The next month is quite for you but full of chaos and scandals for Seattle. You are satisfied, Strawberry purchases the farm at the agreed price and pays your your agreed shares, a big payday followed by a big and well publicized legal trial exposing a massive conspiracy.
Allegedly, the UCAS government had a big plan of putting vampirism under control. New and genetically engineered pixies to replace human victims. A food item so addictive that once a vampire had enough of them it is difficult to switch back to metahumans. Perhaps, the plan was to gradually subjugate this vermin on society and benefit from its magic. There are even rumors on cooperates breeding vampires to exploit their magic justifying this foul play with a supply of pixies. Wheely’s client list indeed supports that rumour, by showing that Horizon were consumers of the farm’s pixies.

At any case, that plan could not continue, while pixies are not recognized as sapient critters by the UCAS government, they are generally accepted as such by the public. With the EVO cooperation strongly rooting for their inclusion in society. No politician could publically support the project, or face the allegations of breeding vampires as part of a magical arms race. The weeks pass and routine leaks of sensitive information tying numerous politicians and corporate entities to this scandal leads the government to ‘freeze’ the plan to explore its moral implications. You did good, made a splash in the pool of city and perhaps statewide affairs. Unfortunately, this makes you quite popular in the shadow community where you continually denying your involvement but some of you have styles which are too distinctive to deny it.

So, Pixies are people. This seems to be the populist trend and perhaps they will be accepted to the UCAS society partly thanks to you. Regardless of the validity of cooperations breeding vampires - there seem to be a larger number of them roaming around. People are terrified to go outside and more and more vampire related crimes are reported. Perhaps some of these got set free, perhaps with their food supply gone these are hungry souls with no alternative. At any case, few people would leave their houses at night in the less secure areas of the city.

Bellevue is one part of Seattle where the party did not stop, Lone Star are patrolling the streets, drones and street cams record anything that happens in the streets and the rich and more fortunate citizens of Seattle can continue their life ignoring the evils that plague other parts of the city. It is a gated community, a bastion of good life in a otherwise gang infested city. It is also a Mafia influenced territory, specifically ruled from the Gates casino, Bellevue generally pays protection to Dame Valentina. Which is why you are not surprised to get a text from Casa, troubles at Bellevue cannot be good for business.

Casa: [All] >> I am setting up a team to investigate a crime - if you are still in the biz give me a buzz.

Kynos had spent the last few days in relative comfort and agony. As soon as the money had arrived (and he had filed his taxes) he had contacted the cyber clinic. A few of his cybernetic enhancements had been outdated even when he had gotten them implanted and only his resilient nature (or stubbornness) had prevented his spirit from vacating his body. Exchanging the stuff for current, basic versions had meant staying three days at the place, constantly being operated on. He had even splurged on some new upgrades, now that the strain on his body was a bit lessened: A sleep regulator and a genetic improvement of his eyes.
He had once again a Growler, so he didn't need to mountain-bike everywhere. More important, he had invested in a watertight new identity and cashed in on some long term investments (mostly alimony checks that his ex-wife had refused) and bought a nice little cottage at the far edge of Snohomish. The investment was tight, but Ryan assured him that as long as he didn't use the new identity for anything else, but peacefully living there, all expenses would be payed and the drones would keep his fridge filled.

That of course necessitated, that he kept another place in the city where he could keep his illegal equipment. Another bolt hole, just like the one he had used with the team (but of course somewhere different and not where anyone else knew about) was his base of operation now, when Casa's call came in.

Regarding the severely reduced number on his cred stick he replied: <<Getting our own intel for once? Sounds good. Where, when?>>

@Kynos Casa replies

>>Tomorrow, 10:00 am at the Banshee. The place is closed but the service entrance is open for you.

An alarm chimes and I stop immediately and close my eyes. I have been doing this for a month now. My comlink chimes at a random time two or three times a day, at which point I repeat this same process. I recreate the last thing I saw, the movement of the people, predict where they are going and what they are doing. A man in the alley across the street to my right grooving to an unknown melody. The stains on his clothes and the crusted saliva in the corners of his mouth indicate a high probability of some form of drug use. Who is using AR and who isn't. One woman, talking angrily to herself, (her clothes are nice so she's probably not having a psychotic break) is obvious. The man with the gloves making subtle hand motions is probably in AR as well. The large man in a hoodie to my left watches the crowd peering from within its shadow, a bulge in the front pouch just a bit too large for the hands, indicates a weapon. This one is on the hunt and I probably appear to be a juicy target standing there with my eyes closed. I turn my head toward him and open my eyes meeting his gaze. Sure enough I see the gun on his PAN. I watch him emotionlessly for a moment until he backs down...I brick his gun for good measure.

