With his pain editor activated, the only interface he has with his Alpha is through the Smartlink. The tactile world is gone, everything brushing off of his mind. He knows there are more men out there than he has seen, and so he crouches behind some convinient cover, and mentally switches the assault rifle to burst fire mode. Waiting, he recites an on the fly mantra in his head.

Only one, use the gun. More than two, a grenade will do.

The last figure emerges on the heels of the first, also carrying a heavy pistol of some sort. He begins to draw down on the unfortunate mage.

Oh that poor bastard. If he'd been with friends, at least he might survive the blast. Too bad though. Immortal takes a bead a full width of the guy's body from his leading edge, just enough to compensate from movement and he fires a burst which should take the sucker centre mass.

Immortal releases a short burst into the figure. He staggers back as a good portion of the chest section of his armor is ripped open. Almost immediately follows another dropping the figure to the ground.

:: Moira rubs her shoulder as she crouches inside the van, trying to control her fear of the combat raging outside. She gets her bearings just enough to speak over the comms. ::

"Take one alive...we'll have questions."

Cursing, the mage stumbles back, one hand pressed against his chest.

That's going to bruise he thinks wryly, snapping the staff erect, a quick chant in Latin focusing the mana as he wraps it around himself, darting back from the house and into the relative safety of the van.

With the departure of Bakatare, the figure wielding the dual monowhips refocuses his efforts on Paladin. With casual grace he whips the two weighted ends at his chest.

Paladin moves almost faster than the eye can track and moves underneath the intersecting lashes of the whips. With a casual twist of his torso he lands a solid blow to the ribcage of the figure in front of him. The man stumbles back a step as he reels the whips back in.

Right on the heels of the attack from Paladin, one of the drones opens up on the same man. Murrey sees the targeting reticle lock on the knee, finding a crease in the joint of the armor that looks more vulnerable to gunfire. The short burst rips through the knee of the attacker. With a sickening lurch he drops to the ground with only one good leg remaining. He looks to be down for the count.

Seeing Mr. Monowhip go down, Paladin turns his assult to the other enemy within melee range, the same who kicked Bakatare.

Paladin continues past the downed figure and rolls into the next attacker. Whipping the staff overhead twice to build up momentum as he brings it across his opponent's chest. The figure moves forward robbing the staff of some of its advantage and attempts to block with a scissors arm lock but still staggers from the impact of the blow.

The van door props open as Bakatare leans out. A stream of latin pours from his lips and he locks his gaze on the distance shooter by the back of the house. A small ripple in the air around announces the working of magic but nothing seems to happen or change.

The figure backs away and quickly draws two small darts, their ends glisten in the light. With a deft motion he sends one into Paladin and pivots to launch the other into Immortal. Both seem to hit solidly despite their efforts to dodge out of the way. Both of you feel a spreading numbness from the point of contact, your vision begins to blur slightly.

Immortal pushes through the toxin's effects and lets two controlled bursts into the figure. He spasms and twitches as the bullets jerk his body around from their impact. With the last burst he hits the ground motionless.

Everyone sees a large moth or butterfly of light and energy fly from the van. It streaks out and passes through the lone shooter near the back of the house. He stumbles back and seems disoriented.

:: Seeing the man become affected by the spirits energies, she calls out on comms. ::

"Someone take him down, but don't kill him...he's confused and should be an easy target. We'll need him to answer questions."

"I got some Gamma for him."

Without pause Paladin quickly jams the end of his staff into the moist ground of the flower beds surrounding the house, and readies his gun. The lone figure still seems dazed and confused as he opens fire. All the rounds hit soundly and the form drops. He seems to struggle to his knees and then succumbs to the toxin. As Paladin finishes shooting, the poison in his system kicks in. The world around him doubles and wavers.

Paladin doubles over and puts his hands on his knees to help stablize himself. Slowly, he stands and starts to make his way over to the guy he had just dropped, using his staff to help steady himself as he goes.

"Get that van over here and load up these bodies... Immortal and I are... both drugged, so we're gunna need a hand... Moira, you got any... way of cleaning... up the blood? If not, does... anyone have... something? We gotta get the hell outta here."

Stepping back out of the van, still grimacing a bit at the shot to his shoulder, Bakatare motions for Paladin and Immortal to hop into the van.

"Climb in, I'll do a last sweep to check for the girls and help the drones clean up the blood."

Tightening his grip a bit on the staff, he leans around the corner of the doorway, peering into the interior of the house.

