At the Safe House, 3:51 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Stinger licks his lips, "Bradshere, Lieutenant Calvin Bradshere. If we needed anything, we were supposed to get in touch with him."

He looks around nervously. "I can link him to some serious shit - I have all of the info on a datachip."

Grease looks at him expectantly, "Well, where is it?"

"I don't have it on me. It is back at my place."

At the Safe House, 3:51 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease rolls his eyes. "Sell me another one."

Seeing Stinger sweat, he continues. "So, you sold out your contact, what your crew has been up to, who you're working for, and copped to any number of other activities." A predatory smile spreads across his face. "Frankly, your life isn't worth squat to anyone but me anymore. I just have to send this recording to Lynx and you'll have more problems than you know what to do with. So let's dispense with all the drek, and you just tell me everything else you know."

At the Safe House, 3:53 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Stinger looks back at Grease and says, "Bradshere and Browne - those are the two names I have in Lone Star. The cops we were hitting were all in drug enforcement, or had been at one time. All of them interdicting the flow of drugs to the Los Mags."

"I don't know who we were working for, although I wouldn't put it past the Azzies - trying to stir up trouble in the 'Zone. The Mags would pick out the target, Bradshere would deliver us a time and place to hit them, and we would take 'em out."

At the Safe House, 3:53 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Sensing an opportunity to really dig the screws in, Grease continues. "The lady cop at the stuffer shack- that was you? How does Lynx decide who ices who?"

At the Safe House, 3:53 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack remained silent and stoic, standing with arms crossed.

<<@Grease [JustJack] It's probably obvious, but it might be a good idea for YOU GUYS to get him to talk about the rally>>

[b]At the Safe House, 3:53 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Stinger looks at Grease with disbelief, "No, for the record" inclining his head at the drone recording the conversation. "I didn't kill anyone - that was Lynx. I just followed Lynx's lead. He gets the targets from the Los Mags, gets the details from Bradshere, and has them taken out. Truck did most of the killing, although Falcon got in on the action too."

"I'm just tech support."

At the Safe House, 3:53 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease scoffs, but continues. "What about the rally the other night? Was your crew there? Why were they trying to arrest that guy?"

At the Safe House, 3:57 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"That thing in the park was all Lynx. Nobody else went with him on that one - although Gutter backed him up with his drones. He was pissed as hell - at you guys it seems. Made him lose some money on some side job he was running."

"What side job?"

"Hell if I know. He had a meet with Bradshere and then headed out, laughing about 'playing dress up.' I was too busy trying to get my next fix to worry too much about it."

Grease frowns, and continues his questioning. A wave of his hand and an ARO opens with a list of names. "These all your doing?"

Stinger looks over the list. "I seem to recognize most of those names as people Lynx was contracted to hit. Don't know Wright, though." Nodding, Grease closes the ARO, and pulls up a chair opposite Stinger.


"You've done a fair job covering up the evidence. There was that data bomb on the surveillance at the apartment complex, and we've got a trail of bodies all over the 'Zone - and not just the officers. How many witnesses did you kill?"

Stinger snorts again, "The data bomb was me - guess tall dark and dead over there managed to disarm it. If so, he wasn't a bad decker. If you have found any dead bodies, again, Lynx is a crazy man. It ain't me."

"Does the name Mary Jane Kelly ring a bell to you?" Grease puts up a holographic image of her face."

"No - should it? I have no idea who that is."

Grease leans forward. "You are starting to piss me off, Stinger. If you want to remain useful to me, you better start offering something I can use. What are Lynx and the crew up to now? Where do they lay their heads?"

Stinger leans right back toward him. "Listen, I've been cooperative, and I told you I have physical evidence linking Lynx to those crimes - video of him talking to Bradshere and meeting with the Johnson. But as I said, it ain't here." His voice raises a little, "As you pointed out, my life ain't worth squat, and you ain't offering me shit. So my choices are sit here and give up more information, at which point what? You haven't even offered me anything - and even if you do offer me something, why am I supposed to believe you? You shot your own teammate dead, so your credibility ain't exactly high."

He leans back in his chair. "So here's the deal. Kill me if you want - cause I have no confidence you aren't going to do just that when I'm done talking, and if that's the case, I sure as shit ain't helping you."

