Blue nods to Karmakaze. """ I hope this is actually the one we want. """

As she exits the car, Blue stays in the car and instructs the spirit to materialize and herd the courier to Karmakaze and keep him there as they speak.

The spirit shows up right in front of him as an apparent thick cloud of stinging, choking smoke. The courier backs up, and leans with his foot against a concrete bollard, waving his hand in front of his face. Well, he's going nowhere even though he's not knocked down and he's so distracted that Karmakaze can easily walk right up to him.

Karmakaze grabs him by the back of his shirt, placing her pocket knife against the back of his neck, and speaks clearly into his ear;

"""Your deliveries are short. It has not gone unnoticed. The clients on both sides want you gone, but your fixer thinks you're worth a second chance. I am paid the same either way, so leaving you alive is a lot cleaner. So do you want to stop fragging around, stay alive, make everyone's life easy? Or do you want to keep fraggin' around, make you fixer and his client look bad, and force me to come back and dispose of a corpse?"""

She waits for his answer.

"""No! Wait! Ugh..."""

The courier squirms a bit on the ground, but the intimate awareness of the knife tempers his desire to flail out. Instead, he cranes his neck and rolls his eyes in an attempt to see what's going on.

"""I got it! I got it, fraggit. But you can tell them I'm never working for those liars again, understand? They shorted me!"""

"""That is a wise decision, but if you have proof of these lies you should forward that to your fixer. Everyone looks like drek in this deal as it is.

"""Now walk your sorry hoop away from me and don't look back. If you do, our mage will zonk you."""

He struggles to his feet, only pausing to grab the handlebar of his bicycle and pull away, spluttering in the cloud of smoke that is the spirit.

+++ Oh great. How did it come to this? +++ Blue thinks.

+++ I'm now the bogeyman Mom uses to threaten the unruly child. +++

Blue ends the spirit's task but keeps it in the astral. He takes his seat in the car and waits for Karmakaze to return.

The spirit dissipates quickly, and the courier hustles away almost as fast. Karmakaze finds the knot of action gone almost as soon as it appeared, and standing by herself near the Stuffer Shack door.

She can smell the self-heating plum jam snacks blending with diesel and kerosene. It's not the best scent combination in all of recorded history.

The gyrocopter incident is niggling at the back of Blue's mind. If he is correct that there is a seven day limit on the hunt for him by persons unknown in Mitsuhama, then there is precious little time left for whoever wants to collect his hoop. Desperate people might pull out all the stops so close to the finish line. He sees nothing threatening. His spirit has not notified him of anything in the astral. Blue makes sure the spirit knows to warn him if something comes. +++ Another service spent +++

Maybe Blue is getting a bit paranoid, but he is worried. He puts up as strong a magical defence around him, Karmakaze and the car as he can. Too bad the spirit is on the astral, otherwise he would cover it, too.

Karma scans the area on the way back to the car, making sure the courier didn't double back, or that anyone else is taking notice. She leaves the area as quickly as legally possible.

"""Well, seems like the courier feels he was shorted."""

She calls Jaxx on speaker and informs him as well, seeing that that was the job.

"""Whether he was shorted in pay and skimmed some product, or they shorted him in nuyen doesn't matter. He said he won't be a problem anymore, and will probably be out of the biz for a while."""

Jaxx went on and on about something, neither Karmakaze or Blue could decipher if anything was of importance. They were already heading toward Concrete by this time, so any additional information on the area could be helpful so she hadn't disconnected the call.

"""Okay, Jacky-Jaxx. So any new info on the current task you texted about? Or any general information about the area?"""

Jaxx seems actively delighted that Karmakaze is giving as good as she gets in terms of her moniker. His response is pretty cheery too.

