[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Private Game World, Seattle]

Having accepted Silk’s invitation you’ve whisked your virtual selves to this interesting locale. It is certainly more colourful than your usual haunts and you suspect that you collectively raise the age of the personas here by a decade or two.

The matrix architecture is impressive though even for ones as jaded to such things as yourselves. The gothic edifice that forms the outer host towers out of the matrix plane. The burnt bronze doors that open before you would easily accommodate a tallship under full sail. Gargoyles launch themselves from the walls into the blistering winds that howl around you, tugging at your personas, drawing you towards the doors.

Looming in the shadows is a hooded figure about double your persona height. Its voice, issuing from a faceless void seems to bypass your ears and resonate inside your heads

“WELCOME TO THE CITADEL. I AM THE GATEKEEPER. PLEASE FOLLOW ME, I WILL ESCORT YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION”

From the surprised look on the faces of the other gamers thronging in with you that is clearly unusual…

Entering into the great hall you are greeted with the sight of a vast and glittering planar orrery rotating above your heads. Gamers in all shapes (but not sizes thanks to the new protocols) mill through the hall, gossiping, trading code, jumping off into the various game worlds and doing whatever else it is that youth do in full VR. A lot of the conversation you hear talks about a planar conjunction which is supposedly coming which will crash various game worlds into each other…it’s a bit of a mystery to you but they are clearly excited by the prospect…

“THIS WAY…”

You are led to one of the glowering portals and as you are swept into the vortex you have time to briefly wonder whether this is all a good idea…

You are in a cave descending into the earth. In front of you are a set of doors that wouldn’t look out of place on a nuclear bunker where they not carved in a myriad of esoteric mystical symbols that defy the eye to look at for too long. You can see now that the walls and floor also bear these strange, slightly writhing sigils… the Gatekeeper has disappeared leaving only yourselves standing on the brink of this strange place. The doors open ponderously and you find yourselves standing on the lip of a vast cavern lit by a strange diffuse light. In the maw of this place a strange city spreads out below you, one that wouldn’t look out of place on the slopes of ancient Greece. White flat roofed boxes with small window openings spread across nearly vertical slopes with tight winding stepped paths linking everything together. The warm scent of jasmine and honeysuckle wafts up from below bourne on a light breeze that would feel more in keeping with a Grecian idyll than this strange underground site.

Leaning on the parapet of the closest building there is a small girl, seemingly clad only in her impossibly long hair, she winks at you and then disappears…

Despite the fact that gravity clearly applies to your personas in this place, flying across the cavern towards you is a small western dracoform. As it approaches you can see that it is in fact made up of whirling constellations, nebulae and other celestial phenomenon. The deck processing this icon must be bleeding edge, making the Fairlight Excalibur look like a children’s toy!

Landing before you it’s voice reaches you, seemingly without making use of your ears en route…

“Thank you for joining me. I am eTher…”

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

“Some of you were recently involved with a run on one of my facilities in Bellevue, the research station under the Sound Mental Health Clinic. I’m not interested in why you were there. What it did reveal to me was that the original purpose of that facility was compromised, subverted, and I want to find out why and who was responsible. I will pay you generously for the information.

I have already searched through the available data on our servers but anything useful has been redacted or deleted, something that should not have been allowed to happen. There is however archive data in a data farm at a site in Fort Lewis. For reasons that do not need to concern you I am not able to access that information and I need proxies to do it…you. I can offer some assistance with guard schedules and possibly some access codes but I must not be linked to this run. You have been selected for your discretion and Silk speaks highly of you all…”

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

There had been that doc in New Orleans, sweaty back room in the French Quarter, had to pull a cute little Walther slug out of his arm one night. First time he'd ever been shot. Instead of thanking him for saving her from her pimp's beating, the little lady had sent a bullet deep into his bicep, so the sawbones had given Al a local before he started digging.

He had always remembered that, how surprised he'd been when he could, with complete clarity, feel every movement of the instruments in his flesh. The push of the scalpel, the way the tip momentarily pressed into the surface before breaking the skin, the clean slicing of muscle, the scrape of the slug against bone as it was eased away from an artery before being pulled out. All clear as day, only no pain at all.

That was a little - just a little, not exactly, but a little - how he felt right now, as he consciously knew that his meat was violently puking, but he couldn't taste the bile, couldn't feel the acids finding their way out through his nose, couldn't struggle to catch his breath as his diaphragm seized up in another spasm.

When he found out they'd be going this route, he'd told himself not to eat for a bit beforehand. But then some hippy or another where he dossed had had a birthday or got their first ware or something, and there'd been cake. And pizza. Tacos. And beer. You only live once. Carpe diem, and all that. He'd popped an anti-emetic right before going under, but here he was now.

The way he was going to smell when he came to.

Intellectually, he knew he shouldn't be able to feel his meat at all, but theory didn't mean squat when your body was violently expelling literally liters of chunky fluids through the same orifices it relied on for breath. A few weeks ago, he'd had occasion to set his internal air to automatically activate if his own breathing was interrupted for more than five minutes. It was a comfort now, to know that he wasn't about to go the way of so many other rock stars and movie legends before himself, asphyxiated after aspirating their own sick.

