Silas, Needle, & Eclipse
It's Friday night, getting close to 17:00. Each of you are scratching your head trying figure out how you're going to come up with next week's rent. It's been far too long since your last pay check. You're debating if it can afford to drown your sorrows in some booze and/or a night's entertainment, or if you need to conserve your money for maybe getting some food tomorrow....

That's when the gods of the shadows shine their light upon you. The thought strikes you a funny, if there were such a thing, why would they have any sources of light? Regardless, your commlink is beeping at you with an incoming call from an unknown number.

When you pick it up, you confirm that it isn't another idiot thinking you're the Pizza Shack down the street. This image of a black woman in her late thirties, with thin-braided black hair adorned with feathery trinkets, silver thread, and odd-shaped jewelry looks serious. Moreover, she looks like a potential job!.

"Hoi chummer. I've heard your name about town as somebody needing a bit of work. Well you're in luck." Despite her cheerful and upbeat attitude, her high cheekbones make her smile appear tense and you have to wonder where this is leading. Before you can wonder too hard, she continues."I've got a client that needs your talents. If you're interested. You need to be at the top of the Yojirushi building at 19:45 tonight."

Your commlink registers the receipt of the building's exact address. She doesn't seem to have much more info to give you and soon gets off the call with you saying that she needs to call a couple more people that will be joining you.

Gardner
At 17:52, you got a call from a talismonger you've used in the past. Seems he's heard about a job you might be interested in. He hasn't got many details, but from what he can tell it's going to be something big. Right now, all you need to do is meet with the rest of the team on the roof of the Yojirushi building downtwon at 19:45. You're supposed to find out more then. He does mention that you should probably arrive read to go, since he got the impression it will be something of a rush job.

Mr.White
Your commlink registers an incoming message at 18:13. With a glance your mind perks up, looks like your local fixer buddy might have something for you. Opening up the message, you see a terse message saying to be on top of the Yojirushi building at 19:45 tonight for a job. Nothing else in the message, but you know he's a busy man all the time. You're just grateful to get a little extra work from him when he can find it for you.

TundraWolf
At 18:21 you get a call from Irena, she's in a rush but she just found out a job that she thinks would be good for your skills. She apologizes for such short notice, but you need to meet with the rest of the team on the roof of the Yojirushi building downtown at 19:45 tonight. She doesn't seem to have much detail on the actual job, but she does tell you that she's heard you'll be working with Mr. White and Gardner again on this one.

Needle
Apartment Building, 1705 hours

Reading stuff constantly can sometimes make one's eyes go buggy. For most people, reading was a real chore; it was something they chose not to do altogether, or only did when it was absolutely necessary. But not Needle. She didn't just like to read - she loved it. Words spilling from pages in a glorious cascade of knowledge, the cadence of the sentences and structure of the paragraphs an absolute delight to witness. And those words always made sense and contained some type of knowledge or information she needed.

And if reading was the best thing she could do, then to be interrupted while in the middle of a sentence was the worst. And it happened all the time. She would just get a real good groove going, her eyes darting from letter to letter, her mouth moving as if she was speaking the words she saw...and then blam! Her commlink would start with its incessant beeping, trying to get her attention.

I should really get around to setting a filter so that the circuits re-route to voice mail when I'm reading. Mental note to self on that one.

She answered her commlink, her mind beginning to race with all the possibilities for a job. She was able to keep her focus on the call at hand, and she didn't allow herself to get to wrapped up in speculation. She didn't know what the job would entail, nor who the other team members might be.

Teams, however, are generally made up of several individuals of varying talents. It's much the same as a surgical team. You have the surgeon, some nurses, anesthetist...

When the call ended she committed the address for the building to memory. She then fired up her commlink and started looking for information about the Yojirushi building - what it was, what its purpose was, who owned it, adjacent/adjoining buildings, floor plan...basically, anything about the building she could find.

Silas
The Pizza Shack down the street, round the back, next to the trash., 1705 hours

"And then she says to me "You can have the fraggin' Picasso ... I never liked his drekkin' 'Analytic Cubism' fraggin' period anyways!" and she offs and leaves me standing there nekkid as the day I was thrown down a laundry chute! ... and that's why I hate wimmins, with their total lack of appreciation of the finer fings in life .... and their goddamn neo-chow-wowas!"

Silas is ranting again, it's the mixture of both the acids in his belly and the smell of (semi) fresh pizza wafting from the kitchens out into the alley where he's chatting with Bob.

Bob's a wino, a hobo with nowhere to go but the bottom of his next bottle of ultra-meths

Bob is also completely and utterly deaf, which is a good thing since Silas befriended him, these rants can go on for days. not that Silas would notice either way, Bob keeps nodding and smiling and Silas keeps ranting about the ex wife or the state of Seattle these days.

A quick look at the time reminds him about his aching stomach and he bids a farewell to Bob, and a "I'll see you later!" with a wink at the Pizza shack, he mounts the high performance bike "The Hog!" and sets off Downtown, hoping the meeting involves at least one of them nice cucumber sandwhiches with the crusts cut off and cut into triangles..

once safely en route he calls up Danny, now Danny is a strange one, Silas has known him for years, used to do some bits for a mate of a mate of his Dear old Dad, but for some reason he just doesn't connect with him, there's jobs of course and everything is professional like, but it ain't like he's throw hisself onna grenade for him or anything. but the man knows his artwork and more to the point knows a man who WANTS some artwork.

"Dannnyyy! Chummer .. how's it hangingg ... the art .. I meanz .. not the .. uh ... nevermind"

Silas always gets over enthusiastic when he wants something from Danny,

"Hey Danny, I'm headed Downtown, yeah I knows .. dere's places for good ork boys and that ain't one .. hah hah verr funnyz ... but serussly, you knows any fink ? like that last Claudio Monet-casso wots I got that was just layin' around all lonely like ... dere one of thems in town with some rich geezer ? .. you just lemme know okay!"

Danny doesn't really get chance to say much, even if he wanted to .. but Silas is sure he'll call back ... yeah .. totally sure.

