Yamazika smiles.

"By removed I'm speaking of non-human assets, at this time. And as for the level of discretion used, our preference is to use you for multiple missions, so whatever scrutiny you draw may hinder you in the future, but we have no concerns about property damage or incidental casualties."

The little voice in the back of Token's head was telling him to walk. Token had learned to trust the little voice; every time he ignored the voice, he regretted it. A special forces friend had told him many times it was your subconscious warning you. Your minds way of alerting you that it had picked up clues, heard, saw, smelled things your conscious mind had overlooked or not yet had time to process.

He had said removal of assets, after referring to people as assets, from a racist community with good security for 10,000 nuyen, which might be a generous offer or might be a silly offer. Coupled with Tommy's warning of not expecting more when the situation became clearer, no wonder the voice was saying NO!

Then Yamazika started talking , answering questions. It wasn't wetwork. Let's see what else there is to learn before making a decision to walk away, maybe he could quiet the voice.

"How do we know 10,000 is a nice price without more information about what we will encounter? You could as easily have said 1000 or 100,000 a piece. I don't know you and you obviously don't trust us, but from my legwork, you aren't going to pay more if we later find out the job should have paid more. I haven't heard anything about plus expenses or medical bills, so I'm guessing that has to be paid from whatever we agree on."

Irving looks slightly puzzled "what kind of assets are we referring to, this isn't wetwork as you said, so what exactly are we removing, and what kind of security is likely to be in place?"

Raton relaxed a little as the "removal" was differentiated from wetwork. He heard Irving's question, as well, but figured it wasn't going to get answered at this point.

Yamazika arches a brow.

"I'm not sure how you've operated in the past, but the terms of the offer seem very clear to me. I'm offering this much for this job. I've explained a basic outline of criteria for successful completion. I will not risk jeopardizing other potential teams I may recruit should you turn down this job by giving out more specific information. I feel that I have been more then forthcoming. If you feel you should be paid more for the job, by all means, feel free to present your position and I will be more then happy to discuss the possibility."

[Edit]He pauses for a moment, reconsidering Token's questioning, and turns, slotting a chip into the location in the table and motioning towards the screen unfurling behind him.

"You have a point. Additional information will at least allow you to make an informed decision, and I've taken the time to do my legwork as well, and know you are at least professional criminals.

The location is a manor house in Snohomish." The screen displays a wide arieal view of a huge house, probably at least 20 rooms. The house is surrounded by a thick looking wall, and there are gates at the front and rear of the properties, with small guard houses near them.

"The walls surrounding the house are 2 meter thick plascrete, with a reinforced steel core. There are ram barriers at both gates that can be deployed with less then .75 seconds of delay. The guard houses are armored, and will stop most small arms fire without damage. There are two guards on duty at all times. There are 6 roaming guards covering the perimeter of the grounds at all times, and they travel with various paranormal trained critters. The house itself sports another two dozen guards, with 12 active at any one time, and an array of security systems.

I trust none of this has disuaded you from taking this job?[/Edit]

I will expect any agreement made to stand firm throughout the duration of the 'job'. You are professional criminals, gentlemen, not paid sararimen sitting behind a desk. If you'd like expense accounts and health insurance, feel free to contact any one of the many corporate recruiting offices scattered around Seattle." His tone is even as he speaks, just the proper modulation to avoid arrogance and condescension.

Irving, sits back some in his large seat, "I already told you I'm in, just trying to get a few more details about the job I've already accepted."

Raton glances at Irving and nods. "I'm in, too, I guess."

Maru-san bows deeply enough to show respect without being patronizing, "Hi, Yamazika-san I accept your business proposal." He then sits and awaits the rest of the teams response.

Lee speaks up. "I'm in. I assume that if you needed a frontal assault, you already have assets who are better suited and less expensive, so let's get to some details. If I can't find a way to acquire the target without leaving a pile of bodies, I'll disappear for a couple of weeks, so as to not interfere with your other operations."

Yamazika nods, returning Maru-san's bow with just the proper amount of courtesy. "Excellent, gentlemen, I'm glad to hear it. I've been authorized to forward 25% of the final payment to you in advance, in addition to the information you'll need to complete this assignment."

A bevy of waiters trail out of the kitchen, setting down a small tray containing one small sliver of silicone and a certified cred stick in front of each member. The cred stick display blinks 2,500

"I trust you'll be discrete in this matter. Torozumi will see you to the door."

