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copperheed
"Certainly. You can call me Q and my partner is known as Eklipse." Q responds with an apologetic smile.

Urgh, I knew that I should've changed my Veil to something more upstanding than running gear. At least he hasn't seen through it to my work clothes beneath. But he could be hiding it...

... Wait! Why do I care so... Q gives himself a mental headshake, though no muscle twitch belies his brief confusion. He's exceptionally poised, smells good... too good in fact! I've got to find a way to shut my nose off since his mistress will probably have more of the same.
And looks like Eklipse is going to be a bit out of place around this guy. At least he hasn't noticed the influence and gotten annoyed at "the mindfrags"
Notsoevildm
Eklipse shakes Theo's hand, giving him a friendly smile.

What a charming young man. Not exactly what I expected in this place, but it is nice to meet someone so courteous and professional. He does not even seem to be bothered by my appearance, or is covering it well.

"I vill have a beer, if zat is not too much trouble. Preferably something European of eine Amerikaner microbrew. If you are only having ze soybeers, zen a glass of water will suffice."

He glances around the room, but finds his eyes drawn back to Theo. There is something about him, his cologne perhaps, that nags at his mind.

Buddha72
Body Bag
"Irisbelle can you please see to the drinks."

His voice rings out clear with a strong baritone and the slim bartender dressed in a series of layered lace cloth strips begins to set up the order. He turns back to face the two of you, his face relaxed and eager to return his attention to you.

"I couldn't agree more about soybeers and discovered the difference in brews while traveling with a former employer through Hamburg awhile back. I applaud your choice to leave your tongue unsullied."

His German is crisp and fluid, he is either running a high end linguasoft or has formal instruction in the language. The bartender walks over handing the drink to Eklipse, smiling and nodding as she does so. Theodore's face becomes unfocused for a second then he snaps back to himself.

"She's ready gentlemen, if you'll follow me. I had a private room set up for the meeting."

He leads you towards the rear of the club to a set of ornate wooden and brass doors tucked away in the far left corner of the club. He pushes one of the doors aside and motions each of you to go on in ahead of him. Walking past him again you smell the earthy and dark scent he gives off - it brings an answer of heat to your chest. You enter a hallway that sharply curves to the right running along the back of the club. You see a collection of unique and antique doors set at regular intervals along the left side of the hall.

"We're going in the 4th set of the doors. Let yourself in when you reach them."

He closes the door behind himself as he trails behind you. You arrive a set of carved doors - Thai or Balinese perhaps. Pushing against them you discover they open very easily. The room is draped in warm saffrons, oranges and soft yellows. A low table is set in the center of the room with large pillows strewn about. The air has a soft lingering fragrance of spice - something smokey and spicy. Standing in the far right corner pouring herself a glass of what smells like sweet mint tea is, you assume, Madame Yin. Standing at a small table arranged with trays of food and an assortment of jars filled with dry herbs. She is dressed in a flowing gown that trails along the floor - a deep indigo with her hair loose and free. Everything about her whispers soft, feminine and nurturing. Her left wrist and neck are draped with delicate silver jewelry - wires woven around raw stones in complementing shades of purple. She speaks as the doors open.

"Good morning. Please make yourself comfortable. You mentioned you may have found something that once belonged to me?"
Notsoevildm
Body Bag
Eklipse covers his unease with a sip of beer. Theo's fluent German had caught him off-guard, putting him more on edge than at ease. He feels totally out of place here, like a second-hand car salesman trying to sell Chinese cars to BMW. The shadows start to draw around him and it takes all his will to keep them suppressed.

He mentally calls up Heidi's picture in his AR.

I will do whatever it takes to find you.

He forces a thin smile onto his face as they enter Madame Yin's boudoir, but keeps his mouth shut. Content to play the 'bodyguard' role for now, he avoids making eye contact with her, instead scanning the room for potential threats.

Q clams to be good at this. He can do the talking.

copperheed
Body Bag
<< @Eklipse: This Theodore is highly skilled with words and demeanor and he's augmented to be even more charming. Be alert but calm. And no I don't think they mean us harm. The worst that I expect is us being escorted out and not asked back. And tell me if you want some advice to feel less uncomfortable around these two.>>

"And well met to you, lady." Q replies with a nod of respect. He strides forward and sits upright on the quite comfortable and plush cushion. Tasting one of the treats from the table, Ahh... and I thought I was past sumptuous things. He makes eye contact with Madam Yin as he begins.

"I believe you're familiar with this woman," Q states smoothly, pulling up a picture of Zuzane during her escapades in front of the Body Bag on his commlink and placing it in ARO, setting it to display on Madam Yin's right, parallel with the wall, just past and above the right side of the table. "She has done some terrible things and after much trouble finding her, I thought it was time to settle accounts with her. I've come to you to see if there's anything of significance or sentimental value that she stole and you'd appreciate having returned or if you'd like to readdress her stain to your fine reputation."
Buddha72
Body Bag
She turns as Q speaks. holding the glass and metal cup in her hands as she walks to a floor cushion and folds her legs underneath herself to sit. She looks over the image while taking a sip of the tea.

