@All - The Hispanic woman rests her head against a knuckled fist and closes her eyes. She pinches the bridge of her nose and lets outs a heavy sigh. Reluctantly, she relaxes her pinching grip and opens her eyes. "Six thousand." Said Quantum Princess dryly. "I can do six thousand per runner. And not a penny more." She arches her head toward Harbinger. Her age, her weariness, becoming more pronounced as she does. "Abominations? They used to be metahumans, you know. Not so different than you or I. You act as if they nothing more than monsters." There was a hint of sarcasm in the older woman's words. Maybe pity as well. It was hard to tell. She seemed very disinterested in the meeting. Probably due to the fact that she'll end be paying fifty percent more for the job than she originally had intended.

Quantum Princess turns her stoic face to meet Karmakaze's. Piercing her with QP's deep-violet cybereyes. With golden atoms symbols for pupils. "Don't presume anything yet, girl. But... here's what I can tell you. I've created two new wireless repeater units from scratch myself. Their purpose is to strengthen the wireless signals of the Matrix modules. To help repair Matrix connectivity itself. One unit per module. No assembly required. Just plug and play. The first node is located at Chicago's Midway Airport, about three kilometers inside the CZ. The second is located in Garfield Park, just off of I-290, about six kilometers inside the CZ and only about four kilometers from the outer rim of the Cermak fallout zone. Any questions so far?"

David was surprised that these negotiations worked... he never considered doing that. He was just happy to be invited. He placed the points on his map. "Why do fake-bugs need the matrix?" he thoughts but he nodded to indicate that he was listening and there were no questions.

Titan looked around the table to see if anyone else was going to speak up. When it didn't look like there would be anyone else, he said in a low raspy voice. "Yeah, I got several. Let's start with: I take it that all of us are skilled enough to do this module swap?" He looked around the table again. "That is why no one has checked to see if we are even qualified to do this job yet?"

He doesn't really give time for anyone to respond before he continues. "We are gonna need some of the money up front. I figure twenty to twenty five percent should do. I will need a toolkit, and I can't speak for the rest." He gestures around the table, and waits for some answers before he asks his other questions.

Karmakaze

Karma follows up Titan's request, "36 is satisfactory. We will also require a toolkit with any specialized tools that may be required included for our technician, as well as 12 up front to be spent on other gear that may be required."

@Titan - Quantum Princess looks at you with a smirk now. Almost as if she's amused by what you said. "Actually, that's the reason why such an eclectic mess of runners were hired. Each one of you with your own strengths and weaknesses. Some with an affinity for guns. A few are magical. While some are good with tech, computers and drones and such. You're the only person here with the rudimentary technical aptitude required to install my transmitter upgrades. Besides me of course. If you didn't then I'd have to tag along for this adventure. This mission won't be particularly hard for the likes of you all. It's more of a test than a true shadowrun. That's why I'm not giving any money up front. I need to know you're competent and willing to improvise if and when the situation demands it. And a toolkit won't be required to install my upgrade units. I've made them simple enough that even a caveman can do it."

@Karmakaze - The older woman goes back to you again. Her expression softens a bit at the sound of your voice. Maybe the proper tone you've shown a seasoned runner had some sort of effect on QP. She sighs dishearteningly before saying. "Alright. Since you've asked nicely, I can pay one thousand up front. And the other five once you've completed the job. No more. No less. Again, a toolkit shan't be required for my upgrades. There really isn't a whole lot to the damn things. Just give them to Titan and let him install them. Now, it's getting late for me. You'll have the rest of today to pull this off. Take too long and I'll consider you all failed to do as I ask. You'll have until tomorrow to finish. Remember, this is a test. Not a very difficult one mind you. If you have any further questions or if you want to let me know you've succeeded then let me leave you my information before I go."

@All - Without further ado, Quantum Princess sets upon the table a briefcase with the transmitter upgrade units. Along with her commcode. She slots all of you one thousand nuyen before departing into the snowy landscape outside. Officially speaking, you have less than twenty four hours to complete the run at the a fore mentioned upgrade sites. Failure to do so means you forfeit your payday.

David packed the remaining of his 20 pizzas and moved them to his Morgan. "Who said they were needing a ride? Two seats in the Morgan."

Harbinger rumbled: "I call shotgun. Or lightning strike if you want to be more accurate. Let's go."

"I will ride with you, David."

David said "Great Karma... There are two 'seats' the gunner seats with an assault rifle connected, and there is one next to the driver."

To the rest, he said "Meet you all in the first installation point?

