South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 3:55 AM July 31st, 2075


"Very well, it would seem that we have a plan, Meine Kameraden," Drave replied to both Jack and Grease. "And regarding your inquiry, Jack, I still have all the first group's Smartguns MARKed, and I should be able to use them to find any commlinks they may be connected to." As he spoke he conducted the search in his AR, finding two of their commlinks with ease.

"There they are," he said, more to himself than to any of his friends, and readied his Blitzdrive to hack his way in. "I can hack them, if you wish, but keep in mind, I am on the clock. If I maintain my connection too long, I may draw the attention of the GOD squad, and that is something I can assure you that we really do not want. If I jack out, I will lose the MARKs I have put in place and I will need to find and hack them all over again."

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 3:55 AM July 31st, 2075

Nodding to Overkill, Jack said, "This hopefully shouldn't take too much longer. I think we're mainly looking for some kind of distraction, either with their commlinks or their smartguns, el más fuerte, mejor, the louder, the better. Time it for when we pull up to the curve in the road to meet the spirit. If the mage goes to tell them where we are, a distraction might buy us a few seconds."

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 3:55 AM July 31st, 2075

Nodding in agreement, Grease jacks back into the BMW with a shudder.

<<@Team [Grease]: Hold onto your butts.>>

Throwing the car in reverse, Grease does a quick jackknife turn and peels out of the parking garage, redlining the engine as he starts heading back towards the park. The car darts and weaves, not only around traffic but also larger pot holes that litter this section of town. Your stomach lurches and you think in the future you may invest in some dramamine before you get into a rigged car with Grease again.

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Back down Chambers the BMW heads, then hanging a right onto Smoky Hill that would normally flip the car, were it not for Grease's skill behind the wheel. In the meantime, Amy tries to reach out to her spirit. "Hello?"

"Spirit?"

"Hello?" - finally, as the car turns on to S. Fraser Ct, two things happen. First, there is the reply, "Yes Mistress?"

The other thing that happens catches everyone's attention. One second the road is clear, the next, a huge creature of stone is standing in front of the car. Grease frantically turns the wheel to avoid a collision....

S. Fraser Way, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Grease manages to make the BMW almost sidestep as he swerves around the spirit and up onto the sidewalk, he misses a streetlight, bangs into a garbage can feeling the impact like a kick, and then swerves back onto the street between two parked cars.

Overkill meanwhile, smiles to himself as you can hear in the distance the sound of automatic weapons fire over the beating of your hearts at the near miss...

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy was about to ask her spirit if he found the commlinks when a violent swerve of the car through her against the security belt. Holy Drek he's gonna get us all killed! As she was thinking this, she realized that he had rather probably saved their lives!

Frak that hermy is getting pissed now, she's going for the big guns. Reacting very quickly, Amy immediately reaches out with her spiritual senses and attempts to get rid of this newly summoned spirit.

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

<<@Team [Grease]: Nope. Nope. Nope.>>

You get the sense that Grease has had enough of the spiritual world, as in addition to his message, the car accelerates to a speed you would have thought reserved for airport runways and dry lakebeds. Amy's Spirit is quickly moving out of range, and unless something is done about the rock monster currently behind you, Grease is likely to keep driving until he gets to Mexico.

E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

"Frag this spirit drek!" Jack exclaimed as Grease catapulted the car past the spirit and into the curve. Having have had the opportunity to ride with Grease on more than one occasion, Jack realized the rigger was driving much faster than typical... and typical was pretty fraggin' fast. Holding onto the passenger side assist handle and trusting in the vehicle's restraints, Jack held on for dear life as the elf negotiated the turns. Concentrating as best he could, Jack composed a message as the neighborhood zipped by.

<<@Team [JustJack] Alright Grease, I think we're far enough away now, slow down! This whole thing feels too hot right now. The mage can follow us wherever she wants and drop spirits on us freely. Might be time to call it...>>

South side of Sagebrush Park, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

As the car makes a turn and things calm down just a little bit, Amy goes back to talking to her own spirit. "Did you find the commlinks you were looking for, my dear ally?" "Yes, Mistress."

"Good job, Grease. Now let's go towards my spirit, he's got what we want. I'll tell him to come towards us once we're near him. I'll keep watch to make sure no more spirit blocks our way again."

Amy rolls down the window and tries to look in front, behind and over the car for pursuers.

