>@Team >Oh, and FFS, will someone disarm and Kynos before he gets in the truck. Put him in containment manacles too, just in case he has a shotgun arm and none of us noticed. I'm thankful to him and all, but he's a heavily armed sociopath who doesn't work out of the kindness of his own heart and we have valuable items and a VIP who is incapacitated.

>I'm too tired to deal with that drek.>>

The loot had taken a bit of a beating from the ice grenade, but some of the more sturdy bits - especially those made of diamonds, gold and platinum were still in good shape.
To get back to the first floor was more of a problem, since the stairs had been destroyed.

Zola had on him a few rings and chains that to Anna's eyes looked like five, very potent spell foci as well as one that must be a high quality centering focus.

To Slobber's text she replied ">> I doubt he'll want to be disarmed. He needs us to get off this island and to get paid. You do not have to be friends. The only sociopath was Zola, Kynos is my hero. We might not have made it without him.

Her eyes widened as she digested the magical loot "6 foci... It would take time but... It is a big step for me. Nice!" Anna pocketed the rings and chains, and then went back to the loot. The lack of stairs was no problem, as she could simply levitate the loot down to the car. Or levitate herself before the loot, if she needed to establish a line of sight.

Damaged or not damaged they'll sort it off later, once they got off this rock. She entered after the loot, nervous and feeling alive. "Did you see Flatline and Kite? Are they okay? How do we get out of here? Is the submarine still an option? Where do I put the loot?" She asked bnc and the rest. Clearly too excited to lay down.

The question for Flatline and Kite was answered by Kynos: "The mage killed your rigger. I knocked out the mage with a taser. Took me a moment to get the rigger gear working so I could use the car."

While Slobber retreaved his grenades and other valuables, he realized that the Jaguar warrior also carried a few pieces of jewelry, that looked very much like foci:

The straight, saphire knife, still covered in Schmitt's blood, a chain with a shield amulett as well as a small locket made from gold.

>@Team>Oh god, you're going to slot the psychopath elf because this time he murdered someone evil, aren't you.

>Anna you can suck his dick on the ride back for all I care, I just don't need another highly-skilled killer putting a gun in my face today.>>

"Anna, bnc. So I've got some trinkets down here as well. I need your trained eyes to make sure we're not missing something.

"Would it be possible to leave something on these two corpses to implicate them as paranoid Azzie blood-magic users?"

>> Solb that comment makes me uncomfortable, don't be that guy.

About Kynos, disarm him yourself if you want. It would be fun to watch... No... seriously we need to GTFO not argue.

Anna replied "The entire place is tainted with astral signatures, most of them Zola's some are mine. Zola did some very high forced spells and I think the signatures would clearly be Blood magic-induced and would last for hours. I'll astrally project and clean up my own signatures very soon... or else they'll call me Harry Potter in the university." She looked to see if she finds Flatline and if not would ask where he might be.

Slobber pocketed the trinkets that he could recognize, he'd have bnc look at them later.

>@Team> Frag dammit I'll be the one to disarm him then.>>

Slobber grumbled rather loudly, pawing at his mask where his temple would be. "Why do I always have to do the pragmatic drek. You'd think on my last real day of this fragging job I could just get simple request like disarm the psycho mercenary without getting questioned. I gut a Jaguar warrior, geek my second Azzie blood mage in two years, came up with this absurd gas plan for this stupid heist and these people still don't listen to me when I suggest we not needlessly expose ourselves to additional risk of dying. There are already 10 people dead because of us today, can we maybe not risk more."(Orzet) Slob would continue grumbling as he came to the main foyer, loading the grenades into his launcher.

Slob composed himself and walked up to Kynos to speak with him. "Alright, you can come with us. There's a condition though.

"Our boss had his neck cut open, and was exposed to a heart-affecting toxin. He's already going to be waking up in a truck or sub with a dead rigger, the rigger's blood, a mage and decker that will look dead because they're unconscious or in the matrix, and Anna's bloody face as decoration. I don't also need him waking up to one of Zola's henchmen, who he didn't see shoot a blood mage, in perfect health carrying an Ares Alpha. A cardiac arrest from the stress and terror would be pretty awful for all of us right now. I also spoke to your previous coworkers here a while back, and none of them gave you a good score on your performance review when it came to social networking.

