"I can try and track the feather with a ritual but it would take a few hours again, and success is far from guaranteed. As it has a weaker link to its owner, and if they are part of the team I'd likely go into the same ward that stopped me the first time."

Bobby answered Tamarind: "Well, Mato here should be somewhat palatable to them. I can turn into a gorilla and give my self the illusion of being a troll. Though now that I have actually said that, that was incredibly racist and I feel bad for suggesting it."

To AM he said: "One thing after the other - try to get into the talismonger's contacts - maybe he has someone interesting in there."

"get into his contacts?"

"You know, get a mark on his link and copy his contact folder."

Bobby replied

"Yeah, I can talk to them," Mato says of the trolls. "But it's, what, 10:30? That's too early for a bar.

"Might make sense to start at Carnimore if they're open for lunch. Then The Grind and Hardpan when they open."

"I am starting to feel like a digital stalker, but sure, let's do it the alternative is to praise the Wakan Tanaka for a few hours... and I am not in the mood for favors.... I am going hot so don't think I had a stroke or anything." my eyes light up when I get yet another opportunity to go to where I feel best—becoming my avatar, slicing through the firewall like an action heroine dodging automatic inspections and integrity tests and aiming for a key card - well, basic level entry to the device and permission to inspect that recent call log and other basic information about the device. The feeling is so addictive. Everything is so much faster and easier than in the real world.

AM has no trouble finding the commlink and slipping inside. It's not very secure. Maybe Zhang Wong should ask the folks at Marcel's how to do it right. Anyways, AM finds a commlink of a very old-fashioned person. There isn't a whole lot, about 90% of the funcionality of a modern commlink are never really used. It's used as a phone and such, and that's pretty much it. He would probably just be fine with a model from last millennium. But calls are what she is here for, so she looks for the contacts and communication logs. Obviously, the talismonger knows about the dangers of the modern world, and therefore has not included a whole lot of information with the various numbers saved in his contacts. It's also all in mandarin, but that is hardly an obstacle. There are a few numbers with single names (likely first names), those also tend to come up more often in the communication logs, and another bunch, that just lists a few letters, like initials. And another few have discriptive words, like "lotus" or "jade" with a few animals mixed in there as well, "monkey", "tiger", "snake", "dragon". There are multiple "lotus" entries, actually, with different numbers attached to them ("lotus 2", "lotus 3"). No calls have been initiated since you left the shop.

Bobby waited until everyone had gotten in the car before continuing the discussion:

"Shame about the contact list. I'm not well versed enough in Chinese myths to understand which animal signifies what. We can use the numbers and do a matrix search what device is behind it. Maybe that would give us some insights.

But all in all, I think we should just call the number of this troll we got and see if we can shake something loose that way."

"Interesingly, he is not calling anyone so let's not expect a call from him. The animals is another mystery. I mean it seems like he has something to hide in there. Its alright I assume, not entirely sure it makes him even interesting for our cause but it is almost s if he expects someone like me to go poking in there."

"Well, if you can't secure yourself technologically, secure it the old fashioned way I guess? If it really matters we could have Bobby break in later and see if he has a decoder guide written down on paper, but I don't know if it is worth that much effort."

"I know we are strangers in this city and can just leave when it is over... but I don't usually poke around half randomly at people. It can take things sideways if I mess up, and instead of focusing on the job we'll be focusing on the mess we just made. Haven't been caught yet fortunately. We are missing something in this riddle, but I am unsure where we go from now.

I was thinking of a different approach -- one where we contact the kidnappers, tell them we have the money, and schedule a meeting. It is a bit too aggressive for my liking, but what else can we do?"

"I've got no problem with calling people I don't know - though calling the kidnappers has a bunch of problems:
- we reveal that we are in the game
- we rely on meeting with an aware opponent
- there is no guarantee we actually get a chance. There are too many ways to launder money with digital currency. Even a credstick can be transferred with a plethora of options - drones, spirits, street kids, dead drops, etc.

I'd rather try our luck with Frost first."
Replied Bobby.

"Well it's nice to have a backup idea, at least," Mato says of AM's proposal.

