the van and Sybercat begins goes through the routine of dropping everyone off at their doss. While en route she says

"Hey, Loki! Do you know a doc you want me to drop you off at or do you want me to take you back to the Yellow Brick Road? Tinman's no street doc but he's a pretty decent field medic and I know he'd still be awake. I'm not sure how bad your injury actually is. I'm gonna be spending most the night diving Dynamo's node, security's pretty second rate but it looks like there's a lot of crap to sort through, it's gonna take me a while."

Padre: As the van gets under way you switch your comlink back into active mode and notice there is a message waiting for you. It's from Tabitha, one of the lay ministers with your outreach program who volunteers as a secretary part time.

<<Tabitha@FaithChurch.node>>
<<Subject: Confession?>>
<<Sorry to bother you Father but were you planning on receiving confession tonight? A man arrived at around 9:00 saying he wanted to confess. I told him you were out but he has insisted on waiting. Can you get back to me? I need to be home by 10 so if I haven't heard back from you by then I'll let him stay in the shelter. He seems a little shifty but Rex (a former Ork gang member who you employed as a janitor) told me he'd keep an eye on him.>>

2305 2nd Jan 2070 --Sybercat's Van

"Actually, I've got a doc I know. If you could drop me off there, I'll be fine. It hurts like a bitch, but doesn't look too deep. Good luck on the node - the Matrix seems to hate me, but you've got skills. As far as I can tell, that is, which isn't far at all." Loki says to Sybercat and gives her Doc Jalopy's address (Conn 3, Loyalty 2).

<<Loki>>
<<Subject: Patches?>>
<<Hey Jalopy, I was wondering if you've got time to fix me up a bit. I got injured, and then a friend made it worse inadvertently. It should only take a few minutes.>>

Sweeps pulled the hood back on his chameleon suit and sat at the back of the van steaming.

"Sloppy sloppy sloppy!" he says under his breath.

He looked at Sybercat and passed her the data chip.

"You might be interested in this. I think it's got some of Dark Angels recordings on, but it may have some more info. At the very least, this may put a dent in Dynamo Blues plans, as long as this is the only copy.

There was also that account number on the paper in her draw. I left the paper there, to make it look like a standard robbery, but I memorised the number. Acc# 274523-475-446. Not sure if you can tie that down to anything."

He looks to everyone else.

"In the morning, I suggest we go speak to his fellow band members. With any luck, we have the address on that data chip, but I'm sure we could contact Icelady to let us know where they are."

23:05 2nd Jan 2070 --Sybercats Van--


Padre looks up from typing a response to Tabitha's message when Sweeps mentions Dark Angel's recordings. "Those are his recordings? Do you think they are the originals? Did you get all of them? Because, if you have, and they are the originals, we are done. If you recall, our task was to acquire the music for Icelady. We have the music. Need we put more effort into finding out what happened?"

Having said his piece, Padre turned back to his comlink and puts the finishing touches to his message.

<<My_Father's_Work>>
<<Subject: Re: Confession?>>
<<No, I had not planned on taking confession tonight, but the Lord's work does not wait for anyone. I'm on my way now. Should you need to leave before I get there, have the gentleman wait in the chapel. Did he give you his name, by any chance?>>

Padre sighs, then turns to Sybercat. "Miss Sybercat, if it isn't too much trouble, would you be willing to drop me off at the church? A member of my congregation is in dire need of confession."

23:10 2nd Jan 2070 --Sybercats Van--



Sybercat grins "I'm never one to turn down potential paydata when if falls in my lap. I'll check out the account. Speaking of, actually when I hacked Pete's comlink I managed to drain his bank account too. Once that cash makes its way though the laundry I'll be sure to split it between you all. Same with anything I manage to find in this account."

After a bit of driving she drops Loki off at Patches. The clinic is dark but when you bang on the door you hear the sound of a bolt being thrown back and Patches opens it for you. He gestures for you to come inside and waves to the van so that Sybercat knows she isn't abandoning you in the middle of the barrens outside an empty clinic.

