Wednesday 12 June 2076 1940, Matt's House, Seattle


Mat grins. "You jog? Me too. Are you a morning or evening runner? I am still getting a feel for the neighborhood and could use a running partner, if you are interested. Also, there is a top-notch treadmill in the exercise room so feel to come over and use it any time. In fact you can use the entire room if you like. Just call ahead."

He shakes his head. "Yoga, eh? Can't say as I have tried that. Might be willing to give it a shot if you wanted to help me learn some. And who said I don't like romantic comedies? I think that some some of the greatest movies of all time fit into that category. But you are right about soaps; just cannot seem to get the point. And if you like something harder than the soda you've been swilliing, I have some vodka that needs to be opened?

"Definitely evenings. You can't always dodge the heat, but it gives you a better chance if you stick to evenings. You know, I keep hearing about how amazing this room full of equipment is. Let's see what you got. As far as yoga goes, it's not for everyone. Sticking with it makes you more flexible in the long run, but you're going to feel really useless when you start off. One major upside is that you're less likely to get hurt with any of your other physical activity. Hard to pull a muscle when you're limber."

Meira smirks, considering the vodka for a moment. "Can't do the liquor tonight - I'm working tomorrow. Rain check, though."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 1942, Matt's House, Seattle


"Evenings it is. I took a week off to get settled in so maybe we can get together for a run during that time." He nods and stands, motioning for you to join him. "Your wish is my command. It is just through here. You know, I could maybe use the limbering up stuff, so could give this yoga a try."

He comes around the table to pull your chair out and leads you to the exercise room. At first glance everything appears to be brand new and unused...........and top quality stuff. There are two weight machines and a treadmill that would put most exercise gyms to shame for all the extra bells and whistles it has. Matt points to one of the weight machines as you near it. "I think they used this one a few times, but the other looks like it just came out of the box. Really good quality machines, too. And over here is the hot tub." He walks over into what appears to have once been a separate room but is now connected as an extension of the weight room and pulls up a heavy cover, exposing a pool of clear water. Steam rises from the surface as it burbles merrily away.

Matt looks up at you. "The temp is currently set at 104F, which is just about perfect for me. It can really soothe the muscles and it feels great to sink into it." He points to a small chamber into the side of the room. "That is the sauna. It is off right now, but takes almost no time to heat up, or so I am told. I have not actually used it yet, but the instructions seem clear enough. The shower is right over there." He is pointing to a wide, tiled shower that has a shower head at each end. "I guess they thought they wanted to shower together."

He turns to you. "So, what do you think?"

The equipment was... quite a lot better than she'd expected. Sure, she'd been informed, but she just thought it was an exaggeration. For a home gym, this was a hell of a thing, and given how little of her house was used for anything, it was starting to give her ideas. The hot tub in particular couldn't hurt when it came to bioware maintenance.

"I think this is quite a find. It must have taken a lot of time and money to do a conversion like this. All the houses in this area are pretty similar, so... looks like they knocked out a few walls, did digging maybe?"

Meira rolls her eyes at the shower. To her, group showers said 'military', not 'romantic'.

"Hey, whatever floats their boat, I guess. Or not - sounds like it didn't work out for them."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 1944, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods. "Yeah, they did some remodeling in the house and dug a hole for the tub. If I remember correctly, he is a Corp wage guy and was transferred out of Seattle so they had to sell up. I am just the lucky gut in the right place at the right time." He looks over at you. "So, it is almost eight; do you think it is too late for a run? "

Meira stares at the treadmill for a moment. It's nice enough, but she's wearing armor, and packing heat. She'd have to change, and leave at least most of her gear, but she figures she can at least keep the monofilament whip hidden well enough.

"Let me go change. I can't run in jeans. Well, I can, but I shouldn't. I live right next to you, so it shouldn't take long."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 1944, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods. "Sure. I will have to change as well. If you want to run on the treadmill, I can pull the second one out of the storage room and set it up. They bought two but it seems that only one ever used it so they stored the other. See you in a few. I will leave the door unlocked for you so just come in."