"So if you would be so kind as to hand over your weapon to the troll and put on these plasteel restraints. I'll give Anna the tools to cut you free. She trusts you, so I ask you to trust her."

Anna had a lot to say, but she was wounded from the dispell attempt and from levitating within the background count of that damn abomination. She did not have it in her to watch the two alpha males clash... So, she decided to avoid the conflict, at least for a few moments. She opened her face part of the helmet, knowing that she looked like something exploded inside her head, with blood popping out of her ears and eyes. "I don't like it Kynos, you saved my life and I feel indebted to you. I trust you alright. As you can see, I am not the one calling the shots. Please, there are 10 people dead, the bank manager murdered along with his bodyguard. The vault emptied... We look like the bad guys in this story and their HTR team is not going to give us a chance to explain. We need to be out of here."

Pausing she said... "but there is something I need to do to protect my loved ones from my terrible life choices. I'll be back soon...", she brought down the face cover and projected from the car. Anna would wipe out her astral signatures, not daring to summon again after what she did to the last three spirits. The tingling sensation of leaving her body and its pains was a release, now she was in a different world. A world she really liked...

Anna had no trouble finding Flatline: He lay unconscious on the front passenger seat, the needles of a taser dart still embedded in his neck. The slumped over form of Kite lay over his blood covered legs. Her throat had been slashed with the sure hand of a surgeon, the skalpell still in the unconscious man's hand.


Kynos shrugged: "I'll want that back." before handing over his rifle, followed by a Savallete Guardian and a Taser "but I object to plasteel shackles. It's stupid to restrain me when we are on the run.
Contrary to what you have seen here, I'm not in the habit of betraying people. If you lot hadn't handed me the proof that Zola planned to sacrifice me I wouldn't have bothered to break you out. And don't worry: I'll be gone before your boss wakes up. I'm not even particularly interested in a share - even though your rigger's has opened up.
I always pay back what I owe. And right now - from my perspective - we are square. And you doing me a favor by taking me with you certainly counts as a favor I owe you. So take it or leave it. I've got about 3/4 of an hour air left in this armor. If necessary I'll walk through the lake, no hard feelings."
Kynos looked expectantly at the pile of weapons

"Fine. Special K, keep an eye on his guns."

"I'll drive. I'm in good sha-" Slob grunted as he felt some of his nimbleness leave him, "I'm good to drive."

Slobber checked the clock. "About 3 minutes left."

"In test runs we got this stuff out in 2 minutes. bnc, Anna, it's your call. Get the stuff or get in the Van pronto.

She replied "What about the submarine?"

bnc returned from her dive in VR to find the team in frantic movement to secure the remaining loot, the two blood mages dead on the floor and the erstwhile bodyguard helping to load up the pretty banged up Rover. Schmitt's life signs were stable but even a bad sneeze would likely put him in mortal danger in this state.
Inside the Rover it was cramped - especially since they were sharing the place with a bled out corpse. But at least the boat house wasn't far away.
Not a second too soon the Rover left the crime scene. Whatever SIN Schmitt had used to buy or lease the car would be burned so hard that it could be seen from space. Only when the doors of the boat house closed behind them and the minisub was were they had left it, the team found themselves able to breath freely again.

On the ride back, Slob found that his mood wasn't improved by the pile of loot in the truck. He was still didn't trust Kynos, and his mind wouldn't give him the satisfaction of just focusing on that. Kite's dead body was bad enough, but Slob's thoughts kept going to the faces of the slaughtered security team that he had spoken to just a few week earlier. It wasn't just the first time in years he'd had a team member die, it was the first time in years that bystanders were physically harmed during his work. In the past year, Schmitt had twice asked Slob to kill a blood mage, and Josiah was well past being tired of it.

Slob kept those thoughts to himself and kept his helmet on. The only communication he initiated was a message sent to Krestov about Kynos and his weapons.