"I do know of her though at the time I thought it best to not know her exact identity. The people she traveled with were much too volatile for me to risk upsetting. I haven't seen her since that night and though she did indeed kill some people, none were guests of mine. The night she was here I was hosting a birthday fete for a gentleman and some of his birthday gifts were stolen - in particular, a pair of twins were taken."

Q
As you listen to her and watch her move through the space, you see some fatigue in her movements and signs of pain as she sits. She is curios about your request and open to hear you out.
copperheed
Body Bag
"Though not outside the realm of possibility, I presume you aren't talking about a pair of identical siblings. Would you be kind enough to describe this item for me? I don't have an exact list of everything she's fenced however, but if she's held onto it when her assets are redistributed, I can certainly set it aside for you. As for remuneration, a nominal finder's fee and your good graces are all that are requested for this service."

"And if I may be so bold, Zuzane no longer has the support she once had. Rumor has it she even betrayed her previous protection. I can, of course, understand if you don't wish to escalate after the time that has passed."
BishopMcQ
Looking down at his icon, Cypher quickly assesses the changes and orients himself to the interface. Scroll, gi, katana, fan. Some kind of Japanacorps structure, not a stock interface he'd used but it looked like clean programming.

"Security diagnostics and access logs for the last twenty-four hours please."

He slides the scroll back into his belt and pulls out another one. Scanning the room, he looks for wall hangings or other signs of a file archive within the dojo sculpting.
JxJxA
Sitting with Fat Man and Emilio, Zero begins casting magic. He whispers a psalm as he calls out to Uriel's Choir, and he notices that one of the ravmalakhim hears his supplication. However, the spirit rebuffs his call, clearly engaged with a more important task to maintain His Domain. Zero tries once more, again noting that one of the spirits hears his call. This time, the ravmalakh answers his call, and it coalesces within the van.

A figure made of glowing dust materializes within the car. The dust sparkles, shifting between soft shades of ivory and gold. It is dressed in a flowing, impeccably white gown. Like the other ravmalakhim Zero has summoned before, its face is covered with an ivory mask bearing a placid, serene expression.

"I am Cepheus of the Earthly Sphere of Archangel Uriel. You have called me, young one, and I have answered. What aspect of His work would you have me do?"

"Brother Cepheus, I would ask that you conceal the uh...shen that Brother Fat Man will summon."

The ravmalakh nods in the affirmative, and waits for the other spirit to arrive.

Zero begins weaving spells to bolster Fat Man's will, repaying the favor that the other mage had done for him by amplifying the elf's courage and charisma.
Hamagen
Back in the non-magical car, Breeze studies the warehouse a bit then looks over to the rest of the people in the car

"Well boys, can't sit on our arse the whole night"

He winks at the group and goes out the car door slipping into the darkness
Buddha72
Body Bag
She smiles, a genuine look of fatigue passing over her face before perking up with Q beginning the social dance. Her face lights up and she leans forward, drawing her legs closer to her body. She looks directly into his eye as she speaks, her voice now smoother and more assured.

"Actually they were indeed twins - Elves and 10 at the time of their abduction. While I feed and cater to darker appetites here I do draw the line at children. Others do not and I would like to know what happened to them and if possible, improve their situation. How much do you charge for that peace of mind?"

She takes a sip of tea and gestures for Theodore who steps in and closes the door behind him. He moves to the small station and picks up two trays of candied and dry fruits. He kneels smoothly and places them on the table between you. She pauses a moment before selecting a date and taking a healthy bite from it.

"As to the woman and my desires, I have none in regards to her meeting an unfortunate end. Everything I know about her former employer he was a man that abused those in his care and violated the rules where those arrangements are in play. If she was due any suffering, rest assured she was dealt it. You will need to look elsewhere to find someone willing to buy her end."

Breeze
You exit the vehicle and move your way towards the next nearest building that can afford you a view of the warehouse. You move quickly and quietly, keeping to the shadows till you arrive at the base of the what appears to be a series of small shops with over half of them available for rent.

Fat Man & Zero
You watch as the spirits briefly acknowledge the other. The ravmalakh nods and passes an arm before the feline shen as it fades from view. You both wait to see what news the spirit will bring back when almost immediately the shen returns. He looks to Fat Man bowing as one to one lower than it's own station.

"The way is barred. A barrier is erected around the place you would have me search. It is hard to see but luckily for you, I am a wise and learned creature. I saw it before breaching it. What would you have me do Little Bear?

