Willie listens to the differing opinions expressed by the passengers.

"One wants a mercy killing, two want to go and leave him, one is lost in space, and the driver ... I figure it's up to me. I think the fire will bring all kinds of people. Someone will finish him or save him way before the ghouls come. Let's go." He switches ammo in his weapons to be fully loaded, puts the Rover in gear, and starts out towards the Underground location.

"I got a database in my commlink o' Underground entrances. Yeah, Princess, me, a database! I'll check through it to see if I know sumpin' about this one."

Can Opener gave a short laugh.

"Willie, I got a database too. If I need data, I pull it from my base. Actually, now I'm thinking about that, what if the other side intended to just do a burn-and-run on the Spikes, then head straight up to rendezvous with the truck? We might want to divert the truck now, and deal with any fallout from that sooner rather than later. I can't see those roadelves objecting to a running battle on a highway."

Selina

"That was unnecessary ..."

It was no big surprise that Selina did not like the grim work of the drones. That poor kid, she thought. He wasn't even really into it, as it seemed. Probably could have taken the right turn still. But we will never know. I guess that's what all that chrome does to you, take away your humanity.

It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. This world was a violent one. She tried to push the thoughts aside and focus on the things ahead, which would likely and hopefully not involve any bloodshed.

"Remember, we are not supposed to act where we are not present with our bodies. So let's just drive fast. You can do that, Quick Willie, right?"

Willie drives with liquid smoothness and grace. Traffic is light this time of night, and seems to part before his skillful maneuvers. "Damn right, Selina!"

@All - The boy's pleas, however sincere and earnest, ultimately fell on deaf ears. Another shot is heard before any actual effect is seen or felt for that matter. And then he too joins the small semicircle of bodies now piled up front of the raging bonfire that used to be their home. Eight dead men signify your success of this part of the mission. All that's left is take some kind of trophy from each body of the slain Most Righteous. Morbid and grizzly stuff this is. Wetwork is aptly named for just that. Getting your hands dirty, and getting rich by doing so. Two-fifths of the way done and the night is only going to get even more crueler as time goes on.

Can Opener settled back again, and waited for the next destination. Hamstrung by the rules, she could do little more than draw more chalk designs on the back of the seat in front of her, and play a few games of tic-tac-toe as well.

IC Princess

Having completed the last assignment, IC Princess sets the roto-drones to follow once more as the team moves to the next destination. In the meantime, she begins hacking her way into the comm network for the Laesa team.

Willie notices Can Opener drawing aimlessly on the back of the front row seats.

"Hey, Can Girl, sorry yer feelin' bored. I expect drek will happen soon enough that bullets can't handle. Truth is, I know my job real good. Soon as it gets tough, I'll stand between you an' Princess an' Selina and the hail o' bullets while you do the real heavy liftin'. I still gotta figger out whut Smiley can do besides make us lots o' money. Which ain't bad, big guy. More truth, I'm kinda worried that things have been kinda easy so far. I don't know whut kinda test is supposta show Belial is the best boss, but I wunna thought it would be this easy."

A sudden chill runs up Willie's spine as a fearful thought intrudes upon his musings.

"Hey! You're not makin' one o' them circles on the back o' my chair, are you? You know, one o' them things where you get a nasty spirit thing appearing right by my ass? Jokes are wiz, I know, but drek like that can hurt!"

Can opener did not even chuckle at Willy's concern, but instead said:
"Don't worry about that. I never frag teammates. Seriously, this is one thing you can rely upon. What I'm drawing here is mostly useful to me, like that fire spirit I just summoned. Didn't burn anything in here, did it? Your kidneys are safe. Well, from me, anyhow.

"But don't worry, I'm not bored. A little frustrated with the stupid fragging rules, but not bored. If I were bored I'd be trying to figure out how to clean this jacket they gave."

IC Princess

The voice of the decker comes through the internal speakers of the vehicle. "You mean you haven't already been trying to do that? I would at least go through the pockets for any goodies."

"Yeah, I found one o' those flash packs in mine," Wille adds.

The drive so far has been uneventful, except for the odd hair-raising pass-and-duck-back-in maneuver.

March 14th, 2073, 12:25 AM

The Ork Underground’s a haven for nocturnal goblinoids, and it sprawls, in one form or another, are under much of the Seattle Metroplex. They’ve got pretty heavily guarded tunnel entrances scattered around Seattle including right here in the Puyallup Barrens. Part of this apartment complex caved in years, or was it weeks?-ago, and it was a simple matter of cracking through some basement and sub-basement walls to open up the Ork Underground to the ashy, grey wasteland of the Barrens. Four orks in the Skraacha’s paramilitary get-up lounge around on guard duty here, two of them out in front of the building, two back inside, past wrecked walls by the entrance proper. Each of them is toting a sturdy, reliable Kalashnikov rifle, either carrying it in-hand or slung over their shoulder. Their muscled arms are bare, even in the Puyallup cold, and each of them wears an identical drab-brown flak vest, mottled urban camo pants, and a crooked black beret. They’ve all got an assortment of official-looking patches, pins, and trinkets scattered here and there, but the one add-on each outfit has in common is a gleaming star-shaped badge, no doubt bought wholesale from some cheap Matrix shop. Now, how best to convince these thugs that they’re on Ancient’s turf…

Smiley will ask to be let out of the truck around the corner and out of site of the building. "I am the only human in this crew, so I think it would be best to play it like I am flying solo, either as point man or back-up, depending on how we are working this." He will also switch out of the Ancients jacket for his own and put the minitorch in his pocket. "I can do what I tried at the mall, trying to con them into letting me get close."

