Caden has been figiting quietly in the back seat since the group started this trip. In between munching on power bars and taking hits from his canteen, he's tried to keep himself fairly still, occasionally developing a twitch in his leg.

Upon seeing the road block Caden knows that things are going to get violent. As soon as Dex blasts the highwayman with magic, he steps out of the driver's side and begins scanning for any overwatch the roadblock had.

Staff Dev Day notes:

The man had a strange expression of both shock and surprise as Indigo tore through his armor like it was paper. The warm blood flowed freely over her hand as she cut through flesh, bone and his heart.

A shout went up from his buddy as the man fell. The second assailant quickly dropped to one knee and rolled to his side as he brought the gun up. He was momentarily distracted by the screeching of tires as Mirage brought the SUV to a screaming halt and slid the vehicle clumsily to the left, leaving Cougar parallel with the barricade.

Caden rolled out of the SUV with an expertise bourn of the streets. In a flash he had his assault rifle up and on the hood. It was followed by the loud retort of a weapon in burst fire mode.

The shotgun wielding buckled and fell back ward as Caden's burst stitched across his upper chest, exploding out the back side in a fine red mist. As he fell, Cougars shotgun blast caught him square in the chest, finishing the job.

The man on top responded with a blast of his own. His cut down M-23 barked twice, sending 6 rounds at Cougar. The rounds smacked against the armored door, sparking and crashing of the armored metal.

Dex trough his arm at the man, sending a bolt of mana toward him and dropping him where he stood.

"Clear!"

The sudden quiet seemingly absolute, coming right after the sharp outburst from the brief but deadly exchange. Dex shakes his head and takes a deep breath of the cordite-filled air to settle himself, then trots over to where Indigo was just finishing wiping the blood from her implanted claws.

The shaman surveys his partner with concern, but it was impossible to tell if any of the blood splattered on her clothes was her own.

"You chill?"

Indigo spent a few extra seconds bent over the corpses that had dropped by her feet in a matter of seconds, rifling through their pockets as she cleaned the worst of the gore from her hands. After wiping a wet, unsightly splotch from the side of her neck with a torn off piece of shirt, she straightens slowly and tosses one of the shotguns to her partner. She arches an eyebrow as Dex makes his way over, fussing like an old wife.

"Yea, I'm chill. You?"

"So who wants to move this truck?"

Caden procedes to the truck cautiously, unsure if there are anmore people manning the roadblock. True to his previous proffession, he does a quick visual sweep of the back of the truck before approaching the cab.

Cougar steps out of the SUV and makes his way over towards the roadblock, while keeping an eye out for any other hostiles.

"Lets get this thing moved out of the way."

He plants himself at one end of the truck, ready to push.

The truck and the area around it seems to be devoid of live. The huge troll easily pushes the vehicle out of the way, clearing the blockage.

Indigo did her part as well, dragging the corpses along until they were at least somewhat concealed beneath the overturned truck. Bloodsplatters were something she'd grown accustomed to (and the reason she dressed in leather almost exclusively) so a few smears here and there were no big deal.

She strode back towards her banshee and mounted up.

"Everybody ready?"

"Check."

Cougar makes his way back to the SUV and climbs in.

"Lets hope that was the last of that." But somehow I know it won't be...

20 minutes after the massacre on the freeway the two SUV's are sitting a block away from Anderson Park. The chronometers read 11:45. The night was particulary dark with no moon. cloud cover which had threatened most of the day moved in as the sun went down. A cool breeze brought with it a chill across the lowlands of the barrens.

Leaning against one of the SUVs, Dex flips up the collar of his leather jacket against the evening's chill.

After the short battle, he and Indigo had once again rode ahead of the other two vehicles on their way to the meeting point. Now their bikes were parked across the street, and the group was gathered together before the main event.

"So, now what's the plan?"

Cougar climbs out of the SUV, holstering his shotgun. This wasn't the place to be seen carrying around that kind of gear.

"Lets see what our Johnson's next move is."

The second SUV pulls up to a rest beside the 1st. The window rolls down just enough for you to see the top of Gregors head.

"Secure the area," he says out the window.

The expressive roll of Indigo's eyes is barely concealed by sleek wraparound shades she wore for that purpose, among others.

"Right," she growled, purposefully ignoring the suits in the second SUV and turning to the small crew of runners. "We need a quick scout to see what the drek's out there. Dex, can you .." black-gloved fingers wiggle a bit, "you know?"

Cougar nods, "Good idea, see if you can spot anyone out there and we can check em out."

