Once the other members of the team got down into the back and forth flow of details with the Johnson, John remained quiet, observing the shifting of auras as data was passed back and forth. He blinked once when the subject of holding onto the items once they'd been acquires came up, filing the need for greater consideration of that issue to a later point.

<Trust the Johnson to deal straight, or should we find a place of our own to start sorting out the details?>

"If the Johnson isn't dealing straight, we're boned to begin with." Lleu commented.

John looked Lleu in the eye. "It is never wise to work off of assumptions. Better that we begin our work within our own territory, rather than a place we cannot be completely assured off." He withdrew a notebook from his pocket. An event like this will not occur in a vaccuum. Our employer might already have counter agents working against him. No need to make their job surveiling him and us any easier. He replaced the notebook then leaned forward to look to look at the rest of the group, his fingertips resting lightly on the tabletop.

"Never said I was against finding our own place...just commenting on the state of affairs. It doesn't get much bigger than this."

<I still would like a background check on our Johnson. I've memorized his aura, so I'll track him down if there's a problem, but still, if you were say... a high-profile seeker working for Interpol, offering an impossible job to the best so that you have twice the chance of catching us, seems like a fair possibility. I'd like to know where he's coming from, and what possible use those items are to anyone other than as art. Anyhows, plans are useless without first doing some recon and having some prints to work off of. What say we head to one of our places and get to work tomorrow morning?>

"Well we should at least talk about who's doing what. Paris isn't exactly a five minute trip so we shouldn't go unless we have a plan to gather information. So
if for no other reason then it puts our minds at ease, lets get out of here," as she spoke aloud, Ariel moved to the door and threw it open. The beat of the house drums slammed through the room.

"I'm sure there is a bar or something around here that can rent us a private room."

Ariel made her way through the crowd to the downstairs bar. She got the attention of the bartender by waiving a 100 nuyen bill in the air.

"Hey," she yelled over the booming music, "my friends and I need a private, quiet place to talk, any ideas?"

Ms. Johnson eyed the remaining team members in the room before pushing herself up and following Ariel. Once more thankful for her flare compensators and sound dampening, she glided effortlessly through the crowds in time to catch up with Ariel.

<I was going to suggest a different building entirely, but I suppose there is such a thing as too much paranoia.>

Allowing her eyes to roam, she idly tried to spot anyone who may have been looking more than casually their way, as well as anyone else from the group trying to push their way through the crowd.

Ariel slid the money over and snatched up the keycard that opened on of the privacy booths.

It only took her a few seconds to locate it and make her way there. Once everyone was in she made sure the door was secured and all the privacy equipment was on.

"Ok, what do we do first?"

"We'll need to have a look at the place. But that is a trivial matter. Go in during opening hours with a camera and pretend you're a tourist. A set of building schematics would also be nice. But we'd probably need the Johnsons tech specialist to acquire anything with any semblance of the alarm system added in."

Ms. Johnson shrugged and shifted in her chair. "If one of you happen to know any discreet hermetic mages in Paris, perhaps we can have someone draw us up a nice, big ward near the museum in case mr. Johnson cannot pull through on it."

"Ok folks, I may not be all that in regards to art, but I know this museum, though few would still call it a castle. First thing we need to find out is which wing it's in, the Richelieu, Sully, or Denon. If you want, you can view some blueprints on my Pocket Secretary, past endeavors have permanent images stored for the Floorplan, 3d view, and an ariel view. We need to know where the items are so we can make our plans. There is a river flowing across the street from the museum which may be of use as well as a few major streets, mostly 1-way. I've taken the liberty of showing where the Museum is located. Someone find out where we need to be? Then we can start planning.... I'd also like an idea of how much external security support the museum expects, how much internal we'll have to deal with, and any security plans we can get of the place. I'd also like to know what places in the area, no closer than 10 kilometers, will be considered important enough to justify any elite-teams to investigate as a higher priority than the museum, we'll need distractions I'm sure on an endeavor of this size. Main question is, who can/will do what on this research mission?"

"Depending on when we're going to do this, I might be able to call in a mage friend who's in town for a visit. Can't hold him up too long, though." Lleu suggested. "I could also take an astral looksee while we're looking over the place."