"Yeah, things went south fast when I chimed in," Willie ... chimes in. "I'll stay in the van. I think you are going to have some magic going along with you, too. Should make them a lot more interested in sharing their preciouses. And we should probably keep the Ancients logos hidden back here.

"Hey, if you can, if the mojo makes them really friendly, find out where those badges are sold. I'd like to get some and maybe save these mooks some heartache with the bosses."

"As I mentioned before, Fiona can be very convincing. But her powers only work on one of them at a time, so it would be easiest to get them seperated," Selina explained. "However we approach this, I would be much inclined if we avoid any bloodshed this time. There has been too much of it, already. For my taste, anyways."

Can Opener looked over at Selina, calmly but not unkindly.

"Cheer up, sister. They'd have done the same to you, in the end. If you need a wake, I can pour until you sleep and forget. As for the tusky, I guess the boys will be more persuasive and less permanent. After all, it wouldn't seem right to invite more scrutiny than necessary. We can let the Ancients and the Underground settle their differences the old-fashioned way once we're long gone."

She looked around then, peering over the sill at the scenery whooshing by.

"But I should maybe ask instead how you tend to drown the demons before I pour what dwarves generally do."

Selina nodded towards the dwarf.

"Well, I am not overly naive. Maybe a little bit. I know there is darkness in the shadows, of course. And that sometimes it is a question of them or us. But that doesn't mean we cannot also bring some light. There's always a choice. Or, at least, most of the time."

"Anyways... I guess there will be enough booze when we go back to the club after we are done, so here's a few things I could do. I could mask me or someone else to look and sound like an orc. Which might help if we choose to talk to them. Won't give the person extra language skills, though. Fiona can conceal us, which helps with a sneaky approach. It's not invisibility, but it makes it harder to be seen or heard. I can also do full invisibility, but the more spells I have to sustain, the harder it gets."

"Before we try to magically fool them, we should make sure there are no wards or gifted among them."

"Yah know, since we're none of us all that interested in takin' the easy way here," Willie adds, "it sounds to me like we need to get it clear who's doin' whut.

"I think I'm stayin' outta it for now, bein' ready to jump in like the cav'lry if the plan goes south. That about right?"

Willie wonders. Goes south? Where does that come from? Who thought goin' south was a bad thing? Is that, like, us in the north think south is not us, so it must be bad? Huh. And, do they say 'goes north'?

Smiley affects an obviously mock pained expression, "Hey omae, can we choose a different metaphor? Cavalry are not really a thing my people like to see coming to the rescue." He grins and continues, "But yeah, you can hang back, no reason for you to get in trouble with your people."

My people? What is he talking about? Oh. Oh! yeah.

"Sure." says Willie. "I'll be the reserve. Insurance plan. Ace in the hole."

"Speakin' o' my people," Willie adds, "I can speak Or'Zet a bit. Would that help? Maybe this: 'Don't want no grumage' means you don't wanna fight."

"Alright, so Smiley and I will go talk to them, while Fiona sneaks up and looks for an opportunity to snatch some of those badges. I will make myself look like an orc, to make them a bit more inclined to not just shoot us. We could tell them, that I am looking for a place to hide, and you wanted to help and figured this would be a place where an orc can hide pretty well, or something like that. And depending on how things go, maybe we can talk them into giving up some of those badges as well. The rest will be the cav... backup. Backup, yes. And keeping an eye out on the surroundings. How does that sound?" Selina asked.

"Works for me," says Willie. He puts the AK 97 on his lap and the Ceska on the seat beside him. For backup. Yeah, that's it. Backup.

Kathy nodded, and settled back down below the level of the vehicle's sill so that her presence wouldn't add to the perceived threat. She also took a moment to make sure that the Ancients' jacket was out of view as well - no point having that colour announce anything just yet.

No grumage to be had here, indeed.

"So just to be clear, am I supposed to try and talk them out of one when we get close or put them down and take it?" Smiley gets out and settles his jacker over his bare torso.

"Talk to them, at least we should start that way. If we do not get anywhere, we can still just take them, I guess. But the general idea is to keep the violence to a minimum," Selina replied. "Of course, if you happen to be a talented pick-pocket, that might also work."

