“It doesn’t take long, from what I’ve been told. We can also get it as a slap patch if that makes you feel better.

“I’m not too worried about you knocking me out, but you might need to. If one of us gets seriously injured, some magic and chicken soup might not be enough to get ready in time. If surgery is needed, and we get knocked out because, last I remember surgery hurts like hell, there aren’t many doctors I can trust to be discrete.”

"I'm not worried about me. I just thought, since you mentioned breaking your wrists. If the stuff works quick enough, hopefully, you won't be getting that far. And I still think that the best order is to get the implant and then make the tests. The way you describe your... condition... does not sound like a syringe is going to work well. A patch might be better, but still, the injector would be a sure thing. Why take chances, if there is no need for it. That thing is pretty standard 'ware, can't be that hard to get. And there should be plenty time still. About the doctor trust thing, well, you will have to know who you want to do the work."

Sharkboy relented "I yield. We wait until my suit comes back with the auto-injector installed.

"Still, we could test the cuffs and make sure they work, and I need to blow of some steam if you're still up for sparring"

"Yeah, I get that..." Nova said, nodding. "So, sure. A little practice rarely hurts."

Anna replies to Wraith >>>Lets just use spirits... No point in risking our neck for experimintation.>>>

bnc gives them an hour or so, until she returns. Her demeanor shows, again, a good portion of self-control, though she can't completely hide the anger and frustration under the surface.

"So. Wraith, Anna, Nova - have you made your choice?"

@Anna:
<<I don't think a spirit can incapacitate him without hurting him that quickly, so I'd rather be next door myself when the go at it.>>

bnc's question makes Wraith visibly uncomfortable.
"Frankly, the main side I'm on here is Kerstin's. Its about her, not you and not you. And I see her chances of finding a cure going down, no matter if it's the decker or a muscle that she looses.
So basically, I'm on the 'frag both of you, get it together'-faction."
He turns to bnc.
"everyone knew of Sharkboyscondition, using it now to oust him is just a cheap excuse. "

bnc looks at Wraith coolly. "I don't. Don't be childish, you should know me better than this. But I will not work with a teammember who openly declares his distrust towards any teammember to a point way beyond professionalism. We cannot work together if he is unwilling to cooperate. Having the condition - no problem. Not having the countermeasure being prepared by the specialist on this regard because of his personal feelings towards them - that is a problem. I don't care for insults, but I do care about a freak, who can't think past his next fist-fight and lets his petty feelings control his actions. Also, I won't forget that he attacked me without necessity when I bid him - asked him - to leave me alone for a fragging minute or two.
I can't turn my back on an uncontrolled beast like him - and by this I mean neither his fishiness nor his "condition" but his attitude - and I can't waste attention to keep a teammember in mind who declared open mistrust. That being said, we're better off without him. I'm willing to grant him full payment. But I'm not going if he does."

"It isn't petty mistrust, and I'm not some uncontrollable beast you slag!

"There are two rules I follow. I do the job, and this mask does not come off in public. That second one, that's why I ask about cameras in bathrooms.

"I'm asking for help on on a project that has a starting point of me being chained up and limited in my ability to move or fight back. It is not unlikely to end with me unconscious. If there were people in there who I didn't trust, ones who bring sniper rifle-toting to conversations, it's possible I end up dead. That seems like a really great time for some untrustworthy bitch to take my mask off.

"bnc, I'm sorry you can't accept that your bedside manner is so cunty that I'll trust a trained killer to treat me before I trust you to even be in the room. I get to choose who my doctors are, and I've screened out dozens of them in my life because I can't trust them to keep their hands to themselves. You're just another one. Get over it.

"You can try to throw a mutiny all you want, but I'm not going anywhere. I do the job, you aren't Mr. J, you don't have a choice."

"It is petty mistrust. If you don't trust a chummer, who, by the way, never failed your trust a single time, to not geek you once you're unconscious, there's no ground for a run. You don't belong in the shadows. You knew that for the better part of your life: You belong in a cage, fish-man. But while insulting you is as fun and rewarding as it must be to insult me, that's not the point. You ignored the very lowest basic needs of a team member by brute force and openly put your irrational fear that anyone would wish to suffer to see your hideous visage over professional teamwork. If you wanna keep going, fine. Then there'll be two teams from now. And I have a clue which will be the one Kerstin will want to work with."