"I can go in on the ground, I have the cam in my eye that should let us get all the detailed pictures we need. Plus I don't leave an astral sig like you adepts and mages do. And I should be able to diguise my profile enough not to leave a visual record."

"Eh, I doubt anyone will remember one in ten thousand visitors who came by during opening hours. I wouldn't mind taking a look at the exhibit myself and see what the place looks like with my own eyes. If nothing else, I might spot something you don't and direct your camera there."

"It's probably folly to assume we'll have long from we grab the items to the first alarm is sounded. How do we intend to escape? Car is out of the question. The risk of getting stuck in the traffic is too big."

Ms. Johnson leaned forward to study the personal secretary on the table, indicating the two sections for temporary exhibits.

"The exhibit is only there for one month, which means it'll likely be in the cellar under the Richlieu wing or in the Sully wing at the first floor. A one-day trip will determine that. Unless one of you has an alternate idea, I'll rent a hotel room with a view of the place in the morning."

"Not a bad idea. The Parisian undercity is also extensive and winding. If there are any ways to reach it near the museum, especially to the older catacombs, a preplanned route could offer an excellent means of escape. Especially if a little magic is involved. Disguise a few tunnel entrances as blank walls, so that even if they figure out we've employed illusions, that won't let them get a fix on the exact one we used."

"Ok so three teams then, Mai and I check out the inside. Loki, you and John investigate the catacombs, see if there is a route in or out that can be of use to us. Wraith, you and Lleu meet with the Decker and see what you can get out of him. Lets meet at the Cafè Parisian in 24 hours to discuss what we have come up with. From there we should be able to put together some sort of preliminary plan."

Loki nods, "Good plan, let's get out of this place. John, you want we should go get a drink before we get to work?", Loki says with a grin, as he looks at Ms Johnson, amused. "Anyhows, I suppose I'll stay local tonight, no trains heading back this late, I might as well get my homework out of the way. I'll see you guys later, gotta find a place to crash tonight before everything's full.... if it's not already too late..."

Wraith holds up two fingers. "Two things. One. I want to be there for recon. Its my specialty besides dealing with the 'customer'. I've got an uncanny ability to remeber things I see and may be able to pick out some details we missed at a later time. Two. I think we should all meet up with the Decker. If he is going to joint he team, rather than just be an asset, he should meet the team as a whole and see who he will be working with."

Ms. Johnson looked at Wraith for a long moment.

"So do I. There's no need to spend a talent twice in one place. We'll need you to scoop put a good route through the catacombs, if that is our intended way of escape. I know a decent hotel near the Louvre. Last I visited, they had a privacy shielded meeting room as well if we need to meet the decker on neutral ground."

He couldn't have forgotten, could he? It's not like she hadn't used her little tricks when they worked in the past. Rather than dwelling on it, she turned to look at Ariel.

"I've a free passenger seat in the car if you want it. If we hit the roads now, there can be a pair of rooms for us by the time we arrive in Paris."

"OK I am sensing some disatisfaction here. So how about Mai and Wraith go to the museam. Each of them has talents they feel will be most useful there. I am fin with that. Liu and I will meet with the Decker. I know you think he should meet the whole team at once, but I feel a limited introduction would be best. If he gets pinched I don't want him turning everyone in."

Ariel looks around and waits for disent, when none is spoke the Italian woman smiles. "Excellent, it looks like we have a plan. Ok people, let us be about it. Lleu,do you ahve a ride to Marseille"

"As for now, I need to see about fueling up my bike, arrivederci." Ariel pops Lleu on the shoulder as she stands and heads for the door. She turns and backs throught the door, "Don't forget, Cafè Parisian in 24."

With that she is through the door and back out into the swirling madness that is the club.

After finalizing plans of who is going where, the team separates heading in three different directions. Some find comfort in a hot drink to stave off the chill of the late spring evening, others leaving the city for recon and an illicit rendez-vous.

"Well Mr Calvin, shall we be off? I'm gonna grab a place local for the night, say we meet for lunch? If that's alright, I'll call you tussen 10 and 11 and we can arrange to arrange things.", Loki says as he rises up. After waiting for everyone to say their goodbyes, Loki heads to a local place he's bunked ata few nights and gets a room. By 10 he's up and ready to go, feeling fully refreshed.

