Anna asks bnc with concern "Won't the DECKER hack James...?" she is quite fond of the drone and his dry sense of humor.
To Wraith she answers "Pairs is okay I guess, do you like Sushi?"

"Visits the heart of European cuisine and then asks for raw fish...", Wraith murmurs while shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment. He was smiling and obviously not really offendend.
"Sushi sounds good to me, as long as we're in proximity to the ship. I'm not sure, though, that bnc has the stomach for sushi."
To bnc: "Or... have your eating-habits changed?"

"First, James won't meet the Abdecker but his barkeeper.
Second, do you cast a spell at every person? No? Likewise, hackers don't just hack random stuff, especially not the toys of their clients. Why would he want to hack him? Also, if he tries, I'll give him a touch time, for sure. I'm a hacker, too, in case your forgot.

Nah, but I can digest avocado maki. Why is it you only eat sushi all the time? You're in the heart of Europe, where basically everything that has a name comes from: from pizza to hamburger to coq au vin to dumplings to fragging Wiener Schnitzel. Sheesh, what is it with Americans and culture?"

Anna says "I was just worried for James, he has a kinky sense of humor..." and then she replies "I guess these things are an acquired taste and perhaps you need to grow on them to appreciate them. Believe it or not, I like the Pizza in Seattle more than here. I like Sushi, especially Tuna and eating unprocessed food brings up fond memories. I am not a food dictator if you feel the need to educate me about the wonders of the European culture and its food, let's do so.

"Why don't we leave the food-lessons for when the job's done and just take whatever has a good view on the ship?"
He tried an encouraging smile. "When we've got Kerstin safe and sound, we should take you all out for traditional Austrian food. Noone from abroad should miss out on Austrian desserts."
The optimism didn't reach his heart, though. If we can get Kerstin to safety. If she still is Kerstin.

"Well, that does sound good to me..." Nova chimed in.

"Since we are talking about a boat, there should be plenty places that have a nice view on the water, right?"

A quick look on the map revealed indeed several restaurants facing the waterfront and also the Dandelion. The best choice turned out to be a cosy cafe with a panoramic window. There was even a parking space close by.
The snow storm had gotten worse and not many people were on the streets. All in all it was slow business all around. Nonetheless there was a very bulky looking doorman ouside the gangway that led to the "Dandelion".
Part of that bulk certainly came from the several layers of heavy winter clothing that looked suspiciously like an Ares Victory Big Game Hunter suit. In any case the doorman was either a really bulky human or a moderately roided up ork.

The cafe did cater the usual fare of over priced soycaf products but had also a few genuine specialties like Linzer Torte.

The "Dandelion" was a remodelled river cruiseship with two decks above the waterline and one below, with the top deck being nothing more than a snowy platform with an empty open air bar. Whatever action was to be had there, happened likely below deck.

"I couldn't care less, really. For all I care you can stuff burgers and dead fish into yourself for the rest of your life. It's not like I would eat Tafelspitz and Germknödel every day ... or every life even. I've no clue what Tafelspitz tastes like."

---

Once they've settled in and bnc has a steaming cup of soycaf on her plate, she provides simsense-feeds to all of the group who can process them, and ordinary visual and audio streams for those who can't. In the meanwhile, James dresses something suitable - shirt and trousers, as she didn't have time or passion to go shopping for her drone - and commands him to go to the ship.

"Does anyone of you want to do the talking? Wraith? Anna?"

While they were waiting for their coffee, Wraith nodded towards Anna. "Shall we?", and took to routinely inspecting the astral world around the ship for any threats, sharing his findings with the team.

"To be honest, bnc, I think you're the one who knows about emphatizing with a psycho decker. "

Anna seats with the rests and orders the Linzer Torte along with some soycaff.
She grins at Wraiths comment "Can James drink? Would be kind of strange to talk to the barman without a drink. Does he have money to tip the barman? Anyhow, I don't mind playing James, he is a hottie."

Sharkboy got out of the car, and froze. He wasn't quite sure where he belonged at the moment.

"I'll admit, I'm a little unsure of where I should go here. Where would you like me to be? I could wait away from the action at the coffee shop or inside the limo, or I could go in with James and be loud and obvious muscle. The latter is my job, but I'm not sure it's what our negotiator will want right now."

bnc rubs her forehead in frustration, groaning softly.
"Job goes to Anna. We need someone who can tell apart a barkeeper from a flesh-eating monster geek. After the run, I'll create a tutorial with images..."