"Anyone who thinks I am an animal isn't a chummer.

"I'm sure Kerstin would really love to infiltrate and combat corporate security with her skin and bones sister. You definitely won't slow her down, or become a liability. Though I guess, you'll just use your butler or your sniper bot you seem to bring around to these conversations like any trusting teammate would.

"Where is that butler, anyway?

bnc cocks an eyebrow. "I wouldn't talk to an animal, would I? Seems we're a bit touchy here, huh? Strange enough, as you seem to be well accustomed to throw insults yourself. Why, James is in my room, and inactive." She shrugs. "Either way, he doesn't even sport a Firearms autosoft. Neither does the drone. So keep your water."

Anna shrugs "Good luck then... I'll go find someone that is abroad for fun. " She leaves without looking back and texts Splitterbruch to ask if he is free.

Splitterbruch replied quickly and almost eagerly - although he still did not dare to come back to Salzburg for more than passing through. So he suggested meeting at the next town just across the border to Germany in Freilassing.

Anna replies ">>checking... Is it a *thing* to cross to Freilassing, Germany?" She then checks for herself, how long it should take to get there, and if she needs to do anything special to pass the border. Suddenly realizing that it would be an overnight visit she enters again, to pretty herself up and showers before heading out for what she expects to be a very lusty night. She exits with a small bag including clothes to change, and a toothbrush, but no weapons or anything illegal. Her automated taxi picks her up a few blocks away from the safehouse.

As it turns out, it was just a short trip across the river Salzach without specific border checks - beyond the normal facial recognition and profiling done by drones.
The address provided by Splitterbruch was for a small disco.

Anna would pass the time till her date in solitude reading about magical defenses and counter spelling. A lot of that stuff is for military use. Bnc may notice that the mage is avoiding her and has not said much to her since waking up from the electrical shock. Physically she is already a new person, Mother Bear has blessed Anna with exceptional health and she recovers quickly. Emotionally, something breaks in her when a person she cares about chooses to say buzz off in that specific manner. Still, bnc attracts so much fire from the other group so she might actually get away with this.

When it is time, Anna would exit all dressed up with a beg containing casual clothes for tomorrow. Her flowery perfume, and revealing sexy/goth outfit makes it likely that she is going to dance. She says and leaves a copy of the group channel for those that are not visible. "I'll be back tomorrow. Try to resolve the autoinjector experiment before I back. Don't call me unless it is life and death."

With that, she went on to meet Splitterbruch, more excited about the occasion than she would like to admit. He was dangerous and exciting, and she knew very little of the man which added to his allure. Choosing a disco meant that he was not very big into talking, but he was not an anti-social... Anna sort of hoped they get to talk before/after/in the middle, but was afraid that they may not have common interests beyond the physical attraction.

"Still... he is more fun than the others," she thinks.

The disco turned out to be in full on carnival party mode - people disguised as whatever role they could imagine - and most women choosing a slutty version thereof.
Splitterbruch greeted Anna wearing a classic pirate costume, which fitted him quite well since he made a point to display his six-pack.
It was loud, but not so loud you couldn't talk with raised voice and heads close together: "Didn't expect to meet you so soon again. Are you still on Kerstin's mission trail?"

Anna responds "I am not very good at waiting" sort of as a response to both questions, "...and I wanted to meet you again, before the big day, just in case." She is happy to lose herself in the music, and forget about being a mage, or a shadowrunner or about that asshole bnc for the night.

"Well, in that case, let's make it an unforgettable night."
Splitterbruch took her hand and moved to the dance floor. His supernatural grace and adept training made him a good dancer and a remarkable enduring one.

Nova merely raised an eyebrow at the heated exchange, but otherwise simply remained calm and watched the two, and the rest. Only when bnc directly asked her, she chose to speak.