Friday, 18:13; Gianelli's Restaurant, Tacoma
Elektra Elite : Passive | SIN: Harvey White


Mr. White glanced down at his comlink. Message from Mr. Jobs it said. He checked the message and then turned back to the grim faces at the table.

The meeting had gone on longer than he'd anticipated, and he'd already bumped an appointment. Looked like he'd be bumping more than one. It was worth it to keep Mr. Jobs happy. The Italians were less than happy about dealing with the Triad, but he knew that they'd jump at the chance to build a relationship with someone who could be useful against the Yakuza. The Russian Bratva were too much of a gamble, too maverick. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"Look, Joe, we've been over this time and again. You can either do business with Mr. Lin, or you can do business with the Russians. I doubt that they'll be as generous." he told the heavyset fellow sitting across from him over a plate of rigatoni.

"Those containers are worth five easy, and you know it as well as I do. And so does Ling." the man frowned at Mr. White across the table for almost a minute.

"Mr. Lin is willing to offer three million for the containers. He is aware of their value, but he feels that the market is short, and that three is a fair offer." Mr. White paused. "Mr. Lin has also said that if this matter can be resolved, that he can offer access to some of the traffic from Hong Kong. He believes that there is some value to be had there for your associates."

Joe Gravano blinked twice. It was as clear a tell as if he'd jumped up and waved his arms around. Still, he was shrewd - a businessman. He thought about it for a few moments before nodding his head. "I think we have a deal, Mr. White."

He smiled and stood. Business was business. The food was good, but he had matters to tend to. He shook hands with the other men at the table.

"Thank you Joe. It's always a pleasure to do business with you."

"Fuck you White. You're an asshole, and I don't much like being fucked over the table like a prison bitch." The other men gave a hearty chuckle.

Mr. White smiled and nodded his head. "Well, Joe, its because you're so damn cute." he dropped the napkin in his chair. "Tell Caroline I said hello, and give my best to Tony and Maurice."

He left the restaurant, climbing into the dark sedan parked on the street. "Yojirushi, please." he told the driver. He might be a little early, but that would be fine. He could take care of a few phone calls. His crisp dark suit had been pressed this afternoon. It wasn't Zoë, though it looked it to the untrained eye. It was Mr. White's opinion that Morant's Suits downtown were far better made than Zoë. And it was local business. Sadly, his other Morant coat and shirt had gone in the trash. A bullet hole and bloodstains just ruin a good suit.

Mr. White arrives at the Yojirushi building with plenty of time to spare. The play is definitely showing some signs of neglect. There is some signs of half ass attempts to coverup or at least wash gang griffiti off the entrance area. But no such attention had been given to the rest of the building, let alone to the AR presence of the building. If there were and legitimate businesses trying to advertise their location with in, they were long lost to the advertisements for "Get Trolled 5: The Bukkake Tsunami" and other such gems of trideo entertainment, or the overlapping images of this or that go-gang trying to lay claim to this turf.

A little disconcerted about what kind of business this job was going to entail, he did notice that the Horizon building next door was hopping. He saw a number of people in elegant evening where being let off at the door. Thinking they were in for a much more refined evening than himself, he shrugged. Turning back to the Yojirushi building, he headed inside. Might as well see if appearances are deceiving.

As he steps through the front entrance, he sees an empty lobby with a few elevator banks towards the back of it. He started heading for those when a young security guard came around a corner...

"Hey, what are you doing here? Where's Joe?"

Having no clue who this 'Joe' was, Mr. White started to reply with a smooth reply when he was interrupted by sound of a toilet flushing. A moment later another, a grizzled man in the same security uniform walked out of a restroom to the side of the lobby.

"Joe, what are you doing walking away from the desk? This guy was just going to walk on in like he owned the place."

With a sigh, the grizzled man, Joe obviously, glanced over at Mr. White and quickly looked away back at his partner. "Kid, what the hell have I told you? You work too fraggin' hard. You're still new. So I tell you again, if ya don't see nothin you don't have to do nothin. Go back to your little rounds and let me get back to my damn nap. The old lady kept me up all day nagging about not cleaning up the kitchen after the party last month. Do you believe that shit? Like I can be bothered with that drek."

Taking his seat behind the security desk, Joe slumped in his chair and closed his eyes to fall asleep. "Oh and mister, guessing you're looking for the freight elevator around the corner there. It'll take you to the roof. And no worries, we didn't see nothin. Ain't that right kid?" Joe opened one eye to glare at the newbie guard until the kid finally slunk away defeated to go pretend like he worked for a security company that actually cared about security.

Taking the freight elevator to the top landing, Mr. White easily found the unlocked door leading up to the actual roof. Seems like it's completely empty for now, though soon enough it will fill up with the rest of the teams arrival.

All in good time, the rest of the time arrives at the rooftop, for the most part completely unbothered by the sleeping guard at the front desk. At most, he simply gave them directions to the freight elevator without even opening his eyes.

The message each member got said 19:45pm. The sun’s last rays have turned the clouds orange and gray as you look each other over. It's obvious that you're all 'runners and neither the contact you spoke to nor the mysterious Mr. Johnson was in sight as your commlinks ring at precisely 19:45 with a request to connect you each into a conference. The invites were from different people, but the message was the same. <<Evening. My end was to assemble you. I’m going to conference in Mr. Johnson and drop off. You should make a good team, but just the same, watch your
asses. An unusual alignment is on the horizon.>>

A new image joins the call for everyone to see. It is completely virtual, a Pharaoh with electron-gleaming bronze skin and a reptilian head. “I am The Scion,” his deep, electric voice thrums. “The foundation wants the Horizon Corporation’s new arcanoarcheologist Parker Acson to work for them. He is at a banquet for new hires at the Horizon Splendor building across the street.” You look to the northeast at the fifty-story Horizon building towering over you. It sparkles silver and orange in the fading light. “See the great balcony on its 28th floor? The banquet is taking place right now, and the recognition ceremony is set to begin directly after. Our offer to you for Parker Acson is 8,000¥ each. You may negotiate for more after his acquisition depending on his ‘condition’. The job is an extraction, hostile, and you must begin in exactly fifteen minutes.”