My com chimes. Again? That was fast. Ah, it's Casa. I ring him to let him know I'm in.

@Irris Casa seems content that you are in, and invites you to the Banshee at 10:00 am, the place is closed but the workers will let you in through the service entry.

When she gets the message, Nyx hesitates for a while before answering. She doesn't really need the money, since she doesn't spend much. No implants, no fancy weapons or armours... She's been considering getting for some time now getting another Qi focus, but hasn't done so yet. So as far as money is concerned, she can afford to pass on the offer. But...there are other considerations. Most of those could be found at the Gates. Not that she really thought she couldn't afford to refuse, but...

>>Casa [Nyx]: My agenda is pretty free at the moment. Mostly anyway. So...<<

@Nyx Casa texts - >>Be there this morning... 10 am. Enter through service access place is closed.

>>Casa [Nyx]: 10? Ok, I'll be there.<< Nyx took a moment to think about the exchange, then shook her head. Whatever that was about, she would find out in the morning.

The next morning, Nyx went the agreed upon place, wearing black pants and a white blouse, nothing too sophisticated, but neither was it too casual. She looked for the service entrance for a couple of minutes then when she got there asked for Casa.

@Nyx the first thing to catch your attention is two well-armed guards guarding the entrance. The two guards wear somewhat stylish but very expensive ballistic business suits with an underlying elastic material that covers most of their exposed skin and a matching helmet. They are armed with pistols, but these also seem more sophisticated than the ones you usually see. These people seem somewhat more than Mafia goons or hired questionable security that most places at the Barren's edge would hire. Once inside, you can see that several of the clerks are well at work cleaning up what appears to be the remainders of some very large bar fight. Casa seats in a table and is actually the only one seating in that place. The rest are busy as a bee, you are the first to arrive.

Kynos showed up only slightly after Nyx. He had dressed in his good ballistic suit too, carrying his guardian in its holster as well as his taser. With a cheery wave he walked past the security.
When he saw Casa and Nyx he nodded politely, took a seat and waited. He was pretty sure whatever he'd say to Nyx, it would be the wrong thing.
Instead he picked up a broken bottle and looked fascinated at the bloody edges while he twirled the object in his fingers.

As she walked to the table where Casa was seated, Nyx observed curiously the scene, intrigued. She had no particular skills in this type of things - and had never been a part of a bar fight - so she wasn't able to draw many conclusions, except for the fact that whatever happened, it must have been one hell of a fight. And probably pretty entertaining to watch. From the sidelines anyway.

She sat down in front of Casa and nodded "Good morning." She cocked an eyebrow "I suppose all of that happened in the night so has no link to whatever you'd want me to work on?" Before Casa can answer though, she spotted Kynos, and frowned "Oh. So it's one of those jobs, eh?" She sighed.

After a small pause, she nodded in Kynos' direction "Hi." While not exactly the most enthusiastic greeting ever, it was fairly neutral.

Casa smiles softly at the sight of Nyx, "Good morning" he said and then nods at Kynos. Casa replied after Kynos joined them "Well... you are here because this work requires a bit extra than just beating someone senselessly. There was this dude drinking, flirting dancing and then suddenly beating people senselessly with the skill of a trained martial artist. He seemed to completely ignore pain and took an amount of beating that would take down an elephant to finally be subdued.

He was interrogated by the best the Finnigans had to offer and nothing, the person does not remember anything about the attack. The thing is, this entire fight was a distraction, at the same time I lost an asset just before signing an album deal. I want to know who dares extracts from me and casually trashes a Finnigan business. I want the singer back in a good shape, and the Finnigans wants to know who is behind this attack to make an example out of them."

Nyx listened quietly, then sighed "So, I suppose there are two possible explanation… Compatible with one another probably. Drugs… or magic." She glanced at Kynos then back at Casa "Which means you called Maxwell too?" She didn't seem pleased by that. At all. She shook her head "There aren't that many organizations would do something like that. Corporations, through runners probably. Or other groups like the Vory, the Triads, etc." She paused slightly then added "Without knowing more than that, I'd say the most likely at this point is either the Yaks or the Cartel. They both have reasons to want to get even after all."

