Tamarind replies to Bobby's message <<Good by me, this process is rough on the nerves, I'm happy to se it move along.>> after a moment she thinks to add <<I've got drones on The Lantern. Some people there, but no real action. Discussion about combat tactics, it doesn't even sound drunk and angry. And for future reference they seem to be storing some gasoline in one of their washrooms, one that currently has a cracked open window to it.>>

Mato freezes.

<<Wait, what>> he shoots back to Tamarind.

<<They're discussing combat tactics at 1am and they are NOT drunk? That's a serious red flag.>>

He rubs the bridge of his nose, an old habit from his youth that doesn't feel very good anymore now that he has metal hands.

"Why wouldn't they be drinking though?" he whispers, mostly to himself but also to Bobby and Raven if they are close enough. "Most gangers love getting blitzed before going on a rampage."

Mato thinks it over. Would he prefer drunk assailants who might be unreasonable but might also be sloppy? Or would he prefer sober assailants who might make fewer mistakes but who might also - at some point - be rational too?

He rides up the elevator with Bobby and Raven. "I'd love to drop an explosive through the bathroom window and be done with it, but the stipulations of the job..." He shakes his head. "We're supposed to be tricking them, not wasting them."

"Sounds to me, the best point to talk to them is now, before they launch the assault."
Bobby replied laconic.

He took out the number that AM managed to gather from the Halloweeners and called Carn-Evil.

<<A little bird just tweeted us that your boss is after the card my colleagues and I are currently holding at auction. The offer was an insult - but we aren't exactly expecting good manners from the likes of you. So, besides threats and violence, what are you prepared to offer to get it?>>

Carn-Evil texts >> I have no interest in your auction, lose the number... or keep it, do as your heart desires, but do stay out of my way. Bombs are expensive.

At about the same time, Bobby's link rings with an unknown number, and as he answers, there is the displeased voice of Big Stank. "How much?"

@Tamarind.
As time passes, Tamarind can deduce a bit it is not a raid on a specific place but an awe and fear raid - unclear about who, but it involves multiple groups with explosives and molotovs making a "bold statement." The discussion seems more of a round table aimed at reaching a consensus rather than a leader shooting orders. They seemed to have gone a long way in planning all the little things as to exactly who goes where and the location of their command and control vehicle; the use of communications and the level of details is not quite military -- but it is much more you'd expect from a street gang whose members appear to be careless, insane and drunk.

Bobby replied to the familiar voice: "Currently, the best offer is 60k. And you are in luck that it's our client selling and not us."

Big Stank explains "How much to have it right now?"

<< Well, for what it's worth, she seemed to be all alone there. Some really nice gentlemen at that bar. What's The Lantern, though? Not quite sure I can follow what is going on there ... and how it is relevant for us. >> Meanwhile, Bobby gets the call. << Oh, sorry. Zipping it. Wait... this is silent. Sorry, this matrix stuff always confuses me a little. >>

Bobby replied: "It's in a bank vault. If you have the cash you can have the card as soon as they open up again."

Big Stank says, "Deal! Meet me at the entrance to that bank at opening hour, I'll bring the 60k."

"Ok. I'll get back to you when and where." Bobby didn't bother to say anything else and ended the call.

He turned to the others <<Ok, sorry for not consulting with you, but I think this is pretty optimal. Big Stank works with the Halloweeners. I have no problem whatsover if the Helloweeners come to him to get the card. The only problem would be if the dragon calls dibbs. But if that's the case, we didn't stand a chance anyway to get it to Nightmare, unless we threw it directly into the Lantern's postbox. 60k is more than we would make from this gig.

Any objections?>>

<<Big Stank? Lovely name. Sounds like someone where we ask to see the cash before we show the card, would almost be surprising if he didn't try to take it without paying.>>

<< That does, indeed, sound pretty ideal. >>

Tamarind, The meeting goes on and gets into details of the plan, but at about 1:30, they disburse under suspicious circumstances "We may have a listener; you all know what to do." Exiting the buildings, several painted men and disburse silently. Two of them are looking for a bug or drone but without much direction.