:: Moira jumps out of the van, concern evident in her face as she quickly moves to Paladin's side. Her gentle hands slip under his arms and help steady him over to the van so he can sit as her eyes shift to the astral and peer into his aura trying to determine what poison is coursing through his system. ::

"Come...sit down. I don't have any magical means other than normal healing. I.....can try, but I don't know if it will work..."

Moira
As you look over his body from the astral, you can see the tendrils of the toxin seeping out from his skin from a point near his neck into the rest of his body. As far as you can tell it is not doing any physical damage to his body. It was probably designed to incapacitate rather than kill.

Bakatare
You are greeted once again by the sight of the fur covered refrigerator. The kitchen looks relatively unchanged from the last time you were here.

Murrey directs the MK-6 and Mr. Fix-it to unload the ATV, then prep and load the corpses, the MK-6 scans each for active signals. As this flurry of mechanical activity continues, the TADS begins a physical sweep of the home with the MP-5 equipped lynx providing cover. The other Lynx is taking up a cover position near the door where we entered. Felix is comming back to the van to recharge.

Paladin makes his way over to his ATV slowly, making sure he keeps his footing. "Come on Immortal, let get the hell outta here, we ain't gunna be much help cleanin'. Murrey, keep your lines open, I'll setup a secure place we can all meet back up and contact you when its ready."

Climbing into the ATV, he connects the dataline and programs the vehicles autopilot. Once Immortal is in and buckled up, he ATV pulls out and heads down the street.

Set up two if you plan. One case for the vehicles and another for us nearby.

Paladin waits a minute or two before making the needed call. He wanted to wait and make sure the autopilot was doing it job, plus he wanted to give himself a moment to get used to the motion so he wouldn't throw up in the middle of the conversation.

Martin Cole was a good man, he and Paladin went way back. There likely wasn't one person that knew Paladin better than Cole. Paladin placed a call to the aging Underground leader and the line picked up, "Hello?"

"Cole. Its me."

"Paladin! Good to hear from you my friend. I heard you were off on business, I hope things are well."

"Well, in a way yes, in a way no. Why shouldn't anything change, right? Listen Martin, I need a secured safehouse. Someplace out of the way."

"I understand. Give me a moment... Yes, good. Paladin? Head downtown. Park in the basement of the garage at the corner of 5th and Washington. In the southeast corner of the basement, you'll see a manhole. Go down it and head north 50 feet. There is an old maintenance room there. I'll have our eyes and ears watch the area for you and keep it safe. What do the members of your party look like so we'll know not to bother them?"

Paladin gives a brief description for his teammates, then adds, "They will be bringing between one and four people with them. We got jumped and mean to question them."

"I understand. Be well my friend and remember that fighting the good fight sometimes means not fighting so you can fight another day."

"I will Martin. Thank you."

Disconnecting the line, Paladin put a call through to Murrey, giving him directions to the new site.

"I'm headed there now to set things up and to get a little rest. Call me when you get into the area and I'll come help unload the packages."

Murrey
The drones detect a tracking signal which seems to be transmitting from the helmets of each downed figure. It's a simple matter to disable them as they are loaded on board. Their helmets are state of the art. Ultrasound, HUD, intergrated com system that looks to be encrypted, and the signal system to boot. With almost no thought on your part, you access the house drones and send them into a whir of activity. They spill out from the walls, each looking like a kindergarden art project run amok, and begin to clean. The sensor feeds from your network shows the house empty of any additional intruders. One does find a small duffel tucked behind the couch in the living room.

Paladin
You wind your way to the new safe house. The early trickle of commuter traffic of a Friday morning begins to stream past, the 5 am flag has gone down for the corp drones of Seattle.

Bakatare
The floor erupts with small cleaning drones that shine and glitter like a Vegas showgirl. You see the escorts you came in with scatter through the house. The home feels empty and hollow.

Murrey
As the drone begins to examine the duffel you see odd alterations to the exterior. It looks like the bag has been vented, for like of a better word.

Moira
As you help secure the guards by stripping them of gear, you begin to inventory their items. They each had a suit of security armor, one of the lighter varieties. The outside of each suit seemed to be deposited with fibers, probably what allowed them to blend in so well to the terrain. Each was armed with a modified heavy pistol. The clip seems to be larger than normal. Their belts hold 2 extra clips for the gun you assume, not having much experience with them. One figure had a small electronic device that doesn't seem to do anything that you know. It appears to be a signal device or repeater. As you strip the armor down you are alarmed to see that they are dead. The astral space reveals a small device implanted in their bodies, somewhere near the heart.

All
All the gear is completely non-descript. They scream corp hit squad. Most runners wouldn't have had identical gear. Things get murkier in this nasty little affair.