Mr. White adjusts his bow tie and sighs.

He takes a moment to say hello to his fellow 'runners. To Gardner and TundraWolf he offers a quick hello and a smile. To the other three he gives a firm handshake and business card. A throwback to old school, rather expensive paper and ink, with an embedded chip containing his comm code. Mr. White is silver haired, and sports a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. He wears an expensive looking wristwatch, the kind you don't see very often, and a ring on his finger.

After the information about the job, Mr. White takes a moment to survey his associates. He eyes their weaponry and attire. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, this looks a bit tricky. I like to see these kind of things go down quietly, quickly, and without a lot of mess. What do you think?"

Silas listens intently to the J as the job is outlayed to them all. <<Fifteen minutes ? man that’s gonna be tight>>
He glances nervously away, eyes scanning the opposite building.
Two stories down from their current elevation to the lit rooms full of swanky folks in evening dress, completely un-aware <<I HOPE>> of their presence.

“Where’s the drop off?” his reply is not terse, just mildly absent as he runs the details over and over in his minds eye.
and more from reflex than any conscious thought.

<<Horizon Corp huh? What’s what Danny said? Oh yeah, new hire banquet.. paid up front snot nosed grads and overpaid science nerds.. there’s gonna be some guys with guns in there protecting those ASSets>>

Silas snickers to himself quietly at his own joke, then corrects himself and turns back to the Pharoe guy <<What the frag is the Foundation? and does they have sammiches ? .. bah who gives a frag>>

“Silas is in, Job can be done severals ways, Chummer here.. ” He looks down at the crumpled business card in his paw and screws his eyes up trying to read the squiggly words “Mr White, has it right too, quiets and sneaky likes, no messes no fusses! .. Oh yez, Name’s Silas .. no not Thilath .. it’s the teefs see”

He returns to the edge of the roof, avoiding exposing his silhouette by standing next to an extraction vent

<<Four guys on the door, six plain clothes wandering around, the waiters will be carrying and the chefs will have huge cleavers … bah amateurs>>

The grin creeps back across his face as he examines the building and the business behind him concludes.

"Fifteen minutes ... damn, no times for stopping at the buffitt, I bets they got nice cucumber sammiches too !"

In answer to Silas's question the digital pharoah says “I will call you once you have acquired the target and taken him someplace safe. Obliterate his commlink!” Then the image of the reptilian pharaoh collapses upon itself leaving the quickly darkening sky in your field of view. Time to work.

Friday, 19:46; Rooftop, Yojirushi building
Fairlight Caliban: Passive | SIN: Gerald Adler


Gardner raises a bushy eyebrow in surprise at the entire interaction; from the runners present to the "man" on the comm. I'll have to talk to Sera about where her friend found this guy... but a job's a job... He gives a small groan of exertion as he moves his towering form up from the seated position he had taken while waiting for the Johnson to show up. Taking a step toward the roof's edge, he gets a look at the floor where the party seems to be while leaning casually on his staff from behind the rest of the team.

"Hmmm," Gardner's deep rumbling voice rolls across the rooftop. "Our first step is to know who we are looking for, and then see about getting in to find him. Particularly if we want to keep things low key."

Friday, 19:46; Rooftop, Yojirushi building



Silas freezes, turns on the spot very slowly with his chin beginning the motion, until he has rotated 180 degrees and is looking in the direction of the 'small earthquake' that just went off behind him !

With a look of shock <<How in the drekkin' 'ell did I not spot this fella ?!>> He eyes up the man mountain leaning against a TREE, cautiously before introducing himself "S .. S ..Silas ! I finks ... umm... and you are ?"
Silas extends a hand, in the manner of someone trying to feed an angry tiger without gloves and trying his best to keep all his digits. and then counts them just to be sure afterwards.

"Yep you is rights, which one o' dem snotty kids is the snotty kids we want ? .. I's tempted to just find him in yeller pages and call his comm

See which one jumps the highest in dere !

Hey, any of you's guys check the front door ? they got bouncers at that party or is any one welcomes? "

He returns to the vantage point, but is sure to check his footing in case the foundations suddenly start to shake

"Well, that was extraordinarily rude of him. Didn't even tell us what this guy looks like."

Needle tapped the few keys she needed to make sure the call had been properly ended before she looked out across the expanse towards the Horizon building. She tried to gauge the distance between the two, and then started doing some math in her head.

"Based on the distance between the two buildings, the speed of the elevator going down, and our relative foot speed when crossing the street - taking into account that we don't know how fast the elevators in the Horizon building are, nor how many security checkpoints we'd have to go through, or that we'd even be allowed access to the 28th floor - by my estimate, we should have left 4 minutes ago."

She once again examines the space between the two buildings when Silas speaks up about the buffet.

"You can't possibly know that they have a buffet there, nor what its contents might be. For all you know, this event could be very low key. In fact, there are some cultures where eating at these types of engagements is highly frowned upon because eating while attempting conversation can be seen as an insult; it can be perceived that the person you are talking to isn't interesting enough."

She cocks her head to one side as if expecting an answer, but then faces her commlink, deftly pushing the sequence of keys to start doing some data searches.

"Well, I suppose the first thing we should do is find a picture of Parker and see what he looks like. Then we'll need some preliminary data on the Horizon building - entrances, exits, data on the event itself. Finally, we should see what Matrix activity they've got going on over there. I'm sure they'll have some spiders monitoring the wireless traffic inside the building, but we should at least see if they have any nodes being broadcast."

And without waiting for anyone to chime in, she gets started.

"Ahh, my apologies," The giant reaches out his own hand, which (surprisingly) gently encompasses the one presented and bobs slightly. "You can call me Gardner. Silas, was it? Looks like we'll be working together, at least for tonight."