E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Not entirely sure if Grease can hear Amy, Jack silently relays her message to Grease.

<<@Grease [JustJack] Alright, amigo, disregard that last. Amy says her spirit has the goods. If you're down for it, let's head back to where you picked us up and meet the spirit. We can roll down the windows and lay down a wall of lead. Should keep the Yaks' heads down long enough to get the links and get out. >>

E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Psyching himself up, Grease throws the car onto Smoky Hill, shoots up to Quincy, and hooks a hard right. Accelerating down Quincy to Chambers, he puts the car into a controlled drift as he takes the 90 degree turn at 60 mph. As he drives down Chambers, he then has to slow the car slightly to make the turn onto the narrower side street of E. Layton. Getting to the corner of Evanston, he sends a frantic message to Amy.

<<@Amy[Grease] We should be close enough - tell your spirit whatever you need to so we can get the hell out of here!>>

E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy concentrates on the link she has with her spirit. "It's time to complete your task, I'm ready to receive the commlinks. Be safe coming to me, there are hostiles around."

"He's on his way." Amy perceives the astral to look for an ambush and whether the Yakuza mage is there.

E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075


As the team neared the pickup site, Drave reestablished his connection to the Matrix and swept the nearby area for any Icons that could mean Yak gangers setting up an ambush.

Corner of Layton and Evanston, Aurora Warrens, 4:00 AM July 31st, 2075


Amy shifts her senses to the Astral, stiffening for a moment, expecting another Manabolt from the enemy mage. After a second passes, with no incoming energy bolt, she looks around - out the front window she sees Evanston, and the form of her Earth spirit rise up out of the ground at the park and begin lumbering down the street toward the team. The back window shows Layton street behind them, clear of bad guys. The side windows show houses, with the occasional auras peeking out of windows, but mostly just gray walls.

Jack rolls his window down, his SMG at the ready, keeping an eye out for physical threats, while Amy watches for magical ones.

Corner of Evanston Road and Layton Street, Aurora Warrens, 4:01 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack kept his eyes peeled for movement and switched on the thermographic vision of his helmet. Figuring Grease knew what he was supposed to do, he said. "Alright folks, not that anything has been by the numbers so far tonight, but I think we all know what to do. Meet the spirit, grab the links, and get out of here."

Corner of Layton and Evanston, Aurora Warrens, 4:01 AM July 31st, 2075


As the spirit continues to run down the street toward the car, Jack can hear the sound of car tires squealing. Looking behind them, he sees two Mecury Comets making the turn onto Layton from Chambers. They start accelerating toward the BMW...

Corner of Layton and Evanston, Aurora Warrens, 4:01 AM July 31st, 2075

"CONTACTO!" Jack yelled as he took note of the two cars. Composing himself, he shot a quick message to the team.

<<@Team [JustJack] We got two cars coming up behind us fast! Grease & Amy, focus on the spirit. Overkill, see what you can do. I'll try and keep them occupado>>

Corner of Layton and Evanston, Aurora Warrens, 4:01 AM July 31st, 2075

At Jack's signal, Grease guns the accelerator and turns up Evanston, heading toward the spirit, the BMW quickly outdistancing the trailing cars.

<<@Amy [Grease] When I say go, get rid of the spirit>>

<<@Grease [Amy] What? Why...>>

<<@Amy [Grease] Don't ask questions - just do what I say!>>

The distance between the spirit and their car closing fast, Grease slams the car into a tight spin, opening the door on Amy's side, the APPS the only thing keeping her in the vehicle. Hang in there baby, Grease thinks, You too, Amy He feels a sharp pain in his right side. What the hell is that - can't think about that now...

Screaming as she is being pulled against her restraints, the car spins toward the spirit, getting closer and closer..

<<@Amy [Grease] Now Amy, NOW!!>>

Without thinking, Amy sends a mental signal to the Spirit, "I release you!"

The spirit dematerializes, and the commlinks start to fall to the ground, but they are swept into the back seat of the car before the can hit the ground. The force of the commlinks hitting Amy and Overkill at about 30mph is a shock, and leaves a few bruises, but they are otherwise unharmed.


Here's the hard part, Grease completes the 360 degree spin, barely clearing two parked cars on the way.

Shifting gears, Grease slams on the accelerator again, heading up Evanston toward the park.