Cypher
The elderly man bows again and gestures towards a spot near your feet to your right. The tatami ripples and becomes a zen rock garden while in his hands a small rake appears. He calmly runs it across the sand and in stead of neat lines in the white sand you see streams of data. The agent continues to stare at you and look you over. Glancing down to the code you see this node runs a scan every 15 minutes of its security system to make sure no anomalies have appeared and that the node is still secure. Every hour shows a log in as well along with yours. The scroll in your hand shows you that the small incense burner to the left of where you appeared is the icon for the file archive for this node.
copperheed
Body Bag
<< @All[Q]: Anyone know the pricing on reverse kidnapping? Seems she's lost some actual twins. >>

Q's eyebrow raises a bit in surprise, "Hmm..." his heads dips a little in thought. As he looks back up, he leans in slightly, body centering towards her, meeting Madam Yin's eye contact firmly yet with warmth. "I'd never considered different to be dark, though from what I've learned that group didn't know to make the distinction. As for your twins, I've not come across anything that says she's holding them, with or without their consent. There maybe much more in her personal systems indicating their whereabouts. Do you have any pics, information, or biometrics to help with locating them?"

Q takes a pause to pick up two dates from the same plate and the same side that Madam Yin picked from. He brings them to his mouth, inhales their scent savoringly while subtly checking for poison, Mmm... that's gooood... he grins as he pops them into his mouth. I'm not going to make a good asthetic, but I don't care. He picks up two more with a nod of thanks to Theodore as he let's them dissolve on his tongue.

<< @Cypher[Q]: Did we come across anything related to a pair of twins taken from the party? And did we get any other names of Mikey N's compatriots? I also think the Rosso Regina might have been our girl. Care to look into these when you've a spare moment? >>

"As for pricing, let's say whatever information I discover will be my gift to you. The following lifestyle improvement will be negotiable since some dangerous people were involved."
Buddha72
Body Bag
She listens her face still animated and relaxed.

"Desire is a tricky thing. So many people don't know what exactly it is they are seeking so it gets lost in everything else. Is it the feel of leather and ropes on their skin, the rush of pain and pleasure or is it simply the fact that what they are doing is seen as illicit? The work I do here most times has to do with peeling back those layers and finding where their true passions lie and then leading them to that place."

She lets the promise of her skill hang in the air between you. Her eyes look liquid and the heat comes across in her voice as she reclines back into the cushions allowing the fabric to slide over her form and hint of what rests underneath.

"I accept your gift then of what ever you find out about the twins. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
UmaroVI
Fat Man
"It is indeed good that you spotted the ward and avoided alerting its creator. I assume you saw no spirits outside the ward standing watch? We will now need to stalk the ward's creator. Can you lead the way for us to our quarry?"
Buddha72
Zero
You listen to the shen talk about the ward and think it might have encountered a variant warding structure. You have heard that they can be made to just alert their creator to something passing through them and they are even wards that actively fight back when assaulted on the astral. It seems this place has some sort of magical security in place beyond your standard warding.

Fat Man
The spirit turns its head to the side while keeping one eye on you at all times.

"I saw no spirits outside the ward."
Fenris
<<Cypher [Fleet]: I actually don't-Let me get back to you.>>

He comes back up and into himself long enough to check on the group, feeds and windows popping up to show the exterior of cars and audio pick-ups from the TacNet.

"If it helps, everyone needs to keep eyes open for ten different nodeff."

With a sigh, he slides back into VR and draws another window up in the Islamic temple motif that dominated his commlink and nexus.

<<@Maroon Dream[Fleet]: I need another program. An agent, high rating, and a couple of autosofts to go with it. Unrestriced, please. Just tell me how much it is, and I'll send you the copy. No need for us to meet.>>
UmaroVI
Fat Man
<<Fleet[Fat Man]: Zero and I need to astrally project for a few hours. Can you move us to somewhere more secure, preferably where you can monitor our car?>>

"If I can get a look at the aura of the ward's creator, I can bypass their wards. We can use that ward to track him on the astral. Noble shen, please lead the way. Zero, can you follow with me, in case we run into trouble? Emilio, we will be unconscious for at least one hour, more likely several. Keep an eye on our physical bodies while we are out. If there is trouble, please ask this little fellow to carry a message."

As Fat Man finishes speaking, he calls a small watcher spirit. A hand-sized, vaguely humanoid figure with a large, exaggerated head and a wide grin appears in front of Emilio and waves.

"Thank you for answering my call, little spirit. If this man asks you to, or if he is hurt or captured or otherwise unable to do so, come and tell me."
Buddha72
Fleet
You send the message off and cringe as you see an almost immediate response come back from Maroon Dream.

<<@Fleet[Maroon Dream]: I didn't realize you needed me so much. I have attached a link to this message - transfer the funds and the agent will be sent to you. >>

You see the link and feel the rush of color to your face - it's a woman clearly naked underneath a thin satin sheet. You see the pulsing icon to start the transaction hovering over her groin.

