Paladin
The line picks up for Ralph's desk at the Star. "Lt. Ralph Dickens, Lone Star."

:: Moira groans mostly to herself as the exhaustion of the days events seem to wage war with her brain going over the situation they are in with the prize being whether or not she can fall back asleep. Eventually, the conversation raging around her is enough to push victory away from her grasp and she pushes herself up to a sitting position, dark pouches visable under her eyes making her look like a junkie in need of a fix. ::

"I know a girl who knows about dragons."

Blaze responds to Iblis's soul comment "well I don't know if its a soul or not, but it does seem to get me into trouble every so often."

*edit due to same post time as Blitz < "Sorry if I seem like I'm kind of taking over here, anyone who has a different idea on what to do can just tell me to shut it at any time. Moira could you get in touch with them and see what info you can get on his movements, or interests">

Transduced over the phone

"Ralph. There was one bit of info I forgot to ask... what was the time of death on our victim? I'm trying to figure out if he was alive when the ritual was preformed."

to the group

"I'm online with my Star contact. Besides Time of Death, were there any more questions? I'd rather not have to call him back again."

:: Moira leans down and rumages through her bag until she pulls out a cell phone and dials up Winter. ::

"Hey Winter, it's Moira. I need to get in contact to a regular at your place...name if Jolie. Any chance you could have her give me a call? We just need some basic info and would be willing to pay appropriatly."

Paladin
Ralph's voice comes out tired and ragged. "Let me pull up the file. Do you have any leads yet? I am running on empty here. We can't find anything. The crowd at the Body Bag are circling the wagons and we have nothing on any of them to force the issue." The sounds of keys being hit carry over the phone. "Here we go, it looks like the boy died sometime in the PM on Tuesday. Does that help?"

Moira
Winter's voice comes through the line. "Are you ok? You sound like you've been worked over hard." Her voice is warm but oddly distant, she always has a knack of staying professional but human.

Transduced on the phone

"Yeah that helps. Take a look at this... <uploads picture of Adam> ...He is one of those that caused all this. We just can't prove it yet. We got the info from a Witness, but his brain is pretty fried so we Mindprobed him for it (and before you ask, he was willing). We followed this Adam character back to his place, but its a fraggin' fort. Address is <gives address>. Maybe that'll help you out. Let me know if you find anything from it.

to the group

"Time of death was Tuesday night sometime. Looks like it was a ritual sacrifice then. Any more questions?"

:: Moira sighs heavily ::

"Let's just say it's been a long couple of days. You think you could get ahold of Jolie sometime today?"

Moira
With her usual tact, she does not inquire any further but switchs back to business. "Joli is pretty easy to reach. How urgently do you need to reach her?"

Paladin
"Hell, that's more than we have. I swear someone is fragging up this investigation. Frankly, we would have dropped this already but the parents are raising a huge stink over this. Transys is strangely silent on the subject. We keep getting the polite inquiries followed with thank yous for our hard work." You hear the creak of a desk chair being leaned into. "I'll run this info for you and see what comes up." The line goes dead with a long sigh.

"As soon as you can manage it without causing a scene."

Paladin leans back. "Iblis, can I release the location of Tuesday nights events to my friend? He has been filling me in with info from his end, and I'd like to be doing the same. I've worked with this guy for a long time. We go way back and I'll vouch that he isn't out to get in our way. In fact, he knows we are a step ahead of him on this one, I'm just feeding him the info so he can take the credit and look good within the Star."

Paladin
Iblis's features go hard. "No Star. Period."

Moira
"I'll give her a call and see what I can do. I'll call you when I have the details."

Paladin just gives a simple nod.

Blaze seems unfazed by Iblis's quick refusal to use Lone Star. "well with star out of the picture who votes we go for the old, pick up the bad guy, scare him spitless, and get all the information we can out of him approach?"

"How about the, 'tag him with Gamma-Scope and then mindprobe him while he is weak'? But either way, I'd like another few hours rest before we do anything, and I'm sure Moira agrees with that."

"Well, if I may? The fact that he rents a limo means he's likely a wanna-be. He's hot as nigh on the food chain as he tries or wants to appear. That's a weakness we can exploit. If we can find out when and how he arranges a car and possibly make a switch or turn the driver."

Murrey replies, "No, unfortunately not Bakatare. Fone of my tools are for surveilance. I specialize in nire support and electronics, not remote tailing. If you like I can snag my Toyota and shadow him for a day or two."

"The Looking Glass is on hiatus until you all figure out who did the last party interrupt and return the favor." Iblis turns to Bakatare. "Just what I like to see a spine in the hired help." She reaches over, pulls her deck closer and begins typing away. "Anything else?"

Blaze stands up, "not so far as I know, but we need to plan out what we're going to do now, if we're going to monitor our target, or just pick him up. Also if we're going to do any background checks for our targets we should get to work on that." Turning back to Iblis "In the mean time when can I expect to meet the Red Queen. I would like to talk to her about both this job and about her work."

