Sunday 16 June 2075 1335 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Willow steps to the door then turns to look at you. "I would tell you that the decisions were made by you, rather unilaterally, if I remember. So do not go throwing stones when your house is glass.. Let me know when you want to be a partner, not an overlord." She then continues out the door and down the corridor.

"Your memory is in error then."

The words were stated neutrally. A couple seconds after the statement was uttered he closed the door and locked it once more. Perhaps Willow was remembering the discussion differently than it really happened. But he did not care enough to investigate. The woman refused to acknowledge she had done anything wrong. Even her apology was not an apology. It was another justification. That had made him go from irritation to anger. Right now he wanted her gone and away from him. Anger clouded the mind. His needed to be clear.

Alone once more he checked the time on his AR HUD. It had been over an hour since he left the gang's bar. Still no word from Jameson and Samantha. They were supposed to contact him when they reached the cellar where the prisoners were to be temporarily held. Was the location really that far? Bringing up a map of the area he checked the distance between the bar and the abandoned building that Willow had given him the address to.

Sunday 16 June 2075 1337 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


While he is checking his 'link, he hears a knock at his door and Jameson's voice. "Hey boss, I'm back. You got a minute?"

When he heard Jameson's announce himself at the door he halted in his checking. He was prepared to ask if the man had confirmed the identities of the guards at the holding site with Willow before handing over the prisoners. It was too late now. Possibly unneeded as well, given the limited time someone would have to get the information and replace the guards with their own agents. If the Smoking Guns even had that kind of support. After a brief delay Annex closed his AR search and moved top unlock and open the door. Stepping aside he motioned for Jameson to enter.

"What is it that you would like to speak with me about?"

Sunday 16 June 2075 1340 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Jamison walks in then gives you a short look of surprise. "Just reporting in. You said to contact you when everything was taken care of with the prisoners. They are secure in a cellar and I doubt they are going anywhere until we let them out. Sam stayed behind to sort of watch over them with the guys Willow set up. Hey, you OK?"

Jameson's look of surprise received a questioning raise of one eyebrow in response from Annex. When the other man entered he closed the door and his brow lowered as the mercenary gave him an update on the situation with the prisoners. He gave a singular nod of acknowledgement. Rather than respond to Jameson's inquiry into his person, Annex focused on the mission and the greater strategy behind it.

"We do not know how Knight Errant will respond, with the Willow Tree taking a public role supporting the raid. I would like you to remain on standby until this endeavor has resolved. Otherwise you have some free time."

With one issue resolved, and his concerns laid to rest, Annex was already prepared to move on and address other matters. The man had that air of drive and purpose that said 'I have things to do', but he did not rush the encounter. At the same time it was evident by his bearing and manner that he was not inclined toward casual dialog.

"Is there anything else?"

Sunday 16 June 2075 1340 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Jameson shakes his head, obviously a man of few words as well. He takes the cue and leaves the room.

Annex left the room a short time after Jameson. He went downstairs. At the base of the stairs he paused to take in the room, the people currently occupying it, and the activities they were performing. Then he made his way the security booth, looking for Melinda.

Sunday 16 June 2075 1342 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Some of the girls in the main room give you odd looks as you pass through, but no one says anything. Melinda is sitting at the security station, one of her hands flashing on the keys in front of her and the other moving through several AR menus. She stops what she is doing and places her hands in her lap when you approach, obviously waiting.

Annex finally came to a stop beside the booth and remained standing for the time being. Before speaking with the augmented youth he turned he head to look at the visual display coming from her deck. Half the time the time he did not understand what was being displayed. It was better not to overlook something that was obvious, however. After scanning over the holo screens he turned his attention back to Melinda herself and spoke in an even timber.

"Where you able to find anything incriminating on the comlinks Talia gave to you?"

Sunday 16 June 2075 1342 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Melinda's hands lift back to the keyboard and her fingers flash over the keys, almost seeming to not touch them. "I do not know what is incriminating or not, but I have rendered their call logs available for you if you would like to see them. They did not have a good idea about security, probably not understanding how it would be important. One of them was in communication with the Korean mob. Would you like me to send you the transcripts?"