Every once in a while his bare-bones UMS icon rippled a bit in response to his body's convulsions. When his companions looked questioningly he just shrugged. He didn't want to distract them - some of what fairy-star-dragon said might be important, so he needed them to hear it. He himself hadn't listened to a word since it had told them its name.

This was just about as wrong a place as he figured the metahuman mind could conjure. What the hell was so lacking with God's green earth, these folks had to run off and take their pleasures in this sort of nightmare? Hieronymus Bosch with cleaner lines. At least the old painter had known exactly the name of the place he was portraying.

He reckoned him and Silk were even now, just for going through this. The job he'd done for her a month or so back, in hindsight it had occurred to him that she could just as easily have left them in there with the gas and the slamming doors. If she hadn't tipped them when she did, there they'd be, dead with every other poor technofreak in the place. And in return for her trouble, she now had nine security risks walking around the streets of Seattle with the secrets that hundreds had been slaughtered for. And she'd have known that when she made the call. The right call. So he reckoned she was good people to work for.

Until now, at least.

Ah, the Matrix. Another path, in another life, this could have been her calling. But the path she had chosen had diverged about as far as it possibly could. So despite many similarities with the wonders of the Astral, the differences gaped wide before her, leaving her stomach to lurch as it peered into the abyss they created.

She imagined that for those who lived this life, everything was as bright and colorful as Astral space appeared to her, but with a simple set of trodes running from her rudimentary commlink, she felt like a 64-bit hooker trying to find a John after the Opera in Bellevue. She was sure her attempt at fashioning a workable persona icon was being derided with every mental step she took in the place. But it had a cowboy hat and that was all that really mattered, after all.

Now, standing in the cavern, the massive form before her threatens to overload the paltry processor of her commlink, virtual frame rates dropping in a manner that exacerbated the alien feeling of the Matrix to her, but the audio came through clearly. Funny how the audio always seemed to work when the video wasn't up to par.

Silk... Silk... which one was that? When did I last work for her...

A datasteal, not her usual round-up, but when the nuyen's tight, a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do...

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

Phantom had never understood those who were obsessed with the Matrix. It was beautiful, no doubt, but nothing compared to the experiences of the real world.

Still, his companions' personas revealed nothing. Always a good sign. Phantom had always enjoyed working with those who knew when to act professionally. As the hooded figure speaks, Phantom's virtual eyebrows raise. He might be tuning in on a less than stellar commlink, but even he knew that "The Gatekeeper" as he called himself seemed to be breaking some rules. No matter, even if it did leave his head ringing a bit. Maybe more than a bit.

As Phantom's persona descends through the virtual earth, he has to refrain from making any tells. Whoever is behind this has some deep pockets and power; no one has this good of sculpting unless they really know what they're doing.

The dracoform rendered flawlessly in Phantom's vision; something that not even the beautiful sculpting had been able to do. That could only mean one of two things; either someone had massively upgraded his commlink when Phantom wasn't looking, or that icon was backed up by a lot of processing power. Once again, Phantom's head was barraged with that voice that seemed to arrive from nowhere and everywhere at once; he could only imagine how his technology was faring.

As the dracoform laid out it's plans, Phantom turned over the possibilities in his mind. Silk had always been good, never once had Phantom been set up on a job from Silk. Money had been short recently, and the job sounded promising. Dangerous, of course, every job was, but promising, nonetheless. It was a little disconcerting that such a clearly powerful being, or at least one possessing bleeding-edge technology, was unable to retrieve the information. He couldn't seem to find any fault with the job yet, but something seemed off to Phantom. He did need the money though ...

Ahh my home away from home, only thing better than working or fixing things with my hands is checking things out in the matrix. Yeah a computer jockey might out run me here, but I get to always even the playing field with a drone in the meat world. Kind of strange having a meet here with everyone, I guess each team does things differently but I would rather be giving old Betsey the once over, but I do need cash to get those new sensor packages for the fly spies. And need to get a good one for the Roto as well as a sniper rifle I need that long shot. So much to do.
But this meeting should help fund my upgrades, Silk seemed to take a real concern for the people doing her runs, when it went pear shaped she called us out, saving us was a priority and not just denying she knew us and let us fry. Al, now there is a character was like watching a flat trid of that Dukes Of Hazard show, just a good old boy doing anything to save the pretty lady. I bet he even has the dynamite arrow to blow everything up.

Haze chuckles to himself

As he watches his little remote control replica of Betsey zipping around the area he is sitting in. He sees his reflection in the mirrored surfaces around him. Looks just like his meat body, short human with hints of dwarven features in his face but now he is wearing racing leathers, knee high racing boots and skin tight racing gloves. The funny thing is the ancient racing helmet with googles on top.

A data steal, means I get to be the getaway driver, I love driving almost as much as shooting things. I really need to think about that, I might have a problem I really do like to blow things up. But driving is more peaceful just me, Betsey and the matrix if needed against those who think the can catch me, but they seem to always learn you can't catch a ray of light all you can do is see the Haze as it flashes by.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

Ali's matrix icon was nearly as unforgettable as she was in person. Standard off-the-rack iconography that countless users were defaulted to should they bother to share their gender with their hosts. She listened to what new job was being proposed to the new team and at least on first pass it seemed straight forward. Of course that's what they had led them to believe about the run against the facility nearly two months ago. They had made it out by the skin of their teeth, and while Silk had done much to smooth things over with the previous team, Ali still harbored more than a little suspicion when it came to a new job that had anything at all connected to the original run.