<<I think the 'Weeners picked up that there is some hidden matrix activity going on, them mentioned hidden spies. I'm going to pull out.... for now.>>

Another series of steps, to be taken quickly:
1) She walks it into a dark corner between two of the gas tanks
2) She loads as strong a version of Clearsight as will fit into the Kanmushi's lmited pilot -- although in all fairness the pilot is quite good for something so small
3) She instructs it to to go wireless off until 6 am, or until the adjacent gas tanks are moved. During this time it should take a picture every 15 minutes. As soon as it comes wireless on it should immediately send a full set of pictures to Toothless (her paramedic drone)
4) She tells Toothless to let her know when it receives anything from the Kanmushi
5) She takes direct control of Aunty-1 (Flying Eye), and starts carefully hovering it away, first rotating to scan the area to take note of who she is hiding it from, and sneaking it away as best as she can. If it appears to get spotted she will put it into a maximum speed climb, losing itself in the darkness to any observers on the ground, hopefully

Mato nods.

<<Okay>> he tells Bobby and the rest of the group. <<We'll roll with that.>>

There's a part of Mato that says that Bobby overstepped his authority, but Mato is largely ego-free and thus doesn't feel disrespected by it. No sense in second-guessing now, and it's not like going back on your word to Big Stank is good for your health.

It occurs to him that Tamarind and Raven might need a little more background information.

<<Big Stank is the leader of the Crimson Crush. Violent orks on motorcycles. The Crimson Crush are members of a proto-syndicate that has formed in Redmond. It also includes the Halloweeners (which is why Bobby thinks this will get the card to to Nightmare) and several other gangs. What's holding all the gangs - which, I stress to note, are not natural allies - together? The dragon Urubia, to what end no one knows.>>

<<Bobby's right that there's a risk that the card goes up the chain instead of sideways. There's also a risk that Big Stank will go back on his word, or double-cross us. But if he has his hand in the dragon's pocket then 60K might be chump change to him.>>

<<And what if it doesn't work? What if this is part of some sort of internal politics in the syndicate, Big Stank outmaneuvering Nightmare? In that case we will have failed their job... but what of it? Our reputation might take a hit, but Val isn't exactly a peach. We'll get paid either way.>>

<<What the Halloweeners do in the next eight hours will help determine how relations - and lines of communications - are inside the syndicate.>>

Mato isn't going to let his guard down, but he's cautiously optimistic that this approach might sidestep the more violent options.

@Tamarind, Aunty-1 disappears long before anyone notices her.
However, the two gangers quickly find the open window and close it. These elves are pretty subtle. one of them says, the other shrugs. It won't help them tomorrow.


@All at about 2:00

- Bau ( or the man you think is Bau) texts you >> Sorry, chummers the stakes just got too high for me.
- The Collector texts shortly >> Sadly, I have to withdraw my offer. Just too dangerous for me.

Frisson is short after with her own text >> Really sorry about my people scaring off your clients, no hard feelings right? Any chance I have the highest offer and you want to reconsider your position? These people are seriously insane.

Bobby replied: <<I'll let you know if the price gets that low - at the moment it's still at 60k.>>

He stretched and turned to the others: "I'll go meditating some more. We have to be at the bank when it opens. Big Stank gets the location only shortly before - and we use the local security to prevent any double crossing. Ideally we deposit the money directly as well. Come to think of it - we should uses banks more often for our business. Damn handy to have such a secure location around."

Frisson texts >> 60k wow, I'll figure it out. Thanks!

"Can you ask Bau and the Collector for additional details? It might give us a sense of the potential threat," Mato suggests.

The fact that Frisson is making a play makes him a little nervous. Maybe the syndicate is just using a two-pronged approach - Frisson and Big Stank - but more likely it implies some internal discord. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Or, it does, but it doesn't agree.

02:00 is getting late even by Mato's standards. He'll need to drop off within the next hour to satisfy his sleep regulator.

"Okay let's get some rest," he says. "We don't want fatigue to play into this.

"As Bobby says, we'll have to trust in local security to help address some of the large-scale threats. The bank is right next to the Aztechnology Pyramid, but there's always the possibility that the Azzies will just lock the place down and wait for the threat to pass. But if we get in trouble we should try to draw the opposition toward the Pyramid.