Melinda did not know what would potentially incriminate criminals. He studied her a bit more intently. That was difficult for him to grasp, since she had already expressed an understanding of what was illegal. Were it someone else, someone who did not show the signs of conditioned dedication to their work, he would have thought her slack off. As it was, Annex was left wondering what other basic social gaps were left in the girl's understanding. Before he had the time to mentally move on and grouch internally about the tedium of pouring over comlink logs and transcripts of conversations without the benefit of a decker's search programs, Melinda mentioned a connection to a Korean syndicate. That caught his interest.

"Yes. Forward the information to my comlink please. I would also like you to find out if anyone legally owns the building that I asked you to get the floor plans of earlier."

Sunday 16 June 2075 1342 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Melinda nods as her fingers flash on her keyboard. "I am sending everything to you that I have. I am afraid that I just do not completely understand all the nuances of people talking to each other, so am unsure of the exact meaning of some of the communications." Your 'link pings to notify you of a received text.

"Understanding improves with practice. If you desire it, I am sure you can find people to socialize with here at the Willow Tree."

His eyes flickered to the alert in his AR HUD. A thought sent through his neural interface opened it the text window off to a side of his vision. Text floated in the air without a background, allowing him to peer past the words and to the real world when he wanted to.

Sunday 16 June 2075 1343 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Miranda does not verbally respond to your comment about socializing, but her shoulders hunch up a bit.

A quick read of the communications does indeed show lots of incriminating language. Some jump out at you because they are highlighted, some passages are marked with a question mark that Miranda must have put there, and there are others that she just completely missed.

Annex did not have to read too far in order to find that the comlinks were worth adding to the evidence that was to be handed over to Knight Errant. Good. After that realization he did not read as thoroughly. Instead skimming over the material as he looked for the portion Melinda had drawn attention to concerning contact with a Korean criminal organization.

"When you re done with the comlinks, see that they are given to Willow. She can add them to the evidence we will be submitting to Knight Errant."

Sunday 16 June 2075 1350 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Miranda nods. "I will do that. Do you wish me to contact the authorities?"

He could imagine Melinda giving a report to a Knight Errant dispatcher. It wasn't funny. Annex's verbal response was with a neutral tone of voice.

"No. Someone else will see to that."

After that he went silent, leaving Melinda to her work while he waited on her to find with information about the bar that he had requested. In the meantime he read over the transcript, looking for useful information. Intelligence that would warn of danger or could be used to advantage. He took pauses though, taking the time to monitor the people in the main room and measure the population of individuals coming to give their statements. Sooner or later the call needed to be made. But Annex did not want it to be in the midst of this.

Sunday 16 June 2075 1430 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Five minutes after sitting down, Melinda sends over a short report on the ownership of the bar. From what she can find, the actual owner died several years ago when the original gangers moved into the area and made it their headquarters. No one stepped up to claim the place or try to force the gang out. A quick search of the matrix has revealed that the only living relative is a young woman currently living in Denver. She is a single mother of two and is currently living on the edge of the poverty line.

There is clearly some sort of link between the gang and the Korean mob, but it is recent and not solid. It appears that the gang had been approached about trying to force the owner of the Willow Tree to either sell out or simply move on. The last message between the gang leader and the Koreans seems to confirm that the mob wants to use the club as a gateway into the area for its own strippers and drug dealing.

There is a short line of people wanting to give statements to the girls at the tables, but it does seem that a new person joins the line as someone finishes and leaves. Perhaps fifteen people have come and gone by now, with another ten waiting in line or at one of the three tables used for the purpose.

As he watched the lines refill again and again before they had even waned Annex wondered how many people the Smoking Guns had negatively impacted in a millions small and large ways. It was with an analytical study of cause and effect rather than emotion. His thoughts on the matter invariably shifted away as he read on. After finishing he composed a text message, which was sent to Willow's comlink on completion.

