"I think in the very short term, Englebrecht is not a concern. He's after the Map. So he'll become a real big problem when we don't frag over Jane, but not until then. As for the message, yeah it sounds good."

"OK. Let's buy some gear, and then get back to the others." Torley does a few vocal exercises to get ready for some wheeling and dealing. Then he practices a few phrases.

"Y na-ajụ oke ego."

"Maka ego ahụ, achọrọ m ise."

"Well, somebody created that ward and if I use invisibility, we're not seen by people nor cameras, but we light up like a Christmas tree on the astral," Sammy said, "I'd rather be prepared in case that person is just there to renew the ward. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Especially since we're outnumbered and from what I've seen here, the policy is to shoot first, ask questions never. And you might not register as magical, you still have an aura that can be tracked. Could be a good thing to keep in mind."

A local looks at Torley askance as he passes by, practicing his phrases. "Who is he talking to?" they wonder.

"Actually no, we won't. That is why I sm excited to work with you, I have never had a chance to work with someone who knew that invisibility spell. I can make up to four people look completely mundane, including spells that are being maintained. Between your spell and my magic, an astrally preceiving mage would just see mundane auras, and meat eyes wouldn't see us at all." Silence looked pleased. "Other than opening doors we will have the run of the place."

"I haven't heard about that," Sammy said, "is that a spell, or more something adepts do? If it's a spell, I'm all for trying to learn it."

"You are familiar with Masking, yes? How the magical can be made to seem mundane? This is an advanced form of that metamagic that allows me to conceal the auras of others as well."

(OOC: Street Magic p.60)

"Quite useful," Sammy admitted, "in my previous line of work that wasn't needed, so I concentrated on keeping the drain of spellcasting down. Being able to cast extra spells can also be quite useful. But I guess in your line of work the ability to mask yourself is even more so, especially if you don't cast spells that cause drain."

The hustle and push-and-shove of local markets never cease to thrill Torley. He feeds on the energy of the people, and can't help but grin when he sees haggling taken to high art.

In the market, Torley buys a bottled drink. Thirsty as he may be, he has to be careful of the local gut flora.

Ever looking for new additions to his growing library of languages, Torley keeps an ear out for languages other than Igbo and Yoruba.

Silence nods “Yes, I suppose in Hollywood the point is to be seen isn’t it. No, I’m not a spellcaster, I am a humble thief who is very good at his job.”

“Your team doesn’t seem to like me very much, I hope I am not stepping on toes. You and O’Conner are not romantically involved, are you?”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Down in the local market there are only a few merchant whose wares are worth considering. One of whom you mutually decide against doing business with after Bullet Storm rips the charging handle out of what looked like a decently maintained M-16 while checking its action.

Another decides to close up shop very quickly after seeing Torley fry a simsynth instrument in the next stall while waving off a sudden attack of flying insects.

You do manage to find a vender who seems to be selling higher grade security forces equipment. After you purchase enough gear to meet your needs (web belts, several pouches, a MOLLE vest) for about a 100 nuyen, he asks if you are interested in something a little more useful. He moves aside a blanket and shows you some sealed cases of munitions. Among the heavy pistol rounds and shotgun shells you see a few cases of the stuff you are looking for, along with normal smoke and tear gas.

The merchant offers the boxes to you at 1500 apiece, but after some magical cajoling from Torley you reach his rock bottom, 1000 per case. (BTW, he flatly refuses to break up the cases)

"Oh no, we're not," Sammy said, "but you know how it is in our business. Trust comes slowly, if at all. And we've been through a lot to get here, a long way away from everything we know. It takes a while to adapt. Don't worry about it. They'll come around if we manage to get this heist done together."

She kept a close eye on him as she said that last sentence to see any reaction.

Torley looks at the materials shown to him and O'Connor in the crates, and tries to figure how much of that will fill their bill. He turns to O'Connor and says, "How many of these crates do we need? And how are we going to transport them. Surreptitiously."

While they deliberate on the quantity materials, Torley looks over some of the rucksacks and backpacks, selecting enough to carry a couple of crates worth of materials. "That should be sufficient, I think."

Silence gets a look of faux indignation, "If?" He waves off the notion of failure as if it was an insect. In fact, he does it so well that the lizard wanders over looking for a meal.

"We will recover the idol. This is not your AZT pyramid, this is a building I have been in. Lots of muscle, lots of guns, that's it. Piece of cake."

