Karma drives past the love nest, looking for any idling or occupied vehicles that may be Big J's ride. After making the pass she should have a good idea where to park without being spotted returning by the occupant.

Blue chuckles. <<< Yeah, Yeah. Strong like bull. Smart like streetcar. Thanks, sweetie. I'll keep it in mind. Maybe sometime we can work together to have the second part of that description disappear.

<<< I'm kind of interested in any people you know who might be in the market for a few young paranormals that dropped into my lap. I believe they are the kind I spoke to you about earlier. I'd like to unload them before the slithery little things get too hungry. >>>

While talking to Mary Margaret, Blue makes a mental note to summon another spirit the first chance he gets.

There's a long silence from Mary Margaret, while Karmakaze's car scoots along the highway in the direction of Jeremy Huang's mistressmattress. Karmakaze's 'link tells her:

<<<RENRAKU BACKS OUT OF URBAN RENEWAL PLANS>>>

<<<CRYSTAMINIMISM MUSIC TRENDING UP>>>

While the headlines drift by with the traffic lights, Mary Margaret responds with: <<<Blue, how many people know that you have those things? And do you know for a fact what they are?>>>

As an aside to Karmakaze, Blue comments, """ Mary Margaret seems very worried that we have these things in our possession. """ Flipping the audio so Karmakaze can hear clearly, he replies to Mary Margaret. In the end, you have to trust somebody, don't you?

<<< They fit the generic description I got from the breeders, and they came into my possession after I foiled an attempt by PoliDemos to sabotage the Petsonal facility and make it look like these things got out from there. As far as who knows, Petsonal knows because I told them, in their answering service. Whether PoliDemos knows is harder to determine because their agent on the scene decided to enter the facility, and promptly met some barghests. Whether she was able to message back to HQ, I don't know. If they do know, then I suspect the alleged powerful entity behind them and pulling their strings would surely also know.

<<< So, yeah, I want to get rid of these things as soon as possible. Anything you can tell me to speed that process would be much appreciated. And, no, I'm not going to just dump them in the sewer system. Infesting Seattle with these things would be doing what the saboteur wanted in the first place, and be a very bad thing. Earlier you sounded reticent to fill me in on a detail or two. My life and that of my partner here might well depend on us knowing what can be known. So, sweetie, got anything for me? >>>

A random thought enters Blue's mind. +++ I wonder if those things consider the comatose body beside them to be food? +++

Mary Margaret's response is terse.

<<<Great. So now the whole world basically knows that you have hands on minimal dracoforms.>>>

With a grin on his face that comes thorough in his voice, Blue responds, <<< Right! So what's the fastest, bestest way to get hands off?

<<< Gotta admit, M&M, I have a charmed life. Within a week I've gotten a triple A hunting for me, a local gang boss out for my head, and some Illuminati type of secret org and its local thugs pissed off and hungry for my goodies here. I MUST be special! >>>

He looks over at Karmakaze , holds his hands up and wide, and mouths ' Sorry. '

While the car rumbles along the road, Mary Margaret is silent a while, as if digesting Blue's response, or waiting for some addition. Eventually she says:

<<<Special or not, if this comes to a head you may find that the rest of your life will be brief, but full of excitement. If I were you, I would be thinking hard about why your clients got away with it this long.>>>

Blue is getting just a little bit irritated. <<< M&M, I know there are forces at play here that are so far beyond my ken, I have little hope of graduating to the level of pawn. Forces that could shoot someone in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. You are not the only one to tell me so. I appreciate your concern, and know that it comes from a good heart. What I need now, though, is practical advice to use in the next day of my perhaps soon to be cut short life.