Still she was grateful for work, and even more appreciative that they were doing this initial meet via the matrix instead of some seedy bar, or the backroom of some club. If anyone were to bother to check, she'd read like she was jacking in from the other side of the world, grateful to employ a few tricks from her mother's old sleeves while she truly lounged on the recliner in her living room, a freshly opened craft beer by her side.

She was monitoring the time going by while a list of questions were already starting to grow in her head. Truthfully there was a brand new prototype of a maglock sitting on the workbench of her office that she was dying to get her hands on.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

In contrast, LeFey was around the age of an average player. On the other hand, MMOs were not her pastime of choice. She was dressed for the occasion (at least as far as the High Fantasy genre was concerned), a knight persona custom sculpted by her friend. Flo had really outdone herself. Her red cape looked eerily real as it fluttered in the wind. So did the metallic sheen of her armor. Flo had even offered to add function to form and code in Armor and Attack programs, but LeFey had talked her down. She noted with a hint of self-deprecation that going as "herself" would not have raised many eyebrows. Which was more than apparently could be said of the Gatekeeper.

Yet, at first, it had only led them to another part of the gaming host. LeFey smirked beneath her helmet. So why all the staring? Were Matrix games just lacking in hooded, Dementor-like figures as of late? Still, she made a note to look up that character after the meeting.

Surreal. But fascinating. She had to linger behind the others and take in the sight of the underground city. Perhaps it was time she reconsidered her gaming preferences. LeFey glanced up at the long-haired girl. She then removed her helmet and offered her a slight bow. Nice to see you again. I hope. The woman underneath the helmet was a few years older than LeFey. She had lean, attractive features, and platinum blonde hair in a long braid.

The technomancer was more than impressed by eTher's persona. At the same time, she idly wondered if they would take offense at her knight getup. Unconsciously, LeFey tensed when the dragon introduced himself. She knew at that point there was very little chance of her refusing this job. She had to know. Why? What was wrong with all of those people? And why did they have to...? <Please, continue. What data do you need us to retrieve?> She was invested, no doubt about that. But she had to be cautious about this job. Strange and deadly things were at work here.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Citadel Gaming Host: Kaer Game World, Seattle]

eTher listens to your questions and (s)he seems pleased that you haven’t just taken the information at face value.

"I am a representative of NeoNet, possibly even a powerful one. That does not mean that I can simply wade through the internal politics of the corporation to get what I want. Going in heavy handed lacks grace and finesse and I prefer that nobody knows that my project was compromised and hardly wish to draw attention to the fact by causing a disturbance. The actions of shadowrunners, however, can be explained away, particularly if there is no link to me or the project in Bellevue. LeFey did a thorough job of wiping your existence from our servers so have no fear on that count.

You will be encountering NeoNet employees when you breach the data centre so I would prefer it if the mayhem was restrained to the level necessary to get the job done. I will not presume to tell you how to perform your tasks, just help in ways that can't be traced back..."

***

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

Silk greets you as you enter the secluded room off one of the myriad levels of the Crime Mall. She's younger than you had anticipated, probably somewhere in her late twenties, certainly younger and prettier than your average back room fixer. She is dressed for the occasion in a figure hugging silvery grey body glove and armoured bolero jacket that barely conceals the holstered fire arm.

"Welcome. I'm sorry for the choice of location, I trust you didn't have any trouble making it in? The last time I met with a runner team the party was crashed so I prefer to be somewhere public...somewhere the public are all criminals with a high level of disregard for someone breaking the peace that is.

So you've met eTher, interesting isn't she? And Aria allowed you the use of the Citadel, a slightly different meet location than normal no doubt. You will have questions I'm sure, neither of them give up their secrets willingly...I will see what I can do about answering them..."

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

Al settled himself onto the floor of the furthest corner of the room from the svelte young fixer. He nodded to those that had already arrived - he knew all but one of them from previous jobs.

After the interminable virtual meet, he'd cleaned himself up, refilled his belly with beer, and drove his truck here to the Crime Mall for a second meet. Horsemen of the Apocalypse, hadn't they asked enough questions with the fairy-drake?

Still, realizing he had no idea what this job was beyond stealing some data from somewhere in Fort Lewis, he decided to pay a bit more attention this time, just in case there was anything he might need to know.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

eTher seemed to have made himself pretty clear. After everyone accepted the job, Phantom logged off. He pulled the trodes off of his head. He had never enjoyed VR, it always left him feeling, empty, when he returned to the real world.

His contacts blinked in the side of his vision. As he moved his hand to sweep the message into view, he saw that Silk had summoned him. A place called the Crime Mall. Interesting spot. It would be about a 20 minute walk.

20 minutes later, after some research along the way, Phantom finally arrived at the Crime Mall. The Crime Mall was, interesting, to say the least. Not a great part of Puyallup, but you probably couldn't find a more neutral meeting ground. I mean, it was called the Crime Mall for Ghost's sake. Still, Phantom was a stranger in this part of town, it was best if he kept his eyes open. He had packed lightly, and his eyes scanned the message Silk had sent. It had directions for where to meet. Phantom had no problems finding his way through, and he was amazed that no one tried to haggle him, or even shot a glimpse at him. Sure, he wasn't the most conspicuous person around, but even legitimate people did something. I guess this place really does mind itself.

