Rent calmly takes a step back, so that he is no longer between Baron and Assez. His face is blandly uninterested, although he is ready to jump in if anyone attacks the Johnson. He tried to defuse the situation, but apparently this Assez is a hothead as well, either that or very picky about whom he works with. But he has his own professional appearance to think about now. Any further attempts to interject himself into the proceedings could just call his own professionalism into question. He shoots a wry, sympathetic grin at Bear, who may have been the wiser of the two of them to sit this confrontation out.

The resistance to such a low powered spell tells him all he needs to know. "I shall wait in the hall while you get the information you need. When the meeting is done you can decide whether you need my expertise or not." With a slight bow to all, he steps to the door. This would never finish with him in there. He did maintain his telepathy with the other two though, mentally letting them know he would so they could keep him updated if they wished...and that it would be simple for them to end the link if they decided to. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him.

A nod follows Baron out of the door, and he turns back to the Johnson, the ever present smile there.

"With that dealth with, please proceed with any additional information you have for us. I think all that remain here have decided to accept the job, with your conditions."

Mr. Johnson nods to Assez. "I'd like to apologize to you all. Baron's skills came highly recommended and I believed I was hiring someone of a higher professional level. Now that we have worked that out, I will continue."

Again Mr. J reaches into his briefcase and removes an optical disk, which he tosses to Kull.

"That disk contains a dossier on Mr. Nojibot as well as several files containing recordings of his voice. Also it has the specifics on Miss Johnsons predicted arrival and departure times as well the list of the places she may visit. I believe we have come to terms on your payment. You have your 2,000 NuYen now and you will receive 6,000 at the end of the next four days if you job is completed."

Removing a credstick reader from the case he slides a certified stick into it and keys an amount into the stick, this he tosses to Assez.

"That contains expense money for all of you. 200 NuYen a day each. If I am impressed by your abilities to complete this mission, there will be bonuses awarded when the mission is done."

He closes the case and sets it next to him. "After we have concluded this meeting, I will leave. Feel free to use the cyberterminal in the next room to examine the data on that disk. Are there any more questions?"

Bear shakes his head.

Assez shakes his head as well, offering the Johnson a handshake before sitting down to await the Johnson's departure.

Rent leans forward on the couch, steepling his fingers together thoughtfully.

"No questions. But unless you have decided against hiring Baron yourself - which is of course your perogative - the rest of us haven't voted on it yet. My experience with spellslingers is that they are a rare commodity, and know it. Corporate mages get away with drek that would get another employee summarily shot, and runner mages tend to be even worse. Now, if we have another spellslinger in this group, I say let Baron go his own way. But if we don't, then we need to seriously consider whether a bad attitude is enough reason to cripple our team. I shrug off most spells pretty easily, but I can't protect someone else from hostile magic. One spellslinger with line-of-sight, and all of the expertise of the rest of us means squat. So, how important is protecting Ms. Johnson to you? To me, it's important enough to work with someone who is not as professional as me - with my reputation and well-being on the line if he screws up."

Rent shrugs eloquently. "But in the end, she is just another client, and if she dies through hostile magic, my main priority will be establishing that I was not negligent in her death. So if you find the risk of using Baron to be more than the risk of a magical attack on Ms. Johnson, so be it."

"If you all think that you can work with Baron, then I will let you work out an agreement with him. If not, I will endeavor to find another magic user as soon as possible."

Unintentionally mimicing Rent's motions, Assez steeples his fingers and taps them lightly on his bottom lip, considering for a long moment.

"Rent has an excellent point, unfortunately. With Mrs. Johnson arriving in town on the morrow, our options are limited for the opportunities to gather additional magical support. Perhaps Baron can be persuaded to temper his rash actions just a bit. We'll work with him. If additional situations arise, we, as a team, will deal with them."

He nods to the Johnson, smiling. "I believe that's everything, then. Can you please ask the gentleman to step back into the room as you leave?"

Mr. J picks up his breifcase, stands, and begins walking towards the door. "Well then gentlemen, good luck to you all." As he passes Rent he stops for a moment and reaches inside of his coat, pulling out a cell phone and handing it to him. "If you need to contact me, use the number one preset number. I should be able to answer any time you call." With that, the Johnson leaves the apartment.

Out in the hall, the tall elf pauses and puts on a pair of 12,000 NuYen sunglasses then looks at Baron.

"They'll talk to you now. If you can play ball with them you'll get the same amount of pay and any relevant bonuses. But if this mission fails because of your posturing...I will destroy you."

Mr. Johnson turns away from Baron and walks away. Soon he turns a corner in the hallway and he is gone.

