"Everyone bring over the credsticks that we got paid with by the Johnson. I'll take a look at them and see what I can track down."

Cracking out his deck and a microtronics toolkit, Eric collects each of the slim plastic sticks with encoded electronics and sets down to work.

Refreshed by her time in meditation, Bloodmoon stirs as the team gets back into action. Handing over the unused credstick to Eric for the scan, the woman begins a series of quick stretches, delighting in the control of her body.

When the quick scan is finished, she repockets the stick and prepares to head back down to Jester's van.

Tombstone hands Eric his credstick a bit ruefully. Normally, he would long since have transferred the cred to his own stick and tossed the other one away, but they didn't even get past the after-the-meet get together before being attacked.

Eric inspects each stick closely, and slots them individually into his deck for a thorough scan. Oddly enough, none of the credsticks reveal any trackers...and then you realize you're short one cred stick.

Lee's misisng, and in the excitement of the combat, and with the fact that he's not normally a member of this team that has run together in the past, no one had even thought to look for him.

Words that belong in the mouth of a soccer hooligan waking up the morning after a lost world cup stream out of Eric's mouth. After he takes a deep breath, the Englishman looks at the rest of the team.

"When was the last time anyone saw our wayward informant?"

Surpressing the urge to yell at Baka at herself at the sudden realization of Lee's absence, Bloodmoon tries to remember back to the last time she saw the man - that is, if she has even seen him since returning to consciousness at the Body Mall...

Tombstone snarls, then his brows furrow in intense concentration as he summons his cybernetically enhanced powers of recall. He mutters...

"Yeah, it was... let's see... we had just come up with the plan, we were telling you guys about it, then the snipers attacked, I ran to where Bloodmoon was..."

Tombstone's eyes snap open, a grim and bleak look on his face. "I don't remember seeing him at all after the sniper attack. Could have been foul play, but I think it's a lot more likely that he's been the damn mole all along. This is bad. Real bad. We had a halfway-decent plan that we're going to have to scratch now, because sure as hell the opposition knows it now. Might even be a blessing in disguise, since the plan itself may have been a setup."

He turns to the two mages. "Can either of you do anything magical to track this guy down? Finding him should be a high priority right now. The job itself, we're going to have to completely rethink, tactics-wise... we might want to consider walking away from it at this point. When the Johnson sticks a mole in your team after the first team gets fragged, and you nearly suffer the same fate before you even begin the run, then it's time to look at all of your options."

"Okay, I need a decision from the team. Who is staying to finish what we started and who wants to bail now? I'm staying. I gave my word that I'd do this job and I'm certainly not giving up now. There is too much blood on my hands to turn and run, I personally need to be able to justify why I broke a man's body for the information locked away inside his skull. If that doesn't mean anything to you or you feel that you've been abused in some way, quit now and get out. If you're staying let me hear it and let's re-evaluate our plan."

Eric shoves his deck back into his satchel and places the bag next to the shotgun on the table he was working at.

Now I see which of our team has a true commitment to us as a group and who is still holding out for themselves.

"Your word, eh? Well, my word is worth something too... if the other party plays it straight. I'm willing to at least wait until we deliver the "packages" to our employer. If he gives us the agreed-upon payment, then I will concede that he is still keeping his word. And I'll keep mine. On the other hand, I will not tolerate any attempt by him to weasel out of paying us, or to renegotiate the deal to our detriment, due to the unavoidable delay caused by Lee's treachery."

Tombstone smiles grimly. "Ah, who thought I'd ever be halfway hoping for the Johnson to try to screw us over? Because we have a very tough nut to crack if we hit that house. They're well-defended, and they're expecting us. We may have to give up on subtlety altogether to break in there... or come up with a hell of a plan. I'll get my grey cells going on it, but any bright ideas from any of the rest of you would be much appreciated."

Bloodmoon

The whirlwind of summoned spirits darts out into the ether, already seperating as they spread out to search for your target.

Joli and Jester

The fast food stop is moderatly busy, even for the late/early hours and on a Wednesday morning. A steady flow of people grabbing cheap soykaf and cheaper soy food files through the steady rain. It's a typical(?) early morning crowd, lots of synthleather mixed in with cheap suits of sararimen that really go to work early.

One figure stands out, a little aside from the general flow of business. Yamakazi's assistant stands there, holding an umbrellla up in a futile attempt to stay dry. He starts as he sees the two of you walk up, and starts moving towards you.

Joli moves over towards the bewildered man. She stops a comfortable distance away. "My apologies for this meeting but it was needed. I have the package your employer requires, I believe you have something for me as well?" She keeps her voice neutral and soothing, or at least tries to.

The man nods, smoothly withdrawing a slim, worn chip case. The cover appears to be unassuming synth-leather, but the case seems large enough to hold several credsticks. He offers it to Joli.

With a quick thought to Sebastian, he verifies the contents of the case. Doesn't look like a bomb, but what do I know. Making a mental note to herself, beat lizard, she accepts the case as she hands over their grisly side of the bargain.