He smiled when hearing Silk's voice, for someone in the shadows, she was surprisingly vibrant and full of life. He approached the room and faded into the background, waiting for everyone to arrive.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Al watched with interest as a tallish but nondescript round-ear walked into the room. At the virtual meet, he had been able to put some of the icons to faces, but others had left question marks as to who was who, even though he'd worked with most of them on jobs back in the real world. He knew, at this point anyway, all the people on this job's roster. Except one - and this was him.

Trust didn't come easy in this business, that's what they said on the trid, anyway. But for Al, it was just a handshake and a smoke away.

His left hand busy chain smoking, he extended his burn-ravaged right: "Greetin's an' salutations, kemo sabe. Alouicious Harlan Guthrie, esquire, at yer service."

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

As the human greeted him, Phantom considered his choices. Sure, he could be paranoid, but anybody who was here was probably part of his team. You had to start the trust somewhere. He noticed the smoke in the human's left hand, but he didn't judge. Everyone needs their vice.

As the man extended his arm, Phantom noticed it was ravaged by burns. He accepted it and said, "Glad to meet ya. You can call me Phantom; I'll admit I'm sort of a newcomer here." Phantom looked around the room, but nobody else except Silk seemed to be there yet. "You know any of our partners we are supposed to be working with?" Phantom liked Al, which would normally raise his suspicions, but he figured that he was placing his life in Al's hands, as Al would be in his. No reason not to be friendly.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Shaking the taller man's hand and then setlling himself back down on the floor, Al answered, "Hell, know all of 'em, 'ceptin' fer yerself. Leastways barrin' any later additions. An' speakin' of late, hopin' they'll git here soon an' not keep the li'l lady waitin'. 'If'n yer five minutes early then yer ten minutes late,' that's what my Pa always told us, an' I daresay there's a lick o' truth to it."

Haze sees the message light flash in his lower vision, bringing it up he sees meet at the crime citadel. Guess it's time to meet the meat and see if there is new talent in the mix. Will be good to see the team without all the gunfire.
Okay Betsey lets get moving, a nice fast relaxing drive.

Walking into the room Haze notices Al shaking hands and talking with someone new.

Hello, how are you doing? Nice to see ya Al
So we expecting more from the last run? Seems like a lot for a data steal?

Rodeo was the fifth in the room. She'd not worked with most of the fellows before her, though she was pretty sure she had seen the short fellow around before. 'Al', if she remembered correctly.

"Howdy, ya'll," she purred in an affected southern drawl, two parts 'belle and one part cowboy. "Guess we're all here for the roundup. Can call me Rodeo and I'll be providing a bit of magic support for us."

She gave them a charming smile and directed her attention to Silk. "Reckon we must be waitin' for a few more before ya' get started?"

[[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

True to her skills and nature, Ali had slipped into the room just before Silk's introduction, with nearly no one noticing her. Clad in jeans, combat boots and a faded band t-shirt beneath a leather jacket, she straddled a crate near the back and perked up once the fixer spoke. Her eyes roamed over the gathered group, glad to see some familiar faces and some new ones. On any other run she would have been concerned with the number of bodies in the space given their objective, however after the events at the facility, she was grateful for the numbers present. She gave Al an almost imperceptible nod as his eyes found hers.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Al chuckled at how he'd almost failed to notice Peaches' arrival, and silently congratulated himself on choosing his company so well.

Having shaken hands with Haze and the Cowgirl, he turned to the young fixer in the bolero jacket. "Heya there, Silk darlin', this here meet 'n' greet catered? Done lost muh dinner doin' the vee-ar pow wow with digital dragon dude."

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

Her brother had insisted on giving her a ride. As she understood it, the Crime Mall was located in one of the less hostile areas of Puyallup. "Less hostile" being a relative term. It wouldn't do to run into trouble before the job even started. And the two didn't know when they would see each other again. So after LeFey had teased him for being a mother hen, she took Riley up on his offer.

She was still wearing a gas mask when she entered the Mall. Puyallup's atmosphere was havoc on her lungs, and the fewer people who noticed her, the better. But she removed the mask outside their meeting place, then slipped on the old pair of dog tags. LeFey knocked before entering the room. Force of habit. "Good afternoon," she greeted the others. There was a faint smile for Al, Haze and Ali. It fades entirely once Silk reminded her why they were here.

The meeting with eTher had given her some names and vague ideas. Not much to go on. Plenty to make that anxious feeling in her heart much more intense. "You were watching, weren't you?" If she was as calm as she hoped, the question wouldn't sound accusing. "During the run on the mental health facility. Do you know happened to those patients?" Or demanding.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Phantom managed to sense a few people walk into the room, but he almost had a heart attack as a girl in combat boots and jeans seemed to materialize. He was getting complacent, he had been leaning on his magic as a crutch.

Damn, these people are good.

He quietly looked over his new companions. They certainly all knew each other, just as Al has said. They also all seemed perfectly relaxed, not giving anything away. Phantom nodded in approval.

