While in Karmakaze's car, Blue takes his hand off the Powerbolt spell-on-a-stick. Bad news inside of a closed vehicle.

Blue tests out the Mindlink. +++ You might want to stop more than five meters away from the other car. That's the radius of my Fireball spell at full Force. +++

+++ How should we do this conversation? Your prettier than I am, but I'm the one they hired originally. Maybe I should initiate conversation. What do you think? +++

+++You initiate. I will keep watch, and interject if you need me.+++

+++This is so cool!++++

Karma stops the car about ten meters away from the Rover. +++Better to give Blue more room to work with, as well as Acidsmog Dieselface,+++ she thought to herself, or maybe to both of them?

She exits the vehicle, staying behind the door for cover for the time being. Her hands rest on the butts of both weapons at her hips.

Blue chuckles at Karmakaze's shuffle of the spirit's name. He steps out of his side of the car, opening to the astral to get a quick look to see if anything in the astral is nearby, other than Acidsalt Dieselsmog. Assuming nothing nasty is about to happen in the astral, his attention returns fully to the material plane.

He walks towards the other vehicle but stops some 6 or 7 meters away. His hands are in his pockets. Nonchalant. Not threatening. One hand on the 'Powerbolt' device, the other on the 'Armor' device. Not that they will be needed. We're just talkin'. +++ Funny how much my life has changed in less than a week. How much I have changed. +++

He waits.

There's a pause of perhaps a minute, although Blue thinks that he sees some movement inside the vehicle. Then the Senatorial's passenger-side window creeps down a little. Inside, Blue can see the same woman a bit better than before, visible in the soft mood lighting of the vehicle. He doesn't see anyone else from this angle.

The woman looks nearly immaculate, but at a guess she's in that indeterminate range between 25 and 55. Cosmetic technology has complicated such guesses. She's wearing near-invisible, very chic datagoggles that slightly reflect the internal lights of her car. A few drifting droplets of drizzle glint briefly on their way down, adding to the hazy nature of the atmosphere. Blue's thermographic vision picks up the warmth of the car in comparison to the cool environment outside.

"""Can I help you?""" Her words are professional, but her tone says frag off, sewerdrek.

Blue smiles a broad smile. """ Your presence here, to the point of stepping out of your vehicle to observe, shows an interest in the goings on behind the building. """ He indicates the back of Petsonal with a flick of his head.

""" The obvious signs of your wealth and sense of self-importance suggest not just interest, but command of the endeavour. Your reaction to the outcome tells me you are disappointed. Since I am the cause of the failure of that ... project, and hence your disappointment, I came over for a chat.

""" I am interested to know why such a person of means who, I guess, should have known I was observing this facility would attempt such an amateurish sabotage. The company in question will now be alerted to the lengths to which their production of certain animals of interest is compromised by repeated failures on the part of a certain client to control the animals of interest they already have. The sabotage tonight was a blunt and obvious attempt to redirect blame for that lack of control onto this company.

""" Good luck with any future attempt to deal with them. Why on earth did you conduct this debacle? And, really, is that the best you can do? """

+++ That should piss her off. What the Hell. Two concerns are gunning for my head. Why not make it three? Maybe if there are enough of them, they will trip over each other trying to get at me. +++

There's a moment of silence. Beaded moisture drips from the edge of the Senatorial's window.

"""The only amateur I see here is you. You were supposed to bring proof of their failures, and instead we had to take matters into our own hands. They should have been shut down a decade ago, and now we'll get a judge to do it at last. Go home and play with your toys while the people take care of their own needs. Your contract is over."""

She doesn't appear to intend to continue the discussion, because the window slides up, leaving Blue with a view of his own face in the distorted mirror of the wet, tinted glass. The car whines softly and starts to move off.

Yet another turning point in Blue's life in a busy week. Build rep / possibly commit suicide. Of course she is contradicting the criteria laid out by Mr. Johnson, and now is stiffing Blue because of it. Blue knows how he would respond were he alone. But there is another's life to consider here. Really, two for that matter. Did she call backup in that silent period? Who knows.