At the Safe House, 3:57 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease nods, and then gets a distant look in his eyes as he communicates with his teammates.

<<@Team [Grease]: Alright- let's take this party on the road. A couple of questions for us: 1. Do we want to let him know Overkill is alive? He will be more likely to trust my word, but will think I'm less likely to kill him out of hand. 2. Amy, what do you need from him to convince him you're able to use blood magic to make his life hell? Other than that, I think we need to go get this "evidence". We could have Overkill on overwatch, able to come rescue us if things really hit the fan since he won't be expected.>>

At the Safe House, 3:57 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Walking behind Stinger, Jack gave Grease a thumb's up and prepared to get the thug ready for transport.

At the Safe House, 3:57 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Amy subtly shrugs to Grease and points towards the exit, as if to say 'I'm following your lead'.

At the Safe House, 3:57 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"Alright, let's go for a ride." Grease grabs Stinger by the shoulders and lifts him out of his chair, planning on leading him out of the room away from the direction of Overkill. "On the way, you're going to explain how we're going to get that datachip without you leaving our sight, or calling your friends to come murder us. I'm VERY interested to hear your plan there."

<<@Team [Grease]: Let's hope this works. Overkill- follow us in 5 minutes, you have a Mark on my car still so you can track me. You can be our backup in case drek hits the fan; I'd prefer this chipper didn't know you were still alive.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease grabs him by the shoulders and lifts, but Stinger shifts his weight slightly, and the thin rigger is unable to get the burlier decker out of the chair. "Oh no. We aren't going anywhere yet."

"Here is the deal. I am sure you know Valkyrie. She runs the Bifrost Bar over in Derby on E. 76th." He looks around, getting blank stares from Jack and Amy, but Grease nods his head in recognition.

"Good. Then we can dispense with the how full of shit am I part of the conversation. Call her. Set up a meet, on my dime, and together we arrange for a team to escort us to my house. The deal is you walk away with the chip, and I walk away, and Valkyrie's team is there to ensure I do just that. Afterwards, I just want the hell out of dodge."

<<@Team [Overkill] I know her. She is a fixer that specializes in security work. Bodyguarding, matrix overwatch, that sort of thing. Has her own team that handles most jobs, but she subcontracts out as well.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Smarter than he looks...

<<@Team [Grease]: Speak now or hold your peace. I'm prepared to make the trade, if he's on the level.>>

"Setting terms now, are we? Well, that's a very clean little bugout plan you've got there- smart 'runners tend to live longer though, I suppose. Of course, there's no way for me to know if Valkyrie is already working for Lynx, and this is a backup plan y'all have setup in case one of you gets pinched, and you need to bring someone to an ambush."

Before Stinger response, Grease holster's his weapon and starts typing on his commlink, preparing a message for Valkyrie. "However," nodding at Jack, who bodily lifts Stinger out of his chair. "We ARE leaving. I try to make a habit of distancing myself from bodies I create; I find it's just a good policy to have." Moving to leave, he continues, "I'd look like a real flat if the cops showed up and they found us illegally detaining you." he adds with a wink.

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack was uneasy with the trade. On one hand, it put them a step closer to tying together the conspiracy with actual proof. On the other hand he doubted that Stinger was going to stay in the FRZ long enough for them to track him down again.

<<@Team [JustJack]: How do we explain letting him go to Johnson? He's probably going to be doing everything in his power to get the Hell out of the FRZ, what with our investigation and him rolling Lynx under the bus...>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Amy walks about in the room and speaks in her subvocal microphone, away from Stinger.

<<@Team [Amy's subvocal] We better be sure of what's on the chip and be sure that we get the whole thing before he can go. But I'm fine with the deal. The one we really want is Lynx.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

With at least Amy on his side and Overkill silent, Grease responded to Jack.

<<@Team [Grease]: Frankly, I'm willing to trade up to get Lynx and the 'star connection. I told Stinger when we first started it was his lucky day; he gets to play make a deal. We can certainly put the Johnson on him afterward, but I'm willing to deal in good faith if he's willing to roll over on his friends and deliver the paydata to us; that's worth at least a day's head start. This job is getting dicey, and we need to wrap it up quick before we get killed.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack shrugged as he walked Stinger toward the door. Nearing it, he shoved the man into the door frame.