"Alright, be back in a minute."

Meira heads home and changes out of her armored clothing into something loose fitting to jog in. The pistol and the kamikaze had to stay home, but she kept the monofilament whip on her just in case. Probably - hopefully - an unnecessary precaution, but who knows? Seattle sucks, and she hasn't stayed alive this long by walking around unarmed.

She goes back to her new neighbor's house, taking a moment to glance around the outside before entering. Her entry is quiet as she can make it. Paranoia is a hell of a thing - might just be nerves from a lack of her favorite high, but she can't quite shake that something's off here. She moves up to the entrance of the home gym, and looks in before announcing herself.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 1956, Matt's House, Seattle


When you stop outside on your way back to Matt's house, you notice nothing beyond what you would expect to see.

Once inside, you do hear noises that indicate someone is exerting themselves and the rhythmic pad of someone running. As you put your head around the door to the exercise room you see Matt running on a second treadmill. The orientation of the pair of treadmills is such that you are looking at his back and you have an opportunity to look at him without being seen. He has changed into loose running shorts and a t-shirt and seems to be running a pretty good pace.

Meira shakes her head, rolling her eyes at herself. Like he'd have enough time to setup an ambush on such short notice. Like he had any reason to do so in the first place. She enters the gym, normally now, and gets on the treadmill next to him. Before turning it on, she goes through some simple stretches.

"Starting without me?" she chuckles, pulling her ankle up behind her with one hand, "I guess the pizza won't work itself off."

She fiddles with the machine a bit, programming in a gradually climbing speed.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 1957, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt looks around at you, a bit surprised, but smiling. "Didn't hear you come in. Yeah, just a bit of a warm up." He watches as you stretch and then get on the treadmill and nods at you. "Looks like you know your way around that thing. Let me know if you don't understand something."

Your machine starts up and you get into the rhythm. Matt is clearly not a once-in-a-while runner; his stride is good and his breathing is controlled, not labored. His toned legs keep up a good pace. After a few minutes, his machine slows down and stops and he uses a towel on the rack near him to dry off some sweat. He steps away from you for a minute, returning with four bottles of water and a second towel. He slips two of the bottles into slots on your machine and drapes the short towel on a rack near your hand. He sips a bit of water, but does not drink too much at once then gets back on the machine. He looks over at your pace and nods. "You are good, Meira. Let me try to see if I can keep up."

He smiles and puts the water on his console and sets the machine to start up again. Soon he is running at a pace near yours.

"Yeah, I guess I'm light on my feet. I mean, I only weigh 60 kilos, so yeah. We're a skinny people."

Meira chuckles, looking down at her speed. It looked good. She could push it more, but wasn't sure if it would be a good idea.

"Just don't ask me to have a go at the weights. Never been good at that - I guess I run fast because there isn't much of me to propel forward."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2000, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt laughs at your joke. "Weight training can work for anyone. Just ask my last personal trainer. He was very disappointed that I was not more into weights. Still, it has its value and can certainly make a difference in muscle growth. I use it to get rid of excess body fat, but from what I can see your body is pretty good just the way it is." He goes quiet and then looks over at you. "Sorry. I don't know if I was supposed to say that or not."

Meira shrugs. This guy. She'd heard it all before, sans the apologies after everything. Changing the topic seemed to work best for her in these situations.

"Employers expect you to look a certain way. Skinny bouncers don't get hired, and muscles don't work in a business meeting, unless you're in the mob, I guess. I've heard engineers can do whatever they damn well please as long as their work gets done. I'm actually going to put in temporary black dye to cover up the green when I get home. Make up to cover the tattoos."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2000, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods and smiles. "Yeah, I guess we are all creatures of some kind. Say, what is it with the ink on your face? I am not usually a fan, but on you it looks good. Is there a special meaning to it?" This time he does not apologize and looks interested.