"Nah. There is no choice to be made... by me, anyways. The only one who has to make a choice is you. And that choice is: Are you in or out? Sure, it's not quite so simple, but that is - essentially - your choice to make. And, yes, it is yours not ours, and noone is going to make it for you."

"So, let me ask you. Do you really want to throw everything that led us up to this point - and I am not talking about this stupid argument, in case that isn't clear - away?"

"Then you have made your choice. You back him, not me."

bnc's look is dark, but not so much angry as more ... disappointed.

"No, I'm not willing to cast anything away and I will continue. But I'm not going alongside an asshole who forced himself on me by physical force and then has the guts to call me untrustworthy. But hence you made your choice, there will obviously be two teams trying to different angles..."

bnc looks at the door through which Anna just passed.
"Or one team and one family member, for all it's worth."

bnc is about to turn, but casts a last, questioning look at Wratih.

Wraith had been biting his lips nervously as the conversation continued. Several times, he had opened his mouth as if to say something - judging from his expression, likely some sort of 'ugh, you guys are unbelievable' - but he remained silent after his last input.
Just great. Two guys can't talk to each other, one can't focus on the job - I know why I'm usually a solo player.

The longer bnc speaks, the more bitterness rises within him. When she's done, he holds her gaze defiantly, even reproachfully.
Oh really, you gonna dump the team and do your own thing? Well, I'm not gonna chase after you. Your crap, your consequences, slitch
"Guess there's no stopping you... I'm sticking with the team. Someone's gotta tell Kerstin of your heroic pride.", he replies with a very disappointed tone in his voice.

It was plainly visible that staying tough caused him no pleasure - especially his last, snippy remark. Why couldn't this girl just swallow her stubbornness and stick with the team this one damn time? He couldn't let her commit suicide like that, that was for sure. But what to do? Further destroying the team was of course no valid alternative - that would ruin any chance of bnc returning to her senses and to the team. There's still time... Enough time for everyone to calm down. She's to smart to be this dumb.
Maybe Kerstin could talk some sense into her? God, why were humans so complicated!

Gotta take preparations for a binding ritual asap. Girl's gonna get herself killed without a guardian angel.

Sharkboy waited for bnc to leave and be well out of earshot before looking at Nova and Wraith.

"Sorry, you two.

"I could apologize for the thing last night, but not if it requires letting her work on my gear or me."

"That would have been a good start. Like, right away. Not sure how much use it will be now. Told you back then, already, that it wasn't a good idea. I don't know what the fuss about that auto-injector is, though. It's not like we are trying brain-surgery, or something like that. You asked me, people eavesdrop and start throwing around stupid ideas and accusations. Really, that part is hardly your fault. But I don't think it's really about this, anyways. It is clearly about what happened yesterday. And that part is definitely on you."

Anna enjoys dancing, especially when coupled with an exciting partner. She makes her best effort to keep relying on her well trained, and naturally healthy body. Getting out of the team's hideout has a calming effect on Anna. It is one thing to be coupled with strangers for a job but another thing entirely to be coupled with these lunatics.

bnc is unstable at the best of circumstances, but with her amazing ghoul sister, she becomes even more unstable.
Kerstin was a plus, an exciting and dangerous. and brilliant augmented person -- sort of like Splitterbruch.

"But why would she give it up?" A transhumanist, Anna believes that the future of humanity is self-improvement toward perfection. If evolution was random until this point, from now humanity will reinvent itself to survive. Those that do not embrace transhumanism will be so far behind that they may not even be considered humans in a few generations. It was an arms race that needed either luck for magic, or plenty of money for augmentations. People will need to be more toxic resistant, and smarter and stronger and faster to survive whats to come. Kerstain got what was probably a leap forward in evolution, she awakened and got impressive powers that
few mages could mimic despite years of practice. Then she could not stomach the side-effects and seeked for a 'cure'?
A woman that augmented herself to the bone, a transhumanist... That hunger must be unbearable, but that solution was so plain wrong.