Breeze
You take a breath and run your hands along the wall face, finding small imperfections in the surface and begin to climb up the side. You feel yourself fall into the pattern of stopping and starting, breaking up your movement to help conceal your ascent. You reach the roof line and getting a strong grip haul yourself over. The wind feels cool and crisp on your skin as it dries the sweat from your climb. The distant sound of the traffic and highway washes over you. Moving low and slowly you make your way to the the far edge, to get the best view of the roof of the warehouse.
JxJxA
Zero nods, "Of course, Mr. Fat Man. Give me a few moments to prepare, and then just let me know when you are ready."

Zero sits down, and begins weaving a pair of spells while reciting Psalm 16. The first is a spell to bolster his will, which he secures in his new focus. The second to boost his charisma, which he maintains himself. Once he finishes, Zero sits down with his palms resting gently on his knees.
Buddha72
Fat Man & Zero
You slip free from the bounds of your own flesh and float out of the car into the the eddies of emotions and swirls of color that populate the astral. You watch as the shen looks closely at something in front of it before it begins to slowly move from this area and begins to make its way towards Downtown core. It moves patiently - taking care to keep track of the link that trails out from the creator of the ward to his or her current destination. You trail behind over the hours until you arrive at a tall grey structure and another ward - this one wrapped around a high rise apartment of some sort. The cat spirit hovers and turns as it speaks - its face smug and self satisfied.

"The maker of that barrier is within."
Emilio
QUOTE (UmaroVI @ Oct 6 2012, 05:18 AM) *
As Fat Man finishes speaking, he calls a small watcher spirit. A hand-sized, vaguely humanoid figure with a large, exaggerated head and a wide grin appears in front of Emilio and waves.
Emilio waves back and grins.

Christian cultist runners, perma-disguised runners, and now a Cabbage Patch doll that waves. What a way to earn a living.

"Ok. Up to a few hours, check. Is there a time line at which I should wake you? Say four hours? Fine if not.. And I assume I should wake you if Pennington Charles here explodes?"

<<@Fleet[Emilio]: Do you have any way to disguise a delivery van? We have a wide-open space here that looks potentially deadly. Either a hidden/stealth van, or a hidden-in-plain-site FedEx van-thing might be best.>>
Buddha72
Cypher
You move the unbound scroll over so you can see it and the sand garden at the same time. You trigger the search for the User Log and watch as the sand begins to ripple and distort - subtly changing by a low winds passing over the sand. Looking back and forth from one to the other you clearly see the the data is encrypted and the scroll shows an icon to indicate the presence of a data bomb to the file as well. Looking the rock in the garden appears to represent it.
BishopMcQ
Weighing the options of "Psycho-bitch" versus "fairly liberal with the dress-code," Cypher decided that applying for a more stable job from Zuzane probably wasn't going to turn out well. Damn did she have a tight team of programmers and encryption, though. He flicked his attention for a brief second to check on his agents' status reports. The noir style of his own node was comforting but he couldn't stay for long.

The hacker's attention flicked back to the dojo. Playing with that much encryption would take way too long for this run. He slowly crossed the dojo to the next node that he found before.
Fenris
With a grimace, and a quickening of his pulse, damn the woman's amazingly fine detail, he reaches out a gloved hand from his white-robed avatar and triggers the transfer, withdrawing as if the very touch had burned his virtual fingers. With a digital sigh, he turns back to the package as it arrives, unspooling the collection of software logic and decision gates that would approximate the knowledge that Fleet himself lacked.

<<@Cypher[Fleet]: Agent's up and running in the nexus I gave you, but if you want it to do anything fancy you're going to have to give it a few toys.>>

He fiddles with the package for a moment, a brief detour purchasing a more reasonable icon for the agent as he strolls over to window that represents his connection with the bulkier nexus, letting the bird of prey dart through the open window and take flight in the desert scape beyond. Seeing the message from Fat Man pop up, he turns and motions to gather several of the windows together, watching feeds from both the cars sensors and those of the drone circling overhead. Another window is suddenly displaying a map of the local area in as much detail as he can gather quickly, and he sends the cars traveling along a series of routes that would keep them out of direct line of sight from the facility and passing within range of each other often enough that he could use the sensor's to ensure they hadn't picked up unwanted passengers.
UmaroVI
Fat Man, in the car before leaving
"We'll have to return after about five hours, regardless of if we find it or not. If it's been five and a half hours, or a new watcher doesn't appear on the hour, something's gone wrong. But you won't be able to wake us - our spirits will be outside our bodies. That's why the spirit is here - you can send it to fetch us back."

Fat Man, outside the mage's apartment.

"We thank you greatly for your help. I am glad that such a clever and skillful spirit answered my call."

Fat Man bows to the shen as it fades back to the metaplanes, then examines the building's ward carefully for any distinctive features.

"We should probably return, but be sure to take a careful look at this area and where it is. We - or rather Cypher - should be able to figure out it's address. It looks like an apartment building, and it's night, so whoever the mage is probably just lives here. We should be able to get a look at his astral form when he leaves for work."