Baron narrows his eyes and drops his mindlink spells, observing Mr. Johnson in detail, from his hair to his clothes, his height and any detail he can discern. Threatening a shadowrunner was never a good idea. Questioning his abilities and discretion was a sin! He's tempted to nail him with an influence spell, but resists the impulse. However, he would remember this Johnson and his description, learn as much as he could about him...likely after the job, but if there was time, before it started.

He opened the door after the Johnson was out of sight and stepped regally through the portal, closing it behind him. He looks around at what he's certain are hostile faces and counters before any can speak.

"I had an analyze truth spell active during Mr. Johnson's pitch. I caught him in a lie regarding Ms. Johnson's safety. Specifically, when he stated that the highest priority was her safety. He slipped and I was "pushing his buttons" to see if this run was a set up. I could not explain during the interview with him right there, so I played the role I'd started: paranoid runner. You may question my methods, though I believe them to be reasonable, but results are what counts.

However, I understand that trust likely is an issue now. I will detail my skills and abilities so that my duties in this run can be best determined. If nessesary I will provide a reference."

That stated, he stands with arms crossed, waiting for the inevitable questions andlow insults he'd have to shrug off.

Kull takes the disk.

"I will copy the records on our likely adversary to research if and how he arrived. I would gladly explain more, but I am not certain of the security of this room, and would like to leave as soon as possible."

Rent, about to reply to Baron, pauses as Kull speaks, then nods slowly.

"Yeah, why don't we head somewhere a bit more secure. We can divvy up the expense money, look at the disk, and all introduce ourselves a bit more thoroughly, so we know what each of us is bringing to the table."

"There's a local dive bar named Tiggy's near the edge of the Barrens. There's enough biz going on that with a little intervention we can be assured of relative privacy."

Assez grins, "The waitress has a thing for felines and cosmetic surgery, but she's nice enough. Meet in an hour." Basic location and directions follow, and William rises and takes his leave.

Bear, finally relaxing from the previous ordeal, smiles. "I guess I will see you all there, until then" Bear stands up and walks to the door, then turns around, "Baron, could you try not to be such a hot head in the future." Bear chuckles and walks out the door. When he leaves, he calls up his cousin, Garrion and says, "Ill have that money for you by the end of the week, keep the wheels rolling and try to get more information on the nut who has me in this mess. Also I need some information on a Mr. Samson Nojibot, including his wereabouts and any enimies he might have, pictures would be nice too. Also a list of important people comming into town, Ineed to check that against my employers id. I have a picture of the package we need to protect as well, I was hoping you could help identify it." He pauses waiting for Garrison to answer, then says, "Whatever you can find will be all right, and just tell me the cost later, you know Im good for it."
After that he drives to Tiggys and has a drink.

Garrison answers in an airy tone, this usually signifies that his thoughts are being translated into audible sounds by a transducer, which is how Bear is used to hearing him.

"Ok, Bear. Nojibot...hmmm, almost rings a bell. I might find something on that pretty quick, send me any pics you have and that'll probably make it go a lot faster. I'll get back to you soon as I can with the other stuff. Catch ya 'round."

"Nice to see that we all can agree on something."

With that, Kull leaves, first to copy the important portions of the disk, and then to the bar.

Baron nods as everyone leaves for Tiggy's. He steps into the restroom before he leaves, though, pulling out his pocket secretary and typing out the name of Samson Nojibot fellow, a description of him at 6'9" and 350 pounds. Dark brown skin and long, flowing brown lion's mane of hair. Next , he types up a description of Mr. Johnson, linking them to the same employer and noting that Samson left said employer's fold. Finally, he types out a description of Ms. Johnson. Attractive elf woman, dark brown hair and eyes, tan skin, tagged for a 9:30am arrival in Seattle via boat. He types in the hotel and room number she's staying at, then closes the file and activates the passcode. Later he'll load in the pictures of Samson and Ms. Johnson to send off to his contacts. He flushes the commode, then heads out to Tiggy's.

The rain drizzles constantly near the outskirts of the Barrens where Tiggy's is located. Suspicious eyes peer out from dark hollows among the scattered remains of civilization. The building itself is a cacaphony of random colored plascrete walls patching the battered and burned walls.

The interior, while smokey and smelling of a mixture of gun oil and cooking grease, is fairly clean, and sports not only a dart board on one wall but a pool table as well.

A stereotypical orc polishes glasses behind the bar, and grunts at each new customer stepping through the door.