<<@Team [Grease] See? Piece of cake!>>

Jack, who had been silent the whole time, releases his grip on the door handle, his fingers having left permanent indentations in the plastic.


<<@Grease [Jack] Pendejo, don't do that again, at least not with me in the car.>>>

Corner of Layton and Evanston, Aurora Warrens, 4:01 AM July 31st, 2075


Catching his breath, Drave quickly whipped around checking for the Yaks pursuit, readying his Blitzdrive to brick their rides out from under them. But seeing Grease leave them in the dust, he paused and sighed in relief. "Wunderbar bit of driving, Grease. Remind me to ride with you from now on," he said with a grin.

"Now, Miene Liebling," he continued, turning toward Amy and holding up the link that had landed in his lap, "Lets take a look and see what your friend helped us find."

Nic's Knacks, 11:00 AM July 31st, 2075


Jack lay bleeding on the ground, the smell of smoke and burnt flesh filling his nostrils. Pain shot through his body whenever he tried to move, and something was dripping on his face. Drip... Drip... He looked around, but was unable to make out any details, just twisted metal and bloodstains. Drip... Drip... He tried to raise his arm to wipe his face, but it was pinned to his side by what appeared to be some sort of console. Drip... Drip... He felt the liquid run down the side of his face, and, despite turning his head, was unable to avoid getting some in his mouth. Spitting it out, it was too late to prevent the foul taste of....chocolate?

Jack's eyes opened and came into focus. He was laying on the floor of the living area and his face was wet. Turning his head, he saw Sam crouched on a chair over him, eating an ice cream cone, and she wasn't particularly being neat about it. Her eyes were glued to the trid, watching the latest tripe the corps were putting out these days for public consumption. Sighing, he wiped his face, groaned at the lack of sleep, and got up. I needed a shower anyway.

He looked around the room at the rest of the team. Amy was still asleep in the bed, having spread out now that Sam was awake. Overkill was propped up against the wall, his deck making contented chirping and beeping sounds as the Agent mined the commlinks they had recovered from the Yakuza for data. Jack started to ask him how he felt, but the slight sheen of drool down the side of his chin showed him to still be unconscious. He stood up with a yawn and a stretch, and saw Nic chortling at him from the corner. "That's not a good look for you kid, I think with your complexion, you ought'a to try vanilla or strawberry." The big troll nudged Kevin, who was at the table with him, eating breakfast. Kevin, who had been staring off into space, refocused his eyes, looked around for what Nic was referring to, and then gave a quick laugh, before covering his hand with his mouth.

"You are hilarious." He frowned, and looked at himself in the mirror. The left side of his hair was sticking out in all directions, with some of the ice cream having melted and then dried. Sighing, he sort of patted it down, and then looked at the clock. Eleven o'clock. Well, six hours of sleep was better than none. He walked to the bathroom unit past Nic, wiping his hand on the troll's overalls as he walked by. Getting into the shower, he thought back to how the night ended.

After Grease had almost gotten them killed with that stunt he pulled, he easily outmaneuvered and outran the Yak goons on their tail. Just to be on the safe side, he had driven them all over the UCAS sector for another hour, and then dropped them off at Nic's before heading back to his own place to get some sleep. Nic and the kids were asleep when they got home, the troll sitting in the chair in the living room. Amy had climbed into bed with Sam, Overkill had spent a little time in the bathroom cleaning the blood off his face from the superficial cut he got when the links had hit him there, and then began running his Agent to find anything useful. Jack had passed out almost immediately, once he had cleared a little space on the floor.

Finishing up, he toweled off and put on a new set of clothes. Coming out into the living area, he saw that Grease had arrived, bearing doughnuts, and the rest of the team had woken, stumbling over to get the treats, and, more importantly, the soykaf that Grease had.

Grease handed a jelly doughnut to Amy. "How are you my dear?"

"Mmmmphh" was about all the reply he got out of her. It seemed that Amy was as much of a morning person as Jack was.

Overkill seemed more alert, grabbing a cruller and a large cup of 'kaf. "Well, Damen und Herren, let's see what we have." He sends the data to the rest of the group's commlinks, then says, "I had my Agent mine the 'links for anything using the key words Crimson Fire, Officer Thomas, Los Mags, and Lynx just to see what came up - and nothing did. So, I then had it check for any large cash transfers from the two months before the murder. There were some transfers, but the payments to the 'links seemed more like a payroll than a payoff - 300 each time, about once a week." He took a big sip of the coffee, and a bite of the cruller.