Fat Man flew back towards his body, but stayed well off the ground as he did so, being careful to keep track of what part of the city he was in and where he was going. The lack of street signs made it hard to identify where the apartment was, but the geographical location should make it easy enough to relocate.

"Also, let's take a look at that ward ourselves - now that we know no spirits are watching the outside. I'd like to know if the apartment's ward is the same magician, and we'll need to recognize him ourselves in any case."

After reentering his body, Fat Man stretched, realized he was very hungry, and reached for a pack of the soysticks he'd stashed in the car.

"Thank you for keeping watch, Emilio. I gather nothing happened? And thank you as well, little spirit."

<All[Fat Man]: Zero and I finished our preliminary astral scouting. The building we are trying to enter has a ward. We were able to locate the building where the ward's creator lives; if we can get a quick look at his aura, I can sneak past the ward. Otherwise, the ward's creator will be alerted as soon as I enter the building. The ward will also prevent us from entering with any active spells, spirits, or foci, except in the hands of anyone capable of hiding their auras.>

<Cypher, Fleet[Fat Man]The building is in the block I marked on the map, along with the description. Can you help me figure out it's street address?>[this message has an advertisment for Nacho Mana attached]

<Cypher, Fleet[Fat Man].>[this message has an attached map with a block of the city clumsily highlighted, and a simply drawn overhead view of the building Fat Man is looking for, including the number of stories of the building and its neighbors.]
Strangeglove
<<When you want your soul to dance, Nacho Mana!>>
Buddha72
Breeze
Looking over the roof set up you see the sensor clusters you were thinking would be here and they are at the spots you thought they should be for maximum coverage. You see some sort of wire system across the roof or you think you do - it's hard in the light but it could be monowire or tripwires which rules out a lot of entry plans for the roof. As you examine the warehouse you see a few Knight Errant patrol cars drive by - they hold the contract for this area and then there is the security force Federated Boeing keeps at their site to contend with if you all get really sloppy. You look over the area looking for any signs of tagging or gang signs but it looks pretty clean here. You guess the corp nearby probably strongly discourages theft and vandalism near or on its property.
Hamagen
Breeze finishes his climb and takes a moment for a breather, Woo blymey I need to work out a bit more, those climbs are getting harder

He remains low, almost on all fours as he makes his way across the roof to have a better vantage point, after survey the area quickly he takes a quick picture and puts small icons all over the place, then sends a message to the team with the image attached...

@Team "Physical recon team reporting...Perimeter has high security, wires and sensors can be seen on the roof, note icon in red in the image attached, monowire or tripwire is setup they will likely make roof top access a no go. Knight Errant holds the contract for this area and seems to patrol regularly, in addition to the security force of Federal Boeign, no sign of gangs, will meet up with rest of team a few blocks south...End transmission"

Breeze fades back into the shadows as he makes his way down the building and makes his way south to avoid any connection that might be made with the car parked nearby.
Buddha72
Cypher
Rolling the scroll back up and tucking it in your belt as you move away from the garden and towards the shoji door in the wall. You slide it open and step through into the next node. You feel the reality of the previous node unravel and the new paradigm of the next node take hold. Once again you find yourself in a maelstrom of jumbled sensory feeds - encryption again playing havoc with your ability to resolve the node into an accessible format.

Fat Man
You examine the ward at the tall grey column - a high rise of some sort - and see it is fairly powerful and crackles with energy - it seems almost ready to attack as you look it over. You feel the aggression woven into the magic and know that this ward would prove more challenging to take down. Traveling back to the warehouse area you move forward looking for the ward and spot it. It barely registers as a sheen in the astral - you catch it by not quite looking at it directly. The strands of mana seem to be diffuse on purpose to make seeing it that much more difficult. It's structure suggests that its just here to detect the passage of astrally active presences - the creator would be alerted to the breach.
BishopMcQ
Cypher grimaces at the noise and tries feeding the decryption code from the other node into the system. He spools up he decryption utilities in case it needed another code.
copperheed
Q's voice becomes deeper and his words slide off his tongue like silk, "That's quite admirable and an intriguing premise for this place. I'm impressed that you can avoid falling into hedonism in what must be a very stimulating atmosphere."

Q plucks another date from the plate as he leans backward, languorously reclining as he supports himself with one arm. His posture is relaxed but powerful and commanding as he continues.

"With a mission such as yours, its vile that some previously mentioned curs would seek to disrupt it. My associates and I would like to make sure that something as damaging as this doesn't occur again. The next time you've a special celebration, we can make sure it goes off smoothly."

<< @Ekilpse[Q]: Care to give her some thoughts on what we can do for her? Remember, she wants to have this place protected. All we need to do is demonstrate to her we're the best. Show her your knowledge and skill >>
Buddha72
Body Bag
She smiles as a little bit of color rushes to the surface of her skin.

"I never said I didn't partake."

She brings the glass to her lips taking a slow draw of tea. She takes a moment to savor the flavor while looking Q up and down with interest.