"And those guns are really trigger happy," Sammy said, "besides, I would never accept a run on the Aztec pyramid. I might be dumb, but I'm not that dumb. And now you sound like O'Conner. He also sounds blazé when confronted with loads of men with guns."

"The tac-gear, and a case each of the thermal smokes, and flashbangs will do. Puts the bill at 42,000 naira. A case of teargas grenades, and some masks wouldn't be a bad thing either, but might put us over budget."

" Did you happen to see one of those money changers anywhere nearby? We need to get some more nairas to pay for this hoard."

The seller looks at you eagerly. "You nuyen? I take off 5%."

‐----‐‐---------------

"That man thinks he can kill them all, I think that between the two of us, we will never be seen."

Torley does some mental math. Tac gear, about 100 nuyen. Add that again for gas masks. 1000 nuyen per case for 1 thermal smoke, 1 flashbang, 1 tear gas. Adds up to 3,200 nuyen. 5% off takes off 160 nuyen, leaving 3040 nuyen.

Figuring the eager comment from the seller opened up negotiations again, he offers 3000 nuyen for the bundle. While the seller hems and haws about the quality of the merchandise and his sick grandmother, Torley pulls the funds together from among the teams commlinks and credsticks.

"So. How about it? Nuyen will buy medicine for your poor grandmother that naira will have trouble finding. "

Normally O'Connor found haggling to be rather annoying, but given how many bribes they'd paid, he was fine with Torley's extortion attempt.

The seller grins broadly and takes the deal. He even helps the runners arrange the purchases for transport, Torley will have to help. O'Connor is lean and cut, but not strong.

As they loadf up the gear, Torley poses a question to O'Connor. "If our friend in the corridor sees all this show up in the hotel, he will know something is up. How do we deal with that problem?"

O'Connor was unperturbed by the problem and merely called Starlet, "Grab Silence, and meet us by the entrance. Torley wants us to bring up the gear on the down low past the goon hanging out in the lobby."

"We still can use men like him when things go south," Sammy said to Silence, "and they're great for creating a lot of noise at one point while we do sneaky stuff somewhere else."

When she got the message from O'Conner, she turned to Silence.
"You probably noticed the dude sitting outside," she said, "he's following us and the other don't want him to know what we bought, so let's head out the back and meet up there."
She texted O'Connor about the back exit the guy couldn't see from where he was and headed that way with Silence.

"Copy that." O'Connor motioned towards the rear entrance, "They'll meet us around the back. I'll try to keep Silence distracted with the goods. Get Starlet's take on if we can trust Silence to keep to the deal."

"Alright. I'll suss it out." Torley struggles with the load, but sometimes grunt work is needed, right?

"We should practice our entry to the compound. We can walk right past the guy." says Silence as he follows her down to retrieve the shoppers.

"We can, but the other's can't," Sammy said, "and I know I can do it, but doing magic can give you a wicked headache at times, so I'd rather not do it when not necessary. This we can solve without magic, so we're not going to use it."

Once they all convened at the rear entrance, O'Connor loaded down both Silence and himself with just enough gear to make the trek slow and awkward to give Torley ample time to talk to Starlet about their contingencies and if she thought them necessary.

While the boys be boys, Torley draws Starlet aside, "I have a question about your spells." Once aside, and hopefully out of earshot, he asks the real question. "O,Connor and I have talked at length about Silence. What is your feeling about trusting him, letting him go after this escapade? O'Connor has been hard nosed about the man, but he seems to be coming around to a more cooperative stance. Your opinion either way carries a lot of weight."

He watches the magician carefully. Sometimes body language reveals mixed feelings that words don't communicate.

"He's going to be loyal until we get the idol," Sammy said, "whether he wants it for his own ends or not, he'll probably need us to get it. Afterwards, if we get out and let him go, I doubt he will go blabbing about it, as he probably doesn't want those guys as enemy. I think we best be on our guard, but that's no matter who we would bring in to help us with this."

"Alright, then. We go with the plan as promised to Silence, unless he looks like double-crossing. Then we deal with him."

Torley thinks for a moment. "I'm still not sure what part I play in the extraction of the idol, but I will be ready to halt him if he bolts."

"I guess you're the flying squad," Sammy said, "ready to head everywhere someone is needed."

Torley chuckles. "Just call me Cavalry."