>@Krestov> Reload Kynos's guns with gel ammo before you give them back to him. If we run into more trouble, let's make sure he follows doc's no-killing rules. Also check him for transmitters to make sure he isn't broadcasting our location to anyone. He doesn't betray his boss, but he never said he is working for us.>>

When the rover arrived, Slob stepped out to greet Mike and explain what exactly he was about to see coming out of the cramped vehicle.

"Good news first. We have doc's fragging toy and some rich pricks' diamond necklaces. Zola and Ramirez are definitely dead. We also blew up a Horror Idol or something.

"That's about it for good news. Here's the rest of it. The boss is unconscious, and is going to need to wear turtlenecks from now on. Zola and Ramirez killed all of the guards on that shift." He paused. "Kite is dead. Zola used mojo to force Flatline to kill her. We'll need to burn every last bit of this Rover to clean up the trail it's going to leave. Oh, and Kynos is here. He helped kill Zola. Say hi. Maybe that's good news, whatever."

Anna spent the ride with poor Flatline, looking at the mage but not knowing what to say. He murdered kite with his surgeon's hands - it was a big blow to someone following the protector. They shared that belief, but to her, it was all less developed and she did not feel very comfortable to mention her magical patron. "It was not your fault..." she whispered to the man that was sobbing sadly. Anna wanted to shout, to cry... to do something to wake up from that nightmare. She took her helmet off as soon as they entered the safehouse, she needed to breathe.

Anna quickly levitated the loot to the minisub, arranging it as much as she could. She needed the action, and was silent, uncharacteristically for her. Once the subs were loaded, she glanced at Mike and said "We'll need to modify the plan, too much heat too many dead bodies and Schmidt is not in any shape to fence that loot before he recovers somewhat. Mike, do we have some new vehicle that we can use to leave the island? Perhaps after a shower and in clean clothes?

Also, do we know anything about Kite? Friends? Family? Or are we just going to get rid of the body? I mean... oh frag it, Mike what would you do in this case?"

Anna's eyes were wet and she could barely look at Kite, or at Mike. She was ashamed of herself. Clearly, she was responsible for Kite's death... but Eve... Eve might have been killed as well and see Kite lying like that made her feel the epic moral failure. Zola probably killed her, but Anna helped to pick Eve. She liked her body and thought that her pictures were vouge enough to impersonate her successfully... It was no reason to die. The thrill passed, and Anna felt empty and hollow. So what if they robbed a bank? dozens of people were dead...

Feeling vulnerable and awkward Anna begun stripping the armor unceremoniously. "If nobody objects, and we are still trying to cross the border... I need to be first in the shower. I can not be seen like this in public.". She said, struggling not to mentally fall apart.

She mentally texted bnc >> join me if you are not too busy.

"Oh, Anna, before I forget." Slobbertooth handed Anna the magical trinkets he'd taken off of Ramirez. "Do what you want with them, just as long as you keep their blood magic knives and medalions away from me"

She was a bit surprised - but could not refuse the much larger orc. "From the Jaguar I presume... I'll have a look once I clean up a bit. I... I will keep them away from you if this is what you wish. "

Slob's behavior seemed to her as narrow-minded, to give up on a useful and powerful tool just because the previous owner was a murderous blood adept. A gun was a gun regardless of the owner, why would foci be any different? Though at her current emotional state, and his - she dared not educate him on the matter. Besides, bnc seemed to be far more knowledgeable about magic than Anna ever thought she would be. Though, could someone really study the topic theoretically without ever experiencing it? It seemed like a deaf man composing music.

Mind racing, virtual fingers flying, bnc maneuvered through the Ubermensch, activating drones, preventing alarms as good as possible. Finally, she found the armed vehicles, brought them in position ... and found their enemy dead.
Not able to hear Anna's shouts, bnc is taken by surprise as Kynos enters. For a moment, she aims for him, but soon realizes he's on our side - for the moment. She spins around, checks cameras, maneuvers, controls ... and finally the realization sinks in.
It's over.
bnc turns off VR.

