"I guess I can talk to my regular street doc, see if he knows anything," Helios says. "It's a longshot, but it's a shot."

Bishop speaks up, "I scoped the file already, but it didn't give up much to go on. We're gunna need to do some asking around. Unfortunately I'm green in town, so no one really wants a whole lot to do with me. Anyone have friends they can put me in contact with? I'm good with people, I just don't know anyone.

And if you are going to his place, you ain't doing it alone. I'll join you."

Charlie took a drink of the import. Swirled it around. Winced appropriately and set the cup aside. He did the same with the other three beers. Same result each time.

"Nothing like good ol' Irish Green beer," he said to himself.

He was paying attention, just also trying things out. After discovering that none of the beers were any good, he grabbed himself a cup of water. If you can't get drunk, get hydrated, eh?

When the topic came to knowing things about people, he perked.

"I know a kid. Drek-hot decker. Might be able to get us somewhere. I'll give 'im a call when I get back. Goes by Debian, mebbe some o' ya heard o' him?"

"I dont know too much about deckers, Charlie, but I know theyre good at finding information. That would give us a quick start if that decker could uncover anything on the subject."

"Bishop, I think I might have someone that could help us out. We have worked with him before, let me see if we can meet him sometime."

"I think we all have people to talk to. And I know that at least for me, some of my friends expect me to not reveal them as a source to others. So JT I'll meet you at the guys old doss in about an hour." Gonzales stands up and walks out into the street, where his skates pop out again and he dons his helmet "Once more unto the breach."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

20 minutes later Gonzales arrives at Christina D's shadow clinic. and walks in.

"Chrissie, long time no see."

"Georgio, your checkup isn't until next week. I take it this visit is business related?"

"Is it safe to talk in front of him?" Gonzales points to the patient she is working on.

"Perfectly, it will take me another fifteen minutes to finish installing his new ears."

"In that case yes it is unfortunately business, I was wondering if the name Lucien Ballefour rings any bells?"

Tiny looks the file over. Looks at the picture for a moment commiting it to memory.

"Does anyone have the address of this place, or where the recruitment offices are? Maybe I can find out if they are looking for security personal or even who does the security in the area. Maybe his lives in the Corporate secure suburbia."

Tiny looks over at the others and wait for any other input.

"Alrighty, then. Who do we contact when we get a probable hit on the target's location? We need someone to coordinate the intelligence effort as well as the manpower location. Don't want us all to chase down the same lead, when there are others to look into do we?"

"I think everyone can get in contact with each other now, maybe we should see where we are tomorrow night, see what leads have turned up. Maybe we could split up into two or three teams...that we only have to contact two or three people, instead of one person having to coordinate the whole thing."

Edana straightens up, "I'd like to check out his place, get an Astral scent of him and hopefully enough to track him down with a spell. Mind if Herne and I go with you, Kane and Bishop?" She wipes the ruin of several wings from her mouth and cleans herself up getting ready to go, peeking into the Astral once again to check the state of things.

Herne, see anything odd?

Nope. You've got sauce on your chin.

Gonzales:
The street doc thinks for a few seconds, while making adjustments to the cyber-eared patient.

"Sorry, not coming up with anything, the closest I know is some doc by the name of Baiour. I could get you his address if you're interested, but I'd stay away from him if I was you. Some nasty rumors have floated my way--he's just as likely to do the surgery as he is to sell you for spare parts."

Edana:
Nothing has drastically changed since you last looked. The bartenders are wiping down glasses and setting up for the late night crowd. Your fellow changeling at the door has started a line and begun to pat people down while a squat dwarf collects cover charges.

"Sounds like just the type I'm looking for... You should know I don't get ware from other people."

Gonzales:
"Just thought I'd warn you what you were up against."

Chrissie turns from you, attaches a few small diagnostic utilities to the new cyber ears and gestures for you to join herin the other room. Her office is clean and functional, a contrast of smooth textures and sharp lines.

She punches a few commands into her digital organizer and turns the screen to you.

"He works out near the Body Mall. I'd go during the daylight hours, but you've always been willing to go places I'd stay away from. Did you need anything else or should I get backto him?"

Christina jerks her head towards her deaf patient.

"Nothing for now, I thank you for your time." Gonzales bows as he exits.