"Sounds like the work of a possessing spirit - and a rather powerful one at that." Kynos voice sounded raspy - more raspy then usual - as if he hadn't spoken in a month.
"Having Sovereign join the party would at least make looking for the extracted person easier.
But just in case this calls for classic detective work: Who did you lose? And please give us the complete story - age, gender, looks, skills, priors, etc.
Also, did you have a spell slinger or some other dual natured person take a look at the astral? If it was a possessing spirit it should have left a signature and maybe a trail to its conjurer.

Now, I know one sorcerers who likes to possess people - and so do you: Have you already checked if Strawberry is behind that? Don't know what she'd do with an artist or musician, but then I never claimed to understand how her thought process works - or that of any woman."

Casa frowned "Well, I'll tell you what you need to know. Rita's agent is a gambler... to pay off his gambler debt he needed Rita to sign the new contract, but the meeting was delayed and so I happened to own his management agreement. Rita did not like the swap one bit - though she really is better off like that.

Now - the Banshee pays protection to the Finnigans and they are furious about some would be runners pissing in their pool. With their current weakness in soldiers and equipment, their council decided on a biblical response. You do not need an army if everybody thinks you are crazy. So they want to capture the runners, find up who hired them and waste them.

I personally just want Rita to sign her contract, collect my 50 percent and hand her over to the life she expects. Needless to say, this extraction made my own role in this story very unprofitable and I hope this can be changed. Right now, we are only interested in the two of you. However, if Rita is still alive and if you can gear up for an extraction, we can hire a full team to minimize risk. "


He looked at Kynos and then at Nyx and sighed "Question asked, Can the two of you work together?"

"I've never let personal issues stand in the way of a paycheck. At least not on such a relatively benign mission.

Still, what does Rita look like? Is it possible that she paid for her own extraction? Does she have Shadow contacts? And if you don't know, where can we find her former agent?
Likewise, are their any recordings of her extraction? Any hints at all who and how she was taken away?

Also: What are you offering for this recon mission?"
Kynos replied.

Casa places the brochure of a show performed by Ritalin a few days ago on the table. "As you can see they pretend to be vampires... Very fashionable in the metal scene." He allowed a shrug out and said "Kids...".

Casa looked pensive "Self-extraction... well she has a financial motive but does she have the connections to orchestrate something like that? I honestly do not know I never met her personally. I just offered a deal to a desperate gambler looking to keep his kneecaps. I planned to offload the singer and make a little profit."

I arrive at the scene but while on time it appears the party has started without me. I wave to Nyx and Kynos and take a seat, I guess being on time is late these days. What did I miss? I say glancing at the brochure.

"Sorry, Casa seemed to think you wouldn't come. Glad you could make it. As for what's going on:
Rising music star got snatched away from Casa, while a guy thrashed this place as a distraction - likely possessed. Wants us to find her and ideally the people who took her. Afterwards there is to be made an example out of the runners as a show of strength.
I'm currently trying to get Casa to answer my questions. But apparently I need to ask them slower, with less syllables and in a clearer voice:

What. Will. You. Pay. Us. To. Find. Her?

How. Can. We. Find. The. Agent?

Has. A. Mage. Looked. At. This. Place?

And most important of all:

WHAT WILL. YOU. PAY. US. TO. FIND. HER?"

Kynos replied.

Casa chuckled - "I am not paying you anything to find her, but if you find her alive I'll pay you to extract her.
Finnigans are paying you to find out who pissed in their pool - with priority to the Jhonson behind this operation. About mojo, Finnigans have a mage now thanks to you - she looked at the place you'll have to ask her.
They pay 5k each for the investigation and can pay more for the make an example part if you guys are interested in that kind of job. The agent? Either follow the casinos in town or just call him... and chill out Kynos - I always made sure that you guys are well paid. "

"Alright, so 5000 to find her and each maiming and extracting as a separate job. Sounds alright."
He turned to Nyx: "Are you interested in talking to Strawberry? Because it probably wouldn't be a good idea if I tried to talk to her. Provided you are on board with this mission.
In that case I'll go for the agent."

So how much are you paying for the maiming and extracting part?

Casa paused "That depends on who needs to be harmed... Perhaps another 5k if you want to close in advance."

"Your first focus is on understanding what happened and who is behind it all. Then you get a second job if you like - to retaliate, but that depends on what you find on the first job and what exactly the Horse has in mind." asked Casa.

"We'll have to renegotiate about that last part, but I'm down for the first part.
Right, so Irris, you are a fair hand with a deck. Can you hack and track that agent's commlink? I'd like to chat with him in person."

Kynos replied.

Casa nods "never agree on a price before you know all the important details. Good practice. Keep me informed if you find the whereabouts of Rita."