"But, like Bobby says, there are complications. Based on the extraction, these folks are professionals. Unfortunately that means we can't count on them to make silly mistakes.

"They have no motivation to meet in person. They want an electronic transfer to a Zurich-Orbital account. There may not be any meet at all: they might just release Belenkiy into a random part of the city and tell us where to find them.

"In fact, I think odds are good that they wouldn't release Belenkiy at all. Falcone thinks that there's a personal note to all this. If this is indeed revenge, payback for something that happened earlier in Falcone's life, then what would be sweeter than stealing Falcone's money and fragging his reputation at the same time?"

Mato thinks.

"AM, did you get a look inside the Ranch's host? The thinking is that they had hacker support. I don't know much about network security; do hackers leave 'fingerprints' when they slice into the system? Or calling cards to brag about their work?

"In that breakdown we got from Dean, neither Trinity nor the Black Cats had a hacker on their roster. I wonder if that means that they brought in an outside resource. If so, maybe that's a thread we can pull, if we can find it."

"They leave them if they mess up... it is easier to get the job done, but it gets messy if you get caught a few times while working on it. GOD doesn't converge on you immediately, but you leave a mark on the security log, and then erasing that is another risk. So they might have left something I am not sure it is something I can use to find them though."

Bobby said: "I'm calling Jack McPherson now. AM, can you monitor the call and try to get a fix on his location?"

<<Hi, this is Robert Crow, a friend showed me your add for bodyguard services. I'm a bit under pressure, so it would be great if we could talk directly and in person. There is a six figure payout involved.>>

Bobby has used his fake SIN for this message. Now he kept an eye on his device, for any suddenly appearing MARKs.

It takes a few minutes until there is a reply from McPherson.

<< Mr. Crow, happy to make your acquaintance and always happy for a new client. I assume, you are thinking about something a bit more long-term. How about we meet over lunch to talk about some first details? Rattlesnake Grill in Westminster. Noon. Table 17. >>

Bobby confirmed the meeting and gave the others the update:

"Alright, any suggestions, how we should go about interrogating him? Or should we flake out and just follow him?"

>> Yes, I know the drill..." I sigh and close my eyes again for another episode of Sisyphus and the comlink.
Yes, it is a good idea - I can't fault Bobby with that. It also feels a bit random and desperate. The time passes, and we don't have much to go on or anything to show for all the effort of coming so far from home. I begin to feel the pressure of our reputation and livelihood on the line.

but I did not get good by worrying... I keep myself focused and try to ensure that I am hacking everything like an overzealous script kiddy and does not eventually get us into trouble. I mean, between myself and Iktomi's gifts, I feel confident, but I don't like to give the Trickster a chance to take this entire episode sideways before it even goes in the right direction.

I center myself and focus on bypassing the link's security and tracing its icon as carefully as possible.

"Well the challenge is that we don't even know if he has information we want," Mato says. "If he knew, then getting it out of him would just be a matter of incentive: the whip or the sweetbread, as it were.

"We need to shake the tree to see what falls out, but first we have to know if it's the right tree or not."

He turns to AM.

"Are there any tools in your magical toolbox to make him looser-lipped than he might normally be? I'm not talking completely hijacking his brain, but maybe something can be tweaked to make him more receptive to our inquiries?

"It's not as subtle as we usually play it, but we're running out of time and we're not on our home turf. I don't mind if things get a bit messy this far from home. I know word travels, but I'd rather the word be about getting the job done (even if it was loud) rather than not getting the job done at all."

AM manages to track Frost's commlink to the western parts of Denver, to the Arvada district. Shortly after Bobby received his reply, he sends another message to a different recipient. The message is enctypted, but once intercepted, it is mostly a matter of time to break it. After about ten minutes, she has the text.

<< Hey buddy! What's up? I just got a message with a job offer from my ad. The guy wants to meet in person, so I offered lunch at the Rattlesnake. He mentioned a huge payout, which makes me a bit suspicious. If it is legit, maybe it is big enough for a whole team. Anyways, can you run overwatch during the meet? Just in case. I don't expect anything, but you never know. >>

Bobby smiled: "Seems like we get to meet his team as well. You all should be ready for trouble. I'll tell him the facts of the case and we'll see if they become violent and try to abduct me as well.