Upon getting up, she feels dizzy. The drugs still working in her systems attempt to counterfeit the numb calmness growing in her, and she leans to the wall for a second. With the air of someone who just stepped out of his chamber, bnc walks out on the corridor. When she meets the rest of the team, she realizes how she must look and comes up with a fast quip. Did you just call me slitch? But the words wouldn't leave her throat. Instead, she just stutters: "Did ... did we make it?"
And all of a sudden, as if waking from a dream, Slobbertooth's commanding voice jerk her out of her somnolent mood. She blinks, hears the sirens, people shouting, and adrenaline rushes through her veins. It's not over yet! Move!"
"Roger!"
She quickly sends command to the ventilation shafts to clear whatever gas is left, then instructs her agent to go through all sensors, especially cameras, that recorded our entry, and delete all of their recordings. Once it's on the move, bnc listens for moans, then checks guard after guard for signs of life.

When Slob calls for her, it feels almost like a command to bnc. Someone in charge she can trust. She runs over to him showing only faint signs of exhaustion, and checks over the foci, passing over her judgment, then returns to the guards while the others are still occupied.

I guess, if you want to mark him as what he is, you'd need to leave one of the blood rituals requisites with him. I'd pick the dagger. One, 'cause it's pretty telling even for untrained eyes, second, because it's the most probable item that is bound specifically in his tradition. Leave the dagger, take the rest. It's a shitload of money, but everything exclusively shaped for blood magic is worthless for us. Guess, nobody in the team would sell those back to these drekheads."

Then she runs over to the rover. "Let me drive. I'm the next we have to a rigger and you should be free to kill pursuers!", she offers, but doesn't argue if he refuses. She then gets in, either maneuvering the car or looking after Gerhardt. "Anna ... now that he's stabilized, I think some healing magic would be no mistake. I somehow managed to keep him alive, but the smallest thing might make the difference between life and death. Please.

Finally, they are back. bnc feels sick, after all the horrors they envisioned, and despite having grown up on the street, she was far away from being a hardened professional. Also, she knew that the drugs would wear off soon and that the rebounce would be devestating. She was looking forward to some of the worst hours she would have ever lived.
Because of that, she doesn't even reply to Anna. She only makes sure that either Flatline or Anna see to Gerhardt's wounds, and prepares a makeshift hospital bed for him. Before the effects of the drugs wear off entirely, she pulls our her medical stuff and takes care of Gerhardt's wounds.

"Team, I ... how much time do we have before we leave here?"

Mike's tele presence answered on the team line:
<<Well, shit. Good of you to keep the boss alive - I hate looking for a new employer at my age.
But first things first: Don't worry about fencing the stuff. That's my part anyway. The boss gave me all necessary codes anyway. Get in the sub and come back to the safe house. I'm pretty sure it's not compromised. Most of the stuff is already gone, but the showers have still plenty of hot water. There is also one of the Jonas Pods with the Valkryie Module to take care of the Boss.

Your new SINs are ready and you can go where ever you want from there, although the boss has taken the liberty of reserving you first class tickets for the noon suborbital to Munich. Personally I plan to visit a few of my relatives in the Black Forrest Troll Kingdom.

As for the Merc: There is still a bit money left in the expenses retainer, I'll take care to pay him out.

See you in a few minutes.>>

Meanwhile, bnc had had time to take a look at the magical trinkets: The daggers were quite clearly weapon foci and blood magic athames - and also the weapons used to kill the guards. It was unavoidable that Schmitt had left quite a bit of DNA evidence behind, but that was his problem.
The other gear consisted of qi- and spell-foci. bnc knew that those usually could be reused without much difficulty.

To bnc's request Anna placed her hand on Schmidt, the Jhonson was very dear to her friend, she got that much. Though personally, Anna did not like him very much. He lost her when changing the objective mid-run... She somewhat blamed the distraction about debating - with the fact they lost Kite. Though she knew it was not rational... personal feelings aside, Anna took off her gauntlets and placed her well-groomed hands on the man's neck. Soft yellow light flowed from her hand into the wound, and within in less than 30 seconds the spell miraculously revived their Jhonson. Anna smiled satisfied with her work "This is why I do mojo...Thank you, Protector." she said to herself and the success somewhat made her feel considerably better.