"Yeah, I have my bike. Don't have some of my heavier gear in town though...but that can be remedied at a later time." Lleu answered.

The cell phone is barely audible above the sound of the Grotto, only the luminesence from cell's face breaking the dark atmosphere of the ancient cafe / bar. Noire doesnt bother checking the number on the caller ID, it's been forwarded
by the rerouting subroutine Noire placed in the Telcom grid.....leaving Noire's actual number anonymos, and his smart frame working in the opposite direction trying to locate the callers position,and Telco number.

Phone conversation


Noire checks the LED screen face of the phone, no number shows and the face of a cartoonish goblin appears shaking his head side to side. Ah Misiuer Johnson is still cautious, Noire thinks to himself as he lights up a Sobraine Black Russian cigarette, using the electric coil lighter in his left hand thumb.

Not being a big fan of waiting, Ariel fuels up her bike after leaving the club. Once the bike is ready to go she hops on the radio, "Lieu you ready to roll? I'm going to give our friendly decker a call."

Ariel activates her internal cellphone and scrolls through the numbers in a blink of an eye.

"Hello? I was told that I could meet a Noir at the Grotto, my associate and I will be available to meet in about two hours. Is that acceptable?"

Ariel & Lleu:
Arrangements are made with Noire and after a brief ride south through the light evening traffic, you arrive in Marseille. Referencing a local directory, the Grotto is easy enough to find. The small café is on the bottom floor of a 14th century building which looks like it got renovated at the turn of the 18th century and has mainly just been kept in a state of low grade disrepair to make it blend in with most of the city.

Entering the café, you find most of the room is dark with the main lighting seeming to emanate from display screens inserted flush into the surfaces of the wood tables. Booths nestled into the corners have curtains drawn back and are almost pitch black with the brightness muted from the glowing video displays. A steady trickle of men move around the room with discrete stops at different tables where Euros trade hands for various inhalants and poppers.

The sound of conversation is hushed and washed over by the noise of a bubbling spring that was tapped into years ago and now is bottled and served with meals. Excess flow is redirected and cascades over the solid slate, which serves as the back wall of the bar. The bar also serves as the only pool of light in the café, lit with purple and green neon lighting.

Behind the bar leans a slim young woman, attractive if you like the metal explosion common in the revitalized goth-punk movement. A tight black corset with red lacing should give glimpses of color, but under the lighting conditions at the bar creates a simulation of black on black, shadows against a deepening pit of darkness.

“Tu veux quoi?” Her French is harsh and the Romanian undertones in her voice clearly demonstrate that she is not a native speaker.

Ariel in her black leather outfit with buckles and straps blends right in with the goth crowd.

In a little less broken French, "Were here to see Noir, sweetheart."

Ariel:
The girl gestures towards the booth at the left end of the room. A curtain is concealing the table and its occupants.

"Glad to be your personal secretary."

She sneers slightly, exposing a glistening fang that doesn't look like chrome. Confident that you aren't actually going to pay her for her time, she moves down the bar and pours herself a drink from a green unlabeled bottle hidden under the bar. Placing an odd slotted spoon over the glass with two sugar cubes, the bartender tops off the glass with the spring water and then stirs. The drink begins to glow softly under the neon lighting.

"Charming place." Lleu commented as he accompanied Ariel over to Noire's boothe. He doubted he'd be drinking here, and even if he did, he doubted he'd be tipping the waitress.

"Gracias," Ariel said as she moved down the bar. She dropped a twenty on the top just to be polite.

John spent the night tracking down the tourist resources for the catacombs. Endless winding corridors mostly kept closed to public access, long forgoteen crypts that hadn't felt the touch of light for centuries. He was intensely curious as to what they might find down there. He found himself looking for fringe groups of urban spelunkers. They'd have the best maps of all the unofficial routes. Then he just needed to find one that showed entrance points near the museum. That part of the city would've been extensively renovated, but the underground construction was ubiquitous. Some buildings still had bomb shelters from the world war more than a century ago in their sub basements, and some of those had exits into the tunnels. For others, it was poor maintenance, allowing the walls to break down, or be broken down. So many different possible nooks and crannies to investigate.