Twenty-eight stories up, the balcony of the Horizon Splendor building stretches out across the open distance fifty meters from you. The noise of the busy street below is almost drowned out by the wind, by the distant whir of chopper blades, and by the occasional jet engine screeching overhead. Scanning it, you see wait staff cleaning, a gentleman in a suit watching, and a blue eastern dragon tending bar, its tail pouring a beer from a tap. As a server walks across to the bar, her every footstep ripples outward in dark blue. The balcony appears to be covered in water. Taking the beer from the dragon, the server turns and walks towards a pair of tall glass doors. The doors open and close automatically, and she disappears into the hall beyond.

Mr. White quietly thumbs his comlink and types in a quick query and hits send.

<< @MarcusB Ever heard of 'The Scion', or Parker Acson? >>





"I think that what we need are some invitations."

He types at his comlink again for a moment.

<< @MrHarrison: Looking for some invitations to Horizon Corp's new hires banquet. Any chance? >>

Just as I thought. Much ado about nothing.

Needle turns to the rest of the group and, while disconnecting her current matrix connection, spills what she knows. Or, more accurately, what she just found out.

I think our best bet is going to be the balcony. Based on the search that I was able to do, it is on the 28th floor, and leads directly to the conference room that the event is taking place in. And I've got a picture of Acson that I can push to you guys..."

She starts typing away at the keys on her commlink when she snaps her head straight up.

"I just realized that I haven't formally and properly introduced myself. Needle. As in 'hypodermic'. Interesting fact: did you know that while the idea of a syringe has been around forever, the modern hypodermic needle is said to have been invented in 1853? A surgeon and a physician, both working independently, came up with the idea.

"Anyhow, if you'll just give me your commlink addresses, I can push the image to you."

Once they do, she does.

Friday, 18:21; Nikolai's apartment
Hermes Ikon: Passive | SIN: Ivan Mozhayev

Nikolai nearly dismissed the incoming call indicator flashing in the corner of his vision, then stopped when he saw who it was. The money from the foray into the Underground wasn't gone yet, but rent was due next week, and ammo wasn't cheap. He opened the window and blinked, his greeting dying unsaid on his lips. Two threads of hair hung loose over the corner of Irena Ching's ear, and the bridge of the frighteningly expensive AR glasses sat loosely on her nose. On anyone else, that was the same as full-blown panic. "I haven't much time, Mr. Mozhayev, so please listen closely. There is a job for you tonight, working with the two men you recently shot up the smuggler's haven with plus some new talent. I have no information other than that, and I must insist on knowing immediately if you are interested."

Nikolai simply nodded his assent.

"Excellent. You will meet the primary of this mission on the roof of the Yojirushi building at 19:45." A heavy automatic weapon roared somewhere in the background of the vid image of the fixer, and she nodded minutely. "Good hunting, then." The call cut off.

A minute of consideration, and he picked one of his two decent suits from the closet, followed by the somewhat-battered briefcase he'd picked up for just such an occasion. He unlocked his weapons cabinet and removed the Smartgun from it's rack, snapping a magazine loaded with Stick 'N Shock ammunition into it. After a few seconds' thought, he grabbed a spare magazine that was loaded with full metal jacket ammunition, then a pair of flash-bang grenades. After the last hiring meeting, having no guns is foolish. All of these were loaded into the briefcase, and he grabbed the Viper nestled in it's concealed holster before relocking the cabinet. He summoned an autocab before taking a quick shower, and met it as it pulled to the curb of his apartment building.


Friday, 19:48; 30th floor of the Yojirushi building
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Ivan Mozhayev

Nikolai listened to the chatter of the assembled team mutely while he studied the Horizon building, his vision sweeping through the various bands his cybernetic eyes gave him. He was glad for the overcoat, as the winds gusting over the roof had a chill to them that weren't felt at ground level. Though he looked the dandelion to Mr.White's rose, it meshed better with their environs than the fatigues he preferred. 15 minutes to plan a hostile extraction from an extraterratorial location, and no provided intel other than what could be gathered themselves. He glanced aside as one of the unknown team members begins prepping a grapple system and a...flight suit with...gliding wings? There is our distraction, if nothing else.

Mr. White rubbed his palms together as he considered the other building, and their possible entry. He turned back and smoothed his goatee. "You know, it's one thing to get into this gala, and another to get into the -" he stopped when he spied Silas apparently preparing to leap from the building like a winged squirrel. Mr. White looked genuinely surprised. "Excuse me - Silas, was it? I admire your ingenuity and direct approach. I wonder if you might be willing to entertain other ideas when it comes to crashing a party?"

Silas pauses with his struggle with the tight fitted jump suit .. one leg in and trying to get the arms over his broad shoulders, dancing precariously close to the edge of the building

and sneezing every so often as he gets down wind of the Giant Gardner and his <<Drek, I hope that's at least dead animal, or preferably Faux>> furry ensemble.

He looks up at Mr. White and mumbles something "Just ...arrgh-thas-tight... Trying it .. waaaagh .. on ... Aaaachhhoooo... for size!" as the fight / dance continues.

"You pretty boys might'n be alloweds to just wander in there and swank around with dems posh nobs, but Me n' Tiny over here" He Gestures at Gardner and almost plants himself on the floor


""Well .. I don' finks we is 'sactly wot dey is lookin' for in quality hired help. I aksed dat lady on the Comm ifs I wuz to dress all pretty like and she sed NO..

So's me is makin me a door and getting me some o' that fine ass boo-fey I finks they got goin""

He Finally gets the shoulders on without tearing the fabric and has worked up such a sweat that he needs to sit down to fasten on the addition protective plates of armour over the top.

"Dis is kinda cozy, hoo boy!" he admits

"Look, de way I see it .. is we gots the elements of surprise 'kayz ! ..some goes in from the top and somes goes in from the bottom ... double bubble innit?"

"dis suit is making me itchy though, ifs you gots better plan than me smashin me face into a buildin' dens I listen .. but it'd gets us some heela goods views on de computer thingummies !"

With that he sits panting on the edge of the roof and pats his upper torso pockets for an energy bar, swearing as he realises it's zipped up tighter than a frogs arse

Mr. White glances at his watch and frowns. "Tick tock, people. I'm open to ideas here. If you have one, speak up. Otherwise, follow me, and play along, but let me do the talking. If someone asks you something directly, short answers. This doesn't have to be complicated."