She gently slapped the man's cheek when she was done and said "bnc did a miraculous work saving your ass... The Protector and I Thank you for giving me a chance. Few people believed in me in my short life." She looked at bnc, hoping that the girl would kiss her or join her in the shower or whatever. Anna was not even sure where the two stood. Disappointed she left to shower, suddenly aware of how messed up she looked with the blood and the tears.

It was not a long shower, a quick scrub followed by dressing in her Zoe Heritage suit... Native American high fashion...
It felt ironic, but regardless of the source the dress packed her ass quite nicely and showed some generous cleavage. It took several minutes to get the cosmetics done - but after a short while Anna looked as if she was heading for a work at the office - or perhaps even on a date. What she did not look like was an internally wounded and emotionally shaken bank-robber.


"Anyone else in need of my services? Shall we leave? Do they even speak English in Munich?"

Slob made sure that the team got into the submarine and then to the safehouse. He spent most of the trip back in the sub next to Zelda. He kept his helmet on, but took off his gloves to feel her fur. As they approached the dock, he made his first address to the team.

"When we get back inside, make sure you've got your stuff packed up and change out of this damned armor. Let's go get a drink and talk about what we do from here. Schmitt's not around to promise more incredible jobs in the future, but we can figure out how to split the loot, who's staying around, play a game of truth or dare, whatever. Some fragging thing to move on from tonight."

"Whatever it is, I want a glass of Hurlg right now, and I'll buy one for whoever comes with, too.

bnc smiles faintly when Anna mentions her part of basically bringing back an already dead man. For once, she doesn't bite back a clever quip - quite the opposite, she looks for one, but all she can bring out is: "It was nothing, really" and realizes the very same second what a dumb and pseudo-humble answer it is. She averts her gaze into nothingness - or, rather: the ARO displaying his now stable and vitel health parameters. She nods, mostly to herself, then explains to Slobbertooth what is what. "The athames are of no use to us at all - unless you want to sell them to the bloody azzies. The rest - if you don't care about their origin - are powerful weapons free to use for everyone who can and is willing to pay for. If you excuse me, I'll leave that to you orcs."

Then bnc retreats into the sub, eager to get to the safe house. From there, she voicemails Slobbertooth "I guess, I can't sedate myself yet, can I?"
Her voice sounds a bit pleading, but the question is rhetorical.
The orc can see why roughly ten minutes later when the effects of the Golden Mirror finally wear off, dumping her mood - that, combined with the still mind-sharpening effects of the Psyche and the horrors they have survived this night. First, she retreats into herself, not reacting to others, unless directly spoken to. Then she won't even react when addressed directly. Tears start rolling down her hollow cheek. Then she gets up and walks unsteadily to the sub's toilet, where she remains.

Anna spent the submarine ride watching the camera feeds and enjoying herself. She has never been in a submarine and felt very curious about the process. The internal pain was a nuisance, but she was a woman and could endure pain. She did not want to think about anything from the bank, in a way despite anything she kind of wished that she never did it. It was exciting - until people started dying and the feeling that she was intimate, and was sort of fond of that psychopath murderer shook her self-esteem to the ground.

Smiling grimly she answered slob"I already ended up sleeping with Lavandora while sober... So perhaps the influence of alcohol is an improvement in my case. I'll need a human-drink... White wine or sparkling champagne... Your orc booze would make it a very short night for me."

"I'll still buy you the drink. You can down it when your night is over.

"Or maybe just give it to some guy who's pissing you off.

Slobber put on some music for the ride back.

The ride back didn't take long - just about 10 minutes from leaving the boathouse to resurfacing in the save house. Mike was ready to help them unload. Schmitt's vitals had improved immensely and he now lay in a deep sleep instead of a coma.
Mike carried him personally into the Valkyrie Module and let the autodoc that the good doctor had build and modified take care of him.
Otherwise the save house had been cleaned pretty well - it still smelled of bleach and most of the clutter that had accumulated over the last month was gone. Instead a picknick table stood there, laden with an assortment of very hearty and expensive i.e. real breakfast food - including a few bottles of beer, soft pretzels and white sausages with sweet mustard on the side.
"The boss is missing out. Pitty. Tug in, I'll make some calls to get your loot fenced."