"I am always looking to make new friends. Frankly, it's what drives my business - meeting people and introducing them to their secret selves. If you have associates looking for work please send them by during the off hours of the club and I would be happy to see where I could best put them to use - assuming I can of course but Theodore has a knack of finding something for people to do when taking my money. Have them talk to him and we can go from there. I do have a new club opening and positions to fill. If there is nothing else to discuss gentlemen I need to get some rest."

Cypher
You feed in the key from the node before and see nothing happen so quickly launch the necessary programs and once again quickly edit on the file hoping to cut down the amount of time needed to clear the sensory feeds. You watch as reality pieces together around you. You find yourself standing in a an Asian themed love den straight out of a porn trid - the walls are covered in rich tapestries with sinuous dragons woven into them and the air is heavy with a rich incense. You are facing a another set of shoji doors and find yourself wearing a silk robe with an elaborate knot in the waist tie. The door in front of you slides open and you see a woman with impossible cleavage and a ridiculously tiny waist with a hair style that should snap what passes for her neck. Her make up is done in some sort of neo-Geisha style you see on the low rent woman of the International District. Her kimono is more of a sex slip than formal garment, She presses her face to the ground and speaks in a breathy whisper that screams two bit theatrics for desire and heat.

"Welcome."
JxJxA
Zero sits in silence, unsure of how to proceed. Most of his experience before joining this group was in protecting places and the people within, not so much breaking into them and spying on others. The idea is foreign to him, and he is reticent on how to proceed. After a few moments of thinking and mustering his courage, he turns to Fat Man upon returning to his corporeal body.

"Um...if you like, Mr. Fat Man, I can try and go past the ward while completely within the physical realm and call Brother Cepheus once I am inside. Perhaps he could spy upon the ward's creator and tell us of the mage's aura. I can go alone...but I would welcome company."
UmaroVI
"That is quite brave of you, Zero, but I think it would be too risky. Whoever made those wards is a very powerful magician, and we have no idea what other defenses they have, and I would be unable to help you. However, that building was an apartment - we can probably simply spot him entering or leaving."
copperheed
The Body Bag
Intriguing... though she'll definitely be a canny partner in the dance. She kept up with me quite well and I don't think she's augmented in any form. Definitely intriguing...

Q smiles at Madam Yin as she conceals her face while checking him out.

"Well then we'll be off, though parting from such charming companions is difficult. I'll bring my crew around and see if you've any positions for us to fill." He says with a suggestive emphasis. "Thank you for you time and I hope you enjoy your morning rest."

Q stands up with a bow to Madam Yin and lets Theodore escort Eklipse and himself from the room.


<< @Eklipse[Q]: Do you have anywhere you want to go before I check in with my friend? And if you want to drop me off you can take the car somewhere. >>

<< @Cypher[Q]: Are our conversations to each other encrypted? I presumed so but just wanted to check before banding more shop talk. >>
Notsoevildm
Outside the Body Bag

"Very slick, Herr Q. I can see you vill be a useful addition to ze team. And my apologies for ze outburst earlier. I have been told zat I am sometimes acting without ze thinking. Sometimes this is good, but today vas not one of those times."

"You can drop me off near ze Looking Glass. Let Fleet know when you are finished with ze car and he will tell it where to go."


BishopMcQ
<< @Q[Cypher]: At this point, the TacNet is encrypted. General communications to each other are not. I have not yet had everyone's hardware in one place to configure materials. By the time we are on the job, everything will be rolling. >>

<< @Fleet[Cypher]: Understood, I will get software for it later. Can you take the map from Fat Man and make something from it? Maybe one of those fuzzy pilots can do it? Lastly, if you're open to it, lets route the general communications through the nexus and run an encryption routine on them. I'm tapped out holding the TacNet together and cutting through psycho-bitch level security systems.>>
Buddha72
Body Bag
You leave the small but warmly appointed room under the direction of Theodore who pauses to close the doors as you exit. Making your way down the hall and back to the main part of the club you see the crew has mostly cleared out and the place looks ready for the next time it opens.

"Gentlemen thank you for coming by. It was pleasure to meet you both."

He extends his hand to shake with each of you - his face open and warm. You feel the rush of making him smile ripples across you.

Cypher
You call up the programs you need and watch as an ornate war fan appears in your hand. The side facing you ripples and you see symbols scroll across the interface. You see a more active presence here working against your attempts to tease out information from the code embedded into the node and the agent in front of you. The agent brings her head up but keeps her eyes downcast.