"Sorry..." the big ork muttered, clearly not sorry.

<<@Team [JustJack] As long as everyone is okay that we're giving Johnson yet another reason not to pay us in full, I'm okay with it...>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

There's no pleasing some people!

<<@Team [Grease]: Let's see how this plays out. As far as I'm concerned the Johnson doesn't need to know Stinger even exists, if it comes to that. We give him the crew leader and the connection, along with whatever troll parts you're keeping around, I think we're in the green.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

<<@Team [JustJack] I'm pretty sure we gave him a copy of the surveillance video from the Wright murder, starring my buddy here. Then again, we're already hoping he'll understand about our icing Truck, so I guess we just have to play the cards we got.>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Here goes nothing.

Shrugging, Grease pulls out the burner 'link he used earlier and types out a message.

<<@Valkyrie [Blocked]: Hello. You don't know me, but we have a mutual acquaintance who goes by Stinger; the code-slinger with a southern accent. He has asked that I contact you to setup a meet on his dime; he has a business proposal to present to you. Are you available to meet?>>

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

After Grease sends his message, the group waits anxiously for a reply. the seconds minutes seem to drag into hours, and Grease is pacing the room, the drugs in his system preventing him from remaining in one place for too long.

<<@Grease [Overkill] I'm annoyed at you my friend, this floor smells of rat piss. Next time pretend to shoot me inside somewhere cleaner.>>

Amy turns to Grease, "How long do we wait for her call?"

Jack answers the slender elf, "If you want my opinion, we get on the road now. Staying in one spot seems a bad idea with Lynx searching for us."

Grease nods, then turns to Stinger, "Agreed. I'll get us on the road, I know some backroads that should keep us off the radar. Time for you to go in the trunk again." Stinger grimaces but makes no protest and stands with difficulty, Jack taking him by the arm and escorting him out the door.

<<@Overkill [Grease] Now you know how I felt sitting in that chip house for over an hour. Consider yourself lucky. We'll be out the door in a minute, give us a couple of minutes to get him in the trunk and then follow us.>>

The team hurries out of the door, Amy's spirit following it at a distance. Grease pops the trunk and starts the car with a mental command, and Jack puts Stinger none to gently into the trunk. Amy climbs into the back seat with Jack taking shotgun, Grease sighing with contentment as he eases into his seat and plugs himself into his car. His voice comes through the internal speaker. "Ready to go?" Without waiting for an answer, he backs out of the driveway and hits the road.

At the Safe House, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Settling into the backseat, Jack checked himself to make sure all of his weapons are still in their proper place and that he still has the keys to the restraints. The last thing the ork needed was for Stinger getting loose. Confident that everything was in place, he spoke up.

"I'm not getting the best feeling about this... feels like a set-up to me. Since the drekhead in the trunk is the one paying for the meet, if Valkyrie knows his current situation, who's to say she won't contact Lynx so he can ambush us at Stinger's squat?"

The Warrens, 4:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease shrugs, distracted while driving in AR. "If he's smart, he knows if we smell a setup we'll kill him and dump his body somewhere. It's in his best interest to make this go smoothly, and make us feel safe. If it's going to be a setup, it has to be one that fools all of us while we're on our guard."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

After several hours of driving around the UCAS Zone, sun is starting to rise over the eastern horizon.

The team reflects on the message they received a few minutes ago from Overkill.

<<@Team [Overkill] After doing some research on Valkyrie, nothing seems to contradict my own personal knowledge of her. She has been in the 'Zone for two decades now, and on her own for half of that time.>>

The elven decker was several car lengths behind them as they cruised down the road, with Grease's rotodrone flying down the street halfway between the two.

Before anyone could put their thoughts into words, Grease's commlink chirps.

<<@Blocked [Valkyrie] God Morgen. I recognize Stinger's name, and am willing to do business. I can be at the Bifrost in an hour, is that an acceptable time frame?>>

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Leaning over to speak to the passengers, Grease tells them, "We're on- Bifrost in 1 hour. I'd say we should get some breakfast, but I don't trust our cargo not to make a fuss in the drive-thru. Next time we kidnap someone we should remember to brownbag it; I'm starved."

