"12,000 ...I could lend 3,000 to it and still have enough for 3 months rent...but what about the trip back? Is that going to be another 12,000? Plus, all our equipment will cost additional money."

"12 grand total or a head? Either way it may be cheaper to stick with shipping our stuff there, getting cleared by the doc, then traveling to New York legally."

"Cheaper, sure. But what about easier and faster?"

Grave:

"I'm out of cred for now. I think Hammer team should be the one that chases the target while Anvil is the one that hops right to New York."

"Short be an understatement on me part. If'in we go that way, we may have to do some bargaining and promising.

"Inless you boys, and girls," he adds as an afterthought, followed by a wink and a smile "know some guys who're willin' ta lend us that much... Smugglin' all o' us is gonna get pretty expensive."

"I've got 12 grand I can throw at it now. If someone can come up with the other 7 we've got round trip. People, any extra time we take here give the perp more time to get away. We need to get to New York. Now."

"I can contribute about half of that remaining 7,000," Helios says.

"I can cover the last 3,500, also Edana. the VITAS outbreak started at a train station, we should be safe."

::Elsewhere::
The room is filled with the thick scent of frankincense as the adept leaned forward. His prey was close, it was working with a group of bounty hunters but they would not protect it. This hound would soon come to heel. Breathing deeply of the purifying vapor, the hunter allowed his mind to clear. Clarity was God's gift to the pure.

Rising from his afternoon rituals, the adept dressed himself once more. There are further leads to track down before moving in for the capture. Absolution could not be given to a child which had turned away from the light. Only mercy in the swift return to God's grace.

"Alright, let's do it then," Helios says, getting up. "We don't have any time to lose."

Edana nods as the others pony up the nuyen they'll need to track their prey. She shakes her head, "Thanks guys. You know, I just thought of something. I'm no great shakes at it, but I just might be able to see VITAS in your Auras."

She bites her lip and vanishes into the bathroom again, emerging with more of her celtic shamaness gear.

"I hadn't cleaned this up yet, it may help me see what I'm looking for."

She marks each man with a symbol on his forehead drawn in the paste she'd used in the tracking ritual. It tingles and burns a little on the skin.

On Bishop she draws a crucifix.
On Charlie a line, curved and forked at the end.
Gonzales gets a skate with lines of movement streaking behind it.
Grave, after some puzzling at the enigmatic man, gets a headstone.
Helios is emblazoned with a radiant sun.
JT gets a baying dog.
Tiny's lumpy brows sport a balled fist.
Edana gets a sword, point down, rather like Bishop's crucifix.

Symbols drawn she wipes her hands and bounces onto the bed propping herself up. She lets her eyes sag shut. It would be so nice to just sleep. And in moments the glowing eerie figures of her teammates are floating before her.

Homely bunch.

You're just jealous, Herne.

Harumph.

Edana:
Spreading your sight over each one, you see the symbols you drew on eacho of their foreheads glow with power invested with a sliver of your will.

Bishop's form is pock-marked with various implants, darkening his aura through cybernetics as much as through his mixed past. Introspective, you see plans and contingencies for each course of action being debated laying themselves together like a giant puzzle in his mind.

Charlie's calm exterior melts away under your scrutinizing eye, the true worry boiling to the surface of his aura. The monster that released a plague upon the city is still out there traveling freely and you know only that he is two thousand miles away. A mirror to hold up for yourself, you see in him the same uncertainty and resolve.

Gonzales' body and spirit shows the contamination of his form with obvious cybernetic implants ranging from the skates in his feet along his cyber tail all the way to the end of his strengthened skull. A slight sense of personal failure and fear builds up in him as he looks over your storm-chased body but it is quickly stifled.

Graves, the quiet man is as much an enigma to you in this world as the other. He's not ill and though his magic is stronger than yours it is all focused within himself rather than allowing him to exert his will over the outside world.

Helios is lit up by the sun which is his namesake, watching your actions with almost a mild contempt he obviously wishes to be moving, hunting and trapping Ballefour. His determination makes you wonder if his need for the hunt will get the best of him in the end.

JT is masked by the dog even before you have finished drawing it upon him. The faithful hound, he is asking himself which method would be best for the team, weighing the cost of travel versus the necessity of time. Sally comes by and scratches him behind the ears, an odd course of events given her penchant for avoiding most of your guests.

Bishop opens a line in his cybered P-Sec and places a call through to Tak.

Bishop:
"Yes." Detective Takeshi Morgan's voice comes clearly over the line, his irritation almost tangible as it echoes through your skull.

"Its Bishop. Sorry if I caught you at a bad time. We're chasing the target and need some funds. I know this isn't the kind of job that pays up-front, but maybe you know someone that can help us out due to the extreem nature of the job. And hell, if you have some petty cash laying around, I'd sure love the help."