With a quick glance at his associates, he heads toward the elevator. Along the way, he types on his comlink.

<< @MrHarrison: Much obliged. May not need after all. Lunch next week perhaps. >>

He is headed for the front door of the Horizon Corp building.

Silas glumly follows after grabbing his gear, the freight elevator is gonna be REALLY awkward on the way down as the fight enters round two,

Four people and a giant squashed into half the space to avoid the contortionist ork...

" awww Drekk this, THINK FAST PEOPLE !"


He drops his lined coat to the ground, grabs his silenced pistol and fires a rapid burst at a darkened window a few floors below the party.

Holstering the gun he steps back for decent run up and prays to any kind of deity that might be lstening.

"COOOOOWWAAAABUUUUNNGGAAAAAAAA,!"

With a practice swing a large piece of wood goes down in front of Silas before he manages to jump off the roof.

Hold on there friend

I wonder how hard it would be to test out the security on those nodes. I think maybe...

At Mr. White's words, she takes a quick look and sees what is about to go down.

"I have to admit that may not be the best idea. But if you are going to at least attempt to zip-line across to the Horizon building, the least I can do is try to force the doors open. That should give you some extra room to maneuver with on the other side, as well as give you the element of surprise. Although, I doubt the Horizon executives in the room are going to be happy about seeing uninvited guests just popping in. It's not like you're going to be there for movies and popcorn, you know."

Needle gets to work, firing up her commlink, loading some needed programs into running memory, and targeting one of the hidden nodes she found earlier.

Gotta do this on the fly. Give myself admin access. Keep the doors forced open. Buy a little time, maybe...

Mr. White stops and watches Gardner help to redirect Silas. This should be interesting.

His toe bumped into something. A duffel bag. Rappelling gear. A grapple gun. Mr. White sighed, again. His eyes went up to the top of the adjacent fifty story building. "There's a first time for everything, I suppose."

"Ladies and gents, looks like our employer has seen fit to give us another option for ingress. And with a little luck, egress."

As Needle dives her way into the digital landscape of VR to attempt to hack her way into the balcony node closest to the doors (the other node seems to be located by the bar where the dragon is serving drinks), she is greeted with iconography of a classic 1920's Hollywood movie studio with props for a variety of film genres. The sky is a clear blue...at least it was until the first fingers of coded reached out to seek access for her persona. With a speed that shocks and scares the hell out of her, the sky shifts to the bloody red of a sunset.

Her first thought is that the system couldn't possibly be that fast. Her second thought is oh shit, what is that metallic form that is moving towards her supposed to represent. It looks like the android from the original silent film Metropolis, but it is a solid black with glowing red eyes.

Eclipse
Shitty Apartment Building, 1800 hours

A call. Eclipse was starting to think it'd never happen; you get left for dead outside one little check point and all of a sudden everyone stops calling to see how you are... This was a special occasion, and as such, warranted special attire. With great reverence Eclipse pulls on his "nice" slacks and a button up shirt he may or may not have liberated from a Stuffershack charity line. There'd be no hiding the skate shoes unfortunately, and there was no way he was leaving his synth-leather coat behind, not when he'd just gotten the pocket stretched out enough to conceal his hand wrapped around the ceramic pistol. Even so, he spends a couple seconds infront of the mirror to make sure he's as presentable as possible for his "interview." With a last check around the oh so cozy studio digs, he steps out to find himself some good ol' public transit to a few blocks away, planning on a nonchalant walk in through the front doors.

Eclipse
Friday, 19:46; Rooftop, Yojirushi building

Of course he was late. It was his luck, right? Showing up just as the Scion gives his spiel, he's in prime position to watch wide eyed, horrified, as the plan seems to be launching through windows. Relief flickers across his face when Mr White speaks up. He clears his throat.
"Er... I think yer right. Nae'body, not even Parker, has t' know we've come and gone until mornin', yeah? Eclipse, by the by."
With that he stuffs out his hand towards the sanest of his new business partners while wary eyes dance among the others' antics.
"Way I see it, if Mr John Scion there was kind enough t' hook us up with grapple lines, might as well use 'em. We hit the top, hack the roof access," His eyes land on Gardner when he says "hack," clearly imaging something entirely different. "An' we make'r way in nice an' delicate like. Looks t' me like we got the capability to drop guards real silent," Another look to Gardner, and then a pointed one to Silas. "'n if you're good enough t' talk us in, should be good 'nuff t' get us by any nosy guards, yeah?"

[Edited above for content.]

Frak. Just...frak.

Needle logs out of the matrix, silently cursing herself. She knows better than to attempt a hack on a secured corporate building...especially Horizon. But with the timing of this mission, and the parameters set by The Scion, she really had no choice but to try. And although she made a good attempt, the corp was better.

Frak.

She paces for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do next.

People on the balcony, but that's where the node was that I tried to hack. They will probably be at least a little heightened to any more attempts there, so that is out of the question.

What else...what else...aha!

She spies the sniper, and for the briefest of moments is able to catch his commlink in range. But he moves away from the edge of the building and, at least temporarily, out of range.

There's my way in. Through him. I can disable him AND probably get into the building's nodes all in one shot. I just have to wait until he gets back in range...which I hope isn't too long. We've only got so much time here...

And wait she does. But not forever...

Mr. White eyes the balcony across the way for a moment before turning back to the team.

"In about ten seconds, I'm going to take a ride downstairs in the elevator. Then I'm going to walk in the front door of that building," he nods toward the Horizon Corp building, "and I'm going to go shake hands with Mr. Acson. That would be a great time to have some shadowrunners burst in with guns drawn. Everyone runs the other way, Mr. Acson goes out the windows with you lot. I'll either come along as well, or make my way out separately and catch up afterward." he glances at each of the other 'runners. "If anyone has a better idea, let's hear it, but quickly. While we stand here flapping our jaws and scratching our heads, the clock is ticking." He pauses a second, in case anyone has a better idea, but then will be on his way downstairs.