<<@Valkyrie [Blocked]: It is. We will see you there.>>

Grease yawns. "In the meantime, let's go scout this bar out a little bit. I haven't been there in a while, it'd be good to see what we're dealing with before going in."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

The past two hours hiding out had made Jack anxious. The "flying by the seat of their pants" approach the team was taking was not to his liking, but he adapted as well as he could. This mostly amounted to reloading all of the magazines for his Colt with ammunition and keeping his attention focused to their rear. His helmet was getting a little heavy by this point, but the ork wasn't about to take it off yet.

"Should we leave someone outside to warn us if the drek hits the fan?" Jack mused out loud.

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"Overkill can do that and neither Stinger nor Valkyrie will be aware of it." Amy points out.

"There's another problem though," she adds, "the concealment provided by my spirit will be gone, and finding us magically becomes a whole lot easier. If Valkyrie's providing protection to Stinger, then her team's the one who might end up dealing with Lynx and Falcon when they come for him -- or let them through."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"Can you get another spirit?" Jack asked, leaning forward and lowering his voice to prevent Stinger from overhearing them. "That seems to be the most dangerous situation, if Lynx and his crew show up while we're talking to Valykrie, especially if Stinger finds out. Then he can just change his request to Valkyrie to helping Lynx's crew take us down and we're suddenly very outnumbered. I think we definitely need to leave someone outside. Like you said, our other friend would be our best bet as he is kind of a wild card at the moment."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"The thing is.." Amy hesitates about how to explain these things to the un-awakened. "It's not a question of needing a new spirit - I can summon another one when the sun is up - it's related to trying to conceal ourselves. When we're in a basement, the spirit's power applies, but when we meet with someone, we're in the open, the spirit cannot help us anymore. This goes for us and for Stinger. The only possibility for him to remain hidden.. is to actually have him hide.. in the trunk. We take him out of there, and all of a sudden it's a whole lot easier to find him for a spirit searching for him."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"Well, if that's the case we'll have to make our meeting sharpish." Grease grins. "What I mean is, even if the spirit finds him immediately, won't it still take Lynx and his crew some time to come to our location? We can let it be known that Lynx is trying to kill Stinger since he sold him out; if he contracts with Valkyrie that may be enough for her to protect him - and us - from Lynx."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"I'm pretty sure any protection handed out won't apply to us. It's not even remotely in Stinger's interest for us to live longer than it would take for this car to currently come to a safe stop." Jack shrugged, "But seeing as this is apparently our only play, we might as well go for it. We let the German hang back and cover our hoops as best he can and have Amy whistle up a spirit to hide Stinger while he stays in the trunk. We just have to tell her he's in there or figure out some other way for her to know about him."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

"We can have him be there over the matrix during the meet. Valkyrie doesn't really need to know where he is right now, before we've agreed to anything, and yeah, that'll keep him concealed." Amy suggests.

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease frowns. "I don't trust him anywhere near the matrix. Unless..." He snaps his fingers. "We've got a pair of fly-spies; why don't we arrange a little conference call in the truck of the car? That way we're controlling the input. Plus, if it is a trap we don't have to tell Valkyrie where he's hidden until he roasts in there."

Northeastern UCAS Zone, 7:10 AM, August 1st, 2075

As the sun rays brighten the sky, Amy feels the presence of the summoned spirit fade away as it leaves for a different realm of existence. Not even a good bye? Oh well, air spirits are always so cold and distanc anyway.

Not wasting any time, she immediately summons another spirit. Struggling to stay awake after another sleepless night, she opts for a spirit more likely to engage in conversation with her, one attuned specifically to metahuman everyday life. She quickly finds one and negotiates his short term servitude. His appearance was impressive, that of one who must have lived in these lands a long time ago.

"Hi Schweabe!" Amy greeted the spirit. "I'll need you conceal the man currently stuck in the trunk of this car, and yourself as well, because I don't want you to be seen. And I also want you to keep an eye out for any spirit or astral form that comes looking for him. If that ever happens, you need to inform me of the situation right away." "-Yes, of course, my child." "-So, tell me about your people. Tell me a story."

For no apparent reason, Amy was suddenly smiling next to the other members of the team.

UCAS Zone, 7:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Scratching at his neck feverishly, Grease sends a quick message to the team.