Anna seemed disappointed... this was not her idea of a night out... The food was good but the atmosphere was the depressing safehouse... She mumbled "Thanks Mike..." and then placed her attention on the food and drinks. She found a pretzel and a bottle of beer. Approaching slob she asked "Are we still going out after that?"

"Eat the white sausage with the sweet mustard. It's one of the few cultural achievements Germany ever managed to come up with.", bnc says with a hollow voice. Then she passes the table without another glance and walks off to her room.

"Thanks for the food Mike." Slob grabbed a bunch of food and started wolfing it down. He was surprised at his own appetite. "Mike, I hope you don't mind if I put some of this in a bag and take it home with me."

He looked over to Anna. "Yeah, we're still going out. It's good to have food in you before you drink." Slob grabbed bnc's arm as she passed by to stop her, "Like I said, I'd like to talk to all of you about the future, but I don't know where any good bars are around here. Could you do a matrix search for one, maybe with Anna's help, bnc?"

Mike shrugged: "De nada. The boss thought it would be a welcome surprise. It's almost 7.00 am now. So we can use this building for another five hours. After that it won't be very safe anymore. And don't worry, I've got some takeaway bags ready so you can make lunch boxes"

She commented, "and Brahms ... I think." but went to try the white sausage and mustered, which were good... better than 99% of the things she had. To Slob she replied "The good bars would not be open for like 11 hours... but I think we can find some private coffee house or a restaurant to crush? Perhaps we can even do an escape room... " she said and then could barely suppress a grin... Suddenly aware of the irony of it all. Everything seemed mundane, even the pile of homework she had to do due too many days of neglect. She just robbed a freaking bank and left a trail of bloody bodies in these banks... How can she possibly learn about the metaplanes now? She asked Mike "When is our flight? We can't exactly stay in this city... can We? Perhaps I'll need some time for goodbyes?"

"A restaurant is fine. I'm usually not up this late into the morning, but I've spent a fair amount of my late nights sitting at restaurant bars."

Mike replied with a very dry tone: "You can stay, but I wouldn't recommend it. Once the syndicates learn about the bank robbery, they'll start looking for you - and for the loot. And you can bet they'll have spirits searching. They'll get the footage of the traffic cams showing the van enter the boat house. From there it's just a bit of digging to learn about the new owners. When they reach that point, you better have left Seattle.
So say your goodbyes and enjoy the fact that everyone of you can walk away from this with nearly 800.000 Nuyen - now that the team is reduced in size and you got that extra bonus.
The boss will be out for about 3 hours now that his sleep regulator kicked in. At around 12.00 I'll release FAB II in this place to clean all astral traces, followed by the explosion of a faulty gas line, that will level this building."

"Temporarily leaving is fine for me. Staying away isn't.

"How long until we can come back?

Mike shrugged: "There's no fixed schedule, but generally I'd recommend a few months - get a vacation for a quarter year, before you come back."

"It's been about 10 years, I can wait a few more months, but...(Or'zet) how are we expected to get back from Munich?"

"And I assume that extra tickets aren't available?"

Anna nodded "Thanks Mike you make it sound casual. I really hope that my family is safe. I hope I did not get them into too many troubles... I owe them at least a proper goodbye. At any case, if you are willing to brave Redmond then I know just the place to visit. They make their own booze - nothing very impressive faking famous drinks but the quality is good for what you'd get in Redmond." She looked at Kynos and asked "I take it you'd be joining the flight as well? "

"Redmond? I'm familiar with the place. Where do you think I got this beautiful complexion, charming personality, and natural talent for violence? There's also someone out there that I need to contact, so he can hold onto some of my things and look after some stuff while I'm gone. Two birds with one rock, and all that."

Kynos had stood apart eating an apple, but at the question from Anna he just shrugged: "No plans yet, but I don't think it would be a good idea to travel with you - or get us associated. I am a legitimate bodyguard - as far as my taxes are concerned. I tend to avoid going home anyway - there are some family members I'm not keen to meet."