<<<Works for me either way, Karmakrammer! The fact is, the source is shady so if mister courier boy is telling the truth, the next courier will have the same problem and then I close a trap on his wibbly-wobblies. But yeah, Concrete. It's all in the hands of the Salish these days. Concrete itself usedta be a forgotten ex-industrial hole made up of meth freaks and burnouts but after the big change and all the quakes and everything it was a refuge for the Cascade Orks. Nil surprise, it's up in the hills anyway, and there was some crazy plan to turn it into an industrial stronghold until the tribal plans took hold - yeah, that tripped up the march of industry pretty good. OK, so after that they stripped it of anything the locals hadn't already taken ages ago, kicked out anybody whose skin was too pink or who they didn't like, and turned it into a basecamp for tribal excursions. But that didn't last too long because they realised, a day or two late, that even tribes do better with logistical support, so they let it turn into a sort of end-of-the-road contact point for the wilderness orks, while also letting truckers, pinkies and traders settle in there. It's not exactly downtown Seattle, and it's kinda rough, but the biz is hot and the movers and shakers have deep roots in the Salish-Sidhe halls of power. Now, of course, tribal politics being what it is, the Cascade Orks rule that bit of the zone and that means that not all the other tribes are too frosty with it, but it also means that the other tribes have no more pull there than does the enclave government. You might stand out, being an elf and all that, but there are a few other elves. Just don't go boosting the Tir and there probably won't be no fight. They don't like the Tir much, up there. Old, bad blood.>>>

"""Well, if Daisy has been sent there, """ Blue says, """then we better get over there as soon as possible. If she is being collected by criminals, she could be trafficked to who knows where."""

He adds, """ Which means we have to cross into Salish-Shidhe territory. Good for me to get away from Mitsuhama, but we don't have passports or visas. Either of you know a way in there that gets around border security?"""

"""Well, I know a couple ways to get us in, but since we got Jaxxorama here, maybe you got a cheaper or easier route?"""

<<<Matter of fact, I do. Temporary contractor visa, no passport or anything needed, special allowances for special skills. Shamans travel pretty much free as long as they're not on the naughty list. You're entitled a bodyguard, so I'll just send you an electronic credential to say-so at the guards, and you should be in with less fuss than a hot nightclub. While on that note, I got a bit more for you on what to expect with respect to your girl. Apparently the folks that shipped her out, most probably, did so along with a package deal of all sorts of other folks and more-or-less dumped them in Concrete. How exactly they swung that isn't clear, but with everything from grizzlies to moose roaming the area not many folks are about to hike out. Now, were they just left to shiver on the streets? Probably not. There hasn't been a caravan of folks leaving there, but there is a steady trickle of trucks scooting in and out with the regular biz. I'd bet you a wendigo's third leg there's somebody there who was given a fat stack to keep people on ice. My bet is, the Cascade Orks are warehousing them and keeping them out of the way until things have moved on. However, that makes it a financial deal. If your girl is somebody important or connected, she might be too much trouble to keep, and you can work something out.>>>

""" That Is very helpful, Jaxx. You turn out to be quite a useful person to know. """ Blue is amazed at how easily that problem was solved. He begins to worry. Too easy?

""" So, how does the fact that I am Shaman get useful at the border? Do they welcome people so inclined, just because, or will they expect something from me? """

"""Is it possible to list me as the contractor, and Blue as my subcontractor? False credentials for him of course. We still believe he is on the list with the megacorps, who will definitely be watching borders."""

Blue chimes in, """I have a fake SIN, courtesy of Billy, which I believe Mitsuhama does not know about. It was for pretending to be wild when slipping away from Biozu some nights.

"""My appearance may be stored in files, but no other credentials will change that. I can take a shot at hair colour, etc. """

Blue decides, """ It will take a difficult spell to alter me sufficiently. I will wait till after sunset so things will be easier for me. """

After some thought Jaxx responds. <<<It's tougher to make you the contractor, Karmadibbles. Cheaper to make him the contractor, you the bodyguard. Fancier backstory costs more, y'know. Shamans get the white glove treatment because the tribes figure they're on their side. It's political, you see - they figure every shaman that likes the backwoods is leverage for them. Same way that the Tir likes elves. You won't have to change - big M wants to be heavy out there, but the tribes don't like Nippon either. I wouldn't worry.>>

Karma sighs, comforted a bit, but not completely by Jaxx.

"""You think it is worth the risk, Blue? Mit seems to not be relenting, but if what Jaxxy says is true, then we are probably safer out there than in the city."""

"""Oh, yeah."" says Blue. """ Let's get out of Dodge while the gunslingers are looking for me. In fact, let's move now, and near the border, once the sun sets, I can change my appearance so it will be a little harder to recognize me. Go with your plan, Jaxx, and I'll do what I can to match the description. Of course, make it not too different from what I am now. Heh. A troll is out of the question.