<<< I want to unload the little buggers and so far the only people I know who have said they would take them are the good folks at Petsonal, who suggested days ago a paltry sum for the creatures, should I ever come across them. If that is all I can get, I'll take it. I just hoped to find a competitor willing to pay extra for a scoop. If you can't offer me a connection, I understand. So, what I have is a bunch of little paranormals in a box along with a great big, normal looking egg. Got any ideas? >>>

Mary Margaret is silent again for another minute. Then she responds with:

<<<Blue. Listen to me. Dracoforms. Did you get that part? Draco, as in dragon. Got it? You have your hands on a bunch of things telling actual dragons to take a personal and direct interest in you. Did you understand that? Big fragging lizards with an appetite for meat who think that metahuman society is their sandbox. You want practical advice? Who do you know that deals with dragons? Nobody? Probably you think so, but you're wrong. Why does Petsonal Petsonalities get away with their business? Why do they get to deal with dracoforms? Because somewhere, somehow, they're under the wing of a dragon. Maybe multiple dragons. I don't know, and I never want to find out. Who else has them? Polidemos? Wanna bet something scaly is running their show, or breathing down their neck? You're probably safer dumping those things down an incineration chute than you are hanging onto them. And before you ask, I don't want them.>>>

She sounds quite nervous, and rather irritable over the 'link.

Blue looks over at Karmakaze to see her reaction to what Mary Margaret is telling them. He doesn't see any bravado.

<<< M&M, as usual, your bouncy bubbly persona makes room for some hard and clear advice. I appreciate it. My partner and I have to consider our next moves, but rest assured I don't want to play in the big pool. Not yet, anyway. Talk to you soon. A treat will be yours once I can get my hands on it. >>> He disconnects and scraps the burner in the usual way. That leaves three from the last purchase.

""" Well, Karmakaze, it looks as if we are in the middle of a game we aren't equipped to play. Maybe we can live long enough to dump the kids back in Petsonal's lap in the morning. You wanna do that, or just dispose of them? My preference would be for keeping the damn things alive and selling them back to Petsonal. >>>

"""I know they say never deal with a dragon, but I don't think there is much to lose. Do you? I mean we found something that if they are interested, will they offer us more than Pets, or they take it from us, or what if we gift it?

"""Let's dump the jackwagon out of the trunk, then I can put a call out to my fixer."""

Karma heads for a safe, but lightly surveilled area of town.

""" Yeah, it might be better to deal with the box of little problems first, before they become one big one. We did pass by Jeremy's love nest a moment ago. Did you notice anything like a guard outside or anything? """

Jeremy's lovenest did have a vehicle parked outside, populated by a couple of individuals. What they were doing there is anybody's guess. They might have been random, or his ride, or his guards.

From here, the best bet is the fringe of the warehouse district. Not very far, not closely surveilled but safe enough because it's fairly busy at all hours. From the sloping terrain overlooking Puget Sound, one can see the lights of freighters moving slowly around the cranes and docks.

"""Yeah, I wanted to do a scan of the area. Look for mode of entry and egress. Let's dump this idiot and head back, quickly. I think this Jeremy issue is a pressing issue. Dealing with him will give us time for other capital ventures. Like selling snakes."""

Karmakaze heads for the nearby warehouse district while they talk.

While Karmakaze finds a suitable place to lay Jimmy to rest, so to speak, Blue summons a city spirit to increase their numbers.



The summoning works, but Blue is a little drained from the experience. <<< I got us another spirit to help, but I'm a little fuzzy from the exertion. I'll need 10 minutes or so to clear my head before we face opposition. >>>

The warehouse district's fringes are mostly what one would expect, coming from the business end. Large corporate structures, of an industrial nature. Trucking facilities and loading areas. Blue collar housing and hotels for the shipping industry. Machine shops and repair facilities. People looking for less licit amusements gravitate to areas a little further from the main run of rumbling trucks and rail cars.

Karma finds a place where there aren't any cameras or prying eyes and stops the car.

"""You want to wake him up after we dump him?""" she asked Blue.

They get out and walk around to the back of the vehicle.

"""You ready to handle the snakes if they got free? I got gel rounds ready for the jackass."""

She carefully pops the trunk with the heavy pistol switched to semi in her other hand. The trunk lid slowly opens...