"Let's get there early to do some recon, make sure there isn't an ambush set up for us. We'll get Tamarind's friends in the sky while she's ready to make a fast getaway if necessary. I'll have to be lightly armed to get in and out of the bank. Hmm... Bobby, you want to be with me or you want to be on overwatch in some other form? Eh, we can decide when we get there.

"I'll knock off from 0300 to 0600 then get up, dressed, and showered. I'll arrange for breakfast and then wake everyone up by 0700. Sleep fast!"

Bobby shook his head: "Na, to much security for me to hang around outside a bank in animal form. I can react pretty quickly to get us to safety if necessary.
The only real danger is that Big Stank will try to give us no or less money - or try to take it back. But I don't think even he is crazy enough to try something like all out war in an AAA area."

The rest of the night is eventless. The suite is a lot more than the team is used to, but it is not designed for four, and while it contains two queen beds, perhaps that is a bit of an inconvenience. Though there are couches and other sleeping options, the place is much nicer than SIS.

In the morning, the burner link used for all correspondence with clients blinks. There is a new message from Bau.
>> Any update on the card? The plan is still a quick sell, right? It renders the previous message a bit off, as if the sender is unaware or is ignoring it.

There is not much movement at the Lantern, several guards stay there throughout the night, and the gas tanks are not moved until 7 AM, leaving the tiny drone trapped.

Bobby replied: <<At the current moment, we stand to gain 110k for our sale. Are you willing to match that?>>

Bobby replied moments later. It was a good line, he thought - after all they were selling for 60k and the promised 50k from Bala.

>> 110k wow, be careful. That is too rich for my hobby. Good luck.

Rachel surely enjoyed the night in the suite. It was a little crowded, but she did not care about that. This room was definitely something that she could get used to, but she had to remind herself, that she would be back to reality soon enough. Maybe she could pay the casino a visit in the future. With the right dress, she surely wouldn't have to worry about actually paying for the stay.

"When we go to the meet at the bank, should we maybe split into two teams, one that actually meets him, and the other, probably Tam and I, as we are not quite so well-known, to stay a bit more in the background for surveillance and backup?"

She gives Tamarind a quick wink, hoping that she does not mind the shortening of her name too much.

"Definitely a good idea. Having a rigger and a mage do overwatch will make things a lot safer for us."

Bobby replied.

Once the sun goes up, so there is still some time to rest before heading out, Rachel will sit down to summon a spirit after doing some preparations to help with the Drain. They do not know what to expect, so better to have some backup, in case it is needed. If there is enough time, she will also create a couple useful preparations for the situation.

Yes, isn't that what I said earlier? Mato thinks to himself. Or did I just think it without saying it out loud?

"Yes, that is what I was thinking," Mato agrees with Raven. "The only question is whether Bobby wanted to be on overwatch as a seagull or a pigeon. Or there's even a pair of peregrine falcons that nest in one of the skyscrapers downtown.

"But, yes, Raven makes a good point that Bobby is 'known'. Plus he's the one who was speaking with Mr. Stank."

Tamarind appreciates the quality of 'caff in the room. She is sure it is not like fine coffee, but it is smooth and seems to pack a solid kick. Still, it hasn't kicked in yet so she yawns as she asked "Any chance you have images of this 'Big Stank' character? The description sounds pretty distinct, but better safe. In a pinch I'll do some matrix searching, but I'm not counting on getting good pictures of a Redmond ganger. Mug shots never look all that recognizable."

"One of my little bug drones is stuck in the 'Lantern, after a window got shut. I'm putting it into power saving mode, maybe I can crawl it out tomorrow." She passes along what she picked up in the morning's dump from the drone, about 'elves'

Most of her drones are in her van already. When they are getting ready to head out she wakes up her delivery drones and has them head downtown, sticking to approved flight lanes but starting to survey around the casino to look for anything out of place. Between a quick shower and a bit of food she watches through the drones eyes -- in particular the Kanmushi still sticking onto Pelliper 2.



Once they get to the van she takes a minute to load the taser darts back into Beauty.