"With that much magic just for decorating the banquet hall, I can't imagine they would mind a guest arriving looking his best..." Gardner takes a step forward and rests his hand on Mr. White's shoulder.

Suddenly, Gardner's face changes. His eyes begin to glow the a soft green light, his hair and beard transform into a tangle of vines and leaves. Even his skin, which already looked like it must feel like the side of a tree, becomes even more bark-like. As quickly as it appeared, the mask is gone, and left behind is Gardner's regular face. Smiling gently, he encourages Mr. White, "Your idea is sound, go quickly, we haven't much time."

Eclipse grins. They have a mage? Problem solved! A giant mage. A hand lifts to wish Mr White luck. Eclipse heads to the duffel bag then, hooking up the spool to the gun with practiced, but not veteran, hands. The harness from the climbing gear is the next to go on.

"Too easy, yeah? Shaman, you got anythin' that'll keep us hidden from the party? If there's no objections I don't have a problem with climbing down a little to get in position for Talky here."

Wary, Eclipse runs his eyes over the building again, lingering on the dragon behind the bar. That's an illusion or drone, right? Has to be. Hestaby? Drek. He holds on actually firing the line across in case somebody has a last minute burst of mental or magical inspiration, and it's while he's pausing that he catches a glint of movement from high above.

"Oi chummers, looks like we've got somebody on the roof. M'guess is sniper, yeah? I pr'pose Talky goes in, grabs Ascon, we grab them from above, 'n we all make a merry exit down the elevator shaft 'n out the sewer.. or jack a car. Either way, but 'm nae so keen on takin' a Barret to the back."

Needle, usually quiet in social situations, speaks up when Eclipse mentions the sniper.

"The sniper is mine. I'll make sure he can't fire his weapon or call for help when you guys launch yourselves across the divide here. Which, by the way, is highly dangerous. You know that, right? You'll be suspended 30 stories above ground here, 28 on the other side, with little more than just a piece of high-tensile wire and your own muscles to keep you from being pavement paint."

She looks back to the sniper's position, checking her commlink to see if he's back in range.

"As far as transportation, you guys tell me which exit to pick you up at and I'll be there with your ride."

As Mr. White leaves the lobby of the Yojirushi building, he flips open his comlink and scrolls down to James Harrison, Horizon Corp, and he hits the call icon.

"James, Harvey White.... Yes, good thanks, yourself? ...... Sorry for the back and forth, is that ticket still available? ..... Good, good. Listen, since this is is grey area, there's a chance that things could become a little complicated, and I wouldn't want for there to be any repercussions for you. Should we run it through a third par- ....... Oh, alright." he glances down at the image that comes up on his comlink. "Oh I see. Well played. I appreciate the help. Let's talk over lunch next week? ..... You too." he slips his comlink back into his pocket as he smooths his lapels and approaches the entrance to the Horizon building.

Friday, 19:54; 30th floor of the Yojirushi building
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Ivan Mozhayev

Tundra Wolf turns to Needle, an almost visible tremor thrumming through him as his cybernetic reflexes are triggered in preparation for the drop into the Horizon building. "I believe the best door to exit from would be the one the defense cannot close," indicating the long spools of rappelling cable with his hand. "We grab the target, then we go back over the edge of the balcony. No doors to lock in front of us, and if we are quick enough few people to shoot at us. If we are not quick enough..." The mercenary shrugs fatalistically. "Then we earn our monies the hard way." He picks up one of the harnesses and begins slipping it on, though definitely not with the grace that Eclipse slipped into his with.

Silas looks up from his inspection of the gear at the back of the departing Mr. White
<Rather you than me, Chummer ! walking straight into the lions den> he thinks.

He can feel a warm spot between his shoulder blades, almost a dot, he imagines the snipers scope settling in as he adjusts his breathing, finger resting lightly but firmly on the trigger
<Woulds I even feel it? We're far too exposed out here>

"Hey Tiny !" He whispers audibly to Gardner " Keep your head down Chummer, if there's a guy up there .. well you know what they say huh Geek the Mage first !"

The friendly smile fades and turns his attention back to the task in hand. the climbing harness is integrated with his Smart weapon pouch system, quick release straps and soft weave mesh for added comfort and agility, at least that's what the sales guy said.

there's Carabiners and ropes and all the good stuff a Runner needs for this kinda job, "Eclipse, Tundra-Wolf do yous guys know the sharp end from the other on this gear ? .. After I gots my creative spirit stifled I gots to admit I'm no expert on the maffamatics in setting this up, but we wants da grapple in the wall just above and to the side of dat balcony over dere' "

Silas points in a downward direction where they could potentially zip line to and still maintain maximum stealth

"Also's is dis ting gunna make a bang ? likes da pistols .. not dat anyone be firing no more pistols " He mutters something under his breath
about best intentions and spur of the moment etc.

"Cause then wes gonna needs summat like a distraction to do it while Whitey gets to eats all da sammiches, he better brings some for all of us ! "

He packs his lined coat and the disgarded wing suit into the bag of tricks and looks for secure anchoring points on this rooftop to tie off the other end of the zip line and for the escape rope for the team on this side of the building

That done, he begins to fashion a makeshift rope harness, essentially two figure-8 rope loops with Caribeners to go quickly over the arms and legs of a less than willing subject in a hurry
<no time for messing with a proper harness, da guys be knocked out anyways>

He stows this across his shoulders ready for the extraction.

"Hmmmm, anyfing else we needs ya fink guys ? maybe one o' yous gots a Chummer wiv a helly-chopper ?"

As Mr. White approaches the front entrance to the Horizon Splendor building. a couple of the guards stiffen slightly. Looking him up and down, they relax somewhat assessing him as little threat. None of them move to stop him and when he reaches the actual doorway, a well dressed (though still obviously armed beneath the suit coat) man opens the door for him.

"Welcome sir. Are you here for the banquet?"

Mr. White gives the man a friendly smile as he says he's running late for the banquet.

"Of course, sir. Please present your ticket to the woman at the reception desk," the doorman gestures towards a reception desk within the lobby.

