It's Tuesday, 1 in the afternoon.
The landlord was paid for the next month.
It's raining, again.

The telecom rings.

Tom sits with his feet up on his desk, his fedora angled-down, shielding his eyes from the harsh lights in the office.

As the telecom rings Tom wakes with a start, trying to find his bearings, then in a practiced motion he swings his legs round under the table. Straightening himself up, putting the hat back on, and clearing his throat, he answers the telecom:

"Oracle investigations. Tom speaking, how can I help you?"

"Y-y-yes. My name is Jonus Shultz. I would like to set up an appointment at your office for 3 this afternoon."

Nat is sat at her desk engrossed in this weeks copy of Nature: Thaumaturgic Developments. She glances up with vague interest as Tom answers the phone, watching and listening to the one side of conversation.

"Work?" She enquires once Tom hangs up.

The office telecom, picking up on keywords appointment , 3 and afternoon has pulled up your calendar as you speak with Mr. Shultz. Your schedule is open through mid-march.

Natalya
As the word escapes your mouth, you are overtaken with flashes of light. A moment and your understanding clears, you see children being handed to a cloaked figure, his marble skin reaches forward, you see pewter claws with cuticles the color of blood reach out and accept the child. It's mewling and crying are eerily silenced as you hear something being torn free. A moment passes and the child crawls fromt he figure, changed yet not.

As you watch, you feel the eyes of the figure meet yours and pain wracks your body, you are torn free from the vision. A feeling of warmth engulfs your heart, the Maiden passing the feeling of safety back to you. With that the vision fades and the world returns.

Greg Vimes was at his desk, zoned out from the real world, tuned into the matrix. But he wasn't unaware of the telecom call. On the contrary, he had started monitoring it before Tom even answered. He made a note to himself to get off the matrix at 2:45.

Gil looks over to Tom and raises an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Name sounds familiar. Guy seems nervous. 3 in the afternoon... Sneaking out of the office during a break?"

Natalya closes her eyes and shakes her head to clear her thoughts... "What was...?" she mumbles half the sentence to herself; looking down at her desk and around the room. She takes a deep breath and opens her senses to the astral planes looking for a sign of anything different.

Natalya
The room seems normal. The phone appointment seems very important to the Maiden for some reason.

"Perhaps, but I feel it may be important. I think I know that name from somewhere too... If we all recognise it, it shouldn't be too tough to find on the matrix - and that's his job." She nods in the direction of Greg. "Wake him up."

Tom, having finished the niceities of the comm call and arranged the meeting, sits and contemplates quietly to himself.

"The name is familiar, I think he may be attached to an official in the Mayor's office or something", he mentions as part of his contemplation. Snapped back to reality, he nods at Gil and Natalya "Very possibly, he could be making the meeting on-behalf of his boss, but then why would he be so nervous? If we can poke greg to do a Matrix scan for it that'd be nice, but we don't want to be sitting there with his life history on our desk. He's nervous enough already, and we're not going to solve the crime before he gets here... Wake me just before 3 will you?"

He sets an alarm on the Telecom for 2:45, and puts his feet back up on the desk with the fedora over his eyes.

Briefly jacking out from the matrix, Greg Vimes says to all present "I heard that call. The name sounds familiar to me too, but I don't remember where from. I didn't trace the call for fear that the trace would be discovered and the client would get spooked. I'll do a search online for that name."

Jacking back into the matrix, Greg Vimes goes about researching the name of Jonas Schultz, looking in SeaSource, the city hall host, and UCAS online search engine. No need to do any code-cracking yet; being a legal citizen, Greg Vimes pefers not to break the law unless he has to, and rarely hacks into anything from his home or office. That's what coffin hotels are for.

My life, is a short dive into deep shit...

The thought rolls through Jack's head as he tries for the second time to start his old Ford. Ford, hah, the name used to mean something, now it's just that, a name. Well, at least the car didn't blow up when he tried the ignition. Then again he'd only been in the Stuffer Shack two minutes, not quite enough time to set a detonator to the ignition.

Of course it could always be a remote.

Jack shakes off the thought, and still balancing the large cup in one hand, takes the keys from the ignition. Hell, it's only three blocks to the office, he'll come back for the car later. Not like anyone's going to steal the rusting clunker. Then again, he'd get insurance if someone did. No way the boys in the 'Star would get off their asses long enough to look for a stolen sedan. Especially not his sedan.

He closes the door behind himself without even bothering to lock it, adjusts his tie, and taking a sip of the coffee, Jack heads off in the direction of the office.

- - - - -

That's the beauty of working mostly nights. Jack doesn't show up to the office until around noon, often later. Him and a bottle of his namesake had spent the night together, so he was still a little hazy. The walk had done him good though. He pushes open the interior office door, heading towards his desk. For the moment he doesn't say anything to the others. He's got a ritual fight with his virtual inbox to go through first.