The slim Japanese gentleman in the Actioneer suit that originally greeted the party steps into the room, nodding. He motions towards the double doors.

Token leaves through the double doors, down the elevator and out of the building, talking to himself all the way. Frag, frag, frag, frag, frag, frag, frag. Did I mention frag yet? I guess I'm in now. What the frag was the reason for the meet? Fraggin' posturing. Everything could have been accomplished with the initial call. Frag! The guy didn't plan on answering a single question. He could have sent the info and payment over the comm and insured a little anonymity. But no, he wanted to show his assets. I did mention frag, right?

He approached his vehicle and cast Catalogue. "Anyone want a ride back to the safehouse to look over what we got ourselves mixed up in?"

Token heads for the safehouse.

Politely bowing as he prepares to leave, Maru-san heads for the elevator, thining to himself, Damned Yakuza, if they didn't keep the small time criminals in check they wouldn't be worth the trouble of arresting. Still, this is unlike them, they usually want someone dead, not something pilfered, best to be wary.
Seeing Token examining his vehicle, "Mind doing that for mine as well?
Over team comm, We should split up as much as possible, take separate routes, etc for the trip back. Just because we're in the pocket of this Yakuza family for the moment doesn't mean they don't rivals. There is also the Pasta factor to consider. By the by, who's turn is it to host?
Giving his vehicle a once over for peace of mind, Maru-san then goes to the trunk and retrieves his Predator and spare clips.

Outside of the meet, the realities of a job seem to take hold of Raton, dampening his mood almost to the level of an apparent depression. He hadn't had a good couple of days, except for a few glaring highlights.

When Token offers a ride, he nods emphaticly. "Yeah, ride sounds good. You got a 'trix connection, right?"

Tapping his old, silver lighter, Countdown frowned when his hands dived into his pockets and came up empty.

"The day just gets worse and worse." He says to the rest of the group with a wan smile. "Sorry about not saying much at the meet, my mind was elsewhere."

Turning to Maru-san, he nods. "I'll follow you guys but I hope there's a shower at that safehouse. Something about being near that Yamazika guys makes me want to have to take a bath, you get me?"

"Hi. I offer my bolthole if no one else has the space."

Irving smiles, "I'll take you up on the ride, Token" thinking to himself Yakuza has done a great number of things for me in the past, but the what in the fragginheck was that, a waste of Fraggin time that's what. Oh well, at least we can hope the job will be interesting, I hope . "I have a small abandoned wharehouse that can be used. its out of the way, and not the same place we came from either."

"Sounds good to me. I like bolt holes", Lee says, smiling.
"You've got a telcom and such, right? So we can check out our info as a group?"
Frowning, he looks around at the rest of the group. "Why so glum guys? We get to steal stuff, and get paid cash money on top of it. We don't even have to find a fence. Best deal I've been offered in weeks."
"Oh, can I catch a ride with some one?"

"I believe I have room in my car."

"Why am I so glum," Token asks rhetorically. First, yaks are japs, and japs frag over metahumans. Second, the job is in Snohomish, a place that doesn't like metahumans. You do see my pointy ears?

"Have you got a pocket secretary Maru-san? It will make keeping track of your list much easier. I can just plug it in to the subvocal mike and record it. Then you can look the list over for anything shouldn't be on it. Next time all you have to do is have the pocsec compare lists and summarize.

"Anyone who doesn't want me knowing what you're packing better stand over there," Token says and motions a distance away.

As people move Token continues, "Where was I? Third, I don't like blindly taking what someone, who has a low opinion of my kind, thinks I am worth. Fourth, I was warned to walk away from this job, but thought I would see what it was and if I thought it was worth it, and the next thing I know, I've accepted it for whatever said person thinks he should pay. Fourth, no fifth, I was told not to trust Mr. Yamazika, and after the way he covered his hoop back there, I surely don't.

"Sixth, I don't like being called a professional criminal. Do I need to keep going on?" Token casts the spell, then subvocalizes into the pocsec.

Maru-san hands Token his p-sec, "Don't worry too much Token, it's more the idea that Japan was not the begining of civilization that gives them issue, not you per se."

Lee looks almost sad. "Wow bro. If you feel that bad about the gig, you should probably bail. Just disappear. I'll give mister Yo'mama' his credstick back, and tell him you didn't look at the chip. Stay gone for a few weeks and no one will worry about it. The last time I had a really bad feeling about a job but did it anyway, I spent 42 months in prison."