To delve deeper into his metaphysical studies, Sovereign rented out a Touristville condo and left the company of Simone's bed. He assured her that it had nothing to do with her or any wrongdoing she thought she might've done. It was just that he wanted some space to himself. Her van, although lovely and homey, is too cramped for him to properly suit his needs. Also... his spellcraft was going to take a rather macabre turn. And he didn't want to sully their living arrangements if he could afford not to. Upon further reading into his copy of Compendium Maleficarum he had gained a tiny bit of insight on the workings of necromancy. The stories and rituals depicted in the book piqued the mage's interest about the possibilities of raising the dead and utilizing the power of death to wreak havoc on his foes. It told him about forgotten realms where shadows reign unchallenged and where devils of every shape and size call this sunless plane home. He learned that it was in those black, terrible dominions that he could master those forbidden arts.

After Sovereign adjusted himself to his new living conditions he set out for another venture into the astral. He laid himself down in his bed and projected out of the building, out of Seattle and Earth. Soon he found out that this time, things were different. The Dweller on the Threshold didn't bar his way or wall off the rest of the metaplanes from access. Sovereign laughed gruesomely and congratulated himself on beating that cosmic gatekeeper. This delightful turn of events made the mage evermore gleeful. He traveled onward deeper into the astral than he had ever been or thought possible. Far, far away, Sovereign swam through the waters of oblivion until he reached the darkest, coldest metaplane that existed. The border to the shadow metaplane is apparent with the glowing omnipresent light being blotted out by some unseen object leaving only a few strange constellations to travel by. The shadow metaplane is a pale, mirrored mockery of the physical world with muted colored structures dotting the landscape. Light is never bright here, but there is enough to cast shadows. Orbiting the plane are four moons, hyper-metaplanes, which are noticeable by the stars they obscure. Great wing-shaped airships travel between the metaplane and its moons. Shades, shadows, wraiths, nightmares, wights, and other cultural bogeymen call this plane home.

Right there, hovering above, was the Blood Moon. Called such since it glows faintly red like a burning ember. Ash from a thousand fires burn with carnal offerings in obsidian temples, and seams of coal perpetually smolder in vast rivers along the surface, giving the moon its color and a constant haze. Its denizens wear hideous masks as they travel in the choking smoke to the temples where they sacrifice other astral creatures to the Outer Gods. Bravely, he made contact with a few of the violent spirits that lived there. And after they had evaluated his affinity for magic and murder, they taught him the black art of blood sacrifice...

Later That Month...

Sitting comfortably awake in his bed, Sovereign was disturbed by his commlink chiming at him. Seeing who it is that's calling him causes him to smile a little. @Casa - <<I'm intrigued. When and where?>>

I'm not a finesse hacker I could brick his com link but if I were to try to track it he'd know. Although my agent may be able to do it. Who is this person? I guess I wasn't here when he was mentioned. Do we have a number for him or a name at least?

"Here, it's the commlink number of the missing singer's agent. I figure the guy should probably know where his erstwhile protege could have gone if she indeed extracted herself.
I'm no computer crack, but as long as you get two marks on his link you should be able to track down the guy with some simple computer skills - I do it all the time with those stealth tags. But yeah, if your agent can do this more subtle, it's probably a good idea to have the little fellow do it."
Kynos replied

I ring up mister Agent man. When he picks up his phone I sick my agent on him.

The agent picks up the phone and yells "WHAT IS IT... CALL AT WORKING HOURS BYE!" it took him a few seconds to turn-off the device.
(Basically you have 2 combat rounds to hack it).

Irris. The device is located at the Barrens, in what appears to be an old school.

I pass this along to everyone.

OOC: I'm getting the feeling we aren't quite as ready to move along as we'd thought? Take your time, I just haven't been watching as closely.

Kynos nodded at that information: "Alright, let's visit the agent and ask him some questions. Irris, do you still have your car? Riding bitch on my bike might not be that comfortable."
While they are underway, Kynos tried to learn what kind of location they were heading at.

@Kynos Your matrix search yields that it is a 'Snakes' turf, a gang which wears green to identify. A rough place, off-limits to most normative people - even those that visit the Barrens. A prime position to get harvested for your cyberware/Bioware.

All - whoever is driving give me a driving test (treshold 2) to brave the broken streets, roadblocks and other obstacles of the area.