"How in the hell did Quantum Princess step away from this fucking table without me getting a chance to ask the remaining questions.... She must have magic."

Titan watched the two leaving two of their team members behind, including the only one of them skilled enough to do the job - as well as the gear they needed to do it. "I wonder when the drekhead amateurs will realize..."

He takes a swig from his flask, and leans back in his chair.

Karmakaze

"Before we leave, shouldn't we make a plan? Is there a place we can meet up and go over the details, instead of running in blind? If no one has a safe house, I am sure we can find a hangout that is suitable to our needs."

"We get there, shoot back at anyone that shoots at us - secure a perimeter install the device and move to the next location... do we really need a plan? I mean plans require information and information we do not have.

Harbinger shrugged:
"I concur. The CZ is chaotic. Every attempt to plan beyond general protocol is doomed to fail.
My response to astral threats is pretty much: Detect, defend, destroy. For mundane threats I usually drop the middle part as it's easier to eliminate threats than contend with them."

Karmakaze

"That is exactly why I think that we should have some sort of a plan. At least a rendezvous point before we all just race into the chaos, and all goes to hell."

@Karmakaze - Your background knowledge of the containment zone brings one location to mind above all else. Wrigley Dome. Called Haven by most residents now, it became the only safe place in the morass of infestation and violence during the Bug City crisis. Knight Errant police made their stand here before the bomb went off, as well.

@All - So this is why they call Chicago the Windy City. The wind blasts your vehicle every minute or so, and even when it’s not gusting you can still feel the constant movement of air. The snow is still falling, being blown about, and in general piling up where it most easily gets in the way. The best part about the snow is that there’s enough on the ground to fill in most of the pot- holes, but that’s little comfort because it means you’re driving on ice as much as pavement. From blocks away you can see the CZ wall, a two-story barricade of rubble topped with razorwire. It’s not so much a wall as the ruins of entire city blocks that were leveled to provide building materials. Guard towers stick out of the wall every hundred meters or so, watching into the CZ. The gates hang partway open, and the guard towers are dark, a sign of the reopening of the Zone. If you thought the civilized parts of Chicago were run down, inside the wall gives a bad name to war zones. Occasionally, what passes for a road ends in an overturned skyscraper, a testament to the lack of maintenance and the wholesale destruction that seem commonplace inside the Zone. Officially, Midway Airport has been shut down for years because it fell inside the Containment Zone. These days, its pock-marked runways still prevent any air travel other than VTOL fights, and mostly it’s business of the illegitimate kind that runs through Midway. The snow appears to have shut down the airport; a few building lights are on, but aside from the wind there’s an eerie silence that tells you that there are no fights today. Your destination, the control tower, is dark. However, you can make out two human-sized silhouettes flanking the door, holding assault rifles.

David navigates the car slowly and carefully in the CZ. He feels at home, which means his guns are loaded.



He stops the car about long away from the control tower, outside of the range for assault rifles. He carefully aims the sniper rifle, and asks "Easiest is to just kill them from distance outside of the range of their puny assault rifles."

"I'd have expected that someone wants to talk with those guys. But if you insist, I can soften them up from a distance with a few stun balls" Harbinger replied

Friday, January 4th 2075. 11:35 PM

Titan looks over to the elf sitting at the table with him. The only other one left of the team as that had, just a moment ago, agreed to do a job. Together.

"I guess no one is coming back?" The elf at the table shakes his head in response.

Titan connects to his burner comm and sends a text message to their employer. << Quantum Princess > Your team fell apart moments after you walked out on the negotiations. They left me, their tech, and your modules behind. If any of them can rub their brain cells together to contact you to find out where their V.I.P teammate is, let me know where they want to meet. Otherwise, I expect to hear from you in about twenty hours to know where I can drop your modules off to you and return your advance.
Titan>>

Titan connects to his main comm in his SUV and uses it to program the autopilot to drive up to the back side entrance of the pizzeria that the delivery truck was using.

"I have a car coming for me in a couple of minutes. Can I drop you somewhere?" The elf nods to him.

And with that, the Dwarf Titan takes the case of modules as he and the Elf Aeron drive off into the snowy landscape.

Karmakaze

"Well I guess no plan, then," Karma said, probably to herself, as the car rolled toward the CZ. "We can use the Wrigley Dome as a fall back rendezvous if we can't meet back at the Pizzeria..."

The vehicle slid to a stop, and David gets out and pulls a rifle. Thankfully Harbinger, says he can stun them. No need for bloodshed. That would be-

"Holy frag! You don't just go around killing people you psychopath!"

"No people... scum. ..and please no magic... attracts bugs. " David said and squized the trigger.