"""I figure I can be a freelance contractor looking for new prospects in a land that values my talents. Would that work? """

There's ample time to reach the border before sundown, even with stops to pick up clothes, drinks and road food. Concrete is well up in the hills, so orographically produced rain is very likely.

The drive up will take the car far off the grid, but the grid reaches up to the border, give or take a few meters, and so the car would be well juiced up for the ride up the hills. The way down would be easier, of course.

As they head north, Blue plans with Karmakaze, """ We can stop for food and drinks, and maybe some supplies to handle contingencies outside of the city. You probably know better what we need. Once the sun sets, I'm going to change my appearance, anyway, and I could do the same for you. Maybe a hair style that covers those ears?""" He smiles, then adds, """I can handle clothing, too."""

""" The spell is a tough one, and it might take a few cracks at it before we look good ... enough. That's why I want to wait till the sun sets, when I will be better at it."""

Once they leave the city proper, his city spirit departs. The environment changes, sometimes urban, sometimes countryside, so Blue decides to call an air spirit, which can be with them a long as he stays under the open air.



Blue gets a spirit, asks it to Guard them and their vehicle, and then keeps quiet and still till his head clears. """I've got a spirit watching over us. I'll rest a bit to clear my head. This working in the daytime sucks."""

"""We will at least have to get some cold weather gear and maybe some dried food. Maybe we can stop at a outdoor recreation store, if not a SuperMaxPlus Walmart."""

"""OK. I'll bow to your experience. """ Blue settles in to rest his head.

It's easy enough to quickly supply at shops on the way northbound. Tourism is popular for those that can afford it, and that means that the shops that supply this stuff are abundant. Even a humble corner shop will provide dried food in various forms. A popular one is a pressed krill and seaweed bar, enriched with vegetable fats. It has that characteristic seafood flavour, while promising over 500 calories per bar. Warm clothes beyond the occasional watch cap aren't really common in corner stores, but are readily available elsewhere.

The trip up is largely uneventful until north of Everett, where there's a big checkpoint across what used to be I5 running up to the canadian border, decades ago. Now it's roughly halfway between Seattle downtown and Bellingham.

The supplies are loaded in the car, and Blue is happy to have a few options in clothing to wear. Using magic to 'refresh' his one outfit has been a bit of a drain. Really.

He had checked out Everett a while back, when he was first looking for work, because Bicson Biomedical had been looking for a magician to complement their research. it didn't pan out, mostly because what they were looking for smacked a bit too much of cybermancy, and Blue wanted nothing to do with that.

"""There's Everett Mall just off of 5 near the 526. We could hide the car in the multitudes in the parking lot and get a decent meal while we wait for sundown. Then in the car I can remake my appearance, and yours if you like, and we can head across the border. That work for you?"""

Karmakaze seemed to be lost in thought, but pulled in to the mall parking lot and found a place inside an underground parking building. Hard to find us there was the agreed sentiment between the two of them.

A good, if not gourmet, meal filled them both for the long trip ahead. The two agreed that ID at the border would likely need appearances that matched the documents. Too bad they had not thought to change their appearance before Jaxx fixed them up with new IDs.

Nevertheless, Blue figured changing their outfits to look more "outdoorsey" would help on the trip into the mountains. Earth tones, lots of pockets, helmets appropriate to mountaineering, etc.

Once the sun had set, Blue set to work changing their outer layers, cut of their hair, polishing teeth, etc. This had to be done out of sight of curious passersby, so the parking garage was a good choice. People coming near would be noticeable.



After about half a minute, the two look serviceable, if not the top-of-the-line safari hunters.

Blue comments, """Well, that will have to do until I get better at this spell. Let's be on our way, then."""

The trip through the border checkpoint is almost anticlimactic after all the preparation. The ID check is automated - but either Mitsuhama didn't put out an actual criminal call on Connor, or the tribal authorities are ignoring it. They're pretty much waved through, with a professionally cheery: """Enjoy your visit!"""