"Yeah," she replies sarcastically, "It's Sperethiel for 'fuck you, mom and dad'. Well, that's how they read it, anyway. I was pissed after being let go, and in an ill advised spur of the moment decision to never work in a similar environment again, did this. Ended up working out, though - I can take shortcuts through bad parts of town without getting in trouble. I can go the other way and put makeup over it if I need to talk to someone fancy. Could get it removed if I really wanted to, but it grew on me."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2000, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt laughs. "Uh huh. My dad wanted me to follow him into one of the Urban Brawl leagues. He was very disappointed that I grew up to be such a whimp. Practically forgot all about me when my brother went pro. But, like I said, the art looks good on you." After that, you do notice him checking you out a couple of times. After all, he is a guy and you are getting a bit sweaty. The running feels good and the treadmill is certainly top-notch quality.

"Urban Brawl? Huh. Can't say I get the appeal. No one comes away from that unscathed. People do some questionable things for money, but running around in the open and getting shot at to score a goal is pretty low on my list of potential careers."

Yeah, never mind the fact that her description was pretty close to her current job. She winced a little, realizing only after she'd said it.

"But yeah, I hear you with the family thing. I haven't heard from mine in a while. Not since leaving Tir Tangire, almost."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2001, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt chuckles. "I would not know for sure, but isn't that sort of what you do for a living? I mean, going into dangerous places and maybe getting shot at? Have you ever given any though to doing something else?"

Meira laughs. She'd given the most plausible lie she could come up with, and it still sounded like a dangerous job. At least it didn't sound like she was hiding something.

"If I'm getting shot at, I've royally screwed the pooch. Seattle's dangerous, sure, but it's not like I find myself in ganger territory or anything like that. Hell, my last job was probably more dangerous than my current one. Tir bosses are scary."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2002, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt laughs again, although it sounds a bit forced. "You did not answer the question. Have you ever though about a different line of work?"

Meira goes quiet for a moment. She stares straight ahead, clenching her jaw. When she finally answers, her tone is somewhat wooden.

"I don't know how to do a whole lot, Matt. I have basic education and my job training, paid for by my last employer. That locked me into a very narrow group of possible careers. But I'm good at my work, and I'm not a wageslave. And I can take care of myself."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2002, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt quickly nods his head. "Whoa, Meira. I did not mean to hit a nerve there. I was just asking. Sort of, anyway. I was more thinking about something really close to your skill set. Have you ever given a thought to doing any personal protection work?"

Meira's shoulders slump at that. Well, she'd never been very good at lying. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise that "acquisitions" had come off as a euphemism.

"Honestly? That's not even my first offer today for protection work. I turned the last one down, partly because I have another, less dangerous job lined up. Partly because it's really not what I do. Like I said, the tattoos give the wrong impression pretty frequently. Besides, that just paints a target on the back of your head. Security is disposable - their job is to die for their client."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2002, Matt's House, Seattle


"Hey, Meira, it really is not a big deal. I am sorry if I put a blanket on the evening. It is just that I know a couple of people that are looking around for quality protection and thought I would say something if you were interested. That's all. And, also like I said before, I think the art looks great on you. I was not giving it more thought than that. I guess some of my friends are right when they call me a social clutz. Sorry."

Meira grunts, shaking her head.

"It's fine. I just don't do that kind of work. It's not a moral thing - I'm just not a security guard. Just look at me. I could stand right in front of the client and he'd still probably get shot. I don't have the training for that, anyway."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2002, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods and lets the subject drop, taking a different tack on getting to know his neighbor. "So, how would a potential client contact you to get something?"

"So most of these people go through their secretary, personal aid, whatever. That person reaches out to their network of contacts, and so on. It's not very efficient, but that's how the secretary prefers it. See, if it was easy, they wouldn't get paid as much."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2002, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods. "I get it. And do you have someone like an agent that these secretaries can call, or what?"

"That's about the gist of it, yeah. The agent is mostly there to filter jobs for me, or pick the right person for the job. I'll usually hear about jobs where the contact was told to go play somewhere else after the fact - every profession has their ridiculous stories. Of course, the obfuscation goes both ways - I don't know who else my agent works with. If I knew too much, I could go straight to some rich guy and cut through all the middlemen."