"Ok now, lets take a look at you." you strip off your jacket and bloody shirt Patches eyes them critically. "We'll have to get you some new cloths too by the looks of it. Bloodstains aren't exactly the hight of fashion." He brings a light to bear on your shoulder, adjusts his glasses and begins examining the wound. "Well it doesn't look too bad. A glancing blow, no bone damage, a bit of damage to the nerve bundle there though so I'll bet it hurt like a sonofabitch. Tell you what, this won't take too long and since you helped keep that troll from breaking my legs earlier today I'll only charge for materials, a hundred nuyen should cover it. As he sets to work he begins humming to himself, first spreading a nanite paste on the wound to disinfect it and help speed the muscle regeneration before carefully knitting the torn muscles together. After stitching the skin together he covers the entire area in a bioskin patch which adheres to your skin with the aid of some more of the nanite paste. "There you go. Just don't go doing any heavy lifting if you can avoid it until the muscle has time to heal. It'll be stiffer than a ghoul's balls tomorrow and probably itch like hell but don't pick at it. Let it heal on it's own and by this time next week you shouldn't even have a scar to show off to the ladies. Anyhow, it's late, I'm going to bed. If you need a place to crash, feel free to use one of the cots in back.

@Everyone: Upon arriving home you turn on the trid intending to unwind. A repeat of the six o'clock news is on. They are reporting on an outbreak of gang violence at the notorious BTL den known as Heaven earlier today. The same location where the pop singing sensation Dark Angel was found dead scarcely a month ago. It turned into a running gun battle on the streets of Everett and several eyecam and comlink videos show a black GMC Bulldog pursuing a pair of trolls on choppers as pedestrians and other bystanders dive for cover. There was an innocent bystander struck by a wayward round. He's listed as being in serious but stable condition. There are a few interviews with concerned residents complaining about the lengthy Lonestar response times in the neighborhood and a number for the Lonestar gang tip-line if anyone has any further information.

Sweeps was surprised to find himself feeling a bit guilty for the innocent bystander. He shook himself and walked over to his bed.

Been hanging around Padré too long, that's my trouble.

He grinned ruefully, what's happening to poor Sweeps these days. Finding a conscience in a matter of days! Ha!

<Sybercat>
<Seen the news? Time for your van to have a paint job I think.
Also you may want to get some of your friends at yellow brick road to call that Tip Line and offer some deceptive leads to keep the Star busy>

He got off the bed again and went to the washroom to get a glass of water. Then back to the bed, then to the washroom to take a leak, then back to his bed, then he got up reloaded his gun, then back to his bed, then up again to stash his B&E gear, and then back to bed.
He forced himself to stay where he was after that.

He took a few deep breaths to clear some of the Jazz buzz. He sighed and eventually fell asleep, and he dreamt of being a security guard at a place called Xanadu, where he suddenly gets attacked by a black ghost.....

As his wound is knit, Loki says "Motherfuck! That always is the worst part...after the shooting. At least this wasn't as bad as last time - still got that scar on my leg. Good work, though. My ride's left, so I think I'll spend the night here. See you in the morning, if I'm here." He then wires 105 Nuyen (a small tip for the late-night service and the cot) to the doc and heads off to a cot. He sleeps peacefully for the most part, waking up once to get a glass of water.

Early Morning 3rd Jan 2070 --Seattle--

As you open your eyes, you see your comlink sitting beside your bed, the new message icon is flashing. Looking at the call display you see that IceLady called at around 03:30 last night. <<What the fuck are you people doing? Get your asses to Chiarusco NOW!>>

Just as you are about to return the call Sybercat calls everyone conference.

<<God damn, I dunno what bug crawled up our loving Johnson's ass. Did you just get the same message as me?>> when you confirm she says <<Look, I just called Ice, she says she wants us to meet her at her apartment. Wants a 'status report' or some such. She sounded scared. I'm coming by to collect everyone, I found some interesting stuff in Dynamo's computer. I'll just explain everything once we're in the car.>>

When you get in the van, you notice that Sybercat is looking pretty pale, not to mention exhausted. It was probably a late night for her last night After she finishes collecting everyone she begins explaining.