"Lastly, I had it mine the data for any names that appeared more than five times in the month before they were killed, and I only got three: Kazuya Hanzo, Jade Modori, and someone named 'Loki'. It is clear from the messages that Kazuya is someone they feared and obeyed, one can only presume someone higher up in the organization. Jade and Loki are harder to pin down. They seemed to be communicating in code - like "A1745" or "C2015" - and it seems that Jade was sending the message to these lumps, who then would send the same message to Loki." Shoving the last bit of cruller in his mouth, he finished chewing and said, "Given the frequency of the messages and the payments, one could only assume that Jade was using these guys as an intermediary between her and Loki, but as to what they were doing, I can't say."

Nic's Knacks, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

Feeling clean and refreshed in his clean t-shirt and jeans, Jack listened intently to Overkill's report. "If I understand it correctly, you're saying we still don't have anything conclusively tying los comodines to the other cases we're investigating? Maybe this one was just a random shooting..."

Jack groaned inwardly. Their early morning antics had turned out to be a dangerous and unnecessary side-show to the main event. One consolation was that the team had their first combat encounter under their belt and everyone had survived it, although probably more through luck and Grease's driving than anything else. They probably needed to have a conversation about working together as a team, but with Sam, Kevin, and Nic present, now probably wasn't the time.

Trying to salvage something from last night, Jack said, "Even though the information from those 'links may not help us, it might be useful to someone. It would probably help if we knew who those people were though."

Nic's Knacks, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075


"Indeed," Drave replied in total agreement with Jack's conclusions and his frustration over the lack of progress, "We went looking for answers in Sagebrush and literally unearthed more questions. Add that to all the research we still have to do on the Case files, I could be digging in the Matrix for the next few days and still end up with more questions than answers" Working in AR the whole time, he continued, "I am setting up search parameters for Kazuya Hanzo, Jade Modor, and someone using the alias Loki, but I think I should put these behind many of our older cases as far as priority is concerned. I still need to conduct a more extensive search for herr Lynx, as my Agent came up empty in the search I ran last night."

Nic's Knacks, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

"I'd say stick to searches we know are related to our job for the time being." Jack replied. "We might be able to get a basic idea of who they are by just asking around. Maybe give Chapel a call?"

Calling up his AR feed, the ork pulled up the latest copy of the Denver Tribune and started reading. He snagged a doughnut and saluted Grease with it in thanks. Scanning the feed, Jack read through the articles. 5,000 to find a lost kid? Sounds like easy cred... Not really noticing anything of particular interest, Jack closed the feed and leaned back. This morning's excitement had taken a physical and mental toll on the group.

"So what's on tap for today? We've still got two crime scenes to check out, although we only have a location for one of the two. We have a few sources running down leads, but there's no telling when they're going to get back to us. Other than checking out the crime scene here in the Warrens, maybe we should take the rest of the day off to recover and take care of personal business?"

Nic's Knacks, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

Licking his fingers after polishing off a bear claw, Grease nods at Jack. "We could; there's not a lot of stones we have left uncovered so far. I can try putting some feelers out and seeing if I can't locate Lynx or his crew. I'm a bit more tapped into the UCAS sector, and maybe I know somebody who can get in contact with him. At the very least if we're able to hire him for a job that would get him out in the open; although I'd prefer to find out where he's holed up."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack's eyes glazed over a bit as he accessed his AR display to check his notes. "Alright, do we want to head over to those apartments and see what we can turn up on the Thomas murder? Beyond that, the only other thing I can think of until we hear back from some of our contacts is checking with the waitress over at Schaefer’s. The description she gave of the driver sounded a lot like the guy who murdered Jackson. If we could get confirmation on that, we can tie three, if not more, of the murders together."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:10 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy pitches in. "We've had pretty exhausting days so far, so it'd be nice to relax a bit today, and prepare for the next step. I was thinking that I could call upon some extra spiritual backup today, to be better prepared for events like last night. It would take me pretty much all afternoon but it's very useful. I'll probably need to rest a little bit afterwards and I have plans for tonight. There's a rally held in part by one of my friends, you might have heard about it in the news: it's about cutting down on drug trafficking in the Warrens. I think Overkill was thinking of coming and you're welcome to come too, it's at 8PM."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

Going over files in his AR while listening to the group converse, Drave's head lifts when he hears Amy mention the rally, "I almost forgot about Chomsky's rally with that woman Greeley from Rebuilding Together. We did tell him we would try and be there."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"A rally about reducing the number of drugs in the Warrens? That seems like it could be connected, especially if this Crimson-Fire thing turns out to be another lead. I can come along and see if anyone in the crowd looks particularly agitated, or seems like they're listening a little too closely. Plus this way we're travelling together; if we need to we can back each other up."