Mike answered Slobber: "The usual way: Buy yourself a ticket with some of the money you made today. Or a complete plane. For extra tickets: One is available, sadly. Kite won't need hers anymore."

When Slobbertooth grabs bnc, she snaps "Get you hairy hands off me. You know very well to search for a frigging restaurant. Gimme a break.", then leaves the room. Looking at her, she doesn't appear angry, just ... broken. You can tell she can barely contain herself. Once in her room, she shuts the door, locks it from inside, and misses the rest of the exchange of words.

Anna replied to Kynos "Well, you seem to know what you are doing.
Few people would risk their life to bust me out of a bank and then stay to face that terrible man. You did so even though I lied about my true motivations. I cannot name many friends that would have done the same for me. " Sighing she added "So... keep me in mind if you need a favor or have some work that fits my caliber. I do not plan to stay away for long. I'll keep your stealth tag or something."

She felt proud when she realized... "A Shadowrunner... not a student or a silly wage mage."


She texted bnc with her trodes.
>>Sweetie... I no longer do the crazy girlfriend routine. You are a mess, you need a hug and I care about you. Ping me if you need to talk, to hug or if you just want to be pretty and not like someone that cried for an hour.

It took a minute or two for bnc to respond.
<@Yael<dafuq makes u think u were anythg like a gf i fucked u once when we were high. watch more porn they dont marry barbie>>
Some half minute later, a second text arrives.
<@Yael<look, goldie wears off, i sewed a poisind neck wound a duzn pepl died we confronted a blood mage psyches still working just leavme allone nothg personal>>

Kynos shrugged: "I gave you my word. As I said, I do pay what is owed - including my former boss.
I'll have to exchange the barrel of my gun, but since the gun is illegal to own anyway, I don't think I'll be connected easily to that debacel.
Thankfully, Zola, may his vain sorry ass rest in pieces, decided to deal with the situation without informing anybody but his two bodyguards. And I was in fact having my free day today. If you lot don't spill the beans I'm pretty sure I can get out of this without much trouble. So don't get caught."

She nodded at Kynos and said "Impressive!" refering to how he could just carry on as normal. To bnc she replied >>We both saw some f****up things, bnc. It takes its toll on me too... but women need to talk... and we don't have many other options... It is too dangerous to discuss with outsiders and the trogs seemed to be cut out of a different cloth. Doubt they'll understand. Think about it when you calm down.

About the slotting... take it easy, we are not girlfriends... Dont get worked up about that too... I can never mention it again if that is what you want."

>@Team> You've picked the spot, send me the coordinates, will ya, Anna.

I'll drive.>>

I handed Slobber the coordinates and then texted >> Shotgun!... I was eager to visit my hood, perhaps for the first time.
>> People call me Yael in that hood, so no Anna right?

The place was unimpressive, and would not even seem to be a restaurant on the outside. Deep within Redmond, where every heap had its gang. It was a small distillery, that had a 'factory shop' - the owner of the restaurant was an elderly orc named Daniel. Which was alone at the distillery - at early morning few people came. Criminals did not like early breakfasts... The distinguished selection of booze should impress Slobber, though unless one paid extra Yael warned him that it was all fake booze. " just flash a sliver+ credstick and ask for the real stuff... Most of their clientele won't know the difference... "

"I'll be in the car in a little bit, An- er Yael. Gimme a minute. I need to check and make sure I don't forget some stuff. " Slob pulled out a burner phone and sent a message to Kazuya, with coordinates for a location close to the restaurant that the team would be eating at. He mixed the message full of Japanese and English to make it harder for anyone listening to read.

>@Kazuya> It's over. At least it will be in a few months. All of it. I'll be leaving for while in a couple hours. Can't say where. Then I'll come back and won't need to go anywhere again. I'm sorry to impose like always, but could you meet me here. There's someone I'd like you to take care of while I'm gone. In return I can teach you Or'zet when I get back.