He stopped prowling at about down, holing up in a tourists' coffin hotel, populated mostly by students taking the cheap tour of Europe, grabbing a quick nap. He kept his cellphone by his ear, just in case Loki called early, but by ten o' clock, he was back on his bike, attempting to case some of the more exposed insertion points he'd heard about the night before.

Wraith smiled at Ms. Johnson. "First things first. Lets get ourselves over to Paris and find a place to stay. Got any hotels in mind? And how did you want to get over there? I'm thinking about just loading my bike up on a train and taking that in."

Ariel discreetly brushed her hand past the Glock at her side before looking over her shoulder to Lleu.

"Let's go." Ariel moved to the booth sliding the curtain aside.

The curtain sliding back would have startled a paranoid person, Noire was beyond paranoid at this point, that's why he'd been monitoring the bar through it's security system cameras. Multiple views fill the recessed monitor/table top. Noire lights up a Sobraine Black Russian as the woman comes into view." I hope you dont mind." Noire says holding up the newly lit cigarette.

"Actually I do," Ariel says in her Italian soprano, "but I'll let it go. Is this place secure?"

LOKI

Beneath the waters of the canal which ran along side the once-castle, now museum, a lone figure glided along the floors bottom. Vision was not so good, the water being of a more polluted nature, but the oxygenate spell seemed to work nonetheless. Coordinating his Nav-DAT with the image link he had of the layout, he quickly determined the location of the building in reference to his own location. He pulled along the walls, looking for possible openings, or anything else that could provide oppurtunity, either to the building, or to the tunnels which housed the metro system. Every few feet, Loki stopped, held his breath and 'Catalog'ed everything in the area to make sure he didn't miss anything of importance. Once the canal inspection was completed for up to 2 kilometers in each direction of the museum, Loki began a similar inspection over the metro area, seeking out places that would offer sanctuary if the team found themselves running along these dark tunnels. Loki, already filthy wet from his previous investigations quickly pulled himself off as a homeless bum, who would stop every few feet to clairvoyantly check the tunnels that ran below. He recalled that there was a Rat Shaman who called these tunnels home some years back, maybe if he could find him, some more valuable information could be gleaned.

Loki:
Your mind full of information gleaned through your own senses and sorcerous talent, you begin wandering through the tunnels beneath the city. The young people who crowd onto the last few trains in the metro stop, take one look at you and keep their distance. Unfortunately the scent of sewage wafts all around you in the circulated air of the underground stations.

Jumping down into the tracks to follow up on a lead that your clairvoyant eye had noticed, you pick up the pace to make sure you are clear before the next train comes. On line 10, between Mabillon and Sevres Babylone there's a station that has been abandoned for nearly a century. You arrive in the silent station, lit only by the ambient glow of the earth around you on the Astral.

Skittering in the darkness, a hunched over young boy darts into a crack in the wall. From his hidey hole he screams at you to leave, that this is his safe spot. Slowly you explain that you don't want his spot, but rather need information.

The boy half crawls out of his protective nest.

"I'll answer what I can, but I want food. The old man brought me to Souris, but never taught me the trick of making food."

Noire draws a long drag on the cigarette before putting it out. Exhaling the smoke as he answers her question." Yes, it is secure. The bubbling sound isnt the grotto, but a highly effective white noise generator. Would madamoiselle and her escort like to sit?" Noire motions his hand widely at the two leather bound chairs across from him.

Ariel nodded cooly, "merci," she slid into the leather chair in one smooth motion. She crossed her legs and folded her hand on her upraised knees.

"I don't wish to cover ground that has been covered, what do you know about the job?"

" I was told nothing other than my, services were needed." Noire replies.

Content to let Ariel do the talking, Lleu took a seat in the other chair.

"Okay heres what we are doing...."

Ariel spends a few minutes outlining the job and what the objective is.

"So do you think you can crack their system?"