Al had an accent that Phantom couldn't quite place, much less understand. Oh well, he would get used to it in time. Something about catering and losing his meal. Phantom waited, as everyone else seemed to be asking the questions. The girl who had entered in the gas mask had a similar attitude to the knight persona in their initial meet. Might as well see what happens, these guys seem to know more than I do, especially the questions to ask. Besides, he was curious to see their reactions when Silk answered.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Silk waits as you arrange yourselves to your liking around the spartan room

"Reckon we must be waitin' for a few more before ya' get started?" She smiles at Rodeo “No, I believe we have enough here to start, Gossamer will tie them into the conversation so that they can keep track of the discussions.”

"Heya there, Silk darlin', this here meet 'n' greet catered? Done lost muh dinner doin' the vee-ar pow wow with digital dragon dude."

Silk raises an eyebrow at the request but seems amused “I hadn’t intended to provide food but the Mall will no doubt cater to your wishes somewhere…I’m happy to pay if one of you wants to go and get something?

I prefer to meet in the matrix normally as it helps to preserve all our anonymity but given the events of the previous run that some of you were involved in I felt it was a good idea to meet you face to face and allow you to meet each other prior to any planning sessions you may wish to arrange between yourselves.

I’ll be frank, that run was a mess, and through no fault of yours. I was impressed by the way you were able to adapt and change with events, that’s why I have brought you together again for this…”

"You were watching, weren't you? During the run on the mental health facility. Do you know happened to those patients?"

Nodding to LeFey, “Yes, I was watching…some runners do not appreciate my scrutiny but I find that is useful to have an overwatch position…you are alive because I had knowledge that you were not privy to and I was able to pull you out…sorry, I should rephrase that, you pulled yourselves out because of the intel I was able to give you.

As to the patients, I have my suspicions, I am sure if you have been listening to street rumour you will share them. I believe it was the first time I have seen Sybil in action. eTher’s actions would seem to confirm my suspicions, why else would she murder all those people? Be under no illusions, eTher is dangerous and this run will be a reflection of that…you have a small chance to walk away now but you’d better hide deep…” she held up a placatory hand “It’s not a threat, I wouldn’t have picked you all if I didn’t believe you were up to the task, merely that she is not one to be crossed…but that is your lot as runners is it not, to deal with the dangerous movers of this world and then to disappear once you’ve done their dirty work? I am in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose my clients and I believe there is more than just financial worth to this run. I am keen to find out if it really was Sybil that was being investigated down there, who authorised it and how they were able to slip it past eTher’s gaze. I will pay you for any extra intel you are able to extract from their archives, in particular any research evidence that may have been extracted from the facility before its abrupt end… at least I assume it is ended, perhaps that information will be there too…”

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Al was still debating whether his new resolution to pay more attention in this meet outweighed the opportunity to skip the whole tedious affair and go on a self-appointed food run on the boss's tab. He'd just decided in favor of the food when LeFey asked about the patients.

That was interesting.

So fine...he'd put his earpiece in and try to listen a bit while out searching for chow. He was half up off the floor when Silk mentioned Sybil.

He was damned if he knew what it was, but he'd heard the name - a whisper in the dark corner of a cheap dive here, a texted breath in a digital ear there, something forbidden lurking in the cobwebbed corners of the shadowy undercurrents of this wacky world he'd let Silk lure him back into.

He slid back down the wall and resettled his ass on the floor.

Rodeo listened closely to the folks speaking. Looks like this run stemmed from another run, one that didn't end well, though apparently the crew involved did the best they could and had impressed their Johnson with their professionalism. That boded well on the one hand, if the former set her ill at ease.

She watched Al reconsider leaving for food at the mention of 'Sybil' and returned her full attention to the brief. Let the others ask the questions, she would soak in all the information she could.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Sybil? Phantom had heard rumors about Sybil, none of them good. Just hearing the name made him shiver.

Phantom, his tone inquisitive, spoke, "May I hazard a question?"

He looks around the room; every person's face seems to reflect their, and his, emotions: Curiosity and what appeared to be a hint of terror.

"What exactly is 'Sybil'?"

Phantom's head tilts slightly, as if anticipating an answer before it's given, "I suppose the only way to find out for sure is to do this, neh?"

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Jan fell in through the door, a bit heavier than he'd have liked. Blood was pissing down his side and forming a pool around his feet. "Apologies, continue" he managed. He shrugged off his armourjack and tore open his shirt around the wound. Sliding down the wall he sat and grimaced briefly before setting down the package under his right arm. Using his combat knife he slit open the cellophane and unwrapped a brand new FieldDoktor patching kit. The security tag was smashed and the box was ripped, but you didn't ask where things came from in the Mall.

He shot a local into his side and his left arm dropped to the floor. Focusing better without the pain, he whipped off his belt and strapped it around his bicep, tightening with his teeth like a junkie's tourniquet. He needed to fish the shrapnel out before he'd stop the bleeding. "Anyone got a lighter?"

Rodeo rolled her eyes somewhat as the newcomer entered. She reached into a pocket and produced the requested lighter.

"Here y' go, hun," she said, as she offered it to him. "An' once yer' all stitched up t' your liking, I can help out a bit more, if'n y'like."