"Ok... I think some of the pieces are starting to fall into place. It turns out Dark Angel, or Jim Crull is alive. I know we suspected it, but that recording chip from Xanadu confirms it. It was recorded at least a week after his 'death', so unless Dynamo knows how to raise the freaking dead Angel's entire death was staged. Jim's brother Edward seems to be intimately connected with the whole thing. There are numerous records of meetings scheduled between him and Dynamo. Another name kept popping up at these too, Kat Amakura. Didn't that troll mention a Yak Oyuban named Kat? Anyhow, Xanadu's financial records show that there have been a number of very large financial transfers to both Edward Crull and a numbered account with the Pacific Rim Bank that I'm not even going to attempt to hack. I'd rather not turn my brain to goo. Dark Angel also apparently has never personally been to Xanadu. He didn't even record there. The same dummy comlink that was used to contact Hack and Slash was also used to transfer the orriginal recordings.

Anyhow... I think that's where we're at. I don't suppose any of you know people in the Yaks? I'm afraid I don't. I usually deal with the Vory through Tinman. I can probably get a sense of where the Kat character sits in the Seattle power structure, but I'd have a hell of a time arranging a meeting with her, or anyone else in the Yaks for that matter... And people that crash Yak parties uninvited tend to end up short a few body parts. If meeting face to face with a Yak will be too difficult maybe we can go have a chat with Edward. He's in a suburb style house, not an apartment so it might be easier to get to him.

Early Morning 3rd Jan 2070 --Seattle--

Padre thinks for a while, trying to remember if he knew of any members of his congregation that were involved with the Yakuza.



While he thinks, he sends off a message to the individual he goes to when the church needs less than legal items and doesn't have time to go through the proper channels.

<<Damien>>
<<Damien, I have need of an opportunity to speak with someone from the Yakuza. Do you know of anyone who might be able to set up a meeting? Oh, and I'll need another delivery of stick n' shock sometime soon... a dozen rounds should do it. Thanks for the help in advance.>>



Having sent the message, Padre quietly sits back and continues trying to recall who he knows that might know the yakuza.

Sweeps peels his eyes open and looks at his comlink.

After reviewing both messages, he sighs loudly and pulls on his clothes.

When he sees the van pull up and the door open he gets in.

He puts a hand on Sybercats shoulder and says:

"Syberbabe, you want me to drive? You look like you could drive us into a wall if you even blink."

He settles into the van and listen to Sybercats rundown.

"Sounds like those recordings are pretty much at the centre of all of this. And how much do you wanna bet our Icelady has just had a visit from the Yaks asking where they are.

Ok, we need to listen to her story and decide what to do then.

I personally would love to smash Edwards door down and find out what the hell he's playing at, but that depends on who knows who. Does anyone have a Yak contact? I don't even know who my arms dealer works for, but I could ask him anyway. I know Flipper is a freelance, so he won't be into the inner circles of the Yaks."

<<PM to Gap Tooth (OOC - Arms Dealer)>>
<<Hey buddy, thanks for the Stun rod you got me, worked like a charm!
I need to know something, and if you had any info on the matter, that'd be great!
We have a top Yak babe called Kat Amakura, she's been causing us a bit of a headache with the music industry just recently. You know what her game is?>>

10:15 3rd Jan 2070 --Icelady's Doss, Everett--

The van arrives at a large apartment complex in Pinehurst Everett. You're buzzed past the primitive maglock on the door and make your way up to Icelady's apartment. When you enter, you see a very disheveled looking Johnson sitting across the table from you, her hands curled around a coffee mug. She looks like she's been pretty badly roughed up, bruses and scrapes cover her arms, she has a black eye, and a split lip.

"hello... i'm sorry for the message i left on your comlinks... That was really unprofessional... I hope you aren't going to quit... I was attacked last night by goons hired by Sheera, the girl who played keyboard in Angel's band. They gave me this... Said they got it from some guy at Heaven a few days ago. she pushes a chip across the table towards you. "It supposedly shows that I'm the one receiving the money from Angel's recordings... Please tell me you can prove where this money is actually ending up so I can get them off my back... They said they'd kill me next time, if I didn't give them a portion of what I apparently made. I was angry and frightened... I took it out on you guys... I'm sorry.