Anyone got a better idea how to spin this?"

It is embarrassing to admit, so I take a bit of a breath. Once you admit to having mind manipulation capabilities, they always accuse you of their own bad ideas. Mato is not like that, right?


Reluctantly I say :"I can do that, but it is super illegal... so a bit risky to do in a public place."

To Bobby I comment Ideally, we could have him take you back to their place without knowing it, as a cockroach or something. Getting forced through a ward may be an issue though... but it seems odd that they'll do side jobs while doing a 500k gig."

"Yeah, I'm reasonably confident, that they aren't the ones we are looking for. But they are locals and know their fellow mercenaries. Nothing to it but following whatever lead we can unearth.
And yes, if they are any kind of paranoid professional, they will have a ward on their dwelling - just like we have."

Bobby replied.

"I don't think they plan on kidnapping you; they published an ad - and are looking for work - you are offering. We may have to split our paycheck and offer them a bounty or something like that because we don't have much to go on. They will have matrix overwatch, so I suggest getting burner links for the meeting or I can provide our own overwatch and make sure we are not hacked. We could possibly have someone with you at the meeting to keep things more civil, and kidnapping more of a chore."

I kind of look at Mato there, though in principle Tam or I are also an option.

Tamarind gives a small smile at the thought of her backing up Bobby. "No, Mato is probably best, he makes sense as a guard, no explanations needed. And the threat from him is mostly visible -- He is a threat from all the things that he knows, which stereotypes might not make you think of, but in the immediate moment his threat factor is obvious from his 'ware. They have to give a bit of respect to that. Me, if things go badly having my body in there is just a liability. You only send me in if we want to look less threatening, but that doesn't seem to be the situation here. AM could go for the charm factor, and is perfect if we think we need to fight magic with magic, but the approach so far wasn't really charm offensive and magic doesn't sound like the big issue for now. So I say the obvious one to send is Mato. Although I'd like to send in one of my drones with him."

A few breaths later she asks Mato, in a carefully matter of fact voice "Would having Beauty riding on your shoulder be too strange? She doesn't fly in enclosed spaces very graciously but her sensor suite would let me get a good look around in there, so if I do need to send in more drones I'd know what is going on. If carrying a chrome bird on your shoulder would be too strange then maybe a Flying Eye in a pocket? At least I could listen in, and blast it free if need be."

"I am not that charming anyhow..." I mutter quietly. I remained in the realization and torment of how I managed to say all the wrong things to Andrew in the previous gig. Which is a shame because I like him. Perhaps because of it, I feel too - free and too little polite and subtle. Ghost, culture distances. I pat Mato on the shoulder, "Looks like you are the man of the hour"

Thinking about it, I say to the guys , "I'll spy on you with my mind, so don't do anything you wouldn't want me to watch. I won't hear anything, but sign language would work. Signal something about fishing and I'll know you are in trouble. If they try anything, I'll know in real-time, even if they somehow hack or block us... which we are not going to let them do, of course. "

"This is what I was going to say," Mato agrees. "I highly doubt that they'd jeopardize a big job for the prospect of whatever's next. Maybe they're greedy and they feel the situation is under control, but they're acting like professionals so we should consider them as such.

"I personally think that the odds of anyone getting kidnapped are zero. They're certainly not going to do it in a public setting like a restaurant. And how could they kidnap Bobby anyway? Anyone touches him and" - Mato starts tweaking and freaking, mimicking electrocution - "they smell like burnt hair and bacon."

To Tamarind he says, "Sorry, Beauty, but I would say let's go with Uncle or one of the Aunties in my pocket. If you want, the Harriets can come along as well.

"Now we just have to figure out what we're going to say. I think we lay things out and see how they react. Between the Thermal Mood Reading and the Vocal Tension Lie Detection subscriptions, we should be able to pick up on the unconscious tells. It's going to be awkward one way or another: either they are the kidnappers and things go sideways, or they're not and we might need to cut them in. It's not going to be the six-figure payday that Bobby suggested though."