Grease pauses, and gets a devious look on his face. "That reminds me; maybe today would be a good time to work on some disguises for our intrepid set of investigating elves. I could purchase some supplies and then come back here. You'll be recognizable to people who know you, but if someone is trying to pick you out of a crowd I can make you invisible."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"A rally? Oh yeah, I remember reading about that in the Trib a couple days ago." Jack replied. The ork wasn't really much for rallies, often a lot of talk without much action to back them up. Jack vaguely recalled Amy's anti-government humanitarian friends but didn't really have an opinion of them one way or the other. Grease's point, however, was a good one. If the conspirators were willing to kill cops, they probably had little reason to hold back if they felt this rally was a potential threat.

"What kind of security do you think they're going to have there? I mean, if the cabrónes we're trying to track down don't break a sweat over killing cops, why wouldn't they hit a rally of a bunch of poor, mostly SINless folks if they thought it was a threat?"

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:12 AM July 31st, 2075

"Hey Jack!" Nic called out, now having taken his place behind the shop counter. "I almost forgot... while you guys were out cold this morning, some shifty-looking elf swung by and dropped this off." The troll pulled out a shopping bag emblazoned with the Saks 5th Avenue logo and set it on the counter. "What, you getting all fancy on us and getting a personal shopper? Saks 5th Avenue, huh? Fancy!"

With a frown, the ork walked over to the counter and upended the bag, a pair of armor vests and four cheap looking boxes tumbling out on the counter. "I'm pretty sure this stuff is not in the Saks inventory, Nic. It would be quite the marketing disaster." Organizing the goods on the counter, he called Grease over. "Here's the armor vest you were waiting on, enjoy your new found sense of protection, amigo." Jack also slung one of the boxes to the elf. The cheap box had the poorly designed logo for Meta Technology on it, matching the less-than-stellar design of the commlink inside. "Your new burner comm, should be clean and fairly disposable."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:13 AM July 31st, 2075


Inspecting the commlinks, Drave added, "Certainly disposable," musing over the shoddy craftsmanship. "But they will work just fine for what we need. You will have to pass another Danke schön to your associate, Jack"

"To answer your question about the security at the rally; Chomsky has a few volunteers who will probably be working security, but nothing I would really call "professional." Rebuilding Together and Greeley, however, should have alot of their staff there. As far as Megacorps go they aren't even on the map, just another small non-profit doing what they can. But they should have some professional security at the rally, for crowd control mostly. To be quite blunt, these people don't usually have much to protect."

Thinking more about Jack's concern, he continued, "But you do raise a good point, Jack. If the dealers in this neighborhood are willing to knock off a whole string of cops to protect their enterprise, they may not shy away from the idea of taking a run at a bunch of do-gooders gathering and talking about cutting in to their business."

Standing for full effect, Drave made a request of his comrades, "If you guy's don't object, I would like to treat tonight as if we were on the job. This is all too close to home for comfort. We go in there, set up shop, and lock that place down as well as we can until the rally ends. I will put in a comm to Chomsky, offering him our services for tonight. Grease could set up Overwatch on the area, while I keep the Matrix under wraps and Amy does the same for the Astral. Jack, you take the lead in physical security, Chomsky and Greeley are prime targets, and shouldn't be left unguarded. They are the figureheads of this movement, and if they want to put a stop to it they will be the first names on the hit list"

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:13 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack tried his best not to sigh heavily, but failed miserably. So much for taking it easy today... I don't even want to think about how much effort it's going to take to develop a physical security plan for a fraggin' public park sight-unseen in nine hours.

The ork rubbed his temples and said, "Before we get too ahead of ourselves, why don't we have Amy make the call to Chomsky? She already chatted with him in a round about manner concerning what we're up to, right? Just let him know that, based on our investigation, we're a bit concerned about their safety and would like to offer up some help and see what he says."