>>Melinda has run a matrix search and found that the legal owner of the property used by the Smoking Guns is dead. I suggest that we, the group endeavoring to organize and improve the status of the neighborhood, appropriate it. Either for use in civic endeavors or to sell in order to raise funds for such efforts. Further, there is the matter of the bar's supplies. The Willow Tree could use these given the economic attack aimed at us. An appropriately sized donation to the community improvement funds could justify their acquisition. In both cases, it is best to secure our position swiftly. After any potential Knight Errant search of the scene, but before someone gets the idea they can take these things for themselves.

There is another matter that needs to be brought to your attention. The Korean syndicate targeting the Willow Tree with economic bans reached out to the Smoking Guns. They were trying to arrange for the gang to force your sale of the Willow Tree, or departure. They want a foothold in the neighborhood. It would be best to not let them have one.<<

Sunday 16 June 2075 1430 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


>>Thank you for the information. Could you please send me the information Melinda has gathered about the bar? I agree to all of your suggestions on using it, although I would rather find out if anyone has a claim against it as an heir to the previous owner and buy it, rather than simply appropriate it. If no one can claim it, then I will agree that we should assume ownership. As to the Koreans, I am a bit scared of what they are trying to do. What do you recommend we do about them?<<

>>Further information is required before I may propose a sound course of action. I have reached out to some people, but they have yet to respond on the topic. Jameson can be sent to take a look at the operation we are aware of that the Koreans run. It would also be worth speaking with Sergeant Mills. His background, in addition to his position, suggests he may have some knowledge of the people we are dealing with. We may as well reach out to him for the arrest of the Smoking Guns at the same time.<<

Following the message is a compilation of the information Melinda had gathered concerning the legalities of the bar's ownership. Nothing has been altered about it since the report came to Annex.

Sunday 16 June 2075 1431 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


The response from Willow is quick. >>Thank you for the data. There does seem to be quite a lot here. I agree about contacting Mills. Do you wish to do that or should I?<<

>>If you get me his contact information, I will try to get ahold of Mills.<<

After the initial message came another.

>>Mills may make these people uncomfortable. It is likely best to wait until after people have given their statements.<<

Sunday 16 June 2075 1431 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


>>Very well, I will leave the decision as to when to contact him up to you. I have attached his comcode here for you to use. And I do agree that his presence may intimidate some. Perhaps you can meet with him off-site?<<

Annex did not respond right away. Instead he thought about Willow's suggestion to hold the meeting somewhere other than the Willow Tree. That would allow the time to be more flexible, and less dependent on waiting for all the statements to be in. In fact, they could be forwarded to Mills later. For a time he thought over the maps he had looked at earlier in the day, considering potential locations before asking for Willow's input via text message.

>>If not there, then where would you suggest such a meeting take place?<<

Sunday 16 June 2075 1431 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


>>Would the gang's bar be acceptable? There is an alley behind it that would allow him to approach unseen if you want to keep the initial meeting secret for a bit.<<

Annex visibly frowned when he read Willow's suggestion. Meet at the scene of a crime. That coupled with her gathering witness statements at the Willow Tree really made it feel like the woman was trying to sabotage him. That or she was breaking under the stress she mentioned last night. Neither would be good.

>>You do not seem to be thinking clearly. Perhaps you should take some time to try to relax and clear your mind. I will handle this.<<

Though he intended to call Mills shortly after the text conversation with Willow, he waited to make sure her side was finished as well. After what likely looked like several minutes of brooding silence and observation of the people occupying the main room, interspersed with sparing off into empty space, he turned to look at Melinda.

"Do you know where Grok or Talia might be?"

Sunday 16 June 2075 1440 Willow Tree, Redmond Barrens Seattle


Melinda moves her left hand a bit and brings up a schematic of the Willow Tree and you see a lot of colored dots displayed. Some are moving and others are stationary. Her hand flicks to the screen and two of the dots start blinking and a small ARO indicates that one is Grok and the other is Talia. Talia is in the kitchen and Grok is at the security station in the entryway.