Returning to the street Gonzales calls Taggart. "Got a lead mon ami, almost identical name, and the same kinda field. You wat I should check it out, if so have Helios call me to get the address, I could use the backup."

Bishop nods to Edana, "Wouldn't hurt to have someone else along for the ride and we could use some mojo. Who's drivin'?"

Edana nods to Bishop, "I can drive as long as you don't mind taking the back with JT, Kane." She grins at the dog, "Or, if Herne will give up shotgun we can all have our own seats." Her eyes unfocus and she nods shaking her head ruefully.

Refocusing again she stands, "It's all sorted, then. Let's hit it."

Bishop stands and picks up his gear bag. "After you."

McShizzle's:
As half the team rises from the table, a few newcomers move in your direction hoping to score the large table for their friends. Seeing some of you staying behind they back off before they get within earshot, making apologetic gestures.

Stepping outside, the team going to scope out Ballefour's house walks past the line of pople waiting to get inside. Several people are joking together in groups as they stamp their feet to keep the blood circulating. You move a few blocks away to where Edana left her car.

A heavily modified SUV waits for you to climb in after, the shamaness disables the security system. Kane jumps into the back, climbing over the bench and rests in the back of the truck. The drive is short as you cut across the evening skyline and down the I-5.

As you pull into the parking lot of an imposing church about a block away from Ballefour's house, JT's cell phone begins to ring with an incoming call.

On the ride over, Bishop reaches into his pack and pulls out a few small handheld devices. He passes them out to everyone with the instructions, "These are BattleTac Receivers. If you've got a datajack, plug it in. If not, clip it on your belt and put in the ear peice. If something bad goes down at this guys place, I'll analyze the scene and give you the best tactical commands. Follow my lead and we'll work together much better in a fight."

"Hey Gonzales, whats up?" JT asks as he picks up the call.

"Got a lead mon ami, almost identical name, and the same kinda field. You wat I should check it out, if so have Helios call me to get the address, I could use the backup."

"Will do my friend. Send that address to my pocket secretary, too. That way we are ready to head there in case of any problems."

After disconnecting with Gonzales, JT places the call. "Helios, Gonzales might need some back up. Give him a call and he will tell you where. Im sure Tiny and Grave could join you as well."
----------------

JT takes the Battletach receiver from Bishop and attaches it to his belt. He procedes to place the ear piece in his left ear.

"Got it," Helios says.

He then places a call to Gonzales.

"Heard you might need backup. Where should I meet you?"

Ballefour's:
The team climbs out of the Brumby with Battle-Tac engaged. The clouds part enough to let the moon shine out and highlight the heavy cross built on the steeple. The shadow seems to settle down on Bishop for a second as if to claim him. As quickly as the clouds parted they close back up again.

Bishop freezes for a moment, his hands coming up to make the sign of the cross... Father... Son... Holy... he freezes. A whisper escapes his lips, "Forgive me Lord."

Shaking himself a bit, he turns to the group. All your BattleTac Receivers come online. "Give me a sec to check a few things out before we move in."

Bishop moves out of the churches parking lot and lets his eyes sweep over the street. His Rangerfinder, GPS, Orientation System, and Tactical Computer go to work compiling all the data around him, giving him map overlays in his vision. The BattleTac network gets flooded with the data as he moves along the street, assessing the scene.

Ballefour:
The BattleTac relays visual feeds from Bishop to image links as he scans the area. A soft light pours out of a curtained window from the rectory as you advance onto the street. No heat signatures are present amidst the cold background of the winter night. Most of the houses on this street have the soft glow of Christmas lights, with several trees evident through large front windows. One house at the end of the street seems utterly devoid of life, 7524 S. Main. No vehicles rest in the driveway and no lights twinkle under the dark sky.

"Street is clear, advance to the north sidewalk, there are some shrubs there that should give you some cover."

Bishop takes his own advice and makes his way towords the house as quietly as he can.

JT follows a few meters behind Bishop's lead and a couple steps to his left. His Ruger Thunderbolt is ready, loaded with gel rounds to incapacitate any potential hostiles. Kane is at Taggart's side, obedient and aware, waiting on command.