"This late in the game, we may be doing more harm than good. Granted, they may not have even bothered with matrix and astral security, so I am sure they would welcome some help and if they didn't have a rigger, Grease could certainly pump up their surveillance net. But they probably have some form of physical security plan, so the last thing they need is someone to come in to bust it all up nine hours before the event, especially considering such a challenging place as a public park. Instead, if I can get briefed on their plans, I may be able to plug any gaps they have."

"If Chomsky even agrees to us helping out..."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Listening to Jack's concerns, Drave replied, "I am in agreement, I am not proposing we go in and commandeer the security already in place. Its more like you said, Jack; we go in, examine the security plan, and find any ways that we can help shore it up. I know what I am asking is no small task, augmenting the security for a public rally in an open park will take a lot of work. If necessary, I will pay you all for the night's work, out of my cut for the job with Ramirez. Amy can make the call to Chomsky, and see if he is open to the idea of having a few extra pairs of eyes watching his back." Turning to Amy, he continued, "Inform him of the situation and our concerns. Odds are he would appreciate the help, and should be able to put us in contact with the current Security team to get us a brief on their setup."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Amy had listened to what everyone had to say and she was in general agreement. "I'm glad you feel that way about the security for the rally, that means a lot to me. I was going to provide magical security pro bono just by my being there and because I don't want anything to happen to Chomsky. "

Although I'm not sure if I mind that anything happens to that preppy elf friend of his.

<<@Chomsky [Amy] Oy, chummer. Give me a call as soon as you get a chance.>>

"He's gonna call me when he gets a chance." Responding to earlier comments, she adds "Grease, disguises are a good idea, thanks. And thanks for getting the burners, Jack. And has anyone looked at the news this morning?" She opens up the Tribune for today and immediately spots the story with the kid. "Oh! Overkill, is that kid missing because of you?" She had her fists on her hips like a mother reprimanding a child. "This is not gonna help with not getting noticed. Maybe they're the ones looking for us, you know, and it has nothing to do with the conspiracy after all."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:14 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack chuckled inwardly. We must be coming together as a team if we're doing the whole share and share alike thing...

At Amy's exclamation, Jack called up his AR feed again and checked out the news article. Sure enough, now that he had it pointed out to him, the elf in question could very possibly be Overkill. "Oh man, Overkill, what the frag did you do, amigo? Hey Grease, at least that gives us an opportunity to get Brandy out of our hair. She might be able to try to pass off a murder in a house, but a dark-haired pedo-elf?"

Putting aside the gallows humor, Jack said, "Thanks for placing the call Amy. Now what are we going to do? Head over to the apartments? Buzz on by and check with Jill at Schaefer's? Do some more shopping for gear?"

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Hearing Jack and Amy's comments about the Tribune article, Drave instantly dropped what he was doing and pulled up the morning paper in his AR. Reading the story, his face goes in a flash from normal to red to pale. "Oh shaisa..." he says in a barely audible voice.

Feeling the need to explain himself, Drave addresses the crew's questions, "We were talking to some kids trying to get info on the Manuel shooting, the little Arschfotze was being a punk, so to teach him some manners, I bricked the wertlos kind's link..." His conscience obviously getting the better of him. "Now I have to add tracking down kidnappers to the list."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack struggled to keep from laughing and managed a sharp snort. "Oh man... you bricked some kid's commlink for being a pendejo and he gets kidnapped on the same day? You have the worst luck ever, amigo." The ork felt bad for the kid but doubted the kidnapper wouldn't have tossed his commlink anyway. At the same time, Jack figured it probably wasn't a terrible thing that Overkill blamed himself; the guilt might make him more cautious.

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

"Well, it's true he was a rich kid and a prick, so he kind of had the bricking coming... Anyway, should we do something about this?"

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:15 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack picked at his tusk and asked, "About what? Lone Star looking for the two of you? Not much we can really do about it now. Like Grease said, we can mock up some disguises for the two of you. You probably shouldn't go too close to that part of town for a while, but the heat will probably blow over in a little bit. I mean, we know the two of you weren't actually involved so hopefully they'll turn up some real leads."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:16 AM July 31st, 2075

Grease nods, looking over the Tribune on his AR display again. "Besides, I'm not sure the kid got snatched. It just says he didn't respond to his 'link when his parents buzzed him. Well; we have a good explanation for that. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."