Borders are curious. Sometimes they just look like an arbitrary line on a map with no visible effect on the landscape, and at other times they are stark. In this case, it's less stark but it is definitely marked over about five minutes' worth of driving. At first things look largely like an extension of the Seattle enclave for about a kilometre or two; various trinkets and other travel necessities for sale as well as hotels and similar, but this patch of border-specific industry rapidly gives way to temperate coniferous forest, with trees looming forty or more meters over the highway everywhere. The highway itself is functional, but on the way northbound it's pretty clear that a lot of what used to be US infrastructure or construction has simply been left to rot in abandonment, or deliberately razed. If this weren't the highway to Bellingham, the capital, it would probably not still exist as a usable road, either.

Once they are clear of potential witnesses, Blue summons a spirit to aid them. He figures movement and concealment might be priorities, so he tries a mist spirit.



Blue speaks astrally to the spirit: ::: Thank you for answering my call. Please Guard me and my friend and the vehicle in which we travel and stay nearby. :::

To Karmakaze he says, """ We have a pretty strong spirit guarding us against mishap and with a couple of more services if required. I'll just rest for about ten minutes to clear my head."""

"""Rest all you need, it isn't far to Bellingham."""

Karma hadn't gotten into the forest for years, and now two separate trips in a matter of days.

Fortunately, unless there's some other plan involving Bellingham, they should be turning off the highway well before then. The road up to Concrete starts in the valley of the Skagit river, perhaps halfway on the road to Bellingham.

Blue reviews the route after he has rested enough. """In Burlington we need to turn east onto the Cascade Hwy. which eventually becomes the North Cascade Hwy. Once we turn off the Interstate, it's about 45 or 50 kilometres to Concrete.

""" I'll review our intel to see what we know and we can figure out how to proceed. I have a spirit of the air with us, so it should stay as we pass through towns as long as we don't disembark into a structure."""

Blue speaks after some thinking. """ Well, near as I can figure out, Concrete is a node for commerce and distribution into the larger Cascade Ork territory. I don't know why Daisy got swept up, but it could be she is targeted for being sent onward in some kind of human trafficking ring. Or there might be a place in town for the good old boys to have some fun.

""" The town itself is likely to be pretty run down. It used to be an industrial town, so there should be lots of warehouses and factories available to turn towards that kind of use. I don't know where in town to start looking. Seeing as it is a node, there are probably places to stay overnight, should we want to."""

The road up to Concrete does quite a lot of winding, with the folds of the foothills of the Cascades mountain range. After just a little rise in the ground, broadleaves are almost unknown except for the occasional giant maple or alder.

The road surface itself is poorly maintained, but not unmaintained. Roots have buckled asphalt, but potholes have been patched. Apprently the opinions of truckers keeping trade alive do matter - speaking of which, the other traffic on the road is mostly the occasional 18-wheeler. If one were to include furry traffic, wheeled vehicles would be a tiny minority. Small creatures such as squirrels and jays predominate, but Blue would swear that his heat-sensitive vision shows him an elk.

Aside from the road itself, there are very few signs of metahuman civilisation, until they pull into Concrete, which is clearly a new settlement built on the bones of an old. Quickly assembled prefabricated warehouses and dwellings collect moss on old, broken foundation pads.

"""Well, Karmakaze,""" Blue asks, """ How do we find her in this without getting ourselves killed?

""" I have a spell-on-a-stick that can locate her if she's within about 30 meters, and I can keep it up for an indefinite amount of time. But it would be good if we could get an idea of what building to check first. Otherwise I would be walking around with a spell on and weaker if I have to do other magic. """

Blue thinks a bit and adds, """Yeah, so let's drive around town a bit to get the feel of it, and maybe on a second sweep limit our search to places that look interesting. I've still got my spirit around to cover us. If inside a building is a likelihood, I can summon one in there.

""" If it comes to some talking or negotiation, you are probably better at that than I. I suppose I could be one of those who gets his henchwoman to do most of the talking.""" He chuckles and winks at Karmakaze.

The town is small, and obviously broken down into two main segments: what used to be, and what is.

What used to be is like a tiny slice of barrens-like structural wreckage, torn up by the action of plants and weather. The roads are still there, if lumpy with roots and potholes, but there's little reason to travel them.