::Elsewhere::

A middle aged man sits on an Eastern bound train. He sips his whiskey demurely as he ponders his breakfast options. With the beeping reminder of his pocket secretary, the urbane professor looks down. Time to make a phone call. Dialing a number, the line beeps waiting for numeric response. He keys the pager to send a time delayed message. 0740, just as three trains will unload passengers into the Central Station and the morning commute will be in full swing.

Sending the message, he slides the cell phone back into his coat pocket and settles down with his drink and a book. The morning would bring great news.

Edana puts a hand out to JT's shoulder, and speaks quietly into her headset "Wait a minute for me to do some Astral recon before we go much further."

She closes her eyes and her grip on JT's shoulder tightens as she opens her mind to the other realm.

Hello there, Herne. Sorry we kicked you outta the Brumby, pal.

Mmmhmm.

Edana's astral form squints at her ally.

We've got work to do. Help me take a look around this place, would ya? And try not to get into trouble. Let me know if you find anything.

The massive spirit's eyes glow in acknowledgement as he shifts into a houndlike aspect before surging off to scan the area.

You didn't get all the sauce. He sends to her.

Edana lets go of JT's shoulder and opens her eyes. She rubs vigorously at her face giving JT a you-should-tell-me-these-things look.

JT whispers back to Edana, "What was that look for!? It was Kane, not me."

Grave finishes up his dinner,"OK, I'll stay in touch. I'll go back home and change into something more apporpriate and shake some bushes. If you need me, just call."

Charlie grabbed a couple extra bits of food and made his way out after everybody had left. They had their game plans, he had his.

Now what... Some crazy scientist gunna turn us inta Vampires er summin? Frag, just what I need... No doubt Helios would love that too.

However long it takes him to get home, he doesn't particularly care. When he does, though, he calls up Debian right quick.

Edana:
There is a dizzying sense of being in two places as Herne opens the link between you and starts showing you the world as he sees it. The hound slinks through the walls of the house keeping low as he enters the living room. He passes through a kitchen and into the family room, skulking behind larger objects to block his astral form from view as best he can.

It stinks of rotted meat in here. You should talk to this guy's interior designer though, it looks like Van Gogh met an Ikea catalog and had puppies.

Herne doubles back to the living room and moves down a side hallway. He pokes his head through doors cataloging three small bedrooms and a bathroom before reaching the master bedroom.

A growl comes back across the connection almost knocking you off your feet from the emotional force behind it. Death and pain floats in the air around the bed as the hunter pads around the room. Instruments of torture, sex and death seem to be intermixed. Whips and chains lay next to small scalpels and plasteel implements obviously meant to penetrate gentler orifices.

He backs out of the room and loses general cohesion as he soars back to you at the speed of thought. His velocity brakes after he plows through your central mass and comes rolling away behind you. He materializes into his hunting form once again and moves over towards Kane, sniffing the air around him. Herne's tongue lolls out to one side slightly as his intelligent eyes gleam in the low light of the street.

Grave:
Getting home you shift into clothing more fit for the activities you plan to start tonight. Dialing up Colonel Hodge, the aged fixer answers the line with a gruff tone resulting from a gas attack during the Desert Wars.

"Grave, damnit boy, it's been too long. Looking for work or did you need something from one of my boys?"

Charlie:
Debian seems to be tapping something on a keyboard when you call.

"Y'ello? Charlie, what can I do for you? No, no, nothing too important...Always got time for mah friends. What'd you need me to find?"

"Hey kid. I just got a job hunting down this..." Charlie fumbles with the name for a second. "Er... Lucius? Lucas? Lucy? Frag, what is it... Oh! Lucien! Now if I could remember his last name, that'd be perfect..."

I really should buy a Pocket Secretary sometime... That would come in infinitely handy right now.

"Er, uh... Ballfive? No, that ain't it... Ballefonte? No... Balla... Balla... Ballefour! Yeah! Lucien Ballefour! He's a virologist that started his own little comp'ny. Ballefour Pharmaceuticals.

"He was s'posed to be working on a VITAS-II cure, but didn't quite have authorization to run it on (meta)humans. 'Course, he ended up doing so. Got himself busted.

"That's, er... All I 'member. Though I do know the drinks at the place we met sucked. Got time for a quick one down at Joe's? Ya can bring the stuff ya find there if ya want."