Mr. White passes by a troll and two other guards walking patrol in security armor emblazoned with the Horizon logo and presents himself to the receptionist.

"Greetings sir. If you would be so kind as to connect your ticket to your Active Mode commlink, it will only take a second to verify before you can head on up. They should be starting the presentation of our new hires shortly." She chatters on for a moment about how the company brought in one of their premier phantasm mages for some special entertainments out on the balcony. Presently though a green ARO shows up within both your and the receptionists peripheral vision.

"You're all set now sir. Please proceed to the executive elevators and enjoy your evening." A new semi-transparent ARO appears within Mr. White's vision showing him the path he needs to take.

Following the virtual dotted line, Mr. White heads past the a bank of elevators off the main lobby, apparently these only serve floors L through 25 though there is a sign indicating 25 as a cross-over floor with additional elevators to the higher levels of the building. Once past those elelvators, he turns a corner and is greeted by a smaller, though more opulent lobby containing 2 more elevaotrs. There is also a security door off to one side that is partially obscured from view at the entrance.

These elevators appear to have no buttons, but one silently opens at his approach. Soothing music floats out from the cab as he enters. As he steps into the cab, the doors silently close behind him. A moment later the elevator begins to rise on its own.

The nervous tension is almost palpable in the air with worried glances from the others to the towering structure across the way, but Silas tries to put his own concerns to the side while they get the job underway.

"Left over right, right over left.... Rabbit goes up the hole , round the tree and down the hole" he mutters quietly to himself the steadying mantra of rope-craft. as he fashions and secures the climbing equipment.

Everything seems secure, two bracing ropes around the heaviest air-con exhausts that come together in a "Y" shape to hold the ropes going down this side but also the zip line to the target tower.

"Heys guys ? how you fire one of dese fings ? " he asks as he shoulders the grappling gun, sighting doown the barrel at a point above the left side of the balcony "is there a safety ........" *CRACK* "......catch ...? ..... oopsies!"

The silver spider arcs across the void like a viper striking it's prey in the night, the point pierces the wall and embeds just as a drone above them breaks the sound barrier on it's passage to who knows where, masking the impact sound.

"I meants to do dat !"
He grins at the suddenly upturned faces all looking open mouthed in his direction,
and begins to haul in the slack of rope and secure it off on the setup braces.
"Little brown eel comes out of the cave... Swims into the hole... Comes out of the hole... Goes back into the cave again."

<Still no sign of Whitey hopes him not choked onna sammich>
Silas glances at Gardner peering into the windows and anxiously checking his comm and looking at Tundra Wolf and then back again at the building.
"So's you guys worked a'gether before dis job den Tiny ?"
Gardner is silent for a while and Silas looks at the other members of this sorry little affair,

Needle looks pensive, now out of the Virtual Landscape, She is examining the angles of the streets and the buildings and keep glancing at the bag of climbing equipment.
"You can borrow the wingsuit ifs you like ! .. I'm nots allowed to play wid it anymore but no reason I can't watch you do some craziness innit !"
She looks back at him, almost taken aback at the shock what they are about to do but a sudden grin crosses her face and she grabs the suit from the bag.
"Ssssshhh ! keep it quiet, I have a plan" She hisses and dashes around a vent.

Mr. White has a quiet and quick ride up up in the elevator. Arriving at the 28th floor, an automated female voice announces "Splendor Banquet Hall."

The elevator open to an elegantly appointed foyer with comfortable seating should it be required. As he steps out of the elevator he sees a suited gentleman standing by a pair of grand double doors who greets him with a smile. "Welcome Mr. Reynolds. The presentations of new hires is already underway. So if you don't mind, please use the other doors and quiet proceed to your seat. There will be festivities on the balcony following the presentations." The dotted line in Mr. White's AR vision is instantly updated directing him to enter through another set of doors at the other end of the hall.

Mr. White thanks the obvious, though well dressed, security guard before heading down the hallway to the other doors. He passes the restrooms and a large alcove where a pair of men appear to be watching tonight's Urban Brawl game. They straighten up a little when they notice him, but do nothing more than nod an acknowledgement of his presence.

The double doors at the far end silently open, letting the amplified sound of the speaker on stage spread into the hallway. One of the men watching the game, turns around and give White a little glare before turning back as the on of the Seattle Screamers takes hit to the shoulder with boos from the viewers.

Inside. the lights have been dimmed except for those set on the stage itself. A handful of executives are on stage talking about how excited they are to have such promising young men joining their corporate family. The ARO in Mr. White's vision further guides him to a table in the back of the hall that is highlighted in blue for him. There are a number of chairs at the table, though only 2 are currently occupied. Glancing around he notices a few other empty chairs around the back of the hall. Seems his contact wasn't the only middle manager with limited interest in attending.

Friday, 19:55; 30th floor of the Yojirushi building
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Ivan Mozhayev

Tundra Wolf watched the point of the rappelling line drive itself into the facade of the building, then glanced at Silas. "Let us hope that all of our shots are so well placed tonight, neh?" The last clasp of the harness clicked into place, and he swung the sling attached to the submachine gun over his head and snugged it in place. The last few minutes of quiet before the storm seemed to drag, as they always did. He just hoped the storm this time didn't end up like the last, caught in the inferno of an attacking fire elemental.

<WHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!> "ooomph"

Needle sits and monitors for signals in silence and is about to give up and think of something else when the sniper's commlink gets into range again.

Hot dog. Let's see if I can take over his commlink.

She sets about hacking his commlink, finding that getting an administrator account on the device is easy as eating pie. No alert triggered, and she now has access to...well, everything he has access to. But reading his email isn't on top of her priority list right now. No...the icons of a pair of eyes and a rifle sitting on a desk are more important.

"Guys...I'm in the sniper's commlink," she whispers to the team as they get ready to zip-line across. "Give me a few more seconds and I should have him disabled."

She knows from her experience of running in the Matrix that the icons represent systems that are slaved to the device. And she knows that with administrator access, she can travel through those nodes to their representative systems and disable them.

Let's start with the eyes, shall we? Even if they don't control total sight, at the very least I can take them offline so he can't use them with the weapon itself...