She turns to Anna. "No, he can't drink, and will not pass for a human anyway. You have to pretty dumb not to tell him apart from an actual human. We can have Wraith try it, however. Anyone will know it's a message delivery, and if he's a professional he will not confuse the different kind of customers. That's why we send James and don't go ourselves. He may well know that we're professional shadowrunners and know how the game is played. I want him to regard us as equals, not as prey.
That's why you, Sharkboy, should do the same as we all do for the moment. Take a drink, watch over Anna's shoulder as she arranges the meet, and shut up unless you have a very good idea what Anna's supposed to say or do. Lean back and enjoy the feed."

bnc orders an amarettoffee and invites Anna to three marks. "Do you wanna Jump In or do you want the software do the movements and stuff?"

Anna replies "He is realistic enough to not draw too much attention from people that are not professionals. It is a good plan."
She says in embarrassment "I would not know how to pilot it, and I do not have a control rig to jump in it. I'll just do the talking if you don't mind." regardless of the technical details, James walks toward the restaurant, only to be stopped by the bouncer.

After James had successfully crossed the slushy street and made his way to the gangway, he was stopped short by the bouncer. Up close only a pair of eyes could be seen beneath the heavy woolen winter balaclava.
With a very heavy slavic accent he demanded: "Stop. Invites only, what is your name." Before anyone of the team could answer through the drone, the man narrowed his eyes and said: "What is this? Some joke?"

James replies "I have a business to do, one that requires some privacy. I am here to set up a meeting." mainly to let Anna thinks what to reply. She was not ready to be tackled so soon, and she needs a few more sentences to improvise something. Anna says "bnc, can you hack the list? or do I talk my way inside?"

"I have no scheduled deliveries here and we do not allow... whatever you are inside. So unless you have a name that is on my list you can go now or swim really soon."
The bouncer replied in a threatening tone.

Anna does her best C-3PO impression to lighten the mood but takes a step back to make it clear that James has no intention to enter without approval. "No need to get jumpy handsome bouncer, I am not here to crush a Bar Mitzvah party. James grins and then asks Perhaps I tell you who I am interested in meeting instead of identifying, a personal message is sufficient.

"How about both. Or even better - get out of that drone and come here yourself."
The bouncer didn't seem comfortable letting a humanoid drone onto the boat
"You wouldn't have much fun on there anyway - the whole place is shielded. No signals in, no signals out."

At this moment, bnc noticed that the place was indeed suspiciously dead as far as the matrix was concerned. And that would also explain why the poor bouncer had to stand outside in the snow if he was the only way to contact the place.

Wraith had seen no astral activity but saw also that the walls of the boat were isolated with wards and dual natured moss.
Whoever had repurposed this boat was severely interested in having a place that couldn't be easily infiltrated.

Anna says "Well, the bouncer is not going to hit James, but I think that we need to get there ourselves." James replies "Hold on handsome, a shielded room is indeed a reason for face to face. It also explains why you have to stand outside in the cold. Not the best night for you, heh?"

"Pretty private for a night club..." Nova mused. "Guess there's a bit more going on inside than just drinks and dancing."

<< So, how do we wanna play this? Since it seems like we won't be able to communicate with anyone outside, once we are inside, if he even lets us in, that is, I can see an argument for either having a very small group, like one or two, go inside, or the whole bunch. >>

<< Also, we might have to give him more than just a 'we want to meet with the Abdecker'. He might want a reason, so we better think on that before heading over. What we know is that diary transcript, where she mentioned that he might be able to help her. Might be necessary to drop her name or something like that, to actually have him agree to a meeting. >>

"You could always just offer him a bribe, or Nova and I could say 'please' while looking tough. If we're desperate we could offer a back-alley blow job and then knock him out, preferably before the blow job.?"

Just enough intonation came over the subvocals to make out that the last suggestion was probably a joke.

Anna texts >> With your luck the man is gay... We have nothing to lose about mentioning ABdecker, dropping bean si's name may be risky but we can try that as well.
We can also wait outside, and plant a small spy drone on someone that is allowed in, identify the bartender and then speak to him once he exists the place. The problem with going inside as a small group is that calling for help would require some creativity.

"Since when did gay men dislike getting blowjobs? Wraith can take one for the team if needed."

Anna chuckles ">>Wraith honey... do you have a better plan?"

Wraith shot a grin and mean glance at Sharkboy for bringing him up. "Not really. But before I have to suck this guy off, I'll think of something."
"What I can offer is a way of communication on or with the ship: I can weave a telepathic web between... well, a few people. As long as we don't walk too far away from each other, we could communicate with just our minds. Downside is, magical security might notice the spell and get suspicious.

I'd say best strategy is if bnc can get us on the list, then we try face-to-face-contect. Mister you-shall-not-pass seems to dislike communication with a drone - doubt that he'll accept a bribe from a robot."

He also ordered some Linzertorte, a regional cake.