The Lantern - or at least its Latrines converted into storage is silent in the early morning hours, which is not surprising given the Nocturnal nature of the Halloweeners. The airways around the casino look tight, which limits the ability to survey the casino specifically, hundreds of little drones are going on in their day, and the traffic authority regulates air traffic to designated routes to prevent accidents. It does not prevent surveying the area but makes the process more nuanced as the drones need multiple circles on the designated routes and some traffic jams or the area equivalent where they can't always go down the desired path.

The streets are filling up with people starting early in their work; there is no gang activity or anything that seems like an obvious danger to the team outside the Gates. Lake Washington is especially pretty, and the view from the suite is very nice, though it cannot compete with the view from the eye of a raven, a hawk, or even a bee.

When she is done with her preparations, Rachel hands Mato two carefully wrapped bonbons, a blue one, and a red one. The spirit, she summoned moments ago is placed on standby for now.

"In case that could be useful. The blue one can turn you invisible, and the red one allows you to climb up buildings."



Then she rests a bit, before the team is heading out, to get rid of the slight headache working her magic caused.

Bobby waited until they were 10 minutes away from the bank before calling Big Stank:
"Attached, you find the address. Dress business casual or like a professional bodyguard so they let you in - we'll do the handover in the bank itself. You come in with us, can ascertain the wares and give us the money. We depo it and everyone gets what they want. We'll be waiting outside for you."

Big Stank says, "We'll be there, but we're not going passed the entrance."

"Then you'll have to buy sight unseen and give us the money before you get the card. Under no circumstances will we give you the chance to rob us."
Bobby replied.

Big Stank says, "I can pay you in advance, but I'll need that money back if the mage says the card is a dud. No need to get jumpy; we know where you live. Are you sure you want to do it at the bank and not at MacHuge or something along these lines? You know fewer cameras and less digital trail? " he said matter-of-factly in something that appears to be a combination of assurance and a threat.

"This is a legitimate sale. We'll deposit the cash at the bank directly. If everyone behaves, no problems will come from that. And sure get it checked - we'll give you a receipt."
Bobby replied

Mr. Stank sighs, "Fine, Gau will enter the bank with you to inspect the card, and I'll wait right outside to avoid the scrutiny of bank security while trog. These guys would take forever to let me in even if I come in a suit."

"Acceptable." Bobby didn't bother to elaborate as they reached the bank's parking garage. He was dressed in the suit Mato had given him, but had left off the tie.

"Alright, let's do this. Be prepared for the unexpected."

Rachel has positioned herself across the street, in a place where she will likely be in the back of the gangers, so she can easily watch them from a safe distance and out of their field of vision and use her astral sight to read their auras for any clues, whether they are up to something. She will look for a place, where lingering for a bit does not feel out of place, like watching a news screen, or advertisement, or something similar.

The bank has just opened and so it is relatively empty as most of its customers are at work. The current clients are mainly business clients discussing business loans and the like. How nice can it be to take money from banks rather than from criminals.

Big Stank, Tiny, and Five Fingers Gau arrive on two well-pimped combat bikes with chrome glazing and possibly many illegal modifications. Gau holds the massive orc's back to not fall from the bike as the two speed up toward the parking lot. It appears that even when they try to keep quiet, the Crimson Crush is loud. Big Stank does not arrive in a suit, well, it is technically a suit, but it is crimson red in the gang colors, and his tie has skulls on it. He seems uncomfortable in the suit; Tiny does not bother and just wears gang colors.

When Big Stank spots Bobby and Mato he lets on a grin that does not reach his eyes; the man always appears to be displeased. "Good you are here." He says, while Gau drops from the bike, looking around him frantically. Gau genuinely seems happy to see the two; happy is uncommon for him in contrast to his wife, but perhaps being woken by Big Stank and forced into a bike ride in the early morning makes other social interactions seem pleasant in comparison (or perhaps he expect the bank to have a cup of coffee).

In any case, Big Stank hands over a tiny platinum credstick and says "You are already here, good! Now go authenticate my card; we'll wait here and try to avoid trouble." Upon inspection, the credstick has 60k nuyen as agreed upon. Tiny looks at Mato and lets in a small nod of recognition.