Bobby shrugged:

"I've got a lot of experience with awkward talks. And if you remember, I told them the story involves a six figure payday - not that they are in for a six figure payday. But yeah, the best we can hope for is paying a new contact for information on the other team. The worst is having to fight our way back to the car.

So let's go and take a look beforehand at the meeting location."

Trying to hide her relief, Tamarind holds onto Beauty and hands over Uncle instead. "If things get interesting I'll turn on the ultrasound, and that picks up anything I'll lay down a target for you in AR. I doubt it comes to that, but best to know in advance."

Then she heads back into the truck, gets Aunties ready and the window cracked, then settles into comfortable AR semi-focus, listening to the audio feed from Uncle and watching the matrix.

"Alright then... let's scout the location." I say, it would give me something to do rather than be frustrated.

<<Tuesday Morning - 11:27 - May 16, 2079 - Rattlesnake Grill, Westminster, Denver>>

After discussing what you want to do with the meet, everyone gets back into the truck and soon you are on your way. A quick look at the map offers three possible routes to get to Westminster, right through the Hub, or around it on the north-side or south-side. Considering, that the Hub likely has the highest security and scrutiny of all places in Denver, you decide not to take that risk. Instead you take the northern route, which at least for the first part is a bit of known territory.

After leaving Lowry back into Stapleton, you cross over to Commerce City on your way to Westminster.

Commerce City is a densely populated blue-collar district just north of the Denver city center. In contrast, Westminster has more of a suburban feel to it, despite being close to the heart of Denver. The business of the Hub spills over near the district border, and you notice an unusually high amount of ZDF forces around that area, so you keep your distance.

The Rattlesnake Grill is a family-friendly south-western food restaurant. It is noted in tourist guides and has a good selection of real food, but there is also plenty to choose from for the more cost-conscious guests, though that is not usually why people go there to eat. The restaurant floor is quite open and there is plenty space. There are some boothes, but most tables are out in the open area. Even at this time, things are fairly busy and there are a number of guests at the restaurant, already, including a few families with kids. Outside, there is ample parking in the street, and the area is quite open. The restaurant is located at the western end of W 56th Avenue with only one exit towards the east, so it is easy to keep track of new arrivals, as they all come from the same direction. Just a bit north runs the I-76, which is part of the Heartland Expressway, one of the largest highways into and out of Denver.

Bobby stopped the truck and spend a moment to look around the parking lot. "I'll scout ahead a bit - feel free to make an entrance of your own."

Before getting out, he put on an illusion to give himself the appearance of an old man in jeans, boots and a flannel shirt.

First he went around the restaurant, checking out exits and hiding places. He added his spatial map to the check to get a feeling for the place. Once he had the sightlines cleared, he went for the door, making sure to look weary and infirm.

Inside, he went for the firs available table to get something to drink and look around at the clientel.

AM locates herself in the van, and provides matrix overwatch.

While Bobby takes the inside of the building, Mato walks the perimeter.

<<Families>> he notes. <<Not the spot for a bar brawl.>>

<<Very open, lots of sightlines. Not sneaking up on anybody here, or vice versa. An apt location for a neutral meet, I suppose.>>

Mato scans the area with his cybereyes, looking for unusual security. He also activates his radar sensors. He might not be able to see all the way through the building but it will at least give him a sense of whether the construction is typical or if there is something unusual about it.

As he circles around the back, he looks for any cooks or busboys who might be taking a cigarette break. If there are any Latinos - which seems likely, given the cuisine - he'll chat them up in Spanish. Or Or'zet, if he runs into any tuskers.

I gotta start carrying cigarettes, he thinks to himself. Or some other ice breaker. Zen? What are the kids into these days?

If he finds someone and manages to strike up a conversation, he'll ask about the restaurant and its regulars, and if Jack McPherson is known to them. If he doesn't find anyone to chat up, he'll just complete his walk around the perimeter.