"If I thought I could get out of it that easy, I would have left the office back up there," Token hooks a thumb back over his shoulder. "But I had a feeling I'd have a hard time leaving that building alive.

"If I bail now, either Yo' mama'," Token had to chuckle at the nick Lee had tagged on Yamazika, "or someone else in his criminal organization will figure I slapped their face and have to pay me back. He asked if I had never had a meet before. Well, I have, but never one like that. What does that have to do with anything? Who knows what else Yo' mama' thinks is normal.

"Did anything happen that couldn't have been done over the telecom? No. so there was some reason to drag our hoops down here. Or he's an idiot."

"Well, in some circles, a face to face meeting is a sign of mutual respect. There is a certain coldness to a telecom meeting, and you do not get the full measure of a person over the lines. Then there are security matters to attend to. The sad truth is face time can often be more private than the Matrix. And, it is infinitely easier to eliminate threats that choose to walk out during a face time meeting than find them during a Matrix one. I'm not saying I have a good feeling about his, I'm just saying he wasn't being rude by his own standards."

"Well that explains a lot," Token said, "I guess I'm in for good then, besides, I can't let you all down." He flashes a smile and gets ready to leave.

Raton marvels at the nuances of interpersonal reaction observed by Token. He hadn't noticed even a quarter of them and he was starting to think that this job might not have been such a good idea, after all.

April 6th, 2004: 12:01AM

Traffic is sparse as the group trails back to the chosen safehouse, Monday nights aren't exactly big party nights. The city carries it's normal cloud cover of moisture, acid, and smog, with only a few feeble stars shining through. The ride back is quiet, each member dwelling on their own interpretations of the meet. It's funny how different people can read different things into the same actions and words.

Token - There does appear to be a Ford Americar following you for the briefest instantace, but you loose him quickly in the crowds, and nothing else appears to pick up your trail before you reach the bolthole.

Irving stands up out of the car, steping forward, the same way he always has, first out first to get hit if someone wants to attack, but hey, then again that's his job. Striding into the bothole. "Alright guys, let's see what we've got."

Once parked, Maru-san changes the color and transponder of the sedan, along with a matching plate.
"We should hurry, the driver of the americar might have had firends. Just let me grab the essentials."
Poping the trunk, Maru-san grabs his harness and ruck, stuffing them into a larger less military looking bag.
"That should cover everything unless we need to go submersive."
Maru-san then covers the sedan and via remote through his p-sec, trigger another change in transponder and plate.
"Let's get inside soon."

Raton tenatively peers out of the vehicle and slinks in along with everyone else. He seems to be constantly waiting for some or something to jump on him.

[double editted post]

Token let's Irving take point, got to let people be useful. Token decides to be useful by lugging in the provisions they picked up at the Stuffer Shack along the way, it's not like he really needs his hands free for a weapon. It was wierd the way Raton didn't want to go into the conveniance store.

He asks if anyone wants a beer as he grabs one for himself and puts the case in the nigh empty 'fridge.

As everyone settles in, he waits for Raton to unlock the data.

"I'll take two. Got any fish? Canned is fine."
Lee takes a seat on the floor with 2 cans of beer a can of tuna and a fork. A large furry rodent appears next to him, and starts eating from the can of tuna. Lee pokes him in the nose with the fork, so he can get some. This earns him a hiss, but he just laughs. The racoon then clearly flips him off. Looking up, Lee says "This is Bandit. He's what you guys would call a familiar. I call him my spirit friend." He winks at Raton, "Now you know what I've been doing the last couple months."
"Let's get to the plans".

Irving nods his thanks and grabs one of the beers and a very large section of the food, mainly extra nutrient soy supplements, and begins to dig in. "Well, before we start discussing plans we need to watch these suckers," he hands his chip to Raton, "Hey Raton, would you be so kind as to enlighten us?"

The Otaku looks at the chip, and shrugs. "Ain't got a comp on me, I'm afraid. I'm sure someone does, though." He definitely doesn't volunteer to plug the thing into his chipjack.

Irving looks to Token, "Hey man its your house, well sort of, anyway, where do you hide the computer?"

"Uhm, no, I'm just making myself at home. You can thank Maru-san for letting us come here.

"If nobody's got anything better, I guess a pocket secretary might work," Token says.