"Would you like to make yourself comfortable? The Daimyo did not speak of your arrival. A failing on my part to be certain. Let me make amends and offer you what meager pleasure I can?"
Buddha72
Cypher
The results appear and you see a fairly sophisticated program in front of you and the node appears to be better constructed than the previous. You see a list of programs loaded into the agent in front of you but note that there are two programs or functions that it can't seem to label or identify. You see scripts of errors and conflicts. The higher level of programming exists as well - clearly to secure the security network but the same inability to fully catalog it pops up.
BishopMcQ
Still pondering the strange results that the analysis turned up, the small portion of Cypher's mind that has flashbacks and more than one psychoses begins sending commands. The hacker initiates a file backup of the node, copying all of the files without opening them to a storage device. Neurons fire as another subroutine begins searching for user data in the active node.

The Data Liberation Front posted their manifesto. It decried the balkanization of data storage and matrix systems. Free information for all, no secrets on the Matrix, only questions and answers for those who looked. Seth cruised through the data havens, trawling forums that discussed the pros and cons of the movement. It had been tried before, but now they had people inside. White hats in support of free speech, feeding them data. 48 hours after the IPO, the DLF would upload secrets from several megas--secrets that revealed the truth about who was in control of everything. The Corporate Court, nations, even magic societies, none would be able to hide information anywhere in the Matrix. The Great Library had been found...
copperheed
"Indeed. And next time will be even more so." Q responds, his own voice deepening just a bit, hinting at other interests.

Once outside, he takes a deep breath of the foul city air, clearing his sinuses of Theo's attention grabbing scent. Turning to Ekilpse as they walk to the car, "Not as smooth as I'd have liked but they're both very good. And apology accepted. Dropping you off is no problem, we'll both run down some leads."

Later, after dropping Eklipse off near his own apartment, Q programs the car to head to Meave's after shooting her a quick message.

<< @Meave[Q]: Knock knock. Addled gentleman caller. Is the fiery lady available? >>
Fenris
With a virtual nod at Cypher's note, his avatar spins the windows in his temple in quick rotation with a motion of his hand, coming to a stop abruptly at the one that was divided into several smaller windows, and showed the various sensor feeds coming in from the team members attached to the tactical network. He pauses, mentally waiting on the acceptance of his request to transfer control of the program, and pulls the window, like gathering threads, and directs them on and into the serene landscape that makes up the nexus's topography. He furrows digital brows for a moment before nodding thoughtfully.

Shajarat al-Hayah...that feels appropriate.

He feeds the threads into the ground with one hand, another sifting through an online library of nexus topography in Arabic, pausing as he locates the suitable icon. Plucking it from the connection and draping it over the threads tunneling into the ground, he steps back as a massive tree springs forth, the Arabic version of the 'Tree of Life'. Branches unfurl as the icon adjusts to the various inputs, and he reaches out to tweak branches to summarize data and gather information from each member into it's own branch. Data pulses along the length of the branch, a complicated series of color icons and readouts that represented the information being shared and collated by the complicated assistant software.

Another motion brings the bird darting down to one of the nearby branches, a sharp caw echoing from the beak of the falcon, the 3m plus wingspan ruffled before the bird settles. Motions drape the bird in leather barding, settling goggles on it's head and various other accouterments as he loads the nexus up with the programs the agent would need.

<<@Tel'zut [Fleet]: Monitor this node for unregistered activity, and destroy it if you detect it. Monitor the TacNet, and notify me of any readings that extend beyond two standard deviations, and base the guidelines on cumulative data that's accumulating from program start, with a rolling period of 4 weeks. Ensure that communications between any AccessID's tied into the TacNet are always Encrypted.>>

His time with S-K perhaps hadn't been the most freeing experience, and definitely not the highpoint of his shadowrunning career, but it had left him with a good feel for some of the benefits organized communications and tactics provided.

<<@Team[Fleet]: TacNet and communications are up on the Nexus. As long as you're not dialing someone's LTG number, everything running through here should be Encrypted fairly strongly.

He stepped over to the low, white walled building, deceptively plain and unadorned on the outside, barely disruptive to the peace that was programmed as the theme, and stepped inside. The interior was a sharp contrast, laid out like a garage. He walked down the aisles, looking at the various icons that showed complete readouts on all of the vehicles and drones, small maps indicating location, readouts for weapons and ammunition, along with brief read-outs on current tasks.

Pulling up the crudely drawn map, he grimaced.

How am I supposed to...?

With a step, he's back inside the temple, windows arrayed around him, another window opening up with topographic and supposed 'astral' maps of Seattle, overlaying them in various combinations to try and make sense of the scribbles and the notes.
Buddha72
Fleet
You look over the "map" and feel the irritation start to rise - how you were suppose to make heads or tails of this is beyond you.

BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION - NOT THE PROBLEM

The feeling of cooperation sweeps through you like a tidal wave and you find yourself working even harder to make this information useful for the team and ensure success for the job. You begin to overlap maps and set several programs to analyzing the topography of Seattle's downtown area. Your head throbs and your eyes feel the strain as you look for any small detail that seems distinctive enough to build a correlation to. You finally think you have isolated enough elements to make an educated guess and narrow the searchable area to four city blocks with high density housing. You feel the nausea of relief as the push to solve this problem stops pressing against you.