<<@Team [Grease]: I'm going to stop at a friend's place and change. Someone should stay with the car, but if anyone else wants to come up they're welcome to.>>

Pulling up to a small garage, you notice Grease's BMW parked inside the large darkened glass door. Either Grease is letting someone else work on his car (unlikely), or you're at his place. It's odd that he called it a "friend's place"; maybe he has a roommate, or maybe he's just so used to lying that he does it out of habit.

Jack nods at Amy, who gets out of the car and follows Grease. As soon as the doors close the radio in the cab turns on, blaring a loud Australasian mix of Pakistani rap with Tasmanian beats. Trying the door is unsuccessfully, he jams at the buttons on the radio which prove to be ornamental. Jack folds his arms angrily and stews while he enjoys the mellow tunes of DJ Raji.

Taking stairs on the back of the garage to an apartment above, Grease opens the Maglock and lets Amy follow him inside. The apartment is modest in size but clean and well appointed. The interior has sparse but functional furniture in the modern style, and seems significantly more tasteful than you would have given Grease credit for. Most impressive is that the majority of it is bright white, and judging from the used coveralls neatly folded in the hamper by the door that is no easy task. "Is this your place?" Amy asks. Distracted, Grease answers, "Oh, right. Yeah. Just be a minute." Pulling off his costume, he folds it faster than a department store clerk and places it in a drawer, quickly running into his bedroom. You hear the shower running for about 1 minute, and then a scant 45 seconds later Grease comes back out in his suit, hair slicked back. He throws a few more items in a duffel and hurries Amy out the door, waving his key over the threshold to engage the Maglock as they leave.

UCAS Zone, 7:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

As Grease and Amy exit the building, the music cuts off instantly, leaving Jack to grit his teeth in frustration. The warble of the lock as it disengages is taunting, if a soft electronic chirp-chirp could have an emotion behind it.

Grease gets in, the foul odor of his stay in the chip house gone, replaced by a slightly cloying smell of cologne and hair gel. "Shall we?"

"Lets." The ork's tone is clipped and annoyed, and Grease looks puzzled for a moment, shrugs, and jacks into the car.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 1st, 2075

The cab pulls into the parking lot, the building's AR front dull and faded, the words marching around the front of the edifice proclaiming the bar closed in giant rune-like letters. The team exits the vehicle, imperceptibly nodding to Overkill who parks his bike a couple of spaces away. At this time of the morning, the parking lot is empty except for a few beat up sedans and a single luxury sports car. The sports car, a sleek, black, Westwind 3000 is parked in a reserved spot near the back of the bar.

Security cameras turn and follow your approach to the bar, and a speaker at the door comes to life as you get near it. "Gentlemen, we are closed."

Grease puts on his best smile, I'm going to have to get a refund on these Pheromones, no one ever talks face to face anymore...

"Hello, we have business with the owner, we spoke briefly earlier today, and we have an appointment."

A moment passes , and then the speaker flares to life again, "I fail to see a member of your group that was mentioned during our conversation."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 2nd, 2075

Talking into the speaker, Grease continues without skipping a beat.

"He is currently indisposed. For reasons that will quickly become clear but that I can't go into on the street, he won't be able to join us just yet. However, there is a piece of business he would like me to negotiate on his behalf."

Grease smiles at the camera. "Time is an important factor for my client. Once you let us in I can make the case plain. I'll point out it's just us out here; I'm sure whoever you have inside can deal with us without any trouble."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 2nd, 2075

There is a click as the maglock on the door cycles open, and the speaker rings out again in its tinny, mechanical voice, "Come inside, my associate will bring you along."

The team enters the bar, the smell of spilled synthol and old sweat hitting them as they walk into the main lounge area. Clearly the cleanup crew hasn't been in yet this morning. Apart from the odor, the bar looks in pretty decent shape, chairs stacked neatly upside down on tables, the upholstery on the booths in good condition and not stained too badly.

As the team pauses momentarily looking around for the associate Valkyrie mentioned, an tall dark-haired man in an expensive suit comes down the stairs. His brush-cut and his bearing mark him as military or corporate security.
His eyes are hidden behind his mirror shades, and his mouth beneath a closely trimmed beard, dark, but shot through with grey streaks.

"Gentlemen. Ma'am." He moves to a locker unit on the wall nearest to him. With a wave of his hand one of the lockers opens, and he steps back. "I'd like to invite you to deposit any weapons in this locker. They will of course be returned to you after the meeting is concluded." His tone, while polite and respectful leaves not doubt that the 'invite' was not negotiable.