Bobby cannot find anything out of the ordinary. This is just a normal restaurant. Of course, someone could find a hiding place here, in the kitchen or storage area, but nothing seems designed for that purpose. Once he enters, a friendly waiter immediately welcomes him to the Rattlesnake Grill and asks, whether he needs assistance with anything. Inside, he cannot see anyone that he would consider fit enough to be a bodyguard. Most of the guests look pretty much like normal people. Of course, they are about half an hour early, so McPherson is likely not there, yet. Table 17 is free and marked as reserved. One young girl at a nearby table stares at him, but when the mother notices, she gets scolded and quickly turns away.

AM keeps an eye on the Matrix side of things, but cannot see anything unusual. Tamarind points out, that there are quite a few drones around, though. Maybe a few more than one would expect. Most of them, you cannot see, but the scanners were able to locate them. And the way some of them are positioned, clearly points towards surveillance.

Meanwhile, Mato also comes to the conclusion, that the building is quite normal. No out-of-the-ordinary security features. There is a back entrance, and when he steps around the corner, he can see three people there chatting while taking a break. One latino, one latina, and an asian guy. All human. They seem to be in a good mood. When he approaches, they greet him and ask what he is looking for. When he asks about the restaurant, they tell him that they serve the best food in all of Denver. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but since the restaurant is pretty renowned, actually, they might not even be that far off. When he mentioned the name Jack McPherson all three shrug or shake their heads. The name does not seem to ring any bells.

About fifteen minutes after your arrival, a big van pulls up and parks nearby. Noone is getting out. Communication between the drones is getting more busy around that time. A quick check reveals that all the communication is heavily encrypted.

Bobby thanked the waitstaff and choose ice tea and some light starters, so he had something to do while he waited.

When the team informed him about the big van he sent:

<<Someone check out the tire profile - maybe it's a match to the ones from the farm. Though be careful not to spook them.>>

<<Good thinking>> Mato responds, <<although I still doubt that they would be sending the van out to drum up new business while they have a hostage somewhere else. That said, let's keep our communications locked down.>>

He sets his commlink to scan for hidden MARKs.

<<I'll see what I can get with vision magnification, but I don't know that I'll be close enough or have the right angle to do a good analysis.>>

Mato has circled the building and is now not far from the front door. He does his best to get a look at the van but he's trying to be subtle about it.

<<Tam, is there rigger etiquette? If we send a drone to get a close-up view, is that a faux pas or is it just considered prudent and even professional?>>

>> On it! I'll just look with mojo - it's a passive spell, so very discreet... I'll look inside while I am at it, perhaps we'll be surprised.

I say and shift my attention outwards toward the van to look at its tires without really leaving the comforts of my seat, while I am at it - I also take a look inside the van just in case I find our guy chilling out in the back with his new friends. Losing the hot simulation to focus my attention on the slower and less attractive world outside is mentally painful, but I am on the clock, and there is a job to be done - besides, if I find something interesting, I'll feel alive again. It is enjoyable to experience the visual spectrum of a bumblebee with so many colors and being able to just see things more precisely and strangely and be unlimited by anything aside from range and 30 meters go a long way in a parking lot.

>>I'm not an actual rigger, of course, but what I know is 'stay in your lane, unless invited otherwise.' A lot of people love to show off their ride or their customized drones, but at most ask about them and see what they say. Out in flight, give others some distance if you aren't trying to provoke them.<<

>>Oh, also one thing that I'm pretty sure all riggers can agree on is that simple users like me can be looked down on. Dabblers, not serious, and so on. Doesn't bother me much, but for sure they'll get their back up if I try to imply that we are peers.<<

AM checks the tires on Bobby's request, but is quite sure that these are not the tires they are looking for.

Then she moves her magical viewpoint inside the van, where she quickly discovers three individuals.

A human man is sitting on the driver's seat, clearly jacked-in and probably in full VR. He is a pretty typical caucasian with dark brown hair and a short-trimmed beard. He looks reasonably handsome and is in good shape, physically, but not overly buff or anything. AM guesses him to be in his late thirties or early fourties. He is wearing olive-green cargo pants and an armor jacket over a white t-shirt. In the back of the van, the hulking frame of a troll quickly draws her attention. Despite his large size, he has a sophisticated look about him, and wears an Actioneer business suit. And, finally, a human woman with long, red hair (clearly not her natural color). She is wearing jeans and a green shirt, and also an armor jacket on top. The two in the back are chatting. They all look fairly relaxed, likely not expecting any trouble here.