He pauses, looking over Drave's distinctive long black hair. "Still. A disguise probably wouldn't hurt."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:16 AM July 31st, 2075

Jack nodded, "That's true, although if he went missing that close to the Arsenal, kidnapping might have been a blessing... Either way, it's not really our concern at the moment."

Jack tugged on a tusk and said, "Here's what I'm going to suggest: Amy and Overkill hang out here while Grease and I hop out to pick up something to mock up disguises for you two. While we're out, we can swing by Schaefer's and see if Jill can connect the shooter in the Jackson murder to the driver in the Newton murder. We head back here and all take a trip to the scene of the Thomas murder. We should hopefully finish that all up by no later than 2PM, which would give us six hours to take care of personal biz before the rally."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:17 AM July 31st, 2075

Dressed in more casual wear than the previous few days, Grease rubs at his lower back. "I want to pick up a holster too; my suit normally has one in it but if we're going to dress down for the warrens I should get something so I can carry without the gun slipping out the back of my pants."

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 11:17 AM July 31st, 2075

"Sorry, but the summoning I want to do will take me a long time, and I'll need to rest afterwards. My plan is to get ready, eat more food, and then concentrate on my summoning starting at 12:30. I should be done by the end of the afternoon, but I'll need to rest a little before leaving. If last night taught me anything, it's that I have to be better prepared when it comes to my job as magical support for the team. So count me out until the evening, it's a necessary precaution."

Nodding to Amy, Jack replied, "That's prudent. I think we should put off the Thomas murder investigation then and just take the rest of the day off so you and Overkill can do whatever you need to do before tonight. Thomas was the one murdered with magic, so I think you'd probably be a good person to have when we take a look at the scene."

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 12:12 PM, July 31st, 2075

After a nail-biting trip to the UCAS sector, Jack gets an opportunity to catch his breath as they purchase some supplies. It's unclear why Grease felt the need to travel at speeds approaching the sound barrier for such a simple errand, but it's possible he was trying to lose a tail. Maybe he just drives like that all the time. Either way, an investment in some heart medication wouldn't go amiss.

Around 11:30, Grease looks down at his commlink, and thumbs out a few responses as he's driving. Text-and-Driving laws became overwhelmed with the advent of full ARO displays, but you'd still feel safer if he paid attention to the road and avoided that school bus a few seconds earlier rather than replying to whatever pressing business he had.

"Looks like Crimson Fire is Los Mags distribution only. We may need to look into that angle again. My guy tried to score us some but came up empty. Said it was dangerous though, knocking people out of the game entirely. A bad batch would mean a lot of dead junkies, and maybe the attention of people higher up if it killed someone important."

Grease enters "Weapons World", and you are again taken aback to find out that yes, the proprietor knows him, probably better than you do. How the heck does this guy know everyone here? Quickly purchasing a concealable holster, he pulls the L36 out of his waistband and secures it to his lower back inside the holster underneath his jacket. If the owner was concerned that Grease just pulled a probably illegal throwaway piece in his store he doesn't seem to indicate it beyond flipping the page on his AR-zine.

Moving on to a corner shop, Grease kibitzes for a while with the next owner while Jack stands awkwardly at the door, feeling slightly out of place. Eventually the concept of making a purchase dawns on Grease, and he buys a variety of dyes, brushes, wigs, powders and other sundry goods you take to be the makings of a disguise ensemble. The cashier rings him up with a smile, and you're on the road again.

Arriving outside of Schaefer's Diner, the inside has a fairly decent crowd given the lunch rush. Your heart is just starting to return to normal operations when Grease turns and asks, "So what's our play? We go in to follow-up, see if she can ID the guy off the trid?"

Outside Schaefer's Diner, 12:12 PM, July 31st, 2075

Just glad to be stopped, Jack takes a moment to get his bearings. Focusing on the flickering neon "N" in the OPEN sign hanging in the window, the big ork allows his heartbeat to slow down a touch before answering.

"I think that's the smart move. Amy and Overkill made it sound like Jill was really concerned about this particular Star, so I think she'd be willing to help. If we show her the message, I bet she would be willing to take a look at the pic. Of course, that would tie us to Amy and Overkill if we're too obvious about it, which might not be that great of an idea at the moment. We should at least be discrete about it, maybe get a table, grab some 'kaf, and then do the ask when we pay and tip..."

GEAR