What presently is, is a small hub of industry perhaps six blocks in extent. It's a trans-shipment hub, there's a warehouse, there's a hotel, a small cluster of dwellings and a small cluster of shops. It's quite obvious that if the tribes hadn't wanted a hub in this area, there would be nothing but the trees and the bears.

When driving around to find the occupied area, Blue tries to determine whether it would be possible to drive up and down streets in such a fashion that his Detect Individual spell could cover all the occupied area from one street or another. Range is 36 meters, so if the streets are 50m apart, then up one and down the next covers the area in between.

"""Lets cruise through this hub and see if there might be a truck stop of sorts in there. Maybe some 'semi-permanent' residents or employees will have knowledge of a bus full of new vagrants came in. I'm sure a little cash might jog their memories."""

The streets are not quite a reliable 50m apart, but he could certainly achieve decent coverage if not 100%.

There is a truck stop visible next to a sort of warehouse with loading bays and what looks like attached offices. The truck stop offers the usual - mechanical services, fuel, charging facilities, a couple of restaurants, a small hotel garishly marked as The Gateway to the Cascades and so on. Nearby there's also what appears to be a trucking dispatch centre marked with the emblems of the cascade tribes.

"""This looks like your purview, Karmakaze. What looks like the best place to start? If we can narrow down the likelihood, I can start my spell. Otherwise, we will have to cruise with it on.

"""Come to think of it, I could eat.""" Blue's tummy grumbles a little.

Karma nods in agreement with Blue's belly.

"""Let's get some legwork in real quick, then get something to eat. Then we can make a second pass and see if anything has turned up."""
 
She scans the area as she drives through, looking for the best people to start their questioning, if there are any at all.
 
"""I am not quite sure what you need for your spell, but I think we should look for people who are here the most. Maybe there are a few homeless people around who aren't chipheads."""

She continues to drive through the connected lots looking for such people, someone down on their luck, but not spaced out.

The results are a bit of a mixed bag; there are a few people who may be transients, but they don't look as if they live here. A half-forgotten flyspeck on the map doesn't afford the kind of comfortable shelter that is typically welcoming. There are a few encampments visible in the wreckage of what Concrete once was, but they're also off the main drag enough that it's doubtful that they would have seen anything meaningful.

On the other hand, it does strike Karmakaze that there's one person who probably sees everything that rolls through: the supervisor of the fueling station. Nothing comes up the highway that isn't visible to her, and the open area around that office means a good field of view, not only over the fueling posts and the maintenance bays, but all over the truck stop and attached buildings.

With that thought, Karmakaze pulls into the fueling station. She locates the manager near the payment kiosk.

"""Excuse me, ma'am. Could you please assist us?"""

After quick pleasantries, she gets to the point.

"""I am looking for someone who has fallen on hard times and was shuttled out here on a bus. Her family would like her safe return. Do you know where they bus people into and who I have to talk to bring her home?"""

The manager, a human in a hooded jacket with tribal patches, nods casually as Karmakaze speaks. """Yeah, I can help you."""

She folds her arms and leans them on the frame of the window of the kiosk, and listens before answering: """Oh yeah, they all got loaded in that old dorm back there.""" She points a finger at a building that looks halfway between a hotel and a block of studio apartments, with many broken windows and other evident signs of neglect. """Guess she's lucky she has a family. Most of 'em just got dumped here, and offering whatever they got to hitch a ride out but most of the truckers ain't taking 'em out. A couple tried walking out, spirits know where they are now. We try to tell 'em no."""

Karmakaze hands the manager 50 .

"""Thank you for your help.

"""So they are just dropped off there to fend for themselves, and they are not being trafficked in any way? If they are, I would like to negotiate terms rather than make it an altercation."""

"""Trafficked? Not as far as I know. Maybe they're trafficking each other. Haven't asked, not gonna ask. Most of 'em seem to want to get out. I guess they're on the losing end of some fight in town, got dumped out here to be out of the way."""

It's pretty clear that while the manager observes what's going around, she doesn't know much more and isn't really involved beyond seeing. It's not clear that she thinks that anything untoward happened; her tone is very matter-of-fact.

"""Thank you so much for your help. Hopefully we can find our 'friend',""" Karmakaze makes the inflection clear.

"""Besides the building, if she has already moved on from there, are there any other shelters or encampments we might want to search."""