@all It is snowing... again. travell is difficult and the ford cannot make it. After a bunch of near-death experiences, you decide to continue by foot. The streets are empty - unusually empty. Nobody seems to be bothering you or trying to steal your car which is unusual in these areas. The road degrades to narrow walk in streets and GPS shows that you are not very far. The walls are covered with about 10 layers of graffiti but there are many drawings of analog clocks. Each pointing at a new hour, and has different colors and variations, if you are unskilled in navigation you rely solely on the GPS which is not notified of the actual terrain as most structures were improvised after the map was created.

Once they have crossed into the barrens, Kynos bid Irris to stop for a moment. Quickly he changed out of his nice suit and put on his survival armor. It wasn't time yet to escalate to FBA, but considering the rougher clientele he thought it prudent to come prepared.

As the terrain got rougher, Kynos checked his handgun and inserted an extended clip filled with Ex-Ex ammunition.
"I hope you have a good security system on your car. Seems like that kind of neighborhood."

Nyx had been silent for most of the encounter, apparently deep in thoughts and obviously not caring much about the negotiations themselves. She followed though, apparently unconcerned by the rough terrain and perfectly able to hold her own. As long as everyone played nice anyway.

Kynos had wondered why Nyx ignored his question - well not wondered as such, he knew pretty well what Nyx though of him. But instead of taking the chance to not spend time with him and talk to Strawberry, she was now coming with them into the Barrens.
He put the idle thoughts away as they got closer to the place where the agent's commlink had been spotted.

You follow the signal into a strange clock neighboorhood. It leads to what once was the office of a tech company, now a fortified complex. A large artist made graphitti is on the walls of a nearby building - indicates a large clock with the text:
"Clockwork, strangers keep out."

The building is guarded, you can spot several low-class security drones and a very big troll, wearing a very big full body armor at the reception. Clearly, whoever is inside that building preferred that impression.

Hmm, I think maybe you might be mistaken about the gang that runs this area. I say making sure the new shotgun was ready to hand.

"Yeah, I really shouldn't believe blog posts of 14 year olds.
Well, nothing to do about than getting it over with. Does one of you fancy talking with the guard in a friendly fashion? I'm ready if we have to get unfriendly"

Kynos replied.

Nyx nodded "I'll do it."

She took a couple of seconds to look at the building, then moved her head a little and confidently strode forward. She stopped a few steps away from the guard. She didn't speak straight away though, and took a second or two to look at the area, giving of a faint air of repulsion. Finally, she shallowly nodded to the guard "Good morning. We're here to see one of your…residents?"

@Nyx the large troll gauges you for a moment and concludes "You do not look like a clocker... and not like a patron. This makes you a stanger. These are not welcome in clockwork."

Unfazed, Nyx nodded "I am indeed a stranger, very astute of you. But I am a stranger with an important business proposition to make to one of your 'clockers', one that would make me very welcome to him." After a small pause, she added "So in his interest, and ultimately yours, it would be much better if you were to allow us entry."

The troll smiles cryptically "You really have no idea what you are talking about, do you? do you even know what a clocker is?"

Watching Nyx's blank face the troll softens... "clockers are too far gone to be sober for long. They sense each moment on this world as suffering and would do anything to sink back into their BTL dream... Each service they do for us grants them a certain amount of dream time. Important services yield plenty of dream time and casual ones yield just a few minutes, hence the name."
He grunts softly and continues "... I find it highly unlikely that a person like that would get a business offer so cut the bull-drek and tell me why did you really come here. If you really interested in a clocker you'll need to buy it. "

It and not him/her - it was clear that the troll did not refer to clockers as humans. He was physically intimidating and despite his tone, his patience was running thin.

Nyx frowned "I see." She glanced at Iris, raising a questioning eyebrow, then turned back to the troll "What kind of costs are we talking about, for what kind of services?"

Kynos had held back - as promised - and let Nyx do her thing. Still, he was as always getting impatient. If the gambling debts of the agent had gone so far as to get his brain fried for some cash, Rita was really better off to get a new one.
But the asshole had turned of his commlink and the watchman seemed to be taking his job actually serious. Against his better judgement he sent a message to Nyx:
<<I'm ready to sport a bribe for the doorman if he can bring out the agent for a little chat - I'm even prepared to pay a bit to the agent if it's necessary to lure him out.>>

Well... It looked like they were sure they had the right address at least. There was however one slight problem. Just a tiny little one: she didn't know the name of the Agent. In the end, Casa never gave them the name, and she was pretty sure she couldn't ask for him by "Rita's Agent". As for the commcode, it would be even worse.

Looking back at her two companions, Iris particularly, she mouthed a name?. She had made the effort of getting contacts able to show her text messages, but DNIs were out of the question after all.