"Take it easy sparky, I am sending her a note right now and you'll see her when she has the time." Iblis continues typing.

Moira
Your cell phone rings.

:: The phone still sits in her hand from when she made her call. Lifting the phone to her ear, she clears her throat before answering. ::

"Hello."

Moira
"Hey, it's me." Winter's voice comes through clean and firm. "I spoke with Joli and she's willing to meet. I need a time and a place, she would prefer someplace public or secure. Your choice."

"We're kinda under the gun at the moment...I would definately prefer NOT public. Hmmm..."

:: Moira runs her hand over her face as she thinks. ::

"You have any ideas?"

Moira
There's a pause from the other end. "Well, I could arrange for something here at the Sundowner. How secure is your end?"

"That would work. Right now we are secure, but we definately have people looking for us. How soon do you think you can set it up?"

Moira
"Ok, give me 20-30 minutes to set things up. Come down and ask for room 214. She'll be there. Play it cool with her, she's a little jumpy sometimes."

"Great. Thanks. Tell her to expect two of us."

:: Snapping the phone shut to disconnect the call, she looks up at the group. ::

"Ok, I've set up a meeting in about a half hour. I think that Blaze and I should go alone since he hasn't been seen associated with us yet and I can make myself look quite different. Bakatare, I'd like you to be on the phone with me in case you or the group has additional questions I don't think of. That work for everyone?"

Blaze stands up streching out his muscles, "sounds good to me, and sorry Iblis didn't mean to be hurrying you too much, thanks for setting up the meet."

Bakatare nods, "That's fine, Moira, and good thinking. No use in drawing unnecessary attention."

Paladin nods, "Works for me. In the mean time Murrey and I can go through all the leftover gear we got off those goons."

"You got tools here? I'm good with electronics, but duns are a gifferent matter, though I might be able to fake it with the right equipment. My portable kits aren't going to be any good on those pistols."

"Hmm... so all we got are the armor and guns? I know a place we can take it all to have the guns fixed and the armor fitted, but we'd have to go as a group cause they'll need to get messurments. I guess it can wait till Moira and Blaze get back then."

"I'll pass on the guns, the radios however I can make some use out of, for now and for jater, lust gotta make sure they don't have secondary transmitters on a set frequency. The armor won't do me a terrible lot of good, but it may serve you guys better."

Blaze stands up, "I'll pass on the armor, my normal stuff is plenty for me, but i would like one of the pistols, that would be appreciated." turning back to Moira "shall we head out soon, I think it would be nice not to keep your contact waiting, but then again, if you need more sleep I'm fine with that as well, I've got a fair amount of free time, until we decide to move out that is."

"And it would be unnecessary for me to go, since I was able to fit my own set already."

:: Shrugging on her leather coat and running a hand through her hair, she looks over at Blaze. ::

"Let's go. I would offer to drive, but my car's still parked down the street from Iblis' place."

Blaze snorts at the humor of his own situation "well, I'd offer to drive except all I've got is my bike, and it kinda only seats one, although with a little help," at this point looking over to murrey, "we might be able to fit on it at the same time."

"Tell you crazy kids what, mince this seeting isn't likely to take up too much time, I'll drive for you. I'll even use the Good Car. Give me about an hour and I'll be back, I'll phone ahead to let you know to be ready."
With that Murrey shrugs into his now cleaned up jacket and heads out to the monorail to fetch his Elite and a change of clothes.

Bakatare nods as the Moira and Blaze head out.

It's good to see a group that worked well together.

Elsewhere
The room reeks of blood and pain. The figure hangs limp, almost lifeless from the pipes above. His body is covered in welts and gouges, the sound of blood dripping echoes through the space, almost obscuring the water from above that occasionally rings out as it strikes the cement floor. The darkness is cut suddenly by a small light forming in the hands of a slim and short figure. She is covered in a suit of form fitting body armor, her back has a small pack with 2 swords strapped to it. Her armor has a several small bags and pouches attached to it.

The light travels across the body and finally settles on the face. "Here you are, right where he said you would be." The figure, a woman, draws a knife from her leg sheath. She deftly cuts the body loose. She groans from the weight of the man. "I have to remember to charge extra for big ones. Come on big fella, time for you to move." She begins to lay the body down. She quickly reaches into a belt pouch and removes a bio-monitor. She quickly straps it to his wrist and takes a quick look at the screen followed by a sharp intake of breath. "Sweet Jesus, who did you piss off?" She fishes into the same pouch and withdraws a small patch that she applies to his neck. "That's all I can do for you here." She switched off the small flashlight and stows it on her belt.

She stands and begins to position his limp form over her shoulders. With a groan, she makes it to her feet. The sound of her movement quickly dies off and all that's left is the water dripping down.