Before Jack even gets close to the office door, Gil can smell the coffee and says,"Well, Mr Night guy finally gets in."

"Your memory serves you correctly," Greg remarks as he jacks out of the matrix at 2:40 and 17 seconds. "Jonus Schultz, personal assmonkey to deputy mayor Derrick Mandelson, and a third cousin of our dear departed governor. Lives in the Anne Hill neighborhood downtown. Born 2020, graduated top honors from the University of Washington majoring in political science and minoring in business. A Theta Kappa Epsilon pledge, debate team member, rowing team member, and president of the U-Dub chapter of the Young Republicans, and the current president of that organization's alumni association. I dislike him already."

Jack let Gil's comment roll off his mind, filing it away, but treating it like so much street noise. Background music to his life, the director's commentary trid track. He boots up his terminal, and takes a long moment to find the mail icon. He could swear someone moves the damn thing every morning.

Probably Greg, some kind of sadist tech humor....

`Political types with that kind of breeding bring money. Like him or not, we need the green.`

He doesn't look up, he just takes a long draw from his coffee, and looks over the screen.

At the entrance of Jack, Tom stirrs hurredly. Realising he isn't a client, Tom gives Jack a nod and says "Meteting at 3 with the guy". Tom checks his watch, sighs when he sees that it's almost 3, and swings his feet back round onto the floor. Digging-out some realistic-looking paperwork, he slaps it in a file and prepares to look busy sometime in the near future, but not yet.

At 1430hrs, Gil walks out of the office, saying,"I'm going to establish counter-surveillance. Let's see if our client is being watched."

"That is very interesting, if mostly frivelous. Looks like we either have yet another cheating spouse on our hands, or something very high up and very sinister."

Nat ponders momentarily.

"I'm going to go for some lunch."

As she stands up, she casts 'Alleviate allergy' at force 2 into the spell's sustaining focus to alleviate the effects of sunlight outside.

She drives round to Steve's talismongers.

"Hey Steve, what've you got on demons, dragons, and child sacrifice?"

Setting aside the medicine wheel he was working on, Steve lokos at you over his blue tinted shades.
"Woah, that's some ugly stuff hon. Something on your mind?"

Looking past you he throws a piece of useless bone left at a young teenager who was reaching for a ceremonial tomohawk, "I told you kid, none of that till you finish school. Now get lost!"

Nat smirks at the kid as he cowers out of the shop.

"Maybe, just something I have a feeling I may be needing more information on. Frag knows why, but the spirits do move in some strange ways."

"You got that right. Last night I'm verifing the quality of some materials I just got in for spirit quests when all of a sudden the trip takes a turn for the worst."

"Verifying the quality eh?" Nat winks "Was a good job you found the problem and not some burly fire aligned Troll."

"That's just it, I had just finished preparing it when the vision came. I didn't have the heart to finish testing after that."

"May I ask what this vision was? Must have been pretty intense to put you off your trials..."

"Well, I was sitting in my lodge, the pipe and natural fire were ready when as I reached for the pipe, Bamn! I see a empty plain, it's raining lightly, a mother Buffalo is giving birth, it's the White Calf. The White Calf is being born in my vision. I was so happy. Then, things went wrong. The Mother died as the calf began to stumble into the shadows. I reached out for it, to comfort it. Before I could reach it, a robed figure crept form the shadows, all I could see were his hands. They were a beuatiful white marble, but the fingers had grey, hematite colored claws, they were lined in red. The claws sank into the Calf and pulled it's still beating heart out. Then I awoke. My hand just inches away from the small fire. Not even two heartbeats had passed."

The smile drops of Nat's face, and is replaced by a look of concern.

"I had a similar such vision not half an hour ago... The thing was taking a child, but someone intervened and the child was freed." Nat pauses a second and shakes her head. "I need all the potential references you've got on this thing, everything from dragons, through demons and throw in some ideas on dream interpretation too - this could always be some kind of metaphor... And if you meet anyone whos had a similar experience, point them my way ok?"

"Will do. Be safe Nat."

With that he reaches out and places his hand on your shoulder.

"The Goddess will be there when I need her. While you sort that stuff out, I need to go make a call." She puts her arm round him and gives him a hug. "I'll be back soon."

Nat heads off to the nearest callbox, and phones John on his mobile.

"Hey John? It's Nat, can I pick your brains for a minute?"

"Hey Natalya, glad to hear from you. Of course you can pick, just give me a moment to finish this other call."
There is a brief pause.
"Okay, I'm free now. What can I do you for?"

In the background you can hear the occaisional ring, several low voices, and from time to time shouts of profanity as another perp is booked.

"I don't suppose you could let me in on anything regarding a possible increase in child disapearences?

You hear a slight drag from a coffee cup, then a choke as you ask your question,
"Children, no, nothing on children. Why?"