Closer towards noon, a crimson GMC Phoenix rolls into the street and soon finds a parking spot nearby. An imposing brick wall of a man in his mid fourties gets out. He has short cropped, white-blonde hair, and is wearing an Actioneer business suit and a pair of sunglasses. His demeanor marks him as a seasoned veteran. After a quick look-around, he heads inside the restaurant.

"I guess this is their overwatch..." I tell Tamarind human rigger man, jacked in... casual clothes, a male troll in a suit, and a redhead lady in casual clothes. I swap my attention to the Trix, virtual reality, as I like more than I care to admit. My body is at ease with the familiar sensation and the freedom of movement. I look around me and search for the receiver of the message I previously intercepted to confirm if this is their overwatch... If I can't see it right away, I also look carefully for silently running devices - I have time to burn.

It takes a moment, but AM can find the commlink running silent. A quick scan reveals layers of protection (like encryption, and a high-end firewall) that she would expect to see on a corporate black ops team, or military special forces.

Bobby acknowledged the information and got up, heading for the restroom.

Once there, he made sure he was alone and dropped his disguise. Coming out again, he headed for the mercenary:
"Hi. Crow's the name. Am I correct in the assumption, that I have a meeting with you?"

Bobby indicated towards a booth where they could talk somewhat undisturbed.

>> There, Trix overwatch is present; guesstimate is the van we're looking at. Very high technical expertise and better Trix security than our own is what you would see in special forces.

"Iktomi... that is naughty." Classic Iktomi to tempt me into a dangerous course of action, to stir things out. Younger me might have taken the bite.

McPherson indicates a chair at the table and nods. Considering, he is certainly more a man of action, he seems reasonably charming, actually.

"McPherson, Jack McPherson. Please, call me Jack. Nice to meet you, Mr. Crow. What can I do for you?"

While the guys are inside the meet, I try to make some small talk with Tamarind, finding it ironic that neither Raven nor I are inside talking to the contact. We willingly sent Mato and Bobby to them! This is kind of remarkable; we wouldn't have done that several months ago, but now I feel like they are competent to the point where I choose to provide overwatch in my natural place in the background.

I look at Tamarind, and if I try to get her attention , "You are rigger enough for me... For all of us, really.
Don't feel bad about the lack of control rig. At least for decking, I feel it is more about risk management than equipment. "

Call me Robert." Bobby nodded at Mato, who had just entered: "That's my associate, so we can begin.

"Jack, I'll be blunt: Were you and your crew involved in an abduction yesterday night at the Horse Trot Ranch?"

Bobby looked intensely at the man, keeping his third eye trained on him to see what ever reaction this question would garner.

"Wait... what now? Is that why you messaged me? Wow! For the record, I have never been to that ranch in my life. I guess, we are done here."

McPherson seems truthful, and visibly upset. He pushes his chair back a bit, so he can stand up.

Bobby held up a hand:
"Not so fast. I can't hire your services if you are the one responsible.
But we need a local consultant, that knows who might be behind such an operation.
Would you be interested to act as such a consultant?"

Mato enters and sits with Bobby and Jack. He knows Bobby's going to take the direct route so he fires up the team's Thermal Mood Reading and Vocal Tension Lie Detection subscriptions. Mato trains his cybereyes on Jack and waits for his response.

Mato doesn't need the subscriptions to see that Jack is visibly upset. Mato, somewhat disconnected from such feelings, thinks an ungenerous thought about Jack's regulation (or lack thereof) of his emotions.

Bobby makes a reasonably good attempt to calm Jack down, and Mato tries to back that play.

"We hear you're a cool operator, Jack," Mato says, trying to both compliment the man while subtly shaming him for an unprofessional reaction. "Is that accurate?" He eyes the man intently, again studying his reaction.