Noting the erea Tiggy's is in, he decides it would be wise to call a taxi for the ride there. He calls up Iron Horse Cabs, a company that proudly advertises it's armed driver and shotgun rider. They carry machine pistols and defend the customer once they accept the fare. They also have armoured cabs, using the GM Smartcar™ design and runflat tires. The fare is 25% higher, but they guarantee safety and go anywhere. He pays the fare (in advance...they figure out the cost before they go. I invented the company myself Pretty kewl, neh?) and steps inside the coach and goes for the ride.

Baron feels very safe during his ride to the Bar.

Assez is the first to arrive at Tiggy's. Stepping through the door, he stands for a moment, checking the place out and letting the collected drizzle run down his coat to the floor. The place is fairly empty, this being the early afternoon, but the usual ork is behind the bar and a slim waitress with distinctly surgically added feline features passes by him, delivering a beer to a customer, then turning and taking him in. She looks at him for a moment, then a smile blooms on here face.

"Hey hot-stuff, I remember you!" She walks up to Assez and stands quite close to him. He gets the feeling that if she really were a cat, she'd be rubbing up against his leg. "You want a table, honey, or do you need something more private?" she asks conspiratorially.

As the armored cab pulls up to the run-down, dirty looking bar, Baron looks out of the thick, rain streaked, window and catches a glimpse of Assez entering.

"You need us to wait mister?" the shotgun rider asks, sounding a little tense. He may be armed and dangerous, but this isn't the kind of area anyone likes to sit and wait at.

As Bear is on his way to Tiggy's his phone rings. He answers and Garrison's transducer-pitched voice comes to him over the speaker.

"I think I've got a few preliminary things for you on this Nojibot guy, but I'll need pictures to confirm. What I know now is that he might be a guy who organized and carried out a big hit in Atlanta a month or so ago. Like I said, I ain't one hundred percent on this, but my contact in the CAS says he'll be able to confirm with a picture and that will open up some more info."

"No need to wait. You may go." He says it as if he were dismissing a servant as he steps away. After the usual once over, he sniffs at the bar's less than trendy appearance, then opens the door. He looks around discreetly as he enters, seeing who else is there or if he's the first to arrive.

Rent takes a much dingier cab to Tiggy's, paying the slack-jawed driver as he exits the dilapidated vehicle. He would have the man wait, but in this neighborhood, he would be likely to find a corpse and a stripped down shell of a car when he came back out.

Rent snorts as he looks around. The Redmond Barrens - the only place in Seattle that makes the Puyallup Barrens not look quite as bad. Rent is dressed more casually. He is still wearing his trademark hat and black duster, but this time he is wearing dark grey jeans and a black T-shirt with abstract silvery circuitry designs on the front, and he is wearing heavy boots. He is still armed, of course.

He winces as he prepares to step inside, then mentally sighs with relief as the normal, seedy bar presents itself to his sight. After the description of the waitress, he was halfway expecting to find a sleazy mix between an S&M parlor and a cosplay convention. This... is almost homey. A dart board and a pool table, even.

Assez smiles as Felina greets him, going from paranoid bodyguard to schmoozing playboy in a matter of seconds.

"Felina, darling..." as he gives her a quick hug and tweaks the tip of one of the cosmetically altered ears, "Good to see you too. I'm going to need something a bit more private today. I've got some rather rough associates coming in." He glances around and then leans in close to whisper conspiritorially, "They think they're shadowrunners." He winks to indicate that he's joking, "But don't spoil their fun by laughing. And bring me my usual, will you? There's a dear..." He gives her a rather familiar pat as she bounces away, giggling.

Tiggy's is definitely not the most high class location he'd ever met in, but Felina guaranteed that the service was nice, and he'd heard that the two meeting rooms were some of the hardest to eavesdrop on, partly because of the standard jamming equipment, and partly because the Ork behind the bar was rather picky about the people that used them.

He strolled towards the back, the slightly open door giving evidence that the second and smaller of the two rooms was available. Although not his first choice, it would do nicely.

Bear chips the picture into his pocket sec and faxes it off to Garrison, as well as a picture of the Package, he soon arrives at Tiggy's on foot, his nice walk through seatle easing his mind and his nerves. When he arrives, he looks at the multi colored plascrete and smiles, it reminds him of a trashy bar him and his compatriots would frequent in the SSC. He shakes his head and walks inside out of the rain, and takes his rainsoaked coat off and hangs it on one of the few unbroken hooks beside the door. Seeing Assez, Barron, and Rent already there, he nods his head at them. He walks up the bartender and asks for a drink, "What's the hardest drink you have?" then he thinks again, "Don't tell me what it is, but give me two, thanks." and he slides a credstick across teh counter to cover his drinks.