Getting away from Shark and his experiment was bliss and made Anna lighter. The man never takes off his mask and never talk about anything but wrestling or work. She had no idea how to form any connection with him, it was like he did not need or like anything but doing the job. Nova was like the perfect woman, in the sense that none of these seemed to discomfort Nova. She was perhaps Nitche's superhuman, beyond good and evil. Leaving behind, bodies, prisoners, burned factories and just staying in the moment. No nightmares, no anxiety, no nothing. Nova would not give up the gift so easily... she was sure of it.


As for Anna? she wanted to be like that, but dead bodies, violence, being hunted, raiding the factory and actually robbing the chips, living with bnc and with Shark and the rest without room to ventilate. It was too much for Anna she wanted to just move on, and perhaps she wanted to go to some other country. Likely someplace where she does not need magic to understand the language.

Dead people, undead ghouls, and a killing machine breaking to test a trivial piece of technology like an autoinjector were just too much. Some people got so detached with humanity, got so numb that all that violence would be another day at the office. She felt like they have done so many insane things - and she needed to get out of there - she needed to party to enjoy herself.


So she dove into Splitterbruch dance, and allowed his wonderful augmented body to lead her away. Her well maintained, well trainedf but completely natural body carried her as much as it could in a hopeless 'man' against the 'machine' metaphor. No matter how hard she trains, how many hours at the gym - an augmented fellow can outdo her with a simple surgery... She dances the nigh away, and forgets about all her worries and is receptive to most suggestion in her motivation to make that night truely remarkable.

bnc awaits Wraith's reply, but by the end of it her disappointment had already turned to resignation.
"So-ka," she says, then returns to her room.

Back there, she considers her options. Then dives into the matrix to look for another hotel.

Being a major tourist destination, Salzburg had more than enough rooms available. The next hotel was only 10 minutes on foot away, or a short bus ride to one of the major chains.

bnc checks shadowrunner forums for recommendations. She doesn't look forward to another encounter with the police when she brings James ... or her highly illegal FBA.

Once she found something suitable, she texts Wraith a note ("Hotel Sommerresidenz"), then James and she pack her stuff and take a driverless cab.

Having taken a hotel with relatively lax security measures (no milimeter wave scanners, no restrictions against drones) bnc found herself in a old fashioned but clean hotel room with average matrix connection.
The most obvious feature of the room was the prominently displayed crucifix with a particularly badly tortured looking christ hanging on it. bnc couldn't imagine that couples would be able to kindle much of a libido with that sight in the room - but of course others with different tastes might like it just fine...

While Anna danced with Splitterbruch just across the border in a beer fueled, raging party, Sharkboy finally got to test himself going berserk. Luckily, both Nova and the drug worked as intended and he found himself wonderfully relaxed and not angry at all, just past midnight.

bnc sat in her silent hotel room, giving her anthro drone its well deserved maintenance while her flying drone kept watch. Suddenly she felt she was becoming light headed - not unlike the one time she tried huffing paint. A virtual AR display tried to get her attention, but it was hard to concentrate. It took her two tries to make out the message: John's olfactory sensors were active and warned her about the air quality inside her room:
<<Warning: Pollutant detected
<<Analysing...
<<Warning: High concentration of Neurostun detected
<<...

Her lungs suddenly felt like they were punctured with thousands of needles and with a surprising clarity she realized that she likely had not much more than six seconds left before she would go unconscious...

Frag!!
Panicking, bnc clutches her throat, eyes darting wildly through the room. Was there an attacker? Where? Where does the gas come from? Where can I escape?

Swallowing a huge lump of pride (but not everything) she sends a maximum priority text message to Wraith: <@Wraith<angel plz NOW!!>>

bnc curses silently. There's no escaping: the only way outside is most likely blocked, and even if she could get out, she'd collapse in a matter of seconds anyway.
She swallows hard, as she decides to go for a different angle, an angle that forces net to do something she's very bad at: trust. Trust in the very lot she'd abandoned mere hours ago.

bnc quickly rummages around in her bad until she finds what she's looking for. She pulls out a stealth tag ... and downs it with the remains of a can of soda. She turns both the tag and the deck to running silent but sending their location to the team channel (alongside with the bio monitor's screen).