+++ She's full of drek and stiffing us. If she goes, I think we lose the rest of the pay and gain a rep for being easy. I bow to your experience. Should I stop the car and demand fair treatment or let her go? We do have the babies to sell. +++

+++Delay her, if you can! Remember that we called PetPersonal security. Maybe them two can hash it out, and we can bring in the survivors to the authorities,+++ Karma attempts to project to Blue.

She has raised her left hand up toward the vehicle, in a stop signal, while her right hand tightens on her Savalette, just in case she instigates this crazy poli-bitch.

Alllllrighteee then! Time to make a reputation ... or commit suicide.

+++ Alright! Blue out! +++ Blue breaks the mental connection. Every bit needed to help survive the next minute.

::: Acidsalt Dieselsmog. Stop that vehicle!! :::

Blue moves a step or two to give him a better angle on the vehicle in order to make it spin when ... he activates the Powerbolt spell-on-a-stick, targeting the vehicle. That should give the spirit time to materialize and have its way with the pretty car.



As the vehicle is occupied by spin control and spirit love, Blue activates the Armor spell-on-a-stick. Maybe not needed, but the show is important.



Then he will brazenly stroll towards the vehicle. Cojones! Siempre cojones!

Blue's spell lashes out like a whiplash tipped with a sledgehammer. The windows instantly craze as if hit by a shockwave, and body panels wrinkle like a Stuffer Shack carton. In the next moment, Acidsalt Dieselsmog manifests like a smoke and metal thing in the shape of a gorilla that lands heavily on the bonnet, kinking it before starting to tear it up like the wrapper on a present.

There is no immediately visible response from inside the vehicle when Blue approaches, but there's a whine as of the engine trying to spin up. The tyres try to grip the wet parking lot, but mostly turn up gravel, a few sprayed pieces of which dash off Blue's mystical armour.

As he draws nearer, Acidsalt Dieselsmog sinks what looks like a talon deep into the engine bay, and then pauses as sparks crackle throughout the spirit's form with an angry blue-white glow. The spirit dematerialises like a waft of dirty ozone, but the car stops. It's done, and Blue looks at a broken reflection of the glow of his protection - for a second, and then it smashes with bullets coming out.

The trid shows don't do the Armor spell justice. The shooter's aim is true, and both bullets streak towards Blue's center of mass. As they pass through the glow of the spell, they leave spiral trails of golden light, and visibly slow. They both hit his long coat, and it does the rest of the job, spreading the impact of the bullets so that Blue feels two hard shoves, nothing more.

+++ Gotta make more of these! +++

To the occupants of the car he says, """ Save your bullets. If I wanted to hurt you, you would be cooking inside this pot right now.

""" If you have a problem with what has been done here, take it up with your Mr. Johnson. He contracted for surveillance, not sabotage. Action my part against this business was to be pursuant to evidence of their malfeasance, of which as yet there is none.

""" You want to end the contract, fine. But I want the last 5000 nuyen of the deal. Now. I did my part, """" his tone grows dark, """ and I will not be cheated! """

Karmakaze was expecting Blue to convince the contact to stay with words, maybe a spell. She was not ready for another spirit, this time something that looks like it cover art from a troll metal band, to smash the front of the car.

+++I probably fragged it on the telepathy thing.+++

While thinking this, her wired reflexes had already moved her into a tactical position, putting the engine block of her car between her and the policlub, and she found both firearms aimed at the windows of the town car.

Blue can make out some babbling from in the car for about two seconds before the door on the opposite side from him flies open. This is also on the far side of the Senatorial from Karmakaze. The blonde inside the car makes a straight dash from the vehicle - not for the parking lot's main gate (which would have been past Karmakaze's car anyway) but for the Petsonal building.

In her right hand she visibly has a large pistol, and her left seems to have some kind of glowing electronics - perhaps a pocket secretary or similar device. The way that she's running, it's impossible to get a clear view of it.

After the couple of gunshots, Karmakaze guesses that in this area they have maybe three minutes, perhaps as much as five, before at least a drone shows up to take a look at things. If the 'star is bored, actual cops won't be far behind.

At any rate, so far she isn't running with the kind of speed that suggests wired reflexes. Instead she's just running as well as someone with high end urban activewear can do in this drizzle, through the funk of ozone and old fryer stink from nearby restaurants.