Elsewhere
The soft light of the early morning sun streams through the far window. The light plays across the room, reflected off dark wood tones of the bedroom. The wall holds several paintings, early impressionist era work. Carvaggio moves from the bed, his olive skin contrasted against the sea foam silk pajamas. His stride is natural and aggressive as he moves towards a small desk. He slides into the desk and opens up a small laptop resting there.

The door opens from somewhere in the large room. Stefan walks up to the desk. "Things have changed. This just came from the 3rd Circle." He slides over a slim folder. Carvaggio picks it up and begins to read it. His face darkens slightly.

"We will need to make arrangements then. See that this vision does not come to fruition. Let it play out far enough to see who might be behind it but make sure he does not die or come to any lasting harm. He will be needed for other things that I would see him do." He sets the folder down and begins to scan his screen again."We should make sure the team working for her doesn't suffer as a result of this wrinkle. I would not have her crying favoritism in this matter. Find a replacement today and make the necessary adjustments. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." With that Stefan turns and departs into the cool shadows of the room.

Blaze
You get a call early that morning from Max. "I need some help from someone I can trust. I have a gentleman of some import who needs a replacement runner for a team ASAP. I will understand if you want to pass this by but I will make to make nice with this fella. It could mean a lot to my business and my rep. What do you say?"

Paladin sits lotus style in the room, waiting for the team. He tries to center himself and push out the effects of the toxin had on his body.

Blaze picks up the Phone with a brief greeting to Max, his shades glinting on the screen, "Ok Max, two questions first though, do you know anything about him, and second where am I to meet either the Johnson or the Rep from the team?" After receiving the response Blaze shrugs on his trademark long coat and preps for the day's work.

Blaze
"I spoke to Stefan, who everyone knows is the voice of some suit named Carvaggio. Runs a sweet little nightclub out in Everett called Extassis. Its the kind of place with no prices on the menus, if you get my drift. Word is that he favors metas and magic but he goes out of his way to remain neutral in most things. The rule at the club is invitation only and leave your issues at the door. People use the club as a meeting ground and haven both. The info on the actual job is a phone call away. If you're in I have a number to call to get the info you need. I was given the impression that the pay was good."

Blaze copies down the number for the Job, as well as an address for Extassis. "Thanks Max, as usual i'll keep you posted about gear and info i need, as well as progress." With that he hangs up the phone and immediately dials Squall. "Hey Squall, this is Blaze, I need some info on a person, place, and job."

Blaze
You hear the series of relays as Squall goes through the routine of checking the line and securing it. "Sure, give me details."

Blaze sighs at Squall's paranoia, but knows it is just part of the decker. "I need you to check out Extasis, its a club for the rich, and well, rich (Blaze relays the address to him). I also would like a check on Stefan, he works at the club. And I need as much information as i can get on this phone number (Blaze reads off the phone number he got from Max). Get me anything you can on those numbers, I'll drop the Creds at the usual spot. Let me know about anything you find as soon as you find it."

Sitting back to wait for the decker's information, Blaze mentally goes through the steps of preparing his spells, as well as checking over his weapons.

:: Moira grimaces and takes the small electronic gizmo over to Murry, lightly tapping his shoulder. ::

"They are all dead. It looks like they are corporate, matching gear, matching armor and most gruesome is the matching cyberware in the "if you lose, your dead" kinda way. Something near their hearts."

:: She hands him the small electro gizmo. ::

"Not sure what this is either, may a tracking signal, or maybe it's whatever set off those internal bombs they had but you should make sure it's not transmitting any more."

Murrey takes note from the communique from Paladin, marking it's location in his internal map.
Murrey sends the TADS with it's enhanced sensors and the MK-6 to the duffel to examine it.
Over the van intercom,
Just pile the items in like categories to the tide share, I'll see to them.

Over the radio,Folks, Moira has just informed me that our new playmates were shuffled loose the mortal coil by some sort of mouth-shutting device. They are so much ballast at this point. My vote is leave them behind to not answer the more authoritative questions. What say you?

Blaze
As the time creeps by you get a ring from Squall. Again the wait as he clears the line and secures it. "JESUS!!! Are you trying to get my brain fried!! I zipped out and looked at their public node and started to poke around. I found a small backdoor and stuck my head in to see the place crawling with nasties. I get the impression they don't take kindly to unauthorized users. I was met by a decker with some whacked out knight icon telling me I was in the Tower of Light and the master does not take kindly to my presence. I left but quick and had to shake a few trace programs on the way, I might add. After that wonderful experience I decided to just hunt around on the shadow board. It seems this club is a power spot for the wealthy and the stealthy. The owner, the enigmatic Mr. C, has walked the thin line of underworld politics. He has no favorites and lets everyone play with the understanding no violence at the club. This guy Stefan is his right hand man. He does most of the face time for the club. He is a wiz at the social dance that this place requires. Mr. C has a keen interest in metas and the Awakened world. He seems to reek of old money and the old country. The phone number seems to be connected to a voice mail system, just set up this morning. I stopped looking after the 8th false shell for where the money came from to set it up. It does have a timer though, goes dead at midnight tonight."