"Sure, Custer," Sammy said with a grin, "that can then be your codename. Now lets make sure we got everything right before we go sneaking in. And I'd like to do a final astral recon. Oh yeah, and summon a spirit right before we go in, to have some backup ready. Maybe we can keep that one from Silence. It can be our hole card."

"I'm not sure I like the associations with that name. Custer met a grisly, if deserved, end."

Torley considers alternatives. "Hmm. I can't think of any names right now that stand out as well as his. I'll work on it."

Torley strokes his chin as he thinks about it. His knowledge of military history is limited.

"Does it really matter as long as we know it, the others don't, and it's pronounceable quickly over comms," Sammy said

"Custer it is, then."

Torley takes a look around, wondering whether his fate with these natives will end better than his new namesake.

"Very well," Sammy said, "let's go and see what the others are doing. And then we I can make a final astral recon and we can finalize our plans."

"All right. I'll follow you. " Torley keeps an eye out for more spies as they go join the others.

You are barely settled in your room when Lil Homie rushes in breathless.

"Grandfather...said...you want...his help...YOU COME NOW. He is leaving the compound...to be safe...Uzochi Oluleye is gone...getting more security."

O'Connor immediately grabbed his weapons, "Alright, Torley and I will meet the old man. Starlet and Silence will be waiting in the wings if this is a trap. Any objections?"

Torley barely has a chance to get in the room and the drek hits the fan. "Works for me." He does a few vocal exercises. This could be one of his finest performances. At least, most important.

"Sure, sounds like a plan," Sammy said. She had wanted to do an astral recon, but that would have to wait until later. And she could always call a spirit right before they went in.

The group quickly leaves the hotel, with the need for transport there is no way to avoid the lobby. Anyone keeping an eye on Silence (most certainly O'Connor) notices that he has adjusts his features and skin tone to resemble someone who could pass for Starlet's brother if such were needed. Englebrecht's man is still in the lobby, with one of the hotel's beer bottles half empty on the stand next to his seat. He doesn't bother to wave this time, just noting the team's departure. The cab ride is short and ends a little over a block off the compounds area, the driver neatly avoiding an Area Boys impromptu checkpoint with a dive through a cramped alley.

Lil Homie has caught his breath but is still agitated, and guides the team quickly to a building on the square that has sight lines on both entrances to the compound. Torley (or Custer, wtf?) notes it is the building that the washer woman was set up in front of earlier. Up a stairwell on the side. Lil Homie is already in the building by the time the two male foreigners ascend, leaving the orks downstairs.

As they enter the comfy abode, they can hear Homie talking to a much older male, both seem agitated and Torley notes confusion and upset in Homie and confusion and annoyance in the man when the two enter the room. The man is sitting at a small table with the washer woman.

"Grandfather Oluleye, these are the Americans that wanted to meet you." Homie says in English, which the old ork clearlly understands.

As they ascend the stairs, Torley whispers to O'Connor, "Looks like I'm up again. I'll take point in the negotiation. You step in if things are going bad and you have a way to fix it. I know this may bother you, but at first, kneeling, or even better, prostrating will show proper respect to the elder."

Entering the upstairs room, Torley is a bit surprised to hear the old man understands English. No problem. Upset and confusion in his demeanour is a bit more troublesome. He prostrates himself and says, " Good day, Grandfather Oluleye. We are honoured by your allowing us to speak with you. It is our great hope that we can serve your need and our own."

If the old man receives them appropriately, maybe even shaking Torley's hand, he will continue in a more upright position. "The King's men are circling and will eventually come in force for the idol. I believe your clansman Uzochi is preparing for conflict. We would like to relieve you and your clan of the burden of such a fight which can only end in one way. Yes, it will serve us to return the idol to the King, but that service will not affect your people in any way. It will allow our leader to be present at an auction of other items the King is hosting. Were we to come into possession of the idol, we would let our leader know, so that the King could be notified to call back his soldiers.

"The one who took the idol from the King now offers his talents to aid us make the problem go away. Together we have skills to enter your compound unseen and unheard, and can leave just as unnoticed. We hope that you can help us take the idol without having to damage or take the safe in which it is held, and help in any other way you think would make the loss of the idol something that does not cause trouble or strife in your clan. Can you find it in your heart to do this and avoid conflict?"

O'Connor gives the old man a slight bow, but no more. He isn't here to negotiate. He, and all his weapons, are here to embody the alternative choice. He stalks over to one of the windows to keep a look out for any signs of a trap. Both Lil' Homie and the old man's tone and body language are agitated, and it has him on edge.