Indignation and anger fade at the sight of the running woman. What point would there be to do any more to her? Maybe down the road the rest can be collected. For now, discretion was necessary.

""" Let her go. I'll figure out what to do with the renege later. We better get out of here. Police won't be far away. """

He heads back to the car. As he enters the vehicle, he drops the Armor spell. """ I have to get my Lodge rebuilt and make more of these. This worked really well. """

While Blue is on the way back to the car, Karmakaze sees her run up to the door, fiddle a bit, and let herself in. The door slams behind her.

"""Cover me Blue. I am going to clear the vehicle. Do you have anything that would work like a flash bang?"""

Karma moves in to the vehicle quickly, watching for any other people exiting.

Nobody else leaves the Senatorial while Karmakaze moves up, and when she reaches the wreck she can confirm through kinked doorframes, bullet holes and other gaps that the vehicle appears to be deserted. If she wanted to yank open a door, she almost certainly could.

From inside the Petsonal Petsonalities building comes a howl that instantly makes every hair on Karmakaze's body stand erect. In a second, while the first howl still falls, a second joins it.

Blue considers Karmakaze's actions and question. """ Oh. Oh yeah. Check the car. No, what I have to make light and noise also fries. But I could ... """

Just then the first howl grates on their nerves. """ Oh for the love of ! She went inside!? """ The second howl follows. """ Well... I hope the barghests are trained to contain rather than consume. """

Karmakaze checks that the door to PetPersonal closed like it should. Don't want those hellhounds to get out.

She yanks the driver-side rear door open, scanning the backseat with the Savalette, while the Ingram aims left of the driver seat headrest, in case there is any movement.

The door to Petsonal Petsonalities closed well, as far as Karmakaze can see. There's certainly no sign of immediate excursions anyway.

The car is deserted as far as Karmakaze can see. This was a solo run for the lady. However this does not mean that the car is empty: there are various items inside. On the floor of the passenger side, Karmakaze sees a couple of pairs of shoes - one pair of sneakers, one pair of dress pumps. There's an aroma diffuser smelling of jasmine, and a portable 'link in a slot built into the dashboard. On the passenger seat there's an open box of chocolate truffles. In the back there's a pillow, a blanket, and a small, stylish backpack.

"""Clear,""" Karmakaze calls out.

She grabs the comlink from its docking port, and searches for the keys and the trunk release lever or button.

The car seems to have one of those proximity lock systems. On the other hand, with the electricity completely trashed, and the bodywork distorted, there's nothing to prevent Bastard from forcing the trunk with a crowbar or similar tool.

From inside the building comes the sound of a pack of hounds baying. Deep, lusty voices that seem to reckon little of masonry walls.

""" Anything in there that can Identify her? Personal stuff and such? """

+++ What on Earth can I do about those hounds? If I go in there, they will bay at me too. Even I can't hold out long against that onslaught. +++

"""I got her comlink, I am going to check the glove box. Can your spirit open the trunk? The release button isn't working."""

Karmakaze circles the vehicle approaching the passenger side, keeping her gun on the front door. She reaches in to open the glove box.

Any new spirit, though Karmakaze doesn't know it, would have to be freshly summoned. Acidsalt Dieselsmog was wiped out by the shorting out of the car's electrical engine. This is of course one more step in getting things done.

Karmakaze reaches into the glovebox, and finds, among a few bits of bric-a-brac, a couple of data chips. What's on the chips is anybody's guess.

The baying stops. There's a sound of chopper blades approaching from the direction of Green Lake, or nearby.

"""I hear a helicopter coming. That means I don't have time to clear the residue of my spells. My spirit is toast. Let's grab what we can and get out of here before your vehicle gets tagged."""

Karmakaze clears the contents of the glove box and center console of any electronics and paperwork, and grabs any bags in the car. Then she hot foots it for her car.

"""Sounds like the hellhounds have been satisfied,""" she tells Blue, as she puts the car in drive and flips it around in the parking lot.

It's a matter of seconds to turn out of the parking lot, make a quick right turn and cruise along under the trees and canopies of Ballard, heading north up the hill. Karmakaze's
Elektro can follow the grid lines quietly while she and Blue check their respective hauls.