Cypher
You feel and see a ripple pass through the node around you. The agent at your feet steals a quick glance at your fan as the process initiates to copy the contents of the node. You see on your side of the fan more symbols scroll by and after a brief moment the user log is located while the contents are copied and stored away. Looking over the analysis of the agent you feel a start when you realize you may be looking at a suppose "spirit of the matrix" - some weird program created by a technomancer. You recall similar reports of being unable to fully scan them due to their unique nature.

"Please I beg you do no more here. I will be forced to act against you and I am in a delicate situation. I must beg for your assistance for the Daimyo since he is too proud to do so."

Her voice is earnest as she speaks.
Fenris
It was ugly, but it would work. With a contended sigh he blinked awake into the real world, spooling up messages along with a package of his narrowed down scope and the mage's notations.

<<@Breeze, SG, Eklipse [Fleet]: Alright, based on the maps the mages brought back, I've narrowed down the area to a couple of square blocks. We're still going to need feet on the ground to find the specific apartment we're looking for. How do you guys feel about doing a little light recon? Eklipse, it's your call, but I think between the three of you you could come up with a look that wouldn't draw too many of the wrong kind of stares downtown, and since you won't be able to take any of the big guns, I'm betting Breeze and Straneglove would make good, obvious muscle. I'm forwarding over a map and all the notes that Fat Man passed to me, you'll have to get on-site and see what you can figure out from there.>>

Fingers flex on the wheel as he flashes through feeds from all the drones, checking on the safe house and the other vehicles there, along with the perimeter of the stake-out sight, looking for lingering eyes, other vehicles that were spending too much time in single places, and the possible person actually approaching the target.

<<@Eklipse [Fleet]: So, when we finish this run, I wanted to talk to you about that bike of yours...>>
Notsoevildm
Eklipse had changed out of his suit and was just considering heading down to the Looking Glass for a beer when Fleet's message arrives.

Downtown. Hmm, not sure our troll friend is the best choice for a stealthy recon, given he is something of a celebrity at the moment. However, we work with what we have.

<<@Breeze, SG, Fleet[Eklipse]: I certainly have some time tonight for an initial recon. Breeze, SG, are you available for a trip downtown tonight? Fleet can you provide suitable transport for them? Something discreet? I will take my bike.>>

He suits up again, this time in his stealth outfit. He sets it to a default matte black that makes it look just like bike leathers. Then he scoops up his bike helmet, frowning at it as he leaves his appartment.

Frag, I need to get this coated with Ruthenium. I am going to have to leave it on the bike for now, or I'll be sneaking around like some sort of floating head.

Entering the underground garage, he quickly checks over his bike, flashes a message with its specs to Fleet and then pulls out into the dark.

<<@Breeze, SG, Fleet[Eklipse]: I am heading downtown now. I will take up a suitable overwatch position until you arrive.>>

He lets the bike do most of the driving, ensuring he stays at the speed limit and giving him some time to review the map data provided by Fleet.
Hamagen
Breeze had made his way down from the building and moved through the shadows of the streets a few blocks down away from the team, he looks at the messages coming in and sends out a call to a local cab company.

<<@SG, Fleet, Eklipes [Breeze] I can meet you there and we can do separate recon, keep communication open, so they won't be able to place us together in any way, I am armed at the moment but these weapons are concealed, would you like to do this gun-less?>>
Buddha72
Q

<<@Q[Meave]: For you - of course. >>

She greets you at the door - her face radiant and slightly flushed. She smiles and makes a grand gesture for you to enter. She closes the door and follows behind you.

"So what's so important you needed to ask a girl face to face?"

She points to a couch as she flops with a boneless grace into an overstuffed armchair - her eyes sparkling and alert.
Buddha72
Eklipse
Passing through the traffic of Downtown you feel the city pulse and throb around you. There is something about the core that dances on your skin. The lights and the people, nothing seems to be idle or slow when here. You see the suits and shine of the wealthy corp middle managers that stroll the street. Taxis whizzing to and fro with laughing, too perfect faces looking out the windows. You weave through the traffic and find a series of alleys to move through finally finding a spot to stash your bike. Arming the security system you approach the the back side of a building. Reaching down and through your body you bring the magic surging through your limbs as you launch yourself into the air and effortlessly reach the fire escape a good two stories off the ground. Swinging yourself up and over you begin the easy climb to the roof. Pulling up the mocked up map into your field of vision you begin to look around from your higher vantage point - trying to make a match to the topography you have been given.
Strangeglove
<<@All: Fleet, bring a car around and I'll head downtown. What're we looking for, and if we're outside why wouldn't we bring big guns? We must have something more specific than "find a mage," right?>>

Later...

Strangeglove directs the car to the corner of the marked area opposite the dot marking Eklipse's location.
Lain
With nothing better to do, unless Strangeglove prevents him, Jon will tag along.

"What's going on?"
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