Meira grins and shakes her head.

"A full time job dealing with 'Tell him I said this.' That's gotta be boring."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2003, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt laughs and almost stumbles but manages a save and keeps running. "Sounds a lot like my job, actually. We might be the prima donnas, but we have to respond to someone who thinks they know what they want. Vampire Hunter started out as some suit's wet dream for a fantasy game that people could play on the matrix in VR. VR just makes things harder, not easier. There is so much to do to try to make things either cartoony enough or realistic enough."

"I guess we both answer to someone who wants the moon."

Meira was having trouble making any sort of connection with this guy, and was starting to worry that her attempt to fake common ground was showing. Assassinations, stings, and infiltration didn't really have much to do with programming and hardware design. She'd worked with deckers before, and couldn't make sense of anything they said, but at least they were on the same side of the fence. Even when she was on the right side of the law, she'd always been military - her whole professional life up to this point has been dangerous.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2003, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt nods as he hits a button on his console and begins to slow down to a stop. He steps from the treadmill and removes his shirt to towel off, revealing a nicely defined chest glistening with sweat. He takes some water and splashes it in his face. while drying off. He nods his head over to the hot tub. "Fancy a dip to relax some muscles? You can either go home to get a suit or...................."

Meira ceases her running as well, and looks over at him with mild amusement. No obvious cyber, but that didn't mean much - she had no cyber at all, and it didn't translate to no mods. She stretches a bit as she steps off the treadmill.

"Bold. I'll give you that. I'll pass, though. What I need is a shower and a change. Thanks for having me. And stay outta trouble - I'll see you around the neighborhood."

Her weapon of choice was easy to hide, but she wasn't confident that she could hide it on a bikini, and sure as hell didn't trust this guy enough to be unarmed around him. Not yet, anyway. Besides, she had prep work to do. Next up was a shower, then a quick dye job. While the black was setting, she figured she could give her old squadmate a call and figure out just what the hell Monique had told him.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2003, Matt's House, Seattle


Matt grins and shrugs. "Hey, sometimes bold works. I thought I would take a chance." He walks you to the door of the house. "Hey no trouble. Thanks for the help moving in and I hope you liked the game and the exercise room enough to want to come back. With your swimming suit next time or not. You have my com code so give me a call." He smiles again and watches you leave before shutting the door.

A shower and dye job later, you feel ready to contact your guy. He answers on the second ring. >>Hey there. I was thinking you would have called much sooner. Unless that woman did not talk to you yet<<

"Hey Karyth. Yeah, I talked to your girlfriend. Didn't know you had a thing for humans, but I guess she's exotic, yeah?" Meira chuckles and adds, "What the hell did she say to you, Omae? She creeped me the hell out. Gonna go meet her contact tomorrow looking like a respectable adult."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2100, Meira's House, Seattle


>>Hey there. No name calling or I drop your sorry ass from my friends list. Whatever that woman is, she is no girlfriend to me. Got to agree with you about the creeping out bit, though. My little senses were all atingle, if you know what I mean. Lots more to her than what she shows, or I know nothing about people. She had your name and apparently knows all about you, at least the official stuff. And I would bet that she knows some of the unofficial stuff, too. You watch out with that one. Some sort of Fixer, is my guess, but not your normal stay-at-a-desk sort. My gut says she knows her way around a killzone.<<

You can almost see him splutter. >>Respectable adult? Yeah, I would think you should try that. Probably should do more than just look like one, Omae. Try acting like one. Good luck to you if this is your ticket out of here.<<

"I mean, I already dyed my hair and got a subscription for business attire for my AR overlay. Gonna wear makeup over the tattoo tomorrow. Still don't know what they want me to do yet - I got partial upfront just for agreeing to the meeting. It's in the park though. Place is still crawling with K-E. Means it's probably not an ambush, but it doesn't exactly play to my strengths either."

She starts taking her gun apart to clean it as she talks to him.