"If we can't question them, I vote to strip them and toss them."

Bakatare looks up from the seated position in the corner of the van.

Murrey
The drone scans the duffel and detects a small canister system. The chemical read out shows traces of a neuro-toxin. The computer cross-references and pulls up a nasty cokctail that would have been air delivered and lethal. It would have been intert after about 30 minutes. As Moira hands you the small handheld interface it all clicks together. The device appears to be a remote triggering device, probably the duffel package. The computer indicates that the active elements will be inactive in about an hour or so. The team is seated and ready to go as you process the information.

Switching the van's transponder off for the time being and changing the paint to a generic repair motif and buttoning up the van in general; Murrey pulls out of the neighborhood, heading towards the nearest public dump to dispose of the bodies, then while there he removes the batteries from the trackers. Changing the paint job again to another innocent appearing repair motif but with matching transponder he heads towards the proffered bolt hole, making any stops that the passengers feel they need, for food or other supplies.
While en route the Mr. Fix-it services and reloads the MP-5.

" Hey sorry about that, but then again that's why i trust you to get me the info. I'll drop you a little extra for the trouble it took you."

After hanging up the phone Blaze steps out of his apartment, and begins a long walk down the street, dialing the phone number on his cell as he goes. Turning into a small park area he waits for the line to pick up.

Blaze
The phone picks up and immediately enters an automated message. It gives you an address and a name, Paladin, to talk to, It also lists a PO box downtown with an access code to pick up your first payment for the run then clicks off.

Paladin
Your phone beeps letting you know that a message has arrived. When you go to check it you get texted the following: New team member arriving - Mr. Blonde.

Paladin glances at the message, then dials Murrey.

"Looks like we've got a new member joining the team. Get your ass down here to the new safe house and I'll arrange a meet."

Murrey compares current location to safehouse,
In-nound bow

Blaze Hangs up the phone after jotting down the info on a sheet of paper. Heading back into his apartment he grabs all his essentials, 500 :nuyen: for Squall, (as kind of an apology) and his twin predators. Holstering then and rechecking his coat Blaze heads down to the garage and hops on his aurora. He drives out heading for the PO box, and then to the safehouse. On the way to his pick up point he stops at a designated libraries drop box and leaves the 500. Knowing Squall has gotten his money he heads to get his and to meet the team.

Blaze
You find a small certified credstick with 10k on it and a small card explaining your pay rate at 5k per day of work.

Paladin
As you rest, Immortal takes a quick phone call. You can hear some terse words exchanged. He turns to you and speaks. "I got to go handle something real quick. I'll be back in an hour or so." With that and a lingering trail of smoke he's gone. Near the end of your hour resting, the rest of the team returns. As everyone settles in, an ork knocks and pops his head in. "Some bloke is heading this way, thought you might want to know."

Paladin nods and stands up from where he was seated on the floor. "Lead me to him."

He then follows the Orc out to meet the team's newcomer.

As he aproaches the building Blaze slides his senses to the astral, trying to get a veiw of who and what he's meeting with. He slows down as he comes up to the entrance. Focusing on the people inside he tries to get a view of who he's working with now.

Paladin
As you work your way towards the outside the ork turns to you. "I know this isn't my business but the word in the inderground is you're helping a friend of ours. I know you must have a friend in here with us or you wouldn't be here. Help her." His voice is low and urgent, laced with sincerity. "She has done a lot for us. She doesn't do the big stuff but she helps out the old and young in our number. She's a slitch but she does something every week without asking anything back." With a sudden switch of topic. "There's your boy."

Paladin gives the Orc a nod. "I'll do my best brother."

He then turns to the new arrival. "Follow me", is all he says as he turns around and leads Blaze back into the sewers. He takes him down the few turns and then to the door that leads to the maintenance room the group is held up in. He opens the door and motions for Blaze to go on in, "Welcome. Come on in and introduce yourself."

Blaze lets his vision slip back into the physical world. stepping up and brushing down his coat "Hey, Name's Blaze I provide cover fire and astral overwatch. I specialize in the mojo that drops the enemies and fast. I am pleased to be of service to all of you and i hope that you will find my services acceptable. By the way what are we doing."