Blue replies as he gets out of the vehicle. """ I can handle them one at a time. Pain in the hoop there are so many of the little buggers. My spirit can help too, I think. """

The serpents have in fact distributed themselves over the back of the vehicle. They appear to like exploring crevices, slithering under seats and behind frames. They also find the clothing of unconscious thugs to be congenial. One in particular has latched its tiny claws into his clothing, and is licking at the traces of blood. For some reason in the road trip they decided that snuggling up to the egg-like thing wasn't a high priority.

With a mixture of frustration and humour in his voice, Blue comments on the current situation.

""" Well this won't do! They'll be crawling all over the place and exiting every little hole in your vehicle. How about you hold the box and keep them in once I place them, and I'll use a spell I have to pick them out of everywhere I find them. My spirit can seek them out and tell me where the ones I can't see are in the vehicle. """

Karma does as directed, trusting in the shaman's spell to prevent the little bastards from biting, scratching or any other devious things to her. That was definitely better than handling the dragonettes herself.

"""Okay, lets do what must be done."""

Fortunately, a couple of people rearranging the back of a car don't look out of place here, even if they are a vastly mismatched dwarf and elf.

The egg-like thing tips sideways in the box while Blue hands it to Karmakaze, and exposes a couple of knobs and buttons. Apparently these are for heat, and something called oscillation.

"""Well, shit! I should have done a better job assensing the egg. Sorry, Karmakaze. It's a machine to keep the little serpents happy in their cardboard home. Snakes like warm places, and this egg can do the trick. The things probably sought out areas in your car with engine and transmission heat. Maybe crank up the heat a bit on the dial. As for 'oscillations', I don't know. Heartbeat? maybe set it to about once a second?

"""I'll crank up the Magic Fingers spell. """



Blue Starts collecting snakelets, with his spirit as a spotter as much as possible.

It doesn't take all that long to hunt down and collect the minute serpents. The toughest one to extract had crawled into a heating vent, but Magic Fingers does a good job of dragging it out, despite it hissing like a tiny kettle. In ten minutes, they all seem to be back in the box. However, the bloodied passenger shows signs of stirring.

Blue responds to Karmakaze's earlier question. """ Looks like he's waking up on his own, without our help. Is there any way we can seal the box to keep the snakes inside? """

With the Magic Fingers still in effect, Blue manhandles the man's limp body out of the trunk and leans Jimmy up against the nearest vertical thing. Once that is done, he drops the spell and reinstates spell defense on himself and Karmakaze.

spoiler]
One point each from Spellcasting and spell pool.

[/spoiler]

That done, he finally examines the city spirit to get a sense of its appearance and demeanour.

Some rugged tape from the toolkit in Karmakaze's car will do a good enough job of sealing the box's corners and angles for now.

Jimmy groans, but doesn't stir while manhandled. A fire hydrant keeps him on his hoop, rather than his back.

The spirit rather resembles a tangle of gutters and electric wires. Water drips from it, and moss decorates it with a green, slimy layer.

With Jimmy safely propped up, and Karmakaze doing the tape thing, Blue has a moment to talk to the spirit.

::: Thanks for the help with the snakes. By what name shall I call you? ::: Blue is keeping a list of the spirit names he has come to know. He could be on to something.

:::Brickrot. Where the lichens and mosses nibble the stones to grit and dust, you will find me.:::

Brickrot has a voice like the hiss of drizzle on a roof, the low whine of the breeze in the wires and the gurgling trickle of water down gutters.

"""Good to go. Hopefully that will hold them for now. We may not have another shot at Jeremy for a while. I think we should take care of that, right after this..."""

She smacks the stirring thug a few times on the face to wake him up. As he starts to come to, she lets him know the basic area of town he is in.

"""You're not in the roughest of neighborhoods, and there is a bus stop at the end of the road there,""" she points in the direction of the main road. There should be a stop up there somewhere.

"""I suggest you lay low for a bit, and catch that bus first thing in the morning. I also suggest finding a new line of work."""

Jimmy looks bleary-eyed at Karmakaze's face, then slowly nods. Tacoma's a long way from Ballard, but the buses will get him across the enclave, eventually.

At least he shows no sign of fight.

""" I agree. Let's head back and deal with the people in the car outside, then assess the situation.