"New neighbor moved in today. Something's off about him. I think I'm going to bug his place. I know I'm not a very good liar, but he did all but call me a runner. Tried to give me a bodyguard gig."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2100, Meira's House, Seattle


There is a chuckle on the other end of the line. >>I know what you say, Meira, but I think you would make a great bodyguard. It isn't always about being bigger than the guy, just smarter and quicker than the bad guy. Thinking how you would do the other guy's job and then eliminating that risk. Another job, omae, and sometimes they pay well. Anyway, watch out for the new guy, If your senses tell you something is off, they might be right.<<

"You might have a point." She starts wiping the parts down and inspecting them for flaws. "I'll get some surveillance on him sooner rather than later. Actually, I'm going to make another call after we hang up. And maybe I need a better cover story than 'I buy groceries and stuff for rich people so they don't have to do it themselves.' Hey, anything I need to know about Tir? I know your job isn't my problem anymore, but you never know."

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2102, Meira's House, Seattle


>>That's your cover line? Girl, you DO need a better one than that. << There is a slight pause. >>As to the Tir, there is something going on. Prince level, you know. Nothing but rumors trickling down to our level, and you know what believing in rumors will get you. If I hear anything worth anything I will let you know.<<

"Ugh, royalty."

Meira never could manage to care about the system the way she was expected to. Still, she couldn't deny the amount of influence. If something was going on there, it could spell trouble for people who actually mattered.

"Alright, keep me posted. Thanks, buddy."

Hanging up, she scrolls through her contacts. Pug was an obvious next choice - she needed those bugs if she was going to put surveillance on her new neighbor. But then her eyes settle on Volley. If this guy has dirt on him already, Volley would be the guy to find out. Sure, Avery could run a background check, but unless the crime sticks, they usually wipe it from your record. She decides to give Volley a call first, putting her weapon back together.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2103, Meira's House, Seattle


Volley does not pick up until the fourth ring and he sounds a bit peeved. >>Yeah? Better be good to interrupt me at this time of night. What do you need, Meira?<<

Meira offers an exaggerated scoff in response, clearly not taking his annoyance seriously.

"Pfffft! Come on, Volley. Don't act like you'd rather get a call in the morning. I'm going to give you a name and an address. The address is brand new - guy wasn't living there yesterday. Need you to see what you can dig up on him. Matt Carson is his name." She offers his address and adds, "He's a matrix programmer, so be careful. What's this going to run me?"

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2103, Meira's House, Seattle


>>Depends on how much you want to know, how much dirt you want, and how much time it takes me. Five hundred minimum and scales up from there. If you are interested, and have the ching, I will start right after you tell me what you want.<<

"I need to know who he works for, and whether or not that's a cover. Any past work and possible criminal or security ties, too. Don't get yourself shot, or I'll be pissed."

Next up on her list was Pug. She really needed to stop putting off getting her SecurTech addons coated to match her chameleon suit, but she'd probably keep doing it anyway. Bugs were on her agenda for this call.

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2103, Meira's House, Seattle


>>Sure, sure. Just some general stuff, then. I thought you wanted some real dirt. How fast do you need this?<<

If Volley was slow to pick up, Pug is right on top of it. >>Hey, Doll, long time no hear. What do you need and how fast? I can hear the clock ticking and it is saying money.<<

"Sooner would be better than later, but you just do your thing and get back to me when you have the info."

After hanging up with Volley, Pug's enthusiasm was a welcome change - his energy always made her chuckle.

Hey yourself. Yeah, I've been lazy, but I have a new pet project. I need to put up some discreet surveillance. What do you have for me?"

Wednesday 12 June 2076 2103, Meira's House, Seattle


>>Depends on what you want. I can get you sensors, drones, a person to do legwork and tailing, you name it I can probably get it for you. Of course, you get what you pay for, so you got to think of the quality you want as well. When does this need to be available or onsite somewhere?<<

"I've got a bit of a DIY mood going. Cameras, with audio. I don't need thermal and the like - I just need it to be hard to notice. Need them to send data to a hub so I don't have to go pull them every time I want to watch a recording. I wouldn't mind having them tonight if you can swing it."