Bobby nodded toward Big Stank and Gau: "Alright, time to take a look at the wares. Mato, would you do the honors?"

Mato rises early to shower and shave before the others wake up. His facial hair grows unevenly and becomes unattractive if it is not groomed regularly. He tidies it up to a low, even stubble that's en vogue.

In the shower, he tries to meditate as the hot water runs over the back of his neck. His mind used to be vacant but recently he has found this easier. Being locked down in a hospital bed for several days helped remove him from his physical existence and returned him to his mental garden.

Relax, and think of eternal things, he can hear one of his old guides - a paid instructor capitalizing on a dumb, rich mark - counseling him.

He steps out of the shower, dries off, and puts on his good suit. He's come to think of it as a form of social armor to protect him from the slings and arrows of judgmental eyes. The suit conveys a certain degree of wealth and success... until someone assumes that he's just a bodyguard.

Breakfast is ordered from room service and it's good. If it's his last meal he wants it to be tasty. He gets the breakfast tacos not because they're the most expensive but because they look the best. And maybe they're fitting before visiting an Aztlaner bank.

~~~

Outside the bank, Mato is surprised to see Gau. But, really, who else could the Crimson Crush use to do something like this? They had limited magical assets of their own so it's natural to use an outsider.

Mato sweeps his radar sensors over Gau, Stank, and Tiny to get a sense of what they might be packing. The radio pulses allow him to get outlines of what be hidden under their armor. For his own part, Mato has his Walther P118 in the holster underneath his overcoat. It's loaded with gel rounds (with a clip of explosive rounds hidden in his smuggling compartment). This is mostly to make him not seem like an easy target. He'll surrender it at the bank if necessary to enter the vault.

"Of course," he tells Bobby. "I will return shortly."

He goes into the bank to access his safe deposit box and see if the pretty elven tellers will flirt with him.

<<Tamarind, yesterday we put one of your small crawler "bug" drones in the box with the card. You had it wake up every five minutes to see if it can reach the Matrix, and if it can to check its location and send it to Tamarind. Did that work? No surprises?>>

Once parked near the bank, Tamarind releases her remaining Flying Eyes to add to her surveillance net. She focuses it not on the interaction with Big Stank, but instead on checking to see if the Crush have any more resources nearby, at least fairly obvious ones that the drones might be able to recognize. For herself she keeps checking on her drones, Mato and Bobby for any marks.

@Tamarind finds no additional crimson crush assets nearby but quite a few Humanis gangers not very far from the bank. They were there before, but still, there are like 20 of them striding the nearby streets unimpeded with their chromed bikes. It looks unpleasant to be a meta on some streets right now. Though in broad daylight and in a police-active neighborhood, would they actually do anything? She is uncertain if it is a real danger, but they are intimidating, almost like a little army rather than a gang.

@Mato, the security guard at the bank, asks for weapons and has a bare metal detector. Mato is likely to be able to smuggle the gun inside since his cyber limbs have metallic parts rendering the metal detector useless. The pretty teller seems to acknowledge him, the bank is still empty, so she has some time for small talk.

Gau curses silently in Mandarin, seems a bit paranoid about the banks and being inside it. The card is right where you left it, looking majestic and where you have left it the astral entity in it blooms all over the box area.

Bobby waited with Big Stank, waiting stoically. He was interested what the Troll had in mind to do with the card, but didn't want to be obvious about it.

So he said carefully broaching the topic from the side:
"Are you involved in the attack on the Ancients? Carn-Evil seemed to be somewhat pre-occupied."

Big Stank comments absently, "So the little rat is playing with the Ancients. Interesting." He does not comment on why it is interesting. His attention seems to be on the street, and the bike rather than on Bobby or on the possibility of getting ripped off. Tiny is in a similar manner, he stands guard but looks to the road rather than the bank or at Bobby. "What is taking them so long" he whispers to himself.

Mato surrenders his gun readily. It's a prop that's there to play a purpose and it's not worth it to smuggling it inside the bank. Besides, he's plenty dangerous without it.