"Suit yourself. Tell me when you want some help." Harbinger got out of the car and took position aside the road behind heavy cover, keeping an eye open on the astral to neutralize any threats from that side of the barrier. He was interested to learn how the mad guy would fare against those people.

@Jaws - You hold your breath for several seconds as you line up your shot. The second you see one of the shadow's heads directly inside your crosshairs is when you pull the trigger. Caught unaware, the guard's head explodes like a ripe watermelon. His body tumbles over the ledge of the tower and onto the ground below. If it weren't for your teammates pestering you, you might have been able to get another shot off at the second guard. It's too late now. The guardsman has taken a defensive position after seeing his mate's brains plaster the side of the tower's wall.

@Titan - After a minute or two of waiting, you hear a reply back from Quantum Princess. <<They probably expected you to follow them once they left. I suspect they'll be on their way to the first upgrade site. My advice, rendezvous with them there.>>

(If you decide to do just that, you'll arrive to see Jaws with a sniper rifle taking a potshot at a distant target. With Harbinger and Karmakaze close by.)

@Harbinger - As you situate yourself behind a collapsed concrete wall, you see three astral forms speeding towards you guys. If you can focus your third eye you can maybe determine what exactly is coming for you.

Three incoming spirits meant quite a lot of mojo available. A real mage would have sent a few of his own slaves to deal with the problem, but Harbinger only knew of one way to deal with such a threat: Overwhelming force: In quick succession he fired three stun balls through astral space to get the spirits attention - and hopefully weaken them enough for a killing blow.

@Harbinger - The astral forms felt bizarre and out of place. They're aura color looked like snot yellow-green mucus. The same color that shows up when certain places or when certain individuals are tainted by insect magic. Sadly, they weren't moving in close enough proximity to be hit by your stunball barrage all at once.

David frowned and cursed, "Too slow be quiet..." he said and aimed the sniper rifle at the guard taking cover. He skillfully released the second shot with the tranquility of a master sniper.

@Jaws - The guardsman tried to evade your attack, but in his effort to duck out of the way he ended getting his shoulder clipped instead. The shot pierces all the way through and leaves a nasty bloodied hole. He hits the tower floor like a sack of hammers.

The message shocks Titan to his core and causes an instant headache.

<< Quantum Princess > You suspect? That is the best you have? You see, when our prospective employer childishly walked out in the middle of negotiations, nearly everyone else bolted as well without even grunting a "piss off." It is impossible to guess where they are. I can not say if they are together, or went their separate ways. If they are off to their favorite, or nearest, bar to piss away your advance, or on the job. If, and I do mean if, they are on the job I have no idea where they went, or where they might expect me. Fuck, I can't even tell you they have even remembered they can't do the job without me. I have no idea which of the upgrade sites is first, since they are so helpfully not labeled. I don't know how to get into the CZ.
That.
Is.
Not.
What.
I.
Was.
Hired.
For.
I have no way to get to them, or even how to guess where they are. Even if I get the 50 / 50 guess right of which point they start with, I have no idea how to get there. If I manage, somehow, to get over and past that obstacle, each area is about a square kilometer to search, with no way of ensuring we even see each other.

And since you are only guessing, I take it none of them could pull their heads out of their hoops long enough to realize they fragged the whole job up.

You need to screen your prospected employees much better.

Now, I am turning off my comms so I can sleep of this fragging headache. I don't expect to even see a Ticker tomorrow about three dumbasses getting themselves killed in the CZ, because I bet they are spending your money instead.

I'll contact you in about twelve hours to return your modules and your advance to you.>>

And with that, Titan turns wireless off on everything. "At least this job is over."

Karmakaze

Karma was horrified when the second guard fell in a pink mist. This is not what she signed up for. While shadowruns were technically illegal, she always found work in the gray areas. Assassinating two poor souls just going about their lives is definitely not in the gray area.

She just stared at David, unable to speak.

"Problem solved... " David declared. He caught the glimpse of Karma but was uncertain how to respond. Respect for life was a distant memory. He had more respect for the ammo and equipment... He wanted to say something but had no idea what to do. He grinned at her.

It was then when the elemental spirits arrived...

@Harbinger - One of the astral forms attempts to overwhelm your mind with dread. Making you want to flee and run as far away as you possibly can.

Harbinger let the fear wash over him, but didn't let himself get distracted. "Is that all you have?"

Karmakaze

"Fucking hell," Karma noted, as she started to pull her ISX. First I find myself working with a reverse Charles Whitman, now spirits. And we aren't even in the CZ yet.