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Jan wedged his knife between his knees and took the lighter. "Thanks". He wasn't sure if Rodeo's comment was some sort of pick-up or if she was a medic, but he was wary of strangers.

Holding the lighter in place he heated the tip of the blade before pressing it into his wound. It singed and stunk horribly. After a few seconds he firked out a long, slender piece of metal followed by a smaller square shard. He heated the blade again, hotter this time, and grimaced even through the painkillers as he sealed the wound before starting on the pock marks down his arm. The whole thing only took 2 or 3 minutes, but he had no idea what had been said in that time. He'd ask Al later.

He released the tourniquet and shot in some more of the pain killers before starting the stitching and SkinGlu. "Hey Al, you got any cousins or young sisters you'll be wanting to bring along with us this time?" Jan jested. It's useful to know though whether your main backup has his head in the game.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Al couldn't fault the question. Didn't surprise him if the elf merc had a bone to pick, and he was sorry they hadn't had a chance to talk since they'd parted ways outside Sound Mental Health that night a couple of months ago. Hell, he hadn't really had any reason to expect they'd cross paths again, but here they were. On balance, Al was glad, because he knew Jan was not only tough but wily, which made for a crackerjack combo.

But there was air to clear, and this wasn't really the place to do it.

"No sisters, no cousins," Al answered, trying in vain to pitch his rock-grinder voice low enough to keep the exchange semi-private. It was the truth, technically speaking, though he knew Jan would spot Peaches in the room sooner or later. "Still an' all, reckon ol' Al owes ya a drink or three once this little tete a tete winds up."

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"Pleasure. I need to get my blood alcohol levels back up before I get shot at. Takes the edge off the searing pain." He'd lost more blood (and thus alcohol) than he thought. The room spun gently for a minute before he was able to focus back on the conversation. He'd got no issue with Al, he seemed good people, but that wasn't going to stop him having some fun with the old redneck. Peaches was no doubt in here somewhere, though he couldn't see her and now this Rodeo girl was in on the deep south twang. Get some CAS flags about the place and we'd have a right good party.

As Rodeo noticed the newcomer fade for just a moment and shook her head. "Right, that started y' off, but hold still."

She hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, noting the wary look in his eyes. Hope he doesn't stab me with that knife, she thought. In the end, he allowed her the contact. She closed her eyes for just a moment, sending a wave of healing energy through his body, calling the magic from within herself and pushing it through to the wounds.

After a moment, she opened her eyes. "There, not my absolute best, but that'll keep ya on your feet."

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

LeFey was fairly certain she had a question for Silk. Then Jan walked in, looking like he'd come from a war zone. Which was a distinct possibility. She could only stare, mouth agape, as the man tended to himself with a field kit and a knife. The technomancer looked like she was about to scream. Instead, she opened her backpack and clumsily produced a medkit. "D-did you need...?" But Rodeo was already casting a spell. "Are you alright?! What happened?" Whether he explains or not, LeFey takes a few breaths to regain her composure. The meeting had well and truly been disrupted, anyway.

At length, she turns her attention back to another concern. Sybil. LeFey knew the name from a psychological case study. But she had also recently become aware that it belonged to something else. Something dangerous. A looming threat and subject of much speculation, as far as she could tell. Her hands clench unconsciously. And the reason for all those deaths, if Silk was to believed. Was it some kind of disease? A force that was controlling those patients? "I would think most of us have the same question. If Sybil is going to be an issue on this run, we need to know what it is."

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Jan recognised LeFey's voice and looked up. He'd not seen her much during the last job, but now that he looked her face did at least seem familiar. "Y'know, kak happened, people died" he responded. "I'm lekker, let's get on with it."

"Assume" he added, looking up at Silk "assume I know nothing about any girls named Sybil."

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Silk smiled grimly at you all

"You would hardly be alone in not knowing anything about Sybil, much as it galls me to say, I perhaps only know a little more than yourselves...innuendo and street gossip. I do know that it has stirred the corps up and that is never a good thing. There is reportedly a Jackpoint compilation that discusses it in some depth, I am working with my contacts to get hold of a copy. In essence people seem to be saying that it is a virus of some sort, one that can subsume the personalities of its host. I do not know what its vectors are but for those of you who were involved in the last run I will tell you that I took the precaution of monitoring you closely in the last month and as far as I can tell there haven't been any aberrant behaviours, well at least not any that don't fit the profiles I have on record for you..."

she holds up a placatory hand, perhaps detecting a degree of justified paranoia

"I know runners do not like to be spied on by their fixers or anyone else, and I can only apologise for the intrusion. It was a precaution I felt I had to take. I will ensure that the records are expunged and I can assure you that only myself and Gossamer have viewed the files...I hope I have in some way earned your trust following previous events but I would understand any reticence..."

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Jan snorted a laugh under his breath as Silk felt the need to qualify 'aberrant behaviours'. It slipped into a chuckle as he leaned his head back against the wall and thought through with equal parts joy and despair some of the things she must have witnessed. "I'd quite like to see my profile, if you don't mind..."

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"Well, hon, ya wanna have a gander at ol' Al, can't hardly blame ya. Women's got they needs too, same as menfolk. I ain't got nothin' ta hide - never do nothin' ya wouldn't want onna cover o' the screamsheets, that's what my Pa always said. Words ta live by. Hell, no need ta erase mine. Keep it fer posterity, I say. Or fer the occasional lonely night."