With her remaining service, she tries to buy time by blocking the door and/or handcuffing herself to a pole or something.

While Nova and Sharkboy had been busy with their training session, Wraith had excused himself for some preparations of his own:
He had contacted his talismonger-friend and told her about the Christian reagents he was about to need. He asked her if she had a sufficient amount in store or how long he'd have to wait for her to have them ready. If that's a thing for magical goods, he'll also ask her if there's a way to have them delivered to Salzburg. If not, he has no problem with a little bike tour tomorrow.
He doesn't pay bnc's message with her location too much mind - a quick look where the 'Sommerresidenz' is, then his mind wanders off to his own concerns again. He's still pissed at bnc, after all.

Looking around his room, he realized he also had to disable the smoke detectors and buy a mat or something to protect the room from the myriad of candles he was about to light for the binding ceremony - he didn't want to ruin the carpet floor or trigger a fire alarm.

Reagents, plastic foil for the floor, stuff to color my mask - I should write... Wait, what?

bnc's plea caught him totally by surprise.
He catapulted himself into an upright position and reached out to his bound spirit of air, Aeraziel, knowing full well that this was the last favor he would ask from his spiritual follower. Aeraziel, my old friend is in danger. I think. Keep her safe, I beg you!
He visualized bnc's aura and her location in his mind and sent his spirit off.

The immediate beeping of bnc sending her location and biofeedback to the team is enough to throw him into full-blown panic-mode.
You stupid, stubborn OAF, why did you have to abandon her? If something happens to her because of your fragging pride... Kerstin should tear you to pieces!
"Alert! bnc's in danger!", his high-pitched, obviously freaked out voices echoes through the team's channel.

Nova was taken by surprise by the sudden frantic as much as everyone else. A message from Wraith and some location data from bnc without much of an explanation. Something was wrong. Well, d'uh.

"What the hell did she do now?"

It didn't really matter, they had to find her and help her with whatever trouble she was in. She was still part of the team, after all. And at least for her, the argument earlier, as deep as it might have gone, didn't change that fact. Even though it would have been convenient, this was not the time to give up on that messed-up girl.

Looking up the location on her comm, Nova tried to figure how far away it was. Probably not next door, so they would need the wheels.

<< Hurry up, but don't run out blind and naked. We do not know what or who is there. Armor up and get your stuff ready. I will take my bike. >>

Taking her own advice, Nova went to her own stuff and put on the new armor she had gotten from Abdecker. She did not really expect to need it before the mission, but she was glad she had the extra protection. Could come in handy.

She also had another thought. With bnc likely out of the picture for the moment, they did not have any matrix protection.

<< @Eliza: Hey, Eliza. You there? We might need you ... >>

Well, if anything, it didn't get boring here ...

Sharkboy was wearing his now-upgraded suit and mask, and hardly needed to bring much else with him. "Nova, give me a ride on your bike?"

<<@Wraith: Where far away is she? Can we get to her, or are we going to chase the attackers?>>

bnc tried to stack the chair against the door, but found the world spinning around her. Still she managed to cram the chair under the handle before she keeled over. Only very faintly did she hear the crash as the door and the chair shattered under the tremendous kick of a very large and very heavy individual.

Wraith could not exactly see through his angel's eyes but he shared it's impressions through the emphatic connection. And so he was forced to experience his angel encountering another entity - it looked almost human - waiting in ambush. Still, determined to aid bnc the angel began taking physical form - only to be immediately attacked with mercyless efficiency. Pain lanced through Wraith as the first blow ripped away the angel's wings and the second one extinguished its light completely.

Eliza replied to Nova's call: "Yes, what can I do for you?"

...

Although the traffic was light at this time of night, it took the team a full seven minutes to reach the hotel. A quick, dynamic entry revealed that they were too late: The room was empty, James' innert form was lying on the table, the door and chair splintered on the floor.