While he waits, Cougar reaches into his jacket and pulls out a long cigar. He bites the tip, then lights it up, inhailing it like it was a cigarette.

Dex rolls his own eyes in Indigo's direction at her request, but the effect is somewhat spoiled because he can't quite contain a small grin at the expression on her face.

Nodding his agreement, he slips into the seat in the SUV recently vacated by Cougar. The young shaman closes his eyes and relaxes as he frees his Astral form to scout out the area.

As Dex's body goes limp next to her, Mirage draws her Manhunter, ready to defend his body if necessary, until he returns.

in the meantime, she continues to monitor her scanner and keep her eyes peeled for danger.

The real world fades away replaced by resplendent colors of astral. Emotions from the group bleed into the astral, fear, worry, indifference, all cloud the area. Dex rises above the vehicle and spreads his astral form. He quickly circles the park, it isn't very big, a few hundred meters wide and twice that long. Evergreen trees that once sparkled with life now lay dead or dying in the park. A dry creek bed flows through it, cutting the park nearly in half. A long the opposite end from where the SUV's are parked is a group of gangers. Probably 20 in all standing around a few beat up vehicles.

The sense of sadness that he always felt whenever he came upon such a scene Astrally never ceased to surprise him. Dex liked to think himself hardened to life in the city, with dirt and corruption filtering through it from the top of the Corp towers to the bottom of the gutters in Redmond, but somehow in places like this park, the biggest impressions he got were of hope fading.

After spotting the gathering on the other side, the shaman double checks the perimeter of the park for further signs of life before returning his Astral form to his waiting body. Sitting forward abruptly, Dex's now-open eyes immediately search for Indigo. Spotting her familiar almost-grin, he relaxes back into the seat of the SUV.

"Looks pretty dead, 'part from the group gathered on the other side of the park. I didn't go too close, but I'm figurin' just under two dozen in all." Pausing, he looks around at the group, trying to gauge their reactions, before returning his eyes to those of his partner. "I can go back an' buzz 'em closer, but I was thinkin' it'd be best to fill you in first."

"Well, we've got another half hour to kill, it wouldn't hurt to do some extra recon and set some things up. Dex, why don't you do a sweep of some of the local building and make sure they don't have any snipers setup, then take a closer look at the drop point if you feel up for it. Indigo, Caden, either of you feel you can get a physical look through the park without being spotted?"

"I can," replies Caden. "Be back in fifteen." The runner press checked his weapon before walking to the wood line. Carefully he moved into the trees not making a sound.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

Dex takes a deep drag of his Virginia Real, then flicks the half-smoked butt towards the nearest lamppost. Exhaling a lungful of smoke, he once again settles back into the seat of the SUV and closes his eyes.

His Astral form soars free and quickly scouts the surrounding buildings, as well as once agin giving the park a once over. As he gets closer to where the gangers are gathered, Dex tries to use the surrounding vegetation to his advantage to mask his presence while he gets close enough to assence the group.

Cougar leans back against the SUV and turns his head from side to side, watching the surrounding area.

Dex approaches the gangers slowly. The astral stink given off by them is as repugnant as it is visible. Four of them seem to be in charge, standing around a fifth. She is a girl, about the age of the Johnsons daughter. What can only be the leader holds a leash on her, as she is crouched on the ground. Astrally she is a zombie. Not quite dead, not quite alive. The fresh burn of cyberware scars her head in the astral.

Dex's Astral form subtlely darkens as smokey strands of worry waft their way across it's surface.

'I sure hope that isn't what I think it is!'

The evidence of fresh cyber-surgery having been performed on the girl could not bode well, especially if the implant is what he suspects.

Prying his attention from the retched sight of the poor girl, the young shaman re-examines the rest of the group for any signs of magic ability. Dex casts one last regretful look at the leashed girl, then turns and travels swiftly back to where his physical form sat slumped in the parked SUV.

His hand is already reaching for the pocket containing his cigarettes as the shaman's eyes slowly open. Dex steps out of the vehicle and stretches out his whole body, from the tips of his fingers to the bottoms of his feet, like a lazy cat after an afternoon nap in the sun. Touching the flame of his zippo to the tip of a cigarette, Dex inhales deeply, holding the smoke in his lungs for a full ten seconds before slowly exhaling. Only then did he look up and acknowledge the others gathered around the SUV. He takes another drag and shakes his head as he exhales sharply.

"The kid's got a brand new implant!"

He let's that sink in for just a moment before adding.

"In her head!"

Indigo spat out a savage curse and punched the skinny tree she'd been leaning against while she waited for Dex's return.

"Fraggers took out some insurance? They're smarter than I thought .. bastards."