As the others listened to the man speaking to them, Amy took a moment to shift her perception to the astral. The man had significant bio and cybernetic enhancements, with much of his body having more machine than meat. His aura seemed harmless enough, however, a mix of blue and green signalling caution and alertness, but without the red and purple undertones indicating malicious intent.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 2nd, 2075

Jack nodded toward the man and walked over to the locker. Puling out the two pistols he had brought to the meeting, he placed them in the safe, still loaded. After having done so, he returned to the team.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 2nd, 2075

Grease smiles disarmingly at the man who stoically waits until the elf deposits his pistol in the bin and then gestures toward the stairs. "Lead on, my friend."


The man waits while Amy holds up her hands up and turns around slowly. Seemingly satisfied, the man waves them up the stairs, and the team walks slowly upward. Grease takes the lead, and as he passes the first step a wall mounted unit beeps. He hesitates, but a nod from the muscle bound man indicates he should continue onward. Jack passes next and the unit beeps again, the ork not breaking stride as he continues. Finally, Amy goes up the stairs, the unit silent as she passes.

The team comes out into a hallway with doors on both sides leading to private meeting rooms. Standing in front of one is a tall, thin woman. Her red hair is long, with one side of it shaved, revealing several cybernetic housings in the side of her skull. Her dress is functional rather than formal, pants and a shirt of denim and leather, with a long blade strapped to her leg and a pistol on her hip. She steps aside and indicates the group should enter the second room on the right.

The team enters the room, eyes alert for a trap, but instead see only a strikingly large muscular woman behind a desk. She stands as they come in, and she towers over all but Jack, standing about 6'6 inches. Her voice betrays her Scandinavian origin as she says "Welcome. 'Make your case', as you put it." A blouse and jacket cover her torso, and the cut of the shirt reveals a bullet scar near her collarbone, as well as the telltale stippling under the skin of dermal armor.

She leans forward, her knuckles on the desk top as she waits for Grease's explanation.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:01 AM August 2nd, 2075

Grease eases himself into the chair in front of the desk nonchalantly, and for a moment seems relaxed enough that he may put his feet up.

"I presume from your obvious Nordic heritage I'm addressing 'Valkyrie'. People call me Grease- my reputation may or may not have proceeded me. Before I get into too many details I need to know any arrangements you have with Lynx. Our business will greatly depend on your agreement there."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:03 AM August 2nd, 2075

At Grease's introduction, Valkyrie does not show a flicker of recognition, though her eyebrow does arch at his relaxed posture. A slight raised eyebrow and a small change in her posture disabuses Grease of any notion that he will retain the use of his feet should he place them on her desk.

"Ja, I am Valkyrie. I have a feeling that you have much to learn in the way of these things, Herr Grease, if you believe that I will discuss my other business with you. Whether I have arrangements with this individual or not is not public information, any more than my discussions with you are, short lived as they appear to be." Her stance does not change, but Grease gets the sense that she is fast losing patience.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:03 AM August 2nd, 2075

Grease straightens, adjusts his suit and clears his face, odd looking without the trademark drek eating smile. "Fair enough. I'll make it brief, you're obviously busy. Stinger would like to hire you to guarantee his protection. He has an item of mine that I'd like back. He refuses to get the item for me without guarantees for his protection- that's where you come in." Grease pauses, a tight grin. "He'd like you to act as a neutral party, making sure that we both get what we want. I get my item, he gets to leave of his own accord. You get, I presume, whatever your normal fee is for this type of transaction."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:03 AM August 2nd, 2075

Valkyrie relaxes incrementally as Grease sounds slightly more professional. She takes a seat, so now instead of towering over the elf she merely looms over him. With an imperceptible nod of her head she signals the redheaded woman at the door, who nods and closes the door so the team can have some privacy.


"A business proposition. Excellent. We handle many different forms of protection services here, let us briefly discuss some matters before I accept." She pulls out her commlink and puts up an ARO for the room to see.