By the time Loki had made it down to the boy's area, he'd already cleaned up with a quick Healthy Glow and Makeover spell casting, just enough to remove the stench, sewage, but enough to also keep a street-look about him. "Well, I have no sandwiches with me currently, but I did bring for you some cookies", Loki says as he removes a plastic bag from his inside pocket. "However, if you can help me, I will make a trade for your help", he says as he tosses the cookies to the boy, "I will show you how to not need food, rather than how to create it." Loki adds as he casts a the spell, Fast, on the boy, followed by Nutrition. "I have 2 days to learn these tunnels as well as you know them, the ins and outs, hiding places, and safe passages. Provide me with that knowledge, and I will show you how my totem keeps me from hunger."

Noire begins to chuckle then his face goes straight when he realizes Ariel is serious. " I will have to check the system. It's most likely not connected to the matrix, but there are avenues i can persue. You dont have the information on who installed the security do you?"

Loki:
The boy takes the cookies and shoves three of them into his mouth before he even starts chewing. He hides the rest back in the small space behind the wall and after swallowing, nods.

"You have a deal. I cannot teach you everything in two days, so tell me where you want to learn first and I will show you the hidden paths that only the mice and rats know to walk."

Hours later, you are running through tight spaces. The child moves with the sureness of step that clearly demonstrates he was raised below the streets. Moving behind the falls created from minor collapses in tunnels both intentional and accidental, the two of you weave through the pitch black of the underworld using the ethereal light created by life to keep you safe.

You hear the patterns of life moving through Paris above you, the morning commute. A press for lunch. Weary workers returning home from the office as evening approaches again. For all of it, you run through catacombs, quarries and metro tunnels, avoiding the sewers when you can and swimming across them when you have to.

"You have everything I have. We now have..." she pauses for a second, her eyes flicking up as she access internal data, "29 days and 12 hours to complete the job. We ar meeting in Paris at the Cafè Parisian in 20 hours to discuss what we have by then. So find out what you can find out in that time and meet us there, face to face."

" I'll be there." Noire replies. "Would the two of you like a drink before we conclude? They serve the very finest brands of Absinth here."

Ms. Johnson were perfectly content to have Wraith and his bike on the train. She'd seen how he ogled Ariel whenever he thought noone were looking, and didn't envy the girl that.

"You have my number. I'll be at the Louvre at 13:30 tomorrow by the glass pyramid."

With that, she were out of the door and in her car. There were plenty of time to pick up her equipment later. It's not like she'd need more than a camera at most for this initial look around.

L'etoille was the hotel she had in mind. Decent food, a view of the Louvre and easy to get into and out of in a hurry. By 9:00 she had rented a room for the month and by 13:25, she were tapping her foot outside the Louvre, waiting for Wraith to show.

"No thanks, I try not to dirnk when I'm working. We'll see you tomorrow in Paris. arrivederci."

Ariel nods to Lleu, "lets get out of here."

The two make there way out of the bar. "Well, it's probably to early to get a train, any ideas to kill the time?"

"As she said. Hywl." Lleu said, following Ariel.

"Hmm...killing time...could find somewhere a bit more pleasant to get a bite to eat. So what did you make of our new associate?"

By the end of the 2nd Day, Loki has enough of the tunnels mapped on his pocket computer to give him free roam of the tunnels. His Image link grabbing the data to keep tabs on where he was at all times. He carefully circled the museum, following any tunnels that went through or around it, Clairvoyantly examining the depths around in search for closed off tunnels, or missed passageways. His 2nd night was spent going over the history of the castle, looking to see if it was ever recorded that certain pathways had been cemented up or bricked up, which was the more common method in older Europe. Loki abided by his homework, doing little more than a flight or two throughout the night before crashing early-morning. The third day found him again sitting with the boy, this time though, in an effort to teach him the ways of magick that would allow him to go without food or hunger for days at a time.

As Ms. Johnson is standing outside, she spots a Japanese man standing outside shooting video of the area. He is of an average build and is wearing clothing that points him out as an obvious tourist. As he is panning the camera around, he stops on Ms. Johnson and appears to be zooming in on her. He pulls his eye back from the camera and smiles at her.

"Ooohhh... Such a pretty lady! How you do today, pretty lady?"