""" My new buddy, Brickrot, here, well in the astral nearby, will be of help, I'm sure. """

As he settles into the car, Blue considers the task of neutralizing two guards without setting off an alarm.

""" Do you think neutralizing the security would be enough to send a message to Jeremy? He seems to get really aggressive when challenged. You know, one of those."""

"""Here,""" Karma says, handing Blue her comlink.

"""Open up the Bounty app, and search Jeremy's name. It should automatically log me in. I bet he is wanted for something. Frag, his truck was left at the cafe on the bay.

"""My weapons are loaded with gel rounds. I should be able to subdue the guards. Do you have a sleep spell to knock them out, or a distraction spell or something so we can approach and egress stealthy?"""

Wonder of wonders, Jeremy Huang's name comes up clean.

Blue can poke and prod at the options, all the way down to unpaid traffic fines, but somehow mister Huang turns up squeaky-clean.

The closest thing to a dossier on him is a list of known associates with bounties, past or present. That is quite impressive; but Jeremy himself appears to be a teflon tubesnake coated in grease. He just seems to have the bad luck to keep hiring three time losers.

""" Your app shows Jeremy to be squeaky clean! He must have amazing PR. However, he does appear to associate with people who do have bounties. That info might be useful. """ Blue considers Karmakaze's question.

""" I can knock people out, one at a time. Jeremy, here, is an example. I'm no where near as fast as you, though, so if there are two in the car, we should coordinate actions to hit them both at the same time. as far as a distraction, my spirit could certainly draw their attention away from us moving to neutralize them. """

""" Actually, """ Blue adds, """ now that I think about it, there are two more things I can do that can help. I have a couple of one-off spells-on-a-stick that apply. I can make one of us invisible to both organic and mechanical vision, and I can make one of us able to detect a particular individual within about a 35 meter range. That last one was a good hit, so even if the target is behind a serious astral barrier, he should be detectable.

""" I could cast that second one once inside the building, and even walls won't block it. I used it once to find a worker at Biozu who had fallen into the waste disposal system and knocked himself out.

""" Until I can set up my Lodge, though, I can do each of those only once. """

"""Well, instead of dropping Jeremy off to the police then, maybe we drop him off to his employers, all bundled up. We got to do something to keep him off your back, without just making you a bigger target."""

Blue's face lights up like a Christmas tree. """ Hey! I know. Let's grab him, and then advertise on that bounty website that we have his sorry hoop up for sale for the highest bidder. """

"""It is a regulated site, so it's probably not a great place to advertise we kidnapped someone. Even if they are a piece of drek that deserve it."""

The car is now approaching the street of Jeremy's lovenest. The weather has cleared up, leaving the air cool and still. This area has pretty good services, so the street lights are bright and the electricity is running.

You know what the downside of a powerful will is? Try to change the guy's mind. Just try. Nietzsche admonishes the superior man to follow with conviction, as well as to lead so. Blue has perhaps a bit more to learn in that regard.

""" No. seriously. Think about it. We have no idea who has it out for Jeremy, but I bet someone in your community does. How else are we going to find out where to bur -- get rid -- sequester this guy? """

"""No... hmm... By regulated I mean it is regulated by the government and megacorps. It would be better to ask in the shadows than to advertise we have kidnapped someone to the whole legal world. You legally cannot capture a bounty before a bounty has even been issued. We would probably end up in jail, on the bounty board ourselves, and then I would be completely in the shadows."""

""" Yeah, I get it. Let's deal with the issue of the moment before I get ahead of myself. """

Blue does an inventory check of his pre-cast spells. Six left out of the ten he started with. Blue and Karmakaze each have a Heal spell. Blue also has available one Astral Armor, one detect Individual, one Influence, and one Improved Invisibility. +++ Man, I have to get that Lodge set up again. And soon. +++

For immediate use, the Improved Invisibility and the Influence are to hand. He regenerates some spell defense, just in case.



Blue also connects with the city spirit. ::: Brickrot. I am glad you are close. Things might get violent shortly. :::

Brickrot makes no verbal reply, but Blue knows that it is there.