Noting Bear as he enters and orders, he nods in return, then looks to see who else he's nodding to. He makes eye contact with each in turn, noting their positions so he doesn't lose them.

Arriving last, and with a few extra copies of the disk, Kull finally makes it to Tiggy's.
As he notices Felina: "Someone willing to take fate in her own hands and make reality change."
To Felina: "I am looking for an overdressed man who has probably arrived here recently, he has been using the name 'Assez'"

He catches Kull's entrance. They were all here. Now they just had to stagger their approaches. He assumed there was some sort of back room and watched to see who went there first. He ordered a Shirley Temple as he waited, then hit himself with a Healthy Glow spell to spruce himself up a bit. No point in being seen all scruffy! Appearances had to be maintained!

He nods to Kull as he enters the samller back room, giving Felina a warm smile as he takes the drink she delivered along with the runner.

He motions Kull to a chair, still smiling warmly, and asks casually, "How long before the rest arrive?"

"Everyone else is in the bar waiting for an epiphany."

Kull then finds a seat with reasonable a periferal view of the entrance.

Sipping at the beer he just ordered from the bar ("Not bad... not great, but not bad." he thinks to himself), Rent ambles back towards the back room when he sees Kull head that way, then nods at the other two as he sits down. He makes no attempt to be inconspicuous - he figures 5 well-dressed strangers will stand out no matter what they do.

Bear downs the two drinks he ordered, and then walks across the room. He takes a seat in the back room, and rests his head against the wall. He smiles as the remainder of the group moves into the room, and closes the door after the last one enters. "So any new information in the last hour?"

Before heading over to the table, Baron gives a quick look-see, checking for anyone who might be paying too much attention. After finishing his drink, he heads over to the table, seating himself as if he were the king at thehead of a table of subjects. He nods to all in turn, then says, "I see we all made it."

Kull places the original disk and a copy on the table.
"I intend to seek out those who deal in subtle transit methods and see if any of them know about our suspect and if he is in the area. I made a few more copies of the data than I expect I will need, and I may not be able to get any solid results befour our job starts, but it seems like a better start than just waiting to see if he attacks. Any other plans to make this job easier?"

[]Rampant empathic sensing: 1,2,5,5,9[/]

Baron pulls out his pocket computer and slots the chip into it, loading the information. As it uploads into it he says, "I have a couple of contacts who may know about our Ms. Johnson and Mr. Nojibot, but I was wondering if anyone has a cybercam or some such thing and was able to get a picture of Mr. Johnson. I'd like to know a bit more about him, too."

After waiting for (and hopefully recieving) an answer, he also says, "I said I would reveal my capabilities. I am a sorceror. Specifically, a combat sorceror. I suppose you all remember that I can analyze truth and mindlink. I can also use levitation, individual and erea affecting stunning attacks and a subtle influencing spell. I am accomplished at aura reading and, thanks to my implants, can see a lot farther than any normal eyes can. I'm handy with a pistol, but mostly keep one for "dress." I imagine my task in this job will be as reserve, filling in where needed as well as observation. Perhaps you would care to share what you bring to the table, now?" He says the question as if the answering of it was expected and that the answer would be accommodating. Not rude or demanding, just...expectant.

Rent looks thoughtful for a minute, as if he is mentally cataloguing Baron's abilities, before he replies. "I have a lot of experience and knowledge in professional bodyguarding, although I've always worked under the table. I am an adept. Although I don't have a smartlink, or any other kind of cyberware, I am still a lethal shot with a pistol, and I am also a lot quicker than I look. I can deal with high society and the seamy underbelly of Seattle with equal ease, and I can play it subtle or hard as the situation demands."

AS the entire group files in and sites down, Assez takes a second to reach into his coat pull out a small pentagram, pressing a button on the top of the device and setting it on the table top, before the conversation starts. Anyone with abnormal hearing will catch the familiar hiss of a white noise generator.

"I'm a bit more familiar with our current type of job. I've worked as a professional bodyguard for several years now. Our primary purpose was to guard without appearing to guard, so I've got some experience in blending in with various locales. I speak Japanese, Spanish, French, Russian, and I'm chipped for German, Portuguese, and Chinese as well. I'm a crack shot with a pistol and a rifle, as well as having some skill in close combat, electronics, and stealth. I'm in excellent shape, and can hold my own in a conversation regarding multiple subjects, including literature, physics, and pyscology. More importantly, I've had extensive training on terrorist tactics, the kind utlized by snipers, asassins, and shadowrunners, which definitely applies to situations such as this."