He stubbed out his spent Lucky on the floor beside him.

"But if by 'subsume they personality' ya mean turn reg'lar folk into ravin' homicidal maniacs with not a possum's whisker o' self-preservation, then I reckon we done seen yer Sybill friend up close an' personal. But as fer it bein' a virus, you talkin' the bio or the digital sort? Or, if both, wouldn't it then only affect computer telepathy types?"

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"It is rumoured to be a nanovirus so I would suspect that the vector would have to be contact, possibly even bodily fluids...but I wouldn't want to stake my life, or my mind, on that..."

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"Alrighty, so does yer Jackpoint whatsis say anything about what we do for any pore sumbitch catches this bug?"

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

"So, it works like a personafix program?" With more effort than she would have liked, LeFey unclenches her hands and lays them flat on her lap. She was trying to remain (or seem) calm, and as she judged it, doing a middling job. Less than middling, when Al brought up the so-called Mental Health Facility. "I hope to God what we saw on the last run would be considered an inhumane response to the disease." She closes her eyes and breathes deeply before continuing. "But I have the feeling there was a reason those patients were isolated and being studied." She knows that if they continued on this subject, the conversation would go somewhere she deeply did not want it to. So, LeFey brings up the run.

"That said, we might be able to shed some light on things. We know that we have to infiltrate a data storage owned by NeoNET. But we need more specifics on the matter. Especially the location itself. Is it explicitly a corporate facility? Or something less conspicuous?"

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"Is it perhaps disguised as a bar?" Jan ventured hopefully. "I don't mind doing recon if it is...". He'd noticed some of the laaities were a little shaken by mention of this Sybil thing so moved to break the tension up with a little humour. He could never be serious at the best of times though.

"Seriously though boet, you reckon it's worth sporting some o' those bad ass looking chemsuits?" he said sarcastically. The chemsuits he'd seen looked bulky, uncomfortable and made you look like a giant rubber clown.

He managed to stand up again, using the wall for support, and tested his leg to see if it was still alive after the morphine shots. A few experimental stamps told him it would probably be good for walking.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Before responding to LeFey’s query Silk spreads a sheet of electronic paper in front of Al with a quiet nod and then brings up a larger scale version of the information on an open ARO for the rest of you to see. Deftly flicking through the displays she brings up an aerial shot of the target building, rotating it briefly so that you can see it from all sides…

“As far as I can tell the facility is exactly what it pertains to be; a data farm and associated offices. The heat loads are certainly consistent with the kind of servers we would expect a NeoNet facility to be running. As you can see from this thermal overlay there is significant heat shedding, particularly at key activity periods. Of course I don’t expect you to rely totally on that assumption, the last run proved all too clearly that they are not above concealing other activities behind something else.

With the information that eTher provided we can extrapolate staffing, again it seems relatively normal for this type of facility. It’s a twenty four hour a day operation, although it looks like staff numbers reduce out of normal office hours. That will make your lives more difficult but not insurmountable. The codes she has given will get you one mark on the host and access to the non-secure office areas. I suspect she didn’t want to tip her hand by giving you fuller access. Once inside you should be able to fabricate something more useful.

Most of the security is handling the perimeter, and the matrix of course, but it looks like there are random patrols out of hours. They probably rely on facial recog for the busy periods and LeFey should be able to bypass that. There’s not much information on magical security but I wouldn’t expect them to be lacking. It’s probably passive rather than active though, at least until the shit hits the fan.

I don’t have a record of any HTR response but when there was a demonstration that got out of hand last year with a neo luddite group the facility turned to the Knights. I don’t know if that’s protocol, you may be able to find more with your own digging.

From eTher’s comments I can assume that the data she wants won’t be available online so it looks like there are three main terminals to access archive data. One in the eastern office building, although that is more likely to be manned at all times, one behind the main security hub and the third in the data farm itself. That seems to be the easiest to approach but at the end of the day it’s your call…”

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Al appreciated the hard copy visual aid. This fixer - that’s what she was called, right? or was it Johnson? he needed to go back and watch a few episodes of Neon Shadows again - this fixer had class, even after the hard time he’d given her. Problem was, now he’d have to haul his ass up onto a chair at the table and pay attention.

He listened and looked, blew up the image and scrolled about a bit as the woman spoke. Once she’d finished her spiel, he asked, “Jist ta save us some time, ya know anything about they utility providers? An’ if they subcontracts maintenance services, or plumbin’, or rat fumigatin’, or got anyone else on they speed-dial should this, that, or the other thing go tits up? Hell, they got a service on tap fer they bachelor parties an’ such?”

Jan
[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

"...and home addresses for the on-duty guards would be handy." Jan continued, sitting down besides Al so he could get a good look at the map. "The more information the better. If you could get their daily routines, shift patterns, where their kids go to school... all the better." Jan didn't intend to take any chances this time, and when you control what a man holds most dear then there's little he won't do.