The gentleman takes a moment to check the contents of the package, a bit of his distaste showing on his features as he counts quietly and then nods to Joli, turning and strolling off through the rain to become lost in the crowd around the fast food joint.

Joli moves back through the flow of people and climbs back into the van. With a nod to Jester. "Let's head back."

Joli and Jester

The ride back to the hotel is uneventful. Opening the case, you see that it contains the aforementioned 100k for each member of the group.

Back at the hotel

Almost two hours have gone by before the watchers return, the last two of them playfully jumping and spiraling around each other in astral space. They arrive before Bloodmoon and materialize. "Found them, Mistress," they chorus.

Bloodmoon is pleased by the results of the little brothers - she gives the rest of the team a heads up even as she sends Shen to follow the shao-di's back to where Lee was hiding. "Xie-xie, shao-di! You did a good job - now lead Shen back to where you found this man."

OOC: Bloodmoon is planning to have Shen follow the Watcher's to Lee's location and keep an eye on him astrally even as she uses the Sense Link ability to listen and watch him.

It takes only a few minutes for the spirits to arrive, for the path is known to them now.

Lee is huddled in a corner booth at a small noodle shop in Tacoma. He is soaked, and almost shaking, and looks a miserable sight. As you watch, he tugs self-consciously at the bandage on his shoulder and tries to hunch a little further into his trenchcoat.

"I have located Lee - he's in a noodle shop in Tacoma. I'm having Shen watch over him carefully. Let us go and pick him up for a little chat."

Assuming there's no contrary position, Bloodmoon follows the others to the Jester's van. "I wonder if he's waiting for someone," she speculates even as she piles into the vehicle.

Tombstone smiles grimly as the credsticks get handed out. "Looks like we're still in this thing, then." He loses the smile, but looks, perhaps, even grimmer, when he gets in the van with the others. He would normally be enraged at Lee, but his memories of the recent interrogation he took part in have dampened his violent impulses. He turns briefly to Bloodmoon.

"Good work. Once we bring this little rat in, we'll let you use your more... subtle... methods of interrogation."

The ride is long, and it's obvious by the time you arrive at the small hole-in-the-wall stuffed in among Stuffer Shacks and Nova Burger's in a strip mall that the area isn't more then a few miles from the Tacoma airfield. A steady drizzle rattles a rhythm on the cheap plastic overhang covering the only door into the tiny shop.

Taking a moment to share Shen's sight, Bloodmoon gets a good sense of the layout of the noodle shop - including what other patrons may be inside.

She also takes a moment to look over Lee for any sign of cyber or eqiupment that might possibly conceal a tracking device or other communications.

She relates her findings to the group.

Bloodmoon

There are 6 other patrons in the shop, which takes up a good chunk of the available space.

Joli feels torn looking at Lee's defeated form. She senses Sebastian sitting quietly at the back of her mind. If he did screw us over, he's a dead man. You know that. She aches once more for her life before her......change. When things where safe and the only people that died where the ones on her trid. She looks to the team around her. "So how are we going to scoop him up and we need to hustle since the timer is still running out on the job."

"Joli, can you take a look on the Astral and let me know if you see anything that might indicate he's got a tracking device on him? It woudn't do us any good for us to scoop him up only to find out that we're bringing more trouble to us."

"As for how to take him, allow me to go on in first and see if I can take him down quietly so we can have a little chat with him. Wait in the van ready to give me support if things don't go down well."

"Be careful, the last thing we need is for members of our team to get dragged in by Lonestar for attempted kidnapping or gunfire in the streets."

Eric looked to Joli and Bloodmoon. This would be up to their discretion, he only hoped that the two of them could get Lee out of the building without too much fuss.

"I was thinking a quick grab. I'm planning on getting as close to him as possible and knocking him out. Keep the van running and I'll grab his body and go. We don't have time for anything more elaborate and Lonestar's probably the least of our concerns at this time."

Blackjack pipes up, after having been silent for the last several hours, "Tell me how I can help, you guys! This guy almost got me and all of you killed!"

She looks rather upset at the whole affair.

Joli shakes her head as she thinks to herself. I commit crimes but I am not a criminal. "Wait here, I think we can solve this like regular people." With that said, she enter the noodle shop and seats across from Lee. She tries her best to look friendly and non-threatening. "Hi, we need to talk."

Lee looks up as Joli sits down, breathing a sudden sigh of relief.

"Oh, jeezu, I'm glad to see you! When the gas and the white phospherus hit, I didn't know what else to do, I faded. Is everyone else okay? Are the assassins still after you?" He looks behind Joli towards the door.

Tombstone sits calmly in the van, but mentally he is fidgeting. He feels like he should be in there, in case the other customers start anything, but he has to stay in reserve - if he went in there, his looming presense would ruin any chance of keeping Lee calm. Hopefully, this pickup shouldn't take too long, or run into any complications.

He manages a reassuring smile for Blackjack. "Don't worry. We should be able to nab him fairly smoothly, and then Bloodmoon will pick his mind clean of any pertinent facts. We're still here, despite our enemy's best efforts, so we'll find a way to get the job done despite all of these setbacks."