In the mean time, Karmakaze realises that the incoming chopper may have been from a Lone Star precinct, but is more likely to have been from a Knight Errant branch office.

The Elektro moves out into the moderate night traffic.

"""So... What does this mean for this job, Blue? The polis wanted you to check this place out and make sure they aren't getting fleeced. Then make two separate, but coincidentally timed, poorly executed runs on the building? I have never seen such ineptitude. It cannot be that. It has to be some sort of diversion."""

""" Frankly, I don't know. Did this woman actually have the authority to fire me? If not, I guess I'm still on the clock. Maybe there is something in the materials we picked from her car that can help us find out. I'll rifle through that pretty little backpack. That looks like it might have something interesting. """

Blue proceeds to do so, marveling to himself at the technology that allows cars to drive themselves on these busy roads.

The backpack is singularly unrevealing, except to display that the owner of the backpack has expensive tastes in cosmetics, likes to keep some basic meds and a small autodoc advisor on hand, and spare underwear. Nothing very scandalous, nothing loose enough to fit a stocky dwarf, but too loose for a gangly elf.

It does smell of floral eau de cologne. So there's that.

""" Damn. Nothing useful in here unless you're into heavily perfumed underwear. """

"""Do you have a way to contact the person who hired you?"""

""" I do have his contact number. It would seem the thing to do to get some clarification. I guess we are heading for Jeremy's love nest right now? I'll call Mr. Johnson while we travel. I don't have much facility with electronics. Can you see what you can get off of the chips and the commlink while I see if I am still employed? """

Blue uses one of his burner phones and dials the number Mr. Johnson gave him.

"""I can get it to one of my contacts, but we might need to pay them."""

Blue's call is immediately answered - by a fairly typical automated call screening device that politely asks for an outline of the purpose of his call.

Doubtless some little sub-AI will analyse what he says, and decide whether or not to forward him to Mister Johnson.

Blue shakes his head. """Yet another bot to bother with. """ He answers, <<<Blue for Mr. Johnson regarding contract.>>>

There's a brief delay, and then the connection ostensibly goes through.

<<<Johnson here. Do you have proof in hand?>>> The voice is bland, neutral, professional.

Blue comments to Karmakaze, out of earshot of Mr. Johnson. """ Looks like I'm through to Mr. Johnson. This should be interesting.""" He responds to the question, in a similar tone.

<<< No proof. There is a complication, however. During a stakeout tonight, I observed two men sabotaging the facility. I intervened, not wanting them to interfere with real evidence. A woman showed up, claiming to represent the concern that hired me. She accused me of failing to fabricate proof of the allegation, which fabrication was not part of the deal you arranged with me. The two men appear to have been working for her. She claimed I breached my contract by not fabricating evidence, and that I was fired. She then proceeded to enter the facility herself. The sound of at least two barghests howling ensued, and eventually quieted. She did not leave.

<<< So, am I still on contract as per our discussion? The two weeks are not up yet. Does this person have the authority to fire me? If so, what of the second half of my payment? >>>

There's a long silence from Johnson, and then: <<<I should ascertain some facts. I will get back in touch with you shortly. Will this matrix address still work for you?>>>

Blue replies, <<< Yes, but it won't be active indefinitely. I am finding it wise to remain difficult to track. >>> He disconnects. To Karmakaze, he comments, """ It looks like Mr. Johnson has been caught by surprise by the woman's actions. Don't know yet the status of my contract. He is investigating and will get back to me. """

Karmakaze's car picks its way through the streets, now much emptier as time has gone on, and heads for the highway. A few supermarkets and restaurants are still open, a few pubs and clubs, but pretty much everything is closed. Drizzle marks the windshield, occasionally wiped away.

Blue's 'link shows a message from Johnson.

<<<Contract terminated. Payment rendered. Thank you for your service; I may get in touch with more business later.>>>

So there it is: Blue and Karmakaze, in a car with a box full of adventurous reptiles and a weird egg-like thing. And another NY5K in Blue's cred.

Blue tells Karmakaze, """ The contract is done, and paid. 2500 is for you. """ He downloads the cash from his soon-to-be-discarded burner to his credstick, then passes half to Karmakaze. He sends one last message, to Mary Margaret.