"I prefer a decorative water sculpture for my white noise. By the standard phraseology, I am an adept. With my weapon of choice, or any of similar role, I am very competant in a fight. My senses are tuned to a level of competence that only the finest circuitry can approach. I am also proficient at gathering information from unwilling sources and have reasonable medical skill."

Bear thinks a bit about his role in all this, "I've been a Bodygaurd in the Salish Sihde Council for about four years now. Now Im doing freelance work." He pauses, "Im good with a gun and I'm a smooth talker, that about covers it."
He chuckles, and sits back, waiting for the conversation to continue

His pocket secretary finishes uploading the info on the chip. He quickly organizes it and slots his credstick and spending 400 nuyen. He sends the info with a request for info to his contacts, giving each 200 nuyen to cover their troubles. He ejects the chip and sets it back on the table.

"Anyone here good with computers? Access to guest lists, security and delivery lists and tapping into her phone line and such would be usefull. Also, is anyone here a good driver or rider? We'll need to have a tail put on her if she goes out. Perhaps someone has a contact with a taxi company and could get a cab for a few days that we use specifically to driver her around. Or a limo service even."

He pauses for a moment, then mentions, "It may not seem like much, but if there's no time for showering and changes of clothes, I will use my healthy glow spell to keep anyone who wishes it presentable. It's good for getting blood off, too."

Sometimes a token of aid such as this was a usefull carrot to dangle to gain a little good will.

"Well, now that all that's been established to everyone's satisfaction, I think we need to get down to the important details of the case. Since we have two magically active people present, amazingly enough, and two non, I'd like to propose a rotating schedule, with half the team in close proximity to the target and half at a distance at any one time. We can rotate through the team as locales change to prevent the target from getting suspicious. Of course, this is assuming everyone can keep a low profile while near the target. 1 "Awakaned"," he glances to Baron, "Is that the proper term? 1 Awakened member of the group and one mundane member in close proximity, and the others at a distance. I suggest this because it may be necessary to physically prevent harm from coming to the client while under our protection, and observing from a distance does not always allow one the freedom of intervening at will."

He merely nods at the title of awakened.

"I might suggest a rotating schedule, but since it is a four day contract, I suggest it involve one person be sleeping at any one time in 2 hour intervals. It's hard to maintain concentration for more than 6 hours and this schedule should make for the equivelant of a solid night's sleep. I haven't any Long Haul and am reluctant to use such measures unless nessesary."

"I agree," Bear chimes in, "after all, its not like we can sleep when she does."

"I guess whats most important at the moment is how we deal with her arrival."

Consulting the data provided, the team learns that she is arriving at 10:00 in the morning at pier 14 in the Tacoma docks district. Her cruise ship is registered as the Lauren Belle, under the ownership of Parlerai Cruise Inc.

She has reservations at the Laubenstein Plaza, a very nice hotel in central Seattle. The runners also have two rooms there, already rented. The team find four maglock keys in the case, two for each room, which need to be returned to the hotel at the end of their stay.

One of us shoudl arrive as her driver, and the rest of us should act as tails for a block or three at a time, cycling in and out so there is always two of us in the immediate vicinity, after we get to the Hotel, two of us should be in the lobby, prehaps checking in? After that things will probably cool down a bit an we shoudl be able to settle into a nice rotational schedule.

"That sounds reasonable." Baron looks from runner to runner with a slight, cocky smile. He loved being agreed with! "As I asked before, who here is a good driver? Some arrangement will have to be made about being her driver. We'll need to know if she was going to have one first, then what company." He turns his gaze to Assez. "I suggest you take care of this research. You're the one who's mentioned having technical skills and will be most likely to be able to deal with the computer side of this run...unless anyone else wishes to speak up now and mention their hacking skills?" He pauses, waiting for anyone to pipe up. He looks over to Kull. "Since your senses are so strong and you have bodyguard experience to go with them, I suggest you be her driver if you have reasonable driving skills. I'd like the one closest to her to be able to react to a changing situation with alacrity." He turns to look at Bear next. Why don't you go and check out the pier she is to arrive at? Recon the erea. I'll do the same at the hotel here. We can rendezvous at room..." he picks up a passkey and reads the number out loud, "when all is done. My radio will be set to frequency Alpha one one seven niner. My cell number is *********" ((OOC...couldn't think of a number)). If any of us happen to be outside radio range, use the multiple caller option on your phones." He pockets the passkey and waits for responses.

"If you dont want to hack the company to add a driver, we could just repaint my car, its practically a bulletproof taxi anyways, same make and model as most companies use. Then we need only waylay the driver."