Bishop:
Tak sighs deeply. "I'm sorry, it's not you specifically. I have a pack of lawyers breathing down my neck because of your associate's actions. How much are you looking to borrow?"

"At the moment we're in a good need for 20k. We can come up with it ourselves, but it leaves us tapped out. Being tapped out and out of town is a bad idea in my book."

Bishop:
"And I presume you need it quickly...ok, is this line secure?"

Yes

"Alright, I need this guy caught more than I need to worry about the finer details. There's a guy named Vinnie Dicrescenzo, he works down in Tacoma. He got brought in about six months ago for racketeering and assault. He loans money, you guys can take care of yourself, but make sure to pay him back by the time agreed upon." He rattles off an LTG. "I have to go, the lawyers still want their pound of flesh."

"Roger."

Bishop quickly opens a new line and dials the lender.

Bishop:

"Yo!" Your image link fills with the video component of Vinnie's trid phone. He seems trapped in that early American Wiseguy motif. A slightly over-weight Italian falling heavily into his thirties, you can see the abvious calluses on his knuckles that show he's not afraid to do his own dirty work. "what I can you for, chummer?"

"This line is secure. I need 20k and I need it fast. I was told you are the guy to talk to."

Bishop:
"Yeah, I can get the money together, when do you need it and when am I going to get it back?"

"I need it a hour ago. I can get it back to you for sure within the month. How much is your fee?"

Bishop:

You haggle back and forth with the mafioso. Eventually a consensus is reached. The 20k will get dropped off at a local bakery for you to pick up with a dozen canollis, the money plus ten percent is due to him within 30 days.

Bishop hangs up the line and turns to the group. "I've got us the money. I'm gunna go pick it up now, who wants to come?"

"The money? From where?" Helios asks, confused.

"Yeah. Where'd it come from so fast, eh? I don't wanna be owin' no loanshark my liver or summin'... I still need that."

"Tak recommended him to me. We need to cash, the loan is to me, I'll take responcibility."

"Well, 's'long as they don't think takin' out of yer group is a good form o' payment... 'Ey, it's yer life, eh?

"So, where's it at? Wired to yer account? Needing to be," Charlie coughs, "picked up on the 'Trix?"

"I will roll with you, Bishop." JT starts for the door, ready to get the money and continue the mission.

Edana zones out, getting some rest in the gray spaces between real sleep and wakefulness. She pauses the boys before they open the door, "We're all agreed. Expedience over expense?"

"I'll call Townsend then, set up contact with the pilot and work out his particulars."

Bishop gives JT a nod and moves outside to his Brumby to go pick up the package.

Bishop/JT:
You pull out of the driveway and head for Tacoma. Experience on the LoneStar force, taught JT that the bakery you are stopping at has always been a Mafia-controlled establishment--these activities just confirm it. With your bag of canollis and a pocket full of cred, you carefully leave the dock area and take the long trek back to the quasi-rural area surrounding Edana's apartment.

Edana:
Making contact with Townsend, you get handed over to his pilot. He gives you an address to begin a fifteen mile hike through the OU, with guide, you are going to get smuggled out bodily through a weak point in the blockade and then your plane will run the border. You can bring whatever cargo you can carry with you on your hike.

Time passes while you hammer out the final decisions on how you are going to get out of the city. Meanwhile in the Bellevue Lonestar Station, deals are struck. Tiny is released and after a brief telephone conversation arrives at the house.

The team, united again, now only faces the hurdles of a chase, with their quarry 2000 miles away at last report.

Helios grabs whatever snack food he can stuff in his pockets and a large (1 liter) bottle of water before walking out and beginning the hike.

Bishop parks the brumby and motions towards the eatery. "Its waiting inside with a dozen canollis. Lets go."

He steps out, waits for JT to join him, then walks inside to pick up the funds.

As the troll enters her crowded apartment, Edana grabs Tiny and hauls his face down, drawing a balled fist on his forhead with smelly, blue paint. It tingles.

Her eyes go distant as she assenses the big man's aura.

"All clear." She grimaces. "At least, I think so." Before she lets go of his ear Edana peers pointedly into Tiny's eyes, "You've got some explaining to do, mister." She smiles to soften the rebuke.

"Who's ready to go and who needs to round up gear?"

"I gotta get my stuff," Helios says.

::Elsewhere::
The hunt had been satisfying. Pushing his black hair out of his face, the hunter sat down and tapped away a message to the collection agency.

Target boxed and wrapped, waiting on postage.

Unwrapping the morning newspaper, he skimmed the headlines while moving thorugh the kitchen with the adopted half-awareness of knowing a place like the back of your hand. He sets the paper down on the counter to pull out a bowl, milk and cereal but keeps reading the article. VITAS OUTBREAK IN SEATTLE, Plague unleashed by anonymous terrorists. Finishing his breakfast with an unsettled feeling in his gut, he lifts up his latest bounty and takes her to the authorities so he can be paid.