"Right, I see. Just a little something I heard on the grapevine - probably nothing. How are you set for a drink later?"

"Sounds great, I found a new place over on 5th and Washington."

You know that's not a cop bar and it's out of his precinct.

"Sounds a decent joint - what time you want to make it?"

"Well I have a lead I have to run down in that neighborhood. I can meet you there at two this afternoon."

Gil
At 14:42 a blue sedan pulls up and parks by a meter. Nobody gets out.

"Ok, I'll see you at two then. Take care."

Nat returns to Steve's shop.

"Hey again, you sorted those things out for me?"

Steve looks up at you from his little computer, the one he keeps hidden from the customers under a fake stuffed buffalo head with plaque reading 'This ain't your daddy's Tuh'tonka'. When he sees you he quickly lowers the head back into place.

"Sorry about that, most the wanna-bes won't shop unless they think you're anti-tech. Stupid fraggers. Anyway, yeah, I found a few things. That image, of the cloaked or robed figure, with alabaster skin and the metallic grey nails. Yeah, that's an idealisation of an archaic form of the 'Adversary' idol. The White Buffalo is a reference to my people's return to nature for everyone and everything, anyone else would call it the 'pocyclypse'. You sure someone intervened in your vision? Some other folks on the shaman boards have had similair visions, none of them had a happy ending like that."

"Yes... I know what I saw, but more importantly what I felt at the end. I will let you know once I have a better idea of what's going on. For now though, you should be ok to test your new stock. Take care."

With that, Nat leaves, and heads to the stuffer shack to get a BLT sandwich, before returning to the office.

"This Jonas guy, did he have any kids?"

Assuming I'm told no...

"Interesting." Nat says out loud "must be something big" she mutters to herself looking down on her sandwich.

I may be on to what this is about already, but I'm going to have to see a contact in a few minutes to confirm. I'll let you in once I've gotten the info I need."

Nat finishes her sandwich slowly pondering the situation. At about ten to 2, she leaves to meet John.

"No mention found of a wife or kids. Though I wouldn't be surprised to find he had sired a bastard or two, given his connection to politics."

Natalya
13:55 You arrive at the bar, you see John sitting a back booth. He's already got a bottle of scoth 1/4 gone. There's an empty shotglass across from him.

Gil
At 14:45 the blue sedan pulls out and drives down the road.

Gil
As the car slides away, you can see that the plate is not normal. It changes as it heads into traffic. About 2 blocks down it stops next to a black sedan, the windows are rolled down, you see the driver of the blue car speaking with the passenger in the black one. After words, the black sedan drives on and turns around in the stuffer shack lot. It is coming back up towards your position. It pulls in. The front passenger gets out, seeming to look in your general area but sees nothing, he opens the rear door and out steps a man in a well tailored suit.

Nat strolls into the bar orders a Soycaf, and takes it over to John's table.

"I would have got you one, but noticed you already had something a little stronger. One of those days?"

"Nat, it's been one of those months. Word in the department is that someone up on high is suppressing certain investigations, I can't get access to the files involved until a body shows up. Fragging office politics." The whiskey sloshes out of the glass as his hand shakes in rage.
"Look all I know is this, two detectives that were working together on a case I can't access have taken a recommended leave of absence until further notice. Capice?"
With that said, he stands, makes his good-byes and walks out the door.

Tom is looking-over the company's finances. Hopefully this meeting will turn-up a good wad of cash for the group.

"Only enough cash in the bank for another month in this place..." Tom thought to himself, looking around the office. It had grown to be a kind-of 2nd home, and the chaie had moulded itself nicely to his posterior over the years.

"He seemed nervous, I'd hate to milk him but business is business." Tom brings-up a list of office expences and tries to think of how he could put the charge for an office night out on the bill.

Engrossed in his 'work', the 2:45 alarm brings him back to reality and he looks around the office. Noticing the absence of some team-members, he gets up and peers through the window overlooking the street, watching the people go about their little lives...

Accross the street you see a man opening the rear passenger side door of a black sedan. Another man wearing a nicer suit steps out and stands up. He looks around, buttoning his coat and begins to walk across the street. Just when you think they are going to open the door they turn to the left and out of your view.

"I get you."

Nat looks down at the Soycaf and ponders, thinking to herself.

"I really could do with those two cops names, but I don't want to push him, and even less probe his mind... I'm not even sure they'll be any use... but they must have gotten a little too close for whoever is doing this to press them for a leave of absense.

There's always another way - if this is what I think it is, I'll get Greg to look up which cops are on recommended leaves of absense."

She spends time over finishing the soycaf, and heads back to the office to be in time for the meeting.

Gil has eyes on the pair. He maintains cover and tries to discern if either man has weapons. Also he squints as he focuses on the license plate of the black car. His senses are at maximum for other discrete surveillance, obviously the blue car was scoping out the office.