Shutting off his connection to the Astral, Harbinger focused on the foes that were more pressing at the moment: A vaguely humanoid made of fire had appeared, prompting him to send a lightning bolt down range at it. But the cunning beast evaded the strike, forcing Harbinger to change position and also keep his senses poised for the other spirit to arrive from the astral.

@Jaws - As you lower your rifle you hear something tear and ripple behind you. You feel oddly warmer and you hear the crackle of flames coupled with the smell of burning wind.

@Karmakaze - You barely have the time to whip out your gun before being accosted. One of the spirits manifested behind you and tried a bear-hug grapple maneuver. It misjudged the evasiveness of it's target completely and you soundly move out of the way.

Karmakaze

"Drek," Karmakaze managed as she tripped out of the way of an air elemental. She further reacted by firing a three-round burst from her SMG, not knowing if it would even have an affect, or if it would just pass through.

While the other spirit materialized, Harbinger tried to take out that cursed Air Spirit. But once again, the thing evaded his lightning strike with ease.

David smashes the fire spirit with a single punch, causing it to dissipate. His hands are glowing with a faint purple light and his eyes are colder and darker than usual. They are different, like the eyes of a beast. He scoffed and said "Pathetic".

Harbinger was getting angry. With a hate fueled lightning bolt he took out the dodging air elemental.

@All - The fight had been intense so far but it looks like its coming close to an end. Only an ethereal greenish-pale spirit visibly remained. Stuck in the air like a dead man being hanged from a noose. It took the appearance of a bony, misty wraith.

Karmakaze

Karmakaze targeted the remaining ghost with her smg, knowing it wouldn't do much damage, but maybe draw attention while the wizards dispatched it. The burst looked true, but how do you hit something that isn't completely there?

Jaws felt a suggestive voice in his mind - telling him to target Karma. He considered it for a brief moment but then decided to target the pesky Gini wannabee that ignored gravity. Fake bug spirits were the true source of evil...

@Karmakaze - Your bullet barrage rips through the translucent specter. Causing it to stagger and 'bleed' a little ectoplasm. It moans horribly, it won't take such an offense lightly.

@Jaws - Foreign thoughts attempt to invade your mind. Whispering to you that Karmakaze is really a flesh form bug and that she'll eat you as soon as you turn your back to her. Luckily, you see through the spirit's ruse and fire off a shot at it in reprisal. The round connects with ease and absolutely shreds the pale spirit, painfully disrupting it.

@Harbinger - You hear a loud tearing sound and before you know it another angry humanoid shape of fire stands in front of you.

Harbinger conjured yet another lightning bolt and let it tear into the materialized spirit:
"Could one of you gunslingers go in their and nail that damn conjurer? Those spirits are really annoying to deal with."

David got back to the driver seat and took whomevervis in the car close to the control tower.

@All - Off in the distance, you see a dwarf scrambling out of the tower. Judging by the frantic, panicked movements he was making he was clearly terrified. He rushes toward the tower ladder and zips down the cold railing. Not stopping to help or see to his fallen friends, he pushed his body as far as it could take him. His short legs never ceased moving. The only direction for him to go was deeper into the Containment Zone. And just like that, the fight was won. With two dead corp-sec guards and a third running for his life. This would be all fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that two members of the team haven't arrived yet. Especially considering that Titan was the one who had the matrix units.

David scanned the corpses and unarmed them, then he examined the control tower to make sure that it was clean. After a short, while he texted Titan >> Location secure... we are waiting. Attached is a GPS coordinate. Don't deviate from main roads unless you have spare bullets.

@All - Several uncomfortable minutes pass on by as the cold wind continues to blow in your ears. Sapping the heat from your body and causing any exposed skin to be dry and cracked. Out of nowhere your commlinks all ring at once. When you go to check whom it is you see the static image of your fixer's face, Slim Charles. <<Bad news crew. I just got word from QP that one of yours was involved in an accident. Titan got himself wrecked in a head-on collision. Roads get slippery when icy. She was kind enough give me the locale of the accident. Sending you the coordinates now if you wish to pay your respects.>> A file containing the car wreck's location, and pictures of the crash scene itself, is forwarded at the end of the comm call. Titan got hit by another driver at a stoplight next to Ammo Jims. From what you could tell it looks like it killed him instantly.

David smiles "If we hurry there is some nice bonus for us... Besides the scumbag carried the parts for the repair on himself." He gestured to the rest to get into Morgan and once they're ready David will carefully drive to get the parts.

Karmakaze

"Well. That is a damn shame. He seemed like a likeable person," Karma added.