Money in his pocket, he is exiting the subway and sees a taxi drive by. An event that happens a thousand times every day, but still he tries to look and see each passenger. This one he recognizes, Lucien Ballefour, wanted in Seattle. Not able to catch up to the taxi, he jots down the number to track its fare. Returning home he does a matrix search within the hunting and shadier boards, scouring the digital realms for information.

>>>>> SEATTLE VITAS OUTBREAK <<<<<
>>>>> 16 December 2063 <<<<<
We believe the man responsible is Lucien Ballefour,

This was the link he needed. Now all he had to do was contact the team, track the cab and for a fair exchange of information he was sure he could pick up on this hunt.

Edana:
A chirping comes from the counter where you set your p-sec down during the ritual. Referencing your e-mail a new message is there, "Drop me a line if you're looking for a lead on the mad doctor, you know the one who ran away to NY."

Grave:

"Gotta get back to get a few things. I need an hour. Where will I rendevous with you?"

Getting back to his place, he sends a message to Colonel Hodges,"Logistic support not necessary at present time. Hoo-yah, sir." Picking up several pieces of apparel more suitable for a civilised setting, he folds each neatly and places them in his backpack. He proceeds to breakdown his G38 into its component parts and places them into the briefcase that the manufacturers provided.

"Going somewhere, sir?"

"Yes, corporal. We have a situation here."

"Give 'em hell, sir. Rangers lead the way!"

"All the way!"

There was an unwanted houseguest in Grave's place. A spectre of a US Ranger. He fell asleep on guard duty after several days of missions when a surprise NAN attack struck the base. The spectre was overcome with guilt and couldn't die in peace. Normally the spectre was hostile to anyone entering the house (which was build over the guardshack where the Ranger died) which was why nobody wanted to live there, but officer bars on the shoulder, ranger tab on the arm, a Medal of Honour and most importantly the brass balls that only a Spec War operator could have was sufficient to convince the belligerent ghost to stand down.

Tiny looks at Edana. "I thought it would be an easy job. But somehow it felt they where waiting for me. Well you still have my bag with my kit for me." Retreaving his Kit Tiny listens to the debriefing of what has happened during his apsense.

"Ok, so what is the next plan of action?"

Edana cocks her head at the big guy, "What job? Weren't you just nosing -- what happenend?" She sees the blinking message light on her P-Sec and forestalls any answer Tiny might have for her with a hand.

"Hey! Check this out. We have a lead on Ballefour in New York!" The cloudy patterns under her skin flow and wheel and energy crackles across her eyes.

She shows the message to the others, linking a call through the others who've gone off to get their gear. "Well, I don't want to go half-cocked and reply to this. What do you guys think? It could be a buddy of Ballefour's or Ballefour himself trying to put us off or see how much we know."

She shrugs, "Though I guess they wouldn't be telling us that he'd made it to New York, especially if they don't know what we know." She shakes her head. Ugh.

"Guess it couldn't hurt to see what they have to say."

She waits for responses and taps a message to Townsend.

>>>>> [Townsend - Thanks for introducing us to your buddy. Start thinking about what sort of dinner you'd like me to cook up for you when I get back. Whatever you want. Think your buddy'd like to come?] <<<<<
--- Sturmdottir [15:20:45/16-DEC2063]

"Edana, I am ready to go, hence the bags I threw into your trunk." Gonzales shrugged and looked around This is the part I hate, the adrenaline is high, but we got no way to relieve it...

"Hey Bish...you mind swinging by my place to pick up Kane and my gear?"

Tiny looks up at the team. "I am as ready as can be. I am ready to roll when ever you ready."

Its takes Bishop a few seconds to realize that JT is talking to him, "Oh, sure, no problem."

He follows JTs directions to his place, then heads over and makes a pit stop at his own apartment to grab his gear.

Several minutes later they are back at Edana's place, ready to go.

"I need a ride back to my place too," Helios says.

After arriving back at Edena's it looks like almost everyone is ready to go. Kane well rested darts in the door ahead of JT and makes his rounds.

"Okay everyone, lets roll. We can pick up everyone's gear on the way. Do we want to call a Skyvan or Taxi van? Or do you have someone that can pick up your trucks at the drop off point?"

"Well, if on the trip back we'll be dropped off at the same point, I can just leave my ride there so we'll have something to take back home."

Edana plays mental people tetris with the crew and the two brumbys.

She shakes her head, "Not sure we can get everyone, not with eight folks, a dog and gear for everyone. Let's go find out and Gonzales, can you have a call to the air-taxi ready to go if we can't fit everyone in?"

She taps a message to the New York lead.
>>>>> [Consider the line dropped. What have you got? And what do you want for the info?] <<<<<
--- Sturmdottir [15:45:22/16-DEC2063]