>What kind of house would mom and dad want to grow old in?>>

He walked up to bnc's room and knocked on the door. "You coming along? I'd like it if you would join us."

This time, it took bnc nearly half an hour to respond:
<@Yael<i dont need girls to talk. if anything its someone like those trogs i need not some whining chickn like myself. u can mention our fuck as often as you want just dont pretend it was more than a drunken one-nighty. just keep your love letters to yourself or ill regret i ever let u in.>>

When Slobbertooth knocks, it takes a moment for bnc to respond, but then she says with a firm voice. "I'm coming ... just, can you give me 10 minutes for a quick shower and the least bit of make-up? I look a mess...
Where are we going?"

The ten minutes turn out to be a tad more than fifteen, but it's still fair to objectively say that she's fast. Within quarter an hour, she's showered, has done her face, chosen clothing and is ready to go. She apologizes for the delay, bites her lip in a very bnc-ish way, nods to herself (or someone she talks to over the matrix) and joins the party. She's wearing a metal bandshirt, an armor jacket, jeans and a dark-blue scarf. Tom's hidden in a hidden arm slide. The make-up conceals some of her condition, but her eyes are red and the pupils don't seem to adjust in a right speed. Still, she seems basically fine, maybe a tad nervous (which is a bit late, considering that the task to get nervous about is just behind the group).
When she's in the backseat, bnc asks almost timidly. "Umm, Slob ... you don't know perchance someone on the route who'd sell of some Novacoke? Just a can, promise, to, y'know, make me more socializable or whatever the word is."

She texted back, a bit amused by how fluently it came to her.

>> You really think that I am like you? How could you be so naive?

You are trapped in your big brain and you have this perfect memory. You are unable to put behind and forget, you can analyze every nuance and must remember every tiny detail even if it makes you bleed inside. Heck, I think that you use so many drugs simply because you cannot handle your own gifts.

I forget things unintentionally, so forgetting them intentionally is easy. I'll go dancing, drink a lot and then slot someone comforting, I'll repeat for a few nights until I feel better. Afterall, I cannot vividly remember these images for THAT long, the memory would get numb. I was worried about you because I tried imagining myself in your shoes... What if I could not simply forget it? Though, what do I know? If you are fine, you are fine...

P.S - It is nice that you are back to your mean girl act, suits you better than being a whining bitch.

She replied to bnc "We are going to a distillery in Redmond, they have relatively good booze and a small restaurant. They fake almost all the big brands - taught me quite a bit about alcohol. It's called Daniel's "

She seemed even more amused when bnc asked for some Novacoke, perhaps anticipating that Slob would not go with it and educate her. Something about the way she asked it, seemed to be aiming for pity rather than for actually getting the drug. Perhaps it was fun to watch the young decker so much off balance.

"Sorry bnc, but you're talking to the wrong dude about where to score some novacoke. Most I could do is point you in the direction of where to find some dealers, but I couldn't tell you what they have, whether its any good, or how safe it is. Just rely on the booze."

Slobber did as Yael suggested, flashing a decent looking credstick. "One glass of Hurlg for everyone at the table, and then 2 glasses of whatever else they would like."

Kazuya replied to Slobber: <<Probably one that isn't raided by the police or gangsters. Hold on to your money for now, I'll prepare a laundry. And congratulations. I was getting worried since I wasn't hearing anything from you the last month.>>


The ride with the team's car was uneventfull - considering that they were crossing into Redmond. By now it had been a solid hour since the heist and the first news about a violent bank break in on Council Island had surfaced. So far no reports about blood magic got mentioned.

When the drinks arrived, Slobber raised his glass of Hurlg and waited for the others to raise a glass of whatever they wanted to drink. "A toast" Slobber caughed, both to clear his throat and to buy time so he could remember the few words that he'd prepared.

"We're at the shows end
"But a tear runs down my face
"Good and sad at once

Slobber clinked glasses with the rest of those sitting around the table. He took a sip of the Hurlg. It had been a while since he'd drank anything alcoholic, and he was starting off strong. He let the others either take a sip or down their glasses in one go. In the brief silence that it allotted he spoke again.

"That was my last job, I'm retiring."