"See if it will play in the trid set over there. I'll be back in a sec." Maru-san says absently as he takes his gear to the only bedroom. Once inside he suits up in his 'work' clothes, strapping on the LBH and loading the pouches and packing the other clothes back into the ruck. Stepping out from the room in a few minutes, "So, what did Yamazika-san give us?"

Shrugging, Raton slots the chip in the trid set, hoping that it's got a video layer to it.

Countdown brings up the rear, rubbing the bridge of his nose in boredom as he finds a place in the bolthole to lean against. He nods in greeting and acknowledgement to the other group members and waits for the video, or discussion, to start.

April 6th, 2064 1:30am

Unfortunately, all the chip contains is data. It's laid out in an easily accessible manner, with a series of instructions that reads like a 1950's guide on how to survive a nuclear attack.

The blueprints on the grounds are extensive, showing a 26 room mansion out in Snohomish. The grounds are extensive, with a full 10 acres surrounding the location. The entire area is walled, and the notations regarding the 2 metre thick plascrete with the reinforced steel core. The map also gives the location of the 2 guard gates at the only two breeches in the wall. The guards are armed with assualt rifles, flak vests, and helmets. The gate guards shack is approximately 5 metres square, and also of plascrete with heavy duty ballistic glass. The ram guards that secure both the front and rear entrances are solid steel, and look capable of stopping a large semi.

The wall is topped with monowire, and there are notions indicating motion and seismic sensors set in regular intervals along the walls. The map marks exterior patrol routes for the roaming guards, although the routes vary slightly. The guards travel with barghests and hellhounds, and are armed with SMG's and Armored Jackets.

The land directly adjacent to the house is lit with high power flood lamps, although judging by the map there may be several small sections that fall in shadow, according to the lay of the house.

The house itself has a central section and two wings. There are two main entrances leading into the central section, and two side entrances on the other two compass points leading into the wings. The map indicates external security in the form of rotating camera's covering the exterior of the building, and four weapons platforms linked to the security sysem at each of the corners of the building.

The grounds also sport a lake, complete with a cabana house, a garage, a stable, and a small work shed for the lawn crew. The northwest section of the property is heavily wooded, although still covered by the security wall and guard route.

No information is given on the security on the interior of the building.

Token lets out a low whistle. "There's a small fortune just in monowire. Has to be at least a 1000meters at 2000 nuyen a meter. And that's if you bought or sold it legally."

I wonder what we're after?

Irving looks at the map and just smiles, "kinda reminds me of the good old military days. That is a fragload of security." Looking at the others, "whatever we're going in to get we'll need two nmajor things a distraction, that I can cover along with others who want to help, and part of the team to go in stealthily, that's at least my sugestion for the plan."

"And I have to aggree with Token, what are we going after."

"What feeds the lake? Can we get some more information on that? Is it a stocked lake, complete with pet pirahnnas, hungry for the next runner to swim in? And can someone burn a copy of that for me?"

Maru-san sits back and soaks in the security setup.

Lee is almost peeing his pants with excitement. "Wow, looks like fun. If the place were smaller, it might be hard to get in to."
Looking around at all the serious faces, Lee tries to act serious as well. "Let's find out what it is we're after before we spend too much time planning. If it's a small thing, one or two of us can go, with everyone else doing support. If it's going to take a fork lift, it requires an entirely different operation."

Raton takes a look at the map and then another. "What the frag is worth all of that..." He shudders. "Got a Matrix connection in this place?"

"Yes, should be next to the terminal you are standing at."

"Uh...excuse, please." Countdown says in halting, somewhat uncertain English. "But, while Raton, is it? Works on Matrix to find identity of target the rest of us should think of ways to...get our hoops in the door?"

"The security on the outside is problem for me. But inside, maybe not, depends."

I guess we need to decide about how we go in, try to do it stealthy or neutralizing everyone along the way.

Lee and I have spells to help get us in. My spirits can conceal us. I guess I could astrally project and take out the paracritters. I wonder if anyone knows a rigger?

"We could use freeze foam grenades to deal with the platforms. The critters will likely have to be put down. We can knock out the guards as we have to, the main issue is getting past that wall. Does the map list a hieght for the wall? Also, can soeone run a civil engineering search on this place, and tell me more about that lake. Also, we need to find out who tends the grounds, that might prove to be an infiltration point."