On the unused bed lay a single, red rose with a small data chip on a slip of paper. In neat handwriting someone had written: "For Kerstin"

<< Eliza, bnc is in trouble. She is alone, at these coordinates [attached: coordinates]. We are on our way there, but we do not know what is going on. Can you get us any intel on the area? Do you have any way to figure out, what is going on over there? >>

Eliza replied: <<I am on it.>>
Agonzing minutes went by before Eliza's voice came back:
<<There is not much camera coverage at this location - not much security in general. I have a picture from a trafic cam that shows a large van that might be relevant: An ork with a heavy looking duffle back is climbing into the back. After that it's driving away fast towards the city center.
Excuse me, I have to inform the Boss about that situation.>>

Just as the team had arrived at the hotel and visited the site of the abduction, Nova received a call from Nacl:
<<What's going on, where is bnc?>>

<< I don't know. There was a heated argument about stuff that happened yesterday, and bnc retreated to her room. She must have snuck out, since the next thing I got was her sending us data on her location and a message, that she is in trouble. We are here now, but someone seems to have taken her. And they left something ... a red rose, a note "For Kerstin" and some datachip. We really need to find that van! >>

<<Damn it Nova, I hired you explicitly to keep her save.
You don't need to be a word puzzle fan to see that this rose comes from Dr. Rosenberg. We have to assume he has taken her to his research facility.>>

Eliza chimed in: <<According to the stealth tag she gave us MARKs for, she was heading towards city center. The connection dropped apruptly a few seconds ago, so I assume she was put into a farraday cage. A sensible precaution with a known hacker and rigger.>>

Wraith had just been putting on his mask as he had to witness his spirit getting obliterated.
"No, no, NO!", he cursed under his mask and gripped his forehead as a sharp pain jolted through him as the link to his spirit got brutally disrupted.
He blinked the pain away, trying to focus on the matter at hand. There would be a time for everything - mourning, prayer, revenge - but that time was not now.

When they moved out, Wraith checked the surroundings with his astral sight and warned his team: "Stay alert. We just lost our eyes in the astral, and there might be a mean spirit still lurking around."
A part of him was hoping to find the spirit that had just cost him his companion. If I get my hands on you, I'll make you suffer... Or maybe I'll banish you and then make you my servant?

"Elizia, how far is the van away?"

Sharkboy felt more vindicated in forcing bnc to stay with the group the night earlier, but now wasn't the time.

<< You cannot protect people from themselves. So, what now? We could drive to the facility and try to intercept them, if they go there? Either way, it seems like they know we are here. How did they even find her? Either way, seems like the stealthy approach is no longer valid, right? >>

We also need to see what they wrote us ...

Nova took the chip and plugged it into one of the looted commlinks they still had, running it completely isolated, with any wireless connection shut down.

Eliza replied to Wraith:
<<I lost the signal at the Staatsbrücke across the Salzach. I have to assume that they somehow managed to give themselves a constant green wave along the streets to move so fast through Salzburg. Although night time certainly aided their movement as well.>>

Meanwhile, he only found traces of the spirit still in the astral. Likely it had accompanied the kidnapers.

Nacl replied to Nova:
<<Not letting her out of your sight would have been the next best thing. Do you have any idea how devastating this will be for Kerstin as well?
Alright, nothing gained by shifting around blame. I'm coming to you. We'll have to solve this the old fashioned way.>>

The chip only contained a commlink number and a text file titled: "Call me if you want to get her back"

bnc's side of the story

Anna progressed in her night and was aroused and ready in anticipation. The dancing and sense of freedom brought her into a (more) sexy mood, and having her date showing such stamina and agility reassured her. "and I did not have to augment him for this..." she thinks happily to let go of everything.

When bnc's SOS arrives, the two are fooling around in a driverless cab on the way to a hotel room. It is difficult to break out of the scene. Anna tenses reluctantly... "bnc is in trouble... What a buzzkill that girl is... " she hisses in anger. A moment later she continues, getting of the man's hips and catching her breath. "I need to see what is going on. I am worried. " Her voice expresses genuine concern.

Anna texts on the team's channel >> Team what is going on...? Did something happen to bnc? Are the rest of you alright? I am about an hour drive from the hotel, but can project."