<<< Please think of who might be willing to buy young paranormal animals. Will contact from different number in a while. >>>

He strips the burner of the relevant chips, cracking them, and tosses the pieces and the main unit out along the highway. """ Hopefully, Mary Margaret will come through with some potential buyers for the paranormals, but I have to think that Petsonal is a reasonable possibility.

""" If you find nothing interesting yet on the electronics, what do you feel like doing? Wanna visit Jeremy's love nest? """

Blue continues. """ I'm getting a little worried about those little critters in the back. And the egg. Sooner or later, something is going to get hungry or bored.

""" I'd like to get rid of them as soon as possible. And of course, make some cash while we're at it. """

Karma pockets the credstick.

"""Thanks."""

She ponders the questions, and where to head first.

"""I will try and contact my people again about the electronics. I still have a bunch of drek we snagged out of those goons truck, but I don't think that will lead to anything we need right away. We already know we have to deal with Big J, and where to find him. Let's head there.

"""As for those little reptiles, I agree they need to be offloaded as soon as possible. No word back from your contact at Petsonal? Sounds like the poli is done with the work, but maybe they aren't. And didn't they offer to reward us for any 'recovered' assets? Were you able to use your astral sense or whatever to assess whether they are paranormal or not?"""

Blue replies, """ OK, let's head over to the love nest. Yeah, I checked them out. The little guys are astrally active, and the egg is not.

""" Going over my mental notes of the conversation with the woman inside Petsonal, I think she has offered a ridiculously low price for these things, if they are indeed atavophid basilisks. I had trouble counting the squirmy little things, but assuming there are ten of them, and they each weigh 1 kilo, she would offer us a whole five hundred for the bunch.

""" Hardly worth the effort. Well, maybe not for us with twenty five hundred each to our names. I'm hoping Mary Margaret can come up with some competitors' names, so we can do some quick wheeling and dealing. Heh. If we do sell the little critters to somebody else we might actually be doing what the woman in the car wanted, showing that the basilisks are getting out. """

In a cartoon, a light bulb would now flash over Blue's head. """ Wait a minute. The woman in Petsonal said there is some kind of power move in the ranks of Polidemos. What if we just nuked the mover trying to take over? Think about it. She manages to cause Petsonal to be the patsy for escaped paranormals, gets Polidemos off the hook, and makes the old guard look feeble. Not too likely now, even if the barghests didn't snack on her. Could be why Mr. Johnson so quickly confirmed the end of contract and paid out. The internal shuffle might have been nipped in the bud. """

Blue checks news feeds to see if anything has been reported about the events at Petsonal this evening. In passing, he checks the time, so he can guestimate how much time there is until dawn.

Things have been taking some time - all that driving back and forth adds up, and the equinox is here. Even allowing for the long shadows of the cascade mountains, there are fewer than six hours of full darkness left.

The news media are mostly quiet - all Blue finds is a sort of AI-driven automated police blotter type of report that says that a Knight Errant security team went to check a disturbance in South Ballard.

If Blue wanted updated information from any of his contacts, he might now be in a better position to get hard answers, with the critters actually in hand. After all, Mary Margeret's initial response had been pretty speculative.

"""I think you are right, on both accounts. We did enough, and your Johnson is happy, and we can get a better price on the black market for these things.

"""Do you think that cardboard box will hold those things? Or should we swing by a Home Depot and pick up a plastic storage tub? If you got someone that can move them, maybe they can store them. I could also check with my fixer, just so we can cast a larger net and get a better idea of the market price."""

Karmakaze continues heading toward the love nest as she and Blue figure out how to offload the slithering cargo.

""" If they are open this time of night, that sounds like a good idea. A big bin into which to just drop the cardboard box. Although, we will need to make sure there are enough air holes. """

With a new burner, Blue calls Mary Margaret. What the hell. Midnight isn't so late. If she is cautious, he will leave a message to call him back soonest.

<<<Hiya, Baby Blue! You looking for something to make the girls go wow? I got pickled white kidney. It'll make you strong, like bull!>>>

Yup, she's awake and her usual perky self.