Sybercat plugs the chip into her comlink. "Well it has financial records that say you received almost half a million nuyen from Xanadu... It looks like a fake though... not a very good one at that. Good enough to fool a couple musicians but hardly anything that'll stand up to any scrutiny."

Padre and Sweeps:
At some point you both get a message from your arms dealer contact. Padre knows him as Damian, Sweeps as Gap-Tooth.

<<Hey Father... What the heck are you doing wanting to meet with Yaks? In my experience they aren't the most spiritual of folks. Not that it's any of my business I guess. I do actually know a fellow named Jiro, a senior lieutenant for Usaka, one of the Oyuben here in Seattle. It might take a day or two but I should be able to set up a meet. You want to see Jiro or Usaka himself? A meet with Usaka's gonna cost you.

As far as the stick n' shock goes, any time you want come pick up some more feel free. I swear you're the only person in this plex who actually packs that stuff, I still have half a box left from the last time you bought some from me.>>

Sweeps <<Weird, the Yak's are popular today. Just got a message from another friend of mine asking to meet with one. Anyhow, I'm glad you liked the stun baton.

I know of Kat. I've never met her. She's one of the three big oyuben in Seattle right now, there is her, Homatsu Jinjiro, and Shiro Usaka. Homatsu's top of the heap. He's run the Yak operations in this town since the mob war 15 years ago. Kat is a rising star. She's one of the youngest Oyuben ever, and the fact that she's a woman too speaks volumes of her capabilities, not to mention ruthlessness. Usaka, I'm sorry to say is chum in the water. Decent man, straight forward and much more liberal than the other two which is why he'll deal with a trog like me. He's been loosing ground to Kat though, it almost turned into a full on brawl between the factions until Homatsu stepped in and pulled them apart. He's using the truce to try and lick his wounds.>>

10:17 3rd Jan 2070 --Icelady's Doss, Everett--

Mack thinks back over what we have agreed to do.

<to team:>
,<Maybe I am missing something but we were asked to get the lady the music.
We have the music.
It seems that she needs to pay us, and we give her the music.
As a gesture, maybe Cybercat shows her how to explain a bit about the money.

If she wants to hire us to try to sort more of this out, it seems like that is a new job.
Someone (Kat the Yak?) is quite deliberately and carefully spreading a lot misinformation around.
They appear to know that Icelady is interested in this already.
If we are going to have to mess with such folks, there had better be a reason, and money.

if all she wants is for us to explain to the band that they are messing with the Yaks, that shouldn't cost much.
But it seems to me this lady is going to quickly want a lot more help.
Particularly when she realizes her friend is still alive. (If I understand what Cybercat said, Icelady is likely to realize this from the timestamps even if you don't tell her.

While I don't relish messing with the Yaks, if there is a job, and money, I will stay on.>>

Sweeps looks at Padré and grins ironically from ear to ear.

Well I'll be damned! Small world!!

After hearing Mack's views:
<<team message>>
<<Yeah, we're starting to get into something deep here. But I'm interested to see what's at the end of this road. Loki, if you talk to her, you might wanna suggest that this is becoming a bigger deal than we originally made. We can go further, but we want more cash. Don't push her too much, but this is dangerous for us now.

What I don't get, is why someone is setting up miss Icelady here? I mean this is starting to look like not only money is involved here, but something personnal is directed at our Johnson here.

WE NEED TO TALK TO THE BAND MEMBERS! ASAP!!>>

"Hey ah, you need some medical help there?" He points to Icelady's wounds "You look like you could do with it.

Sorry to ask you this, but do you know who owns the club Angel was due to perform at? The one we met you in? And don't be afraid to be honest with us.

Also, do you know someone called Kat Amakura? We heard the name mentioned at Xanadu and wondered if you knew her."
<<Team Message>>
<<Yeah I know!! But we need to know how that club is connected to this.>>