"Firstly, will this be on or off the books? I need to know for invoicing purposes. Secondly, where is the item? A general location - in the UCAS Zone, somewhere else in the FRFZ, or elsewhere, as this will determine travel expenditures and other fees. Thirdly, Is there an imminent threat, or is Herr Stinger simply being cautious? Obviously we want to tailor your team to your needs, additional security personnel require additional funds. I might add that attempting to downplay the opposition in order to save money is unwise in the extreme."

She looks up expectantly for Grease's response.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:03 AM August 2nd, 2075

Jack sighed inwardly, seeing the plan pretty much falling apart from the get go. Leaning against the wall, he kept his eyes mostly focused on the door, ready to react in case the drek hit the fan.

The Bifrost Bar, 8:03 AM August 2nd, 2075

Grease sits up straight and addresses Valkyrie in the eye. "I'm going to level with you; as I'm sure you've picked up already, this is not a typical job. While as much as I'd like to keep it as professional as possible, I think the circumstances will necessitate a certain amount of free range, as I'm sure you'll soon agree." Seeing Valkyrie frown at this, he puts up a hand. "To respond to your questions in order." He starts listing the items on his fingers.

"While the job itself is straightforward and completely legal, I would say the circumstances would lean towards the "off the books" portion of your ledger."

He continues. "As to where the item is; I don't know. If I did, then Stinger would not need your protection to go fetch it for me. Or rather, it would be a moot point."

"Third.." He pauses, frowning. "There is an immediate threat. The reason I asked about your other dealings, faux pas that it is, is that he was working for a crew that he betrayed. This information will grant him safe passage out of the zone and to safety. However, he refuses to give it to us because he doesn't trust us." Grease shrugs. "Frankly, he knows how much trouble he's in. But I didn't want to waste your time if there's an obvious conflict of interest on your part."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:05 AM August 2nd, 2075

In terse tones Valkyrie responds, "Herr Grease, we do protection work here. Unless your job were to pose a direct threat to the life of one of my clients, there is no need for them to know about our dealings here, just as there is no need for you to know about any of my dealings with them."

Her eyes bore into Grease's, as she continues, "Again you question my professionalism. Do not do so again or our business here is concluded."


"Now, assuming we can get back to business, I cannot proceed until I know where the item is. I don't need an exact address for now, but I cannot give you a price until I know if my team will have to cross borders to get there. Secondly, what sort of threat does Lynx pose? Does he know where you are going? If so, what kind of firepower are we potentially walking into?"

She sits back slightly, and says, "These last questions are a deal breaker if I don't have an answer."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:05 AM August 2nd, 2075

The elf nods, expecting that response. "Lynx is a serious threat. He has attempted to kill members of my team. I would not be surprised if he tried to kill Stinger if he saw him with us. He does not know where we are going, but it wouldn't be a stretch for him to figure it out. Firepower-wise, there's him, a rigger, a mage, and potentially some less well equipped allies. However-" Grease raises a finger, "I don't believe we'd have to worry about his allies. Likely he'd want to deal with this "in house". It's possible he'd try to deal with it himself. As I'm sure you're aware, it's a bad habit to show weakness in front of your employees."

Grease looks over at Jack and Amy. "It will take a moment to determine the general location. Would it be alright if one of my compatriots stepped out to make a call? I presume this room is sealed from electronic listening or recording."

The Bifrost Bar, 8:05 AM August 2nd, 2075

For a brief moment, Amy appears puzzled at Grease's demand, but it finally dawns on her that no call was to be made. "I'll go make the call from inside the car and I'll be right back." And she walks towards the door looking expectantly to the fixer.

Valkyrie nods, and a moment later the door opens again, the striking redheaded woman opening the door to allow Amy to leave.

Amy finds her way back out, escorted by the chromed up woman. As the door shuts behind her, she looks back out of habit, to verify if she's being watched. She makes her way to the cab and the door opens for her on the passenger's side. "How polite." She says jokingly to the auto-pilot. "Take me to a back alley close to here, will you?"

Dark Back Alley, 8:06 AM August 2nd, 2075

A minute later, the car comes to a stop after driving remarkably slowly and calmly. The shaman looks around in the physical and astral worlds and, seeing no one, she gets out and pops the trunk. Stinger gasps for air and lets out a curse. "Shut up Drekhead! I got good news, you might get out of this mess with your head still attached to your body. We're discussing terms with Valkyrie and she wants to know the location of your damn datachip."

"Where is it?"