Joli gives a weak smile. "They're out of the way now but we need all stick together. I think we can breathe a little easier for now. The others are outside so let's go and get this job done." She stands and gestures for him to head out of the noodle shop.

Lee nods, looking around nervously and standing to follow Joli out of the tiny noodle shop.

He climbs into the van and greets the rest of you with a nervous smile, ducking his head as he sees Bloodmoon, apparently alive.

"I'm glad you're okay. When you went down all hell broke loose..."

Jester pulls the van away from the curb smoothly, heading back for the hotel room.

The ride back to the motel is fairly quiet, with Lee nervously fidgeting with a chrome lighter, glancing up occasionally at all of you.

Once you arrive, he stands silent off to one side of the small room, waiting for the inevitable questions.

Bloodmoon fought hard to maintain balance and to keep from boiling over the anger welling up inside of her. There would be time for that later - if indeed it was rightfully directed at this man.

Maintaining the rest of the silence on the trip back to the hotel room, Bloodmoon speaks first when it was once again secured.

"Lee, you know why we brought you hear. There are many unanswered questions. Please, enlighten us."

Lee blinks, seeming genuinely suprised at the question.

"I thought...I mean, I just ran when all the shooting and explosions started. I figured you guys would run too...didn't you? What happened back at the hanger?"

Blackjack becomes uneasy in the silence.

"Where did you run to, Lee? We all stayed there and tried to survive. I was afraid that if I ran, the people shooting at us would get me for sure. They were trying to kill us! How could they have known where to find us so soon after we were hired? There were deckers waiting for me almost as soon as I logged in to the building's network. How did they know I was there? The people we were hired to steal from have been one step ahead of us from the beginning. How could you have gotten away when the shooting started without being shot yourself?"

Lee shrugs uneasily.

"The same way I did the first time they started shooting at us, I went invisible. That's what my team always did if we got ambushed at a location, scatter and meet up later...I guess I just assumed you guys would do the same. I mean, it's not like we talked about it or had a plan or anything...As for the matrix and the building, I dunno what happened. Maybe our decker tripped them off and they were on alert, maybe you're just not as good as you thought."

"Lee, let me be frank with you. We have some concerns. Concerns that perhaps you might have a ... different agenda. The other team tracked us down rather quick - quick enough that some think they might have had inside information." Bloodmoon pauses to allow the man to process where she was going, "but I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt. I want to help you - but I can only do that if you are willing to co-operate. Are you willing to let me help you?"

Lee pales as you describe your intention to Mind Probe him.

"You've got to be kidding," he sputters. "You'll know everything..."

It takes a few minutes of very shrewd negotiation with Bloodmoon, including a few very veiled threats, but in the end, Lee reluctantly agrees not to resist the spell.

"Find out what he knows about the assassins, the attack on the hangar, and any preparations taken in regards to hitting the Manor house. Don't dig outside of our work related areas."

Eric shuddered invluntarily at the thought of someone pilfering his thoughts but this was the only way to make sure and he certainly didn't want more blood on his hands at this point. Torture... He had never thought that he would be capable of doing it and now he wished that he never had opened that door in his mind. It proved he was capable of dark, horrible things and now he would be forced to stare into that penumbral void whenever the chips were down. Listening to that subtle voice in the back of his mind and the whispers of prizes to be gained by a just a few evil acts.

The thief turned leader pulls his coat a little tighter and looks out the van window into the cloudy sky that seems to persistently linger over the city.

Tombstone frowns as the questioning begins. He can see Bloodmoon's intense concentration, but he has no way of knowing how it is going. If Lee is a traitor, then he'll put him down... a bit too late to undo the damage, though.

If Lee is innocent, then he won't have to scar his own soul for a second time, and the plan they worked on will still be feasible. But they will also be back to square one, trying to figure out who's selling them out.

If it's not Lee, and not their employer - who's been playing pretty straight with them so far - then the likeliest suspect would be his earlier suspicion. Someone working for their employer who is a mole for the mafia. Taking a deep, slow breath, he wills himself to a fatalistic calm. Things are out of his hands for the moment; what will happen, will happen.

Finishing the Mind Probe, Bloodmoon completes the spell - tired, but relieved. "He's clean chummers," she reports to the others. "He doesn't know anything more about the situation than we do - he's not the mole."

"Arigato Lee - you've just saved your own life - and us our souls. You've earned my trust."

"As our plan isn't compromised, I suggest that it's the best we have given the timeline."

Blackjack says excitedly, "Ok! Let's do it then, guys!"

Her sudden burst of energy is what you've come to expect, and it is long overdue, as her countenance had lately been uncharicteristically melancholy.

Lee looks relieved at the announcement, flashing a weak but steadier grin to the group.

"So, what's the first step? Have you guys modified the plan at all?"

Tombstone shakes his head. "No, no major changes... we've been distracted, not to mention wondering if we would have to scrap the plan altogether. We'll go in as planned. The only thing we haven't nailed down is who's on which of the two teams."

"Well, if we're moving with the plan as it stands," Lee says, "That calls for Joli to make alot of noise on the oustide while the rest of the team, sans our ride, goes in, right?"