Not that she cared about the girl, of course, or her father (beyond the paycheck he'd promised). She spun around, long braid flying behind her, and punched the tree a second time. No point sneaking in when it could blow their whole Op.

"So we wait for Caden and figure this drek out when he gets back. Anything else we should know about this, Dex?"

As if on cue Caden materialized out of the shadows.

"They have a couple of sentries scattered through out the park, they all have rifles. This may be a setup to get the money."

"How many sentries? Could we just take them out one at a time and snag the girl? I can be as silent as it comes when taking them out."

"Maybe four sentries, some on the ground, some in the trees."

Cougar reaches around his back and unstraps his Ranger-X Bow.

"Silent and deadly... Where are they?"

Indigo arched an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

"All right. How many of these sentries can we frag without giving ourselves away?"

"They are spread out at 20 meter intervals, you run into the first one about 50 meters in."

"All of em, then we move in."

Hefting his bow and notching an arrow, Cougar continues, "This has to be one shot one kill though. No room for error. And as silent as possible."

Quickly, the troll makes his way accross the street and moves into the tree line, as he does so, he completely fades from view.

Cougar spots the first sentry 50 meters in, Just as Caden promised. The man stands with a leather coat pulled tightly around him, smoking some sort of chemical stick. He holds a generic looking assault rifle cradled in his arms. His hands are pushed deeply into his pockets.

"Target one spotted."

Courgar pulls back with his bow and lets an arrow fly.

The arrow impacts with the gangers torso with a violent and meaty thud. The energy of the arrow is to great for the poor gangers armor to overcome, either is his body as the arrow blasts through him and slams into the tree behind him.

The 8 centimeter hole in his chest is a soggy mess of arterial ooze. He collapses to his knees, mouth working silently. Then with a strangled gurgle he falls to the park floor.

"Target one down."

Courgar moves on deeper into the park.

"I'll cover you," Mirage says as she steps out of the SUV.

She swaps clips in her Manhunter as she follows the Troll samurai towards the treeline, replacing the noisy double-X rounds with a clip of regular ammunition.

As they enter the treeline Mirage pulls up her coat's hood and uses a mental command to activate her ruthenium camouflage, she uses her enhanced audio and olfactory senses to maintain her position behind and abreast of Cougar, ensuring that nobody outflanks the Troll.

"Above you!"

A glint of metal in the branches above Cougar catches Mirage's attention, and she sends her silent warning via the TacComm even as she brings her modified Manhunter up in both hands.

Mirage waits for the smartlink graticules to settle over the body of the rifleman before firing a quick double tap, followed rapidly by a third round from her silenced weapon.

Dex inhales a lungful of smoke as he watches Cougar and Mirage as the two run off into the trees of the park. Exhaling, he casts a glance in Indigo's direction and cocks an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Wanna take the bikes an' circle 'round?" He grins. "Better than sittin' here!"

Without waiting for her to answer, the dark haired shaman turns and heads towards the waiting Harley.

The lurking figure in the trees gags as the 10 milimeter bullet penetrates his throat and blasts a hole out the back of his neck. The body tumbles backwards out of the tree and falls to the ground with a muffled thump.

"Nice shot mirage. Target two is down."

The bulky troll continues on, deeper into the park, searching for targets.

Mirage maintains formation with Cougar as the pair creep through the park.

The deadly, if opposite pair, made there way deeper into the lightly wooded area. From the distance the sound of talking and joking could be heard. The occasional smell of nicotine and something else, not quite discernable waffed in the air.

The next sentry was more alert and dressed differently than the other two. Dark clothing and a knit hat covered his head. If it wasn't for knowing where he should be you might not have seen him crouched next to the tree and behind the bush.

Any closer and he might see you...

"Target three aquired"

Cougar draws on his bow, aims for a second, and looses the arrow at his next target.

Just as the arrow is about to strike its target the man seems to sense its imminent impact and drops to the ground. The razor sharp arrow pierces the tree behind him with a crack. The man rolls forward and comes up on one knee, bringing a long barreled assault weapon to bear....

Dex kicks the big Scorpion to life, then eyes Indigo with a long-suffering look until she finally does the same. Without another word, the young shaman pulls away from the parked SUVs and heads for one of the roads that encircles the park.

Indigo's glare was somewhat ruined by the half-smirk that played around her mouth as she and Dex began their little tour of the area. Couldn't he sit still for two minutes? It's not like their choppers were all that stealthy....

The man does a quick tumble and roll, bringing his compact assault rifle to bear. But he doesn't fire. He seems to be searching for his target...