(Not even going to try and resist with that kind of setup)

"Pretty lady, when this is over I will be glad to show you many things I am quite talented at, but unfortunately for us, picking pockets is not one of them." Smiley give the line the full treatment, charisma on novahot, voice smooth as silk, eyes sparkling with possibilities, and just the right pose to highlight his bare washboard abs under the jacket.

After a suitable pause to give Selina time to think about it, but before she can answer he will move along.

"Okay, so we need a story with some meat on the bone. Get your ork face on, we will play like I am your protector, you are running from the pimp I just grabbed you from and we figured you could hide in the Underground since the guy is a breeder. Got it?"

Selina gives a slight chuckle and nods after Smiley has said his piece.

"Alright, let's focus on the job here. Fiona, lend me a hand?"

"Of course."

A moment later, Selina's form changes into that of a fairly curvy orc girl. Quite cute, for an orc, that is. And with the attire that a single glance is enough to guess her "profession". A worn, red mini-dress with a deep cut and a few dirt stains, fishnets, heeled boots, some cheap jewelry, the whole package. And she also has a few bruises on her face for good measure.

If that doesn't trigger their chivalrous nature, then they don't have one...

Willie takes one look at Selina's new form and a lot of interesting thoughts run through his young mind. All he says, though, is "Whoa!"

Smiley nods, the look to his eyes is spot on, one more piece to the disguise. "Hey, one of you got a sidearm I can use real quick? It will help the story and put them at ease if they can 'disarm' me. So Selina, we are going to sprint from here, so we can be legitimately winded, are you ready?". Smiley will take any offered weapon and if it is a pistol he will safe it and stuff it into his belt.

Behind them, Fiona materializes in the form of a black cat. "Meow!"

Soon after, she becomes blurry from her own concealment power and then turns fully invisible.

Another, "Whoa" escapes Willies lips. "Not even a holdout on ya? How ya gonna kick som'un 10 meters up on the third floor?"

He looks around at the crew, and marvels at the blank looks. Only IC Princess responds with a look that gives him any hope.

"You guys got magic an' drones an' stuff. I ain't got nuthin' but my guns. I ain't givin' one up ta be con-fis-cated."

"The only weapon I need at range is my voice." Smiley replies, "It's not like I am gonna let them keep it."

"Voice. Yah, usin' it on me now, huh? Drek!" Willie tosses him the Ceska. "Ain't gettin' my main gun."

"Yeah, you keep that gun of yours handy, just in case something goes really far south here. Not that I expect it, but it's good to take precautions," Orc-Selina said.

"Speaking of which, what's a fitting name for an orc girl, Willie? In case someone asks..."

"Go for a normal name. It'll get their heart strings humming. My favourite is 'Mary'," Willie says.

"If ya wanna throw in an Or'Zet word or two: pimp is 'egrond'rohado'. It means sex boss. 'Skraa' ya shout when yer comin' up on someone. 'Grumage' means fight, so you don't want no grumage. She gave her boss the 'buunda', along with a good middle finger, means ... well ya know what it means."

Kathy looked briefly at Selina's change of appearance, and nodded approvingly. "Nice. Looks authentic. You're set up to use Fancy as a street name."

More of her attention went to Fiona, with a combination of interest and admiration the way that someone else might look at a matrix designer's finest handiwork. She didn't bother keeping her eyes on the knot of invisibility, but instead considered the gun. "You know, I could probably snag that back if it got left somewhere. But rather not if I don't have to. Be nice to the gentlemen, and maybe they'll be nice to you."

She sat back again, and hummed a couple of notes, eyes far away as if remembering things. Maybe a birthday many years ago.

"Okay, let's go. Sprint hard, I'll be right behind you. GO! GO!!" Smiley watched her start off, then set a pace to keep with her, composing his face to worry and desperation as he acted as her rear guard, as if someone was chasing her.

While they were closing in on the orcs, Fiona in her cat form snuck around, keeping an eye on them from a little distance.

Yeah, Fancy works too. Willie muses that the word fancy derives from the word fantasy. Only momentarily, though. Such thoughts still don't last long in his mind. Fantasies, however, linger.

Funny how time seems to slow down when one is deep in a fantasy. The story that flowed through Willie's mind seemed as if it took a couple of weeks at least, with days of frenetic ... activity, interspersed with gentle days of rest and reflection. Yet now as he snaps out of it, he realizes only a few seconds have passed. Was this an artifact of his new implant?

Hope so. This can make stakeouts way more enjoyable.

Willie makes sure the AK-97 is in burst fire mode.

And checks the fuel gauge on the van.

Hmmm. Seems like the Ancients were a little cheap on the fuel allotment. Well, enough for tonight, one hopes.

What the $^$^? The odometer looks just a little out of adjustment. Oh yeah. Somebody's taken a few years off this nag.

But the windshield wipers work well. Willie chuckles at an old joke he remembers. If you turn on the wipers by mistake, they call you, "Dumb guy. Dumb guy."

Willie checks his commlink for security.

Is that a cricket in the vehicle? Damn thing is louder than the action outside.