Charlie:
"Lucien Ballefour, got it...I'll run a quick who's who on him and see if I can pull up some recent agendas. It'll probably be ready for you in the morning, maybe do breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure. Roundabouts nine then?"

Maybe I'll just ignore the drink tonight and have a morning drink. Joe has some damn good Breakfast Vodkas.

"Good evening, sir. No sir, I'm quite occupied at the moment, which brings me to the purpose of my call. I need an intel dump on a Lucien Ballefour. It seems the guy is involved in some covert viral research, he got sloppy and jumped bail. I need any Humint or even Rumint you can turn up. Maybe someone from the NBC side or Special Weapons can turn something up. Of course, if you need cred to grease any palms, do what you need to do. No receipt required naturally. Haha..."

"Weapons of mass destruction, eh? Drek, I hate those motherfraggers! I'll see what I can turn up."

Gonzales hears the beep of his phone and thanks quetzacouatl for hands free phones. "Yello?" he answers


"Heard you might need backup. Where should I meet you?"

"Got a lead on a street doc whose name matches an alias on the file. the address is being sent via encrypted file, meet me there in an hour, I have to pick some stuff up first..."

Gonzales quickly heads toward his doss, to collect his colt manhunter, then heads over to body mall Smartgun links are lovely, but sometimes you need that redudant laser sight to still be on the gun, as people can't see where your smartlink is pointing.

"Gotcha," Helios says.

Rushing back to his place, he grabs another extra clip for his Manhunter, bringing his total clips to three, and his katana, slipping the sword underneath his armored trenchcoat.

Once he has everything, he runs to the meeting spot at the appointed time.

Tiny looks at who is left at the table, shrugges his shoulders.

What do we do here ?

Grabbing some of the left overs before Tiny heads out.

Flipping open his cell and dialing his contact Sgt Cohen. Going through the switch board he finally get through to the Sgt.

"Hey Sgt, Tiny here"

'Hey Tiny how you doing?'

"Doing well, I need some infomation from you."

'What sort of infomation you looking for'

"Well on of many unanswwered questions. Firstly Ballefour Pharmaceuticals I think the companys name is, I am looking for there physical location. Secondly who does there security?
If you could find that out for me I take you for a night out at Dante's Inferno. Sound Good?"

Tiny:
"Works for me. I'll run this and get back to you first thing in the morning." The sounds of data entry into a computer system are clearly audible across the phone line before it goes dead.

Bishop continues to move foward towards the house, staying in the shadows as best he can. Once he gets to the house, he is going to circle around the outside once, checking windows and getting a feel for the interior layout of the place. Letting all his installed components create a map on the BattleTac network.

Bishop:
All the windows have heavy drapes keeping all light from penetrating into the house. You quickly assemble a map of the exterior of the house and head back to the front where the team waits.

"Exterior is clear. I hope one of you can open a door better than I can."

"Sorry Bishop, you know B&E isn't my forte. We can wait for Gonzales, or we can just force our way in," JT says half jokingly.

"Wait. You wanted to come down here solo and don't have any B&E? Ha! Thats a good one... Let me have another look around and I'll what we can do."

Bishop does another trip around the house, carefully checking each and every window and door, checking for security devices.

Bishop:
The windows and doors seem clear.

Grave gets off the phone, packs what his thinks he might need tonight, mounts his bike and proceeds to Lucien's street doc address.

Naering the place, Grave parks his bike and proceeds to the target area on foot. He keeps his senses keen and alert. He tries to see if there is anyone showing any interest on the place he is going.

Gonzales arriives at the Street Doc's place, and sees helios walking down the street toward him.

"Over here." Gonzales calls out.
"This the place?" The Vampire hunter asks.
"That's what I was told. What's the bet this guy aint really trying to cure VITAS?"

"For my enjoyment's sake, I hope it's high."

Helios tugs at his coat and looks at Gonzales.

"Ready?"

[OOC]: D'oh

"Well I figured I could always use this window key," JT says picking up a rock. "Or I could do this."

The shamanic mask of the dog quickly appears on JT's face. In the darkness of the night it seems for a split second his nose elongated into a snout complete with a black nose and whiskers. His mouth agape, his teeth becoming slightly pointed, and if you didn't know any better you could swear he was panting. After a second the illusion has dissapated and JT's eyes come back to focus.