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Silk frowned, the barest flicker of emotion before she is business like again

"I am sure that eTher could be persuaded to part with that information, she doesn't seem to have any particularly protective feelings towards her corporation's employees. I will not tell you how to conduct your operation but personally I would prefer it if nobody, who isn't actively opposing you, is harmed, physically or mentally. That might sound idealistic but I have found that the fewer people who are involved in a run the less chance there is of something going wrong. Minimal fingerprint usually means minimal comeback afterwards..."

[Thursday September 26th, Crime Mall; Puyallup, Seattle]

Something Silk said brought Al back to the moment. His mind had drifted back a couple of weeks to a spot not far south of here, down in the ash wastes of Graham. Some drug-addled psychopaths in clown get-ups had tried to make him fold his cards by grabbing a family, butchering the parents in front of the kids, then threatening to off the children.

Not one of those pathetic freaks had lived another five minutes, and Al had been sorely disappointed when the one he’d put down himself had gone and expired before he could hang him from a tree and skin him alive. The mix of outrage, revulsion, and heartache he’d felt was an emotional cocktail he’d not soon forget, much as he wanted to.

No way in hell he was joining that club.

He hadn’t figured the merc for the type either, but he did come off as a pragmatic SOB. Talk to him later, point out the downsides.

But what had Silk just said?

“Not ta worry, missy, light touch, shades o’ subtlety, there without bein’ there, that’s how ol’ Al operates. Low key like a whisperin’ specter, that’s what they say ‘bout me. Set yer mind ta rest ‘bout footprints or fingerprints or whatnot.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“But let’s take it back a tick. Glad to hear Star Dragon is gon’ fork over this extra intel, but did you jist say he works fer the very corp he’s payin’ us ta knock over?”

And the way the others around the table looked at him like he was an idiot made him think maybe he should have paid more attention to the meet back in Gameland.

“Um, so y’all already covered that? I knew that. Just wanted ta double-check is all, you know, make sure we warn’t losing any of our steam in the crazy-as-a-loon department. Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

And she was an idealist, for better or worse. "Agreed." She said icily. This job was important to her, and the safety of her teammates even moreso, but there were lengths LeFey would not go to for anything. As far as she knew, she was the only Matrix specialist among them. It would be tough for anyone to catch her doing something...reckless to make sure their plans didn't include hostage taking. LeFey fiddles with the old dog tags, guilty at that thought. No. Not unless she had no other choice.

Speaking of treachery..."It happens, Mr. Guthrie. More often than you would think." Blood was not enough insurance against it, let alone membership in the same corporation. "And from what I understand, the factional tension within NeoNET is particularly high."

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

Al raised an eyebrow and flashed his most wolfish grin at the bespectacled brunette, teeth clenched around a half-spent Lucky Strike. "Mr. Guthrie's my pa, hon. Friends call me Al. An' I am sure as hell glad we got someone on board unnerstands the politics o' this here shindig. All way over my head. But if Star Dragon represents one faction, question for you or Silk here is - what do we know about who's on the other side o' that equation?"

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

"The point of the run, Al, is to ascertain who it is on the other side of the equation as their actions have upset eTher's research at the Sound facility..."

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

Ali had been mostly quiet during the meeting, becoming nearly forgotten by most in the room as she was hanging back and running her own review of the new faces Silk had brought on board and trying to get a handle of their strengths. When she spoke, she tossed her hat into the ring to offer up future intel while still keeping things civil.

“I can leverage some resources to get a better handle on any external response that they might employ at the data center. That being said, any chance eTher can provide us with limited security schematics for inside the building without tipping their hand as you say? Even an original manifest for hardware from the building’s construction or any subsequent security upgrades for the less than common areas? Anything that can give us a better shot at getting to the hard data eTher needs in the quietest and quickest way possible?”

Ali looked towards LeFey for a moment before pinning Silk with her gaze as she waited for an answer. She added calling Rory to her list of things to do once she was free of the Crime Mall and back on more friendly ground.

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

After what was only a slightly abridged edition of eternity, the questions were finally all asked and answered. Al was first on his feet and headed for the door, muttering perfunctory thank-you noises around his cigarette. Before he could make good his escape, however, some genius announced a planning meeting later that evening.

Now the rest of his afternoon would feel like the final deathwatch of a condemned man. Only without a 40-26-36 last request.

Best make the best of it. Catching the eye of the South African merc: "So hey amigo, whaddaya say ta that drink ol' Al owes ya?" And then to no one in particular, but of course really to Peaches: "Anyone care to come 'long fer some liquid fortification afore gittin' down ta brass tacks?"

[Thursday September 26th, 2075, Crime Mall, Puyallup, Seattle]

In no time at all their small group had driven north on Meridien and then hung a left just a few hundred yards shy of the relative civilization of Puyallup proper.

Most of them felt better staying in the Barrens.

The joint was called Zero's. The floor was sticky with spilled beer, the air crunchy with jagged shards of shattered hope.

They sat at a table. One leg was too short, so it wobbled when anyone put weight on it. Al lit up - no one would mind - as it was, they could barely see each other through the cigarette smoke that filled the place. Didn't help that half the lights in the place were on the fritz, some just out, others strobing erratically.

Some local tuskers had some of their music on loud enough that the runners would have to raise their voices a bit to hear each other, but had little fear of anyone eavesdropping.

Drinks arrived, and Al raised his glass. "Ta perfessionalism."