Overhead, the low clouds reflect the lights of the city. They are clouds, although the pervading miasma of the harbour suggests some other sorts of vapour to the nose. The dwellings in this area are moderately well-maintained, with few of them showing the sooty streaks of atmospheric damage to the lights of Karmakaze's car.

As they approach the love nest, Blue strategizes with Karmakaze.

""" So how do we do this? Park a ways back from the alleged guards and sneak up on them? You are probably way better at that than I am, but my spirit can help all three of us be much less noticeable. I could use the Invisibility on one of us, but maybe that's not necessary at this point? You go one side, I go the other and we cue our attacks to knock them out at the same time? I could have us linked mentally to help that go off correctly, but then it would be harder for me to cast the spell that stuns my guy. Can you hold your shots till you see me zap my target?"""

Blue waits to hear what his more experienced partner has to say.

"""If you can conceal us, I say we sneak up on the guards. Can you knock them out with a spell? If not, break the window, then I can hit them with gel rounds and/or my shock gloves. Then we duct tape them to the car, so they don't sneak up on us while we get Jeremy.

"""Inside, don't forget his girlfriend. We have no idea if she is an adept, a mage, an innocent. Best be prepared for the worst.

"""Back to what we do with him, my contact did say there was a contract out for him, but it was to the underworld. Let me call my fixer.

"""Sorry... I got sidetracked by those dragonettes, and forgot all about it. Busy fraggin' night."""

With a frustrated sigh, she calls Jaxx...

""" Yeah, the windows are a problem. I don't have an easy way to break them anymore, and that would still give them some warning. I appreciate your desire not to use lethal force. That's why I prefer at first to knock someone out, rather than fry them. But let me think a moment."""

Blue pulls from deep in his memories of Thaumaturgy class. """ I would have to cast two of those knockout spells at the same time. I've never done that before except in a tutorial class. It hurt like hell. I could lower the force of the spells a bit, so the drain from the energy flowing through me won't burn me so much. But that would make it easier for them to resist. """ It seems as if Blue is talking to himself as much as to Karmakaze.

""" Unless ... unless I have Brickrot confuse them first. Then they would be much less able to resist the spells and I could get away with the reduced force. Yeah! So ... Brickrot still owes three services to me tonight. One would get used to make us hard to be noticed. All three of us. Then Brickrot would move to where he ... she ... they can see the two people in the car, and even through the window they could use their confuse power to addle the guards' brains. At the same time as Brickrot moves in I would move to where I can see the occupants of the car, and you get close, too. Then, once Brickrot has done their thing, I shoot the two spells at the lower force but knockout level damage, and it just might work. I might even make it through the casting unscathed!

""" Even if they don't both get knocked out, it will be devilishly difficult for one of them to do anything useful. That's when we could follow up with your speed ... smash a window and gel rounds to the face. What do you think? """

That's when Blue notices Karmakaze is making a call.

<<<Karmadoodles! Tall and pale she stalks the night for her prey! Gimme good news, you got something big wriggling on your hook? Or were you just lonely?>>>

Jaxx is his old irrepressible self, apparently.

<<<[Karma>Jaxx]"""Hi Jaxx!""">>> she attempts to sound chipper.

<<<[Karma>Jaxx]"""I got some items I would like to offload. One subdued, possibly unconscious Jeremy Huang for starters. On top of that, I have a box of 15 to 20 dragonette hatchlings, which are little magical snakes. Nasty little bastards, but so far not too bad, since they are right out of the egg. I got a shaman with me who can get you set up on their care.""">>>

Jaxx hardly misses a beat. <<<OK, Karmawriggles, I don't know too much about snakes - maybe check a talismonger, ja - but Huang? The genuine article? The big cheese? If so, I have an offer to make and you're gonna love it! How would you like your credstick to chompachompa fifty K this very night? I'll make the coffee and set out the snacks, you just bring the main event.>>>

<<<[Karma>Jaxx]Is that the best your contact will do, Jaxxarooney? I heard he has had a pretty big falling out with his employer, and there might be a few buyers.>>>