Hot damn I'm good.

Needle jumped around in the node for the eyes, shutting off functions like she was flipping light switches. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hacking into someone instead of something. It started her adrenaline pumping, her heart slightly increasing in beats per minute, her breathing in the physical world getting a little rapid. She shut off his his sight, his smartlink, and his image link.

No seeing us. Now I have to stop you from telling on me.

She made her way out of the node for his eyes and back to his commlink, where she saw the microphone program slide out from the desk. She loaded up her Edit program and set it about to blocking his outgoing message. It wouldn't prevent him from speaking, but it would prevent the commlink from taking the message in and sending it on its way.

With that all done, she sent a sub-vocal message to the team as she made her way into the node for his rifle.

"The eagle is flying blind. You are now cleared for take-off."

Gardner secures himself on the Horizon side of the building, and with a bit of intense concentration readies a response message through his trode net.

<<@Needle Last one is coming across now, we should be clear. Thanks for the cover. You were going to ready a ride for us head out quick, yeah? I'd say use the confusion up top to get yourself down the building. @All Be ready for White's signal...>>

This is easier than eating. This guy's ass belongs to...

The thought was cut off rather abruptly, the digital landscape cutting away like an old-school television with horizontal control problems. Her vision swam in front of her, the images of the eyes and the rifle being washed away as if they were flushed down a drain. And then there was white, followed by black.

She had been dumped. It happens to everyone from time to time, but it hadn't happened to her in a long time. She had forgotten what it felt like to be severed from the Matrix without warning. It hurt. With a capital H-U-R-T. Her head ached, the nerves in her head and neck jumping with pulses of unused energy, waiting to get out. Her vision blurred slightly, and her hands and feet twitched.

"Oh, holy hell..."

She took about 2 seconds to compose herself before vomiting on the concrete of the roof.

Hopefully the pigeons will think it's food.

She stared at her commlink for a few moments, willing her eyes to go back into focus. Shen fumbled about for a bit, sending the command to the bus to be at the foot of the building at 20:00 hours. She checked the time, and then sat waiting for the sniper's signal to come back online, trying to do a better job of timing when she would need to not only log out, but get downstairs to run the bus when the team came out.

Atop the Horizon Splendor building, the nameless security guard with his trusty sniper rifle is handedly being schooled on just what a well trained hacker can do to his off the shelf commlink. First his vision went dark, then his comms went dead, then his gun safety went on and ejected his mag of APDS ammo. How the hell can it be so damn easy for some dweeb hacker to do that shit? he thinks to himself while muttering curses under his breath.

He quickly tries to reboot his commlink to reset everything. He started laughing as his vision came back online. "Take that you hacker freak!" he shouts triumphantly. Then he tries connecting to the security office to alert them to the digital intrusion. For an instant, it looked like the call was going to go through, but then the microphone icon in his AR display just vanished like it never existed.

Instantly his elation was shattered and cold sweat started pouring from his brow. The joy was very quickly replaced with fear and paranoia about some leet hacker toying with him and fixing to blind him yet again. In desperation, he yanked the commlink from his belt to throw it as far as he could away from him. Turning to run for the building alarm, he didn't wait to watch it fall to the ground 50 stories below him (narrowly missing a ganger that was just about to tag the building's exterior with some paint).

Running as fast as he could, it didn't take him very long to reach the hardwired alarm button. He'd always thought the company was stupid to install something like that up here since a commlink call is a hell of a lot quicker. But tonight showed him exactly how much he himself needed to learn about security...

------------------------

Meanwhile, inside the banquet hall, the VP of Operations in Seattle was handing off the microphone to the Director of Human Resources for yet more inane speeches. With the count down nearly finished. Mr. White ignores the quizical looks he's getting from the two men sitting at the same table with him as he stands up to make his way towards the front of the hall.

As he reaches Acson's side, he glances over towards the security guards stationed around the room. He notices that they are subtly turned away from what's going on in the banquet all itself. He guesses that their attention is on something in AR as a couple of them have reached up and are cupping a hand over their earbuds to make sure they are hearing something correctly.

He reaches down to touch Acson to get his attention, words prepared to convince him to come out on the balcony with Mr. White.

edit: changed to take account White's words happening just before the spotlight hits them.

Mr. White speaks directly to Acson.

"They're coming up the elevators right now. It's an internal job, and the security people here are in on it. The balcony, now."


Con test: 10 dice, 10D6E5 => 6 | ones: 1

Something in Mr. White's voice cuts through the noise on stage. Parker Acson blinks up at Mr. White as his eyes lose focus for a second and flick to the side momentarily. Then a look of utter confusion covers his face as he begins to stand up. That's when the woman on stage finishes up her speil about how closely Horizon has been working with MIT&T to develop the future of the awakened world. "So let's get the ball rolling by introducing are more promising new hire yet....Parker Acson!"

A new spotlight appears aimed directly at Acson's standing form with Mr. White's intense gaze caught in its brilliant light at the same time.

In a non-threatening manner (not grabbing), Mr. White will touch Acson's arm and give a gentle pressure, as though steering - coaxing - toward the balcony.

If there's time to do so, otherwise I'll see what happens between now and my pass.

This is getting ugly.

Mr. White will whisper to Acson, "Looks like we'll have you get you out another way. Don't panic and just follow my lead. You'll be safe." I'll stay glued to him, and we'll go along with the crowd being escorted out of the place. I'll let my teammates know what's going on via a quick call.

<<@Team {Mr. White} : Balcony doors locked. Guests being herded elsewhere. Will look for an alternate way out.>>

Parker Acson's face loses it's confusion as it goes completely blank for a second. He quickly glances between the Mr. White, the balcony, the security guards, before returning back to Mr. White. A more genuine look of confusion covers his features as he drags his heals and only takes a half step to follow Mr. White. He seems very reluctant to follow Mr. White with the crowd as the rest of the attendees react in different ways; some running for the exit pushing people down out of their way, some haltingly walking towards the exits, and a few just sitting at their table trying to figure out what's gonig on.