Murrey, Blaze, & Moira
You hit the streets, feeling the relaxation that follows the lull after the morning commuter rush of downtown. Following a brief series of directions from Moira on where to go, you pull up in front of the Hotel California. The unassuming front appears clean and well-tended. The word in the community is that the hotel is well protected through a series of bribes, nuyen, and connections. Business can be conducted here as long as no issues spill over into the hotel proper. Rooms are available for rent and business is conducted primarily on the Mezzanine level, in the Sundowner Cafe. Murrey slides the luxury car up the front reception area, nimbly moving around the other cars.

Moira and Blaze exit the car. Moira moves comfortable through the main doors. She gives a smile and delicate wave to the concierge, she seems to know the staff. She gives Blaze a warm smile as they approach the elevators. Stepping inside, they exit a few floors up and head to the room Winter indicated.

:: Having retrofitted her clothing to something much more street and rugged, stylish leather jacket over a white t-shirt, tight fitting vynal black pants and a pair of heavy motorcycle boots, Moira wears her hair loose and around her face. However, as they approach the hotel room door, she pulls her hair back into a low pony tail before knocking sharply on the door three times. ::

Before Moira and Blaze leave the car, Murrey hands Moira a small drone, a few centimeters in legnth.
"This is my arachnid drone, it'll allow me to keep and ear and eye on you while you are inside, I hope. It can't offer protection, but it might be able to scout should the need arise. Remeber, hatch your woops in there, with this car, I can't be the cavalry, this is the only drone I could bring and this car has no weapons. If we have to dash, we make it on charm, speed and the 5 liters of slip spray ready to dump when I want it to. Don't forget your comms either."

Watching the pair go inside, Murrey parks and begins to monitor through the drone, watching events unfold. I hate this part of a run, just sitting and watching, can't protect, can't do anything but watch.

In addition to watching the feed from the drone Murrey checks his location against the location of the van, if it's in range, performs basic radio checks with the others to make sure he's in contact, etc.

Blaze stretches out as he gets out of the car. "Thanks for the ride Murrey, we'll be sure to keep in touch, and if things get really dicy I can cover myself, but don't worry we aren't planning on having much trouble."

As Blaze walks through the Hotel he draws more than a few stares directed at his bright red long coat. As he walks through the room he seems almost to revel in the attention taking a few steps just to cause his coat to billow out behind him. As he approaches the elevator he responds to Moira's smile with one of his own. "should you do the talking or should I?" as the two ride the elevator up Blaze seems to relax substantially. He brushes his hand through his hair before Moira knocks and brushes off his coat.

"I will...we've met before."

Murrey
Everything seems ok at your end. You watch the lazy movement of cars and people flow through the hotel.

Moira & Blaze
The door opens to reveal a middle class hotel interior. The woman answering the door is of average height with red hair cut short, almost a bob. Her skin is fairly pale and smooth. Her ears are both pierced up the sides and she's wearing several simple chain necklaces. She's dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans, a black tank top and sneakers. You can see an old leather jacket tossed over the back of a chair deeper in the room. "Come on in." Her voice is steady but tight, she speaks very softly.

As you enter the room it opens up to reveal a single bed, dresser with a trid unit, and a small desk and chair combo you could see from the door. As you clear the hall that leads to the door, you spot an elven woman lounging against the wall to your left. She's dressed to the nines. She has on ivory leather long skirt, cut up one side to the thigh and a form fitting top to match that leaves her arms bare. Her black hair seems to swallow the warm yellow light from the wall lamps. Her face is smooth and relaxed. Her sunglasses block any attempt to asses her mood. You see a small matching purse tossed on the bed. Her whole posture screams dangerous.

"That's Shade, she's here for my benefit. It's nothing personal but I've had issues before and now I don't take chances." She moves across the room and takes a seat at the desk. "Winter said you needed someone to answer a few questions about wyrms so here I am. How can I help you?" Her body is laced with tension. Even as she tries to lounge in the chair you can feel the tightness humming off of her. As you get into the better light you can make out the bags under her eyes. Some attempt to cover it with make-up has been made but there's still a sallowness to her skin that speaks of fatigue.

:: Moira gives a wary nod to the cold bodyguard before moving across the room to take the other seat available. ::

"I don't know if you remember, but we've met before, briefly in the Sundowner. My name is Moira and this is Blaze."

She nods to Blaze. "I'm Joli." She turns back to Moira. "That's really the only reason I agreed to the face to face. Winter may not be my best friend but I can trust her and she vouched for you." Her voice is still soft and tight. "So what can I help you two with?" She seems uncomfortable with the casual back and forth, as if the everyday feel of it will lull her into a false sense of safety.

in response to Joli's greeting Blaze half bows "it's a pleasure to meet you madam." He proceeds to step over to the side of the room, and watches Shade, as his vision slips to the astral he watches the room.

Blaze
As you ease to the astral you see a small spirit coiled around Joli's neck. Its eyes lock with yours and you feel the waves of fierce protectiveness wash of the beast. The outer walls of the room appear to be heavily warded.