He doesn't, however, surrender his throwing knives, trusting in his metal limbs to conceal those. It's harder to hit something with a throwing knife that spraying a machine pistol, but Mato finds it more satisfying. Plus there's the intimidation factor when someone sees a knife sticking out of their buddy, or themselves.

Mato doesn't actually spend much time with the pretty teller. Instead, he decides to lean on Gau.

"So what's the story?" he asks the talismonger with mild disdain. "How did you find yourself in this situation? You frag up or is it just the cost of doing business in the Barrens?"

He leads Gau down to the vault and retrieves the card, presenting it in its plastic case to Gau for inspection prior to their departure.

"You're a smart guy," Mato lies, trying to butter him up. "What's going on behind the scenes? Why does Big Stank want the card?"

He deliberately avoids mentioning Nightmare so as to not influence Gau's response.

Gau takes out the card and examines it, "aren't you a pretty thing." he says to himself. Then to Mato , You do not see much novelty in my profession. It is pretty dull. Same clients, same magical devices, preparations, or foci. All of it is very basic. Then these cards come along and are unlike anything else I have seen. They are so unique that I know people who would kill for them, yet they end up in Redmond, where they are undervalued... A riddle.

... and so when this mannerless brute calls in the middle of the night and demands that I look at this card or else. I couldn't refuse. The downside is that he insisted on taking the bike and didn't even let me take my car, saying it was too dangerous.

He takes a long while to examine the card, and he examines the little painting with digital magnification in his glasses, as well as with his bare eyes. He seems very interested in the card, takes his time to respond, and seems in no hurry to conclude. This puts him very distracted when Mato asks the question, and he answers absently mindedly, "He has no interest in the card, but he does not want his rivals to have it."

Mato clicks his tongue, somewhat surprised to hear Gau describe being a talismonger as dull. Magic, boring? he wonders to himself. But perhaps that is the existence of any small business owner in the UCAS, with unfettered capitalism robbing almost any enterprise of its glamor and excitement regardless of the product being sold.

Mato wonders why Gau's car would be too dangerous. Would Gau be a target if he wasn't riding with Big Stank, protected by the ork's presence and reputation?

Mato keeps a keen eye on Gau, making sure that the talismonger does not switch the card nor replace it with a simulacrum.

"Hey, snap out of it!" he barks to Gau to disrupt the man's trance. "They'll think we're conspiring in here."

<<Gau says that Big Stank wants the card because 'he does not want his rivals to have it.' Trying to find out more, but we might have to tip the location.>>

And if Gau is lost in the crossfire, oh well.

"Who are his rivals?" Mato asks with feigned indifference. He holds his hand out for the card.

Bobby received the message and immediately changed his approach.
"Not so chummy anymore with the Weeners, are you?
That explains your riding up here with that tricked out chopper - you are worried some of them will come after the card.

Well, lucky for you they are currently busy."

Bobby meanwhile sent a message to Frisson:
<<Just for your information - the card is currently being sold. No need to go after us, our friends or the Aztec Bank. We no longer have the card. And the new owner is too large and stinky to react to threats.
Better luck next time - unless the new owner destroys the card out of spite.>>

Gau responds "Okay, okay... I am finishing." Gau answers without hesitation "Haloweeners, they have a finger in every magical pie in the city, anything to gain more power."


Big Stank shrugs "You have seen what happened with Carn-evil. They try to get us to do something rushed and stupid to take our place in the sun."

Frisson confesses >> Noted, but I have a confession that may make you reconsider or at least be aware of the situation. I do not work for the Haloweeners. They are preoccupied, so I thought getting the card from you was worth a shot.

I am part of a team of professionals securing the Gates. We handled the previous cards, and since someone was murdered the last time, Vala sacked us. I wanted you to sell me the card to stay in a very lucrative game, trying to say all the right things knowing exactly what your gig is. You are not threatened. We never meant to harm you, and the clients canceling are our tech guy hacking your burner link. I am not sure why the Halloweeners are so passive now; they weren't behaving like that previously.

Be careful, alright, and well... I'll be the bigger person and wish you good luck. You would not have us in the way anymore.